Result from the Odyssey Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland U.K.:
- HWT - Tyson Fury (U.K.; 20-0) def. Kevin "Kingpin" Johnson (New Jersey; 28-3-1) by Unanimous Decision

Result from Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY on Showtime:
- 154 lbs.- Austin "No Doubt" Trout (New Mexico; 26-0) def. Miguel Cotto (Puerto Rico; 37-4) by Unanimous Decision

slickrick00 wrote: Result from the Odyssey Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland U.K.:
- HWT - Tyson Fury (U.K.; 20-0) def. Kevin "Kingpin" Johnson (New Jersey; 28-3-1) by Unanimous Decision

Result from Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY on Showtime:
- 154 lbs.- Austin "No Doubt" Trout (New Mexico; 26-0) def. Miguel Cotto (Puerto Rico; 37-4) by Unanimous Decision

Looks like Trout is a fighter to watch out for, had to finish very strong to get the win. Any win over Cotto is a big step for a rising fighter like Trout. Is a fight with Canelo next?

Maybe Fury is a little better than some seem to think, beat Johnson easily although I understand Tyson wasnt very impressive. Fury is a big big man but I dont think he is ready for a Vitaly Klitschko fight.

Vitaly may be one of the most underappreciated heavyweights ever. He can still fight with the best at any age. He has never been knocked down or lost a decision. His only two losses were from injury and he was leading in both fights. Second best knockout percentage every by a heavyweight champ. Also has a PHD and is a member of parliment in his native Ukraine.

If he were American, he might be considered one of the greatest of all time.

dunlow66 wrote:

slickrick00 wrote: Result from the Odyssey Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland U.K.:
- HWT - Tyson Fury (U.K.; 20-0) def. Kevin "Kingpin" Johnson (New Jersey; 28-3-1) by Unanimous Decision

Result from Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY on Showtime:
- 154 lbs.- Austin "No Doubt" Trout (New Mexico; 26-0) def. Miguel Cotto (Puerto Rico; 37-4) by Unanimous Decision

Looks like Trout is a fighter to watch out for, had to finish very strong to get the win. Any win over Cotto is a big step for a rising fighter like Trout. Is a fight with Canelo next?

yep, another young American guy with potential. Most boxing fans like an elite boxer from any country but to help the sport in the US, it's great to have young potential rising stars like Trout, Ward, Broner & Quillin to name a few.

dunlow66 wrote:

slickrick00 wrote: Result from the Odyssey Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland U.K.:
- HWT - Tyson Fury (U.K.; 20-0) def. Kevin "Kingpin" Johnson (New Jersey; 28-3-1) by Unanimous Decision

Result from Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY on Showtime:
- 154 lbs.- Austin "No Doubt" Trout (New Mexico; 26-0) def. Miguel Cotto (Puerto Rico; 37-4) by Unanimous Decision

Looks like Trout is a fighter to watch out for, had to finish very strong to get the win. Any win over Cotto is a big step for a rising fighter like Trout. Is a fight with Canelo next?

Maybe Fury is a little better than some seem to think, beat Johnson easily although I understand Tyson wasnt very impressive. Fury is a big big man but I dont think he is ready for a Vitaly Klitschko fight.

Vitaly may be one of the most underappreciated heavyweights ever. He can still fight with the best at any age. He has never been knocked down or lost a decision. His only two losses were from injury and he was leading in both fights. Second best knockout percentage every by a heavyweight champ. Also has a PHD and is a member of parliment in his native Ukraine.

If he were American, he might be considered one of the greatest of all time.

I thought Tyson handled himself well against Johnson.  Johnson is a guy that is hard to be truly impressive against (even Vitali didn't look great against him).  He basically fights totally defensive unless he feels he's in against someone who can't hurt him, and he doesn't seem to engage well against taller fighters.  Fury fought the correct fight and basically jabbed Johnson most of the night and pinned him against the ropes a couple of times and unloaded shots on him.  He showed good stamina in being able to continue that approach without really slowing down or getting hit through the full fight.  It seemed Johnson was likely hoping he'd run out of gas and be more open in the later rounds, but it didn't happen.  Honestly, Fury is probably as ready as he's going to be to fight a Klitschko at this point as there simply aren't many other opponents that can ready prepare him (aside from someone bigger like Wach).

Austin Trout is an excellent fighter and definitely one to keep an eye on.  I don't think Canelo's people would be willing to put him in against Trout at this point, but it would be a great fight if the sides can work it out.  Trout against Martirosyan would also be an entertaining fight.

UFC event this Saturday on primetime network FOX television from the Key Arena in Seattle, Washington (top ten world ranked fighters indicated in bold):

- 155 lbs.- Benson "Smooth" Henderson (Colorado; 16-2) vs. Nate Diaz (California; 16-7) *World Lightweight championship fight
- 170 lbs.- Rory MacDonald (Canada; 13-1) vs. B.J. "The Prodigy" Penn (Hawaii; 16-8-2)
- 205 lbs.- Alexander "The Mauler" Gustaffson (Sweden; 14-1) vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (Brazil; 21-6)
- 170 lbs.- Mike "Quick" Swick (Texas; 15-4) vs. Matt Brown (Ohio; 17-11)

Prelims on FX:
- 155 lbs.- Michael "Maverick" Chiesa (Washington; 8-0) vs. Marcus Levesseur (Minnesota; 22-6)
- 155 lbs.- Jeremy Stephens (Iowa; 20-8) vs. Yves Edwards (Texas; 41-18-1)
- 135 lbs.- Mike "The Hulk" Easton (DC; 13-1) vs. Rafael Assuncao (Brazil; 17-4)
- 155 lbs.- Joe Proctor (Massachusetts; 8-1) vs. Ramsey Nijem (California; 7-2)
- 155 lbs.- Daron Cruikshank (Michigan; 11-2) vs. Henry Martinez (New Mexico; 9-2)
- 145 lbs.- Dennis Siver (Russia; 20-8) vs. Nam Phan (California; 18-11)
- 155 lbs.- Tim Means (Oklahoma; 18-3-1) vs. Abel Trujillo (North Carolina; 9-4)
- 135 lbs.- Scott Jorgensen (Utah; 13-6) vs. John Albert (Nevada; 7-3)

slickrick00 wrote: UFC event this Saturday on primetime network FOX television from the Key Arena in Seattle, Washington (top ten world ranked fighters indicated in bold):

- 155 lbs.- Benson "Smooth" Henderson (Colorado; 16-2) vs. Nate Diaz (California; 16-7) *World Lightweight championship fight
- 170 lbs.- Rory MacDonald (Canada; 13-1) vs. B.J. "The Prodigy" Penn (Hawaii; 16-8-2)
- 205 lbs.- Alexander "The Mauler" Gustaffson (Sweden; 14-1) vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (Brazil; 21-6)
- 170 lbs.- Mike "Quick" Swick (Texas; 15-4) vs. Matt Brown (Ohio; 17-11)

Prelims on FX:
- 155 lbs.- Michael "Maverick" Chiesa (Washington; 8-0) vs. Marcus Levesseur (Minnesota; 22-6)
- 155 lbs.- Jeremy Stephens (Iowa; 20-8) vs. Yves Edwards (Texas; 41-18-1)
- 135 lbs.- Mike "The Hulk" Easton (DC; 13-1) vs. Rafael Assuncao (Brazil; 17-4)
- 155 lbs.- Joe Proctor (Massachusetts; 8-1) vs. Ramsey Nijem (California; 7-2)
- 155 lbs.- Daron Cruikshank (Michigan; 11-2) vs. Henry Martinez (New Mexico; 9-2)
- 145 lbs.- Dennis Siver (Russia; 20-8) vs. Nam Phan (California; 18-11)
- 155 lbs.- Tim Means (Oklahoma; 18-3-1) vs. Abel Trujillo (North Carolina; 9-4)
- 135 lbs.- Scott Jorgensen (Utah; 13-6) vs. John Albert (Nevada; 7-3)

That's a good card, especially for a free event

Huge week of boxing this week capped off by the Pacquiao-Marquez IV PPV on Saturday.  In addition to that, though, quite a few shows starting Thursday: 

Thursday at 10pm from Las Vegas televised on ESPN2:
Raymundo Beltran (26-6) defends his NABF lightweight title against Ji-Hoon Kim (24-7).  Beltran is one of Pacquiao's chief sparring partners and is coming off the biggest win of his career when he upset Henry Lundy to grab the NABF belt.  Kim is a big punching Korean who is coming off three straight wins after dropping a title shot to Miguel Vazquez and then losing to prospect Lenny Z.
Also on the card, Jesse Magdaleno (12-0) fights Jonathan Arellano (13-1-1) at super bantamweight.  Magdaleno is a big punching prospect but hasn't been in terribly tough in his career.  Arellano has a couple of decent victories under his belt, but was beaten when he stepped up against another prospect last time out.  Also, at welterweight, Jose Benevidez (17-0) takes on Jesus Selig (15-1-1).

Friday night at 11:35pm from Kissimmee, Florida televised on Telemundo:
Jose Nieves (20-2-3) takes on Glenn Porras (28-3) at bantamweight.  This is a very even matchup and I've read Nieves could be in line for a big fight if he can win this one.

Also, Friday night (time unknown) from Las Vegas (fight is supposed to be on Azteca America, but from the DVR schedule it looks like it may be tape delayed until Saturday night):
Jesse Vargas (20-0) takes on Vito Gasparyan (14-2-5) at weltweight.  Vargas is a big time prospect and is coming off four big wins against Josesito Lopez, Lanardo Tyner, Stevie Forbes, and Aaron Martinez.  The fight against Gasparyan is a bit of a step back in competition, but Vargas is a fighter worth watching.  The undercard features Latino heavyweight Andy Ruiz (16-0) against Elijah McCall (11-1-1).  Elijah is the son of former heavyweight champion Oliver McCall.

There are also four live televised fight cards on Saturday (including the PPV) -- I'll write up previews of those tomorrow if anyone's interested.

pack1214 wrote:

slickrick00 wrote: UFC event this Saturday on primetime network FOX television from the Key Arena in Seattle, Washington (top ten world ranked fighters indicated in bold):

- 155 lbs.- Benson "Smooth" Henderson (Colorado; 16-2) vs. Nate Diaz (California; 16-7) *World Lightweight championship fight
- 170 lbs.- Rory MacDonald (Canada; 13-1) vs. B.J. "The Prodigy" Penn (Hawaii; 16-8-2)
- 205 lbs.- Alexander "The Mauler" Gustaffson (Sweden; 14-1) vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (Brazil; 21-6)
- 170 lbs.- Mike "Quick" Swick (Texas; 15-4) vs. Matt Brown (Ohio; 17-11)

Prelims on FX:
- 155 lbs.- Michael "Maverick" Chiesa (Washington; 8-0) vs. Marcus Levesseur (Minnesota; 22-6)
- 155 lbs.- Jeremy Stephens (Iowa; 20-8) vs. Yves Edwards (Texas; 41-18-1)
- 135 lbs.- Mike "The Hulk" Easton (DC; 13-1) vs. Rafael Assuncao (Brazil; 17-4)
- 155 lbs.- Joe Proctor (Massachusetts; 8-1) vs. Ramsey Nijem (California; 7-2)
- 155 lbs.- Daron Cruikshank (Michigan; 11-2) vs. Henry Martinez (New Mexico; 9-2)
- 145 lbs.- Dennis Siver (Russia; 20-8) vs. Nam Phan (California; 18-11)
- 155 lbs.- Tim Means (Oklahoma; 18-3-1) vs. Abel Trujillo (North Carolina; 9-4)
- 135 lbs.- Scott Jorgensen (Utah; 13-6) vs. John Albert (Nevada; 7-3)

That's a good card, especially for a free event

Great card!  Also will be rooting hard for Abel Trujillo from Durham (Riverside) who will be making his UFC debut vs a very tough Tim Means.

^ Yep. Trujillo is a talented fighter. Means has a much larger frame with longer reach but I'd love to see Abel get in on him and get that win.

Why is there a Friday Night Fights special on Thursday on ESPN2? It's not even an eliminator, or title fight.

Big 4 Country wrote: Why is there a Friday Night Fights special on Thursday on ESPN2? It's not even an eliminator, or title fight.

Top Rank is hyping up Pacquiao-Marquez IV.

They have a card in Las Vegas on Thursday night and another on Friday night (on Azteca America via tape delay).  See two posts up.

NEW YORK -Saturday night's SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast of Miguel Cotto vs. Austin Trout on SHOWTIME® earned record viewership for boxing on the premium network in two categories.  The three-fight telecast drew an average audience of 1.047 million viewers, the highest since 2004 when Nielsen began to separately measure premium television multiplex channels. The main event, Cotto vs. Trout, peaked at nearly 1.4 million viewers, the highest peak on record since 2009 when data on viewership for individual bouts first became available. 

The first replay of Saturday's record-setting, three-fight telecast will air tonight, Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME EXTREME and is available at SHOWTIME ON DEMAND.

In a dramatic contest that featured swings in momentum for both men, Austin Trout defeated Miguel Cotto via unanimous decision in front of 13,000+ at New York's Madison Square Garden on December 1.  Cotto, the very popular Puerto Rican star, came into the fight with a more accomplished resume than Trout. Cotto was 7-0 at MSG, 37-3, with 30 KOs overall and entering his 21st consecutive world title fight. Trout had never fought at the famed New York arena and entered the ring undefeated in his relatively obscure career at 25-0. Trout scored what many consider a significant upset to retain his WBA Super Welterweight World Championship and hand the legendary Cotto his first loss at Madison Square Garden.

Epilogue, the second of two episodes of ALL ACCESS: Cotto vs. Trout premieres Saturday, Dec. 15 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME, immediately prior to the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast featuring Amir Khan and Carlos Molina.  Epilogue takes viewers behind the scenes of the Cotto vs. Trout fight week build-up and offers a rare glimpse into the raw emotion and drama during Saturday's world championship event and its aftermath.

This has been a huge year for Showtime. They hadn't been averaging anywhere even close to 1 million viewers heading into 2012 and they've eclipsed that twice now this year (Alvarez's fight and Cotto's fight). Good first year by Stephen Espinoza.

BlackRazor wrote:

NEW YORK -Saturday night's SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast of Miguel Cotto vs. Austin Trout on SHOWTIME® earned record viewership for boxing on the premium network in two categories.  The three-fight telecast drew an average audience of 1.047 million viewers, the highest since 2004 when Nielsen began to separately measure premium television multiplex channels. The main event, Cotto vs. Trout, peaked at nearly 1.4 million viewers, the highest peak on record since 2009 when data on viewership for individual bouts first became available. 

The first replay of Saturday's record-setting, three-fight telecast will air tonight, Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME EXTREME and is available at SHOWTIME ON DEMAND.

In a dramatic contest that featured swings in momentum for both men, Austin Trout defeated Miguel Cotto via unanimous decision in front of 13,000+ at New York's Madison Square Garden on December 1.  Cotto, the very popular Puerto Rican star, came into the fight with a more accomplished resume than Trout. Cotto was 7-0 at MSG, 37-3, with 30 KOs overall and entering his 21st consecutive world title fight. Trout had never fought at the famed New York arena and entered the ring undefeated in his relatively obscure career at 25-0. Trout scored what many consider a significant upset to retain his WBA Super Welterweight World Championship and hand the legendary Cotto his first loss at Madison Square Garden.

Epilogue, the second of two episodes of ALL ACCESS: Cotto vs. Trout premieres Saturday, Dec. 15 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME, immediately prior to the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast featuring Amir Khan and Carlos Molina.  Epilogue takes viewers behind the scenes of the Cotto vs. Trout fight week build-up and offers a rare glimpse into the raw emotion and drama during Saturday's world championship event and its aftermath.

slickrick00 wrote: This has been a huge year for Showtime. They hadn't been averaging anywhere even close to 1 million viewers heading into 2012 and they've eclipsed that twice now this year (Alvarez's fight and Cotto's fight). Good first year by Stephen Espinoza.

and how! Canelo looks like he'll be the next guy to generate huge #'s - either on PPV or premium channels.

Not bad for a dying sport

In what should be one of the biggest PPV events of the year, Pacquiao returns to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada this Saturday night on PPV (top ten world ranked boxers indicated in bold):

- 147 lbs.- Manny "Pac Man" Pacquiao (Philippines; 54-4-2) vs. Juan Manuel Marquez (Mexico; 54-6-1)

Showtime has adopted a brilliant business model:  find the most violent Mexicans on the planet and make them fight each other.  Win!

slickrick00 wrote: This has been a huge year for Showtime. They hadn't been averaging anywhere even close to 1 million viewers heading into 2012 and they've eclipsed that twice now this year (Alvarez's fight and Cotto's fight). Good first year by Stephen Espinoza.

BlackRazor wrote:

NEW YORK -Saturday night's SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast of Miguel Cotto vs. Austin Trout on SHOWTIME® earned record viewership for boxing on the premium network in two categories.  The three-fight telecast drew an average audience of 1.047 million viewers, the highest since 2004 when Nielsen began to separately measure premium television multiplex channels. The main event, Cotto vs. Trout, peaked at nearly 1.4 million viewers, the highest peak on record since 2009 when data on viewership for individual bouts first became available. 

The first replay of Saturday's record-setting, three-fight telecast will air tonight, Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME EXTREME and is available at SHOWTIME ON DEMAND.

In a dramatic contest that featured swings in momentum for both men, Austin Trout defeated Miguel Cotto via unanimous decision in front of 13,000+ at New York's Madison Square Garden on December 1.  Cotto, the very popular Puerto Rican star, came into the fight with a more accomplished resume than Trout. Cotto was 7-0 at MSG, 37-3, with 30 KOs overall and entering his 21st consecutive world title fight. Trout had never fought at the famed New York arena and entered the ring undefeated in his relatively obscure career at 25-0. Trout scored what many consider a significant upset to retain his WBA Super Welterweight World Championship and hand the legendary Cotto his first loss at Madison Square Garden.

Epilogue, the second of two episodes of ALL ACCESS: Cotto vs. Trout premieres Saturday, Dec. 15 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME, immediately prior to the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast featuring Amir Khan and Carlos Molina.  Epilogue takes viewers behind the scenes of the Cotto vs. Trout fight week build-up and offers a rare glimpse into the raw emotion and drama during Saturday's world championship event and its aftermath.

Canelo is becoming a god in the Mexican community.  But he's ripe for being exposed by a slick boxer in his prime.  Let's see him fight Trout.

BlackRazor wrote:

slickrick00 wrote: This has been a huge year for Showtime. They hadn't been averaging anywhere even close to 1 million viewers heading into 2012 and they've eclipsed that twice now this year (Alvarez's fight and Cotto's fight). Good first year by Stephen Espinoza.

and how! Canelo looks like he'll be the next guy to generate huge #'s - either on PPV or premium channels.

Not bad for a dying sport

Saturday's Televised Boxing Cards:

At 5pm from Hull, England -- televised by WealthTV
James DeGale (13-1) faces off with Fulgencio Zuniga (25-6-1).  DeGale is an Olympic Gold Medalist from the 2008 games and is the current European Super Middleweight champion.  In this fight, he squares off with Columbian Fulgencio Zuniga who has challenged for a world title several times throughout his career.  Zuniga originally fought at 154 pounds and got a fairly undeserved title shot against Daniel Santos early on his career.  Santos gave Zuniga, who is mostly a slugger, a boxing lesson.  Zuniga then went on to pull off a fairly significant upset over David Lopez by stopping him in the 12th round.  Since then, Zuniga has been stopped by Kelly Pavlik, and lost title shots against Denis Inkin and Lucian Bute at super middleweight and more recently he lost to Tavoris Cloud for a light heavyweight belt.  He's 34 and a bit long in the tooth, but still has power as he showed in knocking out former champ Alejandro Berrio earlier this year.  DeGale should be able to win the fight easily as long as he doesn't get pulled in to a slugging match (as he did when he lost his only fight to George Groves) because Zuniga has the power to KO him.

At 10pm from Anaheim, California -- televised on Fox Sports Net and Fox Sports Espanol

Luis Ramos Jr. (23-0) takes on Ricardo Williams Jr. (20-3).  Ramos is an excellent prospect and is coming off five very good wins against solid competition over the last year and a half.  During that time he's beaten former champ Francisco Lorenzo, David Rodela, and Raymundo Beltran who headlines the ESPN2 card Thursday.  He fights Williams who won a silver medal for the US in 2000.  "Slick Ricky" was considered to be a can't miss prospect for the pros -- but he showed up over-confident twice early in his career and got beat (once by 44 year old Manning Galloway).  He then went to prison for selling drugs.  He's looked bad the last few times he fought, but he does have the skills to give Ramos trouble.  Most likely Ramos wins by wide unanimous decision.  Also on the card is Jermell Charlo (9-0) against Edgar Perez (5-1) at middleweight and Thomas "Top Dog" Williams Jr. (10-0) against Ricardo Campillo (7-4) at light heavyweight.

At 10pm from Philadelphia, PA -- televised by NBC Sports Network

Bryant "Bye Bye" Jennings (15-0) defends the USBA heavyweight title against Bowie Tupou (22-2).  Jennings has become a small star fighting on NBC Sports this year.  He's had 3 fights on the network (and another fight on WealthTV) where he's rattled off victories against Maurice Byarm, former heavyweight champ Sergei Liakhovich, and Steve Collins.  Tupou is a big punching Tongan who has been stopped in both of his losses -- one to a journeyman fighter and against Malik Scott in his last fight.  He's got a couple of good wins against Manuel Quezada and Donnell Holmes.  Overall, Jennings is the favorite, but given how much of a novice he is, he could struggle against Tupou.  Also on the card, Jerry Belmontes (17-0) fights Eric Hunter (16-2) at super featherweight in a fairly even matchup.

Starting at 9pm from Las Vegas -- televised on HBO PPV

The PPV card has four fights on it.  I'm not exactly sure of the order, but my best guess is:

Javier Fortuna (20-0) fights Patrick Hyland (27-0) for the interim WBA featherweight title.  Fortuna is a damn good fighter and packs a big punch.  Hyland is fairly untested.  Honestly, not much to say about this fight -- I think Fortuna is going to put a beating on Hyland.

Yuriorkis Gamboa (21-0) defends his WBA super featherweight title against Michael Farenas (34-3-4).  Gamboa is a big puncher who does well if he's mentally focused and prepared.  Farenas has a solid record, but he's beaten very few fighters of note, and the couple of good names on his records are fringe guys that he's struggled against.  He does have a high KO percentage, but against a low level of opposition.  Gamboa hasn't fought in over a year, so if he's unprepared, Farenas could potentially give him some trouble.

Miguel Vazquez (32-3) defends his IBF lightweight title against Mercito "No Mercy" Gesta (26-0-1).  Vazquez is usually a very good fighter, but he looked quite ordinary last time out when he fought Marvin Quintero, and I thought he was fairly lucky to get the split decision in that fight.  Gesta is a very solid fighter with some good power who has a few good wins under his belt of late.  Vazquez is the better fighter overall, but this is probably a pick'em fight.

And of course, Manny Pacquiao (54-4-2) fights Juan Manuel Marquez (54-6-1) at welterweight for the 4th time.  I would expect more of the same from the first three fights with a close decision coming at the end.

Good stuff! Some interesting matchups.

Zhuge1 wrote: Saturday's Televised Boxing Cards:

At 5pm from Hull, England -- televised by WealthTV
James DeGale (13-1) faces off with Fulgencio Zuniga (25-6-1).  DeGale is an Olympic Gold Medalist from the 2008 games and is the current European Super Middleweight champion.  In this fight, he squares off with Columbian Fulgencio Zuniga who has challenged for a world title several times throughout his career.  Zuniga originally fought at 154 pounds and got a fairly undeserved title shot against Daniel Santos early on his career.  Santos gave Zuniga, who is mostly a slugger, a boxing lesson.  Zuniga then went on to pull off a fairly significant upset over David Lopez by stopping him in the 12th round.  Since then, Zuniga has been stopped by Kelly Pavlik, and lost title shots against Denis Inkin and Lucian Bute at super middleweight and more recently he lost to Tavoris Cloud for a light heavyweight belt.  He's 34 and a bit long in the tooth, but still has power as he showed in knocking out former champ Alejandro Berrio earlier this year.  DeGale should be able to win the fight easily as long as he doesn't get pulled in to a slugging match (as he did when he lost his only fight to George Groves) because Zuniga has the power to KO him.

At 10pm from Anaheim, California -- televised on Fox Sports Net and Fox Sports Espanol

Luis Ramos Jr. (23-0) takes on Ricardo Williams Jr. (20-3).  Ramos is an excellent prospect and is coming off five very good wins against solid competition over the last year and a half.  During that time he's beaten former champ Francisco Lorenzo, David Rodela, and Raymundo Beltran who headlines the ESPN2 card Thursday.  He fights Williams who won a silver medal for the US in 2000.  "Slick Ricky" was considered to be a can't miss prospect for the pros -- but he showed up over-confident twice early in his career and got beat (once by 44 year old Manning Galloway).  He then went to prison for selling drugs.  He's looked bad the last few times he fought, but he does have the skills to give Ramos trouble.  Most likely Ramos wins by wide unanimous decision.  Also on the card is Jermell Charlo (9-0) against Edgar Perez (5-1) at middleweight and Thomas "Top Dog" Williams Jr. (10-0) against Ricardo Campillo (7-4) at light heavyweight.

At 10pm from Philadelphia, PA -- televised by NBC Sports Network

Bryant "Bye Bye" Jennings (15-0) defends the USBA heavyweight title against Bowie Tupou (22-2).  Jennings has become a small star fighting on NBC Sports this year.  He's had 3 fights on the network (and another fight on WealthTV) where he's rattled off victories against Maurice Byarm, former heavyweight champ Sergei Liakhovich, and Steve Collins.  Tupou is a big punching Tongan who has been stopped in both of his losses -- one to a journeyman fighter and against Malik Scott in his last fight.  He's got a couple of good wins against Manuel Quezada and Donnell Holmes.  Overall, Jennings is the favorite, but given how much of a novice he is, he could struggle against Tupou.  Also on the card, Jerry Belmontes (17-0) fights Eric Hunter (16-2) at super featherweight in a fairly even matchup.

Starting at 9pm from Las Vegas -- televised on HBO PPV

The PPV card has four fights on it.  I'm not exactly sure of the order, but my best guess is:

Javier Fortuna (20-0) fights Patrick Hyland (27-0) for the interim WBA featherweight title.  Fortuna is a damn good fighter and packs a big punch.  Hyland is fairly untested.  Honestly, not much to say about this fight -- I think Fortuna is going to put a beating on Hyland.

Yuriorkis Gamboa (21-0) defends his WBA super featherweight title against Michael Farenas (34-3-4).  Gamboa is a big puncher who does well if he's mentally focused and prepared.  Farenas has a solid record, but he's beaten very few fighters of note, and the couple of good names on his records are fringe guys that he's struggled against.  He does have a high KO percentage, but against a low level of opposition.  Gamboa hasn't fought in over a year, so if he's unprepared, Farenas could potentially give him some trouble.

Miguel Vazquez (32-3) defends his IBF lightweight title against Mercito "No Mercy" Gesta (26-0-1).  Vazquez is usually a very good fighter, but he looked quite ordinary last time out when he fought Marvin Quintero, and I thought he was fairly lucky to get the split decision in that fight.  Gesta is a very solid fighter with some good power who has a few good wins under his belt of late.  Vazquez is the better fighter overall, but this is probably a pick'em fight.

And of course, Manny Pacquiao (54-4-2) fights Juan Manuel Marquez (54-6-1) at welterweight for the 4th time.  I would expect more of the same from the first three fights with a close decision coming at the end.

OldEastHeel wrote: Canelo is becoming a god in the Mexican community.  But he's ripe for being exposed by a slick boxer in his prime.  Let's see him fight Trout.

I agree & they'll try to keep him away from Trout if possible - for the same reason they don't want him in there with Lara either.

Angulo or Kirkland - 2 straight ahead bangers would be better for Canelo.

Tomorrow night's Pacquiao vs. Marquez event in Las Vegas is now officially a sellout with approximately 16,000 that will be in attendance and a live gate of $10,500,000. The casino money that can be commanded by Pacquiao and Mayweather just shows that they are in a different realm than anyone else in the business. Incredible.

Yep.  And Viva Mexico tomorrow night.

BlackRazor wrote:

OldEastHeel wrote: Canelo is becoming a god in the Mexican community.  But he's ripe for being exposed by a slick boxer in his prime.  Let's see him fight Trout.

I agree & they'll try to keep him away from Trout if possible - for the same reason they don't want him in there with Lara either.

Angulo or Kirkland - 2 straight ahead bangers would be better for Canelo.

Pacquiao is fading, and we'll see how much tomorrow night.  Mayweather is still the star of the show.  I actually think Ward might be better, but Mayweather is the king of the PPV.  I'm betting most of the tickets and PPV buys will be Mexicans hoping to (finally) see their hero get a just decision against Manny.  How long has it been since Manny knocked somebody out?  Four years? 

Don't get me wrong, I like the guy.  I was a huge fan when he fought his way up and took on Morales three times.  But Manny is past his sell date.  Maybe he'll prove me wrong, but I doubt it.  Meanwhile, JMM is locked, loaded, roided up, and ready to go, despite being an old man.  I hope Marquez kills him in the ring.

slickrick00 wrote: Tomorrow night's Pacquiao vs. Marquez event in Las Vegas is now officially a sellout with approximately 16,000 that will be in attendance and a live gate of $10,500,000. The casino money that can be commanded by Pacquiao and Mayweather just shows that they are in a different realm than anyone else in the business. Incredible.

I want to see Canelo fight an elite guy who knows defense and has lateral movement.  Then I will take him seriously.  So far, he's blasted a bunch of flat footed bums.  Mosley doesn't count because he quit serious boxing since before he fought Manny.  His last great performance was against Margarito, whose enitre legacy is just dog **** now. 

BlackRazor wrote:

OldEastHeel wrote: Canelo is becoming a god in the Mexican community.  But he's ripe for being exposed by a slick boxer in his prime.  Let's see him fight Trout.

I agree & they'll try to keep him away from Trout if possible - for the same reason they don't want him in there with Lara either.

Angulo or Kirkland - 2 straight ahead bangers would be better for Canelo.

Do any bars in Raleigh show boxing ppv's?

OldEastHeel wrote: I want to see Canelo fight an elite guy who knows defense and has lateral movement.  Then I will take him seriously.  So far, he's blasted a bunch of flat footed bums.  Mosley doesn't count because he quit serious boxing since before he fought Manny.  His last great performance was against Margarito, whose enitre legacy is just dog **** now. 

BlackRazor wrote:

OldEastHeel wrote: Canelo is becoming a god in the Mexican community.  But he's ripe for being exposed by a slick boxer in his prime.  Let's see him fight Trout.

I agree & they'll try to keep him away from Trout if possible - for the same reason they don't want him in there with Lara either.

Angulo or Kirkland - 2 straight ahead bangers would be better for Canelo.

I know, that's why that terrible injury to Paul Williams is sad on 2 levels - poor Paul being in a wheelchair 1st but on top of that, him vs. Canelo would have been a very interesting fight.

fireocain wrote: Do any bars in Raleigh show boxing ppv's?

I know Fox & Hound @ North Hills has in years past.

Renan Barao defending Bantamweight title against Michael McDonald Feb. 16 in London

I am interested in what you guys think of Barao, I have watched some of his highlights and the fight against Faber. He looks to be a very tough kid. Hell of a stand up fighter and good on the mat as well. How do you think he stacks up against Cruz if/when he can come back from ACL surgery?

Boxing Results:

From Las Vegas, Thursday night (ESPN2 card):
Raymundo Beltran (27-6-2) won a unanimous decision over Ji-Hoon Kim (24-8) by scores of 98-92; 98-92; and 97-94 to defend his NABF lightweight title. Very action-packed fight with both guys going down hard in the first round and slugging it out the rest of the way. Also, Jesse Magdaleno (13-0) defeated Jonathan Arellano (13-2-1) by unanimous decision. Scores were 80-72; 80-72; and 80-69. Arellano was down twice in the fight and Magdaleno pretty much dominated the action.

From Kissimmee, Florida, Friday night (Telemundo card):
Jose Nieves (21-2-3) knocked out Glenn Porras (28-4) in round 2. Nieves is usually a boxer, but as I mentioned, I have read he may be in line for a big fight if he won this one and he was definitely up for the fight. In the opening seconds of the fight, he went right at Porras and put him down. Porras survivved the round, but in the second he got nailed with a huge right hook that he didn't see coming. He was able to get up, but not continue. The nice thing about the fight getting over quick is that it bumped up another good match to the television (Ugas-Rivera). And, in a mild upset, Yordenis Ugas (13-1) won a unanimous decision over long-time contender Cosme Rivera (35-15-3) by scores of 97-93, 97-93, and 98-92.

From Hull, England, Saturday afternoon (WeathTV card):
James DeGale (14-1) won a unanimous decision over Fulgencio Zuniga (25-7-1). Zuniga was in trouble in the third round, but recovered well and finished the fight strongly. Scores were 118-109, 118-109, 118-109.

Just a reminder, in addition to the big PPV tonight, there are three other "free" cards on tonight. NBC Sports and Fox Sports South have live cards at 10pm and Azteca America has a tape-delayed card from last night in Las Vegas also at 10pm.

slickrick00 wrote: ^ Yep. Trujillo is a talented fighter. Means has a much larger frame with longer reach but I'd love to see Abel get in on him and get that win.

Trujillo dominated that!

Does anyone have a link to a site that will stream the fight?

Rory MacDonald beat up on BJ Penn, might be time for Penn to hang up the gloves.

Have to love watching one of those classless Diaz brothers getting his *** kicked.

Diaz had no business in the Octagon with Henderson, totally overmatched

was a 5 rd beatdown on Diaz.

---------------------------------------------
--- Big 4 Country wrote:

Does anyone have a link to a site that will stream the fight?

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

Pacquiao is about to start.  Star Spangle Banner is being sang right now.

pacman just got the **** knocked out of him

Come on Pac-man.