Chuckboxing has been following Joe Calzaghe since his victory of Bernard Hopkins last week. The name that keeps coming up when discussing the next suitor for Wales native and current IBF/WBO/WBC super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe has been none other then former light heavyweight champion of the world, Roy Jones jr. Team Jones has even admitted willingness in traveling to Europe to make it happen.

Stay tuned for more to this story…

Former NABF jr middleweight champion Andrey Tsurkan (25-3, 16 KO’s) is looking to make his mark . The 30 year old has his eyes set on a world ranking when he takes on rugged Jesse Feliciano (15-6-3, 9 KO’s) in what is expected to be an explosive main event this Friday night on ESPN. Originally from a small village in the Ukraine, Tsurkan now fights out of the Bronx will serve as the hometown fighter. He is a former European Amateur Champion that bring lots of experience. Andrey also possesses good power in both hands, works excellently to the body and has an aggressive demeanor. His greatest win to date was an 8′th round stoppage victory over Hector Camacho Jr on the Pay-Per-View undercard of Hopkins vs Tarver. In that fight Tsurkan was relentless in methodically breaking down Camacho. This Friday I expect him to bring that same type of edge with him when he faces Feliciano.

Feliciano known as “El Rayo” is no stranger to the boxing world. He was last seen falling short in a world title fight against Kermit Cintron in what many considered to be a surprisingly hotly contested battle. The Puerto Rican fighter previously earned his stripes last March when he upset Delvin Rodriguez in a shocker.

Most analysts and fans are picking Feliciano to win this fight. I do not agree. In fact, I will go out on a limb and say that this will be easy work for Tsurkan. Just last week I listened to a radio interview with Feliciano, to put it nicely the 25 year old has already showed signs of being punch drunk. This is not very surprising if you look at his resume. Of Feliciano’s 6 career losses, 4 have come by knockout. Not to mention he’s been in many wars, for example his trilogy vs Alphonso Gomez was extra ordinarily violent. True, Feliciano did beat Rodriguez. However, in the interview last week Jesse stated that his infant child had just died of an illness giving him inspiration to win the fight. Sadly that story reminds me of when Buster Douglas shocked the world by knocking out Mike Tyson. After the fight Buster cried saying that he drew strength from his mother who had just passed away. The next time we saw Douglas he was lying in a heap courteous of Evander Holyfield. My point is, in boxing the death of a loved one will make a man almost super human, but it can only last for so long before it wares off.

Feliciano hasn’t had an easy match up in nearly 5 years. I believe this has taken a toll on him and although he is favored I would stress to say “he will not win”. Tsurkan will be the more determined fighter and more importantly the better prepared fighter. Tsurkan is simply on a mission and Jesse Feliciano serves as the guy standing in his way.

Juan Urango (19-1-1, 15 KO’s) wants to get back into title contention. The Columbian (now residing in Florida) is known for losing a world title fight to Ricky Hatton in January 2007. Since then he’s worked hard to regain his old form and looks to continue that this Wednesday on ESPN when he faces veteran Carlos Vilches (53-7-2, 31 KO’s) of Argentina. The first thing you will notice of Urango is his body builder like physique. Interestingly, Juan states that he does not lift weights and acquired his muscles at a young age when he pulled boulders from a river near his hometown in the mountains of Columbia to sell to contractors. Known as the “Iron Twin” Urango will no doubt bring his power with him when he faces Vilches. The question is however whether he has improved his speed that showed to be a full class lower than Hatton both offensively and defensively. Since losing to the British superstar Juan has won twice (both by KO) over lesser opponents.

Against Vilches he faces a seasoned competitor that is currently enjoying a 10 fight winning streak. Vilches himself survived the distance against Hatton in 2004 and has a record of failing whenever he has made a dramatic step up in class. In his last trip to the USA the Argentinian retired after 3 rounds vs contender Joel Julio.

I expect this to be a good fight. Both fighters (for better or worse) like to move forward. Vilches has failed in to make an impact in the United States, losing 3 consecutive contests. However, he likes to go the distance and only quits when his trainers throw in the towel. Urango will force the action and land the telling shots. My prediction is that the power shots will eventually take their toll on Vilches and lead to a late round stoppage. An impressive win for Urango could lead to another world title shot and an opportunity for redemption.

Two days before many questions will be answered. Joe Calzaghe has arrived in Las Vegas with 10,000 Welsh fans leading support. Bernard Hopkins is making the final preperations it what will be his career defining fight. Chuckboxing is here to break it down.

Known to all as the “Executioner” Bernard Hopkins is not only a 4 X world champion and the current Ring Magazine light heavyweight champion, but a legend as well. For over a decade he completely dominated the middleweight division. Hopkins was able to do this by being crafty and intelligent in the ring and always coming in prepared. He consistantly found a way to nullify his opponents strength and use it against them. Leading up to this fight Bernard has constantly been stating that he relishes playing the role of underdog. Well at +225 he will certainly be the less favored fighter this Saturday. So can he overcome these odds? Well lets take a look at Calzaghe.

Known as the “Pride of Wales” Joe Calzaghe is praised in Europe as their best champion. Unlike Hopkins the British fighter has in reality never been pushed or threatened. He win his first world title against Chris Eubanks who was making his 20′th defense of the belt. Within the first 10 seconds Cazaghe scored a knockdown and went on to win a decision that he claimed was his hardest fight ever. However he wasn’t cut, hurt or even exhausted when his hand was raised that night. US fightfans weren’t even aware of Calzaghe until March 2006 when he thoroughly destroyed American champion Jeff Lacy who was being groomed as a future Mike Tyson. After that victory Calzaghe took on “Contender” participants Sakio Bika and Peter Manfredo. These wins did not do much more Joe’s stature, so he upped the ante and beat Mikkel Kessler. This is when I came to realize that Calzaghe is at another level.

What I believe Joe has over Bernard is real confidence. Bernard claims to have great success against southpaws. But, Calzaghe is no ordinary southpaw. He uses a southpaw stance, however he presents power and speed in both hands ambidextrously. There’s no secret that Hopkins will have to go to the bread basket in order to soften up Calzaghe. In order to do this he will have to proceed through a storm of punches from both hands. Hopkins will also have to stay away from the ropes. Past opponents that have foolishly leaned against the ropes have found themselves TKO’d quickly as Calzaghe is mercillous when he see’s weakness.

Like Mayweather vs Hatton, I expect this fight to be a huge box financial success. It has captured the interest of both US and European fans. Will Hopkins solidify his Hall of Fame career with a victory? Or will Calzaghe make his US debut an unforgettable one by retiring a legend? These questions and more will be answered Saturday as the anticipation grows.

ESPN pulled the plug last week on the show “The Contender”. Don’t panic fans another network is sure to pick up the series as it was considered by many as a success. Across boxing boards on the web there are strong contrasting opinions regarding the show. Some say that it brought the sport of boxing to the mainstream and that it was a great entry-level show for people not familiar with the sport (especially females & children). Others described it as “sickening and an embarrassment to the noble art”.

I agree with both points. On one side it awakened many sports fans to the drama that is pro boxing. However, I also feel that the producers went over the top and portrayed the sport as a soap opera. For example, there was a scene in which Sugar Ray Leonard handed one of the participants a bracelet as a reward for winning a fight. I found the whole scene unbearably cringe-worthy. I also found myself constantly reminding casual fans that these were “good” fighters, but not “great “fighters. Watching these fighters talking about their love for god and their families all accompanied by violins playing in the background was honestly difficult for me to bear at times.

Yet, the show successfully brought in two key components that the sport very much needed: More fans and more revenue. You can’t argue that the huge financial success of the Floyd Mayweather vs Oscar De La Hoya in 2007 was done in part to the “Contender” viewer ship. When Joe Calzaghe faced participant Peter Manfredo in Wales an astounding 35,000 fans were in attendance. De LaHoya (who had a failed boxing show called “The Next Great Champ”) understands that the name “Contender” translates to dollar signs as he himself is facing second place finisher Stevie Forbes on HBO this May.

For good or for bad the “Contender” has made its mark on a worldwide basis. In my opinion ESPN has lost out on an opportunity at a real cash cow. The question is if another network can add to the show that even ESPN executives admitted was poorly produced from the very beginning?

Antonio Margarito (36-5, 26 KO’s) looked fantastic Saturday night! By destroying Kermit Cintron (29-2, 27 KO’s) he not only earned himself the IBF title, but also an opportunity to face undefeated WBA champion Miguel Cotto in a possible summer fight. Many feel the winner of Margarito vs Cotto would have a chance at a mega pay day in 2009 considering if pound for pound champion Floyd Mayweather Jr were to decide to return to the ring in a boxing capacity.

Margarito showed everything, power shots, great body work, effective aggressiveness and slick counterpunching. These were all a part of an arsenal that lead to this destucive knockout victory. The hometown fighter Cintron was literally dismantled by the always attacking Tijuana fighter. In the end it was a bone crunching body shot that left Cintron on the canvas gasping for air.

So is Margarito ready for Cotto? Based on his performance on his Saturday performance many fans would say YES. However, Chuckboing is honestly concerned about the miles in Margarito and whether he can stand the all assault that Cotto seems to always deliver? You have to believe that this win over Cintron was primarily mental considering that Antonio had already beat him before. Margarito looked genuinely confident of victory from the very start. In fact, half way through the fight I almost felt bad for Cintron, as I knew his hardest delivered shots had almost no effect on Margarito’s granite chin.

Cotto couldn’t deny the impressive performance as he was seen in a photo op with Margarito after the fight. Cotto himself looked impressive in totally outclassing former “Contender” participant Alphonso Gomez by 5′th round TKO. The victory for Cotto came off as a tune up as his opponent was clearly outclassed from the start.

So I ask my fellow posters, who would win Cotto or Margarito? Let the debating begin! Hopefully we’ll have our answer in July. Fans will agree, it will be very difficult for Floyd Mayweather Jr to look away from the winner of this one.

Why do fans dislike Antonio Tarver? The “Magic Man” is a solid ambassador to the sport boxing. Furthermore, he’s a proud representative of the United States. Yet for some odd reason boxing fans sigh and grunt just at the mention of the name Tarver? I just don’t understand it?

Tarver’s resume is very impressive. As a late blooming amateur Tarver earned a Bronze medal in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. In 1995 “The Magic Man” won the Amateur World Championships in Berlin and the Pan Am games in Argentina. Turning pro Tarver won his first 16 fights, 14 by knockout. “The Magic Man” has 2 wins over Roy Jones (*including a devastating 2′nd round KO win), beat Glenncoffe Johnson and lost a decision to Bernard Hopkins. These are all fighters of the highest calibur. In 30 pro fights Tarver has never even come close to being knocked out.

At the age of 39, Antonio once again looks for respect when he faces Clinton Woods (41-3-1, 24 KO’s) this Saturday in Tampa. Woods is the current IBF world champion and is considered by many to be dangerous character. The British fighter is a slugger that likes to fight toe to toe. The gritty Sheffield fighter also possesses above average endurance and will to win.

Although the betting odds are even, most fans are picking Woods. However, Chuckboxing likes Tarver to win this fight rather easily. I have 2 reasons why I’m picking the “Magic Man”.

First, I think Tarver has not been himself over the last 3 contests due to his acting role in the last “Rocky Balboa” movie. Playing the part of Mason Dixon, Tarver gained serious weight, coming in at well over 200 pounds. Working down to his usual boxing weight of 175 was no easy task, and I feel it affected his recent in ring performances. Tarver states that his training camp went extremely well. I believe him and expect to see a very relaxed and comfortable Antonio on Saturday night, something that I assure you Woods wants no part of.

Second, I think Woods style is very well suited for Tarver. Woods comes forward, doesn’t move a lot and tends to be a bit reckless at times. This will play right into the hometown Tarvers hands. I predict Tarver to win this fight by decision. I would not be shocked if a pinpoint Tarver left hook ends things early. Maybe then finally Tarver will earn his due respect!

World Champion Miguel Cotto (31-0, 25 KO’s) defends his belt against former “Contender” contestant Alphonso Gomez (18-3-2, 8 KO’s) on Saturday night. When the fight was first announced most boxing observers said this was a deserved “gimmie” for Cotto. But, as this contest as grown closer the sense that that is an easy fight has lessened among the fans.

Cotto is a seasoned fighter that is considered among the finest pound for pound champions in the game. His style is no secret. He moves forward and pushes his opponents to fight hard. Defensively Cotto is not the best, but his aggression and fierceness force the opposistion to always be on the defense.

What makes this fight so interesting is the fact that Alphonso Gomez shares the same type of style. The former “Contender” contestant fights at 147 lbs, but he has experienced the power of much larger opponents. For example Gomez took on Peter Manfredo a fighter that walks around at 175 pounds.

What makes Gomez so enjoyable to watch is fact that he is an all out action fighter that’s more than willing to take 2-3 punches in order to land 1. He will not back down from Cotto and I feel that will be his own undoing.

Chuckboxing is excited about this fight. No doubt, both warriors will come in prepared. In the past Cotto has shown a tendancy to come in a little dehydrated which has translated into some sluggish performances. However, for this fight he’s been on target throughout training camp and should make weight without any problems.

Gomez will give an honest effort, and truthfully he has an outside shot to win this fight. I just feel that he is a bit to green to take on such a world class champion like Cotto. Quite simply I predict Cotto to wear Gomez down and score a stoppage in between the 7′th to 10′th rounds. Miguel needs to look impressive in order to obtain his primary target (a mega fight with “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather Jr). Anything short of an impressive performance could derail the possibility of that fight ever happening.