Will Rosinsky has had an exciting career thus far, both in and out of the ring. The 27 year old, Queens native has had back to back tough bouts, one with former World Champion Kelly Pavlik, and the other, Hurricane Sandy. The FDNY EMT saw firsthand the devastation and destruction that a major natural disaster can impose on a community, especially a community as big as the New York City area. A crushing blow to the place he has called his home for his whole life, can make the disappointments in the ring, seem minuscule in comparison.

“To see firsthand just what these people were going through days after was truly tragic. As with many of us in the tri-state area, there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about the effects this horrible storm had on so many people.” Rosinsky said about the experience.

But that is exactly what is going to make the upcoming edition of DiBella Entertainment’s “Broadway Boxing” series, that much more special. Not only will Rosinsky get the opportunity to bounce back from the hard fought bought with Pavlik, but it comes with a cause. All proceeds from the night will go to benefit the relief efforts from Hurricane Sandy.

Will “Power” Rosinsky impressed a lot of the boxing community in the Pavlik fight, taking the fight on short notice, and then taking it to Pavlik right out of the gate, landing the cleaner and more effective shots in the first, it was clear that he wouldn’t be a pushover for Pavlik, on his comeback trail. Trading shots in the second round with the former Ring Magazine Champion, a hard chopping right caught Rosinsky, and put him on the canvas.

Quickly he rose and throughout the rest of the bout, Rosinsky and Pavlik strategically traded shots and styles it seemed. Some rounds Pavlik seemed to be controlling the action with his jab, but then it would be Rosinsky breaking through with combinations that would end with crisp power shots, and vice-versa. In the latter stages of the fight though, it may have been the short notice of the fight, and Pavlik’s championship experience that did Rosinsky in, as Pavlik seemed to pull away in the final two rounds, clinching the unanimous decision. Although clearly an upset against a world class fighter like Kelly Pavlik would have been ideal. The experience, with a fighter like that had to bring some sort of consolation to him.

This Wednesday, Rosinsky (16-2, 9KO) will square off against Otis Griffin (24-10, 10KO) a game 35 year old, who has terrific experience in the ring, against the likes of Yusef Mack, Jeff Lacy, and Danny Green. A fight that he most certainly will not take lightly, as it is the chance to get on another roll, and possibly get another Pavlik type fight in the future. And the extra motivation to shine in an evening dedicated to doing what Rosinsky does best, giving back.

DiBella Entertainment’s latest installment of the “Broadway Boxing” series will take place at the Roseland Ballroom, in New York City, this Wednesday, December 19th. As well as the proceeds from the fight going to Hurricane Sandy relief, Lou DiBella will also be having a silent auction throughout the night, featuring items from his personal collection Tickets are currently on sale and can be purchased through Ticketmaster by calling (800) 745-3000, or by calling the DiBella Entertainment office at (212) 947-2577. Tickets are priced at $125, $85, $65 and $45. Doors open at 6 p.m. ET with the first bout scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

Personal accountability is the only way out of the deepening PED swamp. Nonito Donaire understands that. Few do.

Donaire was proactive in addressing suspicions he knew would be there when he hired Victor Conte, the BALCO founder who spent four years in prison for his role in the scheme to distribute performance enhancers to Olympic medalists and major leaguers who rewrote baseball’s home-run records. Donaire took the test, takes the test, whenever and wherever.

It’s unfortunate that Juan Manuel Marquez didn’t follow Donaire’s lead. If Marquez had, there wouldn’t be all of those messy questions attached to his dramatic victory last Saturday over Manny Pacquiao at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand. Marquez’ home-run shot in the sixth round knocked out Pacquiao, but none of the PED garbage.

Not taking an Olympic-style test these days is the equivalent of taking the fifth. It’s just another way of saying you don’t want to incriminate yourself.

Marquez likes to call himself an intelligent fighter. But he didn’t think things through when he first hired Angel Heredia, a former Conte associate, and then added muscle to a middle-aged body that Heredia christened “The Hulk.” Heredia and Conte will be in opposite corners Saturday night at Houston’s Toyota Center. Heredia works for Jorge Arce, who fights Donaire for the super-bantamweight title.

Heredia, like Conte, is bound to stir up suspicions. Before his upset of Pacquiao, Marquez said he was willing to undergo testing considered more thorough and rigorous than the procedure administered by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Saying it, however, isn’t doing it.

Marquez didn’t.

Instead, he underwent Nevada tests that many believe are easy to circumvent. The Nevada tests will come up clean, Marquez said. It would be a huge upset if they didn’t. In the court of public opinion, however, the negative result won’t allay the suspicions.

During the last year, we have heard testimony and watched news reports of how Lance Armstrong beat the system in international cycling for years. Armstrong always denied doping. He still does. But few believe him. That public skepticism has spread to every fighter who won’t step up and undergo state-of-the-art testing not required by state regulators.

Heredia’s well-documented role with BALCO includes grand-jury testimony in which he says he supplied Olympic track-and-field medalist Marion Jones with performance enhancers. Jones, a woman and the only athlete sentenced to jail in the BALCO scandal, never tested positive. She always denied the allegations. In the end, she was convicted on a perjury charge.

I want to believe Marquez and so do many of my friends. I respect him, his poise and ability to think through a tough fight. Marquez’ physical transformation, Heredia says, is about “science.’’ Maybe so. But wasn’t Frankenstein science fiction?

It’s the fiction part that bothers me. Only updated testing can make it real and that’s a process that starts with the kind of accountability practiced by Donaire.

LOS ANGELES (Dec. 13, 2012) – Golden Boy Promotions hosted the final press conference Wednesday for the unprecedented day-night boxing doubleheader that will take place this Saturday, Dec. 15, live on CBS Television Network (first fight 4:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. PT), SHOWTIME EXTREME® (9:00 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) and SHOWTIME® (10:30 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) from The Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.

In the main event on CBS, undefeated IBF Bantamweight World Champion Leo Santa Cruz (22-0-1, 13 KO’s), of Los Angeles, will defend his title against unbeaten Alberto Guevara (16-0, 6 KO’s) of San Diego, Calif., while talented 2012 U.S. Olympian Joseph “Jo-Jo” Diaz, of South El Monte, Calif., will make his pro debut against Vicente Alfaro (5-2, 1 KO), of Northfield, Minn., in the opening bout.

Following the 90-minute broadcast on CBS, its first boxing event since Bernard Hopkins knocked out Glen Johnson in the 11th round on Jan. 20, 1997, there will be a 10-round fight on SHOWTIME EXTREME between undefeated welterweight Shawn “Showtime” Porter (20-0, 14 KO’s), of Cleveland, Ohio, against surging former World Champion Julio Diaz (40-7, 29 KO’s), of Indio, Calif.

The fistic action concludes with a tripleheader on SHOWTIME that features the return to the ring of former Unified Super Lightweight World Champion and British superstar Amir “King” Khan (26-3, 18 KO’s), of Bolton, England, who faces unbeaten Carlos Molina (17-0-1, 7 KO’s), of Los Angeles in a 12-rounder for the vacant WBC Silver Super Lightweight Championship.

In co-featured 10-round bouts on SHOWTIME, hard-hitting 2008 Olympic Bronze Medalist Deontay “Bronze Bomber” Wilder (25-0, 25 KO’s), of Tuscaloosa, Ala., takes on Kelvin Price (13-0, 6 KO’s), of Pensacola, Fla., in a collision of 6-foot-7 unbeatens for the vacant WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Championship and Alfredo “Perro” Angulo (21-2, 18 KO’s), of Los Angeles, battles Jorge Silva (18-2-2, 14 KO’s), of Chula Vista, Calif., in a junior middleweight match.

The evening event will also be televised live on Sky Sports 1HD in the United Kingdom at 2:00 a.m. GMT on Sunday, December 16.

(More event details to follow quotes.)

Below please see quotes from Wednesday’s press conference at the JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. Live:

OSCAR DE LA HOYA, President of Golden Boy Promotions

“We’re so happy at Golden Boy Promotions to be bringing you this amazing day and night of boxing. We consider this our giving back show because this is really about all of our fans and supporters.

“With every fight week event we are having toy drives and I am going to purchase some toys myself. We anticipate when all is said and done we will be giving toys to so many kids and families in need, making their Christmas and holidays that much better.

“We appreciate the public coming out and donating toys so far and we want them to know that they can still show up tomorrow at the Golden Boy building in downtown Los Angeles and at the weigh-in on Friday. For every toy they give, they get a pair of tickets to the fight on Saturday night.

“We are really here to talk about the fights and the fact that boxing is back on network television, live on CBS. Thank you Stephen Espinoza and SHOWTIME for their hard work and the efforts they made to make this happen. The more boxing on network television, the more people will see it and the more boxing will grow. We are very excited about this development and we look forward to more boxing shows like this. The great exposure this show is going to get on Saturday on afternoon network television is going to be phenomenal.

“Everyone needs to go to their twitters and tweet ‘boxing is back on network television.’

“So this is our way of saying Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone. I thank the fighters for helping us do this too.”

STEPHEN ESPINOZA, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports

“Golden Boy Promotions and SHOWTIME have worked extremely hard to put together this very special grand finale event for 2012. It starts at 1:30 (PT) on CBS and goes all the way through to the main event on SHOWTIME with one of boxing’s most exciting fighters, Amir Khan, facing Carlos Molina.

“We have a full day and night of entertaining fights. Every fight is meaningful and every fighter has a story.

“We are very excited.’’

AMIR KHAN, Former Unified Super Lightweight World Champion

“Training camp was brilliant. My new trainer, Virgil Hunter, has worked on a lot of the mistakes I used to make. We’ve solved all that.

“I’ve been training twice as hard as I did before and I can’t wait to get back in the ring.

“L.A. is like a second home to me because I used to train here, but the Bay Area feels like home now.

“It’s always tough when you fight someone on his home turf — you have to fight that much harder, but I’m going to be in great condition. I’m going to be a smart, tough fighter and hopefully, before long, we’ll be back on the top again.

“The next 12 months will probably be the best of my life because the last 12 were probably the worst.

“I’ve changed. Since I came to Virgil, I see a big change already. No one told me to change, I did it myself.

“If something goes wrong I have to point the finger at me. It’s my problem, my mistake.

“Watching the (Danny) Garcia fight, it seemed like I was getting bored in there. Now I have Virgil telling me to stick to my game plan, to focus and to execute the plan. I’ve changed a lot of different things to get back to the top.”

VIRGIL HUNTER, Khan’s Trainer

“I think the best thing is that we’ve stuck to critiquing him from when he began training with me. I’m happy with the progress he’s made. I think he’s accomplished a lot.

“He doesn’t have to be taught much. He already possesses what it takes to be a great champion. He just let a few things get away. We have to fight on our own instincts and be disciplined and keep to the plan.

“It’s been a positive union between Alfredo (Angulo) and Amir. Alfredo is a straight pressure fighter, which helps Amir learn how to handle the pressure at the highest level. They feed off each other and the union has been great.”

CARLOS MOLINA, Undefeated Super Lightweight Contender

“I’m getting really antsy. I’ve waited for a fight like this my whole life. But the closer we come to Saturday the better I feel. I’m glad we’re just a few days away.

“Just by signing for this fight, I’ve received more exposure than I ever have, and after Saturday I will have an even greater fan base.

“I’m very confident I will remain unbeaten. There is no pressure. I’ve put in the work in the gym and Saturday I will perform. People say I have nothing to lose in this fight, but they’re wrong. Everybody has something to lose at some point.’’

DEONTAY WILDER, Undefeated Heavyweight Prospect & 2008 Olympic Silver Medalist

Breaks out in song …“I am going to whip somebody, I am going to whip somebody. I can’t wait for Saturday night to hit someone in the face!

“I am excited to have a great show. Anyone who knows me and sees me when I’m in the ring knows that I mean business.

“I worked hard to be the best and sacrificed a lot to do it. Now the moment is finally here and I can’t let this moment pass we by.

“I don’t like to lose. No one likes to lose. I don’t plan on losing Saturday night either.”

KELVIN PRICE, Undefeated Heavyweight Prospect

“I am grateful to have the chance to fight against Deontay Wilder on SHOWTIME. I’m prepared and plan to go out and put on a great show for everyone in the arena and those watching on television.

“This is a chance for us to show what American heavyweights are made of now. I plan to do that and I am sure Deontay will too.”

ALFREDO ANGULO, Junior Middleweight Contender

“I am so ready to fight. I know I have a good fighter in front of me in Jorge Silva, but I am prepared and ready to fight. A Mexican fighter means you are going against a hard fighter.

“I’m so happy to be back in the ring so soon after my last fight and fighting often is what keeps me in great shape. It feels good to be fighting after my long layoff and I know it is going to be a great fight.

“It’s going to be a great fight, so don’t miss it.”

(De La Hoya — “Alfredo is an ambassador for our sport as he is involved with ‘Locks for Love’ and once his hair is long enough, he will cut it and donate it to the charity. They make wigs for kids with cancer who have lost their hair from their treatment.”)

JORGE SILVA, Junior Middleweight Contender

“I’m so happy to be here and look forward to fighting Alfredo Angulo. I think it’s going to be a really tough fight. I’ve trained very hard and I know I am prepared to do what it takes to beat Alfredo. He is a tough fighter and happy to be back in the ring again.

“He is fighting me and it’s not going to be the result he’s expecting. I’m going to show everyone why he should not have agreed to fight me. I can’t wait to fight Saturday night.”

LEO SANTA CRUZ, IBF Bantamweight World Champion

“I’m very happy and excited and especially honored to be fighting on CBS. I really want to thank Golden Boy and my manager for this unbelievable opportunity. So many fans will be watching, and that’s where I get my motivation – from the fans.

“I’ve worked really hard to get to this point, and I’ve come a long way quickly, but I still have my whole career in front of me, and I want to stay on top. I’m confident I’ll win Saturday and then be able to take a little vacation during the holidays. I really want to finish this year on a great note so that I can go on to even bigger and better fights in 2013.

“I still haven’t seen tapes on Guevara. I know he’s confident, but all fighters are confident. He’s undefeated and I’m undefeated and we both want this very badly. There’s no way this can be anything but a war.”

ALBERTO GUEVARA, Undefeated Bantamweight Contender

“Thank you all for being here. This is my first fight in the United States and I am very prepared.

“You will all know who I am after the fight on Saturday. I am going to give the best of myself.”

JOSEPH “JO-JO” DIAZ JR., 2012 U.S. Olympian

“This is a dream come true for me to be making my pro debut on free network television. I really want to thank everyone involved from Golden Boy to my team for making this happen and for them choosing me to fight on CBS. They could have picked anybody, but they picked me and I really appreciate it.

“I had a 10-week camp and I’m totally prepared and very excited. I feel strong. I’m ready and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to showcase my skills in front of so many fans.”

SHAWN PORTER, NABO Welterweight Champion

“This is the biggest press conference I’ve been to, so this is a treat for me. This has been a good 10-week camp getting ready for Julio. I’m 20-0 going for 21. We know what Julio brings and we know what he has done in the past, but we’re more than ready to come home with that 21st victory. We’ve done the work in the gym, now we just have to let it all out in the ring.”

JULIO DIAZ, Former World Champion

“I’m really excited to have an opportunity like this again. It’s a motivational moment to fight on a card like this and I’m prepared to prove myself on this stage. I’m used to sitting in the front of these press conferences, headlining a card, but right now I’m in the back and I need to work to get back to the front. Shawn Porter is a good prospect, but he’s never been tested like I’m going to test him.”

###

Admission to the afternoon boxing session (CBS broadcast) that starts with non-televised preliminary bouts at 1:00 p.m. PT is free as part of the Golden Boy Promotions Holiday Fanfest. Tickets can be acquired at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena box office.

Tickets for the evening boxing session (SHOWTIME-televised fight card) that begins at 4:00 p.m. PT are priced at $150, $100, $75, $50 and $25, plus applicable taxes and service charges, and are on sale at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

Fans who present ticket stubs from the CBS event when purchasing tickets for the SHOWTIME event will receive a 20 percent discount. There is a limit of one discounted purchased ticket per ticket redeemed while supplies last.

Non-televised fights on the evening undercard: Frankie Gomez (13-0, 10 KO’s), East Los Angeles, vs. Pavel Miranda (19-8-1, 10 KO’s), Tijuana, Mex., 8 rounds, welterweights; Hugo Centeno (16-0, 8 KO’s), Oxnard, Calif., vs. Allen Conyers (12-7, 9 KO’s), Bronx, N.Y., 8 rounds, junior middleweights; Chris Pearson (6-0, 5 KO’s), Trotwood, Ohio, vs. Dashon Johnson (13-9-3, 4 KO’s), Escondido, Calif., 6 rounds, middleweights; and Jerren Cochran (6-0, 3 KO’s), Houston, Texas, vs. Chris Lopez (5-0, 2 KO’s), Phoenix, Ariz., 4 rounds, featherweights.

The afternoon session will include scheduled four-round bouts featuring three of Joseph Diaz’s U.S. Olympic teammates, who were all victorious in their professional debuts on Nov. 9 on SHOWTIME’S ShoBox: The New Generation. Junior middleweight Errol Spence Jr. of Brentwood, N.Y., will face Richard Andrews (5-2-3, 2 KO’s), of Charlottesville, Va., light heavyweight Marcus Browne of Staten Island, N.Y., is matched against Ritchie Cherry (3-5, 1 KO), of Oklahoma City, Okla., and heavyweight Dominic Breazeale of Alhambra, Calif., meets Michael Dennis (0-1), of Glendale, Calif.

Saturday’s mega-event will also feature Golden Boy’s Holiday Fanfest on the grounds of the Sports Arena that will include music, autograph sessions with boxing’s biggest stars, games, boxing memorabilia, a visit by Santa Claus at an Oscar De La Hoya Foundation-sponsored toy give-away (10:00 a.m.), and much more.

Khan vs. Molina is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Khan Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. Santa Cruz vs. Guevara is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, follow us on Twitter at, www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/AmirKingKhan, www.twitter.com/CarlosMolina562, www.twitter.com/ElPerro82, www.twitter.com/BronzeBomber, www.twitter.com/teampriceboxing, www.ShowtimeSHAWNP, www.JosephDiazJr, www.twitter.com/ErrolSpenceJr, www.twitter.com/Marcus_Browne, www.twitter.com/SHOsports, follow the conversation using #KhanMolina or become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing or www.facebook.com/SHOsports.

The tension is building! Will Arthur Abraham (35-3, 27 KOs) be successful in
his first defense of the WBO Crown against Mehdi Bouadla (26-4, 11 KOs)? If
it is up to Promoter Kalle Sauerland, Abraham’s super-middleweight reign
will be just as successful as he was during his days at the middlewight.
Back then, the prodigy of coach Ulli Wegner defended the IBF Belt on ten
occasions before he took the step up to the higher weight class. “His
victory over Stieglitz in August was just the beginning. I truly believe
that Arthur is back at his best and has some glorious years ahead of him,”
Sauerland said during Wednesday’s press conference in Nuremberg, Germany.

Of course, Abraham agreed with his promoter. The 32-year-old is excited
about putting his title on the line in Franconia. “I feel comfortable
entering the ring as the champion. In hindsight, maybe I should have picked
some easier fights for the transition from middleweight to
super-middleweight. However, I went straight in there with the best the
division has to offer and it has been a learning curve for me. That is
exactly why I’m so happy to have won the World Title in August,” said the
WBO Champion. “I am fully aware of the fact that this will be a tough fight.
This could be the last chance of Bouadla’s career to win a world
championship. He will try everything he can.”

But no matter what Abraham said, it was still evident that he feels pretty
confident ahead of the clash. Coach Wegner explained why. “I always believed
that Arthur could be a Super-Middleweight World Champion. We got even closer
after his great fight in August. That also showed during the preparation for
this fight. He was very concentrated during the training camp. You can tell
that he has learned from his experience and that he has developed as an
athlete.”

Nevertheless, Mehdi Bouadla is planning on standing in his way. The
30-year-old, currently ranked as number 13 by the WBO, promised Abraham a
run for his money. “My preparation has been going extremely well. I will
give it 100 percent in order to take the belt of Abraham.”

The fans at the arena do not only have the WBO Title fight to look forward
to. Two more championships are on the line on December 15. Jack Culcay
(13-0, 9 KOs) takes on Jean Michel Hamilcaro (17-4-3, 6 KOs) in the second
defense of his WBA Intercontinental Light Middleweight Title. Poland’s
Mateusz Masternak (28-0, 21 KOs) fights it out for the vacant European
Cruiserweight Championship. His opponent of the night is Juho Haapoja
(18-2-1, 11 KOs) from Finland.

Tickets for the big fight night in Nuremberg, Germany can be purchased at
www.eventim.de and www.boxen.com.

Tacoma, WA (December 11th, 2012) – Philly product Zahir Raheem, training out of Stone Mountain, GA, is coming out of retirement to once again chase the dreams of becoming a world champion. Raheem (31-3-0, 18 KO’s) has signed a promotional contract with Halquist Productions, a company based in University Place, WA, that also promotes Battle at the Boat boxing and CageSport MMA at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, WA.

“We’re very excited to bring Raheem back to boxing. He’s had some huge victories throughout his career. We’ll fight him at the Emerald Queen Casino a couple of times and see what happens after that,” said promoter, Brian Halquist, about the signing of Zahir Raheem.

Fans will get a chance to witness Raheem back in action at upcoming Battle at the Boat shows throughout 2013 as he once again prepares to earn his way back to the top with the hopes of getting another shot at the title.

“I’m very excited for one and I’m proud to be a part of such a good team in Halquist Productions,” said Raheem when asked about how he’s feeling about getting back in the ring.

The crafty boxer who prefers to go by “King Raheem” is most widely known for his victory over a prime Erik Morales in 2005, 6 months after Morales defeated Manny Pacquiao. The fight was supposed to be a warm up for Morales who was already scheduled to fight Pacquiao after the Raheem fight. When Raheem was awarded the unanimous decision over Morales, it was considered Ring Magazine’s “Upset of the year.”

Contrary to what many (including Raheem) thought, title fights and other marquee matchups did not come knocking on his door. In fact, no worthwhile opponents came across. Raheem’s victory over Morales caused him to be viewed as a dangerous threat in the ring; a low value, high risk fight. Even though Raheem had all of the talent in the world, promoters didn’t want to risk their fighter taking on the rising Zahir Raheem, who’s Olympic teammates: Floyd Mayweather Jr., Fernando Vargas, Antonio Tarver, Eric Morel and David Reid all had championships in their resumes.

“The past is the past. I can only look at today and tomorrow while learning from yesterday. I feel good. I’m healthy excited to show the world what I can do,” said Raheem about his boxing career.

Raheem’s lone title shot would come against Acelino Freitas almost a year later for the vacant WBO lightweight title. It was a close fight that could have gone either way, and in the end the judges awarded Freitas with the split decision. Raheem went 5-1 after the tough loss to Freitas including consecutive victories over journeyman, Roberto Valenzuela, that still mark his last fights.

Brian Halquist has been running Halquist Productions since 1986 when he signed up and coming heavyweight contender, Joe “the Boss” Hipp, and has established a reputation in the Northwest as having the most premier fight promotions on the west coast. Coming up on its 90th show, Battle at the Boat is known for putting up high quality cards that are packed with local talent, proven veterans from all around the world and showcasing some of boxing’s biggest prospects on the rise. Halquist Productions have promoted events that have been featured on ESPN, HBO, and Showtime. For more information on Zahir Raheem, Battle at the Boat, and all other Halquist Production events, please visit www.halquistproductions.com.

LAS VEGAS – The keyboard of this laptop is covered in papery brown pistachio skins and shell dust. There’s a black plastic bag of Wonderful Pistachios just to the left, one of hundreds placed along press row before Saturday’s card, in what passes for swag in this eroding business. Wonderful Pistachios were Filipino congressman Manny Pacquiao’s latest marketing hustle, the tasty green nuts he whacked from a speedbag swivel hook in countless loops on the screen above Saturday’s ring.

There’s no occasion for reading creatively yet, the metaphor is right here: After what Juan Manuel Marquez did to him in the final second of the sixth round of their fourth fight, Pacquiao’s career is now in as many pieces, and filled with as much promise, as the pistachios that coat this keyboard. “Marquez KO 6” – their fight’s official line – hardly approaches it. Pacquiao will fight on, partially out of pride, partially out of financial necessity, but mostly because he’s the one person who was in MGM Grand Garden Arena that holds no recollection of what was done to him Saturday.

It was Juan Manuel Marquez’s night, the crowning act of vindication in a late career marked by its spiteful pursuit, but the entire spectacle felt more like a treatment of Manny Pacquiao. The comatose posture on the apron, his head under the bottom rope, his body perfectly still, his hands folded passively and unnaturally beneath him – testifying to a brain’s communication severed well before it could recognize, much less send notification, his face was in a freefall to cover each of the 66 inches between his metallic blue boots and raven hair.

Folded is how Pacquiao looked, tidied up and put away, resting peacefully in an oblivious place that might be sweet were it not for the vehicle that transported him there, and were it not for the masses of instantly aghast witnesses – some soon appalled, others quickly euphoric, but all initially aghast because it is nigh impossible for a person not to start at the sight of his own put temporarily in a place so like death.

There was not a seat on press row from which anything but Pacquiao’s back could be seen. One heard the clapper signal 10 seconds and began the countdown to round’s end. Surely a few scribes, and cornermen, lowered their heads to begin all the thoughts and activities that happen in the in-between minutes of championship prizefights. Pacquiao had won the round and was about to be up two points on all three judges’ scorecards – identical after five – at the midway point of a fight already featuring two knockdowns and more brutality than its trilogy of predecessors, as neither man desired judges’ opining this time, each stating plainly beforehand he preferred exactly the unconsciousness Pacquiao got to another official decision.

The very maneuver Pacquiao used to fell Marquez three times in the first round of their first match in 2004 – feinted left-hand lead, backwards hop, forwards leap, committed left hand – brought the violent end of their tetralogy. For Marquez made an adjustment that betrayed his newfound confidence in a right hand that was ever accurate but is now prodigious. Marquez used a leftwards spin to thwart Pacquiao’s signature combo in the concluding 11 rounds of their first match, a left-hook lead to Pacquiao’s right shoulder to thwart it in their second match, and a feint of his own in their rubber match; but Saturday brought a seeing-eye right hand Marquez threw because for the first time in his career’s 125 minutes and 59 seconds of fighting Pacquiao, Marquez, boxing’s best gambler, a natural-born predator, calculated the risk ratio favored him.

Pacquiao did not sense it at all; he leaped in with the left-hand lead because he knew the worst that would come was a trip over Marquez’s front shoulder, and the best that might come was a definitive end to their rivalry – shutting “Dinamita’s” crybaby mouth for the rest of their days. Pacquiao did not walk into Marquez’s right hand or even run into it. Pacquiao bounded at it, got his upper vertebrae contracted by it, his chin forced backwards while the rest of him surged forwards, and ruined by it.

There was something different about Marquez’s right hand Saturday. What made Saturday’s first knockdown so stunning in round 3, when a looping right hand from Marquez, one that traveled in an arc enough for Pacquiao to track it, knocked Pacquiao straight backwards, was that everyone watched it arrive, including Pacquiao. The punch disrupted the competitors’ pattern; it arrived either quicker or harder than anything Pacquaio’d been hit with in 13 years. And before Saturday, was Marquez known for wearing one-punch chloroform on his right glove at welterweight?

There will be allegations aplenty this week about Marquez’s historic transformation from balletic 125-pound counterpuncher to 143-pound powerpunching freak, delts bulged and lats shredded and biceps pronouncedly vascular, a transformation that came, absurdly and audaciously, after his 38th birthday, and so, two thoughts: Juan Manuel Marquez did not cheat – his negative drug test will confirm that – but the recipe for his strength and conditioning coach’s cocktail of supplements should be confiscated under a clause that reads: “Whatever chemistry transforms a professional athlete’s body the way yours did must not be tolerated henceforth.”

This too: If Marquez knew next week would bring a positive PED test but not erase from memory his moment of vindication, his instant of euphoria at seeing dissolved the man he believes delayed his proper coronation for almost a decade, a recorded sensation of Pacquiao’s head giving way like a pillow to the middle knuckle of his right fist, followed by a snapshot of Pacquiao’s limp motionless body folded on the blue apron right beside the white ‘k’ in Top Rank, Marquez would take it, so help him God, he would.

Bart Barry can be reached at bart.barrys.email (at) gmail.com

LAS VEGAS – An era came crashing down, face first. Jinkee Pacquiao cried. Her husband couldn’t. Manny Pacquiao was unconscious. After the smelling salts were applied and he awakened, he smiled. He might have been the only Filipino in the world to smile then, now and perhaps for a very long time. The Philippines could only weep.

But there might have been some relief in the Pacquiao smile.

Finally, he can move on.

Finally, he can get on with his political career.

Finally, he doesn’t have to answer any more questions about Floyd Mayweather, Jr., and the media doesn’t have to ask them.

Time to turn the page.

But it’s up to him.

After his collision with Juan Manuel Marquez’ right hand Saturday night in the final second of the sixth round of the fourth chapter of their rivalry at the MGM Grand, Pacquiao wasn’t ready to step out of the ropes for good and into a full time career in the political ring.

“I’m going to take a rest and come back,’’ Pacquiao said after Marquez beat for the first time.

He might re-think that tomorrow or next week or next year. A review of the stunning stoppage on video might do a lot to convince him that a fifth fight with Marquez isn’t worth the risk. While the predominately Mexican crowd danced and sang in celebration of Marquez decisive victory, Pacquiao talked about a fifth fight.

“Why not, if the promoters can make it?’’ he said.

Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum echoed the why-not. A live gate of more than $10 million is a pretty good reason to do some more business.

But Pacquiao wore a T-shirt that, unwittingly perhaps, summed it up. Finished Business, it said. It was supposed to be a message about a rivalry that he finished. Instead, it could have said it all for his brilliant career.

Marquez, who had a knockdown scored against him when his left hand hit the canvas from a jarring left in the fifth, foresaw a chance to knock out Pacquiao.

“He was coming in and I felt that I could hit him with a perfect punch,’’ said Marquez, who also knocked down Pacquiao in the third.

That punch landed at a moment when Pacquiao never saw it. His trainer, Freddie Roach, said he got careless, which is another way of saying it time to think about retirement.

Before the bout, Pacquiao got a visit in his dressing room from Mitt Romney, who wanted to be president and failed in U.S. elections last month. Roach, Arum and others in Pacquiao’s entourage have often said the Filipino Congressman has aspirations to be president of his own country.

He might have better chance that than at winning a fifth over Marquez.

LAS VEGAS – Evidence of Juan Manuel Marquez’ new found power is circulating like an ominous preview in video of his brutal stoppage of a sparring partner. But Manny Pacquiao hasn’t seen it. Won’t lose any sleep thinking about it.

“I’m not worried about it,’’ Pacquiao said Friday after the formal weigh-in for his fourth fight Saturday night with Marquez at the MGM Grand. “I took Antonio Margarito’s best punch.’’

In the sixth round of a 2010 victory over Margarito at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Tex., Pacquiao was rocked by left hook to the body. It was one of the punches Margarito had used with devastating efficiency throughout his career as a brawler.

“I was lucky to survive that round,’’ Pacquiao said then.

In a lesson delivered by Margarito’s left hand, Pacquiao might have experience and confidence to go along with the luck he’ll need against Marquez.

Sellout equals heavyweight standard
Top Rank announced Friday that it had sold out the MGM’s Grand Garden Arena’s 16,000-plus seats for Marquez-Pacquiao. Promoter Bob Arum said the gate would generate more than $10.6 million. More than $10 million in tickets were sold for the third Marquez-Pacquiao fight, also at the MGM Grand.

It’s the first time rematches have done more than $10 million at the gate for each bout since Evander Holyfield beat Mike Tyson in 1996 and beat him again in 1997 at the cost of an ear lobe, also at the MGM Grand.

Notes, quotes
· Tyson was introduced to a noisy, cheering crowd at the weigh-in. The former heavyweight champ asked fans to support his charitable foundation, Mike Tyson Cares. Meanwhile, he’s getting ready to take his Broadway show on a national tour of 36 cities. “I’m like Frankenstein,’’ Tyson said. “A lot of people have put me together.’’

· After stepping off the scale, Pacquiao, a Filipino Congressman and Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserve, dedicated Saturday night’s fight on HBO’s pay-per-view television to fellow Filipinos hit by Typhoon Bopha. There were reports Friday of than 500 dead and 400 missing. There 310,000 left homeless.

· Former welterweight rivals Tommy Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonard are in Las Vegas for Chapter IV in the Pacquiao-Marquez rivalry. Hearns picks Pacquiao to win. Leonard played it safe. He didn’t pick anybody.

LAS VEGAS – It was not particularly eventful, far as these things go – two muscular men stripped to their underwear, stepped on a scale, had their weights read, dismounted, and posed shirtless for photographers beneath the stage – but it was not entirely without event. Mike Tyson saw to that.

Friday afternoon at MGM Grand Garden Arena, Filipino welterweight Manny Pacquiao and his career nemesis, Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez, each made weight for their Saturday fight, a match that will complete a storied tetralogy in the very venue where it began.

Pacquiao made the welterweight limit of 147 pounds. Marquez came in three pounds below at 143.

“It’s going to be a war,” Marquez said immediately afterwards. “It’s going to be a war.”

If the fight will be the battle Marquez promised, he is the man who appears to have the heavier artillery this time. As part of a controversial strength and conditioning regimen conducted in Mexico with a controversial strength and conditioning coach, Marquez has added a significant quotient of muscle in his recent training camps and removed fat while doing it – a feat once believed nigh impossible for a man approaching his 40th birthday, as Marquez now does.

It is an edge Marquez, 0-2-1 in his three matches with Pacquiao, believes will mark the necessary “grain” of difference he needs.

“I would like to pray for all the families affected by the storm in the Philippines,” said Pacquiao, after making weight, replying to a question about a natural disaster that struck his native land this month. “I am dedicating this fight to them.”

Pacquiao, who looked very good, if not muscular as Marquez, Friday, has downplayed his opponent’s noteworthy growth in the last 15 months, answering questions about Marquez’s size with appeals to larger men Pacquiao has fought, and bigger punchers, too.

That may be, but did any of them have a history of hitting Pacquiao often or accurately as Marquez does?

“Not the biggest fight, possibly,” Marquez said of Saturday’s fourth match with Pacquiao and its place in his career. “The most important.”

Asked if, as a congressman in the Philippines, he still had the “fire in his belly” required to beat up a prizefighter gifted, dedicated and fixated on victory as Marquez is, Pacquiao was terse but adamant.

“Yes, sir,” he said.

Friday’s weighin, while not the fire-marshal-bar-the-doors affair previous Pacquiao weighins have been, was well-attended by what sounded like a partisan-Mexican crowd. Also in attendance was world middleweight champion Sergio Martinez, who kept a characteristically low profile.

Keeping a characteristically higher profile was former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, in town, and in MGM Grand, to promote and perform “Mike Tyson Cares: Giving Kids a Fighting Chance,” a show Tyson will host at MGM Grand’s Tabu Ultra Lounge, Friday night.

Tyson, whose euphoria at being on stage for a superfight weighin was pronounced, as evidenced by his constant smile and interaction with undercard fighters throughout, spent only a moment center-stage, waving and bowing to loud applause, then saying: “And make sure you come out!”

Doors for “Pacquiao-Marquez 4,” an eight-match card, will open at 3:00 PM local time, with opening bell scheduled to ring at 3:45. The four-fight pay-per-view televised portion of the card will begin at 6:00 PM. 15rounds.com will have full ringside coverage.

LAS VEGAS – Threat of a lawsuit is little bit like opening bell. Hear one and you can be sure the fight is about to begin.

Opening bell for the fourth chapter Saturday in the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez rivalry was still a couple of days away, but the lawsuit threat echoed Thursday through the MGM Grand’s press room with a buzz that said only fury will settle the differences that divide the opposing camps.

Marquez’ controversial strength coach Angel Heredia promised to sue Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach for comments in USA Today that implied the heavily-muscled Marquez had been using performance enhancers. Roach didn’t need to consult an attorney for his response.

“He’s a piece of bleep,’’ said Roach, who also called Heredia “a rat” during roundtable sessions with the trainer.

Flush the legalese.

It’s hard to know whether Heredia is just posturing or has been caught up in the hyperbole that always intensifies during the countdown for a major bout. He’s a relative newcomer to boxing’s outhouse. But Heredia’s notorious resume is accented with inevitable questions. During the Balco scandal, he testified he had a role in giving PEDS to Olympic track-and-field medalists, including Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery.

Roach reads the testimony, looks at the bulked-up Marquez and says what many fans are thinking. No surprise there. Roach, a Hall of Fame veteran of fight-week hype, might be using the moment to play some mind games. That’s as fundamental as a feint. Whatever he was doing, Heredia’s anger is enough to wonder if it has entered into his conversation with Marquez and trainer Nacho Beristain.

“We’re going to meet up with my lawyers,’’ Heredia told the media Wednesday after a formal news conference.

If there is a meeting about anything other than how to beat Pacquiao for the first time, then Roach will have succeeded in throwing the first feint.

Notes, Quotes, Anecdotes
The intensity of the Pacquiao-Marquez rivalry makes it impossible to predict how their relationship will be after the final bell. “My relationship with him is one of respect,’’ Marquez said. “It will always be inside the ring. But outside of the ring?’’ Marquez left some doubt about whether they could be friends. “That’s his problem,’’ Pacquiao said.

Purses: According to contracts filed with the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Marquez is guaranteed $3 million and Pacquiao $8.595 million. That doesn’t count the international money. Bob Arum says Pacquiao will collect at least $26 million after it’s all counted. “We haven’t knocked out anybody lately and we got a loss in our last fight,’’ Roach said of Pacquiao’s controversial loss by decision to Tim Bradley in June. “So we’re taking a cut in pay.’’

LAS VEGAS – Distractions and Manny Pacquiao have been inseparable for at least a year. But it’s beginning to look as if he has discarded that piece of troublesome baggage.

The distracted Pacquiao was gone Thursday. In his place, there was the engaging personality remembered for entering the ring with the smile of a kid headed to a few rounds on the playground.

“He’s having fun,’’ Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach said before a formal news conference at the MGM Grand. “When he’s having fun, he’s hard to beat.’’

Little about a rivalry just a few days from a fourth fight, also at the MGM Grand, looks like much fun. Through 36 rounds, Pacquiao has the edge with two controversial decisions and a draw. But instead of celebration, there’s been controversy. Marquez argues the ledger should read 3-0 in his favor.

“He claims he won,’’ Pacquiao said. “He needs to prove something. I wanted to give him that chance. Maybe he can prove something.’’

The momentum, at least, seems to be on Marquez’ side, especially if the rivalry stretches to 48 rounds in an HBO pay-per-view bout. Much of the public agrees with Marquez, enough perhaps to finally swing the scorecards in his favor.

“My motivation is that I want them to raise my hand in the ring,’’ said Marquez, who showed up at the interview session in a crowded lounge off the casino floor looking edgy in a down jacket that was zipped all the way up to his scarred chin. “I don’t want people to just say, ‘You really beat him.’

“I want them to know that I beat him.’’

For Pacquiao, there might be only one way to do that:

By knockout.

But can he? In 2004, Pacquiao knocked Marquez down three times in the first round. Yet, Marquez managed to recover, rally and fight to a draw. Both have moved up the scale, from featherweight to lightweight for the first rematch and 144 pounds for the third fight. Along the way, there’s speculation that Pacquiao lost some power, or at least enough of it to cut his chances at stopping Marquez from good to negligible.

But Roach says Pacquiao was still an evolving fighter in 2004, meaning he didn’t possess the right hand he developed against David Diaz in 2008. Before their third fight in November, 2011, there were Pacquiao’s well-documented distractions, including marital problems and political campaigns.

“I still say Marquez hasn’t seen the best Manny,’’ Roach said. “This time he will.’’

Evidence of that, Roach said, came in training at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Calif. Pacquiao knocked down sparring partners four times. There were zero knockdowns in training for Pacquaio’s controversial loss to Tim Bradley. There were none in camp for his majority decision over Pacquiao about 13 months ago. Pacquiao hasn’t knocked down a sparring partner since training for his 12th-round stoppage of Miguel Cotto in 2009.

“Manny said he wanted to go back to the Manny of 2004,’’ Roach said. “I wasn’t sure that was possible. But he’s had four knockdowns in training. He’s on fire right now.’’

But Marquez has found a way to cool that fire with counter-punching that interrupts pace and prevents the instinctive Pacquiao from getting into a rhythm, an unstoppable roll. There’s also the simple issue of Marquez’ muscle-bound upper-body, thanks to controversial strength coach Angel Heredia.

Heredia, who joined Marquez for the third fight, testified in the Balco case that he provided performance-enhancers to Olympic track-and-field medalists. Heredia’s presence raises inevitable questions. They were there in 2011 and they are back a year later. Marquez, annoyed at all of the questioning, has told the media he is prepared to undergo testing. In the PED swamp, however, there are always rumors and suspicions. Ask Lance Armstrong.

Mexican promoter Fernando Beltran introduced Marquez in a way that only makes you wonder about the relationship with Heredia.

“Built like Hulk,’’ Beltran said.

It might be hard to knock down Hulk. It’ll be harder to knock him out.

But Roach has his own theory.

“You put on a lot of muscle for a reason,’’ Roach said. “If he wants to exchange, that’ll be better for us.’’

Ray Beltran 134 – Ji-Hoon Kim 135

Mike Tyson talked Monday about life in the ring, life on the stage and about how surprised he is to be alive at all.

“Hey, I didn’t think I’d make it to 25,’’ Tyson, now 46, said during a conference call for a national tour of his Broadway show, “Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth.”

It will stop in 36 cities, starting on Feb. 12 in Indianapolis where Tyson was convicted on a rape charge and including Feb. 24 in Phoenix where his daughter died.

In a wide-ranging interview with fight writers and the entertainment press, Tyson was relaxed and philosophical. The Spike-Lee directed show, he said, allows him to talk about circumstances and pressures that led to crazy headlines generated throughout his heavyweight reign. Through the years, he said, he has matured, finding fulfillment through acting and charity work that he never had in boxing.

“I really learned a lot about myself,’’ he said. “I learned I’m an interesting guy. I’m a guy who wants to fit in. I’m not sure where that came from.’’

Boxing is like acting in one way.

“The doubt and the fear of being a failure is there,’’ Tyson said.

But there is a difference.

“You don’t have to go to the hospital afterwards,’’ he said.

True to the show’s title, Tyson says little is out-of-bounds. The 80-minute script includes the pain of losing 4-year-old Exodus, who died in 2009 after a freak accident on a tread mill in Phoenix where Tyson had lived and trained for a few years following his release from prison in 1995.

“I talk about my daughter at the end of the show,’’ said Tyson, whose stop in Phoenix is scheduled for Comerica Theatre, just a few blocks of roadwork from where he trained at Central Boxing. “That’s not a pretty sight.’’

Tyson’s time in Arizona was a snapshot of who he was and how he is remembered.

In 1999, he was handcuffed by law enforcement authorities at Central and returned to jail for a road-rage incident in Maryland.

In 2001, he underwent a polygraph in Phoenix. He has always said he was not guilty of rape in Indianapolis. According to results acquired by The Arizona Republic, Tyson was truthful when he said he did not rape Desiree Washington.

A few years later, he was questioned about his relationship with Dale Hausner, who is currently sitting on death row for a series of murders committed between 2005 and 2006. Tyson said law enforcement came into the gym. They said they asked about Hausner, who had worked as a ringside photographer at Phoenix bouts.

“I was in a picture on his website,’’ Tyson said. “Turns out, the guy was going out and sniping people.’’

Today, Tyson says, he thinks of himself when he hears about the deaths of Hector Camacho, Johnny Tapia and Arturo Gatti.

“All the time, my friend, all the time,’’ he said. “They weren’t as reckless as I was. Reckless out in the open, if you know what I mean. I thought it could be me if I hadn’t made these changes in my life.’’

I did not expect to look forward to this week’s fourth match between Filipino Manny Pacquiao and Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez. I submitted my credential request, booked my flight to Las Vegas and reserved my hotel room for Dec. 8 under a spell of grim determination, not euphoria; this would make a tetralogy of the rivalry for which this era of prizefighting will be remembered, and I should witness it if I am able. I am now excited, though, because of an unlikely source – the third episode of HBO’s “24/7” program – and its subversion of a usually reliable imperviousness to hype. We’ll return.

What is likeliest to happen Saturday is another close fight, but one Pacquiao rightfully wins with hustle, followed by a set of scorecards that give Marquez a comfortable decision. Pacquiao has lost his novelty in Las Vegas, and while Marquez ever had little, the Mexican has at least gone to the trouble of reengineering his body in a Vegas-like way, erecting in just 15 months a breathtaking spectacle nature will raze in five years (or at least by the time Marquez arrrives in Canastota). That and previous scoring shenanigans make Marquez, for once, a more appealing figure in Las Vegas than Pacquiao.

In his exhaustive reevaluation of art history, British writer Paul Johnson opines of this week’s host city: “Nothing in Las Vegas is built to last except the roulette wheels. It is a city which, architecturally, is always in the immediate present, never in the past or future. It is Ephemeropolis.” In Johnson’s sense, neither Pacquiao nor Marquez is very much an Ephemeropolis fighter. Both have, in their ways, endeavored to be more permanent figures than Las Vegas generally appreciates; their careers cannot be divided in chapters named after trainers the way Oscar De La Hoya’s can be, they haven’t the shamelessness or salesmanship of American heavyweights, and they both lack Floyd Mayweather’s capacity for reinvention. Both are for the most part beneficiaries of a meritocracy, and while each now comes to the logical ends of his meriting millions of dollars to fight, both have, with very few exceptions, deserved the fortunes they’ve amassed as entertainers who combat honestly the men put in front of them.

If you did not see Saturday’s episode of HBO’s “24/7” program, if after the preceding week’s absurd Filipino donut-vending and Mexican jumpy-jump partying, you vowed never to watch another moment of the “24/7” franchise, you are, of course, forgiven, though also surprisingly unfortunate. Saturday’s episode was an unpredicted return to what camp footage made the series’ 2007 introduction compelling. It wasn’t choreographed handpad tricks and portentous stretching, either, but actual punching in combination, with the camera acting more as reporter than novelist.

Saturday’s episode did an uncharacteristically good job of examining the relationships between the fighters and their monkish trainers, with Freddie Roach admitting and then recanting that Pacquiao has become the boss of his camps, a degree of control, one can extrapolate, inversely proportionate to the quality of Pacquiao’s fighting since his 2009 stoppage of Miguel Cotto. More interesting still was a very short clip of Nacho Beristain giving Marquez, whom Beristain has trained for more than 20 years and made this generation’s master of efficient motion, a direct instruction:

“Throw right uppercut, hook, straight right,” Beristain said, and then he raised his finger as an instructor. “But parallel, Juan, the shoulders, principally (when throwing) the hook.”

There was no question who was the boss so long as Marquez wore gloves, a supplicant position in which Marquez voluntarily and fully places himself and Pacquiao once did more than he does today. Roach, by episode’s end, committed to restoring balance in his gym, but one could see Pacquiao’s annoyance with interruptions of his private rhythm and strategizing. Roach, in an enthusiastic pursuit of wealth and celebrity, has seen his relationship with Pacquiao revised while taking on charges like Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., unwilling to submit long to privation, and Amir Khan, unable to succeed with any punch-to-hurt curriculum, such that aficionados, and Roach himself, now openly question Roach’s primacy among trainers.

While there is little doubt Roach understands what Pacquiao must do to beat Marquez well as Beristain does, there does not appear a same technical fluency between Roach and Pacquiao as between Beristain and Marquez. Some of that is inevitable, with Roach and Pacquiao not sharing a native language like Beristain and Marquez do, but much of it is this: Roach did not teach Pacquiao how to box; he took a physical prodigy and improved him. Beristain, conversely, can query from his mind’s database the exact image of a teenage Marquez learning where to put his feet on the blue mat, and phrase precisely a problem whose solving will have Marquez position Marquez how Beristain wishes him.

Expect little new from either man Saturday. Though Pacquiao’s reflexes and conditioning will not be what they were in 2009 they will remain superior enough to outbusy Marquez if he so chooses, and that is Pacquiao’s best way of winning a third decision, on an objective scorecard. Marquez will be exactly what he was in fights I, II and III, and if he repeats his performance from 13 months ago, it says here, he’ll win comfortably on official scorecards. The only possibility for novelty this match holds is if Marquez, now physically enhanced enough to redden all faces at the Nevada State Athletic Commission, hurts Pacquiao. There is no better closer in boxing than Marquez – and a tetralogy that ended with Pacquiao felled thrice would be historic in its symmetry first of all.

That is too unlikely. So I’ll take Pacquiao, this time, in a fight the judges score for Marquez.

Bart Barry can be reached at bart.barrys.email (at) gmail.com.

Just when there seems to be no solution for the Top Rank-Golden Boy feud that has sent boxing past the fistic cliff and into an abyss with no bottom in sight, I think about Miguel Cotto.

He’s not a talker, at least not in the noisy way things are done from the promotional stage. He’s been criticized for that in his dual role as a promoter for his Showtime-televised bout Saturday night against Austin Trout at Madison Square Garden.

But verbiage at high volume has never been what Cotto is all about. Blame him only if you like all the screaming. I applaud him. The Puerto Rican’s quiet, thoughtful nature stands alone, an island amid all the chaos.

It’s anybody’s guess as to whether that will work for him in his evolving role as a promoter.

“There is a balance of being a fighter and a promoter,’’ Cotto said during the final news conference for a bout his company is promoting in association with Golden Boy. “This was an idea my father had and I am happy we are doing a good job of making the company as successful as it is. My father picked three excellent people to run the company. I don’t have to occupy too much of my time to help them with the day to day.’’

With the right people in place, Cotto only has to be the person he has always been.

In a business fractured by petty rivalries and grudges, everybody respects Cotto. Who else can say that? He’s been called tough. But it’s more than just that. Antonio Margarito was tough, but not respected because of suspicions he beat Cotto in 2008 with altered hand-wraps discovered in early 2009 before a loss to Shane Mosley. Cotto’s response to the Margarito loss and subsequent controversy revealed a personal trait everybody admires. He’s accountable.

When questions were raised about whether Margarito wore the disputed wraps on the night of Cotto’s first loss, Cotto said he couldn’t complain. He blamed his camp’s lack of vigilance. He said his corner failed to have anybody in the opposing dressing room when Margarito’s hands were wrapped. There has since been an argument about that. Margarito’s management has said there was a Cotto representative there.

Whoever was or wasn’t there, it is Cotto’s character that stands the test of time. He didn’t whine. Instead, he got the rematch he long sought and resolved his own doubts a year ago by beating Margarito with a stoppage as old-school as the first testament.

Not long after Margarito, Cotto’s contract with Top Rank ended. In May, he fought and lost a unanimous decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr., at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand on a card promoted by Mayweather in association with Golden Boy. Cotto trained during the week before opening bell in Vegas at Top Rank’s gym. He fought on HBO then. He fights on Showtime Saturday night. He has maintained a working relationship with all of the feuding parties in boxing’s great divide.

Why? Because they respect him.

In Cotto, they trust.

I don’t know if that trust is a way to mend fences. I don’t know if it could lead to, say, Nonito Donaire-versus-Abner Mares.

But if Top Rank and Golden Boy are looking for an example, Cotto is a pretty good beginning.

AZ Notes
Top Rank prospect Jose Benavidez Jr. (17-0, 13 KOs) of Phoenix is scheduled to fight Mexican Jesus Selig (15-1-1, 9 KOs) next Thursday night on an ESPN2-televised card at The Mirage in Las Vegas. Benavidez will be fighting as a welterweight, seven pounds heavier than his usual 140. He appeared to tire in his last fight on Oct. 13 when he was nearly knocked out by Pavel Miranda in a junior-welterweight bout in Carson, Calif. He might have struggled to make weight.

Iron Boy Promotions of Scottsdale stages another card Friday night at Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix. Opening bell is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Eight bouts are scheduled, including a six-round main event between bantamweights Alexis “Beaver” Santiago (11-3-1, 5 KOs) of Phoenix and Jensen Ramirez (2-1-2) of Tucson.

LINCOLN, R.I. (Nov. 28, 2012) – Listed below are final weights for all the participants in Thursday night’s professional boxing event, “The Pride Is Back,” presented by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports on Nov. 29th, 2012.

PETER MANFREDO JR.

37-7, 20 KOs

Providence, R.I.

169 ½

RAYCO SAUNDERS

22-18-2, 9 KOs

Pittsburgh, Pa.

169

DENNIS SHARPE

17-9-4, 4 KOs

Bayonne, N.J.

166

VLADINE BIOSSE

14-1-1, 7 KOs

Providence, R.I.

168 ½

SHELITO VINCENT

5-0

Providence, R.I.

123

ROSIE THOMAS

2-0

Ottawa, Canada

119

ALEX AMPARO

5-0, 3 KOs

Providence, R.I.

168

JOEY GARDNER

9-5-1, 1 KO

Woonsocket, R.I.

166

TYLON BURRIS

3-0, 2 KOs

Hartford, Conn.

170 ½

KEVIN COBBS

6-0, 2 KOs

Burlington, Vt. (Willimantic, Conn.)

175

ZACK RAMSEY

2-0, 2 KOs

Springfield, Mass.

145 ½

MICHAEL LAMBERT

0-0

Mobile, Ala.

136

Austin “No Doubt” Trout might not be a name commonly heard at the dinner table. Sure he is not the most popular boxer out there, but he certainly possesses the qualities of a boxing star. On Saturday night, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Trout expects to showcase those qualities when he steps into the ring to defend his WBA Jr. Middleweight title against the great Miguel Cotto.

Like so many great boxers, Trout began his career at the young age of ten. Not long afterwards, he progressed competitively and eventually one of the nation’s best amateur boxers, winning a national championship in 2004. One thing he didn’t expect when turning professional was the hardships he would endure as a talented yet low profile boxer. Nobody wanted to fight him. He fights out of the southpaw stance, and possesses the ability to either box from the outside or brawl his way to a victory; a very dangerous combination of skills.

Trout’s response to those hardships was to train even harder. His theory was that if he continued to work hard and win, he would be recognized by the sanctioning organizations and high profile fights would come his way. That happened in 2011 when he was able to win the WBA interim title which was subsequently elevated to the “regular” champion.

“I don’t want to be anonymous anymore,” stated Trout while on a conference call with the media. “I feel like the powers that be don’t necessarily want me in the boxing game, because I feel like I’m a thorn to everybody’s side that have to fight me.”

Come Saturday, he will stand across the ring from his toughest test yet. While Trout was winning his aforementioned amateur title, Cotto was already an established world class fighter being featured on television. Cotto’s record features the top fighters of his generation such as Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao, Antonio Margarito, Shane Mosley, Zab Judah, and Paul Malignaggi amongst others.

Asked about his reaction when he heard that he would be facing Cotto, Trout exclaimed, “I was shocked that he chose a fighter like me, because a lot of times I’ve been known as high risk, low reward, even with the belt.”

He is actually a fan of Cotto’s abilities, even going so far as to request an autograph which was televised on Showtime’s “Cotto vs. Trout: All Access;” a program where viewers are given an inside look into the lives of both boxers as they prepare for their bout. “Cotto is a very powerful and explosive fighter,” said trout, “and I’ve not necessarily faced anybody as explosive as him, but I think I’ve faced people that have been as strong as him.”

And just as he has always been, Trout’s response to the challenges awaiting him is to hit the gym and work harder than ever. “I haven’t changed anything; it’s just a more intense camp,”

“Showdown: Cotto vs. Trout” is a 12-round battle between Four-Time and Three-Division World Champion Miguel Cotto and undefeated WBA Super Welterweight World Champion Austin Trout taking place on Saturday, December 1 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The co-featured fights will see Jayson Velez take on Salvador Sanchez in a 10-round fight for the vacant WBC Silver Featherweight title and Danny “Miracle Man” Jacobs battle Chris “The Irish Ghost” Fitzpatrick in an eight-round middleweight fight. The event is promoted by Miguel Cotto Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions in association with Greg Cohen Promotions, sponsored by The Puerto Rican Tourism Board and Corona and will be televised live on SHOWTIME at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).

Tickets priced at $500, $300, $200, $100 and $50, not including applicable service charges and taxes, are available for purchase at the Madison Square Garden Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster charge by phone (866-858-0008) and online at www.ticketmaster.com or www.thegarden.com

Television, a medium silly as it is ubiquitous, tells very few truths and perhaps none disinterestedly. In keeping with its current place in sports, boxing, as a gathering of only free agents, is, on television, a less-disinterested place than most. Praise any bubble of truth, then, that somehow rises through television’s thick, shifting filters and brings a spectacle honest as Oscar De La Hoya’s face. Whatever he is as a promoter, De La Hoya very apparently loves to see men punch one another, and his face, 25 feet back from the ring, visible between the ropes, center of the screen for most Golden Boy Promotions telecasts, is, anymore, the most honest television commentator boxing has.

De La Hoya’s face on Saturday, while Robert Guerrero was beating Andre Berto 116-110 and 116-110 and 116-110 in Ontario, Calif., in an interim title match on HBO, was often a picture of euphoria. De La Hoya’s face spoke to a couple happenings: His fighter, Guerrero, was not genuinely imperiled for a moment of the match (doubters should find contrasting footage of De La Hoya’s face during Johnathon Banks’ Nov. 17 dismantling of Seth Mitchell), and the fight itself was a spectacle of punching performed by two men who knew how – which anyone reading this ought love as much as De La Hoya helplessly does.

The most important discovery Saturday brought was that Andre Berto, a career welterweight, was unable to hurt Robert Guerrero, who, recently as last year a lightweight and recently as 2009 a super featherweight, took Berto’s flush right uppercuts, thrown with what appeared to be perfect leverage and ferocious intent, much better than he took Selcuk Aydin’s same punches in July. Is Guerrero that much tougher than he looked just four months ago, or is Berto, after a suspension for PED use, not the force, or not capable of summoning the force, he was or once did?

If Saturday’s excellent fight lacked suspense at times, and it did no matter the assiduous sales pitch tossed HBO viewers’ ways, it was because Guerrero never once appeared out of control or discomfited by Berto. Guerrero’s lead eye closed, as did both of Berto’s, but that wasn’t the ordeal it might have been if either guy had space enough to throw a full combination from proper range in the fight’s final nine minutes. One detected genuine panic in Guerrero’s bearing during his July match with Aydin, whom Guerrero held for desperation more than strategy, but that panicked bearing never materialized against Berto, regardless of how many Berto uppercuts put the top of Guerrero’s head nearly between his shoulder blades.

Saturday Guerrero settled accounts with aficionados who long ago tired of his promoter and publicists. Guerrero won a fight much more than a boxing match. And for that referee Lou Moret deserves a spot of praise. That he had limited control of the fighters from the opening bell to well past the match’s closing is much the reason Saturday’s fight was much better than anticipated; Moret appeared to be from a very old school, with a founding text that instructs if a man wishes to make a million dollars fighting another man, he should not be protected from that other man if it can be helped.

An officious referee would have broken the fighters each time they locked arms, likely precluding one, if not both, Berto’s slumps to the blue canvas, and issuing another round of invitations to future athletes-cum-prizefighters to believe, as Berto does, every event of pugilism is a showcase of his athleticism in which a superior athlete’s personal injury can be attributed only to governance gone missing. After beginning the match in a crisis of identity crisis – “My Mayweather is better than Broner’s!” – Berto occasionally bodied Guerrero in rounds 3 and 4 to create separation enough to pull his right fist back towards his own chest and strike Guerrero behind the ear several times along the way, a trick that brought few complaints from Guerrero and not much of a warning from Moret. But Guerrero adjusted to it, kept his chin pressed to Berto’s collarbone while marching him backwards, and in round 5 those punches behind Guerrero’s left ear became punches to the center of Guerrero’s brainstem, a patently illegal place to put them – as Berto, Guerrero, Moret, and everyone else knew.

This gave Berto his desired opening: the referee was against him! – an inanity championed by Berto’s cheering squad on the HBO broadcast team and voiced by Berto in a postfight interview Guerrero gracelessly but gratefully interrupted to remind viewers they’d just seen neither the fight of the century nor a very even match but actually one unanimously scored 116-110 in which Robert Guerrero beat Andre Berto’s ass.

If you came to Saturday’s fight without a rooting interest, because neither guy is fractionally compelling as the heroic images force-fed to boxing fans about both – hurricane relief worker, cancer survivor spouse, victim of chemistry – you left the fight thinking much more highly of Guerrero than Berto, since Guerrero, from the very first minute, wanted to fight a hell of a lot more than Berto did, which, as Lou Moret’s inaction reminded us, is what the men signed up for, an obligation no less meaningful for the numerous instances lesser entertainers find ways round it.

Maybe it marks a change. When one considers the way Miguel Cotto was allowed to pin Floyd Mayweather to the ropes in May, the way Andre Ward was able to brutalize Chad Dawson in and out of clinches in September, the way Abner Mares obstinately purpled Anselmo Moreno’s beltline three weeks ago, and the way Guerrero was able to hold and hit Berto Saturday, one detects a possible pattern wherein the aggressor of a match is given more leeway than its superior athlete appreciates. If this is the pendulum reversing course and beginning its descent, let it swing, friends, let it swing.

Bart Barry can be reached at bart.barrys.email (at) gmail.com

One loss, perhaps a single punch, might be all that separates Manny Pacquiao from a full-time political career.

If – and it’s a very big if – he prevails for a fourth time against Juan Manuel Marquez on Dec. 8, however, the Filipino Congressman figures to fight two more times.

“Yes, I will continue to fight through next year,’’ Pacquiao said during a conference call a couple days before the Thanksgiving holiday.

Without any unforeseen changes in a schedule that has included one bout in spring and another in autumn, Pacquiao might be retired a year from now on a day when he can say thanks for no more questions about Floyd Mayweather Jr.

The Mayweather question was there, as it always is, during the international call. There’s not much more that Pacquiao can say. His quick response about his plans for 2013 with or without Mayweather, however, left little doubt. If victory continues to elude Marquez in a third rematch, chances at Mayweather-Pacquiao are down to two. The blueprint for boxing’s version of a fiscal cliff is there.

It looks as if Pacquiao, who already offered to take the lesser share of a 45-55 split, has two options if Mayweather finds another reason to say no. Amend that. Mayweather hasn’t said much of anything lately.

Miguel Cotto and Brandon Rios look to be the leading candidates for Pacquiao’s farewell year. Like Pacquiao, Cotto also has to win. He faces a problematic fight with Austin Trout, who could derail hopes for a rematch of his TKO loss to Pacquiao.

“Yes, there is a chance,’’ Pacquiao said of the rematch possibility with Cotto, whom he picks to beat Trout on Dec. 1 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. “I think Cotto will win the fight. Not sure if by decision or knockout. Better chance for knockout, but not sure.’’

Then, there’s Rios, whose energy and go-for-broke style in his victory over Mike Alvarado in the likely Fight of the Year moved him to the front of the line. It also would be an easy one to make. Bob Arum promotes both Rios and Pacquiao.

Another option might be there if Pacquiao-Marquez IV at Las Vegas MGM Grand ends in more controversy, which might be the best bet of all. Anybody ready for a fifth? Arum called it unlikely, yet did recall that Sugar Ray Robinson and Jake LaMotta fought six times.

“I don’t know,’’ Pacquiao said. “It’s hard to imagine a fourth one.’’

But not as hard to imagine as Pacquiao-Mayweather.

ROBERT “THE GHOST GUERRERO, Four Division and Six Time World Champion
“There is nothing left to say. It’s time to fight. I’m ready to fight and take care of business on November 24.”

ANDRE BERTO, Former Two-Time Welterweight World Champion

“This has been a long time coming. I’ve had a hell of a year, going through a lot of trials and tribulations. I believe that everything happens for a reason and I’ve learned a lot about myself and how strong I am to get through what I’ve been through. I’m in a whole other mind frame and have a whole new motivation.

“I had a tremendous training camp and I’m in the best shape that I’ve been in in a long time. I’m focused and I think that’s the most important thing.

“I want to thank Team Guerrero for taking the fight. He’s a tough opponent and you definitely have to respect him for going through what he’s been through with his wife. There’s nothing to do but respect a man like that.

“I know he’s coming to fight, so that’s going to make it more exciting.

“I’m in shape and I’m ready to get back out there under the lights and have fun like I used to.”

KEITH “ONE TIME” THURMAN, Rising Junior Middleweight Star

“I’m living the dream right now. I’ve been fighting since I was seven years old and this is what I want, to be in a big fight on a big stage on HBO.

“We both want to be champions and one of us already has been and I’m up and coming. I plan on taking out many people during my career and being champion at 154 or 147.

“I have a lot of confidence going into this fight. I’m strong and ready. I’m going to do my thing ‘One Time.’

“This fight is what I’m talking about..I don’t want no chumps. He’s already looking forward and talking about fighting Canelo Alvarez, but I like that. I like the confidence he has, because I want to be in a good fight.

“I have plenty of confidence as well. So don’t blink, as I have a lot of early knockouts and I have the abilities and skills to make that happen again on Saturday night.”

CARLOS QUINTANA, Former World Champion

“I’m very excited to fight on this card on HBO, especially at 154 pounds.

“At 147 pounds, I had a very difficult time making weight, but I’m never looking back, I’m only looking forward to my future. At 154, I’m a new fighter and I’m undefeated.

“I expect a difficult fight from my opponent. He is young, strong and knows how to box, but come November 24, I’ll be victorious.

“I was once his age and know what it’s like to be hungry, but this is my time.”

OSCAR DE LA HOYA, President of Golden Boy Promotions

“November 24 is a special Thanksgiving treat for fight fans. In both fights, you have two warriors wiling to face each other to prove they are the best in their weight classes. It will be electrifying night of boxing.

“The co-featured fight is going to be a great fight. It’s a 50-50 fight, where it will be a toss of the coin type of fight. On one side you have a fighter who has the experience, confidence, speed, power and intelligence of a veteran [in Carlos Quintana], but on the other side, you have a future world champion who doesn’t have as much experience, but has youth, confidence and is an unbeaten rising star that brings excitement to the game.”

“With the main event, we are expecting record breaking numbers on HBO because of the magnitude of this fight. The winner of this fight is in line to face the best, the Mayweather’s and guys like that. Guerrero is a tough guy in the welterweight division and not scared to fight anybody. He is fighting one of the best and that’s why we respect him.

“I don’t care when you [Andre Berto] lose or how you lose, but when you come back and knockout your next opponent in the fifth round, that’s a man on a mission.”

# # #

Guerrero vs. Berto, a 12-round world title fight between Four-Division and Six-Time World Champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero and former Two-Time Welterweight World Champion Andre Berto for Guerrero’s WBC Interim Welterweight World Championship, will take place on November 24 at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif. The event is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. Also featured will be a junior middleweight fight between rising star Keith “One Time” Thurman and former World Champion Carlos Quintana. The doubleheader will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Tickets priced at $200, $100, $75, $50 and $25, plus applicable service charges and taxes, are available for purchase by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 736-1420 or AXS at (888) 9AXS- TIX (888-929-7849), at the Citizens Business Bank Arena box office or online at www.ticketmaster.com, www.cbbankarena.com or www.axs.com.

Saturday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City Adrien Broner fought the man aficionados asked him to fight, WBC lightweight champion Antonio DeMarco, a southpaw Tijuanense known to possess chin and heart and strength more than speed, and soundly whupped him. Broner did not flee DeMarco, clinch DeMarco or endeavor to outpoint DeMarco. Broner beat DeMarco down in a way not even the late Edwin Valero could, stopping DeMarco at 1:49 of round 8 – four minutes sooner than Valero did. It was 2012’s most important statement, for assuring Broner’s blossoming fanbase it will not look instantly foolish and Broner’s entrenched critics their assessments need adjusting.

A grim realization now settles: Adrien Broner is boxing’s foreseeable future. He is the anointed one, and unlike others prematurely blessed – Amir Khan and Victor Ortiz leap to mind, though Seth Mitchell is more timely an example – he will persuade even begrudging adults he’s deserving of what young enthusiasm now cloaks him like a sparkly pink robe, aglitter with sequins, he donned Saturday, to complement what pink gloves both fighters had to wear to show solidarity with a breast-cancer-awareness industry whose Month began Oct. 1 but now stretches past Thanksgiving*.

Broner reduced a very tough champion, a man whose garish green belt was earned as an underdog, which anymore might be the only way a belt’s merit can be trusted, to a shuffling, plodding, broken spirit. That is no criticism of Antonio DeMarco, whose tactical mistakes, time will show, were not mistakes at all – even as his supporters surely wonder why DeMarco set his chin on Broner’s right fist in the fourth round, eliminating his one advantage, height, to continually collect five flush shots in exchange for a pair of glazing ones. DeMarco went there for safety’s sake after he tasted Broner’s counter left hook and decided it was not worth suffering on his way to the table, and after he tasted Broner’s right-cross lead and decided if right hands had to be consumed, better to eat them at short range where even Broner, despite his excellent leveraging, would be unable to load them with what sauce he’d spread at full extension.

When his fans thought DeMarco was warming up, after Broner retreated to the ropes and collected left hands in round 3, DeMarco was realizing the whole enterprise faced long odds if not abject hopelessness (that would come in the fifth) and decided to get on Broner’s chest and see if luck mightn’t intervene. It sure as hell did not. Demarco accepted right uppercuts, or planned to accept them at least, in an expectation that in landing Broner would lower his fist enough to be open to a counter, or in missing thrust his right elbow far enough from his lowest rib to permit DeMarco some body work. The calculation was wrong, Broner is too conscientious of an opponent’s strengths to forget to protect himself, but flawed more because Broner’s right uppercut, now the best punch in the lightweight division, jarred DeMarco and moved him entirely off-course, forcing him to reset and put his chin back in Broner’s power alley, to try all over again.

Broner was able to take a Mexican with a granitic chin and make him think about safety by landing accurate and hard punches, and therein lies the secret to Broner’s staying power, and it is not his fast hands: Broner throws every punch hard, and he is able to throw every punch hard because he is extraordinarily well conditioned because something more than hairbrushing happens in his training camps, though confessing it might drop a gaggle of followers from the @AdrienBroner account.

The Mayweather defense, a shell of sorts Cincinnati’s Broner employs that has nothing to do with Philly, only works if the potshots that lead it are stinging blows. Anyone who’s spent time in boxing gyms since Floyd Mayweather decisioned Oscar De La Hoya – the day Mayweather replaced Roy Jones as the model for gifted athletes told they can make a fortune in boxing – has seen what devastation results if the right hand, cross or uppercut, shooting from behind the cocked left shoulder and low lead glove, fails to stun.

DeMarco did land some punches, and Broner walked through them. That’s important because it goes to what makes Broner, if not enticing, at least palatable to serious persons who are otherwise seriously repulsed by his shtick, one informed by a philosophy Broner annunciated in an interview with Larry Merchant, an octogenarian who wrote well about our sport before Broner’s father was born, to whom Broner explained the problem with contemporary prizefighting is that most of its fighters are “just boxing” – which likely came as a revelation to Merchant and other aficionados who foolishly contend the problem with prizefighting is that its practitioners aren’t “just boxing” fractionally often as their predecessors did.

Now there will be other supposedly tough opponents proposed for Broner by well-intentioned and hopeful folks desperate to avert another five years like the last five, when prizefighting’s best talent named himself “Money” then acted accordingly, but it’s of no use. Broner can clean out the lightweight division if he so chooses or go to 140 pounds and do the same – though fans are forgiven their transaction fees this week if they transfer the remaining balance of their DeMarco investment into a Brandon Rios account.

Those of us bound to be dragged dustily behind the Broner bandwagon have a single request that oughtn’t be too unbearable but likely will be: Make the fights, three a year, people ask of you, Adrien; for the longterm health of the sport and your place in its annals, remove the most important fights from hypothetical’s seductively painless grasp, as you did Saturday. Do that, and in time you’ll surpass Mayweather.

*Readers interested in the troublesome implications of having such an industry are encouraged to view “Pink Ribbons, Inc.”

Bart Barry can be reached at bart.barrys.email (at) gmail.com

Only a few weeks after Superstorm Sandy hit Atlantic City, a new storm will make landfall. Adrien Broner and Antonio Demarco are both expecting to inflict damage tonight at the Boardwalk Hall. DeMarco has his WBC lightweight title on the line for this bout scheduled for twelve rounds.

“I am very excited to fight in Atlantic City. I was on my toes when Sandy came through, but even Sandy couldn’t stop this fight from going on, so it must have been meant to be,” said Broner this week. Broner is considered by many to be the best young fighter in boxing, but he has yet to face an opponent that poses a legitimate threat. But Antonio DeMarco is more than just an opponent and more than just a threat. He brings with him a world title, thirty one professional bouts, and experience against undefeated opposition. To top it off, he is in his prime years at the age of twenty-six.

And Broner fully understands what DeMarco is capable of, saying, “DeMarco is definitely my best opponent so far on paper. [He] has fought good guys, but he hasn’t fought me. You are going to see a totally different Adrien Broner on Saturday night.”

“I’ve faced undefeated boxers in the past and I have learned my lessons. I’m coming into the fight ready. I’ve been defeated in the past and that experience has helped me to be ready to succeed this time,” stated DeMarco. He has faced young opposition as the underdog multiple times in the past. He won most and even in losing, was never out classed.

“I’m confident that my training will pay off. I can assure you that we will put on a good show. May the best boxer win,” added DeMarco.

Indeed.

Tonight’s fight takes place at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and R & R Promotions in association with Gary Shaw Productions, sponsored by Caesars Atlantic City, Corona and AT&T and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. The co-main event will be a 12-round heavyweight clash between Seth “Mayhem” Mitchell and Johnathon Banks for Mitchell’s NABO title and the vacant WBC International Heavyweight title.

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA – Former WBA Welterweight kingpin James Page is back after over eleven years away from the ring as he takes on journeyman Rahman Yusubov in the six-round main event at the Four Points by Sheraton Sacramento Airport tomorrow night. Fighters for the six-fight pro portion of the card weighed in Friday afternoon at the venue.

Page (25-4, 19 KOs) of Pittsburg, California was last in the ring in February of 2001, as he failed to reclaim his WBA title in a bout with Andrew “Six Heads” Lewis via seventh-round stoppage in Las Vegas, Nevada. The title had been vacated when Page failed to show up for a mandatory defense against Lewis. Page had claimed his title in October of 1998 with a win over Andrey Pestryaev in Bercy, France before making three successful defenses.

Unfortunately for Page his life took a curious turn in late 2001 as he was arrested for a series of completed or attempted bank robberies. At the still prime age of 32, Page was sent to prison with an eleven year sentence. Now 42-years-old, Page attempts an improbable comeback with Rahman Yusubov (8-9, 6 KOs) of Dallas, Texas by way of Baku, Azerbaijan as his first assignment.

On paper, Yusubov seems like an excellent selection for a fighter in Page’s position. Yusubov has dropped his last seven fights since returning from Azerbaijan to campaign in the United States. However, in fairness to Yusubov, four of those opponents were undefeated, two had only one previous defeat and the seventh is currently a world ranked contender in Carson Jones. Page weighed in at 153-pounds Friday, while Yusubov came in at 156.

Fighting within driving distance of his Hayward, California home for the first time as a professional is former amateur standout Aaron Coley (3-0, 2 KOs). Coley will take on Chad Dietmeyer (1-1) of Chula Vista, California in a four-round light middleweight bout. Coley, who turned pro in April, weighed in at 156-pounds. Dietmeyer, who has a reported MMA record of 8-2, also weighed in at 156-pounds.

Alberto Torres (1-0) of Sacramento will take on Christian Navarro (0-1) of Los Angeles, California in a four-round super featherweight bout. Torres turned pro with an exciting four-round decision over Christian Silva in Sacramento back in August. Fresh from getting his blood drawn across town, Navarro, who turned pro in July, weighed in at 128-pounds, as did Torres.

Fresh off a dominant performance in October, exciting light welterweight prospect Aldwayne Simpson (3-0, 2 KOs) of Richmond, California returns to the ring against Joaquin Chavez (1-4-2, 1 KO) of Los Angeles in a four-rounder. Simpson, who outboxed Jovanni Rubio en route to a wide four-round decision in San Rafael on October 19th, weighed in at 142-pounds. Chavez, who has a misleading record considering his previous opponents had combined for only one previous loss, came in at 141-pounds.

Emerging super bantamweight prospect John Abella (3-0, 2 KOs) of Sacramento fights in his hometown for the fourth straight time in his career as he takes on journeyman Salvador Cifuentez (1-4) of Chula Vista in a four-rounder. Abella turned pro in June and has already reeled off three wins in front of his supportive local fan base. Cifuentez finds himself across the ring from a legitimate prospect for the fifth time in his career. The four fighters with wins over Cifuentez are currently a combined 27-0. Abella and Cifuentez both weighed in at 124-pounds.

Starting off the pro card will be debuting Terri Lowe of Sacramento against Maricela Cornejo (1-0) of Las Vegas, Nevada in a four-round middleweight bout. Lowe, who teaches kindergarten at Foulks Ranch Elementary School in nearby Elk Grove, weighed in at 154-pounds. Cornejo, who made her debut in August with a four-round majority decision over Mia Henderson in Atlanta, Georgia, scaled 156-pounds Friday.

Three amateur contests are scheduled to open the show. Fighters for the amateur portion of the bill will weigh in tomorrow.

Tickets for the event, promoted by O.P.P., are available online at OPPBoxing.com.

Quick Weigh-in Results:

Light Middleweights, 6 Rounds
Page 153
Yusubov 156

Light Middleweights, 4 Rounds
Coley 156
Dietmeyer 156

Super Featherweights, 4 Rounds
Torres 128
Navarro 128

Light Welterweights, 4 Rounds
Simpson 142
Chavez 141

Super Bantamweights, 4 Rounds
Abella 124
Cifuentez 124

Middleweights, 4 Rounds
Lowe 156
Cornejo 158

Photo by Erik Killin

Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortega15rds@lycos.com.

Two little guys, who could step on a scale together and weigh nearly 25 pounds less than Wladimir Klitschko, are getting some heavyweight attention for a bid to win a couple of pieces of the flyweight title. The unification label has been attached to the Brian Viloria-Tyson Marquez bout Saturday at the Los Angeles Sports Arena (WealthTV & wealthtv.com at 9pm est)

In a fractured business full of more acronyms than the federal government, however, unification and boxing are an odd couple. A little bit like jumbo shrimp. From I to W with a B in between, titles are as irrelevant they’ve ever been. But there is something significant about Viloria-Marquez. It’s about a legend and tying it to a fight that could revive the fortunes of the best among the little big men. If there is link between yesterday and today, it’s a piece of unity worth fighting for.

For nearly two decades, Michael Carbajal-Humberto Gonzalez has been the standard for what the smallest divisions have hoped to become, yet never have. In the first of their three fights at junior-flyweight, Carbajal and Gonzalez put the Lord into the Flies in March 1993 at the Las Vegas Hilton. Carbajal, down twice and seemingly finished in the fifth round, stormed back in the seventh with a paralyzing uppercut followed by a left that dropped Gonzalez onto his back like a piece of discarded plywood.

It was a fight that led to million-dollar purses for Carbajal and Gonzalez. Then, it seemed to herald a rich new age for fighters who campaigned at weights between 106 and 112 pounds. But it didn’t happen. Carbajal and Gonzalez couldn’t pull off an encore in two rematches, both won in 1994 by Gonzalez in decisions as narrow as they were forgettable.

In subsequent years, there was never anything that could quite live up to that one dynamic fight. Many of today’s greats started at the low end of the weight and pay scale. There’s Manny Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire and Jorge Arce. Arce is a constant reminder of just how good Carbajal was. In 1999 and years past his prime, a bloodied and seemingly-beaten Carbajal knocked out a young Arce with a lightning bolt of a right hand in a stunning 11th-round in Tijuana.

But Pacquiao, Donaire and Arce have moved up and on in pursuit of bigger checks. They won’t be remembered as flyweights. But Viloria and perhaps Marquez will be. That gives them a chance at a re-enactment of the 1993 classic, which has stood alone for so long the memory of it has begun to fade. It’s good history only if there’s a reason to remember it. Maybe, Viloria-Marquez on Wealth TV is that reason to hope history repeats itself.

Viloria, a 2000 Olympian, began his career more than a decade. For a while, he and Arce appeared to be moving toward a bout that Bob Arum thought might be a Carbajal-Gonzalez encore. But Viloria’s career got sidetracked by inconsistency so troublesome that it might be a problem against Marquez.

Meanwhile, Marquez is powerful and not as inexperienced as some might argue. His resume includes a loss to Donaire, a pound-for-pound contender. In a close bout and potential Fight of the Year, the decisive factor might be age. At 24, Marquez is seven year younger than Viloria. Flyweights have a shorter lifespan than fighter in the heavier divisions. At 31, Viloria looks to be a lot closer to the end than he is to his prime. But he’s won five straight fights, including an impressive stoppage of Giovani Sequra, whose looks and style remind some of Carbajal. Maybe, Viloria is a late bloomer.

Carbajal, now 45 and living in Phoenix, doesn’t know who to pick. He’s watched Viloria throughout his erratic career. He knows about Marquez, yet hasn’t had a chance to see him often enough to really judge him.

“But they’ve both got power,’’ Carbajal said. “I’m not sure about Viloria’s age. That could be trouble. We’ll see. But whoever takes a shot better, will win.’’

Sounds like it could be classic. That’s exactly what determined the 1993 fight. Carbajal absorbed and endured Gonzalez’ power. Then, he delivered some of his own in an epic still searching for an encore.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (November 15, 2012) – WIBA super featherweight champion Diana Prazak (11-1, 7 KOs) is being trained by former great Lucia Rijker and neither are concerned about Prazak moving-up in weight to challenge 12-time, three division world champion Holly “The Preacher’s Daughter” Holm (31-2-3, 9 KOs), headlining the Fresquez Productions-presented “Fire And Ice” show, in a 10-round main event for the International Boxing Association (IBA) and World Boxing Federation (WBF) light welterweight titles at Route 66 Casino Hotel in Albuquerque.

Prazak, a native of Australia, is now fighting out of Los Angeles. She recently replaced Myriam Lamare (20-3, 10 KOs) as Holm’s new opponent on Dec. 7. In her last fight, Prazak defended her WIBA super featherweight title that she won in 2011 with a victory by unanimous decision over Fatuma Aarika (24-5-1).

“I’m a determined fighter,” said Prazak, who has relocated to Los Angeles. “I have fought at 130-135-pounds; however, I walk around at 145. I will feel much stronger at 140 because I don’t have to starve myself. I’m lucky to have the opportunity to work with some great champions, not to mention the rounds I get in with my trainer, Lucia Rijker. If I can get punched by the most dangerous women in the world, I most definitely do not have any concerns about being hit by girls in other weight classes. I’ve been training with RijkerStriker for almost eight months and I’ve learned a lot being in America and about what it takes to be a pro fighter.”

The 31-year-old, newly married Holm (31-2-3, 9 KOs) has defeated the world’s best boxers, from the 140 through 154-pound weight classes, including Lamare, Ann Sophie Mathis, Christy Martin, Mary Jo Sanders, Mia St. John, Jane Couch, Duda Yankovich and Chevelle Hallback (twice).

“Holly is a great champion who always steps into the fight in top shape and with a great fight plan,” a respectful Prazak commented. “She is fast on her feet and can run like crazy; this and the high altitude in New Mexico burn out a lot of her opponents. I’ll be training in LA and New Mexico for this fight. After Holly came back from a brutal beating from Mathis, by fighting an intelligent and courageous fight, Holly has all my respect and she earned the right to be called, pound-for-pound, the best today.

“I think it’s great that she has such great hometown support. Three-thousand people (regularly attending her fights in Albuquerque) are great. My dream is for myself and for other women fighters to fight for crowds of 30,000. This is just the beginning. It is a great honor to fight a champion like Holly. I’m just looking forward to get the opportunity to fight the best fighters in the world. I have no doubt that we are going to put on a great show for all of the fans to see. The bigger the challenge, the bigger the victory, is my mantra.”

Supporting fights showcasing local boxers will feature light welterweight Matthew “Champ” Baca (1-0, 1 KO) vs. Derek Perez (pro debut) in a four-round bout, female light welterweight Victoria “La Reina de la Guerra” Cisneros (8-13-2, 3 KOs) vs. Kita Watkins (7-9, 1 KO) in a six-round match, bantamweight Raymond “Hollewood” Montez (5-2, 3 KOs) vs. Tony Valdez (6-6-3, 6 KOs) in a much-anticipated eight-round rematch, amateur standout Jason Sanchez makes his pro debut in a four-round fight vs. featherweight Gene Perez (1-0).

For more information about “Fire And Ice” go on line to www.FresquezProductions.com or www.rt66casino.com.

Taken in composite, Mexican Abner Mares and American Mikey Garcia make a quite compelling fighter, and despite competing networks and the promoters that milk and direct them, Saturday brought a chance to see the men in a composite – not to compare them, though that day might yet come, and neither to see how they complement each other, but rather to see how, together, as the important fighters on their respective cards, Mares as main on Showtime and Garcia as co-main on HBO, they made Saturday an enjoyment.

Garcia, who found a late replacement for Mexican Orlando Salido in Argentine Jonathan Barros, who was overmatched then not overmatched then, yes, overmatched, enjoys a credibility advantage because of who promotes him, and that might as well be set forth early: Top Rank is good at developing fighters, as fighters then attractions, as any promotional company in boxing history. Golden Boy Promotions is not, or certainly not yet.

Top Rank makes a high virtue of never putting a fighter in a match for which he is unprepared; when a Top Rank project like Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. or Juan Manuel Lopez loses, it is not because Top Rank hurried him but rather Top Rank, or more specifically Bruce Trampler, our sport’s finest noncombatant practitioner, believes nothing more can be done to prepare him for what elite opponents remain. Once a fighter has proved himself fully developed, Top Rank’s bent changes from research and development to sales; while prospect Alex Saucedo’s next opponent is being chosen right now to determine and maximize Saucedo’s potential as a prizefighter, regardless of what revenue he brings in 2013, Manny Pacquiao’s next opponent was chosen to maximize Top Rank’s earnings. An excellent model, that.

Golden Boy is all sales all the time. Projects appear chosen for their bilingualism and beauty – the assets responsible for Oscar De La Hoya’s ascent, his company believes – or other qualities that strike scouts as exceedingly marketable. Golden Boy’s is not a model sustainable as Top Rank’s because it involves either overpaying for proven commodities or investing in developmental ventures that go nowhere for their want of selection criteria and strategy. Abner Mares is the exception.

Saturday at Staples Center in Los Angeles, Mares made another brutal and entertaining match against another well-regarded opponent, a Panamanian named Anselmo Moreno, who, in aficionados’ imaginations at least, had the exact tools to disarm him. Mares can be disarmed but not dissuaded, so long as an opponent allows him to move recklessly, and therefore wreckingly, forward. He is a consummate Mexican prizefighter in this sense, all tenacity and hooks to the body with an overhand right he hurls head-down, though he’s somewhat less Mexican in his devotion to fouling energetically till the referee stops him. A traditional Mexican code says a prizefighter solely fouls an opponent he is not man enough to defeat fairly – and that ethic says it is better to lose honorably to a better man, in a fight to unconsciousness or worse, than foul one’s way to a different outcome.

Mares’ methods, in this sense, seek refuge in American clichés: “winning is everything”, “if you’re not cheating you’re not trying”, “bend the rules to their breaking point”. Mares charges to set his shoulders beneath your elbows, a position in which he has you handcuffed and is free to whale away, and if you retaliate by setting yourself on the back of his neck, to push his lowered head a little lower, he blasts you in the balls then comes up shrugging. He does not have-to throw that punch, no, but then you didn’t have to lean on his neck, and he knows the worst that cup shot will bring is a double warning, offsetting fouls, and whereas he had every choice to throw that punch or not, you had little choice to do what you did. You’ll do it again, reflexively, a few more times, and if the referee does not penalize you, Mares’ll put knuckles where your cherries grow in the meantime.

Mares gets, and quite possibly deserves, the benefit of officiating doubts because he is trying to make a fight at every moment of every match, to a point of dropping his shiny purple gloves and loping after an opponent, as he did in the 12th round Saturday. Mikey Garcia would not do that. He is more polished than Mares, more apt to throw the perfect punch with perfect leverage at the perfect moment. Garcia is fantastic but also imperfect, as we got reminded Saturday.

That Garcia is hittable is not truly worrisome; while there was nothing edifying about how he turned away from Barros after the Argentine’s left hook snapped his chin in round 7, aficionados appropriately trust if Garcia hadn’t a chin, his promoter would have discovered that 15 fights ago. It’s the technical flaws that bring concern with Garcia, specifically an urge to parry, with his right hand, jabs to the body. That is a major no-no and sets one to imagining what’ll happen the first time Orlando Salido, or worse, Yuriorkis Gamboa, feints that jab, watches Garcia’s right hand drop, and remortgages his home on a left hook to Garcia’s right chin. Salido will answer that question graciously, and perhaps gratuitously, in Garcia’s next fight in January, while being more durable before Garcia’s own left hook than Barros was.

Abner Mares wants his next opponent to be Top Rank’s Nonito Donaire, and it was refreshingly uncouth the way Mares demanded that Saturday. Donaire’s December opponent, Mexican Jorge Arce, was not, in his prime six years ago, good as Mares is right now, and one can rightfully assume if Donaire-Mares never happens it is because Top Rank did not think Donaire was ready, or did believe there was much more and easier money elsewhere.

Bart Barry can be reached at bart.barrys.email (at) gmail.com.

LOS ANGELES, November 9 – Boxing’s most charismatic and explosive young star, Adrien “The Problem” Broner, returns to the ring on November 17 to challenge for his second divisional world title against WBC Lightweight World Champion Antonio DeMarco. To get ready for this highly-anticipated battle, FOX Deportes will bring fight fans four spectacular knockouts from Broner, and one epic finish by DeMarco on a special Classics feature on Saturday, November 10 on FOX Deportes beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT.

Cincinnati’s Broner has captivated the boxing world with his gift of gab and electric personality, but he’s also done a pretty good job with his fists too and this upcoming edition of FOX Deportes Classics will show you just what happens to opponents when they meet “The Problem.” This weekend’s Fox Deportes Classics will take viewers back to 2010 and 2011 to watch Broner’s knockout victories over Rafael Lora, Ilido Julio, Jason Litzau and Vicente Martin Rodriguez. The four fights demonstrate how the young star tore through top competition in the junior lightweight division, until he had nowhere else to go but up as he now prepares for his first world title battle in the lightweight division against Demarco.

Not to be outdone, the current WBC Lightweight World Champion, Tijuana’s DeMarco, will also show his power punching and aggressive style in the fight that put him on center stage and earned him his world title, the October 15, 2011 battle with Jorge “El Nino De Oro” Linares in which the 26-year-old southpaw halted the always-tough Linares with a come from behind 11th round technical knockout victory.

Broner vs. DeMarco, a 12-round fight for DeMarco’s WBC Lightweight World Championship will take place Saturday, November 17 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and R & R Promotions in association with Gary Shaw Productions, sponsored by Corona, AT&T and Caesars Atlantic City and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. The co-main event will be a 12-round heavyweight clash between Seth Mitchell and Johnathon Banks for Mitchell’s NABO title.

Tickets priced at $200, $100, $50 and $25, plus applicable taxes and service charges, are available for purchase at the Boardwalk Hall box office, by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 736-1420 or online at ticketmaster.com.

For more information on Golden Boy Promotions, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxingor visit us on Facebook at Golden Boy Facebook Page. For more information on FOX Deportes visit www.FOXDeportes.com, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/FOXDeportes or visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FOXDeportes.

Wladimir Klitschko’s best friend won’t be there. Emanuel Steward is gone. But Steward’s genius is still around. It never dies.

In a bout dedicated to the trainer he calls a genius, Klitschko hopes for a performance Saturday against Mariuz Wach in an Epix/EpixHD.com bout that will represent all that Steward meant to him and a sport still mourning his death.

It’s easy to call somebody a genius these days. It’s not so easy, however, to know what it is. Genius is hard to find, harder to define. But Klitschko saw it in Steward and knows what it has done for him in a heavyweight career that was in peril nearly nine years ago.

“He was not a conservative person.’’ said Klitschko, who has won 16 straight in his stranglehold on the heavyweight division since a 2004 loss to Lamon Brewster in his first bout with Steward. “In his 68 years, he has been around young people all of the time. His spirit was young. He was always learning. He never stopped.

“He said one line: ‘You know, Wladimir, fighters are smarter than trainers.’ ‘’

If there’s genius in simplicity, there it is, distilled in a few words. The last five should be etched in stone above the door whenever they re-locate Steward’s Kronk Gym in or around Detroit. Fighters are smarter than trainers. It’s a bit of wisdom that means vigilance from a trainer looking out for the best interests of a fighter, whose only teammate is that guy in the corner armed only with a bucket, advice and encouragement. For any of it to work, he must know how to listen.

“He’s right about that,’’ Klitschko (58-3, 51 KOs) said in a conference call from Hamburg, Germany where he faces Wach (27-0, 15 KOs) at the O2 Arena. “You have to be flexible. As a trainer you tell a boxer: ‘This is the way you do it, and you do it.’

“I would express my point of view and he would express his point of view and we’d try to work it out to get to one solution. He was incredibly flexible in his way of understanding things.’’

For the philosopher and academic in Klitschko, Steward represents a role model for anybody in any pursuit.

“In life you have to be flexible also,’’ said Klitschko, who will have Steward student Jonathan Banks in his corner just one week before a Banks bout against Seth Mitchell in Atlantic City, N.J. “Every person has certain qualities: See it, use it and don’t kill it. That is a description of Emanuel. Exactly what he was.’’

What’s unknown, however, is exactly how much Steward’s voice will be missed between rounds. The 6-foot-6 Wladimir Klitschko will have to deal with something new. Wach, another unknown in a division known only for Wladimir and brother Vitali, is big. At 6-7 ½, Wach, of Poland, is taller than any fighter Wladimir Klitschko has ever faced.

If there’s potential trouble lurking in Wach’s advantage on the tale of the tape, however, it wasn’t evident during Klitschko’s hour-long session with the media.

“We had an open workout with Maruisz Wach and his coach made a little fun by putting my face on the pads and hitting my face many times.’’ He said. “It was something that was entertaining to watch. However, in the ring on Saturday, he will face the real Wladimir Klitschko. Not just images on the pads.’’

That’s part of the genius, too. If you’re worried, never do or say anything that might let them know that you are. Never let them see you sweat. Steward never did. He was way too cool for that.

World Super Bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire will defend his crown on December 15th in Houston against former world champion Jorge Arce in Houston in a bout televised by HBO according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“You know this is a fight we’ve wanted to do and now we are able to do it,” Top Rank chief Bob Arum told ESPN.com. “We didn’t get it done in July, but after the Bradley situation, we went to our television partner and asked them for enough money to make it happen and it’s happening.”

Junior featherweight titlist Guillermo Rigondeaux (11-0, 8 KOs), who has been calling out for a unification match with Donaire, will make his third defense in the televised co-feature.

A two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist, Rigondeaux, a southpaw, will face former titleholder Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym (48-2, 33 KOs) of Thailand. Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti told ESPN.com that the deal was agreed to on Tuesday.

“I’m emailing contracts to Thailand. We’re done,” he said. “We just went over some final stuff.”

“I’ve always liked the fight,” Cameron Dunkin, Donaire’s manager, said. “Arce’s a great name and Arce’s a tough bastard. He proved it in the fight he had with Vazquez Jr. He was a big underdog, and came back and showed what he was about (by scoring a 12th-round knockout to win a junior featherweight title). Arce will fight his ass off against Donaire.

“He’ll give it everything he’s got and he will be tough, but Nonito is so highly skilled and fighting at such a high level, I don’t see anyone at 122 dealing with him. It’s good for Nonito to get a fourth fight this year. Four times is really neat in these times in boxing where a lot of champions fight only twice a year.”

“It’s healed,” he said. “He hasn’t really done much with it (in training) yet. He’s running and staying in shape and he says if he’s in shape, he can hit with one hand for the first week or so of training and still get in four good weeks of training. That’s all he needs because he has been so active and doesn’t get out of shape.”

“HBO was prepared to go to Mexico, but the extra cost was prohibitive,” Arum said. “Donaire was willing to go there so that wasn’t the problem. The problem was we couldn’t make it work economically. They didn’t have a high-definition truck there that suited HBO and that means HBO would have to drive a truck there. It didn’t make sense for this kind of event.”

“They can say I am crazy, and much more, but I have shut the mouths of the critics in the ring many times, and against Donaire it will be no different,” Arce said. “I am preparing like never before along with the best trainer Mexico has given to the world, Nacho Beristain, and I will win on Dec. 15.”

Said Dunkin, “Nishioka is a great fighter but he was trying to play cat and mouse with Nonito. One thing about Arce, he won’t play cat and mouse. He’s coming to fight. Arce says Donaire is a good fighter but hasn’t fought anyone with any balls, so that ought to tell you how hard he will try. He’s a proud Mexican and will try to turn it into a sensational fight in Texas with so many Mexican fans there. It will be a really fun fight.”

This will not be a political piece by any means other than its acknowledgement of what tomorrow, known in these United States as the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, or Election Day, will bring, which, it predicts here, is four more years, because American history says it requires a remarkable political talent to overcome the myriad of advantages an incumbent President enjoys, and this year’s challenger enjoys some talents shy of a myriad.

If four more years is how things are fated to go Tuesday, it is not a bad way to think about boxing this week, as the next four years will move us far from where we are now. In November 2016, Floyd Mayweather will be months from his 40th birthday, Manny Pacquiao will be heading to 38, and both Juan Manuel Marquez and Sergio Martinez will be too old to be making a living in combat – though Bernard Hopkins, 51 years young and still citing Graterford, will likely be calling someone out, and HBO will be negotiating a way to broadcast it with options on future matches if he wins.

The apparent bet is Adrien Broner will, in 2016, be an approximation of what Floyd Mayweather is right now. An approximation or facsimile is all “The Problem” will be because he’ll not have the benefit of discovery Mayweather has. Whatever one opines of Mayweather’s villainous “Money” character, Mayweather deserves recognition aplenty for inventing it, recognition whose reserves will not be spent on Broner if he never becomes more than Money May with a talking hairbrush, his current azimuth.

Or perhaps Broner will in four years be where most imitators end up in American entertainment: making an unreasonably good living as a courier from the last innovator to the next. We’ll surely not be rid of him, no matter what happens Nov. 17 within or without the confines of a new stretch of beach formerly known as Atlantic City, where Broner is scheduled to confront Mexican southpaw Antonio Demarco in what will be at least Broner’s biggest test in four fights and quite possibly more than he can handle. Broner-Demarco is the most consequential fight from here to New Year’s because its outcome is unknowable and will tell us if boxing is headed where its plotters and plotting wish to take our wallets.

Rocky Juarez’s upset of Antonio Escalante in San Antonio a few Saturdays ago brings a timely reminder: No favorite is safe in the main event of a Golden Boy Promotions card, especially if he is aligned with Golden Boy Promotions. If Broner or his team knows what they’re courting with Antonio Demarco, no evidence suggests it. Broner’s high self-esteem, one suspects, keeps him from watching others’ highlight reels, and Broner’s promoter never knows what an opponent will bring.

Broner’s shoulder-rolling, counter-right-uppercutting style is all wrong for a well-chinned southpaw three inches taller than him, a man whose straight left is the punch that picks the shoulder-roll lock (six years since Money May’s last southpaw opponent is no coincidence), one who brutalized Jorge Linares, a Venezuelan more highly touted by aficionados in his day than Broner is now, last year, and needed less than a minute to stop John Molina (24-0) in September. Demarco can be beaten, the late and prodigious Edwin Valero proved that, but Broner (24-0) has yet to merit inclusion in Valero’s company, which is a fine reminder of what makes this fight indeed so consequential: If Broner beats Demarco, however he does it, and especially if he does it spectacularly, the sharp edge of aficionados’ resentment will be dulled. Broner’s next four soft touches on HBO may not be suffered gladly, but neither will they be accompanied by feelings of betrayal for those exulting in the hairbrush narrative or the hairbrush narrator.

That a commodity annoyingly unproven as Broner can be in the most consequential of upcoming fights, with Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez set to take their rivalry from trilogy to tetralogy three weeks later, uncovers a comment on the difference between consequence and eventfulness. Pacquiao-Marquez IV at MGM Grand on Dec. 8 will be the largest event of the second half of the year, but it will not be consequential because no one mistakes the likely winner, Marquez this time, as the future of prizefighting, and even the specter of Marquez ending (muted) calls for The Fight to Save Boxing now brings with it a fraction of schadenfreude’s once tangy delight. Time and other agents, but time most of all, have corroded the fantastical Pacquiao-Mayweather brand such that even Pacquiao’s unexpectedly stopping – in his fourth try – a man Mayweather whitewashed three years ago will bring demands barely more than perfunctory for them finally to settle accounts in the ring. Make no mistake about either man’s coming need to settle accounts, though.

Chances are good Pacquiao will be busy enough this time against Marquez to win on cards scored with a 2009 pen but will see his opponent, for the second time in 2012, shown all the scoring benefits Pacquiao once enjoyed. That should be for Mayweather a frightening outcome while he plans next year’s Vegas fundraiser, particularly if Adrien Broner, the man scheduled to replace him, does something definitive against Antonio Demarco.

Bart Barry can be reached at bart.barrys.email (at) gmail.com

There are all kinds of symbols on the road to freedom. Some are as grand as the Statue of Liberty. Some are as simple as a pair of shoes.

“Tennis shoes,’’ Alfredo Angulo said.

For a while, they were as elusive as Angulo’s release from a detention center in El Centro, Calif., where the Mexican junior-middleweight sat, waited and worried during a seven-month stretch for what was reported to be an expired visa.

Angulo couldn’t train. It was hard enough to jog.

“No, the reality is that they didn’t let me train in there,’’ Angulo said Thursday in a conference call for his Nov. 10 appearance on the undercard of the Abner Mares-Anselmo Moreno super-bantamweight clash at Los Angeles’ Staples Center in his first fight since his release in mid-August. “It was a simple thing. They didn’t let me have tennis shoes.

“For some reason, they didn’t let me have the shoes for two months.’’

When he finally got them, tennis wasn’t on the agenda. There are no clay courts in the detention center’s yard. Then again, there isn’t a ring, either. But there was handball, Angulo’s only physical outlet while waiting for his case to be resolved and his hopes restored.

“I’m here legally,’’ said Angulo (20-2, 17 KOs), a former 154-pound champion who faces unknown Raul Casarez (19-2, 9 KOs) of Edinburg, Tex. “Everything is fine. I’m ready to move forward.’’

After a nightmarish year, that’s a victory in its own right. A year ago, Angulo lost a wild sixth-round TKO to James Kirkland in Cancun. About five months later, he says he turned himself into immigration authorities in an effort to clear up questions about his legal right to live and work in the U.S. Angulo, who grew up in the border town of Mexicali, says he wanted to pursue his boxing career in America. More important, he wanted to spend time with his daughter, wherever and whenever he wanted to. She was born in the U.S.

There are unanswered questions as to why Angulo was held for so long. He has no reported criminal record.

“I had no idea when I was going to get out,’’ said Angulo, who held an interim version of the World Boxing Organization’s junior-middleweight title. “I was told it was going to be a short time. Obviously, that didn’t happen.’’

The best guess is that he got caught in delays inevitable throughout the web of immigration politics and bureaucracy. Like so many, he was just another face among the many with lives by a border. Unlike many, however, Angulo was lucky. He had Golden Boy Promotions. He had Oscar De La Hoya, who visited him in El Centro, just 14 miles north of the Mexican border.

Golden Boy’s resources and Angulo’s potential were factors that finally led to his release. It’s another question as to whether that will lead to a realization of the early promise he displayed. Incarceration of any kind has proven to be hazardous to a ring career. Maybe, it’s the idle time. Maybe, it’s the diet. Maybe, it’s the handball instead of sparring. Maybe, it’s all three and much more.

For Angulo, that lesson was in front of him in his last fight. Kirkland, who overcame a first-round knockdown before stopping Angulo last November, spent 18 months in a Texas prison on a 2009 weapons charge. After his release, Kirkland easily won two tune-ups before suffering a stunning first-round stoppage against unknown Nobuhiro Ishida.

Angulo re-enters the ring for the first time in a year predictably confident. He has new trainer in Andre Ward’s corner man, Virgil Hunter, who moves into a job once occupied by Nacho Beristain.

“I’m still Alfredo ‘El Perro’ Angulo,’’ he said in a reference to his nickname, Dog. “There’s no change in style. It’s just that Virgil Hunter has added things.’’

But no addition is quite as valuable as what Angulo re-acquired. Hopefully, he’s also kept those tennis shoes. They are a well-worn symbol of what freedom means.

SAN ANTONIO – Three miles east of the Alamodome stands Freeman Coliseum in the southwestern part of an enormous lot it shares with AT&T Center, home of the Spurs. Saturday evening Freeman felt cavernous because it was mostly empty, especially compared to the Vicente Fernandez concert nextdoor. Nevertheless old Freeman allowed a redemptive act to happen in its ring, an act made by Houston’s Rocky Juarez – boxing’s serial contender.

There stood Juarez prefight, waiting in the smoke of an improvised made-for-televisión walkway next to a curtain that covered empty space in the back of an historic old arena, where a locker room and a steep gray ramp and little else were. He was in white, green and gold, and serious. Serious is the word; none other works for Rocky – not charismatic or enticing, certainly, though perhaps humble.

Juarez is humble and serious, like a Mexican prizefighter with a countenance more Asian than Spanish, though Texas-born, and once a standout in USA Boxing before it was an embarrassment. Professional is the other word for Juarez, a man who, no matter what palpable discouragement preceded his career’s palpable disappointments, soldiered forward, pressuring and attacking in a style nostalgic for a 15th round, without ever quite getting to the place that makes special fighters.

There was a moment in most every prime-Juarez fight when he, as the shorter man with the shorter brown arms, maneuvered himself through footwork efficient and proper to just the spot from which to throw decisive punches. Then he paused. It was rarely more than an instant, but an instant that still expands in supporters’ minds today till it is mostly what they recall of Juarez’s championship challenges.

That instant when Rocky paused to ensure all was just right, and everything got away. The opponent, shocked by his good fortune, escaped, or did something – a parrying jab or wildly missed hook, or anything – that caused Juarez to doubt himself, reset and return to the hard task of maneuvering back in range (or get caught, one time, with an audacious right-uppercut lead Juan Manuel Marquez threw his way in their 2007 fight in Tucson, Ariz., when the air audibly escaped the hydraulics of Juarez’s fighting spirit). Rocky: walking to his corner, red blood streaming from a deep and accidental cut, smart enough to wonder how the hell he’d got hit with such a punch, schooled enough to know what it portended.

Rocky: head bowed, seriousness and frustration all over his face, but not urgency, no urgency, shuffling to his corner after each round of his second fight with Marco Antonio Barrera, a Las Vegas rematch of a 2006 fight Juarez deserved to win in Los Angeles four months earlier, a second fight whose closing bell saw Barrera, spiteful in a way few yet realized, spit his mouthguard in his palm and chase Juarez to the Houstonian’s corner to tell him, as Barrera recounted in the mall at Caesar’s Palace an afternoon later: I will always be a master, and you will always be a student.

Before five months had passed there was Juarez at Desert Diamond Casino in a “Solo Boxeo” main event, when Telefutura still had a franchise of which it was proud and protective, willing to fight for a fraction what he’d been paid on Mexican Independence Day. “The way I look at it, this is the most money I’ve ever made for a Telefutura fight,” Juarez said with a nod, not a shrug: serious. He got other chances, and he never got there. So he became an opponent, a target with a name and something of a following, whose defeat might bolster the credibility of a new promotional signee.

Do not doubt that was the plan Saturday when Juarez, 0-6-1 these last four years, got matched against Antonio Escalante, recent signee of a three-fight deal with Golden Boy Promotions. Aside from the main event, the blue corner – from which Juarez fought – went 1-5, Saturday. But Juarez, the b-side who emerged from that improvised white smoke to precede the new signee to the ring, made a professional spectacle of himself, throwing properly leveraged if less telegenic punches at Escalante, dropping him in the third and finishing him in the eighth, and drawing a line beneath Golden Boy Promotions’ inability to spot talent and inability to learn to spot talent.

There was, for once, a small sense of joy at a Juarez fight, especially in the shiny black chairs of Freeman Coliseum’s tiny, empty media section, where a very few of us who’d attended a number of Juarez fights smiled at Rocky’s unlikely accomplishment. In its size and location – now 20 rows back of the ring – and dwindled attendance, Freeman Coliseum’s media section worked well as any metaphor for the boxing community at large when the honorary 10-count came for trainer Emanuel Steward, who passed away after a short fight with a vicious disease, Thursday.

This followed a reminder of how small boxing’s community is, Friday afternoon, when James Leija, one half of Saturday’s Freeman Coliseum host, Leija-Battah Promotions, spoke about Steward, who, posterity oughtn’t forget, worked Leija’s corner at Alamodome in the first of Leija’s four matches against Azumah Nelson, 19 years ago.

“I even posted something on Facebook where it was he and I in the ring when he worked the corner,” said Leija. “During my whole career, it was one of those things where, whenever he sees you, he says, ‘I’ll never forget those guns at the Alamodome.’ He always brought that up, and that was one of those things we had going: ‘I remember walking out to the ring, and those guns blaring.’

“During the fight, he was saying, ‘Keep your jab up high, keep your jab up high.’ What he meant by that was: Don’t drop your jab, because Azumah Nelson’s trying to counter.

“We’d talk in Vegas or wherever we saw each other, and he’d go, ‘I’ll never forget those guns!’

“And he always had that smile.”

Bart Barry can be reached at bart.barrys.email (at) gmail.com

BROOKLYN, NY (October 27, 2012) – 2008 U.S. Olympian Sadam “World Kid” Ali (16-0, 10 KOs) stopped Ronnie “The Natural Warrior, Jr. (13-8-1, 4 KOs) in the second round of Saturday night’s main event at the Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn, New York

“Rising Olympian Star In The Big Apple,” presented by Ali’s World Kid Promotions, was distributed in the United States on pay-per-view by Integrated Sports Media.

Undefeated welterweight prospect Ali shined bright at home on a show that he also promoted. The well-rounded boxer took control in the opening round, dropped Warrior midway through the second with a short left, and finished him off with a perfectly thrown right at 2:59.

“I worked hard for this and I want to thank everybody for this opportunity,” Ali said after the fight. “I hope I’m eligible to do more television events. I’m trying to get better opponents but sometimes fights fall out (Ali’s original opponent Jermaine White was replaced by Warrior on two days notice). The better fighters cost a lot of money and I’m not in that position yet. I’m ready to step up.

“I want to keep my promotional company going, enhance my career and stay busy. I also want to help other fighters because I know how hard it is getting fights without a promoter.”

In a non-title fight, WBC FECARBOX cruiserweight champion Santander “Cha-Cha” Silgado (23-0, 18 KOs) defeated Joell Godfrey (15-9-1, 6 KOs) for the second time in two months. Silgado won an eight-round decision over Godfrey this past August and repeated that outcome in the co-feature against his late replacement.

Colombia-native Silgado, now residing in Brooklyn, is rated No. 8 by the World Boxing Council (WBC) and No. 10 in the World Boxing Association (WBA). Godfrey has never been stopped in 25 professional fights.

Three-time Egyptian Olympian Ramadan “Holy Man” Yasser (8-0, 5 KOs) engaged in an old-fashioned brawl with Philadelphia cruiserweight Tim Johnson (4-2, 2 KOs). Yasser, who now lives in New York City, dropped Johnson in the first and fifth rounds en route to unanimous six-round decision to remain undefeated.

One-fisted Queens (NY) cruiserweight Michael Costantino, who was born without a right hand, won his pro debut by second-round technical knockout of Nathan Ortiz (0-3). Costantino hurt Ortiz with several strong lefts until Ortiz, turned his back, signaling his corner that he didn’t want to continue fighting.

Manhattan light middleweight Stevie Gamache (4-0, 1 KO) kept his unbeaten record intact, taking all four rounds from a game Jose Angel Ortiz (4-11-1, 1 KO). Gamache is trained by his father, two-time, two-division world champion Joey Gamache.

Boxers in attendance supporting the show included Paulie Malignggi, Junior Jones, Luis Colazzo, Vinny Maddalone, Maureen Shea, Gary Stark, Gabriel Bracero and Will Rosinsky.

Brooklyn bantamweight Jennifer Santiago (2-0) pitched a shutout, winning all four rounds against Ivan “Boo Boo” Coleman (0-3). Light middleweight Shawn Cameron (3-0, 2 KOs) won a battle of previously unbeaten Brooklyn fighters with a four-round decision over Mamadou Doumbia (1-1).

Go online to www.SadamAliBoxing.com for more information about Sadam Ali or follow him on Twitter @realworldkidali.

Sadam Ali’s corner

Full Results:

(Winners listed first)

Cruiserweights

Santander Silgado (23-0, 18 KOs), Brooklyn, NY

WDEC8 (80-72, 79-72, 78-74)

Joell Godfrey (15-9-1, 6 KOs), East St. Louis, IL

Ramadan Yasser (8-0, 5 KOs), New York, NY

WDEC6 (59-53, 59-54, 58-54)

Tim Johnson (4-2, 2 KOs), Philadelphia, PA

Light Heavyweights

Michael Costantino (1-0, 1 KO), Queens, NY

WTKO2 (1:16)

Nathan Ortiz (0-3), Crystal River, FL

Light Middleweights

Steven Gamache (4-0, 1 KO), Manhattan, NY

WDEC4 (40-36, 40-36, 40-36)

Jose Angel Ortiz (4-11-1, 1 KO), Springfield, MA

Shawn Cameron (3-0, 2 KOs), Brooklyn, NY

WDEC4 (40-36, 40-36, 39-37)

Mamadou Doumbia (1-1), Brooklyn, NY

Welterweights

Sadam Ali (16-0, 10 KOs), Brooklyn, NY

WTKO2 (2:59)

Ronnie Warrior, Jr. (13-8-1, 4 KOs), Oklahoma City, OK

Female Bantamweights (4)

Jennifer Santiago (2-0), Brooklyn, NY

WDEC4 (40-36, 40-36, 40-36)

Ivana Coleman (0-3), Sidell, LA

There’s an empty corner in boxing’s battered soul today. There’s always a couple. But none looks quite so large and profoundly sad as the one left by Emanuel Steward’s death Thursday. Gone is his dignity. Gone is his poise. Gone is a gentleman.

I want to say the void will never be filled. But I can’t. Steward won’t let me. Wladimir Klitschko said Wednesday, a day before Steward’s death was confirmed, that his trainer’s “spirit” is always there.

“I can always hear his voice,’’ Klitschko said when asked how he would react without Steward in his corner against Mariusz Wach in Hamburg, Germany for a November 10 bout televised by EPIX.

It’s a voice still heard, because it was without the histrionics associated with a business so noisy that it often sounds as if it includes only extremes and screamers. Steward was never one of those. In his optimistic eyes, you could see calm in the storm. Throw chaos at Steward, and he’d give you that wry smile and a way to conquer it.

I first met him in Phoenix, where his daughter was a student at Arizona State University. He brought Thomas Hearns and Lennox Lewis to train there. He promoted there. For a while, he operated Kronk West, an extension of his fabled Detroit gym, in Tucson.

One of his longtime friends, Steve Eisner, lived in Phoenix. Eisner, a promoter, was one of those storybook characters that only boxing can produce and Damon Runyon could portray. Steward was forever loyal to Eisner, who died in 2003. He was living in Detroit when Steward won a national Golden Gloves title as an 18-year-old bantamweight in 1963. Eisner urged him to go pro. Eisner wanted to manage him. But Steward resisted. Instead, he paid his bills with work as an electrical lineman and followed his voice by coaching, first at Joe Louis’ old gym – Brewster Recreational Center — and then at his own, Kronk.

Eisner was always convinced that Steward would have been a world champion in his own right. As a trainer, however, Steward left a more significant legacy with a list of 41 world champions, starting with Hilmer Kenty in 1980 and one which continues with Klitschko.

Throughout his 68 years, Steward did much more. There was ringside commentary for HBO. He was solid in the role, but that tuxedo never seemed to fit. He belonged in a fighter’s colors with a towel over a shoulder and a bucket in one hand. His familiar presence in a corner was comforting. Despite cliched criticism and tired calls for boxing to be abolished, it always said to me that that the game was in good shape.

That corner, I believe, captures how he wants to be remembered. He was a natural trainer, and there are never enough of them. Had he grown up in a different place or another time, he might have been a great military man. He understood how to wage combat without emotions that lead to panic. He was in the fight business, yet he was able to stay above the dust-ups – the fray — that always comes with it. That’s not easy to do.

I last saw him during the week before Tim Bradley’s controversial victory over Manny Pacquiao on June 9 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand. I was writing in the press tent. He came up behind me, grabbed me and gave me a hug. He talked about Eisner. Talked about Bradley and Pacquiao. Talked about boxing. I don’t know if he knew then that he was ill. Speculation about his health began to circulate before Sergio Martinez beat Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on Sept. 15, also in Vegas. He wasn’t there. The talk was ominous. He was in the hospital then and had told those close to him not to reveal his dire condition.

It’s outrageous that some media ghouls chose to pursue the story without regard for his family, which wasn’t allowed to mourn in the peace provided by privacy. The pain was evident early Thursday in denials to death reports that included no confirmation from anybody in the Steward family. It would have been nice if that segment of the media had respected Steward the way he had respected them. But my anger at that crowd is tempered by Steward’s voice. Media are just part of the fray. Stay above it and the media’s pathetic rivalries.

Only the fight matters. Remember that. And remember Steward’s instinctive optimism. It’ll tell you that voids are meant to be filled and fights are there to be won. Thanks, Emanuel.

New York, NY (October 24, 2012) – Although he’ll go down in history as a member of the first fight ever at the Barclays Center in his native Brooklyn, NY, Captain Boyd “Rainmaker” Melson left the ring last Saturday night a frustrated fighter.

“I won this fight at worst 4 rounds to 2 with the mutual knockdowns canceling each other out,” the West Point graduate said of his six round junior middleweight bout with rugged veteran Jason Thompson. “I got caught early on in a round that I was winning before I got knocked down and won the rest of after. Additionally, I controlled the ring generalship.”

With close to 300 fans cheering him on, Melson got off to a rough start, suffering a knockdown during the first stanza. After retaking control in the second round, Melson stormed back in the third, decking Thompson with a hard hook immediately followed by a straight left, but was unable to finish his game foe off. During the final three rounds, Thompson landed a few hard clean punches each round while Melson continued to connect with a significantly higher volume of more visibly effective punches. He also demonstrated a better level of conditioning down the stretch by finishing strong.

Thompson continued to fight Melson hard despite receiving more punishment as the final round came to a close for the two New Yorkers. Virtually all of the ringside media members believed Melson’s consistency in pressing the fight and landing significantly higher visibly effective blows throughout the bout clearly earned him the victory.

After six exciting rounds to kick off a historic evening of boxing, all three judges scored the bout 56-56.

“I’m very upset with the decision,” stated Melson, who fought three times since August, all while working a fulltime job for Johnson&Johnson and serving as an Army Reserve Officer. “There was maybe one round outside of the first that I could’ve given to him, so that’d make it 4 rounds to 2 in my favor. This is one of my most frustrating moments in professional boxing, but I am sure I will have more. Most important, I need to keep working harder to ensure I am doing all I possibly can to not leave any doubt in the judges eyes as to my earning a clear victory.”

Even with the draw, the popular Brooklynite recognized there were some good things that came out of the evening.

“On the contrary, there were many positives tonight. I was blessed with the opportunity to be a part of history and there were a lot of people who wanted to speak to me about what I fight for. Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions were extremely generous to not only allow me to fight on their card, but to match my purse by personally donating to Justadollarplease.org. I loved fighting at the Barclays Center and hope to be on another card in the near future. I also had one of the most special moments of my life when my best friend Christan Zaccagnino, who is my inspiration for what I do, wheel in her chair down the aisle with me as I walked to the ring for my bout. I will never forget that moment.”

Melson, one of the most popular local fighters in the New York area, will take a brief break from boxing after fighting seven times since October 2011.

In association with the 501 (C) 3 nonprofit Justadollarplease.org, Melson and his best friend Christan Zaccagnino created Team Fight to Walk, whose mission is to raise awareness within the boxing community as well as the entire nation about the importance of bringing Clinical Trials to the United States to help cure Spinal Cord Injuries. Team Fight to Walk is comprised of Melson, Zaccagnino, former Rutgers football player/ESPY honoree Eric LeGrand, two-time cruiserweight champion Steve “USS” Cunningham, title contender DeAndre “The Bull” Latimore, Edgar “El Chamaco” Santana, Hector “Machito” Camacho Jr., 2008 US Olympians Demetrius “Boo” Andrade and Shawn Estrada along with prospects Sid “The Messenger” El Harrak, Jeff “TNT” Spencer, Denis “Da Momma’s Boy” Douglin, Will “Power” Rosinsky, Floriano “Italiano” Pagliara, Danny “Little Mac” McDermott, Vinny “The Lion” O’Brien, Ahmed “Prince of Egypt” Samir and Delen “Sniper” Parsley.