Paquiao is Voted Fighter of the Year

The Boxing Writers Association of America have voted Manny Pacquiao fighter of the year for 2008. No complaints here - Pacquiao was the obvious choice. He won three big fights in three different weight divisions last year. Victories over solid Juan Manuel Marquez, David Diaz and Oscar De La Hoya make him an easy choice.

Looking ahead to 2009, Pacquiao could certainly repeat if he beats Hatton and then wins another big fight later in the year (possibly against Floyd Mayweather). It would be hard to pick anyone else if he does that!

The Over Hyped Perfect Record

In recent times boxers have become overly obsessed with maintaining a perfect record. I think this has hurt the sport significantly as fighters are taking less risks to ensure they don't lose their "0". Look at recent accusations against the likes of Joe Calzaghe and Floyd Mayweather for not fighting the best available competition. Calzaghe and Roy Jones Jr. never fought for several years as both of them maintained their perfect records. We are seeing less and less of best fighting against best and this is terrible for the fans. I think we have put too much of an emphasis on the perfect record. In reality, it doesn't mean much. Look at the early losses of Manny Pacquiao - he was still young and developing as a fighter when he got knocked out in two earlier fights. Pacquiao is now the pound for pound king of the ring. Many great fighters have suffered losses. I would argue that being able to come back from those losses are what make you truly great. Look at Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Robinson - both of them had wars and experienced losses in their career but their place in history will never be questioned. Calzaghe ended his career undefeated (at least for now) and will not be in the same league as Roy Jones Jr. or Bernard Hopkins when looking back on history. Both Hopkins and Jones have suffered several losses in their careers. However, they fought several top ten pound for pound fighters (especially Hopkins). Calzaghe only fought one top ten pound for pound fighter in his career and that was a 43 year old Bernhard Hopkins.

If we look at more recent examples, we can see how 21-year old Amir Khan's career was almost proclaimed dead after he lost to 25-year old Breidis Prescott. Khan was and still is young and developing as a fighter - he will make mistakes. He may or may not develop into a world champion but writing him off after a loss at 21 makes no sense.

Looking at the current pound for pound list we see the likes of Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez, Bernard Hopkins, Shane Mosley and Paul Williams. All of them have suffered losses in their career. Not even one is undefeated. In fact, all of them have early career losses.

We need to put an emphasis on level of competition versus record. Records are relatively meaningless. Only the fans will benefit if the boxing world starts to understand that and give us the best fights out there rather than trying to defend and promote fighters with perfect records.

Roy Jones Jr and Vitali Klitschko Win

Roy Jones Jr. beat Omar Sheika in an interesting but uneventful fight last night. The referee prematurely stopped the fight after Sheika suffered a cut on his face. Jones was winning easily but Sheika was no where near done despite taking a lot of punishment. It was a good performance by Jones but clearly showed how much his speed had diminished. Sheika was very slow and constantly moved forward - the ideal opponent for Jones (especially a slower Jones). Jones took advantage and did what he needed to do. Roy will probably have trouble with a more formidable opponent and it's unclear how he intends to continue with boxing. Maybe just as a promoter (although the verdict is still out as to how well March Badness did) or as a boxer. If he continues as a boxer he'll have to be very selective around his opponents so that he can build his promotional brand for his future career beyond boxing. Any loss at this point would make it difficult for Jones to sell tickets with his name alone.

On another card last night, heavyweight Vitali Klitschko made relatively easy work of solid Juan Carlos Gomez. Vitali once again showed that the Klitschkos are clearly the class of the heavyweight division. They deserve the proper dues for that - no matter how weak we perceive the division to be. It would be great to see a true challenger to the brothers' reign at the top. We just don't have such a situation at the moment and the Klitschkos won't face each other so they have to fight the best available opponents. Roughly speaking, they have done just that. Lets hope that the division gets more competitive before the Klitschkos are done as it would be great for boxing to have a strong heavyweight division. In the meantime, at least we can all embrace the phenomenal talent in the lower weight classes.

Roy Jones Jr Headlines Boxing and MMA Card

Roy Jones is returning to the ring tonight to face brawler Omar Sheika on a card that also features some decent MMA fights.

It's an interesting concept to combine MMA and boxing. I'm not so sure that it will work since the two sports still have very unique followers. It will be interesting to see how the event turns out though. The other item of interest will be to see how well Jones performs in the ring.

Roy just turned 40 and is well past his prime. The only reason, it seems, he is out there is to build his promotional company and he needs to use his name to do that. Of course, if he loses this may be the last opportunity he gets to use his name to bring fans out. His loss to Joe Calzaghe was pretty ugly especially after a 43 year old Bernard Hopkins basically faught Calzaghe to a draw. Jones is running out of runway space in his career and needs a big win against Sheika to give himself any sort of serious consideration in the sport. Sure, Hopkins has managed to stay at the top at 44 years old. But Hopkins is very very unique in that sense. Jones has not shown the same potential in his later years. This fight with Sheika is do or die for Jones. I suspect he may not do enough to show that he can fight on as a serious contender. Of course, a lot of that depends on Sheika.

Floyd Mayweather Coming Back

It has been a well known fact (or rumour depending on who you ask) that Floyd Mayweather has asked his handlers to look for the best possible fight out there for him. Recently, ESPN reported that they have two separate sources that indicated Mayweather is lining up for a ring return on July 11th on HBO. This, apparently, would be a tune up bout before he faces Manny Pacquiao in the fall (assuming Manny beats Ricky Hatton). In fact, Mayweather is ready to face Pacquiao, Shane Mosley or Juan Manuel Marquez. Pacquiao is the pound for pound king and by far the biggest fight out there for Money. If Mayweather does indeed come back and take a tune up bout it will reveal just how much ring rust he has developed since his last fight in December 2007. Mayweather is now 32 so not that young either. Nonetheless, a Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown would be huge. Assuming Mayweather dominates his tune up and Pacquiao soundly beats Hatton, a fight between the two would determine the clear pound for pound champion.

Now that the evidence on a Mayweather return is mounting, I suspect it will only be a matter of time before a fight is announced. My guess is within the next 3-4 weeks. Stay tuned ...

The Future for Marco Antonio Barrera

After a difficult loss last night to Amir Khan, Marco Antonio Barrera must contemplate his future in the sport of boxing. He said he won't base any decision on his fight with Khan. However, he should take a hard look at that fight because a lot can be learned from it. Khan was clearly too fast for Barrera. Marco did a great job of staying in the fight despite a terrible cut but his thinking that the cut was the reason he lost is probably off base. The cut certainly hampered him but the old Barrera wouldn't have been so utterly dominated just because of a cut like that. No doubt he showed heart to keep fighting the way he did. In fact, he showed that legendary strength and resilience that he represented for so long. Unfortunately, he didn't have the ability to overcome the speed and power of Khan. He couldn't even break through the improved defense that Khan displayed. It's hard to argue that Barrera can reach the top of the sport he once ruled again. I think his best bet is to take an easier fight to get a solid win under his belt. He can then see if there is an opportunity to step in the ring with a more serious challenger. If he can't get two wins like that it is certainly time to retire and that's if it isn't time already.

Barrera was a great warrior in his prime and gave us some brilliant moments and fights. Lets hope he doesn't stay fighting for too long. I'd hate to see him lose significant late career fights needlessly.

Amir Khan Wins Big

Amir Khan defeated Marco Antonio Barrera tonight in a dominant display of boxing skills and sound defense. Barrera showed tremendous heart after suffering a cut from an accidental head butt in the first round. He fought on for 4 rounds until the doctor stopped the fight. Khan won an easy technical decision after dominating each round with Freddie Roach by his side. Barrera complained that the cut bothered him and it most certainly must have but take nothing away from Khan who was absolutely on his game tonight. Khan played it safe and constantly peppered Barrera with jabs and power punches while staying on the outside and using his size advantage. Barrera was clearly flustered although never severely hurt. In the end, Khan's attack and much improved defense proved too strong for Barrera. Khan also took two solid shots from Barrera and showed he could hang in there. His chin was tested and his focus was tested in a huge pressure fight. He came through on both fronts. Now, it's on to bigger and better for Khan which means fighting for a world title.

In other fights, the British contingent struggled badly. Enzo Maccarinelli was knocked out cold by Ola Afolabi (another Roach trained fighter) and Nicky Cook was also knocked out by Roman Martinez after leading the earlier rounds. British fighters were taking it on the chin literally until Khan stepped up with his brilliant victory.

Amir Khan versus Marco Antonio Barrera on North American PPV

The Amir Khan versus Marco Antonio Barrera fight happening tomorrow - Saturday, March 14 - at The M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, United Kingdom will be distributed by Integrated Sports in North America. The event starts at 4 PM/ET and 1 PM/PT on cable and satellite pay-per-view via iN Demand, TVN, DirecTV and Dish Network in the United States. In Canada, Viewer’s Choice and Bell TV will be displaying the event. The suggested retail price for the event is only $24.95. Please note the start time of this card is 4pm and not the usual 9pm for events held in North America. Many of you may not have been expecting to see this fight on PPV so we wanted to put this information out there to make sure no one missed it. Enjoy the fight!

KING KHAN

Super prospect Amir Khan moves into the next phase of his career tomorrow night against Marco Antonio Barrera. Barrera is not about to lay down for Amir. He is going to bring everything he has and has said beating Amir Khan will be easier than beating Prince Naseem Hamed. Barrera is a legend of the sport and will use that to intimidate the 22 year old talent Khan.

Freddie Roach has aimed to turn Amir Khan's skills and abilities into all around boxing capability. From defense to offense to in ring strategy, Roach is hoping to take Khan to the next level. Somewhere Khan's previous trainers could not take him. Freddie believes strongly that Khan can and should win. Although, lately, Roach has said that Khan has to follow the game plan and not get thrown off track. A mere shred of doubt in that statement. Is Roach fully confident? Khan is potentially the next big thing in boxing. The pay per view king. He's already extremely popular in England and has phenomenal potential to grow into the king of boxing. Hopefully Roach isn't starting to feel some of that pressure. There is no denying, though, that the time is now for Amir Khan.

Lets see how he does tomorrow night.

Bernard Hopkins Still Fighting

You have to hand it to Bernard Hopkins. His desire to fight is remarkable. He's 44 years old and could easily retire but still wants to fight. That's a genuine love for the sport.

Bernard is now looking to make a fight with cruiser weight king Tomasz Adamek. Stepping up in weight once again to challenge the best in another division. The guy doesn't take any easy fights and continues to succeed. Even his recent split decision loss to Joe Calzaghe was highly questionable. You have to wonder what else will be out there for Hopkins if he beats Adamek. For a guy who looks for nothing short of a huge challenge every time out, it's going to get a lot harder to keep topping his previous glory. I think Hopkins will be favored against Adamek which is incredible. The guy is a 44 year old former middleweight and light heavyweight moving up to challenge the best fighter at cruiserweight and still being the favorite. Simply amazing. I can't help but to think that he could still be fighting at 46, 47 ... maybe even 50! He's in great shape and has incredible drive to stay at the top of his game. He's also a great boxing strategist and can figure out how to win when he needs to.

I suppose, in the end, the fans win out. No matter what anyone says it is great watching boxing matches with Hopkins in them. Anyone who says he's not an exciting fighter is way off base. Here's to hoping to watch more fights with B-Hop.

The Time is Now For Amir Khan

Amir Khan comes face to face with the biggest opportunity of his life when he meets Marco Antonio Barrera on Saturday. He can erase the damage from the loss to Breidis Prescott and get back on track as a top prospect. He has the boxing skills, the speed, the work ethic, and the popularity to be a super star in this sport. He has the potential to attract a phenomenal Asian and Muslim fan base while spreading the sport throughout the world. He is simply the future of boxing and boxing needs him to succeed.

Amir Khan has the kind of appeal that can transcend beyond the hard core boxing fan. Similar to Oscar De La Hoya, although he has a long way to go before he is close to the kind of draw Oscar is today.

Barrera is a legend and a victory for Khan against Barrera would represent a passing of the torch of sorts. Barrera may not be the fighter he once was but he is still younger than Juan Manuel Marquez and still enough of a name in the sport that Khan would be hugely boosted by a victory. His confidence and name brand as a fighter would be uplifted big time. The fight itself will probably draw a good audience based on Khan's growing popularity and Barrera's legendary status and still formidable drawing power. The spotlight on Khan will be extremely bright. He will have Freddie Roach and Pound for Pound King Manny Pacquiao in his corner. If there ever was a time for Khan to put it all together and deliver the performance of his young career now is that time.

I will be watching this fight with great excitement - I hope you are too!

Juan Manuel Marquez in over his head wth Floyd Mayweather

Juan Manuel Marquez recently called out Floyd Mayweather for his next fight. Marquez doesn't back down from anyone and is one of the premier pound for pound fighters in boxing today. However, I think he's going way over his head with Mayweather. Remember that he didn't win easily against Juan Diaz and Mayweather is in another league all together from Diaz. Also, when Marquez had his close fights against Pacquiao he was fighting a very light Manny who may have been struggling at that weight. I think Marquez is naturally smaller while Mayweather's talent has carried well into welterweight. Marquez has not been tested above lightweight. It will likely be a very interesting fight and many will watch it - not to mention admire Marquez's hunger to face the best. At the end of the day, I think Marquez understands his career is winding down and he needs to make a big splash soon but Mayweather may be too big a step up. At the end of the day, lets all hope Mayweather comes back an fights someone. Whether it is Marquez, Pacquiao or someone else I'm sure we'll all be watching!

March Pound for Pound List

Here it is - my pound for pound list for the month of March:

1. Manny Pacquiao

Still can't argue much with Manny being number one. Juan Manuel Marquez made some noise this weekend but Manny is still the man. He soundly beat Oscar De La Hoya while moving up several weight divisions from only a year back. He has fairly recent wins over legends of the ring Juan Manuel Marquez, Marco Antonio Barrera and Eric Morales.

Up Next: Ricky Hatton

2. Bernard Hopkins

Bernard completed a recent destruction of Kelly Pavlik and close split decision loss to Joe Calzaghe. B-Hop has fought an unbelievable number of figters that were top 10 pound for pounders when he fought them. By comparison, Joe Calzaghe has only ever done that once in his career - when he fought Bernard Hopkins. B-Hop is now looking to Tomasz Adamek for his next challenge at cruiser weight. Wow! That would be amazing.

3. Juan Manuel Marquez

Two scintillating close fights with Manny Pacquiao, a solid victory over Joel Casamayor and now an incredibly entertaining fight with Juan Diaz that he won via TKO. He's getting really close to Manny and B-Hop.

4. Shane Mosley

Close fight with Miguel Cotto and destruction of Antonio Margarito makes him the top welterweight and puts him 4th on our list. He now needs to settle the score with Cotto.

5. Paul Williams

Still underrated but clearly one of the top fighters today. His victories over Margarito, Verno Phillips and Carlos Quintana along with his versatility across weight divisions squeeze him into the top five. He can solidify his spot with a big win against Winky Wright in what should be an interesting fight.

Stay tuned for more commentary on your favorite events and fighters.