(Photo credit: Tom Casino/Showtime) By Dallas Orysiuk: At one point, being the heavyweight champion of the world was the greatest achievements in sports. The heavyweight division in boxing has been a residence for greats like Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Rocky Marciano, Jack Dempsey, Evander Holyfield, and Mike Tyson. But now the lower weight classes receive greater glorification and attention, and the majority of American heavyweights chose football or basketball instead. And in recent years, the heavyweight division has been one of the most boring divisions in boxing, and if you were suffering from insomnia, watching a heavyweight clash could be the cure.
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Danny Garcia vs. Lucas Matthysse confrmed for Mayweather/Canelo undercard on September 14th!
By Dallas Orysiuk One of boxing’s most anticipated matchups of the year has just been confirmed for what is sure to be the biggest boxing event of 2013. Just moments ago Richard Schaefer finally announced that Danny “Swift” Garcia (26-0, 16 KOs) will face Lucas “the Machine” Matthysse (34-2, 32 KOs) on September 14th on the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Canelo Alvarez undercard.
This fight is so big that it will be having its own 3 city press tour. Many are expecting that this will be one of the biggest PPV cards ever. Especially with the potential for a Austin Trout vs. Erislandy Lara matchup also on the undercard, this PPV is going to be huge.
The lion hunter: A look at Floyd Mayweather Jr’s opponent selection
By Dallas Orysiuk Floyd Mayweather Jr. is without a doubt the number one fighter in the world. Floyd “Money” Mayweather is 44-0 (26 KOs) and has a stellar resume. There is no questioning his skills as he is one of the best fighters to ever step into the ring. Apart from ring craft, Mayweather displays excellent business skill. He is a businessman and promoter.
He plays the role of villain and he plays this role well. It is part of his persona and part of the reason he attains such financial success.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is also a hunter… a hunter of young hungry lions. This is part of “Moneys” business plan. Mayweather does an excellent job of waiting, scoping, and setting his sights on young hungry fighters that are surrounded in hype. This is part of the reason his PPV numbers are so high.
Is Danny Garcia avoiding a showdown with Lucas Matthysse?
By Dallas Orysiuk Fear is an unpleasant emotion because the idea that someone or something will pose a danger towards you, likely resulting in pain or a threat. Is Danny “Swift” Garcia showing that emotion at the thought of stepping into the ring with “The Machine” Lucas Matthysse?
The danger is “The Machine”; the pain will be felt by Garcia on his face and body because of Matthysse’s tremendous power. The threat Matthysse poses is towards Danny’s unbeaten record, his hype and his WBC, WBA (super) and Ring Magazine light-welterweight belts.
When Matthysse impressively stopped Lamont Peterson in the third round, you could see what appeared to be fear Garcia’s face, you could see it in his awkward smirk.
Marcos Maidana vs. Adrien Broner: An intriguing and likely matchup in the future
By Dallas Orysiuk It has been almost two weeks since boxing fans witnessed a thriller, a candidate for fight of the year (FOTY)… they witnessed Marcos Maidana vs. Josesisto Lopez. Going into the match-up, everyone knew it was going to be exciting and for as long as this war lasted, it lived up to the expectations.
This weekend we have another interesting matchup to look forward to, Adrien Broner vs. Paulie Malignaggi. Do not expect the same exciting fight as Maidana vs. Lopez, but this matchup has implications that can lead to some exciting matchups in the future. Broner moves up two weight divisions to challenge Paulie Malignaggi for his WBA welterweight strap.
Victor Ortiz and Robert Guerrero both game to prove who’s “Cali’s best”
By Dallas Orysiuk It has been nearly a year since “Vicious” Victor Ortiz has been in the ring. In his last outing, in an exciting fight, Ortiz squared off with the heavy underdog Josesito Lopez who was supposed to be an easy walk through for Ortiz.
We all know how that turned out…. slightly up on the judges score cards, Ortiz was forced to quit when he could no longer continue due to a broken jaw that he sustained early on in the fight. Ortiz lost by a 9th round RTD.
Boxing is Dying? I think not: A look forward at the remainder of 2013
By Dallas Orysiuk: 2013 has been a good year for boxing, and there is much more to come. Proving boxing is strong and doing fine. First, boxing is an amazing sport. It is a sport where two warriors square off and prepare for war. Despite the ferocity, the blood, the sweat and the tears, boxing is elegant… it is classy. Tremendous craft is involved.
No wonder it is called the “sweet science.” Not to mention, you don’t have to go through the agonizing pain of watching two half naked men rolling around choking each other for 25 minutes, or fighters going at it and gassing out after one round. It is a sport like none other, brilliant craft and skill, tremendous heart, impressive cardio, and brutal action is displayed.
In rival combat sports, it is rare to get two warriors going at it toe-to-toe, mono a mono, for 12 rounds, exhaustion kicking in… but the fighters are still bombing away, knockdowns are exchanged and the gladiators continue to battle.
Problems with the Ring Magazines Pound 4 Pound Ratings
By Dallas Orysiuk: The Ring Magazine is highly regarded and is widely considered “The Bible of Boxing”. The Ring is known for its ratings of boxers, in particular their Pound for Pound lisg. This magazine company has been highly regarded and influential, but in recent months The Ring has begun to slip.
First off, recently The Ring website published an article stating that Lamont Peterson tested positive for a banned substance. This created quite a stir in the boxing world… until the story was revoked. The article was changed, stating Peterson “allegedly” tested positive. The boxing world was taken by a for a brief few hours, why would Lamont Peterson take a banned substance for such a big fight coming up, especially when he was caught once before?
Canelo Alvarez versus Floyd Mayweather: A risky fight for Golden Boy to make
By Dallas Orysiuk: There is no doubt that a fight between Floyd “Money” Mayweather and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez would be huge, especially on the weekend of Mexican Independence Day on September 14th. Alvarez is undefeated with a record of 42-0-1 (30 KOs) meanwhile Mayweather holds an undefeated record of 44-0-0 (26 KOs) against far greater opposition.
Floyd Mayweather has beaten the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, Diego Corrales, Arturo Gatti, and Robert Guerrero to name a few. Meanwhile Alvarez has been pampered up until his previous fight, fighting tomato cans, cab drivers, blown up welterweights and fighters well past their prime.
In his most recent victory, Canelo impressed fans by giving Austin Trout his first loss.
Shane Mosley will likely receive a title shot after his victory over Cano
(Photo credit: Sumio Yamada) By Dallas Orysiuk: This weekend was full of many exciting and interesting boxing match-ups: Devon Alexander’s stoppage victory over Lee Purdy, Guillermo Jones stoppage of Denis Lebedev, Lucas Matthysses destruction of Lamont Peterson and finally Sugar Shane Mosley’s “great comeback” victory over the all-time great Pablo Cesar Cano. Mosley (47-8-1, 39 KOs) defeated Cano (26-3-1, 20 KOs) by a close but unanimous decision of 115-113.
In the process Mosley claimed the vacant WBC International welterweight title. Now Golden Boy is likely to put Mosley in line for a title shot.