When Less Could Be More

BOSTON - Only minutes earlier, John Duddy had finished a spirited ten rounds with Charlie Howe in the old gun room of the muggy Castle at Park Plaza in Boston. But as he stood in the makeshift dressing room in the basement of the 117 year-old armory, it was dank and cool.

Duddy was still bathed in warm sweat when trainer Pat Burns made his way down the dark and winding staircase and he saw Duddy with his arm around Howe's shoulder. Burns knew right away that if his fighter stood there in the chill like that for long he'd end up catching a cold.

"Get his robe on, get John his robe," said Burns to no one in particular.

Duddy got back on track with the unanimous decision win over Howe on Saturday night and he electrified the standing room only crowd of 1,300 while notching his 25th straight win.

It was the first fight that Burns and Duddy had spent together as a team and now it was now time for Burns to give his thoughts to a few of us that had cornered him in the bowels of the medieval stone structure.

When asked what he thinks the next move should be for Duddy, Burns took little time in offering his opinion. "His management has to make a decision on that," he responded.

"I like him at 154. He made 158 for this fight with absolutely no problems. We taught him how to eat, he ate all he wanted. As a matter of fact, on the day of the weigh-in he had a big breakfast, he drank plenty of fluids."

Nobody had given much thought or had previously spoke of Duddy at 154 pounds, but it makes sense. Duddy is not a big middleweight by any stretch and at his height and with his medium-sized frame it seems his body would fit better into a 154-pound suit.

"It's something that he would have to buy into, " continued Burns. "I asked him a couple-three weeks ago, 'Do you feel like you could make it?' And he said, 'Easy'.

"I think he's a big '54 pounder and I think he's just an average to small '60 pounder," said Burns, who knows a thing or two about middleweights seeing as how he steered Jermain Taylor to the middleweight championship against Bernard Hopkins a few years back.

Now, however, the man to beat at 160 pounds is the undefeated, champion Kelly Pavlik and he is as large as middleweights get with a height and reach that are heavyweight in dimension.

"It's better to be the big guy in the division than the small guy in the division, and Pavlik is definitely the big guy in the division," said Burns.

"But that's a decision his team will have to make. I've voiced my opinion. I think he's a '54 pounder and the most important thing is that I think John has bought into it. And it makes life a lot easier when the kid believes that he feels he should be down another division."


Burns, attired in the track suit, back when he was the trainer of Jermain Taylor (left). Also pictured are Oscar De La Hoya and Bernard Hopkins.

So why after all of these years campaigning as a 160-pound fighter and being on the verge of a title shot, does Burns suddenly think Duddy should drop down a division?

"I don't think he had real good eating habits," explained Burns. "I just think once he learned how to eat properly, he was eating three, four times a day and drinking tons of fluids and he was amazed at the way the weight was coming off. I don't know if you guys have seen his body but he looks good. We had him on a strength program. He was working out three times a day."

The pairing of Burns and Duddy looks like a good match for the 29 year-old Irishman and Burns seems encouraged by what he has seen so far.

"I think he got a real professional camp this time and I think he learned a lot of different things," said Burns. "The most important thing is the kid is willing to listen and to learn. And I was telling Mark Vaz as I was in the corner as this thing was going on, 'Jesus, look at this kid he really listens.' The stuff we were instructing, you know, he was actually doing."

However, Burns, like a mutual fund prospectus, is cautious when he makes assertions regarding Duddy's future.

"He's got a long way to go, but I'm happy with his performance. He's a great kid, too. I think he's a great representative of his country, Ireland, but he certainly loves Boston and New York," said Burns.

"He seems to have a nice fan base, everybody seems to like him. If he stays a gentleman out of the ring, I think he has a real opportunity."


June 2008

Manny Pacquiao Wins

55 seconds ago, it was a victory for manny pacquiao after beating former champion David Diaz . David Diaz knock out with a left punch on the 9th round and gave pacquiao his new lightweight WBC crown.
As i watch it online in justin tv live site. I expected manny to win from the start. Impressive moves, very fast jabs, improve technical skills and as a finishing touch a well placed right jaband a solid left hand to the face of Diaz.

http://www.boxingvid.com/filipino-boxers/manny-pacquiao/pacquiao-vs-diaz-live-feed-video/

http://www.justin.tv/lococomouncerdo

Manny totally dominated Diaz in the fight with Diaz suffering from 2 cuts and a lump on his left eye. Manny is the better, stronger, faster and it was an expected ending of the game...

Photo courtesy of Eric Jammison

Manny is now a record holder for being the first Asian to win championships in four weight divisions.

Mabuhay Manny!

P.S. excerpts from interview of David Diaz courtey of mannypacquiao.ph

"Manny was too fast," he said. Understatement do you think? "I could deal with the power but not his speed," Diaz said. "I got tricked by his speed. I gave it my all. His speed is what it sealed it for me. His speed was uncontrollable."

"[The cut] didn't bother me," he said. "But I thought he had a knife. It's like he was hitting me with a blade. I thought [Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach] was in there hitting me too. What can I say? I lost today, I'll win tomorrow. To go like that with a guy like Manny Pacquiao, I think I'm doing pretty good."

The Night John Duddy Became a Fighter

Ireland's John Duddy (right) fires a punch at Yory Boy Campas in their September 2006 bout in New York City.

BOSTON - Nobody has yet written a book on Ireland's John Francis Duddy.

But if they ever do, the first page should begin with the night that he spent a hellish twelve rounds locked in the ring with Yory Boy Campas in the basement at Madison Square Garden. For that was the night John Duddy says he became a fighter.

"I think at the moment, with the Yory Boy Campas fight, that he was the first fighter that actually asked me the question: Do you really wanna' be a fighter? Do you really wanna' have this career? Do you think you're good enough to stay at this level?" says the personable 29-year old middleweight contender who will be facing Charles Howe tonight at The Castle in Boston, Massachusetts.

"It was like the first time I experienced that and I enjoyed it, as much as it was hard. I enjoyed it 'cause I knew that I had the answer. Yes, I do want this…I do want this experience. This is what I came for…I asked for it…I'd been dreamin' for it. As people say; 'Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.' Well, I got me wish that day," says the undefeated Duddy who sports a record of 24-0 (17) KO’s.

The fight with Campas was a bloody brawl, the type of fight you read about in the boxing history books that are today referred to as "throwback" fights.

Going into the September 2006 fight, it was expected that Duddy would roll right over the top of Campas and continue his ascent up through the world middleweight rankings.

But a funny thing happened on Duddy's way to the top: Yory Boy Campas decided to show up in great shape, ready to fight and he turned in a performance better than he had in years.

"I knew I was going to be taken to school, so to speak, and it was a great lesson for me physically and mentally," says Duddy of his bout with Campas.

"I enjoyed it and hopefully now that I've had that experience I'll be able to exploit what he exploited on me’self and work on it and make sure it can't be exploited again," he says through his thick Irish brogue.


A rare picture of John Duddy moments after a fight sporting no cuts or bruises.

The Campas fight turned out to be a vicious, back and forth, crowd-pleasing war. Duddy suffered horrific gashes over both eyes, was nearly knocked down and there was never a point in the bout that he looked like a sure winner.

"I think the fight with Yory Boy, the way it turned out, it was a great education about John Duddy. Knowing what I can and can't do. In some cases you can't fight fire with fire. I showed another side of me’self that many people thought I didn't have."

"I said to me’self, 'You're gettin' beat John, you're losin'. What are you going to do to be able to turn this around?'

"And then I found this wee voice…way, way in the back of me head goin' – ‘Keep goin, keep goin', keep goin' - don't stop. This is what you're built for. This is what you've wanted to do since you were five years of age.’

"It's not always pretty," continues Duddy, "But this is what it is. It don't get no harder than this."

Duddy, originally from Derry County, Northern Ireland and now residing in Queens, New York fought on for twelve rounds through the blood, through the pain, through the exhaustion and through the relentless assault of the old lion and former champion in Campas who stubbornly refused to go quietly into the night and Duddy managed to pull out a unanimous decision win.

Strange as it may seem, he claims it was the type of fight that he always wanted.

"I wanna' know how good I am," says Duddy, who is ranked in the top 10 by all of boxing’s major sanctioning bodies and who also could be on the verge of a title shot.

"I wanna' be tested. I don't wanna' be sittin' when I'm 36 or 37 goin', I wish, I wish, I wish."

Well, Duddy has definitely gotten his wish. Since the win over Campas he has had several fights where he has been tested. After the Campas fight he had to lay low for several months to let his cuts heal and then he came right back in another tough fight against ‘The Contender’ season one participant Anthony Bonsante whom was stopped in nine fast paced rounds.


In another winning effort, Duddy attacks the mid-section of Anthony Bonsante.

Duddy then managed a ten round decision win in New York over Dupre Strickland before going back to Ireland for most of 2007 under the auspices of trainer Don Turner to pick up three wins, including a close decision over middleweight gatekeeper Howard Eastman.

In February of this year, Duddy returned to America on the undercard of Wladimir Klitschko vs. Sultan Ibragimov at Madison Square Garden. He faced the unheralded, Tunisian born Walid Smichet who fights out of Montreal.

Had Duddy won impressively and looked good against Smichet his next fight would have been a title shot against world champion Kelly Pavlik. But things didn’t go so well. Duddy showed an alarming tendency to be nailed with lead right hands and he suffered three cuts on his face; one over his left eye which was particularly deep.

Even though Duddy won a majority decision against Smichet, promoter Bob Arum yanked the title shot against Pavlik off the table, and now Duddy has been forced to get back in line for a chance at one of the belts.

"I think, to be honest with you, it wasn't me greatest performance," says Duddy of his fight against Smichet.

"Me timin' wasn't what it should be, you know? I had a good trip back to Ireland and I wanted to come back to the States with a bang. But I think I was tryin' too hard to impress from the get go and you know, Walid is an experienced guy and he made it a much closer fight. But I think at the end of the day I definitely did enough to win it."

Duddy endured heaps of criticism from many in the boxing press after the Smichet fight. The pundits simply wrote him off as another over-hyped, cut prone, hittable fighter from overseas that seems to do well when he’s in Ireland – but not so well when he’s away from home.

"I couldn't believe it, the way people were talking to me it was as if I'd been beaten. I won the fight for goodness sake!" said Duddy of the aftermath of the Smichet debacle.


Duddy has a attracted a loyal and growing fan base and he has become a ticket selling sensation from Ireland to New York to Boston.

"In this business it's always about gettin' the win and that's what I did, and I'm still on course for a shot at the world title."

Not long after the Smichet fight, Duddy and his team decided that the laid back style of Don Turner was not what they needed in the corner, so they recently hired the intense and wise Pat Burns who they are hoping will be a better fit for Duddy’s aggressive style.

Duddy is keenly aware that every fight needs to be impressive from here on in if he hopes to get a shot at the title in the near future. The Irishman, however, isn’t looking back at his missteps and he has an inner drive that seems to propel him forward. He feels like all of the questions about him have been asked and answered and he's now very aware that it’s up to him to make his statements in the ring.

"Now I've got this guy in Boston and I plan to do a job on him and show people that I learned from the mistakes I made in the Smichet fight," says Duddy about this weekend’s opponent.

And thanks to the night he spent in the basement of Madison Square Garden with Yory Boy Campas, John Duddy knows he’s ready for whatever comes his way.


June 28, 2008, Boston, Mass.

Randy Neumann is Brutally Honest

Referee Randy Neumann counts away as Arturo Gatti tries to find his way up.

If you call Randy Neumann on the telephone and are greeted by his answering machine you get the sense right away that he's a man who is all business. The message is brief and to the point and the voice on the other end has a stern tone to it.

Neumann, of course, was the third man in the ring for one of the most brutal and bizarre fights in recent memory. He thought he had seen it all in boxing and until he stepped through the ropes and into the German ring in September 2006 to referee the middleweight title fight between IBF belt-holder Arthur Abraham and challenger Edison Miranda - he probably had.

"It was one of the most brutal fights I’ve been involved with," said the 59-year old Neumann Wednesday afternoon from his office in Paramus, New Jersey.

"Here in America we have too many lawyers that wouldn’t have allowed a fight like that to continue. I wanted to stop it and you heard on the tape when Abraham said he didn't want to continue. But I was under the spell of the doctors in that fight."

And for Randy Neumann, who doesn't seem like a man prone to exaggeration, to say that Abraham versus Miranda was the most brutal and bizarre fight that he has ever been involved with is really saying something.

You see, Neumann has been involved with boxing in one shape, form or fashion for over 40 years.

Along his journey in this game they call boxing he has been the New Jersey State Heavyweight Champion and he was once a top-10 ranked heavyweight contender in the 1970's. He's squared off against the likes of Chuck Wepner, Jerry Quarry and Jimmy Young. He's also quick to point out that he's been the third man in the ring for 40 world title fights controlling the action between guys that have names like Mike Tyson, Ray Mercer and Arturo Gatti.

And after the fights he sometimes likes to kick back with a drink at one of boxing's most favorite haunts, The Irish Pub in Atlantic City. And Neumann doesn't hang out there with just anybody mind you. He does so with a man he counts as a good friend - boxing's literary legend - Budd Schulberg.

So as Arthur Abraham and Edison Miranda get ready to do it again on Saturday night in Hollywood, Florida most hope there is not a repeat of the wild events that transpired the first time the pair tangled in the squared circle.


IBF middleweight titlist Arthur Abraham suffered a broken jaw in the fourth round of his first fight with Edison Miranda, but he managed to win a decision.

Abraham certainly hopes things go differently because from the fourth round on he fought with a jaw that was broken in two places. He would eventually win the fight by unanimous decision but he endured a steady diet of low blows and what appeared for all intents and purposes to be a dangerous and intentional head butt.

In an attempt to get a handle on the unpredictable and incorrigible Miranda on that night, Neumann deducted five points from the man who swings wildly, fights nastily and speaks harshly. Miranda seemed to be pulling every dirty trick from his tickle trunk and it was Neumann's job to try and stop him.

Reports in the media criticized Neumann and said that he unduly penalized Miranda for his various infractions. In the days and weeks immediately following the fight, Neumann was raked over the coals by the international boxing press and vilified by Miranda's promoter Leon Margules.

This past Monday night the fight was televised by Showtime for the first time in the United States thus giving American viewers the opportunity to see the events with their own eyes. It was also a chance to finally see whether Neumann was justified in the harsh penalties he imposed on Miranda and whether Abraham should have been allowed to continue on with a broken jaw.

"Look, people who want to criticize me for point deductions for the low blows weren’t in the ring when Jerry Quarry hit me with what some writers at the time called 'the most egregious low blow in boxing history' says Neumann, who is referring to his loss against Quarry at Madison Square Garden in 1973. It was a fight that was stopped on a cut after the seventh round.

"My fight with Quarry was stopped on a cut. The doctor who stitched me up that night said to me, 'You're in shape aren’t you?' I said Yeah, I’m not too bad. He said to me, 'I can tell, because you didn’t vomit when he hit you with that low blow.'

"Here’s the thing, if you hit a guy straight on the cup, the cup works pretty well. But when somebody lowers their shoulder and drives the punch up under the cup it just cracks your nuts.

Neumann likes to remind you that he was once a fighter and a pretty good one at that. So he knows full well the damage that illegal shots can inflict.

"I was a boxer and it’s funny the people that criticize me are usually not fighters," he explains. "They are non-fighters that have opinions."

"I can tell when a punch is low or not," Neumann continues. "I warned Miranda and then he goes right back out and does it two or three more times...he hits Abraham right in the balls. A referee has a very important job because decisions have to be made in nanoseconds and it’s not easy. The referee can be the difference between life and death and sometimes there are million dollar deals on the line."

For Neumann, the Abraham-Miranda fight was one where he found himself stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. On the one hand the German doctors (and there were two of them) were telling him to let the fight continue because they felt Abraham, despite a horribly busted jaw, could continue and could win. On the other hand, Miranda was fouling left, right and center so Neumann was exasperated in trying to control that problem, too.

But nearly two years after the fight, Neumann's makes no effort whatsoever to hide his disdain for Miranda who had designs on winning the fight - no matter the method. He blames the craziness that ensued on that night in Germany mostly on the broad shoulders of Miranda.

"Miranda fights like an idiot," Neumann barks.

"He intentionally butted Abraham behind the ear, which is the weakest part of the skull. Here's a guy that throws 2 or 3 low blows and I give him a warning - then he does the most egregious head butt ever - whacks the guy behind the ear with his head. I could have disqualified him and stopped the fight, but I didn’t. I don’t like to disqualify fighters, but that was certainly grounds for disqualification. Miranda was trying to bend the rules to win the fight."

So why not simply disqualify Miranda instead of taking five points from him?

"What I wanted to see was a normal ending to the fight," he answered.


Alfonso Gomez shows the pain of being in the ring with Miguel Cotto as Neumann does his job at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall in April of this year.

Unfortunately, Neumann and the rest of us didn't really get that, either. The official judges' scorecards were unanimous for Abraham at 114-109, 115-109 and 116-109. So even in a fight where Miranda was docked five points, he still wouldn't have won a decision if the points hadn't been deducted. Many, however, saw things differently because after Abraham's jaw was broken in the fourth it seemed as though Miranda won the majority of the remaining rounds.

Which brings us to the broken jaw. It was the result of a punch landed by Miranda in the fourth round and it caused a gruesome injury. The confused German doctors ended up ceasing the action for several minutes while they examined Abraham's twisted face in an attempt to make up their minds as to whether or not they were going to let the fight continue.

"It was a very interesting technicality," said a bemused Neumann. "I discussed it with Lindsay Tucker of the IBF. The injury that Abraham sustained was the result of a legitimate punch and he would lose by TKO if I had stopped the fight."

At one point it seemed as though Neumann was going to waive the fight off, but there was definitely a language issue with the German officials and some of the banter going back and forth between them and Neumann was muddled.

"I took three years of German in high school and some of what we talked about was lost in translation," Neumann quipped. "I’m no German linguist. The consensus was that if the guy keeps fighting he can win. The amazing thing - is that he won fighting for eight rounds with a broken jaw."

As the fight wore on Abraham bled profusely from his mouth and Neumann's shirt was covered with Abraham's blood when the final bell sounded. Abraham was unable to fully close his mouth and Neumann describes the look of it best: "He couldn’t move his mouth and it was like had had a golf ball in there or something."

When asked if he thought about stopping the fight in the later rounds as Miranda landed bone hammer after bone hammer on Abraham's disfigured face, Neumann answered, "No, because forgetting about the injury specifically the guy was never in trouble. You've got to remember that I’ve been a student of this sport for 41 years."


Neumann gets an earful from Warriors Boxing front man Leon Margules after the Arthur Abraham vs. Edison Miranda fight in Germany.

"I want to tell you an interesting story," says an unapolegetic Neumann, who certainly has access to a treasury trove of them.

"Leon Margules, who is Miranda’s promoter...flesh peddler. He’s a lawyer and a cagey guy. He’s in the ring after the fight. He comes up to me and he says, ‘Can I say a few words to you?’

"I said, 'No' and I walked away. But he cornered me, and he said what I did to Abraham was terrible and that he’ll never be the same."

"I said to him, I find it strange that you are so concerned for the other fighter. I said you just lost your meal ticket and what happens or happened to Abraham has little to do with your remorse.”

And with that, Abraham left the ring a winner and Neumann hopped on a flight back to his home state of New Jersey, "Where we have the mafia, McGreevey the gay governor and The Sopranos," he chuckes.

So nearly two years after having been involved in such a bizarre fight the big question is this:

How does Randy Neumann, who was the man in the middle of the chaotic twelve rounds that was Abraham vs. Miranda I see the rematch between the two playing out on Saturday night?

"Lets put it this way," says the grizzled Neumann. "If Miranda is this big, rough, tough puncher and he couldn’t knock out a guy who who had a broken jaw - then he’s in trouble. Abraham is a much better fighter."

Take it from Randy Neumann, he knows a thing or two about brutal honesty.


June 2008

Youth is Served

Young Champion Kelly Pavlik took a break from the ring and lined up a pool shot before he took apart Gary Lockett in Atlantic City.

A couple of events took place within the last week that have served to illustrate the point that boxing is a young man's game.

Last Saturday night, Enzo Calzaghe had a good chance to get an up close and personal look at Kelly Pavlik in Atlantic City. He must not have liked what he saw. Pavlik made short work of the Enzo Calzaghe trained Gary Lockett and "The Ghost" took care of Lockett as easily as he would take care of bringing the trash out to the curb.

But it still came as somewhat of a surprise when word made it to American shores from Wales that Enzo's son, Joe Calzaghe, now has no intentions of fighting Kelly Pavlik. Pavlik's promoter Bob Arum and Calzaghe's promoter Frank Warren seemed to be moving forward and all reports were that they were close to an October deal for a Pavlik vs. Calzaghe fight. But yesterday all hopes of seeing that fight were dashed.

Joe Calzaghe suddenly announced that he wanted no part of Pavlik and would instead pursue a fight with Roy Jones, Jr. And you've got to think that Joe got a look at Lockett's face when he returned home and that he heard Enzo tell a horrible tale of what happened on the Jersey shore.

Against Lockett, the youthful Pavlik, who is only 26, turned in one of the most dominant performances of any middleweight champion in years. What is somewhat interesting is that a suddenly skittish Calzaghe didn't even wait a few weeks before making it known that he wants no part of Youngstown's favorite son.

If you think about it, the most sane course for Calzaghe to take is to pursue Jones. And for Pavlik it makes sense for him to continue cleaning out the division where he seems best suited and most sharp. Jones is nearing 40-years old and Calzage is 36 so that match makes dollars and it makes sense. It's another "Seniors Tour" match-up that will pull in big numbers in the United Kingdom. For Calzaghe it's a low risk/high reward match and it affords him the opportunity to go out a winner in what could be his last fight - against a guy who is more his own age.


Speaking of Young Guys, More on Mora


Sergio Mora (left) lands a shot on Vernon Forrest and wins the WBC 154-pound title.

One win can change everything. Vernon Forrest found that out when he beat Shane Mosley for the first time back in 2002. And on Saturday night, Sergio Mora found out the same thing when he beat Vernon Forrest.

It now appears as though Sergio Mora will end up getting his big chance against Shane Mosley, too. But more on that later.

It was interesting to watch the happenings unfold at the Mohegan Sun Casino last Saturday night. I watched from a few feet away as Sergio Mora upset Vernon Forrest for the WBC Super Welterweight title. Viewing the fight from the Showtime "press row" scoring table I tabbed it 115-113 for Mora, and I thought he eked out the win by taking six of he last seven rounds on my ballot.

I viewed the fight simply: It all boiled down to the fact that Mora was younger, had more vigour, wanted it more and he took advantage of a Vernon Forrest who walked up the steps to the ring and just didn't have it. To these eyes it appeared as though nice-guy Forrest fell victim to one of the most famous axioms in boxing: "He got old overnight."

And Vernon Forrest is not new to these eyes. I also watched from a few feet away when Forrest knocked out Italy's Michele Piccirillo in the eleventh round at Foxwoods back in December. The Forrest that I saw that night was a much sharper fighter who had a lot more in the tank than the one I saw last weekend.

But all kudos must go to Sergio Mora who, after dropping most of the early rounds on my card, rallied down the stretch and really went deep into the "Forrest" to chop a path to the title. It was one of the best displays of why they call boxing "a young man's game" and it's the reason why Bernard Hopkins recently said that he really has no interest in fighting anybody "under the age of 35."

In boxing, youth can often be the great equalizer, as Sergio proved against Forrest who is a decade older. Mora is a young 27 and he really doesn't have many miles on his fistic odometer. Sergio has a tremendous upside and despite winning 'The Contender' reality show championship three years ago, the victory over Forrest is really his breakout fight. Mora's window of opportunity is now wide-open.


The young titlist enjoys his victory on Saturday night at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut.

The Mora vs. Forrest post-fight press conference was held in a cramped back room at the Mohegan Sun that was no bigger than a broom closet. Everybody was packed in there like sardines in a can as they listened to boxing's newest champ ruminate about his future.

Mora went on to say, "I'll fight anybody" and in his rather subdued conference with the press he said he'd be willing to take on everyone from Kelly Pavlik to Jermain Taylor to Oscar De La Hoya to any of the other 154-pound titlists. He even said he'd be willing to go and fight in Germany if the money was right.

Tournament of Contenders promoter Jeff Wald, in an eyebrow raising comment, claimed that Bob Arum "wouldn't make the fight" against Kelly Pavlik because Arum was fearful that Kelly would get beat. Huh?

Whatever the case, rumblings within the game are that Mora will next face-off against Shane Mosley at a site to be determined on HBO PPV in the fall. It's certainly a marquee fight for Mora and one that I would make him the favorite in. Mosley turns 37 in September and he lost in his last fight out against Miguel Cotto. Mora said, "I can't make it all the way down to 147" so Shane will definitely have to come up to 154 in order to make the fight happen.

However, Mora is being pulled in a plethora of directions by competing factions. The WBC has ruled that Mora, if he is to keep his newly won title, must commence negotiations with new #1 Contender Sergio Martinez (see below) within 30 days. There is also the issue of Vernon Forrest wanting to excercise the immediate rematch clause that was in the contract with Mora.

But if the Mosley fight does indeed happen, I think that Mora is capable of beating Shane. I'll leave you with these words from hall of fame trainer Gil Clancy: "When a guy wins a title, he immediately becomes better by at least twenty-five percent."

At a youthful 27, "The Latin Snake" has shed his skin and is just now growing his true fangs.

Behind the Scenes


Showtime Championship Boxing commentator Al Bernstein is a professional through and through and has been calling the fights for over 25 years.

Watching Showtime broadcast partners Al Bernstein and Steve Albert interact with each other while off camera tells you that the two guys have developed into pretty good friends over the years. It's clear that both guys love what they do and they have fun doing it.

One of the members of Showtime's production crew yelled out "15 seconds" or some-such before they hit the air live on Saturday night. Albert got up close to the monitor, pointed at it and said to Bernstein, "Look, Al, that's you." And Al chuckled and replied, "Yeah, you're right, that's me, there I am." And then the show was on.

One of the many points that HBO should take some notes on is that any more than two guys calling a fight is a crowd. In my humble opinion, two voices are sufficient and even one will do. I've always said that the pairing of Tim Ryan and Gil Clancy was the best ever, but Albert and Bernstein are rapidly closing in on that dynamic duo. Both Albert and Bernstein are consummate pros who never have a "house" fighter they root for, nor do they cheer from their ringside seats. They are "just the facts man" type of guys who bring intelligence, calm and a sense of dignity to the fistic proceedings. I'd say they're far and away the best there is right now.

Talk About Leverage

Don't tell me that Gary Shaw doesn't have some serious juice when it comes to influence within the world of Showtime Boxing. Shaw is the President of Live Events and a Director at Elite Xtreme Combat, which of course is where the latest rage - Kimbo Slice - hangs his hat. The Elite XC show on May 31st featuring Kimbo pulled down huge ratings numbers for CBS when they televised their premier show and Showtime is in the same Viacom family as CBS. At the Mora-Forrest post fight presser I was watching and listening to Shaw at the front of the room, and then I spied Ken Hershman, Showtime’s Senior Vice President and GM for Sports and Event Programming seated quietly at the back of the room. It got me to thinking that Shaw's golden touch with how he has handled Elite XC must make him "King Midas" at Showtime. It's all about the ratings - and Shaw has delivered- to the tune of over six million. So don't tell me that if Shaw wanted to make a fight or get one of his fighters on Showtime that he'll encounter much resistance. I'd go so far as saying that right now at Showtime, Gary Shaw would get anything he damn well pleases.

The Other Sergio

On the non-televised undercard at the Mohegan Sun the other night there was another Sergio that put on a pretty good show. His name is Sergio Martinez, and with an impressive seventh round stoppage of Archak TerMeliksetian he moved into the #1 Contender slot to Sergio Mora's newly won WBC title. Martinez is from Madrid, Spain and has a record of 43-1-1 (23)KO's. He's not a big puncher but he's consistent and he has a great variety of punches. He's busy, has great footwork and seems to have lots of energy. Martinez has only ever lost to Antonio Margarito and that was eight years ago on the Morales vs. Barrera I undercard. At 5'11" tall, Martinez is a southpaw who has good looks and is a happy performer in the mode of Manny Pacquiao. The only real weakness I see is his defense, as he seems a little lackadaisical at what's coming back at him and he takes chances that he doesn't have to take. Martinez has that little hop in his step that reminds me of the young Roberto Duran and he really connected with the fans the other night as he stood on the apron of the ring after stopping "The Shark" and soaked up the adulation of the crowd. Lou DiBella, Martinez' promoter, was glowing and could be heard telling anybody that would listen, "That's my next world champion." Lou could be right.


June 2008

Management Traps and How to Avoid Them

Much has been written about the secrets of good management and few will argue that the best managers are inspired, visionary, dedicated, industrious, energetic, energizing and display integrity, leadership, common sense and courage. So where is it that managers commonly fail or falter and lose their precious foothold on the corporation's top rungs? The following, from the career experts ,i summarized of my learning from different company i used to work for and these are my guiding principles, are ten of the most basic management traps and tips to avoid them:

Weak managers set weak goals

As a manager your role is to get specific jobs completed by employees in the most optimal, efficient and innovative manner and in order to do that, you need to set clear objectives. Successful managers set SMART goals - goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-based. They are able to communicate these goals clearly, simply and concisely to their employees so that none are vague or uncertain about expectations. By all means reach for the stars in your objectives but to do so without supplying employees with the training, resources, flexibility and freedom they need to accomplish their goals and a schedule of regular supervision and feedback is to set them (and yourself) up for failure.


Weak managers micro-manage - effective leaders inspire

The days of command and control organizations are long over - today's managers recognize that in order to leverage their skills and maximize their team's output they need to adopt a flexible approach and 'lead' their teams to excellence rather than closely supervise, instruct and control them. The best leaders communicate to their employees a vision and ignite in them the fire, motivation and desire to work towards making this vision a reality. Good leaders unleash their employees to innovate and achieve optimal solutions by communicating top-level goals and objectives and a suggested blueprint for success then leaving the employees to determine how to get there most optimally while ensuring they have the aptitudes, training, resources and work environment necessary to achieve superior results. While a program of regular feedback and supervision is essential, managers should ensure that their management style is not repressive, meddling or overly overbearing. The golden rule is to communicate the 'what' and the 'why' of the work that needs to be done and leave the employees to determine the 'how' without burdening them with strict instruction manuals or prescribed rules and patterns that are largely redundant and inconducive to speed, creativity, progress and innovation.


Weak managers are afraid of hiring/cultivating strong leaders

Strong leaders/managers have the self-confidence to hire the best people, take them to new levels and cultivate in them all the qualities needed to make them in turn effective leaders of the future. Weak leaders replicate themselves in their hiring decisions and hire mediocre players, mistakenly believing that an employee with more skills, acumen or industry knowledge than themselves will ultimately undermine them or make them look bad. The best managers are characterized by an ability to stimulate their employees to superior performance and through coaching, training, feedback as well as by example, inspire in them all the qualities needed to make effective managers. A good manager helps employees achieve their full potential and constantly raises the bar so that employees never stop learning, innovating and growing. Coaching, training, career planning and programs for ongoing growth and development of key staff are high on the priority lists of the best managers.


Weak managers belittle their employees

Bosses who favour the archaic 'tough' management style where employees are singled out for public reprimand and negative feedback is plentiful while recognition and positive reinforcement are scarce will fail to win the loyalty, respect and commitment of their teams over the long run. Without an inspired, fired up, self-confident employee base these managers set themselves and their teams up for failure. Effective leaders by contrast, respect their employees and give them regular feedback with intelligent constructive criticism and loudly laud special accomplishments in both public and private, while communicating any negative feedback ONLY in private and focusing such criticism strictly on the job performance, not the person's character. Strong leaders recognize and reward a job well done. These leaders inspire their teams to perform at their best and are able to elicit from them a high degree of loyalty and a 'hunger' to raise the bar and continuously excel. In such organisations, employees are not afraid to challenge their boss's ideas or upset the status quo in the interest of innovation and excellence and are encouraged to take risks to elevate the business to a new level. The autocrats and bureaucrats on the other hand sap their employees' self-confidence, drive and energy with their overbearing management style and fail to induce in them any motivation to raise the bar or excel.


Weak managers have obsolete skills-strong leaders constantly reinvent themselves

In today's knowledge-driven economies and highly competitive environment, skills, training and education rapidly become obsolete and effective managers know that they must constantly re-educate themselves and update their skills to maintain an edge. While over-confident managers with an inertia to further education fall by the wayside, good managers regularly take an honest inventory of their skills and abilities and upgrade their technical knowledge and soft skills wherever appropriate. They encourage their teams to do likewise with sound career planning and performance appraisal programs and an emphasis on training and self-education.


Weak managers have poor communication skills

Good communication includes cultivating and maintaining open channels of communication with the team and others in the organisation, giving constructive, intelligent feedback, eliciting ideas through brainstorming sessions or otherwise, articulating the company vision and mission in no uncertain terms, setting clear objectives and listening attentively with an open-mind to employees grievances, suggestions and any other issues. Effective leaders have an open-door policy that welcomes input, suggestions and feedback from employees and recognize that good ideas and the next best idea/process/innovation can come from anywhere. Strong leaders listen; weak leaders talk. Strong leaders pay attention to their employees and encourage them to express professional opinions and ask for more responsibility; weak leaders think they are above such open-door policies. Employees who are not listened to and are not made to feel important or respected as professionals or individuals are unlikely to innovate or express any exciting new ideas that can move a company forward.


Weak managers blame

Everybody makes mistakes and strong leaders protect their good people from taking the fall when they err. Good bosses recognize that the occasional slip-ups are inevitable and can be learning opportunities and are ready to take personal responsibility when the team makes a misstep. A good boss realizes that his most promising employees want to succeed, will grow as a result of their mistakes and are unlikely to repeat the same mistakes. They do no set their people up as a negative example for the rest of the organization nor point fingers when the going gets tough. Good bosses are personably accountable for their actions as well as the actions of their subordinates and do not allow a culture of blame to permeate the organisation.


Weak managers take full credit for their team's accomplishments

While weak leaders usurp all the credit for a job well done by their teams, the strongest leaders will give the full credit to the team as a whole or the team member responsible for the project. Strong leaders motivate, energize and inspire by giving credit where credit is due and being generous with reward and recognition wherever appropriate. Strong leaders publicly thank their employees for a job well done and recognize that a motivated, successful, energized team will reflect directly on the boss.

Weak managers thrive on bureaucracy

Weak leaders are fond of, augment and live well with the layers and bureaucratic shackles that tie an organisation down; strong leaders remove them. Today's effective leaders recognize that in order to compete they must operate like a small company with a high level of speed, responsiveness and flexibility. They realize that to maintain their edge in today's marketplace their organization needs to be responsive to changing market conditions and remove the shackles, boundaries, layers, clutter and obsolete policies, procedures and routines that get in the way of the freedom and free flow of people, resources and ideas.

Weak managers are divorced from their teams

Effective managers genuinely care about their employees and take the time to get to know them and to understand their strengths, weaknesses, what makes them tick and their goals and ambitions. They also take the time to learn something about their personal life. While weak managers will maintain an outdated aloofness and a formal distance from their teams, exceptional managers are able to bring out the best in every employee and win their loyalty and respect by understanding their unique needs, motivations and abilities and showing the team that they are important and personally significant. Strong managers are team players and through their constant involvement with their teams communicate to them that they are there for them and supportive of them. Effective managers by building a supportive work environment, build a camaraderie and team spirit that enthuses and excites the team to new levels of performance.

Page last updated at 09:09 GMT, Thursday, 19 June 2008 10:09 UK E-mail this to a friend Printable version Firefox claims download success Firefox fans held parties around the world to mark download day Mozilla is claiming a download record for the release of Firefox 3.0. In the first 24 hours the web browser was available the software was downloaded more than eight million times, says its creator Mozilla. Statistics from the download servers are being scrutinised to produce an official figure that will be passed to the Guinness World Record organisation. Big figures The attempt to set the download record was scheduled to begin at 1300 PST (2000 GMT) on 17 June. However, the record attempt was almost wrecked from the start as the servers handling the downloads collapsed under the weight of visitors checking to see if new version was available. Once the servers were up and functioning normally the record attempt began. At their busiest the servers were handling more than 9,000 downloads per minute. Within five hours the number of downloads for Version 3.0 exceeded the 1.6 million set by Firefox 2.0 in October 2006. In total Firefox 3.0 was downloaded 8.3 million times over the 24 hour record setting period. The figure beats the five million Mozilla predicted before the day. Logs from the download servers have been handed to the Open Source Labs at Oregon State University for auditing. The scrutiny will ensure duplicate and unfinished downloads are not counted. The verification process could take a week to complete. The surge of interest in Firefox 3.0 has continued and Mozilla has reported that the software has now been downloaded more than 10 million times.

New FIREFOX 3

At last "nadito na ang bagong" update ng firefox..i presently using it`s candidate 3 version and work well and fast with added security features..The best there is web browser to date..


The new version of the Firefox Web browser became available as a free download Tuesday June 17,2008.

The release was delayed as visitors checking for the update overloaded Firefox's Web servers. The site was slow or unreachable for about two hours starting about 12:45 p.m. Eastern time, 15 minutes before the scheduled release time, according to AlertSite, an Internet performance monitoring company. Performance improved later in the day.

Firefox supporters organized launch parties around the world as they tried to set a world record for most software downloads in a 24-hour period.

The category is new, and Guinness World Records must certify it, a process that could take a week or longer.

Firefox comes from Mozilla, an open-source community in which thousands of people, mostly volunteers, collectively develop free products. Firefox is the No. 2 Web browser behind Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer.

Firefox 3 includes enhancements to help users organize their frequently visited Web sites and block access to sites known to distribute viruses and other malicious software.

Users of Yahoo Inc.'s mail service can also use Firefox 3 to send e-mail by clicking a "mailto" link they might come across clicking on a name or a "contact us" link on a Web page. Previously such links could only open a standalone, desktop e-mail program.

Firefox 3 also offers other design and speed improvements.

Here are some features..paki check na lang nyo..

The Safest Web Browser

Firefox keeps your personal info personal and your online interests away from the bad guys.

• Products / Firefox

• Features
• Security
• Customization
• 100% Organic Software
• Tips & Tricks
• Release Notes
• Other Systems and Languages

So How Do We Do It?

What makes Firefox different? Most importantly, we’re open. That means anyone around the world (and we have thousands of experts watching our back) is able to look into our code and find any potential weak spots in our armor.

And when we hear about a problem, we roll up our sleeves and get to work fixing it right away. It’s in your best interest (and ours) to take care of the issue, even if it means admitting we’re a little less than perfect.

Simply put, your security is our top priority.

There’s a Method to Our Madness.

Nobody loves the Internet more than we do. But, scammers, spammers and trigger-happy viruses are true threats, so you need to protect yourself while using the Web.

That’s Where Firefox Comes In.

Using it is the safest way to surf the web because:

• We don’t try to tackle the problem alone. An international community of security experts is working around the clock to make your web browsing safer (thanks to our open source way of doing things). It’s like having your neighborhood watch led by a group of highly trained ninjas.
• We consider your security every step of the way. Security experts work right from the start to identify and address potential problems before a single line of code is written.
• We stay on top of the issue. We’re constantly monitoring threats and releasing new Firefox updates to stay one step ahead. Operating in an open source world means anyone can help us find and fix our weak spots.

For more details on how Firefox keeps you safe online, visit our security blog.

His Classroom is the Ring

'Coach' Al Mitchell knows who is number one as his top student, Vernon "The Viper" Forrest wins another fight with Mitchell at his side.

Uncasville, Conn. - To watch Al Mitchell in a fighter’s corner is to see a teacher at work in a classroom where he always seems able to get the point of his lesson across.

Tonight at the Mohegan Sun Casino, Mitchell will again be instructing a star pupil on the lessons of the fight game, as his charge, WBC Super Welterweight titlist Vernon ’The Viper’ Forrest, defends his belt against Sergio ‘The Latin Snake’ Mora.

It seems like Forrest and Mitchell were just here. Six months ago, on a cold and blustery December night in another mega-casino just a few miles through the wilds of the Connecticut woods, Forrest, in the first defense of his title, knocked out Italian challenger Michele Piccirillo in the 11th round.

In between the roar of the crowd on that night, you could hear, if you listened closely, the calm and reassuring voice of a bespectacled, moustached, little man watching intently from behind the ring post in Forrest’s corner.

“Touch him, son…just touch him. That’s it…there you go. O.K., now son. Use the jab, don’t forget about your jab. That’s it, that’s it…just like we worked on in the gym.”

It’s that calm demeanor and easy, caring nature that has caused the fighters Al Mitchell has worked with over all of the years to look up to him the way they do. They simply call him “Coach” as though he were a lovable high school phys. ed. teacher and to the boxers that he mentors, Mitchell is a man that wears many hats; he's one part trainer, one part father figure and one part guidance counselor.

“The thing that I try and teach is balance,” says the 61 year-old Mitchell. And by balance he doesn't mean being able to hook off the jab without falling down. He means balance in life and that boxing is only one small aspect of who a person is and that there has to be more to life than just boxing in order for it to be worthwhile.

So while Mitchell's focus is on making his fighters the best they can be inside the ring, much of his effort is also spent on making them a more educated and well-rounded person outside the ropes.

“People have a negative idea about boxing that it's a poor man’s sport," he says. "People think that only fools or dumb kids do it just to find a way to live. What people don’t know is that about ninety percent of the people that are in boxing are in it because they love it.”

And Al Mitchell clearly loves boxing.

How else would you explain why he's been imparting his wisdom on impressionable minds for the past 43 years? He’s been instructing young students on the nuances of the fight game since he was an eighteen year old kid himself. After going 43-1 as an amateur bantamweight in the 1960‘s, Mitchell hung up his gloves for good and began his improbable journey as a teacher.

A native of the rough streets of North Philadelphia, Mitchell used to train in the same gym right alongside “Smokin’” Joe Frazier and “Gypsy” Joe Harris. He later became a shopkeeper who ran a small variety store across the street from the recreation center where he trained boxers.

One night ended up changing his life forever when he was beaten up and robbed while leaving his store. As a result of the attack he spent nearly a week in the hospital in a coma. Not long after that, in 1984, Mitchell decided to get out of the retail business and take up a safer vocation.

In 1989 he landed the position for which he is most well-known when he became the head coach of the boxing program at the United States Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan University in Marquette. He would later become the head trainer of the 1996 U.S Olympic boxing team and the technical adviser for the 2004 Olympic Team.

He has traveled the world to train the nation’s best young amateur talent and has worked with almost 100 national champions. 1996 gold medalist David Reid was one of his creations and he also coached two Olympic bronze medal winners. Mitchell has been producing top flight fighters for decades and his first professional world titlist was Charlie “Choo Choo” Brown who held the IBF lightweight belt for two and a half months back in 1984 when he won a 15-round split decision over Melvin Paul.

But it’s Vernon Forrest whom Mitchell has helped develop since he was an amateur and it’s Forrest that he has a special bond with and it’s Forrest who is the shining star of an example of what Al Mitchell can really do with a willing student. The two of them have been together in one form or another for almost two decades and it was Forrest who actually convinced Mitchell to move from Philadelphia to Michigan to accept the USOEC job. The pair have come full circle in the boxing game as Forrest was the first Olympian to come out of Mitchell’s amateur program.


Forrest (left) and Mitchell (right) are pictured together with an unidentified man at an amateur boxing event last summer.

“Vernon was the first guy that I trained in the program in Michigan,” says Mitchell. “The thing I always admired about Vernon is that he always outworked the other guys. Vernon never got anything easy, and he never gave up inside or other side of the ring. That’s the most important thing to me and that's the sign of a true champion.”

Forrest turned pro 16 years ago, a skinny 21 year-old kid on a Las Vegas card that was headlined by Orlin Norris. After a long time on the back burner of the pro game Forrest had his breakout fight in 2002 when he beat Shane Mosley nearly senseless in the basement of Madison Square Garden on a New York City Saturday night. It was one of Mitchell’s proudest moments as a trainer.

“A lot of people didn’t look at at Vernon's resumé going into the first Mosley fight,” said Mitchell. “I was with Vernon when he beat Shane to make the Olympic team and Vernon handled him easily. I looked at the odds and couldn't believe it. Vernon’s resumé was very close to Shane's with the exception of the big championship fights that Shane got the chance to fight in. Vernon’s a very smart fighter. Usually in a fight I'll say that a fighter sticks to a solid fight plan about sixty-five to seventy percent of the time, but I'd say against Shane he stuck to about ninety percent of the fight plan.”

Over the years, Forrest has built a career that is hall of fame bound and along the way he has become a multi-millionaire and has won world championships in two weight divisions.

When the 37 year-old Forrest climbs up the stairs and steps through the ropes against Mora on Saturday night, Al Mitchell will be right there behind him with a steady hand on his shoulder - just like he's always been.

And even though the boxing program at NMU was eliminated earlier this year due to budget cuts, Mitchell is still "Coach" to a group of young men that look to him for the direction and calming influence that he provides. A day after leaving NMU, Mitchell became the Director of the Marquette Boxing Academy at Ringside Fitness where he works alongside another of his star pupils, David Reid. The same David Reid that Mitchell took from being a truant peddling drugs on the streets of North Philadelphia to becoming an Olympic gold medal winner and professional world champion.

So on Saturday night at the Mohegan Sun, if you listen closely, you’ll hear his voice cutting through the roar of the crowd. Al Mitchell will be watching Vernon Forrest intently from behind the ring post.

“Touch him, son…just touch him. That’s it…there you go. O.K., now son. Use the jab, don’t forget about your jab. That’s it, that’s it…just like we worked on in the gym.”

"Coach" Mitchell's class will be in session.


June 2008

The Vanishing American

A disturbing trend is taking place within in the world of boxing - American fighters are vanishing.

The U.S.A. was once the center of the boxing universe when it came to talent and American born fighters were once the best on the planet. But over the past 25 years the top fighters in the world, and those that hold the titles, are from elsewhere.

And it's a particularly sad state of affairs for the heavyweights whom were once known as the 'glamor' division of the sport. In recent years, American born heavyweights have sunk like a rusty anchor to the depths of a murky sea, perhaps never to be resurrected.

Consider this from exactly 25 years ago: The August 1983 issue of KO Magazine (which covered everything that happened up until the end of April) rated 10 heavyweights, including Larry Holmes who was the WBC champion and Michael Dokes who held the WBA title. The world had not yet heard of the IBF and WBO. 8 of those 10 rated heavyweights were American born with only Trevor Berbick and Gerrie Coetzee being the foreigners of the bunch.

Fast forward two and a half decades to the August 2008 issue of The Ring Magazine ratings and only 2 of the top 10 rated heavyweights are American born - #9 rated Tony Thompson who will face IBF and WBO titlist Wladimir Klitschko on July 12th in Germany and #10 rated Johnny Ruiz whose career is in its certain twilight.

The names of today's top rated heavyweights read like a consonant festival gone awry. Where contenders such as Gerry Cooney, Tim Witherspoon, Greg Page and Mike Weaver once resided have been replaced with tongue twisters that even a lesson of 'hooked-on-phonics' couldn't help you pronounce; Wladimir Klitschko, Ruslan Chagaev, Nicolay Valuev, Alexander Povetkin, Sultan Ibragimov, Oleg Maskaev and Vladimir Virchis.

So in the heavyweight division, where only 25 years ago Americans once had a firm grasp on the title belts and most of the top rankings, have now been reduced to just two fighters in the top 10. And those two ranked fighters are barely hanging on by the threads of their thumbless gloves.


Wladimir Klitschko (left) and Sultan Ibragimov faced each other for the IBF and WBO heavyweight title belts in a fight that was anything but.

But what is even more disturbing is the fact that American fighters are becoming an endangered species in all of boxing - not just the heavyweight division.

Using the same August 1983 issue of KO Magazine and the August 2008 issue of The Ring leads to some startling realizations.

The 1983 KO Magazine rated 120 fighters in 12 divisions. The magazine ignored the Cruiserweights, the Super Middleweights weren't yet dreamed of, and they skipped over the Jr. Bantamweights, Jr. Flyweights and Strawweights. Whatever the case, of the 120 fighters that KO rated, 66 were American or 55% of the overall total - so just over half of all the fighters were American.

The most recent issue of The Ring has 17 weight divisions ranked with some divisions having 11 fighters listed due to the The Ring having their own 'champion' designated in 8 of the divisions. (Joe Calzaghe is The Ring's champ of the 168 and 175 pound divisions). Of the 180 names that fill those ratings, a measly 36 are American born - or an astoundingly low 20% of the overall total which represents a drop of 35% in the past 25 years.

And the picture is no brighter when it comes to Americans that hold world titles.

In the 1983 KO, 15 of the 22 filled titles were held by U.S. born fighters. In other words, nearly 70% of all the available world titles from the WBA and WBC were held by Americans.

Looking at today's title picture, there are 68 world titles available from the WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF, which makes it possible for many more fighters (and Americans) to have the opportunity to become a world titlist or a belt holder.

But of the 68 title belts that are currently up for grabs - only 16 are held by Americans - or an anemic 23.5% of the overall total. Astonishingly enough, the only division where Americans have a clean sweep of the titles is at 135 pounds where 3 of the 4 belts are held by Florida's Nate Campbell and the other is held by Chicago born David Diaz.


Florida's Nate Campbell holds 3 of the 4 alphabet-soup title belts in the Lightweight division.


No American born fighter holds a title in the six weight divisions between 105 and 122 pounds and in those six weight divisions - only one American born fighter is even rated by The Ring Magazine in the top 10 - and that's Jose Navarro who is barely hanging onto the #7 spot at 115 pounds after losing all four shots he's had at world title belts.

So what's to blame for the dearth of fighters in the U.S.A.?

Certainly much of it is the changing socio-economic patterns of the United States and the fact that talented young athletes have many more options to make big money in sports aside from boxing.

Today, kids who once may have gravitated to boxing, instead idolize major league sports stars and muliti-millionaries like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Terrell Owens, Derek Jeter or even Tiger Woods. And the bottom line is that most kids, given the choice, will opt to make their fortunes in team sports (along with big endorsement deals) that don't ever require getting punched in the head.

Consider that in 1973, NFL players who played in the Superbowl, well established stars like Jake Scott, Paul Warfield, Dick Anderson and 'Mercury' Morris made in the neighborhood of $30,000 to $55,000 a year. The average NFL salary in 1973 was $28,500. The average salary in Major League Baseball at the time was $33,500, the National Hockey League was $52,500 and the NBA was $92,500. Certainly great money for the time, but not astronomical figures.

But in 1971, Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier fought in front of a worldwide audience in 'The Fight of the Century' and both fighters were paid $2.5 million dollars. Those dollar amounts were intoxicatingly huge numbers at the time and young, impressionable, inner-city kids who were looking to fight their way out of the ghetto, suddenly had two and a half million reasons to lace up a pair of boxing gloves and shoot for stars. As a result, enormously well-known fighters like Ali and later on 'Sugar' Ray Leonard and to some extent Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield all helped to keep boxing as part of the mainstream and they motivated and attracted younger talent to boxing gyms for well over two generations.


Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier met at Madison Square Garden in New York City on March 8, 1971. The entire world was enthralled with "The Fight of the Century" and the men became household names, linked forever to each other.

In decades past, amateur boxing also had many more participants and it served as a feeder to American professional boxing. Consider that Americans won five gold medals in the 1976 Montreal Olympics and seven gold medals in the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. Floyd Patterson (1952), Muhamamd Ali (1960), Joe Frazier (1964) and George Foreman (1968) were all gold medal winners and all went on to win the heavyweight championship and then fight each other in some of the most significant bouts in all of boxing history. Most of the medal winners from the 1976 and 1984 Olympics later became professional world champions and some of them became the biggest stars and moneymakers the world of professional boxing has ever known.

But in America, the amateur game has virtually dried up. In the 16 years since 1992, when Oscar De La Hoya won gold in Barcelona, Spain only David Reid in 1996 and Andre Ward in 2004 have managed to win a boxing gold medal. Thin talent in the American amateur game has translated into the same lack of top talent and bankable stars in the pro ranks.

Don King aka 'The World's Greatest Promoter' has been forced to take his show on the road and he's more likely to be seen huckstering in Germany at the Hippodrome than he is to be inside Madison Square Garden or the MGM Grand. King made a career out of following the heavyweights, but since there are virtually no top-rated American heavyweights anymore Don has to go east to keep his bejeweled fingers on the pulse of the big boys.

So in 2008, boxing has truly gone global.

It used to be that Philadelphia, home of the Liberty Bell, The Blue Horizon, the fictional Rocky Balboa and the real-life Joe Frazier was the most famous boxing city in all the world. A fighter that came from Philly had a reputation that preceded him and the stories of the 'Philly-gym wars' were legendary tales. Boxing was so popular in Philadelphia that it was once said "Even the bums in Philly know how to hook off the jab."

But in this world as we know it now, you're as likely to find a poor chap in Poland, a hungry guy from Hungary or a feisty Filipino that can hook of the jab (and maybe even fire an uppercut) as well as that bum in Philly ever could.


June 2008

Rapidshare downloads using proxy

I knew a lot of us here use Rapidshare to download and share a lot of stuff. It’s quite annoying when we were unable to download for a certain period after downloading a big file. What are going to be shared to day is how to download from Rapidshare using proxy so that you won’t have to face the 1 hour limitation problem again.

The programs that we need are a browser with ability to use proxy. I use Slimbrowser for two reasons:

• I don’t want to delete my Firefox or IE cache and cookies files
• It’s very lite and not a resource hogger

Steps/ How To:

• Download the browser from this location. Install it.
• Get a proxy list here. This trick requires the usage of proxy server to work. So don’t skip this step. Grab one proxy or more!
• This is how you are going to setup your proxy:

Click Tools > Proxies > Organize Proxies

2) In the Name field, enter something to identify your proxy, for example, Brazil #1

3) In the first address field, enter the proxy address you got from Proxy4Free, for example, 200.162.195.62

4) In the second address field, enter the proxy port, for example, 3128

5) If you want to set the entered proxy as the default proxy, then click the Set As Current Proxy button

6) Click OK to close the dialog box * If you want to add more proxies, repeat the steps above again and again.

After you have setup the proxy, copy and paste the Rapidshare download link to your browsers’ address bar, and wait for the Rapidshare page to launch.

In Rapidshare website, do the followings:

• Press enter and scoll down to bottom and click the FREE button
• Wait until the counter reaches zero or use any auto-reveal-link-utility - Copy paste the download link into your favorite download manager, for example, Flashget - Download the file happily

Troubleshooting

• Note that if Rapidshare gives you error like this;
• This IP is not allowed to use free anonymous services..or Your IP, xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is downloading a file…
• It’s time to use another proxy!!! In Slimbrowser, go to menu, Tools > Proxies and select another proxy you already entered before

After downloading a file, don’t forget to clear your trace!

• In Slimbrowser go to menu Tools > Internet Options to open the Internet Options applet.
• Click both Delete Cookies and Delete Files button to wipe out all references to Rapidshare.
• If you need to download more files, repeat all steps from 1 to 6, and hopefully you’ll be happier than ever.

Tips:

• Do not choose proxy with port 80
• Avoid choosing proxies addresses beginning with 195 because some of them are slow.

Is download.com & softpedia.com safe?

Today I searched my own blog address in Google to view websites which have linked to it. To my surprise, from the result pages I found someone has scanned my site with McAfee SiteAdvisor for potential spyware or other potentially unwanted programs, not quite the search result I expected I’d say.

The security report stated that mine was safe from threats (of course it should be, i have no downloadable executable files per see) .

So out of curiousity I checked out other website scanning report, such as download.com we all visit. Oddly, there are some programs offered to be download at download.com reported to contain viruses and spyware which were detected by the site advisor. Wow! software downloads at download.com are not safe?

The similar result received by softpedia.com which claim to be free from threats for their software downloads.

Always make sure you know what you are downloading from these sites, otherwise it would be a problem in your side..