187 Boxing

After what seems like weeks of haggling back and forth on silly terms, Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto have finally agreed to fight on November 14, at the MGM Grand.   The biggest of the sticking points was the catchweight for the fight, which will be at 145 pounds.  That means that Cotto’s welterweight title will be on the line, but Pacquiao’s light welterweight championship will not. 

This is excellent news.  While it may not be THE fight that everyone wanted, it undeniably should be a solid, all-action fight between two top 10 pound for pound boxers.  As with Pacquiao’s last few fights, there will be a number of plotlines to watch out for.  Will Pacquiao be able to take Cotto’s punch?  Will Cotto have full energy if he has to boil down below 147?  Will the press be able to coax a negative word out of the mouth of either fighter for the entire press tour? 

In my estimation, Pacquiao has very little to lose but a whole lot to gain out of this fight.  If he wins, he will have either been champion or held an alphabet belt at seven different weight classes, which is completely unheard of.  In addition, his star probably becomes even bigger, being in another megafight against someone who’s no slouch at the box office himself.  If he loses, he does have the excuse of fighting well above his best weight, although after his destructions of De La Hoya and Hatton, that excuse won’t hold a ton of water.  Still, even taking on a prime, top 10 pound for pound fighter at a weight that’s only 1 pound less than his last fight is a gutsy move. 

The other good news is that this will hopefully end the standstill for other major fights getting made.  Pacquiao and Cotto becoming unavailable forces Shane Mosley’s hand, which in turn affects Paul Williams, which in turn affects Kelly Pavlik.  Now that the suspense is over, don’t be too surprised to see all three of them sign for fights (probably not against each other, unfortunately) in rapid succession.

•  According to Boxingscene, light heavyweight prospect Beibut Shumenov will be taking on Gabriel Campillo for his version of the light heavyweight title.  This is news to me simply because I can’t remember a recent prospect who has had such ridiculously aggressive matchmaking so early in his career.  He went pro less than two years ago.  By his fourth fight, he was already facing rugged gatekeeper Donnell Wiggins.  Since then, he’s faced former super middleweight titlist Byron Mitchell, former title challenger Epifanio Mendoza and former light heavyweight titlist Montell Griffin.  Shumenov may not be the most physically gifted fighter in the world, but he brings it on offense and he’s technicnally solid.  Campillo, who recently upset Hugo Garay for a title, would be only the second southpaw that Shumenov has faced as a pro.
• New Mikkel Kessler promoter Sauerland Event won the purse bid for Kessler-Perdomo with an obscenely high bid of over $2.1 million.  The other two bidders were Mogens Palle (with an offer around $1.2 million) and Perdomo promoter Universum (with a lowball bid of about $250,000).  Part of the reason the bid was so high was probably to make sure that Palle couldn’t crash the party and delay the fight, hence hindering Kessler’s ability to participate in the Super Six tournament.  Kessler shouldn’t sleep on Perdomo though.  Many thought he beat Dmitry Sartison, and he’s a tricky southpaw.  Let’s just hope Kessler doesn’t get cut or hurt in this one, because that could get the tournament off to a shaky start.  In promotion of the tournament, Showtime will be carrying this fight on September 12. 
• Also at the purse bid, it looks like Bernard Dunne’s next opponent will be his mandatory, Poonsawat Kratindaenggym.  The bidder listed Dublin, New York and Macau as potential locations.  As much as I’d love to see Dunne fight before the Irish-American fans in New York, Dublin’s the only place that this fight makes a lot of sense.  Poonsawat’s a tiny fighter with a big punch, and as we’ve seen, Dunne doesn’t have the best chin in the world.  While I think Dunne is a very entertaining fighter, he should be the underdog for this one.  Poonsawat beat Ricardo Cordoba a few years back by unanimous decision, and he recently knocked out Somsak Sithchatchawal.  The wild card is level of competition.  Like many Thai fighters, Poonsawat keeps himself busy, but he probably hasn’t faced anyone of Dunne’s caliber since losing to Wladimir Sidorenko in 2006.
• Nobuo Nashiro will be defending his title against Hugo Cazares.  This may be one of the tougher tests of Nashiro’s career, although Cazares has recently made a big jump up in weight himself.  If there is a fighter who was recently moved as quickly as Shumenov, it’s Nashiro, who won a title in his eighth fight himself.

I don’t want to do a full, long post like I usually do for divisional rankings, but 140 has seen some changes since the last time we did it, just after Hatton-Pacquiao.

The top five stay the same for now, but that might well change after August 1 when Bradley and Campbell meet on Showtime, and No. 4 ranked Junior Witter faces rising contender Devon Alexander for the vacant WBC strap that same show.

This is yet another division that is far better than the over-glorified welterweights, as pretty much all of the guys in the top ten are solid fighters, and there’s a good list of guys you could sub in for a few of them.

Maidana gets a big jump because his loss to Kotelnik was really close and you could argue he won, and then he pulled a minor upset in a great fight that showed a lot of guts in June when he forced Victor Ortiz to quit. Amir Khan moves in, obviously, because he routed Kotelnik on Saturday and looked really good in the process. Freddie Roach has made troublesome guys with a lot of natural skill into pretty special fighters before by accentuating their positives. Khan has the exact right trainer, a promoter that dotes on him, and even though he’s never going to be a Ricky Hatton (or even Joe Calzaghe) level beloved fighter in the UK, I think he’ll make some fans and a good bit of money if he can stay off the canvas.

I dropped Juan Urango two spots not particularly because he lost to welterweight titlist Andre Berto in late May in a disappointing snoozer of a fight, but because it once again showed just how one-dimensional and limited he is. If he can’t get to a guy, he’s going to lose. Still, he holds a title that he won against a legit opponent and is taking a pretty promising mandatory defense with Randall Bailey on ESPN2 in late August. Given Urango’s wild brawling and rock solid chin and Bailey’s KO record (39-6, 35 KO, including a sensational one-shot stoppage of Frankie Figueroa in April), that could be a barnburner.

Ricardo Torres dropped out because he moved up to welterweight. I kept Kotelnik in because he’s still quite a good fighter, he just got physically overmatched against an Amir Khan that didn’t go out trying to be a cowboy. Khan went out to box and win, and that’s what he did.

Honorable Mentions: Paulie Malignaggi doesn’t get too much love from a lot of folks, but he’s still fringe top ten material. He’ll take a catchweight (138.5 pounds) fight with Juan Diaz on August 22. A win boosts him; a loss rather kills him as a viable contender. … Mike Alvarado was supposed to fight Malignaggi on June 27, but pulled out with an injury. … Lamont Peterson is the “lesser” Peterson brother by most estimations, but still a solid rising contender. … I have no idea yet what to make of Devon Alexander, but you can consider me surprised if he winds up beating Junior Witter on Aug. 1. … There’s been no official word on Victor Ortiz yet, but boxing was immediately unforgiving, and it kind of got to a point where I felt bad for the guy. I hope he comes back strong, but you can’t really teach heart. He’s an exciting, mega talented fighter though, and even if that’s the only reason to wish him the best and hope for a strong return to action, it’s a good enough reason. … File Herman Ngoudjo under “never getting over the hump.” … I’d spread more of my “I don’t think Demetrius Hopkins even likes boxing” propaganda, but honestly, why bother? He’s a non-factor. … There may be yet another murderous-punching Argentinian on his way up: Lucas Matthysse (24-0, 22 KO). … Souleymane M’baye recently won a split decision over Colin Lynes to claim the EBU title, but is pretty much a regional fighter at this point.

Marco “Texano” Nazareth is in “critical but stable” condition today after suffering a TKO loss to Omar Chavez, the younger fighting son of the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez, on July 18 in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Ronnie Nathanielsz reports that Nazareth underwent brain surgery after the fight in which he was knocked down in the opening round and the action was stopped in the fourth.

Nazareth (4-4, 3 KO) was fighting Chavez for a second time. The two met in a four-rounder in 2008, which Chavez won on the cards. He is a native of Puerto Vallarta who turned pro in 2005. His birth date is not listed on BoxRec.com.

Bad Left Hook sends our best wishes out to Marco Nazareth, his friends and family, and also to Omar Chavez.

• In Texas, recently-rising junior middleweight slugger James Kirkland, a superstar in the making, plead guilty to the gun charge that halted his career this spring. You can’t say enough how disappointing this is, and you also can’t say enough how stupid it is. Kirkland had the goods, man. He could’ve been a big money fighter with the way he fought, and he had a great personality and a great story to match his ferociousness as a fighter. It’s not his first picnic with the wrong side of the law, but he’s probably seen his last picnic as a relevant fighter. It’s an absolute shame.
• Enzo Maccarinelli has made official his decision to retire from boxing. Macca has long had his detractors, but as much as I was one of them when it came to saying he was chinny and just not as good as he had been made out to be pre-Haye, I also always thought he seemed like a nice, honest, hard-working guy, and he really is talking about the decision like it truly hurts him to have to do this. We wish him all the best.
• Brian Viloria will make his first defense of the IBF junior flyweight title he won in a war over Ulises Solis when he takes on Jesus Iribe (15-5-5, 9 KO) in September. Not exactly the most inspiring choice of opponent. Iribe did go 12 rounds with Edgar Sosa back in 2008, and he did win one round on one of the three official scorecards, so…there’s that, I guess?

The title pretty much says it all, but a few “ground rules,” if you will:

1. I’m going to avoid rematches. Yeah, Pacquiao-Marquez III would be on this list otherwise, but I want to stay away from that sort of thing, or a lot of these fights would be rematches. Adamek-Cunningham II would also be on the list otherwise, and Donaire-Darchinyan II, and on and on.
2. One fight per fighter. Nobody needs to know which 10 Manny Pacquiao or Juan Manuel Marquez fights I most want to see.
3. Weight division jumps are kept to a minimum, and they have to be things that are inevitable (like Kelly Pavlik or Juan Manuel Lopez moving up) or absolutely necessary to make what would be a great fight.
4. Nothing that’s currently scheduled, but some fights that have been rumored or at least ideas that have been bandied about.
5. Nobody coming out of retirement, so that means no Joe Calzaghe, Oscar de la Hoya, etc.
6. Not going to bother with Wladimir Klitschko against his brother Vitali. It’s pointless.

With that said, let’s get started.

10. Ivan Calderon v. Edgar Sosa (Junior Flyweight)

Undefeated Calderon is on his way to the Hall of Fame, a two-division ruler (105 and 108) who has made his mark in boxing history, albeit very quietly for most people who don’t pay attention to the lower weight classes. For those that are casual fans and find Floyd Mayweather Jr. a joy to watch perform due to his prowess and pure skill, seek out some prime era Calderon. The little man was even slicker, even more dominant at his best. Today, Calderon is aging (he’s 34), he’s got a recurring cut problem, and even though he’s the legit 108-pound champion of the world, there are signs that his best days are definitely behind him. He’s come close to losing some fights, though he’s yet to get an L. His last fight was a technical draw after six rounds with Rodel Mayol due to a cut halting the action.

Sosa, 29, is a late-blooming Mexican fighter who started his career 12-5 over his first 17 fights, and has gone 24-0 since then. He’s a fringe pound-for-pound guy who has made nine straight successful defenses of the WBC title he won in 2007 against Brian Viloria. Calderon-Sosa could be part of any card, but would be brilliantly suited to a night renewing the Puerto Rico-Mexico boxing rivalry that has so thoroughly entertained us all over the years. Sosa deserves a crack at the top dog, and Calderon is the top dog.

9. Amir Khan v. Marcos Maidana (Junior Welterweight)

Freddie Roach knows it’s a bad idea and I’d bet a toe that promoter Frank Warren works any magic he has to to keep this fight from never, ever happening. Maidana took his lumps against Victor Ortiz after some felt he deserved a win over Andriy Kotelnik, who lost his next fight to Khan this past Saturday.

There are reasons it’s unlikely, and a big one is money, but it’s not so much that there’s no money in a Khan-Maidana fight, but rather that Frank Warren and Khan would like to make a lot of it over a period of several years, and Maidana could ruin that in a heartbeat. Khan would have physical advantages. Maidana is taller than Kotelnik, but still an inch shorter than Khan, who showed for most of his win on Saturday a great ability to use what he’s learning from Freddie Roach and box at range, then get the hell away. Khan is also about three times faster with the hands than Maidana is, and he could pepper and move all night if he played his cards right.

Still, Khan’s chin is not fixable, at least not directly, and Maidana can throw some bombs. I think for as much praise as Khan deserves for the Kotelnik win, there were moments where he showed some genuine fear, and Kotelnik is no puncher. He played it all quite well, but some of those clean shots Kotelnik landed could put Khan out cold coming from Maidana.

The other wrinkle to getting Khan able to avoid this? Khan holds the WBA title now. Maidana holds the WBA’s interim title thanks to his win over Victor Ortiz. At some point, the WBA will order the fight to happen if they both hold onto the straps. What then? Does Khan vacate and get called a coward? Does he risk his marketability, perhaps for good, on a fight with Maidana?

Khan can beat Maidana. He’s a far better boxer. But is he a better figher?

8. Ricky Hatton v. Zab Judah (Junior Welterweight / Welterweight / Catchweight)

I know, I know, I know. Hatton’s “washed up” and Judah’s half a gatekeeper. But I figure there’s good money here if you hold the fight in the UK, and it’s kind of do or die for both of them, and even though I’m biased toward Hatton and biased against Judah, I’ve generally always enjoyed watching both of them fight. Zab’s a guy I love to root against. Hatton’s a guy I love to root for.

Zab is tentatively scheduled to fight Ricky’s brother, Matthew, on September 19, which could even serve as a nice set-up. Judah likely beats Matthew on pure talent, and if he did so impressively, I can already hear Zab calling Ricky out to be his next victim.

As for Ricky Hatton, I have the feeling he’s going to fight again. My heart and head combine to say it’s about 96% likely that he does. RIcky Hatton will never have another huge money fight like he did with Mayweather or Pacquiao again, but the man’s a fighter and there are a lot of guys he can still beat. But right this moment, I’d call Ricky-Zab a good toss-up fight. We don’t know where Ricky’s head is at. We don’t know if the Pacquiao implosion took some of his punch resistance (combined with the Mayweather beatdown). And you never really know what you’re getting out of Judah these days, who tends to fight up and down to the level of his opposition and has a habit of fading after the first half of a fight if it’s not really easy for him.

7. Sakio Bika v. Librado Andrade (Super Middleweight)

I’m almost totally certain that Andrade will get dominated over 12 rounds by Lucian Bute in their November 4 rematch, but it’s not like he’s going to go away after that. Bika is constantly looking for opposition and nobody’s willing to fight him. My reasons for wanting to see this fight are simple: It’d be a freaking war. Bika is a hot-tempered fighter; watch him turn into The Incredible Hulk when he feels wronged against Peter Manfredo Jr., it’s epic stuff. Andrade has the best chin in boxing, for my money, and both guys will trade shots if the opportunity presents itself. It’d wind up, I think, being who could outlast the other guy.

6. Tomasz Adamek v. Bernard Hopkins (Cruiserweight)

The renewed talk of this in the past couple months seems to indicate that this is a fight that really might come off in January 2010, and that’s great, but at this point with B-Hop, I’ll believe it when they hold the press conference, and even then I’ll retain a small bit of doubt.

It’s a really compelling fight for a lot of reasons. Adamek is a legit champ, which would give Hopkins a chance to win a third true championship, having already dominated at middleweight and been light heavyweight champion of the world. Adamek is a good fighter, too, but he’s not great, he’s quite vulnerable, and though he’s far younger than Hopkins (who turns 45 in January), he’s no spring chicken and fighters get old sometime (unless they’re Bernard Hopkins, of course).

I think like most Hopkins fights it wouldn’t be terribly attractive to watch, but there’s some historical significance to it and even though Hopkins has usually annoyed me over his career, I do appreciate that we’ve most likely only got one or two more fights left from this living legend, one of the greatest fighters of his generation. If he’s going to fight on, I say make it interesting and try Adamek. Hell, I’d watch Bernard try to out-fox a Klitschko, but that’s just crazy, right?

5. Edwin Valero v. Michael Katsidis (Lightweight)

I don’t like Edwin Valero. I’m just being honest. There’s just something about him that rubs me the wrong way, and it isn’t the Dirk Diggler haircut. He seems really full of himself, like he feels entitled to a big money fight despite having zero following in the U.S. and being half a myth as it is. Yeah, he’s got nasty, monster power, but who’s he beaten? There are scattered decent fighters on his record, but whatever.

Katsidis is one of those guys whose flaws are absolutely obvious to anyone that watches him fight, but I’d love to see this one simply because he’s tougher than all hell and takes a good shot. Joel Casamayor knocked him down early in their fight (twice, in fact), but Katsidis looked really cold, really nervous in that fight. I think he learned something that night, and I also think Casamayor got into his head to a big degree when he jumped in his face upon Katsidis’ entrance into the ring. Here he is buying his own hype with that stupid gladiator outfit he wears, and he turns around and there’s Casamayor. Seemed to genuinely throw him off a bit.

Chances are Valero knocks Katsidis out because Katsidis isn’t terribly talented or anything, but I’d like to see Valero in with guys like this before Top Rank just hands him a fight with Manny Pacquiao or something like that. My dislike of Valero is almost surely entirely superficial fan B.S., but we all have our fighters we just don’t care for and damn it, I don’t care for him.

4. Chris John v. Yuriorkis Gamboa (Featherweight)

Gamboa has been matched kind of aggressively considering he’s only 15 fights into his pro career, but you know, the Cuban guys like Gamboa, Erislandy Lara, Guillermo Rigondeaux, etc., how much seasoning do we really need to put up with? They’re exceptionally skilled fighters that came from what is arguably the world’s best amateur boxing program. Gamboa is far beyond the skill level of even the best guys he’s fought so far, so let’s just cut the crap and get him in there with someone who might actually be his speed.

Chris John is a really good, really smart fighter, and even though he doesn’t hold the Ring Magazine championship, he’s almost universally regarded as the No. 1 featherweight in the sport today. Gamboa is already in a lot of peoples’ top five at the weight, and rightfully so, really. He’s a massive talent, a super exciting fighter to watch, and unless something goes really wrong for him quickly, he’s going to rain money down if he keeps building a following. He’s been promoted quite well so far and working with Top Rank will only help his exposure.

I actually think he’d beat John if that was the next fight for both of them. John isn’t heavy handed, isn’t really an exceptional fighter, he’s just damn solid in every area of the game. Gamboa has his sloppy mistakes, but I don’t think Chris John is the fighter to truly “expose” him, really. Gamboa is tremendously fast, could physically overwhelm John if he fought smart, and could perhaps even stop him. It’d make Gamboa the new No. 1 featherweight in the game today, which a lot of people think is his immediate destiny anyway.

3. Juan Manuel Lopez v. Rafael Marquez (Junior Featherweight / Featherweight)

Marquez made his comeback at 126 pounds, but I haven’t seen him explicitly say it’s because he can’t do 122 anymore, which Israel Vazquez says is the reason he’s planning to fight at 126 from now on. Izzy Vazquez is my favorite fighter, and I love him to death, but my gut tells me if he got in there with Lopez at this stage in his career, after all the wars and the body battering he’s gone through, Lopez would smoke him out of there within four rounds. It wouldn’t be for any lack of heart or anything like that, it just wouldn’t be a fair fight at this point. I think it’d look sort of like Pacquiao-Morales III, where Morales was game as they come and threw what he had, but it just wasn’t there on that level anymore.

Rafael, if I had to guess, is going to have the longer remaining career between he and his great rival. His body isn’t quite as destroyed, it doesn’t seem, he simply took the time off to recover, heal up, and come back right. Vazquez took the time off (and is still off) in large part because he couldn’t get medically cleared to fight. There’s a chance Lopez-Marquez would wind up looking like my mind’s eye’s version of Lopez-Vazquez, but Rafael is a hard puncher and he’s a sharpshooter. He doesn’t waste punches in there. Everything is a bullet. Lopez has not faced that kind of guy yet. Daniel Ponce de Leon is a big puncher, but he’s wide and often sloppy with his shots, and Lopez was just way too good a boxer for that. When you add in Lopez’s strength, you come up with a quick knockout.

Marquez, even assuming he’s not what he used to be, would be Lopez’s greatest test so far. Unless Lopez bombed him out really fast, we’d get to see JML’s chin and guts tested at some point.

2. Kelly Pavlik v. Paul Williams (Middleweight)

I’m actually really, really in favor of this fight. It’s really dangerous for both guys and is a big fight for a legit championship. Tall Paul is one of the best fighters on the planet, I think, a guy that learned a LOT from his one loss to Carlos Quintana. He has done nothing but up his game since that fight, blowing out Quintana in the rematch, destroying Andy Kolle at middleweight, going down to 154 and dominating Verno Phillips, and then giving Winky Wright the worst beating of his career.

Pavlik and Williams, in some ways, need each other. Middleweight has emptied out for money fights and Pavlik simply might not be confident in a move up to 168. Eventually he’ll have to do it, but Paul Williams is out there willing to fight anyone. Even with his lack of a solid fanbase, HBO seems quite high on Williams as one of the future (and current) stars of the sport, and Pavlik needs that kind of opponent right now, and desperately so.

I’d have to really weigh it out to come up with a winner here. Williams is exceptionally long but fights well on the inside, too. In fact I’d say he’s a better inside fighter than Pavlik. But I think some people have forgotten that Kelly — to put it bluntly — hits like a son of a bitch. Just because he didn’t dent Bernard Hopkins doesn’t mean that’s changed. Hopkins has an all-time great chin. It’d be a pick’em fight.

1. Shane Mosley v. Manny Pacquiao (Welterweight)

I’m not crazy about a catchweight fight between these two, and I’m really not crazy about Mosley boiling down to 140 pounds to fight Pacquiao. But this fight at 147 pounds has MUST-SEE stamped on its head. I don’t think the weight would be a real problem for Manny in any way, and Mosley is still a ball of fire at 147. It’s a fight between two guys with great speed, great boxing intelligence, knockout power, and true intensity. They’re both guys that get hit and retaliate. I’ve said before that Mosley has the talent to have been a Floyd Mayweather-type slickster, but he just doesn’t have that in him. You pop him, and here he comes firing back like a psychopath. Pacquiao is much the same way. Both are guys that can box all night long and show the sweet science in its purest form, but they’re also guys that can’t resist a good throw-down. Shane’s also got an iron chin. Both guys would be put to the test in a major way.

Not at 140. Not at 141, 142, 143, 144, 145 or 146. But at 147, there isn’t a fight in boxing I want to see more than this one.

Top Rank’s Bob Arum has said recently that his long-term vision is to match 122-pound titlist Juan Manuel Lopez and 126-pound phenom Yuriorkis Gamboa, both under his banner, somewhere down the line. But one of the two of them could be facing a stern test from WBO featherweight titlist Steven Luevano before that. Rick Reeno reports that Top Rank has said to “not be surprised” by either fight happening.

Luevano (36-1-1, 15 KO) is scheduled to face Bernabe Concepcion on the August 15 Top Rank PPV from Las Vegas, headlined by Nonito Donaire. He won the vacant WBO title in 2007 by stopping Nicky Cook in the 11th round in Cook’s backyard in England. Since then he’s defended against Antonio Davis, Terdsak Jandaeng, Mario Santiago (a draw) and Billy Dib. His only loss came in 2005, a 10-round decision to Martin Honorio.

Lopez (26-0, 24 KO) has been on a tear and is climbing P4P lists already. He bashed out a win over Olivier Lontchi on a Top Rank PPV on June 27, and is reportedly quite unhappy with Top Rank’s next choice for him, a September 26 defense against journeyman Rogers Mtagwa, who competed in what some called the 2008 Fight of the Year with Tomas Rojas. Most see Mtagwa as not being a credible threat to Lopez or his title.

As for Gamboa (15-0, 13 KO), he’s tentatively scheduled to be part of that September 26 card, too, likely against a somewhat soft opponent.

It would seem to me that Arum wouldn’t want to take any real risks with Gamboa or Lopez (which I think explains his current softie scheduling of Lopez on some levels), both of whom he probably believes would beat Luevano. Luevano is an above-average technician, but he doesn’t have much of a punch and had some real trouble with Santiago, who like Lopez and Gamboa can throw heavy leather. And no offense to Luevano, but there’s a lot more money in Lopez or Gamboa than there is in Steven Luevano. In some ways, Luevano would be a scalp for one of them, at least in theory, and he’s a legit top five featherweight, too.

Junior middleweight prospect/contender/whatever you want to call him Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has pulled out of his July 25 “Latin Fury” PPV fight with Jason LeHoullier after an injury suffered in training, according to Top Rank. The 23-year old Chavez (39-0-1, 29 KO) suffered a rib injury and is expected to fight again in September or October, probably against yet another easy mark. LeHoullier (21-1-1, 8 KO) lost his last fight to Harry Joe Yorgey in August 2008.

With the main event canceled, the show will still go on. The fight between Urbano Antillon (26-0, 19 KO) and Miguel Acosta (25-3-2, 19 KO) for the interim WBA lightweight title will serve as the new headlining fight. Also on the card, 108-pound titlist Giovanni Segura (20-1-1, 16 KO) will defend his belt against Sonny Boy Jaro (30-7-5, 19 KO).

• Friends and family of the late Arturo Gatti all seriously doubt that the fighter committed suicide as has been reported as a possibility in Brazil. “The only place Arturo would like to die is in the boxing ring,” said Howard Grant.
• Everyone in and around boxing knows it, and Freddie Roach even says it: Amir Khan fighting Marcos Maidana would be a mistake. The Khan camp appears really hot on the idea of fighting Ricky Hatton should Hatton choose to return to the ring.
• Carl Froch believes the Super Six World Boxing Classic will make him Britain’s biggest boxing star. Hey, if he wins it, it probably will.

A potential fight between middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik and division-hopping, pound-for-pound contender Paul Williams seems to be gathering steam in terms of fan desire to see it. But Williams’ promoter Dan Goossen tells BoxingScene.com that the fight isn’t close to happening any time soon:

“About three weeks ago, two weeks ago, I had discussions with Bob Arum regarding a possible Pavlik-Paul Williams fight. … I told him that we would be willing to do the fight at 50-50, co-promotion and each side split it down the middle and Bob didn’t want any part of that.”

I think both sides have their points here, but that Arum is absolutely right to not want to do a 50-50, down the middle split for this fight.

Paul Williams is a really hot fighter, but that’s from “hardcore fans” and what have you. Kelly Pavlik is the middleweight champion of the world, and there’s also absolutely no denying that even though Pavlik hasn’t been a big ratings or buyrates guy on TV, he is a better live draw than Williams, who did bad gate business with Winky Wright in Las Vegas. Williams really has no fanbase, and Pavlik’s fans have proven their willingness to travel to Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall.

Frankly, Arum would be a bad businessman to do 50-50 for Pavlik-Williams, and he’s not a bad businessman. And Goossen wouldn’t be doing his job for Tall Paul if he didn’t demand 50-50 here. It’s a standoff.

In search of a world title fight only, Gerry Penalosa is setting his sights on a 118-pound fight with Vic Darchinyan, a 115-pound titlist. Penalosa still holds the WBO bantamweight title.

The Filipino fighter says he looked for other fighters, but all of them are “unavailable.” That list includes Jorge Arce, Eric Morel and Daniel Ponce de Leon. Since Ponce de Leon recently moved up to featherweight, that was highly unlikely and seems to only be a name included for name’s sake.

Says Penalosa of a fight with Darchinyan:

“As long as the fight is in my division, nobody can beat me, even Darchinyan who I think will give me a good fighter, but although I know I will win by a knockout or decision.”

I’m glad he’s ruled out disqualifciation as a means of beating Darchinyan.

Penalosa-Darchinyan would be a nice fight, really, but I think I’d rather see Vic go back to 115 and fight Nonito Donaire, even if that means taking a less attractive mandatory challenger in the process. Darchinyan could also abandon his 115-pound title and rematch Joseph Agbeko if there’s money in that, not that I’m certain there would be.

In another stunning twist in the ongoing investigation into the death of famed warrior boxer Arturo “Thunder” Gatti, an AP report is now saying that Gatti may have committed suicide:

The Jornal do Comercio newspaper reported in its Saturday edition that the autopsy performed on the former two-division champ shows that Gatti’s body was “suspended and hanged, indicating he may have committed suicide.”

Paula Cysneiros, a spokeswoman for the medical examiners’ office, would not confirm the newspaper’s report.

This would be a massive turn of events, though obviously nothing is certain at the moment. Gatti’s wife, Amanda Rodrigues, is still in custody and still the only suspect in what has thus far been a murder investigation. Police have ruled out the possibility of anyone else having been in the condo at the time of Gatti’s death, so it looks like right now it’s down to two possibilities.