Bleacher Report - Articles by Teddy Mazurek

Olympic Boxing: How Much Does it Really Matter?

Teddy Mazurek — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:55:25 -0400

The round of 32 finished Wednesday morning. After Rau’shee Warren’s disappointing first-round loss, it was nice to see Luis Yanez and Deontay Wilder bounce back with victories and continue on in the tournament.

Team USA went 5-3 in the first round, a worse record than many expected. While watching the Olympics, two questions popped in my head:

Is an Olympic medal required to become a boxing champion?
Flipping the other question on its head, of course it's nice to win a gold medal (or any medal at that), but does success in the Olympics lead to a successful pro career?

Obviously, there is no generic answer to these questions. While some of the best professional boxers have won gold, like Muhammad Ali in Rome during the 1960 Olympics, other top fighters gained stardom without the Olympics, specifically Rocky Marciano.

The first question was the easier of the two to research.

I comprised a list of all the current boxing champions in each weight class according to the WBA, WBC, WBO, IBF, and Ring Magazine. I simply went through each fighter’s bio to see if they had ever won a medal in the Olympics (world championships did not count).

Out of a total of 61 boxing champions, only seven have won Olympic medals.

That is only 11 percent of today’s major titlists!

Out of the seven who won medals, there were three gold-medal winners, one silver, and three bronze.

While Wladimir Klitschko won the gold medal in 1996, the other two gold medal winners aren’t obvious champions in the boxing world today.

Joel Cassamayor, the Ring Magazine Lightweight Champion who won gold in 1992, does not deserve to be among today’s champions because he clearly lost his WBC interim title bout to Jose Armando Santa Cruz.

Lastly, Brahim Asloum, the WBA light flyweight champion, impressively won gold in the 2000 Olympics. While I do not wish to take any accomplishments away from Asloum, I doubt that many boxing fans know that he is a world champion (I didn’t), which might be caused by Ivan Calderon being the posterboy of the division.

It seems clear through looking at today’s champions that Olympic glory is not at all necessary to become a champion in professional boxing.

Just to strengthen the statement above, according to Ring Magazine’s top-10 pound-for-pound fighters (which contain Manny Pacquiao, Joe Calzaghe, Juan Manuel Marquez, Bernard Hopkins, Israel Vazquez, Antonio Margarito, Kelly Pavlik, Cristian Mijares, Rafael Marquez, and Miguel Cotto), guess how many won Olympic medals?

None. That’s zero, zilch—a goose egg.

So, from these results, we can conclude that an Olympic medal is not a prerequisite to becoming a pro champion.

Now it’s time for the more difficult question, does Olympic glory (winning a medal) lead to professional boxing glory?

I chose to gather data from the past four summer Olympics (1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004) and, from that, draw some conclusions.

If you didn’t know in Olympic boxing, two bronze medals are awarded, so there are four medal winners per weight class. Below, I have organized my results by each Olympics.

20004 Olympics

Total Medal-Winners: 44

Medal-Winners Who Went Pro: 11

Percent Pro: 25%

Gold-Medal Pros: 5

Silver-Medal Pros: 4

Bronze-Medal Pros: 2

Combined Professional Record: 136-3 (98%)

Major Titles Won: None

2000 Olympics

Total Medal-Winners: 48

Medal-Winners Who Went Pro: 21

Percent Pro: 44%

Gold-Medal Pros: 4

Silver-Medal Pros: 7

Bronze-Medal Pros: 10

Combined Professional Record: 357-30-1 (92%)

Major Titles Won: 10

WBA Light Featherweight Title
Interim WBC Featherweight Title
WBA Light Welterweight Title
WBO Heavyweight Title
WBA Bantamweight Title
WBC Middleweight Title
WBO Middleweight Title
WBA Middleweight Title
IBF Middleweight Title
WBO Light Heavyweight Title

1996 Olympics

Total Medal-Winners: 48

Medal-Winners Who Went Pro: 27

Percent Pro: 56%

Gold-Medal Pros: 5

Silver-Medal Pros: 5

Bronze-Medal Pros: 17

Combined Professional Record: 643-72-2 (90%)

Major Titles Won: 19

WBO Featherweight Title (twice)
WBA Light Middleweight Title (twice)
IBF Cruiserweight Title
IBF Heavyweight Title
WBO Heavyweight Title
WBC Welterweight Title
WBC Light Middleweight Title
IBF Welterweight Title
WBC Light Welterweight
WBC Lightweight
WBC Super Featherweight
WBA Lightweight Title
WBA Light Heavyweight Title
IBF Light Heavyweight Title
WBC Light Heavyweight Title
WBO Welterweight Title
WBO Light Middleweight Title

1992 Olympics

Total Medal-Winners: 48

Medal-Winners Who Went Pro: 26

Percent Pro: 54%

Gold-Medal Pros: 4

Silver-Medal Pros: 7

Bronze-Medal Pros: 15

Combined Professional Record: 612-116-8 (83%)

Major Titles Won: 18

WBO Lightweight Title (twice)
WBC Lightweight Title
WBA Super Featherweight Title
WBC Light Middleweight Title
WBO Middleweight Title
WBA Light Middleweight Title
WBC Welterweight Title
WBC Light Welterweight Title
IBF Lightweight Title
WBO Super Featherweight Title
WBC Bantamweight Title
IBF Heavyweight Title
WBO Heavyweight Title
WBO Featherweight Title
IBF Bantamweight Title
WBA Lightweight Title
WBC Super Middleweight Title

The first striking piece of data that can be seen throughout the four Olympics is the low percentage of medal-winning Olympians who chose to become professional boxers.

The last Olympics, 2004, seems to have an unusually low percent of professional boxers; the reason behind this data is that many of these Olympians are now participating in the 2008 games and will turn pro afterward. In the other three Olympics studied, the professional boxer percent hovers around an average of 50 percent.

Another unusual piece of data is the consistently low number of gold medal-winners who choose to become pro boxers. Specifically that the number of gold-medal professional boxers is lower than both those who won silver or bronze medals. Why gold-medal boxers choose not to continue their careers in the sport is a question for another day.

Although many successful Olympic fighters choose not to fight at the professional stage, the few who go to that level are very successful. The winning percentages range from 98 percent (2004 Olympics) to 83 percent (1992 Olympics), show that former Olympians are thriving in a professional setting. It should be known, however, that there are quite a few Olympians who had professional career records of 2-0 and 3-1, in addition to other Olympians who held records of 30-1 and 38-4, for example.

As the years go by, it makes logical sense that the winning percentages decrease. The pro boxers from the 2004 Olympics have the highest combined winning percentage because they have fought a worse class of opponents while trying to build up their records. On the other hand, the boxers from the 1992 Olympics have fought for titles and competed against a highly impressive set of opponents.

While winning percentage says a lot, nothing shows a successful boxing career more than championship titles. The class of the 1996 Olympics had 44 boxers and won 19 world titles. Now, it should be known that this does not mean that 19 boxers won titles—there are far fewer—but that one boxer won numerous titles during their career, like Floyd Mayweather, a 1996 Olympic bronze medalist.

So does winning an Olympic medal lead to a successful professional career?

While the answer is not a definite yes, it certainly is not a detriment (assuming you become a professional fighter). Almost all of the Olympic boxers who became pros have winning records, and many of those who didn’t choose to retire after a few fights have fought in title bouts (although many did not win).

An Olympic medal seems to only help you, but don’t worry, Rau’shee Warren; success in the Olympics isn’t required to become a champion, just look at the champions today.

Things aren't Mm-Mm Good for Coach Campbell

Teddy Mazurek — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:13:56 -0400

U.S. Olympic boxing coach Dan Campbell might have said it the best when describing his team.

“You know, it’s just been one thing after another.”

The relationship between Dan Campbell and team USA has been shaky from the beginning.

Campbell’s requirement that all members of team USA leave their trainers in order to practice as a team in Colorado Springs for an entire year, has been a high point of criticism. Specifically, the two major negatives with Colorado Springs are that the boxers are being taught contradicting styles and are away from their families.

Middleweight Shawn Estrada expressed his dissatisfaction in Coach Dan Campbell saying “I would rather be home with the coach who got me here.”

Coach Dan Campbell has had disagreements with almost everyone on the team and six out of the nine American boxers have threatened to leave the team. Specifically he put into question Demetrius Andrade’s desire to win and Russell Jr’s work ethic. These are two of the most likely medal winners for team USA (along with Rau’Shee Warren).

Gary Russell Sr. the father and trainer of Olympic boxer Gary Russell Jr. has had nothing but criticism towards Coach Campbell.

“(Campbell) had so many arguments with these boxers it's like he's setting them all up for failure. He's threatened to throw Sadam (Ali), Demetrius, Rau'Shee (Warren), Javier (Molina), Gary, and Luis all off the team. That's six boxers, more than half the team. Something has to be wrong if you're threatening to get rid of half the team. It can't all be the fault of the boxers."

In addition, Russell Sr. has criticized the coach as the reason for his son’s worse physical condition as a result of Campbell’s relaxed tendencies in coaching.

Things have gone so wrong that according to Shawn Estrada there have been six or seven U.S. Olympic boxers who have trained with their original trainers in secret.

Melting points hit the peak when light flyweight Luis Yanez went AWOL and was kicked off the team. Yanez’s excuse for his absence from was that he was looking over his sister who was staying in a drug rehab clinic. Yanez also made public that the team did not like Dan Campbell (what a shocker).

Coach Dan Campbell eloquently responded saying that Yanez is “one of the biggest liars I’ve ever met”.

Now that the Olympics have begun the result’s of Campell’s training is becoming clear, but not in a good way.

Before the opening round started, Gary Russell Jr. collapsed trying to make weight for his fight and as a result was eliminated from the competition. It is the responsibility of the coach to make sure that each fighter is in good physical condition to fight.

Javier Molina performed dreadfully losing 14-1 against Boris Georgiev of Bulgaria. Later it was announced that Molina wasn’t cleared to fight until 24 hours of his first round match because of a small hole that was found in his lung.

While Campbell is not to blame for this incident, it certainly did not help an already dire situation.

Lightweight Sadam Ali lost 20-5 against Georgian Popescu of Romania (no excuse has yet to be made for his loss). According to an NBC interview with Sadam Ali, he became worried after the first round that he was losing and changed his fighting style.

While the negatives certainly outweigh the positives there have been some bright spots. Shawn Estrada, Raynell Williams, and Demetrius Andrade all won their first round match-ups.

While the Olympics is far from over I predict that the controversy over Coach Dan Campbell has just begun.

Oscar De La Hoya: 40 Reasons Why Everyone Loves the Golden Boy

Teddy Mazurek — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 10:05:13 -0400

Although I have been a member of Bleacher Report for less than a week, I have learned a great amount dealing with the sport of boxing.

For instance, even on sports sites (not going to mention any in particular) boxing is treated as a second and even third rate sport. The popularity that results from boxing articles is minimal and quite depressing.

However, it is becoming no secret that boxing articles which center around Oscar De La Hoya, always get a lot of attention. Now by no means am I trying to lower the accomplishments of Nicholas Sowemimo, who wrote a fantastic article dealing with why a De La Hoya-Pacquiao fight should not happen.

Any article that manages to get 6,845 reads is a work of art in my opinion.

Am I a bit jealous? Honestly yes, but that is not the main reason why I chose to write an article that deals Oscar De La Hoya.

What makes Oscar De La Hoya so popular?

Yes he is a great boxer, but he cannot be compared to the top fighters currently in the sport. He is past his prime and is on the verge of retiring in a year or two.

So once again, why do people love this man? Why does he generate millions of fans and thousands of reads on sports sites?

Here are 40 reasons why Oscar De La Hoya is so popular among boxing and non boxing fans.

1. He is the “Golden Boy” of boxing. People are associating boxing to Oscar De La Hoya instead of vice versa.

2. Oscar is Hispanic/American, so he connects with both American and Mexican fight fans.

3. He is eye candy for all the ladies who are forced to watch boxing by their boyfriends and husbands.

4. Unlike many fighters who cannot do an interview to save their lives, Oscar has a great presence in front of the camera. He is articulate and actually sounds intelligent.

5. He has already shown people that he can make it as a business man in boxing, with the success of Golden Boy Promotions.

6. Power, power, power. In his 39 victories, he has won 30 by knockout and has stopped some of the best in the sport.

7. While on his way to stardom, Oscar De La Hoya swept through six of boxing’s weight classes.

8. Although he has lost five times, he has no embarrassing losses. Losing to Felix Trinidad, Shane Mosley (twice), Bernard Hopkins, and Floyd Mayweather, all of whom are hall of fame boxers, is nothing to be ashamed of.

9. Oscar has defeated some of boxing’s best during his career. He stopped top name fighters such as Julio Cesar Chavez (twice), Fernando Vargas, Arturo Gatti, Ricardo Mayorga, and Rafael Ruelas. In addition, he won decisions over Pernell Whitaker, Hector Camacho, Ike Quartey, and Felix Strum.

10. He won a gold medal for the U.S. in the Barcelona Olympics.

11. Ring Magazine named Oscar De La Hoya as the Fighter of the Year for 1995.

12. He defeated an amazing 17 world champions in his career.

13. Oscar has dominated boxing by winning 10 world titles in six different weight classes.

14. While he has a very remarkable professional record, his amateur record is even more impressive. He went 223-5 with 163 KOs.

15. He has made the most money in the history of boxing, which should result with Mayweather losing the nickname “money.”

16. Oscar is the first Hispanic/American boxer to become a promoter while still fighting.

17. Devoted family man.

18. While many top fighters fight soft opposition for much of their careers, Oscar has not followed that path. Never in his professional boxing career has De La Hoya fought an opponent with a losing record.

19. Scored a huge upset over the favorite Rafael Ruelas in a second round TKO for the IBF lightweight title.

20. Knocked out his childhood idol and Mexican hero Julio Cesar Chavez twice.

21. At only 24-years-old, Oscar won a unanimous decision over then pound for pound king Pernell Whitaker.

22. Oscar De La Hoya showed his heart, with his 12th round knock down of Ike Quartey which secured him a victory in what was a very close fight.

23. His fight against Felix Trinidad entitled, The Fight of the Millennium showcased two of the best fighters in the sport.

24. De La Hoya’s controversial loss to Felix Trinidad helped his popularity grow because many fight fans thought he got robbed and was the true winner of the fight.

25. The combination of De La Hoya and trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. resembles the dynamic duo of Steve Young and Jerry Rice.

26. Similar to his controversial loss to Trinidad, when Oscar De La Hoya lost a split decision to Mosley, fans once again sided with the Golden Boy.

27. Oscar beat his long time rival in impressive fashion, with an 11th round TKO of Fernando Vargas, who was soon discovered to have taken steroids for the fight.

28. Oscar does not make excuses when he does something wrong. For instance, he admitted that he was hurt by Bernard Hopkins’ perfectly placed left hook to the liver.

29. Before his fight with Ricardo Mayorga, Oscar acted like a gentleman by keeping his emotions in check even while Mayorga insulted his sexuality and his family. Oscar got the last laugh with a TKO in round six.

30. De La Hoya was portrayed as the good guy in his fight against Floyd Mayweather, AKA The World Awaits. He also was the first opponent to beat Mayweather on a score card.

31. Fight fans were really able to get to know De La Hoya when HBO chose to create the four part series De La Hoya/Mayweather 24/7.

32. While he was not able to knockout the durable Steve Forbes, De La Hoya sure was able to put on a boxing clinic for his fans.

33. Over his career Oscar has generated 11,665,000 PPV buys and $594.4 million.

34. Although not as popular as The Contender, Oscar De La Hoya hosted the boxing reality television show The Next Great Champ.

35. Oscar is a partial owner of the Major League Soccer club the Houston Dynamo.

36. He has created a Grammy nominated CD and his own line of casual clothing.

37. Oscar’s autobiography, American Son is now on sale in bookstores near you.

38. He is the cover boy for EA Sports’ Fight Night Round 3.

39. Oscar has a tendency to work his hardest in the last 30 seconds of each round which not only impress fans but the judges as well.

40. Oscar De La Hoya is one of the reasons why boxing is slowly regaining its popularity in America.

Tavoris Cloud and His Journey to a Title

Teddy Mazurek — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 15:33:46 -0400

I am a member of an internet boxing prediction site. I also happen to be ranked 27th overall, out of thousands of other boxing fans, but that isn’t important.

You are probably asking, so what’s your point?

Last week, before I made my predictions, I was looking through the possible fights on which to bet. One of my choices was the fight presented on Friday Night Fights between Tavoris Cloud (19-0, 18 KOs) and Julio Cesar Gonzalez (41-5, 25 KOs).

I knew immediately that I would avoid betting on this fight at all costs. Too many times have I bet on the fighter with the glossy record instead of the veteran journeyman. The latest error of that type occurred when Tye “Big Sky” Fields (41-2, 37 KOs) was knocked out in the first round by Monte Barrett (34-6, 20 KOs).

I was all ready to see Gonzalez punish the untested Cloud. But then the fight started and Cloud jumped on Gonzalez and began to punish him.

Cloud sure proved me wrong. Not only did he win the fight, he was entertaining in doing so.

For lack of a better word, Cloud’s first appearance on television was phenomenal.

He threw power punches throughout the fight and hurt Gonzalez in the first, fifth, sixth, and 10th rounds, resulting in a referee stoppage. Judging from Cloud’s performance on Friday, he has plenty of potential which should lead him to a title shot in a couple of years.

There were many factors of Cloud’s fight against Gonzalez which impressed me. Obviously he has a great deal of power, which is reflected in his knockout rate. Up until Friday, Gonzalez had never been stopped, but Cloud managed to TKO him (although I doubt that Gonzalez would have been knocked out if the fight continued).

However his power was not what impressed me the most. Before his fight with Gonzalez, Cloud had never fought past the fifth round. While Cloud’s pace slowed after his initial speed seen in the first six rounds, he never showed any sign of fatigue.

In addition, when he chose to slow down the pace of the fight, he did an excellent job boxing at a distance.

Cloud’s ability to box and not get tired certainly made me believe that one day he could be a champion.

There is one major problem that I noticed that may delay or even prevent Cloud from becoming a champion: the light heavyweight division.

As of late, the light heavyweight division has been one of boxing’s deepest divisions. Top fighters such as Joe Calzaghe, Bernard Hopkins, and even the great Roy Jones, Jr. are intimidating opponents to anyone.

However, it is very likely that when Cloud gets his opportunity for a title, all three of the fighters mentioned above will (hopefully) be retired.

This can only come as minimal comfort for Cloud.

Quality fighters such as Chad Dawson, Antonio Tarver, Clinton Woods, Zsolt Erdei, and Adrian Diaconu, all pose legitimate threats to Cloud’s hope for a title.

Think that list of opponents is impressive? Well there is even a possibility that Ring Magazine middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik might choose to move up in weight (depending on the result of his matchup at light heavyweight with Bernard Hopkins).

Although still young, Tavoris Cloud’s hope for a title is high, high above the clouds.

Boxing and The Rest: Bleacher Report Gives Boxing Fans a Wakeup Call

Teddy Mazurek — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:01:04 -0400

There is no hiding the fact that boxing has lost its former greatness in the eyes of the average sports fan.

While there is no lone reason for its drop, boxing has suffered from boring matches, the heavyweight division, and an increased popularity in martial arts related sports.

However, among hardcore sports fans, things must be different. Right?

Real sports fans would know that boxing is still one of the top sports of all times. It would be a disgrace to the legends of this sport to put boxing in the same category as MMA and Formula 1 racing.

But this nightmare has become a reality as of late.

I have noticed that whenever someone submits a boxing article on Bleacher Report, the number of reads are significantly less than most other types of articles. Now, I am not saying that the popularity of boxing should be similar to that of baseball or basketball, but Bleacher Report sure seems to give boxing a raw deal.

Do not worry, boxing fans. I think I have found the reason for all our suffering.

The reason for the limited number of reads for most boxing articles has to do with their accessibility. While most sports have links to their homepage located on the top navigational bar displayed on the Bleacher Report homepage, the boxing link is hidden from view.

Boxing, along with cricket, rugby, and CFL are thrown to the bottom of the homepage, under the heading “The Rest.”

Am I the only person on Bleacher Report who is upset that boxing is grouped with rugby, cricket, and CFL (not to mention three other categories which are not even sports)?

Come on, people. You cannot put boxing below the Canadian Football League! That’s like putting FIFA below the Arena Football League.

I recently posted a note to the creator of Bleacher Report, Dave Nemetz, and suggested “moving the boxing link (which is now at the bottom of the homepage) near the top with some of the more popular sports. I find it hard to believe that boxing compares in popularity to CFL, cricket, and rugby."

Dave Nemetz responded quickly to my post.

“I feel your pain about the Boxing section. The issue right now is how often the section gets updated. Typically we won't add a sport to the top navigate bar until it is getting updated with new articles several times per day. So the best advice I can give is to keep writing and encourage your fellow boxing writers to do the same. In due time, boxing will make it up to the top.”

There you have it boxing fans! Can it be any clearer?

In order to gain respect for boxing on Bleacher Report, we must write more articles at a greater frequency.

Articles can be about anything dealing with the sweet science. From rankings to fight predictions, from your favorite fighters to the ones you cannot stand.

I feel that it is our obligation as fight fans, to remove boxing from the degrading “The Rest” group, and into the elite sports found at the top of the homepage.

Pound for Pound Rankings—TM's August Edition

Teddy Mazurek — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:32:11 -0400

If you have read my previous article entitled “Kelly Pavlik, Bernard Hopkins Best Pound for Pound—What Were They Thinking?” then you know my opinion on pound for pound rankings. If you have not read this article, I highly recommend that you do.

As much as I don’t understand the overall purpose of these rankings, I must admit one thing to you readers—I had a freakin’ awesome time coming up with my own pound for pound list.

Because all pound for pound rankings should only change as a result of key victories or losses, along with long spans of inactivity, I plan on making this a once a month segment.

Feel free to agree or disagree with my rankings, and to suggest why a fighter should or should not be considered among boxing’s best.

1. Manny Pacquiao

(47-3-2, 35 KOs) (WBC Lightweight Champion)

Last fight: June 28, 2008, W TKO 9 David Diaz

Next fight: November 15, 2008, opponent TBD

Is there any boxer as exciting as Manny Pacquiao? Now with the retirement of Floyd Mayweather, Manny’s domination over David Diaz shows that he belongs at the top of the pound for pound rankings.

Although he hails from the Philippines, he is currently one of the most popular foreign boxers to Americans. A knockout win over Oscar De La Hoya at welterweight will just confirm that he currently is the best fighter in boxing.

2. Joe Calzaghe

(45-0, 32 KOs) (Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight and Super
Middle Weight Champion)

Last fight: April 19, 2008, W SD Bernard Hopkins

Next fight: November 8, 2008, Roy Jones, Jr.

Calzaghe escaped a close fight against Hopkins, while many viewers thought he had lost. Although the bout was far from pretty, Calzaghe controlled the pace of the fight and was the aggressor throughout.

While not as fan friendly a fighter as Pacquiao, Calzaghe has shown boxing fans that he is one of the top two fighters in the sport. A win against Roy Jones, Jr. would just pad his resume as a soon to be Hall of Fame fighter.

3. Juan Manuel Marquez

(48-4-1, 35 KOs) (Former WBC Super Featherweight Champion)

Last fight: March 15, 2008, L SD Manny Pacquiao

Next fight: September 13, 2008, Joel Casamayor

Do not be shocked to see J.M. Marquez as the third best boxer in the sport. He has fought a draw and a controversial split decision loss against the No. 1 pound for pound fighter Manny Pacquiao. Boxing fans can make a legit argument that J.M. Marquez won both of his fights against Pacquiao, and thus should be the No. 1 pound for pound fighter.

He is moving up in weight to fight the Ring Magazine Lightweight champion Joel Casamayor. If he manages to knockout Casamayor his stock among American boxing fans will rise greatly.

4. Antonio Margarito

(37-5, 27 KOs) (WBA Welterweight Champion)

Last fight: July 26, 2008, W TKO 11 Miguel Cotto

Next fight: November 15, 2008, opponent TBD

Speaking about popular foreign fighters, Antonio Margarito must be among the top. His knockout win over favorite Miguel Cotto was truly amazing. Not only should his bout against Cotto be Fight of the Year, but he should be honored as Boxer of the Year as well.

The way in which Margarito has performed against Cintron and Cotto makes me believe that no one in the welterweight division (including Mayweather and Paul Williams) will have a chance to beat him.

5. Kelly Pavlik

(34-0, 30 KOs) (WBC, WBO Middleweight Champion and Ring Magazine Middleweight Champion)

Last fight: June 7, 2008, W TKO 3 Gary Lockett

Next fight: October 18, 2008, Bernard Hopkins

According to the editors of BoxRec, Kelly Pavlik deserves the No. 1 spot, but I respectfully disagree. Pavlik is the top American fighter and even after facing below average opponent Gary Lockett, boxing fans across the US are jumping on his bandwagon.

In order for him to climb the pound for pound rankings and become the best middleweight in history (over Marvin Hagler) Kelly needs to fight people of the highest caliber. Unfortunately, Pavlik is becoming one of the most feared and avoided people in boxing.

Both European middleweight champions Felix Strum and Arthur Abraham are avoiding the chance to fight Pavlik. Even Joe Calzaghe might avoid a fight with Pavlik if he wishes to secure an undefeated career.

6. Miguel Cotto

(32-1, 26 KOs) (Former WBA Welterweight Champion)

Last fight: July 26, 2008, L TKO 11 Antonio Margarito

Next fight: Date and opponent TBD

I give Cotto a lot of credit for standing in there with Margarito for 10 rounds before he was knocked out in the 11th. Cotto fought smart by constantly moving, but just ran out of gas at the end of the fight. What else could Cotto have done?

Against any other opponent, he would have won by knockout. He still is one of the best boxers in the sport, and in my opinion is the second best welterweight.

Cotto should take a tune up fight in order to regain his confidence, and then he might want to look into fighting a solid welterweight such as Paul Williams or Kermit Cintron. A rematch with Margarito could also be an option.

7. Israel Vazquez

(41-4, 31 KOs) (WBC Super Bantamweight Champion and Ring Magazine Super Bantamweight Champion)

Last fight: March 1, 2008, W SD Rafael Marquez

Next fight: Date and opponent TBD

Israel Vazquez has participated (victoriously, I might add) in one of the greatest trilogies in the history of boxing. In his three consecutive fights with Marquez, we have seen everything from a knockout, to a stoppage, and even a controversial split decision.

How can someone not enjoy watching a fighter like Vazquez, whose swollen eyes and lip after a fight convince the average person he must have lost, while his smile reflects a victory?

The only thing that upsets me with Vazquez is that I cannot see his fights live because I do not get Showtime. Let’s hope a fourth fight is arranged with Marquez.

8. Bernard Hopkins

(48-5-1, 32 KOs) (Former Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight Champion)

Last fight: April 19, 2008, L SD Joe Calzaghe

Next fight: October 18, 2008, Kelly Pavlik

Bernard fought a smart but very boring fight against Joe Calzaghe, and many viewers believed he won. There have been many skilled boxers who have been defeated easily by Calzaghe (Mikkel Kessler for instance), which just shows how impressive Hopkins’ performance against him was.

The only thing that seems to be going with Bernard Hopkins’ rising age is his endurance and his willingness to actually fight. Hopkins has nothing to lose and everything to gain by fighting Pavlik.

If he can manage to beat the undefeated middleweight champion then it will increase his already high reputation, and give him the peace of mind that he has avenged his two losses to Jermain Taylor (who Pavlik beat twice).

9. Rafael Marquez

(37-5, 33 KOs) (Former WBC Super Bantamweight Champion)

Last fight: March 1, 2008, L SD Israel Vazquez

Next fight: Date and opponent TBD

Although Marquez lost the trilogy to Vazquez, one could argue the results of their rubber match. Marquez is no longer young, and especially because of the many beatings he took during his career (mostly with his fights against Vazquez) he might be thinking of ways to close his career on a successful note.

I am just curious at how boxing fans around the world and especially in Mexico might react if he chooses to fight an opponent who is not named Israel Vazquez. It appears that both Vazquez and Marquez are expected to continue fighting each other till the day they retire.

10. Nonito Donaire

(19-1, 12 KOs) (IBF and IBO Flyweight Champion)

Last fight: December 1, 2007, W TKO 8 Luis Maldonado

Next fight: October 11, 2008, Moruti Mthalane

More often than not the 10th spot in anyone’s pound for pound ranking is a wildcard, and differs from one list to the next.

Although Donaire has taken a longer than needed break between his last fight and his upcoming bout in October, he shows great potential in a division that allows him to show his talent. He won most of his popularity after his Upset of the Year knockout of Vic Darchinyan in July of 2007 and showed he was no joke in the following fight against Maldonado.

Assuming that Donaire beats Mthalane in October, he has the opportunity to fight champions such as Calderon, Mijares, and Montiel.

Wednesday Night Fight Predictions: August 6th

Teddy Mazurek — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:06:06 -0400

The more I have gotten into boxing, the more I wish I could be one of those HBO analysts who sit ringside and get paid tons of dollars to share their so called expert opinion with the public.

I guess the best way to reach that goal is to start off on Bleacher Report by introducing and make predictions to upcoming fights. I hope that my prediction reports can become a regular appearance on the boxing section, but I need you, the reader’s help. The more views and comments I receive the more motivated I will be to continue my prediction reports.

On that note, here is my pre-fight analysis to the bouts that will be shown on August 6, 2008 on ESPN under Wednesday Night Fights.

Ali Oubaali 21 (17) – 1 - 0 vs. Christopher Fernandez 15 (9) – 4 (3) – 1

This is a scheduled ten-rounder in the light welterweight division. Fernandez has not been knocked out since 2002, although he has never fought anyone close to Oubaali’s skill level. He is coming off a surprising draw against Joel Torres (undefeated at the time), which occurred on Wednesday Night Fights.

Oubaali has won his last six fights, his most impressive performance coming against Ashley Theophane (20-2-1), where he won a unanimous decision, although he tasted the canvas in the sixth round. All three of Oubaali’s losses have been during a title fight of some sort.

There is no significant difference in height between Oubaali (5’8”) and Fernandez (5’9”), and both have not taken a long break in action before preparing for this fight.

Prediction: Do not expect this fight to go the distance. Oubaali has a 77% knockout rate, while Fernandez has been stopped three times in his career. I would not say that Oubaali is taking a step up in competition, but Fernandez has never faced anyone at his opponent’s skill level.

Neither of these fighters will ever reach the pinnacle of the light welterweight division, so the result of the fight is not very important, so what do they have to loose? This fight should be entertaining in two ways—one, by seeing Oubaali knock out Fernandez, and two by laughing about why in hell Fernandez’s alias is "Kid K.O." when in his 15 wins, only nine are by knockout.

Albert Sosnowski 43 (26) – 1 (1) – 0 vs. Kevin Burnett 13 (8) – 1 (1) – 1

When I first saw this fight scheduled on ESPN I wondered why I never heard of Albert Sosnowski. A heavyweight with his record has to be fantastic, right? Wrong.

Sosnowski must be one of the most protected boxers I have ever seen. His lone loss came by knockout against a nobody, while his 43 victories also came against no-name fighters.

He has fought professionally since he was 19, so he must have some talent, which obviously has not been taken advantage of. He reminds me a lot of Tye Fields (except for the power), a fighter whose record does not reflect his skill. He is a two-time WBF champion, but honestly, how much does that matter?

Kevin Burnett is going to be a step-up opponent for Sosnowski. Burnett was last seen on Friday Night Fights, against Horace Ray Grant, where he gained a lot of my respect after he was knocked down in the final seconds of the fight and managed to beat the referee's count and get the win.

If Burnett can fight Sosnowski the same way he did Grant, then this fight can be very competitive. However, if he fights like the other mediocre opponents that he has fought, then he will most likely lose.

Prediction: I am expecting a fight with a lot of clinching and not much boxing. As good as Burnett looked in his last fight, I am leaning towards a Sosnowski victory by way of knockout.

Although Sosnowski has been matched against some very soft opposition, he has a tendency of knocking out the best opponents that he has faced. Can Sosnowski reach stardom? Probably not, but if he does manage to knock out Burnett it will give him a little bit more credibility among myself and other boxing fans.

Oh, I almost forgot, Sosnowski sort of resembles Ivan Drago from Rocky IV, while one can consider Burnett a recreation of Apollo Creed (I know it’s a stretch). Maybe if we think in those terms, fans might be able to endure this fight.

Kelly Pavlik, Bernard Hopkins Best Pound for Pound—What Were They Thinking?

Teddy Mazurek — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 13:06:05 -0400

I have never understood the purpose of pound for pound rankings.

Yeah, obviously they are used to ranking and comparing the top fighters in each division. However the idea of Pacquiao fighting Calzaghe completely blows my mind. How about a more extreme example?

Try to picture soon-to-be heavyweight David Haye fighting the 5'0" flyweight Ivan Calderon, with the winner taking the highly coveted 10th place in the pound for pound rankings.

Have I gotten my point across? Sure, there are possible matches that can be made from pound for pound fighters, such as the epic battles between Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez, and even the snooze fest involving Joe Calzaghe and Bernard Hopkins.

I advise all boxing fans when looking at the pound for pound rankings to keep in mind that there is no generically correct ranking. Take each ranking you see with a grain of salt. Do some research on the top tier boxers and draw your own conclusions as to who qualifies to be called one of the best pound for pound fighters in the sport.

Here is something to take with a grain of salt. According to the so called experts at BoxRec (a great site which I recommend to anyone interested in boxing) the pound for pound king is Kelly Pavlik.

I am a huge Kelly Pavlik fan. He has been my favorite fighter since his remarkable knockout against Jose Louis Zertuche. I will never forget what Fran Charles said moments after the knockout: “He put Zertuche to sleep with a right hand! And Raul Caiz just waves it off!”

But despite his fantastic as performances against Zertuche, Miranda, and Taylor (twice), I find it shocking that BoxRec would rate him as the best fighter in boxing.

Let’s be serious. I do not know what the editors of BoxRec could possibly be thinking. Have they never heard of Manny Pacquiao?

They must have been asleep for the 10 plus years in which Calzaghe has owned at least one belt in the super middleweight division. Pavlik has defended his middleweight title only once, and that was against Gary Lockett.

If you think that having Kelly "The Ghost” Pavlik as the pound for pound champion is ridiculous, can you guess who controlled the No. 1 spot before him?

If you guessed Floyd Mayweather, then congratulations. You know more about boxing than the editors of BoxRec. They ranked Bernard Hopkins at the No. 1 spot, putting Mayweather in spot No. 2.

Sure, Bernard Hopkins has made a great comeback after his two losses to Jermain Taylor. But let’s be realistic, does a stellar performance against Antonio Tarver and an average at best show with Ronald "Winky" Wright qualify him to be the pound for pound champion?

The answer is no, not at all.

Just to prove it, look at whom Floyd Mayweather, Joe Calzaghe, and Manny Pacquiao fought over a similar time period. The Hopkins vs. Tarver fight was fought on June 10, 2006, while his fight with Winky was on July 21, 2007. So to make the comparisons easy, we have a time period of one year and a month.

During a 13-month period, Joe Calzaghe was victorious three times, with one knockout.

On October 14, 2006, Calzaghe defended his WBO and IBF super middleweight belt against soon-to-be contender champion Sakio Bika. Although he was cut by an accidental head butt, Calzaghe won a comfortable decision with two scores of 117-110 and one score of 116-111.

His next fight against contender finalist Peter Manfredo, Jr. in April of 2007 was a complete mismatch. He easily forced a referee stoppage in the third round in a fight that never should have been made.

Lastly in November of 2007, Calzaghe tested himself against Mikkel Kessler in the biggest fight of his career. Not only did he show his superior speed, he also hurt Kessler late in a round with a body punch and walked away with an easy decision.

Floyd Mayweather tested himself against three soon-to-be Hall of Fame boxers in a 13-month period.

First he won a blow out decision against Carlos Manuel Baldomir by winning every round on two of the three judge’s scorecards and by landing 51 percent of his power punches.

Who can forget his super fight with Oscar De La Hoya?

Although he only won by split decision, I would recommend that anyone who thought De La Hoya won that fight look at the punch statistics.

Tom Kaczmarek, who scored the bout in favor of De La Hoya, must have been persuaded by the crowd who cheered at everything and anything that Oscar did in that fight.

Mayweather also fought in December against a decent undefeated fighter by the name of Ricky Hatton. He gradually out boxed Hatton throughout the fight and eventually finished with a wicked left hook in the 10th round.

Floyd Mayweather must have been the only American who was not sick of the "There's Only One Ricky Hatton" song by the end of the fight.

Manny Pacquiao fought a trio of opponents in a span of only nine months, and also fought Marco Antonio Barrera six months later.

He started off by winning a clear-cut unanimous decision against Oscar Larios in July. Pacquiao put Larios on the canvas twice during the fight, both in the seventh and 12th rounds. Pacquiao's domination against Larios was reflected in Judge Noppharat Sricharoen’s scorecard which read 120-106.

Four months later Pacquiao fought a rubber match against Erik Morales, to whom he had previously lost by a unanimous decision. Later, however, Pacquiao knocked him out in their second meeting.

Pacquiao landed an amazing 63 percent of his power punches and knocked down Morales once in the second round and twice in the third. This eventually led to Morales shaking his head to the referee to stop the fight.

Pacquiao continued his streak of victories with an eighth round knock out of Jorge Solis and a dominant unanimous decision win over Marco Antonio Barrera.

So what can be said from looking at some of the past fights of Calzaghe, Mayweather, and Pacquiao? Well, in a 13-month period all three fighters fought three fights (with Pacquiao fighting four in 15 months) while Bernard Hopkins fought only two.

The quality of opposition varies based on each boxer. However it is safe to say that none of the above mentioned three boxers had a walk in the park those 13 months. Sure Calzaghe fought Bika and Manfredo, but he made up for it with his dominant performance over then undefeated Mikkel Kessler.

The comeback trail that Bernard Hopkins took is certainly an impressive feat, but it by no means compares to the victories that three of boxing's greats had during that same stretch of time.

Earlier in this article I mentioned how there is no generically correct ranking when dealing with the pound for pound system. One thing I forgot to mention is that there can still be stupid choices, as BoxRec shows with their pound for pound king of Kelly Pavlik and their previous top boxer, Bernard Hopkins.

Kelly Pavlik: The Savior of American Boxing

Teddy Mazurek — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:44:57 -0400

There is no doubt that boxing has lost a significant percentage of its fan base over the past few years, ever since...well...when there was no longer a top American Heavyweight. Even when Lennox Lewis, the last universally recognized heavyweight champion, reigned in the division, Americans began to lose interest in boxing.

However over the past two years there has been resurgence in the sport, even with the ever-growing popularity of MMA. But while diehard boxing fans are as excited as ever, boxing has yet to grasp the attention of the average person.

Lately there has been a slow increase in boxing's popularity thanks to some unbelievable fights such as Margarito vs. Cotto, Pacquiao vs. J.M. Marquez, and Vazquez vs. R. Marquez. Not to mention the super fight between Floyd Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya.

However, except for the now retired Mayweather, none of these fighters are American born and raised.

I was floored when I first heard Pavlik was fighting Hopkins. I gave a couple of loud groans, and then groaned even louder when I found out that it would be televised on HBO PPV.

For all you sports fans who are not so knowledgeable when it comes to boxing, Bernard Hopkins' latest fights have been as exciting as watching paint dry.

He is a genius when it comes to his defense, however his alias "The Executioner" is a complete overstatement. The only people he could possibly execute are boxing fans who want to be entertained.

Don't get me wrong, Bernard is a hall of fame boxer. However, his style is just not fan-friendly.

At the ripe age of 43, Bernard Hopkins is no spring chicken and no longer is he knock out oriented. His recent fight against Joe Calzaghe (lost by split decision) is a perfect example of his fighting style over the past few years.

Through clinching and an excellent defense he conserves enough energy where he can throw spurts of punches in bunches, and then retreat to his defensive style. His decrease in energy can be a result of his age.

Kelly Pavlik is the complete opposite. I would pay almost anything to see Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik fight (which is why I will probably buy the PPV fight).

America, you are not going to get a great Heavyweight champion any time soon, but will a fan-friendly, blue collar, middleweight suffice?

Pavlik who is the Ring MagazineMiddleweight champion has a perfect record of 34 wins with 30 KOs. He always keeps coming forward against his opponent and is willing to fight anyone. He has a solid defense, but is not afraid to take a punch to give two.

So why is Pavlik the savior of American boxing? If he wins, especially by KO, he will rise high in the pound for pound rankings. And with the retirement of Floyd Mayweather, he may become the highest ranking American boxer.

He has an underdog growing up and living in Youngstown, Ohio, which just makes him even more popular.

If, however, the wily old veteran Hopkins wins, then American boxing fans' only hope is in…well…an old man who one day will be in just those just for men commercials.

So for the sake of American boxing fans and all boxing fans in general, Pavlik needs to win, and hopefully by KO.