JANUARY, 2008
Gamboa Deserves a Close Look from Fight Fans
THU January 31, ANTONIO ANDRES CARRIEDO - I love boxrec. I never became a baseball sabermetrician. There was a point in my life when I used to memorize baseball player stats and try to determine rankings of baseball players based on their stats, but I never took that next step into calculating WARP3, EqA or OPS+. Instead, I fell in love with boxrec and everything I could learn about boxers' careers from it. I developed some crude standards for analysis of the fights boxrec holds in its database to determine the value of a boxer's statistics/record...
Tarver Lands Woods, Dawson Defends against Johnson on Showtime
THU January 29 - A second light heavyweight world title fight has been added to the April 12 edition of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING, Ken Hershman, senior vice president and general manager, Sports & Event Programming, SHOWTIME announced today. IBF light heavyweight champion Clinton Woods will defend his title against IBO titleholder and former undisputed 175-pound kingpin Antonio Tarver at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa , Fla.
Povetkin Decisions Chambers, Title Shot Looms
SUN January 27, ANTONIO ANDRES CARRIEDO - Congratulations to the still undefeated, newly deemed IBF top Heavyweight contender, Alexander Povetkin for a solid victory over 'Fast' Eddie Chambers, a man with quick hands and quality boxing skills, who brought his undefeated record to the ring when they met Saturday night in Berlin Germany . Povetkin won a twelve round decision by scores of 117-111, 119-109 and 116-112.
Povetkin-Chambers: A Return to B.A.D. Form
FRI January 25, CLIFF ROLD - How fast can a decade go by? Ask yourself where you were when then-undefeated heavyweight prospects David Tua and Ike Ibeabuchi squared off in a classic at Sacramento's ARCO Arena on HBO's Boxing After Dark (B.A.D.)
That's how fast.
It's actually been more than a decade since that twelve round war of attrition in the summer of 2007 left audiences with their jaws on the floor. The best of HBO's Boxing After Dark is often [Links Take You To BoxingScene.com]
I Didn't Buy the Jones-Trinidad PPV, But...
TUE January 22, ANTONIO ANDRES CARRIEDO - Do you remember the 'Roycotts' They were the days when large groups of 'hardcore boxing fans' would plan and agree to boycott Roy Jones Jr.'s 175 lb title defenses against overmatched mandatory opponents? I remember them well. I was an active participant in these Roycotts. I refused to fork over $50 to watch Jones fight Ricky Frazier, Julio Gonzalez or whatever other mandatory came due during his undisputed Light Heavyweight title reign.
Trinidad-Jones Pre-Fight Report Card
FRI January 18, CLIFF ROLD - Everyone and everything grows old but God. Even those that once appeared near God-like in their realm can't escape the inevitability of it all. The American myth of Superman turns 70 in 2008 and, in ring terms, former multi-division titlists Roy Jones and Felix Trinidad might well be older than that number. Their combined age surpasses it and, unlike creatures of fiction, their age limits the potential for reinvention. [Links Take You To BoxingScene.com]
The "Where Are They Now" Series Continues as Former Champions Return For a Big Payday
THU January 17, FRANK GONZALEZ - So, here's another Pay-Per-View event that makes you wonder what the criteria is for fights being on PPV? Do we really care if a seven year removed former Welterweight Champion fights a four year removed former Light Heavyweight and 'Heavyweight' Champion? This match up is unfair and irrelevant. Curious that its going to be on PPV instead of regular TV.
Sweet 66 - Happy Birthday Muhammad Ali
TUE January 15, BUSTER PARIS - Happy New Years folks - and yes - 2008 is a couple of weeks old, but the year doesn't truly kick off until January 17th - that's right - Muhammad Ali's birthday. This year, the Greatest of ALL Times is turning 66!
This time of year I usually pass along some suggestions on how to celebrate the birthday of the greatest man to ever lace up a boxing glove, and here they are again for you to do either for the first time - or again - and please feel free to send me any suggestions that you have on how to honor the one and only, the Greatest of ALL Times - Muhammad Ali!
Miranda KO's Banks, Pascal Talks Big, Fights Small on Friday Night Fights
SAT January 12, FRANK GONZALEZ - Miranda disposed of David Banks in three rounds via knockout. Banks proved to be a pretty decent boxer. Miranda looked slow early on as he sized up his opponent. I thought Banks scored the better shots (the only shots) in the first round and did some good counter punching to win the second round.
In the third round, Miranda caught Banks up against the ropes and landed a clean right hand straight into Banks face that saw him fall through the ropes awkwardly...
Edison Miranda: Losing Isn't Everything
THU January 10, CLIFF ROLD - In an era when the best fighters in the world can be considered highly active if they make it to the ring a total of four times, every result is amplified. A single dominant win and talk turns to where a fighter rates on the pound for pound list; a single loss and HBO can become ESPN2, at least for a while.
Enter one Edison Miranda (29-2, 25 KO), Colombian power puncher residing in Puerto Rico. A year ago, Miranda was the hottest commodity in the American middleweight market. His lone loss up to then had come in a September 2006 fight that had been heard of by many, if not seen by the same, as a highly controversial... [Links Take You To BoxingScene.com]
No Pinball...Just a Win in an Exciting Fight for Malignaggi
SUN January 6, ANTONIO ANDRES CARRIEDO - IBF 140 lb. titlist Paulie Malignaggi promised to use his mandatory challenger Herman Ngoudju's head as a pinball during a conference call a couple of weeks ago. During the actual fight on Saturday night at Bally's Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, NJ, Ngoudju proved much more resilient than some including Malignaggi and the oddsmakers who set him as a 6-1 underdog had anticipated. Also, Peterson Brothers Remain Perfect on ShoBox.
It's Showtime for the Magic Man
THU January 3, ANTONIO ANDRES CARRIEDO - About five years ago a brash, cocky and flashy boxer from Brooklyn burst onto the scene. He seemed to dominate ESPN2's airwaves with one-sided unanimous decision victories every few months. He never knocked his woefully overmatched opponents out, but I kept tuning in because...well, he was kind of annoying and I wanted to see him get beat or at least knocked down. He did get countered once while attempting a bolo punch. That was pretty funny, but he usually won every single round without incident. The boxer I'm speaking of is Paulie Malignaggi.
>>> Showtime: Malignaggi Defends Versus Ngoudjo
Introducing: The Boxing Scene Divisional Ratings
THU January 3, CLIFF ROLD - For all the good done the sport in the ring in 2007, confusion and dissension still reign in an area that they should not: boxing's championships and rankings. Various press outlets, sanctioning bodies and historians all have their own take on the who's and how's of the subject; most corners make valid points. [Links Take You To BoxingScene.com]
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