Ringside

Fresh from his comprehensive dismantling of now disgraced Antonio Margarito in January, Sugar Shane Mosley has now turned his attention to the winner of the May super fight between Ricky Hatton and Manny Pacquiao.

Following this clash, Mosley has his sights set on a rematch with Miguel Cotto, whom he lost a unanimous decision to in 2007.

Whether Hatton would again look to mount a challenge on the Welterweight division is unclear and it is highly unlikely that Mosley would venture down to Light Welter, which would be his lowest weight in ten years, since defeating John Brown in an IBF Lightweight title fight in 1999.

Pacquiao however, will still be buoyed by his victory over Oscar De La Hoy at 147lbs and may well fancy the clash with Mosley.

Sugar Shane has become a hot property in boxing once again and even the aforementioned De La Hoya has expressed an interest in fighting the WBA Welterweight champion.

De La Hoya, widely expected to retire after his brutal defeat to Manny Pacquiao has said he would be game for completing the trilogy against Sugar, and attempting to avenge his two controversial losses in 2000 and 2003. The former, being De La Hoya’s first professional defeat.

I’ll keep you posted!

Should Manny Pacquiao defeat Ricky Hatton when they meet in Las Vegas May 2nd, he will become the number 1 contender for WBC Light Welterweight crown, according to WBC president Jose Sulaiman.

Sulaiman stated

“Let me tell you if he beats Ricky Hatton, he will be number one and official challenger of the WBC for the title of the super-lightweight division.”

“I think Ricky Hatton is a great fighter. He can beat anybody of his weight. But I believe the same thing about Manny Pacquiao. Manny is a great fighter, and he can defeat boxers of different divisions. As simple as that! He’s a type of Henry Armstrong!”

Any comparison to Henry Armstrong is high praise indeed and this will be an added incentive to Pacman to continue his assault on multiple weight divisions.

Hatton, unbeaten at Light Welterweight, is only currently ranked at number 3 by the WBC, who rank Junior Witter at 2, with Timothy Bradley current champion, the man who defeated Witter for the title last year.

I’ll keep you posted! 

In a somewhat farcical turn of events, former Olympic Super Heavyweight champion Audley Harrison has challenged fellow Brit David Haye to try and send him into retirement once and for all.  

Harrison had asked to be on the Ryan Rhodes undercard, a Hayemaker Promotions event in Liverpool on March 28^th, but was snubbed. Following this rebuke, he is now chasing Haye himself.  Harrison, who is coming off a shock defeat to Northern Ireland cab driver Martin Rogan, was once considered a potential world champion, but a string of poor performance and defeats has left his career in ruins. 

David Haye meanwhile, is currently on a high after unifying belts at Cruiserweight and has been in talks with both Klitschko brothers over possible bouts. Discussions have appeared to stall in recent weeks, but the box office draw of Haye will surely mean a big fight is just around the corner. What we can be sure about, is that a fight with Harrison is unlikely to materialise given Haye’s current ambitions. 

Harrison should be concentrating on trying to secure another fight for domestic honours, which might give him some chance of success, but challenging on the world scene appears to be a distant memory for the former Olympic champion. 

I’ll keep you posted!

Newly crowned WBO Welterweight champion Miguel Cotto may face IBF champ Joshua Clottey in his next bout, rumoured to be on June 13th, the eve of the Puerto Rican Day Parade.

Clottey would pose a real challenge for Cotto, as he is tough and durable and has a solid chin. In his last bout he dominated Zab Judah until a cut stopped the fight and is an underrated a dangerous opponent.

Clottey has not really been given the credit his good boxing skills deserve and manages to combine durability with solid body punching and a decent jab.

Cotto had been lined up to face Antonio Margarito, but after ihs hand wrapping scandal that fight looks to be on hold at the very least and we may be lucky to ever see the eagerly anticipated rematch.

Cotto didn’t show enough against Jennings to prove he has recovered fully from the battering he suffered at the hands of Margarito, but easily did enough to dominate the British fighter. However, a bout against Clottey would be a much more demanding and physical clash than last Saturdays encounter.

This promises to be an intriguing match up, but the possibility of Cotto facing the winner of Pacquiao v Hatton should not be underestimated, particularly if it is the Bob Arum promoted Pacquiao who emerges victorious.

I’ll keep you posted!

Following his routine victory over Britain’s Michael Jennings, WBO Welterweight champion Miguel Cotto is seeking a match up with the winner of Manny Pacquiao v Ricky Hatton.

Despite neither fighter being a natural Welterweight Cotto is going to actively pursue the victor following the May 2nd bout in Las Vegas.

Indeed, a potential match up with Pacquiao would be quite a coup for Top Rank and Bob Arum who promote both fighters and would be another opportunity to get one over rival promoters Golden Boy.

Cotto hasn’t fought at Light Welterweight since his 2006 unanimous decision victory over Paulie Malignaggi, so a move down in weight may be out of the question.

One interesting point to consider is that Hatton managed to stop Malignaggi, who was pulled by his corner for fear of injury, something Cotto was unable to do two years before.

Cotto’s victory over Jenning’s did not really show us much of his undoubted skills, but it was a victory and the first fight after a defeat, particularly a first professional defeat is always the most important. Just ask Ricky Hatton that, after his tough unanimous decision win over Juan Lazcano following that defeat to Floyd Mayweather Jr.

I’ll keep you posted!

Miguel Cotto and Kelly Pavlik both made winning returns to the ring last night, in a double headline event for Top Rank Promotions.

Cotto easily overcame British fighter Michael Jennings at Madison Square Garden with a fifth round TKO. Whilst the plucky Brit was in no way disgraced, the gulf in class was evident from the first bell and the bout was stopped in the fifth after Jennings had to pick himself up from the canvas for the third time in the round.

Cotto looked big and strong but never reached the heights of the first six rounds against Margarito, and will need to step up his performances in the future when he faces real, world class opposition.

No disrespect to Jennings, he was not overawed by the Puerto Rican, who was a heavy favourite coming into the fight, but perhaps he over reached himself on the world stage, against a top class fighter, even if not a top class performance.

Meanwhile, over in Youngstown, Ohio hometown favourite Kelly Pavlik made a successful, if not spectacular return in breaking down Marco Antonio Rubio in nine rounds to retain his WBC and WBO straps.

As with Cotto to a degree this was not a particularly impressive return as Pavlik looked one dimensional at times and relied heavily on that big right hand.

Pavlik too will have to step up his game for future fights, but both fighters will be relatively content with their returns to the ring after what could have been career defining defeats to Bernard Hopkins and Antonio Margarito.

I’ll keep you posted!

Following his one sided stoppage loss to Ricky Hatton in November, Paulie Malignaggi has declared that he is now just after a payday and has fallen out of love with the sport.

Hatton’s resurgent win against the Brooklyn fighter seems to have taken away his spirit and left him somewhat demoralised.

Indeed, Malignaggi has said it took a lot of soul searching to continue fighting but has made it clear that it is now just a job and he is looking for the next payday, whereas previously he was looking to challenge the best.

Whilst Hatton has moved on to face pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao, Malignaggi could be left as a journeyman fighter who plods along to his next payday.

This would be a sad end for a skillful fighter, who was out-muscled and out-classed by a rejuvenated Hatton, in which there is no shame.

Hatton gave his best performance for years and the coaching of Floyd Mayweather Snr really told in the British fighter’s performance.

Hopefully Malignaggi can regain that spark and love for the sweet science which could make him challenge for honours once again.

I’ll keep you posted!

WBC Light Welterweight Champion Timothy Bradley will face WBO Champion Kendall Holt on April 4th in what promises to be a mouth watering unification encounter.

Bradley won his WBC strap in a split decision over Britain’s Junior Witter and has one defence to his name against Edner Cherry.

Holt meanwhile is coming off the back of a stunning first round stoppage of Ricardo Torres last July.

The bout is due to be held in Montreal and the victor could face the winner of Hatton v Pacquiao, taking place in Las Vegas this May.

Hatton especially may seek such a bout in order to add the titles to his current belt and unify a division in which he remains unbeaten.

I’ll keep you posted!

This Saturday sees the chance of redemption for two of boxing’s biggest names with the return of Kelly Pavlik and Miguel Cotto.

Junito faces Britain’s Michael Jennings at Madison Square Garden whilst the Ghost squares up to Marco Antonio Rubio in Pavlik’s native Youngstown, Ohio.

With both fighters coming off rather surprising defeats, Cotto a destruction at the hands of a now tarnished Margarito and Pavlik a schooling at the hands of Bernard Hopkins, they each have something to prove come Saturday night.

Neither fight will be a walk over, but both opponents have been selected so as to provide the right challenge for fighters looking to redeem themselves and attempting to re-establish themselves on the world scene.

Jennings is decent value at 10/1, but Cotto should have too much for the Chorley based fighter, especially given the recent revelations concerning Margarito’s loaded gloves.

Pavlik is now returning to his natural middleweight and should defend his WBO and WBC Middleweight titles against the experienced Rubio, after an unsuccesful move up in weight.

I’ll keep you posted!

Kermit Cintron was lucky to escape with a draw Saturday night against Sergio Martinez after he seemed to be counted out in the seventh round after walking onto a good left hand and even eased off in the final round thinking he had done enough to win the fight.

Cintron complained of a head butt from Martinez when he regained his feet after the seventh round knock down, but neither the referee nor the fans in attendance were convinced.

After Cintron had finished berating the referee his poor night continued as he coasted through the final round, feeling he had the fight in the bag and even had the audacity to climb to ropes after the result as if he had put in a decent performance.

This was a disappointing showing from a fighter who does have a lot of promise, and heavy hands, but completely failed to deliver here.

Where Cintron can go from here isn’t immediately clear as it is doubtful whether he can draw the marquee names and challenge for a title with performances like this.

I’ll keep you posted.