If you've ever spent $59.95 for one of those fights you helped pay for it. Nothing wrong with that though it's not likely to get you an invitation to the pool parties out back that always seem to get the neighbors talking.

But now it's time for Mayweather to leave the pool and head for the...]]> Mon, 19 Jul 2010 23:14:16 +0100 http://www.imagineboxing.com/news/warren-gets-redemption-at-us-boxing-championships-7663.htm COLORADO SPRINGS Colo.(AP) No doubt this time.

No judges left to rule. No storming out of the ring in dismay. No threats of abandoning his pursuit of Olympic gold for the riches of pro boxing.

Only relief and redemption.

``I'm back!'' two-time Olympian Rau'Shee Warren declared Saturday night after winning his fourth national title by dominating Miguel Cartagena of Philadelphia at the U.S. boxing championships. Cartagena's corner stopped the fight in the second of three rounds...]]> Sun, 18 Jul 2010 06:44:23 +0100 http://www.imagineboxing.com/news/bradley-stays-unbeaten-with-decision-over-abregu-7661.htm RANCHO MIRAGE Calif.(AP) Timothy Bradley could tell from the opening bell that Luis Carlos Abregu might be much more trouble than he had imagined.

Bradley spent the next 12 rounds staying out of trouble so he could stay in the conversations around the biggest fights in boxing.

Bradley kept his unbeaten record intact with a bruising unanimous decision over Abregu on Saturday night surviving a tough move up to welterweight with his usual superb technical fighting.

Although Bradley...]]> Sun, 18 Jul 2010 06:14:16 +0100 http://www.imagineboxing.com/news/marlen-esparza-captures-5th-national-boxing-crown-7657.htm COLORADO SPRINGS Colo.(AP) U.S. boxer Marlen Esparza loudly grunted with every punch that she landed launching her entire 112-pound frame into everything she threw.

That's what ultimatums will do.

Esparza told herself that if she lost to Tyrieshia Douglas in the 112-pound final of the USA boxing national championships Saturday night she was going to throw in the towel on her boxing career and hit the books instead.

Nothing against Douglas. It's just that with the Olympics...]]> Sun, 18 Jul 2010 05:14:16 +0100 http://www.imagineboxing.com/news/angulo-stops-alcine-in-first-round-7648.htm RANCHO MIRAGE Calif.(AP) Alfredo ``Perro'' Angulo stopped Joachim Alcine with one second left in a merciless first round Saturday night dramatically invigorating his career with a win over a former 154-pound champion.

Angulo (19-1 16 KOs) won his fourth straight fight by stoppage with nearly 3 full minutes of punishment for Alcine who never recovered after foolishly holding onto Angulo's left glove while Angulo relentlessly pounded him with the right.

``He held me and turned me because...]]> Sun, 18 Jul 2010 03:44:16 +0100 http://www.imagineboxing.com/news/pacquiao-mayweather-deadline-passes-without-deal-7608.htm Manny Pacquiao will start looking for another opponent for his next bout now that promoter Bob Arum's deadline for a deal with Floyd Mayweather Jr. has passed.

Arum said early Saturday morning that Mayweather hadn't responded to their contract proposal. Pacquiao will open discussions with Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto for a fight in November.

Arum still holds out hope Mayweather will agree to what could be the richest fight in boxing history but he couldn't wait any longer to...]]> Sat, 17 Jul 2010 08:44:43 +0100 http://www.imagineboxing.com/news/judah-stops-santa-cruz-in-third-round-7603.htm NEWARK N.J.(AP) Zab Judah made quick work of Jose Armando Santa Cruz then delivered a concise message about the state of his boxing career.

``I just want to say that I'm back'' he said. ``I want everyone to make sure that they didn't forget about me.''

Judah used his left jab to batter Santa Cruz before knocking him out in the third round of a junior welterweight bout at the Prudential Center on Friday night.

``When my jab is working no one can hang with me'' Judah said. ``I...]]> Sat, 17 Jul 2010 05:14:44 +0100 http://www.imagineboxing.com/news/bradley-moves-up-for-welterweight-fight-vs-abregu-7592.htm LOS ANGELES(AP) Timothy Bradley realizes the path to boxing superstardom is narrow and unforgiving. A fighter can get lost with even one misstep.

This Palm Springs product has stayed right on the road so far and most everybody believes Bradley is only a few fights away from reaching his destination.

The WBO 140-pound champion (25-0 11 KOs) temporarily will move up to welterweight on Saturday night to meet fellow unbeaten Luis Carlos Abregu but this meeting likely is just a prelude...]]> Fri, 16 Jul 2010 22:44:44 +0100 http://www.imagineboxing.com/news/teen-fighter-faces-warren-for-us-flyweight-title-7582.htm COLORADO SPRINGS Colo.(AP) Teenage boxer Miguel Cartagena figures he can't lose.

Facing headliner Rau'shee Warren in the 114-pound title bout Saturday night at the U.S. national boxing championships Cartagena knows he's a long shot.

All the better.

``If I win that's something crazy. Now I become the hit star'' said Cartagena an 18-year-old from Philadelphia. ``If I lose it's still a win because look at who you lost to - a two-time Olympian.''

Warren has redemption on...]]> Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:44:43 +0100 http://www.imagineboxing.com/news/boxer-takes-fight-against-breast-cancer-into-ring-7583.htm COLORADO SPRINGS Colo.(AP) Call him pretty in pink and Lenroy ``Cam'' Thompson will just smile.

Heckle him for wearing pink trunks pink headgear and a pink T-shirt in the boxing ring and he'll laugh.

The 21-year-old super-heavyweight from Lenexa Kan. is seeking his second title at the USA boxing national championships Saturday night and has found a unique way to promote both himself and the fight against breast cancer.

He fights his opponents decked out in light pink trunks...]]> Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:44:43 +0100 http://www.imagineboxing.com/news/female-boxers-jostle-for-3-olympic-weight-classes-7550.htm COLORADO SPRINGS Colo.(AP) Six-time national boxing champion Sacred Downing has a healthy appetite for success and cinnamon rolls.

To reach one she has to curb the other.

The 119-pound fighter intends to drop to 112 pounds so she can try to qualify for one of the three Olympic weight classes at the 2012 London Games.

She's swearing off sweets in the name of the sweet science.

``The sacrifices you have to make to be great'' explained Downing who advanced to the 119-pound...]]> Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:44:43 +0100 http://www.imagineboxing.com/news/froch-abraham-to-fight-in-monaco-7547.htm NEW YORK(AP) Former super middleweight champion Carl Froch and Arthur Abraham will fight on neutral ground in Monaco in the third stage of the World Boxing Classic as both try to secure a spot in the tournament semifinals.

The fight will take place Oct. 2 at the Chapiteau de l'Espace Fontvieille in the principality on the Mediterranean Sea. Froch had wanted the fight in his native England Abraham wanted it in Germany and tournament backer Showtime discussed staging the fight in Montreal.

``The...]]> Thu, 15 Jul 2010 23:44:44 +0100 http://www.imagineboxing.com/news/female-boxers-jostle-for-3-olympic-weight-classes-7548.htm COLORADO SPRINGS Colo.(AP) Six-time national boxing champion Sacred Downing has a healthy appetite for success and cinnamon rolls.

To reach one she has to curb the other.

The 119-pound fighter intends to drop to 112 pounds so she can try to qualify for one of the three Olympic weight classes at the 2012 London Games.

She's swearing off sweets in the name of the sweet science.

Downing participating in this week's USA boxing national championships says it's simply part of...]]> Thu, 15 Jul 2010 23:44:44 +0100 http://www.imagineboxing.com/news/wladimir-klitschko-to-fight-povetkin-in-september-7509.htm BERLIN(AP) Wladimir Klitschko will defend his heavyweight titles against Alexander Povetkin of Russia.

Klitschko's management group said Thursday that the fight will take place on Sept. 11 at Frankfurt's Commerzbank Arena.

The Ukrainian boxer who holds the IBF WBO and IBO belts said ``Povetkin is a very strong opponent - that we are both Olympic champions speaks for itself.''

He added he has no doubt he will keep his titles.

The 30-year-old Povetkin has an unbeaten...]]> Thu, 15 Jul 2010 13:44:45 +0100 http://www.imagineboxing.com/news/spinks-creates-title-tripleheader-in-st-louis-7480.htm Don King is putting on a title triple-header in St. Louis.

The Hall of Fame promoter will have IBF junior middleweight champion Cory Spinks defend his belt against Cornelius Bundrage on Aug. 7 at the Scottrade Center on possibly the deepest card that King has staged in years.

The headliner is WBC and IBF junior welterweight champion Devon Alexander who will fight former titleholder Andreas Kotelnik in the main event. IBF light heavyweight champion Tavoris Cloud will face the...]]> Wed, 14 Jul 2010 17:44:49 +0100 http://www.imagineboxing.com/news/wsb-offers-amateur-boxers-salary-shot-at-olympics-7452.htm COLORADO SPRINGS Colo.(AP) Two-time Olympian Rau'shee Warren has been torn between cash and country since a demoralizing defeat at the 2008 Beijing Games.

Turning pro offered the prospects of a lucrative payday.

Just as attractive though was attempting to earn a spot for the 2012 London Games which would make Warren the first three-time Olympian in U.S. boxing history.

Dollars or distinction?

Decisions decisions.

So when a chance came along to pursue both Warren jumped...]]> Wed, 14 Jul 2010 02:44:45 +0100 http://www.imagineboxing.com/news/nevada-to-margarito-apply-first-in-california-7297.htm LAS VEGAS(AP) Former welterweight champion Antonio Margarito must answer to the California Athletic Commission for a hand-wrapping scandal before he'll be licensed to fight in Las Vegas.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission voted 4-1 on Friday to table Margarito's request for a boxing license. The 32-year-old Margarito had been considered a possible opponent for pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao if his fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. falls through.

``He has to go California to...]]> Fri, 09 Jul 2010 22:44:47 +0100 http://www.imagineboxing.com/news/nicaragua-boxers-widow-says-death-was-suicide-7295.htm MANAGUA Nicaragua(AP) Former boxing champion and Managua mayor Alexis Arguello's widow says his death was suicide - not murder as several of his children have claimed.

Karla Rizo told a Nicaraguan TV station Friday that she was present when Arguello decided to kill himself last year. Rizo said she was going to get help when she heard a gunshot went back and found her husband face-down on the floor.

Investigators have said Arguello's death was likely suicide because there were traces...]]> Fri, 09 Jul 2010 22:14:49 +0100 http://www.imagineboxing.com/news/fight-still-on-for-johnson-pardon-7096.htm Organizers of a tribute to the Jack Johnson-Jim Jeffries fight will gather Sunday in Reno Nev. to ring the same bell used in 1910 at the site of the bout now a metals salvage yard.

They also plan to make renewed calls for a posthumous presidential pardon for Johnson on grounds his conviction for transporting a woman across state lines for immoral purposes was steeped in the racism of the time.

Sen. John McCain R-Ariz. who sponsored a pardon resolution along with Rep. Peter King...]]> Sat, 03 Jul 2010 22:44:53 +0100 http://www.imagineboxing.com/news/fight-of-the-century-highlighted-us-racial-divide-7079.htm The news from Down Under reached New York on Christmas night speeding there in just 24 minutes through the modern miracles of land and sea cables.

Most Americans got the word the next morning in their newspapers. Just as well because the news was sobering to a nation still divided by race less than a half-century after the end of the Civil War.

A black man was the heavyweight champion of the world.

1908 was drawing to an end and Jack Johnson reigned supreme. After years of chasing...]]> Sat, 03 Jul 2010 16:44:53 +0100 http://www.imagineboxing.com/news/philippine-boxing-star-pacquiao-enters-politics-6925.htm ALABEL Philippines(AP) Manny Pacquiao has taken his oath as a Philippine congressman bringing the boxing star into a political arena that he said seemed more daunting than stepping inside the ring.

The 31-year-old Pacquiao looking a bit uneasy in an elegant formal shirt and leather shoes pledged on Monday before about 1000 spectators in Alabel in the southern Sarangani province to be a good God-fearing civil servant.

Talking to reporters later Pacquiao said he was nervous that he could...]]> Tue, 29 Jun 2010 13:22:34 +0100 http://www.imagineboxing.com/news/nv-focuses-on-pardon-for-first-black-boxing-champ-6926.htm RENO Nev. (AP) A century ago black heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson reached the pinnacle of his career when he defeated ``Great White Hope'' Jim Jeffries in Reno in what was billed as the ``Fight of the Century.''

One hundred years later fans of the legendary fighter are still seeking a posthumous presidential pardon for Johnson saying that his later conviction for transporting a woman across state lines for immoral purposes was steeped in racism.

The Johnson faithful will...]]> Tue, 29 Jun 2010 13:22:34 +0100 http://www.imagineboxing.com/news/andre-ward-retains-title-by-beating-allan-green-6927.htm OAKLAND Calif.(AP) Andre Ward 's game plan was to stay close to Allan Green to negate the dangerous left hook. When Green obliged by spending most of the night against the ropes Ward was eager to take advantage.

Ward thoroughly dominated the tough-talking Green to clinch a spot in the semifinals of the Super Six tournament winning by unanimous decision Saturday night in the first defense of the WBA super middleweight title.

``This means a lot to me'' Ward said. ``I couldn't get...]]> Tue, 29 Jun 2010 13:22:34 +0100 http://www.imagineboxing.com/news/former-amateur-boxing-chief-anwar-chowdhry-dies-6928.htm ISLAMABAD(AP) Pakistani boxing authorities say former amateur boxing leader Anwar Chowdhry has died at 87.

Chowdhry was ousted as president International Amateur Boxing Association in 2006 over alleged corruption and mismanagement. He had led the organization for 20 years.

Pakistan Boxing Federation spokesman Obaid Awan said Chowdhry died of a heart attack in Karachi. He is survived by three daughters.

While Anwar Chowdhry ran the International Amateur Boxing Association for...]]> Tue, 29 Jun 2010 13:22:35 +0100 http://www.imagineboxing.com/news/danny-lopez-heads-boxing-hall-of-fame-class-6929.htm CANASTOTA N.Y.(AP) Danny ``Little Red'' Lopez was slow and deliberate in his acceptance speech unlike his demeanor in the ring as a champion featherweight. Longtime Associated Press boxing writer Ed Schuyler Jr. wasn't so fast for a change.

Being immortalized can have that effect.

Lopez and Schuyler were among 13 men inducted Sunday into the International Boxing Hall of Fame capping their impressive careers.

``Getting inducted is a big honor getting the ring and the whole shot''...]]> Tue, 29 Jun 2010 13:22:35 +0100 http://www.imagineboxing.com/news/featherweight-runner-up-gets-two-year-doping-ban-6930.htm COLORADO SPRINGS Colo.(AP) The runner-up in last year's featherweight division at U.S. boxing nationals has been banned for two years for doping.

Jerren Cochran of Houston accepted the ban Friday five months after testing positive for a diuretic in an out-of-competition test. His suspension is retroactive to Feb. 1.

It's the second doping violation handed down to a boxer in two days. On Thursday the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced a two-year suspension of Jesus Gomez for refusing...]]> Tue, 29 Jun 2010 13:22:35 +0100 http://www.imagineboxing.com/news/2010-international-boxing-hall-of-fame-inductees-6931.htm CANASTOTA N.Y.(AP) A look at the 13 people to be inducted Sunday into the International Boxing Hall of Fame:

JUNG-KOO CHANG - Known as the ``Korean Hawk'' for his relentless fighting style Chang was born Feb. 4 1963 in Pusan South Korea and turned professional in November 1980 at age 17. He won his first 18 bouts before losing a split decision in 1982 to Hilario Zapata for the WBC flyweight title then knocked him out in the third round of a rematch six months later. Chang made 15 successful...]]> Tue, 29 Jun 2010 13:22:35 +0100 http://www.imagineboxing.com/news/danny-lopez-leads-boxing-hall-of-fame-inductees-6932.htm CANASTOTA N.Y.(AP) Danny ``Little Red'' Lopez will always be remembered for one fight and yet his victory over Davey Kotey more than three decades ago plays second fiddle in Lopez's mind.

His most satisfying moment in the ring? It came in a fight against Ruben Olivares in 1975.

``He was going back and he hit me with a shot knocked me down'' Lopez said. ``I was getting back up and he thought I was hurt. He came in to knock me out and I hit him with a straight right hand.''

Ah...]]> Tue, 29 Jun 2010 13:22:35 +0100