To those faithful readers of “Ring Report” I would like to extend warm holiday blessings to you and yours.
With the end of 2007 near boxing seems to be taking a breather until next month but that is not to say that all is quiet in the world of the Sweet Science.
Cintron wants Margarito Rematch?
Well at least according to a recent press release sent from the Cinton camp.
“When I fight Margarito again, the fight will once again end in a knockout. Only this time, it will be Margarito lying on the canvas.”, Cintron is quoted as saying.
Hmmm. Does Cintron forget the trouble he had with Jesse Feliciano a mere month ago? Margarito is equally as tough and light-years ahead technically then the Feliciano plus his power is considerable. What happened to the unification match with Paul Williams? It appears that Cintron’s brain-trust came to the realization that their fighter is not quite ready for the perpetual punching machine that is The Punisher. Little doubt that Manny Steward, Cintron’s manager and trainer, wants to keep his young charge in with bangers of limited mobility.
Clottey wins IBF Eliminator
Speaking of Cintron, before he starts issuing press releases calling out fighters perhaps he should turn his eye toward his newly crowned mandatory.
Joshua Clottey banged out a one-sided unanimous decision over previous unbeaten Shamone Alvarez this past Thursday night. Clottey is as tough as nails and has a chin that seems to have been forged from steel. He does not represent an easy night for any welterweight out there (ask Margarito) and has the tools to unseat power punching Cintron.
Why Tye???
On the opening telecast of Vs. Thursday night card, we were once again forced to witness Tye Fields dominate a stiff so rigid the ref should check them for a pulse. How bad was the fight with Chris Koval? Well my wife, who happened to be sitting on the couch, looked up and after viewing 10 seconds of the contest proclaimed it to be a “horrible fight”. She would later go on to critique the fact that Koval appeared to have entered the fight after 12 rounds with a Vegas buffet. Yep, it was that kind of fight.
On paper Fields looks impressive, 6’9″ 260 but you can time his punches with a sun dial. Still one can never tell in today’s heavyweight climate how far Fields can go though I would prefer not to be subjected to viewing his development on national TV. Top Rank has plenty of intriguing fighters in its vast stable to showcase that have legitimate futures.
Urbano Antillon Annihilates
I admit to knowing little of Adrian Valdez but the manner in which Antillon blew him out was quite impressive. Antillion is clearly a star on the rise while known in the SoCal boxing circuit, it is nice to see him get some decent exposure.
Katsidis may still fight for WBO strap
A collective “Aw man” was heard throughout the industry when the Juan Diaz-Michael Katsidis WBO lightweight title fight fell through due to Don King’s treat of legal action against HBO is they proceeded with the fight. It now is being reportedon boxingscene.com that Brendon Smith, Katsidis’ manager and trainer, is demanding that the WBO strip Juan Diaz of his belt as he will be unable to defend his belt before March due to the fact that he owes Don King one more fight and DKP is pushing for the “Baby Bull” to face IBF mandatory Nate Campbell.
According to media outlet AAP, Smith has stated the following:
“The most honorable thing would be for him (Diaz) to relinquish the title before the WBO strips him. I’m sure you can expect to see Michael fight by March at the latest and I believe it will be a WBO world title defence, thought I can’t fully confirm that yet.”
