therindiary.com FIGHT OF THE YEAR

2010 FIGHT OF THE YEAR

Lightweight Champion Juan Manual Marquez (51-5-1, 37KO's) vs Micheal Katsidis (27-2, 22 KO's



2010 HONORABLE MENTION

Super Lightwieght Champion Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KO's) vs Marcos Maidana (29-1, 27 KO's)

Marquez vs. Diaz Highlights (rematch blog below)

Marquez vs Diaz Rematch

The rematch will be held in Las Vegas and shown on HBO PPV tomorrow night. The last time Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37 KOs) and Juan Diaz (35-3, 17 KOs) met was in February of 2009 and Diaz was KOed in the ninth round. The fight was named "fight of the year" by ESPN. Both fighters are coming off big losses, Marquez to Mayweather Jr. and Diaz to Malignaggi. For both of these bouts they moved up in weight and found out the hard way that they are most competitive in the lightweight division. Marquez is a current champion in the lightweight division and Diaz is a former unified champion in the division. This is a huge fight for both contenders because it will decide if it is time for Marquez to retire (36) or if Diaz is washed up (26). Get ready for a war in the ring tomorrow night.

I'm Back...And So Is Zab Judah Tonight!

Zab Judah claims he has matured due to the birth of his son, the birth of Super Judah Promotions and has also lost his "bling" attitude. He also claims to be more of a boxer than a slugger. We will see tonight on Friday Night Fights (ESPN2 9PM ET). Zab Judah (38-6, 26KOs) will be taking on Jose Armando Santa Cruz (28-4, 17 KOs).

Ramblings Not Too Far From a Ring Side Seat

Just some ramblings of the last 5 weeks or so of professional boxing results. My rising again star Edwin Valero murders his wife and kills himself. The Malignaggi vs. Khan fight showed that Paulie has no more "Magic". Mayweather is still right on the "Money". Lucian Bute read Edison Miranda his rights. Adamek is now a contender in the heavyweight division and Arreola's "Nightmare". Showtime is still in the ring with their "Super Six" series, especially after the Froch vs. Kessler show. Andre Berto is a real badass and Sergio "Marravilla" Martinez truly lives up to his name and is the most exciting guy in boxing. What's next? What not to miss? Israel Vazquez vs. Rafael Marquez FOURTH FIGHT this Saturday on Showtime. These are two true Mexican worriors therefore you know what to expect. Also Yuri Foreman vs. Miguel Cotto WBA junior middleweight title fight on June 5th (HBO). With the future of their careers on the line, one will rise and one will fall in Yankee Stadium.

"Fight Night!"

The match of the year is finally here. Floyd "Money" Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) vs. "Sugar" Shane Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs). This bout is obviously an HBO PPV event 9pm ET. If you are in the Chicago area the fight will be shown at a few different places.

Cagney's
2142 N Clybourn
Chicago, IL
$10 Cover

Showplace Icon Theatre (21 and over)
150 W Roosevelt
Chicago, IL
$30 Full Bar

Kerasotes Theater City North 14
2600 N Western Ave.
Chicago, IL
$20

Kerasotes Theater Webster Place 11
1471 W Webster Ave.
Chicago, IL
$20

90 Day Bust, But The Best Boxing Still To Come

So, the first quarter of this year all the big fights either did not happen or live up to the hype. The first disappointment was Pacquiao and Mayweather not being able to agree on terms for their fight, so that never happened. Then the Berto-Mosley fight never happened, but you can't blame Berto for cancelling the fight to help his fellow Haitians. The Pacquiao-Clotty fight had all the right ingredients but just came out under cooked. Ugh...that's all I have to say about that. The recent Jones Jr.-Hopkins spectacle with the low blows, head bunts and back of the head shots looked more like ultimate fighting. The only thing good to come out of this fight is that these legendary boxers did not die. They both did end up in the hospital after the fight. If Hopkins thinks that this 17 year old rematch is a legitimate then he has taken one too many shots to the head. I give Jones Jr. the win for going 12 rounds and not getting knocked out. With that said all the upcoming fights will be extremely competitive and entertaining. We have Berto-Quintana, Bute-Miranda, Arreola-Adamek, Super Six Froch-Kessler, Williams-Cintron, Pavlik-Martinez, the return of Guerrero and Mosley-Mayweather all take place within the next 30 days. These are all big championship bouts with great under cards. There is also the return of HBO's 24/7 this Saturday.

Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Classic In Detroit

This Saturday Detroit is hosting Showtime's Super Six Boxing Classic at Joe Louis Arena. Showtime took the six best super middleweights and created a tournament (to obviously compete with HBO boxing). The tournament is in its second phase and this is the first bout. The main event includes Andre "The Matrix" Dirrell (18-1, 13 KOs) vs "King" Arthur Abraham (31-0, 25 KOs). The Flint, Michigan native Dirrell won a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics and has super speed. Abraham is the current leader in the tournament with a knockout win over Jermain Taylor. We will see if the speed of Dirrell can out match the power of Abraham. This is the biggest boxing event to come to Detroit in many years. The event will be shown live on Showtime and if you are in the Detroit are the ticket prices range from $25-$175.

The Main Event

Tomorrow night the Pacquiao-Clotty bout will be shown live from Dallas Stadium on PPV 9PM ET. Listed below are a few places to watch the fight for Free! Post your predictions!

Cagney's Chicago

2142 N Clybourn Ave

Four Shadows Chicago

2758 N Ashland Ave

Motor City Casino Detroit

2901 Grand River Ave

Manny In March

On Saturday March 13th Joshua Clottey will take on Manny Pacquiao. The WBO welterweight title fight will be held at the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium, and will host about 45,000 fans. Lets face it this is not the fight boxing fans wanted to see (cancelled Mayweather/Pacquiao), BUT! Joshua "The Hitter" Clotty (35-3) 20 KOs is hard hitting, defensive, and has a chin as hard as a rock. He was beat by Cotto, who Pacquiao destroyed, but it was close and could have gone either way. Clotty has also never had a loss by way of knockout. Manny's abilities are pretty well known by now, but one thing that he has to realize is that Clotty will come to fight. This is his first seven figure pay day and he has nothing to loose. Clotty hit the jackpot when he landed this fight and I'm sure he realizes that. If "The Hitter" can go the distance with "Pacman", it should be an entertaining fight.

The fight will be on HBO PPV. A few days before the fight I will post what bars will be showing the fight for free in Chicago, IL.

Oscar De La Hoya's Fight Night Club Returns, Tonight!

Featuring Southern California's top young boxing talent at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, California. The main event stars (left) "Vicious" Victor Ortiz (25-2-1) 20 KO's vs (right) Hector Allatorre (16-8) 5 KO's. This event will be televised on Fox Sports Net.

The Ring Diaries Top 12 Pound for Pound Current Rankings

#1 Manny Paquiao 50-3-2 (38 KO's)

#2 Floyd Mayweather 40-0 (25 KO's)

#3 Shane Mosley 46-5 (39 KO's)

#4 Bernard Hopkins 50-5-1 (32 KO's)

#5 Juan Manual Marquez 50-5-1 (37 KO's)

#6 Juan Manual Lopez 28-0 (25 KO's)

#7 Paul Williams 38-1 (28 KO's)

#8 Edwin Valero 26-0 (26 KO's)

#9 Sergio Martinez 44-2-2 (24 KO's)

#10 Miguel Cotto 34-2 (27 KO's)

#11 Lucian Bute 23-0 (18 KO's)

#12 Chad Dawson 29-0 (17 KO's)

20 Years Ago Today

Valero, Time To Take Notice, Again.

On Saturday night Edwin Valero defeated Antonio DeMarco in the ninth round in Monterrey, Mexico for the WBC lightweight belt. Valero improved his record to 27-0, with all fights won by the way of knockout, and all but two, in the first round. He is an unknown as far as American boxing is concerned besides being a YouTube sensation. The troubles that he has faced, a blood clot in his head caused by a motor cycle accident where he was not wearing a helmet, and a DUI in Texas ruined his chances of retaining a visa, and kept him from fighting in the United States. Or maybe Valero's tattoo of the Venezuelan flag and President Hugo Chavez on his chest had something to do with it. The bottom line is that if you can't pass a fight examination or get a visa, you can't fight in the United States. Or so they say. Luckily for him he is in the sport of boxing. This means when you are this good, money fights against big time contenders will find you and rules can be broken. As of March 2008 he is now allowed to fight in Texas again. A message to the top contenders out there, you better watch out for this guy.

Sign the Deal Floyd!

"Sugar" Shane Mosley and Floyd "Money" Mayweather Jr. have agreed to terms for a welterweight bout. Mosley will be defending his welterweight title at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 1st. This is going to be a super fight that gives all sports fans something to look forward to. There is only one problem. Mayweather has yet to sign the agreement. Mosley agreed to all of Mayweather's requests, such as the different types of drug testing, and signed the agreement on Friday. It is now Wednesday and still no signed agreement. This has the promoters freaking out because this is not the first time this has happened and a Mayweather fight has fallen through. The bottom line is, if the fight does not happen, Floyd better be ready for alot of name calling by his fans and the rest boxing world.

Date Set for Jones-Hopkins Rematch

Well it only took 16 years to set the date for this rematch. The first time Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins fought was in 1993 and Jones won a unanimous decision over Hopkins. Now at the young and vibrant ages of 41 (Jones) and 45 (Hopkins), they will finally square off again. The only difference is currently Hopkins is pound for pound one of the best fighters in boxing right now, and Jones is washed up. These future Hall of Famers have a lot of pride at stake, which always makes for good fight. The bout will be aired via HBO Pay Per View, on April 3rd at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The production will be handled by Golden Boy, which means their broadcast team will call the fight and there will be no replay on HBO. This one will have to be watched live!

The Return of Antonio Margarito

Antonio Margartio, at this point in time, will make his return to boxing after a one year suspension. He was suspended in January of 2009 for having a plaster like substance in his gloves, which resulted in the destruction of Miguel Cotto. He will be fighting on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey on March 13th in Texas at the new Cowboys Stadium. Although his opponent is yet to be determined, the likely candidate is Carson Jones. He has not appeared before the California Boxing Commission which will decide at that time wether or not his license will be reinstated to fight in California again. This does not matter to Promoter Bob Arum who sees Margarito being a cash cow undercard in Texas because of all of the Mexican fans. He can be granted a license to fight in Texas even though he has yet to have a hearing in California. This has many boxing fans outraged and some believe he should not be allowed to fight in the United States ever again. But he will, and as of right now it will be on March 13th on HBO's PPV undercard of Pacquiao and Clottey.

Arturo "Thunder" Gatti

Arturo "Thunder" Gatti will always be remembered as one of the most sensational boxers ever. He fought every bought as if it were his last. As we move forward into a new year let's not forget about the the greats of the last.

Arturo "Thunder" Gatti

April, 15 1972-July, 11 2009

Vernon "The Viper" Forrest

February 12, 1971-July 25, 2009

Alexis "The Explosive Thin Man" Arguello

April 19, 1952-July 1, 2009