SPORTS

Keith Thurman vs Adrien Broner Next?

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Adrien Broner vs Keith Thurman Next?

@GeorgeCottonJr aka #DaTruth 7/29/2013

This past Saturday, hard hitting Welterweight Keith “One Time” Thurman (21-0 19 KOS) scored the biggest win of his career by scoring a stoppage over previously unbeaten Diego Chaves in the 10th . The win also lined up Thurman for bigger things. Thurman now is the Interim WBA Champion…a title that is held by Adrien Broner. If you ask Thurman he can’t wait to show he’s ready for a shot at the title. “Everybody wants to see me and Broner….he really didn’t have the best performance against Paulie. His speed was there, but his power wasn’t there in the Welterweight division. I’m definitely a bigger puncher than him…it’s a great fight”….said Thurman. Fights like this needs to happen and is exactly what boxing needs. Both fighters are young and in their prime.

Chances are we might just see a fight between the two sooner than later. Nobody besides Floyd Mayweather is more talked about right now than Adrien Broner. At just 23, Broner (27-0 24kos) is now a 3 division champion and a matchup against Thurman would match him up with someone of equal speed and more power. Many say Thurman might be one the hardest one punch knockout artists in the game, and his reputation spread fast in Florida boxing gyms. He’s also brash yet represents a throwback approach to the game. Boxing needs guys like Keith Thurman….and hate or love him…they need Adrien Broner too.

End of the Road For Berto

Damn. It might be a wrap for Andre Berto. The former Welterweight Titleholder took another beatdown…this time against the always tough but always slightly above average Jesus Soto Karass. I liked watching Berto because it was like watching a poor man’s Meldrick Taylor mixed with Jeff Lacy with a hint of Shane Mosley.  It was all good just a couple summers ago for Berto. He was a Champion, getting a mill ticket every time he fought (NO MATTER WHO HE FOUGHT ) and was a W away from fighting Floyd. Then he lost to Victor Ortiz….then he failed a drug test and popped for steroids after demanding more testing for the Ortiz rematch(which got cancelled all together)…Then he got beatdown by Robert Guerrero and now Soto Karass. Berto hasn’t won many rounds let alone a fight since he failed his drug test and many question how good Berto was in the first place. Overall Berto had a solid run and I always liked watching him because overall he was a very good but not great fighter. You usually always get your money’s worth from Berto. He also appeared to suffer a severe arm injury in the fight which I’m sure limited him and you gotta give Berto credit for gutting it out. Tough break for Berto, who at 29 appears done as an elite fighter.  Good luck to him though…you never know.

John Molina stops Mickey Bey in final round!

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John Molina stops Mickey Bey in final round!

@GeorgeCottonJr aka DaTruth 7-19-2013

What I love most about boxing is you never know what you are going to see. In this fight you had the classic case of boxer vs puncher. The puncher won. Mickey Bey (18-1-1 9kos) was looking good in this ShoBox main event against California native John Molina Jr. (26-3 21kos) and just got caught slipping plain in simple, It happens in boxing and it happened in front of an excited crowd in Las Vegas’ Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Joint arena.  In the lead up to the fight the question was how Bey would perform against his best test as a pro as he had elite success as an amateur and was undefeated thus far as a pro albeit against no one of the caliber at least on paper of Molina. It was so far so good nine rounds in and Bey was clearly ahead going into the final round.This was a good fight as both fighters landed leather often and early, but it was Bey pulling ahead landing more mostly throughout. But, Molina kept coming, and coming, and coming and finally late in the 10th after taking several shots from Bey,  Molina clipped Bey with a short left hook that had him stunned and in retreat. Molina then followed up with several hard unanswered shots while Bey was pinned against the ropes which forced referee Vic Drakulich to stop the fight. Bey pretty much  had this one in the bag. Some may say Bey should have boxed more with only a minute to go.  Some may salute him for trying to put on a show and finish off Molina, who he had hurt it seemed at times in the earlier part of the 10th .No matter how you look at it hats off to Molina for showing tremendous will to pull off the upset on the road. Molina needed a knockout going into the final round and went for it. Everyone knows the saying too about punchers , they always have a punchers chance and you can’t never count out a puncher. Tough loss for Bey, who really needed to rebound in a big way and fought a good fight for most of the fight. Molina now remains a player in the division and this win definitely sets up potential money fights for him down the road.

Also on the card Super Middleweight prospect Badou Jack (15-0 10kos) remained unbeaten by easily outpointing Farrah Ennis by unanimous decision. Jack controlled the pace throughout and made this one look easier than many thought it would look going in. Jack has shown a step up in class so far since signing with Mayweather Promotions and has looked good. Big things could be ahead for him.

Matthysse vs Garcia on Mayweather Alvarez Card

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Matthysse vs Garcia! Trout vs Lara on Mayweather-Alvarez Undercard

@GeorgeCottonJr aka DaTruth 7-16-2013

It looks like the Mayweather-Alvarez card is shaping up nicely as it looks as some of boxings top names will take part in the mega fight. Jr. Welterweight Champion Danny Garcia (26-0 16kos) will take on hard hitting Lucas Matthysse (34-2 32kos) who is Garcia’s mandatory. This is one of boxing’s top matchups and if it happens it should make for a great fight. Also former Jr. Middleweight titleholder Austin “No Doubt” Trout (26-1 14kos) will take on Erislandy Lara (18-1-2  12kos). Showtime and company are putting the final touches on the card. Good news for fight fans if this happens! By far this will make one of the best cards in years. Boxing needs to go back to loaded cards like this.

Dwight Howard Signs With Rockets! Josh Smith Too?

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Dwight Howard signs with Houston Rockets

@GeorgeCottonJr aka DaTruth July 5,2013

According to sources, it looks like Dwight Howard has left Los Angeles and is on his way to Houston. Howard is coming off a underachieving season with the Lakers. Howard still managed to average 17 points a game and 12.4 rebounds a game. However the Lakers were always injured…I mean always. Steve Nash looked 60 and Kobe Bryant and Howard never seemed to click as many hope they would. The Rockets may not be done either…sources also report Atlanta Hawks versatile forward Josh Smith may be on his way to Houston too. That would be big. Howard can now be the man again while having a solid supporting cast around him. James Harden is the real deal and Jeremy Lin,Chandler Parsons and Patrick Patterson and others make a very good young team. Let’s see what else unfolds….

Showtime or HBO? Boxing fans say Showtime

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HBO Losing Their Winning Touch? What Happened?

@GeorgeCottonJr aka DaTruth July 1,2013

For years HBO used to be unmatched when it came to quality boxing matches. I mean don’t me wrong there was always good fights on other networks such as Showtime, ESPN and others but when it came to top fighters and quality presentation HBO was always a step above the rest. Well things seem to have changed as its now becoming obvious and very one sided when it comes to boxing, Showtime is slowly becoming the network to see and the numbers aren’t lying. Months ago, many overlooked the beef HBO had with Golden Boy and now it’s hard to argue HBO just doesn’t have the matches they used too. Let’s go down the recent matchups and compare them. Now earlier on HBO got off to an early start with two great fights with Timothy Bradley going life and death with Ruslan Provodnikov and the another slugfest with the rematch between Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios and Mike Alvarado. Both of those fights happened in March. Now the new kid Mikey Garcia had a couple of exciting fights also but lets face it, he’s still climbing up the ladder himself despite winning the Featherweight Title against Salido and clipping Juan Ma Lopez who is on the downside himself.

Showtime on the other hand had Floyd Mayweather vs Guerrero…and have another mega fight in Mayweather vs Alvarez. Mayweather, Broner, and Alvarez alone is already better than the entire lineup HBO has to offer…with no quality matchups in sight.

All the names now have moved to Showtime and fight fans are following the wave. Boxing stars such as Floyd Mayweather, Canelo Alvarez, Amir Khan, and Miguel Cotto all made the switch. And not to mention all the new up and coming stars are gone also, Broner is doing serious numbers when he fights, Keith Thurman, and Abner Mares just to name a few all dipped. I guess HBO thought they could win fans over with Zou Shiming headlining 4 rounders. Or how about the can’t miss matchup between Daniel Geale vs Darren Barker. The triple header we just watched featuring Gennady Golovkin was not very exciting and it’s kinda getting ridiculous hearing the HBO crew trying their best to sell some of these matchups to fight fans. Dawson getting knocked out in the 1st might have made a new star for HBO in Adonis Stevenson..or did it? Now Pacquiao vs Rios should be good and also Bradley vs Marquez, but if HBO doesn’t get better fights on their network, they can find themselves in a spot they haven’t been used to…distant second or third (NBC Sports fights ain’t bad neither). At the moment they don’t have one fight that I would pay for. So I ask you the fight fans….which network is better for your viewing pleasure? HBO or Showtime?

Golovkin vs Macklin on HBO Triple Header

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Golovkin vs Macklin Headlines HBO “Boxing After Dark” Tripleheader

@AntRoss22 June 29, 2013

Tonight on HBO’s “Boxing After Dark” an exciting triple-header live from the MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut will be featuring reigning WBA/IBO middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (26-0, 23KO) taking on former world title challenger Matthew “Mack The Knife” Macklin (29-4, 20KO) in the 12-round main event. Golovkin is one of the more feared punchers in the sport today, despite the fact that he is an excellent boxer with a great amateur pedigree makes him even more intriguing to boxing fans. Golovkin has only been ten rounds once in his career up to this point, knocking out Kassim Ouma and tonight will undoubtedly face his first legitimate top ten middleweight contender tonight in Macklin. The 31-year old Golovkin from Stuggart, Germany by way of Kazakhstan has made Big Bear, California his second home, training with world renown trainer Abel Sanchez. Sanchez was very confident at the final press conference stating, “We are expecting a tough fight on Saturday, but also a short fight. It’s going to be very exciting for as long as it lasts.” Golovkin has slowly stepped up the competition over the past year and if he ends up getting past Macklin tonight, a huge opportunity awaits him by the end 2013 to unify the middleweight titles with IBF/WBA “super” champion Daniel Geale or possibly WBC titlest Sergio Martinez. Macklin also 31-years old, comes in the more battle tested of the two going in, having fought former WBA middleweight kingpin Felix Sturm to a hard fought split decision loss, which many observers felt there was some “home cookin” in Cologne, Germany and the decision could have easily went to Macklin back in 2011. Many boxing fans remember Macklin from his gutsy performance with Sergio Martinez in early 2012 on HBO, knocking down Martinez in round seven. Martinez was just too slick for Macklin down the stretch, knocking down Macklin twice in round eleven en route to a stoppage victory. Macklin was also very confident at the final press conference, stating “There is an old saying, When the going gets tough, the tough gets going’ and I know we have a tough task on Saturday night, but I know on Saturday night I will be walking out of that ring as the new middleweight champion of the world.” This will be the third opportunity for Macklin to have a crack at a world title and is hoping the third time is the charm.

The co-feature will pit two undefeated prospects in the ring as IBO super-middleweight champion Thomas “Tommy Gun” Oosthuizen (21-0, 13KO) takes on Sacramento, Calif., Brandon “Flawless” Gonzales (17-0, 10KO) over 10-rounds in the super-middleweight division. The 25-year old, long and lanky 6’4 South African Oosthuizen has been the IBO champion since 2010 facing the likes of Isaac Chilemba, Aaron Pryor Jr, Francisco Sierra and Fulgencio Zuniga. The 29-year old Gonzales on the other hand, has been matched carefully up to this point with the biggest wins on his record coming in 2011 over Ossie Duran (SD) and battle tested veteran Darnell Boone (UD) in 2010. This is one of those fights where both guys coming in are prospects, the winner will come out being the next super middleweight contender. Oosthuizen is currently rated IBF#5/WBC#6/WBO#14 while Gonzales is rated IBF#10.

Opening up the telecast will be a 10-round super welterweight showdown between Willie “The Great” Nelson (20-1-1, 12KO) from Cleveland, Ohio battling Luciano “El Principito” Cuello (32-2, 16KO) from Buenos Aires, Argentina for Nelson’s NABF super welterweight title. Nelson has been on a roll since losing a close majority decision loss to Vincent Arroyo in 2011 where he was floored three times in rounds three, six and seven. Since then he has rattled off four consecutive victories, two over undefeated fighters in Yudel Johnson and John Jackson to win the vacant NABF title, then making a huge statement knocking out Michael Medina in one round last March in his first defense of the title. Cuello’s opposition has been less than stellar, twenty-three of his victories have came over fighters with losing records. The two losses came at the hands of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (UD) and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (TKO6). Nelson 6’3 is rated WBC#3/IBF#14 and a victory tonight could propel him into a title shot in early 2014.

HBO’s “Boxing After Dark” broadcast begins live at 9:45 ET/ 6:45PT

Predictions
Golovkin – 8th Rd KO
Gonzales – Split Decision
Nelson – 4th Rd KO

Overall Record
83-17

Last Week
5-1

Who Should Broner Fight Next? Vote Now!

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Broner Takes Malignaggi’s Side Piece & Title

@GeorgeCottonJr aka DaTruth June 29th, 2013

Before the fight both fighters talked the talk and on Saturday night they walked the walk as the flashy Adrien “The Problem” Broner (27-0 22KOS) defeated a very game Paulie Malignaggi (32-5 7KOS) in front a packed house in Brooklyn’s Barclay Center. This fight was a good one and very close. Broner is lucky Malignaggi can’t punch a lick because he was hit and hit often by Paulie. In fact, midway through, it was Malignaggi who was the more active and accurate fighter and was even out landing him. Down the stretch however it was Broner’s strength that was the difference. Every time Broner landed a hard punch, Paulie was rocked. Mad props to Malignaggi who showed heart and that’s no surprise. He took the punches well and landed his fair share of combos, but he never landed anything that did any damage. In a sport as dangerous as boxing Malignaggi became a two time champion, made millions in his career and always shows balls despite not being able to punch his way out of wet Kleenex. That there is amazing in itself and shows his talent also. If Paulie could punch even a little bit he’s a first ballot hall of famer.

The scorecards read: 117-111 and 115-113 for Broner and 115-113 for Malignaggi. Broner now has won belts in three weight classes (130, 135, 147) and he’s only 23. The beef over the infamous side piece Jessica chick continued after the fight and in case you missed the post fight interview check it out!!!!

Love him or hate him, you can count on one thing when Broner fights…excitement. You never know what he will do next and he is creating a buzz with his aggressive fighting style. At times Broner reminds you of another Cincinnati boxing legend Aaron Pryor..like Pryor once you hit Broner it seems like he’s pissed off and goes in attack mode. It’s gonna be interesting to see how far Broner’s ceiling is. He’s talented, brash, and if he keeps winning, he can be a superstar in a sport that is thirsty for new talent. I doubt if Broner stays at 147 but you never know. If he decides to take on the challenge of heading south to 140 to pick up a 4th title remains to be seen as well. 140 is loaded, but Broner is in a good place right now. He still holds a belt at 135lbs although he probably won’t defend it again and now he’s in the money division of 147. Either way, it’s reached the point now in boxing circles that when Broner fights…chances are you are going to see something worth watching. Broner drew a peak of 1.3 million viewers during the broadcast on Showtime.

That, combined with the 1.4 million he drew for a one-sided win over Gavin Rees in a lightweight title fight on HBO in February, gives Broner the two most-watched boxing matches of the year on cable television in the U.S. Only the heavyweight fight between Tyson Fury and Steve Cunningham in April, which averaged 1.2 million viewers and peaked at 1.7 million on NBC, did a higher number.

After the fight Broner said he would put it in the hands of the fans on who he will fight next. Who do you want to see him fight next?