Maidana Passes on Khan Clash

BoxingScene report that Marcos Maidana has turned down the opportunity of facing Amir Khan on July 31 in the UK, citing a reoccurring back injury as the reason the fight couldn't be made.

Maidana had pulled out of a fight with WBO junior welterweight champion, Timothy Bradley, for the same reason only three weeks ago. Team Maidana say that the back injury won't recover in time to have a sufficient training program set-up for the fight.

In my opinion, this is another cheap shot from Khan. He knows that Maidana is injured, and knows that Khan-Maidana is one of the most revealing fights on the table for the fans about Khan. And here, with some PR magic, they have attempted to turn it round that Maidana is avoiding Khan.

The biggest problem is that Maidana is injured, and that should be the end of story. But the July 31 date is only nine weeks away, hardly enough time for world class fighters to prepare efficiently. It's a big commitment for a fighter who's got a lot of pride to lose, such as Maidana.

Anyway, Michael Katsidis and Joel Casamayor are the other options discussed for Khan, and I think we all know which one appertizes Khan the most out of the two.

Katsidis has just steamrolled Kevin Mitchell in three rounds and looked back to his fearsome best. While on the opposite end of the spectrum, Casamayor looked ancient in his eight-round exercise earlier this year, and struggled with Marquez's speed a year ago.

If Khan does find an opponent without alienating half of the division, Schaefer will discuss the prospect of a split-site PPV with Marquez-Diaz II headlining in the States, and Khan vs. whoever broadcasted from the UK.

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Bradley and Maidana Agree Terms For June 19

Boxingscene report that a deal between Timothy Bradley and Marcos Maidana has been reached for June 19 on HBO. Bradley will be defending his WBO junior welterweight title while Marcos Maidana probably loses his WBA mandatory status.

Bradley was supposed to make his HBO debut against undefeated welterweight Luis Carlos Abregu, who's last fight was on the Valero-De Marco undercard. The Maidana fight is much more relevant, one because it's a 140 pound fight and secondly Abregu is fringe top fifteen contender at welterweight.

You can argue that Maidana is the best value opponent Bradley has faced in his career. Maidana is a bigger name than Holt, Witter and Peterson, even if he isn't as talent. His power punching style will cause Bradley a little trouble early on maybe, but I expect Bradley to win a wide unanimous decision.

I still see Maidana as a very live underdog. The guy can punch as his record, and 96% knockout percentage suggests. Bradley was down twice against Holt and there's nothing that shows he's improved his defense and balance since his unification win.

This is a great fight, a step-up from Abregu, and it's another great fight added to a pack Spring schedule.

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Junior Welterweights On The Rise

by Dafs117

Dominated by Ricky Hatton, the light welterweight division has been a snoozer for the past few years, especially in comparison to its talent-rich neighbours north and south. But all of a sudden, the junior welterweight class is booming with exciting up-and-coming fighters such as Timothy Bradley, Amir Khan and Devon Alexander. They’ve all won an alphabet title in the past twelve months, and all could have a decent claim for the top spot in the division by the end of 2010, which is currently held by Bradley.

Add Marcos Rene Maidana and Juan Urango to the mix, two all action power punching fighters that put everything on the line with their one-track minds. Update the wildcards; Nate Campbell, Joel Casamayor and Andriy Kotelnik, all crafty fighters that can easily be underestimated. Flashy fighters such as Paulie Malignaggi, Zab Judah and The BTBC’s 140 pound House Fighter, Lamont Peterson can cause a stir at 140 pounds and have a strong case to be ranked at the bottom of the top 10.

It gets deeper. Kaizer Mabuza, who recently upset Kendall Holt is now up to second-tier contender. Victor Ortiz and Kendall Holt can come back from heavy defeats later on this year. Mike Alvarado and Victor Manuel Cayo are unbeaten and look promising, as is the obscure Ionut Dan Ion and Cesar Rene Cuenca. Golden Boy have been hyping up another Argentinean, Lucas Matthysse, another unbeaten fighter that has talent in abundance. Ex-title challenger Herman Ngoudjo is not quite done yet, neither is Gavin Rees. The list goes on.

They might be a long way off the likes of Bradley, but match up anybody that I've mentioned so far with each other and I won't be complaining. A blown-up Ricky Hatton might still be the biggest money fight at light welterweight, but the division is catching up fast. There are just so many fascinating fights that could be made at 140 pounds.

The departure of Ricky Hatton will definitely be viewed as a positive thing as it will open the gateway for fighters to solidify their position in a talented division. Bradley has already seized on Hatton's inactivity, cementing his place at the top of the standings, for now.

There has been talk of Bradley facing nearly everyone. The likes of Edwin Valero, Amir Khan, Joshua Clottey and Juan Manuel Marquez have been called out recently, all to be dismissed by their associates. Promoter Gary Shaw is so confident that his fighter is the best out there, that he'll match him up with anyone.

And for once, he's right. Bradley is the best light welterweight, nobody comes close on current form and level of opponents. Talent wise, Alexander and Khan can compete, but they need a couple of years to develop under careful matchmaking that ultimately depletes them in the long run.

He's still without an opponent for his May date after weeks of searching for anybody that fits the criteria. However, there's much action outside of Bradley happening at the moment. This Saturday, Devon Alexander will take on Juan Urango to unify half of the division. In May, Amir Khan will make his Stateside debut against Paulie Malignaggi in his first proper defence of the WBA trinket. Edwin Valero will take on Lamont Peterson in what is an intriguing fight on paper. And in a true crossroads fight, Victor Ortiz will face Nate Campbell in a bout that could swing either way, it depends on what mood the fighters are in on the night.

It's a great time for the division right now, and fighters should take advantage of the good times. They shouldn't mess around with tune-ups that could turn on its head, the time is now. Could we see more light welterweights break into the fictional pound-4-pound rankings soon? In my opinion, most definitely. If they can sustain the excitement and quality in their fights, more fighters are bound to break the top 10 a lot sooner than expected.

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Edwin Valero - Destined For Domination

by Dafs117

If you like to have a nose around different boxing forums before Saturday’s lightweight bout between Edwin Valero and Antonio DeMarco, you would have seen many people backing the 24 year-old Mexican to pull an upset.

Of course, the majority of The BTBC members plumped for Valero before the first bell, but many could see the logic behind the DeMarco backers. The more technically gifted DeMarco would weather the early wild storm to sneak up on the scorecards, or even halt the Venezuelan titlist.

Let’s say I was aware that DeMarco was a live underdog, but I was quick to say that DeMarco was unprepared for what he had coming, and indeed, he was. From the opening bell until the white flag was waved in DeMarco’s deflated corner, a DeMarco upset was never on the cards. Not even when a tremendously deep cut opened on Valero’s forehead, it only seemed to spur the WBC titleholder to concentrate and work harder.

DeMarco simply didn’t get going, or simply couldn’t because of Valero’s relentless offense. Valero’s come-forward attitude nullified anything DeMarco had trained in the gym for several weeks prior to the fight taking place in Monterrey. For being too cautious, he was given a pounding.

Every time a reckless fighter blasts away with their chin hanging out waiting to be exposed by a peach of a punch, some people will never be able to resist the temptation of picking the lesser experience, but better equipped fighter. Very similar to the recent Gamboa-Mtagwa fight where some were touting that Gamboa was there for the taking. They were quickly put in their place.

Valero really impressed me yesterday. Not because he won every minute since he was cut, he seemed to adapt well to variable conditions and situations throughout the fight. Antonio DeMarco was a level below Valero and it was apparent from the get go, but I wondered does someone really have what it takes to tame the Venezuelan beast?

To topple Edwin Valero, you need a quick opponents that’s capable to take and trade with ‘Dinamita’. These days, that style is very rare, even more so in the lightweight division.

If you took a snapshot of the 135 pound division, Valero is nicely placed below legit champion Juan Manuel Marquez. Below Valero stands Michael Katsidis, Juan Diaz, Ali Funeka and Joan Guzman.

The Valero doubters criticise his choice of opponents, and a step-up in class will expose the Venezuelan ‘fraud’ to who he really is. Let’s say he decides to step in with Marquez, are you going to tell me that you would pick an aging slow counter-puncher over a fresh and physical operator?

If Marquez isn’t available would Diaz be able to stay with him, would Guzman, would Katsidis? The only fighter at lightweight I would consider picking over Valero is Ali Funeka, only because his style might be the perfect match to defeat Valero.

The lanky and rangy South African has received nice air time by HBO, in a gutsy effort against Nate Campbell and a highly controversial decision against Joan Guzman. On both occasions, Funeka showed that he causes mountains of problems for the best technicians, and Valero, as special as he is, might not be an exception this time.

It’s the fight that intrigues me the most at 135, it’s really the only one that I see lasting over eight rounds. Another option might be Humberto Soto, a face-first fighter that is a fiery fighter that could frustrate Valero for the earlier stages of the fight. Soto helped DeMarco prepare for Valero, and is favourite to face him next. I would think Valero would come through in the end.

Gary Shaw has again mentioned Timothy Bradley’s name, and I would have no problems with that fight either. Bradley is in need of a tough match-up and Valero could be the guy to hand him the tough test that he needs to elevate himself into a HBO product.

Funeka, Soto and Bradley. Three fighters that I would give a chance of beating Valero. Three fighters that have styles that could bring out the best in Edwin. Three fights that the boxing world will definitely pay attention too.

Certainly, the future is bright for Valero as he proved last night that he is not all hype. There’s nobody like Edwin Valero. To beat him, it would require someone special. In my view, Valero is destined for domination.

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2009 Junior Welterweight Report

by Dafs117

Vastly becoming the division to watch, the 140 pounders are competing with the talent rich welterweights up north, putting on explosive fights and competitive battles throughout the year. The division is pretty deep, and we have 3 new alphabet titleholders this year to turn the division upside down, with the average age of the current four titlists at a toddler age of 25.

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Grading the Champions: Timothy Bradley

by Paul Magno

In an ideal world, there would be only one champion per division, but, unfortunately, boxing in the year 2009 is not ideal by any stretch of the imagination. For that reason, we've begun a new feature on The Boxing Tribune.

We'll be grading all the reigning and recognized world champions, division by division, to come up with a clear idea of which titlists are making the grade.

Hopefully, this will give the fans a clearer idea of who are the "real" champions and who are just simply belt holders.

Our first subject is Timothy Bradley and the Jr. Welterweight division.

Timothy Bradley (24-0, 11 KOs)

Current Title: WBO Jr. Welterweight Title
Other Titles Held: WBC Jr. Welterweight Title (Vacated)
BTBC Ranking: #1 at Jr. Welterweight
How He Earned His Title: Beat reigning WBO champ, Kendall Holt in title unification bout; Beat Junior Witter for the WBC title
Defenses: Edner Cherry (UD 12), Kendall Holt (UD 12), Nate Campbell (NC 3)
Next Defense: Mandatory, Lamont Peterson (12/12/09)
Down the Line: Rematch with Nate Campbell; Unification against Juan Urango; The winner of Diaz/Malignaggi II
Comments: Bradley has shown the courage and work ethic of a real world champion. He was willing to take on Jose Luis Castillo in Mexico for an eliminator (Castillo couldn't make weight); He took the WBC crown from Brit, Witter in the UK; When left to his own devices , he chose a tough unification bout with Holt and a dangerous encounter with the crafty "Galaxxy Warrior."

Although lacking in power and in some of the finer points of technical proficiency, Bradley has embodied the risk-taking attitude of a champion yearning to be the recognized champ in his division. His short reign, so far, keeps him from a higher grade, but he's definitely on the right track.

Grade: B+

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Daylight Robbery

by Dafs117

There’s nothing worse for a boxer than being on the wrong side of a hometown decision. Just ask Emanuel Augustus. The journeyman has grown a cult following because he’s been on the wrong side of many hometown decisions more often than the number of stitches Chris John received after being head-butted for several rounds against Hiroyuki Enoki. He’s frequently the unhappy beneficiary of terrible decisions none worse than his split-decision defeat to Courtney Burton.

At the end of the fourth round, Augustus landed two clean body blows sending Burton to his knees. But referee Dan Kelley had other ideas. He judged that Augustus’ punches were low and gave Burton a five minute rest. Augustus’ confidence was sky high as the underwhelming underdog was comfortably in front, though he frequently punctuated his success with showboating and constant taunting. He might have pranced around the ring like a batty but what followed could be one of the worst decisions witnessed on television. Every time Augustus clinched he was warned for a clash of heads. Referee Dan Kelly was searching for reasons to penalize Augustus but he couldn’t find any. He was warning him for imagined fouls. Then referee Dan Kelly inexplicably deducted a point from Augustus for spinning away from a clinch. Despite the point deduction, Augustus continued to outbox Burton and looked like he was going to win an easy decision.

The scores were announced. 98-94 to Augustus. Sounded fair enough. 97-92 to Burton. One judge might have perceived a fight differently. 99-90 to ..... Burton!? Was he serious!? 9 rounds to 1 to Burton! The Michigan Athletic Control Board received hundreds of hate mail from angry fans. The ESPN broadcast team went crazy. The time when Teddy Atlas had to correct a commissioner on live TV is unforgettable.

Last Saturday, Timothy Bradley met Nate Campbell for Bradley’s WBO belt at the Agua Caliente Casino in Bradley’s backyard. At the end of the third round, Nate Campbell complained that he couldn’t see due to a cut over his left eye that resulted from an accidental head-butt. After the head-butt, Bradley followed up with a barrage of power punches as Campbell argued with referee David Mendoza.

The doctor stopped the bout and they announced Bradley the winner via TKO. The unified rules state that any fight that’s stopped because a fighter cannot continue due to an accidental illegal shot that caused an injury is declared a no decision. David Mendoza was perfectly placed to see that the cut was caused by a head-butt. After the stoppage Mendoza issued his side of the story. He claimed that both fighters were head-butting and that he didn’t see blood straight after the head-butt only after Bradley threw a combination. On the replay it didn’t seem that Bradley had landed a punch near the cut.

It’s no wonder boxing fans get annoyed with bad officials. If officials don’t understand how to score or how to referee, they shouldn’t be thrown in at the deep end in a title fight. It leaves fans questioning if they could have done a better job than a qualified official. Then it leaves the, what if’s? What if Augustus would have had the decision over Courtney Burton? Would he still have as many followers? Would he have put himself in contention for a title eliminator? What if Mendoza would have given the fight a no decision? Would Bradley be ordered to a rematch by the WBO?

As boxing is judged to be a ‘dying sport’ this might be one of the reasons that’s driving fans away from the sport. Boxing needs to become more aware of these problems and solve them quickly if it wants to survive against expanding combat sports such as MMA. A national commission might solve the problem but nobody seems interested to make the first move.

The quicker we can get rid of the Mendoza’s from the sport the more fan friendly the sport will become.

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Bradley, Alexander Win in Controversial Night of Boxing

BY GEORGE WILLIS (NY Times)

At a time boxing needed something to lift its spirits, it got nothing but disappointment in Palm Springs Saturday night where two championship fights ended in unsatisfying controversies.

Devon Alexander captured the WBC super lightweight championship when Junior Witter of England failed to answer the bell for the ninth round. Witter quit on his stool despite trailing but just a couple of points on the scorecards. He later said he injured his elbow in the fourth round and it got progressively worse as the fight went on.

"I wasn't able to box the way I wanted to," Witter (37-3, 22 KOs) said. "We just decided it was time to let this one go. It's not that I wanted to quit. I wanted to win. I still had a chance to win the fight. I just wasn't able to."

Alexander, 22, didn't argue. The St. Louis native captured his first world title. "I trained hard every day, and I stayed dedicated," Alexander (19-0, 12 KOs) said. "Now I have the green belt. God is good."

In the main event, Timothy Bradley retained the WBO junior welterweight title when his fight with Nate Campbell was stopped after three rounds because of a cut over Campbell's left eye.

Bradley, fighting in his hometown, was declared the winner, but Campbell felt the cut was caused by a head butt and the bout should have been ruled a no contest. "I'm not mad at Timmy, but this is wrong," said Campbell, the former lightweight champion.

Replays clearly showed a clash of heads as the two exchanged punches. Campbell instantly retreated into a corner, pawed his eye and complained about the head butt to referee Dave Mendoza. But Bradley followed in pursuit unleashing a barrage of punches as Campbell covered up on the ropes.

When the round ended and Campbell, 37, went to his corner his eye was covered in blood and he complained he couldn't see. "I have spots in my eye," he told a ring side physician, who stopped the bout.

Campbell (33-6-1, 25 KOs) was angry Mendoza didn't rule the cut was caused by the butt. But Mendoza said the last thing he saw before blood was a punch. "They both were head-butting each other when they were fighting," Mendoza said. "I had to go by the last thing I saw which was a punch."

Bradley (25-0, 12 KOs) didn't apologize. "It didn't matter he was going to get beat anyway," Bradley said. "As the rounds went on he was getting older and older."

Campbell and Bradley had dedicated the bout to the memories of Arturo Gatti and Vernon Forrest, former champions who died in the month of July.

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The BTBC Fight of the Week

Saturday, August 1st

Timothy Bradley vs. Nate Campbell

(WBO Jr. Welterweight Title)

Agua Caliente Casino, Rancho Mirage, California

The Breakdown:

Timothy Bradley: 24-0 (11 KO), Rated #1 at Jr. Welterweight by The BTBC


Age: 25

Height: 5' 6"

Reach: 69"

Stance: Orthodox

Career Achievements: WBC Jr. Welterweight Champ (2 Defenses), Reigning WBO Jr. Welterweight Champ

Notable Opposition: Junior Witter (Win via SD), Kendall Holt (Win via UD), Edner Cherry (win via UD)

Pre-Fight Quote: “Basically, to be the best you’ve got to beat the best. I consider Nate Campbell one of the best fighters at 140 pounds. That’s why I’m taking this challenge. I want to be the best fighter in the world at 140 pounds and I have to beat Nate Campbell to do that.”

*********

Nate Campbell: 33-5-1 (25 KO), Rated #2 at Lightweight by The BTBC

Age: 37

Height: 5' 7"

Reach: 72"

Stance: Orthodox

Career Achievements: IBF, WBA, WBO Lightweight Champion

Notable Opposition: Joel Casamayor (Loss via UD), Robbie Peden (Loss via KO 5, Loss via TKO 8), Kid Diamond (Win via TKO 10), Isaac Hlatshwayo (Loss via SD), Juan Diaz (Win via SD), Ali Funeka (Win via MD)

Pre-Fight Quote: “I’m going to bust Timmy’s ass! When the bell rings, I go out there to do damage. We can be cool and friends after round 12. From the first round to the last I’m going to take your head off. I’m going to bust his ribs. I don’t care. I’m going to hurt him, and he better be doing the same.”

*********

Paulie The Sicilian's Prediction: This is not the same scatter-brained Nate Campbell who underachieved his way through the first three-quarters of his career...The "Galaxxy Warrior" who steps into the ring on Saturday will be the confident, tough-as-nails veteran who spanked Juan Diaz in Mexico and put in the gutsiest effort of the year against Ali Funeka in February.

Bradley, on the other hand, looked vulnerable and a little sloppy in his last win against Kendall Holt.

Campbell will be pushing all night and Bradley will leave enough openings to exploit, but Bradley's speed will be the decisive factor. He will simply beat Campbell to the punch on the inside and be too fast on the outside.

Bradley takes this by MD: 115-112, 115-112, 114-114 with Nate knocking the champ down at some point early on.

This is gonna be one of those bouts where guys who don't know how to score fights will be complaining about the terrible scores

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Amir Khan: Out of The Frying Pan, Into the Fire

It's party time in Manchester for Olympic Silver Medalist and the UK's favorite young idol/target, Amir Khan.

After decisively capturing his first world title, the WBA Junior Welterweight championship from Andreas Kotelnik, Khan has earned a few days off and a few days of partying.

However, beating a solid, but predictable Kotelnik was the easy part. The hard part is going to be keeping that title in a 140 lb. division that is absolutely stacked with quality fighters in a wide array of styles and levels of experience.

Looming on the horizon first are his #1 mandatory challenger, Dmitriy Salita, and the WBA Interim Jr. Welterweight Champ, fresh from his destruction of Victor Ortiz, Marcos Maidana.

Both Salita and Maidana are young and hungry pressure fighters who will jump on Khan from the opening bell and won't back down unless the likeable 22-year-old champion backs them down. Salita and Maidana will require a mental toughness and focus from Khan that he has yet to display in his professional career. Neither fight is an easy win.

It's precisely for this reason that Khan's promoter, Frank Warren, is trying to stir the pot and find a way to get around those tough fights.

It'll be a tough sell for Warren to avoid the mandatory with Salita without making some sort of huge "step-aside" payout to the Orthodox Jew brawler from Brooklyn. And even with step-aside money, it seems a little far-fetched that Salita would voluntarily walk away from a world title bout and a lucrative payday against a champion that many feel is very vulnerable.

But maybe Warren is counting on the WBA continuing its efforts to become the 90's WBO of the 21st century, running interference for a few preferred champions and rigging the ranking as to allow a steady supply of hapless club-level fighters as #1 challengers.

Barring the cynical protection of the WBA, Khan should buckle up soon and absorb more from Freddie Roach because the road to Jr. Welter dominace is paved with lighting-fast elite like Timothy Bradley and Kendall Holt, iron-fisted sluggers like Juan Urango, Ricardo Torres and Mike Alvarado; Hungry, young prospects like Maidana, Salita, Lamont Peterson and Devon Alexander; And veteran war horses like Ricky Hatton, Nate Campbell, Stevie Forbes and Randall Bailey.

And, of course, let's not even mention current lineal champ at 140 lbs., Manny Pacquiao.

So, now that Khan has taken the plunge on to the world arena by capturing a world title, the learning curve normally allowed for a 22-year-old fighter is out the window. Fans don't want to hear about a champion learning on the job, just ask Andre Berto.

With nowhere to slack off and a division full of class fighters, Khan will have take care of things the old-fashioned way: Fight his way through the best.

For his sake, I hope he's ready.

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USA! USA! America's 10 Best Boxers!

We've already explored the topic of Britain's and Puerto Rico's best. In the works are features on the best Filipino and Mexican fighters.

However, on this July 4th, it's only fitting to write about America's best active fighters.

So, grill another burger and open another cold one while we delve into the topic of who, exactly, are America's Finest:

10) Steve Cunningham- This former Cruiserweight champ with quick hands and sharp reflexes would still be sporting the bragging rights of being "The World's Best Cruiser" if not for, literally, four or five punches from Tomasz Adamek last year. Cunningham is working his way back to a rematch and wants nothing more than to avenge this tough loss.

9) Andre Berto- The reigning WBC Welterweight titlist gets little respect in the media, but he was good enough to beat a very tough Luis Collazo as well as a large handful of tough contenders ranging from Jr. Welter slugger, Juan Urango, to tough ex-champ, Cosme Rivera.

8) Nate Campbell- The Galaxxy Warrior shocked the world last year by beating up and out-classing the highly-regarded Juan Diaz. He followed that up with a gutsy win over the awkward and talented, Ali Funeka. At 37 years of age, there aren't too many more fights in Campbell's reserves, but he'll have the chance at another career-defining bout against Timothy Bradley in August.

7) Kelly Pavlik- While still no.1 at Middleweight, Pavlik's star has fallen considerably following his embarrassing loss to Bernard Hopkins and the recent postponement of his fight with Sergio Mora. However, Pavlik is still the iron-fisted slugger who beat Jermain Taylor and Edison Miranda into submission and turned the tough Marco Antonio Rubio into a a mid-fight pacifist.

6) Timothy Bradley- Bradley is the man at Jr. Welterweight, whether Ring Magazine says so or not. He went over to the UK to take the title from the awkward Junior Witter, completely dismantled veteran Edner Cherry, and beat fellow 140 lb. champ, Kendall Holt, in a thriller. Now, on August 1st, he takes on former unified Lightweight champ, Nate Campbell, in another tough and dangerous fight to add to the case for making him no. 1 at 140.

5) Chad Dawson- Forget the fact that he had a couple of dull fights with Antonio Tarver and consider the fact that he just beat Tarver twice...decisively. In addition to the Tarver fights, Dawson also holds exciting wins over Eric Harding, Tomasz Adamek, and Glen Johnson. The rematch of the controversial Johnson fight has been signed to once and for all prove that Dawson indeed deserved the nod.

4) Bernard Hopkins- Coming off his schooling of Kelly Pavlik, B-Hop is looking for just the right fight with which to close out a spectacular career. Whoever he fights last needs to be aware that they are fighting one of the smartest, toughest men in the game and that they are in for a very long night. If Hopkins doesn't make it into the Hall of Fame as soon as he's eligible, they should just close the place down.

3) Shane Mosley- With wins over Antonio Margarito, Ricardo Mayorga and Luis Collazo as well as a close contest with Miguel Cotto, Mosley has re-established his claim as one of the few active fighters who could be tagged with the "Legend" label. He has been in hot pursuit of a bout with Manny Pacquiao, but that looks unlikely to happen.

2) Paul Williams- Williams has been given the nickname of "The Most Feared Man in Boxing" and it's hard to dispute. Most of the big names from 147 up to 160 simply refuse to even mention his name. Being an unusually tall and freakishly active southpaw has a lot to do with it...victories over Antonio Margarito and easy wins over tough veterans like Carlos Quintana, Verno Phillips and Winky Wright may also be a big factor in the fact that Williams' phone isn't ringing off the hook with fight offers.

1) Floyd Mayweather Jr.- Mayweather gets the top spot before he even officially makes his return from a 20 month "retirement." Mayweather may be the most gifted fighter of this generation and is doubly-blessed with one of the sharpest boxing minds in the sport. While getting gang-hated for having the nerve to talk about business decisions in boxing interviews, few can doubt that Mayweather is one awesome fighter.

Five to Watch

* Andre Ward- Olympic Gold Medalist who just outclassed Edison Miranda. He just may be the next big, American star.

* Andre Dirrell- In the same Super Middleweight division as Ward, Dirrell has a better resume at this point and has all the tools to beat anyone in and around the division.

* Rocky Juarez- No longer a prospect, but definitely someone with the skill and one-punch power to shock the world. He's blamed his recent tentative performances on an eye injury...He's a hundred percent healthy now...

* Chris Arreola- Arreola has two things lacking in the current crop of American Heavyweights: Massive power in either fist and the will to push ahead when things get rough.

* Daniel Jacobs- Still a baby in the sport, but few prospects have displayed the maturity and technique that Jacobs has shown so far against limited opposition.

So, there you have it! Cheer up America and light another bottle rocket. The world may be producing some great talents these days, but The USA is still capable of holding its own...

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The BTBC News Wire (6/13/09)

(Updated Throughout the Day)

Chad Dawson-Glen Johnson Rematch is Officially Signed
Cotto (146), Clottey (147) Make Weight, Set For War
Kotelnik-Khan title bout will likely be postponed
Bradley to face Campbell!
It's Shaw-time for the Fall
Hurtado Outlasts Garnica; Solis Blitzes Alexander In One
Guerrero Stops Hinojosa In Eight, Eyes Summer Title Fight
J.D. Chapman: Sold to DKP, Challenges David Haye
Was David Haye Sidelined For Klitschko by Finances?
Interview Nate Campbell: Cotto, Mosley, Mayweather, Pacman
Marquez in auto accident!
Darchinyan: "I Will Punish Agbeko, and Knock Him Out"
Welterweights & the Woe of Margarito
Cotto Chooses Joe Chavez To Replace Diaz as Cutman
Floyd Mayweather Update

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The BTBC Rumor Mill

Sources wrangled and cornered by The BTBC this afternoon have let loose that recently stripped WBC Champ, Timothy Bradley, could be defending his WBO Jr. Welterweight Title in the late Summer or early Fall against former 135 lb. lineal champ, Nate Campbell. The fight is still in the negotiation stage, but both sides are not far apart financially. The bout would probably represent the biggest payday available for either fighter right now at 140 and it's a sure sell to Showtime...

Zab Judah, who was rumored to be getting a shot at the soon-to-be-vacated IBF Jr. Welter Title on the PBF/JMM card in July may apparently be matched up with another opponent if particulars with Randall Bailey can't get worked out. The rumored substitute for Bailey is, Ricky Hatton's bro, Matthew Hatton...

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