Also in this edition of Quick Jabs, besides the stuff in the headline: HBO reverts to its crappy pre-2009 form for a night; a questionable Ring magazine ratings decision; THE FIRST EVER QUEENSBERRY RULES POLL; and some fights in the works.

I’ve given this sermon on this blog so many times my e-voice is hoarse: I really, honestly think everyone ought to be crazy about Paul Williams, who is in prospectively the toughest fight of his life Saturday night on HBO. He is unique; he is aggressive; he is tough even by boxing standards; he is […]

None of this is very pretty, and despite what Miguel Cotto might assert, it is kind of our business: The welterweight star and his uncle/trainer Evangelista got into a series of violent exchanges that will result in Evangelista no longer training his nephew, landed Evangelista in the hospital and may lead to criminal charges for […]

I’d followed boxing casually for a few years before I saw James Toney-Vassiliy Jirov, and that titanic cruiserweight fight, more than any, converted me into a hardcore fan of the sport. “It’s amazing that humans can do this,” HBO’s Jim Lampley marveled during the battle. Not only was it a dramatic contest won on a […]

(Antonio Pitalua, front/center) Because it was such a full weekend, I scrimped a little on the “what’s next for everyone” portion of my rundowns, so I’ll make up that ground now, plus offer my observations on important subjects like Bernard Hopkins’ mic skills and Antonio Pitalua’s hair. I don’t know about you, but I am […]

Just have a glance at ‘er. Is it me, or did super middleweight Jean Pascal’s four-named get-well opponent, Pablo Daniel Zamora Nievas, look like he was literally taking a swan dive on his way down to the mat Saturday? Pascal connected very solidly, and Nievas has been knocked out before, so I’m not questioning the […]

Timothy Bradley ticked me off with his dirty fighting. Kendall Holt ticked me off with how he lost his composure and didn’t work hard enough. But of the two junior welterweight titlists, Bradley will leave Canada with the two belts after a Saturday night Showtime fight.

Dear Boxing: This is how a pay-per-view show ought to go, this “Lightweight Lightning.” One big upset. One terrific performance. Two spectacular wars. Two fights in, I’d gotten my $40 worth. Two fights later, I had seen a rare PPV card that went well from top to bottom. Really — if every pay-per-view card was […]

What was I just saying about posting a video every week these days of some Knockout of the Year candidate or Fight of the Year candidate? Yeah, add another to the KO column from ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights.” Franky, Franky, Franky. You knew Randall Bailey was a one-handed fighter. “Bailey’s a big banger who uses […]

Other items in this edition of Quick Jabs, in addition to what’s in the headline: David Haye and Wladimir Klitschko threaten to shove fists into unusual orifices; strangely, Tomasz Adamek-Glen Johnson can’t find a home; and, to get us started, a speedy look at other weekend fights:

(Interbox president Eric Lucas flips a hockey puck to see who walks in first, with Timothy Bradley, left, and Kendall Holt, right. Holt won; he’ll enter second and be introduced first. Credit: Tom Casino/SHOWTIME) I’m crossing my fingers for a thriller Saturday night on Showtime from junior welterweights Timothy Bradley and Kendall Holt. By that […]

I’ve kind of pooh-poohed the “Lightweight Lightning” pay-per-view card Saturday for a few reasons: 1. It’s not really a lightweight “tournament,” no matter how it’s been marketed, because there’s no guarantee anyone will fight anyone else from the card next; 2. The Jorge Barrios injury pullout took some of the promotional steam out of it […]

I’m scooping myself a little here by posting this Showtime poll of boxing writers before I publish my own preview and prediction of Saturday night’s junior welterweight fight between Timothy Bradley and Kendall Holt, because I participated in it. (I’d have posted my Bradley-Holt rundown tonight if not for the breaking news on the heavyweight […]

(David Haye, left; Wladimir Klitschko, right) It’s really going to happen. On June 20, the world’s #1 heavyweight, Wladimir Klitschko, is going to fight David Haye, a fighter that myself and a lot of others want to be the champion of the moribund division. ESPN reports that the deal is done, and the contracts will […]

If you thought it was wacky for Top Rank Promotions President Bob Arum to suggest pound-for-pound king and Filipino idol Manny Pacquiao might fight Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. at junior middleweight, wait until you get a load of what he told BoxingScene: After taking junior welterweight champion Ricky Hatton’s belt, the plan is to move […]