CONGRATULATIONS TO lonestar!!!

BPL Champion (Season 4)

The battle for first place was locked up early by lonestar. He took an early lead and (unlike everyone else who has taken early leads in the BPL) he held onto it week after week. SFC gave him a run toward the end, closing the gap substantially, but it was not to be. SFC (who, as most of you know, is yours truly and therefore not in any event prize eligible) came within 10 pts, but lonestar’s the lead held up.

As usual, congratulations are in order to everyone who finished in the top 20. 200+ members of the site competed, submitting picks. So, that’s quite an accomplishment.

The final top 20 were:

1. lonestar
2. SFC
3. newmansthaman
4. Trident
5. hearns55
6. chuyelloco
7. BoneSlinger
8. chleq
9. theunderdog
10. roganr
11. Kakita
12. Hotspur77
13. deeko
14. viticio
15. secondsout
16. WHYTE
17. Quick
18. jay98107
19. MatthewKowalyk
20. 2P1S

Those of you who have been participating since the beginning will see some familiar names in that list. Boneslinger came in third last season (or second, if you don’t count SFC) and 7th this season. roganr finished in 4th last season and was 10th this time. roganr also finished in the top 20 back in season 2. Remarkable consistency from both of them!

For first place, lonestar will be receiving a package that includes a BPL t-shirt that looks similar to the hooded sweatshirt shown below.

The first and second runners up (which will be newmansthaman and Trident) will also receive prizes.

We’ll be contacting the winners for address information.

SEASON 5

We’re taking a short break right now, getting ready for the holidays, but are about to launch Season 5. The first fights that will be included in Season 5 are scheduled for Saturday, December 5, and we hope to have them up and ready for picks in the next couple days.

As part of Season 5, we are rolling out a whole new version of the website, which will have an entirely different look and feel. All of the fights, the stats, the participants’ picks, and season leaderboards, among other things, have been archived, so that you can go back and see, for example, how many people picked Carl Froch to beat Jermain Taylor (36 out of 111 picked Froch to win by decision). I hope everyone enjoys the new functionality!

Valuev jabs to Haye's midsection.

Round 1

Haye moves side to side as Valuev tries to cut off the ring. Haye with a few ineffective jabs to the body. Valuev pumping the jab, but missing. About a minute in, Haye lands a right hand upstairs. First punch to land for either fighter. More of the same — Haye moving, Valuev following. Haye lands a hard right to the body with about a min left. Haye jumps inside with 30 sec left and throws a two punch combo — landing the left and missing with the right. More of the same — Valuev following Haye around missing with the jab. Haye throws a 1-2 to the head with a few seconds left, but Valuev blocks it. Not much action, but I didn’t see Valuev land a single punch. 10-9 Haye

Round 2

More of the same — Valuev following Haye around for the first min of the round, pumping his jab into the air. Haye doesn’t throw a single punch in the first min. About a minute in he lands a left hook to Valuev’s massive head. First punch landed in the round by either fighter. More of the same. Haye moves, Valuev follows. About a minute and a half in, Haye lands a quick jab to the body. That’s 2 punches for Haye, 0 for Valuev. God, if the whole fight goes down like this it’s going to be painful to watch. At 1:30 left in the round, Haye lands a quick, hooking left jab. A min left and Valuev has yet to land his first punch of the fight. Haye lands a HUGE right hand with about :25 left in the round. The crowd goes wild, but Valuev walks right through it and doesn’t seem phased. Haye landed something like 4 punches in the round, including the big right hand. Valuev landed 0. 10-9 round for Haye. 20-18 Haye

Round 3

A minute in and Valuev has thrown 10-15 punches, but missed every time. Haye seems to be channeling Willie Pep and has only thrown 1 or 2 jabs in return. Valuev finally lands a jab to the body, although it wasn’t particularly clean. He eats a counter left hook to the head for his trouble. 1:25 left and Haye scores with a quick right and left to the head of Valuev, who tries to cover up. Haye jabs to Valuev’s body at :50 left. Right at the end of the round, Valuev lunges in with a 5 punch combo and misses with each one, but gets tagged with a counter right hand. Another Haye round. The highlights between rounds show Haye landing some heavy bombs, but they don’t seem to be having any effect on Valuev. It’s a shutout so far. Obviously not a lot of offense by Haye, but Valuev has thrown about 100 punches through the first 3 rounds and only landed one — a weak jab to the body in round 3. Haye has landed a handful of flush power punches in each of the first 3 rounds and managed to avoid 99% of Valuev’s punches. 30-27 Haye.

Round 4

About 35 sec into the round, Valuev gets Haye in the corner and unleases a 4 punch combination. A big left hook to end the combo goes low and misses Haye’s head, but maybe grazes his chest. The crowd goes wild. More of the usual — Haye moving, Valuev following him around punching at the air. Haye lands a good right hand with about 1:30 left. In a fight with so few punches landed that could actually win the round . . . With about a minute left, Valuev corners Haye and tries to throw a combo, but Haye actually squeezes past and is out of the corner and back in the middle of the ring before Valuev is done throwing his combination. It’s like a cartoon. Haye lands a hooking straight left punch with about 40 sec left and then follows it up with a jab to the body at :35. Valuev chases Haye into a corner and lands a right to the body with 25 sec left. Haye lands another big right hand in the last 10 sec. Painful to watch, but easy to score. Valuev just isn’t landing ANY punches. I’ve counted 2 punches landed in about 120 thrown over 4 rounds. So, he’s connecting at a rate of about 1-2%. Haye isn’t throwing much, but he is landing some big shots when he does throw. The shutout continues. 40-36 Haye

Round 5

More of the same. Valuev throws 10 punches in the first minute and all miss (most are not even close — he’s just pushing out his fists at the air). Haye hasn’t thrown anything in return. 1:30 left and Valuev still hasn’t landed a punch. Neither has Haye. Now Haye lands a jab to the body at 1:20 left. Haye lands a left right at 1:15 left. That’s more than enough to win the round at this point. Valuev finally catches Haye against the ropes and lands a right to the body and a left to the head (which hits Haye’s gloves). I had Haye outlanding him 3-2 or 3-1 in that round. Very, very close round. The only clean, effective punch landed was by Haye, though (at 1:15 left in the round). The highlights show a jab brushing Haye’s face and then Haye landing a left hook, throwing a right that gets blocked and then landing another right to the head. That was pretty much it for the action in the round. 50-45, 5 rounds to 0, for Haye.

Round 6

More of the same. Valuev following Haye around, throwing his jab, but still missing. A minute in and neither fighter has landed a punch in the round. Haye lands a jab to the body. Valuev lands a left hook to the head. Haye comes back with a left hook, right hand combo. Left lands, right is blocked. Haye lands a weak right hook to the body. Valuev corners Haye and throws a 4 punch combo, but can’t catch him. Valuev lands a left jab and a clubbing right to the shoulder with about a min left. Valuev throws a jab, Haye counters with a hook. Haye throws a 1-2 with about :20 left that is mostly blocked. Some action at the end by both fighters, but nothing lands. Very close round and almost impossible to score fairly. Punches landed were about even. Nothing really clean landed by either fighter. It could go either way, but I gave the round to Valuev. He was the one forcing the action. 59-55 (5 rounds to 1) for Haye. Punch stats btwn rounds show Haye outlanding Valuev by a wide margin through the first 6 rounds. They have Valuev landing 15%, though, which is way too high.

Round 7

Valuev lands his first clean punch of the night — a jab that snaps Haye’s head back — about 35 sec into the round. More of the usual — Valuev follows Haye around, throwing but missing. Haye doesn’t do anything until 1:22 left in the round, when he lands a wide counter right hand that catches Valuev on the side of the head, but Valuev immediately counters with a better right hand. Haye lands a jab to the body at 1:17 left. Haye lands a hooking left at :56 left. Valuev lands a jab at :27 left. He seems to be finding his range a bit this round. Valuev traps Haye in the corner and lands a right hand to the head in the last 10 seconds, but Haye comes back with a 3 punch combo, landing two rights to the head. Another tough round to score, but I think that was Valuev’s best round. 68-65 (5 rounds to 2) Haye

Round 8

Quick exchange against the ropes about a minute in — Valuev’s massive torso is blocking the camera angle and it’s hard to see whether either man lands anything clean or effective. Valuev jabs to Haye’s chest with about a min left. Haye misses with a wild right HAYEmaker to the head. Haye sticks him with a left at :42 left. Haye lands a big 1-2 combination with 10 sec left. The right hand bounces off the side of Valuev’s head as if it were armor plated. Like the early rounds, Valuev was the aggressor but was unable to land anything clean or effective. Haye scored with a handful of punches throughout the round. 78-74 (6 rounds to 2) Haye

Round 9

Same story: Haye throws nothing in the first min of the round. Valuev throws a dozen punches and misses with all of them. Haye lands a glancing right hand to the side of Valuev’s head at 1:21 of the round. 1:00 left and a huge 1-2-3 combination by Haye sends Valuev’s head snapping back and actually knocks him back a step or two. Biggest punch landed in the entire fight. Haye now on his bicycle again, with Valuev in pursuit. Haye lands a quick right hand at 10 sec left. Haye’s round. Valuev did literally nothing to win the round, and Haye landed that big right hand. 88-83 (7 rounds to 2) Haye The highlights between rounds show the big combo. The right hand landed right on the chin and really snapped Valuev’s head — he seems impossible to knock out.

Round 10

Same story for the first minute: nothing landed by either fighter. A minute in, Haye lands a quick left to the side of the head. Valuev misses with a counter right. Haye lands a hard right to the body at about 1:30 of the round. Haye lands a left with about 1:08 left, misses with a right. Haye lands a right hand with :20 left. Valuev lands a right to the body with :11 left. Haye’s round. Again, aside from the body shot toward the end of the round, Valuev landed nothing, while Haye landed a small handful of punches. 98-92 (8 rounds to 2) Haye

Round 11

Valuev lands a left about 30 sec into the round. Haye lands a little right on the inside at about 1:15 into the round as the ref is trying to break them up. Valuev lands a weak left jab at Haye in the corner, Haye escapes from the corner and counters with a 1-2. Hard to tell if it landed from the camera angle, though. Haye lands a jab to the body. Haye lands a weak right at about :50 left in the round. Valuev lands with a little slapping left hook on the inside. Haye pot-shotting in the last 10 seconds with right hands. Very close rounds. Neither man landed anything really effective. I gave it to Valuev because I thought it was one of his better rounds, but it wasn’t convincing. 107-102 (8 rounds to 3) Haye

Round 12

Valuev is much more aggressive this round. Seems to sense he is way behind on the scorecards. For the first time in the fight, he’s swinging wildly at Haye’s head, hoping to score a KO. Haye stays on his bicycle, like the previous 11 rounds, evading all the punches. Valuev lands a jab to the body about a minute in. Haye lands a wild lead right hand to the head. Valuev lands a right to the body at about 1:21 into the round. Haye lands a nice straight right hand about 1:30 in. Valuev keeps chasing, Haye keeps moving. Haye lands a beautiful 1-2 combo at 1:12 left in the round. He backs away and then comes back in and does it again. The 1-2 lands, and this time he follows it with a left hook, which sends Valuev staggering into the ropes. His legs are all over the place and it looks like he might go down! Haye jumps on him and starts throwing punches, landing a right and then a left. Valuev clinches. Haye tries to break free as Valuev holds on. The ref separates them, as Haye lands one more right hand. Haye lands a hooking right hand, and the ref warns him for hitting on the back of the head. At :40 left, Haye unloads another 1-2 and then another big right hand. Valuev doesn’t seem phased and has regained his equilibrium. At :10 left, Haye puts his right hand in the air briefly, then lands a left and a right on Valuev, and then puts his hand in the air again at the bell. Very one-sided round for Haye.

Final score: 117-112 (9 rounds to 3) for Haye

The judges scores:

116-112 David Haye

116-112 David Haye

114-114 Even

David Haye becomes only the second unified cruiserweight champion since Evander Holyfield to win a heavyweight world title.

Check back here for updates on this story and more boxing news, and of course don’t forget to participate in the biggest prediction league in boxing!

by Seattle Doug

Vitali Klitschko hammers Cris Arreola at the Staples Center.

We all bore witness last Saturday night to yet another episode of Vitali Klitschko’s dominance over the heavyweight division. The victim this time was Cris Arreola, the latest in a string of young American heavyweights that the pundits had hung their hopes on to return the division to American dominance. Hell, even American relevance would be nice.

Staples Center in L.A. was the venue, and it was the usual star-studded affair that has become the norm there for the last few years. The presence of Mike Tyson in the crowd couldn’t make Arreola fight like Mike, though. Unless we’re talking about the late-career Mike, who took numerous punches while showing flashes of ineffective aggression.

To Arreola’s credit, he was game. He showed up in arguably the best shape of his career, certainly better than his previous few fights. He showed remarkable durability and stamina throughout, despite landing few punches and taking many for his troubles. He had a gameplan, to pressure Vitali and attempt to work inside against the big man from Ukraine. He forgot to factor in something though. Vitali is fleet of foot for a man his size, and uses angles to exercise his excellent counter-punching skills. This was the net result of the fight: Arreola comes forward throwing ineffective punches, Vitali moves backwards or slides to the side and smacks him with a counter or two. Repeat for 10 rounds, and you have the fight in a nutshell.

I think Cris was onto something, even if he was incapable of carrying it out successfully. He made Vitali move more than I’ve ever seen him do so, he prevented Vitali from sitting down on most of his punches, lessening their power. Several times in the fight Vitali looked a bit gassed, and in my opinion Cris won the 8th with a high work-rate and Vitali’s lessening of same. It was short-lived though, as the elder Klitschko turned it up in the 9th, all but sealing Arreola’s fate. The simple fact was that Cris isn’t good enough, even if he had the right idea. If you’re going to swarm Vitali, you have to be able to elude a few punches along the way. You also need to bring some power and accuracy once you’re inside to get him out of his gameplan and give yourself something to build on. Cris simply couldn’t do this.

I’ve heard numerous people criticise Vitali for giving us yet another “boring” fight. I’ve also heard the converse argument that his style is what it is, and is extremely effective, and he’d be an idiot to fight any other way. I can agree with both viewpoints to a degree, but think there is middle ground to be had for Vitali. Once he’s established his move and counter dominance, he should stop and sit down on a few punches. He would assuredly score more knockdowns this way, increasing his appeal amongst fans. This is almost a too-little too-late scenario, as I can’t imagine Vitali having more than two or three more fights left in his 38 year old body. Especially given the numerous injuries that kept him out of the game between 2004 and 2008. At this point, fans either accept and appreciate his style, or they’ve written him off as a boring, safety-first fighter who’s never lived up to his physical image and potential as a destroyer.

Myself, I thought it was an extremely effective albeit somewhat boring defense of his belt against a game but limited challenger. Got the job done, could have done more. Regardless of our opinions of Vitali, it’s well established that he’s a very tough nut to crack for anyne out there, and I hope fights with Valuev, Haye, or Povetkin are in his near-term plans. Despite his perceived flaws in style, he’s always enjoyable to watch as he methodically mows down the next supposed challenge to his title. May he defend it a few more times before calling it a career.

By DEAT

The Ring belt used to mean something. The entire purpose was to keep politics and ridiculous mandatory challengers out of boxing, and award some semblance of legitimacy to real champions in a sea of unreal titlists. The Ring would point at the folly of the various organizations and mock their backdoor mechanations, dishonest maneuvering, and the dreadful manner in which they awarded, revoked, and otherwise played fast and loose with their so called “Championship Belts.”

That was, at least, until February of 2004. Lennox Lewis retired, permanently, leaving the Ring Magazine Heavyweight belt vacant. Editors and advertising executives began to sweat and fart at the prospect of having an empty belt at the premiere division in the sport. The Ring had Vitali Klitschko ranked number 1, based on a sterling record and a spirited defeat at the hands of Lewis the previous year. At number 2 was Chris Byrd, the uninspiring, featherfisted IBF champion who had himself dealt Vitali a humiliating defeat back in 2000. At number 3, both hilariously and suspiciously, was Corrie Sanders, the fat part timer who had demolished Vitali’s brother, Wladimir, more than a year before, and had not fought since.

The Ring mandates that the Ring Belt can ONLY be won by beating the current belt holder, or when the top two ranked fighters in the division compete against one another. They do have a mildly amusing caveat that states that under certain circumstances, the title may be won in a match between the number one and the number THREE ranked fighter in a division. The Ring doesn’t see fit to give any examples of when this is an acceptable situation. In the case of Vitali Klitschko, it seemed perfectly reasonable that he be required to beat Chris Byrd, an active champion who had already beaten him once, to win The Ring title. However, The Ring decided to simply sanction the bout between Sanders and Vitali as THE FIGHT for the belt. Now Sanders had no business being ranked third, fifth, or 12th by The Ring. The ranking was completely fabricated, and not in touch with reality. At the time of the match, he had gone more than 12 months without fighting at all, a circumstance that The Ring uses to REMOVE A FIGHTER COMPLETELY from the rankings. Of course, Vitali demolished Sanders, and The Ring belt took a huge hit in credibility.

Fast forward to 2009. Vitali has retired, unretired, retired, unretired, and then, dramatically, come back after years away to re-establish himself as one of the top fighters in the division. The Ring has Wladimir Klitschko ranked number 1, brother Vitali ranked 2, and European southpaw Ruslan Chagaev ranked third. The top two fighter have long maintained that they will NEVER fight each other. Their sibling affection for one another is occasionally creepy, and there is little doubt that a match between the two would be little more than a glorified sparring match.

And, on June 20, once again, The Ring stepped in and allowed a top ranked Klitschko to avoid fighting the number 2 ranked contender to win the belt. Wladimir beat Chagaev when Chagaev quit on his stool to defend his own two belts and pick up a third, this one handed to him by The Ring.

Here is the problem. Vitali is the LINEAL Ring champ. He hasn’t been defeated in the ring, and there is no reason, considering his own lofty ranking, that he not be involved in a bout for The Ring Belt. Normally, when a fighter refuses to fight another fighter, he is punished, either through scorn or through being penalized by the sanctioning body. However, paradoxically, The Ring saw fit to reward not one, but BOTH men for this flagrant disregard for competitiveness and the spirit of fair play. Wlad was rewarded with a far easier match than one against his gifted brother, and Vitali was also rewarded, as he seems to consider any victory for his brother a victory for himself and his family. Only a few of us boxing fans remember that, through a previous farce, Vitali is The Ring Champion Emeritus in recess. It would have been both proper and honest to leave the belt vacant until the top two active contenders faced each other. But the world of boxing is never honest nor proper.

I do not mean to suggest either man wasn’t, at the time, the best fighter in the division. But The Ring was supposed to keep all of the silly political hypotheticals out of the decision making that goes towards awarding belts. But when it comes to the Klitschko brothers, they simply throw logic, fairness, and their own rules out the window.

In many ways, The Ring still has the moral upper ground over the sanctioning bodies. The magazine doesn’t collect sanctioning fees from the contestants. However, in tough economic times, it must still struggle to be relevant in a sport that is in a death spiral towards permanent irrelevance. The Klitschko brothers sell copies, and The Ring has sold its soul, and its heavyweight title, to them.

Check back here for updates on this story and more boxing news, and of course don’t forget to participate in the biggest prediction league in boxing!

Super Middleweight
Limit: 168 lbs

CHAMPION:  Vacant

1.  Mikkel Kessler (WBA)

2.  Carl Froch (WBC)

3.  Lucien Bute (IBF)

4.  Librado Andrade

5.  Karoly Balzsay (WBO)

6.  Sakio Bika

7.  Allan Green

8.  Jermain Taylor

9.  Andre Ward

10.  Jean Pascal

 Middleweight
Limit: 160 lbs

CHAMPION:  Kelly Pavlik (WBC, WBO)

1.  Arthur Abraham (IBF)

2.  Felix Sturm (WBA)

3.  Paul Williams

4.  Winky Wright

5.  Anthony Mundine

6.  Khoren Gevor

7.  Sebastian Sylvester

8.  Giovanni Lorenzo

9.  Javier Castillejo

10.  Roman Karmazin

Check back here for updates on this story and more boxing news, and of course don’t forget to participate in the biggest prediction league in boxing!

HEAVYWEIGHT
Limit: None

CHAMPION:  Vacant

1.  Vitali Klitschko (WBC)

2.  Wladimir Klitschko (IBF, WBO)

3.  Ruslan Chagaev (WBA)

4.  Alexander Povetkin

5.  David Haye

6.  Eddie Chambers

7.  Chris Arreola

8.  Nicolay Valuev (WBA interim)

9.  Alexander Dimitrenko

10.  Sultan Ibragimov

 Cruiserweight
Limit: 200 pounds

CHAMPION:  Vacant

1.  Tomasz Adamek (IBF)

2.  Steve Cunningham

3.  Guillermo Jones (WBA)

4.  Krzysztof Wlodarczyk

5.  Marco Huck

6.  Firat Arslan

7.  Giacobbe Fragomeni (WBC)

8.  Ola Ofalabi (WBO interim)

9.  BJ Floewa

10.  Jonathan Banks

Light Heavyweight
Limit:  175 pounds

CHAMPION: Vacant

1.  Bernard Hopkins

2.  Chad Dawson (IBF)

3.  Glen Johnson

4.  Zsolt Eerdei (WBO)

5.  Adrian Diaconu (WBC)

6.  Antonio Tarver

7.  Clinton Woods

8.  Hugo Garay (WBA)

9.  Sean George

10.  Yusaf Mack

Check back here for updates on this story and more boxing news, and of course don’t forget to participate in the biggest prediction league in boxing!

By Seattle Doug

So after months of on and off negotiations, featuring a seemingly endless series of demands and counter-demands, we finally have the heavyweight fight we wanted. Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye step into the ring on June 20th to determine the future of the division, in the most eagerly anticipated fight since Lennox Lewis retired six years ago.

The fight may truly be a make or break affair for both men. Haye is seen by many as an upstart who has yet to really prove himself worthy of a title shot. Wlad, while an established heavyweight title holder, is seen by many as a man whose titles rest on unsteady shoulders in that he seems capable of losing on any given night against ordinary competition. This fight should give us some answers regarding both men, in addition to greatly livening up a division stuck in the doldrums for most of the last half decade.

Haye obviously has the most to prove. After a dominating run in the cruiserweight division, taking on most of the top competition and defeating them in impressive fashion, a jump to heavyweight seemed a foregone conclusion. Given his height, reach, physique, and problems making weight towards the end of his run, we knew that the allure of competing in one of boxing’s traditional glamour divisions would be too much to resist. Haye appears to have maintained his elite hand and foot speed in a division featuring many lumbering giants. He also appears to have carried his power. In his most recent bout, he floored five times and ultimately stopped the durable Monte Barrett.

Haye does have some liabilities, however, which Wlad will look to exploit. Haye seems to suffer lapses in concentration. He also has had past problems with stamina, which cost him in his loss to Carl Thompson at Cruiserweight. His chin is also unproven. While it held up well enough against limited punchers Barrett and Thomasz Bonin, how will Haye handle the thundering jabs and crosses Wlad Klitschko is sure to deliver?

Wlad for his part is the shakiest dominant champion in recent memory, if not of all time. He can dismantle foes in textbook fashion, such as his victories over Chris Byrd, Calvin Brock, and Hasim Rahman, in which he patiently worked behind a jab, mixing in right hands in the middle and later rounds. Sometimes, however, he seems to have trouble finding second gear, jabbing almost exclusively and delivering extremely limited, boring wins (e.g., Sultan Ibragimov and Tony Thompson). Of course what worries his fans the most are the perplexing fights in which he just cannot seem to get focused, either offensively or defensively. Against Samuel Peter he went down numerous times, escaping with an unsatisfying victory, while against DaVarryl Williams he escaped with a technical decision after getting dropped in the early rounds. Those problems came to head in his bouts with Ross Purrity, Corrie Sanders and the first fight with Lamon Brewster, in which defensive lapses coupled with stamina issues led to TKO losses.

As for the fight itself, it’s a tough one to call, making it all the more intriguing. Both men bring significant, impressive attributes to the ring. Both men seem to have styles that would allow them to be very effective against each other. Does Haye taste that vaunted Wlad one-two early, followed by a lingering taste of canvas or does Wlad deliver another of his safety-first boxing clinics, keeping Haye at the end of that pile-driver jab and cross, taking it to a decision victory or late knockout? Does Haye bum-rush Wlad, bringing the pressure and power that troubled Wlad so much against Sanders, leading to another TKO loss or will Wlad wilt in the middle to late rounds, yet again succumbing to a TKO loss as the pressure and fatigue get the better of him?

I believe we’ll see the best of Wlad the technician, working from distance behind his straight punches, wearing down the Brit and taking him out late. I believe Haye will give a good account of himself, perhaps even flooring Wlad at some point and making it a rousing affair. At any rate, this is the fight we’ve waited to see. The dominant heavyweight of the last five years against the young, hungry contender with plenty of credentials himself. This is the fight that can bring the division back to a semblance of its former glory. Personally, I can’t wait until the 20th of June. Based on early ticket sales and the internet chatter this fight has evoked, neither can anyone else.

Check back here for updates on this story, more boxing news and the latest odds for the biggest fights in boxing.

The first quarter of 2009 featured a few fights among BPL’s top rated heavyweights. Vitali Klitschko, in his second fight since his comeback, took on previously #4 ranked Juan Carlos Gomez; #3 Ruslan Chagaev made a successful comeback after his Achilles tendon surgery and rehab; and previously #12 ranked Eddie Chambers took on previously #8 ranked Sam Peter. Vitali took care of business against the awkward Gomez, despite struggling a bit in the first couple rounds, Chagaev won a technical decision (when the fight was stopped as a result of a head butt induced cut) and Chambers put enough rounds in the bank early to get a ten round decision over Peter.

Vitali’s return certainly creates room for argument as to which of the brothers is the #1 heavyweight in boxing. As I have explained before, I would pick Vitali to beat Wlad. For now, though, even with Vitali’s recent win over Gomez, I think Wlad has done more over the last couple years (a string of title defenses and unification of the IBF and WBO titles) to earn the #1 spot. Everyone knows Wlad’s story. Great amateur pedigree (Gold medalist at ‘96 Olympics). He’s had a bit of a bumpy ride — seemingly unbeatable one minute and then getting KO’d by huge underdogs the next — but since getting KO’d by Lamon Brewster in 2004, he has gone on a 9 fight win streak (with 6 TKO’s), stopping long-time IBF champ Chris Byrd and winning a UD over #8 heavyweight Sam Peter. In the Spring of 2008, his dominant, if coma inducing for the audience, win over top heavyweight contender and WBO title holder Sultan Ibragimov solidified his hold on the top spot. Another solid win came in the Summer of 2008 when he scored a late knockout over top ten contender Tony Thompson. He was scheduled to face the young, exciting prospect, Alexander Povetkin (ranked #1 by the IBF and #7 here at the BPL), in December, but Povetkin was injured in training and so Wlad fought and dominated Hasim Rahman instead. Wlad has tentatively agreed to fight David Haye, who appears to be the toughest opponent Wlad will have fought in his entire career.

2. Vitali Klitschko

As I said, I think you can make a case for Vitali as the #1 heavyweight in the world, especially on a head to head basis. On October 11, 2008, he finally made his much anticipated comeback and thoroughly dominated the WBC Interim title holder, Sam Peter. Then in March 2009, he followed up that performance with another one-sided win over his mandatory challenger, Juan Carlos Gomez. Vitali struggled a bit early, fighting on relatively even terms with Gomez for the first few rounds, but he quickly solved the puzzle and began dominating in the middle and late rounds. Vitali presents any fighter with significant challenges, because of his physical dimensions. At 6′7″ and 250 lbs he is the biggest elite heavyweight in history. And not only is he huge, but he has learned to use that to his advantage. He fights in an awkward defensive style off of his back foot that has befuddled everyone he has faced. Even Lennox Lewis had a hard time landing on Klitschko in the initial rounds of their slugfest. But of course defense is not what comes to most people’s mind when they think of Vitali Klitschko. He has a very high workrate and is extremely accurate with his punches. While he isn’t known for stunning one punch KO power, he has heavy hands and seems to bludgeon people into submission, winning by stoppage in 35 of his 36 wins. His heart was questioned by many when he quit during his fight against Chris Byrd, sustaining a loss by technical knockout as a result, but with his valiant but losing effort against Lennox Lewis he seems to have answered those questions. Vitali was rumored to have agreed to fight heavyweight newcomer David Haye in the middle of next year. It would have been the most anticipated fight in heavyweight boxing, since Lewis v. Tyson in 2002, but now his brother Wlad Klitschko appears to be the opponent for Haye. Vitali has indicated that he would like to pursue the WBA title, currently split among Nicolay Valuev and Ruslan Chagaev.

3. Ruslan Chagaev

Current WBA champion. Aggressive, boxer/puncher (with emphasis on puncher), southpaw. Great amateur pedigree (Two-time World Amateur Champ, including a win over Felix Savon in the finals in 2001). He is undefeated and has wins over former WBA title holder Valuev, former WBA title holder John Ruiz and former #10 Vlad Virchis. Some question marks surrounded Chagaev, as a result of his cancelled (rumored to be the result of a serious illness) unification fight with Sultan Ibragimov. In his first defense of the WBA title in January of 2008, he easily won a unanimous decision over British heavyweight champion, Matt Skelton. He was supposed to fight a rematch against Nicolay Valuev in 2008, but ruptured his Achilles tendon on the final day of sparring for the match. After surgery and a nine month long rehabilitation period, Chagaev returned to action in February against undefeated Costa Rican heavyweight (ranked #9 in the world by the WBA) Carl Drumond. With Chagaev ahead on all three cards after six, the fight was stopped because of a cut Chagaev sustained from an accidental head butt. Chagaev has indicated that he wants to fight Nicolay Valuev (who is holding an interim version of Chagaev’s WBA title), as soon as possible after Drumond.

4. David Haye

David Haye is to many people the man with the most potential to really shake up the heavyweight division. He is the former Ring Magazine, WBC, WBA and WBO unified Cruiserweight champion, having defeated former champions Jean Marc Mormeck and Enzo Maccarinelli by knockout. He had a very solid amateur career, advancing to the finals of the 2001 World Championships in the heavyweight division at age 21, where he lost by stoppage to the great Cuban amateur, Odlanier Solis. In his first fight in the heavyweight division as a professional, he stopped top Polish heavyweight prospect Tomasz Bonin in the first round. He absolutely demolished former title challenger Monte Barrett (then ranked #9 by the WBO) in November, knocking him down five times on his way to a knockout. Barrett has been in against very tough competition over the years, and only one other heavyweight — Wlad Klitschko — was able to do that to him. It appears Haye is more than just hype. Haye has been chasing Wlad Klitschko all over the globe, trying to goad him into a fight, and it looks like he might get his shot. A fight with Wlad Klitschko is tentatively scheduled for June 2009. This fight has been called on and off again half a dozen times already, however, with a Vitali Klitschko v. Haye fight also proposed, and so we at the BPL will believe this one when we see it.

5. Alexander Povetkin

Extremely aggressive, orthodox slugger with a great amateur pedigree (2004 Olympic Gold medalist). In only his 14th professional fight he beat Chris Byrd by TKO! He followed that up with a fairly wide decision over fellow undefeated prospect, Eddie Chambers, to position himself for a shot at Wlad Klitschko’s IBF title. Before Byrd he won practically every round against the experienced former title challenger, Larry Donald. Remember, Donald gave Valuev hell for 12 rounds and beat him in the eyes of many (including me). His last win, a tune-up fight for his title challenge against Wlad Klitschko in December, was a 4th round TKO of journeyman Taurus Sykes. Povetkin sustained an injury in training and so his fight with Wlad Klitschko was cancelled. Maybe that’s a good thing, because I think he could use some seasoning before taking on the #1 heavyweight in the world. I’d like to see him around for a long time. Povetkin’s aggressive, attacking style is fun to watch, and he has brought much needed excitement to the heavyweight division. Povetkin is currently scheduled to fight one of the most decorated amateurs in the history of United States boxing, heavyweight prospect Jason Estrada. Estrada had a very busy and successful 2008, beating previous title contenders Lance Whitaker and Charles Shufford as well as tough journeyman Derek Bryant. This is an important fight for both men. Povetkin can’t afford the setback that a loss to a relatively unheralded prospect would cause, while a win for Estrada would catapult him right into title contention.

6. Nicolay Valuev

Valuev may be slow and one dimensional, but he is fundamentally sound and will always present problems for any opponent because of his massive size (7′0″, 330 lbs). The size advantage, plus a little friendly hometown judging, gave him wins over #11 John Ruiz (for the WBA title) and former contender Larry Donald, but it wasn’t enough to beat Ruslan Chagaev. Valuev has made the case that he is the real deal by coming back to win a lopsided decision over the former WBO champ, Serguei Lyakhovich, in a WBA title eliminator. He defeated John Ruiz once again, by another razor thin decision in Berlin, Germany, to reclaim the interim WBA heavyweight title. Instead of fighting Chagaev upon Chagaev’s return from injuries, Valuev chose to fight Evander Holyfield on December 21. The decision almost proved disastrous, as Valuev barely escaped with a majority decision.

7. Alexander Dimitrenko

Very tall (6′7″), orthodox, Ukrainian boxer/puncher. He turned pro at 18 years of age after winning the world junior amateur championship and seems to have become stronger and more confident with each outing. He has been handled very carefully, but that approach may be paying dividends now. He is now 25 years old, stepping up against slightly better competition and turning in his best performances to date. He really put his punches together well in stopping Malcom Tann in five rounds. In November he stopped in 12 rounds the previously unstoppable Timo Hoffman (who years ago took Vitali Klitschko the distance) and in May 2008 he stopped prospect Derric Rossy in five rounds. In November, he had another very good win, knocking out former title challenger, Luan Krasniqi. Dimitrenko is definitely someone to watch.

8. Eddie Chambers

Quick, elusive (reminds some of a young Chris Byrd) orthodox boxer. Chambers turned pro seven years ago at 18 and has taken his time to develop. He is now 30-1 and has started to step up, with his level of competition increasing dramatically over the last year. He easily outpointed former contender Dominick Guinn, beat Calvin Brock to set up a title eliminator against hard charging prospect Povetkin, but lost that fight on the scorecards. He controlled the fight in spurts against Povetkin with his sharp, accurate punching, but unfortunately spurts were all he seemed to be able to muster, and Povetkin’s consistent, although less effective, offense was favored by the judges. Since his loss to Povetkin, Chambers has notched TKO wins against journeymen opponents Raphael Butler and Livin Castillo and a tedious unanimous decision (which brought boos from the crowd) over Cisse Salif. In March 2009 Chambers solidified his standing as a top 10 heavyweight with a clear (if unspectacular) decision over Sam Peter. Chambers weighed in at a career high 223 lbs against Peter and looked like he had completely gassed by the middle rounds. It was reminiscent of his performance against Povetkin, in that he just couldn’t seem to sustain his early offensive output, but it was enough to get past Peter. He’s going to have to work a lot harder, if he hopes to have any success against the elite of the division.

9. John Ruiz

Ruiz is a fighter who has hovered in and around the heavyweight top 10 for the better part of a decade. He managed to defend the WBA title three times, before losing (in what I thought was a minor robbery) a decision to #4, Nicolay Valuev. In 2008 he set himself up for another title shot by easily outpointing Jameel McCline (who in his last fight had knocked down three times the BPL’s number #8 heavyweight, Sam Peter). However, he came up short once again in a rematch against Valuev, dropping yet another razor thin decision in Germany.

10. Juan Carlos Gomez

Southpaw boxer. Gomez has been one of the most frustrating heavyweights to follow, but his natural talent is undeniable. Before moving up to heavyweight, he cleaned out the Cruiserweight division, winning 12 straight title fights. Since moving up, though, he has seemed to lack focus. His fights at heavyweight were at first few and far between — one in 2001, two in 2002 and one in 2003. He blamed most of the inactivity on problems with his promoter, Universum. He stepped up into the spotlight in 2003, on HBO’s Night of the Young Heavyweights, winning every round against undefeated heavyweight prospect, Sinan Samil Sam. But then of course in 2004, he suffered that bizarre 1st round TKO against fellow Cuban heavyweight prospect, Yanqui Diaz. It was bizarre on two counts: (1) Gomez had never been knocked down, either as an amateur or a pro, and had been in the ring with the likes of Felix Savon and (2) Yanqui Diaz is a complete unknown (and frankly, not very good). 2005 seemed to be a turnaround year for Gomez, as he scored early KO’s over George Arias (who just went 12 with contender Taras Bidenko) and David Defiagbon (who held WBC champ Oleg Maskaev to a split dec.) and easily outpointed come-backing former champ, Oliver McCall. But then the win over McCall was changed to an NC, when it was revealed that Gomez had tested positive for cocaine. A drug problem could certainly explain his lack of focus. He spent all of 2006 on the sidelines, disputing the cocaine test.

In 2007 and 2008 Gomez launched yet another comeback. After an acrimonious split with Universum, he picked up two minor WBA title belts with wins in early 2007 and then became the WBC “International Heavyweight” champion in late 2007, when he repeated his performance over former champ Oliver McCall, winning yet another decision. Gomez didn’t fight again until almost a year later when he finally got his chance at a WBC heavyweight title shot, fighting Vlad Virchis in a title-eliminator, the winner of which was promised a mandatory title fight against Vitali Klitschko. Gomez won the fight and in March 2009 took on Vitali Klitschko. Given the years of inactivity and inconsistency, Gomez came into the fight as a big underdog. While he made the first few rounds interesting, possibly taking one or two of the opening stanzas, he appeared old, overweight and slow. While a Klitschko-Gomez fight had seemed interesting 6 years ago, it was apparent that this version of Gomez was not going to be a serious threat to Vitali or any of the other top heavyweights. Gomez vowed to fight on and pursue the WBA title (held by Chagaev), but given his uninspired effort it seems unlikely that he will have much success.

11. Chris Arreola

Falling one notch to #13 is the undefeated Mexican-American heavyweight, Chris “Nightmare” Arreola. Arreola, 26, is a crowd-pleasing, aggressive fighter who throws a lot of punches and keeps the pressure on his opponents. Arreola made his HBO debut in June 2008, winning on a DQ in three rounds against undefeated prospect Chazz Witherspoon (Witherspoon was disqualified when his trainer climbed onto the ring apron during round 3 to help his fallen fighter). People have questioned Arreola’s focus, however. Although he started boxing at an early age, he gave up boxing multiple times before returning at age 20 to win the National Golden Gloves title as an amateur. He again quit boxing for years, before turning pro at age 23. He also has weight problems. He was criticized for coming into the ring out of shape and at least 10 lbs overweight against Thomas Hayes in 2007, and in September 2008 he looked terrible in his bout against journeyman Israel Garcia, fighting at a career high 259 lbs. In November 2008, he looked equally bad, coming in at a very sloppy looking 254 lbs against undefeated (but completely untested) prospect Travis Walker. In what must have caused concern among Arreola fans, he got dropped hard by Walker before coming back to win.

12. Sultan Ibragimov

Former WBO champion. Ibragimov had a solid, but not stellar, amateur career, winning Silver at the 2000 Olympics (lost to Felix Savon) and placing third at the 2001 World Championships (lost to current hot heavyweight prospect Odlanier Solis). An aggressive southpaw, Ibragimov displayed a ton of potential early in his pro career, going 19-0 and scoring some impressive stoppages, including a 7th round TKO over Lance Whitaker. He displayed good power, discipline and decent handspeed in that fight, scoring with combinations to the body and head that eventually wore down Goofi. Since then, however, his career has stalled somewhat. He struggled and drew with Ray Austin, and although he took the WBO title from Shannon Briggs, he didn’t look all that great doing it. Although he managed to survive to hear the final bell, he never pressed the action and was on the losing side of a completely lopsided decision against Wlad Klitschko. Ibragimov hasn’t fought in over a year, and because of that inactivity I have dropped him down to the bottom of this list. If he doesn’t fight again soon, I’ll have to drop him altogether.

13. Sam Peter

In the previous version of the Baker’s Dozen, I had listed Sam Peter at #8 and I wrote that it might not be long until he drops out altogether. Well, we’re almost to that point. Peter’s horrible effort against Vitali Klitschko combined with his close call against Jameel McCline had me questioning whether he even belonged in this list. I still have him here, but only barely and really only because of the lack of talent in today’s heavyweight division. After attending a couple of Peter’s early fights, I was skeptical about his prospects for a very long time. I thought he was just too clumsy and unskilled to ever make any headway at the top of the division, but he did improve. In his first loss (to Wlad Klitschko, my #1 heavyweight), he gave as spirited an effort as we have ever seen from any of Wlad’s opponents. On the other hand, Peter’s signature wins were back to back decisions over 39 year old former middleweight James Toney (and given that I thought Toney pretty clearly won the first fight AND Toney subsequently struggled to beat journeyman Danny Batchelder, you have to wonder how much Toney had left) and a sixth round TKO of 39 year old Oleg Maskaev. Seeing Peter hit the canvas three times against McCline brought to the surface all of my old doubts about him. In October 2008 he got demolished by Vitali Klitschko and in March 2009, he was easily outboxed by Eddie Chambers. So, he finds himself at the bottom of my list. It may not be long before he drops out altogether.

Check back here for updates on this story, more boxing news and the latest odds for the biggest fights in boxing.

Klitschko vs. Gomez: Is The Big Man Nearing The End?
By Seattle Doug

Last Saturday night was a much anticipated event, the re-return of
Vitali Klitschko in a title defense. Vitali looked exceptional last
fall crushing Samuel Peter in methodical fashion, the things we loved

about him were still very much
intact. His long, accurate jab and cross, his underrated defense, his
class and composure in the ring, all very much in evidence. After
watching Vitali look less than spectacular against Gomez though, maybe
there’s more to the story than Vitali’s dominance of Peter revealed.

In Peter, Vitali had an opponent all but tailor-made for him. The lack
of movement and defense on Peter’s part played to Vitali’s strengths,
he loves being able to dominate from a distance at a comfortable pace.
Peter applied almost no pressure, which is excusable given that Vitali
kept him on the outside with sharp, straight punches all night. Peter’s
vaunted power never came into play either, once again due to the
distance the fight was fought at. I can’t fault Vitali for any of that,
but Peter certainly earned his share of criticism in that he gave
himself almost no chance in the fight.

On to Vitali/Gomez. I had a hunch that Gomez might be tough to figure
out for a few rounds, as he is a slick boxer with a ton of experience.
What I didn’t count on was Vitali eating so many overhand lefts, he’s
usually pretty good at being just out of range when his opponent
throws. I also didn’t factor in him appearing gassed through much of
the middle of the fight. I saw a fighter sucking wind three rounds in
against an opponent who wasn’t excessively pressuring him. Gomez was
being pretty effective with what he was doing, throwing big looping
shots on the way inside and then unfortunately allowing himself to be
tied-up almost immediately. Had he committed to freeing up his hands on
the inside and working, he could have made a real fight of it.

Vitali did adjust after about the third, keeping Gomez more at a
distance and managing to land more consistently. He didn’t land much
flush at first, but he kept Juan Carlos off-balance, and to his credit
did alternately tie-up and throw effectively on the inside. I just
couldn’t help but think that the fight unfolded as it did more as a
result of what Gomez wasn’t doing, as opposed to what Vitali was doing.
I saw an underdog having his moments here and there and not taking full
advantage of it, moreso than a champion dictating throughout as he is
capable of, and using all of his abilities to beat-down an out-classed
opponent.

All that being said and digested, at the end of the day Vitali was
victorious. He did show enough of his class, experience, and skill to
thoroughly handle an opponent he was expected by most to beat. Gomez,
for his part, sold himself a bit short in the things he needed to do to
give himself a chance. While that in itself is not a knock on Vitali,
it makes one wonder what happens when an opponent does take advantage
of the shortcomings Vitali displayed Saturday night. Perhaps it was
just a touch of ring-rust on Vitali’s part, only having eight rounds
under his belt in the previous four-plus years. Couple that with being
matched up against an opponent known for being awkward, and maybe
there’s nothing to be concerned about.

But this fight fan saw enough to merit some concern. When dealing with
a fighter in his late thirties, coming off of a long spell of limited
activity and a history of injuries, it’s easy to say that maybe he’s
nearing the end of his road. I personally will be very interested to
see Vitali against a Povetkin, Dimitrenko, or even an Arreola before
making any final judgement on how much Vitali has left. Let’s hope one
of those fights gets made soon, as no matter how much Vitali has left
in the tank, any of the above should make for good boxing spectacle. In
the end, isn’t that why we follow the sport?

Press Release

The following is a statement by Tim Noonan, Chairman of the California Athletic Commission, regarding Antonio Margarito:

“The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) has temporarily suspended the licenses of Antonio Margarito and his chief corner man, Javier Capetillo. The temporary suspension will remain in effect until CSAC has fully investigated the circumstances surrounding events at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on January 24, 2009. A foreign substance was found by California State Athletic Commission staff in the hand wraps of Antonio Margarito before his bout against Shane Mosley at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The substance found in Margarito’s hand wraps is currently being analyzed by the California Department of Justice. An investigation as to whether either licensee violated CSAC rules is ongoing. Mr. Margarito and Mr. Capetillo have been asked to appear at an initial hearing scheduled for February 10, 2009.
“The licenses of Mr. Margarito and Mr. Capetillo were suspended pursuant to Business and Professions Code section 18842, which allows for the temporary suspension of a license when such an action is necessary to ‘protect the public welfare.’ CSAC Rule 323 limits the amount and type of gauze and tape allowed under a fighter’s boxing glove. Rule 390 allows CSAC to discipline a licensee when his or her actions are a “discredit to boxing” or violate the rules of CSAC.
“Commission staff will have no further comment until such time as the Commission makes a final determination of whether licensee actions in this case warrant fines, suspensions, or the revocation of licenses. The Commission has asked Mr. Margarito and Mr. Capetillo to appear at an initial hearing currently scheduled for February 10, 2009.”
# #

By Brandon Estrict,

If you’re Shane Mosley, you’re ready to go right now. We’re just a few hours away from tonight’s big fight in Los Angeles between Mosley and WBA Welterweight Champion, Antonio Margarito, but imagine the fire burning inside “Sugar” Shane. He has everything in the world to fight for and, seemingly, nothing to lose when he battles the Tijuana Tornado for 147 lb. supremacy.

Shane Mosley is a throwback fighter, and a sure-fire future Hall of Famer. His best days, as evidenced by his previous bout, a sub-par outing against face-first brawler Ricardo Mayorga, are clearly behind him. He is, while not directly at the center of, deeply embroiled in the BALCO steroid controversy, and recently released testimony have showed him to be less than honest when speaking on the topic in the past. His father and former trainer, Jack Mosley, made some comments to the media last week that Shane and wife/business manager, Jin, may be having marital problems. It is at least noteworthy that Shane now handles all of his own business matters. Combine all of this with a new voice in the corner of Mosley, long-time trainer of the legendary Bernard Hopkins, Nazim Richardson, and all of the turbulence involved in making that transition from Jack, and Mosley has a tremendous amount of things to deal with heading into ring tonight.

But, like I stated earlier, Shane Mosley is a throwback fighter, a warrior, and a man with a love and a passion for his craft that you rarely see in fighters at this stage and on this level of their careers’. His loyalty has not been strictly to money, but to boxing and it shows. It is the reason that he is even at this point now, trying to tame one of the young lions and boxing’s hottest fighter in the Tijuana Tornado. Shane Mosley didn’t say “there isn’t enough on the table for me,” because Shane Mosley wants to re-assert his greatness. He wants to test himself against the very best before hanging the gloves up and he has an agenda to go out there and prove everyone writing him off to be wrong. The squared circle is not a place you carry with you the burdens of chaos, it is a release from those burdens. Shane can, if only for tonight, forget about everything going wrong in his life, and get back to what he does best, FIGHT. It is a place of comfort to him in my opinion and we will see a revitalized Mosley in there tonight. He knows he has a lot of eyes on him, and I don’t believe his performance will fail to disappoint.

Will it be enough to stop the hard-hitting Margarito in his tracks? That I can’t answer, I will get that information over 36 hard minutes with the rest of you later on. But Shane should be complimented for taking this fight at this stage of his career. Everything is in place tonight, and when you look back on this event 25 years from now you’ll be able to say that this is the stuff that legends are made of. I foresee a fight even better than the one HBO gave us last weekend in Berto-Collazo, and I can not wait for this one. May the best man win.
Brandon Estrict
Bestrict@hotmail.com

Boxing Prediction League – Boxing Fantasy League – Shane Mosley and Antonio Margarito

According to television news reports in the Philippines, Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton have finally come to financial terms for a fight scheduled to take place on May 2, 2009.In an interview, Pacquiao would not reveal the terms of the contract, including the revenue split, but said that he had informed promoter Bob Arum of his decision by telephone.

Pacquiao said he intends to travel to the United States in February to begin training for the fight with Freddie Roach.  Pacquiao’s management team has confirmed, however, that the terms were now more favorable to Pacquiao, which is what resulted in a deal finally happening.

Pacquiao had earlier indicated that he won’t fight Hatton unless the revenue split made in his favor. He has been demanding a 60-40 revenue split.  Hatton’s camp, however, wanted a 50-50 sharing deal after already reaching a verbal agreement with Arum.  As a compromise, Arum had proposed a 52-48 split favoring Pacquiao.

The venue for the fight is likely to be the  MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.

Check back here for udpates on this story, more boxing news and the latest odds for the biggest fights in boxing.

Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) – The proposed May 2 fight between Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao and Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton in Las Vegas was called off on Wednesday after the two sides failed to agree on a purse split.Pacquiao failed to meet a Wednesday deadline imposed by Hatton. Pacquiao reportedly demanded a 60-40 split, while Hatton insisted on 50-50. Several attempts were made on a compromise prior to the deadline.

Recognized as the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world, the 30-year-old Pacquiao (48-3-2, 36 KOs) holds the WBC lightweight title and was coming off a thorough pounding of “Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya in a fight that was stopped after the eighth round.

Hatton (45-1-0, 32 KOs) was coming off an 11th-round technical knockout of Paulie Malignaggi in November and currently holds the lesser-known IBO light welterweight title.