by Mike Franzak – The crowd at Madison Square Garden got a lot more than they bargained for Saturday Night.  Many were viewing this as a ”keep busy” fight for Martinez, but it turned out that the Argentinean phenom would need to dig deep and make a comeback before the rounds ran out.

Matthew Macklin started out strong, standing his ground and going toe to toe with the generally accepted #3 pound for pound fighter in the world.  He was by far the more aggressive fighter in the first half of the bout, but it was evident that he was starting to slow down in the 7th.  As the tides seemed to be turning, the 10 to 1 underdog caught an off-balanced Martinez with a right hook, causing him to touch the canvass with his glove.  It was ruled a knock down and Macklin suddenly regained the lead on the cards with the 10-8 round. After 7 rounds, FBN had Macklin winning 67-65.  Read more

by Mike Franzak – Juan Manuel Lopez has been temporarily suspended by the Professional Boxing Commission of Puerto Rico.  He has been ordered to appear for a hearing on March 26 where he will appear before Alberto Arroyo, a hearing officer, lawyer and commissioner – who was appointed by the President of the PR Commission, Sommys Delgado. 

“We made a determination to issue a temporary suspension and scheduled a hearing for the 26^th at 10 am, where [Juanma] must show cause as to why he should not be punished.  Arroyo will give us a report [on the hearing] and we expect to have everything resolved on Tuesday or Wednesday,” Delgado said.

Juanma was also suspended by the WBO , who gave him until Friday to demonstrate why he shouldn’t be suspended. 

The suspensions are a result of Juanma’s post-fight interview last Saturday night after being knocked out in the 10^th round by Orlando Salido.  Lopez made allegations that referee Roberto Raimrez Sr was a “gambler” and that he stopped the fight in connection to a bet. 

Lopez is planning a press conference to apologize to Ramirez.  After being exposed twice by Salido, his PR team is going to have to go into full swing to keep him relevant.  

Do us all a favor Juanma,  and check the tears at home this time.

Season 2 is right around the corner. 

Don’t get caught slipping.

The Belts are on the line

And so are the prizes

These guys are stepping up and putting their boxing knowledge to the test. 

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)—Mexico’s Orlando Salido stopped Juan Manuel Lopez in the 10th round Saturday night to retain the WBO featherweight title and beat the Puerto Rican for the second time in a year.

The 31-year-old Salido earned a technical knockout at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum to improve to 38-11-2 with 26 KOs. The 28-year-old Lopez dropped to 31-2 with 28 KOs.

Last April, Salido beat Lopez with another technical knockout in the eighth round.

“I was analyzing him. … He was already tired,” said Salido, who was warned several times for hitting below the belt. “It is a great victory.”

Salido said he wanted to maintain constant pressure on Lopez, who knocked down Salido in the dying seconds of the fifth round with a forceful right.

Two of three judges had Lopez ahead on points when the fight ended.

“It was no doubt a difficult fight,” said Peter Rivera, vice president of PR Best Boxing Promotions. “It could have ended for either fighter. Both were tired. We lost this fight, but it won’t be the end.”

Cheering the fighters were Puerto Rican boxing greats Felix “Tito” Trinidad and Ivan Calderon along with Mexican greats Julio Cesar Chavez, Jorge Arce and Juan Manuel Marquez.

DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP)—Wladimir Klitschko stopped French challenger Jean-Marc Mormeck in the fourth round of a one-sided fight to retain the WBA and IBF heavyweight titles Saturday night.

The Ukrainian put down Mormeck with a left-right combination, followed by a short left. Mormeck beat the count but looked wobbly and referee Luis Pabon stopped the fight.

“His strategy was to make me tired, but I dominated,” Klitschko said. Read more