Imagine you are Antonio Margarito. Your impressive July beat down of Miguel Cotto was a rousing success both in pulling pay-per-view buys and in garnering media attention. Casual sports fans have started recognizing your name and maybe even your face.

The sky is the limit. Right? Well, not so much. There are so few people out there for you to fight for your deserved huge payday. Shane Mosley? Yawn, that guy never caught the public’s eye. Paul Williams? Nobody knows him and maybe he’s a little too dangerous. Zab Judah? I’d have a good time at least. Ricky Hatton? Um, maybe? Manny Pacquiao? Not for a while, but maybe. Floyd Mayweather, Jr.? He ain’t coming out of retirement for me. He’s scared of the Tijuana Tornado.

No, the guy I really want is Oscar De La Hoya and he says he’s done on December 6th. You then continue your daily morning routine, open your computer and check your boxing RSS feeds. Lo and behold there’s a new article from Dan Rafael about the Golden Boy.

Its headline is intriguing enough, “De La Hoya shies away from retirement talk.” You start to get really excited. Does he want to fight me? Please Oscar, please. I could retire after the money made from that fight. You scan down the page. Still no mention. But wait. Here it is:

“My dream is to fight at Estadio Azteca,” De La Hoya said at the news conference. “I want a big farewell fight to leave a lasting impression all over the world with a huge event…fighting there would be a dream come true, and that’s why I don’t rule out the possibility of having another fight next year.”

“Oh my heavens,” your inner Antonio must be thinking, “he must be talking about me! Who else would he fight at the Azteca? It ain’t gonna be Sergio Mora or Ricky Hatton I guarantee you that! I need to start training right now. It doesn’t matter if he wins or loses to Manny; everyone in Mexico will want to see that fight. I’ll be avenging my hero Julio Cesar Chavez. I can’t wait.”

Neither can we Antonio, neither can we.

Post from: EveryJoe

De La Hoya Not Set on Retirement; Magarito Ecstatic

Image details: The Contender Challenge – UK v USA served by picapp.com

The boxing reality show The Contender has found a new home, a new weight class, and its most impressive roster of fighters yet. After one season on NBC, and two on ESPN, the showcase for up-and-coming fighters will now be shown on the Versus Network. Let’s hope it does better than their famously low-rated NHL coverage. The new season will begin in December.

In the past few months Versus has intermittently put its toes in the boxing waters; its most notable event being May’s Ricky Hatton vs. Juan Lazcano bout. The Contender solidifies the fledgling network’s dedication to the sweet science.

This year’s Contender crop will feature cruiserweights (200 lb.) rather than previous years’ middleweight contestants.

The result of frequent Contender title shots (Sergio Mora, Peter Manfredo Jr., Steve Forbes) means an even better set of fighters this time around. Among them are boxrec.com’s #8, #9 and #10 ranked cruisers (!) Vadim Tokarev, B.J. Flores, and (!) O’Neill Bell (last seen sleepwalking in Katowice against Tomasz Adamek) respectively.

We will be profiling all 12 Season Four Contenders in the near future. Until then, we here at www.jabandgrapple.com are very excited that The Contender has returned and even more excited at the terrific lineup of fighters.

Post from: EveryJoe

The Contender Now on the Versus Network, Will Debut in December

Image details: Juan Manuel Lopez v Juan Brea served by picapp.com

If you stayed with the end of Showtime’s Sergio Mora victory over Vernon Forrest then you probably missed HBO’s opening bout. Heck, if you blinked you might have missed Juan Manual Lopez’ declarative first round TKO and WBO super bantamweight-grabbing win over Daniel Ponce de Leon.

The 24-year-old Puerto Rican destroyed the 27-year-old Mexican first dropping him with a straight left halfway through round one. Ponce de Leon got up but was out on feet an Lopez pounced. He stalked Ponce de Leon around the ring finally cornering him at the 50 second mark. At this point he wailed hook after hook flattening his opponent again. The Mexican was unable to gather and the ref mercifully stepped in and ended the beating.

HBO announcer Max Kellerman asserted that “a star is born.” It’s hard to argue with that statement especially after Lopez’ confident and personality-filled post-match interview. Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez now have an exciting prospective Puerto Rican dancing partner. Kellerman asked him if he’s ready for those two luminaries to which Lopez smilingly responded, “If the fight today didn’t demonstrate it, then what do I have to do?”

Post from: EveryJoe

Juan Manuel Lopez Wins With An Assertive First Round KO

One after the next The Contenders have come and gone. Unimpressive, overhyped and out of their league. Until tonight. In a startling but well-deserved victory Sergio Mora outworked Ring Magazine’s #1 junior middleweight and WBC super welterweight champ Vernon Forrest to earn a majority decision win.

Few gave Mora a chance. Conventional wisdom said he was a club fighter who got a chance against the two-time Shane Mosley slayer not because of skill but because of his marketability. For the first three rounds this standard line of thinking seemed accurate. But in the fourth Mora landed some punches, found his groove, caught some momentum, gained some confidence, and slowly began to assert his dominance.

Mora’s and the fight’s signature round came in a wild action-filled ninth when Sergio cornered Forrest and landed a barrage of punches. The last one minute of this round was Mora’s emphatic announcement to the boxing world: “I am here and I am the better boxer tonight!”

The fight was not only expectedly close but also a surprisingly entertaining brawl that garnered a fair amount of drama. Both fighters risked point deductions with dirty techniques – Forrest with low blows and Mora with rabbit punches – but the judge fairly let them go.

This fight was the real life Rocky story that The Contender producers always dreamed the reality show could produce. After the fight Mora candidly admitted, “If The Contender had another loser they weren’t going to give us another chance.”He fought as if this fight was his last opportunity and he won over the Mohegan Sun fans who chanted his name as well as boxing fans watching at home.

No one enjoyed this fight more than Paul Williams. Not only did he score a first round knockout in Showtime’s first fight but his February loss to Carlos Quintana is no longer the front runner for upset of the year. That would be Mora’s victory tonight.

Photo Source: Newscom.com

Post from: EveryJoe

Contender Champ Defeats Vernon Forrest

After his unexpected loss Williams immediately exercised his rematch clause setting up this Saturday’s Mohegan Sun Showtime Boxing fight, the undercard bout to the less intriguing Vernon Forrest vs. Sergio Mora scrap. Quintana comes into the fight 25-1-0 with his only blemish administered by Miguel Cotto. He is Ring Magazine’s #3 ranked welterweight. Williams is 33-1 and Ring’s #4.

Paul Williams remains the Las Vegas favorite for this fight, only his winning odds have been lowered to 5 to 2. It’s not just Vegas that still has faith in Williams. Everlast Boxing recently signed Williams to a long-term deal to exclusively wear their footwear, apparel, and professional fight gloves. A lot of people want to believe February was an aberration and that after his first loss Williams will get serious again and stop believing his own hype.

I’ll admit, it’s hard not to like and root for Williams. His freakish welterweight height combined with his punch frequency make him terrific viewing and give him an aura of scary unstoppability. His narrow cleanly cropped mohawk during the Quintana fight made him appear to be from another planet. In contrast Carlos was steady, workmanlike, and smart with little of Paul’s flair. Will he be able to solve Williams’ extraterrestial powers again?

Despite the Vegas odds, most boxing pundits seem to think so. In their respective fight previews both SC from Bad Left Hook and the Fight Writer Graham Houston think Quintana will prevail. They use the same “styles make fights” logic and believe that the smaller man has the ex-champ’s number. Tim from Ring Report also sides with Quintana believing that Williams’ drastic weight loss has taken a toll on his unnaturally gawky frame.

I’m going for Paul Williams because he’s far more interesting and because I want him to win. Simple as that. If you want detailed analysis and logical reasoning click on the above links because you’re not going to get it here. I’m siding with pop psychology. I think Williams pride was severely stung by the February loss when he took Quintana lightly. He’s going to roar back, prove his physical dominance, and avenge his loss. Maybe even after the win he’ll finally get his shot at Mosley, Mayweather, and Cotto.

Photo Source: Newscom.com

Post from: EveryJoe

Williams vs. Quintana II: Still Very Intriguing