Title Fight Results (May 2)

It's roughly been 10 hours since the fight ended but my adrenaline is still at an all time high. It will take a Pacquiao left to send me back to earth. A knockout of the year type valium.

Anyway, so what else happened to other title fights? First up, Panama's Anselmo Moreno retained his WBA Bantamweight title against Wladimir Sidorenko of Ukraine and proved that their first fight was no fluke. I did not see the fight so can't comment any further. I tried but there were no streaming videos from Germany available. Other titleholders will be busy the next couple of months so his very likely next bout will be against the interim titleholder, Nehomar Cermeño of Venezuela. Boxing Scene; Fight News

In the main undercard of the EVENT, Mexico's Humberto Soto succesfully retained his WBC Super Featherweight title against the game and surprisingly slick Benoit Gaudet of Canada. Unfortunately, for the French Canadian, his slickness wasn't enough to avoid Soto's devastating uppercut which softened him up for the final knockdown in the ninth. When Gaudet went down in the first, I thought it will be over quick as Soto was simply in a different league. Gaudet adjusted and frustrated Soto in the mid rounds by moving and connecting occassional combinations. His mistake was he slugged it out and that made it easy for Soto to finish him off. Soto is still fresh from a TKO win against Antonio Davis exactly five weeks ago and he probably will take it easy for awhile. Boxing Scene; Fight News

As for the EVENT. The fight the boxing world has been eagerly waiting for. Are there still doubters? Well maybe the natural haters. But, for the pure fight fans - can anyone still doubt the validity of the pound for pound title bestowed on the whirlwind from the Philippines? I don't think so. Manny Pacquiao's total annihilation of the now former 140-lb. lineal champ was simply overwhelming. Ricky Hatton didn't see where the punches are coming from but definitely felt them. Hatton started strong and I thought Pacquiao was tight in the first 20 seconds. As expected, Hatton's mauling tactics was evident as he held Pac with his left while taking shots with his right. Pacquiao adjusted and from thereon, dominated like never before. You can already see the redness in Hatton's face even before the first knockdown. Every surge Hatton made was countered with dazzling accuracy. Hatton barely made the end of the first after the devastating knockdowns. You know that it'll be over soon. Hatton's probably thinking twice about coming back in in the second after experiencing firsthand what future hall of famers Dela Hoya, Barrera, Morales and Marquez experienced themselves. The crushing blow I thought could have dislocated Hatton's jaw. Knockout of the year so far. The British fans are now probably singing a different tune. Their chant will sound better if it says, "There's only one Manny Pacquiao". With the Ring Junior Welterweight belt securely wrapped around Pacquiao's waist, he is now only the second boxer ever to hold 6 division titles, of course with respect to old timers when there were fewer divisions. Pretty boy Floyd is probably shaking in his boots right now. If he hides behind another retirement plan again, then, bring on Mosley or bring on Cotto. What the heck bring on Pavlik and while he's at it bring on the Klitschko brothers at the same time. But seriously, I hope Floyd Mayweather Jr. secures a belt first in the 147-lb class before he meets Pacquiao. So that a record-breaking 7th is a distinct possibility. ESPN1; ESPN2; Boxing Scene; Fight News; Fox Sports

Prediction Results:
As expected, Moreno by stoppage.
Soto by KO but underestimated Gaudet.
Pacquiao's a beast.

My record is up to 27-3 and a draw.
Only change is the Philippines moving up and UK down.

As of May 3, 2009

Rank	Country	No. of Titles	Title Holders
1st	USA	11	Andre Berto - WBC147 Timothy Bradley - WBO140 Chad Dawson - IBF175 Vernon Forrest - WBC154 Steven Luevano - WBO126 Shane Mosley - WBA147 Kelly Pavlik - WBC160;WBO160;Ring160 Cory Spinks - IBF154 Brian Viloria - IBF108
2nd	Mexico	9	Cristobal Cruz - IBF126 Raul Garcia - IBF105 Juan Manuel Marquez - Ring135;WBA135;WBO135 Fernando Montiel - WBO118 Edgar Sosa - WBC108 Humberto Soto - WBC130 Israel Vazquez - Ring122
3rd	Puerto Rico	7	Ivan Calderon - WBO108;Ring108 Miguel Cotto - WBO147 Jose Lopez - WBO115 Juan Manuel Lopez - WBO122 Roman Martinez - WBO130 Daniel Santos - WBA154
4th	Ukraine	5	Sergiy Dzinziruk - WBO154 Vitali Klitschko - WBC200+ Wladimir Klitschko - IBF200+;WBO200+ Andreas Kotelnik - WBA140
5th (3 are tied)	Armenia	4	Arthur Abraham - IBF160 Vic Darchinyan - WBA115;WBC115;IBF115
5th (3 are tied)	Japan	4	Takahiro Aoh - WBC126 Hozumi Hasegawa - WBC118 Daisuke Naito - WBC112 Toshiaki Nishioka - WBC122
5th (3 are tied)	Panama	4	Celestino Caballero - WBA122;IBF122 Guillermo Jones - WBA200 Anselmo Moreno - WBA118
8th (2 are tied)	Argentina	3	Hugo Hernan Garay - WBA175 Omar Andres Narvaez - WBO112 Victor Emilio Ramirez - WBO200
8th (2 are tied)	Philippines	3	Nonito Donaire - IBF112 Donnie Nietes - WBO105 Manny Pacquiao - Ring140
10th (5 are tied)	Hungary	2	Karoly Balzsay - WBO168 Zsolt Erdei - WBO175
10th (5 are tied)	Poland	2	Tomasz Adamek - IBF200;Ring200
10th (5 are tied)	Romania	2	Lucian Bute - IBF168 Adrian Diaconu - WBC175
10th (5 are tied)	Thailand	2	Denkaosan Kaovichit - WBA112 Oleydong Sithsamerchai - WBC105
10th (5 are tied)	Venezuela	2	Jorge Linares - WBA130 Edwin Valero - WBC135
15th (11 are tied)	Colombia	1	Juan Urango - IBF140
15th (11 are tied)	Denmark	1	Mikkel Kessler - WBA168
15th (11 are tied)	Germany	1	Felix Sturm - WBA160
15th (11 are tied)	Ghana	1	Joseph Agbeko - IBF118
15th (11 are tied)	Indonesia	1	Chris John - WBA126
15th (11 are tied)	Italy	1	Giacobbe Fragomeni - WBC200
15th (11 are tied)	Nicaragua	1	Roman Gonzalez - WBA105
15th (11 are tied)	Russia	1	Nikolay Valuev - WBA200+(co)
15th (11 are tied)	South Africa	1	Malcolm Klassen - IBF130
15th (11 are tied)	UK	1	Carl Froch - WBC168
15th (11 are tied)	Uzbekistan	1	Ruslan Chagaev - WBA200+(co)

Title Fight Result (Apr. 30)

Thursday night's, or Wednesday's early morning, title fight was a good appetizer to start off the EVENT this weekend.

Panama's Celestino Caballero successfully defended his WBA Super Bantamweight and IBF Junior Featherweight titles against Jeffrey Mathebula of South Africa via a split decision. I've not seen Mathebula before and never thought that he will be a threat. But, after watching this fight, he is not a bad challenger after all and made it quite interesting. Caballero was at the wrong end of the ring in the mid to late rounds as Mathebula was more aggressive than Caballero. I thought at that point that Mathebula might upset Caballero. Overall, though, Caballero did enough to retain his titles. I'm not sure if he's due to fulfill his WBA mandatory soon. If that's the case, up next for him will be against the interim titleholder Ireland's Bernard Dunne who won a barnburner against Ricardo Cordoba late March. Otherwise, a unification against Juan Manuel Lopez will be a fight to look forward to. By the way, I caught the fight on tvnlive's streaming video. The undercards seem to not end and the main event started just before 1 am when I was close to giving up. Glad I did not. Boxing Scene; Fight News

Prediction Result:
Underestimated Mathebula but still got the winner right.
My record is up to 24-3 and a draw.
Tally remains as the champ retained.

Title Fights Scheduled (Apr 30-May 2)

Here it is, the most awaited weekend of the year. The Saturday night (or whatever time of day wherever you are) where the pound for pound king will try to rewrite boxing history in capturing his sixth division title.

Up first, on Apr. 30 in Panama City, Panama, hometown hero and unified champ Celestino Caballero [31(22)-2(1)-0] will defend his WBA Super Bantamweight and IBF Junior Featherweight titles against Jeffrey Mathebula [22(12)-1(1)-2] of South Africa. Mathebula is the mandatory IBF challenger as well as the #1 ranked contender. To be honest, I haven't seen Mathebula in action so I don't have any idea on how he fights. I know Caballero will still be lanky and unorthodox and throwing bombs from wide angles. Since Mathebula is practically as tall as him then this will be interesting. Caballero's long bombs might not work against Mathebula since they have similar reach so he can be countered in some ways, provided Mathebula knows how. Mathebula's list of opponents does not say much since they are as unknown as he is. So, I can't imagine Caballero losing his unified titles at home to somebody who will be fighting outside his country for the first time in his career.

Then on May 2 in Bremen, Germany, another Panamian titleholder, Anselmo Moreno [24(8)-1(0)-1] will defend his WBA Bantamweight title against Germany-based Ukrainian and former titleholder Wladimir Sidorenko [21(7)-1(0)-2]. This is a rematch from last year when Moreno took the title away from Sidorenko via a unanimous decision also in Germany. Moreno succesfully defended his title twice while Sidorenko did not see action since. A year long hiatus might not do well for the challenger who incidentally is a lot older. This is a battle of below average punchers and will likely go to the scorecards once again. Based on their first match, homecourt does not necesarilly favor Sidorenko.

Then in Las Vegas, NV, in the undercard of the biggest fight of the year (thus far), Mexico's Humberto Soto [47(30)-7(1)-2] on late notice has been called in to action to defend his WBC Super Featherweight title against Canada's Benoit Gaudet [20(7)-1(1)-0]. Steven Luevano was originally scheduled to defend his WBO Featherweight title against Bernabe Concepcion but injuries cancelled his supposedly fourth undercard appearance to a Manny Pacquiao fight. Soto is fresh from an easy stoppage win a month ago over Antonio Davis. If he barely broke a sweat against Davis then Gaudet does not need any warming up. This will most likely be an easy pay check for Soto.

And of course, the fight everyone's waiting for, Ricky Hatton [45(32)-1(1)-0] of the UK will defend his Ring Junior Welterweight title against the pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao [48(36)-3(2)-2] of the Philippines. Also at stake is Hatton's less-regarded IBO title. There's nothing left to say about this fight as every boxing website has it in its main page. The Hitman is undefeated in the 140-lb. division and Pacman is on a roll since after the first fight against Eric Morales. That's 9 straight which includes 4 possible hall of famers. Hatton's only defeat is at 147 lbs against the previous pound for pound king. I expect Hatton to fall short again against the current pound for pound king. Pacquiao is on track to capture his 6th division title after ruling the 112 (WBC), 122 (IBF), 126 (Ring), 130 (Ring/WBC) and 135 (WBC) pound weight classes. Thus, tying his most recent casualty the golden boy.

My Predictions:
Caballero by early to mid stoppage.
Moreno retains by decision.
Soto by very early KO.
Pacquiao by 9th round stoppage.

Title Relinquished - WBC Super Lightweight

As first reported by Fight News early today, the WBC stripped Timothy Bradley of his WBC Super Lightweight (140 lbs.) title. It is quite ironic that Bradley just recently unified his WBC title with the WBO after defeating Kendall Holt a couple of weeks ago. The WBC claimed that Bradley is reneging on an earlier agreement that he will be defending his title against the WBC mandatory, Devon Alexander. There were no TV buyers for a Bradley-Alexander fight which made the fight financially not practical for Bradley. According to Bradley, the commitment the WBC is looking from him is to drop the WBO title. The WBC seem to be discouraging title unification. I wish the sanctioning bodies will start opeining their eyes and realize that title unification is needed to determine the real champion and that is what fight fans are looking for. In fairness, I know that they actually made an effort to change their policies to accomodate title unifications but things seem to be changing as they are gradually backing off from that concept. Well, mainly because they are losing their grasp on declaring their mandatory challengers because unified titleholders have longer voluntary periods due to their multiple titles. Oh man. The politics of boxing sanctioning bodies. It's a never ending dilemma.

Just an additional note that I find quite funny. The WBC and in particular Jose Sulaiman did not appropriately compose their press release on the stripping. They stated that the reason Bradley is not fighting Alexander is because he is "probably afraid". That sounded more like it was written by a disgruntled message board poster. They need to hire a speech/press release writer or replace him/her if they already have one.

By the way, the vacant title will eventually be decided between #1 ranked Alexander and former titleholder who Bradley dethroned, Junior Witter.

Below is the updated tally with one less title for the US.

As of Apr. 28, 2009

Rank	Country	No. of Titles	Title Holders
1st	USA	11	Andre Berto - WBC147 Timothy Bradley - WBO140 Chad Dawson - IBF175 Vernon Forrest - WBC154 Steven Luevano - WBO126 Shane Mosley - WBA147 Kelly Pavlik - WBC160;WBO160;Ring160 Cory Spinks - IBF154 Brian Viloria - IBF108
2nd	Mexico	9	Cristobal Cruz - IBF126 Raul Garcia - IBF105 Juan Manuel Marquez - Ring135;WBA135;WBO135 Fernando Montiel - WBO118 Edgar Sosa - WBC108 Humberto Soto - WBC130 Israel Vazquez - Ring122
3rd	Puerto Rico	7	Ivan Calderon - WBO108;Ring108 Miguel Cotto - WBO147 Jose Lopez - WBO115 Juan Manuel Lopez - WBO122 Roman Martinez - WBO130 Daniel Santos - WBA154
4th	Ukraine	5	Sergiy Dzinziruk - WBO154 Vitali Klitschko - WBC200+ Wladimir Klitschko - IBF200+;WBO200+ Andreas Kotelnik - WBA140
5th (3 are tied)	Armenia	4	Arthur Abraham - IBF160 Vic Darchinyan - WBA115;WBC115;IBF115
5th (3 are tied)	Japan	4	Takahiro Aoh - WBC126 Hozumi Hasegawa - WBC118 Daisuke Naito - WBC112 Toshiaki Nishioka - WBC122
5th (3 are tied)	Panama	4	Celestino Caballero - WBA122;IBF122 Guillermo Jones - WBA200 Anselmo Moreno - WBA118
8th	Argentina	3	Hugo Hernan Garay - WBA175 Omar Andres Narvaez - WBO112 Victor Emilio Ramirez - WBO200
9th (7 are tied)	Hungary	2	Karoly Balzsay - WBO168 Zsolt Erdei - WBO175
9th (7 are tied)	Philippines	2	Nonito Donaire - IBF112 Donnie Nietes - WBO105
9th (7 are tied)	Poland	2	Tomasz Adamek - IBF200;Ring200
9th (7 are tied)	Romania	2	Lucian Bute - IBF168 Adrian Diaconu - WBC175
9th (7 are tied)	Thailand	2	Denkaosan Kaovichit - WBA112 Oleydong Sithsamerchai - WBC105
9th (7 are tied)	UK	2	Carl Froch - WBC168 Ricky Hatton - Ring140
9th (7 are tied)	Venezuela	2	Jorge Linares - WBA130 Edwin Valero - WBC135
16th (10 are tied)	Colombia	1	Juan Urango - IBF140
16th (10 are tied)	Denmark	1	Mikkel Kessler - WBA168
16th (10 are tied)	Germany	1	Felix Sturm - WBA160
16th (10 are tied)	Ghana	1	Joseph Agbeko - IBF118
16th (10 are tied)	Indonesia	1	Chris John - WBA126
16th (10 are tied)	Italy	1	Giacobbe Fragomeni - WBC200
16th (10 are tied)	Nicaragua	1	Roman Gonzalez - WBA105
16th (10 are tied)	Russia	1	Nikolay Valuev - WBA200+(co)
16th (10 are tied)	South Africa	1	Malcolm Klassen - IBF130
16th (10 are tied)	Uzbekistan	1	Ruslan Chagaev - WBA200+(co)

Title Fight Results (Apr. 25)

Great weekend for boxing fans as HBO and Showtime delivered on back to back nights and live streaming was humming.

First up in Krefeld, Germany, Hungary's Karoly Balzsay successfully defended his WBO Super Middleweight title by stopping Maselino Masoe of Samoa in the 11th. I saw the highlights of the first 10 rounds and the full 11th. If the highlights indicate the rest of the fight then I'm glad I didn't have to go through watching the whole fight. There's more action in the 12th round of Froch-Taylor than the highlights of this fight. Nevertheless, Balzsay took care of business and a crunching short right after a solid lead left finished Masoe off. Masoe's got to retire. He had a decent career with a middleweight title to show. Balzsay needs to be tested more. Based on this fight and his title winning bout against Denis Inkin, I believe he's a far fourth compared to the other 3 titleholders - Mikkel Kessler, Carl Froch and Lucian Bute. Heck! He probably won't even survive a fight against Allan Green after what Green showed in the Froch-Taylor undercard. I'm not sure when he's due for a mandatory. With Andre Dirrell rated #1, I seriously doubt Balzsay retaining his title. Fight News

In the main event of the Krefeld card, Germany's Felix Sturm practically came out unscathed in retaining his WBA Middleweight title via a 7th round stoppage of Japan's Koji Sato. Sato clearly was not in Sturm's league. Yet, Sturm is not even the best 160 pounder not only of the world but in Germany as well. Sato seem to catch Sturm's every jab like he was an all star catcher in the Japanese baseball league. Well, baseball's popular in Japan so can't blame him. Anyway, the stoppage looks right as Sato's right eye is swollen shut and his corner is poised to throw in the towel. Sturm has to stop fighting patsies and man up to Arthur Abraham. Then, the winner for all the marbles and the belts including the Ring against Kelly Pavlik at the end of the year. That's my wish to complete an already great year in boxing. ESPN; Boxing Scene; Fight News

Over here in the east coast, UK's Carl Froch did what he needs to do in the last round to retain his WBC Super Middleweight title, knock Jermain Taylor out. That was a great fight and I say the fight of the week at least. It was a close fight but Taylor seem to have the upperhand as proven by the scorecards which was later reported. Froch was down in the third for the first time in his career but managed to tire Taylor out with increasing pressure every round. Taylor may have been the better fighter that night but if you can't finish you're still the loser. With the 168 pound class dominated by the Europeans and the 160 pounds being Pavlik's domain, I'm not sure where Taylor goes from here. I say try Sturm but expect to fly to Germany. Froch wants Joe Calzaghe but Calzaghe will not budge from his retirement rocker just for him. Froch's got to aim for a unification bout or a rematch with Taylor is not a bad idea. ESPN; Boxing Scene; Fight News

For the last title fight of this amazing boxing weekend, Puerto Rico's Juan Manuel Lopez retained his WBO Junior Featherweight title by stopping the brave Gerry Penalosa of the Philippines. Two-time trainer of the year Freddie Roach had to stop the fight before the start of the 10th to avoid further damage to Penalosa who was getting hit with ridiculous amount of power shots yet remained standing. This is Penalosa's first stoppage loss in a career that started in 1989. Probably the most technically skilled boxer coming from the Philippines. Lopez has not seen the 9th round in quite awhile. In fact, this was only the second time in his career to go past the 8th having stopped everyone else before that. With Israel Vazquez reportedly back after an eye injury from the Rafael Marquez trilogy, that'll be a great next fight for Lopez and definitely his toughest test to date. WBA and IBF titleholder Celestino Caballero will be an excellent fight too since Caballero is expected to get past Jeffrey Mathebula this coming Thursday. That's a different challenge for Lopez with the tall and unorthodox yet heavy hitting Caballero. Boxing Scene; Fight News

As I posted in a prior entry, Penalosa also loses his WBO Bantamweight title after this fight regardless of the result. The only reason he kept it inspite of not fighting his mandatory, Eric Morel, is to keep the title of this card legitimate, "Campeon vs. Campeon". Mexico's Fernando Montiel is elevated from interim to the full title and expected to defend against Morel on June 27 in the Pavlik-Sergio Mora undercard.

Prediction Result:
It wasn't an early stoppage for Balzsay but wasn't difficult either.
As expected, easy fight for Sturm.
Did I say Froch by late KO? How late can you get with 14 seconds left?
Penalosa proved his worth but Lopez was simply devastating.

4 out of 4 on a Saturday night. I admit the 3 was easy but the Froch pick was contrary to the popular and oddsmakers' forecast. My record is up to 23-3 and a draw.

Tally changes is not because of the dethroning of any of the titleholders but because of the Penalosa stripping and the Montiel promotion.

As of Apr. 25, 2009

Rank	Country	No. of Titles	Title Holders
1st	USA	12	Andre Berto - WBC147 Timothy Bradley - WBC140;WBO140 Chad Dawson - IBF175 Vernon Forrest - WBC154 Steven Luevano - WBO126 Shane Mosley - WBA147 Kelly Pavlik - WBC160;WBO160;Ring160 Cory Spinks - IBF154 Brian Viloria - IBF108
2nd	Mexico	9	Cristobal Cruz - IBF126 Raul Garcia - IBF105 Juan Manuel Marquez - Ring135;WBA135;WBO135 Fernando Montiel - WBO118 Edgar Sosa - WBC108 Humberto Soto - WBC130 Israel Vazquez - Ring122
3rd	Puerto Rico	7	Ivan Calderon - WBO108;Ring108 Miguel Cotto - WBO147 Jose Lopez - WBO115 Juan Manuel Lopez - WBO122 Roman Martinez - WBO130 Daniel Santos - WBA154
4th	Ukraine	5	Sergiy Dzinziruk - WBO154 Vitali Klitschko - WBC200+ Wladimir Klitschko - IBF200+;WBO200+ Andreas Kotelnik - WBA140
5th (3 are tied)	Armenia	4	Arthur Abraham - IBF160 Vic Darchinyan - WBA115;WBC115;IBF115
5th (3 are tied)	Japan	4	Takahiro Aoh - WBC126 Hozumi Hasegawa - WBC118 Daisuke Naito - WBC112 Toshiaki Nishioka - WBC122
5th (3 are tied)	Panama	4	Celestino Caballero - WBA122;IBF122 Guillermo Jones - WBA200 Anselmo Moreno - WBA118
8th	Argentina	3	Hugo Hernan Garay - WBA175 Omar Andres Narvaez - WBO112 Victor Emilio Ramirez - WBO200
9th (7 are tied)	Hungary	2	Karoly Balzsay - WBO168 Zsolt Erdei - WBO175
9th (7 are tied)	Philippines	2	Nonito Donaire - IBF112 Donnie Nietes - WBO105
9th (7 are tied)	Poland	2	Tomasz Adamek - IBF200;Ring200
9th (7 are tied)	Romania	2	Lucian Bute - IBF168 Adrian Diaconu - WBC175
9th (7 are tied)	Thailand	2	Denkaosan Kaovichit - WBA112 Oleydong Sithsamerchai - WBC105
9th (7 are tied)	UK	2	Carl Froch - WBC168 Ricky Hatton - Ring140
9th (7 are tied)	Venezuela	2	Jorge Linares - WBA130 Edwin Valero - WBC135
16th (10 are tied)	Colombia	1	Juan Urango - IBF140
16th (10 are tied)	Denmark	1	Mikkel Kessler - WBA168
16th (10 are tied)	Germany	1	Felix Sturm - WBA160
16th (10 are tied)	Ghana	1	Joseph Agbeko - IBF118
16th (10 are tied)	Indonesia	1	Chris John - WBA126
16th (10 are tied)	Italy	1	Giacobbe Fragomeni - WBC200
16th (10 are tied)	Nicaragua	1	Roman Gonzalez - WBA105
16th (10 are tied)	Russia	1	Nikolay Valuev - WBA200+(co)
16th (10 are tied)	South Africa	1	Malcolm Klassen - IBF130
16th (10 are tied)	Uzbekistan	1	Ruslan Chagaev - WBA200+(co)

Title Fight Result (Apr. 24)

Experience paid dividends as Cory Spinks is once again the IBF Junior Middleweight champion. Spinks recovered from a first round knockdown and outhussled the younger Deandre Latimore via split decision. After the knockdown, I thought Latimore became too eager to finish early and seem to load up more than he needs to which missed badly more than it connected. Latimore still managed to control the first half with Spinks probably taking at best 2 rounds. But by the sixth onwards, Latimore's first half energy is gradually receding. Spinks threw more double jabs at a distance and a lot of rights to the body when close. They're both spent in the closing rounds but Spinks continue to connect the meaningful shots. Spinks' advantage on experience was obvious and Latimore had problems adjusting. I thought if Latimore continued to pressure without exerting as much energy with his wide swings as he did in the first half, he could've broken down Spinks. Latimore can now charge this fight to experience. If he learned something from it then he'll probably get another title shot. With the Don King-promoted Spinks' skills on the decline, although he did better than I expected in this fight, he'll probably get dethroned in his first defense. So might as well go for the one that will make the most financial sense. If the Don King-Floyd Mayweather Jr. marriage really happens as reported, then that is Spinks best option. I know how farfetched that idea is but not impossible specially if the Marquez deal fails. Besides, that's Don King so expect the unexpected. Another option that might be appealing to hardcore fans is a unification against the WBA titleholder Daniel Santos who is also in King's stable. ESPN; Boxing Scene; Fight News

Prediction Result:
I thought it's in the bag after the knockdown, but, not so fast. I overestimated Laimore's hunger and youth advantage.

Another setback, therefore, my record is down 19-3 and a draw.
Tally changes as the US adds another title and more distance to the rest of the world.

As of Apr. 24, 2009

Rank	Country	No. of Titles	Title Holders
1st	USA	12	Andre Berto - WBC147 Timothy Bradley - WBC140;WBO140 Chad Dawson - IBF175 Vernon Forrest - WBC154 Steven Luevano - WBO126 Shane Mosley - WBA147 Kelly Pavlik - WBC160;WBO160;Ring160 Cory Spinks - IBF154 Brian Viloria - IBF108
2nd	Mexico	8	Cristobal Cruz - IBF126 Raul Garcia - IBF105 Juan Manuel Marquez - Ring135;WBA135;WBO135 Edgar Sosa - WBC108 Humberto Soto - WBC130 Israel Vazquez - Ring122
3rd	Puerto Rico	7	Ivan Calderon - WBO108;Ring108 Miguel Cotto - WBO147 Jose Lopez - WBO115 Juan Manuel Lopez - WBO122 Roman Martinez - WBO130 Daniel Santos - WBA154
4th	Ukraine	5	Sergiy Dzinziruk - WBO154 Vitali Klitschko - WBC200+ Wladimir Klitschko - IBF200+;WBO200+ Andreas Kotelnik - WBA140
5th (3 are tied)	Armenia	4	Arthur Abraham - IBF160 Vic Darchinyan - WBA115;WBC115;IBF115
5th (3 are tied)	Japan	4	Takahiro Aoh - WBC126 Hozumi Hasegawa - WBC118 Daisuke Naito - WBC112 Toshiaki Nishioka - WBC122
5th (3 are tied)	Panama	4	Celestino Caballero - WBA122;IBF122 Guillermo Jones - WBA200 Anselmo Moreno - WBA118
8th (2 are tied)	Argentina	3	Hugo Hernan Garay - WBA175 Omar Andres Narvaez - WBO112 Victor Emilio Ramirez - WBO200
8th (2 are tied)	Philippines	3	Nonito Donaire - IBF112 Donnie Nietes - WBO105 Gerry Peñalosa - WBO118
10th (6 are tied)	Hungary	2	Karoly Balzsay - WBO168 Zsolt Erdei - WBO175
10th (6 are tied)	Poland	2	Tomasz Adamek - IBF200;Ring200
10th (6 are tied)	Romania	2	Lucian Bute - IBF168 Adrian Diaconu - WBC175
10th (6 are tied)	Thailand	2	Denkaosan Kaovichit - WBA112 Oleydong Sithsamerchai - WBC105
10th (6 are tied)	UK	2	Carl Froch - WBC168 Ricky Hatton - Ring140
10th (6 are tied)	Venezuela	2	Jorge Linares - WBA130 Edwin Valero - WBC135
16th (10 are tied)	Colombia	1	Juan Urango - IBF140
16th (10 are tied)	Denmark	1	Mikkel Kessler - WBA168
16th (10 are tied)	Germany	1	Felix Sturm - WBA160
16th (10 are tied)	Ghana	1	Joseph Agbeko - IBF118
16th (10 are tied)	Indonesia	1	Chris John - WBA126
16th (10 are tied)	Italy	1	Giacobbe Fragomeni - WBC200
16th (10 are tied)	Nicaragua	1	Roman Gonzalez - WBA105
16th (10 are tied)	Russia	1	Nikolay Valuev - WBA200+(co)
16th (10 are tied)	South Africa	1	Malcolm Klassen - IBF130
16th (10 are tied)	Uzbekistan	1	Ruslan Chagaev - WBA200+(co)

Title Fights Scheduled (Apr. 24-25)

Full slate this weekend as HBO and Showtime (twice) will televise 3 of the 5 title bouts. My DVR will be quite busy Saturday night.

On Apr. 24 in Saint Louis, MO, hometown fighters Cory Spinks [36(11)-5(1)-0] and Deandre Latimore [19(16)-1(1)-0] will vie for the vacant IBF Junior Middleweight title. I don't remember the last time St. Louis hosted a title fight but this indeed is the perfect fight to host. A former undisputed welterweight champ against an up and coming heavy handed potential star. But more importantly, whatever happens, the belt will stay in St. Louis. Spinks is arguably at the tailend of his decent career with losses to Verno Phillips and Jermain Taylor. Some would argue that he was robbed against Taylor. I have Taylor winning on my cards but do admit that it could've gone either way. Spinks, by the way, is the son of Leon and the nephew of Michael. Both former heavyweight titleholders who fought 2 of the best in Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson, respectively. Latimore is fresh from an impressive and surprising knockout win over the formidable Sechew Powell. I believe Latimore is reaching his peak and an impressive win against Spinks will take him to another level in his career. The only problem I have with Latimore is his inactivity. His fight against Powell was 10 months ago. These are not big named fighters but I feel like this is a must see Friday night for hardcore fans. This will be televised by Showtime at 11 pm ET.

On Apr. 25, Krefeld, Germany will be hosting a championship doubleheader. In the main event, Germany's Felix Sturm [31(13)-2(1)-1] will defend his WBA Middleweight title against Koji Sato [14(13)-0(0)-0] of Japan. There was a good possibility that Sturm and Arthur Abraham could've unified their titles this year. But my opinion upon following various reports, Sturm and his handlers are afraid of Abraham. They're making all this excuses of professionalism or lack thereof just to prevent the fight from happening. Sturm is best remembered among American fans in his controversial loss to Oscar Dela Hoya in 2004. If he took the Abraham fight then he wouldn't be fighting a nobody yet dangerous and undefeated Sato. Sato is the best ranked middleweight of Japan but will be fighting outside Japan for the first time since his debut in 2005. I don't expect Sato to give Sturm any problems. I hope Sturm fights Abraham next and the winner gets to the big showdown against Kelly Pavlik before the end of the year for all 4 belts and the Ring title as well.

In the other title fight in Krefeld, Hungary's Karoly Balzsay [20(14)-0(0)-0] will defend his WBO Super Middleweight title against Maselino Masoe [29(27)-5(3)-0] of Samoa (formerly Western Samoa). This will be Balzsay's first defense of the title he took from Denis Inkin last January. Masoe was the WBO Middleweight champ until he was dethroned by Sturm in 2006. Balzsay has an overwhelming age and height advantage but if Masoe clips him, he'll be in trouble. Masoe has knockout power but a suspect chin.

Also on Apr. 25 in Mashantucket, CT at the Foxwoods Resort Casino, UK's Carl Froch [24(19)-0(0)-0] will defend his WBC Super Middleweight title against former undisputed Middleweight champ Jermain Taylor [28(17)-2(1)-1] of the US. If their last title fights are an indication, then this will be a barnburner. Froch's slugfest against Jean Pascal last year to claim this title was clearly a fight of the year candidate. Although it wasn't shown live here in the US, Fox Sports aired it late December. Taylor's title fight against Pavlik was action-packed too although he got stopped in the seventh. He dominated a ruined Jeff Lacy in the eliminator last December to earn this title shot. This is tough to call but I'm inclined to pick the Brit because I see some Pavlik in Froch and we all know what Pavlik did to Taylor in their two bouts. Taylor seem to be favored but that is probably because of the unfamiliarity of oddsmakers to Froch. This will be covered by Showtime at 9 pm ET.

The same night in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, heavy hitting Juan Manuel Lopez [24(22)-0(0)-0] of Puerto Rico will defend his WBO Junior Featherweight title against the WBO Bantamweight champ Gerry Penalosa [54(36)-6(0)-2] of the Philippines. Lopez stopped 6 of his last 7 opponents in under 3 rounds including 4 in the first. This is probably the first time that Lopez will fight a veteran tactician who will not be intimidated unlike most of his recent opponents. Lopez is highly favored to win but will be interesting how he will adjust to a good counter puncher. According to the WBO and various reports, Penalosa will be the bantamweight champ going into this fight to preserve the “Champion vs. Champion” title of the card. But, will be stripped after the bout. This will then elevate interim titleholder Mexico's Fernando Montiel to the full bantamweight title. Therefore, a loss by Penalosa will not only deprive him of Lopez's 122-lb. title but will be stripped as well of his 118-lb. belt. I've mentioned this in previous blog entries except for the recent stripping decision made by the WBO due to Montiel winning the interim title. If Penalosa fought and won against his mandatory first, which is Eric Morel, then he can keep his title even if he loses to Lopez. This will be covered by HBO at 10 pm ET.

My Predictions:
I have the young and hungry Latimore by late stoppage or decision.
Easy fight for Sturm and will stop Sato early.
Balzsay also by early stoppage.
With bated breath, Froch by decision or late KO.
I want Penalosa to win but Lopez is on a mission and wins by decision.