A well-known poem by famous writer and poet Rudyard Kipling appropriately describes the courageous underdog known as Brett Grim Rogers. Part of it reads:

If ...you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss...

The cage-fighting event known as Strikeforce took place last night and was witnessed by millions of dedicated MMA fans around the world on CBS TV.

No, the Russian version of Thor didn't show up in his Chariot drawn by Golden Stallions.

Instead, he arrived as a fallible human being; albeit also a very arrogant one.

This Russian cage fighter, a foreigner, thought himself far to great—and holier than thou—to grant a beautiful American CBS reporter a pre-fight interview.

Instead, he sent his wannabe training coach and an overweight female interpreter to take his place.

And as for the fight? well, the Russian didn't do so good—during the first round—in that area of expertise either.

He resembled a very beatable cage-fighter, one who belongs fighting in these sub-par promotions, against these less-than-stellar top 15 ranked heavyweights.

My background is in boxing, and from where I stand, Fedor Emelianenko has many weaknesses.

One of them is his inability to throw straight-punches, and another is his vulnerability to be hit with said straight punches.

He also has a ravenous appetite for eating left jabs, which may be strategically placed upon his ugly Russian chin or nose at any point during the match.

We first saw this when he fought Andrei Arlovski, and then once again last night when —with only seconds gone into the match—Emelianenko received  an enormous left jab Rogers which caused considerable deviated septum damage , and spattered his Russian blood some two feet into the air.

Yes—from a very tough and durable Rogers, during the first five minutes, the invincible Emelianenko was reversed on the ground, took left jabs to the face, was beaten up, and tossed around the cage in rag-doll type fashion.

Rogers undoubtedly isn't feeling too well this Sunday morning, after being knocked down and stopped by a tricky Emelianenko looping overhand right, but the great invincible Russian hype machine is also licking his wounds and certainly knows he took a first-round beating.

Arlovski and Rogers both "got caught" by the same punch, and both made amateurish mistakes.

In Arlovski's case, he may have perceived that Feodor was no longer dangerous, but just as any good hunter will explain, its never a good idea to move in on a wounded animal without a loaded gun.

In Rogers's case, he emerged in the second-round up on his toes dancing, possibly also a slight bit cocky, but certainly not doing what he should have been doing, which was moving to his right, away from the Russians' power hand.

Another mistake Rogers made which was similar to Arlovski's was thinking that Emelianenko is fatally wounded, finished, or hurt.

The Russian hype machine is also a ferocious Siberian white tiger, and only the "coup de-gras" will finish him, and unfortunately Rogers failed to do that in premier moments of round one.

In this case, as was also the case with Arlovski, the hunter got eaten by an—only slightly hurt—wild Russian boar, an animal which should be respected and always approached with extreme caution.

Let's finish off with the rest of that verse from Kipling: 

IF

you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

(RUDYARD KIPLING)

 

An old, but common, wartime superstition—according to soldiers who fought at the time—was that if there was a bullet out there with a serial number on it which matched their own government issue number, it would eventually find its way to them and subsequently kill them.

Whether they truly believed this or not is now irrelevant; the old wive's tale stuck, and thus the origin of today's common quotes "maybe he's got your number" and "a bullet with your name on it" were born.

I'm one of the few people who believe that there's a certain fighter out there who holds a bullet with Brock Lesnar's number on it.

Coming off the biggest win of his career so far against Cheick Kongo on June 13 at UFC 99—the Mexican American heavyweight cage fighter known as Cain Velasquez could be that very man.

Velasquez is a 6'1", 240-pound self-proclaimed chain wrestler who fights for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and stands undefeated through six fights—five by knockout—heading into his UFC 104 bout against Ben Rothwell in Los Angeles on Oct. 24.

He trains out of San Jose at the American Kickboxing Academy, and after witnessing his last match against Kongo its clearly evident to this writer that, being of Mexican heritage, he has also inherited some of their God-given toughness and natural fighting ability.

It's also my opinion that Velasquez possesses the self-disciplined training regimen necessary to conquer the WWE superstar-turned-MMA fighter and current UFC heavyweight champion Lesnar, who also may be the biggest and toughest of all the heavyweight mixed martial arts fighters currently competing in the UFC.

For those of you who have never had the opportunity to see Velasquez last opponent, Kongo, he is an amazing physical specimen.

Standing 6'4" and well over 225 pounds, every muscle in Kongo's body could belong on any of the greatest statues of the world, a well-defined and noticeably rippled athletic specimen; it's as if he is sculpted from granite.

The physically gifted Kongo had been on a three-fight winning streak and joined a great new training camp in Britain known as "The Wolfslair." Prior to this bout, he lost only two of his last 11 fights.

Kongo did what was expected of him early on, flooring Velasquez twice in the first round.

It was no surprise to me watching at home that this ultimate warrior would weather the storm. Mexicans are known throughout the world as the toughest and most durable pugilists in the game—they very rarely, if ever, give up.

Velasquez, with that same Mexican heart, durability, and resilience put his never-say-die attitude to use, regained his composure, and trudged onward in true workmanlike fashion.

The great Bruce Lee once said, "use what ever works, and take it from wherever you can find it." Velasquez calls himself a chain wrestler, and, whatever that is, it certainly works well for him.

He was dropped early, but whatever the grappler lacked in the early stand-up battle with Kongo, he certainly made up for later in the contest.

Velasquez impressed the hell outta me at home—and undoubtedly the huge German audience in attendance—when his iron jaw allowed him to mount a comeback effort which included a brilliant display of wrestling and ground skills.

His outstanding demonstration of hammer-fists, elbows from the top, and superior positioning—not to mention Octagon control—were all performed while maintaining relentless pressure and delivering numerous takedowns.

The Mexican punished Kongo nonstop en route to a unanimous decision from all three judges at cage-side.

Velasquez is now in search of the next pile of fresh meat, currently scheduled to come his way at UFC 104 against UFC's recently acquired—and former IFL standout—veteran "Big" Ben Rothwell, who is 30-6.

Rothwell, ranked No. 10 by sherdog.com, has the proverbial puncher's chance. That, however, is the only chance I give him in this upcoming fight, as he is up against an undefeated hungry heavyweight who is steadily improving.

Rothwell trains with Pat Miletich out of Iowa and has notable losses to sub-par fighters and has-been reality show product offal's such as Mike Whitehead, he has also lost to exiled former UFC  champions Tim Sylvia, and Andrei Arlovski.

I'm expecting Rothwell to fall early and prove to be nothing more than a slight bump in the road for this new and thrilling top contender—a road which, barring any unforeseen pitfalls, should inevitably take Velasquez all the way to the UFC summit.

Lesnar is all set to do battle against another undefeated fighter named Shane Carwin on Nov. 21 at UFC 106, so the plot in regards to future heavyweight matchups continues to thicken.  

“Yeah, I’m not real thrilled about that,” said Henderson of the plans. “And I like Vitor (Belfort). He’s a good guy and he’s been around for a long time, but I just don’t understand why he gets to jump to the front of the line, especially when I beat him.”

“I think it’s something that might have slipped their minds, that (that fight) happened. I’m not exactly sure. You’ll have to ask them on that, but to me, that’s what it seemed like.”

"I’m O.K. with fighting (Marquardt); we just have to come up with a deal. Obviously I feel my value has gone up enough to warrant what I’ve asked for. I don’t think I’m being greedy by any means.”

“There’s a lot of numbers being thrown around out there and I feel I should be paid what I ask for. They feel like, I guess, I’m not worth that though.” 

— QUOTES  Courtesy Loretta Hunt's story on Sherdog.com.

 

Dan Hendo Henderson—in his most recent fight, at UFC 100, defeated British cage fighter and The Ultimate Fighter reality show product Michael "The Count" Bisping with arguably one of the most brutal one-punch knockouts ever witnessed in the UFC.

The right hook hybrid punch over the top was not unlike watching a venomous pit viper in the wild—a beautiful thing to observe from a distance but extremely deadly if bitten by it.

It was a brilliant display of power from Henderson, and now the 39-year-old part Walla Walla Native American, former Pride FC middleweight and welterweight champion, and two-time United States Olympian in Greco-Roman wrestling is undoubtedly "crashing the gate," ready to go at it once again.

The problem that exists now is that Hendo's contract with his promotional company, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, has expired.

So a new five-fight deal is the works; however, as is the case most times involving contracts of this sort, the fighter wants more than the promoter is willing to pay.

The figures that are being thrown around are unknown to this writer, and far be it from me to speculate what a fighter of Hendo's caliber is worth over the next five fights, which, by the way, could carry him into his 42nd year of life on this planet.

Not a great age to be chasing after a 185-pound championship title that is currently under lock and key, safely guarded by a deadly fighting spider named Anderson Silva, who has knocked Hendo senseless the first time he tried to grab it.

Another factor in this mix is Vitor Belfort.

Belfort, nicknamed "The Phenom", has recently been acquired by the UFC, and even though he has seemingly been around MMA forever, he is still only 32 and is currently enjoying a five-fight win streak, three by knockout, his last against former UFC middleweight champion Rich "Ace" Franklin.

The win over Franklin—possibly due to both being previously caught in the Spider's web and beaten by Silva in the past—catapulted Belfort directly over the heads of both top contenders Marquardt and Henderson, who are left with fighting each other as the only option available.

It has been said that "all is fair in love and war," but something here smells of a familiar promotional stench—the stench of PPV money, which sadly trumps any form of common sense when referring to matchmakers in the fight game.

The truth, however, somehow always manages to eventually rise to the top, and in this case Hendo seems to have an unknown bargaining tool in the form of a win that came during his days fighting for the now-defunct Pride Fighting Championships.

At Pride 32: The Real Deal on Oct. 21, 2006, Belfort lost a unanimous decision to Henderson, then Pride's welterweight champion.

Not only that, but, after the fight, Belfort tested positive for an illegal substance, 4-hydroxytestosterone.

I'm not claiming there is any conspiracy here; however, there are those out there who claim that Franklin, in his aforementioned match with Belfort, seemed to take one of those prearranged dives that boxers made famous during the '40s.

Now I'm not saying that this writer subscribes to this fodder, but I do love quotes, and one of my favorites is "you can fool some of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time."

To Hendo, from one native to another, I will say in closing that I truly hope this isn't another case of the "white man" attempting to give the natives a raw deal.

I'm sure it isn't.

 

 

According to the great Yahoo! combat-sportswriter—and Facebook friend—Kevin Iole, some new developments have taken place regarding an upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship undercard matchup.

It seems that with news of Mark Coleman bowing out of next month's UFC 106 event—where he was scheduled to face Tito Ortiz—due to a torn ACL, an old familiar face has now entered this somewhat laughable scenario.

Former UFC 205-pound champion and The Ultimate Fighter season (who cares) product Forrest Griffin (16-6, 7-4 UFC) has now stepped up on less than six week's notice to face Ortiz on Nov. 21 in Las Vegas.

So now, if all goes as planned, The Huntington Beach "Has Been," Tito Ortiz, will no longer have to worry about an ancient UFC pioneer named Mark Coleman beating him up in front of the ex-porn star wife and kiddies.

He may now be more concerned, however, that they may get trampled on, or run over by the stampeding cage-fighter, Griffin, should Griffin lose the upcoming match.

The UFC's version of Forrest Gump was the brunt of many jokes following his instantaneous knockout loss humiliation and subsequent post-fight sprint from the cage against Anderson Silva at UFC 101.

As a result, following this latest loss, Chants of "run, Forrest, run," could be heard all over cyberspace for literally weeks afterward.

All jokes aside, however, this is an extremely good match-up, and after a close fight in their first meeting at UFC 59, it almost seems justifiable to let them spar it out and slap each other around once again.

A word of warning, however, don't expect any knockouts here; neither man has the power to bruise a good-sized hummingbird.

That won't stop them from trying to perform the deed, however, and a school-yard brawl with bloody noses and hurt feelings will likely ensue, with one of them maybe receiving a black eye as a result.

A 34-year-old Ortiz coming off a long layoff and having undergone serious back surgery won't put up much of a fight, I'm afraid.

However, with overblown ego still intact, I'm sure he will attempt to play the role of the prodigal son and UFC savior, resurrected, born again, and back to save the world from the bad-ass Brazilians.

As for Gump Griffin, luckily for him, he is fan favorite and one of UFC President Dana White's original golden children, born from his reality show baby.

It's this writer's opinion that this is the singular reason why he keeps getting second and third chances at these big-ticket events.

If it were anyone else besides Griffin, after his latest charades, you can bet he would be lucky to be on an under-card at "Rumble on the Rock" or a "Rage in the Cage" event.

Not his fault, but Griffin has become somewhat of sympathetic charity case or UFC mascot figure with the fans, and because he was once in our living rooms during his reality show days, we feel we should know him.

For what it's worth, both these "tomato cans" are former household names, so the ticket sales for this woodshed slap-fest at MGM Grand Garden Mandalay Bay Events Center on Nov. 21 should escalate accordingly.

I'm extremely excited to see this much anticipated rematch—not!

 

 

Dan Henderson is adamant that he will accept nothing less than a title shot, if he is to enter the octagon at the middleweight limit of 185lbs anymore this year.

Hendo—according to the popular website MMAjunkie.com—made this revelation last Friday during a UFC Fan Club Q&A session.

The popular heavy handed grappler stated that he would prefer to move up to the light heavyweight limit of 205, but only if a middleweight title shot against Anderson Silva wasn't the next fight in line for him.

"He [Silva] is the only guy I want to fight at 185, Henderson said.

"Beyond that—if I don't fight Anderson at 185 lbs., I would probably go up to 205."

"I like fighting at 205. More of a challenge for me, I guess."

Ed Soares, who is Spider's manager said the fight they would prefer would be the winner of an elimination type match-up between Henderson and Nate Marquardt, who by the way not unlike Henderson has recently won in spectacular fashion by knocking out elite Brazilian ju jitsui specialist Damian Maia last Saturday night at UFC 102 in Portland Oregon

Soares, while selecting his words carefully, also said that Silva would be happy to sit back and wait for the result of the fight if necessary.

"We'll take a much needed rest, we've fought twice this year. He's got three fights left on his contract, so who knows."

"If the right opportunity comes up – he wants to work out a few little kinks and bruises that he's got. We're not too sure, he—Silva—definitely wants to take a little break, though."

That entire article can be found here: http://mmajunkie.com/news/16022/anderson-silvas-camp-calls-for-marquardt-vs-henderson-the-spider-willing-to-wait-for-result.mma

OK, here is Stokers take on this.

First of all, there is no doubt in anyone's mind that Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt both possess big time right-hand power.

It's the sort of power which—after being tagged on the chin—causes a temporary  electrical-short-circuit in any and all messages that might be travelling from their opponant's brain to his legs.

For further evidence of their knock out ability's, we need look no further than UFC 100 for Henderson, and last weekend at UFC 102 for Marquardt,

The unfortunate victims of two stunning highlight-reel type knockouts, Michael Bisping and Damian Maia are undoubtedly still wondering what or who hit them.

These facts alone are enough to set this writer drooling over the a possible match-up between the two.

I don't even need to say it, we here it all the time, "styles make fights," so what could be more intensely satisfying that seeing these two meat-heads trying to knock each others block off?

The only comparison i can think of is too defensively-challenged heavyweight boxers who left even the most eloquent speaking sports caster at the time, Howard Cosell a loss for words.

Yes I'm speaking of the January 24 1976 knock-down-drag-out boxing match between George Foreman and Ron Lyle.

Henderson - Marquardt, if made, could potentially promise the same type of edge of your seat hand to hand combat.

In fact, it's almost guaranteed that neither one of these guys would try any sort of fancy submissions on each other, they would much rather display a glorified one on one barroom brawl type bout.

Each trying his damnedest to administer the crowd pleasing knock-out.

And best of all, the victor would receive the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow; a title shot at Spider Silva.

Even so, I find it somewhat ludicrous, that these two rugged hill-climbers would desire to try and scale Mt. Anderson once again, after both taking backward tumbles before coming anywhere close to the peak.

Dreamers will dream, and if this fight is made, I for one will sit back and enjoy every minute of it; Maybe even more than if one of them was The Spider.

Silva would make short work of both of them I'm afraid, even if he fought them both on the same night in some sort of tournament style event like the Gracie's used to hold.

The bottom line here is, Holywood Hendo, and Nate The Great facing each other in order to get a 185 title shot would be a brawler-fans dream match.

A stellar match-up for all concerned parties.

After all, we are discussing a blood sport here, so the more blood the better; and if these two brick-throwers face off, make no mistake, there will be blood.

 

The fabled "Fire Breathing Dragon," is a legend of folklore, a mysterious and dangerous creature.

Lyoto Machida, the illusive Mixed Martial Arts Dragon, however, is very real, yet also a mystery and certainly presents a danger to his countless opponents, who have unknowingly found themselves trapped within his caged octagon shaped lair.

To the untrained eye, Machida may at times may also seem awkward, he bends backward at the waist like a boxer using the the ropes to stay slightly out of punching range of his oncoming foe.

Machida, at times appears to be running and gunning, or even being lethargic. We can easily chalk that up to his years of Karate self-defense-training.

The Dragon is the son of a first-generation Japanese-Brazilian Shotokan Karate master, Yoshizo Machida—and the younger dragon is an artist in the truest sense of the word, when he is in his element, he will proceed to paint a masterpiece.

Just like the man in my previous article, Anderson Silva, the UFC has also tried its damnedest to end the undefeated Dragon's reign of terror on the mixed martial world by matching him with opponents who were supposed to rip him apart.

One by one—like heroic soldiers on a deserted battlefield—they came, and one by one they were out gunned.

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Tito Ortiz, BJ Penn, Rich Franklyn, Stephan Bonnar, and the 205 champion Rashad Evans each found himself under siege in a stand up battle with little chance of winning.

Another win-win situation for fans, and the mighty UFC has now developed from most of the aforementioned tests.

Instead of having two elite divisional champions proving their dominance, the greatest MMA organization in the world now has now acquired three, possibly four with Penn ruling the 155 weight class.

The greatest heavyweight boxer the world has ever seen, Muhammad Ali, was also an intelligent fighter, a genius at beating  bigger, stronger opponent's such as sonny Liston , and George foreman.

Foreman was thought by many experts to be able to murder Ali in the ring.

The great boxing master Muhammad Ali—during his famous "Rumble In The Jungle" match against Foreman—developed a style called "rope-a-dope."

Big George threw bone-crushing hay-makers at the crafty Ali for seven straight rounds, while "The Greatest" did little more than lay back, covering and protecting his vital areas.

After weathering the typhoon-sized 7 rd. storm—Ali then proceeded to knock foreman out cold in the 8th with a perfect one, two combination.

Next up for the great Machida, Shogun, Mauricio Rua in October.

No doubt the Dragon—with his Superior defensive skill and knockout striking power—will once again prevail.

Machida will concentrate I'm sure, on the small details of his masterpiece, instead of the entire painting as whole.

And what shall we call his next work of art?

Death by Dragon.

 

I started writing this article about Jon "Bones" Jones, but ended up writing about Roy Jones Jr.

And—while my mind perused it's usual extensive library of thoughts and images—I attempted to project to the combat sports world the obvious similarities between RJJ, the past boxing champion, and JBJ, who may represent the future of Mixed Martial Arts.

The latter is quite possibly on track to join that elite class of MMA fighters, the ones who have proven to "clean-out" entire weight divisions with a minimal amount of effort.

Ultimately, the only image my mind could grasp was of one of the most dominant of those aforementioned elite athletes.

A guy who—with the boxing skills of Jones Jr, and the athletic ability of newcomer "Bones" Jones—has fought and made some of the best MMA legends appear Amateurish by comparison.

Yes, after proof reading the first draft—not surprisingly, I discovered that I had Just described in great detail the ultimate fighter known as "The Spider," Anderson Silva.

I scrapped the whole thing and started over.

It's no secret that Silva wants to end his reign of terror and leave the UFC to pursue a match with his legendary boxing hero Jones, Jr.

This fact may also explain why the Brazilian phenom is very disinterested in continuing to fight onward and embarrass the UFC's sub-par opposition.

He also refuses to fight his close friend, Machida, who rules the 205-pound division with an iron fist.

All those well-documented factors add up, and when you put them with the most recent rumor, the whole thing starts to make perfect sense; with three fights left on his contract, the Spider may be taking the only logical option left to him:

The UFC heavyweight division.

Silva does not want to fight for the UFC, that's been common knowledge for quite some time.

And hindsight being what it is, it's clearly evident now, that this latest "Forrest Gump" Griffin fiasco was all part of a higher scheme by the UFC.

The "powers that be," were extremely disappointed in the Spider, especially concerning his prior performances against Cote and Leites.

Those two less-than-thrilling-displays—though no fault of Silva's, he couldn't dance, he had no partner—could have been the real reason UFC president Dana White matched him with Griffin.

Attempting to "slap his wrists" by putting him in there with a "Patsy," or a "fall guy" if you will, would ensure a win-win situation for White and the UFC.

Forrest Griffin would emerge either as the people's hero, or as a recent knockout victim.

The fans would be thrilled either way, and sometimes its the most bloodthirsty of the hungry wolves who need to be fed first.

The UFC accomplished their task, at the expense of Griffin.

White couldn't care less about his "dispensable" fighters. They merely represent seat fillers and PPV sales.

White no doubt, has saliva dripping from his chin, and dollar signs flashing off and on in his eyes, when deciding what sacrificial lamb he will slaughter next.

These men are merely employees, pawns of a billion dollar enterprise.

This is especially true when speaking of his—The Ultimate Fighter—reality show gang.

These so-called fighters, who—not unlike the sweet taste of bubble gum—are great chewing at first but quickly lose flavor. Then it's not long before we are on to the next wad, which will emerge this autumn from the bowels of Spike TV.

Greatness isn't something that can be punished, or tested in the way that the UFC attempted to punish the Spider. Greatness rises up on it's own and conquers any foe.

Sometimes, even when father-time rears its ugly head, greatness can still be clearly evident.

Last October, former World Middleweight Champion Bernard Hopkins, at age 44, enhanced his place in boxing history by not only defeating the current Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik, but also by undeniably winning each and every round.

B-Hop and RJJ are two of those rare living legends in the combat sports world who are still achieving what was once thought to be unattainable by other athletes of their age, by men who had tried the same thing and failed.

So, whatever punishment the UFC sought to deal out to Silva, it certainly backfired.

Maybe now they will allow him to decide for himself what he would like to do with the remaining fights left on his contract.

If he desires or chooses to box against his hero, Roy Jones, so be it; why try to stop him?

Silva is obviously the intelligent one here, as his greatness is obviously not about PPV seat fillers. If it was, he would simply pick off each and every tomato can that the UFC throws at him.

No, instead he wants to test himself against the greatest challenges out there.

Whether that be in the sport of boxing or the Heavyweight ranks of MMA, the bottom line here is this: why would the almighty UFC want to stem the rushing tide of thrills and excitement which this elite fighter is capable of offering us?

Why dam the river, robbing it of it's natural beauty, and it's powerful and violent greatness?

Let it flow.

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This kid can bang!!

So much so, that they are calling him the next Manny Pacquiao.

He is the 21-1 (14) - undisputed Flyweight Champion Nonito Donaire, and here in this video from youtube.com he prepares to take on Raphael Concepcion this weekend in Vegas.

The Filipino flash is his nickname and he hasn't had a blemish since 2001, a unanimous decision loss in only his second pro bout to Rosendo Sanchez.

Donaire is not unlike the tornado-fisted Pacman, as he can also knock out tough fighters with just one punch.

Dont take my word for it, just ask Vic Darchinyan, he found himself on the wrong end of a left hook from Donaire in July of 2007.

Until recently—since losing King Kong Agbeko—that one-punch-knock-out-loss stood as the only blemish on Darchinyans immaculate boxing record.

Vic-Darch was the undisputed super-flyweight champion, and No.9—Ring Magazine ranked best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, knocking him senseless was no small feat. 

The Filipino Flash now rests comfortably on The Ring Mag. list at No.7, in good company, among the best pound for pound boxers in the world.

Here's the good news: he keeps getting better.

And now, with his new recently signed contract with Bob Arum, he will no doubt be facing the best 112-118 lb. fighters out there.

I'm extremely excited to see this Great young Filipino brawler in action; Donaire vs El Torito Concepcion—a Panamanian native—is this Saturday August 15.

The event is being labeled "Pinoy Power," and it's from The Joint at The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.  

Zab Judah: Once A Contender Now A Pretender

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Quote

JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ IS NO PUSHOVER!

In popular culture, the Mexican standoff is often portrayed as three or more opponents with weapons aimed at one another.

Neither will surrender or lower their weapon by any means except death, as that would mean defeat, and losing a battle—no matter what the odds—is an admission that most Mexicans would rather die than take part in.

The term "Mexican standoff"—when taken literally—is also a brilliant example of the legendary heart and never-say-die attitude of some of boxing's greatest warriors.

The Ring magazine's lightweight champion is Juan Manuel "Dinamita" Márquez Méndez.

Born Aug. 23, 1973 in Mexico City, Marquez is the fourth boxer from that heritage to become a world champion in three different weight classes.

Marco Antonio Barrera, Érik Morales, and Julio César Chávez are the other fighters for whom Marquez now carries the torch, and you can be certain that he intends to carry it proudly.

As proud boxers go, Marquez is one of the proudest and rightfully so. His record speaks for itself.

Since his pro debut in May of 1993, Marquez, at 50-4-1 with 37 KOs has won multiple titles in the featherweight and lightweight divisions. Needless to say, he knows how to walk the walk.

The 35-year-old Marquez is now poised to put a bold, and possibly final, exclamation mark on his stellar career.

On Sept. 19, he will face the recently returned villain of boxing, the former undefeated No. 1 pound-for-pound welterweight champion, Michigan's Floyd Mayweather Jr.

If there ever was a man who was born to be a fighter, it's "Pretty Boy" Floyd. He hails from a family of fighters who have long ago made a name for themselves in the sport. As a result, the name Mayweather has become synonymous with excellence in the pugilistic world of boxing.

Indelible, yes, but not a one-sided tale, Floyd is returning home in a sense to claim what he feels is rightfully his, but he is also coming back against arguably the finest fighter out there.

Possibly Manny Pacquiao—who has generally been seen as the pound-for-pound king in Floyd's absence—is the real reason that Floyd has returned to the fold. However, in this writer's opinion, Mayweather ought to be extremely careful not to trip and fall while ascending the the stairway to Pacman.

The man he will face in September is an ultra-amiable, extremely intelligent ring technician, and he cannot be ignored as one of the world's most elite boxers.

The noticeable turning point—for me—in Marquez's career came when he went head-to-head with fellow countryman Barrera in Las Vegas.

As is usually the rule, Marquez was not the focus in this battle either. The attention seemed to revolve around the great Barrera from Iztacalco in Mexico City, which ironically, is just a stone's throw from where Marquez himself grew up.

Marquez was led by the terrific trainer Nacho Beristain, and during the ring walk, he seemed to glow. He looked awesome. It was as if he knew. The Barrera clash was fantastic and a high-class affair between excellent fighters, and Marquez deservedly won.

There are no airs, no graces, no bravado, and certainly no trash-talking when it comes to Marquez, he is not a ticket-selling hype machine. That job may be delegated to Mayweather, who has become the hated villain in this Mexican standoff.

In all seriousness, Mayweather is undoubtedly one of the greatest defensive and undeniably illusive fighters of all time. Resembling the great Sugar Ray Leonard—and the greatest heavyweight of all  Muhammad Ali before him—he is almost impossible to catch, let alone hit.

However, he may have made the biggest mistake of his career by choosing to comeback against the lightweight champion.

Marquez wont quit, wont surrender or lay down his weapons, anytime, anywhere.

Remember, this is the guy who was knocked down three times in the first round against Pacquiao. This was the fighter who picked himself up on three occasions in the first three minutes, who fought back against all possible odds, to draw their first encounter.

It's also many people's opinion, including mine, that he won their second meeting despite not getting the decision.

Here lies a true, under-appreciated, and perhaps overlooked gladiator. Lets hope Mayweather remembers these things before he steps in the ring this coming September.

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"Brave men rejoice in adversity, just as brave soldiers triumph in war."

—Seneca, Spanish-born philosopher and Roman Statesman

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Floyd Mayweather’s return to boxing is back on. The flamboyant former pound-for-pound king was scheduled to fight Juan Manuel Marquez next month at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, but his return from a brief retirement was postponed after he injured a rib training.

Mayweather has been cleared by doctors and the fight has been rescheduled for Sept. 19th, at the MGM Grand. That means Marquez, who is wildly popular in his native Mexico, will be fighting the weekend after the Mexican Independence Day.

Mayweather told fans in a statement to, “hold on to their hats and sombreros when I get back in the ring and show what they have been missing these past eighteen months.”

STOKER MAC (BR) — Floyd Mayweather Jr. is one formidable boxer—a welterweight dynamo clearly deserving of much more respect than he is getting lately.

Before Manny Pacquiao gained the throne by knocking Ricky Hatton senseless in two rounds, it was many fans' opinions (including mine) that Juan Manual Marquez was at boxing's summit, and that he was possibly the true No. 1 among the world's pound-for-pound boxers.

When Mayweather came out of retirement, it wasn't due to anything Shane Mosley or Pacquiao had done. It was because Marquez called him out on national TV in front of a worldwide audience.

And still, the Mayweather detractors—and there are many—seem to think that he is ducking and dodging fighters in his own 147-pound welterweight class.

Nothing can be further from the truth.

He is simply returning and facing the toughest fighter he can face. Without an interim tune up match, he is more determined than ever to get back what is rightfully his.

The fighters who have tried to defeat this classic boxer-puncher is long and storied and some great Boxing surnames adorn its pages—to infer that he is a cowardly fighter who alludes other pugilists is utterly ludicrous.

Manfredy, Gatti, Judah, De La Hoya, Hatton and the late Diego Corrales all found out the hard way that nobody thus far has been able to emerge triumphant over the great Mayweather.

So what about Marquez? Is he up to it?

On the eighteen feet of battle field which is the squared circle, Marquez is a Sherman tank—he can take a direct hit, fall down, and keep on coming. His two previous wars with Manny Pacquiao demonstrate to us that trying to break his will and stamina can prove to be a frustrating endeavor.

Marquez knows he was cheated out of two wins against Pacquaio, by judges who smelled of that Vegas stink, and he isn't about to let it happen again.

Juan Man, as he is affectionately called, feels that he is owed something. On July 18th, look for him to try and collect it.

However, it is my opinion that Marquez will try to out box Mayweather, like he did with Pacquiao. Even though "Pretty Boy" could some day be beaten by somebody, somehow, it will not be because he was out boxed. Nobody's going to out-box him, at least not anytime soon.

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Stoker Mac (reprinted from my June 10, 2009 article—with permission from me.)

Cuban featherweight boxing sensation, and 2004 Olympic gold medalist Yuriorkis Gamboa announced to the world of boxing earlier this week that he will now join some of the biggest money makers and most accomplished fighters in the sport.

The 27-year-old Gamboa—who is an exciting boxer-puncher—has inked a deal with Bob Arum's famous Las Vegas-based boxing promotional company Top Rank. 

Young Gamboa is still developing, yet he has already added an alphabet title belt to his collection, and now—if his earlier success is any indication— will certainly  gain even more fame and fortune on the world stage. 

Gamboa—who is ranked No.1O at featherweight by The Ring Magazine—won an Olympic gold medal in 2004 in Athens, Greece, at 112 pounds while fighting for the Cuban national team.

However, he later sold the medal for $1,500 to pay for his daughter Brenda's first birthday party.

Arum, being the kind hearted soul that he is (sarcasm) stated earlier this week that he will contact the Olympic Committee and ask to get a new gold medal for his newly acquired fighter.

"That's my goal, to get a gold medal for him," Arum said.

Gamboa's former promoter Ahmet Oumlner is taking credit for the promotional move, and say's its the name recognition that Pacquiao has, not necessarily the world titles, that he wants for his fighter, Gamboa.

" It was my decision to take Yuriorkis to Top Rank because I want to build a fan base for him with the Latin American audience,Oumlner said.

“I don’t have those connections. I could do what the other promoters, like Don King and Golden Boy Promotions, promised me: get HBO dates. I already got two HBO dates for Yuriorkis. All I had to do was make a phone call. There were more HBO dates available for him, but I want to do more with him.

"I want him to tap into the Latino market, however, I don’t have those connections but I know Bob Arum does.”
Arum, who has made the Hispanic boxing community the basis for taking his company from New York City to Las Vegas in the late 1980s says Michael Carbajal, a Mexican-American junior flyweight from Phoenix, Ariz., opened his eyes to the potential of the Mexican market.

Gamboa now lives and trains out of Miami, Fla., and the alphabet featherweight champion's next fight is onTop Rank's Latin Fury 10 boxing card in Nueveo Vallarta, Mexico on July 25. 

Gamboa will defend against Whyber Garcia of Panama.

According to the experts, Garcia will be a walk in the park for the superbly talented Gamboa, and from there the sky will be the limit for the featherweight sensation.
“I wanted to be a part of Top Rank to initiate a new phase in my career,” Gamboa said through his legal adviser Tony Gonzalez at a Thursday press luncheon in Los Angeles.

The little Cuban warrior says he wants to be known in all the Latino markets in and outside of the U.S.: Miami, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, the major cities of Texas, as well as Mexico, Puerto Rico, and South America. 

“My goal is to make history in boxing and to be recognized as one of the greats,” he said. “My final fights in the amateurs were in the featherweight division, so obviously I’m comfortable making this weight, but I turned pro at junior lightweight and I was just as fast and strong. I think I will eventually move up at least two weight classes.
“Top Rank has many good fighters and champions in and around my weight class for me to fight to prove myself.”
Gamboa speaks the truth, Top Rank promotes Steven Luevano, a current featherweight titleholder, Humberto Soto, a current junior lightweight belt-holder, and Edwin Valero, who holds a worthless, yet somewhat respected, alphabet lightweight title.
“This is going to be a good relationship,” Arum said at Thursday’s press conference.

“In Gamboa you have a fighter who’s not afraid to fight dangerous fighters. He’s the kind of fighter to take the public by the testicles—he comes out fighting, he gets knocked down, he gets up and he destroys his opponent—once you see him, you’ll become a fan.
“My dream fight is to match (Gamboa) with Juan Manuel Lopez at featherweight.”

In my opinion, a Lopez vs Gamboa match-up has fight of the year and featherweight war written all over it, and it's fights like these that will keep the sport of boxing in the hearts and minds of fight fans the world over for decades to come.

Undoubtedly, we become what we envisage. —Claude M. Bristol

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