Round by Round: Weekly Boxing Notes

In the Footsteps of Money↵
↵Man, what a crazy week it’s been in the aftermath of Floyd “Money” Mayweather’s surprise retirement last week. It’s hard to think of another time when a sudden exit had such an impact on a sport’s landscape. To recap:
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↵-- Oscar De La Hoya goes after Ricky Hatton, Ricky says no, and now it seems like Oscar will only fight once more this year and that either Manny Pacquiao or the winner of Cotto/Margarito will be his opponent. The only thing that’s certain about all of this right now is that the date is set for December 6th.
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↵-- With Floyd’s retirement, the WBC has stripped him of his belt at 147 and mandated that the Andre Berto/Miki Rodriguez bout on June 21st will be for the vacant title. Which means that Berto, one of the most exciting and ballyhooed rising stars of boxing, has a sudden chance to become a major player in the crowded welterweight ranks. Meanwhile, Ring Magazine leaves its welterweight title vacant for now, with Miguel Cotto the #1 contender.
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-- As for Cotto, the man arguably with the most to lose from Mayweather’s retirement (providing, of course, that he stays retired) it seems, true to form, that the Puerto Rican bruiser could give a crap about what Floyd does or does not do. He’s got Tony Margarito in his sights in the July 26th fight that has Event of the Year written all over it, and then he has a possible date with ODLH looming in December. And how’s this for a path to all-time greatness for Cotto? Consecutive wins over Margarito, Oscar, and then the unretiring Floyd Mayweather next spring. He pulls that off and all those fight-mad Boricuans might finally forget about Felix Trinidad. ↵↵The Unfriendly Ghost
↵As a boxing fan, believe me, I’m used to the sting of unfortunate matchmaking, but still I gotta tell you, this one really hurts. Word is out today that Joe Calzaghe is opting to fight Roy Jones rather than Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik in what could be his final fight this fall. ↵

↵↵The line that The Pride of Wales is taking on the question really gets my blood up – “I’m not sure if Pavlik really wants to face me at the moment.” ↵

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