In Boxing News: Hopkins-Jones Jr., Morales, Pacquiao, Barrera, Boxing Hall of Fame & More
By Boxing News January 13th, 2006In Boxing News: Hopkins-Jones Jr. Can’t Agree Shocker
Knock me over with a feather, Bernard Hopkins‘ planned March 11 farewell fight against Roy Jones Jr. appears to be off. Neither the TV money offered by HBO for the planned boxing pay-per-view event, nor the amounts sites were offering to host the fight - a venue was never chosen - met with the fighters’ expectations, according to boxing insiders. Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, which promotes Hopkins, said: In the end of the day, it didn’t happen. Hopkins, however, still has one date left on his HBO contract and the Jones Jr. fight could yet still happen. Regardless, it’s hard to care either way about a hollow exercise designed to pad the retirement nest egg of two fighters who should have met 5 years ago when it would have had actual significance for the sport. The same column adds that Roy Jones last week was relieved of his duties as a boxing analyst with HBO.
Erik Morales says Manny Pacquiao better bring his A-game on Jan. 21st if he hopes to have any chance of winning (reference to the brand of gloves completely unintentional): let’s put it up in the ring and see if their fighter (Pacquiao) is good enough to execute what they say they’re going to do to me … That’s going to be me. And everyone in the world knows I don’t back away from a fight. No he doesn’t … which is why the 21st can’t come quick enough for fight fans.
And suddenly everybody wants a piece of Pacquiao. Marco Antonio Barrera has expressed his intention to take on Pacquiao after his match Jesus Chavez fell through.
Robert Cassidy Jr. says yesterday was a day to savor for boxing’s smallest giants. Junior flyweight rivals Michael Carbajal and Humberto “Chiquita” Gonzalez will lead the Class of 2006 into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota. Hank Kaplan, a contributor to TheSweetScience.com was also inducted as an observer. The remainder of the Class of 2006 includes: former lightweight champion Edwin Rosario (deceased) in the modern category; welterweight and middleweight champion Lou Broulliard, light heavyweight champion Jimmy Slattery and middleweight champion Teddy Yarosz from the old-timers category; 19th-century English lightweight champion Jem Carney, in the pioneer category; and joining Kaplan as an observer was publisher Stanley Weston. Other inductees are English promoter/manager Jarvis Astaire, trainer Whitey Bimstein and Italian promoter Rodolfo Sabbatini. The induction ceremony is June 11th.
ESPN’s Dan Rafael has Chris Byrd ranked number 1 in the heavyweight division in his January divisional rankings.
According to a Top Rank press release, Miguel Cotto will defend his WBO junior welterweight title against Gianluca Branco of Italy on a Top Rank championship fight card in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on March 4, 2006. Heavyweight David Tua continues his comeback when he faces Javier Mora on February 25 at the Hard Rock Arena in Florida. Howard Eastman will face Miami based Colombian Edison Miranda in a final eliminator this spring for the right to challenge IBF champion Arthur Abraham.
(As always … more Boxing News Links at TheSweetScience.com)
January 13th, 2006 at 7:50 pm
Who would really want to watch the BHOP / Jones fight? I’ll make a prediction. If those two ever fight (which they won’t), I bet all we would see two over the hill boxers playing chess inside the ring. Neither one of them willing to bust a grape. Essentially a very boring and dissapointing “waste of money and time”. I’d rather be entertained by a busted out stank ^%$ Ho…”you know”. Now the Morales, Pacquiao, Barrera fights I would pay for. I know for a fact that these fighters will make it a fight for the sport and the glory. Not a fight for the name i.e. BHOP / Jones. I’m tired of watching fights where you have a so called “pound for pound” world class fighter - Who get in the ring for the flashes and models in front of the worldwide stage (I won’t mention any names, you all know who they are). What happened to the days of the George Forman - Ron Lyle type boxing matches. Or the Aaron “The Hawk” Pryor - Alexis Arguello type fights. I mean since the turn of the 21st century the best fight I have seen since the year 2000 was the Corrales - Castillo fights 1 & 2. For those of you who say Gatti - Ward neither one of those cats could bust their way out of a paper bag….without fighting each other..”they’re bums”! Just like the fighter Miguel Cotta is fighting in Puerto Rico..what’s his name? I’ll call him Mysterio because he’s passed up every fight that might pose a threat…last time i checked isn’t this called boxing? I mean I understand it’s a business as well but this guy Gianluca …. Now there’s this new WBC #1 contender in place from Europe - Witter - who the WBC will force Mayweather to fight if he doesn’t jump ship first. Ole boy “Zab The Scab” or should I call him Mike Tyson Jr. decided that gettin’ paid was less important then gettin’ clowned by a bum from “who know’s where”. Hell….that could of been the lottery for me if I would have been thinking fix….13-1 Baldomir odds. S^%$ I thought of Douglas - Tyson all over again and both those clowns are from Brooky-Brook…”who knew”!!.. I bet Zab and King knew…sneaky….”we’ll never know right”…..everything’s a conspiracy theory I know - I know … moving on.
Mayweather is going to have to step it up anyway. Zab’s a bum and needs to go get a job at Circuit City. Witter’s a sacrificial lamb waiting to be slaughtered. Cotto won’t last two seconds but probably has the biggest heart. Just waiting to be cut out by Mayweather’s gift to dominate less than greatness. In which I will conclude that Mayweather is pound for pound the badest black man wearing boxing gloves since Aaron The Hawk Pryor. Go back to the end of his last fight against Mitchell. Mayweather got down on his knees center ring and started to cry almost uncontrollably with passion. With his hands raised up in communication with the almighty. If I was a prospect looking at that ring side or on TV…”I wouldnt think about fighting a brotha like that”….You gotta come with a whole lot of heart to skin Mayweather. He seems to have plenty of victims ready to line up to get waxed. Like I said though, Mayweather needs to step up his game. I would be suprised if he doesn’t move up in weight and show us what he’s really got! After he skins these bums like Hatton,Witter and Cotto. Who else is there? Let’s just hope he doesn’t turn out like Sugar Shane. Although I think Mayweather is a much better figther and has the potential to become the next darling of boxing. With African American fighters (myself an African American) I have to say it’s about damn time!!
January 14th, 2006 at 3:32 am
damn..
well spoken…
i hate to say it, but youre right on about b-hop and rjj…
just watch the way b-hop faught taylor…
methodical… yet, with no method.
right on about the pacquiao/barrera/morales comment as well…
who ever fights outta those three will throw like no tomorrow…
morales and barrera especially because they feel whoever comes out on top will be the fave in the eyes of mexico.
January 14th, 2006 at 12:21 pm
hatton will bust up mayweather one time
January 14th, 2006 at 1:56 pm
I really hate how people talk about RJJ and b-hop as if they’re just “nobodys” now. Although it’s true, the fight should’ve happened years ago, I really don’t think that the reason that they agreed to fight now is for the sole purpose of padding their nest eggs.. They both were undisputed champions for a very long time, and future hall of famers. The desire to compete just doesn’t go away after a couple of losses even if they realize that their time is over. Who else would they fight if not each other?
January 14th, 2006 at 6:41 pm
I agree with D.H! I’ve watched all of roy jones jnr’s fights and many other great fighters, yeah both b-hop and Rjj may be over the hill now but 10 years ago Rjj was the most unstoppabled and untouchable fighter on the planet! he won world title fights by miles every time he would step up to the plate. had Tarver fought Jones 5 years ago, before he had put on weight and moved up to heavyweight he wouldn’t of stood a chance in any title fight. Jones is undoubtedly the best fighter pound for pound in the last 10 years of boxing and he deserves to be in the hall of fame. Yeah B-hop may have lost to Taylor, but is everyone forgetting how long he was on top for! You can’t name many fighters who look like hopkins at forty and have held the undisputed midleweight title for 10 years! so why don’t people start remembering them for what they have done and give them the respect and credit that they deserve.
January 16th, 2006 at 3:19 pm
Hatton beat Mayweather!? Not in his wildest deam will this ever happen. Hatton is a “C Fighter” who was given too much credit for beating a over the hill Tszyu, and then beating a garbage Mausa. Hatton is not even a world class fighter. The guy punches recklously and lunges from far distances. Mayweather would pick him apart. PBF is just too fast. Hatton’s style is no match for the craftier and more fundlementally sound Mayweather. Hatton is better off fighting guys that are willing to slug it out in a phone booth (Castillo and Gatti).
January 16th, 2006 at 7:38 pm
I AGREE WITH BOBBY, RIGHT NOW THE ONLY FIGHTS I WOULD PAY TO SEE IS MORALES /PAC MAN OR CASTILLO /CORRALES. HOPKINS AND JONES WOULD BE AN EXTREMELY BORING FIGHT. AS FOR WHAT DAVID SAYS ABOUT JONES HE ALWAYS KEPT HIS DISTANCE FROM MEANINGFUL FIGHTS, ELECTING TO FIGHT TOMATOES. HE WAS UNTOUCHABLE ONLY BECAUSE HE RAN SO MUCH.HE WAS SCARED TO FIGHT IN GERMANY AND ONE OF THE GUYS HE BEAT WENT ON TO BEAT THAT CHAMPION.PLEASE STOP PRAISING THE RUNNER. BOXING IS A SPORT WHERE YOU GO TO WAR NOT TO POSE OR TRY TO RAP. IF YOU ARE GOING TO PRAISE SOME BODY PRAISE SOMEBODY LIKE PACMAN OR MORALES CASTILLO ECT,..
January 16th, 2006 at 10:59 pm
All that talk about Jones vs Hopkins is just a money thang, i mean really what does either have to gain? On the other hand Pacman will beat Morales, just watch Morales last fight (in which he got spanked when he tried to move up in weight).
January 17th, 2006 at 6:21 am
How can anyone say that jones has dodged fights. he’s beat all the regarded champions in all the divisions that he’s moved into. who cares about germany’s champions - they’re the most controversial boxing country in the world when it comes to judges. jones fought hopkins and james toney, and in doing so made them look ordinary, not to mention moving up to heavyweight.
January 17th, 2006 at 1:37 pm
I definately agree with the comments about Roy Jones and b hop fight being a chest game with both boxers being scared to make a move, but as far as mayweather beating cotto, i doubt it.Cotto is a very well diciplined boxer that can both box or slug it out. The longer
mayweather is in the ring with cotto the lest chance of winning he will have, cotto works the body just as well as any body puncher to ever step in the ring, this will force mayweather to go for the knock out and get knocked out.I predict miguel beating mayweather and moving up to welterweigh, where he will dominate.
January 17th, 2006 at 4:31 pm
I think people should be careful not to let the end of a fighter’s career take away from thier legacy. Jones had an amazing career, Hopkins had an unbelievable career. At this point niether of them figures into competative boxing. So why not “fight” using the name-recognition each has established. Besides the fact that no one is going to pay them what they think they are worth, of course. In any case I can’t fault the idea behind it. I don’t think that anyone, well most, that would order/watch that fight would be expecting either boxer to deliver more than a round of actual action. I for one would watch it simply as a “thanks and farewell” to two of boxing’s greats. The fight shouldn’t take place at light heavywieght though, and I don’t see how it would happen any other way. I don’t think either fighter wants to play around with thier weight that much at this stage in the game.
Just some thoughts that turned into a ramble…
Hey, it’s my first comment…
January 21st, 2006 at 8:32 pm
any comment about the historic pacquiao and morales fight will certainly go into the annals of the boxing books as rewriting boxing greats in the caliber of mohammad ali, joe frazier etc.
it is indeed one finest moment in our lives as boxing fans to watch the two giants boxing facing off against each other like those prehistoric dinosaurs in the KING KONG movie.
Hope we can still hold out our breaths up to the last minute when the winner stands over the vanquished.
till next time folks…