At the Echo Arena, Liverpool on Friday night local boy and Scouse poster-boy Tony Bellew squares up for the first time since surrendering his unbeaten record to Nathan Cleverly last November.

Bellew, who talks as well as he fights, has seen fit to revise his version of events in that fight, when he failed to usurp Cleverly’s WBO 175 pound title, now claiming that he was the victim of a bum decision, when in his first response to the television cameras post-fight he had candidly admitted that he’d fallen short, and that Nathan was a worthy winner.

Bellew, of course, is trying to goad Cleverly into a re-run.

Bellew, 16-1, 10 KO’s. pitches up against former European champion Danny McIntosh, 13-2, 7 KO’s, and they’ll be contesting the vacant British light-heavyweight title over twelve rounds. It’s a must win fight for Bellew, who performed creditably against Cleverly, boxing beyond most pundits expectations and pushing the precocious Welshman close. The Liverpudlian has shown in the past a tendency to rely too heavily on his undoubted punching power, and has come unstuck on a couple of occasions, notably in 2010 when he hung his chin out for celebrated puncher Ovill Mackenzie in the second round of their fight and got himself viciously knocked down. Bellew will point to the fact that he got to his feet and went on to win the fight, and I’ve seldom seen a fighter so heavily knocked off his feet and continue in a fight.

Resilience alone, however, will not see Bellew realise his ambitions. Neither will his unshakeable belief in his own ability, which he’ll need to temper with a little reality. McIntosh is a live opponent even if his European title was won in a huge upset when he overcame a wide points deficit to stop home fighter Thierry Karl of France in the eleventh round in in January last year.

Until that win it appeared that McIntosh had found his level as a competent British performer, and it may be that he’ll settle at that level. He surrendered the European title in his first defence a year ago, when he was stopped in seven rounds by German Eduard Gutknecht. A clearer view of McIntosh’s international credentials can probably be formed by reviewing his own outing with Cleverly in 2009, when he was soundly beaten, again in seven rounds.

So, on paper, this should be Tony Bellew’s night. He’s expecting a quick and decisive victory: This fight could be fast and explosive. It could be over in the second or sixth rounds, but it will be early”, he said.

Meanwhile, McIntosh plans on spoiling Bellew’s homecoming party, saying:

“This fight is going to lead onto big, big things when I beat Tony better than Cleverly did. That was a very close fight; this fight is not going to be so close.”

I suspect Danny’s right, but he’s picking the wrong winner. Bellew should get to him, sometime around the eighth or ninth round.

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The night opened with junior middleweight Daquan Arnett winning by knock-out over the hapless Fabian Cancino (0-4) with a sharp, overhand right at 1:15 of round one.  Arnett improves to 2-0 in his young career.

Next up was Jermall Charlo (9-0, 5 KOs), who told me this week that he was in love with his jab.  I have to admit, after seeing it in person, I might love it, too.  Against fellow junior middleweight Shawn Wilson (5-9, 1 KO), he established his jab early and often, before opening up with a myriad of heavy-handed body shots.  He dropped the stocky Wilson with a short right hook in the third, but was content to potshot him through the rest the round.  The fight continued until the fifth when Charlo dropped Wilson twice more, the last being a body shot that brought Wilson down to his knees, prompting the referee to declare Charlo the winner by TKO.

In his first bout since his lone defeat, welterweight Lanard Lane (13-1, 8 KOs) got back in the win column by defeating Robert Ramos (7-3-3) by TKO in round 8.   Lanard dropped Ramos in round six and high kicked over him as he kneeled in pain.  He had him badly hurt in round seven, but Ramos gained reprieve by spitting out his mouthpiece which halted the action momentarily.  Lane really put the pedal to the medal in the last round which caused the referee to halt the action with Ramos still standing but refusing to engage.

Lane looked busy, quick and willing to engage, which means he could be showing up on your television in the not-so-distant future.

Jamie “The Nuisance” Kavanagh (9-0-1, 4 KOs) is an offense-first-style fighter who barrels in aggressively and lets his hands go. That leaves him open to his opponent’s shots, but Kavanagh appears to be okay with that.   He dropped his opponent, Cesar Cisneros (3-4-3, 1 KO), in round one with thunderous hooks, then opened his eye up in the third with more of them.  A fighter like Kavanagh is like a shark, so the blood just increased his fervor to engage.  Ultimately, he went on to roll right over Cisneros until the referee wisely halted the action in round number five.

It’s hard to gauge a fighter like Kavanagh’s ceiling, but it’s easy to recognize that fans will enjoy watching him find out what it is.

The muscle-bound Chris Chatman (10-2-1, 5 KOs) looks more like a bodybuilder than a fighter, but that didn’t intimidate Jermell Charlo (17-0, 8 KOs) who knocked out the boxer, lovingly dubbed “mini-hulk” by those on press row, with a thunderous right hand that sent him straight to the canvas like a ton of bricks.  The punch brought everyone to their feet because of its ferocity.  Even Chatman got into the act by making it to his feet but he was far too dazed to continue as he teetered around helplessly until it was waved off.  It was the knockout of the night for sure, and one of the better I’ve seen this year.

The fight was stopped at 1:22 of round number three.

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Houston, TX — Danny “Swift” Garcia (23-0, 14 KOs) was too young and too strong for aging Mexican warrior Erik Morales (52-8, 36 KOs) Saturday night, as he defeated the wily veteran with a combination of sharp counterpunches and youthful vigor.  In doing so, Garcia earned the WBC junior welterweight title Morales lost on the scale the day before by weighing two pounds over the 140 lb limit.

Garcia came out much more careful than many thought he would.  He was content to have the veteran Morales bring the fight to him, and it worked in his favor in the eyes of the judges.

Garcia took home the unanimous decision by scores of 117-110, 116-112, 118-109.  The Boxing Tribune scored the fight much closer, as did many ringside observers, but no one took issue with Garcia taking home the victory – not even Erik Morales.

“I felt I was losing the fight,” Morales said afterwards.

Morales brought the fight to Garcia in the first and second rounds.  Garcia tried to counter but was getting hit with carefully placed punches by the cagey Morales who was displaying pinpoint accuracy and timing.

The tide turned in the third.

Garcia hit Morales hard in round three and “El Terrible” was hurled towards the ropes by the sheer ferocity of the blow.  Morales grinned and shook his head at him as if to say he couldn’t be hurt, but in fact he could.

The action was back-and-forth in the fourth and fifth rounds.  Morales alternated between being the careful technician and charging ahead with fierce flurries.  Garcia did his best to counter his opponent with clean, hard shots.

In round six, Garcia came on strong to land heavy blows on the head and body of Morales .  Morales was up against the ropes for most of the round until he erupted against Garcia in the center of the ring.  Morales even had Garcia on the ropes for a bit, but his flurry of punches didn’t have the same effect that the younger Garcia’s blows were having on him.

Ever the showman, Morales put on a fantastic effort against his youthful counterpart.  He’d make Garcia miss wildly, make gestures to the crowd about it and then grin like a kid in a candy store at his bewildered assailant.  But Garcia was landing the harder blows and it showed.

Morales was getting tired.  He looked a little hurt.  He looked old.

Both fighters had success in the ninth, but Garcia got the best of it towards the end of the very close round.

Morales gave his best effort in round ten, landing clean, educated blows from long range as well as flurries of combos when he got in close.  By the end of it, he even had Garcia bleeding from the nose and breathing out his mouth.

But the next round was all Garcia.  He caught the brave Morales with a perfect left hook to send him down to the canvas in round eleven, and out-boxed him in the twelfth to take home the win.

The 24-year-old Garcia was all smiles afterwards.  He had exclaimed all week, to any one who would listen, that he was on his way to being a champion and now he was.

“This is a dream come true to me,” he said.  “I’m so happy…I’m world champion!”

Meanwhile, Morales was somber but not sad.  He recognized he wasn’t the fighter he once was, but was proud of the effort he gave both in the fight and in his tremendous career.

“There’s not much to say…time has passed.”

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Houston, TX — James Kirkland came to fight.  Carlos Molina came to win.  Neither got what they wanted Saturday night in Texas.

Kirkland opened the bout by focusing on his opponent’s body, but Molina caught him with cleaner, harder shots after pushing James to the ropes, and before taking a slight step back to throw the thunder.  Kirkland seemed unable to react, at least early, to this strategy which continued to play itself out over the rest of the fight.

It was more of the same in rounds two and three with Molina using distance and fancy footwork to keep Kirkland missing while connecting himself.  He also was able to keep Kirkland tied up when the latter would try and bull rush his way in behind a lead straight right.

Absent from the fight for Kirkland was any sort of jab to work his way in behind, which left numerous opportunities for his opponent to catch him with clean, hard shots.  After the fight, Kirkland explained he was suffering from an injury to his right arm.

Despite the injured arm, Kirkland started to connect more in round four.  His lead right, missing mostly in the first three rounds, was getting through as were some good uppercuts.  Molina hurt Kirkland at the end of the round, though, so the round was close.

The pattern of Molina bullying his way in to hold and tie Kirkland up before stepping back to create space for his punches was a frequent strategy employed by Monlina in the fight.  It was effective, but as the rounds wore on, it was less effective strategy and more just egregious holding.  Referee John Schorle did nothing to deter it, though.

Both fighters had their moments, until round nine when it appeared the tide had turned for Kirkland.  Where before Kirkland was not able to land cleanly and effectively, he was doing so now.  Molina appeared hurt in round nine, and was again stunned in round ten where he did everything in his power to hold onto dear life up until the very last second of the round.

Kirkland sent Molina to the canvas with just a tick left on the clock in the round, and the referee began his count.  Molina made it to his feet, but the count was not over when Molina’s corner began entering the ring.

Time seemed to stand still when Schorle went over to confer with the Texas Commission, but then speed up again when he waved the fight off, declaring Kirkland the winner by disqualification because of Molina’s corner entering the ring.

Judge Dave Moretti had Molina up 88-83.  Sutherland had it 87-84 for Molina, and Gale Van Hoy had Kirkland up 86-85.   The Boxing Tribune had Molina up 88-84.

No one was happy with the result.  Kirkland lamented not having rounds eleven and twelve to test Molina’s mettle.

“I wanted to take him to deep waters,” he said after the fight.

Molina, who has been on the wrong end of some close decisions one too many times, thought he was too far ahead in the fight for it to end the way it did.

“I was winning every round,” he said.  “I want a rematch.”

Even Schorle was upset.

“That was the first time that I had to do that,” he said.

To his credit, Kirkland appeared anxious to give Molina a rematch, as did promoter Oscar De La Hoya.

“We can absolutely do a rematch,” said De La Hoya at the post-fight press conference.

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Imtech-Arena, Altona, Hamburg, Germany– Wladimir Klitschko (56-3, 49 KOs) retained his WBO/IBF heavyweight title and won the WBA strap via unanimous decision over David Haye (25-2, 23 KOs) by scores of  117-109, 118-108, 116-110.

Check back later for full coverage from The Boxing Tribune.

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by Paul Magno

The BIG one and three entertaining “little” ones. Here’s a look at this week’s noteworthy fights:

7/1– Mark Melligen (21-2, 14 KOs) vs. Sebastian Lujan (37-5-2, 23 KOs)

Lujan is taking the place of Freddy Hernandez and is probably a bigger test for welterweight prospect, Melligen. The veteran from Argentina has faced the better overall opposition with bouts against the likes of Antonio Margarito and Serhiy Dzinziruk, but has lost each time he tried to move up to the world class level. The Filipino, Melligen, is riding high on a five fight win streak, but has also yet to prove himself at an elite level. Stylistically, Lujan is awkward and crafty, with an aggressive mindset while Melligen is an efficient and very orthodox southpaw. Melligen struggles with footwork at times and can be thrown off-balance easily, but has shown a very good straight left hand that could very well be the difference in the contest.

7/2– Celestino Caballero (34-3, 23 KOs) vs. Jonathan Victor Barros (32-1-1, 18 KOs)

Barros is good at just about everything, but not especially proficient at anything in particular. The Argentine likes to fight at a distance and at a controlled pace. He struggles and gets flustered when crowded or when the fight deviates from his script. Caballero, on the other hand, is an awkward, tall fighter who throws from strange angles and, despite his size advantage, likes fighting on the inside. However, Panama’s former jr. featherweight champ runs hot and cold– putting on dominant performance like against Steve Molitor and Daud Yordan or drifting through lackluster performance, like his bouts with Jason Litzau and Jeffrey Mathebula. A focused, in-shape Caballero should be too much for Barros, but it all depends on which Celestino shows up.

7/2– Hernan Marquez (30-2, 23 KOs) vs. Edrin Dapudong (22-3, 13 KOs)

Marquez is a heavy-handed southpaw who has a tendency to diminish his own lefty advantage by squaring up too much when pressed. Dapudong is an offense-minded fighter who does most everything with his lead left hand– especially a pawing, range-finding jab and short, tight left hook. Both fighters have a porous defense, more so, Dapudong. Both fighters have one-punch power, with Marquez having the edge. Marquez’s first title defense of the WBA flyweight belt he took from Luis Concepcion will come down to Marquez’s ability to exploit Dapudong’s defensive weaknesses. In other words, the fight is his to win or lose.

7/2– Edgar Sosa (42-6, 25 KOs) vs. Julio Paz (12-1, 4 KOs)

Two words: Human Sacrifice. Paz has never fought outside of his native Uruguay, only performing marginally well against club-level opposition. This fight is for a bogus WBC international strap and merely another sanctioning fee for Jose Sulaiman while the real Pongsaklek Wonjongkam vs. Edgar Sosa flyweight title fight is being worked on. Sosa via stoppage early.

7/2– Wladimir Klitschko (55-3, 49 KOs) vs. David Haye (25-1, 23 KOs)

WBO/IBF heavyweight champ, Klitschko, takes on WBA champ, Haye, in the biggest heavyweight bout since Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson. Both fighters are complete and total opposites, both inside and outside of the ring. Klitschko is calm and collected, working patiently behind a bone-rattling jab and a “no risk” defense. Haye, is fire and speed, waiting for opponent mistakes and taking advantage with the division’s best hand speed. For Haye to win, he will have to draw Klitschko out of his game and exploit those errors in judgment and technique. Klitschko, on the other hand, needs to stay calm and work his usual style. If Haye fights at a distance, like he did against the 7ft tall Nikolai Valuev, he will be at the mercy of Klitschko’s long, accurate reach. However, if all the pre-fight posturing has Klitschko angered enough to go for the kill, it will play to Haye’s benefit. Wlad is the key– a calm Klitschko stops Haye in the mid-rounds. A fired-up, reckless Klitschko will find himself a TKO victim, also in the mid-rounds.

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by Paul Magno

As ESPN’s Dan Rafael reported yesterday, former undisputed middleweight world champion, Jermain Taylor, will be resuming a career that was seemingly ended by two consecutive knockout losses (as well as a 1-4 record over his last five)

When Taylor went down hard, via frightening Arthur Abraham right hook in the spooky sterile ambiance of a German boxing arena, there was little doubt among fans, experts, and even Taylor’s own management team that the star from Little Rock would be wise to call it a career.

But with plenty of time to dwell on a career cut short, Taylor managed to convince himself, as well as former trainer Pat Burns, that he could possibly pick up where he left off before making the ill-advised move up to the super middleweight division.

After a battery of neurological tests, conducted in Little Rock and at the Mayo Clinic, Taylor was given a green light to resume his career and the remnants of Team Taylor, which at this point consists of Burns, adviser, Al Haymon, and a couple of other key figures from better days, are now focused on a return to Taylor’s old 160 lb. territory.

Taylor’s return is tentatively scheduled for an August 13 Showtime TV date in Little Rock, two days after his thirty-third birthday, against an opponent to be named later.

The re-emergence of Taylor has to be considered a godsend by current middleweight top dog, Sergio Martinez, who has the looks, the talent, and the momentum, but no commercially viable opponents. Taylor would represent the biggest possible fight for the Argentine champ and a legit ratings bonanza for HBO.

Another intrigue is whether Lou DiBella, Martinez’s current promoter and former promoter of Taylor, would sign such a fight after he made the conscious effort to resign from Team Taylor in 2009, fearing for the fighter’s safety.

Of course, this is assuming that Taylor even wants to go the route of Kelly Pavlik, Paul Williams, and Serhiy Dzinziruk.

The former undisputed middleweight champ, who ended the Bernard Hopkins stranglehold on the division with two close decision wins in 2005, may decide to travel the path of least resistance by going after one of the four other 160 lb. belt holders: Felix Sturm, Daniel Geale, Dimitry Pirog, or Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

But before sizing up title shots, Taylor has to get back into the grove and overcome the trauma of three brutal knockouts and four defeats in his last five bouts. Assuming this is a legitimate comeback, Burns, Haymon, and the rest of Team Taylor will want to take their time, working off two years worth of ring rust and rebuilding a career momentum cut brutally short.

But if the doctors are giving him a thumbs up and a premium cable channel is already lining up to get back in the business of Jermain Taylor, then, all that’s left is the fighting.

And the fighting has been Taylor’s biggest problem.

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BODY BLOW #148: ASPARTAME SHANE

Show Notes:
1. Blame Bob Arum not Shane
2. Are Top Rank and Manny Pulling a Fast One on the Boxing Public?
3. Who’s next for Manny?
4. Why Manny is Scared of Flyod Mayweather Jr.
5. Why Andre Ward isn’t appreciated
6. Why Bernard Hopkins will become the oldest Champion Ever

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UK heavyweight prospect, Tyson Fury (13-0, 9 KOs), gets his first real, veteran test against former heavyweight title challenger, Frans Botha (47-5-3, 28 KOs), February 19th at Wembley Arena in London.

The 42-year old Botha is coming off a TKO 8 loss to Evander Holyfield last year, but still represents a step up in class for the 22-year old Brit whose last bout was a December unanimous decision win over 21-32-2, Zack Page.

Sharing the bill with Fury-Botha is a bout featuring British jr. welterweight titlist, Lenny Daws (21-1-2, 9 KOs), defending against Ashley Theophane (28-4-1, 7 KOs).

Just when it looked like Shane Mosley was a sure thing to face Manny Pacquiao next, the shadow of a doubt has come crawling into the equation.

Team Pacquiao’s decision to move the date of his next bout to May 7th, on the traditional fight weekend following the Cinco de Mayo Mexican holiday, has created some speculation that Juan Manuel Marquez is still very much in the picture of possible opponents.

According to senior members of Pacquiao’s team, the list of candidates for his next contest has been whittled down to three: Mosley, Marquez, and Andre Berto.

While Mosley has been regarded as the front runner and much media attention has been paid to whether he is a worthy opponent after having looked sub-par in his last two outing (in a loss against Floyd Mayweather and a draw with Sergio Mora), nobody on Team Pacquiao, including promoter Bob Arum, has ever confirmed Mosley’s preferred-opponent status.

Then, this last Friday on ESPN Deportes’ Golpe a Golpe show with co-host Juan Manuel Marquez, the 3-division champ from Mexico City who has fought Pacquiao twice to close, controversial decisions (one draw, one loss), would confirm that he was, also, scheduled to fight that same Cinco de Mayo weekend.

When his co-host brought up the fact that Pacquiao would be fighting the day of May 7th too, Marquez grinned and said, “Yes, that’s a very Mexican day.”

Marquez would follow that statement up with talk of who should fight Pacquiao next, stating that Berto should be Manny’s choice over Mosley.

It had been reported that Golden Boy, Marquez’s promoter, had been talking with Bob Arum and Top Rank about a possible deal to fight Pacquiao, but that the talks ended when Marquez wanted too fat of a deal.

Of course, though, this was just the reported story.

Could the negative media attention around a Mosley fight have discouraged Team Pacquiao from taking a bout with yet another veteran fighter coming off a tough loss?

Time will tell whether Marquez’s sly grin and cryptic statement have any substance or meaning to them. But the fact of the matter is that the Cinco de Mayo weekend has long been a traditional fight weekend for Mexican and Mexican-American fight fans with heavy traffic to Las Vegas to see the likes of Marquez, Chavez, Barrera, Morales, etc.

If Pacquiao were to fight on May 7th, against someone other than Marquez, he would likely be going head to head with a heavily stacked card featuring Mexican stars and he’d surely lose some buys from the Mexican fan base he has cultivated for the last several years. This doesn’t seem to be the type of shrewd decision that Team Pacquiao has been known for in the recent past.

Also, since Marquez and Pacquiao are both HBO fighters, it’s unlikely that the network would encourage simultaneous clashes. Unless they somehow share the bill on May 7th, circumstantial evidence sure points to Marquez now being the front runner in the Pacquiao sweepstakes.

So, could we be in for Pacquiao-Marquez part 3?

Let the debates begin.