NY State Senate Unanimously Approves State Athletic Commission. Chairwoman Melvina Lathan for Second, Three Year Term

The New York State Senate today unanimously approved the current chairwoman of the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC), Melvina Lathan, for a second three-year term. Tom Santino was also unanimously approved to serve as one of three commissioners on the State Athletic Commission.

"I want to congratulate Melvina and Tom on their appointments," Secretary of State Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez said. "Chairwoman Lathan has served the state with dignity, and I am pleased that the State Senate has confirmed her to continue in her current role. Boxing has a long and storied history in New York, and under Melvina's guidance the Athletic Commission has reinvigorated the sport here, making it as safe as possible and helping better prepare boxers for life after boxing. She has made the Athletic Commission as transparent as it has ever been."

"It has been my honor to serve as chair of the State Athletic Commission," Chairwoman Lathan said. "I am looking forward to continuing my work with Governor Paterson and Secretary of State Cortés-Vázquez, ensuring boxing bouts here are safe and fair. We will never compromise safety in the ring, and I will continue to work with NYSAC-trained doctors and inspectors to ensure their training is as current as possible."

"I want to thank Governor Paterson, Secretary of State Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez and the State Senate for this opportunity. As a former professional boxer, I know how important it is to have an open and transparent Athletic Commission overseeing boxing in New York state," Tom Santino said. "I look forward to working with Chairwoman Lathan and fellow commissioner Judge Edward Torres and continuing their efforts to reinvigorate boxing in our state."

Chairwoman Lathan was appointed by Governor David Paterson on July 25, 2008 – the first woman and the first African American female to hold this title – after holding the position of NYSAC commissioner for the previous year. She has a distinguished career as a professional boxing judge, judging more than 235 fight cards including 82 world title matches in the 10 countries. She became the first African American female licensed as a professional boxing Judge in New York in 1991, and she is also licensed in five other states and by two Native American tribes. Chairwoman Lathan has devised and conducted training seminars for boxing judges for NYSAC, the Washington, D.C., Boxing Commission, the International Boxing Federation and the World Boxing Organization. She is the only female recipient of the Rocky Marciano Officials Award presented by the American Association for the Improvement of Boxing.

Commissioner Santino is a retired NYPD detective, former professional boxer and current coach of the Baruch College baseball team. He lives with his family in Queens, NY.
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©®™ 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 All photos by "EL Boxing Empress" Keisha Morrisey- Empire Morrisey Photo-Studios, Khris Kirkpatrick for Bloodline Boxing Communications Entertainment and Starlite Boxing's Sweetscience Magnews-Online Publication all rights reserved

No Holds Barred: Mayweather-Mosley Preview with Charles Farrell

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with our colleague and correspondent Charles Farrell about some of the latest and not-so-greatest in boxing, and the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Shane Mosley fight, which takes place Saturday, May 1, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Mayweather-Mosley fight will be shown live in the U.S. on HBO pay-per-view.

But we begin with a commentary on one of the truly underrated overachievers in boxing, John Ruiz, who just announced his retirement. Few appreciated why he fought like he did, in a clutching style often not pleasing to the eye, but which landed him near the top of the heavyweight division for almost a decade.

The Mayweather-Mosley event has once again been preceded by a series of near-mindless infomercials on the HBO 24/7 series. Instead of ruminating on whose uncle said what, we discuss the careers of both fighters, their styles, and what each man must do to win this fight. Despite the cheapening of it by all the nasty rubbish which has been heaped upon us, this fight still is an important one and may actually end up being rather entertaining.

We also once again rip the clueless and compromised boxing media, whose members seem only to understand how to please promoters and networks enough to be buddies with the suits and get ringside press credentials. We give no quarter to these shills, hypocrites, and mediocrities who pose as journalists and writers, and we even do so without cussing.

Our lengthy discussion also takes us to many other issues in boxing, and is candid and on a high level because, unlike the guys who run the sport, we respect our audience.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here. You can also download No Holds Barred here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter.

Make sure to visit the official boxing forum for No Holds Barred, the MySpace Boxing Forum.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

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See you at the Fights.
Thank You for your time.
EL Boxing Empress Online @ Twitter http://www.twitter.com/Keishamorrisey
EL Boxing Empress; Keisha Morrisey's Myspace http://www.myspace.com/Keishadivine
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©®™ 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 All photos by "EL Boxing Empress" Keisha Morrisey- Empire Morrisey Photo-Studios, Khris Kirkpatrick for Bloodline Boxing Communications Entertainment and Starlite Boxing's Sweetscience Magnews-Online Publication all rights reserved

THE PRESSURE OF A PERFECT RECORD; WHEN SOMEONE'S "0" JUST MIGHT GO‏

THE PRESSURE OF A PERFECT RECORD; WHEN SOMEONE'S "0" JUST MIGHT GO

Boxing is not a sport that readily lends itself to statistics, but one set of numbers is as elemental as a left-right combination: a fighter's wins, losses and draws. We often overvalue a good record and misinterpret a mediocre one; there are dozens of 10-loss veterans who are better than young fighters with only one or two defeats.

Nothing, however, catches our eye like a perfect record and when one or both undefeated fighters square off, you can count on either the ring announcer or the TV commentators declaring, "Somebody's '0' has got to go!" or "Maybe tonight his '0' might just go!"

Yet the fascination with a fighter who's never lost remains strong. For instance, the appeal of Floyd Mayweather, who's "0" is on the line against Sugar Shane Mosley on May 1 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and live on HBO Pay-Per-View®, can be attributed to his sustained excellence and his star power, but there's something more. Over the course of his 15-year career, Mayweather's engaged in 40 fights, and each time he's proven himself the better man.

Maybe we focus on a perfect record more than the fighters do...

"I don't think about the '0'," said Mayweather, whose last loss came on July 22, 1996, at the Olympic Games in Atlanta. "I think about winning. Everything takes care of itself if you win.

"Of course it's a great thing to be undefeated, but I don't consciously think about it when I'm preparing for the next fight."

The record against which all others are judged is former heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano's mark of 49-0. In September 1985, then-WBC titlist Larry Holmes was 48-0 when he lost to Michael Spinks.

"I was always tying records, breaking records; it didn't mean [expletive] to me," Holmes said. "I didn't care. What was important was making money, keeping the title, and proving people wrong.

"The undefeated record meant I wasn't getting beaten up, and that meant a lot to me."

In November 2008, super middleweight/light heavyweight champion Joe Calzaghe fought for the last time. He retired with a record of 46-0. What made Calzaghe different from most unbeaten fighters is that his toughest tests, vs. Jeff Lacy, Bernard Hopkins and Mikkel Kessler, came toward the conclusion of his hall of fame career.

"I never really dwelled on the '0' until close to the end, when I realized I had only a couple of fights left, I was undefeated and I could retire that way," Calzaghe said. "I always hated to lose, and when I did so as an amateur, it burned me up inside and created my motivation for winning.

"Taking big fights wasn't a risk for me because I believed in myself and went for it. I can say, however, that it was a relief when it was all over and I finished undefeated and ahead of the game."

Calzaghe certainly fought the best available opposition, as did unbeatens Marciano and Ricardo Lopez (51-0-1), but in today's boxing world, there are four major titles per division and, as a result, champions can protect their records more easily than in the past. That's largely why alphabet titlists like junior welterweight Terry Marsh (26-0-1), welterweight Michael Loewe (28-0) and junior featherweight Ji Won Kim (16-0-2) were able to retire without having lost. Marsh and Loewe defended their respective titles only once each.

The question remains...is a perfect record a sign of perfection or does an imperfect record reveal anything at all? Consider the following:

*Ninety-nine percent of boxing historians rank Sugar Ray Robinson as the best fighter in history. He lost 19 times.

*Muhammad Ali was "The Greatest" despite losing five fights. In fact, he arguably gained more respect in his first loss, to Joe Frazier, than in building a record of 31-0.

*Since 1900, eight world champions have retired-and stayed retired-without having lost a fight. Even at their respective peaks, five of them never made the pound-for-pound top 10.

*Among today's elite, Bernard Hopkins lost his professional debut and Manny Pacquiao lost to an opponent who went 2-4-1 in his next seven fights.

*Robinson's only loss in his first 132 bouts

In evaluating recent champions, then, we must look at their body of work, and not just their records. The resume of five-division titlist Mayweather is impressive, making his perfect record all the more eye-popping. Maybe, just maybe, remaining undefeated and keeping his "0" means more than he'll acknowledge.

"No one wants to lose their '0'," said Floyd Mayweather Sr., a top trainer and Mayweather's father. "I'm sure he thinks about it and it motivates him. Fortunately for my son, it's so far so good and I don't see anyone taking that '0' away from him either."

Boxing superstar and six-time World Champion Floyd "Money" Mayweather and welterweight mega-star, five-time World Champion and current WBA Welterweight World Champion Sugar Shane Mosley, are set to meet on Saturday, May 1 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas in a spectacular bout which will be produced and distributed live on HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.


‏See you at the Fights.

Thank You for your time.

EL Boxing Empress Online @ Twitter http://www.twitter.com/Keishamorrisey
EL Boxing Empress Keisha Morrisey's Myspace http://www.myspace.com/Keishadivine
Honorable Keisha Morrisey http://www.keishamorrisey.com

©®™2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 All rights reserved

MAYWEATHER VS MOSLEY GRAND ARRIVALS with Fighting Words

FLOYD "MONEY" MAYWEATHER AND SUGAR SHANE MOSLEY GRAND ARRIVALS

FLOYD "MONEY" MAYWEATHER

On Sugar Shane Mosley:

"When I beat him, they are going to say he is old.

"All these fighters get the belts that I gave up. When you are bigger than the sport, belts don't mean anything. He needs a belt...A belt means something to him."

On breaking records:

"All I can do is hope for the best. There is no limit to what we can do. The sky is not even the limit. If they did say a fight is going to do 700,000 homes, it will do something like 1.4 million. We can never predict a certain number.

"The ultimate goal is to always break records."

On USADA Drug Testing:

"There are all these athletes out there cheating. I am clean and pure.

"I know I am a clean athlete. I didn't start taking vitamins until I was 30, so I know I am a clean athlete.

"You see so many different fighters going into comas and dying. All fighters are taking is a urine test. From what I hear, enhancement drugs are making these fighters punch harder and all it is doing is hurting the sport.

"I want to be able to separate the average from the good and from the great. I want to separate the ordinary from the extraordinary.

On the success of 24/7:

"I truly believe that we have so many different characters. My father, when he is in the boxing gym, is 'Floyd Joy.' My uncle is 'The Black Mamba.' We have children that are characters. And of course, myself, I am leading the pack. So many different personalities and so many people inside the gym and outside the gym. We have fun, but we know when to turn it on and when to turn it off.

"This is something that we talked about for a long time. Going in depth and behind the scenes, and showing things that no one had ever shown about a fighter. We talked about this back in the 90s.

"I think that in my household, when I am with my family, we are always positive and thankful for what we have. As far as the world right now, people love to watch controversy. Any show that is really controversial. I think I am versatile. I am very controversial, but when I get home, I am Floyd Mayweather and to my children, I am just dad."

On his team:

"Our whole circle has changed totally. The only two people that are still here are me and you (to Leonard Ellerbe). Mainly the guys that are with me now are the guys I grew up with (in Grand Rapids, MI).

"I have Rafael Garcia. He does a tremendous job. You get what you pay for in life. You want your hands to be wrapped by the best so you have no hand problems, you get Rafael Garcia. If you want to make tremendous money, you hire the best to make you the best deals. Simple as that."

SUGAR SHANE MOSLEY

On the fight:

"This is what makes Sugar Shane Mosley; being able to fight, being able to box, and being ready mentally.

"I can box too. I have boxed guys I was supposed to punch out. This is what makes me Sugar Shane. Being able to box, being able to slip and slide, being able to do everything.

"Every time I fight, I'm looking to knock the guy out.

"I don't think I am going to spend the whole fight trying to outbox him. I am going to do everything Sugar Shane is supposed to do.

"Every fight has its own significance. This fight would be a great win. Beating Floyd would be a big feather in my cap."

On Floyd Mayweather:

"He brings a lot of mouth and we'll see what this mouth is about.

"He had to fight somebody if he wanted to be considered the best.

"It's not really what Floyd says or believes; it's about what I believe.

"I see where he has slipped and I see some things where his body is beginning to go. But he doesn't see that.

"He has great defense. He's a great fighter. That's why we are looking at each other May 1. I am happy he accepted this challenge."

On his love of boxing:

"I'm always doing something. I'm never really that far away from the gym.

"Even when I retire, I'll probably never be far from the gym. I will be sparring. I can't get away from the gym.

"It depends on how you train. That's the most important part of the picture.

On the scuffle in the ring following Mayweather vs. Marquez:

"You guys seem to forget, I am part of Golden Boy Promotions. That's why I was in the ring.

"The reason why I said something was because I was called over and I was welcomed into the conversation."

On trash-talking:

"Floyd says a lot of things that are sometimes out of line. I guess right now we are enemies.

"A lot of times when people say something that's true it hurts. But then when they say something that isn't true, it just rolls off your shoulder.

"When they say those different things and I know they're not the truth, I can't change their mind. I know the truth."

On past losses:

"The fight game is really a mental game. People don't realize that. It's not really that physical. I think mentally, at that point in my career I wasn't on top of my game mentally."

See you at the Fights.
Thank You for your time.

EL Boxing Empress Online @ Twitter http://www.twitter.com/Keishamorrisey
EL Boxing Empress Keisha Morrisey's Myspace http://www.myspace.com/Keishadivine
Honorable Keisha Morrisey http://www.keishamorrisey.com
©®™2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 All photos by "EL Boxing Empress" Keisha Morrisey- Empire Morrisey Photo-Studios, Khris Kirkpatrick for Bloodline Boxing Communications Entertainment and Starlite Boxing's Sweetscience Magnews-Online Publication all rights reserved

"24/7 Mayweather/Mosley" Finale Friday, Apr. 30 at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT on HBO

The finale of HBO®'s all-access reality series "24/7 Mayweather/Mosley" debuts Friday, Apr. 30 at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT. Episodes one thru three are available on HBO ON DEMAND®. All four episodes will air consecutively on Saturday, May 1 at 9:30 a.m. ET/PT on the main HBO service.



See you at the Fights. Thank You for your time.
EL Boxing Empress Online @ Twitter http://www.twitter.com/Keishamorrisey
EL Boxing Empress Keisha Morrisey's Myspace http://www.myspace.com/Keishadivine
Honorable Keisha Morrisey http://www.keishamorrisey.com

©®™2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 All photos by "EL Boxing Empress" Keisha Morrisey- Empire Morrisey Photo-Studios, Khris Kirkpatrick for Bloodline Boxing Communications Entertainment and Starlite Boxing's Sweetscience Magnews-Online Publication all rights reserved

MAYWEATHER VS. MOSLEY SET FOR MAY 1 AT MGM GRAND IN LAS VEGAS, NV AND LIVE ON HBO PPV‏

The buzz surrounding the biggest night of boxing this year, superstar and six-time World Champion Floyd "Money" Mayweather and welterweight mega-star, five-time World Champion and current WBA Welterweight World Champion Sugar Shane Mosley, are set to meet in Mayweather vs. Mosley: Who R U Picking?, on Saturday, May 1 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas in a spectacular bout which will be produced and distributed live on HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

The bout, promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions, and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate, AT&T, Dewalt Tools and StubHub,promises to be a spectacular display of talent and skill with Mayweather and Mosley will meet in a 12-round welterweight battle that is already being compared to other great and historic welterweight match-ups like Sugar Ray Leonard against Tommy Hearns and Oscar de la Hoya against Felix Trinidad.

"Ever since I came back to the sport I said I only wanted to fight the best and Shane Mosley is one of the best," said Mayweather (40-0, 25 KO's). "Not only does he have the skills, but he is also fast, strong and a very tough competitor. His speed and power won't mean much that night against my will and determination to dominate him inside the square circle. When I compete against the best, I am always at my best; so on May 1 the fans will see one great performance."


"I have always wanted to fight Floyd Mayweather and now that dream is finally coming true," said Mosley, (46-5, 39 KO's). "Floyd is excellent at what he does, but my past record of beating the best competition and other great champions shows that he is just another one of my opponents I intend to beat. He has never faced anyone like me before and I think that will be a big factor on May 1 when I plan to show him just what it means to meet a true champion in the ring."

"This fight has been in the making for a long time and now Floyd has the opportunity to showcase his skills against a great champion like Shane," said Leonard Ellerbe, CEO, Mayweather Promotions. "It is these kinds of opportunities that elevate and excite Floyd. The people and the polls might be wondering who is going to win this fight, but on May 1, I have no doubt that Floyd is going to give them a dominant performance and continue to prove why he is the best fighter in the world today. "

"The theme of this fight is "who are you picking?" because when two champions of this caliber meet in the ring, you can expect nothing but an extremely competitive fight and an unknown outcome that will only reveal itself on May 1," said Richard Schaefer, CEO, Golden Boy Promotions. "Shane Mosley is one of the greatest fighters of this era and so is Floyd Mayweather, so it is a true gift that the fans will have the opportunity to see a fiercely competitive and fantastic night of boxing."

"MGM Grand is thrilled to host two of the sport's superstars," said Richard Sturm, President of Sports and Entertainment for MGM MIRAGE. "Mayweather and Mosley bring tremendous speed and skill to the ring and will no doubt electrify the fans on May 1."

"Mayweather vs. Mosley is a showdown of superstars that fans have been talking about for years," said Mark Taffet of HBO Pay-Per-View. "It has all the elements of a pay-per-view mega-fight."

A 1996 Olympic Bronze medalist for the United States, the undefeated Floyd Mayweather has since gone on to strike gold in the professional ranks, winning six world titles in five weight classes to firmly establish himself as one of the most elite fighters of his era. With dominating wins over the likes of World Champions Diego Corrales, Jose Luis Castillo, Arturo Gatti, Zab Judah, Oscar de la Hoya and Ricky Hatton, Mayweather was on a meteoric rise to hall of fame greatness when he announced his retirement from the ring in 2008. But he left the door open for a return if the right challenge presented itself and after 18 months of a much needed physical and emotional break from the ring, he returned to boxing on September 19, 2009 with a dominating and spectacular victory over future Hall of Famer Juan Manuel Marquez. He now faces Mosley on May 1 in what will be one of his most challenging contests to date.

In addition to his boxing accomplishments, Mayweather has managed to become a crossover star, appearing in HBO®'s Emmy® award winning reality series "24/7" three separate times as he provided cameras with an all access look at his training and personal life. Additionally, as a competitor on ABC's Dancing With The Stars, Mayweather was introduced to a completely new audience with over 35 million viewers tuning in each week.

It would be easy for Sugar Shane Mosley to be a satisfied man, but Mosley will not be content until he feels that he has climbed every mountain the sport has to offer, including beating Floyd Mayweather on May 1. His goal is to continue to win as this future Hall of Famer always has, compiling six world titles and having ruled the lightweight, welterweight and junior middleweight divisions over his storied 16-year career. Mosley has defeated them all, including the likes of Oscar de la Hoya, Fernando Vargas (twice), Luis Collazo and Ricardo Mayorga, but his most recent victory could be his most spectacular - a ninth round stoppage of Antonio Margarito in January 2009 to win the welterweight world title for the third time.

Mosley has a worldwide fan base and feels that he can continue to win, including one more world championship, his sixth, which is an amazing feat for any fighter, but seems easy when you're a given the hallowed "Sugar" nickname, shared by Mosley with the legendary "Sugars," Robinson and Leonard. He also hopes to ascend back to the number one spot on the mythical pound for pound list, which will only happen by taking on the best in the world, fight in and fight out.

See you at the Fights. Thank You for your time.
EL Boxing Empress Online @ Twitter http://www.twitter.com/Keishamorrisey
EL Boxing Empress Keisha Morrisey's Myspace http://www.myspace.com/
Keisha Morrisey http://www.keishamorrisey.com

©®™2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 All rights reserved