By Jereme Warneck

 

Versus Contender Fight Night

June 19, 2009

Bell Centre-Montreal, Quebec

Tonight's event has drawn a crowd of 13,659 fans to see the first title match in history between 2 boxers based in Montreal.

1. Cruiserweight (200 pounds) 10-Round Match:

Troy Ross (21-1, 15 KO's, 193.4 pounds) vs. Michael Simms (20-10-1, 13 KO's, 199.4 pounds)

Ross had an outstanding amateur boxing career that saw him represent Canada in the 178-pound division at both the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics and 2000 Sydney Summer Olympiad.

After the 2000 Olympics, Ross turned pro and compiled a solid professional record of 13-1, but it came against very soft opposition. In 2005, Ross became frustrated with the slow progression of his career and announced his retirement. Ross then spent the next few years launching his own clothing line and performing as a boxer in 3 movies.

Since, this is boxing and no one ever really retires, Ross' return to official in-ring competition came with a knockout 3:05 into round 3 over Hastings Rasani on January 20, 2007 at the Alxendra Palace in London, England. Ross would win 2 more matches in 2007, both by knockout in round 2. After winning an 8-round unanimous decision in his only match of 2008, Ross was selected to appear on the latest season of The Contender reality series.

Ross won The Contender Championship in his last match with a technical knockout 2:00 into round 4 over Ehinomen Ehikhamenor on February 25, 2009 at Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut.

Ross is ranked by The Ring magazine as the number 8 contender at 200 pounds to their champion in the weight class, Tomasz Adamek.

Simms had a stellar amateur boxing career that peaked when he took home the gold medal at 178 pounds for the United States at the World Amateur Championships in 1999. The Sacramento, California native was set to represent the United States at the Olympics in Sydney as the gold medal favorite. However, he was thrown off the team for disciplinary reasons prior to the games.

The poor discipline Simms showed as an amateur boxer has continued into his professional boxing career. In scheduled 4 and 6 round matches, Simms has an impressive record of 16-1. When Simms is tested in longer matches, the Californian's record is abysmal. In matches scheduled for 8 rounds or more he is 4-9-1. In fact Simms has not won a match scheduled for more then 6 rounds, since he defeated David Vedder via 8-round unanimous decision on August 26, 2005 at the Radisson Hotel in Sacramento.

Simms' last match was an 8-round majority decision loss to Yoan Pablo Hernandez on October 25, 2008 at Weser-Ems-Halle in Oldenburg, Germany. It was the thirteenth straight decision of Simms' career. In those last 13 matches, Simms is 5-8 and has lost 6 of his last 7.

Simms is unranked by The Ring, and ranked by boxrec.com as the number 78 boxer in the world at 200 pounds.

At 33-years old, Ross is 1 year younger then the 34-year-old Simms. Simms has the height advantage standing 6' 2" tall, while Ross stands 5' 11.5" tall. The Californian has the reach advantage with a 78" wingspan, compared to the 76" wingspan of Ross. Neither boxers' unofficial weight approaching match time is available. However, it is safe to assume that Simms will be the much heavier boxer in the ring. Ross will box out of the southpaw stance and Simms will employ the orthodox stance.

The unified rules of boxing are in effect for this event with 1 major modification. The standing 8-count is in effect for this event. The home areas of the official judges keeping score of this match from ringside are not announced. The referee is Michael Griffin.

To start round 1, both boxers start in the southpaw stance. That is odd, because Simms usually boxes out of the orthodox stance. Additionally, Simms looks very "dry" to start the match. It appears he did very little warming up in the dressing room. That should give Ross an early advantage. Ross lands several good power punches in the last minute of round 1 to win it, 10-9. Ross wins round 2 in dominating fashion, 10-9. Simms boxed a horrible round 2. Ross' arms are too short to hit the Californian from the outside. Therefore, Simms could win this match only throwing his jab. Instead, Simms is bending down and allowing himself to be pushed against the ropes by Ross. On the inside against the ropes, Ross is able to land overhand lefts and body punches that are hurting the larger boxer. Additionally, Ross is not trapping Simms against the ropes. Simms could circle off the ropes at any time, but does not. If Simms used his size and a modicum of movement to keep Ross on the outside, the Canadian would have no opportunity to land the overhand lefts or punches to the body. Ross wins a lackluster round 3, 10-9. Both Versus commentators, Wally Matthews and Barry Tompkins, scored round 3 for Simms, 10-9. Simms has the look of an "opponent" that Ross needs to knockout to prove he is truly a top level 200-pounder worthy of a title shot. With a little over 1:30 to go in round 4, there is some swelling developing under the right eye of Ross. It is too early to tell if it will be a significant problem for the Canadian in the match. Ross lands a good body shot that has Simms holding on with 23 seconds to go in round 4. Like King Hippo, the soft bodied Ross needs a break to pull up his trunks following that shot to his belly. Ross takes round 4, 10-9, and leads on my scorecard after 4 rounds, 40-36. Both of the Versus commentators scored rounds 1, 2 and 4 for Simms by the same score of 10-9, putting the Canadian ahead on both of their scorecards after 4 rounds, 39-37. A close up in the corner after round 4, shows the swelling under Ross' right eye is severe. Were Ross in with an actual "live" opponent, he could be in real trouble. Ross was blinking several times in round 4, apparently already having difficulty seeing out of his right eye. Ross' corner was telling their charge to work harder to avoid Simms' jab. That would be pretty hard, because according to CompuBox Simms had only landed 4 jabs in the first 3 rounds. Through 3 rounds, Ross has landed 93 of the 247 total punches he has thrown, for a 38% total connect percentage. Through 4 rounds, Simms has only landed 32 of the 135 total punches he has thrown, for a 24% total connect percentage.

With 32 seconds to go in round 5 there is a brief pause for Simms' trunks to be pulled up with the aid of the referee. Simms landed the best combination of the match in the middle of round 5, but did very little for the rest of the round. Therefore, Ross' constant pressure wins round 5, 10-9. After round 5, Simms' corner taped his trunks as a sort of make shift belt. A wardrobe malfunction by the big man could be traumatic to some viewers. With 1:27 to go in round 6, the referee calls timeout to check on Ross following an accidental clash of heads. Ross is cut from around his left eye, but says he is okay to continue. The Canadian may now have significant problems seeing out of both eyes. Ross' corner wants him to box on the outside, which makes no sense. Ross is dominating on the inside. With limited vision, Ross is more vulnerable on the outside and at times being hit hard by the bigger boxer. Ross out-works Simms to win round 6, 10-9. Ross' corner was not able to get the cut above his left eye closed between rounds 6 and 7, and the boxer's right eye is almost completely closed at the start of round 7. That may lead to a doctor stoppage. Since, the swelling was caused by a punch it would gives Simms a technical knockout victory. To open round 7, Simms starts boxing in his normal orthodox stance for the first time in the match. Ross easily wins round 7, 10-9, and is ahead on my scorecard after 7 rounds, 70-63. Matthews and Tompkins scored rounds 5, 6 and 7 for Ross, 10-9, and both have him leading after 7 rounds, 69-64. Through 7 rounds, Ross has landed 175 of the 467 total punches he has thrown, for a 37% total connect percentage. Simms has landed a pathetic 68 of the 241 total punches he has thrown, for a 26% total connect percentage.

Ross dominates Simms to win a terrible round 8, 10-9. This will be the first round 9 of Ross' career. However, Ross appears to be in much better shape entering round 9 then Simms, who appears to have put very little effort into preparing for this match. Actually, Simms appears to have put very little effort into any aspect of this match in the ring, let alone in training. In round 8, the tremendous Montreal crowd begin to solidly boo this match. Montreal is probably the best boxing city in either the United States or Canada and the crowds loathe to boo anything. To get booed by a Montreal crowd means a boxing match is about as entertaining as those classic Kane vs. Great Khali matches from a few years ago. Ross out-works Simms to take an awful round 9, 10-9. Through 9 rounds, Ross has landed 46 of the 240 jabs he has thrown, for a 19% jab connect percentage. Through 9 rounds, the larger Simms has managed to only land 14 of the 111 jabs he has thrown, for a 13% jab connect percentage. With 2:04 to go in round 10, a left hand to the body has Simms staggering. The referee is ruling the punch was a low blow and calling timeout for Simms to recover. The referee was somewhat shielded from seeing the low blow and is rushing Simms back into action. Therefore, after a break of less then 1 minute the action is resumed. With 21 seconds to go in the final round, Ross is pounding on Simms against the ropes and the referee moves in to apply a standing 8-count. The referee is ruling a knockdown and sending Ross to a neutral corner. The referee could call this a knockout here with the way Simms' hands have dropped and the Californian is not defending himself. Simms successfully answers the count with less then 10 seconds to go in the round, and should be able to last out the rest of the match standing. Simms is able to stay standing for the last few seconds of round 10. The knockdown gives Ross round 10, 10-8, and he wins the match on my scorecard, 100-89. The Versus commentators scores for rounds 8 through 10 match mine, and Ross wins the match on both of their scorecards, 99-90.

The official decision courtesy of Christian Gauthier is that the judges have scored this match: 98-91, 99-90, 99-90 all for the winner by unanimous decision, "The Boss" Troy Amos-Ross. The win moves Ross to 22-1 with 15 wins coming by way of knockout.

The final CompuBox numbers have Ross landing 239 of the 641 total punches he threw, for a solid 37% total connect percentage. Simms landed only 99 of the 342 total punches he threw, for a 29% total connect percentage.

Ross was solid in this match. He was matched up against an opponent who he was supposed to defeat in an easy decision and did that. Ross faced some adversity in this match with the swelling and cut and overcame it. That is a positive. Ross also showed no problems going more rounds in a match then he has had to do in his career, albeit at a very slow pace. Ross' next match should be against a slightly better opponent in a scheduled 12-rounder, before he moves on to challenging for titles against top level opponents. He could still be much busier and needs more experience before going against the divisions elite. He may also want to look into changing trainers. The advice he got from his corner in this match was bad. Against a top level opponent with a good trainer, Ross could get beaten by a superior game plan even if he is the superior boxer.

Simms was terrible in this. He possesses all the physical tools and talent to be a top boxer, but none of the desire. Simms' strategy in the ring was horrific. He could have easily won this match with an active jab, but chose not to use it. Simms showed up to this match out of shape. He appeared to be looking to lose a decision and collect his paycheck from early in the match. It is tremendously frustrating to watch Simms squander his talent. The Californian will go about his role as "opponent" indefinitely. Simms will probably be losing another decision to a rising prospect on television in about 3 months.

2. WBC Light Heavyweight (175 pounds) 12-Round Championship Match:

Adrian Diaconu (26-0, 15 KO's, 173.9 pounds) (c) vs. Jean Pascal (22-1, 15 KO's, 174.9 pounds)

Diaconu won a vacant interim version of this title by defeating Chris Henry via unanimous decision on April 19, 2008 at Sala Polivalenta in Bucharest, Romania. Diaconu's interim title was upgraded to a full title, when Chad Dawson vacated the full version of the belt to take a more lucrative match with Antonio Tarver instead of facing Diaconu. This is Diaconu's first defense of any form of this title.

Diaconu had a decorated amateur boxing career that culminated when he represented his native Romania in the 165-pound division at 2000 Summer Olympics.

The champion relocated to Montreal immediately following the Olympics and had his first 5 matches in Quebec. Diaconu has boxed 12 of his last 14 matches in Montreal with 9 of those matches at the Bell Centre.

Diaconu's last match was a non-title match to work off some ring rust. Diaconu defeated David Whittom via unanimous decision in a scheduled 8-round 187 pound catch-weight match on April 4, 2009 at the Bell Centre on the undercard of an event featuring 168-pound titlist Lucian Bute, who shares a promoter. (Bute will be carrying Diaconu's belt to the ring tonight.) It was Diaconu's first match in nearly 12 months, because he had 2 scheduled title defense against Silvio Blanco canceled and had also been waiting in vain for a match with Chad Dawson.

Diaconu is The Ring's number 8 contender to their vacant championship at 175 pounds.

Pascal had a strong amateur boxing career that culminated when he represented Canada in the 165-pound division at 2004 Athens Summer Olympic Games.

The native of Haiti rose quickly in the 168-pound rankings following the Olympics, earning a title shot less then 4 years after turning pro. On December 6, 2008, Pascal faced Carl Froch at the Trent FM Arena in Nottingham, England for a belt at 168 pounds that had been recently vacated by Joe Calzaghe. The match was an entertaining slugfest, but Froch won the match decisively on all of the judges' scorecards.

Pascal rebounded from the loss to Froch in his last match by defeating Pablo Daniel Zamora Nievas via knockout 42 seconds into round 5 on April 4, 2009 at the Montreal Casino in Montreal for a fringe belt at 168 pounds. That title will not be at stake in this match.

Pascal is unranked by The Ring, and ranked by boxrec.com as the number 18 boxer in the world at 168 pounds.

At 26-years old, Pascal is 5 years younger the 31-year-old Diaconu. Pascal has the height advantage standing 5' 11" tall, while Diaconu stands 5' 9" tall. Both boxers have a 72" wingspan. No unofficial weights approaching match time are available for either boxer, but the numbers suggest Pascal will be the larger boxer in the ring. Both boxers will employ the orthodox stance.

The official judges keeping score of this match from ringside are from California, Quebec and England. The referee is the horrific Marlon B. Wright. Wright is from Montreal and has a history of being grossly biased toward local boxers in the matches he is working. Wright at times appears to be looking to outright fix fights in favor of boxers from Montreal. He is an embarrassment to the sport of boxing and the fact he keeps getting assigned to title matches in Montreal is disgraceful. Luckily, both boxers in this match are from Montreal. That means Wright should only be mildly incompetent.

Pascal uses excellent movement to win round 1, 10-9. The challenger was able to move in-and-out to land powerful combinations without being countered in round 1. With 2:08 to go in round 2, Versus cuts to a commercial for Video Professor. John Scherer is selling a program on how to buy and sell on eBay. That is not nearly as interesting as this match, which has a true big event atmosphere. With 1:06 to go in round 2, Versus has decided to start showing the boxing match, again. The commentary indicates Pascal won a closer round 2, 10-9. Round 3 is very close, but probably goes to the faster Pascal, 10-9. After 3 rounds, Pascal leads on my scorecard, 30-27. Diaconu landed some good power punches in round 3 to take the round on both of the Versus commentators' scorecards, 10-9. However, both Matthews and Tompkins scored round 1 and 2 for Pascal, 10-9, and have him ahead on their scorecard after 3 rounds by the same score, 29-28. Through 3 rounds, Diaconu has landed only 25 of the 114 total punches he has thrown, for a 22% total connect percentage. Meanwhile through 3 rounds, Pascal has landed 44 of the 140 total punches he has thrown, for a 31% total connect percentage.

Pascal out-lands Diaconu to win an exciting round 4, 10-9. The challenger landed a hard combination at the end of round 4 that had the crowd giving him a standing ovation after the round. With 1:46 to go in round 5, Pascal lands a lunging left hook that sends Diaconu stumbling to the canvas. Diaconu easily answers the referee's count and the action resumes with 1:31 to go in the round. However, the champion is still hurt when the action resumes. Diaconu goes down again with 1:21 still to go in round 5, but it is ruled a slip. On replay it appears the referee blew that call and Diaconu was dropped by 2 right hands. However, in real time it could have looked like a slip as Diaconu fell while Pascal was touching the champion's back. The action is quickly restarted. With 40 seconds to go in round 5, the crowd erupts in a chant of "Pascal, Pascal". With 18 seconds to go still in round 5, Diaconu lands a huge overhand right that has Pascal badly hurt. The champion follows up with a punishing combination and appearing 1 punch away from scoring a knockdown of his own is grabbed by the challenger. Diaconu holds on to make it out of a great round 5. That will be a contender for round of the year. Pascal gets 1 official knockdown and 1 unofficial knockdown to win round 5, 10-8. Without the unofficial knockdown, Pascal probably only wins round 5, 10-9, because of the huge rally from the champion at the end of the round. Matthews scored round 5 for Pascal, 10-8. Tompkins did score round 5 for Pascal, 10-9. The crowd is screaming themselves hoarse after the tremendous round 5. In round 5, Diaconu landed 10 of the 35 total punches he threw, for a 29% total connect percentage. In round 5, Pascal landed 10 of the 34 total punches he threw, for a 29% total connect percentage. Diaconu appeared to land the more damaging power punches to win an exciting and close round 6, 10-9, but Pascal leads on my scorecard after 6 rounds, 59-54. The challenger took round 4 on both of the Versus commentators' scorecards', 10-9. Pascal wins round 6 on the Matthews scorecard, 10-9, and he is leading on the Matthews scorecard after 6 rounds, 59-54. Diaconu won round 6 on the Tompkins scorecard, 10-9, but Pascal leads on the Tompkins scorecard after 6 rounds, 58-56. Pascal was dominating the opening rounds by boxing and moving on the outside to avoid the champion's power. The last 2 rounds have seen the boxers exchanging power punches, which is very entertaining. However, it is not in the best interest of the challenger.

With around 30 seconds to go in round 7, Diaconu is beginning to bleed from below his left eye. That cut was caused by a punch and should play no factor in the match. With 9 seconds to go in round 7, Pascal slips on some water in Diaconu's corner and his gloves touch the canvas. The referee correctly rules it a slip. No punches are thrown after the action is resumed in round 7 before the bell rings. Round 7 may be Diaconu's best round of the match and the champion takes it, 10-9. Matthews scores round 7 for Diaconu, 10-9. However, a rally in the last minute leads Tompkins to score round 7 for Pascal, 10-9. Diaconu wins a close round 8, 10-9. Both of the Versus commentators scored 8 for Pascal, who again finished the round better, 10-9. There is a delay starting round 9 to towel up some water in Diaconu's corner. This extra rest is probably to the advantage of the champion who appears a little more tired than the challenger. The delay is only about 15 seconds. The more aggressive Diaconu wins a close round 9, 10-9, but Pascal leads on my scorecard after 9 rounds, 86-84. Matthews and Tompkins score round 9 for Pascal, 10-9. After 9 rounds, Pascal leads on the Matthews scorecard, 88-82. Pascal is ahead on the Tompkins scorecard after 9 rounds also by the score of 88-83. Through 9 rounds, Diaconu has only landed 89 of the 332 total punches he has thrown, for a 27% total connect percentage. Through 9 rounds, Pascal has landed 121 of the 376 total punches he has thrown, for a 32% total connect percentage.

Diaconu's aggression may have won the champion a slower and very close round 10, 10-9. Both Versus commentators scored round 10 for Diaconu, 10-9. Diaconu lands some huge power punches to win a close and exciting round 11, 10-9. The match is now even on my scorecard entering the last round, 104-104. Matthews and Tompkins score round 11 for Diaconu, 10-9, but have the champion needing a knockout to win in the last round. After 11 rounds, Pascal leads on the Matthews scorecard, 106-102. Pascal leads on the Tompkins scorecard after 11 rounds, 106-103. The boxers finish strong, exchanging power punches for the final 2 minutes of the match. The crowd was on their feet cheering for the entire last round and a few minutes past the bell to end the match. Pascal gets the better of the power punching to end the match, 10-9, and because of the knockdown in round 5 takes it on my scorecard, 114-113. Matthews scored the outstanding round 12 for Diaconu, 10-9, but Pascal wins on his scorecard, 115-112. Tompkins scored round 12 for Pascal, 10-9, and has the challenger winning on his scorecard, 116-112.

The official decision courtesy of Christian Gauthier is that the judges have scored the match: 115-112, 116-112, 116-111 all for the winner by unanimous decision and new WBC Light Heavyweight Champion of the World, Jean Pascal. The win moves Pascal to 23-1 with 15 wins coming by way of knockout.

The final CompuBox numbers have Pascal landing 193 of the 540 total punches he threw, for a 36% total connect percentage. Diaconu landed 153 of the 501 total punches he threw, for a 31% total connect percentage.

Pascal was impressive in this win. Following this victory Pascal has replaced Diaconu as The Ring's number 8 contender at 175 pounds. Pascal allowed himself to be drawn into a strategically ill advised exchange of power punches in this match. However, the result was a tremendously entertaining match that should result in an immediate rematch that will sell-out the Bell Centre.

Diaconu was very good in this loss. The Ring only dropped him one spot to become their number 9 contender at 175 pounds following this defeat. The commentators for Versus noted that Diaconu was coming on so strong at the end of the match, that had this been a 15-round match he probably would have won. This was a performance certainly worthy of an immediate rematch. With some minor adjustments and a faster start, Diaconu stands a good chance of winning.

The first match on this show was awful. There was a commercial for Gracie Jiu-Jitsu that aired during the match that was more interesting then the match. The main event was great. It is really worth finding one of the replays that will be shown of this match on Versus in the upcoming years. The main event does not start until 1 hour into the show. Therefore, people should really make a special effort to tune in then and not earlier to be soured on the show by the first match or later to miss any of the great main event.

News and Notes: The July 18 HBO pay-per-view featuring Floyd Mayweather, Jr. coming out of "retirement" to face Juan Manuel Marquez is being postponed. Mayweather has damaged rib cartilage that is going to force him to stop training. The match is now likely to happen in September.

Also being postponed is Andreas Kotelnik's 140-pound title defense set for June 27 at the O2 Arena in London, England against Amir Khan. Kotelnik has a minor tooth infection that is going to push the match back to July 18, and it will now be held at the MEN Arena in Manchester, England. The event had to be moved, because Michael Jackson will be holding a very rare concert at the O2 Arena on July 18. The Kotelnik-Khan match is currently not scheduled to be televised in United States. Neither is the concert by the multi-time Nobel Peace Prize Finalist, which is a borderline tragedy.

There have been a few changes to The Ring rankings following last week's HBO World Championship Boxing event that saw Miguel Cotto defeat Joshua Clottey in a controversial 12-round split decision. First, Clottey has been moved up 1 spot in The Ring's rankings at 147 pounds and is now the number 3 contender to their vacant championship in the weight class. Cotto needed 20 stitches to close the cuts around his left eye after the match that left him completely blind to Clottey's right hands starting in round 9. That made Cotto look bad. Therefore, he has moved down 2 spots in The Ring's pound-for-pound list and is now ranked as the number 9 boxer in the world, pound-for-pound.

It appears Cotto will face Manny Pacquiao next on November 14 live on HBO PPV from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Cotto-Pacquiao match is going to be at a catch weight of either 144 or 145 pounds. As part of doing this deal with HBO, this match-up will receive the customary 24/7 mini-series. According to Bob Arum, Cotto's promoter, the cuts Cotto suffered versus Clottey will not prevent the boxer from being ready to box that quickly. Reportedly, Cotto should have clearance to begin sparring in late September.

Arum got some very good news this week when he was able to re-sign The Ring 160-pound champion Kelly Pavlik to a new deal. Pavlik had been scheduled to face Sergio Mora on June 27, but was dropped from the card reportedly due to a staph infection in his hand. Pavlik did have a staph infection in his hand. However, he was healthy enough to box on June 27. In reality, Pavlik was dropped from the card, because he had not signed a contract extension. Top Rank is now looking to have Pavlik bypass Mora and face Felix Sturm in a 160-pound title unification match on October 3 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on HBO. After defeating Sturm, Pavlik would then face Arthur Abraham, The Ring's number 1 contender at 160 pounds, in early 2010 on HBO. This sounds good, except Mora's promoter, Jeff Wald, says he has a signed contract for a match between Pavlik and Mora. This sounds like a boxing match that will be decided in court.

In front of a sold-out crowd of about 61,000 fans at Vetins-Arena in Gelssenkirchen, Germany, Wladimir Klitschko defeated Ruslan Chagaev by technical knockout at 1 second of round 10 to capture the vacant Ring Heavyweight Championship on Saturday. It was the largest crowd to see a boxing match in Germany since Max Schmelling faced Adolf Hauser in front of 70,000 fans in Stuttgart in 1939. Chagaev who failed a physical prior to a scheduled match a few weeks ago vs. Ruslan Chagaev after testing positive for Hepatitis-B was badly cut in this match. However, Klitschko had been immunized against Hepatitis-B and appeared to not be cut in the match. Klitschko showed outstanding defense in the match and was barely touched by Chagaev. This has lead Klitschko to feel confident he is still Hepatitis free following this match. Klitschko is now scheduled to make a mandatory title defense in the fall against Alexander Povetkin.

David Haye was supposed to face Klitschko on Saturday, but had to pull out with an injury. This is likely going to freeze Haye out of the heavyweight title picture for roughly a year. However, in hindsight it is probably a good thing Haye did not face Klitschko on Saturday. The only money Haye was scheduled to make for facing Klitschko was from the money Setanta was paying to broadcast the event in the United Kingdom. Setanta appears to have folded on Monday. That means Haye would have likely been knocked out by Klitschko for free.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled in favor of Vitali Klitschko in his case against the WBC on Friday. The WBC was mandating Klitschko to make a mandatory defense of his title against Oleg Maskaev. Maskaev was not even the WBC's number 1 ranked contender at heavyweight and that match would have been the second straight mandatory title defense for Klitschko. It now appears Klitschko will face Cris Arreola in the fall at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. HBO is marketing the obese boxer as the future of American heavyweight boxing and anxious to promote the match.

Speaking of WBC mandated title defenses, the WBC is mandating a rematch between Andre Berto and Luis Collazo of their outstanding match from January. Berto won the original match in a close and controversial decision. The sides have until July 17 to agree on the terms of the rematch or it will go to a purse bid.

Timothy Bradley has signed to defend his 140-pound title on August 1 at the Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa in Rancho Mirage, California against former unified 135-pound champion Nate Campbell. The match will be carried live on Showtime and theoretically position the winner to face a returning Ricky Hatton at the end of the year. The televised undercard match on the show will feature Junior Witter against Devon Alexander for a 140-pound belt that Bradley was forced to vacate. If Hatton is not available, the Bradley-Campbell winner will probably end up facing the Witter-Alexander winner. Showtime's goal would be to get Bradley vs. Witter II.

The Roy Jones, Jr.-Jeff Lacy PPV is now set for August 15 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Mississippi. Jones was trying to get the match in New Orleans on August 22, but the arena was able to schedule something that could draw more then flies that day instead. The former pound-for-pound best boxer in the world is planning to face Danny Green in Australia in November after defeating Lacy. That would be the first time Jones has boxed outside of the United States since his gold medal match at the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics.

Sergio Martinez is going to make the next defense of his 154-pound belt presumably off television in the United States, and in his adopted hometown of Madrid, Spain on September 26. Martinez does not have an official opponent for that match, yet. However, Martinez' people are looking to match him up with Spain's Pablo Navascues that night.

On Friday, Fernando Guerrero knocked out Brian Norman in round 2 in the main event of a show from Salisbury, Maryland. the great Mike Sempervive wrote a recap of that event which can be found here: http://www.f4wonline.com/content/view/9692/105/

 

The next recap will cover the June 27 HBO Boxing After Dark event featuring Victor Ortiz vs. Marcos Maidana for a vacant interim 140-pound title. That event was also supposed to feature a rematch between Rocky Juarez and Chris John of their controversial draw from February. However, John pulled out due to a mysterious blood disease on Sunday. John does not have anything serious such as Hepatitis or HIV. Instead, the boxer fainted after 3 rounds of sparring on Saturday. A subsequent blood test showed something was wrong, with the initial indications being that the boxer is suffering from anemia. Juarez was offered the opportunity to stay on the card in a match against Mario Santiago. Unfortunately, the Houstonian declined to face Santiago, who boxes out of the southpaw stance. Juarez said he had been training to box an opponent boxing out of the orthodox stance and could not adjust to the different style on such short notice. Therefore, HBO is going to go with a 1 match card. The recap of this HBO BAD event may be slightly delayed by a scheduled trip to The BASH.