Paul Williams vs. Verno Phillips Round by Round

Paul Williams vows to campaign simultaneously in four weight divisions, which is absolutely amazing.

Here comes Verno to the ring.

Next is Williams.

and here we go

Round 1
phillips shows movement. williams throws a lot as usual. body and head. phillips unfazed. phillips has to back up a little. but he is circling. big accidental clash of heads. someone is bleeding. phillips doing a good job of in and out left and right. williams is the man bleeding. nice right from williams. decent round. neither man controlled completely. both men trying to work their respective game plan.

Uatu: Williams 10-9

Round 2
phillips right to body. phillips cleary shows he knows what he is doing in there. williams with a decent shot. williams forces phillips back. he manages to dodge most of it. nice two way action. williams is working phillips back. phillips lands a combo. phillips lands two more. phillips gets in a solid right. the cut is bleeding nicely. the last 15 seconds are fought in the phone booth so it's impossible to type every punch. both men doing some serious swinging with phillips up against the ropes. williams goes to the body to close.

Uatu: Phillips 10-9

Round 3
phillips is trying that left but not much luck. this is a good scrap being fought at a high level. williams really pressing and throwing hard to the body. perhaps the cut has him urgent. both men land nice shots. williams really trying to work the body with strafing hooks. phillips still bringing it though. williams throws about 7 unanswered. the ref stops the fight to check on the cut. time in. phillips back to the circling.

Uatu: Williams 10-9

Round 4
lederman has all 3 williams.
williams has phillips trapped in the corner and throws a few hard shots. phillips does a good job of blocking everything though. phillips loses his balance for a moment of drama. williams starting to land some hard leather. williams is controlling the ring. williams throwing frequently but not quite as haphazardly as he did against margarito. philllips blocking a lot but he can't get them all. phillips falls but no knockdown. both men are making a concerted effort to go to the body. have to give it to williams. phillips is game but williams physicality and frequency are getting the nod.

Uatu: Williams 10-9

Round 5
every round has looked the same style wise. williams does the stalking. phillips does the moving. eventually they get to places in each other's range. phillips sneaks in a 1-2. for the most part williams forces phillips back. half way through they are in the phone booth again. no real serious punches land though. both men are showing grit and defense. they have thrown a similar amount of punches. it will be interesting down the stretch to see if anyone tires from this pace. there were a ton of punches thrown both ways that round but many blocked.

Uatu: Williams 10-9

Round 6
williams on his toes a little more. a little of the stick and move with the jab. phillips gets backed into the corner. kellerman wants to see a different style from phillips. agreed. this has been a good showing but it has been to williams favor. williams is digging the body. four puncher from williams. williams may have stunned phillips. the veteran gets through it with no problem

Uatu: Williams 10-9

Round 7
it was a nice left to the head that got phillips. phillips on the bike to start. lederman has it 6-0. both men go down in heap but it's a slip. williams being so tall it was quite a tangled fall. it's easier said than done. but phillips corner is yelling not to back straight up. that is probably good advice. phillips got hit with some big body shots there. phillips is still throwing hard in spots. when he throws big his guard comes open though.

Uatu: Williams 10-9

Round 8
phillips begins with the usual movement. williams catches up eventually. williams uncorks maybe 9 unanswered. none land head, some decent body work. a brief period of inactivity ensues. some grabbing in the middle. this is a slower round so far. back to the phone booth but neither are throwing. just some leaning both ways. is either man tiring perhaps? left from phillips. paul misses with a right uppercut. williams goes off with some double hooks. williams ends the round with 7 straight punches, maybe 2 land. but they are hard to the body. as many have been.

Uatu: Williams 10-9

What!? The fight has been stopped. HBO says due to the cut. HBO claims it was a savage beating, but honestly, Phillips looks absolutely fine.

But interestingly, Lederman says it was PHILLIPS'S corner that created the stoppage. Was it the doctor, the corner, the fighter?

Buffer says that the ref stopped the fight on the advice of the physician.
TKO end of Round 8, Paul the Punisher Williams

Uatu would never want to see a fighter hurt, so if that's the call, then who is he to argue. Fight over.

Williams rates his performance at the top since he won.
The headbutt let him know it was time to go to work.

Kellerman asks him about his 3 ko's straight at different classes.
Does he want to call anyone out?
He says no. He lets his team make the decisions.

Can he still make 147?
He says he came in today at 153, so yes he can make it.

Decent fight. Not exactly one for the ages, but it was worth watching. Phillips gave it a shot. Williams is just too big and sturdy and active with hard shots, especially to the body. He isn't necessarily going to win every fight, but between 147-160 there isn't anyone who is going to have an easy night with Williams. He could beat anyone with his style and size.

Chris Arreola vs. Travis Walker: Round By Round

HBO Boxing After Dark in HD brings the fighting viewers a double header tonight.

From Ontario, California.

Bob Papa and Max Kellerman handling the duties.

Arreola 254, Walker 231.

No messing around. Here comes Walker to the ring. He is met with quite a few boos. They show some highlights of his previous fights. Kellerman sells Walker as having a fighter's mentality. Let us hope so.

Arreola Witherspoon highlights. And the Nightmare is in the ring too.

Both men look like tough customers.

And away we go...

Round 1
Walker comes at Arreola immediately. Nice overhand by Arreola. Nightmare fighting with back on ropes exclusively. Big uppercut from walker. walker is dropping some bombs and a grasp. back in the middle. arreola doing very little. just keeping his hands up. walker's jab isn't very stiff. counter right from walker. left to the body from walker. this is looking doubtful to go the distance. both men looking to explode.

Uatu: Walker 10-9

Round 2
a little sloppy from both men technique wise. some brawling in the middle. walker hits with the hard straight right in the middle and arreola goes to a knee! walker doesn't look unbeatable but it doesn't look like you can slide by this guy if you aren't serious. there's a lot a talk of conditioning. walker is at his best, arreola not. arreola has his first moments. big cheers. arreola landing all kinds of power from both hands. and down goes walker! arreola trying to win it all! really giving it a go! walker down again! ten seconds. walker holding on for life. he gets out!

Uatu: Arreola 9-7?

Round 3
combo from arreola. huge left hook from arreola. down goes walker! and that's it. a nice barnburner that was sweet while it lasted.

Chris Arreola by KO in Round 3

Nice power from Arreola, and nice resilliance as well. He is a nice prospect and has a good fan base. It is doubtful that fighting like this is going to get you anything but decked repeatedly by the Klitschkos though. So, if this really isn't Arreola at his best, and if he will train that much harder against a Klitschko, who knows, maybe there's a chance.

Kellerman interviews.
Chris says Walker was just a very strong guy.
He says walker hit him right on the button, and walker is a strong motherf'er.
he says he was thinking "sh_t"
Arreola says he saw walker jabbing lazy so he came back over the top. he was looking for the hook and there it was, right on the button.

He says he needs to be in better shape for the Klitschkos. he wasn't concerned with his weight for this fight. he says he is already thinking about his weight for the next fight. he will be back in the gym on Monday.

afterwards papa says arreola needs to work on his language. funny

Paul Williams-Verno Phillips and Chris Arreola Live Round By Round Updates Tonight

Sure, there are plenty of great sporting events on Thanksgiving weekend. But if you're like us, it wouldn't be complete without some boxing.

HBO obliges us with Boxing After Dark tonight, with Paul Williams and Chris Arreola sharing a card just like the last time they fought - and hopefully in a little tougher this time around. Williams takes on former world champion Verno Phillips, while Arreola squares off against 28-1 Travis Walker.

If you can't watch the fights, bookmark our main page at www.boxingwatchers.com and scope out live round by round updates by the most powerful BoxingWatcher of them all, Uatu. The fun begins at 10 pm EST tonight.

Replay: Steve Molitor vs. Celestino Caballero

Uatu caught the ShoBox OnDemand replay of this junior featherweight unification fight.

Caballero was impressive and is fun to watch too.
First of all, he is huge for 122. He is listed at 5'11". A fighter like Jeff Lacy is listed only at 5'10" for 168! Paul Williams, "the most feared man or avoided man on the planet" or whatever they call him, is listed a mere two inches taller than Caballero for 147. Whether that is a legit height for Caballero is beside the point, because either way this guy is extremely tall for his height.

So, you would think that Caballero is super dried-out for his fights, and would be very sparse in punch output, and wouldn't hit hard. And you might think that he stays behind a jab and keeps away from the other fighter and uses his range to rack up a points victory.

Neither could be farther from the truth.
Caballero stalked Molitor the entire time, he came forward the entire time, he threw a nice amount of punches, and he hit hard. He was winging hard shots to the body and some nice straight shots too.

THIS guy, might actually be or become the most avoided fighter.
Do you think Israel Vazquez, listed at 5' 41/2" or Rafael Marquez, listed at 5'5", want any part of this guy considering the type of fight it would be and the small amount of money he will bring in along with that? Doubtful.

Franchise Thoughts: Things I'm Thankful for in Boxing This Year

I should probably be out helping to stimulate the ailing economy right now, but until BoxingWatchers.com turns into a profitable side gig, I have to stay at the keyboard. At this time of year, it's a bit of a cliche (okay, more than a bit) to cook up a list of things to be thankful for, but here in the U.S., it got that way for a reason. It's just the right time of the year to do it.

So without further ado, and in no particular order, here are the boxing-related people, places and things making me give thanks as 2008 comes to a close:

• Manny Pacquiao - Aside from his status as my favorite boxer (Disclaimer: the staff members of BoxingWatchers.com are all part Filipino!), the new episodes of 24/7 are showing once again that he's just a compelling personality. The wide range of opinions about whether he can and will beat Oscar De La Hoya are adding to my anticipation for Dec. 6.

• Freddie Roach - He seems to be taking the high road more often than not after his perceived snub at De La Hoya's hands, and he sure is doing his all to show his confidence in Manny. You sometimes forget he is battling through ongoing health concerns to continue on in the sport he loves.

• Affliction - Yes, their stuff is a bit pricey, and I have to pick shirts carefully to avoid scaring my small children. As long as they keep sponsoring fighters and fight cards, I'll keep supporting them.

• Bernard Hopkins - His domination of Kelly Pavlik was something to see. If his other performances over the past three or four years were carried out in the same way, I'd probably be a huge B-Hop fan.

• Volume punchers - I like to think I'm sophisticated enough as a boxing fan to appreciate some of the subtler aspects of the sport. That being said, it's sometimes fun to see guys throw 100-plus punches a round and just try to overwhelm the other boxer.

• Boardwalk Hall - My ultimate goal is still to be in Vegas for a fight weekend in 2009. Still, it's nice to have a venue within driving distance that puts on championship fights, and it's possible to get a decent seat there without draining your entire bank account.

• David Haye - Quite possibly positioned to give the heavyweight division a jolt of electricity - win or lose, actually. I hate to keep beating a dead horse, but said jolt is long overdue.

• Versus - With ESPN cutting back on its boxing content in 2009 (so long Wednesday Night Fights), Versus is at least trying to give fans in the U.S. more fights on cable. It will also soon be home to The Contender, which I'm likely to watch despite the presence of Tony Danza.

• Tavoris Cloud - My favorite discovery of 2008, in the sense that I did not know who he was before this year. He's still raw but immensely entertaining, and he sure doesn't get cheated any time he throws a punch.

• Emanuel Steward - Almost singlehandedly keeps the HBO crew from cheerleading too much for one particular boxer at times. I don't always agree with him, but I do appreciate his insight.

• Ricky Hatton - As my brother Uatu has mentioned on numerous occasions, he's great for boxing because of the atmosphere he brings to his fights. And as an added bonus, he looked great in his most recent fight.

Margarito-Mosley Back On Again for Jan. 24

First it was a done deal. Last week it was apparently off. Now it looks as though Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley will face off in one of the first big boxing matches of 2009.

ESPN's Dan Rafael says the Margarito-Mosley fight will take place on Jan. 24 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Cash-strapped boxing fans should also be pleased to hear the bout will be aired on HBO, not pay-per-view.

According to Rafael, it was HBO who stepped in and made more money available for Margarito, who was unhappy with the initial financial arrangement. It was a strange stance from the welterweight champion, who spent years feeling like other boxers were avoiding him and enjoyed a reputation as someone who would fight anyone, anywhere.

Facing Mosley, who's looked pretty formidable over the last two years despite his advancing age, should help Margarito save some face. The Tijuana Tornado's next step also looks like it's decided, as Bob Arum told ESPN that he will move forward with a summer rematch with Miguel Cotto regardless of the outcome of the Mosley fight.

And When He Looked, His Moon Had Turned to Gold

Uatu is happy to have Hatton back in the win column. He is not a fan of his per se, but he adds so much energy to a fight and promotion because of the fan support he gets, that it is always great to have him around and in big fights.

Uatu is actually a fan of the "There's Only One Ricky Hatton" song being sung over and over soccer style, and his entrance to Blue Moon is Uatu's personal favorite entrance of any fighter.
Hatton and his fans made the weigh in for Hatton-Mayweather more exciting than some actual fights! That band in the stands multiplies the entertainment factor all by itself.

Hatton is guaranteed at least one more superfight in his future. Whichever fight he ends up taking, presumably the winner of Oscar-Manny, it is sure to bigger than this fight with Paulie, and it has a chance of being close to as big as his fight with Floyd. So that means even more Mancunians in Vegas to look forward to.

Quick Thoughts on Dream Match 24/7 Episode #2

That was the best episode of 24/7 or Countdown that has been shown in awhile. Some of the previous episodes had been kind of stale.

There was some legit sparring footage, even though it wasn't complete, some of the other fighters had refused to show sparring footage at all, so that was nice.

And even though the fame of Manny has been shown before, to Uatu's knowledge, this was the first interview with his parents, and his crew of hangers-on are a funny addition as well.

HBO has also shown Oscar's family before, including his relationship with his father, but this may have been the first focus on his mother's extended side, his family still in Mexico.

Add in a sprinkle of Angelo Dundee, a bit of Freddie Roach not liking Nacho, and you have yourself an entertaining episode.

So far, 24/7 has just added strength to Uatu's early prediction of a Manny win. He just looks way too fast for Oscar. He has enough power to keep Oscar honest to go with that speed, and he will have the superior cardio. Oscar still has the equalizer in the left hook, but if Manny is too fast to be found with it, it could be a long and frustrating night for the Golden Boy. Oscar's power could be a factor though. Juan Manuel Marquez did sort of wobble Manny, and Oscar would presumably hit harder than him. JMM though may have a level of crispness and accuracy in his punches that not even Oscar can match.

Round by Round: Hatton v. Malignaggi

It's time for the main event between Ricky Hatton and Paul Malignaggi. The Ricky Hatton followers are in full effect tonight. Their band music and chants can be heard loud and clear. Malignaggi comes to the ring first to a chorus of boos from the pro-Hatton crowd.

Hatton now enters. It is said that he had to trim 40 pounds for this fight due to his bad habits between fights. Hatton does not enter to his trademark remake of "Blue Moon" but trades to a song made for him called "Ricky Fatton." He is wearing large pads to make him look 50 pounds heavier. As he enters the ring, "Ricky Fatton" ends and "Blue Moon" comes on.

David Beckham is in attendance.

Malignaggi is 25-1 with five KO's and Hatton is 44-1 with 31 KO's. The intros are finished and it's time to fight.

Round One

Hatton starts off establishing the jab. Malignaggi lands a jab and dips away from the counter punch. Malignaggi is using good movement and getting out of the way. He lands a jab and a right hook. Hatton hasn't landed anything big yet. Hatton catches Malignaggi with an uppercut on the inside, but Malignaggi responds with two good jabs. Hatton misses with a jab. Hatton has clinched a few times in this round.

Spartan117: 10-9 Malignaggi

Uatu: 10-9 Malignaggi

Round Two

Hatton throws a combo but Malignaggi dodges all of it. Malignaggi lands a jab and feints away. Malignagge tags Hatton with a right hook as Hatton comes forward. Malignaggi lands another jab followed by a right hook. Hatton lands a big left that snaps the head of Malignaggi. Hatton lands a right as they break from a clinch. Malignaggi gets tagged with a huge right hand and has to hold on. Hatton lands a left-right combo and Malignaggi looks hurt. He gets his legs back and makes it out of the round.

Spartan117: 10-9 Hatton

Uatu: 10-9 Hatton

Round Three

Malignaggi goes back to the jab. Hatton is throwing big bombs but missing with most of them. Malignaggi starts to throw the double jab. Hatton lands as Malignaggi tries to duck away. A cut is opened on the bridge of the nose of Malignaggi. It doesn't look like anything serious. There is a lot of clinching in this round and a lot of punches being thrown in the clinch. Malignaggi is the one starting the clinching rather than Hatton, who was expected to hold. Hatton lands a big left hook and the crowd cheers.

Spartan117: 10-9 Hatton

Uatu: 10-9 Hatton

Round Four

Malignaggi lands another jab, but Hatton is coming through them and tagging Malignaggi with stronger shots. Hatton is chasing Malignaggi while he is backing up. Hatton lands a good left hook - he's really landing the stronger shots. The crowd starts to boo because of the clinching. Malignaggi throws a big left uppercut but misses by a lot. Malignaggi has been holding like crazy.

Spartan117: 10-9 Hatton

Uatu: 10-9 Hatton

Round Five

Hatton comes forward with his jab and Malignaggi clinches so he doesn't take punishment. Malignaggi doesn't look like he has any way of slowing Hatton down. Ricky leads with his jab and tries to follow with more but his opponent clinches again. Hatton lunges with an uppercut but Malignaggi dodges. Hatton is choosing his punches wisely. His hand speed looks good. Hatton lands a right hook as they fight out of a clinch. Malignaggi needs to do more if he wants to win this fight.

Spartan117: 10-9 Hatton

Uatu: 10-9 Hatton

Round Six

Hatton comes right out and lands a stiff jab and a right hook. Malignaggi lands a jab. He is now using more movement and clinching less, but he is throwing one jab and that's about it. Hatton lands two good lefts that look like they hurt Malignaggi. Now Malignaggi clinches again. Hatton is trying to get in and trade but Malignaggi either dips away or holds.

Spatan117: 10-9 Malignaggi

Uatu: 10-9 Malignaggi

Round Seven

Hatton comes forward again. Malignaggi lands a good right uppercut. Hatton is now throwing big combos and landing a lot of lefts. Malignaggi is taking the most punches in this round. Malignaggi goes back to work with the double jab; Hatton answers with a good jab. Hatton measures up a power right but Malignaggi dodges. Hatton doesn't look like he's getting tired, and he lands a big left hand before the bell.

Spartan117: 10-9 Hatton

Uatu: 10-9 Hatton

Round Eight

Malignaggi is using better movement in the beginning of this round. He lands a great right hand and Hatton staggers. Hatton comes forward again but Malignaggi clinches. Hatton backs him up with a big left hand. The two clinch again. Hatton is fighting out of clinches well. Hatton rocks Malignaggi with a left and uppercut. He looks shaken up. Malignaggi recovers to land a left-right combo.

Spartan117: 10-9 Hatton

Uatu: 10-9 Hatton

Round Nine

There is a bruise under Malignaggi's eye. Hatton lands a good left hook and Malignaggi sticks his tongue out. The ref stops the clock to fix the tape on Hatton's gloves. Hatton comes back throwing haymakers. Hatton continues to land the left, while Malignaggi keeps clinching to stop the punishment. Hatton comes forward with a right that scores. Malignaggi's legs look a little shaky.

Spartan117: 10-9 Hatton

Uatu: 10-9 Hatton

Round 10

Malignaggi is sticking to his jab and not throwing any right hands. Hatton tags him with a good combo. Hatton looks like he wants to end the fight. Malignaggi looks more tired at this point, and he goes back to clinching. Hatton is doing his best to push him away so he can get back to boxing. Malignaggi is not doing anything to score. He is clinching now more than ever.

Spartan117: 10-9 Hatton

Uatu: 10-9 Hatton

Round 11

Malignaggi is now really running away from Hatton. Hatton comes forward and lands two big left hands. Malignaggi isn't doing anything except clinching. Malignaggi's trainer, Buddy McGirt, is now on the ring apron, and he throws in the towel! Malignaggi pushes his trainer away and complains about his decision.

The winner by TKO at 0:48 of Round 11... Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton.

Hatton laughs in the post-fight interview and says he enjoyed this fight much more than his last one. He says Floyd Sr. got him out of his old bad habits. He gives Malignaggi credit and says he's a tough fighter. Hatton says that he had Malignaggi discouraged early on in the fight. He says he would like to see the winner of De La Hoya vs. Pacquiao.

Malignaggi says that not much surprised him about Hatton. He says Hatton used good movement to get out of the way of his jabs. The British fans start to boo Malignaggi. He applauds the fans and says they make the festivities more fun. Malignaggi says that he was hurt worse in the Cotto fight and he didn't want to see a KO on his record.

Round by Round: Kirkland v. Vera

The fight between James Kirkland and Brian Vera is at middleweight.  Kirkland is the favorite being known for his knockout power.  Vera is 16-1 and hails form Texas, while James Kirkland is 23-0 with 20 KOs.  

Round 1

Vera is the more active boxer early in the 1st.  Kirkland is landing good counter punches.  Kirkland lands a great straight and is now dictating the pace.  Kirkland has been known to throw more than 100 punches in the first round of his fights and also for swinging wildly.  He's really throwing haymakers tonight.  Vera lands a couple right hooks.  Kirkland is landing the cleaner punches in the 1st.

Spartan117: 10-9 Kirkland

Uatu: 10-9 Kirkland

Round 2

Vera stumbles backward after a left body shot from Kirkland.  Kirkland capitalizes and lands a straight left that knocks Vera down.  Vera gets up and shakes it off.  Vera lands 2 big right hands but Kirkland fights through.  Vera is going for a KO and throwing right hand after right hand.  A cut is opens over the right ear of Vera from a headbutt.  Kirkland goes back to his jab.  Vera goes down again in the closing seconds of the round.  Vera makes it up and complains that he thought it was a slip.  Looked like a knockdown to me.

Spartan117: 10-7 Kirkland

Uatu: 10-7 Kirkland

Round 3

Vera's legs look weak.  He's really relying on that big right hand.  Kirkland lands a huge combination of left and right hooks.  Vera somehow fights through.  Kirkland is landing good shots but Vera is still fighting forward.  Vera is also landing but his punches are doing a fraction of what Kirkland is bringing.  

Spartan117: 10-9 Kirkland

Uatu: 10-9 Kirkland

Round 4

Kirkland after being well rested comes out throwing for the knockout.  Vera comes forward and lands two big hooks upstairs.  Kirkland shows that he has a good chin.  Kirkland lands another great combo.  Compubox shows that 60% of the punches thus far have been power shots from both fighters.  Vera is getting crushed with a lot of them but taking them well.  Kirkland is measuring Vera up to land a big left.  Vera lands a huge right hand.  The crowd is really into this fight.  

Spartan117: 10-9 Kirkland

Uatu: 10-9 Kirkland

Round 5

Kirkland lands a stiff jab.  Kirkland has Vera against the ropes and pours the punches on.  Vera nods and says he can take his punches.  Kirkland is landing the majority of the punches but Vera keeps landing single big right hands that twist the neck of Kirkland.  Vera's legs are very clumsy.  He looks tired.  Kirkland lands a big left uppercut with Vera against the ropes.  Somehow Vera fights on.  His trainer should consider throwing in the towel if this keeps up.

Spartan117: 10-9 Kirkland

Uatu: 10-9 Kirkland

Round 6

Kirkland has being throwing most of his punches in the first minute of the round.  He's now beginning to throw to the body.  Vera keeps forcing the straight right hand.  Vera is using good movement but his hands are low.  Kirkland lands a big hook to the body and Vera stumbles.  Kirkland lands an enormous uppercut followed by a right hook but Vera stays up.  

Spartan117: 10-9 Kirkland

Uatu: 10-9 Kirkland

Round 7

Kirkland really wants to close this fight.  Vera fights on and lands a right straight.  Kirkland comes back with a bigger left hand.  Kirkland lands another big left followed by a right hook.  Vera is just taking punishment now but is still throwing for the knockout.  Vera's chin is really amazing.

Spartan117: 10-9 Kirkland

Uatu: 10-9 Kirkland

Round 8:

Kirkland comes out and lands a jab.  Kirkland throws a lunging left power shot and snaps Vera's neck back.  Kirkland puts his hands down and dodges with his upper body then counters with a short right hook and Vera goes down.  Vera takes a huge beating after he gets up against the ropes and the ref stops it.  

James Kirkland wins by TKO

Hatton-Malignaggi: Live Round By Round Updates Tonight

Ticket sales may be lagging at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, but the BoxingWatchers would be there to see Ricky Hatton square off against Paul Malignaggi tonight in an interesting contrast of styles if we could. Since we can't, we'll be watching on HBO and sharing our observations live. Where? Right here, of course, or more precisely on the main page at www.boxingwatchers.com.

Spartan117 will be handling the live round by round, so if you can't see the fight in person or on TV, bookmark us and we'll tell you how it's going down. The action begins at 10 pm EST with rising star James Kirkland, followed by Hatton-Malignaggi.

Predictions: Hatton-Malignaggi

The Franchise says...

There will be quite a bit of intrigue Saturday night when Ricky Hatton takes on Paulie Malignaggi in Las Vegas, but alas, probably not the same atmosphere as the last time The Hitman fought in the States.

That time, of course, was his December 2007 loss to Floyd Mayweather, and at times you would have thought Hatton was fighting at home. I just returned from Vegas on Thursday, and one of the lead sports stories in the Las Vegas paper talked about how only a few hundred Hitman fans waited for his arrival this time compared to a few thousand back then.

Economic woes aside, Hatton is unlikely to meet the same fate he met on that night as Malignaggi has one of the lowest KO percentages of any top boxer you'll ever see (five in 25 victories). What the Magic Man does possess is enough slickness and movement to give Hatton fits as he comes forward - and you know Ricky will be coming forward.

The big question is which Malignaggi will show up. Will it be the guy who breezed to easy decisions in three of his four fights in 2006 and 2007 (with the lone loss to Miguel Cotto - no shame there) ? Or will it be the man who struggled to a split decision win over Lovemore N'dou the last time out, making more news for his in-match haircut than his ring prowess?

If Paulie has his head screwed on straight, and if he can stick to his game plan, and if he can avoid getting suckered into a brawl, and if he can avoid getting discouraged that his shots aren't slowing Hatton down, then he can win this fight. But man, that's a lot of "ifs."

I think Malignaggi may give Hatton more trouble than casual fans might expect, but I don't feel like that's enough reason to pick him to win. After a few rounds of frustration, I'm going with Hatton to grit his way to a close decision.

Uatu says...
Actually, right now, he says nothing. He is going to wait until after the weigh-in just in case there's any Hatton shenanigans on the scales. There's been a mixed bag of internet chat over whether or not Hatton is/was going to be able to make the weight properly.

Spartan117 says...

Malignaggi will be slick enough to get out of Hatton's way. Hopefully this will mean less clinching. We saw how good movement gives Hatton problems when he fought Mayweather. I think Hatton will show more boxing skill with Floyd Mayweather Sr. in his corner, but he'll drift back to his brawling ways. If Malignaggi stays away from slugging it out with Hatton he'll be able to score enough for a unanimous decision. Malignaggi by unanimous decision

Uatu says...

Abracadabra! Voila!

It's Magic time.

The amazing thing about these two malinged-at-times gentlemen is that between the two of them they only have two losses. On top of that, their losses are against two of the top ten fighters in the world. In Hatton's case an all-time great. In Paulie's case, he lost in highly competitive fashion with a gutsy performance against Miguel Cotto. Yet, these two fighters are not thought of as being among the truly elite of the game.

Hatton has been a grabbing, mauling, brawling, and honestly a tad boring of a fighter over the last few years. Paulie has a tiny KO%, bad hands, and has had a few boring fights on his resume as well. So what will happen tonight?

Hatton has a new trainer, but rumors abounded that he may have had some weight issues between fights. At the weigh-in, he still looked ripped and lean. But looking the part and making weight is one thing, having the cardio to go with the weight loss may be another.

One thing about Paulie is that he has always been in 100% good shape for his fights. Uatu thinks that that makes the difference. It is of course possible that Floyd Sr., could make a big difference, but Paulie has incredible toughness and heart to go with the speed and skill, so that results in Malignaggi UD 12.

Live Vegas Odds on Hatton-Malignaggi and De La Hoya-Pacquiao

Normally we poach some odds with a link to a website. But BW's own Franchise is actually in Vegas as we speak! He is staying at the Planet Hollywood Casino, so presumably that's where these odds are from:

Hatton - 250
Paulie +200

Oscar -220
Manny +180

Once again, these aren't the official predictions, but betting strategies.

Paulie +200 is very attractive. It is not inconceivable that Paulie could outbox Hatton all night long. If you consider his inspired performance against Miguel Cotto, and if you consider Cotto to be the superior boxer to Hatton (which Uatu does), then there you go.

Manny +180 is also attractive for similar reasons, in that he has a really good chance of winning.

These are two fights, at least in Uatu's opinion, that will be highly contested and could go either way. So betting both underdogs would be his play. And right now, he is leaning towards actually predicting both men to win anyway.

Another PPV Buyrate Comparison - Bernard Hopkins

B hop is also often looked down upon as a draw. Here are his numbers, some good, some bad:

Pavlik - 190k
winky - 305k
tarver - 350k
taylor II - 410k
taylor I - 370k
oscar - 1million
trinidad - 475k

Floyd Mayweather--Underrated Draw?

Often Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather is somewhat downplayed as a draw. Perhaps he doesn't draw viewers that are proportional to his skill, but take a look at his ppv numbers:

Hatton - 850k
De La Hoya - 2.15million
Baldomir- 325k
Judah - 374k
Gatti - 365k

Now take a look at Manny Pacquiao's numbers. Manny is often portrayed as a huge draw, probably because he is so famous in his home country, in relation to Floyd's relative fame here in the States:

JMM - 400k
MAB - 350 k
Morales I - all three reported between 345-360
II - 345-360
III - 345-360
Diaz - 250

Now, this isn't exactly an apples to apples comparison. There are differences in the date of the fights, sometimes the price of the fights, their weight classes and the most obvious, the opponents in the fights. Still, this is just something to think about. Just a thought that maybe Floyd doesn't get as much credit as he should for being the star that he is. On an absolute basis, Floyd has been the bigger draw. Also, Manny may be a slight bit overrated as a star here in the States.

Round by Round: Taylor v. Lacy

Between the rounds of the Calzaghe-Jones replay, Larry Merchant interviews Jeff Lacy. Lacy says that he learned some of Jermain's techniques from watching his fights with Pavlik, mainly that he throws two or three jabs before his hard right hand. Merchant asks him if he wants to beat up Taylor, his old Olympic partner. Lacy says that this fight is business and they have to put their past to the side for now.

Merchant now sits down with Taylor. Taylor says that after his losses to Pavlik, he was able to take some time off and get his love for boxing back. He says he had mixed feelings seeing Hopkins beat Pavlik the way he did. Taylor says that it showed that styles make fights. He adds that he will have to beat Lacy and look good doing it to get his career back where he wants it.

After a long wait, the fighters enter the ring. Tonight's fight between Taylor and Lacy is at 168 pounds. Lacy is 24-1 with 17 KOs and Taylor is 27-2 with 17 KOs. Lacy comes out to "Lose Yourself" by Eminem, while Taylor enters to "Put On" by Young Jeezy.

The intros are finished and it's time for the fight.

Round One:
Taylor throws the first punch and it's a jab that Lacy blocks. Not much action for the first 30 seconds. Lacy throws a jab and follows with a straight right. Taylor blocks them. Taylor lands two solid shots upstairs and Lacy backs slightly. Taylor counter-punches and lands with a right hook. Taylor is landing the cleaner shots so far. Taylor is tagging Lacy as soon as he comes in.

Spartan117: 10-9 Taylor
Uatu: 10-9 Taylor

Round Two:
Both fighters are using a lot of movement, lots of toe bouncing. Lacy stays active and throws two head shots; one lands. Lacy lands a double jab and a hard right. Both trade hard haymakers but most get blocked by both fighters. Lacy is taking the majority of clean punches in this round as well. Lacy comes forward and throws a hard straight right but Taylor blocks it. Taylor lands a good jab. Taylor lands a great right hook before the bell.

Spartan117: 10-9 Taylor
Uatu: 10-9 Taylor

Round Three:
Lacy starts to work the body, forcing Taylor to back up. Lacy blocks two hooks from Taylor. Lacy backs Taylor in the corner but Taylor gets away. Lacy chases Taylor around the ring trying to land power shots but Taylor gets away again. Taylor lands a solid uppercut. Taylor is using good footwork. Taylor lands a huge left jab and right cross that wobble Lacy. Lacy grapples to stay alive, but he still doesn't have his legs back. Lacy uses enough defense to make it out of the round.

Spartan117: 10-9 Taylor
Uatu: 10-9 Taylor

Round Four:
Lacy looks OK now and throws a left and right to the head of Taylor. Taylor blocks both of them. Taylor unleashes a six-punch combo to the head and body, though Lacy blocks most of it. Taylor has Lacy on the defensive. Lacy now comes in leading with the jab. Despite being wobbled in the last round, Lacy is not backing off. Taylor lands a huge left and right combo that brings the crowd to its feet. Lacy grapples to stay on his feet. Lacy doesn't stop throwing but Taylor blocks everything coming in.

Spartan117: 10-9 Taylor
Uatu: 10-9 Taylor

Round Five:
Neither fighter does much in the first 30 seconds. Lacy puts the pressure on Taylor and lands a good right hook. Lacy lands a right hand counter and Taylor goes down. Taylor shakes his head and the ref calls it a slip, but it looked like a clear knockdown to me. Taylor is clinching now. Lacy keeps the punch output high and lands solid shots while Taylor is against the ropes. Taylor fights back and lands a good left and right combo. Lots of clinching going on now. Lacy fights back and lands a huge right hand that sends Taylor backpedaling across the ring. The bell stops the action.
Spartan117: 10-9 Lacy
Uatu: 10-9 Lacy

Round Six:
Taylor lands a jab at the start of the round. Taylor starts to clinch again. Taylor goes back to the jab. Lacy lands a nice left hook. The fight is now less technical and gets closer to a brawl. Even more clinching now. Taylor comes in with a wide right hook that misses. Lacy comes into a left straight by Taylor. The fighters go back to clinching but they now do a better job of fighting out of it.

Spartan117: 10-9 Lacy
Uatu: 10-9 Taylor

Round Seven:
Lacy isn't throwing a lot of combinations. He's coming in with the jab and follows with the straight right every time. Taylor is still throwing combinations and good counter-punches. Lacy comes into a huge Taylor uppercut and the crowd reacts. Lacy fights through it. Lacy comes into another straight. Lacy lands a good right. Lacy continues to get hit while coming forward.

Spartan117: 10-9 Taylor
Uatu: 10-9 Taylor

Round Eight:
Lacy has been fighting with the same style the whole fight now: come forward with the jab and follow with a straight right. Taylor is doing well by hitting Lacy with hard shots every time he comes forward. Taylor throws and lands a great combination to the head of his opponent. Lacy loads up a left hook but misses. Taylor's defense looks very good as he blocks Lacy's shots. Taylor lands a big right-left combo right before the bell.

Spartan117: 10-9 Taylor
Uatu: 10-9 Taylor

Round Nine:
Taylor sticks to his game plan of landing while Lacy is open as he comes forward. Lacy's mouthpiece comes out but it looked like it fell out after a clinch. Lacy is getting peppered with flurries as his defense looks like it is worsening. Lacy lands a hard right hook as they fight out of a clinch. Taylor snaps the head of Lacy around with a great combo right before the bell.

Spartan117: 10-9 Taylor
Uatu: 10-9 Taylor

Round 10:
Lacy remains active after taking most of the punishment in the fight. Taylor lands a stiff jab and follows with another big hook. Lacy has no answers for Taylor's tactics. Taylor continues to clinch. Lacy's head keeps taking more and more abuse. I'm surprised he's still staying in there.

Spartan117: 10-9 Taylor
Uatu: 10-9 Taylor

Round 11:
The ref stops the action to cut extra tape off of Lacy's gloves. Lacy comes back into the fight throwing big, lunging haymakers. Taylor blocks and moves. Taylor lands a strong left hook. Lacy fires back but his punches are getting more wild and desperate. Taylor snaps the neck of Lacy with a great right hand. Lacy fights on but still has no defense.

Spartan117: 10-9 Taylor
Uatu: 10-9 Taylor

Round 12:
Lacy knows that he needs a KO to win and comes out in the 12th throwing bombs. Taylor backs up and doesn't want to get KO'ed. Taylor now lands a left hook. Both fighters are swinging away halfway through the round. Taylor lands another left-right combo. Taylor shows that he is the more technical boxer in this fight. The fans come to their feet for the last 10 seconds of the fight as the fighters give it their all and try for the knockout. Both fighters land some big shots right before the bell rings.

Spartan117: 10-9 Taylor
Uatu: 10-9 Taylor

Spartan117 scores it 118-110 and Uatu scores it 119-109, both for Taylor.

The judges score it 119-109, 118-110 and 119-109, all for the winner by unanimous decision, Jermain "Bad Intentions" Taylor.

Haye Scores Five Knockdowns of Barrett En Route to 5th-Round KO

David Haye passed his first test at heavyweight with flying colors.

As our own Uatu predicted, opponent Monte Barrett was able to pick himself up off the mat more than once. But after getting knocked down twice in the third round and once in the fourth, the fifth time proved too much and led to a fifth-round KO victory for Haye.

The AP report said that Haye was also on the canvas twice, once on a push in the second round and again in the fifth, though it was ruled a slip. The win moves the former cruiserweight champion to 22-1 with 21 KO's and gives him a legitimate win at heavyweight as he attempts to chase the Klitschko brothers for their titles.

Vitaly Klitschko was ringside for the fight and would make more sense as an immediate match-up as he is coming off an October win over Samuel Peter. Haye would have to wait longer to face Wladimir Klitschko because he will be in action on Dec. 13 against Hasim Rahman.

Live Round By Round Taylor-Lacy Updates Tonight

It's time for the BoxingWatchers to snap into action again. Tonight we'll turn our eyes toward Tennessee, where Jermain Taylor and Jeff Lacy will put aside their friendship for a bout with serious career implications for both men.

If you don't have tickets to the fight and can't get to an HBO-equipped TV, bookmark our main page at www.boxingwatchers.com and follow along with live round by round updates and scoring from the staff.

And don't forget it's a late start tonight. The broadcast begins at 10:15 pm EST, which is... well, it is whatever it is wherever you are. Come back and see us then.

BoxingWatchers.com U.K. Haye vs. Barrett Challenge!

The BoxingWatchers are a pretty tight-knit group, because we're all family. We're also all located (most of the time) in the same U.S. state, making it hard for us to see every fight we'd like to write about.

Case in point: Saturday's heavyweight debut for David Haye, taking on Monte "Two Gunz" Barrett. Normally we'd be all over a fight like that, but alas, it won't be televised in the States.

So now we're issuing a challenge to all of our readers in the U.K. We're asking one of you to step up and become one of the BoxingWatchers for a day. We'd love it if someone who was going to watch the fight anyway would do a live round-for-round report right here on the site.

If giving a running account of the Haye-Barrett fight and sharing it with the hundreds or perhaps thousands of readers who will visit the site on Saturday sounds like fun, don't wait. Email us at bw_staff@yahoo.com and let us know.

Predictions: Taylor vs. Lacy, Haye vs. Barrett

The Franchise says...

Much has been made about the fact that Jermain Taylor and Jeff Lacy, who will face each other Saturday night in Nashville, are buddies dating back from the time when they roomed together as Olympic teammates. Normally, that would cause some concern that they might not go at each other tooth and nail, that they may hold back a little.

But things are a little different for this particular pair of friends turned foes because the stakes are so high. The loser won't necessarily fade into obscurity, but he will face a severe uphill climb to get back in the limelight again.

The powerful Lacy was once one of the sport's next big things, but that ended when he was completely outclassed by Joe Calzaghe in March of 2006. Though he's since gone 3-0, none of the wins were knockouts and both Vitali Tsypko and Epifanio Mendoza gave him all he could handle.

Taylor's career took a wrong turn when he couldn't put Kelly Pavlik away early in their first fight and ended up getting knocked out a few rounds later. He boxed well in their rematch but still lost, and he's now been off for nine months for the first time in his career.

Assuming the inactivity doesn't slow Taylor too much, he should be able to give Lacy fits with his movement and boxing skills. He certainly has the defensive edge, and while he won't be throwing as many punches as Calzaghe did, he probably hits harder.

Lacy's best bet is to lay it all out there and hope he can set up something big, and preferably early in the fight because he faded late against Mendoza. Otherwise he runs the risk of getting outboxed over 12 rounds, which is what I think will happen as Taylor wins by decision.

Across the pond (does anyone actually say that in real life?), David Haye will make his long-awaited heavyweight debut against an opponent who's no stiff, Monte Barrett. Two Gunz has been in against a few current and former champs, including Wladimir Klitschko, Hasim Rahman and Nikolay Valuev.

It should be noted that he lost to all of them. My brother Uatu pointed out in his last post that Barrett will give Haye a true taste of what it's like to be hit by a heavyweight. If Haye can pass that test, I think he'll prove to have the sharper , quicker punches, with power that translates to the heavyweight division.

The biggest surprise to me would be if this one goes the distance. During the early rounds, we'll find out that either Haye is a pretender at heavyweight, or Barrett is outgunned. I'm betting it's the latter, so my pick is Haye by early to mid-round KO.

Uatu says...

Jeff Lacy has not looked impressive, other than sporting the greatest physique in boxing, in years now. Jermain Taylor has been fighting a who's who of the greatest fighters of the era: Hopkins twice, Pavlik twice and Winky Wright, plus you can toss in other decent names like Cory Spinks, Raul Marquez and Kassim Ouma. Everyone remembers the Lacy-Calzaghe fight, but despite that fight, Taylor has always been in tougher and more frequently than Lacy. Lacy hasn't been as active against tough competition, and then he had the unfortunate injury that set him back even further. Lacy won't be much bigger, and the only way he can win is to land a huge punch. Uatu doesn't think that he will. Taylor will win by convincing decision.

Barrett will keep it worth watching for a while. He will get knocked down, will get up, and will keep on trying. Haye will eventually wear him out, and will win by KO or TKO in the 7th or 8th. That's the prediction, but don't count Barrett out.

Just for the heck of it: Brock Lesnar by KO over Randy Couture.