 
### The Kingpin Trio

How Three Bay Area Champions Became the Class of Boxing

By Colin Seymour

Published by Colin Seymour at Smashwords

Copyright 2014 Colin Seymour

As seen on Examiner.com

ISBN:9781310594632

Cover Design: John Blanchard

Author's Disclaimer

This is a non-fiction book. All of the facts contained within are true to the best of my knowledge, although some observers may have interpreted some differently.

Smashwords License Statement

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please obtain an additional copy for each reader. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

INTRODUCTION

AT A STANDSTILL

Nonito Donaire. Robert Guerrero. Andre Ward. Theirs would have been household names in the San Francisco Bay Area of an earlier era, back when boxing was a major sport that newspapers like the San Jose Mercury News and San Francisco Chronicle covered vigorously.

The Chronicle's Jack Fiske was still writing nearly 100 column inches on boxing per week as late as the 1990s, but few other daily newspaper boxing writers were doing it full time by the turn of the century.

It's a shame Fiske didn't survive to see the Kingpin Trio.

Even considering that "boxing superstar" does not equate with "household word" these days, the Bay Area threesome's simultaneous ascension was agonizingly slow, delayed who knows how long by the paucity of publicity boxing was getting in 2008 with Fiske and other newspaper boxing writers having been cast asunder.

That's when I got in on what seemed like the ground floor of a great story. The variety of ethnicities alone among Donaire, Guerrero and Ward -- Filipino, Mexican-American, African-American/interracial -- was perfectly emblematic of what makes the Bay Area special, and the bonds the three forged as adolescents in the 1990s made the combination more than symbolic. Each had been trained early on by his father. Each was wholesome and presentable and each was adept at being interviewed on camera. But mostly they were outstanding craftsmen as boxers. All three were regarded primarily as brainy stylists -- often to their detriment.

Surely the Bay Area had never had three boxers as simultaneously hi-falutin' as this trio was capable of becoming. The San Francisco and East Bay papers perfunctorily covered the East Bay's Ward, and the South Bay's Mercury News covered Guerrero, but they didn't convey any cohesive sense that we had something special going on here.

Donaire had lived in the Bay Area since moving to San Leandro in pre-adolescence but was getting most of his publicity in the Philippines, where he was clearly subordinate to the great Manny Pacquiao but was seen as a strong No. 2. Bay Area media seemed oblivious to his San Leandro ties, but the passion in the Philippines and among the Bay Area's numerous Filipino-Americans was potentially lucrative for Donaire -- and for me. Ward grew up in Hayward, near Donaire, and had received much attention in 2004 by becoming the last American man to win an Olympic boxing gold medal. Four years later, he seemed capable of drawing more than 5,000 to Oakland's Oracle Arena once he matured enough to take on a suitable opponent, but his progress seemed glacial. Guerrero, from the renowned garlic center Gilroy, about 25 miles south of San Jose, also had yet to prove he could attract a major league crowd at HP Pavilion, the Shark Tank. At least he was a name fighter, having appeared on Showtime several times, as had Donaire and Ward, though none of them had been seen on the more prestigious HBO.

Still, they were well positioned for simultaneous success.Yet they were not on a fast enough track.

In 2008, Ward was four years past his 2004 Olympic gold medal and still hadn't fought anyone of note. Donaire was only one year past his stunning knockout of 112-pound king Vic Darchinyan and was being hailed as one of the best flyweights of all time, and Guerrero had held two featherweight world title belts, but both fighters were restless. Both were itching to move up in weight class, income and in class of opposition, and each landed in a rut chasing those aspirations.

That's why Guerrero and Donaire both shifted to premier promoters in 2008, with Donaire jilting Gary Shaw in favor of Bob Arum's Top Rank, and Guerrero defecting from Goossen-Tutor to Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions. Ward remained a Goossen client, already clearly one of the two or three most important. But Guerrero had been important too, and Dan Goossen had fought hard to retain him, putting the fighter in boxing limbo for much of 2008.

As if there weren't enough impediments.

Guerrero's wife, Casey, had been diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia in 2007, and had been in and out of remission. Guerrero famously had knocked out formidable featherweight Martin Honorio in 56 seconds just hours after learning of Casey's diagnosis. Despite that plucky achievement, Guerrero was saddled (as was Ward, it turned out) by what became palpable prejudice against Californians, who presumably are never tough or gritty enough to make it in boxing.

Donaire was married in 2008 to former martial arts star Rachel Marcial, who had a strong effect on his career, too, as she began to manage day-to-day aspects of his affairs, including the boxing/training schedule, and wound up at loggerheads with Donaire's father-trainer. The rift that ensued became a big soap opera in the Philippines that got even more attention than Casey Guerrero's fight for life received in the U.S. So Donaire, ignored in California, was reviled in the Philippines for being too, well, Californian.

And that's where I came in...

Boxing coverage on the Internet really accelerated in 2008, and I took part by joining the new online news venture Examiner.com, ostensibly to fill the void Jack Fiske had left.

Boxing's small-but-passionate audience was perfect for the Internet, but writers weren't being paid much to produce content. It was almost more hobby than job. I had no intention of becoming a full-time boxing writer, and in fact felt overdoing would reduce my earnings-per-hour, which seldom equaled minimum wage in this venture, and probably would reduce my dignity as well.

There were intangibles, often bizarre. I was one of Showtime's "press-row judges" for a Ward fight, so viewers saw and heard my name a couple of times. I spent five hours with Donaire and his entourage the evening before a fight in Las Vegas, with Nonito joking that I'd been kidnapped. Better yet, I was on a major Bay Area sports TV talk show a couple of times, once with Guerrero. Even better yet, I sat front-row center covering a Donaire fight for the Mercury News at New York's Madison Square Garden. Still better yet, I was seen on national television in the Philippines singing that country's national anthem -- in Tagalog.

What really made my venture worthwhile, however, was the steady progress the three fighters made on my watch.

It all unfolded clearly in my work from 2008 to 2014 on Examiner.com. _The Kingpin Trio_ contains the highlights from the boxing world and some lowlights from the blogging world to provide some of the context for a venture that has been more successful than I envisioned for me, not to mention the Kingpin Trio. They entered 2013 with a collective record on my watch of 30-0, with one no contest, and an impressive registry of victims.

Here's how it went down.

FALL 2008

THE PACQUIAO PILGRAMAGE

I didn't even meet Robert Guerrero or Andre Ward before 2008 was up, but I met Nonito Donaire Jr. at the Shark Tank in November, hours before his split with his father, Nonito Sr., was becoming news.

I was just back from my first really big plunge into this new boxing beat, a close encounter in Los Angeles with Manny Pacquiao himself, which wound up immersing me deeply in the boxing scene nationally and internationally.

Examiner.com had alerted me that a couple of my mentions of Donaire and Pacquiao had brought me thousands of page views instead of the usual dozens, thanks to a portal in the Philippines, Philboxing.com. Proximity to Pacquiao could only help, so off to L.A. I went.

Examiner.com had just reached the 1,000-writer level nationally (I was No. 802), with a wide range of expertise among the "examiners," who in San Francisco alone ranged from the Cigar Examiner to the Paranormal News Examiner to the Real Cougar Lifestyles Examiner. My SF Boxing Examiner postings were usually easy to find on Examiner's San Francisco home page. At a penny per page view, hardly any "examiners" were making as much as I had made as a 10-year-old paperboy decades ago. The way I looked at it, the meager earnings from blogging might be enough to offset my pay-per-view expenses as a boxing fan, not to mention, a sounding board. But very few Examiners would make more than $3,000 per year for a 15-hour a week job; too little to suit a veteran professional.

Others bailed, but I was only the second boxing writer on the site and quickly became one of the more visible "examiners."

I made about $700 that fall writing about Pacquiao's call-out of Oscar De La Hoya, which turned into the December bout that was to be boxing's signature event of 2008. The build-up to Pacquiao's eight-round TKO victory over De La Hoya dominated boxing in my early months with Examiner. I was quickly part of the mix, especially after the pilgrimage to see Pacquiao training at the subsequently famous Wild Card Gym in Hollywood run by trainer Freddie Roach.

Manny, egged on by Roach, had agreed to augment his 2008 move from 130 pounds to 135 by moving up near 147 to challenge De La Hoya, who at 35 still seemed to be one of the best welterweights and junior middleweights in the world. He would hulk over Pacquiao, we all cried. However, I came back from L.A. convinced, by Roach's comments about his former client De La Hoya, and by how well Pacquiao was carrying 152 pounds, that the Filipino would pull off the upset.

My Wild Card visit coincided with HBO's preparation of a "24/7" documentary series on the Pacquiao-De La Hoya fight, a sequence that made the Wild Card famous and led to my Honda Accord's appearance in parking lot footage.

Three days after my return from L.A., Pacquiao's brother, Bobby, fought in San Jose. When I reached Bobby's dressing room door after he was beaten decisively, Donaire was there and we quickly established a comfort level.

Then Donaire and his wife headed to the Philippines for the winter just as news of his rift with his dad was surfacing and Rachel was being heavily implicated.

Family strife was previously almost unknown among the Kingpin Trio. Ward's father, Frank, a notable amateur heavyweight in the 1970s, introduced Andre to boxing and turned him over to Virgil Hunter before dying suddenly at 46 in 2002. Guerrero's father, the sometimes-raffish Ruben Guerrero, has been Robert's head trainer nearly his entire career. Donaire's father had been both trainer and co-manager. And now: animosity within that framework that was too big in the Philippines to ignore.

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SEPTEMBER 2008
Chapter 1

FOR TOP RANK'S DONAIRE, A LOW-PROFILE TITLE DEFENSE

Nonito Donaire, from San Leandro, is arguably the Bay Area's most important fighter, even though he's far from the best known. He has been the International Boxing Federation (IBF) world flyweight champion (112 pounds) since scoring the most stunning knockout of the decade to win the title from Vic Darchinyan in July 2007. Since then, Donaire has fought only once. He was going stir-crazy as promoter Gary Shaw failed to get him fights -- at least not in the six-figure range Donaire ought to command now -- so Donaire has defected to Bob Arum and Top Rank.

Donaire is facing a mandatory title defense and apparently is getting a credible opponent for it on Nov. 1, as part of the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.-Matt Vanda pay-per-view card Top Rank is expected to stage in Las Vegas.

Donaire (19-1) will take on once-beaten South African Moruti Mthalane, whose No. 1 ranking actually seems predicated on ability. At worst he is no walkover for Donaire.

Mthalane has even less revenue-generating clout than Donaire, so as a main event Arum got stuck with Chavez Jr.-Vanda (a rematch of a July middleweight fight many feel Chavez didn't deserve to win, especially not by such a lopsided decision). Arum's intended main event -- a rematch between welterweight champion Antonio Margarito and Joshua Clottey -- fell through because Clottey (not Margarito, the true gate attraction) demanded too much.

Young Chavez is unbeaten, but he's unaccomplished. The only reason he's a main event attraction of any kind is that he is the son of a boxing legend. Mexican fans are very interested in the son even though he's nothing like his father.

Donaire will have to tune out the undercard aspect in this tune-up bout of a title defense, which could be his last at 112. In the long run, Donaire appears to be in line for higher-profile bouts at super-flyweight (115). His father-trainer Nonito Sr. says Junior will face Mexican star Jorge Arce if both win their upcoming fights. There's also talk of Donaire as an attractive opponent for dynamic Sinaloan Fernando Montiel.

American boxing fans may not be familiar enough with Donaire, but you can be sure Arce and Montiel know who he is.

ALL-AMERICAN BROTHER ACT: Nonito Donaire and his older brother, Glenn, are still fighting in the shadow of Manny Pacquiao, who has given Filipino boxing the respect it had long-since earned but, let's face it, is not an American.

Somehow, despite nearly two decades in this country, the Donaire brothers are viewed as exotics, too, but not by anybody who has ever heard them at a microphone. They have crossover appeal, and of course they have the backing of the large, boxing-hungry Filipino-American community.

Glenn may not be on the rise, but he's still credible in the 108-pound division, despite his unanimous-decision loss to Ulises Solis in Hermosillo, Mexico in July. No judge awarded Glenn a round in a bout some observers thought he had won. So you see, Glenn is becoming a lovable underdog, which Americans sometimes admire.

OCTOBER 2008
Chapter 2

DONAIRE IS FIL-AM GUY WITH BAY AREA POTENTIAL

IBF flyweight (112 pounds) champion Nonito Donaire would love to put Bay Area boxing on the map. He's positioned to do so like no one since, oh, Bobo Olson 55 years ago. But his Bay Area ties don't seem to be part of his image. Not yet, anyway.

The boxing world sees him as the No. 2 Filipino in the sport's recent upswing in respect for the Philippines. No. 1, of course, is lightweight champion (135 pounds) Manny Pacquiao, the electrifying left-hander whose Dec. 6 date with Oscar De La Hoya may well set pay-per-view records. Manny is likely to continue to overshadow Donaire.

Now there are those who think of Nonito, who held a telephone press conference with boxing writers Thursday (Oct. 23), as a Las Vegas fighter as he prepares for his first bout since hooking up with Top Rank, a Nov. 1 title defense against little-known South African menace Moruti Mthalane at the Mandalay Bay.

But . . .

San Leandro has been the longtime base, training and otherwise for Nonito, and now he's based in San Mateo with his new wife, Rachel. Still based in San Leandro is older brother Glenn Donaire, the former light-flyweight champion and still a contender. Nonito, feeling his East Bay ties, says he still likes to run in the shadows of the hills above Lake Chabot "with my friend Andre Ward. When we were younger, we ran that hill a lot."

Nonito is only just now emerging from the shadow of Ward, the only American since 2000 to win an Olympic boxing gold medal. But Ward, though unbeaten in his middleweight/light-heavyweight classes, still has to be considered untested, and by Donaire standards, he is.

Donaire, after all, conquered fearsome but obnoxious slugger Vic Darchinyan in 2007 to win the IBF title flyweight with one of the most beautiful knockouts of this decade, and he was outclassing Darchinyan before the knockout. Their rematch, presumably at Darchinyan's new weight (115), could gain Pacquiao-De La Hoya import if it percolates a couple of years. Let's make it our goal to host that bout in the Bay Area about this time in 2010.

And if Nonito deals successfully with Mthalane, let's stump for his flyweight summit meeting with Jorge Arce to take place at, say, Oracle Arena in Oakland. And let the massive – and vibrant – Filipino-American community lead the charge toward a level of ticket sales not common in the Bay Area since the aforementioned middleweight Olson was a gate attraction. There's such an overflow of Pacquiao enthusiasm that a lot of it may well become a Donaire groundswell if he starts mowing down the likes of Arce and the many others lining up in boxing's second most exciting division these days.

His manager is even more confident about Donaire's prospects for dominating the flyweights than I am about the Bay Area's potential for backing Nonito to mutual glory. Cameron Dunkin went so far as to compare Donaire to one of his former clients, the best flyweight I've ever seen. "Nonito can be as good as Mark Johnson," Dunkin said, referring to one of the few left-handers ever whose stature approached what Pacquiao has going now. Minus the fan base, unfortunately.

Donaire may spend a lot of time with Pacquiao in Las Vegas and the Philippines, but he would love to see his Bay Area base stampede an arena in Oakland or San Jose. "We can fill up that place," he said. "We can definitely make it fun if we fight out there."

"We" indeed.

OCTOBER 2008
Chapter 3

WILL DONAIRE-MTHALANE WILL BE VISIBLE HERE?

I'm having trouble ensuring I can receive the pay-per-view telecast of Nonito Donaire's flyweight title fight Saturday Nov. 1. This is exactly why we need to attract his bouts to the Bay Area so we can attend.

Donaire (19-1, 12 knockouts) is fighting at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas against Moruti Mthalane (22-1, 15 knockouts), an obscure but dangerous South African who threatens to become an obstacle instead of a steppingstone to bigger and better things for Donaire, the IBF and IBO champion.

Donaire-Mthalane is a sort of co-feature with the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.-Matt Vanda junior middleweight rematch. It's a card you'd like to see on HBO, Showtime, ESPN or VERSUS, but not a card for which you can see shelling out $40 (that's the price tag on this PPV) when you've never even heard of all the headliners. There's an interesting sub-main bout between Jorge Arce, who is likely to be fighting Donaire in a higher profile bout next year, against Isidro Garcia, who has lost eight times. But this is the sort of PPV card I would usually advise y'all to skip.

I could not find a Comcast listing for this card on-screen (on Ch. 800's PPV listing), but on tvplanner.comcast.net I learned that it should be available on Ch. 801.

I'll buy it if I can. I almost went to Vegas for the occasion, but that's a long way off, and so are expense accounts here at Examiner.com. Seems like considerable savings to watch at home.

Donaire is expecting an exciting fight, and that portends a short fight. "He's one-dimensional," Donaire said of Mthalane, "but he's really tough. He can take a punch, and he throws a lot of punches." In other words, Donaire said he expects to hit Mthalane early and often. "I'm the type to take a guy out as early as I can."

Arce's presence won't cause him to overlook Mthalane, Donaire says. "This guy can be tough if you take him lightly. Right now I have a guy in front of me who's trying to take away everything I have. If that fight with Arce happens sometime next year, that's when I'll focus on him."

YOU MIGHT WATCH DARCHINYAN INSTEAD: Another distraction for Donaire (and Arce) on Nov. 1 is the Vic Darchinyan-Cristian Mijares super-flyweight (115) unification fight on Showtime. That Darchinyan (30-1-1, 24 knockouts) and Donaire are fighting the same night on separate cards – the Showtime bouts are set for Carson, Calif. – only whets our appetites all the more for a rematch between those two. Donaire's 2007 upset of Darchinyan is his signature win and Darchinyan's only loss. Mijares' record includes a win over Arce.

NOVEMBER 2008
Chapter 4

DONAIRE STOPS MTHALANE IN 6 ON A CUT

Nonito Donaire stopped South African challenger Moruti Mthalane in six rounds Saturday in Las Vegas, barely raising a sweat, to retain his IBF flyweight title, but his victory wasn't the most satisfying among the evening's three major bouts involving flyweights.

Mthalane sustained a cut inside his left eyelid in the sixth round that ended the fight, but he fought respectably and the early conclusion was frustrating.

More satisfying was Vic Darchinyan's ninth-round knockout of Cristian Mijares in their super-flyweight (115 pounds) unification bout in Carson, Calif. Darchinyan (31-1-1), who has lost only to Donaire, claimed Mijares' WBA and WBC belts by knocking him down in the first round of their battle of left-handers, winning all but one round on all three scorecards through eight rounds and ending the bout at the end of the ninth with a straight left. Mijares, who unlike Darchinyan was long established at 115, was a slight favorite despite Darchinyan's heavy-handed reputation. Like Donaire, Mijares is an all-around craftsman, but unlike Donaire he lacked the muscle to stand up to Darchinyan, a native of Armenia who lives in Sydney. Aggressive offense is often the best way to beat a slugger, but Mijares didn't mount much of an attack until the seventh round.

Also more satisfying than Donaire's victory was a fourth-round knockout scored by Jorge Arce over Isidro Garcia in their super-flyweight bout on the Las Vegas card. Arce toyed with Garcia before opening up on his fellow Mexican in the fourth and closing the show. Therefore, there remains a lot of talk that Arce (51-4-1), who has held three world titles, will fight Donaire next.

Donaire was a regal flyweight (112 pounds) king against Mthalane, who was getting the chance of a lifetime and seemed intimidated. Donaire sat back and loaded up on counter shots and seemed able to beat Mthalane to the punch. It took the No. 1-ranked challenger three rounds to get untracked against his longer, stronger opponent. In the fourth, Mthalane (22-2) was busy and landed seven or eight good shots, bruising Donaire (20-1), and briefly causing the champion to assume a southpaw stance. The fifth was rather like the fourth, except without the disparity in punches landed, and I scored it even, which means I had Donaire leading 49-47 after five. Donaire fought as a southpaw nearly the entire sixth round and became aggressive with the right jab, apparently landing the telling blow to the eyelid with that stratagem. Then he got more aggressive. "I switched up and threw a left, and, boom, it hit him," Donaire said. "I knew that was it. There was no need to punish him any more. He couldn't see me."

The Mandalay Bay crowd booed the deliberate pace of the bout (but enjoyed the other main event, in which unbeaten Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. outgunned Matt Vanda to win by unanimous decision in their junior middleweight non-title rematch), yet the cautious approach enabled Donaire to maintain his ring generalship. Had the bout gone on, Donaire seemed likely to establish his strength advantage, but it still might have come down to a unanimous decision win instead of a stoppage.

Even with the unsatisfying conclusion, Donaire looked like the one flyweight nobody (except the revenge-bent Darchinyan) seems to want to fight.

NOVEMBER 2008
Chapter 5

DONAIRE COMMANDING IN HIS CORNER

Finally meeting emerging superstar Nonito Donaire Jr. was a highlight Thursday of a most enjoyable Fight Night at the Tank in San Jose. The IBF flyweight champion and wife Rachel drove down from San Mateo and were in a playful mood outside Bobby Pacquiao's dressing room when I met them. Nonito was much the hale-fellow-well-met at HP Pavilion, especially when he stepped in to translate for reporters struggling to interview Pacquiao, Manny's brother, after a discouraging defeat.

I had no idea that Donaire had dismissed his father as trainer this month and that public speculation about the cause of the change had led Nonito to chastise the meddlesome media via a statement released hours before our meeting. Pending our next conversation, let me try to interpret.

Donaire's impressive presence is all we need to know about the recent changes he's dealing with. Nonito, 26, is clearly the master of his domain. Most fathers who train elite fighters ultimately reach this crossroad. Unless Don Vito Corleone is your father, you reach a stage where you're no longer your papa's subordinate. Boxing-wise at least, the young champion has reached that stage and the filial relationship is being redefined.

Bottom line: Donaire doesn't need an authoritarian in his corner anymore.

But like President-elect Obama, Donaire needs to lead a rapid transition. By the time Nonito's broken left pinkie heals in late winter, two of his targeted opponents, Jorge Arce and Vic Darchinyan, probably will be fighting each other instead, and Donaire suspects he'll be signed for a fight with WBO super-flyweight champion Fernando Montiel by then.

DECEMBER 2008
Chapter 6

GUERRERO'S DEPARTURE FROM GOOSSEN UPHELD

The reason we haven't seen Robert Guerrero of Gilroy fight since early 2008 is not because he's hurt or because of his wife's leukemia. The problem has been Guerrero's quest to sever his legal ties with promoter Dan Goossen.

That quest ended Tuesday when the California Attorney General's Office ruled in favor of Guerrero in arbitration of the 10-month-old case. Guerrero announced his freedom. I talked with a spokesman for Guerrero, Mario Serrano, on Monday, and he told me an announcement about Guerrero (22-1-1, 15 knockouts) would take place in a day or two. This must have been it.

The next two announcements are expected to be Guerrero's alliance with Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, and perhaps a fight date as early as January. In his last outing, Feb. 29, Guerrero knocked out Jason Litzau to retain the IBF featherweight (126 pounds) title, which he relinquished in June. Guerrero who is a bit more than 5-foot-8, is ready to move up to 130 pounds to fill the void left in 2008 by fellow left-hander Manny Pacquiao's move up to higher weight classes.

Wouldn't it be great to see "The Ghost" go against Pacquiao nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez (after a couple of interim bouts for build-up sake)?

In the meantime, with the Goossen case apparently settled, and with wife Casey's leukemia in remission, one of the Bay Area's most important fighters can concentrate on getting better than ever.

WINTER 2009

MANNY/MAYWEATHER MOUTHPIECE

One-on-one sessions with Robert Guerrero and Andre Ward were my first order of business in 2009. I met Guerrero and publicist Mario Serrano at Sue's Roasting in Gilroy on a bright January weekday, and it was an easy-going 45 minutes. I interviewed Ward by phone for 20 minutes of good copy and met him at his early February fight at a casino in Lemoore, Calif.

But those encounters were not my primary sources of readership.

With Manny Pacquiao and former 140-pound champion Ricky Hatton negotiating through enemy promoters for a May bout, the issue of a purse split other than 50-50 created frenzies in the Philippines and in Hatton's Great Britain, to my good fortune.

January was my best month ever on Examiner, with roughly 75,000 page views as my rehashes of Pacquiao's and Hatton's relative merits were part of a lively mix worldwide. At one point Pacquiao's publicist in Los Angeles issued a statement from Manny at nearly midnight PST, and I was able to report it first because so many others were asleep in other time zones.

I got credit for a scoop that wasn't mine at all. The newspaper in Grand Rapids, Mich., the hometown of the recently retired Floyd Mayweather Jr., reported that the 31-year-old's IRS problems would probably necessitate a comeback. So, topping my Best Fights of 2009 wish list was Mayweather-Pacquiao, and by saying so I got not only one of those 20,000-page-view reactions but also subsequent credit for having reported Mayweather's comeback.

My perch at Examiner starting getting crowded from February on, though, as examiners were added in New York, Los Angeles, and a half-dozen other spots -- and the others were far more willing than I to put boxing first in their professional lives. One was particularly aggressive about usurping any sway I had with Nonito and Rachel Donaire, who surprised me with a phone call from the Philippines in late February but could be hard to contact.

Still, with Guerrero and Ward finally busy, there was plenty of interesting content in front of me -- especially when Guerrero had a slice of bad luck in the ring.

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JANUARY 2009
Chapter 7

VISITING THE GHOST IN GILROY

If you're disappointed that Edel Ruiz (31-21-4, 22 knockouts) is the opponent lined up Jan. 24 for Robert Guerrero's return from an 11-month layoff, imagine how Guerrero feels.

We had no right to expect a title shot for Guerrero (22-1-1) in his first fight as a 130-pounder and his first fight for his new promoter. But Ruiz is one of those sad-sack journeymen you can't help rooting for, even if he's fighting one of your homeboys. He has no chance against Guerrero, the former IBF featherweight champion from Gilroy, in their bout on the Antonio Margarito-Shane Mosley undercard at Staples Center in Los Angeles on HBO.

When Guerrero says, "I want to be able to say I fought everyone they put in front of me," he means he's the kind of guy who would have been willing to take on WBA super featherweight champion Jorge Linares and establish right now, short notice and all, that "The Ghost" is already one of the top two or three men in the division. Instead "everyone" includes this 31-year-old everyman from Sinaloa whose seven losses in his past 10 bouts include one to Jason Litzau, the very man Guerrero stopped in eight rounds last February in his most recent bout.

Guerrero, 25, is ready for a challenge. During the idle spell caused by his protracted but successful battle to escape his contract with promoter Dan Goossen and join Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, Guerrero has kept in shape while helping his wife reach remission in her battle with leukemia and helping her raise their small children.

Guerrero and publicist Mario Serrano were good company last week when they let me join them at Sue's Roasting in downtown Gilroy, and I'll tell you more about that later. The thing is, meeting "The Ghost" heightened the sense that it would have been fun to see him thrown into battle against someone almost too challenging, like Linares, who is also a former (WBC) featherweight champion.

And that remains the sort of fight we want for Guerrero in 2009. Preferably right here in San Jose. In the meantime, Ruiz is an experienced professional, and it won't be any more fun for Guerrero to face him than fun for us to watch, which we probably won't; HBO isn't airing the undercard.

So we'll merely empathize as Guerrero bites his lip and bides his time.

JANUARY 2009
Chapter 8

WARD TO STEP IN AGAINST SUGAR POO

Andre Ward is the marquee attraction Feb. 6 when he fights Henry "Sugar Poo" Buchanan in a 12-round main event that will air on Showtime's ShoBox series.

Buchanan (17-1, 12 knockouts) isn't quite the worthy opponent critics have been recommending for Ward (17-0, 12 knockouts) to face, but it's an attractive matchup and probably the right one for Ward at this point.

Ward's pro career has progressed slowly since he won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, the last American boxer to win gold. Quick, talented, earnest and interesting-looking, Ward has the most obvious box-office appeal of any Bay Area boxer, but he has seemed a bit vulnerable to the occasional pot-shot, and thus his handlers have been careful.

Yes, Ward has been coddled, but he also suffered a knee injury last summer from which he has just recovered. The Oakland super-middleweight has fought only once, a December tune-up win over Esteban Camau, since knee surgery, and in that light Buchanan represents a reasonable test, even though Buchanan's only previous bout against a world-class foe resulted in a one-sided loss by decision to Jean Paul Mendy in 2006, and Buchanan has fought only three times since then.

However, in light of rumors that Ward was being lined up to face former middleweight champion Jermain Taylor, Buchanan isn't a substantial warm-up, although one or two second-tier title belts will be at stake. Ward has to beat Buchanan as the house fighter/champion in the ShoBox match in Lemoore, Calif., and then beat someone more high profile to build up sufficient interest for a fight with the likes of Taylor or Mikkel Kessler.

On one hand, it seems we must continue to be awfully patient concerning Ward's trajectory. On the other, there's no reason from a time standpoint that Ward couldn't fight Buchanan, Librado Andrade and Taylor within this calendar year. Maybe Buchanan is the first step toward stepping it up.

JANUARY 2009
Chapter 9

DONAIRE TO FIGHT, BUT NOT AGAINST MONTIEL

Nonito Donaire is training for a March title fight in the Philippines, but excitement began dissipating instead of building during the past week, beginning with the news his opponent March 14 will not be Fernando Montiel and the weight class will not be 115 pounds.

Donaire will not abdicate his IBF and IBO 112-pound titles after all, Top Rank chief Bob Arum said Friday. He will defend them against 5-foot-2 veteran Eric Ortiz (30-8-2, 19 knockouts). Donaire, who is wintering in his native Philippines, probably won't complain about the diminished caliber of opponent or perhaps even the challenge of getting his 5-foot-6 frame down to 112 again, but this is a very disappointing development for him.

Donaire-Montiel was a dream match for the 115 class, especially in tandem with the Feb. 7 match-up of Vic Darchinyan and Jorge Arce, which is still a go. Then Montiel announced he can't be a flyweight anymore, and the replacement for him in the WBO super-flyweight title bout seemed to be Puerto Rican veteran Jose "Carita" Lopez (38-7-1), a credible but less-than-elite opponent for Donaire (20-1, 13 knockouts).

That turn of events knocked Donaire down to the second rung of the March 14 card at Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. The other bout features light flyweights Brian Viloria and Ulises Soliz, two of Nonito's brother Glenn Donaire's most notable rivals. It seems Arum was outmaneuvered and couldn't wrest Lopez from a February bout against Thailand's Promuansak Posuwan. For Donaire, Arum instead had to line up Ortiz, who seems a bit of a comedown from Lopez, let alone Montiel.

There's an awful lot of good competition in the next several weeks, with impressive welterweight Andre Berto fighting tonight against Luis Collazo and the even more eminent welterweight Antonio Margarito facing all-time great Shane Mosley on Jan. 24, with Arce-Darchinyan on Feb. 7, Alfredo Angulo-Ricardo Mayorga on Feb. 14, and Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Juan Diaz on Feb. 28.

In that light, this week's alterations leave the Quezon City card with a rather borderline doubleheader for Showtime, with a low-profile main event preceded by Donaire in a walkover. I'll bet Donaire's Bay Area fans end up not getting to see it.

FEBRUARY 2009
Chapter 10

GUERRERO ON HBO AT SHARK TANK? YES!

With Andre Ward headed for ShoBox next Friday night and Nonito Donaire training for a mid-March pay-per-view fight, it would be something if Robert Guerrero were to top them. He can, if rumors and negotiations pan out.

"The Ghost" might appear March 7 on HBO, fighting at the Shark Tank.

Once a month your Welterweight Champion here suspends the rules on rumor-mongering while discussing the best and worst fights of the recent past and near future. The Guerrero/HBO/Shark Tank scenario easily tops the agenda.

The HP Pavilion card already has taken shape without Guerrero, though it hasn't been announced. Pugnacious junior middleweight James Kirkland (24-0, 21 knockouts) is a main attraction who will not be lulled into a boring fight, especially if the opponent turns out to be light-achieving Colombian Joel Julio (34-2, 31 knockouts). On paper that's a better-than-average "Fight Night at the Tank" main event, though not of much local interest. The sub-main currently penciled in is junior welterweight Victor Ortiz vs. Mike Arnaoutis, which isn't bad.

But a second sub-main event featuring Guerrero is what Golden Boy Promotions is eager to promote and HBO would like to showcase. And Guerrero is what San Jose would like to see, as The Ghost is from nearby Gilroy. Dan Rafael of ESPN.com reported that veteran lightweight contender Jesus Chavez turned down the spot opposite Guerrero on the San Jose card. (Chavez was the first to beat Sharmba Mitchell and the last to beat the late Leavander Johnson.)

As for Ward, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist is the main attraction on the ShoBox card in Lemoore, Calif., on Feb. 6, fighting a fairly suitable super-middleweight opponent, Henry Buchanan. It appears I'll be interviewing Ward early next week, so watch this space.

FEBRUARY 2009
Chapter 11

BAY AREA DOING LITTLE TO HELP DONAIRE

Nonito Donaire's flyweight title defense March 21 in the Philippines will not be visible in the Bay Area, where Donaire lives. That signifies a crisis point in his career outside the Philippines that needs to be resolved close to home.

Even if Donaire had never knocked out Vic Darchinyan, the flyweight who gets most of what little attention flyweights receive, the "Filipino Flash" would be anointed the top fighter in the 112-115 range by an impressive range of boxing experts. The Ring Magazine does rate Nonito the top 112-pounder.

Nevertheless, things seemed a lot more rosy for Donaire about two months ago than they do now. Way back in December, a March challenge to 115-pound champion Fernando Montiel appeared destined to put Donaire on a high-profile rung on Showtime, presumably routinely. Donaire was among those who believed the Montiel-Donaire winner would face the winner of Saturday's Darchinyan-Jorge Arce bout for supremacy at 115. Donaire recently had dumped promoter Gary Shaw in favor of the more high-powered Top Rank, whose Bob Arum is a good guy to know if you want to fight on HBO.

Then Montiel announced he can't get down to 115 anymore. That meant there wasn't a match-up worthy of Showtime anymore. As a second opponent fell through and a third match-up was too lackluster for Donaire, the opponent (No. 4) will be Raul Martinez, whose 24-0 record makes him a worthy opponent, yet an unlikely spoiler. Donaire has a chance to look really good.

If only we could see it. There doesn't seem to be any juice for televising Donaire-Martinez back to the United States.

Understandably, Donaire's manager, Cameron Dunkin, talks with a perpetual sigh. He feels he can't get Donaire on Showtime because the split with Shaw runs him afoul of Shaw's influence at Showtime. And HBO caters (your Welterweight Champion is guilty) to the lightweight-welterweight-middleweight nexus, with no end in sight to the scarcity of flyweights.

Dunkin may be wrong about Showtime. Shaw used to like Donaire, and it's not as though Donaire hasn't commanded Showtime's attention, considering it aired his 2007 knockout of Darchinyan.

But Donaire belongs on HBO, where there isn't enough interest. Yet. The thing I want to impress upon the primo network's executives is that Nonito Donaire could step into the analyst chair for one of your telecasts tomorrow and blow everybody away. Add that personality and charisma to the boxing mix, a savvy ring general with elite speed and the largest frame imaginable for a flyweight, and you've got a budding superstar.

It would help if there were a more visible groundswell on Donaire's behalf at home. A couple-hundred thousand Filipino Americans in the Bay Area could lead the way, but it seems to me Donaire should have special appeal for just about every ethnic group I know in the greater San Francisco-San Jose-Oakland area.

I haven't given up hope that his bouts will become staples of cable TV. But I'm not convinced that local groundswell I'm counting on is a certainty.

FEBRUARY 2009
Chapter 12

GUERRERO'S SAN JOSE BOUT ON HBO A GO

Matched against an intriguing, unbeaten young opponent, Robert Guerrero rounds out one of San Jose's most important boxing cards in years March 7, a tripleheader at HP Pavilion to be aired on HBO's "Boxing After Dark."

Guerrero's 10-round bout with 21-year-old Indonesian Daud "Cino" Yordan (23-0, 17 knockouts) will be regarded elsewhere as merely the third-most important bout on the card Golden Boy Promotions finally unveiled Thursday after nailing down the Guerrero bout. But it's the most important fight in more than a year for Guerrero, whose change of promoters last year brought about a long layoff while "The Ghost" was abdicating his IBF featherweight title to move up to junior lightweight.

Pugnacious junior middleweight James Kirkland (24-0, 21 knockouts) is the main attraction, fighting bruising Colombian Joel Julio (34-2, 31 knockouts). And there's probably more interest among hard-core boxing followers in once-beaten junior welterweight Victor Ortiz's bout with twice-beaten Mike Arnaoutis than in Guerrero's bout with a little-known outsider.

But Yordan is a credible opponent for Guerrero (23-1-1, 16 knockouts, who ended his layoff by dumping journeyman Edel Ruiz in 43 seconds Jan. 24. Yordan's one bout in the United States provided him a unanimous decision victory over Antonio Meza, like Guerrero a southpaw but unlike Guerrero, shorter than Yordan. It was a victory that compared favorably to Filipino Rey "Boom-Boom" Bautista's 2007 decision win over Meza. "Cino" (it's because he's half-Chinese) is about 5-foot-6, hasn't been fighting at 130 and probably hasn't ever faced someone as long as Guerrero, who is nearly 5-9 and uses his height to full advantage.

When I talked with Guerrero in his hometown, Gilroy, last month, wife Casey's leukemia was in remission, but she has since had a recurrence in her spinal column that led to another round of chemotherapy, said to have been successful.

Guerrero's way of dealing with the stress of his wife's illness seems to make him more ferocious in the ring, he says. That's good for his career, because he's under pressure to prove he can knock people out. Up against that, Yordan may be in over his head. He's being brought here to make Guerrero look good.

The card deserves the large crowd that would make San Jose look good.

FEBRUARY 2009
Chapter 13

PHONE INTERVIEW WITH ANDRE WARD

Andre Ward probably has been asked too many times whether he's developing into an elite boxer too slowly, but he's surprisingly happy to address that skepticism.

"I'm starting to like it," says Ward, whose Olympic gold medal in 2004 was the last won by an American boxer. He figures the doubters are giving him all the more in common with Sugar Ray Leonard, or Roy Jones Jr. It took Leonard more than three years to win a world welterweight title after he won an Olympic gold medal in 1976. It took Jones nearly five years to win a world title after he got robbed of Olympic gold in 1988. Now Ward (17-0, 12 knockouts) is in his fifth year and, starting with Friday's stiff test in Lemoore, Calif., on Showtime (ShoBox) against Henry Buchanan (17-1, 12 knockouts), he's poised to come on strong. "I'm right on schedule."

There was never any point in rushing it, Ward told me during our phone interview Tuesday. "A boy can win a championship, but it takes a man to reign."

At a shade under 6-foot-1, the Oakland fighter is on the tall side for a 168-pounder, and it definitely will look that way against Buchanan, a 30-year-old from the Washington, D.C., area who didn't turn professional until he was 25, the milestone Ward will reach Feb. 23. Buchanan, who is challenging for Ward's second-tier title, the North American Boxing Organization belt, lost a one-sided decision in his only previous opportunity of this magnitude, against Jean Paul Mendy in 2006.

Ward figures he's a lot more comfortable with the give-and-take of a good pro fight than he used to be. He says he's gotten beyond the "hit-not-get-hit" mentality of the amateur game and become comfortable in the more grueling pro regimen. "If I get hit, I don't have to get it right back," he says.

He thinks Buchanan will test him there. "He tries to box, but at times he gets wild," Ward said. "He's used to fighting up (because of his short stature). He likes to wing shots. I just have to be me. I just have to flow, conform to what I know I have to do."

He says he's doing that better and better, and the 2009 Andre Ward "would probably stop" the 2004 version. "I'm bigger, I'm stronger and I'm definitely smarter."

It's somewhat surprising that he's still campaigning at 168, and he acknowledges that won't be the case for long. "Now I'm comfortable at '68," he says, "but I'm still growing. I'll probably evolve to light-heavyweight . . ." Then he admitted he can picture duplicating the ultimate Roy Jones Jr. feat and beefing up temporarily to heavyweight, if it were against someone about David Haye's size; "if it was the right fight."

He still hasn't been in a wrong fight, and you'll never convince him patience has been anything but a virtue. "I'm not chasing the fame," Ward says. "God has an allotment for Andre Ward. I want my allotment. I want to be ready."

FEBRUARY 2009
Chapter 14

WARD PUMMELS SUGAR POO FOR 12 ROUNDS

It wasn't a knockout, but it was a shutout. And if you don't think Andre Ward deserves a shout-out for that, you must not have seen his victory Friday over Henry "Sugar Poo" Buchanan on Showtime's ShoBox series.

Ward (18-0, 12 knockouts) landed brutal power punches in nearly every round and was hit hard only twice in winning all 12 rounds on every scorecard in what was expected to be a far more competitive fight at the Tachi Palace and Casino in Lemoore, Calif.

"I expected a lot more," Ward said. "I kept waiting for him to open up."

By early in the second round it was obvious Buchanan (17-2) didn't think he belonged in the ring with Ward, who now holds two second-tier super-middleweight titles, the NABO and NABF.

With Buchanan wary of Ward's right cross from the start, Ward established early that he could jab to the head and body, that his height and reach advantage would be impossible for Buchanan to offset and that Buchanan's wariness of the big right was justified. It seemed obvious Buchanan was leaving himself open for left hooks, and Ward began landing them at will early in the second, often on the heels of a blocked right lead, as trainer Virgil Hunter kept calling on him to hook even more.

After that, Buchanan "was in survival mode," Ward said. "You always want to go home early, but it's not a reality all the time. That's a hard guy to knock out."

Some will claim Ward should have been able to finish it early, but going 12 without difficulty may have done him more good than a knockout would have. "We had him off-balance all night," Ward said. "Sometimes that's what being a champion is all about."

Buchanan's lack of worthiness made it all the more obvious Ward is ready for a big step up. He said there had been talk of a match with Jermain Taylor, who is the best of the 168-pounders if Joe Calzaghe goes through with the retirement he announced last week. Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik's manager, Cameron Dunkin, told me there has been talk of Pavlik taking on Ward, but Pavlik wouldn't be eager to move up in weight for that after what the bigger Bernard Hopkins did to him last fall at a catch weight limit of 170. A good bet for Ward instead: IBF champion Lucian Bute.

The four-hour trip from San Jose to Lemoore (I took scenic back roads despite the rain) wasn't as arduous as enduring the casino once I arrived. I'd much rather have gone up to Oakland, and Ward says he's campaigning to make that happen. "I want to fight in my hometown," Ward said. "I think it's long overdue."

FEBRUARY 2009
Chapter 15

SHAW WOULD BLOCK DONAIRE-DARCHINYAN II

When promoter Gary Shaw came right out and said Saturday on Showtime that there's no way he'll let Vic Darchinyan fight Nonito Donaire Jr., he was only repeating information you might have learned right here on Examiner.com. last week.

Darchinyan (32-1, 26 knockouts), coming off Saturday's 11-round whipping of super flyweight challenger Jorge Arce, would like nothing better than to fight Donaire (20-1, 13 knockouts), whose 2007 knockout of Darchinyan is the definitive flyweight division bout of recent years. But Donaire, largely inactive after that fight, dumped Shaw as his promoter last fall in favor of Bob Arum and Top Rank.

Donaire's manager, Cameron Dunkin wised me up last week about Shaw's attitude toward the prospects for a Darchinyan-Donaire rematch. I was writing about Donaire's lack of TV exposure, notably for his March 14 IBF flyweight title defense against unbeaten Texan Raul Martinez in the Philippines, but I did link to Shaw's saying "you don't reward disloyalty," much as he said on camera Saturday.

FEBRUARY 2009
Chapter 16

GUERRERO, ORTIZ SHINE FOR MEDIA

Video footage of Tuesday's Robert Guerrero-Victor Ortiz press conference ought to be used to hype the March 7 HBO card in San Jose, where those two are among the three fighters being showcased that night.

The third, super-middleweight whirlwind James Kirkland, remained down in Austin, but Guerrero and Ortiz carried the afternoon without him. They were easily the shining stars among the six people on the dais at a Dave & Buster's near San Jose.

Guerrero, who will fight obscure but unbeaten Indonesian junior lightweight Daud Yordan, increasingly presided at the presentation, attended by about 50 media and boxing folks. This is one of Guerrero's many underrated skills.

"The Ghost" told of his delight that he'll be fighting near home in San Jose. He also enumerated instances in which his fighter's interior has overtaken his sensible exterior, such as the time he was sparring with a former opponent who had butted him and viciously knocked the man out. Guerrero is no mumbler. "We're the young up-and-coming fighters," he said "It's time for us to take over."

That goes for promotional duties, I would advise. There should be 30-second TV commercials hyping this promotion, and both Guerrero and Ortiz should be speaking on-camera in the ads.

Ortiz, a thick-set junior welterweight with an aggressive ring style, has a wall-to-wall smile and equals Guerrero in verbal command. Ortiz, who will take on Mike Arnaoutis, was at his best describing sparring sessions with Oscar De La Hoya last year that found "The Golden Boy" decidedly more formidable than what we all saw when De La Hoya fought Manny Pacquiao in December.

"I'm really excited to fight in the Bay Area," said Ortiz, who grew up in Garden City, Kan., but is now based in Ventura, near Santa Barbara. "Everyone has been asking me when I would fight up here, and now I finally am."

Ortiz winningly invited visitors to Ventura to avail of his hospitality, though he promises only a spot on the couch or floor.

Just once I'd like to see a San Jose boxing card advertised locally with all-American athletes like these two guys shown at their best. Some footage of Kirkland's fights wouldn't hurt.

It is vital to our hopes for regularly attracting the likes of HBO for Guerrero's title fights that we fill the lower bowl of the Shark Tank on March 7. These guys can do it.

"I'm going to do what I do best," Guerrero said, "come out and put on a good show. It's up to the fans to come out and support the fights, and I hope they do."

FEBRUARY 2009
Chapter 17

DONAIRE TRIES TO SEPARATE TRUTH, FICTION

Nonito Donaire Jr. commended three articles to friends Wednesday, and two of them shed light on the conflicts that led to his November split with his trainer-father.

One link confirmed Donaire is dedicating his March 21 fight to Nonito Sr. The Bay Area-based flyweight has been in the Philippines since December and will defend his IBF and IBO flyweight titles at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City against unbeaten Texan Raul Martinez. Father and son still ain't ready to make nice, but I've said all along that the personal rift is temporary and that it probably will be mended by fight time.

Donaire also commended a story about the mystique surrounding his marriage to Rachel Marcial Donaire. In it the couple addresses the widespread blaming of Rachel for the father-son rift. I've also found a far more expansive interview that solidifies my belief that this is one of the Bay Area's most fascinating couples.

My take on the family crisis was that Nonito, 26, is the master of his domain and needs to be his own man as the filial relationship is redefined. He especially doesn't want an authoritarian in his corner anymore.

So he's been training under 36-year-old Gerry Peñalosa in Baguio, in the highlands near Manila, and now Nonito is in Cebu for Peñalosa's bantamweight tune-up bout Saturday with German Miraz that leads up to Peñalosa's challenge to WBO super-bantamweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez in April in Puerto Rico on HBO.

The Baguio scene sounds more like an artists colony than a boxing camp from afar, and one hopes the senior Donaire (who is only 50!) eventually will assume a professor emeritus role on this progressive campus.

In the meantime, Nonito Jr. has most of the angles covered. For the Araneta card, he even recently solicited recommendations for ring-card girls, although that may have been tongue-in-cheek. I'd say he's dead-serious, though about the articles he commended Wednesday.

FEBRUARY 2009
Chapter 18

DONAIRE'S SPRING BOUT TO BE TELEVISED

We'll be able to see Nonito Donaire Jr. on pay-per-view in the Bay Area after all for his March 21 fight in the Philippines. And I'll be buying, despite all the arguments regarding pay-per-view discernment.

I got wind from Donaire himself, via a phone call from wife Rachel in Cebu, that promoter Top Rank had finally struck a deal that makes a pay-per-view package available in the United States for the card. It features Donaire defending his IBF and IBO flyweight belts against unbeaten Raul Martinez of San Antonio, with Mexico's Ulises Solis defending his light-flyweight title in the sub main against Filipino-American Brian Viloria.

Donaire's manager Cameron Dunkin, my source for the previous news that there was no American TV for this card, confirmed the change. "Yes, Nonito's fight will be shown on PPV in the USA," Dunkin e-mailed.

With the card being conducted in late morning March 22 in Quezon City, which is evening Saturday in the U.S., it did seem probable Top Rank would find a way to provide pay-per-view Stateside. When Donaire seemed headed for a March showdown with Mexican star Fernando Montiel, the TV venue would have been Showtime. But when Montiel instead moved up to bantamweight, Showtime wasn't interested in Donaire or anyone else on the card as a headliner. For several weeks it seemed we wouldn't be able to see it at all. The pay-per-view is a fallback.

Clearly there are two kinds of pay-per-view.

What we're used to perceiving as pay-per-view is the elite kind, like Manny Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton on May 2. Both fighters are huge draws and top10 performers in anyone's pound-for-pound rankings. Donaire is inching up there in the pound-for-pound rankings, but he doesn't have a large fan base outside the Philippines, not even in the Bay Area.

The emergence of a second tier of pay-per-view, with far lower expectations for buy totals, serves niche audiences. Perhaps the best U.S. niche for this card is in Hawaii, where several thousand Viloria fans will find it worth $30 or $40 or so to see their hero.

That's pretty much where I fall as a Donaire follower. There aren't all that many of us willing to shell out $30 or so to see the Filipino Flash fight some up-and-comer we've never seen before, but I'm there for this one.

I've bad-mouthed this new, lower tier of PPV in recent months, including Saturday's $40 double-main event in which elite middleweight Kelly Pavlik and elite welterweight Miguel Cotto mowed down relatively unknown opponents at separate venues. I even bad-mouthed the Nov. 1 card that included Donaire against Moruti Mthalane).

But I'm starting to change my mind and get with the new program. We're still accustomed to thinking a pay-per-view main event has to be a blockbuster of interest even to non-boxing fans. But those are becoming less numerous than the second kind.

I still advise boxing fans to be cautious about blowing their money on pay-per-view. But I'm definitely starting to see the upside of low-stakes PPV if it can become profitable.

MARCH 2009
Chapter 19

DONAIRE MIGHT EXIT IFFY PROMOTION

I wouldn't be surprised to see Nonito Donaire Jr. in San Jose this weekend for the HBO Boxing After Dark extravaganza, and that's not good.

Donaire apparently will not be defending his IBF flyweight title this month, or next month either, according to at least two reports from the Philippines, where he has been training since December for a promotion that has been a fiasco at every turn. Apparently Solar Sports, which has been the co-promoter with Bob Arum's Top Rank Boxing, isn't gathering as much sponsorship money as it had expected. Solar first shifted the March 22 fight back four weeks, into mid-April, and then that started looking iffy, too.

Enough, already, said Donaire's manager, Cameron Dunkin, at that point. I was unable to reach Dunkin for corroboration Tuesday morning, but he reportedly has withdrawn Donaire from the promotion. "I don't know what's going on, but my boxer has been training for two months, and this is the fourth time the date has been changed," Dunkin told Ronnie Nathanielsz, a prominent Philippines boxing writer. "This time it's a radical change, and I am not going to keep him in the fight."

Dunkin will be in San Jose soon to monitor his star junior middleweight James Kirkland in the main event of Saturday's HBO card. Most of my focus is on the opening bout, in which Gilroy's Robert Guerrero takes on unbeaten Indonesian Daud Yordan, but Donaire just might be among the many distractions here in coming days.

According to one account, Nonito and wife Rachel are flying home to the Bay Area on Wednesday. That's plausible, because Donaire's Philippines locus has been the Baguio training camp where Gerry Peñalosa and his brothers have become his chief ring advisors, but Gerry is headed to California to train for his own April bout, against Juan Manuel Lopez in Puerto Rico. So the Donaires might as well bail, too.

The Baguio camp has provided plenty of conviviality to counteract the charged emotion brought about by Donaire's professional split with his father, which has not been good for their personal relationship, as well as the frustrations surrounding Donaire's next fight.

The opposition has changed as frenetically as the dates, starting with Fernando Montiel, who posed an elite matchup for Donaire at 115 but decided he couldn't make weight and ending with unbeaten Raul Martinez of San Antonio. The Donaire matchup was a great opportunity for Martinez.

For many others, though, Donaire is a daunting opponent to be avoided. He has fought only twice since his July 2007 upset of Vic Darchinyan. Ironically, Nonito may soon be involved in a tune-up fight on the Tijuana card where Montiel is already on the docket in a mismatch.

Well, let's just bring on Montiel anyway. Although one of Donaire's best assets as a flyweight is that he seems bigger than other flyweights, he has bantamweight stature in every sense of the word. Let's move that super-flyweight party up to 118 and see if Shaw can get Darchinyan in on it.

MARCH 2009
Chapter 20

$75,000 ADVANCE KEEPS DONAIRE ON BOARD

Nonito Donaire will be fighting in the Philippines this spring after all, manager Cameron Dunkin told me about an hour ago in San Jose.

Donaire's IBF flyweight title defense against unbeaten Raul Martinez is set for April 18 (April 19 in the Philippines) despite the problems co-promoter Solar Sports has encountered raising money for the promotion at the Araneta Coliseum near Manila. Those problems caused Dunkin to pull Donaire out of the promotion this week, but a $75,000 advance, about 25 percent of Donaire's contracted purse, put the fight back on course.

"It's on," Dunkin said. "We wanted money in our pocket, and we got it."

Donaire, who lives in San Mateo, has been in the Philippines since mid-December and has been training most of that time for a promotion that has been a fiasco at every turn. Martinez represented the third change of opponent during that time, and the date has changed three times as well.

I still wouldn't be surprised if Nonito shows up this weekend in San Jose for Saturday's "Boxing After Dark" card at the Shark Tank. He would like to be in Tijuana on March 28 when Gerry Peñalosa fights a tune-up bout there.

But Dunkin said the $75,000 advance ensures not only that Donaire will be back in the Philippines on April 18, but also that the show will go on.

MARCH 2009
Chapter 21

GOLDEN BOY GIVES GUERRERO NEW STRENGTH

With Oscar De La Hoya front and center, the heart of the boxing world was beating Thursday in San Jose, and it will continue to do so through Saturday's Boxing After Dark card at the Shark Tank and on HBO.

De La Hoya's future as a fighter is in doubt, but his future as a businessman seems certain as his Golden Boy Promotions is rising toward the top of the boxing world. Recent successful collaborations with HBO in Los Angeles and Houston have underscored Golden Boy's importance. San Jose has a chance to take advantage.

It was worth noting Thursday that Oscar not only was on hand at HP Pavilion festivities to boost the San Jose card, but also he was seated on the three-tier podium next to Gilroy's Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero, one of the six principals who will be fighting on HBO's tripleheader telecast of the three top fights on the card.

They say you should bet on the house fighter, and there's no doubt Guerrero is that for his junior lightweight match with unbeaten Indonesian Daud Yordan. In the second main, junior welterweight Victor Ortiz is the house fighter against Mike Arnaoutis, a twice-beaten Greek fighter who poses a significant obstacle. In the finale, junior-middleweight buzz saw James Kirkland is the HBO fighter against Colombian visitor Joel Julio

Except for getting to shake hands with De La Hoya (who has gained about 30 pounds since his Dec. 6 loss to Manny Pacquiao), I was taking the Guerrero end of the proceedings for granted (they already know me) as I made a point of meeting the groups that ultimately enlivened the proceedings the most, the Kirkland and Yordan entourages, before the meeting came to order.

I needed to talk to Kirkland's manager, Cameron Dunkin, about his other star client, Nonito Donaire. Kirkland was absorbed in his headphones, but his family from Texas was congenial. It's too bad I hadn't yet seen HBO's "Ring Life" featurette on Kirkland.

When I stumbled upon the Yordan group in a hallway, they seemed pleased that anyone would deign to stop and chat them up.

Anyway, Yordan, who is half-Chinese and looks like a bantamweight, managed to muster unexpected bravado during the presentation. He was doing his part to both fit in with the lower weight classes' Hispanic zeitgeist and effectively promote his bout with Guerrero, sporting designer shades and later unveiling a T-shirt that read "The Chino Latino is Coming for the Ghost." Guerrero later rebutted that by noting he had knocked out the last guy to diss him that way.

Yordan's promoter-agent Sampson Lewkowicz expressed a serious concern. He also represents junior middleweight Sergio Martinez, who fought to a draw with Kermit Cintron on HBO last month, and Indonesian featherweight champion Chris John, who drew with Houstonian Rocky Juarez in Houston last weekend. Both of Lewkowicz's guys deserved better, and he said he's worried about the officiating of Guerrero-Yordan and has said so to California boxing commissioner Dean Lohaus.

Again, it is crucial politically to note that Guerrero, not Yordan, was the guy seated next to De La Hoya.

Not that Robert is expected to need that kind of bias Saturday. He intends to overwhelm his slick but slight opponent by turning into some kind of James Kirkland.

Kirkland's subdued demeanor Thursday belied his ring style, the ferocity of which has gotten him hooked up with HBO. With 31 knockouts, Julio is a belter of some renown himself, but he has indicated he'll try to outbox Kirkland rather than engage him toe-to-toe. That might work, said Julio's trainer, Robert Quezada, who likened Julio's task to Evander Holyfield's in his first meeting with Mike Tyson.

Kirkland's co-manager, Michael Miller, acknowledged that Julio is a plenty formidable foe for Kirkland. "This is a huge step up from his prior opponents."

But let's give Kirkland's trainer, Ann Wolfe, the last word, as I'd rather fight Yordan than fight her. "This is NOT Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield," Wolfe said. "This is James and Julio. They're gonna be chopping some wood, and let the chips fall where they fall."

MARCH 2009
Chapter 22

GUERRERO WILL LOOK LIKE PACQUIAO BEATING YORDAN

As a tall left-hander with great footwork, agility moving in and out, a quick release and knockout power with either hand, Robert Guerrero probably resembles Manny Pacquiao more than anyone else.

The resemblance might be quite marked Saturday as Guerrero (23-1-1, 16 knockouts) eschews a battle of finesse with the slick Indonesian Daud Yordan (17-0, 12 knockouts). Guerrero will knock him out with a clean right hook in the fifth round of their junior lightweight bout Saturday as San Jose becomes the focal point of boxing for a change.

We're diverting attention from the Pacquiao-Hatton media circus in England that has dominated recent weekdays. It's a big deal for San Jose and Guerrero, who is from nearby Gilroy, so I've been hanging out at the Shark Tank since Thursday and will be on hand at the fights.

HBO is on hand to put Guerrero-Yordan, Victor Ortiz-Mike Arnaoutis, and James Kirkland-Joel Julio on its "Boxing After Dark" telecast. A second-tier title, the North American Boxing Organization belt, is at stake in Guerrero's fight, and Ortiz (23-1-1, 18 knockouts) will win two such belts (NABO, USBA) if he wears down Arnaoutis (21-2-1, 10 knockouts) as I think he will in their junior-welterweight bout. Kirkland's junior-middleweight bout, the finale, is only a 10-rounder, but with 21 knockouts in 24 fights, he's the guy HBO will be hyping on its telecast as the closest thing to Mike Tyson in boxing today.

As for the closest thing to Pacquiao today, you might think Guerrero, humble in several ways, would avoid comparisons with the world leader in their profession. But he's not shy about trying to bring it on with Manny. So at our primary recent meeting, at Sue's Café in Gilroy in January, I asked why exactly "The Ghost" thinks he would win.

He rates his "speed and horsepower " close to Pacquiao's" and considers Manny's in-out, right-left repetitions predictable, even though no one seems to be able to thwart them. "I've got better boxing abilities than he does," Guerrero said. "We don't go in there with just one style."

His style is becoming increasingly vicious, and he's under some promotional pressure to prove he's explosive.

I'm not expecting that big crowd at the Tank that would really elevate San Jose boxing. But I'm looking for a thunderous right hook from Guerrero that will resonate around the world.

MARCH 2009
Chapter 23

GUERRERO'S GASH FROM HEADBUTT DASHES BOUT

A severely cut eyebrow caused hometown favorite Robert Guerrero's bout to end in a disappointing no-contest, but Saturday's boxing card at the Shark Tank was a huge success for its heaviest investors -- San Jose, Golden Boy Promotions and even HBO.

The biggest winner was San Jose, as a crowd of 6,765 (more than 5,000 paid) made the nation's 10th-largest city look the part. Some lost interest after Guerrero's fight with Daud Yordan turned into a letdown when an accidental clash of heads in the second round caused the gash that ended the fight about a minute later. But the minutes before the fight were among the most exciting of the evening, thanks to the raucous enthusiasm of a crowd that was more than twice the size we've come to expect in San Jose boxing circles.

Golden Boy was a big winner as two of its hottest prospects, junior welterweight Victor Ortiz and junior middleweight James Kirkland, won the other co-main events. Ortiz (24-1-1) made quick work of Mike Arnaoutis (21-3-1) with a brutal second-round stoppage of a bona fide contender who hadn't been stopped before. Ortiz has the charm and charisma to attract the non-serious fans boxing needs.

After the two short fights, Kirkland (25-1, salvaged the evening for HBO by overpowering Colombian veteran Joel Julio in six rounds after taking Julio's best throughout the fight but dishing out better. I'm not sold on Kirkland after watching Julio more than match his skills, but Kirkland's superior will and endurance were the difference against Julio, who fought heroically against one of the most frightening fighters in the sport. An hour later, Julio's bruised and swollen right eye looked much worse than Guerrero's brow.

Guerrero will be unable to train for six weeks because of his cut, physician David Boudreault told me. He said the wound was "subcutaneous" (penetrated the skin) and required five stitches but did not harm muscle. He said Guerrero would be fit to fight within three months.

Or will "live to fight another day," Guerrero said.

Yes, "it sucks," he conceded. "I was doing good and getting body shots We were gonna get him in the later rounds." Then came the clash of heads, which referee Jon Schorle quickly ruled was accidental.

"I'm sorry about the head butt," Yordan said, "but that's what happens when you fight a southpaw."

Guerrero thought he would shake it off at first. "I've been cut before,'' he said, "so at first it was just another cut. But as I started moving around and the blood started dripping down, I couldn't see. The doctor said it was pretty bad."

Guerrero looked pretty good. He won the first round with activity and aggression, landing hard lefts to the body of the slight Indonesian, but Yordan was able to land lead rights four times in the first and made a good impression in the fight's four minutes, 49 seconds.

Guerrero made a reasonably good impression on HBO, even though "I didn't get to put on a show like I wanted to." But he and his fans made San Jose look good.

"We're definitely coming back," said Oscar De La Hoya, presiding for Golden Boy at the post-fight press conference, "and we're definitely bringing back HBO."

MARCH 2009
Chapter 24

GUERRERO CALLED COWARD FOR ACCEPTING STOPPAGE

As if a head butt, a short bout and a no-decision weren't disappointing enough Saturday for Robert Guerrero in his eagerly anticipated junior lightweight fight in San Jose, now his detractors are saying he was a coward for not continuing.

As Guerrero occasionally is compared to Manny Pacquiao, a comparison of Guerrero's situation Saturday with the scenario when Pacquiao suffered a more gruesome cut against Erik Morales in 2005 was particularly unkind. Writing for philboxing.com (dudes: you could have enlisted the Welterweight Champion here), Jason Aniel said:

"Manny Pacquiao's eye was falling out of his socket against Erik Morales in 2005, but he finished the fight. If Guerrero wanted to get out of the fight, then you have to question whether Guerrero really has what it takes to be a major player in boxing. . .The unknown Yordan backed up his undefeated record by showing good boxing and landed some good shots on Guerrero in the first round. Guerrero seemed surprised by Yordan's effectiveness."

Whoa! Did he really write that Guerrero was so dismayed by Yordan's prowess that a pissant cut caused by a head butt became a handy solution to his predicament? Whoa. Whoa!

First, Yordan was not better than Guerrero expected. He knew Yordan would be quick enough to hit him a few times, but Guerrero was confident a body attack would wear down the smaller man by the fifth or sixth round. Everything was going according to plan. Still, the opponent wasn't, well, wasn't Manny Pacquiao. It was not important that Guerrero try to overcome the injury just to say he steamrolled a blown-up featherweight from Indonesia.

Second, because Guerrero sustained his injury from a head butt before four rounds had elapsed, it's a no decision. A loss would have been a different matter altogether.

When Pacquiao suffered a telling eye injury in his loss to Morales, it was ruled unjustly that a punch, not a butt, had caused the injury. Quitting would have meant losing then and there. Pacquiao had no choice but to continue.

Guerrero did have a choice. By the way, before the stoppage but after he was cut, Guerrero went after Yordan for the first time in the fight and easily overwhelmed him. When Yordan was asked about a rematch with Guerrero, he muttered something about going back to 126 pounds to fight Steven Luevano.

When the time is right, you will see Guerrero fighting through adversity to show great fortitude. But the time was not right Saturday.

MARCH 2009
Chapter 25

WARD CALLS OUT IBF CHAMPION BUTE

Oakland's Andre Ward had to shout pretty loud Friday to trumpet his hopes of challenging Lucian Bute for the IBF super middleweight title.

Ward, whose career has languished too long, has trouble being heard these days, as the East Bay newspaper scene has become so chaotic that hardly any news media are keeping track of this favorite son. So Ward called out Bute.

"I'll be watching tonight's fight intently between Lucian Bute and Fulgencio Zuniga," Ward said Friday via a news release from his promoter, Goossen-Tutor. "I believe the champion will retain his title." He did. Bute stopped Zuniga with a body punch in the fourth round of their dull fight in Montreal on ShoBox.

"This is the fight I would love to get," Ward said. "The challenge would be a great one and it is exactly the direction I would like to go in my career. He's the champion trying to keep his title, and I am a young lion trying to take it."

This is the fight I said Ward should seek after the 2004 Olympic gold medalist, obviously ready for a stiffer test, won a disappointedly one-sided 12-rounder against Henry "Sugar Poo" Buchanan last month in Lemoore, Calif.

Although that fight also was on ShoBox, those dots weren't connected much during the Bute-Zuniga rout as announcers Nick Charles and Steve Farhood remained fixated on Bute's October defense against Librado Andrade.

Although Bute was way ahead in that fight after 11 rounds, and Andrade clearly is no Andre Ward, the challenger managed to belt Bute around in the 12th round and knocked him down with less than 10 seconds left in the fight. Whether Bute got up in time to save victory remains controversial, although Bute deserved to prevail. There is still hype for a rematch so that Bute can (again) prove he's superior to Andrade.

The question is whether Bute is superior to Ward, who ought to be mentioned more prominently among the top four or five contenders in the 168-pound division. Two of the best, Carl Froch and Jermain Taylor, will face each other April 25.

"I'm ready to fight anyone," Bute said after dropping Zuniga. "The 168-pound division is full of great fighters, and I want to fight the best."

If Bute is serious, Ward is right that he merits strong consideration as that opponent.

But he might want to set his sights a bit lower where the venue is concerned. "I only want the big television fights," Ward said, "and where I can get 16,000 of my hometown fans in attendance."

With Bute having drawn 12,000 in Montreal for Zuniga and even more for Andrade, it's pretty obvious where the fight would be held. It's the when that needs to be pursued.

It's refreshing that Ward is pursuing it vigorously.

MARCH 2009
Chapter 26

GUERRERO'S BAD HBO NEWS A GOOD SCOOP

While Robert Guerrero's eyebrow is starting to heal, HBO isn't itching to show the Gilroy junior lightweight's next fight. Some say HBO is cutting off Guerrero for good because of his quick acceptance of a no-decision in his March 7 bout in San Jose.

"I don't want to go that far," HBO Sports chief Ross Greenburg told me Tuesday by telephone. However, Greenburg made it clear Guerrero, the former IBF featherweight champion, has been kicked off the HBO roster and will have to fight his way back because of his unsatisfying two-round fight that ended because of an accidental clash of heads.

"He's a tremendous talent," Greenburg said of the slick and sometimes explosive left-hander, who was in a close fight with unheralded Daud Yordan when the butt occurred, "but he has to go back to the well. It was a very unsatisfying finish."

To get back on HBO, "he has to fight someone of note," Greenburg said. "You're only as good as your last fight."

Guerrero's last good fight, an eighth-round knockout of previously unbeaten Jason Litzau in February 2008, was followed by his abdication of the IBF title, a move up to 130 pounds and a 10-month layoff while he changed promoters from Goossen-Tutor to Golden Boy.

Fortunately for San Jose fans, HBO's view of us was not diminished by the Guerrero letdown, as the crowd size approached 7,000 and emerging stars Julio Ortiz and James Kirkland performed up to expectations.

"I think you are in a hotbed for boxing," Greenburg said. Even without Guerrero as a headliner, "I think we could go in there with Kirkland and Ortiz." He said we've long since proved we have "a knowledgeable fan base," and he cited the reaction to Kirkland's six-round slugfest with Joel Julio here as proof, saying, "There was as much excitement for the main event as for Guerrero."

On one hand, that's a stretch. The fans were much more excited about our homey Guerrero. On the other hand, even the locals were disappointed by Guerrero's fight, and then the enthusiasm for Kirkland and HIS enthusiasm carried the day.

There was talk March 7 from the Golden Boy himself, Oscar De La Hoya, of San Jose's being the venue his company's June 27 collaboration with HBO, but most of the subsequent gossip about that date has placed it elsewhere.

Guerrero's manager, Shelly Finkel, said he expects "The Ghost" to fight in May or June (I'm betting it's a rematch with Yordan) and that the anguish over his lost niche with HBO is overblown. The reason? "He's that good," said Finkel, who has been haggling with Greenburg over such matters for many years.

"And we'll get it back."

MARCH 2009
Chapter 27

GILT BY ASSOCIATION TARNISHES GUERRERO

All you California-haters out there might be surprised that anyone thinks it's the most hyper-macho, raging-testosterone state in the union, but I do, and I've lived just about everywhere. The Bay Area in particular is overrun with churlish louts, probably overcompensating for conventional wisdom that doesn't reflect reality. The manhood-proving on our highways alone is relentless. And our boxing fans are tougher than yours.

So are our boxers. Robert Guerrero, for example, knocked out fearsome Martin Honorio in one round in 2007, hours after learning of wife Casey Guerrero's leukemia diagnosis. But now Guerrero's cojones have been called into question because he readily accepted a second-round no-decision in his March 7 fight on HBO after a head butt caused an eye wound that required 23 stitches and plastic surgery. One doctor later told him that continuing would have put his career at severe risk.

Guerrero lives to fight another day, but it isn't likely to be on HBO if my conversation last week with HBO sports kingpin Ross Greenburg was any indication.

The thing that bothers Shelly Finkel, Guerrero's manager, was there were few indications at the fight, before a hometown crowd at HP Pavilion in San Jose, that Guerrero had incurred the image problem that has ensued. Although HBO commentator Max Kellerman said the abrupt ending called Guerrero's resolve into question, it took a couple of days for Internet chatter from afar to reflect a consensus that "The Ghost" had wussed out.

Some said his unheralded opponent, Indonesian Daud Yordan, had demonstrated sufficient capability to pull an upset to make Guerrero want "the easy way out." Never mind that two weeks later, Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera fought on with a nasty eye wound en route to a humiliating defeat, a ridiculous way to go out.

So Guerrero was up against that dilemma, as well as the perception that the Golden State is a land of style but not substance, and other prejudices.

Detractors have been saying Guerrero "ain't all that" for some time, even though no one seems to want to face his speed, size, strength and smarts. The Ghost has a sort of glamour, a mystique to his boxing style and the humble way he carries himself, that some admire but some obviously resent. Guerrero's recent alignment with Oscar De La Hoya's promotion company even gives him that Golden Boy label that fosters resentment among the "real Americans" in the flyover states.

A lot of them think we're all gay, of course, largely because San Francisco is a haven for gay males. I can't tell you how many references to "De La Homo" I've seen surfing the net as SF Boxing Examiner. Even Oscar's deserved reputation for heterosexual philandering has failed to stop the labeling. It's worse in football, where a star 49ers running back said he would shun a gay teammate, and a defensive lineman said San Francisco had been last choice on draft day because of his homophobia. Gilroy's own Jeff Garcia, the veteran quarterback, has repeatedly found it necessary to deny that he's gay.

At the very least, Guerrero the devout Christian family man is being cast as a pinot-sipping, arugula-nibbling version of your California stereotypes, and he's going to have to overcompensate by mauling some has-been like Francisco Lorenzo on ESPN2 instead of fighting someone more worthy on HBO if he wants to be perceived as an appealingly tough fighter. And all because he failed to act like a suicide bomber.

Meanwhile, in Guerrero's own Santa Clara County, some guy shoots himself and six other people the other day, and my wife says I'm lucky my road rage hasn't gotten us killed. Stop jacking up the testosterone level out there, wouldja?

SPRING 2009

THE KINGPINS ARE ROLLING

The process of lining up an easy fight for Robert Guerrero coincided with the process of lining up a difficult fight for Andre Ward.

Ward finally took on a fighter we'd actually heard of, luring fearsomely hard-hitting Colombian middleweight Edison Miranda to Oakland, and finally Ward became as upwardly mobile as his fellow Bay Area stars again.

Guerrero's June tune-up bout in San Jose with an over-the-hill veteran atoned for his easy acceptance of a no-decision in March and made "The Ghost" look good enough on ESPN2 that both Golden Boy and HBO returned him to the fast track. (I was visible in crowd shots on the ESPN2 telecast.)

Most of my focus, however, was on the Philippines, where Nonito Donaire ultimately was matched against unbeaten American Raul Martinez, a respectable underdog, and as it turned out, the perfect opponent. The "Filipino Flash" was never more sensational than in that four-round demolition, which resulted in his placement in The Ring magazine's top 10 pound-for-pound rankings.

Rachel Donaire phoned on an April weekday afternoon, which for her was morning the next day, and chatted with me quite a while before she finally put Nonito on. Both were candid about the still-ongoing feud with Nonito Sr., which led to one conspicuously empty front-row chair at the Donaire-Martinez match. Nonito also called about 24 hours after the match.

When Philboxing would pick up one of my Donaire reports (the portal's seeming ambivalence could be puzzling), I usually got a couple-thousand hits, but nothing like the five-figures responses Manny Pacquiao content could generate.

Everyone wanted to write about Pacquiao as often as possible. I wasn't the only boxing writer becoming fanatic, and all too often frantic, about Philboxing.

Pacquiao was electrifying May 2 in his two-round destruction of Ricky Hatton, including his most picturesque knockout punch ever. The hype over the possibility of matching Pacquiao with Floyd Mayweather stepped up after that.

Days before the Hatton fight, Pacquiao threw out the first pitch at a San Francisco Giants game on Filipino Heritage Night. I missed it because of a class, but I persuaded the Giants to accommodate Philboxing correspondent Hermie Rivera, who returned the favor by scoring me a Pacquiao bobblehead doll.

The San Francisco clamor led promoter Bob Arum to offer hope that Pacquiao might turn up frequently in the Bay Area, possibly even to fight, which could give Donaire some sturdy coattails.

**You might also enjoy** :  http://www.examiner.com/boxing-in-san-francisco/bitter-frazier-sullies-hbo-s-thrilla-manila-nostalgia

APRIL 2009
Chapter 28

BAY AREA VENUES LIKELY FOR GUERRERO, WARD CARDS

Robert Guerrero's next fight is likely to take place June 12 on ESPN, manager Shelly Finkel says. And I've heard twice in recent days that Dan Goossen is trying to put together an Oakland card in May that would, of course, feature Oakland's Andre Ward in the main event.

The Guerrero scenario tops the agenda, because he needs to erase the negative aftereffects of his last fight. HBO feels Guerrero needs to reverse the conventional wisdom that he isn't as gritty as his supporters say he is.

Finkel said he is setting up a fight that would make Guerrero look good enough to persuade HBO to set up a "blockbuster" fall title bout for Guerrero. Ideal targets for the fall might be Humberto Soto or even Jorge Linares, who is generally regarded as the top 130-pounder.

Finkel said it still isn't known who Guerrero's opponent would be June 12, but Yordan's manager, Sampson Lewkowicz, told me Wednesday (a wake-up call at 7:15 a.m., no less) that it won't be Yordan, the unbeaten Indonesian who was putting up a decent fight against Guerrero when the head butt occurred.

As for Ward, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist has never fought professionally in his hometown, and I don't see much indication that fans would fill Oracle Arena for anything short of a high-profile 168-pound title challenge. On the other hand, other than a Fleetwood Mac concert May 20, there isn't much on the docket at Oracle for May with the Golden State Warriors already out of the NBA playoff race. The San Jose Sharks, on the contrary, are among the favorites to win the Stanley Cup and could be occupying San Jose's HP Pavilion well into June. Maybe Goossen, frequently involved in promotions at the Shark Tank, can cut a sweet deal in Oakland.

APRIL 2009
Chapter 29

WARD MIRANDA MATCHUP BAY AREA'S BEST IN DECADES

It's hard to imagine a more stunning non-title opponent for Andre Ward than Edison Miranda, one of the deadliest punchers in boxing.

That bout will happen May 16 at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Goossen-Tutor Promotions confirmed to me Monday. Look for it to be on Showtime, with Ward's second-tier NABF and/or NABO super middleweight belt at stake in a 12-rounder. It won't go 12.

The bout, perhaps the Bay Area's most attractive in a generation, will mark the first time Ward is fighting someone most of his fans have actually heard of. Miranda (32-3, 28 knockouts) was the scariest middleweight in the division until his three losses to the division's top two, Kelly Pavlik and Arthur Abraham (twice). The two conquerors proved that going after Miranda is smarter than poking at him and trying to avoid his thunder.

And that's exactly the opponent the 2004 Olympic gold medalist Ward (18-0, 12 knockouts) needs to make himself a more compelling candidate for a world title fight.

Ward, with a two-inch height advantage, will also be the faster man and should be able to fire his full arsenal at Miranda. It might not be so awful if the 5-foot-10, long-armed Colombian lands a good shot or two before he falls, because there's still some skepticism to be dispelled regarding Ward's chin.

If only Miranda had a 130-pound counterpart for Robert Guerrero to fight, because "The Ghost" needs an attractive slugfest, too. The opponent and site for Guerrero's June 12 bout on ESPN are not firm.

The Miranda fight is perfect for Ward. It gives him and his fans a chance to prove that he can inspire a happening in his hometown, which some boxing people doubt he can. If this fight draws, maybe Ward will get his fondest wish and fight in Oakland later this year, for that world title.

APRIL 2009
Chapter 30

LONG CHAT WITH DONAIRES LAUNCHES COUNTDOWN

I spent the better part of an hour Tuesday afternoon on the phone with Rachel and Nonito Donaire, who called from Manila. That call officially launches 10 days of buildup for the IBF flyweight champion's defense April 18 against unbeaten Raul Martinez.

After training long enough for two fights, Donaire says he "could go 24 rounds," but he's supremely confident the fight will be shorter than our phone call.

It was pretty early Wednesday morning, Manila time, when Rachel called. A few minute earlier, she had posted a Facebook update that said she was up "wayyyy tooo early, but gotta get used to it for the fight."

It will be April 19, a Sunday morning, when the fight takes place at Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. Imagine how early Manila fans have to get up to take the train or brave insane traffic for a trek that makes our May 16 jaunt up the Nimitz to see Andre Ward fight seem like a Sunday drive in Vermont.

It still isn't that easy to coordinate with people halfway around the world. I've met Nonito and Rachel only once, have talked by phone with them twice each, and have exchanged sporadic e-mails. So I don't really know them yet. But a review of your Welterweight Champion's 10 or so Donaire posts since last fall presents what still seems to be an accurate picture of Donaire's eventful four months in his native Philippines, where even the national preoccupation with Manny Pacquiao hasn't completely obscured some soap-opera level drama in the Donaire corner of that market.

It still seems to have been a happy four months, despite the ongoing heartache of a rift with Nonito Sr., whom Junior dismissed as trainer last November amid arguments related to Rachel's role in the fighter's camp. Then the promotion became a circus as Fernando Montiel and two other potential opponents fell through and the fight date and television details kept changing. Eventually some of the promotion's budgeting fell short, and Nonito and Rachel almost came home to California.

On the plus side, Nonito's alliance with bantamweight eminence Gerry Peñalosa and his brothers has been both soothing and invigorating, and the Philippines is a fine place for sweethearts to spend the winter.

Rest assured, by the way, that the Donaire-Martinez fight will be visible live on pay-per-view in the Bay Area, along with the co-feature matching light-flyweight champion Ulises Solis against Brian Viloria. Donaire's promoter, Top Rank, and the Philippines' Solar Sports are co-marketing the pay-per-view, which presumably will cost viewers about $30.

In the meantime, we'll be talking about the changes in Donaire's corner, his strategy against Martinez, and how he'll react if something goes wrong. He isn't losing sleep over any of it.

APRIL 2009
Chapter 31

DAD AT NONITO'S FIGHT WOULD BE A WELCOME SIGHT

A smallish man will be the elephant in the room next weekend at the Philippines' most conspicuous sporting event.

Nonito Donaire Sr. will be noticeable by his presence in -- or more likely his absence from -- the front-row seat that has been reserved for him at the Araneta Coliseum in suburban Manila, where Nonito Donaire Jr. (20-1, 13 knockouts) will be defending his IBF and IBO flyweight titles against Raul Martinez (24-0, 14 knockouts).

It looks like he's not coming. "He's been unresponsive,'' says his daughter-in-law, Rachel Marcial Donaire.

That empty seat won't go unnoticed in the Philippines, where many will blame the American ways of the fighter and his wife for that empty feeling at the pits of many stomachs.

Senior's absence from Junior's corner is newsworthy enough. His dismissal as the champion's trainer, after he expressed dissatisfaction with the son's focus and his performance against Moruti Mthalane last fall, led to the personal split and a rift that has persisted.

Thus, Dodie Boy Peñalosa, the 1980s flyweight champion, will be the chief second in the Donaire corner Saturday. Gerry Peñalosa would be in charge were he and Jonathan Peñalosa not in North America preparing for Gerry's April 25 challenge to WBO super bantamweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez.

Nonito asked his father to serve as cut man, but he demurred. Dr. Ed de la Vega (dentist, journalist, cut man) will step in. Nice as it would have been to have his dad in the corner, the son understood why the subordinate role was unacceptable. But he still said he was dedicating the fight to his father.

The personal and professional aspects of handling "Jun" have been difficult to separate for the older man, from the time he brought his family to the Bay Area from the Philippines about 20 years ago. The personal and professional were one and the same until Rachel came into the picture two years ago and became the person, who, well, runs Jun's life. She characterizes her husband, now 26, as someone who had never even paid an electric bill because his father took care of everything while Jun and older brother Glenn boxed.

While Rachel was wresting control of the personal, Junior was wresting control of the professional, stunning his father when it came to a head so abruptly last November. That's still the real problem, although payment procedures also figure in the unrest.

"I will never forget everything he has done for me since I was a young boy," Donaire told writer Dennis Guillermo last month. Jun and Rachel might convince the father he is still loved, but they still haven't convinced him they still need him, and perhaps that makes him feel he's viewed as an old fool with his old-country ties and biases.

Nobody thinks he's a fool. So much of his father's knowledge has meshed with his own prodigious boxing intellect that Jun positively mesmerized the illustrious Peñalosa brothers as he trained with them all winter. "I believe in him so much," Gerry told the Manila Standard. "He is fantastic as a fighter."

He may be only 26, but it seems they look up to him at least as much as he looks up to them, and that he does. "They train really hard like true champions," Donaire told me last week in a phone conversation, "and I want to measure up."

There's enough admiration to go around, and there will be much happiness if Nonito Donaire Sr. is seated at ringside next weekend, his head held high. It would make the son look good and would make the father look truly great.

APRIL 2009
Chapter 32

GOOSSEN PRESENTS WARD MIRANDA AND MORE

While Oscar De La Hoya was announcing his retirement Tuesday in Los Angeles, about 50 of us were gathered in a conference room at Oakland's Oracle Arena, where promoter Dan Goossen helped Andre Ward officially announce his high-profile May 16 match with Edison Miranda at Oracle.

De La Hoya (Golden Boy Promotions) and Goossen are full-fledged rivals now, and this is the one arena where Oscar's charisma might be surpassed. Goossen put on an excellent show Tuesday.

Ward is not shy at such occasions. "I believe we can do 18,000-plus," he said of what will be the 2004 Olympic gold medalist's first professional fight in his hometown. None of his previous 18 fights (18 wins, 12 knockouts) has been as attractive as this one, because Miranda (32-3, 28 knockouts) is a longtime middleweight contender who has lost only to the best and packs one of the most fearsome right crosses in boxing.

A good fight is just what Ward needs, says conventional wisdom, but he prefers the one-sided kind. "I don't want to be in good fights," Ward said testily. "I want to be in dominating performances."

With Goossen's indispensable aide Marylyn Aceves translating, Miranda wasn't shy either, via phone hook-up from his training camp in Puerto Rico. "He's not a genuine fighter like I am," Miranda said of Ward. "He's been fighting little boys." Maybe the crowd will be Ward's at the outset, Miranda said, but "they're going be chanting for me at the end of the night."

If Ward hasn't been tested, then Miranda has been tested and found wanting, Ward's camp said, citing knockout losses to Kelly Pavlik and Arthur Abraham. "It's unfortunate that he's been exposed so many ways," Ward's trainer Virgil Hunter said of Miranda. "When you see the sawdust, the mill is not far away."

De La Hoya's transition doesn't seem to be the only one going on in the promotion ranks. Don King has very little going these days, and good riddance. Main Events in Atlantic City isn't what it was, either. Bob Arum, 78, still seems driven to make Top Rank the biggest player, but there seems to be a lot of smart money on De La Hoya's Golden Boy surpassing Top Rank. Gary Shaw Productions has been coming on strong, as the Goossen family did in the 1990s with Michael Nunn and the Ruelas brothers.

Is an end in sight there? Goossen introduced Antonio Leonard as his associate promoter Tuesday, and with son Craig Goossen among the ranks as usual, you get the feeling that Dan might start easing out of the spotlight, but that was hard to believe watching him orchestrate Tuesday's entertainment. And also hard to believe with Goossen-Tutor heavyweight Cristobal Arreola proving a major player and middleweight Paul Williams contending for No. 1 pound-for-pound recognition.

Ward is becoming the most important component. "This fight fits into our plan of having Andre fight for a world championship by the end of the year," Goossen said.

Goossen is still larger than life, but the San Fernando Valley family atmosphere of Goossen-Tutor seems less overwhelming than that of the other major promoters. The Golden Boy suits pose like G-men. King and Arum still remind me of "The Walrus and the Carpenter." Shaw, who also had a press conference, to announce Vic Darchinyan's July 11 match with King-promoted IBF bantamweight champion Joseph Agbeko, has a likable P.R. agent in Fred Sternburg, but Shaw reminds me of that fence contractor who finked out on my neighbors and me last year.

Still, Shaw, Di Bella Entertainment and Goossen-Tutor provide needed balance to the big-time promoter ranks, and that seemed like a good thing Tuesday. The two other premier Bay Area boxers defected to bigger promoters last year, with Nonito Donaire going from Shaw to Arum and Robert Guerrero moving from Goossen to Golden Boy. But Ward seems at least as well-served by having stayed put.

APRIL 2009
Chapter 33

DONAIRE PLOTS CONTINGENCIES FOR HAND INJURIES

I knew I was meeting Nonito Donaire, all right, because he was wearing a cast on his left pinkie.

He had fractured the left pinkie in the second round of his six-round TKO victory over Moruti Mthalane about three weeks earlier, last Nov. 1. He also injured his left hand early in his previous fight, an eight-round thrashing of Luis Maldonado in December 2007. Four fights earlier, in 2006, he injured his left hand en route to a split decision victory over Kahren Harutyunyan.

If you're looking for something to worry about at Donaire's weekend IBF flyweight title defense against Raul Martinez in the Philippines, his tendency to hurt his left hand, the very left that knocked out Vic Darchinyan in July 2007, has got to be the No. 1 concern.

Donaire (20-1, 13 knockouts) has the size, the savvy, the power and the speed to dominate Martinez (24-0, 14 knockouts), a credible challenger who sports some of those attributes, though not at Donaire's level. But this hand thing is threatening to get out of hand.

Not to worry, Donaire says. He is expecting a three- or four-round fight but says he's ready for anything. Even a hand injury, apparently.

"If it does happen, I've got a back-up for that," he told me last week.

That's plausible, considering how he reasserted himself in the Mthalane fight by turning southpaw. He hammered Maldonado throughout their fight. And the Harutyunyan fight wasn't that close; two of the judges had Donaire winning by five points. (The third, interestingly, was venerable New York-area judge Tony Castellano, who died this past January.)

Assuming the stances, Nonito demonstrated to me why he was able to land power shots with the left hand against Mthalane without aggravating the injury and why he couldn't land the left jab from the orthodox stance without involving the fractured area.

Donaire says he has enhanced his penchant for contingency planning by training with the Peñalosa brothers. Together they have managed "to cover every aspect."

For instance, if he hits Martinez with the kitchen sink in the first four rounds and the guy is still around and dangerous, he's got a tactic to deal with that, "a surprise new style for me." Since he keeps saying he's in condition for 24 rounds, one hopes he might do a Willie Pep impersonation.

No worries, Donaire kept saying, although he may be more concerned about his weight this week than he was when we talked last week. He weighed 120 that morning "which is not bad," he said, and expected to reach 118 by last weekend to get within sweating distance of 112. He swore it wouldn't be an issue at the weigh-in, at which time it will be Saturday morning in the Philippines and Friday evening in the Bay Area.

There has been a lot of turmoil on this trip, what with his rift with his father, the uncertainties of the promotion (now, there's something that still could go wrong) and the constant attention that contrasts greatly with his Bay Area anonymity. The latter actually fazes Donaire more than Darchinyan's fabled left cross did "It was like a bee in a beehive," he said. "No way of controlling these guys."

But Donaire is in control, one obstacle at a time, and he figures to have Martinez under his thumb.

APRIL 2009
Chapter 34

DONAIRE MAKES WEIGHT, IS HUNGRY TO LOOK GREAT

Nonito Donaire Jr. says he's hungry, and you'd think everyone would believe him after he weighed in at 111½ pounds about three hours ago for his IBF flyweight title defense in the Philippines.

The co-feature is a light flyweight title bout in which IBF light-flyweight champion Ulises Solis (28-1, 20 knockouts) of Guadalajara defends against former WBC champion Brian Viloria, (24-2, 14 knockouts), after which Donaire (20-1, 13 knockouts) will fight Raul Martinez (24-0, 14 knockouts) of San Antonio in what surely will be Donaire's last fight as a flyweight.

He may be able to fill Quezon City's Araneta Coliseum with 20,000-plus fanatics for the most important fight he's ever had in his homeland.

He's a heavy favorite to fulfill expectations. He's still thought of as the charismatic 2007 conqueror of Vic Darchinyan. But because his past two fights were vaguely disappointing, some people think Nonito is getting soft. Those include his father, whose post-fight criticism led to his dismissal as trainer last November and a rift that has not been repaired. Living in connubial bliss, Nonito seems comfortable indeed, which is not what veteran fight observers like his father recommend on the eve of a big fight.

Viloria's presence in the sub main event provides a cautionary tale, which Donaire has soaked in as he and Rachel have provided hospitality for Viloria and his girlfriend Erica in Manila this week. Viloria, whose victories over Nonito and older brother Glenn Donaire at the 2000 U.S. Olympic trials are no longer an impediment to friendship, admits he went soft about a year after winning the WBC junior flyweight title in 2005. He lost twice and had a hard time getting his mojo back. The challenge to Solis (who won a one-sided decision win over Glenn Donaire in 2008) culminates Viloria's comeback campaign. Solis is a slight favorite.

Donaire is pretty sure his own mojo is indefatigable, but there's only one way to silence the critics. He has to beat Martinez and beat him sensationally, and that's pretty much what he's been promising in the build-up to the fight. As he trained with the Peñalosas – Gerry, Dodie Boy and them – their praise for him became increasingly effusive, and Donaire has been eager to go out there and finally prove he's all that.

Except for the Darchinyan fight, he hasn't had enough chances to dazzle us the way many think he can, and he's hungry for the rare opportunity. Starving, even.

APRIL 2009
Chapter 35

DONAIRE STOPS MARTINEZ AFTER FOUR KNOCKDOWNS

Scoring four knockdowns, two of them in the first round, Nonito Donaire Jr. overpowered Raul Martinez en route to a fourth-round TKO in the Philippines on Saturday.

Donaire (21-1, 14 knockouts) threw huge bombs from outside, while Martinez could not get near him. The IBF flyweight champion seemed less concerned with aesthetics than usual, hell-bent instead on destroying the challenger.

"I felt mean," Donaire said in a post-fight interview on Top Rank's pay-per-view telecast, "because I had to look good. Viloria did his job." He was referring to fellow Filipino-American Brian Viloria's rousing 11-round TKO victory over IBF light flyweight champion Ulises Solis in the sub main event at the Araneta Coliseum. Viloria (25-2, 15 knockouts), repeatedly demonstrated superior power against the skilled Mexican.

But nothing like Donaire's dominance. Set up by a right feint, a cobra-like left hook put "Cobrito" on the canvas about a minute in after Donaire had missed several power punches wildly but was establishing his left jab. After the knockdown, the same jab, jab, jab, strike pattern persisted until a combination punctuated by a lunging overhand right put Martinez down again.

Donaire staggered Martinez, a substitute teacher from San Antonio, with a huge right early in the second round and then went southpaw momentarily as if he might be dealing with a hand injury for the third fight in a row. He seemed desperate then to get Martinez out of there. Returning to the orthodox stance, he then put Martinez down for the third time in the fight with a left hook.

"He sits on his punches, and I knew he was going to be there," Donaire said of his power display. "I got him with some good counterpunches with my right, and that set him up for my left."

With Martinez still around and landing a punch here and there, Donaire boxed more in the third round, which surprisingly made him a bit more vulnerable defensively, but he was dominating any way he chose.

Donaire, who never had fought such a big-time bout in his native country, certainly leaves the flyweight division with a bang that makes it appear he can carry his power up to bantamweight. "I will definitely go up to 118 or 115," he said, having never had more trouble reaching 112 than he did beating Martinez (24-1). "Like the last fights, I felt it in my legs. I definitely have to move up."

His ferocity probably opens the door for good fights he might not have gotten had he fought in an impregnable style that other boxers don't want to face and fans don't want to see. He gave both groups what they want.

APRIL 2009
Chapter 36

DONAIRE CALLS AGAIN, CONFIRMS HAND INJURY

Nonito Donaire might not be throwing southpaw for a while, I confirmed Sunday via telephone, about 24 hours after he re-injured his vaunted left hand in his spectacular victory over Raul Martinez in the Philippines.

He didn't want to tell me about the injury, much less compare it to the fractures he had sustained in his previous two fights. "I kind of hurt my hand a little bit," Donaire finally admitted, "but I knew I could hop in and catch him with it, and I did catch him with the one-two."

You can catch Manny Pacquiao in San Francisco on Tuesday for Filipino Heritage Night at the Giants' game. He will throw out the first pitch, but from which side of the mound (boxes: left; throws darts: right) we don't know.

I had thought Donaire might return to the Bay Area in time for the ballgame, but he will be returning instead Tuesday to his humble Philippines roots in Bohol, where a parade will honor him.

The Donaires will be in the Philippines for another week, showing friends and relatives Nonito's native country beyond Manila. He lived in the Philippines as a child before moving to the Bay Area. "He wants to show our friends and my family his house, no electricity, an outhouse, on stilts," wife Rachel said. "Show people the Philippines is beautiful."

Donaire would seem to many Filipinos to be more in his element in San Francisco, compared to Pacquiao, who has managed to retain his peasant aura as the most important fighter in the sport now and one of the most magnetic of all time. But their stature in the sport is becoming more similar. Donaire is probably only two more victories from cracking the pound-for-pound top 10.

First up, as he moves from 112 pounds to 115? "From what Cameron (manager Cameron Dunkin) has been telling me, it would be Carita Lopez," Donaire said.

That would give Nonito the WBO super-flyweight title Lopez won March 28 in a box-off with Pramuansak Posuwan, and might give him leverage for a rematch with Vic Darchinyan. More likely, he'll then move up 118 soon to fight Fernando Montiel, who, like Lopez, was among the opponents lined up for Donaire's spring fight before Martinez filled the bill.

By the time Donaire's fight moved from March to April, one of the hottest months of the year, the prospect of jetting across the Pacific to take it in became less appealing. Martinez said Manila's humidity was "10 times worse" than back home in San Antonio. Still, that parade in Bohol sounds more appealing than dodging hordes of Pac-Nuts at the erstwhile Pac Bell Park.

Your SF Boxing Examiner can't even make it to the ballgame. I did help ensure that philboxing.com Bay Area correspondent Hermie Rivera will be at AT&T Park, and my Examiner.com Bay Area colleague Claire Reclosado should be there, too. It's becoming a tough ticket, so I'm glad to be out of the way since I got closer to Pacquiao last November in Los Angeles than I can possibly hope to get Tuesday, even with Hermie leading me around.

APRIL 2009
Chapter 37

SHARKS' LOSSES ARE CEDING TANK TO GUERRERO

We've known for nearly a month that Robert Guerrero will be fighting June 12 on ESPN, and now it has been reported that Nicaraguan Rene Gonzalez is the opponent. Now we just need to nail down the venue.

But watch this space if the San Jose Sharks lose any more games in their NHL playoff series with the Anaheim Ducks. The Sharks' apparently imminent departure from Stanley Cup contention would vastly increase the likelihood that Guerrero-Gonzalez will be staged at the Shark Tank.

San Jose State's basketball arena would be a welcome alternative, especially compared to a rural gaming palace, but there's nothing doing on the SJSU front. "The Event Center on the San Jose State campus is not booked for boxing on June 12," said Lawrence Fan, SJSU's sports information director. "There is no 'hold' for boxing, either."

Efforts to discuss the latest developments with Guerrero's New York-based manager Shelly Finkel this week have been unsuccessful, probably because he's already told me the essentials, that Guerrero, of Gilroy, would fight a preparatory bout in June en route to a championship bout in August or September. That the champion in question would indeed be WBC super featherweight titleholder Humberto Soto, the obvious candidate, is validated by Mark Vester's report that the bout between No. 4-ranked Guerrero (23-1, 16 knockouts) and No. 2-ranked Gonzalez (24-1, 19 knockouts) is an eliminator for a berth against Soto.

The Nicaraguan hasn't fought in the United States and hasn't beaten anyone you've heard of. And he suffered three knockdowns in his one defeat, to Israel Hector Enrique Perez on May 12, 2007. So he's a perfect opponent for Guerrero, who needs to fight someone credible (however artificially so) and needs to look spectacular in the wake of his March 7 no-contest appearance at the Shark Tank on HBO that reduced the cable giant's regard for the former IBF featherweight champion.

If the Sharks can't regain their mojo at the Shark Tank, then let's see what Guerrero can do.

MAY 2009
Chapter 38

DONAIRE ASCENDS TO TOP 10 LIST POUND-FOR-POUND

Manny Pacquiao is No. 1, of course, after his epic two-round destruction of Ricky Hatton last Saturday. But Nonito Donaire's ascension into The Ring magazine pound-for-pound top 10 this week, at the No. 8 spot, certifies the IBF flyweight champion in several new ways.

Among them is Donaire's standing in the Bay Area boxing pantheon, where this achievement is unsurpassed for nearly 100 years. Not since Gentleman Jim Corbett and Jim Jeffries were heavyweight champions has any Northern California boxer become so illustrious. Middleweight champion Bobo Olson more than 50 years ago is about the best that comes to mind, but he was nowhere near as brilliant as Donaire.

Nonito's standing in the pantheon of his native Philippines is enhanced, too. Pacquiao is No. 1 there now and for all time, and Donaire gives the island nation of nearly 100 million a strong No. 2. Is it heresy to start comparing the "Filipino Flash" favorably to his namesake, Gabriel "Flash" Elorde? I can only say I don't remember Elorde as being a bona fide top-10 guy.

One also could argue that Donaire, whose four-round blitzing of previously unbeaten Raul Martinez on April 18 propelled him from The Ring's second 10 and also marked his departure from the 112-pound division, was the most majestic flyweight ever. His 2007 victory over Vic Darchinyan and his leonine triumph over Martinez have propelled him past Mark "Too Sharp" Johnson in the opinion of their manager, Cameron Dunkin, and Donaire's size at flyweight would have been too much for recent stars Ricardo Lopez and Ivan Calderon.

Donaire could not be reached Tuesday for comment. He and his wife, Rachel, finally began unwinding in San Mateo on Monday night, after arriving home from the Pacquiao spectacle in Las Vegas but also settling in for the first time since their five-month visit to the Philippines ended last week. Rachel asked Facebook friends to postpone business calls, and their home phone wasn't recording messages. The Bay Area is their primary refuge from the limelight, which was sometimes relentless in Manila.

There's still a lot to talk about, such as whether the financial rockiness of the April card in the Philippines bodes well for our hopes of seeing Donaire fight in the Bay Area; whether his new standing will enhance his ability to carry a Showtime or even HBO card; and whether a Darchinyan rematch has sudden become a lot more probable.

MAY 2009
Chapter 39

GUERRERO'S REPLACEMENT OPPONENT IS JOURNEYMAN

Robert Guerrero's next fight still hasn't been announced, but as I've been telling you, it apparently will take place June 12 in San Jose and will be televised on ESPN2.

Dan Rafael, well-placed at espn.com, is reporting that Johnnie Edwards (15-4-1, 8 knockouts) will be the opponent. A spokesman for Guerrero said Rafael might be right.

For Guerrero (23-1, 16 knockouts), needing to impress HBO and others after he yielded to a head butt and settled for a no-contest in his last fight, Edwards doesn't seem like the ideal opponent the way previously rumored Rene Gonzalez would have been. Edwards has lost three of his past five fights, to a similar journeyman Carlos Rivera, to up-and-comer Yoriorkis Gamboa, and to unbeaten Ty Barnett, a 5-foot-10 junior welterweight who headlined Fight Night at the Tank in San Jose last September. Edwards' two most recent wins came against a man with a losing record and against 38-year-old Freddie Norwood, but he did beat Norwood aggressively and impressively.

Still, there's nothing Guerrero can do in beating this guy to make you or HBO say "wow."

Rafael reports that Guerrero, 26, is in line for a junior-lightweight title shot against unbeaten WBO champion Roman Martinez on the undercard of an Aug. 22 Houston card on HBO, which could at least give Guerrero a championship belt at 130 to replace the IBF featherweight title he gave up to move up in weight. But that doesn't mean the fight would be shown on HBO. Nor would Guerrero vs. Humberto Soto be a lock for HBO.

The ultimate fight for Guerrero at 130 would be against Jorge Linares (26-0), whose Saturday fight against lightly regarded Josaphat Perez in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, has been shifted to May 23 because of the swine flu outbreak. Rafael's report said Linares might be fighting on the Houston card.

Linares is up there with Nonito Donaire and Juan Manuel Lopez in the best young champion in the world sweepstakes, and HBO probably is eager to showcase him. That would make Guerrero an ideal "other guy" for HBO. But it isn't the scenario Rafael described.

It is a scenario, however, that would make us go "wow."

MAY 2009
Chapter 40

S.F. BALLPARK IS TARGET FOR DONAIRE FIGHT

It appears Nonito Donaire will be fighting at AT&T Park in San Francisco on Aug. 22. Philippines boxing reporter-eminence Ronnie Nathanielsz quotes Donaire's promoter Bob Arum in his report on the Donaire card. It's a solid report.

But it isn't a done deal, an AT&T Park spokesman told me. "There is no fight scheduled on that date," he said. But that doesn't mean there won't be. The San Francisco Giants are on the road that night, and the boxing card is fully plausible.

As Donaire told me April 20, Jose "Carita" Lopez (39-7, 32 knockouts) will defend his WBO 115-pound title against Donaire (21-1, 14 knockouts), who will abdicate his IBF belt at 112. Lopez and Donaire had been matched tentatively for this spring, but Lopez's commitment to fight Pramuansak Posuwan for the WBO belt led to Donaire's four-round knockout of Raul Martinez instead.

Donaire is back in the Philippines as we speak at command request, as President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is leading a national celebration of Manny Pacquiao's accomplishments Tuesday. Donaire is definitely Somebody now.

MAY 2009
Chapter 41

WARD WILL GO AFTER MIRANDA AND GET HIM

Of course Andre Ward won't be going toe-to-toe with Edison Miranda in their super-middleweight bout Saturday at Oracle Arena in Oakland on Showtime. But Ward won't be dancing away from the hard-hitting Colombian, either.

Instead, Ward (18-0, 12 knockouts) will be the aggressor from the third round on and will land a lot more power shots than Miranda (31-3, 28 knockouts) does. "Professionally, this is the biggest stage in my career, and I won't shy away from it," Ward says.

That may not be the conventional wisdom on this fight, but too much of the analysis has been coming from people who have mischaracterized Ward. The Bay Area native is not the delicate fawn some, including Miranda, have portrayed the 2004 Olympic gold medalist to be. And though Ward will be careful, he acknowledges he won't be so cautious that he doesn't get tagged once or twice.

"When I get that first heavy shot, know that I am prepared," Ward said Thursday. "I am ready to hit and not get hit, but when you get hit, you snarl and come back."

_NOTES:_ I'll be at Oracle, and I'll be measuring exactly how the spectacle compares to Ward's February bout on Showtime at Tachi Palace and Casino in Fresno County. Nick Charles and Steve Farhood again will be the ShoBox announce team; Dan Goossen is again the promoter; Ward's second-tier NABF and NABO belts will be at stake; and the sub-main event again features junior lightweight John Molina Jr. (16-0, 12 knockouts) against Frankie Archuleta (25-6-1, five knockouts).

Already the Ward fight has been hyped better than any Bay Area fight in memory. That's warranted, with Ward on local sports TV a lot and a couple of decent ads, largely because it is the most glamorous match-up hereabouts in at least three decades.

I'll be rehashing the bout on radio Sunday when I spend an hour sparring (verbally only!) with Pedro Fernandez on the Ring Talk veteran's 8:05 p.m. show on KTRB-AM (860). Pedro likes to pick fights, so let's see if he can get me going.

MAY 2009
Chapter 42

WARD MAULS MIRANDA IN DECISION WIN

Andre Ward proved he's as tough as anyone in the 168-pound division Saturday by overpowering Edison Miranda and giving conventional wisdom a stiff left hook to the kisser.

They say the best offense is a good defense, but Ward proved it's often the other way around in boxing as he assaulted Miranda in 12 one-sided rounds at Oakland's Oracle Arena. Ward (19-0, 12 knockouts) was not only bigger and faster but also stronger than the feared Colombian slugger.

And that didn't square with Ward's image. Most thought the 2004 Olympic gold medalist might finesse his way to a lopsided decision win in this first major test of his pro career, and he did frustrate Miranda (32-4) with lateral movement as he fought both orthodox and southpaw. But many did not expect so many of Ward's punches to be haymakers, with the left hand landing nearly at will from both stances.

Nor were Ward's detractors convinced he could overcome adversity, yet Ward shook off a nasty cut above his left eye sustained when Miranda butted him in the first round. Ward also was hit by a dozen or so of Miranda's vaunted right crosses and at least twice that many rabbit punches and took those in stride, too. "He never stunned me, but I could feel his power," Ward said.

Likewise, said Miranda. "He was a lot tougher than I expected," the loser conceded after Ward thoroughly abused him through the first five rounds and then varied his approaches over the final seven to win 11 rounds on two scorecards and eight on the third. I gave him nine, scoring it 117-111.

"I would like to have stopped him," Ward said, "but I did what I had to do. . . .I rocked him several times and I showed him how diverse I can be."

Best of all, Ward bullied Miranda physically and dominated the inside fighting. Ward spent much of the eighth round hugging Miranda near his corner, and it became clear that Ward was dictating that action, as he did most of the fight. Miranda kept coming forward, though.

"I had to focus each and every round," Ward said. "I could hear people screaming my name. I just had to bring it on."

There were 7,818 screaming his name officially, the second time in two months that Bay Area boxing has come across in a big-time way on a premium cable channel boxing program.

"That was an ass-whipping," Showtime announcer Nick Charles said afterward, apparently to me, as he walked away from ringside and past the press area. "It was!"

It was, indeed.

MAY 2009
Chapter 43

S.F. TERRITORY IS DONAIRE'S FOR THE TAKING

Andre Ward commands Oakland, Robert Guerrero commands San Jose, and that sticks Nonito Donaire with . . . San Francisco. Donaire confirmed Monday that the wheels are in motion for him to fight at AT&T Park on Aug. 22 in a bid for Jose "Carita" Lopez's WBO super-flyweight title.

So that's practically settled, then? Well, not quite. "I still haven't gotten a contract," Donaire said, which jibes with last week's news that the ballpark, which houses the San Francisco Giants, has nothing to announce yet either. "Nothing is certain," Donaire concluded. "But the Giants and Top Rank want to make it happen."

Filipino Heritage Night is a major reason why. Top Rank's Bob Arum told several reporters this month that the hubbub at the Giants' Filipino Heritage Night on April 27, featuring Manny Pacquiao, made Arum believe the Phil-Am community would support Donaire at least as enthusiastically as Oakland supported Ward last weekend and San Jose supported Guerrero in March. Apparently the Giants were impressed, too.

I reached Donaire by phone Monday in San Mateo, fitting considering his seizure of the west side of the Bay Area. His wife, onetime taekwondo champion Rachel Marcial Donaire, retains an outpost there, and I caught them on the eve of a trip to Hawaii. By early June, he expects to be training again (and so does she).

So where do you supposed he would train? After dropping his father from that role, he trained for his April 18 tour de force victory over Raul Martinez in the Philippines by communing at the mountain hideaway in Baguio where veteran fighter Gerry Peñalosa holds sway and older brother Dodie Boy Peñalosa also figures prominently.

So let others join Pacquiao and the mob at Freddie Roach's Wild-Card Gym in Hollywood. "I'll probably go back to the Philippines, because I have a lot of sparring there," Donaire said. "I'll find a shorter guy (to pose as Lopez) and find another one here and come back a month before the fight."

And that will be on the San Francisco Peninsula, not Wild-Card, which is "too hectic" and presents too many scheduling requirements. In Baguio, "I dictate my own pace and my own time," Donaire said.

Lopez (39-7, 32 knockouts) hasn't lost since 2001, but it's hard to imagine the 37-year-old Puerto Rican dealing successfully with Donaire's height and reach advantages, among others. Donaire is under the impression Lopez is "an inside fighter like Martinez" but acknowledged, "I've never really seen him fight, so I don't know how he fights."

It probably won't matter against the man whose ascension to No. 8 in the mythical pound-for-pound rankings came about a year sooner than seemed possible before the sensational victory over Martinez.

"I was like, wow, really," Donaire said. "I didn't expect it to be this year, because I still think I have to prove a lot. . .to prove to myself, to everyone. I was very surprised and I was very honored."

It's one of his keys to The City, as it makes him the Bay Area's most important fighter in a century.

At the junction of Donaire's success and that of Pacquiao, the floodgates are opening for the Filipino-American community on a leading edge of the big upsurge in Bay Area boxing.

MAY 2009
Chapter 44

GUERRERO'S ESPN BOUT SET FOR SAN JOSE

Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. for Robert Guerrero's June 12 bout at HP Pavilion against tough journeyman Johnnie Edwards. The bout will be televised on ESPN2.

Golden Boy Promotions finally announced the junior lightweight matchup Wednesday, a couple of hours after I noticed the Shark Tank finally had put the card on its schedule, a couple of weeks after I noted that Edwards would be Guerrero's opponent, and a couple of months since we learned about the plans brewing for June 12.

Edwards (15-4-1) isn't a particularly attractive opponent for Guerrero (23-1, 16 knockouts), the former featherweight champion whose last bout, March 7, ended in a technical draw with Daud Yordan after Guerrero sustained a cut from a second-round head butt and elected not to continue.

An impressive win over Edwards presumably will put Guerrero back on track for a 130-pound title challenge, possibly Aug. 22 in Houston against WBO champion Roman Martinez.

The televised portion of the Guerrero-Edwards card also features junior welterweight Danny Garcia (12-0) against Pavel Miranda (16-3) in an eight-rounder.

"It's always nice to fight close to home, and when I hear those fans roar, it feels like I can knock out anyone," Guerrero said in Golden Boy's release. "I'm looking to make a statement and I expect to put on a great show for my fans on June 12th."

JUNE 2009
Chapter 45

DONAIRE AT AT&T? NOT THIS SUMMER

Nonito Donaire apparently won't be fighting at AT&T Park in San Francisco in August, but the effort to stage such an event at the Giants' ballpark has provided considerable hope for such an event in the next year or two.

"We want to do this eventually," Giants marketing executive Pat Gallagher told me Monday. "But I don't think this one's going to happen. I think something (like that) will happen," Gallagher said, "but the timing has to be right."

The problem with the timing Aug. 22 is that the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders are playing an exhibition football game that night. "If you are Bay Area, you are there," conceded Rachel Marcial Donaire, the fighter's wife and chief spokesperson, in a e-mail to me Tuesday night.

The Aug. 22 date still seems possible or probable for Donaire's challenge to WBO super-flyweight champion Jose "Carita" Lopez (39-7, 32 knockouts), but it's more likely to take place in Las Vegas or possibly the Philippines.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, whom some say was prematurely enthusiastic about his chances of pulling off the San Francisco promotion, is said to be trying to line up four fights involving Filipino stars, including light-flyweight champion Brian Viloria and featherweights Bernabe Concepcion and Steven Luevano. In one scenario, there would be two bouts in Las Vegas and two near Manila at Araneta Coliseum, where Donaire (21-1, 14 knockouts) scored a four-round knockout of Raul Martinez on April 18.

Donaire has declined to give up his IBF flyweight title until he signs a contract for the Lopez fight.

Although most of the talk about the San Francisco card took place in Las Vegas at the Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton bout May 2 and seemed to stem from the hullabaloo surrounding Pacquiao's appearance at a Giants game on April 21, Gallagher said Arum began making inquiries about a fight card at the ballpark as early as last summer.

So our excitement over the Aug. 22 rumors, in the wake of San Jose's 7,000-spectator crowd to see Robert Guerrero in March and Oakland's 8,000-plus for Andre Ward in April, was not overblown. These are heady times for Bay Area boxing.

JUNE 2009
Chapter 46

GUERRERO LOSES OPPONENT TO BACK INJURY

Robert Guerrero's handlers are seeking a new opponent for his June 12 fight at San Jose's HP Pavilion.

According to a press release from Guerrero's San Jose-based publicist Mario Serrano, scheduled opponent Johnnie Edwards notified Golden Boy Promotions this week that he has pulled a back muscle and can't fight Guerrero.

According to ringtv.com, Jackson Asiku (25-3, 13 knockouts) of Uganda, who is sparring with featherweight champion Chris John in Southern California, is in position to replace Edwards on the card, which will be televised on ESPN.

Guerrero has not been lucky career-wise this year, considering the cut that made his March 7 fight a disappointment, and now this. Meanwhile his two fellow Bay Area superstars, Nonito Donaire and Andre Ward, have won impressively and improved their standing in the boxing world. Only winning a junior-lightweight world title would salvage this year for Guerrero, and first he needs an impressive win over someone like Edwards.

But not Edwards himself, apparently.

JUNE 2009
Chapter 47

GUERRERO'S NEW OPPONENT: EX-CONTENDER HINOJOSA

When Golden Boy Promotions e-mailed my media credentials for Robert Guerrero's televised fight next Friday at the Shark Tank, it described the event as "Guerrero-Hinojosa."

Although I found no other announcement of who has been designated Guerrero's opponent, the designee seems to be veteran Mexican lightweight Efren Hinojosa (30-5-1, 17 knockouts). I found sound confirmation, as one of my favorite boxing writers, Michael Rosenthal of ringtv.com, reported that Hinojosa has indeed replaced Jackson Asiku, the first choice as replacement when Johnnie Edward bowed out of the match Tuesday with a back injury. Asiku bowed out with an injury Thursday, Rosenthal reported.

Hinojosa hasn't done much of note lately, but he beat former lightweight champion Ivan Robinson in 2001 and ended Bay Area contender Paris Alexander's career in 2000.

The Guerrero-Hinojosa news must have broken fairly late Friday, as ESPN2 promoted next Friday's main event simply as "spotlighting" Guerrero.

And that's what the bout is all about, making Guerrero and San Jose look good so he'll get a junior lightweight title shot that ideally would take place at the Shark Tank. Hinojosa may well come away knowing how Paris Alexander felt.

JUNE 2009
Chapter 48

GUERRERO PEEVED AT CRITICS OF HIS COURAGE

Robert Guerrero is no longer bewildered by the criticism he has received because of the way his March 7 bout ended. He's really peeved.

The guy who had stopped 14 of his past 16 opponents, the guy who stopped one of the most formidable of the lot in 56 seconds, hours after learning of his wife's leukemia diagnosis: Why does that guy have to prove his intestinal fortitude?

"To go on a knockout streak, training at home with the distractions; it's funny how people question your heart," Guerrero said during our subdued telephone interview May 26 to promote his fight this Friday at San Jose's HP Pavilion (on ESPN2).

Not that I was questioning it. The fight should have ended the way it did once Guerrero sustained a deep wound over his eyebrow following a second-round accidental clash of heads with Daud Yordan, his relatively unsung opponent. The no-contest bout was televised on HBO and seen by about 7,000 Guerrero enthusiasts at HP, better known as the Shark Tank.

A misconception that Guerrero dictated the stoppage is the crux of the matter, the fighter says, so it doesn't matter whether he would behave differently if he had it to do over.

"No, not at all," said the former IBF 126-pound champion, now fighting at 130, during a break at the gym in Glendale, near Los Angeles, where he has been training for Friday's fight against veteran Efren "Hurican" Hinojosa. "That was a referee's decision, not mine."

Upon further review, Guerrero told the San Jose weekly newspaper Metro, maybe he does wish he had squawked a while before capitulating to the prevailing wisdom of stopping the bout. But it still would have become a two-round no-contest bout.

So it's pretty hard not to be bitter about the aftermath of the Yordan bout, which diminished HBO's interest in showing his bouts. Even angry, Guerrero admits, and "you're going to see the result" in Friday's fight.

JUNE 2009
Chapter 49

DONAIRE NEEDS TO GIVE UP IBF FLYWEIGHT BELT

One of the most amazing things about Nonito Donaire's four-round April destruction of Raul Martinez in the Philippines, which vaulted Donaire to No. 8 in The Ring pound-for-pound rankings, was how his strength belied the gaunt first impression he made after dropping to 112 pounds for what he hoped was the last time.

He let go of his lesser title, the IBO belt, soon afterward, but he has retained the IBF belt, which proved valuable to the Martinez promotion and might be good insurance now. That won't be the case anymore, however, if it's true that the IBF is mandating a Donaire rematch with Moruti Mthalane by Aug. 1.

Mthalane, an otherwise-unbeaten South African, lost to Donaire in six rounds last Nov. 1 because of a deep cut inside an eyelid. Donaire led the call to stop the bout because of the cut, but there's some controversy surrounding the stoppage because it didn't seem very bloody and because Mthalane won a couple of rounds in the fight.

You can't blame the IBF for trying to get maximum mileage out of Donaire. He is in line for an August fight, all right, but he wants to be fighting for a 115-pound belt, not 112. Jose "Carita" Lopez is the targeted (but elusive) opponent, Las Vegas is the likely venue (the notion of staging the bout in San Francisco becoming a distant memory), and Aug. 15 is now the rumored date.

It is not fair to say that the IBF's Mthalane mandate is reason for Donaire to flee to 115. Frankly, it will be amazing if he stops at 115 for more than two fights on his way to 118. Donaire felt sorry for Mthalane after the unsatisfactory ending of their fight and probably wouldn't mind seeing him wear the belt. But Donaire is afraid only of the 112-pound weight limit, not the fighters who can still reach it.

The guy who wants to fight Fernando Montiel at 118 and Juan Manuel Lopez at 122 or 126 does not need the 112-pound belt anymore. It's worth about what my '88 Camry with 277,000 miles on it is to me – sentimental value provided the upkeep doesn't prove prohibitively expensive.

"Montiel has that thing that I want," Donaire says. "He's one of those guys who can bring out my potential. He's one of the guys I want to go in there and prove myself, see how I fare with the top competition."

JUNE 2009
Chapter 50

WIFE'S STABILIZED HEALTH LETS GUERRERO GO ALL-OUT

Robert Guerrero feels particularly sharp for Friday's ESPN2 appearance against Efren Hinojosa at San Jose's HP Pavilion. He says his wife's improving health is the reason.

Wife Casey's leukemia recurred in January, but by April she had been in remission again long enough that Robert felt he could leave her side for several weeks.

"The Ghost" spent much of the spring training in the Los Angeles area, where suitable sparring partners are more plentiful, and being able to concentrate on his job has made a difference he believes will show Friday.

"Now that she's healthy, I'm ready to go, get back to the basics of where I was at," Guerrero told me. "And that's getting ready for the fight and doing what I do, getting the sparring and being 100 percent."

Hinojosa (34-5-1) sports the "Huracan" nickname, but it's Guerrero (23-1, 16 knockouts) who will be under pressure to make like a whirlwind in their bout, which should begin around 8 p.m. on a card that will also feature unbeaten junior lightweight Danny Garcia (12-0, 7 knockouts) against Pavel Miranda (18-3). "Everybody gets to watch it," Guerrero enthused. "That's a nice thing about ESPN." Guerrero hasn't had an image-enhancing fight since his February 2008 mauling of Jason Litzau, and he's still looking for a meaningful fight in his new weight class, 130.

Incidentally, he'll be fighting at nearly 135 against Hinojosa, who will weight 136. It's a consequence of the last-minute aspects of the match-up, and Guerrero is happy to show he can fight as a lightweight. "I feel like a tank right now," Guerrero said Wednesday during a press conference at the Shark Tank. "This 135-pound weight class is packed."

Maybe so, but the object is to get Guerrero a junior-lightweight title shot this summer or fall. He'll leave that to manager Shelly Finkel and promoter Golden Boy and "go after it" to do his part in the ring. "Basically it comes down to you," Guerrero said. "If you get the job done, they can get the job done. I'm concentrating on winning this fight. Then hopefully Shelly can make it happen."

JUNE 2009
Chapter 51

GUERRERO'S VICTORY EARNS HIM IBF TITLE SHOT ON HBO

Robert Guerrero got it all back Friday, and then some, as his eight-round stoppage of veteran Efren Hinojosa at the Shark Tank earned "The Ghost" an IBF 130-pound title shot against Malcolm Klassen on Aug. 22 on HBO.

On ESPN2 against Hinojosa, a 37-year-old former contender who took the bout on short notice, Guerrero (24-1-1) fought aggressively, loading up on power shots, mostly with his left hand, to score his 17th knockout.

Not only did his savage performance Friday on international television satisfy action-hungry fans, but also a clash of heads opened up a cut alongside Guerrero's left eye in the seventh round and he fought on without much fuss, assuaging doubts that crystalized in Guerrero's most recent outing.

"When I got the cut," Guerrero said, "inside I smiled and thought, 'this is my time to shine.' "

Keep shining was more like it. Hinojosa (30-6-1) is not a heavy puncher, but he was able to take advantage of Guerrero's aggressiveness and score with counter rights occasionally. "He landed a couple of good shots, but he didn't hurt me," Guerrero said, not sorry about the downside of fighting less cautiously than some consider to be his usual modus operandi.

"I felt strong," Guerrero said after fighting at the heaviest weight of his career (134). "I hit him with some good shots, solid combinations. We did everything right."

It turned out he needed only to win the fight to gain the title bid against Klassen on a card that also will feature Juan Diaz against Paulie Malignaggi in a junior welterweight bout.

There had been talk Guerrero would be fighting Diaz, presumably at 135. "It was up in the air until a day or so ago," said manager Shelly Finkel, whose target had been unbeaten WBO junior lightweight champion Roman Martinez. When "Martinez made the demands ridiculous," Finkel said, the focus turned to Klassen, a South African who won the title in April by stopping Cassius Baloyi.

In his fight before that, Klassen won a title eliminator bout against Manuel Medina, a veteran in the Hinojosa mold, which shows how much trouble Klassen is having attracting high-quality opponents. Guerrero will be favored to take the title, but Klassen needs the HBO exposure even more than does Guerrero.

What Guerrero needed was the work, so much so that Finkel felt ambivalent when Guerrero wasn't able to take out Hinojosa more quickly. "I'm glad he was able to get some tough rounds," Finkel said.

He looked tough enough to silence his critics, that's for sure.

JUNE 2009
Chapter 52

LITTLE GUYS LIKE DONAIRE FIND HBO OUT OF REACH

What is it going to take to get Nonito Donaire on HBO? There is evidence that his No. 8 rating on the pound-for-pound list doesn't necessarily rate HBO's A-list.

The problem? Viewer numbers aren't there for "anything south of featherweights," HBO executive Ross Greenburg lamented in our March interview. Since then, more of that evidence has come in.

Exhibit One: Greenburg took a chance on Juan Manuel Lopez-Gerry Peñalosa in April because that 122-pound bout fulfilled his exception to the "south of featherweights" dictum: "You have to have two awesome fighters in their weight class." But Peñalosa, 38, fighting gamely above his weight class, was not a sufficiently attractive opponent for rising star Lopez, and Showtime countered effectively with the Jermain Taylor-Carl Froch thriller, which Froch came off the canvas to win by knockout in the waning seconds.

HBO played down the lower-than-usual ratings for Lopez-Peñalosa ("1.6 million viewers, slightly below our season average"), but the number looked pretty promising if you ask me, considering the impediments also included early round NBA playoffs that siphoned boxing interest sharply in 16 cities.

Exhibit Two: HBO snubbed the Ivan Calderon-Rodel Mayol light flyweight bout Saturday even though it was conveniently situated on the Miguel Cotto-Joshua Clottey undercard in New York. The broadcast was long enough for two fights. There was a half-hour buildup of the one bout, in which Cotto beat Clottey by split decision, buoyed by a first-round knockdown. (The light flyweight bout we didn't see was ruled a technical draw after six even rounds because Calderon sustained a head butt.)

HBO may not be perfect, but it is the premier venue in boxing and should be the holy grail for Donaire, 26, who is trying to vacate the 112-pound division to take on the best bantamweights in the near future and featherweights before he turns 30.

Donaire vs. Lopez, who probably will move up to 126 soon, would fulfill the "awesome fighters" clause, but it seems doubtful that fight will take place in the next two years. With Vic Darchinyan a Showtime staple, his rematch with Donaire presumably would end up there.

Fernando Montiel, who is No. 1 on Donaire's immediate wish list, had to pull out of his June 27 match with Eric Morel (Jorge Arce will fight Fernando Lumacad instead). If Donaire and Montiel were to meet, it's important to note that their proposed spring 2009 bout was headed to Showtime, where each has appeared.

Like HBO, I champion the welterweight division above all, and always have, but fighters south of featherweight have never been so difficult to ignore, and my money is still on Donaire to prove the best of the lot.

JUNE 2009
Chapter 53

GLENN DONAIRE UNLIKELY TO RETURN TO RING

San Leandro light flyweight Glenn Donaire's retirement has not been announced, but a recent blog post by his brother Nonito, the IBF flyweight champion, confirmed that Glenn is nowhere near the boxing scene anymore.

That's also what Nonito told me the day after his spectacular fourth-round stoppage of Raul Martinez in April -- that Glenn is dedicated to family life and a permanent vocation in the Bay Area, and has lost his enthusiasm for boxing.

Glenn turns 30 this year and was accepting his impending exit from boxing more readily than was Nonito. The Donaires were on parallel tracks for a long time, though with disparate styles, as the quieter Glenn has a conversely more frenetic ring style. "I want him to be part of all this," Nonito was still thinking aloud. "He can be where I'm at."

But Nonito knew nearly as well as Glenn that the wind isn't blowing that way. It hasn't been since Glenn (17-4-1, nine knockouts) suffered a one-round loss to Z Gorres in 2005. He remained a bona fide contender, but he was badly injured in a six-round loss to Vic Darchinyan in 2006 (famously avenged by Nonito in 2007), and he lost a decisive 12-rounder to Ulises Solis in 2008.

Never mind how Glenn feels about fighting in Nonito's shadow. More telling to Glenn's psyche, no doubt, was that the Donaire brothers' 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials nemesis Brian Viloria defeated Solis convincingly the night Nonito beat Martinez.

"I always wanted us to be like the Marquez brothers," Nonito said, but that was a while ago. Now Glenn might still have main-event juice in the Philippines, but he doesn't in California, where he wants to be.

Glenn Donaire has had a successful, memorable career. If he isn't fighting anymore, maybe it's time to congratulate him.

JUNE 2009
Chapter 54

DONAIRE WRITES CANDIDLY ABOUT FAMILY IN BLOG

Nonito Donaire Jr., touching upon his rift with his father and the apparent retirement of his brother, has launched the blog portion of his revamped Web site in a most touching way.

His 1,400-word post is admirably self-revealing, laying bare what in the Philippines has been a juicy story since last November by explaining his emulation of his father and his regret that the family has gradually lost cohesion.

"But as everyone in the family grew up and acquired their own families, everyone started pulling away from each other because their focus was their own family," Donaire wrote. "Before, everyone would talk all day about having this land and everyone living in it with houses next to each other like a compound and everyone being together, and me and my brother becoming the first Filipino brothers to become champions at the same time.

"Those were our goals and our dreams, but as everyone grew apart, that dream dissipated, and slowly became blurry. As the years went on and the dreams and goals as the priorities shifted, the dreams and goals became something a child would talk about when he was little. Only I was the only one that really tried to keep the family together. Those dreams and goals were what I drew inspiration from and drove me to do everything to make them a reality."

JUNE 2009
Chapter 55

DONAIRE HAS OPPONENT FOR 115-POUND BOUT IN AUGUST

Nonito Donaire's Aug. 15 super-flyweight bout with Rafael Concepcion in Las Vegas will be announced officially Wednesday as promoter Bob Arum pumps his pay-per-view card at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

Donaire (21-1, 14 knockouts) and the Panamanian Concepcion (13-3-1, 8 knockouts) will be battling for the WBA interim title (a confusing term, to be sure). Earlier attempts to pair Donaire with WBO super-flyweight titleholder Jose "Carita" Lopez, possibly at San Francisco's AT&T Park, fell through, as did talks with Hugo Cazares. This bout was the best Arum could do.

Wednesday's media event also will feature Steven Luevano, the featherweight champion, who will appear in the Aug. 15 co-feature against Bernabe Concepcion of the Philippines. Like Donaire, Luevano is managed by Cameron Dunkin.

I of course will take part in the telephone press conference Wednesday, but it turns out the event has scuttled plans for me to visit Donaire that day at the Undisputed Gym in San Carlos.

SUMMER 2009

SUPER SIX BEGINS TO PROPEL WARD

Showtime's Super Six tournament, which was unveiled in July, supercharged Andre Ward's career, so it seems odd in retrospect that many in boxing questioned Ward's worthiness as a Super Six contestant.

The round-robin format involving six elite 168-pounders ensured Ward would face optimal competition for more than two years, through 2011. That's why this book's Ward coverage comprises every bout in the tournament, a book-within-the-book.

That the three Europeans were the favorites and the three Americans were the afterthoughts made the tournament immediately appealing to me. I frequently champion the heavyweight Klitschko brothers and ordinarily would have championed Mikkel Kessler, Arthur Abraham and Carl Froch in the Super Six instead of backing the Americans to be patriotic.

But I picked Ward and his Olympic stalemate Andre Dirrell to reach the final, which may have sounded too much like boosterism but eventually looked pretty smart.

Nonito Donaire and Robert Guerrero had tough August bouts, with Donaire getting tagged a bit while outpointing an opponent who outweighed him by at least 10 percent, and Guerrero claiming the IBF junior lightweight title in an entertaining fight.

My boxing venture was not advancing apace. I had been Examiner No. 802, but now there were several thousand, and a couple dozen were writing about boxing.

Overall, Examiner.com's impact was so heavy that Google News blamed our hordes for a glut of amateurish, unnewsworthy copy flooding its channels. Google threatened to cut Examiner off entirely if the company didn't implement a screening process. It took Examiner a while to mollify Google, and my pipeline to the Philippines suffered greatly. One of the exceptions was my tongue-in-cheek speculation about Manny Pacquiao's possibly fluctuating hat size, in the wake of allegations by Floyd Mayweather's dad that the Pac-Man was steroid-enhanced.

Also maneuvering through an influx of journalists trying to get close to her husband, Rachel Donaire increasingly relied on her parents, with whom I hit it off, to become my chief entree to Team Donaire. It wasn't a very direct line, but it was effective that first summer, especially when Donaire was hospitalized briefly with dengue fever.

**You might also enjoy** :  http://www.examiner.com/article/keep-those-pacquiao-steroid-accusations-under-your-hat

JULY 2009
Chapter 56

ARUM CARVES OUT DEAL FOR DONAIRE'S AUGUST BOUT

Repeating: Nonito Donaire is the most important boxer in the San Francisco Bay Area since James Jeffries was heavyweight champion about 100 years ago. Donaire is still flying under the radar in the Bay Area, where he has lived since he was a preteen, but some of the details surrounding Bob Arum's announcement Wednesday of Donaire's Aug. 15 bout in Las Vegas illustrate the way Donaire's Bay Area connections reverberate to the Philippines, as well as vice versa.

Donaire (21-1, 14 knockouts) and Panamanian Rafael Concepcion (13-3-1, 8 knockouts) will be battling for the WBA interim super-flyweight title in a bout for which Arum's Top Rank Boxing is generating pay-per-view domestically while Solar Sports promotes the TV end in the Philippines. Steven Luevano, the featherweight champion, will appear in the Aug. 15 co-feature against Bernabe Concepcion of the Philippines.

Arum and Donaire fared well with this concept, aesthetically anyway, when the then-IBF flyweight champion defended his crown against Raul Martinez in the Philippines after Filipino-American Brian Viloria dethroned light flyweight champion Ulises Soliz. (Yes, Donaire has given up that belt this week to move up to 115 pounds.)

Although Arum's subsequent attempts to pair Donaire with WBO super-flyweight titleholder Jose "Carita" Lopez at San Francisco's AT&T Park fell through, his attempts to fuel Filipino-American enthusiasm in the Bay Area can only help in the quest to elevate Donaire's visibility to a level worthy of his dazzling talent.

I have my doubts. My own embrace of Filipino-American fight fans hasn't drawn huge readership, although there may be as many as 500 looking in now and then. But Arum's faith in that demographic, buoyed by the enthusiasm surrounding Manny Pacquiao's visit to a San Francisco Giants baseball game in April, suggests Donaire's Bay Area boosters should be optimistic.

JULY 2009
Chapter 57

SUPER SIX GIVES WARD FIGHTING CHANCE AT STARDOM

Andre Ward will be fighting his toughest opponent yet in coming weeks. Make that toughest opponents, plural. Oakland's Ward is among the six elite super-middleweights Showtime has lined up for a multi-bout tournament.

The others include Mikkel Kessler, Carl Froch and Arthur Abraham (moving up from middleweight), all of whom are among the sport's most formidable champions, and two-time former champion Jermain Taylor, as well as Andre Dirrell, whose career has paralleled Ward's since their days as U.S. Olympic teammates in 2004.

Showtime and promoters Dan Goossen, Gary Shaw and Lou DiBella will spell out the particulars Monday with a press conference at Madison Square Garden in New York. It is believed each of the six 168-pounders will take part in at least three bouts, so that's nine fights among the six right there. Presumably the standouts in those bouts will then fight for championship recognition.

I can't recall a boxing tournament along these lines since the relatively motley eight-heavyweight tournament in the late 1960s that elevated Jimmy Ellis to the title recognition that had been stripped from Muhammad Ali.

Although Ward is now ranked No. 1 by the WBC and WBO, he's a bit green to be a favorite in this field. He and Dirrell are wild-cards.

I can't help noting that Kessler, Froch and Abraham are all based in Europe and that Ward, Dirrell and Taylor are Americans. Taylor was a 2000 U.S. Olympian. The most appealing matchups divide on those lines. I've read that Ward and Dirrell would meet early on, but I'm girding for Ward-Kessler or Ward-Froch (he's the WBC champion) right away, so that Ward can make his mark.

On the heels of Ward's thrashing of Edison Miranda in Oakland two months ago, a victory over Kessler or Froch would put Ward in the forefront of the tournament and might vault him into serious top-10 pound-for-pound consideration.

By Thanksgiving, yet.

JULY 2009
Chapter 58

DONAIRE MEET-UP PARALLELS DARCHINYAN FIGHT

Nonito Donaire and Vic Darchinyan remain intertwined Saturday – for Donaire's Bay Area fans, anyway.

About six hours before Darchinyan challenges Joseph Agbeko for the IBF bantamweight title on Showtime, Donaire (21-1, 14 knockouts) will be holding a "Public Media Workout" in San Carlos, near Redwood City.

Although the Donaire function, at 883 E. San Carlos Ave., is supposed to hype Nonito's Aug. 15 fight with Rafael Concepcion for the WBA interim super-flyweight title, it is open to everyone as Team Donaire tries to boost the Bay Area portion of the "Filipino Flash" fan base, which is an underdeveloped resource.

Concepcion (13-3-1, eight knockouts) presumably won't be attending the Donaire function. Perhaps, the Panamanian will be at Darchinyan's fight in Sunrise, Fla.

It has been two years since Donaire's fifth-round knockout of Darchinyan, the previously unbeaten IBF flyweight champion. Darchinyan (32-1, 26 knockouts) has held a super-flyweight title most of the time since then, and it's assumed he'll carry his power up to 118 pounds and mow down Agbeko (26-1, 22 knockouts) the way he mows down everyone.

Everyone but Donaire, that is.

JULY 2009
Chapter 59

DONAIRE WILL FIGHT ARCE IN FALL, TOP RANK SAYS

Nonito Donaire will fight Jorge Arce this fall if the "Filipino Flash" gets past Rafael Concepcion as expected Aug. 15, Top Rank spokesman Lee Samuels said Saturday. So, if you've been wondering whether Donaire is any better off with Top Rank than he was with Gary Shaw, you can stop now.

One year after the switch, the verdict seems to be: Advantage, Top Rank. "It's already paid off financially'' Donaire's manager Cameron Dunkin said Saturday in San Carlos, where Team Donaire held a gym-warming party at the Undisputed Boxing Gym in San Carlos to advance interest in the Concepcion fight. Dunkin says Donaire is making about three times the money per fight with Top Rank that he made when Gary Shaw was promoting him.

But it's been difficult to see much difference in the career trajectory of Donaire, avoided by all comers, since the switch last year. The Concepcion bout seems to be more of the same.

Fighting the charismatic Mexican Arce would change that, giving Donaire a profile among Mexican fans that would lead to a Donaire-Fernando Montiel fight, said Samuels, with whom I've been dealing since the '90s, when I wrote about boxing for the San Jose Mercury News He quickly summoned me to give me this news right after I arrived at Undisputed, which was flattering.

The Arce fight would be the best thing that's happened to Donaire since he won the IBF flyweight championship from Vic Darchinyan two years ago, only to lag behind Darchinyan on the boxing scene. Even Donaire's ascension to The Ring magazine's top 10 pound-for-pound in May does him less good than a chance to look dazzling against Arce – as Darchinyan did in February.

With Darchinyan hours from challenging for a bantamweight title on Showtime -- where he was outpointed unexpectedly by Joseph Agbeko -- the Donaire-Darchinyan juxtaposition was palpable at Undisputed, even without the big screen loop of Donaire's KO of Darchinyan, and other hits, catching our eye occasionally.

Mostly, though, about a hundred pairs of eyes were on Donaire as he put on crowd-friendly demonstration in the ring, at the heavy bag, at the light bag, skipping rope and flashing an electric smile.

"It's very exciting,'' he admitted regarding the set-up with Arce. "Arce is the biggest draw and he's a great fighter.'' Donaire refrained from applying the word "still" to a fighter who probably is past his peak but is still compelling.

Donaire said it's impossible to overlook Concepcion in the meantime. "He's a rugged fighter,'' Donaire said. "He's going to try to intimidate me. I have to be in the best possible shape in case a war happens. I'm ready for a war."

NETWORKING GALORE: By the time I interviewed Nonito I had really worked the room and befriended the Peñalosa brothers, older brother Dodie Boy and Jonathan, who are in from the Philippines to train Donaire here, and they later posed for a photograph with Nonito and me.

I talked only briefly with Rachel Marcial Donaire, who whipped together Saturday's get-together in less than a week, but I got on well with her mother, Becky, and wound up chatting with her father, Gerry, for quite a while.

Just before I left, Rachel got word of the death of former lightweight dynamo Arturo Gatti, who was found dead Saturday in Brazil. I'll never forget where I heard that.

JULY 2009
Chapter 60

WARD TO CHALLENGE KESSLER IN OAKLAND

Andre Ward will be fighting for Mikkel Kessler's WBA super-middleweight title this fall in his first bout of Showtime's tournament involving arguably the six best 168-pounders in the world.

Other first-round matchups, unveiled by Showtime on Monday at a news conference in New York, pit former undisputed middleweight champion Jermain Taylor against current IBF middleweight champion Arthur Abraham, and super-middleweight Carl Froch against Andre Dirrell, with Froch's WBC title on the line.

The Froch-Dirrell fight apparently will be the first of the tournament, probably on Oct. 10. Most rumors place the Ward-Kessler fight in Oakland on Nov. 7. Once the Golden State Warriors' 2009-2010 NBA schedule is announced, the availability of Oracle Arena for Ward-Kessler can be determined.

Ward's most recent fight, and his only bout as a pro against a rankable fighter, was a 12-round pummeling of Edison Miranda on May 16 in Oakland. Kessler (41-1, 31 knockouts) has lost only to since-retired Joe Calzaghe. Four of the other fighters in the field are unbeaten, including Ward (19-0, 12 knockouts). Taylor has lost three fights, two to middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik and one to Froch, who made a spectacular comeback in their April 25 bout.

Each participant will fight three times in the tournament's first round, with standings tabulated on the basis of two points for a win (with a one-point bonus for a knockout or TKO), one for a draw and none for a loss. After those nine fights have taken place, the two low scorers will be eliminated, and the other four will fight in a single-elimination tournament climaxing in the spring of 2011.

At that pace there should be a dynamite fight every six weeks or so. In the past two years, only Taylor has come close to a schedule that taxing, so that should give you an idea of what a great idea this tournament is.

JULY 2009
Chapter 61

WARD SIGNS FOR TUNE-UP FIGHT BEFORE SUPER SIX

Andre Ward, who challenges WBA super-middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler on Nov. 21, will fight a tune-up bout Sept. 12 against Shelby Pudwill on ShoBox, Ward's promoters announced Friday.

Kessler, who along with Ward is among the six fighters in a tournament of elite 168-pounders unveiled in July, is making a mandatory title defense Sept. 12 against No. 1 ranked Gusmyl Perdomo (16-2, 10 KOs) in Denmark, so promoter Dan Goossen wanted to keep Ward (19-0, 12 knockouts) on the same track by matching him against Pudwill (22-3-1, 10 knockouts) that night in Temecula, Calif.

"There was no way we were going to allow Mikkel Kessler to have a showcase fight preceding his Super Six showdown with Andre, and not have the viewers on Showtime witness our 2004 U.S. Olympic gold medalist in action the same night," Goossen said via news release.

Pudwill, 34, who is from South Dakota, is best known for his 2006 loss to John Duddy. Ward is coming off his May 16 demolition of Edison Miranda.

AUGUST 2009
Chapter 62

DONAIRE FOE'S MANAGER IGNITES FEUD

Any worries that Nonito Donaire Jr. might have trouble working up enthusiasm for Saturday's bout with Rafael Concepcion have been put aside this week. Concepcion's manager said three things that have really hacked off Team Donaire, which collectively vows to make short work of the short Panamanian in Las Vegas.

Damon de Berry is the manager. Philboxing.com writer Anthony Duljoman Andales has fanned the flames with wildly entertaining advocacy. And Nonito's father-in-law, Gerry Marcial, called the brouhaha and its impact on Donaire to my attention.

First, de Berry alluded to the rift between Nonito Donaire Sr. and Junior, whom intimates refer to as Jun, by implying Concepcion's family solidarity provides a big edge in this matchup. That's ridiculous, even given that it's a serious rift.

This is not a taboo subject in the Donaire camp. Although it has been wrenching to be at odds with Senior, and be judged harshly in the Philippines as a result, the impact on Jun's ring performance is not perceived to be a negative by Team Donaire. His genial relationship with the Peñalosa brothers and their deference to his intellect seem to be helping him gather steam professionally.

Next, de Berry dissed the Peñalosas as trainers. "We're more concerned if the dad is still the trainer," he told Duljoman. Ouch.

"The Peñalosas are ticked off, too," Marcial said.

That's beside the point, Donaire says. "It's my fight. I'm my own man; I'm pretty much my own fighter."

And finally, de Berry presented the flawed logic that convinced me this fight won't go three rounds. Keep in mind that Nonito expects Concepcion to make the fight, forcefully so, and that Donaire should be able to land a devastating counterpunch rather quickly. His left hook in those situations is among the most feared in boxing.

Here's a paragraph from the story. Note that it's hard to tell where the quotes begin and end:

DeBerry said that Donaire is a very smart boxer and they can't see too many flaws in his game. But they think Rafael is the stronger fighter. "Through Rafael's power, Donaire Junior will surrender and hopefully breaks down in later rounds because he's not used to fights going to deeper waters. We'll dig those ribs, and we'll never back down from him. Power for power we're very much ahead. So, we'll just focus on our plans and options and hope we can deliver a very entertaining fight for the boxing fans."

Well, he's right about that last part. Manny Pacquiao against Ricky Hatton proved how satisfying a two-round ass-kicking can be, and now Donaire's going to reinforce that concept. Like his role model Bruce Lee, he's determined to show how he deals with those who would disparage his family.

AUGUST 2009
Chapter 63

DONAIRE NEEDS TO LIGHT UP AMERICA

"What should Nonito do with his hair for the fight?" filipinoflash.com asked Donaire fans. I didn't deign to answer at the time, but I hope it isn't too late to vote for the spikes.

The fight is Saturday against heavy-hitting but lightly regarded Panamanian Rafael Concepcion (13-3-1, 8 knockouts) at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas on a pay per view telecast billed as "Pinoy Power 2" and produced by Top Rank. That's Donaire's promoter, following up on the success of Donaire's impressive victory over Raul Martinez before 17,000 at Araneta Coliseum near Manila in April. A belt, the WBA superflyweight interim title, is at stake for Donaire (115 pounds), but Concepcion blew his shot at the title by weighing in at 119.5. Although Saturday's sub-main between featherweight champion Steven Luevano and menacing Filipino Bernabe Concepcion looks interesting, just as Brian Viloria-Ulises Solis did at Araneta, Nonito is again the main attraction.

And he has an opportunity to prove he's that attractive.

Filipinos already think so. They find the "Filipino Flash" a bit too flashy. Whereas Americans see Donaire as more bland than he is. He needs to reverse those images, to become flashy to Americans and bland to Filipinos.

His appearance, which usually revolves around an ensemble in red, is more than an afterthought for Team Donaire. Even the shoes he'll wear Saturday are not only red-tinged but hand-painted (by Examiner.com's own Dennis dSource Guillermo). Donaire will be wearing yellow trunks this time though, to honor the late president of the Philippines, Corazon Aquino, as well he should. As for the hair, he's been wearing caps and bandannas in recent photo poses, so we don't know whether the spikes and the pig shave are losing out to the usual trim Nonito Senior ring look that honors his estranged father.

Junior's image in the Philippines receives ample attention, although some of it is negative and tabloidy – and not just where his rift with Senior is concerned. While the attention Donaire receives may never reach Manny Pacquiao level, he is far eclipsing everyone else in an increasingly crowded boxing pantheon. He even received a command invitation to visit Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in May.

It's America that needs to discover Donaire. There's some resistance that borders on prejudice. He is only beginning to get past that. "When I tried to sign with managers in the past," he said last week, "I was told that Filipinos were not marketable. I was told that Filipino fighters couldn't break an egg. . . .Manny has helped change all of that."

Donaire is also in good position to rectify the situation in the near future. He's got the Top Rank showcase (although the Roy Jones Jr.-Jeff Lacy bout Saturday may steal some of the potential thunder). He's got the boxing ability. He's got the smile. He's got the provocative wife.

And, he might have the hair. It was spiky when I saw him in July, and, well, how can we put this without sounding like a hairdresser: He is better looking than he gets credit for, and a full-looking head of hair makes a difference when you're 26.

He doesn't have that touching, plaintive quality that makes everyone love Pacquiao. But he has his own charisma that needs to be exploited here the way it's been exploited in the Philippines.

AUGUST 2009
Chapter 64

DONAIRE WINS GRUELING BOUT BY DECISION

In his quest for glamour, Nonito Donaire almost forgot to be a cutie Saturday as he fought to a grueling 12-round victory over Rafael Concepcion by unanimous decision in Las Vegas.

Although Donaire danced and tried to stick and move through much of the fight, which earned Donaire (22-1, 14 knockouts) the WBA interim super-flyweight title, most of his punches were thrown to hurt Concepcion (13-4-1) rather than score points. Concepcion outweighed him officially by four pounds and unofficially by about 12, but Donaire tried to stand toe-to-toe with the stocky Panamanian a couple of times and was nailed hard for his efforts.

That wasn't the right tack, and Donaire was dominant any time he displayed his overall ring generalship, but he wasn't jabbing or throwing combinations; he was throwing bombs. He was slow to realize he wasn't the stronger puncher, especially considering Donaire hurt his left hand, as he often does, early in the fight.

"Definitely, the five pounds," Donaire said of his inability to floor Concepcion with the big right crosses he landed throughout the fight. "If he was at 115, he would have gone down early. This guy was definitely a 122-pounder tonight."

Concepcion inaccurately claimed Donaire ran the entire fight (which is what he should have done). "If I'd known it was a marathon, I would have run," the Panamanian said. "I thought he would engage me more."

Donaire was declared the winner on the scorecards 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113. I scored it 117-111. Concepcion may have won the second round, when he surprised Donaire with a right in an exchange and later landed a left hook that seemed at the time to have broken Donaire's cheekbone. Concepcion was cut in the left eye in the second. And there's a case for Concepcion's having won the sixth with effective aggression, and the seventh, in which he was the aggressor until Donaire fended him off with a counter left uppercut at mid-round and controlled the rest of the round.

You could make a case for Donaire winning all 12 rounds, but it was a very difficult fight for him, and when he was under siege in the sixth and seventh, his fans who dominated the crowd of 5,000 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino were holding their breath.

It was not one of Donaire's greatest nights. The card will be remembered more for Steven Luevano's win by disqualification when Bernabe Concepcion floored him with a combination after the bell in the seventh round in a bout that otherwise seemed headed to a boring decision win for Luevano.

But at least Donaire's fight was interesting and intense, and he found a way to win handily in the face of adversity.

"I came here to represent," Donaire said, "and I fought with all my heart."

He was there to look good, and overall, he did.

AUGUST 2009
Chapter 65

BUSY KLASSEN MAY GIVE GUERRERO OPENINGS

Don't be too quick to assume Robert Guerrero's route to the IBF super-featherweight title Saturday is paved with daisies.

Malcolm Klassen, a South African in his early 30s, presents an unprecedented challenge, Guerrero said Tuesday by phone from Houston, where Saturday's bout takes place. "He throws a _lot_ of shots," exclaimed The Ghost. "I haven't been in there with someone who throws 100 punches a round."

That's the bad news. Klassen's buzz saw attack overwhelmed Cassius Baloyi from the get-go April 18 as he upset the champion by seventh-round TKO Klassen (24-4-2, 15 knockouts) thereby regained a title he had won in 2006 with a similarly surprising victory over Gairy St. Clair.

"He comes out and puts on a great show," Guerrero said. "He just throws and throws and throws."

The good news is that Guerrero (24-1-1, 17 knockouts) likes opponents to come after him, and that Guerrero's superior length – a four-inch height advantage – should be as decisive at 130 pounds as it was at 126 when the Gilroy southpaw won the IBF featherweight title.

"You've got to be a matador," Guerrero said by way of discussing his game plan. "Control the fight and counter-punch."

Guerrero is more leery of fighters who resemble The Ghost, including his lone (officially) conqueror Gamaliel Diaz, and his most recent opponent, Efren Hinojosa.

"Getting in there with a taller guy, it takes a lot of work to get inside," Guerrero learned against Hinojosa. "Getting rounds in was a big factor in that fight."

Wounds healed, Guerrero is ready for his close-up on HBO again. The headline bout pits former lightweight champion Juan Diaz against nimble junior welterweight Paulie Malignaggi, which could prove similar to Malignaggi's game 11-round loss to Ricky Hatton last November.

Guerrero is wary of suffering something like that against Klassen, but the fact is, The Ghost thinks the fight will make him look at least as good as he looked against Hinojosa and help him build a following HBO can embrace.

AUGUST 2009
Chapter 66

GUERRERO ENTERS TITLE BOUT FORTIFIED BY GOLDEN BOY

Robert Guerrero's alliance with Golden Boy Promotions is one of his biggest weapons Saturday as he tries to take the IBF super-featherweight title from South African buzz saw Malcolm Klassen on HBO's Boxing After Dark.

After sparring with Golden Boy gris eminence Shane Mosley this week in Houston, Guerrero should be able to cope with anything Klassen can muster at the Toyota Center. The sensei roles Mosley and Bernard Hopkins are playing for Oscar De La Hoya's company are a serious asset.

With Golden Boy mainstay and Houston homeboy Juan Diaz favored in Saturday's main event, opponent Paulie Malignaggi feels oppressed -- by the weight limit, judge, referee and ring-size selection processes and more -- saying he is "being stepped on." Let's just say Malignaggi is not the house fighter.

Golden Boy's clients are the house fighters. GBP's dominance in the evening's proceedings and its sway with HBO (though Malignaggi's promoter Lou Di Bella came to prominence working at HBO) will be unmistakable.

Golden Boy's political clout often seems stronger pound-for-pound than Bob Arum's Top Rank these days. I'm a Goossen man myself, as the button-down aspects of GBP can be nauseating, but Guerrero's defection from Goossen-Tutor to Golden Boy in 2008 is proving right for him. Much as I root for Di Bella, Goossen, and, yes, Gary Shaw, to strengthen the competition, nothing beats having the full force of Golden Boy behind Guerrero.

AUGUST 2009
Chapter 67

GUERRERO OUTCLASSES KLASSEN FOR IBF 130 TITLE

Throwing 100 punches per round Saturday, Robert Guerrero thoroughly outclassed Malcolm Klassen to capture the South African's IBF junior lightweight title in Houston.

Klassen arrived with the 100-punch reputation, but Guerrero (25-7, 17 knockouts) took control of the fight in the first round by landing right hooks Klassen obviously didn't expect to see in The Ghost's arsenal, and then showing everything else in that arsenal. And he showed it on HBO, whose audience is the key to his pugilistic well-being.

Slipping punches, changing directions, landing counter punches and combinations, and generally confounding Klassen (24-5-2), Guerrero won the first four rounds.

The blistering pace wore Guerrero down, and Klassen stepped up the pressure in the fifth round, when Guerrero unwisely stood flat-footed and tried to finish the champion. But Guerrero, the former IBF featherweight champion, remained superior any time he resumed displaying his vast variety of skills. Klassen wasn't able to muster much of an attack after the ninth round.

Even at the worst times in the fight, with Guerrero bleeding from a cut because of an eighth-round accidental head butt and unable to sustain the pace that was so effective, he looked like "The Ghost" whose versatility and charisma had landed him on HBO in the first place, and it was obvious he was enjoying the chance to demonstrate his charms for the first time in quite a while.

The only disquieting note is that Guerrero was dominant enough to stop Klassen yet wasn't able to, especially considering Guerrero looked way bigger than he ever has. He clearly trained for strength, and probably had more trouble making 130 (on the nose Friday) in his third bout in that weight division than he ever had making 126. He weighed 144 Saturday. The crowd booed occasionally, though maybe that's because Klassen's frustration was disappointing.

But it was a classy, elegant performance by Guerrero against a man many experts thought would beat him. It would seem his career trajectory is on course.

SEPTEMBER 2009
Chapter 68

DONAIRE HOSPITALIZED WITH DENGUE FEVER

Nonito Donaire was rushed to a hospital in the Philippines today with a fever of 102 degrees. Doctors there were trying to determine whether he has contracted dengue fever, wife Rachel told her parents in a phone call to the Bay Area.

Although Nonito and Rachel had a breakneck schedule after his Aug. 15 victory over Rafael Concepcion, rushing to the Philippines to tape two episodes of "Celebrity Duets," they then vacationed quietly in Bohol and had been taking it easy the past three days. Although he suffered a hand injury in the fight, it was later determined there was no fracture.

The fever seemed to come out of nowhere, as is usual for dengue fever, which can bring on a fever of 104 to 105 degrees in many cases.

There's little reason for alarm. Rest and hydration usually will overcome the mosquito-borne virus, and it's likely the super-flyweight was still under-hydrated after making the 115-pound weight limit for the fight.

But still: exotic disease, high fever, developing country, rushed to a hospital – it's hard not to worry.

SEPTEMBER 2009
Chapter 69

IN-LAWS, DOCTOR IMPLORE DONAIRE TO FLY HOME

Relatives, friends and at least one physician were pleading with superflyweight superstar Nonito Donaire Jr. to return to the Bay Area from the Philippines even before he was hospitalized Thursday with a high fever.

Doctors think he might have contracted dengue fever, a mosquito-borne virus, and were testing for that Friday morning (Thursday afternoon here). He's in good hands until that, or until whatever landed him in the hospital, clears up.

But after that, he'll be surrounded by many, many hands if he stays in the Philippines, where for much of two weeks he has been singing on "Celebrity Duets," a popular TV reality show, honoring the late president Corazon Aquino by meeting her survivors, and rallying causes he supports financially, such as a school project in Bohol.

Nonito and wife Rachel were due in the Philippines about a day after his Aug. 15 fight in Las Vegas, so Donaire did most of his post-fight unwinding on the plane. No one thinks he caught up then or has caught up since.

"They can't get rest there," said Becky Marcial, Donaire's mother-in-law. "He needs to come back here," she said, meaning that Donaire usually is not recognized in public around the Bay Area and can hibernate easily here.

San Francisco-area physician Charles Antonini had been urging him to do that after Donaire's taxing 12-round victory over Rafael Concepcion. Based on GMA video footage from the Philippines, Donaire's wan appearance reinforced Antonini's concerns.

"The fatigue factor does come into play," Antonini told me by phone. "He has to understand his body's a temple. . .that his whole occupation is his body."

Antonini confirmed that Donaire, 26, is well-situated to battle dengue fever. Asian Hospital in Alabang is one of the most respected in the Philippines, which has a long history of medical advancement. The physician also speculated that the dengue fever would subside in less than two weeks and that subsequent muscle aches and fatigue wouldn't inhibit Donaire's training schedule in the long run. That's assuming Nonito takes his advice in the short run.

Antonini isn't positive he will, because Donaire's "character and kindness" make him responsive to being needed in the Philippines, where "Jun just can't say no."

SEPTEMBER 2009
Chapter 70

CELEBRITY OFFERS AILING DONAIRE HER BLOOD

A source tells me celebrity entertainer Kris Aquino has offered to donate blood to flyweight superstar Nonito Donaire, who is recovering from dengue fever near Manila.

Aquino is the daughter of former Philippines President Corazon Aquino and Benigno Aquino, the senator who rose to prominence as an opponent of the Ferdinand Marcos regime. Kris, a television host who has appeared in several movies, is considered by some to be the country's second-leading celebrity, after Manny Pacquiao.

Although transfusions are not always part of dengue fever treatment, Donaire's blood platelet count indicates a transfusion might be the best solution after his fever spiked back to 104 degrees Friday. "He is feeling malaise," his in-laws told me Saturday after talking to their daughter, Rachel Marcial Donaire.

There's a tendency to portray Donaire as an outsider in his native Philippines. The Aquino connection won't make Donaire a blood relative of one of the country's most prominent families, but the blood donation would cement the notion that he is family.

SEPTEMBER 2009
Chapter 71

EXPECT TO SNOOZE WHILE WARD, KESSLER CRUISE

Pudwill. Duddy.

I had to Google that combination to write this article advancing Andre Ward's fight Saturday on Showtime.

Shelby Pudwill (22-3-1, 9 knockouts) will be Ward's opponent, on a double bill that also features Mikkel Kessler against a fighter similar to Pudwill, Gusmyr Perdomo (16-2). Kessler (41-1, 31 knockouts) and Ward (19-0, 12 knockouts) fight each other Nov. 21, in Oakland we hope, in one of the most glamorous first-round matchups in Showtime's highly anticipated tournament involving six of the best 168-pounders in the world.

Duddy (that's contender John Duddy, of course) was an unbeaten up-and-comer when he stopped Pudwill in one round in 2006. That was the Dakotan's only important fight. Pudwill sat out a couple of years after that but did win his comeback bout last December, by one-sided decision over Anthony Osbourne (7-28-1) back home in Mandan, N.D.

He isn't likely to withstand a barrage for long from Ward. If Andre is as effective as he was against formidable Edison Miranda last May, Pudwill will be lucky to last four rounds. Kessler's defense of his WBA title in Denmark is likely to proceed similarly.

By the way, the "announce team," as they say in the TV biz, will consist of Al Bernstein, Steve Farhood and Antonio Tarver. Bernstein, the analyst on Showtime's more prime-time boxing alongside announcer Gus Johnson, is sitting in for Nick Charles, who has an advanced form of bladder cancer. Whatever tribute ShoBox pays Charles, his fight is likely to be far more absorbing than either ring match.

SEPTEMBER 2009
Chapter 72

WARD STOPS PUDWILL IN 3

Andre Ward and Mikkel Kessler, who fight each other Nov. 21 in Showtime's super-middleweight tournament, each won easily Saturday against less-than-stellar opposition.

Ward (20-0, 13 knockouts) defeated Shelby Pudwill (22-4-1) by TKO in the third round in Temecula, Calif., after Kessler (42-1, 32 knockouts) stopped Gusmyr Perdomo (16-3) in the fourth round in Denmark to retain his WBA super-middleweight title.

Ward thoroughly dominated Pudwill, a skilled boxer with limited physical ability, with an aggressive attack featuring left hooks and fearsome body shots. The most effective of all was a left cross as Ward was switching from orthodox to southpaw. "He's definitely demonstrating his whole arsenal," said Showtime commentator Antonio Tarver.

Ward was pleased with himself for "just staying focused" in a tune-up fight he took to "stay neck-and-neck" with Kessler.

Kessler had a tougher time with Perdomo, a southpaw who boxed effectively during the first two rounds but couldn't stand up to Kessler's power, which probably is superior to Ward's. "I had to come forward, put pressure on him," Kessler said, "and that worked."

Both victors are relishing their roles in the six-man tournament, in which Arthur Abraham vs. Jermain Taylor and Carl Froch vs. Andre Dirrell are the other opening match-ups. Except for Taylor, the six are all on a roll.

"Nobody thinks they can lose," Ward said, citing Taylor as a possible exception. Against Kessler, Ward said, "I'm gonna have to come with my A-game, and that's what I plan to do."

SEPTEMBER 2009
Chapter 73

MONTIEL, ARCE SETBACKS BAD FOR DONAIRE

That case of dengue fever wasn't the last of Nonito Donaire's misfortunes this month. His two ideal opponents have both stumbled in the ring in recent days.

Donaire alerted fans Tuesday to Jorge Arce's statement that he's eager to fight Donaire later this year. That dovetailed nicely with Top Rank's intentions to match Donaire against Arce this fall and against Fernando Montiel in early 2010. That's been Nonito's ideal scenario ever since he joined Top Rank a year ago.

Problem is, Arce (52-6) was beaten Tuesday in Cancun, Mexico, clearly outpointed by South African Simphiwe Nongqayi (16-0). Three days earlier, Montiel (39-2-2) had suffered a severe cut and a severe beating in what officially became a technical draw against Alejandro Valdez (22-2-3) in Nayarit, on Mexico's west coast.

That doesn't mean neither guy will fight Donaire, but there's no longer reason to believe either poses much of a threat to the "Filipino Flash," who scored a difficult but clear-cut victory over Rafael Concepcion to win the "interim" WBA super flyweight title Aug. 15. Donaire had hoped fighting the two Mexicans next would enhance his profile in their country, but it's no longer clear they can enhance his profile anywhere.

The Arce-Montiel one-two would have been the best thing that's happened to Donaire since he won the IBF flyweight championship from Vic Darchinyan two years ago, only to lag behind Darchinyan on the boxing scene. Even Donaire's ascension to The Ring Magazine's top 10 pound-for-pound in May seemed less valuable than the chance to look dazzling against Arce – as Darchinyan did in February.

Now no one could doubt Donaire would look dazzling against Arce. Why bother?

A Donaire fight with Japan's Nobuo Nashiro, who holds the non-interim WBA belt, is starting to look more attractive than Donaire-Arce.

SEPTEMBER 2009
Chapter 74

WARD-KESSLER PRESSER MAKES SUPER SIX REAL

Mikkel Kessler was in Oakland on Thursday, so you should be able to guess that meant Kessler's Nov. 21 bout with Andre Ward at Oakland's Oracle Arena was formally unveiled.

Ward-Kessler is one of the three opening bouts in the Super Six World Boxing Classic, the other 168-pounders in Showtime's multi-year tournament being Arthur Abraham, Jermain Taylor, Carl Froch and Andre Dirrell. This is one of the most exciting promotions in the history of boxing, and Thursday's luncheon-hour activities literally brought it home.

The fact that Kessler and Ward might be the two most formidable contestants in the Super Six is one of the reasons the Nov. 21 event is the best boxing show I've ever heard of in the Bay Area. They're gonna fill Oracle, I tell you, including the upper part.

There were plenty of inducements for me to attend this bash, starting with the venue: the swanky Courtside Club at Oracle. (I had the portabella and brie on ciabatta, by the way.) This was up there with the 1987 Hagler-Leonard tour stop at the Mark Hopkins on Nob Hill.

Goossen-Tutor publicist Marylyn Aceves' presence would have been sufficient in itself, but she also made sure I received a nicely-bound present, a Super Six press kit that I'd better not lose. During the press conference (at which I sat among the King's Boxing Gym family), promoter Dan Goossen, his Ward specialist Antonio Leonard, Ward himself of course, and his stately trainer, Virgil Hunter, were all in top form.

But I got the freshest insights from Kessler, Denmark's premier athlete, before the press conference, starting with his opinion that Ward is "one of the better ones in the tournament" and continuing with an unexpected twist to his comparison of Ward and Joe Calzaghe, the southpaw Welsh legend who handed Kessler his only defeat.

"Calzaghe is fast but doesn't hit hard," Kessler said. "Ward isn't as fast, but he hits hard."

That's actually a very respectful thing for Kessler to say. He presumably feels sufficient affirmation in Denmark, where about 30 percent of the populace viewed his victory over Gusmyr Perdomo on Saturday, a few hours before Ward tuned up with a three-round thrashing of unsung Shelby Pudwill. Kessler didn't deny Ward is faster than he. He didn't say he hits harder than Ward, either. He didn't get the last word Thursday, but he made it clear he expects to prevail in a grueling fight, in which Kessler's WBA title will be at stake.

Kessler's formidability is one of the reasons Ward admits to feeling "a lot more pressure" than he did last spring for the Edison Miranda fight at Oracle, "but I wouldn't have it any other way."

Standing toe-to-toe, they appeared evenly matched. Kessler, who seems more monstrous on TV than in person, has been perceived to be the overall tournament favorite going in. Kessler's gritty performance against Calzaghe provided a spectacle the level of which Ward has yet to experience.

Bring that on, Hunter said. "For all you doubters of Andre Ward, time in."

Hunter said Kessler is one of the world's best fighters, praising his fundamentals as well as his strength and character. There's that level, Hunter said, "and then there's the chosen level.

"We fly on that."

FALL 2009

WARD BECOMES PROMINENT MEMBER OF TRIO

Andre Ward finally started getting big, figuratively speaking, as he began his domination of the Super Six tournament.

Robert Guerrero, meanwhile, got literally bigger during the last stages of 2009, becoming a full-fledged lightweight and then some during what turned into his second significant period of inaction in less than two years. The absence from the ring was brought on largely by wife Casey's latest onset of acute lymphocytic leukemia, which at first was just as under-the-radar as Robert's own physical state. Many boxing people did not notice how much bigger Guerrero had gotten, and at first it wasn't widely realized how much more dire Casey's prognosis had gotten. It turned out a search for a bone-marrow donor was underway.

Nonito Donaire, meanwhile, was not being allowed to get bigger. His quest for new challenges at 115 pounds or even 118 led to more of the same: well-paying but undistinguished competition. The end of 2009/first half of 2010 was the nadir of the elite phase of Donaire's career.

At his zenith was Manny Pacquiao, whose convincing November victory over former welterweight champion Miguel Cotto turned out to be the climax of the Filipino legend's achievements. His victories over Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Cotto were more impressive than those that followed.

The dominant issue in boxing then became the inability of Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, who dominated Juan Manuel Marquez in September, to make a megafight between the sport's two biggest starts, and the extent to which steroids issues were a true impediment or a smokescreen.

With Guerrero and Donaire both embracing the SNAC nutrition program and its proprietor, the ex-convict-gone-straight Victor Conte, they were not outsiders in any discussions about chemistry in their profession.

Neither's physique was attracting over-attention, however, and neither were the two champions themselves.

**You might also enjoy** :  http://www.examiner.com/article/don-t-turn-mayweather-vs-pacquiao-into-u-s-vs-philippines

OCTOBER 2009
Chapter 75

WARD PORTRAYED AS HAUGHTY ON SHOWTIME'S '360'

You would think Andre "Son of God" Ward would be the golden child of the Super Six super-middleweight tournament, but the S.O.G. is cast as the S.O.B. in the opening episode of Showtime's build-up documentary that premieres Saturday at 10:30 p.m.

The Super Six itself premieres the following Saturday when Andre Dirrell takes on Carl Froch and Arthur Abraham meets Jermain Taylor. That makes Ward's bout with Mikkel Kessler in Oakland on Nov. 21 the de facto main event of the first round, as well it should be.

That doesn't seem to be the conventional wisdom going in, as the three Europeans (well, Froch is British) are favored to dominate the 18-month tournament. Most polls of boxing fans find Kessler the favorite, followed by Abraham, with the other four bunched fairly closely.

But Kessler thinks Ward is the second or third-best fighter in the field, and if he's right, the Kessler-Ward winner will have the upper hand in the tournament. Ward obviously feels that way, to a degree some might find insufferable if he defeats Kessler, which he well might.

Ward is portrayed as aloof from the proceedings and the coldest man of the six in the opening episode of "360," Showtime's obvious homage to HBO's "24/7" concept. When Ward kept his distance from the negotiating phase of the Super Six and then didn't appear at the first two en masse press conferences, illness was cited and Ward fans probably thought it was all good.

But there's more, we learn in somewhat goofy "360" footage of the negotiations, which includes Showtime executive Ken Hershman and the boxers' promoters, including Gary Shaw (Dirrell), Lou DiBella (Taylor) and Dan Goossen (Ward).

We see Goossen refuting reports that Ward wasn't necessarily willing to fight certain fighters in the three-bouts-per-contestant first round. Then it gets around, with Taylor apparently stuck fighting on opposition turf in his first two bouts, that Ward was heard gloating that he'll get to fight all of his first three bouts at home in Oakland. "It's something he should have kept his mouth shut about," Hershman says to Goossen.

Still, the atmosphere is improbably loose when Hershman, joking that he should dump Ward in favor of a conspicuous absentee from the Super Six, says, "I don't want to be (a jerk), but I can always get Allan Green."

It seems pretty staged, and overall "360" seems a very scattered imitation of HBO's praiseworthy documentary enterprise. But once we've seen the two Oct. 17 bouts and the spotlight moves to the Bay Area to follow Kessler and Ward around, it will get better.

Let's hope Ward gets jiggy with it and turns on his charm. He often strives to come off as prickly, and if he insists on projecting himself that way on "360," he stands to become surprisingly unpopular.

OCTOBER 2009
Chapter 76

PICKING WARD AS A SUPER SIX FAVORITE, IN AN UPSET

In a country that believes white men can't jump, there's surprisingly little disbelief regarding the form chart for the Super Six boxing tournament on Showtime, which begins with a doubleheader this weekend.

The three African-Americans are expected to be the also-rans to three Europeans? . . .In boxing! . . .and nobody ain't SAYIN' NUTHIN'?

Well, I'm going with the dark horses. African-Americans may not dominate boxing anymore the way they dominate the NBA and the NFL, but they still set the pace per capita, as they and their fans would be the first to tell you. That is to say, in most situations (Manny Pacquiao notwithstanding) you should bet on the black guy.

Yet Jermain Taylor and the young 2004 Olympians Andre Ward and Andre Dirrell are expected to lag behind Mikkel Kessler of Denmark, Arthur Abraham of Germany and Carl Froch of England in the 168-pound division sweepstakes.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. In fact, it suggests that the handicappers are looking at the contestants as individuals. Remember, I'm a guy who loves the Klitschko brothers and has assailed the Ugly Americans who seem unable to appreciate their two-headed heavyweight reign. After meeting Kessler last month, it would be hard to root against him.

But remember, too, I'm a guy who lionized Muhammad Ali, idealized Pernell Whitaker, and loved Marvin Hagler. I'm the guy who thinks welterweight Sugar Ray Robinson was the best fighter ever and that Floyd Mayweather has been the best fighter since Roy Jones Jr. Boxing is still about not only power but also speed, movement and all-around skill.

Which brings us to the crux of this argument: Who in this field could have given Roy Jr., circa 1994, serious trouble? That's who should be favored in this tournament.

Froch's winning performance against Taylor last April eliminates both from consideration. Froch, though fairly long and quite powerful, evidently can be outboxed. Taylor can be outlasted. In fact, Taylor's subsequent blame of lax training and poor diet for the loss, not the first fight in which he has faded thus, speaks poorly for his fighting character. That's too bad, because he's the best all-around boxer of the six.

Abraham is relieved to be moving up from 160 to 168, but he has a middleweight's stature. He is too slow to make up for being too short.

Kessler is longer and faster than the other two Europeans and can match right crosses with either. He's going to do some damage.

But much as Kessler ultimately was dazzled by Joe Calzaghe's hand speed, so too will he be dazzled by the foot speed of all three Americans.

I emphatically expect Dirrell to defeat Froch and Taylor to beat Abraham in Saturday's two opening matches. Ward-Kessler on Nov. 21 is much more difficult to call, but I'll say this: If those two fight twice in the course of the tournament, Ward will win at least one.

Whether Ward will beat Dirrell in the end is another matter. Ward seems to be the stronger man, and the depth of his Bay Area support system will be a big advantage, too. During the tournament, Ward will seem to be the rising star. But I'm starting to warm to Dirrell's chances of being the eventual tournament winner.

OCTOBER 2009
Chapter 77

DONAIRE OFF GAME SHOW, NEEDS ANOTHER

The bad news is that Nonito Donaire Jr. was eliminated Saturday in the seventh round of the Philippines television show "Celebrity Duets. The San Mateo-based super flyweight is expected to return home late this month after more than two months in his native Philippines.

The good news, according to some members of his entourage, is also that Donaire lost on "Celebrity Duets." After contracting dengue fever last month, Donaire has found attempts to resume training tough going, but just as his body is nearly ready for that regime, it may be just as well that the TV distraction is dissipating just when it has.

Seven rounds was a long run on the show, which involves voting somewhat like the USA's "American Idol." Nonito isn't quite "American Idol" slick, but "America's Got Talent" would be a great venue for our "Filipino Flash."

OCTOBER 2009
Chapter 78

FROCH, ABRAHAM WIN SUPER SIX OPENERS

After watching Andre Dirrell lose a contemptible, ridiculous split decision to Carl Froch and watching Jermain Taylor's contemptible performance in his 12th-round knockout loss to Arthur Abraham, I still believe Dirrell and Andre Ward will be the stars of the Super Six tournament.

The first stage of the 168-pound division playoffs on Showtime got underway Saturday as Abraham's defensive skills befuddled Taylor throughout their bout in Berlin before a thunderous right hand with 15 seconds left knocked Taylor cold. Dirrell befuddled Froch even more in Nottingham, England, but got jobbed big-time. Ward fights Mikkel Kessler in Oakland on Nov. 21.

Let's dismiss Taylor (28-4-1) as quickly as possible. Although he consistently fired left jabs and used them to try to set up combinations and power rights, his work rate was strictly numerical. He did nothing to assert his advantage in speed, and his jab wasn't even as effective as the stubby Abraham's, who conceded the first three rounds of the fight but dominated thereafter. All three officials had Abraham (31-0, 25 knockouts) leading after 11, and I concurred with the one who had it relatively close, 105-103 (counting a one-point deduction from Taylor for low blows). Abraham will not be as effective against the much taller Mikkel Kessler, Ward or Dirrell, his opponent in round two of the tournament.

Dirrell (18-1) is the fastest man in the Super Six, and his counter-punching was so dazzling during the first half of the Froch fight that the Englishman was reduced to body-slamming Dirrell to the mat in the fifth round and rough-housing thereafter. Although Dirrell continued to land jabs and power shots later in the fight, increasingly loading up on his punches, he lost his will to dance and move and began to hold. That may have made Froch (26-0) look good in rounds in which he landed few if any punches. Froch looked much better when he stopped Taylor in the 12th round last April while trailing on the scorecards.

The one-point deduction Dirrell incurred in the 10th round Saturday could have been called earlier, but then Froch should have been penalized for hitting on the break, rabbit-punching, body-slamming, tripping, you name it. All three officials scored the bout 7 rounds to 5, with two inexplicably favoring Froch. I scored it 9-2-1 for Dirrell.

The fact is, Dirrell outclassed Froch in every sense of the word, and it looked as though Ward's similar physique and superior strength will pose real problems for Froch. Ditto for Kessler. Dirrell may be a bit flimsy compared to Ward and Kessler, but he's capable of beating anyone in the field by decision.

Obviously including Froch.

OCTOBER 2009
Chapter 79

SUPER SIX MAY NEED GREEN AS REINFORCEMENT

At least Andre Dirrell is still alive in the Super Six tournament. At least Jermain Taylor is still alive, period.

But that doesn't mean the tournament got off to a good start Saturday.

The officiating in Dirrell's split-decision loss to Carl Froch was much worse than the frontier injustice in Texas two months ago that gave Juan Diaz a decision over Paulie Malignaggi. Reprehensible officiating in any of these high profile fights belies the premise that the tournament is supposed to be good for what ails boxing.

What might actually kill the sport would be putting Taylor in the ring against Andre Ward in late winter as scheduled in the second stage of the Super Six. Taylor should retire after losing three of his past five fights by knockout, counting Saturday's loss to Arthur Abraham that sent Taylor to the hospital with a concussion.

It isn't clear whether it occurred to anyone beforehand that the Super Six field might disintegrate before the tournament runs its course. But there is plenty of speculation about replacing Taylor, most of it centering around once-beaten Allan Green, who probably was the seventh choice for the six-man field anyway.

One account has Ward's promoter Dan Goossen proposing an elimination between Green (who plodded to a victory over previously unbeaten Tarvis Simms on Oct. 2) and Edison Miranda (who beat Green in 2007, lost to Ward in May, subsequently joined Goossen-Tutor, and knocked out young Francisco Sierra in the first round Thursday in Lemoore, Calif.), but Miranda has lost four fights since he beat Green, two of them to Abraham, and is less proven at 168 pounds than Green.

Lucian Bute would be a better choice to replace Taylor, but if he were available, he'd have been in this field in the first place. As soon as Taylor announces his retirement, or that he can't adhere to the Super Six schedule, he should be replaced by Green.

The way the points format in the tournament works, Green would sustain an immediate handicap, with one opportunity fewer than the others to score points in the first stage. But Green surely would welcome the opportunity. The Green-Taylor swap also might be a bit unfair to Arthur Abraham, even though he would retain the three points he earned the hard way Saturday by knocking out Taylor in the ring.

But it would keep the tournament going without much of a hitch, considering Saturday's damage, some of which Showtime executive Ken Hershman chooses not to acknowledge.

"The launch was great," he said. "The production was great. Carl Froch sold more tickets than he had ever sold with over 10,000 people in Nottingham, and Arthur Abraham sold out his arena with over 14,000 people."

Nottingham has been starved for someone to love ever since Robin Hood stopped taking from the rich and giving to the poor more than 500 years ago. Elsewhere, Froch slid Saturday from arguably the most lovable man in the tournament to least lovable with his boorish behavior and filthy fighting, even if he does have a hot girlfriend who mitigates some of the distaste he's generating.

And the Super Six still has Ward and Mikkel Kessler (fighting each other Nov. 21 in Oakland) as well as Abraham – and Dirrell, don't forget – to mitigate the early distaste the tournament has generated.

If Ward and Kessler fight a classic, and if the Taylor situation is handled well, the Super Six may yet fulfill its promise.

NOVEMBER 2009
Chapter 80

EXPECTATIONS HIGH FOR DONAIRE ANNOUNCEMENT

Nonito Donaire is staging a sort of open house noon to 2 p.m. Saturday at Ling Nam Noodle House in Daly City, capping a week that has included a rather quiet 27th birthday with family two days after Manny Pacquiao's big victory over Miguel Cotto.

Meanwhile, Yonnhy Perez is staging a somewhat similar event in his old barrio in Colombia, two days after being honored in Medellin as a national hero for his recent capture of the IBF bantamweight title from Joseph Agbeko.

Donaire will be announcing his next opponent (Feb. 13 in Las Vegas) at Saturday's function. You don't suppose . . .?

The point is, I'll be learning the identity of Donaire's next opponent only when Nonito announces it. But I wouldn't be surprised if Donaire announces he's a bantamweight instead of a super-flyweight.

That would help facilitate the ideal match, with WBO bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel, who was already on the Feb. 13 card as the opponent for Z Gorres. That was until Gorres was critically injured in his victory over Luis Melendez on Nov. 13. Gorres has been responding favorably to treatment for a subdural hematoma and is in stable condition, but Montiel is going to need a new opponent.

The thing is, the mystery surrounding this Ling Nam thing has screamed Darchinyan, the most dramatic name out there as an opponent for Donaire. Nonito's No. 1 claim to fame remains his fifth-round knockout of Darchinyan in 2007, and much mystique surrounded the possibility of a rematch until July 11, when Agbeko easily outpointed Darchinyan at 118 pounds.

Darchinyan still holds 115-pound titles, and two will be at stake Dec. 12 when he meets 11-time loser Tomas Rojas in Rancho Mirage. You have to wonder if he'd be ready for Donaire two months later, even after an easy win, though that might work out.

But Perez, having beaten Agbeko on Oct. 31, would be a better-timed opponent for Donaire, and an even more attractive one than Japanese super-flyweight Nobuo Nashiro. Don't be disappointed if Perez is the one instead of Montiel or Darchinyan.

NOVEMBER 2009
Chapter 81

WARD'S UNDERESTIMATED GRIT WILL SUBDUE KESSLER

I don't think Mikkel Kessler boxes any better or punches any harder than Andre Ward. So I'm flabbergasted that everyone outside of California thinks Kessler is stronger than Ward, is a harder puncher, and probably is Ward's equal as a boxer.

Even Al Bernstein, perhaps my favorite person in boxing, told me Ward's punching power isn't equal to Saturday's task. And N.Y. Boxing Examiner Michael Marley, my esteemed colleague, says Ward's inexperience and lack of accomplishment make this practically a mismatch.

They're not overestimating Kessler (42-1, 32 knockouts). He is an excellent all-around fighter with smarts and heart whose only loss, to Joe Calzaghe, was arguably the most impressive defeat of this decade.

I'm expecting something like that Saturday at Oracle Arena in Oakland. That's when Ward (20-0, 13 knockouts) challenges for Kessler's WBA super-middleweight title in the midst of the Super Six tournament, Showtime's World Boxing Challenge. The bout finishes the first phase, in which Arthur Abraham has knocked out Jermain Taylor in Round 12, and Carl Froch has won a highly disputable split decision victory over Andre Dirrell.

Kessler is considered the tournament favorite. Ward, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist from Oakland, is considered a middling member of the six. Ward is only a 2-1 underdog, but that's probably only because so many Bay Area bettors spend a lot of time in Nevada, diluting the odds on an underdog.

The assumption is that the Ward backers are deluded and provincial, but I think it's opposite:

The non-Californians aren't looking at Ward the way he is. He's got that rage that fuels so many middle-class Bay Area men, so he can be just as nasty as Abraham or Froch. Ward is not a sweetheart.

Neither is his longtime trainer Virgil Hunter, who looks capable of taking on Ward and Kessler at the same time. Hunter said he became a Kessler admirer while watching "The Viking Warrior" tame Librado Andrade in 2007. "I developed a real respect for him," Hunter said Wednesday at a rally in downtown Oakland. "I knew this day would come."

It's not likely Kessler's people have been strategizing and obsessing likewise about Ward all that time. The advantage Hunter gives Ward is significant. "It's my time," Hunter said, menacingly as usual, "to see if I figured this thing out."

If your lamby image of Ward is left over from his amateur days, you'd best take another look at him before picking Kessler to beat him. And while you're at it, take a look at the biggest man in the Super Six.

These are the best two fighters in the tournament. I like Kessler a lot, and Denmark needs this big-name hero at least as much as Oakland needs another successful home-grown athlete.

But Oakland does deserve its centerpiece setting in the Super Six, and Ward is going to show the visitors just how inhospitable the Bay Area can be.

NOVEMBER 2009
Chapter 82

DONAIRE'S WINTER BOUT? TUNEUP WITH JOURNEYMAN

Fernando Montiel? Vic Darchinyan? Nobuo Nashiro? Yonnhy Perez?

Nonito Donaire is fighting none of the above Feb. 13 in Las Vegas when he headlines the Pinoy Power 3 promotion for Top Rank by fighting Mexican journeyman Gerson "El Nene" Guerrero (34-8, 26 knockouts).

"It's a tune-up fight," his handlers admitted Saturday at the Ling Nam Noodle House in Daly City, where the Filipino Flash contingent announced the fight at lunchtime. They talked vaguely of something much bigger next summer for Donaire, who has moved into the top 10 this year in The Ring Magazine's pound-for-pound listings.

The Guerrero bout will be a showcase for Donaire, fighting a 32-year-old who has been knocked down in the first round of two of his past three fights and whose conquerors have included Daniel Ponce de Leon (KO, 2), Cristian Mijares (TKO 8) and Ricardo Vargas.

Still, with Montiel on the Feb. 13 bill defending a bantamweight belt against the ever-popular TBA in the wake of the Z Gorres tragedy, you'd think now is the time to pull off a matchup that was No. 2 on my New Year's wish list for 2009 fights. Montiel and Donaire should be fighting each other.

On the other hand, it's an opportune time for Donaire to take an easy fight, considering he came down with dengue fever in September after sustaining some wallops in his slugfest of a victory over Rafael Concepcion in Las Vegas last August. Throw in the stress of the October typhoons in the Philippines and the vicissitudes of his "Celebrity Duets" performances on Philippines television, and he's a mite the worse for wear.

The victory over Concepcion won Donaire the WBA interim world super flyweight championship. (That's one of three WBA belts at 115 pounds, so it doesn't mean much.) That belt will be at stake against Guerrero.

Montiel could use an easy fight, too, having been battered by unsung Alejandro Valdez after sustaining a head butt in a September bout ruled a technical draw.

But one would like to believe a card that has Donaire, Montiel, Gerry Peñalosa and more couldn't possibly have Gerson Guerrero in the main event. One suspects that issue will evolve a lot between now and Feb. 13.

_SOCIAL NOTES_ : The Ling Nam gathering at a storefront restaurant was charming, with lots of Phil-Am flavor, but it couldn't have seemed much like the Philippines to Nonito and wife Rachel.

The 60 or so of us there were a far cry from the throngs that besiege them in Manila.

And the icy wind whistling through the front entrance seemed anything but tropical.

Still, the warmth within made up for a lot. Wife Marcie and I enjoyed the visit.

_BEST COSTUME_ : The 4-year-old wearing the blue Everlast robe. Wish I'd thought of that.

_MORE RACHEL_ : She reported Marvin Sonsona's failure to make weight for his WBO junior bantamweight defense this weekend with disdain. "It's his only job," the martial artist said, having watched her husband strain successfully to reach 112 throughout the two-plus years she's known him. Also fueling the contempt: Sonsona is trained by Nonito Donaire Sr., her husband's estranged father.

_MONTY PYTHON DEPT._ : My brunch consisted of spam, spam, eggs, rice and spam.

NOVEMBER 2009
Chapter 83

WARD STOPS KESSLER IN SUPER SIX UPSET

NOW do you believe Andre Ward isn't a willowy finesse fighter? After he battered Mikkel Kessler with his fists and a few times with his noggin, Ward surely convinced the naysayers (a word Ward used afterward) that he's tough enough to win the Super Six Tournament.

He certainly convinced the Showtime audience and the Oracle Arena crowd announced at 10,227, taking Kessler's WBA championship from him Saturday by technical decision after wounds officially initiated by unintentional head butts rendered Kessler unable to continue in the 11th round of the super-middleweight bout. Ward (21-0, 13 knockouts) was leading 98-92 on two scorecards and 97-93 on the other and was declared the winner.

It took a bit of equivocating to award Kessler any of the rounds. He was soundly beaten. "I don't know if I lost a whole round," Ward said accurately.

Kessler, who began looking battered in the third and fourth rounds, fairly graciously gave Ward his due. "He was quicker than I expected," Kessler said when I asked whether Ward's show of power had surprised him. And Ward's ability to thwart Kessler's offense drew praise, sort of. "He ruined my style," Kessler said after landing few power punches and fewer combinations.

But Kessler and promoter Wilfried Sauerland felt Ward was allowed to hold too much and that his head-butting was excessive. "It was unfair, with the holding and the hitting," Kessler said, adding that he felt the head butts were intentional.

Whatever. Ward dominated the bout from the outset, beating Kessler (42-2) to the punch and not allowing the Dane to establish his rhythm.

Ward won the first four rounds. By the fourth, after landing a big right and a combination punctuated by a left uppercut, Ward was measuring Kessler, not to mention dominating him. That was the round Kessler wound up with a big mouse under his right eye.

It was pretty obvious Ward was on his way to victory, and the head butts had little to do with it. "He's everything they said he was," Ward said of Kessler, "but we were better tonight."

The holding was a more valid complaint, but it resulted primarily from Ward's desire to fight inside, rather than a need to tie up Kessler. It was an important part of the strategy, as Kessler is primarily an outside fighter with a great jab.

"Most important: keeping Kessler off-balance," Ward said. "The defense took care of itself."

Ward executed the game plan "from A to Z," said trainer Virgil Hunter, adding that Ward's emphatic start was crucial. "He's a front-runner when he's pushed the issue," Hunter said of Kessler, but "I knew he had never been cracked."

WINTER 2010

THE DONAIRE JUNKET AND THE GUERRERO TRANSPLANT

Although I narrowly missed chances to caravan with Team Donaire to and from Las Vegas for Nonito's February fight, I spent a fair chunk of time with them in Las Vegas.

I was already writing a dispatch in my head en route, having learned just before departure that Robert Guerrero was giving up a spring fight date with an ideal opponent, lightweight slugger Michael Katsidis, because a bone marrow donor had been found. Casey had recently undergone the transplant.

That news became the first of nine dispatches I posted from Vegas in five days, but nothing was reaching Philboxing and more and more of my work amounted to pissing in the wind. I subsequently established contact with Philboxing proprietor Dong Secuya and was able to submit my Examiner links directly, but that didn't help me in Vegas.

Thus, I tried to think of the Vegas junket as a leisure trip. I managed to lag behind a snowstorm in the Tehachapi Mountains long enough to travel at optimum speed from the Bay Area to Las Vegas.

The card at the Las Vegas Hilton was a screwy one, topped by Nonito and Fernando Montiel in separate fights against decided underdogs.

Then Donaire's opponent, Gerson Guerrero, failed an eye test, and the scramble was on to scrape up a halfway credible replacement, which is what they found. Donaire, naturally, was very relaxed on the Friday night once he'd weighed in under the 115-pound limit, and I was brought along, in the Team Donaire van, for dinner at Il Fornaio at New York, New York, and then some puttering around in the van, talking informally with Nonito while Rachel and her mother, Rebecca Marcial, completed several tasks.

Nonito talked about the feelings of inadequacy that beset him when he was a boy in San Leandro, how he was a target of derision for being small, big-eared and bumptious. He did not, however share the later-reported story that he became preoccupied with suicide in those days. All of this pertained to his rift with his father, who was in Vegas as trainer for Montiel's opponent. Some of it even pertained to Nonito's long held reverence for martial arts movie star Bruce Lee I wasn't taking notes. I mostly listened.

Back in the Bay Area, the grimness of the Guerrero situation set in as reporters were summoned to Stanford Hospital, where Robert announced he was relinquishing his IBF junior lightweight belt and taking a hiatus that might last three or four months to take care of his children during Casey's hospitalization.

I was hopeful for Casey primarily because a friend of mine had come down with Casey's form of leukemia two years before she had, and he underwent his bone-marrow transplant about two years before Casey as well. He survived, and she probably would too, I told whoever would listen.

You might also enjoy _:_  http://www.examiner.com/article/defending-pacquiao-s-honor-puts-me-kicking-contest-with-mule-named-frances

JANUARY 2010
Chapter 84

AMERICA NOT SAVVY TO PACQUIAO'S STEROIDS STANCE

Manny Pacquiao would rather beat Floyd Mayweather in dignity than in the ring, Is that so hard to understand?

For Westerners, it is. For Easterners, it isn't.

If Pacquiao has nothing to hide, Westerners say, he should undergo the most stringent steroid testing available. If the Mayweathers hadn't been so snide, Easterners reply, Pacquiao probably would.

The Mayweather clan rubbed Pacquiao the wrong way last summer when they led the way in proclaiming that Pacquiao owes his recent success to steroids. So Pacquiao was already seething last month before the Mayweathers declared Nevada's steroid-testing provisions inadequate for the proposed March 13 bout between the two.

As far as Pacquiao is concerned, Mayweather can go poke himself.

As much as Pacquiao values his boxing legend, he values his dignity more. He knows his lawsuit won't gain him much materially, but by winning it he'll prove he doesn't negotiate on his knees, proving it to the tune of at least $30 million.

That's just way too much nuance for too many Americans these days. They just don't believe that anyone would place more value on dignity than dinero. Thus, their skepticism regarding the steroid-testing impasse demonstrates exactly the lack of international scope that shapes the widespread opinion abroad that Americans are stupid.

Here I was hoping nationalism and cultural differences wouldn't be factors in the Pacquiao-Mayweather equation, and now they've become the primary factor.

As matters stand, Pacquiao is the human and Mayweather is the bionic one.

This would be a good time for Mayweather to come to the aid of his country by showing some humility, for a change. If Mayweather were to seek a one-on-one chat with Pacquiao in which Floyd, looking Manny in the eye, cops to having insulted him and apologizes, their fight would take place, adequate precautions against steroid abuse and all.

If Mayweather were to then win the fight, as I'm slightly inclined to bet he would by turning it into a dull dance, his triumph would be all the greater in the eyes of Pacquiao and his fans.

My fellow Americans, is that so hard to understand?

JANUARY 2010
Chapter 85

DONAIRE'S FEATHERWEIGHT TARGETS REMAIN VIABLE

By stopping Steven Luevano in the seventh round Saturday to win the WBO featherweight title on HBO, Juan Manuel Lopez remained on track for that ultimate showdown with Nonito Donaire – say in late 2012.

But it became clear Saturday that the more immediate showdown Lopez faces, with WBA featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa, is one of the best bouts on the boxing horizon. Gamboa 17-0, (15 knockouts) needed only two rounds to stop Rogers Mtagwa, the Tanzanian who had Lopez in 12th-round distress last October in the one bout that seemed to suggest there might be cracks in Lopez's armor.

JuanMa (28-0, 25 knockouts) dispelled most doubts by repeatedly beating Luevano (37-1-1) to the punch, negating the slick Californian's one hope against the young Puerto Rican. Luevano is a notably light puncher. Lopez is not. It was clear by the third round where the outcome was headed. The bout was rather reminiscent of Lopez's victory over Gerry Peñalosa last April.

Whether Lopez is quick enough to contend with Gamboa is an altogether different matter. Gamboa whacked Mtagwa (and it turns out his first name is the conventional Roger, not Rogers) with counter lefts from the get-go, and scored a knockdown late in the first round before dishing out more of the same in the second.

For Donaire, there are plenty of obstacles and weight classes to surmount before he reaches his distant goals in the featherweight division, starting with his Feb. 13 title defense at super-flyweight against journeyman Gerson Guerrero. Although he wasn't happy to see one of his manager Cameron Dunkin's fighters go down the way Luevano did, Donaire will be better off for it in the long run.

And if Gamboa were to outclass Lopez, he would become the one ultimately awaiting Donaire at the finish line.

JANUARY 2010
Chapter 86

A RADIO DATE AND SEVERAL UPDATES

I'll be on Pedro Fernandez's RING TALK radio show Sunday around 6:15 p.m. on KTRB-AM (860), with Pedro letting me yak about being SF Boxing Examiner. So here's what I'll be yakking about:

*Nonito Donaire's fight Feb. 13 in Las Vegas against Gerson Guerrero on the Pinoy Power 3 card. I will have attended Donaire's open workout Saturday at the Undisputed Boxing Gym in San Carlos from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. I'll also be in Las Vegas on Feb. 10-13 to cover the fight card and attendant events.

*Andre Ward's April 17 WBA super-middleweight title defense in Oakland against Allan Green, who has replaced Jermain Taylor in the Super Six tournament on Showtime (as I have been saying should be the scenario).

*Robert Guerrero's inactivity since his Aug. 23 victory over Malcolm Klassen that earned Guerrero the IBF 130-pound title. The latest haggling over promotion rights to Guerrero between Goossen-Tutor and Golden Boy Promotions has been resolved in Golden Boy's favor, as it should have been.

*Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather and the steroids-related haggling that scuttled plans for a March 13 bout between the two. Fernandez and I disagree on this issue. My stance is that Pacquiao was justifiably peeved and disgusted by the sequence of events.

*Pacquiao's bout March 13 against Joshua Clottey and Mayweather's proposed fight against Shane Mosley.

*Antonio Margarito and discussions of whether his banishment from boxing over last year's hand-wrapping scandal should continue.

We might not cover all of that ground. Your Welterweight Champion here will probably be on the air for less than 10 minutes. But that's my agenda, so bring it on, Pedro.

JANUARY 2010
Chapter 87

DONAIRE, TRAINER GARCIA GLIB AT SAN CARLOS FETE

While a large chunk of his public was adoring Nonito Donaire as his open house wound down Saturday in San Carlos, a small clump of writers made a beeline for trainer Robert Garcia. The whole thing whetted my appetite for Donaire vs. Fernando Montiel.

We even got Garcia to break down that matchup. "It would be a chess match," Garcia said. "Whoever makes the first mistake . . ." But he gave Donaire the edge because "he's bigger, stronger and faster."

Only problem is, Saturday's event was a build-up to Donaire's bout with Gerson Guerrero, but we've already complained enough about that. It is a bout that should make Donaire look good, so that should be enjoyable, but it would be a lot better if he were fighting Montiel already.

Nonito's efforts to build up his lower-body stamina put his grueling regimen on display Saturday. His patter during those exercises was the centerpiece of the two-hour event, which must have seemed almost hands-on for the 120 or so fans who crowded the tiny Undisputed Gym. Up close and personal.

Donaire's new relationship with Garcia, whose Oxnard outpost is the hottest camp this side of Freddie Roach's Wild Card, is his most important ingredient for the Guerrero fight, which headlines the Latino Fury 13/Pinoy Power 3 card Feb. 13 in Las Vegas, with Montiel fighting unbeaten Filipino Ciso Morales, veteran Filipino champion Gerry Peñalosa taking on Eric Morel and Bernabe Concepcion meeting Mario Santiago.

Garcia gave us a lot of insights about his role on Team Donaire that we'll examine in coming days. But his insights on dream matchups were more spectacular.

One week after watching his fighter Steven Luevano lose in seven rounds to Juan Manuel Lopez, but also after watching Yuriorkis Gamboa demolish Roger Mtagwa in two, Garcia speculated that Gamboa is surpassing Lopez. "Gamboa looks like a beast,'' Garcia said. "I think he walks right through Lopez."

Donaire is pretty glib, as he proved to his fans Saturday. But Garcia definitely can handle him.

JANUARY 2010
Chapter 88

TRAINER GARCIA GIVES DONAIRE STABILITY

Other than his propensity for hand injuries, Nonito Donaire's biggest problem over the past 14 months has been the lack of a commanding presence in his corner during fights.

He probably has solved that problem via his new alliance with Oxnard trainer Robert Garcia. Make no mistake: Garcia will be dictating to Donaire when the Bay Area super-flyweight defends his WBA interim title Feb. 13 against Gerson Guerrero in Las Vegas. It won't be the other way around, Garcia made clear Saturday at Donaire's open house at the Undisputed Gym in San Carlos.

Donaire has been the master of his domain ever since his split with his trainer/father, Nonito Donaire Sr., after Jun's November 2008 bout with Moruti Mthalane. It's fair to say that Jun's wife, Rachel Marcial Donaire, got caught in the middle of that rift and could be said to have contributed to it, but those who think that left her in charge are simply wrong. Jun has been in charge.

That may be fine during training, as it was in Baguio last year at this time as Junior was preparing in the Philippines, with Gerry Peñalosa and his brothers, for his April mauling of Raul Martinez. But Gerry's brothers didn't seem to carry enough weight to guide Donaire when his early onslaught failed to finish off Rafael Concepcion in their August bout, and Jun wound up in a war against an opponent whose weight advantage made for a fight that gave Team Donaire a pretty good scare. The Concepcion bout threatened to cost Donaire his standing among the top 10 fighters in the world, pound-for-pound.

Garcia has seen other fighters of Donaire's stature make the same mistakes. "When they become champions," said Garcia, himself a former super-featherweight champion, "a lot of them try to become the boss, and that should never happen. You should never call the shots."

So let's disabuse ourselves of the notion that Garcia, 35, is a bit of a figurehead in Donaire's camp. "He does what I tell him to do," Garcia said. But isn't that difficult when Donaire is 300 miles from Oxnard? "I'm not here every day," Garcia conceded, "but I come here often," and "we talk all the time on the phone."

A lot of the talk centers upon defensive strategies Donaire will employ to prevent the Guerrero fight from becoming a clone of the Concepcion battle. We'll talk about that more next week. But rest assured that, come fight night, Garcia will be doing the talking.

FEBRUARY 2010
Chapter 89

GUERRERO PULLS OUT OF BOUT WITH KATSIDIS

Robert Guerrero's recently scheduled bout with Michael Katsidis has already been called off. Guerrero is understandably preoccupied by his wife's recent bone marrow transplant and announced his withdrawal Tuesday.

Casey Guerrero's leukemia symptoms returned a couple of weeks ago and the bone marrow transplant has already taken place. She's at Stanford Hospital.

I can only say that I have a friend whose acute lymphoblastic leukemia necessitated a bone marrow transplant two years ago at Stanford Hospital. He remains leukemia-free. The transplant is a drastic measure, as it can be attempted only once.

Guerrero, you may recall, scored a one-round knockout of Martin Honorio in 2007 just hours of learning of Casey's diagnosis. But this is different, Guerrero said. There was no way the fight, which was scheduled for March 27, could take precedence.

Katsidis would be the most formidable opponent Guerrero, the IBF 130-pound champion from Gilroy, has faced. Guerrero needs to beat someone like that. The postponement therefore is very frustrating from a boxing standpoint.

FEBRUARY 2010
Chapter 90

DONAIRE OPPONENT INJURED, IS REPLACED

With three days remaining until Saturday's Pinoy Power 3 card in Las Vegas, Nonito Donaire found himself with a new opponent Wednesday. Exit Gerson Guerrero with a detached retina. Enter Manuel Vargas.

Promoter Bob Arum announced the new development almost as an afterthought at Wednesday's media event at the Las Vegas Hilton. But then, Guerrero was sort of an afterthought too for this card, which showcases Donaire but features three more-compelling bouts, including Gerry Peñalosa-Eric Morel and Fernando Montiel-Ciso Morales.

Vargas (26-4, 11 knockouts) is a tall (5-foot-6) strawweight who lost a close decision to Donnie Nietes last September in his last bout. Donaire seems likely to walk right through him for a quick knockout, but Vargas has been stopped only once, in his pro debut.

"It happens in boxing," Donaire said on the dais. "My last fight (an unexpectedly trying 12-rounder with a larger fighter) got me prepared for whatever comes. I'm kind of at a loss right now."

Had the change in opponents not occurred, I'd be waxing ecstatic about meeting Arum, Montiel, Peñalosa and several members of the Philippines media, including writer Ronnie Nathanielsz, but there'll be three days of that leading up to the fight. For now, Guerrero's pullout is the big news.

Top Rank acted quickly to find the replacement as the media event was winding down. "Pancho Villa is on his way from Tijuana with an army of 115-pounders," Arum had quipped, "so there will be a fight."

FEBRUARY 2010
Chapter 91

MONTIEL BARELY REACHES 118

Fernando Montiel came in at the bantamweight limit of 118 pounds Friday at the official weigh-in for Saturday's Latin Fury 13/Pinoy Power 3 card at the Las Vegas Hilton. Although Nonito Donaire later told me he also struggled to make the weight limit (115) for his fight, Montiel's weight attracted more attention before and during the weigh-in.

First and foremost, the 30-year-old Sinaloan, who is defending his WBO bantamweight title, reportedly weighed 124 as late as Wednesday. Second, it didn't appear at first glance Friday that he had come in at 118. He stepped on the scale a second time and hit 118 on the nose for his fight against Filipino challenger Ciso Morales, the odds against whom dropped from 10-1 to 8-1 Friday afternoon in the two hours after I placed a $100 bet on the unbeaten underdog. By 11 p.m. the odds had dropped to 6-1.

Philippines boxing journalism eminence gris Ronnie Nathanielsz, decrying the danger of last-minute weight loss, made me feel about as smug as possible about my long shot bet by extolling the punching power of Morales, who has stopped eight of his 14 opponents.

But I made one significant failure in preparation. It seems that ubiquitous manager Sampson Lewkowicz, who whined unbecomingly in San Jose last March about the unfair shake his largely foreign fighters seem to get from U.S. judges, handles Morales. Lewkowicz is not a guy whose fighters warrant underdog action.

FEBRUARY 2010
Chapter 92

DONAIRE GETTING IN TOUCH WITH HIS SAVAGE SIDE

Full disclosure: Nonito Donaire paid for my dinner Friday night and provided plenty of food for thought along the way.

He's a thinking man's boxer, without question, but his braininess has done less for his pocketbook than that left hook that kayoed Vic Darchinyan in 2007.

What he said, almost as a mantra during the four hours-plus I spent Friday with Team Donaire, is that he is channeling Bruce Lee, the 1960s martial arts and movie star and becoming at one with a mindset more conducive to the mayhem required of boxing stars.

He'll be aiming to apply those principles in Saturday's WBA interim super flyweight title fight at the Las Vegas Hilton against a substitute whom Donaire had best dispose of impressively.

There's a side of Donaire that would be happy with a 12-round whitewash, but he concedes that a repeat of his statistically one-sided victory over a bloated Rafael Concepcion last August is not what he has in mind at the Las Vegas Hilton against Manuel Vargas as Donaire headlines the Latin Fury 13/Pinoy Power card on a Top Rank-produced pay-per-view card.

Vargas looked bulkier than Donaire at Friday's weigh-in, but he's moving up in weight and class with his last-minute assignment against the Filipino Flash, who is ranked among the world's top 10 fighters, pound-for-pound. Donaire is surely one of the most obscure of those 10 in the United States, in contrast to the frenzy that often assails him in his native Philippines.

He has an artistic bent, but there's a lot to be said for the savagery with which he dispatched Darchinyan and has demonstrated in about half of his fights.

(I'm sharing impressions and not quotes because much of our conversation took place over dinner at New York, New York's Il Fornaio restaurant and then in a long run of post-dinner errands in the Flashmobile, the gaudily decorated Team Donaire van. I received more honor and attention than I ever anticipated from an accomplished champion on the eve of a fight, even if one concedes that he needn't lose sleep over Vargas. I didn't write things down. I just hung out as we had often discussed doing but seldom can coordinate in the Bay Area.)

One of his motivations Saturday, Donaire said, is that he seems to bog down in Las Vegas, which belies his penchant for rising to an occasion. The Concepcion fight and his 2008 bout with Moruti Mthalane were the latest episodes of relatively lackluster fights in the sport's central gathering place.

Donaire can be spectacular. Laid-back though he seemed Friday, he was looking forward to an explosive performance. He hopes viewers will find it reminiscent of a Bruce Lee movie.

FEBRUARY 2010
Chapter 93

DONAIRE, MONTIEL SCORE QUICK KNOCKOUTS

Nonito Donaire knocked out Manuel "Chango" Vargas with a clean left hook to the nose in the third round Saturday at the Las Vegas Hilton on a night that proved that it's best not to leave one's boxing fate in the hands of the judges.

Bernabe Concepcion of the Philippines won a unanimous decision over Mario Santiago in a bout I thought Santiago won, and Eric Morel of Puerto Rico won a split decision over Gerry Peñalosa in a bout I thought Peñalosa had won.

Perhaps with those ambiguities in mind, Mexico's Fernando Montiel then defended his WBO bantamweight title by knocking out Filipino Ciso Morales with a left to the body in the first round.

Donaire's victory was about as satisfying as could be hoped for a bout against a smaller man who was a last-minute substitute. Donaire (23-1, 15 knockouts) landed a vicious counter punch in the first round that nearly got the job done, and a big right in the second that left no doubt he would get the knockout soon enough.

"He leans forward," Donaire said. "I saw the opening and I did what I had to do."

Donaire said he was able to trick Vargas into position and that he foresaw the ending earlier in the third. "Side-to-side motion: He would fall for it. When he leaned forward, I could hit him with an uppercut."

With Donaire towering over his opponent and abusing him like a schoolboy (baby-faced Vargas looked the part), Nonito evinced the flyweight supremacy from which he has graduated with hopes of conquering the bantamweight and featherweight divisions.

First, though, it seems likely he will finally get his rematch with Vic Darchinyan, like Donaire a 115-pounder these days. Donaire knocked out Darchinyan with a left hook in 2007 and it remains a signature punch, as Vargas knows only too well.

An observer said the knockout punch destroyed the loser's septum.

Both of the knockouts were delayed-reaction beauties that left the victim down for several minutes afterward. It took Morales about five seconds to wilt to the canvas after Montiel landed the body blow.

The ambiguities of judging were inevitable in the Peñalosa-Morel bout. The Puerto Rican was the aggressor in the early rounds, though he was frustrated by Peñalosa's defense. But Peñalosa, like Morel, was unable to establish his jab, which left the 38-year-old southpaw dependent on his left cross. Neither fighter was effective enough offensively to pose a sure threat to Montiel, who apparently will fight Morel next.

Santiago was able to establish his jab, but the judges felt it missed the mark far too often. They were more impressed with Concepcion's power punching, his only weapon, and to be fair, he scored a sixth-round knockdown that made it difficult to decry the decision, even though I didn't think he won a round after the sixth. Concepcion wilted in the ninth and 10th, not a good sign for his title challenge to Juan Manuel Lopez that may come next.

Where the judges and I differed was early on. I gave Santiago three of the first five rounds. Two of the judges had Concepcion winning all of the first four.

Opinions on scoring vary widely, but a clean knockout looks the same to everyone. As if Donaire and Montiel didn't make that point emphatically enough, the unexpected presence of Manny Pacquiao at the Hilton underscored the impression a fighter makes when he consistently knocks opponents out.

Manny managed to upstage everyone, probably inspiring several donations to his charity for stricken Filipino boxer Z Gorres, who was at ringside in a wheelchair.

FEBRUARY 2010
Chapter 94

GUERRERO SAYS HE'S GIVING UP 130 TITLE

Robert Guerrero announced Tuesday that he has relinquished his IBF junior lightweight title because of his wife's battle with leukemia.

A week earlier, Guerrero, of Gilroy, had announced he was canceling his proposed April title fight with Michael Katsidis because his wife, Casey, had recently undergone a bone marrow transplant. Tuesday's release stated that the outcome of the transplant is likely to be known by early March.

That announcement probably made the more recent one inevitable. It seems unlikely Guerrero will fight before late summer, and that's assuming Casey's surgery proves successful. Titles can't be held undefended, so he had to relinquish.

Guerrero won the title last August from Malcolm Klassen. He earlier had been the IBF's 126-pound champion but had abdicated that title to fight at the higher weight.

The Klassen fight was a good example of Guerrero's all-around skills as the tall left-hander was busy, landed lots of punches and was difficult to hit.

His toughness had been called into question last March when his bout in San Jose on HBO against Daud Yordan was stopped in the second round because Guerrero had sustained an eye wound because of a head butt. But the Klassen fight, also on HBO, seemed to vindicate Guerrero.

Although HBO's interest in Guerrero seems marginal and the network's boxing agenda is less busy this year than last, we probably should believe promoter Oscar De La Hoya's assertion in the release that Golden Boy Promotions will get Guerrero's career back on track when's he's ready to return.

FEBRUARY 2010
Chapter 95

GUERREROS' FAITH IN HIGHER POWER LOOMS LARGE

In the midst of Palo Alto's massive late-morning power failure Wednesday, Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero discussed his abdication of the IBF junior lightweight title this week in the aftermath of his wife's bone-marrow transplant.

Even the finest scientists at Stanford University are beset by power failures? What a symbol of the frailness of man's advances while your wife is fighting for her life. She does seem to be winning, and there's even reason to hope Guerrero can resume training once Casey completes her four-month course of nearly daily treatments at Stanford Hospital.

Guerrero's faith in a high power is prevailing, as usual, and that strengthens his faith in science. "When you believe in God, have a strong faith, it's going to carry you," Guerrero said Wednesday at the hospital.

God's timing doesn't seem like the best thing for Guerrero's boxing career. The title fight with Michael Katsidis that Guerrero had to cancel would have been his biggest payday and would have made him the first Bay Area fighter to headline on HBO.

Yet, with Casey's bone-marrow transplant becoming the most important stage of her two-year illness with acute lymphocytic leukemia, "all boxing went out the window," Guerrero said.

His role in maintaining his Gilroy household and a second outpost near Stanford for four months would alone seem to preclude intensive training for a big fight.

But he seemed optimistic that his boxing hiatus won't last all year. "Right now I'm not sure," he said, "but I know I'll be in the ring soon because I know she's getting well soon."

Her emergence from the process leading up to the Jan. 24 transplant gives reason for hope in itself. Her relapse four months ago, and the locating of a bone-marrow donor in Europe a month later, begat the process of killing all the cancer cells again so the transplant could succeed.

Robert said he has seen the ravages of that process and other treatments among Casey's fellow patients. He says that, as much as anything, puts boxing in perspective.

"I'll take some cuts and black eyes and bloody lips over that."

FEBRUARY 2010
Chapter 96

DONAIRE FATHER/SON RIFT NEEDS APT MEDIATOR

Wisdom is the essence of Manny Pacquiao's mystique. He may be campaigning to become a legislator, but that's just a steppingstone to the judicial branch, where he belongs. He is too often insulted and not often enough consulted.

So I hereby suggest that the Oracle of General Santos City is the ideal mediator to dissolve the impasse between Nonito Donaire Sr. and his namesake son, even though they live in the Bay Area.

The great flyweight and his father have been on the outs since Jun's difficult November 2008 bout with Moruti Mthalane. The rift is accumulating cement.

Meeting Senior briefly and talking extensively with Junior in Las Vegas this month intensified my urge to mediate the impasse, but I have no chance. Even Filipino politicians and journalists who would seem to have great influence with the father have failed to solve the problem.

I have said it is not a problem. Two hours before Donaire's easy victory over Manuel "Chango" Vargas in Las Vegas eight days ago, I said as much to announcer-analyst Al Bernstein when he opined that the father-son rift is the only thing about Jun that threatens to impede his rise to greatness. Bernstein's colleague Steve Farhood had told me the same thing last February at an Andre Ward fight here in California.

"He seems isolated," Bernstein said. I scoffed at that because Jun scoffs at that. But if it's the conventional wisdom in boxing that this rift is indeed a big problem, that means it is.

To review: Senior was the architect of Junior's career and its dictator until the Mthalane fight, Jun's first since his marriage to Rachel Marcial in August 2008. The power of the marriage – not Rachel; the combination of partners – diminished the power the father had as dictator. When Senior bitterly denounced his son's attitude toward the training regimen for the Mthalane fight and denounced Rachel for abetting that attitude, he was fired as trainer and the rift was on.

"I disown you," the son claims the father said.

Jun did not want to be disowned. He wanted his father out of his training camp, not his life.

I was distressed in Las Vegas by the father's sense of hurt, the way he winced when I alluded to his son's career and the way he looked at the Hilton press conference when Jun wordlessly handed him a microphone so he could translate for Filipino fighter Ciso Morales.

It was obvious to me that this man still loves his son, and I know the son wants his father back.

But friends will have to mediate instead of holding the coats. No one better understands where both are coming from than Manny Pacquiao. O Great One, we beseech you.

FEBRUARY 2010
Chapter 97

SHOWTIME'S LATEST '360' FEATURES GREEN'S ENTRY

Watching the assortment of promoters haggle over Super Six tournament procedures has been the highlight thus far of Showtime's documentary promotion of the event, "Fight Camp 360." That bodes well for Episode 4, premiering Saturday night at 7:30.

The highlight of Episode 4 is probably the discussion among the promoters and Showtime that resulted in Allan Green's acceptance in the field after Jermaine Taylor withdrew. Green is Andre Ward's opponent in Oakland on April 24.

It had been rumored that Ward's promoter, Dan Goossen was an impediment to Green, pushing instead for Edison Miranda (the only man to beat Green but a loser to Ward last April). Goossen-Tutor took on Miranda after that bout.

But Goossen told me he didn't push Miranda for the Super Six because a Miranda-Ward rematch was unappealing. "If Miranda had had an opportunity to fight anyone other than Ward, I would have."

So watch Episode 4 with that in mind.

Episode 3, a wrap-up of the first round of the tournament, premiered recently, but like the rest of the series had little documentary-level depth, not enough point of view, in contrast to the artistically successful HBO's "24/7" concept that presumably has inspired the Showtime counterpart.

The closest Episode 3 comes is with the continued sunny portrayal of Arthur Abraham and the adoption of his favorite techno-rock as sort of a theme song for the half-hour.

Ward continues to come off as the most arrogant contestant in the field, appropriately fielding pre-fight pep talk from Floyd Mayweather Jr., but at least the limited fight footage of his victory over Mikkel Kessler reflects the caliber of whuppin' Ward administered.

MARCH 2010
Chapter 98

DAD'S VERSION OF DONAIRE RIFT MAKES HIM LOOK BAD

Apparently Nonito Donaire Jr. would have to divorce his wife, slay his in-laws and crawl across the San Mateo Bridge to end his rift with his father.

The rift between the eminent Filipino-American fighter and the father who developed him grew wider than ever Sunday as the father's efforts to tell his side of the story made him look worse instead of better.

In his telephone conversation with Dennis "dSource" Guillermo, from Puerto Rico, where he was training Marvin Sonsona for Saturday's fourth-round knockout loss to Wilfredo Vasquez Jr., Donaire Sr. portrayed Rachel Marcial Donaire as a cruel conniver, the Marcials as a mob and his son as their meek captive who "has forgotten the people who fed him."

That last part is the most telling, that Junior is too weak to break this mob's hold on him. (No wonder boxing observers are under the impression that Junior is being "isolated.") The father's inability to recognize his son's personal strength is what drove the son to take charge of his career and his life.

"It's too bad we can't handle our issues like gentlemen," Junior said Sunday. "I love my father and respect him dearly."

One of these guys is much clearer on the concept of public relations than the other.

When I spent more than four hours in the clutches of the Marcial Mob on Feb. 12 in Las Vegas on the eve of Junior's three-round knockout victory over Manuel Vargas, the fighter was attentive, warm and chatty. He seems to have a somewhat more affectionate relationship with his in-laws than I have with mine, by the way, and he seems every bit as formidable as his in-laws.

One remark did make the dad look good – that he'd had no beef with his son before he was fired summarily as trainer from a distance in 2008. That seems hard to believe, though. He should have known something was festering, but he was too imperious, and still is.

I met the father in Las Vegas and tried to solicit the phone call Guillermo received. I feel I have written kindly until now about his end of the rift, but my not being Filipino is a real impediment.

And now, so is my view of the father-son relationship. The father has misread the situation at every turn, and now the proof is in print.

MARCH 2010
Chapter 99

WARD'S KNEE TROUBLE POSTPONES GREEN FIGHT

Knee trouble has forced Andre Ward to postpone his Super Six bout in Oakland against Allan Green, which was scheduled for April 24.

Ward injured his right knee playing basketball in 2008 and underwent surgery that contributed to a layoff most of that year. But that knee injury has come back to haunt Ward this spring, apparently because he didn't ease into training gently enough for the Green fight.

So it seems Ward's promoter, Dan Goossen, won't have to flee ringside in Oakland after all on April 24 to catch another of his fighters, heavyweight Cristobal Arreola, in action against Tomasz Adamek in Ontario, Calif.

But it's still going to be a busy day in boxing, with the Arreola fight in the evening and a Super Six bout, Mikkel Kessler vs. Carl Froch, set for Denmark earlier that day.

Ward's knee has been inflamed, and that has hindered his ability to run. He was scheduled to undergo an MRI on Tuesday.

Needless to say, Green and his promoter, Lou DiBella, aren't happy about the postponement, and DiBella indicated he'll try to scuttle plans to stage the bout on Ward's turf in the Bay Area. Green recently replaced another DiBella fighter, Jermain Taylor, in the Super Six tournament Showtime is staging among elite 168-pounders. Green inherited the slot opposite Ward, who opened his share of the Super Six by stopping Kessler in Oakland last November to win the WBA super-middleweight title.

DiBella claims that Goossen should have advised him the April 24 date was in jeopardy and hinted the Ward-Arreola conflict entered into the postponement.

But that's how the Super Six is going. The other two participants, Arthur Abraham and Andre Dirrell, are scheduled to fight March 27 after having postponed twice. Dirrell's loss to Carl Froch was by a highly disputable decision that suggested the hometown advantage will rule in every bout. The need for Taylor to pull out wasn't great for the tournament format, either.

A bit of concern for Ward is in order, too. The knee is going to pose problems throughout his career, and apparently he hadn't reckoned with that until now.

MARCH 2010
Chapter 100

PREDICTING DIRRELL OVER ABRAHAM IN SUPER SIX

Andre Ward might be better off if his pal Andre Dirrell doesn't knock Arthur Abraham off his perch atop the Super Six tournament before Ward gets his chance.

First, it looks better if Ward (whose Super Six bout with Allan Green is now set for June 19 in Oakland) ascends to first place by beating Abraham himself. Second, Dirrell is the tournament participant best equipped to defeat Ward.

First Dirrell must beat Abraham, which most observers don't expect Dirrell to do in their fight Saturday on Showtime. But I do.

Dirrell might not outbox Abraham as thoroughly as he outboxed Carl Froch last October in England, but this time Dirrell will be awarded the decision.

This fight will be held in Michigan, Dirrell's home state, so he might even get the benefit of the doubt if he keeps Abraham from decking him.

At home in Nottingham, Froch apparently got points for wrestling Dirrell to the canvas. Abraham won't do that. He'll try to win legitimately but will find Dirrell too elusive.

MARCH 2010
Chapter 101

DIRRELL'S DEMYSTIFIES ABRAHAM, BUT ENDING IS ODD

After thoroughly outpointing Arthur Abraham for 10 rounds and even knocking him down, Andre Dirrell clearly earned his victory Saturday in the second stage of the Super Six tournament.

But the fight ended with Dirrell out cold. As Dirrell slipped on a wet spot in the 11th round and fell to a knee, Abraham landed a huge right clearly beyond the pale, and referee Laurence Cole ruled Dirrell (19-1) the winner by disqualification.

Abraham, the only one of the three Stage One victors to win by knockout, will lose his tournament lead if Carl Froch and/or Andre Ward can turn in a victory in the second stage.

But I feel the first four bouts of the tournament have vindicated my seemingly outlandish prediction at the outset that the two Andres would emerge as the stars of the Super Six, Showtime's multi-bout event among elite 168-pounders.

Dirrell's victory over Abraham in Detroit strongly resembled Ward's victory over pre-tournament favorite Mikkel Kessler in Oakland last November. More to the point, Dirrell's stand-and-deliver strategy made him look more like Ward than himself. Dirrell is a bit faster than Ward, but he's not as strong and he isn't as commanding.

I daresay Ward is in the tournament driver's seat, and he'll be in first place after Kessler beats Froch on April 24 and Ward beats Allan Green on June 19 in Oakland. Ward and Dirrell, who were Olympic stalemates in 2004, meet in Stage 3.

Dirrell would be positioned to share frontrunner honors after Stage Two had he not been robbed of the decision in his bout with Froch last October in England. Dirrell's performance Saturday certainly vindicated those of us who felt he was a vital force entering the tournament and had proven it against Froch.

One judge gave Dirrell nine rounds against Abraham and the other two scored it 8-2. The fourth-round knockdown was a bit tainted, as Dirrell set up Abraham with his right elbow for a left cross that sent Abraham (31-1) sprawling to the canvas for the first time in his career.

For the most part, Dirrell was not able to hurt Abraham to the face, but he landed often to the body -- and not below the belt as often as Abraham was claiming.

The tide was turning a bit in the late rounds. Dirrell went down in a tangle of feet in the 10th, but Cole could just as easily have given Abraham credit for a knockdown then instead of saying Dirrell slipped. The wet spot that set up Dirrell for the slippage in the 11th also sent him down in the eighth round, and Dirrell seemed less mobile after that.

But mobility wasn't Dirrell's only weapon against Abraham, as naysayers claimed it had been against Froch. Dirrell won convincingly by hitting Abraham with a variety of shots, and the Armenian-born resident of Berlin was demystified, just as Kessler was in Oakland.

The odd European chauvinism that has dominated discussion of this tournament isn't going to prevail much longer.

MARCH 2010
Chapter 102

WHAT DID THEY WANT FROM DIRRELL, A CORPSE?

The minute Andre Dirrell was cold-cocked by an illegal punch and Arthur Abraham was disqualified, as I watched Saturday's West Coast, three-hours-old Showtime transmission of the bout, I ran to the computer to find out whether Dirrell was dead.

But it seems the consensus is that he was merely _playing_ dead.

That is very unfair to Dirrell. I am appalled.

A boxer who is upright in a stance cannot POSSIBLY be hit as hard as Abraham hit Dirrell after the latter had slipped to one knee on a slick patch of canvas in the 11th round of their Super Six tournament bout. The punch was certainly illegal.

Rocky, of course, got hit that hard every punch, but let's be clear: Abraham is one of the most feared knockout artists in boxing, and he has never landed a cleaner punch, if by clean you mean unfettered.

He knocked Dirrell senseless all right, and if you view the incident at actual speed, you see that Dirrell went down immediately.

Watching replays in slow motion, some critics of what went down are claiming Dirrell gave matters a second or two of thought before deciding the better part of valor was discretion. Dirrell actually recites those Shakespearean words in some versions of the incident.

Yes, Dirrell is being accused, widely accused, of taking a dive to ensure the disqualification rather than taking his chances on lasting the final five minutes of a fight he would win by merely remaining upright.

That makes about as much sense as leaving America for a few days to have your baby in Kenya.

What was Dirrell's motive for acting? Why would a boxer, who is dependent on his own box-office appeal, squander his image doing that?

Answer: He wouldn't, and Dirrell didn't.

Dirrell totally dominated the fight for nine rounds, creating problems Abraham had never faced before, including a fourth-round knockdown. In the 10th, Abraham actually did land a telling blow, and it should have counted as a knockdown. Dirrell retreated the remainder of the round and looked a bit spooked between rounds. But during the 11th, the fight regained its ninth-round character, with Dirrell throwing more punches than Abraham but becoming ever more careful not to mix it up anymore.

You can make a case for the likelihood Abraham would have caught him, but you can make a better case for Dirrell's chances of lasting 12.

Let's not vilify Abraham too much for any of this. He didn't have much time to decide whether he was entitled to take advantage of the opening provided when Dirrell slipped on a wet spot. Do note, however, that the wet spot was in Abraham's corner, right where Dirrell also had slipped in the seventh round.

Abraham is the one person entitled to be deranged enough to suggest Dirrell was merely acting. The rest of you, especially those whose metaphors tend to run toward disparagement of a certain female body part, should be ashamed.

SPRING 2010

NO NEED TO BE TRUCULENT AT WARD'S SUPER SIX FIGHT

My favorite thing about Allan Green was that he worked the word "truculent" into a sentence during an interview in Oakland, fooling some transcribers who, unlike Green, must not have been familiar with the following exchange from the 1960s:

Howard Cosell: "You're being extremely truculent."

Muhammad Ali: "Whatever 'truculent' means, if it's good, I'm that."

Green's intellect was one reason Andre Ward's mid-June bout in the Super Six was the most attractive bout for any of the Kingpin Trio during the first half of 2010.

That didn't mean I was looking forward to covering it. If there were some way to watch matches on TV at home and then be teleported to the interview segment of the fight site, that would be the ideal. The press seating at Oracle Arena is badly angled in relation to the ring, and the seats are especially unenviable among the other internet reporters, rows behind my former newspaper brethren.

I was getting a lot of newspaper work that spring, with a theater critic's maternity leave opening up more review work than usual. Then came three multi-day sports gigs, covering college and pro teams visiting the Bay Area, for newspapers in Iowa City, Pittsburgh and suburban Chicago, the latter covering the Blackhawks against the Sharks in the NHL's Stanley Cup conference finals.

So I thought up a fourth. I doubted Green's hometown paper in Tulsa would send a writer to Oakland, and I guessed right. Representing the Tulsa World meant not only $100 – nearly $100 more than I would make on Examiner, but also a better seat on press row that morphed into a much better seat -- in the Showtime production area.

For several years on Showtime, three reporters would be picked to judge the fight like officials, with Showtime displaying updates every three rounds. With poor Green almost alone against the world on Ward's turf, the Tulsa tie-in appeared to balance our "Press Row Scoring" more than it did. However, I judged Green the winner of the first round, even though no one else did. Ward won the next 11 on all scorecards.

Showtime also hooked me up with earphones that enabled me to hear the first post-fight interviews in time to strengthen my story for a tight Central time zone deadline. Good thing, as Green then disappeared.

Alas, Rachel Marcial Donaire came by to chat briefly just as I started to file the story to Tulsa and she seemed miffed when I told her I'd have to get back to her in five minutes. I didn't really get a chance to make up for that.

On the plus side, promoter Dan Goossen razzed me in the interview room for giving Green the one round. I laughed.

Later, watching the fight on Showtime, I realized my Tulsa ties had caught analyst Al Bernstein by surprise. "And the third judge is Colin Seymour from the Tulsa; wait; that's not right; Colin Seymour from here in San Francisco." I laughed again.

**You might also enjoy** :  http://www.examiner.com/article/berto-s-foolishness-comes-off-as-ghoulishness-that-may-haunt-him-for-years

APRIL 2010
Chapter 103

GUERRERO'S QUICK RETURN LADEN WITH GOOD NEWS

Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero is returning to the ring April 30 for a 10-round lightweight bout in Las Vegas, Golden Boy Promotions announced Saturday.

The opponent for Guerrero (25-1-1, 17 knockouts) will be Roberto Arrieta (34-15-4, 15 knockouts) of Argentina, but two other components of the announcements outweighed whom Guerrero is fighting.

The first is that it means his wife, Casey, is making a promising recovery following a bone-marrow transplant during the past winter after her acute lymphocytic leukemia recurred. Guerrero relinquished the IBF junior lightweight title in February because his role in facilitating Casey's treatment at Stanford while maintaining their household in Gilroy became pro-active.

The second is that the bout, which will take place at the Tropicana in Las Vegas, will be televised on TeleFutura, which is KFSF Channel 20 on my Comcast lineup card. The telecast is part of the Solo Boxeo Tecate series of Friday night shows Golden Boy is underwriting.

This might widen Guerrero's appeal considerably. His fan base among Mexican-Americans, especially in the Bay Area and Central Valley, is solid, but his hold on Mexican nationals and those who speak primarily Spanish is less certain.

Arrieta is coming off a loss to Cassius Baloyi, who had lost his IBF junior lightweight title to Malcolm Klassen before Klassen lost to Guerrero last August in Houston.

Guerrero has not fought since that impressive win on HBO. He gave up a high-profile bout with Michael Katsidis because of Casey's crisis, so even though he's back on the scene after just six weeks, he has been sidetracked several months, and the TeleFutura angle is the only upside to that.

APRIL 2010
Chapter 104

SHOWTIME FAILS TO SET DIRRELL'S STORY STRAIGHT

Showtime devotes 70 percent of its latest "Fight Camp: 360" documentary episode, which premiered Wednesday, to the March 27 Andre Dirrell-Arthur Abraham bout. But ultimately the producers bury the lede, as we used to say in the newspaper biz.

The controversial ending of that bout, the fourth of the Super Six tournament Showtime is staging among six elite 168-pounders, is the second-most-important development of the tournament thus far, behind Bay Area hero Andre Ward's upset victory over Mikkel Kessler in Oakland last November.

There are two points of view about the Dirrell-Abraham ending, of course, which is two points of view more than "360" would otherwise have. If the producers are trying to help us empathize with everyone, well, that just doesn't happen in boxing.

The official verdict on the fight and its conclusion, which I consider correct, is that Dirrell was way ahead after nine rounds, and although he was hurt by a punch in the 10th that should have been called a knockdown, he regained control of the fight in the 11th He seemed on his way to a decision victory when he slipped on a wet spot and fell to one knee, at which point Abraham landed a devastating but illegal punch and was disqualified.

In the dissenting opinion, Abraham was coming on strongly enough that Dirrell, not hurt by the illegal punch or perhaps down from a legal one, decided taking a swan dive was the best way to ensure victory. The caliber of his "acting" received mixed reviews.

The 21 minutes of Episode 5 devoted to Dirrell-Abraham includes only about six seconds of action from Round 11, which lasted roughly a minute. I'm tellin' ya', watching Round 11 in its entirety at live speed shows you everything you need to know about the fight, and it's the one thing "360" glosses over. They should have shown the whole round. Twice, even.

Episode 5 is otherwise a decent enough account of the fight.

The best snapshot of Dirrell comes when he's finally regaining his senses and says, "I'll know when I see the fight how I really feel." The prediction from his corner says it all:

"Oh, you gonna be happy."

The nine minutes spent on the general tenor of the Super Six is adequate, and the cameos of Ward and his next opponent, Allan Green, at the Dirrell-Abraham fight add a lot. Green, who replaced the oft-concussed Jermain Taylor to draw the June 19 Oakland date with Ward, comes off as more intellectual than the other Americans and a close second to Carl Froch as the most biting cynic among the participating fighters.

But the controversy over the Dirrell ending still seems to be stirring too much cynicism about the tournament. It's too bad Episode 5 isn't a discussion-ender.

APRIL 2010
Chapter 105

GUERRERO'S OLD VICTIMS GIVE HIM NEW RESIDUALS

The rap on Robert Guerrero used to be that he hadn't fought anyone. Rocky Juarez was one of the big-name fighters "The Ghost" needed to beat to say he was all that. But now it's time to look at his resume in a new light.

Guerrero still seems to be getting more credit for helping his wife fight leukemia than for his ring conquests. Although he is enhancing that image this spring by vying to win a fundraising contest for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, his ring reputation is being enhanced from afar.

On the domestic front, his wife, Casey, is progressing satisfactorily following a winter bone-marrow transplant, but only after her recovery regimen led the Gilroy junior lightweight to relinquish the IBF 130-pound title and postpone a March 27 date with Michael Katsidis on an HBO headliner.

With Casey doing well, Robert (25-1, 17 knockouts) returns to the ring April 30 against journeyman Roberto Arrieta to end an eight-month layoff, but it's still a letdown.

A victory over Katsidis would have silenced all the critics, especially considering how good Guerrero looked last August taking the IBF belt from Malcolm Klassen. On top of that, it's time to upgrade Guerrero's 2007 victory over Martin Honorio and his 2008 stoppage of Jason Litzau in light of their recent fortunes. Honorio is 4-0 since then and Litzau, also unbeaten since Guerrero, defeated Rocky Juarez last Saturday.

APRIL 2010
Chapter 106

DONAIRE'S MANAGER EXPECTS AUGUST DARCHINYAN BOUT

While fledgling fight manager Nonito Donaire Jr. was unveiling fledgling professional Dodie Boy Peñalosa Jr., Donaire and his manager Cameron Dunkin also unveiled a new prospective date for Donaire's long-awaited rematch with Vic Darchinyan.

"It would be Aug. 21 if it comes," Dunkin said at Thursday's news conference at the Undisputed Boxing Gym in San Carlos. "I had a talk with Todd (Top Rank matchmaker Todd DuBoef) – good talk – and we'll talk again when I get back to Vegas."

One reason to think the Aug. 21 date is serious: "Showtime's holding the date for it," Dunkin said of the television prospects for such a bout, "and would like to see us make it happen."

As for a tune-up fight, it wouldn't be in May as rumored, Dunkin said. "We're working on a June thing," he said, which suggests it either would be very early June or would be in lieu of Darchinyan.

Donaire, stir-crazy as he awaits any bout with half the stature of his 2007 upset of Darchinyan, relishes the distraction of shepherding the latest Peñalosa and also the assurance the youngster's presence will keep the elder Dodie Boy and his brother Jonathan stateside helping Team Donaire.

Donaire seemed almost like a proud father, even though he's only seven years older than the 20-year-old prodigy, whose second pro bout and U.S. debut is set for May 8 in Palm Springs against an opponent to be determined.

"I want him to get used to the atmosphere," Donaire said, "how America lives . . . until he's confident and knows his way around." Donaire said his interest in the kid intensified last year at this time while the then-flyweight champion was training in Baguio for his fourth-round stoppage of Raul Martinez.

Dunkin is showing Donaire some of the ropes and said he was raving about Peñalosa after traveling to the Philippines for a look at the super-bantamweight.

But the Darchinyan rivalry is always on the mind of anyone affiliated with Team Donaire. Especially the principal, whom The Ring magazine considers the No. 5 pound-for-pound fighter in the world these days.

"Every time I'm fading and not focused, he's right in front of me," Donaire said. "The fight has to happen."

APRIL 2010
Chapter 107

FROCH LIKELY TO BACK INTO SUPER SIX SEMIFINALS

Carl Froch stands a good chance of making it to the semifinals of the Super Six tournament solely on the strength of his highly dubious first-round hometown split decision victory over Andre Dirrell. That's true even if Mikkel Kessler slaughters Froch on Saturday and Arthur Abraham does the same in the third-go-round of the Group Stage.

It's probable that Dirrell will need at least a draw against Andre Ward to outlast Froch for fourth place once the first nine bouts of the tournament have been staged and two contestants are eliminated. If Dirrell remains at two points with his one non-knockout victory, and Froch remains at two points because of his victory over Dirrell in Nottingham, the head-to-head result becomes the tiebreaker.

Ward and Kessler, the two best contestants, are likely to win their second-go-round bouts this spring, and Ward will be in first place largely because he beat Kessler. Abraham's knockout victory over Jermaine Taylor last fall left him alone in first place after the first go-round and drove Taylor out of the tournament prematurely.

Froch (26-0, 20 knockouts, can move into first by beating Kessler (42-2, 32 knockouts), but he won't. Fighting at home in Denmark, Kessler will regain his footing in the tournament by stopping Froch in seven rounds That will leave Kessler and Abraham in first place until Ward beats Allan Green, Taylor replacement, on June 19 in Oakland. Kessler will beat Green in the third set of fights and Abraham stands a good chance to remain in the top two by beating Froch in that third go-round.

Froch has a puncher's chance against Kessler this weekend and/or Abraham in the next set, but his boxing was no match for Taylor's during the first half of their non-Super Six 2009 bout, and he had no answers for Dirrell's elusive tactics (including excessive holding). Though Dirrell didn't punch very accurately, he still did a lot more than Froch, who was reduced to wrestling and mauling his skinny opponent down the stretch.

Unless Froch is unfathomably better than fellow Briton Joe Calzaghe, there is simply no reason to think he can hang with the guy who tested Calzaghe to the max in 2007.

Considering how pronounced the home advantage has been in the Super Six, Kessler should be a prohibitive favorite to beat Froch for that reason alone.

Home fighters are 4-0 in the Super Six. Although Abraham deserved his victory in Berlin and deserved his defeat in Detroit, Kessler thinks Ward got away with holding and measuring tactics against him last November in Oakland that wouldn't have been condoned in Denmark.

That Froch not only got the hometown decision over Dirrell but also is so likely to advance because of it epitomizes what has become the Super Six's least attractive feature.

Still, the tournament's negatives haven't been totally damning. When you consider the likelihood that we wouldn't be seeing Saturday's intriguing bout if there were no Super Six, you still have to admire the concept and hope it spreads to other divisions.

APRIL 2010
Chapter 108

KESSLER'S WIN OVER FROCH BOLSTERS WARD'S STATURE

Mikkel Kessler's victory over Carl Froch by unanimous decision Saturday in Denmark intensified the impression that Oakland's Andre Ward has already ascended to the top of the Super Six World Boxing Classic.

Kessler was the aggressor throughout and landed more punches, but it was not a whipping, even though one of the judges (and I) scored the fight 117-111. The other scorecards read 116-112 and 115-113. Froch landed his share of haymakers in what was unquestionably the most hotly contested bout of the five thus far in the Super Six.

Ward can move into sole possession of the points lead when he and Allan Green complete the second phase of the three-phase Group Stage of the competition June 19 in Oakland. Arthur Abraham is the current leader because of his knockout victory over Jermaine Taylor, whom Green has replaced, but even a draw would pull Ward into a tie with Abraham.

Kessler (43-2) lost to Ward last November, but the Dane moved into a four-way tie for second place in the tournament standings (counting Ward) with the stirring victory over Froch (26-1).

Saturday's fight gained momentum marvelously. Kessler, having trouble with Froch's reach advantage, attacked cautiously during the first four rounds and aimed his power shots to the body. But they were landing, and Froch wasn't quite as quick to the punch.

In the fifth, however, Froch landed a big left hook early and several big rights to the head. That prodded Kessler to step up the tempo, which put the Dane in solid control for the sixth and seventh. He hurt Froch in the eighth to negate what Froch accomplished in the fifth, and remained in control through the ninth.

But in the 10th Froch landed a right that staggered Kessler, and the Dane seemed to be fighting on fumes the rest of the way. Still, he answered a big shot from Froch in the 11th with a fusillade of his own to win the round. Froch's work in the final minute probably won him the 12th. Maybe that left the impression that he could have won if all the close rounds had gone his way.

Froch conceded that he may have indeed deserved to lose, though not 117-111, but felt the home fighter got the benefit of every doubt, as Froch did in beating Andre Dirrell by split decision in England last fall. "If it had been in Nottingham," Froch said of Saturday's bout, "it would have been the same score in my favor."

It didn't look that way to me, but Froch is a scary opponent who might well beat Abraham in the third phase. Kessler-Froch was almost as good as Froch-Taylor last April. Froch has a lot more of what we Pacific Northwesterners call skookum than a couple of other folks in the Super Six, and you can never count him out of any fight.

If Froch and Ward meet in the semifinals, as they probably would if Abraham and Kessler are the other two semifinalists, that might be the most interesting conflict of the Super Six.

APRIL 2010
Chapter 109

GUERRERO MOVES UP TO LIGHTWEIGHT, LOOKS THE PART

As Robert Guerrero returns to the ring Friday for his first fight in eight months, he does so as a full-fledged lightweight.

"The Ghost" is no longer the skinny matador who last fought as a featherweight in February 2008. And when he gave up his IBF junior lightweight title in February 2010 to help his wife endure the aftermath of a bone-marrow transplant, he left the 130-pound division for good. Wife Casey continues to show no new signs of leukemia as she strives to build her new immune system.

The more Robert moves up, the less he'll take advantage of his length and the more he'll take advantage of his strength and quickness.

You'll notice the increase in strength immediately Friday when Guerrero (26-1-1, 17 knockouts) squares off against Robert Arrieta (35-15-4, 17 knockouts) at the Tropicana in Las Vegas on TeleFutura (Ch. 20 on Comcast Bay Area). We may end up questioning why Guerrero, 27, didn't move up to 135 sooner.

"I could have stayed at 130 a lot longer," Guerrero said April 20 at an open workout in East San Jose, and "I accomplished what I accomplished at 126 and 130."

Therefore, "I think it's the right time."

So does his dad, Ruben Guerrero. "He's stronger and faster" at 135," claimed Ruben, who said Robert's footwork remains his No. 1 asset at the higher weight. "The more he goes up, the better he fights."

Ruben was not the lead trainer when Robert lost a close decision to Gamaliel Diaz in 2005 (which he avenged in 2006) by not being aggressive enough during the first half o the fight, and that's what makes father and son confident that an aggressive tack is the right one and that 135 is the right weight.

"We're gonna fight at 135," Ruben summarized, "and we're gonna go for another title from there."

APRIL 2010
Chapter 110

GUERRERO'S CHANCE TO SHOW HIS SPANISH CHOPS

If you've ever spoken Spanish in Mexico, Tagalog in the Philippines, German in Germany or especially French in Paris, you understand the pressure Robert Guerrero will be under Friday when he fights Roberto Arrieta in Las Vegas.

The lightweight bout will headline a Solo Boxeo card on Spanish-language TeleFutura. This is the place for Guerrero (26-1-1, 17 knockouts) to gain a larger following outside his life-long base in California. Who would understand that challenge better than Golden Boy Promotions, whose front man, Oscar De La Hoya, worked hard to expand his fan base past California to Mexico?

Speaking Spanish on camera can be Guerrero's best public relations asset, so he may be more on the spot outside the ring than inside, where Arrieta (35-15,-4) is a credible but not-too-threatening tune-up opponent. Guerrero hasn't fought since August, when he won the IBF junior lightweight title from Malcolm Klassen.

Fortunately, Guerrero was kidding, sort of, when he once told me, "Basically, I talk that Taco Bell Spanish."

He speaks a lot more Spanish than that, says his father, Ruben Guerrero. "He's been around a lot of people when he speaks Spanish," Ruben said, adding that Robert had gotten past a tendency to become shy in such situations because he was self-conscious about pronunciation.

"You're always going to mix your English and your Spanish," Ruben said of Latinos in the Bay Area and Central Coast. "I think people understand."

In addition, Ruben noted, "He gets a lot of emails from Mexican people. They love Robert Guerrero."

Robert is eager to confront this aspect of Friday's fight, which will air here around midnight. "I'm excited to be able to fight on Solo Boxeo," he said. "It's one of the biggest networks in the world."

He probably could have said those words in Spanish without much sweat. But it could get challenging when the complexities of his wife's battle with leukemia are discussed.

On the other hand, what's not to love about a guy who gave up a far more lucrative fight than this one to take full part in his wife's recovery from a bone-marrow transplant.?

Guerrero is likely to come across very well.

APRIL 2010
Chapter 111

GUERRERO STOPS ARRIETA IN EIGHT

Robert Guerrero scored an eighth-round technical knockout of Roberto Arrieta in their lightweight bout Friday in Las Vegas.

In Guerrero's first fight since he won the IBF junior lightweight title last August, the Gilroy left-hander scored three knockdowns despite Arrieta's cautious approach to the bout.

Arrieta barely threw a punch until about midway through the second round, when he missed and Guerrero hit him with a counter combination that left Arrieta disorganized. Guerrero then attacked with a right-left combination that put Arrieta on the canvas.

Another counter left decked Arrieta in the third and ensured the Argentinian veteran (35-16-4) would not threaten "The Ghost" seriously.

Arrieta also is a counterpuncher, so Guerrero (26-1-1, 18 knockouts) attacked cautiously for the next four rounds, but at the outset of the eighth, Guerrero stepped up the attack and quickly landed another straight left. Arrieta got up but sustained another blow and was staggering through a clinch when referee Jay Nady stopped the bout.

Alas, TeleFutura did not interview Guerrero afterward, but he told a stringer for the San Jose Mercury News that Arrieta's caution made it difficult to score effectively. "He was trying to survive," Guerrero said, "and those are the toughest guys to get out of there."

A spokesman for Golden Boy Promotions indicated it hopes to line up a bout with former junior lightweight champion Jorge Linares for Guerrero, who abdicated the junior lightweight title in February.

APRIL 2010
Chapter 112

DONAIRE INSISTENT ABOUT DARCHINYAN

Two new developments popped up on the Nonito Donaire front Friday while we were all sitting around waiting for Robert Guerrero's fight Friday and the Mayweather-Mosley bout Saturday.

First, Donaire's favorite potential opponent, Fernando Montiel, captured the WBC bantamweight title by stopping Hozumi Hasegawa in the fourth round of their bout in Japan.

Donaire is eager to move up to 118 to fight Montiel at last, but first there's old business to settle at 115, where his rematch with Vic Darchinyan is on the table but not a done deal.

Team Donaire issued a news release Friday in which the Bay Area fighter, who knocked out Darchinyan in 2007, reaffirmed his desire to see the rematch take place Aug. 21, the date Donaire's manager, Cameron Dunkin, says is the target.

"I want Darchinyan in that ring on August 21! I don't want anyone telling me that I didn't make this fight happen," Donaire said. "Darchinyan signed his contract to fight me, and I'm gonna be in that ring right in front of his face on August 21."

So what's the hold-up? "I have NO idea," Donaire said. "I think Top Rank and Gary Shaw Productions have come to an agreement. I'm just waiting for my contract. That's all the promoter stuff. But how can they stop this match? It's supposed to be the biggest grudge match in the lower weights! This fight is good for boxing. The promoters need to sit face-to-face and finish it."

What about the WBC bantamweight title? "I'll fight Montiel for his titles at 118," Donaire said, "only AFTER I take Darchinyan's titles at 115."

MAY 2010
Chapter 113

TOP RANK BLAMES DARCHINYAN FOR DONAIRE IMPASSE

Negotiations for an August rematch between Nonito Donaire and Vic Darchinyan have broken down this week. The Darchinyan camp says Donaire backed out, according to several reports.

Not so, says Carl Moretti, a New Jersey-based matchmaker for Top Rank, Donaire's promoter. Moretti, who has been heavily involved in the Donaire-Darchinyan negotiations, says it was Darchinyan who turned down the fight.

"We had a deal in place," Moretti told me. "The Darchinyan-Shaw side came back to change something (referring probably to a dispute over international television revenue provisions that favor Donaire).

"We agreed to what they were looking for. So their financial terms were met. But over the weekend for some reason Darchinyan decided not to go through with the fight."

Darchinyan's manager, Elias Nassar, told Fight News that Donaire's failure to sign the contract was the deal-breaker. "It's easy to point the finger at who didn't want the fight. It's the party who doesn't sign a contract."

That depends on the contract. The fact is that Donaire has more reasons to want the fight, given how desperately he wants to fight someone as worthy as Darchinyan, how certain he is that he can beat Darchinyan again and the fact that Darchinyan has two belts.

Donaire's in-laws in the Bay Area say Darchinyan's WBC and WBA super-flyweight belts are inducement enough. If Donaire won those, he would be in position to unify the 115-pound division's titles, which would be a unique feat for a Filipino.

So let's analyze who would or wouldn't want this fight.

Darchinyan's promoter is Gary Shaw, who was Donaire's promoter until the "Filipino Flash" bolted to Top Rank in 2008, a year after Donaire's fifth-round knockout of Darchinyan whetted appetites for a rematch that has not taken place.

Shaw has at times said he wouldn't give Donaire the satisfaction of a rematch, but that was before Darchinyan's loss last summer to Joseph Agbeko, whose length and firepower gave Darchinyan the same fits that Donaire's length and firepower did in 2007. The loss to Agbeko didn't help Shaw's bargaining position on Darchinyan's behalf.

To Shaw's credit, even the Agbeko loss at 118 hasn't prevented Darchinyan's career from being more interesting than Donaire's in the two years since Donaire joined Top Rank.

Darchinyan is still a bigger attraction in the United States than Donaire, even though Donaire is now ranked No. 4 pound-for-pound in the world. If Darchinyan ducks Donaire, Nonito will just go on up to 118 pounds and Darchinyan can remain the dominant factor at 115.

That's the scenario now from Donaire's vantage, in fact: a tune-up fight in June and a long-awaited battle with Fernando Montiel in the fall.

Still, Donaire-Darchinyan negotiations may not be finished. It's bad enough that they're back to square one.

"Given the time frame of an August 21st date," Moretti said, "I never thought there was a deadline to make a fight or not make a fight."

Although Nonito and Rachel Marcial Donaire were not reachable Wednesday afternoon as their flight from Las Vegas to the Bay Area was canceled, it was only two weeks ago that Donaire emphatically and convincingly reaffirmed his desire to fight Darchinyan before moving on to Montiel.

It's still a fight many of want to see, including both protagonists. This is not a matter of one fighter or the other dreading the rematch, and it's not helpful of either side to claim that's the issue.

The issues are on the business end. Let's concentrate on that.

MAY 2010
Chapter 114

DONAIRES TRUMPET SUPPORT OF AQUINO CANDIDACY

You can't be a boxing fan these days without delving into politics in the Philippines. Lest I had forgotten that Sunday night, I got a call from Rachel and Nonito Donaire, 40 miles away, that stoked my interest in Monday's elections across the Pacific.

Of course they're interested in whether Manny Pacquiao wins his race for congress, but they are more directly involved in the presidential candidacy of Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Cojuangco Aquino III, as you'll see below.

I had been meaning to track Nonito and Rachel down since Wednesday, when I had written about Top Rank's assertion that Vic Darchinyan had inexplicably backed out of a nearly signed, sealed, and delivered contract for a rematch with Donaire. Darchinyan's camp had blamed Donaire for the incomplete negotiations.

Since then, the Donaires had been busy handling their fledgling client Dodie Boy Peñalosa Jr. at his U.S. debut in Palm Springs. I did hear from each of Rachel's parents – Becky weighed in on one of my Grammar Examiner posts – but I had been busy covering Penn State's NCAA men's volleyball championship bid at Stanford for three days for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

In the meantime, I had been fascinated by a comment on my Wednesday post that purported to be from Nonito. Dig this:

Nonito Donaire says:

You're too nice Colin. If you can't say it, I will. Vic is afraid of me, plain as daylight. I have agreed to everything he wants but he's so intent on not fighting me that he keeps coming up with reasons and demands to keep this fight from taking place. Vic is better at stalling and backing out of a fight than Floyd Jr. Again, Vic Darchinyan is scared to fight me, he knows he will be totally humiliated for the second time. Vic has slowed down a step or two and he knows it, and if you all think the first one is bad for Vic, the rematch will be a total whupping. Man up Vic, for your fans and your country, if you still have a semblance of shame and pride in you.

It's the real me,

Nonito Donaire Jr.

It wasn't the real he, Nonito said Sunday.

Well, whoever wrote it got Nonito's voice and his opinion just right. Well done!

So here's the gist of Nonito and Rachel's endorsement of Noynoy Aquino:

Halfway across the world, Nonito Donaire shows his support for his adopted older brother Noynoy Aquino. He has facebooked and twittered to his fans to show his support of his _kuya_.

"I wish I could be in the Philippines right now to help his campaign trail, so I'm doing what I can from here," Nonito said.

Nonito was adopted by the Aquino family when he dedicated his Aug. 15, 2009 fight (against Rafael Concepcion) to the late President Cory Aquino. The name "Aquino" was enlarged on the back of his boxing trunks as if it were his own last name.

"I only did it as a tribute to the late President Cory Aquino to highlight all the good she's done for the people. I was speechless when they welcomed me into their family."

The Aquino family took their newest _bunso_ in with open arms. It showed when Nonito was hospitalized with dengue fever at Asian Medical Center weeks after his arrival in the Philippines. The entire Aquino family, including Kris and Pinky, checked on Nonito and offered to donate their own blood for transfusion if needed.

Nonito's wife, Rachel Marcial Donaire, made a purse in her line specifically for the Aquinos. She said she was inspired, so even though the line hasn't officially launched yet, she made sure to include that design specifically.

"I think the yellow ribbon is a beautiful symbol of what the Philippines should always aim for: peace, hope, freedom, even remembrance for those who have led the path of righteousness. Vera Coulture represents beauty in everything we are proud of. We believed it fit in our line of purses."

Rachel reiterated her support for Senator Pia Cayetano. "She's smart and strong. I love the way she fights for women's rights, protection against domestic violence, aiding the children, an environmentalist, and is into fitness. She is fighting for a better tomorrow for the Philippines. Her beauty outside properly reflects the beauty she has on the inside."

Rachel also noted that although she hasn't personally met Senator Pia, she has admired her work from afar and has talked to Senator Pia about working together on future projects.

MAY 2010
Chapter 115

MOREL DODGES DONAIRE, AND WHO CAN BLAME HIM?

You can't blame Eric Morel for being careful about whom he fights, which is why he isn't fighting Nonito Donaire this summer.

After Jorge Arce suffered a deep cut in training for a scheduled June 26 bout with Morel, Donaire proposed himself as Arce's replacement. But it was widely reported Wednesday that Morel turned down the chance to defend his interim 118-pound belt against Donaire.

Morel, having nearly been defeated by 38-year-old Gerry Peñalosa in February, obviously can't envision himself beating Donaire, the 27-year-old Bay Area flyweight star who is eager to move up to bantamweight and even more eager to fight someone worthy, or at least someone we've heard of, like Morel or Arce.

Morel, 34, is unbeaten in his comeback from a three-year layoff caused by a prison sentence for taking advantage of a drunken 15-year-old girl. But his boxing opponents need to be his age or older at this stage, as the Puerto Rican's performance against Peñalosa proved.

It wouldn't be a disaster for Morel to lose a close decision to someone like Peñalosa or Fernando Montiel, who wound up beating Hozumi Hasegawa on April 30 instead of facing Morel, the originally targeted opponent, whose height and experience might have given Montiel trouble. But Donaire is capable of taking Morel apart.

There was also talk of a Morel-Donaire bout in May, but when I reached Morel by phone in Puerto Rico in late February, having established a relationship with him in Las Vegas in the days leading up to the Peñalosa fight, Morel was quick to dismiss the Donaire rumors.

Too quick, in retrospect. He knew he was lucky to be awarded the split decision over Peñalosa (a fight I scored 117-112 for Peñalosa). Morel took the fight to Peñalosa for four or five rounds, although he had trouble landing punches, but during the second half of the fight Morel was unable to maintain the aggressiveness that presented his best chance to beat Peñalosa, just as it would be his best bet against Donaire.

If Peñalosa was too quick and clever for Morel, imagine the problems Donaire would present with his equal height and superior movement and power.

Of course, that's why it's so hard for Donaire to find any willing, credible opponent, and that's why he's facing the probability that he'll be fighting Hernan Marquez (27-1, 20 knockouts) on July 10 in Puerto Rico. The problem there is that Marquez's one loss was by a one-sided decision to light-hitting Filipino Richie Mepranum in his last outing. Donaire would tame Marquez even more easily, and that's not the challenge he needs.

But what is Donaire to do? Since beating Vic Darchinyan in 2007, he has been itching to fight someone equally notable, including Darchinyan again, but instead he's been fighting the likes of bloated Rafael Concepcion and undersized stand-in Manuel Vargas.

The stirring Yonnhy Perez-Abner Mares fight last weekend presented two potentially attractive opponents for Donaire, but promoter Gary Shaw isn't going to put either of those guys in the ring with Donaire.

Arce, though past his peak, would be an attractive opponent were he not wounded.

As for Montiel, still the most attractive bantamweight opponent for Donaire, he's scheduled to fight July 17 against, of all people, Concepcion.

JUNE 2010
Chapter 116

GREEN DIGS DEFENDING HIMSELF ON WARD'S TURF

Allan Green's home advantage in Tulsa would be nothing like the home advantage WBA super-middleweight champion Andre Ward has in Oakland for Saturday's Super Six fight. That hit home, as it were, as Green surveyed the scene Wednesday at Oracle Arena's posh Courtside Club, where the two 168-pounders and their teams held court.

Green (29-1, 20 knockouts) was not the defendant in this court, but the underdog challenger was on the defensive against odds more overwhelming than the 5-1 line some are placing on this fight, which probably will draw about 10,000 spectators to Oracle. That's probably the size of Green's main fan base in Oklahoma.

Green probably has a Mr. Nice Guy side to his personality, and he admitted "There's no need for me to get truculent here." But he was as prickly as advertised.

Amid a gathering that included Ward's two promoters, his current trainer, his childhood trainer, the boxer's All-American wife and kids, 10 or 15 Bay Area media types, Showtime executives and about 40 spectators, more than half of them kids, Green's ranks were so comparatively thin that I may have been the fourth- or fifth-ranking member.

I'm covering the fight Saturday for the Tulsa World, which will take precedence over my ongoing documentation of Ward's fortunes on Examiner.com. Although the Green angle won't supersede my Ward coverage altogether, I am determined (as I made Ward's co-promoter Antonio Leonard giggle by saying) to get jiggy with Green during the buildup.

Directly involved on Green's behalf Wednesday were trainer John David Jackson and DiBella Entertainment executive Ron Rizzo, the latter sitting in for Lou DiBella because the promoter was with his ailing father.

Although Rizzo placed Team Green's objection, in DiBella's stead, to the choice of Californian Raul Caiz Sr. as referee for the bout, eliciting a combative rebuttal from Ward promoter Dan Goossen, Green mostly prefers to speak for himself and was even willing to trade barbs with Ward's super-eloquent trainer, Virgil Hunter.

Hunter, parrying Green's earlier likening of Ward's ring presence to "a little hummingbird," and the general perception that Ward is a defense-first fighter, promised an offensive assault from Ward the likes of which Green has never been subjected, especially at such an elevated pace. The result, Hunter promised, will be a "dissection."

That got under Green's skin. "Virgil Hunter fancies himself as a philosopher, but at the end of the day, I'm fighting Andre Ward," Green said. "To dissect Allan Green, you have to have a helluva scalpel."

Trainer Jackson says the threat of assault from the Ward camp is a good thing. "If Andre comes to go to war, that's just what we want. We don't want the sticking, and grabbing and moving."

Conversely, Green said, "anybody who thinks I'm gonna try to walk him down" will be disappointed. Ward should expect Green to try to outpoint him while seeking chances to land a big shot, rather than all-out aggression.

Green does have a healthy respect for Ward then, despite the hummingbird jibe and others like it. Notably, he reiterated Wednesday that his replacement of Jermain Taylor in the Super Six field was not good news for the Ward camp. "They did not want this fight," he said (again).

Ward made it plain that he isn't looking past Green. "I don't know if he wants this belt as bad as I want to keep it. But if he does, it's gonna be a helluva fight.

"I've trained like I'm fighting a monster."

JUNE 2010
Chapter 117

WARD WILL SUBDUE AND TATTOO GREEN

Andre Ward isn't going to run from Allan Green. He plans to run over him Saturday in their Super Six bout in Oakland.

There's a tendency to wrongly assume Ward's superior speed will provide a primarily defensive advantage, elusiveness, that should limit the heavy-hitting Green's firepower.

No, the Ward camp considers speed a primarily offensive advantage that will enhance Ward's firepower.

Green has not reckoned with that distinction, says Virgil Hunter, Ward's trainer, and that's why he expects Ward to beat Green to the punch to the point of overwhelming him.

"Everything we do, we do with speed," Hunter says. "If (Green) stays where he is in the speed zone, he's going to get chewed up."

Hunter's eloquence almost always transcends hyperbole, so his threats should seem chilling to Green. "He's going to be hit," Hunter promises. "He's not going to have an opportunity to rest. He's going to find out how violent Andre really is.

Green can be pretty eloquent too, but does the following convince you he knows what he's going to do?

"I'm not going to give up too much of my tactics," Green said during the buildup to Saturday's bout, in which Ward's WBA super-middleweight title will be at stake. "If I have to be slick, I'll be slick. If I have to box, I'll box. If I have to brawl, I'll brawl."

That in fact, is Green's seat-of-the-pants style. He's bright, and he's a solid pro. He knows how to box to score points, how to use his length advantage and stay within himself until the opportunity comes to land a huge punch, which he usually does by winning an exchange of left hooks or by lunging like a viper with uncanny accuracy.

His opponents have almost never been his physical equal, though, and it's going to prove true that he has not reckoned with what Ward's superior speed will truly mean.

To be fair, Ward's relentless onslaughts in his past three fights, against Henry "Sugar Poo" Buchanan, Edison Miranda and Mikkel Kessler, did not end in knockouts, but Green seems not to have noticed how badly he busted up each of them.

"He's like a little hummingbird; he tries to keep you off balance from the outset," Green said of Ward (21-0, 13 knockouts). "He's slick, he's foxy and he looked good against Kessler. But I'm not Kessler."

By that Green (29-1, 20 knockouts) says he means that a lot of Ward's tactics that befuddled Kessler wouldn't have befuddled him or many other well-schooled, street-smart American fighters.

Maybe so, but Green is going to be easier to hit than Kessler, which is why Ward will stop him in six rounds. Green may land a power shot or two, but he will be outgunned.

"We are going to find out," Hunter says, "who has the dynamite in the fists."

JUNE 2010
Chapter 118

WARD'S INSIDE TACTICS WEAR DOWN GREEN

Allan Green has long resented being an outsider in boxing, but he didn't much like it on the inside Saturday in the biggest fight of his career.

Green (29-2) lost a unanimous decision to WBA super-middleweight champion Andre Ward (22-0) in their Super Six tournament bout in Oakland, trailing 120-108 on all three scorecards.

Ward surprised many observers, apparently including Green, by dictating a thoroughly dominating inside fight and mauling Green with uppercuts, pot shots and the occasional elbow. From the third round on, Ward wasn't on his toes as usual. He was on Green's toes, and Green couldn't get him off.

The results broadened many perceptions of who Ward is. "With each piece of the pie he completes the circumference of what we're looking for," said trainer Virgil Hunter.

The display of toughness was warranted against Green, the man who had branded Ward a "hummingbird." Even though he didn't finish Green, Ward made a brutal impression, which was why Green was receiving outpatient treatment at a nearby medical facility instead of attending the post-fight press conference.

"When Team Green realized Andre was the stronger man in the ring," said Team Green promoter Lou DiBella, "Allan didn't have much of a shot."

Green said he expected the inside fight but was too weak to do anything about it after training three fights' worth in the past six months for what turned out to the one bout. "I hit a hard wall in training camp," Green said. "By the time I got in the ring, I felt dead."

Ward was tentative the first five minutes. (I gave Green the first round, as you may have seen on Showtime.) But in the second round Green's listlessness was suddenly apparent to Ward, who was only too happy to minimize the dancing on both their parts.

"That wasn't the game plan," Ward said. "We didn't plan to go inside as much as we did."

But there he was. Ward took the fight inside in the third round, and Green didn't seem prepared for it. Much of the round was fought near Ward's corner, with Green against the ropes and getting manhandled and peppered with short power shots and uppercuts. He carved Green's heart out in the process.

The sixth was the biggest crowd-pleaser, as Ward started uncorking power shots from more angles. With Green cornered, referee Raul Caiz Sr. seemed to be considering stopping the bout. It was arguably a 10-8 round. The only question thereafter was whether Green could last the 12-round distance.

The outcome put Ward in first place after two full rounds of the Super Six's Group Stage. He has clinched a berth among the top four in the semifinals. Green can't catch him, and neither can the loser of the Arthur Abraham-Carl Froch fight.

Green, a latecomer to the Super Six as the replacement for knockout victim Jermain Taylor, is in sixth place but isn't out of the Super Six running.

If Green wins his Group Stage 3 match against Mikkel Kessler, probably next winter, he might be able to ace out Kessler and Froch or Dirrell. If Green can knock out Kessler, he would be likely to advance. Ward has four points in the tournament, Arthur Abraham has three, and Kessler, Andre Dirrell and Carl Froch are tied for third with two each.

But Green seemed like the weakest man in the Super Six field Saturday – in more ways than one.

JUNE 2010
Chapter 119

DONAIRE TIRED OF FIGHTING BELOW OPTIMUM WEIGHT

The mood seemed light enough, and so did Nonito Donaire as he trained Tuesday for his July 10 bout in Puerto Rico against Hernan "Tyson" Marquez.

But Donaire isn't quite light enough. He has to lose a good 10 pounds to make the 115-pound super-flyweight limit for the bout. A very good 10 pounds indeed.

The weight loss will almost certainly be to his detriment, and he said he's ticked off about it. "I should be fighting at _this_ weight," Donaire said at the Undisputed Boxing Gym in San Carlos.

The former 112-pound champion has been pressing Top Rank to move him to 118 pounds immediately and 122 as soon as possible. A fight against anyone but Vic Darchinyan or Jorge Arce at 115 was not what he had in mind, knowing it meant several weeks of "I can't eat."

Donaire's protégé Dodie Boy Peñalosa Jr., who finally makes his U.S. pro debut this weekend at Lake Tahoe, looks about 13 years old, but he'll be fighting at 122. If he's a junior featherweight, then Donaire should be a junior welterweight.

Donaire was actually testing that theory Tuesday against welterweight-size sparring partners Glenn Gonzales and former featherweight champion Steven Luevano, each about 15 pounds above his competitive weight.

"I learned a lot," Donaire said of his session with the slick southpaw Luevano. "His punches are ridiculously sharp. You see it coming, but still it lands." Donaire said he usually can block more than 80 percent of the punches he sees coming, but against Luevano it was more like 30 percent.

With the Plyometrics that trainer Michael Bazzel and Donaire are emphasizing, and with the Victor Conte-influenced "SNAC" nutrition system fortifying his innards (no, not steroids), Donaire is tending to add muscle weight whenever he exerts himself.

He's having to cut back on some of the routines lest he miss the 115-pound target, possibly by a lot. His body is telling him he's progressing from post-adolescent to full-grown man.

You may recall Donaire doesn't like being stymied from that sort of progression. That was the issue in his split with his father-trainer.

He needs to grow. Assuming he beats Marquez as expected July 10, Donaire says his insistence that he move up in weight will become unyielding.

He barely made weight for his last fight, Feb. 13. This time the weight-loss issue is truly eating at him.

JUNE 2010
Chapter 120

GUERRERO TO TAKE ON EX-CHAMP CASAMAYOR

Gilroy's Robert Guerrero is fighting on an HBO pay-per-view card against former lightweight champion Joel Casamayor on July 31 in Las Vegas. Promoters who had planned to unveil the undercard for the Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz rematch with a press conference Wednesday instead announced the news Tuesday.

There are four good fights on the card, with hot middleweight project Daniel Jacobs fighting Dmitry Pirog for the vacant WBO title, and former 130-pound champion Jorge Linares meeting Diaz stable mate Rocky Juarez.

Casamayor, 38, and virtually inactive since his September 2008 bout with Marquez, is nevertheless the best-known fighter the former 126- and 130-pound champion Guerrero (26-1-1, 18 knockouts) has faced. The Cuban native has beaten Diego Corrales, Nate Campbell and Michael Katsidis.

And he might be the heaviest. It wasn't clear Tuesday in what weight class the Guerrero-Casamayor battle of left-handers will be fought. Guerrero has fought at 135 twice in the past year and "The Ghost" definitely had pronounced himself a lightweight, but don't be surprised if this bout is fought at 140, a division with more action these days than 135 provides.

Guerrero is morphing rapidly from a tall-for-his-weight defensive specialist to a be-there-first attacker. The question isn't whether he can carry his power from 126 to 140. He's definitely stronger now. It's whether he is carrying his speed to lightweight and beyond, and even at 38 Casamayor (37-4-1, 22 knockouts) will test him on that issue.

There will be plenty of issues raised during Wednesday's official announcement. Stay tuned.

SUMMER 2010

BIG FIGHT NIGHT TURNS INTO A LIGHT NIGHT

September 25 was a target date for me long before the Super Six seemed destined to provide two important bouts that day, including Andre Ward vs. Andre Dirrell.

My role, beginning in summer 2009, as a talent coordinator for the East of Eden literary conference was turning me into a key player in the entire administration of the Sept. 24-26 event in Salinas, Calif. We pressed on full-bore, knowing full well the conference was likely to fall victim to the lingering economic recession.

If we had to deep-six East of Eden, my consolation seemed to be a barbershop quartet role in a late-September production of "The Music Man" with a rather lofty theater troupe.

Nothing timed right. Ward and Dirrell never fought. In fact, Dirrell, beset by neurological difficulties since the Arthur Abraham fiasco, has barely fought again. Allan Green and Mikkel Kessler were scheduled to fight Sept. 25 until an eye injury knocked Kessler out of the tournament. Ward, Abraham and Carl Froch were the only three Super Six charter members still in the field.

Ward was in limbo and had to find an autumn fight outside the Super Six.

Nonito Donaire and Robert Guerrero fared well in their summer fights. In Puerto Rico, Donaire experimented with several stances and stratagems against Hernan "Tyson" Marquez before turning orthodox and thus turning into the dazzling Donaire we longed to see. Guerrero thoroughly outboxed his former mentor, 38-year-old Joel Casamayor, in a bout that proved Guerrero could carry 140 pounds.

We gave up the ghost on East of Eden in early August, long after I turned down the barbershop quartet role, and Sept. 25 turned out to be unmemorable all around.

You might also enjoy:  http://www.examiner.com/article/left-turn-like-pacquiao-s-party-switch-philippines-probably-would-cause-backfire-u-s

JULY 2010
Chapter 121

DONAIRE'S STUDENT HAS A LIGHT COURSE-LOAD

Please excuse Dodie Boy Peñalosa Jr. if he's feeling a bit underwhelmed by the glamour and glory of being a professional boxer in America. "Sometimes I get bored," the newcomer says.

The former Filipino amateur star is undergoing the boxing equivalent of the junior year abroad that has enriched many an American's college experience. Mentor Nonito Donaire Jr. figures the Peñalosa scion needs to make a name for himself in America and needs to get used to being here.

But most of it is humdrum, including, unfortunately his American pro debut Friday night in Ontario, Calif., which is only about 30 miles from the glitter of Los Angeles, but a rather quiet boxing outpost. Peñalosa (1-0, 1 knockout) will be facing one Jose Pacheco (2-13-6,) whose only qualifications to fight Dodie Jr. are that he is a super bantamweight and he is apparently available.

It's a four-rounder on the undercard of a Demetrius Hopkins-Mike Arnoutis bout on ESPN2. Maybe they'll air footage of the first-round knockout that is bound to ensue as Peñalosa improves to 2-0. If the bout comes off.

The matchups seem to come and go. When I talked to Dodie Sr. and Dodie Jr. at the Undisputed Boxing Gym in San Carlos last week, it seemed Junior would be fighting June 25 at a Lake Tahoe resort, but that card has been rescheduled for Aug. 28 with young Peñalosa expected to fight (again). It could happen.

JULY 2010
Chapter 122

DONAIRE'S SHOWTIME BOUT SATURDAY GOING UNNOTICED

What makes Nonito Donaire's fight Saturday so important to him is that it's on Showtime. The "Filipino Flash" doesn't get enough exposure in America.

His past four bouts have all been fairly small-scale pay-per-view events based on his marketability in the Philippines, but he has received little Showtime-caliber exposure since his 2007 upset of Vic Darchinyan, mostly because Darchinyan and other desirable opponents have been ducking the multi-talented Bay Area fighter. This bout, in Puerto Rico, is the No. 2 bout on the bill, under the Juan Manuel Lopez-Bernabe Concepcion main event.

Donaire (23-1, 15 knockouts), who is ranked No. 4 in The Ring's worldwide pound-for-pound rankings, is a heavy favorite to defend his not-very-impressive-sounding WBA interim super-flyweight title against a merely semi-worthy challenger, Hernan "Tyson" Marquez (27-1, 20 knockouts). The Mexican suffered the loss in his last fight, which Richie Mepranum won by a lopsided decision.

Donaire really has to top that by stopping the guy, ideally in short order. "I've got the reach, speed and power," Donaire said during training, assessing his advantages over his comparatively endomorphic opponent, "but you never know in boxing. So, that's why we're taking precautions."

"We" includes trainer Robert Garcia, who ultimately had to choose between being in Donaire's corner Saturday or guiding Brian Viloria a few hours earlier in the Philippines instead. Donaire got the nod, though he probably doesn't need much guidance.

"The jab's going to be the main thing," Donaire said. "And my speed. With my jab, it's to set up everything. I'll be like an archer – pulling my arrows down on him. I'll plant him first to become confident my big attack will land."

Rest assured Donaire won't lose, even though getting down to 114.5 pounds was the worst making-weight challenge of his career, and in fact he may well bypass bantamweight and go up to 122 after this bout.

Even if Marquez is a heavy hitter for a super flyweight, he won't faze a man who has been taking shots from 145-pounders during training.

"Still, it's always good to be safe," Donaire said. "But I want to make it entertaining for the people as well."

If only he could reach more of them, especially in the Bay Area, where the daily newspapers don't really track him the way they track Andre Ward and Robert Guerrero. My old employer, the San Jose Mercury News, lists the Showtime card in its sports TV listings with only Lopez-Concepcion billed.

By the way, given the divergent outcomes of their bouts with Steven Luevano, and the fact that I thought Concepcion did not deserve the decision when he outpointed Puerto Rican left-hander Mario Santiago last February, I expect JuanMa to prevail easily, landing at least 400 punches.

That's what Donaire is up against Saturday. He has to be more impressive against Marquez than JuanMa is against Concepcion. And even then, few in the Bay Area will notice until he is fighting JuanMa himself, unless Donaire can beef up his profile here.

JULY 2010
Chapter 123

DONAIRE'S LEFTY TACTIC DELAYS COUP DE GRACE

Nonito Donaire stopped Hernan "Tyson" Marquez in the eighth round with a spectacular left uppercut Saturday, but the "Filipino Flash" wouldn't have won any votes as the evening's most spectacular left-hander.

That's largely because lefty Juan Manuel Lopez won the main event in Puerto Rico on Showtime by knocking Bernabe Concepcion down three times en route to a second-round TKO. With Lopez also going down once, the featherweight bout was a rouser compared to Donaire's farewell flyweight bout.

Donaire might have been more spectacular had he not fought most of the bout as a southpaw. He's a more powerful puncher left-handed, and he feels the left-handed stance will make him a more effective knockout artist from that side.

That's a nice weapon for his arsenal, just as fighting inside for 12 rounds proved to be a nice weapon in Andre Ward's arsenal against Allan Green three weeks ago. But that doesn't mean Ward should turn into Gene Fullmer or John Ruiz henceforth.

There will be opponents against whom the lefty assassin stance will be Donaire's best bet, and there will be others, like Saturday's victim Marquez, who will continue to be humiliated by the right-handed version of Donaire.

Nonito fought lefty for four rounds Saturday and landed several huge power shots as he tried to load up. But he also seemed far more hittable than usual. Although the much shorter Marquez could not get inside to dominate the fight, he landed nearly two-thirds as frequently as Donaire from outside and probably won a round or two.

"I took some beating," Donaire conceded, "but I needed that."

The magic returned immediately when Donaire went righty in the fifth round. He feinted, he countered, he landed lead rights, he ducked, and soon he floored Marquez with a counter left hook. Later in the fifth a staggered Marquez was hanging onto Donaire's knees to avoid a second knockdown call.

"I knew I could get him out right away if I turned righty," Donaire acknowledged, conceding that there was a practice aspect to this fight.

Donaire fought left-handed about one-third of the time thereafter, and continued to seek the one-punch knockout. When it came, it was a hook from the orthodox stance, and it was a beauty.

He has often fought left-handed, but the notion of doing so permanently has mostly been a matter of preserving his fragile left pinkie, which Donaire says is more likely to be damaged by jabbing than by power punches.

That's good reason to keep working on it, but let's hope it doesn't supplant the orthodox stance as his No. 1 modus operandi. He kept referring to it as "my new style," but if he abandons his old style significantly it will be cause for consternation and maybe even mourning.

JULY 2010
Chapter 124

ARUM'S ARROGANCE NOT SERVING DONAIRE, PACQUIAO WELL

Bob Arum's arrogant announcement early Saturday (midnight in California), which addressed the unlikelihood of a Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather fight in 2010, also shed light on why Nonito Donaire's three-year hookup with Arum in 2008 has proven to be a mistake.

Mayweather failed to meet a midnight Friday deadline for negotiating a Nov. 13 Pacquiao fight, so Arum said he will explore two options for Manny instead. The first is a rematch with Miguel Cotto, with the Puerto Rican's recently won 154-pound title on the line, which would boost Pacquiao's career take of belts won. The other is an extravaganza against Antonio Margarito in Monterrey, Mexico, that Margarito simply does not deserve, tempting though it is to envision Donaire against Fernando Montiel in the sub-main.

There are several folks from 140 pounds to 154 you'd rather see Pacquiao face, from Timothy Bradley and Andre Berto to Paul Williams and Sergio Martinez. But unlike Cotto and Margarito, those folks are not promoted by Arum's Top Rank Boxing.

It used to be that promoters avoided matching up their own, because one guy comes out damaged goods. But it's getting so there's only one formidable promoter with whom Arum can do business: Bob Arum. And there's only one other formidable promoter at all in Arum's estimation, Mayweather's allies at Golden Boy.

Arum dumped on all the others Saturday -- the Dan Goossen-Gary Shaw-Lou DiBella tier of promoters who represent the guys Pacquiao ought to fight in lieu of Mayweather.

He typified Bradley (Shaw) and Williams (Goossen) as able fighters "the public really doesn't know.

"That's why a lot of these promoters are shouting out names of very good fighters. We spend hundreds of thousands of dollars building up our fighters and publicizing them so they are pay-per-view attractions," said Arum, whose own roster is notably light when it comes to African-Americans.

"The other promoters don't really promote their fighters. They take money from HBO or Showtime or a little Indian casino and they think they're doing the kid a big service. I'm not going to give them a free ride on the work we have done."

You can imagine what sort of "negotiations" Arum would have with these guys.

That's the kind of take-it-or-leave-it attitude that Gary Shaw, who used to promote Donaire, has no doubt been taking as Vic Darchinyan's representative for a rematch with Donaire. Although Donaire beat Darchinyan and would beat him again if they fought, Darchinyan is the bigger TV name and probably should have commanded half the purse for a rematch, even counting Arum's TV deals in the Philippines for Donaire.

Can you imagine Arum going for that? That's why he has the leverage to get Donaire the level of money he merits, but not the level of opponent.

Fortunately, Arum handles Montiel, and he probably can maximize his holdings in the lower weights by finally pitting them against each other, as he has been promising most of the time Donaire has been with Top Rank. Arum in recent days has said Donaire-Montiel is in the works for November, probably in the United States and perhaps on the Pacquiao-Cotto/Margarito card.

Will Donaire leave Top Rank in 2011? Neither he nor manager Cameron Dunkin has said anything of the kind, but to read the non-verbal vibes the two give off when that subject is broached, the Montiel fight is de rigueur for all concerned, and even that might not keep Donaire at Top Rank.

JULY 2010
Chapter 125

GUERRERO'S CIRCLE OF SUPPORT GIVING HIM STRENGTH

Ruben Guerrero had stepped into the ring to step on Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero's feet, elbow him, grab his head and even poke his groin, among other tactics, at a training session in San Jose last week. Ruben winked at me afterward, but it was already obvious how much the father had enjoyed pretending to maul his son.

A few minutes earlier, manager Bob Santos was holding court with writers as we awaited the arrival of Ruben and Robert at the media workout. Santos is the most guarded member of this mostly guarded group that prefers to let its devout spirituality speak for itself, but Santos was opening up more than I expected as he reminisced about the early days of Robert's career. Santos was providing anecdotes about the tricks Guerrero learned via his relationship with Casamayor in those days when he trained with the Cuban veteran, whom Guerrero (26-1-1, 18 knockouts) fights Saturday in the most important bout of his career thus far.

Santos was mostly setting us straight, with what for him passes as gusto, about the very tactics Ruben Guerrero would soon demonstrate: In addition to demonstrating his boxing prowess and slickness, Casamayor, 38, is going to be kneeing, elbowing and probably even goosing his 27-year-old opponent in their 10-round bout on the pay-per-view card headed by the Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz rematch in Las Vegas.

Robert Guerrero still has to worry about losing his wife, and he recently lost boxing hall-of-famer Shelly Finkel as his co-manager, but he still has a substantial support system and much reason to be in good spirits.

That's important, Santos indicated. "I see him as a little more uptight for this fight," Santos said. "I think it's the big-brother syndrome."

Santos lost a big-brother figure, professionally speaking, when Finkel, 66, decided this summer to devote his energies to his first love, music promotion, after three decades around boxing.

Santos moaned that he wasn't prepared to add the inside-boxing portion of management to the financial guidance he already was providing, but Finkel told him he had learned well during their four-year partnership and that " 'you should be the happiest guy in the world about this,' " Santos related.

Ruben Guerrero, who was deposed as trainer during some of Robert's latter years as a featherweight, feels his return and Robert's addition of 15 pounds of muscle are reasons to be upbeat, especially about Guerrero's offensive abilities.

And of course Casey Guerrero's ongoing recovery from leukemia is the biggest reason of all to feel upbeat. She not only has survived the drastic risks associated with her January bone-marrow transplant, but also is strong enough to be part of the scene in Las Vegas.

"She'll be in the front row watching me," Robert said. It's obviously a relief to the fighter that Casey can lead his support system, not just the other way around.

JULY 2010
Chapter 126

GUERRERO'S POWER VS. CASAMAYOR WILL MAKE STATEMENT

It's a make-or-break fight for Robert Guerrero, and he's going to make a smashing impression Saturday in his first bout as a junior welterweight.

"The Ghost" won't simply outpoint Joel Casamayor in this breakthrough fight. He is going to dominate and probably stop one of the better lightweights of recent years, and the victory will catapult him among the players at 140 such as Timothy Bradley, Amir Khan and Devon Alexander. Not to mention Juan Manuel Marquez, whose rematch with Juan Diaz headlines the HBO pay-per-view card in Las Vegas that also includes Guerrero-Casamayor, Jorge Linares vs. Rocky Juarez and Daniel Jacobs vs. Dmitry Pirog.

"First things first: get ready for Joel Casamayor," Guerrero said last week in San Jose. "I looked past one guy, and I lost to him," he added, referring to his lackluster 2005 loss to Gamaliel Diaz, which he later avenged emphatically.

At 39 Casamayor is still not to be looked past, even though Guerrero (26-1-1, 18 knockouts) is about a 2-1 favorite. Guerrero's advantages in length and probably strength and speed are expected to be enough to win him a decision in the 7-3, 6-4 range.

It's going to be worse than that for Casamayor (37-4-1, 22 knockouts). Guerrero needs to stop him to make that big impression, and he's going to pull it off.

Though Casamayor is the biggest opponent, literally and figuratively, of Guerrero's career, and Guerrero's ascent from featherweight to 139 pounds has seemed rather rapid, he is suddenly much stronger than he was at 126, a development that has transpired during the period his wife has battled leukemia all the way past a bone-marrow transplant.

You'd think he's been getting weaker, but look again. He's one of the best specimens in the 140-pound ranks. He'll be the slugger in this match-up. "You could say so," Guerrero said. "I've got power."

He thinks Casamayor, who was a mentor to Guerrero early in the Gilroy fighter's career, is smart enough to know he can't beat Guerrero in a standup fight anymore. Guerrero has always been seen as a tricky fighter, but Casamayor is even trickier and will try to emphasize that advantage.

The Guerrero camp is expecting Casamayor to do his best to anger Guerrero by fouling him and befuddling him. But he taught Guerrero those tactics long ago, "so I know what to look out for.

"He's going to try to frustrate me, use all his tricks as a boxer," Guerrero said. "He's one of those guys who try to intimidate you, try to break you down psychologically.

"Oh, yeah: I'm gonna stare him down!"

Thus Guerrero seems likely to be aggressive and impressive. TKO 8, and then a date with Marquez.

JuanMa will have less trouble with Diaz in the rematch than he did in the first six rounds or so of the winter 2009 bout. Two fights with Paulie Malignaggi have exposed Diaz's lack of speed and versatility. Diaz's Houston stalemate Juarez, who once seemed among the most suitable opponents for Guerrero in the featherweight and super-featherweight divisions, will not fare well against Linares.

And when it's over, Guerrero will be seen as suitable fare for Marquez – at 27 an elite fighter at last.

JULY 2010
Chapter 127

GUERRERO DOMINATES CASAMAYOR BUT DOESN'T STOP HIM

Robert Guerrero cruised to a dominating unanimous decision victory Saturday over Joel Casamayor, but nothing short of a knockout would have been dominating enough to enhance Guerrero's image.

Guerrero (27-1-1, 18 knockouts) won 98-89 on two scorecards and 97-90 on the third in the junior welterweight bout in Las Vegas, which was on the undercard of Juan Manuel Marquez's unanimous decision victory over Juan Diaz in their rematch.

Guerrero was technically brilliant. "I went out and stuck to the game plan, did what I had to do," the Gilroy fighter pointed out. "I dominated the fight."

That he did. It would have been a virtual shutout had Guerrero not sustained a knockdown from a right jab midway through the 10th.

"It was the last round. I fell asleep at the wheel," Guerrero conceded by phone to me afterward "It was a flash knockdown. I wasn't hurt bad."

But it underscored the fact that Casamayor, 39, was still around in the 10th round.

Guerrero had scored a knockdown in the second round, when he had Casamayor (37-5-1) holding him every time he landed a left, and it appeared "The Ghost" would take out the Cuban veteran long before the 10th.

Instead, Guerrero fought a smart fight at long range, less intent on being impressive than being victorious.

He threw the ol' one-two over and over, but never the three-four.

"I had to work behind my jab, work smart and not give him a chance to counter," Guerrero said. That ploy succeeded. With the exception of a couple of straight lefts and the knockdown, Casamayor mounted almost no offense, which is not characteristic of the former lightweight champion.

With Casamayor fighting to survive instead of win from the get-go, it was not an exciting enough victory for Guerrero.

"There's some guys that you're not gonna look great against," Guerrero said. "Casamayor is one of those guys. Being in the ring with Joel Casamayor, I had to stay cautious."

He obviously was happy with the victory over a man who had been a mentor to him half a decade earlier, but Guerrero is 27 now and has reached level of eminence Casamayor had back then.

As a result of this impressive but not exhilarating victory, there possibly won't be enough clamor for Guerrero to be fighting the elite fighters, even if it is obvious he's one of them.

AUGUST 2010
Chapter 128

DONAIRE, MONTIEL DISDAIN BANTAM SUPER SIX

Nonito Donaire in a bantamweight version of the Super Six with Fernando Montiel, Yonnhy Perez, Joseph Agbeko, Vic Darchinyan and Abner Mares? That sounds like what Donaire should have been doing the past three years, not what he should do the next three.

Substantial reports about such a tournament surfaced this week, and quickly Robert Arum made it clear Donaire and Montiel won't deign to join the Showtime festivities. Arum's Top Rank is still busy promoting a possible Donaire-Montiel bout and figuring out whether it should pair that bout with Manny Pacquiao's fall fight or stump for a strong neutral site, like New York.

Donaire and Montiel are the most attractive participants proposed for the bantamweight tournament, but there's no way either is going to get through several years at 118. Donaire is already eager to get to 122, and Montiel has struggled to make 118 just as surely as Donaire has struggled at 112 and 115.

The tournament has some other built-in liabilities. Perez has drawn with Mares and has beaten Agbeko, who has beaten Darchinyan, who has also lost to Donaire and is much better at 112 and 115 than at 118. There also seem to be more age issues in the 118 group than in the super-middleweight sextet, as four of the six have already hit 30. Darchinyan is 34.

The super-middleweight Super Six also has the ideal cast of promoters, such as Gary Shaw, Dan Goossen and Lou DiBella, for an event like this. They're almost a team of rivals. Arum doesn't deal with these guys as equals, which makes the enforced match-ups these tournaments entail unworkable.

(It's bad enough that Shaw and Goossen still haven't settled on a site for the Andre Ward-Andre Dirrell bout that supposedly will come off as scheduled Sept. 25. By the way, I'm betting on Atlantic City for that one.)

Ward has become the rising star of the super-middleweight Super Six, with which Showtime is enjoying nearly as much success since that event came to light barely a year ago. But Donaire already has that kind of stature, given his top-five standing in the pound-for-pound ratings these days. Arum is right that Donaire doesn't need a Showtime tournament.

Still, Montiel and Mares and Perez would make a decent next three bouts for Donaire. And maybe the format would mandate the long-sought Donaire-Darchinyan rematch. Any of these guys is a more attractive opponent for Donaire than the six guys Nonito has fought since Darchinyan, which was three years ago now.

But Donaire would forsake all that if someone would guarantee he is destined to fight Juan Manuel Lopez and/or Yuriorkis Gamboa, maybe after fighting Montiel and Rafael Marquez, handing Chris John his first loss in between.

Donaire would almost certainly turn 30 before the Showtime tournament would end. Are the other five men the sum total of whom the "Filipino Flash" should be fighting virtually the rest of his career?

AUGUST 2010
Chapter 129

WARD NO LONGER NEEDS DISINTEGRATING SUPER SIX

Mikkel Kessler's withdrawal this week from Showtime's Super Six tournament might be good news for Andre Ward, who leads the super-middleweight event.

Kessler cited an eye injury that predates the tournament for his withdrawal from his Sept. 25 tournament date with Allan Green and, hence, the tournament itself.

Ward (22-0, 13 knockouts) has been tentatively scheduled to fight Sept. 25 against Andre Dirrell, but the fighters' promoters have been unable to agree on the particulars for a bout between two friends who aren't eager to engage anyway.

Ward doesn't need the Super Six anymore. It already has propelled him to near-superstar status, and the tournament obligations are becoming more of a hindrance than a help to his progress.

Ward's victory over Kessler last November in Oakland was the one Super Six fight that truly skewed the order in the 168-pound division. Ward and Dirrell, 2004 Olympics teammates, had been viewed as too inexperienced to seriously challenge in an elite super-middleweight field, but Ward's victory over tournament favorite Kessler changed that.

Dirrell's victory in March over Arthur Abraham, then the tournament leader, also changed the pecking order somewhat. So, to some extent, did Dirrell's opening split-decision loss to Carl Froch in England, where many of us feel Dirrell was robbed.

That fight tainted the tournament somewhat, but the withdrawals of Jermain Taylor (replaced by Green) and now Kessler have spoiled it more. It seems impossible to carry out the format unless the Oct. 2 Froch-Abraham fight and Ward-Dirrell are deemed semifinals, with Green left out.

Froch isn't the only participant to benefit from fighting at home. The home fighter has won every bout, including Ward, with his two victories in Oakland.

The hometown factor has been the chief impediment to negotiations between Ward promoter Dan Goossen and Dirrell promoter Gary Shaw. Goossen indicated to me Thursday that talks are ongoing on all fronts and nothing has been resolved. Goossen has been maintaining that Oakland would be the most profitable venue for all concerned, regardless of the hometown factor. Shaw, naturally, would like to see Michigan native Dirrell fight in Detroit, where he defeated Abraham.

Frankly, within the parameters of a tournament, it isn't fair to stage all of Ward's fights in Oakland. But outside the tournament framework, the marketplace would rule, and no one could complain about Goossen's leverage for staging every bout in Oakland if Ward continues to draw fans there.

That having been said, Ward still is viewed by some as an overly coddled fighter. Before his victories in the past 15 months over Green, Kessler and Edison Miranda, he was viewed by those skeptics as severely overrated. Even now his image would benefit from going into Nottingham or Berlin and thrashing Froch or Abraham on his own turf.

But now Ward's image would benefit all the more from beating the one prize 168-pounder who didn't deign to join the Super Six – Lucian Bute – or by moving up to 175 pounds to fight Chad Dawson or even the man who just dethroned Dawson as light-heavyweight kingpin, Jean Pascal.

So let's just declare Ward the Super Six champion and move on.

SEPTEMBER 2010
Chapter 130

DONAIRE'S DECEMBER FIGHT NOT VS. MONTIEL

It apparently hasn't been all that widely reported that Nonito Donaire is not fighting Fernando Montiel this fall and won't fight on the Pacquiao-Margarito undercard Nov. 13 in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Donaire's manager Cameron Dunkin set me straight on those facts about 10 days ago and added that Donaire "will fight on pay-per-view in December."

Dunkin didn't tell me which card, but promoter Bob Arum already is staging a Miguel Cotto-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. match Dec. 4 and needs a strong undercard. I would bank on Donaire's being part of that.

I was focused less on the date than the opponent in an email exchange with Dunkin. A source told me Jorge Arce had been in the discussion as Donaire's December fodder. Dunkin seemed perturbed that I was asking about such a baseless rumor, and now I'm perturbed that he lumped me with the legions of amateur rumor-mongers pervading the boxing press corps these days. My source was pretty sound.

Donaire's in-laws apparently will be socializing with me and my missus Saturday or soon thereafter. I believe Rachel and Nonito are returning from the Philippines (by way of Japan) in a couple of days. The visit to San Mateo will put me back in the boxing maelstrom after a few weeks of scant attention.

Dec. 4 is shaping up as an even more-congested date. For one thing, it's a climactic day in college football, which could reduce the TV boxing audience.

I'm at risk of giving this next Donaire fight short shrift myself, though I'd love to cover it if the card winds up at New York's Madison Square Garden.

SEPTEMBER 2010
Chapter 131

SHOWTIME EXPECTS WARD-DIRRELL ON NOV. 27

Andre Ward and Andre Dirrell will finally square off in the Super Six tournament Nov. 27, Showtime announced Friday, unveiling a doubleheader that also will include Arthur Abraham vs. Carl Froch.

What Showtime didn't announce is where Ward-Dirrell will take place. The site has been the crux of an impasse between Ward promoter Dan Goossen and Dirrell promoter Gary Shaw that has gone unresolved since June 19. That's when Ward solidly outpointed Allan Green in Oakland to take the lead in the tournament, which has lost two of its original six participants. Green had replaced oft-concussed Jermain Taylor last summer, and Mikkel Kessler bowed out in August with an eye injury.

What Showtime technically announced Friday is that the Nov. 27 doubleheader will formally resume the tournament, which has drawn big crowds and resulted in exciting, important fights. Ward-Green was the sixth bout of the tournament and thus completed Group Stage 2.

At least a site, in Finland of all places, is being pursued for Froch-Abraham. The Goossen-Shaw impasse was palpable before Ward's fight with Green. I was engaging in repartee with Goossen at a prefight function at Oracle Arena in Oakland when Raymond Markarian of The Sweet Science and I broached the Dirrell site issue. Goossen abruptly fled our midst as I giggled in his wake.

Can it be only a year since Kessler was in Oakland, in that same room at Oracle Arena, and I was telling him he would like the November weather in the Bay Area? The weather was about the only lovely thing about November for Kessler. Much has gone down in the 168-pound division in that year, but a Ward-Dirrell contract has not ensued.

Both of Ward's Super Six bouts have been staged at Oracle, so it seems only fair that the bout take place somewhere less favorable, but Goossen insists Oracle is the most lucrative possibility.

One would hope Goossen and Shaw can reach a less northerly compromise than Finland so late in the fall. I've covered four of Ward's past five fights and was even one of Showtime's "Press Row Scoring" judges (as were Markarian and Steve Kim) at Ward-Green, but Las Vegas is about the only place outside California that would induce me to make it five for six.

FALL 2010

HARMONIC EMERGENCE OF THE KINGPIN TRIO

It all came together for the Kingpin Trio in a four-week burst, fights staged Nov. 6, Nov. 27 and Dec. 4, as each won a lopsided bout against respectable opposition on a big-time cable telecast. It was the first time they had all been on the fast track simultaneously.

Robert Guerrero established himself as one of the world's top lightweights by dominating fellow Northern Californian Vicente Escobedo in Newark, N.J. Andre Ward won a bruising action fight against veteran Sakio Bika in Oakland, and Nonito Donaire was at his sensational best in a fourth-round stoppage of former bantamweight champion Volodymyr Sydorenko, a bout that assured Donaire of his dream bout with Fernando Montiel for bantamweight supremacy the following February.

The Bika fight established more than ever that Ward was one tough hombre, and it kept him sharp for the resumption of the Super Six, which in one year had established him as a star.

Donaire was finally next in line for takeoff.

And Guerrero was fully back in line to join them.

**You might also enjoy** :  http://www.examiner.com/article/martinez-s-knockout-of-williams-makes-him-a-super-attraction

OCTOBER 2010
Chapter 132

GUERRERO TO FIGHT ESCOBEDO NEAR NYC

Robert Guerrero of Gilroy (near San Jose) fights Vicente Escobedo of Woodland (near Sacramento) on Nov. 6, but they're fighting in Newark, N.J. (near New York).

This is not cause for complaint.

Someone in New York might actually notice Guerrero, although the lightweight bout is underneath the Zab Judah-Lucas Matthysse main event on the Golden Boy Promotions card, which HBO will televise. In fact, the story of wife Casey Guerrero's battle with leukemia will probably get huge play this month in New York-New Jersey thanks to her presence on the scene.

That venue gives 168-pound East Bay star Andre Ward and Dan Goossen something to think about as they try to find an agreeable site for Ward's Nov. 27 Super Six match with Andre Dirrell. What better way to Spread the Word about "Son of God" than the most important media town in the world?

Nonito Donaire is fighting Dec. 4 in Anaheim, where his latest little-known opponent will be Volodymyr Sydorenko (22-2-2, 7 knockouts) of Ukraine. The L.A. area would be a nice middle ground for Donaire's long-awaited bout with Mexico's Fernando Montiel in 2011, and this will boost Donaire's following there, but from a boxing standpoint, it ain't New York, either.

Guerrero (27-1-1, 18 knockouts) gave up a more attractive HBO matchup with Michael Katsidis last spring so he could aid Casey's recovery from a bone-marrow transplant.

Escobedo (24-2, 14 knockouts) fought Katsidis last fall, braving an onslaught that nearly stopped him in the early rounds and then nearly catching up on the scorecards with his durability, determination and boxing skills. Escobedo is clever and well-schooled, a very credible and dangerous opponent, but he lacks the physical talent to keep up with A-list fighters like Katsidis and Guerrero.

The bout will give Guerrero a chance to win admirers on a major platform, and that he will.

OCTOBER 2010
Chapter 133

HBO'S 'MAYBE' ON DONAIRE-MONTIEL SOUNDS LIKE 'YES'

When Bob Arum announced Monday that Nonito Donaire and Fernando Montiel are on course for a February bout, there was one thing about the facts and rumors in subsequent days that raised my hopes: that the bout will be on HBO.

Here's what HBO told me Thursday: "We are not ready to announce any of our first quarter 2011 fights," stated Kery Davis, senior vice-president, programming. "But we are in discussions with a variety of promoters about a handful of terrific matchups. Donaire vs. Montiel would be an intriguing fight for HBO. But it's premature to discuss any of the potential matchups right now."

I'll take that as a "yes."

It appears Donaire and Montiel (43-2, 33 knockouts) will fight Feb. 19. I know, I know, I've been hyping this match throughout my two years as SF Boxing Examiner, but the talk is much stronger now.

"I'm assuring my fans. Me vs. Montiel is coming," Donaire announced on Facebook, corroborating what Arum said in Los Angeles at a press conference Donaire joined at the last minute. Donaire (24-1, 16 knockouts) has to win Dec. 4 over Volodymyr Sydorenko (22-2-2, 7 knockouts) on the Anaheim card Arum was hyping Monday.

I didn't get to talk to HBO executive Ross Greenburg, but our 2009 discussion of this topic yielded some of my ammo for saying HBO is on board this time.

On one hand, viewer numbers aren't there for "anything south of featherweights" Greenburg lamented last year. And you'll notice HBO seems to have lost interest in featherweight kingpin Juan Manuel Lopez, whose most recent bout, against Bernabe Concepcion, was on Showtime.

"You have to have two awesome fighters in their weight class," Greenburg said, citing Lopez and Gerry Peñalosa. It's safe to say Greenburg considers Donaire-Montiel sufficiently "awesome."

HBO is the premier venue in boxing and represents a real holy grail for Donaire, just as much as having Montiel in the same ring.

This is the best set-up Donaire has had during the past two years.

OCTOBER 2010
Chapter 134

DIRRELL'S SUPER SIX PULLOUT LEAVES WARD IN LURCH

With Andre Dirrell's pullout this week from Showtime's Super Six tournament among elite 168-pounders, the event is down to three of its original six participants. Dirrell promoter Gary Shaw was told Dirrell is having recurring neurological problems, Shaw's spokesman said.

Better a toe tag on the Super Six than on Dirrell – or Jermain Taylor, another damaged Super Six charter member who used his head and pulled out.

It isn't fair to blame Showtime or the Super Six concept for a failure to go the distance – not even if the foul that ended Dirrell's bout with Arthur Abraham is what brain-damaged him. In fact Showtime's Ken Hershman has been fighting a bit too gamely to keep the venture going and should stop now.

Without branding it the Super Six, surely Showtime can get sufficient mileage out of some sort of round-robin among survivors Carl Froch, Arthur Abraham, and Andre Ward, who now needs someone to replace Dirrell as his Nov. 27 opponent.

Super Three, anyone?

Allan Green, who replaced Taylor and lost to Ward in June, is scheduled to fight Glen Johnson in a bout some are tying to the Super Six. But it is impossible to picture Johnson at 168, where he hasn't fought for 10 years. If they're light-heavyweights, they shouldn't carry the Super Six banner.

Ward is about ready to head to light heavyweight anyway. Johnson, 41, looked like a credible opponent in his recent narrow loss to Tavoris Cloud.

Why, there's enough talent at 175 for another Super Six.

OCTOBER 2010
Chapter 135

MONTIEL BREAKS LEG IN MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT

What an unlucky break. Less than a week after news of a Nonito Donaire-Fernando Montiel match Feb. 19 on HBO emerged, Montiel has suffered a fractured leg in a motorcycle accident. It seems unlikely the fight can take place in February.

Efforts to reach Donaire on Monday were unsuccessful, but we had dinner together three days ago in San Mateo and, as you might expect, Team Donaire was upbeat about the Montiel matchup.

Nonito has signed a two-fight deal to fight Volodymyr Sydorenko in Anaheim on Dec. 4 and (assuming he beats Sydorenko) against Montiel in the late-winter bout, which Donaire told me was headed for Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

He and Rachel also divulged some contract terms. Donaire will earn $300,000 for the Sydorenko fight and was to receive $350,000 for the Montiel fight, with Montiel earning at least $25,000 more than that. Donaire has been receiving about $250,000 per fight since joining Bob Arum's Top Rank Boxing promotion team, despite the mediocrity of his opposition.

Curse Donaire's buzzard's luck all you want, but he's still in a good position. For one thing, it seems probable the Montiel fight can be rescheduled for late spring. It's also possible the injury isn't as serious as was reported. Most important, Donaire did not break his own tibia.

Donaire had just resumed training late last week and his body was aching during our Korean meal (my efforts to pick up the check were unsuccessful). The latest news hurts, yes, but it could have been much, much worse.

OCTOBER 2010
Chapter 136

WARD-BIKA BOUT HELPS SHOWTIME'S SUPER SIX PLAN

With Andre Ward's Nov. 27 bout in Oakland with Sakio Bika reported but not announced, Showtime is likely to clarify Thursday where the Super Six tournament stands when the cable network stages a news conference involving the exits of Mikkel Kessler and Andre Dirrell and the entrances of Allan Green and Glen Johnson.

Here's how it shapes up: Ward is already scheduled for the Super Six semifinals, for which the Bika bout is a sort of tune-up that gives Ward a suitable opponent for a Nov. 27 non-Super Six bout and gives Showtime both a showcase for Ward and an enhancement for a Super Six bout between Carl Froch and Arthur Abraham that night.

It appears both Froch and Abraham are headed for the Super Six semifinals with Ward, and the fourth contestant will be the winner of a Nov. 6 bout between Green (a replacement for original contestant Jermain Taylor), and the 41-year-old former light heavyweight champion Johnson, who simultaneously seems to replace Dirrell and Kessler.

To recap: Abraham knocked out Taylor, Froch won a questionable decision over Dirrell and Ward upset Kessler in the first stage of the tournament among elite 168-pounders. Dirrell then upset Abraham, Kessler outpointed Froch and Ward outpointed Green (whose entry to the tournament originally was rumored to involve a box-off with Bika). Kessler withdrew with an eye injury (leaving Green without an opponent), and Dirrell is citing neurological problems for his failure to meet Ward on Nov. 27 and his apparent withdrawal from the tournament.

Lame though it may seem to perpetuate the Super Six with only three of the original contestants, there's really no downside for Ward. He gets the Bika fight in Oakland and the prospect of fighting two of the other three semifinalists, notably Johnson, with at least one of those bouts headed for Oakland, too.

If Showtime wants to call it the Super Six, fine. Just don't call me late for the opening bells.

OCTOBER 2010
Chapter 137

TWO DOCUMENTARIES REFLECT GUERRERO'S UPSWING

There are two Robert Guerrero documentaries in the works, and until Friday I was more interested in the one HBO has been working on for a few weeks.

Then I got a query this week seeking journalists, fans and other observers of "The Ghost" who could show up in Newark, N.J., next Friday, the day before Guerrero's lightweight bout with Vicente Escobedo on HBO's Boxing After Dark. If you can show up, contact the producers.

Heck, HBO didn't even want me to show up in Gilroy a few Saturdays back, when I considered crashing its film session in Guerrero's hometown simply as an observer. A newspaper reporter gets paid to do things like that. An online reporter does not. I didn't try.

But Guerrero's primary publicist, Mario Serrano, indicated Friday that I'm likely to be included among those interviewed on camera here in Santa Clara County for that second documentary. It's "An Andrew Johnson Film." I don't know much more except that the film enterprise doesn't seem detached from the fighter's enterprise.

Hence, two documentaries. With Guerrero's wife winning her three-year battle with leukemia and Guerrero's rising stature in the sport, the attention is overdue. The New York Times and the Daily News might soon come through. And Sports Illustrated, where are you?

NOVEMBER:2010
Chapter 138

GUERRERO BOUT NOT GETTING MUCH ATTENTION

Gilroy's Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero may be rendered invisible this weekend despite the likelihood that he will win one of the most intriguing fights of his career.

Guerrero (27-1-1, 18 knockouts) is in Newark, N.J., fighting fellow Northern Californian Vicente Escobedo (22-2, 14 knockouts) of the Sacramento area. The New York-area venue seems like a plus for an elite fighter like Guerrero, and the bout is on HBO, which is the best place in boxing to get noticed, but the Guerrero-Escobedo lightweight bout is merely the sub-main event.

The headliner is veteran New Yorker Zab Judah, whose comeback bout at junior welterweight matches the 32-year-old southpaw against unbeaten Argentinian Lucas Mathysse (27-0, 25 knockouts).

So in the San Jose Mercury News TV listings Friday, only Judah's bout was mentioned as HBO fare. Similarly, a super-middleweight Super Six bout on Showtime between Allan Green and 41-year-old recent recruit Glen Johnson is buried underneath the featherweight headliner between Juan Manuel Lopez and Rafael Marquez.

The Merc will have more than that on Guerrero's bout Saturday and Sunday, but the Friday listing was symptomatic of what still ails Guerrero's career.

Look for Guerrero to win convincingly by decision. Escobedo is a well-schooled professional whose signature bout was a close decision loss to Michael Katsidis in 2009. Katsidis overwhelmed Escobedo in the early going but then ran out of steam, at which point Escobedo outboxed the Australian. But Escobedo, 29, has limited physical gifts and will be outquicked and outgunned against Guerrero, who will not wear down.

To go beyond expectations, Guerrero will have to stop Escobedo. But if winning on points proves the most prudent course, that's how it will go, and the misperception that Guerrero isn't particularly strong will endure.

When I pressed this issue during a media teleconference Monday, Golden Boy poobah Oscar De La Hoya said winning is what matters, even if not by knockout. But that isn't necessarily how HBO and boxing pundits feel, which ultimately matters a lot if you're in line to be a headliner, as Guerrero's talent most certainly warrants.

Guerrero has been flashy and dominating in recent months in high-profile victories over Malcolm Klassen and onetime star Joel Casamayor. But he stopped neither. Guerrero's one knockout in recent months came in a tune-up against Roberto Arrieta, whom Escobedo did not stop in a 2008 bout.

Escobedo has the same image problem Guerrero has, and it's going to a tough one to shake Saturday on a night of compelling fights.

NOVEMBER 2010
Chapter 139

KNOCKDOWNS SET TONE IN GUERRERO VICTORY

Power-punching from the get-go, Gilroy's Robert Guerrero knocked down Vicente Escobedo twice Saturday and defeated his fellow Californian by unanimous decision in a 10-round lightweight bout in Newark, N.J.

It was the first time on HBO that Guerrero has assumed the role of brute instead of matador, and some of that aggressiveness may have stemmed from a desire to prove wrong the critics who said he is usually too dependent on finesse.

Guerrero (28-1-1) landed a couple of right hooks in the first round that set up his left-handed power shots. He floored Escobedo (22-3) with a right-left combination in the third, put him down in the fifth in an incident ruled a slip, and scored the second knockdown in the sixth in an exchange of power shots.

"I went out and established my presence," said Guerrero, who considered this outing just as typical of his fights as his more careful victory over Joel Casamayor last summer. "The Casamayor fight, he's a lefty, so I had to fight smart. This fight here, whole different story. He was a right-hander, so I went to work."

Escobedo truly is a finesse fighter but, forced to engage in a slugfest with Guerrero, he landed plenty of right crosses. "He got in some shots, but he never hurt me," Guerrero said. "The only thing he hurt was my fist," amended "The Ghost," whose victory lines him up for a lightweight title shot against the winner of a Juan Manuel Marquez-Michael Katsidis fight.

Katsidis and Guerrero are really parallel now that each has fought Escobedo. Katsidis bullied Escobedo even more effectively in the first couple of rounds in their 2009 bout but began to fade after that, hanging on to win a narrow decision.

Escobedo also won a couple of late rounds against Guerrero, who said he thought he hurt his left hand in the seventh. "That's why you saw me throw a lot more jabs," he said.

But the decision was not close. The scorecards read 100-88, 98-92 and 96-92.

In other words, Guerrero, 27, kicked butt image-wise, pretty much beating up a well-regarded opponent, and might rate as a slight favorite against Katsidis, the match Guerrero had to decline last spring because of his wife's health. As for JuanMa, Guerrero was hit squarely enough Saturday to cast some doubt about that.

He probably wouldn't fight so balls-out against either Katsidis or Marquez, but Guerrero did the right thing Saturday, and his career, which has included two featherweight world titles and a super-featherweight belt, reached its highest level thus far.

_HBO MINI-DOCUMENTARY_ : HBO aired a 10-minute story of Guerrero's career and wife Casey's struggle with leukemia as a lead-in, but it was pretty cursory for those of us who have been following his travails. He still needs more P.R. Once again, HBO didn't interview him post-fight, so publicist Mario Serrano got us together by phone.

NOVEMBER 2010
Chapter 140

GLEN JOHNSON REACHES SUPER SIX SEMIFINALS

It was overshadowed Saturday in the Bay Area by Robert Guerrero's HBO victory over Vicente Escobedo. But Showtime's Super Six event Saturday established a Final Four for the tournament among elite 168-pounders, in which Andre Ward has been supreme.

Glen Johnson, 41, a recent addition to the Super Six field, became the fourth semifinalist by knocking out Allan Green in the eighth round of their Saturday bout.

Ward will be seeded either No. 1 or No. 2, but we still can't discern whether his semifinals opponent will be Johnson or Carl Froch. Fourth-place Froch fights second-place Arthur Abraham on Nov. 27, the night Ward fights a non-Super Six bout against Sakio Bika in Oakland with Ward's WBA world title at stake.

Not in the tournament but now in the wings is IBF champion Lucian Bute, who signed a contract with Showtime last week and surely will meet the Super Six champion in a match worthy of much ballyhoo. Ward still figures to be that guy.

Ward has six points in the tournament, counting his forfeit victory over Andre Dirrell, who this fall became the third original member of the field to withdraw. Abraham has three for his one victory by knockout, and now Johnson has three points for his knockout win. Froch has two points, but a win Nov. 27 would put him in second place with four or five.

Although Showtime told me recently that the tournament rules will not be altered to prevent a Froch-Abraham rematch in the semifinals, it also told me that Abraham still had a shot at first place, which means he must hold some tiebreaker advantage over Ward at six points. But surely they can manipulate a tie like that to pit Ward against Froch in the semis and Johnson against Abraham. That's the set-up that probably will ensue, although Showtime didn't like it when I reported that.

Johnson, moving from 175 to 168 after a 10-year absence from that weight class, would seem to present an ominous obstacle for Ward, especially if you think Saturday's knockout trumps Ward's decision victory in June.

Actually, the Johnson-Green fight was pretty even. Green was jabbing effectively and moving in and out to win rounds. Johnson, unlike Ward, was not able to pin Green inside for long spells. But he was able to land a big right in the first round, a rabbit punch at the end of the fourth that rattled Green and a rabbit punch in the eighth that set up the straight right that put Green down.

Green could have gotten up, but he was thoroughly preoccupied by his vain attempt to persuade referee Robert Byrd (one of the sport's best) to enforce rabbit-punching rules. Green has a Hasim Rahman propensity for losing his head in the heat of battles he's equipped to win. Even though he was leading on two scorecards after seven rounds, you never believed Green would pull out the victory over the dogged and crafty veteran.

Although Ward didn't stop Green in June, no official scorer gave Green a single round in that fight.

There's a tendency to mistakenly think of Johnson as the present-day Mike "The Body Snatcher" McCallum because of his age and his Caribbean origins, but Ward should be able to outpoint Johnson decisively if they should meet in the title match. In fact, I think the other two guys pose more problems for Ward than Johnson does.

Where Bute fits into this picture in the next year isn't clear. But he and Ward are definitely on the collision course that could propel Ward to superstar status. It's all in sight now.

NOVEMBER 2010
Chapter 141

WARD'S ELAN REFRESHING IN BUILDUP TO BIKA

Andre Ward giggled a few days ago at the mention of Mikkel Kessler, or more specifically, the double vision Kessler blamed for his loss to Ward a year ago and Kessler's subsequent withdrawal from the Super Six tournament. That the same giggle might be an appropriate reaction to Andre Dirrell's withdrawal from the Super Six (rather than meet Ward as scheduled) was beside the point.

The giggle itself was the point. Ward (22-0, 13 knockouts) can be as workmanlike at a press conference as he is all business in the ring, and the former is not always a desirable trait.

So it was good to see Ward truly enjoying himself at his media event at Ricky's Sports Bar in San Leandro building up to this Saturday's WBA super-middleweight title defense against Sakio Bika in a non-Super Six bout at Oracle Arena in Oakland. The bout is the nightcap of Showtime's doubleheader that begins with the Arthur Abraham-Carl Froch Super Six bout.

Ward even seemed to be expecting to have fun in the ring against Bika, who lives in Australia but hails from Cameroon.

"He's gonna come full steam ahead," Ward said of Bika (28-4-2, 19 knockouts). "He's not really a skillful guy, but he'll keep pumpin'."

In other words, Bika can dish it out, but he will be there to take it, too.

"I'm going to protect myself," Ward cautioned, but he was referring mostly to illegal tactics that have plagued Bika, disqualifying him in the first round of his recent bout with Jean Paul Mendy.

Ward's recent fights of consequence have not ended in knockouts, although Ward has dominated and has seldom lost even a round. This one figures to end more climactically, with Ward courting danger but dealing with it explosively.

NOVEMBER 2010
Chapter 142

ABRAHAM, FROCH JOCKEY FOR POSITION

Ideal Super Six scenario Saturday in Finland: Arthur Abraham, covering up and countering for 12 rounds, decisively outpoints Carl Froch, paving the way for Andre Ward to finish Froch in less than 12 next spring in the semifinals.

That's certainly the ideal scenario for Showtime. Ward's star power is the No. 1 asset for to Showtime's Super Six coverage, although Froch-Abraham will be a tough act for Ward to follow Saturday in Oakland when he meets Sakio Bika in the non-Super Six nightcap of Showtime's doubleheader.

If Froch loses to Abraham by decision Saturday, fourth-place Froch would be first-place Ward's opponent in the Super Six semifinals, with second-place Abraham then meeting third-place Glen Johnson. If Abraham stops Froch, he would be the No. 1 seed by virtue of the tiebreaker power of the two knockouts Abraham would then have accrued in this tournament among elite 168-pounders. That outcome would mean a Froch-Abraham rematch in the semis.

I want Ward to get next crack at Froch, who has been the least-talented boxer in the Super Six, his own assessments sharply to the contrary. After benefitting from an unjust decision in his first-stage bout with Andre Dirrell, Froch lost a decision to Mikkel Kessler last spring.

(Both Kessler, who earlier lost to Ward, and Dirrell, who defeated Abraham last spring, have withdrawn from the tournament.)

It's worth noting that Dirrell fought better against Abraham than he did against Froch, so "The Cobra" has earned no bragging rights in this tournament. Nor did he dominate Jermain Taylor in April 2009 the way Abraham dominated Taylor that October, although both knocked out Taylor in the 12th round.

Maybe Froch will be able to brag that he didn't get knocked out by Abraham.

"I never, ever want to test my chin with anybody," Froch said last week during a media teleconference, by way of noting that he doesn't expect any help from the officials and may have to force a slugfest. "The best chin is the one that doesn't get hit. I've fought some very strong super middleweights and light heavyweights. I'm not concerned when people say that Arthur's the biggest puncher I've faced. I think his power is overrated, especially at super middleweight."

Abraham, who usually seems compassionate in prefight talk, though decidedly not so in the ring, seems unusually annoyed by Froch. Froch's assertion that he got jobbed against Kessler in Denmark is particularly nettlesome if you believe, as I do, that Froch won only three rounds. I gave him only three against Dirrell also.

"Froch has a mental problem," Abraham said last week. "He still thinks he defeated Mikkel Kessler in his last fight, which was clearly not the case."

Logic suggests if anyone can stop Froch, it's Abraham, but I'd rather see Ward do it, right here in the Bay Area. Ward probably would outpoint Glen Johnson, if that's how it shakes out, but Ward-Froch is a far more ugly fight, and therefore more attractive.

NOVEMBER 2010
Chapter 143

GARCIA FIRST AMONG EQUALS IN DONAIRE CORNER

Nonito Donaire tells me he started getting too much conflicting advice in his corner during his last fight. It forced him to order Jonathan Peñalosa to yield the floor to Robert Garcia and thereby establish the pecking order then and there.

There's a least a nuance of equality in the training ranks. As Rachel Marcial Donaire put it Monday, "One's body, one's mind." But that means Garcia gets the last word, which against Hernan "Tyson" Marquez last August meant Donaire turned aggressive and stopped the pesky underdog in the eighth round.

The addition of Garcia as Donaire's brain trust in 2010 has escaped notice in many circles, especially in comparison to the attention Garcia received recently for training Antonio Margarito to fight (and be beaten soundly by) Manny Pacquiao.

More than most fighters, Donaire commands his own corner. He still feels his father's oppressive approach as trainer led to their parting in 2008, and he has been determined to be his own man. But a rudderless aspect to his August 2009 victory over Rafael Concepcion convinced him he needed someone like Garcia.

"I'm very versatile," Donaire said Monday, "so whatever comes, I know I can devise a plan. And if I can't see, I know Robert will see what to do."

Donaire staged two media events Monday to plug both his Dec. 4 bantamweight title bout in Anaheim against formidable journeyman Volodymyr Sydorenko and a long-awaited bout with Fernando Montiel in February (on HBO). First there was an afternoon teleconference and then there was an evening public workout that drew about 200 to the newly remodeled Undisputed Boxing Gym in San Carlos.

With nutritionist (to say the least!) Victor Conte on hand, there was a lot of discussion of diet and exercise at the media workout, and I'll discuss some of that as the Sydorenko fight approaches, including what makes Peñalosa's role important.

The teleconference was more about Donaire's coming to grips with his recent boxing doldrums, a litany of big fights falling through and having to make do. He hinted that he's had trouble getting up for every match and was starting to question whether he can tap all that prodigious versatility when it's most needed.

"I noticed he lacked that final precision," Garcia said. "Coming into big fights, you have to have someone who's going to push you to that extra level. We still haven't' had that real push, but I know the next two fights will change that."

Donaire concurred emphatically. "I'm willing to push the limit this time," he said. "I want to make a statement as to who Nonito Donaire really is in the ring."

NOVEMBER 2010
Chapter 144

WARD WILL BEAT BIKA IMPRESSIVELY

Showtime's Super Six tournament has damaged every original participant except Andre Ward, as Saturday's doubleheader will illustrate.

Ward's fight at Oakland's Oracle Arena against Sakio Bika (24-4-2, 19 knockouts) will do him no harm in the Super Six because it isn't a Super Six bout, although Ward's WBA super-middleweight title is on the line. And it probably will do Ward a lot of good, because Bika's style probably will lead to a knockout victory for Ward (22-0, 13 knockouts).

"We know he's aggressive," Ward trainer Virgil Hunter says of Bika, "and we know how to neutralize that."

First, Arthur Abraham (31-1, 25 knockouts) and Carl Froch (26-1, 20 KOs) battle in Finland in the final Group Stage 3 bout of the Super Six. Both Abraham and Froch have suffered their only career defeats in Super Six competition, a tournament that perhaps has ended the careers of the other three original contestants, Jermain Taylor, Mikkel Kessler and Andre Dirrell.

Froch-Abraham is likely to come down to which is the stronger puncher, and I would bet on Abraham, who imposed his will on Jermain Taylor more convincingly than did Froch.

I would bet a lot more on Ward against Bika, though, because he's so eager to open up after his maintain-control victories over Kessler, Allan Green and Edison Miranda.

Ward has clearly been the standout in the Super Six.

"Andre Ward can keep his spot in the Super Six," says veteran trainer Ronnie Shields, who is working his first bout in Bika's corner. "We just want the WBA title."

Hunter says he wishes Bika luck. "When I say luck, I mean that he goes home to his family intact."

What Ward will keep intact is not only his supremacy in the Super Six and, along with Lucian Bute his supremacy in the 168-pound division, but also his chances of entering the mythical top 10 in pound-for-pound rankings. As Showtime no doubt will be the first to tell you Saturday, Ward is getting close to real stardom.

NOVEMBER 2010
Chapter 145

NASTY FIGHT GOES MOSTLY WARD'S WAY

Some of us in Oakland watching Andre Ward defeat Sakio Bika by unanimous decision Saturday thought Bika put up a pretty good fight in his bid for Ward's WBA super-middleweight champion and that Ward didn't dominate the way we had hoped he would.

But the scorecards read 120-108, 119-109 and 118-110, and when I saw the fight three hours later on TV at home, I had to give Ward a lot more credit for winning the fight as handily as the scorecards indicated.

He fended off Bika's lunging punches and wayward elbows and retaliated by landing most of the clean punches in the bout, and he made the most of the surprisingly few opportunities Bika afforded in a bout marred by endless clinches and wrestling, as well as the head butts, elbows and the like, some of which Ward also perpetrated..

It was certainly Ward's most difficult fight since he began a parade of elite-level victories 18 months ago.

"I don't know if it was the most difficult," Ward said. "It was probably the most frustrating."

Ward next faces Arthur Abraham (a surprisingly decisive loser Saturday to Carl Froch) in the Super Six semifinals, probably in March.

With Bika proving he would have been a worthy Super Six participant, we were reminded that Ward is still an up-and-coming fighter, not a finished product. He concurs. "I'm just happy I can evolve, continue to improve, but keep winning," he said.

A knockout in a fight like this didn't seem as likely in the ring as it had seemed beforehand, even though Ward was loading up more than usual, looking especially to land left hooks.

"I kept wanting to break him down," said Ward (23-0, 13 knockouts), who increasingly did take control of the fight and was usually the aggressor but never had Bika (28-5-2) in serious trouble. "He was tired, but at the same time, he's a guy who will move in there and swing for the fences."

Both fighters were cut from head butts, elbows and perhaps punches, with Ward sustaining a cut on his left eyelid, above the right eyebrow and on the bridge of his nose.

"I think every laceration I have was either from a head butt or an elbow," Ward said.

There was nothing pretty about this win.

"The bottom line," Ward concluded, "was not how we won, but did we win."

DECEMBER 2010
Chapter 146

DONAIRE-SYDORENKO BOUT BECOMES MAIN EVENT

Nonito Donaire is now the headline attraction on Saturday's "In Harm's Way" card Top Rank is staging at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

Top-billed Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., who has been battling flu for more than a week, registered a 103-degree fever Wednesday, and his bout with Pawel Wolak was postponed.

That left Donaire's bantamweight title bout with Volodymyr Sydorenko atop the Top Rank card, which still has a decent sub-main event, with Humberto Soto defending his WBC lightweight title against Urbano Antillon.

Top Rank is underwriting the pay-per-view television production, as has been the case for four of Donaire's past five bouts, the first of which featured Chavez Jr. as a headliner.

Beating Sydorenko will line up Donaire for a Feb. 19 bout against Fernando Montiel on HBO, the first time the "Filipino Flash" has fought on the premier boxing network.

DECEMBER 2010
Chapter 147

DONAIRE LOOKS HIS BEST SCORING 4TH-ROUND K.O.

Nonito Donaire's determination to make a dynamic showing Saturday propelled the Filipino Flash to his most impressive victory since 2007 as he knocked down Volodymyr Sydorenko three times and stopped the former WBA bantamweight champion in the fourth round.

Donaire's performance Saturday in Anaheim should intensify the hype for his Feb. 19 bantamweight showdown with long-awaited opponent Fernando Montiel, the WBC and WBO champion. It's a division in which Donaire hadn't fought since 2005.

"I wanted to make a statement, and I did," Donaire said after winning the second-tier WBC Continental Americas belt. "I know I can dominate anyone if I'm motivated."

It wasn't a new and improved Donaire who tortured Sydorenko. This was vintage Donaire, the monster flyweight-turned bantamweight taking lethal advantage of Sydorenko's every mistake, including one or two he didn't even make.

Donaire's vaunted left hook provided the first knockdown near the end of a first round in which he had already staggered the much shorter Ukrainian. A counter left hook (as Donaire was retreating, yet) put Sydorenko (22-3-2) down again in the third.

A not-out-of-character left-right combination caused Sydorenko to sink to the canvas in pain in the fourth, and referee Marcos Rosales signaled the bout was over, with 1 minute 11 seconds remaining in the round.

"The counter hook is always going to be me," Donaire said of the signature punch, the one that knocked off Vic Darchinyan in 2007.

Another remaining hallmark is careful defense, which Donaire (25-1, 17 knockouts) employed in the second round after nearly ending the fight in the first. That's something recently arrived trainer Robert Garcia hasn't changed.

"Robert told me, relax, take your time," Donaire said of his inclination to pursue the knockout with abandon.

But in the third Donaire went into Roy Jones Jr. mode, abandoning the jab, loading up and looking for opportunities to counter.

With the knockdown in the third and the nasty finish in the fourth, Donaire's performance resembled the flyweight version in the Philippines in April 2009 against Texan Raul Martinez, but this one seemed more savage.

The win over Martinez was the one that launched Donaire into the top 10 of The Ring Magazine's pound-for-pound ratings, where he has remained. But he says he hasn't really tested his worthiness for that level of acclaim.

"I've still got to beat Montiel. Then I can say I'm worthy of that."

DECEMBER 2010
Chapter 148

DONAIRE, MONTIEL NOT MISSING MUCH IN 118 EVENT

It's a good thing Nonito Donaire and Fernando Montiel bypassed Showtime's bantamweight version of a Super Six, judging by the bantamweight semifinals that ensued instead Saturday.

What we learned Saturday, as Abner Mares overcame a huge early deficit to outpoint Vic Darchinyan and Joseph Agbeko soundly outboxed Yhonny Perez, was that none of those four can touch Donaire or Montiel, who will battle for the latter's WBC and WBO bantamweight titles Feb. 19 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas on HBO. Neither is the tournament even nearly on par with the network's super-middleweight tournament that has starred Andre Ward.

The 118-pounders on Showtime were up against a 140-pound extravaganza Saturday on the aforementioned HBO at Mandalay Bay. Amir Khan nearly squandered a dazzling performance to narrowly outpoint persistent Marcos Maidana after one-time Maidana victim Victor Ortiz wound up with a majority draw against Lamont Peterson.

The Khan fight offered more drama than the others as Khan, who nearly finished Maidana in the first round with a left to the liver, got tagged in the 10th round and seemed ready to go the way he went against Bredis Prescott in 2008, the loss that drove the Briton Khan to work with Freddie Roach. Khan won by no more than three points on any scorecard.

Ortiz scored two third-round knockdowns of Peterson (one year after Lamont's gallant loss to 140-pound king Timothy Bradley). It seemed like an otherwise even bout, so Ortiz should have gotten the decision. The 95-93 judgment for Peterson was a bit out of line and the 94-94 count on the other two scorecards was only marginally acceptable.

Close thought their fight was, Ortiz and Peterson were a disappointment as the aggressor Ortiz couldn't land combinations and the ever-retreating Peterson hit Ortiz surprisingly often with counter rights. Neither guy would be likely to beat Gilroy lightweight Robert Guerrero fighting thusly.

WINTER 2011

DONAIRE FINALLY GETS HIS DUE IN BAY AREA MEDIA

_About two weeks before his showdown with Fernando Montiel, Nonito Donaire was a guest on_ Chronicle Live _, the increasingly important late-afternoon sports news/talk show on Comcast Sports Net Bay Area. That's the station that airs Giants and A's baseball, Warriors basketball and Sharks hockey, which makes it the most important TV sports venue in the Bay Area right there._

The sudden acknowledgement that Donaire was a player in the Bay Area was the real breakthrough for the "Filipino Flash." The sensational victory over Montiel, the ascension to No. 3 on the pound-for-pound list, further Bay Area media exposure, more frequent mention nationally and internationally, the acknowledgement of his charisma -- suddenly everybody was talking about all of that. As HBO commentator Max Kellerman put it to sign off the Montiel telecast, "That guy is a star!"

The Bay Area was not oblivious, and I got some credit for making that so. I had bent the ears of prominent Bay Area sports columnists such as the Oakland Tribune's Monte Poole and the San Jose Mercury News' Tim Kawakami, who each somewhat jokingly called me "the dean of Bay Area boxing writers."

Their Bay Area News Group sports editor, former Merc columnist Bud Geracie, was still finding Bay Area boxing coverage a losing proposition as late as fall 2009, but was beginning to notice something special about the current Bay Area scene. I met Geracie's San Francisco Chronicle counterpart, Al Saracevic, at an Andre Ward media event in November 2010, and the Chronicle's Vittorio Tafur wrote a takeout on Donaire during the Montiel build-up.

Ward's move into the pound-for-pound top 10 in early 2011 made the trio all the more conspicuous, and Robert Guerrero had been on the media radar since his featherweight days and was widely known because of wife Casey's leukemia treatments.

Poole actually wrote about the trio as a singular entity, in the context of the possibility of a Bay Area tripleheader for the three of them. As did I, of course. I even tried to sell Sports Illustrated on the idea and was pleased to discover the appropriate editor, Richard O'Brien, was suitably familiar with the boxing landscape I was describing.

It all validated everything the SF Boxing Examiner had been writing the past 30 months and validated persevering despite the ignominy that I had not escaped in the process.

**You might also enjoy** _:_  http://www.examiner.com/article/boxing-on-the-waterfront-may-be-sordid-but-not-like-the-old-days

**JANUARY 2011**
**Chapter 149**

**GHOST SCAVENGING FOR MARQUEZ OR ERIK MORALES**

**Robert Guerrero seems to have a good shot at fighting Juan Manuel Marquez or Erik Morales on April 9 or thereabouts, and the Gilroy lightweight said Monday he had a long visit with Golden Boy Promotions last Friday to pursue those possibilities.**

**Marquez and Morales have been scheduled to meet April 9, but they have not signed for that bout. Guerrero said he made it clear to Golden Boy that he's willing to step in and fight either one. He stressed that Marquez should have been lined up to fight him, not Morales, in the first place.**

**" I've come to the realization that Marquez absolutely wants no part of me," Guerrero stated. "I'm his mandatory, (yet) he's choosing to fight Morales. I don't want to hear any nonsense that I don't have a big enough name, or that he's not going to make the money he wants fighting me. I'm a three-time world champion, I've fought on national TV numerous times, and more important, I believe this is a fight the fans want to see."**

**But where is that demand, exactly? Guerrero didn't mention where Golden Boy and/or co-promoters would be staging such a bout.**

**Frankly, it's our fault in the Bay Area that a Guerrero-Marquez bout doesn't seem to be sufficiently in demand at HP Pavilion in San Jose or Oracle Arena in Oakland. The San Jose Sharks are using the Shark Tank on April 9, by the way.**

**Still, Guerrero and Marquez are more important to the true hierarchy of the lightweight division than Morales, who is 34, didn't fight in 2008 and 2009 and hasn't beaten anyone of consequence since winning the first of his three bouts with Manny Pacquiao in 2005. Guerrero's formidability is the issue Marquez doesn't want to confront, said Guerrero's manager, Bob Santos.**

**" Let me clear the air," Santos said. "Guerrero has earned the right to fight Marquez, and HBO would get behind this bout. Outside of Pacquiao and (Floyd) Mayweather, Marquez will make more money fighting Guerrero than he would with anyone else. So money isn't the issue. The fact is, Marquez knows Guerrero will beat him!**

**" Honestly, Marquez has become that fighter he's always complained about, when he was avoided by Barrera and Morales."**

**Whether Morales would take on Guerrero was a big part of the Golden Boy-Guerrero discussion and might be more the caliber of promotion Golden Boy might want to undertake in San Jose, where it promised us after two 2009 Guerrero fights here that there would be more to come.**

**" I'm not going to wait around for Marquez," Guerrero said. "I'm just going to move forward with my career, and strive for that fourth world title. . . If Morales wants to step in the ring, then please send me the contract."**

**It's harder to imagine Marquez accepting a fight on Guerrero's turf, but let's not forget that he would if we could drum up the sort of promotion here that would have to be fought outdoors or would fill the upper bowl of the Shark Tank or Oracle Arena. We are not making anything of the sort happen.**

**I'll try to get Golden Boy to comment this week on the San Jose part of this discussion, but if the South Bay is viable, GBP doesn't need any reminders from me.**

FEBRUARY 2011
Chapter 150

DONAIRE'S BAY AREA TV CAMEO A DIFFERENCE-MAKER

Nonito Donaire removed a significant layer from his Bay Area veil of obscurity Monday night by appearing on Northern California's most important sports media venue.

The former flyweight champion, who was born in the Philippines but has lived in the Bay Area most of his life, appeared for five minutes on _Chronicle Live_ , a show that airs for several hours on weekday afternoons and evenings on Comcast Sports Net Bay Area when the cable station isn't airing San Francisco Giants or Golden State Warriors games.

Donaire was in studio with controversial nutritionist Victor Conte, boxing writer Paul Gutierrez (instead of moi!) and _Chronicle Live_ host Greg Papa to hype his Feb. 19 bantamweight title fight with Fernando Montiel on HBO.

"All I know is, this fight is not going to go the 12 rounds," Donaire declared confidently on camera.

Nonito was at ease and jocular throughout the interview. He spoke especially winningly of the dietary advice Conte imparted, on the eve of Donaire's Dec. 4 knockout victory over Volodymyr Sydorenko, as to how many times the boxer should chew each bite of meat immediately after he weighed in at the mandated 118 pounds and finally could eat freely.

Greg Papa is not related to Bob Papa, HBO's Boxing After Dark announcer who will call Donaire's fight with Montiel. Greg is, if anything, the more prominent of the two 40-something sportscasters. Greg is the former voice of the Golden State Warriors and is the current voice of the Oakland Raiders. _Chronicle Live_ has become his primary gig, and he therefore is becoming the face of CSNBA.

Papa, learning that Donaire still needs to drop from 125 pounds to 118 in the next 12 days, said, "You take off that (leather) jacket, you'll be down to 121," and he joked as to whether victory might swell Donaire's head. "If he wins," said Papa, "will he ever come on _Chronicle Live_ again?"

Donaire probably will return, but the next appearance won't be as significant. Andre Ward and Robert Guerrero, the other two Bay Area boxers of roughly Donaire's stature, have been recognized and televised as regional heroes, but Donaire has seldom been claimed along with them.

That changed significantly Monday.

The most important obstacle in Donaire's immediate path, of course, is the Montiel fight. But over the long haul, his profile in the Bay Area will need to approximate his far more frenetic following in the Philippines if he is to realize the true superstardom some of us have been predicting for him.

Donaire has tremendous media presence – in both countries -- and Monday gave us the clearest indication that his camera-readiness is as big a key to his success as his boxing prowess on this side of the Pacific.

FEBRUARY 2011
Chapter 151

LOSE TO MONTIEL? TEAM DONAIRE WOULD ABIDE

Team Donaire has thought of everything, even the seemingly unthinkable: What if Nonito loses to Fernando Montiel in their long-awaited bantamweight title bout Feb. 19?

The Donaire camp expects to win, of course. Nonito, for one, says he's taller, younger, faster and even stronger than Montiel. More-neutral observers apparently agree, because Donaire has been a 2-1 favorite in the early betting (though I believe a late surge of Mexican money will narrow the odds).

Even Donaire concedes he's in danger. "One mistake from me or one mistake from him, and it's going to be over," Donaire said this week.

Jonathan Peñalosa, Donaire's co-trainer, goes as far as to admit it is "close to fifty-fifty" as to who will win, pointing out a few areas in which Montiel (43-2-2, 33 knockouts) may equal or exceed Donaire (25-1, 17 knockouts).

"He's very smart," Peñalosa said of Montiel, though not implying the champion has an edge over Donaire there. "And he's mentally strong," Peñalosa added, mentioning a trait Donaire also may possess (especially persevering despite hand injuries) but probably has not been forced to prove to the extent Montiel has.

Montiel, by the way, has said he expects both fighters to taste the canvas in the bout.

Peñalosa conceded that's possible. Montiel's uncanny sense of timing is another asset he shares with Donaire.

And timing is precisely the issue. You get the feeling many concede that Montiel could win one of three with Donaire if they indeed stage a Marquez-Vasquez or Gatti-Ward-caliber series. Given Montiel's advancing age, his best bet would seem to be the opener.

It's smart of Team Donaire to consider that possibility. It reduces the likelihood that the unthinkable will take place.

FEBRUARY 2011
Chapter 152

GUERRERO-KATSIDIS RE-SET FOR APRIL 9

Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero will be fighting Michael Katsidis on April 9 as the co-main event for Erik Morales vs. Marcos Maidana, according to at least two published reports.

There hasn't been a formal announcement by Guerrero, Golden Boy Promotions or HBO, but Guerrero's manager, Bob Santos, was heavily quoted in reports about the April 9 date, and Guerrero's publicist, Mario Serrano, circulated those reports Friday.

Katsidis is a dangerous slugger, and the matchup is the most attractive of the Ghost's career, though a bout with Juan Manuel Marquez had been Guerrero's objective.

Marquez, coming off an entertaining ninth-round stoppage of Katsidis, seemed headed toward a fight with Morales, the former featherweight star who is staging a somewhat dubious comeback at 34. Guerrero said he'd settle for Morales if Marquez fought neither of them. Morales is believed to have liked his chances better against Maidana, who has beaten Victor Ortiz and nearly wore down Amir Khan.

A victory over Morales would have offered little uptick for Guerrero, who thrashed former lightweight champion Joel Casamayor in 2010 and doesn't need to humiliate another former star.

Guerrero (28-1-1, 18 knockouts) needs an unquestionably imposing opponent, and Katsidis (27-3, 22 knockouts) is more than credible in that role, although he did lose to Casamayor in 2008. I believe Katsidis will be the betting favorite and will precipitate an action fight that will force Guerrero to look his dazzling best . . . or not.

Guerrero-Katsidis was supposed to take place in spring 2010, but Guerrero needed a hiatus to attend to his leukemia-stricken wife, Casey, after she underwent a bone-marrow transplant that has proved successful a year later.

Despite the year-long wait, Guerrero-Katsidis is a fight boxing fans will want to see. Although it is penciled in as a 10-rounder, there's talk Marquez will be stripped of his WBO lightweight title for dodging Guerrero, and that belt may find its way onto the winner.

Maidana-Morales is oddly intriguing, too. There's even talk that parolee and former light middleweight contender James Kirkland will return to action on that card, which is taking on a memorable shape.

FEBRUARY 2011
Chapter 153

MONTIEL HAS REGAINED FOOTING IN PAST YEAR

Fernando Montiel and Nonito Donaire were in Las Vegas together last year at this time in what seemed to be a buildup for the bout that is indeed taking place Saturday at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas on HBO.

Both of Saturday's principals slaughtered unworthy opponents last Feb. 13, with Donaire knocking out undersized late replacement Manuel Vargas in the third round and Montiel destroying previously unbeaten but lightly accomplished Ciso Morales (trained by Nonito Donaire Sr.) in 126 seconds.

There are insights to be gained by re-examining that week from our 2011 vantage, notably that Montiel seems less vulnerable now than he did then.

As faithful readers will recall, my repeated encounters with Montiel that week reinforced my impression that he has an aristocratic quality that bespeaks Mexico City or Guadalajara more than his actual home state, Sinaloa, on the rough-and-tumble Pacific Coast. Montiel has a deep voice and an animated, commanding presence and has physical elegance to match verbal eloquence.

Nonetheless there was reason for doubt about him last year. Faithful readers may recall that I bet $100 against Montiel when the odds blew up briefly to about 10-1, even though I didn't want Montiel to lose and didn't think he would.

I had asked Montiel whether his September 2009 bout with Alejandro Valdez had taken an emotional toll. An old wound opened early in that bout, and Montiel got battered for three rounds before the fight ended in a technical draw.

Montiel assured me he was not traumatized. He just hadn't rehearsed his options well, a one-time lapse. "You have to be prepared for everything," Montiel said.

He then launched his current four-fight winning streak that includes a resounding victory in Japan over then-WBC bantamweight champion Hozumi Hasegawa.

Montiel's victories are not surprising, but his ability to reach the bantamweight limit four times has been in light of his difficulties 53 weeks ago. Rumors about his weight were rampant all week, and he didn't reach 118 on the first try at the weigh-in. But he has made 118 three more times since then despite his thick-boned physique.

Yes, he hurt his leg last September in a motorcycle accident, but that apparently has healed and shouldn't be a factor Saturday.

Demonstrating a quality he's likely to need against Donaire, Montiel clearly has proven resilient.

FEBRUARY 2011
Chapter 154

GUERRERO-KATSIDIS PARTICULARS UNVEILED

Particulars for Robert Guerrero's April 9 lightweight bout with Michael Katsidis were unveiled this week. Notably, it's on a pay-per-view card, and Guerrero-Katsidis got third-billing in Golden Boy Promotions' announcement.

Top billing, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, goes to Erik Morales, the one-time featherweight archrival to Marco Antonio Barrera. Morales' fifth bout in his comeback from his 2007 retirement places him in a 140-pound bout with one of that division's hardest punchers, Marcos Maidana.

Second billing goes to another once-ascendant fighter, Winky Wright. The 40-year-old former 154-pound champ takes on European middleweight champion Matthew Macklin, whose most notable victory came against Yory Boy Campos three years ago, when Campos was only 36.

The Guerrero-Katsidis fight matches two of the best lightweights in the world in a bout that gives Guerrero, the former featherweight and junior lightweight title-holder, a chance to prove he's exciting and formidable enough to headline a card like this one.

That's not to mention that Guerrero deserves a shot at the best lightweight, Juan Manuel Marquez, who defeated Katsidis last year, after dominating former lightweight champion Joel Casamayor.

Guerrero was in good spirits Wednesday night when he appeared on Comcast Sports Net Bay Area's _Chronicle Live_ program – the program on which Bay Area stars Nonito Donaire and Ana Julaton also have appeared in recent days. Wife Casey Guerrero was in the studio, too.

FEBRUARY 2011
Chapter 155

FLASH WILL PROVE SEVERAL CUTS ABOVE MONTIEL

Fernando Montiel is one of Nonito Donaire's favorite fighters. But the "Filipino Flash" considers himself too fast, young and long to be at any disadvantage when they finally meet Saturday on HBO with Montiel defending the WBC and WBO bantamweight titles.

What's worse for Montiel, a 2-1 underdog, is that Donaire is one of the few fighters as brainy as Montiel. Donaire might even relish a meticulous duel of feinting and parrying that would tend to favor the man with significant advantages in age, reach and height.

Weight is an issue, too. Although some poorly informed observers think Donaire's move from flyweight to bantamweight is a stretch, he's much better off at 118. He says he's stronger, and he looks it. He carried his power to 118 on Dec. 4 when he demolished Volodymyr Sydorenko in four rounds.

Both combatants Saturday in Las Vegas ought to be fighting at featherweight, but 118 is a much more difficult target for Montiel. This week he looks like he's been on the kangaroo and ostrich diet that seemed to take the starch out of Oscar De La Hoya when he lost to Manny Pacquiao in 2008.

Donaire said all along that he has the edge in power, and at worst now, that's debatable. Montiel considers himself stronger, too, but his problem is that he will be the one who is pressed into forcing that issue.

Montiel (43-3-2, 33 knockouts), who has a higher career knockout percentage than Donaire (25-1, 17 knockouts), did knock out Rafael Concepcion at 118 pounds last year after Concepcion, with a sizeable weight advantage, took Donaire 12 sometimes-grueling rounds in their August 2009 meeting.

Thus emboldened, Montiel will force an action fight, and Donaire will meet the challenge by cutting Montiel to TKO-warranting shreds or by winning a clear-cut decision.

FEBRUARY 2011
Chapter 156

DONAIRE SOARS BY STOPPING MONTIEL IN TWO

Nonito Donaire soared beyond all expectations Saturday with his second-round technical knockout victory over Fernando Montiel.

Never more sensational, Donaire landed six power shots' worth of foreshadowing in an impressive first round and landed a huge right at the outset of the second. Montiel landed three good lefts that made you wonder if he might be able to win the round, and then the Mexican landed a rather average right cross.

While he was landing it, Donaire unleashed a monstrous left hook that left Montiel quivering on the canvas. Referee Russell Mora ruled that Montiel beat the 10 count, but a right and a left from Donaire quickly made it clear that Montiel was defenseless.

Donaire said he welcomed Montiel's only offensive of the bout. "I wanted to see where his head would be, and then I timed him," said the "Filipino Flash." "I knew what was going to happen, where his head would be at, and I did it."

He sure did.

The biggest fight of Donaire's career, televised on HBO and staged at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, was over at 2 minutes, 25 seconds of the second round, and the longtime Bay Area resident, formerly the world's foremost flyweight, had become the WBC and WBO bantamweight champion.

He probably became an overnight sensation, too, a stronger second to Manny Pacquiao not only as the best Filipino boxer but No. 2 worldwide.

Some had considered Donaire's presence in The Ring Magazine's top five pound-for-pound rankings unwarranted, perhaps based too entirely on Donaire's 2007 upset of monster flyweight Vic Darchinyan.

Donaire (26-1, 18 knockouts) had come to be seen primarily as a finesse fighter until Saturday's assault on Montiel (44-4-2), who also was ranked in the pound-for-pound top 10 and probably ranks second to Juan Manuel Marquez among active Mexicans.

HBO admitted to me in 2009 that it is reluctant to air fights "south of" featherweight, but that's history after this. HBO probably considers the bantamweights one of its greatest attractions now that Donaire has won so spectacularly that superstardom probably overtook him Saturday.

As for pound-for-pound stature, Donaire said No. 2 would make him more than happy, and HBO analyst Roy Jones Jr. proclaimed that Donaire is indeed that.

HBO commentator Max Kellerman concurred. "Nonito Donaire is in that class," Kellerman raved. "That guy is a star."

FEBRUARY 2011
Chapter 157

DONAIRE UP TO NO. 3 POUND-FOR-POUND

Nonito Donaire was named the world's No. 3 boxer pound-for-pound Tuesday by The Ring magazine – the arbiter of such things.

Donaire's sensational second-round disposal Saturday of Fernando Montiel on HBO vaulted him up the pound-for-pound ladder past – get this! – Juan Manuel Marquez, Juan Manuel Lopez and Sergio Martinez. Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. stand one-two, and then there's Donaire, the Bay Area's Filipino Flash.

Folks, I'm tellin' ya, these past three days have fulfilled every boast I've ever made about Donaire, 28.

He probably advanced from six figures per fight to seven with the win, and his popularity is skyrocketing as we speak. He has the charisma for crossover appeal.

You can make a case for Nonito and Rachel Marcial Donaire as the No. 1 power couple in Bay Area sports, although I rank Kristi Yamaguchi and Bret Hedican No. 1 there.

Donaire competed credibly in a Philippines version of _American Idol_ in 2009.

You can make a case for Donaire's being the premier Asian-American athlete in the Bay Area, depending on whether Tim Lincecum (a-fraction-Filipino) counts. Jeremy Lin, Christina Kim – move over. He may even give Yamaguchi's long-term eminence strong competition.

Donaire has become a star.

FEBRUARY 2011
Chapter 158

DONAIRE VISIBLE ON TV, BAY AREA AND BEYOND

Nonito Donaire was on the 6 o'clock news Monday on the San Francisco ABC television affiliate KGO (Ch. 7), another telling sign of his burgeoning visibility in Bay Area media.

As for visibility beyond, America has seen Donaire twice on HBO in the past couple of days. He appears for about 45 seconds during a 10-minute feature about metabolism guru Victor Conte on "RealSports With Bryant Gumbel." He appeared for about 15 seconds in the ring Saturday after Brandon Rios' stirring comeback victory by knockout over Miguel Acosta.

So, although I haven't gotten together with Donaire since his sensational victory Feb. 19 over Fernando Montiel, he's got a lot of presence these days.

I didn't really learn anything new from the 30-second bit on Channel 7, which centered on efforts to promote Donaire's next fight in the Bay Area, conceivably against WBA bantamweight champion Anselmo Moreno. Donaire had appeared for four minutes on the less-watched afternoon program _7 Live_ with Brian Copeland a couple of hours before the newscast's sports segment, anchored by Larry Beil.

MARCH 2011
Chapter 159

DONAIRE, FATHER MAKE PEACE

Nonito Donaire Jr. and his father ended their two-year estrangement Thursday, a spokesman for the bantamweight champion confirmed Friday.

"Nonito and Rachel reached out," said Fernando Piano, and the result was a meeting in the East Bay that included a leisurely dinner at a Japanese restaurant.

"It was shaky at first," said Piano, Rachel Marcial Donaire's cousin, who was part of the delegation that trekked from San Mateo County to Alameda County to make peace.

What Senior apparently wanted to hear was an apology for insinuations that he had glommed onto as much as $80,000 of the boxer's assets. Although Jun stressed that he had never accused his father of that, he apologized just the same, and that soothed the father.

"That was all that I asked from them," Donaire Sr. said, in a conversation with Filipino writer and politician Manny Pinol. "Correct the story that I stole money from them. And they corrected it and apologized. . . . Now, I can walk and face people again with my head up high."

So can his son. Two major impediments to happiness and success have been surmounted with Donaire's sensational stoppage of Fernando Montiel on Feb. 19, which gave his career the upward trajectory he merits, and now this peace with his father, who trained his son to a world-class level until the son removed him as trainer in November 2008.

One imagines there will still be friction, but there is no longer an impasse. Jun has his family back. There were tears and hugs at the Thursday function, and the get-together lasted several hours.

The father doesn't expect to be reinstated as trainer, and he won't be, but wouldn't it be nice if his superlative skills as a cut man could be part of the corner?

MARCH 2011
Chapter 160

COMCAST CONFIRMS ITS DEVOTION TO ELITE TRIO

Reports that Nonito Donaire's May 28 fight with Anselmo Moreno would be held in Atlantic City, instead of the Bay Area as originally posited, may seem discouraging. The reasoning seems to be that a Donaire-headlined card with welterweight Mike Jones underneath would guarantee the live gate needed to augment the HBO outlay.

There's nothing wrong with that, especially considering the logical Bay Area venue, Oracle Arena, would be adjacent to an Oakland Athletics-Baltimore Orioles baseball game that night. But it might pay to take an optimistic look at Donaire's Bay Area drawing power, even though he hasn't fought in the vicinity since 2005, before sending him off to the other side of the country.

Here's why: The Filipino Flash's ubiquitous presence on local TV in recent weeks has greatly enhanced the strategy for marketing a Donaire extravaganza here. The region's most important sports station, Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, has become the most significant media booster of boxing I've seen here since the San Francisco Chronicle discontinued Jack Fiske's column in the 1990s.

So after unexpectedly seeing Donaire on Comcast again last Friday night, I contacted CSN Bay Area this week to make sure this Donaire surge isn't a mirage.

"There's no question we've struck a vein with boxing fans in the Bay Area," says CSN Bay Area news director Chris Olivere, who termed the trend "the complete opposite of what's happening elsewhere, with boxing losing a lot traditional fans.

"There really is an organic groundswell of boxing fans here," Olivere said. "As a dominant sports network, we want to make sure we don't lose sight of that."

Dominant, it is. Although the San Francisco network affiliates' news shows draw more viewers, they devote far less time to sports on the air, so the cable kingpin, which airs Giants baseball and Warriors basketball, is indeed most significant to local sports fans.

Thanks largely to CSNBA – not to mention his sensational victory over Fernando Montiel on Feb. 19 -- Donaire is suddenly totally part of the local sports scene after years of getting no major Bay Area publicity despite his world-class stature as a flyweight and now bantamweight.

It's isn't just Nonito who's ubiquitous, of course. Ana Julaton has been on Comcast four or five times, I'm told, and I've seen Robert Guerrero and Andre Ward there several times each.

Note that Comcast did not ignore the build-ups when Guerrero attracted a crowd of about 7,000 to San Jose's HP Pavilion two years ago and as Ward has attracted three or four cards of that caliber or greater at Oakland's Oracle Arena.

Olivere, who came to Comcast's Bay Area operation in August 2008, the month I launched this Examiner.com page to chronicle the Donaire-Guerrero-Ward phenomenon, sees the 2004 Olympic gold medalist Ward as the catalyst.

"Every time we have Andre on the show, the response from viewers is off the charts," Olivere said. "We've done a lot with him. In fact, he's become our boxing analyst when he's not training for a championship fight."

Ward is starting to gear up for his Showtime Super Six super-middleweight tournament semifinal bout with Arthur Abraham, which hasn't been announced but is aimed for May 14 in Carson, Calif. Guerrero is in Las Vegas getting ready for his April 9 lightweight bout with Michael Katsidis on HBO.

In the meantime, Donaire, though he's visiting the Philippines now, seems to be the current thang. "He's got the look, he's got the savvy, he's very articulate," Olivere says. "It's not just the Filipino fans."

And that raises the most important point of all, he says, the crossover appeal of the three stars "coming from the ethnic backgrounds they do and with Northern California such a melting pot."

Three years ago, it seemed nobody was noticing that, but not anymore. Ward drew 10,227 in Oakland against Mikkel Kessler 16 months ago. Donaire might not draw that against Moreno, but he could draw that well here, and soon.

This is truly a golden age in Bay Area boxing, and the best seems yet to come if the money boys are paying attention.

MARCH 2011
Chapter 161

GOLDEN BOY SAYS IT HAS SIGNED DONAIRE

San Mateo-based bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire apparently has left Bob Arum's Top Rank to join Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions. The official announcement Wednesday of what Golden Boy called its "signing" of Donaire confirmed rumors swirling in recent weeks.

There could be some interference from Top Rank, which has contended it holds the option on Donaire this year based on fulfilling the original contract terms they entered into in 2008. That's when Donaire, then the flyweight champion, moved from promoter Gary Shaw to Arum.

But Donaire said he has already moved on, and that may be the move that signals Golden Boy's overall ascension above Top Rank as the most powerful promoter in the sport, or at least the inevitability of that ascension.

Arum still has Manny Pacquiao, but they have shifted to Showtime for Manny's May pay-per-view bout with Shane Mosley, whereas Donaire, having finally gotten on HBO with his Feb. 19 devastation of Fernando Montiel, is now firmly ensconced on that still-No. 1 outlet.

De La Hoya crowed about the acquisition, of course. "Nonito Donaire is one of the top boxers in the world today and we're going to make sure he gets the chance to defend his world titles and stays as active as possible," Oscar stated in GGP's release. "The bantamweight division is becoming one of the most competitive and exciting divisions in boxing, and we look forward to promoting Nonito in great fights in the coming years."

Donaire, who has spent much of March in the Philippines, also was quoted in the release. "I'm honored to be joining so many great fighters and champions on the Golden Boy Promotions team," Donaire said. "I'm going to fight my heart out every time I'm in the ring and will give fans the fights they want to see."

It's not that simple. Donaire's first two years with Top Rank were frustrating. But his past two fights have restored his previous luster and then magnified it about three-fold. The Top Rank association actually worked out very well for Donaire, so his fans will have to trust that Donaire and his manager Cameron Dunkin know what they're doing.

MARCH 2011
Chapter 162

DONAIRE VISIBLE ON FRONT PAGE OF MERCURY NEWS

Nonito Donaire reached another publicity milestone Thursday: the front page of the San Jose Mercury News.

Granted, the article that put the bantamweight champion's picture on Page A1 was about nutritionist Victor Conte, but this was definitely more good news for the "Filipino Flash," whose Bay Area Q-ratings are skyrocketing this year in contrast to his numbing anonymity here previously.

Making Page One alongside Conte can be a bad thing, since he's still a pariah from the BALCO steroids cases he has generated. In fact, the Merc's story was pegged to former BALCO associate Barry Bonds' coming perjury trial in connect with steroids accusations against the former San Francisco Giants superstar.

But the story was about Conte's emphasis these days on more acceptable nutritional substances, a program Donaire and fellow Bay Area boxing star Robert Guerrero endorse heartily.

So there was Nonito, identified though somewhat cropped out of the photo, along with Conte and Team Donaire executive Ferdinand Piano.

There's some uneasiness among Donaire fans about the Conte association, but so far it seems to be a boon, not a bane. Aside from whatever impact he is (or isn't) having on Donaire's achievements in the ring, Conte keeps getting Donaire publicity.

It turns out it was Conte who paved the way for Donaire's recent appearances on the most important Bay Area TV sports outlet, Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, by putting a bug in the ear of the station's assignment editor, Willard Ogan, whom co-workers describe as a big boxing buff.

The rest isn't history, but it certainly seems to be history in the making as Donaire's star rises rapidly in his adopted homeland.

MARCH 2011
Chapter 163

SO, HOW SHOULD ONE PICK A PROMOTER THESE DAYS?

Goossen confirms Ward-Abraham May 19 is a go

Golden Boy CEO puts Guerrero's ducks in a row

Arum says Rachel Donaire comes off like a 'ho

I enjoyed talking Tuesday with Richard Schaefer as the Golden Boy CEO presided during a teleconference hyping Robert Guerrero's April 9 lightweight bout with Michael Katsidis in Las Vegas. It wasn't like the light-hearted banter Dan Goossen and I conduct on the phone every few months, but it did feel like dialogue.

Whereas, Robert Arum makes me feel like crap.

The Guerrero-Katsidis presser more or less coincided with Goossen-Tutor's announcement that the Andre Ward-Arthur Abraham super-middleweight title bout in Showtime's Super Six tournament will take place May 19 in Carson, Calif., as has been reported here and elsewhere. It also more or less coincided with the latest fallout from Nonito Donaire's defection from Arum's Top Rank to Golden Boy.

Arum followed up on his recent pronouncement that Donaire ain't all that anyway with a complaint that Rachel Marcial Donaire comports herself like a tart. Well, that ought to bring Nonito back to the Top Rank fold, eh?

The point is, Guerrero used to be with Goossen-Tutor and defected to Golden Boy. Donaire used to be with Gary Shaw and defected to Top Rank. Backbiting invariably ensues, and it's interesting to note the promoters' public relations skills in the clinches, and to judge which promoters are the right people to be controlling these top three Bay Area stars.

The promotional interrelationships were underscored last week when Arum and his longtime adversary Don King co-promoted the Miguel Cotto-Ricardo Mayorga bout and held court beforehand.

Well, my interaction with Schaefer wasn't _that_ interesting, although he seemed to sense some impatience in my questions about Guerrero's all-too-gradual career progress. "Appearing regularly on HBO is a big step in Robert's career," Schaefer said patiently and not condescendingly. Now that he has "a platform on HBO to showcase his talents," Schaefer said, "it's just a matter of time."

I would have asked questions about the possibility that Guerrero might fight again in San Jose, which Golden Boy promised us two years ago and hasn't delivered, but the allotted time for the press conference had been reached and I desisted.

Guerrero had talked mostly about being free to train in Las Vegas now that wife Casey's 2010 bone marrow transplant can be considered a success. "I'm 100 percent focused," the Ghost said, "and I'm always in great shape." The combination will yield, he said, "a whole new Robert Guerrero."

Katsidis, piped in from his training site in Thailand, where it was nearly midnight, was asked whether he might have preferred a tune-up bout, coming off his grueling eighth-round loss to Juan Manuel Marquez last fall, but he said he was pleased that Golden Boy had found him an opponent as formidable as Guerrero.

"Why not?" the Australian said tersely. "It's my job. I'm not here for a holiday."

Katsidis also said "it's for a world title," but that's still being worked out, Schaefer said. The CEO said he'll be talking next week with Marquez, who dodged a mandatory defense of the WBO lightweight title against Guerrero. Therefore that belt may be up for grabs by April 9.

Schaefer also gamely let us in on a development that he said transpired during the teleconference, that the WBA had just announced it would be sanctioning Guerrero-Katsidis for its WBA Interim lightweight title. Hey, all of these guys have to sell some snake oil.

Still Schaefer was not nearly as stiff as his image. I think seeking a one-on-one interview might be fruitful.

Arum, on the other hand, totally undid all the good work his staff had done beforehand when I met him last year in Las Vegas. P.R. chief Lee Samuels remembers me from my Mercury News coverage in the 1990s and has been notably solicitous. Granted, Arum had just found out that Donaire's main event opposition for a card three days away had fallen through when Samuels introduced us at the Las Vegas Hilton, but Arum's conduct was nevertheless rude.

So was his reply to my question, during the buildup to Donaire's Feb. 19 victory over Fernando Montiel, as to whether the weight division for the bout could be flexible. Arum's answer that the title designation wouldn't be there at 122 suggested that made it a stupid question, but the fact is, the bout was on HBO, which often disdains mention of which belts and sanctioning bodies are involved in the title fights it airs.

Maybe Schaefer will prove just as off-putting, but it's interesting that a stand-up guy like Guerrero offered the best endorsement an American working-class hero can make:

"Golden Boy has always had my back."

SPRING 2011

WITH GUERRERO ON CHRONICLE LIVE

_When Robert Guerrero went on Comcast's_ Chronicle Live _a week after his one-sided victory over Michael Katsidis, I went on with him._

Robert was in an extremely expansive mood in the green room as we waited to go on the set. This was the longest I'd had him to myself since the initial encounter at Sue's Roasting in Gilroy more than two years previously. That probably did more, by providing good content, for the SF Boxing Examiner than the television exposure, even though I looked good.

_When I was on_ Chronicle Live _a less-impressive second time, three weeks later, moderator Greg Papa steered the subject to the concept of Guerrero, Nonito Donaire and Andre Ward (whose Super Six semifinal victory was nigh) as a single entity, a trio._

Days later, Ward, who had just cracked the pound-for-pound top 10, said something quote worthy about the three of them.

It thus became clear that this book was the primary reason I was still writing about boxing after three years of sub-minimum-wage returns. It was the combination that was making the story compelling. The only question was when to declare a climax had been reached.

**You might also enjoy** _:_  http://www.examiner.com/article/mayfield-stops-forbes-10th-on-espn-dominating-clinch-marred-match

APRIL 2011
Chapter 164

GUERRERO WILL STAND UP TO KATSIDIS, AND THEN SOME

As I was tooling past Robert Guerrero's hometown of Gilroy last week, Robert was on San Francisco's KNBR (680), telling Tom Tolbert he's a 3-1 underdog Saturday against Michael Katsidis. I've found more evidence than not since then, however, that "The Ghost" is a slight favorite in that lightweight bout on a pay-per-view card produced by HBO.

But don't tell Guerrero that. He thrives on adversity, contrary to what his detractors say.

The rationale for betting on Katsidis seems based more on maligning Guerrero than praising Katsidis. Even though there's reason to praise Katsidis' sometimes-overwhelming offensive prowess, few knowledgeable observers deny that Guerrero has a fair amount of firepower himself and may be capable of going toe-to-toe with the Australian for a few stretches.

Guerrero's detractors are still basing their derision largely on Guerrero's easy acceptance of a technical draw two years ago in the second round of his 130-pound bout (on HBO, from San Jose) with Daud Yordan.

Since then, Guerrero has moved up two weight classes, has taken the IBF junior lightweight title from Malcolm Klassen, has relinquished that title to care for his cancer-stricken wife (a year in remission), has thrashed former lightweight champion Joel Casamayor at 140 more impressively than critics concede, and has beaten Vicente Escobedo at least as convincingly as Katsidis did a year earlier.

Guerrero (28-1, 18 knockouts) scored knockdowns against both Casamayor and Escobedo. Katsidis (27-3) didn't knock down Escobedo. Katsidis' loss to Casamayor came only two years before Guerrero's victory over the now-39-year-old Cuban.

All this bravado from the guy who reacted to news of his wife's original cancer diagnosis in 2007 by knocking out Martin Honorio in 56 seconds.

Guerrero was actually more of a finesse fighter as a featherweight than he is at lightweight. Guerrero's power may exceed that of his formidable opponent. Although Katsidis' 22 knockouts among his 27 wins (and his impressive showing in a loss last fall to Juan Manuel Marquez) would make anyone wary, Guerrero relishes the thought of having to stand his ground, he told me a couple of weeks ago.

"He comes forward, throws a lot of punches," Guerrero said of Katsidis. "It's gonna be a war."

Note: Guerrero is an excellent counter-puncher. He is not going to dance for 12 rounds.

Furthermore, Guerrero will look at least as large as Katsidis side by side. They each weighed in Friday at 134. Robert's upper body has changed a lot these past two years as Victor Conte's SNAC program has guided his physical expansion, as well as that of his longtime friend Nonito Donaire. Buff probably isn't how Guerrero's detractors picture him.

Katsidis certainly has a puncher's chance, and he will stagger Guerrero once or twice. But he won't win. Guerrero will stand up to him physically in the early rounds and will outbox him in the later rounds to win a clear-cut decision or win by TKO because of cuts.

APRIL 2011
Chapter 165

GUERRERO OUTPUNCHES AND OUTCLASSES KATSIDIS

Robert Guerrero thoroughly outpointed and outclassed Michael Katsidis in their lightweight bout Saturday on HBO and finally got most of the boxing world to admit he's outstanding.

The Gilroy southpaw impressively won the first six rounds on all scorecards and earned a unanimous decision in the 12-round bout in Las Vegas for the interim WBA and WBO titles, winning at least 10 rounds on each scorecard.

Guerrero's performance inspired comparison with Juan Manuel Marquez. He dominated Katsidis more than Marquez did last fall, but Marquez stopped Katsidis in the ninth and Guerrero went 12. Still, the clamor for a Guerrero-Marquez bout ought to become deafening, because "The Ghost" stamped himself as a fighter people want to see with his most vibrant performance yet. His move from featherweight to lightweight during the past three years has broadened his boxing profile.

Guerrero (29-1-1, 18 knockouts) took control in the first round by stalking Katsidis, smacking him with straight lefts and not letting the stockier Australian be the aggressor, and the pattern continued during the first half of the fight. In the fifth, Guerrero staggered Katsidis and tried to finish him off in the corner, which earned him a 10-8 round on at least one scorecard.

Katsidis (27-4) became desperate in the eighth round, and the result was a 10-7 round in Guerrero's favor as Katsidis landed two low blows and was penalized for each. The first seemed intentional but the second was a heavy-handed call. Guerrero was penalized for a low blow in the ninth, a make-up call, but by then the point count was beside the point because Guerrero was so far ahead.

The bout was the sub-main event for HBO's pay-per-view card topped by Erik Morales' valiant performance in his majority-decision loss to Marcos Maidana in a junior welterweight bout.

Morales, a former featherweight star making a comeback, weathered a first round in which his right eye was shut and managed to wage an even fight with the Argentinian slugger until Maidana pulled away in the 11th and 12th.

If a Guerrero-Marquez bout doesn't materialize, a bout with Maidana would be a good consolation prize.

APRIL 2011
Chapter 166

GETTING READY FOR CLOSE-UP WITH GUERRERO

Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero is scheduled to appear Monday on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area's _Chronicle Live_ around 9:30 p.m. (PDT).

The Gilroy lightweight contender has appeared on the San Francisco sports cable pace-setter several times, though this will be his first appearance since his impressive victory over Michael Katsidis nine days ago on HBO.

What's different this time is that I will be on _Chronicle Live_ with Guerrero. On with me will be Comcast boxing writer Paul Gutierrez. There will be a second segment in which Gutierrez and I discuss the Bay Area boxing scene.

Several times I have interviewed Guerrero at fights or by phone soon afterward, but I haven't talked with him since he beat Katsidis, and I definitely have some questions about what he learned in that fight, what it will take to get him into the mythical top 10 pound-for-pound rankings, and whether boxing and its fans are finally giving him a fair shake.

No matter the vagaries in the studio, I'll be around Guerrero for about an hour, our first exclusive face-to-face interview since our initial one in Gilroy in January 2009. There should be a pretty high comfort level there and on the set, but it's not like I do this every day. So here goes.

APRIL 2011
Chapter 167

AN ENJOYABLE SEGMENT ON TV

Announcer Greg Papa has become adept at creating a comfort level as moderator of _Chronicle Live_ , and he warmed up my appearance Monday alongside Robert Guerrero by asking the fighter about Michael Katsidis and the latter's bizarre "What are you staring at?" outburst that had preceded Guerrero's decisive victory nine days earlier.

And then Papa introduced me by unexpectedly asking if I'd encountered any ringside antics comparable to Katsidis' display. I made a sudden recollection that got me off to a lively start on _Chronicle Live_ – though I wish I had recalled more.

I recalled that East Palo Alto fighter Mitchell Julien had kissed an opponent on the cheek during the referee's instructions, and that the opponent had retaliated with a punch What I didn't remember was that the kissee was Roger Mayweather, and the referee was Richard Steele. Mayweather, uncle and subsequent trainer of Floyd Jr., stopped Julien in three, then went to the victim's corner and kissed him back.

Even with those omissions, my response set a good tone for my appearance. Papa even referred to me a couple of times as "boxing expert."

I'll concede that title to Guerrero, who shifted the emphasis from the pre-fight atmosphere to his warm feelings about the events that followed the opening bell.

"Everything was on point and the focus was there," Guerrero said. "He (Katsidis) just ran into a well-rounded fighter."

He figures it enhanced his quest to wrest lightweight supremacy from Juan Manuel Marquez, whose dodging of Guerrero brought on Katsidis (Marquez's most recent victim as well) as a consolation prize. "Katsidis had him (JuanMa) down," Guerrero said. "I put a working on Michael Katsidis. So I think he was kind of gauging the (potential match) off of that."

Guerrero said the improved structure of his training regimen, away from the frequent interruptions of recent years, led to his best career performance despite his entering the ring at a relatively hefty 152 pounds. "I was at that weight but light on my feet. Fast hands."

Robert does a good job of putting a positive spin on these appearances. He really is an All-American-boy type, which along with Casey's ordeal, has added to his profile. There are some things he's holding back, and he was candid about several with me in the minutes before we went on-air.

But he isn't fake. He was enjoying himself Monday, and it showed.

"You've got a sparkle in your eye, I gotta tell ya, man," Papa told The Ghost. "They can't Casper you anymore."

APRIL 2011
Chapter 168

GUERRERO LETS HIS GUARD DOWN ABOUT INJUSTICES

Editor's note: The following comments by Robert Guerrero were not recorded or written down at the time. They are approximations.

When we arrived Monday for our joint TV appearance in San Francisco, one of my first off-camera questions for Robert Guerrero was, "Why doesn't HBO interview you in the ring after your fights?"

Guerrero's response was a quip: "I think maybe Max Kellerman doesn't like me." With that, I actually got Guerrero talking quite effusively during the half-hour or so we prepared to go on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area's _Chronicle Live_ chat show. Our off-air one-on-one generated more heat than was evident during his affable performance on the set.

Some of the areas of agitation involved Juan Manuel Marquez, Erik Morales, Guerrero's fight with Joel Casamayor last year and, yes, Kellerman.

The patience the Gilroy left-hander has shown on shows like _Chronicle Live_ and during HBO prefight interviews was starting to dissolve as we strolled from the green room to the set Monday. The more he thought about the injustices visited upon him – and these don't even involve the greatest injustice, his wife's harrowing battle with leukemia – the more he could be described as "worked up."

In a way, it was the same conversation we had (by phone) in May 2009, which I headlined "Robert Guerrero is peeved at critics of his courage." That was a couple of months after Guerrero settled for a second-round no-contest after sustaining a wound via head butt during his HBO debut against obscure Indonesian featherweight Daud Yordan – who, it must be conceded – landed three or four notable power shots on Guerrero in the first round.

Kellerman was among the many who questioned Guerrero's skookum in the wake of that bout, and the fallout has never totally dissolved.

It was clear Monday that he continues to feel vastly underrated as he has won the IBF junior lightweight crown from Malcolm Klassen, has outboxed former lightweight kingpin Joel Casamayor in unprecedented fashion, has beaten Vicente Escobedo in a California showdown, and now has dominated lightweight slugger Michael Katsidis more than Juan Manuel Marquez managed in November.

Robert feels he has received full credit only for the valor he displayed by forsaking his boxing toehold last year when wife Casey underwent a bone-marrow transplant.

Kellerman is the boyish but astute and eloquent heir-apparent to Larry Merchant as HBO's lead boxing commentator alongside blow-by-blow king Jim Lampley and analysts Roy Jones Jr. and Emanuel Steward. Max actually found "The Ghost" praiseworthy during the telecast of Guerrero's convincing victory over Katsidis, but admittedly he was contradicting his criticisms of Guerrero during the past two years and was half-expecting Guerrero to fold once Katsidis pulled out all the stops.

These misconceptions take a toll, and Guerrero, who turned 28 last month, outlined them for me Monday.

**\--Marquez** , who dodged Guerrero's challenge this winter, forcing The Ghost to settle for the Katsidis fight: "When he was 28," Guerrero said of JuanMa, who's now 37, "he hadn't accomplished half of what I've accomplished." Marquez was 29 when he won his first world title.

**\--Erik Morales** , whose comeback bout with Marcos Maidana received top billing over Guerrero-Katsidis: He "hadn't done anything compared to me" when he reached stardom with a far smaller portfolio than Guerrero has needed, getting his title shot at 21 against a fading Daniel Zaragoza and riding a victory over another shot former star, Junior Jones, into top-10 status.

**\--The pound-for-pound rankings** : "It's all political," Guerrero said, a point it's hard to argue since his promoter Golden Boy owns the pound-for-pound arbiter, The Ring magazine. That might maneuver the rankings in Guerrero's favor if politics indeed are pivotal.

**\--Juan Manuel Lopez** who was upset last weekend by journeyman Orlando Salido (whose steroids citation invalidated a featherweight victory over Guerrero in 2006.) "I wasn't surprised Lopez lost," said Guerrero, citing the smaller JuanMa among those overrated at Guerrero's expense. He felt Lopez has been cherry-picking his opponents and was riding for a fall. He also was certain Yuriorkis Gamboa is superior to Lopez.

**\--His victory over Casamayor, which some describe dismissively** : "Joel Casamayor, one of the most difficult-to-fight, awkward cagey fighters, I shut him out. . . well, nine rounds to one." He also felt Casamayor's subsequent victory over once-beaten Manuel Leyva, was more impressive than boxing critics made it seem.

**Gamaliel Diaz** : They forget that Guerrero (29-1-1) avenged his only official defeat by stopping Diaz in the rematch.

And let's not forget **Martin Honorio** : Although Guerrero didn't get around to him, that's the guy "The Ghost" knocked out in 56 seconds the night he learned of Casey's leukemia diagnosis.

The point is, he could go and on, and believe me, that's what he felt like doing Monday.

MAY 2011
Chapter 169

LET'S GIVE WARD-GUERRERO-DONAIRE A FITTING NICKNAME

With Andre Ward's ascension into The Ring Magazine's top 10 pound-for-pound list up near Nonito Donaire, and with Robert Guerrero primed to join them by becoming the clear-cut lightweight champion, this is undeniably a golden age for Bay Area boxing -- so much so that we ought to give it a suitable nickname.

"I never thought I'd be in the pound-for-pound with Nonito Donaire, a guy I came up with," says Ward, who defends his WBA super-middleweight title against Arthur Abraham in Carson, Calif., this Saturday in a Super Six semifinal on Showtime. "It's kind of surreal.

"And Robert is a three-time champion. That boy's been doing his thing for many years. Now people are recognizing that."

They've seen one another as a trio since they were wee lads. They're finally being recognized as a unit in the Bay Area thanks to the region's primary sports television outlet, Comcast Sports Net Bay Area – particularly its _Chronicle Live_ program on which I'll be making my second appearance Monday at 5 p.m.

Oakland Tribune columnist Monte Poole wrote about the three as a single entity in Sunday's editions, referring to them somewhat offhandedly as the Three Champs.

I perhaps gave the nickname thing more thought last week than Monte did, but I'm not sure Kingpin Trio, an allusion to the Bay Area's long-popular Kingston Trio singing group, is much better than Poole's label.

So let's keep fine-tuning our terms.

On my April 18 _Chronicle Live_ appearance with Guerrero, we discussed extensively whether the threesome's success _in toto_ is unprecedented in these parts.

You'll get some arguments if you claim it's the best era ever here. San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose had a far more vibrant boxing scene for much of the 20th century than they do now, other than the major excitement today's kingpins generate sporadically.

It's not as if any one of these three kings can claim to be unarguably the greatest boxer in Bay Area history. Pre World War I heavyweight champions James Corbett and Jim Jeffries would be hard to unseat, and Bobo Olson's two-year hold (1954-56) on the middleweight title during the glory era of that division makes him a player, too.

There were others, such as Jimmy Lester. The Bay Area and Portland shared claims in the 1960s to a number of rankable heavyweights, including top contender Eddie Machen, along with Thad Spencer and Amos Lincoln. San Francisco's Henry Clark was often the best of that mix. George Foreman fought out of Hayward and Livermore when Dick Sadler based the young Olympic champion out here. So that's one of those eras that old-timers would say was just as praise-worthy as having three clear-cut world champions at once.

But what an unprecedented phenomenon they are as a threesome. No Bay Area fighter since Olson has been ascendant in a weight class the way these three kings have become. Donaire is already _the_ bantamweight, Ward is clearly one of the top two at 168, and Guerrero is the obvious No. 1 challenger to Juan Manuel Marquez at 135.

What if they could all fight on one bodacious card? That's _Chronicle Live_ host Greg Papa's holy grail in our discussions, and that also was Poole's angle Sunday.

You'd need an outdoor stadium to maximize that one. Ward endorses that notion. "Maybe S.F.," Ward told me, meaning AT&T Park. "That's a beautiful, beautiful venue."

MAY 2011
Chapter 170

TRAINER HUNTER AIMS TO MAKE WARD MORE FUN TO WATCH

Ring generalship is great, but some have found Andre Ward's ring showmanship wanting.

The Oakland fighter tends to exude an Oakland mantra: Just win, baby. But at what cost?

Ward's detractors were comparing his style to former heavyweight plodder John Ruiz after Ward's past two bouts, elbow-to-elbow thrashings of Allan Green and Sakio Bika.

A fighter has to thrill while he's imposing his will, and trainer Virgil Hunter says that objective is higher on Ward's to-do list than you might think, going into Saturday's Super Six semifinals bout with Arthur Abraham in Carson, Calif., with Ward's WBA super-middleweight title at stake.

"I tell him, 'If you want to get 'em into the seats, you gotta get 'em _out_ of the seats.'

"He's (developed) a winning brain," Hunter said last week. "He knows the art and science of boxing." But he hasn't, the trainer contended, really assumed his own personality in the ring.

Ward's opponents haven't made it easy for him to show off, Hunter pointed out. He's not getting knockouts because "after the fourth or fifth round, they go into survival mode."

So naturally the detractors claim he lacks power, although "you never hear them say that after they fight him," Hunter said, echoing what Ward has been saying.

Ward has advantages in size, speed and youth in Saturday's bout with Arthur Abraham, and Hunter is optimistic Ward will reach a new zone sooner than later.

"When he says 'I am this guy,' " Hunter said, "he'll begin to entertain. I just have a feeling this is the fight."

MAY 2011
Chapter 171

WARD WON'T KEEP DISTANCE, WILL THROTTLE ABRAHAM

In Andre Ward's match Saturday with height-challenged slugger Arthur Abraham, you might suppose Ward will be a cutie this time after a couple of bouts fought at close quarters.

That's a fallacy, says trainer Virgil Hunter, who asked a pointed question about Abraham's modus operandi: "When'd you see him hit somebody in close?" Hunter demanded. "He needs the space."

So Ward will crowd Abraham. And yet Hunter expects Ward to dazzle us more in this fight than he did in his 2010 bouts against Allan Green and Sakio Bika.

Will Andre be aggressive from the outset? "I'm not going to say definitely aggressive, but create doubt," Hunter said.

So don't expect a two-round demolition, but do expect a demolition.

Abraham, of course, says he'll be doing the demolishing, and his record before 2010 suggested he could do it, ending with his Super Six knockout win over Jermain Taylor.

"He believes in his punching power," Ward says, and he's not alone, but "if he lands a shot on me, I believe I can take it."

Abraham (32-2, 26 knockouts) was outclassed against Andre Dirrell and even Carl Froch in his 2010 Super Six matches, so perhaps it's his opponent who bears watching.

"It gets to the point that it's not about what he's going to do, it's about what _I'm_ going to do," says Ward (23-0, 13 knockouts) the 2004 Olympic gold medalist from Oakland whose past four bouts have included a convincing win over slugger Edison Miranda, one-sided Super Six victories over Mikkel Kessler and Allan Green, and a WBA title defense against Sakio Bika, all in Oakland. The title is at stake Saturday.

Although Ward isn't exactly fighting in a foreign country by venturing to the Los Angeles area to fight Abraham, the challenger's Armenian ethnicity will draw him at least as many supporters at the Home Depot arena in Carson. But Ward's ring generalship is expected to be his biggest advantage.

"My style is adapting and doing what the opponent doesn't believe that I am going to do," Ward says. "We don't have a fear factor in our camp where we're going to be running away from Arthur Abraham. He's a 168-pound man, and so am I."

Ward doesn't know what he'll do either. "I'm not really a game-plan type of guy," Ward said, meaning he likes to concoct strategy in the heat of battle.

"You would think I'm a young fighter, based on the tone of our preparation," Ward said, meaning Hunter still trains him like it's boot camp. But Hunter is almost deferential during the fights. "Virgil lets me make those kinds of decisions."

It's pretty obvious Ward knows what he's doing.

MAY 2011
Chapter 172

WARD DOMINATES ABRAHAM, REACHES SUPER SIX FINAL

Andre Ward took command in the fourth round Saturday and pounded out a unanimous decision victory over Arthur Abraham in the semifinals of the Super Six tournament on Showtime in Carson, Calif.

Abraham was busier in the first round and landed more power shots in the third. "He's a champion," Ward said later. "I expected that. He's very awkward and very strong."

But that was Abraham at top speed. When Ward took it up a notch in the fourth, Abraham (32-3) could not match him.

"You givin' him a whuppin' now," trainer Virgil Hunter said in the corner after the fourth. "You're taking it from him."

The tide never turned after that. The scorecards read 120-108, 118-110, 118-111, and Ward (24-0, 13 knockouts) had retained his WBA super-middleweight title.

Ward took his image up a notch by demonstrating his offensive arsenal to a degree not seen since he was fighting unknowns from 2005 to 2008.

In those days, his detractors claimed he had more style than substance.

Since then, after Ward's brutal inside battles against Mikkel Kessler, Allan Green and Sakio Bika, the detractors had gone the opposite direction and claimed Ward had no pizzazz, even likening him to plodding Nineties heavyweight John Ruiz.

After belting Abraham in the fourth, Ward established his jab in the fifth and fought from the outside.

Abraham made a last stand in the ninth by landing a pair of vicious left hooks, but Ward ended the round with an emphatic left hook of his own. Ward showed off his southpaw stance for more than a minute in the 10th without missing a beat, landing several straight lefts, and he continued to press Abraham in the final two rounds.

Ward wasn't ready to label this his best fight. In a truly glorious performance, "I see myself shuffling, bolo-punching and putting on a show."

A knockout of Abraham might have put this one over the top, too, but still it was a thoroughly positive outcome for Ward.

"We going to the finals, baby," Ward said, anticipating a battle with the winner of the June 4 semifinal between Carl Froch and Glen Johnson.

"I fought hard," Abraham said. But then I cramped up when I was trying for the knockout and I couldn't do it . . . I didn't think Ward won that decisively.

Abraham put up a more spirited fight than he did in his loss to Froch last November, but Ward matched him jab for jab and power shot for power shot for four rounds, and then left him in the dust.

JUNE 2011
Chapter 173

FROCH WILL REACH FINAL AGAINST WARD AND ENTERTAIN US

Andre Ward will be part of Showtime's announcing team Saturday for the Carl Froch-Glen Johnson semifinal bout in the Super Six tournament, and you wonder if he'll say something that comes back to haunt him in the Super Six final.

So far, Ward isn't showing either of his potential opponents in that finale any favoritism. "It's a 50-50 fight," Ward says of Saturday's 9 p.m. bout in Atlantic City, in which Froch will be defending his WBC super-middleweight title. "I wouldn't be surprised if Carl Froch dominated Glen Johnson, and I wouldn't be surprised if Johnson pulled the upset."

Not likely, if you consider that flighty Allan Green was leading Johnson on the scorecards after seven rounds in their Super Six quarterfinals match last fall before Johnson (51-14-2, 35 knockouts), coming down to 168 pounds at age 42 after years at 175, scored a rabbit punch that led to a knockout in the eighth. Froch is faster than Johnson and will be able to hit him. Froch will win by a no-doubt decision.

Surely Froch (27-1, 20 knockouts), who outpointed Arthur Abraham with unexpected ease in the quarterfinals, would be a much more entertaining opponent for Ward in the final. Yes, Froch could have come out 0-3 instead of 2-1 in his bouts with Jermain Taylor, Andre Dirrell and Mikkel Kessler (his lone conqueror), but all of those bouts were close and no one could ever say Froch stopped trying. He nailed Taylor in the 12th in their pre-Super Six middleweight meeting and hurt Kessler late in their fight.

Unlike each of Ward's recent victims, from Abraham and Kessler back to Henry "Sugar Poo" Buchanan, Froch won't go into a shell after the fourth round if Ward should dominate him early. And Froch will say caustic things and cast himself as grittier than Ward. He may even quarrel with Bay Area writers. It could be great fun.

"Mentally, I'm prepared to fight either guy," Ward says "The fans want to see Ward and Froch, but it is Froch's job to take care of his business and uphold his end of the bargain, and Glen Johnson will have something to say about that on June 4."

Yeah, and after that, bring on Froch.

JUNE 2011
Chapter 174

WARD'S FINAL SUPER SIX OPPONENT WILL BE FROCH

Carl Froch advanced Saturday to the Super Six tournament final against Andre Ward, defeating Glen Johnson by majority decision in Atlantic City.

After Froch piled up a substantial lead in the first half of the fight, mostly from outside, Johnson began to land short rights inside during the sixth round and perhaps landed enough power shots to win the seventh and eighth. But Froch continued to land the greater volume of punches, and there wasn't much doubt at the end who had won.

The scorecards read 117-111, 116-112 and 114-114.

So Froch, who defended his WBC super-middleweight title with the win, will meet WBA champion Ward in the tournament final, probably this fall.

Froch said he hit Johnson with big punches, too, and as for the ones Johnson landed, "they didn't bother me. They caught me off balance a bit. But I'm known for a strong chin."

Johnson's resolve in the sixth through ninth rounds was impressive for a 42-year-old who seemed weakened early on by the battle to make the 168-pound weight limit but then proved otherwise.

"My corner told me to pick it up because I was falling behind, so I believed it a little bit. I was able to come back with quick counter shots.

"I felt strong," Johnson insisted. "But I fell into his fight plan a little more than my own."

JUNE 2011
Chapter 175

GUERRERO-MAIDANA IN S.J. PARALLELS MAYWEATHER-ORTIZ

Robert Guerrero is fighting Marcos Maidana at San Jose's HP Pavilion on Aug. 27 as the main event for HBO's Boxing After Dark, as 3MoreRounds.com reported last week. It's about time Golden Boy Promotions and HBO return to HP, where Guerrero drew 7,000 fans in March 2009.

Guerrero-Maidana will be announced once the single missing ingredient, Maidana's signed contract, reaches Golden Boy, which it had not as of Monday, my source says.

Guerrero of course, won two featherweight titles; moved up to 130 pounds in 2009 and won a title that he relinquished to tend to his cancer-stricken wife; and now he is a strapping 135-140-pounder who will fight Maidana (30-2, 27 knockouts) at the higher weight. Guerrero (29-1-1, 18 knockouts) is coming off a rousing victory over Michael Katsidis, as well as thrashings of Vicente Escobedo and former great Joel Casamayor.

Maidana's nearly singular claim to fame was his spectacular breakthrough victory over Victor Ortiz in 2009. That was three months after Ortiz fought at HP on Boxing After Dark, and that was the night Guerrero suffered a head butt against obscure featherweight Daud Yordan that led to a reputation-damaging no-decision.

Guerrero salvaged his reputation and more with his 2010 achievements, but Ortiz didn't salvage his reputation until this spring, when he upset previously unbeaten welterweight Andre Berto.

Now Ortiz is getting a Sept. 17 shot at Floyd Mayweather Jr., who wants to test his mettle with a hard-hitting left-hander before he takes on the ultimate specimen of that genre, Manny Pacquiao. Ortiz can't ask for more than the opportunity to give a decent account against Mayweather.

Guerrero can ask for more than Maidana. His ideal opponent would be Juan Manuel Marquez, who has been dodging him (and finally has landed a third shot at Pacquiao). But Maidana, coming off a ferociously contested victory over Erik Morales and an equally ferocious comeback in a loss to Amir Khan, figures to give Guerrero all he can handle, and Guerrero figures to look good against the easily-hit Argentinian if he can withstand a heavy blow or two.

Guerrero probably will make this bout similar to his victory over Katsidis, outboxing and mauling Maidana (whom Ortiz knocked down three times) during the first half of the fight and then coping with the desperate lunges of the 140-pound division's most feared puncher.

So this is a relatively scary fight for Guerrero, and here's a tidbit for the superstitious: Maidana's nickname is "Chino" – which happens to be the nickname also of . . .Daud Yordan.

SUMMER 2011

OLD WOUNDS HEAL BUT NEW ONES FLARE UP

Both Robert Guerrero and Andre Ward were injured in August, and for Guerrero it was a catastrophe.

Seeking credibility not only as a junior welterweight but as a full-fledged 147-pounder, Guerrero was only two weeks away from a worthy fight in San Jose on HBO against Marcos Maidana when a chronic shoulder injury became worse, requiring surgery that cost Guerrero another year of his career.

Ward suffered a severe facial cut, so that merely delayed his Super Six title match with Carl Froch in Atlantic City from October to December.

Nonito Donaire had no summer fight either, because his defection to Golden Boy didn't stand up to legalities, and it took a while for Top Rank to hold sway. By summer's end, though, he had lined up an October date with an Argentinian flyweight champion for New York.

A visit to San Leandro to meet Donaire's father, Nonito Sr., and older brother, Glenn, who was making a comeback, was the most memorable boxing event of my summer. The discussions were frank but friendly.

The most memorable fight of the season was Victor Ortiz's challenge to Floyd Mayweather in September, in which an aggressive Ortiz had a few good moments but ate a lot of right-hand leads from Mayweather. Ortiz resorted to lunging at Mayweather with his head in the fourth round, and while the action was halted to penalize Ortiz and restore order -- with Ortiz kissing Mayweather in repentance! --Mayweather found an opening to land a one-two that knocked Ortiz out and led to much debate about boxing ethics.

In the often parallel boxing worlds of the left-handers Guerrero and Ortiz, Guerrero believed his superior overall skills continued to matter less than Ortiz's thunderous right hooks and his precious smile. If Ortiz deserved a crack at Mayweather, Guerrero began to obsess, then so did The Ghost.

**You might also enjoy** _:_  http://www.examiner.com/article/klitschko-easily-outpoints-cautious-haye

JULY 2011
Chapter 176

SPOTLIGHT ON GUERRERO-MAIDANA IN SAN JOSE

It looks like the Andre Ward-Carl Froch Super Six title fight will be staged Oct. 31, in Atlantic City, although no announcement has been made.

Therefore the Bay Area spotlight in coming weeks is on Robert Guerrero and the South Bay, beginning Thursday when Guerrero and Marcos Maidana star at a late-morning press conference at HP Pavilion in San Jose to announce their Aug. 27 superlightweight bout there.

They'll be headlining on HBO's Boxing After Dark, and Guerrero probably will land close to top-10 pound-for-pound territory if he thrashes the heavy-hitting Argentinian, who waylaid Victor Ortiz two years ago and acquitted himself well in December 2010 when he lost to Amir Khan.

With two-thirds of the Bay Area's kingpin trio fully engaged, what of the other third, Nonito Donaire? He's been in limbo for most of the time since he dropped Fernando Montiel in the second round of their bantamweight showdown in February and soon announced he was changing promoters, from Top Rank to Golden Boy.

It would have seemed Donaire's Top Rank contract would prevail through 2011, and Top Rank indeed has prevailed on that point in the legal wrangling. It appears this has led to talks between Donaire and Top Rank that are leading to a three-year re-enlistment and also leading to the possibility that he'll be back in action a few weeks after Ward-Froch.

JULY 2011
Chapter 177

GUERRERO ANIMATED, MAIDANA WOODEN AT SHARK TANK

We didn't get to know Marcos Maidana as well as we had hoped Thursday as he and Robert Guerrero began the buildup for their Aug. 27 WBA light-welterweight title bout on HBO at HP Pavilion in San Jose. Let's just say The Ghost carried the first round. He's a happy young man, getting his chance to achieve superstardom, and it shows.

"I think our styles clash," Guerrero said, meaning their boxing modus operandi but covering a lot of other nuances. "It's gonna be a great fight."

Trainer Ruben Guerrero, Robert's dad, promised "we're gonna come strong, we're gonna come hard, and we're gonna smack," but added some poignancy, thanking Maidana "for giving Robert a break."

Maidana presumably will bring far more sizzle to the fight than he brought to Thursday's press conference at HP, the Shark Tank, which hasn't had a fight card of even nearly this magnitude since Guerrero's ill-fated bout with Daud Yordan there in March 2009 drew nearly 7,000. Since then, the two-time former featherweight champion has moved from 130 and 135 to this bout at 140, winning two more titles along the way.

To be fair, the Argentinian slugger had just arrived on a long flight and was admittedly very tired. "He's pretty shy," a Golden Boy spokesperson cautioned beforehand. Maidana is a man of few words, Spanish or otherwise. And he's a notoriously slow starter.

To his credit, he did try to pump the gate, as did everyone who spoke at the press conference. "I'm happy to be fighting a top-level fighter," Maidana said. "He's very technical, he's very fast, and he's got long arms."

Guerrero (29-1-1, 18 knockouts), who looked quite fit and said he weighs about 150, certainly didn't appear physically overmatched. Maidana (30-2, 27 knockouts) looked smaller and less taut, but he said he's looking to gain an edge to lose a few pounds and figures his training locale – Puerto Rico – will provide that. "It's winter in Argentina," he said. "It's easier to make weight in Puerto Rico."

So Maidana will be miles from his favorite steaks, enduring stifling humidity for six weeks, with the prospect of defending his title against a hard-to-hit fighter who also should hit him a lot. Maidana probably will need a knockout to prevail. The crowd will be heavily pro-Guerrero (but not entirely, because fans love knockout artists like Maidana). And Maidana must suspect that HBO wouldn't be unhappy to see Guerrero cash in.

AUGUST 2011
Chapter 178

GLENN DONAIRE READY FOR COMEBACK, NEEDS OPPONENT

Former flyweight contender Glenn Donaire sparred nine rounds Thursday at the Kennel Gym in San Leandro in what already feels like a successful comeback from a three-year hiatus. How successful? "He's much better," says trainer Nonito Donaire Sr., who is not always effusive with praise.

The only thing missing is a contracted opponent.

The ideal one would be a journeyman flyweight for an August bout that would put Donaire, 31, in the win column for the first time since he avenged an earlier draw with Jose Albuquerque by winning a decision in February 2008. The August tune-up win would set up a mid-autumn bout against a more formidable opponent, presumably on an undercard headed by Glenn's younger brother, the superstar Nonito Jr., who is expected to fight Rafael Marquez next. (Glenn and I agreed that 2009 Nonito victim Raul Martinez would make a daring choice for Glenn's opponent.)

The August bout for Glenn seemed in the offing for the Robert Guerrero-Marcos Maidana card in San Jose on Aug. 27, which is being put together by Golden Boy Promotions. But when WBC/WBO bantamweight champion Nonito wound up staying with Top Rank Boxing instead of moving to Golden Boy, Glenn was nowhere.

Nonito Jr., who has mended several fences with his father and brother this year, remains confident that he can fulfill a pledge to place Glenn (17-4-1, nine knockouts) on every card he's on, but the August tune-up is foremost in Glenn's ambitions now, and even more so on the mind of the father, who is acting as co-manager and is the one scouting around for an opponent.

The other co-manager is the Kennel, a haven for East Bay amateurs run by Donaire relatives, for whom Arvin Jugarap is my contact. The Kennel is paying Glenn a stipend to train that has freed him from a job delivering cakes by truck for a bakery.

Kennel benefits financially if Glenn succeeds (his top pay day was $40,000 for his loss to Vic Darchinyan in a bid for an IBF belt in 2006), and Glenn boosts the stature of the boxing program there and sets a wholesome example.

Glenn is thriving on being a star, no matter how small the scale.

"He's the main guy here," acknowledges Nonito Sr. It's one of the best arrangements Glenn has had, seeing as how he was working six days and training only four during the latter stages of his career, which went on hold with his 2008 loss to Ulises Solis in an IBF light-flyweight title bid.

There is reason for skepticism, because Glenn didn't go out on top and in some minds he peaked in 2005 before his one-round loss to Z Gorres. But the married father of two, (whose household now includes both of his separated parents) concurs that he has improved.

"Even if you just see me spar, you can see how different I am than I was before," he says.

The biggest difference? "He can box," Donaire Sr. says. "He used to want to fight inside all the time, but not now."

To compensate for his sparring partners' relative inexperience, Glenn has been taking on 135-pounders. "These guys give me a lot of trouble and can take my punches."

Glenn says he weighs 119 and can readily reach 112 for a fight. In fact, his weight has been sliding too far, although he feels 108 would be "stressful" now to his health.

"I'm stronger than six years ago," he says. He means that physically, but he talks about having gained even more spiritually.

"My main focus is on my kids – now that I know how it is, I love my parents even more."

AUGUST 2011
Chapter 179

NONITO SR., NEARBY WRITER COMMUNE AT LAST

My somewhat belated trip to San Leandro to see Glenn Donaire and his father/trainer a couple of days ago turned out to be a mood elevator.

Glenn, the older brother of bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire, is coming back from a three-year boxing hiatus that coincided with a rift between Glenn's father and brother that ended last March.

Throughout the two-year estrangement of Nonito Donaire Sr. and Jr., I was keenly aware of my obligation to convey both sides of the story. I always assumed Senior was reading at least some of my version of the saga and that I might be called to account someday.

Well, Nonito Sr. indeed confronted it, man to man. But he did so only after we had established congeniality. Although he certainly didn't see my coverage as favorable, and he felt that needed to be said, he made his point without being a buzz kill.

I was grateful to be able to look him in the eye and state my case. I've always maintained that love would prevail in their personal relationship but that their professional split was not likely to be repaired. I stood by that again.

Keep in mind, though, that Jun's move to Top Rank just before the split was predicated on a tripling of the fighter's purses into six figures – the payoff for 15 years of preparation. Now the father wasn't part of that. Worse, he felt he was being falsely accused of glomming onto $80,000, a misunderstanding that tormented him throughout the rift until Jun apologized for that misunderstanding.

I finally met Senior in Las Vegas in February 2010 at what probably was the nadir for him. Jun was there to be showcased, along with Fernando Montiel, in a tune-up bout building up to Donaire-Montiel a year later. Senior was training Montiel's opponent, unbeaten Filipino Ciso Morales. Montiel scored a first-round knockout. An even more promising Donaire Sr. client, Marvin Sonsona, was in the midst of an unexpected decline.

Couple that with the family rift, and it's no wonder the father seemed worn and forlorn, especially when father and son, thrown together at a press conference, barely acknowledged each other.

I did introduce myself to Donaire Senior that day and hand him a business card, but we didn't click then, and he wound up confiding a couple of weeks later in my Filipino-American colleague Dennis Guillermo, whose interview elicited some negativity that did cause me to criticize the father more acerbically than previously.

I acknowledged that in Thursday's confrontation but didn't cop to any other hostility, and I think we both came away feeling better. We finally have a relationship.

Whether the father-son misgivings are water under the bridge is more doubtful. Jun is probably compelled to work at it, which isn't easy when he's spending most of his time away from the Bay Area and is feeling pulled in several directions.

But the father is definitely back in the support group. Compared to his Vegas countenance, he now seems about 10 times happier.

AUGUST 2011
Chapter 180

GUERRERO INJURES SHOULDER; MAIDANA FIGHT OFF

Robert Guerrero suffered a severe shoulder injury Wednesday, and his Aug. 27 HBO super-lightweight bout with Marcos Maidana in San Jose was postponed Thursday.

Que lastima!

Guerrero was sparring at his Big Bear training camp when he injured the left shoulder, the one at the core of the considerable punching power the Gilroy left-hander has displayed since his move from 126 to 135 and now 140 pounds. By Thursday morning, Guerrero was unable to move his left arm, and much of it felt numb.

The prevailing fear Thursday afternoon, as he underwent an MRI in Redwood City, was that Guerrero, a three-time world champion, sustained a torn rotator cuff, an injury that could require surgery and sideline him a year or more.

He turns 30 in March 2013, and it may take that long to return to the level he had reached at the time of the injury.

He was a 2-1 favorite to defeat Maidana, the most feared puncher in the 140-pound division. A thrashing of Maidana, with 10,000 cheering at HP Pavilion, would have put Guerrero in the pound-for-pound top 10, where fellow Bay Area stars Nonito Donaire and Andre Ward are prominent.

Guerrero hadn't reached his peak. But it's going to be hard to get this back, and who knows where HBO will stand then?

Others have endured worse, and so has Guerrero. It's not like the helpless agony of his wife's life-threatening illness, which forced a boxing hiatus for much of 2010. But that just compounds how unfortunate this injury is, and how unfortunate for all of us that we may not get to see him fight for quite a while.

AUGUST 2011
Chapter 181

FROCH, WARD TONE DOWN RHETORIC FOR OAKLAND STOP

Andre Ward and Carl Froch called a truce Wednesday to the abuse that had marked the previous two days of the promotional tour for their Oct. 29 Super Six title fight.

With the Bay Area still staggering in the aftermath of a big brawl last weekend at a San Francisco 49ers-Oakland Raiders exhibition game, we weren't eager for ugliness and we didn't get any.

The noonish, warmish gathering at the Frank Ogawa Plaza in downtown Oakland provided the only glimpse of Froch the Bay Area is likely to get as the two 168-pounders prepare for their showdown in Atlantic City. If not for a presentation of gilded boxing gloves to Oakland mayor Jean Quan, a passer-by might not have known that fisticuffs were the topic of the day.

There were actual pleas to tone down the rhetoric. Virgil Hunter, Ward's trainer, said Ward (24-0, 13 knockouts), the WBA super-middleweight champion, and Froch (28-1, 20 knockouts), the WBC champion, have "traveled different paths. We shouldn't minimize one person's to maximize another's."

Ward, who has beaten Mikkel Kessler and Allan Green in Oakland and Arthur Abraham in Carson, Calif., in this tournament, has traveled plenty this week. He told me he felt very fatigued, not surprising considering the eight-hour shift in time zones he had just undergone, stopping on the East Coast en route from England in time for the memorable earthquake there Tuesday and then arriving in the East Bay in time for a small tremor Wednesday.

Froch, probably weary as well, was a gracious guest.

The Englishman, who can really lay on the acid, had dismissed Ward in London on Monday and New York on Tuesday as foul-prone, slow, soft-punching, untested and the like, but he was far more conciliatory in Oakland, where he lauded the climate and more.

"We're the two finest fighters in the division, Froch said. "There's no losers here. It's not England vs. America."

Froch has aged well in the Super Six tournament. After winning by decision over Andre Dirrell in their opener, a result that continues to generate disagreement, and losing to Mikkel Kessler in one of the tournament's most hotly contested bouts, Froch has thoroughly outpointed Arthur Abraham and Glen Johnson to reach the final. It's no longer fair to begrudge him that accomplishment.

Froch addressed the age factor first, and attributed his success to the weight factor, his penchant for remaining in fighting trim after fights. He said that generally, "those who make weight easily are the ones who succeed the longest. At 34, I'm very much peaking."

Then he elaborated on the surprising-to-some elegance of his victories over Abraham and Johnson. "When you've got length and a good jab," he said, "sometimes it's unnecessary to be involved in a slugfest, a 50-50 swing-off."

That doesn't mean he's going to try to jab Ward into submission. "My tactics are very different for the Ward fight from the previous two," Froch said, implying the possibility that he'll try to take the fight to Ward from the get-go. The way he did earlier this week.

Mayor Quan set the tone Wednesday when she hugged Ward and said, "This is a guy who will be a champion no matter what happens in Atlantic City."

All was sweetness, and everybody was a winner.

SEPTEMBER 2011
Chapter 182

DONAIRE IN NYC, WARD IN N.J., FALL COLOR? LET'S GO

Nonito Donaire was in New York City a couple of days ago, and the preview it provided for the Bay Area bantamweight star might be a preview of what's in store for you if you're a boxing fan and a savvy traveler.

For the boxing fan, Madison Square Garden is high on your bucket list, and now Donaire is headlining at a wing of that arena Oct. 22 on HBO when he defends his two bantamweight title belts against unbeaten super flyweight Omar Narvaez. But wait: there's more.

Oakland's Andre Ward meets England's Carl Froch in Atlantic City the following Saturday, Oct. 29, in Showtime's Super Six final.

Yes, you say, but hanging out in Manhattan or Atlantic City is too expensive. What to do with that week in between?

Uh, have you ever been in the East during peak fall color? That ought to be on your bucket list, too.

Fall foliage can only add to the perfect timing of the Donaire and Ward fights if you're seeking your money's worth to justify the long trek from the Bay Area and the duration of that trek.

Any sunny day the last week of October this year in the Tri-State Area (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut) or Pennsylvania's Poconos is likely to be one of the most exquisite days you've ever seen.

Make it a 10-day trip. New York City may be hard to book on such short notice, but spring for at least two nights there. I found rooms for about $365 a night on the Upper East Side near a particularly notable stretch of Central Park.

After you bolt Manhattan, might I suggest a field trip to discern why they call New Jersey "The Garden State." Hint: Set the GPS for "least use of freeways," or at least stay off the Jersey Turnpike. Afterward you can tell people "I went to Princeton."

And then on to Atlantic City, where even I've never been.

SEPTEMBER 2011
Chapter 183

WARD'S INJURY DELAYS FROCH FIGHT UNTIL DECEMBER

Andre Ward suffered a severe facial cut in training camp this week, and will not heal in time for an Oct. 29 Super Six championship bout with Carl Froch. The East Bay super-middleweight alerted friends to the circumstances Thursday, and Showtime confirmed the postponement Friday.

Ward said the wound, characterized as "a cut above the right eye," required seven stitches. Showtime said its _360_ documentary crew filmed Ward's flight from the Bay Area to Los Angeles for further consultation with a plastic surgeon.

It was there that Ward was told he wouldn't heal in time for the October date in Atlantic City

Efforts to reschedule the SuperSix bout are said to be focused on December, with the 17th looking the most open, according to badlefthook.com

Somehow, Atlantic City sounds less appealing then.

FALL 2011

FRONT-ROW, CENTER AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

Andre Ward locked up fighter of the year accolades with his unanimous decision victory over Carl Froch in the SuperSix final Dec. 17, so that certainly was the most important Bay Area boxing event of the fall. Nonito Donaire didn't get much mileage from his late-October victory in New York.

I did, though. I covered Donaire's fight at Madison Square Garden and got caught up in some attendant hoopla.

I wouldn't have gone to New York if Examiner had been my only tie-in. I knew the Mercury News/Bay Area News Group would not send a staff writer to New York to cover Donaire against an unknown, which could have cost them many times more than the $100 I proposed, so my former employer was the obvious target for making the trip worthwhile. Alas, said sports editor Bud Geracie, the freelance budget for fourth quarter was non-existent, not even for $100.

So I proposed covering the fight free in exchange for linkage to my Examiner page. Bud eventually agreed and arranged my credentials.

_Before Geracie and I reached terms, Team Donaire announced it was staging a national anthem contest aimed at attracting contestants from New York's tri-state area, with one singer rendering_ The Star Spangled Banner _and another singing the Philippines anthem, the_ Lupang Hinirang _. Two middle-school girls won._

_In the meantime, without formally entering I became determined to produce a video -- in Tagalog. I began conspiring with my brother the Chinese language major, his daughter the Japanese language major and son, a member of several vocal ensembles at UC-Berkeley. Each of us practiced the_ Lupang Hinirang _for three days, and on a Friday night we gathered at a San Mateo County apartment to put together a quickie video. After practicing an hour together, we tried a first take, pronounced it good enough and released it on YouTube._

_Long story short: more than 3,000 hits and more than 80 likes on YouTube, plus about 4,000 page views on Examiner, via Philboxing. We were even seen on Philippines television, on the_ TV Patrol _program._

_Two weeks later, I was at Madison Square Garden dining with the_ TV Patrol _host in the pressroom before Donaire's disappointingly dull HBO victory over Omar Narvaez, which I covered from a front-row center vantage point on press row._

Top Rank treated me well in New York for gaining it daily newspaper coverage in the Bay Area that the fight otherwise would have lacked. Top Rank paid for my cozy room at the Affinia Hotel (fight headquarters).

Even though the Internet linkage via the Merc gained me little actual money, my daily newspaper ties clearly were valuable.

Occasionally the online pursuit would pay off, as it did in November when Manny Pacquiao's third meeting with Juan Manuel Marquez resulted in a controversial decision victory for Pacquiao. I concurred with the decision and was one of the first to get a professional-grade story to Philboxing. It resulted in a personal best 28,000 Examiner page views overnight (with more than 2,000 comments) and another 4,000 page views in subsequent days. That translated to about $230, or about $75 an hour.

But a salary is still far preferable. The San Francisco Chronicle hired me out of the blue in early December on a 10-week copy editing contract. During the Ward fight, I wasn't in Atlantic City at ringside, but the Chronicle did spare me for a couple of hours for my editing of the fight coverage and writing of headlines, at more than $30 an hour. I'm worth it.

There have been times when my Examiner.com role has paid less than $1 per hour -- and I'm considered one of the successful ones. Examiner magnate Philip Anschutz must see how un-American, un-Christian, that sounds. How long can such an immoral business model survive?

**You might also enjoy** _:_  http://www.examiner.com/article/cotto-wins-by-tko-10-against-a-notably-less-hard-hitting-margarito

OCTOBER 2011
Chapter 184

DONAIRE ANTHEM-SINGER CALL OFFSETS SOMBER NOTES

I once sang the national anthem in front of 28,000 people at a major league baseball game, so it's a shame I just missed a boxing scoop on that topic.

National anthem contests were just about the only public relations topic we didn't discuss last week when I stopped by Nonito Donaire's training session at the Undisputed Boxing Gym in San Carlos without calling ahead. But Team Donaire is feverishly reviewing anthem auditions for his fight this month in New York.

I knew I wouldn't be able to make it to Undisputed this Saturday for Donaire's public workout stoking excitement for the Oct. 22 bantamweight title defense at the WaMu Theater (formerly Felt Forum) wing of Madison Square Garden against Omar Narvaez, a super-flyweight champion moving up in class. Nor am I likely to attend the Brooklyn open house Oct. 15 at Gleason's Gym. I still haven't even decided whether I can even make it to New York for what is unmistakably a huge week in the career of the "Filipino Flash."

"It's not the (main) arena or the same venue," Donaire conceded, "but it's Madison Square Garden. It's an amazing thing to be able to fight in New York."

The itinerary is heady indeed. So one can understand how the national anthem derby they were about to unveil slipped their minds, even though Nonito and I have long talked about getting together to sing.

To be fair, the mood was somber when I visited, because Rachel's paternal grandmother was in critical condition after suffering an aneurysm Sept. 25. Thus the understandably shell-shocked grandfather was at Undisputed, where his therapy took the form of caring for Nonito's Shiba Inu dog, Bolt. I had met and even visited the grandparents, but I hadn't met Bolt, whom Nonito and Rachel acquired in 2009 during the buildup to the Raul Martinez fight in the Philippines.

Nonito felt he was having an off-day in training, accusing himself of being weak-willed. "Today is the first day I feel lazy," he complained, although strength trainer Michael Bazzel seemed suitably impressed by Donaire's repetitions.

Bazzel has been the key member of Donaire's conditioning crew at Undisputed the past couple of years, but his role is intensified for this fight because visa difficulties have kept Jonathan Peñalosa out of this camp, Rachel said.

Rachel doesn't sugarcoat her news revelations. She even gave me an update on her relationship with her father-in-law, Nonito Donaire Sr., with whom I had talked a month previously. Don't invite those two to the same party.

But the big news this week is the anthems thing. Team Donaire has called for auditions via YouTube vying to sing the Philippines national anthem. Then on Wednesday they announced that they're recruiting the U.S. anthem singer in the same manner.

This puts Donaire's call-out for ring-card girls before the Raul Martinez bout to shame. Suffice it to say, I'm very interested.

OCTOBER 2011
Chapter 185

DONAIRE LURES U.S. WRITER TO PHILIPPINES ANTHEM

That national-anthem contest Nonito Donaire is staging this month in advance of his Oct. 22 fight in New York has consumed my past week in the Bay Area. I was hard at work on it even before the U.S. anthem entered the equation at mid-week.

Yes, here I am on YouTube doing my best, in Tagalog, on the _Lupang Hinirang_.

I'm pretty sure Donaire will be tickled, and I'm hoping it won't seem sacrilegious to my friends in the Philippines.

It's a fabulous anthem about a lovely country whose people will endure there forever, and musically its three sections build tension to a thunderously triumphant final verse.

Family and I render the finale in four-part harmony.

I'm not vying to sing this anthem at Donaire's bantamweight title fight with Omar Narvaez on HBO, of course. A Filipino-American should do that, and Team Donaire reports there's an impressive aggregation building on YouTube that's sure to yield a thrilling rendition on fight night.

I credibly sang _The Star-Spangled Banner_ before 28,000 people at a New York Yankees-Texas Rangers game several years ago, and I might as well toss off an audition like that for Donaire, but that won't take nearly as long or require as much help as the _Lupang Hinirang_ did.

A lot of people have trouble with the 19-step range of _Banner_ and occasionally the lyrics, but I can tell you the Philippines anthem is tougher. Tagalog can be a real tongue-twister, and my video is proof.

OCTOBER 2011
Chapter 186

LEFTY? RIGHTY? DONAIRE KEEPS 'EM GUESSING

Nonito Donaire was boxing southpaw when I entered the Undisputed Boxing Gym in San Carlos a couple of weeks ago, and boxrec.com lists him as a southpaw.

That may come as a surprise to Fernando Montiel, who found Donaire's orthodox stance devastatingly effective last February. That second-round TKO gave Donaire the WBC and WBO bantamweight titles he's defending Oct. 22 in New York against erstwhile super-flyweight Omar Narvaez (35-0-2, 19 knockouts).

So I asked Donaire (26-1, 18 knockouts) to set us straight, and he assured me that he remains an orthodox fighter who goes southpaw a lot. "I _am_ basically left-handed," Donaire said, "so maybe that's what (Boxrec) meant."

As the workout I attended progressed, he had spent much of the time practicing his right cross, so that boxrec southpaw listing has to be considered an error.

Although Donaire goes lefty in the ring mostly to diversify his modus operandi, he also finds that the southpaw angles minimize stress to the portion of his left pinkie he has fractured in the ring several times.

And of course his signature punch is the counter left hook that destroyed Darchinyan and Montiel. So, southpaw or not, his left hand is a crucial weapon.

The southpaw story angle is likely to emerge Thursday when Donaire stages a media teleconference, so I wanted to explore that issue here beforehand. I'll probably ask a boxing question just to see if Donaire says anything about my recent video performance of the Philippines national anthem in Tagalog.

Further going off the deep end, today I booked my plane ticket to New York for the fight, which HBO will televise on Boxing After Dark. I've worked out a deal to cover the fight for the San Jose Mercury News, my former employer, and presumably its Oakland Tribune and Contra Costa Times brethren.

OCTOBER 2011
Chapter 187

DONAIRE ENTERS N.Y. SPOTLIGHT HIGH-POWERED

For a boxing craftsman admired most for his intelligence, ring generalship and, well finesse, Nonito Donaire was generating a lot of power Thursday during his media teleconference staged by Top Rank and HBO.

It was a carryover from Donaire's most recent fight, a devastating two-round TKO of Fernando Montiel last February on HBO. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, a qualified observer of the past 40 years, set the tone by recalling, "That was one of the most devastating punches I have ever seen. It caved in Montiel's face. It was scary as s---."

Donaire is eager to put on a similarly shattering show in his New York debut Oct. 22, defending his WBC and WBO bantamweight titles against unbeaten super-flyweight veteran Omar Narvaez. "Our goal is to give out the energy like Jack Dempsey did," Donaire said. With sophistication, of course. "I have some old school in me as well."

But much of Thursday's discussion on the "Filipino Flash" focused on his flair for fistic fireworks.

"My power has increased tremendously," said Donaire, more than four years past his famous knockout of then-flyweight king Vic Darchinyan. "The most satisfying victory is a knockout victory. I want to take him as early as I can. But I'm always prepared to go 12 rounds."

That means he has to take a punch, too, as he did against Montiel and Darchinyan to create the decisive openings. So who hit Donaire the hardest? Montiel? Darchinyan? Rafael Concepcion? "My older brother Glenn," Nonito concluded, citing a right hand he didn't see from the future flyweight contender in a sparring session. Nonito said he "fainted," sort of, but he was proud to have stayed on his feet. He also cited a punch in an early bout (Kaichan Sor Vorapin?) that he quickly avenged for a second-round stoppage.

Make no mistake: Donaire doesn't win with brute strength. He wins by knowing what to expect from his opponent and seizing the moment.

That's how they like 'em in New York.

OCTOBER 2011
Chapter 188

ANTHEM CONTEST WINS WRITER FRIENDS IN PHILIPPINES

Tiffany Viray, 14, will sing the Philippines national anthem Saturday at Nonito Donaire's bantamweight title defense in New York, and Lianah Ste. Ana, 12, will sing _The Star Spangled Banner_.

The two New Jersey youngsters won a contest Team Donaire staged to enhance the Filipino Flash's bout at the Theater at Madison Square Garden and on HBO against unbeaten Argentinian Omar Narvaez.

I'll be at ringside Saturday, covering the fight for the San Jose Mercury News and Examiner.com, and may well meet the winners.

Although I didn't technically enter the contest, which was expressly for Filipino-Americans, I've received an emphatic honorable mention after performing the _Lupang Hinirang_ in Tagalog, with help from my brother Leif Seymour, niece Angelica (Aiko) Miyagi and nephew Chris Seymour.

Our YouTube video has racked up more than 2,000 hits, the first thousand getting a boost via Philboxing.com and the second thousand getting a boost from our appearance on a film clip on the _TV Patrol_ program in the Philippines.

The praise from Filipinos has been extremely heartening and has seemed lavish to us. The few negative remarks, from California Fil-Am friends, were more along the order of advice and critique than criticism.

Like many of the contest entries, ours was very makeshift and ad hoc. We each spent about three days going over the lyrics relentlessly and using Charice Pempengco's rendition from the 2010 inauguration of President Benigno Aquino for inspiration.

The challenge was made to order for us. Leif majored in Mandarin Chinese, Angelica majored in Japanese and spent three years in Japan. Chris and I both sing in octets affiliated with the University of California-Berkeley and are accustomed to performing publically.

The aftermath has been a fabulous experience for all four of us.

It was clear our teamwork, harmony, and ethnic mix were what led the _TV Patrol_ narrator to term our video "touching."

I imagine I'll find Saturday's performances even more touching.

OCTOBER 2011
Chapter 189

DONAIRE WILL IMPAIR NARVAEZ IN N.Y. GLARE

NEW YORK -- Contrary to popular belief, Nonito Donaire's opponent Saturday is not Nuevo York.

The misperception is understandable. Donaire's defense of his WBC and WBO bantamweight titles is less noteworthy than where he's defending them – at Madison Square Garden, the mecca of boxing. It will be the Philippines native and longtime San Francisco Bay Area resident's New York debut.

The bout is airing on HBO's _Boxing After Dark_ , and the whole scene Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has created at the Garden's Theater arena (the former Felt Forum) is such a showcase for Donaire that the unbeaten challenger is being treated as an afterthought by just about everyone but Donaire.

The challenger is Argentinian Omar Narvaez (35-0-2, 19 knockouts) a 115-pound champion moving up to 118 for the chance to derail Donaire's rapidly accelerating bandwagon.

No one is discussing what Donaire needs to do to win. The question is what qualities might enable Narvaez to pull off the unlikely upset.

"Just experience and his savviness inside the ring," Donaire said Sept. 29 during my impromptu visit to the Undisputed Boxing Gym in San Carlos. "In terms of power and speed, I believe I have the advantage." Nonito is also eight years younger than Narvaez and three or four inches taller.

You don't get where Donaire (26-1, 18 knockouts) is by overlooking the likes of Narvaez though, and Nonito shared several concerns during my visit, mostly about the extent he would have to sacrifice needed muscle mass to make the 118-pound limit. But he had that problem last winter -- and a fight-eve dental crisis, too -- and still destroyed Montiel.

Might the best way to upset Donaire be to overwhelm him?

"Overwhelm me. Outsmart me. Out-time me," Donaire theorized. Perhaps those things came to mind because they're the weapons Donaire will use to subdue Narvaez.

Considering the glare of the spotlights that follow Donaire when he visits the Philippines, he isn't likely to feel in over his head much of anywhere. Not even New York.

OCTOBER 2011
Chapter 190

DONAIRE'S DULL VICTORY DOESN'T DIMINISH HIM

NEW YORK – Nonito Donaire shouldn't have to apologize after winning all 12 rounds on all three scorecards Saturday in his bantamweight title defense against Omar Narvaez. After all, the capacity crowd wasn't booing HIM.

The 4,225 spectators (and presumably the HBO audience) were booing the fight, and that was undoing much of the purpose of Donaire's debut in New York, at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.

But it didn't undo Donaire's dynamic two-round demolition of Fernando Montiel last February, or any other spectacular victory Donaire has won.

"It happens in boxing," said promoter Bob Arum, who can't wait to get Donaire in against a hell-for-leather fighter like Jorge Arce as soon as possible, almost assuredly at 122 pounds.

"Now I know how Pacquiao felt against Clottey," Donaire quipped, referring to Filipino action star Manny Pacquiao's relatively dull 2010 victory over Joshua Clottey amid a string of spectacular showings.

This was worse than Pacquiao-Clottey. Narvaez threw only 24 punches per round, averaging six landed. "He was in survival mode," Arum said. "He chucked it in."

Narvaez (35-1-2, 19 knockouts) a former 112-pound champion (as is Donaire) and a former 115-pound champion, moved up to 118 for the chance to deconstruct Donaire.

But Narvaez didn't do much to capitalize against the Bay Area resident, whose star power in his native Philippines remains vastly more intense than his image at home – or, alas, in New York.

"He didn't come to fight," said Donaire (27-1), who complained that Narvaez gave up after taking several power punches at the end of the third round. "I opened myself up to get hit," Donaire said, "but as long as he was in that shell. . ." there wasn't much the "Filipino Flash" could do.

On one hand, there's the boxing adage that goes, "Win today, look good next time."

On the other hand, Donaire was in New York primarily to look good, and he didn't get the chance. He heard the crowd booing, and even though "I knew they weren't booing me," it hurt.

He got over it quickly enough that he was singing for us in the press area, and perhaps I'll soon be singing with him at the after-party. Disappointment or not, there's plenty to celebrate.

NOVEMBER 2011
Chapter 191

GOLDEN BOY ALLY ESPINOZA TAKES SHOWTIME SPORTS HELM

Almost obscured in the gaudy resume of new Showtime sports chief executive Stephen Espinoza is his recent tenure as lead attorney for Golden Boy Promotions.

Espinoza is a show biz whirlwind who has represented Mike Tyson, Oscar De La Hoya, Michael Strahan, Gina Carano, Tyler Perry, Keanu Reeves, Vanessa Hudgens, Alicia Keys, Eminem, Shakira and Snoop Dogg, and has supervised countless multi-million-dollar deals in the entertainment and sports industries. The guy even went to Stanford.

For boxing, the primary sports franchise of both Showtime and its archrival HBO, Espinoza's ascension Monday seems to solidify the battle lines among the cable rivals and the dominant promoters, Golden Boy and Bob Arum's Top Rank.

Espinoza's predecessor, Ken Hershman, moved over to HBO a few weeks ago after veteran HBO executive Ross Greenburg was deposed.

Golden Boy has had the upper hand at HBO in recent years, but with mixed results, to which many analysts attributed Greenburg's demise.

Arum's defection to Showtime for one of Manny Pacquiao's fights last year hurt HBO, too, so the Hershman hiring makes sense. After all, the Arum-Hershman relationship seems to be the most important in television boxing.

But Espinoza and De La Hoya's Golden Boy figure to make an equally formidable tag team.

**The effect on the Bay Area's three elite fighters could be significant:** Top Rank has steered San Mateo-based bantamweight Nonito Donaire's past two fights to HBO. Golden Boy client Robert Guerrero of Gilroy has been fighting primarily on HBO since 2009, but that may change now. Hershman was the prime mover of the Super Six tournament that has become a showcase for Andre Ward, so clearly the East Bay super-middleweight has an in at HBO. Stay tuned.

NOVEMBER 2011
Chapter 192

GLENN DONAIRE SAYS HE HAS SIGNED WITH DON KING

Glenn Donaire says he has joined forces with promoter Don King. This can only help Donaire, the older brother of bantamweight superstar Nonito Donaire Jr.. Glenn is trying to end a three-year absence from the ring.

Glenn Donaire delivered this news to young Bay Area reporter Truth Esguerra, via Philippine News.

Other than the King connection, though, little has happened in Donaire's comeback since I visited him in July. The former flyweight contender's comeback has yet to result in a bout. He has quit his day job and trains in San Leandro at the Kennel Boxing Club, which is subsidizing the comeback.

When brother Nonito was in the midst of defecting to Golden Boy Promotions from Bob Arum's Top Rank during the spring and summer, Glenn (17-4, nine knockouts) was in line for a bout in San Jose on the undercard of the later-canceled Robert Guerrero-Marcos Maidana card at the Shark Tank.

But when Arum prevailed in that dispute, Glenn was out of the San Jose equation. Trainer Nonito Donaire Sr. was also trying to find fights for his older son, not his area of expertise.

I've seen King produce a championship belt in a situation like this. In the mid-1990s, San Jose-based featherweight Hector Lizarraga had mounted a multi-year win streak but was not making much of a name for himself until King swooped in. That sort of situation has been known to leave the original managers and promoters under-rewarded for bringing the champion along.

But even with King's health and influence flagging as he has reached 80, there are no losers in the Glenn Donaire matchup with the veteran huckster. It's better than nothing, and possibly a lot better.

NOVEMBER 2011
Chapter 193

MARES-AGBEKO REDUX LOSES MEANING FOR DONAIRE

If Nonito Donaire's impending move from bantamweight to junior featherweight were to become official Friday, I might not bother to watch the Joseph Agbeko-Abner Mares bantamweight rematch Saturday on Showtime.

Mares won the first match by decision, but several officiating injustices to Agbeko cost him both the decision and his IBF bantamweight title. Mares (22-0-1, 13 knockouts) seized that belt and, more important, thus claimed the title in Showtime's bantamweight tournament. Mares was not long ago an attractive opponent for Donaire, but Mares' star has actually dimmed during the tournament.

That was an event that Donaire and Fernando Montiel rightfully shunned, leaving Showtime with Yonnhy Perez, Vic Darchinyan and the two eventual finalists.

Donaire's second-round stoppage of Montiel last February was all Donaire needed to prove he was the world's top bantamweight, just as the San Mateo-based "Filipino Flash" had previously been the world's best flyweight.

Nevertheless, the best bantamweights bear watching for Donaire followers until he formally vacates the division. This he is expected to do. Dennis (dSource) Guillermo reports that Donaire will return to New York in February to fight former WBO 122-pound champion Wilfredo Vasquez Jr. When that deal is done, Donaire will say goodbye to 118.

Until then, he's in the same division as Saturday's combatants, whose tournament was less scintillating than the super-middleweight version, the Super Six, which climaxes Dec. 17 with the Andre Ward-Carl Froch championship match in Atlantic City.

The bantamweight concept had some built-in liabilities, mainly that the foursome had fought quite a bit amongst themselves prior to the tournament. Perez had beaten Mares (the bout stands as a draw) and had beaten Agbeko, who had beaten Darchinyan, who had also lost to Donaire (and is much better at 112 and 115 than at 118 despite his talk about moving up to 122 if he beats Anselmo Moreno on Saturday's undercard).

Agbeko (28-3, 22 knockouts) avenged his loss to Perez in one semi and Mares edged Darchinyan in the other. Then came the fiasco of a title bout. And now I'm struggling to work up enthusiasm – especially if I have to wait until 11 p.m. or so to see it -- for the rematch. I'll bet they fight to a draw.

DECEMBER 2011
Chapter 194

DONAIRE-VASQUEZ IN SAN ANTONIO? SEEMS CREDIBLE

Wilfredo Vasquez Jr. will be Nonito Donaire's next opponent, the consensus says, but speculation about the time and place has been considerably more elastic.

Promoter Bob Arum wants to get Donaire right back to New York -- where Donaire attracted lots of attention in October but was mired in an unsatisfying fight -- so the "Filipino Flash" can put on the dazzling display of which he's eminently capable in the Big Apple spotlight.

That event seemed headed for early March. But now the smart money is on Feb. 4. My friend Dennis "dSource" Guillermo says Las Vegas has emerged as the front-running location. But I believe the bout will take place in San Antonio.

First of all, that's where boxrec.com says it's headed. Although the site continues to list Donaire erroneously as a southpaw, it is still a reliable source for matchmaking information.

More important, I'm totally swayed by last weekend's report in the San Antonio Express-News, which said Donaire Jr.-Vasquez Jr. would be part of a twin bill that would feature Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. There's reason to believe that card could fill 60,000 seats at the Alamodome.

**JOURNALISM SIDEBAR** : I discovered the Express-News' story Saturday on a news budget list at the San Francisco Chronicle, where I'm editing copy full time for 10 weeks ending Feb. 10. Both are Hearst newspapers. In a bizarre conflict of interest, I felt quite constrained from sharing the Alamodome news on Examiner.com while I was on the clock at the Chron. So not only is time working against your Welterweight Champion's boxing posts, but also timing.

DECEMBER 2011
Chapter 195

WARD WILL PROVE MORE BRUTAL THAN FROCH SAYS

Andre Ward hasn't stopped any of his seven opponents the past three years, save one Shelby Pudwill. But he has brutalized every one of them.

True, Ward hasn't even been knocking opponents down. But the standing eight counts seem to be lasting eight rounds.

"After three or four rounds, they don't want to fight Andre anymore," says his trainer, Virgil Hunter. "They want to protect themselves. They don't want to take a beating. They start turning and start protecting themselves. A beating is career-threatening, and this is what he is capable of doing to you."

But Hunter is not expecting Carl Froch to retreat in Saturday's Super Six tournament championship match in Atlantic City on Showtime.

"Carl has promised to fight till the end, so I think this is going to be a fight that the fans are really going to enjoy."

By "the end" Hunter presumably means the point at which Ward (24-0, 13 knockouts) has stopped Froch (28-1, 20 knockouts) to defend the WBA super-middleweight title and claim Froch's WBC super-middleweight belt.

That's what I believe will happen, a ninth- or 10th-round TKO over a valiant Froch, who will be beaten to the punch repeatedly from every angle until he is subdued.

Froch has evolved from puncher to boxer in the Super Six and probably will benefit from it as much as Ward no matter who wins Saturday.

"I was seen as more of a brawler early on before I started to get behind my jab and box, and that made the fighting a little bit easier for me," says Froch, whose easy victory over Arthur Abraham in his third Super Six fight altered the pecking order in the tournament like no other bout save Ward's opening salvo against tournament favorite Mikkel Kessler.

Froch lost to Kessler in the tournament's most exhilarating bout to date, and then, Froch recalls, "I was able to show a lot of my skill against Arthur Abraham."

That was the victory that won over boxing purists.

Froch may be more versatile than we had thought, but he's not more versatile than Ward, who entered the tournament with the image of a fancy outside fighter but has gone elbow to elbow with his Super Six foes.

"Well, if you've seen my fights, you know I do a little bit of everything," Ward says, "and I also have the wherewithal to make adjustments throughout the fight. There are ebbs and flows in big fights like this. I'm expecting a very physical fight.

"You don't just win these types of fights. You've got to take them."

DECEMBER 2011
Chapter 196

WARD SNAGS SUPER SIX TITLE WITH LEFT HOOKS

Beating Carl Froch to the punch and beating him in every phase of the fight game Saturday, Andre Ward decisively claimed the Super Six championship on Showtime.

Ward won a unanimous decision in Atlantic City, N.J., to retain his WBA super-middleweight title and claim Froch's WBC belt in the finale of Showtime's two-year tournament in the 168-pound division. The scorecards read 118-110, 115-113, and 115-113, but it was tough to see where Froch won more than three rounds.

"I was actually surprised at how slow Froch was," Ward said. "We were just able to beat him to the punch, and that's what won us the fight."

Ward dominated the first eight rounds, conceivably winning all of them. The final four rounds were comparatively even.

Ward thus emerged unbeaten in the Super Six, with victories over Mikkel Kessler, stand-in Allan Green, and Arthur Abraham before taking on Froch in the final. Froch won a decision over Andre Dirrell, lost a decision to Kessler, and then easily outpointed Abraham and stand-in Glen Johnson to reach the final.

Froch felt he would have advantages over Ward in speed, reach, power and ring generalship, but none of those factors worked in his favor.

"I know I hurt him several times," Ward said.

Ward established that he could land his jab in the first round and then established in the second that he could land his left hook repeatedly at close range. If anything, that made Froch's reach advantage a negative, as the Englishman's power punches were comparatively looping.

Ward established his right cross in the middle rounds, and it proved to be at least as effective as Froch's signature punch.

Mostly, Ward (25-0) was beating Froch (28-2) to the punch and doing so in a trench warfare manner that Froch, expecting to be the tougher of the two, might have relished until he found out just how strong Ward is – in body and spirit.

WINTER 2012

THE NECESSITY OF TOOTING YOUR OWN HORN

Today a writer doesn't have to make an ideological impact. Today a writer has to make an economic impact \-- and brag about it.

That's how it's always been in boxing, and no one exemplified that in early 2012 more than Robert Guerrero, who began demanding a bout with Floyd Mayweather, even though Guerrero still had not fought as a welterweight and certainly was not thought of as a welterweight, except by those of us who follow him closely.

Guerrero's call-out may have seemed pathetically shrill to some at the time, but it began paying off by winter's end.

Inspired by Guerrero's example, I had to make a point of informing Team Donaire, as Nonito began his romp through the 122-pound division, that I was pretty much responsible for a large share of its recent Bay Area P.R.

Here's an email to that effect I sent to Top Rank publicist Lee Samuels in February:

Hi, Lee,

The San Francisco Chronicle ran about 600 words of advance Saturday on the Donaire-Vasquez fight, and I'm claiming credit for that.

I'm working (temporarily) at the Chronicle and persuaded sports editor Al Saracevic to use the Hearst connection with the San Antonio Express-News to produce the (free) story. Space also will be carved out for a story with headline in the Sunday section, with me involved in the content and headline-writing.

The Mercury News/Oakland Tribune/Contra Costa Times conglomerate had a couple of (admittedly excellent) paragraphs Friday in a notes column by Monte Poole, but nothing visible Saturday and, I'll bet, no headline Sunday.

I know Mr. Arum appreciated my influence with the Merc for the New York fight, and I'm sure he'll appreciate this too.

**You might also enjoy** :  http://www.examiner.com/article/tv-review-freddie-roach-hollywood-gym-are-compelling-co-stars-on-hbo-series

JANUARY 2012
Chapter 197

DONAIRE LAUNCHING 122 CAMPAIGN IN TEXAS

A publicity function Tuesday at the Alamodome in San Antonio will herald Nonito Donaire's move to the 122-pound ranks.

The "News Conference Brunch" formally announces the Feb. 4 card at the Alamodome on which Donaire will fight former junior featherweight champion Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and top-ranked middleweight Marco Antonio Rubio also vie on that card, with young Chavez a huge draw among Mexican-Americans in South Texas, not to mention nearby Mexico.

This setup could greatly enhance Donaire's profile on both sides of the Rio Grande.

Donaire's profile skyrocketed in 2011. His brief but spectacular tour as a bantamweight featured last February's two-round destruction of Fernando Montiel, an assault widely regarded as the 2011 knockout of the year.

Donaire (27-1, 18 knockouts), who whitewashed Omar Narvaez at Madison Square Garden in October, did much of his early training for the Vazquez fight in the Philippines and Japan. He'll be training in Las Vegas most of January.

JANUARY 2012
Chapter 198

L.A. WRITERS TOUT GUERRERO'S MAYWEATHER PURSUIT

Robert Guerrero's publicist has pulled off one of the most successful public relations campaigns in recent memory by convincing the boxing media that "The Ghost" from Gilroy is going to fight Floyd Mayweather on May 5. Yep, Cinco de Mayo.

Mario Serrano's campaign on Guerrero's behalf, no doubt stoked also by Golden Boy Promotions, got Guerrero mentioned prominently last week in the major Los Angeles newspapers, including the L.A. Times.

That may be topped in the next couple of days by the actual announcement of the fight. In fact, you might want to place a bet immediately on that proposition.

It appears a Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao card by summer is nowhere near negotiation, much less already negotiated. Mayweather has won a postponement of a jail sentence, for abusing a woman, into June. Although Mayweather did call out Pacquiao this week via Twitter, the tweet ended, "Step up, Punk," which isn't how to do business with Congressman Pacquiao and suggests Mayweather doesn't really want to. In any event, the Pacquiao-Mayweather proposition is running short of time.

Guerrero's position in the wings has been hard to miss, as the eminent Robert Morales wrote in the L.A. Daily News (and Long Beach Press-Telegram):

Rumor has it he is being strongly considered as a May 5 opponent for Mayweather. If it's not Pacquiao, this would be a solid second choice. At 29-1-1 with 18 knockouts, Guerrero has compiled a record of 6-0 with four knockouts in championship fights.

Guerrero has won world titles in the featherweight and super featherweight divisions, as well as an interim world title in the lightweight class. At 5 feet 8, he is somewhat tall for those divisions and he said Friday he would have no problem moving up to welterweight.

" _If I do get the fight with him, I'm going to beat him," Guerrero said._

It would be the biggest fight of Guerrero's career and his biggest payday.

" _He is the biggest fight for Manny Pacquiao if he were to get that fight," Guerrero said. "No matter who it is, a fight with Floyd Mayweather would be the biggest fight of anybody's career._

" _This is where you start setting your legacy as one of the greatest in boxing."_

These closing lines from Lance Pugmire in the Times summed up why Pacquiao probably isn't in the picture and Guerrero is, and why we can expect the fight announcement Friday.

Asked if he was cynical about Mayweather's interest in truly wanting to fight Pacquiao, Manny's promoter Bob Arum said, "I have no idea."

Asked if Pacquiao wants Mayweather, Arum said, "Yeah."

If the fight every boxing fan wants to see can't materialize, Mayweather might opt to fight someone like Robert Guerrero, a top junior-welterweight contender from Gilroy.

" _I know people want to see Pacquiao, but if that fight can't happen, I'm going to shock the world and beat Floyd Mayweather," Guerrero said._

So this isn't just your S.F. Boxing Examiner touting the Central Coast fighter. This is the Los Angeles media validating Guerrero's prominence on the world stage of the sport, as Nonito Donaire and Andre Ward have been validated in the past year or so.

This is so huge that it makes speculating how Guerrero would fare against Mayweather a subordinate issue. Hint: It's the most exciting match on the immediate horizon.

JANUARY 2012
Chapter 199

NOT TIME TO GIVE UP ON GUERRERO MAYWEATHER

Floyd Mayweather-vs.-Manny Pacquiao matchmaking has not proceeded apace these past two weeks. It's already safe to assume the two megastars each will be fighting someone else this spring.

Robert Guerrero seems to be the most plausible someone else for Mayweather. Many (including me) noted that two weeks ago after a prolonged public relations campaign by Guerrero's operatives proved successful. Although Guerrero's worthiness to fight Mayweather clearly received the stamp of approval from writers and other analysts in Los Angeles and beyond to go with his longstanding credibility in the Bay Area, he has been dissed since then by two developments.

**GHOST? WHAT GHOST**? Leading the chorus of those proclaiming Guerrero lacks sufficient star power to perform alongside a money maker like Mayweather, was Mayweather himself. He denied Guerrero was the frontrunner by adding, "I don't even know who that dude Guerrero is."

Mayweather has continued to posture that he only has eyes for Pacquiao, but Floyd is the one refusing the reasonable contract terms, 50-50, which Pacquiao insists upon, so anything Mayweather says should be analyzed skeptically.

Admittedly, Guerrero is barely established at junior welterweight (140 pounds), so the move to 147 seems a stretch to some critics who perhaps haven't seen the changes in Guerrero's physique the past couple of years as he has moved from featherweight to the proposed meeting with Mayweather at welterweight. But Guerrero will not look small next to Mayweather any more than Victor Ortiz did in causing Mayweather some problems last year.

**KID STUFF:** Even more galling to the Guerrero faithful was the notion of Mayweather instead taking on junior middleweight Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, the 21-year-old Mexican sensation whose charisma thus far outweighs his experience. Mayweather would expect Canelo to come down about four pounds for that match, in which Floyd would administer a severe boxing lesson that would not benefit the up-and-coming slugger. Canelo's handlers can't want that.

If a match is to be made for May 5, as Mayweather and his upcoming 90-day summer jail stretch dictate, Mayweather-Guerrero is the easiest for Golden Boy Promotions, which handles Guerrero and is a gateway to promotion of Mayweather.

We know that Mayweather seems to throw a wrench into every proposal to make the Pacquiao fight come off. Mayweather thinks he would beat Pacquiao, but he doesn't consider it such a lead-pipe cinch that he can risk his unbeaten status. If he continues to feel Pacquiao is too risky a proposition, he can still make several million against Guerrero before he goes off to the pokey.

So save the date. What better way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo?

JANUARY 2012
Chapter 200

WITH BERTO-ORTIZ OFF, DONAIRE'S BOUT GAINS IMPACT

As soon as Andre Berto's biceps injury Monday wiped out Berto's Feb. 11 rematch with Victor Ortiz, Nonito Donaire's bout Saturday against Wilfredo Vasquez Jr. became boxing's most important match in the near future.

There hasn't been a match of Berto-Ortiz II importance since Dec. 17, when Andre Ward dominated Carl Froch to win the Showtime Super Six and sewed up the 2011 fighter of the year award he won last week from the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Berto-Ortiz I, featuring two knockdowns apiece and an upset decision victory for Ortiz, is generally acknowledged to be the 2011 fight of the year.

Donaire is credited with the knockout of the year for his spectacular second-round disposal of Fernando Montiel last February in their bantamweight showdown. But Donaire's super-bantamweight debut this weekend has not been eliciting much bated breath, despite the likelihood that 20,000 will attend the fight in San Antonio at the Alamodome and the certainty the bout will air on HBO.

Although Donaire-Vasquez is the most important bout on the card, it's the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.-Marco Antonio Rubio middleweight bout that is attracting the big crowd, even though it's another virtual exhibition for the unbeaten but untested Chavez. Much of the San Antonio crowd will consist of Mexican nationals, and most of the rest will consist of Mexican-Americans.

Still, Donaire, who has been a world champion at 112 and 118 and the de facto champ at 115, is facing a test at the new weight (122), in a championship bout against a former titleholder, even though the Puerto Rican Vasquez, like Chavez, gets a lot of his juice from being the son of a legend. Had Vasquez not been beaten last year by the aging overblown superflyweight Jorge Arce, Donaire-Vasquez would seem compelling indeed.

Now, as we'll explore Thursday in the forecast for this bout, anyone who really knows who Donaire is probably is feeling certain he'll win Saturday.

There was no such certainty about Ortiz-Berto, so that was the bout we all wanted to see the most.

At the very least, Donaire-Vasquez has loomed as a suitable makeup date for Nonito and HBO, who were disappointed, as we all were, by the lack of intensity at New York's Madison Square Garden for Donaire's most recent bout, his 12-round shutout of undersized Omar Narvaez last October.

Saturday's card is on HBO's primetime Championship Boxing series, not the Boxing After Dark version Donaire headlined against Narvaez. For that reason, as well as the presence of all those Mexicans who may be just discovering the "Filipino Flash," Saturday is an important day for Donaire.

He's already regarded among the top three or four boxers in the world pound-for-pound, and the Bay Area media have been acknowledging his presence nearly as much as Ward's in the past year, but Donaire still is not well enough known to casual boxing fans outside his native Philippines to be considered a bankable star. He turns 30 this year, and every break like Berto's injury counts.

FEBRUARY 2012
Chapter 201

MAYWEATHER-COTTO PACT PUTS GHOST UP FOR GRABS

Floyd Mayweather's May 5 opponent will be Miguel Cotto, Golden Boy Promotions announced Wednesday. Not Manny Pacquiao.

And not Robert Guerrero, who seemed like the perfect backup choice until the more accomplished Puerto Rican stepped in. It seems like everyone has a good date for the welterweight prom but "The Ghost" from Gilroy – unless Juan Manuel Marquez stops ducking him.

Cotto, a former welterweight champion, is a very credible opponent for Mayweather, so no complaint there. Cotto and Mayweather have both been floating between welterweight and junior middleweight, so they're physically well matched. And they're close in age, although Cotto is worse for wear, maybe far worse.

There's an even better matchup for Pacquiao in 140-pound kingpin Timothy Bradley in the works, but there's still no deal there. Pacquiao can't really claim to be the only 140-pounder worth talking about until he beats Wild Card stalemate Amir Khan (won't happen) or Bradley.

Guerrero-Pacquiao, a battle of left-handers, has long seemed intriguing. Guerrero still is seen by some as a poor man's Pacquiao and he'd have a chance to prove he's more than that. It's a matchup that Pacquiao can carry as the main attraction. But it's doubtful the rival promoters would even try.

Guerrero-Bradley wouldn't sell the way it ought to. That fight would make sense in San Jose, where Guerrero could make the local gate look good, and HBO presumably would televise it. That was the plan last August when Guerrero was to fight Marcos Maidana – until Guerrero suffered a shoulder injury from which he has just about recovered. But it's not a very attractive proposition for Bradley.

Maidana is fighting 2011 Bradley victim Devon Alexander on Feb. 25, so that rules those two out for Guerrero until summer.

Khan-Guerrero is an attractive fight (although Khan-Marquez would be much bigger), and sooner or later Robert is going to have to stand up to a taller guy who can match his speed. But Guerrero needs to prove to more people that he's a full fledged junior welterweight, much less a welterweight, which beating Marquez would fully accomplish, before most of these matchups can reach their maximum appeal, and especially the one with Khan.

Victor Ortiz is looking for an opponent since Andre Berto's shoulder injury this week dashed their Feb. 11 match. If he can't be matched up against his boyhood pal Brandon Rios, what about the more recent ally Guerrero?

Or what about Rios vs. Guerrero? That's a great match for Guerrero but maybe a no-win prospect for an unbeaten fighter like Rios.

With none of these matchups quite right, don't be surprised to see Guerrero lay out until summer, letting his shoulder heal and his opposition become ideal.

FEBRUARY 2012
Chapter 202

DONAIRE LOOMS LARGE IN DEBUT AT 122, WILL WIN BIG

In our lingering image of Wilfredo Vasquez Jr., he's breaking down in the late rounds and getting caught by aged, overstuffed Jorge Arce last May. That's reason No. 1 it's difficult to imagine how Vasquez will avoid getting caught by Nonito Donaire on Saturday in San Antonio.

The bout on HBO marks the former flyweight and bantamweight champion Donaire's debut at 122 pounds, with the WBO super-bantamweight title at stake. The "Filipino Flash" is a big favorite to dispatch Vasquez, whose 20-0-1 record with 17 knockouts before the Arce fight had given him an imposing image.

Some reports list Donaire (27-1, 18 knockouts) as a 12-1 favorite, but he has been emphasizing that he won't be overconfident, and his trainer, Robert Garcia, backs that up. "Sometimes a lot of people feel, oh, he lost to Arce, so he is no good," Garcia told Glendale Boxing Examiner Igor Frank. "But a lot of fighters learn from those losses. So maybe we are going to get a better Vasquez than before."

To that end, it would be tempting to invest a couple of sawbucks in Vasquez, because the odds should be more like 5-1.

But before you get excited about Vasquez, take a look at a photo of the two combatants together. And compare them in the photo of their scuffle Thursday brought on by an impudent email Vasquez's wife sent to the Donaires.

Donaire towers over the guy, and it looks to be a man vs. boy mismatch much as Donaire's fights at the lower weights always looked. Donaire, a shade under 5-foot-6, looms very large at 122, which is only about 15 shy of his walking-around weight.

And he's been sparring with featherweights and even lightweights frequently during the past two years.

Yes, people, it's not like Donaire is straining mightily to gain weight, despite something to the contrary I read somewhere. At the lower weights in recent years, he's reached a point where his weight loss was claiming muscle mass. He's better off at 122 and he'll prove it thunderously Saturday at the Alamodome.

Vasquez will win two or three rounds, but he'll get hurt in an early round. Although Vasquez will survive into the late rounds, Donaire's domination of the bout will force the Puerto Rican's corner to toss in the towel. Say the ninth round.

FEBRUARY 2012
Chapter 203

NO KNOCKOUT, BUT DONAIRE'S POWER TAMES VASQUEZ

Nonito Donaire, determined to show he could carry his power to the 122-pound class, pounded out a decision victory Saturday in San Antonio that proved he's as strong as anyone in that division.

Disregard that Donaire's acquisition of the WBO junior featherweight title came by _split_ decision, because Donaire (28-1) landed more punches than Wilfredo Vasquez Jr. in every round but one. He won nine or 10 rounds. Ruben Gomez, the judge who had Donaire losing seven rounds, should never judge again. The other judges had Donaire winning 117-110, which means nine rounds to three.

Disregard that it was _any_ kind of decision. Vasquez (21-2-1) threw almost no right-handed power shots, almost no combinations, so wary was he of Donaire's vaunted counter left hooks. Forced to attack, which isn't his preferred style, Donaire staggered Vasquez with a left hook in the third round and knocked him down in the ninth with a left uppercut followed by a clipped left hook.

Keep in mind, too, the left hook that staggered Vasquez in the third probably was the one that caused the latest injury to Donaire's chronically injured left hand. "It's very painful," Donaire said. "I can move it only a little bit." Yet he kept throwing power shots with both hands and maintained full control.

He lost the fifth and sixth rounds, during which he encouraged Vasquez to try to make the fight. The stratagem didn't really pay off because the countering opportunities were few. Vasquez was arguably the best boxer Donaire has faced and did a pretty good job of coping with the monster that is the "Filipino Flash."

"There were jabs that were landing," Donaire said of Vasquez's offense, "but nothing that could win any round."

Even at 122 Donaire landed percussive punches from all angles while making it impossible to overlook what a slick boxer he is. The way critics are forced to nitpick says it all.

Nevertheless, the pressure he's under to be spectacular, as he often was as a flyweight and bantamweight champion, is meant to make him the pay-per-view attraction he should be.

The fact that he was trying for a knockout and didn't get it was beside the point. In his first fight in a new weight division, he was overpowering.

If promoter Bob Arum can keep Donaire busy – and visible – in 2012, and if Donaire's left hand isn't harmed too greatly, he'll reach pay-per-view popularity soon. He brought his star power to 122.

FEBRUARY 2012
Chapter 204

JEREMY LIN OVERTAKES DONAIRE

In the aftermath of Nonito Donaire's second-round knockout of Fernando Montiel last year at this time, I wrote that Donaire had become arguably the premier Asian-American athlete in the San Francisco Bay Area:

_FEB. 21, 2011: You can make a case for Donaire's being the premier Asian-American athlete in the Bay Area, depending on whether Tim Lincecum (a-fraction-Filipino) counts. Jeremy Lin, Christina Kim -- move over. He may even give Kristi Yamaguchi's long-term eminence strong competition_.

Donaire is still going strong of course, but the San Mateo resident has slipped to No. 2 this week. Jeremy Lin, who last February was a marginal member of the Golden State Warriors, has become a sudden sensation as the starting point guard for the New York Knicks.

Lin has averaged 28.5 points and eight assists over the past four games, including his 38 points Friday in the Knicks' 92-85 nationally televised victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. That made him more conspicuous than the "Filipino Flash" has ever been.

Lin, who starred at Palo Alto High School and at Harvard, has become a household word in American sports, not just the Bay Area, with his thoroughly unexpected breakthrough in New York.

That isn't to say that Lin is the caliber of star in basketball that Donaire has become in boxing. Manny Pacquiao is the Kobe Bryant of boxing. Floyd Mayweather is the LeBron James of boxing. Donaire then is the Chris Paul of boxing.

But boxing just isn't as high-profile as basketball in the United States, so Lin clearly has usurped Donaire as the Bay Area's No. 1 Asian-American athlete.

There's plenty of room for both of them, but I am hereby eating crow –until, that is, Donaire reaches the greater heights I still believe he will.

MARCH 2012
Chapter 205

SALIDO BEATS JUAN-MA AGAIN, BECOMES DONAIRE TARGET

Now that Orlando Salido has destroyed Juan Manuel Lopez twice, Salido has become the leading featherweight in the world and thus becomes the destination opponent for Nonito Donaire in that division. It seems every big fight the past fortnight has had implications for Donaire or his fellow Bay Area star Robert Guerrero.

As Donaire was moving from flyweight (112 pounds) to bantamweight (118) these past three years to his current perch atop the super bantamweights (122), Lopez had long since become his destination opponent at 126, assuming Lopez could first win what seemed like an inevitable showdown with Yuriorkis Gamboa for featherweight superiority.

But Lopez was stopped Saturday by Salido for the second time in 11 months, again in Puerto Rico but this time in the 10th round. Gamboa, who outpointed Salido in 2010, has moved up to 135 for an April 14 bout with Donaire stalemate Brandon Rios. There's only one opponent left for Donaire at 122 or 126 more attractive than Salido – and that's Lopez.

That's assuming Lopez (31-2) will ever again fight anyone as good as Donaire after having been demystified so thoroughly by Salido, an 11-time loser in a checkered career. Once again, Lopez could not avert a rock-'em-sock-'em slugfest with the heavy-handed Mexican, whom Donaire would be plainly favored to outbox.

Donaire, consistently in the world's top four in The Ring Magazine pound-for-pound rankings, seems destined for only a short tour in the 122-pound division. According to boxrec.com, Nonito will defend his WBO title against former super-flyweight champion Cristian Mijares, who has little stature anymore, July 14 in Texas, a bout seemingly designed to keep Donaire active rather than test him. Donaire, who turns 30 in November, surely will be a 126-pounder by 2013.

Because Salido, 31, isn't dependent on establishing his left jab, he seems to have a way with left-handers. He has consistently outgunned the left-hander Lopez, and no one else has dominated the southpaw Guerrero the way Salido did in their featherweight bout in 2006, although Salido was later stripped of that victory because of steroid findings.

Guerrero, having beefed up from featherweight to super-featherweight to lightweight to junior welterweight to welterweight, hasn't fought since his shoulder injury forced the cancellation of a scheduled bout with Marcos Maidana in San Jose last August.

By mauling Maidana decisively but not stopping him Feb. 25 in a welterweight bout, southpaw Devon Alexander did pretty much what Guerrero would have done last August, and therefore stole Guerrero's thunder.

While Guerrero, now fit to fight, is looking for a suitable welterweight bout, Alexander's 2011 conqueror Timothy Bradley has landed one, the coveted bout with Manny Pacquiao set for June 9.

Since Guerrero hasn't actually fought as a welterweight yet, one might wish that he would establish the sort of superiority as a junior welterweight that Bradley established the past three years, but to be fair, Guerrero looks a lot more like a bona fide welterweight than Bradley. It wouldn't be shocking to see Guerrero, who may be fighting a tune-up against Turkish welterweight Selcuk Aydin on July 28 in San Jose, take on the winner of the June welterweight rematch between Victor Ortiz and Andre Berto, although other rumors have Alexander stealing Guerrero's thunder there, too.

It's too bad Guerrero raced past the 130-pound division before the maturation of Adrien Broner, who knocked out Salinas prospect Eloy Perez on the Alexander-Maidana undercard and looms as a lightweight challenger to the Gamboa-Rios survivor down the road.

And it's too bad Guerrero can never vindicate his performance against Salido, which is hard to forget now that Salido has conquered Lopez twice. But if Guerrero's longtime pal Donaire does that job for him, that would be a doubly good thing for Bay Area boxing.

MARCH 2012
Chapter 206

GUERRERO'S JULY BOUT IN SAN JOSE VS. AYDIN CONFIRMED

Robert Guerrero confirmed Thursday night that he has signed for a bout July 28 in San Jose against unbeaten Turkish welterweight Selcuk Aydin.

The 12-round bout, to be aired on Showtime, is ostensibly a battle for an interim World Boxing Council welterweight title, the Silver Belt, but rumor has it the real WBC title might be at stake, since current belt-holder Floyd Mayweather Jr., is fighting Miguel Cotto for the WBA junior middleweight title May 5 and might be stripped of the welterweight belt.

Other rumors have the Guerrero-Aydin winner fighting Mayweather early next year. Guerrero campaigned loudly this winter to be Mayweather's next opponent before Cotto got the call.

Guerrero has held world titles in the featherweight, junior lightweight and lightweight divisions, but this will be his first bout at 147. He was to have fought Marcos Maidana last August in San Jose on HBO, as a welterweight it turned out, but Guerrero suffered a shoulder injury that will have shelved him 11 months by the time the Aydin bout takes place.

The bout is not a gimme, with Guerrero (29-1-1, 18 knockouts) facing one of the more prodigious power punchers in the division in Aydin (23-0, 17 KOs).

"Guerrero must get credit for the jump up in weight," said his manager Bob Santos. "Not only is Guerrero jumping up two weight classes, he's also fighting a top 10 contender for a title."

But Guerrero has been on the cusp of boxing top 10 pound-for-pound rankings. He certainly belongs in the same sentence with the other two elite Bay Area boxers, super-bantamweight Nonito Donaire and super-middleweight Andre Ward, who are in the pound-for-pound top five, and it's safe to say Guerrero will be favored against Aydin, especially by those of us who have been watching Guerrero bulk up the past two years.

"I'm very delighted to be making my comeback," said Guerrero, "and there's no other place than the Bay Area to bring home my sixth world title in four different weight classes.

"Aydin is a very good fighter and I respect everything he has, but that '0' has got to go in San Jose."

MARCH 2012
Chapter 207

GLENN DONAIRE 2-0 IN COMEBACK

Glenn Donaire (19-4-1) reached 2-0 in his comeback Friday by outpointing Omar Salado by unanimous decision in Mexico City.

According to Boxing Scene, the scorecards read 116-112, 118-110 and 115-113 for the San Leandro-based super flyweight, who is the older brother of world super-bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire Jr.

Glenn Donaire, a former flyweight contender who was idle from late 2008 to late 2011 allowed Salado(23-4-2) to be the aggressor in the early going, according to East Side Boxing, but nevertheless was landing cleaner punches than the Mexican. Donaire has changed his approach from the more super-aggressive style he employed before his three-year layoff.

The victory in the battle of 32-year-olds gave Glenn, who is now being promoted by Don King and managed by the Kennel Boxing Club of San Leandro, the vacant WBC Latino super-flyweight title.

Donaire had launched the comeback Dec. 15 by stopping former world strawweight champion Alex Sanchez in nine rounds in Kissimmee, Fla., after scoring two knockdowns in the second round.

The two victories have given credibility to the comeback. It sounds like Glenn is ready to fight someone we've heard of.

SPRING 2012

TRYING FOR A WARD-DAWSON SCOOP

I got an email on a Friday afternoon from an HBO operative giving me a crack at a great scoop: HBO was interested, though not on the record, in promoting Andre Ward-Chad Dawson and evidently needed to goose the developments via me and a small handful of others.

My Examiner venture had long-since ceased being about scoopage. Trainer Virgil Hunter said I needed to hang around boxing gyms more. Ryan Maquiñana, not I, was best exemplifying the late Jack Fiske's voluminous presentations of the latest news. Ramon Aranda, Raymond Markarian and Chris Robinson also were frequent sources of Bay Area information, as were several others. Ring Talk blogger/radio host Pedro Fernandez knows a lot and has been a frequent source of information to me over the past 20 years. The distinction I add to that mix is longtime expertise writing commentary.

But I am still a reporter, and I wanted this scoop badly, especially if I could report Oakland as the fight site. This had been a slow-news season, with none of the Kingpin Trio fighting during the spring and Manny Pacquiao's highly disputed decision loss to Timothy Bradley the most notable bout.

Ward-Dawson would be the hottest match of the year. Soon I was on the phone trying to track down several quotable folks. Ward promoter Dan Goossen soon returned my call and set forth a scenario that was worth writing about. I wasn't quite first with this one, but it's still fun to hustle whenever you might be the only one who knows something.

So, what's with me and HBO? I have sources and connections of 20 years' duration there, too, largely because for much of the 1990s I wrote a weekly column about sports on the air for the Mercury News and frequently waxed ecstatic about the stupendous sports documentaries HBO has aired. As a result, they think I'm a good writer and a good ally. Our mutual interest in boxing became crucial, of course, but wasn't always primary.

Even now that it is primary, HBO often sends me review DVDs, which have led me to write about The Thrilla in Manila, the history of the Klitschko brothers, a Freddie Roach mini-series and several "24/7" episodes on my Examiner page.

Many newer boxing writers have found HBO and Showtime hard to crack. My TV contacts and background knowledge have been of significant mutual value on the boxing beat and seemed to be getting more and more important.

**You might also enjoy** _:_  http://www.examiner.com/article/mayfield-s-impressive-win-boosts-his-northern-california-standing

APRIL 2012
Chapter 208

PROSPECTIVE DONAIRE OPPONENTS MARES AND MORENO IMPRESS

Abner Mares and Anselmo Moreno were impressive Saturday in separate bouts that enhanced their attractiveness as potential opponents for Nonito Donaire.

Jermain Taylor, once an attractive potential opponent for Andre Ward, enhanced nothing Friday in his comeback bout except the likelihood that he's going to die in the ring at the rate he's going.

Mares, coming off his inconsistent performance in Showtime's 2010-2011 bantamweight tournament, restored his reputation as a potential top-10 pound-for-pound fighter by thrashing Eric Morel, though he failed to stop the 36-year-old former flyweight champion. Mares was aggressive throughout, dazzling Morel with both speed and power. He hurt Morel repeatedly with sweeping overhand rights.

"The (age) doesn't matter," Morel said when asked if he thought his younger self could have beaten Mares. "He probably would have done the same thing. He's a great fighter. He's one of the best I've ever faced. I have nothing to be ashamed of. He put on a great performance."

Mares had been comparatively passive in his bout with Vic Darchinyan and two bouts apiece with Yonnhy Perez and Joseph Agbeko, the other three tournament participants. But Saturday's bout was not at bantamweight (118 pounds) but super-bantamweight (122), the division in which Donaire holds the WBO title belt.

"I felt a lot stronger at this weight," Mares said. "I felt complete."

Moreno, who recently beat Darchinyan, was mentioned frequently as a Donaire opponent in 2011 after Donaire's sensation victory over Fernando Montiel. Moreno (33-1-1) definitely was mentioning Donaire after defending his WBA bantamweight title for the 10th time Saturday with a ninth-round TKO victory over journeyman David de la Mora.

Mares has been calling out Donaire in recent months, but at bantamweight. His comfort at 122 makes him more attractive for Donaire, whom boxrec.com still reports as scheduled to fight former 115-pound champ Cristian Mijares, a crafty but underpowered Mexican, in Arlington, Texas in July.

Donaire has never confirmed the Mijares match, and even as an appetite-whetting ploy to interest Mexicans in Donaire, the matchup seems too lopsided in Donaire's favor.

Mares, who is claimed about equally by Mexico and the United States, now makes for a very promotable match for Donaire. How about July 28, in Oakland?

As for Taylor, he and Ward were scheduled to meet in Showtime's more successful tournament, the Super Six in the 168-pound division, until a knockout in his opener with Arthur Abraham seemed to drive Taylor into retirement. He had suffered two other frightening knockouts by then. Ward, of course went on to win the Super Six and 2011 fighter of the year accolades, and joined Donaire in The Ring Magazine's top five pound-for-pound.

Taylor did win his comeback bout Friday in Biloxi, Miss., easily outpointing previously unbeaten Caleb Truax. But Taylor was knocked down in the ninth round by Truax and barely got through the round.

Taylor has retained little of the brilliance of his middleweight champion days circa 2005. There is no justification for Taylor's comeback.

Ward hasn't said when he'll come back from the needed break he has been taking since his December victory over Carl Froch. He has no fight scheduled.

How about July 28, in Oakland?

APRIL 2012
Chapter 209

DAWSON AIMS FOR WARD AFTER DEFEATING HOPKINS, 47

Bernard Hopkins lost his linear light heavyweight title Saturday to Chad Dawson by majority decision in Atlantic City. Two of three judges awarded nine of the 12 rounds to Dawson.

Hopkins is 47 and this was his worst fight since his 2008 loss to Joe Calzaghe. But that doesn't mean Hopkins was driven into retirement or humiliated.

The left-hander Dawson (31-1), who should be universally recognized as the top 175-pounder after being arguably the best for the past five years, landed more and harder punches against Hopkins and carried the fight to claim the WBC title Hopkins had taken from Dawson-conqueror Jean Pascal last year.

Yet Hopkins (52-6) landed several opportunistic straight rights while showing few signs of damage except fatigue. He also landed several head butts, including one at mid-fight, ruled accidental, that drew heavy bleeding alongside Dawson's left eye. Dawson also was cut over the right eye late in the fight.

"It was obvious he was butting on purpose," Dawson told HBO interviewer Max Kellerman. But he had trained for the messy fight he got. "If I can do this, I can get through anything," said Dawson, who expressed his urge to fight Oakland's pre-eminent super-middleweight Andre Ward, even at Ward's weight of 168, and could expect a messy fight against him, too.

Hopkins declined to talk to Kellerman, but HBO reported that Hopkins didn't concur with the scorecards.

Hopkins is not the best judge of his own bouts. But it won't be an indication of cloudy judgment if he keeps fighting, as long as it's at anything approaching championship level. He's one of the top 10 light heavyweights, and he made the best one look beatable Saturday. He is not dependent on speed or other useful attributes, and he hasn't been hit much considering the 23-year length of his career, including 20 years at world-class level.

He'll continue to be interesting – unfortunately, more interesting than Dawson.

MAY 2012
Chapter 210

MAYWEATHER VULNERABLE BUT SHOULD DEFEAT COTTO

Floyd Mayweather couldn't seem much more ripe for defeat. But it isn't going to happen Saturday in his HBO pay-per-view super welterweight showdown with Miguel Cotto. Mayweather is faster, bigger, and probably stronger than Cotto.

Yes, there is reason for doubt:

*Mayweather, 35, will spend the summer behind bars, serving a delayed sentence in a case of domestic violence. That would distract the average person, but Mayweather is determinedly not that and says it's no big deal.

*He's getting old by boxing standards and won't be able to count on superior quickness much longer, but that hasn't happened yet.

*Cotto is as formidable a challenge as anyone Mayweather has faced, as Floyd acknowledges, even blaming Cotto's two losses on a cheating opponent (Antonio Margarito) and a depleting catch weight (Manny Pacquiao) so as to maximize the importance of Saturday's match.

But when it comes to betting on himself, Mayweather has never taken a serious chance on losing, and he considers beating Cotto just as sure a thing as the rest of his 42 victories in 42 fights (with titles in five weight classes). He's probably right.

Floyd is big on betting, and that's becoming the most revealing thing about a man who claims that his detractors don't know him well enough to judge his often hateful behavior toward family and foe alike.

The one disquieting episode, in this spring's cavalcade of shorts, flashbacks interviews and documentaries HBO has produced to hype Mayweather-Cotto, occurred during _Face Off_ , Max Kellerman's occasionally tense dual interviews in which he sits between the two combatants, putting them face to face. It was electrifying last fall, for instance, when Cotto and Margarito flanked Kellerman, preceding their rematch, to debate the loaded gloves aftermath.

The Mayweather-Cotto _Face Off_ would have been all dignity and mutual praise had Mayweather not been so restless that he was difficult to watch, especially for anyone who has suffered a panic attack. At one point he obstreperously reversed his chair while Cotto was talking. When Cotto next had the floor, Mayweather got up and began pacing while trying to get the latest score of an NCAA basketball tournament game (concurrent with the _Face Off_ taping) on which Floyd had bet $100,000 on the first-half spread.

Was he pacing because betting $100,000 always exhilarates him, or was it because his anxieties are so profound that he can't sit still?

Can he really be as cool and collected as he claims on the eve of a possible downturn in his career and then 90 days of incarceration? It didn't look that way on _Face Off_.

He'll easily outpoint Cotto and might stop him on cuts, but Mayweather seems poised only to veer out of control in the all-too-near future.

MAY 2012
Chapter 211

MAYWEATHER DEFEATS COTTO

Faced with the most difficult fight of his career, Floyd Mayweather won the final four rounds Saturday to win a convincing unanimous decision over Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas.

The scorecards read 118-110, 117-111, 117-111 after a struggle for two 154-pounds belts that brought out the best in Mayweather (43-0).

Cotto (37-3) won two or three rounds and made many others close by forcing an inside fight with lots of counterpunching. In rounds 2, 3, 5 and 8, Mayweather allowed Cotto to back him into the corner for long stretches, apparently figuring he could find an opening while letting Cotto punch himself out.

Some of those rounds went to Cotto, who clearly won the eighth by landing several impressive power shots. We're not used to seeing Mayweather lose rounds that way.

"When it's pay-per-view, you've got to give the fans excitement," Mayweather said by way of explaining why he risked getting hit more than usual. "We had to suck it up and fight hard."

After that adverse eighth round, Mayweather (43-0) was better in mid-ring, where he outpunched Cotto decisively to win going away, claiming the WBA's 154-pound title.

Manny Pacquiao knocked Cotto down a couple of times in their 2009 fight and dominated more, but Mayweather's win was not that much less impressive than Manny's and certainly provided little sense of certainty that Pacquiao would beat Mayweather if they ever do meet.

Another Pacquiao-Mayweather barometer is their recent bouts with Shane Mosley, but Mosley was beaten just as soundly Saturday by Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (40-0) in Saturday's sub-main event, winning only one or two of the 12 rounds at best. Mosley was able to keep Alvarez busy but could not avoid the 21-year-old WBC super middleweight champion's quickly delivered power punches. Mosley (46-8-1) fought valiantly, but he took far more punishment than he meted out and at 40 sounded amenable to retirement.

"These kids," Mosley said bemusedly. "They're really beating me up, huh!"

MAY 2012
Chapter 212

GUERRERO VS. AYDIN GETS SILICON VALLEY-STYLE LAUNCH

Robert Guerrero is focusing on Selcuk Aydin, but that can be difficult, as a media gathering learned Thursday at HP Pavilion in San Jose. The buildup got underway for the Guerrero-Aydin welterweight bout that Golden Boy Promotions is staging July 28 at that facility, better known as the Shark Tank.

July 28 seemed a long way off. The same could also be said of Aydin (23-0, 17 knockouts, who attended Thursday's launch via Skype from Germany, and the native of Turkey wasn't coming in loud and clear at times.

"This is the weirdest faceoff ever," Guerrero quipped. "You can only get this in Silicon Valley."

Despite the glitches and some Turkish-English translation travails, the event successfully portrayed Aydin as a whirlwind of a fighter who is bitter about how long overdue he feels he is for a high profile promotion, in this case on Showtime with an opponent like Guerrero in a big-time setting like the Tank.

"I am only just Turkish guy, and politics are what they are," Aydin said in English. "A long time I wait for this fight. I hope, and I know, I can win."

Aydin was certainly more effusive than the last man who confronted Guerrero at a event like this in San Jose, the reticent Argentinian Marcos Maidana. That fight loomed as Guerrero's chance to emerge as a full-fledged contender in the welterweight class, with barely a stop at junior welterweight or even lightweight, after his journey from the featherweight class. "The Ghost" from Gilroy has won world titles in three classes.

But Guerrero (29-1-1, 18 knockouts) seriously injured his left shoulder just days before the Maidana bout was to take place, prompting what Guerrero now terms long-needed surgery.

The Aydin bout thus will be Guerrero's first since a one-sided decision victory over Michael Katsidis at lightweight in April 2011 He's overdue for a true signature win, and even a first-round stoppage of Aydin won't be seen as that.

But Guerrero said he's worried about winning, not what people will think.

"The big thing is being ready for Aydin. You gotta take care of business."

If Aydin is expecting to face a grasshopper July 28, he'll be surprised by the welterweight bulk that The Ghost actually has been carrying for nearly three years. Guerrero's comfort with his increased muscularity seems to be remaining a widespread secret.

"He is, of course, a good boxer," Aydin conceded. "But I know he's coming up from featherweight and lightweight . . . and he's never faced anyone who hits as hard as I do."

It may indeed be portrayed as a boxer vs. slugger bout, Guerrero concedes, knowing that some aren't yet convinced he has made the transition to the higher weight. "A lot of guys get too buff," Guerrero said, but he plans on "being elusive in the ring. Do what you do best."

Nothing less will do. "The European (and other international) fighters – a lot of people underestimate them," Guerrero said -- obviously determined not to make that mistake.

MAY 2012
Chapter 213

WARD-DAWSON BOUT WOULD BE ON HBO

Andre Ward's "next fight will be on HBO," his promoter, Dan Goossen, told me Friday afternoon.

That next fight is almost certain to be a high-profile bout with light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson, who defeated Bernard Hopkins on HBO in April and in the aftermath called out Ward, the 168-pound champion who won Showtime's 2009-2011 Super Six tournament.

Goossen confirmed reports that negotiations for Ward-Dawson are underway, with Sept. 8 the target date and Los Angeles or Atlantic City the likely site. It would not be a pay-per-view event, Goossen said.

My HBO sources say the cable giant is trying to goose the negotiations between Goossen and Gary Shaw, who promotes Dawson. An HBO spokesman declined to go that far, merely stating "These are two of the sport's elite fighters who are in the prime of their careers and it's a compelling, intriguing match-up."

That sounded a lot like the non-confirmation a year and a half ago of the Nonito Donaire-Fernando Montiel bout that took place on HBO three months later.

So take it to the bank, and it's a bankable fight. Ward-Dawson is at least as monumental as Donaire-Montiel.

On the 2012 docket, unless Floyd Mayweather fights Sergio Martinez, Ward-Dawson is the most glamorous fight north of welterweight on the horizon.

Although Goossen and Shaw have an often-prickly relationship and were unable to bring off a bout between Ward and Andre Dirrell during the Super Six, Goossen said the Dawson talks are encouraging.

Ward's move to HBO has been a foregone conclusion, especially since Super Six mastermind Ken Hershman moved from head of Showtime's sports division to head of HBO Sports last year.

Ward supplied color commentary on HBO during a couple rounds of the Dawson-Hopkins fight and probably is a hotter commodity than Dawson, though Dawson might be favored to win the actual fight. Ward has been in The Ring's top 10 pound-for-pound the past year and is No. 5 now, whereas Dawson is only recently back up to No. 10.

Both Ward and Dawson have expressed flexibility about a weight limit for their bout. No weight from 168 to 175 would be surprising, especially considering Ward won his Olympic gold medal in 2004 as a light heavy and has said he hopes to try cruiserweight and heavyweight someday.

Dawson has seemed the ultimate target from the time Ward seized command in the Super Six. This would be Ward's biggest win yet and might well turn him into a pay-per-view level commodity.

MAY 2012
Chapter 214

FROCH STOPS BUTE, MAKING WARD LOOK ALL THE BETTER

Carl Froch stopped Lucian Bute in the fifth round Saturday and took the IBF super-middleweight title from Bute in Nottingham, England. Froch had Bute in trouble in the third and fourth rounds and had knocked him down in the fifth when the contest was stopped.

Froch (29-2, 20 knockouts) repeatedly beat the left-hander to the punch, landing combinations and shaking off Bute's occasionally effective counters.

"That was the best I've seen Carl fight," said Froch's fellow Englishman Amir Khan, the world-class 140-pounder. "Froch beat him to every punch, and I've never seen Carl start so quick."

It was an upset that magnified Andre Ward's victory in Showtime's 2009-2011 Super Six tournament. Froch was the runner-up and Bute (30-1) did not participate. Ward's December 2011 decision win over Froch in the Super Six finale didn't entirely elevate Ward (25-0) to king of the 168-pounders at the time -- not with Bute unbeaten and impressive.

Froch took care of that issue Saturday.

"After the Andre Ward defeat I was very, very deflated," Froch said, according to the BBC website. "I was more determined tonight than ever before."

Froch has added a lot of polish to his boxing since his uphill 2009 victories over Jermain Taylor and Andre Dirrell, neither of whom is in the title picture anymore. Froch lost a decision to Ward victim Mikkel Kessler (who waylaid Super Six fill-in Allan Green a couple of weeks ago) and lost to Ward, but he has beaten Glen Johnson and Arthur Abraham decisively.

If Ward moves up to 175 pounds soon, as seems logical, Froch must be considered the king at 168. After all, Froch gave Ward plenty of trouble, though it was a no-doubt win for the 2004 Olympic gold medalist.

Now, with Bute's stock reduced, there's nothing left for Ward to prove at 168, so he can move to 175 and take on Chad Dawson, the top light heavyweight, with whom a September 8 confrontation is brewing (reportedly with Dawson coming down to 168; so much the better for Ward).

At either weight, a Dawson megafight now seems the only logical move for Ward.

JUNE 2012
Chapter 215

DONAIRE SPECIAL FOLLOWS PACQUIAO-BRADLEY REHASH

Even with HBO airing a rehash of the Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley debacle (Pacquiao seemed to win impressively, but the decision went to Bradley), and with decent middleweight and heavyweight bouts on the docket Saturday, there's a program Bay Area fans should be even more eager to see.

That's HBO's 15-minute special on 48 hours in the life of Nonito Donaire. The San Mateo-based 122-pounder defends his WBO super-bantamweight title July 7 in Anaheim against South Africa's Jeffrey Mathebula (26-3-2, 14 knockouts), who will put his IBF belt on the line in this unifying bout.

There isn't much information at large about the Donaire feature, except I'm told there's no footage of in-laws Gerry and Becky Marcial, who are integral parts of his life, so that smacks of superficiality.

This is nonetheless another huge development in publicity for the "Filipino Flash," who has been ranked in the Top 10 in The Ring's pound-for-pound rankings for three years and is nearing his fourth headline fight on HBO, but still lacks much name familiarity among American fans outside the Bay Area.

Donaire has been appearing frequently on Bay Area television, and his ties to steroids guru-turned nutritionist Victor Conte have gained attention that the HBO segment undoubtedly will address.

This is proof positive that Nonito, virtually ignored by media outside the Philippines until 18 months ago, is a star.

He has long been a star in the Philippines, where he is an increasingly strong No. 2 to Pacquiao in regard. But the spotlight remains on Pacquiao on the weekend after the stunning decision didn't confirm his convincing performance against Bradley. HBO's rebroadcast of the fight will be followed by _The Fight Game With Jim Lampley_ , which will include a grilling of Duane Ford, the better-respected of the two judges who scored the fight for Bradley. Lampley's show also will include Cameron Dunkin, who manages both Bradley and Donaire.

SUMMER 2012

WARD RAISES THE BAR FOR THE TRIO

The kingpins were rolling again throughout the summer, their best spell simultaneously since late 2010. Each achievement seemed to top the previous one, timely during a summer in which Floyd Mayweather spent two months in prison.

Nonito Donaire struggled with a five-inch height disadvantage against South African Jeffrey Mathebula in the second bout of his march through the 122-pound division. But Donaire won handily in a bout preceded by his revelation that he had enlisted a 24/7 blood-testing regimen voluntarily to prove he's on the up-and-up, steroids-wise.

Robert Guerrero proved he was a bona fide welterweight in outpointing Selcuk Aydin, one of the division's hardest hitters, which set Guerrero up for bigger and better.

Then Andre Ward saved the best for last with a career-defining knockout victory over Chad Dawson, the best light heavyweight in boxing.

Donaire nearly topped that. A movie from the Philippines, starring Nonito in a role once played by Filipino boxing legend Gabriel "Flash" Elorde, was released. Donaire presided at the premiere in Vallejo, which my wife, Marcie, and I also attended, and which Nonito knew I was reviewing.

" _Thumbs up?" Donaire gestured as soon as the lights came up. I thought he performed very well. . ._

But not sensationally enough to top what Ward had done in the ring to become the supreme member of the trio by moving up to No. 2 on the pound-for-pound list.

The irony of Donaire's slight dips in prestige in 2012 is that he wound up winning most accolades as the world's fighter of the year. He couldn't be terribly jealous of Ward.

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JULY 2012
Chapter 216

DONAIRE, A CONTE CLIENT, ENLISTS VOLUNTARY TESTING

Nonito Donaire knew he was asking for trouble when Victor Conte became his nutritionist a couple of years ago. After all, Conte was infamous as the steroids guru who had gone to prison for providing San Francisco Giants superstar Barry Bonds "the clear and the cream."

So Donaire, who has aroused few suspicions despite his steadily increasing bulk since early 2010, quickly concocted a stock answer for those questioning the super-bantamweight champion's taste in training tables: "If you've got a needle, I've got a vein."

It wasn't just talk. Donaire, whose super-bantamweight title fight Saturday with South African Jeffrey Mathebula in Carson, Calif., will be shown on HBO, has subjected himself to random drug testing to issue a pre-emptive strike to would-be naysayers.

There's always reason for doubt. There have been several positive tests of other boxers in the past year alone, notably light welterweight Lamont Peterson, welterweight Andre Berto, and former light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver. Even more conspicuously, Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s accusations that fellow elite welterweight Manny Pacquiao is a steroids abuser have precluded their fighting each other in the dream match of the decade.

Pacquiao declines last-minute drug testing. Donaire says bring it on.

"I decided to do this because I wanted to show that all of the things I have done, I have done through hard work," Donaire said last week at a telephone news conference his promoter, Top Rank, staged for me and a handful of other writers, including Dan Rafael of espn.com., who broached the testing issue.

What Donaire has done is gain supremacy in the flyweight division (112 pounds) and continue his dominance moving up to 115, 118, and now 122, fashioning spectacular knockouts against flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan in 2007 and bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel in 2011. Since mid-2009, Donaire has been ranked in the top five in the world pound-for-pound rankings compiled by The Ring magazine, often as high as No. 3 behind his fellow Filipino Pacquaio and the unbeaten Mayweather. So he is a conspicuous target.

"A lot of guys have been getting caught," Donaire continued. "I hope everyone is inspired by it to prove they are legit and that it can help the sport."

Top Rank chief executive Bob Arum applauded Donaire's altruism but didn't go as far as to endorse testing as "willy-nilly" as boxing's hierarchy itself, what with its five or six major promoters, four boxing associations with a world champion in each of 17 divisions, and local jurisdictions such as state boxing commissions. Arum wants to see a Federal Boxing Commission along the lines of that proposed by Sen John McCain (R-Ariz.).

"I would hope," Arum said, "that if we had a Federal Boxing Commission, that that commission would institute random drug testing for every single registered fighter in the United States so that we would have a system akin to what we have in the other major sports like football and baseball – under the auspices of a Federal Commission."

Muscle mass and ways of dealing with it are issues for most fighters as they weigh at least 10 to 15 pounds less for fights than they do "walking around" between fights. Donaire said he finds it nearly as difficult to lose weight for fights in the higher weight classes as he did at 112, because he has been amassing more muscle between fights via the regimen provided by Conte and exercise maven Remi Korchemny, the former Soviet Union track and field team sprints coach.

"My last fight (against Wilfredo Vasquez Jr. on Feb. 4) at 122 pounds I was pretty small; I was walking at 128 pounds," Donaire said. "For this fight I had been walking at 133 to 138 pounds, which is a big difference.

"After my last fight I went right back to the gym to work with the weights. So when I went to camp, which was two months ago, that's when I began the boxing, and I was a lot bigger and stronger than the last fight."

Even as a bantamweight, much less flyweight, Donaire used to complain he was burning off too much muscle in order to make the weight limit.

But he says he wouldn't squawk if an opponent were flagged for steroids on the eve of a fight.

"I am always willing to fight the guy," Donaire said. "I can say, 'Even though you're on it, I can still beat you.' "

JULY 2012
Chapter 217

DONAIRE SEEKS FLASHY WIN FOR STRONGHOLD AT 122

The ultimate targets on Nonito Donaire's horizon used to be individuals, prospective opponents such as Vic Darchinyan, Fernando Montiel and Juan Manuel Lopez. But with Lopez and the 126-pound division diminished during the past 18 months, Donaire's most important goal now is to unify the 122-pound hierarchy.

Toward that end, Donaire is defending his WBO super-bantamweight championship Saturday on HBO against South African Jeffrey Mathebula (26-3-1, 14 knockouts), whose IBF belt will also be on the line. Donaire says he demanded this unification bout, which is no walkover considering "I've never faced a taller guy before."

To follow, promoter Bob Arum hopes, are 122-pound summit meetings between the Bay Area resident Donaire and other notable super-bantams, such as with WBC champion Toshiaki Nishioka and especially WBA champ Guillermo Rigondeaux. "These are really exciting times in the 122-pound division," Arum said last week on a telephone news conference staged for a handful of boxing writers, including the SF Boxing Examiner.

It's starting to resemble a mini-tournament (including Donaire's February victory over Wilfredo Vasquez Jr.), and Arum is hoping he can complete the picture by persuading recent Showtime bantamweight tournament winner Abner Mares to defect to the HBO fold.

"There's incredible fighters in this weight class," Donaire agreed, but "first things first. We can't look past Mathebula."

That's Arum's job. Donaire is the showpiece on Saturday's _Boxing After Dark_ docket and beyond, so the question isn't whether the 122-pound field presents worthy opponents, but whether it will play in Peoria. Boxing experts love contemplating Donaire-Rigondeaux. Fans just want to see Donaire eviscerate whomever the way he eviscerated Montiel in February 2011.

And yet, when Donaire tried to eviscerate Vasquez using Roy Jones Jr.'s modus operandi, HBO's commentators complained that he was abandoning jabs and combinations and in general the traditional boxing skills that have been Donaire's calling card.

Donaire (28-1, 18 knockouts) says bad blood cropped up in the final buildup to the Vasquez fight, which led to an aberrant case of headhunting on his part. "In that fight there was a grudge," Donaire conceded.

When he does return to his jab and boxing, he's as good at that as anyone, he said, but "I want it to be a short fight."

He's not the only one.

JULY 2012
Chapter 218

DONAIRE ENJOYS ORDEAL IN OUPOINTING MATHEBULA

Nonito Donaire knocked down Jeffrey Mathebula in the fourth round and defeated the South African by unanimous decision Saturday in Carson, Calif., to retain the WBO super-bantamweight championship and win the IBF title in that weight class.

None of the judges scored it closer than 117-110. But that makes it sound easy. It was, in fact, Donaire's toughest fight in the five years (to the day) since he knocked out flyweight king Vic Darchinyan and became an elite world champion.

Donaire had bucked his management team by demanding the Mathebula bout in a bid to seize all of the belts in the 122-pound division, and this fight became a clear case of "be careful what you wish for."

Mathebula's 5-foot-11 height and high-volume, low-impact offense negated some of Donaire's firepower, and the "Filipino Flash" was reduced to looking for a one-punch knockout at too many junctures in the bout. Still, Donaire (29-1, 18 knockouts) wasn't retreating, and he landed thudding power shots with either hand in just about every round.

A counter left hook near the end of the fourth round put Mathebula down, and he struggled to beat the count. Early in the 11th round, a right to the jaw injured Mathebula (26-4-2), and he mustered little offense thereafter.

"Going into that 11th round, I knew 'I've got to go win it,' " Donaire told HBO interviewer Max Kellerman. That was indeed how it seemed at the time.

Mathebula had recovered from the fourth-round knockdown and fought effectively enough through the 10th to make it plausible he was ahead on the scorecards, depending on how much credit Donaire was getting for landing his comparatively less frequent howitzers. Mathebula landed his pitty-pat jab about 10 times per round, and that set him up to land as many power shots as Donaire, albeit not nearly as thunderous.

Donaire was nursing a swollen left eye and a grid of welts on his forehead afterward.

Mathebula was nursing what proved to be a broken jaw, which was what stopped him short in the final two rounds.

The knockdown had a chilling effect, too. It reduced Mathebula's willingness to risk throwing his right cross as much as he needed to if he was to upset Donaire. To his credit, he kept winging the jab to ward Donaire off without holding or other shenanigans, but Donaire dictated the action and deserved the decision.

The counter left that climaxed the fourth round was reminiscent of Donaire's dramatic deliveries against Darchinyan in 2007 and against bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel in 2011. That punch probably ensured that fight fans will deem Donaire's performance sufficiently entertaining to keep him in HBO's prestigious rotation.

Donaire was more than happy with Saturday's fight, because he's been spoiling for a challenge, and Mathebula provided one.

"He was difficult to counter with the right," Donaire said after having more trouble controlling that long left jab than he expected. "That jab took some of the elements out of my power.

"And I like that. I've got to give it to him."

If he wanted a challenge, he got one, all right. And so, he said, "I had fun."

JULY 2012
Chapter 219

WARD AND GUERRERO'S NEWS CONFERENCES PACK PUNCH

Vicente Escobedo is one of Northern California's top fighters pound-for-pound and is scheduled to fight Saturday on HBO against Adrien Broner with a chance to win the now-vacant WBO superfeatherweight championship. Big deal, right?

Escobedo, of Woodland, Calif., near Sacramento is ranked No. 5 in the Bay Area pound for pound in the monthly poll of boxing writers. He and San Francisco junior welterweight Karim Mayfield are in a virtual dead heat at four-five, behind the big three of Peninsula super bantamweight Nonito Donaire, Oakland super middleweight Andre Ward and Gilroy welterweight Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero.

Unfortunately for Escobedo, Ward and Guerrero have gained more attention at news conferences the past couple of weeks than Escobedo's big fight with Broner is garnering. That despite the fact that Broner (23-0, 19 knockouts) is on the verge of breaking into The Ring magazine world top 10 pound-for-pound, where Donaire is ranked No. 4 and Ward No. 5.

The Ward press conference July 10 at Oracle Arena evolved into a tense spectacle milked by Gary Shaw, the promoter for Ward's Sept. 8 opponent Chad Dawson. Shaw complained, as usual, about all the strong-arming Ward promoter Dan Goossen has pulled off to make Ward-Dawson happen, like making it happen in Oakland and dragging Dawson down seven pounds to Ward's weight class.

"This is a fighters' press conference; it's not for promoters," Ward interrupted as he and his trainer, Virgil Hunter, sternly implored Shaw to shape up. Pretty soon Hunter was goading Dawson (who obviously just wanted the unpleasantness to stop) to take a stand and "be a man."

Guerrero became uncustomarily angry during his teleconference Thursday promoting his July 28 bout at San Jose's HP Pavilion against Turkish opponent Selcuk Aydin.

Aydin had been plenty surly at that same venue via Skype at a May 10 news conference announcing the fight. This time Aydin, who has been training in anonymity at Joey Amato's gym in San Jose (who knew?), walked out on the news conference, declaring he's been dissed so badly throughout what buildup there has been to this fight that he's too angry to cooperate.

But first he declared he would break Guerrero's jaw in the bout, which set Robert off on a rant about the many setbacks and delays his career has endured, such as his wife's cancer and last summer's devastating shoulder injury. His point was: How could any fair-minded human being wish him ill?

How is Escobedo, who lost to Guerrero in 2010, supposed to compete with that?

Obviously, he needs to upset Broner, who was stripped of the WBO title Friday when he weighed in about three pounds over the 130-pound maximum. Broner, defending a belt or not, is swift and clever -- the choice of many to be the successor to Floyd Mayweather as America's top boxing superstar. Broner stopped Eloy Perez, then-ranked in the NorCal top five, this past February in four rounds.

Escobedo (26-3, 15 knockouts) is a solid technician, and he holds recent victories over Rocky Juarez and Lonnie Smith, but he was physically outgunned in losses to Guerrero and Michael Katsidis. It's hard to see how he'll contain Broner, especially since he's likely to be at weight and speed disadvantages that negate his height and reach advantages. But it will be interesting to watch him try.

Surely it will beat watching Gary Shaw incite a riot.

JULY 2012
Chapter 220

GUERRERO OPPONENT AYDIN LETS GUARD DOWN -- A LITTLE

Selcuk Aydin didn't bite anyone Tuesday at his most important public appearance leading up to his welterweight bout Saturday against Robert Guerrero in San Jose on Showtime.

Aydin (23-0, 19 knockouts), who is from Turkey, is based in Germany and is Europe's premier welterweight, but that didn't gain him a bout of this magnitude as soon as it should have.

That's why he had expressed bitterness in two previous encounters with reporters covering his matchup with Guerrero (29-1-1, 18 knockouts). The first time, in May, he cited how frustrating it has been to wait so long for such a big fight. The second time, last week, he cited the lack of attention he's been receiving this month in San Jose.

He was relatively engaging Tuesday at San Jose Boxing & Fitness, where both fighters held public "media workouts," as I spearheaded a media mission to make sure Aydin got pursued and interviewed.

We worked through two layers of translators as I asked whether Guerrero is reminiscent of anyone Aydin has fought and whether any of his talents may be hidden from Guerrero.

"I don't compare fighters," said Aydin (pronounced _eye-DEEN_ ). "I fight my own style," he added referring to onslaughts that have gotten him branded a mini Mike Tyson.

"I've seen all types," said Aydin, who at 28 is about a half-year younger than Guerrero. He said nobody makes an impression on him anymore, not even "The Ghost" from Gilroy.

"I've been fighting for 20 years," Aydin said. "Guerrero's nothing special."

Guerrero can't know much about Aydin, and what he doesn't know will hurt him, Aydin said. "He'll find out in the ring -- the hard way."

That could be. Still, Guerrero has been increasingly impressive offensively during his two-year move from featherweight to welterweight that was extended a third year last summer when he incurred a devastating shoulder separation in the final fortnight of training for an HBO bout in San Jose against Marcos Maidana.

So Guerrero has fought just once in nearly two years, yet his 21-pound shift seems too abrupt to some observers.

Not as abrupt as Aydin's manner perhaps.

But the subtext and body language were not unfriendly Tuesday. Aydin knows how to look a man in the eye, shake hands and relate as a fellow human, no matter the language barrier.

Before he headed out the door, Aydin was seen posing for a photo with a boy of about 9 from the crowd. Aydin gave the kid a hug.

JULY 2012
Chapter 221

GUERRERO'S STRENGTH AT 147 WILL SURPRISE AYDIN

Selcuk Aydin has already made his biggest mistake against Robert Guerrero, whom the Turk will be fighting Saturday in San Jose on Showtime. He thinks Guerrero is smaller than he is.

"People still don't seem to realize your bigger body isn't that recent a phenomenon," I exclaimed to Guerrero as we waited for a press function to begin Wednesday at HP Pavilion (the Shark Tank), where Saturday's card will take place.

"Just like the guy I'm fighting," Guerrero retorted.

Aydin, a heavy underdog in only his second fight in the United States, feels Guerrero's speed and superior length will pose a challenge, but this "mini-Tyson" doesn't believe Guerrero has carried his power to welterweight. Nor has Guerrero tasted a welterweight's power. "We know our opponent and what he can do," Aydin said, presumably referring to Guerrero's long-established defensive prowess, "but we know even better what we can do."

So Aydin (23-0, 19 knockouts) is not reckoning with Guerrero (29-1-1, 18 knockouts) as a full-fledged welterweight. And neither are most boxing observers (surprisingly, even ESPN's Dan Rafael), who know only that Guerrero, "the Ghost" from Gilroy, made his mark as an unusually tall (nearly 5-foot-9) 126-pound champion, was a 130-pounder as recently as 2009, fought at 140 only once and has fought at 147 never.

Guerrero, however long he's been beefed up, characterized this fight as a "good test" and stressed that the welterweight aspect cannot be taken lightly. And that is the crux of this match, with the "WBC interim world welterweight" title on the line.

Guerrero has been pretty much this big since at least the spring of 2010, when he made the move to lightweight and immediately seemed larger than his opponents. It's amazing how little has changed except the dates and weights since April 2010. To wit:

As Robert Guerrero returns to the ring Friday for his first fight in eight months, he does so as a full-fledged lightweight. "The Ghost" is no longer the skinny matador who last fought as a featherweight in February 2008. And when he gave up his IBF junior lightweight title in February to help his wife endure the aftermath of a bone-marrow transplant, he left the 130-pound division for good. Wife Casey continues to show no new signs of leukemia as she strives to build her new immune system.

This time it has been 16 months since his last fight (and 11 since an injury waylaid his scheduled bout at the Shark Tank against Marcos Maidana). He's a relatively brawny welterweight who has been walking around at a trim150 pounds for more than three years and has been keeping fit despite Casey's ordeal, which she has indeed survived.

The more recent hiatus since his impressive lightweight victory over Michael Katsidis in spring 2011, entailed surgery to overhaul the southpaw's long-ailing left shoulder. The layoff and the cure have made him particularly eager to get back to business Saturday.

"I haven't been in this kind of shape -- ever," Guerrero said from the podium Wednesday. "My wife is doing good now, and I've put my focus on boxing. Before, you guys only saw 50 percent of me in the ring. Now, I can give it 100 percent."

Since his ascension to lightweight, 50 percent has resulted in one-sided victories over Katsidis, former lightweight great Juan Casamayor (at junior welterweight a full two years ago!) and lightweight contender Vicente Escobedo.

That's the Guerrero who figures to be able to evade most of Aydin's aggression in the first three rounds and make him pay for it with several pot shots. Aydin, bloodied, won't be accustomed to that sort of adversity, having stopped 17 of his 23 opponents inside three rounds, but he has made it clear he's the sort of man who will keep coming on. If he does, he'll be stopped in the sixth or seventh round.

Guerrero has won world title belts three times, but he has never had a great war on a big stage that would gain him the top-10 pound-for-pound stature his talent perhaps merits. A savage beating of Aydin, especially if Aydin lands a solid punch or two, would be huge, probably leading to the sort of high-profile fight in which Guerrero might be the underdog for a change.

"I want to fight the best fights," Guerrero concluded. "With Aydin's style and my style, it's time for an explosion."

JULY 2012
Chapter 222

GUERRERO WINS ACTION BOUT BY DECISION IN 147 DEBUT

Robert Guerrero made a grueling but crowd-pleasing debut at 147 pounds Saturday, pulling out a unanimous decision victory over Selcuk Aydin to win the WBC interim world welterweight championship at San Jose's HP Pavilion

It was an action fight, but it wasn't clear afterward whether this performance on Showtime was impressive enough to enhance Guerrero's quest for consideration among the top 10 fighters pound-for-pound.

This was not a dominating performance. Style points counted a lot for Guerrero against the previously unbeaten Turkish slugger, and so did superior activity. The two actually landed nearly the same number of punches. Guerrero threw his in combinations, while Aydin was whacking Guerrero a couple times each round with right crosses and an uppercut or two.

Even with his decided advantage in finesse, Guerrero (30-1-1, 18 knockouts) admitted that he fought a toe-to-toe fight more than his handlers had wanted. "I could have boxed a little more, but I got hot-headed and wanted to bang a little."

He got banged back, too. Guerrero said. "He landed some bombs." But that was expected. "He's one of the hardest punchers in the division."

For that reason, Aydin (23-1) was used to dominating, but that wasn't happening Saturday. Aydin said he became dispirited during the fight by blurred vision and diminishing energy.

"But no excuses," Aydin said, admitting that Guerrero's superior experience in elite-level bouts was equally crucial to the outcome.

"He was very clever. He taught me a lot about boxing, and I couldn't do what I wanted."

Whether or not the result quiets Guerrero's naysayers, it clearly made Guerrero happy. "I'm back," he said, referring to his 15-month layoff to recover from a shoulder overhaul that dashed his planned welterweight debut last August with Marcos Maidana. "I'm the welterweight champ. I came in and took care of business.

"I felt great at welterweight. I wanted to fight the best and that's why I wanted to fight Selcuk.

"I think the fight with Aydin was way better than Maidana (would have been). He gave me the toughest fight I've ever had.

"He's one of the best in the division, but no one wanted to fight him. He's been avoided."

So has Guerrero, because of his lanky body type and his boxing savvy, but if his image beyond the Bay Area becomes a selling point, this was the sort of bout that helps make him a big enough draw to become a suitably marketable opponent against Floyd Mayweather.

"If Floyd wants his title," Guerrero taunted, "it's right here. Come and get it."

AUGUST 2012
Chapter 223

DONAIRE TO MEET NISHIOKA, RESUMING PLUNDER AT 122

Nonito Donaire, who already holds two world super-bantamweight title belts, will be proclaimed the division king by the The Ring magazine if he defeats Toshiaki Nishioka on Oct. 13 in Carson, Calif., on HBO. Promoters announced the bout Wednesday.

With that matchup (on a bill that also features Brandon Rios at junior welterweight against Mike Alvarado) finally certain, Donaire returns to the site of his most recent outing, where he claimed the IBF belt July 7 from Jeffrey Mathebula.

Donaire also holds the WBO title. So he then fixed his gaze on unifying the 122-pound division's titles.

He won't quite get that done by his 30th birthday, a month after the Nishioka fight. Not with WBA belt-holder Guillermo Rigondeaux and WBC champion Abner Mares still at large.

It's a worthy goal, though, because there doesn't seem to be much reason for Donaire (29-1, 18 knockouts) to ascend to full-fledged featherweight just yet. Donaire held titles at flyweight, super-flyweight and bantamweight before moving to super-bantamweight this year, but he never cleaned out a division the way he intends to ransack 122, where he's already 2-0.

Super-bantamweight may not be one of the original eight divisions of yore, but it has been significant most of the time during the past 20 years as Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Junior Jones, Manny Pacquiao and (never to be forgotten) Naseem Hamed have paraded through.

One of boxing's highlights the past five years was the four-fight rivalry at 122 between Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez from 2007 to 2010. With all due respect to the cinematic intensity of the Arturo Gatti-Micky Ward series that spawned _The Fighter_ , Vazquez and Marquez were more evenly matched and boxed more artfully.

That rivalry remains relevant to recent doings in the 122-pound division. Donaire was eager to fight either veteran until it became clear the past two years that both were too damaged to make suitable opponents for Donaire now. Nishioka, on the other hand gained further credibility for this fight by defeating Marquez decisively last October in Las Vegas.

Nishioka (39-4-3, 24 knockouts), who relinquished the WBC belt last year, is a Japanese left-hander with some power. He has an eight-year, 16-bout winning streak He's about the same size as Donaire, so the key statistic is age: Nishioka is 36.

Donaire had talked of wanting to fight in Japan during his bantamweight days circa 2010-11, but with HBO behind his reign at 122, that wasn't an option for the Nishioka fight.

Donaire had hoped to squeeze in a glamour bout, maybe in Mexico, with multi-division former champion Jorge Arce, but Donaire said via his Fan Page that Arce wanted too much of the purse and therefore it was time to bring on Nishioka.

Donaire has never had a big pro fight in the Bay Area, by the way, and thus receives less exposure than East Bay super middleweight king Andre Ward and Gilroy's welterweight contender Robert Guerrero. But when your fights are airing on HBO, it doesn't much matter where you fight.

It matters whom, though. That milestone birthday Nov. 16 implies Donaire is probably at his peak right now. Nishioka, Mares and Rigondeaux all pose severe tests and thus are the men the "Filipino Flash" should be fighting.

AUGUST 2012
Chapter 224

GUERRERO, GOOD AT 147, WOULD BE THE BEST AT 140

Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero and his people are calling out Floyd Mayweather Jr. again in the aftermath of the Gilroy boxer's scintillating unanimous decision victory over the estimable Selcuk Aydin last month in Guerrero's welterweight debut.

Guerrero deserves to face Mayweather. He deserved it when he was demanding it last winter.

But boxing is not a meritocracy. Many excellent fighters have lacked the drawing power to generate the fights they deserved. A Guerrero-Mayweather matchup would not excite the masses sufficiently to generate massive pay-per-view revenues. That's what Mayweather was saying last time this issue was raised.

Guerrero's victory over the little-known Aydin didn't change that, even though theirs was an exciting battle on Showtime that drew 6,267 at HP Pavilion in San Jose. It certainly widened Guerrero's horizons for matchmakers. Yet he keeps narrowing his prospects to 147 pounds and above.

"Obviously, the dream fight for him is a fight against Floyd Mayweather, and so, we'll see in the coming weeks and months what's going to happen there," said Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions, which has promoted Guerrero since 2009, when Guerrero was a 130-pounder.

What if Mayweather continues to disdain Guerrero? "I know that there are bigger and better things ahead for Robert," Schaefer told Lem Satterfield of The Ring, "and now, we'll work hard to get Robert these opportunities that he deserves."

Targeting Mayweather seems to have been a major factor in Guerrero's leap past 140 pounds to 147. Guerrero walks around in the low 150s these days -- one reason co-manager Luis de Cubas says Guerrero is even willing to fight Miguel Cotto at 154 -- so welterweight is an easy target and Guerrero is a credible member of that division.

Maybe that's the way to go. As de Cubas pointed out to BoxingScene's Osman Rodriguez, "Cotto is not a big junior middleweight, and we believe size-wise Robert is bigger than him. We would have the advantage in height, speed and reach." That would be true against several welterweights as well.

On the other hand, Guerrero's ideal weight is probably 140, where his power, height and reach would be even greater advantages.

It's a division that admittedly seemed to reach a climax in 2010-2011, just when wife Casey Guerrero's cancer treatments and Robert's shoulder injury kept him largely inactive. But there are still as many options at 140 as at 147, and it doesn't make sense to totally disdain the division, even though Timothy Bradley, Devon Alexander, Victor Ortiz and Marcos Maidana aren't there anymore and you have to wonder how long Amir Khan and Juan Manuel Marquez might be.

Imagine how a welterweight title fight with Bradley (coming off his questionable decision victory over Manny Pacquiao) would do in San Jose. Or a bout with Andre Berto, who was in San Jose for Guerrero-Aydin.

Or Brandon Rios? Or Danny Garcia, coming off his victory over Khan. Garcia fought on a Guerrero undercard in San Jose in 2009. Or Lamont Peterson, who won a questionable decision over Khan last year? Or Khan? Oh, wait: those are all junior welterweights.

Thing is, Guerrero would be a good bet to clean out the 140-pound division (yes, even over Juan Manuel Marquez), whereas he'll merely be among the best at 147 and would be a decided underdog against Mayweather and maybe several others.

Yes, Guerrero is about as good as any opponent Mayweather could pick, other than Manny Pacquiao, who is also unlikely to beckon Guerrero soon. But there are so many other good fights for Robert, better fights than are currently on The Ghost's resume.

He needs at least one of those, and probably more like three, to create the optimum clamor for that bout with Mayweather.

SEPTEMBER 2012
Chapter 225

DAWSON DESERVES RESPECT BRAVING ENEMY TURF

Chad Dawson deserves a lot of respect and probably even deserves to be favored Saturday against Andre Ward on HBO in their super-middleweight title bout at Oracle Arena in Oakland.

Dawson is indisputably a big-name fighter. He's ranked No. 10 in The Ring pound-for-pound lineup (Ward is No. 5). So don't dismiss Ward's chances of suffering his first defeat Saturday.

Dawson (31-1, 17 knockouts) assumed supremacy in the 175-pound division in 2008-2009 by outclassing Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson, the two veterans who had knocked the great Roy Jones Jr. off that perch. Although Dawson suffered an overlookable loss to Jean Pascal two years ago, his decisive April victory over Bernard Hopkins restored his hold on the light-heavyweight division. And let's not forget his resume includes a victory over current heavyweight contender Tomasz Adamek.

All that makes coming down seven pounds to Ward's weight class and travelling 3,000 miles to Ward's turf seem beneath Dawson's dignity, yet he's been quite stoic about the whole thing. Maybe too stoic.

"I come into training camp at 178, 180 pounds," Dawson said last week during a media teleconference. "It's not hard for me to make the weight. I'm dieting, and that's something I haven't done in years. It just makes a little meaner that I can't eat what I want."

He'll still have his five-inch reach advantage, as he's well aware. There's nothing shaky about his confidence.

"I told my promoter Gary Shaw make the fight. I don't care that it's in Oakland and I don't care that it's 168.

"I don't know what type of crowd I'll have out there in Oakland," Dawson added, "but I wouldn't care if I had one fan in the audience. As long as my family and my closest friends are there, it doesn't matter to me, so everything is great."

Well, everything except the opponent having all the advantages in Oakland, where 12,000 are likely to be cheering for the unbeaten hometown hero Ward, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist. And that's just at the fanfest Friday afternoon in downtown Oakland, centering upon the 3 p.m. weigh-ins.

Given the magnitude of the fight and the visibility of the Bay Area advertising, the Oracle crowd Saturday night seems likely to far exceed the 10,200 gathering for Ward's November 2009 victory over Mikkel Kessler. This will be Ward's fifth big-time bout in Oakland in a string that began with his breakout victory over Edison Miranda in May 2009.

In the other two, both in 2010, Allan Green and Sakio Bika brought nearly no followers of their own to Oakland.

It's the crowd factor that weighs against Dawson. He doesn't draw the kind of numbers back home in Connecticut or anywhere else that Ward is drawing in Oakland. His entourage may not be as forlorn as Green's, but his lack of a following is the primary handicap that has rendered Dawson a slight underdog Saturday.

The stoicism may or may not be a plus for Dawson. At an Oracle media function in July, Dawson sat by glumly while promoter Shaw precipitated a public quarrel that caused Ward to scold Shaw and caused Ward's trainer Virgil Hunter to goad Dawson into taking a more visible stand. Many boxers these days would have set upon Hunter.

I did get a rise out of Dawson on last week's teleconference by asking whether Hunter got under his skin.

"He failed with a big F," Dawson said animatedly. "Yes, he got an F for that. I've been in the ring with Bernard and I've been at press conferences with Bernard; I've been in press conferences with Tarver. I've experienced all of that, and those guys didn't get under my skin, so I don't know what makes (Hunter) think he would get under my skin.

"Like I said, he flunked that test."

So if you're expecting Dawson to be some low-octane patsy for Ward this weekend, think again.

SEPTEMBER 2012
Chapter 226

WARD'S GRASP WILL EXCEED DAWSON'S REACH

Height and reach advantages are about the only ones Chad Dawson has against Andre Ward in their super-middleweight title fight Saturday (on HBO) at Oracle Arena in Oakland.

And Ward's camp already has delivered a devastating putdown to one of those.

"The height is in the length of his neck," said Virgil Hunter, Ward's longtime trainer.

Hunter and Ward may have a harder time counteracting Dawson's reach advantage, about five inches. The left-hander ought to be able to land punches from outside and elude Ward enough to outpoint him.

But Ward has most of the advantages in this biggest-fight-yet of his career, especially the intangibles, starting with the venue in his hometown, which figures to hold the largest boxing crowd in Bay Area memory.

Nothing symbolizes that more than the light-heavyweight champion's concession on the weight class for this fight. After locking up supremacy in the 175-pound division against Bernard Hopkins last April, Dawson called out Ward on-camera and said he'd even be willing to move down to 168 to make it happen.

"He negotiated against himself when he said that," Ward said last week. "When I sat on my couch and heard him say that, the fight was signed, sealed and delivered at 168."

Worse for Dawson (31-1, 17 knockouts), there's less at stake for him than for Ward (25-0, 13 knockouts) and the people with a stake in Ward's success. It's Ward whose two super-middleweight belts are on the line. It's Ward who's fighting on HBO for the first time and Ward on whom HBO is heaping its investment in this scene, having already seen how little buzz Dawson's excellence has generated over the past five years since he rose to prominence.

Ward can fill an arena. This is his fifth prominent fight in Oakland the past three years, and it's the third time you could say the bout is the Bay Area's most important in a century.

This one eclipses Ward's November 2009 bout with Mikkel Kessler in their Showtime Super Six tournament debut, which drew more than 10,000 at Oracle. Ward neutralized Kessler's power with a combination of parrying, movement and holding that has increasingly become his modus operandi.

He subsequently tamed Allan Green, Arthur Abraham and Carl Froch in the Super Six, and it's sort of hard for some laymen to see how he does it with so little hell-bent-for-leather aggression. By the fourth or fifth round, Ward's opponents tend to lose their resolve to engage at full tilt.

And for that reason, Ward's wholesomeness and intelligence are getting more notice among casual boxing observers than his winning methodology, which a Sports Illustrated article this week characterizes as not any more scintillating than Dawson's excellence.

"Andre Ward is not a boring fighter," Hunter argues. "When you're dominating you can appear boring."

Hunter doesn't advocate going rock-em, sock-em robot to please the blood-thirsty. "Any fighter, if you gave him a choice, I guarantee he's gonna take the one with no punishment."

Besides, Ward says, "The guys who make it in the sport -- the guys who can still walk and talk when their careers are over -- those guys are masters. So I'm really oblivious."

If Ward were amped about stuff like that, Dawson might be better off. Instead, he's taking Saturday's hoopla in stride. "It's not like I step up my game because I'm on HBO," Ward says.

It shapes up as a fight in which Dawson will try to stick and move while Ward crowds him, stunts Dawson's rhythm and lands short counter-punches.

Previous opponents think referees give Ward too much leeway. "I can't say he's a dirty fighter," Dawson says. "I'll have to judge that when I get in the ring."

The problem is, if the powers that be disagree with Dawson on that judgment, Ward will tame him the way he's tamed every other name fighter he's faced. Ward will win the 12-rounder by unanimous decision.

SEPTEMBER 2012
Chapter 227

WARD STOPS DAWSON IN 10 FOR BIGGEST VICTORY YET

Andre Ward knocked down Chad Dawson three times in administering a brutal beating Saturday that ended with a 10th-round TKO in Oakland in a showdown between two of the world's best boxers.

It was not only the most impressive victory of Ward's career but also the most important victory by a Bay Area fighter since two Jims, Corbett and Jeffries, ruled the heavyweights a century ago. It couldn't have been more big time, coming on HBO in a ballyhooed fight, probably the most attractive in the sport this year. It drew 8,500.

The knockout was a crucial part of the mix. "That's what we needed," Ward said. "In boxing right now, everybody's knockout-hungry."

Ward already had overcome the "hummingbird" label at least one of his opponents laid on him, but he hadn't scored a knockdown in a major bout until he stunned Dawson with a left hook in the third round Saturday. Ward knocked Dawson down again early in the fourth, staggered him later that round, easily outscored Dawson over the next five rounds and then finished him with a chopping left in the 10th.

"He was a lot faster than I thought, and strong," conceded Dawson (31-2), the light heavyweight champion who had come down from 175 pounds to 168 to challenge for Ward's WBA and WBC super-middleweight titles. But Ward (26-0, 14 knockouts) took over the fight in the third by both negating the southpaw Dawson's right jab and landing his own left enough to put him in control.

"Everybody knows Chad has a great jab," Ward said. "We wanted to take it away, and one way to do that is by jabbing with him."

That was meant to set up the left hook, and it did. "I know my left hook was whistling, and I knew Chad's tendency to lean over to one side," Ward said.

Dawson remained dangerous but he was landing single power shots, not combinations.

"I felt in control from the beginning, but he never stopped fighting," Ward said. "He would try to bait me in and throw a big uppercut, and he landed a couple. I kept pushing and kept pushing, and something got through."

Ward has now steamrolled Mikkel Kessler, Arthur Abraham, Carl Froch and Dawson, the best of the bunch. It's a body of work that exceeds that of every active fighter except Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather.

The Dawson victory was much like Ward's others, actually. After four rounds with Ward, they all fight to survive the fight instead of win it. But the knockdowns made a difference, perhaps even increasing the magnitude of the other wins.

"A knockout is always great, and that's the last piece of the puzzle I'm working on," Ward said, "and this is the first step toward that tonight."

Casual boxing fans, not just true aficionados, will have discovered Ward because of Saturday's victory. His superstardom certainly transcends the Bay Area now.

SEPTEMBER 2012
Chapter 228

LOOK FOR WARD TO BUMP DONAIRE TO REGION'S NO. 2

Get ready to see Andre Ward leap out of a tie with Nonito Donaire and into sole possession of first place in the Northern California boxing writers poll being conducted this week.

The two have been tied steadfastly atop the poll, which is conducted by Comcast SportsNet Bay Area's Ryan Maquiñana. But Ward's commanding victory Saturday over Chad Dawson makes Ward's victims list even more impressive than Donaire's.

You can even make a case for Ward's being even otherwise with Donaire in the rather abstract pound-for-pound genre. Ward fights at 168 pounds and Donaire currently is a 122-pound champion, so we wouldn't want to see these two actually fight, but boxing folks now love to project how things would be if everyone were, say, a welterweight.

I've been voting Donaire No. 1 and Ward No. 2 in the NorCal poll, so I guess mine is a swing vote now that I have to vote Ward No. 1 and Donaire No. 2. That pretty much ensures Ward will ascend to No. 1.

It's a significant milestone. I declared Donaire the Bay Area's top fighter pound-for-pound four years ago and never wavered until now, having spent far more time around Donaire than around Ward.

The NorCal result also reflects the shuffle in the top five of The Ring magazine's world pound-for-pound rankings, in which Ward moved from fifth to third this week, with Donaire sliding from fourth to fifth.

Ward won the Showtime Super Six super-middleweight tournament that ran from 2009 to 2011, beating Carl Froch in the championship bout. Ward also has beaten Mikkel Kessler, Arthur Abraham, Edison Miranda, Sakio Bika and Allan Green during the past three years. Donaire's victims list, although headed by Fernando Montiel, is simply less gaudy.

Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquaio have been the top two for about a half-decade and Donaire has been in the top five for three years. Also in the top five is middleweight champion Sergio Martinez, who fights Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. this Saturday on HBO pay-per-view, so we might as well have waited until that fight to rescramble the top five.

There's not much Donaire can do about his dips in these polls until Oct. 13, when he meets Toshiaki Nishioka in Carson, Calif., with each defending a 122-pound belt or two. That's part of Donaire's quest to unify the titles in that weight class, probably the most attractive in the bantamweight-featherweight realms these days.

Ward's environs have been more attractive, though. A comparison between Showtime's Super Six event that Ward won and Showtime's four-man bantamweight tournament of 2010-2011 definitely favors Ward's feats, so this may be a permanent changing of the guard between the Bay Area's best two fighters.

But the important thing is that the Bay Area has two of the world's foremost boxers and also has Robert Guerrero, a strong third after his convincing welterweight victory July 28 over Selcuk Aydin. It's the combination that is lifting the Bay Area boxing scene to unprecedented heights.

SEPTEMBER 2012
Chapter 229

FILM ROLE SEALS DONAIRE'S KINSHIP WITH VISAYANS

Nonito Donaire's role model as a boxer and his role model as an actor are the same guy.

Co-starring in _Palad Ta Ang Nagbuot_ , the "Filipino Flash" aptly and amply demonstrates his kinship with Filipino boxing legend Gabriel "Flash" Elorde. The film premiered Saturday in Vallejo, Calif., and Donaire was there. So was I.

Elorde (1935-1985) originated the same film role in 1969, at the tail end of a boxing career that made him the first significant 130-pound world champion in the late 1950s and early '60s. Until Manny Pacquiao came along, Elorde was nearly the consensus favorite son of Philippines boxing and therefore an obvious target for Donaire's devotion.

Not all of the film's nostalgia focuses on Elorde. The production's slogan is "The Return of the Visayan Movie," a genre that has been pretty much dormant in recent years.

This set up a return to his roots for Donaire. The Visayan Islands are the major population nexus of the central Philippines between the two major islands, Luzon (including Manila) and Mindanao (province of Pacquiao). Donaire spent much of his early childhood in Bohol, near Cebu before moving to the Bay Area and becoming a boxing superstar whose stature approaches that of Elorde, if not quite Pacquiao.

So Donaire, whose primary show biz credit heretofore was a seventh-place finish in "Celebrity Duets" on Philippines television in 2009, spent a chunk of July-August 2012 in Cebu. The movie, in Visayan and Tagalog with English subtitles, was filmed in six days despite the effects of monsoon season.

Returning to his own Visayan movie roots was director Dandin Ranillo, whose quest to make the film was underwritten by a group of Visayan-Americans in the Bay Area. That's why a church in Vallejo hosted the premiere.

Donaire's performance, while perhaps not as breathtaking as Archie Moore's performance as Jim in the 1960 film _The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn_ , is more than credible as he is called upon to dance, sing the very catchy theme song, ham it up, show true gravitas, appear in drag and, most important, to cry. He's particularly good at the dancing and crying.

It's better not to spoil the not-so-complicated plot by divulging the reason for the sobbing, but it's fair to say that boxing becomes crucial to the story.

Donaire portrays a peasant lad whose limited employment options are impeding his romance with a nearby beauty whose grandmother won't let this raffish young bum seal the bonds without better means of support.

Donaire proves he knows this guy, knows how the other half lives, contradicting those in the Philippines who think Donaire has become too American to relate.

Donaire doesn't really carry the film in this debut. Gloria Sevilla, who starred in the 1969 version of the film, dominates every scene she's in as the grandmother.

Donaire has good chemistry with the grandmother, the girlfriend (Krissel Valdez) and his two pals. He moves well, as you'd expect, but he also gestures well, a trait many veteran TV people, athletes or otherwise, never master.

One might fault Donaire for overacting in slapsticky scenes with his buddies, but some of that seems to be characteristic of this sort of film, sort of like Shakespeare's rude mechanicals. The Visayan genre also tends to impart its spiritual messages at the Sunday sermon level, so it's not fair to expect esoteric sophistication of a film whose title translates as "Our Fate Decides."

It may not rate consideration for awards at Cannes or Sundance, but it's a highly entertaining and soulful 90 minutes, particularly if you're Visayan or a boxing fan.

FALL 2012

GUERRERO JUSTIFIES BIG BUILDUP IN SF CHRONICLE

" _Guerrero's Nov. 24 match with Berto is a big breakthrough" That was my Examiner.com headline in mid-October._

And that was the gist of the lead story in the San Francisco Chronicle's Sporting Green on Nov. 23, carrying my byline. That was the best play I've ever received as a boxing writer. It helped that Thanksgiving Thursday-is a slow news day with lots of space to fill for the Black Friday editions.

There was nothing in the story, which also ran on SFGate.com, that isn't duplicated in this book. The ever-underestimated Robert Guerrero was positioned to hit it big by beating Andre Berto, and Guerrero thus became an underdog who had an excellent chance to pull off the upset, ascend to the sport's top 10, and, perhaps, line up a really huge opponent, even Floyd Mayweather.

During a fall that also included two resounding victories by Nonito Donaire and a knockout defeat suffered by Manny Pacquiao, my second annual copy editing stint at the Chronicle took precedence over my online venture. My attention throughout October was affixed to the San Francisco Giants' drive to a World Series title.

Still, I couldn't help trying to bridge that boxing gap. Poking my head into the office of sports editor Al Saracevic (who is not my supervisor) a couple of weeks before each fight as an employee, rather than flailing from afar, made all the difference.

As a result, Nonito Donaire's October victory over Toshiaki Nishioka received greater pre-fight and post-fight coverage in the Chronicle than did Donaire's July victory, when I wasn't on the premises.

So when I poked my head into Al's office to make sure Guerrero-Berto was on his radar, he quickly realized he needed an advance story and that boxing writer Vittorio Tafur's NFL duties would preclude his writing about Guerrero. So there I was.

It's safe to say the story's conspicuous play was most important to Guerrero. The Mercury News accords him a territorial allegiance, but the Chronicle's interest signals more widespread importance.

**You might also enjoy** _:_  http://www.examiner.com/article/pacquiao-knocked-cold-6th-after-putting-heat-on-marquez

OCTOBER 2012
Chapter 230

DONAIRE-NISHIOKA MAY BE BURIED IN BAY AREA GLUT

I'm betting that Nonito Donaire's fairly important fight Saturday against Toshiaki Nishioka won't get much play in the San Francisco Chronicle, or in the San Jose Mercury News-Contra Costa Times-Oakland Tribune consortium.

Donaire, who lives in San Mateo, is defending the IBF and WBO super-bantamweight (122 pounds) titles and would be seeking Nishioka's WBC title had it not been unfairly stripped last year. Donaire is ranked No. 5 in The Ring Magazine's pound-for-pound rankings, and that's why he's the headliner for HBO's televising of the fight. The Ring will proclaim Saturday's winner the true 122-pound world champ.

Donaire, who turns 30 next month, is attempting to corner all four major belts at 122, and he'll have to take this one from a strong and crafty veteran who hasn't lost in eight years. That said, Donaire is a prohibitive favorite, largely because his six-year age advantage (Nishioka is 36) will ensure a significant advantage for Donaire in speed and mobility. That's a bit hard to promote.

Donaire (29-1, 18 knockouts), who is unbeaten since 2001, certainly has gained the Bay Area media's attention during the past two years, but the newspapers practically ignored his July victory (I sought to cover it for the Chronicle) over Jeffrey Mathebula for the IBF title, which like Saturday's bout was held in Carson, Calif., near Los Angeles, and also headlined on HBO.

This time the competition for newspaper coverage is brutal, with the San Francisco Giants alive in the major league baseball playoffs, the 49ers playing the New York Giants at home this weekend and the Oakland Raiders and Stanford football also holding sway.

I've been in contact with the two primary Bay Area newspaper sports editors in recent days, and I can tell you this Donaire fight will be lucky to get a small headline near the corset ads.

The overload of Bay Area activities this month is bad for Donaire's fight. Unlike Saturday's bout, my coverage of Donaire's fight last October for the Mercury News had a Madison Square Garden-New York angle going for it. The Donaire coverage I shepherded in the Chronicle last February got space because it was a relatively slow Saturday.

The pre-fight hype last week seemed pointed toward the newspaper quandary, since online boxing writers already consider it a pretty important fight for a very important fighter. Everyone notes that there's far more conflict in the sub-main. Brandon Rios' junior-welterweight debut against Mike Alvarado will be a Katie-bar-the-door affair if Rios brings the same thunder at 140 that he demonstrated at 135.

HBO's Max Kellerman went as far as to tell me last month that this is a can't-miss card primarily because the Rios-Alvarado match is his favorite fight-of-the-year candidate.

Promoter Bob Arum addressed that last week, showing his huckster side. "I had the opportunity to watch Toshiaki Nishioka when he fought Rafael Marquez, and he is a terrific fighter," Arum said gamely. "And we know that Nonito is one of the great fighters in boxing, but he's going to have his hands full. I believe that his fight with Nishioka will be as exciting and as interesting as the co-feature with Brandon Rios and Mike Alvarado."

Is Nishioka (34-4-3, 24 knockouts) the ideal opponent for Donaire?

"This is a fight that Nonito has wanted for a very long time," said his manager, Cameron Dunkin. "Nishioka is a great fighter. Nonito is one of the great fighters fighting today and also in history. These are the kinds of fights that you get excited about because this is really a historic fight."

Added Robert Garcia, Donaire's trainer: "Nishioka is a great fighter and the best in the division. He is ranked as the best super bantamweight in the world. It's going to be a really tough fight."

Donaire is less equivocal about his likelihood of winning, although "we can't let our guard down." That's especially true of avoiding the Japanese left-hander's power shots.

"One thing he will try to do is land the straight left," Donaire said, "and that is difficult to do against me. Aside from that, I haven't seen in any tape that he can do damage. He did great against Marquez, but Marquez is a lot slower than me. A lot of those punches won't land on me with power."

He indicated that he's been too knockout-conscious in recent fights, loading up too much, and the plan this time is "the old Nonito Donaire way of fighting smart."

If there's a knockout, he wants it to be one of those counter left hooks from nowhere, "which is what I was known for – lightning fast counters that were knocking people out because they never saw it coming."

But even that might not be enough of a hook for the Bay Area's metro dailies this weekend.

OCTOBER 2012
Chapter 231

DONAIRE DAZZLING, THOUGH DUNCES MAY DISAGREE

In many ways, Nonito Donaire's victory Saturday over Japanese star Toshiaki Nishioka ranked with his best work ever. Yet the crowd booed for much of the super-bantamweight title fight. Donaire had been upstaged before his bout began.

"I don't think I would have taken a main event behind those two," quipped Roy Jones Jr., the boxing great-turned HBO commentator, referring to Saturday's sub-main event, Brandon Rios' rousing victory in a seven-round junior welterweight war with Mike Alvarado.

After the crowd of 8,000 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., had seen that, nothing was going to satisfy some of the less astute boxing fans in their midst short of a couple of pit bulls eviscerating each other.

Instead they saw Donaire artistically pick apart a reluctant opponent by dancing rings around him and hitting him from improbable angles with surprising timing, thus reinforcing Nishioka's already-abiding respect for him. The crowd didn't respect that.

Hey, they used to boo Pernell Whitaker, too.

Donaire put on a clinic at that level of distinction, one that reflected Donaire's presence among the world's top five boxers, pound-for-pound. He left Nishioka no choice but to go out on his sword by opening up and starting to attack Donaire in the fifth and sixth rounds.

Donaire dropped Nishioka in the sixth with a left uppercut and then had to figure out how to finish the job with an injured left hand, a recurring problem.

Donaire's straight right has not heretofore duplicated the legendary magnitude of his counter left hooks, like the one that knocked out Vic Darchinyan in Donaire's 2007 breakthrough fight or the one that toppled Fernando Montiel in 2011. But the straight right that waylaid Nishioka in the ninth round Saturday was the most audaciously vicious knockout punch we've seen Donaire (30-1, 19 knockouts) land with either hand.

It was a beautiful knockout. Nishioka (39-5-3) seemed to have maneuvered Donaire against the ropes and was trying to press the advantage when he leaned to his right and Donaire unloaded the thunderous right to the left cheek that sent Nishioka to the canvas as if he'd been shot. He managed to get up, but as soon as Donaire landed one more power shot, referee Raul Caiz Sr. stopped the bout, reportedly at the request of Nishioka's corner.

That was a lucky crowd in Carson. To see a barnburner like Rios-Alvarado and then see a great fighter like Donaire display most of his considerable dimensions, including showmanship, as a boxer and then finish the job with the punch of the night, they couldn't have asked for more.

BOXING POLITICS: Although the victory over Nishioka, compounding his victory over Wilfredo Vasquez Jr., last February and his win over Jeffrey Mathebula in July, was intended to add another ingredient to Donaire's dominance in the 122-pound division, he finished the evening with only one of the four belts issued by the four major sanctioning organizations. That's the WBO belt he won from Vasquez.

During the weekend Donaire relinquished the IBF belt he won from Mathebula, because the IBF was mandating a defense before 2013 against either of two obscure super-bantamweights the IBF rates highly but HBO would deem not worthy of televising against Donaire. Worse, the IBF required a sanctioning fee of $40,000, which was what persuaded manager Cameron Dunkin to convince Donaire it wasn't worth it. Nishioka had similarly lost the WBC title last year (but then was issued the ridiculous emeritus version, the WBC diamond championship).

Abner Mares holds the real WBC title and Guillermo Rigondeaux holds the WBA title. If Donaire can't line up good fights with either for early spring 2013, he'll probably set his sights on the featherweight division.

OCTOBER 2012
Chapter 232

GUERRERO'S BREAKTHROUGH BOUT WITH BERTO SET

The news that Robert Guerrero is fighting Andre Berto on Nov. 24, on HBO, is simply the best thing that has happened to The Ghost in his career.

Three years ago no one would have picked Guerrero to win this fight (which will be held in Ontario, Calif., near Los Angeles), which tells you a lot about what it would mean if he does win.

Guerrero, a two-time former world featherweight champion and one-time 130-pound titlist, was just graduating from junior lightweight to lightweight then and was seen as a spidery defense-minded technician with some pop, whereas Berto was the monster challenger in the welterweight division, unbeaten, strong and a fundamentally decent boxer.

Each was waylaid by acts of God in 2010. Guerrero gave up an important bout to nurture his wife's successful bone-marrow transplant. Berto had to give up his best opponent ever, a match with Shane Mosley, because his home country of Haiti was hit by an earthquake you surely still remember.

Although Berto (28-1, 22 knockouts) is coming off a 2011 loss to Victor Ortiz in a thriller that included two knockdowns apiece, and an illegal-substances rap that scuttled his June rematch with Ortiz, he'll probably be the early favorite.

The boxing public has barely embraced Guerrero (30-1-1, 18 knockouts) as a legitimate welterweight, so many will be surprised when they see Guerrero matching hulk with Berto in the flesh. If that image precedes the fight by more than a week or so, and you think Guerrero will win, now is the time to bet on him, because the odds will even up the more people think about this match.

Guerrero may not pack as much thunder as Ortiz, but he does have ample power and his boxing skills are far superior, so if Ortiz was more than Berto could handle, Guerrero will really confound him. Berto's weakness against left-handers became evident in 2009 when he struggled past Luis Collazo. This should be a pick 'em fight.

Guerrero's post-130-pound victories have come against aging Joel Casamayor, dangerous Michael Katsidis and top European welterweight Selcuk Aydin. The Aydin fight was officially the once-beaten Gilroy fighter's debut at 147 pounds, but Berto is already the perfect opponent for him. People will be impressed if he whips Berto, and he'll benefit even if he loses a close but heated fight.

This is a put up or shut up fight for Guerrero as far as his detractors are concerned, and that's exactly what he wants.

NOVEMBER 2012
Chapter 233

MARES MAKES FIGHT WITH DONAIRE MUY MARKETABLE

Stoking the fires for what should be the most lucrative fight of Nonito Donaire's career, Abner Mares defended his WBC super-bantamweight title Saturday by manhandling lanky southpaw Anselmo Moreno and defeating him by unanimous decision.

Afterward, Mares (25-0-1, 13 knockouts), the darling of a pretty good boxing crowd of 6,341 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, was asked whom he wants to fight next. Well, duh, he almost said. "I want to fight Nonito Donaire. He's the only guy TO fight."

Donaire, the San Mateo-based superstar who is trying to clean out the 122-pound division, surely will prove he concurs once he disposes of Jorge Arce on Dec. 15 in Houston. Mares is the only fighter who rivals Donaire in popularity in the bantamweight-featherweight ranks, and he might give him trouble.

So might Moreno (33-2-1), a stick-and-move cutie (only in the boxing sense) who picks his spots with power shots, but he wasn't able to show the Showtime audience what he's got, so unable was he to cope with Mares' bull-rushes and overall energy during the first half of the fight.

Mares was able to clock Moreno from outside, and that enabled him to get inside and do further damage. Exemplifying his mantra for the fight -- "Don't let him get comfortable" -- Mares won five of the first six rounds and scored a not-very-clean knockdown in the fifth.

"The only time he ever took advantage was when I was waiting too long," said Mares, who also picked up a point when Moreno was docked for holding Mares' head down. Mares earlier landed a low blow that referee Raul Caiz Jr. blamed on Moreno's head-pushing. But considering Mares' history with low blows, especially in his first fight with Joseph Agbeko as Mares won the Showtime bantamweight tournament, it's fair to blame this stuff on Mares, and somebody's got to disallow it.

Still, his intensity was impressive Saturday, even though he didn't sustain it during much of the second half of the fight. The Showtime pundits -- Steve Farhood, Al Bernstein and Paulie Malignaggi -- thought Moreno won most of the later rounds and all scored it 114-112. But I thought the second half of the fight was even, and so apparently did the two judges who scored it 116-110, as I did. The third had it 120-106, a disservice to Moreno's determination and talent.

That granted, Moreno should go back to 118 and maintain his bantamweight title.

If Mares could force that sort of arrhythmic fight against the taller, longer Donaire, he could frustrate him, although some of the shots the light-hitting Moreno landed would have decked Mares if Donaire had thrown them.

Yes, Mares-Donaire is an intriguing prospect, and even though it's a Golden Boy (Mares) vs. Top Rank (Donaire) promotional clash, it probably will happen next spring.

NOVEMBER 2012
Chapter 234

DO-OR-DIE SCENARIO FAVORS GUERRERO OVER BERTO

For Robert Guerrero, it will be now or never Saturday as he fights Andre Berto on HBO.

Unlike his elite Bay Area contemporaries Andre Ward and Nonito Donaire, Guerrero is not in The Ring magazine's pound-for-pound top 10. For Guerrero, making that list is probably the holy grail, because he just about has to meet and beat Floyd Mayweather to get there and fulfill his other goals: high TV ratings, a true welterweight championship and some multi-million-dollar paydays.

Upsetting Berto, who's nearly a 2-1 favorite, probably would make Guerrero attractive to the likes of Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao. Losing wouldn't knock Guerrero out of the welterweight picture entirely, but it isn't an option if he's ever going to reach that top 10.

The fight is an absolute tossup that will be won by the quicker man. I'm not sure which that is, but don't be surprised if it's Guerrero.

Berto used to be in top-10 territory, but his stock has fallen since 2008, and his 2011 loss to Victor Ortiz totally removed an aura of invincibility he'd had. His run-in with a positive steroids test later in 2011 also pecks away at that aura.

He admits he hasn't been looking elite lately. "It's been a while," he told me last week. "I don't think people really realistically have seen the best Andre Berto at all. I've had a lot of exciting performances or one-punch knockout performances, this and that, but I have so much more to my arsenal, man.

"I'm my biggest critic, so I kind of analyze myself to the max, so it's hard for me to think I've really had an impressive performance that impressed me. I can say it's been a while. I don't think people have seen all they can see."

The great ones can summon it up more than once or twice every five years. What trait is Berto expecting to resurrect from cobwebs to dazzle Guerrero? And like both of Guerrero's most recent victims, former WBC interim welterweight champion Selcuk Aydin and former lightweight assassin Michael Katsidis, Berto is underestimating Guerrero's strengths, including strength.

"My advantages I think are definitely . . . speed, and I have a power advantage," Berto said.

You (and perhaps Berto) will be surprised how well Guerrero stacks up physically next to Berto, one of strongest looking specimens at 147 and below. And you will be surprised how effectively aggressive Guerrero will be, perhaps from the get-go.

"We're jumping on the Autobahn," Guerrero said, indicating he's earnest about pumping up his image in this fight. "We're going pedal to the metal; full gas from start to finish."

He has to, after calling attention to himself conspicuously during the past two years to gain a shot at Mayweather or (earlier) Juan Manuel Marquez.

He has more to lose than Berto, who if anything became more marketable in his loss to Ortiz. This is a make or break situation, and my money would be on the underdog Saturday.

NOVEMBER 2012
Chapter 235

GUERRERO BEATS UP BERTO, MOVES UP IN CLASS

A wrestling match broke out briefly during the second round of Robert Guerrero's brutal unanimous-decision victory Saturday over Andre Berto, who in the first four minutes of the fight had sustained two knockdowns and a battered right eye.

Berto initiated the wrestling exchange, but Guerrero, a product of prep wrestling powerhouse Gilroy High School, scored a resounding reversal, picking Berto up and propelling him toward the ropes.

"This isn't a wrestling match," admonished referee Lou Moret. Ah, but it was, and that worked fully to Guerrero's advantage as he retained the WBC interim welterweight title in Ontario, Calif., and on HBO.

After two rounds, Guerrero (31-1-1) had convinced Berto and everyone watching the fight that he not only was strong enough to hang in with an elite welterweight, but also was easily the stronger of the two. Guerrero went on to win a unanimous decision, 116-110 on all three scorecards, an upset that constituted the biggest victory of his career by any measure.

"I did tell Andre I was going to beat him down, so I had to be a man of my word," Guerrero said.

What this does for word-of-mouth about Guerrero, who reportedly made $1 million for the first time, is to change the previously disappointing trajectory of his career. Skeptics saw him as a boring technician, and that was holding him back.

Now they've seen he's one tough hombre, no pretty boy, who is simultaneously a technically beautiful left-handed boxer. Much of the tough-hombre part was a revelation to those who for years had overlooked the blue-collar properties endemic to the former featherweight-turned-welterweight.

Guerrero gained mass appeal Saturday, and surely Floyd Mayweather Jr. can't pretend Guerrero doesn't exist anymore.

Berto, whose 22 knockouts in 28 previous bouts were no fluke, fought back gamely and gave Guerrero all the more credibility by tagging him with numerous right uppercuts and proving that Guerrero can take it even better than he dishes it out. Guerrero continued to pummel Berto to the body and carry the fight to him, and by the end of the bout neither could see clearly.

Frankly, that was the element that has brought nominations for "fight of the year" to the Guerrero-Berto brawl. I'm a hit-and-don't-get-hit-back man myself, but many fight fans lap up _Rocky-_ style rock-'em, sock-'em mayhem. This bout, with lots of holding-and-hitting from both parties, was a connoisseur's version of an inside fight.

Guerrero explained why the inside fight worked to his advantage. "I had to get on the inside with him and work his body. If you keep him on the outside, he has quick hands and he catches you."

There's no denying Guerrero had nothing to gain in an outside fight. Even if he could have outpointed Berto by sticking and moving, he wouldn't have won as many admirers as he won Saturday. It was a huge, huge boost.

DECEMBER 2012
Chapter 236

DONAIRE-ARCE MATCHUP BARELY STANDS TEST OF TIME

Jorge Arce has more wear and tear on him than my 1988 Camry -- and it's got 310,000 miles' worth.

They were both pretty beat up already as of fall 2008, when the SF Boxing Examiner debuted and made inroads by visiting Manny Pacquiao in Los Angeles and encountering Nonito Donaire in San Jose.

Back in 2008, Donaire's ideal scenario would have started with a flyweight farewell triumph over Arce in 2009 and would have continued with a bantamweight smashing of Fernando Montiel in 2010. But Donaire languished a bit as the aura of his 2007 knockout of Vic Darchinyan began to fade and his new alliance with Top Rank wasn't getting him challenging opponents.

The Montiel match didn't take place until 2011, but it did cement Donaire's superstardom.

The Arce match is only just now set to take place -- Saturday in Houston on HBO's World Championship Boxing, at 122 pounds instead of 112. It won't necessarily be anticlimactic. Although the conventional wisdom that Donaire (30-1, 19 knockouts) will win by early knockout is what's actually likely to happen, the bout is expected to be entertaining while it lasts.

That's Arce's style. Instead of aging gracefully during the intervening four years, Arce (33) has been even busier than Donaire (30). Arce is 11-2-1 during that period, starting with the bust-up Darchinyan administered to him in early 2009 and continuing with his two-fight series with South African Simphiwe Nongqayi, who thrashed Arce in their first meeting, although Arce stopped him in four in a 2011 rematch. Arce (61-6-2, 46 knockouts) was busted up as well in his most notable victory in those four years, stopping Wilfredo Vasquez Jr. in the 12th round but trailing much of the bout on the scorecards.

Despite Arce's decrepitude, this is Donaire's third-most attractive fight ever, after Montiel and Darchinyan. Arce has strong box-office appeal and might attract Mexican fans to Donaire. Arce is appealing, period. Comes to fight. Fun to watch.

In the intervening four years the Bay Area-based Donaire is 10-0 with six knockouts) against the likes of Montiel, Volodymyr Sydorenko, Vasquez Jr., Hernan "Tyson" Marquez, Raul Martinez and Toshiaki Nishioka. He has knocked down seven of his past eight opponents. He's been ranked in The Ring's top 10 pound-for-pound since May 2009. He's longer and quicker than Arce and is far more a master of the fine points of boxing, which is why he's virtually unscathed physically, except for his chronically tender left hand.

Donaire figures to carve Arce up. Arce has to attack. Donaire will land the fabled counter left hook. Over and out.

So why bother?

Aside from his colorful El Guapo persona with its vaquero overtones, Arce has a puncher's chance. He might be able to endure steady punishment from Donaire without bleeding too profusely. Perhaps Donaire will injure his left hand, as usual, without finishing off Arce, and then what? Donaire can outbox Arce, but this is a scenario that leaves Donaire vulnerable to a Sunday punch in a late round.

That would be compounded, of course, by the shocking conclusion of Pacquiao-Marquez IV last weekend. (The replay of that bout will air before the Houston fights.) The Pinoy Pride factor weighs heavily on Donaire-Arce, although Donaire says that's less motivating than the prospect of looking like the true "Filipino Flash" against such a high-profile opponent.

That's how it was in 2008, and that's still how it is. Arce's chassis may be deteriorating, but he is not yet ready for the scrap heap, and if he can prove it, that probably will benefit Donaire. They can both look good.

DECEMBER 2012
Chapter 237

DONAIRE PLAYS THE HEAVY, KNOCKING OUT ARCE IN 3

In his long-awaited battle of former flyweight champions Saturday with Jorge Arce, Nonito Donaire looked like a regular Sonny Liston as he knocked out Arce in three rounds.

Booed by the mostly Latino crowd of about 7,000 in Houston, Donaire entered the ring to defend his WBO super bantamweight title with a baleful stare reminiscent of the fearsome late heavyweight champion Liston, and, hulking over the beloved (though dangerous) Arce, mowed him down methodically with the sort of performance that would be impressive in any weight class and hence, any pound-for-pound tabulation.

After establishing his jab (almost Liston-like) in the first round, Donaire (31-1, 20 knockouts) stunned Arce with a chopping right in the second that put him down briefly, and when Arce (61-7-2) fought back in the third, landing a shot or two that bothered Donaire, the Filipino Flash stunned Arce with a right cross, setting up a four-punch flurry that put Arce down with about 30 seconds left in the round. Arce got up, but Donaire landed two or three set-up punches before finishing the job with a picturesque lead left hook that knocked Arce out.

That was a fitting conclusion, especially as it was shown on HBO, to Donaire's first year in the 122-pound division, where he knocked down all four of his formidable opponents and stopped two of them. There's a lot of fighter-of-the-year buzz around Donaire.

"I pretty much timed Arce," Donaire said of his gradual increase in power punching as the fight progressed. "I needed to figure out the distance to get him to open up."

Referee Laurence Cole waved off the count, but it was a legitimate knockout, coming at 2:59 of the third. The previous Saturday's legitimate knockout of Manny Pacquiao by Juan Manuel Marquez had come at 2:59 of the sixth.

It was hard to overlook the importance of Donaire's victory to Filipino fans because of Pacquiao's dispiriting knockout in a fight he seemed to be winning.

"To all the Pinoys all over the world," Donaire proclaimed on Facebook, "Salamat and God bless! I hope I lifted your spirits thru these times of trials and wish blessing and Happiness this Christmas. Mabuhay Pilipinas!"

DECEMBER 2012
Chapter 238

GUERRERO CRACKS POUND-FOR POUND TOP 10

Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero appears in the latest top 10 fighters pound-for-pound in the world in the latest release by The Ring magazine, the recognized authority for such rankings.

The news that Guerrero is No. 10 is a major breakthrough for the Gilroy fighter.

He's one of three Bay Area fighters in the top 10. The East Bay's Andre Ward has moved up to No. 2, with Manny Pacquiao having fallen to No. 7 following his Dec. 8 knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez. San Mateo-based Nonito Donaire is No. 6, with Marquez at No. 3, Sergio Martinez at No. 4 and lightweight Adrien Broner at No. 5. Wladimir Klitschko is No. 8 and Timothy Bradley is No. 9.

Donaire, who is favored to be named fighter of the year on the strength of his four dominating victories in the 122-pound division, has fallen two notches on the pound-for-pound nevertheless.

Still, the Guerrero news eclipses our sour grapes about Donaire.

DECEMBER 2012
Chapter 239

DONAIRE FIGHTER OF YEAR, A BAY AREA TREND

Nonito Donaire is being acclaimed 2012 Fighter of the Year in more corners than anyone else as the year winds to a close. Justifiably so. Let's hope The Ring magazine makes it official, as the Boxing Writers Association, ESPN's Dan Rafael, Yahoo's Kevin Iole and others have done.

What makes the Filipino Flash's superiority doubly satisfying; no, triple-y satisfying; is that one of the names being mentioned prominently among Donaire's competitors for the honor is Gilroy's Robert Guerrero. Compound that with East Bay kingpin Andre Ward's recognition as the world's Fighter of the Year for 2011, and Guerrero's recent addition to the top 10 in The Ring's pound-for-pound rankings, and the Bay Area's stature as a current hotbed of professional boxing cannot be denied.

How long can it be before Donaire, who lives in San Mateo and grew up in San Leandro, becomes a bona fide gate attraction in the Bay Area the way Ward is in Oakland and Guerrero sort of is in San Jose?

Donaire still hasn't fulfilled that goal, and he actually fell out of the top five in the pound-for-pound rankings during 2012, but he accomplished more than anyone else in the ring this year by launching his march through the 122-pound division with four impressive victories and leaving us eager to see him beat the two obvious remaining targets in that division, Abner Mares and Guillermo Rigondeaux.

Some say Donaire would be more deserving of the award had at least one of those two been among his 2012 victims, but Wilfredo Vasquez Jr., Jeffrey Mathebula and Toshiaki Nishioka were all belt-holders until Donaire knocked them around. None was a chump. And the third-round knockout of Jorge Arce in December, a match that had been anticipated more than five years, was like dessert, or at least the cherry on top.

If Guerrero's July victory over European strongman Selcuk Aydin were more widely regarded as a truly major accomplishment, The Ghost would have a legitimate case against Donaire, given the audacity of Guerrero's beating of Andre Berto on Nov. 24. If Aydin were to look good against some other welterweight contender of note, then we'd have more basis to tub-thump for Guerrero.

Also mentioned prominently for Fighter of the Year have been Juan Manuel Marquez, solely on the strength of his one-punch knockout of Manny Pacquiao on Dec. 8, and lightweight Adrien Broner, who solidified his reputation as a potential successor to Floyd Mayweather atop the pound-for-pound ranks but didn't quite match Donaire's agenda in 2012.

Marquez-Pacquiao IV was the best fight of the year. Pacquiao looked brilliant through most of it and seemed positioned to knock Marquez out. But Manny got tagged very badly twice, the second one the counter right at close range that knocked Pacquiao cold, and demystified him at once. That's the moment we'll all remember most about 2012.

That was a much better fight than the all-offense, no-defense Brandon Rios-Mike Alvarez bout (on the Donaire-Nishioka undercard) that certainly offered the most intense action, as if that's the only criterion for a great fight. Rios does deserve a lot of credit for the nearly universal recognition of his trainer (and Donaire's trainer) Robert Garcia as the best trainer of 2012.

Let's not forget that Ward's trainer, Virgil Hunter, won that recognition in 2011. Let's also not forget that Ward's knockout of Chad Dawson propelled Andre at No. 2 in the pound-for-pounds and was the most important win yet of Ward's career.

In the ideal Bay Area scenario, Guerrero will be the fighter of the year in 2013, largely on the strength of his stunning upset of Mayweather, who has never been riper for picking. That bout is being negotiated, and don't be surprised to see them have at it in Las Vegas this May. Mayweather's loss would elevate Ward to No. 1 pound-for-pound by the time he's fully recovered from the right-shoulder surgery that has dashed his late-winter match with Kelly Pavlik.

And where would that leave Donaire? Hey, if the guy beats Mares and Rigondeaux in 2013 on top of being Fighter of the Year for 2012 -- and becomes a new father to boot? -- there won't be any reason to feel sorry for him. He even became a movie star in 2012.

And let's not forget Pacquiao's decline has made Donaire arguably the No. 1 fighter in the Philippines -- the one place in the world that still hotter than the Bay Area for boxing.

WINTER 2013

THE UNAFFORDABLE MONEY-MAYWEATHER SCOOP

" _What's the hold-up?"_

That was the question, with Robert Guerrero and Floyd Mayweather Jr. still unsigned as of late January for a May 4 bout that for two months had seemed a fait accompli.

It was so close to reportable that San Francisco Chronicle sports editor Al Saracevic and his deputies waved me into Al's office during one of my weekday copy desk shifts so we could decide whether it was time to announce the fight in print. ESPN was announcing the matchup on its crawl. It was certainly out there. But were there signed contracts? On the record?

Minutes earlier, I had been trying to craft acceptable attribution to that effect from Team Guerrero, only to be told that might spook Mayweather.

By newspapers standards, the five of us in Al's office agreed, there was too little, too soon, to report. This was boxing, after all, where the truth can be quite fluid.

The story in the Chronicle could still be mine, what with boxing beat man Vic Tafur on Super Bowl detail, if the fight announcement could come off by the end of January. But that scenario didn't include paid reporting time. I was there to edit, not report, until Feb. 19. That was the very day the story broke.

So, what was the hold-up?

With what little digging I had done in the meantime, seeking HBO's input, I had been on the right track. I got the sense that the cable giant learns the details of Mayweather's promotions about the time the rest of us do. Even HBO was bewildered -- and wary of Mayweather's capriciousness, it seemed.

There was a reason all the trepidation concerning Mayweather seemed increasingly euphemistic. These were references and deferences to promoter-manager Al Haymon, the reclusive power behind the throne.

The hold-up was that Haymon, who has branched into boxing after becoming the most successful rock-concert impresario of all time, was putting the details of Mayweather's unprecedented six-fight, $300 million deal with Showtime in place. The Guerrero fight couldn't be unveiled until the Showtime deal was complete.

That was a bigger story outside the Bay Area than whom Mayweather was fighting next. But no one got that story.

By the time the Showtime deal and the Guerrero fight were announced Feb. 19, Tafur was on the story, but only with the pack.

I could see in the aftermath that about a week's worth of full-time reporting, with the Chronicle's imprimatur, could have unearthed this scoop well before Feb. 19, and that I had good wherewithal on several fronts.

But that's the sort of digging that news outlets can't afford to undertake anymore.

**You might also enjoy** :  http://www.examiner.com/article/tide-against-steroids-soaks-baseball-but-not-pacquiao-marquez-iv-aftermath

JANUARY 2013
Chapter 240

BET ON GUERRERO-MAYWEATHER FOR MAY 4

You probably know as much as I about the pending negotiations for a Robert Guerrero-Floyd Mayweather fight, except I've been getting most of my information from Guerrero's camp. Negotiations have been ongoing since Guerrero's Nov. 24 mugging of Andre Berto, the biggest victory of the Gilroy fighter's career.

Mayweather and Guerrero are both promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, although Golden Boy doesn't actually control Mayweather. Golden Boy chief executive Richard Schaefer told the Los Angeles Times this week that Mayweather will be fighting someone on May 4 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. That someone has been widely reported to be Guerrero, who cracked the top 10 in The Ring's pound-for-pound rankings recently. (Mayweather is No. 1.)

That they're talking is about all a responsible newspaper can report at this point, which is why the San Francisco Chronicle, which gave my Guerrero-Berto advance story conspicuous play Nov. 23, can't yet go overboard on announcing the Mayweather-Guerrero proceedings, although rest assured the Chronicle considers that a big story.

There are just a couple of off-putting developments. The first is that a neurosurgeon in the Philippines contended recently that Manny Pacquiao is showing signs of Parkinson's syndrome. Now, this neurosurgeon hasn't actually examined Pacquiao, who has lost his past two fights and probably should fight only one or two more, but the story took hold Friday.

I'll bet you Mayweather, having heard that, is finally ready to fight Pacquiao, or at least now figures beating him is a surer thing than beating Guerrero.

The other off-putting development transpired exactly a year ago, when Guerrero was calling out Mayweather without the benefit of having his subsequent welterweight championship victories over Berto and Selcuk Aydin under his belt.

Similar Mayweather-Guerrero rumors fell through last year. Mayweather beat Miguel Cotto in that time slot instead and then did a couple months' time for assault (and hasn't fought since). Three years ago Mayweather beat Shane Mosley in that time slot. Six years ago it was Oscar De La Hoya.

I can only say Guerrero has been part of actual negotiations this time and that his presence would fit that Cinco de Mayo niche as well as anyone's.

JANUARY 2013
Chapter 241

BAY AREA TRIO CONNECTS WITH MIKEY GARCIA'S BIG WIN

The Bay Area's Kingpin Trio -- Robert Guerrero, Nonito Donaire and Andre Ward -- has been making a lot of news this month, even though none is signed for a fight at this writing.

The three of them were easy to connect to the month's most notable fight, Mikey Garcia's surprisingly easy destruction of WBO featherweight champion Orlando Salido on Jan. 19. Let's count the ways the Trio was connected, after we update a couple of headlines here.

*Ward had signed to fight former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik, and thus Jan. 26 became a big date on the 2013 boxing calendar, certainly bigger than Garcia-Salido. But then Ward's shoulder injury dashed the match. And now Pavlik is saying he's retiring, which saves Ward the trouble of verifying that necessity in the ring. Congratulate Pavlik for a great career, and move on.

*Guerrero, of course, is oh, so close to finalizing a May 4 bout with Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas. That would become the biggest fight on the calendar. They're trying to include Canelo Alvarez (a prospective blockbuster opponent for Mayweather at 154) in a co-feature and haven't figured out how to distribute the money among Mayweather, Alvarez, and, for a couple million perhaps, Guerrero.

*Top Rank's Donaire seems likely to fight Golden Boy's Abner Mares in April, but if Golden Boy fails to get Guerrero and Mayweather together, why bet Oscar De La Hoya's outfit can craft something mutually beneficial with Bob Arum for Donaire-Mares? Well, they're supposedly trying to buy off Arum for $3 million for sole rights to this one fight.

Donaire was connected to both Jan. 19 headliners. Mikey Garcia's older brother Robert is Donaire's chief second and was doing most of the talking in Mikey's corner as the 25-year-old picked apart Salido, knocking him down twice in the first round and two more times before it ended with Salido (accidentally) head-butting the heck out of Garcia's nose in the seventh round. Officially, Garcia (31-0, 26 knockouts) won by lopsided technical decision.

Until then, Salido (39-12-2) seemed a reasonable target for Donaire if he should reach 126 or 130 after cleaning out the 122-pound division. Now, who is Donaire's ultimate target? It hard to imagine him fighting Mikey, who will probably always outweigh him, or Yuriorkis Gamboa (ditto). Or lightweight star Adrien Broner (let's hope not).

Salido is best known for two demolitions of former Donaire target Juan Manuel Lopez, and also known for the only bout (2006, featherweight) in which Guerrero has ever been dominated. Salido was sanctioned after testing positive for steroids, and Guerrero's defeat was overturned.

So what was Ward's connection to Garcia-Salido? He was HBO's analyst on _Boxing After Dark_ alongside Bob Papa and Max Kellerman. Max gave Andre plenty of room to be the analyst, but Ward wasn't particularly aggressive with his talking points. He is capable, though, and no doubt will get more reps on HBO to prove it.

No, the HBO telecast will be remembered less for Ward's input and more for the aftermath in which the medics grotesquely manipulated Garcia's poor nose.

JANUARY 2013
Chapter 242

GUERRERO DISSED FOR THE USUAL UNFAIR, UNTRUE REASONS

Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero, who was until this week on the cusp of a career-defining match with Floyd Mayweather Jr., is still getting dissed in many corners of the boxing world -- and for all the same tired old reasons.

They are important among the reasons Mayweather apparently will fight Devon Alexander on May 4 instead of Guerrero.

Even after Guerrero's two knockdowns of Andre Berto, his two knockdowns of Vicente Escobedo, and his outslugging Michael Katsidis and then-welterweight champion Selcuk Aydin, the left-hander's featherweight image persists. That is no help to a guy's television image.

Apparently he'll always be seen as a fluid, lanky, clever, defense-minded technician. Apparently some still think he should have fought on with a bad head butt-induced cut against Daud Yordan in 2009 instead of "living to fight another day," as Guerrero said then, obviously choosing the wiser course.

Presumably, Guerrero also should have fought Marcos Maidana in 2011 with a separated shoulder, since Maidana wound up fighting Alexander instead last February and Alexander battered him nearly as impressively as Guerrero would have.

Even without Maidana on his victims list, Guerrero has cut through an impressive swath of opponents in the past four years, not the least of them wife Casey's successful battle with leukemia via a bone-marrow transplant.

Image issues nevertheless surely have been robbing Guerrero of leverage in the Mayweather negotiations. The Guerrero-Mayweather or Alexander-Mayweather bout is seen as a lead-up to a Mayweather showdown with junior middleweight star Canelo Alvarez. Guerrero is an important commodity to Golden Boy Promotions, too, but there's not quite enough interest in him outside Golden Boy and the Golden State.

Guerrero's parity with Mayweather in size and power would have caught a lot of boxing people by surprise, perhaps including Mayweather himself, who has barely acknowledged he knows who Guerrero is. Alexander is a fluid left-hander, too, but not as tough as Guerrero, their images notwithstanding.

Guerrero (31-1-1, 18 knockouts) is ranked No. 10 in The Ring magazine's pound-for-pound ranks, but he's an also-ran in other compilations, notably the one over which Kevin Iole presides on yahoo.com. More than a few bloggers have opined to the effect that "Guerrero doesn't belong in the same ring with Mayweather."

Guerrero is used to getting dissed and has been known to get peeved. We've been through all this several times and it's not that hard to get him going in private.

But don't feel too sorry for Guerrero if he does get to square off with Mayweather in the ring. That's all he's asking.

Frankly, I've been wanting to see Guerrero-Alexander ever since the two moved to welterweight. That would be a really telling fight for Guerrero after Mayweather thumps Alexander.

FEBRUARY 2013
Chapter 243

DONAIRE-MARES LETDOWN LENDS ITSELF TO KNEE-JERK ANALYSIS

According to Boxrec.com, Nonito Donaire is fighting April 13 in New York. It has been reported the opponent will be Guillermo Rigondeaux, and it probably will be.

Most observers would have preferred Abner Mares, whose handlers, Golden Boy Promotions, offered Bob Arum's Top Rank $3 million to get out of the way and let Golden Boy handle Donaire-Mares. The $3 million would have included whatever Top Rank forked over as Donaire's purse.

Because Donaire-Mares is a fight people want to see, the prevailing reaction to Top Rank's rejection of the proposal was that Arum was being a pooh-pooh head – that he should have accepted the deal but, well, he just didn't want to. By some extension of illogic, this meant Donaire is afraid to fight Mares or is inclined to dodge him.

For what it's worth, Rigondeaux is a scarier opponent for Donaire, a mild threat to outpoint him. Mares would make a fight with Donaire, and the larger Donaire would clout him. Those two long loomed as Donaire's final opponents at 122 pounds, and now it appears he'll fight Rigondeaux first in April and Mares in a featherweight bout ... well, a few months after Donaire's son is born in early summer.

The Golden Boy contract ignored that firm reality on Donaire's horizon. It had a postponement clause that called for getting the match rescheduled within 90 days of the original date, all of which might have landed the fight on the Donaire baby's delivery day. Golden Boy should have reckoned with that.

Arum made that argument, although he also implied that Golden Boy assuredly would shift the TV venue from HBO to Showtime, where Mares has been appearing in his most recent bouts and where Golden Boy ally Stephen Espinoza calls the shots. Still, Golden Boy does deal with both cable networks, and it's more likely HBO would have prevailed.

Furthermore, Arum argued, the cancellation clauses all worked in Golden Boy's favor, especially if GBP came to realize that it might barely recoup that $3 million and decided to bail.

Most of the argument blasting Arum and Donaire made it sound like Donaire was turning down $3 million, more than double what he's made on any other fight. But Top Rank would have seized a chunk of that off the top, and even then, Bob Arum thinks he can do better with Donaire in some other scenario. He doing pretty well at this point, so why should he accept Golden Boy's manipulation? Have some of you forgotten that Golden Boy nearly purloined Donaire from Arum in 2011?

Consider that Boxrec listing. Arum isn't at square one where the April 13 date is concerned. He'd already staked it out when Golden Boy's offer arrived.

There were lots of good reasons to say no to Golden Boy, and those who figure that cowardice or mere stubbornness was a factor in the Donaire-Mares stalemate are mostly off base.

Some of those allegations have emanated from people who believe that a $3 million payday would be more important than the birth of the latest of the world's seven billion people. But to the Donaires, million-dollar paydays come along now and then, but a first child will arrive only once, and none of Nonito's fights this year will weigh as heavily.

FEBRUARY 2013
Chapter 244

GUERRERO GETS HIS DREAM DATE WITH MAYWEATHER

Robert Guerrero's horoscope Tuesday in the San Francisco Chronicle successfully predicted the Gilroy welterweight's contract to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 4 in Las Vegas would come through.

That it did Tuesday, in a chain of events that included Mayweather's huge new contract with Showtime, which will air the bout on its pay-per-view arm.

Mayweather becomes the most auspicious opponent for a Northern California boxer since the Bay Area's Carl "Bobo" Olson fought Sugar Ray Robinson twice in the mid-1950s.

The Guerrero-Mayweather bout had been rumored since shortly after Guerrero's Nov. 24 upset of Andre Berto, but it had remained mysteriously in limbo until Tuesday's announcement of the Showtime deal cleared the picture and cleared the way for the fight.

And the horoscope for Aries, by Christopher Renstrom, fit right in. "A situation that should be settled is still in play. Go with the current of events. You could come out with more than you had coming in."

For Guerrero, who turns 30 on March 27, it was beginning to seem too late. He'll be a decided underdog, but it's not inconceivable he could pull off the upset of the world's most highly regarded active boxer.

Mayweather has been virtually untouchable as a pro fighter, and is the top pay-per-view drawing card in the sport, too. He also was the 2006 runner-up on ABC-TV's _Dancing With The Stars_. But he has fought only four times in the past four years and spent two months in prison in 2012 after his super-welterweight victory over Miguel Cotto on May 5, 2012.

Guerrero is coming off his first million-dollar purse, the brutal victory over Andre Berto on HBO, which is where most of Mayweather's big fights have been staged up to now.

That performance propelled Guerrero (31-1-1, 18 knockouts) to No. 10 in The Ring magazine's ranking of the world's top fighters, pound-for-pound. Mayweather is No. 1. Bay Area fighters Andre Ward and Nonito Donaire are No. 2 and No. 5, and are more firmly entrenched as elite in boxing fans' minds than Guerrero, who is better known for his leukemia-stricken wife Casey's' survival. That's been the fight of his life.

Guerrero has won world title belts at 126, 130 and 135 pounds, and currently holds the WBC interim welterweight title he won July 28 when he easily outpointed hard-punching, previously unbeaten European champion Selcuk Aydin in San Jose, completing a three-year transition from elusive lightweight to aggressive welterweight.

Even after his two knockdowns of Berto, the left-hander's featherweight image persists, that of a fluid, lanky, clever, defense-minded technician. He's definitely "the other guy" in the match with Mayweather, and he'll be a considerable underdog.

For these reasons, Guerrero's parity with Mayweather in size and power may catch a lot of boxing people by surprise, perhaps including Mayweather himself. Mayweather had trouble with a similarly bulky left-hander, Victor Ortiz, in 2011, and Guerrero is far better defensively than Ortiz and maybe as good offensively.

FEBRUARY 2013
Chapter 245

DONAIRE-RIGONDEAUX ON APRIL 13 IN N.Y. SEEMS LIKE HOT TICKET

A couple of sunny but cold days recently were reminiscent of the November Saturday in 2009 on which Nonito Donaire announced he would be fighting Gerson Guerrero that winter at the Las Vegas Hilton. Not Fernando Montiel. Not Vic Darchinyan, not Yonnhy Perez or even Jorge Arce. Gerson Guerrero.

If you're disappointed that Donaire is fighting Guillermo Rigondeaux instead of Abner Mares on April 13 in New York, perhaps the preceding flashback will offer some perspective.

Rigondeaux is unbeaten and has looked impressive. Donaire tends to looks his best when he's confronted with a true challenge, and Rigondeaux is the real deal. The bout will air on HBO. And the fight is in New York, for gosh sakes.

The chance to give Donaire (31-1, 20 knockouts) a better showcase than his boring October 2011 shutout of Omar Narvaez provided at the smaller arena of Madison Square Garden exceeds anything good you could say about Donaire's spring 2010 fight in Vegas, which turned out to be against someone even less estimable than the originally scheduled opponent.

For some of us, Rigondeaux (11-0, 8 knockouts) after an illustrious amateur career, was the ultimate super-bantamweight opponent for Donaire, albeit not as glamorous as Mares. I think Donaire's going to have trouble with Rigondeaux, and watching his response will be fascinating.

The backdrop at Radio City Music Hall won't hurt, either.

FEBRUARY 2013
Chapter 246

HEAVY EXPOSURE FOR GHOST

Floyd Mayweather Jr. was the dominant ring figure Saturday night on Showtime's boxing card from Detroit, an event that featured one of Mayweather's young disciples, Ishe Smith, dethroning IBF junior middleweight champion Cornelius "K-9" Bundrage.

For Robert Guerrero, Showtime's card Saturday, with its frequent shots of Mayweather in his fighters' corners, was effective promotion for Guerrero's May 4 confrontation with Mayweather in Las Vegas. But it was far from the only unaccustomed hype to benefit Guerrero since the Mayweather fight was formalized Tuesday.

The San Jose Mercury News, the biggest daily near Guerrero's home in Gilroy, managed to find headlines for the bout twice after Wednesday's main story about the contracts.

Apparently the Merc and its Bay Area News Group (BANG) brethren felt they had undersold the magnitude of Mayweather's 30-month deal with Showtime that could lead to six fights and about a half-billion dollars. It's being billed as the largest single such deal for an individual in any sport. That angle fetched a Sports Digest item in Friday's editions.

Guerrero held a teleconference Thursday, and I came away with notes I'll scatter through these posts throughout the fight buildup. The Merc didn't have anything Friday on Guerrero's teleconference, but it rated a headline Saturday concerning Guerrero's reasons for not deeming Mayweather the top pound-for-pound boxer anymore (although he is recognized as such by The Ring, and just about everybody else, including me).

Strategically, it doesn't seem wise for Guerrero to cast this bout as anything less than him against Number One, but the publicity obviously became greater when Guerrero bucked conventional wisdom. The blogosphere can be mighty effective, but newspapers and big-city radio-TV are still a better way to reach sports fans.

Mayweather, by the way, appears to have lost a lot of vitality in the months since his victory over Miguel Cotto last Cinco de Mayo. He can't afford to come off more than a year older than he did in the Cotto fight against Guerrero, because if Guerrero proves to be quicker than Mayweather, 36, there will be an upset.

But then, it would have been hard for Mayweather to match the ebullience of the Showtime telecast Saturday. Analyst Al Bernstein, with his measured effectiveness, fades into the woodwork alongside hyper-enthusiastic blow-by-blow announcer Mauro Ranallo, who is an icon in the MMA version of his profession but makes his boxing predecessor Screamin' Gus Johnson seem like Vin Scully in comparison.

Still, Mayweather seemed palpably anxious last year at this time, and now, with a 60-day prison term in his recent past, he appears much the worse for wear.

Thus, the buildup to Guerrero's big opportunity does bear a lot of watching.

MARCH 2013
Chapter 247

GUERRERO UNFAZED BY FACEOFF WITH FLOYD

Robert Guerrero was asked Thursday what he brings to his May 4 confrontation with Floyd Mayweather Jr. that was lacking in the 42 previous opponents who thought they had what it takes to beat the unbeaten top pound-for-pound boxer in the sport.

Guerrero pointed to his mind. "I'm mentally strong."

Mayweather put Guerrero to the test on that the other day at a media function that brought them face to face, getting right into Guerrero's grill and snarling at him for about 90 seconds. "Close enough to kiss me," Guerrero pointed out, implying perhaps Mayweather had picked up some habits during two months in prison last year.

The urgency of reporting the face-to-face meeting is that recordings of the encounter may be going viral as we speak, thanks to a version both obtained and transcribed by the industrious Ryan Maquiñana.

"It makes me laugh," Guerrero said Thursday at a Gilroy gym where he was surrounded by a couple dozen media types his people had summoned down Hwy 101. "That's how he breaks every guy. You can break a fighter at a press conference."

What's evident on the face-to-face video is that Guerrero seemed unfazed by Mayweather's vitriol and that Mayweather has reason to be fazed by Guerrero's physical presence, perhaps a surprise considering Guerrero's image in some quarters as a fattened-up featherweight.

Guerrero's reading of Mayweather's unspoken impressions? " 'This guy's bigger than I thought.' "

MARCH 2013
Chapter 248

HBO SAYS GOOD RIDDANCE TO GOLDEN BOY AND AL HAYMON

Well, boxing fans, it's time that you all get to know Al Haymon, the wizard who "advises" Floyd Mayweather Jr. and seems to be an increasingly sinister force in the boxing world.

Haymon's boot prints were all over HBO's proclamation Monday that it no longer is dealing with Golden Boy Promotions, which too often forced HBO to deal with Haymon, albeit indirectly. HBO said it will henceforth limit its dealings to "those strategic relationships where we better share common goals and business philosophies," as HBO sports president Ken Hershman put it in a statement.

Translation: HBO is very angry about the defection of Mayweather to Showtime last month but is much more outraged by how it went down under Haymon's autocratic rule, which Golden Boy head Richard Schaefer began to mimic in other dealings with HBO.

HBO sees itself as the New York Times of cable television, preferring a certain amount of class in the ongoing equation -- not the brass knuckles kind that seems to be emanating from the whole Haymon-Mayweather-Golden Boy-Showtime consortium.

In fact, HBO was kept in the dark during the two-month negotiations for Mayweather's May 4 pay-per-view bout with Gilroy's Robert Guerrero, just like the rest of us.

It didn't help Monday when Schaefer said: "The president of HBO Sports did not have any conversations with me since last November or December about anything." To HBO, that came off like a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

Like an abused elder, HBO had come to accept waiting patiently for Haymon -- whose claims to fame include a fortune made in the rock and pop concert world -- to draw up every detail of Mayweather's matches and then have Golden Boy tell HBO to "sign here."

It was bad enough that Haymon was dictating all the terms to haughty HBO. It became far worse when he rubbed noses in the dirt and still moved his client to Showtime.

The HBO-Golden Boy split began to seem inevitable in late 2011 when former Golden Boy attorney Stephen Espinoza brought his show-biz lawyer background to Showtime as its new sports president.

HBO had been dependent upon Golden Boy before its inception, considering founder Oscar De La Hoya fought on HBO for most of his career. The relationship had become dominant in boxing by the end of the George W. Bush administration.

Espinoza's predecessor at Showtime, Hershberg, had taken a similar post at HBO and thus strengthened its ties with Top Rank Boxing promoter Bob Arum.

Now the battle lines are fully set. Unfortunately, that means Nonito Donaire is less likely now to fight Abner Mares, and Andre Ward is less likely to fight Bernard Hopkins.

Much speculation about further warfare centers upon Adrien Broner, the lightweight who seems to be the next generation's Mayweather and has been trumpeting his ties with HBO. Haymon controls Broner, and Broner's contracts with HBO and with Haymon-Golden Boy apparently are up for renewal soon.

Will he choose HBO or Haymon?

If you think Haymon's going to lose Broner, you need to pay better attention.

MARCH 2013
Chapter 249

700 CLUB'S GUERRERO SEGMENT EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS

Roberto Guerrero and wife Casey appeared this week on Pat Robertson's _700 Club_ , and the Christian Broadcasting Network video is must viewing for anyone who professes to be a Guerrero devotee.

The interview, conducted commendably by Terry Meeuwsen, is particularly valuable as an overview of Casey's fight to survive leukemia, and thus the appearance is a significant asset to Guerrero's quest to become better known.

Meeuwsen, a memorable former Miss America (1973) seems totally conversant with the stages of Casey's illness, and that's what makes this interview definitive.

That also makes the interview a convenient way to become more conversant with the underpinnings of the Gilroy boxer's faith as he prepares for his May 4 welterweight pay-per-view bout with Floyd Mayweather.

"We're all devout Christians," Guerrero says of his team in the interview, as anyone who has been around that team already knows. Guerrero sets forth his Christianity a lot more than even fellow Bay Area boxing kingpin Andre Ward, and Ward calls himself the "Son of God," for, uh, pete's sake.

You might feel you have political reasons for wishing Guerrero hadn't appeared with Robertson, who adds a couple of questions to Meeuwsen's near the end of the segment.

Aside from his former prominence in Republican politics, Robertson has said so many off-the wall-things over the years that he has outraged a wide range of people, including fellow Christians.

Thus, the mix of politics and sports can be volatile, but boxers seem to be immune to the hostility that ensues. Manny Pacquiao is a conservative who voted against birth control in the Philippines' congress but also switched to a liberal political party after he was elected. Nonito Donaire is tight with the not-conservative president of the Philippines, seemingly without repercussions. (Donaire, by the way, mentions his Christianity occasionally without attracting much attention to it.)

So appearing on Pat Robertson's show isn't likely to reduce Guerrero's appeal to anyone. That's not to say politics is irrelevant in sports The fact is, most sports fans are conservative politically and so are nearly all the white athletes who go into politics.

But unless you're a Tim Tebow who makes the NFL more on the strength of a Christian constituency than for his skills at the professional level, the volatility of the sports-politics mix is seldom a deal-breaker.

Thus, the "700 Club" interview is a significant milestone if you're truly following Guerrero's increasingly fascinating progress to the brink of superstardom.

MARCH 2013
Chapter 250

A GUN RAP SCUFFS GUERRERO'S IMAGE IN N.Y.

Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero was arrested Thursday at New York's JFK Airport and was charged with trying to take a gun aboard his crack-of-dawn flight from New York to Las Vegas, the base for his all-important May 4 bout with Floyd Mayweather.

Although Guerrero declared the gun, in a box, as he checked in, and although it apparently would be legal to carry that gun in California, he is being charged with a felony, a New York prosecutor told ESPN's Dan Rafael, and could face a four-year prison sentence.

Here's betting Guerrero won't do any time, but he still may end up with a criminal record as a result.

Well, Guerrero needed exposure, and he's certainly gotten it this week on his Eastern tour. The returns are likely to prove there's no such thing as bad publicity.

The highlights were a segment in-studio at ESPN and an appearance with Robin Roberts (like Casey Guerrero, a bone-marrow transplant survivor) on ABC's _Good Morning America_ , and of course the 10-minute interview on Pat Robertson's _700 Club_ on the Christian Broadcasting Network.

The association with Robertson presumably pleases the right wing without necessarily costing Guerrero support among those who loathe Robertson. Not all rooting interests are based on personal compatibility.

The same is probably true of the gun rap. It probably gives Guerrero some cred in the flyover states, and if the notion that a conservative middle-class dude from small-town Gilroy is packing heat comes as a shock, you're too naive.

On the other hand, packing heat in Manhattan is kind of naive, too, considering how the Giulianis and Bloombergs have sanitized the place. It might be safer than Gilroy.

SPRING 2013

UNDER THE GUN

The Kingpin Trio stood a collective 30-0 (plus one no-decision) on my watch, 4½ years as of March. But that '0' was bound to go sooner than later, what with Robert Guerrero a prohibitive underdog against Floyd Mayweather on May 4. And it became fashionable to forecast Guerrero would prevail, but Nonito Donaire would fail to beat Cuban legend Guillermo Rigondeaux on April 13.

So you had to accept in advance that it might not be the end of the world if either or both lost. It didn't have to drag down the upbeat tempo of the trio.

Still, every time commentator Pedro Fernandez would refer to his chronic "boxing impotence," an inability to get excited anymore about the Sweet Science, it was easier to understand whence that was coming.

_The first sign of trouble in paradise arrived when steroids pariah-turned nutrition guru Victor Conte walked out on Team Donaire on the eve of a worrisome fight. "Sometimes personalities don't get along," Rachel Marcial Donaire told_ The Sweet Science _in the closest thing to an explanation anyone unearthed. Conte's departure was one of several signs that, with a baby due in early summer and the hub-bub around him multiplying, the boxer was mentally or emotionally overextended._

But by then, the spotlight, for once, was largely on Guerrero.

_The glare got very bright. The Ghost and wife Casey were on ABC's_ Good Morning America _with cancer survivor Robin Roberts and appeared on Christian Broadcasting's_ 700 Club _with Pat Robertson. The latter was not universally viewed as a good thing, but that was forgotten when Guerrero was arrested at JFK Airport for possessing a firearm illegally._

All that played well in Peoria, no doubt, but trainer-father Ruben Guerrero, heretofore cartoonishly lovable, veered increasingly out of control with his macho posturing toward the Mayweather camp during the fortnight before the fight. Now, that was bad.

Meanwhile, Andre Ward's shoulder trouble had killed a winter bout with ex-middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik. But there was no word of any new date for Ward when he was ready to resume training, and we found out why in late June, when Ward blamed his idleness on promoter Dan Goossen and tried to void their contract, presumably to let the more powerful Top Rank guide Ward's fortunes.

Although Goossen was able to retain Ward for the time being, that relationship lost its familial ambience, and a sense of dismay attendant to the Kingpin Trio increased again.

All of that was worse than what happened in the ring.

APRIL 2013
Chapter 251

DONAIRE'S OPPONENT ELUSIVE EVEN BEFORE FIGHT

Nonito Donaire is in danger of losing Saturday for the first time in 12 years, but sometimes Guillermo Rigondeaux doesn't seem like a live opponent.

Top Rank held a telephone press conference Tuesday in New York, ostensibly starring Saturday's combatants, who have sold out Radio City Music Hall and will appear on HBO. But Rigondeaux, who speaks only Spanish, could not be heard directly and it felt like his Caribe Promotions translator was inventing the answers by proxy.

So Donaire had to carry the press conference, and you can bet the fight for supremacy in the 122-pound division will be less one-sided.

At the very least, Tuesday's event probably swayed no new appreciation for the WBA champion Rigondeaux's talent, much less new appreciation for the former two-time former Olympic gold medalist from Cuba as a person.

Rigondeaux (11-0, 8 knockouts) is older and shorter than Donaire (31-1, 20 knockouts) and lacks comparable pro experience. But he may be as quick as Donaire and might be as formidable a power puncher, too. And, like Donaire, he is a master counter-puncher.

More than a few people have been picking Rigondeaux in this fight since long before the terms were set a couple of months ago. But the excitement level has been disappointing afar, and in the Bay Area we're all obsessed by Robert Guerrero's May date with Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Showtime pay-per-view.

This could be a tough year for the Kingpin Trio. Donaire and Guerrero could each lose this spring, and Andre Ward is only now coming back from the injury that prevented him from fighting Kelly Pavlik in January.

Keep in mind though, that only Guerrero is an underdog. Donaire is the house fighter Saturday and figures to get the benefit of the doubt if it's a close fight. Rigondeaux will have to be aggressive eventually.

Donaire went so far Tuesday as to suggest Rigondeaux faces the same quandary left-handed Japanese counter-puncher Toshiaki Nishioka faced against Donaire last October. After a super-cautious Nishioka lost the first four rounds, he was forced to make the fight, and Donaire hammered him when he did.

"With Nishioka," Donaire said, "at the moment he thought he could lure me, ultimately my tactic was well played and he succumbed to the tactic where he tried to reach in. . . .That's the same thing that will happen with Rigondeaux."

It's possible Top Rank's Bob Arum ensured that scenario when he put the match together, as he stressed that Rigondeaux needed to become more exciting in the ring. Rigondeaux apparently agreed. "I'll try to engage a lot more than I have in the past," Rigondeaux said via the translator in his most engaging quote of the session "I want to give the fans what they want to see, so there'll be a lot of fireworks."

Well, Saturday is the best time for that, but as of now there seems to be less spark all around than there should be.

APRIL 2013
Chapter 252

DONAIRE WILL GET PAST WORRISOME OPPONENT RIGONDEAUX

Nonito Donaire and his camp expressed some doubts going into his 2011 bantamweight showdown with Fernando Montiel. But Team Donaire has been cocksure about beating Guillermo Rigondeaux in Saturday's 122-pound unification bout on HBO, so who are we to argue?

Even those who think Rigondeaux (11-0, 8 knockouts) has a fairly good chance of pulling the upset at New York's Radio City Music Hall are hard-put to explain how, and the former Cuban Olympic gold medalist is no help on that front. He says he expects to figure it out in the ring, as he always does. Which unfortunately for him is one of those areas in which Donaire is probably the best in the world.

Perhaps Rigondeaux, who is 32 and looks older, perhaps because of his 400 amateur bouts, will be quicker than Donaire, 30, at times, or even continually. Rigondeaux may be able to dart in and out and take pot shots that win him an early round or two. But if that's how he has to win, it's likely that Donaire will catch him coming in sooner or later.

Besides, that's not how Rigondeaux fights. He's a master counter-puncher who is hard to hit and can spring like a cobra with knockout power in either hand.

As can Donaire (31-1, 20 knockouts), whose advantages in length, youth and pro experience ought to count for something in a battle of near-equals, if in fact they are near-equals.

"When it comes down to speed and power and tactical ability," Donaire said, "then my experience will come in handy . . . (That's) a big factor when it comes down to we are evenly matched. If it comes down to speed and power, then my experience will be an ace for me, but that is something we will need to find out – if he is stronger than me or faster than me."

Donaire certainly didn't embrace Rigondeaux as a near-equal until a few weeks ago, it seems. You have to take the San Mateo-based native of the Philippines at his word that he wasn't avoiding Rigondeaux out of reluctance to take a risk. He honestly thought the left-hander wasn't qualified and would be a boring opponent.

Donaire's first fight in New York was a snoozer because his opponent wouldn't engage, but he expects Rigondeaux to seriously threaten his superiority in the 122-pound division. And he admits he has trouble doing his best against mediocre opposition, so he's glad if Rigondeaux indeed poses problems.

That's why this shapes up to be a dazzling victory for Donaire. It's quite possible that Rigondeaux will create his share of the excitement, and it might be best for Donaire if that happens.

It's hard to imagine Rigondeaux winning a decision. He'll have to try to hurt Donaire, and Nonito will make him pay, winning by TKO in the 10th or 11th round.

"He has been the best ever at the amateur level trying to become one of the best at the professional level," Donaire said of Rigondeaux in summation. "It is going to be something – people are going to be in for a treat. It's going to be a great fight."

Who are we to argue?

APRIL 2013
Chapter 253

QUICKER RIGONDEAUX OUTPOINTS DONAIRE

Nonito Donaire found himself in the ring with a quicker opponent Saturday and ended up losing a unanimous decision to Guillermo Rigondeaux in New York. The scorecards read 116-111, 115-112, 114-113.

Although Donaire (31-2) came on in the seventh through 10th rounds, knocking Rigondeaux down with a left hook in the 10th, the Cuban left-hander outgunned Donaire in the final two rounds. A left to Donaire's right eye at the outset of the 12th round bothered the "Filipino Flash" and hindered his final chance to score the knockout he apparently needed to win.

By the third round it was clear Donaire would have to be the slugger to overcome Rigondeaux's ability to beat him to the punch with either hand. It turned out that Rigondeaux (12-0) was the more effective boxer from outside throughout the fight, the opposite of what might have been supposed going in, and Donaire could not get close to Rigondeaux very often.

Donaire, who lost his WBO junior featherweight title to Rigondeaux, seemed to be acclimating himself to the WBA super-bantamweight champ's power in hopes of walking through it in the later rounds and simply overpowering the shorter man.

There were some who thought it was a close fight all the way, but HBO's crew didn't think Nonito won any round but the 10th. I had him winning the fifth by virtue of one huge left hook, so when he won four of the next five rounds by carrying the fight and scoring the knockdown, he conceivably pulled ahead in a fight that was presenting the overall impression that Rigondeaux was winning.

So Rigondeaux deserved the decision, and he proved it throughout the fight and certainly in the final two rounds.

"I made him look the way he looked," Rigondeaux said. "He looked bad. I was moving, moving, and he was frustrated."

Rigondeaux's retort to the accusation that he moved too much and punched too little was that Donaire did a lot less.

"With one shot, you don't win a fight."

Donaire thought he was going to win with one shot. He admitted he's been too enamored of his own power recently and indeed expected to find a way to impose it as the fight progressed. He needed to increase the volume instead of looking for one big shot.

"It was my mistake for not changing up," Donaire admitted. He did equivocate about the difficulty imposed by the 122-pound weight limit and a shoulder injury he said has plagued him his past three fights.

"But no excuses. He beat me tonight. We've got to go back to the drawing board and do better."

APRIL 2013
Chapter 254

DONAIRE DIDN'T STUDY ENOUGH TO MAKE THE GRADE

No wonder Team Donaire was so confident Guillermo Rigondeaux would be easy pickin's in Saturday's super-bantamweight title match. They'd barely seen the guy fight.

As a result, they didn't concoct a fight plan to cope with Rigondeaux's edge in quickness. They didn't know Nonito Donaire would have to counteract that from the get-go without his usual degree of counter-punching.

By the time Donaire reckoned he would have to carry the super-bantamweight title unification fight at New York's Radio City Music Hall, he had squandered the first three rounds and still didn't have most of the right answers.

Had he tried to land a high volume of punches (relative to Rigondeaux's outstanding defense) he might well have outpointed him. The judging wasn't a landslide as it was.

In the heat of battle, which was where Donaire's game plan called for all decisions to be made, he chose to go for a one-punch knockout, and he stepped up that strategy in the 11th and 12 rounds when, as it turned out, the scoring hung in the balance.

He was punished those two rounds when he failed to land the big one and punished all the more when he failed to land enough punches to win those rounds and steal the decision.

He's getting what he deserves for what is proving to have been a cavalier approach to preparing for the best opponent he's ever faced.

By the way, his recent split with nutritionist Victor Conte probably wasn't much of a factor in his defeat. Donaire didn't need continued supervision to maintain his regimen and his energy level was adequate to keep him in the fight. Ditto for his impending fatherhood.

After a few months of baby-bonding, Donaire will be capable of winning a rematch with Rigondeaux, though even then he might go in as the underdog.

Surely he'll study films of this fight -- again and again and again.

MAY 2013
Chapter 255

GUERRERO'S DAD KICKS MAYWEATHER WHERE IT MAY HURT

Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero's raffish father-trainer, Ruben Guerrero, doesn't always take the high road like his wholesome son. That is proving an asset to Showtime's build-up to Saturday's pay-per-view fight between The Ghost and Floyd Mayweather, the sport's top fighter for the past decade-plus.

Robert can be a hot-head, but he has been careful not to fan flames and also has avoided taking anything Mayweather says to heart.

Ruben is not so cautious. He denigrated, on Showtime's "All Access," the prison term Mayweather served last summer, and it's the one time any of the participants has truly gotten under anyone else's skin.

"The word went out that he was in protective custody, was in there with the snitches," Ruben said. "When you're in there like that, c'mon, you're not being a man."

Here's where it turned ugly: "I have been in jail for a couple of fights I had," Ruben said. "I beat up a couple of guys, and I did my time like a real man.

"You are not going to crack from 30 days in jail. That's baby nuts. You gotta let your balls hang, and don't cry about it. Be a man, a real man."

That's not exactly the tone the bible-thumping Team Guerrero has been trying to set. Well, not in public.

Specifically, Ruben alluded to Floyd's attempt, days into his term, to get early release because his body was deteriorating from lack of exercise. "Do your time," Ruben said, "and no cryin' to the judge."

Guerrero fans may have cringed at this, but Ruben may have drawn blood.

Showtime's build-up via three of its four "All-Access" episodes has been otherwise devoid of spontaneity. That will happen when one of the principals in a documentary is the executive producer. Mayweather controls the production the way he dictates his fights. "Once again, everybody got to adjust and adapt to me because I control the tempo always." Well, he and mastermind, Al Haymon.

But they left in what Ruben said about Floyd.

And Floyd responded during a media teleconference last week.

". . .They were basically making jokes about me, making fun of me, talking about that Floyd Mayweather couldn't do his time," Mayweather said of Team Guerrero's behavior during Guerrero's gun-possession arrest in New York a month ago.

You could tell that got a rise out of Mayweather, 36.

"I could do my time, but who wants to lose their freedom? There's nothing cool about losing their freedom. Of _course_ I didn't want to lose my freedom."

That prison stretch is no small ingredient in Saturday's match. Mayweather (43-0, 24 knockouts) seems about three years older than he did a year ago, when he beat Miguel Cotto in Mayweather's toughest bout in a good five years.

He's been pretending he barely knows who Guerrero is, and he does seem to be basing his opinion of The Ghost on only his most recent fights --a HUGE mistake. But make no mistake: Mayweather will be up for this fight, as he'll need to be, excited and incited.

Ruben Guerrero has made sure of that.

MAY 2013
Chapter 256

MAYWEATHER SHOULD PREVAIL, BUT UPSET BET ISN'T DUMB

Robert Guerrero is a huge underdog Saturday in his welterweight championship fight with Floyd Mayweather.

Which is precisely why I drove to South Lake Tahoe on March 12 and plunked down a $300 bet on Guerrero at Harrah's. If Guerrero pulls the upset, I'll net more than $2,000. A $1,000 bet on Mayweather would have returned only $100 if Floyd wins. The odds have since become only two-third as lopsided.

However, I'm on the record as having told Showtime, which is televising the bout pay-per-view, that Mayweather will win by majority decision, an entertaining fight that will raise Guerrero's stock.

Still, that bet on Guerrero (31-1-1, 18 knockouts) to win looks pretty good, and I'm certainly not alone. If he doesn't get cut too badly by repeated straight rights from the fast-handed Floyd, he can not only inflict more damage on Mayweather than anyone else in the pound-for-pound kingpin's 43-0 career, but also he can win the fight.

He already has done a good job of brushing off Mayweather's verbal onslaught.

"It doesn't get to me because I'm ready for this," Guerrero said. "I'm mentally ready for this, mentally focused. I've been through far worse things than standing in front of Floyd or listening to him talk and getting mad about it."

Guerrero's mental toughness is just one more reason Mayweather has never been more ripe for picking. Floyd has trouble with left-handers and definitely found the big lefty Victor Ortiz a handful in 2011. He was forced into exchanges with Miguel Cotto in his last outing, a year ago. He's 36 and can't be the fastest man in the sport forever. And he's much the worse for wear following last summer's jail stint, not to mention a year's ring rust.

As Guerrero noted, "I've been out a whole year (before) and fought, and jumped right in with a hard puncher, and you can feel the punches different. So it takes a little time to shake that ring rust off."

Mayweather knows Guerrero has power after seeing Robert knock down Andre Berto twice in the first four minutes of his impressive victory last November, so Guerrero figures Floyd will reckon with that danger, at least.

"After the beating I put on Berto, you've got to take somebody seriously, because you know they come out to punish," Guerrero said. "So I know for sure Floyd Mayweather is taking me seriously. Especially being out for a whole year, you know, like he said, I mean, it's been his longest training camp in a long time and he's putting in the work and the time that he needs to be ready for the fight, but that isn't going to make a difference, because I know his body size. You can see it. Being a whole year laid off, he's going to feel the punches."

Mayweather is also the worse for being unaware of Guerrero's range of attributes, beginning with his surprise, in Guerrero's estimation, of the physical magnitude of Robert's expansion from 126 pounds to 147.

At the same time, Mayweather seems unaware of why they call Guerrero "The Ghost" in the first place. His elusiveness, largely because of his early grasp of footwork and other boxing basics, inspired the nickname.

It appears Mayweather has no grasp of how well-schooled Guerrero is, considering he has branded Guerrero "a grappler" who "fights flat-footed." While it's true Guerrero sets down on his punches a lot more as a welterweight than he did in his featherweight days, he has shown a much wider range of talent in his career than Mayweather seems to be expecting. Floyd seems to think Guerrero will simply come after him, bull vs. matador.

"That's been everybody's game plan," Mayweather said, "to keep pressure. So like I said before, as long as everybody's got the same game plan I'm gonna keep having the same game plan."

In fact, Mayweather admits that he doesn't have a game plan. He will adjust in the ring to whatever Guerrero brings.

Just as Nonito Donaire did three weeks ago with no game plan against Guillermo Rigondeaux.

This fight is beginning to smell like that one, and my $300 seems to be money well spent.

MAY 2013
Chapter 257

GUERRERO OUTGUNNED, OUTPOINTED BY MAYWEATHER

Robert Guerrero may be one of the 10 best boxers, pound-for-pound, in the world, but he's nowhere near the best.

That's what Floyd Mayweather proved Saturday in the welterweight showdown with the pride of Gilroy. Mayweather won a no-doubt-about-it unanimous decision, prevailing 117-111 on all three scorecards, meaning nine rounds to three.

Guerrero forced Mayweather to perform but couldn't match the most prodigious talent in the sport today; maybe the best ever.

Mayweather spent the first four rounds convincing Guerrero he could hurt him and the next eight proving Guerrero couldn't hurt him.

Guerrero was unable to elude Mayweather's lead right hands and was unable to land power punches to the face, although he landed hard punches to the body through much of the fight.

Guerrero seemed to accept at the outset that Mayweather was going to open aggressively and could reach the left-hander Guerrero with the right hand. Guerrero tried to counter with the left every time Mayweather tried that. He failed.

"He was barely squeaking by the punches," Guerrero said of the early howitzers that didn't connect. "That's why he's the champion."

Once Mayweather established his offensive superiority and assumed his customary defense-first posture, he was in his element, but he never quite humiliated Guerrero. "He's a true warrior," Mayweather said.

It was a bit condescending, but why shouldn't it have been? Mayweather looked truly great.

MAY 2013
Chapter 258

UPSHOT OF GUERRERO GUN CASE: REDUCED TO FOOTNOTE

Robert Guerrero's gun-possession case was resolved Tuesday in New York, where felony charges that could have led to more than five years in prison were reduced to a mere "violation."

The ruling still will cost him a $250 fine and 50 hours of community service he's allowed to perform back home in California, but there won't be a criminal record. Nor will there be much lasting stigma where Guerrero's image is concerned.

Guerrero was winding up an image-enhancement tour of the East in late March when he was arrested at JFK International Airport and charged with breaking a law that was far more stringent than the California standards Guerrero presumed would apply elsewhere.

"I'm pleased that the District Attorney's Office considered my case carefully and resolved it fairly," Guerrero said Tuesday in a statement issued by Golden Boy Promotions. "I never intended to violate New York law, but I know that ignorance of the law is not an excuse. Lesson learned."

Even we anti-gun types can overlook a mistake like that.

The gun incident probably ranked about fourth among the ghastly aspects of The Ghost's campaign to upset Floyd Mayweather, a quest that overall has done Guerrero far more good than harm nevertheless.

Ranking No. 3 would be the May 4 fight itself, in which Guerrero hung in with one of the greatest fighters of all time but came off as more average than we had hoped. Guerrero's fight plan was good enough to beat Mayweather, and he was almost good enough to execute it. Almost wasn't nearly enough.

No. 2 was the tawdry behavior of Ruben Guerrero, Robert's father and trainer, whose pre-fight declarations about the aesthetics of serving time vis a vis one's masculinity were accompanied ultimately by mindless ranting at Mayweather's father-trainer, Floyd Sr. Robert handled his father well then, and the sound game plan in the fight certainly vindicated Ruben. But the often-charming dad stepped in it again post-fight by asserting that Mayweather "ran like a chicken" during a bout in which Guerrero was getting belted a lot.

No. 1 was the fight-week interview with Jim Rome, who tried to pin down just how Guerrero figured he could pull the upset, and Guerrero spouted homilies about effort that made him seem ineffectual, both at the time and in retrospect. That's what Guerrero's image can't afford.

At least more people know who Guerrero is now, and his next victory along the lines of his November win over Andre Berto will carry new impact.

MAY 2013
CHAPTER 259

WARD AN APT ANALYST AS FROCH OUTPOINTS KESSLER

They call the referee the "third man in the ring," but Andre Ward came closer than anyone to exemplifying the third-man role Saturday as Carl Froch outpointed Mikkel Kessler by unanimous decision in a rematch of Ward's two most notable victims in the 2009-2011 Super Six tournament.

That tournament, which made Ward a star, was a Showtime venture, but Saturday's rematch in London was on HBO, which employed Ward in the analyst role alongside blow-by-blow veteran Jim Lampley and youthful commentator Max Kellerman.

Ward is still green as the analyst, but the battle of Ward's two top adversaries in the 168-pound division provided the East Bay superstar several quotable moments, beginning with his assertion that each needed to be more "defensively responsible" than in the first meeting, and he credited both with succeeding at that.

Froch piled up a lead in the first four rounds by jabbing and hustling, jarring Kessler a couple of times, and Ward noted that Kessler would have no choice but to fight more aggressively thereafter, which he did. Froch withstood Kessler's increasingly effective power punching by outworking the twice-beaten Dane and closing the show in the 12th round with a frenzy.

The scorecards read 118-110, 116-112 and 115-113, somewhat similar to the verdict that favored Kessler in their 2010 bout.

Whether or not it was more of a 10-2 bout than a 7-5, "Froch is a clear-cut winner," Ward declared. "That's the bottom line."

Ward tried to deflect the attention to the excellence of the bout at hand, but his presence on the scene couldn't be ignored, especially in light of Ward's defensive advantages over both Froch and Kessler.

"These guys aren't even interested in that," Lampley said.

"I like to hit, too," Ward was quick to counter. "Trust me on that."

Ward was there to be promoted, all right, and the possibility that he might fight Froch again was on everyone's minds. After all, Ward said, Froch has beaten Lucian Bute and Kessler since losing to Ward in December 2011. He has improved.

Ward didn't dismiss a rematch at all, not even a rematch on Froch's turf, and even told us what it might take:

"Froch's promoter has to show how bad he wants it."

JUNE 2013
CHAPTER 260

DAWSON LOSS, MAIDANA WIN HAVE BAY AREA IMPACT

Three brutal endings in five fights Saturday on Showtime and HBO are generating a lot of enthusiasm toward the three victors.

Light heavyweight kingpin Chad Dawson was knocked out in the first round by stocky Canadian Adonis Stevenson in Montreal in HBO's headliner after Yuriorkis Gamboa's disappointingly narrow lightweight victory over unsung Colombian Darleys Perez. In Showtime's headliner, welterweight Marcos Maidana forced Josesito Lopez to engage in a slugfest, and the Argentinian scored a sixth-round TKO victory in Carson, Calif. In a much better bout on that card, Cuban cutie Erislandy Lara survived two knockdowns to stop super-welterweight slugger Alfredo Angulo in the 10th round.

The evening certainly generated new possibilities and perspectives for the Bay Area's kingpin trio, Andre Ward, Robert Guerrero and Nonito Donaire, and perhaps for recent Top Rank signee Karim Mayfield as well.

Ward, whose 10-round destruction of Dawson in his last bout last September either paled in comparison to Stevenson's feat or softened Dawson up for it, was at ringside as an HBO analyst, and certified the winner, who felt he had been ducked by prominent. super-middleweights, presumably including Ward, and thus had moved up to 175 to challenge for the WBC title. "He knocked out Chad Dawson with one punch. You've got to respect that," Ward said. "He's definitely a player in both divisions now."

That knockout came so quickly that the bout couldn't possibly outrank the two slugfests on Showtime (a third bout was a dull one, unbeaten super welterweight Jermell Charlo winning by decision over Demetrius Hopkins).

Maidana's victory might renew interest in a bout between him and Guerrero, like the one that had been scheduled in 2011 before Guerrero injured his shoulder. Maidana had foundered since then while Guerrero thrived by beating two top welterweights and facing Floyd Mayweather.

But Maidana's win Saturday enhanced his promotability, generating some rumbling for fight-of-the-year status, although let's face it, these were two guys whose claims to fame are screwy victories over screwball Victor Ortiz, and valiant losses to Amir Khan (Maidana) and Canelo Alvarez (Lopez). After Lopez, trying to box, lost the second and third rounds, he came after Maidana, with mixed success at best, and got caught in the sixth.

The Lara-Angulo bout was far more complex.

Lara, a left-hander whose only loss was a tainted decision defeat to Paul Williams, not long before Williams' crippling motorcycle accident, didn't run from the fearsome Angulo. Instead he alternately crowded Angulo and danced away, landing stiff straight lefts early and often. Angulo was losing most of the rounds despite a steady body attack, but he decked Lara in the fourth round and again in the ninth before a one-two from Lara in the 10th raised a massive hematoma on Angelo's left brow. He turned from Lara in pain, and referee Raul Caiz Sr. stopped a bout that you thought could go either way until seconds before it ended.

Lara's elusiveness would give Guerrero a lot more trouble than Maidana's explosiveness, and Guerrero is not averse to fighting at 154. Either is a worthy opponent

Lara brought to mind Guillermo Rigondeaux's dazzling performance against Donaire in April, but the third prominent Cuban in the pro ranks, Gamboa, could not say the same. Gamboa is too short to be a lightweight, and gets hit too often for a guy whose athleticism is his calling card. Saturday's bout probably was his last on HBO.

Gamboa once was a primary target for Donaire in the ultimate featherweight fight. Now Gamboa is out of that picture before Donaire has even fought at 126. What Gamboa's bout proved, Donaire-wise, is that Nonito must fight Rigondeaux again.

JUNE 2013
Chapter 261

JUANMA LOPEZ'S LOSS TO GARCIA REDUCES DONAIRE'S OPTIONS

The chances that Nonito Donaire will ever face Juan Manuel Lopez dwindled to none Saturday when Lopez suffered a fourth-round knockout loss to Mikey Garcia in Dallas.

Lopez was a target for Donaire throughout the past four years, even when Donaire was still a flyweight champion. And, with Donaire needing an interesting bout before the rematch that just has to take place with Guillermo Rigondeaux, who upset Donaire by decision in April in a battle for supremacy in the 122-pound division, Lopez had topped the recent rumor list.

But now Lopez has been stopped in three bouts, and that's about two stoppages more than anyone worthy of fighting Donaire should sustain.

Garcia and Donaire are unlikely to tangle. Garcia's brother is Donaire's trainer. Then, too, Garcia's failure to make the 126-pound weight limit for the Lopez bout cost him his WBO featherweight title. Garcia will have to reckon with a move to 130 or higher, just as Donaire is eager to ascend to 126.

Garcia would have seemed larger than Lopez even if he'd made weight. He established that he could land a hard jab at will in the first round, knocked Lopez down with a left-right combination in the second, hurt him with a left hook in the third round and finished him with an assortment of all those in the fourth.

The supporting bout on the Garcia-Lopez card featured rising lightweight Terence Crawford, who stopped wily Mexican veteran Alejandro Sanabria in five. Crawford seems to have more skill than box-office appeal, so he needs to beat a big-time opponent ASAP, preferably Yuriorkis Gamboa, a recent arrival to the 135-pound division but a long timer on Donaire's ultimate wish list.

But, like Lopez, Gamboa seems likely to elude Donaire. Now there's no one like that in sight for the "Filipino Flash."

JUNE 2013
Chapter 262

BRONER NOT SCARY BEATING MALIGNAGGI AT 147

Adrien Broner won a welterweight title Saturday on Showtime in his first bout as a 147-pounder, but it was no smack down for the rising superstar, who certainly is a viable future opponent for Gilroy's Robert Guerrero.

Broner (27-0) won only by split decision in Brooklyn over veteran cutie Paulie Malignaggi, whose previous conquerors Miguel Cotto, Amir Khan and Ricky Hatton beat him worse than Broner did. The scorecards read 115-113, 113-115, 117-111.

Malignaggi's stick and-move tactics weren't hurting the quick-handed but only 5-foot-6½ Broner. Malignaggi couldn't land his right hand above Broner's sternum. But Malignaggi's peskiness impeded Broner's attack enough to make for a close fight after Malignaggi won the first, second and fourth rounds.

"At times I messed up his game plan," Malignaggi said.

Nevertheless, Broner nailed Malignaggi enough times, especially with lead rights, to win most of the remaining rounds (I gave Malignaggi the 10th), and in some ways it was an easy fight for Broner.

"He couldn't hit me," Broner said. "He couldn't hit me!"

Malignaggi was willing to concede it was a close fight he may have lost. But Tom Schreck's 117-111 scorecard rankled him. "It's always the politically connected fighters who get the close decisions."

Coincidentally, Guerrero fought on a Texas card in 2009 on which Malignaggi got jobbed against Juan Diaz, and ranted about the politics of boxing. Guerrero was a house fighter that night and Malignaggi was not.

Coming off his May loss to Floyd Mayweather, Guerrero remains a hot enough commodity for Golden Boy Promotions that a fight between him and Broner seems quite attractive.

Especially considering Guerrero and Broner traded insults last September.

Broner is definitely quicker at welterweight than Guerrero and would pose some of the problems Mayweather posed. But Broner was quite hittable against Malignaggi. It's not inconceivable that Guerrero, towering over Broner, could do a lot more than pester him.

JUNE 2013
Chapter 263

WARD IS GETTING AWAY FROM GOOSSEN

Andre Ward on Tuesday asked the California State Athletic Commission to abet his efforts to void his contract with promoter Dan Goossen.

Ward, ranked No. 2 behind Floyd Mayweather in The Ring magazine's pound-for-pound ratings, apparently is headed for Top Rank, which stole fellow Bay Area star Nonito Donaire from Gary Shaw five years ago, about the same time Robert Guerrero was defecting from Goossen to Golden Boy.

Goossen, Shaw and Lou DiBella are foremost in a second tier of boxing promoters who are vital to the sport's breadth.

But when you're one of the sport's biggest stars, apparently you need one of the two big promoters, Top Rank or Golden Boy.

Ward has reached a stage where he has to become a pay-per-view attraction to maximize his potential, and that's not the strength of what Goossen does.

An HBO spokesman declined this week to discuss my conjecture that Top Rank's pay-per-view wherewithal is the primary reason for Ward's impending defection. But he didn't say it was nonsense, either.

Ward hasn't fought since his spectacular victory over Chad Dawson last September, partly because he needed shoulder surgery but partly, reports say, because Goossen has been trying to negotiate without bringing Ward's management team, headed by James Prince, in on the bargaining. Ward says that cost him a fight this year.

Ward is reportedly unhappy about the looming possibility that he won't fight before his 30th birthday next February.

It's not that he isn't marketable.

He has a significant following in the Bay Area and beyond. He's been a star in the making for 10 years, counting the buildup to his Olympic gold medal. And he has beaten all comers as a pro, however boring some may claim his ring one-upsmanship can be.

Ward is truly a star, and sympathetic though we might be toward Goossen, it's impossible to condemn the fighter for trying to move on.

SUMMER 2013

FULL CIRCLE FOR DONAIRE --AND HIS CHRONICLER

By August it was clear that Nonito Donaire's next bout would be the long-awaited rematch with Vic Darchinyan, It had to be said that stagnation was hovering around Donaire, and also Robert Guerrero and Andre Ward, as 2013 began to seem like a lost year for all three.

All three were treading old ground, as a Ward rematch with Carl Froch began to look appealing and Guerrero's ideal opponent seemed to be longtime target Juan Manuel Marquez.

None could be said to be past his peak, however, and the staying power of the Kingpin Trio and most other boxing stars during the past five years was certainly worth noting.

Even Marquez, pushing 40, was still on top, coming off his stunning 2012 knockout of Manny Pacquiao. Marquez and still-unbeaten Timothy Bradley, who would have made for a credible 140-pound unification match five years earlier, were training for an October pay-per-view welterweight bout.

Pacquiao had lost his past two fights to Bradley and Marquez, but most observers thought he had beaten Bradley convincingly and that he was outpointing Marquez and wearing him down when the knockout came out of nowhere. So Pacquiao's November match with slugger Brandon Rios was an intriguing one, made more so by the locale -- Macau, near Hong Kong.

Wladimir Klitschko was still the leading heavyweight and finally was facing long-formidable competitor Alexander Povetkin in Moscow in early fall.

And Floyd Mayweather capped the summer by beating Canelo Alvarez, about as formidable a junior middleweight opponent as could be imagined, about as easily as he had beaten Guerrero in May.

So little had changed on the boxing landscape, even with the advancement of Alvarez, welterweight Adrien Broner, middleweight slugger Gennady Golovkin, and a scary future opponent for Ward in light heavyweight Adonis Stevenson, who knocked out Chad Dawson in one round in June.

It seemed quite appropriate from my standpoint that the nostalgic rematch between Donaire and Darchinyan would be held in Corpus Christi, Texas, where I spent nearly five formative years of my journalism career and where I met my wife.

And to bring things full circle, the chief arranger of my inevitable November journey to Corpus Christi was publicist Fred Sternburg, at whose urging I had made the seminal Hollywood journey to see Pacquiao and Freddie Roach in November 2008.

_You might also enjoy:_  http://www.examiner.com/article/emile-griffith-a-5-7-giant-of-the-sixties-succumbs

JULY 2013
Chapter 264

A NEW ADDITION TO DONAIRE'S PLACE IN POSTERITY

The much-anticipated arrival of the royal baby finally took place Tuesday.

Nonito and Rachel Marcial Donaire became parents of a 6-pound, 12-ounce son, Jarel Michael Marcial Donaire.

"No championship belts or victory could amount to the joy I felt the 1st time I heard him cry & held him in my arms," announced Nonito, who is coming off his first loss in more than 10 years and wants to move up to featherweight and/or avenge his loss to Guillermo Rigondeaux or give Vic Darchinyan a rematch, though the 2012 fighter of the year still has not set a date for his next fight.

The child was delivered via emergency Caesarean section, so there was real tension and cause for concern in the wee hours Tuesday as the lengthy labor process common in first-time childbirth dragged on.

Overall, though, the sense that Rachel is tough enough for anything prevailed, especially while mother Rebecca was issuing increasingly impatient, sometimes humorous Facebook updates as her own tension mounted.

No HBO film crew was present to deflect the tension. That was just as well. While a hearty "let's get ready to grumble" from Michael Buffer would have been the perfect way to induce labor, the back-and-forth between announcers Jim Lampley and Max Kellerman might have been unfairly blamed for the kid's apparent reluctance to emerge.

AUGUST 2013
Chapter 265

MARES' K.O. DEFEAT NOT GOOD FOR DONAIRE AT FEATHERWEIGHT

Nonito Donaire's new division shifted seismically Saturday when Abner Mares suffered a first-round knockout at the hands of veteran slugger Jhonny Gonzalez.

In fact, the result reduced Donaire's incentives for moving from 122 pounds to 126 before 2014.

Gonzales, 31, took the WBC featherweight title in Carson, Calif., by surprising Mares with a left hook that knocked him down and following with a barrage that put Mares down a second time and ended the fight at 2 minutes, 55 seconds. Mares said he could have continued, but "the ref (Jack Reiss) did his job. He felt I wasn't ready, and I respect that."

It was the 47th knockout for Gonzalez (55-8), who also has beaten Fernando Montiel, Hozumi Hasegawa and Roger Mtagwa but had lost to Toshiaki Nishioka (whom Donaire defeated last October), Gerry Peñalosa, Israel Vazquez and, in his last fight, Daniel Ponce de Leon, from whom Mares then won the title.

"Only my corner believed I could win this fight," said Gonzalez, who is trained by Nacho Beristain.

Mares (26-1-1), promoted by Golden Boy, was a recent addition to the featherweight ranks, having relinquished the WBC's 122-pound belt (which had been stripped from Nishioka) and then failing to line up a showdown fight with Top Rank's Donaire. Donaire fought Guillermo Rigondeaux last April instead and lost.

That defeat has knocked Donaire out of The Ring magazine's top 10 pound-for-pound (Golden Boy owns the magazine) and helped Mares reach the No. 5 spot despite his never having done anything that would suggest superiority over Donaire.

The fact that a left hook, Donaire's specialty, felled Mares underscores that emphatically. It's doubtful Donaire would beat Mares in one round, because Abner wouldn't be so careless against Nonito, but Mares would have to be the aggressor against the taller Bay Area fighter and would be vulnerable to the fabled counter left.

Saturday's upset leaves the featherweight ranks a shambles. Gonzalez's win will be seen as a fluke by many. The division's true kingpin, Mikey Garcia, failed to make weight in his last bout, his second victory over Orlando Salido, and surely must graduate to 130. Unbeaten WBA champion Chris John, 33, hasn't fought anyone of consequence in years. Little-known IBF champion Evgeny Gradovich, who sparred with Donaire before the Nishioka fight, lacks marquee appeal. The WBO title is vacant. Former champions Juan Manuel Lopez and Salido have been beaten too badly too recently to be viable.

Mares' best bet is probably a rematch with Gonzalez, and he won't be discouraged by his first defeat. "I'm not letting it get to me," Mares said. "You learn how to win. You've got to learn how to lose, too.

That's Donaire's attitude, too, but lost stature is lost stature. Defeating Mares impressively no longer would restore his pre-Rigondeaux regard in one night.

The only way to do that is to beat Rigondeaux. Donaire is tentatively scheduled to fight Nov. 16, his 31st birthday, in San Antonio against an opponent (and in a weight class) still to be determined. Maybe he needs a tune-up before he chases down Rigondeaux, but chase the Cuban southpaw down he must.

AUGUST 2013
Chapter 266

REMATCH SYNDROME IMPLIES TRIO IS IN A RUT

Nonito Donaire and Vic Darchinyan are headed for their long-awaited rematch Nov. 9 in Corpus Christi, Texas. The bout will air on HBO's _Boxing After Dark_.

But it's too little, too late -- by three or four years. Stagnation is hovering around Donaire, and also his fellow Bay Area stars Andre Ward and Robert Guerrero, and 2013 is beginning to seem like a lost year for all three. If Donaire-Darchinyan is the best fight out there for any of them, the year's highlight for our power trio will have been Guerrero's decisive loss to Floyd Mayweather in May.

Donaire's breakthrough upset of Darchinyan at 112 pounds took place in 2007 and they nearly staged the rematch at 115 pounds in 2009-2010, when it still seemed attractive. By 2009 one could envision a Guerrero-Juan Manuel Marquez match someday not far off. That was the year the Super Six tournament began and it was possible to envision the title match with Carl Froch that Ward won in 2011.

As 2013 winds down, these remain the ideal matches for the trio. That's stagnation. Guerrero, Donaire and Ward have made a lot of progress since 2009, with Ward and Donaire the past two fighters of the year, but that was then and this is now.

Darchinyan, 37, has lost four fights since mid-2009 at weight classes far below the 126 limit at which Donaire, 30, coming off an upset loss to Guillermo Rigondeaux in April, insisted the Darchinyan rematch be staged. But Donaire's leverage is limited.

Donaire-Darchinyan won't even be the main event in Corpus Christi, where a junior lightweight bout between unbeaten Mikey Garcia and WBO super-featherweight champion Roman Martinez is reported to be the headliner. (Although boxrec.com insists the Corpus Christi event will take place Nov. 16, both my source and several reports say Nov. 9 is correct.) As early as 2008 and as recently as 2012, Donaire fought sub-mains on Top Rank cards headed by Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., and the latter took place in Texas. That was because of the Chavez name, but progress remains elusive. Donaire still hasn't fought in the Bay Area since before the first Darchinyan fight. Even if Donaire beats Darchinyan easily, no one will be aroused by anything less than a knockout.

Guerrero needs a big fight, and soon. His loss to Mayweather may have increased respect for the loser and put the more-beatable Marquez atop The Ghost's wish list. But he has to wait his turn. Marquez has his hands full with Timothy Bradley on Oct. 12.

That doesn't leave Guerrero bereft of good match-ups however. The welterweight division is overflowing with them. The most prominent rumor, perhaps losing steam, is that Guerrero will challenge the new WBA interim welterweight champion Keith Thurman, who is 21-0 with 19 knockouts and is a new sensation.

One can picture that bout taking place in San Jose, although hockey season is nearly upon us and Guerrero might not easily book the Shark Tank soon. Even so, Guerrero shapes up as the other guy against Thurman. He shapes up the veteran opponent testing the rising star and risking loss of relevance.

Ward, who hasn't fought since his 10th-round knockout of Chad Dawson last September, and can be labeled injury-prone, hasn't lost relevance but wants to ease in with a tune-up fight before he takes on someone of Froch's caliber, if not Froch himself. Ward and HBO are having some trouble agreeing upon what constitutes an acceptable opponent.

Ward is learning that HBO doesn't think he has the juice to carry a pay-per-view extravaganza or earn himself $1 million to fight some thrice beaten European we've never heard of.

Yes, Ward is hugely popular in the Bay Area and has drawn several respectable crowds in Oakland. Yes, he is the best super-middleweight and best light heavyweight, and ranks second in the world to Mayweather pound-for pound. But he has not wowed the casual boxing fan elsewhere. Boxing fans respect him, but they're not eager to watch him.

None of the three can be said to have passed his peak as a boxer, although Donaire and Guerrero are approaching that stage. But let's face it: Their collective rise to stardom, which put all three of them in the pound-for-pound top 10, appears to have topped out.

We can look forward to many more glorious victories for all three in the next couple of years, and Ward may yet achieve true superstardom, but it's as a threesome that they have been such a Bay Area phenomenon, and that's what may have peaked last year.

SEPTEMBER 2013
Chapter 267

DONAIRE DARCHINYAN GO FORWARD INTO THE PAST

Nonito Donaire Jr. and Vic Darchinyan will both be present Wednesday at a news conference in Corpus Christi, Texas, where their Nov. 9 rematch on HBO in that Gulf Coast city will be announced by Top Rank Boxing.

Darchinyan was a fearsome and long-reigning flyweight champion as of July 2007, when Donaire knocked him out with a legendary counter left hook and reversed their career trajectories.

As if that weren't nostalgia enough, Donaire's father, Nonito Sr., confirmed Monday that he will take part in training his son for the bout. He has been absent from his son's corner since 2008, when a business-oriented family dispute involving Donaire's then-new wife, Rachel, led to the father's estrangement from the couple that lasted until a 2011 truce that has remained shaky.

Rachel gave birth to the couple's first child in July, and Nonito Sr. says that played a role in easing tensions enough to put him back in his son's camp.

The father's presence probably will represent a back-to-basics motif brought on by Junior's loss of his 122-pound title in April to Guillermo Rigondeaux, a bout for which he was ill-prepared.

It's a given that Robert Garcia will again be in the Donaire corner on fight night. The main event pits Garcia's brother, Mikey, against Roman Martinez in a 130-pound title bout. Donaire-Darchinyan is the sub-main event. The opening bout will pit junior middleweight contenders Vanos Martirosyan and Demetrius Andrade.

The Donaire-Darchinyan rematch will be the first fight at 126 pounds for both contestants. Darchinyan has lost four bouts since Donaire and has been correspondingly less effective as he gets bigger, whereas it has been obvious for many years that Donaire is a natural featherweight.

Still, Darchinyan will have a puncher's chance, and it will be up to Nonito Sr. to provide the coping mechanisms for that in training camp

**MORE NOSTALGIA** : I worked at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times from 1977-1981 and therefore am determined to find my way to South Texas in November.

SEPTEMBER 2013
Chapter 268

REASSESSING MAYWEATHER-GUERRERO AFTER MAYWEATHER-CANELO

Now that I've seen the replay of the Sept. 14 Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Saul "Canelo" Alvarez fight, it's fair to compare that bout to Mayweather's May 4 unanimous-decision victory over Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero.

Guerrero last week told Boxing Scene's Rick Reeno that the comparison is irrelevant.

"To me, if you don't win, it doesn't matter who performed better. It's about winning.

"I do feel Floyd fought (Miguel) Cotto and Alvarez different than me, because he actually stayed in the pocket and moved them backward at times. With me he used his legs the whole fight and never stayed in the pocket or fought off the ropes.

"I really feel if he fights me in the pocket it's a completely different fight, but he made his adjustment and I had to chase him the whole fight, which obviously makes it more difficult. Floyd is a great fighter and I definitely learned a lot from that fight."

That's an encouraging reaction from Guerrero, a very good fighter who learned the hard way he isn't an all-time great.

Mayweather said before and after the Alvarez fight that he hadn't been happy with his performance against Guerrero, partly because he was stale coming off a year's layoff that included a prison stretch, and partly because the stick-and-move tactics that frustrated Guerrero are not crowd-pleasing to the masses.

Well, I beg to differ concerning the wisdom of fighting that way.

Mayweather's performance against Guerrero was a masterpiece. He hit him enough to bust him up a bit, and took far less punishment from "The Ghost" than he took from Canelo. Hit and don't get hit. If you do it as well as Mayweather does, it's more beautiful and certainly more rare than most technical knockouts, much as a triple in baseball is more breathtaking than the average home run.

Canelo certainly went for the home run. He actually landed a right cross or two and came tantalizingly close to doing damage.

It's unfortunate that Mayweather feels compelled to move away from the safety-first tactics that have made him almost invincible.

As Guerrero said, it's all about winning. Or at least it ought to be.

SEPTEMBER 2013
Chapter 269

COVERING DONAIRE'S NOVEMBER FIGHT BUT NOT WARD'S: HERE'S WHY

So I'm not covering the Nov. 16 Andre Ward-Edwin Rodriguez fight about 400 miles from the Bay Area in Ontario, Calif. But I am covering the Nov. 9 Nonito Donaire-Vic Darchinyan fight about 2,400 miles from the Bay Area in Corpus Christi, Texas.

And you're thinking, "What's up with that?" After all, the Ward fight is the less predictable of the two, and that would be the case even if Ward hadn't been idle more than a year since his resounding victory over Chad Dawson.

Rodriguez (24-0, 14 knockouts) is a lanky, well-schooled boxer with some pop. He somewhat resembles the fighter many fans perceived Ward to be when Andre was still better-known for his 2004 Olympic gold medal than his pro achievements.

The Donaire-Darchinyan bout shapes up as an easy unanimous decision victory for Donaire and not a reprise of their rousing first meeting, in which Donaire scored a shocking fifth-round knockout over the then-flyweight champion.

But the bottom line is that I'd rather be in Corpus Christi, where my four years long ago at the local daily newspaper, the Caller-Times, improved my journalism career trajectory quite a lot, and it's where I met my wife. I am way overdue to revisit the Sparkling City By The Sea, and I'm overdue to cover a Donaire fight; he has fought five times since I covered his New York bout with Omar Narvaez in 2011.

It's all breaking right. I can be spared from my copy editing duties at the San Francisco Chronicle that week and I was able to persuade the Chronicle to run my advance and fight-night stories, which will beat anything else the Sporting Green will have access to from that fight. I'll get paid for the two stories I write but am on my own for travel expenses. Still, I'll get much better accommodations at the fight venue representing the Chronicle than I would otherwise.

The following weekend, I cannot be spared from the desk, the Chronicle can get good Ward coverage without my help, and I'm not eager to cover a fight in Ontario, anyway. Although I have a good relationship with promoter Dan Goossen, I miss the presence of publicist Marylyn Aceves, who has moved over to Golden Boy Promotions. Ward plans to move over to Top Rank and things are not hunky-dory between Goossen and his superstar.

And by the way, Ward barely knows who I am. Donaire knows me.

These variable might matter less if Ward were fighting Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. or recent Dawson conqueror Adonis Stevenson, each of whom has a bout Saturday, with Stevenson's opponent, Tavoris Cloud, providing a barometer for formidability.

But that's not the scenario.

With Donaire coming off his first loss in a dozen years and fighting a revenge-bent opponent with a puncher's chance, it's an important moment in the career of the "Filipino Flash." I gotta be there.

FALL 2013

ENGULFED IN ENCHILADAS AND NOSTALGIA

_I saw the_ No Mas _fight on closed circuit at the Memorial Coliseum in Corpus Christi, Texas, in November 1980, and wrote a column for my employer at the time, the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Roberto Duran's Hispanic fans were yelling "fix" after his bizarre surrender in that second bout with Sugar Ray Leonard. I explained that Leonard simply boxed rings around Duran the way he ought to have the previous summer in the first bout, and Duran was humiliated. "It was no fix, folks."_

That was my first boxing byline, come to think of it, although I was a seasoned sportswriter and editor by then.

After ending my six-year stay in Texas in 1983, I returned to the state about a dozen times but had not returned to Corpus Christi until I arrived there on Nov. 6, 2013 for Nonito Donaire's rematch with Vic Darchinyan. I arrived on the one of the two final flights of the day, and promoter Bob Arum arrived on the other, so I talked to him briefly at the airport. That was one of the highlights of a staid stay.

I wrote a preview and a deadline story for the San Francisco Chronicle. Donaire had to rally to win the fight and was disappointing until the rally. I didn't hang around Team Donaire and in fact did not hang out at fight headquarters, two high-rise hotels that didn't exist when I worked four blocks away at the Caller-Times.

The arena is near the hotels and was a spiffy setting for the HBO card. I did commune with HBO, including a Friday night dinner.

Otherwise, I was hanging out two miles south of the action, not far from the former arena, staying at the hotel where I stayed my first two nights in Corpus in 1977, though it had changed ownership and become relatively obscure. I was steps from Corpus Christi Bay, though facing away from the moderately impressive skyline of the Sparkling City By The Sea. I drove up and down Ocean Drive repeatedly and ate Tex-Mex once every day.

It was a nostalgic trip to cover a nostalgic bout in a nostalgic sport. Nada mas.

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NOVEMBER 2013
Chapter 270

DONAIRE WILL DEFEAT DELUSIONAL DARCHINYAN HANDILY

I originally predicted Nonito Donaire will glide to a convincing decision victory in Saturday's long-awaited rematch with Vic Darchinyan. In their 2007 first meeting, Donaire was striving successfully for that kind of fight when he landed his famous fifth-round counter left hook that handed Darchinyan his first defeat. If he fights Darchinyan the same way in the rematch, a full 10 rounds is more probable than not.

But Donaire says "someone's going down." In that vein, or any other, Darchinyan is the more likely to fall in the 10-round featherweight bout airing on HBO on Saturday, sandwiched between Mikey Garcia's main-event bid for Roman "Rocky" Martinez's 130-pound title and a battle of superwelterweights Vanes Martirosyan and Demetrius Andrade in Corpus Christi, Texas, where I'll be at ringside.

History is on Donaire's side, and Darchinyan, 37, didn't seem to be reckoning with that Tuesday during a media teleconference. "I've been waiting for this fight for a long time, for six years," said Darchinyan, having already attributed his inability to continue in the fifth round of the first fight to his lack of familiarity with being a knockdown victim. "I don't have only power, I have skills. It doesn't matter how old I am."

Ah, but it does, Vic. He pointed out that he runs 15 miles more effortlessly than ever these days, but he doesn't concede that he can't pull the trigger on his left cross as quickly as he used to. Even Donaire, who turns 31 on Nov. 16, concedes he'll soon start losing trigger speed himself.

Has Darchinyan even carried his knockout power from 112 pounds to 126? He certainly has not dominated at 115 pounds or 118 pounds the way he did at 112 before Donaire knocked him off. Darchinyan bragged about the two-year run after the Donaire loss in which he thrashed both Cristian Mijares and Jorge Arce, but he didn't bring up the four losses he incurred from July 2010 on.

Pressed, he said he got robbed by the judges in two, including his Showtime Bantamweight Tournament loss to Abner Mares, and that he tried too hard to knock out Joseph Agbeko in a close fight (which Agbeko won convincingly). As for his loss to Anselmo Morales, which somewhat resembled Donaire's loss last April to slippery Guillermo Rigondeaux, Darchinyan simply acknowledged that Morales was the wrong opponent for him.

Guess who else is the wrong opponent for him.

Donaire's loss to Rigondeaux called into question whether Donaire has the want-to that enabled him to vanquish Darchinyan and become a superstar. That was the crux of the advance I wrote for Saturday's San Francisco Chronicle, for which I'm credentialed to report Saturday. He had confessed, in the meantime, a lack of resolve for the Rigondeaux fight as well as lack of a game plan. He backed off the former a bit this week but admitted, "we're trying to change the whole thing mentally.

"We're getting back to the old me, the smarter me."

It helps to have his father back in his corner. Robert Garcia remains the chief second, but Nonito Donaire Sr., who trained Jun until 2008, has been supervising conditioning and told me Thursday he will have a say in the corner during the fight, though deferring to Garcia.

While we were talking -- in fact during the entire media event Thursday at Corpus Christi's science museum -- Nonito Sr. was carrying his new grandson Jarel, Nonito Jr. and Rachel's son, and that wasn't unusual. The grandson has created the needed connection to the past that the Donaires are making and Darchinyan can only wish for.

"It's not about him. It's about me," Darchinyan said. "I have more power, more skills. I know everything he's going to do . . . and I'm going to demolish him."

Whatever.

NOVEMBER 2013
Chapter 271

TRAILING AFTER 8, DONAIRE SALVAGES HIS ELITE STATUS

After eight rounds Saturday, Nonito Donaire needed two knockdowns to win a decision over Vic Darchinyan. In the ninth round, Donaire scored the knockdowns, and more. He stopped Darchinyan in an overdue demonstration of desperation that fortunately for him was spectacular.

The ninth round saved the elite phase of Donaire's career, which was jeopardized by his April loss to Guillermo Rigondeaux, a snoozer that HBO and promoter Bob Arum deemed too boring to repeat.

And then Donaire delivered eight rounds of the same Saturday against Darchinyan in what was becoming a disappointing rematch of Donaire's career-shaping 2007 upset. Both he and Darchinyan were determined to counter-punch, yet each won rounds when he was the aggressor. I thought Donaire won the first, second, sixth and eighth rounds, but two of the three judges had Darchinyan winning six rounds and leading by four points after eight rounds.

Donaire is too superior to be losing so many rounds. By some counts he has lost 17 of 20 judged rounds to Darchinyan and Rigondeaux. This unsettling statistic, unsettling even though I thought he lost only 11 of the 20, overrides the scintillating conclusion Saturday. Donaire has been in a rut this year, and we don't know if he escaped it in that ninth round.

Donaire acknowledged afterward Saturday that he waited too long to dispense with formalities and whale away at Darchinyan. Then again, he acknowledged he should have tried to accumulate points against Rigondeaux instead of trying to design a one-punch knockout.

"I was trying to work on different styles," Donaire conceded. "After a while, I wanted to fight."

It was almost too late by the time Donaire fully engaged, even after staggering to a corner near the end of the fifth round.

"I felt like he broke my cheek," Donaire said, "so I thought, 'Is this it for me? Is this it for me?' "

It would have been had he not broken loose in the ninth.

Donaire turned the tide by landing a cracking counter left hook, the first really notable rendition of that punch. A combination knocked down Darchinyan, and that set up the rest --a thunderous right, one exchange, and then a left cross from a southpaw stance that put Darchinyan away at 2 minutes, 6 seconds of the ninth, with referee Laurence Cole stopping the bout.

Donaire needed nothing less. In the wake of the Rigondeaux fight, a loss to Darchinyan, or even a narrow decision win, would have been devastating, but Donaire (32-2, 21 knockouts) took care of that in the most rousing manner possible.

OTHER BOUTS: Donaire stalemate Mikey Garcia (33-0, 28 knockouts) knocked out champion Roman "Rocky" Martinez in the eighth round for the World Boxing Association super-featherweight (130 title) in Saturday's finale. Also on the Corpus Christi card, Demetrius Andrade (20-0) survived a first-round knockdown and outpointed Vanos Martirosyan for the WBO light-middleweight title. And in a WBA featherweight title fight that may have determined what Donaire does next, unbeaten Jamaican champion Nicholas Walters stopped Alberto Garza in the fourth round. There are interesting opponents in the featherweight division. Donaire, fortunately, wants to rectify things with Rigondeaux next.

NOVEMBER 2013
Chapter 272

UNBEATEN RODRIGUEZ MAKES WARD'S SATURDAY'S BOUT INTRIGUING

Andre Ward returns from a 14-month hiatus Saturday to defend his WBA super-middleweight title against unbeaten but unheralded challenger Edwin Rodriguez on HBO from Ontario, Calif.

Ward didn't seem primed for a long layoff after his last fight, his 10th-round knockout of then-premier light heavyweight Chad Dawson, but when his January bout with Kelly Pavlik fell through and Ward underwent major shoulder surgery, his idleness had to stretch into the summer. And then Ward tried to break free of promoter Goossen-Tutor, only to lose an arbitration case.

So at first glance Saturday's bout seems like a stiff test for Ward, even though he's also unbeaten and still rates No. 2 in The Ring magazine pound-for-pound rankings. Rodriguez at first presents the image of a slick boxer with his 24-0 record with 16 knockouts, more stoppages than Ward (26-0, 14 knockouts) has. He may be even faster than Ward and able to land more light blows than Ward's recent opponents have mustered.

Furthermore, this is Rodriguez's second fight under the guidance of trainer Ronnie Shields, who was in the opposite corner during Ward's roughest fight, against Sakio Bika in 2010.

"He needs to get in there and make Andre fight a different kind of fight than he's fought before," Shields told Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole. "And you know what? He's definitely capable of doing that. Andre's a good fighter and we can't take a thing away from him. Let's be honest, though: Andre hasn't seen a style like Edwin's before, and that's the big difference."

At second glance, however, many analysts have found Rodriguez's defense wanting, which definitely doesn't make him sound like someone who can handle Ward. Shields came aboard largely to fix that and claims to have made progress, but it still makes Rodriguez, who is from Worcester, Mass., seem like a poor bet against a fighter as well-rounded as Ward.

Then too, loyal readers may recall that Bika's performance seemed more impressive in person in Oakland than it did hours later on TV -- or on the scorecards.

Keep in mind that while Ward has been idle in the ring, he's been maintaining his knowledge of boxing current events well enough to moonlight as HBO's analyst for several bouts.

"We aren't taking Edwin lightly," Ward told BoxingScene24. "I have followed him for the last two years. . . . "I've watched Edwin. I know his strengths and weaknesses. I've prepared to win this fight and dominate this fight."

It all adds up to another Ward bout in which he imposes his will by the fourth or fifth round and the opponent struggles to endure the full 12.

NOVEMBER 2013
Chapter 273

WARD EASILY OUTPOINTS UNDISCIPLINED RODRIGUEZ

Andre Ward's victory Saturday over Edwin Rodriguez on HBO in Ontario, Calif., certainly wasn't as complicated as the bureaucratic maneuverings in the 24 hours preceding the fight.

Ward retained his WBA super-middleweight title with a unanimous decision, as expected, in his first fight in the 14 months since he knocked out Chad Dawson in the 10th round. He won at least 11 rounds on all scorecards in what Rodriguez turned into a chippy fight. Referee Jack Reiss deducted two points from each fighter for hitting on the break in the fourth round.

Rodriguez was unbeaten entering Saturday's fight, but he was as good as beaten at Friday's weigh-in, when he weighed in at 170 pounds, two pounds over the division limit, and declined to try to lose the two pounds during a two-hour grace period. He had already shed all possible water weight by then.

That meant Rodriguez was not eligible to win the title.

It was decided the fight would still go on if Rodriguez could come in at 180 pounds or less (fighters routinely gain several pounds of water weight between the Friday weigh-in and a Saturday fight) at 9 a.m. Saturday. He made that limit and the fight was on, reportedly with Rodriguez forfeiting 10 percent of his purse to Ward and 10 percent to the California boxing commission.

When I phoned the Los Angeles area mid-afternoon Saturday from my desk at the San Francisco Chronicle to find out what was going on, my source, who asked to remain anonymous, laid out the details.

"It's a title fight, but Rodriguez can't win the title and Ward can't lose the title."

So why was it a title fight?

"The sanctioning bodies want their cut."

DECEMBER 2013
Chapter 274

BIG MONTH FOR SHOWTIME, WELTERWEIGHTS WILL AFFECT GUERRERO

Last weekend's heavy slate of boxing on HBO and Showtime turned out to be far less about Nonito Donaire's future than that of Gilroy welterweight Robert Guerrero, and Showtime's main event this weekend, Adrien Broner vs. Marcos Maidana, also might have an impact on The Ghost.

The hope for Donaire last weekend was that Guillermo Rigondeaux, the masterful counter-puncher who upset Donaire last April in a featherweight bout, would fight in a more fan-friendly manner on HBO against former bantamweight champion Joseph Agbeko. But Rigondeaux-Agbeko was even less fan-friendly as Agbeko was afraid to engage after the second round and Rigondeaux, while throwing twice as many punches as he usually does, landed only 17 percent (about 150 of 900) because he was seldom got close enough to Agbeko to actually hit him. That's no way to persuade HBO to show us a Rigondeaux-Donaire rematch and, frankly, has to reduce any "hit-but-don't-get-hit-back" proponent's opinion of Rigondeaux.

Meanwhile, Showtime had _the_ bout of the evening. Although Paulie Malignaggi's decision victory over Zab Judah got top billing (and was the only fight deemed newsworthy by many newspapers), the best bout was unbeaten challenger Shawn Porter's convincing victory over Devon Alexander to take the IBF welterweight title and thus remove one of Guerrero's best potential opponents from desirability. Alexander's only previous loss was to Timothy Bradley in 2010.

Guerrero, who has been inactive since his May loss to Floyd Mayweather, could have been fighting this coming weekend against up-and-comer Keith Thurman, who instead had to settle for Jesus Soto-Karass, on the undercard of the Adrien Broner-Marcos Maidana headliner on Showtime.

Guerrero has beaten enough has-beens like Judah and isn't interested in gambling away his stature against anyone much less prominent than Broner. That's why he didn't want to fight Thurman Although Porter, who was every bit as quick as Alexander and much stronger, would be a good opponent for Guerrero aesthetically, as would Thurman, Porter (whose physique and style bear strong resemblance to unbeaten San Francisco junior welterweight Karim Mayfield) is a couple of victories from being worthy of Guerrero from a box-office standpoint.

Another Saturday victor on Showtime was super-welterweight Erislandy Lara, who boxed rings around former champion Austin Trout but also appeared to be a bit too big, quick and clever to be easy pickings for Guerrero, not to mention Lara's hopeless lack of sufficient box-office pull.

Broner is one of the two or three most physically talented fighters in the sport, but he seems to lack depth as a person and he's too short to be a superlative welterweight, as Malignaggi proved by nearly knocking him off a few months ago. Satisfying though it would be to see Broner taking a 10-count, let's hope Maidana doesn't land a lucky punch and instead saves the honors for Guerrero.

DECEMBER 2013
Chapter 275

MAIDANA'S TAMING OF BRONER WORTH SEEING REPEATEDLY

Upsets in boxing don't get any sweeter than Marcos Maidana's welterweight thrashing of Adrien Broner in Showtime's main event Saturday. If you missed it, check out Showtime Extreme's re-airing Tuesday at 10 p.m.

Whether you predicted it or not, Broner deserved his comeuppance, which Maidana delivered with left-hook knockdowns in the second and eighth rounds and similar howitzers throughout the fight, to the delight of a big crowd at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

It was bad enough that Broner had been billing himself the next best thing to Floyd Mayweather, and then some, and that some of us were buying it, without the little guy's also deciding he could move up from 130 pounds to 147 and dominate the big boys in the welterweight class.

But what does Broner know about class? -- as he demonstrated against Maidana with an assortment of gouging, holding, pushing and pulling that drew many warnings from referee Laurence Cole but no point deductions. Broner is proud of his sordid past, justifying it as the logical consequence of growing up poor in Cincinnati, and as is often too true of American black men, he is convinced that no one else in the world grows up in such hide-toughening circumstances.

Maidana, a none-too-urbane Argentinian, proved that Broner (5-foot-6) is too big for his britches and that, whether he belongs in the pound-for-pound pantheon or not, he ought to be proving it at lightweight.

When Maidana established during the first minute against Broner that he could land not only his trademark overhand right but also the left hook, that was satisfying enough proof that, win or lose this fight, Broner is not as impenetrable as Mayweather, not the second coming at all.

Maidana may be among the division's most fearsome sluggers (although Keith Thurman, who stopped Jesus Soto-Karras on the undercard may have been the most impressive welterweight on the card and I still think Gilroy's Robert Guerrero would outpoint Maidana) but Maidana has never looked this big or powerful, at 140 or 147, and he himself had said he almost assuredly would have to win by knockout or not at all.

Still, Maidana is not totally incapable of winning on points. With the second-round knockdown putting Maidana three points ahead of Broner in the fight, you started daring to hope he could get the victory, even if the bout went 12 rounds to a decision, and there was ample drama in that scenario.

First of all, while Maidana clearly won the fourth and eighth rounds, others were close enough that if you were giving Broner the benefit of the doubt in the close rounds, he might have won the fight by some judges' reckoning, although it turned out the busier Maidana won at least eight rounds on all scorecards.

Second, amid all the warnings to Broner, Maidana was the one who incurred a point deduction. Shortly after the eighth-round knockdown, Broner was clutching both of Maidana's arms in desperation and Cole was letting it happen, when Maidana butted Broner under his lower jaw.

With Broner perhaps just a point or two down after 11, he punctuated the end of that round with an after-the-bell left hook that hurt Maidana and opened the possibility that a knockdown or worse in the 12th could affect the decision -- especially considering the track records of judges at fights in Texas. But justice was served.

If you admire Broner's potential or maybe care about the man himself, you should hope he'll look in the mirror and confront the little guy he sees there. And, by the way, he didn't advance his cause much by fleeing the arena after the bout instead of submitting to interviews. The Tuesday night replay will have an interview with Broner.

He can still become the best lightweight and super-lightweight ever, but he has carried neither his power nor speed to 147, and his bravado didn't get him very far there.

WINTER 2014

LUNCHEON IS SERVED – AT THE BEVERLY HILLS HOTEL

Top Rank's media relations operatives were pleasantly surprised to see me at their media event March 12 -- at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

I was on vacation, visiting a long-lost college buddy at his spacious, well-situated home in Santa Barbara. I was already determined to lure him on a boxing-related trek, to Oxnard to visit Robert Garcia's facility there, when I got word of the perfect timing of Top Rank's Los Angeles stop on its promotional tour for the June 7 Miguel Cotto-Sergio Martinez fight.

Well, heck. Martinez is a leading attraction at the Oxnard gym, and though Garcia didn't accompany him to L.A., Freddie Roach did accompany Cotto, whom he was training, so I eventually talked to Roach, promoter Bob Arum and HBO sports chief Ken Hershman while my internationally savvy friend eavesdropped on some of Martinez's and Cotto's Spanish conversations.

At lunch, eavesdropping on my conversations, former bantamweight champion and Irish Olympian Wayne McCullough became a convivial lunch companion who certainly added to my friend's enjoyment of our junket. McCullough has opened a boxing gym in Santa Monica.

All that enjoyment aside, it would have been hard to justify a six-hour outlay of boxing time without taking into account the value of pleasing the Top Rank duo of Lee Samuels and Ricardo Jimenez. Along with press agent Fred Sternburg, they have stood out for me among the many public relations operatives I encounter, because they have actually helped me.

Marylyn Aceves also was helpful when she worked for Dan Goossen, but I haven't seen her in person since she moved to Golden Boy. I get emails from her, from John Beyrooty on behalf of Showtime and others, from HBO and Showtime operatives directly, and of course from the Bay Area's Mario Serrano (who also has worked for Gary Shaw since Sternburg and Shaw parted ways), but Samuels is the one who has gone above and beyond to make me feel valued. And Sternburg is the one who steered me to Roach in 2008.

Thus this L.A. boxing junket tied in beautifully with my visit to Roach's Wild Card Gym in October 2008, when he laid out the reasons Manny Pacquiao would upset Oscar De La Hoya. In 2014, my interview with Roach provided good material for what little I did write about the Cotto-Martinez fight. He laid out the reasons, in answer to my skepticism, why Cotto would upset Martinez. Which Cotto did.

From 2008 to 2014, from the Wild Card to a posh hotel, you never know how far apart the extremes will be in boxing.

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JANUARY 2014
Chapter 276

STILL PINING FOR MAYWEATHER-PACQUIAO, OR A BIG WARD FIGHT

For the sixth January in a row, Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao is still the dream match in boxing. It's not surprising that casual fans would persist in idealizing this bout that still seems stymied by promotional impossibilities, but what's amazing is that it's also still the fight real boxing people most want to see.

So Mayweather-Pacquiao is still a newsworthy proposition as we weigh other desirable matches involving fighters ranked in The Ring Magazine top 10 pound-for-pound. This also accounts for all three of the Bay Area's Kingpin Trio, even though only one of them, Andre Ward, is still in the top 10.

Mayweather, of course, is still just about untouchable as No. 1, having bumped Gilroy's Robert Guerrero out of the top 10 last March and then having beaten young Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez in September.

Ward is No. 2, and still trying unsuccessfully to get shed of promoter Dan Goossen so he can hook up with Top Rank's superior network of pay-per-view operations. Ward is still fighting at 168 pounds, but the ascension in 2013 of Adonis Stevenson as the best light-heavyweight gives Ward a legitimate target and could even become viable as a pay-per-view bout in 2014. Perhaps Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. would be the most lucrative opponent for Ward in the meantime.

No. 3 Timothy Bradley, who outlasted upstart slugger Ruslan Provodnikov last spring in what many considered the fight of the year and then defeated Juan Manuel Marquez in the fall, could do worse than Guerrero in a bout we'd love to see right here in San Jose. But Guerrero is a Golden Boy fighter and Bradley is now with Top Rank, so don't bet on that. Unfortunately for Bradley but perhaps fortunately for Guerrero, Golden Boy, Showtime and Al Haymon have most of the welterweight leverage.

No. 4 Wladimir Klitschko has beaten all comers in the heavyweight division except his older brother, Vitali, and now that Vitali is in a position to become the leader of the Ukraine, Wladimir's career ought to wind down quickly so he can go out on top.

No. 5 Sergio Martinez hasn't done anything since holding on to beat Chavez Jr. in fall 2012, but he's still recognized as the middleweight champion despite the rise of hard-hitting sharpshooter Gennady Golovkin. Canelo Alvarez would be a great opponent for Martinez, but the Argentinian, pushing 40, might not be eager for that challenge.

No. 6 is Marquez, who's still the opponent who could do Guerrero the most good, but what Marquez ought to do is return to 140 pound for a showdown with competent but unspectacular Danny Garcia. There's still talk of staging Pacquiao-Marquez V.

No. 7 Pacquiao confirmed his worthiness for the top 10 by thoroughly outpointing Brandon Rios in November and did it by sustaining his attack in a way we hadn't seen for a couple of years. That performance renewed public enthusiasm for Mayweather-Pacquiao, but Top Rank still has not been able to secure that bout for-the Filipino legend.

No. 8 Guillermo Rigondeaux got to the top 10 by upsetting Bay Area star Nonito Donaire in a 122-pound bout last April, and a rematch is the best possibility in sight financially for both of them. Donaire has most of the leverage and is insisting that the rematch be fought at 126 pounds. You can't blame the shorter Rigondeaux, for balking at that. Rigondeaux vs. Leo Santa Cruz at 122 would be attractive if Donaire goes after Orlando Salido instead for featherweight superiority.

No. 9 is Alvarez, who can pick his spots carefully, being perhaps even more marketable than Pacquiao at this point, so he may spend 2014 beating some of the lesser 154-pound belt-holders while awaiting a bigger matchup.

And No. 10 is Carl Froch, who has gotten better since his December 2011 loss to Ward in the Showtime Super Six final. Whether he would thrive at 175 to fight Stevenson or whether he's the ultimate opponent for Golovkin, you can bet he'd love another shot at Ward and might not be too particular about the terms.

Ward figures to fight another four or five years, and whatever he lacks in box-office pull and ring charisma he makes up in craftsmanship. Like Mayweather, he's difficult to dominate, but unlike Mayweather, Ward generates no controversy. Maybe the Goossen divorce will alter that somehow, but it seems more likely Ward will languish again this year, and that may mean his career has already peaked.

JANUARY 2014
Chapter 277

GUERRERO'S EFFORT TO ELUDE GOLDEN BOY SEEMS DELUDED

Robert Guerrero made about $3 million, according to some reports, for his loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr., last May. That was the first foray into a seven-figures purse for Guerrero, who is not that far-removed from five-figures purses and definitely looked like a six-figures guy against Mayweather.

But Guerrero is holding out for seven figures, and the one guy who could get him that much, Manny Pacquiao, apparently would like to see it happen. But it won't happen with Guerrero a client of Golden Boy Promotions and Pacquiao still the No. 1 commodity for Top Rank.

That may be why Guerrero, 30, took steps last week to divorce himself from Golden Boy. Apparently there's reason to believe Pacquiao-Guerrero would come off if Top Rank's Bob Arum were free to run the show, although Arum has already said Guerrero won't be the opponent for the April fight Arum is trying to stage for Pacquiao.

I tried to find Guerrero in Gilroy on Tuesday but wasn't successful.

Anyway, it doesn't appear that Guerrero has a legitimate beef against Golden Boy. Since Guerrero and Golden Boy hooked up, he has been matched up with -- and has defeated -- then-IBF junior lightweight champion Malcolm Klassen; lightweight contenders such as Michael Katsidis, Vicente Escobedo and former champion Joel Casamayor; and welterweight champions Selcuk Aydin and Andre Berto. Golden Boy also landed him a fight with Marcos Maidana in San Jose, from which Guerrero had to withdraw days before the bout with an injury, and Maidana's recent victory over Adrien Broner underscores what a lost opportunity that was for Guerrero.

Before Guerrero and Golden Boy hooked up in 2008, he was a client of Goossen-Tutor and his departure was acrimonious. (It also set a dubious precedent for the Bay Area's other two superstars, as Nonito Donaire shifted from Gary Shaw to Top Rank in 2008 and tried to jump from Top Rank to Golden Boy in 2011, and Andre Ward is currently trying to move away from Goossen and, presumably, join Top Rank.)

It's certainly not a question of loyalty. It's everyone for himself in boxing. Boxing is a cutthroat business.

But where would this defection leave Guerrero if he were to lose to Pacquiao? Does he really expect to succeed as an independent, as some reports have speculated?

From a practical standpoint, Guerrero is trying to throw away bread looking for cake. Guerrero may see himself as slightly more elite than Golden Boy perceives him to be. He seems to rank behind Maidana and Victor Ortiz -- two fighters to whom he is professionally superior but promotionally inferior -- and several other fighters he probably could defeat. That may include WBA interim champion Keith Thurman, whom Guerrero turned down last year, and new IBF champion Shawn Porter.

But whether or not Guerrero is better than Golden Boy's other welterweights on paper, he needs to beat more of them in the flesh. His victories over Aydin and Berto have been diminished greatly by their performances since then, and his one-sided loss to Mayweather isn't a plus, either.

Worse, the public's perception of Guerrero's is far less glowing than mine, not to mention his. Off his three most recent fights, Guerrero is seen as a brawler, even a guy who "doesn't move well," and yet he doesn't knock people out. The fact that he does move well and has rather recently added the penchant for brawling to what used to be a more defensive-minded approach in the lighter weight classes should be a plus to his image, but it isn't working that way.

Guerrero is one of the best welterweights out there, but he's not a million-dollar man, fight after fight. If he's planning to retire soon and is looking for one last big payday, the Pacquiao fight would be a great way to go. But even a victory over Pacquiao is no guarantee of superstardom anymore. If Guerrero plans to fight four or five more years, acting deluded is not prudent.

JANUARY 2014
Chapter 278

PACQUIAO TO FIGHT BRADLEY ON APRIL 12, NOT GUERRERO

Manny Pacquiao's next bout will be an April 12 rematch with Timothy Bradley, Top Rank announced Saturday.

That's not what Gilroy's Robert Guerrero was hoping. He wanted to fight Pacquiao.

But let's face it, the public is less interested in seeing Pacquiao -- or Bradley -- fight Guerrero than in seeing them fight each other again, so Guerrero might be wise to rethink his current campaign to renounce Golden Boy to defect to Top Rank or any other promoter. Golden Boy offers most of Guerrero's best options.

Bradley is Pacquiao's best option, and Top Rank's, too. The lack of other options gave a bit of weight to Guerrero's ploy. So many of Guerrero's Golden Boy stable mates are unavailable to Pacquiao.

The obvious reason to cheer the Pacquiao-Bradley rematch is that the outcome of the first bout in June 2012 was unsatisfactory. After hitting Bradley as no one else has and winning 10 to all 12 of the rounds by the reckoning of many, including me, Pacquiao came out on the short end of the split decision.

When Pacquiao then got caught by a sudden knockout punch in a fight he was winning against Juan Manuel Marquez in December 2012, it was time to question whether Pacquiao, then 34 and already a busy Philippines congressman, had fallen out of the top tier.

Then Pacquiao's energetic and one-sided victory over Brandon Rios two months ago convinced the public that Pacquiao (55-5-2, 38 knockouts) still bears watching. He sustained action far more forcefully than he did against Bradley or in his 2010 and 2011 bouts.

Bradley (31-0, 12 knockouts) actually lost face by getting what so many felt was an undeserved victory. I thought Bradley had been diminished further last spring when he got into a slugfest with unsung Ruslan Provodnikov and was knocked down a couple of times.

But that bout ended up winning plaudits for fight of the year, and Bradley's gritty performance made him considerably more popular. He followed up with a close but convincing decision victory over Marquez in November 2013.

Bradley has quite a body of work now, as we were reminded Saturday when former Bradley victim Lamont Peterson fought impressively to retain his IBF junior welterweight title Saturday against fearsome and unbeaten Dierry Jean.

Bradley now outranks Pacquiao in the pound-for-pound ranks, and don't be surprised if he's the betting favorite.

It would be great to see Guerrero fight either guy someday, but he definitely must fight someone else in the meantime. Marquez would be nice, but Guerrero needs to broaden his view of prospective opponents, not so much because he lost convincingly to the great Floyd Mayweather last spring, but because he hasn't accomplished anything since. He needs a fight, and soon.

Pacquiao-Bradley gives boxing fans something big to anticipate, and right now No. 2 on that list is Canelo Alvarez vs. Alfredo Angulo, a bout in which Angulo has only a puncher's chance, and only rumblings of a Mayweather bout with Amir Khan, in early May presumably, provide further hope beyond April 12.

Let's hope the spring-summer schedule changes a lot in the next three weeks or so and that Guerrero is somehow part of it.

FEBRUARY 2014
Chapter 279

BOTH KHAN, MAIDANA MIGHT SUIT MAYWEATHER

Floyd Mayweather probably will fight on May 3, as he nearly always does on the Saturday of Cinco de Mayo weekend. Since he certainly won't be fighting Manny Pacquiao then, the most interesting prospective opponents seem to be Marcos Maidana and Amir Khan.

Although neither has been a welterweight as long as Mayweather has, Maidana and Khan, each with a puncher's chance in any fight, are arguably the two most attractive dark horses in boxing.

Khan held on to beat Maidana in 2010 and knocked him down in the first round, but there's probably more demand for Maidana-Mayweather in the wake of the Argentinian's sensational December victory over Adrien Broner, who seemed to be the second coming of Mayweather until that night.

Andre Ward's trainer, Virgil Hunter, became Khan's trainer after the apparently glass-jawed Briton was stopped by now pre-eminent 140-pounder Danny Garcia in 2012. Hunter says Khan could beat Mayweather, but really, Khan's body of work is so weak that his 2009 win over washed-up Marco Antonio Barrera may be his signature victory, and he hasn't fared well since the Maidana fight.

Whereas Nonito Donaire's trainer, Robert Garcia, clearly has reformed Maidana to the point that it's hard to believe he was thoroughly outclassed by Devon Alexander only two years ago. Maidana also has wins over Victor Ortiz, Erik Morales and Josesito Lopez.

Khan is one of the quickest welterweights and might be able to crack Floyd once or twice in the first or second round. But Mayweather is quite capable of knocking Khan out.

Mayweather also is capable of schooling Maidana more thoroughly than Alexander did. But when Maidana knocked Broner down in the first round, he seemed capable of reaching anyone, even Mayweather, and that's why Maidana probably will get the shot.

FEBRUARY 2014
Chapter 280

MAYWEATHER-MAIDANA BOUT ANNOUNCED FOR MAY 3

As most boxing observers expected, Floyd Mayweather's next fight is now set for May 3 against Marcos Maidana.

Mayweather's WBC welterweight title and Maidana's WBA belt will both be on the line. The site is still not set, with the MGM Grand in Las Vegas the likely venue amid some talk that Brooklyn's Barkley Center might be feasible.

If anyone has a puncher's chance of beating the 37-year-old Mayweather (45-0, 26 knockouts), who is the top fighter pound-for-pound in boxing and is considered by a few veteran observers to be the best ever, it's Maidana, probably the most devastating puncher in the welterweight ranks.

He's coming off a resounding upset of Adrien Broner last December in which Maidana (35-3, 31 knockouts), who is from Argentina, landed numerous thunderous blows and knocked Broner down twice.

As it became a safe assumption that Maidana would be the opponent for Mayweather in May, there's been some grumbling that he's no match for Mayweather, some citing Maidana's loss two years ago to Devon Alexander, who, like Mayweather is a defensive specialist. Maidana also has lost to Amir Khan, but he got the nod over Khan for the May 3 date.

Those naysayers may be overlooking Maidana's association since the Alexander loss with trainer Robert Garcia and the improvements that have resulted at Garcia's Oxnard training center.

It will be interesting to see what sorts of odds are posted. They'll be at least 5-1. Maybe Mayweather will be a more prohibitive favorite than Sonny Liston was on this date 50 years ago, when he was at least a 7-1 choice to silence young challenger Cassius Clay. Clay won what arguably was the most important bout in boxing history and soon announced he would henceforth be known as Muhammad Ali. You know the rest.

I won't be betting on Mayweather-Maidana. I got roughly 7-1 odds to bet against Mayweather last May against Gilroy's Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero (whose 2011 shoulder injury dashed a matchup with Maidana) and put up $300, you may recall. But I don't usually bet on sports – despite my winning bet on the Clay-Liston bout.

I won a nickel – from my mother. Too bad it was a straight-up bet, because 35 cents went a long way in 1964.

MARCH 2014
Chapter 281

ATTRACTIVE WELTERWEIGHT OPPOSITION ELUDING GUERRERO

Juan Manuel Marquez. Mike Alvarado. Shawn Porter. Paulie Malignaggi. For Robert Guerrero, any of those four would be a compelling opponent.

But Guerrero won't be fighting any of them in the near future. They're fighting one another. Monday's announcement that Porter and Malignaggi will vie for Porter's IBF welterweight title, on April 19, followed last week's news that Marquez will take on Alvarado on May 17.

Guerrero hasn't fought since his competitive but clear-cut loss to Floyd Mayweather last May, which reportedly earned Guerrero $3 million. He isn't eager to fight an inconsequential bout on the heels of the biggest fight of his career.

But he has painted himself into a promotional corner that becomes a greater crisis the longer he doesn't fight. Spokesman Mario Serrano says that while his handlers are trying to come up with a bout for Guerrero, "The Ghost" is training, and when they get him a fight, he'll be ready."

Andre Ward is also in limbo, a term that is beginning to apply to the Kingpin Trio as a whole.

The third Kingpin, Nonito Donaire, is fighting WBA featherweight champion Simpiwe Vetyeka on May 31 in Macau. That's symbolic for a fighter who divides his time among the Bay Area, the Philippines and Las Vegas.

Top Rank's Bob Arum promotes Donaire, and Ward would like to jump to Top Rank from his long-time association with Dan Goossen, who can't duplicate Arum's stranglehold on big-time pay-per-view facilities.

But if Arum is of a mind to unite the Kingpin Trio in the most viable way possible, he's in no rush to, say, co-promote a Ward fight with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

"I can work with anybody," Arum told me last week at the Beverly Hills Hotel, a tony tour stop for Arum's Miguel Cotto-Sergio Martinez middleweight promotion for their June 7. "The question is, can Andre Ward work with Goossen. A contract is a contract."

Given the likelihood that I can't make it to Macau for the Donaire fight, I asked Arum if there will ever be a Donaire fight in the Bay Area. There hasn't been a big fight in the Bay Area since Ward knocked out Chad Dawson in Oakland in September 2012.

"No, close as I can get him is Macau."

At least Donaire is fighting, which is more than Guerrero can say.

MARCH 2014
Chapter 282

GUERRERO ENLISTS HAYMON AS 'ADVISER'

Robert Guerrero announced Friday that Al Haymon is now his "adviser."

The move validated the Gilroy fighter's recent tactics, a repudiation of Golden Boy Promotions that seemed to leave Guerrero without the financial might to get a fight in the near future. He said Golden Boy was undervaluing him and not getting him elite-level fights that logically ought to have followed his respectable decision loss to Floyd Mayweather last May.

Certainly it seemed impossible for Guerrero to make the sort of money he made on that fight for any further fights in the near future.

But now he's allied with the man who made the Mayweather fight happen. The attention at the time was affixed to the $300 million deal Haymon got Mayweather to agree to six fights on Showtime pay-per-view, starting with Guerrero. But when you consider that Haymon ultimately generated the $3 million purse Guerrero gained from the Mayweather fight, he already has proven his worth to Guerrero.

Haymon, the most successful promoter of large-venue rock music concerts in history, has become the most powerful individual in boxing, controlling Mayweather, Adrien Broner and a moderately growing stable of other elite fighters. Guerrero fits the mold.

I haven't exactly been leading Haymon's cheering section. I sympathized with HBO's antipathy toward Golden Boy that led to a complete split a few days after Haymon spirited Mayweather from HBO to make the megadeal with Showtime.

I have been unable to get HBO to cop to antipathy toward Haymon on this front. Two key spokesmen for HBO always set me straight when I imply Haymon, and not Golden Boy, was the object of its dismay.

But it's hard for us laymen to discern any distance between Golden Boy and Haymon. For instance, the Haymon alliance immediately solves Guerrero's beef with Golden Boy.

It will be a smooth transition, and Guerrero should be fighting by July. My hunch is he'll be fighting Amir Khan, who also may align himself with Haymon soon.

Others haven't believed in Guerrero. Haymon's influence is great news for The Ghost.

MARCH 2014
Chapter 283

SATURDAY BOUT ON HBO ADDS EXPOSURE FOR UNBEATEN MAYFIELD

Unbeaten San Francisco light welterweight Karim Mayfield faces a tall order Saturday on HBO's Boxing After Dark, fighting 5-foot-10 Thomas Dulorme for a second-tier title, the North American Boxing Federation belt.

With his 18 knockouts to go with a 20-1 record, Dulorme represents a formidable opponent for Mayfield, if not quite the name fighter against whom Mayfield (18-0-1, 11 knockouts) might make more of himself.

The 140-pound match in Atlantic City is the supporting bout for a main event showcasing charismatic light heavyweight Sergey Kovalev (23-0-1, 21 knockouts), one of HBO's most important commodities these days, against Cedric Agnew (26-0, 13 knockouts).

Mayfield not only needs to win but also needs to avoid being overshadowed by Kovalev, who grins incessantly and seems to be having a great time as a boxing star, one of several HBO mainstays these days from the former Soviet Bloc. He also has knocked out each of his past six opponents in four rounds or fewer, so he's a crowd-pleaser.

That's not Mayfield's modus operandi, and thus his low profile. He's more likely to fight in a frustrating elbow-to-elbow manner and beat his opponent to the punch, much as Andre Ward might do against a dangerous opponent. Virgil Hunter trains both Bay Area fighters.

Dulorme suffered his lone defeat on HBO in 2012, a seventh-round TKO win for Luis Carlos Abregu, and that seems to be boosting Mayfield's confidence despite his nearly four-inch height disadvantage.

"Dulorme is a technical guy with a long jab who has some fast hands," Mayfield conceded. "He's nothing special, though. I've seen him get knocked out before, so I know his chin is suspect. I've fought guys who are long and rangy just like him, so I'm confident in my ability to land some powerful shots. If I touch that chin of his, there's no doubt, he's getting knocked out."

He gave Hunter some of the credit for his confidence in that scenario. "Virgil has got me working on some new punches that I'll display against Dulorme," Mayfield said.

Another source of confidence for Mayfield, who knocked out Christopher Fernandez in a tune-up last September, is that he has won on HBO before. That 2012 victory over Mauricio Herrera increased in magnitude two weeks ago when Herrera nearly upset the WBA/WBC champion Danny Garcia.

"I thought Herrera pulled off the victory against Garcia, because he landed more punches and was the aggressor for most of the fight," Mayfield said.

Mayfield is no cinch to beat Dulorme, but Garcia is the sort of opponent Mayfield really needs, and it's hard to block that out.

"The fact that I dominated Herrera and he got the world title opportunity means there's something wrong. I've been calling Danny Garcia out for the last couple of years, but he's been running from me because I put it on him when he brought me in camp. I'll beat the brakes off Garcia if we ever fight. First I have to take care of Dulorme, and that is where my 100 percent focus is right now."

MARCH 2014
Chapter 284

DULORME HOLDS OFF MAYFIELD FOR DECISION

San Francisco 140-pounder Karim Mayfield sustained his first professional defeat Saturday, as Thomas Dulorme held on to win a unanimous decision in Atlantic City on HBO.

Dulorme (21-1) held on for dear life at times in the final two rounds. Had referee Steve Smoger disciplined the Puerto Rican for that or for the two low blows that took some of the starch out of Mayfield's late-fight surge, the outcome might have been different. The scorecards for the 10-rounder read 97-94, 96-93 and 98-92.

Mayfield (18-1-1) was the underdog, and rightly so considering the three-inches-plus difference in height and Dulorme's considerable power. Mayfield's advantage was largely abstract, what we Pacific Northwesterners call "skookum," and that superior mental toughness set the tone for the second half of the fight after Dulorme won four of the first five rounds and arguably won the sixth as well.

But Mayfield won the seventh, ninth and 10th, and he was winning the eighth when Dulorme landed the first low blow. After a long rest, the second low blow turned the fight. Give Mayfield that round and the sixth, and throw in a one-point penalty, and Mayfield wins the fight. Instead, Dulorme stole the eighth by jabbing the temporarily debilitated Mayfield.

It was pretty clear to Mayfield's trainer Virgil Hunter that he needed a knockout after that. Hunter urged Mayfield to go balls-out, saying "Go git it – with both hands. He might catch you comin' in, but so what?"

Dulorme landed a couple of left hooks in the first round and used his superior height and equal quickness to stymie Mayfield in the second as they fought at long range. Although failure to close in on Dulorme cost Mayfield those first two rounds, Hunter kept admonishing Mayfield for crowding too close and smothering his own punches.

Mayfield pressed the action to win the third and was forced to play the role of bully thereafter. Dulorme was landing more punches, but he began to instigate most of the holding from the fifth on. Again, you could make a case for Mayfield winning the final five rounds, including the sixth and eighth. But I scored both of those rounds for Dulorme and thus had Mayfield losing 96-94.

Mayfield did just about everything to win this fight, including instigating a brawl at Friday's weigh-in that created a sense of instability that helped him in the fight against a physically superior fighter – and almost helped him win it.

But Mayfield doesn't have a crowd-pleasing, and therefore promoter-pleasing, style, and he's not a superstar like Sergey Kovalev, the light heavyweight who won Saturday's other bout by stopping Cedric Agnew in the seventh round. And frankly, Dulorme seemed eminently beatable, too. Probably the last fight on HBO for both guys.

SPRING 2014

FEALTY TO THE HEAVY BAG

Robert Guerrero was Exhibit A for a growing trend in boxing: away from the Muhammad Ali model and toward the Roberto Duran school.

Guerrero's convincing but not one-sided decision victory over Japanese slugger Yoshihiro Kamegai received much mention as a fight-of-the-year candidate because they don't come more brutal. Guerrero absorbed lots of punishment but dished out more. "I ain't a runner," Guerrero said. "I went in there and banged it out with him. I like to give the fans what they want."

Even Floyd Mayweather fought that way as he duked out a decision victory over Marcos Maidana. "That's what the fans wanted to see," Mayweather said. "Tonight I wanted to stand there and fight."

In what passes for a finesse fight these days, emerging lightweight star Terence Crawford took much abuse for four rounds from Yuriorkis Gamboa before turning the tide and stopping Gamboa in the ninth round.

To see Mayweather, Guerrero and other clients of Al Haymon become increasingly willing to trade punches doesn't necessarily mean there's been a directive from Haymon. But with Bob Arum cornering the market on the Gennady Golovkins and Sergey Kovalevs for Top Rank, the best way to neutralize that strength is to take risks that make for more exciting fights, and Haymon's fighters are doing that.

I still believe in hit-and-don't-get-hit. With Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard and Pernell Whitaker long retired, about the only capable practitioner of their elusive art is Mayweather, who hasn't fought that way since he was a kid.

The rougher style is not what I want for Guerrero. He'll sustain unnecessary damage.

But Guerrero has made it plain he prefers the wild side, and there seems to be no turning back.

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APRIL 2014
Chapter 285

IN A SIMILAR BOUT, PACQUIAO WILL DEFEAT BRADLEY

C.J. Ross won't be a judge this time. That's the leading reason Saturday's rematch between Manny Pacquiao and still-unbeaten Timothy Bradley can't possibly be a replica of the June 2012 meeting, in which Pacquiao dominated the fight visually and statistically but Bradley emerged as the shocking winner by split decision.

Ross, discredited into retirement by her draw verdict in the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Canelo Alvarez fight last September, and Duane Ford both scored seven rounds for Bradley and five for Pacquiao in the first bout, despite Pacquiao's landing nearly 100 more punches, many of them hard left crosses.

The seventh and eighth rounds, in which Pacquiao coasted the first two minutes but scored heavily throughout the final 60 seconds, both went to Bradley. So those rounds were pivotal to the upset and are also pivotal to the two main story lines for the rematch.

The first is that the controversial nature of Bradley's victory has come to haunt him. He ratcheted his street cred by getting into a war with then-unheralded Ruslan Provodnikov, and enhanced his credibility with many others by outpointing the legendary Juan Manuel Marquez, but the Pacquiao outcome still stands out.

It was horrible," Bradley told ESPN.com. "I sat in bed with my wife [Monica] and we cried together because it's supposed to be the happiest moment of our life and all these bad things are happening to us and all these people saying these negative things about me.

"And the more they said, the more you start to believe it. It was horrible, it was a horrible time. Thoughts of [suicide] crossed my mind."

Meanwhile, Pacquiao, a congressman in the Philippines, seems to have lost some killer instinct, so that's the other story line, one on which Bradley harped to the point of bullying in an HBO "Faceoff." Pacquiao isn't stopping his opponents and seems unconcerned about it, not to mention fairly blasé about the Bradley injustice and the shocking knockout loss to Marquez, in which Pacquiao pressed for a knockout and got careless.

Trainer Freddie Roach blames Pacquiao's relative reticence on the religious makeover Manny underwent a couple of years ago.

"Manny's told me, 'If I don't need to knock them out, I really don't want to hurt them,' " Roach told the Los Angeles Times. "I've told him that's not a great idea in boxing.... People want to see knockouts, and you can get hit the longer you let it go."

But Pacquiao said religion has not changed or hindered his boxing. "It's helped me. I stopped gambling, stopped drinking, stopped with the girls."

He also denies that he's gone soft on his opponents."It's just happened like that," Pacquiao said. "I want all my fights to be a knockout, but you can't control what happens in the fight. I'll convince people this weekend, prove to them I still have the killer instinct."

His future marketability depends on it. Pacquiao is 35. If he can fight as dynamically as in his past three fights, he'll win the decision this time, although Bradley's abilities as a ring general could once again sway judges his way. So a Pacquiao victory is probably going to be a close call that signifies the impending end of a great career.

APRIL 2014
Chapter 286

PACQUIAO WINS DECISIVELY IN REMATCH WITH BRADLEY

It was just like their first fight, except for the official scoring. On Saturday, Manny Pacquiao was too quick for Timothy Bradley, landing his left cross almost at will and cruising to a unanimous decision victory.

Bradley (31-1) is no longer officially unbeaten and Pacquiao (56-5-3) is the new WBO welterweight champion.

Despite all the apparent similarities, Bradley won a split decision in the first meeting. This time, two judges had Pacquiao winning 8 rounds to 4, and the third scored it 10-2.

That's how the first meeting should have been scored, and it's a shame in retrospect that Pacquiao was overly maligned as a result of that fight, even before he suffered a knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez.

Instead of being a guy who hadn't won a signature fight impressively since Miguel Cotto in 2009, Pacquiao can claim two sensational victories over a bona fide top-10 pound-for-pounder in Bradley, and his only clear-cut setback was the counter right from nowhere that Marquez landed a year and a half ago in a bout Pacquiao was winning handily.

If the issue was whether Pacquiao still has the desire to be a superstar boxer, he won over a lot of doubters Saturday. He did seem to want this one even more than most. He seemed more willing to go all out, to risk fatigue, especially when he thought he had a chance to finish Bradley in the seventh.

Although one would hope Pacquaio has a plan for winding down his career in the next two years or so, he made it plain Saturday that he's good for several more fights' worth of excitement. There will be renewed calls for a showdown with Floyd Mayweather, that's for sure.

MAY 2014
Chapter 287

MAYWEATHER LIKELY TO THWART MAIDANA'S 'PUNCHER'S CHANCE'

Marcos Maidana's "puncher's chance" against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in their WBC/WBA welterweight title fight Saturday is not worth a wager, unless you consider the $70 Showtime pay-per-view fee to be a gamble.

Mayweather (45-0, 26 knockouts) has been just about unhittable throughout his career, and he should have no trouble frustrating Maidana – for the most part, anyway. It appears Maidana (35-3, 31 knockouts) will do what all of Mayweather's opponents do: chase him in vain.

"Everybody keeps asking who is going to crack the May-Vinci Code," Mayweather said this week in the buildup to the bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. "This guy has a good uppercut, this guy has a good jab. . . I still always find a way to win."

Still, if anyone has the one-punch knockout power to surprise Mayweather, it's Maidana, who clouted highly touted Adrien Broner early and often in December as he pulled off a spectacular upset. He seems to be expecting more of the same against Mayweather, although the longtime 140-pounder perhaps is not allowing for Mayweather's larger frame.

"I'm prepared for whatever he brings," said Maidana, who is from Argentina and is sort of a throwback to 1960s-'70s heavyweight Oscar Bonavena. "If he wants to trade blows, we'll trade blows. If he wants to run, we can handle that, too. We're prepared for everything."

He'd better be prepared to be abused. The best way to beat a slugger is to attack him, and Mayweather is determined to do more of that as his play-it-safe career winds down. This is the third bout in his six-bout, $300 million deal with Showtime that began last year at this time against Gilroy's Robert Guerrero and continued last September with a more action-packed victory over Canelo Alvarez.

"I think styles make fights. I'm looking to win and I'm looking to win very impressively," Mayweather said. "I'm pretty sure he's coming straight ahead, and we'll see how the fight plays out."

You can't blame Mayweather or Showtime executive Stephen Espinoza for gambling that Maidana will make Saturday's fight one of Mayweather's most exciting.

"Why is this an attractive fight for the network? It's very simple," Espinoza said. "The combination of the caliber of competition that he's faced, the team that he has behind him, his knockout power and, above all, his relentlessness. As we all saw in the Adrien Broner fight, there is a ferocity and a relentlessness that Marcos Maidana fights with. I think that's the biggest asset that he brings to the table for this fight. It is for that reason, and almost that reason alone, that I'm very, very excited."

MAY 2014
Chapter 288

MAYWEATHER COMES ON STRONG TO OUTPOINT MAIDANA

Floyd Mayweather, arguably the greatest defensive boxer ever, needed every weapon in his offensive arsenal Saturday in Las Vegas to outpunch Marcos Maidana, win a majority decision, and remain unbeaten.

Mayweather, pummeled like we've never seen him pummeled, perhaps was trailing as late as the eighth round, but he outslugged Maidana over the final four rounds to cement the decision and add Maidana's WBA welterweight title to his WBC belt. The scorecards read 117-111, 116-112, 114-114.

Mayweather landed his right cross at will, scoring on 178 of 274 power shots and connecting on 54 percent of his punches overall despite loading up for a knockdown with every other punch.

In other words, Mayweather fought Maidana's kind of fight instead of playing it safe as he always has. "That's what the fans wanted to see," Mayweather said. "Tonight I wanted to stand there and fight."

Plenty of observers thought Maidana won, but they were overlooking the damage Mayweather (46-0) was inflicting as he began to outgun Maidana during the middle of the fight.

Maidana (35-4) came up big early on. With Maidana, who ballooned from 146.5 pounds Friday to 165 Saturday, winning the first, fourth and fifth rounds, it was easy to get carried away by the drama. Maidana also had his moments in the second and third rounds, in which Mayweather landed the more impressive howitzers. The myth was building.

Mayweather was in real danger of losing. He had sustained a nasty cut on his right eyelid from an accidental butt in the fourth round. "For two rounds, I couldn't see," Mayweather said.

Not necessarily a lame excuse. Mayweather won six of the final seven rounds.

"A true champion can make adjustments to anything," Mayweather said.

Maidana brought out the best in Mayweather. We wanted to see him challenged. He was challenged. He rose to the occasion, and he deserves credit for it.

MAY 2014
Chapter 289

ARREOLA'S TKO LOSS DIMINISHES GOOSSEN'S STAR POWER

Cristobal Arreola's days as a heavyweight contender may have ended Saturday when Bermane Stiverne (24-1-1) stopped him in the sixth round of their bout in Los Angeles for the vacant WBC heavyweight title.

Stiverne, who had upset Arreola (36-4) in April 2013, flooring him in the third round en route, won the title vacated by Vitali Klitschko as he concentrates on political leadership in Ukraine, and the victory positioned Stiverne for a showdown with Klitschko's brother, Wladimir, who holds the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles. Wladimir had said he wanted to take on the winner and unify the title.

Stiverne looked eminently beatable in the first five rounds of his rematch with Arreola but knocked him down twice in the sixth before referee Jack Reiss stopped the bout at USC's Galen Center.

The demise of Arreola further erodes the empire of promoter Dan Goossen, who was visible at ringside during the ESPN telecast.

Goossen, 61, was still welterweight/middleweight star Paul Williams' promoter when the lanky left-hander was paralyzed in a 2011 motorcycle accident. And Goossen barely retains control of Andre Ward, who has been stymied by the California boxing commission rulings in his efforts to part ways with Goossen.

Ward wants a promoter who can engineer paydays commensurate with his standing as the No. 2 fighter in the world pound-for-pound.

But he also wants scrupulous behavior in his midst, and he feels Goossen has violated trust by declining to include Antonio Leonard in recent negotiations on Ward's behalf.

Leonard's presence has been visible throughout Ward's ascendance to his current elite level since the spring of 2009. Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated filed a detailed account of the Goossen-Leonard situation last week.

Goossen's enterprise blossomed in the 1980s when Michael Nunn was a superstar client, and the 1990s, when the Ruelas brothers were stars, but the current decade once loomed as Goossen's best yet and he seemed poised to go out on top around, say, 2020.

Goossen's enthusiasm doesn't seem to have flagged much in those five years. The same can't be said of his enterprise.

MAY 2014
Chapter 290

GUERRERO TO FIGHT YOSHIHIRO KAMEGAI ON JUNE 21

Robert Guerrero will end a 13-month layoff June 21 as he fights Japanese welterweight Yoshihiro Kamegai (24-1-1, 21 knockouts) in Carson, California.

Guerrero (31-2-1, 18 knockouts), whose last fight was his big-chance loss to Floyd Mayweather in May 2013, needs another fight as soon as possible, and that's why he's suddenly in the fold for a 12-round bout less than six weeks away.

"Although I've been out for a while, make no mistake about it, I'm in great shape," the Gilroy welterweight said through publicist Mario Serrano. "I'm hungry and I'm looking forward to the challenge Kamegai presents. I am just happy to be fighting again while bringing excitement to the hottest division in boxing, the welterweight division."

It's a Showtime card that also includes a 10-round bout between Devon Alexander and Jesus Soto-Karass, two fighters who, unlike Kamegai, are roughly parallel to Guerrero in professional stature.

Kamegai suffered his only defeat last June, in Carson, yet, to equally unsung Johan Perez.

The June 21 date officially extricates Guerrero from the promotional limbo in which he placed himself in January by announcing he wanted to part ways with Golden Boy Promotions after four years and recently announcing he had signed Al Haymon as his advisor.

Golden Boy executive Richard Schaefer, who pronounced himself bewildered by Guerrero's intentions to defect, is allied with Haymon and Showtime, so it wasn't surprising that Schaefer was willing and able to work Guerrero into the June 21 lineup.

Still, it's too bad Guerrero isn't the one fighting Alexander, a junior welterweight champion whose signature win surely is his 2012 thrashing of Marcos Maidana, the man who took Mayweather to the limit less than two weeks ago. Guerrero's signature welterweight win is his 2012 upset of former welterweight champion Andre Berto, but Soto-Karass, something of a journeyman, clobbered Berto much more impressively in 2013.

Schaefer hinted at the likelihood that Guerrero might well face the winner of the Alexander fight if he beats Kamegai, as he surely will be favored to do.

MAY 2014
Chapter 291

FROCH'S BOUT SATURDAY IS OVERSHADOWING DONAIRE'S

Nonito Donaire's first challenge for a featherweight title Saturday will air on HBO, but the bout is not the headliner. That would be the rematch between WBC-IBF super-middleweight champion Carl Froch and George Groves.

Donaire, the Bay Area fighter who was the world's fighter of the year in 2012 after mowing down four 122-pound opponents. But he lost to Guillermo Rigondeaux in April 2013 and was losing to Vic Darchinyan in their November rematch when Donaire (32-2) scored a ninth-round stoppage. He's challenging South African Simpiwe Vetyeka (26-2, 16 knockouts) in Macao in a bout HBO will air on its East Coast feed at 1 p.m. Pacific time before it airs Froch's fight.

Froch was trailing Groves when he scored a ninth-round stoppage in November, a highly questionable stoppage at that, which is why the rematch is generating so much interest even outside England, where 80,000 will see the bout at London's Wembley Stadium.

Groves, 19-0 entering the first bout, established a nasty left jab in the first round and floored Froch with a counter right near the end of that round. Froch never could gain the upper hand. They fought on fairly even terms after the first, although upset-mongers felt Groves was winning handily, until Froch hurt Groves in the eighth and ninth. Froch did land three or four huge shots seconds before the stoppage, but it still seemed premature.

Hence, a rematch that has more pull than Donaire's important bout.

There's still clamor for a Froch-Andre Ward rematch. Froch's last defeat came against Ward in December 2011 in the championship bout of Showtime's Super Six. He has beaten Lucian Bute and Mikkel Kessler in the meantime. Now Froch, Ward and Super Six mastermind Ken Hershman are all important to HBO.

And Donaire will be under pressure to do something noticeable in that atmosphere.

MAY 2014
Chapter 292

DONAIRE AT CROSSROADS IN VETYEKA BOUT

If Nonito Donaire Jr. fights Simpiwe Vetyeka in their WBA featherweight title fight Saturday in Macau the way he fought Guillermo Rigondeaux and Vic Darchinyan last year, he will lose a lot of believers and may well lose the fight.

There's reason to believe Donaire instead will regain the form Saturday on HBO that propelled him to fighter-of-the-year status in 2012.

"This camp we went back to Nonito's bread and butter – creating a mix that combines speed, movement and power," said trainer Nonito Donaire Sr., who has been preparing his son and will be in the corner along with trainer Robert Garcia on Saturday. "I have never seen a fighter work harder and totally dedicate himself to his tasks than Nonito did during this training camp," the father said.

There's a large faction that was dissatisfied prior to 2013, dissatisfied with Donaire's 2012 march past four 122-pound opponents. Even though he stopped two of them and knocked down all four, some deemed those performances insufficiently dynamic.

That's faulty reasoning. Anyone who engaged Donaire, who actually tried to win, brought out the explosive "Filipino Flash" who was ranked No. 3 in the world pound-for-pound not long ago and was arguably the greatest flyweight ever. After Donaire's destruction of Fernando Montiel in 2011, his next five opponents fought only to survive.

The two 2013 fights, a convincing loss to Rigondeaux and a stoppage of Darchinyan while trailing on the scorecards, were something else. Donaire (32-2, 20 knockouts) began to lose lots of rounds, all in a pose-and-seek-a-one-punch-knockout style reminiscent of Roy Jones Jr. in his prime.

Fortunately, Donaire has admitted that mistake. "Last year I got away from what made me successful, and I paid the price for that when I met Guillermo Rigondeaux," he said. "And even when I knocked out Vic Darchinyan in our rematch last year, that wasn't the best me."

The father, who was absent from the corner for several years in a feud that has been largely resolved, said, "I agree with Nonito 100 percent. Nonito got away from what made him great – his speed and footwork in combination with his power.

It's not like Donaire is the underdog, although the odds have tightened in recent weeks. Vetyeka (26-2, 16 knockouts), is nearly two years older than Donaire, yet his notable achievements are recent – victories over Indonesian stars Daud Yordan and Chris John, from whom Vetyeka wrested the title.

Those are pretty slight bona fides. Yordan has never been a world champion, and though John's loss to Vetyeka was his first, he was the weakest undefeated champion in memory.

Vetyeka might be a cut above the guys Donaire beat so decisively in 2012. But at best, the South African seems like just the opponent to bring out the best of Donaire as the "Filipino Flash" proves he is not past his peak.

MAY 2014
Chapter 293

DONAIRE WINS FEATHERWEIGHT TITLE DESPITE SEVERE GASH

Nonito Donaire scored a fourth-round knockdown and won the WBA featherweight title Saturday by unanimous decision over Simpiwe Vetyeka in a bout reduced to four rounds because Donaire sustained a cut from an accidental head butt at the end of the first round.

Despite the victory, Donaire (33-2) was frustrated by his lack of opportunity to show he has regained his mojo, which even the knockdown and the new title did not restore.

"I wanted to give the fans my best," Donaire said. "I was halfway there."

Vetyeka won the first round by landing a couple of jabs, and he appeared slightly quicker than Donaire, the former flyweight, junior bantamweight, bantamweight and super-bantamweight champion. But Donaire began to establish his power in the second round enough to win that, and then clearly outpunched Vetyeka in the third, staggering him with a right cross.

With referee Luis Pabon stopping the action a couple of times for inspections of Donaire's left eye, there was a sense of desperation in the proceedings, the knowledge that trailing on the scorecards at any point was not an option.

Emboldened by occasional success, Vetyeka was mixing it up with Donaire in the fourth when Nonito landed a big right and then a left hook that put Vetyeka on the canvas. Donaire staggered Vetyeka with another left late in the round.

The fight was stopped after the fourth round, but there was a two-second fifth round (scored a draw) in accordance with WBA rules.

"In every round it kept getting worse," Donaire said of the distraction from the cut and particularly the flow of blood into his eye. "It was too much of a disadvantage."

So the result was "unfinished business," as Donaire put it. He declared there will be a rematch, and as for the elite phase of his career, he is still declaring there will be a revival.

MAY 2014
Chapter 294

FROCH FINALLY SUBDUES GROVES, DECKING HIM IN 8TH

Carl Froch left no doubt about it this time. He decked George Groves with a straight right Saturday in their super-middleweight rematch in London and finally established his superiority in what has become a great rivalry.

Groves (19-2) is capable of outboxing Froch for long stretches, but Froch (33-2, 24 knockouts) proved the tougher man.

Froch had won the first meeting last November in Manchester, his neck of the woods, by scoring a ninth-round technical knockout in a bout he was trailing. The stoppage then was premature. Froch had been hurt worse in the first round, when Groves had overwhelmed him and knocked him down.

This time Groves won the first four rounds by again establishing his jab, landing the occasional power shot and countering effectively as Froch stepped up the pace. But Froch became more aggressive near the end of the fourth, and as it turned out, the tide had turned for good.

The jab became Groves' means of fending off Froch more than actually scoring points. Froch landed a lead right to steal the seventh, and then finished the fight with a one-two in the eighth. Groves blocked the left hook, but the straight right landed flush. Groves' left leg twisted grotesquely as he fell, and the bout clearly was over.

In retrospect, the knockdown scored by Groves in the first bout was the one aberration. He's an excellent boxer with a great jab, but his power was not in Froch's class.

Froch's last loss was to Andre Ward in 2011, and he avenged his other defeat by beating Mikkel Kessler. His crossroads fight Saturday drew about 80,000 to Wembley Stadium, and that's another sort of power Froch can wield in future negotiations.

JUNE 2014
Chapter 295

REPORTS ON HEAD BUTT-MARRED BOUT VARY BEYOND BELIEF

A wire-service account of Saturday's Nonito Donaire-Simpiwe Vetyeka fight in Macau failed to report that Donaire scored a knockdown in the fourth round of that bout, which ended minutes later with Donaire the winner by technical decision. I nearly asked the San Jose Mercury News, which carried that account, to run a correction.

The knockdown was the salient point of Donaire's capture of Vetyeka's WBA featherweight title, which he gained by lasting through four rounds to become eligible for a decision win after suffering a gashed eyelid from an accidental head butt in the first round. After the knockdown, Donaire was unquestionably ahead in the fight and gaining momentum.

Without the knockdown, it would have been unconscionable to seize Vetyeka's title, so omitting mention of the knockdown was a significant error.

Letting that fight go as long as it did was probably a mistake for all concerned. First of all, Donaire and his corner say he was mentally impaired after the first round and even thought he was merely in a sparring session for a while. Second, he obviously couldn't see. Third, Vetyeka was mighty foul-prone in this bout, which was a factor in the worsening of Donaire's wound.

Donaire might have been better off accepting a no-contest (a technical draw), which is what would have resulted from stopping the bout before the end of the fourth round. But he needed to score that knockdown too badly for that, and now he's stuck with a vaguely sleazy-looking situation that's not what he had in mind.

There's a lot of negativity swirling around this one, including some who say that referee Luis Pabon did not make it clear right away that the accidental-butt ruling had been made, though that certainly was the widespread assumption.

As usual, some were saying Donaire ought to have fought on until his eyeball fell out. One serial hater said the wound was caused by a punch, and he wasn't alone.

So I can't help feeling inclined to try to advance the truth.

I should have tried harder on that front Saturday. The San Francisco Chronicle, my sometimes employer, didn't advance the fight Saturday and had no account Sunday. It wouldn't have hurt to send them my accounts for their delectation.

Though there's no way to fight some of the trash some people put forth as facts these days, I have to keep trying.

JUNE 2014
Chapter 296

HAYMON, SHOWTIME NOT WOUNDED DEEPLY BY GOLDEN BOY SHAKEUP

Richard Schaefer steps down, and just like that, Golden Boy Promotions is no longer No. 1. But if you think that means Bob Arum's Top Rank has regained the lead, you have not been paying attention.

Hint: Robert Guerrero defected to whom from Golden Boy this year? Al Haymon, of course.

Schaefer, who had pre-empted Golden Boy founder Oscar De La Hoya as front man for the operation, issued a statement that implied he's leaving boxing, but considering the alliance he has formed with Showtime and Haymon, the power structure is most assuredly not askew and perhaps isn't even altered.

Golden Boy, on the other hand, looks like it's been picked over by hyenas. Guerrero is far from the only defector.

Some observers mistakenly believe Golden Boy's diminished state means there's no promotional arm to back up Floyd Mayweather and the rest of Haymon's growing stable of clients for Showtime. Haymon is ostensibly a mere "adviser" to Guerrero and the many others who have joined his flock in the past two or three years.

But don't forget that Haymon made his fortune as a promoter of big time rock concerts, the biggest ever. And note that Mayweather is supposedly promoting his own bout in September – via the framework Haymon and Showtime worked out last year.

Arum still has Manny Pacquiao and is HBO's main source of talent, but for the future he has been relegated to five or six very talented sluggers of Eastern European origin who are very unlikely to be able to compete for eyeballs with Haymon's largely American aggregate, notably nearly all of the African-Americans.

Andre Ward is currently on the HBO side of the ledger, and De La Hoya might bring what's left of his enterprise back to HBO with a niche for Mexicans and Mexican-Americans.

But Haymon is definitely in control.

JUNE 2014
Chapter 297

GUERRERO INTENDS TO RESTORE VERSATILITY VS. SLUGGER KAMEGAI

Robert Guerrero hasn't really been "The Ghost" in recent fights. In his three bouts as a welterweight he has taken on the image of flat-footed slugger. That makes it hard to see what advantages the Gilroy fighter expects to have against fellow 147-pounders who can match his speed, size and power.

Guerrero (31-2-1, 18 knockouts) says he aims to rectify the situation Saturday in his welterweight bout in Carson, California, airing on Showtime, against Japanese slugger Yoshihiro Kamegai, a bout in which Guerrero ought to use finesse and boxing skills to advantage.

Although his one loss came at the Carson venue last June to little-known Johan Perez, Kamegai has 21 knockouts in his 24 victories and presents defensive problems for Guerrero.

Guerrero, who was a lanky, defense-minded technician in his featherweight days, had little choice but to take on the bull's role in his loss last May to the ultimate matador, Floyd Mayweather. Nobody is going to out-finesse Mayweather.

But the brutality of Guerrero's victorious welterweight debut against Selcuk Aydin in 2012 often played into the Turk's hands, and brutality proved to be Guerrero's primary asset in his upset of former champion Andre Berto later that year.

Now that the welterweight world has acknowledged Guerrero's machismo, it's time to show anew how slick he can be.

He says that's exactly his intention. "There's a lot more that I can bring to the table when I fight," Guerrero said, referring mostly to the Mayweather defeat in May 2013. He hasn't fought since. "I felt it wasn't the best of me in there and you tend to follow to certain styles, trying to be the guy just walking guys down when you've got a lot more God-given abilities that you've got to put to use.

"Seeing the type of foot speed he (Mayweather) had and hand speed in front of me . . . really lit a fire under me to become a better fighter, to start using every tool that I have and not just get put into one dimension, where I started walking guys down, like I did with Berto, and trying to be that big man and trying to have muscles. . . ."

That doesn't mean he'll shy away from Kamegai.

"I've been watching film on him, and he comes to fight. He's one of those guys that doesn't back down. He just keeps coming. He wants to get it on with you. I've seen a couple of times in the ring where, if he does get hit with a good shot, it just fires him up and he wants to go for it.

"Just look at his record. Twenty-one knockouts: He comes to put you out."

It's a fine line Guerrero will be walking Saturday, but his versatility should be the difference in the fight if he's still really "The Ghost."

JUNE 2014
Chapter 298

GUERRERO WINS, MAKING IT EXCITING THOUGH PAYING THE PRICE

In the most entertaining victory of his career to date, Robert Guerrero landed about 40 power punches per round Saturday en route to winning a unanimous decision welterweight victory over Yoshihiro Kamegai in Carson, California.

He also sustained a lot of power shots from Kamegai, but Guerrero had greater firepower.

Guerrero (32-2-1) had vowed he would show more finesse than in his recent flat-footed performances, that he would hit and not get hit back. He fought that way in the first round, his best of the fight, but by the second he was standing toe to toe with a slugger who has scored 21 knockouts in 24 victories.

"Right out the gate, I fell into his style," Guerrero said. "I ain't a runner. I went in there and banged it out with him. I like to give the fans what they want.

"I wanted to get back on my toes, but I got right back to banging."

But the fact is, Guerrero looked pretty slick. There was no mistaking his all-around skills, and there was nothing to apologize for. Often, the best way to subdue a slugger is to hit him.

Guerrero sustained a bad gash to his right eye from an uppercut in the sixth round, one of only three Kamegai won, and the swelling was a reminder that this is a tougher way to make a living than the elusive style that Guerrero employed five years and 20 pounds ago.

One might wish, especially for Guerrero's long-term health and well-being, that he could fight more prudently, but that's not who he is anymore.

The thing is, in an entertaining fight, no one was entertained more than Guerrero. He's happier this way, and that not only counts for a lot, but also it will earn him a lot more fans and more money.

BOXING WILL SEEM MORE MONOTONOUS WITHOUT PACQUIAO

It was going to be hard to muster enthusiasm for boxing anymore if Manny Pacquiao hadn't beaten Timothy Bradley in their April 12 rematch. Boxing's demographics are in a death spiral despite a nearly six-year reprieve that Pacquiao's rise to welterweight greatness has provided.

Floyd Mayweather is probably the better boxer and has statistically been the more prolific money-earner, but Pacquiao has the mystique.

Every generation has someone you can mention in the same breath as Mayweather and Pacquiao: Roy Jones Jr., Mike Tyson, Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, Muhammad Ali, Rocky Marciano, and Sugar Ray Robinson (the greatest fighter ever) in my lifetime alone. But Pacquiao has truly been one in a billion, exceeded only by Ali, Robinson, Joe Louis and Jack Dempsey for impact on the business of boxing.

The Bay Area's Kingpin Trio has been reason for regional excitement, and Andre Ward might yet reach that first tier, but only Pacquiao in modern boxing has been a true curiosity, a man whose odd charisma has transcended his marvelous boxing skills.

Without him, the sport goes back to normal, a decline accelerated by the younger generation's preference for more visceral fight sports than the Sweet Science.

The fate of boxing appears to be in the hands of Al Haymon, the former rock-concerts tycoon who is cornering the managerial market on good American fighters. This would be a good thing if boxing had a merit system. But it doesn't, and that means that many of boxing's good black fighters will continue to be disregarded by the public and therefore will not receive their due. And in the larger weight classes, where there's more money, African-Americans can find better payoffs for their talents in sports other than boxing, so they are scarce.

Haymon's consortium has managed to depose Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions and, having become the primary competitor for Bob Arum's Top Rank, perhaps is already No. 1.

Kingpin trio member Robert Guerrero has joined Haymon's ranks. Nonito Donaire is aligned with Arum and Ward is aligned with Top Rank only unofficially, and somewhat tenuously.

Arum has a stronghold on international talent, including most of the best Hispanics except for Canelo Alvarez, and De La Hoya may be able to bring his fellow Mexican-Americans toward some accord with Arum. Arum and/or HBO also have most of the hard-punching Eastern Europeans, who are in danger of become too ubiquitous themselves, although Gennady Golovkin may rise far above that level. And Pacquiao is still a big deal in 2014.

But Arum is a good 15 years older than Haymon, who is in his 60s. Top Rank seems destined to be a strong second at best in coming years.

If anything is symptomatic of what Haymon is up against, it's the opponent who's next up for Pacquiao. That would be Chris Algieri, a nice white boy from Long Island who boxed rather nicely in gaining an upset victory over one of those European sluggers, Ruslan Provodnikov, in his first truly significant fight. Many of us felt Provodnikov won the fight and that Algieri doesn't merit the big spotlight his bout with Pacquiao provides.

But don't underestimate Arum. He still knows where the money is in boxing, and the ongoing Pacquiao craze in the Philippines suggests that the sport's greatest hopes lie overseas.

Epilogue

PREDICTING FUTURE HITS FOR THE KINGPIN TRIO

In 2018, Nonito Donaire and Robert Guerrero will be 35, and Andre Ward turns 34. None can be said to be past his prime, so their collective achievements are already guaranteed to be great.

But what will the past 10 years have brought them? Will any retire before then? How much the worse for wear will they be? Will any achieve greatness that far outweighs his already prodigious accomplishments?

Ward can still shoot the moon because he's still unbeaten. As a ring technician, he is the second coming of Archie Moore, but without the 23 losses, 10 draws and all the collateral damage Moore accrued.

That includes the great light heavyweight's forays into the heavyweight division. Ward used to talk of ending up there, but his ability to remain instead at 168 pounds is refreshing, like everything else about him.

It's unfortunate that the inactivity of the past three years will cause Ward to retire later than he otherwise might have. He still hasn't been in an epic fight, so that and the paydays great fights would generate are probably his motivation to stick around. He'll be 33 in 2017, and it would have been nice to see him retire undefeated then, not 2018. Now, it's looking more like 2019.

Donaire, the second coming of his idol Alexis Arguello, and the equal or better of his Filipino idol Gabriel "Flash" Elorde, will retire long before 2018 and certainly will rank at the Arguello level of boxing posterity, especially if he retires before someone knocks him out.

Many were saying Donaire was the best flyweight ever even before he left the division. He loomed large in physical stature compared to others at 112 pounds, and he was a memorable knockout puncher too. He reached No. 3 on the pound-for-pound lists on the strength of that and his bantamweight-claim-to-fame, which was his 2011 knockout of Fernando Montiel. Donaire's four-bout sweep past 122-pound opponents in 2012 earned him fighter of the year recognition, but his reputation has slipped since then, even though he currently holds the lineal featherweight world championship.

There are three reasons to believe Donaire will retire before he departs on a stretcher.

_The first is that he often has admitted flagging interest. When he began, at age 26, managing Dodie Boy_ Peñalosa Jr. _, you could see how important his post-career planning already had become._

The second is that he's accustomed to being quicker than his opponents, and he has acknowledged that he expects to lose that advantage in his early 30s. It has already been evident as he gains weight and power that he's easier to hit than he used to be.

The third reason is that fatherhood and success are taking the edge off his game, and he knows it.

The best way to burnish his legend would be win a return match with Guillermo Rigondeaux, who is no longer in Nonito's weight class, or to win a high-profile battle, probably at 130 pounds, with someone whose star power is not yet clearly established. But Donaire's legend doesn't need much more burnishing. He may even retire in 2015.

Robert Guerrero feels that he's just getting started. Boxing is in his blood more than the other two kingpins, and the blood is certainly beginning to flow.

He is increasingly reminiscent of Vinny Pazienza, a light-hitting lightweight champion who morphed into a heavy-hitting middleweight and fought into his early 40s. Like Guerrero, Paz amassed a large list of victories over name fighters, yet he's never going to be lumped with the all-time greats.

Guerrero is eager to escape an assessment like that. He will fight a lot of the Shawn Porters, Timothy Bradleys, Devon Alexanders, Amir Khans, Keith Thurmans, Danny Garcias and Ruslan Provodnikovs in his midst and will win more of them than he loses.

Can he do all that by 2018? If he does, he may emerge better off than he is now.

But one can picture it going the other way, and that's a fearful prospect in boxing.

THE END

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Colin Seymour was a copy editor and staff writer from 1983 to 2007 at the San Jose Mercury News, which published hundreds of his critical reviews covering theater, classical music, books and television. He has since been copy editing at the San Francisco Chronicle. He is president of California Writers Club-South Bay, he writes about boxing on Examiner.com and he sings top tenor in a Bay Area men's octet, the Bear-A-Tones.

ALSO BY COLIN SEYMOUR

STEREO TYPES/How a black family and its blond homeboys blended their hopes in 1950s Portland

<https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/327904>

