This whole Manny Pacquiao/gay marriage thing should've been a tiny blip in the boxing discussion, but it wasn't. So what can we learn from it?

1. The Examiner's fleet of search engine-optimizing writers don't always write in the most clear fashion. No surprise there. Nobody who was a party to the offending interview in question thinks Pacquiao said anything about killing gay people, no matter how ambiguously Granville Ampong wrote it.
2. Ampong deserves blame for writing it the way he did, but so too do people who overinterpreted Pacquiao's supposed remarks when there were never any quotation marks around it coming out of Pacquiao's mouth.
3. Pacquiao does oppose gay marriage, and that is enough for some people to label him homophobic. Some other people think Pacquiao is just like a lot of other people in opposing gay marriage, and those people don't catch as much flack. But what caught my eye originally was him invoking Sodom and Gomorrah. You know, the part of the Bible where, as widely interpreted, God burned down a town over some gayness. If you basically think the world will end because of gay marriage, I guess time will tell, and you're entitled to that view. But it does come off like you're scared of gay people, however justified you believe your view to be. (Although maybe I misinterpreted what he meant by saying "Sodom" and "Gomorrah?")
4. Some people were offended about Paquiao criticizing President Obama, in however roundabout way he did it, which doesn't make it wrong but isn't super-wise of the congressman from the Philippines. There's this idea that Pac somehow isn't entitled to criticize the leadership of this country just because he's not from here that's unjustified to me. On the other hand, it's a PR misstep for Pac to think that it isn't going to tick some folk off. 'Merica, f**k yeah!
5. Pacquiao holds Bible study 800 times a day or something, and talks about his religion all the time, but says he still hasn't read Leviticus. Wouldn't the people going to Pacquiao's Bible study with him be better off learning it via an online diploma mill or something?
6. The supposed double standard about Pacquiao's wrongdoings getting more media scrutiny and condemnation compared to Floyd Mayweather's just narrowed. This was a full-blown media storm, complete with Pacquiao being banned from shopping malls and national news organization attention. Mayweather has earned harsh media treatment, as I wrote here, but Pacquiao's aura of good guy sheen is starting to chip away.
7. Floyd Mayweather is either a cheap shot artist or has somehow seen the light. We know he's not above cheap shots in the ring, of course, but his decision to endorse gay marriage the same day Pacquiao was catching heat for it doesn't jive with him just a few weeks ago getting all upset about Miguel Cotto sleeping in a bed with a man, or before that calling his own father a "faggot," or even before that calling Pacquiao himself a "faggot." Now, an instant conversion in light of Obama now supporting gay marriage, prompted by Jay-Z supporting gay marriage (after calling people "faggots" in music all the time) could be the latest chip to fall in the hip-hop-ish community taking cues from a black president they idolize and overcoming said community's long-term affiliation with homophobia... and it'll spread to boxing as a whole, another community where homophobia is rampant... hmmm, no, the timing is fishy. Probably a cheap shot.

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There was nothing easy about this update of our pound-for-pound list, p4p lists being a concept aimed at determining the world's best fighters regardless of weight class -- and a harmless exercise that isn't responsible, no matter what HBO's Jim Lampley said in the debut episode of "The Fight Game," for making boxers avoid the risk of losing.

(Aside: Every single person on this list took big risks to get to where they are. More commonly, boxing promoters blame HBO itself for fighters avoiding the risk of losing, a not 100 percent accurate claim based on HBO's record of bringing back fighters with losses, but one more accurate than Lampley's remarks. This was one of many wild-seeming remarks on Lampley's new show, which listed Mayweather as the most Arturo Gatti-like of all current boxers, and had Max Kellerman saying Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao was closer than ever, and so forth. I am fine with the concept of this show. The debut episode's execution had some problems.)

What made it difficult is that for so long, Mayweather and Pacquiao have been neck and neck for the top spot, and I had to decide if May 5 was the moment Mayweather overtook him. I had to figure out what to do with Miguel Cotto, who fought Mayweather extremely well but ultimately lost. And I had to figure out how to handle Lamont Peterson, who recently tested positive for a banned substance that he used prior to the win that got him on the list.

In the end, Peterson drops out -- he was only my #20, and if he's somehow vindicated, we can see about restoring him, but I'm dubious of his defense. Cotto moves up. And we have a new #1. (Plus some other moves.)

As always, the predominant criteria is record against top competition, with an emphasis on more recent times. Other criteria for determining eligibility include inactivity, the "eyeball test," and a few other minor things. This is the prior update.
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In the latest policy change at the “Bible of Boxing” to send shockwaves through the boxing community, Ring Magazine announced today on its website that every headline on the site going forward will feature the names of Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, regardless of the actual content of the story.

According to the once-venerable magazine, the mandate is intended to increase the exposure of boxing to casual fans, journalistic integrity be damned. The news ran under the headline, “The Ring Updates Headline Policy: Floyd Mayweather, Jr. And Manny Pacquiao.”

“Our research indicates that traffic to the Ring website is multiplied tenfold or more for news reports and columns featuring Mayweather and Pacquiao,” the report said. “Including their names in all headlines, even when the story has nothing to do with them, will therefore boost Ring online readership exponentially. This could ultimately spur a monumental rejuvenation in the mainstream popularity of the sport, according to projections from Oscar De La Hoya.”

The reaction from boxing writers was swift and damning.

“Dumbest decision in #boxing EVER. And thats saying A LOT!! #worsethanWBC” tweeted Dan Rafael, head boxing writer at ESPN.com, along with a link to the Ring Magazine report.

Eric Raskin, a former writer for the Ring and outspoken critic of the editorial direction of the magazine in recent months, was even more succinct in his analysis, tweeting simply, “SMFH [shaking my (expletive) head].”

Bleacher Report ran an article shortly after the announcement under the headline, “Ring Magazine Is Officially Worthless; Also, Manny Pacquaio And Floyd Mayweather, Jr.”

The new changes at the Ring went into effect immediately. Earlier today, the first article was published under the new guidelines: “David Haye And Dereck Chisora Signed For Fight In Luxembourg; Floyd Mayweather, Jr. And Manny Pacquiao Still Not Fighting Anywhere.”

Writers for the Ring have not responded to repeated requests for comment.

(The Rabbit Punch is a satirical column. Any persons, events, descriptions, opinions, or insults contained herein are not intended to be taken seriously. You didn’t take this seriously, did you? Seriously?) no comments

Sticking with the theme from last week’s schedule, here’s a two minute video of movie characters saying “son of a bitch.” As usual, the heading video has nothing to do with the schedule, despite my occasional attempt to make a tenuous connection.

Like this: It’s almost, but not quite, the kind of week that will have you saying “son of a bitch” when you’re looking for some boxing to watch. Yeah, that was terrible. Anyway, Mikkel Kessler is finally returning to action and there’s some fun to be seen on Friday Night Fights, as well as the usual global goings on.

• Karim Mayfield vs. Raymond Serrano, Friday, ESPN2, Albany N.Y. The capital of the Empire State hosts this interesting match up between limited junior welterweight prospects Mayfield and Serrano on Friday. To me, this is a good FNF fight – neither of the undefeated protagonists will ever be elite, but they’ll test each other and hopefully entertain in the process. Mayfield (15-0-1) has had weird career arc. He’s 30, which is pretty damn old for an undefeated prospect with 16 fights and no extensive amateur background to speak of, but he’s been a sparring partner for Manny Pacquiao, Antonio Margarito and others. He’s also trained by last year’s Boxing Writers Association of America Trainer of the Year, Virgil Hunter. I can’t really see what all that adds up to, though, because though Mayfield is an OK boxer and hits hardish, he isn’t exceptional, is there to be hit and tends to tie up a lot on the inside. Philadelphia’s Serrano (18-0) doesn’t have any of the advantages that Mayfield has. To me, that makes his unimpressiveness much more explicable. His high knockout ratio belies the competition he has been facing – he’s no Roberto Duran. Still, despite their limitations, Mayfield and Serrano should make a pretty good fight. Mayfield will likely play the aggressor in a fun bout that goes the distance due to both guys’ solid conditioning.
• Mikkel Kessler vs. Allan Green, Saturday, Copenhagen. Former Showtime Super Six participants Kessler and Green never faced each other in the tournament, so are making up for that fact with a dust up at light heavyweight. Denmark’s Kessler (44-2) has been injury prone late in his career, withdrawing from the Super Six and a fight with Robert Stieglitz. “The Viking Warrior” was at one time one of the twenty best fighters in the whole sport, but it’s hard to know how much he has left after said injuries and a lengthy period of inactivity. Green (31-3) probably isn’t the person to test him. He lost both his fights in the Super Six, getting embarrassingly schooled by Andre Ward (as was Kessler) and knocked out by Glen Johnson. The tall, athletic Oklahoman’s problem has never been physical limitations but rather a lack of mental fortitude. His body language is the opposite of confident, he often stares at his feet and when knocked out by Johnson, his main concern seemed to be complaining to the referee rather than getting to his feet. Still, he’s long complained that he’s drained at super middleweight (despite continuing to fight there) so maybe the move up in weight will give him a new lease on life. But I doubt it. Look for Kessler to start hitting Green with hard, accurate straight punches and for Green to not like it at all. I’m going with Kessler by TKO, and hopefully he will make some noise at the newly exciting LHW division after that.
• The Rest. 24/7 returns to HBO (and CNN) on Saturday night with the first installment of the series for June’s Manny Pacquio/Timothy Bradley fight. We’ve seen and heard pretty much everything about Pacquiao, but Bradley could be interesting. Maybe… On Friday night TeleFutura is broadcasting a junior welterweight bout between prospect Mauricio Pintor (17-0) and Ivan Cano (20-4) from Mexico City… Also Friday, top junior lightweight Argenis Mendez (19-2) stays busy at lightweight against Hector Velazquez (51-17-3) in Hollywood, Florida… Saturday brings a match-up between top ten junior bantamweights Juan Carlos Sanchez Jr. (13-1-1) and Juan Alberto Rosas (36-6) in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico…S aturday also brings a showdown for the British heavyweight crown between up and comer David Price (12-0), coming off an impressive showing over veteran John McDermott, and Sam Sexton (15-2)… There’s also a gofightlive.tv card from Delaware (Delaware!) on Friday and one from Atlantic City on Saturday. Neither card features anybody in particular.

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This is the best. Our own Andrew Harrison got a new bundle of joy this past week, and there he is, already checking out his dad's work. "TQBR's youngest fan," Andrew said in the e-mail to me. This is the first time a member of the TQBR family has expanded his family that I know of, so congrats to Mr. Harrison on behalf of us all on the cute kiddo, whose face you cannot see here but is indeed cute (and shares his father's haircut). And the youngster has great taste: Andrew's my favorite current U.K. boxing scribe, and that's not just institutional bias -- if you aren't reading Andrew's dispatches, you're missing out on some wonderful writing.

To business: This edition of Quick Jabs mostly falls under the two categories in the headline, but there's a little bit more on The Ring championship policy and a bit of "fights in the works" in the Round and Round section. Also: Have you liked our Facebook page yet? Do it. Come on, do it.
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Sheffield’s Kid Galahad dealt artfully with Barnsley’s Josh Wale on Saturday, peppering him silly for nine rounds until the Brampton man was pulled out in his corner due to worsening facial damage. Wale, a window cleaner by trade, was out of his depth here. After a torrid opening round, during which realisation dawned that brute force and honest graft would not nearly be enough to thwart this latest Ingle gym prodigy, “The Outlaw” looked as though he’d been asked to clean the nearby Meadowhall Centre with a thimble full of suds and a napkin.

As promised, Wale, 120 ¾, rushed Galahad, 121 ¾, on the opening bell. The favourite, though, was ready for him, and took the pep out of his charge with a sharp and debilitating body attack. Waves of darting, accurate punches would then follow, smacking plum into Wale’s face – it was a highly impressive exhibition of skill. In fact, with only a little more power, Galahad might well have had his hand raised before three minutes were up.

As it was, Wale was forced to endure a prolonged and incessant whupping. He was simply unable to deal with Galahad’s handspeed and crafty moves and, even when he’d manage to round on his tormentor against the ropes, or in a corner, Galahad would slip his lunges and then moonwalk off to safety before starting the tenderising process all over again.

Post-fight, Galahad, 12-0 (5), called out domestic junior featherweight rivals Scott Quigg and Carl Frampton along with the Spanish European champion Kiko Martinez. Whether he holds enough power to deal with any of that trio (he landed cleanly on Wale repeatedly with negligible effect) remains to be seen. With skills as sublime as his, maybe he doesn’t need it? Wale falls to 14-4-1 (7).

Junior Witter, 41-5-2 (22), is a British champion once again after he outpointed Colin Lynes, 36-10 (12), for the second time in his career – this time up at welterweight. After overturning long odds and at the grand old age of 38, a lucrative pension pay-out against Manchester’s Matthew Hatton could now lie ahead. Scores read 117-112, 115-114 and 116-114.

Chris Eubank Jnr. claimed his fourth professional win (two quick) at middleweight with a six round unanimous decision over York’s Harry Matthews.

Television: Channel Five

Promoter: Mick Hennessy

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As critical as fans have absolutely had a right to be about 2012's ShoBox failure-a-thon, credit must be given for two very good action cards in a row.

A few weeks ago, Thomas Oosthuizen and Luis Del Valle came out on top over Marcus Johnson and Christopher Martin respectively, and entertained thoroughly in the process. It was a break from the road ShoBox had been going down, which had been more along the lines of stuff worthy of non-televised cards in Idaho high school gyms.

Friday night junior middleweight Willie Nelson peeled his lanky self up off the canvas to seize a meaningful decision win from former undefeated Cuban prospect Yudel Jhonson, and super middleweight up-and-comer Badou Jack barely outdid Colombian poor man's Sergio Martinez impersonator Alexander Brand to win a split verdict.
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Kid Galahad returns to the ring on Saturday to have himself a skeet shoot at the Hillsborough Leisure Centre in Sheffield. Barnsley rival Josh “The Outlaw” Wale plays the role of clay pigeon. Channel Five continue their most welcome foray into the sport, confident no doubt that Galahad’s back story, a sort of Luke Skywalker to Naseem Hamed’s Darth Vader, is a worthwhile investment for bigger nights to come. For terrestrial viewers in the U.K., it is a chance to watch a young artisan at work, a whip-smart Wincobank padawan making steady strides in the junior featherweight division.

His opponent, Wale, is a limited but willing bantamweight scrapper. The Brampton man’s record reads 14-3-1 (7) yet closer inspection reveals that he’s only beaten three fighters with winning slates, and one of those looked a horrible hometown decision to the detriment of French livewire Yoan Boyeaux (a six rounder during which Wale was cut and then dropped). Essentially, that leaves us with a three round decision win over a fossilised version of Esham Pickering and a four round triumph over Barking journeyman Marc Callaghan, which isn’t nearly a strong enough CV to trouble Galahad, you would imagine.

In his last outing, the Kid, 11-0 (4), managed to dominate a still-useful Jason Booth -- save for a flash knockdown suffered on the bell to end round 1. He’s barely dropped a point as a pro, owing to his ability to corral his opposition with an ever-burgeoning repertoire of punches. Though only in possession of moderate power, he came close to taking Booth out on a number of occasions thanks to a blend of wicked timing and industrious combination punching.

Galahad is almost certainly going to look more potent against a fighter less astute than is Booth, and the baby-faced Wale can make him look a million pounds, which is the point, of course. It will be one-sided yet fascinating with it, with Galahad hitting his mark inside the scheduled distance.

Undercard action features Junior “The Hitter” Witter, 40-5 (22), rematching Colin Lynes, 36-9 (12), for the Hornchurch man’s British welterweight championship, while middleweight Chris Eubank Jr., 3-0 (2), continues his march to prominence against “The Pocklington Rocket” Harry Matthews, 12-5-1 (2). no comments

"There was no occasion for surprise in the announcement from the police department that a prize fight had been fought just outside the city limits a few nights ago. The scarcity of events of this character is the only feature that should excite wonder. When the reforming busy-bodies killed legitimate boxing in this city several months ago the 'Advertiser' expressed the belief that brutal private encounters would succeed the more scientific form of the sport."

- Trenton Evening Times, 1902

"The long-pending prize fight between John L. Sullivan, the noted pugilist, of Boston, and John Flood, of this city, was decided last night on Hudson River, nine miles above Yonkers. The men fought on board a barge."

- Jackson Citizen Patriot, out of New York, 1881

"The fatal ending will have the effect of putting the lid down tight on boxing contests in western Canada ... In discussing the case tonight the crown prosecutor said all prize fighting is illegal under the statutes of Canada."

- Plain Dealer, 1913, in reporting on the mid-fight death of Luther McCarty

"The rumor went on to state that after the dark glove artists had exchanged a few sanitary wallops in the twelfth of the argument which was being carried out in a scow on the St. Louis river, an obdurate minion of the law in the person of Sheriff Carlson of Douglas County, Wisc., stepped in and clogged the whole works, the bout being called a draw at this point."

- Duluth News-Tribune, 1909, on George Gunther and Walter Whitehead's illegal prizefight

"The action of the state's attorney of Chittenden County in prohibiting boxing bouts within the city limits of Burlington, following the distressing affair in which an under-classman of the University of Vermont lost his life during 'Proc' night festivities, is natural enough, but it is not necessary to give the sport of boxing a black eye because of one unfortunate accident."

- Rutland Herald, 1920

"Joe Choynski and Jim Corbett fought this morning on a barge off Dillow's Point, near Benicia. Corbett wore two-ounce gloves and Choynski skin-tight driving gloves, as the others had been lost."

- Philadelphia Inquirer, 1889

So the sport has come full circle, or perhaps a few circles. From a vicious taboo often driven from dry land, or to places beyond the realm of sovereignty, and through various "golden ages," to where we sit now: a hollowed-out alcove of the sporting realm.

Various catalysts along the way have pushed boxing into the spotlight, or yanked it from the good graces of the average citizen. Violent political conflicts, financial stagnation and decline, civil unrest and even social reform have all affected the momentum of pugilism in ways obvious and abstract. It endured, however, and still manages to stimulate deeply suppressed surges of fancy on occasion.

The above quotes are a reflection of our roles in boxing -- past, present and future. no comments

Wow, there’s not much going on this Doce de Mayo weekend. Maybe that’s because Doce de Mayo isn’t actually a Mexican holiday, it just means 12th of May in Spanish. What has this got to do with the video above? Or the boxing schedule for that matter? Very little, though that violent video is rather mesmerising.

Like I said, there ain’t much on. This biggest fight of the weekend is probably the third fight between Brian Viloria and Omar Nino.

• Brian Viloria vs. Omar Nino, Saturday, Integrated Sports Pay-Per-View, Pasig City Phillipines. Coming off his first flyweight title defence against Giovani Segura, Viloria finally gets a rematch of two 2006 fights with Mexico’s Omar Nino, which ended in a points defeat and a controversial no contest. Both fights were very fun, with the two then-junior flyweights alternating between boxing and brawling. Viloria (30-3) is powerful but not without technique, nor the ability to throw punches in bunches. He’s carried his pop up a division too, grotesquely altering Giovanni Segura’s face last year. You could say a lot of the same things about Nino (31-4-2), who outhustled Viloria the first time round and had his second (close) victory turned into a no contest when he tested positive for a banned substance. Viloria has never looked better than he did against Segura, making the then p4p entrant look embarrassingly slow and unskilled. Nino, meanwhile, is just one fight removed from a punishing loss to Mexican vet Gilberto Keb Baas. With Viloria seemingly having the stars aligning at his new weight and Nino coming towards the end of a 17-year pro career, the Filipino would be the smart tip here.
• The Rest. On Saturday, HBO replays the two headlining fights from the Floyd Mayweather-Miguel Cotto headlined PPV. It also debuts Jim Lampley's new boxing studio show... Cuban junior middleweight prospect and Olympic silver medallist Yhudel Johnson (12-0) takes on Willie Nelson (17-1-1) on ShoBox on Friday night in Las Vegas. Johnson is supposed to be more aggressive than your standard Cuban. All your standard Cubans are more aggressive than your standard Cuban these days, supposedly... Junior lightweight Vicente Escobedo (25-3) fights Juan Ruiz (23-9) in Woodland, California on Saturday on Telefutura while he waits for his momentum from wins against Rocky Juarez and Lonnie Smith to get him a big fight. Adrien Broner anyone?... Olympic silver medallist and much watched Kazakh middleweight Gennady Golovkin (22-0) fights Makoto Fuchigami (19-6) at a venue called the Ice Palace “Terminal” (not my quotes) in the Ukraine on Saturday. Sounds cool. Also, a big weekend for Olympic silver medalists.

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