Dan Rafael
1,538 articles · USA Today
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Haye all bark, no bite
Your weekly random thoughts ? ? Ducker David Haye is a joke at this point. I mean, how can you possibly take him seriously? He vigorously called out Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko…
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Fights loom for Margarito if reinstated
Former welterweight titleholder Antonio Margarito, who was barred from boxing in the United States after having his license revoked in California last year for his role in a hand-wrapping scandal, will seek…
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HBO looks forward to second part of ’10
As we hit the halfway mark of 2010 this weekend, HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg did not want to spend a lot of time looking back at the first half of the…
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Chavez Jr. happy with change in personnel
Nearly seven years into his pro career, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. remains little more than a fighter with a money-making name, a fan base and a padded record. But now 24 and…
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Finkel returning to music promotion
Saying that he just wasn't enjoying himself anymore, Shelly Finkel, one of the most powerful managers in boxing for the past 30-plus years, is leaving behind management in a surprising move and…
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With win, Lopez-Marquez in September
After Rafael Marquez stopped rival Israel Vazquez on cuts in the third round to even their epic four-fight series at 2-2 on May 22 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, featherweight…
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Tournament at 140 would have been great
Your weekly random thoughts ? ? I love promoter Gary Shaw's desire to make a junior welterweight tournament. He mentioned his fighter, Timothy Bradley Jr., along with titleholders Devon Alexander and Amir…
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Mayol, Nino both ready for rematch
When junior flyweight titlist Rodel Mayol of the Philippines and Mexico's Omar Ni?o met in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Feb. 27, the fight ended in bizarre fashion with Mayol retaining his belt but…
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Why doesn’t Martinez have an HBO date?
Your weekly random thoughts? ? Middleweight champ (and junior middleweight titleholder) Sergio Martinez, one of the best fighters in the world, is ready, willing and able to fight anyone in either weight…
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Yankee Stadium fight a night to remember
I am still savoring the amazing experience of covering a fight at Yankee Stadium. It was a huge thrill to be there for the Miguel Cotto-Yuri Foreman fight on Saturday night, boxing's…
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Cotto confident with Steward at the helm
NEW YORK -- Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has been touting Miguel Cotto, the former welterweight and junior welterweight titlist, as New York's No. 1 boxing attraction. After all, the pride of…
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Stadium makes Foreman-Cotto a must-see
Your weekly random thoughts ? ? I've been a lifelong New York Yankees fan. Growing up in upstate New York, I remember when my mother announced we were getting cable television in…
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WBO strips Martinez of title
Middleweight champion Sergio Martinez was feted in a ceremony at the WBO's Puerto Rican headquarters on May 11, when he was presented with his new title belt. Those good feelings did not…
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A WBA super duper champion?
our weekly random thoughts ? ? With a Yuriorkis Gamboa-Elio Rojas featherweight unification bout under discussion to headline HBO's July 24 "Boxing After Dark" card from The Palms in Las Vegas, how…
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Sulaiman, WBC now sticking it to Vazquez
WBC president for life Jose Sulaiman, the tyrannical one, is at it yet again. Well, not exactly -- because "at it again" would indicate that at some point he actually stopped his…
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Martinez searching for next opponent
Newly crowned middleweight champion Sergio Martinez is exploring his options, and former undisputed junior middleweight champ Winky Wright might be in his future. Martinez won the middleweight championship via unanimous decision from…
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Mayweather win draws 1.4 million buys
Floyd Mayweather Jr. calls himself "Money," and the welterweight star sure knows how to generate it. Mayweather's lopsided decision victory against Shane Mosley (46-6, 39 KOs) on May 1 at the MGM…
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Pacquiao-Mayweather still possibility
ow that Floyd Mayweather Jr. has dispatched Shane Mosley, talk immediately turned to the potential showdown with Manny Pacquiao, who has apparently softened his stance on the drug testing procedures that derailed…
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Morales interested bystander to Marquez-Diaz II announcement
LAS VEGAS -- His presence was low-key, but Erik Morales, looking fit and trim, was an interested attendee at Saturday morning's news conference in the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Shane Mosley media center at…
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Polar opposites set to collide in Vegas
LAS VEGAS -- Opposites attract, right? That is clearly one of the major reasons for the significant interest in the Shane Mosley-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight, the biggest bout of the year so…
