Just another day on the job for America's talented young phenom , Kelly The Ghost Pavlik. As if he was hammering away at sheets of metal in one of Youngstown's steel factories, Kelly repeatedly pounded Gary Lockett until he was completely flattened.
Half way into the third round, Enzo Calzaghe tossed in the universal sign of surrender after witnessing his fighter get knocked to the canvas three times and receive a healthy dose of punishment. (See highlights)
The fight seemed to go exactly as planned for Pavlik who looked better than ever, connecting with punches from every angle on his way to an easy TKO victory. He put constant pressure on Lockett, landed a steady barrage of punches, and neutralized Lockett's supposed KO power with his lengthy frame.
It looks like the undefeated champ Arthur Abraham will be the next possible opponent for The Ghost (if he takes care of Edison Miranda on the 21st). As for Joe Calzaghe, it seems that he will be dancing with Roy Jones Jr. in the near future. If those fights go as planned, then we will hopefully see the two face off in one of the biggest fights of the decade.
Undercard: In the first round of the fight, Daniel Ponce De Leon was dropped by a right hook and relinquished his title to the undefeated young-stud of the division, Jaun Manuel Lopez. (Highlights)
At 5:30 pm, Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather released a page-long statement to the media announcing that he is going to hang up his gloves and retire from the sport of boxing.
"It is with a heavy heart that I write you this message today. I have decided to permanently retire from boxing... I am sorry I have to leave the sport at this time, knowing I still have my God-given abilities to succeed and future multi-million dollar paydays ahead, including the one right around the corner. But there comes a time when money doesn't matter. I just can't do it any more. I have a found piece with my decision that I have not felt in a long time."
We have heard this about six times before from Floyd, but, for some reason this one seems a little bit more legit. He hasn't done anything this elaborate before and the fact that it is coming just months before a title fight, not right after a victory (like usual), is somewhat telling.
Even the president of Golden Boy Promotions has already confirmed that the fight has been cancelled and "... will move on. Sometime next week, I will announce a big fight for Oscar. There are different names out there and I will be working diligently to announce in the coming day's Oscar's next fight."
To be completely honest, we could really care less about this "breaking news". In the past few years Floyd has used the sport of boxing as nothing but a personal platform to make as much money as possible (trying not to end up like Holyfield I guess). Now, after making hundreds of millions, he claims that he doesn't care about the money. If he wants to leave the sport, then I say do it, it seems he hasn't really been in it for a while anyway.
His hall of fame career has been great to this point, however the jury is not out on whether or not he fought the best talent on his rise to the top. One or two more high-quality wins would seal the deal on his career.
As of now, if Mayweather never fights again, he may go down as the most talented boxer ever to walk the face of the earth, but will not be considered one of the top 10 greatest fighters in boxing history.
Edison Pantera Miranda (30-2, 26 Ko's) will meet IBF middleweight champ King Arthur Abraham(26-0, 21 Ko's) at a catch weight of 166 lbs in a highly-anticipated rematch slated for June 21.
The first time these two met, Abraham won a fairly close unanimous decision despite his jaw being broken in two places halfway into the controversial fight.
From the random video clips on you tube and the comments from the European contingent in the boxing forums, we have heard that this is one worth watching. However, the fight took place in Abraham's backyard (Germany) and was not broadcasted to us yankees. Until now.
In the days leading up to the rematch, Showtime will air Miranda vs. Abraham I for our viewing pleasure. The dates and times are as follows:
The former four time heavyweight champion Evander The Real Deal Holyfield (42-9-2, 27 Ko's) is dead broke.
According to NBC Sports, Holyfield's $10 million estate in suburban Atlanta is under foreclosure, the mothers of his numerous children are suing for unpaid child support, and a Utah consulting company has gone to court claiming that Evander failed to pay back more than a half million dollars for landscaping on that 10 million dollar pad.
So essentially he was paying someone to maintain his exuberant amount of plants and flowers instead of paying for all the seeds that he personally planted all over the state of Georgia.
The self-proclaimed, "born-again Christian" has had three different wives (the most recent being a 24 yr. old college student) and 11 children (that we know of), three of which were conceived, by his own admission, with women out of wedlock.
I think he may have skipped the portion in the Christian handbook that discusses monogamy, but at least we can confirm that he read two chapters - "Procreation - A Guide to Life" and "The Church's View on Contraception" (or listened to the book on tape; none of the evidence suggested so far implies that he is capable of reading).
One would think that the money from the "business savvy" endorsement deals with Sega Genesis (above) in 1992 and the "invention" of the "Real Deal Grill" (or should I say
fraudulent copy of the greatest invention of all time - The Foreman: see left) could have been put in a savings account since he pulled down a confirmed $35 million for one fight with Mike Tyson. Apparently he didn't use any of that $35 mil to hire a financial planner.
Since 2002, eight of his last thirteen fights have ended in defeat or draw. It is now apparent that in his comeback he may not have been fighting to regain the heavyweight title, but to replenish his bank account that must have been blown on some serious-ass stuff that we can't even begin to fathom (like Walt Disney's chriogenically frozen body, a diamond encrusted Lite Brite that uses push pins created from rubies, sapphire and jade or a down comforter fabricated from the feathers of 10 baby American Bald Eagles). I think I just fathomed it.
We cancelled all plans for this Saturday night based primarily on two reasons. 1.) HBO and Showtime will be transmitting four outstanding boxing matches directly to the comfort of our living rooms 2.) Second and more importantly, my new roommate refuses to go to the cable company with me to pick up a DVR box for the house (cable bill's in his name and the damn company refuses to grant me access to the account, I've tried)
With that said, there should be a mandate that forbids HBO and Showtime to hold major boxing events that fall on the same day of the lunar calendar. Space em' out a little, so every weekend we can enjoy a good match or two instead of just crammin' it all in to one. You would think that two of the largest television companies would have this worked out to prevent them from having to worry about competition from the other guy.
Anyway, I think HBO wins this battle and, it seems this weekend's under-cards may be more exciting than the main events - here is this weekend's preview.
HBO
Kelly The Ghost Pavlik (33-0, 30 Ko's) vs Gary The Pocket Rocket Lockett (30-1, 21 Ko's) - The Pride of Youngstown, Kelly Pavlik, is currently the undisputed, undefeated, middleweight champion of the world. He is coming off a huge KO victory over #1 middleweight contender (at the time) in Edison Miranda and back-to-back dominate performances against the former undefeated, undisputed, best middleweight in the world, Jermain Taylor (not anymore; see Pavlik KO video here).
Gary Lockett is coming off a fight against Kai Kauramaki, who is 13-15 with 9 of his losses coming by way of knock-out. Some seriously stiff competition there Lockett, excellent tune-up before getting in there with the best middleweight in the world.
Lockett's record looks pretty on paper but it does not carry a single win of any significance.
- Pavlik KO's Lockett within 6 rounds-
The real story line in this fight lies in the identity of Lockett's trainer - one Enzo Calzaghe. You can bet Joe will be sitting ringside to see one of his training 'mates' getting his clock cleaned by The Ghost, setting up a possible super-fight between the two down the line.
On Wednesday, Kelly discussed his thoughts on the current light heavyweight and super middleweight champ Joe Calzaghe with Max Kellerman. He was seemed as confident as I am about the outcome of a potential mega-fight with Joe C., another victory for Youngstown's finest.
Daniel Ponce De Leon (34-1, 30 Ko's) vs Juan Manuel Lopez (21-0, 19 Ko's)- The two meet on the under-card of the Pavlik/Lockett fight for the WBO super bantam weight title. Ponce De Leon will try to fend off up-and-coming Lopez in a high action, exciting, and closely matched bout -possibly the most interesting fight of the night. Do not miss this one.
Showtime
Vernon Forrest (40-2, 29 Ko's) vs. Sergio The Latin Snake Mora (20-0-1, 5 Ko's)
Don't expect to be writing home after this WBC light middleweight title bout. Vernon Forrest is coming off a long layoff due to an injury and, at age 37, isn't getting any younger. Sergio Mora is coming off a few recent fights that were mediocre at best, one of which he should have lost but was awarded a mercy decision (against Elvin Ayala). And the begging for a shot at a title then turning down a championship bout against Jermain Taylor a few years back caused him to lose the little credibility that he once had.
Neither fighter is a big puncher and both will be looking to go the distance for a decision. If you have to pick one to DVR, you're looking at it.
Paul The Punisher Williams (33-1, 24 Ko's) vs. Carlos Quintana (25-1, 19 Ko's)- Paul Williams will attempt to reclaim the WBO welterweight championship from the man who took it from him and handed him his only loss.
Before the somewhat stunning upset at the beginning of the year, Williams was considered by many to be the top welterweight in the division and a direct threat to Floyd Mayweather (he was obviously overrated). Coming off a win against the always tough Antonio Margarito, Williams looked ready to sit atop the division until Quintana exposed the lengthy boxer's weaknesses and took the belt from him. Quintana is no slouch though, his only loss came when he managed to get his face beat in by Miguel Cotto in a 5th round stoppage.
If Williams overlooked Quintana the first time, it will not happen again on Saturday. Look for him to come out fighting for his life to regain his belt. Should be a good one.
HBO Boxing analyst Max Kellerman has not only established himself as one of the top sports commentators in his favorite sport (boxing) but as a well rounded and insightful voice in all of realms of the sporting universe .
The one-time host of ESPN's popular sports talk show Around the Horn left the network when Fox Sports Net came calling with a very lucrative deal that would give Max his own show to discuss sports topics as he pleased. (This was back when FSN was still telling themselves that they could compete on same level as the guys in Bristol, Conn.) The show was creatively named I-Max and was subsequently cancelled the following year due to conflicts with network execs.
I think it is safe to say that the cancelleation of the show was best for us (the boxing fans) and Kellerman himself, because the next year he landed the top analyst job in all of sports (personal opinion), ringside commentary for HBO Boxing. He is currently splitting time with long-time analyst Larry Merchant (who is slowly melting down before our eyes on live television; however in his day, he was kind of a bad ass - see below), and will be replacing him as soon as his contract expires.
But, the reason for this post is not to highlight the career of Max Kellerman in sports, but to give you a glimpse of what he was into before we were regularly watching him in front of our t.v. dinners (I actually don't anyone who eats t.v. dinners).
In 1994 Columbia records signed a small time hip-hop duo and released a video for their single entitled, "Young Man Rumble." If the boxing reference in the song's title and the fact that I am writing about Max Kellerman led you to believe that he was the mastermind behind this hip-hop-astrologist duo, then you were right (one gold star).
Check out "Max & Sam" (Max's brother) rip up the mic with some swicked flow from 94' (below). Don't worry I didn't believe it either. Surprisingly, we have heard much worse... Man, the stuff that we thought was cool back then makes you wonder what the hell we're gonna look like to everyone in fifteen years.
I don't mean to put a damper on things but in 2004 Max's brother Sam was found dead in his apartment in Hollywood, CA. Ironically enough, soon after the incident a former boxer confessed to the murder, one-time super middleweight champ, James The Harlem Hammer Butler (who was later convicted and sentenced to 29 years in prison).
The most interesting (and dark) detail surrounding the case, was the fact that a hammer was found next to Sam when authorities arrived on the scene and was later designated as the murder weapon in the crime.
The nickname, The Harlem Hammer, was given to James Butler many years before this tragic incident, quite possibly carrying more meaning than most would care to know.
It was announced this past week that James Toney (70-6-3, 43 KOs) will face Hasim Rahman (45-6-2, 36 KOs) in a heavyweight bout set for July 16th. I could have sworn I was reading a headline from five years ago, but no there it was, right in front of me. The headline for a candidate for worst fight of the year. I think we point to instances such as these to explain why no one cares what is going on in the once great heavyweight division.
Last time I saw Toney in the ring (see above) it looked like he just finished snacking on one of the card girls and was quite possibly the first time he had moved in months. I am sure now that he has had an entire year layoff that he is going to be in prime condition for this fight being taken on a month and half notice. Lets not forget the two recent instances of positive steroid tests as well (could have fooled me though, I was under the impression they had a bit of a different effect).
Rahman (see left with the alien spawn pulsating from his brain)
doesn't have too much to offer either. He is two years younger than Toney (Toney 40 yrs and Rahman 38 yrs so I don't know if I should be throwing around the word young so carelessly) and has been trying to stage a comeback this past year.
Both fighters have probably seen there day in side the ropes. But that's not how Todd duBoef, President of Top Rank sees it - "I think they're both marquee names, but they are at a crossroads in their careers" (maybe a little bit of an understatement there buddy) "... The winner of this fight should be given an opportunity to fight for one of the titles." Titles? This guy has got to be joking if he thinks that winning this fight should propel anyone to a title shot. The only thing the winner of this fight should get is a piece of cake at his retirement party (or 3 cakes for Toney).
Anthony Mundine (32-3, 23 KOs) retained his WBA super middleweight belt this past week by defeating fellow countryman Sam Soliman (35-11, 13 KOs).
Congratulations Mundine, you managed to hold on to your belt by facing another nobody in Sam Soliman, who you have already beat once before.
Sam Soliman as many of you will remember is the hard working and well conditioned boxer from The Contender, who displays little to no boxing skill in any of his bouts. The two of them met before in 2007 for the vacant WBA title which Mundine still holds. Which begs the question, how did the WBA match these guys up for the a vacant belt. I might as well have put my name in the drawing.
Mundine has about as many quality wins as most of the club fighters around the country. His only notable victory was over a "sickly" (by his own account) Danny Green, who was undefeated at the time. The only other quality fight was against Mikel Kessler, who dominated him for a wide unanimous decision.
There has been talk of Mundine wanting to set up a match with The Ghost, Kelly Pavlik. I would venture to guess that would not be a wise career choice on his part. The only way he is going to hold on to his current title is if he continues to fight chumps like Sam Soliman and stays close to home in the Outback where the level of competition suits him better. Since everyone and their mother is now calling out Pavlik, the fight may never happen. However, I don't think I would mind if the two did end up meeting in the ring - just another chance for Pavlik to collect some more easy hardware for his mantle piece.
Yes, James Toney is still alive. 
