The Boxing News Report 07.03.09: Birth, Death, Those That Quit and Those That Should, and Some Pinoy Power

Posted by Ryan Bates on 07.03.2009

Ramon is away from the editor's desk this week, so instead of his insightful commentary, you get my snarky drivel! Okay, okay, I'll try to keep it impartial this time.



Life is what happens when you make plans, and life has reared its ugly head in Ramon Aranda's plans, so he is away from the Boxing News Report this week. Instead, it is I, your humble Las Vegas Boxing Correspondent and co-host of "3 More Rounds," Ryan Kaye with you this week, recapping the week in boxing. And I promise, I'll keep it impartial this time. Mainly because there are no Mayweather stories.

So without further ado, your Boxing News Report for July 2, 2009!


Alexis Arguello (April 19, 1952 - July 1, 2009)

Death has been in the air lately, and the cold finger has touched the boxing world, as "The Explosive Thin Man," Alexis Arguello, was found dead in his house on Wednesday. Early reports state that the cause of death was a self-inflicted gunshot wound; this has yet to be confirmed. Arguello retired in 1995, compiling an 82-8 (65 KOs) record, and was inducted into the IBHOF in 1992.

Arguello was a warrior inside the ring and a gentleman outside the ring. His battles with Aaron Pryor, though losses on his record, were synonymous with the wars that made boxing great in the 70s and 80s. He will be missed.

¡Feliz Cumpleaños a Juanma!

On a cheerier note, Juan Manuel Lopez has reason to celebrate. Not only did he successfully defend his championship against Olivier Lontchi on Saturday night, he also turned 26 on Tuesday.

I can't think of a better place to spend a birthday than Puerto Rico. Sun, sand, and rum. Lots of rum. Lots of GOOD rum.


Go go Pinoy Power!

The August 15th battle between Nonito Donaire Jr. and Rafael Concepcion has been named "Pinoy Power 2." This begs the question, what happened to Pinoy Power 1? That was the name retroactively given to Donaire's bout with Raul Martinez back in April. The announcement press conference was held at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Wednesday, with both main event fighters appearing. Though most were there to see Donaire, it was Concepcion who grabbed the attention first.

"Right now, no one in Las Vegas knows me," Concepcion said. "But come August 15th, everyone will want to know Rafael ‘El Torito' Concepcion."

His manager, Damon de Berry, echoed his sentiments. After thanking all the appropriate parties, he turned to Donaire's team and said, "I think you made a big mistake."

Donaire took the comments in stride and said that he would show up on August 15th "prepared to fight, for my team and my country."

On the undercard of this fight, Steven Luevano will be defending his featherweight title against another Concepcion, Bernabe Concepcion (no relation to Rafael). Both fighters were mild-mannered, thanking their appropriate teams and promising to come in and give a great fight.

To be honest, I think Concepcion has a better chance against Luevano than Concepcion has against Donaire. If you think that's a typo, go back and re-read this news bit! It's recently been announced that Donaire will relocate his training camp to Oxnard, CA for this fight alongside Luevano. This looks bad for Concepcion & Concepcion.


Klitschko/Arreola… and Ruiz?

At a press event on Wednesday,Cris Arreola (NABF heavyweight champion) announced he was seeking a fight with either of the Klitschko brothers or Nikolai Valuev (the world heavyweight champions). And a challenger has been found.

Unfortunately, that challenger was John Ruiz.

The boring-as-sin heavyweight who does more grappling than most MMA fighters announced he would step up to Arreola's challenge, claiming that "maybe he needs to push himself away from the dinner table and take a risk."

Maybe Ruiz needs to look into a career as a professional insurance salesman. He's that damn annoying.

There's been no response from Arreola's camp or Dan Goosen, Arreola's promoter. I think they're still busy laughing.

Ortiz Clarifies Comments By Making New Ones

"I made some comments that were an emotional response to the loss," said Victor Ortiz in a press statement released by Golden Boy. "I take full responsibility for my mistakes and actions, but I didn't mean what I said."

The release was in response to his post-fight comments on Saturday night, where after knocking down Marcos Maidana twice, he proceeded to be the victim of a second wind by Maidana, and essentially quit the fight (though technically it goes down as a doctor stoppage). Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaeffer made claims that Ortiz was being hit by illegal punches to the back of the head all night, and had to go to the hospital to check for concussions.

I'm really torn in this case. Victor Ortiz is a great kid. But it really did look like he quit. He says he doesn't have to go out "on his shield?" Maybe he should look into surfing. Oxnard beaches are great. What about soccer? There's a lot of talent in the Ventura County area. Even MMA lets you tap out. But boxers go on in the face of adversity, and quite frankly if you're not prepared to do that, it's probably the wrong sport for you. As someone in training, I don't train to get pounded in the face all day. I train to fight my best. But we all have off nights and need to know how to prepare for that.

I posed the question to several people in the boxing industry on my Facebook account. Here are some of their responses:

Tom Luffman, freelance boxing journalist: I agree with Max Kellerman when he said boxing fans demand more. We just do. There is no "tapping out". You fight until you can't go no more- or someone else in authority says you can't go no more. It's not really fair, to be honest. Especially when MMA guys quit ALL THE DAMN TIME- but that is part of what makes our sport and makes it better.

Filiberto Ruiz, boxer: Boxing is a sport that makes a man block everything else outside and focus on solely on you inside the ring. Once that quitting flashes in your mind, you're done and your level of concentration is essentially dropped. Boxing takes a strong mind, a good chin and a tremendous heart, and not everyone is suited for this.

Ramon Espada, trainer: I think Ortiz could have won that fight if he would have boxed. He didn't need to trade with that kid. He didn't circle right. He stood right in front of him and paid the price. I thought the doc stopped his fight, but you could see he was discouraged. Sometimes you have to save these guys from themselves so they can live to fight another day.

John "The Iceman" Scully, trainer: People who never boxed don't know what thoughts go on in a boxer's mind. And while people love the proven warriors, the Gattis, Holyfields and Wards, I wonder if Gerald McClellan would be better off having quit in the 7th against Benn rather than suck it up for the benefit of people who would have crucified him if he had quit. Now he's almost a vegtable. but they love him because he didn't quit.

FIGHT SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEKEND
Um... nothing. Sorry. May we recommend going back through your old fight collection and celebrating the career of Alexis Arguello?