When FKD met Karim Mayfield a few years back, he was an excited young fighter happy to get some recognition. Fresh off of a flight to England and back to help Ricky Hatton prepare for his bout against Floyd Mayweather, Mayfield was eager to hit the accelerator on his fight career.

But if there was ever a case of a near miss in boxing, this man caught it. In his first nationally televised fight, Mayfield took on fellow undefeated California fight Francisco Santana on Fox Sports Net in March of 2008. It was a heated six round bout that showcased two hungry warriors slugging it out. The bout took place in San Jose, California on the under card of Andre Ward’s fight against Rubin Williams.

Mayfield came through with a closely contested split decision. But he was not satisfied with his performance. Although he came out the victor, the Bay Area native felt the need to rededicate himself to the sport.

He was not very happy with his boxing career either. With a record of 11-0 and seven knockouts, Mayfield always knew that he had the talent to compete with the best, now he is backing it up with a tireless work ethic.

“I am taking it way more serious now. I will be fighting tougher opponents. Even though I have been fighting tough guys already, I have a new level of focus,” Mayfield said. “I feel like a lot is riding on my shoulders. I feel the expectations. I fight for my family and my community. And I put my full effort into it. I am fighting for a lot.”

Mayfield switched up his training regime. He wanted to work with the best. Before his rematch with Santana (which ironically took place on the undercard of Ward’s fight against Kessler) Mayfield flew out to Big Bear to work with Shane Mosley.

The Southern California fighter, who is known for helping young fighters sharpen their game, was prepping for his bout with Andre Berto that got cancelled earlier this year.

Mayfield says that he gained a great amount of experience working with the future Hall of Fame inductee. “Just watching Shane, watching him train, and getting in the ring with him was a great time,” Mayfield said. “We were working together to get ready for our fights.”

Mayfield says that his trip to Big Bear helped him understand that he could be a champion in the near future. 

“After my trip to Big Bear, I was a monster. That camp changed my outlook on the sport.”

So with the credibility of his previous victory against Francisco Santana on the line, Mayfield thoroughly dominated his overmatched Santana in the November rematch, knocking him out in the fifth round.  

Now the undefeated welterweight prospect is set to take on Mario Ramos this Friday in Reno, Nevada. And with a renewed focus, Mayfield foresees a bright future ahead.

Virgil Hunter, Mayfield’s trainer, spoke about the ability of the young prospect.

“He does everything wrong, right,” Hunter says about his young pupil. “You cannot teach what Karim brings into the ring. It is his instinctual ability that sets him apart. The kid just has the basic fighting instinct that cannot be taught, to me that is half the battle.”

For this fight, Hunter sent Mayfield to Houston so he could work on his strength and conditioning with a coach named Andrew Jackson. Jackson has a strong reputation in boxing gyms throughout the country.

Mayfield says that his trip to Houston is helping his focus.

“I do strength and conditioning work and it gives me an edge,” Mayfield said. “We spar at 9:30, and then run about three miles after we spar. Some days we go swimming in the afternoon. At night time around 7:30, we do strength and conditioning, which is more of the explosive work.”  

Virgil Hunter feels like Karim Mayfield is about to explode onto the welterweight division.

The trainer says “Karim is very unorthodox. He has tremendous power in both hands. He is a very uncanny fighter. He is going to be a problem for anybody he fights, and I am not just talking about where he is now, I am talking about the top ten.”

“In one year, I would fight Karim for a title in 20 fights or less. I would say that Karim is probably the most dangerous fighter in the Welterweight or Junior Welterweight division. All Karim has to do is maintain his physical condition.”  

But no matter what Hunter says, Karim Mayfield’s future is in his own hands. And if he stays true to his word, the guy who grew up in Daly City, a ten minute drive outside of San Francisco, has no reason to slow down.

“I am just trying to be successful. It is not just about being successful in boxing. Some of the people that I grew up with are either dead, chillin’ on the block doing nothing or they are in jail. So my goal is just to be successful in life.

“I have seen some bad things, and my community has seen some bad things, so I want to be a good example to them. I have a lot of youngsters looking up to me so I want to be a role model to show that you could make it.” 

On a side note, Mayfield would like to send his regards to Jackie Kallen. Mayfield and Kallen ended their professional relationship this past week making Mayfield what he likes to call, a boxing free agent.

“I am a free agent now without a promoter or manager. Jackie Kallen showed my family and I a great deal of support throughout the years. I will always take her advice with me as I move on in the future. But as of right now I am working independently.” 

Despite winning one of the greatest fights of his life last January against Antonio Margarito, 2009 turned out to be a year of missed opportunities for Sugar Shane Mosley. Sadly, the Southern California native has waited over a year to get back into the ring. But good things come to those that wait. If Mosley defeats Andre Berto on January 30th, then all roads lead to a Mayweather fight on May 1st, in Las Vegas.  

Last May, a seldom talked about incident occurred that raised the anxiety of Shane Mosley. During the post fight press conference for Manny Pacquiao’s victory over Ricky Hatton, Mosley sat quietly while Pacquiao stood in front of the media answering questions about his future in the sport. Mosley was coming off of his greatest performance since beating Oscar De la Hoya in 2000, a one sided knockout over Antonio Margarito. Quite frankly it was Mosley’s turn to fight one of the big names in boxing. He naturally expected to get in the ring with either Pacquiao or Mayweather. 

Earlier that day, Floyd Mayweather announced his comeback from retirement, and eventually fought Juan Manuel Marquez in September. This left Pacquiao as the only other opponent Mosley had his eyes on to fight. In retrospect, if Shane wanted a fight with Manny Pacquiao badly, then that press conference was an ideal time to express his wishes.  

Believe it or not, boxers do not run into each other very often. Boxing is unlike most other sports, basketball, baseball, football, where the athletes travel to specific cities multiple times a year. Besides that night in Las Vegas, Shane Mosley would have probably never had a chance to challenge Manny Pacquiao to fight in person, in front of the entire media hoard.  

Mosley sat patiently but anxiously at the far end of the platform during the press conference while Bob Arum, Freddie Roach, and Pacquiao each took turns speaking on the microphone. Keep in mind that Mosley was the only person on stage that was not involved in the Pacquiao camp.   

Yet besides Bob Arum’s vague acknowledgement of Mosley’s presence in the room, there was little to be said about a Pacquiao vs. Mosley fight. And that was one opportunity lost.  

If Mosley learned anything from that Pacquiao press conference it is this– nice guys finish last.   

After Mayweather defeated Marquez in September, Mosley did not make the same mistake twice. He took the initiative and verbally confronted Mayweather on live television, in a now famous tussle in front of the entire boxing world, shocking the undefeated pound for pound king and forcing his name into the discussions as Mayweather’s next opponent.  

(Watch Mayweather hold his breath 15 seconds into the video) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fjx_fMCVKg4 

However, Mosley grew impatient with waiting and announced his intention to fight Andre Berto on November 14th, the same day Pacquiao fought Miguel Cotto. Immediately after Pacquiao beat Cotto, the infamous Pacquiao vs. Mayweather fight negotiation began between Top Rank and Golden Boy.   

Now that the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight has seemingly gone down the tube for the mean time, names such as Paulie Malignaggi, Nate Campbell, and Timothy Bradley have been presented as potential opponents for Floyd Mayweather.  

It is no secret that the best fighter out there for Mayweather to face is Shane Mosley. Therefore it only makes sense for Mayweather to fight Mosley on the first weekend of May, which has been a calendar date that boxing has used for marquee fights for some time, if Mosley beats Berto.  

This past weekend, Pacquiao confirmed his next opponent to be Joshua Clottey on March 13th in Dallas, Texas. Recent reports have stated that Mayweather plans to keep the March 13th date as well and that is why the names that were mentioned above have been thrown around as potential opponents.  

But don’t believe the hype. Why would two of the most well known fighters in the sport, who both have their fights regularly televised by HBO, have separate PPV events on the same night? It does not make sense. As a matter of fact, it is complete nonsense.  

To take it further, last week, after Bob Arum told ESPN’s Dan Rafael that the Pacquiao vs. Mayweather “fight is dead,” Richard Schaefer spoke with the Los Angeles Times and said that “At 147 pounds, the man to beat is, Sugar Shane Mosley. Floyd will take that fight, and will shut up all those who are saying he’s a coward.”  

Schaefer, the Golden Boy Promotions executive, represents both Mosley and Mayweather. Since Bob Arum has been keeping Manny Pacquiao fights in house, by having him take on the fighters who are represented by Top Rank, (first Cotto, then Clottey) it only makes sense for Schaefer to do the same for Mayweather and Mosley, and keep the Golden Boy dollar in the family.  

For the first time in more than two months the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao on and off again fight has lost its steam which makes the Mosley vs. Berto fight all the more important. Because of a possible Mayweather fight waiting in the balance, Andre Berto has turned into one of the most noteworthy opponents Shane Mosley has faced in over a decade.  

You know Floyd Mayweather will be watching on January 30th. And after what Mosley has gone through over the last year that is all he could ask for.

Originally posted on Thesweetscience.com

Round 1 –

Ward  repeatedly switched from orthodox to southpaw and circled his Kessler. Ward landed a nice straight left hand to punctuate the round.

Round 2 Kessler paces Ward and connects with a good left hand to the body. The goal of Kessler is to slow the American down and Ward found himself against the ropes a few times. In the last ten seconds of the round, Ward hit Kessler with the best punch of the fight so far, a beautiful straight right hand. Ward 2-0

Round 3 – Kessler’s right eye looks a bit swollen. Ward’s fighting great on the inside. He is making Kessler feel uncomfortable with plenty of movement.

Round 4- Ward is taking over this fight. Kessler’s eye is bleeding underneath near his cheekbone. Another Ward right hand backs up Kessler. 4-0 Ward so far.

Round 5 – This is a better round for Kessler. To his credit, he continues to stalk Ward around the ring. 4-1 Ward.

Round 6 – Ward lands a pretty left uppercut. The fight has settled down a little bit and turned into a chess match. Kessler connects with a nice one two combo and Ward returns fire. It is a real fight. It is a toss up round. But I’ll give it to Ward. 5-1 Ward

Round 7 – No adjustments for Kessler. It is the same thing that hurt him in the Calzaghe fight. At this point it is clear that Ward is picking him apart. 6-1 Ward

Round 8 – Ward continues to get off first in the first two minutes. Kessler’s left eye is cut. But his corner is doing a good job sustaining it. Kessler lands his best punch of the fight, a left hook to the face. 6-2 Ward

Round 9 – It is much of the same but Kessler is hanging in there. He landed a few good punches in the round. 6-3 Ward

Round 10 – Kessler continues to keep the pressure on Ward backs him into the ropes in the last minute. A head butt stops the action but the ref did not take a point from either fighter. The crowd happily cheers for every punch the hometown hero connects with. And he is not disappointing. Ward is pulling away with this one. 7-3 Ward.

Round 11 -  Ward continues to go to work. He hits Kessler with another right hand that backs him up. The referee stops the action and the fight goes to the scorecards.

97-93, 98-92, 98-92 all in favor of Andre Ward.

Andre Ward is awarded the WBA Super Middleweight Title.

Karim Mayfield from San Francisco and Stan Martyniouk both won impressively on the under card of Andre Ward’s bout against Mikkel Kessler in Oakland, Ca, on November 21st.

Martyniouk 8-0, 1 KO, used consistent movement to evade the oncoming Anthony Martinez 21-33-3, 9 KO’s to win a four round unanimous decision. All scorecards read 40-36. The Sacramento based fighter showcased his amateur pedigree, sticking Martinez with the left hand to the body and head consistently. Expect to see a step up in competition for Stan “The Man” in the future.

Karim Mayfield had the most gratifying win of his career in a rematch against Francisco Santana. Mayfield won a controversial split decision over Santana in March 2008 but left no doubt tonight. The difference in the bout was Mayfield’s boxing ability. Instead of leading with the right, “The Hard Hitta” patiently began his attack with a left jab, which in turn forced the charging Santana to hesitate coming in.  

Mayfield controlled the action in the first four rounds. But it was somewhat of a feeling out process for both fighters, which was much different than their slugfest a year and a half ago.

In the fifth round, Mayfield landed a vicious right hand that wobbled Santana, forcing him into a corner and knocking him down. Santana got to his feet but Mayfield kept the pressure on and surrounded Santana with a barrage of round house punches. Santana took a dive for the second time and the referee stopped the bout, awarding Mayfield a hard earned KO victory.

It is important to be optimistic in this fight game. Sometimes positive energy is all that keeps the sport of boxing afloat. When people bash the sport, the hopeful find reasons to cheer.

This past Saturday, Roy Jones the best fighter of his time, defeated Jeff Lacy in ten lopsided rounds. Two days later, the news broke out that Jones has agreed to fight Danny Green on November 21^st in Australia.  

I have nothing against Danny Green. He might knock Jones out in the first round. But with all due respect, a victory over Danny Green does little for the credentials of Roy Jones Jr. 

The average fight fan, you know the type that only comes out of the closet to watch a Pacquiao, Mayweather, or De la Hoya fight, they look at this headline and must be asking who Danny Green is, and why is Jones going to Australia to fight him? If Jay Leno did one of his Jaywalking skits to answer that question he would come up with two common answers.  

Jay Leno: “Sir, welcome to Hollywood, can you please tell me who Danny Green is?” One of the answers would be, “Danny WHO???”  

And the other answer would be “Oh, Danny Green, I know him. Doesn’t he play for the Celtics?” 

Then Jay Leno would respond by saying, “Actually, Danny Green, the basketball player, is a rookie that plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers, we are asking about Danny Green the 27-3 Australian boxer.” Leno would ask again, “So you don’t know who he is, right?” The tourist would reply, “No I’m sorry, I don’t know him.”

One can argue that as long as Jones is healthy, winning, and drawing fans to the box office, we cannot blame him for continuing to fight whether its against Danny Green or Danny Tanner.

The counterpoint can be that Jones is one punch away from being a walking vegetable. (Especially after knockout losses to Tarver and Johnson, and getting beat down by Joe Calzaghe.) However, all fighters are one punch away from being hurt seriously. Jones is past his prime without a doubt, and he is in the boxing news today more because of the strength of his name than his Pound for Pound status. And status in sports means almost as much as ability.

I touched on the importance of respecting our boxing heroes in an article that I wrote last year.  

http://www.thesweetscience.com/boxing-article/5627/aging-fighters-suffer-dangerfield-syndrome/ 

I argued that in others sports, athletes that are past their prime like Brett Favre and Cal Ripken earn praise for what they accomplish at 40 years old, but a 40 year old Roy Jones is considered by some a disgrace because he continues to compete in a sport that at times worships only the frontrunners and disregards past champions. 

Why should we bash Roy Jones? Is he brain dead? No.

Is he still entertaining a portion of the boxing community? Yes.

The Jones critics have some truth on their side. His victory over Jeff Lacy has brought more questions than answers. But they are not all necessarily bad ones. Did Roy Jones turn back the clock for good? Has his cockiness in the ring, brash attitude, and so called new comfort zone of being “careless” during his fights give him new life? No one truly knows for sure, and that is the beauty of the sport. 

Perhaps the best part about boxing is the unpredictability. Almost every fighter has a puncher’s chance to win. This means that they are one punch away from a knockout victory. Think back to your favorite fighters that you cheered during a one sided defeated. Even when Mike Tyson was getting pummeled by Lennox Lewis, Tyson fans were hoping that he would land that one magic shot to turn his fate. Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Terry Norris, Tito Trinidad vs. Bernard Hopkins, and Roy Jones Jr. vs. Joe Calzaghe, these were all one sided defeats for fan friendly fighters.  

If he retired today, Jones has little to be ashamed of. But if he continues to fight there is only one opponent the sports world would like to see him square up against, and his name is not Danny Green, it is Bernard Hopkins.

Bernard Hopkins vs. Roy Jones II is the only fight that acquires mainstream public attention for the both of them.

(Jones haters, take a step back, I said the sports world in general would like to see this fight, not the boxing world.)  

Time is running out for Roy Jones to fight Bernard Hopkins again. Now is the time for them to put the egos aside and put the gloves on. Today, Hopkins cannot find an opponent worthy enough to step into the ring with, and Jones is building momentum defeating overmatched fighters. 

Both Hopkins and Jones are past 40 years old, but a fight between them would interest more than just the boxing faithful. Some of my greatest debates about boxing are with halfhearted fight fans that love the sport but continue to discuss the glory days of Mike Tyson and classic fights like Gatti-Ward I instead of current boxing stars. They are searching for something new to spark their interests in boxing but seem to always talk about the same names; Tyson, Holyfield, Foreman, De la Hoya, Vargas, Trinidad, just to name a few. Roy Jones and Bernard Hopkins come into the discussions as well.

Take my friend Gilbert for example. On Saturday afternoon when I informed him about my plans to watch Roy Jones fight Jeff Lacy, Gilbert did not sound very thrilled. He said, “Man, how many people in the world do you think are excited to watch that fight?” I could not argue with the guy.

But, if Jones and Hopkins agreed to fight each other, Gilbert would join me in front of the tube. Why, you ask? It is because the sport of boxing has built a platform of stories on miracle comebacks. James Braddock’s fight against poverty, Joe Louis destroying Max Schmeling, Muhammad Ali beating George Foreman, and Evander Holyfield beating Mike Tyson for the first time, these were fights that brought people closer to the sport of boxing. Hell, they make movies about these types of stories.

Now, there are obvious roadblocks before the Boxing Gods grant my wish and create another Hopkins/Jones fight. Bernard Hopkins is in negotiations to fight cruiserweight champion Thomas Adamek in early 2010. It is a challenging fight for the Executioner that would question his strength and stamina. And Jones is tentatively scheduled to fight Danny Green at the end of the year. In my opinion, Jones and Hopkins will win those fights if they happen. Maybe then the interest level would rise from the boxing faithful for a Hopkins vs. Jones rematch fight and it would draw even more interest from the general public.

They could call it the Retirement Match, just like Mr. Perfect vs. Ric Flair on Monday Night Raw in 1993, which is ironically, and sadly, the same year Jones and Hopkins fought for the first time. (What a coincidence right?) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdL57RjFn2A

It would be a match of epic proportions. And it would be fun to watch. Who cares who wins? It does not really hurt the sport, win or lose for either fighter. Think about the trash talking, the pre-fight hype, the 60-40 money talk, and the outrageous predictions. It would be awesome and worthy entertainment. The critics could say what they will about Jones being a washed up fighter. But if he agreed to a fight with Hopkins it would gather interest for the sport. And HBO can use the fight as a platform to promote the up and coming fighters in their stable.

The fight has to be on HBO. If it became a PPV show hardly any of the halfhearted fans would throw down money to watch. Here is an idea to help HBO promote the fight and their future prospects. Put Jones and Hopkins on a fight card televised by HBO, and place some of the best young fighters on the undercard. Late night drama shows use this formula all of the time. It is like Beverly Hills 90210 promoting Melrose Place. Dylan McKay dates a girl from Melrose Place, a Melrose Place character comes to McKay’s high school and calls him out to a fight, and the rest is history. 90210 fans are watching Melrose Place, and Melrose Place fans are watching 90210, television magic at its finest. If only it were that simple. When and if the boxing world uses this logic Gilbert and the rest of the heartbreakers would be pleased, I know they would.

Contact Raymond.Markarian@yahoo.com

After Manuel Quezada knocked out Travis Walker in the first round of a homecoming fight in Lemoore, Ca on July 16^th, he had a smile on his face. It was the closest Quezada has come to becoming a magician.

Boxers are like magicians because they are both in a performance based industry. Sure a magician could have the greatest trick in the world, but without stage presence, or some kind of attention grabber, a show could turn to disaster.

One of my favorite movies, The Prestige shows a prime example of one-ups-man-ship between two magicians played by Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale. Jackman’s character seems more talented than Bale’s. But when it came to performing an act, Bale had the greater charisma. Therefore Bale’s character generally drew the bigger audiences in the movie.  

Usually in sports, winning means everything. But in boxing, a victory does not necessarily provide universal acclaim. That is why fighters have to win, and they have to look good doing it. It is not always about the W.

The most exciting fighters attract the spectators. It is almost a guarantee that a technical boxer like Winky Wright would have a tougher time selling tickets than a knockout artist like Mike Tyson.

Quezada’s win created tremors in the division. His knockout of Walker in the first round was two rounds faster than Chris Arreola disposed of Walker nine months earlier. Now Manuel Quezada is a holding a rabbit in his hat. There is a growing reputation surrounding the proud Mexican heavyweight contender who feels like the outcome of his victory is more important than the time it took to finish the job. Does beating Walker faster than Arreola beat him mean that Quezada is a stronger puncher than Arreola?

“Everybody has been saying that to me. I don’t really look into that Arreola win too much. I just think that I caught him with a better shot do you know what I mean.”

But Quezada is happy about the win nonetheless. “It is exciting. I am happy about this win and proud that I could be known as one of the other strongest Hispanic heavyweights in boxing.”

The Walker win is Quezada’s 17^th straight victory; nine by knockout. He feels like he is ready for the top fighters in the division.

“I am training with these top guys all of the time in the gym,” Quezada said. “This was a big win, but I am not going to get ahead of myself. I think that I need a couple of more fights to get a world title shot, against marquee opponents definitely.”

Meanwhile the Wasco, California native is aware that the politics involved in the sport might force an aspiring champion to pay his dues more than a recognizable name with less merit. For instance Hasim Rahman received an opportunity to fight for the heavyweight title last December and he has not beaten a name fighter (Monte Barrett) in the last four years.

“I can’t really say what other people deserve. I just worry about my thing,” Quezada said. “Once I get to the top, and challenge for the world title, I want to say that I took all of the steps necessary to get to this spot. I want to fight and beat all of the contenders and not have any regrets on my way to the title.”

Quezada says that he would get discouraged if one of the top level guys would not want to face him.

“I think that I put myself on the map by beating this top contender. For them not to want to fight me makes me feel like they don’t respect me. I believe in myself. I believe that I am a good fighter man. I would definitely get discouraged if they did not want to fight me.”

Since the 31 year old began his fight career in 2001, he has had a desire to prove people wrong. The vicious left hook that plastered Walker onto the canvas is not all he wants to be known for.

“A lot of people look at me and might not see a Klitschko or a Chris Arreola. So, I just want to prove to people that I can fight. You don’t know me now, but I am going to show that I could fight and compete with these guys,” Quezada said. “My motivation is my kids, and family. This is the only thing that I know how to do honestly. I started in martial arts, kickboxing, and now I am doing boxing. Honestly, I am just a competitor. I like to fight. I love when people say that I can’t do it because I am going to show you that I can.”

Quezada says that he is ready to fight again in September or October and he is keeping his ear to the street. He notices the Klitschko brothers searching for opponent to fight at the end of the year, and he is more than willing to step to the plate.

“Of course I would fight them. Who would give that up? I wouldn’t. I am always in the gym, always trying to get ready, and always staying in shape. So if something like that came up, I would definitely try to prove myself.”

How does he think that he will match up with one of the Klitschkos?

“It is a hard matchup for anyone trying to fight those guys because they are tall and athletic. But again, you just have to work. If the opportunity was presented to me, I would put in work. Every minute of every round, I would put in work man.”