Brandon Campbell

Wow, what can you say about a performance like that.

Tonight we witnessed one of the more dominant victories in recent memory, with Manny Pacquiao capturing the WBC lightweight title with a spectacular 9th round knockout of David Diaz. The entire fight was controlled by Pacquaio, who utilized his superior speed, power punching and foot work to completely dominate the defending champion. This is now the fourth different weight class that Pacquiao has won a title in, an extremely impressive and rare feat in modern day boxing. It’s all the more impressive when you consider the spectacular way he went about accomplishing it, dominating Diaz from the opening bell.

I think I should also acknowledge the effort of David Diaz, who took a lot of punishment during this fight and continued to come forward despite the onslaught. There is no question Diaz was completely outclassed tonight, but you can’t really fault his effort. He fought a superior opponent, one who arguably just solidified his position as the best pound for pound fighter in the world.

Overall, this was a highly entertaining fight and easily one of the best so far this year. If you missed the fight, I definitely recommend you try and catch the highlights. I will be posting a new edition of the Furious Five tomorrow, so be sure to check back for more post fight analysis and to see how this dominant performance could potentially impact the future plans of Pacquaio.

Brandon Campbell

Hello sportstalkbuzz nation, welcome to the latest edition of the Furious Five. We will touch on a wide variety of issues around the boxing world today, so let’s get started.

1) If there was anyone in the boxing industry that still had doubts about the superstar potential of Kelly Pavlik before last weekend, those apprehensions should have been erased by his dominating third round knockout of Gary Lockett on Saturday night. The knockout ensured yet another successful defense of the WBC and WBO middleweight belts by the undefeated champion, giving him nine knockouts in his past ten fights. Although Pavlik dominated his opponent like he was an amateur fighter, Lockett was actually the number one contender for his belts and had won fourteen straight fights during the past six years. The future now becomes relatively uncertain for Pavlik, who could end up fighting 168-pound champion Joe Calzaghe or opt for a unification bout within his weight class. Either way, Pavlik certainly looks ready to challenge for the now vacant title of the best pound for pound fighter in the world.

2) There was also another entertaining match this past Saturday between two well known fighters, as former Contender star Sergio Mora upset defending WBC welterweight champion Vernon Forrest in a close majority decision. The victory improved the record of the former Contender champion to 21-0-1, while providing him with the first title win of his career. Meanwhile, the fight represented one of the low points in the career of Vernon Forrest while raising questions about his desire to continue in the sport. Albeit Forrest is a proven former champion, one can’t help but question his preparation and conditioning as he became extremely tired during the final rounds of the fight. The conditioning of Forrest became such an issue towards the end of the fight that his trainer Buddy McGirt had to help him off the stool before the beginning of the final round. Who knows what this means for the future of Forrest or if he will have the opportunity to regain the title in the rematch, but the name of Mora is already surfacing as a possible opponent for numerous big name fighters (see point #4 for an example)

3) Boxing fans across the world were saddened to learn about the sudden retirement of Floyd Mayweather Jr. this week, despite this being the third time he has announced his retirement in the past few years. Although I might be a little skeptical, I think his most recent retirement is far from certain and a return to the ring in the next few years is still a realistic possibility. Despite being the most talented fighter of our generation, Mayweather has recently shown little interest in solidifying his legacy as one of the best ever in the sport and has instead opted to try and maximize his earning potential. It wouldn’t surprise me if this most recent announcement is yet another tactic designed to maximize profits when he does inevitably return to the ring, possibly against De La Hoya, Hatton, or the winner of the upcoming Cotto/Margarito fight. If this latest retirement announcement is actually permanent, it’s truly a sad day for the sport as we have lost one of the most talented fighters in its history.

4) The recent retirement announcement from Floyd Mayweather Jr. has confused the entire boxing community, most of all Oscar De La Hoya who was scheduled to fight Mayweather this upcoming September. The abrupt change of plans by Mayweather has resulted in De La Hoya being forced to look for a new opponent, and he is currently considering a wide range of options. Although big name fighters like Hatton, Cotto and Pacquaio have all been mentioned as possible future opponents, right now the early favorite appears to be new WBO super welterweight champion Sergio Mora. This fight wouldn’t quite have the appeal amongst the mainstream public as the other potential matches, but it makes sense from the perspective of De La Hoya. For one, De La Hoya wouldn’t be required to evenly split the revenue from the match like he would with the other fighters being considered. Second, from a strategic standpoint Mora would probably be the easiest victory out of the fights available. We will now see De La Hoya struggle with the same question that has been guiding the career of Mayweather during the past few years, do you want to cement your legacy in the sport or just earn some easy money?

5) We are just a couple weeks away from one of the more intriguing fights of the summer, as boxing superstar Manny Pacquaio will move up a weight class to challenge WBC lightweight champion David Diaz on June 28th. If Pacquaio can defeat Diaz it will be the fourth different weight class he has won a title in, a rarity in modern boxing. For Diaz, the fight presents yet another opportunity to score a major upset victory, the kind upon which he has established his career. The success by Diaz as an underdog began in 1996 when he outperformed a heralded young prospect named Zab Judah for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team, and culminated last year when he successfully defended his title against the heavily favored Erik Morales. It should also be a highly entertaining fight in the ring, as both boxers like to come forward and exchange power punches in flurries. Make sure to stay tuned to the Furious Five during the days leading up to the fight, as I will be sure to provide more analysis and offer my prediction.

Alright everyone, that’s all for now. If you have any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to join in the discussion. I’ll see you all again for the next edition of the Furious Five.

Brandon Campbell

Hello everyone, welcome to the latest installment of the Furious Five. We will cover a wide range of topics today, from the recent Ricky Hatton fight to the highly anticipated matches this summer. Let’s proceed…

1) When Ricky Hatton envisioned his return to the ring last year after the disappointing loss against Floyd Mayweather, I’m sure he pictured a dominating victory that would erase all questions about him being a world class fighter. Although Hatton emerged with a unanimous decision in his fight last Saturday, the unconvincing victory over Juan Lazcano did little to silence his critics. The relatively unknown Lazcano provided a serious challenge for Hatton, cutting him early during the fight and then stunning him on two separate occasions in the later rounds. Albeit all three judges had Hatton winning comfortably, his defence looked suspect throughout the fight and his conditioning was an obvious weakness during the final rounds. I’m sure Hatton is happy to emerge with the win, but this victory creates more questions than it does answers about the future of his career.

2) One thing we do know for certain is that the next fight for Hatton will take place against Paulie Malignaggi this November. There are many boxing experts who think that the fast paced style of Malignaggi will create problems for Hatton, but Paulie looked extremely underwhelming on the undercard this past weekend in his split decision victory over Lovemore N’Dou. There are rumors that Malignaggi fractured his right hand in the fight, but doctors expect the injury to be fully healed in time for the upcoming fight. Although the unimpressive performance by both fighters last Saturday will do little to create excitement for the fight, the different styles of these two fighters has the potential to make this one of the most exciting fights of the year. Plus, we can hope both fighters will have something to prove after how they performed last weekend.

3) It’s been almost two weeks since the comeback of Chris Byrd was derailed when he suffered a major upset at the hands of Shaun George (who?), as the underdog consistently got the better of the exchanges throughout the fight. This loss was the third for Byrd in his past four fights, and now makes his retirement all but a certainty. Although the two time former world champion hasn’t made anything official yet, speculation about his pending retirement is rampant around the boxing world. When you factor in that Byrd was rushed to the emergency ward at the conclusion of the fight after overdosing on the morphine and Valium he was given, there is no question that the time for his retirement is right. It’s a disappointing end to the career of one of the few true gentleman in the sport, but Byrd has nothing left to prove in boxing and shouldn’t risk his future for a couple more meaningless fights.

4) With numerous highly anticipated fights already scheduled for the upcoming summer months, the list continues to grow with the official announcement of two more this week. The match between Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito has been officially been scheduled for July 26, 2008, with the location still yet to be determined. The handlers of Cotto would prefer to see the fight take place on the east coast, where the large Puerto Rican population would give Miguel a significant home crowd advantage. Meanwhile, for similar reasons, the handlers of Margarito would prefer to see the fight take place out west where an enormous Mexican population is situated. This is just one interesting dynamic of this match, which has been largely ignored by the mainstream North American media thus far. The reasons for the snub are beyond me, as this blockbuster fight has all the intangibles one could hope for in a boxing match. Make sure to stay tuned to future editions of the Furious Five, as we will be sure to provide in-depth analysis of this fight during the coming weeks.

5) With Antonio Margarito having to vacate the IBF welterweight title to accept the fight against Cotto, a fight has been scheduled for the vacant title on August 2nd between Zab Judah and Joshua Clottey. This fight should be interesting for a variety of reasons, as Judah is one of the most unpredictable fighters in the sport and will be hoping to re energize his stagnant career with a victory against the underrated Clottey. For Joshua Clottey, this fight presents him an opportunity at redemption after he broke his hand and lost a close unanimous decision in 2006 while fighting Margarito for the WBO welterweight championship. Since the defeat against Margarito, Clottey has won four consecutive fights and earned another title shot by defeating Shamone Alvarez this past December. We all know Judah is one of the most skilled natural athletes in the sport, with the ability to completely dominate a fight if he can maintain his focus. However, the career of Judah has recently been marred by numerous disappointing performances, as he has struggled to reestablish himself as one of the premiere fighters in the sport. Obviously this match will have significant meaning for both fighters, with the winner reestablishing themselves as a legitimate force in the welterweight division and the loser being relegated to boxing obscurity. The fight will be shown on HBO Boxing After Dark, which should provide a high quality fight for free to the boxing public.

Alright sportstalkbuzz nation, that’s it for today. I hope you enjoyed the latest edition of the Furious Five, and be sure to check back soon as we will preview more of the premiere fights scheduled for this summer.