Essential The Official Boxing Random Thoughts Thread...All boxing heads ENTER.

[GREENandYELLOW]

Dan Rafael chat wrap 3/5:

Mayweather-Pacquiao:
- Still no tickets released yet.
- The L.A. press tour will be at the Nokia Theater.
- Was told it will not be shown in movie theaters.
- Next fight for each fighter after they go head to head? Certainly could see them doing a rematch. Expects the winner not to fight for the rest of 2015.
- Lomachenko will be on the undercard. Likely vs. Gamalier Rodriguez.
- The fight will likely be shown at the Mandalay Bay Events Center which will seat 10,000.
- Will do a pre fight story talking to the common opponents perspective on the two fighters.
- There is nothing in the contract regarding penalties if they come in over weight. Floyd would be stripped of his titles and be fined by the commission.
- Ellerbe is still part of Mayweather's team and is a big part of his promotions.
- A ton of coverage coming from ESPN. It will be by far the most coverage they have ever done for a boxing fight in his 10 years there.
- There is going to be overwhelming media demand for this fight. Small boxing websites that can usually get credentials are going to have a very hard time getting them for this fight.
- People in the gaming industry have said that May 2 will be one of the largest gaming days in the history of Las Vegas.
- Referee will be decided 3 weeks before the fight. Very likely it will be Kenny Bayless.
- Had Les Moonves not been such a big boxing fan there is a good chance this fight would not have been made.

The Rest:
- JMM is recovering from a knee injury and won't be back until at least the Summer. Could be Fall. Also wouldn't be surprised to see him retire.
- When Cotto signs with Roc Nation, do not expect him to match up with any Haymon fighters. What most likely will happen is Cotto vs. K9 (which is not a good fight) in June and then negotiate with Canelo again (if both win) for the Fall.
- His sources lead him to believe that Cotto's treatment by TR was more than fair. They gave him 7 UniMas cards for his fighters, Velez a title shot, he was going to get promotional cards on HBO Latino, $10.5 million to fight Canelo (the larger share), and TR says he still owes them $250k.
- Heard Cotto got a $5 million signing bonus from Roc Nation.
- Funniest boxers? Hopkins, Rahman.
- Leaning towards Thurman to beat Guerrero by decision and Broner by KO over Molina.
- Very doubtful Ward vs. Froch happens, even though the WBA ordered it. Also has no desire to see it as Ward easily beat him.
- Believes Cotto vacates before he faces GGG.
- Cannot get an official answer if Mares fight will be on NBC or NBC Sports.
- Does not think Khan-Cotto happens (RNS vs. Haymon issues). Khan could likely fight Brook this Summer.
- The Bounce TV deal is similar to ShoBox. Will show off Haymon's prospects.
- Picking Shiming to win by decision.
- Berto-Lopez should be a fun fight. A Berto win puts him back in line to get another big fight.
- Not sure what happens with Tim Bradley. Could fight Khan or possibly Rios.
- Doesn't know the details, but assumes BoxNation is paying Haymon fees to air his fights.
- GGG to fight May 16 in Southern California next. Opponent TBA. Zero chance it is Lara.
- Buy or Sell, Canelo moves to MW in 2016? Buy. He might move up in 2015.
- Couldn't disagree more with Teddy Atlas when it comes to GGG.
- Wants to see GGG take full control of 160 and then he should be expected to move up to 168.
- Andrade is a huge talent, but he and his team don't get that he means nothing to the boxing public right now. He needs to build his reputation up, not expect it to be given to him.
- PBC did not respond when asked how many viewers they were targeting to get on Saturday.
- Maidana's manager said he will likely be back this Summer.
- Ticket sales have been very slow for Thurman-Guerrero.
- Funniest post fight interview? David Diaz after fighting Pacquiao.
- If Klitschko beats Jennings, believes we get a Fury fight later this year (and thinks Wlad wins easily).
- Could see Wlad fighting Fury in the UK.
- Rates PBC's first boxing card an: A.
- Rumors of Cotto vs. Ward are completely untrue.
- Tony Thompson would love to get a fight vs. Wilder.
- Cotto's next fight will likely be on HBO.
- Wouldn't mind seeing Froch vs. Hopkins.
- Thinks Fonfara vs. JCC will be a good fight.
- Could see JCC fighting Stevenson.
- More delusional in terms of their value: Mikey Garcia or Andre Ward? Mikey Garcia.
- Most exciting fight he has ever attended? Corrales-Castillo I.
- PBC's deal with ESPN is not done yet, but he thinks it will get done.
- Thinks that LSC and Mares fight each other next, likely on Showtime.
- 90's George Foreman vs. today's HW's? He would beat most of them.
- Buy or Sell: JMM vs. Mosley? Sell.
- Dirrell and DeGale still haven't made a deal. If not it will go to purse bid.

 

[WhodatWhoadi]

I always said this too..look at fishnets.. he lost every single fight against a top fighter that was in their prime and he still was the cash cow.. you either have it or you dont.. unless he starts losing consecutive fights in ugly fashion of something.. nothings stopping canelo from being the next ppv king

being real....fishnets did beat Trinidad and arguably Mosley in the rematch, and shane was on the juice.

But the Whitaker and strum fights

 

[patscorpio]

i cant believe they are about to really gift wrap a flyweight title to zou

 

[patscorpio]

i love reading these type of articles on ring.com

Best I Faced: Israel Vazquez - http://ringtv.craveonline.com/news/382473-best-i-faced-israel-vazquez

March 2, 2015

Israel Vazquez (R) battling his nemesis, Rafael Marquez, during their fourth and final fight in May 2010. Photo by Tom Casino/Showtime.

Some fighters are forever intertwined with others: Muhammad Ali with Joe Frazier, Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera. It’s no different when you think of Israel Vazquez. He’ll always be linked with Rafael Marquez.

The two Mexican warriors’ styles dovetailed perfectly. They shared the ring on four occasions, going 28 savage rounds, with their series tied at two victories apiece.

All four of their bouts took place on Showtime, the first on March 3, 2007 at the Home Depot Center (now the StubHub Center) in Carson, California. Vazquez would drop Marquez in the third round, though was forced to retire at the end of the seventh suffering from breathing difficulty due to a broken nose.

The rematch took place five months later in Hidalgo, Texas. In another barnburner, Vazquez, cut over both eyes and pouring blood, exacted revenge by stopping Marquez midway through the sixth frame. The bout was named THE RING Magazine Fight of the Year for 2007, with the third round garnering Round of the Year.

In the rubbermatch, Vazquez took a 2-1 lead, getting off the canvas early on, rallying late and scoring his own knockdown to close the contest strongly, eking out a razor-thin points decision. Again they would share Fight of the Year and Round of the Year accolades.

A detached retina kept Vazquez on the sidelines for an extended period, threatening to curtail his career. In the two-plus years before his fourth fight with Marquez, Vazquez fought only once and looked a shadow of his former self. Against Marquez he was bludgeoned to the canvas in the third frame.

Looking back, Vazquez considers his rematch with Marquez to be the finest performance of his career.

“I had to avenge my loss and my broken nose,” Vazquez told RingTV.com. “So from the first round I started until the last round, I gave it my all. It’s one of my greatest memories and greatest fights! Unforgettable!”

As well as the four fights with Marquez, “Magnifico” also met Oscar Larios on three occasions. Early in their respective careers Vazquez stopped Larios in the opening round, only to get stopped in the twelfth round in the rematch. A third-round TKO victory sealed the trilogy for Vazquez.

Vazquez would get a 10th-round stoppage over granite-chinned Colombian Jorge Elicier Julio, a two-time world bantamweight champion, before winning the vacant IBF 122-pound title by stopping Jose Luis Valbuena in the final round. Vazquez would make two successful defenses before vacating to pursue a rubbermatch with Larios for the WBC crown.

After stopping fellow Mexican Ivan Hernandez, Vazquez would take on another countryman: the heavy-handed Jhonny Gonzalez. Not for the first time, Vazquez had to get off the canvas and fight fire with fire, coming from behind to stop Gonzalez in the 10th round.

Vazquez closed out his fan-friendly career in May 2010 with a record of 44-5 (32 knockouts). He has no regrets: “I achieved all I could achieve and I thank God for giving me those opportunities. The only wish I have is I wish I would have stayed young to keep boxing forever because that’s my passion.”

Looking back there was one opponent Vazquez wished he had been able to share a ring with.

“Juan Manuel Lopez before his losses, he was a fighter of great caliber,” he said. “Mexico vs. Puerto Rico – that would have been an amazing fight for me.”

Vazquez, now 37, has enjoyed the fruits of his labor with his wife and three children. However, like an itch that needs scratching Vazquez felt the lure to come back to boxing. He is now in the process of passing on his 20 years of experience at his Magnifico Boxing Gym in Southgate, California, to youngsters while also assembling his own stable of fighters.

Vazquez took time to talk about his career and the best fighters he met in 10 key categories.

BEST SKILLS – Rafael Marquez: Coming from the school of Nacho Beristain, he was very defensive, always trying to counterpunch. He was very effective with his left hand and from distance as well. I would try to disarm the left hand that he had. Those were the qualities Rafa had that definitely show him as a very good fighter.

BEST JAB – Jhonny Gonzalez: His strategy and how he used the jab, he would always use it to get his distance. It took me a little while to decipher the way he was fighting but finally I was able to figure him out and win the fight. It was definitely that jab and going through it was the toughest part about fighting Jhonny.

BEST DEFENSE – Oscar Larios: I think his stature and reach was one thing that was really a problem fighting him … the distance and to penetrate it was very difficult with Larios.

BEST CHIN – Jorge Eliecer Julio: I was his sparring partner when he was champion at 118 pounds. I knew him really well as a fighter. No matter what I did in training preparing for that fight, the harder I hit him, he would take those punchers. The type of punches I threw would normally rock someone or knock them out — with Julio he would just stay there and take it.

BEST PUNCHER – Marquez: All fighters are difficult and they have their own styles. All the fights I had with Rafa his shots were like being hit with a mallet in the face, a really hard punch. Out of all the fighters Rafa had that power — you could feel it.

FASTEST HANDS – Larios: The advantage Larios had was his distance and height and the hand movement. That’s what made him stand out more.

FASTEST FEET – Larios: He would move around the whole ring, he was difficult because of the foot speed, hand speed, the height, everything together.

SMARTEST – Gonzalez: The biggest factor in fighting him was always figuring out a strategy to eventually take him out. His style was really difficult to figure out.

STRONGEST – Marquez: My best strength as a fighter was always going forward so it was really difficult because as I was coming in. Marquez was really effective with his jab so that was the most difficult part of fighting him.

BEST OVERALL – Marquez: I believe he was the best because he was coming from a good career fighting at bantamweight and because of the connection with his brother, Juan Manuel, he was a very tough fighter.

Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at elraincoat@live.co.uk and you can follow him at www.twitter.com/AnsonWainwright

 

[Mook]

Didnt Marquez brothers marry twins? Thats gotta be the GOAT shyt.

 

[King P]

Arum firing back at Cotto






Jewboy took it there with the Tito comment, that's gotta burn Cotto's soul

 

[mr. smoke weed]

wow!

Can't believe Vazquez/marquez is almost 10yrs

 

[patscorpio]

wow!

Can't believe Vazquez/marquez is almost 10yrs

yeah this may corrales-castillo will be 10 years too..that will be a nice thread to create when it rolls around

 

[Newzz]

Arum firing back at Cotto






Jewboy took it there with the Tito comment, that's gotta burn Cotto's soul

 

[GzUp]

Isn't his dad dead?

 

[Big Boss]

Isn't his dad dead?

Yea

 

[ℒℴѵℯJay ELECTUA]

i cant believe they are about to really gift wrap a flyweight title to zou

need that china market badly son..that's their way in!!

 

[ℒℴѵℯJay ELECTUA]

old man Arum still dishing out those 1960's/70's reactions..lol
tallin' about his pops etc..

 

[ℒℴѵℯJay ELECTUA]

Didnt Marquez brothers marry twins? Thats gotta be the GOAT shyt.

their kids will be baffled as fukk..fukk it, just live in one big ranch!!

 

[patscorpio]

need that china market badly son..that's there way in!!

i had been half paying attention to this zou fight except i kept on hearing it was a title fight...i was thinking it was some minor or interim belt he was going for...didnt realize it was an actual champion