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The member that predicts the ultimate outcome the closest, will take home a $50.00 USD cash prize. The winner may request either a money order or PayPal account transfer.
Please be as detailed as possible in your prediction. “Pacquiao by TKO 10,” will not beat or even tie, “Pacquiao will TKO Cotto in round 10 with a series of knockdowns resulting in a referee stoppage at 2:32.” Hint: The best thing to do is to be as detailed as possible as you envision the bout unfolding.
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On Sunday, Roger Mayweather, uncle and trainer of Floyd Mayweather Jr., was arrested and charged with coercion with force and battery strangulation. Las Vegas Metro Police arrested Mayweather on Sunday after he attacked one of his former boxers, Melissa St. Vil.
St. Vil had been previously training under Mayweather up until about three months ago when she decided to switch to a different camp. According to a police report, she split from Mayweather because he had been harassing and following her around.
On Sunday, he showed up at her apartment, hit her several times in the ribs, and proceeded to strangle her. When police arrived, she was coughing and spitting blood. Mayweather was arrested and may now face felony charges.
(June 18, 2009) – Boxing promoter Bob Arum was on Olvera Street on Thursday to hawk his Latin Fury 10 card July 25 at Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico, headlined by the latest Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. bout (more on that later).
Since the boxing world’s most fervent interest is in another Arum fighter, Manny Pacquiao, I asked him if there was any news on the negotiations to stage a Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto fight Nov. 14 in Las Vegas.
“I was on the phone with Cotto’s people yesterday and I outlined to them the terms and points of the deal,” Arum said. “I expect their response by the end of the week.”
Arum said Pacquiao, meanwhile, has informed him again that he wants to fight Cotto. Arum has a Sunday meeting scheduled in Las Vegas with Pacquiao’s U.S. business advisor Michael Koncz to discuss specifics of the deal.
By Juan Angel Zurita (May 20, 2009) - As much as I appreciate Salvador Sanchez, I believe he has become a tad bit overrated over the years. Yes, he was a great fighter but his biggest victory was against a great junior featherweight, not a natural featherweight. His other great victory at featherweight came against Azumah Nelson, a fighter many claim was not yet in his prime. And despite Nelson’s inexperience at the time, he still gave Sanchez a share of problems.
In many of Sanchez’s other victories against C-B level featherweights, Sanchez went the distance and struggled to fully dominate at times. During his featherweight reign, he fought in 10 championship bouts and went 10-0 (5 KOs). The six that went the full route were, Ruben Castillo (UD 15), Patrick Ford (MD 15), Juan La Porte (UD 15), Nicky Perez (UD 10), Pat Cowdell (SD 15), Jorge Garcia (UD 15), and an honorable mention to Azumah Nelson (TKO 15).
Considering these factors, is it ridiculous to fathom such names as Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Manny Pacquiao, and Juan Manuel Marquez would have stood a chance? Surely, these fighters are greater than the names that went the full route with him, correct?
That said, before attempting to assess how these fighters matchup with the old school featherweight great, there are some things that we must take into account when discussing the great Mexican, Salvador Sanchez.
The kid had an iron jaw. In 46 pro bouts, Sanchez was only floored once against unheralded, Juan Escobar, in his 22nd bout, at the ripe age of 19. At this stage, Sanchez was still learning his craft since he practically had no amateur background. After he won the WBC Featherweight title from Danny ‘Little Red’ Lopez, he seemed to mature a great deal. In fact, in his biggest bouts at 126, against Lopez (twice), Laporte, Gomez, and Nelson, he was never seriously hurt or even close to being put down. His chin was tested by Lopez, Gomez, and Nelson, all very good punchers at 126.
The kid had super human stamina during the course of a 15 round championship bout. Sanchez fought during an era when fighters still had 15 round championship bouts. Out of his 10 championship bouts, he notched 5/15 round decisions, and went deep three other times (Lopez TKO 13, Lopez TKO 14, Nelson TKO 15). Part of what makes him such a legend is that in each of those bouts he never appeared fatigued and always displayed great poise. Sanchez’s stamina was unquestionably superb. In his early 20s, the kid possessed poise and ring intelligence rarely seen.
Salvador Sanchez practically had no amateur career. He turned pro a few months after he turned 16. It took him about 30 bouts before it all finally clicked for him, and when it clicked, he went on a tear. He was an excellent boxer-puncher that could box from the outside or work well in the pocket. He was also great at making adjustments in the middle of a fight, and although he didn’t possess one-punch KO power, he had more than enough pop to keep anyone honest. The kid was definitely a prodigy considering his lack of amateur experience. In his early 20s, the kid had a poise and ring intelligence not commonly seen. Further, he really seemed to pick up the pace late in a fight when he needed to.
The Four Main Events
To more accurately prognosticate how these four fighters matchup against Sanchez, we’ll take the best versions of each fighter at 126, the featherweight limit (Sanchez’s prime weight class), and we’ll pit them up against one another in a classic 15 round bout. The best version of each fighter at 126 is listed below in parentheses.
Erik ‘El Terrible’ Morales – Weight: 126 Height: 5’8″ Reach: 72″ (Hamed, Morales rematch)
Salvador ‘Chava’ Sanchez – Weight: 126 Height: 5’7″ Reach: 67″ (Gomez, Nelson)
Both fighters were relatively the same size. However, Morales would’ve been a tad taller and also held a 5 inch reach advantage. At 126, the major difference between the two is that Morales only fought in this weight class six times (5-1, 2 KOs), which amounts to about 11% of his total bouts. Conversely, Sanchez turned pro as a bantamweight (16 years of age) and ended up fighting roughly 55% of his 46 bouts at featherweight.
The Baddest Hombre From The South – Erik Morales vs Salvador Sanchez
The bout has pocket warfare written all over it. Sanchez begins the bout in his typical style, boxing from the outside looking to feel his opponent out. Unlike Barrera, Morales doesn’t comply. He takes the bout to Sanchez from the outset to find out what the bushy-haired star is really made of. Sanchez responds with some violent exchanges of his own and the two fight on relatively even terms with Morales edging out the opening round on all of the judge’s scorecards due to his aggression. Over the next four rounds, Morales continues the same plan of attack and continues to give the impression that he’s winning the rounds with his aggression.Sanchez seems more interested in finding counter-punching opportunities and using his footwork to keep Morales in the center of the ring. Finally in the middle of the sixth round, Sanchez lands a perfectly timed counter that cuts Morales over the left eye. Sanchez ceases the change in momentum and finishes the round by pounding on a defensive-minded Morales’ ribcage. Morales’ goal is to simply make it out of the round so his corner can work on the nasty cut. It’s obvious that the gash is seriously affecting him. The seventh sees a rejuvenated Morales pop out of his corner, with his cut appearing to have been well-managed. There now appears to be a sense of urgency, perhaps due to the unfortunate cut, as Morales races after Sanchez like a hungry pitbull. Similar to the outset, he begins to open up and take chances, not respecting Sanchez’s power nor his counter-punching ability. Fortunately for him, this strategy appears to work over the next 3 rounds. He outworks Sanchez on many occasions but has begun taking cleaner counter punches to the head more often.
After nine rounds, many at ringside have Morales slightly ahead despite looking like the loser in the bout. Aside from the nasty gash over his left eye, his right eye has now begun to close. The tenth round is a pivotal round as a smiling Sanchez comes out of his corner like a boxer that has yet to fight a round. Morales’ cut has again badly reopened and Sanchez is taking clear advantage of it. He pounds Morales to the head and body, and Morales’ warrior pride sees him firing back. Morales won’t back down although he’s getting the worst of it in the exchanges. In the 12th round, Sanchez has begun to take charge over a tiring, beat-up, Morales. The 13th round sees Morales doing a lot of holding with Sanchez pacing himself for the attempted finish. The 14th round is a round for the ages, as Morales comes out gunning for the knockout on his spent legs. Sanchez takes some great shots and is losing the first half of the round before an overhand right staggers a tiring Morales. Sanchez increases the tempo and the referee is very close to stopping the bout. A Sanchez left hook to the liver finally sends Morales to the canvas wincing in pain. Morales rises at the count of 5 and proclaims he hasn’t had enough. Sanchez bullies him to the ropes and continues to hail punches from different angles. The referee has finally seen enough and stops the bout. Morales complains about the stoppage although it was very clear that he didn’t have the energy to properly defend himself anymore.
Result: Sanchez TKO 14
Summary
Erik Morales would’ve also been competitive with Salvador Sanchez. He actually had the tools to give Sanchez more problems and perhaps defeat him, but Morales was never one to make things easy for himself. In almost all of his fights, at some point he’d ask you to go to war and stay there with him, particularly during his featherweight run. Anyone recall his debut at featherweight against Guty Espadas and his war with Chi? Against Sanchez, this would’ve been his downfall. The harder-punching Sanchez’s power would’ve eventually broken him down very late in the fight. You just can’t let Sanchez hit you that often or else. And if you’re as big a Morales fan as I am, you’ll know our fighter got hit quite often during his prime.
Salvador Sanchez was simply the greater/natural featherweight and had several key advantages (chin, power, stamina) that would’ve ultimately lead him to victory over ‘El Terrible.’
The Game of Chess at the Highest Level – Marco Antonio Barrera vs Salvador Sanchez
Marco Antonio Barrera – Weight: 126 Height: 5’6″ Reach: 70″ (Hamed, Morales rematch)
Salvador Sanchez – Weight: 126 Height: 5’7″ Reach: 67″ (Gomez, Nelson)
As we can see both fighters were relatively the same size. At 126, the major difference between the two is that Barrera only fought in this weight class seven times (6-1, 3 KOs), which amounts to about 11% of his total bouts. Conversely, Sanchez turned pro as a bantamweight (16 years of age) and ended up fighting roughly 55% of his 46 bouts at featherweight.
This would’ve been an epic bout between two all-time great Mexican fighters. Sanchez starts the bout in his typical style, boxing from the outside looking to feel his opponent out. Barrera follows suit and does the same. The bout is a closely contested boxing match for the first 10 rounds. At this point Barrera holds the slight edge in overall connects with Sanchez having landed the harder eye-catching shots. The bout is too close to call.
In round 12, Sanchez cuts Barrera, gains his second win, and begins catching a tiring Barrera with more regularity, stunning him several times in the process. The 13th round is all Sanchez as he begins his assault over a retreating Barrera. In the 14th round, Barrera makes a final stand, but Sanchez answers back with a series of sharp combinations which force Barrera to go into survival mode. In the 15th round, the ref looks closely to ensure that Barrera doesn’t take anymore unnecessary punishment, but the game veteran manages to use his experience to see the final bell.
Result: Sanchez UD Barrera, 9-5-1
Summary
Barrera would’ve been very competitive with Sanchez. In a way, they shared similar styles in that they preferred to box but would go to war when they had to. The key point in this matchup though is the fact that Sanchez was at his best at 126 while Barrera was at his best at 122. We all saw what happened when Wilfredo Gomez, arguably the greatest junior featherweight of all-time, moved up a few pounds to challenge Sanchez in his house. Further, many diehards believe that Erik Morales, also at his very best at 122, defeated Barrera when they fought their rematch at 126.
Salvador Sanchez was simply the greater/natural featherweight and had several key advantages (chin, power, stamina) that would’ve ultimately lead him to victory over the ‘Baby Faced Assassin.’
Never Back Down – Manny Pacquiao vs Salvador Sanchez
Manny Pacquiao – Weight: 126 Height: 5’6 1/2″ Reach: 67″ (Barrera, Marquez 1)
Salvador Sanchez – Weight: 126 Height: 5’7″ Reach: 67″ (Gomez, Nelson)
As we can see both fighters were relatively the same size. At 126, the major difference between the two is that Pacquiao only fought in this weight class four times (3-0-1, 3 KOs), which amounts to about 8% of his total bouts. Conversely, Sanchez turned pro as a bantamweight (16 years of age) and ended up fighting roughly 55% of his 46 bouts at featherweight.
This would’ve been an encounter for the ages. Sanchez starts the bout looking to feel his opponent out. Pacquiao doesn’t comply and cautiously pressures Sanchez seeking to land one of his lightning quick overhand lefts. Early on Pacquiao has some success landing the occasional left, but Sanchez is able to keep Pacquiao at bay with his own controlled aggression while simultaneously displaying superior counter-punching skills. The bout is relatively close after 8 rounds are complete. Both fighters have had their moments, but neither of them has been seriously hurt. Sanchez has a small cut over the corner of his right eye while Pacquiao’s left eye has begun to swell. The 9th round sees Sanchez with a renewed purpose. Pacquiao seems to have lost some steam in comparison to how he began the bout. Every time Pacquiao misses, he’s counter-punched, and quite often finds himself off balance, absorbing punches against the ropes.
Rounds 10-12 look very much like round 9. Pacquiao puts together the occasional burst, leaving himself off balance, allowing Sanchez to take advantage. It now appears as if Sanchez has clearly taken over the bout. Nevertheless, Pacquiao doesn’t give up and rallies to win the 13th by outworking Sanchez. Sanchez appears to have slowed down. The 14th round boasts its share of moments. Pacquiao rocks Sanchez several times, with Sanchez returning the favor. Pacquiao’s left eye has now begun to close. Overall, the round is fought on pretty even terms.
The 15th round is again another hotly-contested round. Pacquiao shoots for the KO sensing he may be behind on the scorecards. Sanchez stays on the outside and counter-punches Pacquiao effectively. Both men stand and trade for the final 20 seconds. Pacquiao rocks Sanchez but Sanchez comes roaring back. Pacquiao is slightly buckled at one point but does well to tie his opponent up. The final bell rings with both men digging in to land the final shot. Sanchez presses forward as an off balance Pacquiao backs away.
Result: Sanchez UD Pacquiao, 8-6-1
Summary
Pacquiao would’ve been extremely competitive with Sanchez. What hurts Pacquiao in this matchup at featherweight is that during this stage of his career, he wasn’t yet the fighter we see today. In my estimation, he was too raw, too left hand crazy to beat a fighter the quality of Sanchez at his prime weight. When Pacquiao fought Marquez at 126, despite dropping him 3 times in the opening round, he lost the majority of the remaining rounds. Sanchez’s granite chin would’ve allowed him to do what Marquez did in the latter half of the fight without the inconvenience of having to fight through eleven rounds with a broken nose.
At 130-140, it would’ve been a different ballgame. We’ve never seen Sanchez fight above the featherweight limit so it’s hard to say how he’d fair at 130, 135, or 140. However, if I had to choose a winner in each of these weight classes, I’d pick Sanchez by SD at 130, and Pacquiao at 135-140. For the latter, it’s difficult to say how Pacquiao would win but he gets the edge since Sanchez never fought in those higher weight classes.
In an all-time sense, Salvador Sanchez tops Pacquiao as the greater featherweight, but when it’s all said and done, Pacquiao will more than likely go down as the greater all-time great because of his multi-division success spanning 6 different weight classes.
Battle of the Master Counter-Punching Technicians
Juan M. Marquez – Weight: 126 Height: 5’7″ Reach: 67″ (Medina, Pacquiao 1)
Salvador Sanchez – Weight: 126 Height: 5’7″ Reach: 67″ (Gomez, Nelson)
Both fighters are mirror images of each other in the height and reach departments. Juan Manuel Marquez, the career featherweight, has fought 50 of his 55 bouts at featherweight, which equates to 91% of his bouts being fought in that weight division. Conversely, Sanchez turned pro as a bantamweight (16 years of age) and ended up fighting roughly 55% of his 46 bouts at featherweight.
This would’ve been a matchup between Mexico’s top two featherweights of all-time. Both fighters are notoriously slows starters, therefore, we shouldn’t expect any fireworks early on.
The first couple of rounds begin slowly as expected. Marquez methodically picks his spots while Sanchez does the same. After four rounds, some claim Marquez swept each round while others contend the four rounds were split. In round five, Sanchez finally decides to pick up the pace and begins pressuring Marquez, negating the distance Marquez requires to be most effective with his intelligent counter-punching style. The two in-fight for the remainder of the round with Sanchez punctuating the end of the round by landing several head snapping shots. From rounds 6-11 the fight becomes a calculated war. Any time the fight is in the center of the ring, Marquez manages to outjab/outland Sanchez. However, any time the fight goes to the inside, Sanchez gains the edge by landing hard combinations to the head and body, particularly left hooks to the body.
Throughout these key middle rounds, both fighters manage to inflict damage to one another. Sanchez has a small cut and some slight swelling over his left eye while Marquez sports a larger cut and more significant swelling over his left eye. In fact, it appears as if Marquez’s left eye has begun to close.
In the 12th round, Marquez senses he may be a bit behind, increases the aggression, and walks into a perfectly timed Sanchez right hand which puts him down for a count of five. Marquez appears slightly hurt but instead of using his legs to recover, he stubbornly jumps on Sanchez attempting to make up for the lapse in concentration. Sanchez responds by answering back with solid body shots and the two trade furiously until the round ends.
In rounds 13-15, Marquez increases his punch output, and it actually begins to payoff. He scores well with combinations to the head and body, and manages to dominate Sanchez in the 13th. Sanchez, senses the fight may be close on the cards, and begins the 14th round by bullying Marquez to the ropes. Marquez’s left eye is now completely shut and it appears he’s having trouble seeing through that eye as Sanchez tags him with several head-jolting right hands. The referee looks on closely as Marquez fights in defensive-mode until 1:30 of the 14th round. This is where he lets it all go. In between one of their violent exchanges, Marquez is countered with a beautiful right hand which visibly stuns him. He proceeds to hold for the remaining seconds of the 14th round.
The 15th round is a round for the ages. Both fighters do their best to convince the judges that they deserve to win the fight. Marquez comes out firing, and lands some very effective combinations. Sanchez answers back with some work of his own by ripping blows to Marquez’s midsection. Both fighters rock each other, but Sanchez manages to stun Marquez once again. Marquez appears hurt yet still fires back. The crowd erupts sensing the end may be near. The final seconds tick from the clock, Marquez lands one of his best combination of the fight which sends Sanchez reeling back. The final bell sounds. Marquez and Sanchez have just gone through 15 full rounds of furious hell.
There is much debate throughout ringside regarding who won the fight. Sound familiar?
Result: Sanchez SD Marquez, 7-7-1 (ultimately the knockdown makes the difference)
Summary
It is this writer’s opinion that Barrera, Morales, Pacquiao, and Marquez would’ve all been competitive with Salvador Sanchez at featherweight. However, I believe Pacquiao and Marquez would’ve stood the best chance at defeating him. Sanchez was a fine fighter but these four were also greats in their own right.
We veteran boxing observers tend to romanticize our favorites from the past, but the truth is, many of today’s greats would’ve held their own if not defeated some of the old time greats. One just has to carefully consider each unique mythical matchup. In this particular case, while I believe Sanchez was one of the best featherweights of all-time, I believe these four fighters were also several of the best 122-126 lbers to ever come around. Hence, as good as Sanchez was, I don’t believe he would’ve had an easy time with any of the aforementioned fighters.
Disagree? Agree? Submit your feedback/comments below.
By Juan Angel Zurita (March 15, 2004) - Once upon a time a gamer’s satisfaction derived from mastering a game or defeating his friends in a head to head challenge. As times have progressed, a gamer’s hunger for competition has become near insatiable. With the marvel known as the internet, gamers can now compete with others around the world on games such as EverQuest to satisfy a hunger that extends beyond the limits they were once confined to. But while thousands of individuals are enthralled by a multiplayer fantasy role playing game, others search for something uniquely appeasing, particularly boxing fans.
What if boxing fans and gamers in general from around the world could compete with each other on an interactive multiplayer internet based boxing game? What if that same game could monitor a player’s career and pose a stern challenge to become one of the greatest fighters the game has ever known?
Welcome to www.onlineboxing.net , the first multiplayer internet based boxing game. Created in 2001 by Mikkel Petersen, a programmer and ex-amateur boxer from Copenhagen, Denmark, Online Boxing has steadily increased in popularity over the last several years.
Inspired by his love for the Sweet Science, Petersen created the game to make up for the lack of fun multiplayer boxing games in existence. “I created onlineboxing.net, because I’m interested in boxing and I didn’t think there were any good boxing games around, a situation which I don’t think has changed a lot for some reason. About 3 years ago, I started developing online boxing as we know it today. In about 6 months, the first beta version was ready, a far cry though from the version we know today,” explained Petersen.
According to Petersen, it took but a mere 2 months before he established a strong base of players who began playing the game on a regular basis. After 6 months the number of players had almost quadrupled.
Today, the game has come a long way since its inception. The graphics are much more advanced, the game keeps track of player’s personalized records, records title victories, defenses, streaks, head to head matchups, allows player’s to view past fights, has an integrated impartial judging system, and boasts a dynamic ranking system where fighters earns their stripes by continuously fighting the best online boxers. Players both young and old spend hours weekly competing against players from countries such as the U.S.A., England, Italy, Denmark, and Iceland.
“What I like most about the game is the competitiveness of playing online. Playing the computer can only go so far. Playing gamers and trash talking is what makes OB,” said a popular veteran known as TyrantT316.
Online Boxing is unlike other web based boxing games like vivi.com and fantasy boxing in that it requires hands on live gameplay. Players fight each other using keyboard controls that are extremely easy to learn, and unless you play a few times, you won’t understand the skill needed to become a good fighter.
“You’ll realize that at the highest skill level, it’s not a slugging match at all. There are a plethora of strategies and styles that one must adapt to and attempt to master. I began playing early last year when a friend of mine introduced me to it,” explained one longtime member.
Perhaps the greatest part of the game is the community/rewards aspect. A lot of players trash talk each other and create rivalries that are often times settled in tournaments and FPV (Free Per Views). The tournaments that are held allow individuals to showcase their skills while giving them the opportunity to win prizes and bragging rights. However, the ultimate prize that most strive for is induction into the coveted Online Boxing Hall of Fame, an honor a fighter can earn by exemplifying greatness throughout his Online Boxing career.
Always aiming to improve the game, Petersen plans on upgrading it in the near future. He believes that in order to keep players interested, he must work hard to improve the graphics and gameplay. “I plan on making the game 3D and plan on adding many new moves to the game. A very interesting thing would be to control your boxer in a more ‘real boxing’ style. For instance, if you weave left or lean back you should have the possibility to throw every punch from that stance,” expanded Petersen.
Online Boxing won’t appeal to everyone but it’s worth giving it a shot. For those who have never played the game, you’ll be glad to hear that it’s now free!
Drederick Tatum, a current member of the Online Boxing community, said it best when he said, “OB is like crack. You play a couple of times and you’re addicted for life. The competition is great, and there are so many different styles and combinations that you can never get bored playing OB.” Visit www.onlineboxing.net or contact Mikkel Petersen at mlp@jay.net
Originally Published @: http://www.doghouseboxing.com/Zurita/Zurita031504.htm
