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HBO Boxing After Dark Recap

 

September 6, 2008

Toyota Center-Houston, Texas

 

This is the first boxing event at the Toyota Center and has drawn a crowd of 13,477.

 

1. WBO Latino Junior Lightweight (130 pounds) 12-Round Match:

Rocky Juarez (27-4, 19 KO's, 130 pounds) vs. Jorge Barrios (47-3-1, 1 NC, 34 KO's, 130 pounds)

This title is currently vacant. Josenilson Dos Santos was the last champion. He won the title when it was vacant on August 22, 2008, and immediately vacated it.

Juarez was an outstanding amateur boxing who took home the silver medal for the United States in the 125 pound weight class at the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympiad.

The Houstonian is coming off a 12-round unanimous decision loss to Juan Manuel Marquez on November 3, 2007 at the Desert Diamond Casino in Tucson, Arizona. Juarez took a severe beating in that match. An accidental clash of heads had Juarez bleeding heavily with 1 minute to go in round 1. That cut bled throughout the match. Marquez would open up an additional cut on Juarez' right ear in round 8. The Mexican boxer was landing hard pinpoint combinations at will to Juarez' face the entire match. The Showtime commentators felt the match could have reasonably been stopped in round 10. The original recap of that match can be found here: http://www.number1contender.net/the-latest/2008/9/1/recap-of-last-rocky-juarez-match.html That match forced Juarez to take a long break from the ring and this will be his first match in over 10 months. The previous longest break between official matches for Juarez was around 6 months.

During the layoff, Juarez had surgery on his left eye to deal with a cartilage buildup. Juarez said he entered the match with Marquez with the eye problem. He said the eye problem was so bad if he were asked to pick up a pepper shaker off a kitchen table he could not see well enough to tell if he were picking up the pepper or salt. It is unclear how anyone close to Juarez let him in the ring in that condition. It is terrifying that a commission would clear a boxer that cannot see to compete. It appears it was an Arizona tribal boxing commission that cleared the dangerously unfit Juarez to compete. It does not appear to be the same Arizona tribe that cleared Tommy Morrison to compete in MMA, but still does not speak well of the sanctioning process for combat sport athletes on tribal lands in Arizona.

Juarez is The Ring magazine's number 10 ranked contender at 130 pounds to their vacant championship in the weight class.

Barrios had a good amateur boxing career that culminated when he qualified to represent Argentina at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics. However, Barrios decided to turn pro to earn money to help his family rather then go to the Olympics.

Barrios is also coming off the longest layoff of his career. He needed to get surgery for a severe cataract problem on his left eye.

The Argentinean's last match was a round 3 knockout victory over Decho Bankluaygym at Estadio Luna Park in Buenos Aires, Argentina on April 21, 2007.

Barrios is The Ring's number 5 contender at 130 pounds.

At 28-years-old, Juarez is 4 years younger then the 32-year-old Barrios. Barrios holds the height advantage standing 5' 6" tall, while Juarez stands 5' 4" tall. Juarez has the reach advantage with a 22" arm length measured from the armpit to the end of the fist, compared to the 21" arm length of Barrios. They both have rehydrated to unofficially weigh 146 pounds approaching match time. Both boxers will employ the orthodox stance.

The unified rules of boxing are in effect for this match. Two of the judges keeping official score of this match from ringside are from Texas, and the other is from New Mexico. The referee is Rafael Ramos. Harold Lederman will be HBO's unofficial scorekeeper for this event.

Juarez wins a relatively even round 1, 10-9. Lederman scores round 1 for Barrios, 10-9. With over 1 minute to go in round 2, there is some swelling beginning around the right eye of Barrios. Barrios wins round 2 big, 10-9. The Argentinean wins round 2 on Lederman's scorecard, 10-9. With 1:01 to go in round 3, the referee stops the action to deduct a point from Barrios for hitting low. Barrios had been warned once for low blows in round 2, and is incredulous at this deduction. The camera did not pick up an egregious low blow live, and Juarez did not sell a hard shot to the groin that should have caused the referee to move in and take a point. This is odd. Juarez needs no time to recover, and the match immediately resumes. With about 30 seconds to go in round 3, cuts have been opened up on both boxers. That probably means it came from a clash of heads. Barrios would have won round 3, but the point deduction makes the round even, 9-9. After 3 rounds, the match is even on my scorecard, 28-28. Lederman scores round 3 even, 9-9, and has Barrios ahead on his scorecard after 3 rounds, 29-27. The replays show that Barrios did hit Juarez low, but it was accidental and northwest of where it would have really hurt Juarez. A warning there would have more appropriate then the point deduction.

A lot of the punches Barrios throws in round 4, and throughout the entire match, have been either blocked or slipped by Juarez. However, Juarez is not punching back. Barrios is defensively flawed. His body is constantly exposed, and he throws looping punches that leave his chin exposed for counter punches up the middle. Juarez is accurate and effective when he punches. The native Houstonian is rarely punching, though. Barrios wins round 4, 10-9. Lederman scores round 4 for Barrios, 10-9. According to CompuBox, Juarez is throwing an average of 44 total punches per round for the first 4 rounds. That would be a decent amount of punches thrown for an average heavyweight. Wladimir Klitschko will throw over 60 punches a round on occasion. Elite boxers at 130 pounds will be throwing 100 punches a round. In round 4, Juarez threw 39 punches and Barrios threw 79 punches. Barrios dominates round 5 and wins it easily, 10-9. In round 5, Barrios started to land some of the biggest punches of the match. Something may be wrong with Juarez, because he is not boxing like a person of his stature should. Juarez has the body language of the guy brought in to be the "opponent" and is not out to win. He seems to be showing a lack of confidence, and to be too afraid to be hit to risk punching. Barrios wins round 5 on Lederman's scorecard, 10-9. Barrios wins round 6, 10-9. After 6 rounds, Barrios leads on my scorecard, 58-55. Lederman scores round 6 for Juarez, 10-9. However after 6 rounds, Barrios leads on Lederman's scorecard, 58-55.

Juarez lands more clean punches to take round 7, 10-9. His body language is looking better, and he is being more aggressive. Lederman scores round 7 for Barrios based on his higher workrate, 10-9. Close round 8, that Barrios' probably won by being busier, 10-9. Barrios wins round 8 on Lederman's scorecard, 10-9. With 53 seconds to go the referee calls time to deduct another point from Barrios for hitting low. This is ridiculous. The punch was to the side of the belt-line and Juarez has his trunks hitched up at least 2" past his bellybutton. Juarez was never hurt by that punch and needs no time to recover. The point of fouls is to stop someone from getting an unfair advantage. There is no advantage being gained by Barrios hitting Juarez there. It is probably an advantage to Juarez, because he is being hit on a pad that has been pulled up there to protect against what should potentially be a legal blow. However, after 2 point deductions, Barrios must be on the verge of disqualification for low blows. Round 9 is even, 9-9. Lederman scores round 9 the same. After 9 rounds, we both have Barrios ahead. Lederman has Barrios ahead, 87-82. My scorecard has Barrios leading, 86-83.

Juarez probably wins round 10 on appearances, 10-9. Barrios threw more punches then Juarez in round 10 and probably landed more. However, Barrios looks completely out of gas and like he is about to be knocked out. Barrios threw an astounding 160 punches in round 10 according to CompuBox. However, Barrios only landed 27 total punches in round 10. Through 10 rounds, Juarez has landed 102 of the 422 total punches he has thrown, for a 24% total connect percentage. Through 10 rounds, Barrios has landed 144 of the 879 total punches he has thrown, for a 16% total connect percentage. Lederman scored round 10 for Juarez, 10-9. Barrios has begun to spew blood from his mouth in round 11. With 17 seconds to go in round 11, a combination that is capped by a left hand send Barrios to the canvas. With 6 seconds to go in the round the referee says Barrios has successfully answered the count. Then, the referee immediately calls timeout before the action can resume. He wants the ringside doctor to look at Barrios. The ringside doctor says the cut on Barrios' lip is too severe to allow the boxer to continue. The cut/injury was caused by a punch from Juarez. Therefore, Barrios loses by technical knockout and Juarez escapes with a victory.

The official outcome from Michael Buffer is that: at 2:54 of round 11 the referee has called a halt to the contest at the advice of the ringside physician making the winner by technical knockout, and new WBO Latino Junior Lightweight Champion, Rocky Juarez. The win moves Juarez to 28-4 with 20 of those wins coming by way of knockout.

The final punchstat numbers have Juarez landing 126 of the 476 total punches he threw, for a 26% total connect percentage. Juarez landed 77 of the 207 power punches he threw, for a 37% power connect percentage. Barrios landed 162 of the 1006 total punches he threw, for a 16% total connect percentage. The Argentinean landed 117 of the 623 power punches he threw, for a 19% power connect percentage. The nearly 400 jabs Barrios threw, more then doubled his previous career high for jabs thrown in a match.

The official scorecards are in to HBO and had Barrios been able to continue it would have been impossible for him to win on the judges scorecards. The official scorecards after 10 rounds had the match for Juarez via majority decision: 94-94, 96-92, 95-93. The 94-94 is possible and defensible. The 96-92 score is insane. It appears between the referee and the judges the hometown factor had decided Barrios was not leaving town with a victory. Luckily, Juarez saved the sport a huge embarrassment by the scoring the stoppage. The 2 judges that had Juarez winning the match, were the 2 judges from Texas.

Juarez said in his post match interview that he was trying to be careful. He also said he is not going to retire until he wins a major world title. However, he looked noticeably old saying this and he appeared to know at 28-years-old his best days were behind him.

The Houstonian faced a very good opponent in this match, however he looks very old. He is starting to take on the look of a boxer that has been in the sport for too many years. The trade off for having a good enough amateur boxing career to make the Olympics and win a silver medal is that a boxer has to have a lot of amateur experience. Juarez went to the Olympics at 20-years-old. He finished the Olympics having competed in 162 amateur matches. So even though Juarez is young in real life, his boxing age is much older. There are still good matches out there for Juarez at 130 pounds. However, with his skills in apparent decline it may not be the best idea for him to stick around too much longer in this sport.

Prior to running out of gas this was among the best performances of Barrios' career. However, time is not on his side either. Boxers in the lighter weight classes have a shorter time where they can continue to be effective. Barrios was throwing lots of punches in this match, but few had much power on them after round 5. He may simply not have enough left in the gas tank to go a hard 12-rounds with the top guys in the weight class. Juarez only applied pressure to Barrios in parts of the final 2 rounds. Against the typically more aggressive boxers at the top of 130-pound ranks, Barrios could have real problems from the beginning of the match.

 

In between matches HBO is showing the celebrities from Houston that are attending this event: Evander Holyfield, George Foreman, Raul Marquez, Mario Lopez, and Oscar De La Hoya who is promoting this event. Without having checked the star list from the UFC event in Atlanta, Georgia that is running at the same time as this show, it is a safe bet that the comparison would not do boxing any favors.

 

2. IBO Lightweight (135 pounds) 12-Round Championship Match:

Juan Diaz (33-1, 17 KO's, 134.5 pounds) vs. Michael Katsidis (23-1, 20 KO's, 134.5 pounds)

This championship is currently vacant. It was last held by Isaac Hlatswayo who vacated the title following an April 7, 2006 split decision victory over Nate Campbell at the Florida State Fairgrounds Hall in Tampa, Florida to continue his boxing career at 140 pounds.

Diaz was an outstanding amateur boxer that attempted to qualify to represent the United States at the 2000 Summer Olympics. However, he would have only been 17-years-old at the time of the games, and Olympic rules require a boxer to be 18-years-old to compete. Therefore, he was not allowed to challenge for a spot on the United States Olympic boxing team. Hence, Diaz went to Mexico and qualified for their Olympic boxing team. However, he would still have not been 18-years-old at the time of the Olympics. That caused the United States and Puerto Rico to file a protest and have Diaz barred from competing at the 2000 Olympics.

In response, Diaz turned pro and had his first 3 professional matches in Mexico before turning 17-years-old, when he could box professionally in the United States. Only 5 days after turning 17-years-old, Diaz made his first appearance as a pro in the United States with a round 3 technical knockout victory over Starr Johnson on September 22, 2000 at the International Ballroom in Diaz' hometown of Houston where he was still attending high school. Diaz continues to go to school in Houston and will graduate with a B.A. in Political Science from University of Houston, Downtown in May 2009.

Diaz' style can best be described as "submission boxing". Prior to suffering his first loss, the Houstonian was coming off 2 straight victories where his opponent had their corners toss in the towel following round 8 from the accumulation of punches Diaz had hit them with throughout the match. Diaz does not possess 1 punch knockout power, but his relentless punching on the inside forces his opponents to verbally submit. Diaz' opponents must ask that the match be stopped so the only place they have to see Diaz again is in their nightmares. Diaz did not record a knockdown in either of those matches when his opponents submitted. However, Diaz had mentally brought his opponents to their knees.

Diaz entered his last match versus Nate Campbell as the IBF, WBO and WBA Champion at 135 pounds and even though Joel Casamayor is the linear champion at 135 pounds, many experts considered Diaz the best at 135 pounds. However, Campbell won that match via split decision on March 8, 2008 at Plaza de Toros in Cancun, Mexico. Diaz had shown a willingness to stand in front of his opponents and take tremendous punishment to do his damage. That lead HBO's Max Kellerman to ask if there is a pit of Hell deep enough to stop Diaz? In round 6, Campbell found the lake of fire Diaz was unable to cross. With 50 seconds to go in round 6, Diaz was cut badly above his left eye by a left hand from Campbell. The referee mistakenly ruled the cut was caused by a headbutt and took a point from Campbell. Regardless, that was the beginning of the end for Diaz. Heavily bleeding and with his left eye closing, Diaz went on to probably lose all of the remaining rounds. Diaz' corner was trying to get an early stoppage, knowing that the only way Diaz would keep his titles was if the match went to the scorecards early. At the end of the night, the only question was how did the one judge score the match for Diaz? The original recap of that match can be found here: http://www.number1contender.net/the-latest/2008/9/6/recap-of-juan-diaz-last-match.html

Diaz is The Ring's number 3 ranked contender at 135 pounds to their champion in the weight class, Casamayor.

Katsidis had a stellar amateur boxing career that culminated when he represented the host nation of Australia at the 2000 Summer Olympiad.

The native of Australia is being called by boxing fans and writers "The New Action Hero" and "The Next Arturo Gatti". It is because he employs an action packed power punching style that is bereft of defense. Katsidis seems to bleed in every match. Like Gatti, win or lose Katsidis seems to be heading to the emergency room for some treatment following all of his matches. His matches are cannot miss events that provide tremendous excitement and action. However, Katsidis is so awful defensively it seems inevitable that his career will be short.

The Australian's last match was a technical knockout loss to Casamayor on March 22, 2008 at the Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa in Cabazon, California. It was the live match on an HBO BAD event that featured a replay of Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez II that was billed as a match of the year candidate. However, this match was probably better.

A left hook from Casamayor sent Katsidis to the mat 22 seconds into the match. Casamayor followed that up with an uppercut to Katsidis, while the Australian was still on his knees. The referee never saw the illegal punch. However, the foul made Katsidis so angry, he tried to spring off his knees and go charging after Casamayor without a count being applied. The referee held Katsidis back and forced him to take his full 8-count before charging back into action. Then with 2:09 to go still in round 1, Casamayor landed another left hand that sent Katsidis to the canvas. Katsidis survived round 1, but his face was already becoming disfigured. It appeared Katsidis' nose was already broken and his face was streaked with crimson. In round 2, Casamayor cut Katsidis below the Australian's left eye. In round 3, the native Cuban cut Katsidis below his right eye. After 3 rounds, Katsidis' face was a mess with both of his eyes swelling close, cuts below both eyes, and a broken nose that was dripping blood.

However, the tide of the match changed in round 4. Katsidis hit Casamayor with a big combination that had the Cuban hurt, but Casamayor bought himself time to survive by hitting Katsidis with an intentional low blow. Casamayor was not deducted a point, but Katsidis needed some time to recover. That probably allowed Casamayor the recovery time he needed to escape the round without being knocked down. Casamayor was not out of danger, though. A Katsidis right hand sent Casamayor through the ropes and sprawling onto the apron, with 32 seconds to go in round 6. With 2:35 to go in round 9, Casamayor hit Katsidis with a left hand south of the belt line, again. This time the referee took a point from Casamayor. That meant following 2 knockdowns in round 1, Katsidis had come back to take the lead on the scorecards entering round 10.

However, in round 10 Katsidis flaws caught up with him. A left hook caught him 10 seconds into the round and the Australian dropped to the canvas for a third time. After thinking about it, the referee allowed Katsidis to continue. The referee was then forced to stop the match with 2:32 to go in the round when Katsidis was taking the worst of an exchange against the ropes. The finish had the crowd screaming themselves hoarse. The crowd gave Katsidis a prolonged standing ovation, before he left the ring for the hospital and his usual post match night in the ER. The original recap of that amazing match can be found here: http://www.number1contender.net/the-latest/2008/9/4/recap-of-michael-katsidis-last-match.html

Katsidis is The Ring's number 7 contender at 135 pounds.

At 24-years-old, Diaz is 4 years younger the 28-year-old Katsidis. Katsidis holds the height advantage standing 5' 7.5" tall, while Diaz stands 5' 6" tall. The Australian holds the reach advantage with a 23" arm length compared to the 21.5" arm length of Diaz. Katsidis will be the larger boxer in the ring, having unofficially rehydrated to 150 pounds approaching match time. Diaz has unofficially rehydrated to 146 pounds. Both boxers will employ the orthodox stance. This is probably the most exciting match up on paper at 135 pounds.

The judges are from Washington, New Mexico and Texas. The referee is Laurence Cole. Unlike most HBO BAD events this feels like a big event.

A deliberate round 1 for both boxers, which Diaz wins, 10-9. Kellerman notes that it appears the boxers are waiting to see blood before they really begin to work. There was a clash of heads in round 1, and a couple more of those should oblige the boxers' blood lust. Katsidis threw 28 jabs in round 1, according to CompuBox. That is the most jabs Katsidis has thrown in a round scored by CompuBox. Lederman scores round 1 for Diaz, 10-9. With over 2 minutes to go in round 2, there is an accidental clash of heads and Katsidis appears to be cut below his left eye. The cut is not in a dangerous place and should play no direct impact in the match. However, the match is turning into the brawl on the inside people expected, rather then the jabbing contest the boxers delivered in round 1. Diaz wins a good round 2, 10-9. That round could have been contested in a 5' x 5' ring. Lederman scores round 2 for Diaz, 10-9. The cut on Katsidis is actually in a very bad place below his eyebrow directly above the outside half of his left eye. It is flowing heavily. The reason it appeared to be below his eye was because it had run in a clear streak around the outside of his eye and down in a path. On replay, it appears the cut was caused when Katsidis rubbed his own head against the shoulder of Diaz. Katsidis is so used to the sight of his own blood the cut is unlikely to be effecting him currently and should not unless it gets much worse. Diaz wins round 3, 10-9. The Houstonian leads on my scorecard after 3 rounds, 30-27. Diaz wins round 3 on Lederman's scorecard, and is ahead in the match after 3 rounds, 30-27.

Diaz shows some flashy combinations on the inside to take round 4 easily, 10-9. Lederman scores round 4 for Diaz, 10-9. In round 5, Katsidis was somehow cut over the right eye. Diaz wins round 5 on Lederman and my scorecard, 10-9. The Houstonian looks like the best boxer at 135 pounds, that people thought he was entering the match with Campbell. Katsidis is boxing more under control and technically sound then when he was dominating Casamayor. However, Diaz is easily handling a better version of Katsidis then Casamayor struggled to defeat. Diaz wins round 6 on Lederman and my scorecard, 10-9. After 6 rounds, Diaz leads on our scorecards, 60-54. Katsidis' only hope to win this match against Diaz who appears to be a better boxer and brawler may be to come out as the wild puncher that is a defensive mess, but would have the proverbial puncher's chance. In round 6, Diaz landed 32 total punches, while Katsidis landed 7 total punches.

Diaz wins round 7, 10-9. The Houstonian is showing more power in his punches then he has in any other match in his career. Katsidis now has a cut around his bottom lip. As expected, the Australian's face is a mess. Lederman scores round 7 for Diaz, 10-9. Round 8 is Katsidis best of the match. However, Diaz still probably wins round 8, 10-9. Katsidis wins round 8 on Lederman's scorecard, 10-9.With 1:43 to go in round 9, the referee calls time to deal with loose tape on the left glove of Katsidis. That was an inopportune pause for Katsidis, because he was doing well at the time of the break. It takes about 30 seconds for an impatient Katsidis' glove to be attended to before the action is resumed. Very close round 9 that Katsidis may win, 10-9. After 9 rounds, Diaz leads on my scorecard, 89-82. Katsidis' corner keeps telling their charge that he is doing well. However, even the most biased observer should know that Katsidis is far behind on the scorecards. Lederman scored round 9 for Diaz, 10-9, and has the Houstonian ahead in the match after 9 rounds, 89-82.

The referee signals for the bell to start round 10, then calls timeout with 2:57 to go in the round before any action can take place. The referee is having the doctor check the numerous cuts, and swelling around the eyes of Katsidis to see if the Australian can see and is fit to continue. The referee shines a light in Katsidis eyes and pronounces the boxer fit to continue. Diaz wins a close round 10, 10-9. Katsidis should be able to finish this match standing, but his sight may not hold up for another 2 rounds. The Australian's right eye is nearly swelled shut. Lederman scores round 10 for Katsidis, 10-9. With 1:45 to go in round 11, the referee calls timeout to deal with loose tape on the right glove of Katsidis. This time it gets taken care of quickly and the action is resumed after only a brief pause. Diaz wins round 11, 10-9. Before the action can begin in round 12, the referee calls time with 2:53 to go in the round. There is more lose tape on the right glove of Katsidis. The referee also requires that the corner apply some tape to the left glove of the Australian. With under 10 seconds to go in round 12, Diaz slips on the logo in the middle of the ring and goes down. The referee correctly rules it a slip. No more punches can be thrown before the final bell, once the referee dusts off Diaz. Diaz wins round 12, 10-9. Lederman scores round 12 for Diaz, 10-9. Diaz wins the match on my scorecard, 119-109. The Houstonian wins the match on Lederman's scorecard, 118-110.

The official outcome as read by Michael Buffer is that the judges have scored the match: 115-113 (Katsidis), 116-112 (Diaz), 115-113 for the winner by split decision and now IBO Lightweight Champion of the World, Juan "The Baby Bull" Diaz. The judge that went for Katsidis had the Australian winning rounds 8-12 to take the match. Round 1 was close. I cannot even guess at what other round was gifted to Katsidis. Especially since, Diaz out-landed Katsidis in all 12 rounds. The win moves Diaz to 34-1 with 17 of those wins coming by way of knockout.

The final punchstat numbers show that Diaz was dominant in this match landing 296 of the 801 total punches he threw, for a 37% total connect percentage. Katsidis landed 149 of the 868 total punches he threw, for a 17% total connect percentage. That means Diaz landed 147 more punches then Katsidis.

Diaz said in his post match interview he wants to begin collecting belts at 135 pounds and re-establish himself as the top boxer at 135 pounds.

Katsidis said in his post match interview that he thought he won, but did not really complain. He said Diaz was a true champion and Katsidis showed a lot of class in this interview. Katsidis said he wants to continue facing the best at 135 pounds and will not take on softer opposition in his next match. When Kellerman who was conducting the interview asked Katsidis' trainer why he thought Katsidis won, the trainer responded that the first judge got it right. The trainer elaborated that the people at ringside could see it was close and they felt Katsidis pulled it out. Kellerman pressed him on this point that the HBO guys did not see this as close at all, but had Katsidis losing a lopsided decision. The trainer then left fuming that that was all he was going to say at this time. For the record, Bob Papa, who was doing play-by-play of this event for HBO, had Diaz winning the match 119-109. Lennox Lewis, who was doing color commentary of this event for HBO, scored the match for Diaz, 120-108.

Contrary to what the judges saw, Diaz was great in this match. He was dominant from bell to bell. It would be foolish for Golden Boy Promotions to not have him challenge for a major title at 135 pounds as the featured undercard match of the December 6 PPV being main evented by De La Hoya. All of the major championships at 135 pounds are on the line September 13. Until those are decided next week it is too early to guess who Diaz will face next.

Katsidis is an exciting boxer who keeps facing boxers who are a lot better then he is. He is very good, but not elite. The Gatti comparison is very apt here. Katsidis can have very exciting matches against boxer who are at the bottom of the top 10. However, he is not good enough to beat anyone much above that. His style makes for a short career span. Therefore, it would behoove him to face those next tier opponents for the maximum money and get out with whatever health that style allows.

 

No HBO or Showtime televised event has featured such horrific scoring in both matches in a long time. The judging at this event was an embarrassment and Kellerman commented that in the final match it looked so outlandish as to appear purposefully misguided. The first match featured 2 boxers who looked old. The second was a blowout that featured a young potential superstar returning to top form, but was greatly diminished by abominable judging. An event that looked like a must watch on paper, turned into a frustrating skip.

 

News and Notes: De La Hoya has signed to face Manny Pacquiao in the final match of his career on December 6 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. I assume f4wonline.com will be doing a live scorecard of the match, and we will have a ton of content previewing this event. The deal was being held up because there was a disagreement on how to split the revenue from the event. De La Hoya wanted a 70-30 revenue split, while Pacquiao wanted it 60-40. The terms of the agreement have not been announced, but a fair guess would be that De La Hoya gets 65% and Pacquiao gets 35%. The match will be contested at 147 pounds. Pacquiao is currently ranked by The Ring as the number 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world, and after winning their championship at 130 pounds on March 15, 2008, and making his pro debut at 106 pounds. The Filipino boxer has never boxed above 135 pounds. Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, who trained De La Hoya for his match against Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is predicting a knockout. Of course to help cut the promos for De La Hoya and returning to his corner for this match is Floyd Mayweather, Sr. This guarantees Junior will make appearances in the HBO 24/7 series leading up to the show. This is going to be fun.

However, De La Hoya is now talking like December 6 will not be the final match of his career. De La Hoya is now talking about main eventing a show at Mexico City's Estadio Azteca on Cinco de Mayo before a crowd of over 100,000. Regardless, it is possible that by the end of 2008 De la Hoya will be the first professional athlete in history to be worth $1 billion.

Ricky Hatton has announced who will replace his long time trainer, Billy Graham, who retired a few weeks ago. Hatton has hired Floyd Mayweather, Sr. Senior had been sending tips to Hatton on how to defeat Junior prior to their match through De La Hoya. Hatton is still intent on luring Junior out of retirement for a rematch at Wembley Stadium in London, England. This will make the build up for that match not happening more entertaining. Senior can now cut promos on how Junior and his trainer (Junior's) Roger Mayweather are running from Senior.

Nikolai Valuev defeated John Ruiz for a somewhat vacant heavyweight championship on August 31 in Berlin, Germany. The match was not televised in the United States and reported to be borderline unwatchable. Valuev is now seeking a title unification match. Should that match happen it would be televised in the United States and be a strong candidate for worst match of the year. However, it is unlikely that any of the champions will face the holder of that belt until late 2009, because of the usual boxing encumbrances of mandatory challengers.

Speaking of that, a deal is being finalized for Wladimir Klitschko to have his mandatory title defense against Alexander Povetkin on December 13 in Germany on HBO.

The United States Olympic boxing team was historically bad at this year's Summer Olympics. The team combined to take home 1 bronze medal. Deontay Wilder took home a bronze medal at 200 pounds. The previous record for futility at an Olympiad we attended was 1 silver medal. The United States' 1948 London Summer Olympic boxing team has now been usurped.

Following his performance in the Olympics, Wilder has turned pro and is signing with Golden Boy Promotions. Wilder is of course, immediately making the move to heavyweight. The date for Wilder's professional debut match has not been set, but his people are planning to take it slow with him. There are no plans for Wilder to try to get a title shot until 2013 or 2014.

Friday, the USA Boxing national director of coaching Dan Campbell "retired". Actually, USA Boxing is the only one calling the move a retirement. Campbell said he was asked to step down. However, USA Boxing did issue a statement thanking Campbell for his years of service, and saying they, "wish him all the best in his future endeavors."

 

The next recap will come out September 14 covering the previous night's Showtime Championship Boxing event that is being headlined by Nate Campbell making a mandatory defense of his titles at 135 pounds against Joan Guzman. There will also be a review of TNA iMPACT! for the XBOX 360 coming out in the next 2 weeks. We believe our review of the game will be different then any other and reflect our foundation as a website that covers pro-wrestling. That means we should have a unique insight into the game that no one else in the video game industry is capable of delivering.