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HALL OF FAME: VIRGIL HILL’S UNLIKELY JOURNEY TO CANASTOTA

168 POUNDS 147 POUNDS

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OUR IN-DEPTH AND EXCLUSIVE DIVISION-BY-DIVISION ANALYSIS

FRESH START NEW USA BOXING BOSS OPTIMISTIC AMERICANS WILL REBOUND

HBO VS. SHOWTIME BATTLE OF NETWORKS HEATS UP WITH MAYWEATHER’S DEFECTION

HE’S BACK DAVID HAYE STILL COMMANDS ATTENTION AS HE PLOTS HIS FUTURE JULY 2013 JULY

SAFETY FIRST $8.95 BRAIN HEALTH STUDY AIMS TO EDUCATE PROFESSIONAL FIGHTERS

contents JUly 2013

FEATURES dEpARTmEnTS

28 | OUTSIDE THE ROPES 31 | SWEET SCIENCE By Scott LaFee 34 | WOMEN’S BOXING By Tom Gerbasi 36 | RING RATINGS PACKAGE 78 | BEST I’VE FACED: VIRGIL HILL By Anson Wainwright 100 | LETTERS FROM EUROPE By Gareth A Davies 104 | RINGSIDE REPORTS 84 108 | WORLDWIDE RESULTS 110 | COMING UP COVER STORY 84 FRESH START 112 | FROM THE ARCHIVE 44 STATE OF THE GAME NEW USA BOXING PRESIDENT THE RING’S EXCLUSIVE DIVISION-BY- BURSTING WITH OPTIMISM 114 | AT THE FIGHTS DIVISION ANALYSIS By Bernard Fernandez By Don Stradley 90 IMPACT OF PUNCHES AT RINGTV.COM CANELO WINS PRAISE 68 HBO VS. SHOWTIME BRAIN STUDY AIMS TO EDUCATE AND Saul “Canelo” Alvarez BATTLE OF THE BOXING PROTECT BOXERS earned the RING title and NETWORKS HEATS UP By Gordon Marino grudging respect with his By Tim Smith victory over Austin Trout. Read RingTV.com Editor 72 VIRGIL HILL Doug Fischer’s column. GO TO: http://bit.ly/ FROM NORTH DAKOTA TO BOXING’S ZexCYc or scan the QR Code. MT. OLYMPUS Q&A: ANTHONY OGOGO By Ron Borges RingTV.com caught up with former British Olympian 80 HALL OF FAME TALES 96 DAVID HAYE Anthony Ogogo before he UNUSUAL LOOK AT THIS POPULAR ‘HAYEMAKER’ SAYS HE knocked out Kieron Gray YEAR’S INDUCTEES ISN’T QUITE FINISHED in his pro debut on April 27. GO TO: http://bit. By Bernard Fernandez By Gareth A Davies ly/184jZ1M or scan the QR Code.

@Ringmagazine Breland: Getty Images; Haye: Matthew Lewis/Getty Images Lewis/Getty Matthew Getty Images; Haye: Breland: DON’T FORGET TO FOLLOW US ON: www.facebook.com/RingTV TheRingDigiTaL

THE ring magazinE / JULY 2013 3 By michael Rosenthal WORTHY OF A PROUD TRADITION vOlUmE 92, No. 7 | JuLy 2013

he future of Mexican San Antonio. FOUNDER boxing was murky as Alvarez’s performance wasn’t Nathaniel Fleischer T (1888-1972) Marco Antonio Bar- as scintillating as many in rera, Erik Morales and Juan his past but, in a challenge as EDitOR Manuel Marquez began to age. demanding as this, the victory Michael Rosenthal That fearsome threesome was spoke volumes. He proved wor- ASSOCiAtE EDitOR the post-Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. thy of his predecessors. Douglass Fischer face of the sport south of the The younger Chavez seemed U.S. border, with a collective 20 to be riding the coattails of his CONtRibUtiNg EDitOR world titles among them. famous father, using his name to Brian Harty Who was on the horizon, make a good living. Junior also though? What young Mexican or was beating up on inferior foes ARt DiRECtOR Mexicans would carry on the na- but didn’t seem to be special in Lamar Clark tion’s proud pugilistic tradition? any way. The two biggest names – However, like Alvarez, he was COvER DESigN Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Julio learning. Today, his combina- ANyoNe™ CoLLeCtive Cesar Chavez Jr. – didn’t seem tion of unusual physical strength RiNg CARD giRlS CONtRibUtOR to hold much promise a few and resilience combined with Heather Shanholtz years ago. They seemed to be improved skills makes him a too limited in terms of talent formidable opponent for just CONtROllER and development. And the fact about anyone. Deborah L. Harrison that matchmakers coddled them Chavez struggled for 11-plus CiRCUlAtiON DiRECtOR reinforced the perception. rounds in a one-sided loss to Kenneth J. Gudaitis I, for one, never believed boxer extraordinaire Sergio either would amount to much. I Martinez – no shame in that – was wrong. but demonstrated in the fnal ADvERtiSiNg iNQUiRiES Alvarez had been fed vulner- moments how dangerous he can Robert Gasparri 213-233-2952 able foes. Each of his 42 oppo- be even against a future Hall of [email protected] nents before April 20 was either Famer. He is more than just the a journeyman, past his prime or son of a great fghter. SUbSCRiPtiON iNQUiRiES at a distinct size disadvantage. Of course, no one knows SPORtS AND ENtERtAiNmENt PUbliCAtiONS Here’s the thing, though: Alvarez, how much Alvarez and Chavez P.o. Box 433122 who had no amateur career, was will accomplish before they’re Palm Coast, FL 32164-3122 learning. He was working hard fnished. 1-800-846-6438 in the gym and gleaning valuable Alvarez is only 22, a boxing [email protected] experience on fght nights. toddler still fnding his footing. bACk iSSUES Thus, he was ready when a And Chavez is 27; his best years 215-643-3087 oR oNLiNe At real challenge came along. He lie ahead. Only time will tell RiNGtv.CoM stunned many observers by whether they can even approach outboxing a boxer when he the accomplishments of Barrera, DigitAl EDitiON iNQUiRiES defeated Austin Trout – a fghter Morales and Marquez and many [email protected] some close to him wanted to more of their noted countrymen. SEND EDitORiAl COmmENtS tO: avoid – by a unanimous deci- One thing seems clear now, [email protected] sion on April 20 before almost though: Mexican boxing is in or P.o. Box 251753, 40,000 at the Alamodome in good hands. Los Angeles CA, 90025

tHe RiNG (iSSN: 0035-5410), vol. 92, No. 3 (March 2013), is published monthly by Sports and entertainment Publications, LLC, Po Box 90254 Brooklyn, Ny 11209. Periodicals postage paid at Blue Bell, PA 19422 and additional post offces. Postmasters: Send change of address notices to: tHe RiNG, P.o. Box 433122, Palm Coast, FL 32164-3122. Single copy price $8.95 in u.S. and Canada (£4.95 in the uK). Subscription price $78.70 in the u.S., $127.10 in Canada and Mexico, $143.70 in remaining countries. Not responsible for the loss or non-return of unsolicited articles or photographs, which will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed envelope bearing the proper amount of postage. the entire contents of this magazine are copyright ©2012 Sports and entertainment Publications, LLC. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. Publisher is not responsible for the accuracy of the content of advertisements appearing in this magazine, nor the delivery or quality of merchandise or services offered. No endorsement of any such advertisement is intended or implied. Advertisers and agencies assume liability for claims arising from the content of their advertisements. FoR ADveRtiSiNG iNQuiReS AND RAteS: (213) 233-2952. u.S. and Canadian distribution by Kable Distribution Services inc., 14 Wall Street, Suite 4C, New york, Ny 10022. international distribution by Worldwide Media Service inc., 115 east 23rd St., New york, Ny 10010, uK distribution by Comag tavistock Rd., West Drayton, Middlesex uB77Qe, england. Printed in U.S.A. Mike Alvarado (right) surprised Brandon Rios with his clever tactics and came away with an impressive victory in their rematch in March. Naoki Fukuda 6 the ring magazine / JULY 2013 Guillermo Rigondeaux (right) gave an inspired demonstration of boxing to dominate Nonito Donaire and win THE RING junior featherweight title in April. Naoki Fukuda Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (in black trunks) passed his biggest test by outpointing talented Austin Trout before almost 40,000 at the Alamodome in April. Naoki Fukuda Naoki Fukuda RING junior featherweight champion Nonito Donaire was too big, fast and good for Jorge Arce, who was stopped in three rounds on Dec. 15 in Houston and then announced his retirement.

the ring magazine / JULY 2013 9 GATTI NOT GREAT “bad” decisions. I watch because I FOR THE I believe the International Boxing love the entertainment of the brutal RECORD Hall of Fame should only honor the honesty between the combatants and truly great fghters, not just the good their efforts to come out victorious. I The answer to the Quick Quiz in the or very good. I was a huge Arturo watch because I admire these people June 2013 issue was incorrect. THE and wish I could still be one of them. I Gatti fan and always enjoyed his ex- RING stated that Floyd Patterson and citing style and respected his heart, watch for the unexpected. I watch Ingemar Johansson were the only courage and determination. However, to see the sweetest of sciences meet- heavyweights to fght one another it takes more than that to be consid- ing the fercest of passions. I do not ered great. Matthew Saad Muham- watch to see judges. Besides, if you for the world championship three mad possessed the same spirit and want it bad enough, you can always times. In fact, Jersey Joe Walcott and heart as Gatti but demonstrated it at try to take it out of the judges’ hands Ezzard Charles fought four times for the highest level and against the divi- as Juan Manuel Marquez did against the title. And Tommy Burns defended sion’s best fghters. When faced with Manny Pacquiao. the championship three times against elite level opponents, Gatti was easily Kyle Federowich Bill Squires. handled and often stopped. He had a Edmonton, Canada great series of fghts against Mickey THE RING erroneously stated in the Ward, but Ward was not an elite level STILL VICIOUS? story entitled “It’s Our Heritage,” in the fghter. If excitement is the criterion for entering the Boxing Hall of Fame, Most Recently Victor Ortiz has May 2013 issue, that actress Mamie then Ray Mancini, Vinny Pazienza, been trading 10-9 rounds for 9s Van Doren was one of Art Aragon’s Iran Barkley, Earnie Shavers, Troy and 10s on the dance foor while four wives; in fact, they dated. And we Dorsey and Jorge Paez should all be the jaw that Josesito Lopez broke described Sugar Ramos as a “Cuban- heals. Couple that with his new busi- inducted. They were all exciting and Mexican,” which might’ve been mis- very good fghters. Gatti possessed ness venture – his name on a bottle of cologne – and you would think leading. He was 100 percent Cuban but great qualities but he was not a great fed his native land and made Mexico fghter. There is a difference. Ortiz is following fellow fghters his permanent home after Fidel Castro Patrick Mascoe Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd May- Ottawa, Canada weather Jr. into superstardom as a came to power. crossover star. Yet as bottles of VO HEART WAS (his signature scent) get knocked off Also in the May 2013 issue, in the item GREATNESS the shelf like one of his opponents, entitled “The 10 Best,” we mistakenly one has to wonder: Is Ortiz enjoying duplicated a capsule on Mikey Garcia his time away from the sport a little I really enjoyed your article about and left another on Brandon Rios out too much? What is going through Arturo Gatti (April 2013). He was an of the magazine. The capsule on Rios, old school fghter, cut from the same the mind of a young man entering deemed at the time to be the No. 3 cloth as Joe Frazier, Evander Holy- his prime who used to scour trash- feld, Jake LaMotta and The Rock cans and dumpsters to fnd food to Mexican-American fghter, should’ve (Rocky Marciano) from the 1950s feed himself and his siblings? Is this read as follows: heavyweight division. His heart was simply a case of him trying to enjoy his greatness. It is sad Gatti won’t be himself while marketing himself to Brandon Rios at his day at the International Boxing the masses? Or something more? 31-0-1, 23 KOs Hall of Fame. Welcome to the Mount Does the rags to riches kid still have Brandon Rios, the former WBA light- that hungry, angry fghter inside? Or Olympus of boxing. weight titleholder, rose to the top of are we seeing the new Victor Ortiz, Jason Bouc the 135-pound division with impres- Omaha, Neb. a fghter who used boxing to make it out of the slums and, now that he sive victories over Anthony Peterson, TOO MUCH has, sees new, less painful ways to Miguel Acosta and Urbano Antillon WHINING? make a living? Only time will tell if before outgrowing the weight class. Victor Ortiz is still “Vicious.” The relentless 26-year-old slugger I think too much is made of the Greg Rowe rebounded from a controversial split judging problem in boxing. I have Denver, Colo. nod over Richar Abril with a savage watched hundreds of fghts and will seventh-round stoppage of fellow probably watch hundreds more. Every unbeaten contender Mike Alvarado in sport that has judging has the same WRITE TO THE RING! his 140-pound debut. issues as boxing – fgure skating, Come oUt Writing, the ring gymnastics, etc. Even if corruption P.o. Box 251753, Los Angeles, CA 90025 is totally obliterated from the face of [email protected] note: The feature that included the the earth and every judge could watch e-mailed letters will include a writer’s e-mail Rios capsule appeared before he lost to address unless a city and state of origin is Alvarado in their rematch. each round fve times from every provided. Letters may be edited for reasons of angle, I am certain we would still have space and clarity.

10 the ring magazine / JULY 2013

THE RING MAGAZINE © is fortheheavyweight throne. up inweighttochallengeJoe Lou- Then, after 10morewins, hewent a 15-rounddecisionoverBettina. title. On July13, 1939, he scored for theworldlightheavyweight position tobattleMelioBettina tories over Apostoli puthimin just howtogetit.” world, butIwasalwayspuzzled there wasthismuchmoneyinthe prompted himtosay, “I’d heard second boutwas$10,467, which twice in1939. Hispurseforthe business.” gentleman softensyouupinthis we makesomemoney. Beinga become agentlemanuntilafter a goodkid. Ihopehedoesn’t in hisfghter’s career, “Billy is (Conn’s manager), declaredearly You everseearichkidfghting?” the observation, “Sure, Iwaspoor. burgh, afactheconfrmedwith at age21. Billy Connwonthewholething the otherendofspectrum, heavyweight crownatage48. At claimed aportionofthelight defeated Tavoris Cloud, here- When Bernard Hopkins On asimilarnote, JohnnyRay Conn grewuppoorinPitts- More importantly, Conn’s vic- Conn defeatedFred Apostoli CONN BILLY THE GREAT By Thomashauser STRAighT STRAighT writes jAbS &

18, 1941, hewasleadingonthe When theymetintheringon June champions alwayscollapse.” just anotherbumatshortstop. But someday Honus Wagner wouldbe your headbrokeifyousaid that Around Pittsburgh, you’dofhad in everysportfadeeventually. got toend. The greatest athletes fghter’s chances. “But everything’s proclaimed, heraldinghisown Conn camecloseagainstLouis. “Louis isagreatfghter,” Ray their frstmeeting. Bomber’s powerin victim totheBrown before falling on thescorecards leading JoeLouis Billy Connwas word aboutanyone.” rapped anyone, neversaidabad the onlyguyIknowwhonever of hisconqueror, “Joe Louisis eighth-round knockout. out theirrematchenrouteto an self. Louisdominatedthrough- Conn wasashellofhisformer years later, theyfoughtagain, but rallied toknockhimout. Five round. Then theBrownBomber scorecards goingintothe13th the ring magazine /JULY 2013 Years later, Connwouldsay of aserioussport the lighterside 13 ROll WITH THE puNcHEs

jAbS & STRAighT writes By Thomas hauser

i have a photo of my mother toward her, slamming a closed fst THE with Muhammad Ali. It was taken into the palm of his hand until he in my apartment in 1989, when was almost on top of her. Then he SOFTER they met for the frst time. fashed that wonderful Muham- “You’re so much bigger than I mad Ali smile and reached out to thought,” my mother said when embrace her. Howard Bingham SIDE OF they came face to face. (Ali’s longtime friend and personal “Did you call me a n-----?” Mu- photographer) caught the moment hammad demanded. on flm. DON KING “No! I said, ‘bigger.’” Seventeen years later, I brought “She called me a n-----,” Mu- my mother to a Don King press hammad growled. conference at Madison Square And he advanced menacingly Garden. They spoke briefy, and I

14 the ring magazine / JULY 2013 recorded the occasion in an article “The day after my father passed entitled “My Eighty-Year-Old away,” Arthur reminisced, “the Mother Meets Don King.” Since phone rang. I picked it up and a then, whenever I see Don, he asks, voice said, ‘This is Don King.’ I “How’s your momma?” thought it was a crank call. I told Flash-forward to March 9, 2013, him, ‘Look, my father just died. at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. I’m not in the mood for jokes.’ Tavoris Cloud (King’s fghter) And the person on the phone was defending his IBF belt against said, ‘No, it’s really me. I’ll prove Bernard Hopkins. Don and I have it to you.’” had our differences over the years, Mercante smiled as he continued and at times they’ve been heated. his tale. So I was particularly appreciative “My father had a chinning bar when he allowed me to experience in the doorway to the kitchen of March 9 in a special way. our home. If any of us did some- Don said that I could stay with thing wrong, or sometimes if we him from the moment he entered just went into the kitchen to eat, the arena until the end of the night he’d tell us, ‘Do 10 chins.’ So the for an article I was writing. That voice on the phone says, ‘I came to included several hours in Cloud’s your parent’s home one time and dressing room and also sitting my hair hit the chinning bar in the next to Don during the fght (he kitchen and your father told me I always sits front row center facing had to do 10 chins.’” the primary television camera). “OK,” Arthur told the caller. “I I wanted to thank Don for al- believe it’s you.” lowing me into his world. So I “Your father was one crazy had the photo of my mother and white man,” King added. Ali made into a greeting card and wrote a message of appreciation Thomas Hauser can be reached by inside. At the beginning of the email at [email protected]. His most evening, I gave the card to Don. recent book (And the New: An Inside He opened it, looked at the photo, Look at Another Year in Boxing) was and exclaimed, “That’s two of my published by the University of Arkan- favorite people!” sas Press. The Don King charm lives on. Correction: The June 2013 Quiz H Quiz incorrectly referenced Floyd Pat- And a footnote to the evening. terson and Ingemar Johansson as the The famboyant Arthur Mercante Jr. refereed only two men who fought each other promoter Don two fghts on the Hopkins-Cloud for the heavyweight championship King also has a undercard. While I was waiting for three times. Ezzard Charles and Jersey charming side. Don to arrive at Barclays, Mer- Joe Walcott share that distinction, as cante shared a memory with me. do Tommy Burns and Bill Squires.

qUick qUiz 1. Who WAS ThE REcipiEnT oF boxing’S FiRST chAmpionShip bElT? 2. Who WERE mATTiE chApmAn, ElizAbETh ThoRnTon, KAThRyn TURnER, AlicE TRAviS And joAn hARdy? 3. Who did jim lAmplEy REplAcE WhEn hE bEcAmE ThE bloW-by-bloW commEnTAToR

Jim Lampley FoR hbo boxing in 1988?

Barry Tompkins. Barry

1. A: Tom Cribb of England, who was given a lion-skin sash with silver claws.; 2. Archie Moore’s fve wives; 3. Lampley replaced replaced Lampley 3. wives; fve Moore’s Archie 2. claws.; silver with sash lion-skin a given was who England, of Cribb Tom A: 1. King: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images; Lampley: Al Bello/ALLSPORT Images; Lampley: CLARY/AFP/Getty A. TIMOTHY King: Answers qUiz qUick

the ring magazine / JULY 2013 15 Martinez: Jeff Bottari/Stringer; Huck: THOMAS KIENZLE/AFP/Getty Images; Barker: Scott Heavey/Getty Images

H H H

for them. I love roast I love roast FIFA I like Italian. I like Italian. I’m not a gamer I’m not a gamer My life is My life is No tattoos. No tattoos. FOOD: I drive a ’95 Chevy I drive a ’95 Chevy

H FOOD:

CAR: ATHLETE (OUTSIDE (OUTSIDE ATHLETE

Menace II Society.

H H H TATTOOS:

H VIDEO GAME: VIDEO GAME:

MOVIE: H

H I drive a BMW X5, and my dream and my dream I drive a BMW X5, . H CAR:

by a mile. I’m fascinated by the Roman I’m fascinated by the Roman by a mile. H Goodfellas

As a huge Chelsea (football club) fan I would fan I would As a huge Chelsea (football club) , so if I had to choose, it would be so if I had to choose, , Kobe Bryant. Bryant. Kobe Gladiator I like hip-hop, R&B, rap. rap. R&B, I like hip-hop, I’m a big fan of John Mayer. I love real talent. And And I love real talent. I’m a big fan of John Mayer. I am relatively open-minded when it comes to I am relatively when it comes to open-minded FIFA I have a weakness for sports cars. I have already had I have a weakness for sports cars. MOVIE:

. H MOVIE: MOVIE: Tahoe. I don’t have a favorite car. don’t have a favorite car. Tahoe. I MUSIC: MUSIC: Hip-hop and house music to I’m a fan of the electric guitar. though. train to, I’m a James Bond wannabe. Aston Martin. car would be an CRAWFORD CRAWFORD prOspect JuniOr WelterWeight DARREN BARKERDARREN MiddleWeight cOntender TERENCE MARCO HUCKMARCO WBO cruiserWeight titlehOlder MUSIC: to name a few. and house, I like Balkan folk music music. CAR: cars in my life. more than 30 different

H Actually, I have none. But I wanted to get a lion on my chest to get a lion on my chest But I wanted I have none. Actually, NBA 2K13

I have brother that the top half of my back covered as a tribute to my Tiger Woods. Woods. Tiger Absolutely love dim sum. I travelled to Hong Kong a while back and a while back and I travelled to Hong Kong Absolutely love dim sum. TATTOOS:

H Anson Wainwright Anson Wainwright FOOD: (OUTSIDE BOXING): ATHLETE

WHAT BOXERS ARE INTO OUTSIDE THE SPORT OUTSIDE INTO ARE BOXERS WHAT VIDEO GAME: ATHLETE (OUTSIDE BOXING): (OUTSIDE ATHLETE I like pasta, lasagna, pizza. I like Chinese food, too. like Chinese food, pizza. I lasagna, I like pasta, at all but my friends all play a fghter myself I can in some ways relate to it. a fghter myself I can in some ways relate to it. Empire and the pure bravery of the gladiators and what they went through. And as And as Empire and the pure bravery of the gladiators and what they went through. H Soft spot for fsh and chips also. tried it there and have never looked back. TATTOOS: a cross with praying hands holding rosary beads It’s passed away [also a boxer]. I also have a rose on my forearm with rays of light and doves in the background. Scarlett Rose. name, which is my daughter’s with the name Scarlett underneath, H and know I’m a season ticket holder a have all the lads that to say play for them. the efforts they put into the team. and I also respect and admire lot of the players, Also David on and off the feld; he’s Beckham for the way he conducts himself a great role model. exciting enough. I have no need for video games. exciting enough. BOXING): beef. beef. my dad talked me out of it. Thankfully, when I was 18. By , who fought … , , who fought … , , who fought … , , who fought … , , who fought … , , who fought … , , who fought … , , who fought … , , who fought … , , who fought … ,

the ring magazine / JULY 2013 the ring magazine / JULY SERGIO MARTINEZ Bernard Hopkins Kelly Pavlik Roy Jones Jr. Evander Holyfeld John Ruiz Larry Holmes Doug Jones Muhammad Ali Arturo Godoy Harold Johnson ANGEL LUIS FIRPO fought … ROll WITH THE puNcHEs THE WITH ROll star who engaged Jack Dempsey in a to countryman and current 1923 classic, champion Sergio Martinez. Degrees of separation between fghters This of today and their predecessors. Argentine the Angel Luis Firpo, month: DEGREES AdVAnced AdVAnced 16 TENA mONTHly bOxING lIsT: THE BEST AND WORST IN BOXING FROM THE PAST MONTH Boxers in the International Boxing Hall By michael Rosenthal of Fame who never won a world title (including years they fought). GOOD JIMMY BIVINS (1940-55) – Beat the likes of Archie Moore but never received a title shot. The U.S. Senate recently approved a resolution urging CHARLEY BURLEY (1936-50) – Some consider him President Obama to posthumously pardon legendary the best boxer who never fought for a belt. heavyweight Jack Johnson, who was convicted in 1913 on trumped up charges of transporting a woman across LES DARCY (1910-16) – Boxing wizard from state lines for immoral purposes. The real reason he was Australia died at 21 after only one title shot. convicted? Because he was a black man who dared to BILLY GRAHAM (1941-55) – Lost to Kid Gavilan in live as he pleased during an intolerant time. He deserves his only two championship fghts. the pardon. We’ve been down this road, though. The SAM LANGFORD (1902-26) – Had epic series with president was asked in 2009 to clear Johnson’s name other great African-Americans. but didn’t do so because justice offcials urged him not LLOYD MARSHALL (1936-51) – Defeated Burley by to, saying pardons are meant for the living. I say we must a split decision in their only meeting. take advantage of an opportunity to right a wrong. BILLY MISKE (1913-23) – Lost to Jack Dempsey for the heavyweight crown and died at 29. LASZLO PAPP (1957-64) – Three-time Olympic BAD champion never lost as a pro. The fnal rounds of the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez-Austin YOUNG STRIBLING (1921-33) – Lost one title fght Trout fght in San Antonio should’ve been a thrilling at both heavyweight and light heavyweight. conclusion to what appeared to be a close fght. Instead, HOLMAN WILLIAMS (1932-48) – Great technician the WBC’s loathsome open scoring policy – in which the also never had a chance to fght for a title. scoring is revealed to the corners after Rounds 4 and 8 – NOTE: Many African-American fghters, including several destroyed any potential drama. Thus, Alvarez knew he here, were not allowed to fght for titles because of their would win the fght if he stayed out of harm’s way. And skin color. TV viewers were deprived of one of boxing’s most compelling moments – learning who won the fght when the announcement is made – because commentators spilled the beans. Texas must learn to say no to WBC president Jose Sulaiman. It hurts the sport. A MONTHLY POLL OF OUR RINGTV.COM READERS. Guillermo Rigondeaux looked all but untouchable in WORSE his one-sided victory over Nonito Donaire to establish Robert Guerrero has a license to possess a gun in Cali- himself as one of the best boxers in the world. Thus, fornia, where he lives. Does he have a compelling reason we asked: Who can give new RING 122-pound champ to bring it with him when he travels out of state, though? Guillermo Rigondeaux a fght? Here are the results. And if so, doesn’t common sense tell you to check the laws of other states before fying to them? Duh. Guer- THE PERCENTAGES: rero was arrested on March 28 when he handed a locked Mikey Garcia ...... 43.3 gun box – complete with gun but no ammunition – to an Abner Mares ...... 34.7 airline employee before boarding a plane in New York, Chris John ...... 12.9 whose gun laws differ from those in California. He now Carl Frampton ...... 4.1 faces up to four years in prison on felony charges. Al- Anselmo Moreno ...... 3.4 though I’m no legal expert, I’d be surprised if he spent a Scott Quigg ...... 0.9 day in jail. But there’s a lesson here: Think. Alexander Bakhtin ...... 0.7

Note: 4,200 readers voted in the poll.

the ring magazine / JULY 2013 17 NEW FAcEs

Frankie riage. But two years later it was Pacquiao. And Gomez is 3-0 since Gomez clear that Gomez wasn’t living up returning to the ring, including a has all the to his vast potential. one-sided decision over veteran tools to He had gained a reputation for spoiler Lanard Lane on his last succeed. not training seriously, which was birthday. refected in his performances. “I was young, but I’m matur- That and run-ins with the law ing now,” said Gomez, 21, who early last year resulted in an moved up to welterweight upon 11-month layoff. his return. “I’m more concentrat- Was Gomez destined to become ed on boxing now. I don’t go out the next great bust in boxing? as much anymore, and I’m more Of course, that remains to be focused on what I have to do (in seen. But he seems to be headed in the ring).” a positive direction. Gomez also had the support of He began training with Freddie his childhood hero. FRANKIE Roach at the Wild Card Box- “Train really hard; all the par- ing Club in Hollywood, Calif., tying can wait,” Gomez said, GOMEZ sparring with the likes of Manny recounting the advice he received Harry How/Golden Boy/Golden Boy/Getty Images

By mike Coppinger

THE ESSENTIALS age: 21 weight class: Welterweight height: 5-foot-8 Stance: Orthodox nickname: Pitbull hometown: East Los Angeles, Calif. Record: 15-0 (11 knockouts)

When Frankie gomez learned he was being signed by Golden Boy Promotions in 2010, the then-18-year-old was thrilled. After all, Oscar De La Hoya is Gomez’s idol. Gomez eagerly points out that he was born the year De La Hoya won his Olym- pic gold medal (1992) and that they share the same birthday (Feb. 2). And both fghters hail from East Los Angeles. De La Hoya and Co. also were excited for obvious reasons. Go- mez was one of the top amateur prospects of the time. He won multiple amateur titles and reportedly had an amateur record of 120-8. It seemed to be a perfect mar-

18 the ring magazine / JULY 2013 from De La Hoya. “It’s all going wars every day. to be there two years from now, “Big George (Foreman) came three years from now, the parties to visit me one day and Frankie aren’t going to go anywhere.” wanted to spar with him and I Gomez said his obvious poten- said, ‘Nah, he’s just visiting.’ He’s THREE tial makes him “train 10 times very game, he wants to fght the harder, so that he can be ready for best and that’s what you have to MORE TO what’s to come.” Roach likes what do to be the best.” miguel Cotto (left) he sees. Gomez plans to keep up the isn’t the fghter at 154 “He has really fast hands, he’s a pace in 2013 now that his “per- poundsWATCH that he was big puncher and I think he’s going sonal life is taken care of.” at lower weights, which became to have a lot of success as a pro. “I think it’s possible (to fulfll my obvious when he He delivers a punch correctly and potential),” he said. “I just need ANDYfought Austin trout.RUIZ JR., with good balance,” Roach said. to stay focused and train hard. “He’s defnitely my best prospect … Hopefully by the end of this HEAVYWEIGHT at this point. He spars with all my year, beginning of next year, I’ll Ruiz (17-0, 11 Kos) was a two- top guys and does very, very well; be a regular on (the premium net- time Mexican national amateur him and Manny Pacquiao had works).” champion, compiling a 105-5 record in the unpaid ranks. He’s well known for his battles with Gomez demonstrated the scale – he weighed 297½ in his punching power his pro debut – but has gradually against Pavel cut weight and came in at 256 Miranda, whose in his last bout. He’s short for night ended only 48 seconds after the a heavyweight at 6-2 but has opening bell. fast hands for a big man. He is promoted by top Rank. JERMALL CHARLO, JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHT the twin brother of top prospect Jermell Charlo, Jermall, 22, is not as well known but may be the Charlo with the brightest future. Jermall (13-0, 9 Kos) is a big puncher and stepped up in competition with a stoppage win of orlando Lora in April.

DARLEY PEREZ, LIGHTWEIGHT Perez (28-0, 19 Kos) represented Colombia at the 2008 olympic Games to cap a decorated amateur career. the 29-year-old will make his HBo debut on June 8 when he fghts yuriorkis Gamboa in Montreal. He is promoted by Gary Shaw Productions.

the ring magazine / JULY 2013 19 bOOk REvIEW

his career” after he and Holyfeld bumped heads. Referee Mitch Halpern ruled it accidental, but Tyson and his corner believed that Holyfeld had butted him on purpose. Eight months later, in the second round of their rematch, Tyson felt that Holyfeld was de- liberately butting him again. In the third, Willis wrote, the action left Holyfeld’s “right ear next to Tyson’s face. It was then Tyson turned, opened his mouth, and Evander Holyfeld cranked down, looking like some- and Mike Tyson told one biting a tough piece of jerky.” author George Willis Moments later, he did it again, what was going through their minds this time sinking his teeth into at this moment. Holyfeld’s left ear. Calling the pay-per-view broadcast for Showtime, Steve Albert said what many of us home-view- HEAVYWEIGHT CHOMP ers were thinking of Tyson: “He seems possessed right now.” Tyson New book provides a close look at Holyfeld-Tyson II was disqualifed, and the manner in which By kevin Canfeld he lost quickly became a global news story, What went through Evander tables and foors,” Wil- Willis wrote: “Even the Holyfeld’s mind after Mike Ty- lis wrote. “Among those president of the United son took a bite out of his right stuffng their pockets States, Bill Clinton, ear during their heavyweight title with chips was a future weighed in, saying he fght on June 28, 1997? Accord- NBA Hall of Famer, who was ‘horrifed’ by what ing to George Willis’ entertaining, will go nameless since no Tyson did.” astute and thoroughly reported charges were fled.” The book includes new book, Holyfeld momentarily Holyfeld had stopped recent interviews with considered returning the favor. Tyson in 11 rounds in both fghters, yet even “I said to myself don’t do it half- the initial battle, on Nov. 9, 1996. now, Willis says, “there is no way,” he told Willis. “You do it all In that fght, Willis wrote, “Ty- short answer for why Tyson” bit the way. If I bite him I’m going to son seemed enraged at seeing his Holyfeld. “He was head-butting bite his whole ear off.” Holyfeld own blood for the frst time in me and I really lost it,” Tyson told kept his chompers in check, but Willis. Holyfeld, not surprisingly, 16 years later the deeply strange has a different take: “People don’t Tyson-Holyfeld rematch remains “Even the bite because they’re mean. People an object of fascination. bite because they’re scared.” But In The Bite Fight, Willis, a New president of the Tyson and Holyfeld have put York Post columnist and box- United States, aside their differences. When ing writer, talks to all the key Holyfeld began selling his Real players and explains the forces Bill Clinton, Deal BBQ Sauce, Tyson offered an that shaped the combatants. He endorsement via Twitter: “It’s ear- also seasons his narrative with weighed in, licking good!” little-known anecdotes, like the saying he was one about the post-fght chaos The Bite Fight: Tyson, Holyfeld and at the MGM Grand. “As much ‘horrifed’ by the Night That Changed Boxing Forever, as $200,000 worth of chips and by George Willis, Triumph Books, 240 casino markers were stolen from what Tyson did.” pages, $24.95

20 the ring magazine / JULY 2013 CARD GIRL OF THE MONTH By HeAtHeR SHANHoLtZ

Frankie gomez knocksoout Pavel miranda of mexico in the f rst round during a Welterweight f ght at Los Angeles Sports Arena on December 15, 2012 in Los Angeles, California.

Height: 5-foot-5 Weight: 110 pounds Measurements: 32-25-34 Brianna Martinez Stance: Orthodox Favorite Boxer: Pacman! Hometown: Tucson, Ariz. Current Location: Tucson Where you’ve seen her: Ultimate MMA magazine, FIGHT magazine. Booking Info: [email protected]

Brianna Martinez the ring magazine / JULY 2013 23 The Ring caRd giRl of The MonTh by: HeaTHer SHanHolTz

www.heaTheRshanholTz.coM | www.TwiTTeR.coM/hshanholTz | www.facebooK.coM/ModelheaTheR DO YOU WANT TO BE A RING CARD GIRL OF THE MONTH? 24submit photos and bio to [email protected] READY TO GRUMBLE

Guillermo Rigondeaux (right) dazzled fans with his boxing skills in his unanimous-decision victory over Nonito Donaire but his cautious tactics turned off some.

BRILLIANT

The best news to come out of Guillermo BUT BORING Rigondeaux’s win over Nonito Donaire on April 13 is the realization that Rigondeaux should have no need to fght like that again. Can Guillermo Rigondeaux attract It’s not that he was completely Rigon-dull. There fans with his cautious style? was beauty in the skill he used to disarm Donaire so effectively for so much of their 12-round bout. And David Greisman By there was drama in the suspense as we waited to see if Donaire could change the fght with his power, or if instead Rigondeaux would proceed to pick him apart. Yet more time was spent waiting for them to punch than actually watching them throw. There is a dif- Naoki Fukuda Naoki Fukuda ference between winning respect and winning fans. Rigondeaux now has a lot of one but just a little more of the other. While he won conclusively in his frst

THE ring magazinE / JULY 2013 25 READY TO GRUMBLE

New RING champ Rigondeaux was on top of the world after his career- defning victory over Nonito Donaire.

HBO main event, he did not do so compellingly. The last show that brought this much “nothing” to New York City was Seinfeld. Rigondeaux threw just 33 punches per round, landing an average of about 11. He expended more effort in making Donaire miss than in making him pay. Meanwhile, Rigondeaux showed just enough of his sizzling speed and precise power to demonstrate to Donaire that he posed a threat, even though he did not often follow through on it. It was brilliant, really. Rigon- deaux defeated Donaire physically by defeating him mentally, though more with a Cold War approach than with many heated exchanges. It was an arms race: Rigondeaux showed early just how easily his arms could send his gloves cleanly into Donaire’s face and just how diffcult it would be for Donaire to have his hands land anywhere ex- cept far from their target. Once Donaire found himself mired in this “Missing the Cuban Naoki Fukuda Crisis,” Rigondeaux could then send out shots with less fear of

26 the ring magazine / JULY 2013 Bradley continued to stand and trade with his chin exposed to further heavy hooks. Bradley won a close, unanimous decision, and probably lost a lot of himself in the ring. But he will now be more popular than heMiguel had Cotto ever (left) been before, even af- isn’tter the his fghter win at 154last year over Manny poundsPacquiao, that he awas controversial deci- sionat lower that weights, led people to villainize which became himobvious even when though he the true culprits werefought Austintwo Trout.judges. He was far from the frst top boxer to have a surprisingly diffcult time in what he thought was a keep-busy bout. Instead of Team Alvarado was ecstatic after this being a night that Bradley Mike Alvarado would rather forget, the fght will turned his prove to be memorable — and career around the fghter has proven himself to by outboxing Brandon Rios. be marketable. Alvarado, meanwhile, was already a fan favorite for the retaliation. He wasn’t fearless, give them other reasons, though. way he had warred with Breidis though. Even though he often No other junior featherweight Prescott, Mauricio Herrera and made the Filipino Flash look fac- was as good as Donaire, and Brandon Rios. His rematch with cid, Rigondeaux remained careful, Donaire is nowhere near as great Rios was not expected to be too never overconfdently overextend- as Rigondeaux. Rigondeaux made different. The thought was that ing himself with activity. his point by outboxing Donaire. Alvarado would try to box in The lone time Rigondeaux let He can now be entertaining as he order to avoid being hurt and his guard down was in the 10th outclasses the rest. stopped again, but that Rios round, when Donaire forced his would break him down. way out of a clinch and fnally H Brawling had made Alvarado clocked Rigondeaux, sending an attraction. This time, it could him to the canvas. That would be Just as one punch can change have left him an afterthought. A Donaire’s best round. Rigondeaux a fght, one fght can change a second loss to Rios would mean would soon follow with his own, career. In the span of one week, rebuilding himself, and a second hurting Donaire with a single left Timothy Bradley and Mike Al- beating would lessen his ability hand in the 12th, drawing swell- varado both separated themselves to do that. ing around Donaire’s right eye as from what had brought them Alvarado still endured a ferce if to put an exclamation point on into the spotlight — and in the fght. As with warriors before him the lesson he had given through- process they revived their careers. such as Arturo Gatti and Diego out the evening: You can’t hit Bradley had never been a slick Corrales, he cannot help but fght what you can’t see. boxer, but he also had not been with blood and guts. He also Rigondeaux fought the way he as recklessly aggressive as he boxed with wisdom and patience. did because of the danger and was from the outset of what be- Gatti’s name is forever tied with because of yet another calculated came a brutal battle with Ruslan that of Micky Ward. Corrales decision from a man whose every Provodnikov. It was the wrong will always be thought of along- action in the ring has a reason. idea; as a welterweight in the Top side Jose Luis Castillo. Mike He is conclusively the best boxer Rank stable, he merely needed to Alvarado raised his stature in the at 122 pounds and can be consid- win in order to set himself up for sport because of his bouts with ered one of the top talents in the another signifcant payday later Brandon Rios. Now, though, he sport. For that alone, people will this year. That opportunity hung can go on to try to make a name watch him again. He will need to in the balance as the badly hurt for himself.

THE ring magazinE / JULY 2013 27 OUTSIDE THE ROPES

And he was so annoyed to about a possible appear- come across three twenties ance in the Octagon. that he ripped up the of- fending notes and fushed London’s Michael Nor- them down a toilet. This grove, 31, appeared to be was around the same time winning his sixth profes- another video surfaced of sional bout on March 28 Broner at a strip club, ap- when the ref stopped it pearing to be orally “ser- due to the junior middle- vicing” a dancer onstage. weight prospect’s unusual Classy guy. behavior. Norgrove then collapsed and was taken to Clifford Etienne, who the hospital, where he died learned to box in prison nine days later due to com- before going 29-4-2 as a plications from a blood clot Robert heavyweight pro and then in his brain. Guerrero’s stupid mistake returning to prison in 2006 could prove to for armed robbery, attempt- Carl “The Truth” Wil- be costly. ed murder, carjacking and liams died on April 7. kidnapping, had 55 years The former heavyweight removed from his sentence contender was best known on a technicality in April. for a narrow 15-round loss BAD BOYS That brought it down to to Larry Holmes in 1985 105 years. and a one-round defeat at the hands of Mike Tyson By Brian Harty And it turns out that Ta- in 1989. Williams always merlan Tsarnaev, the insisted that the latter was 26-year-old Boston bomb- stopped too soon. obert Guer- was locked in a box, un- ing suspect who died after rero’s appear- loaded and reportedly reg- a gunfght with police, was Finally, a hostage situa- R ance on The istered to Guerrero in Cali- also a boxer. Great. Tsar- tion on April 9 ended with 700 Club and his stated fornia, New York requires naev was the New England the deaths of two people belief that God was pick- that all guns in the state be Golden Gloves heavy- and a fre that destroyed a ing him to “humble” Floyd liscensed there, and its re- weight champion in 2009 medical offce building in Mayweather Jr. on May 4 cord for prosecuting viola- and 2010, and once served Detroit. Dr. Stuart Kirschen- were in character. Guerrero tors is second perhaps only as a sparring partner for baum, a podiatrist, lost has never tried hide his to The Old Testament in super middleweight con- more than four decades’ strong faith. While boarding terms of smiting. The Ghost tender Edwin Rodriguez. worth of patient records a plane at New York’s Ken- could face as much as four in the blaze, as well as a nedy Airport on March 28, years in jail. He was sched- Former undisputed heavy- trove of boxing memora- Guerrero also chose not to uled to appear in court weight champ Riddick bilia that included what he hide the fact that he was on May 14, 10 days after Bowe, now 45 years old, called “perhaps the best traveling with a gun in his whatever was or wasn’t announced that he would Joe Louis collection in the luggage. He was promptly wrought in Las Vegas. make his Muay Thai debut world.” Kirschenbaum, a arrested and charged with against Russian Levgen former boxing commission- four felonies. Not that Guerrero did all Golovin on May 16 in Thai- er, had served as a guard- Queens District Attorney the stupid stuff in March. land. ian to Louis’ widow, Mar- Richard Brown went for Fresh off his arrest for bat- tha, in the last three years

the low-hanging fruit, say- tery in Miami, Adrien Bro- Two-time welterweight of her life. He had intended Donald Miralle/Getty Images ing, “I hope that Mr. Guer- ner showed up in a video titleholder Andre Berto for the “gloves, clothing, rero fghts better than he in which he was pulling revealed that he, too, has letters, photos and other thinks.” hundred-dollar bills from a a yearning to kick people. artifacts” to be housed in a But it’s no joke. Although three-inch stack and fip- He said he has spoken to future Michigan Boxing Hall the .40-caliber handgun ping them onto the foor. UFC President Dana White of Fame.

28 the ring magazine / JULY 2013

SWEET SCIENCE FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY, PUNCH LIKE A SHRIMP By Scott laFee

n boxing, speed and power are everything. Boxers who I throw blows faster and harder than their pummeled opponents tend to win more often than they lose. That’s obvious even to the concussion-addled. So boxers of all stripes, amateur or pro, spend a lot of time working to improve the speed of their fsts and the pack in their punch. Ricky Hatton’s compact punches These things go hand-in-glove. traveled a short The physics of punching is fairly distance but were straightforward. When a boxer is powerful because coiled to strike, the energy con- they moved quickly. tained in his drawn-back arm and fst is described as “potential.” Any good boxer has lots of potential Distance is explicitly limited by opponent’s jaw. energy. What matters is what hap- the maximum length of a fghter’s At that point, the concept of pens next, when the boxer begins arm. The longer the limb, the impulse applies, which means to throw a punch and that poten- faster a punch can move – at least there’s been a change in momen- tial energy becomes “kinetic.” in theory. Timing is more a matter tum. Kinetic energy is transferred of talent, training and luck. Some from the moving fst to the re- Physicists measure boxers naturally accelerate their ceiving jaw. The fst slows down, speed with a arms faster than others, or they the jaw (and rest of the head) simple calculation: learn how to. speeds up, absorbing some of Velocity equals distance What’s the advantage of punch- that momentum to begin moving over time. ing faster? Well, for one thing, it in the same general direction as likely means a fghter can throw the traveling fst. There are two more of them in a fnite period of The mass of a fst is constant, fundamental ways to time. But more important, a faster but momentum is not: The faster a make a thrown fst punch delivers more hurt. fst moves, the greater its momen- move faster: Again, the explanation is basic tum and the bigger the exchange Lengthen the distance it cov- physics. A fst in motion carries of energy when it hits something. ers (which allows for increasing momentum, which in scientifc In the movie Rocky IV, Ivan velocity) or, given the same dis- terms means it has a tendency to Drago – the best boxer Russian tance, shorten the time between resist change in acceleration until, science could build – supposedly

ANDREW YATES/AFP/Getty Images ANDREW YATES/AFP/Getty start and fnish. naturally, it collides with, say, an throws a punch that registers

the ring magazine / JULY 2013 31 SWEET SCIENCE

2,150 pounds per square inch in force, or more than twice the measured bite pressure of lions, tigers and hyenas. It’s fction. No actual human can hit anywhere near that hard, at least not according to real-world research. For example, a 2005 study of seven Olympic boxers in varying weight classes revealed their peak punch force ranged between 447 to 1,066 psi. The bigger the boxer, the greater the punching power. In another study of 70 boxers, it was estimated the elite fghters averaged 776 psi. And in 1985, the same year Rocky IV debuted, tests involving boxer Frank Bruno found the English heavyweight could throw a punch with a maximum force of 920 psi, which researchers ex- trapolated to a real-life blow of 1,420 pounds. That’s enough force to accelerate a receiving opponent’s head to 53 g’s – 53 times the force of gravity. Most lethal auto acci- dents, by comparison, involve colliding forces between 30 and 60 g’s. (Bruno’s punching power served him well, albeit not very long. The British boxer won 40 of 45 fghts in his career, becoming World Boxing Council heavyweight champ in 1995 when he outpointed Oliver McCall over 12 rounds. But six months later, Bruno stepped into the ring a second time with Mike Tyson, who stopped him in the third round. It was Bruno’s last professional fght.) More recently – in 2007 – researchers at the University of Manchester in England attempted to measure the punch force of boxer Ricky Hatton who, at the time, was an undefeated 28-year-old junior welterweight titleholder with the scary nickname of “Hitman.” The scientists had Hatton smack a 70-pound punching bag outftted with sensors. The Hitman generated roughly 800 pounds of force. By comparison, the average person with no boxing skills or training, according to the researchers, can generate about 80 punching pounds of force. Slow motion video of Hatton’s punches showed that he could typically generate fst speeds of 25 miles per hour, with a maximum of 32 mph. When the researchers tried, their best speed was a laggardly 15 mph. Still, Hatton is no match for the recognized speed-punching champion of the animal world: the mantis shrimp, a cousin of crabs and lobsters that hurls its hinged front appendages at un- suspecting passing prey. A few years back, University of California, Berkeley researcher Sheila Patek and colleagues clocked the attacking arms of the peacock mantis shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus) at speeds ap- proaching 50 mph, accelerating at up to 10,000 g’s. Not surprisingly, these shrimp pack a wallop: One specimen under study (aptly named Tyson) reportedly struck the side of his laboratory aquarium, breaking the quarter-inch-thick glass. Mantis shrimp may be just a few inches long and weigh only grams, but when it comes to punching speed and power, they’re in a class by themselves. © howaRd schaTz © howaRd

December 31, 2013 wOMEN’S BOxING ANOTHER MISSED OPPORTUNITY Holly Holm’s retirement apparently spoils any chance of a superfght with Cecilia Braekhus

By Thomas Gerbasi

The decision of Holly Holm (right, fghting Anne Sophie Mathis) to focus on MMA appears to have quashed hopes of a showdown with Cecilia Braekhus.

hey’re the two best box- the game today. vs. Lucia Rijker, but igniting a ers in the world. They And then, on April 16, any hope frestorm on social media. Holm, a T fght at about the same of a Holm vs. Braekhus show- three-division world champ, took weight. And even though fght down seemed to slip away. Holm plenty of abuse on Twitter for

fans have been clamoring for announced that day her retirement choosing to walk away from the Holm: Press; Braekhus:Associated KIMMO MANTYLA/AFP/Getty Images them to meet one another in the from boxing – effective after her sport without fghting Braekhus, ring, something has always stood fght against Mary McGee on May the current WBA, WBC and WBO in the way. 11 – to pursue a career in mixed welterweight titleholder. Sound familiar? martial arts. Braekhus, fresh off a third-round This isn’t about Floyd May- “My passion is just really in knockout of Mia St. John on April weather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, MMA, and I want to make a 13, didn’t shy away from throwing though, as the men don’t have a go at it,” said Holm, already 3-0 wood on the fre. monopoly on intriguing super- in MMA. “I am very, very disappointed,” fghts that may never materialize. The shocking news spread quick- said Braekhus. “A fght against Holly Holm and Cecilia Braekhus ly, not just throwing Holm vs. Holly would have been the biggest had their own potential dream Braekhus into the scrap bin with thing in women’s boxing, the one fght, one that would’ve deter- other superfghts such as Laila Ali fght every fan wants to see. It’s mined the best female fghter in vs. Ann Wolfe and Christy Martin a shame that it will not happen.

34 the ring magazine / JULY 2013 POUND FOR POUND Miguel Cotto (left) isn’t the fghter at 154 pounds that he was 1. atHOllY lower weights, HOlM, U.S. 32-2-3which became(9 KOs) obvious when he Juniorfought Austin welterweight Trout. Braekhus’ 2. CECIlIA BRAEKHUS, Norway reaction to Holm’s announcement? 21-0 (5 KOs) “I’m very, very Welterweight disappointed.” 3. MElISSA HERNANDEz, U.S. 18-3-3 (6 KOs) But it’s not our fault. We’ve done fghts don’t get made. Pacquiao- Featherweight all we could. When she has the Mayweather, when it should have chance to give the fans what they been made wasn’t made. It’s a 4. AvA KNIgHT, U.S. want to see, she retires.” shame that this fght has gone the 11-1-3 (5 KOs) Even as late as the day of Holm’s same way. We tried everything. We Flyweight retirement press conference in her put in a six-fgure offer to them, hometown of Albuquerque, N.M., and we’ve jumped through all the 5. ANNE SOPHIE MATHIS, France Braekhus’ reps from Sauerland hoops with them. So what can 26-3 (22 KOs) Event made an offer to Holm’s you do?” Welterweight promoter, Lenny Fresquez. But it The last proposal from Team was too little too late. Braekhus was for a fght in Co- 6. MARIANA JUAREz, Mexico “We were negotiating to fght in penhagen, Braekhus’ hometown, 36-6-3 (16 KOs) January, and we didn’t hear from but Sauerland admits that he Junior bantamweight them,” said the New Mexico- was also amenable to a two-fght based promoter. “Then on Jan. deal with bouts in Europe and 7. lAYlA MCCARTER, U.S. 24 we hear they’re fghting Mia the United States. Yet it’s clear 35-13-5 (8 KOs) St. John, and that was kind of that when it came down to it, Junior middleweight the straw that broke her (Holm’s) Holm made the fnal call. Her back because after Cecilia there heart evidently was not in the 8. YESICA YOlANDA BOPP, was no one else to fght. On their sport anymore. Argentina side there was still hope, but I had “I am a fghter, and I’m not 24-0 (11 KOs), told Nisse (Sauerland) in January scared of her,” said Holm, 31. Flyweight that when they signed that Mia “And I think people know that, fght, this fght was probably not and they want to push me and 9. FRIDA WAllBERg, Sweden gonna happen now. He thought I see if they can make it happen. 11-0 (2 KOs) was just negotiating.” But I told myself from the begin- Junior lightweight Sauerland, who has been in ning: I will never take a fght boxing since birth as the son of for money or for fame. I would 10. ERICA ANABEllA FARIAS, Hall of Famer Wilfried Sauer- only take a fght for passion and Argentina land, was stunned by the news of what’s in my heart. And I’ve al- 16-0 (9 KOs) Holm’s retirement. ways stuck to that. So as much Lightweight “I’m a big boxing fan, and I as my ego wants to say, ‘Fine, also work in boxing, and I had a I’ll just go fght her,’ my heart is Note: Holm will be removed from chance to make a great fght,” he somewhere else, and I’m listening the list after her May 11 fght said. “Too often these days big to it.” because of her retirement.

THE ring magazinE / JULY 2013 35 fighter of the month | ratings analysis | pound-for-pound | the ring ratings

Guillermo Rigondeaux (right) was in complete control of his fght against Nonito Donaire from beginning to end.

fighter of the month: GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX By Michael Rosenthal

Say what you want Fighter of the Month over ing Donaire (31-2, 20 knock- about the tactics of Guiller- Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, who outs) with remarkable defen- mo Rigondeaux in his unan- claimed an important victory sive skills and blazing-quick, imous-decision victory over but wasn’t as dominating accurate punches to win 114- RING junior featherweight against a less-proven foe in 113, 115-112 and 116-111 champ Nonito Donaire on Austin Trout on April 20. and capture the RING cham- April 13 in New York City. Everyone recognized Rigon- pionship. Ignore the close Too defensive? Overly cau- deaux’s ability going into the scores. It was a wipeout. tious? Downright boring? fght. The Cuban was one The performance might not Doesn’t matter. The fact of the best amateur boxers have thrilled those who crave is he utterly dominated an in history, having won two action – Rigondeaux (12-0, 8 opponent who was rated Olympic gold medals. How- KOs) isn’t that type of fghter No. 5 on THE RING’s ever, he was only 11-0 going – but it was stunning in its pound-for-pound list going into the Donaire fght; he thoroughness. In one remark- into the fght. had yet to prove whether he able fght he left no doubt Naoki Fukuda Naoki Fukuda That’s why Rigondeaux could be a dominating pro. that he is one of the best was a fairly easy choice for And then he did, outclass- boxers in the world.

36 the ring magazine / JULY 2013 FOR PERIOD ENDING APRIL 21, 2013

PoUnD for PoUnD: Nonito Donaire tin Trout (No. 3 at the time). Alvarez Cristian Mijares by a split decision fell from the No. 5 spot all the way claimed the vacant RING champion- in Mexico City. to No. 10 after his unanimous-deci- ship, Trout rose to No. 2 and every- sion loss to Guillermo Rigondeaux. one below him gained a rank, with BAntAmWeightS: Joseph Agbeko, That lifted everyone from No. 6 to Ohio son Willie Nelson taking the fghting for the frst time since he No. 10 up a notch. No. 10 spot. lost to Abner Mares in 2011, con- vincingly outpointed Luis Melendez heAVYWeightS: Ruslan Chagaev WeLterWeightS: No change. and returned to the ratings at No. (No. 7 last month) and Robert He- 10 (replacing Jamie McDonnell). lenius (No. 6 last month) swapped JUnior WeLterWeightS: Mike Al- places after the former stopped un- varado gained redemption in an- JUnior BAntAmWeightS: Rodel May- rated Mike Sheppard in one round other brilliant clash with Brandon ol (No. 9 last month) was removed while the latter outpointed Michael Rios, scoring a unanimous-decision from the ratings, elevating Oleydong Sprott (also unrated). Tyson Fury win over the brawler from Kansas. Sithsamerchai one notch and mak- (No. 9 last month) got up from the Alvarado climbed from No. 8 to ing room at No. 10 for Arthur Vil- canvas to stop former cruiserweight claim the No. 6 spot from Rios, who lanueva, who won a wide decision titleholder Steve Cunningham (un- fell to No. 7 and pushed undefeated over previously undefeated Marco rated) in seven rounds and rose to Russian Khabib Allakhverdiev down Demecillo in the Philippines. No. 8 as a result. one notch. fLYWeightS: Akira Yaegashi rose CrUiSerWeightS: No change. LightWeightS: No change. from a mid-level rating at strawweight to claim the RING fyweight Light heAVYWeightS: Tony Bellew JUnior LightWeightS: Unrated Ta- championship from Toshiyuki Iga- (No. 10 last month) moved up to kashi Miura stopped Gamaliel Diaz rashi via a unanimous decision in No. 8 after drawing with No. 7 Isaac in nine rounds to take the WBC title Tokyo. In Macau, No. 1-rated Brian Chilemba in England. Chilemba and No. 8 rating. Diaz fell off the list. Viloria lost a split decision to Juan maintained his position. Meanwhile, Everyone from Evgeny Gradovich Estrada (No. 2 last month), who No. 9-rated Gabriel Campillo was (No. 7 last month) to Javier Fortuna earned the No. 1 spot in addition to dropped from the list to make room (No. 10 last month) moved up a the WBA and WBO titles. Viloria fell at the bottom for Denis Grachev, space, and erstwhile Puerto Rican to No. 2, Igarashi dropped to No. 5 who outpointed previously unde- Juan Manuel Lopez reclaimed a and everyone else on the list was feated Zsolt Erdei in Monte Carlo. spot at No. 10. pushed down a notch.

SUPer miDDLeWeightS: Robert feAtherWeightS: No. 6-rated Daud JUnior fLYWeightS: Pedro Guevara Stieglitz (No. 6 last month) notched Yordan was dropped from the list won a split decision over former his best win yet over ratings main- after losing by 12th-round stoppage strawweight titleholder Raul Garcia stay Arthur Abraham (No. 5 at the to unrated South African Simpiwe to crack the ratings at No. 10. No. time), a fourth-round TKO. Stieglitz Vetyeka. Celestino Caballero (No. 5 9 Alberto Rossel was dropped and displaced Thomas Oosthuizen at last month) ended a 16-month layoff No. 10 Felix Alvarado rose a notch No. 4 while Abraham fell to No. 6. with a loss to unrated Mexican Rob- in the process. inson Castellanos. Caballero was miDDLeWeightS: No change. dropped from the list, Castellanos StrAWWeightS: Unrated Katsunari claimed the bottom spot and every- Takayama wrested the IBF title from JUnior miDDLeWeightS: James one in between climbed one notch. Mario Rodriguez (No. 3 last month) Kirkland (No. 8 last month) was and arrived in the ratings at No. 4. dropped due to inactivity, lifting No. JUnior feAtherWeightS: Guillermo South African Nkosinathi Joyi rose 9 Zaurbek Baysangurov and No. Rigondeaux (No. 1 last month) gave to No. 3 while Rodriguez dropped 10 Ishe Smith up one position each Nonito Donaire a boxing lesson at to No. 5, with everyone below los- and creating a vacancy for unde- Radio City Music Hall to take the ing a spot and No. 10 Merlito Sabil- feated Demetrius Andrade to fll at Filipino Flash’s RING championship lo being pushed from the list. With No. 10. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (No. and the WBO belt, as well as retain Yaegashi vacating his no. 6 spot to 2 last month) showed some surpris- his own WBA title. Victor Terrazas assume the throne at 112 pounds, ing boxing skills on the way to a replaced Jonathan Romero at No. those below moved up one notch close unanimous decision over Aus- 10 after defeating the accomplished each and Sabillo returned at No. 10.

the ring magazine / JULY 2013 37 AS OF APRIL 21, 2013 FOR WEEKLY UPDATED RING RATINGS, GO TO RINGTV.COM

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (right) mixed in a little power punching with his newfound boxing tactics.

HEAVYWEIGHTS CRUISERWEIGHTS LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHTS WEIGHT UNLIMITED WEIGHT LIMIT: 200 LBS WEIGHT LIMIT: 175 LBS WEIGHT LIMIT: 168 LBS

38 THE RING MAGAZINE / JULY 2013 MIDDLEWEIGHTS JR. MIDDLEWEIGHTS WELTERWEIGHTS JR. WELTERWEIGHTS weighT limiT: 160 lBs weighT limiT: 154 lBs weighT limiT: 147 lBs weighT limiT: 140 lBs

LIGHTWEIGHTS JR. LIGHTWEIGHTS FEATHERWEIGHTS JR. FEATHERWEIGHTS weighT limiT: 135 lBs weighT limiT: 130 lBs weighT limiT: 126 lBs weighT limiT: 122 lBs

HOW OUR RATINGS ARE COMPILED

Championship vacancies can be f lled in the following two ways: for 18 months (even if he f ghts at another weight); 5. The Cham- 1. THE RING’s Nos. 1 and 2 contenders f ght one another; 2. If the pion does not schedule a f ght with a Top-5 contender from any Nos. 1 and 2 contenders chose not to f ght one another and either weight class for two years; 6. The Champion retires. of them f ghts No. 3, No. 4 or No. 5, the winner may be awarded THE RING Ratings Chairman Chuck Giampa considers input THE RING belt if the Editorial Board deems the contenders worthy. from the Ratings Panel of boxing journalists from around the world A champion can lose his belt in six situations: 1. The Cham- but has f nal say on all changes. That applies to both the pound- pion loses a f ght in the weight class in which he is champion; 2. for-pound and divisional ratings. The Champion moves to another weight class; 3. The Champion does not schedule a f ght in any weight class for 18 months; 4. The Records provided by boxrec.com Champion does not schedule a f ght at his championship weight

THE RING MAGAZINE / JULY 2013 39 BANTAMWEIGHTS JR. BANTAMWEIGHTS FLYWEIGHTS JR. FLYWEIGHTS weighT limiT: 118 lBs weighT limiT: 115 lBs weighT limiT: 112 lBs weighT limiT: 108 lBs

STRAWWEIGHTS weighT limiT: 105 lBs

10. NONITO DONAIRE Philippines | 31-2-0 (20 Kos) | JR. FeatheRWeIGht

THE RING POLICY ON RATED BOXERS WHO TEST tests positive and he waives his right to have the “B” sample tested then the POSITIVE FOR PERFORMANCE-ENHANCING DRUGS boxer shall immediately be removed from the ratings. A boxer whose “A” sample tested positive and is awaiting the results of his THE RING will remove from its ratings any rated boxer — including a cham- “B” sample will not be allowed to f ght for a championship or rise in the ratings. pion — if such boxer at some point undergoes drug testing (Olympic-style or A boxer who is removed because of a positive test will have the opportunity otherwise) and that boxer tests positive for a performance-enhancing drug. to earn his way back into the ratings after any suspension period is completed. In the event that a boxer has undergone testing in which the boxer A boxer who is dropped also may be reinstated if the testing agency provides two samples (“A” and “B”) and the boxer’s “A” and subsequent “B” subsequently reverses its decision or a court of competent jurisdiction f nds samples test positive for a performance-enhancing drug or if his “A” sample that the test result was invalid. 40 THE RING MAGAZINE / JULY 2013 rateD FiGhterS by country

mexico 30-* russia united states 29-* japan 17 united kingdom poland united kingdom 16 ukraine kaZakhstan canada germany russia 14 armenia japan

philippines 10 united states cuba dominican republic puerto rico cuba 5 mexico philippines germany 5 thailand nicaragua south africa 5 panama indonesia thailand 5 argentina 4 austrailia south africa australia 3 argentina dominican republic 3 nicaragua 3 30 or more 20 - 29 10 - 19 5 - 9 2 - 4 poland 3 puerto rico 3 ukraine 3 MexiCan aMeriCaS VS. armenia 2 canada 2 CraDleS the WorlD the states that produced the 29 rInG-rated Mexican boxers the fact that fghters from 35 countries are kaZakhstan 2 (including the biggest city or cities in each state). rated by tHE rInG is evidence that boxing panama 2 is fourishing around the world. However, 8 – Sinaloa (CuliaCan, loS MoChiS) nowhere is that more the case than in the bulgaria 1 7 – DiStrito FeDeral (MexiCo City) Americas. Here’s a look at how the Americas cameroon 1 4 – JaliSCo (GuaDalaJara) – north, South and central – compare with the rest of the world in terms of rated fghters. denmark 1 2 – Sonora (herMoSillo) DIVISION AMERICAS WORLD 2 – BaJa CaliFornia (tiJuana, MexiCali) finland 1 HEAVYWEIGHTS ...... 1 ...... 10 1 – nayarit (tepiC) france 1 CRUISERWEIGHTS ...... 2 ...... 9 1 – Quintana roo (CanCun) ghana 1 LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS ...... 3 ...... 8 1 – MiChoaCan (Morelia) SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHTS ...... 3 ...... 8 indonesia 1 1 – GuanaJuato (leon) MIDDLEWEIGHTS ...... 3 ...... 8 jamaica 1 1 – hiDalGo (paChuCa De Soto) JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHTS ... 10 ...... 1 malaWi 1 1 – Chihuahua (Chihuahua) WELTERWEIGHTS ...... 8 ...... 2 namibia 1 Note: Juan Manuel JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHTS .... 7 ...... 4 Marquez (of Distrito nigeria 1 LIGHTWEIGHTS ...... 6 ...... 4 Federal) is rated in romania 1 two weight divisions JUNIOR LIGHTWEIGHTS ...... 7 ...... 3 but is counted only uganda 1 FEATHERWEIGHTS ...... 8 ...... 3

Mayweather: Naoki Fukuda; Marquez: Getty Images once here. uZbekistan 1 JUNIOR FEATHERWEIGHTS... 3 ...... 8 BANTAMWEIGHTS ...... 4 ...... 6 * Includes two ratings for Floyd JUNIOR BANTAMWEIGHTS ... 3 ...... 7 Mayweather Jr. (junior middleweight, welterweight) and Juan Manuel FLYWEIGHTS ...... 6 ...... 5 Marquez (welterweight and junior JUNIOR FLYWEIGHTS ...... 5 ...... 5 welterweight). STRAWWEIGHTS ...... 3 ...... 7 TOTAL ...... 82 ...... 98

the ring magazine / JULY 2013 41 Note: These lisTs were compiled Through fighTs as of april 21, 2013.

tHE rInG staff members’ current champions in the original eight weight classes. our guest this month is rInG contributor norm Frauenheim.

MiChael roSenthal RING MaGazINe edItoR Leo Santa Cruz was heaVyWeiGht: WladIMIR KlItschKo unbeaten going into liGht heaVyWeiGht: aNdRe WaRd his fght against MiDDleWeiGht: seRGIo MaRtINez Alexander Munoz on May 4. WelterWeiGht: Floyd MayWeatheR JR. liGhtWeiGht: adRIeN BRoNeR FeatherWeiGht: GuIlleRMo RIGoNdeaux BantaMWeiGht: aNselMo MoReNo FlyWeiGht: RoMaN GoNzalez

DouG FiSCher RINGtV.coM edItoR heaVyWeiGht: WladIMIR KlItschKo liGht heaVyWeiGht: aNdRe WaRd MiDDleWeiGht: seRGIo MaRtINez WelterWeiGht: Floyd MayWeatheR JR. liGhtWeiGht: adRIeN BRoNeR FeatherWeiGht: chRIs JohN BantaMWeiGht: aNselMo MoReNo FlyWeiGht: RoMaN GoNzalez

leM SatterFielD staFF WRIteR heaVyWeiGht: WladIMIR KlItschKo liGht heaVyWeiGht: aNdRe WaRd MiDDleWeiGht: seRGIo MaRtINez WelterWeiGht: Floyd MayWeatheR JR. liGhtWeiGht: adRIeN BRoNeR FeatherWeiGht: GuIlleRMo RIGoNdeaux BantaMWeiGht: aNselMo MoReNo FlyWeiGht: RoMaN GoNzalez

norM FrauenheiM BoxING WRIteR heaVyWeiGht: WladIMIR KlItschKo liGht heaVyWeiGht: aNdRe WaRd MiDDleWeiGht: seRGIo MaRtINez WelterWeiGht: Floyd MayWeatheR JR. liGhtWeiGht: adRIeN BRoNeR

FeatherWeiGht: MIKey GaRcIa Images Boy/Getty Boy/Golden how/Golden harry BantaMWeiGht: leo saNta cRuz FlyWeiGht: RoMaN GoNzalez

Note: This is how the weights break down: heavyweight includes cruiserweight, light heavyweight includes super middleweight, all divisions middleweight through fyweight include the “junior” versions, and fyweight also includes strawweight.

42 the ring magazine / JULY 2013

Naoki Fukuda OF

STATE THIS REPORT IS BASED ON FIGHTS THROUGH APRIL 21 APRIL THROUGH ON FIGHTS IS BASED THIS REPORT Andre Ward Andre Wladimir Klitschko

Chad Dawson Sergio Martinez THE

Omar Narvaez Danny Garcia Marco Huck Marco the ring magazine / JULY 2013 the ring magazine / JULY ANNUAL REPORT ANNUAL 44 (1) Huck:Karina Hessland/Bongarts/Getty Images; (2) Ward: MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images; (3) Rigondeaux: Naoki Fukuda; (4) Mayweather: JOHN GURZINSKI/AFP/GettyImages; (5) Dawson: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images; (6) Garcia: Al Bello/Getty Images for Golden Boy Promotions; (7) Klitschko: Joern Pollex/Bongarts/Getty Images; (8) Broner: Al Bello/Golden Boy/Golden Boy/Getty Images; (9) Alverez: Josh Hedges/Getty Images; (10) Martinez: Al Bello/Getty Images; (11) Narvaez: ALEJANDRO PAGNI/AFP/Getty Images; (12) Gonzalez: TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images.

BEST PUNCHER Marco Huck

BEST BOXER Yoan Pablo Hernandez

MOST PROTECTED Brian Viloria rakHiM cHakHkiev

Guillermo Rigondeaux

THE

Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Adrien Broner GAME

Canelo Alvarez

THE RING’S EXCLUSIVE DIVISION-BY-DIVISION REPORT When putting together our annual State of the Game report, the tendency is to be optimistic. We try to put a happy spin on even the By Don Stradley dourest situations. Floyd Mayweather Jr. never fought Manny Pacquiao? Well, at least we had the two of them living on the same planet and that was cool, right? Too many bad decisions? Well, at least the fghts are going 12 rounds, right? That’s the glass-half-full philosophy. Lately, though, our good cheer sounds hollow, even to us. Roman Gonzalez As we looked over each weight class for this year’s report, the problems of the sport kept coming to the fore. We wanted to forget the negative part of boxing and focus on the athletes. But how can one do that when nearly every fghter we look at is guilty of something, whether it be failing a drug test, or not fghting outside of his hometown, or working for a promoter who doesn’t want to play with the

the ring magazine / JULY 2013 45 the State of the Game heavyweight

other promoters, or building up his record by fghting tomato cans? Fighters will say “it’s not about the money” and then they balk at fghting someone because they aren’t getting paid enough. Now and then a great fght takes place, but sometimes it appears the good fghts happen in spite of, rather than because of, the powers that be. Boxing isn’t in the worst shape it’s ever been in. There are some admirable fghters at work today, and we give them their due on the following pages. But when the highlight of the week is listening to Mayweather’s grandmother drop an F-bomb on Showtime, it’s clear that boxing is happily dumbing itself down for an audience that demands very little from it. Why should boxing try to improve? We already buy what they’re selling. If someone puts on a pay-per-view event and nobody buys it, maybe then you’ll see some changes. In the meantime, our State of the Game gives a brief snapshot of each weight class in 2013. The accompanying sidebars include a couple of categories that may need some explaining. “Deserves a Title Shot” is tricky, because most ranked fghters have al- Klitschko: PATRIK 50 Cent: STOLLARZ/AFP/Getty Images; Jeff Bottari/Getty Images ready had a title shot or even worn a title belt. But we offer names of fghters who might deserve a second chance, or perhaps we’ll mention a belt holder we’d like to see face a RING champion. And “Matchmaker’s Dream” can mean different things, such as a bout that would unify titles, or in some cases, just a fght we’d like to see. Yes, despite our grousing, there are still fghts we’d like to see.

46 the ring magazine / JULY 2013 BEST PUNCHER DESERVES A TITLE SHOT t may be our imagina- wladiMir klitscHko tYson furY tion but even with the I BEST BOXER MOST FUN TO WATCH addition of some new wladiMir klitscHko cHris arreola faces to the division, the heavyweights seem stuck in MOST PROTECTED ON THE WAY UP Malik scott deontaY wilder the same quagmire they have been in for years. Russia’s IS HE STILL AROUND? ON THE WAY DOWN heavyweight duo of Denis oliver Mccall dereck cHisora Boytsov and Alexander Povet- MATCHMAKER’S DREAM BEST FIGHT IN 2012 kin remain undefeated, but eitHer klitscHko vs. setH MitcHell ko 3 Povetkin’s latest win was over tYson furY cHazz witHersPoon 40-year-old Hasim Rahman and Boytsov is still f ghting having defended his throne twice seriously about retirement. As eight-rounders in Belgium. since last year’s State of the Game, much as we admire Vitali, his re- The United Kingdom’s Tyson f rst by obliterating Thompson (KO tirement might be a good thing for Fury, who stopped the much 6) and then by winning a relatively the division. We’re getting a little smaller Steve Cunningham in easy 12-round decision over Po- tired of his easy wins over bland his American debut in April, land’s Mariusz Wach. Wach landed mandatory challengers. And un- is becoming a bigger player in some good shots early in the bout, less he agrees to a challenge from the division. but Klitschko doesn’t crumble the someone like Fury, there’s little Finland’s Robert Helenius way he once did. Klitschko was he can do to create excitement. If was less than impressive recent- scheduled to f ght unheralded Fran- he retires, the WBC belt is up for ly against journeyman Michael cesco Pianeta in May. grabs, and perhaps someone like Sprott (UD 10). Sometimes He- Fury or Helenius could get it, set- lenius looks like Thor himself THINK ABOUT IT: ting up a unif cation bout with coming to knock the hell out Vitali Klitschko, 41, remains the RING, WBA, WBO and IBF cham- of the division; now he’s begin- WBC titlist and THE RING’s top- pion Wladimir Klitschko. That’s ning to look like Joe Bugner. ranked contender for his brother’s not exactly Ali-Frazier, but it’s (Google him if you don’t get championship but is talking more something. H the reference.) And Kubrat Pulev is beating the same journeymen as everyone else, WHAT’S IN IN: FIGHTERS BEING but with only 19 f ghts on his AND WHAT’S SUSPENDED out: fiGHters learninG ledger he’s doing it in a shorter OUT IN 2013 tHeir lesson amount of time. The rest of the IN: MAYWEATHER IN: FIGHTS AT heavyweight Top 10 is made RADIO CITY up of guys who have had their JUMPING TO SHOWTIME out: MaYweatHer out: fiGHts on tHe radio title shots and aren’t likely to JuMPinG into tHe rinG create much interest: David witH MannY IN: ROBERT GARCIA out: freddie roacH Haye, Ruslan Chagaev, Tomasz IN: FIGHTERS ON Adamek and Tony Thompson, TWITTER IN: BERNARD HOPKINS who scored a big upset by stop- out: fiGHters saYinG AT 48 out: Glen JoHnson at 44 ping the U.K.’s gigantic young- anYtHinG MeMorable ster David Price in two rounds IN: 50 CENT IN: FIGHTERS NAMING in February. out: tHe MoneY teaM THEIR PRICE out: david Price Champion Wladimir Klitsch- ko continues his unlikely reign, IN: BANNED SUBSTANCES out: HeavYweiGHts witH Wladimir Klitschko substance remains the king of IN: BARCLAYS CENTER heavyweights. out: iran barkleY Mike Tyson and 50 Cent

the ring magazine / JULY 2013 47 Hernandez: Christof Koepsel/Bongarts/Getty Images; Hopkins: Elsa/Golden Boy/Golden Boy via Getty Images

H The rest of the class is uneven. The rest of the class is uneven. King promoting his next bout, King promoting his next bout, im- tell how Huck’s one can’t mediate future will pan out. Lateef Kayode is talking about An- jumping to heavyweight, is still under sus- Tarver tonio pension after a failed drug test last June and young Russian happy to be back at cruiser- happy to the divi- He might be weight. star if he were breakout sion’s fght outside of Ger- willing to but the cruiserweights many, in modern exemplify a problem titlists has boxing: Each of the with fefdom, settled into a little fghting Huck and Hernandez in Germany, almost exclusively his activity Wlodarczyk keeping and Lebedev limited to Poland Maybe Her- staying in Russia. defend nandez will eventually Huck, the RING belt against which could be a big bout for Germany since Huck has become a sort of working-class Don With cult hero over there. gold medalist Rakhim Chakhkiev gold medalist Rakhim Chakhkiev remains untested after only 16 Ukraine’s Meanwhile, pro bouts. Dmytro Kucher fought six times in 2012 and his frst effort of 2013 was a near shutout decision over Julio Cesar Dos Santos. There is talent in the division. they get around to fghting Will each other? Or are they waiting to see who gets to beat up Roy this year? Jones Jr. THINK ABOUT IT: wins over Hari Miles (UD 10), wins over Hari Miles (UD 10), Juho 8), David Quinonero (KO Haapoja (UD 12) and Sean he has shown a 9), Corbin (TKO fghting in willingness to travel, and even New Poland, Germany, Could he be the man to Jersey. break the cruiserweights out of their home-cooking rut? Poland’s Mateusz Masternak Mateusz Masternak Poland’s fought four times since the last with Along State of the Game. Yoan Joan Pablo Joan Yoan Hernandez is the RING champion butRING champion has really separatedhas really no elite cruiserweight himself from the pack. himself from Masternak Marco Huck Marco Huck BEST BOXER ricHard Hall ON THE WAY UP ON THE WAY BEST PUNCHER 12 silvio branco 12 silvio Yunier dorticos ePifanio Mendoza ePifanio rakHiM cHakHkiev MOST PROTECTED ON THE WAY DOWN ON THE WAY Mateusz Masternak Mateusz BEST FIGHT OF 2012 MOST FUN TO WATCH MOST FUN TO WATCH IS HE STILL AROUND? Yoan Pablo Hernandez Yoan Pablo Giacobbe fraGoMeni sd MATCHMAKER’S DREAM MATCHMAKER’S DESERVES A TITLE SHOT Marco Huck vs. Mateusz Marco Huck vs. Mateusz be in a “watch and wait” wait” and “watch a in be and IBF RING mode. his division appears to his division appears to

the ring magazine / JULY 2013 the ring magazine / JULY Huck’s heavyweight experiment heavyweight experiment Huck’s the State of the Game of the State the

CRUiSeRweight T is apparently over, and he seems and he seems is apparently over, with a unanimous decision win with a unanimous decision win over Firat Arslan. bi (they have a rematch pending bi (they have a rematch pending in May) and turned in another of his crowd-pleasing performances against former titlist Guillermo against former titlist Guillermo Marco Huck retained the Jones. WBO title with a hard-earned Afola- majority draw against Ola of Santander Silgado for his lone of Santander Silgado for his lone although defense in recent times, he has a bout scheduled for May Francisco Palacios (UD 12). And And Francisco Palacios (UD 12). WBA beltholder Denis Lebedev scored a fourth-round stoppage decision over Canada’s Troy Troy decision over Canada’s Wlo- WBC titlist Krzysztof Ross. darczyk defended once against champion Yoan Pablo Hernandez Pablo Hernandez Yoan champion made one defense since last year’s a unanimous State of the Game, 48 Light heavyweight

hen Bernard Hop- BEST PUNCHER Jean Pascal and Lucien Bute, it W kins defeated Tavoris serGei kovalev won’t mean as much to the light Cloud for an alpha- BEST BOXER heavyweight class as it will to bet belt, he cast a light on what bernard HoPkins Montreal boxing fans. is wrong with the 175-pound The fght to watch might be class. Granted, Hopkins is a MOST PROTECTED Dawson vs. Adonis Stevenson, set rYno liebenberG great ring technician, and we for June in Montreal. Stevenson may not see another fghter in IS HE STILL AROUND? is a banger, and if he could take our lifetime who is so impressive oMar sHeika out RING champ Dawson, the as far as longevity is concerned. MATCHMAKER’S tone of the division could change. But Hopkins is a 48-year-old DREAM part-time fghter who has already serGei kovalev vs. THINK ABOUT IT: adonis stevenson shown he can’t hang with world Kovalev is the sort of puncher champion Chad Dawson. Mean- DESERVES A who could ignite the division. while, Dawson lost much of his TITLE SHOT Against Campillo, a smart fghter serGei kovalev luster when he was manhandled who has gone the distance in by super middleweight boss An- MOST FUN TO WATCH close bouts with Shumenov and dre Ward last year. Dawson can serGei kovalev Cloud, Kovalev looked like an claim the weight loss bothered ON THE WAY UP absolute destroyer. He has also him but he’s a lame-duck cham- GaYrat aHMedov shown that he wants to conquer pion right now. And Hopkins, ON THE WAY DOWN America by making his home in the most recognizable face in enzo Maccarinelli Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and hook- the division, won a belt because ing up with veteran trainer Don there are just so damn many to BEST FIGHT OF 2012 Turner. If there’s someone in the tavoris cloud sd 12 choose from. Hopkins was smart Gabriel caMPillo division who can create some ex- to challenge Cloud, a good but citement, it’s this guy. H not great fghter who is not especially quick. That’s the Bernard Hopkins type of opponent Hopkins continues to can still pick apart. He might amaze us as he have had less success against approaches his WBO titlist Nathan Cleverly, 50th birthday. a quick, two-handed fghter. Cleverly looked very good in his last bout, a one-sided decision over veteran Robin Krasniqi in April. The Welsh- man isn’t a big puncher, but that’s par for the division. The rest of the Top 10 is made up of Europeans and Russians, none of whom seem out to hurt anyone, with the exception of Sergei Kovalev. He has stopped 18 of 20 opponents, including Spain’s classy Gabriel Campillo. Meanwhile, WBA titlist Beibut Shumenov has fought only once since last year at this time, an easy decision over journeyman Enrique Ornelas. As for the scheduled May bout between

the ring magazine / JULY 2013 49 the State of the Game SUPeR MiDDLeweight Ward: Mayweather: Images; Ezra Shaw/Getty Naoki Fukuda

50 the ring magazine / JULY 2013 ndre Ward may be BEST PUNCHER DESERVES A TITLE SHOT A the best 168-pound adonis stevenson edwin rodriGuez f ghter in the world, BEST BOXER MOST FUN TO WATCH but Carl Froch provides the di- andre ward carl frocH vision with color and charisma. Provided Froch is successful in MOST PROTECTED ON THE WAY UP kennY anderson Marco antonio Periban his May rematch with Mikkel Kessler, a return bout between IS HE STILL AROUND? ON THE WAY DOWN Ward and Froch might be the Glen JoHnson aaron PrYor Jr. best thing for the division. MATCHMAKER’S DREAM BEST FIGHT IN 2012 Froch’s performances since his andre ward vs. Mikkel kessler ko 4 loss to Ward in 2011 have cer- bernard HoPkins allan Green tainly earned him another shot. Ward, sidelined with a shoul- Lucian Bute is still in THE RING suspected since his close call with der injury for several months, Top 10 at 168, but he’s making a Librado Andrade in their f rst bout. f nds himself in a diff cult po- venture to 175 to face Jean Pascal. sition in that he has already In his only f ght since losing his title THINK ABOUT IT: beaten the top 168-pounders. and perfect record by f fth-round Since losing to Ward in 2009, Den- The division is so thin that he knockout to Froch last May, Bute mark’s Kessler has racked up four had to f ght light heavyweight met Denis Grachev in November impressive wins, including a hard- champ Dawson and then was and looked very unsteady in front fought points verdict over Froch planning a bout with past-his- of his hometown Montreal crowd. and a devastating fourth-round KO prime Kelly Pavlik before the He won the decision but did not of Allan Green. If Froch deserves a injury sidelined him. In a way, look like the Bute of just a year second shot at Ward should he beat he’s in a similar position to that ago. Few think he would handle Kessler, the same should be said of Marvelous Marvin Hagler Froch in a contracted rematch that about the Dane. At 34, Kessler is many years ago. Hagler had seems to be on the shelf for now. still reasonably young, but he’s also cleaned out the middleweight Bute is young and a classy box- a veteran of 48 pro bouts and has division before he won the ing stylist, but he appears to be been subject to some injuries and 160-pound championship, and showing the vulnerability we have cuts. He’s an old 34. H the f rst couple years of his reign were uneventful before he lured the likes of Roberto TITLEHOLDERS VS. Duran, Tommy Hearns and TITLEHOLDERS Ray Leonard into the ring. But ONE OF THE WAYS TO 17 F. MAYWEATHER JR. (1.) if Ward has to go again with CALCULATE A FIGHTER’S Froch or Kessler, those aren’t WORTH IS TO COUNT THE NUMBER OF WINS 10 W. KLITSCHKO (7.) bad time killers. Better than, HE HAS OVER OTHER say, Sakio Bika, whom Ward TITLEHOLDERS. HERE’S has already beaten but has been HOW THE RING’S 9 NONITO DONAIRE (10.) POUND-FOR-POUND TOP mentioned as a possible oppo- 10 STACK UP: nent. We just don’t want Ward 7 J.M. MARQUEZ (3.) to get too comfortable in his HBO broadcaster’s jacket yet. 5 ROBERT GUERRERO (8.)

5 TIMOTHY BRADLEY (9.)

4 ANDRE WARD (2.) No one has been able to f gure out 4 SERGIO MARTINEZ (4.) how to cope with Andre Ward’s all- around ability. 3 ADRIEN BRONER (5.) Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather

the ring magazine / JULY 2013 51 Martinez: Jeff Bottari/Getty Images; Alverez: Naoki Fukuda

H Russia’s Dmitry Pirog Dmitry Pirog Russia’s Jacobs. IBF titleholder Daniel titleholder Daniel IBF Jacobs. has been Australia Geale of winning bouts on a streak, over veterans Felix Sturm and Matthew Anthony Mundine. Macklin has already dropped but his a bout to Martinez, of former one-round KO junior middleweight titlist before 2013 ends. Finally, Finally, ends. before 2013 Peter Quillin is WBO titlist boxer- methodical a strong, who has looked puncher He good in recent fghts. Guerrero stopped Fernando April. in seven rounds in in 20 remains undefeated but with 15 KOs, bouts, fought since June hasn’t A back injury caused 2012. a bout the cancelation of there are with Golovkin and no plans in his immediate disappointment a big future, considering he made such an immediate impact with his 2010 stoppage of Daniel Joachim Alcine on the Martinez- Alcine Joachim Chavez undercard was impres- 10 are Top the Just outside sive. including Ca- some good fghters, nadian slugger David Lemieux. THINK ABOUT IT: outpointed Norbert Szekeres, a a outpointed Norbert Szekeres, Hungarian scrub horse with 20 Yet in a six-round fght. losses, Rhodes and he has accused Ryan Macklin of taking easy fghts. such Proksa has we get it. Oh, trouble fnding opponents that he has to fght guys with 1-1 re- Sure. cords. Grzegorz Proksa is always in Grzegorz Proksa is always in “Most Pro- the running for our 2011 he beat In honor. tected” which was Sebastian Sylvester, but as recently as last a step up, year he fought an opponent (Ru- with a 1-1 record. Varga) dolf who Proksa fought Golovkin, but stopped him in fve rounds, then returned to his old ways: He Middleweight champ Sergio Martinez time wasat press scheduled to fght Matthew Macklin. DREAM TITLE SHOT J’leon love DESERVES A BEST BOXER ronald Hearns ON THE WAY UP ON THE WAY BEST PUNCHER bronco Mckart MATCHMAKERÕS MATCHMAKERÕS serGio Martinez GrzeGorz Proksa MOST PROTECTED GennadY Golovkin GennadY Golovkin GennadY Golovkin GennadY Golovkin ON THE WAY DOWN ON THE WAY serGio Martinez vs. BEST FIGHT OF 2012 MOST FUN TO WATCH MOST FUN TO WATCH IS HE STILL AROUND? serGio Martinez ud 12 Julio cesar cHavez Jr. Julio cesar cHavez is easy to love, starting starting is easy to love, with the aging but ever he middleweight class he middleweight class

the ring magazine / JULY 2013 the ring magazine / JULY WBA king Gennady Golovkin, WBA king Gennady Golovkin, the State of the Game of the State the

MiDDLeweight T we will see Martinez-Chavez II we will see Martinez-Chavez II bout to solidify his status as a bout to solidify his status as a top middleweight than he had likely It’s in his entire career. sided decision to Martinez last sided decision to Martinez last year but did more during the dramatic fnal moments of that Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., will be will be Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., returning to action soon after a lengthy suspension for failing Chavez lost a one- a drug test. Nobuhiro Ishida, is probably is probably Nobuhiro Ishida, the biggest threat to Martinez’s bad boy, The division’s top spot. quality contenders on his trail. quality contenders on his trail. of fresh off a third-round KO got past sturdy Martin Murry in got past sturdy Martin Murry in April to retain his RING championship and has a full cast of classy champion Sergio Marti- Argentine The 38-year-old nez. had to work extremely hard but 52 JUNiOR MiDDLeweight

he division’s biggest star BEST PUNCHER like to avenge last year’s loss to T is Saul “Canelo” Alva- JaMes kirkland Trout, while a Cotto-Alvarez bout rez, but his unanimous- BEST BOXER would be a moneymaker. But how decision win over Austin Trout erislandY lara much does he have left? He’s been in April wasn’t the major coming MOST PROTECTED through some tough fghts. Can out party he may have hoped for. cHarlie ota Cotto still go toe to toe with the He’s a strong kid with some skills, best? Or will 2013 be the year he’s undefeated in 43 bouts and IS HE STILL AROUND? where he becomes a stepping GradY brewer he owns the RING championship stone? and two alphabet belts at 154. MATCHMAKER’S DREAM Still, let’s see more of him before MiGuel cotto vs. THINK ABOUT IT: JaMes kirkland we rush to judgment and proclaim It’s been two years since Kirkland him the next big this-or-that. He DESERVES A suffered a shocking one-round certainly has a good weight class TITLE SHOT TKO loss to Nobuhiro Ishida. vanes MartirosYan to test himself against. There are Since then, Ishida has had noth- plenty of good young fghters MOST FUN TO WATCH ing but grief, losing nearly every here, such as Demetrius Andrade, canelo alvarez round in decision losses to Paul Delvin Rodriguez and Erislandy ON THE WAY UP Williams and Dmitry Pirog, and Lara, as well as respected veter- deMetrius andrade then getting splattered by Go- ans including Miguel Cotto and ON THE WAY DOWN lovkin. Ishida’s only win since Ishe Smith. Floyd Mayweather alfonso GoMez beating Kirkland was at Monu- Jr. is still at welterweight but mental Plaza de Toros in Mexico has dabbled at 154 and will prob- BEST FIGHT OF 2012 City, where Ishida scored a one- floYd MaYweatHer ud 12 ably tangle with Alvarez at some MiGuel cotto round TKO win over Edson Es- point. Vanes Martirosyan remains pinoza. Espinoza was making undefeated. Yet, for all of the great his pro debut and hasn’t fought talent at 154 pounds, it’s a fghter since. Still, Espinoza, who didn’t with fve losses on his record who seem to have much enthusiasm may get to shake things up this for the game, lasted 66 seconds year: Carlos Molina. longer than Kirkland. H Since his fukish DQ loss to James Kirkland in March 2012, Molina has won twice, including a unanimous decision over former champion Cory Spinks. Prior to the Kirkland loss, Molina had a points win over Kermit Cin- tron and draws with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Lara. He isn’t a big puncher, and he tends to have bad luck, but Molina can give a pretty good argument to just about any- body in the ring. Beating Spinks put him in position to challenge for the IBF belt that Ishe Smith recently won by beating Cornelius Bundrage on points. A Smith-Mo- lina bout is bound to be competitive and entertaining. The wild card of the class is Cotto. He has lost two in a row. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez He is 32. He is fghting above his proved against Austin prime weight. Yet, Cotto is still Trout that he is more competitive and would probably than hype.

the ring magazine / JULY 2013 53 the State of the Game weLteRweight

his division is like T a daytime drama, loaded with questions about tomorrow’s episode. The majority of you will know who won the May 4 fght between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Robert Guerrero when you read this, which will have answered the following questions: Is Guerrero as good as he looked against Andre Berto, or was that a career best for him? And why does he travel with a gun, anyway? Is Floyd really slipping, or is that just wishful thinking on the part of his critics? And there are these questions in an intriguing division: What is next for Manny Pacquiao? Did the knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez take too much out of him? Will Marquez ever fght again, now that he has accomplished his goal of beating Pacquiao? Will Timothy Bradley ever win a fght without looking like a beaten man in the process? Is Keith Thurman as good as he appears to be? Will Victor Ortiz ever string together two good performances in a row? Is Paulie Malignaggi a fghter who occasionally works as a Showtime announcer, or a Showtime announcer who occasionally fghts? How will he do against Adrien Broner? Will Devon Alexander, who was scheduled to face late re- placement Lee Purdy on May 18, ever live up to the potential we thought he had a few years ago? Is Kell Brook, who pulled out of his fght with Naoki Fukuda Alexander because of injury,

54 the ring magazine / JULY 2013 BEST PUNCHER DESERVES A TITLE SHOT keitH tHurMan keitH tHurMan BEST BOXER MOST FUN TO WATCH floYd MaYweatHer Jr. MannY Pacquiao MOST PROTECTED ON THE WAY UP vitaliY deMYanenko sHawn Porter IS HE STILL AROUND? ON THE WAY DOWN luis collazo isaac HlatsHwaYo MATCHMAKER’S DREAM BEST FIGHT IN 2012 tiMotHY bradleY vs. Juan Manuel Marquez keitH tHurMan ko 6 MannY Pacquiao

as good as his perfect record in- boxing champion, recording artist, dicates or just another overhyped actor, national icon and politician British product? Can Ruslan Pro- for so long before your schedule vodnikov live up to the expecta- catches up to you. If he’s all done, tions we now have after seeing he has certainly earned every ac- him take Bradley to the brink? colade he’s been given. We don’t think he’s done, but there is a THINK ABOUT IT: sense that Top Rank is moving him Pacquiao’s face-down knockout into the “faded glory” phase of his loss to Marquez certainly felt like career, with talk of him fghting a career changer. But many fght- around the world to avoid Amer- ers, including Ken Norton, Ro- ica’s expensive taxes. With Mar- berto Duran and Emile Griffth, quez apparently choosing Bradley returned from similar knockout over a ffth fght against Pacquiao, losses and had some great fghts. we may see Pacman on a kind of Chances are that Pacquiao can worldwide farewell tour, taking on do the same. Then again, if there lesser opponents in glitzy interna- has been a fghter who burned the tional locations. In other words, candle to a nub in recent years, it Top Rank will showcase Pacquiao was Pacquiao. You can only be a until people stop buying tickets. H TITLEHOLDERS BY COUNTRY

the united states pulled ahead of Mexico this year, with the help of a few Mexican-american fghters. Japan and Mexico are tied for second, with Germany and russia placing higher than last year at this time. where america really scored was in tHe rinG’s Pound for Pound ratings, with fve of our top 10 P4Pers coming from our side of the world. (note: this list includes rinG champions and wba, wbc, ibf and wbo titleholders.)

U.S...... 14 KazaKhStan . 2 nicaRaGUa ..... 1 Japan ...... 8 UKRaine ...... 2 namibia ...... 1 mexico ...... 8 aUStRalia ...... 1 panama ...... 1 RUSSia ...... 4 china ...... 1 poland ...... 1 Floyd Mayweather cUba ...... 3 colombia ...... 1 pUeRto Rico .. 1 Jr. was a signifcant favorite going into his philippineS ... 3 dominican SoUth afRica 1 May 4 fght against United Rep...... 1 Robert Guerrero. KinGdom ...... 3 GeRmany ...... 1 aRGentina ..... 2 indoneSia ...... 1

the ring magazine / JULY 2013 55 the State of the Game JUNiOR weLteRweight

ay back in March, W Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer proposed a junior welterweight unif cation tournament involving Danny Garcia, Zab Judah, Lamont Peterson, Lucas Mat- thysse and Amir Khan. That sounded interesting enough, but when two of the most exciting junior welterweights in the business – Top Rank’s Mike Alvarado and Brandon Rios, who are 1-1 in two compelling f ghts – aren’t involved, you get a very clear picture of one of boxing’s biggest problem: bickering promoters and rival networks. And why does Gold- en Boy want to stage a tournament, anyway? Is it just to kill time before Adrien Broner can decide what weight class to join? Garcia is THE RING’s champion. But does that mean anything if he won’t be f ghting the best f ghters? Rather than beating a dead horse (which would be more entertaining than what we get on some pay-per-view under- cards), let’s ignore promoters where this division is concerned and focus on something else. How about Russia’s Denis Shaf kov? At 27, he’s quietly posted a record of 32-0-1 (17 David Becker/Getty Images for Golden Boy Promotions for Golden Boy Becker/Getty Images David

56 the ring magazine / JULY 2013 BEST PUNCHER DESERVES A TITLE SHOT lucas MattHYsse lucas MattHYsse

BEST BOXER MOST FUN TO WATCH aMir kHan brandon rios

MOST PROTECTED ON THE WAY UP vernon Paris terence crawford

IS HE STILL AROUND? ON THE WAY DOWN deMarcus corleY nate caMPbell

MATCHMAKER’S DREAM BEST FIGHT IN 2012 lucas MattHYsse vs. brandon rios brandon rios ko 7 Mike alvarado

KOs). Shafkov has good footwork THINK ABOUT IT: and a nice southpaw jab, and al- Here’s Vernon Paris. He’s a Don though he spent the frst few years King fghter. He has fought a lot of his career feasting on soft op- of weak opponents. Last year he position in Finland and Russia, he’s was matched against Zab Judah, proven to be a solid ring general. because King’s people probably Last year saw him take his game to thought Judah was washed up. Ju- a new level. He went 4-0 in 2012, dah stopped Paris in nine. Vernon’s including a stoppage of hometown next fght was against Guy Packer, a favorite Lee McAllister in Aber- 38-year-old from Kalamazoo, Mich., deen, Scotland (McAllister quit in with 38 losses on his record. Paris the eighth with a hand injury). And stopped Packer in three. We hope he he won his frst fght in 2013. He’s didn’t celebrate too much. He gets one of the sport’s best-kept secrets. our vote for “Most Protected.” H LONGEST REIGNING TITLEHOLDERS The list below VITALI KLITSCHKO showcases the game’s wbc HeavYweiGHt 10 most established 53 MontHs titleholders (RING, WBA, TIMOTHY BRADLEY WBC, IBF or WBO). wbo welterweiGHt A few of last year’s 48 MontHs names are gone: Lucien Bute, Guillermo Jones, MARCO HUCK wbo cruiserweiGHt Vyacheslav Senchenko 44 MontHs and Robert Stieglitz. MORUTI MTHALANE ibf flYweiGHt 40 MontHs

CHRIS JOHN ANDRE WARD wba featHerweiGHt rinG, wbc, wba suPer 92 MontHs MiddleweiGHt 40 MontHs WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO rinG, ibf, wbo, wba TAKASHI UCHIYAMA HeavYweiGHt wba featHerweiGHt 83 MontHs 39 MontHs RING champ Danny Garcia rules a deep junior ANSELMO MORENO BEIBUT SHUMENOV wba bantaMweiGHt welterweight division. wba liGHt HeavYweiGHt 58 MontHs 39 MontHs

the ring magazine / JULY 2013 57 Broner: Al Bello/Golden Boy/Golden Boy/Getty Images; Uchiyama: Sankei via Getty Images

Yuriorkis Gamboa is Gamboa is Yuriorkis What’s the point of being of being the point What’s aim a hunter if you don’t for the big game? at junior 2 rated No. lightweight but has an- moving nounced he’s up in weight to face 135-pounder Darley Per- WBC belt in the nearest in the nearest WBC belt test the waters trash bin, and against Malignaggi calling May- then start Forget be- weather out. guy. ing friendly with the fun to probably it’s Sure, hang out at the mansion, rath- but if Broner would game er play a friendly of hoops with Floyd him, instead of fghting that makes him look is If Broner like a sucker. torch content to have the symbolically passed rather than ripping it out of then he’s hands, Floyd’s not what boxing needs. ez on June 8. Gamboa has endured Gamboa has endured ez on June 8. been business problems and hasn’t as active as he should be; he has fought only once since last year’s winning a State of the Game, 12-round decision over Michael Farenas. THINK ABOUT IT: ley. Since the second loss to Alva- Since the second loss to ley. has reeled off 12 con- Vazquez rez, including a victory secutive wins, over Ji-Hoon Kim (UD 12) for the He has success- vacant IBF title. fully defended the belt fve times. The old adage about fghters becoming better once they win a belt Vazquez. certainly applies to One of boxing’s great Cinderella great Cinderella One of boxing’s stories has been going on right un- and it involves IBF der our noses, This titleholder Miguel Vazquez. guy lost his pro debut to Canelo He Alvarez in 2006 in Mexico. and Alvarez in 2008, lost again to Brad- Timothy in between lost to Adrien Broner bestis both the bestpuncher and division,boxer in his a scary combination. DREAM edis tatli TITLE SHOT dorin sPiveY DESERVES A BEST BOXER MiGuel acosta adrien broner adrien broner adrien broner Mason Menard ON THE WAY UP ON THE WAY MiGuel vazquez BEST PUNCHER MATCHMAKER’S MATCHMAKER’S takeHiro sHiMada takeHiro adrien broner vs. MOST PROTECTED raYMundo beltran raYMundo ON THE WAY DOWN ON THE WAY BEST FIGHT OF 2012 niHito arakawa tko 8 niHito arakawa tko MOST FUN TO WATCH MOST FUN TO WATCH IS HE STILL AROUND? reference reference Karate Kid Karate drien Broner is is drien Broner Without fun. we’d spend him,

the ring magazine / JULY 2013 the ring magazine / JULY Meanwhile, Broner should have Broner should have Meanwhile, the State of the Game of the State the

Lightweight A forget the lightweights, dump his dump his forget the lightweights, been stopped before and neither is been stopped before and neither is recipe The headed for Canastota. for Broner to follow should be tor. True, in recent months he has in recent months he has True, tor. Antonio DeMarco knocked out but both had and Gavin Rees, Broner seems content to do his Broner seems content to do his court the hip- goofy little dances, hop crowd and forge a career as a second rate Mayweather imita- said, “Screw that B.S. We’re gonna gonna We’re “Screw that B.S. said, time for a It’s old dude. fght, Instead, changing of the guard!” Mayweather said. “Don’t let them let them “Don’t Mayweather said. [the media] make us bump heads.” made a lame regarding Broner: “Daniel-san Miyagi,” never went against Mr. comes off. For some, there was no there was no For some, comes off. more depressing moment in recent months than when Mayweather sixth opponent. If noth- sixth opponent. could use the chase of he ing else, king to hype the pound-for-pound if the pairing never even himself, pounding the drums pounding the drums he can be ready in now, time to be Mayweather’s Mayweather has a six- fght Showtime contract Broner starts If to fll up. ice cream. True, Broner Broner True, ice cream. may not be big enough but enough, or savvy yet, ton. That’s what Broner what Broner That’s ton. instead should be doing, of posting pictures of eating Twitter himself on every day, running him running him every day, playing Twitter, down on Sonny Lis- Ali to Floyd’s he pretends to be. If he If he he pretends to be. he’d be calling out were, Jr. Floyd Mayweather and Kevin Mitchell. But But and Kevin Mitchell. the Broner is not quite savior of boxing that the next few paragraphs few paragraphs the next discussing Ricky Burns 58 JUNiOR Lightweight

n April, WBO titlist Ro- BEST PUNCHER last year of Jorge Linares. Linares I man Martinez turned back takasHi ucHiYaMa has been stopped in two of his the challenge of previously BEST BOXER last three bouts and three of his undefeated Diego Magdaleno in arGenis Mendez last eight. Eventually, beating him Macau, coming away with a split- won’t mean anything. Thompson decision win. It also was his third MOST PROTECTED got to him when there is still a serGei GulYakevicH consecutive close contest, having bit of cachet left in defeating “El drawn with Juan Carlos Burgos in IS HE STILL AROUND? Niño de Oro.” January in New York and winning rockY Juarez the belt on a splitter from Miguel MATCHMAKER’S THINK ABOUT IT: Beltran. It appears “Rocky” likes DREAM By the time this issue is in the to keep things close. takasHi ucHiYaMa vs hands of the public, two years serGio tHoMPson The same can’t be said for hard- will have passed since Edwin punching WBA titlist Takashi DESERVES A Valero murdered his wife and Uchiyama of Japan, who KO’d TITLE SHOT then committed suicide. Valero GarY buckland Bryan Vasquez in eight rounds won his frst title at this weight in his most recent title defense. MOST FUN TO WATCH class by beating Vicente Mos- Uchiyama remains THE RING’s takasHi ucHiYaMa quera in Panama. He was a light- top-rated 130-pounder. Argenis ON THE WAY UP weight at the end and, had he not Mendez of the Dominican Repub- will toMlinson gone down a tragic path, maybe lic avenged a previous loss to Juan ON THE WAY DOWN he would still be. Maybe he’d be Carlos Salgado by stopping him Martin Honorio getting ready to face Broner by in four rounds in March. Mendez now. Or maybe he would be at gained the IBF title in the process BEST FIGHT OF 2012 140, facing Rios and Alvarado. Yuriorkis GaMboa ud 12 and made himself a player in the MicHael farenas We wonder what he could’ve ac- division. At 26, he’s one of the complished. H younger fghters in the weight class. Journey- man Gamaliel Diaz Hard-punching Takashi Uchiyama scored an upset over (left, fghting Roy Takahiro Ao (UD 12) Mukhlis) is THE last October in Ao’s RING’s top-rated home country of Japan. junior lightweight. Diaz had nine losses on his record and was probably seen as easy pickings for Ao. The feel-good story was short-lived, though. On April 8, Diaz went back to Japan and lost the title to hard- punching southpaw Ta- kashi Miura. Diaz was bloodied, beaten, and bludgeoned to the canvas four times before the bout was stopped in the ninth round. Finally, Sergio Thompson crashed our ratings recently after a string of wins, highlighted by a KO

the ring magazine / JULY 2013 59 the State of the Game featheRweight

Complete fghter settling down a bit and trading Mikey Garcia (right, fghting Rafael punches, and it has been fun to Guzman) is rapidly watch. He and Satoshi Hosono growing in stature. fought to a technical draw after John was cut on April 14. Daniel Ponce de Leon scored an eighth-round technical decision over Jhonny Gonzalez for the WBC belt last fall and was scheduled to make his frst defense against Abner Mares on the Mayweather- Guerrero undercard. Mean- while, Billy Dib lost the IBF title to Evgeny Gradovich by split decision, which may be remembered as one of the year’s biggest upsets. Gonzalez returned to action in February and beat Eusebio Osejo (UD 12). Gonzalez is a 31-year-old warhorse with 61 fghts on his ledger, but he will always be competitive. We’d always hoped for a bout between Gonzales and Juan Manuel Lopez, but after Lo- pez returned from a lengthy ING champion and BEST PUNCHER suspension for accusing referees R WBO titlist Mikey MikeY Garcia of gambling, he scored a win over Garcia could well be BEST BOXER Aldimar Silva Santos (KO 9) and the cream of the 126-pound class. MikeY Garcia announced he wanted to leave the Here’s hoping he stays there long featherweight class to fght at 130. MOST PROTECTED enough to face rising star Gary JorGe lara Russell Jr. Since last year at this THINK ABOUT IT: time, Russell has won three in a IS HE STILL AROUND? Orlando Salido looked suspicious- row: Christopher Perez (KO 3), cornelius lock ly old and small against Garcia, Roberto Castaneda (KO 3) and MATCHMAKER’S didn’t he? This was odd, since he Vyacheslav Gusev (UD 10). Rus- DREAM had looked like such a dynamo MikeY Garcia vs. GarY sell is 24, Garcia is 25. We might russell Jr. against Juan Manuel Lopez in be very lucky that the two are at their two bouts. His fghts against the same weight and have hit the DESERVES A TITLE Lopez were inspiring because he SHOT sport at roughly the same time. was an older fghter with a bunch ronnY rios Garcia: Rigondeaux: Jeff Gross/Getty Images; Naoki Fukuda Chris John continues his of losses on his record who ap- lengthy reign as WBA titlist, de- MOST FUN TO WATCH peared to have rejuvenated himself feating Shoji Kimura (UD 12) MikeY Garcia through hard work and dedica- and Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo ON THE WAY UP tion. He gave hope to all of us (UD 12) since this time last year. lee selbY over-the-hill types that we, too, At 33, John is undefeated in 50 ON THE WAY DOWN could become jacked-up supermen bouts. He’s been heavily criticized eusebio oseJo and knock people out. Could he for not fghting the best competi- have done something different in BEST FIGHT IN 2012 tion, but some of his recent fghts orlando salido ko 10 training this time? Could he have have been more exciting than Juan Manuel loPez left something out? Any ideas? usual. The aging master boxer is Anyone? H

60 the ring magazine / JULY 2013 JUNiOR featheRweight

he junior featherweight BEST PUNCHER to pad his record. 2012 saw him T class experienced a ma- nonito donaire fght Rendall Munroe twice. The jor shakeup on April BEST BOXER frst bout ended in a technical draw 13 when Guillermo Rigondeaux GuillerMo riGondeaux when Munroe was badly cut after defeated Nonito Donaire (UD 12). MOST PROTECTED an accidental head clash. Quigg Now recognized as THE RING, Hidenori otake won the rematch, dropping Munroe WBA and WBO titlist, Rigon- twice with body shots in the sixth. deaux established himself as un- IS HE STILL AROUND He’s good. There is talk that Quigg cruz carbaJal questionably the premiere fghter may face Belfast’s Carl Frampton at 122 pounds. But even if he’d be MATCHMAKER’S DREAM in a big U.K. promotion. Frampton an overwhelming favorite against GuillerMo riGondeaux has beaten some good opponents, vs. vic darcHinYan anyone in the weight class, it is including former titlist Steve Moli- still a pretty good class. DESERVES A TITLE SHOT tor (KO 6). Fernando Montiel could still be toMoki kaMeda Abner Mares is leaving the junior a force. After a rough 2011 that MOST FUN TO WATCH featherweights and was scheduled saw him lose twice, he won three vic darcHinYan to challenge for Daniel Ponce de bouts in 2012. He’s a ring crafts- ON THE WAY UP Leon’s WBC featherweight belt man and can’t be taken lightly, andres Gutierrez on May 4. Donaire, too, may be even at age 34. Vic Darchinyan, moving up. Still, the junior feather- who has lost two of his last three, ON THE WAY DOWN weights are good. Japan’s Hozumi steve Molitor is 37. He might be past his best, Hasegawa and Tomoki Kameda, but he is the sort of fghter who BEST FIGHT IN 2012 and Colombia’s Jonathan Romero, won’t rest until he gets another Juan reYes ud 6 may move up the ranks to chal- oscar veneGas shot at Donaire, who stopped him lenge new champ Rigondeaux, in 2007. Darchin- while Victor Ter- yan’s last fght was razas got past a win over Luis Christian Mijares Orlando Del Valle in a thrilling fght (UD 10). He’s been in April. inactive for several months but has been THINK talking trash. He’s a ABOUT IT: rarity – a bully who Cubans have keeps picking on generally failed people even after he’s to live up to ex- had his ass kicked pectations when a few times. Could they turn pro. Rigondeaux shut him The most recent up once and for all? Cuban to make On the younger noise in the pro side of the street, the ranks was Joel United Kingdom’s Casamayor. He Scott Quigg had had some good barely any amateur years, but overall background before his career is pret- turning pro in 2007, ty forgettable. but is undefeated in Can Rigondeaux Guillermo 26 pro bouts. He’s a Rigondeaux top Casamayor’s good puncher, and might’ve already efforts? Some though he rarely passed Joel would say that fghts outside of his Casamayor as the in beating most accomplished Lancashire home- contemporary Donaire he al- town, he hasn’t been Cuban. ready has done fghting weaklings exactly that. H

61 Moreno: MIGUEL GUTIERREZ/AFP/Getty Images; Narvaez: Jose Luis Lazarte/AFP/Getty Images

H Paulus “The mibia’s Chris John. Chris John. mibia’s southpawIn April, Shinsuke Yamanaka retained the WBC title by stopping Malcolm Tunacao in the 12th round of Unde- a good bout. ing to McDonnell’s ing to McDonnell’s England, Yorkshire, oppor- turf for the bold. tunity was Ambunda Rock” recently defeated Pungluang Sor Singyu (UD 12) for We the WBA belt. doubt Ambunda, a 2004 Olympian, will have a major impact on the division since he tends to fght in his hometown of Windhoek, Maybe Namibia. he’ll become Na- feated Yamanaka is a consistently Yamanaka feated Another of the entertaining fghter. 24-year-old entertainers, division’s fought four times Leo Santa Cruz, since this time last year and was Alexander Mu- scheduled to face noz on the Mayweather-Guerrero veteran Joseph undercard.Tough Agbeko was out of action for several months with promoter problems but returned in March Luis Melendez to beat Colombia’s (UD 12). THINK ABOUT IT: named as last year’s “Best Punch- named as last year’s at Watch” “Most Fun to and er” and even as he bantamweight, reached the ripe old age of 33, he still gave the customers plenty In his last of bang for their buck. where he was badly over- bout, matched against Nonito Donaire, he never stopped trying. State of the Game wouldn’t State of the Game wouldn’t feel right without including re- He was Arce. cently retired Jorge DREAM santillan Julio ceJa eric Morel TITLE SHOT DESERVES A koki kaMeda BEST BOXER dieGo ricardo 7 toMas roJas raul Martinez feliPe orucuta ON THE WAY UP ON THE WAY BEST PUNCHER MATCHMAKERÕS MATCHMAKERÕS rollY MatsusHita rollY anselMo Moreno anselMo Moreno MOST PROTECTED leo santa cruz vs. leo santa ON THE WAY DOWN ON THE WAY BEST FIGHT OF 2012 MOST FUN TO WATCH MOST FUN TO WATCH IS HE STILL AROUND? sHinsuke YaManaka ko sHinsuke YaManaka Boxing wizard Anselmo Moreno handle thecouldn’t bigger Abner Mares the top- but remains rated bantamweight. Abner fter failing to beat

the ring magazine / JULY 2013 the ring magazine / JULY Japan’s Koki Ka- Japan’s the State of the Game of the State the

BaNtaMweight A cant IBF title on May 11. Travel- cant IBF title on May 11. again vacant IBF title on May 11. again vacant IBF title on May 11. Ceja was scheduled to battle Jamie McDonnell for the once-again va- ico. The 20-year-old has stopped The 20-year-old ico. Ceja will bat- 22 of 24 opponents. tle Jamie McDonnell for the once- long that he’s gone from being an long that he’s But there are upstart to a veteran. always new young bangers on the including Julio Ceja of Mex- way, but he has endured. He has had but he has endured. losing only more than 30 bouts, Kameda has been around so once. He has offended people, he has He has offended people, been accused of winning fxed fghts and being overprotected, had anticipated. Many thought he had anticipated. was nothing more than a mouthy kid with relatively little substance. action over 12 rounds. Kameda, Kameda, action over 12 rounds. has major stars, one of Japan’s lasted much longer than anyone a close, somewhat disputed split somewhat a close, Panom- Thailand’s decision over Theroonglek Kaiyanghadaogym. with plenty of fght was a sizzler, opponents for him. meda recently won continue his cam- there paign at 118, are certainly enough against a younger, against a younger, bigger opponent. Should he decide to no’s reputation too no’s He overcame much. a knockdown and kept the fght close WBA titlist since The setback2008. tarnish More- didn’t bantamweight class where he has been recognized as the November, Anselmo November, Moreno is likely to come back to the Mares at 122 last 62 JUNiOR BaNtaMweight

BO titlist Omar BEST PUNCHER to watch at this weight. The W Narvaez hasn’t com- carlos cuadras 24-year-old Mexican is unde- pletely erased the BEST BOXER feated in 28 bouts, with 23 ending bad taste in our mouths after his oMar narvaez inside the distance. He’s yet to non-performance against Nonito MOST PROTECTED fght outside of Mexico as a pro, Donaire, but he’s been busy. Since PetcH sor cHitPattana but he’s won some minor belts for his unparalleled choke-job against the old curio cabinet and his re- “The Filipino Flash,” Narvaez IS HE STILL AROUND? cent victims include Ronald Bar- Julio cesar Miranda has scored wins over Jose Ca- rera (KO 7), Fernando Lumacad brera (UD 12), Johnny Garcia MATCHMAKER’S DREAM (UD 12) and Victor Zaleta (KO (KO 11) and David Quijano (UD Juan carlos sancHez 7). Since IBF titlist Juan Carlos Jr. vs. carlos cuadras 12). These were wipeouts, with Sanchez Jr. is also a Mexican who Narvaez winning nearly every DESERVES A rarely fghts outside of Los Mo- round of every bout. Apparently, TITLE SHOT chis, perhaps we can look forward carlos cuadras if Narvaez stays in Argentina and to an all-Mexican shootout for fghts at 115, he turns into Jake MOST FUN TO WATCH the IBF belt one of these days. LaMotta. He was scheduled at carlos cuadras Sanchez won the belt last year press time to fght Daniel Rosas ON THE WAY UP from Rodrigo Guerrero (UD 12) on May 25. McJoe arroYo and has since defended against The month of May was also ON THE WAY DOWN Juan Alberto Rosas (UD 12) and scheduled to see WBA titleholder HYobu nakaGaMa Rodel Mayol (KO 9). Kohei Kono defend against Ven- This division is not without tal- ezuela’s Liborio Solis. Japan’s BEST FIGHT OF 2012 ent. It is all a matter of getting the koHei kono ko 4 Kono, who at one time lost three tePParitH kokietGYM top contenders to venture beyond consecutive bouts and seemed their zip codes to fght each other. done, won the WBA laurels from Thai- THINK land’s Tepparith Omar Narvaez ABOUT IT: Kokietgym (KO has bounced back Maybe there is a strongly from his poor 4) last December. performance against reason for the junior Kokietgym had Nonito Donaire. bantamweights to been on a bit of a stay close to home. tear through Japan Mayol, of the Philip- prior to losing the pines, has six losses belt. Since losing to and two draws on his Kono, he returned record, and each one to Thailand for a came on the road. points win over Thai Suriyan Sor Daiboy Sajiro, an Rungvisai has fve inexperienced pug losses and a draw, who was obviously and four of those fodder for the re- verdicts happened cord. Kokietgym outside of Thailand. now has a May 10 Then again, Kono’s date with another seven career losses all jobber, Jecker “Bam took place in Japan, Bam” Buhawe. As most at Korakuen for WBC titlist Yota Hall in Tokyo. He Sato, he was due to even lost his pro de- defend against Sri- but in 2000. When saket Sor Rungvisai you’re so comfort- on May 3. able losing at home, Carlos Cuadras there’s no reason could be the fghter to travel. H

63 Viloria: Dale De La Rey/Afp/Getty Images; Gonzalez: Jeff Bottari/Getty Images H Milan Melindo, an an Milan Melindo, four years. Are fghters Are fghters four years. avoiding this guy? Don’t they want a crack at the IBF title? undefeated Filipino make could fyweight, In one waves at 112. he of his recent bouts, yuki Igarashi over 12 over 12 yuki Igarashi Yaegashi bloody rounds. known as has become premiere one of the battlers in the lighter his bouts divisions, ex- known for intense dramatic shifts changes, Moruti and bloodshed. Af- Mthalane of South light rica continues his fghting only schedule, at once since last year He retained this time. belt his IBF fyweight by defeating Ricardo 8) in Nunez (KO Mthalane has Panama. had only six bouts in to Viloria in 2011, Segura has Segura has in 2011, Viloria to slowly been rebuilding his career. His May bout with former titlist Edgar Sosa should give us an idea of where he stands these days. slugger hope the 31-year-old We can make one more run at a title, for boxing can always use a char- ismatic puncher like Segura. overcame a damaged eye and late overcame a damaged eye and late rally from Jean Piero Perez to It was win a majority decision. the sort of bout that shows a and Melindo character, fghter’s He needs to certainly has some. though. improve his competition, who gave him hell, Even Perez, loss and was coming off a KO probably considered a safe bet. THINK ABOUT IT: Giovani Segura was supposed to be the savior of the lighter weight having twice beaten the classes, Puerto Rican star Ivan Calderon. Since losing a punishing bout Juan Francisco Estrada (right) up- surprised the and-down Brian Viloria in April. oMar nino oMar soto TITLE SHOT edGar sosa DESERVES A BEST BOXER brian viloria brian viloria Milan Melindo ON THE WAY UP ON THE WAY BEST PUNCHER brian viloria vs. roMan Gonzalez Hernan Marquez brian viloria ko 10 MOST PROTECTED ON THE WAY DOWN ON THE WAY JonatHan Gonzalez JonatHan BEST FIGHT OF 2012 MOST FUN TO WATCH MOST FUN TO WATCH IS HE STILL AROUND? MATCHMAKER’S DREAM MATCHMAKER’S Hernan “tYson” Marquez of Brian Viloria contin- Viloria of Brian After having one ues. he up-and-down career he up-and-down career

the ring magazine / JULY 2013 the ring magazine / JULY In another recent upset, Akira Akira In another recent upset, the State of the Game of the State the

fLyweight T and WBC fyweight titlist Toshi- WBC fyweight titlist and swansong. swansong. THE RING defeated Yaegashi always returned. This bout, This bout, always returned. which took place in Macau at the will not be his Resort, Venetian to be considered a mild upset, to be considered a mild upset, fnishing strong in the late rounds counted We’ve tired. Viloria as has and he out before, Viloria had lost two of his last six bouts had lost two of his last six bouts and was coming up in weight, but he scored what would have grown accustomed to seeing from grown accustomed to seeing from and a it was a good fght Viloria, Estrada rematch may be in order. recently lost his WBA and WBO WBO WBA and recently lost his titles by split decision to Juan have As we Francisco Estrada. of the best years of his career in of the best years of his career in over Omar Nino with wins 2012, Viloria and Hernan Marquez, 64 JUNiOR fLyweight

his division has been BEST PUNCHER Nicaragua’s Felix Alvarado is T packed with good fght- roMan Gonzalez undefeated after 15 bouts. He’s ers and wild fghts for a BEST BOXER still feasting on soft opponents few years now, and Nicaragua’s kazuto ioka but is another Nicaraguan banger, Roman Gonzalez remains the having stopped 12 of 15. Finally, class’ hard-slugging kingpin. MOST PROTECTED WBC titlist Adrian Hernandez felix alvarado Along with being THE RING’s made a successful defense of the top-rated 108-pounder, he owns IS HE STILL AROUND? belt in January, beating Dirceu one of the best offensive arsenals alberto rossel Cabarca (UD 12). Cabarca proba- in the sport. Since this time last MATCHMAKER’S bly didn’t deserve a title shot, but year, “El Chocolatito” has defeat- DREAM Hernandez has had some tough ed Ramon Garcia Hirales (KO 4), roMan Gonzalez vs. fghts lately so he was entitled kazuto ioka Stiven Monterrosa (KO 3) and, to an easy out. Here’s hoping he in a good brawl, Juan Francisco DESERVES A puts his belt on the line against Estrada (UD 12). TITLE SHOT WBA boss Gonzalez in a unifca- Moises fuentes Thailand’s Kompayak Por- tion bout. Zou Shiming, China’s pramook briefy held the WBC MOST FUN TO WATCH amateur star, turned pro in April, junior fyweight title, winning roMan Gonzalez beating Eleazar Valenzuela (UD it from Adrian Hernandez (KO ON THE WAY UP 4) in his debut bout in Macau. 10) in 2011 and losing it back naoYa inoue THINK ABOUT IT: to him by sixth-round stoppage. ON THE WAY DOWN Porpramook returned to the win- takasHi kunisHiGe Japan’s undefeated Kazuto Ioka ner’s circle in December with a has had only 11 professional win over Johan Wahyudi (KO BEST FIGHT OF 2012 bouts, but he has already faced roMan Gonzales ud 12 6). It may be nothing but a pipe Juan estrada stiffer competition than most. dream, but we’d love to see Por- In only his second pro bout, he pramook challenge faced Hiroshi Mat- Roman Gonzalez. The sumoto, a veteran Unbeaten Roman chances of it happen- Gonzalez is the best of 32 bouts. In his ing are slim as Thai in a strong division. seventh bout, Ioka fghters rarely leave faced Oleydong their home turf. But Sithsamerchai, who Porpramook did go was undefeated in 36 to Mexico for the fghts. Last Decem- rematch with Hernan- ber, he stopped Jose dez, so that’s a good Alfredo Rodriguez sign. Then again, (KO 6), who had 29 Porpramook has had bouts on his record. over 40 bouts, and And on May 8, Ioka he’s a bit war torn. was set to face 53- Some wonder how bout veteran Wisanu much longer he can Kokietgym. It’s no last. He was sched- wonder his manage- uled at press time to ment is fearless; Ioka fght Jean Piero Perez was an eight-time on April 26. national amateur WBO titlist Donnie champion who Nietes of the Philip- amassed a record pines was held to a of 95-10 (64). His majority draw by war at strawweight young Moises Fuentes with Akira Yaegashi in March. A rematch in June of 2012 was should take place be- one of the best bouts fore the year is out. of the year. H

the ring magazine / JULY 2013 65 the State of the Game StRawweight

traw- Denver Cuello time, Rodriguez weights (right, taking a shot lost the IBF belt in S from Omar Soto) is don’t get March to Katsunari rated No. 1 by THE much love from RING in an often- Takayama (UD 12). American fans. Af- overlooked division. Takayama is color- ter all, we are the ful, although his world’s most obese record of 25-6 (10 nation, and when the knockouts) doesn’t average American sparkle. Still, you ffth grader weighs have to like a guy about 155 pounds, from Osaka who it’s hard to sell a quotes Muhammad bunch of fghters Ali at press confer- weighing 105. Illit- ences and does the eracy is also high in Ali shuffe. the USA, and many Another notable strawweights have but unheralded diffcult names. The fghter in the weight strawweight class class is Thailand’s had been part of Paipharob Kokiet- amateur boxing, but gym, who is unde- wasn’t recognized feated in 21 bouts in the pros until the and owns a victory late 1980s. Perhaps over highly rated a bunch of fghters Jesus Silvestre (UD protested fghting at 12). Silvestre, a 108, saying, “Look at those junior good puncher who has stopped BEST PUNCHER fyweights! They are freakin’ huge! 20 of 30 opponents, has won nkosinatHi JoYi We need our own little weight four in a row since losing to class!” But the group has persisted. BEST BOXER Kokietgym but seems content to The current batch boasts a handful carlos buitraGo fght soft opponents for minor of interesting fghters. MOST PROTECTED titles in Mexico. Denver Cuello of the Philippines wanHenG MenaYotHin THINK ABOUT IT: is THE RING’s top-rated straw- IS HE STILL AROUND? weight, although he has made florante condes One of the key strawweights of noise about moving up to 108. His recent years has been Jack Amisa, MATCHMAKER’S most recent bout was a 10-round DREAM a 26-year-old Indonesian with 25 majority decision win over Takashi nkosinatHi JoYi vs. losses. He has provided record Kunishige. Cuello’s quest for a title Hekkie budler fodder for most of the top little has been a frustrating series of po- DESERVES A men in the business, including litical hurdles. He was paid to step TITLE SHOT Wanheng Menayothin, Nethra aside so that China’s Xiong Zhao denver cuello Sasiprapa, Yodmongkol Vor Zhong could win the vacant WBC MOST FUN TO WATCH Saengthep, Kwanthai Sithmors- belt in Nov. 2012, beating Javier Pornsawan eng, Paipharob Kokietgym, Pig- Martinez Resendiz (UD 12). One PorPraMook my Kokietgym, Bert Batawang, of the biggest upsets of 2012 was ON THE WAY UP Kompayak Porpramook and the journeyman Mario Rodriguez’s carlos buitraGo iconic Pongsaklek Wonjongkam. seventh-round knockout of long- Some of these guys have beaten ON THE WAY DOWN reigning IBF titlist Nkosinathi Joyi Amisa twice. If opponents are so Pornsawan of South Africa. Joyi rebounded PorPraMook scarce at 105, why don’t these by stopping Walter Rojas in one fghters just eat a sandwich BEST FIGHT OF 2012 round, and has a big bout sched- and make 108? Then again, may- kazuto ioka uled for June with fellow South Af- ud 12 akira YaeGasHi be Amisa enjoys having his face rican Hekkie Budler. In the mean- beat in. H

66 the ring magazine / JULY 2013

WAR OF THE NETWO

68 the ring magazine / JULY 2013 Showtime now has the sport’s No. 1 box off ce attraction, Floyd Mayweather Jr.

hen Showtime signed W Floyd Mayweather Jr. to a six-f ght, mul- timillion-dollar deal in February, snatching the best boxer in the sport away from rival network HBO, it meant very little to the boxing fans and casual observers of the sport. Mayweather was changing networks. He wasn’t retiring. And HBO wasn’t shut- tering the doors to its boxing broadcast division. However, those inside the sport saw more. They felt the seismic DID FLOYD shift in the way that business would be conducted at both networks and saw how it might MAYWEATHER JR.’S affect the types of matches that fans see. By signing Mayweather, boxing’s DEFECTION No. 1 box off ce attraction, Show- time signaled that it intends to be a major player in the same league FROM HBO TO as HBO. For HBO, it meant that it had lost the anchor of its lucrative pay-per-view division and would SHOWTIME now have to change its approach to the boxing business. When the rumbling stops, RADICALLY will one network emerge as the primary destination for big-time boxing? Or will it be a give-and- CHANGE THE TV take battle? And how will all this impact fans? It will take months before any- LANDSCAPE? one knows the answers to those By TIM SMITH questions, but the changes have energized the executives at both networks and a game of chess Naoki Fukuda is now going on to see who can make the best matches. The door for big-time boxing at Showtime cracked open when Bob Arum, CEO of Top Rank Promo- tions, took Manny Pacquiao from HBO to Showtime for a pay-per- view f ght against Shane Mosley in 2011. Even though it was just a one-f ght deal so a disgruntled Arum could thumb his nose at HBO and Ross Greenburg, RKS who was then President of HBO

the ring magazine / JULY 2013 6969 WAR OF the netWORks

Sports, the move whet the appe- When Don King took tites of executives at CBS – Show- Mike Tyson from time’s parent company – for high HBO to Showtime, profle boxing under the network’s HBO still had a strong umbrella. stable of proven attractions. When Mayweather and his rep- resentatives began negotiating for his frst fght in 2013, Showtime offcials jumped into the fray. They made Mayweather an offer he couldn’t refuse and HBO refused to match. It was hailed as a coup for Showtime and CBS. “Our boxing content has increased, and the number of fghts that we have on Showtime has tripled in the last year,” said Ste- phen Espinoza, Showtime’s general manager of sports programming. “Our 2012 boxing ratings increased 30 percent over 2011. We’ve doubled down on boxing. We’ve been able to allocate more resources to boxing and our strategy has paid off.” One of the frst things HBO offcials did following the loss of Mayweather was to announce that they were no longer buying fghts from Golden Boy Promotions, one of the biggest boxing promoters in HBO Sports, ended the alleged Golden Boy did seven matches the United States. Insiders at HBO threats by announcing that they on HBO last year, which is about say the fallout with Golden Boy, weren’t going to do business with a third of the network’s boxing which co-promotes Mayweather’s Golden Boy in the foreseeable shows. With an average of about fghts, wasn’t directly linked to future. Through an HBO spokes- $1.5 million in licensing fees per Mayweather accepting a deal that man, Hershman declined to com- show, that comes to $10.5 million could be worth up to $200 million ment for this article. that Golden Boy would lose. That if he fghts six times under the Espinoza, who was once the at- is a hefty amount to the bottom contract. Rather, HBO executives torney for Oscar De La Hoya, the line of any company. Richard had become increasingly angry founder of Golden Boy Promo- Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy, did with Golden Boy over the tone of tions, has drawn criticism for not return a message seeking com- negotiations for matches involving being too closely linked with his ment for this article. their other boxers. former employer. How much of that income can “It all began last year when they “There’s not much I can say be recouped from Showtime, took Danny Garcia, Amir Khan or do about that,” Espinoza which increased its licensing fees and Canelo Alvarez over to Show- said. “Our strategy has been to to match the ones given out by time,” a source close to the situ- concentrate on the best fghts HBO in the last year, remains to ation said. “HBO had done their we can make between 140 and be seen. Golden Boy did recently frst fghts and the negotiations for 154 pounds. Golden Boy has the sign an agreement with Fox

their return fghts were just awful. depth of talent in those divisions. Sports, but Fox’s licensing fees for THE RING MAGAZINE © All the negotiations started with Our overarching goal is to get the boxing don’t approach those of the threat to take the fghters to best fghts, and we’ll work with HBO and Showtime. Showtime.” whoever we need to in order to Espinoza said he will continue Ken Hershman, president of do that.” to buy the fghts that make sense

70 the ring magazine / JULY 2013 for Showtime. per-view attraction. But Pacquiao Ward, Nonito Donaire, Timothy “I’m responsible for the business has lost his last two fghts, includ- Bradley, Brandon Rios, Julio at Showtime, and Golden Boy is ing a devastating KO by Juan Cesar Chavez Jr. and Gennady responsible for their business. I’m Manuel Marquez last December, Golovkin. not in the business of guarantee- and isn’t expected back in the ring In an odd twist, HBO appears ing promoters a certain number of until fall or winter. The dry period to be ripping a page from Show- shows,” Espinoza said. could present a problem, since the time’s playbook from 10 years There may be a greater pool network is accustomed to build- ago when the network went to of top fghters to choose from, ing around its pay-per-view stars. a policy of not signing boxers to though. HBO’s decision to stop “HBO can’t do business the long term contracts. The thinking doing business with Golden Boy way they were doing business,” was that it gave the executives apparently meant that fghters like said Seth Abraham, former presi- more freedom when negotiat- Adrien Broner, Bernard Hopkins, dent of HBO Sports. “They lost ing with promoters to make Garcia, Khan and Alvarez were no the best two boxers in the sport – good fghts rather than slogging longer welcome on the network. Floyd and Mayweather. There is through a series of bad matches But Garcia, Khan and Alvarez no one else in second place now. before getting to what everyone have already become centerpieces When you lose the best fghter, really wants to see. Showtime of Showtime’s boxing schedule, you have to go back to the draw- even developed a slogan for the and common sense says that the ing board and construct a new policy: “Great fghts. No rights.” network is prepared to absorb game (plan).” Thomas Hauser, an author who more of the Golden Boy fghts The two pay-cable networks was once one of the harshest crit- that will no longer be on HBO. are closer in status now than ics of HBO’s boxing programming Showtime also has the backing they were when Abraham ran department and is now a consul- of CBS, which threw its consider- the shop at HBO. HBO has 28 tant with HBO, is eager to see able marketing muscle behind million subscribers. Thanks to how things play out. He isn’t in the Mayweather-Robert Guer- the success of some original pro- favor of HBO’s decision to freeze rero pay-per-view show. Yet to be grams such as Dexter and Home- out Golden Boy Promotions. determined is whether CBS will land, Showtime has increased its “I think what’s going on now throw the same kind of marketing subscribers to 22 million from is counter to the best interest support behind Alvarez, Garcia, around 13 million 10 years ago. of boxing, because all networks Khan and others in an effort to It was on Abraham’s watch that should be doing business with turn them into future pay-per- promoter Don King took Mike all promoters on a level play- view attractions. Tyson and Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. ing feld,” said Hauser. “That Espinoza said the CBS market- over to Showtime, where King set applies to HBO, Showtime and ing opportunities are available, up that network’s boxing pro- every other network. Exclusivity but it will be done on a case-by- gramming. Abraham said the de- on a network leads to problems case basis. He added that he is not parture of Tyson is much different because the network by defnition necessarily interested in develop- from Mayweather leaving HBO. is giving away its most valuable ing the next superstar pay-per- “When Don packed up Tyson bargaining chip, which are the view attraction. Mayweather is a and left, Tyson was the most dates themselves.” standalone star and other boxers popular boxer in the world, but Abraham emphasized, how- on Showtime will rise and fall on not the best boxer in the world,” ever, that the boxing business is their own merit. Abraham said. “Even without Ty- always fuid and fortunes can Developing stars is how HBO son, HBO was able to assemble change quickly. built its brand as the top des- the boxing version of the 1927 “At some point Floyd is going tination for quality boxing on Yankees and Murderer’s Row. We to retire, lose or lose interest,” television. But the loss of May- had (Evander) Holyfeld, (Rid- Abraham said. “This is not a weather has changed everything dick) Bowe, James Toney, Pernell permanent state. Showtime made at the network. They have only Whitaker, Roy Jones, Jr. and Len- a big move on the chessboard. one boxer inked to a long term nox Lewis.” They moved the king and the contract, middleweight champion The new game plan that Abra- queen. But it’s not checkmate. Sergio Martinez, who has a three- ham said HBO must construct Now what do they do with the fght deal. will have to center around box- other pieces, and what does HBO Pacquiao is the lone HBO pay- ers like Sergio Martinez, Andre do as an alternative plan?”

the ring magazine / JULY 2013 71 hAll OF FAme 2013

72 the ring magazine / JULY 2013 INTERNATIONAL BOXING HALL OF FAME INDUCTION WEEKEND JUNE 6-9, 2013 Hall of Famer Virgil Hill, who is part Native American, had 20 successful defenses over two reigns as light heavyweight champ. TOP VIRGIl hIll CAME A LONG WAY FROM NORTH DAKOTA TO THE OF InteRnAtIOnAl BOXInG hAll OF FAme THE By Ron Borges hIll

irgil Hill never shared Forks, N.D., to Canastota, N.Y., V his father’s dream for it is diffcult for Hill to fathom him even though on … and was impossible for him to June 9 he will fulfll it. have ever dreamed. On that Sunday afternoon, “I never thought about the Hall the 49-year-old three-time light of Fame,” Hill said recently from heavyweight champion and for- his home in Canyon Country, mer cruiserweight titleholder will Calif., where he now conditions have his hand raised one last time athletes and is plotting a unique when he is inducted into the In- one-fght “comeback,” which ternational Boxing Hall of Fame. we’ll get to in a minute. If there has been a more unlikely “It was a big thing to my father road to fstic immortality than but it was never my thought.

Theo Klein/Getty Images; Inset: Holly Stein/Staff Theo Klein/Getty Images; Inset: the one he walked from Grand Everything else was my thought:

the ring magazine / JULY 2013 73 hAll OF FAme 2013

training hard, winning fghts, Reds to go back to baseball but vision for a decade between 1987 going to the Olympics, winning a he says he’s done. I’ve told him and 1997. world title, defending it. The Hall he shouldn’t do it. I’ve told him “We moved from a farm into of Fame seems unreal when you’re boxing is an unforgiving sport. Grand Forks, which was the big out there fghting. When they If you can play baseball or box, city to me,” Hill said, “maybe called, I was very, very surprised.” play baseball. 42,000 people. I saw a Golden Considering Hill’s record of ac- “But he’s 23 and says he always Gloves tournament on television complishments, his astonishment wanted to do it, so I’m planning and wanted to do that, so my dad that a place was made for him on a goodbye fght back in North took me to a little gym in town boxing’s Mt. Olympus is, well, Dakota, a ‘thank you’ to all the and I liked it. I was 8 years old. astonishing. Hill not only twice people who helped me. My son “I lost my frst fght but eventu- won the WBA light heavyweight would turn pro the same night. ally I went 288-11 as an amateur title but successfully defended “I want Freddie (Roach, who and made the 1984 Olympic team. it a record 20 times over two trained Hill to his frst world When I went to the Olympic Trials reigns, added the IBF 175-pound title) in my corner for the last I was a true amateur. I was 20 and title and later won the WBA one. It would be like coming full I’d never really had sparring. I cruiserweight belt. He also went circle. Tell Bernard (Hopkins, didn’t even know how to wrap my on to capture what the WBA who became the oldest man ever hands until I got to the Olympic calls its “regular” cruiserweight to win a world championship Training Center. I’d just put my title before losing it on points to when he beat Tavoris Cloud in hands inside the gloves. Firat Arslan in Germany on Nov. March at the age of 48) if he “I lost the gold medal fght to 24, 2007, in what was believed would like to join me in that ring a Korean (Shin Joon-Sup). I to be his fnal fght. Final, that I’d appreciate it.” actually won 3-2 but they had a is, until Hill got an idea after That, Hill knows, is unlikely jury in those days and they his son, Virgil Jr., suddenly an- but probably not as unlikely as went to them and overturned the nounced a year ago he wanted to his emergence from North Da- result, 4-1. That was the politics fght professionally himself. kota to become frst an Olympic of boxing. The Koreans were The younger Hill, a former St. silver medalist and then a world threatening to pull out of the Louis Cardinals prospect who champion who dominated his di- Olympics. We’d beaten three of was released after four minor league seasons, told his shocked father that, at 23, he wanted to VIRGIL HILL FILE join the family business. Like most fghters, Hill opposed the The accomplishments 1996 – Defeated Henry Maske idea but realized he could no of the former Olympian by split decision in Germany to more stop his son from fghting and four-time world unify the WBA and IBF titles. It was than all the naysayers back in titleholder, who heads Maske’s only loss. North Dakota could stop him the International Boxing when he frst entered a gym in Hall of Fame’s Class of 2000 – Thought by some to Grand Forks at the age of eight 2013. be in decline but moved up to cruiserweight and stopped Fabrice to begin 41 years of proving 1984 – Won the middleweight Tiozzo in one round to win the WBA doubters wrong. silver medal in the 1984 Olympics 190-pound title. He lost it to Jean So Hill now works with Virgil in Los Angeles. Marc Mormeck in his next fght. Jr., who, although he spent much of his life around boxing, has 1987 – KO’d Leslie Stewart 2006 – Bounced back again never had an amateur fght. The in four rounds to win the WBA at 41 by easily outpointing Valery father is preparing the son for his 175-pound title, his frst. Made 10 Brudov to win what the WBA calls moment, a moment he hopes will successful defenses before losing its “regular” cruiserweight belt. happen in the same place where it to Thomas Hearns in 1991. Firat Arslan took the belt in Hill’s Holly Stein/Staff/Getty Images fnal fght. he had so many of his own. 1992 – Outpointed Frank Tate to “I do NOT want my son to regain the WBA title. Made 10 more 2012 – Was talking about making fght but if he’s going to, I’ll be defenses before losing it to Dariusz a comeback as he approaches 50. involved,” Hill said. “He had Michalczewski in 1997. offers from the Brewers and the

74 the ring magazine / JULY 2013 ing judgment. “We had Virgil his frst seven fghts,” said Duva’s wife Kathy, who now runs Main Events. “There was pressure from ABC, which paid a lot of money for these guys to fght on their network. They wanted them in with guys who were a threat to them, but Eddie wanted to go slowly with Virgil. “The others were more accomplished at the time, but Dan tried to convince Eddie that Virgil could beat better guys. Dan had so much respect for Eddie he didn’t want to fght with him, so he let them go. Nobody expected it to turn out the way it did. Part of the success Virgil had was going home to North Dakota to fght. The whole thing happened for him there.” Suddenly Hill was without a Hill was trainer top promoter, but he fought 10 Freddie Roach’s times in 1986 and four more frst world champion. in 1987, pushing his record to 18-0 when he was given a shot at WBA champion Leslie Stewart, who was coming off a dominant thrashing of Marvin Johnson. their fghters already. I had to winning nine gold medals. It was Stewart was 24-1 at the time, fght the last Korean. led by Mark Breland, Meldrick with 17 knockouts, a crushing “Just before the fght my dad Taylor, Pernell Whitaker, Tyrell puncher who entered the ring told me to give it my best be- Biggs, Hill’s future nemesis Frank at Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, cause nobody remembers second Tate, Paul Gonzalez and a bronze N.J., on Sept. 5, 1987, a 6-1 place. I was so mad at him at the medalist named Evander Holy- favorite. He left semi-conscious time. I didn’t understand what feld. Rising New Jersey pro- four rounds later, a champion he was saying until later but he moter Dan Duva signed Breland, no more, although winning was was right. They don’t remember Taylor, Whitaker, Biggs, Holyfeld trickier than it appeared. second place. and Hill and embarked on a plan “Virgil got cut the last day of “After that fght I had no to make them champions with sparring,” Roach recalled. “I idea the natural progression was the help of ABC. remembered a trick Mr. Futch to the pros. I fgured I’d go back But Duva quickly fell into taught me about using makeup to in four years and beat the guy disfavor with legendary trainer cover up a cut. I got some from a who beat me. That’s how naive Eddie Futch, who was working girl at the front desk and nobody we were in North Dakota. No- with Hill and his long-time man- even knew he was cut. body turned pro. We didn’t even ager Bill Sorensen. They seldom “Virgil was 100 percent pre- have a commission.” agreed on opponents and Hill’s pared. He was a converted But with a silver medal around desire to fght in North Dakota southpaw with a great left hand. his neck Hill’s life was changing. added to Duva’s promotional That was his best weapon. He Interest was high in the 1984 diffculties. Finally, in deference knocked out Stewart with a hook U.S. boxing team that had domi- to Futch, Duva made what would over the right hand, and I had nated the Los Angeles Games, be one of his few errors in box- my frst world champion. Never

THE ring magazinE / JULY 2013 75 hAll OF FAme 2013 CLASS OF 2013 Those who will be inducted into the International forget that.” Boxing Hall of Fame this year. Neither will Hill, who entered mOdern the ring that night driven by of world champions, including all- all the naysayers back in North ARTURO GATTI time great Tony Canzoneri. Dakota and throughout boxing Record: 40-9 (31 KOs) nOn-PArTICIPAnT who told him more times than he Active: 1991-2007 MILLS LANE could recall that he would never Summary: The two-time titleholder Summary: Lane was perhaps the succeed because who from North was one of the most beloved box- most respected referee of his time Dakota ever had? ers of his era because of his fghting because of his no-nonsense men- “If I’d believed everything spirit. He was in four RING Maga- tality, sound judgment and integrity. everybody told me, I’d still be in zine Fights of the Year. North Dakota doing God-knows- VIRGIL HILL JIMMY LENNON JR. what,” Hill said. “I felt like I Record: 50-7 (23 KOs) Summary: The golden-voiced ring was always behind the eight ball Active: 1984-2007 announcer is arguably the best in because of where I came from. Summary: The light heavyweight the business. He followed in the I’m partly Native American, and cruiserweight held a major title formidable footsteps of his father, and I saw a lot of kids in North in 16 of 21 years from 1987 to 2007, announcer Jimmy Lennon Sr. Dakota who were good athletes including 10 consecutive years ARTURO “CUYO” HERNANDEZ but some where they fell off. I’m between 1987 and 1997. Summary: One of the most proof that if you dream and you MYUNG-WOO YUH respected Mexican managers, believe, you can achieve. Record: 38-1 (14 KOs) handled the likes of Carlos Zarate, “I never fought a fght I Active: 1982-93 Ricardo Lopez, Ruben Olivares and didn’t think I could win. Maybe Summary: The two-time junior fy- Alexis Arguello, among many others. Stewart underestimated me. I weight titleholder from South Korea knew I was ready. I had a lot of had a division-record 17 success- OBSerVer speed and I caught him and they ful defenses in his dominating frst COLIN HART raised my hand.” reign, which lasted six years. Summary: The Londoner earned That would happen in 10 the reputation as one of the top straight title defenses, including OLd-TImer boxing writers in the world over a one against Bobby Czyz in Bis- JEFF SMITH journalism career that lasted a half marck, N.D., that displayed Hill’s Record: 88-12-3 (48 KOs) century. work ethic and the diffculty of Active: 1910-27 TED CARROLL keeping it in check. Summary: The clever middle- Summary: The prolifc artist’s “A day before the fght I weight never won a world cham- classic cartoons graced the pages couldn’t fnd him,” Roach said. pionship but beat a number of of THE RING Magazine and other “I drove out to where we ran all-time greats and, known as the publications for many years. and there he was, about 20 miles “Bayonne Globetrotter,” would fght from the hotel. I said, ‘What are anyone, anywhere. PIOneer you doing!’ He said, ‘Can I run JOE COBURN home?’ I said, ‘Get in the car.’” WESLEY RAMEY Summary: The Irish-born New Hill would easily outpoint Czyz Record: 140-28-12 (11 KOs) Yorker was one of the top bare- in front of a packed house. That Active: 1929-41 knuckle fghters in the mid-19th was always the case in Bismarck, Summary: The “Uncrowned Light- century. He reportedly never lost a where he fought nine times dur- weight Champion” never fought for fght. ing his frst reign before losing a a world title but defeated a number decision and his title to Thomas Hearns in Las Vegas in 1991. “Looking back I did some where I came from.” training methods he sought. It pretty crazy things,” Hill said. “I After the Hearns defeat, Hill was a much-needed escape. did things in training I thought felt lost. He left Roach, moved to “My life was getting out of my opponent wouldn’t. I always Australia to train with Jeff Fenech control a little bit,” Hill said. “I tried to push myself. That was and learned new ways in a culture needed to regroup. Australia was my advantage. Losing for me far removed from his comfort a different kind of training. It was wasn’t an option because of zone. But it was more than new rough. You didn’t have all the

76 the ring magazine / JULY 2013 move to cruiserweight. “Roy won Punch of the Year for that,” Hill joked. “Roy was not a body puncher so I’d say it was a fuke, that right hand to the body, but he did it. If I could have done it to him, I would have.” At that point Hill was 36 and many felt over the hill, but don’t ever say that to Tiozzo, who was 42-1 when he faced Hill in a rematch on Dec. 9, 2000, nearly two years after Hill’s loss to Jones. Again the fght was in France and Hill stopped Tiozzo in one round, dropping him three times to win the WBA cruiserweight title, a belt he would lose 14 months later to Jean-Marc Mormeck. Hill lost a hotly disputed rematch with Mormeck two years Some believed Hill was in decline after consecutive later in South Africa but won the losses to Dariusz “regular” title in his fnal victory, Michalczewski and Roy easily outpointing undefeated Jones Jr. but he later added Russian Valery Brudov before an- a world cruiserweight belt to his collection. other 14-month layoff preceded a big-money rematch with Maske on March 31, 2007. amenities you had in the States his second reign, Hill won in Maske had trained for more and it was tough doing business London and just outside Paris, than a year to avenge his only from Australia. So after a year and upset previously undefeated defeat. It was an obsession more and one fght I came home.” German legend Henry Maske, than a fght on a night when all Two fghts later he found himself the IBF champion, in Munich in of Germany stopped to watch its facing his former Olympic team- 1996. Before that fght Maske, boxing hero’s return. For Hill, mate and rival, Frank Tate. It was a national hero, had announced it was the kind of payday that eight years since they’d medaled his retirement so emotions were couldn’t be ignored, no matter in Los Angeles and now they were roiling around Olympiahalle, but the cost. facing each other for the vacant Hill still won a hard-earned split “I hurt my knee before the fght WBA title back in Bismarck. decision that unifed the titles and but knew I had a rematch clause Hill won easily and went on an- haunted Maske for more than and I knew the money I was be- other march of 10 successful de- 10 years. Seven months later Hill ing paid, so I had to fght,” Hill fenses, including a rematch with would return to Germany with said. “Right after it I had surgery Tate, a split decision over Fabrice less glorious results. in Germany. I already knew he Tiozzo in France and an odd He was there to face undefeated wasn’t looking for a rematch. I night with Adolfo Washington at WBO champion Dariusz Michal- tried to ruffe his feathers. He

Johannes Simon/Bongarts/Getty Images the Fargodome in Fargo, N.D., in czewski in another unifcation wasn’t interested.” which Hill retained his title when fght but lost a decision that end- Now 43 and no longer the the fght had to be stopped in ed his time as a force in the light fghter he once was, Hill fought Round 11 after Washington suf- heavyweight division. After a lay- once more, losing the cruiser- fered a deep cut from bumping off of nearly a year, he returned weight title to Arslan in Germany his head into a TV camera. only to be stopped by a crushing before walking away with a 50-7 In addition to winning seven body shot from Roy Jones Jr. that record, world championships in times in North Dakota during broke a rib and convinced him to two weight classes and a career

THE ring magazinE / JULY 2013 77 hAll OF FAme 2013 BONUS: BEST I’VE FACED

that would make him not only the biggest name in boxing in VIRGIL HILL North Dakota, but on June 9 a name that will be etched in the By Anson Wainwright place of his father’s dreams. “People ask me why I fought so often in North Dakota,” said Virgil Hill doesn’t have the Hill (50-7, 23 knockouts) Hill, who fought there 26 times. name recognition of some of retired in 2007 and now works “It was important to me to bring his teammates on the 1984 U.S. as a conditioning coach. He some recognition back to North Olympic squad but his accom- will be inducted into the Inter- Dakota. They had no profession- plishments speak loudly enough. national Boxing Hall of Fame al sports then. The major sports Hill won a silver medal in on June 9 in Canastota, N.Y. franchise was me. Now my hope the middleweight division at is to help kids there, especially the Los Angeles Games and Native American kids, have a fnished his amateur career dream of their own. with a reported record of 288- “For many years I got a black 11. Then, as a pro, he won eye for fghting in North Dakota four major titles in the light so often, but I have no regrets heavyweight and cruiserweight about what I did in boxing. I divisions over more than two wouldn’t change anything that decades. happened or how it happened. If “Quicksilver” held at least I did, I might not have made it to one 175-pound title continu- the Hall of Fame.” ously for all but one year over a 10-year period, ending in MORE HALL OF FAME 1997. During that time, he COVERAGE ON RINGTV.COM made 20 successful defenses against some of the best light GATTI HAd heavyweights in the world. ‘IT’ Hill stopped Leslie Stewart in Scan this QR four rounds to win the WBA code or go title in 1987 and successfully to http://bit. ly/16S0yeT defended 10 times before losing to read about the popular to Thomas Hearns, his frst Arturo Gatti, a member of the loss. He outpointed Frank Tate International Boxing Hall of to regain the vacant WBA belt Fame’s Class of 2013. and made 10 more successful defenses before losing to Dari- FAmILY usz Michalczewski. Hill also BUSIneSS Silky-voiced added the IBF title when he announcer outpointed then-unbeaten Hen- Jimmy Lennon ry Maske in 1997 in Maske’s Jr., a 2013 Hall home country of Germany. of Fame inductee, followed his Some believed Hill was fn- famous father into the ring. To ished after he lost consecutive read about him, go to http://bit. fghts to Michalczewski and ly/11KAHBt. Roy Jones Jr. in the late 1990s ICOnIC but, after moving up to cruiser- reF weight, he twice won the WBA Mills Lane will title in that weight class.

be remembered Only two men, Julio Cesar Holly Stein/ALLSPORT as one of the Chavez Jr. and Bernard Hop- best referees of kins, have had more title fghts his era. To read about him, go to than Hill. http://bit.ly/ZTLSEW.

78 the ring magazine / JULY 2013 26 Feb 2000: Arthur Palac sits in his corner during a f ght against Jeff Lacy at the U.S Olympic Box-Off at Foxwoods Resort & Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut.

BeST OVerALL BeST deFenSe FASTeST FeeT Roy Jones Jr. Jean-Marc Mormeck I don’t know. A lot of guys, He was very quick with Jean-Marc Mormeck had because I was a counter- his hands; he had a lot of pretty good defense. Even puncher, came to me and intangibles. He was quick, though he was an aggres- were chasing me. Nobody he punched hard, he had sive guy, he still blocked a really comes to mind. Roy good movement, good head lot of shots. wasn’t that f eet of foot. He movement. He was never would come in and out; he shaken by anything. If I hit BeST CHIn had a wide base. But no- him with a good shot, you Jean-Marc Mormeck body that I can recall. could never tell; he didn’t I would give that to Jean- show it. Some guys might Marc Mormeck as well. I SmArTeST blink or wobble. cracked him with a shot the Roy Jones Jr. f rst time we fought, and I’d give that to Roy again, BeST BOXer I thought I hurt him, and just for the simple fact that I Thomas Hearns I jumped on him, and he never thought that he would I think pure boxer, probably wasn’t hurt. throw a body shot because Tommy Hearns. Tommy was he never threw body shots. an incredible f ghter. Even BeST PUnCHer When I watched the f lm, his at the time that I fought him Roy Jones Jr. trainer said “do this do that he was fairly accomplished. I’d have to give that to Roy and sink one down to the The difference was I hadn’t because Roy broke my rib. I body” and he did so. Him, fought a legend. I had just didn’t see the shot, but or Tommy, as well. fought 10 title defenses but nevertheless I’ve never been none of them were legends hit that hard before. STrOnGeST and that’s a whole other Joe Lasisi thing, a whole different level FASTeST HAndS The strongest guy I ever of f ghting and just hoopla Roy Jones Jr. fought was a guy named Joe and everything. It was in That would go to Roy as Lasisi. He was from Nigeria. Caesars Palace (in Las Ve- well. Had he not caught Jo Jo was just a pure punch- gas); it was a really big f ght. me with a right hook to my er, just strong. Jo Jo could body, though, it would have knock you out with a right BeST JAB been a different f ght. I ad- hand, one shot. I caught him Thomas Hearns justed to his speed. before he got to me but I I guess I’d have to give that had sparred with him before to Tommy as well. Just long and he buckled me with a arms and a really good jab. right hand, so I knew what I For as old as he was [32], was coming into. his jab was still quick and hard. I had my nose broken three weeks prior to the f ght and I think he hit me with a jab right off the bat and broke it again, so that’s what sticks in my mind.

the ring magazine / JULY 2013 79 hAll OF FAme 2013 The late Carmen Basilio, who is immortalized in bronze at the International Boxing Hall of Fame in his hometown of Canastota, N.Y., shared the blood-and-guts style of 2013 inductee Arturo Gatti.

TALES FROM THE NAKED

VILLAGEBy Bernard Fernandez

80 the ring magazine / JULY 2013 here was a television cop show set in late 1950s New York called The Naked City, each episode ending with an unseen announcer telling the audience, “There are eight million stories in the Naked City. This has been one of them.” The picturesque central New York village of Canastota has considerably fewer residents than the population of the Big Apple’s fve boroughs, but, at least for T four days each June, there are about as many stories told. The International Boxing Hall of Fame’s annual induction gathering, which this year is June 6-9, features a smorgasbord of ring notables who are available to share with visitors spellbinding tales of fghts fought, championships won and lost, and the unforgettable cast of characters that provide the sweet science its most favorful ingredients. The IBHOF, which opened in 1990 in the hometown of former welterweight and middleweight champion Carmen Basilio, as well as that of his nephew, former welterweight titlist Billy Backus, will always be a source of recollections of heroism and heartbreak inside the ropes. But several perennial return- ees to what boxing promoter J Russell Peltz once called “boxing heaven” have since 2012 taken their eternal 10-count. Gifted raconteurs Bert Sugar and Angelo Dundee, both of whom passed away last year, were always among the more popular fan magnets, as was Basilio, who was 85 when he bade us farewell on Nov. 7. Their legacies live on, however, which is reason enough for the Hall to exist. Two members of the Class of 2013 won’t be able to explain what enshrinement means to them. Former world champion Arturo Gatti left us too soon in 2009, at 37, dying under mysterious circum- stances in Brazil. Renowned referee Mills Lane’s voice has all but been silenced by the effects of the debilitating stroke he suffered in the spring of 2002. But make no mistake, their tales will be fondly told nonetheless. Here are just six stories from the new group of legends that will have their plaques hung in the Naked Village:

ARTURO GATTI Rodriguez, Angel Manfredy, as much beauty in Gatti’s scarred ot since now-deceased for- Gabriel Ruelas, Ivan Robinson visage as there was in Muham- N mer heavyweight champion and Micky Ward. mad Ali’s leading-man looks and Ingemar Johansson was inducted Former HBO Sports senior balletic movements. Boxing is in 2002 has there been as much vice president Lou DiBella, who an improbable union of naked debate about a fghter’s qualifca- now heads his own promotional power and subtle artistry, of tions for Hall of Fame member- company, used to book Gatti’s stark fear and unbridled cour- ship as arose when it was an- fghts for the pay-cable giant. He age, those contrasts splashing the nounced that Gatti (40-9, 31 KOs) later served as an adviser to two entire tableau of human emotions had been voted in during his frst of Gatti’s opponents, Ward and upon a canvas of a different sort year of eligibility. Some would Leonard Dorin. than the ones used by Monet say, and did, that Gatti, although “I make no bones about my and Picasso. And the color most a two-division (junior lightweight love for Arturo Gatti,” DiBella prevalent is blood-red. and junior welterweight) world said a few years ago, in the latter “I was told lots of times in the champion and a huge box-offce stages of Gatti’s blood-and-guts amateurs that I had more heart draw at Boardwalk Hall in Atlan- career. “I think he’s an icon of and determination than other tic City, N.J., was not suffciently our sport. I think he’s the best of fghters,” Gatti once said. “I think accomplished to stand alongside the best. In my 20-plus years of I have talent. But to be a fghter, the best of the best. televised boxing, he’s the best TV the intangibles are something Those who saw something else fghter I’ve ever seen.” you need more than anything to in Gatti politely say “bunk.” Gatti, born in Italy, raised be successful. I wish all my fghts

THE RING MAGAZINE © Gatti stirred something gladiato- in Montreal and a resident at were easy, but I know if it comes rial in our hearts and minds as various times of Jersey City and to that, I’ve got the heart, guts he pushed himself to the limits of Hoboken, N.J., was no fancy- and determination to win the human endurance in classic slug- stepper. But he always adhered tough ones.” fests with, among others, Wilson to the warrior’s creed. There was Asked if he thought he ever

THE ring magazinE / JULY 2013 81 hAll OF FAme 2013

THE RING Magazine is featured in one of many exhibits at the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

would pass the Canastota sniff feld, Pernell Whitaker, Meldrick Of that fght, Abe Winter, the test, Gatti, somewhat propheti- Taylor and Mark Breland during Bismarck Tribune sports editor cally, offered that “I think I’ve the HBO-televised “Night of the from 1979 to ’97 said: “Virgil is earned it. What I’ve done in my Olympians” at Madison Square a world champion, so he’s a star career, I think, merits a spot in Garden. everywhere. It’s just that, well, the Hall of Fame.” Born in Clinton, Mo., Hill he’s a bigger star here.” moved to North Dakota at an H early age and he always seemed H most comfortable amid the VIRGIL HILL rolling hills and plains of his MYUNG-WOO YUH t one point during a profes- adopted home state, the third t’s a familiar question. If a tree A sional boxing career that ran least-populous and fourth least- I falls in the forest and there’s no from 1984 to 2007, Hill, a silver densely populated in America. one there to hear it, does it make medalist for the United States in After he won the frst of his a sound? the 165-pound weight class at world championships in different Depends on where the forest is. the ’84 Los Angeles Olympics weight divisions (light heavy- If it’s in South Korea and the tree – hence his nickname of “Quick- weight, and later cruiserweight), falling – or, more accurately, the silver” – moved to Las Vegas. But Hill made challengers come to axeman chopping down simi- Hill (50-7, 23 KOs), a ruggedly him. Twenty-fve of his 57 bouts larly sized timbers – is a 5-foot-4 handsome man of French, Cana- (including 14 title defenses) came junior fyweight champion named dian, Norwegian, German and in such seemingly out-of-the-way Myung-Woo Yuh (38-1, 14 KOs), Native American (Cherokee) an- North Dakota towns as Bismarck whatever sound it makes doesn’t cestry, always seemed somewhat (15 appearances), Grand Forks reverberate very loudly on the out of place amid the neon and (3), Minot (3), Fargo (2), Willis- other side of the world, in the glitz of Sin City. Nor did he seem ton (1) and New Town (1). United States. a comfortable ft the two times “Virgil Hill is our franchise, Or at least it didn’t, until now, he fought in New York City, the our professional franchise,” with Yuh’s well-deserved induc-

frst of which was his pro debut then-Bismarck mayor Bill So- tion into the IBHOF. The tiny ter- THE RING MAGAZINE © on Nov. 15, 1984. That night he renson said before Hill retained ror, who was 29 when he retired served as something as a warm- his WBA 175-pound crown on a in 1993, is perhaps the most cel- up act to his more celebrated unanimous decision over Tyrone ebrated boxer ever in South Ko- U.S. teammates Evander Holy- Frazier in 1990. rea. And if he isn’t, it doesn’t take

82 the ring magazine / JULY 2013 long to call the roll. He ran off a by fght fans as ring announcer of the Century.” Ali was Hart’s division-record 17 winning title Michael Buffer’s trademark “Let’s favorite fghter then, and he re- defenses in the frst of his two get ready to ruuuumble.” mains so to this day. reigns in the 108-pound weight But it was Lane’s penchant “We could go another mil- class, adding another after losing for catching unique, histori- lion years and we’d never have and then regaining the title. cally signifcant assignments that another like him,” Hart said of Although his knockout percent- separated him from other referees Ali. “He was unique, the best age isn’t overly impressive, in with similar resumes. He was on heavyweight of all time. He just some ways Yuh was a diminutive duty when James Miller, better transcended the sport.” version of Arturo Gatti. He threw known as “Fan Man,” tried to punches in bunches, and his epic, land his paraglider in the ring at H seventh-round stoppage of Oh- Caesars Palace during the seventh Kon Son in 1985 rates among the round of the second Holyfeld- JIMMY LENNON JR. most exciting fghts most Ameri- Riddick Bowe bout. Even more emember the scene in w cans have never seen. famously, or perhaps notoriously, R where Rocky Balboa wins Interestingly, Yuh’s best chance he disqualifed Tyson for his two over a hostile Russian crowd for widespread recognition in chompings of Holyfeld’s right with his gutty performance the U.S. could be the result of ear in the third round of their against a gigantic Russian op- his recently announced business June 28, 1997, rematch. ponent? partnership with a fghter better “I’m forever wedded to that The same sort of thing hap- known to American fght fans – Tyson-Holyfeld fght,” said Lane, pened to Showtime ring an- Manny Pacquiao. who became such a celebrity that nouncer Jimmy Lennon Jr., and he was made the star of his own he didn’t have to eat punches H TV show, Judge Mills Lane, on for 15 rounds to turn boos into which he became the swiftest cheers. All it took was a few MILLS LANE dispenser of Western justice since well-pronounced words in the he grandson and son of one Roy Bean. “There’s no question audience’s native language. T of Georgia’s most prominent that bite put me where I am.” Lennon, who takes pride in his banking families, Mills Lane accurate pronouncement of fght- could have remained in that gild- H ers’ names, no matter their na- ed cocoon had he followed a path tionality, recalls his June 16, 2007, that seemingly had been laid out COLIN HART assignment to announce the Oliver for him. But Lane wanted to make t’s been quite a run of late for McCall-Sinan Samil Sam heavy- it on his own terms, so he joined I the 78-year-old British news- weight bout in Ankara, Turkey. the Marines, where he took up paperman, who in 2012 received “I took a red-eye fight and ar- boxing and became All-Far East the Nat Fleischer Award for rived at 5:30 on Saturday morn- welterweight champion and, after excellence in boxing journalism ing, the day of the fght,” Lennon his enlistment was up, an NCAA from the Boxing Writers Associa- recalled. “I talked to a waiter boxing titlist as a student at the tion of America, a sort of lead-in who was setting up for breakfast University of Nevada, Reno. to his big day in Canastota. and asked him how to say, ‘La- In the courtroom – where he “The ultimate honor,” the Lon- dies and gentlemen, good evening was a feisty prosecutor and then doner with the moptop hairstyle, and welcome, all my Turkish a district judge in Washoe Coun- reminiscent of Paul McCartney friends,’ in Turkish. ty, Nev. – Lane’s style was as circa 1964, said when told of his “I recorded his response and distinctive as it was during his 31 impending induction into the IB- wrote it down phonetically. years as an elite referee. He was HOF in the observer category. “I When I was introduced that night the third man in the ring for 102 just hope this isn’t all a dream.” as the American announcer for world title bouts involving such Hart has covered boxing with the main event, I was severely fghters as Muhammad Ali, Sugar distinction for 48 years. His frst booed. I don’t think Americans Ray Leonard, Larry Holmes, assignment in the U.S. was Part are welcomed at all times in Tur- Roberto Duran, Mike Tyson and One of the classic Muhammad key. But as soon as I greeted the Evander Holyfeld. Lane’s raspy- Ali-Joe Frazier trilogy, in Madi- crowd in the Turkish language, voiced “Let’s get it on!” catch- son Square Garden, which lived they cheered me. I felt that I had phrase is as easily recognized up to its billing as “The Fight won them over.”

THE ring magazinE / JULY 2013 83 To say the fortunes of American amateurs have fallen since the 1984 Olympic team is a gross understatement. From left, standing: Meldrick Taylor, Mark Breland, Pernell Whitaker and Evander Holyf eld. Tyrell Biggs is sitting. 84 THE ring magazinE / JULY 2013 ‘WE CAN BECOME A POWERHOUSE’

The new president of USA Boxing believes the Americans will rise again amid changes in amateur competition By Bernard Fernandez

oodbye, headgear. So long, for the most part, accursed computer. Welcome back, body shots and combination punches that actu- Gally count. Call it the end of an error. After 20-plus years of a downward spiral that pushed the sport to the brink of irrelevance, Olym- pic-style boxing is staging what might be its last, desperate stand. Some of the common-sense changes that have or soon will be instituted are long overdue. And the very ill, wheezing patient that the amateur boxing establishment in the United States and beyond has become will be monitored carefully during its quadrennial checkup at the 2016 Summer Olym- pics in Rio de Janeiro. THE RING

THE ring magazinE / JULY 2013 85 ‘WE CAN BECOME A POWERHOUSE’

Dr. Charles Butler, the Ka- lamazoo, Mich., physician who had been grudgingly restricted to administering Band-Aids to festering wounds, was elected president of USA Boxing in June 2012 and his pleas for a compre- hensive overhaul have been heard not only on these shores but by the International Boxing Associa- tion. AIBA (the acronym remains the same although “amateur” has been dropped from the name) is moving to standardize the basics of the pugilistic arts across the board and even has quietly incor- porated some elements of professional boxing into its structure. Maybe the way the pros do it isn’t quite so evil as previously depicted by some in the U.S. and international boxing hierarchies. That is encouraging news for amateur boxing on a global scale but especially for the U.S., which suffered a humiliating medal shutout at the 2012 London Olympics in the men’s competition, although 17-year-old American Claressa Shields took gold in the inaugural Olympiad open to female boxers. It was the frst time since the “modern” Olympics were launched in 1896 that this country – which leads all nations with 109 Olympic boxing medals (including 48 golds) – had totally laid so conspicuous an egg on the international stage. “We can dominate the world again,” said Dr. Butler, who is certain the revisions he successfully sought, and were also endorsed by AIBA president Dr. Wu Ching- Kuo of Taiwan, will have a major therapeutic effect on American amateur boxing from the grass- roots to the elite levels. “We can become a powerhouse instead of a doormat.” America’s painful retreat from the peak of Mount Olympus into its current dungeon can be traced to the 1988 Seoul Olym-

86 the ring magazine / JULY 2013 pics, when the biggest heist on the individual tabulations of Roy Jones Jr. was since the Brink’s Job left the the fve judges seated at ringside the victim of perhaps the most memorable USA’s Roy Jones Jr. with a as well as fve backup judges. Ten injustice in Olympic silver medal instead of the gold out of 10 human beings saw one boxing history. he so richly deserved. In the fghter winning a particular bout, 156-pound final, Jones dominat- but he still lost. Go fgure. ed his South Korean opponent, Griffn’s screwing might well Park Si-Hun, to such an extent have been the result of a re- that the announcement of the quirement that, for a blow to be 3-2 “victory” for Park went far counted by the computer, three beyond the boundaries of the of the fve ringside judges had proverbial hometown or home- to press a red or a blue button country decision. within one second of it landing. Butler strongly suggests that Too often, Butler said, judges there was more than anti-Ameri- with slow thumbs didn’t press can bias or a desire to toss South their button quickly enough or Korea a bone on the host na- they actually pressed the wrong tion’s soil that resulted in Jones button by mistake. being shafted. Rumors circulated “(The computer system) was then, as now, that some Olympic put in to stop cheating,” Butler offcials had put themselves up said. “It didn’t stop cheating. You for sale. Although dubious deci- could cheat with the computer as sions have pockmarked Olym- much or more as you could with pic boxing for what seems like it. But even if the judges were forever, what happened to Jones above reproach, the computer continues to stand as the worst- system was severely fawed. It case example. was hard to score every scoring “When I got on the (AIBA) punch when four- and fve-punch executive committee that year, combinations were thrown. I was part of a reform panel You’d be lucky to be credited that Dr. Wu instituted after his with one point. You seldom got election,” Butler said. “We had a credit for body shots. new slate of candidates and got “If you as a boxer know you’re rid of a lot of the guys who had not going to be credited for body been in there. It was something shots or combinations, what are that needed to be done, because you going to do? Throw big, what had been going on was obvious punches to the head very obvious.” because that’s all the judges Perhaps the International could see. You take a kid who’s Olympic Committee’s mandate a counterpuncher, he’s probably of a change from paper scoring going to lose because judges are to computer scoring in the wake too busy pressing the button to of the outrage over the Jones score the initial punch by the debacle was honorable, or at other guy. They weren’t reacting least semi-honorable. Maybe it quickly enough to register the wasn’t. In any case, the age of counterpunch.” the computer was at hand and The mandatory use of the for a couple of generations of supposedly protective headgear, young U.S. boxers coming up which is being scrapped along through the pipeline, the effects with computerized scoring, also were devastating. drew withering criticism from The computerized equivalent of Butler. As a medical doctor with what had happened to Jones four impeccable credentials – he years earlier took place during has held teaching positions at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Harvard, the Mayo Clinic, the when American Eric Griffn lost University of Alabama, Univer- a 6-5 decision despite winning sity of Utah, LSU and Michigan

THE ring magazinE / JULY 2013 87 ‘WE CAN BECOME A POWERHOUSE’

State, as well as serving as the ing Team Trials in Tampa, Fla., of near-rebellion. After broth- chairman of AIBA’s Medical 1976 gold medalist Leonard said ers Nonito and Glenn Donaire Commission – he knows whence he and others with his rapid-fre believed they had been wronged he speaks. Butler says the head- style would have been in dire in losing controversial computer gear that was made mandatory straits had computer scoring been decisions to Brian Viloria at the by AIBA in April 1984, and in effect when they represented 2000 Olympic Trials, they, their which has been used for the past their country. father, their coach and a family eight Olympiads, has led to an “I don’t know if I could make friend staged a sit-down strike in increase in serious head injuries. the Olympic team, much less win the ring rather than proceed with “There is no evidence protec- a gold medal, with the com- Glenn’s losers’ bracket bout. No- tive headgear shows a reduction puter,” Leonard said. “My thing nito, the Boxing Writers Associa- in incidence of concussion,” was throwing combinations. Bap, tion of America’s 2012 Fighter of he said. “In 1982, when the bap, bap, bap, bap! The judges the Year, was so discouraged he American Medical Association with the little keypads can’t said he even considered quitting moved to ban boxing, everybody keep up. I could land fve or six boxing altogether. panicked and put headgear on punches and be lucky to be cred- “I was really down on the sport boxers, but nobody ever looked ited with one point.” at that point,” Nonito recalled to see what the headgear did. If Griffn is the poster child in 2009. “My idea was to forget Headgear diffuses the impact of of malfeasance by computer, about boxing and to go to school. blows to the head, allowing box- smaller but just-as-egregious I actually did quit boxing for a ers to sustain more head shots outcomes left Olympic wan- year or so.” over a longer period of time. It nabes disenchanted to the point Fortunately, Donaire didn’t stay also impedes their peripheral vision.” If Butler is correct, head- CHANGES IN gear increased concussions but reduced the incidence of AMATEUR BOXING knockouts, the most exciting Old: Computerized scoring. and television-friendly aspect of New: Pro-style 10-point must system. boxing, which over time led to a Old: All fve ringside judges score bouts, but for a blow to register less prominent place in Olympic as a point at least three must press a button within one second of it television coverage. With TV landing. exposure down and a dearth of New: The scorecards of only three of the fve judges, selected ran- Olympic heroes such as Sugar domly by computer, will count. Ray Leonard, George Foreman Old: and Oscar De La Hoya to pique Every “scoring” blow counts equally. New: interest, fewer and fewer kids Knockdowns and obviously harder punches carry greater took up boxing and the talent weight in judges’ scoring. pool began to dry up. Old: Mandatory use of headgear. Safety considerations aside, the New: Elite males will no longer wear headgear. end of computerized scoring is Old: Judges are selected for international events, including the seen as benefcial to American Olympics, by a committee and with no regard for their nationality. boxers who are almost always New: Every effort will be made to select only judges from neutral introduced to the sport in their countries. local gyms, and by coaches who were pros and inclined to Old: Professionalism was strictly prohibited, although countries teach what they knew. Boxing, such as Cuba routinely sent de facto pros to the Olympics. in this country, is antithetical to New: AIBA has instituted the World Series of Boxing, a sort of what Olympic-style boxing has semi-pro league, to provide some level of fnancial assistance – train- evolved into during the computer ing money, etc. – to leading amateurs. WSB boxers will be allotted era. Not only that, but who re- a certain number of slots in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, and ally believes that a jab should they will be provided with health insurance and a pension plan. count as much as a legitimate Old: Age range for Olympic participation was 17 to 34. knockdown shot? New: Age range is 19 to 40. At the 2000 U.S. Olympic Box- — Bernard Fernandez

88 THE ring magazinE / JULY 2013 Former U.S. amateur Arthur Palac was so disgusted after losing a much-criticized decision 10-point-must system is now the to Jeff Lacy in the 2000 boxoffs way bouts will be scored, instead that he quit boxing. of judges scribbling on paper, according to Butler, “They still have to use the stupid computer to push a 10 or a nine.” More important, any judges inclined to accept bribes, those who haven’t already been weeded out by the cleanup crew, can’t be assured of infuencing the out- come of a particular bout. “All judges will be from neutral countries, if possible,” Butler said. “To avoid the possibility of someone buying a judge, all fve will take their stations randomly. Nobody will know beforehand what position a particular judge will be in. Once they’re seated, a computer will randomly select three judges, so you wouldn’t know who to buy in any case. All fve judges will then score the bout, and think their scores are being counted, but actually only three of them will. “And if the computer isn’t working, all five judges will turn in their tabulations, but those cards will be put in a hat and just three of them will be pulled out and counted.” Butler said that, since he became president of USA Boxing, the number of participants has grown 5 percent. But for the U.S. to reclaim its former prominence, away forever. Such was not the would have had boxing was much more needs to be done. case with Arthur Palac, a laser- London,” Butler said. “The IOC “The world has caught up, and accurate jabbing machine who (International Olympic Com- in some cases passed us,” he said. was deemed the loser of a 2000 mittee) was going to get rid of it “We were trying to coach to the U.S. Olympic Box-off match he because it was crooked. We had scoring system, and that didn’t clearly deserved to win, given the a lot of dishonest judges. We had work out so well, did it? Now we scoring system that was in place, to tell some countries that if they have a much fairer scoring sys- against Jeff Lacy. Palac was so wanted to continue in Olympic tem, but we’re still not going to miffed, in fact, he permanently boxing, they had to get new na- win unless we signifcantly raise hung up his gloves. tional governing bodies. the skill level of our boxers. But scrubbing Olympic boxing’s “If we catch any offcial cheat- “What is it that Shakespeare soiled image, and restoring more ing, we send him home. We send said? `The fault is not in the stars than the mere veneer of honesty every offcial from that country but in ourselves.’ We had fallen and credibility, remains the No. home. We must achieve maxi- way behind the times. Now we 1 priority of Butler, Wu and their mum fairness. Who wants to see have to repair what’s broken. I’m fellow reformers. something that’s fxed?” not sure how long it will take, “Before the 2006 (AIBA) elec- The computer is still there, in a but I believe it can happen. It will

GETTY IMAGES tions, the last Olympics that fringe way. Although a pro-style happen.”

THE ring magazinE / JULY 2013 89 brains matter

Those behind the Professional Fighters Brain Health Study want f ghters like Timothy Bradley (left) and Ruslan Provodnikov, who engaged in an epic brawl in March, to be fully aware of the risks.

90 THE ring magazinE / JULY 2013 Brain health study seeks Not long ago, I caught to educate a clip of the 1966 fght boxers and between Joe Frazier and improve safety Eddie Machen. At the time, the talented Machen was in the sport at the end of his boxing By Gordon Marino tether. He had exchanged heavy leather with everyone, including Floyd Patterson, Ingemar Johansson, Sonny Liston and Ernie Terrell. In 1962, and after threatening suicide, Machen had spent time in a psychiatric ward for severe depression. But four years later there he was in the squared circle with the young and supremely ferocious Smokin’ Joe. For almost 10 rounds, Frazier pummeled Machen like the bag that used to hang off the tree in his Beaufort, S.C., yard. Of course, Machen was a tough and prideful pro who refused to surrender, so on the beating went, crushing left hook after left hook, round after round, until the referee fnally put a stop to the slaughter.

Eddie Machen is just one example

Kevork Djansezian-Getty Images; Machen: THE RING of a fghter whose brain took unnecessary punishment. THE ring magazinE / JULY 2013 91 brains matter

Nearly 50 years later, a true fags when boxers are on the are two elements that set this boxing fan would have to wonder cusp of injuries that will impair investigation apart. For one, it what commission, what boxing them for life. But then, how are is multidimensional in that it manager would be so indiffer- we to know when a fghter is on includes neurological, cognitive ent to Machen’s health as to put the edge of becoming a ghost of and linguistic tests; for another, it him in the ring at this stage of his himself or herself? As early as the is longitudinal – which is to say, career with the juggernaut that 1920s, the medical community fghters are retested annually. The was Joe Frazier? Machen died a recognized symptoms like slurred strategy is to ferret out connec- few years later after falling out of speech, tremors, and memory tions between brain changes and his apartment window. Of course, lapses as punch drunk or demen- function. today there are many new Ed- tia pugilistica, but by the time Dr. Charles Bernick, the prin- die Machens, fghters who can’t these symptoms appear the red cipal investigator of the study, perform at the elite level anymore line has already been breached. insisted that he and his associ- but who are in desperate need of There is, however, encouraging ates are not fghting against the a paycheck. They are boxers on news. Since 2011, the Profes- fghting arts, but instead fghting the fast track to what used to be sional Fighters Brain Health to make combat sports as safe called “Palookaville.” Study has been in progress and as possible. “The hope,” he said, Again and again, people who one of the central aims of this “is that we will be able to fnd care about those who give and research is to discern the signs of markers of impending problems take punches for a living sigh the brain disease now known as and then intervene, perhaps by that fghters need to be protected chronic traumatic encephalopa- suggesting a pause in activities or from themselves, from their own thy. The largest of its kind, the in some cases a halt.” Dr. Bernick dauntless courage. It is true, but study is being run by the Cleve- also suggested that there might this earnest call for protection land Clinic’s Lou Ruvo Center come a time when therapeutic might extend further than halting in Las Vegas. In addition to the interventions such as medications the carnage of hopeless ring bat- sheer number of participants will be developed to help protect tles. It should also include putting (currently around 300 mixed and treat the traumatized brain. up stop signs or at least caution martial artists and boxers) there Some signifcant results are

Dr. Charles Bernick (left) said his goal is to make combat sports as safe as possible. In the smaller image, women’s champion Layla McCarter completes an assessment at Cleveland Clinic. And, to the right, MRIs show that punches weaken functional connections between the important executive (A) and motor control (B) regions of the brain. Freddie Roach fought longer than he should have. He now suffers from Parkinson’s.

‘Something from a high medical authority that can show a boxer’s deterioration (and) force guys to retire would be good. That’s the only way you’re going to get guys to listen.’ — Freddie roach

already beginning to bubble up. In to appear until after the f fth year The Hall of Fame promoter was a forthcoming article, Dr. Bernick of professional f ghting. emphatic: “We want boxers to and his team report that taking Some boxers can engage in know when they are getting into punches in bunches after bunches thousands of rounds of sparring trouble and to stop boxing if is associated with lower brain vol- and a hundred bouts without that’s what is necessary.” Arum umes in parts of the brain related suffering any apparent damage. continued, “However, boxers are to cognitive and motor function. Others, however, will begin to like other professional athletes At the March 2013 annual meet- manifest symptoms after only a and many times they just don’t ing of the American Academy handful of contests. What makes want to know.” of Neurology, the same group one individual immune to the It’s true. Rashida Ali, Muham- disclosed that there are measur- effects of hooks and crosses and mad Ali’s daughter and a promi- able relationships between the another susceptible? It is too early nent f gure in the f ght against structure and function of that part to determine. The results collected Parkinson’s told me, “I’m excited of the noggin called the “basal are currently based on group data about this research. It is a great ganglia” and the degree of f ght and so it is not yet possible to opportunity for boxers.” And yet exposure and the number of times predict the risks for a particular she observed, “But even if it were a f ghter has been knocked out. It individual. However, the hope is around during my dad’s time in is well known that disruptions in that further studies will isolate the the ring, it wouldn’t have mat- the basal ganglia play a signif cant factors that spell vulnerability to tered because he loved boxing so role in the development of Parkin- repetitive head trauma. much that nothing would have son’s disease. Finally, preliminary Bob Arum has been a supporter stopped him from f ghting.” data from the same study indicate of both the Ruvo Center and Hall of Fame trainer Freddie that the dangerous changes in the Professional Fighters Brain Roach is a veteran of 53 pro

Courtesy of the Professional Fighters brain Health study; roach: Landry Major-Getty images Landry Major-Getty brain Health study; roach: Courtesy of the Professional Fighters gray matter do not usually begin Health Study from its inception. bouts. Against the f rm counsel

THE ring magazinE / JULY 2013 93 brains matter

of his legendary trainer, Eddie Futch, a man who had witnessed four deaths in the ring, Roach campaigned on as a fghter for at least a year longer than he should have. He now suffers from Parkinson’s. Informed of the Pro- fessional Fighters Brain Health Study, Roach told the Los Angeles Times, “Something from a high medical authority that can show a boxer’s deterioration [and] force guys to retire would be good. That’s the only way you’re going to get guys to listen.” In addition to working with active combat artists, Dr. Bernick is also eager to recruit retired pros. Former heavyweight champion Leon Spinks, who has seen much better days, has gotten involved. He told CBS News, “I never did think I had brain damage. … I don’t want the kids to go through what I went through.” A couple of months ago, Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini travelled to the Ruvo Center to participate

“We want boxers to know in the study. He confded, “My the ring with a battery of tests. son asked me, ‘Aren’t you nervous Perhaps there is a sense that if when they are about what they might fnd out?’ brain troubles are in the offng I said ‘no,’ but even if I were I and there is nothing that can be getting into trouble would want to know so that I done about them, then it is bet- and to stop boxing could get treatment and prepare ter to enjoy the sunny days that for whatever might be coming.” you have without thinking of the if that’s what Mancini joked that after being ominous clouds of future impair- examined, he received a call tell- ment. Mancini disagreed. “You is necessary. ing him not to worry, “There’s can’t choose to be an ostrich, to However, boxers nothing up there!” But in a more put your head in the sand,” he serious vein and when pressed as said. “Even if the news is bad, are like other to whether he would have enlisted you owe it to your family to fnd in the research during his fghting out what is going to happen so professional days, Boom Boom punched out that they can prepare for it.” athletes and many the word “Absolutely!” adding, “As a professional, you should H times they just want to know as much as possible about the condition of your body My short and unillustrious box- don’t want – brain included.” ing career began at the Gramercy to know.” Still, although they receive free Park Gym in New York City. assessments and treatment, many On my frst day in that temple — Bob Arum boxers are reluctant to get into of masculinity, I began shadow

94 THE ring magazinE / JULY 2013 GETTY iMaGEs/KEVOrK DJansEZian of bothcombatants (JoelDiaz Provodnikov fght, thetrainers the Timothy Bradleyvs. Ruslan ing thepitchedbattlethat was sensibilities areshifting. Dur- of football-relatedconcussions, rounding thelong-termeffects and themediaattentionsur- full ofmumblesandmuchworse. to thenobleartleftthemapocket fghters whoseloveanddevotion to registerthelonglistofgreat of profoundrespect, Iwon’t begin worked likeabobblehead. Out scores offghts. Hisnogginalso was anelderlyguywhonotched I movedbacktoJersey, mytrainer are theirheadsallshaking?’ When punch, thequestionhitme: ‘Why the soot-flledwindows. Likea or fouroldergentlemensittingby boxing andglancedoveratthree Thanks inparttothisstudy night’s end, someboxinganalysts on thebrinkofaknockout. At neither oneofthemwasexactly it wasachampionshiptiltand much punishment–eventhough their fghterswereabsorbingtoo the actionbecausetheybelieved and Roach)threatenedtostop than enough. corner signalsenoughismore have beencheatedwhena ref or that crowdswon’t howlasifthey lust oftheboxingfanbase, so trickle downanddilutethe blood perhaps, thesesentimentswill resonated adecadeago. Intime, concerns thatwouldhavebeen health dangerzone. These arenot might havetakenthemintothe nation ofthesetwogladiators that thecourageanddetermi- their headsaboutthepossibility applauded theactionbutshook condition of (his) body – condition of(his)body– want to know as much want toknowasmuch Ray Mancini (pictured Ray Mancini(pictured as possible about the as possibleaboutthe says a boxer “should says aboxer“should fghting JulioValdez) brain included.” THE ring magazinE /JULY 2013 the followingtesting:ques- participate inthestudy. sional fghtsare eligibleto or more documentedprofes- professional fghterswith10 professional fghtandretired with atleastonedocumented (boxing ormixedmartialarts) censed, professional fghters participating inthestudy:“Li- tion toboxersinterested in Dr. offered Bernick thisinvita- email [email protected].” please call(702)675-5237or To inquire aboutparticipation, yearly visit,ifneeded. provided foreachsubsequent hotel accommodationswillbe year visit,airfare andovernight who havecompletedthefrst is free ofcharge. For those es. Participationinthestudy be usedforlicensingpurpos- and chemistrypanelthatcan sent forHIV, HepatitisB,CBC, request theirbloodsamplebe addition, aparticipantmay licensing requirements. In of theMRIscantofulfllstate participant mayusetheresults confdential. However, a the studyiskeptcompletely consecutive years. performed onceayearforfve mately twohoursandare The studyvisitslastapproxi- mental function;abloodtest. memory andothertestsof speech; atestofbalance; brain; arecorded sampleof and impulsivity;MRIscanof tionnaires onmood,sleep TO FIGHTERS Each participantundergoes Information obtainedfrom A MESSAGE – GordonMarino 95 David Haye said the fnal chapter to his career has yet to be written.

HAYERE-MAKING A KINDER, GENTLER DaVID HaYe HAS A BIGGER FAN BASE THAN EVER AND HAS BIG PLANS FOR HIS BOXING FUTURE

By Gareth A Davies

96 THE ring magazinE / JULY 2013 ove him or at the post-fght press conference worst nights in the ring, watched loathe him, needed laying to rest. by the widest audience. David Haye re- The plan from here is this: Haye Haye announced his retirement mains Britain’s will face a world-ranked top 10 in October 2011, at the age of 31, L biggest box contender late on June 29 in Man- having insisted in interview after offce attraction chester. The second phase will see interview that he had by design in the ring: He comes with serious him in action again in October. chosen to call time on his career intentions and has an X-factor, In a sense, the procedure for the at the age of 30. He had made his good looks, attitude and arro- Haye-Booth masterplan is not a mind up to do so at the age of 12. gance. And now he’s back. new one. Haye’s career has been The dramatic U-turn in his mind When the 32-year-old revealed planned precisely and in detail by came after sit-down talks with his return to the ring, after a brief trainer and fghter since day one, Booth, in which Haye concurred firtation with retirement, no one over a decade ago. Three pillars with Booth’s plan to go the man- who has any history in boxing have espoused their joint philoso- datory route or bust. If the Ber- was the least bit surprised. phy in pugilism: titles at the very mondsey fghter had not agreed Indeed, there were even a few highest level, highest earnings to the plan, it would have spelled sages who reckoned “Hayemaker” possible and leave with Haye’s permanent retirement. may have wasted a couple of faculties intact. Rocky Marciano, Marvin Ha- years. Haye had hatched a cun- gler, Lennox Lewis and Joe Cal- ning, if obvious plan when he zaghe, in modern times, walked announced late in March a two- “I realized away from the square circle and fght plan, which, if successful, will never came back. Not so for Haye: place him within striking distance I’m a He loves the limelight and reckons of both Klitschko brothers. the fnal chapter has not yet been He intends to be the manda- performer, an written. tory challenger to any one of the The comeback plan was hatched four world heavyweight titles the entertainer, early in 2013 after Vitali Klitschko Ukrainians hold. had failed to reply to potential A complex jigsaw lies ahead to and I needed contract talks from Hayemaker’s be deemed frst in line (look at offce. It was that which prompted Alexander Povetkin and how long to step Haye’s move. he has been in such a position) The song “My Way” might have but Haye already has powerful back in.” been written for Haye. There has standing with all four sanctioning been the unorthodox and the enig- bodies. Currently, he is ranked No. They pride themselves on atten- matic in equal measure in almost 5 by the World Boxing Council, tion to the detail. They are both every facet of the way in which No. 1 by the World Boxing Asso- individualists, Booth naturally he and his team conduct affairs – ciation, No. 4 by the International suspicious, Haye ever the plotter. even his biographer Elliot Worsell Boxing Federation and No. 4 by Clearly, he could have walked has intimated that Haye can be the World Boxing Organization. away from boxing having already infuriatingly diffcult to gauge at Haye’s trainer/manager Adam made a fortune estimated at $20 times – yet now he will take the Booth, who will also turn promot- million (£13 million), and with conventional route to the title. er for this phase of the Londoner’s considerable success in the ring. Haye has his naysayers, but career, told me that he fully A former three-belt cruiser- he loves to trawl the forums for expects to have to go and “court” weight champion of the world, others’ opinions on him. He takes the sanctioning bodies’ powerful he nicked the WBA title from a peculiar delight from reading presidents “to jockey for position.” 7-foot-tall Russian giant Nikolai his critics. He often surfs the The frst stage in that process Valuev in November 2009 to great internet boxing forums and mes- came last year, when Haye had acclaim, defending the title twice sage boards in the hours before “clear the air” talks with Jose – against John Ruiz and Audley he fghts. Sulaiman, president of the WBC, Harrison – before losing it on a From being pilloried for the behind closed doors. The details wide unanimous points decision manner of his defeat to Klitschko, about the now infamous brawl to Wladimir Klitschko with three Haye has come full circle in the

scott Heavey/Getty images in Munich with Dereck Chisora belts on the line. It was one of his last two years. From my deal-

THE ring magazinE / JULY 2013 97 re-maKING HaYe

ings being around him, he has together. He had security laid on charming, thoughtful and was a also matured in several ways. But until the frst bell tolled. The fght credit to himself and the sport. there is no question that the PR reportedly brought Haye a purse He even bared his buttocks in an blunder of showing his damaged of around $3 million (£2 million). outside shower, which earned him toe and his decision to fall down Then, in November, he headed a legion of female admirers. His whenever Klitschko leaned on him into a celebrity reality television physique stood out on the show. in their contest in Germany were series in the Australian jungle for He fnished third in a popularity ill-conceived. Mud sticks. And 21 days. The man himself had an contest to two mainstream enter- Haye has been fghting off a group epiphany, and the public saw the tainment stars – the actress Char- of detractors ever since. Another real David Deron Haye. lie Brooks and the singer Ashley fght with either Klitschko would His popularity grew anew dur- Roberts. He had discovered new- be a shot at redemption. ing the very public stint in I’m A found crossover popularity. But like all stars, whatever Haye Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here. The David Haye Story is not does seems to be a story. He can’t He was simply being himself, for complete, he reasoned to me stay out of the headlines. Out three weeks, in a show which earlier this year, adding that he has of the maelstrom of the Chisora drew around 10 million viewers developed “something of an obses- brawl in Munich, allied with the per night. sion with Vitali Klitschko” with a nous of promoter Frank Warren, This was not the brash stunt- “fnal chapter still to be written” Haye took part in the biggest fght puller who carried the T-shirt in the topsy-turvy world of the in the U.K. last year. depicting him holding the de- south London slugger. He settled the grudge with capitated heads of the Klitschko Having seen Haye on several Chisora in front of 30,000 fans at brothers, the braggart who said he occasions this year, something has West Ham United’s football sta- would “beat Jean-Marc Mormeck changed. At a fan day, in January, dium in July, knocking his foe out worse than Rodney King was he greeted more than a thousand in the ffth round in an atmosphere beaten in the L.A. riots,” or threat- well-wishers, some of them having of high drama. Haye had demand- ening to beat Audley Harrison like queued for four to fve hours to ed a steel fence between him and it was a “gang rape.” see him at his London gym, in a Chisora at every news conference Quite the opposite. Haye was converted brick railway arch. The

Haye is coming off one of his most satisfying victories – over Dereck Chisora last July – after which he “retired.”

98 THE ring magazinE / JULY 2013 Matthew Lewis/Getty images he hadarealization withinhim- with histhoughtsforthree weeks, whom hedidnotknow. Alone company of12othercelebrities no phone, nolaptop. Justthe space forHayetothink. Hehad a junglestudio, createdtimeand onto arealityshow, acaptivein sion series. ened whileinthecelebritytelevi- of afghtingfutureweresharp- Russian DenisBoytsov. could beManuelCharrorthe for HayeinOctober, Iunderstand, from Manchester. Otheroptions idea offacingthe6-foot-9fghter Haye isslowlywarmingtothe understand thatbehindthescenes, the notionoffacingFury. ButI even beabetteroptionforFury. than Fury-Klitschkoandmight It wouldgeneratemoremoney it, ofFuryfacingHayeinOctober. promoter MickHennessyallows Haye oncedid. of noisethatthebrash, younger He alsolikesmakingthekind also seekingworldtitlechallenges. Tyson Fury. The youngfghteris a rivalintheBritishheavyweight rising onBritishshores. Hayehas complain atthat.” been positive, andyoucan’t really had sincebeingonthatshowhas fve percentofthefeedbackI’ve hype man,” herefected. “Ninety- ferent sideofmetothepre-fght on realitytelevision. far fromtheheavyweightjungle, fanbase. And anewone, created traordinary. Hayehasaserious as hemetthefans. Itwasex- few hours, justafewfeetaway, dred metersuptheroad. The queuestretchedafewhun- overhead, acoupleeachminute. central trainsthunderominously Haye has balked in the past at Haye hasbalkedinthepastat There isthegrowingprospect, if But nowcompetitionisalso “The generalpublicsawadif- I satinhiscompanyfora Peculiar asitmayseem, going Haye reckonsthathisthoughts be tempered. recognize I’mback.” honcho inanygoverningbodywill 10-ranked opponents, thehead fghting andknockingout Top- that, andthenitcouldallchange. percent ononebrother. Icoulddo think itwasworthfocusing100 erything isupintheair, soIdidn’t fght hismandatory. Forme, ev- said hewasgoingtocontinue, and he wouldretire, whilesomepeople Haye said. “I’d heardrumblings not saidanythingearlyin2013,” weeks passedthisyear. “Vitali had Klitschkos tofghtme.” Top-10 fghtersandthenforcethe the brotherswouldbetofghttwo the onlywaytogetafghtwith back. Itbegantodawnonmethat sown inthejungleforthiscome- the time, buttheseedswerebeing back in. … entertainer, andIneededtostep had. IrealizedI’maperformer, an all beenatthebigvictoriesI’ve good timesforme–andtheyhave thinking aboutwhathadbeenthe jungle],” hesaid. “But Iremember ever been[inthe Australian again. champion the loves tofght, thathewantstobe self: thatheisafghter, thathe demographic to be interested in demographic to beinterestedin anymore. I’vegotawideenough I don’t really needtodothat and gotheadlines. Itseemslike in thepastwascloseto bone a shock. of crazys--t, thenewfanswillget rip someone’s headoff,’ orloads now outtheresaying ‘I’m gonna jungle beingmyself, andsoifI’m ferent fanbasenow. Iwasinthe said. “But Idefnitely haveadif- lines tocreateheadlines,” Haye the medianeedsafewdramatic “A lotofthestuffthatI’ve said “I twiggedafewyearsbackthat The trashtalk, thistime, may “My viewisthataslongIam That wasre-affrmedasthe “Maybe Ididn’t fullyacceptitat “It wasthemostboredIhave when Ifnallyface Vitali.” day, maybe wearittothering T-shirts now. I’llframethemone all overtheworld. I’vegotthe did,” hesaid. cause somecontroversy. And it to getheadlinesandneeding cruiserweight champion, needing heavyweight fght, Iwasjustthe “When IdidthatI’donlyhadone in thepast, aimedathisfoes. fghting thisguyondate.’” about aboxerwhoonlysays, ‘I’m ing fans. It’s hardtodoastory me otherthanthehardenedbox- jungle. heavyweight madehumble inthe journey continuesforHaye, the kos. Boxing shouldrejoice. The body out.” day Ibelievecanknockany- forward todoingitagain. Onmy body wasgreat, andI’mlooking Getting thevibefromevery- raining, butnoonewasunhappy. the stadiumafterChisora. Itwas great. Irememberwalkingoutof It’s toughbuttherewardsare him focused. “I lovethetraining. weights inthere.” nize 80percentoftheheavy- the otherdayanddidn’t recog- of it. ButIlookedattherankings to fghtyou, theyhavewaysout lenger. Ifsomeonedoesn’t want make youtheautomaticchal- Being mandatorydoesnot with thesanctioningbodies. “It’s nolongeralogicalprocess thinking aboutit,” Hayesaid. match andawaitinggame? may beforcedintoalongchess not afearthat, likePovetkin, he ing outanothergiant. Butisthere in thegym, thinkingaboutknock- THE ring magazinE /JULY 2013 “It wasbignewsinGermany, But heregretsnothingsaid By that, he meanstheKlitsch- Tunnel-vision, hesays, willkeep “I trynottostressmyselfout The stoneiscast. Hayeisback H 99 LETTERS FROM EUROPE ANOTHER RICKY HATTON? By Gareth A Davies, The Telegraph, London

Promoter Eddie Hearn believes amateur great Luke Campbell can build a tremendous following in his hometown of Hull.

ddie Hearn will take some doing, but judg- that Campbell joined forces with could not have ing by the tens of thousands who Hearn was that he revealed he’d been a happier turned out for his triumphant almost quit boxing in 2009, aged E man when he return to the port city with his 21, and might have become a signed Luke gilded orb in August 2012, they North Sea trawlerman. Campbell, the 2012 Olympic would f ock to see him facing Personal depression in 2009 hit bantamweight gold medalist, to Mickey Mouse. him hard. He’d had a hand injury. his burgeoning stable. Local heroes are great starting “I wasn’t performing, I wasn’t He had fought off the competi- points for promoters and neo- happy, I was homesick, the coach- tion – which included Golden Boy phyte pugilists. In time, he ing team at the time hated me. Promotions – to raise the hand of could become a global f ghter, yet And I hated them. I was so close Britain’s most successful amateur still locally relevant. For those to throwing in boxing altogether.” in history: European gold medalist unfamiliar with Kingston upon It seems unthinkable now that he in 2008 – the f rst Englishman to Hull, on England’s eastern sea- could have been lost to the sport. win the title since 1961 – world board, its economy was forged Trawling, he reckons, would silver medalist in 2011 and top of on trading and seafaring, once have been a viable option. “My the podium at the London Games. including whaling, but now just brother’s a f sherman, he works Some record that is. Even more trawler seaf shing. away at sea,” he said. “Four or remarkable, 10 months before In boxing terms, Paul Ingle f ve of his mates do that and work the Games there were doubts took the IBF featherweight title away for weeks at a time. That about the likeable 25-year-old by unanimous points decision could have been me.” father of two boys being selected from Manuel Medina on a mem- Campbell had been seriously for the team. orable night at the KC Sports courted and contacted by Golden Hearn reckons that Campbell Arena in Hull back in 1999. I Boy Promotions, with CEO has the potential “to create a fol- was ringside, and the support for Richard Schaefer having f own to lowing in Hull like Ricky Hatton Ingle was awesome. London to discuss the details. But

once enjoyed in Manchester.” It What was intriguing on the day he knew which side of “The Pond” scott Heavey-Getty Jayson Colon - Fightimages.com images; Fury: Campbell:

100 THE ring magazinE / JULY 2013 he wished to be based on. port in a city for one fghter since improvement. He’s also a detailist. What is not clear yet is whether the days of Ricky Hatton. I went Hearn explained: “We were on the he’ll fght at junior lightweight or up there twice and people were train the other day, and he was lightweight. The former for me. chasing him down the street. No making notes on his pad.” He is long, willowy and it would one will let him pay for anything. Hearn looked over the pad. afford him distinct advantages He’s the crossover star we need in There were painstakingly made given his propensity to box so boxing, the perfect ambassador,” lists of what Campbell expected of cleverly on the edge of his range. Hearn told me. himself. “Things to work on – No. What made his decision concrete “He works so hard, he’s a dad, a 1 – keep left arm down to protect about building his career at home role model, and in Hull, he has the the liver. No. 2 – Move feet in and was the passion of U.K. boxing freedom of the city. Not offcially, out. It went on and on. That’s Carl fans. “The way the crowds of but he so clearly has it. When I Froch all over,” Hearn said. 10,000 supported us at the Olym- was with him up there he was ap- “No one expected Carl to be pics day in, day out, stayed with proached by old ladies, children, the great fghter he has become me,” he said. “I’ve been to top middle-aged men. That’s what he when he set out. People say to me, shows in America but the best fans is – a genuine crossover star. ‘Luke was a good amateur, do you in the world are the British fans. “When you hear over and over think he’ll adapt his style to be a They show the most passion. My again ‘We are so proud of our good pro?’ He built that style to dream is to be a part of that.” Luke,’ it’s so powerful. We know win as an amateur. Because he’s Hearn has a master plan, we can get either a 12,000 or so bright he’ll build a style to win which like all good plans, begins 20,000 capacity venue.” as a pro. He’s so switched on. It’s at home. Campbell will make his open- genuinely impressive.” “We want to build him in air debut in July, either at the Hull,” Hearn said. “He’s not a city’s football stadium or a rugby H kid driven by fnances. He looks league stadium. at the bigger picture.” Campbell Hearn also sees parallels with TYSON FURY has signed a two-year deal, and Carl Froch. Not in his fghting yson Fury left his mark on can box as many times as he is ft style, as Campbell is very much T America. But his Stateside enough to do. the boxer, but in the fastidious debut created as many questions “I’ve never seen such huge sup- way in which he adheres to self- as it provided answers, and many

Tyson Fury’s performance against Steve Cunningham (left) left us scratching our heads.

THE ring magazinE / JULY 2013 101 LETTERS FROM EUROPE

watching were left scratching their opponents get better. heads. The 6-foot-9, 250-pound “I’d like to see him more active, U.K. TOP 10 heavyweight entertained with his though, f ghting more regularly. belligerent style in the build-up The jab, uppercut and body shots Gareth a Davies’ monthly but ended up in a bizarre contest were good, but he probably pound-for-pound list for with Steve Cunningham. wanted to f nish him off. A Ber- british boxers. Plenty of rival heavyweights nard Hopkins f ght would be great 1. CARL FROCH will have been licking their lips for Nathan down the line. He’s the 2. AMIR KHAN seeing the right hand which put biggest name in the business, so Fury down in the second round. hopefully Frank (Warren) can get 3. DAVID HAYE Cunningham was not even him over. 4. RICKY BURNS considered a heavy puncher as a “If Nathan f ghts the right f ght, cruiserweight. he’s got a good chance against 5. KELL BROOK Fury got up off the canvas to Hopkins. It would be great to 6. NATHAN CLEVERLY win and clearly has the spirit. bring (Hopkins) over to Wales. What he lacked, commented on I think we’d get 30,000 people 7. CARL FRAMPTON by many colleagues, was f nesse in at that.” 8. TYSON FURY the performance. What is undeni- Boxing’s great old man, as we 9. SCOTT QUIGG able, though, is that Fury does know, loves the travel, thrives on bring excitement. It is a case of the hate. 10. GEORGE GROVES expect the unexpected from the Hopkins’ sojourn to Wales Through f ghts of april 21 traveler with f ghting genes going would be a major f nancial back generations. undertaking, though promoter Frank Warren is open to it, he H has said. It would take a huge gate to help generate the millions JOE CALZAGHE – the oldest world champion in his- BERNARD HOPKINS tory would demand. – NATHAN CLEVERLY It was a great occasion when oe Calzaghe was in Nathan Calzaghe took thousands of fans J Cleverly’s dressing room after following him to Las Vegas in the light heavyweight’s f fth suc- 2008, where he outsmarted the cessful defense of his WBO title Philadelphian in a split points vic- against Robin Krasniqi at Wemb- tory over Hopkins. This would be Assassin” looks when he moves ley in April. like a rematch of sorts, against the up a level. Cleverly’s one-sided points rising champion who sparred hun- victory divided opinion. Cleverly dreds of rounds with Calzaghe. H was frustrated – he wanted a The old ring fox, almost twice f nish. Some pundits were se- the age of Cleverly, would be the JAZZA DICKENS vere on the mathematics major, greatest test. Warren will look to egular readers of this column insisting he was off balance, his match Cleverly with Beibut Shu- R will be aware of this corre- footwork poor. menov on the same night Hop- spondent’s penchant for boxing’s From my seat, Cleverly was kins defends against Karo Murat ability to heal, inspire and trans- concise and clinical, without in August. form lives. showing the power to put his op- As a footnote on that Wembley Delving into the back story of ponent away. It was interesting to card – which started at 4 p.m. and James “Jazza” Dickens, the Eng- hear Calzaghe’s take on culminated with Dereck Chisora lish junior featherweight cham- the performance. as the f nal act at 12:45 a.m. – it pion, is heartwarming. “I thought he did well … he is worth recording how good The 21-year-old, who has great boxed within himself,” Calzaghe 24-year-old junior bantamweight hand speed and utter dedication said. “I knew Krasniqi would be Paul Butler looked. He added the to his craft, is an inspiration. As a tough. I think there are similarities Commonwealth title to the British kid, both his parents were heroin between Nathan’s and my career. I title he holds. It will be intrigu- addicts. He knows there are many

think he’ll raise his standard as the ing to see how “The Baby-Faced children who have grown up in scott Heavey-Getty images

102 THE ring magazinE / JULY 2013 Fellow Welshman Joe Calzaghe praised Nathan Cleverly’s performance against Robin Krasniqi (left) and expects him to improve as his opponents get tougher.

such a way and have found them- Frampton steal all the headlines. the supermarket,” the younger selves on the streets, unable to face Khan said. the reality of the adults around H He also revealed that the pair them wasting away. – Haroon, at 22, is four years Dickens, at the age of 13, found HAROON KHAN younger than Amir – would often the gym. Then, aged 17, when his unny talking to Haroon Khan take to sparring at home while father went through rehabilitation F just before his professional growing up. and consequently to church, the debut at junior bantamweight “An ad break would come on young boxer also found religion. on the undercard of his brother television and Amir would urge The two pillars in his life have Amir’s fght with Julio Diaz in me to spar,” he said. “There were created a young man carrying a Sheffeld. Haroon was being gloves all over the house. One message of hope, and he reckons promoted and paid by his elder night, a single round went on for he’s guided by a “higher force.” brother for his night’s work, but 45 minutes and became a com- “I don’t go out. My nights out he revealed a couple of details petition of who could keep going are when I go to an arena to about their upbringing, and in- the longest, with hands still up.” box,” said the lad from Mersey- deed, how there is no favoritism What a shame that the Kid Khan side, Liverpool. in the family. vs. King Khan session was not Ricky Hatton, his promoter, sees “Amir still gets a rollocking recorded. Cheers. a bright future, moving his man here and there and a talking quietly up the sidelines while high- to (from mum and dad), or told Gareth A Davies is boxing correspon- profle rivals Scott Quigg and Carl to go get the shopping from dent for The Telegraph, London.

THE ring magazinE / JULY 2013 103 RINGSIDE REPORTS it didn’t happen, in part because of Brandon Rios (right) a regimen that took alvarado home got the better of this to Denver. He did his roadwork in the exchange with Mike Alvarado but it was Rios nearby mountains. Trainer and manager who took one on the Henry Delgado said alvarado ran the chops when the decision trails in the thin air that gave him the was announced. legs and lungs to do what rios never foresaw. “in the f rst f ght, there was no intelligence,” Top rank promoter bob arum said. “Just boom, boom, boom. Here, he had a game plan and he executed it.” alvarado’s discipline was evident after a wild second round. rios hurt him with a left hand. if alvarado’s brawling nature was there, it would have exhibited itself then. but it didn’t. For the next 10 rounds, he would trade punches during the opening moments, then backpedal out of rios’ target zone, only to return for the f nal few moments. The tactic never allowed rios, an instinctive f ghter, to establish a rhythm. after the scores were announced, rios demanded a third f ght before joining alvarado in the emergency room for precautionary tests. an immediate rematch is unlikely, arum said. For now, there are other possibilities for each, including a shot at Manny Pacquiao. For later and for their legacies, there’s only one possibility: MIKE ALVARADO UD 12 dimensional brawler he was portrayed alvarado-rios iii. BRANDON RIOS to be. – Norm Frauenheim Date: March 30, 2013 The assumption was that a coherent Site: Mandalay bay, Las Vegas plan would splinter and scatter with one G.RIGONDEAUX UD 12 Division: Junior welterweight big punch from rios. alvarado would NONITO DONAIRE Weights: alvarado 140; rios 140 revert to form. but only that stereotype Date: april 13, 2013 RING rating (going into was left splintered and scattered by Site: radio City Music Hall, new York f ght): rios no. 6; alvarado no. 8 alvarado, whose agile footwork between City Network: HbO punching exchanges at the start and Division: Junior featherweight end of nearly every round confused and Weights: Donaire 121.6; rigondeaux H so what’s left to say about Mike frustrated rios. 121.5 alvarado and brandon rios? Plenty, “i’m always smarter the second time RING rating (going into it turns out. They exhausted the around,” alvarado said after winning on f ght): Donaire Champion; rigondeaux superlatives and themselves throughout all three scorecards – 115-113, 115- no. 1 12 rounds of a dynamic rematch that, 113 and 114-113. Network: HbO in the end, left a keen appetite for more. The expectation in the days before rios-alvarado is an unf nished story. the rematch was that Chapter 2 would H it was an off-key night at an iconic Chapter 3 is waiting to be written after simply be a violent extension of the f rst venue. instead of sweet music at radio alvarado (34-1, 23 knockouts) surprised one, which ended with alvarado out City Music Hall, there were boos and rios (31-1-1, 23 KOs) with unexpected on his feet in the seventh round after only some sweet science from Guillermo adjustments and an ability to sustain a spontaneous combustion of punches rigondeaux, whose unappreciated skills a varied attack. it wasn’t the single- from rios in Carson, Calif. rios said are as tough to sell as they are to beat. naoki Fukuda minded brawl predicted by so many. it repeatedly that he expected the alvarado nonito Donaire (31-2, 20 KOs) couldn’t wasn’t because alvarado isn’t the one- he saw in October to show up in March. deal with rigondeaux (12-0, 8 KOs) or

104 THE ring magazinE / JULY 2013 a laundry list of distractions in losing a front of him. Canelo knew the offcial scores after unanimously humiliating decision. it was Donaire still has to prove that he can. the fourth and eighth rounds, knew he an abrupt end to the applause he heard – Norm Frauenheim was winning. The Mexico City-based a couple of nights before the opening WbC asked for the open scoring and bell when he was honored as the 2012 SAUL ALVAREZ UD 12 Texas regulators allowed it. it took Fighter of the Year at the boxing Writers AUSTIN TROUT suspense out of the fght and explains association of america’s annual dinner. Date: april 20, 2013 why alvarez, who knocked Trout down in “i apologize,” Donaire said after losing Site: alamodome, san antonio the seventh, appeared to slow down in 116-111, 115-112 and 114-113. Division: Junior middleweight the fnal third of the fght. Why engage in The apology, however, didn’t alleviate Weights: alvarez 153.5; Trout 153.25 exchanges that would risk an injury and the sting of a loss that was bad for RING rating (going into jeopardize a possible september fght business on rigondeaux’s end as well. fght): alvarez no. 2; Trout no. 3 with Mayweather? Promoter bob arum was suddenly Network: showtime Unanswered is whether the Mexican- saddled with a fghter whose biggest dominated crowd of 39,247 might have victory only seemed to re-emphasize an H stages in Canelo alvarez’s career infuenced the judges in a close fght. old nickname: rigondull. come, go and continue. First, an oddity. Thousands of fans followed alvarez, a “it was not a very engaging fght,” Then, a prodigy. against austin Trout, he red-headed Pied Piper, to san antonio. it arum told ringside reporters after passed another milestone that indicated didn’t matter. alvarez made sure of it. rigondeaux built an insurmountable true maturity yet left an unlimited “i was smart,” alvarez said in the ring. lead for nine rounds and then survived a horizon of potential ahead. “Little by little, i fgured out how to fght 10th-round knockdown. it’s hard to believe, especially with him. i was connecting with my right and rigondeaux, a Cuban Olympian talk of a fght against Floyd Mayweather my jab. i learned a lot from this fght.” with two gold medals, has power Jr., who represents the top of the scale. Don’t be surprised if he learns a and skill, arum said, “but running the nevertheless, alvarez (42-0-1, 30 KOs) lot more. way he does really makes it not a is still evolving. – Norm Frauenheim watchable fght.” regardless of whether he faces Ouch. Give arum an “a” for honesty Mayweather in september or next year No. 6 on a night that saw no winners and or never-ever, alvarez’s unanimous ROBERT STIEGLITZ not much of a future for rigondeaux, decision over Trout displayed things TKO 4 No. 5 who at 32 isn’t likely to change a style heretofore unseen and unexpected. it ARTHUR ABRAHAM ingrained into him by a reported 400 also hinted at more from an unfappable March 23, Magdeburg, amateur bouts. He is who he is. but 22-year-old who seems to possess an Germany (Epix) that cliché raises a troubling question almost unnerving sense of who he is about Donaire. and who he intends to be. H robert stieglitz avenged a The bWaa’s election of him as Fighter against Trout (26-1, 14 KOs), there unanimous-decision loss to arthur of the Year stamped him as elite. but is was talk that alvarez’s defciencies abraham seven months earlier to he really? Distractions were a problem. would collect and conspire against him. reclaim the WbO super middleweight Donaire’s wife, rachel, is expecting Trout’s superior foot speed and alvarez’s title. their frst child. Donaire said he needed lack of defense would result in the stieglitz landed a game-changing shoulder surgery. There were questions Mexican’s frst defeat. Didn’t happen overhand right in round 2 that badly about his preparation as it was disclosed because of tactics many believed were buckled abraham (36-4, 28 KOs). that he spent little time in trainer robert not in alvarez’s Dna. stieglitz went all-out trying to fnish Garcia’s gym. They talked about the “Canelo shocked us,” Trout told the his fellow German but the titleholder fght over the phone instead of working ringside media. “He boxed a lot better withstood the onslaught, albeit with a on it in sessions with the mitts. Five than i thought. We just prepared for a badly swollen left eye. days before the weigh-in, Donaire was totally different fghter. He was the better stieglitz (44-3, 25 KOs) focused reported to be seven pounds heavier man. He was quicker.” his attack on the damaged eye and than the 122 mandatory. Unlike some at ringside, Trout didn’t continued to bully abraham around the it’s hard to know whether inattention dispute the judging, although the 118- ring in round 3. abraham looked lost to training and distractions were 109 score on stanley Christodoulou’s and tried to survive by rabbit punching, linked. nevertheless, great fghters card seemed unfair to the new Mexico which drew a stern warning from have had to battle all of that and more junior middleweight, who got into the referee Michael Ortega. after abraham against pros more accomplished than 154-pound mix with an upset of Miguel clocked stieglitz in the back of the head rigondeaux. That’s what elite means. Cotto in December. Oren shellenberger again, Ortega acted accordingly with a The best example is Manny Pacquiao, had it 116-111 and rey Danseco point deduction. a fellow Filipino. at his best, Pacquiao 115-112, both for alvarez in a fght that abraham never had a chance to get managed distractions and the fghter in included open scoring. back into the fght. He was deemed unft

THE ring magazinE / JULY 2013 105 RINGSIDE REPORTS

to continue with his left eye completely seemed to be doomed from the start. in Maderna, a 2008 Olympian from closed. Ortega called it off one second the second round, two right hands and argentina, looked to counter. into round 4. an uppercut left him with a cut under in the eighth round, rodriguez (23-0, his right eye and no chance. at 2:20 15 KOs) drilled Maderna with a low No. 7 of the third, a Golovkin right f oored blow that was so nasty that Maderna GEORGE GROVES ishida, whose head rested precariously (19-1, 13 KOs) elected to take the full TKO 2 BAKER BARAKAT on the bottom rope. The Japanese f ve minutes to recover. referee Daniel March 23, Magdeburg, middleweight was motionless for about Van de Wiele docked rodriguez a point Germany (Epix) a minute before he climbed to his feet. it for the foul. The next round, rodriguez George Groves stayed busy was his f rst loss by knockout. was at it again, this time being penalized while awaiting a big f ght, stopping Good luck, Macklin. a point for a rabbit punch that dropped baker barakat in two rounds in the Maderna. Moments later in the ninth, rising british contender’s second f ght in DENIS GRACHEV SD 10 rodriguez dropped Maderna to the two weeks. ZSOLT ERDEI canvas with a straight right. Groves made light work of the lightly March 30, Monte Carlo, regarded barakat (37-14-4, 25 KOs). Monaco (integrated sports PPV) No. 7 He concentrated on the German’s ISAAC CHILEMBA D12 midsection and buzzed his foe with a left H after upsetting ismayl sillakh and No. 10 TONY BELLEW uppercut in the waning moments of the then pushing Lucian bute to the brink March 30, Liverpool, f rst round. last year, Denis Grachev caught the eye England (WealthTV) He f nished what he started in the of the boxing world. second. He knocked barakat down With a split-decision victory over Zsolt H it was f tting that no one was deemed with right hands and followed up with Erdei in the “Monte Carlo Million Dollar the victor in a f ght where neither boxer combinations until referee norbert super Four” – by scores of 96-94, 96-94 seemed to take control. Tony bellew and Duenberger halted the bout at 2:20. and 94-96 – Grachev f rmly established isaac Chilemba fought to a split draw Groves (18-0, 14 KOs) recently bolted himself as a tough-as-nails contender. in an uneventful f ght, with scores of Frank Warren Promotions for Eddie Erdei (33-1, 18 KOs) started off strong, 114-114, 116-112 for Chilemba and Hearns’ Matchroom sport, which has controlling the f ght over the f rst half 116-115 for bellew. him on an aggressive schedule ahead of by creating distance with his jab. He bellew (19-1-1, 12 KOs) was the a planned marquee f ght in september maintained range and forced Grachev to aggressor and landed the harder shots in his native London. He’s slated to miss with power shots while connecting when he found his target; he clearly f ght again on May 25 and is now the with well-timed counters. but eventually won the early rounds. Chilemba (20-1-2, mandatory challenger for the WbO super Grachev’s pressure style forced Erdei 9 KOs) took over down the stretch, middleweight title held by stieglitz. into more exchanges and the California- countering well along the ropes and based russian found success, leading using his speed to land f rst. No. 3 GENNADY to the biggest win of his career. Grachev but many of the rounds were GOLOVKIN KO 3 will face Edwin rodriguez for the tough to score, with neither f ghter NOBUHIRO ISHIDA tournament title at a catch weight of asserting himself. March 30, Monte Carlo, 171½ pounds on July 13 in Mon. The match was a WbC eliminator to Monaco (integrated sports PPV) Erdei, 38, lost for the f rst time in his determine a mandatory for rinG light 13-year-career on July 13 in Monaco. heavyweight champion Chad Dawson. H Gennady Golovkin got in a nice work Chilemba claims that he woke up with out a couple weeks before an HbO- No. 10 EDWIN the f u the morning of the f ght, perhaps televised test against Matthew Macklin RODRIGUEZ UD 10 explaining his listless performance. on June 29 was announced. it didn’t last EZEQUIEL MADERNA The rematch takes place on May 25 in long, though. not much does when the March 30, Monte Carlo, London. unbeaten Golovkin is involved. Monaco (integrated sports PPV) Golovkin (26-0, 23 KOs) has an 88 No. 2 JUAN ESTRADA percent knockout rate, which is 12 H Edwin rodriguez advanced to the SD 12 No. 1 points shy of unstoppable. f nal of the “Monte Carlo Million Dollar BRIAN VILORIA Maybe Macklin has a chance at super Four” with a unanimous-decision April 6, Macau (HbO2) Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, victory over Ezequiel Maderna in an ugly Conn., in a middleweight bout that some f ght. The scores were 96-92, 96-92 and H brian Viloria’s topsy-turvy career was say will be Golovkin’s toughest. 95-92. riding a high note after he unif ed the Maybe. rodriguez was the busier f ghter, f yweight belts in a knockout of Hernan nobuhiro ishida (24-9-2, 9 KOs) content to wing wild shots, while Marquez last november. The victory

106 THE ring magazinE / JULY 2013 placed him on the cusp of the pound-for- H THE rinG’s 112-pound title is now April 20, Madison Square pound list. around the waist of a fourth fghter in Garden Theater, New York but the affable Hawaiian once again the past year after another upset. City (nbC) hit a snag against Mexican Juan Estrada, Toshiyuki igarashi made one losing a split decision and his WbO and successful defense of his belt earlier this H Tyson Fury demonstrated on national Wba fyweight titles. year but was shocked by his countryman network television that his boxing skills Viloria (32-4, 19 KOs) clearly won the akira Yaegashi, who came into the are limited to say the least. no one can frst three rounds with clean punching fght as THE rinG’s no. 6 105-pounder. question his heart, though. and movement. slowly but surely, Yaegashi won a unanimous decision by steve Cunningham, six inches shorter though, Estrada forced Viloria, 32, into scores of 116-109, 117-108 and 115- and 44 pounds lighter than Fury, put his brutal exchanges and it was evident that 110 in a bloody scrap. 6-foot-9 foe down with a huge overhand the 23-year-old was the fresher fghter igarashi (17-2-1, 10 KOs) was the right in the second round. it appeared down the stretch. bigger man but failed to utilize range, at that moment he might go the way of Viloria’s swollen face bore the electing to trade on the inside with fellow prospect David Price, who was telltale signs as Estrada (23-2, 18 KOs) Yaegashi. recently stopped in the second round by connected on power shots and bullied Yaegashi (17-3, 9 KOs) consistently Tony Thompson. him around the ring. Viloria seemed to found his target and controlled the frst instead, Fury (21-0, 15 KOs) be exhausted and was wobbled by some third of the bout. igarashi came on over managed to survive and slowly take punishing shots in the 12th as he barely the middle rounds, but both fghters control of the fght. He used his size and made it to the fnish. were cut by a clash of heads in the sixth, rough tactics to wear down Cunningham Estrada is now THE rinG’s no. 1 which seemed to open up the action. (25-6, 12 KOs) before fnally taking him 112-pounder and is making his mark as Yaegashi battered his foe down the out with a clubbing right as the former a must-see action fghter. stretch to seal the victory and is now cruiserweight titleholder leaned on the THE rinG’s fyweight champ. ropes. No. 4 ROMAN The end came at 2:55 of the MARTINEZ SD 12 No. 6 VICTOR TERRAZAS SD seventh round. DIEGO MAGDALENO 12 CRISTIAN MIJARES April 6, Macau (HbO2) April 20, Mexico City (Unimas) No. 2 NATHAN CLEVERLY UD H Most pundits believed WbO junior H in an early candidate for Fight of the 12 ROBIN KRASNIQI lightweight titleholder roman Martinez Year, fellow Mexicans Victor Terrazas April 20, Wembley Arena, received a gift decision over Juan Carlos and Cristian Mijares waged war for the London (Epix) burgos in January. Few picked him to vacant WbC 122-pound title. One judge beat hot prospect Diego Magdaleno. but saw it for Mijares, 114-113 but he was H Everything is beginning to point here Martinez was again, hand raised overruled by tallies of 114-113 and 115- toward an eventual title-unifcation and belt around his waist after winning 112 for Terrazas. showdown between nathan Cleverly and a split decision by scores of 115-112, Terrazas (37-2-1, 21 KOs) was able to bernard Hopkins. 114-113 and 111-116. bait the superior boxer into a number of Momentum for that compelling Martinez (27-1-2, 16 KOs) was wild exchanges and used his size and matchup continued to build with stunned in the third round and power to get the better of Mijares on the Cleverly’s near-shutout decision over rebounded to foor Magdaleno in the inside. Mijares (47-7-2, 22 KOs) found tough, but overmatched robin Krasniqi following frame with a stinging right success when he was bouncing on his (39-3, 15 KOs) in defense of his WbO hand. Magdaleno (23-1, 9 KOs) wasn’t toes and fring jabs at Terrazas in the belt. The scores were 120-108, 119-109 badly hurt, but continued to eat right center of the ring. and 120-108, meaning one judge gave hands in that round. With the WbC’s open scoring policy, Krasniqi one round. There were some good exchanges Mijares knew he was slightly down after Cleverly (26-0, 12 KOs) looked a in the fght with many rounds tough to eight rounds and ratcheted up the pace lot like fellow Welshman and Hopkins score, but Martinez was the aggressor down the stretch. He threw punishing conqueror Joe Calzaghe, baffing and pressed the action. There was talk power combinations in the 11th, cutting Krasniqi with his speed and all-around of a possible Martinez-Orlando salido Terrazas’ left eye before dropping him ability from beginning to end. The only fght for the fall. hard in the 12th, but it wasn’t enough to faw in his performance might be his earn the nod on the cards. inability to score a knockout. AKIRA YAEGASHI Cleverly would like to face Hopkins, UD 12 RING CHAMP No. 9 the ibF titleholder, in the U.K. but might TOSHIYUKI IGARASHI TYSON FURY KO 7 target Wba champion beibut shumenov April 8, Tokyo STEVE CUNNINGHAM in a unifcation bout frst.

THE ring magazinE / JULY 2013 107 fight results Through April 21, 2013

HEAVYWEIGHTS Milorad Zizic KO 2 Francesco Basile Odlanier Solis W 12 Leif Larsen Adam Etches TKO 4 Andrei Abramenka Ruslan Chagaev KO 1 Mike Sheppard Gilberto Ramirez Sanchez KO 3 Juan De Angel Robert Helenius W 10 Michael Sprott Curtis Stevens UD 8 Derrick Findley Edmund Gerber W 8 Gbenga Oloukun Amir Mansour KO 1 Jason Gavern JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHTS Glendy Hernandez TKO 8 Dieuly Aristilde Koji Numata KO 2 Go Nakahori Artur Szpilka TKO 2 Taras Bidenko Luciano Cuello KO 8 Joaquim Carneiro Dereck Chisora TKO 9 Hector Avila Omar Chavez KO 2 Pablo Vasquez Tyson Fury KO 7 Steve Cunningham Saul Roman KO 9 Jose Pinzon Joshua Okine KO 3 Gabriel Adoku CRUISERWEIGHTS Frank Horta KO 2 Jackson Bonsu Dmytro Kucher W 12 Julio Cesar Dos Santos Sergei Rabchenko KO 2 Adriano Nicchi Lukasz Janik W 10 Lars Buchholz Yuri Foreman UD 6 Gundrick King Ilunga Makabu KO 3 Tamas Lodi Alexis Camacho TKO 12 Gustavo Garibay Dmitry Kudryashov KO 3 Levan Jomardashvili Charlie Ota UD 12 Kyung-Suk Kwak Mateusz Masternak TKO 9 Sean Corbin Samuel Vargas TKO 7 Julius Bunda Jon Lewis Dickinson UD 12 Mike Stafford Marcus Willis MD 8 James De la Rosa Ruben Mino TKO 3 Osvaldo Diaz Glen Tapia UD 8 Joseph de los Santos Juho Haapoja TKO 1 Michele De Meo John Jackson UD 8 Cerresso Fort Matty Askin UD 10 China Clarke Brian Rose TKO 12 Joachim Alcine Olanrewaju Durodola TKO 4 Victor Barragan Julian Williams TKO 3 Dashon Johnson Jermall Charlo TKO 4 Orlando Lora LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS Saul Alvarez UD 12 Austin Trout Adonis Stevenson KO 6 Darnell Boone Eleider Alvarez KO 3 Nicholson Poulard WELTERWEIGHTS Umberto Savigne KO 4 Jackson Junior Akinori Watanabe KO 6 Cobra Suwa Nenad Stankovic KO 4 Hamza Wandera Souleymane M’baye KO 2 Laszlo Haaz Denis Grachev W 10 Zsolt Erdei (F) Eva Halasi W 10 Ivana Habazin Tony Bellew D 12 Isaac Chilemba Fredrick Lawson KO 3 Isaac Sowah Azea Augustama TKO 2 David McNemar Suyon Takayama W 10 Moon Hyun Yun Cedric Agnew UD 12 Yusaf Mack Sasha Yengoyan KO 6 Sergei Melis Marcus Oliveira TKO 11 Ryan Coyne Samuel Colomban UD 12 Leti Leti Erik Skoglund UD 10 Luke Blackledge Jo Jo Dan UD 8 Damian Frias Sean Monaghan TKO 1 Dion Stanley Leonard Bundu KO 11 Rafal Jackiewicz Blake Caparello UD 12 Jorge Olivera Thomas Dulorme UD 8 Ben Ankrah Robert Berridge TKO 8 Serge Yannick (F) Cecilia Braekhus TKO 3 Mia St. John Nadjib Mohammedi TKO 3 Hakim Chioui Mikael Zewski KO 2 Daniel Sostre Nathan Cleverly UD 12 Robin Krasniqi Teerachai Kratingdaenggym KO 3 Ronnel Esparas Roman Belaev TKO 4 Nelson Fabian Pilotti SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHTS Lukasz Maciec TKO 5 Jussi Koivula Uensal Arik KO 7 Francis Cheka Don George D 10 David Alonso Lopez JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHTS Robert Stieglitz KO 4 Arthur Abraham Viktor Postol W 12 Hank Lundy George Groves KO 2 Baker Barakat Selcuk Aydin W 10 Giuseppe Lauri Edwin Rodriguez W 10 Ezequiel Maderna Adrian Granados D 10 Kermit Cintron Rocky Fielding KO 6 Wayne Reed Jose Lopez KO 8 Mahonri Montes Scott Sigmon UD 10 Michael Rayner Albert Mensah KO 6 Smith Odoom Terence Crawford W 10 Breidis Prescott MIDDLEWEIGHTS Mike Alvarado W 12 Brandon Rios Billy Joe Saunders W 12 Matthew Hall Gabriel Bracero UD 8 Pavel Miranda Lukas Konecny TD 12 Karim Achour Antonio Lozada Jr. TKO 9 Jorge Pimentel Marco Antonio Rubio W 12 Marcus Upshaw Ricardo Alvarez KO 2 Carlos Valdez Andrey Meryasev W 10 Alexey Ribchev Paul Spadafora UD 10 Robert Frankel Brian Vera KO 7 Donatas Bondorovas Samuel Neequaye KO 2 Arturo Santiago Gennady Golovkin KO 3 Nobuhiro Ishida Ruben Nieto MD 12 Jean Pierre Bauwens Jarrod Fletcher TKO 6 Randy Suico Alberto Mosquera UD 8 Francisco Fuentes Jorge Sebastian Heiland DQ 6 Douglas Ataide Sergei Fedchenko UD 12 Karim El Ouazghari Bruno Sandoval KO 1 Isaac Mendez Min-Wook Kim UD 12 Shinya Iwabuchi Manny Siaca UD 8 Milton Nunez Billi Godoy UD 10 Valdevan Pereira LIGHTWEIGHTS Marcos Nader UD 12 Roberto Santos Jasper Seroka KO 8 Joey Stiglingh Marcos Reyes TKO 5 Eric Mitchell Ricardo Dominguez W 10 Al Sabaupan

108 the ring magazine / JULY 2013 (F) Delfne Persoon KO 2 Kremena Petkova Vusi Malinga W 12 Diarh Gabutan Derry Mathews D 12 Anthony Crolla Monico Laurente W 12 Elmar Francisco Rustam Nugaev KO 8 Jonathan Maicelo Petch Kokietgym KO 8 Dondon Jimenea Pasquale Di Silvio UD 10 Michele Focosi Mohammed Metualy W 12 Atef Mohamed Bahodir Mamadjonov TKO 9 Angelo Santana Yonfrez Parejo TKO 1 Eddy Zuniga Dejan Zlaticanin UD 12 Petr Petrov (F) Irma Garcia SD 10 Janeth Perez Juan Diaz TKO 6 Pipino Cuevas Jr. Albert Pagara UD 10 Jessie Tuyor Rey Labao TKO 5 Taisho Ozawa Nobuo Nashiro KO 6 Yodchanchai Nakornloung Promotion Daniel Estrada TKO 5 Isaias Sampaio Mark Anthony Geraldo KO 2 Hirofumi Mukai Liam Walsh UD 10 Scott Harrison Koki Kameda SD 12 Panomroonglek Kaiyanghadaogym Omar Figueroa KO 1 Abner Cotto Shinsuke Yamanaka TKO 12 Malcolm Tunacao Juan Montes D 12 Julio Cesar Miranda JUNIOR LIGHTWEIGHTS Tomas Rojas KO 6 Jaderes Padua Devis Boschiero KO 10 Samir Kasmi Hernan Marquez TKO 3 Edgar Jimenez Juan Martin Elorde W 10 Maxsaisai Sithsaithong Ermano Fegatilli W 8 Karim Chakim JUNIOR BANTAMWEIGHTS Sergio Escobar TKO 3 Vicente Rodriguez Denkaosan Kaovichit KO 12 Eiji Tsutsumi Adrian Estrella TKO 9 Arturo Camargo Jonathan Gonzalez KO 3 Joseph Rios Daiki Kaneko TKO 9 Kyohei Tamakoshi Oleydong Sithsamerchai KO 7 Richard Garcia Roman Martinez SD 12 Diego Magdaleno Hiroyuki Hisataka UD 10 Sonny Boy Jaro Paul Fleming TKO 4 Ryusei Yoshida (F) Naoko Yamaguchi TKO 7 Loredana Piazza Takashi Miura TKO 9 Gamaliel Diaz (F) Debora Dionicius UD 10 Gabriela Bouvier Romain Jacob UD 10 Leonus Francoise Jonathan Gonzalez UD 8 Francisco Perez Juan Manuel Lopez KO 2 Eugenio Lopez McJoe Arroyo UD 8 Jairo Hernandez Arthur Villanueva UD 12 Marco Demecillo FEATHERWEIGHTS Paul Butler TKO 5 Yaqub Kareem Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo KO 5 Nathan Bolcio Ivan Morales UD 8 Raul Hidalgo Josh Warrington W 10 Jamie Speight Timur Akhundov W 12 Khavazhy Khatsyhau FLYWEIGHTS Akifumi Shimoda D 10 Roli Gasca Nawaphon Por Chokchai KO 4 Joan Imperial Dodie Boy Penalosa Jr. KO 3 Nimithra Sithsaithong (F) Melissa McMorrow W 10 Nadia Raoui Tyler Asselstine UD 8 Olivier Lontchi (F) Arely Mucino W 10 Suri Tapia Oscar Gonzalez UD 10 Rico Ramos Artem Dalakian KO 1 David Kanalas Jesus Galicia MD 12 Romulo Koasicha Oleksandr Hryshchuk TKO 2 Gabor Molnar Chris John D 3 Satoshi Hosono Juan Francisco Estrada SD 12 Brian Viloria Simpiwe Vetyeka TKO 12 Daud Yordan Milan Melindo TKO 4 Tommy Seran (F) Alejandra Oliveras KO 5 Calixta Silgado Zou Shiming UD 4 Eleazar Valenzuela Javier Fortuna KO 1 Miguel Zamudio Akira Yaegashi UD 12 Toshiyuki Igarashi Clive Atwell UD 12 Rafael Hernandez Petchbarngborn Kokietgym UD 12 Michael Escobia Robinson Castellanos SD 12 Celestino Caballero Juan Hernandez KO 3 Josue Vega Jose Ramirez SD 12 Rey Bautista Pablo Carrillo KO 8 Jose Jimenez Lee Selby TKO 5 Corey McConnell Luis Concepcion TKO 6 Anuar Salas Bernabe Concepcion TKO 7 Boido Simanjuntak Ricardo Nunez TKO 3 Michael Arango Rocky Fuentes UD 10 Juan Kantun JUNIOR FEATHERWEIGHTS Koji Aoki KO 4 Yukihiro Nakamura JUNIOR FLYWEIGHTS Jeffrey Mathebula W 12 Takalani Ndlovu Jonathan Taconing KO 5 Yodpichai Sithsaithong James Dickens W 10 Jon Fernandes Pedro Guevara W 12 Raul Garcia Masaaki Serie TKO 7 Gabriel Altarejos Ryoichi Taguchi UD 10 Yuki Chinen Luis Del Valle TKO 5 Andre Wilson Denver Cuello MD 10 Takashi Kunishige Nehomar Cermeno KO 2 Eduardo Garcia Saul Juarez TKO 1 Arturo Castro Yasutaka Ishimoto MD 10 Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. Karim Guerf TKO 1 Farid Cassiani Ali Hallab KO 5 Sean Hughes Guillermo Rigondeaux UD 12 Nonito Donaire STRAWWEIGHTS Hidenori Otake TD 8 Nobuhisa Doi Hugo Hernan Verchelli KO 2 Stiven Monterrosa Jeremy Parodi UD 12 Genaro Camargo Wanheng Menayothin W 6 Sammy Hagler Victor Terrazas SD 12 Cristian Mijares Katsunari Takayama W 12 Mario Rodriguez (F) Alicia Ashley UD 10 Chanttall Martinez (F) Anahi Torres W 10 Jasseth Noriega Andres Gutierrez TKO 5 Salvador Sanchez Jesus Silvestre TKO 6 Luis Carlos Leon

BANTAMWEIGHTS Immanuel Naidjala D 12 Lesley Sekotswe Joseph Agbeko W 12 Luis Melendez

the ring magazine / JULY 2013 109 PREDICITIONS ARE MADE BY RING STAFF MEMBERS COMING UP MICHAEL ROSENTHAL, DOUG FISCHER AND LEM SATTERFIELD.

Marcos Maidana (right, fghting Jesus Soto Karass) and Josesito Lopez fgure to put on a good show on June 8.

MAY Watchability rating Glen Johnson and Lucian Bute. Kessler has DEVON ALEXANDER (up to fve stars): H H H H H battled injuries but appears to be healthy vs. LEE PURDY Also fghting: Co-feature to Devon going into this compelling rematch. Date: May 18, 2013 Alexander vs. Lee Purdy Prediction: Rosenthal – Froch UD; Location: Boardwalk Hall, Signifcance: Peterson (31-1-1, 16 Fischer – Froch MD; Satterfeld – Froch Atlantic City, N.J. KOs) bounced back from a positive drug KO 10. Division: Welterweights (for test that tainted his victory over Amir Khan Alexander’s IBF title) by thrashing Kendall Holt in eight rounds in OTHER MAY FIGHTS TV: Showtime February. Matthysse (33-2, 31 KOs), hungry MAY 17 – Denis Lebedev vs. Watchability rating for a world title, stopped Mike Dallas with Guillermo Jones, for Lebedev’s WBA (up to fve stars): H H H one punch in the frst round in January. cruiserweight title, Moscow Also fghting: Co-feature to Lamont Prediction: Rosenthal – Peterson UD; May 18 – Shane Mosley vs. Pablo Cesar Peterson vs. Lucas Matthysse Fischer – Matthysse KO 10; Satterfeld – Cano, welterweights, Cancun, Mexico Signifcance: Alexander (24-1, Peterson KO 8. (Fox Deportes) 13 KOs) has beaten Matthysse, Marcos May 24 – Delvin Rodriguez vs. Maidana and Randall Bailey in succession, CARL FROCH vs. Freddy Hernandez, junior middleweights, an impressive streak. Purdy (20-3-1, 13 MIKKEL KESSLER Uncasville, Conn. (ESPN2) KOs), who replaced injured Kell Brook, is Date: May 25, 2013 coming off an impressive TKO of Cosme Location: O2 Arena, London Rivera but will face by far his biggest test. Division: Super middleweights (WBA JUNE Prediction: Rosenthal – Alexander and IBF title unifcation) CHAD DAWSON vs. KO 8; Fischer – Alexander UD; Satterfeld – TV: HBO ADONIS STEVENSON Alexander KO 9. Watchability rating Date: June 8, 2013 (up to fve stars): H H H H H Location: Montreal LAMONT PETERSON Also fghting: Tony Bellew vs. Isaac Division: Light heavyweights (for vs. Chilemba, light heavyweights Dawson’s RING and WBC titles) LUCAS MATTHYSSE On the same telecast: TV: HBO Date: May 18, 2013 Lucian Bute vs. Jean Pascal, light Watchability rating Location: Boardwalk Hall, heavyweights, Montreal (up to fve stars): H H H Atlantic City, N.J. Signifcance: Froch (30-2, 22 KOs) Also fghting: Yuriorkis Gamboa vs. Division: 141-pound catch weight has emerged as the bigger star even Darley Perez, lightweights (no titles at stake) though he lost to Kessler (46-2, 35 KOs) in Signifcance: Dawson (31-2, 17 TV: Showtime 2010, with victories over Arthur Abraham, KOs) is coming off a crushing defeat

110 the ring magazine / JULY 2013 against 168-pound champ Andre Ward but will be more comfortable at his natural weight. He remains formidable. Stevenson (20-1, 17 KOs) is stepping up in class but might have the ability to handle it. Prediction: Rosenthal – Dawson UD; Fischer – Dawson Visit the ring’s KO 10; Satterfeld – Stevenson KO 8. new Youtube channel ... MARCOS MAIDANA TheRingDigital vs. JOSESITO LOPEZ Date: June 8, 2013 Location: Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif. Division: Welterweights TV: Showtime Watchability rating (up to fve stars): H H H H H IZING COM AN M Also fghting: G IT R T O E Erislandy Lara vs. Alfredo Angulo, junior middleweights E S R ( Signifcance: Maidana (33-3, 30 KOs) and Lopez B E

(30-5, 18 KOs) are offensive-minded warriors who should X C

O ) make for an explosive show. Maidana is 2-0 since he lost a B BOC one-sided decision to Devon Alexander. Lopez is back at a • • more natural weight after falling to Canelo Alvarez.

Prediction: Rosenthal – Lopez UD; Fischer – Maidana F O 8 SD; Satterfeld – Lopez SD. U 9 8 N D E D 1 PAULIE MALIGNAGGI vs. ADRIEN BRONER Boxers Organizing Committee Date: June 22, 2013 Location: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, N.Y. (BOC) Division: Welterweights (for Malignaggi’s WBA title) TV: Showtime Watchability rating Paul Johnson (up to fve stars): H H H H Executive Director Also fghting: Johnathon Banks vs. Seth Mitchell, heavyweights Signifcance: Malignaggi (32-4, 7 KOs) is an 763-438-2447 underdog even though he holds the title. The excellent but light-punching boxer is 5-0 since he was stopped by Amir Khan. The gifted and powerful Broner (26-0, 22 KOs) has [email protected] six consecutive knockouts in his run to stardom. Prediction: Rosenthal – Broner KO 6; www.boxers.org Fischer – Broner UD; Satterfeld – Broner SD. Attention Boxers: OTHER JUNE FIGHTS JUNE 14 – Bryant Jennings vs. Franklin Lawrence, Please contact us to heavyweights, Bethlehem, Pa. (NBC Sports Net) discuss your rights! JUNE 15 – Gavin Rees vs. TBA, lightweights, Cardiff, Wales JUNE 29 – Gennady Golovkin vs. Matthew Macklin, “Boxers must be part for Golovkin’s WBA middleweight title, Mashantucket, Conn. (HBO) of the equation.” JUNE 29 – David Haye vs. TBA, heavyweights, — BOC Member José Chegüi Torres Manchester, England frOM the arChIve

STILL STANDING: Sugar Ray Robinson (left) pounded rival Jake LaMotta unmercifully until the moment the “Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre” was stopped in their classic sixth and fnal meeting on Feb. 14, 1951, at Chicago Stadium, which Robinson won by 13th-round technical knockout. LaMotta could fnd satisfaction in one thing, though: As Robert DeNiro pointed out as the title character in Raging Bull, Robinson wasn’t able to knock LaMotta off his feet. Robinson won fve of the six fghts. ThE riNg will select a photo from its vast archive each month to publish in the magazine. For more archive photos, go to our website -- ringTV.com -- or scan the Qr code.

1. 2.

1. Sergio Martinez (center) with members of the St. Catharines Amateur Boxing Club in Ontario, Canada. 2. Gina Binns with Sugar Ray Leonard (left) and brother Roger Leonard at a signing for Roger’s book “In the Shadow of a Champ” in Annapolis, Md. 3. Cynthia Mendoza with Leo Santa Cruz after his KO of Victor Zaleta in Los Angeles. 4. Malu Morris with Timothy Bradley. 5. Alfredo Armenta (left) and Arthur Singh (right) with Mikey Garcia in Carson, Calif. 6. Ethan Perez, 8, with Canelo Alvarez in San Antonio. 7. Bradley Lancaster (left) with Tyson Fury in London.

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