slickrick00 wrote: Overall, a strong year for both sports.

The positives for boxing are numerous:
- Solid numbers on HBO and Showtime.
- Return to network television with two events in December (one on CBS and one on NBC). The CBS event drew an average of about 1.8 million viewers and the NBC events drew an average of about 1.6 million viewers.
- Emergence of Saul Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez as real draws in this sport. Both do absolutely enormous television numbers in Mexico.
- Solid performances continued on television throughout Europe, Australia, Japan, etc...

The only real negative I could think of was:
- Three of the four biggest PPV draws in the sport (Pacquiao, Cotto and Chavez Jr.) went a combined 1-5 for the year. How that affects their sales/drawing power in the future will be something we have to keep an eye on. I don't think it will be a huge deal but it's something to keep in mind.

since those 2 are in the twilight of their careers, it's almost to be expected their #'s might be on the decline. And neither were in fights that fans really wanted to see - the Marquez fight for Manny was exciting but it was the 4th time.

BlackRazor wrote:

slickrick00 wrote: Overall, a strong year for both sports.

The positives for boxing are numerous:
- Solid numbers on HBO and Showtime.
- Return to network television with two events in December (one on CBS and one on NBC). The CBS event drew an average of about 1.8 million viewers and the NBC events drew an average of about 1.6 million viewers.
- Emergence of Saul Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez as real draws in this sport. Both do absolutely enormous television numbers in Mexico.
- Solid performances continued on television throughout Europe, Australia, Japan, etc...

The only real negative I could think of was:
- Three of the four biggest PPV draws in the sport (Pacquiao, Cotto and Chavez Jr.) went a combined 1-5 for the year. How that affects their sales/drawing power in the future will be something we have to keep an eye on. I don't think it will be a huge deal but it's something to keep in mind.

since those 2 are in the twilight of their careers, it's almost to be expected their #'s might be on the decline. And neither were in fights that fans really wanted to see - the Marquez fight for Manny was exciting but it was the 4th time.

Very true. Boxing is on an uptick, I think. The PPV numbers for the past two years have been really strong.

slickrick00 wrote:

BlackRazor wrote:

slickrick00 wrote: Overall, a strong year for both sports.

The positives for boxing are numerous:
- Solid numbers on HBO and Showtime.
- Return to network television with two events in December (one on CBS and one on NBC). The CBS event drew an average of about 1.8 million viewers and the NBC events drew an average of about 1.6 million viewers.
- Emergence of Saul Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez as real draws in this sport. Both do absolutely enormous television numbers in Mexico.
- Solid performances continued on television throughout Europe, Australia, Japan, etc...

The only real negative I could think of was:
- Three of the four biggest PPV draws in the sport (Pacquiao, Cotto and Chavez Jr.) went a combined 1-5 for the year. How that affects their sales/drawing power in the future will be something we have to keep an eye on. I don't think it will be a huge deal but it's something to keep in mind.

since those 2 are in the twilight of their careers, it's almost to be expected their #'s might be on the decline. And neither were in fights that fans really wanted to see - the Marquez fight for Manny was exciting but it was the 4th time.

Very true. Boxing is on an uptick, I think. The PPV numbers for the past two years have been really strong.

yeah, surprisingly so. In the MMA/boxing debate, some said MMA would be the death of boxing. You might even argue MMA has helped boxing, I'm not sure CBS or NBC put boxing back on TV if not for the success UFC has had & the #'s from Dec you provided appear to indicate it was a good gamble by the networks. They see people like combat sports so why not try boxing again.

Definitely. There will certainly be more boxing on network television in 2013. It's a viable sports property with a real following.

With Strikeforce coming to an end, will Benson Henderson and Gilbert Melendez fight be coming soon?

Should Melendez have to fight a contender of two or should he get an immediate title fight?

Melendez was considered the top lightweight in the world at one time, so I think he gets first option at the title.

dunlow66 wrote: With Strikeforce coming to an end, will Benson Henderson and Gilbert Melendez fight be coming soon?

Should Melendez have to fight a contender of two or should he get an immediate title fight?

Melendez was considered the top lightweight in the world at one time, so I think he gets first option at the title.

Zuffa has a date booked for the HP Pavilion in San Jose in April. Based on what I've read, Melendez could likely challenge for the lightweight championship on that card. That event will likely be televised on FOX.

thanks for the heads up, should be a great fight

Tyson Fury must be joking or insane

Via Twitter, Fury said, "If the klitchkos r 2 much of [expletive] to fight me then I'll go & fight the MMA heavyweight champ at least he is game. Wouldn't last 2 rounds! ... Cain valasquez is a little midget on steds bring it on I'll fight. Not a man born from his mother can beat me! Contact Hennessy sports! ... I'm the new baddest man on the planet I'll smash @cainmma. Let's get it on!"

Tonight at 10pm, Friday Night Fights returns on ESPN2. In the main event, two undefeated super featherweights square off as Rances Barthelemy (17-0) takes on Arash Usmanee (20-0). Usmanee is a popular Afghani who fights out of Montreal, Canada. He has previously given two undefeated fighters their first loss. Barthelemy is a product of the Cuban system and was a junior champion in Cuba. He is the younger brother of former gold medalist Yan Barthelemy and has fought a slightly better level of competition than Usmanee. The two have one common opponent, Alejandro Barrera. Usmanee stopped Barrera in the 5th round while Barthelemy got him out of there in two.

The co-feature is also an interesting fight. Jonathan Gonzalez (15-0-1) takes on Derek Ennis (23-3-1). Gonzalez was last seen embarrassing himself on HBO when he showed up almost 10 pounds overweight to fight Sergei Dzinziruk. He performed poorly in a boring fight that ended up in a draw. This fight was contracted at 154 pounds and Ennis showed up at 162 pounds for the weigh-in. Gonzalez was actually under the limit by a pound and a half. Ennis is a former USBA champ and has beaten Gabriel Rosado (who will be main eventing an HBO show against Gennedy Golovkin later this year) as well as Eromosele Albert. Gonzalez has faced former champ Dzinziruk (but did poorly) and also has wins against Billy Lyell and Richard Gutierrez. Overall, Gonzalez has more talent, but Ennis's win over Rosado is better than anything on Gonzalez's resume.

Overall, should be a good night of fights. I *think* this is the only televised card on this weekend. Telefutura has boxing listed on the schedule for tomorrow night, but it may be a replay of some previously aired fights.

The final Strikeforce event is this Saturday, January 12th, from the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on SHOWTIME (top ten world ranked fighters indicated in bold):

- 170 lbs.- Nate "The Great" Marquardt (Wyoming; 35-10-2) vs. Tarec Saffedine (Belgium; 13-3)
- HWT - Daniel Cormier (Louisiana; 10-0) vs. Dion Staring (Netherlands; 28-7)
- HWT - Josh Barnett (Washington; 31-6) vs. Nandor "The Hun" Guelmino (Austria; 11-3)
- 205 lbs.- Gegard Mousasi (Iran; 32-3-2) vs. Mike Kyle (California; 19-8-1)
- 185 lbs.- Roger Gracie (Brazil; 5-1) vs. Anthony Smith (Nebraska; 17-8)
- 185 lbs.- Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (Brazil; 16-3) vs. Ed Herman (Oregon; 20-7)
- 185 lbs.- Tim Kennedy (California; 14-4) vs. Trevor Smith (Washington; 10-2)
- 155 lbs.- Ryan Couture (Washington; 5-1) vs. K.J. Noons (Hawaii; 10-4)
- 155 lbs.- Adriano Martins (Brazil; 23-6) vs. Jorge Gurgel (Brazil; 17-8)
- 155 lbs.- Kurt Holobaugh (Louisiana; 8-0) vs. Pat Healy (Missouri; 30-16)
- 155 lbs.- Estevan Payan (Arizona; 13-3) vs. Mike Bravo (California; 7-3)

Tyson Fury is a joke and a disgrace to the sport of boxing.  If he gets into MMA, he'll be a disgrace to that sport too.

dunlow66 wrote: Tyson Fury must be joking or insane

Via Twitter, Fury said, "If the klitchkos r 2 much of [expletive] to fight me then I'll go & fight the MMA heavyweight champ at least he is game. Wouldn't last 2 rounds! ... Cain valasquez is a little midget on steds bring it on I'll fight. Not a man born from his mother can beat me! Contact Hennessy sports! ... I'm the new baddest man on the planet I'll smash @cainmma. Let's get it on!"

Results from last week's Friday Night Fights:

Rances Barthelemy won a controversial decision over Arash Usmanee (Teddy Atlas predictably freaked out after the decision was read). Jonathan Gonzalez won a very boring fight over Derek Ennis. Gonzalez doesn't seem to be the prospect people once expected him to be.

Lots more boxing on this weekend than last and quite a few shows on television.

On ESPN2's Friday Night Fights, the main event features two guys looking to get their careers going back in the right direction.  At lightweight, John Molina (24-2) takes on Dannie Williams (22-2).  Molina is coming off an embarrassing loss in which he got absolutely blitzed by Antonio De Marco in just 44 seconds in a title fight.  He's also lost to top fighter Martin Honorio, but he ran off a string of four good wins prior to losing to De Marco.  Williams was a solid looking prospect and stepped up two fights ago against Henry Lundy (a guy Molina knocked out in round 11 when Lundy faded down the stretch) and was beaten by unanimous decision.  He got back on the winning track in his last fight against a walkover opponent.  The co-feature is Brandon Gonzales (16-0) against Don Mouton (12-4-1) at middleweight.  Gonzales is a pretty solid prospect who has wins over Ossie Duran and Telefutura staple Lester Gonzalez.  Mouton is a 34 year old journeyman fighter, but he shows up to win and has defeated two previously unbeaten fighters and also knocked out former Olympian Jerson Ravelo in an upset.

Also on Friday night, Showtime has a card the features former world champion Rico "Suavecito" Ramos (21-1) against Ronny Rios (19-0) in a featherweight fight for the vacant NABF title.  Ramos has the better resume having beaten some former world champs and been a titlist himself.  His only loss is to current champ Guillermo Rigondeaux, who is a very good boxer.  Rios is another guy that's been featured on Solo Boxeo cards for much of his career.  He's got some solid wins under his belt and has looked solid, but against mostly C+ level competition.  He did knock out former fringe contender David Rodela in his last fight.  The co-feature is a light middleweight fight between Daquan Arnett (9-0) and Brandon Quarles (9-0-1).  Arnett has a couple of decent wins for this stage of his career whereas Quarles fought to a draw last time out against 38 year old John Mackey, a C level journeyman with a (13-8-3) record.

On Saturday night at 10, Fox Sports has a card on featuring a light weltweight fight between Johan Perez (15-1-1) and Stevie "Two Pounds" Forbes (35-11).  Perez fights out of Venezuela and is a former interim WBA champion.  He lost that title in his last fight to Pablo Cano (a guy that many thought beat Paulie Malignaggi last time out).  He has a couple of good wins on his record.  Forbes is a former champion at super featherweight and was in that division when it featured the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr., Acelino Freitas, and Joel Cassamayor.  Forbes resurrected his career when he finished second on the second season of The Contender which was something of a surprise given that the show was fought at welterweight -- almost 20 pounds north of super featherweight.  Over the past few years, though, he's been something of cannon fodder for prospects and has dropped three fights in a row against welterweight prospects.  He's a solid gatekeeper and will help to show just what level Perez is at.  The co-feature is Thomas Williams Jr. (11-0) against Jason Smith (8-1).  Williams is the son of former heavyweight journeyman Thomas Williams who is best known for going to prison after being found guilty of throwing a fight.  Williams Jr. has looked solid against weak opposition and has made his way on to television a few times (I've mentioned him before).  Smith has a decent record, but has fought no one.

Also on Saturday, Azteca America has a fight card from Mexico featuring a world title fight.  Adrian Hernandez (25-2-1) defends his WBC light flyweight title against Dirceu Cabarca (13-6) of Panama.  No real idea about either guy.  The co-feature is a lightweight fight between Ricardo Dominguez (36-8-2) and one of my favorite journeymen Luis Antonio "El Vampiro" Arceo (25-11-4).  Both guys are coming off two solid wins -- in fact, Arceo was the underdog in his last two fights and knocked both guys out.  This fight is a bit of a grudge match as these two fought a close fight almost two years ago.  Dominguez won that one by split decision.  I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up being the best fight of the weekend.

Boxing results from Friday night:
From ESPN2 FNF --
Brandon Gonzales (17-0) defeated Don Mouton (12-5-1) by unanimous decision. Scores were 77-75, 77-75, 78-75
John Molina (25-2) defeated Dannie Williams (22-3) by fourth round knockout


From Showtime --
Daquan Arnett (10-0) defeated Brandon Quarles by unanimous decision. Scores were 76-75, 77-74, 78-73
Ronny Rios (20-0) defeated Rico Ramos (21-2) by unanimous decision. Scores were 96-94, 97-93, 100-90. The last score was absolutely ridiculous.

Results from last night in Oklahoma City on Showtime:

- 170 lbs.- Tarec Saffiedine (Belgium; 14-3) def. Nate "The Great" Marquardt (Wyoming; 35-11-2) by Unanimous Decision
- HWT - Daniel Cormier (Louisiana; 11-0) def. Dion Staring (Netherlands; 28-8) by TKO in the 2nd
- HWT - Josh Barnett (Washington; 32-6) def. Nandor "The Hun" Guelmino (Austria; 11-4) by Submission in the 1st
- 205 lbs.- Gegard Mousasi (Iran; 33-3-2) def. Mike Kyle (California; 19-9-1) by Submission in the 1st
- 185 lbs.- Roger Gracie (Brazil; 6-1) def. Anthony Smith (Nebraska; 17-9) by Submission in the 1st
- 185 lbs.- Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (Brazil; 17-3) def. Ed Herman (Oregon; 20-8) by Submission in the 1st
- 185 lbs.- Tim Kennedy (California; 15-4) def. Trevor Smith (Washington; 10-3) by Submission in the 3rd
- 155 lbs.- Ryan Couture (Washington; 6-1) def. K.J. Noons (Hawaii; 10-5) by Split Decision
- 155 lbs.- Adriano Martins (Brazil; 24-6) def. Jorge Gurgel (Brazil; 17-9) by Unanimous Decision
- 155 lbs.- Pat Healy (Missouri; 31-16) def. Kurt Holobaugh (Louisiana; 8-1) by Unanimous Decision
- 155 lbs.- Estevan Payan (Arizona; 14-3) def. Mike Bravo (California; 7-4) by TKO in the 2nd

dunlow66 wrote: Rumors are the Cormier may try to cut weight down to fight Jon Jones instead of staying in the heavyweight division. He has a big frame but is only 5'11 and has cut weight to wrestle in the past. Looks to be pudgy at 238 so we shall see. Maybe Cain beat him up too much in practice workouts. I remember when Jones and Rashard Evans were teammates and would not fight each other, look how that worked out.

Cormier put that rumor to bed last night. Mir in April and then he's cutting weight to meet Jones this fall if Dana can make it happen.

barelypure wrote:

dunlow66 wrote: Rumors are the Cormier may try to cut weight down to fight Jon Jones instead of staying in the heavyweight division. He has a big frame but is only 5'11 and has cut weight to wrestle in the past. Looks to be pudgy at 238 so we shall see. Maybe Cain beat him up too much in practice workouts. I remember when Jones and Rashard Evans were teammates and would not fight each other, look how that worked out.

Cormier put that rumor to bed last night. Mir in April and then he's cutting weight to meet Jones this fall if Dana can make it happen.

I am anxious to see what Jones can do with a strong, physical wrestler like Cormier. Sounds like a good match up.

The UFC event this Saturday night, January 19th, from the Ibirapuera Arena in Sao Paulo, Brazil and televised live in the U.S. on FX (top ten world ranked fighters indicated in bold):


- 185 lbs.- Michael "The Count" Bisping (U.K.; 24-4) vs. Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort (Brazil; 21-10)
- 185 lbs.- Daniel Sarafian (Brazil; 8-2) vs. C.B. Dolloway (Arizona; 13-4)
- 155 lbs.- Khabib "The Eagle" Nurmagomedov (Russia; 18-0) vs. Thiago Tavares (Brazil; 21-4-1)
- HWT - Gabriel Gonzaga (Brazil; 13-6) vs. Ben Rothwell (Wisconsin; 32-8)


Preliminary bouts on FUEL TV:

- 185 lbs.- Ronny Markes (Brazil; 13-1) vs. Andrew Craig (Texas; 8-0)
- 155 lbs.- Edson Barboza (Brazil; 10-1) vs. Lucas Martins (Brazil; 11-0)
- 145 lbs.- Godofredo Castro (Brazil; 9-1) vs. Milton Vieira (Brazil; 13-7-2)
- 205 lbs.- Wagner Prado (Brazil; 8-1) vs. Ildemar Alcantara (Brazil; 17-5)
- 155 lbs.- Francisco "Massaranduba" Trinaldo (Brazil; 11-2) vs. C.J. Keith (California; 8-1)
- 135 lbs.- Pedro Nobre (Brazil; 14-1-2) vs. Yuri Alcantara (Brazil; 28-4)
- 145 lbs.- Diego Nunes (Brazil; 18-3) vs. Nik Lentz (Minnesota; 24-5-2)

Boxing results from the Fox Sports card last night (from Sunrise, Florida):

Johan Perez defeated Steve Forbes by majority decision. Scores were 95-95, 96-94, 97-93. Very close fight.
Thomas Williams Jr. defeated Jason Smith by third round TKO
Terrell Gausha (member of the 2012 US Olympic boxing team) moved to 2-0 with a first round knockout of Kenneth Schmitz
Yudel Jhonson (13-1), who was a silver medalist for Cuba in 2004, recovered from his first career loss with a unanimous decision victory of Dashon Johnson (13-10-3). All three judges had the fight 78-74.

slickrick00 wrote: The UFC event this Saturday night, January 19th, from the Ibirapuera Arena in Sao Paulo, Brazil and televised live in the U.S. on FX (top ten world ranked fighters indicated in bold):


- 185 lbs.- Michael "The Count" Bisping (U.K.; 24-4) vs. Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort (Brazil; 21-10)
- 185 lbs.- Daniel Sarafian (Brazil; 8-2) vs. C.B. Dolloway (Arizona; 13-4)
- 155 lbs.- Khabib "The Eagle" Nurmagomedov (Russia; 18-0) vs. Thiago Tavares (Brazil; 21-4-1)
- HWT - Gabriel Gonzaga (Brazil; 13-6) vs. Ben Rothwell (Wisconsin; 32-8)


Preliminary bouts on FUEL TV:

- 185 lbs.- Ronny Markes (Brazil; 13-1) vs. Andrew Craig (Texas; 8-0)
- 155 lbs.- Edson Barboza (Brazil; 10-1) vs. Lucas Martins (Brazil; 11-0)
- 145 lbs.- Godofredo Castro (Brazil; 9-1) vs. Milton Vieira (Brazil; 13-7-2)
- 205 lbs.- Wagner Prado (Brazil; 8-1) vs. Ildemar Alcantara (Brazil; 17-5)
- 155 lbs.- Francisco "Massaranduba" Trinaldo (Brazil; 11-2) vs. C.J. Keith (California; 8-1)
- 135 lbs.- Pedro Nobre (Brazil; 14-1-2) vs. Yuri Alcantara (Brazil; 28-4)
- 145 lbs.- Diego Nunes (Brazil; 18-3) vs. Nik Lentz (Minnesota; 24-5-2)

Other than the Dolloway fight, I really like the main card fights. If Rothwell keeps up the work ethic he had for preparing for his last fight, he'll keep moving up the heavyweight ladder.

This Saturday night, from The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York on HBO (top ten world ranked boxers indicated in bold):

- 160 lbs.- Gennady Golovkin (Kazakhstan; 24-0) vs. Gabriel Rosada (Pennsylvania; 21-5)
- 130 lbs.- Orlando Salido (Mexico; 39-11-2) vs. Miguel Garcia (California; 30-0)
- 130 lbs.- Roman "Rocky" Martinez (Puerto Rico; 26-1-1) vs. Juan Carlos Burgos (Mexico; 30-1)

Just a reminder that Bellator airs its first live event on SPIKE TV this Thursday night at 10:00 PM from the Bren Center in Irvine, CA. Should be a decent show (top ten world ranked fighters indicated in bold):

- 155 lbs.- Michael Chandler (Missouri; 10-0) vs. Rick Hawn (Massachusetts; 14-1)
- 205 lbs.- Renato "Babalu" Sobral (Brazil; 37-9) vs. Mikhail Zayats (Russia; 19-6 *Light Heavyweight Tournament Bout
- 205 lbs.- Jacob Noe (Tennessee; 8-1) vs. Seth "The Silverback"Petruzelli (Florida; 14-6) *Light Heavyweight Tournament Bout
- 205 lbs.- Atanas Djambazov (Bulgaria; 17-2) vs. Emanuel Newton (California; 18-7-1) *Light Heavyweight Tournament Bout
- 170 lbs.- Joe "Mongo" Williams (California; 7-1) vs. Jamie Yager (California; 6-3)
- 155 lbs.- Michael Guymon (DC; 14-5-1) vs. Savant Young (California; 10-9)
- 155 lbs.- J.J. Ambrose (California; 18-4) vs. Brian Warren (California; 18-16-1)
- 205 lbs.- Hector Ramirez (California; 9-4-1) vs. Jason Lambert (California; 25-12)
- 145 lbs.- Aaron Miller (California; 12-8) vs. Joe Camacho (California; 13-17-3)

slickrick00 wrote: Just a reminder that Bellator airs its first live event on SPIKE TV this Thursday night at 10:00 PM from the Bren Center in Irvine, CA. Should be a decent show (top ten world ranked fighters indicated in bold):

- 155 lbs.- Michael Chandler (Missouri; 10-0) vs. Rick Hawn (Massachusetts; 14-1)
- 205 lbs.- Renato "Babalu" Sobral (Brazil; 37-9) vs. Mikhail Zayats (Russia; 19-6 *Light Heavyweight Tournament Bout
- 205 lbs.- Jacob Noe (Tennessee; 8-1) vs. Seth "The Silverback"Petruzelli (Florida; 14-6) *Light Heavyweight Tournament Bout
- 205 lbs.- Atanas Djambazov (Bulgaria; 17-2) vs. Emanuel Newton (California; 18-7-1) *Light Heavyweight Tournament Bout
- 170 lbs.- Joe "Mongo" Williams (California; 7-1) vs. Jamie Yager (California; 6-3)
- 155 lbs.- Michael Guymon (DC; 14-5-1) vs. Savant Young (California; 10-9)
- 155 lbs.- J.J. Ambrose (California; 18-4) vs. Brian Warren (California; 18-16-1)
- 205 lbs.- Hector Ramirez (California; 9-4-1) vs. Jason Lambert (California; 25-12)
- 145 lbs.- Aaron Miller (California; 12-8) vs. Joe Camacho (California; 13-17-3)

I really wanna see Babalu and King Mo in the light heavyweight finals. Long way to go to get there, but that's what I'm hoping for. Really like both of those guys

slickrick00 wrote: This Saturday night, from The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York on HBO (top ten world ranked boxers indicated in bold):

- 160 lbs.- Gennady Golovkin (Kazakhstan; 24-0) vs. Gabriel Rosada (Pennsylvania; 21-5)
- 130 lbs.- Orlando Salido (Mexico; 39-11-2) vs. Miguel Garcia (California; 30-0)
- 130 lbs.- Roman "Rocky" Martinez (Puerto Rico; 26-1-1) vs. Juan Carlos Burgos (Mexico; 30-1)

The Salido/Garcia fight could be great.

Love to see Golovkin again but doubt Gabe has much/any chance.

Late results from last Saturday (finally got around to watching the fights) from the Azteca America card (from Toluca, Mexico):

Adrian Hernandez successfully defended his WBC light flyweight title (108 lbs.) against Dirceu Cabarca winning by unanimous decision. Scores were 117-110, 118-108, 119-112.

Luis Antonio "El Vampiro" Arceo avenged his loss against Ricardo Dominguez by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the fight 96-94.

Well, Babalu looked like complete **** 

Results from last night's Bellator in California on SPIKE TV:

- 155 lbs.- Michael Chandler (Missouri; 11-0) def. Rick Hawn (Massachusetts; 14-2) by Submission in the 2nd
- 205 lbs.- Mikhail Zayats (Russia; 20-6) def. Renato "Babalu" Sobral (Brazil; 37-10)
- 145 lbs.- Pat Curran ( Illinois; 18-4) def. Patricio Freire (Brazil; 17-2)
- 205 lbs.- Jacob Noe (Tennessee; 9-1) def. Seth "The Silverback"Petruzelli (Florida; 14-7) by TKO in the 1st
- 205 lbs.- Emanuel Newton (California; 19-7-1) def. Atanas Djambazov (Bulgaia; 17-3)
- 170 lbs.- Joe "Mongo" Williams (California; 8-1) def. Jamie Yager (California; 6-4) by TKO in the 1st
- 155 lbs.- Savant Young (California; 11-9) def. Michael Guymon (DC; 14-6-1) by KO in the 2nd
- 155 lbs.- J.J. Ambrose (California; 19-4) def. Brian Warren (California; 18-17-1) by Submission in the 2nd
- 205 lbs.- Jason Lambert (California; 26-12) def. Hector Ramirez (California; 9-5-1) by Submission in the 1st
- 145 lbs.- Aaron Miller (California; 12-8) vs. Joe Camacho (California; 13-17-3)

BlackRazor wrote:

slickrick00 wrote: This Saturday night, from The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York on HBO (top ten world ranked boxers indicated in bold):

- 160 lbs.- Gennady Golovkin (Kazakhstan; 24-0) vs. Gabriel Rosada (Pennsylvania; 21-5)
- 130 lbs.- Orlando Salido (Mexico; 39-11-2) vs. Miguel Garcia (California; 30-0)
- 130 lbs.- Roman "Rocky" Martinez (Puerto Rico; 26-1-1) vs. Juan Carlos Burgos (Mexico; 30-1)

The Salido/Garcia fight could be great.

Love to see Golovkin again but doubt Gabe has much/any chance.

Golovkin is a treat to watch.  I would love to see him against Sergio Martinez or Chavez Jr at some point this year.

jaybird80 wrote:

BlackRazor wrote:

slickrick00 wrote: This Saturday night, from The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York on HBO (top ten world ranked boxers indicated in bold):

- 160 lbs.- Gennady Golovkin (Kazakhstan; 24-0) vs. Gabriel Rosada (Pennsylvania; 21-5)
- 130 lbs.- Orlando Salido (Mexico; 39-11-2) vs. Miguel Garcia (California; 30-0)
- 130 lbs.- Roman "Rocky" Martinez (Puerto Rico; 26-1-1) vs. Juan Carlos Burgos (Mexico; 30-1)

The Salido/Garcia fight could be great.

Love to see Golovkin again but doubt Gabe has much/any chance.

Golovkin is a treat to watch.  I would love to see him against Sergio Martinez or Chavez Jr at some point this year.

He sure is, I know some people find boxing boring but if they want to see a guy who comes to fight/punch, please check out Golovkin. In fact Rosado comes to fight too so I doubt they'll need the judges in that one. The Salido/Garcia fight might be the most competitive & entertaining bout of the night.

Prize money for this Saturday's HBO event in New York:

Gennady Golovkin - $350,000
Gabriel Rosado - $150,000
Orlando Salido (world champion) - $200,000
Miguel Garcia - $220,000
Roman Martinez - $125,000
Juan Carlos Burgos - $50,000

The debut Bellator event last night on SPIKE TV averaged 940,000 viewers over the two hour broadcast. In my opinion that a really strong number for them. Thought it was a good show. Nice to see some really good sponsorships present, too. They had Miller Lite, Dave and Buster’s, U.S. Navy, a feature film (that looks ridiculous). 2013 could be a really good year for them.

In addition to the HBO card, NBC Sports has a couple of good fights Saturday night. In the main event, Sergey Kovalev (19-0-1) of Russia takes on former world champ Gabriel Campillo (21-4-1). Campillo, of Spain, is best known for being robbed in his last two fights in the US against Beibut Shumenov and Tavoris Cloud -- both were world title fights.

The co-feature is Elvin Ayala (26-5-1) against Curtis Stevens (22-3) for the NABF middleweight title. Ayala has fought two former or current world champs (he was KO'd by Arthur Abraham and fought to a draw against Sergio Mora). Stevens is a former top prospect who has fallen short almost every time he's stepped up. His best two wins came over three years ago when he knocked out then-undefeated (and untested) Polish prospect Piotr Wilczewski and journeyman Don Mouton (who was on Friday Night Fights last week).

Another fight that may end up on television features Vladine Biosse (14-1-1) against Marcus Upshaw (14-8-2).

slickrick00 wrote: The debut Bellator event last night on SPIKE TV averaged 940,000 viewers over the two hour broadcast. In my opinion that a really strong number for them. Thought it was a good show. Nice to see some really good sponsorships present, too. They had Miller Lite, Dave and Buster’s, U.S. Navy, a feature film (that looks ridiculous). 2013 could be a really good year for them.

Numbers will be pretty good next week too for King Mo's fight. If he somehow loses, then it will be interesting to see how the viewership continues.

Sounds like Pacquiao won't be coming back until early Fall at the earliest so this will be the first year of his career that he will only compete one time. Floyd is scheduled to fight May 4th.

The UFC held an event in the largest city in the Western Hemisphere, Sao Paulo, Brazil last night. The event was aired on FX and below were the results (top ten world ranked fighters indicated in bold):

- 185 lbs.- Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort (Brazil; 22-10) def. Michael "The Count" Bisping (U.K.; 24-5) by TKO in the 2nd
- 185 lbs.- C.B. Dolloway (Arizona; 14-4) def. Daniel Sarafian (Brazil; 8-3) by Split Decision
- 155 lbs.- Khabib "The Eagle" Nurmagomedov (Russia; 19-0) def. Thiago Tavares (Brazil; 21-5-1) by TKO in the 1st
- HWT - Gabriel Gonzaga (Brazil; 14-6) def. Ben Rothwell (Wisconsin; 32-9) by Submission in the 2nd
- 185 lbs.- Ronny Markes (Brazil; 14-1) def. Andrew Craig (Texas; 8-1) by Unanimous Decision
- 155 lbs.- Edson Barboza (Brazil; 11-1) def. Lucas Martins (Brazil; 11-1) by TKO in the 1st
- 145 lbs.- Godofredo Castro (Brazil; 10-1) def. Milton Vieira (Brazil; 13-8-2) by Split Decision
- 205 lbs.- Ildemar Alcantara (Brazil; 18-5) def. Wagner Prado (Brazil; 8-2) by Submission in the 2nd
- 155 lbs.- Francisco "Massaranduba" Trinaldo (Brazil; 12-2) def. C.J. Keith (California; 8-2) by Submission in the 1st
- 135 lbs.- Pedro Nobre (Brazil; 14-1-2) and Yuri Alcantara (Brazil; 28-4) fought to a No Contest
- 145 lbs.- Nik Lentz (Minnesota; 25-5-2) def. Diego Nunes (Brazil; 18-4) by Unanimous Decision

Boxing results from last night's HBO event (top ten world ranked boxers indicated in bold):

- 130 lbs.- Mikey Garcia (California; 31-0) def. Orlando Salido (Mexico; 39-12-2) by Technical Decision
- 160 lbs.- Gennady Golovkin (Kazakhstan; 25-0) def. Gabriel Rosada (Pennsylvania; 21-6) by TKO in the 7th
- 130 lbs.- Roman "Rocky" Martinez (Puerto Rico; 26-1-2) vs. Juan Carlos Burgos (Mexico; 30-1-1) ended in a Draw

Results from last night's NBC Sports event (top ten world ranked boxers indicated in bold):

- 175 lbs.- Sergey Kovalev (Russia; 20-0-1) def. Gabriel Campillo (Spain; 21-5-1) by TKO in the 3rd
- 160 lbs.- Curtis Stevens (New York; 23-3) def. Elvin Ayala (Connecticut; 26-6-1) by KO in the 1st

Also, former world champion Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik announced his retirment from the sport of boxing this weekend. Pavlik ends his career with a record of 40-2. His prime was spent in the middleweight division and he only ever lost there one time, a competitive decision loss to current world champion Sergio Martinez.

Won't be long until Nurmagomedov has a belt in the UFC. He's crazy good. 

Good to see Bisping lose, all the talk of him getting a title shot should be put to rest now. He's not a top 10 fighter, I don't care what his ranking is. Belfort wants to fight Jon Jones again, I think he's crazy personally, but I can see UFC giving him a shot at it. 

Personally, I would love to see Belfort fight Weidman. Winner of that gets Anderson Silva.

Just a reminder, the season premier of "The Ultimate Fighter" (Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen are coaching) is this Tuesday night from 8:00 - 10:00 PM. Going forward the episodes will be from 9:00 - 10:00. Also, this Saturday night there is no football so UFC will have FOX network primetime programming all to itself.

This Saturday's UFC event from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois on FOX network television:

- 125 lbs.- Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson (Kentucky; 16-2-1) vs. John "The Magician" Dodson (New Mexico; 15-5) *World Flyweight title fight
- 205 lbs.- Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (Tennessee; 32-10) vs. Glover Texeira (Brazil; 19-2)
- 155 lbs.- Anthony "Showtime" Pettis (Wisconsin; 15-2) vs. Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone (Colorado; 19-4)
- 145 lbs.- Erik Koch (Iowa; 13-1) vs. Ricardo Lamas (Illinois; 12-2)

Prelims on FX:
- 145 lbs.- Hatsu Hioki (Japan; 26-5-2) vs. Clay "The Carpenter" Guida (Illinois; Clay Guida; 29-13)
- 155 lbs.- T.J. Grant (Canada; 19-5) vs. Matt Wiman (Colorado; 15-6)
- 205 lbs.- Ryan Bader (Arizona; 15-3) vs. Vladimir Matyushenko (Belarus; 26-6)
- 170 lbs.- Pascal "Panzer" Krauss (Germany; 10-1) vs. Mike Stumpf (Illinois; 11-3)
- 170 lbs.- Simeon Thoreson (Norway; 17-3-1) vs. David Mitchell (California; 11-2)
- 185 lbs.- Josh Janousek (Minnesota; 8-1) vs. Michael "Judo" Kuiper (Netherlands; 12-1)
- HWT - Michael Russow (Illinois; 15-2) vs. Shawn Jordan (Louisiana; 13-4)

^ You know it's a strong card when Clay Guida and Ryan Bader are on the undercard.

Lots of good boxing this weekend.

ESPN2 returns with Friday Night Fights at 9pm.  The main event is former junior middlweight champion Sergei Dzindziruk (37-1-1) against Brian Vera (21-6).  Dzindziruk was on HBO his last two fights.  Last time he fought against Jonathan Gonzalez in a fight that was supposed to be at 154 pounds -- but Gonzalez came in almost 10 pounds over the limit.  Dzindziruk ended up taking the fight, but fought very cautiously and Gonzalez did very little.  The fight ended in a draw.  Prior to that Sergei fought for the middlweight championship against Sergio Martinez and ended up getting stopped in the 8th round.  Vera is coming off a huge win against former champion Sergio Mora (who also won the first season of The Contender).  The fight was a rematch of an earlier, controversial decision that Vera took over Mora.  Vera was featured in the third season of The Contender and has fought a number of known guys from 160 to 168.  In addition to the two wins against Mora, Vera is probably best known for a fight with Andy Lee where Lee absolutely dominated him for the first five rounds of their fight before Vera stormed back and managed to knock Lee out.  The guy is rugged and makes for very entertaining fights.

The co-feature is Tony Luis (15-0) against Jose Hernandez (13-6-1) in a fight at lightweight.  Luis is a 25 year old prospect with some decent wins against Aldo Valtierra and Alejando Barrera (who he KO'd in 1 round).  Hernandez is a journeyman fighter who has fallen short almost every fight he's stepped up to decent competition.  His best result was a draw against overrated prospect Mickey Bey Jr.

Also on Friday night, Showtime has a SHOBOX card at 11pm featuring Demetrius Andrade (18-0) and Freddy Hernandez (30-3).  Andrade is a former 2008 US Olympian who has been in with fairly light competition.  His only steps up have been against journeymen who were past their prime by the time he fought them.  Hernandez is 33 and is a former contender who challenged Andre Berto for the welterweight title.  He was stopped in the first round, but rebounded by winning a decision over former champ Luis Collazo.  Last time out he dropped a decision to Erislandy Lara in a snoozer.

The co-feature is a light welterweight fight between Raymond Serrano (18-1) and Emmanuel Taylor (15-1).  Serrano is coming off his first career loss when he was knocked out by Karim Mayfield on FNF last Summer.  He has a couple of decent victories against Daniel Sostre and Ayi Bruce.  Taylor also holds a win over Bruce and defeated an unbeaten fighter in his last fight.  Two fights ago he suffered his only loss to Prenice Brewer.

Showtime also has a live card Saturday night at 10 (with preliminary fights on Showtime Extreme starting at 8).  The main event is Lucas Matthyse (32-2) against Mike Dallas Jr. (19-2-1) for an interim title at 140 pounds.  Matthyse is an exciting fighter whose only two losses were very disputable split decision losses to Zab Judah and Devon Alexander.  He's beaten several former or current world champions having stopped Vivian Harris, DeMarcus Corley, and Humberto Soto (with also an impressive victory over Ajose Olusegun who was 30-0 when they fought).  Dallas is a solid boxer who was a big-time prospect at one time.  He's had mixed results when stepping up to better competition.  He's beaten Lanard Lane, Javier Castro, and Miguel Gonzalez who were all B level guys, but he's dropped fights to B+ guys like Josesito Lopez and Mauricio Herrera.

The co-feature is Selcuk Aydin (23-1) versus Jesus Soto-Karass (26-8-3) in a welterweight fight between two guys who like to fight.  Aydin is coming off his only career loss to Robert Guerrero (who is likely to fight Mayweather next) while Soto-Karass is coming off a loss to Marcos Maidana.  

The prelim fights on Showtime Extreme feature Jermell Charlo (19-0) taking a step up against Harry Joe Yorgey (25-1-1).  Charlo is a very good prospect who has been very well managed in his career -- he has been matched up very well throughout his career and has passed every test he's faced so far.  Yorgey challenged for a title (and lost to Alfredo Angulo in the process).  But, he did KO Ronald Hearns and defeated Jason LeHoullier in another upset.  He's now 35 and hasn't fought a real guy since Angulo stopped him.

Other fights that might make the telecast (probably only 1 or 2 of these make the broadcast, but hard to say which ones):

Chad Bennett (30-4-3) against Ben Ankrah (17-11) at junior welterweight.  Bennett is a former WBF champ at 147 from Australia and moved down in weight to try to get a shot at one of the big four titles.  He's 39 and still plugging away having won 6 straight fights.  Ankrah is a journeyman fighter from Ghana who usually loses when he steps in with a good opponent.

Francisco Vargas (14-0-1) against Ira Terry (26-10) at super featherweight.  Vargas is a former Mexican Olympian from 2008.  Terry is a journeyman who lost 8 fights in a row before winning his last two.  He's pulled off upsets over fringe guys like Leon Bobo and Verquan Kimbrough, but he won't win this fight.

Julian Williams (10-0-1) versus Jeremiah Wiggins (10-1-1) in a fairly even light middleweight matchup.  Williams is the favored fighter.

Jermall Charlo (10-0), who is the twin brother of Jermell, versus Josh Williams (8-4) at light middleweight.  Jermall is not quite as good as his twin brother.  His best win was against a very bad 5-1 fighter on Telefutura back in December.  Williams doesn't look very good on paper, but he did beat an undefeated fighter a few fights ago... but that fighter was a 39 year old New York police officer who is primarily known as a club fighter in Arkansas.