European News: Sauerland Events will have a busy and important month... by Per-Ake Persson

It's official: WBO cruiser champ Marco Huck defends the title against a challenger to be announced March 13th at the Max Schmeling Hall in Berlin. Co-headlining is Russian heavyweight Alexander Povetkin. It will be a busy and important month for Sauerland Event with Arthur Abraham fighting Andre Dirrell March 6th in California.

DKP presents a world championship boxing unification at Mohegan Sun on Saturday, March 6th...
Two world champions from one of the most active and exciting weight divisions in boxing will meet in a unification bout on March 6 when undefeated World Boxing Council super lightweight champion Devon Alexander “The Great” faces International Boxing Federation junior welterweight champion Juan Urango at Mohegan Sun Arena.  (HBO 9:30 p.m. ET/PT) 
Tickets priced at $175, $95, $50 and $35 go on sale Friday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Mohegan Sun Box Office and through Ticketmaster.  Ticketmaster customers may log on to ticketmaster.com; call Ticketmaster's national toll free Charge By Phone number (800) 745-3000; or visit any Ticketmaster outlet.   

On this day/Ring facts... by Daniel Miltz

On this day, February 3rd, (1996) Marco Antonio Barrera scored a TKO 12 win over Kennedy McKinney to retain his WBO Jr. Featherweight title.
On this day, February 2nd (1980), Salvador Sanchez knocked out Danny "Little Red" Lopez in Phoenix, Arizona to win the WBC featherweight title.

On this day,  February 1st (1965) Floyd Patterson beat George Chuvalo in 12 hard fought rounds in New York.

ON this day, January 28th, (1974), Muhammad Ali won a 12 round decision against Joe Frazier to retain his NABF heavyweight championship in front of 20,478 fans at New York's Madison Square Garden. This was their second fight.

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Ring fact: Did you know that Sugar Ray Leonard's first victorious fight against a world ranked fighter was a TKO 10 victory over Floyd Mayweather, Sr. at Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island. (Sept. 9, 1978).

Ring fact: Did you know that two Hall of Famers have won the greatest number of fights by decision. Maxie Rosenbloom was victorious in 186 fights that went to the scorecards. Willie Pep took 165 decisions. ("Newspaper decisions" are not counted in this tally).

Ring fact: Jack Dempsey at the weigh in of their 1927 fight seemed shaken by the menacing stare of Jack Sharkey, asking his seconds, "what's he doing?"

Ring fact: Sonny Liston intimidated his opponents, even before the punches flew, with a steady menacing stare during the referee's instructions. Joe Frazier and Mike Tyson also were disconcerting starers. The tactic originated by Jack Sharkey at the weigh-in of the 1927 fight with Jack Dempsey.

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I would like to share this note I received from Stevie Cruz: "Floyd Patterson is my father's favorite fighter. He loves the peek-a-boo style Patterson had. I had the honor of fighting Patterson's son; my father worked my corner in a televised fight. He asked me if Floyd working his son's corner would bother me, I said no... "My father is gonna be working my corner too." A true story.

Shumenov wins title via a terrible decision over Campillo; Lara by TKO over Brewer... by Larry Flores
In yet another embarrassing and questionable verdict rendered in a Las Vegas ring,  the obvious and deserving winner losses his WBA Light Heavyweight title in a terrible decision to an opponent that absorbed a beating through most of the 12-round fight.  In retrospect, just another highly questionable Las Vegas judging that has become way too commonplace.

In a  WBA/IBA Light Heavyweight unification bout at the Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Spain's Gabriel "Chico" Campillo was the unfortunate loser of his WBA crown to Kazakhstan's Beibut Shumenov, who retained his IBA sanctioned crown in the process.

The 175-pound unification bout between Campillo (19-2 with 5 KOs) and Shumenov (8-1 with 6 KOs) was a rematch of Campillo's WBA title defense victory via a majority decision over Shumenov in August 2009 in Kazakhstan.

The Association of Boxing Commissions takes a stand on licensing Antonio Margarito...

It has come to the attention of the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) that Antonio Margarito is attempting, or will attempt, to become licensed in the state of Texas to participate in a WBC light middle weight title fight against Carson Jones at the Cowboy's Stadium in Arlington, Texas on March 13, 2010 (subject to the approval of the Executive Director of the Combative Sports Program, Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation).

The ABC Legal Committee previously determined that the reciprocal enforcement of the revocation of Margarito's license was mandatory; as it was for an offense constituting "unsportsmanlike conduct or other inappropriate behavior inconsistent with generally accepted methods of competition in a professional boxing match.

How did the Assn. of Boxing Commissions reach its recommendation of an indefinite suspension of Margarito's license? Read on..

Shortly prior to the championship fight between Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on January 24, 2009, representatives of the California State Athletic Commission ("CSAC") discovered that the "knuckle pad", which had been part of the hand-wrap on Antonio Margarito's left hand, had "hardened edges" that "appeared to have been adulterated with a white substance." Upon such a discovery, Margarito became "quite agitated" and insisted there was no similar pad in his right hand-wrap. Nevertheless, when a CSAC inspector checked Margarito's right hand-wrap (which had been completely wrapped, but not yet approved), the inspector discovered "a second thin, hard pad that also appeared to be adulterated with a white substance." Microscopic photographs of one of the "adulterated" pads (taken by the California Department of Justice Forensic Laboratory, under 6 x magnification) show "a white flaky substance on the pad and within the interstices of the gauze itself." At the time of the hearing in this matter before the CSAC, members of the CSAC examined one of the "thin, stiff pads found in Margarito’s gauze knuckle wrap” and compared it with a sample of unadulterated gauze. When Margarito did the same, he stated that he “did not think there was anything wrong with the pad and that it just looked old."

The misfortunes of Antonio Margarito... by Scott Tonelli
To those who believe that Antonio Margarito should be allowed to fight again, I ask them to remember the sport's history. Hasn't boxing had enough debacles and controversies without granting Margarito the right to fight again? After all the ear bites, riots, long lasting injuries, and poor decisions that have surrounded the sport for quite some time now, can boxing really afford to see this blatant cheater back in the limelight? To grant Margarito a license to fight in any state would be disrespectful to the sport; it also sends a clear message that such deliberate disregard for the rules is only worth a mere twelve months away from the ring. Whether Margarito is granted a license or not, he will now be unable to reach the level of stardom he once seemed so destined to achieve. Instead, the stardom that was once reserved for his promising career will now go towards a more deserving participant on March 13th, Manny Pacquiao.