Unified and Undisputed Hopes for 2009

Unified and Undisputed Hopes for 2009

By Michael Amakor

Suitland Md, December 20, 2008: With the explosion of alphabet boxing associations organizing championship bouts for TV networks, the public has become confused about who the real boxing champions are today, and there is a long standing debate as to whether the multitude of champions in each division are good for boxing in general. They days when identifiable phenoms like Muhammed Ali and Mike Tyson attracted millions of fans to boxing are long gone and fans are screaming for a dominant champion like Mike Tyson to re-emerge.

But at no time in boxing history have so many entertaining, but meaningless (at least to the public) fights taken place transferring the championship batton to all comers at a blinding pace and further distorting the public's perception of the real champions in each division as is happening presently. Below is a selective analysis to point out some divisions that should be encouraged to produce a Unified and undisputed champion in 2009 --

CRUISERWEIGHTS (200lbs)

All the hard work by Don King in arranging the Cruiserweight unification contest starting in 2005 was laid to waste by David Haye who seized the title from Jean Marc Mormeck (who had done all the hard work by unifying the titles against Wayne Braithwaite and O’Neil Bell) and promptly dumped all the titles and the division to begin a media hyped run for the heavyweight title like his predecessors before him. His exit destroyed the chances of a recognizable unified champion emerging for the division as the belts splintered again and the very tough and angry Guillermo Jones emerged at the WBA after brutalizing Firat Arslan, Giocobbe Frogmeni emerged at the WBC, and Adamek dethroned Steve Cunningham for the IBF in the best fight of 2008, while the WBO title remains vacant. None of these champions would make much of a headway at heavyweight so they should be forced to fight each other. We are missing the greatest fights of the 21st century by not financing a unification contest in this division, even the TV show the contender picked cruiserweights for its fourth season.


LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT (175lbs)

This division is killing itself by recycling the spent Roy Jones, and old workhorses Bernard Hopkins and Glen Johnson. The loquacious Antonio Tarver started the unification campaign by beating Muriqi and Woods for the IBO, and IBF title respectively only to lose it all to the young and aggressive Chad Dawson, who may prove to be the future of the division. Calzaghe’s ranking in the division is meaningless in this assessment because he owns none of the belts and he is only interested in marquee money fights after the financial disaster against last pay day searching Bernard Hopkins. WBO Zsolt Erdei restricts his campaigns to Germany and should be fined for non-exposure to fans stateside, and there is absolutely no buzz around WBC Adrian Diaconu or WBA Hugo Guray. Even if Calzaghe vs. Dawson or Dawson vs. Hopkins could be arranged, the winner would retire before engaging in an unnecessary and cashless event against the other champs. Fans should have Zsolt stripped , or force him to fight Guray, or come out to the US to challenge Dawson who may relinquish his titles rather than fight him for financial reasons (like he did instead of fighting Diaconu), any ideas?

SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT (168lbs)

Unified and Undisputed champ Joe Calzaghe made his successful and long awaited entry up to 175lbs but not before tainting the undefeated record of emerging super star Mikkel Kessler, who rebounded nevertheless to regain the WBA title to stake his claim to being the real champ in the division. However Calzaghe’s exit removed the cover off the snake pit of heavy handed contenders as the dangerous Carl Froch emerged to seize the WBC belt after a war of attrition with Jean Pascal, Dennis Inkin emerged at the WBO and Lucian Bute escaped with his IBF belt after a highly controversial war with Librado Andrade. Europeans can help by forcing Kessler, Froch and Inkin to fight each other to compel North Americans to ship the winner of Bute vs. Andrade to be feasted on by the winner of the Euro contest.


MIDDLEWEIGHTS (160lbs)

Not too long ago Jermaine Taylor seemed to be sinking this division with performance disasters against Spinks and Kasim Ouma, but Pavlik brought back the excitement to the division after beating Taylor to capture and retain the WBO and WBC titles.

Thereafter Pavlik to my dismay made a safe defense and wandered out of the division into his losing misadventure against perennial spoiler Bernard Hopkins, however, this loss may perhaps force him to stay at 160 where he belongs. The next logical fight for Pavlik would be a fight against the IBF's tenacious Arthur Abraham who has repeatedly called him out, and that fight may happen as Pavlik has no other logical money fight scheduled. But, before that fight happens WBA champ Felix Sturm may get the first shot at Abraham to settle certain squabbles between the two. This division is on the verge of unification, but you may be surprised at who finally emerges the undisputed champion.

Light Middleweights (154lbs):

This is the worst division so far, there is no buzz around any of the fighters and to make matters worse you have reigning and interim champs at the WBC and WBO. Nobody wants to fight the awkward WBO interim champ Paul William, except maybe 147 champ Margarito. WBC champ Vernon Forest just recovered from the Sergio Mora upset, the IBF chair is vacant and nobody has heard of WBA Daniel Santos or the WBO’s Sergeii Dzinziruk, who?, I am weary, somebody please take over the drumming

Super Lightweight (140)

IBO titlist Ricky Hatton could be said to be the champ of the division, but he now has WBC Timothy Bradley and WBO champ Kendell Holt to contend with, these champs need Hatton more than he needs them, so they will be calling him out pretty soon hoping he will listen to them. The IBF title is vacant and nobody has heard of the WBA champ, but we can still force Hatton’s hand into a unification contest

WELTERWEIGHTS (147lbs)

In 2007 and 2008 this star studded division was held hostage by the talented Floyd Mayweather who was not interested in unifying the titles; he instead stepped up to 154lbs for a lucrative title fight against De la Hoya instead of tackling Cotto, thereby leaving it up to Margarito who eliminated Cotto and Cintron from unification contention. Andre Berto and Joshua Clottey emerged at the WBC and IBF respectively and a bewildered (by his inability to get a payday against the other titlists) Paul Williams stepped up successfully into the WBO 154 title leaving the WBO 147 title currently vacant. There is no smoke for a unification here, and Margarito is embroiled in a scheduled contest with the tenacious Shane Mosley for his title. The winner will not be interested in any low budget unification fight against the WBC and IBF champs, but would set their sights on the 154 division, with Margarito perhaps looking to avenge his loss to Paul Williams and Shane perhaps looking for a retirement trilogy against 154 champ Vernon Forest. No dominant champ will emerge in 2009 but both Berto and Clottey will make some valiant defenses of their belts to stake claims to being the true champ,

HEAVYWEIGHTS (Unlimited lbs)

Wladimir Klitchko the IBF and WBO champ was slowly emerging as the dominant fighter in the division before his WBC Emeritus champion brother Vitali beat defending champ Sam Peters after a comeback from retirement. Vitali’s victory somehow underscored the weakness of the division that has encouraged even Holyfield to make another title attempt against Nikolay Valuez for the WBA strap. As long as both brothers remain titlists there will be no real unification in the division as they have vowed not to fight each other despite sadistic ploys by the boxing world. Still, both brothers will somehow find a way to remove Chagaev, Valuez or Holyfield from the championship picture in 2009, but hold your breath as either Juan Carlos Gomez, Alexander Povetkin, or David Haye may score an upset against either of the duo to shake up the division yet again. Boxing fans should pray that David “foolhardy” Haye scores the upset against Vitali for he will surely seek to unify against Wladimir to put an end to the disunity plans of the Klitchko brothers. Next

Lightweight (135lbs)

A boxing commission sometimes could stop some bad match-ups fights from happening as Pacquaio would have been compelled to a take a more meaningful unification fight with the triple titled WBA, WBC, and WBO Nate Campbell, instead Pacquaio stepped up to 147 in a winning effort against Oscar de la hoya in a non title fight. But it is unlikely he will come back down to the 135 pound division, so Nate Campbell is left holding the bag with no big money fight despite his accomplishment of unifying the titles. Somebody please set up a unification rewards fund or make Pacquaio sign up for a miracle fight against Campbell.

Super Flyweight (115lbs) -SEE FIGHT PROMO

Kudos to IBF champ Vic Darchinian for brutalizing Christian Mijares to annex the WBA, WBC titles. He is now scheduled to face the tough Jorge Arce, the winner has only to face WBO champ Fernando Montiel to be the undisputed and unified champ in the division. This is perhaps the easiest fight to arrange, but fight fans with contacts at show time must call the execs to make sure it happens.

See you at the Fights.
Thanks for your time.

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COV GLOVE SENDS CONGRATULATIONS TO JERMAIN TAYLOR FOR HIS TERRIFIC PERFORMANCE SATURDAY AGAINST JEFF LACY

PHILADELPHIA- This past Saturday night in Nashville, Tennessee, former undisputed middleweight champion Jermain Taylor was the latest big-name fighter to wear and be successful while wearing boxing newest innovation, The Cov Glove.

The Cov Glove is a leather sleeve that keeps the tape from coming loose and keeps the action flowing without any chance of a stoppage.

Taylor is the latest in a growing number of championship caliber fighters such as Chad Dawson, Joshua Clottey and Alfredo Angulo to sport the Cov Glove in a high profile bout just in the last few months.

“I would like to congratulate Jermain for a great performance” said Cov Glove founder, David Price.

“It was ironic that only tape that came loose came from Lacy. With the Cov Glove, Jermain didn’t have those worries. I also want to thank Loe DiBella, Joe Quiambo and Ozell Nelson for having the confidence in the product and hope this is the beginning of a great relationship between Cov Glove & Team Taylor”

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"ALL OR NOTHING"; FINAL PRESS CONFERENCE, "QUOTES" FROM JERMAIN TAYLOR - JEFF LACY LIVE ON HBO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15TH

Jermain Taylor:
"When we where roommates during the 2000 Olympics there where times when we talk about fighting each other one day. That day is now here and I know Jeff will be ready. We both want bragging rights over each other."

"My team has put together a good game plan for Jeff and I'm very confident about the outcome of the fight. It will be all business come Saturday night, I'm going to dictate the pace of this fight and fight my fight."

"I cannot lose, I feel it. I like fighting at 168lbs. This was my best training camp."

"We are friends, but when the bell rings I'm going to try and hurt him, nothing but business."

"I'm looking at this fight to jump start my career and get back on top. I'm focus, determine and motivated to come away the victory."

"I'm bringing a lot explosives with me when I step in that ring."


Jeff Lacy:
"I know Jermain as a jokester…I know all sides of him, but to see him standing in front of me [as an opponent] is a little different.”

"Jermain and I are friends, but when the bell rings, it's a fight."

"When you know everything about the guy you're fighting and you're friends, you want for him to cross the line and then it's all Hail Mary. He hits me, I hit him and it's on.

"Once one of your brothers hits you, everything goes out the window."
"Knowing him so well is going to bring out the best in me."

“This is going to be one of the best fights you’ve ever seen. I’m ready to go all twelve rounds.”

"The best comes out of you after you’ve suffered a loss, but neither one of us wants to lose again.”

“I’m going to establish my jab because I’m going to have to box a little bit. We’ll see what he brings. I’m capable of both [boxing or slugging].”

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

Jermain Taylor...Peaking At The Right Time For His Upcoming Fight Against Jeff Lacy‏

MIAMI- With less than two weeks to go before the fight that could determine the entire direction of his boxing future, Jermain Taylor is both calm, cool, confident and anxious to get in the ring. Taylor has less than one week left in his Miami-based training camp before shifting to Nashville, Tennessee, site of his 12-round Super Middleweight Eliminator fight with Jeff Lacy on November 15th "All Or Nothing".

HBO World Championship Boxing will televise the bout from Memorial Gymnasium on the campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee (10:15pm ET / 9:15pm CT / 7:15pm PT).

DiBella Entertainment is presenting the 12-round super middleweight title eliminator in association with Prize Fight Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions. Tickets are on sale now at $275, $200, $100, $75, $50 and $25, and available through all Ticketmaster locations at 615-255-9600 or www.ticketmaster.com .

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"Everything is peaking at the right time,” Taylor said. “I’m ready. I feel great, and we have a good game plan for Jeff. I have the skills to go in there and win, and look good doing it. I’m hungry, and I’m ready to fight.”

Taylor’s hunger has been building all throughout training camp. He and lead trainer Ozell Nelson have watched plenty of film of Taylor’s two losses to Kelly Pavlik — the only two of the Little Rock, Ark.-natives professional career — and Taylor said he has worked all camp long on correcting any mistakes that Lacy may feel he can take advantage of. Nelson said all the hard work has paid off. Taylor has been well within his target weight for several weeks, and Nelson said training has gone better than planned.

"Things have really come together perfectly,” Nelson said. “Jermain has been sharp and focused since the beginning of camp, and I can really tell he is as determined as he ever has been. I couldn’t have asked for a better effort from Jermain at this training camp.”

Coming off two losses has a way of sharpening a fighter’s focus. Taylor said his bouts with Pavlik have motivated him in a way no opponent has before.

“It pushes me like nothing else,” Taylor said. “This is a fight both of us need to win, especially me, coming off two losses.”

The hype surrounding this fight is growing, in large part because this is a fight that is so crucial to the careers of both Taylor and Lacy. Both fighters know a loss will be very difficult to come back from.

“Jermain knows how big this is,” Taylor’s promoter, Lou DiBella, said. “He’s very aware. This is the kind of fight that will escalate him back to the top. He has to win the fight. I do think he’s hungry again. He wants this fight.”

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

"ALL OR NOTHING"; JERMAIN TAYLOR TRAINING CAMP NOTES

"I've been doing this so long, it's part of my life and my profession. The nine month layoff was good for me, it allowed me to set some new goals
for myself and to take a good look at where I am in my career and where I want to go. "

MIAMI- The fight that could define his career in the super middleweight division is less than month away, and news from Jermain Taylor's camp in Miami, Florida is very good. It's good, that is, unless you ask Jeff Lacy, Jermain Taylor's opponent for the November 15th fight "All Or Nothing". HBO World Championship Boxing will televise the bout from Memorial Gymnasium on the campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee (10:15pm ET / 9:15pm CT / 7:15pm PT).

DiBella Entertainment is presenting the 12-round super middleweight title eliminator in association with Prize Fight Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions. Tickets are on sale now at $275, $200, $100, $75, $50 and $25, and available through all Ticketmaster locations at 615-255-9600 or www.ticketmaster.com .


"Training is going very well for me, I'm on schedule with everything. I know Jeff is working just as hard with his preparations, but I feel very confident about November 15th. This is the longest I have been out of the ring since I turned professional and the time off gave me time to put my career in total focus."

Ozell Nelson is serving as Taylor's lead trainer for the second consecutive fight and likes the intensity & focus Jermain has brought to training camp.

"We are on schedule," Nelson said. "Jermain is in tremendous spirits and looks very good. He is enjoying this training camp with a commitment and purpose more than I have ever seen before."

Perhaps the environment is helping, because there is certainly good memories in Miami. Jermain is training in the Sunshine State for the first time since he defended his Undisputed Middleweight Championship on December 2, 2005, with a second straight victory over Bernard Hopkins.

"I have good memories from Miami, " Taylor said. "Miami is like my second home, I have always liked training in Miami. Everything is great here and I'm feeling good about everything as I prepare for
Jeff Lacy on Nov. 15th."

PUNCHING MORE THAN AIR:

Jermain Taylor is steadily moving into more aggressive stages of his training camp, moving away from conditioning and into more sparring work this week.

"We have some great sparring partners here and Jermain is really getting some good work," said Nelson. "We are still getting our running in, getting our legs right, but it's time to start hitting people too."

Taylor is already sparring 10 rounds a day and will move into 12-round sessions next week. One change from previous camps is that Taylor in interacting a lot more with his sparring partners, talking and joking with them, and taking advice from them. For this fight, it's all hands on deck.

"Everything is on the line for me with this fight, this is a total team effort with everyone involved with camp," said Taylor. " My sparring partners are really giving me some good work, It feels good to get there with my sparring partners, they are really pushing me."

STRATEGY SESSIONS:

Ozell Nelson and Jermain Taylor have been watching plenty of videotape from Taylor's two losses to middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik, the only two losses of his career. The pair saw Taylor getting
hit with Pavlik's right hand too often, so they've gone to work on better defense in training camp.

"You've got to work on defense," Nelson said. "You don't want your offense to be your defense. We are going to dodge that right hand, stay behind him. Lacy's nickname is "Left Hook," but he has a
sneaky right hand. We're going to stay away from that."

But camp has been about more than defense. Much of the sparring and shadow-boxing work has been focused on getting Taylor to use his left hand more and Ozell expects that it will be Taylor who brings the fight to Lacy.

"I want him to dictate the pace, be more aggressive with his left hand, hooking off the left and jabbing," Nelson said. "We don't want to let Lacy plant his feet and get comfortable. We don't need to knock
Jeff Lacy out. I want him to box Jeff, move and pivot and frustrate him. Relax and dictate the fight."

Taylor has a more simple strategy.

"I just want the win," Taylor said. "I would be happy with a knockout, but what's important is that I dictate the fight and come away with the victory. I'm going to fight my fight."

RESTED AND READY:

Jermain Taylor will be stepping into the ring after nearly nine months away from boxing. Ozell Nelson was concerned how Taylor's transition back to competitive boxing would be after the longest layoff of his professional career, but so far, in training camp there have been no signs of rust.

"I was very concerned about the long layoff," Nelson said. "But Jermain needed the time off. His mental attitude and focus has been great. He wants to get back to winning and being in a position to go for another title."

Taylor said he was ready to get back in the ring before camp even started. Now that he's in the middle of camp, it's like he never left the ring.

"I've been doing this so long, it's part of my life and my profession. The nine months layoff was good for me, it allowed me to set some new goals for myself and to take a good look at where I am in my career and where I want to go. "

Starlite Boxing's Sweetscience The Video Channel Online http://www.youtube.com/ELEmpress1

EL Boxing Empress Keisha Morrisey's Myspace http://www.myspace.com/Keishadivine

Honorable Keisha Morrisey http://www.keishamorrisey.com

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

Integrated Sports Distributing Abraham-Marquez world title fight Broadcast live Nov. 8 from Germany

HOBOKEN, N.J.– Integrated Sports will distribute the long awaited November 8th showdown between unbeaten International Boxing Federation middleweight champion “King” Arthur Abraham and top contender Raul “El Diamente” Marquez, in the United States and Canada, live from Germany.

Abraham-Marquez, originally scheduled October 4, was postponed due to Abraham’s sudden illness on the day of the fight and rescheduled for Nov. 8 at the same site, Jako Arena, in Bamberg, Germany.

Abraham-Marquez is promoted by Wilfried Sauerland, presented by Sauerland Event and its Managing Director, Christian Meyer, in association with Seminole Warriors Boxing. The broadcast is being distributed in the United States and Canada by Integrated Sports for live viewing at 3 PM/ET – 12 PM/PT on both cable and satellite pay-per-view via iN Demand, TVN, DISH Network,Viewer’s Choice Canada, and Bell ExpressVue, for a suggested retail price of only $24.95. iN Demand will show a replay the following day (Sunday, Nov. 9) at 2 PM/ET. Al Bernstein and Nick Charles will call the action.

Abraham (27-0, 22 KOs), rated No. 1 by The Ring and ESPN, is coming off of his first fight in the United States (Hollywood, FL), stopping Edison Miranda (30-2) in the second round of their June 21st non-title fight in explosive fashion. Abraham, however, remains somewhat of a curiosity factor in North America in terms of being a serious threat for Kelly Pavlik in a potential unification bout.

“King” Arthur captured the IBF middleweight title nearly three years ago by way of a fifth-round knockout of Kingsley Ikeke (23-1). Seven successful title defenses have followed against Miranda, Shannon Taylor, Kofi Jantuah, Sebastian Demers, Khoren Gevor, Wayne Elcock and Elvin Ayala.

The 37-year-old Marquez (41-3-1, 29 KOs), rated No. 2 by the IBF as well as No. 8 by The Ring and ESPN, earned his title shot against Abraham by defeating previously unbeaten No. 1 contender Giovanni Lorenzo (26-0) in their IBF title eliminator on the June 21st Abraham-Miranda card. Marquez, fighting out of Houston, was a 1992 U.S. Olympian who was the IBF junior middleweight title-holder in 1997.

Despite taking off 1 ½ years to work as a broadcaster for HBO’s boxing telecasts in Spanish, Raul is more experienced in the ring than Abraham – 269 to 161 in rounds fought – having been in against world champions Jermain Taylor, Shane Mosley, Fernando Vargas and Yori Boy Campas.

The 10-round co-feature on the PPV show from Germany has former NABO champion Otis “Triple OG” Griffin (19-3-2, 7 KOs), of Sacramento, taking on Yugoslavian-born Enad Licina (14-1, 8 KOs), now living in Germany, for the vacant IBF Intercontinental cruiserweight belt. Additional undercard bouts to be part of the PPV card will soon be announced.

For more information about the Abraham-Marguez PPV go to www.integratedsportsnet.com or www.warriorsboxing.com

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

"ALL OR NOTHING" Jermain Taylor vs. Jeff Lacy SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15th, HBO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM

NEW YORK- It will be a career-defining fight for the ages. Former champions Jermain Taylor and Jeff Lacy will meet on November, 15th in Nashville, Tennessee on the campus of Vanderbilt University, in what is sure to be an explosive affair, considering what is at stake. For the winner — a chance to fight for another world championship and regain his status as an elite fighter. For the loser — a struggle to regain respectability in a sport he once ruled.

So for Taylor and Lacy, this fight is "All Or Nothing."

“This fight could not be more important for these two fighters,” said Lou DiBella, president of DiBella Entertainment. “One of these guys is probably going to get knocked out, and the one who gets knocked out is probably going to have a really difficult time coming back to do anything significant in this sport. This fight really is all or nothing.”

DiBella Entertainment is presenting the 12-round super middleweight title eliminator in association with Golden Boy Promotions and Prize Fight Promotions. HBO World Championship Boxing will televise the bout from Memorial Gymnasium on the campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee (10:15pm ET / 9:15pm CT / 7:15pm PT). Tickets will go on sale next Wednesday, October 15th, are priced at $275, $200, $100, $75, $50 and $25, and available through all Ticketmaster locations at 615.255.9600 or www.ticketmaster.com .

Excitement is already stirring in Nashville.

“It’s on Vanderbilt’s campus, in their great basketball arena, and I can tell already the campus is juiced up for it,” DiBella said. “I think you’re going to see a lot of young people, particularly in the upper deck, and that’s always good for the energy. And this is the biggest fight to hit Nashville in years and years and years. It’s going to be a big event.”

The fight has been certified a WBC Super Middleweight eliminator fight, which means the winner will be guaranteed a title shot against the winner of the Carl Froch-Jean Pascal bout for the WBC belt.

A title shot will be sweet redemption for either fighter, who have both been kings of their division.

Taylor (27-2-1, 17 KOs), the favorite son of Arkansas, became the undisputed and undefeated middleweight champion of the world on July 16, 2005 when he beat the legendary
Bernard Hopkins at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Taylor defended his championship four times, including a Hopkins rematch, and was undefeated in his first 27 professional fights before back-to-back losses to current middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik.

Lacy (24-1, 17 KOs), a St. Petersburg, Florida native, won his first 21 fights, picking up the super middleweight championship along the way. Lacy suffered his first loss to current undefeated world light heavyweight champion Joe Calzaghe on March 4, 2006. Since then, Lacy has reeled off three straight victories, including his most recent unanimous decision over Epifanio Mendoza on July 23rd.

Taylor and Lacy grew up in the amateurs together and are good friends, but they both know how important this fight is to their career, which means all friendship stops inside the ring.

“I’ve known him since amateur days, but we both know this is a business,” Lacy said. “Any fight where we’re going into the ring with all this on the line is one of the most important fights of my career. I know I’m up for the fight, and I know Jermain will be up for the fight.”

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Jeff, I think he’s a great guy,” Taylor said. “But I also know what I need to do in the ring on Nov. 15th. It’s going to be a great fight.”

The fight will also settle a long-running feud.

They were Olympic teammates in 2000, and regular sparring partners, which has become a point of contention. In June, 2006, when Lacy came to Memphis to support his friend Winky Wright in a fight against Taylor, Lacy was asked who got the better of whom in Olympic training sessions. Lacy said naturally he did.

“What? I whipped his butt,” was Taylor’s reply.

Lacy now insists the talk stop until it can be answered in the ring.

“I’m not a trash-talker,” Lacy said. “I’m all about doing my thing in the ring. Look, [on Nov. 15] we have to duke it out for 12 rounds and the best man may win. Then we’ll know.”

The November 15th fight will be Taylor’s first in the super middleweight (168 pounds) division. Taylor hasn’t been in the ring since Feb. 16, when he lost his rematch with Kelly Pavlik, in what has been
the longest layoff of his professional career.

“It took me a while to get back into it, but everything is all right now,” Taylor said. “I’ve been shadow boxing, sparring, it’s just like riding a bike. I’ve been doing this so long, no chance I was going to forget.”

“I do think he’s hungry again,” DiBella said. “He wants this fight. This is a big fight for him. No matter what we call it, it's really is all or nothing. It gives a great opportunity for the person that steps up and wins the fight. This is a fight that could re-establish Jermain right at the top, and could get him a major matchup. This is a must-win fight.”

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Honorable Keisha Morrisey http://www.keishamorrisey.com/

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

Raul Marquez plans to spoil “King” Arthur’s mega-fight plans against Pavlik or Wright IBF middleweight title fight Oct. 4 on PPV in U.S. & Canada

HOBOKEN, N.J.– Former world champion Raul “El Diamente” Marquez, who overcome the destruction of Hurricane Ike, recently broke his Houston training camp and departed for Germany, where on October 4th he challenges unbeaten International Boxing Federation middleweight champion “King” Arthur Abraham, headlining a pay-per-view card airing in the United States and Canada live from Bamberg, Germany.

Abraham-Marquez is promoted by Wilfried Sauerland, presented by Sauerland Event and its Managing Director, Christian Meyer, in association with Seminole Warriors Boxing. The broadcast is being distributed in the United States and Canada by Integrated Sports for live viewing at 3 PM/ET – 12 PM/PT on both cable and satellite pay-per-view via iN Demand, TVN, DirecTV, DISH Network, Viewer’s Choice Canada, and Bell ExpressVue, for a suggested retail price of only $24.95. A replay will be shown that same night starting at 9 PM/ET. Al Bernstein and Nick Charles will call the action.

“I don’t talk trash-talk,” Marquez said right before leaving Houston, “but we took on Hurricane Ike, so Arthur Abraham should be nothing. We still don’t have electricity in my house, I’ve been staying at my sister-in-law’s house, and we had to wait 1 ½ hours for gas. I’m very positive about this fight. We’re going over there to win.

“I fought in Germany as an amateur and I’m sure some of Abraham’s coaches remember me. You read about needing to knockout your opponent over there to get a draw (laughs). I just hope the judges are fair. The judges are from America, Mexico and England. Wayne Kelly from New York City is the referee. I couldn’t ask for a better situation over there. All I can hope for is a fair decision. I’m glad this fight is on pay-per-view so people can judge for themselves. If there’s controversy, people back home will be able to see it and know who really won.”

Abraham (27-0, 22 KOs), rated No. 2 by The Ring and ESPN, captured the IBF middleweight title early three years ago by way of a fifth-round knockout of Kingsley Ikeke (23-1). Eight successful title defenses have followed against Edison Miranda twice, Shannon Taylor, Kofi Jantuah, Sebastian Demers, Khoren Gevor, Wayne Elcock and Elvin Ayala.

The 37-year-old Marquez (41-3-1, 29 KOs), rated No. 2 by the IBF as well as No. 8 by The Ring and ESPN, earned his title shot against Abraham by defeating previously unbeaten No. 1 contender Giovanni Lorenzo (26-0) in their IBF title eliminator on the June 21.

Marquez, a 1992 U.S. Olympian who owned the IBF junior middleweight title belt in 1997, is motivated by talk about Abraham fighting Kelly Pavlik or Winky Wright next year. “It’s like they’re ignoring me,” Marquez explained. “They’re looking ahead. I was a 4-1 underdog my last fight and I’ve trained even harder for this one. Only two out of 35 writers picked me to win my last fight and it’s pretty much the same thing for the Abraham fight. Abraham’s people are looking beyond me. I want to spoil all that talk about him fighting Pavlik or Wright in his next fight. Nobody’s giving me much of a shot but I’m ready.

“My game plan is to make him fight. He’s powerful and strong; I am, too. And I’m motivated by him looking ahead. I’ve gone back to my roots with my father (Arturo) and brother (Aldo) in my corner the last four fights. I tried some different trainers but my father made me an Olympian and world champion. I’m older and wiser now. I’m getting hit and cut less. I think my father’s the best trainer in the world. After I beat Abraham he’s going to be Trainer of the Year.”

Despite taking off 1 ½ years to work as a broadcaster, Raul is still much more battle tested in the ring than Abraham – 269 to 161 in rounds fought – having fought world champions Jermain Taylor, Shane Mosley, Fernando Vargas and Yori Boy Campas.

“This isn’t going to be an easy fight and Abraham knows it,” Marquez added. “I have a lot more experience than him having fought Mosley, Taylor and Vargas, as well as other experienced fighters like Campas, (Keith) Mullings, (Jose Alfredo) Flores and (Bronco) McKart. I’ve fought guys with all kinds of different styles. I’m left-handed and I think that’s going to give Abraham problems. I’ve watched tapes of his fights and I think he had problems against (southpaw) Ian Gardiner. Even at 37, I will bring courage, power, great conditioning and keep a steady pace like I did in my last fight.

“After losing to Jermain Taylor, to get this far and fight for a world title again, well, it’s amazing. It’s weird but I feel better now than I ever have. Ten years after I was world champion, 16 years after I made my pro debut (Oct. 3, 1992), I want it (world title) more and appreciate boxing more than ever. I love everything about boxing.”

The 10-round co-feature on the PPV show from Germany has former NABO champion Otis “Triple OG” Griffin (19-3-2, 7 KOs), of Sacramento, taking on Yugoslavian-born Enad Licina (14-1, 8 KOs), now living in Germany, for the vacant IBF Intercontinental cruiserweight belt. Additional undercard bouts to be part of the PPV card will soon be announced.

For more information about the Abraham-Marguez PPV go to www.integratedsportsnet.com or www.warriorsboxing.com

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

Floyd Mayweather: Not Even Fighter of The Month

The Boxing Standard
Floyd Mayweather: Not Even Fighter of The Month

Super Lightweight Boxing Champion of the World, "Pretty Boy" Floyd Mayweather and Wrestling star, the new super lightweight Hero Floyd "Money" Mayweather attends the WWE's Wrestlemania XXIV, New York City Press Conference to face "Big Show" Paul Wight, before both the main event this past March, and Floyd "Money" Mayweather's (MME) victory.


I just received my BWAA invite to their 2007 awards dinner on May 1, 2008. The second I saw Floyd Mayweather was voted "Fighter of The Year" by boxings finest, I threw the invitation out. Mayweather being voted FOTY is another layer of proof that todays boxing writers are more fans than anything else.

Miguel Cotto clearly faced and defeated better opposition than Mayweather did, not to mention he won more convincingly. Mayweather beat Oscar De La Hoya by split decision in 2007. The trouble with that is Oscar hasn't won a big fight since 2002, and has been a part-time fighter since 2004. Floyd followed the De La Hoya fight up with a 10-round TKO over undefeated Jr. welterweight, Ricky Hatton. In that fight, I had Mayweather up a point going into the final around. Other than the final blow Mayweather landed to end the fight, nothing else beyond him struggling with the limited Hatton will be remembered. On the other hand, Cotto stopped Zab Judah (who Mayweather had to come from behind to win a decision against in late 2006), and decisioned Shane Mosley, who beat Oscar De La Hoya in 2000 & 2003. For the record, I had Mosley over Cotto by a point.

Along with Cotto, Kelly Pavlik had a better 2007 than Mayweather did. Pavlik scored a pair of seventh round stoppages over hard hitting Edison Miranda and undisputed middleweight champ Jermain Taylor. Like Cotto, Pavlik fought two of the better fighters in the division in which they campaign. Compared to Mayweather, who chose a semi-retired fighter, and another who campaigns in a division beneath him.

I'm not going to take the time to compare Mayweather's body of work to other fighter of the year recipients, you do it, because it makes me ill when I do it. In closing, Floyd Mayweather being voted FOTY is another reason why boxing is sometimes hard to take serious and 90% of boxings finest writers should start covering hunting and fishing.


© 2007, 2008 All photos by "El Boxing Empress" Keisha Morrisey- Empire Morrisey Studios, for Bloodline Boxing Communications and Entertainment and Starlite Boxing's Sweetscience all rights reserved