Boxing FanHouse http://boxing.fanhouse.com Boxing FanHouse http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://boxing.fanhouse.com/media/feedlogo.gif Boxing FanHouse http://boxing.fanhouse.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Oscar De La Hoya Beats Steve Forbeshttp://boxing.fanhouse.com/2008/05/03/oscar-de-la-hoya-beats-steve-forbes/http://boxing.fanhouse.com/2008/05/03/oscar-de-la-hoya-beats-steve-forbes/http://boxing.fanhouse.com/2008/05/03/oscar-de-la-hoya-beats-steve-forbes/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Oscar De La Hoya defeated Steve Forbes tonight by unanimous decision, beginning his farewell tour with a solid showing in front of an overwhelmingly pro-De La Hoya Cinco de Mayo weekend crowd in Carson, California.

De La Hoya said before the fight that he would use his jab effectively, and that's exactly what he did. He was cautious early before turning more to power punches in the middle of the fight, and he opened a gash near Forbes' eye in the sixth round and controlled throughout.

Still, some will find it a bit disappointing that De La Hoya wasn't even more dominant. Forbes entered the ring having never been knocked down, but most people thought De La Hoya would drop him before the ninth round. That didn't happen; that the fight went 12 was a minor victory for Forbes.

De La Hoya improved his record to 39-5; Forbes dropped to 33-6. Up next for De La Hoya is a likely September rematch with Floyd Mayweather.

Oscar De La Hoya Beats Steve Forbes originally appeared on Boxing FanHouse on Sat, 03 May 2008 22:28:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Oscar De La HoyaOscarDeLaHoyaSteve ForbesSteveForbesMichael David SmithSat, 03 May 2008 22:28:00 EST Joe Calzaghe Beats Bernard Hopkins for Light Heavyweight Titlehttp://boxing.fanhouse.com/2008/04/19/joe-calzaghe-beats-bernard-hopkins-for-light-heavyweight-title/http://boxing.fanhouse.com/2008/04/19/joe-calzaghe-beats-bernard-hopkins-for-light-heavyweight-title/http://boxing.fanhouse.com/2008/04/19/joe-calzaghe-beats-bernard-hopkins-for-light-heavyweight-title/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Bernard Hopkins lost his world light heavyweight title to Joe Calzaghe tonight in Las Vegas, with Calzaghe scoring a solid split decision victory and erasing any doubt that he's one of the elite boxers in the world.

The scores were 114-113 for Hopkins, 115-112 for Calzaghe and 116-111 for Calzaghe. Hopkins entered the fight as the world light heavyweight champion; Calzaghe was the super middleweight champion.

Calzaghe went down just a minute into the first round, but he seemed more surprised than hurt when he hit the canvas, and after that he was clearly the better fighter. Calzaghe controlled the tempo of the fight and set the tone, although Hopkins showed his typical superior defense.

The fight was not without controversy. Calzaghe landed two low blows, and the second, in the 10th round, caused Hopkins to take the full allotment of five minutes to recover, wincing in pain throughout, although he may have been engaging in some theatrics. Hopkins also had his share of questionable to cheap shots, although ref Joe Cortez never took a point away from either fighter.

Calzaghe improved his perfect record to 45-0. Hopkins falls to 48-5-1.

Joe Calzaghe Beats Bernard Hopkins for Light Heavyweight Title originally appeared on Boxing FanHouse on Sat, 19 Apr 2008 23:03:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Bernard HopkinsBernardHopkinsJoe CalzagheJoeCalzagheMichael David SmithSat, 19 Apr 2008 23:03:00 EST Manny Pacquiao Beats Juan Manuel Marquezhttp://boxing.fanhouse.com/2008/03/15/manny-pacquiao-beats-juan-manuel-marquez/http://boxing.fanhouse.com/2008/03/15/manny-pacquiao-beats-juan-manuel-marquez/http://boxing.fanhouse.com/2008/03/15/manny-pacquiao-beats-juan-manuel-marquez/#commentsFiled under: , ,

In a great rematch to their great 2004 fight, Manny Pacquaio beat Juan Manuel Marquez by split decision tonight in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao knocked Marquez down in the third round and appeared to have him in serious trouble, but Marquez showed guts and determination in recovering and putting Pacquiao into danger. Both fighters had cuts on their eyes; late in the fight Marquez had an ugly gash over his eye that looked serious enough that the fight could have been stopped, but the fight did go the distance. One judge scored the fight 115-112 for Marquez, one scored it 115-112 for Pacquiao and one scored it 114-113 for Pacquiao.

On my live blog scorecard, Marquez won 114-113.

They were fighting for Marquez's WBC super featherweight (130-pound) belt. More significantly, they were fighting for the status as the best boxer in the world among fighters lighter than Floyd Mayweather, who is generally recognized as the world's top pound-for-pound boxer. If Mayweather is the best fighter in the world, these two are the second and third best. They put on a great show, and both deserve to be called champions.

Previously on FanHouse:
Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez Live
Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez Live Undercard Blog: David Diaz and More
Video: Manny Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez Look Solid at Weigh In
As Manny Pacquiao Fight Nears, Fans in Philippines on Edge
Freddie Roach: 'This Is the Most Focused I've Ever Seen Manny Pacquiao'
Manny Pacquiao's Trainer Freddie Roach Already Thinking About David Diaz

Manny Pacquiao Beats Juan Manuel Marquez originally appeared on Boxing FanHouse on Sat, 15 Mar 2008 23:36:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Juan Manuel MarquezJuanManuelMarquezManny PacquaioMannyPacquaioMichael David SmithSat, 15 Mar 2008 23:36:00 EST Oscar De La Hoya: The Best Businessman in American Sportshttp://boxing.fanhouse.com/2008/03/07/oscar-de-la-hoya-the-best-businessman-in-american-sports/http://boxing.fanhouse.com/2008/03/07/oscar-de-la-hoya-the-best-businessman-in-american-sports/http://boxing.fanhouse.com/2008/03/07/oscar-de-la-hoya-the-best-businessman-in-american-sports/#commentsFiled under: ,

When Oscar De La Hoya purchased a piece of Major League Soccer's Houston Dynamo last week, the news didn't get much attention because, well, the MLS never gets much attention.

But it pointed to one quietly simple fact about De La Hoya, a champion in six weight classes: As fine a boxer as he is, his savvy as businessman is on a whole other level. This is the smartest businessman in sports.

Many elite competitors understand that it's the athletes who do the work but the owners who make the money. But De La Hoya is the one who has used his business acumen to control the means of production after years being used by it.

While professional athletes in the 21st century make the kind of money that their predecessors (not to mention you and I) could only dream about, they do not run their own show. As noted economist Chris Rock explained, "Shaq is rich. The white man who signs his check is wealthy."

De La Hoya is wealthy: Next month this extraordinary pugilist will make millions on a boxing match without ever stepping into the ring.



Bernard Hopkins (left) versus Joe Calzaghe will be one of the biggest fights of the year, and De La Hoya is promoting it. (There's a reason his is the happiest face of the three.)

This ability to take ownership of his sport makes De La Hoya the best. Compare De La Hoya to some of the other athletes who might stake a claim:

Tiger Woods: According to Sports Illustrated's estimate, De La Hoya was the second highest-paid athlete in America last year, making $55 million. Woods, who could be a billionaire by the time he's done, made about twice that much. But Woods has made that money because he's the best athlete ever to play his sport: When you're dominating golf -- the sport of the affluent -- like no one ever has, it's only natural that you'll get rich out of it. De La Hoya is nowhere near as good in the ring as Woods is on the course.

Michael Jordan: As the greatest athlete endorser of all time, Jordan changed the way modern athletes are used to sell everything from shoes to hot dogs, hamburgers to cologne to long-distance service. Like Woods, however, Jordan has once-in-a-lifetime talent in his sport, and that -- not Jordan's business sense -- made companies line up for him.

LeBron James: The other #23 talks a good game about becoming the first billionaire athlete, but to date he's been a Jordan-style pitchman. He's smart enough to recognize the value of the international market, but he remains one career-altering injury away from being another B-level endorser.

Magic Johnson: So impressive were Johnson's business pursuits during his playing career that they were featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. His Johnson Development Corporation works with Loews theaters, Starbucks, T.G.I. Friday's and Washington Mutual to bring businesses into under-served markets and has a presence in 65 cities. That's a great accomplishment, but it has come from working with established businesses, not creating his own.

George Foreman: The mean, lean grilling machine has made Foreman $150 million, making it the single most lucrative sponsorship arrangement any athlete has ever had. Foreman is a born pitchman, but he was mostly was lucky enough to endorse a product that convinced Americans you could drain the fat out of red meat. Other products he's endorsed haven't been nearly so successful.

Roger Staubach: The Hall of Fame Dallas Cowboys quarterback has made a fortune as head of The Staubach Company, a global real estate advisory firm. Staubach used connections he made during his football career to begin in real estate, but there's really not much connection between his playing career and his post-playing career.

Billie Jean King: Her business sense may be the most like De La Hoya's, in that recognized the potential for female tennis players to organize their own tournaments. King, however, was more an activist than a businesswoman.

De La Hoya's top priority is a pure businessman, and I mean that in the nicest of ways: He's been around boxing his entire life and has seen that boxers are usually chewed up and spit out by the sport. He decided that he would use the sport rather than letting the sport use him, and the result is that he isn't just the most popular boxer in the United States, he's also the most influential boxing promoter in the business.

In January, when Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports ranked the 25 most powerful people in boxing, the list was dominated by those on the business side. Only four of Iole's top 25 were fighters, but De La Hoya was first, with Iole writing, "The Golden Boy is far and away the most powerful individual in the sport."

Previous popular boxers have lacked De La Hoya's business sense, often to such an extent that they filled arenas for years and then wound up broke. Joe Louis spent the latter portion of his life making demeaning performances in a futile effort to pay back taxes from his income as a boxer; Mike Tyson managed his money so badly that he declared bankruptcy after a career that netted him $300 million.

Even as professional athletes' salaries continue to escalate, smart players realize the importance of being more like De La Hoya and less like Tyson. The NFL and the players' union have teamed up on an executive education program that has about 120 NFL players enrolled in business courses this off-season at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management, Harvard Business School and the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

Maybe one of those NFL players who are learning about the business world will end up an NFL owner some day. That's the trail that De La Hoya is blazing.

As for De La Hoya's decision to buy part of the Houston Dynamo for a reported $10 million, that's a small-time investment. But soccer fans should be glad to know that De La Hoya considers MLS to be worthy of any investment at all. He doesn't bet the wrong way very often.

Oscar De La Hoya: The Best Businessman in American Sports originally appeared on Boxing FanHouse on Fri, 07 Mar 2008 07:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Billie Jean KingBillieJeanKingGeorge ForemanGeorgeForemanMichael JordanMichaelJordanOscar De La HoyaOscarDeLaHoyaRoger StaubachRogerStaubachTiger WoodsTigerWoodsMichael David SmithFri, 07 Mar 2008 07:30:00 EST Kelly Pavlik Beats Jermain Taylorhttp://boxing.fanhouse.com/2008/02/16/kelly-pavlik-beats-jermain-taylor/http://boxing.fanhouse.com/2008/02/16/kelly-pavlik-beats-jermain-taylor/http://boxing.fanhouse.com/2008/02/16/kelly-pavlik-beats-jermain-taylor/#commentsFiled under: ,

World middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik beat Jermain Taylor in a tough, hard-fought unanimous decision tonight in their rematch of one of the best fights of 2007.

The fight lasted 12 rounds, making it the first time in Pavlik's career that he's gone that far, and although it didn't live up to their fight from last year, Pavlik and Taylor gave the fans more than their money's worth with 12 very good rounds of boxing.

The judges called it 117-111, 115-113 and 116-112 for Pavlik. On two of the three judges' scorecards, the fight was even through six rounds, but Pavlik dominated the second half of the fight -- one judge gave him every single round from 7 through 12.

Pavlik showed again tonight that he's one of the best fighters in the world in any weight class, but no one should take anything away from Taylor, who has now given Pavlik a run for his money twice. It's not clear who either fighter will take on next, but it will be hard to top this pair of fights they've had in the last six months.

Kelly Pavlik Beats Jermain Taylor originally appeared on Boxing FanHouse on Sat, 16 Feb 2008 23:56:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Michael David SmithSat, 16 Feb 2008 23:56:00 EST Kimbo Slice Would Like to Fight Mike Tysonhttp://boxing.fanhouse.com/2008/02/08/kimbo-slice-would-like-to-fight-mike-tyson/http://boxing.fanhouse.com/2008/02/08/kimbo-slice-would-like-to-fight-mike-tyson/http://boxing.fanhouse.com/2008/02/08/kimbo-slice-would-like-to-fight-mike-tyson/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Kimbo Slice, the Internet phenomenon who went from backyard brawler whose fights were on YouTube to mixed martial artist whose fights are on Showtime and pay-per-view, appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and an interesting name came up as a potential future opponent:

When Kimmel asked, "Is Mike Tyson someone you would like to fight?" Slice said, "Yeah."

I think Tyson really is retired -- not just "retired" like so many fighters who aren't really finished -- but I must say, if he ever wanted to fight Slice, it would be one of the all-time greatest freak shows in the history of sport. And that means it would make everyone a lot of money.

As for the guy he's fighting next weekend, former UFC star Tank Abbott, Slice said, "I don't think nothing about Tank."

The conversation also got a little personal. Kimmel asked Slice if he conditions his beard, and Slice said, "I take care of it because it takes care of me." Kimmel told Slice, "It really is one of the shiniest, cleanest-looking beards I've ever seen."

And then it got really personal. Kimmel said to Slice, "Have you ever had a romantic relationship with a man? Be honest."

Slice replied, "No, man."

Kimbo Slice Would Like to Fight Mike Tyson originally appeared on Boxing FanHouse on Fri, 08 Feb 2008 07:06:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Jimmy KimmelJimmyKimmelKimbo SliceKimboSliceMike TysonMikeTysonTank AbbottTankAbbottMichael David SmithFri, 08 Feb 2008 07:06:00 EST Shane Mosley Admits Using Steroids, Claims, 'I Didn't Know What the Hell It Was'http://boxing.fanhouse.com/2007/09/28/shane-mosley-admits-using-steroids-claims-i-didnt-know-what/http://boxing.fanhouse.com/2007/09/28/shane-mosley-admits-using-steroids-claims-i-didnt-know-what/http://boxing.fanhouse.com/2007/09/28/shane-mosley-admits-using-steroids-claims-i-didnt-know-what/#commentsFiled under: ,

Hours after Sports Illustrated broke the news that boxer Shane Mosley was using steroids from BALCO, Mosley admitted it in an interview with ESPN.com -- but he said he didn't know what he was taking.
In an interview with ESPN.com Friday, the former three-division world champion said: "Unknowingly, yes, some of the substances they are talking about, were being used as part of the workouts. I didn't know what the hell it was," Mosley said from Big Bear, Calif., where he is training for a Nov. 10 fight with welterweight titleholder Miguel Cotto.
Mosley said he purchased the steroids from BALCO founder Victor Conte with a personal check, which, Mosley says, shows that he wasn't trying to hide anything. Mosley will fight Miguel Cotto on Nov. 10.

Shane Mosley Admits Using Steroids, Claims, 'I Didn't Know What the Hell It Was' originally appeared on Boxing FanHouse on Fri, 28 Sep 2007 23:37:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Shane MosleyShaneMosleysteroidsMichael David SmithFri, 28 Sep 2007 23:37:00 EST Lamon Brewster Speaks Out on Dog Fightinghttp://boxing.fanhouse.com/2007/08/03/lamon-brewster-speaks-out-on-dog-fighting/http://boxing.fanhouse.com/2007/08/03/lamon-brewster-speaks-out-on-dog-fighting/http://boxing.fanhouse.com/2007/08/03/lamon-brewster-speaks-out-on-dog-fighting/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

After the Michael Vick indictment, we can expect to see a lot of public service announcements in which athletes speak out against dog fighting and animal cruelty. Boxer Lamon Brewster is first up:


The NFL is desperate not to allow Vick to taint the entire league, and as a result, I can guarantee that we'll see a lot of NFL players making similar PSAs.

Lamon Brewster Speaks Out on Dog Fighting originally appeared on Boxing FanHouse on Fri, 03 Aug 2007 07:43:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Michael VickMichaelVickMichael David SmithFri, 03 Aug 2007 07:43:00 EST