First of all let me say I’m from Bayamon, Puerto Rico and growing up I met Vazquez Sr. I didn’t live there but played ball in Residencial Celso Barbosa where I still have friends and I’ll will be interviewing WV2 around April. So yes I might be little bias but not blind.

So, let’s start with the Arroyo brothers McWilliams and McJoe the Puerto Ricans with the Irish names. These two young prospects have looked great and they will be built up to become good contenders and possible champions. So let’s get to the main event, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. Lets start by saying yes he talked his garbage but he backed it up 100%. I laughed when most people were picking Sonsona to beat Wilfredo, the reason why Wilfredo might not have had a great amateur career but believe me Wilfredo being raised in Celso Barbosa there’s a great boxing gym right there and this guy has great experience in the amateur realm, he didn’t just pick up his boxing gloves yesterday.

Moving on to the fight, the first round was basically an even round the edge going to Sonsona, the 2nd round Wilfredo measured and felt his power and targeted Sonsona for termination. Sonsona looked like child fighting with a man, Wilfredo bounced Sonsona off the ropes like a rag doll, 3rd round it was a matter of time, even my friend from
(Boxingscene.com) Ryan was hoping that Sonsona would pull it off, but he didn’t, the 4th round was Wilfredo with calm power shots to the ribs and chin which ended the fight. Sonsona had to quit to a bigger, stronger and more skillful WV2. The Filipino training camps have to stop thinking that they have the next Manny Pac. And start building up there fighters to big fights. There’s only one Manny Pac and he’s trained by Roach. I was hoping there will be rivalry building up between Puerto Rican Fighters and Filipino ones, but there isn’t. Puerto Rican fighters are trained to almost perfection they go through an amateur coach then the pro trainer. It’s a factory folks!!!

Junma Lopez will make short work of Concepcion. The Filipino fighters just look to raw to be fighting at this level, let’s not forget before Roach Manny was getting beat. Well it looks within two years Puerto Rico will have at least 4 to 6 champs. I’m not against Filipino Fighters or the possible Rivalry with Puerto Rico, but to tell you the truth Filipino Fighters are just not ready yet!

Dax Ramos

Quotes from Boxingscene’s own Rick Reeno, please visit Boxingscene.com for great articles and more.

Okay so I’ve been busy moving to my new condo in Quezon City, hence I haven’t been able to write but I feel as though now is the time to catch up with the recent rumblings in and around Boxing.

Over the weekend some interesting things happened.  First things first, Marvin Sonsona.  With all the trash that has been coming out of Wilfredo Vasquez Jr.’s mouth leading up to his clash with Sonsona, I wished Sonsona would have shut him up.  “Marvelous” didn’t look so marvelous to me, in fact, “raw” would be a much better description.  Both Ciso Morales and Marvin Sonsona went down from body shots after being trained by Nonito Donaire Sr. so now one has to naturally question the elder Donaire’s ability to prepare fighters physically and condition them to take the punishment, especially in the midsection.  On the flipside, Rodel Mayol was actually killing Omar Nino up until Nino went after the family jewels.  Mayol is doing okay now but a rematch between the two is pointless, Nino is clearly not on the same level as Mayol and had to resort to illegal tactics to gain an advantage.

Pacquiao-Clottey is only a few weeks away!  I’m sure everyone is excited to see the Pacman back in action, against Joshua Clottey nonetheless (who I aptly described as a battle tank built for war in my previous blogs).  As per all accounts, training camps for both fighters seem to be going according to plan.  We can basically expect the best Manny Pacquiao going up against the best Joshua Clottey.  One thing I must comment on though is when I saw Clottey’s training shots from Top Rank’s Facebook page, that dude is looking huge!  Let’s hope he will be able to use his size advantage though otherwise the Pacquiao Express will run him over like a freight train.  Clottey looks like a Middleweight with those huge shoulders (See picture above. Note: This is how Clottey looks weight drained training for the fight, he will be massive come fight night).

And as for the Mayweathers, their continuous absurd comments about Pacquiao and his alleged use of PEDs is not helping them in the defamation lawsuit filed by Pacquiao himself.  Recently, Mayweather Sr. had this to say about the matter:

“He can’t beat Clottey without that sh*t in him.  Even though he was dehydrated, he couldn’t beat De La Hoya without that sh*t.  He couldn’t beat Ricky Hatton without that sh*t and he couldn’t beat Cotto without that sh*t.  I don’t even think he could beat that kid from Chicago (David Diaz) without that sh*t.  He wouldn’t be able to beat any of the guys without enhancement drugs, that’s what I think.  My belief is my opinion and you cannot change it.  I know one thing, little Floyd will fight him fair.”

“It’s not a steroid.  It’s something from the Philippines.  Something they use in the army.  When you hit a guy with a .45 or a .38 and they keep coming after they get shot.  Whatever it is, it has to be something strong for you to keep coming forward after you get shot.”

Crazy much?  The Mayweathers definitely are looking like a bunch of jealous school girls right now.  It’s so funny, it’s not even funny.  Does that make sense?  So basically, Manny Pacquiao can’t beat anybody without taking any drugs.  Hmmm… okay.  Whatever the Mayweathers think Pacquiao is on, they should have given to (Ciso) Morales and Sonsona and maybe they would have won.  Fights are won on talent, skill, hard work and dedication.  If all it takes is some miracle drug from the Philippines, I would be in boxing now making millions and maybe Floyd Mayweather would be ducking ME. It seems the Mayweathers were able to nab a copy of Manny’s movie “Wapakman” and saw the bullets bounce of his body.

“We have never accused Pacquiao of anything nor will we.  We don’t control what Floyd Sr. says so, so we have nothing to do with that.  We are going to continue to maintain – innocent until proven guilty.  I believe in that.  We’re not accusing anybody of anything.  Manny Pacquiao is a great fighter, a great athlete, a pound for pound king and innocent until proven guilty.  I never have and never will accuse Pacquiao.  People should just move off that and move on.  I think the comments are wrong that he’s (Mayweather Sr. ) making.  He should move on too.  I don’t control what other people say.  I don’t control what Arum says, or what Mayweather says.  I only control what I say, and I say innocent until proven guilty.  The comments that Mayweather Sr. is making are idiotic.  There is only one word – idiotic.” says Richard Schaefer (of GBP).

At least someone around here knows how to wash their hands clean in the face of a pending defamation lawsuit.  Hey Mayweathers!  Schaefer just called you guys idiots!  When the guy you chose to represent you in working out a $40 million dollar blockbuster fight-of-the-decade caliber matchup calls you and your family idiots, then you have to be doing something wrong.  Luckily for them, lil’ Floyd has a fight with Shane Mosley coming up that will get him the money they will need to pay Pacquiao to get off their backs.  When these guys are flat out broke, they will be begging for Pacquiao to fight Floyd.

This down time in boxing is driving me crazy! I need a fix! I’m starting to itch! There ain’t nobody fighting! Often I wish I was a mover and shaker in the sport. I would really show them how to make boxing mainstream again. Look at the data. Football (both college and pro) is over, basketball is slow, and baseball is still two months away. This is the time to inundate the sports fan with competition. Every Friday and Saturday night should be ringing with boxing. There are plenty of championship and contendership matches that can be (and should have been) made just for this period. Football has its own NFL station. Basketball has NBA TV. Why not boxing? MMA even does it “thang” on Spike TV.

Sports Entertainment for crying out loud (yes I said it rasslin) even has a reality show now. Why not boxing? Notice, all the above sporting activities found a way to re-invent itself. The way football is marketed now is way different than how it was done even 25yrs ago. And we wonder why boxing is not mainstream anymore. It’s antiquated!!! Unfortunately for change to be perpetuated, about 2 or 3 generations of those profitting on how its done now will have to die off. Promoters, Managers, and Sanctioning Bodies are killing the sport. Tell them I said so!!! I know, they say they are trying to improve it. Ok. Where are the signs? Advertise the goals and plans and proprosals that will make boxing a mainstream machine.

100yrs later politicians are still trying to outlaw our sport. The contender series that Sugar Ray did should have evolved into something more (something bigger that included the top in the sport). It’s said “in the ring, speed kills”. Outside the ring, greed kills! At some point there needs to be a transforming by the renwing of the mind.

I’m sure this is something that Mr. Floyd Mayweather will eat up the next time negotiations take place. Here is Manny Pacquiao taking a blood test only 20 days out before his March 13, 2010 date with Joshua Clottey. I thought anything under 30 days will make him extremely weak? I think you have some explaining to do Mr. Pacquiao. Right now it seems like are you totally contradicting yourself to the publics eye. Why could you not do a 20 day testing for Floyd Mayweather?

As we observe these two talents, one a power punching combo fighter vs a fast good power puncher. Both of these fighters have weaknesses and strength’s. Now let’s start with their weaknesses.
Juanma: was a weight drained fighter fighting with a club fighter ( Mtagwa ) that took Juanma all the way to the 12th round and almost beat him, but going up in weight seemed to really help Juanma in his fight with Steven Luevano where he looked great on HBO Boxing after Dark. Juanma appears to get frustrated when his power does not get him a K.O, but his Felix “Tito” Trinidad killer instinct and chest pounding is a crowd pleaser.

Yuriorkis Gamboa looked great beating a fighter that had Juanma in all kinds of trouble, but after observing that fight a little closer could explain this blow out. Rogers Mtagwa came into the fight five pounds under the weight limit proving he was not a legit featherweight. When Mtagwa fought Juanma, Lopez was draining himself to make the weight. Gamboa has been down five time’s in his career with lesser fighter’s. What would a Juanma punch do to an overly aggressive Gamboa that does receive substantial hits in a fight?

This fight would be great PPV Crowd pleasing fight bringing us back to good old days of the featherweight for example Aaron “The Hawk” Pryor Vs. Alexis Arguello. My personal pick would be Juan ’’El Pollo’’ Manuel Lopez By 5th round TKO stoppage of Gamboa; Yuriorkis relies too much on his speed and jumps in carrying his right hand low. He fights the amateurish style that works great for the Cuban fighters in the Olympics but never works for the Pro’s. Main reason why this fight might never happen.

Lopez next fight will be against Bernabe Concepcion a fighter that might have beaten Santiago in his last fight, but if that fight would have been scheduled as a full 12 round Championship fight, Concepcion would have been stopped. Now Bernabe is fighting a fighter that will capitalize on all his mistake’s and wild punches he throws. Concepcion only has a punchers chance to win, in other words slim to none.

Yuriorkis Gamboa next fight is against Celestino Caballero a 5’10 fighter with power and good chin and who is motivated to win at all cost. Caballero is an active fighter tall, strong with power and in my personal opinion Caballero will punish Gamboa until the fight is stopped in or around the 9th round. Caballero would be a hard fight for anyone, but style make fights and Gamboa does not have the style to beat a Caballero. So we are looking at Juanma vs Caballero or Juanma vs Rafael Marquez…

Written By Dax Ramos

Being a 7-1 under dog coming into his fight against Vic Darchinyan(28-0 24ko at the time), and basically unknown to the boxing world, The Filipino Flash did the unexpected and knocked out the man most in the division feared. The thing Nonito Donaire(17-1 10ko at the time) might have been known for the most might of been being the little brother of Glenn Donaire who Darchinyan defeated on a technical decision in the 6th round of their 2006 fight in Las Vegas, NV. Darchinyan broke Glenn Donaire’s jaw with an elbow that was later ruled an accidental head butt by referee Tony Weeks. Most thought Nonito was the desperate little brother dying to get revenge on Darchinyan. And the same people that thought that, thought he didn’t stand a chance. 

  Darchinyan had an outstanding record, and a lot of punching power, and that showed in his knockout ratio. But he might of been recognized mostly for his arrogance and ability to speak highly of himself. But none of that seemed to bother Nonito, if anything it might have motivated him. At a time when Vic was undefeated and looked unbeatable, and seemed to be very feared amongst his peers, Nonito was itching at the oppurtunity not only to avenge his brother’s loss, but also to prove himself as a man to be reckon with. It was by far the biggest fight of Nonito’s career, as where it looked like Donaire might of just been another stepping stone towards the top for Darchinyan.

  Stepping stone? That wasn’t the case at all. If anything, Darchiyan ended up being the stepping stone to the top for Donaire… Or was he? The Vic Darchiyan fight might have been the worst thing to happen to Nonito Donaire. Because every since then, he has not been able to lure any big name fighters into the ring with him. Who wants to fight the man that slayed the dragon? Apparently there isn’t a long line waiting to fight Donaire. At the time, Darchiyan was knocking anybody and everybody out it seemed, with the exception of Donaire. Maybe that explains why nobody wants to fight The Filipino Flash? 

  Nonito has tremendous boxing ability, with knockout power in both hands, to go with his superior athleticism. Who would want to fight a guy with such attributes? It seems nobody does. Nonito stated in an interview that he gave to officialscorecard.com that he is willing to fight anybody that calls him out. It’s too bad that not all fighters feel this way. There are some big names on his wish list, for whatever reason, those fighters are not meeting him half way on an agreement to get a deal done. Maybe the main reason is the way he dominated the undefeated champion Vic Darchinyan? Or maybe that was the stage big enough for the whole boxing world to see the talents that The Filipino Flash possesed? It is really sad to think because you knocked out the biggest challenger of your career that you cannot get a big fight…

  Nobody expected Nonito Donaire to win his fight against Vic Darchiyan in 2007 with the exception of Nonito Donaire himself and the people in his camp. He pulled off the unthinkable, he beat the odds, literally. But for that he should have been rewarded, but in reality, it seems he is being punished for the greatest achievement of his professional boxing career. The truth is, Donaire is willing to challenge himself againt the best, but it seems the best are not willing to challenge themselves against him.

Miami rapper Rick Ross ended his beef with boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr. during a formal one-on-one discussion. The “Boss” promised he and Mayweather are no longer enemies. “Yeah, bumped into Floyd Mayweather,” Ross said. “Most definitely. We chopped it up like G’s and after a discussion, we shook hands. So that’s squashed. It’s a new year, it’s time to get new money. Y’all know what it is. I kept it 1,000.” (MTV) Reports last month said rap mogul Diddy had to break-up a potential fight between Ross and Floyd.

Floyd Mayweather was ready to rumble with a famous nemesis in Vegas this weekend — but just before a fight broke out, Diddy saved the day. It all went down at the grand opening of Vanity nightclub in the Hard Rock Hotel — which was hosted by Diddy. We’re told Floyd Mayweather rolled over to the party to see Diddy, when he literally ran into rapper Rick Ross. Sources tell TMZ one of the men “bumped” into the other man and their entourages immediately became “confrontational.” But as things started to heat up, we’re told Diddy swooped in between the guys and calmed everyone down. We called Mayweather’s camp for comment and his father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., told us there’s been beef between Floyd and Ross for a while because Ross has allegedly been, “talking s**t.” We’re told both Mayweather Jr. and Ross eventually went back in the club and partied the rest of the night away without incident. (TMZ) Later confirming the incident took place, Ross said Diddy helped prevent the fight.

“I’ma leave that on the gangsta side, shout-out out to Diddy,” Ross told DJ Envy in an interview. “It’s safe to say somebody most definitely owes Diddy a dinner date. But you know, we back to business, it’s a new year so we focusing on our money. Most definitely the bosses bumped heads out there, it wasn’t pretty but we kept it gangsta on my side…” (Power 105.1) Last December, Floyd said he no longer had issues with Ross.

“Like I said before, we had a little problem, what he do is what he do and what I do is what I do,” Mayweather explained to DJ Whoo Kid. “You know how it is. With anybody, if you start trouble, you know, I gotta finish it. Like I said before, he did what he had to do and I did what I had to do. And that’s in the past and I’ll leave it where it’s at…Well, I’m the biggest boss that you’ve seen thus far.” [laughs] ” (Radio Planet TV)

Did anyone else get to see the Edwin Valero – Antonio DeMarco fight last night?  I was having flashbacks of the old Manny Pacquiao before Roach turned him into an all-around beast.  Valero, an underground sensation who is oft criticized for amassing an all-KO record against journey-man fighters, looked very impressive against highly regarded Lightweight DeMarco.  This was a step up in caliber for Valero as DeMarco has proven himself a very sturdy and skillfull prospect in his previous fights.  Valero’s lack of quality opposition is not his fault however, the issue regarding his boxing license has overshadowed most of his career and has hindered him from fighting in the States, and also just recently getting denied of entry into the US because of a DUI charge.  Nonetheless, Valero fights who he can and is willing to fight the best the world has to offer.

He completely outpunched and outgunned DeMarco for all of the 9 rounds that the bout lasted.  Comparing Valero to Manny Pacquiao, he’s not as fast as the “Pacman” but is as relentless.  He throws hundreds of punches per round and doesn’t seem to tire easily.  He keeps the pressure up and keeps his opponent constantly on the defensive.  It’s overwhelming really, and though DeMarco’s chin withstood the damage better than Valero’s previous opponents did, there was nothing for DeMarco to do but to try to survive.  Edwin Valero is exciting to watch and should his pending issues outside of the ring get resolved, it would be great to see him step up again and fight the elite fighters in his class.  I pick Valero against Michael Katsidis, Humberto Soto, Juan Diaz, Amir Khan and Nate Campbell.  Yes, he is that good.  The only fighter I think will beat him right now at 135 lbs. would be Juan Manuel Marquez.

One aspect of Valero’s game right now which he is also often criticized for would be his defense.  He is often seen with his chin exposed and hands down but against DeMarco, he showed us that he can very effectively slip punches.  He has great reflexes and knows how to move his body to evade shots.  He, much like Pacquiao, goes in and throws combinations and darts out just before his opponent returns fire.  All these previously unseen “boxing skills” were on display last night.

It’s no secret though that Manny Pacquiao is who Valero really wants to fight, Valero has called out Pacquiao on numerous occasions even guesting at one of Pacquiao’s birthday celebrations in the Philippines.  Videos on Youtube with Valero singing the Philippine national anthem can be seen as he calls out the best pound for pound fighter in the world.  But we all know Pacquiao is a beast of a different kind and right now, whether at 140 or 147 lbs., Pacquiao would demolish Valero.  It will still be an exciting fight but I see Pacquiao taking him out in less than 5 rounds due to Pacquiao’s superior speed and equal punching power.

Top Rank head Bob Arum (Valero’s promoter), should get Valero’s boxing license and Visa woes straightened out so we can finally see him in there against the world’s best.  He is an exciting fighter to watch and is part of the next generation of stars that will keep Boxing alive and well.  Who knows?  He could very well be “The Next Manny Pacquiao”.

Nonito Donaire 22(KO 14)-1 a few years back when he demolished Vic Darchinyan and became a world champion and set his name in stone amongst the boxing world. He will be defending his belt next week on Feb 13 in Las Vegas against Gerson Guerrero 34(26)-8. We had a chance to sit down with Nonito as he discussed his who he admired growing up. He also gave his opinions on Pacquiao, Floyd, Mosely, and Clottey. If you don’t know Nonito Donaire then you will get a chance to find out now.

These are Freddie Roach’s words that he reported to the La Times by way of Bill Dwyre. “Shane came to the gym twice to ask me to let him fight Manny,” Roach says. “I told him no both times, and both times for the same two reasons: First, there isn’t enough money there, and second, you’re too good a fighter.” I believe there is some truth and a lie mixed up in there.

Wow, so which one holds more truth to it? Not enough money? No, No, No, the fans would have paid good money to see that fight after Shane blew Margarito out and has the belt at welterweight and he was willing to come in at 145lbs.

Or is it really reason number 2. Shane your just too good for my very own fighter Manny Pacquiao? If I was a betting man I would say number 2. So many people accuse Floyd Mayweather of hand picking his opponents that nobody stops to think that Freddie Roach and Bob Arum hand picks Manny Pacquiao opponents as well. Their arguement is that Floyd handles his negotiations. You must remember that Pacquiao also has to agree with who he fights. The fighters say it all the time, “Whoever my management puts in front of me then that’s who I will fight”. This is far from the truth. Fighters themselves have to make that decision. Your management team throws a name at you and you have to decide whether to fight that person or not.

Interesting enough, that we wonder if Sugar Shane Mosely loses to Floyd Mayweather would Pacquiao be willing to fight him then if the negotiations fall through between Money Mayweather and Pacquiao again? What would the media and fans think if they tell Pacquiao that Shane took the test, why not you now?

Hmmm, that is something to think about. Let’s see how this unfolds.