Boxing Report COLUMNS
THE TOP TEN DOMINANT RULERS SINCE 1965 by Jim Amato
Greatness, like beauty is really in the eye of the beholder. Since 1965 I've followed the careers of so many wonderful fighters. Over the past couple of decades it has become increasingly more difficult to judge a fighters true worth. With so many titles and weight classes involved sometimes we as fans never really know who is the best fighter in their weight division. At times when a fighter does emerge who looks like he is the cream of his division, he promptly moves up a weight class. Floyd Mayweather Jr. is a good example. Manny Pacquaio too.
This piece is on who I feel were the ten best boxers since 1965 to dominate a single weight class. Those who proudly held the title for an extended reign and ruled it with an iron fist. Coming up with the top ten was not an easy task. Believe it or not there were quite a few fighters that had to be considered. There were some greats who just fell short of making the list but in their day they made their mark. Men like Michael Spinks, Aaron Pryor and Eder Jofre. Others like Julio Cesar Chavez, Marco Antonio Barrera, Pernell Whitaker and Miguel Canto were also passed over. It was pretty difficult to keep Sugar Ray Leonard, Tito Trinidad and Shane Mosley off the list. What about Roy Jones Jr., Carlos Zarate, Khaosai Galaxy, Salvador Sanchez and Jose Napoles. There was no room for them either. By now you must have concluded that the ten boxers I picked must be very special. They are, all ten of them. I'm sure many will disagree with me and there will be many a strong argument for other candidates. I do hope you agree with me that my top ten and also the fighters I've mentioned above were pretty special indeed.
NUMBER TEN - JOE CALZAGHE - 168 - Joe actually put some color and pzazz in a division that never had it since its inception. He never received his due recognition because he was based outside of the US but caused quite a stir when Americans saw him dominate Jeff Lacy. Although Joe's recognition was long overdue it was well earned.
NUMBER NINE - MARVIN HAGLER - 160 - The Marvelous One WAS the middleweight division in the 1980's. He turned back all challengers including his demolition of Tommy Hearns. Only his disputed loss to Sugar Ray Leonard kept him from being rated higher.
NUMBER EIGHT - EVANDER HOLYFIELD - 190 - Talk about cleaning out the division. Vander beat his chief rival Dwight Muhammad Qawi to win a portion of the title. Then he made an exclamation point by stopping Qawi in a rematch. Then he defeated Carlos DeLeon and Rickey Parkey to unify the titles before invading the heavyweight division.
NUMBER SEVEN - VINCENTE SALDIVAR - 126 - This magnificent little southpaw ruled the featherweight division for most of the 1960's. When he ran out of competition he retired. He then came back and promptly regained his lost laurels.
NUMBER SIX - RICARDO LOPEZ - 105 - He very may well be the best little man who ever laced on the gloves. It is too bad that a lot of fans didn't get to see him in action. He was a complete fighter who was...unbeatable.
NUMBER FIVE - WILFREDO GOMEZ - 122 - The junior featherweight division is truly a bastard weight class with only four pounds separating it from bantamweight and featherweight divisions. Nevertheless Gomez was the division's first star and to this day its brightest. He owned that weight class and its challengers.
NUMBER FOUR - CARLOS MONZON - 160 - King Carlos ruled the middleweight division throughout most of the 1970's. He met and turned back some serious opposition in Emile Griffith, Bennie Briscoe, Jose Napoles and Rodrigo Valdez. He was the best middleweight I have seen since I started following the sport.
NUMBER THREE - BOB FOSTER - 175 - Pound for pound he gets my vote as the most devastating puncher I've seen in my time. When someone says that a boxer could "take somebodys head off", they may have been describing Foster. His power was in a word, scary! Many of his challengers tasted the power.
NUMBER TWO - ALEXIS ARGUELLO - 130 - He may arguably be the best junior lightweight of all time. He so dominated this division that four men he defeated while champion claimed the crown after he relinquished it. Bobby Chacon, Rafael Limon, Boza Edwards and Rolando Navarette all lost the "Explosive Thin Man."
NUMBER ONE - ROBERTO DURAN - 135 - To me this was a no brainer. Roberto won the title from an excellent champion in Ken Buchanan. From there he literally ruled the division with an iron fist. His only loss at lightweight was to a tremendous little fighting machine named Esteban De Jesus. Duran would twice halt De Jesus in championship rematches. I truly feel that if Duran had not been around, De Jesus would be in the Hall Of Fame today. Roberto was so dominant that all you had to say was DURAN, and boxing fans knew who you were talking about. Yes, he was that good!
SOME THOUGHTS ON DE LA HOYA -VS- PACQUAIO. .. by Jim Amato
I just watched Pacquaio - David Diaz again. Here are some thoughts... Pac looked great. He really busted Diaz up and then put over the finisher in round nine. Now reality...Diaz is as game a fighter as I've ever seen. He was simply over matched. Yes I know David had the title but nobody really thought he was the best lightweight out there. In fact in the old days when there was ONE champion, David may have been rated the # 5 or # 6 contender. So really what Manny did was become a contender to see who the best lightweight in the world is. He has yet to do enough to be considered the # 1 guy at 135 pounds.
NOW Manny has the balls to issue a challenge to the much bigger Oscar De La Hoya. Is he and Bob Arum nuts??? Funny thing is they may be able to sell this to the public. It really could happen. I believe Oscar sees this as the perfect going away fight. Big name opponent, big bank bonanza and a small, should be safe foe. This makes much more sense then Oscar risking his legacy against Antonio Margarito. It's easier to carry your money out on a golden tray then a brass shield, isn't it Oscar?
JEAN CLAUDE BOUTTIER ; If It Wasn't For Monzon..... by Jim Amato
To me Jean Claude Bouttier was one of the best fighters of a great era who never won a world title. He joins Pierre Fourrie, Yaqui Lopez, Bennie Briscoe, Hedgemon Lewis, Ernie " Red " Lopez and Ray Lampkin who were boxers fighting in the wrong place at the wrong time. Even some boxers who held a fragment of a title never got the recognition they deserved because of other dominant champions. Men like Rodrigo Valdez, Esteban DeJesus and Howard Winstone.
Bouttier was probably the most popular French fighter since the beloved Marcel Cerdan. He became a professional in 1965 and by 1969 he was beginning to meet some of the better middleweights in the world. He lost two decisions to the under rated Juarez DeLima and drew with countryman Max Cohen.
Jean Claude posted a big victory in 1970 outscoring Stan " Kitten " Hayward. He also beat DeLima but lost to Lonnie Harris. Bouttier bounced back to defeat Pascual DiBendetto, Tom " The Bomb " Bethea and Harris in a rematch. He then won the European title with a fifteen round decision over Juan Carlos Duran.
He continued his march to a shot at the world title by beating Raul Soriano, Bunny Sterling, Manny Gonzalez, Doyle Baird and Fabio Bettini. On June 17, 1972 Bouttier met the great Carlos Monzon for the world's middleweight title. The bout was held in Paris. I'll never forget this fight. I was married for the first time that day. As soon as I could free myself from the " festivities ", I rushed home to watch it. " King " Carlos stopped Bouttier that day but he would return.
Jean Claude began his comeback with disqualification victories over Jose Chirino and the great Emile Griffith. He then beat Joe DeNucci, Art Hernandez and Alvin Phillips. On September 29, 1973 he met Monzon again in Paris. This time Bouttier gave Monzon all he he could handle but he faded down the stretch and dropped a fifteen round verdict.
Two fights later Bouttier lost his European title to England's rugged Kevin Finnegan. In his last fight in December of 1974, he lost his French title to Max Cohen. Bouttier had 72 fights in his fine career. His record was 64-7-1. He scored 43 knockouts. I have no doubt in my mind that if he was fighting today, he would have won one of the four titles available. Monzon had high respect for Bouttier. That in itself is a compliment.
IF I WAS ANTONIO MARGARITO...WHAT WOULD I DO? ....... by Jim Amato
Well Antonio Margarito is on top of the boxing world. He has earned it. Let him take a little time off to savor the flavor. Eventually though he is going to climb through those ropes again. Who should his opponent be ? Who should Margarito go after and who should he avoid ?
Well first of all I doubt that Margarito would avoid anyone. Still there are fights that make sense and it's all about dollars and cents. For the " cash cow ", I guess a fight with De La Hoya would be the ticket. This would be an interesting fight but a very dangerous one for the Big " O ". If Oscar wants to make a lot of moolah and go out a winner he should opt to fight Manny Pacquaio. If he wants to go out on his shield...Well then give the fans De La Hoya - Margarito.
Next choice would be a bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr. That is if Pretty Boy dares to come back to face this monster named Margarito. I think Floyd will come back but not against Antonio. A rematch for Margarito with Paul Williams makes sense for several reasons. Money, revenge and a title unification. Then there is always Sugar Shane Mosley. The Sugarman is still a viable contender and would draw good PPV numbers but he would probably suffer the same fate as Mr. Cotto. Then there is also Zab Judah if he gets by Jerome Clottey. Again a name opponent who it is doubtful to stand up to Antonio's assault.
Some guys that make less sense in meeting at this time...Clottey if he beats Zab Judah. Clottey is a very dangerous opponent who it is doubtful to make the PPV cash register ring. Daniel Santos...Yes I know there is a revenge factor there but again it is a simple case of too big of a challenge for less then top dollar. If Antonio is interested in testing the waters over 147 pounds he should stay far away from Winky Wright. It is not so much a matter of win or lose. It comes down to making Margarito look bad. Wright can make anyone look bad. I like and respect Winky but as a fan he makes for horrible fights. Good God I hope no one mentions a bout with Kelly Pavlik. Margarito is big but he is not " that " big. Kelly has the size to beat Margarito at his own game but I must admit this bout would draw a lot of interest and money but it would be fistic suicide at this time for Margarito.
So there you have it. Go for the gusto Antonio. You've earned it !
MARGARITO STOPS COTTO IN THE 11th ROUND OF A CLASSIC! ......... by Jim Amato
WHAT A FIGHT! Miguel Cotto outboxed a plodding Antonio Margarito early but Margarito got stronger as the fight wore on and finally battered Cotto into submission at 2:05 of round eleven. This was a classic that lived up to and even surpassed expectations.
Margarito is a monster. That is the best way I can describe him. Cotto landed many jabs and several clean shots but they just seemed to bounce off Margarito. Not once did Margarito show any sign of being hurt. Cotto's nose started bleeding early and soon there was a cut over his eye. Blood was coming from his mouth and eventually the eye got worse. Margarito really busted him up.
Although Margarito has a different style he reminds me a bit of Carlos Monzon. He is big and strong like Monzon and just seems immune to pain. This ended up just being a classic beat down.
Ruiz plans to slay Giant for 3rd world title
LAS VEGAS (July 22, 2008) – Two-time World Boxing Association heavyweight champion John “The Quietman” Ruiz (43-7-1, 29 KOs), rated No. 2 by the WBA, travels to Germany once again to fight the 7-0, 320-pound giant who took his title belt 2 ½ years ago, No. 1 contender Nikolai Valuev (48-1, 34 KOs), on August 30 in Berlin.
The WBA vacated the title due to an injury to Ruslan Chagaev, declared him “champion in recess” and ruled that the top two rated contenders had to fight for the title. Valuev’s co-promoter, Sauerland Event, won the Valuev-Ruiz II purse bid ($2,006,500 – 50/50 split between the two fighters; beating rival Universum by a mere $94,000) and the title fight will take place in the same arena they originally fought, Max Schmeling Halle, where Valuev won a controversial 12-round majority decision (116-114, 116-114, 114-114). The Valuev-Ruiz II winner will be obliged to fight Chagaev, if available, by June 26, 2009.
“It was more like a robbery than hometown decision,” Ruiz remembered the night Valuev defeated him. “Boxing is the only sport you can get robbed without a gun. I really enjoy the German people. They’ve been very hospitable to me. I love going back, just not for a fight, but I’m happy to have an opportunity to fight for my third world title.
“I’m going over there to slay the giant, really re-slay him because I definitely won the first fight. They just gave him the decision. After that fight I realized I needed a real trainer and I’ve learned so much working with Manny Siaca, Sr. in my last three fights. He’s taught me a lot and we’ve continued working on the fundamentals.”
Ruiz spots Valuev 10-inches in height and around 100 pounds. “It seemed like I went over there the first time as the opponent instead of the 2-time champion,” Ruiz noted. “I beat Valuev to the punch all night. There’s no way he won a decision. I just have to do the same thing only this time make a statement each round, not let there be any close rounds. I outworked him the last time and will do that again. Only no close rounds that they can give him, just clear rounds scored for me. But I’m not sure if I knock him down 10 times that I’ll get a decision. You know that old saying, if a tree falls in the forest and nobody is there, does it make a sound? Well, we’re going to put that saying to a test. The fight won’t be televised in the United States but, when I knockout Valuev, he’ll be heard crashing to the canvas all over the United States and Puerto Rico. Timber!”
“Valuev’s people are talking about him fighting at home,” Ruiz’ attorney and legal advisor Tony Cardinale said. “They must have forgotten how there was a near riot when they announced the scores at their first fight. The booing and whistling was beyond belief. Max Schmeling Halle became John’s house. We can’t wait to fight there again.”
The Puerto Rican-American Ruiz, living in Las Vegas, is the first and only Latino heavyweight champion of the world. He has fought in 10 world championship fights, defeating three world heavyweight champions -- Evander Holyfield, Hasim Rahman and Tony Tucker – in addition to beating top contenders such as Andrew Golota, Fres Oquendo, Kirk Johnson and Jameel McCline during his 15-year pro career.
1972...It Was Quite A Year ! ............by Jim Amato
For me the year 1972 marked some very important milestones. Especially the magic month of June.In the first three weeks of that month I became a candidate for the draft by turning eighteen. I graduated from High School and on the 17th I took on my first bride. I enjoyed that afternoon watching Carlos Monzon defend his title against the worthy challenge of Frenchman Jean Claude Bouttier. To be honest with you the most exciting day of the month was the 26th. On that date in Madison Square Garden, Roberto Duran captured the lightweight championship of the world by stopping the vastly talented Ken Buchanan. At that moment a star was born.
Later in the year on October 18th my first son was born. A month later Duran suffered the first loss of his career dropping a decision to the great but widely overlooked Esteban DeJesus. Roberto would not lose another fight until the night he supposedly said " No Mas " in 1980. That included two subsequent knockout victories over DeJesus. To me Duran was without a doubt the greatest boxer of the 70's.
In retrospect 1972 stands out in regards to boxing for a variety of reasons. The quietest division was the heavyweights. There was a let down after the frenzy created from the March 8, 1971 classic between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali in which Joe emerged victorious. That was a gruelling affair and Frazier and his manager Yank Durham decided to take it easy and not just jump right back into the ring with Ali. Joe took on a couple of lower ranked white contenders. First he blasted out the totally over matched Terry Daniels. Then he cut up and halted the dead game Ron Stander. Joe would lose his title in early 1973 courtesy of the thumping fists of George Foreman. Two months later Ali would suffer a fractured jaw in losing an upset decision to Ken Norton. The stage was now set for " The Rumble In The Jungle " and the " Thrilla In Manila " that would later entertain us in the mid 70's.
The light heavyweights were ruled by one of the greatest of all time, Bob Foster. Bob probably hit his peak in 72. First he unified the title with a two round massacre of W.B.A.pretender Vincente Rondon. Then he landed one of the most brutal punches in boxing history when he nearly decapitated Mike Quarry. Next he wore down and halted the very brave Chris Finnegan. Bobby ended 1972 with an ill advised foray back into the heavyweight division and was halted by the now former champion, Muhammad Ali.
Carlos Monzon was the " King " of the middleweight division. 1972 was the year that proved his greatness. Carlos opened by halting veteran contender Denny Moyer. Next he turned back the challenge of the very formidable Jean Claude Bouttier. Then he pummeled Denmark's Tom Bogs. Carlos closed the year outscoring the feared " Bad " Bennie Briscoe.
He was one of the greatest welterweights of all time. Jose Napoles was coming of a very big year in 1971 when he regained the title from Billy Backus. He also turned back the challenge of top contender Hedgemon Lewis. He took it a little easy in 1972 fighting off the challenges of Ralph Charles and Adolph Pruitt. He closed the year with a non-title KO of Edmundo Leite.
It was in 1972 that the great Antonio Cervantes won the junior welterweight title. He had failed to dethrone the slick Nicolino Locce in 1971. Locche then lost his title to Alfonso Frazier and Cervantes got a second shot and defeated Frazier. Antonio would go on to have a legendary career.
The featherweight division was in a transition period. The great little southpaw Vincente Saldivar had retired champion in 1967. He returned in 1969 and reclaimed his crown in 1970 by beating Johnny Famechon. He would lose the title in his next fight to Kuniaki Shibata. In 1972 Clemente Sanchez blasted the crown from Shibata's head. Soon after Sanchez would lose his title to the scales. Jose Legra also halted him and no one was quite sure who the champ was as the year ended.
The bantamweight division was also in a state of transition. As 1972 was ushered in, the power punching Ruben Olivares was holding the crown. Rafael Herrera came along to upset him. Then Rafael was upset by smooth boxing Enrique Pinder of Panama. The new champion would outscore former titleholder Chucho Castillo in a non-title bout to close out the year.
The flyweight class was in a state of chaos in 1972. Erbito Saalvarria was the rightful claimant based on his 1970 KO of the outstanding Chartchai Chionoi. In 1971 he would struggle but still remain champion. In five 1971 encounters he went 3-1-1. He lost a non-title go on points to Halimi Gutierrez. He also drew with Betulio Gonzalez thus keeping his crown. In 1972 the W.B.C. withdrew its recognition of Salavarria as champion and matched Gonzalez with Socrates Batoto for the vacant crown. Betulio took out Socrates in four. Venice Borkhorsor then met Gonzalez for the title. Borkhorsor would win by a tenth round stoppage. Borkhorsor and Salavarria would meet in 1973 to srttle any dispute on who the real champion was. The title stayed with Borkhorsor who won a decision.
It was a simple time then. There were a lot less weight divisions and fewer split titles. It was a time when in most cases the champions ruled their respective divisions with an iron fist. Some of the most feared and respected boxers of all time reigned supreme. Foster, Monzon, Napoles, Cervantes, Olivares and Duran.
The class of 1972. What a wonderful year !
PAVLIK - HOPKINS : IT MAY BE TOUGHER THEN YOU THINK ..... by Jim Amato
I have considerable mixed emotions about this fight. First off I feel that from a Team Pavlik stand point, it is a good move. If the aging lion with marquee value wants another fight, why not cash in ? If they don't someone else will. A win over Hopkins, especially a KO will really sweeten the pot for a Calzaghe showdown later on. BUT ... I also consider this a dangerous fight for Kelly. Yes I know Bernard looked terrible against Calzaghe but Joe's style was all wrong for Bernard. Remember it wasn't all that long ago that Hopkins looked pretty good beating Tarver and Winky Wright. Is Hopkins old and shot ? We'll find out October 18th. What if he isn't ? Kelly has never fought anyone like Bernard. He'll be shown things in that ring he's never seen before. Give Hopkins this, he knows every trick in the book. If B'Hop is on his game this could be a very difficult fight for Kelly. Bernard has a great chin and he surely knows what to do when he is hurt. I see him setting a lot of traps for Kelly. He'll try to let Pavlik's aggressive style work against him. I look for Bernard to try and use his jab to break up Pavlik's rhythm. I also see Hopkins trying to counter Pavlik's big right with left hooks to the head and body. To me the biggest question is...How long will Hopkins be able to go at a fast pace before he starts wearing down ? Kelly will be putting on constant pressure. If Hopkins can't hurt Kelly and slow him down, the late rounds may betray him.
I really don't think this will be your standard boring Hopkins fight. Pavlik will set a pace that Bernard must try to keep up with. I foresee a lot of action in the first seven or eight rounds with both men having their moments. Going into the later rounds I see Kelly getting stronger and Bernard winding down. At that point I see Pavlik pulling away on the cards. I doubt that Hopkins will be stopped. I do see Pavlik winning a indisputable decision in a much tougher and more competitive fight then most people anticipate.
Ruiz getting another WBA title shot
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (July 3, 2008) – The World Boxing Association ruled today at its Directory Meeting that WBA heavyweight champion Ruslan Chagaev will be considered “champion in recess” due to an injury and that he has until June 26, 2009 to fight for the title.
Negotiations have started between representatives of the WBA’s top two rated heavyweights, ex-WBA champion Nikolai Valuev and former two-time WBA title-holder John “The Quietman” Ruiz (43-7-1, 29 KOs), respectively, to fight for the WBA “regular” heavyweight championship belt. The Valuev-Ruiz will be obliged to fight Chagaev by June 26, 2009.
“We’re happy to get an opportunity to fight for the WBA title again,” Ruiz said from Argentina.
The Puerto Rican-American Ruiz, living in Las Vegas, is the first and only Latino heavyweight champion of the world. He has fought in 10 world championship fights, defeating three world heavyweight champions -- Evander Holyfield, Hasim Rahman and Tony Tucker – in addition to beating top contenders such as Andrew Golota, Fres Oquendo, Kirk Johnson and Jameel McCline during his 15-year pro career.
ROBERT "THE GHOST" GUERRERO
VACATES FEATHERWEIGHT TITLE
MOVES UP TO JR. LIGHTWEIGHTBay Area Ca. June 23, 2008
Two-time world champion, Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero (22-1-1, 15 KO's) has made the decision to vacate his IBF Featherweight title and move up to Jr. Lightweight. The decision came about as Guerrero, who stands at 5'8 ½, struggled to make weight in his last two championship bouts.
Since he was eighteen years old, Guerrero has been fighting in the Featherweight (126 lbs) division. Now twenty five, "The Ghost" feels he'll be physically more powerful at Jr. Lightweight (130 lbs) as he stated, "It's been my childhood dream to become a world champion and I've accomplished that goal at Featherweight. I'm truly appreciative to the IBF for giving me the opportunity to fight for their title. I've been at this weight since the amateurs. I've come to realize that I can no longer make Featherweight and feel strong. I'm older now, my body has matured, so its time for me to move up in weight. The extra four pounds will only make me stronger. At Jr. Lightweight I believe I'll be more effective."
Guerrero won his first world title on November 9, 2006 when he stopped Eric Aiken at the Staples Center due to a vicious body attack. Aiken could no longer continue after the eighth round, giving The Ghost a TKO vicory.
On February 23, 2007, "The Ghost" became two-time world champion when he traveled overseas and defeated home town hero, Spend Abazi, via ninth round TKO. Robert was put in the difficult situation to cross continents, when Orlando Salido, who out pointed him on November 4, 2006, tested positive with the powerful steroid nandrolone. Salido was stripped of the title giving Guerrero the opportunity to regain his championship belt. The bout was later ruled a no decision.
In his first title defense Guerrero knocked out Martin Honorio in the first 56 seconds of the opening round. The fight took place at the Desert Diamond Casino in Tucson AZ, on November 3, 2007.
February 29, 2008 at the Tachi Palace Casino in Lemoore CA, Robert knocked out Jason Litzau in the eighth round. A perfectly timed uppercut sent Litzu to the canvas, ending the contest at the 2:25 mark, as Guerrero defended his title for the second time.
"My goal now is to become a world champion at the Jr. Lightweight and Lightweight divisions." said Guerrero, "I want to challenge all the big names, guys like Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez. I feel confident in my ability to accomplish my new goals."
Joe Calzaghe - Roy Jones Jr. : An Early Prefight View .... by Jim Amato
Although it is not etched in stone, it is beginning to look like the proposed Joe Calzaghe - Roy Jones Jr. bout will be made. The projected date is in November. The ramifications of this fight could have an immense impact on the current state of the sport. Will Roy win and reclaim his mantle of greatness? Will a Calzalghe win seal a much desired match between Joe and Kelly Pavlik in 2009? Will Calzaghe, upon a win over Jones retire as he has hinted?
The fight itself can be viewed in several ways. Calzaghe is looking to cash in on his relatively new universal fame. Jones appears to be the perfect opponent. Roy may be living off his past greatness but he is still a high profile boxing celebrity. As they say, he puts asses in the seats and he rings up large pay per view audiences. To Joe this is a win, win situation. For Jones this is one last shot at the brass ring. One last attempt to retrieve former glory. This title shot is not a gift to a once great but now washed up former champion. This is not Kostya Tszyu and Julio Cesar Chavez. Roy may not be what he once was but he has earned this shot with three straight wins over decent competition. This fight is no joke!
Who will win? To me a prime Roy Jones would have taken the measure of the best Joe Calzaghe. Today it may be a different story. What I feel will be Roy's downfall is his tendency to spend way to much time languishing on the ropes. This would be tactical suicide against Calzaghe. The problem is Roy may not be able to do anything about it. He can no longer move around the ring as he did in the days of old. I've noticed Calzaghe has two speeds. When he lets his hands go in flashing flurries, he keeps his opponent on the defensive. The trouble is he generates little power on those punches. In fact he has less power then Aunt Jemima flipping flapjacks. When Joe does try to set down on his punches, his hand speed diminishes quite noticeably. His power increases but not to a great extent. He is surely no Bob Foster. Jones is no Jake LaMotta when it comes to whiskers but I feel he can take Calzaghe's best.
In the end I look for Calzaghe to just outwork Roy. He does need to be wary of Roy's counter left hook off the ropes. Jones can give Joe a lot of problems with that punch. I think Joe wins a decision with a few points to spare. Maybe a late round stoppage. I just hope as a fan it is a better fight to watch then the Calzaghe - Hopkins slap and grab contest.
“MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!”
PAUL WILLIAMS RECLAIMS HIS WBO WORLD TITLE BELT AND PUTS EXCLAMATION POINT ON REPUTATION IN REMATCH WITH CARLOS QUINTANA LAST SATURDAY
Los Angeles, CA (June 13, 2008) – Up until the night of his 33rd professional fight last July, undefeated southpaw Paul Williams had to prove himself worthy of the declaration bestowed upon him as the Best Welterweight in the world and the most feared boxer on the planet.
When he pounded out an impressive, unanimous decision win over, arguably, the then most avoided World Champion -- Antonio Margarito -- to capture the WBO World Welterweight Championship, the native of Aiken, SC, known as “The Punisher” solidified those claims.
However, in his first title defense back in February, the heavily favored Williams and his reputation took a major hit when he turned in a lackluster performance in losing his title – via unanimous decision – to the once beaten and underrated Carlos Quintana.
When Williams stepped into the ring at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT on Saturday night, June 7 for his rematch with Quintana on “SHOWTIME Championship Boxing,” he answered the one main question – can he beat the crafty Puerto Rican and prove that their first encounter was an off-night and he indeed is one of the best Welterweights in the World - yes he can and did in sensational style! The Punisher is back and again the “Most Feared Fighter in Boxing” today.
Williams joins some elite company being one of the few World Champions to lose his first bout in a championship defense and to regain the title in an immediate rematch from the man that took the title. At 27-0, the great Sugar Ray Leonard lost his WBC Welterweight Title to Roberto Duran in Montreal via a 15-round unanimous decision.
In his next immediate bout, Leonard reclaimed his title via 8th round TKO when Duran quit in the infamous “No Mas” bout in New Orleans. Losing to Duran propelled Leonard to greatness in and out of the ring. “Sugar” went on to become one of the most popular fighters of our time.
“I definitely see parallels between the two,” stated Williams’ promoter Dan Goossen. Sometimes losing is winning in the long run. The great ones learn that they don’t like to lose and I believe that’s why Paul came out with his mind-set that NOTHING was going to prevent him from getting his belt back.”
Now Williams is looking to control the Welterweight division and willing to bring the fans the biggest and riskiest fights out there; take note…Oscar de la Hoya, Shane Mosely, and Miguel Cotto, make room for Paul “The Punisher” Williams.
