E:60 Mike Tyson

Here is the piece that E:60 did on Mike Tyson. From the show it looks like Tyson is finally going down the road of recovery; trying to cure his drug and alcohol additions as well as face some of the inner demons that haunted him early in his career. Although Tyson is not a factor as a boxer anymore, he remains one of the most intriguing former athletes in the world today.

What's New With Mike Tyson?

I find it hard to comprehend that Mike Tyson was at one time the most feared heavyweight in the sport of boxing. In recent years, whether it be one of his expletive laced rants or his facial tatoo, Tyson's life has turned into a complete circus. Oddly enough, it was a Mike Tyson fight that actually got me interested in boxing. I was sitting at home one night with nothing to do, when I remembered that I had read in the newspaper earlier that morning that Mike Tyson was having a comeback fight against journeyman, Danny Williams. With lack of better options I decided to buy the pay-per-view fight and call some of my friends up to come watch it. The fight ended up being highly entertaining with Williams managing to pull off a come from behind victory. Another subsequent loss to Kevin McBride essentially ended Tyson's professional career.



On December 29, 2006 Mike Tyson's life hit another low, when he was arrested because of a possible DUI and felony drug possession. Tyson admitted that he was a drug addict and that he would begin pursuing rehabilitation. Other than this arrest, Tyson has remained out of the public eye. However, ESPN's show E: 60 will bring the spotlight back to Tyson, in its special covering the ex-figher's court ordered sobriety at 7 P.M. Tuesday night. It should be an interesting look into the life of one of the most infamous athletes in history.

Fight Preview: De La Hoya vs. Forbes

Source: HBO.com

Rather than heading straight into a rematch with "Pretty Boy" Floyd Mayweather, Oscar De La Hoya chose to have a tune up fight against former titlist, Steve Forbes. De La Hoya, who narrowly lost via decision to Mayweather last year, has a history of looking past his tune up matches because of a later big money fight. This was particularly evident when De La Hoya was scheduled to fight Bernard Hopkins in a major Pay-Per-View fight and completely overlooked Felix Sturm. Sturm pummeled De La Hoya for 12 rounds and was absolutely robbed when the judges gave the victory to De La Hoya. De La Hoya assures everyone that he already made that mistake once and there is no chance that he overlooks Forbes. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Boxing fans will remember Steve Forbes because of his performance in the reality show, The Contender a couple of years ago. Although Forbes was fighting far above his weight class he still managed to battle his way to a second place finish. Forbes has had to fight ever since he was born. His nickame is "Two Pound" because he was born premature and only weighed two pounds. He had to live the first couple of months living off of machines because all of his major organs were underdeveloped. "Two Pound" survived his early difficulties and would go on to win the featherweight championship of the world.

It is hard to root against Steve Forbes because he is just such a likable guy, but I do believe De La Hoya when he says that he will not overlook this fight because of a huge payday fight with Mayweather. Forbes is an 8-1 underdog in this fight, but I really doubt that matters. Forbes has been an underdog and a fighter since he first came into this world.

Fight Prediction: Forbes pulls off shocking 12 round decision

Calzaghe Wins Close Fight

Source: HBO.com

Joe Calzaghe managed to overcome a knockdown in the opening round of his fight with Bernard Hopkins, and win the light heavyweight championship. Hopkins caught Calzaghe with a punch while he Calzaghe was coming in and off balance which prompty sent the Welsh fighter to the canvas. The knockdown did not do a significant amount of damage to Calzaghe but it still managed to give Hopkins a two point lead on the scorecards from the outset of the fight.

Source: HBO.com

The fight looked like an ugly brawl, which is typical for Hopkins fighters because he usually only thows straight right hands while he is coming in, and then grabs his opponent before they can retaliate. There were many clinches throughout the fight; however, this did not discourage the fighters from punching each other. In the middle rounds of the fight Calzaghe hit Hopkins with a questionable "low blow", and the referee allowed Hopkins five minutes to recover.

There is no question that Hopkins landed the cleaner, harder punches in the fight but Calzaghe landed nearly 100 more punches and was the aggressor throughout the fight. In the end, one judge had the fight 115-114 Hopkins, one had 115-112 Calzaghe and the last judge had 116-111 Calzaghe which gave him the victory. I felt that Hopkins won this fight by a very small margin, but I can see how judges could have favored Calzaghe's high punch output.

Following the fight Calzaghe was asked who he wanted to fight next, and he replied that he would like a match with Roy Jones Jr.. Jones was very impressive in his victory over Felix Trinidad, but he might encounter the same problem that Hopkins had when he faced Calzaghe which is overcoming the tremenous amount of punches Calzaghe throws. Nonetheless, a Calzaghe/Jones Jr. fight would certainly be intriguing and entertaining.

Hopkins vs. Calzaghe

Could Hopkins actually pull off the upset? Since my prior post this question has been swirling in my head. In the past Bernard Hopkins has came out of fights victoriosu that many did not think that he could (ex. Felix Trinidad/ Antonio Tarver). He is one of the most technically sound boxers in the world today and it is amazing to watch him pick apart his opponents in the ring. The one thing that concerns me about this fight is that his opponent, Joe Calzaghe, throws a large volume of punches and Hopkins is known for starting fights slow. Bernard has great defense, so I do not believe that Calzaghe can knock him out, but if Bernard starts the fight slow (like he did in both of his fights against Jermaine Taylor) then I think he will lose by decision. I think Calzaghe will ultimately win the fight, but you can never count out the "Executioner".

Gomez Proves No Match For Cotto

Alfonso Gomez showed an incredible amount of toughness and courage Saturday night against Miguel Cotto; possibly too much courage. From the very beginning of the fight it was evident that Gomez was completely outclassed. Cotto felt Gomez's power and it was obvious that he did not feel that Gomez could hurt him because the entire night he boxed almost arrogantly. One of the commenters stated that it looked as though Cotto was in a sparring session, because Cotto was simply picking apart his opponent. Gomez was getting beaten up so bad that before the start of the sixth round the ring docter called the fight, giving Cotto the victory.



What's next for the sensational Puerto Rican boxer? Well this summer he is on a collision course with the other fighter that won Saturday night, Antonio Margarito. The fight would pair two extremely aggresive fighters that pack a lot of power, and would undoubtedly be a highly entertaining fight. Perhaps if Cotto were to win that fight then finally we would get a Cotto-Mayweather fight that we've all been waiting for.

Margarito's Body Shot KO's Cintron

In a rematch of a 2005 fight, Antonio Margarito and Cintron stepped into the ring again Saturday night looking for a much needed victory. Former title holder, Antonio Margarito, lost his championship belt when he lost by decision to Paul Williams. Following that loss, in which he started slowly and barely lost a decision, Margarito vowed to never start a fight slowly again. Kermit Cintron, another title holder, is known as a brutal power puncher; however, his boxing resume was lacking of a big name fighter. With a victory over Cintron, Maragarito would once again be a title holder. With a victory over Margarito, Cintron would finally have a big notch on his belt and would also revenge his only loss in his career.

Saturday night Maragarito came out victorious, primarily because he applied constant pressure and a viciously effective body attack. Mid-way through the 6th round, Margarito caught Cintron with a perfect body shot, right on the liver, that sent Cintron to the canvas hunched over in pain. The referee counted Cintron out and gave Margarito the victoy and sets up a mega-fight in the summer between himself and Miguel Cotto, who was also fighting Saturday.

Who Didn't See That Coming?

In a much antipated matchup between "Pretty Boy" Floyd Mayweather and the "Big Show", Mayweather managed to come out victorious and unharmed. As I stated in an earlier post I chose not to shell out the $50 dollars to witness the fight, but from the clips I've seen and from boxing writers that were present, it was absolutely CAPTIVATING. Supposedly there was constant back and forth action between the two, with the "Big Show" managing to pull out one of his patented chokeslams on Mayweather and one of the members of his entourage. However, Mayweather managed to get the last laugh when he grabbed a pair of brass knuckles and let out a vicious punch that landed flush against the "Big Show"s face, knocking him out. Everything that occurred was SO unexpected that it almost seems at if it was staged.................

Now that Mayweather has given wrestling a try, we can only hope that he will return to boxing and give fans of the sport like myself a memorable 2008 filled with Mayweather mega-fights. (Hint Hint Miguel Cotto)