MMA-URLS

Boxing has the WBA, WBO, IBF and the WBC. Is that the equivalent to UFC, Pride, Elite XC, and Strikeforce? Huge MMA fan here and I'm hoping it never runs into the same problems as boxing. With one league (UFC) I think they can avoid many of the pitfalls boxing had run into. submitted by thatguy52 [link] [4 comments]

Posted in: ufc, boxing, league, mma fan, pitfalls boxing

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One wonder if Gary and Jared Shaw actually believe they're fooling the public. Last night at the Lucky Star Casino in Concho, Oklahoma, Kevin 'Kimbo Slice' Ferguson continued his sojourn into the world of boxing as he faced and defeated Jesse Porter in the first round of their scheduled four-round bout (it should be noted there is some dispute as to whether Slice's opponent was Porter or Richard Dawson, which is another hilariously sad angle to Slice's boxing foray). If Slice keeps this up, he'll soon replace Butterbean as the 'King of the Four Rounders', which is, well, signifying of nothing even approximating an accolade. If Slice wishes to or needs to feed his family this way, one can think of worse ways to do so (although one can think of better ways, too). Slice's participation in this charade is regrettable and one wonders how much he's financially taking home after his handlers get their cut, but he's hardly a villain. The question is how long it will be before Slice crosses the tipping point. He's not demonstrably getting any better and he presumably will need double digit wins to even begin tantalizing someone with a scintilla of a name to face him in what will surely be unregulated territory. Until then, I suppose they'll keep feeding Slice pre-diabetic gas station attendants to render unconscious.

Posted in: way, boxing, slice, richard dawson, jesse porter

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Last weekend's pay-per-view boxing mega-event between Miguel Cotto and Floyd Mayweather looks to have done some serious business for HBO. The event, which also featured a "big name bout" between Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and "Sugar" Shane Mosley, featured two of the sport's top three draws facing off. Here's the info from the HBO press release: The 1.5 million buy total generated $94 million in pay-per-view revenue. The performance of Mayweather-Cotto ranks as the second highest grossing non-heavyweight pay-per-view event in boxing history. No. 1 all-time is Mayweather's record-setting showdown with Oscar de la Hoya ($137 million) in 2007. Notes after the jump... I know someone is going to say "yeah, boxing can only do 3-4 big PPV's a year." So let me address that by saying, yes, you're right. Mayweather, Cotto and Manny Pacquiao are the only guys who can really draw in huge numbers on PPV right now. We're going to find out soon what Canelo can do in his next fight as he'll be headlining a PPV, likely against James Kirkland. The good thing is, boxing promoters got smart to the fact that they need to put only stuff that is huge or which has no better distribution on PPV. As long as they're doing big numbers on the few PPVs they run and doing good numbers on HBO/Showtime, things will keep rolling along without problem. As an aside, Hopkins vs. Dawson II did well over 1.5 million viewers on HBO also. Floyd gets a big cut of the PPV money and Cotto gets a little bit as well. Mayweather will probably bank close to $50 million when all is said and done.

Posted in: mayweather, ppv, hbo, boxing, cotto

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submitted by creativesquid [link] [6 comments]

Posted in: boxing, coach, richard, bag, bareknuckle

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Mixed marital arts (MMA) and boxing are two different sports, with decidedly different demographics and pricing dynamics. When I started covering boxing for various publications in 1992, eventually working my way into regular contributor gigs at ESPN, including working as their round-by-round scorer for a few fights, the flux and change of both business models alarmed me. In a word, MMA started to resemble what boxing used to be in terms of volume and quality of matches-per-dollar, while the Sweet Science's rising issues, particularly with how pay-per-view (PPV) was utilized, became a serious red flag. Saturday night was a further reminder of that. After catching the excellent UFC on Fox 3 card that took place last night (Sat., May 5, 2012) in New Jersey, I filed my post-fight story with this site, and switched over to the Floyd Mayweather vs. Miguel Cotto bout on HBO PPV. I no longer cover boxing professionally, despite a love for the game stretching back to the late 70s, but check in periodically to monitor noteworthy events and bouts. After seeing the $69.95 price tag to order the HD version of the fight, I was reminded of how I fell out of love with the game and found MMA a far superior replacement. That $69.95 price tag was a $10 bump from the previous maximum price, at least of any HD boxing match I've ordered, and frankly, was ridiculous. Mayweather vs. Cotto was a surprisingly decent fight, which, in assessing Mayweather's recent "competition," only implies that it was briefly competitive in spots and you got to see him have a taxing moment or two en route to winning a unanimous decision sweep on the scorecards. Fortunately, I've been around this block a time or two (I ordered every PPV from 2000-2007 that boxing offered, including the grim procession of John Ruiz events), and had numerous friends over to share in the costs. With boxing's surging reliance on PPV to market its two megastars -- Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao -- and the plummeting fight quality and quantity of its once-venerable cable franchise, HBO, the boxing fan is increasingly faced with a dilution of quality offerings on cable TV, and is more often than not faced with the privilege of buying the chance to see Mayweather and Pacquiao perform against overwhelmed opponents, instead of seeing them in fights where the odds are anywhere close to 3-1 or less. We need not go into the lengthy resume of Mayweather's previous PPV "fights" of late, which have largely consisted of dreadful affairs where the only real threat that develops is an argument with Larry Merchant in the post-bout interview. Contrast that to Saturday night, where you got the following from the UFC on basic cable: A title elimination bout between two elite lightweights (Nate Diaz vs. Jim Miller), two middleweight contenders in a bout with elite contender implications (Alan Belcher vs. Rousimar Palhares), two top-five welters (Johny Hendricks vs. Josh Koscheck) and a heavyweight brawl in Lavar Johnsonvs. Pat Barry. What's equally important is that the volume of the MMA card not only far outweighed the pricey boxing PPV, but it delivered excitement, thereby securing the loyalty of existing and potential future converts. The Mayweather co-main consisted of the talented Saul Alvarez battering the aged Shane Mosley for 12 rounds, along with similar dubious match-ups on the undercard, including Jessie Vargas' ho-hum decision win over Steve Forbes, a competitive fossil foisted up precisely for the purposes of giving guys like Vargas a win over a "name" opponent on a big stage. Odds-wise, the lines on a boxing undercard are rarely competitive, and their MMA equivalents would be Dana White foisting up a King of the Cage journeyman who once fought in the UFC, and putting him on a PPV card and telling you it was a fight you should buy. Mayweather and Pacquiao continue to do the dance on why they want to fight each other but have specific reasons not to, while feasting on one another's leftovers, and/or continuing to offer up empty new plotlines. Pacquiao's latest iteration of a PPV "fight" is the willing but brutally overmatched Timothy Bradley, an undersized type with no punch whatsoever whose sole credentials for their June showdown is that it will be an overpriced ass-kicking, with Bradley supplying 100-percent of the ass. It's like a Ponzi scheme that ends only when people stop get suckered into it. Meanwhile, guys like Diaz, ABelcher, and the rest of MMA's ever-matched-tough cadre of competitors continue to have relevant fights with real implications and a competitive tone. The fact that Saturday night showcased MMA's superior volume on basic cable compared to the overpriced scam of watching Mayweather perform against Someone Not Named Pacquiao only reinforced why MMA is growing and boxing continues to offer a questionable product for egregiously overpriced action. Jason Probst can be reached at Jason@jasonprobst.com or at twitter.com/jasonprobst.

Posted in: fight, mma, mayweather, ppv, boxing

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submitted by Mathematik [link] [1 comment]

Posted in: boxing, tv, people, people need, mathematik

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MMA Fighting has live round-by-round results for the junior middleweight, super welterweight bout between Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Miguel Cotto. The bout takes place at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 5, 2012. Also on this card is Mexican superstar Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez and 'Sugar' Shane Mosley. UFC on Fox 3 isn't the only Saturday night fight of note. MMA's combat sports relative in boxing will stage a super welterweight bout with boxing's king of pay-per-view in Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and WBA super welterweight (154lbs) champion Miguel Cotto. Ahead of his rematch with Amir Khan in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 19th, MMA Fighting (via SB Nation) visited Lamont Peterson's Head Bangers Gym in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. We asked the WBA and IBF light welterweight champion who he believes would prevail in boxing's huge bout this weekend. We also asked Peterson's mentor and head trainer Barry Hunter for his prediction as well. Editor's note: MMA Fighting will live blog the Mayweather vs. Cotto fight card on Saturday evening beginning with the featured bout (Jesse Vargas vs. Steve Forbes) all the way through the co-main (Saul Alvarez vs. Shane Mosley) and main event.

Posted in: mayweather, bout, vs, boxing, welterweight

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submitted by iluvurkidz [link] [comment]

Posted in: mma, vs, boxing, iluvurkidz link, iluvurkidz

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Who said professional boxing and mixed martial arts (MMA) can't co-exist? Dana White seems to think boxing and his MMA juggernaut, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), help each other out when they both have events on the same night. On Sept. 17, 2011, the promotion presented UFC Fight Night: "Battle in the Bayou -- Shields vs. Ellenberger," the same night that pay-per-view (PPV) giant Floyd Mayweather competed last against Victor Ortiz. In 2009, the UFC went "head-to-head" against "Money" yet again as he took on Juan Manuel Marquez the same night UFC 103 went down in Dallas Texas, which featured a main event between Vitor Belfort and Rich Franklin. On November 12, 2011, the UFC and Fox kicked of its partnership as the pair presented a monumental Heavyweight clash between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos at UFC on Fox 1. Yet again, the sport of boxing was having a pretty big fight going on the same night with Manny Pacquiao taking on Juan Manuel Marquez for a third time. This weekend (May 5, 2012), the UFC will stage UFC on Fox 3 from East Rutherford, N.J., while Mayweather takes on perhaps his toughest challenge to date in Puerto Rico's sensation, Miguel Cotto, from the fight capitol of the world, Las Vegas, Nevada, at the MGM Grand garden Arena later the same night. But is it a problem for Zuffa/UFC officials to be worried about? Will this weekend's stellar boxing match between Mayweather vs. Cotto affect the UFC numbers as it presents its third foray into national television? UFC's head honcho, Dana White -- an avid boxing fan who has had his issues with "Money" in the past -- doesn't seem to think so. In fact, speaking at the UFC on Fox 3 pre-fight press conference today (May 3, 2012), White believes they help each other out. Check it out: "I think we both benefit from it and we've seen it in the numbers in the past. You know, everybody works hard all week, Monday through Friday and you have two days off. You have Friday night and you got Saturday night. You gotta do stuff with your kids, you gotta take your girl out, whatever your deal is, you have stuff to do. We compete with that every weekend. And I think on a night when you can watch the free fights on Fox and you can tune into the Mayweather fight after, more guys are going to stay home because there is a lot more going on that night. I know for a fact, every time we do these Fox cards, I have the fight in my room in the back and I go right back and I will Saturday, too. We will do these fights and then I'll go back and watch the Mayweather-Cotto fight right after, so. If you're a fight fan, it makes all the sense in the world to stay home on Saturday night." On a Cinco de Mayo that is a fight fans dream, the good news is that people will not have to worry about choosing one over the other. UFC on Fox 3, which is headlined by Nate Diaz vs. Jim Miller, is set to kick off at 8 p.m. ET on free Fox television, which will be way before "Money" steps into to the ring to battle "Junito" on PPV. The boxing event will also feature an intriguing bout between surging Mexican sensation Saul "Canelo" Alvarez taking on boxing legend "Sugar" Shane Mosley in the co-main event of the evening. You staying home? For what it's worth, Dana and Floyd seem to have squashed any beef that may have existed between the two. For now, anyway.

Posted in: ufc, fight, night, fox, boxing

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The Sports Business Journal reports on Golden Boy’s haul of blue chip sponsors for this Saturday’s Mayweather-Cotto fight.  Corona, not Tecate, will have the center of the ring as the beer sponsor recently signed with Golden Boy. In addition to the new beer sponsor, “AT&T, DeWalt, O’Reilly Auto Parts, History Channel and the Mexican state of Puebla the CEO of Golden Boy Promotions (Richard Schaefer) estimates the fight will bring in about $2 million in sponsor rights fees and a promotional value of at least $8.5 million,” according to the SBJ. Among the various promotions, the sponsorship activation includes DeWalt promotions in Home Depots, O’Reilly promotions at its stores as well as $1.5 million in radio ad buys, AT&T advertising its GoPhone and NCM Fathom advertising showing of the fight in theatres. The sponsor fees and promo values are the most ever for Golden Boy as it overshadows its previous top fight ever of Oscar de la Hoya vs. Mayweather.  Coincidentally, that fight occurred the first weekend of May as well.  In addition, the fight had the biggest PPV buys ever with 2.4 million.  This Saturday will likely not beat that record. The ring layout for this Saturday’s fight. Payout Perspective: If the UFC wanted blue chip sponsors, maybe it should look to Golden Boy to find them.  We are kidding of course.  If your name is not Mayweather or Pacquiao, boxing would not see this amount of sponsorship money and promotional value. While we have debated whether boxing is dead, big name fights in boxing are still in the marketing budget for blue chip sponsors. Despite the fact that the Mayweather fight is secondary to the hype surrounding the fight, we still see sponsors willing to spend big money to be a part of it.  The activation involved is a sign that projections for buys in this fight should be robust.  It also shows that no matter how much people hate Mayweather, he is still the top draw in boxing (dare I say the Brock Lesnar of boxing). With Corona taking the center of the ring, it means no $25 rebates for the PPV as Tecate has done in the past.  While Corona spends a lot on media buys but does not do a lot of activation surrounding events as Tecate has for promoting its fights.

Posted in: fight, boxing, sponsor, boy, chip sponsors

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The Sports Business Journal reports that Fox Sports and boxing promoter Golden Boy Promotions have entered into a multiyear, six figure agreement.  The deal will give Fox Sports live events on Fox Deportes and Fuel TV. At least one live event each month will be shown on the Fox networks although no plans are in the offing for a boxing event on the major Fox channel.  According to the SBJ, the deal is significant as Fox paid a six-figure rights fee to Golden Boy for the events.  The rights fee is a sign that boxing is gaining steam once again as rights fees for boxing on basic cable were nonexistent in recent memory. The deal is for 15 months with options to extend it multiple years. Payout Perspective: The move reflects the commitment Fox has to combat sports for its smaller cable channels.  It shows its belief in broadcasting live sports content as a way to attract its target demos of mainly younger males. Is boxing on its way back?  Just a while back we talked about the problems with the sport and whether it could make a comeback.  So far, we’ve seen NBC Sports Network with a quarterly show, the talk of Spike TV having boxing and now the Fox deal.  Certainly, the Fox deal is important due to the type of exposure it can receive over the span of the Fox networks.  If it does do well, we could see its return on Fox.  Its a nice hedge on the part of Fox to see if audiences will gravitate to boxing again.  It is interesting that Fox did pay a rights fee to Golden Boy.  One would think that Fox would have the bargaining leverage in the negotiations.

Posted in: fox, sport, boxing, event, deal

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Fox is expanding their commitment to combat sports beyond the UFC, with Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions announcing a new deal with Fox. In addition to shows on Fox Sports and Fox Sports Desportes, it looks like Fuel will air one live boxing show each month. Here's a tweet from Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated: @ChrisMannixSIChris Mannix Fox Sports is partnering with @GoldenBoyBoxing on a multi-year. Fuel TV will carry one live event each month. Apr 23 via web Favorite Retweet Reply This looks similar to the NBC Sports deal with Main Events that has produced some very nice mid-level (above ESPN 2's Friday Night fights and ShoBox, below HBO/Showtime Championship Boxing) cards. It's entirely possible that this is also a move to get a big boxing show on Fox. Golden Boy promotes Floyd Mayweather fights since Floyd's "Mayweather Productions" isn't actually a "promoter" but it's highly unlikely that something on the level of Mayweather could be put on Fox. A big name Golden Boy fighter like Saul "Canelo" Alvarez isn't quite ready to draw big PPV numbers on his own yet, so I wouldn't put it past Fox and Golden Boy to work out a deal to put someone like Canelo on the flagship network occasionally. But that's all speculation on my part. What I think we can see is that Boxing is far from dead with HBO Championship Boxing, Boxing After Dark, Showtime Championship Boxing, ShoBox, Friday Night Fights, Main Event on NBC Sports, talk of a new show on Spike and now Fuel picking up events. It will be interesting to get more details on the kind of budget the Fuel show will work with and what level of fighters Golden Boy puts on the cards. A full list of fighters Golden Boy promotes can be read on their website.

Posted in: fox, sport, boxing, boy, fuel

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Amir Khan is training for his rematch with Lamont Peterson on May 19, a bid to win back the light welterweight title Khan lost in their spectacular first fight. While taking a break from his training, Khan spoke to the good people at Fight Hub TV and answered a few questions about mixed martial arts' growth in the UK as well as gave his opinion on a potential UFC bout between Georges St. Pierre and Nick Diaz. The video Quotes after the jump... On MMA's growth in the U.K.: We got Bisping and Dan Hardy and them guys. I've met Bisping a few times and Dan Hardy, another great fighter. You know what? MMA's growing, UFC's growing in the U.K. and I think, give it a couple of more years it'll be a lot more...it'll be just like boxing is. England's such a small place and we have so many good fighters from there. So, it's gonna be..it's getting better and better like boxing. Boxing's growing well over there and I think MMA's gonna grow like boxing. On GSP vs. Diaz: Nick Diaz is strong and it's gonna be a tough fight for GSP. I've seen GSP train over here and he looks strong. But to be honest, in my eyes, I just don't think there's anyone out there to beat GSP. I mean, you can put anyone in front of him and he'll destroy them."

Posted in: fight, mma, gsp, boxing, uk

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submitted by soluppercut4 [link] [comment]

Posted in: ufc, boxing, “ ufc, soluppercut, boxing ”

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Similar to when the UFC rolled out their first Fox show against the boxing pay-per-view headlined by Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, UFC on Fox 3 will air the same night (May 5) as Floyd Mayweather vs. Miguel Cotto. With the initial time airing on Fox against boxing receiving such good ratings, it's not exactly a surprise that they'd give it another go. Lorenzo Fertitta addressed the thinking recently (via MMA Fighting): "That's kind of FOX's deal," he recently said. "They do all the research; they're really smart guys. They like that fact that we're going to go on at the same night, but the window is different. Meaning, we'll be done before Floyd fights Cotto. And the last time that that happened was when Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez fought on the same night as Pacquaio and we peaked at over 9.9 or whatever million viewers (ed. note: the ratings actually peaked at 8.8 million viewers, a North American MMA record). The theory is that people are home. It's a great fight night; you're going to watch Pacquiao or whatever; you can turn on FOX, you can watch our fight; you'll have a great night. "The reality is, not to piss any boxing guys off, but nobody watches those undercards anyway at the end of the day. So you can watch the UFC and switch over when it's done. But we do suffer from a press standpoint. He'll (Mayweather) hog the press." There is a change taking place with boxing pay-per-view undercards though. There is a lot more emphasis on trying to make them compelling to the viewer. It was on full display with Top Rank's attempt to load the card for Cotto against Antonio Margarito up with great fights. It's a work in progress, but one of the things boxing is doing right is trying to put more emphasis on the undercards and getting fans to care. Showtime has even taken to airing all the undercard fights for their major cards live on Showtime Extreme (similar to what they do with Strikeforce now). And it's important to note that, aside from Cotto and Mayweather being bigger names, the featured undercard bout between the once great (and now faded) Shane Mosley and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez features two guys with far more starpower than anyone anywhere on the UFC on Fox 3 card (and don't feed me that Koscheck is in the same league as either guy). Don't get me wrong, I don't think that it's boxing that will contribute to a dropoff in ratings (if there is one) for the UFC's Fox effort. But there really is a big difference between a single fight broadcast for the first Fox airing which featured a heavyweight title fight and a four fight broadcast featuring a real lack of "big name" fighters and title fights. I'm just saying that one thing the UFC and Fox should avoid doing is treating any situation as static and predictable. Boxing has a lot of flaws, but they're trying to address some of them and the inexcusably weak PPV undercard is one of the first to go. Lorenzo also said something very interesting things about their own research into the crossover between boxing and MMA fans: "I think that they are pretty similar," he said. "I think if you like boxing, for the most part, you like mixed martial arts. I think that there is a bit of an age difference in the demographic, I think boxing generally skews older, but my personal belief, I think HBO always comes out and says, 'Oh, we did research. There's no correlation.' Really? That's interesting. When we have DirecTV and In Demand do research, they see a lot of correlation between who buys boxing and who buys the UFC. There's definitely a correlation there." The problem with the two different kinds of research is HBO is looking more at who watches boxing and MMA while DirecTV and IN Demand are looking at who purchases PPV events for boxing and MMA. Given that boxing promoters seem to have learned their lesson after a few year period in the mid-'00s where they tried to put out a lot of lower quality PPV cards and now only "event fights" or fights that otherwise aren't being broadcast make it to pay-per-view you see a different crowd than the hardcore boxing fan purchasing boxing PPVs. The majority of major boxing PPVs now feature Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather and those are more major sports events than mere boxing matches. So you have a lot of the same households purchasing PPVs from In Demand and DirecTV that purchase the big UFC events. I do think the HBO research is probably more spot on about the lack of major crossover between the harder core audiences of each sport, but the distributor research shows that generally the same people like special boxing events that like special MMA events. And those same people probably all watch the Super Bowl even if they don't watch every NFL regular season weekend.

Posted in: ufc, fight, fox, boxing, research

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FOX will televise its third UFC card in less than a year on May 5, and for a second time they'll compete for headlines with one of boxing's biggest matches of the year. UFC on FOX 3, headlined by Jim Miller vs. Nate Diaz, takes place on the same night as Floyd Mayweather vs. Miguel Cotto on pay-per-view. The UFC faced a similar scenario when UFC on FOX 1 aired on the same night as Manny Pacquaio vs. Juan Manuel Marquez last November. Much like last November, the UFC event will be over before the boxing main events kicks off, and according to UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta, FOX doesn't mind sharing national spotlight with boxing's best. "That's kind of FOX's deal," he recently said. "They do all the research; they're really smart guys. They like that fact that we're going to go on at the same night, but the window is different. Meaning, we'll be done before Floyd fights Cotto. And the last time that that happened was when Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez fought on the same night as Pacquaio and we peaked at over 9.9 or whatever million viewers (ed. note: the ratings actually peaked at 8.8 million viewers, a North American MMA record). The theory is that people are home. It's a great fight night; you're going to watch Pacquiao or whatever; you can turn on FOX, you can watch our fight; you'll have a great night. "The reality is, not to piss any boxing guys off, but nobody watches those undercards anyway at the end of the day. So you can watch the UFC and switch over when it's done. But we do suffer from a press standpoint. He'll (Mayweather) hog the press." Ironically, it appears as though boxing is starting to learn from its UFC counterparts, because familiar names like Shane Mosley, Canelo Alvarez and Carlos Quintana have been added to the Mayweather-Cotto undercard. Still, from a promotional standpoint, all the focus has been on the Mayweather-Cotto tilt. Boxing purists have long argued that there is no connection between MMA and boxing fans, however, Fertitta, a long-time boxing fan himself, thinks otherwise. "I think that they are pretty similar," he said. "I think if you like boxing, for the most part, you like mixed martial arts. I think that there is a bit of an age difference in the demographic, I think boxing generally skews older, but my personal belief, I think HBO always comes out and says, 'Oh, we did research. There's no correlation.' Really? That's interesting. When we have DirecTV and In Demand do research, they see a lot of correlation between who buys boxing and who buys the UFC. There's definitely a correlation there." And that may be precisely why the UFC won't look to compete against Mayweather or Pacquiao on pay-per-view anytime soon, as they did three years ago when they aired UFC 103 on PPV on the same night as Mayweather vs. Marquez. "Now, if you would ask me, I would never go head-to-head (with Mayweather or Pacquiao) in a pay-per-view. We tried that once and we got killed. But it's on free TV and people are already home." Major boxing matches only garner national attention a few times a years when either Mayweather or Pacquaio fight. Of course, the fight everyone wants to see is Mayweather vs. Pacquaio, but Fertitta thinks the promoters involved are doing everything they can to not deliver that mega-fight for the fans. "It's one of those things where they're fighting one or two times a year and people do care at the end of the day because they're all looking forward and hoping at one point they actually fight each other. Unfortunately for that sport, from a business standpoint based on the way it's structured, it makes more sense for guys like Mayweather and Mayweather Promotions and Bob Arum to keep milking the public over and over again because once they fight it's over, right? Unless they keep doing rematches. I mean, how many times are they going to resell Cotto and Mosley and all these guys? I think I bought that pay-per-view like three or four times, (and) it wasn't that good of a fight. Just get on with it. Make the fight. C'mon." So while annual pay-per-view estimates suggest the UFC isn’t playing second fiddle to boxing anymore, on May 5, they’ll be content serving as the free appetizer to Mayweather's latest high-profile sparring match. Consider it one of the rare times the perpetual rivals compliment each other.

Posted in: ufc, fight, mayweather, time, boxing

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Freddie Roach may be boxing's best known current trainer, currently working the chief second for men like Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan, but he has also worked closely with several mixed martial artists over the past few years. Freddie was on "Inside MMA" on Monday to discuss his choices for the top five boxers in MMA. Not surprisingly, four of the five men are guys he has personal experience working with in his gym, but it's still interesting to see who he chose. 5. K.J. Noons4. Nick Diaz3. B.J. Penn2. Georges St. Pierre1. Anderson Silva Noons is someone who gets brought up a lot as a guy with "great boxing" because he has an 11-2 pro boxing career. Of course, that record comes against mostly bad fighter with only three wins against fighters who won more than half of their bouts (records: 1-0, 4-2 and 6-4). In his one real attempt to face a step up in level of competition, Noons lost a decision to then 11-1 James Countryman. Countryman was a small level prospect while Noons was never particularly highly thought of as a boxing prospect (don't let anyone tell you differently). Of course, Countryman doesn't even have another officially recognized fight on his record since the Noons bout. Diaz, Penn and Silva are all deserving of their place on the list if we're talking about good boxing skills translated to MMA but I still have questions about GSP. It's not that GSP's boxing is bad, but for all the time spent training with Roach and focusing on his training he seems to show little more than a strong jab. I'm sure he has the tools in his toolbox but he's not really utilizing them in his fights. That predictability (along with an eye poke) led to Jake Shields, with his low-level striking, hanging with GSP on the feet in their bout. Personally, I'd probably add Junior dos Santos and Frankie Edgar to the list and remove GSP and Noons. Any talk of dos Santos having the skills to be a world champion boxer is nonsense, but he uses good technique to generate power and utilizes decent combination punching for a heavyweight mixed martial artist. As for Edgar, he uses very tight punching that is basically as good as anyone in the game at this point.

Posted in: mma, gsp, boxing, record, noon

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Boxing mega-promoter Bob Arum, the man who controls Manny Pacquiao's career spoke to Fight Hub TV about the UFC's deal with Fox TV and the impact of that deal on the UFC's pay-per-view sales. On boxing vs the UFC: "There is no real competition between boxing and the UFC. There is a very small cross-over (of fans who buy both boxing and UFC PPVs): 8%."This is very interesting to me because the only other time I've heard a major boxing figure cite market research on the cross-over between UFC and boxing fans it was an HBO executive in 2008 saying there was a 5% cross-over. Has there been a 3% increase? If so my guess is that it's been UFC fans crossing over and trying out boxing, given the flurry of Pacquiao and Mayweather bouts that have caught on with MMA fans in the past 18 months. On the UFC's business model: "It's a totally different game plan from what we (boxing) have. Going on Fox TV is OK but I don't know if it helps their PPV numbers. It's a mixed bag. Their numbers have been very very bad on PPV (since the Fox deal) because people say we can get the same thing for nothing why should we pay?"Another very interesting remark from Arum. I think he's misreading the numbers because the UFC is actually up a little bit on PPV since their debut on Fox in November. The real drop was in late 2010 and 2011 before the Fox deal began. They haven't had a really big UFC PPV (with the exception of UFC 141) since the Fox deal started but the numbers have generally been up. He adds an important caveat: "You can't make value judgments with the very small window that they've had. Let's see how it works out over a year. I thought (the Fox deal) was very very good but now I'm having some second thoughts. Their numbers really are not improving on PPV, indeed they're getting worse. These shows are not distinguishing themselves from the Fox shows. It's all like one same thing, it's UFC."Now he's hitting on something very important, but it's not news to anyone who's been following the UFC's business closely. The UFC has a very limited number of big stars that stand out from the crowd and with Brock Lesnar retired and Georges St. Pierre out for at least 18 months with injuries the UFC is hoping that Jon Jones, Junior dos Santos and Alistair Overeem can break out and become stars.

Posted in: ufc, fox, boxing, fox deal, number

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Could a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter ever make it as a professional boxer? It's a question that has been bandied about for years, as the two combat sports are forever being compared to each other. Not only are the sports, in general, constantly being sized up next to each other, but the athletes themselves receive the same scrutiny. There's always a new conversation or report adding fuel to the fire. One week, it may be a feud between Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White and the aging (and quickly becoming irrelevant) boxing promoter Bob Arum. The next week, it may be "Rampage" Quinton Jackson or Nick Diaz threatening to leave the sport of MMA to pursue boxing full time. Tonight (March 26, 2012), top boxing trainer Freddie Roach appeared on HDNet's "Inside MMA" to discuss who he believes are some of the top boxers who compete in MMA today. Check out his top five, after the jump: It should be noted that Roach may be approaching the whole conversation from a place of bias. Four of the five fighters he mentioned are guys who have come to train with him at some point or another in their careers. That aside, Roach is one of the top trainers in all of boxing, working with his fair share of MMA fighters who are trying to perfect their respective stand up games. The following is Roach's top five list, in reverse order (with "1" being the best, in his opinion): 5) K.J. Noons -- "K.J. is always in my gym and he's very dedicated with his work ethic. I just love his tenacity in the ring. He comes to fight and he's all about action." 4) Nick Diaz -- "Nick Diaz is one of the most exciting fighters in the world, today. He's great with his hands. He gets sidetracked a little bit, like in his last fight, but I think he'll a great comeback. I'm looking forward to facing him with "GSP" someday, 'cause there's a lot of talk about that." 3) B.J. Penn -- "You know, B.J., he's one of the best strikers I've ever faced, and that I've ever been in the ring with. It's been quite a few years ago, and I think he's close to retiring right now, but I'd call him the "James Toney of MMA," because his weight would fluctuate quite a bit. He'll fight from low weights to heavyweights. He'll fight anyone in the world. He's a good guy to be around, and he's just a hard, hard worker and a great striker." 2) Georges St. Pierre -- "'GSP's' one of the greatest guys in the world. He's a real gentleman and one of the best students I've ever had. I asked him, 'How long did you go home and practice in front of the mirror last night?' Because if I show him a move, he comes back with it the next day, and you know he practiced all night in front of the mirror. So, I love the guy. He's a good guy and a hard worker, and that's what it's all about it hard work." 1) Anderson Silva -- "I had the honor of working with Anderson Silva, when he was in our gym for about five or six days in a row. He told me, 'I'm pretty good at MMA, but I'm not too goo at boxing.' He's just a real humble guy and very talented. He is one of the best guys that really understands distance and timing. He fights off the ropes a little bit. I told him that can be a little bit dangerous sometimes and to be careful, but he'll suck you in, he'll set you up, he's one of the most intelligent fighters I've ever seen and have ever worked with." The great thing about top five lists is the controversy. And the truth is: lists are irrelevant until the respective competitors enter into the ring or cage and settle things in real life. With that said, it's fun to speculate. We know you Maniacs are students of both MMA and boxing, as a whole. Prove your knowledge by adding your own top five list (of boxers in the sport of MMA) in the comment section below. Weigh in!

Posted in: mma, guy, boxing, hell, he

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If you're a fan of mixed martial arts (MMA), Boxing or just combat sports in general, there wasn't a whole lot to complain about this past weekend (March 23-25), no matter how much individual tastes may vary. That's because there was a little bit of everything, starting (and ending) with The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) series on Friday and Sunday night. To find out what happened on "Live" season 15 as well as "Brazil," head over to our weekend results wrap-up right here. Now, let's get down to business. Bellator kept on trucking this weekend and Thiago Santos getting bounced from the Heavyweight tournament (thankfully) wasn't the big story coming out of the Laredo Energy Center. I'm talking, of course, about Lloyd Woodard's bone-crunching submission over Patricky Freire, as well as Rick Hawn's brutal finish over Ricardo Tirloni. Not to be outdone, BAMMA 9 tore up the International scene across the pond on Saturday night, where Tom Watson finished off Jack Marshman in the second round via technical knockout. ROAD FC and RUFF also did their thing on the Asian front, with our own James Goyder representing. Still not enough? Kimbo Slice continued to pad his record as a pugilist after pasting Brian Green at "Fight Night" in Missouri. But he wasn't making the Boxing headlines this morning, as Danny Garcia outlasted Erik Morales for the super lightweight title on Saturday night in Houston. After the jump, all the links you need to get caught up on (or relive) this weekend's festivities. Bellator 62: Thiago Santos misses weight, Eric Prindle wins tournament by default Results, play-by-play and live blog Recap and post-fight reactions GIF: Woodard submits Freire Video: Lloyd Woodard vs. Patricky Freire (Full fight) Video: Rick Hawn demolishes Ricardo Tirloni BAMMA 9: Results and recap Boxing: Kimbo Slice knocks out Brian Green Danny Garcia decisions Erik Morales International MMA: Road FC and RUFF results and recap That should hold you over for the time being. And don't forget we get to do it all over again this weekend with Bellator 63 from the Mohegan Sun and more Ultimate Fighter "Live" and "Brazil." Stay tuned!

Posted in: night, bellator, result, boxing, weekend

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Kimbo Slice is now 4-0 in boxing. That said, his post-MMA career isn't exactly picking up a head of steam. The Florida-based brawler beat Brian Green at a small show in Springfield, Missouri, and needed a last-second knockout to pull out the win. According to reports on the scene, Green was likely up on the scorecards as the final seconds ticked away. And according to viewers of the video, which can be seen after the jump, the final seconds are ... we'll go with "controversial." With time running out, Slice scores with a right hand and then a following left hook, at which point Green crashes down to the mat unconscious. A look up at the clock shows there were just 3.3 seconds remaining. It would be irresponsible to suggest that the late KO looked fishy, so we'll leave that for you to decide for yourself. That said, don't be surprised if you're shaking your head upon watching those last moments. For the record, Green is a mixed martial artist who weighed in at 223 pounds despite competing in MMA primarily as a middleweight. Green is 27-17 in MMA, with his most notable win coming against Nik Lentz back in 2006. The fight against Slice was his boxing debut. Slice weighed in at 245.6 for the bout.

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The boxing beat is a weekly round-up of news from around the world of boxing as well as previews of the coming weekend's action. - Manny Pacquiao returns to the ring on June 9 in a legitimately dangerous fight against Timothy Bradley. But he's now making it sound like it could be his last as he told a Filipino radio station that God told him he has "done enough" and should retire. Of course, it's worth noting that this comes at the same time that charges were filed against Manny in the Philippines for criminal tax charges that carry with them up to two years in jail, and also charges for housing a fugitive. I'd be lying if I said I thought it was mere coincidence that there was quickly an attempt to shift focus away from "Good Guy Manny" getting into legal trouble. It's worth remembering that Freddie Roach has talked about how Manny is "broke" and "goes through money like you wouldn't believe" so the idea of him stepping away now, especially with pending legal charges, is kind of crazy. - Brandon Rios and Juan Manuel Marquez will be co-headlining an April 14 pay-per-view and, should both men win, Top Rank would like them to meet in a battle of the #1 and #2 lightweights in the world in Cowboys Stadium. Rios was originally supposed to be fighting Yuriorkis Gamboa in a fight that would have been on HBO, but when Gamboa pulled out of the fight he was replaced by Richard Abril with that bout still in Vegas. That fight wasn't picked up by HBO so Top Rank will hold it on PPV with Marquez fighting Sergey Fedchenko in the co-headline fight from Mexico. Both men should roll in their fights and that would set up their showdown (target date July 14), assuming Marquez is willing to take the big risk of blowing a potential fourth fight with Manny Pacquiao. - Sergio Martinez, the consensus #3 pound-for-pound boxer in the world, and Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., one of the biggest stars in the sport despite all his shortcomings, continue to dance around the possibility of actually fighting. Now it's the WBC (Chavez holds their title) saying that a negotiation period lasting from March 19 to April 9 will take place where Martinez will be disqualified as a mandatory challenger if he doesn't take part and Chavez will be stripped as champion if it is he who fails to negotiate. Sanctioning bodies are jokes though and Scott Christ of Bad Left Hook summed it up well when he said "here is how I expect JCC Jr and the WBC are going to wiggle out of this promise. First Top Rank will probably give Martinez a terrible/insulting offer. Martinez and DiBella will reject the offer, as they should, and then the WBC will strip Martinez of his mandatory challenger status because ‘he failed to negotiate.'" I doubt it would be a particularly competitive fight anyway, so I won't lose any sleep over it not happening. Oh yeah, and Chavez (who has already failed a Nevada Drug Test and had Texas "mysteriously" forget to issue drug tests after his last fight) turned down the idea of Olympic style drug testing for the potential bout. Weekend Previews These previews aimed toward the MMA audience were provided by Scott Christ, Managing Editor of BadLeftHook.com Friday Night Fights! (ESPN2 - Friday 9 p.m. ET) Antwone Smith vs Roberto Garcia: I don't know if MMA has any of these guys, but boxing has grunters. Every time they throw a punch, they telegraph it with a "ha!" or a "hiya!" or a "fwah!" or an "ungh!" Antwone Smith is one of the absolute worst offenders. Another offense of Smith's is that it was his own ineffective, listless performance which was 100% responsible for Golden Boy being allowed to sell some people on a Canelo Alvarez vs Kermit Cintron fight in November, as Cintron was able to lazily outpoint Smith in August, a month after Cintron got whooped by Carlos Molina. Garcia is best known as the guy who lost to Antonio Margarito in Mexico between Margarito's loss to Shane Mosley and his loss to Manny Pacquiao, when Margarito had no U.S. boxing license but assumed rightly that he'd get one anyway, so why not fight in Mexico for the kicks? Tyrone Brunson vs James De La Rosa: Brunson is best-known for his bogus, annoying first round knockout streak, which stretched from 2005-08, and he beat nobody of any worth whatsoever. Then he had a six-round draw with a guy who was 12-9-1. His last fight was in 2009, and he got smacked around pretty good by Carson Jones, who can actually fight. Jones won in three. De La Rosa is coming off of a loss to Allen Conyers, who is mediocre on his good days. It's unlikely there's any future in either of these guys. Maybe the fight will be good, I don't know. This FNF season has had a really rough start. ShoBox: The NEW Generation! (Showtime - Friday 11 p.m. ET) Diego Magdaleno vs Fernando Beltran: Some of the goals at Showtime under Stephen Espinoza appear to be doing his buddies a bunch of favors, showcasing faded or flat washed-up fighters and their "comebacks," and ruining the purpose of ShoBox, which was designed to be a program where prospects faced tough steps up in competition against veterans who could still fight, or we got the really useful and always-intriguing prospect-versus-prospect matchup. You know, fights where you learned something about young fighters. Now it's just another showcase program. Diego Magdaleno is a good super featherweight (130 lbs) prospect, and lucky for him, his third scheduled opponent for this fight should be no real challenge. Yordenis Ugas vs Johnny Garcia: Garcia has run up his 11-0 record under the ever-so-watchful eye of the Michigan "combat advisory board" or whatever it's called. In short, Michigan's boxing scene is ugly and easy. Most of Tyrone Brunson's KOs happened in Michigan. Garcia seems like a really nice kid (or at least that's the PR for him), but most likely he's out of his depth against Cuban defector Ugas, who stunk out the joint on Friday Night Fights earlier this year but is again being sold as an action fighter. Last time all that led to was Joe Tessitore basically apologizing for the pre-fight sell job. We'll see if Tompkins and Farhood are left in the same unenviable position tonight, because the last guy Ugas fought wasn't any good either and never threatened to win the fight or anything. HBO World Championship Boxing (HBO - Saturday 10 p.m. ET) Erik Morales vs Danny Garcia: I've never been truly sold on Danny Garcia as a prospect, and I'm still not. But he's got some advantages here. He's somewhat slick, he's got fresh legs (and everything else), and he can box. Erik Morales' comeback run has been fairly fun to watch, but his best performance was the heart-pounding challenge of Marcos Maidana, a totally crude, one-dimensional fighter Morales could expose technically, even fighting with only one eye. Morales is by no means a real junior welterweight (140). He looks soft every time out, but he's been matched safely at the weight. This one isn't so safe. I won't tell you that Garcia is any thrill to watch fight, because he's not, but Erik Morales is a man's man and if he finds the going tough trying to box (which he's wanted to do since returning in 2010), he's a good bet to just throw down and start fighting. He's still got every ounce of his heart left, and clearly wants to win more than anything. James Kirkland vs Carlos Molina: You may or may not know Molina, and his record isn't attractive, but he can fight. Kirkland is a destroyer with great vulnerability -- every round of every James Kirkland fight feels like it could be the end, going either way. Molina's not a big puncher, but neither is Nobuhiro Ishida, and he had Kirkland down three times in 1:52. Molina's a good pressure fighter and could be described as a "crafty righty," which when used properly is a term as rare in boxing as it is in baseball. Kirkland's trainer Ann Wolfe is a terrifying human being who is also one of the most awesome people on earth. If someone had written Ann Wolfe as a movie character, she would be dismissed as unrealistic and over-the-top. NBC Sports Fight Night: The Night of Fights on NBC Sports (NBC Sports - Saturday 10 p.m. ET) Zab Judah vs Vernon Paris: True crossroads fight, with a veteran on his way down looking to hang on against a prospect on his way up. Vernon Paris is a story even for a boxer -- he's survived two attempted murders, has done time, and has had a laundry list of out-of-ring issues that have messed up his career. He's a real natural in the ring, but he's also never gone more than eight rounds. Judah's never been as good as his hype, but he's certainly not unskilled. Really, Paris' long-term question is familiar to Judah's: Will the results match the talent? With Zab, at 34, the answer is no. With Paris, we start forming at least the start of an answer on Saturday. This one could really go either way, and could wind up being either a very good fight or an ugly jaw-jacking session. Both like to talk. Tomasz Adamek vs Nagy Aguilera: Easy comeback fight for Adamek, who will help sell some tickets with his rabid fanbase, even with the Mariusz Wach fight in Atlantic City on the same night. Adamek may drag this out a full ten, but it will depend on how many shots Aguilera can or feels like eating. Bryant Jennings vs Siarhei Liakhovich: Liakhovich is a former titlist who put on a very good performance in a KO loss to Robert Helenius last year, but that was also his only good performance since 2006, when he and Lamon Brewster had a jaw-dropping heavyweight war (IMO, the best heavyweight fight of the decade, and for once my opinion is not unpopular). Jennings is a 12-fight novice who has never faced anyone on the level of even a mediocre, out of shape Liakhovich, and it's anyone's guess how "into it" Siarhei will be on Saturday. Like the main event, this is a genuine crossroads fight, and actually pretty interesting. Either we see someone break out as one to truly watch, or we see a vet with a little left expose a prospect as less-than-ready for prime time. Integrated Sports PPV Mariusz Wach vs Tye Fields: Don't pay for this. Get real. You're not impressing anyone. --------------- Quick Hits - Following his post-fight brawl with David Haye after losing to Vitali Klitschko (which came after slapping Vitali at the weigh-ins and spitting water on Wladimir Klitschko during the pre-fight instructions) the British Boxing Board suspended Dereck Chisora's license. He could now earn that license back with "good behavior" according to the board. - Floyd Mayweather, Jr. paid almost $50,000 to cover an infant's medical bills. The infant had a heart condition that required several surgeries the family could not afford. Upon learning of a charity event for the child, Floyd told his assistant to inform the family that he'd take care of all the bills. This kind of charity is nothing new for Floyd who paid for former world champion Genaro Hernandez's funeral costs in 2011. Hernandez's last fight was against Floyd, the bout where Mayweather took his titles. - The story of Afghan women trying to compete in boxing in the 2012 London Olympics is compelling and a heartbreaking reminder of the struggles faced by women in many countries throughout the world. - Kimbo Slice fights in his fourth boxing match this Saturday night. I wrote earlier in the month about how he was facing yet another small opponent, but a series of events led to that fight being canceled and now Bellator veteran Brian Green will face Kimbo in the heavyweight bout. Of course, the problem is that Green is even smaller given that he's a 185 pounder. - Finally, ESPN showed their new documentary on Dewey Bozella last weekend. Bozella is an amazing story, having been wrongfully convicted of murder and spending 26 years in prison before being freed after The Innocence Project's involvement led to the discovery that evidence that proved his innocence had been suppressed and he was released. Amazingly, Bozella was given the chance to get out of jail earlier if he would admit to the crime. Bozella refused to confess to a crime he didn't commit in exchange for his freedom so he served NINETEEN MORE YEARS IN JAIL. Bozella had been a relatively promising amateur fighter before going to jail, participated in the prison boxing program and, upon his release, was given an ESPY for the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. But that wasn't enough, at the age of 52 he made his pro debut on the undercard of the Bernard Hopkins vs. Chad Dawson event and won a four round decision. It's must watch stuff the next time you have 45 minutes.

Posted in: fight, vs, boxing, garcia, he

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Posted in: mayweather, boxing, xkrazexmnux, boxing game, roy nelson

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Posted in: boxing, bass, hit, glove, bass rutten

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Kimbo Slice's boxing career continues, this time against fellow mixed martial arts (MMA) convert Mike Glenn, who faces off against the bearded brawler at "Fight Night Returns" on March 24, 2012, at the O’Reilly Center in Springfield, Missouri. Props: World Boxing News

Posted in: boxing, art, arts mma, mike glenn, orsquoreilly center

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Posted in: boxing, license, artist, michigan, boxing commissions

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Larry Pugmire of the LA Times reported on the financial impact of delaying boxing matches due to injury. Its an interesting article that shows the differences between MMA and boxing when faced with injuries. As most know, 2011 was a year wrought with injuries for the UFC. Zuffa had to shuffle around PPV lineups and make accommodations for fighters. Already this year, Mark Munoz had to pull out of his network televised co-main event against Chael Sonnen. The LA Times article looks at the millions that are lost when the main event of a boxing card is scratched due to injury. Most of the time, even if the other boxer can go, the fight is scrapped altogether instead of finding a replacement fighter. One of the more egregious examples of losing money due to a late scratch was promoter Gary Shaw, who purchased a Ferrari with the site fee advance for the Lennox Lewis-Kirk Johnson fight in 2003. When an injury postponed the fight, an alternative fee structure was offered. Via LA Times: Tim Leiweke, president of AEG and Staples Center, then scratched the $3.4-million site-fee payment to Shaw and offered a new deal in which the promoter would collect money based only on how many fight tickets could be sold for a different Lewis matchup. The most recent example is the anticipated Victor Ortiz-Andre Berto fight which was postponed earlier in February due to an injury to Berto. The rematch has tentatively been pushed to June. A repercussion of the postponement of a fight to a later date is the depletion of live gate due to the fact that fans that planned to attend the original date cannot make it to the rescheduled date. Pugmire’s piece points to the Andre Ward-Carl Froch fight which was postponed due to injury. Many British Fans of Froch could not make the rescheduled date in Atlantic City. The article also states that delaying a PPV is a headache since a new date has to be approved by satellite and cable providers. This also has to be coordinated with the site of the fight. The trickle down effect continues as fighters on the undercard must agree to the new date to keep the card together. This can place a huge burden on undercard fighters who don’t make a lot as it is. Payout Perspective: Even if a main event is scrapped in the UFC, Dana White will find someone to replace the injured fighter and make sure that everyone agrees to the new fight. Also, ample time is given to hype most of the main card of the PPV. The UFC did cancel its Montreal PPV far in advance to ensure that it could bring the city a quality night of fights. As most of us know, big boxing PPVs are based solely on the main event matchup and rarely is the undercard hyped. As outlined in the article, a delay of a boxing card is a financial burden for the promoters, their staff and fight camps. The huge fees to hold the cards and the reliance solely on one fight are big issues promoters will need to address if boxing is to turn itself around. As for the UFC, it may be unfair to compare the two business models considering the amount of control Zuffa has with its fighters. If you are not at the top of the card, you may not have a say as to who or when you will fight next. One need only look at Frankie Edgar as a fighter that may be directed into his next fight.

Posted in: fight, fighter, boxing, card, injury

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Savvy is defined as: Shrewdness and practical knowledge, esp. in politics or business. Shrewd and knowledgeable in the realities of life. Savvy in terms of fighting - whether it be boxing, kickboxing or MMA - is the use of one's knowledge of the game to gain every possible advantage over one's opponent. The difference between a savvy fighter and an ordinary fighter is not just a bag of tricks that they use in their fights, it is an entire frame of mind. The truth is that not everyone is athletic, yet the Sean Sherks and Melvin Guillards do not dominate MMA. The prospects in boxing beat each to the point of brain damage while the 47 year old Bernard Hopkins comes out of fights with world champions unscratched and ready to take on the next up-and-comer against whom he'll be an underdog. My interest in the idea of "savviness" came when, as a child, I realised that I was not as athletic as many martial arts practitioners, but I still wanted to be able to hold my own. To this end I searched for men who had had success in combat sports without having any of the athletic benefits of youth or amazing genetics. Here are some of the savvier men I have had the pleasure of watching fight. Please note: fighting dirty is not prerequisite to being "savvy", but savvy fighters often push the envelope and take three inches wherever their opponent and the referee give them one. 1) Bernard Hopkins: "The Executioner" came to boxing 22 years ago and has been a force in the sport ever since. The secret to his career longevity is his smart style - he will use any means to get one over on the opponent. A quick glance at his recent matches with Chad Dawson and Roy Jones Jr. will reveal his Oscar worthy hamming up of an illegal blow by an opponent. "B-Hop" is also excellent at using the clinch - a secret of career longevity in any combat sport, diving in behind his right hand leads with a noticeably common "accidental clash of heads", then moving straight to a clinch fighting position. With his rematch with Dawson on the way in April, it will be interesting to see how boxing's oldest title holder in history does at the age of 47. 2) Randy Couture: Wherever you stand on the many favors he was given in match making, Randy Couture is quite simply one of the greatest MMA light heavyweight and heavyweight fighters of all time. Certainly one of the few to make his presence felt in both divisions. Couture's chin was never rock solid, but he showed a great deal more competitiveness than his younger rival Chuck Liddell did in the last few matches before their retirements. Randy Couture practically invented the practice of "dirty boxing" in Mixed Martial Arts. Couture is also responsible for the many fighters today who drop one hand to the floor when in a Thai clinch or front headlock, in order to exploit the rule about kneeing a downed opponent. Simple things like this made Randy the savviest man in the octagon. Using his oft quoted experience boxing in the army - which it is unlikely taught him all that much - Couture was able to use effective head movement and a ducking jab to dive into clinches, largely unharmed. It was from here that Randy did his best work - offbalancing his opponent at all times so that they could never get the power on their strikes that he did on his. Randy Couture is credited with being an amazing gameplanner - but it is not so much his specific gameplans against opponents as their inability to deal with his go-to techniques which made him such a force even until his mid forties. And while many doubt Couture deliberately headbutted Gabriel Gonzaga to break the latter's nose, he certainly benefited enormously from falling the way he did. 3) Jersey Joe Walcott: This man was savviness personified. A protege of the legendary boxing trainer Jack Blackburn until he was dropped for the younger, clean cut Joe Louis, Louis and Walcott's lives read like a parallel universe comedy. Louis became the greatest world champion in boxing history while Walcott was forced to work in factories to support his family in addition to boxing for small purses. Walcott was, however, called in as a sparring partner for Louis by Blackburn, wanting to help his old charge with his financial issues, Walcott was sent home after a couple of rounds in which he dropped "The Brown Bomber". They met twice in the ring and Walcott dropped Louis each time but ultimately lost both matches (the first being considered a robbery and the second by KO). Jersey Joe had little time to train and was 39 years old when he won the world heavyweight title, so he utilized every trick in the book and a great many that he made up himself to get the better of his opponents. Famed for his "cakewalk", sidesteps and shuffles, Joe switched stances in graceful dance steps but never with the bounce of Ali or Robinson - more with a dignified grace. Just a look at his second fight with Louis sums up Walcott. Clearly the inferior technical boxer, Walcott crosses his feet, almost turning his back to Louis and walks toward the ropes, before stopping in his tracks, side stepping Louis' lead and countering with a huge right hand. The sequence from 13:05 - 13:35 in this video shows how confusing it was to have Joe Walcott standing in front of you. 4) Kazushi Sakuraba This is perhaps evidence that being savvy and an intelligent fighter does not lead one to make wise career decisions as Sakuraba has been fighting on despite a host of injuries for far too long. In his prime, however, Sakuraba was the pound for pound greatest fighter on the planet, something which even Dana White has attested to lately. The phrase "every trick in the book" is overused in sports analysis and does not serve Sakuraba well because much of what he did in the ring hadn't been seen before. A stellar grappler when he chose to fight to the point, as evidenced by his submitting Brazilian Jiu Jitsu behemoth Marcus Silveira, Sakuraba's career shifted following this fight to encompass more of his professional wrestling stylings. Sakuraba is infamous for his mongolian chops and cartwheel guard passes, but more effective were his cup handed slaps to the ear of opponents who clung to him on the ground (a tactic which has been adopted by Shinya Aoki), and his willingness to give up his back to great wrestlers and BJJ practitioners in order to establish his infamous double wristlock, a position from which he could roll for kimuras and armbars. While his armbar of Kevin Randleman, Kimura of Renzo Gracie and kneebar of Carlos Newton from their having his back were phenomenal performances against elite grapplers, his defining showing of savvy came in his 90 minute match against Royce Gracie. Throughout this fight when Gracie attempted to stall, Sakuraba would begin to undo the Brazilian's gi and slide the jacket over his head. When Royce had Sakuraba's back, Sakuraba decided to stick his head through the ropes - almost to tease Royce for his demands that the match have "no rules". Finally Sakuraba showed one of the earliest effective uses of low kicks in a gameplan by destroying Gracie's legs to the point where he couldn't answer the bell for the seventh round. Sakuraba is even credited with introducing the spinning back kick to main stream MMA as he used it to brutalize Vitor Belfort, a far superior striker, when the latter circled to Sakuraba's left.

Posted in: boxing, opponent, sakuraba, louis, walcott

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Time and again, fans, fighters, and pundits alike have overlooked Joe Lauzon's boxing abilities. That's okay, just go ahead and overlook him, Lauzon will keep changing minds, one fight at a time.

Posted in: time, boxing, joe, lauzon, fans fighters

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UFC President Dana White talks all things UFC 144, ring girls, Gilbert Melendez and his future, Rampage in boxing and much, much more.

Posted in: ufc, rampage, boxing, ring, future rampage

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Posted in: tekprodfx, gsp, boxing, silva, rogan

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Does boxing need pro wrestling hype to sell itself? Saturday night heavyweight fighter David Haye crashed a post-fight press conference and challenged heavyweight Dereck Chisora. To bolster the spectacle, Chisora inevitably asked Haye to say something to his face and a fight ensued. While the video is not the best, punches were exchanged and Chisora threatened to shoot Haye after the melee subsided. For those not following the story, Chisora lost earlier in the night to heavyweight champion Vladimir Klitschko. Chisora had slapped Klitschko at the weigh-ins and then spat in the face of Klitschko prior to the fight. Unfortunately, for all of the antics, Chisora did nothing of note against Klitschko in the ring. While the outside the ring hype garnered some press, it does little for the sport. Showtime actually had a good card on Saturday but a post-fight press conference is more interesting to the casual sports fan. Last week, we opined about the future of the boxing business and whether it would ever return to network television. Do antics like Chisora and Haye spark interest in seeing these two fight in the ring? In the UFC, we’ve seen out of Octagon confrontations to sell fights. Chael Sonnen is a prime example of this with his quasi-pro wrestling rants (e.g. UFC 136). There’s also Anderson Silva putting on a Jabbawockeez mask and getting into the face of Vitor Belfort last year at weigh-ins. The problem is that most people are not aware of Chisora or Haye as they are British boxers that have fought exclusively in Europe. Thus, North American fans wouldn’t know these guys unless they are hardcore boxing fans and/or follow boxing in Europe. The fact is that there are few Heavyweight fighters from the United States that can challenge the Klitschkos. But the issue with Saturday night’s brawl might not be that there was a brawl. It might be the fact that the Heavyweight champion of the world defended his belt in Germany and that the fight could only be seen online at Epix for those of us in North America. Or, if you were in Manhattan, the jumbo screen in Times Square. In fact, Alexander Povetkin and Vitali Klitschko, other claimants to a heavyweight title, also will fight overseas and on Epix.  The Klitschkos are as popular in Germany as Jeremy Lin is to New York (there, I’ve satisfied the Lin requirement). So, its hard to argue that they fight anywhere else. If boxing is going to make a comeback, it needs to develop a heavyweight division that is visible to North America. Being on HBO or Showtime would help as well. It appears that the Klitschko brothers have disappeared from the boxing landscape due to the fact they aren’t on one of the two big networks for fights. There are successful regional promotions, like Fight Club OC, that have maintained a steady fan base while promoting good fights. NBC Sports Network’s quarterly fight program could help if its willing to develop its fighters and back stories. Getting back to the brawl. Its a spectacle but it doesn’t seem like much traction can be made of it. This probably was not a coordinated stunt since threatening to shoot someone is probably frowned upon. We promise to be back with more MMA talk this week as we ramp up to the UFC’s visit to Japan this Saturday.

Posted in: fight, heavyweight, boxing, klitschko, chisora

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A short aside from the developing lines of Mixed Martial Arts evolving out of the lines of Japanese Judo and the European Catch Wrestling. The United States of the early 1900s was a young nation coming of age, and it had a love for all things sport. At the time the term of "the big three sports" would have referred to baseball, horse racing and boxing. The sport of boxing was about 50 years from being sperated from other combat arts with the Marquess of Queensberry Rules which were introduced in 1866. These rules removed all wrestling from matches, instituted the three minute round and made gloves mandatory. While not immediately enforced in every boxing match, these rules slowly filtered through the world of pugilism and created the sport of boxing as we know it today. Catch and Amateur Wrestling were also popular in the United States and these arts combined with boxing and fencing made up the vast majority of martial arts in America. That all changed with the ending of the Second World War. A whole generation of American young men traveled to Europe and Asia and had their eyes opened to the greater world of martial arts. Those stationed in the Pacific islands after the war ended had plenty of free time when not on peace keeping duties, and many U.S. troops filled that time by going to local martial arts academies. Karate and Judo were the most popular choices. When these soldiers came home, some of them brought the arts home with them. They opened schools or found schools already established and began training students in the United States. At this point, boxing and amature wrestling were firmly established as the combat sports in the United States, but Judo and Karate became extremely popular alternatives. As they grew, the establishment began to resent the new competition. Arguments would rage about judo vs boxing or karate vs boxing. In 1963, a man named Jim Beck issued an open challenge in Rouge Magazine for any judoka to take on a boxer. In his article titled "The Judo Bums" Beck clearly confuses Karate with Judo, but claims that any boxer could beat any Judo man. The proposed match would have a $1000 cash prize for the winner and that cash prize drew the attention of Gene LeBell, a U.S. Judo champion who also had international success. LeBell contacted Beck and the match was set for December of 1963 in Salt Lake City. When Gene arrived he was surprised to find it was not Beck he would be fighting, but rather former Top 5 Light Heavyweight Boxer Milo Savage. The rules were set that both men would wear gi tops, and Gene was forbidden from using kicks or karate chops and the fight would have an unlimited number of rounds and only stop with a finish. Milo would wear fingerless leather gloves and is accused of both wearing brass knuckles under his gloves and greasing. Gene suspects that Milo learned some Judo for the match as he was able to stop some takedowns, but in the 4th round, Gene threw Milo to the mat, took the boxer's back and applied a choke. Milo passed out and Gene Lebell became the winner of the first sanctioned Mixed Martial Arts fight in the United States. Here is a fantastic video made about Lebell and the match by the FightNerd, the whole thing is amazing but skip to 2:35 if you just want to hear about the match: After the jump, Muhammad Ali's foray into MMA... Despite its historic place now, at the time the Lebell vs Savage match was barely a blip on the U.S. sporting map. Both the martial arts and boxing would go on to continue to grow in popularity as both would welcome their biggest starts to the American stage. For the martial arts, the mid-1960s witnessed the rise of Bruce Lee in the U.S. conciseness. His movies caused an explosion in interest in Asian martial arts. Meanwhile the iconic sporting star of Muhammed Ali would launch boxing to the top of the global sporting world. In 1976, Ali was a year removed from his epic third match with Joe Frazier and had dispatched three challengers rather easily. He was looking for something to make headlines with and when Japanese professional Antonio Inoki reached out to him for an exhibition match, Ali agreed. The agreed upon match was originally a "work", meaning that outcome would be predetermined. Inoki was a student of the transformative catch wrestler Karl Gotch, and was a skilled grappler. Inoki was know for liking "shooting" or having live matches and when Ali saw Inoki grapple live he became concerned that Inoki would go off script. Many think this was Inoki's intention and Ali requested several rules of the match be changed two weeks before the match. The new rules removed all grappling from the match and limited the strikes Inoki could throw, most importantly leg kicks could only be thrown if Inoki had one knee on the mat. The referee would be the only man really qualified to over see a boxer vs grappler match, none other than Gene Lebell. The result of these new rules was Inoki staying outside of Ali's range and diving forward with leg kicks on Ali and then laying on his back while Ali offered to help him up. In short, it was MMA's first real clunker of a fight. It was declared a draw but Ali suffered major damage to his legs and passed on the press conference to be taken directly to the hospital. It is claimed that this fight had a serious fight on Ali's mobility for the rest of his career. While the fight took place in Japan, it did draw interest in the United States. While these early forays into MMA did show an U.S. interest in this idea of match style against style it wouldn't be until the 1990s that experiment would take place. More Reading on Early U.S. MMA Happy Belated Birthday Gene LeBell Gene Lebell Official Stories The Joke That Almost Ended Ali's Career MMA Origins: Exploring Fight Sport's Ancient Roots Getting Medieval Vale Tudo and the Original MMA Rivalry Carlson Gracie Changes Jiu-Jitsu and Vale Tudo Catch Wrestling Travels To Japan

Posted in: boxing, gene, ali, art, judo

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Will boxing ever make it back to network TV? Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports reports on the possibility of boxing returning to network TV. Showtime sports head Stephen Espinoza is optimistic about seeing boxing back in the mainstream and even opined that it may happen this year. Via Yahoo! Sports: “There’s a decent chance of it, maybe even a good chance of it happening, in fact,” Espinoza said. “Boxing, for all of its challenges, still has a very loyal fan base, especially in the Latino and African-American demographics. Boxing has shown that, at its highest level, boxing can capture the mainstream sports, and non-sports, population. Payout Perspective: We saw the return of boxing, albeit just 30 minute fight promos, to CBS with Showtime’s 360 series which promoted the Mosley-Pacquiao fight. With the new use of partnerships (i.e., Showtime-CBS) and the seeming trend for live sports as key programming, boxing could make it back to over the air television. If you think about it, snowboarding, skateboarding and even poker have been on network television in the past year yet we haven’t seen a big fight in quite some time. Yesterday, we looked at whether boxing should change its business model. Showing fights on network television to promote the sport and its fighters could build and sustain a following. While promoters remain optimistic, nothing has been set. NBC Sports Network’s quarterly show is a good step in the right direction but promoters realize that the big money remains in PPV and the two premium cable channels.

Posted in: fight, sport, boxing, network television, network

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Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports posted an article on the need for HBO and Showtime to rethink its boxing business model. Iole points out that both networks are overpaying for license fees for its fights and a rethinking its business models may help the business. Unlike the UFC pay issue, Iole points out that some fighters are being overpaid and not producing for their paycheck. Via Yahoo! Sports: The problem from a fan’s perspective, of course, is that far too often the boxers earn exorbitant purses for fighting ordinary, at best, competition. And that gives them less incentive to take on a stiffer fight in the future. Iole points to HBO’s acquisition of the rematch between lightweights Lamont Peterson and Amir Khan. While its expected that most tickets for the Mandalay Bay will be comped, both fighters will make over $1 million. The challenge is putting on compelling fights that fans will want to see. Iole believes making the fights are difficult due to the fighter paydays. Both HBO and Showtime are looking into ways to market boxing and present compelling television. Iole suggests the following: Only pay the fighters who are willing to take tough bouts; who perform when they get those big matches; who sell tickets on a regular basis. Then, whatever money they save in salary, they can pour back into the sport by developing support programming that will actually help fans identify with the athletes and want to watch them compete. Payout Perspective: Its interesting that Iole’s suggestion is similar (not the same) to the UFC model. I don’t think I see this happening considering Showtime’s renewed interest in boxing and its hope to supplant HBO for big fights. One of the things that boxing needs to do is to introduce fighters to the public; present compelling stories so that viewers are drawn to watching their fights. NBC Sports Network is attempting to do this with its quarterly Fight Nights. We will see if Spike TV does something similar for its boxing programming (if it comes to fruition). The other, of course, is to make the fights people want to see. (e.g., Mayweather-Pacquiao). Obviously, the promoters are the other factor in this equation which is a definite roadblock to a retooling of the boxing business model. With HBO and Showtime actively competing for big events and offering top dollar plus the added benefit of utilizing the full force of its network partners for marketing and promotion, boxing could make a comeback. We’ll have to wait and see on how each will proceed.

Posted in: fight, business, hbo, boxing, iole

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Top Canadian mixed martial arts (MMA) prospect Sheldon Westcott has had a rather difficult learning curve for the sport. While most fighters have a base in some sort of martial art whether it be wrestling, jiu-jitsu, judo, sambo, etc, the welterweight Westcott was a complete newbie when he first started training, having been a nationally relevant track and field athlete coming out of high school. It turns out the Edmonton native was a quick learner as within a few years of training, he was on a three fight win streak in which he finished all of his opponents within the first minute. Westcott spent all of 2011 feuding with veteran Thomas Denny, drawing in his first fight and then ending the conflict with a dominant victory in their second bout. After just missing out on being a contestant of the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter, the Canadian brawler has big plans for 2012. Westcott will be battling Jay Jenson this Saturday night (February 11, 2012) at Aggression MMA 9 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He spoke with MMAmania.com during a guest spot on The Verbal Submission this past weekend where he discussed getting into MMA, his fights with Thomas Denny and what led to him no longer being employed by MFC in part one of this two-part interview. Check it out: Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com): You had some pretty good exposure in 2011, getting two fights in MFC, both against Thomas Denny, so that must have been pretty wild, right? Sheldon Westcott: Yeah. My fight with Thomas Denny, I learned a lot from the first fight. I thought I still won the first fight with Thomas Denny but it went to a draw and then the rematch, I won all three rounds. I even got a point taken away in the third round and I still ended up winning that round, i dropped him and stuff, but yeah, i had a good 2011. 2010 and 2011 were both really good years for me. Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com): Definitely 2010, you had a streak there where you were finishing everybody not just in the first round, but inside the first minute. Sheldon Westcott: Yeah, I had three fights. One was 51 seconds, one was 30 and one was 28. The thing was, a lot of people were like, "Oh, you beat the guys really quick," and then they'd look at the guys' records and, "This guy who you beat in 30 seconds was 10-4. This guy who you beat in 28 seconds was 9-3," and then my next fight, I'm fighting Thomas Denny in my 4th fight where people were like, "What the heck is this guy doing in his fourth fight?" I'm supposed to be fighting some guy who's like 0-3 in my fourth fight, not some guy who's got 46 fights. Ben Thapa: Going back to one of your last fights, the very first round of the first fight with Thomas Denny, you had a 10-8 round, you were dominating him and you tried a couple times to get guillotines and unfortunately they didn't work, they didn't finish Denny and he went on to kind of come back. I'm wondering, did that change your fight strategy from then on? Sheldon Westcott: The thing is, I've watched that first Denny fight probably like 30 times and you know what? All the simple mistakes I haven't made in my earlier fights, I made in that fight. Like all those guillotine chokes, if you look, if you watch any of my other fights, I didn't throw a single punch to set up that choke. I didn't even set up that choke. I just jumped on his neck. Even if I'm in training, if I don't have that choke deep, I don't waste my energy. I'm not gonna waste my time trying to rip it off and I thought, "Hey, you know what? I think I've got it enough," and I burnt my arms out in that first round. Then at the start of the second round I was like, "Holy geez, my arms are on fire!" and if you look at the second round, he went down in the second round and I had three takedown attempts and one of my takedown attempts, I had my arms underneath his legs and he jumped into guard and the thing is, I don't know if the judges were looking at that as a takedown or if it looked like him jumping into guard and the last round, he won the last round hands down but it changed it a little bit. I made a lot of mistakes in that fight where I didn't set anything up. I didn't work to finish the guillotine choke and the choke is, if you don't set it up, you don't get it deep, there's no point wasting your time and your energy trying to finish something that's not there. Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com): I was doing some research and I saw you were talking a couple months ago that you were preparing for December 9th. Now did you have a fight that got cancelled on December 9th that you were training for? Sheldon Westcott: Actually, it was a boxing fight. In October, I've been training at Avenue Boxing in Edmonton, Alberta Canada and the promoter of KO Boxing, they brought a guy in from Toronto, which is about five hours away. They flew him in and his opponent got sick, he had a massive infection and they're like, "Hey Sheldon, do you want to take this fight?" and I'm like, "Well, it's a boxing fight on three days' notice. Yeah, sure, why not?" and they say, "There's one catch," and I'm like, "What's that?" and they're like, "It's at heavyweight." I'm like, "Okay, let's do it." So in October, I took my very first boxing fight at heavyweight and it went really well. I won in 1:02 and then December 9th, I was looking to have another boxing fight, again it would have been at heavyweight because I was gonna fight a local guy from here in Edmonton and he had about 5-6 pro boxing fights but there was a little bit of complication with me and the gentleman who owns MFC and The Ultimate Fighter tryout is a big tangled mess so I ended up getting an injunction put against me for my boxing fight so I couldn't take my boxing fight because I went out to Las Vegas to try out for The Ultimate Fighter show. Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com): I heard that you bought yourself out of your MFC contract because this upcoming fight's for Aggression MMA, right? Sheldon Westcott: Yeah, absolutely. What happened was, I was with the MFC and I got the okay to do a pro boxing fight so I took the pro boxing fight of course going through all the avenues that I possibly could and I enjoyed it. I got the opportunity to take another one and I went to the MFC and I asked them if I could take a boxing fight because I need their okay because it's in Canada and the owner of the MFC said, "Yeah, sure, that's fine," and my contract with MFC was up in February and Ultimate Fighter tryouts were December the 3rd and obviously, like any athlete who's coming up, they see that avenue and they think, "Why not take that route?" So I decided, "Hey, I'm gonna go try out for The Ultimate Fighter," and once the owner of the MFC found out, he said, "If you go down there," because he wanted me to fight for the MFC and it was just Canada-wide and if I went down to the States and I made the show, I'd be leaving MFC, he said "If you go down there, I'm gonna put an injunction against your boxing fight and I won't let you box," and you know what? I had to take the leap and I had to try out for the show and I wasn't able to have the boxing fight because of it but it was a good opportunity and I've found myself in a better place now and I'm fighting in Aggression MMA February 11th and I left the MFC and now I'm with Aggression. Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com): That's crazy. Did you hear any feedback about your tryouts with The Ultimate Fighter? Did you get a call back or anything? Sheldon Westcott: My manager got a call. I didn't end up making the show. I made it to the very end stage but I didn't end up making the show. It happens. There's 400 guys trying out and in all honesty, I had a little bit of a cut in front of me trying to make the welterweight division. Anyone that can make a fight at heavyweight in boxing, you can understand that I cut a little bit of weight to make 170 and I think that was one of the defining factors in having to cut weight five times over the course of the show. Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com): Now going back to getting into mixed martial arts, most guys who get into MMA, they get into it because they've got a base in wrestling, they've got a base in karate, boxing, something, but you were a track and field guy and you had no real base in any mixed martial art. You were more of a pure athlete, right? Sheldon Westcott: I started out as a high jumped and I realized, "Hey, I'm about 6'0-6'1, I can jump high but I'm never gonna be able to compete at that level and I got into the decathlon and I competed in the decathlon nationally. I finished fifth in the country, I went as high as finishing third. I had a scholarship down to the United States for the decathlon and I ended up hurting myself in my senior year of high school and I took a year off. I came back and I went down to Washington State University for a track meet they had down there but I came back and one of the guys I worked with at the time fought in MMA and was like, "Come try, come try," and I'd always watched the sport, always been interested. I'm a guy. This is the meat and potatoes of what guys do and I'm like, "Oh, sure why not?" I went there the first day and I thought 20 minutes had went by and an hour and a half later, I'd lost six pounds of sweat. Never would I ever run on a treadmill again. I was hooked. I'm just way too competitive not too compete and I won my first jiu-jitsu tournament three months later and I was fighting six months after that. Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion of Sheldon Westcott's interview with MMAmania.com, or if you'd like to hear the rest now, click here. (Interview starts at about the 35 minute mark). So what do you think, Maniacs? Will Westcott continue to develop in 2012? Did you get a chance to see him fight in either of his tough battles with Thomas Denny last year? Speak up! You can follow Sheldon on Twitter @SheldonWestcott.

Posted in: fight, guy, boxing, im, westcott

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Bad Left Hook reports (via Boxing Scene) that HBO is seeking permission from the WBC at this Saturday’s event to use new technology that will enable the tracking of statistics of a boxer during a fight. The device is a 1 inch by 1 inch sensor which will be in the wrist of the boxing glove. The proposed use of the technology would occur on the undercard of fights at the Top Rank event Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. HBO will show the main card which features Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. versus Marco Antonio Rubio. Via Bad Left Hook: The amount of data that would be available after this device becomes fully adopted will be staggering. We could figure out what a fighter’s average punch speed is for each type of punch that he throws. We would be able to tell if a fighter is slowing down by looking as his average punch speed over his past couple of fights. If a boxer got knocked out by a punch, we could figure out the amount of force necessary to knock that boxer out, and which fighters in the division are capable of producing that kind of power. Payout Perspective: This is the next step in not only boxing, but all of sports: detailed statistics. With emerging technology, there is the ability to become more accurate in tracking sports. A device like this would definitely refine boxing statistics. It could also be used by boxers to scout upcoming opponents as well as market boxers and fights. Hopefully, the WBC will allow the technology and we will se how accurate and useful it will be.

Posted in: boxing, punch, boxer, statistic, punch speed

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Boxing matches from two hundred years ago may not drive all of our readers into fizzy paroxysms of delight, but the history involved and the match itself is surprisingly relevant to mixed martial arts and other combat sports we engage in today. Those of you who have read John Nash/nottheface's historical pieces on the Golden Age of Mixed Martial Arts, the development of Brazilian jiu jitsu and the worldwide nature of combat sports should love this Brian Phillips piece on the heavyweight championship bout between Tom Cribb and Tom Molineaux. It is hard to come up with a better quote pull than this early paragraph: The fight cemented a set of stock characters - the fast-talking, ultra-talented, self-destructive black athlete; the Great White Hope; the canny coach who's half devoted to his pupil and half exploiting him - that have echoed down the centuries.1 In fact, so much about the fight feels familiar today, from the role of race to the role of the media, that if you had to name a date, you could make a good case that December 10, 1810, was the moment sport as we know it began. Phillips is a sports writer who built the Run of Play site that is essentially the FreeDarko of soccer - providing coverage of a very strange sport with some "uses-big-words-in-entertaining-ways" writing leavened with a ton of sly humor and awesome pictures. He writes about a few different sports for Grantland and may be the only voice consistently worth paying attention to over there. After the jump, two more quotes showing how the olden days of boxing were surprisingly MMA-like and how the people we pay attention to in sports are not necessarily the best people, despite all narrative attempts by the promoters and commentators to the contrary. John Nash/nottheface told us earlier how the boxing of back then bore a surprising resemblance to the style of Nick Diaz and laid it out for us as quoted below: The ruleset that Mendoza fought under during his time was the one divised by Jack Broughton in 1743, the very first codified set of rules in the history of the sport, which were fittingly named Broughton’s rules. They were very simple, numbering seven in total, dealing with such things as the size of the ring, the holding of the purse, and the choosing of umpires. Of the seven, only the last had anything to do with what tactics were allowed during competition. VII. That no person is to hit his Adversary when he is down, or seize him by the ham, the breeches, or any part below the waist: a man on his knees to be reckoned down. To elaborate: the only thing banned was the hitting of a downed opponent or any wrestling below the waist. Everything else – hair-pulling, grappling above the waist, wrestling or tripping your opponent to the ground, and, of course, striking with the bare fists – was allowed. And since no gloves nor hand wrappings were used, throwing with all one’s might or aiming blows to the head was naturally discouraged lest you break your hand. In fact, striking ability often rated below wrestling ability with regards to importance in gaining a victory, as seen by our three examples below with the the text being from the 1855 compilation Fights for the Championship; and Celebrated Prize Battles (the full title is much, much longer) and the images from Famous Fights: Past and Present, a boxing newspaper that ran from 1901 to 1904. Phillips independently correlates that and lays out the specific rule set that Phillips and Molineaux used: Bouts were held outdoors, on bare ground, in rings marked off from fields. The fighters wore no gloves, which probably made them safer. (Gloves were introduced to protect the hands, not the head, and allowed fighters to punch harder.) But rounds didn't end until one man or the other went down. And there was no limit to the number of rounds that could be fought. After a fall, fighters had 30 seconds to return to the scratch, a mark in the middle of the ring.15 The battle went on until one of them either surrendered or couldn't make it. Boxers fought on through concussions and broken bones, sometimes suffering dozens of knockdowns severe enough to stop a fight today. Wrestling throws and holds above the waist were permitted, but it was illegal to strike while the foe was down. To add to the fun, constables occasionally descended in the middle of a match to arrest the fighters and fans. Spectators were occasionally known to rush the ring and attack one of the fighters. The overall effect was somewhere between modern boxing, MMA, and a bar fight. However, beyond the rule sets and the black/white racial dynamics of the fight (which are sadly inescapable and a product of the time), what Phillips briefly delves into with the discussion over whether winning is connected to moral goodness is excellent. In early 19th-century England, the culture of sport was undergoing a rapid transformation. Sport was becoming a mass entertainment on a national scale. Athletes were now celebrities, covered by a dedicated professional media.11 Important contests were preceded by something like modern hype. Most important, sport was turning into something that could reflect the larger social questions of the day. One of the major anxieties that shows up again and again in the English sportswriting of the era is whether sport weakens society or makes it stronger. Is there some innate connection between winning an athletic contest and moral virtue? Do the qualities that matter in the ring pass themselves on to spectators? What exactly are we getting out of this? Why do we like it so much? We are fortunate to live in an era where racial discrimination is vastly diminished, although still not eradicated, in sporting culture, yet I do not believe we have ever truly gotten anywhere in unpicking and improving upon the "winners = great people" meme that was developed hundreds or thousands of years ago. Quite a few athletes have achieved enormous personal and professional success without ever being warm, fuzzy, strictly law-abiding or commercially viable in a way that advertisers want. Does that mean that they are any less good at their sports or less deserving of permanent memory than others? I do not believe so, but for now I will let more skilled writers than me like Brian Phillips and Ben Fowlkes puzzle that out. Again, the Phillips article is well worth your time and many of the dynamics within can be applied in adjusted form to fighters like Chael Sonnen, Alistair Overeem, King Mo or Brock Lesnar.

Posted in: fight, fighter, sport, boxing, phillip

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Filed under: UFCCHICAGO -- The UFC arrived in town Wednesday, settling down in the south side of the city inside a hearty, no-frills boxing gym to kick off the UFC on FOX 2 fight week festivities leading up to Saturday's event at the United Center. Gathering inside a muggy room with two boxing rings inside the Chicago Boxing Club gym, Rashad Evans, Phil Davis and the main attractions took turns working out for the media. The main event on Saturday features two lively personalities in Evans and Davis and much has been made of their willingness to embrace in pre-fight verbal sparring sessions. However, three days removed from their light heavyweight tilt, the two appeared to be in a different mind frame. Perhaps they were saving their material for Thursday's official press conference or the two were simply eager to fight. But gone from the former champion Evans' demeanor on Wednesday was his energetic playfulness prominent at last month's press conference that landed him in hot water. Instead, Evans completed his shadowboxing and padwork without a hint of a smile. Evans turned on a friendly attitude once he began speaking to the press but even then the Chicago resident was mostly soft-spoken. Davis, a slight underdog heading into the fight, presented himself as a confident competitor and sounded as self-assured as ever. The unbeaten 27-year-old spoke about benefiting from his lengthy layoff by having greatly improved in his MMA fundamentals. "He might have outstruck me a year ago," Davis said. "I don't know if that's going to happen on Saturday." Evans acknowledged the likelihood of seeing an improved Davis, but insisted he already understands the basics of Davis' movement and cadence inside the cage. Former middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen chose to handle the media interviews prior to working out, welcoming a discussion with reporters on everything from his fight against Michael Bisping to his political stance to possibly voting for Brian Stann as a write-in candidate. Sonnen shrugged off the challenges of having initially prepared for Mark Munoz, stating he doesn't believe in things such as a "gameplan" anyway. And contrary to what the UFC is saying, Sonnen also reiterated his belief that a rematch against champion Anderson Silva won't materialize even if Sonnen emerges victorious Saturday. "The title shot is not going to happen, I'm all for the marketing, I'll get behind it as much as the UFC wants to, but that's not going to happen." Sonnen said. "I'd rather go to Brazil, maybe Vitor [Belfort] or somebody else .... But Silva is not getting in there with me." The strength of British middleweight contender Bisping lies in his effective boxing and he spent his entire workout with his hands. Bisping worked basic punching combos mixed with slips while trainer Tiki Ghosn held mitts. Judging from their workouts, the wrestling-centric Chris Weidman and jiu-jitsu specialist Demian Maia are anticipating a ground war. Weidman practiced a variety fundamental wrestling takedowns -- single-legs, double-legs, trips, ankle picks, etc. with training parter and Strikeforce fighter Gian Villante. The 2007 ADCC grapplng champion Maia was the rare fighter to incorporate jiu-jitsu into his workout for the press. Embracing this grand opportunity, Weidman was in such positive spirits that you wouldn't have guessed he's in the process of a difficult weight cut. His camp admits the one-week notice has been challenging on their preparations but assures Weidman will be on target come Friday's weigh-in. Following the workouts, former WEC champ Miguel Torres and UFC on FOX 2 competitor Mike Russow spoke with teens about the importance of staying focused and avoiding the temptations of drugs and alcohol. After the brief talk, Torres guided the teens through boxing drills. Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Posted in: ufc, boxing, sonnen, evan, davi

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Happy birthday to boxing icon Muhammad Ali. "The Greatest" turns 70 today (Jan. 17, 2012). Any elder Maniacs out there want to share their favorite Ali moment from the glory days of the "sweet science?"

Posted in: boxing, ali, jan, glory days, ali moment

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The debate between boxing fans and MMA fans in relation to whose sport is superior may wage on for years to come, but at least one man known for his PhD in the sweet science has decided to express his appreciation for those who take to the cage and throw down – Wladimir Klitschko. The 56-3 Klitschko, who currently holds five heavyweight championships and hasn’t lost in seven years, recently came forward to talk about Mixed Martial Arts in a positive light even if his opinion may not be popular amongst his supporters in the boxing community. While the 35-year old has no designs on ever attempting to leave boxing for MMA he has contemplated incorporating some related techniques into his training and generally appreciates the level of skill involved at the highest levels. “To be honest I didn’t really like it before,” Klitschko began in an interview on the Jim Rome Show. “But when I was watching it, I got into the style of MMA and I think I have a lot of respect for MMA fighters. It’s a very tough sport. I don’t think I’m ready to practice it and fight in the cage, I think I’m too old for it, but I have a lot of respect.” “You have to be so multi-functional, you have to be a wrestler, you have to be a good kickboxer, you have to be a good boxer, you have to be with good condition,” he continued. As far as testing his own abilities in MMA, Klitschko waived off the suggestion but revealed he is definitely interested in exploring some of the aspects where his own preparation is concerned. “I want to try the fitness. Just get in an MMA gym and just practice certain things,” Klitschko concluded. “ I used to wrestle, and I did judo when I was younger. As training, as fitness, perfect. Fighting, no.” Klitschko’s next fight takes place on March 3 against 36-4 Frenchman Jean-Marc Mormeck. The two were originally supposed to face off in December but Klitschko had to withdraw from the bout after having a kidney stone removed. Tweet

Posted in: mma, i ’m, boxing, “ i, klitschko

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Mixed martial arts, as the name implies, comprises of a variation of offensive and defensive disciplines - boxing being one of them. It’s also safe to say that the majority of victories in MMA come as a result of TKOs or KOs, with punches playing a major role in said outcome.

Posted in: nick diaz, mma, boxing, boxing ring, disciplines boxing

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Gina Carano has become a hot topic lately with the release the much anticipated movie Haywire which she starred in. Unfortunately the talk hasn't stayed on that topic. MMA fans, media, and even promoters have become confused by seeing somebody in the spotlight who they know is capable of fighting and are once again clamoring for her return to the cage. Chris "Cyborg" Santos' year long suspension for performance enhancing drugs had added even more misplaced intrigue. The entire discussion is reminiscent of coverage for the posterchild of development hell; Duke Nukem Forever. Without retelling the entire story, it was a much anticipated game that was announced in 1997 with several developers promising to deliver it and all falling short until a scant few months ago. Far greater than the game itself was a website that lives on in nerd lore known as the Duke Nukem Forever List. It was a stark reminder of all the things that had occurred in the time fans spent waiting for one video game. It's easy to forget how much time has really passed when you don't have relevant landmarks to judge by. In that spirit, I have put together a list of things that have happened since Gina Carano last won a fight. This list is not meant to marginalize or diminish Carano's career and it doesn't do that at all. It is a reminder of when she accomplished in her career and provides important context for those who expect her to return to fighting. With that said... The following things have occurred between Gina Carano's most recent win against Kelly Kobald on October 4, 2008 and the present day: In MMA: The UFC Light Heavyweight belt went from Forrest Griffin to Rashad Evans to Lyoto Machida to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua to Jon Jones. See also: The Machida Era. The title reigns of Dominick Cruz, Jose Aldo, and Frankie Edgar. Dan Hardy's UFC career.it was just a pet project but Jon Jones left the BombSquad following the Stephan Bonnar fight and became Rashad Evans' protege. He then broke the 'Jackson's Oath' and began the beef with Rashad Evans. Alistair Overeem returned to kickboxing following a four year haitus. His run included victories over Badr Hari, Peter Aerts (x2), Tyrone Spong, Gokhan Saki, and Ewerton Teixeira and became the last ever K-1 World Grand Prix champion. Mike Brown ended the streak of Urijah Faber and took the WEC Featherweight belt. He defended the belt in a rematch against Faber and against Leonard Garcia. Diego Sanchez dropped to lightweight where he defeated Joe Stevenson and Clay Guida en route to a savage beating at the hands and shin of BJ Penn. Kimbo Slice lost to Seth Petruzelli in his first professional defeat. He went on to appear on The Ultimate Fighter Season 10 and was defeated in the first round by Roy Nelson. He did not fight again the next week, or the week after, or the week after. Randy Couture came out of retirement and retired again. Matt Lindland went from a top 10 middleweight to the recipient of the scariest knockout of the decade against Vitor Belfort at Affliction: Day of Reckoning. His only win since is Spencer Pratt entourage member Kevin Casey. War Machine signed with LA Direct Models to launch his career in pornography which ended abruptly following a fistfight at a Las Vegas birthday party. He was arrested twice more in California and served a one year prison sentence. Matt Mitrione fired Malki Kawa, paradoxically launching the career of Malki Kawa. For more from the world of boxing and the real world, see the full entry after the jump. Boxing: Manny Pacquiao's career at welterweight, starting with retiring Oscar De La Hoya. The entirety of Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs Manny Pacquiao negotiations. The Super Six World Boxing Classic, complete with injuries and delays, skyrocketed Andre Ward to the top of Super Middleweight rankings. Bernard Hopkins became the oldest boxing champion in history at 46. Saul Alvarez won 18 fights in a row, made his stateside debut, and became the leading candidate for Floyd Mayweather's next fight. Wladimir and Vitali Klitchko... uh... ok, nothing actually happened here. General: Speculation began that Hillary Clinton would consider being Secretary of State under Barack Obama. Ke$ha. Brett Favre signed with the New York Jets. Then the Minnesota Vikings. Then retired again. Aaron Rodgers chuckled and broke his record for single season passing yards for a Packer. T-Pain got on a boat with Andy Samberg. Kanye West discovered Autotune and released 808's and Heartbreaks before My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Watch the Throne. Apple launched the iPhone 3GS, 4, and 4S as well as every version of the iPad. The Android operating system was upgraded to version 1.1, the first upgrade since its launch. It is now on version 4.0. Kinect for Xbox and Playstation Move.

Posted in: fight, jon jones, boxing, career, carano

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The Sports Business Journal reported about the possibility of Showtime surpassing HBO Boxing for marquee fights and fighters. The article underscores the change at the top of each network’s sports divisions as a possible reason. SBJ (subscription required) points to the Andre Berto-Victor Ortiz rematch, which many believe was the Fight of the Year for 2011, as evidence that Showitme is making a move on HBO. Also, changes at the top of each network’s sport division may be the reason for the sudden competition for boxing rights. Ross Greenburg left HBO last year and was replaced by Showtime head Ken Hershman. Hersman, as some recall, butted heads with Dana White regarding negotiations with Strikeforce. This may have been one of the reasons that Showtime and Zuffa were able to strike a new deal for Strikeforce late last year. Showtime replaced Hershman with Golden Boy’s former attorney Stephen Espinoza. Espinoza’s quickly moved on the Berto-Ortiz rematch as Showtime paid only $100,000 more than HBO: $2.2 million. The article also indicates that HBO’s budget “will be about $35 million this year, about half of what it spent as recently as five years ago.” On the other hand, Showtime will increase its budget to at least $28 million. Payout Perspective: This will be an intriguing year for boxing fans as we may see a shift of key fights moving from HBO to Showtime. Last year, we saw that Showtime take the Pacquiao-Mosley fight only for HBO to step up an regain Pacquiao for Marquez as well as Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito. The SBJ points out that this is the first time in 20 years that there has been an authentic fight for US television rights. The newfound bidding war in boxing can only help the sport and perhaps revitalize tv interest in the fight game. We’ve recently seen NBC Sports and Spike TV announce plans to feature boxing in its programming. The only question is how promoters plan to market their fighters. Right now, only a few boxers stand out and the rest are not known to the casual viewers.

Posted in: fight, hbo, boxing, showtime, year

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In the geek world, The MMA vs. boxing debate is parallel to the great Star Wars vs. Star Trek argument that you've undoubtedly overheard in countless comic book shops over the years. At the heart of it all is a difference of two philosophies. However, the conspiracy theorist in me wants to believe different. Humans operate by polarizing everything in our universe. From the concept of 'Good' to 'Evil' and even the theory of 'Liberal' and 'Conservative,' segmenting our reality into two entities allows us to easily digest concepts by forcing us to pick one side while being vehemently against the other. If everything operated in shades of grey and indifference, our cognition would literally malfunction and we would be so preoccupied with cognitive analysis that nothing would get done in society. Now what if some shadowy, Illuminati-like organization created something that would get humanity polarized on a certain issue. Let's take the concept of 'Republican' and 'Democrat' for example. While both sides are struggling to rip each other apart, we're too preoccupied to actually see what's being done to us. I think it was David Icke that once said 'we are divided for the sole purpose of us never truly uniting.' David Icke also said that trans-dimensional, shape-shifting reptilians are controlling the planet, so take it with a grain of salt. Wow, look at that. I just tripped into the conspiracy theory rabbit hole and managed to crawl out just to tell you that the MMA vs. boxing debate that we've heard over the years has now hit the vlogosphere, and things are getting pretty intense. If you've been in the combat sports world over the years, then I'm sure you've heard of Elie Seckbach. He's the guy that's literally taken the boxing world by storm though his guerrilla style reporting. Seckbach's vocal samples were even featured in a Lil Wayne song that was created in honor of Kobe Bryant. After last week's UFC 141, Seckbach cut a short vlog insisting that Brock Lesnar gave up during his fight with Alistair Overeem and that apparently in the boxing world, fighters 'never quit.'   At the end of his video, Seckbach issued a challenge for anyone to respond to his bashing of MMA and his claim that the UFC 'used' Brock Lesnar. This morning, the vlogger that thousands of fans throughout the world voted in last year's MiddleEasy Awards as the 'Greatest Vlogger in MMA' not only responds to Elie Seckbach, but defends the UFC. Yes, you read that right. It wasn't a typo. Check out what the infamous Bloodstain Lane said regarding the institute of mixed martial arts as compared to boxing.

Posted in: world, mma, vs, boxing, seckbach

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I've got some interesting boxing news for you and surprisingly enough it doesn't involve the sport shooting itself in the foot for once: RingTV.com is reporting that Top Rank Inc. and cable channel Spike TV are working on a deal to produce a weekly, 36-show boxing program, which could help Top Rank get better coverage for its fighters on a more widely-watched outlet than Fox Sports Net, which tends to preempt their shows anyway, and would help Spike replace the UFC programming they recently lost....Most likely this would be a series similar to Top Rank Live, which currently airs on FSN and Fox Deportes, as I wouldn't expect Spike to be going in deep on money to produce big fights. At its best, Top Rank Live produces some very good shows with lower-weight fighters in action bouts, and gives looks at prospects like Mercito Gesta or Diego Magdaleno. Oh Fox Sports Net. Sounds like MMA isn't the only combat sport on that network constantly getting screwed by the long shaft of stick and ball sports. Now boxing has a chance to maybe do something interesting on a channel that could draw in some new fans. The big question is if the fights on the show will be interesting enough for the average Spike dude to watch. I've tried to enjoy boxing several times but find the sheer number of terrible matches are just too much to bear. I'd rather set my nuthair on fire than watch a bad 10 round decision.

Posted in: sport, boxing, fox sports, spike, rank

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UFC events and The Ultimate Fighter were the premier programming on Spike TV for a number of years. Now, with the UFC leaving the network for a number of reasons (better exposure at Fox and too expensive for Spike) the network is looking to strengthen it's programming schedule. They've already inked a deal to carry Bellator Fighting Championships programming in 2013 and now they are turning to boxing promoter Bob Arum and Top Rank Inc. according to RingTV. As Scott Christ of Bad Left Hook explains, these aren't likely to be huge shows but should be solid efforts: Most likely this would be a series similar to Top Rank Live, which currently airs on FSN and Fox Deportes, as I wouldn't expect Spike to be going in deep on money to produce big fights. At its best, Top Rank Live produces some very good shows with lower-weight fighters in action bouts, and gives looks at prospects like Mercito Gesta or Diego Magdaleno. The real takeaway here is that Spike really learned the value of live programming from their time with the UFC and while Bellator or smaller Top Rank boxing shows aren't likely to do huge numbers, they provide them with unique, relatively cheap programming that can be reran at length. This move combined with Showtime showing more strength in terms of making plays for big fights such as their outbidding of HBO for Berto/Ortiz II and a new boxing series launching on NBC Sports show that there is some major movement happening in the boxing world.

Posted in: boxing, spike tv, spike, programming, rank

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Ring.tv is reporting that Top Rank Boxing and Spike TV is working on a weekly boxing program for the channel. Top Rank is seeking a better platform for its fighters as it currently is seen on Fox Sports. The proposed show is slated for 36 shows beginning March 9th. Late last year, NBC Sports Network announced a quarterly boxing program for its network. Via Bad Left Hook: Most likely this would be a series similar to Top Rank Live, which currently airs on FSN and Fox Deportes, as I wouldn’t expect Spike to be going in deep on money to produce big fights. At its best, Top Rank Live produces some very good shows with lower-weight fighters in action bouts, and gives looks at prospects like Mercito Gesta or Diego Magdaleno. Payout Perspective: This is an interesting move for Spike as it will have the UFC library and boxing this year with Bellator coming up next year. We will see how many boxing fans are out there that will tune in to watch. More importantly, how many casual fans are out there. For Top Rank, its a good step forward for exposure for its fighters as boxing is shuffled around in the schedule (similar to Bellator) on Fox Sports in favor of regional sports.

Posted in: sport, boxing, fox sports, rank, boxing program

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Gives people more of a chance to familiarize themselves with fighters. The other professional sports allow you to choose someone to root for because you get to see all of their matches. You can get behind a team/individual. The counterpoint is that the current UFC business model has worked for boxing really well. Although at some point wasn't boxing on network television before PPV? submitted by ulees [link] [3 comments]

Posted in: ppv, boxing, event, network television, ppv events

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Team Quest boxing coach Gustavo Pugliese shows the MMAWeekly/Clinch Gear MMA technique of the week, a a boxing drill angling off the right hand.

Posted in: week, technique, boxing, gear, boxing drill

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submitted by MattyBlayze [link] [1 comment]

Posted in: houston, boxing, mattyblayze, houston alexander, boxing son

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"It's going to be really, really good for the fans. Because he's a striker (and) I'm a striker, it's going to be a stand-up battle. ... He's pretty good at using his kicks, his knees, his punches. But I believe so much in my boxing." -- UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior dos Santos tells USA Today that fight fans are going to have it good when he climbs inside the Octagon to defend his title for the first time against freshly crowned number one contender Alistair Overeem sometime this year. That's because both men are strikers, "Cigano" with his powerful boxing and "Demolition Man" with his polished kicks and knees. "The Reem," of course, is a K-1 kickboxing champion, as we all know very well by now and plans to utilize his well-rounded standing skill set to frustrate his Brazilian foe. Dos Santos, meanwhile, believes so unflinchingly in his boxing that he'll stand and trade with Overeem while looking for one more knockout blow. It would only be his sixth in nine fights inside the Octagon. That's all. "Lesnar vs. Overeem" may have been BIG but "Dos Santos vs. Overeem" is going to be AWESOME. Right, Maniacs?

Posted in: overeem, vs, boxing, do, fan

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Alistair Overeem, Brock Lesnar and Fedor Emelianenko weren’t the only big-name heavyweights who fought last night. Kimbo Slice did too, albeit in a boxing match. He took on Chris Hackman at the Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Oklahoma. Kimbo ultimately emerged victorious with a 39-37 unanimous decision, but Hackmann gave Slice his first fight in his short pro boxing career. Haven’t found round 4 yet. I’ll post it if I find it.

Posted in: boxing, slice, kimbo, bigname heavyweights, chris hackman

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There was a big fight that went down last night (Fri., Dec. 30, 2011) and I'm not talking about Brock Lesnar getting retired by Alistair Overeem at UFC 141 in Las Vegas, Nevada. No, I am, of course, speaking of the big Kimbo Slice vs. Charles Hackmann boxing match that was all set to light the world on fire. Or maybe just the Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Oklahoma. Kimbo, real name Kevin Ferguson, was expected to blow Hackmann out of the water with yet another first round knockout in what looked like a comical mismatch. But that's not how it went down. World Boxing News has more: Slice, who turned pro in August, took the four-rounder 39-37 as his opponent frustrated him and enjoyed a good second round, rocking Slice back on the ropes as he looked tired. Hackmann failed to land anything substantial in the following rounds but can hold his head up high after becoming the first boxer to go past the first round against the brawler from Miami. Hackmann, a fitness trainer, will go down in history as just another one of Kimbo's victims but let us all remember his heroic effort and near monumental upset of the street fighting legend. Watch the video of Slice doing his thing after the jump.

Posted in: round, boxing, slice, kimbo, hackmann

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submitted by DeadFlux [link] [4 comments]

Posted in: boxing, son, deadflux, cybering, basement

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Chances are you've already got tonight's entertainment lined up, but if you happen to live in Oklahoma then here's an option you might want to know about: Flying seemingly under the radar, Kimbo Slice will be back in action this weekend, fighting Charles Hackmann at the Buffalo Run Casino in Oklahoma.On Friday, December 30, Kimbo will meet Hackmann in a professional boxing match in the main event of the evening. According to Sherdog, Hackmann is 3-4 and is new to the boxing world, having fought his first pro bout last weekend, which he lost by decision. Slice had his last MMA fight back in May 2010, and has since entered the world of boxing, which he has had relative success in thus far, including some big knockouts. When I asked Hackmann if he had any comments regarding the fight, the Missouri native said, “My strength is indomitable. I took this [fight] last-second, but you can’t pass up opportunities.” Tickets are still available for the event on the Buffalo Run Casino site, stay tuned here for an update on the outcome. Aw yeah, last second can crushing on an Indian reservation.

Posted in: fight, boxing, slice, kimbo, hackmann

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Their are multiple angles where this article can go. Let me start by saying no one at MiddleEasy.com advocates any form of child abuse, but maybe if father's challenged their sons to boxing matches after they betrayed them by having cyber sex on Facebook than our society would be in a much better place. Maybe Houston Alexander wanted to stop his son from making the same mistakes he did in life. Maybe, just maybe, we need tough love back in style, and Houston Alexander can be the face of this parenting revolution. Then again no one knows how skilled a boxer Houston Alexander's 16 year old son was, so if anything this should have been a 2 round mixed rules match. The first round would consist of the combatants displaying their cyber sex skills on Facebook and the 2nd round would be composed entirely of boxing in a basement. Lets see this at Genki Desu Ka 2012. Please make it happen Japanese people who are putting on Desu Ka 2011. Here is the report from the always on the ball Kathy Niver from KMTV News Omaha: Police ticketed popular MMA fighter Houston Alexander for child abuse after the 39-year-old became upset with his 16-year-old and made him box with him. Police reports say officers were called to a home near 44th and Maple for a domestic disturbance. The older Alexander told them he was having trouble with his teen son, who was "having explicit sexual contact on Facebook with some unknown females." The 16-year-old reportedly lied and "made him very upset." According to police reports, "Alexander then retrieved boxing gloves and told his son, 'If you are going to lie to me, then we are going to box.'" The two reportedly boxed in the basement. Officers describe the teen as having a "slight bloody nose and pain to his right side." Alexander was cited for misdemeanor child abuse. Is it still called 'cybering' or did I just totally date myself, AIM 1.0 style? [Source]

Posted in: houston, boxing, houston alexander, alexander, son

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Featherweights Nam Phan and Jim Hettes will collide in main card action on the UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem card this Friday night. Hettes is a UFC newcomer with a perfect nine-fight record, closing out each match by submission (six in the first frame). His debut was an exhilarating back and forth scrap with Alex Caceres, in which the pair morphed into a blurry tangle of limbs with Hettes slickly transitioning from one sub to another while Cacares scrambled furiously to escape. In the end, Hettes maintained his signature finishing streak by catching "Bruce Leroy" in a rear-naked choke in the second stanza. Phan appeared on TUF 12 as a lightweight and progressed to the semifinals where he looked solid in a close decision loss to Michael Johnson. While the reality show served as his mainstream emergence, Phan has been in the trenches with respectable talent all around the globe, competing in the WEC, K-1, Sengoku and Strikeforce against opposition like Josh Thomson, Gesias Cavalcante, Billy Evangelista and Michihiro Omigawa. Post-TUF, Phan returned to his natural fighting weight and immediately found himself on the wrong end of Sherdog's 2010 "Robbery of the Year" against consummate culprit Leonard Garcia. He would go on to avenge the controversial loss in his last foray but, first, former champion Mike Brown handled him with overwhelming top-control to start Phan off with two straight defeats by decision. Match up analysis in the full entry. SBN coverage of UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem As we all know, otherworldly submission skills are useless unless one can create the scenario to implement them. The key to Hettes' unblemished roll is his under-rated Judo savvy in the clinch. He was a two-time State Judo Champion in Pennsylvania and has a commanding set of clinch tactics. Hettes also took up boxing and BJJ at an early age, all of which formed a sturdy foundation for MMA. Phan is highly experienced, a perilous boxer with a pro record (3-1 with 2 KOs), proficient in traditional Vietnamese martial arts, a BJJ black belt and thoroughly well rounded, yet not really known for his wrestling prowess. He did compete in high school but his size and wrestling could be viable aspects for Hettes to exploit. Memories of Mike Brown containing Phan against the cage, driving him to the mat and maintaining a dominant position come to mind. Hettes is also a beefy-sized featherweight at a robust 5'9", and the slightly undersized, 5'6" Phan might struggle to fend off Hettes' strength and persistence in tie-ups. Where the clever veteran really shines is in piecing together his boxing and kicks in open space. His stance, balance and defense are on point and Phan loves to creep into range with a low center of gravity and plunge left hooks to the body. He excels in employing angles -- both with his footwork and upper-body movement -- to attack with heavy leather from unexpected trajectories. At a distance, Phan has a wide collection of TMA-type kicks that he integrates seamlessly, such as the chambered side-kick and spinning back-kick. This, in addition to his plethora of boxing tactics at close range, makes Phan a tremendously effective and diverse striker to trade with in the free-movement phase. Hettes has decent boxing but I don't think he can survive with Phan in the stand up unless he can keep him on his heels with the constant threat of clinch encroachments. Considering Phan's complete game and significant edge in experience, it's not a surprise to see Hettes as the underdog in his first real taste of high-caliber opposition. Phan is definitely the safe bet but Hettes has the size and skill to negate his striking and exploit his strengths. It's a huge test for the 24-year-old but he might have the potential to pull it off. My Prediction: Nam Phan by TKO. Poll Nam Phan vs. Jim Hettes Phan Hettes   6 votes | Results

Posted in: ufc, vs, boxing, phan, hette

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As 2011 draws to a close, we present a week-long look-back at the year in our five major sports. On Boxing Day, we begin with the UFC.

Posted in: ufc, gsp, boxing, brock, boxing day

Read the full article at sportsnet.ca

MSNBC has the story of the fledgling Afghanistan Women's Olympic Boxing team, training in the basement of a sports stadium once used by the Taliban to hold public executions: As a member of the Afghan National Olympic committee and coach of the women's boxing team, Sharifi faces a daunting task. He wants to create a winning team of female boxers.Every afternoon, in the basement of Ghazi Stadium, in a small, dusty room with battered punch bags and cracked mirrors he oversees 20 teenage girls, as they jump, jog, jab and thrust."Yes, you see, the girls, they can do anything – and look at their strong punches!” he exclaimed.The young Afghan boxers arrive at practice fully covered, looking like demure young ladies, but within 10 minutes of starting their rigorous workout, their headscarves are cast off, and they look like sportswomen from all over the world, glowing with health and beaming with hope.The stars of the team are the Rahimi sisters – 18-year-old Shabnam and 17-year-old Sadaf. At the recent World Boxing Championship in Tajikistan, Shabnam won a gold medal and Sadaf a silver medal, making Afghan sports history.Boxing is an unusual choice for any young woman, anywhere in the world, but in deeply conservative Afghanistan, it is an act of courage.“Yes, we have a lot of problems. Here in Afghanistan they think we should stay home, not go to school, and never boxing,” said Sadaf. She said they have received threatening phone calls, but that has not stopped them.Shabnam, her older sister, said she boxes not just for herself, but for her country. “My dream is that I should represent my country all over the world, especially in the Olympics, raising the flag for my country.”   She brushed aside local criticism of female boxing. "I just want to box, shoulder to shoulder with the men, and show I can do it."   

Posted in: world, team, boxing, afghanistan, sadaf

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Come talk boxing with us while we wait for Strikeforce to start!  

Posted in: strikeforce, boxing, froch, prestrikeforce chat, prestrikeforce

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Come talk boxing with us while we wait for Strikeforce to start!  

Posted in: strikeforce, boxing, froch, prestrikeforce chat, prestrikeforce

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A surefire slug-fest between lightweight strikers K.J. Noons and Billy Evangelista will kick off the main card of Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal. K.J. Noons rose to prominence in the EliteXC promotion and is heralded for his boxing prowess, where he holds a professional record of eleven wins and two losses. Noons holds the extremely rare honor of being one of two fighters to stop the infallible Nick Diaz with strikes. The 2007 win crowned Noons as the EliteXC 162-pound champion. After backing up this career-defining feat with a vicious knockout of Yves Edwards, Noons faded out of the spotlight to concentrate on boxing. He reappeared in Strikeforce in 2010 and contested his first match overseas against Andre Amado in Dream, then ventured back stateside to bring his returning streak to three with wins over Conor Heun and Jorge Gurgel. The rematch with Diaz was too appealing to pass up even though the Stockton fighter had settled in at welterweight. Noons agreed to face Diaz at 170-pounds and lost a five-round decision; an outcome that recurred in his next foray against Jorge Masvidal on the Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum card. Billy Evangelista is also coming off a loss to Masvidal, which was the first blemish on his thirteen-fight record. Evangelista debuted with a bang at WEC 18 where he stopped Ryan Healy with strikes in the second. All but three of Evangelista's future bouts would take place in Strikeforce, where the Fresno kickboxer defeated all comers barring Masvidal and a No Decision ruling against Mike Aina for some confusion on the legality of a fight-ending knee. Match up analysis in the full entry. SBN coverage of Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal Noons has an austere boxing acumen with good footwork, defense and overall technique. He's got a nice jab and one-two and usually loads up the power on his brutal left hook, which is probably his best punch. To complement his hands, he does throw an occasional kick and has a solid clinch game to boot. His grappling isn't as far along as his striking but Noons has been ultra-feisty with takedown defense and in scrambles to get back on his feet. Noons transitioned well to MMA because his boxing is aggressive and powerful. He's freely relented on traditional boxing mechanics in order to pack a severe wallop with his combinations. What I mean is that Noons has been "acceptably sloppy" with his MMA striking. Instead of maintaining tight form and traditional fundamentals at all times, Noons will violently head-hunt with strikes that are much more deliberate -- bordering on wild -- with a focus on inflicting damage. In most cases, Noons has found a happy medium between artful tactician and effective brawler. While his rocket-fueled left hook is wicked and accurate, slinging it from the waist with his hands are down and feet planted are tendencies that he recently paid for. Diaz and Masvidal were unafraid to duel in the pocket and capitalized with precise counter-punching. Additionally, Masvidal clearly keyed on Noons' habit of bending at the waist and dipping his head low in close range exchanges. Whether he was in a southpaw or traditional stance, Noons was repeatedly clobbered with kicks and flying knees when this flaw continued to actualize. In fact, Masvidal's keen awareness to prey on the mistake may have made all the difference, as the scenario was the common thread in almost all of his memorable knockdowns and flurries. It should be mentioned, however, that both Diaz and Masvidal are elite strikers in their respective divisions. Evangelista is similar to Noons in that he's a sound boxer who splices in kicks and has a strong clinch, but throws his hands with malicious intentions. He's definitely heavier on the brawling side and prefers to trade in much closer quarters or grind away with dirty boxing in the clinch. Against Noons, he'll assume the role of the brawler against a more proven and technical boxer. That particular mix might very well cause some problems for Noons. Evangelista is fearless in his stalking, he hits hard and has a great chin that forgives him of some defensive shortcomings. His ferocity is a big factor and Evangelista constantly moves forward, looking to aggressively lock horns in close-quarter combat. He surrounds himself with a ceaseless barrage of strikes from outside and leans more toward knees, short elbows and dirty boxing in the clinch. The cliche that "anyone can get caught" has a high presence in this match up. In light of Noons' questionable traits on the defensive end, Evangelista will have some opportunities to gain ground if he can pinpoint them. Masvidal cracked him with knees and kicks that were directed just to the left or right of Noons' waist where he swoons his head, and Evangelista is quite competent with that same selection of strikes. His stiff striking, physical strength and high pace could make for some surprises if he tailors his attack to Noons' weak spots and steals momentum with well-timed takedowns. On the flip-side of the match up, Noons is probably better in every facet that Evangelista excels in and has encountered a far superior level of opposition. He's also demonstrated a rock-solid chin and should walk away with a win here. My Prediction: K.J. Noons by decision Poll K.J. Noons vs. Billy Evangelista Noons Evangelista   0 votes | Results

Posted in: strikeforce, boxing, masvidal, noon, evangelista

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Merging the WEC’s lower weight classes into the UFC has yielded some of the most exciting fights we’ve seen in 2011. Denying that would mean you shop exclusively at Armani Exchange and you couldn’t see the broadcasts through your trendy sunglasses. The argument has been made to open up a flyweight division to create a home for fighters like Demetrious Johnson, Yasuhiro Urushitani, Ian McCall, Rambaa Somdet, Jussier da Silva, and Brandon Merkt, but MMA promoters have exhibited hesitations that the lower weight division would not be marketable. Yesterday, at a press conference in Anaheim, California, Gary Shaw announced that Vic Darchinyan is leaving boxing to become the future of the MMA Flyweight division. When a boxer who’s 37-3-1 decides to leave the sport he’s dominated for over a decade, you’d assume he’s going into retirement. However, Vic Darchinyan has had his sights set on MMA for a while, and most boxing authorities would argue that he’s still very relevant as an athlete (unlike other boxers who have made similar transitions). Vic is poised to prove boxers can compete MMA and the future of MMA might have just gotten even more exciting in 2012. Here’s him talking about the move from Boxing to MMA. [Source]

Posted in: mma, boxing, division, vic darchinyan, vic

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Posted in: boxing, champion, move, mattyblayze, boxing champion

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Posted in: tekprodfx, boxing, money, boxing aspect, aspect

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Our friends at Bad Left Hook brought our attention to another boxing champion who is apparently seriously considering a move to mixed martial arts. That fighter, a three division world champion, and the current IBO title holder, Vic Darchinyan (37-3-1). The Armenian is set to challenge Anselmo Moreno for the WBA Super-bantamweight title this Saturday. During the final press conference for the Showtime event, Gary Shaw gave out this little tidbit about Darchinyan's future: "If he should win (the WBA title), he probably will retire from boxing, and Darchinyan, will probably go in to MMA, following in the footsteps of Kimbo Slice" "Vic is serious about going to MMA after he completes his triumph on Saturday night" Before we break down the prospect of having a guy like Darchinyan in MMA, let's just make one thing clear -- If he does makes that switch, he wouldn't be following the footsteps of Kimbo Slice, a guy who came from YouTube bare knuckle street fights. Now that we got that out of the way, here's why Darchinyan thinks he can successfully make the jump to MMA: "I already have a strong wrestling base and am confident I could make the switch... That could honestly happen within a year, but who knows?" That "strong wrestling base" he claims to have, came from learning from his dad, who was an Olympic wrestling coach. He might be bold enough to truly make that jump, and he can probably KO a bunch of scrubs and lower level guys, but there are several reasons why he probably won't make that move to MMA, let along be successful in doing so. Here's why: - He's 35 years old, and he has never really competed or trained in grappling or kickboxing. We don't know how serious he was with his wrestling, but we do know that he hasn't used that "strong wrestling base" in decades. - He fights at 118 lbs. The lightest weight class is Flyweight, which is at 125 lbs. That weight class isn't even in the UFC or Bellator yet, so if he wants to compete at the big shows, the smallest division they have is at 135 lbs. - Money. He may be nearing the tail end of his career, but he's still a top-level boxer who can earn more money in boxing, than fighting relatively unknown and low level guys in MMA. Even if he truly dedicates himself, it will be hard for him to unlearn the things and habits from a lifetime of boxing, to try an learn the finer points of the striking and grappling involved in MMA. Even if we disregard that fact, will he be willing to take a smaller pay check, fighting in smaller shows for the next couple of years? I doubt it. That being said, I do enjoy these freakshow-ish bouts, so honestly, I'd watch it.

Posted in: mma, boxing, darchinyan, level guys, boxing champion

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When you become a world champion you are put on a hit list for potential opponents and contenders. When you look at boxing you see time and time again that so called “champions” hardly ever fight all comers, but this is where MMA has learned from boxing’s short comings. One of the most dominant athletes [...]

Posted in: time, boxing, champion, michael, world champion

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Preparing for his upcoming title defense against Lyoto Machida at UFC 140, light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has been sparring with world boxing champion Holly Holm.

Posted in: jon, jone, boxing, title defense, lyoto machida

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Our weekly rundown of boxing news kicks off on a very sad note. Former heavyweight championship contender Ron Lyle passed away Saturday morning. Raised by a father who was a preacher and a mother who was a missionary, Lyle ended up screwing up the early part of his life after involvement in the murder of a gang member. The Denver Post talks about the moment when Lyle turned it around: "(My mother) died a saint. The things I did broke her heart," Lyle told The Post in 1994. "When I was in prison, my mother traveled in the snow to see me. So I decided I would do something to make her proud. I decided to become heavyweight champion of the world." Lyle would never reach that goal, losing a fight to Muhammad Ali in 1975 after Ali stopped him in the 11th round of a fight Lyle led on two scorecards. Lyle rebounded with a sixth round TKO of Ernie Shavers four months later before meeting George Foreman in one of the greatest heavyweight brawls of all time. Here's the video, I urge you to give it a watch: Lyle helped train young men for much of his late life, especially through the Cox & Lyle Salvation Army boxing program which helped train up men for the life ahead just as much as it did boxing. Rest of the week's results after the jump. Saul "Canelo" Alvarez dominated Kermit Cintron last night on HBO's Boxing After Dark. Cintron is well shot and a shell of his former self and hasn't looked like a motivated fighter in years. While Kermit didn't follow his M.O. of looking for a way out once things got tough, he had nothing for Canelo once the 21-year-old turned up the heat. Cintron tried to fight back but was visibly affected by every punch that landed and the referee stopped the fight in the fifth. Following the fight, Alvarez called out Floyd Mayweather saying he wanted the fight in May. Mayweather already has the May 5 date set for his next fight and as crazy as it may sound, Alvarez has the popularity and name to be Floyd's best non-Pacquiao option. At such a young age it would not be a career killer for him to lose to the best in the world, so there is a really decent chance of this actually happening. Adrien Broner knocked Martin Rodriguez out in violent fashion in the third round of the HBO broadcast opener and Gary Russell Jr. did the same to Heriberto Ruiz in the first round. Both knockouts were brutal "knockout of the year" level endings, but both fights were horrible mismatches that never should have happened. Broner and Russell are big-time young talents who were given bad opponents in a shameful display. You can't learn anything from fights like these. One of the best action fighters on the planet, Jorge Arce, won a world title in his fourth different weight class as he took a decision over Angky Angkotta in his usual gutsy brawl that was harder than it should have been. Arce claims an interim title as a world title also to say that he has won world titles in five weight classes, but interim titles don't count. Much more info on the weekend's events can be found over at Bad Left Hook.

Posted in: fight, world, title, boxing, lyle

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The future of Strikeforce on Showtime has been a matter of some interest and concern for MMA fans. With the UFC taking stars from the Strikeforce roster already and hinting at wanting to bring in more top talent, it seems that Strikeforce's days are numbered. But UFC president Dana White has said several times that they are trying to continue the promotion going forward. In late August, White told Ariel Helwani that he met with Showtime execs and it went well as far as keeping Strikeforce around. However, on November 14 it was announced that Showtime had hired Stephen Espinoza as Ken Hershman's replacement as executive VP and general manager of Showtime Sports after Hershman left for HBO. Espinoza had a boxing background after working as an attorney for men like Mike Tyson and Oscar De La Hoya while also working with Golden Boy Promotions. While no one was quite sure how Espinoza would handle sports going forward after Hershman established a pattern of looking to pay solid rights fees for good fights in boxing while also showing a grand vision by bringing Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley to the network and organizing the Super Six World Boxing Classic. Today saw some big news for the network as they outbid HBO to get the rematch between Victor Ortiz and Andre Berto. This is a big rematch that did very solid viewership numbers for HBO the first time out. Showtime going after the fight shows that they have a commitment to getting big fights on the network and are willing to pay for them. Now, networks like HBO and Showtime work on a yearly budget for boxing. This leads to situations like HBO bidding against themselves and overpaying for the box office bomb that was Devon Alexander vs. Timothy Bradley. That overpayment forced HBO to put Bernard Hopkins vs. Chad Dawson on PPV even though they knew it wasn't a PPV worthy fight, it was just necessary given their depleted fight budget. I'd be lying if I said I had any idea what Showtime's budget is or if they tie the Strikeforce money to the overall budget with boxing. But paying a rights fee of $2.5 million for Berto vs. Ortiz is an indication that they're keyed in on making 2012 a big year for boxing. I think it's entirely fair to wonder if this is a revealing signal of their priorities going forward. If they can take the yearly expense of paying rights fees for Strikeforce events and even buy 2-3 more fights like this, it may be of more long term value as Showtime continues to build up their reputation as a very stiff competitor to HBO for the best boxing action. If that is of a high enough priority and the network isn't interested in ratings for Strikeforce that haven't shown steady improvement while the UFC picks off their top fighters, it may be the end for the promotion on Showtime once the contract is up.

Posted in: fight, hbo, strikeforce, boxing, showtime

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Junior dos Santos has had a pretty impressive run int he UFC. It kicked off with him getting a shocking knockout win over heavy favorite Fabricio Werdum in 2008 which his most recent fight being a heavyweight title win on the UFC's debut on FOX. If his amazing rise through the UFC ranks wasn't enough, now it appears the champ is interested on setting his sights on a new challenge down the road. Via UOL Esportes (translation via Tom Mendes). First, Junior speaks: "The more goals you reach, the bigger your dreams become. I'd like very much to test myself in boxing. In the gym I train boxing a lot and I see it as a sport that brings something different. You have to be more loose and faster. If the opportunity arises, I'd like to try it, but first I have to defend this (UFC) belt" Then his coach: To have Junior fighting at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro (in 2016) would be a dream, but today his priority is MMA. If one day he has the opportunity he could try to fight for the title. Obviously 2016 is a long way off but it's interesting that they're even considering the possibility. At that point dos Santos would be in his early 30's but there are some career amateur boxers who never turn pro and continue to compete well into their 30's. I don't expect he'd fare particularly well in the strange point-fighting system of Olympic boxing against guys who have been doing the same since they were kids, but it's something that would at least make me kind of interested in watching Olympic boxing.

Posted in: ufc, boxing, olympic, olympic boxing, tom mendes

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One thing that has been requested has been a little more boxing coverage here at Bloody Elbow, so going forward we'll touch on major boxing events and recap the weekend's action. But your home for the best boxing coverage at SB Nation is still Bad Left Hook, so make sure you keep up with things there as well. We'll be starting our new boxing coverage with a two part feature on the Antonio Margarito vs. Miguel Cotto fight, today discussing Margarito's issues acquiring a license for the rematch scheduled for December 3 and tomorrow diving into the incredible marketing of the fight. The very mention of Antonio Margarito's name is enough to strike up an immediate emotional reaction from most combat fans. Margarito went from on top of the world after defeating Miguel Angel Cotto in a thrilling fight in July of 2008 he got a fight with Shane Mosley in January 2009. During the hand wrapping process for the Mosley fight, Shane's trainer noticed Margarito's wraps had a strange substance on them. The wraps were eventually found to have plaster of paris on them, which would have hardened to give him a dangerous advantage in the bout. Margarito would have to have his hands re-wraped and would then go on to take a vicious beating at the hands of Mosely in "Sugar" Shane's last great performance. The end result of the handwrapping controversy was a year suspension of Margarito's boxing license by the state of California and a reputation that will never recover. Margarito is set to face Cotto in a rematch on December 3 in New York City. Cotto feels that his loss the first time around can't be fully accepted as Margarito may have cheated and Antonio is looking to prove that he didn't cheat the first time and won't need to this time either. Unfortunately for fight fans excited to see the bout, Margarito has been having trouble acquiring a license from the NYSAC because of a surgically repaired eye. Some may be wondering why Margarito is even able to apply for a license after the plaster situation. The answer has multiple parts: The blame was put on Margarito's trainer, Javier Capetillo. He claims he simply picked up wraps off a table as he was in a rush and it was not an intentional act. During the hearing with the commission Margarito threw Capetillo under the bus, saying he didn't understand why he would do such a thing. The commission couldn't pin the fault on Margarito, finding that he actually did nothing wrong and may well have been ignorant of the entire situation. Finally, the biggest part of why the suspension wouldn't have held up for over a year. In cases like these, there are standard evidence handling guidelines. It appears that there were serious problems with the chain of custody of the evidence the evening of the Mosley fight. The wraps appear to have changed hands several times during the hours that followed, including spending time with multiple members of Mosley's camp. This prevented further action from being taken, including possible legal action against Margarito and his camp. So while it's easy to get upset with the fact that Margarito is allowed to fight, it also requires some acknowledgement of the California State Athletic Commission's failures. More on the current state of Margarito's license after the jump. November of 2010 saw Margarito return to an American boxing ring for the first time since his suspension to face Manny Pacquiao. Margarito displayed a ton of heart as he took a violent beating at the hands of Pacquiao for twelve rounds. After the fight it was determined that Margarito suffered a fractured orbital bone which required surgery to fix. He then had to have an additional surgery done to repair the lens of his eye. That second surgery was done by one of the leading experts in the field and he declared the work a success. However, hose two surgeries and the health of Antonio's eye have the NYSAC hesitant to grant a license. Recent shots of Margarito on HBO's 24/7 series show where some of that concern comes from (repaired eye is Margarito's right): New York held a hearing on Friday which ended with a determination that if a NYSAC chosen doctor cleared Margarito, they would grant the license. This forced Margarito to break camp in Mexico to fly into  While it is admirable for the NYSAC to look out for the health of a fighter, it's the way which they went about the situation that has many people upset. Back on September 20 one of the most vocal members of the licensing board, Melvina Lethan, appeared at a Top Rank press conference and said the following (via Bad Left Hook): "Whenever Bob comes to town, he comes to town and really throws out the red carpet. That's what we need in New York. I can't tell you how proud, how happy we are at the commission to have such a beginning of Madison Square Garden, once she has a new facelift that is, that we are going to be the ones to help open it. This is a great show, both shows are going to be a great show (Donaire vs Narvaez on October 22), and we're just really looking forward to these exciting -- both evenings of boxing. "I have a great crew, which in part helps to maintain and make sure that everything is safe as far as the welfare, the safety of the boxers are concerned. Without that crew and their dedication, the state athletic commission just would not be, and I am very happy to have them on my team. I applaud them myself. Come out to the show, know that everything is going to go well, and best of luck to both participants. Thank you again." So just two months back one of the people holding out on the license was attending a press conference and assuring the public that the fight would go off without a hitch. That led to great ticket sales to see the fight at Madison Square Garden with fans booking flights and hotels only to be told mere weeks out that the fight may be a no-go. Steve Kim of Max Boxing suggests that this may have all been a plan by New York to wait until it was too late to move the fight and then force Top Rank to switch out Margarito for a late replacement. This would have kept the big selling fight in the state without allowing the controversial Margarito to fight in the state. Kim explains the flaw in New York's thinking if that were the case: While the live gate is an important facet of any promotion, with fights like Cotto-Margarito II, it actually pales in comparison to the pay-per-view possibilities. Yeah, the Garden might seat around 20,000 patrons (and, from what I'm told, is scaled for a gate of $3.4 million) but if this card does 300,000 pay-per-view buys, that means right around $7.5 million for the promotion. And while the "Kangaroo Court of Gotham City" believed it may have pushed Top Rank to the point of no return, they were really at the point of no return regarding Cotto-Margarito. See, the real money in this instance is with the pay-per-view. This was not just an ESPN card where the main event participants are interchangeable. With the expenses for marketing, promoting and advertising already paid, you couldn't have suddenly thrown in a Martirosyan or anyone else on the opposite side of the ledger from Cotto. And with this fight's much-talked about first episode of HBO's "24/7" debuting this weekend, it was another step toward the inevitability of this bout. The fact that the PPV money trumps the live gate means that Top Rank has already lined up alternative venues for the bout, with the leading candidate apparently being the Pepsi Center in Denver. The fight will be going down regardless of if it happens in New York. For fight fans, that is a good thing. Margarito and Cotto put on one of the better fights of my lifetime the first time around and a rematch really feels "needed" to finish the story. Top Rank also did something unique and put three potentially great fights on the PPV undercard including a rematch of the fight of the year candidate between Delvin Rodriguez and Pawel Wolak, a Brandon Rios vs. John Murray fight and action fighters Mike Jones and Sebastian Lujan meeting in what could be a great brawl. New York will hold a hearing today at 3 p.m. ET to announce if Margarito was cleared by their doctor and will be licensed to fight. If not, expect an announcement quickly from Top Rank on the official venue change.

Posted in: fight, time, boxing, license, margarito

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With his fast first round knockout win of former undefeated champion Cain Velasquez at the inaugural UFC on Fox 1 show on Nov. 12, 2011, Junior dos Santos showed the reason he is considered by many to be the best heavyweight striker in mixed martial arts (MMA) today. Throughout his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) career, dos Santos has preferred the stand up game because the results thus far are nothing short of impressive. Of his eight victories with the promotion, five of them have come via (technical) knockout. Now the proud new owner of a gold shiny world championship belt, "Cigano" has another gold award set in his sights: an Olympic medal. Speaking to Tatame.com, the new UFC heavyweight champion hints at the possibility of making a run at a medal in boxing at the upcoming Olympic games in 2016, which are slated to take place right in his own backyard. Check it out: "My trainings begin and end with Boxing. There're dynamics and strategies I'm already used to. But I'll test myself, it's inevitable. Who knows I get an Olympic medal. Everything's possible." Luiz Carlos Dorea, Junior's head trainer, believes he has a great chance to shine in the Olympics. "The adaptations from Boxing to MMA are complexes. You gotta be careful about blocking the kicks and takedowns. If he's already above average combining all those things, imagine when he fights traditional Boxing. The chances he'll shine are huge, both on professional and Olympic Boxing." If "Cigano" hopes to make a run at the Olympics, he would likely have to receive the blessing of his current employer, Zuffa/UFC, which have been notorious for not allowing fighters to participate in any other combat sport while under contract. In the past, high profile fighters such as Alistair Overeem had been hesitant to sign with the promotion because of its strict "exclusivity," which prevented him from participating in K-1 kickboxing events. Of course, when it pursued Fedor Emelianenko, his Sambo tournaments were an early deal breaker, too. Then again, it's more than four years from now -- much can happen between then and now. For now, dos Santos, 27, has plenty of work ahead of him in the UFC's heavyweight division. In fact, his next fight could very well be against another heavyweight who is considered to have some of the best striking in the game, the previously mentioned Overeem. "Demolition Man," the 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix champion, is set to take on Brock Lesnar at UFC 141 in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Dec. 30, 2011. The winner will get first crack at "Cigano's" heavyweight strap. A match up between Dos Santos and Overeem could definitely prove just who indeed has the best striking in the UFC's heavyweight division. Does "Cigano" have the chops to hang with Olympic caliber boxers? Or would the mixed martial artist be biting off a little bit more than he can chew?

Posted in: ufc, heavyweight, boxing, do, olympic

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God knows if there is anyone who thinks there is no need for some sort of pointless "MMA vs. boxing" rivalry, it's me. I love both sports deeply for their various charms, but it is interesting to me to hear the thoughts of fighters from both sports on the other. Even if it's only out of a strange sense of curiosity. So when our friends at FightHub caught up with Zab Judah and asked for his thoughts on MMA, I checked out the video: Zab's quote: "MMA? I mean hey, it is what it is. It's..some people like to see. You know? I think the difference between MMA and boxing is anybody can be a MMA fighter it just takes...uh...you know, just brutality. You know what I'm sayin'? It's not a skill level thing. For me to get in and get your arm in a lock and try to pop it off, you know, as fast as I could? Anybody could do that. But when it comes to boxing, boxing is a skill, you know what I'm saying? It's an acquired entree. It's not for everybody." The point of this isn't "let's all get angry at Zab for what he said." Obviously he's speaking from a place of ignorance when it comes to MMA. The proper application of an armbar, kimura or any other arm lock is more than "grab arm and twist" we all know that. Hell, Zab probably knows that himself. I find the "acquired entree" thing to be the interesting part because it's something that I hear from MMA and boxing fans/participants alike when defending their sport. Both sports are very easy to understand and appreciate when you're watching James Kirkland vs. Alfredo Angulo, Micky Ward vs. Arturo Gatti, Mauricio Rua vs. Dan Henderson or Stephan Bonnar vs. Forrest Griffin. Those are bouts which are, at their very core, what people expect a fight to look like. But watching an MMA fight which is a struggle for takedowns and positional control against submission attacks is something that does take a certain level of understanding and willingness to appreciate. To many people struggles against the cage or ground battles will never be appealing and they'll never understand what is going on because they simply don't care to. Similarly, many people watch a boxing match between two fighters with different styles and see clinching and hate that the guys keep "hugging" and the ref has to separate them. Boxing fans understand that in many cases it's a matter of dictating the space and distance at which the fight takes place or to break up the rhythm of the other fighter. There are a myriad of reasons why a clinch takes place or any other number of more subtle things in boxing. But many people won't care either way because they, again, simply don't care to. Both sports are acquired tastes and I don't think either is free from misunderstanding or falls gracefully into "everyone wants to see a fight" given that the definition of fight for most people falls well outside of anything a strategic fighter engages in. Of course, anyone can appreciate this: Too mean?

Posted in: mma, fighter, sport, boxing, people

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One thing that seems like it will never go away is the boxing versus MMA debate. While there are many that are fans of both sports, UFC President Dana White being a prime example, there are many more that focus their attention on the sport that they love and deride the other sport, like say, boxing promoter, Bob Arum. Zab Judah, who has said, in the past, that MMA is more fun to watch than boxing, has lent his voice to the debate.  The good folks over at FightHubTV.com, caught up with the champion

Posted in: mma, sport, boxing, mma fighter, mma debate

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Fight Hub TV catches up with famed boxing trainer Freddie Roach and gets a funny story about the first time he met Dan Henderson.

Posted in: boxing, tv, story, trainer, hub

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Last Saturday (Nov. 12, 2011), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) went head-to-head with professional boxing. Well, sort of. UFC on FOX 1 took place from the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., on the same night that boxing's "Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez 3" occupied Las Vegas. However, the fight cards did not occur simultaneously. UFC on FOX was all wrapped up by the time the boxing pay-per-view (PPV) was even started. There was no competition. Not really. "Mixed martial arts (MMA) vs. boxing" is a topic that has become more and more popular in the combat sports community. But at this point, is there really a comparison? "It's all about "the Benjamins," but you knew that already. What it really comes down to is: Who's getting paid? After the jump, we'll take a look at the difference in payouts received by the UFC's big winner on Nov. 12 contrasted against that of professional boxing's Manny Pacquiao.  The reports are indicating that World Boxing Association (WBO) welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao received somewhere in the neighborhood of $22 million.  To receive this cool settlement, "Pac Man" had to win a grueling 12-round decision victory (a decision which some questioned as being the right one).  The UFC's Junior dos Santos banked a little more than ten percent of that which Pacquiao was paid, coming in at $220,000. "JDS" earned his paycheck for one minute and four seconds of work that ended with Cain Velasquez face down on the canvas and "Cigano's" hand raised in the air. That said, time in the ring or cage shouldn't be the measuring stick with which we equate monetary value. If so, "Iron" Mike Tyson would owe a lot of people a lot of money. (Wait -- Tyson does owe a lot of people a lot of money. Nevermind.)  Comparing dos Santos to Pacquiao at this point in their respective careers is not accurate. That's a given. Also, a free card on FOX can't really be gauged against a professional boxing PPV that has been built up for months. Regardless, the numbers show that athletes in the sport of MMA have a long way to go in terms of catching up to boxers, in reference to how much of the "door" they are bringing home. How do you Maniacs feel about those numbers? Are MMA fighters getting a fair deal? Could boxers possibly be overpaid? Where do you weigh in? Sound off! For complete UFC on FOX payouts and salaries click here. For "Pacquiao vs Marquez 3" fight video, results, highlights and reactions click here.

Posted in: ufc, fox, boxing, pacquiao, manny

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Posted in: ufc, fox, boxing, writer, pacquiaomarquez

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Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez will go down in the history books as a success. The two men put on a bout filled with drama and a level of evenness that befit their legendary trilogy perfectly. The scorecards led to controversy as many (most?) scored the bout for Marquez, but in the fight sport business a little controversy makes for good water cooler talk and the kind of buzz an "event sport" needs. Of course, there was another little combat sports event going on the same evening with the UFC making their Fox debut with a heavyweight title fight. Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum gave his thoughts on the UFC and Fox's decision to air the same night. Via the New York Post: "They thought they would hurt us," Arum said of the UFC. "Instead they got hurt because they got buried. But I think the fact they're just on for an hour helps us." I actually seriously doubt that this was any attempt to "hurt" the boxing event. If anything, the fact that the UFC followed up their show by putting the Pacquiao and Marquez fight on every TV at their post-fight event is an indication that it had little to do with any sort of animus toward boxing. Not to mention Dana White never once mentioning that anyone should skip the Pacquiao/Marquez show and instead pushing the idea that they'd be off the air in plenty of time to catch the majority of the boxing card. Similarly I don't think that the UFC got buried. I think that the buzz in the days following is tilted in boxing's favor in terms of mass media and interest (trust me, the traffic between the events is not even close). But that's more a product of the Fox event lacking enough time to build properly. You had a lot of talking, a minute of action and more talking. It was a great moment for Junior dos Santos and a great moment for the UFC, but it was what it was in terms of overall starpower and action. That still doesn't constitute the UFC having been "buried." We have enough years of data at this point to fully embrace the idea that the growth of MMA has had little effect on boxing and boxing's big events don't have any impact on the UFC's bottom line. Boxing is actually in a healthier place than it has been in years and it seems like 2011 has seen an inordinate amount of great fights in the sport. The Main Events deal with NBC to return boxing to network TV as well as hold events on Versus was a big step as has been much better matchmaking. Every PPV of the past year for boxing has included some great fights and the upcoming Miguel Cotto vs. Antonio Margarito card is the best combat sports card of the year as far as I'm concerned with tremendous action fights up and down. In the end, Arum is just doing what Arum does. He's talking up his product like any promoter. He can't help himself but take his little shots at the UFC because he's a creature of ego butting heads with one of his own in Dana White.

Posted in: ufc, fight, boxing, event, arum

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Whether you felt the event was a success or not, there's no denying the UFC made history this past Saturday night (Nov. 12, 2011) by broadcasting its Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos heavyweight championship fight live and free on network TV. For whatever reason, they did this on the very same night that boxing great Manny Pacquiao returned to the ring to do battle against Juan Manuel Marquez in an exciting but controversial pay-per-view bout. So leave it to the 80-year-old promoter of that fight, Bob Arum, to fire a few shots at MMA. From NYPost.com: "They thought they would hurt us. Instead they got hurt because they got buried. But I think the fact they're just on for an hour helps us." His first point, that UFC got hurt because they got buried underneath all the Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3 coverage definitely has some merit. In fact, despite mainly covering MMA, our traffic indicates a strong lean towards the big boxing fight last night. Actually, it was a complete blowout. The second point Arum makes also has merit, considering UFC President Dana White actually told his audience to watch the Velasquez vs. Dos Santos fight before tuning into the Pacquiao match. And, apparently, that's exactly what they did. The 5.7 million viewers UFC on FOX garnered was most definitely a success but might it have done better if it wasn't "buried" underneath a highly anticipated boxing match featuring one of the biggest draws in combat sports? Opinions, please.

Posted in: ufc, fight, night, vs, boxing

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Art Jimmerson wants a crack at MMA dropout (and pro boxer) Kimbo Slice, hoping to step into the boxing ring after more than nine years away from the sport. Jimmerson, a former IBC and NABF boxing champion (33-18 pro boxing), famously lost to Royce Gracie at UFC 1 while wearing a single boxing glove. “I just don’t want ‘Kimbo’ to embarass the sport by coming over here acting like a joke, the way I did with MMA,” Jimmerson told MMAjunkie. “I’ll let him go two or three rounds and let him throw all those haymakers, coming in all hard. But in a couple of rounds, I’ll just set him with my jab, and start throwing straight punches.” Jimmerson is currently an instructor in California at the official UFC gym, where he teaches boxing and MMA classes. This sounds like a crazy matchup that won’t generate a lot of actual interest — but MMA fans should get a kick out of it.

Posted in: mma, boxing, mma fans, jimmerson, mma classes

Read the full article at MMA Opinion

Filters are used for countless reasons. They're used to purify tap water, they're inside pools to help keep out all the gunk you wouldn't want to deal with during a morning swim. A filter is also in place with hardcore mixed martial arts (MMA) fans who have developed one when it comes to UFC President Dana White. The UFC head honcho spins better than any politician and almost every statement he makes has an ulterior motive and is a combination of both truth and misinformation. He can't be faulted for it, he's a businessman and in his line on work, the bottom line is all that matters. That also isn't to say White only cares about money. A big part of the bottom line for the UFC also includes making the fans -- supporters old and new who have helped pushed the sport to the brink of mainstream -- happy. It's that reasoning that brought us UFC on FOX 1 and a free heavyweight title fight. In the promotional push leading up to the event, White likened the event to the glory days of boxing where the biggest fights were broadcast on network television. The claim -- as per usual with White -- was partly true, but was also a bit of a tall tale. Last night's fight between Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos wasn't like boxing in the 1960s and 1970s, at least not exactly. It was better. But how? Believe or not, there was a time before pay-per-view (PPV). The format didn't start to gain steam until the 1980s when it began to strengthen its stranglehold on combat sports. Now every major event -- be it boxing, MMA, or pro wrestling -- can usually only be seen by ordering it from your cable or dish company. Before then, fans either had to be inside the arena to see the fight live or watch it via closed-circuit television. But, bouts like Muhammad Ali's iconic showdowns with Joe Frazier and Leon Spinks were available on network television ... albeit a few months after the fact. While the statements White made were technically true, taken at face value would lead the listener to believe that people 40 or 50 years ago would turn on ABC and check out heavyweight titans in the squared circle live as it happened. Fellow SBNation writer Brent Brookhouse, himself a longtime boxing fan, has been debunking this talking point for the past week. The fights were shown on programs like ABC's "Wide World of Sports," but after a lengthy, often months long, delay. Last night's UFC on FOX 1 event wasn't a return for combat sports to the format that made it popular in the first place because technically, it was never a part of that format to begin with. Yes, boxing heavyweight title fights were sometimes -- but not often -- aired live on free TV but nothing comparable to the bout between Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos. Aside from having Brock Lesnar standing inside the Octagon, last night's main event was the biggest heavyweight bout the UFC could put together. On one side, is the champion, Cain Velasquez. He walked into the Honda Center last night with an unblemished record to complement the title around his waist. On the other side of the cage was challenger Junior dos Santos. The Brazilian had performed flawlessly during his UFC stint taking out the likes of Fabricio Werdum, Roy Nelson and Shane Carwin. These were the two best heavyweights in the sport fighting for the biggest title in the game. And it aired on Fox for free. This wasn't a throwback to the glory days of boxing, it was exponentially better. Perhaps decades from now there will be another fight promoter making the media rounds in the week leading up to the biggest fight of his company's history. And maybe if the fight will be airing on a free-to-air network, the promoter will reference last night's bout as a comparison. In that instance, he will be correct. Last night, the UFC didn't bring back the era of momentous heavyweight fights on free TV because that era never existed. It didn't piggyback onto boxing's history, it created a bit of its own. Last night was a watershed moment for the Las Vegas fight promotion, a gamechanger. And it wasn't because of anything boxing did or didn't do in the past. It was because of what the UFC is doing now. For UFC on FOX results and live play-by-play for "Velasquez vs. Dos Santos" click here.

Posted in: ufc, fight, night, heavyweight, boxing

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That was about the most exciting 70 seconds of sports I've watched since the ending of Superbowl 42 when Giants beat the Patriots back in 2008. Part of it, I suppose, was the moment - UFC on network TV, for the heavyweight championship! I had no dog in this race. I didn't see any particular advantage in the lines that would make me want to put money down and there were so many variables to try and guess about, that a wager seemed fruitless. I was just hoping for something. Something big. Fireworks. Can't really ask for much more than a one-hitter-quitter. Let me clarify something, if I may. This sport is great. I spent this afternoon before work watching a stream of M1's card and saw some random guy that I'd never heard of before today (but whom Leland Roling tells me is a good prospect to watch) dangadadang Aleks Emelianenko amongst other mostly irrelevant action. It's really hard to make this sport boring. Early gassing, buttscooting, Leonard Garciaesque boxing technique, Kaleb Starnesian backpeddling - that's about all you can really do to kill the inherent excitement that is MMA. What really gets me geeked, and what separates the smaller fights from the big ones like this one are the relevance. It just doesn't get bigger than the UFC heavyweight championship, PLUS it was historic in the promotion's history. What more can a fan of this sport ask for? So perhaps it is my inner fanboy marking out over the big boys banging and the UFC making waves, but I am incredibly optimistic that this will bring new fans of the sport into the fold. People get excited by the big fellas, and they love knockouts. We got both in a minute. There was the aura of a professional Fox broadcast: no Nu-Metal gladiator intro, no yellfest and no equivocating. The pitfalls of the sport did not rear their head at all. No shady judges decision, no questionable stoppage, no nut shots, no eye pokes, etc. Contrast that with what just happened in boxing and I predict another smiley face tweet from Dana in a few minutes. Tonight has been a gigantic win for the UFC on many levels. Brock Lesnar looked and sounded like a great analyst. The fighters, Junior Dos Santos in particular, did fantastic things. The result was clear cut and decisive. Boxing got a robbery and AC Slater from Saved by the Bell. MMA got Curt Menefee and a blink-and-you-missed-it fight. I really think tonight was a great step forward for the sport as a whole and I'm very happy that I got to watch it.

Posted in: ufc, sport, boxing, something, moment ufc

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When UFC heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez locks eyes with Junior dos Santos in the Octagon tonight it will be far from the first time the 29-year old Californian will have seen “Cigano” set foot inside the infamous eight-sided cage. In fact, Velasquez has kept Dos Santos on his radar since the hard-hitting Brazilian’s unveiling against Fabricio Werdum even though the bout only took place six months after the unbeaten Velasquez had made his own UFC debut. Velasquez opened up some about his opponent in an interview where he explained what drew his attention to Dos Santos in 2008 and how he feels his talented adversary stacks up as an opponent. “I’ve watched him since his first UFC fight with Werdum. He knocked him out in the first round, and Werdum was one of the top guys in the world, so that definitely caught my eye,” began Velasquez in a conversation with the UFC’s website. “And just watching his fights after that, he’s always been really tough and we definitely kept our eyes on him. Anybody who fights in your division you kinda keep watch on because it’s doing your homework. So we always saw him and watched to see where his career would go, and we kinda knew at one time we would have to fight.” That prediction will come to fruition in about eight hours on FOX when the UFC hits network television for the first time in history. Like fans/media, Velasquez has also predicted an extremely entertaining title-fight, praising Dos Santos’ stand-up and speed. Dos Santos Sees Series Developing with Velasquez “Definitely his boxing,” said Velasquez. “He’s got really good boxing, a lot of power in his hands, and he’s an athletic guy too. But it’s mainly his boxing. He’s won all of his fights using his boxing, and that’s definitely his most dangerous attribute.” Whether or not Velasquez will opt to test his own degree in the sweet science against Dos Santos’ or instead rely on his superior wrestling remains to be seen. Interested parties can tune in to watch UFC on FOX: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos starting at 9:00 PM EST on FOX with preliminary action streaming through Facebook in the hours leading up to the event. PHOTO CREDIT – UFC Tweet

Posted in: ufc, fight, boxing, do, velasquez

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It's a big weekend for fight fans. But perhaps one of the more unique things about it is that for once, boxing and MMA fans can kiss and make up. The critics can no longer refer to MMA as an underground sport for degenerates: being on FOX forces them to take notice. But for MMA fans, perhaps this is a good time to get them acquainted with boxing too.  When Manny Pacquiao entered the boxing world of the elite, he did so during a crucial period: a period spawned by two great Mexican Bantamweight boxers. Marco Antonio Barrera, and Erik Morales. They put on an absolute classic in 2000 at Mandalay Bay (highlights and videos after the jump). Morales won, though not without controversy: it was a nip tuck battle all the way, and when Barrera scored a knockdown in the 12th, fans and media thought for sure that would seal the fight for MAB. It didn't, and Morales would leave from Bantanweight to Featherweight. However, it was Barrera who would score the biggest win that put FW on the map: a map outlined first by the real king of FW - a brash, British boxer named Naseem 'Prince' Hamed. He was undefeated, had unreal power, and with a crowed pleasing style is sometimes credited as the boxer that paved the way for the lighter weights to make money. But that power was attached to a boxer with little consideration for defense, relying more on head movement and reflexes than fundamentals. He'd fight with his hands down, and against one of his toughest opponents in Kevin Kelley, he'd pay for those habits: several times. But he was too loud to be deterred, and he ended up putting Kelley down in brutal fashion. Despite flashes of humanity, he was still a boxing deity to many. So here comes Barrera, the underdog. While the fight is, I think, unfairly characterized as lopsided, it was still comfortably Barrera's. It was a picture perfect example of how a fight can be completely engrossing, and yet be completely technical at the same time. There wasn't drama: just mechanics. And it was just as glorious. With Hamed dethroned (much to the delight of HBO's commentary booth, who all but poured champagne over MAB's head), Barrera became the new face of Featherweight. With the Barrera/Morales trilogy still ongoing, a one, Manny Pacquiao would makes his way to the division. His first high profile fight was against Barrera, and cut a path down the middle, stem to sternum. While much was made of the wildfires of California that disrupted his training camp, and a metal plate in his head, it didn't change the fact that Manny had arrived, and was here to stay. His next fight would be against Juan Manuel Marquez: a Mexican fighter distanced from the spotlight, though well respected. At this point, you guys can take it from here. Marquez was battered in the first round. He was knocked down three times. But watch the round again: Marquez displayed supernatural toughness. Yes, he got caught, but in the seconds that remained after the 3rd knockdown, he took left hands that were considerably worse. For many fighters, that 3rd knockdown could have been an excuse not to get back up. Nobody would have thought of him any less either. But he did, and won so many rounds after that, the fight was scored a draw (the caveat being that any round containing 3 knockdowns should be ruled a 10-6, which the judge who scored the fight a draw failed to do, instead scoring it 10-7). It was a great fight that should have put Marquez in the same territory as MAB, Morales, and even Pacman. But it didn't. His career stalled after that. Pricing himself out of big name fights (having turned down the immediate rematch with Pacquaio), he'd go on to take questionable fights (and for less money: though to be fair, I don't know Marquez' reasons). Orlando Salcido had no business being in the ring with him. Chris John did, but it was a strange fight to take: Marquez traveled all the way to Indonesia to capture the WBA Featherweight title. It was a big risk, low reward fight made all the more embarrassing by the fact that Marquez lost.  Juan continued his string of strange fights, and none more symbolic than his bout with the Filipino sensation Jim...rex...Jaca? Jimrex, like Pacman, was a southpaw. Lederman had Jaca winning two rounds to one going into the 3rd, emphasizing the problems Marquez was having. Juan would win in the 9th, but it prompted the question, "what for?" Marquez would finally start getting big name fights following the bout with Jimrex. And eventually, he got his rematch with Manny. Though not as dramatic as the first, it was another brilliant technical affair by both men. I'm pleased that Marquez is entrenched into boxing lore alongside guys like MAB, and Morales. And while arguments are often made that he won both Pacquiao fights, I think Manny will win this one comfortably. Manny has continued to improve while Marquez has plateaued. In a way, I think it will look like Manny's rematch with Morales. Marquez has always relied on timing. He's the consummate counter puncher. But as that timing declines, so to will his ability to scout fighters like Manny. Manny by TKO, round 10.  For highlights of their first two encounters, and a few other goodies, hit the jump: HBO Boxing: Fights of the Decade - Marquez vs. Pacquiao I (HBO) (via HBO) HBO Boxing: Marquez vs Pacquiao II Highlights (HBO) (via HBO) HBO Boxing: Fights of the Decade - Morales vs. Barrera I (HBO) (via HBO) HBO Boxing: Fights of the Decade - Morales vs. Pacquiao II (HBO) (via HBO)

Posted in: fight, hbo, boxing, manny, marquez

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Dana White loves boxing. Sure he does. He loves it the way you love an ex who is and was absolutely no good for you, who you'll still meet for a drink when they're in town (just one, though, then I've really got to run), and who you're pretty sure is going to self-destruct one day, with or without your help. In a way, that's what makes it possible to continue loving them. If they were doing too well, you might be bitter. But this way you can just shake your head, remembering the good times but feeling genuinely relieved that your futures are no longer tied together. Without White's rocky relationship with the sport of boxing, maybe this FOX deal doesn't happen. Without boxing, maybe it's not so important to White to make it happen, or to make sure it goes off so smoothly that it ushers in a new golden era of combat sports on network TV. It's as if he's doing this not just because it's a savvy business move, but because this is what boxing used to do, back when they were both young and innocent and so in love. This came up again and again when I spoke to White earlier this week for a Sports Illustrated article (yes, I'm plugging my own article, what of it?). Even when I asked him questions that, to me, seemed to have nothing to do with boxing, somehow we ended up back on the subject again. Take this exchange, for instance: SI.com: Tell me a little about how you guys made the final decision to only do one fight, no matter what. At first it seemed like you were considering the possibility of running another fight or some highlights if you had time. How did you decide to just focus on this one fight? White: It was [Fox Sports Media Group Chairman] David Hill. I went in and said, listen, USA's Tuesday Night Fights and ABC's Wide World of Sports, we all used to watch those, all of us who were big boxing fans. I didn't miss Tuesday Night Fights ever. Every Tuesday night I was on the couch. But when I was younger, I remember my uncles all getting around the TV and watching Wide World of Sports. When we told them the fight was going to be the heavyweight championship, they said, 'Do that, just do the one fight, the heavyweight championship.' It makes sense. That's really the way it went down. It was David Hill's call. To recap, the question was: why only one fight? And, in a simplified form, the answer was: David Hill wanted it that way. So why did we take the little detour to talk about his addiction to Tuesday Night Fights? Because deep down, White's still a boxing junkie. Yeah, it probably makes him sad to see what that industry has become and where that sport is headed, and he doesn't want to think he or his company has anything to do with it. As he reiterated in an open letter "to fight fans" that the UFC emailed out yesterday: "There's always been a lot of talk about the UFC killing boxing. I've always said that boxing is hurting boxing, not the UFC. I honestly believe that many people are fans of both. And I can prove it: on September 17, the UFC drew 2million viewers to a live fight on cable TV... a couple hours later over 1.3million fans bought the Floyd Mayweather PPV. Fight fans stayed in and watched both!" First of all, just because the UFC and boxing both drew similar numbers on the same night, that doesn't necessarily mean they drew the same people, no matter how many times White repeats that claim. Second of all, since when does White go out of his way to assert that he and his competitors are helping each other? Even on the eve of the landmark UFC on FOX show, the specter of boxing -- specifically, Manny Pacquiao -- looms over everything. When White so much as mentioned Pacquiao's name at Wednesday's press conference even the pro-UFC crowd broke out into cheers. You could argue that White is trying to make the case that his FOX show is working with rather than against Saturday's boxing pay-per-view simply because he's hoping to get a little of the Pacquiao fight night magic to rub off on him, but it's more than that. As White insisted when I talked to him about it, the money-losing venture on FOX is an attempt to do "what boxing stopped doing," and that's "investing in the future of the sport and of this brand." Said White: "By putting this on, there's going to be a whole generation of people who grow up with the UFC on television, just like I did with boxing when I was a young kid, and just like many people did with football. It becomes nostalgic in your life and it becomes something you remember from growing up. That's what we're doing by putting this on television." In other words, it's about indoctrinating the next generation of fight fans. It's about wedging the UFC into mainstream America's collective sports consciousness in order to insure a brighter future. But it's also, at least a little bit, about making the UFC and MMA into a new version of the boxing that White remembers, a boxing that doesn't really exist anymore, at least not in that form. Maybe that's why it's fitting that the UFC's big FOX debut should take place on the same night as one of the biggest boxing pay-per-views of the year. Without that sport, once so available and accessible that you always knew where to find a young Dana White on Tuesday night, maybe we wouldn't be right here, right now, on the verge of an event that seems likely to propel this sport toward something, even if none of us know what.  Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Posted in: ufc, fight, night, sport, boxing

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Dana White loves boxing. Sure he does. He loves it the way you love an ex who is and was absolutely no good for you, who you'll still meet for a drink when they're in town (just one, though, then I've really got to run), and who you're pretty sure is going to self-destruct one day, with or without your help. In a way, that's what makes it possible to continue loving them. If they were doing too well, you might be bitter. But this way you can just shake your head, remembering the good times but feeling genuinely relieved that your futures are no longer tied together. Without White's rocky relationship with the sport of boxing, maybe this FOX deal doesn't happen. Without boxing, maybe it's not so important to White to make it happen, or to make sure it goes off so smoothly that it ushers in a new golden era of combat sports on network TV. It's as if he's doing this not just because it's a savvy business move, but because this is what boxing used to do, back when they were both young and innocent and so in love. This came up again and again when I spoke to White earlier this week for a Sports Illustrated article (yes, I'm plugging my own article, what of it?). Even when I asked him questions that, to me, seemed to have nothing to do with boxing, somehow we ended up back on the subject again. Take this exchange, for instance: SI.com: Tell me a little about how you guys made the final decision to only do one fight, no matter what. At first it seemed like you were considering the possibility of running another fight or some highlights if you had time. How did you decide to just focus on this one fight? White: It was [Fox Sports Media Group Chairman] David Hill. I went in and said, listen, USA's Tuesday Night Fights and ABC's Wide World of Sports, we all used to watch those, all of us who were big boxing fans. I didn't miss Tuesday Night Fights ever. Every Tuesday night I was on the couch. But when I was younger, I remember my uncles all getting around the TV and watching Wide World of Sports. When we told them the fight was going to be the heavyweight championship, they said, 'Do that, just do the one fight, the heavyweight championship.' It makes sense. That's really the way it went down. It was David Hill's call. To recap, the question was: why only one fight? And, in a simplified form, the answer was: David Hill wanted it that way. So why did we take the little detour to talk about his addiction to Tuesday Night Fights? More Coverage: UFC on FOX Fight Card | UFC on FOX Results Because deep down, White's still a boxing junkie. Yeah, it probably makes him sad to see what that industry has become and where that sport is headed, and he doesn't want to think he or his company has anything to do with it. As he reiterated in an open letter "to fight fans" that the UFC emailed out yesterday: "There's always been a lot of talk about the UFC killing boxing. I've always said that boxing is hurting boxing, not the UFC. I honestly believe that many people are fans of both. And I can prove it: on September 17, the UFC drew two million viewers to a live fight on cable TV ... a couple hours later over 1.3 million fans bought the Floyd Mayweather PPV. Fight fans stayed in and watched both!" First of all, just because the UFC and boxing both drew similar numbers on the same night, that doesn't necessarily mean they drew the same people, no matter how many times White repeats that claim. Second of all, since when does White go out of his way to assert that he and his competitors are helping each other? Even on the eve of the landmark UFC on FOX show, the specter of boxing -- specifically, Manny Pacquiao -- looms over everything. When White so much as mentioned Pacquiao's name at Wednesday's press conference even the pro-UFC crowd broke out into cheers. You could argue that White is trying to make the case that his FOX show is working with rather than against Saturday's boxing pay-per-view simply because he's hoping to get a little of the Pacquiao fight night magic to rub off on him, but it's more than that. As White insisted when I talked to him about it, the money-losing venture on FOX is an attempt to do "what boxing stopped doing," and that's "investing in the future of the sport and of this brand." Said White: "By putting this on, there's going to be a whole generation of people who grow up with the UFC on television, just like I did with boxing when I was a young kid, and just like many people did with football. It becomes nostalgic in your life and it becomes something you remember from growing up. That's what we're doing by putting this on television." In other words, it's about indoctrinating the next generation of fight fans. It's about wedging the UFC into mainstream America's collective sports consciousness in order to insure a brighter future. But it's also, at least a little bit, about making the UFC and MMA into a new version of the boxing that White remembers, a boxing that doesn't really exist anymore, at least not in that form. Maybe that's why it's fitting that the UFC's big FOX debut should take place on the same night as one of the biggest boxing pay-per-views of the year. Without that sport, once so available and accessible that you always knew where to find a young Dana White on Tuesday night, maybe we wouldn't be right here, right now, on the verge of an event that seems likely to propel this sport toward something, even if none of us know what. Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Posted in: ufc, fight, fox, sport, boxing

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What, you thought the UFC would bust the door down to the future without a relic from times past finding his way into the spotlight? If you did, you would be wrong. What's somewhat surprising, though, is just who showed up at the UFC on Fox 1 open media workouts -- good old "One Glove" Art Jimmerson. The 48-year-old legend of yesteryear is still hanging around the fight game, keeping himself in relatively good shape. And while there was a time not long ago that he was campaigning for a rematch against Royce Gracie, he's now got his sights set on someone else -- the one and only Kimbo Slice. In an interview with MMAFighting.com, Jimmerson straight up called out the former king of the streets and laid down the gauntlet for a boxing match: "Kimbo, I dare you. Right now, I want you and if you give me a chance to redeem myself as far as boxing... You can't beat a real boxer. You can't. I mean, right now, I respect you as an MMA fighter before but boxing... night and day. I've been there, I've done that and I've tried MMA, I failed. So now you're in my ring. In my ring, I can't be beat. I don't care if it's Royce Gracie or Kimbo Slice. It's been a few years (since my last boxing match) but you gotta understand, I'm in the gym every day. ... I don't see him lasting three rounds with me. I want it to happen right now, me and Kimbo Slice. I'm calling him out." Considering the level of competition Kimbo has been fighting in the boxing world, men Jimmerson described as "trash cans," would anyone be surprised if Gary Shaw, Kimbo's promoter, tried to book this fight? Hear more from Jimmerson after the jump, including a story or two from his early days and how he's doing today training at the UFC gym in California.

Posted in: boxing, kimbo slice, slice, kimbo, jimmerson

Read the full article at MMA Mania

The UFC and Fox take boxing promoter Bob Arum to task over his derisive comments about the UFC and mixed martial arts.

Posted in: ufc, fox, boxing, derisive comments, task video

Read the full article at MMA Weekly

Down goes Frazier. Two-time world heavyweight boxing champion "Smokin'" Joe Frazier passed away on Monday night (Nov. 7, 2011) after a battle with liver cancer. He was just 67 years old. The Philadelphia pugilist, who won a gold medal at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, is perhaps best known for his epic trilogy against Muhammad Ali. Our friends at Bad Left Hook break down their rivalry: In February 1970, Frazier picked up the WBC and WBA belts with a win over Jimmy Ellis. And 13 months later, he fought Muhammad Ali for the first time. Frazier and Ali had an epic rivalry that makes today's worst media wars look tame in comparison. Ali's level of trash talk was at times well over the line, in the opinion of many, but Frazier made him pay in their first fight, winning a clear fifteen round decision at Madison Square Garden on March 8, 1971. It was the pinnacle of his career. The two would meet twice more, with Ali winning a 1974 rematch at Madison Square Garden (UD-12), and then arguably the most grueling fight in boxing history in 1975, the famed "Thrilla in Manila." A closer look at the career of "Smokin'" Joe, after the jump. Any Maniacs out there old enough to remember his impact on the "sweet science?"

Posted in: frazier, ali, muhammad ali, joe, boxing

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MMA fans and boxing have rarely appeared to get along. And vice versa. The narratives are as follows: MMA fans claim MMA is taking over. That boxing has ruined itself, and like God before the establishment, is "dead". Boxing doesn't give the fans what it wants. Conversely, MMA is a sport with no history, and little respect for the culture its bound by except to the Mountain Dew generation that appreciates it.  The sport of MMA is a nomad. it flaunts its lack of identity, and to the critics, it's just an extreme sport stripped of metaphor. Oh right, we're all a bunch of homophobes too. Beneath these memes are real truths, which explains why the conflict are so intense. Boxing does have real problems. To say it's dead is a gross misrepresentation, but to say that it's in need of help is not. For MMA, it's finally in a place where the new spotlight will spawn the presence of a real sports culture. Whether that culture sticks is another matter entirely, but for now, MMA can say "we've made it". Mixed martial arts is the NOFX of the sports world: popular, but not mainstream.  This weekend, both boxing and MMA delivered the goods. UFC 138 was a barnburner: the kind of card you hope for whenever you want to introduce your friends to what MMA is all about. HBO was having its own miracle as James Kirkland and Alfredo Angulo created a modern classic of sorts. And this weekend, both sports are primed to deliver yet again. For MMA, it's a bigger deal for the collective fanbase and media: we're finally on primetime. The five hundred pound cherry on top is that fight between Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos for the HW title. It's a fantastic fight. It's probably the best fight HW has had to offer since Mirko Filipovic vs. Fedor Emelianenko, and for some fans, it might be even better. Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, meanwhile, are completing their trilogy. While the lack of Mayweather may upset casual fans and boxing critics, doing so simply ignores that the boxing main event this weekend means a potential end to a very unique trilogy. Both fights delivered: particularly the first one, eerily similar to Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard II. Marquez was felled three times in the first round. Yet somehow, he battled back to outbox Manny for most of the fight. Unlike in years past, there's nothing to bitch about on either side. Kirkland, Barao, Angulo, and Munoz all put on memorable performances. It was the little guys who proved the critics wrong this past weekend. Now it's the star's turn to prove the two sports can, and should coexist. Nobody is asking you to hold hands with each other. But if you're a person who stays awake at night wondering which of the two sports will be victorious in the end, then in the words of Patton Oswalt, you're an unfortunate soul who will "miss everything cool and die angry". Speaking of everything that's cool, check out the first round of Kirkland/Angulo after the jump. Alfredo Angulo vs James Kirkland - Round 1 (via grishmugho)

Posted in: fight, mma, sport, boxing, fan

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Nick Diaz is probably the loudest voice in MMA about the difference between paydays in this sport and boxing. Every time Diaz talks about his situation in life he laments the fact that he could be making millions in boxing. While boxing has nice paydays, much better on the undercard than many realize, it takes success to get to the big money. No different than MMA. And that seems to be the point Dana White was making at the UFC 138 press conference: Quotes from the video (transcribed by MMA Mania): "From 2001-2006, we were almost $50 million in the hole. Over that time, not one fighter ever got paid late, no check bounced, no employee at Zuffa, ever. The Fertitta brothers funded this thing for that long. In 2006 we started turning a profit. From 2006-2011, I can't remember what the number is, but it's like 40-something millionaires. 40-something millionaires, 20-something multi, multimillionaires and the list goes on and on. That's from 2006-2011. Boxing's been around for 100 years. It was a mainstream sport before there was television. What we've been able to do, in that much time, is pretty phenomenal." There is also a lot more politically at play with boxing money. This is what people seem to miss. HBO and Showtime are bidding and paying huge broadcast rights fees to put a Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather, Jr. fight on PPV. The UFC does not have that same kind of situation serving as a strong backbone of the money they're putting out. It's also why the idea that Diaz was going to make more in his boxing match with Jeff Lacy than he would have in the UFC is false. There was no bidding war for the rights fees and no demand for PPV to take a cut from. Going through an independent PPV source meant much less money and a payday around $175k as I reported previously.

Posted in: ufc, time, boxing, money, something

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submitted by MattyBlayze [link] [1 comment]

Posted in: ufc, boxing, money, mattyblayze, boxing money

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                              There seems to be some confusion amongst fans as to how one should regard Nick Diaz’s "boxing". For many, it seems incongruent for him to be labeled the best boxer in MMA when so little of what he does in the cage can be qualified as being "good" boxing; leaning too far forward in his stance while leading with his face;  keeping his hands far out in front of him where they can’t be used to protect the head; feet planted instead of light on the toes; very little movement of his head. Needless to say, none of what you’d expect from an elite boxer. And yet, the results speak for themselves, with his most recent display of prowess coming at the expense of the previously labeled "best boxer in MMA", BJ Penn. How can Nick Diaz be the exemplifier of the "sweet science" when everything he does runs counter to what entails "good" boxing? The answer lies with the fact that everything he does is exactly what "good" boxing calls for, and the only reason we fans fail to acknowledge this is because we have narrowly focused on the sport as fought under the Marques of Queensbury rules, ignoring the lessons left to us by those who competed during the earlier reigns of London Prizefighting and Broughton’s rules. Fortunately, a few of them were thoughtful enough to write down what entailed good boxing for the "sweat science of bruising". It is most likely that you never heard of Daniel Mendoza, which is of no surprise since his last public match took place in 1820, but if ever there was a kindred spirit to Diaz it was him. A descendent of Spanish Marronos, he was the father of scientific boxing, whose success helped elevate the position of jews in 18th and 19th century English society. And much like Diaz, he seemed incapable of understanding finances while also being notoriously quick tempered with a propensity to fight whenever he felt slighted in the least, having once famously gotten into three altercations while on his way to be a spectator for a match (the three reasons being that someone’s cart had cut him off in the street, he felt cheated by a shopkeeper, and he didn’t like how a man was looking at him). Most importantly he was an amazing boxer, the best of his era, being the 16th man to hold the English (World’s) heavyweight championship (possessing the title from 1792-1795), and the only middleweight to ever accomplish that feat.   The ruleset that Mendoza fought under during his time was the one divised by Jack Broughton in 1743, the very first codified set of rules in the history of the sport, which were fittingly named Broughton’s rules. They were very simple, numbering seven in total, dealing with such things as the size of the ring, the holding of the purse, and the choosing of umpires. Of the seven, only the last had anything to do with what tactics were allowed during competition. VII. That no person is to hit his Adversary when he is down, or seize him by the ham, the breeches, or any part below the waist: a man on his knees to be reckoned down. To elaborate: the only thing banned was the hitting of a downed opponent or any wrestling below the waist. Everything else –  hair-pulling, grappling above the waist, wrestling or tripping your opponent to the ground, and, of course, striking with the bare fists – was allowed. And since no gloves nor hand wrappings were used, throwing with all one’s might or aiming blows to the head was naturally discouraged lest you break your hand.  In fact, striking ability often rated below wrestling ability with regards to importance in gaining a victory, as seen by our three examples below with the the text being from the 1855 compilation Fights for the Championship; and Celebrated Prize Battles (the full title is much, much longer) and the images from Famous Fights: Past and Present, a boxing newspaper that ran from 1901 to 1904. The Fight between Hammer Lane and Owen Swift (1834) Finally, in the 104th round, straining every fibre to the utmost, he fearlessly rushed to the climax, made one last daring attempt to turn the tide in his favour, but nature was exhausted, he was thrown heavily, and all was over.         Image from Famous Fights: Past and Present No. 52 Third Fight Between Bendigo and Caunt, for £200 a Side (1845) 5. After some sparring, Caunt, who took a dislike to Bendigo’s system of popping and shifting, went in right and left, and at once closing, seized his man as if in a vice, holding him on the ropes till nearly strangled, amidst cries of ‘shame.’ After a violent struggle by Bendigo to get away, he was at last thrown, Caunt heavily on him.         Image from Famous Fights: Past and Present No. 39   Fight Between Tom Cribb and Bob Gregson (1808) 23. Cribb, to the surprise of all, seemed strongest on setting-to, he contrived to put in two feeble hits and closed; in wrestling he had the good fortune to throw his antagonist, who fell with such uncommon force, he could not come to time.       Image from Famous Fight: Past and Present No. 53 Throws to the ground were something like the body-blows of their day, where damage would be accumulated over time with the goal being to eventually wear down your opponent from hard falls to the earth time and time again.   Another trick which has been used very successfully by some boxers when contesting under London prize ring rules is when wrestling with an opponent to make it a point to fall heavily on top of him, crushing the wind out of him as much as possible.  - BOXING AND HOW TO TRAIN, RICHARD K FOX Publishing  Co. (1913)   Since Mr. Mendoza was often much smaller than his opponents, and excelled in the technical striking department, he developed a stance that allowed him to not only attack but also assisted in negating his opponents attempt's to grapple and throw him. Here is his description of how one should stand, which he labeled his second prinicple in "MENDOZA'S TREATISE, WITH HIS SIX LESSONS" taken from "The Modern Art of Boxing" (1789).   the position of the body, which should be an inclining posture, or diagonal line, so as to place the pit of the stomach out of your adversary's reach. The upper part of your arm must stop or parry the round blow at the head; the fore-arm, the blows at the face of stomach; and the elbows, those at the ribs: both knees must be bent, the left leg advanced, and the arms directly before your throat or chin.   This illustration of Mendoza facing off against his former trainer Richard Humphries should give us a pretty good idea of what he is trying to convey in the text above.     Mendoza is on the right, in his recommended stance (although often fighters would lean further forward then shown here, as if "into the wind" ) hands far in front, knees bent.  By leaning forward and keeping his hands extended Mendoza made it very diffilcult for any opponent to get him to the ground. His legs were too far back from from his opponent to trip or kick, and if they attempted to rush in he was already braced to meet their charge, his hands extended to push back and keep them away from his body, his forward leaning posture to assist in countering their mass.   From this position he could also launch a wide variety of offensive maneuvers. He could strike with either hand (his first principle was equilibrium of the body, the ability to operate with either the right or left side) with the preferred targets being the face, stomach, and side. And if one wanted to be less than gentlemanly they could sneak in an elbow for good measure. The outstretched hands made it simple to sieze an opponent who entered into range, after which he could trip, throw, or fib (fibbing was the art of putting the opponent in a headlock and then punching away). If you click here you can see an example of initiating the clinch from standing from Ed Jame's 1878 manual "Boxing and Wrestling". And yes, this illustration is from the boxing portion of the book and not the wrestling.    Now, let us examine a gif of Nick Diaz in action against BJ Penn and lets see if we cannot find a resemblance.     While the resemblance is there, there is also one obvious difference between the two: the position of their hands. Mendoza's palms are turned inwards towards him him while his knuckles are facing his opponent, meanwhile Diaz either keeps his hands open with palms directed at Penn, or facing the ground when squeezed into a fist. The reason behind this difference is determined by one simple item: gloves. In his 1910 self defense manual "Defense dans la Rue" Jean-Joseph Renaud explained the difference gloves made when boxing: The inconvenience of punches is that in giving them, one risks injuring one’s hands. The hand is a grasping organ, made for holding and not for hitting. As a general rule, the metacarpal bones are too delicate to withstand the force that a very vigorous extension of the arm produces. Ah! If a fighting glove of 3 or 4 ounces protects the hand then it’s a different story; not only does one not injure oneself in striking, but the "knock out" becomes rather more easy to deliver! ... for example, with bare fists it’s difficult to put an opponent out of action by striking the angle of the neck, the jaw and the the ear, though with a glove one clearly fills this angle and it’s not even necessary to hit very hard. When one realizes the ease with which a fist could be broken without a glove or hand-wrappings to protect it the positioning of the hands by Mendoza and other bare-kuckle fighters begin to make a lot more sense. By striking with a straight punch with either the knuckles pointed down or the fist perpendicular to the ground, they could guarantee that their knuckles lined up with their wrist, lessoning the chances of injury. And it was easier to deliver such a punch if the fist started in that position. Protecting their hands was also why most fighters limited themselves to straights and jabs to the head, staying away from hooks and overhands that could easily shatter against a hard skull. Hooks to the body were a different matter, with many fighters preferring to strike here than to the more risky head. The luxury of gloves means Diaz's options aren't so limited (although he hasn't abandoned targeting the body either). Diaz's methods for evading his opponents attacks also mirror the advice given by Mendoza. Parry the blows of your adversary's right hand with your left, and those of his left hand with your right Since trying to cover up without the benefits of boxing mitts is a much more difilcult proposition, Mendoza suggested a strategy I'm familiar with from my days of studying Kra Maga. With hands extended,  the defender parries the blows as they come towards him, deflecting before they reach the body.  A good example of Diaz using this technique, redirecting his opponents strikes by slapping them away, was displayed in his fight against Scott Smith, starting at the 4:13 mark in the first round when he bats away a combo.   The other benefit that the outstretched arms give you is that anyone trying to strike at  you is inevitabily forced to throw from further away - beyond the defensive arms - and most of these punches end up being channelled between the arms, making it easier to follow incoming blows. This also gives you another option to defend against the incoming fist:   It is always better to avoid a blow by throwing the head and body back, at the same time covering the pit of the stomach, than to attempt to parry it.   (Click the gif below to see this demonstrated by Diaz.)   [Jean-Joseph Renaud also detailed another common technique used by bare-knuckle prizefighters which Mendoza doesn’t touch upon: One of their principle tactics consisted, instead of parrying or slipping, of receiving the blow on the bony part of the face, by which means their opponent would break his hands. It should be noted that both Penn and KJ Noons, the only two fighters to go the distance with Diaz in his last 11 fights, both broke their hands during the contest]       The other great similarity between Diaz and his 19th century prizefighting predecessors is found in his movements. Since  being thrown to the ground was of paramount concern, fighters did and could not use the same amount of bobbing, weaving, and dancing we've become accustomed to, and instead had to make sure they remain balanced, so as to not give their opponent the opportunity to put them on their backside. This desire to always remain on solid footing spilt over into how one advanced on their opponent.  Here is how Mendoza recommended a person to advance:   Advancing, Is practised by placing the right foot forward at the same distance from your left, as your left is from your right in the first attitude; you then throw your left foot forward so as to resume your original position, and thus keep gaining on your antagonist as he recedes.   What Mendoza is describing is often termed "square gating", or,  when strikes are thrown, "shift punching". The technique was one that involved shifting the rear foot forward while simultaneously delivering a punch on the same side as the advancing leg, adding the boxer's mass to his strikes. An example of shift punching is provided by Bill Lang and can be seen in the video below starting at the 45 second mark (ironically, his victim, Bob Fitzsimmons, was famed for his deadly "Fitzsimmons shift" with which he defeated Jim Corbett)      The benefits of wearing gloves is is revealed by the number of times Lang throws angled blows at Fitzsimmons head.   And here, in the midst of this gif of highlights from the Diaz vs KJ Noons II fight, we get an overhead shot showing Diaz demonstrating some text book "shift punching". In concurrence with each step he throws a punch, alternating between the left and right. The lumbering steps mask several benefits offered by the technique: it allows the Diaz to advance and attack, step for step as his opponent retreats, adding his momentum and weight to each strike, and all in a controlled manner.   But perhaps the characteristic that Diaz and Mendoza have most in common, is their killer instincts.   If he gives way, or is staggered by a severe blow, You should not be anxious to recover your guard and stand on the defensive, as this will only be giving him time to recollect himself, but take advantage of his momentary confusion and follow up the blow.   I can think of no better way Diaz exemplifies the spirit of Daniel Mendoza than in this.     Of course, I don't want to imply that Diaz's fighting is based exclusively on 19th century prizefighting techniques, nor that Nick DIaz and his coach, Richard Perez, have even intentionally set about to mine and recycle the methods used by past pugilists. But I do find it interesting, intentional or accidental, that in trying to adapt boxing to the cage, that we  find many of the same tried and true methods of the past re-emerging. It leads me to wonder what more there is to learn from these past masters of an extinct sport.     Anyone interested in reading first hand accounts of Mendoza's battles, I highly recommend the first volume of Boxiana by Pierce Egan, coiner of the phrase "the sweat science of bruising", the first volume of Pugilistica by Henry Downes Miles, or Fistiana, published by Bell's Life. And special thanks to glz500 who wrote an excellent post over at Bloody Elbow, from which I plundered most of the gifs seen here.

Posted in: diaz, boxing, opponent, hand, mendoza

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Yes, that Don King. The flamboyant boxing promoter who just turned 80-years-old but remains as wily as ever.  The man who promoted such mega-events like the "Rumble in the Jungle" and the "Thrilla in Manilla," wants to use his savvy and know how from the boxing world to see if he can't compete with UFC President Dana White and the UFC. From USA Today: Calling MMA "sophisticated barbarism," he predicts MMA will complement, but never overtake, the "sweet science" of boxing. "I'm looking forward to doing (MMA) too. And creating a competition between the UFC and whatever I call the MMA company that I put together," says King. King may not be as prominent today as he was say, 20 years ago, but he's still got enough pep in his step to attempt such a daunting task. But could he actually succeed in competing with the UFC? Our friends at BadLeftHook.com have an answer: So will he enter MMA? Sure, he really might. Don's still a big thinker, but just isn't in the boxing game the way he used to be. If he thinks there's an opportunity in MMA, and he can get the right backing, he might give it a go. Will he succeed? No, he won't. King's big complaint about boxing today is that cable TV executives have far too much power and far too little knowledge of the sport to actually succeed. This has led to match-ups combat sports fans aren't willing to pay to see. The power structure in MMA is a lot different and with that, King seems to believe he can become the next Dana White. Anyone think he can? Who wants to see Don King in MMA?

Posted in: ufc, mma, boxing, today, king

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The historically beautiful city of London will be hosting the 2012 Olympics. Making next year’s events even more exciting for fighting fans worldwide is that this time they will also be hosting a monumental effort by placing women on the Olympic Boxing events. For decades, female fighters have watched the boy from afar competing curious as to when they too will get their own shot. Now, that time has deservedly arrived and not without controversy. The AIBA has announced that their own officials have requested that the female competitors wear miniskirts during their events. There are several problems with this suggestion, while some men may assume “Hey, what’s the big deal?” just imagine for a moment if the same officials requested that all the males competing get themselves a spray tan before competing? It’s equally as hideous as asking the women to wear skirts. The AIBA has an interesting explanation for their actions…they claim they wanted the Olympic fans to know they were watching women boxing versus men. That certainly clears it up for millions of viewers, since the announcers reviewing the ladies’ names and stats wouldn’t be able to convey they were females entering the ring. Or the actual fights displaying two women may have some challenges to viewers trying to depict the sex of those fighters? As one can imagine, this has many fans and fighters in an uproar. It isn’t exactly an episode of a weekly sports show on ESPN, this is the 2012 Olympics where one would assume those types of barbaric thinking would be long gone. There will be 250 men competing in the Boxing event, to a total of 36 women to begin with. It’s fair to say the ladies have worked their fair share of time sparring in the gym to get to this Olympic level, they should be permitted to wear shorts as they always have when competing. Needless to say, this will continue to gain coverage as it gets closer to the big events. One fighter that will be competing during the events in the UK had this to say: “It’s a disgrace that they’re forcing some of the women to wear those mini-skirts. We should be able to wear shorts, just like the men. I won’t be wearing a mini-skirt. I don’t even wear mini-skirts on a night out, so I definitely won’t be wearing mini-skirts in the ring.” That coming from Ireland’s boxing candidate Katie Taylor. Some of the ladies have remarked on being uncomfortable should they be required to wear something other than what they are accustomed to. It will continue to be debated until next summer, but the way it appears thus far the officials will most likely make the right decision. Tweet

Posted in: boxing, event, women, olympic, miniskirt

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Filed under: MMA Media Watch, UFC American mixed martial arts fans have heard so many "boxing vs. MMA" arguments through the years that at this point, those arguments usually make people's eyes glaze over. But with the Octagon in England this week for UFC 138, it was interesting to see a British perspective on the same topic. That's what we got from PTI UK this week (yes, there's a British version of Pardon the Interruption), when they offered the following toss-up topic: "Is the UFC bigger than boxing?" It's a sign of the enormous growth of the UFC in the UK that anyone would even ask that question. Prizefighting has been popular in Great Britain for centuries, England was the birthplace of the Marquess of Queensberry Rules, and boxing is still quite popular in the UK -- much more popular than it is in the United States. No matter how you answer the question, even asking it is an enormous compliment to the UFC's efforts across the pond. "The UFC is brilliant. The product is sensational, the packaging, there's no other sport doing it as well," one PTI UK co-host said. However, the co-host was quite a bit less impressed with MMA as a whole, noting that the UFC only comes to the UK a couple times a year, and that non-UFC MMA shows leave a lot to be desired. "Most mixed martial arts events take place and they're rubbish. They're garbage," he said. At the moment, boxing is far bigger than MMA around the world. There's no denying that. But it's rather astounding that MMA is closing in on boxing, given how entrenched boxing is around the globe, and how new MMA is. American sports fans might be tired of "MMA vs. boxing" questions, but hearing those questions asked in traditional boxing hot spots has to be music to the ears of anyone who's thrilled by the worldwide growth of MMA. Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Posted in: ufc, mma, question, boxing, uk

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Longtime boxing fan Dana White always envisioned an event like UFC on FOX 1. The UFC's heavily anticipated...

Posted in: ufc, fox, boxing, dana, boxings onceglorious

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Longtime boxing fan Dana White always envisioned an event like UFC on FOX 1. The UFC's heavily anticipated and historic network-television debut is reminiscent of the UFC president's earliest boxing memories, when major fights were must-see events. "This is a throwback to the old days of boxing," he today said.

Posted in: ufc, boxing, networktelevision debut, ufc presidents, mustsee events

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The glory days of boxing are being revived in November, says UFC president Dana White - except they will be in the modern-day guise of mixed martial arts....

Posted in: boxing, glory, modernday guise, glory days, dana ufc

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Remember when being the “heavyweight champion of the world” equated to a multi-million dollar career and fame/recognition from those who were not even boxing fans? The past decade has proven time and again to sports fans world wide that in fact, boxing is a dying a very slow and painful death. How can this be? How can a sport that doesn’t even require a ball be losing its fan base? Since when did watching two pros battle it out with nothing but their fists become boring? There are endless reasons under speculation as to why boxing is not as acclaimed as it once was. Many feel MMA is to blame, which may be true at some level. MMA is growing their fan base hourly, if not by the minute with the UFC, Strikeforce, BAMMA, and Bellator franchises all gaining viewers daily. One must realize though, the two sports are not easily compared, it’s very apples and oranges to even attempt it. Boxing is but one facet of MMA, and boxing has also been around for centuries unlike the mere decades that MMA has under its belt. The two cannot be compared plain and simple, for proof watch the Randy Couture vs. James Toney fight…a clear example of why the two sports should never collide. A Detailed Breakdown of Couture vs. Toney Is it the cheap shots in boxing that is turning people off? Perhaps this is a more accurate description of why the sport is catching so much negative press. The Floyd Mayweather vs. Victor Ortiz fight that recently occurred was won by what some considered to be a cheap blow. The Chad Dawson vs. Bernard Hopkins match ended via a tackling maneuver and cost Hopkins his title. It is these exact tendencies that can fuel the rumor mill and completely diminish a sport, and the effects are starting to show. Repairing the sport can be done, it isn’t completely gone as of just yet. Some suggestions would be to hold fights people actually want to see: Pacquiao vs. Mayweather Maidana vs. Rios Donaire vs. Mares-Agbeko II Wonjongkam vs. Segura Ah, the infamous pay per view issue. HBO is a great forum for boxing to continue, but it isn’t large enough to compete with the pay per views. In the UK for example, they do not gain a dollar from HBO they are run by Sky Sports, they don’t pay for UFC fights there either, they simply buy ESPN each month which is rather inexpensive and they instantly gain every UFC card. It’s this shaky practice that has so many moaning about boxing PPV’s and this past year HBO has not had a great year packed with fights. Add in a few questionable decisions or ref calls to that and you have a bunch of crabby boxing fans furious they paid for a set of fights that they feel were “fixed” or ended on poor ref calls. There needs to be a clean up of the never ending divisions. There are simply too many at this point and as a result it makes for a bunch of “okay” classes versus just a few truly solid ones. Someone that has accomplished even two or three different weight classes would be idolized for their achievements versus the ones that go through divisions and hold titles like its nothing. Money…this is by far an issue in Boxing. What funds actually go back into the sport to improve it and make it stronger? Not much, if any at all. Currently, the millions that are being made by top A list boxers are providing lavish lifestyles for them, going to promoters, trainers, television networks and managers. There is yet to be a good plan for insurance for boxers especially those just turning professional as well. Boxing is one of the most entertaining sports of all time. It can still be what it was, it can still be adored by boxing fans as well as MMA fans if it is fixed quickly. People love seeing a good fight, and to let an exceptional sport go to waste after centuries of existence would be a real tragedy to the professional sports industry. PHOTO CREDIT – UFC Tweet

Posted in: fight, vs, sport, boxing, fan

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This Fan Post Was Promoted to the Front Page by Anton Tabuena [Note: many of the passages from contemporary sources contain derogatory and offensive terms in reference to various ethnic groups. While I in no way condone the viewpoints expressed with their use, I also do not condone pretending such sentiments did not exist. For that reason they have been left in and hopefully do not detract from your reading experience.] This is part four in a four part series shining a gas light on the forgotten golden age of mixed martial arts that existed during the Belle Époque. For the previous installments in the series, check out Part 1: The Golden Age of Wrestling and the Lost Art of American Catch-as-Catch-can, Part 2: The Rise of Judo and the Dawn of a New Age, and Part 3: Sherlock Holmes, Les Apaches, and the Gentlemanly Art of Self Defence. And for the history of the origins and early development of MMA, read James Figg: The Lost Origins of the Sport of Mixed Martial Arts.   The way the Ultimate Fighting Championship was created was a bunch of television guys got together and said, "Let's answer the age-old question, which fighting style is the best?" Would a boxer beat a wrestler? Would a kung fu guy beat a karate guy? - Dana White    The fact is that when started this, it didn’t exist. We started it… they didn’t know what it was… - Bob Meyrowitz, TOTAL MMA by Jonathan Snowden   Autumn of 1993 proved to be pivotal season in the history of combative sports. In September of that year Masakatsu Funaki’s Pancrase held their inaugural event, one where, for the first time in memory, professional wrestling matches were contested for real. It was only fitting that a promotion named after the ancient Greek sport of pankration, a sport that combined boxing and wrestling in an "anything goes" contest, would now be hosting matches where slams, kicks, punches, knees, elbows (but no strikes to the head  except for those with an open hand), and all the "sleeper holds", leg locks, and other submission hooks of "worked" pro wrestling would finally be used for real.   A few weeks later, on November 12, an even more significant event took place: the initial Ultimate Fighting Championship. Advertised as a "no holds barred" contest between a "sumo wrestler, savate champion, kick boxer, karate specialist, jujitsu whiz, cruiserweight prizefighter, "shootfighter" and tae kwon do expert" to find the ‘Ultimate Fighter". "People were intrigued by the concept of style versus style." Dave Meltzer explained in Total MMA,  "People have debated that forever. What if a wrestler fought a boxer or a jiu-jitsu guy?" The event would prove a success, capturing the public’s imagination and giving birth to what would be known as mixed martial arts, a sport the likes of which the world hadn’t seen since pankration went extinct 1500 years ago.   Of course, anything go matches had not died out with the Greeks and Romans, and mixed fights between boxers, wrestlers, savateurs, judokas and other disciplines had already taken place, having answered all our questions during the era known as the Belle Époque. The "age-old question" of who would win between a boxer and a wrestler is one that was actually rarely asked until the 20th century. Before that, in the time of London Prize Fighting, the two disciplines were so intertwined that such a debate would be viewed as pointless: a great number of boxers were wrestlers and a great number of wrestlers were boxers. Being skilled in wrestling was in fact viewed as essential to any boxer, with many victories gained due more to grappling and throwing your opponent to the ground than to the power or precision of one’s strikes. For evidence, one needs only look at the 1825 training manual "The Art and Practice of Boxing" by A Celebrated Pugilist (Anonymous) where they will find that of the eight illustrations contained within, nearly half are dedicated to such "boxing" techniques as the "cross bullocks", "throwing", and "locks".  Mixed competitions between wrestlers and boxers (or, more precisely, wrestlers who boxed and boxers who wrestled) did take place, but were viewed very differently than later discipline versus discipline match ups. They instead often resembled the mixed wrestling matches of the time, were wrestlers would compete in two or more styles (catch-as-catch can, collar-and-elbow, Greco-Roman, Cornish, Cumberland, Westmorland  and even sumo), alternating between them after every "fall" in a best of three or best of five contest. One such mixed boxing and wrestling match was arranged between William Muldoon and the Australian Professor William Miller in the city of Baltimore on the 25th of June, 1888. Unfortunately, only the first match of boxing was completed (with Professor Miller gaining the decision in 12-rounds over the "Solid Man" Muldoon with both men wearing 4 ounce gloves) before the police stopped the illegal prizefight. A year later in Gloucester, Maine, Muldoon faced off against his pupil, the "champion of all champions", bare-knuckle boxer John Sullivan, in the best remembered boxer versus wrester contest of this period. Muldoon had been training the "Boston Strong Boy" for his upcoming bout with Jake Kilrain, and his methods, while affective, were so harsh and sadistic that by this time John had come to despise Muldoon. The match itself was 2-out-of-3 falls and Sullivan made a good showing, gaining the first fall, but eventually, as the New York Sun reported, "Wrestling Gladiator William Muldoon tossed Pugilist Gladiator John L. Sullivan." After winning the second round, Muldoon would go on to take the third and deciding fall when "he just picked Sully up and slammed him to the carpet…the fall seemed heavy enough to shake the earth." Following his defeat Sullivan raised his fist and threatened his tormentor Muldoon with a sledgehammer blow but by this time the crowd of 2,000 spectators had rushed the ring, preventing any post-match altercations. Another famed wrestler of the period who engaged boxers was the catch-as-catch master, Joe Acton, who not only faced the previously mentioned Professor William Miller in Philadelphia in 1888 but the future World Heavyweight champion Robert "the Freckled Wonder" Fitszimmons in San Francisco in 1891 as well. The Angeles Times reported the latter outcome as: "The Pugilist Secures One Fall, but the "Little Demon" Proves Too Much for Him in the Two Other Bouts". Afterwards, Bob Fitzsimmons would himself go on to meet William Muldoon’s chosen heir to the Greco-Roman Championship, Ernest Roeber, in a series of matches that included wrestling, boxing, an alternating mixed competition, and even reportedly a true boxer versus wrestling match in which "Fitz took a punch or two. Then Roeber grabbed him, tied him into knots, and the show was over."   Apparently tired of facing superior grapplers, Fitzsimmons would meet fellow boxer Gus Ruhlin in a wrestling match in 1901 at Madison Square Garden. The two had met the year before in a gloved boxing match where Fitzsimmons proved victorious, beating Ruhlin unconscious in the 6th round, but in the interim year prize fighting had again been banned in New York forcing the two to take up the mat game full-time. The contest between them demonstrated how loose the definition for "a wrestling match" could be, especially when pugilists were involved, as the two of them freely adopted boxing tactics, "and with the exception that they didn’t close their fists, the encounter resembled in every way a boxing match."  Ruhlin would go on to avenge his earlier defeat, winning in straight falls.   With the ascension of the Marques of Queensbury Rules, boxing metamorphosed from the heavy grappling London Prize fighting to a purely striking sport. This divergence created a stark contrast between the two disciplines, causing some to now ask "which of the two would have a better chance in a fight between a wrestler and a boxer?"   In hopes of answering this question – and sell tickets - promoters soon were pitting wrestlers against boxers in either of two different sorts of matches. The first, were "all-in" professional wrestling matches were boxing tactics would be permitted as long as no close-fists were thrown.  Former boxer "Denver" Ed Martin took part in such a match against the "The Russian Giant" Jack Leon, where his strategy consisted of "slapping the Russian in the face with the open hand when he tried to rush in." The second sort were true boxer versus wrestler matches, with the boxer adhering to the Marquis of Queensbury rules while the wrestler conducted himself according to the rules for of his sport.   Matches of this sort were not limited to the United States. While mixed prizefights were forbidden by law in England (although exhibition matches were allowed), they were not banned in the rest of the Empire and proved particularly popular in the Commonwealth of Australia. An example of such a match took place in Melbourne in 1911, when a boxer, a Mr. W. Meeske, and a wrestler, a Mr. Warrington, were pitted against each other "so that those present might form some idea of which was the better method of self-defence. The boxer, who was only allowed to hit, and not to hold, got all the worst of the bout. Once only did he make much impression on the wrestler, who succeeded in getting hold and throwing him heavily several times." Many of these sorts of mixed matches were held in Australia and at one point a Clarence Weber, identified in the papers as a "champion wrestler, weight-lifter, and physical culturist", even challenged the heavyweight boxing champion of the world, Jack Johnson, to an "all-in" fight. Johnson, who had also engaged in professional wrestling matches in Europe, apparently accepted the challenge but for whatever reason (perhaps Mr. Weber came to his senses) it never materialized.   Even with the aborted Weber-Johnson duel, the answer to that "age-old question" was soon clear, as the 1918 Middle Weight Inter-Allied Games champion Paul Prehn explained:   There has been a great deal of discussion of late as to the outcome of a mixed bout between a wrestler and a boxer. The author has conducted many bouts of this kind in and out of the army, seen and heard of a great many others, and only once remembers of a boxer winning.     While the great "boxing versus wrestling debate" ended rather quickly in wrestling’s favor, another, even more passionate debate soon came to the fore between the supporters of boxing and the foreign upstart jujutsu. It started soon after Edward-Barton Wright had imported several Japanese "champions", including Yukio Tani and Sadakazu "Raku" Uyenishi, to London to assist in advertising his "New Art of Self Defense".  The two, along with the exotic jujutsu they introduced to Europe, proved to be a sensation amongst the public and their music hall appearances sparked a lively debate. In 1906 a series of articles and letters were published in "Health and Strength" Magazine (and was possibly orchestrated to publicize the magazine’s release that year of a pair of instructional manuals dealing with the two "antagonistics"), asking as to whether a boxer using the "manly British art" could beat a jujutsuka and his "arsenal of useful tricks" in a regulated contest. A letter from W.H. Hall to the editors at "Health and Strength" provides a sample of the boxing supporters thinking in regards to jujutsu: Hitherto there has been some doubt expressed as to the result of a boxing v jujitsu contest. It seems that quite a number of people labour under the erroneous idea that jujitsu is more effective than boxing as a means of self defence. This notion however, is quite unfounded, as there has never been an instance on record where jujitsu has gained a victory.    It wouldn’t take long for Mr. Hall’s statement to be proven false, for that very year Yukio Tani traveled to Paris to engage in such a boxer versus jujutsu bout at the Circus Bostoock with Marc Gaucher, "one of the best known Parisian masters of English Boxing." The rules for their match had been written up by Gaucher himself, and were to be as follows:   1. The match has to be fought in ten rounds of two minutes, with breaks of one minute in between.   2. If Yukio Tani fails in making me give up in this ten rounds, I should be the winner.   3. Twisting of fingers and catching the others eyes or genitals is forbidden; blows are only allowed to be landed above the girdle and only the normal grips of Jiu-Jitsu are permitted.   4. For me gloves with a weight of eight oz. are determined. - BOXEN UND JIU-JITSU, from the February 11th, 1906 Vienna Allgemeine Sportzeitung   Yuko Tani would see to it that the match wouldn’t see the 3rd round, let alone the 10th. In the 2nd round, after Gaucher struck him with a right to the side of the head, he seized his opponent and brought him to the ground where he quickly applied a stranglehold to end the bout. Such mixed competitions were nothing new to the people of Paris, with contests between wrestling (both la lutte parisienne and la lutte libre), la boxe anglaise, and savate taking place as far back as the 1850s. A revival of these bouts begins at the fin de siècle starting with boxing versus boxing matches – English boxing against boxe française. The most celebrated of these matches took place in Paris on October 28th, 1899, when Charles Charlemont, the son and successor of Joseph Pierre Charlemont and one the greatest savatuers of the era (the other being Victor Casteres who had defeated an English boxer the previous year in a match that was personally judged by the Marquis of Queensbury), faced the ex-champion of the Royal Navy and representative of the opposing English style, Jerry Driscoll.   The match itself left much to be desired. Almost immediately Driscoll claimed Charlemont had bitten him. There were reports from English witnesses that the timekeeper had saved the Frenchman several times. There were numerous stops and starts by the referee, who at one point refused to continue the match, but was persuaded to proceed. And finally there was the conclusion, with Driscoll falling to the ground clutching either his abdomen or groin after receiving a kick from Charlemont in the eighth round. The Englishmen in attendance claimed the winning strike was to the groin and thus a "foul". French spectators reported the victory was due to a fouetté median – a round kick to the stomach. While the French press seemed to claim the match a victory for la savate and the French style, the English press roundly ignored the results so that other such la savate v boxing contests would be required to decide the matter, although these proved equally inconclusive.     While the argument over boxing or savate was left undecided, the French public (or at least the periodical "Lectures pour Tous") had already moved on, turning its attention to the matter of "Jiu-Jitsu ou Boxe Française?" To settle the debate a contest was arranged in 1905 between la savate and fencing master George Dubois and the jujutsuka Ernest Regnier, with the articles of agreement, according to the Decatur Daily Herald, being "everything goes but the biting and gouging. The Fenchman will kick and punch at his pleasure and the Jap is permitted to use all the bone-breaking holds at his repertoire. The crowning bit of humor is the proviso that the ‘referee will stop the contest if it becomes brutal’." The paper mistakenly identifies Ernest Regnier as Japanese, a common mistake as he went by the nom de guerre Re-Nié. In truth Regnier was a French Greco-Roman wrestler who after being introduced to jujutsu by the Parisian physical culturist and former student of the Bartitsu Club, Edmond Desbonnet, took up the art at the Oxford Street Dojo under the mentorship of Taro Miyake and Yukio Tani. The contest was held October 26 of 1905, in a ring set up outdoors "in an icy wind" on the terrace of a factory. It was a private affair which drew a distinguished crowd by invitation only. The "whole of sporting Paris was present. The celebrities of boxing, the kings of motoring, and famous fencers were pressed around the arena, and almost ever member of the sports press was there to record the event." Most of those present wore top hats, while the two combatants were only slightly less formally dressed in evening jackets. The match, as described by L. Sauveroche in the November 4th, 1905 Edition of the L’Illustration, was a brief affair: Dubois tries a right low kick that Re-Nie dodges. Dubois then tries a side kick with the same leg, but at the same time, with extraordinary timing Re-Nie leaps like a cat over the kick and grabs Dubois around the waist. Dubois tries a hip toss: Re-Nie blocks and moves to the right of his opponent, puts his right hand on the abdomen of the Dubouise and at the same time pushes his left hand into the the lower back and sends a knee in the right thigh. Dubois topples and falls on the shoulder blades in a heap, Re-Nei follows him down and siezes his right wrist. Re-Nie then turns Dubois to the left onto his back, passes the left leg across the throat. This done, he pulls violenty against the arm-joint of his opponent; the hold which can dislocate the elbow, provokes such pain that Duboise, after attempting to stand for a second, then begs for mercy.    The fight had lasted just 26 seconds, 6 seconds for the engagement itself.     After the match newspapers as far away as the Atlanta Constitution in the United States of America and the Fielding Star in New Zealand  reported the results. Regnier’s patron Desbonnet wrote that upon his victory "Immediately, all of Parisian aristocracy had enrolled for classes" in jujutsu. Perhaps the most far-reaching consequence was that Dubois himself became a student of Regnier’s afterwards incorporating jujutsu with his knowledge of savate, fencing, and wrestling to assist in the development of defense dans la rue and eventually penning the self defense manual "Comment se Défendre". Another, similar bout with very different results, took place in Paris on December 31st, 1908, when the great American boxer Sam McVey met the judoka Tano Matsuda. The future "colored heavyweight champion" McVey was gaining a mystique as "L’Idol of Paris", so there was a great deal of interest and pageantry surrounding the event between him and his opponent who was advertised as a "Japanese master of jiu-jutsu". In truth Matsuda was not Japanese, but an Englishman named Payton who had limited skills – if any – in jujutsu and would provide no competition for McVey. "McVey charged across the ring at the start of the bout, feinted Matsuda with his left, and ripped a right uppercut to the chin that flattened the jiu-jitsu master." The duration of the fight was all of eight seconds. The interest in these mixed competitions soon spread across the Rhine, where only a few days after Tani’s victory over Gaucher, another jujutsu versus boxing match was staged at the  Zirkus Schumann in Berlin. Representing jujutsu would be Katsuguma Higashi, who had arrived after stints in New York and London, while that old hand of mixed competitions,  Robert Fitzsimmons, would be serving as boxing’s champion. The results proved disappointing to those in attendence. Circus Schumann had a big day yesterday. Higashi, the representative of the Japanese fighting sport, Jiu - Jitsu, had finally set himself against R. Fitzsimmons, the American boxer. The house was full to overflowing, but the crowd did not quite get its money's worth, because the fight between the Japanese and the American was short. After four minutes Fitzsimmons had to excuse himself because of exhaustion and so was declared defeated.  - "The Victory of the Jiu Jitsu", Berliner Tageblatt, February 9th, 1906 The finish would either be blamed on the fact that Fitzsimmons had been suffering from a rather violent cold and thus was unable to put on his best performance or credited to Higashi using a strangulation technique that the audience was unable to appreciate. Either way, the public displeasure over the surprising shortness of the fight did not prevent future matches of a similar vein from taking place. The very next year another mixed competition was held in Berlin, this time between the boxer Paul Maschke (alias "Joe Edwards") and the self-styled jujutsuka Edmond Vary. Maschke would gain a victory for boxing, setting up a rematch later that year. Eric Rahn, a noted jujutsu and judo pioneer within Germany, seconded Vary for this fight, and later recounted the experience:  The meeting took place in the Circus Busch. I was asked by Vary at the last minute to function as his second and explained that although I had no idea about his ability, I was willing to serve. The fight was disastrous for the so-called "Jiu Jitsu master". Consequently, both force- and talent-less he stepped forward and was then felled by a straight punch to the nose. He attempted to trip his opponent while on the ground, but the boxer simply evaded these attempts. I realized that he had no prospects for victory and proclaimed that he had been defeated.  - "50 years Jiu Jitsu and judo; The invisible weapon with Erich Rahn" by Eric Rahn, 1950   Such mixed matches continued, albiet illegally, in Germany and Vienna for some years afterwards. Erich Rahn would himself be challenged by and engage with several boxers immediately following the Great War.   Jujutsu or judo versus boxing contests were not limited to Europe. They proved remarkably popular amongst the nations of the Pacific where they were known as "Merikan", a Japanese slang for American fighting. "Merikan" contests may have actually taken place as early as the 1890s, but the oldest account given is from the 1909 Manila Carnival in the Philippines: The bout was to be two falls or knockdowns out of three. The Jap was to wear a sort of jiu-jitsu shirt while the American was to wear gloves. The Jap was not allowed to hit but all jiu-jitsu holds were permitted. The American was not allowed to wrestle or hold but all clean blows were permitted.   The gong rang. Quicker’n you can say ‘Sap,’ the Jap grabbed ye scribe by the right arm, twisted and pitched us on our ear in a neutral corner some fifteen feet away. One fall for the Jap. After we got the resin well out of our ear we arose only to find the little brown brother right on top of us again. But this time we beat him to it with a sweet right hand, inside and up. The little rascal only weighed 98 pounds while we displaced some 124 at that time. So we take no credit for the fact that the gent from [Tokyo] folded his tent like an Arab and silently stole out of the ring. He forfeited the third trip to the canvas, explaining that he did not expect to get hit, being under the impression that the gloves were only used as a handicap for the difference in weight.  - Harvey "Heinie" Miller, "Now You Tell One!" Ring, Dec. 1922   "Merikan" fights would not only continue to be held in the Philippines but would spread throughout the Pacific Rim. In Australia, the boxing versus jujutsu debate sprung up anew, and both sides were soon issuing challenges to each other (with some using the vilest of racist reasoning to support their claims). The most interesting of the resulting matches may have been the one between Ryugoro "Shima" Fukushima and "Jack" Howard in Melbourne in 1912. According to publications, "The conditions were that Howard was to be allowed to hit at all times and under all circumstances, while Shima was to follow the rules of jiu-jitsu. Howard was to wear 8oz glozes, Shima was not to hit with clenched hands, and there was to be no kicking." The match was a wild and wooly affair, with the boxer Howard knocking out Fukushima in the first of a best of three contest, only to have his Japanese opponent grab his legs in a "scissors grip" and force him to surrender in each of the next two contests.    Sam McVey also made an appearance in Australia to try his hand in another mixed bout, against the questionable "jiu-jitsu champion" Professor Stevenson who had probably done more to usher in the "all-in" mixed fighting craze in Australia than any other individual. The match would prove much more competitive than McVea’s last, with the boxer tapping out for two of the rounds before prevailing with a knockout of Stevenson.   In Hawaii the first recorded match took place in Honolulu on Dec 30, 1916, when professional wrestler and judoka Taro Miyake defeated boxer Ben de Mello. For years afterwards jujutsu versus boxing contests (along with other mixed disciplines fight) would be held on the Islands, the most notable of which took place over the Spring of 1922 and involved the English Boxer Carl "Kayo" Morris against Professors S. "Speed" Takahashi and Professor Henry Seishiro Okazaki. Morris would split a pair of matches with Takahashi, knocking out the jujutsuka in their first match in only one minute and twenty-eight seconds, and then go on to lose the rematch in the third round when Takahashi "threw Morris forcefully onto the canvas and applied a head hold". A short time after that Kayo would go meet Professor Okazaki in a ring with the rules being: Morris would wear a sleeveless jacket and six-ounce boxing gloves. There would be six, three-minute rounds. If Okazaki fell to the mat, Morris would have to go to a neutral corner. If Morris fell, Okazaki could work on him on the ground. Okazaki was prohibited from applying strangle holds using both hands, chopping (shuto) to the face, kicking with the toe (tsumasaki geri), gouging the eyes with the fingers, and punching with the fists - Jiu-Jitsu vs Wrestling and Boxing: Three Months of Electrifying Mixed Matches in Hawaii by Charles Goodin (2005)   During their bout, Morris would break Okazaki’s nose in the opening round before, in the second: Okazaki threw his opponent to the mat and with an arm lock which wrenched the muscles of Morris' right arm and forced him throw up the sponge.   At first sight, it looked as if Morris' arm was broken, but after an examination by Dr. S. R. Brown, who was present in the audience, it was found that the muscles were merely badly wrenched. - "Morris Has No Chance Against Jujtsu Expert", Hilo Daily Tribune May 19, 1922   Merikan matches were also reported amongst the Western and Japanese expatriates of Hong King. In the spring of 1923, at the Theatre Royal, the Australian boxer Nick Boyle was pitted against the jujutsu practitioner Tomikawa in a contest that was to be for either six two-minute rounds or to the finish (Boyle would end up losing to Tomikawa in the second round). Tomikawa would go on to face James Peets of Manila with the Japan Times reporting that "Peets, although a big fellow, was easy for the Jujitsu man."    In no place did these "Merikan" fights prove more popular nor were they staged as numerously as in jujutsu’s home country of Japan. A 1913 article by the Japan times reported on an exhibition that was holding up to a dozen matches a night and drawing full houses every evening at the Yarakuza. Amongst the more interesting results given for the matches was one where "Seven times boxing champion Cally faced his jujitsu contestant Kawashima with vigor and enthusiasm only to be mercilessly defeated by the Japanese 'boy.'" Another match described how "the close fighting between Naito and Smith was another attraction. In this also Smith, the German boxer unfortunately showed that he was far from being a match to the Japanese banner-bearer."    Large events hosting several Merikan matches continued well into the next decade with the Japan Times reporting that on the 10th and 11th of May, 1924, that there was to be in Tokyo "a contest of 'Judo' and boxing between Japanese experts and Americans" with up to a dozen of each participating. A year later Yokohama city officials organized a display of boxing versus jujutsu matches to welcome Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Sinclair and his British Asiatic Fleet flagship HMS Hawkins.       The rivalry between boxing and jujutsu, as well as the one between boxing and wrestling, was soon eclipsed by the feud that arose between the two disparate grappling arts of jujutsu and wrestling. In the first few years after Edward Barton-Wright had arrived in London with his Japanese ‘champions’,  jujutsu had found nothing but success. From the music hall stages demonstrations against the native wrestling folkstyles were held and inevitably audiences found themselves amazed at the apparent ease with which these diminutive foreigners could defeat their giant wrestling heroes.  A prime example, as described by Armand Cherpillod in his 1933 autobiography La Vie d’un champion (co-authored by Abel Vaucher), was the encounter between Sadakazu "Raku" Uyenishi and a Russian wrestler and strongman named Klemsky, who claimed his neck was too strong for him to be choked unconscious.   As quick as a flash, the Japanese leaped onto the Russian and seized him by the collar of the jacket, one hand on each side of his neck, by crossing the wrists, and learnedly exerted the famous pressure on the carotid arteries which brings choking, and even unconsciousness. The hold did not seem to have any effect on the Russian who simply smiled at the audience. Astonished by this resistance, the Japanese wrestler’s eyes gleamed with malice. He rolled across the ground past the Russian while preserving his hold and, to increase the force of the pressure on the neck, planted his two feet in the pit of Klemsky’s stomach. This tightened the grip so extremely that a net of blood escaped from the mouth of Klemsky and sprinkled his face. It was only then that Yanichi [Uyenishi] released his hold and let fall beside him the apparently lifeless body of the Russian.   The public believed that Klemsky had died. They howled their anger and their disapproval of Yanichi. This latter, triumphant, appeared to be insensitive to the hostile remonstrations of the public. He went to sit down on the sidelines, beside his compatriot, in the manner of the tailors at work, by crossing his legs beneath him. And while the spectators redoubled their cries, our two Japanese entered into an animated conversation and even laughed together, contemplating the victim who did not give any sign of life. Suddenly, one of them rose, as if driven by a spring, and approached Klemsky. He leaned on the body of the Russian and gave some sort of vibration or massage to the cardiac area, which revived the victim gradually. Then, to the great astonishment of the audience who were now gasping, Klemsky opened his eyes and asked where he was. This seemed magical, and even more than before, Jiu-jitsu appeared to be a most mysterious form of fighting. When someone asked Klemsky for his impression of the event, he said that while losing consciousness he had heard the sound of bells.   An aura of invincibility soon cloaked the seemingly unbeatable Uyenishi and his fellow countrymen, although, it must be said that  most matches were judo contests of which the domestic grappler had little understanding and an even less chance of success. To even out the odds modified catch-as-catch-can rules were sometimes used, albeit with both contestants wearing a jacket. Even under these more "balanced" rules, Uyenishi and Tani almost always proved triumphant.    And this success was not limited only to matches where the rules were tilted heavily in their favor, but also when competing under the English’s own catch-as-catch-can rules. Yukio Tani, after several months of tutelage from the former champion Joe Acton, even managed to capture the "lightweight championship of the world" (or at least a version of it) from the respected wrestler Jem Mellor at the Tivoli in 1904. The Sporting Life, commented after the match that "The little Jap showed what a wonder he was by beating the Englishman at his own game. Two falls to one was the decision, though the fall given against Tani was questioned by many.’ It was thus little surprise that, as victory after victory piled up for the 5 foot, 9 stone fighter, some citizens of London began to view jujutsu as having almost mystical properties. This view was diminished slightly when Ernest Regnier, still basking in his victory over George Dubous, let his hubris get the better of him and challenged Ivan Paddubny of Russia. Outweighed by 100 pounds and facing one of the greatest Greco-Roman wrestlers of his era, Regnier would be thoroughly trounced, vanishing thereafter from the public eye. But as other arriving Japanese "wrestlers" found the same success as Tani and Raku, jujutsu kept its prestige for some time in London.    Eventually jujutsu would make its way to the shores of the United States, but for whatever reasons, be it the rough "anything goes" style practiced in some regions, the wide-spread familiarity of jacket wrestling amongst a large portion of the population or the fact that the stranglehold and most other "punishing" holds were allowed under the commonly followed American National Police Gazette rules, the States proved to be a much less hospital clime for the Japanese import.   The tone was set immediately by one of the, if not the earliest confrontation between a professional grappler and a jujutsuka in the United States, which took place in Bellingham Washington on September 5th, 1904. In the match, Frank Gotch, perhaps the greatest catch-as-catch-can wrestler in all of history, threw K. Aoyogi three times in all of 32 seconds.   More matches and more defeats for jujutsu soon followed. In Salt Lake City on February 27th, 1905, Eddie Robinson would twice put Kadura Murayam down with ease, in a match where "each man was allowed to use his own style of wrestling."    A few weeks later in, Baltimore, Anthony "Columbus" Wallenofer, the featherweight wrestling "champion", was scheduled to meet Hako, "the jiu-jitsu expert", in a finish match (pin or submission only) where "Everything will go. The Jap will be allowed to use all his foxiest and most mysterious holds, while Columbus will be entitled to do pretty much anything except hit his rival with a club." The bout was to be 3-out-of-5 falls but ended when Hako quit while behind 2 falls to 1, after voicing a complaint about the rules governing the contest.  Shortly after that in St. Louis, in what was billed as a "Wrestling Jiu-Jitsu Match" in which no hold was barred, not even the stranglehold, George Baptiste "proved the American system superior to jiu-jitsu", by defeating Arata Suzuki in two straight falls in less than five minutes total time. The most celebrated match of this period, and often mistakenly listed as the first such encounter, was between George Bothner "the champion lightweight wrestler at catch-as-catch-can style" and Professor Katsuguma Hagashi "one of the foremost experts at the Oriental science in the United States" on April 6 of 1905 at the Central Grand Palace in New York.  The much anticipated match received a great deal of press coverage in the lead up to the event, with many expecting "to see the little brown man break Bothner's bones" while others looked forward to Bothner disproving the Japanese’s boasts. Going into the match, Higashi had made something of a name for himself by giving exhibitions where he would throw up to five policemen in a single evening while also proclaiming the superiority of jujutsu over any other form of defense.  Particularly grating to wrestling supporters where such comments as:    I have met a number of Western wrestlers, and they are as helpless as babes against the art of jujitsu. And no one versed in the art of jujitsu is mad enough to expect anything else.   The contest between the two was to be a best-of-five combined jujutsu/wrestling match with the agreed upon rules stipulating that  "The jiu jitsu man can use in his defense any of the tricks that belong to his art. He also assumes no responsibility for any injury or injuries caused by any act or thing done during the contest, and must be held blameless for any ill-effects or injury that may be received during the match." Each of the men was to wear a "Japanese wrestling costume consisting of short jackets like kimonos with a belt around the waist" and the contest would be to pin-fall or submission, although there seems to be some confusion regarding the length of a pin or how to count "flying falls". After the match there would be a great deal of disagreement as to whether the agreed upon rules had been followed.  The New York Times summarized the match: Bothner got the first fall in the quick time of 14:33 (minutes and seconds) and the second in 1:31:18. The conditions called for the best three falls out of five, but it was long after midnight before the third bout was called. Bothner won this and the match in 12 minutes.   Higashi and his supporters complained vociferously "that he was unfairly treated in respect to a non-observance of the rules that had been agreed" and in this accord they may have been right. Earlier reports indicated that "flying falls", which are common in judo, would be counted but accounts filed from the match seem to indicate that a ten second and then later five second pin was instead required for victory. In any case, many looked at Higashi’s complaints as sour grapes, for with all his earlier boasting of the superiority of jujutsu and of the many deadly tricks at his disposal, "The result was disappointing, that is to those who hoped to see something unusual in the famed jiu-jitsu."   The victory would prove to be the highlight of Bothners career, one he would try to recreate when he faced – and defeated – the judoka Tarro Miyake in his farewell match in 1914. For his part Higashi would soon move to the greener pastures of Europe where he would face – and lose to – YukioTani in a jujutsu match in Paris before making his way to Germany for his encounter with Bob Fitzsimmons. Jujutsu’s lack of success in the States would begin to change as more talented judokas began to arrive on American soil and try their hand at the professional mat game. One of the more accomplished of the early jujutsukas to do so was 4th-dan Akitaro Ono. Having settled into Asheville, North Carolina shortly after arriving in the US in May of 1905 (to serve as a jujutsu instructor at the Annapolis Naval Academy) he immediately found success in the ring, defeating the 6’5’ 305 lb. "Big Tom" Frisbee in a "jacket match" via stranglehold. With his victory the 5’7" 206 pound Ono became an instant sensation to the people of Asheville, who viewed him and jujutsu as unbeatable. Unfortunately this newfound popularity attracted the likes of Charles Olson to pay a visit and challenge him to a match. Olson, one of the premiere wrestling "ringers" of the era, traveled the country setting up "money matches", were he could clean up on side bets from locals unaware of the reputation he held. In later days the Seattle Daily Times described him thus: Olsen is a past master of the punishing game. He is a terror to every foe against whom he is in earnest. All the bone-breaking, nerve-wrecking, heart-rending tricks of this most torturing of all sports are at his command. Olsen has long stood in his own light as a wrestler. He has eked out a fortune… by wrestling under aliases in the ‘bushes'. He was labeled by no less an authority as Frank Gotch as "one of the most dangerous men on the American canvas" . It was a claim that was not without merit: twice during his career he killed his opponent during such "money matches".  The contest between Olson and Prof. Ono would fittingly be billed as a "blood match", with the rules stating that besides each wrestler being required to wear a judogi, it would be "anything goes".  The description would prove accurate as Olson head butted, battered, and strangled Ono for over an hour until one side of his face was beaten into a bloody pulp, and his eyes were so swollen shut that he was forced to concede the match (although the New York Times reports Ono giving in only after being strangled with his own jacket for ten minutes). Ono’s loss created something of a diplomatic row, with the Japanese consulate protesting the results and Olson’s behavior (let alone the $10,000 he and his associates cleaned up on in side bets), although to no avail. Wrestling had triumphed over jujutsu yet again in America. As Ono recovered from the match, he was paid a visit by Esai Maeda, a Japanese countrymen and fellow judoka better known as Matsuyo Maeda. Maeda had come to the US along with Tsunejiro Tomita and Soshiro Satakato on a mission to spread Kodokan Jodo. Maeda had served as Tomita’s assistant, and in this capacity he gave exhibitions as well as took part in several "wrestling matches". Maeda had recently parted with Tomita, and after his visit with Ono, set about to enter the world of professional wrestling. Maeda would engage in his first confirmed professional wrestling match against Sam Marburger, who was billed as "America’s cleverest wrestler at his weight’ on December 18, 1905 at the Grand Theater in Altanta, Georgia. The results of the contest, which was a best of three, was Marburger taking the single catch-as-catch-can fall while Maeda won both the "Japanese style" (with jackets) falls and the match. "Score another one for the wily Jap" reported the Atlanta Journal. "When Professor Maeda is under a full head of steam, greased lightning should be classed with the ‘also-rans’." His opponent, Marburger also had nothing but praise for him following the meeting: "...if you ever hear of that Jap mixing it up with anyone else soon, just let me know. I’d like to put all my money on this unbeatable phenomenon!"   With the victory (and more importantly, the winner’s purse) Maeda took up prizefighting as a career. He, along with the now recovered Ono, journeyed to Europe where he found success not only in "anything goes" matches but also in straight up catch-as-catch-can wrestling. In London in early 1908 he would split two tightly contested and highly praised matches with Henry Irslinger while also capturing second place in the heavyweight division of the prestigious Alhambra open to the world wrestling tournament. Before the end in the year the two would make their way to Latin America, where they would spend the next several years traveling the region and fighting. While in Havana, Cuba, Maeda even tried to arrange a mixed-styles match with the champions of both boxing and wrestling, Jack Johnson and Frank Gotch, but nothing became of it. It was also while in Havana that the pair was joined by two other Japanese jujutsu wrestlers, Maeda’s old companion Satake Shinjiro and another judoka by the name of Tokugoro Ito. Together they became known as the "Four Kings of Cuba". Over the next few years they would crisscross the region - Cuba, Mexico, El Salvador, the Canal Zone, Brazil, Peru - participating in numerous jujutsu, wrestling, and "anything goes" contests. Of the "Four Kings", perhaps none took a more active part in the battles between jujutsu and wrestling - nor found more success against American wrestling - than Tokugoro Ito. Legend has it that a 27-year old Ito left his position as a teacher of judo at the Tokyo Imperial University in 1907 to travel to Seattle, Washington at the behest of the local Japanese population looking for protection from the extortions of Chinese gangsters. Whatever the truth, Ito would take up an instructor’s position at the Seattle Dojo, the oldest judo dojo in America, and, after being promoted to 5th-dan, would soon try his hand at professional fighting.  On September 2, 1909 he would engage in his first prizefight against the professional wrestler Eddie Robinson of San Francisco at the Grand Opera House of Seattle for Japan Day. The contest rules called for both men to wear canvas jackets, and with only gouging, biting, kicking, or striking with a closed fist prohibited. Everything else was allowed. The match would end only after one man surrendered unconditionally to the other.   Going into the match, the advantage seemed to lie with the American Eddie Robinson who had had already competed, and found success, against jujutsukas, having beaten Kadura Murayam handedly back in 1905, and felled Shosha Yoyama in Los Angeles in June of 1909.  Ito had no such comparable experience against wrestlers. It wouldn’t matter.   The Seattle Post-Intelligencer documented the encounter:   Robinson started out by jabbing Ito three times straight in the face… Before the first bout was two minutes old, blood was flowing from Ito's nose…   Ito locked his legs around the white man and began to 'scissor' him. Next he got a strangle hold, using Robinson's neck cloth as a tourniquet, and slowly forced the American into submission by the process of strangulation. The time was 10 minutes 55 seconds.   The second bout lasted three minutes… Again the Japanese tied on the tourniquet and Robinson's face went red and then black. He was helped to his corner, and in spite of the vicious fight they had gone through, the Japanese was the first to assist Robinson. That was a piece of real sportsmanship. Ito’s victory led to a quick challenge from George Braun, also of San Francisco, who claimed to have beaten all the best jujutsu men in California (although the his only recorded matches against a jujutsu man - Shosha Yokoyama - indicate that the results were a draw and loss for Braun). Braun entered the ring for their November 12, 1909, match dressed in a custom-made jacket (for this match the sleeves were to only go to the elbow) which was closed with a belt made from twisted America flags, and boasting that he would eat the Japanese alive. Ito was outraged by Braun’s attire, and the fight was delayed while he was made to replace the offending garment. When the match finally did get underway the Seattle Times was there to record the action: When the men shaped up for the first bout Ito stood erect in an easy attitude watching the Frisco champion make a lot of silly motions with his hands and grimaces with his face. Finally Braun lunged in and got hold of Ito's jacket. The Japanese broke the hold easily and grabbing Braun by the collar he kicked his feet from under him and slammed him to the mat heavily. In a twinkling Ito got a strangle hold and flopping over on his back he wrapped his legs around Braun, rolled off the canvas with him and calmly waited for Braun's wind to be shut off… It had taken Ito all of two minutes and twenty seconds to win the first fall. The second was even less competitive as Ito choked out Braun in just forty-three seconds.   Ito’s next match was March 16, 1910, against Julius Johnson, the 1908 Northwest AAU middleweight wrestling champion and the wrestling coach for the Norwegian Turners.  While the match would again take place in jackets, Johnson’s weight advantage (160 pounds to 143 pounds) was though to even out the odds. It didn’t as Ito won again in two straight falls using what was described as a "erijime" and a "hadakaji".  The Post-Intelligencer also offered the following opinion about these sort of matches: There is more excitement packed into one minute of jiu-jitsu than in ten rounds of boxing or ten days of wrestling. The hand-to-hand, body-to-body style of combat, the rough-and-tumble rules, as well as no small measure of racial feeling, stirs the blood of the spectators. White and brown men were carried off their feet last night by the furious work of the two combatants, and the opera house was a pandemonium while the wrestlers were struggling on the canvas mat. Next up for Ito was Joe Acton on May 18, 1911, although there is some confusion as to which Joe Acton it was. According to Mark Hewitt, it was "Young" Joe Acton who was actually Joe’s younger brother Matt. Other evidence point to it actually being the "Little Demon" who had taken on the boxers Bob Fitzsimmons and Professor Miller decades earlier and who had wrestled Yukio Tani back in 1904. If it was the elder, more famous of the two, he would have been 59 years old at this time.   But whatever Joe Acton he faced, the results were more of the same. According to Henry Furukawa, writing in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on May 21, 1911:   Ito threw his opponent on 'Hijaguma,' and before he could get on foot grabbed Acton on his jacket collar and choked him breathless in three minutes, ending the first bout. Acton was actually dazed and seemed unconscious for a few moments. The second bout was over in two minutes, Ito getting the dreadful arm hold in a short time and Acton gave in. In all Prof. Ito's jiu-jitsu matches in Seattle he won them in such deciding manner that his opponents looked like nothing but 'dubs.' Ito’s next contest would be his first outside of Seattle. On the evening of June 9, 1911 he met Farmer Watson in Portland in a two-out-of-three falls match. The first fall ended after 5 minutes, 33 seconds, with Ito getting an "armbar stranglehold", which left Watson unconscious for almost a minute. The second took three minutes, when Watson couldn’t escape another stranglehold. After this match, Ito would leave his position at the dojo and Seattle and set out on an extensive tour of Latin America, where he teamed with the other "Four Kings" much of the time. For the next four years he would travel all throughout Latin America, engaging in numerous matches, including, according to Ito, a match against the "champion of Panama" and another against the two best heavyweight wrestlers of Peru – beating them simultaneously in under a minute. After several years of wandering he decided to return to the United States, parting ways with the other "Kings" while they were making a tour of Brazil. Upon his return to the States Ito set up residency in San Francisco where he quickly went about looking for prizefights. His first match would be on February 5th of 1916, in San Francisco against the 5’9’ 180 pound Ad Santel, a highly skilled catch-as-catch-can wrestler and claimant to the World’s Light Heavyweight Championship. Santel was not a complete novice with regards to jujutsu, having faced and defeated the self-professed 8th-dan Senryuken Noguchi in November the previous year. The experience paid off, for shortly after the match started, Santel was able to grasp Ito, pick him up, and slam him head first into the ground. The impact gave Ito a concussion and he was unable to continue, resulting in a victory for Santel – and Ito’s first loss. The defeat caught many in Japanese community off guard and the Kodokan felt the need to comment on the matter:  Regarding this match, the Kodokan noted that Mr. Ito had been away from Japan for number of years, and the lack of opportunity to train with stronger opponents may have contributed to his lack of judo ability. In addition, his fifth degree judo rank did not mean that his knowledge represented the ultimate in judo technique. In fact, fifth degree was the mid-point in ranking between first to tenth degrees. Therefore, the Kodokan concluded that Mr. Ito's loss did not reflect negatively on the efficacy of judo techniques, but instead on the poor showing of Mr. Ito. Looking to avenge this blemish on his record Ito immediately set up a rematch for June 10, 1916. The outcome of this contest was recounted by Howard Angus in the Los Angeles Times: Ito threw Santell around the ring like a bag of sawdust… When Ad gasped for air, the Japanese pounced upon him like a leopard and applied the strangle hold. Santell gave a couple of gurgles, turned black in the face and thumped the floor, signifying he had enough. His sole loss avenged, Ito continued to wrestle for the next few years, defeating the likes of the strongman Wilhelm Berne, the Greek wrestler Gus Kerveras, and the talented catch-as-catch-can proponent Ted Thye, all in straight falls, before finally retiring from the fight game and returning to Japan in late 1921 or early 1922. For his part, Ad Santel had only begun his personal odyssey against jujutsu. On October 20th, of 1917 he traveled to Seattle and met Taro Miyako, who he defeated using the slam once again, causing Miyake to experience "dizzy spells for half an hour after the fall." Two weeks later he would face and defeat another Seattle Dojo judoka instructor in Kodokan 4th-dan Daisuke Sakai. With this string of successes, Santel put together a troupe of wrestlers, including Henry Weber and Matty Matsuda, for a tour of Japan in early 1921, during which he issued a challenge to the Kodokan itself. For its part, the Kodokan, which frowned on professional sports, ordered its judoka not to partake in any such matches, but several of its more distinguished members chose to ignore the edict. For two straight days in March a wrestling versus judo card was held at the Yakushuni Shrine Sumo Hall, On the first night Santel faced and either drew or knocked out 5th-dan Reijiro Nagata, while the following evening,  his match with 4th-dan Hikoo Shoji was ruled a draw after they battled for three twenty minute rounds. A few night later, Santel was in the city of Nagoya, to face, and defeat, Hitoshi Shimizu, in his last such match in Japan. Upon his return to the United States Santel would magnify his feats in Japan, claiming that he had faced and beaten the top judokas of the Kodakan and had captured the World’s Jiu jitsu (or Judo) Championship. He even went so far as to defend this imaginary title against other professional wrestlers in "Jiu Jitsu matches" during the 20s and 30s. Santel and Ito’s encounters were very representative of the "anything goes" matches that were taking place in the United States in the second decade of the Twentieth Century. They had evolved out of the jujutsuka versus wrestler contests, developing their own codified set of rules: "no holds were barred" allowing contestant to use the full gamut of jujutsu, Greco-Roman, and catch-as-catch-can holds, even those that induced pain and injury; they could be fought either with or without jackets; they were decided by submission or incapacitation, although victory by pin-fall was sometimes allowed as well; in some cases striking with an open hand and kicking were permitted.  In Australia these matches were known as "all-in", having come directly out of the increasingly popular mixed competition fights, and allowed for contestant to use all the tactics and techniques of wrestling, boxing, and jujutsu. It would seem a new combat sport was taking form, although in truth it was not all that new.  When Clarence Weber made his "challenge to fight Jack Johnson ‘all-in’ and thus prove the supremacy of the white race", it was not lost on observers that they would actually be electing to "fight under the Greek Pancratium rules" (although pancratium was actually the Roman name for what the Greeks called pankration) . A mixture of wrestling and boxing "in it nothing is barred except biting, eye-gouging, and attacks on certain vital spots. Everything else is admissible. The kidney punch, the strangle hold, the double Nelson, and other methods of offence ruled out under different codes, may well be brought into action."  After 1500 years of dormancy the ancient sport and martial art of "all powers" was gaining a new life on the professional wrestling circuit. There had, in fact, been earlier attempts to actually resurrect the pancratium. In 1883, the Olympic Athletic Club in San Francisco had even hosted actual pancratium matches (along with the Roman cestus, a brutal form of gladiatorial boxing, using wool instead of iron gloves), pitting bare-knuckle pugilists and catch-as-catch-can wrestlers in grappling matches where open hand strikes were allowed, as part of their "Roman Revival" at the Mechanic’s Pavillion. While it was enormously successful with the attending audiences it was also a massive financial failure, and future events were abandoned. In 1898, R. Logan-Browne in "Health and Strength Magazine" wrote about the efforts of a group of Englishmen to develop a sport they had named "Neo-Pancratium", declaring "that the ancient Pancratium, suitably adapted, might afford us an excellent method of physical culture and athletic contest, with the additional benefit of being a secure and versatile method of self-defence against roughs and thugs."  He went on to explain that "In re-constructing Pancratium for the modern age, our raison d’etre has been that whilst blows are legitimately outlawed in wrestling, they are the boxer’s stock in trade, and whilst gripping and throwing are banned in the ring, they are practiced safely by wrestlers everywhere.  By combining these two sports we may approximate the Pancratiast’s art in all but its most savage aspects, thereby enjoying its benefits without suffering its excesses." While in the upright position Neo-Pancratium would use boxing as its model but "Where Neo-Pancratium differs significantly from modern boxing is that, when devotees of the purely pugilistic art close together, they are immediately parted by the diligent referee.  The Neo-Pancratiast, by comparison, simply segues from boxing into wrestling and continues his contest." On the ground it was decided that Lancashire wrestling would be the most suitable because the "Catch-hold school offers the option of forcing one’s adversary to surrender through painful holds applied to the joints of the limbs, exactly as was the custom in ancient Greece." One problem cited by the author in developing this new sport was that "the modern glove, so crucial in cushioning the force of a blow, becomes an absolute handicap when wrestling… The solution has been to devise a novel form of glove, rather more open in the palm and with room for the fingers to grip securely, yet well-padded across the knuckles. This innovation allows Neo-Pancratiasts to successfully move between boxing and wrestling as required by the exigencies of any given contest. The Committee is presently undertaking discussions with a leading purveyor of sporting goods and hopes to be able to offer these new gloves to the public in the not-distant future." (A decade later it was still a problem, as Mr. Grainger of  the Japanese School of London and Jean Joseph-Renaude, the author of "La Défense Dans La Rue", where both asking inventors to assist in designing a glove that could be used in mixed boxing and jujutsu matches.) While nothing became of Neo-Pancratium, "all-in" seemed well on its way towards becoming an established style of wrestling. In fact, if one looked at the rules that governed professional wrestling in the 1930s  - rules that are usually credited to Toot’s Mondt and his introduction of "Slam Bang Western Style Wrestling" into the business - it becomes apparent that they had been derived directly from the "all-in" matches of the previous era. The only difference is that now they were no longer contested for real, as "worked" wrestling had become the norm. The end of this "Golden Age of Ultimate Fighting" began with the first shots fired in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. For the next four years Europe would be engulfed by "The War"; amongst the casualties would be the mixed fights that had been popular only a few years previous, swept away suddenly by the forces of history. The War would also spell the end of the mixed competitions in the United States. For a multitude of reasons, professional wrestling, the driving force behind mixed competitions, would move from an often-worked-but-still-legitimate sport to pure vaudeville.  A proposed million dollar contest between the champions of wrestling and boxing, Ed "The Strangler" Lewis and Jack Dempsey, could have perhaps rescued it from this fate, but in the end the match failed to materialize and legitimate contests were now a thing of the past. Only in Asia did mixed fighting continue, at least for a few more years. In July of 1925 Ad Santel visited the islands of Hawaii to meet and draw with another jujutsuka in Tsutao "Rubberman" Higami. In December of that year Seishiro Okazaki met a boxer calling himself "Kid" John Morris who claimed to be the younger brother of Okazaki’s previous victim and who had come to avenge his sibiing. The match was to be a three round affair, and when it went the distance Okazaki left the arena, unwilling to continue. To stave off a riot, Higami was drafted to continue against Morris, winning after two round by arm bar. Afterwards the The Hilo-Herald Tribune called for an end to mixed matches: this paper is of the opinion that a mixed match of this kind between a Japanese jiu- jitsu expert and a white boxer is not a good thing for this community. It serves no good purpose and merely arouses useless race prejudice. Jiu-jitsu is something that the Japanese think undefeatable while the Anglo-Saxon thinks the same of boxing, and both methods are practically rooted in each classes’ national pride. When either meets defeat at the other’s hands, age-pride of caste and country is aroused and good sportsmanship is bound to suffer....   While such matches where no more in Hawaii they continued a little longer in Japan. But eventually due to the violence they incited along racial lines (according to the Japan Times, on July 24th, 1925, in Hokkaido, two judokas were stabbed to death after embarrassing some foreign boxers) or the increase in popularity of "kunto" - actual boxing - amongst the greater population, these contests stopped being held, marking the end of a "Golden Age."   Fortunately for us, as the misquoted George Santanyana aphorism tells us, "Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it."   EPILOGUE     The lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our time. - Sir Edward Grey For the field of martial arts the Belle Époque was a remarkable time, one that saw unrivaled achievements and previously unimaginable accomplishments. Wrestling would evolve from a regional activity were participants competed in local folkstyles to an international spectator sport where all the elements of the world's grappling systems where melted down into what became known as American style catch-as-catch-can. Jujutsu would be rescued from extinction and then go on to rapidly spread across the globe thanks to Kano Jigoro's revolutionary Kodakan judo. In London and Paris Eastern and Western disciplines would be merged giving birth to the new hybrid fighting styles of Bartitsu and defense dans la rue. And fighters representing the various disciplines of the world would be pitted against each other in mixed competitions and no-holds-barred "all-in" matches, testing the skill of the combatants and the merits of their "art". It was truly a Golden Age for martial arts, one that burned very bright. It would not last. Europe was the first to go dark. From June 28, 1914 until November 11, 1918, the continent was transformed into a vast charnel house by the "War to End All Wars". A whole generation of young men were killed, maimed, or traumatized by the hell that was the Great War. In France, a nation of 40 million, 1.4 million soldiers perished and three times that number were wounded in the conflict. That is, half of the previously able bodied male population was now either dead or maimed, while many, many more suffered from the debilitating effects of ‘shellshock". The United Kingdom did not fair much better, with nearly 900,000 left dead on the battlefields. Germany saw over 2 million of their young men exterminated. Millions more from Russia, the Austrian-Hungary Empire, Turkey, Romania, and the other nations of Europe, not to mention the dominions and colonies, had their names added to the grave markers. Even more were lost when an pandemic of Spanish Flu spread across the globe, assisted by the conditions created by the war, killing between 50 million to 100 million more, with the young tragically being the most at risk of dying. Martial arts would not be spared from this conflict, for in the end, the generation of Europeans that had taken such a great interest in the "antagonistics", that made wrestling a widely practiced and popular sport, that had taken up the study of Japanses jujutsu, who had developed various "arts of self defense" to defend against the night attacks of les Apaches and Hooligans, were almost completely wiped out. And even amongst those that survived the horrors of the trenches "unscathed" we can not underestimate the psychological effect that such an experience had on them and society. How good was wrestling, jujutsu, boxing, or savate when one was faced with machine guns, poison gas, artillery, and aeroplanes? Almost overnigt the Golden Age turned dark in Europe, and like ripples across a pond, the rest of the world couldn't escape the repercussions. The United States was a late entrant into the War, and for that reason suffered much less than those in Europe, but it too suffered and amongst its many casualties was professional wrestling.  Always prone to hippodroming and match-fixing, it was still nevertheless more-or-less as legitimate of sport as, say, boxing or bicycle racing. But during the war years it underwent a complete transformation from being merely a "tainted" sport to one of choreographed theatre. One of the reasons, as theorised by Mathew Lindaman in his essay "Wrestling's Hold on the Western World Before the Great War", is that the change was brought upon by modernity. Thanks to such technological advances as the automobile, aeroplane, cinema and the wireless, the world was a much faster place, and the people who occupied it desired their entertainment to match that pace. So gone went the grueling 5 hour bouts to be replaced by "worked" matches, which would quarantee the speed and action fans were now demanding. The other reason for this move towards completely "worked" wrestling was that the war provided the American stars and promoters the opportunity, which they took, to cement their continued control of industry and their place as headliners. The chance to do so had arisen thanks to the loss of the European wrestlers and the mobilization of some 4 million American males, meaning that during the conflict, a much fewer number of talented but unestablished wrestlers could challenge the postion of those already working. And by careful matchmaking with arranged outcomes these "stars' were able to remain at the top - and would remain there as long as the wrestling stayed "worked". Thus professional wrestling (long the driving force behind combatives in North America) of any legitimate nature died and with it the Golden Age in North America. Japan and the rest of Asia held out the longest, being left relatively unscathed by the War, but even there they couldn't escape its aftereffects. Where before the world had been getting smaller, with the open exchange of ideas resulting not only in the spreading of jujutsu to the West, but the introduction of professional wrestling, boxing, and mixed competition "merikan" fighting to the nations of the Pacific, suddenly in the wake the war, a vast divides and gulf existed between the nations were none existed before. Trade and travel (except for the vast amount of troops on the move) had plummetted during the conflct, with the world economy only reaching its pre war levels in 1925 (and then for only four year before a Great Depression descended on the world). Nationalism and xenophobe were exerberated by the fighting: suddenly foreign ideas and imports lost the appeal they exuded beforehand. And these barriers only got worse as the world begin choosing up sides between communism, democracy, imperialism, and fascism in the dark day afterwards (only ending when another greater slaughter got under way). Eventually the great exchange of fighting disciplines and techniques between East and West died out, and the flame, that had burned so bright only a generation before, faded and died. And thus the Golden Age passed from history, its achievements disregarded, its accomplishments apparently doomed to be forgotten by the world at large. With one exception. In November of 1914, less than four months after the great powers had gone to war, Matsuyo Maeda arrived in Brazil. For the previous decade the judokan had been traveling the world engaging in not only  jujutsu matches, but also catch-as-catch-can and "anything goes" competitions. His experiences led him to add Western wrestling techniques  and methods for confronting boxers to his repertoire of skills. For the next year he would travel through the South American republic along with a troupe of fellow Japanese jujutsu practitioners giving exhibits and offering the traditional at show challenge to "face all comers". Eventually he and his compatriots would find their way to the Northern City of  Belém where, on Christmas Eve of 1915, he engaged in a mixed competition bout with the boxer Adolpho Corbiniano of Barbados, defeating him in seconds (Carbiniano would become a pupil of Maeda's after the loss). A week later, on January 3, 1916 Maeda defeated the Greco-Roman wrestler Nagib Assef by armlock. The fire, now dying in Europe, had been passed to Brazil.  Maeda resided in Belém for several years, where he taught his own brand of judo and (after supposedly facing and defeating the knife-armed capoeirista Pé de Bola in 1918 in a truly "anything goes" match) retired from prizefighting. Amongst his students during his time in Belém was a young man named Carlos Gracie who would himself go on to teach what he learned on the mats with Maeda to his own brothers..  While in the rest of the world mixed competitions had vanished, in Brazil the "anything goes" matches introduced by Maeda and his ilk not only survived but flourished with boxers, jujutsukas, capoeiristas, and both luta livre and Greco-Roman wrestlers taking part.  Amongst these fighters numbers were Geo Omori, Manuel Rufino, Dudu,and the Gracie brothers: Carlos, George, Oswaldo, and the youngest, Hélio. Hélio would continue taking part in such matches, which became known as "vale tudo" or "no rules" in Brazil, for decades to come, with a career highlighted by matches against the North American professional wrestlers Wladek Zbyszko and Taro Miyake, his former student Valdemar Santana, and perhaps most famously, the judoka Masahiko Kimura. Hélio would pass on his system of fighting and an appreciation for "no holds barred" combat to his children. Eventually Hélio's eldest son, Rorion, would move to the United States in hopes of spreading the family's system of self defense.  He would also bring with him the concept of vale tudo, which served as an inspiration for an event held in 1993 known as the "The Ultimate Fighting Championship". The flame, handed down from Maeda to Carlos to Hélio to Rorion had now been spread to the world at large, and a fire that had been extinguished 70 years ago was finally  re-lit. A new age of mixed martial arts had began. Sources are either listed or linked within the article. A number of sites and researchers proved to be invaluable for the material, including images, seen here. And so I would like to thank: Mark Hewitt (and his Catch Wrestling and Catch Wrestlng: Round Two), Jonathan Snowden (and his Total MMA), Joseph Svinth, Graham Noble, Tony Wolfe (and his Bartitsu Compendiums), The Bartitsu Society, The Bartitsu Forum, and the Electronic Journal of Martial Arts. And a special thanks to the Continentalop and Cowboy for their much appreciated input, advice, and suggestions. That concludes The Forgotten Age of Mixed Martial Arts.

Posted in: time, boxing, boxer, wrestler, jujutsu

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Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace Rolles Gracie recently added boxing coach Mark Henry to his team and he's ready to make his hands just as dangerous as his ground game.

Posted in: boxing, gracie, he, jiujitsu, rolle

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Nick Diaz's chance to come to the UFC was a move made seemingly as much to provide Georges St. Pierre with a new, marketable challenger as it was to prevent him from following through on his Strikeforce contract which allowed him to take a pro boxing match. Diaz had a deal worked out with the well faded (and frankly never all that good) Jeff Lacy which was being shopped to different pay-per-view distributors but the UFC brought him in and gave him the shot at GSP's title. Diaz no-showed press events and got bumped down to the co-main event to fight B.J. Penn. Nick is now telling MMA Fighting that he regrets his decision to skip out on his boxing opportunity: "I would have gone back to boxing," Diaz said. "If I had my chance to do it over again, I would go back to the boxing contract. It would have paid me more money, and I would have took my punches win or lose, and just do my job, fight and get paid." ... "Later on, I'm sure they would have me back here or somewhere...I don't think about it till it's all over with but I would have made plenty of money in boxing and would have made plenty of money later coming back so it definitely would have worked out if I had done what I set out to do and gone to pro boxing for a while." Back in May, when the Diaz vs. Lacy bout was being put together I talked to people involved in putting the fight together and was told that Diaz would only be making a very small percentage more than Lacy's $150,000 purse. Diaz can still have a seven figure payday against St. Pierre if he can get by Penn. That's just money beyond what he could have ever realistically gotten in boxing. Honestly, with sponsorships this Penn fight probably nets Diaz more money than he'd have gotten in boxing unless he somehow racked up several wins in a row. This sounds to me like just another case of Diaz having cost himself and now wishing he'd handled things differently while still avoiding coming to terms with his own mistake.

Posted in: fight, diaz, boxing, money, penn thats

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Filed under: UFC, NewsLAS VEGAS -- The many elements of the sport are what make it so unpredictable. When a fighter can chain together combinations like a punch into a takedown into side control, that's what separates the elite from the masses. But it's hard to digest a fight that way. Like looking at the stars in the sky, it's too infinite. Too many possibilities. Instead, we tend to focus on a few key elements. And in Saturday's UFC 137 main event, all the fight talk seems to center around the participants' boxing. For years, BJ Penn has been considered to have some of the best hands in MMA. And his opponent Nick Diaz recently made waves after nearly turning his back on the sport to try his hands in the squared circle. Given their pedigrees, contrasting styles and differing body types, the standup figures to produce compelling, unpredictable action. Even to the learned eye of Penn's boxing coach Jason Parillo, who was undefeated in an eight-fight pro boxing career, it's a hard one to analyze. As Parillo noted in an interview with MMA Fighting, the many options a fighter has at his disposal make it hard to determine how a fight will develop. "You've got a guy who loves to box and wants to fight Roy Jones, Jr, and you've got another guy who's been recognized as one of the best boxers in the MMA game," he said. "You've got two high-voltage submission guys. Realistically, I think Nick's going to try to keep BJ in a boxing match. I believe he feels he's got something to prove with his boxing ability. He loves boxing and I think he wants to prove something using BJ to show he's the best boxer in the MMA game. This fight can go anywhere. It really can. It's tough to predict MMA fights in general, but this one can go in so many ways." On their feet, their styles are very different. Penn relies on speed, accuracy and power with crisp combinations. But the rangy Diaz uses his length and non-stop volume to keep opponents at distance and to set up his occasional power strikes. Given the way their styles and bodies match up (Diaz has a four-inch reach advantage), Penn said getting inside might prove to be the biggest challenge for him. "That's huge, that's huge," he told MMA Fighting. "You've got to get in on Nick Diaz. He's got that reach, and not only does he have that reach, he knows how to put you in the perfect spot. He's not really a big footwork guy but if you come forward he'll take one step back and just keep you on the end the whole time. We're going to have to -- without giving anything away -- use a lot of smarts and technique to get in there, get after him and attack him." Penn made some headlines recently when he called Diaz the best boxer in MMA. Diaz was flattered to hear the comments but believes he might have put in more time training with high-level boxers than anyone in the UFC. And regardless of the compliment, Diaz isn't letting it go to his head. "This is MMA too, so regardless of how you win a fight, whether standup, winning on punches, I don't think it has anything to do with boxing," he said. "Just throwing more martial arts in than boxing, when it's MMA, everything changes. Stance is different, you have to defend the takedown, you have to defend the leg kick. You can't really say or judge." That's true, of course. If a fighter gets too reliant on his hands and having success with it, his opponent can always change levels and go for the takedown. Penn has that in his arsenal, though it's a weapon he only occasionally decides to use. In his last five fights, he has four takedowns in just six tries. But for Diaz, it's not his strongest weapon. In his last five fights, he has completed just two takedowns in 10 tries. Given their usual reluctance to use wrestling, it's not a stretch to think that collectively, the two might shun it altogether and decide things on their feet. So will Diaz's constant activity and volume overwhelm Penn, or will the former two-division champion find a way to get inside of his opponent? "Nick's got a lot of confidence to use that style," Parillo said. "He's not the most devastating, heavy puncher, but he knows how to set up the big shot, for sure. And he understands boxing. BJ's got speed, and he's cleaner and sharper. I feel the fire more from him than I have in the last couple fights. He wants to show he can beat guys at the top tier. If he makes a decision to be there and has the hunger to win, he's going to do it." Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Posted in: fight, diaz, mma, boxing, penn

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Money makes the world go. There is, perhaps, no mixed martial artist on the planet that knows this -- and understands it -- better than Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz. The Stockton native would be the first one to tell you, he's not in this sport to make friends or get famous; he just wants to get paid. That's why he contemplated a switch to professional boxing, where the payouts are far more lucrative at the top of the card then they are fighting in MMA, even if it's with the largest organization in the world, the UFC. In fact, Diaz had a deal in place for a boxing match that would have earned him a handsome penny. But he ultimately turned it down for an exclusive eight-fight UFC contract and an immediate title shot against Georges St. Pierre. But then it all went south. After agreeing to the contract and getting a main event pay-per-view slot opposite one of the pound-for-pound greatest fighters on Earth, Diaz went awol. He retreated into the deep recesses of Stockton, California to train his mind and body for the challenge that was to come. It's what he does, after all. Train, eat, sleep; train, eat, sleep. But when it came time to do some promoting and show up to a pair of press conferences in Canada and Las Vegas, he failed to show up. This so angered UFC President Dana White that the decision was made to take Diaz out of his title shot and off the card altogether. There were even a few hints that he would be cut from the promotion altogether. That quickly went to the wayside, however, when Diaz found himself staring at a contract to fight B.J. Penn, who had also just lost his opponent, Carlos Condit, thanks to Diaz. Both men signed on the dotted line and here we are. Now, after all that, regret is rearing its ugly head. As Diaz explained at the open media workouts (via USA Today), if he could take it all back now, he would stick with boxing and leave MMA behind ... for the time being: "If I had my chance to do it over again, I would have gone back to the boxing contract. It would have paid me more money. ... Later on, I'm sure they would have had me back here." Indeed, speculation has Diaz losing out on at least six -- and maybe seven -- figures for missing out on fighting St. Pierre in the main event of a major pay-per-view over the Halloween weekend. That's quite a bit of coin, folks. When it comes to Diaz, it's always about how he can get the most buck for his bang. The how, the where and the who are nearly irrelevant. He's in a tough situation now, though. If he loses to Penn on Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, he'll be multiple fights away from regaining a title shot and there's nothing to say St. Pierre will remain champion during that time. In short, a lot more potential cash will disappear once again. On top of that, his contract with UFC is exclusive, unlike the deal he had in place with Strikeforce. Even if he wants to go to boxing now to augment is Octagon salary, it's no longer an option. Maybe that's not such a bad thing. Maybe that very fact will provide all the motivation he needs to emerge victorious when he gets down and dirty inside the cage with "The Prodigy." Cash is king.

Posted in: ufc, title shot, diaz, boxing, contract

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“I would have gone back to boxing. If I had my chance to do it over again, I would go back to the boxing contract. It would have paid me more money, and I would have took my punches win or lose, and just do my job, fight and get paid… Later on, I’m sure they would have me back here or somewhere. You want to see a pro boxer fight MMA? Now you have yourself a high-level pro boxer. In my opinion, I don’t know, I don’t think about it till it’s all over with but I would have made plenty of money in boxing and would have made plenty of money later coming back so it definitely would have worked out if I had done what I set out to do and gone to pro boxing for a while.” — Nick Diaz telling reporters that he regrets choosing the UFC over boxing *Sigh* … I guess we shouldn’t be surprised since the reason he chose the UFC over boxing in the first place was to fight Georges St. Pierre in a big money main event. When he lost that seven-figure payday, I guess boxing started looking pretty good again. I really don’t know enough about the offers he had to know if Diaz would have made more money for a pro boxing bout than he will against BJ Penn this weekend, but Nick still has a golden opportunity ahead of him in the UFC if he applies himself enough to capitalize on it. Love or hate him, Diaz is a polarizing figure who draws tons of attention (even when he does nothing at all) and that’s not something you can say about the majority of fighters in the UFC. Only a select few like Chuck Liddell, Georges St. Pierre and Brock Lesnar have truly captivated audiences on a mass scale and as a result made the biggest paydays the sport has ever seen. Diaz isn’t there yet, but if he keeps winning like he has, keeps being himself and shows up to enough media obligations to keep the UFC happy, I definitely think he has the potential to make the kind of money those guys have. If he ever reaches that level, maybe then he’ll realize that boxing wasn’t the best idea after all. Well, come to think of it, this is Nick Diaz we’re talking about, so maybe not. Image via Esther Lin for Strikeforce/Showtime

Posted in: ufc, diaz, nick, boxing, money

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It took the UFC some effort to get Nick Diaz to talk to the press. Now that he is, the promotion might wish it hadn’t bothered.That’s because...

Posted in: ufc, diaz, nick diaz, boxing, hadnrsquot botheredthatrsquos

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Filed under: UFC, NewsLAS VEGAS -- Nick Diaz is here. After no-showing two UFC 137 press events, getting removed from a championship fight, then being reinserted into the event as against his early MMA hero, MMA's bad boy is in Sin City, ready to fight BJ Penn. In fact, Diaz was bright and early for his media responsibilities on Wednesday, arriving a full half-hour before his scheduled arrival time. But Diaz always manages to capture attention one way or another, and this time it was with his words. Just days before stepping into his fight with Penn, Diaz was asked about the whirlwind journey that's corresponded with his return to the UFC. He gave up a potentially lucrative boxing opportunity to accept a chance at a big bucks matchup with champion Georges St-Pierre, but now that fight will have to wait. Because of that, he said knowing what he knows now, he would have done things a little bit differently. "I would have gone back to boxing," Diaz said. "If I had my chance to do it over again, I would go back to the boxing contract. It would have paid me more money, and I would have took my punches win or lose, and just do my job, fight and get paid." Diaz's comments weren't said with any malice towards the opportunity he's given, explaining it as a business decision that would have paid dividends in both the boxing and MMA realms. "Later on, I'm sure they would have me back here or somewhere," he said. "You want to see a pro boxer fight MMA? Now you have yourself a high-level pro boxer. In my opinion, I don't know, I don't think about it till it's all over with but I would have made plenty of money in boxing and would have made plenty of money later coming back so it definitely would have worked out if I had done what I set out to do and gone to pro boxing for a while." Diaz will still get his chance at a lucrative payday. If he beats Penn, he's a virtual lock to face the winner of the upcoming title fight between Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit. Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Posted in: ufc, fight, diaz, mma, boxing

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Welcome to the Fighters.com boxing section. In this section you will find the latest in boxing news, interviews and breaking stories from the world of boxing. From Floyd Maywether, to Manny Pacquiao and Bernard Hopkins Fighters.com has all the names in boxing covered in our new Boxing section. So check back often to get your boxing fix daily at Fighters.com. Tweet

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This is the new Kick Boxing Section! Tweet

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This is the new Kick Boxing Section! Tweet

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This is the new Boxing Section! Tweet

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[div class="notice" class2="icon"]The following is from an article on LiverKick.com, part of the MiddleEasy Network.[/div] This one comes as a surprise, while the departure of names like Badr Hari, Tyrone Spong and Gokhan Saki are not a surprise, with them the writing was on the wall for quite a while. Kyotaro is the latest name to come up on a short list of K-1 Heavyweights who have decided to move on to another combat sport, this time Boxing. Boxing is experiencing an upswing of popularity in Japan over the past few years and it is hard to argue against it being the healthiest of the combat sports there. News came out over the last few hours that K-1 Heavyweight Champion Kyotaro has decided to leave Kickboxing for Boxing and has returned his K-1 Heavyweight Championship. It is not surprising to see Kyotaro looking to compete elsewhere, as he has tried his hand at professional wrestling this year, much like Yuichiro "Jienotsu" Nagashima, but not seen the same level of success. Outside of his interesting hair choices, Kyotaro does not have the same charisma that a Nagashima has, and while that is not valued over all in Japanese professional wrestling, the popularity of wrestlers like Keiji Mutoh, Masahiro Chono, Shin'ya Hashimoto, Kenta Kobashi and Toshiaki Kawada speaks against that point. Read More...

Posted in: heavyweight, boxing, combat sports, kyotaro, toshiaki kawada

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Through two professional boxing matches, former UFC heavyweight Kimbo Slice now has two knockouts wins with his fights barely going over a minute total.

Posted in: ufc, boxing, knockout, kimbo, kimbo moves

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UFC president Dana White says Frankie Edgar is the best boxer in MMA, but his boxing coach Mark Henry says we haven't even seen what he's capable of yet.

Posted in: boxing, coach, edgar, frankie edgar, frankie

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Former TUF 10 cast member and the Undisputed YouTube Heavyweight Champion. Kevin Ferguson a.k.a. Kimbo Slice, continued his Boxing aspirations with a one-punch KO victory over now 2-4 Tay Bledsoe in Grand Island, Nebraska on October 15. Thirty-seven year old Slice improved his record to 2-0, with sights on challenging the top names in a somewhat shallow Boxing Heavyweight division. So what do you think, LowKick'ers, who's next for Kimbo Slice? James Toney? I would love to see this one. Share your thoughts

Posted in: boxing, slice, kimbo, punch video, boxing aspirations

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Kimbo Slice has his second professional boxing win.At the weekend he knocked over 2-3 journeyman James Wade with his first punch of the fight, which he...

Posted in: boxing, kimbo slice, slice, kimbo, boxing winat

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Boxing trainer Naazim Richardson has been in the corner of some for the biggest fights in the past few years. Through his work with men like Shane Mosley and Bernard Hopkins, he has established himself as an important player in boxing today. Now, he's working with Badr Hari. Former K-1 fighter Hari announced his retirement from kickboxing last month in order to pursue a boxing career with an accompanying move to the United States to train full time. Long time fans of Hari met the news with some skepticism - he's flirted with the idea of boxing for some time with no results. But now, in an interview with Fight Hype, Richardson takes time out of his training for the upcoming Bernard Hopkins vs. Chad Dawson fight to confirm that he has met with Hari, and that The Golden Boy is indeed serious about becoming a boxer. Badr Hari is a good dude and so is his trainer Mike [Passenier]. You know, Badr Hari won me over, man. As soon as we met, he told me he wouldn't let me down and that he would make me proud. But that's not what won me over. What won me over is he said, "I don't want to be top 10. I want to be the f***ing best." He has the right mentality to do this s*** right here. Richardson doesn't end there. He has a tremendous amount of praise for Hari, including the highest compliment you can give a fighter in today's boxing world: a comparison to Manny Pacquiao. Bouie Fisher used to always tell me in the gym, "Watch that door and eventually the right kid is going to walk through it." I asked him what he meant by that and he said, "One day, a kid is going to walk through that door and do whatever you tell him to do and be able to adjust to anything that you want him to adjust to." I remember when me and Freddie Roach was working together and Freddie told me when Manny Pacquiao walked through the door at Wild Card Gym, he said to himself, "That's who I built this gym for."... Badr Hari could be that type of kid. High praise indeed. Finally, Richardson makes it clear that Hari has one target in mind: the Klitschkos. If [the Klitschkos] want to stick around, we either gotta let them see Badr fight and say, "Hey man, it's time for us to move on," or do what Mike [Tyson] did to Larry [Holmes] and show them it's time for them to move on. This kind of praise from Richardson is interesting to see, as is the very idea of Hari working with him full time. I see the veteran trainer as a good fit for Badr, as he shares some stylistic similarities to Badr's long-time kickboxing trainer Mike Passenier, and is the kind of truly dedicated boxing trainer that can help Badr make this a full-time transition. While Hari obviously has a lot to prove and many questions to answer in the world of boxing, this has me even more interested in seeing just how this all turns out.

Posted in: time, boxing, hari, badr, richardson

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Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton Jackson has been on a "Rampage" about opponents who "fight scared" or "turn and run" every time he tries to engage. That's why he's headed to boxing, or so he says. Unfortunately he failed to clear it with his current boss, UFC President Dana White, who was surprised to learn about Jackson's future plans in the sweet science, telling MMA Weekly the grass isn't always greener on the other side: "I had seen somewhere that he said it. I don't care. He's under contract. He's not boxing until ... I mean, if he wants to box when his contract is up, that's up to him. You hear [boxing promoter] Bob [Arum] out there: 'Yeah, they don't pay their guys anything.' Rampage got paid for his last fight, trust me. A lot of money. Bob Arum pays guys $600 on his cards. We've never paid a guy that, ever. We've only been around ten years, Bob's been promoting fights for 120 years ... He'll find out when he starts boxing that [running from opponents is] pretty much the game these days. The game is: Let's step in there and do everything we can do avoid a fight, so we can get on to the next payday. No matter where you are, no matter what you do, you're always going to have guys chirping about something. Rampage thought the movie business was the answer to all his fucking dreams and that didn't work out too good. The pay over there wasn't what he thought it was, the pay over here was a lot better. A lot better. The grass is always greener until it's not there any more, and then you realize you made a lot of mistakes and you should have done things differently." Hear more from White on Jackson's pugilistic aspirations after the jump. Though he didn't have any luck in the stand-up game back at UFC 135 in his title fight against Jon Jones, "Rampage" has always preferred to "stand and bang" throughout his mixed martial arts career, knocking out MMA stars such as Chuck Liddell, Wanderlei Silva and Kevin Randleman. He definitely has the power, but does he posses the finesse -- and can he put it all together to make it as a pro boxer? If so, does boxing have any big name boxers in his weight class to make it interesting enough to watch and sell pay-per-views? And what would his value be to a boxing promoter? Thoughts?

Posted in: fight, guy, rampage, jackson, boxing

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Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson is free to go boxing when his UFC contract is done, according to company president Dana White.“He’s under...

Posted in: ufc, boxing, dana, contract, ufc contract

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UFC president Dana White has no problem with former light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson boxing… he’s just not gonna do it on White’s watch. “He’s under contract. He’s not boxing until… I mean, if he wants to box when his contract is up, that’s up to him.” Rampage has mentioned recently that he’d like to box [...]

Posted in: ufc, rampage, boxing, contract, box

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After getting whipped by Jon Jones at UFC 135 back on Sept. 17 in Denver, Quinton Jackson is probably eager to get back into the win column. That could explain why he's chatting it up with Ron Artest through his official Twitter account, teasing a possible charity boxing match between the two stars. It sure would be a good way to fill some of that downtime for the sidelined cager. That's because Artest has nowhere to ply his trade now that the NBA has canceled its preseason as it enters its fourth month of the 2011 labor lockout. The LA Times has more: On Tuesday labor talks broke down. The NBA canceled the preseason and said it would also cancel the first two weeks of the regular season if there is no collective bargaining agreement in place by Monday. With the NBA lockout in its fourth month, first-year players are wondering when they will finally get to cash their first checks and trade in their budget lifestyles for five-star hotels, chartered jets and catered postgame meals. While the b-ballers are finding ways to keep themselves busy while the owners and league fight over who is more greedy, does anyone really think we could see "Rampage" and Artest on Celebrity Boxing? Or was this just playful banter between two guys with nothing to do but workout and Tweet?

Posted in: boxing, charity boxing, nba lockout, nba, artest

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[div class="notice" class2="icon"]The following is from an article on LiverKick.com, part of the MiddleEasy Network.[/div] As you may or may not know by now, Gokhan Saki has stated that after his January 28 fight with Badr Hari, he'll head to boxing. While Saki didn't confirm if he would be done kickboxing for good, the thought of Gokhan Saki giving boxing a go is an interesting avenue. He revealed the news in an interview with fighthype.com and subsequently fired shots at some of boxing's best in the heavyweight division. Among many of the things he had to say, here is one quote that I examine in a different light: "Heavyweight boxing nowadays is very pitiful. The Klitschko brothers are very smart guys and very professional athletes. Nevertheless, both of them I will fight and they won't make the 12th round." Now, upon reading this quote, it's apparent that Saki wants to go straight forward into the heavyweight division. He's fought his entire career in kickboxing as an undersized heavyweight because the pinnacle of the sport, K-1, only has the open weight heavyweight division. Other divisions like -95kg and -85kg just don't have the money behind them like the K-1 World Grand Prix does (or technically did) at one point. In boxing, Saki would have an opportunity to fight in the cruiserweight division, in which the weight limit is 200 lbs, yet he seems to want to fight at heavyweight. It's not a surprising choice, as heavyweight just has that significant air about it and cruiserweight is one of the least popular weight divisions. Read More...

Posted in: heavyweight, boxing, division, gokhan saki, saki

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Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson is trying to set up a charity showdown with NBA player Ron Artest. Jackson wants to stage a boxing match with the...

Posted in: boxing, charity boxing, ron artest, charity showdown, ron

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NBC Sports’ Ariel Helwani caught up with Dana White following UFC on Versus 6. Dana talked a little bit about the event before explaining how dual event nights would work. Basically, they will only do it with a US show and an international show, never with two US shows on the same night. The international shows will air on live TV and lead into the US pay-per-views. Dana says both cards would be “stacked”, but then asked when have they ever not put on a “stellar” show, so take that for what it’s worth. Dana then went off on a long rant about boxing promoter Bob Arum and doesn’t think Rampage will ever leave the UFC for boxing. Dana says all the boxers not named Mayweather, Pacquiao or Klitscko want to fight in the UFC because they’re all so starving in boxing. In other words, the grass is not as green on the other side as some of these fighters think it is.

Posted in: ufc, boxing, dana, bob arum, event nights

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Brad Wheeler first fought in front of a crowd when he was about 14 years old. It was in boxing, a sport beloved...

Posted in: boxing, brad wheeler, wheeler, fight path, brad

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Filed under: UFCQuinton "Rampage" Jackson is, yet again, fed up with MMA. I guess that means it's time to rotate the tires on my Toyota and change the air filter in my furnace. Who needs a calendar or a planner for that stuff when you've got Jackson, whose frustration with this sport is the most reliable natural phenomenon outside of Yellowstone National Park? This time, Jackson told an ESPN UK podcast that, after his loss to Jon Jones at UFC 135, he's tired of "fighting people who are scared." "That's why I'm going to go to boxing," said Jackson. "I'm going to try boxing because they've got to stand with you. If I get knocked out I don't care, because at least it's a fight." Right. Because that was his big problem with Jones. The champ was "scared" to stand up and fight him. That must be how Jackson ended up getting kicked around the cage like a hacky sack at an Ani DiFranco concert. Not that any of us should be surprised to hear Jackson threatening to take his talents elsewhere. As recently as May he proclaimed that "as soon as movies start paying me more than I make to fight, I'm gone." A year and a half before that, when the UFC gave him a hard time for taking the A-Team role rather than fighting Rashad Evans right away, he declared he was "done fighting" and "hanging it up." His movie career must not be panning out like he'd hoped, because now boxing is his new frontier. Six months from now he may decide wants to be a male model instead, or maybe an astronaut. In other words, anything but MMA, the one thing he's made a reliable living at for the last decade or so. It's not that I don't understand the motivation behind comments like these. We've all romanticized the notion of a different career in our minds. No matter how good you have it in your current job, other people seem to have it better. Especially when you've never actually tried that line of work, the way Jackson has never tried to be a full-time professional boxer. Then it exists solely as an idea, wholly perfect and unmolested by reality. How else could Jackson have convinced himself that boxing is a sport where he won't have to worry about supposedly scared fighters running from him? Has he not heard that boxing has its share of "elusive" fighters? That even if opponents aren't shooting for takedowns or tenderizing his legs and ribs with kicks, there are still plenty of ways for them to avoid slugging exchanges in the ring? If he thinks boxing is a sport where men stand directly in front of each other and trade haymakers, he's about a hundred years late to the party. These days, boxing has its share of runners. It also has its share of skyscraper heavyweights who could jab him from across the street and give him the same distance problems that Jones did. That is, unless he thinks he can drop down to cruiserweight (quick: name your favorite cruiserweight, and no, Chris Jericho doesn't count), where there'll be less money on the table than he seems to think. I don't blame Jackson for feeling like he wants to do something else after the loss to Jones. That fight was so thoroughly one-sided that he has to know he'll never get his belt back as long as Jones is breathing air in the light heavyweight division. That leaves him with limited options. He could rematch "Shogun" Rua or Forrest Griffin, both of which he seems open to. But what then? And of course, there's always the need to find some excuse for a loss, a pastime that even Jackson will admit he's an old pro at. Jones dominated every second of the fight? So what. It's only because he was running scared. Things will be different in the faraway land of boxing, where the streets are paved with gold and there's not a college wrestling All-American in sight. Sure, it doesn't really make sense, but it doesn't have to. A few months from now the UFC will have given Jackson another fight, another guaranteed payday, and he'll have forgotten all about it. He'll be back to doing the one thing he knows and kind of hates, and all be well again. At least until the next time. And you know there will be a next time. Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Posted in: fight, time, jone, jackson, boxing

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"I hate fighting people who are scared. When you fight somebody who is scared you never know what they're going to do. They turn and run. That's why I'm gonna go to boxing. I'm gonna try boxing because they've got to stand with you. If I get knocked out I don't care because at least it's a fight. I've tried a lot of boxing, I'm falling in love with boxing and I know I can put butts on seats over there." - Listen to full ESPN.co.uk UFC Podcast audio here It's not the first time former UFC Light

Posted in: ufc, fight, boxing, quinton jackson, fight somebody

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Quinton "Rampage" Jackson is coming off a loss to Jon Jones at UFC 135 and has long been known to complain about MMA, and this might be no different than that. But he did tell ESPN UK on a podcast that he would consider a switch over to boxing after his UFC contract runs out. Here's why: "I hate fighting people who are scared," Jackson told the ESPN UFC Podcast. "When you fight somebody who is scared you never know what they're going to do. They turn and run. "That's why I'm gonna go to boxing. I'm gonna try boxing because they've got to stand with you. If I get knocked out I don't care because at least it's a fight. "I've tried a lot of boxing, I'm falling in love with boxing and I know I can put butts on seats over there." Scott Christ over at Bad Left Hook shares his thoughts on the subject: Jackson, 33, has been a star in mixed martial arts for years, and is without a question one of its most charismatic fighters in the short history of the sport. I have to assume his move to boxing would, indeed, draw legitimate attention, but as we know, coming into pro boxing isn't just a "hey, I'm here, give me a fight with a top guy" sort of deal. Also, Jackson is a 205-pound fighter in mixed martial arts, and given his age it would be unlikely he'd be able to cut down to cruiserweight, where there's no U.S. market, and that means he'd have to fight as a heavyweight. At 6'1" with a 73" reach, he'd be undersized and probably underpowered. I think Rampage would actually consider it if there was big money in it somewhere, but my skepticism comes from the fact that he's got an unfortunate physical build to become a boxing star, even if he were actually good at it. First Badr Hari, now Rampage? While I highly doubt this will ever come to fruition, it would definitely be an interesting sight to see Jackson in a boxing ring.

Posted in: ufc, fight, rampage, jackson, boxing

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If you don't know by now, It's Showtime announced that Badr Hari will be retiring from kickboxing after his January 28th, 2012 bout to pursue a pro boxing career. Ironically, his opponent in that last bout, Gokhan Saki, is also considering leaving the sport, but he wants to switch to MMA.  So Badr has one bout left if the K-1 WGP doesn't go down, then goes into boxing. It's just too bad he's not going to be a very good boxer, for a few reasons. First off, I'm not really surprised at this. Hari is infatuated with boxing and has been for a long time. People want him to go into MMA, but he's never been that interested. On The Voice vs. Badr Hari, he couldn't even name Cain Velasquez when shown a picture of him. But he went on and on about boxing. Cool, he's going to try it out. But I'm not sure he knows what he's getting himself into when it comes to professional boxing. First off, the sport is way more cutthroat than kickboxing (surprisingly enough), especially in the US. And it's not a sport that will let a guy walk in with little to no experience and get big fights, especially at heavyweight. Badr's already 26, almost 27. That's really late to be getting a start in the boxing game. Unless he takes a ton of fights very quickly, he's not going to work his way up. Sure there are shortcuts, like taking fights with old, faded names that need paychecks really badly. But if anyone believes he'll be fighting a Klitscho anytime soon, well...you're dreaming. Unless there's a third Klit brother in the backwaters of the Crimea that no one's heard of that's like 3-1 or something. Another major problem is that, as David mentioned in his piece, Hari gets hit a lot in kickboxing. Yes they are very different sports, but he's never shown any sort of excellent defensive boxing. Is he going to be able to put aside his kickboxing instincts and learn defense? Honestly, I don't think he can. So you'll have a tall, rangy, light-ish heavyweight that isn't great at protecting himself. Not very promising. Finally, Badr's got anger problems. I really hope he doesn't want to kick my ass just for writing this, and I'm just a self-important, yet oddly charming writer on the internet (@TB_Money!). He had major problems controlling his temper in kickboxing and on the street, and I don't think it will be any different in boxing. Even if he does turn out to be a high-level boxer, he's his own worst enemy and he'll likely blow it all up before he can get to the top. Overall, while I'm a huge Badr Hari fan and I really want him to succeed in whatever sport he chooses to compete in, I just don't see it happening. Kickboxing might not be at the level it was at a few years ago, but there are more big-money matchups left for him in kickboxing than there would be in boxing, unless he makes it to the very top of the sport. I understand wanting to try new things, and kickboxing will still be there if he ever chooses to come back. But he's going to get chewed up and spit out by the monstrous ugly machine that is the North American boxing scene, and I don't want to see that happen.

Posted in: sport, boxing, kickboxing, hari, badr

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“I hate fighting people who are scared. When you fight somebody who is scared you never know what they’re going to do. They turn and run. That’s why I’m gonna go to boxing. I’m gonna try boxing because they’ve got to stand with you. If I get knocked out I don’t care because at least it’s a fight. I’ve tried a lot of boxing, I’m falling in love with boxing and I know I can put butts on seats over there.” — Rampage Jackson on an ESPN UFC Podcast declaring his desire to leave mixed martial arts for boxing The grass is always greener on the other side for a lot of these guys. *Sigh* Looking at it on the bright side, he can always fight Kimbo! Woo hoo! Image via CombatLifestyle.com

Posted in: fight, jackson, rampage jackson, boxing, fight somebody

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[div class="notice" class2="icon"]The following is from an article on LiverKick.com, part of the MiddleEasy Network.[/div] The news broke earlier today that Badr Hari would be hanging up his Kickboxing gloves to take up a pair of shiny new Boxing gloves and move his training and focus to the United States. To many this was a shock, but there have been signs of this move for a long time now. Originally Badr Hari was considering making a run for the Moroccan Olympic Boxing Team, but his stint in prison and legal troubles were enough to force him away from that idea. In an interview with Michael Schiavello earlier this year, Badr Hari spoke about how he was a huge Boxing fan and followed the sport very closely, especially the Heavyweights. He couldn’t say the same for the sport of Mixed Martial Arts, where he could not even recognize the bigger stars, or the sport of Kickboxing where he only followed where he needed to for upcoming fights. Then there was an interview in August with FightHype where he spoke out about some Heavyweight Boxing contenders like Chris Arreola and Tomasz Adamek was if he were ready to run right through them right now. Badr Hari’s heart was set on being a Heavyweight Boxer and there was no one in the world who was going to stop him. His announcement came from Kickboxing organization It’s Showtime, who also handle his management and will no doubt have a hand in his boxing career and caused a lot of stir throughout the internet. Some sites are proclaiming Badr’s move as a part of the mass exodus from Kickboxing to MMA while others are taking a look at Badr Hari’s kickboxing fights to determine that he will become a failure at another sport. Read More...

Posted in: boxing, kickboxing, badr hari, hari, badr

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Mixed martial artist, actor, professional boxer? That might very well be the latest venture for Quinton Jackson, as he discusses his future plans after he hanging up his UFC gloves for good. So why the "sweet science?" Jackson tells ESPN he has a distaste for fighting people who fight scared and specifically talked about trading in his 4 oz. gloves (MMA) for a 16 oz. pair (boxing). "I hate fighting people who are scared. When you fight somebody who is scared you never know what they're going to do. They turn and run, that's why I'm gonna go to boxing. I'm gonna try boxing because they've got to stand with you. If I get knocked out I don't care because at least it's a fight. I've tried a lot of boxing, I'm falling in love with boxing and I know I can put butts in seats over there." In the meantime, Jackson is eying a return to the Octagon in early 2012 when the UFC plans a trip to the "Land of the Rising Sun," a place where "Rampage" has a very strong fan base due to his time spent competing in PRIDE FC. Jackson pleaded for a fight against Mauricio Rua in hopes to try and avenge a loss to "Shogun," which he suffered in 2005 at "PRIDE Total Elimination 2005." The Brazilian is currently slated to do battle with Dan Henderson at UFC 139 but after that ... anything is possible. Though he didn't have any luck in the stand-up game this past weekend at UFC 135 in his title fight against Jon Jones, "Rampage" definitely has always preferred to "stand and bang" throughout his mixed martial arts career, knocking out MMA stars such as Chuck Liddell, Wanderlei Silva and Kevin Randleman. He definitely has the power, but does he posses the finesse -- and can he put it all together to make it as a pro boxer? If so, does boxing have any big name boxers in his weight class to make it interesting enough to watch and sell pay-per-views? I hear James "Lights Out" Toney is always looking for a fight.

Posted in: ufc, fight, jackson, boxing, boxer

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Brad Wheeler first fought in front of a crowd when he was about 14 years old. It was in boxing, a sport beloved by his father, who was also a skilled soccer player. Wheeler was more interested in combat sports than life on the soccer field, so he got into the gym from an early age. He didn't waste any time taking the first of his 12 amateur boxing matches and getting familiar with the feel of the crowd and a strike to the face. But ultimately, the lure of MMA proved too strong for the Cage Warriors 44 fighter.

Posted in: boxing, combat sports, brad wheeler, wheeler, fight path

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I can only imagine the Klitschko brothers gathering around the kitchen table for a family breakfast and flipping open their iPad only to read that another MMA fighter plans to move to boxing after their MMA career is finished. In this imaginary scenario, I've always envisioned Vitali Klitschko slaving over a hot stove, draped in a pastel colored apron while his brother, Wladimir, patiently sits at the table with his legs crossed, reading the New York Times. These are the things that keep me up at 3:10am on a Thursday morning. I can't necessarily explain it. It just happens. Rampage Jackson had a brief chat on the ESPN UK UFC podcast this week and mentioned that when he eventually retires from MMA, he would like to try boxing. "I hate fighting people who are scared. When you fight somebody who is scared you never know what they're going to do. They turn and run. "That's why I'm gonna go to boxing. I'm gonna try boxing because they've got to stand with you. If I get knocked out I don't care because at least it's a fight. "I've tried a lot of boxing, I'm falling in love with boxing and I know I can put butts on seats over there." My suggestion is Rampage Jackson should try out for a role in Broadway's 'Jersey Boys.' If he's not satisfied, then he should transition to boxing -- but I'm relatively sure Rampage will be content as the focus of a musical. [Source]

Posted in: mma, rampage, rampage jackson, boxing, mma career

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submitted by red1392 [link] [4 comments]

Posted in: rampage, boxing, contract

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Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson reckons he is going boxing when his UFC contract expires. The former light-heavyweight champion, who failed in his...

Posted in: ufc, boxing, contract, ufc contract, light-heavyweight champion

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submitted by AbeRudder [link] [comment]

Posted in: mma, boxing, badr hari, hari, badr

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Having won multiple titles across various weight classes in boxing, Holly Holm intends to continue dominating the "sweet science" while adding MMA to the mix.

Posted in: boxing, weight classes, holly holm, mix, holm

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[div class="notice" class2="icon"]The following is from an article on LiverKick.com, part of the MiddleEasy Network.[/div] Not many events in the kickboxing world can leave you speechless, but the retirement of one of Heavyweight Kickboxing's biggest stars in the past ten years will do just that. The big secret announcement from It's Showtime was originally scheduled for Friday but was then pushed back to today. In the meantime, word got out that Badr Hari would take on Gokhan Saki on January 28th for It's Showtime. To many, this was the big announcement that It's Showtime was trying to keep under wraps, but it would turn out to be much bigger. Badr Hari has spoken about his desire to enter the world of Boxing for a long time now, much more seriously over the past year. This includes talk of possible Olympic Boxing that seemed to die off and talking with Michael Schiavello in a Voice Versus episode about possibly leaving kickboxing for boxing. Add in the steady decline of K-1 over the past few years and Badr Hari's legal troubles and kickboxing became less and less his passion. Read More...

Posted in: boxing, kickboxing, badr hari, hari, badr

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Scott Christ of Bad Left Hook gives a boxing fan's take on UFC 135, providing his running commentary during the pay-per-view card.

Posted in: ufc, boxing, boxing fan, scott christ, christ

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Dan Henderson’s boxing coach Gustavo Pugliese says his charge was offered a rematch with middleweight champion Anderson Silva, but claims the Brazilian...

Posted in: boxing, coach, boxing coach, ufc titles, anderson

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Dan Henderson’s boxing coach Gustavo Pugliese says his charge was offered a rematch with middleweight champion Anderson Silva, but claims the Brazilian...

Posted in: boxing, coach, boxing coach, ufc titles, anderson

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Filed under: UFCDENVER -- With as fired up as UFC president Dana White gets when talking about last weekend's Floyd Mayweather-Victor Ortiz boxing match, you almost wouldn't know that his organization put on some fights of its own that same night. Following Wednesday's UFC 135 press conference, White ripped into referee Joe Cortez for "destroying" the highly-anticipated bout, but he saved his most virulent criticism for HBO commentator Larry Merchant, who found himself in a bizarre confrontation with Mayweather after the controversial ending. "It's my big beef with Merchant for years," White said. "These guys get done fighting and he jumps in the ring and just starts saying off-the-wall, weird, rude [expletive] to these guys. Who the hell would want to do an interview with him? It's probably the thing they dread worse than training and cutting weight and everything, is their interview with Larry Merchant. It's ridiculous." Merchant drew Mayweather's ire in the post-fight interview for asking about the dubious fight-ending punch combo that, while legal, seemed dirty to many. As Mayweather criticized Merchant for what he regarded as a history of bias on the part of the 80-year-old TV commentator, suggesting that HBO should fire him, Merchant retorted, "I wish I was 50 years younger and I would kick your ass." It was a lapse in professionalism that apparently didn't help to endear him to White, an avid boxing fan. "I actually thought that that was very embarrassing for HBO," the UFC president said. "The guy is senile, he's out of his mind. He's up there berating Floyd, but Floyd can't say anything back to you? You've been disrespecting guys your whole career, and guess what, you can go back 60 years, you're not kicking Floyd's ass, okay? Give me a break. And what's Floyd going to do? A 102-year-old guy just said that to him." For the 35 minutes that White spoke to reporters following the pre-fight press conference inside the Pepsi Center, no subject seemed to hold as much interest for him as the Mayweather-Ortiz bout and its aftermath. Though he claimed not to have watched the Strikeforce World Heavyweight Grand Prix event on Showtime the weekend before, Mayweather-Ortiz prompted a lengthy rant from White on all the ways Cortez had erred in his handling of the fight, and how it only proved that "something needs to be done" about the athletic commissions that handle both MMA and boxing events. "Realistically, when you look at it, boxing puts on two big fights a year," White said. "Two big fights a year. They [expletive] up one of them. The referee destroyed that fight. He destroyed it. ...That was a multi-, multi-million dollar fight that this one guy destroyed. Because I don't know about you guys, but I was watching the fight, I would have liked to have seen how that really would have ended." White added that what really scares him is the potential for an athletic commission or a referee to wreak similar havoc on a UFC bout at a juncture as critical for MMA as the Mayweather-Ortiz bout may have been for boxing. "The last thing that I want to have happen is that, to me, on FOX," White said. At least White doesn't have to worry about Merchant on any of his broadcasts. From the sound of things, the veteran boxing commentator can rule out any potential future with the UFC.  Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Posted in: fight, guy, boxing, floyd, merchant

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Oscar De La Hoya has a pretty big dog in the boxing fight. Golden Boy Promotions was at the center of this past weekend's fight between Victor Ortiz and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. with Golden Boy promoting Ortiz. Oscar gave a recent interview to FightHubTV where he explained exactly why he thinks that the UFC's success and move to have fights shown on Fox could be good for the sport of boxing as well: Some quotes from the video (transcribed by Scott Christ of Bad Left Hook): First of all, I congratulate Dana White for doing an amazing job. My utmost respect to Dana White, I believe he's a brilliant guy, he's a tremendous person to have in a combat sport. I think they did an outstanding job in promoting the UFC, and look at where it's at now. They struck a deal with Fox, which is amazing for the UFC, for MMA, my hat's off to him. Boxing will be back on network television, I can feel very confident in saying that. Sooner than later, it will be back on network television. When you put good fighters together, people want to watch. And when you have any type of network behind boxing, you will create ratings. And it's a matter of when, and we're working that -- with Golden Boy Promotions, we're working on taking those next steps. What Dana White has done has been amazing, outstanding. I salute him, and keep on doing a great job. ... He's been doing tremendous deals and this goes to show you that Dana White and the Fertitta brothers are brilliant. They know what they're doing, and they've obviously taken it to the next step, to the next level. And who knows where the MMA's gonna go? Sky's the limit. ... And Dana White has done an amazing job. What that can do for boxing is just open doors, because it's a combat sport. And I salute him. I believe he's doing some big things. More power to him. The idea of boxing returning network TV coming out of the UFC on Fox is something Scott Christ has talked about recently: I mentioned when I did the MMA Nation show on Sunday with Luke Thomas that I'm really rooting for UFC to score great ratings on Fox on November 12, because I think their potential success could cause a network like ABC or NBC or CBS to go, "Hey, this did well. What about doing boxing?" There are no other truly viable MMA promotions right now, but there are a load of established boxers out there, and it would be, of course, truly great to see boxing back on network television. With that as a potential outlet, maybe nobody winds up being forced into sticking a fight like Bernard Hopkins vs Chad Dawson on pay-per-view simply because HBO ran out of budget.

Posted in: ufc, boxing, dana, network television, network

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Not including bonuses or sponsors, Anderson Silva got paid a reported $200K for his most recent fight, yet Floyd Mayweather got $40M for fighting Mosley. I feel like boxing isnt as popular anymore as the UFC, but does boxing still get that many more PPVs than the UFC? Or is the UFC just taking a huge percentage of the profits? submitted by drolsoncat [link] [4 comments]

Posted in: ufc, boxing, floyd mayweather, anderson silva, boxing isnt

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submitted by MonkeySpirit [link] [comment]

Posted in: fighter, boxing, need fighters, boxing ?., monkeyspirit

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An unproven star. A fading legend. Headlines dominated by boxing. How can UFC 135 help the world's largest fight promotion go mainstream on Sept. 24 in Denver, Colorado? Find out here.

Posted in: ufc, star, boxing, fight promotion, headline

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I'm kind of conflicted about last night's boxing shenanigans. For starters, I care very little about the sport. There's a laundry list a mile long filled with things wrong with it. The only one I'll really mention here is that the best athletes no longer look at boxing as an avenue out - and they haven't for a couple of decades. The best American athletes gravitate towards the NBA if they're tall, football if they're big and everything else if they can't hack it in those. With baseball, skateboarding, hockey, soccer, boxing and mixed martial arts getting the scraps that the big two team sports aren't, the nation doesn't care nearly as much as it did about any of those as it used to. Yes, baseball is still #2 in terms of popularity, but many of the best and brightest in the sport aren't the true "athletes" who could have done any sport they felt like, but happened to choose baseball. Insert your own Explosive and Athletic joke if you so desire, but I'm not referring to race. In general, baseball players are not the raw, physical athletic specimens you see playing power forward or defensive end. Regardless of skin color, it's just not usually the Joe Athlete that could dunk a ball, throw 40 yards in the air, run a 4.5 40, golf with no handicap of the world that becomes a baseball player. What I'm trying to say is that the future Pretty Boy Floyd's of the world are not becoming boxers. They've found a better avenue to use their athleticism to make money that doesn't require getting punched in the head ten thousand times. Make no mistake, Mayweather is a phenomenal athlete. Fast and powerful, adept at not taking damage, and great instincts. Boxing used to get some of the cream of the crop because that was their best shot out of abject poverty - now they go elsewhere. Getting back to Saturday night, I find myself looking at it from different angles. For starters, I'm fairly certain that Cortez, the ref, did not actually restart the fight, and simply went with what happened, because to go in any other direction means the blame falls squarely on his shoulders. If you look at his ugly mug as the events transpire, he is astounded by what is happening, and after Ortiz hits the canvas, he looks off into the crowd, as if asking Paulo Filho what he should do. His eyes come across a gentleman at ringside in a striped ref-looking like shirt. I don't think that man was a referee for the fight, and merely an excited person, but that man immediately jumps up and starts yelling a 10-count while using his fingers as a counting prop. Cortez, in perhaps the smartest moment of his life, realizes that he's supposed to be the one doing that, and then starts counting, picking up at four where the striped shirt gentleman left off at. Having said that, I find almost no fault in Mayweather taking the opportunity to suckerpunch Ortiz into Bolivia. I once wrote a Fanpost stating that it ain't cheating unless you get caught. That and if you aren't cheating, you aren't trying. There's no such thing as great sportsmanship when you're playing for money, and even less so when it is a combat sport and the other guy's job is to do damage to you. Was Mayweather's act unsportsmanlike? Probably. Does that mean he isn't supposed to do it? No, not really. Let's take a second and label everyone in the ring for a moment. Cortez is as sharp as a bowl of jello and should probably be fired, Ortiz is a sap and a fool for trusting anyone in the ring other than himself to do the right thing and Mayweather is a scumbag - a winning, opportunistic scumbag, but a bag nonetheless (and not just for his action in round 4 that night, but that's another story). But wait! There's more! After the fight, Money went and had one of these on live TV: In case you couldn't tell, this video has audio that is almost certainly not work safe, is definitely not PC safe and is funny as hell. Floyd had his opportunity to look like a complete idiot in front of the world and took it. Took it and RAN with it. There is, however, an old saying that goes "there's no such thing as bad publicity." Brock Lesnar helped prove that in our sport. Muhammad Ali and Jack Johnson did it generations ago in boxing. Lebron James. Michael Vick. Bill Belichick. Chad Ochocinco. Loudmouths, criminals, poor sports, egomaniacs... their common thread is that they draw eyes. Now personally, Mayweather has still failed with me, as I have zero intention of ever paying money to watch him fight. Not in a rematch against Ortiz, not even to fight Pacquiao. To be fair to him, should he ever fight Pac, I'm sure some friends of mine will head over to a bar and I'll join them, so indirectly, May will get some dollars out of my pocket - just not directly into his. In the interest of disclosure, I don't even pay for most UFC events. I have a working internet connection and lack enough scruples to be willing to find shady websites showing unclear videos instead of always spending money on this, a sport I care a ton about. Getting back off of me and to the subject. Mayweather has almost certainly managed to milk more fame and money out of this event than anyone ever expected he would. Some people with more disposable income will be curious enough to see what happens in the rematch to buy it should they do it again - and there's no reason they shouldn't. It will make both men very wealthy all over again and it will keep him from having to seriously risk his undefeated record and face Pac. Good for him, whoop-dee-do and all that. Boxing has been in such a rut for decades that anything that brings eyes to it, even if it's their second biggest star acting like a cartoon character, is good for it. They need the eyes if they want to stay relevant in this nation (and much of the world outside of a few enclaves, such as Mexico, Russia, etc). It will still survive and have plenty of participants - it is as simplistic a combat sport as you can get and thus great for people in poorer areas of the world to practice in. This is the reason soccer is so widely followed - you don't even need shoes to play it, just a round object and some flat(ish) ground. For boxing to ever thrive again, however, it must become interesting again. You can use a ton of adjectives to describe Saturday's event, but interesting is certainly accurate, regardless of your stance on it. Fraser Coffeen wrote on BE: Whether you want to see him win, or you want to see him humbled in defeat, you want to know what will happen next, and you'll pay to find out.   I won't pay, but I'll care a little more than I used to, even if it's for the latter result. Mission partly accomplished for PBF, which is really all boxing can ask for these days from any of it's stars.

Posted in: fight, mayweather, sport, boxing, money

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"Who exactly is Floyd "Money" Mayweather? It depends on who you ask. Is he the greatest boxer of his generation? Or is he a coward who ducks the best opponents? A showman playing the game? Or a disrespectful loudmouth?" These are the questions Fraser Coffeen over at Bloody Elbow has posed to the readers, and his answer is the unequivocal affirmative: boxing and MMA need Floyd Mayweather. I do disagree with this (for reasons made explicit by the title), but only on certain points, so before you tell me I'm clueless (largely true), let me explain myself in a few hundred words. Yes, Floyd's actions attract fans. But his actions are intimately connected to his ability: people tune in precisely because he's a bombastic constellation of all of the above. As a showman, as a phenomenal boxer, as a sport politician, and as a goon...he's the perfect storm of what attracts us to sports because no matter how much we hate him, he's a brilliant boxer. And no matter how brilliant his boxing is, he's disrespectful, and a clown. To the end that MMA needs a big draw like Floyd himself, no. An emphatic no. Moreover, why? Floyd Mayweather, despite his obvious boxing draw, is a headcase. Writers, specifically MMA writers, seem knee deep in this pro wrestling mentality that how you put on a show is more important than the show itself (not that the former is unimportant). Mayweather is a certified headcase. For as much money as he's made for boxing, he's also cost them. Have people suddenly forgotten the frustration over the lack of Mayweather vs. Pacquiao on the horizon? Newsflash: Ortiz will lose the rematch, and lose it badly. As far as I can tell, the question on everyone's mind, and the question Mayweather dodged that Larry Merchant was surely approaching before suggesting 50 years is all that separated Merchant from attacking Floyd with a busted beer bottle and his walking cane, was "what about Manny?"  In addition, this ignores Floyd's troubled history away from the ring. It would be one thing if Floyd were simply a loudmouth. But he's not. He's a loudmouth with a rich history of domestic disputes involving assault against women: the count is up to 8 charges of domestic violence in fact. Should this be ignored in favor of saying "well, it's ok because you make boxing a lot of money, and us writers get more material". Manny Pacquiao will fight Juan Manuel Marquez in what should be a fantastic scrap. Boxing will live on. UFC 136 and 137 are on the horizon, and they are fantastic cards. Guess what, MMA will live on. Speaking for myself, I don't care about the extracurricular activity. It's amusing, and in last night's case, I got a good laugh, but do the people that paid good money to watch the fight pay because they were under the impression boxing was finally delivering (insofar as they could without offering the Mayweather/Pacquiao fight), or because Floyd would do something classless in the 4th round (I've already articulated, however, why Ortiz and Cortez are equally if not more so, at fault in this case however)? Everyone I talk to feels like they got ripped off. People like Mayweather are compelling, but only up to a point. And their behavior deserves condemnation, as opposed to the type of enabling you see in the blogosphere. So no, boxing and MMA don't need Floyd Mayweather. Not because he's valuable to the sport, and one of a kind (which he is), but because he's a luxury, plain and simple. Poll Boxing and MMA: do they need Floyd Mayweather? Yes No   1114 votes | Results

Posted in: mma, mayweather, boxing, floyd, floyd mayweather

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