Strikeforce Miami Hits Hard

Bobby Lashley and Herschel Walker won their fights last night. Both wins were impressive and I fully expect a step up in challenge for both of these competitors. Nick Diaz also cemented himself as the Strikeforce welterweight champion with his sterling win against solid striker and Dream stand out Marius Zaromskis. Christiane Santos and Robbie Lawler also won their fights. Lawler was losing his fight against Melvin Manhoef but pulled out the victory with hay maker shot that connected. I'm definitely expecting bigger and better things now from Strikeforce after they put together a solid card without any of their superstars. That's right - there was no Gegard Mousasi, Fedor Emelianenko, Jake Shields, Dan Henderson or any other Strikeforce star on this card.

Strikeforce Miami Takes Innovative Matchmaking to New Levels

The Strikeforce Miami card is one of the most innovative cards I have ever seen. They have managed to put together an extremely interesting card without any one star or major fight but a completely solid card from top to bottom. Starting at the top Nick Diaz vs Marius Zaromskis is a very interesting battle between east versus west as we have a lethal striker in Zaromskis and an all rounder in Diaz battling it out. Christiane Santos just came off a huge win over the most popular women's fighter in the world and now looks to defend her title. In another "east vs west" type battle Robbie Lawler takes on Melvin Manhoef in what will be a very action packed battle between two awesome strikers. Herschel Walker and Bobby Lashley are also on the card and both are going to be just as interesting to watch as any of the main event matches.

Congratulations to the folks at Strikeforce for putting together one of the most innovative and interesting cards I've seen recently.

Mayweather and Mosley Agree to Terms for Fight

It looks more likely that Floyd Mayweather and Shane Mosley will be fighting later this year. According to Mayweather's manager the two fighters have agreed to terms to fight. This is great news for boxing as this is probably the second biggest fight in boxing at the moment. It also puts Mayweather up against a true top welterweight for the first time. Mosley is 38 years old so probably getting past his prime but was still solid in his last fight a year ago against Antonio Margarito. You have to assume Mosley will be up for this fight given his strong desire to secure a fight against either Manny Pacquiao (pound for pound king) or Mayweather.

Given Mayweather's lack of interest in fighting top welterweights, it is far from certain that this fight will happen until we have final confirmation on the fight details. For now things look very positive.

Floyd Mayweather has no where to hide

After failing to make a fight with Manny Pacquiao (with the blame going to both promoters for not getting it done), Floyd Mayweather's image in the public is at huge risk with the recent availability of Shane Mosley. Mayweather has told his promoters to make the next biggest fight possible. That is Mosley. So, if for whatever reason that fight does not get made, Mayweather's willingness to fight the best talent available will be further questioned by fans. Richard Schaefer has stated he is working on this fight. Mosley has always indicated that he wants this fight. It's really just a matter of Mayweather now stepping up to get it done.

The other important matter is that the possible earnings for both Mayweather and Pacquiao could be astronomical this year. Pacquiao is sure to earn a good amount of money for facing Joshua Clottey in March at Cowboys stadium. If Mayweather faces Mosley he too will earn big. Both of these fights are huge. Now, assume both Pacquiao and Mayweather win their respective fights (not a guarantee by any stretch). That would set up a massive showdown (assuming it gets made) between Mayweather and Pacquiao for later in the year. Both fighters would earn a huge pay day for that fight (especially after the recent build up). Their two fight earnings would certainly be astronomical. Possibly in the $60M range for each of them. Not to mention the value to boxing. No doubt there would be very few questions about the sport's popularity if this scenario played out.

Floyd Mayweather and Shane Mosley Fight Possible

Andre Berto had to drop out of his Jan. 30th fight against Shane Mosley due to the effects of the devastating earthquake in his home land of Haiti. Berto has become physically and mentally exhausted. Quite frankly, I was shocked that he was even considering the fight. He is a super talent and will definitely be back. For now, he needs to deal with the most important matter at hand. Berto has lost 8 family members in the disaster but fortunately his sister and niece have survived as he discovered recently (his parents live in the US).

Of course, this news opens up the possibility of a Mosley versus Floyd Mayweather fight in the summer. The biggest questions is weather Mayweather will take a chance on the Golden Boy promoted Mosley who is a very dangerous opponent. The fight would almost definitely be huge. If this fight gets signed, I'll look at these recent happenings as evidence of my original statement that boxing is bigger than Mayweather versus Manny Pacquiao (who is facing Joshua Clottey). Instead of Mayweather versus Pacquiao we will get two solid fights that could lead to the big fight closer to the end of the year.

Amir Khan Signs With Golden Boy Promotions

Amir Khan signed a 3 fight deal with Golden Boy Promotions on Thursday and announced it officially today. The merger between Khan Promotions and Golden Boy will set Amir up nicely for big fights in the US. Frank Warren who had been Khan's lifetime promoter had an offer on the table to fight Marcos Maidana. However, that fight is too dangerous at this early point in Khan's career and certainly not worth as much financially as other fights he can make. Remember, Khan just turned 23 years old and is still learning since teaming with Freddie Roach. He has huge potential and needs to develop it fully before tackling the best and most dangerous fighters. Golden Boy will probably set him up with Paulie Malignaggi or Victor Ortiz. Both are interesting fights and bigger than the Maidana fight but safer for Khan to develop. Khan's speed is incredible and his boxing talent is phenomenal. Oscar De La Hoya recently stated that he sees Khan as the future face of boxing. No arguments here - as long as the young fighter is allowed to develop before being thrown into the limelight too fast. All of Khan's fights from now on should be on PPV in the US and possibly on HBO.

Of course, the side note to all this is how Freddie Roach and Khan stablemate Manny Pacquiao will approach Khan's signing with Golden Boy. As we all know, Golden Boy was promoting Floyd Mayweather and there is a Pacquiao defamation lawsuit outstanding against De La Hoya (see previous posts for details). It was Roach who introduced Khan to Golden Boy CEO, Richard Schaefer, so I have to assume things are okay on that front for now.

Floyd Mayweather fighting on March 13th

It looks like both Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will be fighting on March 13th. Pacquiao is fighting the dangerous Joshua Clottey while Mayweather is fighting an opponent not yet named. Hopefully, Mayweather fights someone who is actually good versus taking an easy fight. The battle will now be for PPV numbers until Manny and Floyd fight in the ring. It's too bad but at least it could set up a big fight later in the year between the two of them assuming they both win. It will be interesting to see if Floyd elects to fight someone worth watching as without a reasonable fight he won't be competitive with Pacquiao on the PPV side of the house.

Manny Pacquiao to fight Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium

Manny Pacquiao vs Joshua Clottey is done and dusted.

Also, it will happen at the Dallas Cowboys stadium in Arlington,

Texas. The fight could be one of the biggest fights ever.

Even though it is not Floyd Mayweather. Remember,

Clottey is solid and will make this an entertaining competitive fight.

Mayweather would never fight a risky guy like Clottey or Miguel Cotto.

This is what separates Manny from the rest. He fights the best.

I'll be watching this fight for sure. The fight is scheduled for March

13th on Top Rank PPV.

Manny Pacquiao Agrees to Fight Joshua Clottey

The Manny Pacquiao - Floyd Mayweather fight will not be happening according to both sides. The mediator was unsuccessful in getting them to agree on how to do the drug testing. Also, both Joshua Clottey and Manny Pacquiao have not agreed to fight on March 13th. The contract is not signed but apparently the money has been agreed upon. Clottey is part of Top Rank so it won't take much for Bob Arum to make the fight given that Manny Pacquiao has now agreed. It's a shame that the Mayweather - Pacquiao fight won't happen. However, I don't think this is a "nuclear bomb" for boxing. That is way too extreme. It certainly doesn't help and is a huge blow but let's not get crazy. Boxing will survive and continue to thrive. Both Mayweather and Pacquiao will have other fights. Both of them have proven to have huge drawing power (1MM+ ppv buys). There are also a lot of other exciting fighters out there. Amir Khan, for one, has huge drawing potential even as a young 23 year old.

The fight is NOT dead yet. There are a few days left to salvage it so lets see what happens this weekend. The Clottey fight is NOT signed yet. However, if the BIG fight doesn't happen boxing will survive and, who knows, the BIG fight may happen later in the year and be even bigger.

Time to get BJ Penn some Overseas Challengers

All this talk about BJ Penn fighting Gray Maynard or Frankie Edgar or Kenny Florian again is absolutely ridiculous. Penn should be fighting either Shinya Aoki or Eddie Alvarez (or another top ten overseas fighter). The problem is none of those guys are in the UFC so Penn is stuck with Maynard or Edgar who are both huge underdogs and no where near deserving of the title shot. It's a shame that the best fights out there for Penn may never happen. Wouldn't it be huge to see Aoki versus Penn, the best submission artist in the game (Aoki) against the best stand up boxer in MMA (Penn). Not to mention Penn is also a jiu jitsu world champion. Aoki is ranked number two on Sherdog.com with Penn at number one. How about Penn against number three ranked Eddie Alvarez? Another super exciting fight that I would be very interested in watching. The more likely scenario is that Penn moves up to welterweight and makes a move to challenge for the welterweight title again. That would be a huge loss for all MMA fans. It's odd that Dana White says it would be a shame if we couldn't see Floyd Mayweather versus Manny Pacquiao. I say it would be a shame if we can't see Penn vs Aoki, Gegard Mousasi vs Lyoto Machida or Fedor Emelianenko vs Brock Lesnar.

Evans gets by Silva in UFC Snoozefest

Rashad Evans executed an almost perfect game plan to get by striker Thiago Silva last night at UFC 108. It was a weak card for a pay per view but sets up a match up between Evans and Quinton Jackson in May. I found the fight lacking in excitement probably more due to the fact that they both lost to Lyoto Machida. After Machida's poor showing against Mauricio Rua the light heavyweight division is in a bit of disarray. Especially with Gegard Mousasi outside of the UFC and unable to fight any of the other top light heavyweights.

An interesting dynamic is under way in MMA with Mousasi unable to fight Rua or Machida, Fedor Emelianenko unable to fight Brock Lesnar, Shinya Aoki unable to fight BJ Penn and Jake Shields unable to fight Georges St. Pierre. It seems the divide of talent between the UFC and other organizations is creating a gap in top flight possible fights for fans to see. Let's hope this gets resolved quickly!

Shinya Aoki, Gegard Mousasi and Alistair Overeem win at Dynamite

Shinya Aoki dominated Mizuto Hirota to retain his Dream lightweight title and once again show that he is a top lightweight and likely best challenger to BJ Penn's throne. In fact, he broke his opponent's arm last night after Hirota refused to tap out. Aoki later apologized for unprofessionally giving the Hirota camp the finger after the fight.

In other New Year's Eve Dynamite action, Gegard Mousasi didn't sweat in his blow out of way past his prime Gary Goodridge. Mousasi desperately needs a serious challenge otherwise it could hinder his growth. Unfortunately, none really exists outside of the UFC right now. Strikeforce will have to attract some serious light heavyweight contenders to make some fights with Mousasi. Dan Henderson is more of a middleweight and Fedor Emelianenko is a heavyweight so none are perfect fits.

Also in action last night was Alistair Overeem, who KO'd Kazuyuki Fujita in a relatively easy victory. Overeem has not defended his Strikeforce heavyweight title for over two years now due to other commitments but indicated that he wants to fight Fedor in May 2010 for the title.

All three of these fighters are worldwide top 10 in their respective weight categories (if not top 5). Aoki is second at lightweight. It will be interesting to see where they go from here as I strongly believe they are each ready to make a bigger impact on the world stage and specifically in the US.