MARQUEZ SEIZED THE MOMENT
Las Vegas, NV- Juan Manuel Marquez finally received the recognition he has seek since 1999. Avoided at one point by every top caliber opponent in the late nineties, Marquez finally lived up to the potential greatness boxing scribes around the world placed on this long time elite fighter. Everyone knew Marquez was a great counter-puncher with good one punch knockout fighter. However, against Marco Antonio Barrera, Marquez showed that he has the heart and determination to take over a fight late and press the action to over take his opponent. Unlike his bout against Manny Pacquiao, where Marquez found himself down five points at the end of the second round and in survivor mode through out the bout, Juan Manuel calmly made a relatively close fight after eight rounds, a clear runaway win, leaving no possibility of a draw. In the end, Marquez wanted to the fight more and had enough left in the tank, where as Barrera retreated and hoped he had racked up enough points early in the bout to steal the fight.
AND YES, JAY NADY MADE THE RIGHT CALL!
Referee Jay Nady once again made the right call at a key moment of a fight. Those may remember when Nady warned current heavyweight titlist, Oleg Maskaev, for holding and was close to deducting a point. Criticized by the HBO broadcast for nitpicking, Maskaev stopped holding and ended up knocking out (again) Hasim Rahman in the final round. Last Saturday, Nady once again was put in a situation, where many questioned his judgment. This occurred at the end of the seventh round, where Barrera landed a shocking counter right hand to the pressing Marquez, who seriously hurt his opponent earlier in the round. The punch was lighting fast and Marquez fell to all fours. Nady tried to come and pull Barrera up, even grabbing Barrera?s arm as Marco landed a punch while Marquez was down. During the pre-fight instructions, referees tell fighters that when they scored a knock down, they must go to the neutral corner. Had Barrera simply walked to the neutral corner, he would have been credited with a knock down, although based on the events of the 7th; I would?ve scored it 10-9 for Barrera because Marquez dominated the round with the exception of the knockdown. Jay Nady had no choice but to call off the knockdown because Barrera?s late hit ruined the possibility of a fair ten count. Some say Nady should have scored it a knockdown while still deducting a point from Barrera. However, a knockdown must also accompanied with a ten count and with a foul, Marquez should be given time to rest and recover. Who knows if Barrera went to the neutral corner, Marquez could?ve been counted out? Barrera lost that chance when he fouled Marquez. If Barrera?s late punch knocked Marquez out, and Nady counted him out, then that would be a huge injustice. Hats off to Nady for once again make the correct call in a huge title fight!
GERRY ?WISE? TO GO BACK DOWN TO 115!
Source: Select One———13thround.com15rounds.comAbanteAbout.comABS-CBN NewsAgence France PressAl JazeerahAlbuquerque TribuneAll Headline NewsALLHIPHOP.comAmerican ChronicleAsia TimesAsian JournalAsianWeekAZCeIn his first fight at 122 lbs., Gerry Penalosa handled himself very well against arguably the biggest and roughest puncher in that division, Daniel Ponce De Leon. Some scribes at ringside in fact scored the bout for Penalosa because of his great counter-punches and forcing the young titlist to retreat during the last four rounds. While that may be accurate, Penalosa?s offense, especially in the last four rounds, was not enough to wrest the title away from De Leon. Although De Leon?s offense was not up to his standard, he constantly kept Penalosa on the outside for the most part, not allowing Gerry to land combinations, something the Filipino lacked. What it comes down to is that Gerry did not have enough power, when given the opportunity, to knock Ponce down or out. Add to that Daniel doing his best Derrick Gainer imitation of hitting and running, a strategy that has pledged Penalosa through out his career, and it was pretty clear Gerry was not coming away with a victory. However, with the media behind Penalosa, glory is still not out of the question. Brought in as the opponent, Penalosa proved he is still a top tier challenger. A perfect fight for him would be at 115lbs against Jorge Arce. Not as big but just as power at his weight as Daniel Ponce De Leon, Arce will also try to knock Gerry?s head off. If that happens, you will see Penalosa do the same things to Arce as he did to De Leon, this time hoping that Arce?s smaller stature at a lower weight will help Gerry get the knockdowns he needs to win. However, the question is can he get another big fight with perceived ?stars? or future ?stars? of the lower weight classes now that he?s proven to be a difficult fighter to face?
MORMECK-BELL III IS A MUST!
While the cruiserweight division has been ignored and forgotten, it is one of the few weight classes that have a legitimate World (unified) champion. Now the division has its great rivalry that could attract some mainstream attention. Once again world champion, Jean Marc Mormeck, reclaimed his title by a unanimous decision over the man who knocked him out for the title previously, O?Neil Bell. Taking place in Mormeck?s home country, Bell played the role of the villain perfectly, egging the Mormeck fans by playing possum while managing to hurt Mormeck as the Frenchmen constantly backed O?Neil into the ropes. After the bout, O?Neil Bell, obviously disappointed with the loss, lost his cool and a melee broke out at the post-fight presser. While it would have been better if both fighters had the same raging passion in the last couple if rounds (credit that to open scoring where Mormeck knew after eights rounds, he needed only one more round to win the bout), the end result is a bitter rivalry that could draw a lot of attention in a rubber match. The bout could be held in the United States or on another country. But what more can a fight fan want: two bitter rivals fighting for the world championship with both proceeding bouts being Fight of the Year candidates.
HOLYFIELD: HEAVYWEIGHT CONTENDER OR SIDE SHOW?
ntral.comAZStarnet.comBalita.comBaA fighter, who has grossed more Pay-Per-View buy in one or two fights than Barrera?s entire PPV fight history combined, Evander Holyfield fought over the past weekend, with no major television coverage. He scored a third round TKO over the entertaining club fighter, Vinne Maddalole. What is clear is that Holyfield should not be in any position for a title fight. However, Holyfield still brings the masses and is doing what the Mike Tyson Tour?where Tyson would fight four round exhibition bouts through out the world?intended to achieve. Holyfield is still able to beat club fighters, but still struggles against even fringe contenders. At 44, it is difficult, if not impossible to expect Holyfield to adjust or get better. Timing (how ironic) and opportunity will be Evander?s best friend and if there?s a willing champion and promoter who feels money is there to be made, don?t be surprised if Holyfield is in another relatively major fight.
CABALLERO CONTINES TO SCARE THE ELITE
WBA super bantamweight titlist, Celestino Caballero, the only man to beat Daniel Ponce De Leon, racked up another impressive win over the past weekend. At 5?11, this Panamanian is clearly one of the top fighters in the entire lower weight classes. However, Caballero is relatively unknown and hasn?t been showcased on a either HBO?s Boxing After Dark or Showtime even after picking up the WBA crown by knocking out Somsak Sithchatchawal?who had not lost since 1997 and was the victor in the 2006 fight of the year against Mahar Monshipour?in Thailand. Caballero has beaten prospects, ex-champions, champions and in their hometown. It may be some time before Caballero is tested against other titlist. Maybe when Filipino prospect, Rey Bautista, wins a title as he is groomed to do, he?ll take on this dangerous titlist.
THE PINOY?S? QUICK JABS
ltimore SunBangkok PostBBC SportBelfast Telegraphblackathlete.netBoston HeraldBox-Latino.comBoxeoMundialBoxing CentralBoxing ConfidentialBoxing InsiderBoxing Monthlyboxing.about.comBoxingBanter.comBoxingFanatics.comboxinginlasvegas.comboxingladiators.comBOXINGranks.comBoxingScene.comBoxingTalk.netBoxingTime.comBoxingTimes.comBoxinScene.comBoxLatino.comBoxNoticias.combraggingrightscorner.comBritishBoxing.netcanada.comCBS SportsLine.comChicago Sportschron.comcompuboxonline.comContra Costa TimesCovers.comCyber Boxing ZoneDaily NewsDailyBreeze.comDallas NewsDallasNews.comDeccan HWILL YOU BUY INTO MIKKEL KESSLER? WBA and WBC super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler will make his true HBO debut this weekend, after being highlighted against Beyer. The bout will take in place in his homeland of Denmark, where most of his fights took place. While it is not unprecedented for foreign fighters, mostly fighting in outside the United States (Ricky Hatton), to gain U.S exposure and popularity, Kessler, undefeated in 38 fights with 29 KOs, did not have the television exposure Hatton had. The first glimpse Americans had of Kessler was a quick highlight of his last win on the Joe Calzaghe telecast last October. Many are hoping for a mega-showdown between Calzaghe and Kessler, which is the main reason HBO is televising Kessler?s next fight. Kessler is exciting and packs a great punch, making it easy for Americans fans to buy into the Dane. The fight will sell with or with American backing or support. Hopefully, HBO will simply take us along the ride to Calzaghe-Kessler. LONG HARD ROAD FOR MANNY! With all the controversy with scoring and decisions, one thing would have been certain. Had Manny Pacquiao taken the fight last weekend against Barrera, he would have likely knocked Barrera out and pick up a multi-million dollar check and a fourth title in as many weight classes, possibly stealing the pound-for-pound crown away from Floyd Mayweather. Oh well, the difficult part if you?re a Pacquiao fan is that last weekend?s 130lb. championship bout was exciting enough to have a reasonable and logical re-match in September. Bob Arum has wanted that Mexican Independence Day date for a long time and it would have made perfect sense for Pacquiao to fight either Barrera or Marquez on that weekend. Now that the big money fight against Barrera or Marques looks dimmer by the day, Manny will now have to attempt to make potentially the same money fighting younger, hungrier, less established, and lesser known fighters. Can Manny earn five million dollars fighting Humberto Soto in September? Possibility, but not likely seeing it could depend on the turnout rate (gate and PPV buys) for Manny?s next fight in April. WILL WWE GO RETRO? On a much lighter side, Wrestlemania is just weeks away and as a long time fake wrestling fan, I?m interested in seeing how the WWE will play out their title match on the biggest PPV of the year. Two of the young world champions, John Cena and Dave Batista, are set to face long time WWE legends Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker in separate bouts. When a wrestler is given the World title, it means he?s the one to sell and carry the show and bring in the money. John Cena has brought in the money for the past couple of years, but Michaels is not that far behind. I predict, Cena will win the match because the WWE is making big bucks with Cena?s merchandise. In the co-main event, the Undertaker will put up his undefeated Wrestlemania record (14-0) against champion Dave Batista. It?s pretty difficult for me to believe the WWE will let that record slip away to Batista, who doesn?t do much besides look like a killer. Undertaker should win that bout. OFF TO MANILA THIS WEEKEND! The Gabriel ?Flash? Elorde Awards Night is set to take place this weekend in Manila. Former Philippines President Fidel Ramos, will be the guest of honor. I will be there to accept an award for my work here at www.Ring Talk.com for the past couple of years. It has been an honor to help recognize future, past, and current Filipino prizefighters through my articles.
