Mayweather remains undefeated.

Anytime you hear that Mayweather or Pacquiao will
be competing in a prize fight on PPV, you should
do yourself a favor and get to the local sports bar
and check it out. These two have carried the sport of boxing now for the last decade and one day soon I do believe we will get a chance to see them face off.

Last night Floyd Mayweather returned to the MGM Grand Garden Arena first time since defeating Shane Mosley in that same building in May of last year. The Mosley fight was intriguing because Shane had some size and power on Mayweather and had a chance to land some punches that would have an impact. Instead of a great power vs skill matchup, Mosley did everything he could to just get through the fight and refused to fight an aggressive fight.

On September 17th, Victor Ortiz posed a similar, yet bigger challenge. Ortiz was a young lion. 24 years old with size on his side. Oritz on fight night weighed in almost 17 pounds heavier than Mayweather. If Ortiz could be aggressive, he might of had a chance to take the undefeated fighter off his feet. In fact Ortiz had put every opponent before tonight on the ground at least once in every single one of his fights.

I invited some friends to the bar to check out the fight and when it started I got excited. Although the experts were saying that Mayweather had the better skills and was picking apart Ortiz in the fight, the reality was that Ortiz was landing shots and was being aggressive. This fight had so much potential. Because Ortiz had what they call "a fighters chance." He wasn't going to win on points, but a KO or TKO was a possibility.

The finish of the fight is something that boxing doesn't need. Another controversial ending. In the fourth round Ortiz let his emotions get the best of him. Maybe he was frustrated from not being able to get inside on the Mayweather, or maybe he felt he needed to do some damage or he was going to lose by decision like so many fighters before him. Ortiz landed a nasty headbutt on Mayweather which caused the referee Joe Cortez to deduct a point from him. Mayweather looked visibly upset about the illegal tactic even though Ortiz tried to apologize. Cortez called time out and deducted the point. As the two were getting ready to continue boxing, Ortiz goes in to hug Mayweather and apologize once again. This time after the hug Mayweather lands a nasty jab to the face followed by a hook that knocked Ortiz to the floor.
Joe Cortez, who wasn't even paying attention counted to 10 and called an end to the fight. Ortiz that looked like he was frustrating the undefeated champion lost the match because he didn't protect himself for the shot that Mayweather landed. The problem I have in this ending doesn't sit with Mayweather. I felt last night that Ortiz was lucky that he wasn't just DQed for that headbutt because it was so intentional. I felt that Ortiz showed his youth when he trusted he could get a clean break after hitting his opponent with that headbutt.

Once you move past that, and a question that still hasn't been commented on is why was Joe Cortez counting to 10? He never called time in after he called time out to deduct the point from the headbutt. I felt this was an illegal punch from Mayweather that would give Ortiz up to 5 minutes to recover from the blow.

At the end of the day Floyd Mayweather adds another belt to his waist, and we ask where do we go from here? A rematch is already being talked about, but everyone on this planet has been waiting almost three years for a Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao match. A rematch with Ortiz would put that fight with Manny back on hold. Pacquiao has stated that if they don't get the fight done in 2012 it won't happen due to his desire to run for executive office in 2013.

11-12-2011 will see the third meeting between one of Pacquiao's biggest rivals in Juan Manuel Marquez. The first match in 2004 saw both men go to a draw. The rematch in 2008 saw Manny win via split decision. Marquez might just be the only guy who has the courage to step in the ring with Pac Man and get a victory.

A look ahead....

The Capital fight network blog will be keeping our eyes on four promotions and their shows this upcoming weekend.

New Japan is continuing their winter tour as they build to the PPV event on January 20th. WWE's MVP will make his New Japan debut on that show. A feud with Taka Michinoku and Prince Devitt continues on their cards and is something I'm looking forward to seeing. Here is the lineup for the final night of the tour. This should take place around 5am Friday morning to start the weekend off. 

NJPW, 2/11/11
Texpia Osaka
1. KUSHIDA vs. Hiromu Takahashi
2. Jushin Thunder Liger, Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask vs. Jado, Gedo & Tomohiro Ishii
3. Hirooki Goto & Tomoaki Honma vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito
4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka
5. Togi Makabe vs. NOSAWA Rongai
6. Manabu Nakanishi, Strong Man & King Fale vs. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Satoshi Kojima, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi

CMLL has a bunch of cards this upcoming week, along with a split squad on Sunday with a Fan Appreciation day show at Arena Mexico, and a card in Guadalajara. We will be following both of those shows as we get updates from other blogs. The return of Mr. Niebla should be interesting to watch.

CMLL is supposed to hold a press conference later this week which might change some of these lineups, and will comment on Mistico leaving the company. CMLL has been my favorite promotion here in 2011 with La Sombra and Mascara Dorada reviving my interest in Lucha Libre. Here are the shows we will be keeping track of this weekend. 

CMLL 2/11/11 @Arena Mexico
1) Höruz & Tigre Blanco vs Camorra & Disturbio
2) Ángel de Plata, Magnus, Rey Cometa vs Bobby Zavala, Loco Max, Skándalo
3) Delta & Héctor Garza vs Terrible & Toscano and El Alebrije & Sangre Azteca and Mr. Águila & Rush and Blue Panther & Dragón Rojo Jr. and Ángel de Oro & Último Guerrero and Metro & Rey Bucanero and Olímpico & Super Porky [natl torunament]
4) Máscara Dorada vs Averno


CMLL (SUN) 02/13/2011 Arena Mexico
***Fan Appreciation Show, February (SUN)***
1) Camaleón & Trueno vs Artillero & Súper Comando
2) Ángel Azteca, Fabián el Gitano, Metálico vs Hooligan, Nitro, Raziel
3) Bam Bam vs Pequeño Olímpico [CMLL MINI]
4) Rush, Stuka Jr., Valiente vs Felino, Terrible, Texano Jr.
5) Blue Panther, Máximo, Toscano vs Ephesto, Héctor Garza, Volador Jr.

CMLL (SUN) 02/13/2011 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Astro Boy & Robin vs Acertijo & Drago
2) Metal Blanco & Sensei vs Inquisidor & Semental
3) Diamante & Metro vs Euforia & Vangelis
4) Mr. Niebla & Negro Casas vs Atlantis & Último Guerrero

 Pro Wrestling NOAH continues their Winter Navigation tour heading into a huge March 5th Tokyo date with Giant Bernard getting a heavyweight title shot against Takashi SUGIURA. This weekend NOAH will have a smaller show. Here is the lineup for Sunday the 13th.

Pro Wrestling NOAH 2/13/11
Shimizu Marine Building
6 man Tag Match
Takashi SUGIURA, Naomichi MARUFUJI & Atsushi AOKI vs. Muhammad YONE, KENTA & Genba HIRAYANAGI

Tag Match
Takeshi MORISHIMA & Yutaka YOSHIE vs. Akitoshi SAITO & Tamon HONDA

Singles Match
Yoshihiro TAKAYAMA vs. Taiji ISHIMORI
**Side note this one has me interested with the heavyweight vs the Jr. I can only assume ISHIMORI is doing the job in this one.

Jr. Heavy Tag Match
Go SHIOZAKI & Shuhei TANIGUCHi vs. Katsuhiko NAKAJIMA & Satoshi KAJIWARA

Singles Match
Kotaro SUZUKI vs. Takashi OKITA








I'll also be keeping my eye on the NOAH show next week on the 16th. This Feb. 16th show is the first NOAH Korakuen Hall show that will help set up the PPV. The main event of that card has the Heavyweight champion and partner vs Giant Bernard the challenger and his regular partner.


Takashi SUGIURA & Akitoshi SAITO vs. Giant BERNARD & Karl ANDERSON


 Last but not least AAA will have a small show Sunday afternoon in MERIDA, YUC. Here is the lineup.


Cibernético Y LA PARKA VS. SILVER KING Y CHESSMAN REY DE PLATA Y CHESSMAN

Jack Evans, AEROSTAR VS Y SUPER FLY. PSYCHO CLOWN, MURDER CLOWN, Y MONSTHER CLOWN PSYCHO CLOWN, CLOWN ASESINATO, Y MONSTHER PAYASO

FABY APACHE VS Y OCTAGONCITO. CINTHIA MORENO Y MINI PSICOSIS CINTHIA MORENO Y MINI Psicosis


A good weekend of pro wrestling action around the world.

UFC 126 review

It's monday and the long weekend of big shows is over. I didn't get a chance to recap my thoughts on the UFC 126 pay per view yesterday due to having to work, and then having friends over for the Super Bowl, so I wanted to get some of my thoughts down on paper before this upcoming week of shows.

Going into this card I wasn't very excited, but since it has been a few weeks since the last big show, and had a free night Saturday, I was really interested in checking it out. Silva fights are always newsworthy and I was interested to see how he would rebound after his fight with Chael Sonnen last year.

This was also the first time I tried to get my girlfriend to watch the countdown show before watching the fight. She has been a trooper going to a few bars with me to watch the fights and has enjoyed the atmosphere of a big fight night, but I don't really think she cares about the fights at all.

Saturday morning we made pancakes and I DVRed the countown show. We watched it and by the end of it the countdown show did for the casual viewer what it's supposed to do. She watched it, she knew the names of the fighters and she picked who she wanted to win. She went with Rich Franklin because she found Forrest to be annoying, she liked Silvia, which surprised me the way they played up Vitors family in the countdown show. She also liked Jon Bones Jones, but I think mostly because of his nickname.

We went to the local BW3 in Dulles, VA to watch the fight, free cover, every tv shows the fight. It was awesome. I wish I could say the same for the actual PPV.

The first two fights on the pay per view were literally putting me to sleep. It wasn't a good way to start the show, especially when you'd like your girlfriend to hang out to watch more of them with you.

Miguel Torres def. Antonio Banuelos
-This match opened the show and it was a brutal unanimous decision. Antonio Banuelos all 5"6 of him came out and attempted to look intimidating but he didn't even look like he was trying. It was a dull stand up fight. I'm sure Miguel Torres did what he was told and won the fight and continued keep himself in the discussion for the bantamweight title.

Jake Ellenberger def. Carlos Eduardo Rocha
-The fact that this one went to the ground in the first round was the biggest thrill out of this. No big KO nothing. Just a split decision victory for Ellenberger.

By this time in the PPV I was getting a little annoyed and was hoping for one of the big 3 matches to come through.

Jon Jones def. Ryan Bader via submission (guillotine choke)
-I didn't hate this fight, I just think I had better expectations. I blame the countdown show for it. I came into the fight really wanting Jones to get the victory, but I did think Bader would put on a better display than what he did. It still amazing sometime so see guys that are so jacked up just get picked apart. I'm sure Jones reach advantage had a lot to do with that.The guillotine choke seemed to come out of nowhere and assured Jones is the new up and coming star of the division. The bar had a nice reaction to the announcement that Jones would face Shogun for the Light heavyweight title. 

-Side note, when they showed Donovan McNabb at the fight on the screen at the bar, everyone Booed him! Harsh crowd here in the Washington DC area.

Forrest Griffin def Rich Franklin via unanimous decision
-Another disappointing match to me, I expected Franklin to show me more in this fight and he seemed to just go with the motions. Forrest was able to keep the pressure on as Franklin didn't do a thing on offense. He seemed to just try playing catchup the entire fight. Griffin should have some meaningful fights in his division in the future, where as Franklin is stick in light heavyweight purgatory.

Anderson Silva def. Vitor Belfort via first-round KO
-The KO kick was great. It ended early, but I do have to think that anyone with a brain knew this was not going to be a fight that Vitor was going to win. In my opinion Belfort is just an old UFC name that comes up and you see him on a show and it garners interest. Like Tank Abbott when he made his UFC comeback. Silva now has 13 victories in a row, and amazing record. I do believe the only thing left is to pair him with 15 pound heavier George St. Pierre and give us the match we are all waiting for.


Overall I was disappointed in the show, maybe because I wanted a good night of fights that my girlfriend would enjoy going to for the environment. I thought the depth of this card would be a good opportunity, but it failed me in the end. I'll probably be watching the BJ Penn fight from the house instead of heading out for it.

CMLL results from Friday night

 Here are the results of CMLL's Arena Mexico show.

1. Bronco and Apocalipsis over  Astro Boy and Bengala
2. Ultimo Dragoncito, Shockercito, Peq. Maximo over Pierrothiro, Peq. Warrior, Peq. Olympico
3. Angel De Oro, Angel De Plata, Angel Azteca Jr. over Virus, Raziel, Cancerbero
4. La Mascara, Maximo, Sangre Azteca win via DQ when the rudos went for Sangre's mask.  Volador (Misterioso filled in for Volador), Dragon Rojo, Texano
5. Olympico over Hijo del Fantasma
6. El Ultimo Guerrero, Averno, Memphisto over  Super Porky, La Sombra, Mascara Dorada  The video shows that Averno ripped his own mask off and put it in the hands of Dorada causing the DQ.

CMLL announced another tournament. The National PI Tournament will begin next week at the arena. Sounds like it will be a tag tournament. More information will come out during the press conference that will take place to discuss the departure of Mistico.

checkout radiocmll.com for videos from last night. The next show is Tuesday night.

Teams announced for the first bracket in the tournament starting next week include:
Delta/Hector Garza, Super Porky/Olimpico, Mr. Aguila/Rush, Blue Panther/Dragon Rojo Jr., Toscano/Terrible, Rey Bucanero/Metro, Ultimo Guerrero/Angel de Oro, and Alebrije/???

CMLL @ Arena Mexico 2.4.2011 Preview

Here is a look at tonights lineup for Arena Mexico.

1. Astro Boy and Bengala vs Bronco and Apocalipsis
2. Ultimo Dragoncito, Shockercito, Peq. Maximo vs Pierrothiro, Peq. Warrior, Peq. Olympico
3. Angel De Oro, Angel De Plata, Angel Azteca Jr. vs Virus, Raziel, Cancerbero
4. La Mascara, Maximo, Sangre Azteca vs Volador, Dragon Rojo, Texano
5. Hijo del Fantasma vs Olympico
6. El Ultimo Guerrero, Averno, Memphisto vs Super Porky, La Sombra, Mascara Dorada  

-Match number one has Astro Boy who is the the real life brother of Mistico in the opener with another rookie in Bengala, According to Luchawiki Bengala is still in his rookie year as an opening match technico. They will face off against Bronco and Apocalipsis.
Bronco is in his third year and Apocalipsis has been around in different forms, but is still not very recognizable. My guess is they give this victory to Astro Boy and Bengala to kick off the evening.

-Match 2 is a mini's six man. Ultimo Dragoncito being the mini version of Ultimo Dragon, along with the rest of his rudo team will do battle in general mini's trios match. Nothing big storywise here.

-Match 3 I am looking for a victory from Los Angeles Celestiales over the rudos. Angel De Oro seems to be high on the CMLL list, so I would be shocked to see them lose.

Match 4 I would pick Dragon Rojo and Volador and Texano to get the victory keeping Dragon Rojo's current push in tact.

Match 5 The only singles action on the card is advertised as a lightning match. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I'm picking Hijo del Fantasma in this one.

Match 6 Tonights Main Event continues the storyline of Averno and Dorada, I'm guessing a DQ finish with mask ripping involved.

Hopefully we will have results this upcoming week and be able to give some opinions on the show along with a lineup for next Friday.

Around the World February 4-6th 2011

Tonight at Arena Mexico CMLL will present it's first "Viernes Espectaculares" since the news broke that Mistico has left the company and joined the WWE's developmental program in Florida. FCW.

The Featured Attraction looks to be a trio's bout.
El Ultimo Guerrero, Averno and Mephisto vs Super Porky, La Sombra, and Mascara Dorada.

The main program of this "off season" in Lucha Libre is the start of a Dorada vs Averno feud. These two squared off in a trios match at the arena last Friday and the feud started when Averno yanked Mascara Dorada’s mask for the DQ.

These two will face off again in a trios match on Monday at Arena Puebla, so i'll be keeping my eye on tonight's event to see how they will continue the momentum between these two.

This weeks Ras de Lonas program has footage of the CMLL/NJPW show from two weeks ago in Japan. If you're interested in seeing some of the footage you can check it out here.

TheCubsFan website will be hosting a live chat during tonights event. Here is the link. 
Tomorrow I'll be back with my opinions on the show and my thoughts on where CMLL is going as we get closer to this years first major show to kick off 2011, Homenaje a Dos Leyendas.  

It should be a big weekend of wrestling and MMA with UFC 126 Silva vs Belfort on Saturday, The weight ins for the show will be tonight and you can watch it live.  I'll be watching the show Saturday and hope to preview UFC 126 here on the site. So a lot of previews today, hopefully some reviews tomorrow! 

The last group I want to preview for this week will be New Japan Pro Wrestling. They have two cards this weekend which include

NJPW, 2/4/11
Fukushima City Gymnasium

1. Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Hiromu Takahashi
2. Manabu Nakanishi, Strong Man & King Fale vs. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga
3. Hirooki Goto & KUSHIDA vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito
4. Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Jado & Gedo
5. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue & Tiger Mask vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii
6. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Satoshi Kojima, NOSAWA Rongai & Taichi

NJPW, 2/6/11
Gifu Industrial Hall
1. Tomoaki Honma & Hiromu Takahashi vs. King Fale & Kyosuke Mikami
2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Jushin Thunder Liger & KUSHIDA vs. Takashi Iizuka, Jado & Gedo
3. Hirooki Goto, Tiger Mask & Tama Tonga vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Tetsuya Naito & Tomohiro Ishii
4. Togi Makabe vs. Taichi
5. Special Singles Match: Strong Man vs. Karl Anderson
6. Special Singles Match: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Giant Bernard
7. Special Tag Match: Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano
8. Special 6 Man Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Satoshi Kojima, TAKA Michinoku & NOSAWA Rongai


These shows are a continuance of the February tour which is leading up to three big shows Feb 15th, Feb 20th and Feb 24th which I'll discuss in detail later.

MVP has been announced for the 2.20 show teaming with NOSAWA vs Makabe and Honma. I'll add some videos and links later in the week as we get closer to those matches.

HBO Presents Boxing after Dark Sept. 11th, 2010

HBO will put on another Boxing After Dark (BAD) program live from the Palms hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. This should keep some of us at ease until the Juan Manuel Marquez vs Michael Katsidis fight Thanksgiving weekend.

I'm intrigued to watch Saturday night, because it will showcase a few of the featherweight, and lightweight divisions top fighters. Two of the  matches will take place on the live broadcast which is set to air at 11pm/est.

Opening the card will be a 135 pound battle between two undefeated fighters as Anthony Peterson (30-0, 20 KO's) fighting out of Memphis will step inside the ring against Brandon Rios (24-0, 18KO's) from Oxnard, California.Only John Murray who is ranked as the #8 lightweight in the world holds an undefeated record in the top 25 fighters of the division.

According to HBO's official preview Peterson is known for his footwork and technique, while Rio's is known for his aggression and powerful combo's. Peterson is the 21st ranked lightweight in the world vs Brandon Rio's who is ranked 18th.

The undefeated record of both boxers stands out as a major accomplishment since they are both in the top 25. Experts paint a picture of Anthony Peterson as a rising star and one of the best fighters in the division.

Here is a prediction from doghouseboxing.com

"This pairing of two mid-twenties American former amateur standout, undefeated contenders looks better each time you look at it. It may not turn out a thriller, but who knows? Both have a lot to gain with a win on HBO - national exposure and a shot at one of the two WBA lightweight champs. (I can't believe I have to write that.) This could go either way, but I'll go with Peterson, who just knows how to win rounds."



The Main Event of the night will feature Yuriorkis Gamboa (18-0, 15 KOs) of Miami, Fla taking on Orlando Salido (34-10, 22 KOs) of Sonora, Mexico scheduled for 12 rounds in a unification match.

Gamboa won a gold medal at the 2004 summer Olympic games and is currently ranked as the #5 featherweight in the world. He won a title after 15 professional fights, and is considered one of the best pound for pound fighters today. He is known for early knockouts, quick speed, and above average power.

On a fast track to stardom, Gamboa won a gold medal for Cuba in the flyweight boxing division at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, and captured a featherweight title after just 15 pro fights. He’s widely considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters today, with blazing hand speed, supplemented by brute power that often puts thunderstruck opponents on the canvas in the early rounds.

His opponent, Orlando Salido is ranked #10 in the world, and will rely on his experience and knock out power to get past Gamboa. With only a one year age difference, experience wouldn't seem to be a big advantage, but Salido skipped the amateur ranks and went right into the pros at age 16. Salido


Doghouseboxing predictions

"It says here that Gamboa's name will be penciled into pound-for-pound lists in very short order, probably by 2011. Sure, he has the defensive liabilities that come with such unabashed aggressiveness and combination punching, but outside of the likes of Manny Pacquiao, he's among the most explosive offensive forces in the sport today. His combination of speed and power amazes, and he'll prove too much for veteran titlist Salido, though this probably won't be a cakewalk, as Salido's been in with a lot of tough pros and can handle himself. Unfortunately for him, he'd need more than that to last with Gamboa."


Personally, I like the two matches for the weekend and can't argue with doghouseboxing's predictions. If you get a chance to watch these two fights this weekend, you probably won't be disappointed. It might not be Manny vs Floyd, but it's always good to keep up with other names in Boxing.