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‘Manny Pacquiao’
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By Jose Espinoza September 17th, 2009 All Boxing Articles
Miguel Angel Cotto is climbing his way back to the top of the boxing world after a difficult loss to Antonio Margarito.
Since that devastating loss, the fighter from Puerto Rico has fought against Michael Jennings and Joshua Clottey. In both cases, Cotto has been victorious and demonstrated through his domination in the ring that he is capable of taking on top ranked opponents.
When the opportunity came along for a fight between Cotto and Manny Pacquiao, both parties understood the immense potential to make lots of money and deliver one of the biggest fights of the year.
This fight is so important to Cotto’s career that he took less than 50 percent of the money and agreed to go down in weight for the fight.
There is no question that Cotto is willing to do what’s necessary in order to face Pacquiao, but the question remains; does he have the necessary skill to beat the best fighter in the world in a 12 round assault?
Most boxing analysts have already spoken in favour of Pacquiao. There is too much skill and ability on the side of Pac Man that it’s difficult to make a case for Cotto winning the bout. However here are few elements to take into consideration when making your prediction for the fight.
Bob Arum has stated publicly that he is expecting to see an all-action brawl when the two fighters get together on November, 14, 2009. If Arum’s prediction holds true, an all out brawl will benefit Cotto. More...
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By Al Bernstein September 11th, 2009 All Boxing Articles
 The boxing schedule for the last quarter of the year is ridiculously good. Big matches abound, starting with next week’s Floyd Mayweather Jr’s comeback fight with Juan Manuel Marquez.
There is another mega fight in Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto, then three great matches in the Super Six World Boxing Classic and Paul Williams vs. Kelly Pavlik. Throw in Glen Johnson vs. Chad Dawson and you have an amazing schedule.
By the time we get to December, it would be understandable to see a dip in the boxing product. But, it is in that month that we may find two gems - two fights that might get a little less universal hype, but have almost can’t miss tags on them.
The first is December 5th when WBO Light Welter Champ Tim Bradley defends his title against Lamont Peterson. Between the two of them, they have not one single loss. They are both young and both in their primes. They are also both extraordinary boxers.
I have had the pleasure of announcing Bradley’s last several match-ups sand have seen his development as a young champion. Peterson, who survived a torturous childhood on the streets of Washington DC, is as skilled a fighter as you would ever see.
And reportedly, he recently gave Mayweather all he could handle in a now legendary sparring session in Las Vegas. This is an even match and having a real conviction on who will win is not an easy thing to do.
This fight has 12 rounds of really good action written all over it. I am not sure either man can knock the other out, and they they both have such good offense that they will throw a lot of punches and land a lot. More...
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By Al Bernstein July 17th, 2009 All Boxing Articles
OK, this is a little awkward. When the news broke this week that Showtime has created a six man tournament in the super middleweight division I was, well, ecstatic.
I love the talent in super middleweight division, and I think boxing needs something fresh and daring like this tourney. Now those are my honest, gut level reactions to this news.
Here’s the awkward part. Since I’m employed as the lead boxing analyst for Showtime Championship Boxing, it’s just barely possible that some might think that kind of enthusiasm is not arrived at objectively.
They might reasonably assume that I have a more subjective agenda in praising this new venture…like keeping my job. Well, I won’t deny that my 10 year old son’s penchant for purchasing every Star Wars item ever made means I can hardly afford a loss in income.
But, my giddy reaction to the super six tourney is as genuine as could be. You can suggest it’s misguided or even wrong, but you can’t get me for being a total company man.
I could trot out the argument that my track record as a broadcaster suggests fairness, and I could point to the countless times I have praised the product of other networks in columns like this or on my boxing channel.
But I have a better and less narcissistic argument to use—my reaction must be an honest one because it’s the same as everyone else’s. Virtually every boxing writer, broadcaster or fan I have talked to or listened to has said the same thing—this is great.
Perhaps there are a few complete misanthropes intent on concentrating on the potential pitfalls like injuries, mid-tourney retirements, or old fashioned contract breaking. Finding those people is about as hard as finding Miguel Cotto fans in the Phillipines. More...
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By Nick Chamberlain July 15th, 2009 All Boxing Articles
There has been plenty of speculation as to where Ricky Hatton can go following his recent destruction at the hands of Manny Pacquiao.
There was a huge amount of press and fans alike that were immediately of the opinion that Hatton should retire, hang up the gloves and bow out as a former two-weight world champion and the case being that he only ever lost to the two top fighters on the planet.
The world was shocked when Hatton was floored twice in the first round by Pacquiao and put to sleep in the second, well everyone except Freddie Roach.
Most experts agreed that whilst Pacquiao would win, it would be a hard, drawn out battle of will against skill, but what we all saw was something completely different.
As Pacquiao now emerges as arguably one of the greatest fighters the Philippines have ever produced, Hatton's career seems to be in disarray.
However, there are options out there for Hatton. If he were to retire, he would be remembered for some very special nights, i.e. Kostya Tszyu, or his thrilling stoppage of Jose Luis Castillo and some incredibly gutsy performances on a domestic level like when he out-boxed Jon Thaxton.
These were the sort of nights that secured Ricky his huge crowds, for he was never a brash, loud and arrogant fighter like Floyd Mayweather Jr, nor was he the go in, get the job done Terminator-esque typle like Miguel Cotto.
Here was a man who fought with his heart on his sleeve and a nation behind him. Moreover, the best part of all is that when the night was through, you could find the bar he was in and actually ask him how he felt the fight went over a beer! More...
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By Al Bernstein June 22nd, 2009 All Boxing Articles
While we all wait for the apparently inevitable announcement that Manny Pacquiao will fight Miguel Cotto, I think it’s wise to really sit back and try and put the Pacquiao story in perspective. Our goal here is to come up with some historical perspective that is reasoned.
In doing that you would think that the exploits of Pacquiao would take on less superhuman traits and be viewed through a prism less filled with hyperbole and more geared to hard scrutiny. That’s what you would think.
But, in reality, the process of taking a step back and really dissecting what Pacquiao has done in his career makes me more impressed and more willing to talk in terms of “greatest” and “historically important.”
I said a few weeks ago that if Manny Pacquiao beats Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley or Floyd Mayweather Jr., he will have stamped himself as the greatest EVER at lighter weights, 135 or below. That’s a bold statement, but I believe I can back it up with a strong case.
The quartet of Pacquiao, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez produced the greatest series of fights seen at any time in boxing. They occurred during a decade’s span in a few weight divisions. This series of fights exceeded even the Hagler, Leonard, Hearns and Duran combinations of matches. More...
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By Al Bernstein May 26th, 2009 All Boxing Articles
SaddoBoxing has the honor of introducing Al Bernstein and his new exclusive column, "Al Bernstein On Boxing"!
Al is unquestionably the top television analyst in the sport today, appearing on Showtime since 2003 along with stints at ESPN and NBC and currently hosts the Internet's premier boxing channel on iBN Sports.
A winner of the Sam Taub Award for excellence in boxing broadcast journalism, Al is also a recording artist and has appeared on the stages of major casinos and resorts across the U.S.
In addition, Al authored the book "Boxing For Beginners", has written for The Ring and Boxing Illustrated and held the position of Managing Editor for Lerner Newspapers in Chicago.
We now live in a world where perception is much more powerful than reality. We see it in the political arena where spin doctoring by those in office and bias driven reporting by the media often colors public opinion more than actual facts…if we can still ascertain actual facts in that arena.
In America, many years ago there was a television police drama called Dragnet. In just about every episode the chief investigator Sgt. Joe Friday would interrupt a meandering witness by saying to them, “Just the facts.” Anyone who is truly involved with the sport of boxing, as a fan, a person who covers it, or someone working in the industry, would probably like to scream that Sgt. Friday phrase at the top of their lungs, to try and make some people actually care about the facts. More...
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By David Shipman May 15th, 2009 All Boxing Articles
In watching boxing, I have had very weird conversations with my friends. They quip, "No one watches boxing and why would I care?". I simply say that it is the greatest sport in the world.
It is much like golf. Who can you blame except yourself or the judges? No one. I have seen many great fighters in my 26 years of watching boxing. Pernell Whitaker, Oscar De La Hoya, Shane Mosley, Felix Trinidad, "Terrible" Terry Norris, Sugar Ray Leonard, Mike Tyson....the list goes on.
But what makes me cringe is the fact that I have to shell out 50 or 60 dollars to watch a "garbage" 12-round fight. Where do we go from here? It is up to us as viewers and fistic historians to delve in to this.
Let's start with the 1980's. This was a period of outstanding fights and wars, the pinnacle of Mike Tyson's reign and the beginning of Pernell Whitaker's historic run through divisions. Is there any fighter today that can come close to that? Maybe in Manny Pacquiao and maybe Juan Manuel Marquez.
Mayweather, Jr. is talented enough but doesn't fight "the best". Do we still have to shell out 59 dollars to see him beat up on Arturo Gatti? No. It shouldn't be that way. We as fight fans don't want the UFC to take boxing over, but they are simply beating us to the punch. More...
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By Daxx Kahn March 18th, 2009 All Boxing Articles
Just under 27 years ago, two men stepped into the ring and created the most memorable 140lb bout to ever take place when former three division champion Alexis "El Flaco Explosivo" Arguello stepped up to challenge then reigning WBA light welterweight champion Aaron "The Hawk" Pryor in his quest for a fourth division championship.
Arguello, the crowd favorite by far, had not lost in five years and was widely considered one of boxing's pound for pound greats, while Pryor was undefeated and had developed an aura of invincibility, stopping 29 of his 31 previous opponents.
The bout did not disappoint onlookers in any way, shape or form as the two men went to war, giving it all they had until finally Arguello had enough and the bout was halted in the 14th round.
Until this day, no other 140lb bout has captured the heart of boxing fans the way Arguello vs. Pryor had, nor to this date has there been another light welterweight bout which produced the same amount of electricity that circulated through the air of Miami's Orange Bowl on November 11 1982. Not even when Julio Cesar Chavez faced off in the first of two meetings with Meldrick Taylor.
Some fans had even come to believe that we might not see another bout of that proportion in that division for another 50 years, if ever! This of course has little to do with the fact that talent has been scarce at that weight because the light welterweight division has been anything but lackluster in talent over these past 25 plus years. More...
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By Boxing Press March 12th, 2009 All Boxing Articles
By Gary Todd
When Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton walk out from their dressing rooms, Hatton's head draped in an oversized hood with trainer, Mayweather Sr ., right behind him, talking the talk as usual, and Pacquiao looking up, smiling to his beloved countrymen, both men will be enjoying the thunderous roar that they each demand .
Why not? They are fighting for the pound for pound, best of the best title, and it's all about them.
With a combined career of 101 fights and 68 knockouts between them along with close to 600 rounds boxed, they deserve it.
Over their career, neither man has been banged up too badly, despite each of them fighting in tough, hard fights, giving their all for their fans, the sport and themselves. More...
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