Results from Saturday at the HSBC Arena in Rio on PPV (top ten ranked fighters indicated in bold):

- 205 lbs.- Anderson "The Spider" Silva (BRA; 33-4) def. Stephan "American Psycho" Bonnar (IL; 17-8) by TKO in the 1st
- HWT - Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira (BRA; 34-7-1) def. Dave Herman (IN; 21-5) by Submission in the 2nd
- 205 lbs.- Glover Teixeira (BRA; 19-2) def. Fabio Maldonado (BRA; 18-6) by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) in the 2nd
- 170 lbs.- Jon Fitch (IN; 27-4-1) def. Erick Silva (BRA; 14-3) by Unanimous Decision
- 205 lbs.- "Mr. Wonderful" Phil Davis (PA; 10-1) def. Wagner Prado (BRA; 8-1) by Submission in the 2nd
- 170 lbs.- Demian Maia (BRA; 17-4) def. Rick Story (WA; 14-6) by Submission in the 1st
- 155 lbs.- Rony Jason (BRA; 13-3) def. Sam Sicilia (WA; 11-2) by TKO in the 2nd
- 155 lbs.- Gleison Tibau (BRA; 35-8) def. Francisco Trinaldo (BRA; 11-2) by Unanimous Decision
- 145 lbs.- Diego Brandao (BRA; 20-8) def. Joey Gambino (NY; 9-2) by Unanimous Decision
- 185 lbs.- Sergio Moraes (BRA; 7-3) def. Renee Forte (BRA; 7-2) by Submission in the 3rd
- 185 lbs.- Chris Camozzi (CA; 18-5) def. Luis Cane (BRA; 12-5) by Unanimous Decision
- 155 lbs.- Cristiano Marcelo (BRA; 13-4) def. Reza Madadi (IRI; 12-3) by Split Decision

FeloniousQ wrote: Embarrassing that Chael Sonnen is given a title shot against Jon Jones. Dana just needs a mouth to sell tickets to his pathetic promotion.

Here's the thing about this storyline (and this is only my point of view). I agree that this is a bad call from a purist standpoint. I can think of no rational argument for Sonnen deserving this shot in comparison to others at 205 pounds. With that said, combat sports exist primarily on PPV (though MMA has established a strong presence on cable and even network television in the past few years). That means that they are, from a financial standpoint, much more beholden to the whims of public opinions and preferences when it comes to matchmaking. Those of us who are boxing fans are also used to this. I could cite many comparable situations but in recent years just one of those is that of Zab Judah. He lost two consecutive world title fights, then was awarded a world title fight yet again (which he lost via knockout). I hate to say it but if you have a name and people care about watching you compete, you'll make some bank in combat sports.

Fun with numbers:

- The prelims for UFC 153 on FX drew an average audience of 1 million viewers over a 2 hour broadcast.

- In Brazil the final two bouts of UFC 153 aired on Globo TV (the largest television network in Brazil). It reportedly drew an audience of approximately 22 million viewers! Unbelievable.

Boxing this Saturday night at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY on SHOWTIME (top ten world ranked boxers indicated in bold):

- 140 lbs.- Danny Garcia (PA; 24-0) vs. Erik "El Terrible" Morales (MEX; 52-8)
- 147 lbs.- Paulie "Magic Man" Malignaggi (NY; 31-4) vs. Pablo Cesar Cano (MEX; 25-1-1)
- 147 lbs.- Randall Bailey (FL; 43-7)* vs. Devon "The Great" Alexander (MO; 23-1)*
- 160 lbs.- Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam (FRA; 27-0) vs. Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillen (MI; 27-0)

Boxing this Saturday at the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield, Yorkshire U.K. (top ten world ranked boxers indicated in bold):

- 147 lbs.- Kell Brook (U.K.; 28-0) vs. Hector Saldivia (ARG; 41-2)

barelypure wrote:

BlackRazor wrote:

FeloniousQ wrote: Embarrassing that Chael Sonnen is given a title shot against Jon Jones. Dana just needs a mouth to sell tickets to his pathetic promotion.

Now he's getting a shot @ Jones?

Chael got destroyed by the champ @ a lower weight class & then gets a shot @ the champ @ the weight class above?

If not Chael then who? Jones has pretty much beaten everyone of note in the 205 weight class. Now there may be guys coming up but they aren't there yet.

Wow, that's a problem then - talk about a lack of depth of talent!

OK so the next question is, after Chael, then who?

And is Chael a legit LHW or did he just move up because he can't handle the MW champ?

Edit: "This wasn't where I was going," White said. "But when this happened and Jones was going to be out for so long, it made sense. I understand completely [about Sonnen not having won a fight at light heavyweight], but it's a fight people want to see."

So there's the answer - his mouth got him the shot, not his talent. I know White wants to make $ but fights like this reinforce the side show image. I hope Jones retires Chael.

Jim Rome even talked about it today saying a # of UFC fighters aren't too happy Chael got the shot either.

Tonight's Bellator event at the Sovereign Center in Reading, PA on MTV 2 at 8:00 PM:


Lightweight Tournament Quarterfinal Fights

- 155 lbs.- Alexander Sarnavskiy (RUS; 20-0) vs. Rich Clementi (LA; 43-21)
- 155 lbs.- Magomed Saadulaev (RUS; 14-1) vs. Dave Jansen (OR; 16-2)
- 155 lbs.- Murad Machaev (RUS; 9-0) vs. Marcin Held (POL; 13-2)
- 155 lbs.- Ricardo Tirloni (BRA; 14-2) vs. Rene Nazare (BRA; 10-2)

- 125 lbs.- Dave Morgan (PA; 5-1) vs. Matthew Lozano (PA; 2-0)
- HWT - Lew Polley (NC; 11-4) vs. Carmelo Marrero (PA; 14-5)
- 155 lbs.- Darrell Horcher (PA; 5-0) vs. Emanuel Brooks (MO; 7-0)
- 155 lbs.- Mike Bannon (PA; 4-0) vs. Cosmo Alexandre (BRA; 3-1)


Local fighter Lew Polley, formerly a standout wrestler at UNC-Pembroke, is competing on the undercard.

slickrick00 wrote: Boxing this Saturday night at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY on SHOWTIME (top ten world ranked boxers indicated in bold):

- 140 lbs.- Danny Garcia (PA; 24-0) vs. Erik "El Terrible" Morales (MEX; 52-8)
- 147 lbs.- Paulie "Magic Man" Malignaggi (NY; 31-4) vs. Pablo Cesar Cano (MEX; 25-1-1)
- 147 lbs.- Randall Bailey (FL; 43-7)* vs. Devon "The Great" Alexander (MO; 23-1)*
- 147 lbs.- Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam (FRA; 27-0) vs. Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillen (MI; 27-0)

Boxing this Saturday at the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield, Yorkshire U.K. (top ten world ranked boxers indicated in bold):

- 147 lbs.- Kell Brook (U.K.; 28-0) vs. Hector Saldivia (ARG; 41-2)

yeah that Showtime card is a great one - 4 interesting fights.

I did hear Morales had some drug test come back for a weight loss drug so that fight might be up in the air but the other 3 should be good if that fight is canceled.


Actually the Hassan fight vs. Quillen is @ 160 - for the WBO MW belt.

BlackRazor wrote:

slickrick00 wrote: Boxing this Saturday night at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY on SHOWTIME (top ten world ranked boxers indicated in bold):

- 140 lbs.- Danny Garcia (PA; 24-0) vs. Erik "El Terrible" Morales (MEX; 52-8)
- 147 lbs.- Paulie "Magic Man" Malignaggi (NY; 31-4) vs. Pablo Cesar Cano (MEX; 25-1-1)
- 147 lbs.- Randall Bailey (FL; 43-7)* vs. Devon "The Great" Alexander (MO; 23-1)*
- 147 lbs.- Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam (FRA; 27-0) vs. Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillen (MI; 27-0)

Boxing this Saturday at the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield, Yorkshire U.K. (top ten world ranked boxers indicated in bold):

- 147 lbs.- Kell Brook (U.K.; 28-0) vs. Hector Saldivia (ARG; 41-2)

yeah that Showtime card is a great one - 4 interesting fights.

I did hear Morales had some drug test come back for a weight loss drug so that fight might be up in the air but the other 3 should be good if that fight is canceled.


Actually the Hassan fight vs. Quillen is @ 160 - for the WBO MW belt.

Ah, you're right. Made the fix. Thanks. Yeah, that card should be entertaining. Last I heard Morales is still a go. The deal is that Golden Boy Promotions engages the USADA to do some additional level testing for some fights. I think Morales tested positive for something that the NY State Athletic Commission does not consider a banned substane (but the USADA would, if my understanding is correct). The NYSAC is the entity with the power here, though, so I think he's completely clear to fight tomorrow.

In regard to last Saturday's HBO boxing event in Carson, California: The attendance was 6,713 (6,203 paid) for a live gate of $406,668. That's an encouraging sign.

slickrick00 wrote:

Ah, you're right. Made the fix. Thanks. Yeah, that card should be entertaining. Last I heard Morales is still a go. The deal is that Golden Boy Promotions engages the USADA to do some additional level testing for some fights. I think Morales tested positive for something that the NY State Athletic Commission does not consider a banned substane (but the USADA would, if my understanding is correct). The NYSAC is the entity with the power here, though, so I think he's completely clear to fight tomorrow.

Right, I saw the update & the WBC prez said the report was wrong.

It sucks if the main event is canceled but on a card like this, it's OK. Still 3 title fights & Daniel Jacobs returns - a once hot MW prospect who beat cancer. Not sure if they show his fight either way but with a card this big/good, Showtime has options.

Also have to say I like Mauro calling these fights - I know he's an MMA guy but I thought he did a great job calling/knowing his boxing last time.

Also it seems the main reason for Jones-Sonnen is so they can be the hosts on the Ultimate Fighter and scream at each other there. So we now have the reality TV show that no one watches anymore driving the main promotion.

FeloniousQ wrote: Also it seems the main reason for Jones-Sonnen is so they can be the hosts on the Ultimate Fighter and scream at each other there. So we now have the reality TV show that no one watches anymore driving the main promotion.

lol, yeah that's what I heard yesterday.

So the top 10 in the UFC in LHW

jon jones

dan henderson

rashad evans

phil davis

quinton jackson

lyoto machida

shogun rua

big nog

ryan bader

alesander gustafsson

Then you factor in:

Henderson - pulls out of fight last minute

Machida - declines title shot

Shogun - declines title shot

Forrest - unmotivated and not even close

Sonnen - calls out champ and the champ is too scared to fight

Besides Jones is hurt and out of action. The UFC has to do something to keep their champion front and center so Dana puts Jones and Sonnen in TUF with a fight to happen in April. Should it have been Davis or Gustafsson getting the fight, maybe. At least they have the best case. But, both are young and will be there at some point. They need to build their resume to get the backing of the fans to sell the PPV.

The HBO World Championship Boxing card last Saturay (Donaire vs. Nishioka) averaged 835,000 viewers over a two hour telecast. For whatever reason Donaire hasn't translated into as many ratings in the U.S. His ratings in the Philippines are always great, though.

Somewhat interesting televised fight tonight:

At 11:35 on Telemundo, Orlando Cruz (18-2-1) takes on Jorge Pazos (20-4) for the WBO Latino featherweight title. Cruz is a former Olympian for Puerto Rico and in the past couple of weeks declared that he was a homosexual. He's a solid fighter and while he lost twice against good competition (Cornelius Lock and Daniel Ponce De Leon both stopped him), he also has some very solid wins under his belt as he has defeated Leonilo Miranda by 5th round KO and absolutely demolished Michael Franco in the first round two fights back. Pazos has a good record, but the only notable win on his record is against journeyman Trinidad Mendoza. That said, he's a Mexican fighter and he should certainly be up for fighting a Puerto Rican.

Tonight's Bellator results (a bad night for Russian fightes but a good night for local fighter Lew Polley):


Lightweight Tournament Quarterfinal Results

- 155 lbs.- Rich Clementi (LA; 44-21) def. Alexander Sarnavskiy (RUS; 20-1) by Split Decision
- 155 lbs.- Dave Jansen (OR; 17-2) def. Magomed Saadulaev (RUS; 14-2) by Submission in the 3rd
- 155 lbs.- Marcin Held (POL; 14-2) def. Murad Machaev (RUS; 9-1) by Unanimous Decision
- 155 lbs.- Ricardo Tirloni (BRA; 15-2) def. Rene Nazare (BRA; 10-3) by TKO in the 2nd

- HWT - Lew Polley (NC; 12-4) def. Carmelo Marrero (PA; 14-6) by Unanimous Decision
- 155 lbs.- Darrell Horcher (PA; 6-0) def. Emanuel Brooks (MO; 7-1) by TKO in the 1st
- 155 lbs.- Cosmo Alexandre (BRA; 4-1) def. Mike Bannon (PA; 4-1) by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) in the 2nd

Regarding the event on SHOWTIME this evening, according to the New York Daily News former world champion Erik Morales tested positive for Clenbuterol on October 4th and October 10th. He tested a third time yesterday and passed, however, so the fight is apparently still a go. So......I guess Meatloaf was right. 2 out of 3 ain't bad. There is a bit of irony here. New York is one of only two states that doesn't allow pro MMA because they deem it too unsafe. Yet here they are sanctioning a fight despite one of the participants twice failing drug tests this month. Don't get me wrong. I personally don't really have much of a problem with New York sanctioning the bout and the fan in me is glad to see the fight occuring tonight. The irony was just not lost on me.

Results from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY on SHOWTIME:

- 140 lbs.- Danny Garcia (PA; 25-0) def. Erik "El Terrible" Morales (MEX; 52-9) by TKO in the 4th
- 147 lbs.- Paulie "Magic Man" Malignaggi (NY; 32-4) def. Pablo Cesar Cano (MEX; 25-2-1) by Split Decision
- 147 lbs.- Devon "The Great" Alexander (MO; 24-1) def. Randall Bailey (FL; 43-8) by Unanimous Decision
- 160 lbs.- Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillen (MI; 28-0) def. Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam (FRA; 27-1) by Unanimous Decision

Boxing results from the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield, Yorkshire U.K.:

- 147 lbs.- Kell Brook (U.K.; 29-0) def. Hector Saldivia (ARG; 41-3) by TKO in the 3rd

Best quote of the night was from Boxing/MMA writer Kevin Iole: "Garcia is beating the Clenbuterol out of Morales."

The Kid Chocolate fight was just amazing.  Violent, half a dozen knockdowns, shifts in momentum.  It really had it all.

OldEastHeel wrote: The Kid Chocolate fight was just amazing.  Violent, half a dozen knockdowns, shifts in momentum.  It really had it all.

i havent seen him fight yet, could he move up and challenge andre ward?

rowdy2000 wrote:

OldEastHeel wrote: The Kid Chocolate fight was just amazing.  Violent, half a dozen knockdowns, shifts in momentum.  It really had it all.

i havent seen him fight yet, could he move up and challenge andre ward?

OEH is correct, 1 minute of that fight was better than 12 rounds of Devon's fight to open the card.

Ward will be moving to 175 soon from what I heard & Peter has plenty of great fights @ 160. I would not mind a rematch with Hassan either.

Peter could fight Pirog or Golovkin - both unbeaten too. Also heard talk of HBO putting together a MW tourney with Sergio, Chavez, Geale, Mundine & Macklin all as possible fighters in it.

No, he'd lose every minute of every round against Ward.

rowdy2000 wrote:

OldEastHeel wrote: The Kid Chocolate fight was just amazing.  Violent, half a dozen knockdowns, shifts in momentum.  It really had it all.

i havent seen him fight yet, could he move up and challenge andre ward?

Boxing results from Friday night at Kissimmee, FL (Telemundo card):

Orlando Cruz (19-2-1) defeated Jorge Pazos (20-5) by unanimous decision -- scores were 118-110, 118-110, 117-111.  Pazos came to fight and landed some good shots early, but ultimately faded down the stretch and Cruz took charge of the fight.

Also, Jonathan Gonzalez (11-0) beat Danny Flores (13-2) by 6th round TKO in a pretty good scrap.

Upcoming boxing matches for next Saturday:

WealthTV (which I think is available on Roku and some systems) features a heavyweight fight between Franklin Lawrence (18-2-2) and Dominick Guinn (34-9). A win could put Lawrence, from Indianapolis, in a good spot to land a title shot against one of the Klitschkos.

HBO has a triple header which is headlined by lightweight champion Miguez Vazquez (31-3) defending against Marvin Quintero (25-3). Vazquez has two losses on his record, but those were at a higher weight against Timothy Bradley and he twice fought Canelo Alvarez (in fact, he debuted against Alvarez long ago taking him to a split decision). The undercard fights features a very solid welterweight fight between Thomas Dulorme (16-0) and Luis Carlos Abregu (33-1). Both guys are very solid fighters and have beaten some good mid-level competition. Abregu's only loss was against Timothy Bradley and he was competitive in that fight. Finally, Karim "Hard Hitta" Mayfield (16-0-1) defends his NABO regional title against Maricio Herrera (18-2). Herrera is a solid fighter and has beaten some good boxers including upsets over Mike Dallas Jr. and Ruslan Provodnikov and also victories over Efren Hinojosa and Christian Favela. Mayfield is a tremendous prospect and is coming off three very good victories having stopped Stevie Forbes, decisioned Patrick Lopez, and knocked out Raymond Serrano.

Finally, Telefutura has a late card featuring Rocky Juarez once again trying to get his career back on track. Juarez (28-10-1) takes on Antonio Escalante (28-4). Escalante went through a recent rough patch getting stopped twice, but has made a recent come back with four straight KO wins against mostly lesser competition (although he did stop Leonilo Miranda last time out). Juarez is a former Olympian; has a boat load of talent; and honestly given all the world titles out there, it's amazing he has never been a world champ. He's lost his last 6 fights and hasn't won since 2008. Usually, his problem is that he simply starts too late and isn't active enough in his fights. But in his last two fights (against world ranked Vicente Escobedo and fringe prospect Andrew Cancio), he looked absolutely awful.

Early indications are that the Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar PPV event last Saturday in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil drew approximately 375,000 PPV buys.

slickrick00 wrote: Early indications are that the Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar PPV event last Saturday in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil drew approximately 375,000 PPV buys.

are you getting any sense that even ardent MMA fans are getting sick of @ least 1 PPV card a month?

I love a good fight but I'm glad there's not a PPV boxing card every month, every 3-4 months is fine but there can be too much of a good thing.

BlackRazor wrote:

slickrick00 wrote: Early indications are that the Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar PPV event last Saturday in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil drew approximately 375,000 PPV buys.

are you getting any sense that even ardent MMA fans are getting sick of @ least 1 PPV card a month?

I love a good fight but I'm glad there's not a PPV boxing card every month, every 3-4 months is fine but there can be too much of a good thing.

Definitely. There's been a market correction for the UFC in general since 2010. Numbers are still good but have come down to Earth somewhat (which was bound to happen). I'd also like to see the frequency of PPV events scaled back. For me, I think about 6 PPVs per year would be a nice pacing for Boxing and MMA. That's still fairly frequent and easier on the wallets of their fanbase but not so frequent that fans feel disengaged if they miss a couple per year. Boxing will finish this year with four noteworthy PPV events (though there are several other fly-under-the-radar ones that don't get much run): Mayweather vs. Cotto, Pacquiao vs. Bradley, Chavez Jr. vs. Martinez and Pacquiao vs. Marquez.

slickrick00 wrote:

BlackRazor wrote:

slickrick00 wrote: Early indications are that the Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar PPV event last Saturday in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil drew approximately 375,000 PPV buys.

are you getting any sense that even ardent MMA fans are getting sick of @ least 1 PPV card a month?

I love a good fight but I'm glad there's not a PPV boxing card every month, every 3-4 months is fine but there can be too much of a good thing.

Definitely. There's been a market correction for the UFC in general since 2010. Numbers are still good but have come down to Earth somewhat (which was bound to happen). I'd also like to see the frequency of PPV events scaled back. For me, I think about 6 PPVs per year would be a nice pacing for Boxing and MMA. That's still fairly frequent and easier on the wallets of their fanbase but not so frequent that fans feel disengaged if they miss a couple per year. Boxing will finish this year with four noteworthy PPV events (though there are several other fly-under-the-radar ones that don't get much run): Mayweather vs. Cotto, Pacquiao vs. Bradley, Chavez Jr. vs. Martinez and Pacquiao vs. Marquez.

good points & I agree - for me, every 3-4 months works.

The rematch between Tomasz Adamek and Steve Cunningham already stood out for a number of reasons. In addition to the fight being a rematch to their Dec. ’08 war, it also serves as the first live fight card to air on NBC in more than eight years, and perhaps the most significant bout to air on the network in over two decades.

Their first fight was for the lineal cruiserweight championship, in which Adamek survived a knockdown to score three of his own en route to a split decision. The sequel takes place one division north at heavyweight, headlining a Saturday matinee at the Sands Resort Casino in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

On its own, the choice to make this fight the first entry on free network TV as part of Main Events’ working deal with NBC Sports was already a no-brainer. Fans tuning in (or attending live) will now to get to experience a showdown in which its winner will move within one fight of a crack at the true heavyweight crown.

--------------------------------------

This is a pretty smart move by NBC to put this on Dec. 22nd - not sure what FB games will be on that night but aside from those, nothing much new on that night so close to the holiday.

BlackRazor wrote:

The rematch between Tomasz Adamek and Steve Cunningham already stood out for a number of reasons. In addition to the fight being a rematch to their Dec. ’08 war, it also serves as the first live fight card to air on NBC in more than eight years, and perhaps the most significant bout to air on the network in over two decades.

Their first fight was for the lineal cruiserweight championship, in which Adamek survived a knockdown to score three of his own en route to a split decision. The sequel takes place one division north at heavyweight, headlining a Saturday matinee at the Sands Resort Casino in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

On its own, the choice to make this fight the first entry on free network TV as part of Main Events’ working deal with NBC Sports was already a no-brainer. Fans tuning in (or attending live) will now to get to experience a showdown in which its winner will move within one fight of a crack at the true heavyweight crown.

--------------------------------------

This is a pretty smart move by NBC to put this on Dec. 22nd - not sure what FB games will be on that night but aside from those, nothing much new on that night so close to the holiday.

Did not realize this was going to be on NBC rather than NBC Sports -- that's very cool.

Zhuge1 wrote: Upcoming boxing matches for next Saturday:

WealthTV (which I think is available on Roku and some systems) features a heavyweight fight between Franklin Lawrence (18-2-2) and Dominick Guinn (34-9). A win could put Lawrence, from Indianapolis, in a good spot to land a title shot against one of the Klitschkos.

HBO has a triple header which is headlined by lightweight champion Miguez Vazquez (31-3) defending against Marvin Quintero (25-3). Vazquez has two losses on his record, but those were at a higher weight against Timothy Bradley and he twice fought Canelo Alvarez (in fact, he debuted against Alvarez long ago taking him to a split decision). The undercard fights features a very solid welterweight fight between Thomas Dulorme (16-0) and Luis Carlos Abregu (33-1). Both guys are very solid fighters and have beaten some good mid-level competition. Abregu's only loss was against Timothy Bradley and he was competitive in that fight. Finally, Karim "Hard Hitta" Mayfield (16-0-1) defends his NABO regional title against Maricio Herrera (18-2). Herrera is a solid fighter and has beaten some good boxers including upsets over Mike Dallas Jr. and Ruslan Provodnikov and also victories over Efren Hinojosa and Christian Favela. Mayfield is a tremendous prospect and is coming off three very good victories having stopped Stevie Forbes, decisioned Patrick Lopez, and knocked out Raymond Serrano.

Finally, Telefutura has a late card featuring Rocky Juarez once again trying to get his career back on track. Juarez (28-10-1) takes on Antonio Escalante (28-4). Escalante went through a recent rough patch getting stopped twice, but has made a recent come back with four straight KO wins against mostly lesser competition (although he did stop Leonilo Miranda last time out). Juarez is a former Olympian; has a boat load of talent; and honestly given all the world titles out there, it's amazing he has never been a world champ. He's lost his last 6 fights and hasn't won since 2008. Usually, his problem is that he simply starts too late and isn't active enough in his fights. But in his last two fights (against world ranked Vicente Escobedo and fringe prospect Andrew Cancio), he looked absolutely awful.

So I guess there are a few other televised boxing options available this weekend (and I think the WealthTV card is now off):

On Saturday night on PPV (for $29.95) is an odd card featuring Sadam Ali (15-0) against Jermaine White (17-5) for a regional title in the welterweight division.  Ali is a 2008 US Olympian and has been largely under the radar since turning pro in early 2009.  He has his own promotional company which is the driving force behind this PPV.  White is a journeyman fighter and his record is a bit deceiving as he has been beaten anytime he's stepped against semi-decent opposition.  He's coming off two straight losses, but despite this, he's still probably the best opponent Ali has faced to date.  Also on the card is a cruiserweight fight between Columbian prospect Santander Silgado (22-0) and Gary Gomez (19-13-2).  Silgado has a bloated record against journeymen.  Gomez is 38, but is a rugged guy who has only ever been stopped by Tomasz Adamek.  Also on the card is a matchup between two journeymen light middleweights.  Mike Ruiz (19-7), who is coming off an upset over former title challenger Paul Delgado faces off with Ronnie Warrior Jr. (13-7) who is coming off 5 straight losses (with his last one coming back in August in Charlotte).

Also, on Saturday, Fox Espanol (for those that have it) features a super featherweight fight between Sergio Thompson (24-2) and Luis Juarez (16-5-2).  Thompson is a big punching prospect out of Mexico who has beaten some good fighters and scored 22 KOs.  Three fights back, he stopped contender Jorge Linares in two rounds.  The undercard features a junior welterweight fight between Roberto Ortiz (26-0) and Jhean Carlo Romero (24-4).  Ortiz should win this one handily given his previous wins against much better opponents.

Finally, Azteca America (which is available on TWC) has a junior featherweight IBF title eliminator live from El Paso between Takalani Ndlovu (33-7), the former champ out of South Africa who lost the title back in March, and Alejandro Lopez (22-2), who is a very solid fighter.  This actually might be the best fight of the night.

A couple of notes from today:

- The Franklin Edmonson vs. Dominick Guinn boxing card scheduled for this weekend has been canceled.

- RIP Jeff Blatnick, a true class act and straight shooter.

Our national amateur USA Boxing program has been placed on a 3 month suspension by the AIBA (the international body governing amateur boxing). The AIBA had asked USA Boxing to fire President Hal Adonis due to comments he had made in an interview. USA Boxing did but had moved Adonis to a board position. Weird stuff.

A sad day for boxing fans. RIP legendary trainer Emanuel Steward.

slickrick00 wrote: A sad day for boxing fans. RIP legendary trainer Emanuel Steward.

Terrible news, I did not realize he was so ill.

slickrick00 wrote: A sad day for boxing fans. RIP legendary trainer Emanuel Steward.

Oh man, I just read his sister said he's had better days.

Damn, who would have known his last fight on HBO would be the last time we ever saw him.

Loved how excited he got for big fights & also his great analysis.

slickrick00 wrote: A sad day for boxing fans. RIP legendary trainer Emanuel Steward. 

very sad. he was my favorite trainer and announcer on hbo. ill never forget him getting in lennox lews' face in the tyson fight yelling, "get the MF out".

rowdy2000 wrote:

slickrick00 wrote: A sad day for boxing fans. RIP legendary trainer Emanuel Steward. 

very sad. he was my favorite trainer and announcer on hbo. ill never forget him getting in lennox lews' face in the tyson fight yelling, "get the MF out".

LOL...that was a classic moment. Will never forget seeing that. I always liked that he seemed calm but tended to be frank and honest with his assessment of a round. It was not unusual at all to hear him tell his guy he thinks he might have lost the round. That's a trait that is not nearly common enough. I guess I would say that he was a straight shooter and he was definitely one of the most liked personalities in the boxing industry. I was glad to see the following comment from one of Emanuel's fighters, Wladimir Klitschko:

“Boxing has suffered a tremendous loss with the passing of Emanuel Steward. Vitali and I, along with the entire Team Klitschko, send our deepest and most heartfelt condolences to Emanuel’s family and friends. It is not often that a person in any line of work gets a chance to work with a legend, well I was privileged enough to work with one for almost a decade. I will miss our time together. The long talks about boxing, the world, and life itself. Most of all I will miss our friendship. My team and I will carry on with the goals we had set while Emanuel was with us because that is exactly what Emanuel would have wanted. I know he will be with us in spirit along the way and we will accomplish these goals in his honor.”
–Wladimir Klitschko

Angelo Dundee earlier this year and now Emanuel Steward...

What a huge void those two leave in the boxing community with their passing...

RIP Manny.