Let ne tell you a funny story about the Froch vs Tirrell fight.

I recorded it on Tivo and when watching it, the program stopped at the start of THE 12th ROUND!!.....I didn't get to see the result!.....

But what I saw was two so-called boxers not being able to figure the other out......

Both are beatable and I can't believe a guy like Froch is a champion.........he is to easy to hit it's sickening.....him and Abraham say they want to be well known in the US......guess again!......they better keep fighting in their homelands.

I am telling you, it's looking like that tournament is becoming a joke.

NONE of those fighters impress me...NONE OF THEM.

The only one you can say something about is Kessler and it's already known that he is more hype than anything else.......the second he fought someone who had much more talent than him, he lost.

To me, the Froch-Tirrel fight was so boring that I didn't blink an eye when my box told me "end of program" before the fight ended.

If you want to tell me who won, fine.....but I really don't care........yes, that's how bored out of my mind I was.

"he is shadow of the boxer who beat Hopkins twice."

LOLLOLOL according to the judges he beat hopkins twice but anybody with a keen boxing eye knows that taylor did not win either of those fights. i do believe in the second fight you can make a better case for taylor but gimme a break. how far past his prime is hopkins who continues to fight at such a high level!

Froch-Dirrell was an ugly fight, no question. I thought Dirrell won by a wide margin. Froch looked like an amateur swinging at nothing. The decision was terrible , a bad way to start the tournament. Neither of these two is winning the whole thing ... Dirrell doesn't want to fight he is dancing, and Froch should not get past Kessler.

Taylor should drop out and let in Bute.



There is a good UFC main event this weekend, Machida vs Rua for LHW championship.

Maskaev’s last chance to beat Klitschko

Published 26 October, 2009, 14:01

Former heavyweight champion of the world, Oleg Maskaev of Russia, has been given perhaps his last chance to retain the WBC belt.
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According to a WBC decision, in order to do so, the 40-year-old will have to win two consecutive bouts. The first one will be held on December 11, in which Maskaev (36 wins and 6 losses) will face the opposition of Nagy Aguilera of the Dominican Republic (14 wins and 2 losses). However, Aguilera can hardly be regarded as an elite fighter.

In case Maskaev comes out the winner of this fight, his next opponent – and the last but one obstacle on his way towards WBC belt – will be American Ray Austin (27 wins, 4 draws and 4 losses), nicknamed The Rainman.

If Maskaev claims a 100 percent record in these two fights, he will have every right to challenge current WBC champion Vitaly Klitschko. The latter, however, will have to defend his title in a bout against Calvin Jones on December 12.

To be honest, yo tampoco know who will win the tournament........and i honestly don't care........none of them impress me much.

Well I think we all got our opinions and predictions out some months back, so I'm only checking if anyone has changed their minds after seeing the HBO 24/7 episodes on each fighter's training camp.

I'm sticking with Cotto, via late stoppage or razor thin decision.

I think Cotto needs to get himself a real corner and a real trainer. Lucky for him I think Manny has made some mental errors in preparation as well. I think we all caught that glimpse of Castillo whooping on his ass, and it makes me think he has been too busy being a star. We'll see on Saturday night!


Did anyone happen to watch Haye vs Valuev last Saturday, or Fedor vs. Rogers?

I think Cotto is taking this one as well...Can't wait!!!!

"Well I think we all got our opinions and predictions out some months back, so I'm only checking if anyone has changed their minds after seeing the HBO 24/7 episodes on each fighter's training camp".

yes everybody has their opinions and predictions but for any casual fight fan that is caught up in the pacquiao bandwagon their opinions mean squat. LOLOLOLOL generally speaking of coarse although i do have one guy in mind and i won't say his name but i will give you a hint.... he is a self proclaimed "black hunk"!!!!!! looking at this 24\7 drama which is what i like to call it i really don't think it is a good indicator of anything. you see all of these distractions and strife in the pacquiao camp and i think it is a crock if you ask me. all of this is the strategy that they are using for them to come up with an excuse for manny when he gets his ass knocked out.

"I think Cotto needs to get himself a real corner and a real trainer".

why do you say that though??? did freddie roach tell you that? let me mention that angelo dundee said its not the trainer that goes out and fights and yeah santiago lacks the experience but cotto already has the tools nessesary to be what he is supposed to be on saturday night. freddie roach is a great trainer but not this supernatural trainer that everybody makes him out to be. manny has made that guy who he is. freddie has not made manny at all. manny would have still been great without freddie. not to be confused with fred dobbs!!!

First off, Hayes won the Heavyweight title, beating the giant Valuev.

There are two boxers out there that I will NOT bet against....1) Mayweather, 2) Pacquiao.

That I want Cotto to win, YES........That I think he will not, YES.

Pacquiao by late stoppage or close decision.

I hope to be proven wrong.

Behind the Fighter Manny Pacquiao, the Fight for His Favor
Miguel Salazar

LOS ANGELES — The condominium looks like a fraternity house, not the resting place for boxing royalty. Stained carpets cover the floor. Dartboards hang from the wall. Bowls of food, half-eaten leftovers, line the kitchen.

Manny Pacquiao, one of the best boxers in the world, sleeps here. But he does not sleep alone.

Pacquiao, who faces Miguel Cotto in a welterweight title fight Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, does not do anything alone.

His entourage — swollen, dysfunctional and, in his mind, necessary — makes sure of that. On a recent visit, while Pacquiao slept upstairs, one member did the laundry. Another surfed the Internet. Yet another sprawled on the couch, his booming snores interrupting another otherwise peaceful morning for Team Pacquiao.

“They’re all competing to be golden boy for the day,” said Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer. “Clean his pool. Take his shoes off. They will do anything for Manny Pacquiao.”

Roach paused, unable to suppress his laughter.

“I’m telling you,” he continued, “the funniest thing is, whoever is on the best terms with Manny at that moment sleeps closest to him, at the foot of his bed.”

More than anything, they wait. They wait for Pacquiao to wake up, to eat, to spar, to sing, sign autographs, do interviews, act, shop.

Before one sparring session last month, members of the entourage arrived early, fetched towels, cleared the gym and debated what type of Gatorade their employer would prefer, finally settling on orange. When word came that Pacquiao was sleeping, that he might not practice, they waited, dozens of lives affected by the whimsical decisions of one man.

Team Pacquiao has perfected the art of functional dysfunction. The entourage consists of trainers, assistants to the trainers, advisers, assistants to the advisers, cooks, dishwashers, car washers, drivers, publicists, gofers and security.

Its size varies, as do assignments and sleeping arrangements, members shuffling from bunk beds to twin beds to the foot of the most important bed. Usually, at least 20 aid in Pacquiao’s routines.

“I see new guys every day,” said Joe Ramos, an assistant. “Guys who I don’t even know who they are, or what they do.”

Pacquiao craves companionship, seeking comfort in numbers. He said he likes good company, which explains why he sleeps in the condo while the sprawling house he owns nearby sits mostly empty, leaves in the pool, ants in the kitchen.

Confidants believe this stems from his childhood, when he grew up so poor in the Philippines that his younger brother, Bobby, described each day as “survival mode.” The path to reclaimed youth includes all of the activities Pacquiao missed, like darts, billiards, basketball and marathon karaoke sessions.

Pacquiao tolerates little disrespect based on placement in his hierarchy, another policy produced by his upbringing.

He once sold doughnuts on the street. So when Ramos suggested they find less expensive alternatives for washing his car, noting that Pacquiao paid a man at Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, where he trains, $200 three times a week, Pacquiao warned Ramos never to eliminate the job of someone trying to earn a living.

This leads to tasks that overlap, filled by people who perform the same function. Or people who perform essentially no function.

“There’s a lot going on,” said Rob Peters, the head of the security detail. “You have to know who everybody is, what they do. It’s almost like I need a chart.”

The entourage compares itself to a large family, but the daily competition for Pacquiao’s affection and power makes this brood competitive and intense. Winners receive perks, like riding in the car with Pacquiao, or sitting next to him while he eats.

They say they must fight to prove themselves, and while they do not mean this literally, sometimes fisticuffs occur. Recently in the Philippines, two members of Team Pacquiao, the adviser Michael Koncz and the conditioning coach Alex Ariza, came to blows over the coveted corner slots for Saturday’s bout.

Koncz said the fight was overblown and that he always operates with Pacquiao’s best interests at the forefront. Ariza said Koncz remains at the center of the team’s conflicts, whether attempting to have Roach fired, or failing to give credit to others, two charges Koncz dismissed.

During training, an unidentified culprit hung a sign inside the gym. It read: The meeting for the Mike Koncz Fan Club has been canceled. Roach claimed no knowledge of the sign’s source. But he was in no hurry to remove it. “I don’t know if he’s socially maladjusted, or if it’s just an ineptness to socialize,” Ariza said of Koncz on Wednesday in Las Vegas. “I know it sounds funny, but I’m serious. He’s caused disarray.”

Referring to Pacquiao, Roach added: “I know this: Alex doesn’t cut his meat for him. Mike Koncz does.”

Such is life in what may be the strangest entourage in sports. For as complex as their interactions with one another are, each member of the entourage has his own relationship with Pacquiao. And he is the only man each answers to.

There is Buboy Fernandez, Pacquiao’s childhood friend, who worked as a janitor in Pacquiao’s first gym. Fernandez once handled the duties now performed by 15 men, like washing his boss’s socks, or holding a rice cooker near the vent in a hotel so staff could not smell food being prepared. His reward? His own room in the condo.

There is Koncz, who, despite the criticism, still holds significant sway, particularly in regard to Pacquiao’s finances. There is Peters, the security guard and Boston sports fan who must turn away families seeking autographs. There is Ramos, who handles tickets. He secured 500 for Saturday’s fight alone and still heard complaints from folks who wanted 30 instead of 29.

The worst job?

“The cook,” Pacquiao said. “Because there are so many. He must cook a lot.”

What concerns Ariza are those who take advantage, the hangers-on who can pay for their own tickets but choose not to, who spend all day waiting to pitch Pacquiao their products, who receive something and still want more.

Sometimes Pacquiao sequesters himself inside his bedroom, waiting for the living room to clear. Most nights, Peters stops by to expedite the process.

“The downfall of Manny Pacquiao, if there is one, will be his kindness and generosity,” Koncz said. “At some point, I fear that’s going to catch up to him.”

On Tuesday in Las Vegas, Pacquiao conducted interviews inside a trailer. When he finished, someone grabbed a jacket and helped him put it on. Someone else stood at the bottom of the stairs, in case he fell. Someone else started the team bus, each seat filled.

Off they went, the dysfunctional entourage that still manages to function, the boxer surrounded by his staff.

Sleeping arrangements, at least for some, were still to be decided