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Ringside
Report - 24th June 2009
Tomasz Adamek - Steve
Cunningham: The Cruiserweight
Round Robin
By Daniel "Tex" Cohen-June 24,
2009
Former Cruiserweight Titlist
Steve "USS" Cunningham, 21-2, 11
KO's, has never definitively lost
a fight. While other fighters in
the world may have better speed
and power on a Pound for Pound
level, Cunningham's abilities
have carried him to the top and
through battles against some of
the best warriors in the world.
Most recently (and famously),
Cunningham took on the likes of
Tomasz "Goral" Adamek in a seesaw
battle for the heart of the
cruiserweight division. Adamek
managed to drop Cunningham three
times in that bout, but
Cunningham was also able to hurt
his Polish foe with several
monstrous shots. In some years,
that fight would have ruled the
roost as Fight of the Year.
The bout was as exciting as it
was close. Cunningham managed to
land nineteen more punches and
thirty-one more jabs in the
fight, but Adamek's 12-punch
power shot advantage and the
knockdowns carried the day.
To
read the full article click
here...
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The
Sweet Science - 4th June 2009
By Bernard Fernandez
A Battle of Dueling
Proverbs
When Poland's Tomasz Adamek
wrested the IBF cruiserweight
championship from U.S. Navy
veteran Steve "USS" Cunningham on
a rousing split decision on Dec.
11, in one of the best fights of
2008 or any other year, everyone
&endash; well, those of us who
actually saw them engage in 12
rounds of give-and-take action
&endash; figured a second
installment would be forthcoming
sooner rather than later.
In a world where rematch
clauses in boxing contracts are
routinely exercised following
fights that weren't such
attention-grabbers the first time
around (see Chad Dawson-Antonio
Tarver I), the seemingly logical
notion of pairing Adamek and
Cunningham back-to-back was put
on pause, like the DVD you were
watching when the telephone rang
or someone pressed your doorbell.
Cunningham, who has fought
only once in the past 17 months,
which will oblige him to scrape
off a certain amount of rust when
he does re-enter the ring
&endash; rust-scraping is a
familiar complaint of sailors
aboard warships when there's no
actual battles being waged
&endash; figures Adamek and his
promotional company, Main Events,
have left him in drydock too
long. The former bosun's mate and
his manager-wife, Livvy, sense
ulterior motives behind Team
Adamek's decision to proceed with
not one, but two less-compelling
bouts while Cunningham has had to
stand by for his marching orders,
another familiar complaint of
military personnel.
Read
the full article here...
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Seconds
Out - 31st March 2009
By Matthew Hurley
The Ongoing Heavyweight
Mess
When I sat down this past
Friday night to watch a
come-backing Samuel Peter take on
rising contender Eddie Chambers I
didn't know quite what to expect.
After Peter's terrible showing
against Vitali Klitschko in which
he retired on his stool after
eight pathetic rounds I was
hoping the 'Nigerian Nightmare'
would buckle down and try to
regroup. But reports of a dismal
training camp proved true and
Peter weighed in at a career high
265 pounds. So much for trying to
get back to where you once
belonged. Peter's lack of focus
and, in my estimation, lack of
respect for the sport and its
fans has become academic in the
heavyweight division. Even
Chambers, in what should have
been enough to get him completely
on target &endash; a headlining
gig on ESPN against a name
opponent &endash; came in
overweight. He won a majority
decision but I found nothing of
value in the performance and it
left me wondering if following
any of these heavyweights is
worth my while.
There are so many wonderful
fighters plying their trade in
the lower weight divisions to
enjoy and some of them are on the
cusp of being all time great
boxers. Actually some of them may
already be there. Manny Pacquiao,
Juan Manuel Marquez and certainly
the aging but seemingly ageless
Bernard Hopkins will walk into
the hall of fame with no
apologies. Other fighters such as
Israel Vazquez, Rafael Marquez,
Miguel Cotto, Paul Williams,
Ricky Hatton, Vic Darchinyan to
the diminutive but supremely
gifted Ivan Calderon reflect a
professionalism that has led them
to the inner circle of fan
favorites. And there's more,
Kelly Pavlik, Arthur Abraham,
Andre Berto, Edwin Valero and
Tomaz Adamek provide endless
thrills but somehow, for some
reason, the heavyweight division
and it's lack of coherence
continues to frustrate fans and
media alike to the point of
diminishing all that the
aforementioned fighters have
accomplished. The shadow of the
heavyweight division still looms
large over the sport in general
no matter how inept it is. With
no heavyweight figurehead, boxing
has suffered and so many great
fights and fighters in the
lighter weight divisions have
flown under the radar of many
former boxing fans who believe
that boxing is on its death bed.
This current crop of heavyweights
has a lot to answer for.
To
read the full article including
praise for the Cunningham-Adamek
fight here...
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Ringside
Report - 30th March 2009
The Options for
Cruiserweight Champion Tomasz
Adamek
T he state of New Jersey has
adopted a champion in the very
exciting Polish former WBC Light
Heavyweight and current IBF
Cruiserweight Champion Tomasz
Adamek 37-1, 25 KO's. Adamek has
really made the boxing world take
notice since capturing the IBF
Cruiserweight Title from Steve
"USS" Cunningham.
Adamek who originally hails
from Zywiec, Poland, has made New
Jersey his home away from home
and has really provided the fans
with excitement.
What is there not to love
about this guy? He has a fan
friendly style, he can absorb a
huge amount of punishment and can
also dish out a lot of it too.
You can't help but be a fan.
I will admit I was not the
biggest fan of Adamek leading
into his first fight with Paul
Briggs for the vacant WBC Light
Heavyweight Championship on May
21st, 2005, as I had the
impression he was a fighter who
took to many clean shots and
thought he would be exposed when
stepping up his competition. That
being said, I had only seen brief
highlights of him but in the
middle rounds of the Briggs fight
my mind seemed to have banished
any first impression I had as I
instantly became a fan. It was a
fantastic battle that produced
some great rounds of action.
Adamek was rocked several times
throughout the fight but showed
great recovery to battle his way
to a majority decision victory.
To
read the full article please
click here...
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ESPN
- 29th March 2009
By Don Steinberg
Dearth of
rematches isn't a bad
thing
We're in a rematch recession.
Just look around. Bernard
Hopkins likely won't get the
retired Joe Calzaghe again, no
matter how much he talks or keeps
winning. Vic Darchinyan probably
has seen the headlines calling a
rematch against Nonito Donaire
"unlikely." Any hopes for Antonio
Margarito-Miguel Cotto 2 appear
scuttled for a while. Ricky
Hatton probably is just dreaming
that he'll ever get Floyd
Mayweather in the ring again.
Steve Cunningham is having no
luck seeking a return bout with
Tomasz Adamek, and, try as he
may, Glen Johnson can't get
another appointment with Chad
Dawson.
Manny Pacquiao seems to be
done with fighting Juan Manuel
Marquez for now. No more Israel
Vazquez versus Rafael Marquez
slugfests for the time being.
Kendall Holt and Ricardo Torres
likely met for the last time. And
fans have lost interest in
another Wladimir Klitschko-Samuel
Peter tussle after big brother
Vitali disposed of the Nigerian
Nightmare in October.
As a matter of fact, there are
practically no rematches on the
major fights on the schedule
right now is a rematch. But is
that such a bad thing? The fact
is, rematches are all too
predictable.
Click
to read full article on
ESPN...
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Boxing
News 24 - 19th March 2009
By Chris Williams:
Is Adamek the Best Option
for Hopkins?
At 44, Bernard Hopkins
(49-5-1, 32 KOs) is interested in
picking up a third world title in
a different weight class and is
looking at the prospect of
fighting IBF cruiserweight
champion Tomasz Adamek, according
to Dan Rafael from ESPN. You
can't blame Hopkins for wanting
to continue on with his boxing
career, because after all, he
recently made Kelly Pavlik look
really bad in defeating him by a
12-round unanimous decision in
October 2008.
Hopkins, however, has run out
of opponents in the middleweight
division for him to pick over,
and he doesn't seem all that
interested in going after Mikkel
Kessler, arguably the best
fighter in the super middleweight
division.
At light heavyweight, Hopkins
has the options of fighting Chad
Dawson, Zsolt Erdei, Adrian
Diaconu, Hugo Garay or Glen
Johnson. However, in each case,
none of them are popular enough
to give Hopkins the kind of fight
that he's seeking. He wants
attention, and though he would
get a lot by the diehard fans in
facing any one of those fighters,
the casual fans probably won't be
all that interested in seeing
Hopkins fight opponents that
they're not familiar with.
To
read full article click
here...
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The
Boxing Bulletin - 16th March
2009
By Lee Payton
Next Challenge for BHop:
Adamek's Cruiserweight Title
Bernard Hopkins will try to
add the World Cruiserweight Title
to a personal collection that
already includes undisputed gold
at middleweight and light
heavyweight, when he challenges
champion, Tomasz Adamek of
Poland. The deal is not 100%
done, but there is an agreement
to fight, probably in July.
Hopkins has already had an
amazing career that is sure to
get him an invite to Canastota,
NY, as soon as he is eligible, so
why fight at his age? Why not? He
is still one of the very best in
the world, and his skills tend to
keep him from absorbing the kind
of damage that most old guys take
if they stick around long enough.
In fact, he's so defensively
sound that after 12 rounds,
you're usually left struggling to
remember him taking a clean shot.
He's a one of a kind fighter
who is trying to do something
special; be the only fighter in
history to win undisputed titles
from 160 to 200 lbs. That bit of
history would look great engraved
into his Hall Of Fame plaque.
To
read full article click
here...
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Boxing
Scene - 10th March 2009
By TK Stewart
Adamek vs. Golota - The
Polish Fight of The Century
The original "Fight of the
Century" between Joe Frazier and
Muhammad Ali was 38 years ago
this week, but the Polish Fight
of the Century could take place
later this year if one of the
world's richest men has his way.
The fight that many Polish
boxing fans are thirsting for is
a heavyweight showdown between
IBF cruiserweight champ Tomasz
Adamek and the country's
heavyweight bad boy - Andrew
Golota. After his rousing win two
weeks ago over Johnathon Banks,
Adamek hinted that all things are
possible and that an eventual
rise to heavyweight for him was
not out of the question.
Now, one of the richest men in
the world, Poland's Zygmunt
Solorz, who owns (among other
things) the Polish television
network Polstat, is willing to
step up to the plate in order to
make an Adamek-Golota fight a
reality..
On Tuesday, at a press
conference in Warsaw, Adamek's
co-promoter indicated that a
match between the two Poles is
one that the Solorz wants to
bring to fruition. The business
magnate obviously possesses the
monetary resources to put the
fight together and he is of the
opinion that it's a fight that
all of Poland could be proud of.
To
read full article click
here...
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Boxing
Scene - 9th March 2009
By Ryan Songalia
Tomasz
Adamek Enjoying The View From The
Top
When a contender ascends to
champion status, he abdicates his
role as hunter and becomes the
hunted. The champion has what the
men beneath him desire, therefore
holding all of the cards.
It makes life a lot easier
when you don't have to chase
opponents down; but with all of
the offers filing in, which one
do you choose?
This is the situation IBF
cruiserweight champion Tomasz
Adamek finds himself in.
A little more than a week has
passed since he knocked out
previously unbeaten Kronk product
Jonathon Banks in eight rounds.
Since then several matchups have
been discussed, most notably
Bernard Hopkins.
Hopkins expounded on his
intentions this past Friday on
ESPN2's Friday Night Fights,
where he reprised his role as
semi-regular in-studio guest.
"This guy has a straight-forward,
blood and guts type of mentality.
Those are the type of guys I like
to fight, who come in there and
try to knock you and [are]
willing to take that risk. It's
going to be a big test for me and
I'm willing to take that test."
Hopkins said that Adamek makes
the most sense since Joe Calzaghe
is unlikely to return for a
rematch. He said that his target
weight for the challenge would be
between 180 and 185 pounds.
Adamek weighed in at 199 for the
Banks fight.
To
read the full article click
here...
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411Mania
- 5th March 2009
By Patrick Mullin
Why Cunningham vs. Adamek
II NEEDS to Happen
The possibilities for boxing
lie here...
Perhaps no division in boxing
has been as lightly regarded for
its entire history as the
cruiserweight division. Its
inception in the late 1970's was
founded on the belief that
smaller heavyweights ranging from
176 to 190 pounds were at an
unfair disadvantage facing the
heavyweights regularly ranging in
size from 220 to 230 pounds.
While all time great
heavyweights such as Rocky
Marciano and Joe Louis would be
seen in modern terms as
cruiserweights, the fact is that
they were heavyweights, and great
ones, and forever synonymous with
that division. When the
cruiserweight division was
founded, the fighters were seen
as too small to compete with the
heavyweights, and not disciplined
enough to make the light
heavyweight limit. They were
merely being granted a division
of convenience due to their own
physical limitations.
The division has seen changes
over the years as well. While the
current weight limit is 200
pounds, it was initially 190
pounds, and at some times ranged
anywhere from 185 to 195 pounds.
It was also at times officially
referred to(most famously by the
WBA) as the junior heavyweight
division, immediately making them
seem inferior to the men fighting
north of their weight limit.
To
read full article please click
here...
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North
Jersey/Herald News - 1st
March 2009
BY KEITH IDEC
Herald News
Adamek
turns his attention to next bout
NEWARK &emdash; A playful,
smiling Steve Cunningham waved a
Polish flag early Saturday
morning.
The media members that
surrounded him were busy beating
the drums for his anticipated
rematch against Tomasz Adamek.
Philadelphia's Cunningham and
Secaucus' Adamek engaged in one
of the most memorable brawls of
2008 on Dec. 11 at Prudential
Center. Adamek dropped Cunningham
(21-2, 11 KOs) three times en
route to a split-decision win,
but the remarkable back-and-forth
action left fight fans clamoring
for an immediate rematch.
Adamek instead knocked out
previously undefeated contender
Johnathon Banks in the eighth
round of their compelling
cruiserweight championship match
early Saturday at The Rock. Banks
(20-1, 14 KOs) seemed to stun
Adamek (37-1, 25 KOs) with a
right hand of his own only
moments before Adamek drilled
Banks with a right hand that
dropped the Detroit fighter in
his own corner.
To
read the full article please
click here...
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Doghouse
Boxing -1st March 2009
Adamek Stops Banks in the
8th Round in Newark
By Ken Hissner
Poland's Tomasz Adamek
retained his IBF cruiserweight
title Friday night stopping
previously unbeaten Jonathan
Banks at 1:50 of the 8th round at
the Prudential Center, in Newark,
New Jersey before over 5,500 fans
screaming "Polska" and
Adamek".
For the first 5 rounds
Detroit's Banks, 20-1 (14) used
his jab while Adamek, 37-1 (25)
used his right hand trying to
counter Banks over his jab. In
the 6th round Adamek seemed to
even things up rocking
Banks with a left hook to the
head. "Banks started slowing down
after the 4th round," said former
IBF champ Steve Cunningham after
the fight. He was more than a
interested "fan" hoping to fight
the winner.
"This is a bigger crowd then
in December for
Adamek-Cunningham," said Main
Events promoter Kathy Duva. She
was quite pleased as she should
be. Duva and Adamek both evaded
the question "is Cunningham
next?" Adamek can pass it to Duva
but she has final say. Banks is
rated #7 and Cunningham dropped
to #3 behind #2 B.J. Flores with
#1 vacant. Flores couldn't work
out a deal with Duva to fight
Adamek.
To
read full article click
here...
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The
Sweet Science - 28th February
2009
By Michael Woods
Kronk Kayoed: Adamek Stops
Banks
See that photo up there? That
is Tomasz Adamek in action
against Steve Cunningham on Dec.
11, 2008. That scrap took place a
mere 79 days ago, and it was no
snoozer. This was a violent
clash, with both men dishing out
and absorbing countless telling
blows. Both men earned a good six
months off. But Adamek, after the
win, in which he snagged
Cunningham's IBF cruiserweight
title belt, didn't want the down
time. He told promoter Kathy Duva
that he wanted to glove up again,
and soon. So she booked him a
title defense, against Johnathan
Banks at the Prudential Center in
Newark, NJ on Friday evening.
Adamek, who would've been
second-guessed furiously if he'd
come up short against Banks, knew
exactly what he was doing. He
fought at a measured pace, and
dragged young Banks, who'd been
tutored by Manny Steward, into
the deep end, and dunked him. The
end came at 1:30 of the eighth,
after Banks' energy waned; Adamek
scored a knockdown and came in
for the kill, and the TKO win, on
a man who didn't have the
experience under his belt to stay
the course, and keep a stubborn,
strong, seasoned Pole at bay.
To
read full article click
here...
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Boxing
Scene - 28th February 2009
By Jake Donovan
Tomasz Adamek Overcomes,
Cracks The Banks in Eight
Just eleven weeks after
winning in a Fight of the Year
candidate in the Prudential
Center in Newark, NJ, lineal
cruiserweight champion Tomasz
Adamek offered an entry for
Knockout of the Year, stopping
previously unbeaten Johnathon
Banks in eight rounds in the same
arena.
The bout headlined a televised
doubleheader aired live on
Showtime.
Chants of "Ah-dah-mek!" filled
the Prudential Center pretty much
from the moment the co-feature
bout ended, making the arena feel
like Little Warsaw. Banks knew he
was in hostile territory the
moment he received his cue to
make his way toward the ring,
entering to a chorus of boos from
the sold out crowd.
The boos turned to an eruption
of cheers as Adamek was treated
to a hero's welcome the moment
his face was visible. It didn't
die down until the action in the
ring called for a more
appropriate reaction.
It came earlier than expected,
as the bout opened to a slow
start. Banks picked things up
midway through the round, with
consecutive right hands driving
Adamek to the ropes, forcing the
champion to readjust. The
remainder of the round was
relatively quiet, until Adamek
landed a right hand before the
bell, much to the delight of the
partisan crowd.
To
read full article click
here...
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Eastside
Boxing - 28th February 2009
By Paul Strauss:
Showtime came up with the more
exciting night of boxing at the
Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
when both Tomasz Adamek and
Giovanni Lorenzo scored big
knockouts. Neither fighter had an
easy time of it though, as both
were rocked.
Giovanni Lorenzo pulled closer
to a show down with King Arthur
Abraham when he did in Dionisio
Miranda in defense of his IBF
Middleweight Title. He started
cautiously, but looked strong and
solid in the first round. About
two minutes into the second
round, he started to step up the
action, as it was evident Miranda
could not fight backing up.
However, Miranda did manage to
land a good right to the chin of
Lorenzo, which Lorenzo withstood
well. Only a few seconds passed,
and Lorenzo landed his own big
right hand, and down went, he
wasn't getting up. It was a
one-punch knockout at 2:48 of the
2nd round. Now, the question is
can Lorenzo afford to get hit
with one of King Arthur's punches
like he did with Miranda?
To
read full article click
here...
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Boxing
Scene - 24th February 2009
by: Lyle Fitzsimmons
Banks: Cruisers a Step Down
From Klitschko
It sounds a lot like bravado.
But when Johnathon Banks
claims stepping into a ring with
a cruiserweight &endash; like IBF
champion Tomasz Adamek this
weekend, for example &endash; is
"a breath of fresh air," he
insists it's not a slight toward
his fellow world-class
competitors in the 200-pound
weight class.
Rather, it's indicative of how
tough the Detroit native's "day
job" really is.
Banks, who's won 20 straight
fights and scored 14 knockouts in
a pro career that began in 2004,
spends the bulk of his time
between the ropes being hunted by
much larger quarry &endash; as
the lead sparring partner for
consensus world heavyweight
champion Wladimir Klitschko.
"Every day you get in the ring
with him you know he's going to
push you to perform and push you
to get better," Banks said of the
mammoth Klitschko, who stands a
shade above 6-foot-6 and usually
weighs in a few pounds north of
240.
"It's the same as me preparing
for an actual fight. You have to
go in there ready to go or you're
going to get hurt. And by the
time I'm done working with him
I'm in the same or even better
condition than I would be at my
own training camp."
A long-time
protégé of Kronk
guru Emanuel Steward, the
26-year-old Banks first began
working with Klitschko when the
heavyweight was preparing to meet
DaVarryl Williamson back in 2004.
To
read full article in Boxing Scene
click here...
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Bokser..org
&
Boxing
Scene - 20th February 2009
Adamek's Trainer Takes a
Look at The Banks Defense
by Mariusz Serafin/Tomasz S.
Galazka
(bokser.org)
On February 27, Tomasz Adamek
(36-1, 24 KO) will touch gloves
with the undefeated Johnathon
Banks (20-0, 14 KOs) in Newark,
NJ, in his first IBF junior
heavyweight title defense after
the magnificent 12-round war in
December against Steve
Cunningham, when he won the
champion's belt. We speak with
Adamek's trainer Andrzej Gmitruk
about the upcoming fight.
Mariusz Serafin: How are the
preparations for Tomasz's fight
against Banks?
Andrzej Gmitruk: We have
entered the final phase, strong
specialized training. We had to
remodel the training plan
totally, due to the short period
of time elapsed since the
previous fight. We had so little
time, we couldn't reprise certain
elements of preparations the way
we did before the previous fight,
I'm thinking here of speed and
stamina issues mostly. We are now
in a very intense sparring
period, on Monday Tomasz had his
first, ten-round sparring against
three opponents. Yesterday he had
a day off, with only massages and
biological refreshment scheduled.
Today he's in for a minor,
six-round sparring against two
partners, but that's oriented on
a particular issue - the timing,
that is, when to keep distance
and when to attack. In these
technical sparrings we mostly try
to improve the final phase of the
attack, so that there would be no
pauses and as few hits taken as
possible, because we know
Jonathan Banks does pack a punch,
so the defense has to be tight.
To
read the full interview in Boxing
Scene click here...
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Eastside
Boxing - 19th February 2009
Exclusive Interview With
Jonathon Banks - "Adamek's Got To
Realise He's In With A Guy Who
Can Punch"
By James Slater
Unbeaten 26-year-old
cruiserweight contender Jonathon
Banks of Detroit faces Poland's
Tomasz Adamek this coming Feb.
27th. Trained by the legendary
Hall of Famer that is Emanuel
Steward, the 20-0 (14) Banks is
seen by some as the next big star
of the 200-pound division.
Very kindly taking time out to
speak with this writer so close
to the biggest and most important
fight of his career, the
challenger had the following
answers to my questions as we
spoke on the phone earlier today.
James Slater: Thank you for
taking time out to speak with me
so close to the fight. Firstly,
how has training been going?
Jonathon Banks: Oh, training's
been going excellent. I've had no
problems at all..
J.S: Who have you been
sparring with for Adamek?
J.B: A whole variety of guys,
not just one fighter in
particular. Emmanuel Nwodo was
one of them.
To
read full interview on
eastsideboxing.com click
here...
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SaddoBoxing
- 17th February 2009
Boxing
Perspective: History Of The
Cruiserweight Division - The
1980's
By Gianluca (Rio) Di Caro
The cruiserweight division
is 30 years old this year.
Historically the class has failed
to receive the attention it
deserves, seemingly looked upon
by many, fighters and fans alike,
as a stepping stone for boxers
from lighter divisions in their
quest for fame, glory and huge
pay days in the heavyweight class
or a home for those that just
can't cut it up with the 'big
boys'. This perception may have
been true a few years ago, but
these days the cruiserweight
contenders are just that, they
are not wannabe heavyweights or
chubby light heavyweights, they
are cruiserweights by choice.
Over the years the
cruiserweight division has also
suffered with the confusion
caused by it's positioning
between heavyweight and light
heavyweight. One suggestion
floated to rectify this is to
revert to it's original title,
junior heavyweight. Another being
to rebrand it as heavyweight with
the current class carrying that
moniker redefined as, more
appropriately these days, super
heavyweight.
That aside, cruiserweight
contests have been gaining in
popularity recently with the
media and boxing fans alike, many
claiming their preference for
exciting cruiserweight action
over the grossly hyped and oh so
boring heavyweight division. This
newly found popularity has been
attributed by many in the know to
the magnificent Steve 'USS'
Cunningham vs Tomasz 'Goral'
Adamek IBF championship bout
which took place in December 2008
and shown live on network
television by Versus.
Whilst this may be true, If
the television networks had shown
more of the magnificent
cruiserweight battles of the past
the fans would have been hooked
far sooner - Way back in 1986
Holyfield-Qawi, which stands
alongside Cunningham-Adamek as
one of the greatest cruiserweight
fights, if not fights, of all
time, showed the boxing public
just how great this division can
be. It had it all, but still the
class was ignored. Jirov-Toney in
'03 was another magnificent
battle. I could name many more
but they are all covered in
detail later - They didn't and it
was their, and our, loss. We can
only hope that the networks have
learned from their past mistakes
and show more cruiserweight
battles.
OK, enough on that, this
article is about the history of
the cruiserweight division so
without further ado here we go.
To
read full article on SaddoBoxing
click here...
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Fighthype
- 17th February 2009
Johnathon
Banks Steps Up To The
Plate.
By Gianluca (Rio) Di Caro
On the 27th February at the
Prudential Center in Newark New
Jersey, 26 year old Johnathon
Banks from Detroit, Michigan,
will be undertaking the toughest
challenge of his short
professional career when he
battles for the coveted IBF
Cruiserweight World Championship
belt.
Banks' opponent on the night
will be Jersey City's Polish
ex-pat Tomasz "Goral" Adamek who
won the IBF title in December '08
by beating then Champion,
Philadelphia's Steve 'USS'
Cunningham by a close split
decision. The fight had it all,
excitement, drama and three
knockdowns and had been hailed by
the media and fans alike as
"Fight of the Year" contender as
well as the best Cruiserweight
battle of all time.
Banks' meteoric rise to
championship challenger in just
his fifth year as a professional
prizefighter is testament to his
undoubted skill as well as his
determination to succeed at the
sport of boxing even in the face
of adversity
To
read full article on Fight Hype
click here...
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BoxingScene
- 16th February 2009
Crowning And Recognizing A
Lineal Champion &endash; Part
I
By Jake Donovan
Purists suggest that it's the
influx of alphabet organizations
that led to the demise of boxing.
Too many people calling
themselves champion, not enough
clarity or accountability in
those divisions where such
titlists refuse to unify or even
take risks.
It's a fair argument only if
your chief complaint centers on
the difficulty of keeping up with
who is the man to beat in a given
division.
Otherwise, there's no little
to suggest that a few extra belt
holders floating around have
contributed that greatly to the
demise of the sport, at least
from a ratings standpoint.
Unification matches and fights
featuring the best versus the
best take place far more
frequently today than was the
case really at any point during
the 1990's.
Sure, the sanctioning bodies
still make more questionable
decisions than favorable ones,
but there were far more fans 20,
even 15 years ago then the sport
presently claims today.
Nevertheless, some in the
sport decided to do something to
eliminate, or at least reduce,
the confusion that comes of more
than one fighter in each division
calling himself "champion."
The first wave began in the
mid-1990's, during the ring walk
for the HBO-televised rematch
between James Toney and Montell
Griffin. Toney entered the ring
while a member of his entourage
hoisted an alphabet title in the
air. It wasn't a major title, but
was still sold as a "world
championship," prompting color
commentator Larry Merchant to
declare that it was time to
simply pick a single fighter in
each division to serve as THE
champion, with all others to be
deemed "titlists."
To
read full article including the
cruiserweight section please
click here...
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RingLeaderFightNews
- 13th February 2009
Steve "USS" Cunningham,
Once and Future Cruiserweight
World Champion
By Dan Hernandez
Steven Ormain Cunningham, born
on July 15, 1976 in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania is an American
professional boxer, sporting a
career record of 23-2-0, with
eleven of those victories coming
by way of knockout. Having
challenged Kryzsztof Wlodarczyk,
41-2 (31 KO's), for the vacant
IBF Cruiserweight title on
November 26, 2006 and losing via
a controversial split decision in
the hometown of the champion,
Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.
Because of the furor over the
decision, Steve seized the
opportunity and the title in a
rematch, winning decisively in
2007.
After defending his crown by
knocking out, previously
undefeated, Marco Huck, 24-1
(19KO's), "USS", Steve's nickname
acquired from his stint in the
U.S. Navy from 1994 through 1998,
and serving aboard the aircraft
carriers, USS America and USS
Enterprise, lost his championship
and the chance to obtain the
vacant Ring Magazine
Cruiserweight Championship, by
split decision to Tomasz Adamek,
36-1 (24 KO's). Although knocked
down in the second, fourth, and
eighth rounds, USS felt the
decision should have been in his
favor and is clamoring for a
rematch.
To
read full article and interview
with Steve 'USS' Cunningham click
here...
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FightNews
- 13th February 2009
Q&A: Emanuel
Steward
By Matt Richardson
Boxing will return to the
Mecca, Madison Square Garden on
Monday night, March 16th, the
night before Saint Patrick's Day
to feature a bevy of Irish and
Irish American boxers, it was
announced at a press conference
on Wednesday in New York City.
Former WBC bantamweight
title-holder Wayne McCullough is
scheduled to fight on the card
against an opponent to be
determined. McCullough (27-7, 18
KO's) hasn't won a fight since
2004 and is determined to get
back on the winning track. A
similar story line will take
place in the main event as
middleweight prospect Andy Lee
(16-1, 13 KO's) will attempt to
further distance himself from an
upset loss last year to Brian
Vera when he takes on multiple
title challenger Antwun Echols.
Echols, though, also hasn't won a
fight in five years and is just
0-4-3 in his last seven fights.
Fightnews had a chance to catch
up at the press conference with
Lee's trainer, Hall of Famer
Emanuel Steward, to discuss the
fight, Echols' presumably small
chance of an upset, Steward's
other fighters and much more.
Read on to see what Steward had
to say.
To
read the interview click
here...
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GoFightLive
-12th February 2009
Fransisco Palacios: Ready
to take over the Cruiserweight
division
February 12th, 2009
by GFL
In the past few months one of
boxing's most forgotten divisions
has recently received a shot in
the arm with great events and
exposure in a reality television
show. But not all of the top
fighters in the cruiserweight
division have received that
glimmer of exposure that fights
such as the recent Tomasz
Adamek-Steve Cunningham battle or
the type of publicity The
Contender has provided for
fighters.
This Saturday night in
Sunrise, Florida, Don King (along
with a handful of other
promoters) will stage a marathon
thirteen bout card and one of the
fights that will not make the
American broadcast features one
of those little known yet
talented Cruiserweights.
To
read full article please click
here...
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Doghouse
Boxing - 12th February 2009
Why is Steve "USS"
Cunningham being ignored?
By Ken Hissner
Former IBF cruiserweight
champion Steve "USS" Cunningham
21-2 (11), of Philadelphia is
going through what Kelly Pavlik
went through prior to his fight
with Jermain Taylor by trying to
get a title bout. Pavlik beat the
top contender Edison Miranda and
still couldn't get into the IBF
or WBA ratings.
Cunningham is not in the WBC
ratings. He won the IBF title in
a rematch over Krzysztof
Wlodarczyk of Poland to gain the
IBF title. This is the same
Wlodarczyk who is the #1
contender in the WBC. In a title
defense Cunningham stopped now
European champion Marco Huck of
Germany who is #6 in the WBC.
Cunningham cannot even get into
their top 40. He is negotiating
to fight former WBC champion
Wayne Braithwaite of Guyana who
is #7 in the WBC.
The same goes for the WBO
ratings. Former WBO champ and now
#3 Enzo Maccarinelli refuses to
fight Cunningham. #10 is Huck who
Cunningham stopped and yet, no
place in the ratings for
Cunningham in their top 15. Huck
is also #6 in the WBA ratings
while Cunningham is at #9.
Cunningham has a win over their
current champion Guillermo Jones
back in 2005 which was the last
time Jones was beaten. Both Jones
and Cunningham are promoted by
Don King so why doesn't he make a
rematch happen?
To
read full article click
here..
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Queensberry-Rules
- 9th February 2009
In The Interest Of
Establishing Real Boxing
Champions, A List In The Interest
Of Establishing Real Boxing
Champions, A List
Joe Calzaghe's retirement
should bring his relinquishing of
the Ring magazine title belt at
light heavyweight, with the Ring
belt being the one title that
matters most because it traces
its lineage back to the days when
there was only one champion in
each division.*
Unfortunately, it'll be one
more vacancy in a list of many:
Of the 17 divisions, only six
will have authentic champions.
Since the vacancies can only
be filled by a meeting between
the #1 and #2 ranked fighters in
each division, and occasionally
between the #1 and #3 ranked
fighters if the Ring board votes
to put the belt up in those
circumstances, boxers need to
start filling those openings.
Remember: It's free of charge,
because unlike all the other
sanctioning organizations and
their various fees, winning the
Ring belt doesn't cost anyone a
penny.
To
read full article click
here...
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Sweet
Science - 22nd January 2009
Bryan's boxing wish
list
It was announced recently that
the fight between Manny Pacquiao
and Ricky Hatton has been
finalized and will go down May 2
in Las Vegas, Nev. After jumping
for joy, slapping high fives to a
few people (one person, actually,
and she didn't know why), I
decided to write about a few
other fights I feel need to get
done in 2009. I may have left off
a few, but I didn't want this to
be longer than it already is
(sorry to the people I'm forcing
to read this). Let me know what
fights you would like to see in
2009.
To
read full article click
here...
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8
Count News - 20th January
2009
By Dennis Guillermo
Straight From D Source:
If you didn't see his fight
against Steve Cunningham last
December, then you definitely
missed out on what a lot of
boxing fans have called 2008's
fight of the year. Thomasz Adamek
overcame Cunningham's superior
craft with his heavy hands en
route to a thrilling split
decision victory. The fight was
telecast on the VS channel, but
the last time I checked there's
videos of the entire fight posted
on Youtube. Adamek is the first
Polish boxing world champion and
is revered in his homeland. He
recently moved to America so he
can fight the biggest names in
the sport. Adamek is set to fight
again on February 27 to be shown
on VS. I caught up with Thomasz
and his manager/ interpreter
Ziggy Rozalski for an interview.
We talked about his most recent
fight against Cunningham and his
future plans.
To
read full interview click
here...
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Queensberry-Rules
- 16th January 2009
By Tim Starks
Quick Jabs, Round And
Round: Boxing's Game Of Musical
Chairs Continues; Location,
Location, Location; More
Above are the two prospects
who tonight will kick off the
season debut of Showtime's
Shobox, the network's show
oriented toward putting
youngsters in against the
toughest opponents of their
careers. On the right is Leonilo
Miranda; on the left is Orlando
Cruz. Both weighed in at 127
pounds. Both are undefeated
against questionable opposition,
but Miranda's record is
particularly gaudy at 23 of 24
wins via knockout. I'm interested
to find out if he's for real --
writers I respect have heard he
is. Also on the card is the pro
debut of 2008 U.S. Olympian Gary
Russell, Jr., who's less
experienced than your usual
Shobox fighter, and whose
opponent is presumably
roadkill-in-waiting. He weighed
in at 127 pounds, too. There's
very little value in televising a
fighter's pro debut, if you ask
me, and the novelty of seeing
some of the Olympians in action
has worn off, at least until they
step up the competition a little.
There's also a third bout.
To
read full article including Tim's
comments on Adamek -Banks click
here...
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Ringside
Report - 14th January 2009
By Daniel "Tex" Cohen
A Look at the Best Pure
Boxers in the Fight Game
Floyd Mayweather is the best
pure boxer on the planet. The
biggest vacuum created by the
Mayweather departure was not in
the category of boxing stars or
even in the welterweight ranks.
What can be truly missed about
Mayweather was his ability to
emulate those great fighters of
yesteryear, the boxers that truly
made the sweet science into the
sport of Daniel Mendoza. Sugar
Ray Robinson and Willie Pep may
have better resumes than
Mayweather, but he carried their
styles and their heritage more
capably and strongly than any
other fighter alive before the
Pound for Pound King retired.
If you don't believe that,
make a list of the best pure
fighters on the planet. See if
you don't find Ivan Calderon at
the top of that list. Then, tell
me with a straight face that Ivan
Calderon is not one of boxing's
greatest pure boxers.
If you are still smiling,
you're either pathological or you
have never heard of Ivan
Calderon.
With absolutely no knowledge
of who you put on your list, RSR
presents the top ten pure boxers
in today's fight game.
To
read the full article including
Steve 'USS' Cunningham's
inclusion on the list click
here...
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Philly
Keith - 11th January 2009
By Philly Keith
2008 Philly Fights of the
Year
Philly boxing 2008... overall
it was another good year but in
the same breath it has to
mentioned that there was a
significant drop off in the
amount of action as only 17
professionally sanctioned cards
happened in this year. Most
nights were solid though we did
have a few duds and also a few
memorable barn burners. Through
my eyes, there was no clear cut
fight of the year winner in 2008
so I will not designate one
particular match. Instead, I will
highlight some of the best
performances of the year. As
always, it is open to discussion,
feel free to comment if you
agree, disagree, omissions etc.
At some point in 2009,
www.phillyboxinghistory.com will
give out the Briscoe Awards which
will recognize one fight as the
best of '08. Visit the site and
cast a vote there if you wish.
Without further ado, I give
you the Philly Keith Sports 2008
nominees for Fight of the Year!
To
read full article including
nomination of Cunningham-Adamek
click here...
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Max
Boxing - 9th January 2009
By Brett Conway
I Remember 2008
I remember boxing in 2008, but
my memory runs backwards.
I remember December 11 when in
New Jersey cruiserweights Tomasz
Adamek and Steve Cunningham
showed the heavyweights how
titles should be fought and how
champions should be crowned when
they went at it for twelve
hard-fought rounds with Adamek
winning a unanimous decision.
This fight deserves a rematch.
I remember Canadian via Haiti
Jean Pascal flying over to
Nottingham, England, and showing
that although he may do an
imitation of Roy Jones's style in
the ring, he has a big heart as
he slugged it out with undefeated
Carl Froch for twelve rounds for
one of the 168-pound straps.
Froch came out on top, becoming
one of many contenders for the
title vacated by Joe Calzaghe. He
now joins the ranks of Mikkel
Kessler, Librado Andrade, Lucian
Bute, Bernard Hopkins (maybe),
Jermain Taylor, and Andre Dirrell
as a contender. Like the
welterweights, this division has
some depth and some great
potential match ups.
To
read the full article click
here...
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411
Mania - 7th January 2009
By Ramon Aranda
If I had a wish list for
the next twelve months, this
would be it. But is it yours as
well? Let's find out.
I'm sure we've all begun to
put together New Year's
resolutions and wish lists for
2009, but after mulling over some
upcoming fights, I had the idea
that I'd put together a wish list
of fights that I'd like to see
happen this year. Of course I've
omitted any fights that have
already been officially signed
and may include those that may
very well be in the final stages
of getting inked, but have not
yet been.
Some of you may agree with the
list and some of you may not.
Perhaps you have your own fights
that you'd like to see that I
didn't list or think that one of
these following bouts doesn't
mean a whole lot to you. Either
way, I'd love to hear what you
have to say.
Now let's get rolling!
To
read the full article including
his selection of Cunningham vs
Adamek click here...
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Ringside
Report - 6th January 2009
By Eileen Teran
The Best Fight You Never
Saw: Steve "USS" Cunningham Vs
Tomasz Adamek
While the boxing world's
attention was caught up in the
spectacle that was the Oscar De
La Hoya &endash; Manny Pacquiao
debacle, five days later, a
fantastic fight was fought in
Newark, New Jersey, of all
places, and it did boxing fans
proud. Too bad most of us missed
it. It might have gone a long way
in nursing our De La Hoya
hangovers.
The rugged Philadelphia
native, named Steve "USS"
Cunningham, 21-1, 11 KO's, was
the IBF Cruiserweight Champion
who faced the tough- as- nails
Polish native, Tomasz Adamek,
35-1, 24 KO's. This scrap turned
out to be right up there in Fight
of the Year contenders, in a year
with some top notch fights.
Adamek, who now lives not too
far from Newark, in Jersey City,
New Jersey, is known in the
boxing world as a good,
hardworking family man. He was
pleased that his wife and child
recently moved to New Jersey,
reuniting his family. He had a
huge crowd on hand with him this
night, a sea of red and white,
giving the air of a European city
rather than a rejuvenating
American city. These
knowledgeable Polish fight fans
rocked the one year old venue,
the Prudential Center, cheering
loud and long for their man.
To
read the full article click
here...
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Philaboxing
Report - 6th January 2009
By Michael Cassell
PHILLY'S TOP 10 PHILLY
FIGHTERS
#1 Steve Cunningham 21 - 2 -
(11 KO's) Cruiserweight
This man has made a living
traveling the world and winning
is hostile territory. He was
Philadelphia's only champion for
awhile there until his
spectacular battle with Tomasz
Adamek, who's only loss, came to
Chad Dawson. Cunningham was a
quiet Champion, but now the beast
inside will be released. Expect a
rematch, and expect a win.
To
read the full list of
Philadelphia's top 10 fighters
click here...
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TheSweetScience - 6th January
2009
by Ron Borges
Borges' 2009 Wish List
Boxing officially begins the
New Year this week and while the
sport continues to have its
problems there remains much to be
hopeful about.
Frankly, the biggest hope may
be the faintest. It is that some
heavyweight finally emerges from
the dark cloud that has enveloped
the division for so long and
finally captures the imagination
of the public. It has been so
long since Mike Tyson, Evander
Holyfield, Riddick Bowe and, to a
lesser extent, Lennox Lewis
thrilled fight fans that one
begins to wonder if the
heavyweight division still
exists.
This is not simply because all
the reigning title holders are
European (the Brothers Klitschko
and Nikolay Valuev) although in a
country as parochial as the
United States that doesn't help.
It is rather that which ever one
you're watching at any given
moment convinces you he's worse
than the guy you saw before him,
who you were quite sure had to be
the worse guy in the division.
This is not a good thing for
boxing.
To
read Ron Borges' complete wish
list including a rematch of
Cunningham vs Adamek click
here...
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FrankWarren.tv
- 5th January 2009
By Tim Smith
A USA Look At 2008
Looking back at 2008 it was a
busy year in boxing and there
were quite a few surprises.
I thought Bernard Hopkins was
dead after he got so easily
handled in a brilliant
performance by Joe Calzaghe.
But like those vampires in
those old movies, Hopkins rose up
from his coffin and took a bite
out of Kelly Pavlik, whom I was
growing to believe was the cream
of the American boxing crop.
I'm only going to hand out a
few 2008 awards and then try to
present a look forward into 2009.
Here goes:
For
full article including Cunningham
vs Adamek as FOTY click
here...
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Ringside
Report - 4th January 2009
By Daniel "Tex" Cohen
Pound for Pound Nationalism
Style: The United States
America has always been the
land of modern Boxing. With names
like Jack Johnson, Sugar Ray
Robinson and Muhammad Ali, there
is a good case that America has
more historical pound for pound
status than any other country in
the world. When Joe Louis knocked
out Max Schmeling, he broke home
to America one of the greatest
victories of the early twentieth
century (and that doesn't just
include Boxing).
America is the land of the
free and the home of the brave if
you believe the national anthem.
In the United States, the elite
fighters are sometimes treated to
training conditions that better
condition the fighter. A decent
shower and a real bed can do
wonders for the soul and the
psyche.
On the other hand, growing up
in less than stellar conditions
can make and keep a man hungry
for victory and yearning in his
efforts to reach the top levels
of his profession. Deprive him
his bread and he will fight for
it. In this way, America might
take the speed out of some
fighters. Nevertheless, some
Americans still have plenty of
stamina and hunger; Many fighters
come out of the rough
neighborhoods of the Northeast,
the West Coast and Middle
America. Youngstown, Ohio, is
known for prize fighters and the
town fell apart with the collapse
of the steel industry.
This beckons the question:
What helps a man rise to the top?
Does discomfort destroy riches?
America is the perfect
battleground between these two
metaphorical warriors. Don't
tread on RSR's official American
Pound for Pound List:
To
read the full article including
P4P listing click here...
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Boston
Herald - 4th January 2009
By George Kimball
Pac-Man- Manny Pacquiao,
Freddie Roach to get their
due
The ballots haven't even gone
out yet, but two of the year's
major boxing awards appear to be
foregone conclusions. Manny
Pacquiao, who capped a year in
which he won three significant
fights at three different weights
with a one-sided evisceration of
Oscar De La Hoya four weeks ago,
looms the hands-down winner as
2008's Fighter of the Year, while
Dedham's Freddie Roach is such an
obvious choice to win his third
Trainer of the Year Award that
the only real question is whether
the vote will be unanimous.
Pacquiao and Roach will be in
New York to collect their
hardware at the Boxing Writers
Association of America dinner on
April 27, and while the events of
Dec. 6 represented their crowning
achievement of the year just
passed, Pacquiao-De La Hoya
turned out to be such a mismatch
that it won't get much support
for Fight of the Year. Rather,
the balloting will come down the
March war between Israel Vasquez
and Rafael Marquez and the
Dec. 11 Tomasz Adamek-Steve
Cunningham fight in Newark,
N.J. The latter battle saw
Cunningham lose on a narrow split
decision despite going down three
times. Our choice would be the
latter, but the fact that it was
waged in relative obscurity (on
Versus) and before a relatively
small segment of the electorate
may hurt its chances.
To
read complete article click
here...
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Boxing
Scene - 2nd January 2009
By Cliff Rold
A Solid Finish -
BoxingScene's Month in Review
While far from the busiest
month on the 2008 calendar,
December produced the richest
fight of the year (Pacquiao-De La
Hoya) along with three
spectacular wars. On December
11th, an old-school Don King card
broke out with the best fights of
the year in both the
Cruiserweight and Bantamweight
divisions. On the same day as the
described mega-show, Carl Froch
and Jean Pascal tore into each
other to produce the best Super
Middleweight battle of the year.
Add in an appearance by leading
Heavyweight Wladimir Klitschko
and a noisy controversy at the
end of Nicolay Valuev-Evander
Holyfield, and December provided
a fitting end to a second
consecutive solid year for
fistiana.
This is the month in review.
For
more click here...
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BoxingScene
- 2nd January 2009
By Cliff Rold
BoxingScene.com's 2008
Year-End Awards Part II
Yesterday, BoxingScene
recognized some of the best in
Boxing 2008. We saved the best
for last. Without further ado,
staff voting for Fighter, Fight
and Round of the Year is
revealed.
Fighter of the Year: Manny
Pacquiao
Perhaps Boxing's most
thrilling elite fighter, the
current pound-for-pound king
Pacquiao was the clear choice for
fighter of the year in 2006 when
he stopped Erik Morales twice and
punished former titlist Oscar
Larios in between. 2006 has been
topped. A unanimous staff choice,
no fighter had a bigger year in
2008 than the Filipino icon.
Factor in Pacquiao's in, and out
of, ring impacts and no one else
comes close.
For
more click here...
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Pound4Pound.com
- 1st January 2009
By Tim Donaldson
Q & A with Steve "USS"
Cunningham
On December 11, I was
fortunate enough to be witness to
one of the great fights in the
history of boxing. The fight
between Steve "USS" Cunningham
and Tomasz "Goral" Adamek
resulted in a split decision with
Adamek holding the IBF
Cruiserweight Title. I recently
had the privilege to speak to
Steve Cunningham and get his
thoughts on the fight and find
out why he believes that there
should be a rematch.
P4P: How does it make you feel
that so many people all around
the world are calling for a
rematch?
Steve: It makes me feel much
better than most the other
fights. We've been fighting all
over the world, and the American
fan base has finally got a chance
to see us, and to see what type
of fighter I am. We're able to do
everything, box, go toe to toe,
show heart, show some discipline.
I'm very happy to be able to get
another chance to be champion
again.
To
read more...
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espn.com
- 1st January 2009
A wish list
for '09
by Dan Rafael
The new year is upon us, so
here are some of the things I'd
like to see in boxing in 2009:
¥ For the Ricky Hatton-Manny
Pacquiao fight to be signed,
sealed and delivered as quickly
as possible so nothing messes it
up.
¥ For Floyd Mayweather Jr. to
end his farce of a retirement and
fight the winner of
Hatton-Pacquiao -- preferably
Pacquiao, since we've already
seen Mayweather knock out Hatton.
¥ For Juan Manuel Marquez and
Juan Diaz, a lightweight
championship fight that lives up
to its considerable potential.
¥ For Oscar De La Hoya, if he
elects to fight again, to not
make excuses about his weight or
training camp as a reason he was
annihilated by Pacquiao.
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