Boxing Insider

Nigerian man was in terror database

2009-12-27T21:41:00.000-08:00

Nigerian man was in terror database
http://waronyou.com/topics/nigerian-man-was-in-terror-database/
A Nigerian man charged Saturday with attempting to blow up a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day was listed in a U.S. terrorism database after his father told State Department officials that he was worried about his son’s radical beliefs and extremist connections, officials said.

The suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, was granted a two-year tourist visa by the U.S. Embassy in London in June 2008 and has traveled to the United States at least twice before, officials said. His name was added to a catch-all terrorism-related database last month, when his father reported concerns about his son’s “radicalization and associations” to the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, a senior administration official said.

Abdulmutallab, 23, was subdued by passengers and crew members aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on Friday after he ignited an explosive device that set his pants leg and part of the airplane, which was preparing to land in Detroit, on fire. The incident marks the latest apparent attempt by terrorists to bring down a U.S. aircraft through the use of an improvised weapon and set in motion a series of urgent security measures that disrupted global air travel during the frenetic holiday weekend.

http://www.contractorhut.info/
Blog wandering? What is that?! I have seen it over and over again. A new blogger kick starts a blog with all intentions of hitting it big and growing a huge subscriber count. They are going to be the next big thing! Just you wait and see! So what does this new blogger do? Picks a domain name, spends countless hours looking at premium blog themes and finally gets around to installing every single cool plugin they can find. Everything is set and ready to blog!
http://seotricksguide.info/
http://landscapenewengland.info/
Forgive the pun, but this would seem to be something of a no-brainer. Quoth the levitating Lotus: “Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone as we’re approaching this new year, I felt it was time to let go of some things that have been gathering dust. Some old things, and some new things, I tried to pick out tracks that I know yall haven’t heard yet so there should be surprises around every turn. can’t believe i’ve been making tracks for over 10 years now..That said, there’s so much to learn still. I hope you all enjoy this mix. Thanks to the Gaslamp Killer for doing an incredible job on this.
http://rap-promotions.info/
http://rappublicity.info/
http://vidzking.com/
http://motorcycletrader.info/
http://www.nonpossible.com/
http://www.globalconspiracy.info/
http://ronpaulforum.info/
http://www.googleprof.com/
http://nascarblog.info/
http://carhub.info/

EA Sports MMA Game to Feature Fedor

2009-07-30T00:19:00.005-07:00

M-1 Global confirmed Wednesday that Fedor Emelianenko will be a part of EA Sports� upcoming MMA video game

Read More...

[Source: Recent News on Sherdog.com - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Raising Cain: Rising Heavyweight Velasquez Turning into a Gym Terror

2009-07-30T00:19:00.003-07:00

One of the great pleasures in assuming editorial duties on Real Fighter magazine has been the ability to send writer-slash-masochist Eugene Robinson on suicide missions -- Eugene himself considers them �sparring matches� -- with professional fighters. To date, he has been choked, torqued, punched, grabbed and mauled by some of the best: Cung Le once kicked his quadriceps tendon off the bone.

He finds all of this amusing. I do, too, but I would not leave him alone in my house.

Recently, I discussed with Eugene the potential for �relaxed� gym bout with Cain Velasquez, a recent and significant threat to the UFC�s heavyweight division. But Le, who sometimes shares American Kickboxing Academy gym space with Velasquez -- and whom Eugene foolishly begged for a rematch -- told him this was a very, very bad idea.

�Cung looked me in the eyes and said, �Don't do it,�� Eugene recalls.

Read More...

[Source: Recent News on Sherdog.com - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Rothwell-Gormley Moved to UFC

2009-07-30T00:19:00.001-07:00

Another abandoned Affliction bout has found a home. Ben Rothwell and Chase Gormley will make their Octagon debuts in a heavyweight bout at UFC 104

Read More...

[Source: Recent News on Sherdog.com - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Murder Suspect�s Trial Delayed in Eilers Case

2009-07-29T02:25:00.009-07:00

Justin Eilers� stepfather, James R. Malec, has had his trial date pushed back. A provisional date of Aug. 31 has been set for the man accused of shooting and killing the former UFC heavyweight title contender

Read More...

[Source: Recent News on Sherdog.com - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Pictures: Jewels 'Fourth Ring'

2009-07-29T02:25:00.007-07:00

Daniel Herbertson was ringside to witness Megumi Fujii�s latest conquest at Jewels �Fourth Ring�

Read More...

[Source: Recent News on Sherdog.com - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Barnett: �I Am Embarrassed�

2009-07-29T02:25:00.005-07:00

Bounced from perhaps the most important fight of his career by a failed California State Athletic Commission drug test, former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett faced the music.

Read More...

[Source: Recent News on Sherdog.com - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Ortiz Looking at UFC Return

2009-07-29T02:25:00.003-07:00

I�m still not quite amenable to using a person�s Twitter account to source a chunk of commentary, but this is the way of the world at the moment. And so we must pay attention to news out of Dana White�s Blackberry that he and perennial rival Tito Ortiz have apparently buried the hatchet. (Not in the other�s head, as both may have wished at one time, but figuratively speaking.)

�Yes tito and I made up,� White wrote. And later: �Doesn�t mean he�s back it means we aren�t smashing each other anymore and we don�t hate each other.�

I would be shocked if Ortiz didn�t eventually make his way back: The UFC has spent millions of dollars and years of their promotional life in Ortiz, and it makes no sense for him to port that reservoir of fame to another organization.

Read More...

[Source: Recent News on Sherdog.com - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

The Real Junie Browning?

2009-07-29T02:25:00.001-07:00

Repeat rebel-rouser or reformed athlete? Will the real Junie Allen Browning please step up?

Read More...

[Source: Recent News on Sherdog.com - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Free Auto Blogger Report

2009-07-17T22:01:00.009-07:00

Sat 01:00 AM | Blog Loaded.
Sat 01:00 AM | Starting Blog...
Sat 01:00 AM | Downloading 3 feeds...
Sat 01:00 AM | Could not download feed: http://nflaccess.info/feed/
Sat 01:00 AM | Checking cache and filters...
Sat 01:00 AM | Skipping 29 posts (duplicates)...
Sat 01:00 AM | Posting 22 entries...
Sat 01:01 AM | Done! Feed items posted: 6. Ads posted: 0.
Sat 01:01 AM | Feed items skipped: 16 (free version).
Sat 01:01 AM | Purchase the PRO version at www.freeautoblogger.com

Read More...

[Source: - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

UFC 100 Post-Mortem: Falling Hammers, Lesnar Lunch Boxes and More

2009-07-17T22:01:00.007-07:00

A prizefight ring offers up a lot of truths, not all of them pretty. UFC 1, airing to a mostly-nauseated pay-per-view audience of 80,000 homes in November 1993, used a lot of cringe-worthy brutality to prove that fighting wasn�t what Bruce Lee had led us to believe; UFC 100, which played to unprecedented media coverage and perhaps over a million households on Saturday, used a lot of cringe-worthy brutality to prove that fighting wasn�t even what Royce Gracie had led us to believe.

Read More...

[Source: Recent News on Sherdog.com - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Lesnar Pummels Mir; GSP Dominates

2009-07-17T22:01:00.005-07:00

Brock Lesnar learns quickly.

Just 17 months after losing to Frank Mir via submission in his UFC debut, Lesnar avenged the defeat and unified

Read More...

[Source: Recent News on Sherdog.com - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Pictures: UFC 100

2009-07-17T22:01:00.003-07:00

Brock Lesnar, Georges St. Pierre and Dan Henderson stole the show at UFC 100 in Las Vegas

Read More...

[Source: Recent News on Sherdog.com - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Radio: Beatdown

2009-07-17T22:01:00.001-07:00

Beatdown returned to the Sherdog Radio Network on Friday

Read More...

[Source: Recent News on Sherdog.com - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Unscripted: Lashley on Lesnar

2009-07-17T22:00:00.001-07:00

There is no corner of the Earth Bobby Lashley could escape to in the week following Brock Lesnar�s win over Frank Mir that would protect him from comparison. Like Lesnar, he�s a granite slab of genetic good fortune; like Lesnar, he won national titles in wrestling; and like Lesnar, he earned a name and base of marketability on the WWE circuit.

Ray Carsillo at 1050 AM ESPN Radio in New York invited Lashley to appear on his program Wednesday, and the conversation did not last more than a few turns before Lashley was asked to offer an opinion on a potential match with Lesnar.

Read More...

[Source: Recent News on Sherdog.com - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Hamanaka Wins by DQ in Cage Force

2009-07-12T20:57:00.007-07:00

TOKYO -- Journeyman Kazuhiro Hamanaka notched a controversial win after Alavutdin Gadjiev was disqualified for a third-round illegal knee in the Cage Force & Valkyrie main event on Sunday at the Differ Ariake Arena

Read More...

[Source: Recent News on Sherdog.com - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Pictures: UFC 100 Fan Expo; TUF Fighters Revealed

2009-07-12T20:57:00.005-07:00

Spike TV revealed the cast for �The Ultimate Fighter 10� Friday in Las Vegas at the UFC Fan Expo, and Sherdog.com was present to photograph the upcoming season�s lineup.

Read More...

[Source: Recent News on Sherdog.com - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Liddell Sitting Out Until 2010

2009-07-12T20:57:00.003-07:00

After making vague reference to a possible fight between Chuck Liddell and Rich Franklin in order to combat the Floyd Mayweather/Juan Marquez bout on Sept. 19, Dana White will have to look for another headliner: Liddell told Josh Gross of SportsIllustrated.com that he�s taking a one-year layoff from competition.

�Hopefully my brain can heal over time,� he told Gross.� The shot last fight [vs. Mauricio Rua] is something that normally wouldn�t hurt me.�

Read More...

[Source: Recent News on Sherdog.com - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Beatdown: Mark Coleman

2009-07-12T20:57:00.001-07:00

Jack Encarnacao, Lotfi Sariahmed and TJ De Santis were joined by Mark Coleman on Monday

Read More...

[Source: Recent News on Sherdog.com - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Upcoming MMA News in the Works at Fighter Royalty

2009-07-05T20:39:00.001-07:00

Fighter Royalty is developing its new MMA agency website to include current MMA news by top MMA agents.

Read More...

[Source: MMA News - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Mousasi Talks Showdown with 'Babalu'

2009-07-05T01:33:00.003-07:00

Gegard Mousasi discussed his bout with Renato �Babalu� Sobral at Aug. 1�s Affliction �Trilogy� with Sherdog.com�s Loretta Hunt

Read More...

[Source: Recent News on Sherdog.com - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Fukuda Captures Deep Middleweight Title

2009-07-05T01:33:00.001-07:00

TOKYO -- EliteXC veteran Riki Fukuda captured the Deep middleweight title from Yuichi Nakanishi in the main event of Deep 42 Impact

Read More...

[Source: Recent News on Sherdog.com - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Bobb Sapp is a bitch

2009-06-28T02:53:00.001-07:00

Former pro wrestler Bobby Lashley showed that he is for real in mixed martial arts, defeating veteran fighter Bob Sapp with a technical knockout in less than two minutes at "Ultimate Chaos" in Biloxi, Miss.

As soon as the bell rung, Bobby Lashley went in for a quick takedown. He had no problem with bringing the much larger Sapp to the canvas. From there, he executed his game plan well, staying on top of Sapp and throwing a barrage of punches. Sapp tapped to signal that he wanted the fight to end, but the referee did not see it, and Lashley kept punching. Finally, Sapp tapped again, and the referee put an end to the fight at 1:17 in the first round. After the win, Lashley announced that he is ready for whoever wants to take him on.

"To all the heavyweights out there, if you're not looking at me, you better, because I'm coming. I'll take on all challengers," Lashley said.

Both men have the first name Bob, and both have experience professional wrestling, but the similarities end there, as Sapp outweighed Lashley by nearly 67 pounds for the main event. Lashley, who is undefeated in the real sport of MMA after years as a star professional wrestler in the WWE and ECW, took on the fight with Sapp, who is a veteran of Japanese fight promotions PRIDE and K-1, to prove that his desire to excel in MMA is real. A win over Sapp validated Lashley in the cage, moving his record to 4-0.

Lashley weighed in at 255 pounds for the fight, meaning that he would have no problem making the heavyweight class of 265 for more mainstream mixed martial arts promotions like the UFC, Strikeforce and Affliction. Considering how he has steamrolled through his four opponents, and that he is training at the highly touted American Top Team, it's not crazy to think that we will soon see Lashley on a larger stage.

Deep Posts: Matt Jones is available and suspension-free

2009-05-27T16:23:00.001-07:00

<img border=”0″ src=”http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/ept_sports_nfl_experts__14/ept_sports_nfl_experts-865022414-1243373071.jpg?ymPIfUBD8d92VyYL” />
• According to Chris Mortensen, <a href=”http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4207106&campaign=rss&source=nflHeadlines”>Matt
Jones will not be suspended for his violation of a court-mandated drug
program. He’ll be fined $50,000, but he can be on the field for all 16 for
anyone who wants him. Given this news, his relative youth, potential and last
year’s increase in production, I’d think he’d be [...]

Read More...

[Source: NFL Access - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Mike Tyson’s daughter dies after hanging accident

2009-05-26T21:09:00.000-07:00

PHOENIX (AP)—The 4-year-old daughter of boxer Mike Tyson died at a hospital Tuesday, a day after her neck apparently got caught in a treadmill cord at her Phoenix home, police said.

Exodus Tyson was pronounced dead just before noon, police Sgt. Andy Hill said. She had been on life support and police have said their investigation showed her injury on Monday was a “tragic accident.”

“There are no words to describe the tragic loss of our beloved Exodus,” the family said in a statement. “We ask you now to please respect our need at this very difficult time for privacy to grieve and try to help each other heal.”

Police said Exodus either slipped or put her head in the loop of a cord hanging under the console. Her 7-year-old brother found her and told their mother. She took Exodus off the cord, called 911 and tried to revive her.

Responding officers and firefighters performed CPR as they took the girl to the hospital.

Former heavyweight champion Tyson was in Las Vegas at the time of the accident and flew Monday to Phoenix, where he was seen entering the hospital.
ADVERTISEMENT

The family’s home is in a modest, quiet neighborhood. Neighbors say they saw Tyson there from time to time and the children played outside regularly.

Dinka Radic, who lives across the street, said Exodus would ask her if she had any chocolate. When Radic gave her some, Exodus would hug the woman’s knees and “kiss, kiss, kiss.”

“She’d say ‘hi’ to everybody. She was really friendly,” said Abdul Khalik, 53, who lives next door.

He said Exodus rode her bicycle in the neighborhood and often played with his two children and his niece. He said his 14-year-old daughter had cried all day after hearing of Exodus’ death.

Ben Brodhurst, 20, who lives across the street, said Exodus’ and her family went trick-or-treating at his house the last couple of Halloweens. She was “very lively, very enjoyable to be around,” he said.

The neighborhood contrasts starkly with the lavish lifestyle Tyson had through his tumultuous years of boxing, when he spent tens of millions of dollars and says he had millions more stolen from him by unscrupulous associates. During two years at the height of his career, he earned $140 million.

The death of his child in such an unusual accident adds an awful chapter to the boxer’s troubled life.

Tyson first began boxing in a facility for juvenile delinquents in upstate New York at the age of 12. Eight years later, he became the youngest heavyweight champion ever when he knocked out Trevor Berbick in 1986. But in 1990, he was defeated by James “Buster” Douglas in one of the biggest upsets in boxing history, and soon after was convicted of raping a beauty pageant contestant in Indianapolis.

Tyson, who still denies he raped the woman, served three years in prison.

A few years later, he served three months in jail for beating up two men after a minor car crash in suburban Washington.

As his career continued, so did his bizarre behavior. He bit off a piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear during a boxing match and once threatened to eat the children of heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis.

Although Tyson’s children had lived in their unassuming neighborhood for several years, he purchased a separate home in the tony Phoenix suburb of Paradise Valley in 2005 for $2.1 million, selling it two years later for $2.3 million.

In November 2007, Tyson spent 24 hours in Maricopa County’s “Tent City” jail after pleading guilty to one count of cocaine possession and one misdemeanor count of driving under the influence. Police found the drug when they pulled over Tyson’s car after he left a Scottsdale night club.

According to police, Tyson said after his arrest that he bought cocaine “whenever I can get my hands on it.”

At Tyson’s sentencing hearing, nearly a year after the arrest, his attorney David Chesnoff said his client had taken 29 drug tests without a relapse and was attending Alcoholic Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings.

Tyson had become an example of how one overcomes problems with drugs, a violent past and poor upbringing, Chesnoff said.

“He’s tried his hardest,” his attorney said, “despite coming from almost impossible beginnings.”

Associated Press Writers Bob Baum and Terry Tang contributed to this report.

Michael Vick Returning To The NFL? A Trainwreck Waiting To Happen

2009-05-25T15:27:00.001-07:00

Written by Matt Miselis
The National Football League begins to face the drama that is Michael Vick, who on Thursday returned to his home to finish the rest of his sentence for the damage he caused from federal dog fighting.
In a time where the nfl began to give more harsh punishments on athletes who damage the [...]

Read More...

[Source: NFL Access - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Bears Shouldn�t Stop With Cutler, Pace

2009-04-18T19:08:00.001-07:00

by Matt Snyder
Filed under: Bears, NFC North, NFL Draft, NFL Free Agency
After the Bears made the announcement of their franchise-shattering acquisition of Jay Cutler, they didn’t rest. Within a few hours, they announced they had also agreed to terms with venerable left tackle Orlando Pace. I’ll admit, I was overly excited about the two new [...]

Read More...

[Source: NFL Access - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Murat stops Sanavia, Sylvester knocks out Nespro

2009-03-03T21:15:00.001-08:00

Karo Murat retained his European super-middleweight title with a tenth-round TKO victory over Cristian Sanavia in Neubrandenburg on Saturday night.

Read More...

[Source: Boxing Fight Reports - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Marquez Stops Diaz in 9 Round Thriller

2009-03-01T16:18:00.001-08:00

By Paul Upham

Juan Manuel Marquez overcame a furious initial onslaught from Juan Diaz to knockout the younger challenger in round 9 of their lightweight boxing world title battle on Saturday night at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, televised in the USA on HBO World Championship Boxing.

Read More...

[Source: Boxing Fight Reports - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Salems Lot Meets Friday Night Fights Prescott Wins By DQ

2009-02-27T20:02:00.001-08:00

By Michael Norby: Undefeated Colombian lightweight Breidis Prescott was expected to win his ten round nationally televised showcase on Friday night, but the manner in which he defeated Ecuadorian Humberto Toledo was completely out of left field as a tenth round biting incident lead to a disqualification at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida USA.

Read More...

[Source: Boxing Fight Reports - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Pavlik Defends Youngstown, Rubio Retires after 9

2009-02-22T03:36:00.003-08:00

By Jason Pribila: On Saturday night Kelly Pavlik returned home. Home to defend his middleweight championship, and home to defend his blue-collar town of Youngstown, Ohio. After nine one-sided rounds, order was restored, and Pavlik returned to his winning ways.

Woods Too Good For Muriqi

2009-02-22T03:36:00.001-08:00

Clinton Woods kept his world title hopes very much when clearly out-pointed opponent Elvir Muriqi in Jersey on Saturday night.

Read More...

[Source: Boxing Fight Reports - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Molina Eases By Camacho on Friday Night Fights

2009-02-21T22:01:00.007-08:00

By Michael Norby: Slick welterweight boxing prospect Carlos Molina caused a mild upset on Friday night after he battered, bruised and thoroughly out-boxed fellow Mexican Alexis Camacho en route to a decisive unanimous decision victory over ten rounds at The Roseland Ballroom in New York City, USA.

UFC 95: Weigh-in Results

2009-02-21T22:01:00.005-08:00

Diego Sanchez (156 lbs.) Vs. Joe Stevenson (155 lbs.)Dan Hardy (170 lbs.) Vs. Rory Markham (170 lbs.)Wilson Gouveia (185 lbs.)...

Read More...

Cotto captures welterweight title with TKO of Jennings

2009-02-21T22:01:00.003-08:00

Miguel Cotto rebounded from his only professional loss by scoring a dominating fifth-round technical knockout of Englishman Michael Jennings to take the vacant WBO welterweight title Saturday night.

Cruz Retains IBF 126 Title In Saint Quentin

2009-02-21T22:01:00.001-08:00

EB reporting: IBF featherweight champion Cruz of Mexico retained his title Saturday night in Saint Quentin, France, winning a grueling 12-round unanimous decision over hometown hero Cyril Thomas. Cruz won by scores of 115-113 twice and 116-112 in his first title defense.

Read More...

[Source: Boxing Fight Reports - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Campbell Wins Fight After Losing Titles on Scales/Martinez

2009-02-20T21:13:00.005-08:00

Despite losing his titles on the scales the previous day Nate Campbell still managed to out-point South African Ali Funeka via a 12 round unanimous decision at the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida on Saturday night.

Read More...

[Source: Boxing Fight Reports - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Mundine outpoints Taylor in Rugged Battle

2009-02-20T21:13:00.003-08:00

By Paul Upham: Shannan Taylor promised to give Anthony Mundine a real fight and while he didnt get the win, he was good to his word. The Man won a unanimous twelve round points decision on Wednesday night in Wollongong, Australia, but he had to work hard every single round in a rugged battle.

Read More...

[Source: Boxing Fight Reports - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Molina Eases By Camacho on Friday Night Fights

2009-02-20T21:13:00.001-08:00

Read More...

[Source: Boxing Fight Reports - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Campbell Wins Fight After Losing Titles on Scales/Martinez

2009-02-20T18:57:00.003-08:00

Read More...

[Source: Boxing Fight Reports - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Molina Eases By Camacho on Friday Night Fights

2009-02-20T18:57:00.001-08:00

Read More...

[Source: Boxing Fight Reports - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Jennings can shock the world just like I did - Honeyghan

2009-02-19T23:31:00.001-08:00

IN the first of a three-part feature on Chorley boxer Michael Jennings' WBO welterweight fight against Miguel Cotto in New York on Saturday, we spoke exclusively to former British ace Lloyd Honeyghan, who ...

Read More...

[Source: Boxing News - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Huck Retains Title In Riesa

2009-02-05T21:42:00.005-08:00

Marco Huck made a successful defence of his European cruiserweight title in Riesa, Germany on Saturday night with a third round tko win over Belgian challenger Geoffrey Battelo.

Calzaghe retires from bo...

2009-02-05T21:42:00.003-08:00

Undefeated world super-middleweight and light-heavyweight champion Joe Calzaghe has announced his retirement from boxing.

Read More...

[Source: Boxing News - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Friday Night US Round-Up/Flores & Ayala Post Wins

2009-02-05T21:42:00.001-08:00

At the Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas, IBF # 2 rated cruiserweight BJ Flores stopped Matt Hicks at 2:50 in the third round of a heavyweight bout scheduled for six; and former middleweight title challenger Elvin Ayala outpointed Anthony Bartinelli over eight rounds on scores of 79-73 and 80-72 twice.

Read More...

[Source: Boxing Fight Reports - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Will Vivian Harris' Pride Be His Undoing?

2009-02-04T01:22:00.001-08:00

HARRIS: "People can talk bad about me, but I'm not a bad person. But people know the boxing business is garbage."

Read More...

RIP, Ingemar Johansson

2009-02-02T15:50:00.003-08:00

Johansson was named "Male Athlete of the Year" by The Associated Press, and when was the last time that happened for a boxer?

Read More...

Morrison KOs Williams In 1

2009-02-02T15:50:00.001-08:00

Former WBO heavyweight boxing champion Tommy Morrison knocked out the overmatched Corey Williams inside a round in Laramie, Wyoming on Saturday night.

As small crowd at the Albany Fair Grounds saw Morrison flatten Williams with a left and right hand combination.

Morrison, who won the vacant WBO heavyweight title against George Foreman in June, 1993, has suffered problems resuming his career in recent years due to insufficient clarity concerning his HIV and Hepatitis C medical requirements.

Friday Night US Round-Up/Flores & Ayala Post Wins

2009-02-01T20:04:00.003-08:00

Read More...

[Source: Boxing Fight Reports - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Katsidis Gets Comfortable Points Win Over Ramirez

2009-02-01T20:04:00.001-08:00

By Paul Upham: Australian lightweight contender Michael The Great Katsidis won a comfortable ten round boxing points decision over Argentine Angel Ramirez on Saturday night at the Cebu Coliseum in Cebu City, Philippines. Rarely troubled throughout, Katsidis picked up the vacant WBO Asia Pacific lightweight title.

Read More...

[Source: Boxing Fight Reports - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Urango Decisions Ngoudjo for Vacant IBF Belt

2009-01-31T19:18:00.001-08:00

By Jason Pribila: ESPN2s Friday Night Fights returned to the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada with a main event featuring a pair of top ten junior welterweights. Colombias Juan Urango went into enemy territory to face hometown favorite Herman Ngoudjo for the vacant IBF title.

Read More...

[Source: Boxing Fight Reports - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

"Don't Let Tommy Morrison Fight"

2009-01-29T22:36:00.001-08:00

THE CHARGE: "Morrison hasn't been able to document negative HIV status thereby not meeting the minimum medical requirements."

Read More...

[Source: TheSweetScience.com Boxing - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Affliction: Day of Reckoning Weigh-in Results

2009-01-28T16:58:00.005-08:00

Fedor Emelianenko (230 lbs.) Vs. Andrei ArloVski (237 lbs.) (WAMMA Heavyweight Title)Josh Barnett (248 lbs.) Vs. Gilbert Yvel (240 lbs.)Vitor...

Read More...

[Source: The Fight Site News Feed - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

HDNet Fights announces long term partnership with Ring of Honor Wrestling

2009-01-28T16:58:00.003-08:00

DALLAS (January 26, 2009) HDNet Fights today announced a long term partnership with Ring of Honor Wrestling....

Read More...

[Source: The Fight Site News Feed - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Holm Retains Title In Albuquerque

2009-01-28T16:58:00.001-08:00

By Andy Rivera at ringside: Holly Holm retained the WIBA Welterweight title with a hard fought 10 round unanimous decision of Myriam Lamare at the Isleta Resort & Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Friday night.

Read More...

[Source: Boxing Fight Reports - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

BORGES: Manny Deserves Bigger Share

2009-01-22T15:17:00.003-08:00

BORGES: Hatton has fans to be sure, but there are fans, and then there is Manny Mania.

Read More...

[Source: TheSweetScience.com Boxing -

RIP, Jose Torres

2009-01-22T15:17:00.001-08:00

ATLAS: "Jose didn't have blinkers on. He knew what the sport could do to you even if you were as talented as he was.''

Read More...

[Source: TheSweetScience.com Boxing

Pic leads to fighter's charge

2009-01-17T04:41:00.001-08:00

Jeff Monson charged with mischief; ESPN not an accomplice

Jeff Monson is either really dumb or really smart. I'm leaning towards the latter.

The fighter, who last appeared in the Mixed Fighting Alliance, winning over Ricco Rodriguez in December, has a warrant against him for defacing the Capitol building in Olympia, Wash. This warrant was issued after pictures of him painting an anarchist symbol on the building appeared in ESPN the Magazine.

See, Monson is an outspoken anarchist. He has said many times that he wants to do away with the social hierarchies that govern our world. The best way for Monson to share these theories is through the mass media, so publicity is his friend.

Is Monson so dumb that he would expect ESPN to not use photographs of him committing a crime? Of course not. This is a man with a Master's degree in psychology. He understands the ramifications of civil disobedience. If he didn't want attention brought to his cause, he would have asked ESPN to photograph him sitting at home, enjoying dinner.

Monson was charged with first-degree malicious mischief, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of a $20,000 fine and 10 years in prison. ESPN did not do him a favor by running that picture, but it's not their job to protect athletes. It's their job to cover them, a fact which Monson has used to make sure that everyone is discussing his cause today.

Karmazin Wins Battle Of Former Champs

2008-12-31T02:55:00.005-08:00

By Raj Sharma at ringside: Roman Karmazin used a consistent body attack to capture the NABF middleweight title by unanimous decision over Bronco Mckart Saturday night at the Hollywood Park Casino in Inglewood, California, USA.

[Source: Boxing Fight Reports

Mike Alvarado KOs Huerta, Closes the Curtain on Solo Boxeo

2008-12-31T02:55:00.003-08:00

By Jason Pribila: The National Western Complex Arena in Denver, CO was packed on Friday night as fans gathered to cheer on their hometown hero, junior welterweight prospect Mike Mile High Alvarado. A national television audience tuned in to say adios to Telefuturas Solo Boxeo, which was ending its run after eight-plus years.

Read More...

[Source: Boxing Fight Reports

Avila's Final 2008 Pound For Pound List

2008-12-31T02:55:00.001-08:00

Avila's Final 2008 Pound For Pound List

Read More...

[Source: TheSweetScience.com Boxing

Guzman Too Much For Diaz

2008-12-23T02:42:00.001-08:00

Joan Guzman enjoyed a winning return to the ring on Saturday night after he widely out-pointed Panamanian Ameth Diaz in a 12 round WBA lightweight world title eliminator at El Palacio de los Deportes in Guzmans hometown of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Read More...

[Source: Boxing Fight Reports

James Toney Edges Oquendo For IBA Title

2008-12-17T20:05:00.001-08:00

James Toney Edges Oquendo For IBA Title; Andre Ward, Shawn Estrada, Eddie Chambers and Malik Scott win too

Read More...

[Source: TheSweetScience.com Boxing

He Was Once The Real Deal, A Long Time Ago

2008-12-17T20:04:00.001-08:00

Is There Anyout Out There Who Thinks Holyfield Should Still Be Fighting? Besides Holyfield?

Read More...

[Source: TheSweetScience.com Boxing

D-Hop, Out From B-Hop's Shadow?

2008-12-13T19:40:00.001-08:00

Remember the tale of King Midas? Everything he touched turned to gold, which in a sense was his blessing. But if he touched someone he loved, that person also was transformed into a hunk of shiny, 24-carat metal. And that was his curse.

There are times when undefeated junior welterweight contender Demetrius “The Gladiator” Hopkins must feel as if he, too, is both sides of a Midas golden coin. Because of the Hall of Fame-worthy career crafted by his uncle, Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins, everyone is aware of Demetrius’ genealogy and fighting heritage. But being the nephew of one of boxing’s more illustrious practicioners has a downside.
Everyone is apt to compare him to his more famous relative, and probably unfavorably at this point. Then there is that little matter of the younger Hopkins constantly trying to establish his own identity, one that isn’t engulfed by the long shadow cast by his iconic uncle.

“I have to walk in my own shoes, build my own legacy, like he did,” Demetrius, 28, said when asked for what must have seemed like the zillionth time about being eclipsed by B-Hop. “It’s good for him to be my uncle, but I always wanted to do my own thing.”

Demetrius paused, for dramatic effect, proving that if nothing else what he has learned from his uncle is the value of a high-quality sound bite.

“When I become the world champion, I’ll finally walk in my own shoes,” he stressed.

Due to weight problems brought on by illness – talk about the horrors of temporary water-weight buildup – Saturday night’s Showtime-televised rubber match between WBO junior welterweight champion Kendall Holt (24-2, 13 KOs) and former titlist Ricardo Torres (32-2, 28 KOs) in Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall had to be revised. According to Top Rank founder Bob Arum, who promotes both Holt and Hopkins, Torres put on more weight than he could take off in time to make the 140-pound division limit because the high intake of fluids he received after taking ill forced him to suspend his training regimen.

With only a week remaining before fight night, Arum needed a replacement for Torres, and pronto. Fortunately, Hopkins (28-0, 11 KOs) was training for a bout with Germaine Sanders (27-6, 17 KOs) on the Holt-Sanders undercard, so he was available for pinch-hit duty. And so what if his fight with Sanders, his first ring appearance in 13 months, was contracted for a limit of 144 pounds? Title shots, even unplanned ones, do not come around all that often. When one does happen by, you grab it.

“I got a call early Sunday morning and was told Torres was having a problem with his weight and did I think Demetrius could fill in for him,” said Hopkins’ manager, Cameron Dunkin. “I said, `I don’t know why not. I’ll call him.’

“I couldn’t reach Demetrius, but I got in touch with Bozy (Derek “Bozy” Ennis, Hopkins’ trainer) and he contacted Demetrius, who jumped at the chance. Demetrius said, `Yeah. Absolutely. Let’s do it.’ There was never a moment’s hesitation on his part.”

The switch in opponents might have been disappointing to Holt, who had split two previous meetings with Torres and was eager to settle the matter of who was better once and for all. But for Arum and Team Hopkins, the Colombian’s illness was a blessing in disguise.

Asked for the present whereabouts of Torres, Arum said, “He’s in Colombia. As far as I’m concerned, if he stays there, I’m not going to miss him.”

Arum also said he believed “we caught a lucky break” in winding up with Holt-Hopkins, which he said should an upgrade over Holt-Torres III. “I think we have a better fight,” Arum predicted.

The 27-year-old Holt – a onetime stablemate of Hopkins with Duva Boxing who lost to him in the quarterfinals of the 1999 National Golden Gloves tournament – isn’t necessarily disputing Arum’s assessment of the circumstances that have brought him together with his onetime amateur rival. It’s just that, well, he remembers multifight series like Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier, Riddick Bowe-Evander Holyfield and Arturo Gatti-Micky Ward. Some of boxing’s finest rivalries have been forged over the course of three-act plays.

“I was looking forward to having a trilogy,” said Holt, who hails from Paterson, N.J. “There’s not a lot of trilogies anymore. Most of the legends of boxing that came before me had trilogies.

“Oh, well, champions adapt and overcome. (Hopkins) wasn’t preparing for me, I wasn’t preparing for him, but we’re both good to go. I’m looking forward to seeing how this all plays out.”

So is Hopkins, who is ranked No. 9 at 140 pounds by the WBO and No. 12 by the IBF despite his recent inactivity. He firmly believes December 13 will be his personal Independence Day, when he can cinch a world title belt around his waist and announce himself as something more than a fighter with a recognizable name and superior bloodline.

“This is a shot of a lifetime,” Hopkins said. “I’m going to show Kendall something that he ain’t never seen. I feel good, man. I feel strong. I’m well-conditioned. I should have no problem making 140. I’m excited.

“I know he’s got tricks up his sleeve, but I got tricks up mine, too.”

Were Saturday’s bout just for the WBO junior welterweight title, it would be significant to both combatants. But Arum is dangling a carrot on a stick to the winner, which in turn could lead to an even larger carrot on a stick.

The scenario imagined by Arum calls for the Holt-Hopkins winner to move on to a unification bout with WBC super lightweight champ Timothy Bradley (23-0, 11 KOs), with the winner of that one advancing to a high-visibility, megabucks showdown with the man widely considered to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world today, Manny Pacquiao (48-3-2, 36 KOs), who is coming off his Dec. 6 eighth-round stoppage of Oscar De La Hoya. Pacquiao, who jumped up from lightweight to welterweight to take on De La Hoya, has indicated his preference for campaigning as a junior welter.

Not that he can even dare to look that far ahead, but Demetrius Hopkins has to be at least peripherally aware that three straight victories at this stage of his career would not only have the effect of allowing him to escape from his uncle’s prodigious shadow, but maybe even stamping him as the family’s foremost fighter. Wouldn’t that be something?

“My uncle and I have had our differences,” said the younger Hopkins, recalling a rift earlier this year that led him to leave B-Hop’s promotional company, Golden Boy, for Top Rank. “He wanted me to do things his way and I wanted to do things my way.

“But we’re all right. We’re always going to be family. I have no bad thoughts about Bernard, Richard Schaefer or Golden Boy. They’re good people. We couldn’t see eye-to-eye on certain things, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.”

The interaction between Bernard and Demetrius is such that it might make for an interesting psychological case study of family dynamics, particularly when that family is so deeply into boxing and the determination of the designation as alpha male.

Before his first fight with Jermain Taylor on July 16, 2005, Bernard Hopkins was training in Miami Beach and, is his wont, was storytelling for an audience that included a reporter. The morning’s topics included how Demetrius, the son of B-Hop’s older sister Bernadette, came to become involved in boxing.

“I gave Demetrius his first pair of gloves,” Bernard recalled. “Demetrius would cry all the time. I’d tell Bernadette that he’d always be in trouble if he didn’t stand up to the tough guys who were giving him a hard time. So I took him around the corner to Mr. (Jazz) Jarrett, right in the basement, and put gloves on him.

“Within a month, nobody was picking on Demetrius anymore. Within a year, he was putting combinations together and winning these little trophies, and he was hooked. It was an accident it happened that way, but, you know, he at least had to learn how to defend himself.”

As an amateur boxer and even as a fledgling pro, Demetrius routinely acquiesced to Bernard’s wishes. Over time, though, he chafed at being told what to do, when to do it and how to do it. He complied when Bernard directed him to drop Ennis as his trainer and work with Bouie Fisher, who at the time was Bernard’s chief second. When Demetrius decided to go back to Ennis, it wasn’t exactly an act of rebellion, but it sent a signal that he no longer was that sniveling kid who required his uncle’s tough love to help him make his way through life’s myriad crises.

As the conflicts between uncle and nephew escalated in frequency and severity, Demetrius made a decision that led him to the crossroads at which he now stands.

“Demetrius was very confused and unhappy,” Dunkin said of the fighter’s occasionally rocky relationship with his uncle and Golden Boy earlier this year. “He read on the Internet about a (USBA junior welterweight) title fight Golden Boy was going to make for him. Look, Demetrius just wanted to know what was going on. He felt like he didn’t have any control over his own career.”

Ennis spoke to Dunkin, who agreed to manage Hopkins once his contractual situation was resolved.

“I spoke with Golden Boy, Top Rank and Lou DiBella,” Dunkin said. “Top Rank came up with the most money and the best deal.

“Golden Boy could have held him for up to a year, but, to their credit, they didn’t want to harm the kid at all.”

Arum confirmed that his acquisition of D-Hop was relatively wrangle- and lawyer-free. “We liked Demetrius,” Arum said. “We thought he was a good fighter. But we made it clear to him that we wouldn’t enter into any discussions or talk to him about signing a promotional agreement until he had terminated his relationship with Golden Boy. We didn’t poach him. We have a very good relationship with Golden Boy so fights can happen that people want to see. We don’t go after each other’s fighters.”

Nonetheless, Demetrius stood idle until he was free and clear, contractually. He now believes “Top Rank can take me to the top of the world,” and Saturday’s showdown with Holt will be the first long stride upward.

For his part, Hopkins doesn’t think his 1999 Golden Gloves victory over Holt means much. “We’re not boys now. We’re men,” he said. But he convinced that, boy or man, what he brings to the table is more than Holt will be able to deal with.

“I can adapt to any style,” Hopkins said is dismissing any potential problems that might arise from switching opponents on short notice. “Come Saturday, I will be the WBO junior welterweight champion of the world.”

Holt, while acknowledging that Hopkins “is a good fighter,” isn’t ready to concede anything. He appears to regard Demetrius as Hopkins Lite, a poser and wannabe who can never be as good as his uncle, no matter how hard he tries.

“I give him credit. He was the better man that night (in their Golden Gloves matchup),” Holt said. “But that was a long time ago. I’m entering the ring with the belt and I’m going to leave with the belt.”

Third Time Lucky As Magee Takes British Crown

2008-12-13T19:39:00.001-08:00

By Andrew Wake: It was a case of third time lucky for Belfast southpaw Brian Magee as he claimed the vacant British super-middleweight title with an eighth round stoppage of Glenrothes Stevie McGuire at the Brentwood International Centre in Brentwood this evening (Saturday 13 December).

Read More...

[Source: Boxing Fight Reports

Lennox Lewis To Enter Hall of Fame

2008-12-10T19:07:00.001-08:00

CANASTOTA, NY - DECEMBER 9, 2008 - The International Boxing Hall of Fame and Museum announced the newest class of inductees to enter the Hall. Living inductees include bantamweight champion Orlando Canizales (USA), heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis (UK), junior lightweight champion Brian Mitchell (South Africa), publicist / matchmaker / promoter Bob Goodman (USA), promoterAkihiko Honda (Japan), journalist Hugh McIlvanney (UK), and broadcaster Larry Merchant (USA).

“We're extremely excited about the Class of 2009 and very much looking forward to honoring the 20th class of inductees,” said Executive Director Edward Brophy. “All living inductees are anticipated to attend and participate in 2009 Hall of Fame Weekend festivities.”

The 20th Annual Hall of Fame Weekend is scheduled for June 11-14th in Canastota, NY. Over 20 events, including a golf tournament, banquet, parade and autograph card show, are planned. An impressive celebrity lineup of boxing greats of yesterday and today will attend this year's Induction Weekend. The highlight of the weekend will be the Official Enshrinement Ceremony on the Hall of Fame Museum Grounds in Canastota, New York on Sunday, June 14th to welcome the newest members.

The Hall of Fame also released names of posthumous honorees: Middleweight champion William "Gorilla" Jones, welterweight champion "Mysterious" Billy Smith and middleweight champion Billy Soose in the Old-Timer Category; manager Billy Gibson and commissioner Abe J. Greene in the Non-Participant Category; and journalist Paul Gallico in the Observer Category; and Tom Hyer in the Pioneer Category. Inductees were voted in by members of the Boxing Writers Association and a panel of international boxing historians.

Read More...

First a nap, then Rahman vows to beat Klitschko

2008-12-10T19:06:00.003-08:00

Hasim Rahman looked bemused by the setting: rows of washing machines stacked upon refrigerators.

Top Level Boxing, MMA In Costa Rica

2008-12-10T19:06:00.001-08:00

World class boxing comes to Costa Rica on Friday, Dec. 5, when Roberto Garcia takes on Humberto Aranda in a middleweight scrap.

P4P Champ Miguel Torres KOs Manny Tapia

2008-12-04T21:24:00.007-08:00

P4P Champ Miguel Torres KOs Manny Tapia

Read More...

Video: UFC 92: Nogueira Pre-fight Interview

2008-12-04T21:24:00.005-08:00

Interim UFC Heavyweight Champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is ready to defend his title against former UFC Heavyweight Champ Frank Mir...

Read More...

Teen and mother accused of running illegal boxing

2008-12-04T21:24:00.003-08:00

BRANTFORDa 'A teen's wish for an after-school activity has led to charges against the boy and his mother for allegedly staging illegal backyard fights refereed by the mother.

14:03 Bray woman retains boxing title

2008-12-04T21:24:00.001-08:00

Katie Taylor has retained her World lightweight title with a classy 13-2 win over Cheng Dong of China at the Women's World Championships in Ningbo City, China this morning.

Strikeforce: "Destruction" Weigh In Results

2008-11-25T20:28:00.007-08:00

San Jose, CA. —Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith (13-5) weighed in at 185 ½ lbs. and his opponent, Terry Martin...

Read More...

Jhonny Gonzalez KOs Colombia's Reynaldo Lopez

2008-11-25T20:28:00.005-08:00

Jhonny Gonzalez KOs Colombia's Reynaldo Lopez

Read More...

Boxing- Kevin Mitchell: the US fight game is in danger of being consumed by its own bastard children

2008-11-25T20:28:00.003-08:00

The rise of Ultimate Fighting and its ugly offshoots is hastening the decline of the grand old game that spawned it ) Boxing's profile has sunk so low in the US that young, talented and charismatic fighters ...

a Q&a with Paul Williams

2008-11-25T20:28:00.001-08:00

A Q&A with Paul Williams Posted by Ramon Aranda on 11.25.2008 The Punisher answers a few questions regarding his upcoming fight with Verno Phillips on HBO.

David Haye Post Fight Quotes

2008-11-20T21:05:00.009-08:00

Former cruiserweight world champion David Haye announced his arrival in the heavyweight division in spectacular style with a 5th round knockout victory over American Monte Barrett on Saturday night at the O2 Arena in London, UK televised live on Setanta Sports.

TUF 8: Episode 8 Recap

2008-11-20T21:05:00.007-08:00

The Ultimate Fighter 8: Team Nogueira vs. Team MirEpisode 7 RecapRecap of Team Mir's pranks and the highlights of Vinny's...

Read More...

Taylor Returns to Form with Points Win Over Lacy

2008-11-20T21:05:00.005-08:00

By Paul Upham: It wasnt a world title fight win but for Jermain Taylor, but at this stage of his boxing career, it may have been more important than that. A unanimous twelve round points win over his former Olympic team mate and former world champion Jeff Lacy has got Taylors career back on track, after back to back losses to Kelly Pavlik.

Read More...

[Source: Boxing Fight Reports - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

BOXING: Calzaghe proves he's the man

2008-11-20T21:05:00.003-08:00

Even before he throttled Roy Jones Jr. last week, Joe Calzaghe of Wales had already hinted it might be his last fight.

Read More...

[Source: Boxing News - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Godfrey To Fight In N. Dakota

2008-11-20T21:05:00.001-08:00

" NABF cruiserweight champion Matt "Too Smooth" Godfrey , rated No. 3 by the WBC, fights Saturday night for the first Sovereign Nations Boxing Council title against Eddie "The Iron Man" Gutierrez at 4 Bears ...

Read More...

[Source: Boxing News - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Hopkins and an even tougher fighter

2008-11-03T22:23:00.000-08:00

You won’t find Shaun Negler’s name in the FightFax database, the official record-keeping service of professional boxing.

There are no tapes of any of his memorable wins or stories of epic triumphs left behind. That’s because they don’t exist. He was robbed of a career in the sport he loved.

But none other than Bernard Hopkins, one of the greatest fighters of this or any generation, will tell you that he hasn’t met a tougher, or more courageous, fighter than Shaun Negler.

The improbable friendship between the long-time middleweight champion and the 18-year-old who worshipped him officially ended at 12:15 p.m. EDT on Oct. 23, 2008, when Negler could fight no more and succumbed to a 2½ year battle with cancer.

But Hopkins, who first met Negler in 2006 when he learned that the then-16-year-old had a deadly form of cancer, isn’t ready to accept that his friend is gone.

“This kid’s soul is still with us,” said Hopkins, who served as a pall bearer at Negler’s funeral in Philadelphia on Oct. 29. “His spirit lives inside of me and inside a lot of the people I met over these last couple of years.”

Negler’s mother, Renee, remembered sitting in a doctor’s office. It seemed as if she were watching the world on a black-and-white television. Everything seemed so dark.

Several weeks earlier, in a Philadelphia gym in May 2006, her youngest son injured his left ankle as he was preparing for his first fight.

PhotoShaun Negler greatly touched the life of Bernard Hopkins. “He was a winner his whole life and I think he’s still a winner,” Hopkins said.
(Images courtesy Negler family)

The injury didn’t respond to treatment. An MRI was done and on May 30, Shaun and his parents were sitting in a doctor’s office, waiting to hear why this ankle was taking so long to heal.

“I just remember it being such a dark room and now, looking back on it, it seems so surreal,” said Renee Negler, a 41-year-old loan manager. “There were two doctors there and they came in and seemed to have very solemn looks on their faces. I was looking at Shaunie and he was looking at me. It was the doctors, my husband and Shaunie and I. They said, ‘We need to take him to Children’s Hospital right away. We found a large mass in his leg.’ There was no crying and Shaunie was like, ‘OK. No problem. Let’s come up with a plan.’ He wanted to figure a way to live right away.”

He had Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare form of cancer which seems mainly to attack teenaged males. Once the cancer begins to metastasize, the survival rate is around 10 percent.

It wasn’t good, and everyone in the family, including Shaun, knew it. But no one would cry or moan about his fate, because Shaun would have none of it. He planned a lot of things, including becoming rich and famous. A horrible, grisly death at 18 was not part of the plan.

“This was a guy who was facing death every day but he didn’t talk about dying or feel sorry for himself or ask you, ‘Why is this happening to me?’ ” Hopkins said. “I was in camp getting ready to fight [Kelly] Pavlik and I was getting all these text messages from him, encouraging me and pushing me. And this was a guy who had so many problems, that whoever wins or loses a fight should be the last thing he is thinking about.”

As death hovered on his doorstep, though, Negler, was, indeed, thinking about a fight. He was fighting to live, but he was also fighting to stay alive to see Hopkins box one last time. A little more than five months earlier, the Negler family attended Hopkins’ split decision loss to Joe Calzaghe at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on April 19, 2008.

It was an excruciatingly tight match and the Neglers, who by that point had all grown close with Hopkins, had felt he’d won. But after the fight, they were anxious to go out and see the town.

This was Las Vegas, after all, and they didn’t get this opportunity often.

All of them, that is, but one were hoping to go.

“They announced the decision and we all knew Bernard had won that fight. There was no doubt,” said Shaun’s father, Mike Negler, a 42-year-old Philadelphia police officer. “As the fight was going on, Shaun was pointing out how Calzaghe was throwing a lot of punches, but how they weren’t landing and he was showing us how good Bernard’s defense really was. When they announced the score, Shaun was absolutely miserable. He was just as upset and as angry as you can imagine.

“He said, ‘Oh no, they took it from him. They stole it from him.’ And then he didn’t want to do anything else. Here we are in Las Vegas. How many people would do anything to be in Vegas like we were and get to go out on a Saturday night and have a good time? And Shaun said, ‘Take me to the room.’ He wouldn’t do anything else. He was so upset.”

Hopkins signed to fight Pavlik, the unbeaten middleweight champion, in a bout Oct. 18 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. Shaun talked of being at the fight, but his condition had long since worsened to the point where that kind of travel, an hour or so from his home, was not possible.

“You have to understand, they gave this kid two, three weeks to live, and it’s 12 weeks and he’s still here saying, ‘I want to see you beat Kelly Pavlik,’ ” Hopkins said. “This kid was just amazing. He had a will to live like I’ve never seen.”

Before Hopkins left to begin his training camp, the family had a reunion of sorts. All the family and friends were invited over for what was a chance to essentially say goodbye to Shaun.

He was on borrowed time and was expected to live only for a matter of a few days, if not a couple of weeks. Hopkins, who knew of Shaun’s love of cars, attended the outing and brought over his $150,000 Bentley.

But he didn’t just park it. He grabbed Shaun, brought him to the car and put him in the front seat. Then he closed the door and turned on the engine.

Photo Shaun Negler named his pit bull puppy “Champ,” a name suggested by Bernard Hopkins.
(Images courtesy Negler family)

The two were sitting there, the 43-year-old finely tuned athlete and the 18-year-old whose body was ravaged by cancer, blind in one eye, with a leg amputated because of his disease.

“What the hell you doing?” Hopkins said in mock indignation. “Drive!”

And so Negler began to drive.

“I thought he’d take it down to the bottom of the driveway, turn around and come back,” Mike Negler said.

Hopkins, though, knew that wouldn’t fulfill the kid’s dream. He wanted to take the car onto the road. So, again, Hopkins urged him to drive. Shaun hit the accelerator, believing the car to be in drive.

It was in reverse, however, and landed up on a curb, damaging Hopkins’ rims. To this day, the rims are not fixed on the otherwise pristine car, Hopkins’ memory of his now-departed friend.

Soon after, Hopkins left for camp and Negler’s condition worsened by the hour. But he wanted to see the fight so badly and he talked about it incessantly with his family.

“Shaun was a diehard fan of all the Philadelphia teams,” Mike Negler said. “He just was in love with all of them, but Bernard, he fell 1,000 percent for Bernard. He loved boxing and then here’s this great fighter from Philadelphia with this incredible story.”

Hopkins trained in Miami knowing each day he might get the call he would dread receiving.

On Oct. 18, the day of the bout he was literally staving off death to see, Negler was in excruciating pain – “bone pain,” as his mother calls it.

A few months earlier, on the first day he got his prosthesis, he had the therapists put it on and he began walking without any physical therapy. He didn’t want it adjusted and demanded that he be driven to his mother’s place of work in Delaware.

Normally, it takes weeks of grueling rehabilitative work for someone who had an amputation to be able to walk. On the first day, Negler, whose left leg was amputated at the knee, was driven to his mother’s office, walked down the aisle and ambled up to her desk.

“There was something in his body and his spirit made him hang around so he could see me that one last time.”

– Bernard Hopkins
on Shaun Negler.

“It took my breath away when I saw him,” she said. “He had this big grin on his face and I couldn’t breathe.”

But now, hours before his friend and idol was to climb into the ring for the fight he so desperately wanted to watch, Negler’s pain was so bad, he took the prosthesis off. He was given more drugs to ease the pain.

When the pay-per-view broadcast on HBO began at 9 p.m., he was helped out of bed and literally crawled downstairs on his hands and knees to sit in front of the television.

But he was only able to stay awake for short periods of time.

“At that point, it was like 10, maybe 15 minutes at most,” Renee Negler said.

He demanded they wake him up when Hopkins came to the ring. Hopkins’ bout began near midnight Eastern time. As Hopkins made his ring walk, the family roused Shaun, who instantly became as alert as he had been at any time in days.

“There was something in his body and his spirit made him hang around so he could see me that one last time,” Hopkins said. “As a human being, can you imagine how that makes me feel?”

There were about 20 or 30 people in the house watching the fight. As Hopkins was being introduced, Renee Negler turned toward her son, who had a wan smile across his face and had formed an “X” with his arms, a tribute to Hopkins, whose nickname is “The Executioner.”

Hopkins went on to win in a rout in the performance of his life. For one night, he was better than he had ever been. And Shaun Negler, who had been able only to stay awake for 10 minutes at a time, was suddenly alive and vibrant as the fight went on.

He was shouting at the television as Hopkins pounded Pavlik with powerful punches, cheering his hero on to victory.

Unbeknownst to anyone, Renee Negler had turned on a video camera on her son and captured his reaction during the fight.

He was gleeful throughout as Hopkins performed brilliantly. When the fight ended, Negler needed to go back to sleep.

He turned to his pit bull puppy, whom Hopkins had suggested he named “Champ,” and kissed it on the head. He crawled back upstairs and was helped into bed. A few minutes later, he lapsed into unconsciousness and never opened his eyes again.

He died a few days later, in his home. Hopkins, who served a stint in the Pennsylvania penal system on a strong-armed robbery conviction, was torn apart.

Photo“There was a bond between the two of them despite all the differences between them and they loved each other,” said Renee Negler, Shaun’s mother, on her son and boxer Bernard Hopkins.
(Images courtesy Negler family)

But because of his time in prison, he learned to control his emotions. He never cried publicly because of what he learned while he was in prison.

Hopkins was, however, stung by the loss of someone he considered more than just a friend. He not only served as a pall bearer, he spent hours with the Negler family that day and put the gloves he wore the night he defeated Pavlik into the casket with Shaun.

“It’s breathtaking the kindness that is in this man’s heart, because it would have been easy for him to meet Shaun, say the right things and move on,” Renee Negler said. “But what he did, he did because he cared. And he did because Shaunie and he had some kind of a connection. There was a bond between the two of them despite all the differences between them and they loved each other.”

Hopkins said that for as much as he may have given to Shaun and the Neglers, he received much more in return.

“This was a kid who had every reason to feel sorry for himself, who had every reason to give up, and he never once would give in and he never once looked at the dark side of anything,” Hopkins said. “He looked at death and said, ‘I want to live. And I’m going to make the most of what I have.’ And that’s what we have to do while we’re here on this Earth. Take what you have and do the best you can with it. Look at what this kid was dealt and look what he did with it.

“Cancer did not beat him. He beat cancer, because cancer needed his body to live. He’s probably smiling somewhere saying, ‘You know, Bernard, I did it. I beat cancer.’ This kid wasn’t a loser. He was a winner his whole life and I think he’s still a winner.”

Hurray For Excess Of Sanctioning Bodies

2008-10-27T04:05:00.015-07:00

They Debuted At Age 15, And 14 1/2--They Deserve A Title, Both Of Them

Read More...

[Source: TheSweetScience.com Boxing - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Bailey Tops Chop Chop

2008-10-27T04:05:00.013-07:00

Jerry Glick reporting: On a chilly night in Times Square the New York boxing fans made their way to a curious venue for their favorite sport. Ordinarily a place where you would go to for some fine music; but on this night BB Kings was where boxing fans needed to be to see another installment of DiBella Entertainments Broadway Boxing.

Read More...

[Source: Boxing Fight Reports - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Official Pancrase Rankings

2008-10-27T04:05:00.011-07:00

Open-weight:King Of Pancrase: Josh Barnett (U.S.A./ freelance)Heavyweight: 205lbs (93.0kg) - 265lbs (120.2kg)King Of Pancrase: VacantLight-heavyweight: 185lbs (83.9kg) - 205lbs...

Read More...

[Source: The Fight Site News Feed - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

UFC 89: Fight Of The Night Bonuses

2008-10-27T04:05:00.009-07:00

Chris Lytle and Paul Taylor were awarded $40,000 (Approx. £20,000) for Fight of the night for their three round war...

Read More...

[Source: The Fight Site News Feed - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Fragomeni Is WBC Cruiserweight King

2008-10-27T04:05:00.007-07:00

Giacobbe Fragomeni claimed the vacant WBC cruiserweight title via technical eighth round decision over Rudolf Kraj in Milan, Italy on Friday night.

Read More...

[Source: Boxing Fight Reports - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Lomax Wins Welterweight Prizefighter

2008-10-27T04:05:00.005-07:00

Michael Lomax scored a split decision win over Ted Bami to win the welterweight Prizefighter tournament at the York Hall in Bethnal Green on Friday night.

Read More...

[Source: Boxing Fight Reports - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Another One Bites The Dust

2008-10-27T04:05:00.003-07:00

5 Oz of Pain is reporting that Pro Elite has gone bust and is expected to file for bankruptcy by...

Read More...

[Source: The Fight Site News Feed - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

UFC 90: Silva Vs. Cote Weigh-in Results

2008-10-27T04:05:00.001-07:00

Anderson Silva (184 lbs.) Vs. Patrick Cote (183 lbs.) (Middleweight Title)Josh Koscheck (170 lbs.) Vs. Thiago Alves (171 lbs.)Junior dos...

Read More...

[Source: The Fight Site News Feed - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Pavlik beat like a chump

2008-10-18T21:27:00.000-07:00

Pavlik loses in 12 could threw in the towel after 5.

Respect the legends, the real boxers. Not these promoter made and ranked chumps. Boxing has been filled with these over hyped fighters to the point of looking like WWE. Bernard Hopkins has only lost to promoters and the crooks in boxing in his career. He just dismantled another so called champion. Pavlik was done after the second round. You can't beat someone you can't hit. Learn from the Sweet Pee Whitakers that defense and ring generalship wins fights. That's how Ali fought and that's how legends fight. Its sad to see the boxers boxer die.

Controversy over Pavilk-Hopkins ref

2008-10-18T03:16:00.000-07:00

It's not a Bernard Hopkins fight without a controversy and so the obligatory dispute erupted on Friday, just more than 24 hours before Hopkins and Kelly Pavlik are to meet on Saturday in a non-title light heavyweight fight at Boardwalk Hall.

The New Jersey Athletic Control Board on Thursday opted to remove Earl Morton, whom it had appointed as the referee on Oct. 1, and on Friday named Benji Esteves Jr.

The move was prompted when Pavlik manager Cameron Dunkin protested Morton's appointment. Dunkin sent a complaint to the NJACB on Tuesday with the signatures of fighters from Philadelphia, referee Eddie Cotton and others in the Philadelphia boxing community alleging a friendship between Hopkins and Morton.

Richard Schaefer, the CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, of which Hopkins is a partner, vehemently denied that. Schaefer was in the limousine with Hopkins when Hopkins learned of the referee changed.

"He told me that if you put Morton in a line with 10 people, he wouldn't be able to pick him out," Schaefer said.

New Jersey deputy attorney general Nick Lembo gave the Pavlik and Hopkins camps three names to choose from. The Pavlik side chose Steve Smoger, but the Hopkins side did not pick.

Lembo eventually chose Esteves, who worked Hopkins' victory over Antonio Tarver in Atlantic City in 2006.

It was hardly the only ridiculous controversy of the day. Minutes before the weigh-in — in which Pavlik weighed 169 and Hopkins was 170 — Dunkin and attorney Michael Miller on behalf of Pavlik met with Golden Boy COO David Itskowitch on behalf of Hopkins to determine which fighter would walk out first for the weigh-in.

These five fighters weren’t over the hill

2008-10-17T05:27:00.000-07:00

Bernard Hopkins has already delivered a virtuoso performance after the age of 40, his convincing decision over Antonio Tarver in 2006 – Hopkins’ first fight in the light heavyweight division.

A similar victory over rising star Kelly Pavlik on Saturday in Atlantic City, N.J. would only solidify the 43-year old Hopkins’ place among the most-successful post-40 fighters in boxing history.

However, he has some formidable company in the not-so-over-the-hill gang. Here’s a look at the five greatest accomplishments by fighters 40 and older (in chronological order):

Bob Fitzsimmons vs. George Gardiner
Nov. 25, 1903, San Francisco
Fitzsimmons’ age: 40
The fight: Fitzsimmons already was a legend when he fought Gardiner, who had become the first champion of the newly created light heavyweight division by knocking out Jack Root four months earlier. Fitzsimmons won the middleweight title by knocking out the original Jack “Nonpareil” Dempsey (not the star of the 1920s) in 1891 and went on to stop a much-bigger James J. Corbett with his famous “solar plexus” punch to win the heavyweight championship six years later. The blacksmith from New Zealand with the massive shoulders and spindly legs could’ve walked away at that point as one of the sport’s greatest figures. However, when the 175-pound division was created, Fitzsimmons seized the opportunity to further enhance his reputation. Still fit, he outboxed his 26-year-old rival to win a 20-round decision and become the first fighter to win titles in three weight classes. Fitzsimmons would move back up to the heavyweight division with mixed results before finally retiring permanently at 50. However, the fact that even today his name comes up in boxing circles is evidence of his lasting legacy. When Roy Jones Jr. outpointed John Ruiz in 2003, he joined Fitzsimmons as the only one-time middleweight champion to win a heavyweight belt.

Archie Moore vs. Yvon Durelle
Dec. 10, 1958, Montreal
Moore’s age: 41 (or 44)
The fight: Moore was either 41 or 44 (depending on whether you believe him or his mother) and had been fighting professionally for 23 years when he stepped into the ring to defend his light heavyweight title against the largely unknown 28-year-old fisherman from Canada. Moore was defending his title for the seventh time and trying to become the all-time knockout king, having gone into the fight tied with Young Stribling with 127 KOs. No one gave Durelle much of a chance. And then the opening bell rang. Moore had barely worked up a sweat when he was knocked down by a right and appeared to be out cold. He got up just in time. And then went down again. And up. And down. Three times in the first round and once more in the fifth. He would later be quoted as saying, “Is this really happening to me?” Somehow he persevered in what would become a classic example of survival. By mid-fight, Moore, fully recovered, seized control of the fight as Durelle started to fade. Finally, in the 10th round, an exhausted Durelle was battered to the canvas by a barrage of punches and was stopped by a right in the 11th. Thus, Moore retained his title, claimed the KO record and made a bit a history.

Larry Holmes vs. Ray Mercer
Feb. 7, 1992, Atlantic City, N.J.
Holmes’ age: 42
The fight: Larry Holmes was no longer the seemingly unbeatable fighter of the 1970s and early 1980s when he faced the then-unbeaten (18-0) gold medalist from the 1988 Seoul Olympics, who had brutally knocked out Tommy Morrison in his previous fight and was in line to fight Evander Holyfield for the heavyweight title. Holmes was supposed to be a safe fight in the meantime. However, the “Easton Assassin” still had that incredible jab – perhaps the best in boxing history – and the guile to pull off one last great performance. To the shock of many in the crowd, Holmes controlled the fight almost from beginning to end with his jab and calculated aggression. The old man had such as easy time that he actually taunted Mercer and talked to ringsiders during the action, a clear sign that he had no worries. He also heard chants of “Larry, Larry,” which was music to the ears of a tremendously talented fighter that had always been underappreciated. In the end, Holmes earned a unanimous decision and the right to fight Holyfield himself four months later. He lost, although he gave a credible performance, and would never again enjoy success as he once did. However, he showed against Mercer that he still had plenty left at 40-plus.

George Foreman vs. Michael Moorer
Nov. 5, 1994, Las Vegas
Foreman’s age: 45
The fight: Foreman didn’t emerge from his 10-year hiatus from boxing at 38 years old and dive immediately back into the title picture. He fought regularly to rebuild his reputation and physical condition. Thus, he was 27-2 in his comeback and a legitimate Top-10 heavyweight when he met the then-unbeaten IBF and WBA heavyweight champ Moorer. At this time, Moorer, the former light heavyweight champ, was undefeated but had been knocked down several times as a heavyweight. Meanwhile, Foreman had deteriorated physically but still had both his power and surprising stamina. His performance against Moorer was anything but great for nine-plus rounds. The skillful younger fighter boxed the old man silly to take a significant lead on the scorecards and prompt more than one spectator to cry, “This is a joke.” Well, Foreman got the last laugh. He claimed afterward that he set a trap for Moorer, just waiting for the opening to land what he was certain would be the deciding blow. It came at 2:03 of the 10th round, a straight right on the chin that put the champ on his back. Moorer couldn’t get up, giving Foreman the heavyweight title 20 years after he lost it to Muhammad Ali. Some suggested the result was so improbable that the fight must’ve been fixed. Said Foreman: “Sure the fight was fixed. I fixed it with a right hand.”

Bernard Hopkins vs. Antonio Tarver
June 10, 2006, Atlantic City, N.J.
Hopkins’ age: 41
The fight: Hopkins billed this as his farewell fight, which no one took seriously given his love for the sport and enduring earning power. However, it would’ve been a great way to go out. Going into the fight, Hopkins was coming off possibly the most-frustrating period in his career. His remarkable streak of middleweight title defenses ended at a division-record 20 when he lost a split decision to Jermain Taylor and subsequently was outpointed again by Taylor. It seemed that his age had finally caught up to him. So what did he do? He moved up two weight classes to fight one of the better light heavyweights of his time, one who once knocked out Roy Jones Jr. and then easily outpointed Jones in his most-recent fight. The result was stunning. Hopkins, as slick as ever, dominated from beginning to end to win all but two rounds on all three cards. He even put Tarver down in the fifth round. Immediately afterward, one man wasn’t the least bit surprised. “I told people,” Hopkins said, “they would be surprised that it would be an easy fight.” It should be noted that Tarver, then 37, had to lose the 43 pounds he put on to play a heavyweight in the film “Rocky Balboa,” which might explain his apparent lethargy. Still, we saw what we saw: Hopkins turned in one of his finest and most-memorable performances of his career at 41.

Dunstan and Burkinshaw Bounce Back

2008-10-16T01:10:00.009-07:00

By Andrew Wake at ringside: The last time former British and European cruiserweight champion Terry Dunstan fought a professional bout the ipod was a thing of the future and people were worrying that the Millennium Bug was about to crash the worlds computers and send us back into the dark ages.

Friday Night US Round-Up/World-Rated 160 Lopez Wins, Rodela Beats Kelley

2008-10-16T01:10:00.007-07:00

At the Desert Diamond Casino in Tucson, Arizona, WBC No.3 rated middleweight David Lopez outpointed Samuel Miller to capture the vacant WBC Latino 160 lbs. belt. Scores were 119-108, 118-109 and 117-110. In an eight-round co-feature lightweight David Rodela outpointed former WBC 126 lbs. champion Kevin Kelley on split scores of 78-74, 77-75 and 74-78.

Dawson Defeats Tarver on Points

2008-10-16T01:10:00.005-07:00

By Sean Wippert at ringside: Chad Dawson defeated Antonio Tarver by 12 unanimous points decision over 12 rounds to win the IBF/IBO light heavyweight boxing world titles at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday night.

Klitschko Reclaims WBC Crown with TKO Win

2008-10-16T01:10:00.003-07:00

By Michael Norby: In a stunning display that belied the anticipated effects of a nearly four year layoff, Vitali Klitschko dominated Nigerian powerhouse Samuel Peter on Saturday night to hoist aloft the WBC world heavyweight title at The O2 World Arena in Berlin, Germany.

Dirrell, Avalos And Williams Victorious At The Palms

2008-10-16T01:10:00.001-07:00

Check out all the undercard action and results from the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas from Sean Wippert at ringside

video: Kimbo TKOd by no-name in 14 seconds

2008-10-04T22:06:00.000-07:00

Heavyweights: Seth Petruzelli (11-4) def. Kimbo Slice (3-1)
How: Ref stoppage in 14 seconds
Turning point: Petruzelli dropped Slice immediately with a jab and pummeled him with punch after punch until ref Todd Waugh stopped it.
Analysis: The ramifications here are numerous. Even if the television rating is big, the goose that laid the golden egg was exposed by a fighter who previously was known only to the most hardcore fans. In the long run, that is devastating to the company and for MMA on CBS. The future is very much up in the air.

David Blaine Vs. Kimbo Slice

Final curtain for the Kimbo show

SUNRISE, Fla. – The legend of Kimbo Slice was built by beating bums in boat yards and back alleys not far from here. It came crashing down Saturday courtesy of a quick punch from a pink-haired journeyman giving up two inches in height, four in reach and 30 pounds in muscle and might.

One simple shot sent Slice to the canvas and from there some guy named Seth Petruzelli needed just 12 punches and 14 seconds to put an end (we hope) to one of the great sporting charades of all time.

It was just a matter of time before Kimbo got exposed. He was little more than a character out of central casting, a bunch of addictive YouTube videos and a lot of insane hype by CBS, which made him a headliner before he made himself a fighter.