(KNOCKOUT NATION – JANUARY 27, 2009)

1. Manny Pacquiao – The Pacman certainly solidified his spot as the # 1 Pound for Pound fighter by moving up multiple divisions to stop Oscar De la Hoya at welterweight. In terms of pure skill, an argument could be made for Joe Calzaghe, but Manny’s spectacular wins can’t be denied. With his recent dominating victories over David Diaz and cash cow, Oscar De La Hoya, Pacquiao is now one of the biggest names in the sport. Having won 4 titles in 4 weight divisions, and capturing the WBC Lightweight and Super Featherweight titles, Pacquiao is now in the drivers seat and can dictate the fights he wants. Apparently he has decided on facing Manchester’s Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton. After several negotiations, the fight will be taking place on May 2nd and will be for Hatton’s Ring Jr. Welterweight title. Although he will have a tough fight on his hands with Hatton, a victory could earn him another huge payday against Floyd Mayweather Jr. who is rumored to return to the sport. Pacquiao vs Mayweather Jr. is probably the biggest fight on any fans wishlist for 2009 and would generate a ton of coverage. But again, first he will need to get past Hatton which may not be as easy as it sounds. But as for now, Manny has proven his status as a truly elite fighter and is certainly the most exciting fighter in the sport to watch.

2. Joe Calzaghe – After years of entertaining the fans overseas, Calzaghe has now made some unknowing, American fans believers with impressive victories over the likes of Jeff Lacy, Mikkel Kessler, Bernard Hopkins and now Roy Jones Jr. Joe currently holds the unique distinction of being both the Ring Super Middleweight and Light Heavyweight lineal champion. Although his showing against Hopkins wasn’t his best, Calzaghe put on a clinic against Roy Jones Jr. last month while possibly retiring the Pensacola legend. In retrospect, Calzaghe came over to the US and defeated two of boxing’s biggest legends in the span of only 8 months. Very impressive. On top of his top notch wins over recent years, Calzage has remained undefeated and is the longest reigning title holder in any weight class with his nearly 11 year WBO super middleweight title run. The boxing world now awaits Joe’s announcement on whether he will retire or not. Most fight fans would love to see him face Chad Dawson or Glenn Johnson, but if those fights don’t happen, Joe’s legacy is still soundly secure. Joe has long worked hard for the respect and accolades he is now receiving and is most certainly a future 1st ballot hall of famer.

3. Juan Manuel Marquez – Marquez remains one of the most talented boxing technicians in the sport today. Most recently, Marquez captured the Ring Lightweight championship by stopping former champion Joel Casamayor. Not only did Marquez move up in weight to do so, but he can lay claim to being the only fighter that has stopped the crafty and cagey Cassamayor. Prior to this terrific win, Marquez was coming off of an “official” loss to current #1 pound for pounder Manny Pacquiao. However, many believe Marquez won this rematch against Pacquiao as well as their first encounter that was ruled a draw. If one were to really dissect Juan’s career, you could seriously argue that has not lost convincingly since 1999. Yes, Chris John and Pac-Man have had their hand raised as victors against him, but again, many fans believed he deserved to win those fights. Although we would love to see he and Pacman have one more fight for the trilogy, it doesent appear to be happening soon with Pacman chasing huge money making fights. Regardless, with his win over Casamayor, Marques sealed the deal as a future hall of famer and hopes to continue to cement his place in history.

4. Bernard Hopkins – The legend, future hall of famer, former middleweight kingpin, and former light heavyweight lineal champion. After coming off two very disputed losses against Jermaine Taylor, Hops jumped up 2 weight classes and beat the reigning light heavyweight king Antonio Tarver with ease. After a victory over Winky Wright, Hopkins was defeated over twelve rounds by Joe Calzaghe. While many figured Hopkins would ride off into the sunset after the loss, he recently returned with a vengeance. Over 12 rounds, Hopkins dominated Kelly Pavlik at a catch weight of 170 pounds. Using his skill and craftiness, Hopkins was able to completely nullify Pavlik’s power and give the Ohio native a brutal boxing lesson. In a fight that many thought he would lose, the 43 year old Hopkins proved once again why he is considered a modern day legend. What’s next? There is no current fight on the horizon scheduled, but even at his age, I’d give Hopkins a shot against any current light heavyweight in the game right now. Hopkins has shown that he still has the skill set to compete on an elite level, and if the money is right, I expect to see Professor Hopkins back in the ring in 2009. However, even if Hops calls it quits today, he will go down as an all time legend destine for the Hall of Fame as soon as he is eligible.

5. Shane Mosley – Since his two TKO victories over Fernando Vargas in 2006, “Sugar” Shane Mosley has worked his way back into hearts and minds of boxing fans with impressive performances agains Louis Collazo, Miguel Cotto, Ricardo Mayorga, and most recently Antonio Margarito. Speaking of Margarito, Shane’s recent TKO victory over him may just be the biggest highlight of his hall of fame career thus far. As a 4-1 underdog, Mosley dominated the pound for pound ranked Margarito for 9 one sided rounds, putting him on the canvas twice, and forcing the referee to stop the fight. At 37 years old, Mosley fought like a fighter closer to his 20’s as he displayed the speed, power, footwork, and finesse that was present early in his career. Shane is now on a two fight knockout streak as he previously KO’d Ricardo Mayorga in the 12th round of their fight last September. As he stated in his post fight interview, Shane always looks to finish his opponents off and is sure to give fight fans their money’sworth every time out. Shane also proves to currently be one of the bravest warrior’s in the sport who never backs down from a challenge and seeks to take on the toughest opponents available. At 37, it is not certain how long Shane will stick around, but if he continues on, he certainly has his share of options. He could face the winner of Pacquiao vs Hatton, or belt holders Joshua Clottey, and Andre Berto. However, one fight that Mosley has called for is a rematch against Miguel Cotto who he lost to in a close decision. Should Cotto get past Michael Jennings and win the WBO title next month, not only does it become an interesting rematch but a title unification as well. We shall see.

6. Israel Vasquez – Izzy more than earns his place on the list after his most recent win in the magnificent trilogy between he and Rafeal Marquez. Now with a record of 43-4, Vasquez defended his WBC Super Bantamweight title by defeating Marquez with an Ironman like performance. In recent years, he has now stacked up wins against Larios, Gonzales, and now R. Marquez (x2). Although there is mention of a fourth fight between he and Marquez, most fans could acknwledge that these two need a break from each other…for the sake of their careers. Vasquez’s blood, sweat, tears and impressive performances have truly made him deserving of all the accolades he is receiving right now.

7. Miguel Cotto – The Puerto Rican powerhouse is coming off a loss at the hands of Antonio Margarito this past summer. Although Cotto displayed his improved boxing ability and excellent movement, Margarito’s relentless pressure proved to be too much for him. Even in losing, Cotto gave a good account of himself and still has to be considered one of the very best fighters in the division. Also, the reporting of Margarito being caught with illegal hand wrappings prior to facing Mosley does raise some questions to many regarding his victory over Cotto. That is not to say for certain that Margarito did anything illegal in that fight – BUT it does raise some questions. While we won’t know how this loss affected him or what it took out of him until we see him fight next month, his past can not be denied. Prior to this fight, he had a punishing win over Alphonso Gomez which set up his fight with Margarito. Prior to that, Cotto outpointed Future Hall of Famer Shane Mosely and stopped Zab Judah in 11 rounds. Promoter Bob Arum had a deal in place for Cotto to face Antonio Margarito in a June rematch, but that fight may be in jeopardy due to Margarito’s one sided loss to Shane Mosley. Cotto’s next assignment is against Michael Jennings for the vacant WBO title February.

8. Paul Williams – Labeled by many as “The Most Feared Fighter” in boxing, 6’1 Paul Williams is certainly making his name known in the sport. With his size, speed and power, most promoters have tried to keep their fighters as far away from Paul as possible. In his last fight, he was last seen stopping Verno Phillips in an impressive workman like performance at 154 pounds. Before that recent outing, Williams fought at 160 and 147 pounds stopping middleweight Andy Kolle and welterweight Carlos Quintana. His victory over Quintana was in a rematch to their first fight which Williams lost by decision. Williams’ biggest win to date is his 2007 victory over Antonio Margarito. Since Margarito’s victory over Cotto, Williams has constantly called Margarito out to face him in a rematch to no avail. Williams has been unable to secure any big name fights since as many top talents view him as high risk- low reward. Since he has been unable to land another big fight, Williams has said he willing to move between 147 and 160 looking for the toughest challenges as seeks greater recognition. It now appears that Williams may have found his next opponent in one Winky Wright. Apparently a deal is being worked on and the fight will be held at 160 pounds and will probably take place in April on HBO World Championship Boxing.

9. Chad Dawson – Chad Dawson has finally put the sport on notice with his special blend of style, speed, power and technique. Since his victory over Tomasz Adamek, Dawson has been on a roll, gaining exposure, momentum, and seeming to improve with each passing fight. Dawson’s stock rose to an all time high with his two recent victories over former Light Heavyweight champions, Glen Johnson and Antonio Tarver. Against Johnson, Dawson fought tooth and nail with the hard nosed veteran earning respect and additional experience in the process. However, against Tarver, Dawson put on a career best performance by easily defeating Antonio with his pure skill and athleticism. Since then, Dawson has publicly challenged Ring Light Heavyweight champion, Joe Calzaghe. Calzaghe has yet to announce his retirement, so there is a possibility (while doubtful), that this fight could happen down the line. However, for now, it appears that Dawson will be facing Tarver in a rematch as Tarver has invoked his rematch clause since his loss to Dawson. While this is not a fight fans are calling for, Dawson intends to honor his contract. Assuming he defeats Tarver again, many fans would love to see Dawson give Glen Johnson a rematch or target one of the elite super middleweights.

10. Ricky Hatton – Manchester’s Ricky Hatton comes in at # 10 on my list following his most recent victory over Paulie Malinaggi. Hatton’s recent performance was a huge improvement over his prior, lackluster victory over Juan Lazcano. With new trainer, Floyd Mayweather, Sr. in his corner, Hatton appeared to posses better defense and head movement, while utilizing his jab more often. The victory against Paulie has now seemed to squash the talk of him losing his form after his 2007 loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. Ricky Hatton remains the Ring Jr. Welterweight champion and has now locked down a mega match up against #1 pound for pound fighter Manny Pacquiao on May 2, 2009. This is a huge fight for 2009 and a victory over Pacquiao would raise Hatton’s stock immensely within the sport.

That’s my current top ten pound for pound list as of now. Disagree? Feel free to email me, let me know and send me your top ten fighters of the moment.

BROWN

Brownkn1@gmail.com

(KNOCKOUT NATION – JANUARY 27, 2008)

SUNRISE, Fla.—Unified lightweight world champion Nate “Galaxxy Warrior” Campbell (32-5-1, 25 KOs) gave a stern warning to International Boxing Federation No. 1-Ranked lightweight mandatory challenger Ali “Rush Hour” Funeka (30-1, 25 KOs) at a Don King-hosted press conference at BankAtlantic Center today promoting their Valentine’s Day meeting in South Florida.

“I’m a New Age guy that likes to be on the Internet,” Campbell began. “Then I went on the Web and read what Ali Funeka said he’s going to do to me on Valentine’s Day. He said he sees nothing special in me. He said he knows me like the back of his hand. That’s rhetoric but he’s going to pay for it. I’m going to beat him like he tried to steal something from me.”

Campbell said there was no previous ill will between him and his South African opponent.

“This was a basic training camp for me until I heard his mouth. Now it’s personal. He’s got to pay the retail American price for his words, not the South African price. I’m going to hit this 6-foot-1-inch Funeka everywhere it’s legal and maybe where it ain’t if the referee turns his back. If he truly wants to win, he better be ready to fight, kill or die.”

Campbell’s comments caught the attention of the assembled media and his promoter, Don King.

“He’s not fooling around,” King said of Campbell’s comments. “Don’t forget what this man did to Juan Diaz, and he did that partly on my behalf. I hope Funeka knows what he’s getting into.”

King announced tickets to the fight, priced at $200, $75, $40 and $25 (with all seats buy one, get one free excepting a limited number of golden circle seats) will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday and can be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets, charge by phone at (800) 745-3000, by visiting www.ticketmaster.com or at the BankAtlantic Center box office.

Dubbed “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” by King, the card will also feature colorful former three-time world champion Ricardo “El Matador” Mayorga (28-7-1, 22 KOs) tangling with undefeated Alfredo “Perro” Angulo (14-0, 11 KOs) to determine the WBC’s No. 1 ranking and mandatory challenger at the 154-pound limit as well as another important match at 154 pounds with interim WBC super welterweight champion Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez (44-1-1, 24 KOs) taking on former IBF welterweight champion Kermit “The Killer” Cintron (30-2, 27 KOs).

A full undercard, with opponents to be announced soon, will showcase heavyweights Ray “The Rainman” Austin (26-4, 17 KOs) and Bermane “B-Ware” Stiverne (16-1, 16 KOs); undefeated cruiserweight Francisco “The Wizard” Palacios (16-0, 9 KOs); welterweight Ivan Kirpa (22-1, 14 KOs); lightweights Anges Adjaho (23-1, 14 KOs) and Angelo “The Cobra” Santana (4-0, 3 KOs); junior lightweight John “Action” Jackson (13-1, 13 KOs); undefeated light heavyweight Anthony Dirrell (14-0, 12 KOs); and featherweight Gary Russell (1-0, 1 KO).

The event is promoted by Don King Productions. Campbell vs. Funeka is presented in association with One Punch Productions. Mayorga vs. Angulo is a co-promotion with Gary Shaw Productions. Campbell vs. Funeka, Mayorga vs. Angulo and Martinez vs. Cintron will also be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

(KNOCKOUT NATION – JANUARY 25, 2009)

- Manny Paquiao and Ricky Hatton have come to an agreement to face each on a May 2nd PPV in a Jr. Welterweight showdown. The fight will be fought for Hatton’s Ring Jr. Welterweight title. Previously, the bout was called off as the two sides could not agree on a 50-50 split. After much negotiations, and meeting between the two camps and the respective promoters, the fighters agreed to a 52-48 purse split. Paquiao will take the lion’s share of the money and looks to make upwards to 12 million dollars for the fight

- Light Heavyweight sensation, Glen Johns will be facing Daniel Judah in a rematch of their 2003 draw. The fight will take place on February 27th, on ESPN’s Friday Night fights at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida. Regarding the fight, Johnson stated, “This is one of the fights I’ve been waiting to get back, and now the time is here. I know I won the first fight with Judah, and I will take care of the injustice of that draw on February 27th.” Judah also spoke n the fight stating, I’m grateful for the opportunity to fight a great fighter like Glen a second time, but this time, I’m bringing my own judges,” said Judah. “I beat him once and I’ll do it again, this time by knockout”

- Roy Jones, Jr. appears to be heading back to the ring after his disappointing loss against Joe Calzaghe last year. Jones will be facing Omar Sheika on March 21 on an independent PPV taking place at the Civic Center in Pensacola, Florida. Sheika has been several times on ESPN Friday Night Fights and has notable losses to Joe Calzaghe and Jeff Lacy. It has not been announced that this is Jones’ final fight, but Jones has stated that he wanted to give his hometown crowd a fight and opportunity to see him.

- Speaking at a press conference to promote last night’s Affliction MMA PPV, Oscar De La Hoya spoke on his retirement. Speaking to the NY Daily Times, Oscar stated, ““I haven’t thought seriously about it. I really haven’t sat down and soaked it all in and thought about it. People have come up to me and told me that it wasn’t me in the ring and that I shouldn’t quit. And then other people have come up to me and said they think I should hang ‘em up. It’s pulling me back and forth. Obviously I have to feel it and I have to want it. It’s not easy. It’s tough at this age and stage of my career to continue. I know I still have the skills. It’s not going to be about the opponent or the money.”

- Joe Calzaghe has hinted that he may have one final fight left in him. Speaking to the Daily Star, Calzaghe addressed his intentions stating, “It has got to be the right fight for me. It would be an awesome occasion though fighting at The Millennium Stadium, and I know I would love it. It’s a tough one, because I’m 37 in March, so I’m not exactly a spring chicken, but yes, of course I dream about boxing in front of 60,000 at The Millennium Stadium. Joe went on to say, “I don’t want to be one of those fighters who says he is going to retire and then six months down the line they come back and they do that again and again. When I say I am going I want to be gone for good. I want it to be final. For the record, Bernard Hopkins has stated that he would be willing to travel anywhere to have a rematch with Joe Calzaghe. If not Bernard, who else is out there for Joe to face?

BROWN

Brownkn1@gmail.com

(KNOCKOUT NATION – JANUARY 21, 2009)

HOLLYWOOD, FL – With the talk of a March bout on Showtime featuring former middleweight champion Jermain Taylor tearing through the boxing world, super middleweight contender Edison “Pantera” Miranda is making his case for a showdown between “Bad Intentions” and the self proclaimed baddest man at 168 pounds.

“I don’t think there’s any more exciting fight for the fans right now than one between me and Jermain Taylor,” said Miranda. “We both come to fight, we’re both warriors, and I’ll get to keep my Knockout of The Year streak going when we step into the ring with each other.”

Fresh off a devastating knockout of Manuel Esparza on January 14th that upped his stellar record to 31-3 with 27 KOs, Miranda – whose knockout of David Banks a year ago was ESPN.com’s Knockout of The Year for 2008 and ESPN2’s Knockout of the Decade – wants nothing but big fights from here on out. But he’s a little skeptical when it comes to Taylor’s intentions – bad or not.

“I hear of him fighting Allan Green or Carl Froch, but Froch has priced himself out” said Miranda. “I destroyed Green two years ago and he hasn’t been the same since. I will fight you for a very reasonable amount of money. If you’re serious about fighting the best, then you’ll fight me.”

A Miranda-Taylor bout was originally talked about in 2007, but Miranda, weakened by sickness and the inability to get down to 160 pounds, lost a title elimination bout to the man who eventually dethroned Taylor, Kelly Pavlik. Now, with both fighters at their best at 168 pounds, the time is right for the fight to finally take place.

“We should have done this two years ago Jermain, but I was sick and unable to make 160 pounds anymore,” said Miranda, addressing the pride of Little Rock, Arkansas. “You know the struggle to make weight, and now we’ve both moved on and gotten stronger and better. We owe this fight to the fans, and I’m ready to do it at anytime and place. Are you ready?”

For more information regarding this and other events, log on to: www.WarriorsBoxing.com

(KNOCKOUT NATION – JANUARY 19, 2009)

Monica Sears: Thank you. I’d like to welcome everyone today to the Margarito and Mosley conference call. We have a great site lined up for next week and at this time I’d like to turn it over to Chief Operating Officer of Golden Boy Promotions, Dave Itskowitch.

David Itskowitch: Thanks a lot Monica. Thank you everyone for joining us. Again, January 24 at Staple Center we’ve got a great fight which will be live on HBO is World Championship Boxing, 10 pm Eastern Time, 7 pm Pacific. If fan interest is any indication of what kind of a fight this is going to be, it’s going to be a great one, tickets are going fast. I urge you all if you’re going to write about the fight to tell everyone to get their tickets as soon as possible because they’re moving quickly and they start just at $25.

It’s great again to be working with Bob Arum and Top Rank and of course Cerveza Tecate, our title sponsor for the show. Without any further ado I’d like to turn it over to Nazim Richardson, trainer of Shane Mosley to say a few words about how things are going in camp. Nazim?

Nazim Richardson: How’s everybody doing? I’d like to thank everybody for having Shane and again I’d just like to point out from early ongoing that working with Shane there have been no surprises. It’s just been a pleasant confirmation on the fact that the things I assumed about him turned out to be true. That his work ethic is exceptional and his knowledge of the sport is staggering.

It’s just been pleasant working with this guy because everything you ask of him he produces or he makes his best attempt at it until he gets it the way you want it and you have to appreciate that from an athlete. And for a guy to have such a world of experience and knowledge, for him to still be so open he just made camp a pleasant experience and I look forward to the fight next week.

David Itskowitch: Thanks a lot Nazim. As Nazim alluded to Shane Mosley is a champions champion, he’s a people’s champion, one of the great fighters of our era and without any further ado I’d like to turn it over to the four time world champion in three different weight divisions, Sugar Shane Mosley. Shane?

Shane Mosley: I’m definitely excited for the fight; ready to go in great condition. My camp has been great. Nazim has been great. Everybody, the sparring partners are great, everything is running according to plan, according to schedule and the only thing left now is to get in the ring and fight. So I’m ready to go and I’m excited and let’s get it on.

Q: I’ve noticed that guys either forget to or they’re unable to attack Margarito’s body. Now from you we haven’t seen quite as much bodywork over the years. How will you address this on fight night?

Shane Mosley: If Margarito’s body is open and he’s giving it to me then I’m going to take it. We definitely worked on that, and when you fight guys like Margarito you have to work on everything, you can’t just work on boxing and movement, you have to work on punching as well, and targeting different spots of the body, different parts of the head, different parts positioning. I think that’s what Nazim is very good at — pinpointing different spots of the body and (giving me shots). So I think it’s going to be, well I know it’s going to be, a great night.

Q: You ended the Mayorga fight quite spectacularly. I’m sure even you’d admit to maybe looking a little sluggish prior to the knockout. My question is, why were you sluggish in that fight and what can you do to prevent that in the Margarito fight?

Shane Mosley: Well the first thing I’ll do is make sure that I have the proper shoes on and I won’t have blood blisters on the bottom of my feet. That’s what happened in the Mayorga fight, from about the fifth round on I was swishing around and my blister on my right foot. And also you know, when Mayorga, he’s kind of a great to have a fighter where you don’t know where the punches are coming from.

He was like ten pounds heavier than me and I was basically fighting him out of my weight class — I’m 147 pounder –, kind of gave him the advantage to kind of wrestle me a little bit and I wrestled back with him so, it will have to put a stop, a lot more snappier, more crisper, a lot more like the the old Sugar Shane that everybody used to see.

Shane Mosley: I’m great man.

Q At this stage of your career to bring a new trainer in, and you’ve got the fundamentals down, what does Nazim bring or what could he do in just lone training camp to help you?

Shane Mosley: Well, he’s not trying to change me or trying to switch up, just recreating all the stuff that I already know. You know with Nazim, he trains fighters that are amateurs and professionals. So he has both backgrounds and sometimes when we turn pro we start forgetting different things about some of the things that got us to where we were at as the champions, to start lagging on different things.

And I think that with his knowledge of training fighters on both sides of the spectrum he has a broad view of everything. He sees a lot of different things, he watches a lot of films, watches a lot of fighters fight, like I said amateur and professionally. So I think that kind of rejuvenated me, bringing me back to life.

Q: And speaking of changing trainers, obviously you went with Nazim and you left your dad as the trainer in terms of the training and you went with Nazim and then you, I know you’re not going to talk about this, but you have the steroids thing and maybe some other personal things. It seems like that there are a lot of distractions right now from the outside. Is that the case? And if so, how are you dealing with that?

Shane Mosley: I don’t really pay attention to what’s going on outside of boxing, you know, if you do what I’m doing right now as far as my fight’s concerned then that’s what I’m going to do. The other stuff I’m not really paying attention to it until after the fight and I just block it out. (Unintelligible) it’s all about training and winning the fight and being the best.

Q: Nazim. what can you bring…you come in for one fight, what is it that you try to do in such a short period of time?

Nazim Richardson: My thing is I stay in my lane and I understand the fact that our job is not to teach Sugar Shane Mosley how to fight. He already knows how to fight, he’s known how to fight at an exceptional level for years.

My job is to point out flaws in Antonio Margarito’s arsenal and to help Shane to devise a plan to exploit those flaws in the fight. I stay in my lane and I focus on that task at hand. I help him break down Antonio Margarito and hope to exploit those small mistakes that he makes.

And Shane being a student of the game he adjusts, he adjusts so quickly so it’s not about trying to change him or have him do a bunch of different things.

Q: Did you see the Cotto fight and what did you think of the way he fought Margarito.

Shane Mosley: Yes. I (unintelligible) pretty good, I mean the first was (unintelligible) he fought pretty good and he was landing shots and stuff and actually was leading in the fight he just I think had a little mental break down the fight and Margarito caught up to him. He was dinging him with some body shots, caught up to him and sealed the deal in the last two rounds, so I mean he fought all right. He was winning up until that point.

Q: What is it about you and your style that makes you think you’ll be more successful in surviving his constant pressure than Cotto was?

Shane Mosley: Cotto was not familiar with what Margarito brings to the table and I’m familiar with it because I’ve been brought up in California where I fought a lot of Mexican fighters and I know that type of style. I know how to pace myself, how to win rounds. I’m basically a California fighter myself, I’m basically a California fighter, I know how to go to the body as well.

So you know, Margarito (unintelligible) get body shots itself, so you know, maybe if he’s (unintelligible) myself then we’ll both (unintelligible) first, perhaps with a thick coat I know how to fight, you know, I don’t just box I can fight too.

Q: Would you say that’s the number one challenge, being able to stay away from his constant pressure?

Shane Mosley: I’m not particularly trying to run away from his pressure, I’m trying to get my shots in too. But when I want to get them down, not when he says oh, you know, we want to fight now. Maybe I don’t want to fight in that second, maybe I want to turn the corner and then fight again.

Q: I was talking to your father not too long ago and you know, your dad is still as you know, one of your biggest fans.

Shane Mosley: Yeah. And I talked to him yesterday.

TK Stewart: Do you talk to him much about the fight and about strategy, about strengths and weaknesses that Margarito has, I mean you guys have those conversations, or have you had them?

Shane Mosley: Yeah I mean you know, we’ll say a few things here and there about the fight and what he believes I should do and some of the things, I mean a lot of things that, you know, what’s great is that Nazim and my father both have the same type of philosophy basically, in the training. So it’s not far off…using jabs, controlling with the jab, I mean just different stuff that Nazim says and my father probably says pretty much the same thing and they’re not even in the same room.

Q: And then in terms of your future boxing career, do you have the sort of long-range plan as to what you’re going to do or are you just kind of taking it on a fight by fight basis right now?

Shane Mosley: Yeah, I kind of take it on a fight by fight basis, but I can see myself going for another four, maybe five years….2013, 2014, something like that.

Q: So you’d be 40-41 years old.

Shane Mosley: Around 40 years old, 39, 40, somewhere in there.

Q: I was surprised to hear the answer to that last question, kind of caught me a little off guard. You want to fight another four or five years?

Shane Mosley: Yeah, I feel great right now. I feel good and I’m ready to go. And if I’m feeling like this from my fights, you know, the way I feel right today for my fights then I can go on for more.

Q: Wow. Okay. I just remember earlier in your career I heard you say many times you wanted to have a long career and a hall of fame career, accomplish all kinds of different things, which you have done certainly, but that you would maybe not want to hang around into your 40s.

But you hang out with Bernard Hopkins and you see how he fights and now you’re working with Nazim, his trainer and you see the old guy Bernard, who’s going to turn 44 I think in a few days still at it and fighting in a very high level. Does that enter your mindset when you think about where you are in your career and how much longer you may be able to go?

Shane Mosley: Well you know first of all Bernard’s I think birthday was maybe two weeks (unintelligible) he was 44 but…

Q: Actually you know, what, today is Bernard Hopkins’ birthday, January 15.

Shane Mosley: January 15, yeah. So yeah you know, he’s 44 but that really has not crossed my mind, it’s the way I feel. Everybody’s different, everybody fights different. Bernard’s different. I’m different (unintelligible) I mean everybody feels a different way. Fernando Vargas is barely 30 and he’s retired because his body just doesn’t feel good anymore and you have to feel good when you get in the ring.

When I start feeling good I felt something, oh my god this is a chore, I can’t really do it. When (counts) start entering my mind then that’s when I’ll start thinking about retiring. I don’t really like to, because a lot of people a lot of times you know, you start listening to, you know, the media and different people around, oh man when he get like 31, 32, oh you know, you’re getting oh, you need to start retiring.

I’m listening to I’m watching some of these Sportscenter games and you know, down in that, (unintelligible) now says he’s 32 years old and he’s talking about he’s getting old and there’s another guy that’s 37 that’s the quarterback for the Falcons or no for the Cardinals and you know, they’re saying that he’s getting old, you know like wow. But they’re still playing, they’re still both getting ready to go to the Super Bowl.

Q: Exactly. The other thing I wanted to ask you about if you take a look at the records of Antonio Margarito, here you have a guy who beat Cotto and knocked him out, stopped him. Cotto has a win over you. I’m sure he’s aware of that obviously.

And there’s the fact that maybe he’s celebrating that huge victory that he had, that really big, that you know, his victory against Cotto sort of did for Antonio kind of like what your first victory against Oscar did, you know, even though we all knew that he was a good fighter and won titles, put him on the map so maybe he’s a little bit been celebrating about that. And then of course it took him a little bit of time to finally come around and make the deal for this fight. A lot of people thought maybe he didn’t really want to fight you.

I wonder do you think that there’s a chance that because of all the things I just said, you know, plus you know, it was mentioned earlier you look a little bit sluggish even though you scored a spectacular knock out against Mayorga, that maybe Margarito for whatever reason might be just taking it a little bit lightly?

Shane Mosley: That could be the case, I mean that could be the case. I don’t know. I don’t really take it for granted. I don’t, I’m not training where I think oh he’s just taking me for granted and I’m going get a victory. If he does that’s his problem, that’s his loss and maybe he might just get hurt in there if he takes it lightly so you got to be totally prepared, I’m ready to go.

But you know, a lot of times, you know I really don’t worry about what the other fighters thinking or what the trainers are thinking and what they’re thinking about doing or what I’m going to do and I’m going to execute. So whatever he’s thinking that’s totally on his side.

Q: This fight is going to be at Staples Center. It is the site of your greatest victory in your career. I don’t think anyone would argue with that. You have a lot of good memories I bet going back to that arena to have this big fight. You are the underdog here but do you feel, how comfortable do you feel about going back to a place where you had the greatest win of your professional career?

Shane Mosley: You know I probably even feel more confident and comfortable than I did when I fought Oscar the first time. I feel comfortable and I’m confident that I’m going to do my job. I’m confident that I’m going to look spectacular. I’m confident that I’m going to be at my best. I’m confident that the fans around the world are going to be surprised and they’ll be shocked. So I’m just very confident and I’m trying not to be too confident and trying to keep my level head before I get into the ring.

Q: There’s a lot of talk that Margarito can face Miguel Cotto in the summer in a rematch. Do you feel that’s disrespectful to you? If you win would you like another chance at Miguel in the future?

Shane Mosley: I don’t think it’s disrespectful to me because it just lets me know how great of a fighter I am where people just really don’t want to fight me. And Margarito thank God he stepped up, I can get this victory on Margarito and then after, you know, after we fight then if Miguel Cotto and Margarito want to fight that’s fine with me, maybe I, you know I stepped too, you know, Pacquiao and you know, Ricky Hatton, I mean see what happens with them.

So there’ll be somebody out there to fight and I just want to keep myself busy. I want to have a terrific year in 2009 so I consistently train and keep myself in great shape until the next victim comes along.

Q: You would like another chance at Miguel?

Shane Mosley: Of course. Yeah after the fight when I fought him the first time I wanted a rematch but it didn’t happen so maybe the rematch will happen sometime in the future. But like I said, I’ll be the one victorious when I fight Margarito but if they want to fight each other first and (unintelligible) the two fights next that’ll be great too.

Q: I was just wondering why you decided to make the change switching, trainers, why you decided to switch from your father to Nazim?

Shane Mosley: Oh I just needed a different look and me and my father were butting heads a little bit. I just needed a different change of pace and stuff and I think that has worked out very well.

Q: Do you feel that you’re sort of refreshed with a different trainer, that you hear maybe a different sounding voice and the information sort of sinks in a little bit better?

Shane Mosley: Oh, I mean that could be the case. (Unintelligible) it’s just a little, it’s a different twist, different change and I think it’s refreshing. I believe that it’s working out very well. I’m looking good, looking sharp.

Q: I was just also wondering, you said that with all the distractions and everything you just sort of put them aside and for, you know, for most of us that’s just sort of difficult to do. How do you do, I mean how do you put that aside? How do you put all the stuff that’s going on aside and just concentrate on boxing because it’s a 24-hour day, you’re not, you know, you’re not involved in boxing 24 hours a day?

Shane Mosley: I’m in Big Bear 24 hours a day so I keep myself away from all the drama.

Tim Smith: Yeah but the drama sort of also invades you though…

Shane Mosley: No.

Q: I mean you’re getting phone calls from people you’re…

Shane Mosley: No. I don’t get phone calls from people. I don’t do that. I put them in the box and shut them out and that’s it. I don’t mess, I don’t think about that, yeah. I’m that type of person where I don’t really you know, the calls they have something that’s on the Internet or something that’s going on, I don’t look at the Internet, I look at (unintelligible) fight post and stuff, I don’t do that. When I’m focusing (unintelligible) on the boxing it’s strictly boxing. I’m in, I watch fight films, I sit and stretch, you know, everything is about the fight and I kind of put everything else aside.

Q: So all this stuff with steroids you haven’t, you haven’t…?

Shane Mosley: No. Actually I put that stuff aside since 2004. People want to bring it up and I don’t even listen, I don’t listen to it I put it all aside. Judd [Burstein] doesn’t even call me about any of that stuff. You know if I have to sign something on that that’s it, but I put that in my shelf, that’s somewhere in another field. I don’t even, actually I don’t even know nothing about what’s going on right now about that, I don’t even listen to it. My whole thing is Margarito, I don’t even care.

Q: Nazim, one of the things that I’ve looked at, looking back at Margarito and his fight with Joshua Clottey and one of the things that really stood out for me was watching Clottey’s speed be a factor in that fight, even, well obviously before he injured his hands. Is that something that you think will play out in this fight or can play out in this fight?

Nazim Richardson: Well one thing you have to take into account is that when you’re dealing with Shane Mosley speed is always going to be a factor. You know I don’t care who you face is they’re going to have to deal with the speed of Shane Mosley. But the other thing is that people have a tendency to be fast but it’s how you use your speed and where you use your speed at what times. So that’s some of the things we had to concentrate on, but yeah I think Shane Mosley brings several weapons to the table and he’s going to be (unintelligible) to find an answer to deal with all of those weapons whether he’s using them properly.

Q: Margarito has pretty good height for a welterweight. Are you prepared to deal with that and having, and what other fighter can you say hey they had that kind of height advantage and how will you be able to deal with that?

Shane Mosley: Well Margarito I think (unintelligible), when we did the first press conference if you’ll notice we’re both looking eye to eye and that’s not just the picture, that’s really us being the same height. My arms are well, they say on the record that they’re a little longer than his so (unintelligible) think we’re pretty much maybe the same height.

He’s going to come in there you know, he is a little taller, maybe I think an inch and a half taller but that’s not very much. Oscar de la Hoya is the same way, he’s like an inch and a half taller than me too. So I don’t see any problems with that.

Q: One of the things that he seems to have problems with is hand speed, especially guys with fast hands who are busy. Is that something that you think you can make him have to deal with and adjust to?

Shane Mosley: I definitely can exploit him on that. Some people have good hand speed and don’t have good foot speed. I do have good foot speed. So I’m going to exploit him with the hand speed and the foot speed, I’m not saying I’m moving away from him and running and trying to get away from him, I’m not trying to really get away from him, I’m trying to you know, like I always do, I try to get my shots in.

Q: When you’ve broken down Margarito, I mean was it something that you saw immediately that let you know that you were going to match up well against this guy or is it something that has happened during the course of training?

Shane Mosley: Oh man, I’ve seen him fight many times and I knew his style, I know it’s a difficult style and you have to be in great shape, in tremendous shape to fight him and you have to be on top of your game to fight him but it’s a style that my style can beat, you know, be on top of my game. Go ahead.

Q: And obviously it sounds like you’ve got great plans for a long career, but you know, as you’ve seen, I guess you’ve seen it from both ends with Bernard, you know, at 44 it looks like he’s got a couple fights left in him at least. With Oscar after his loss it looks like he may be finished. If you lose, worse case scenario, have you thought about, has that entered your mind and what you would do if that scenario plays out?

Shane Mosley: Actually I haven’t thought about losing, so I don’t know. But it could happen.

Q: Shane if we compare Paul Williams and Margarito’s fight, Margarito’s fight with Cotto, we can analyze that (unintelligible) two different fights you know, because certainly we look at Margarito’s more nice shots against Cotto, more briefly that Williams fight so definitely I think it’s obvious that the fight body to body to Margarito is not the way to win a fight against (unintelligible). What has been about that two fights Williams and Cotto fights against Margarito?

Shane Mosley: Well honestly (I haven’t) seen the Paul Williams, Margarito fight. I’ve see seen the Cotto, Margarito fight. But I would think that you know, with Paul Williams I can’t really equate that to me that he’s 6’4”, 3”, whatever, arm span of a heavyweight and it’s just a different type a fight.

With Cotto, I mean he did very well. He just broke down the last couple rounds and he let Margarito accumulate too many body shots early on in the fight where he couldn’t sustain it and (unintelligible) to fight to 12, but before then I think Cotto was ahead, but even watching the first couple of rounds I felt in my head that Margarito was going to get him because of the way Cotto was fighting him, he was rushing the shots and he was throwing a lot of punches and he was on his heels a lot giving Margarito (unintelligible).

With Paul Williams you know, he’s tall so he’s probably was sticking his jab and you know, keeping Margarito at bay and turn twist and turn them some. That’s probably why he got the victory.

Q: Can we expect the same style from you in terms of boxing in your fight (unintelligible) with Margarito?

Shane Mosley: Well I mean I’m not going to stand around in front of (unintelligible) basically expect me to be throwing a lot of fast shots, snappy and fast shots and you know, I definitely will have you know, I have good punching power so there’s going to be some fire on some of those shots too as well.

Q: Since 2001 you’ve had two bouts every year. If Margarito had signed any earlier do you think this bout would’ve taken last year? And since you only did have a single bout last year are you okay with that going into this one?

Shane Mosley: I’m definitely okay going into this one because what happened was I was getting ready to fight Zab Judah before and it fell through like in May, so I was in training camp for a long time and then I fought, and then I went back to training camp to fight Mayorga and now I’m back in training camp. So I was actually training all the time. I wasn’t really laid off.

Q: Do you have anything good to say basically about Margarito going into this?

Shane Mosley: Oh yeah, I mean Margarito he’s definitely a tough fighter, he’s a warrior and everything that he’s got he’s earned. He’s fought very hard all through his career to get this type of respect and to get this type of claim and finally he achieved it. He took the long road up, the hard road up. He fought everybody he could and battled everybody. But he’s definitely a tough competitor.

Q: Yeah, you just mentioned that you think you have the right style for

Margarito. Could you maybe get a little bit more specific? What is it about your style that you think makes this a good match up?

Shane Mosley: Well it makes a good match up because I have good hand speed, good power, hand speed, power and I’m very durable. I take good shots and I can go, I can stay in the fight when it’s tough. I don’t have to move around, move away and be afraid of being in an exchange. I think some fighters, they’re just fast.

Some fighters are just strong and some fighters are fast and strong but they can’t take a punch, they can’t take it in the inside. They just can punch hard.

I have experience, I have everything. I’ve got the total package for somebody like Margarito. Margarito is one dimensional where he comes right at you and he throws all these shots and punches but he throws them hard and he breaks a lot of guys down with his heart and his will, but I have a big heart and big will too so you’ve got two guys with a big heart and big will, but one’s a little faster and one hits probably a little bit harder and can move better.

Q: What was Cotto lacking then? What was the missing ingredient for Cotto?

Shane Mosley: The grit, I mean what happened with Cotto I think, and maybe that’s why Cotto wants to fight Margarito again is for all his career, the whole career, he’s been used to going forward and walking guys down and for somebody to come and do the same thing to him it kind of rattled him I think a little bit in the later rounds, it rattled him and he started getting hit with shots and he just couldn’t take the pressure then, but I think that him being in the ring with Margarito he knows what to do so it might be a different fight the next time they fight.

David Itskowitch: All right. Thank you everybody for joining the Mosley portion of the call. Thank you Nazim. Thank you Shane. I’m going to turn things over now to Lee Samuels of Top Rank so he can continue on with the Margarito portion of the call. Lee?

Lee Samuels: Great call. Thank you Shane. Thank you Dave and Monica from Golden Boy, really appreciate it.

Lee Samuels: We have the champion on the line with us. He’s been training in California for weeks getting ready for this big fight at the Staples Center and my boss, the Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum is on the line as is Sergio Diaz, the co-manager of Tony and we have Ricardo Jimenez with us also.

So I’m going to turn it over to Bob and he has some remarks and we’ll introduce Tony. Bob?

Bob Arum: Welcome all to the call today. I’m not needed at this point to really sell anything because the fight has been sold out for about a week now. We’ve opened the balcony and those tickets are going extremely fast and they’ll be sold out probably by the end of the week, beginning of next week.

So essentially this fight is a huge, huge box office success and demonstrates how vital and alive boxing is. If you give the public the right kind of matches at the right prices and this championship match between Antonio Margarito and Sugar Shane Mosley is something that has piqued everybody’s imagination. The celebrity turn out is going to be enormous being of course Los Angeles, and everybody is excited including myself.

And I think it’s a tribute to the champion, Antonio Margarito that coming off this great victory against Miguel Cotto he has cemented his status as now being a big box office attraction which is wonderful for Antonio and it’s a real tribute to him. He’s a great fighter and it’s really an honor and pleasure for Top Rank to be promoting him.

Lee Samuels: Okay. Sergio, some remarks about Tony and his training and getting ready for Shane?

Sergio Diaz: Well first I’d like to thank Bob Arum for putting us in this position. The other day I was speaking to my partner Francisco on which promoter has sold out the Staple Center and the only one, Bob Arum. Bob Arum has done a tremendous job with Antonio’s career and we are happy, happy to be part of this Top Rank family and Antonio is proud to be defending his title here in Los Angeles and we’re looking forward to making Top Rank happier and looking forward to continue work with them in the future.

Antonio Margarito: I’m ready to get up into the ring. I trained very hard for this fight. I expect a difficult fight. He’s a very experienced fighter but I put in the work and I’m ready to go in there and put on a good show.

Lee Samuels: Great. And thank you Antonio and (Felicia) we’re ready for our first call. Would you give instructions please?

Q: We saw Manny Pacquiao defeat Oscar recently and he’s become kind of the talk of boxing, I just wondered if Antonio wins this would he like to fight Manny?

Antonio Margarito: I heard about the fights that may be out there for me but I’m not really that interested right now. All I’m thinking about is Mosley, beating Mosley and then Bob will tell me what’s out there for me. I’ll put my hands on what they decide for me to do.

If they think that’s a fight I should do then I’ll do it but right now my mind is just on Mosley and getting over that fight and winning.

Q: I wanted you to talk about what you believe is your ultimate advantage in this fight against Mosley. Where do you match up best? And then secondly do you see any signs that his skills are deteriorating through age or whatever?

Antonio Margarito: I really don’t see that I have any advantages anywhere against him, I just think that my preparation, the way I work, the way I always come prepared for fights, that will carry me over. I know what I need to do to win fights and I always come to do that. They say Mosley is old and all of this I really don’t see it. I think he’s a great champion, I think he’s a great fighter and I’m not going to underestimate him. I know what he’s done and I’m coming in prepared because I believe this is my moment, this is my time to shine.

Q: Antonio you were already a very popular fighter before you beat Cotto but I’m wondering in what way has your life changed just as far as your popularity, that kind of stuff because any time you come into a fight, like at the Home Depot Center, nobody even pays attention to the fight, everybody starts mobbing you and I’m just wondering if you have become even that much more popular since beating Cotto, especially with the Puerto Rican and Mexican rivalry.

Antonio Margarito: Without a doubt, you know everywhere I go now it seems like I’m coming up to people everybody wants my autograph, everybody wants to take a picture with me. I think it is more people coming up to me and I think you can see that reflection on my popularity with the way the tickets are selling. I think without a doubt I’ve taken another step in my career.

Q: Would you like to fight in Mexico, you really have done all your career in the United States. Would you be interested in fighting in Mexico some day due to your popularity, the way you are right now?

Antonio Margarito: If there’s an opportunity to fight in Mexico, it’d be great.I haven’t fought in Mexico in a long, long time so that would be something that I would like to do. if it comes up it’s great, if it doesn’t, you know, it doesn’t.

Q: There’s already talk about maybe you fighting Cotto after this.

Antonio Margarito: Right now I’m not thinking about anyone. I’m happy that people are talking about me, about big fights, but I’m just concentrating on Mosley right now and winning this fight.

Q: You fought Cotto when everybody thought he was invincible and now you’re fighting a future Hall of Fame fighter, how do you feel about that at this point in your career?

Antonio Margarito: I have always wanted to fight the best fighters in the world and I have the opportunity now to fight them and the important thing is to do well and beat Mosley. I know how important this fight would be to my career if I do win.

Q: Mosley has never lost to a Mexican fighter. His quickness, his speed is that something that concerns you?

Antonio Margarito I’m always going to fight the same way, I’m always going to try. I’m always going to depend on my training the way I train, the way I get prepared for fights, that’s what wins me fights.

Q: For this fight they said that you didn’t want to fight him, there was a release put out that you said that they said that you were afraid to fight Mosley and that you really didn’t want to fight Mosley that’s why you didn’t sign. What did you think when you saw something like that or you heard about it?

Antonio margarita: I just laugh. I knew that I’ve been waiting to fight Mosley for the last three years. The opportunity never came up, it just never happened but now that it’s here I’m going to take advantage of it and like I said, I’ve wanted to fight him for a long time.

Q: Some people think that the way that you beat Cotto and the way that Cotto beat Mosley that maybe you’re not taking this as seriously as you should. A challenge from Mosley they think that maybe you’re not going to be up for it.

Antonio Margarito: No. That will never happen to me. I’m not going to say it’s going to be an easy fight, I just know that how difficult it is. He’s got a lot of experience and I’m not going to underestimate him at any time. In the ring anything can happen and I’m going to be ready for anything and everything.

Q: Do you consider the Cotto victory the biggest of your career? And obviously you’ve had trouble with tall fighters, guys that can box. Do you think that that’s the problem you might have with Mosley like you had with Paul Williams and Santos fought you?

Antonio Margarito: I don’t think so. Without a doubt the Cotto fight was the best win of my career because he was at the time probably the best welterweight in the world. So my beating him obviously was the biggest fight because now I’m the best one. The other thing about boxing and speed and all that, that’s why we get ready for a fight. We get ready to fight. You prepare for all styles and the preparation is what will make you a winner.

Q: With your new found fame, new found popularity since the Cotto fight, has that forced you to adjust your lifestyle and are there any potential distractions because before the Cotto fight you were always one of the most accessible guys. I’m just wondering how much of a difference that has been for you and how much have you had to adjust to that?

Antonio Margarito: Obviously between fights there have been a lot of things to do, a lot of people wanting me to do things. But I always take two months for every fight, I’ve always done that. I stay away from everything for those two months and I just concentrate on fighting. That’s not going to change. When it’s my time to train that’s all I’m going to do, train.

Q: You have one of the greatest chins that I’ve ever seen quite possibly the best chin of this particular era. Is that just your belief that you can’t be hurt? Where does that come from?

Antonio Margarito: You know I think it’s something I was born with. I really don’t have any other answer other than the fact that I get prepared very well for every fight, that my preparation allows me to take some punches, not that I like to take punches. I’d rather not take as many …in every fight I really would like to take less but you know, I think that I do have a good chin and do prepare myself.

Q: Awhile back there was a I think it was on HBO on the 24/7 episodes they showed a picture of you and Julio Cesar Chavez and I was wondering if when you were a kid and now that you’ve grown up, so as a kid is being a champion everything that you thought it would be and is this life that you’re living the life that you always thought it would be?

Antonio Margarito: You know when I was eight years old when I started fighting, that photo that you saw was when I was nine years old and I never thought about that, you know, about being a champion, getting into boxing, I mean at that level I never thought about it. It wasn’t until I turned into professional and I started winning some fights that I even thought, you know, maybe my dream would be to win a championship but you know, the way I obtain and the ways things have developed I think it’s been great for me.

Q: Usually everyone figures that Mosley’s going to depend on his speed to beat you, would it surprise you if he came in and changed and was looking for a fight?

Antonio Margarito: I don’t know what his strategy is going to be, if he fights, boxes me, I’ll box with him, I’ll figure him out and I’ll get him. If he comes to fight well, that’s what we’ll do, we’ll just fight.

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Remaining tickets, priced at $300, $150, $75, $50, and $25, are on sale now at all TicketMaster outlets, by phone at 213-480-3232 and online at www.ticketmaster.com, and at STAPLES Center Box Office.

Margarito vs. Mosley is promoted by Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate. The 12-round world championship fight for Margarito’s World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight title takes place on Saturday, January 24 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles and will be televised live on HBO’s World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT.

(KNOCKOUT NATION – JANUARY 19, 2009)

On Saturday night, Andre Berto passed the biggest test of his career by defeating Luis Collazo by close decision. The fight action packed fight had great ebb and flow that gave the paying crowd in Biloxi their money’s worth and then some.

Collozo gained the upper hand early by landing a straight left hand that hurt Berto and sent him staggering back into the ropes. Berto was able to maintain his composure and finish the round strong whi le avoid being put on the canvas.

The fight remained a close affair with both men tiring at times throughout the night. During the middle rounds, Berto began to work Collazo to the body which appeared to take a toll on the New Yorker’s energy and stamina. Collazo was slowly starting to watch the momentum swing Berto’s way as he appeared to be the busier fighter who was gaining his second wind down the stretch. However, Collazo showed his heart, picked up the pace and contined give Berto the toughest fight of his career.

As the championship rounds neared, the fight appeared to be up for grabs with both corners stressing to their fighters that they must finish strong. Berto appeared to have a big 12th round by banging Collazo to the body and pushing himself to outwork Collazo who gave it as good as he got it. In the end, the judges final scores were 116-111, 114-113, & 114-113 all in favor of Andre Berto. With the win, Berto’s record improves to 24-0 while Collazo’s drops to 29-4.

BROWN

Brownkn1@gmail.com

(KNOCKOUT NATION – JANUARY 14, 2009)

“The Nigerian Nightmare” Ready to Prove Klitschko bout was a Fluke; Issues Challenge to Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola Approximately, four years ago, Samuel “The Nigerian Nightmare” Peter burst onto the scene and generated tremendous excitement and buzz in the heavyweight division. But since his disappointing loss to Vitali Klitschko in Berlin, Germany, last October, the division has once again gone flat.

Feeling rejuvenated and eager to electrify the division once again, the former WBC Heavyweight Champion is using the start of a new year to set goals for the future and let go of past mistakes. Peter (30-2, 23 KOs) has also begun speaking publicly about his ninth-round stoppage loss to Klitschko.

“I was very disappointed with my performance,” he admits, “I know the fans weren’t happy with it either. I vow I will make it up to them ten times over with my future fights..”

Normally a dangerous predator in the ring, Peter appeared sluggish and discouraged while losing his cherished world title against Klitschko. “All great fighters have a bad night. In 2009, I’m ready to get back in action. I will show the fans that fight was a fluke and I’m still the best heavyweight in the world.”

The perfect motivation for his return to glory is to silence a fighter Peter claims is “using his name to try and build himself up.”

Peter says he’s offended by undefeated Los Angeles-based contender Chris Arreola’s choice of nickname. “To Chris Arreola, I want to say that there is only one true Nightmare in the heavyweight division and that’s me, Samuel Peter “The Nigerian Nightmare!”

Peter proposes a showdown between the two sluggers this year with an agreement that the loser must change his ring moniker. “He says he’s the top contender, but he hasn’t done anything to prove that. He has to fight a top contender before he can claim he’s the best,” snarled Peter. “I’ll show him and the fans how determined I am to win back my belt. And at the same time, I’ll prove who the real Nightmare is in boxing.”

Peter’s promoter, Dino Duva of Duva Boxing, says a Peter vs. Arreola match-up, with an agreement there can only be one “Nightmare” when it’s over, would be the kind of bombs away affair that re-energizes heavyweight boxing.

“The best non-title fight that can be made in the division is Sam Peter against Chris Arreola.,” Duva asserts. “A high-stakes fight like this is exactly what it will take to remind everyone that Sam Peter is still the hardest puncher in the entire sport. He knows he had a bad night in Germany, but taking out Chris Arreola would be exactly the type of thing he’d need to do to prove it was just a fluke. As for Arreola, he is claiming to be the top contender in the heavyweight division, but he’s never fought anybody to deserve that distinction. All nobodies. He has to beat Sam Peter to prove he’s worthy.”

Duva claims he’s already reached out to Arreola’s promoter, Dan Goossen, about making the electrifying fight a reality. “I’ve called Dan to discuss the possibility of them fighting each other and Dan told me he was hoping to get a Klitschko fight in the spring. Obviously if he can get that fight, all power to him and I wish him the best. But if he doesn’t get the Klitschko fight, I hope Dan will call me. This is the fight to establish the true top contender and one that people would want to see. Everything else is bullshit. Of course, if Arreola doesn’t have the balls to fight, Sam is willing to fight any heavyweight in the world including Kevin Johnson, David Haye or any other top name out there.”

(KNOCKOUT NATION – JANUARY 14, 2009)

NEW YORK – It will be a tale of two cities when two-division world champion MIGUEL COTTO returns to the “Mecca of Boxing,” Madison Square Garden and World Middleweight Champion KELLY “The Ghost” PAVLIK makes his world title defense a real homecoming at the Chevrolet Centre in Youngstown, Ohio. Cotto and Pavlik headline an exciting night of championship boxing fighting in winner-take-all world championship brawls. Cotto will be taking on top-rated contender MICHAEL JENNINGS for the vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title. Pavlik will be defending his title against mandatory challenger and No. 1 contender MARCO ANTONIO RUBIO. These four warriors have a combined record of 143-7-1 (110 KOs), a winning percentage of 95% and a victory by knockout ratio of 77%.

Two title fights in two different towns on one pay-per-view broadcast! This event is so big, both Michael Buffer and Jimmy Lennon, Jr. will be introducing the main events from New York and Youngstown, respectively. Spectators at The Garden will be able to see the live broadcast of the Pavlik-Rubio fight. Spectators at the Chevrolet Centre will be able to see the live broadcast of the Cotto-Jennings fight. Promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank, the Cotto-Pavlik doubleheader will take place Saturday, February 21 and will be broadcast Live on Pay-Per-View, beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.

Tickets to the Madison Square Garden event go on sale Today! Tuesday, January 13, at Noon ET. Priced at $500, $300, $200, $100, and $50, they can be purchased at the Garden Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets or online at www.thegarden.com.

Remaining tickets to the Chevrolet Centre event, priced at $500, $300, and $200 can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com, Retail Locations, including Giant Eagle and Macy’s, or charge by phone at (800) 745-3000 or (866) 448-7849. Tickets will also be available at the Chevrolet Centre Box Office. Additional fees may be applicable. There will be a ticket limit of eight (8) per customer.

“I still have a lot of confidence in myself and I will work very hard to return to the top of my division,” said Cotto. “This fight is very important because it will give me an opportunity to become a world champion again and to get myself back on the winning track. I expect a tough fight, but I also expect to return to Puerto Rico as a world champion once again.”

“Antonio Margarito proved that Miguel Cotto is not invincible and I’m going to remind him of that all night long once the bell rings,” said Jennings. “Just because this is my first fight in the United States doesn’t mean I’m coming here for a sightseeing trip. I’m coming here to win. I’ve invested most of life in boxing. But the payoff isn’t fighting for a world title it’s in winning a world title. Cotto had better be ready because I’m going to shoot the works on February 21st.”

“Everyone always asks me ‘what could be better than being the middleweight champion of the world?’ I’ll tell you what’s better, defending the title in my hometown. This is a dream come true and I want to make it a spectacular night for Youngstown. This city deserves it,” said Pavlik. “As for Rubio, he’s a rough, tough customer who earned his No. 1 ranking. It wasn’t that long ago that I was the number one contender. I know the hunger Rubio has for my title. It’s back to the “factory” for me for heavy training. I will be 150% for this fight!”

“Everything I have achieved in boxing I’ve earned. There have been no gifts given to me. That’s how I became the mandatory challenger, traveling throughout the United States and Mexico fighting and winning. Challenging Pavlik in his hometown makes no difference to me.” said Rubio. “I’m not afraid of ghosts.”

“This event, headlined by two of boxing’s most popular fighters, is just too big for one city, which is why we decided to go where Miguel and Kelly are most popular, New York and Youngstown,” said Arum. “Miguel has sold more tickets at The Garden than any other fighter in recent memory. In fact, his world welterweight title defense against Zab Judah was the first boxing sellout since the Lewis-Holyfield world heavyweight title unification fight in 1999. As for Youngstown, the Chevrolet Centre has never hosted a world championship fight, so what could be more fitting than to have Kelly Pavlik’s World Middleweight Championship homecoming in it? It’s a win-win for the fans in each arena because they’ll be able to see the televised main event from the other host city and for those watching it on pay-per-view who will see it all. This is one of the biggest and most exciting undertakings ever promoted by Top Rank.”

Cotto (32-1, 26 KOs), from Caguas, Puerto Rico, a two-division world champion, won the WBO junior welterweight championship in September 2004, knocking out undefeated contender Kelson Pinto for the vacant title. He successfully defended the belt six times during his two-year reign, before vacating it to challenge undefeated contender Carlos Quintana. He stopped him in the fifth round to capture the WBA welterweight crown in December 2006. Cotto successfully defended it four times, going the distance only once, before losing it to Antonio Margarito last July via an 11th-round TKO. It’s been selected a consensus “Fight of the Year” candidate.

Jennings (34-1, 16 KOs), from Chorley, England, will be making his U.S. debut against Cotto. Having already won the English and British welterweight titles, he added the WBU crown to his trophy case winning a 12-round unanimous decision against Mehrud Takaloobighashi in 2007 on the undercard of the Joe Calzaghe-Peter Manfredo world title fight. Known as a sharp, accurate combination puncher and good body puncher, he has raised himself to No, 3 in the WBO ratings thanks to a six-fight winning streak dating back to 2006. Two of his last three victories have been by knockout.

Pavlik (34-1, 30 KOs), the star from Youngstown and the reigning WBC, WBO and The Ring magazine middleweight world champion, has already proved to the boxing world why he is one of the most popular stars in the sport today. He had a stellar year in 2007 when he truly arrived on the championship scene, scoring devastating wins over Edison Miranda in a title eliminator and Jermain Taylor, in which he was stunned badly before coming back and annihilating Taylor in the seventh round, to dethrone the undefeated defending middleweight champion. Pavlik’s been nearly unstoppable since with a dominating performance over Taylor in their rematch and a third-round knockout over the previously undefeated No. 1 contender Gary Lockett. Those performances, along with an 88% victory by knock-out ratio, have cemented his place as the king of the middleweight division. In his last fight he made his light heavyweight debut, against future Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins. Pavlik, fighting 10 pounds above his natural weight, came up short in that non-title clash, losing a 12-round decision. Now back at middleweight where he is most comfortable, Pavlik is determined to create a lasting legacy as world champion in boxing’s most storied division.

Rubio (43-4-1, 38 KOs), from Torreón, Mexico, a former Mexican and WBC International junior middleweight champion has been unbeaten since moving up to the middleweight division. His nine-bout winning streak – seven by knockout – dates back to 2006 and include Mexican, FECOMBOX and FEDECENT title victories. The heavy-fisted Rubio became the WBC’s No. 1 contender and mandatory challenger by defeating Enrique Ornelas in a world title elimination bout in October, rallying in the second half of the fight and landing the much harder punches, staggering Ornelas several times in the 11th and 12th rounds.

The Cotto vs. Jennings / Pavlik vs. Rubio pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT, has a suggested retail price of $44.95. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. For Cotto vs. Jennings / Pavlik vs. Rubio fight week updates, log on to www.toprank.com.

(KNOCKOUT NATION – DECEMBER 9, 2009)

Bristol, CT – Future Hall of Fame middleweight and light heavyweight great Bernard Hopkins has been hired by ESPN as a “boxing analyst” for the 2009 season of ESPN2 Friday Night Fights. Hopkins, who will make a series of regular appearances on the show, will handle his first assignment tonight alongside ESPNlongtime host Brian Kenny for the FNF season debut featuring Cuban rising stars Yuriorkis Gamboa, Odlanier Solis and Erislandy Lara from Terrible’s Primm Valley Casino Resorts in Primm, Nevada.

Hopkins will make regular appearances on the show and is excited to work with Kenny to hone his broadcasting skills.

“We anticipate that Bernard will add an entertaining and knowledgeable element to our Friday Night Fights coverage,” said Matt Sandulli, ESPN senior coordinating producer for Friday Night Fights.

“This is an area I have wanted to get in to for some time as everyone knows I like to talk, and definitely have an opinion,” Hopkins said shyly. “I will train as hard for this job as I do for my fights and hope to deliver the same championship results that have been part of my career. I appreciate ESPN giving me the opportunity and look forward to working with Brian Kenny, who is one of the best broadcasters in the business, to hone my skills and develop my broadcasting talent.”