Looking for a reason to be thankful this holiday season? [aarontorressports]

How about I give you 50 Reasons instead?

(Love the article? Hate it? Disagree with something Aaron said? Let him know by commenting below or e-mailing him at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Also, for Aaron's continued take on all things sports, and updates on his articles, podcasts and giveaways, be sure to follow Aaron on Twitter @Aaron_Torres, Facebook.com/AaronTorresSports or by downloading the Aaron Torres Sports App for FREE for your iPhone or Android phones)

[aarontorressports2] no comments

Last year we had a lot of fun with our Decade Series, counting down the best games, stories, flops, and other Top 10 lists from the world of sports over the last 10 years.  One of our absolute favorites was the Top 10 D'Oh! Moments, inspired by Homer J. Simpson.  Thankfully, this year in sports provided us with more than enough candidates for the best (and worst) bloopers and blunders.  These are the moments that just make you want to say D'Oh! [randallsimonssausages]

10) La Parka Punches A Fan!
-Back in the day, La Parka was one of my favorite wrestlers.  The strut, the chair strumming, and the skeleton costume spoke to me in a profound way.  It's a darn shame he never won the world title.  As you may know, masks are sacred in Lucha Libre wrestling as this (most likely) drunk fan found out the hard way.


9) Kammy Gets Caught
-Soccer Saturday is a show in England that travels around to different stadiums during matches and features panels and commentary from people watching matches.  It sounds weird, but it's actually entertaining.  Two of the stars are biting host Jeff Stelling and commentator/former player Chris Kamara.  Kammy is known for his unique phraseology and lighter moments.  This hilarious clip sees Stelling go to Kammy for a red card at his game, but Kammy's not quite up to speed...


8a) Qatar Goalline Miss
-This is the world soccer contribution of your 2022 World Cup host.  That, and the millions of dollars in bribes that they handed out to get the World Cup.  Yes, we should all still be bitter.


8b) Kei Kamara Goalline Miss & Handball
-Thankfully, MLS tried to one-up the Qatari's with Kei Kamara of the Kansas City Wizards (now Sporting Kansas City, another D'Oh! Moment candidate) by not only whiffing from centimeters out, but also handballing it into the net.  Yes, that's a foul.  Yes, that's embarrassing... but at least we can get the best of Qatar in our countdown!


7) The Metrodome Roof Collapses
-Our biggest and most recent entry into the countdown comes from this weekend where the Metrodome roof collapsed!  It's the most stunning video on our list and reaches the D'Oh! Moments because we're not sure about the wisdom behind a teflon roof in Minnesota.  Were giant piles of snow on top of an inflatable roof unexpected!?


6a) Dustin Johnson's Penalty
-The most costly of our D'Oh Moments might be Dustin Johnson grounding his club in an unknown bunker on the 72nd hole of the PGA Championship.  With the 2 stroke penalty, Johnson missed the playoff won by Martin Kaymer and a chance to win his first major.  Golfers pride themselves on knowing the rules, so Johnson probably should have made sure that the unmarked bunker was indeed an unmarked bunker.  Check out the 2:30 mark for where it all went wrong.  


6b) Robert Garrigus' Van de Veldian Choke
-Another golf moment, and the choke job of the year, came in the 2010 St. Jude's Classic where unknown player Robert Garrigus had a 3 shot lead on the final hole of the tournament.  Garrigus, in search of his first PGA win, made Jean Van de Velde look composed with this triple bogey.  Thankfully for him, he was able to notch that first win later in the season. Check out the :50 mark.


5) Kendry Morales Breaks Leg Celebrating Walk-Off HR
-Thousands of MLB players have hit walk off home runs over the years.  Only one has broken his leg while leaping on home plate.  That honor goes to Kendry Morales of the Angels after his game winning home run in a May game against the Mariners.  Morales missed the rest of the season and the walk off home run has never quite been the same since.  At least he had Bill Grammatica to commisorate with.  Thanks to MLB's archaic social media stance, we're left with a decent fan video. 


4) Andray Blatche Triple Double Madness
-This one may be my personal favorite on the list.  Andray Blatche of the Wizards goes absolutely bonkers in search of his first career triple double in a game against the Nets back in April.  Unfortunately, the basketball gods weren't on his side as you'll see in this clip.  Each time Blatche thinks the last rebound will fall his way only to have it taken away.  The disappointment that Blatche expresses and the insane hustle that he displays make this clip golden.  If only all NBA players showed this much hustle and determination!


3) The Hand of Clod
-Unfortunately for England GK Robert Green, his blunder came on the biggest stage of them all - the World Cup.  Green's gaffe allowed the USA to tie England 1-1 in their group stage match and allowed Green to become the laughing stock of the entire world.  And trust me, it gets even better and funnier in the lego version!


***Bonus Clip*** The Lego Version


2) Brett Favre is Intercepted by Tracy Porter
-As a Saints fan, this clip is the ultimate source of joy.  Even better than winning the NFC Championship was that it came at the expense of Brett Favre.  Favre looks to be on the verge of a heroic win, only to be intercepted by Tracy Porter on the edge of FG range in the dying seconds.  The Saints would go on to win the game and the Super Bowl and Favre's anti-legend would continue to grow after another retirement drama, Jenn Sterger, his coach being fired, and his precious streak ending.  Ironic that Favre's streak ended in Detroit, isn't it... THIS IS NOT DETROIT MAN, THIS IS THE SUPER BOWL!


1) Jim Joyce Botches Galarraga's Perfect Game
-And baseball keeps their streak alive of topping our Top 10 D'Oh! Moments once again!  The names of Jim Joyce and Armando Galarraga will forever be linked in history because of Joyce's blown call at first base which ruined Galarraga's perfect game on June 2nd.  In a rare show of emotion from an umpire, Joyce admitted he kicked the sh*t out of it.  Duhhh!  While the reconciliation story was so touching, Bud Selig surprisingly did nothing to correct the call or expand instant replay.  Come to think of it, maybe next year these should be called the Uncle Bud Awards.


[randallsimonssausages2] no comments

By now you've heard that FIFA awarded the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 World Cup to Qatar.  As Ryan discussed yesterday, England (the home of football) was likely a longshot due to all of the backlash against the negative reporting by the British press.  Their 2 votes (last place) in the voting was a sign that the executive committee gave a collective FU to the English.  However, the shocking development was the United States being passed over by an oil-rich nation roughly the size of Connecticut.  That's right, the world's largest sporting event will fit into an area the size of our 48th largest state. [randallsimonsausages2]

Before we get to actually figuring out what is really going on here, let's take a step back and see how FIFA arrived at this decision.  Qatar seems like a strange choice doesn't it?  With it's size, complete lack of soccer heritage, and no present infrastructure to begin with... it's puzzling that it was chosen ahead of the USA, Australia, and even Korea and Japan.  Russia winning the 2018 bid is perhaps a bit easier to understand because of its slow rise as a footballing country and potential as a World Cup host.  However, England or even the Spain/Portugal bid seemed like more logical choices than Russia because of similar problems that affect the Qatar bid, namely a lack of infrastructure.  If you don't believe me, then here are the facts...

1) Qatar was the only country assigned a "high risk" operation.  Russia was the only country assigned as a "medium risk."  Every other country that applied for 2018 or 2022 was deemed low risk.

2) Russia and Qatar were the only 2 countries to receive a "medium risk" declaration in the areas of Stadium Construction and Stadium Operations.  The USA was the only "low risk" country in both these areas.

3) Qatar was the only country to have "high risk" team facilities, while Russia was the only country with a "high risk" for transport in airports and international connections.  Again, the USA was low risk in both areas as was England.  Qatar was given the worst marks for transport, accommodations, and TV access. 

4) Russia and Qatar have the highest building costs of any countries, each needing over 3 BILLION DOLLARS worth of new stadium and construction renovation, not to mention the work that needs done to improve infrastructure elsewhere.

You know who discovered these facts.... FIFA!!!!!

FIFA!!!

Again... FIIIIIFFFAAA!!!!

What's the freaking point of this toilet paper technical report if all the executive committee is going to do is wipe their fat, oil soaked rectums with it and ignore their own findings.

Here's some more info about the winning Russian bid from the worthless technical report...

"The country's vastness and its remoteness from other countries, coupled with the fact that the high-speed railway network is limited and would only link six candidate Host Cities by 2018...  any delay in the completion of the transport projects could impact on FIFA's tournament operations and the proposed installation of temporary facilities could impose a high cost burden." 

Hmm, notice that phrase in bold italics?  Yes, THE F'N TOURNAMENT MIGHT NOT WORK OUT HERE, but screw it, Putin + Oil = Win!

Here's the golden quote from the Qatar recap...

"Nevertheless, the fact that ten out of the 12 stadiums are located within a 25-30km radius could represent an operational and logistical challenge.  Any delay in the completion of the transport projects could impact FIFA's tournament operations.  Moreover, it appears to be difficult to test a transport concept prior to the event under conditions comparable to the FIFA World Cup."

So, in Qatar, not only could the tournament be in jeopardy... but there's no way to find out whether this thing will work or not until the World Cup even starts!!  Oh, and don't worry about the excessively hot temperatures, by 2022 we'll all be somehow able to cope with 120 degree temperatures on a regular basis.  When players and fans start to collapse and possibly die due to heat exhaustion in Qatar, then maybe the questions will be asked by FIFA.  In case you have no idea where Qatar is, it's that little growth off of Saudi Arabia in the box below.  Yes, we need a box to tell you where it is...



So, in conclusion, Qatar has no business hosting the thing and Russia is an obviously inferior bid to the English and even Spanish/Portugese competitors for the 2018 Cup.  Sepp Blatter and his cartel cohorts at FIFA get a win-win though by denying England and the USA and awarding the cups to Russia and Qatar.  Blatter gets to add to his own personal "legacy" by supposedly growing the game of soccer across the world while likely padding his own pocketbook along with the rest of FIFA's cartel members.

If you don't equate oil and money with World Cup bid in this, you're as naive as Cam Newton.  I know the logical argument, doesn't a World Cup in England and the USA project more ticket sales, TV revenue, and overall profitability?  Doesn't a 2026 WC in China present similar opportunities?  Yes, of course... but, it doesn't line the pocketbooks of FIFA's cartel today.  FIFA will claim a higher purpose in taking the World Cup to Russia and especially the Middle East.  Supposedly the World Cup being in Qatar will help unite the region, end the Israeli-Palestine conflict, cure global warming, and bring about world peace.  Bull$h*#.  When reputable soccer writers like SI's Grant Wahl are tweeting this, it's not a good sign for the reputability of your organization:

Choosing Qatar and Russia is the biggest indictment possible that FIFA is not a clean organization. Petrodollars talk.

RT @

Today is just another day for corruption and dishonesty in sport.  Hopefully the truth comes out about what really happened and FIFA can be exposed for what they really are.  What FIFA should have done is save countries like the USA and England and Australia and Holland time and money by just acknowledging from the beginning that they're taking the money and kickbacks while claiming some sort of higher purpose.  The whole thing makes me sick. [randallsimonsausages2] no comments

No one likes them and certainly don't want to sit near them, but no team can survive without them

In hockey, there is usually an enforcer on every team who is responsible for taking up for his team mates by hitting hard with the body and when needed, the fists.

Not everyone likes it, but knowing a team has an enforcer who will gladly take on the role of the a-hole does add a bit of respect to the game at hand. A "don't mess with us and we won't mess with me" sort of feel.  [guysgirl]

But just as hockey has enforcers, football has its pass rusher and basketball has its 7ft defender the fans in the stands also need to take up a "this is our family/team" in regards to fellow fans.

A while back, I wrote about my first trip to a Redsox/Yankee game, in Yankee stadium where a friend and I were literally tormented  for wearing Redsox shirts. I probably made the situation worse for myself by running my mouth when the Sox have a 10-3 lead but the Yankee fans were absolutely ruthless yelling obscenities over and over again to the point I was told to sit on my hands by my friend in order to avoid hitting this person.

I can now say without a doubt, that any future Redsox/Yankee games I attend, they will be in Fenway park. It was at this moment that it became clear, the Yankee fans set out and ultimately accomplished a goal, getting the opposing team's fans to regret showing up in their stadium.

This is exactly why every team needs a-hole fans to attend their games.

Hit the title/read more to see why we need more a-hole fans in sports...

A few months ago, Rays pitcher David Price learned the hard way the power of Twitter when he made a comment about the lack of Tampa area fan support at a home game. A game that could have decided the AL East division winner.

Fans and the media jumped all over Price for stating the obvious, but its no secret that athletes thrive on home town support and its impossible for the players to feel confident at home when 25% of the fans showing up are cheering for the opposite team. I firmly believe the Rays would have played better had they had the same support of their fanbase as the Redsox/Yankee fans do.

But how do you get these away-team fans from entering and taking over "your house"?

Well, for one you get the hometown team to buy tickets but you also embrace the idea of "this is our house and we are going to protect it".

You need those guys in the stands who have might have had a little too much to drink yelling a cute little away team couple. He should be shouting to girlfriend, making her feel uncomfortable enough that they are forced to leave.

You should be able to get the home crowd to cheer louder than the group of college guys who drove 9 hours to see a Steelers game. And perhaps get one of your loud mouth friends to rattle the opposing fans to the point where you can have security escort them out because you ticked him off. 

Like it or not, this kind of hazing does induce a sort of team pride mentality in that you are protecting something as important to you as family. You need that a-hole to be your team's enforcer.

Of course there are always exceptions to the rule that cross the line such as yelling at children or throwing items of any kind at any fan. There are lines that should not be crossed, but the mental game is where anything goes.

All in all, if you look at the more passionate fan bases, Phillies, Yankees, Redsox, Steelers etc..they all have something called a championship in common.

Is it because of the a-hole fans?

Probably not, but they have a role to play and its needed in every single sports venue in order for that franchise to survive.

[guysgirl2] no comments

Besides the below video, I've compiled all sorts of links for you for one of the most anticipated fights of 2010, Saturday's rematch between middleweight champion Sergio Martinez and Paul Williams: a weird training video for Williams; Ring Life, featuring both men; assorted feature articles of high quality; what other boxing blogs are sayin'; and a link-based rant about how everyone needs to relax about catchweights. Among others links and vids.

First, TQBR-related stuff. My preview and prediction is here. Paul Kelly argued on this site for the winner of Williams-Martinez II as the best opponent for Manny Pacquiao (but Yahoo's Kevin Iole doesn't like the idea). I also wrote a feature on Williams' last day of camp for The Sweet Science. Don't forget: We'll do a live blog Saturday if the setup allows. [queensberryrules]

The Boxing Bulletin does a roundtable here. In other parts of the bloggy world, BLH and TCS also have previews.

Most of The Boxing Bulletin folk come down pretty hard on the catchweight issue, but the reasoning I can see from them is... "because it's a catchweight." They aren't alone. I still haven't seen a strong argument for why the catchweight is so bad, even though the sentiment is widespread. I'm not saying I support it, but it's not that bad. I've seen some people say that because it's a title fight, it shouldn't be for a catchweight, but I don't remember people being as upset about Pacquiao's catchweight title fight with Antonio Margarito just last weekend. Maybe that's because there were more pressing controversies to discuss, but I've also heard that Williams-Martinez II is different because it's for a lineal belt, or because it's somehow a new thing. It's not. Pernell Whitaker and Julio Cesar Chavez fought for Whitaker's lineal welterweight claim at 145 pounds. Oscar De La Hoya fought Bernard Hopkins for Hopkins' lineal middleweight championship at 158 pounds. Lightweight champion Joe Gans and welterweight champion Joe Walcott fought at a catchweight. Lightweight champion Lew Jenkins and welterweight champion Henry Armstrong fought at a catchweight. Welterweight champion Emile Griffith fought Dave Charnley at a catchweight (although it was a "non-title" bout).

In other words, some of the best fighters in the history of the sport have fought for lineal championships at catchweights, and dating back to the early 1900s. Not new. And they've done it for any variety of reasons. (For those saying, "But Williams had fought at 160 before, some of those other guys were moving up in weight." Williams, despite his height and length, is the far smaller fighter of these two. Martinez apparently walks around at 200 pounds. Williams would have to go on an eating binge to get above 168. It's one of the reasons why Williams has been retreating downward in weight following the first Martinez close call.) Even Martinez' people are complaining about the catchweight, but guess what? They were OFFERING catchweight bouts for their lineal championship just a couple months ago, and at 155 pounds for God's sake!

This is not anything to get too upset about. It's two pounds. It's not unprecedented. The reasoning by the Williams team is no worse than the reasoning for any other catchweight bouts. The Martinez team, despite its protests, has no philosophical objection to catchweight bouts. Let's get over this, please.

Here's a video of Williams training in a strange fashion. (Promoter Goossen-Tutor has gone very digital for this fight, and you should check out their video catalog here.)

You can check out Ring Life for both men for a look at them outside the ring. HBO also has compiled the greatest hits of Williams and Martinez. They also have some other videos worth checking out.

Here are some features on Ring's website that are good. Here's Dan Rafael's good take. Here are some predictions from other fighters and famous people and such about who will win the fight.

Lastly, here's a link that you can follow through for the entirety of the first fight, which speaks for itself. [queensberryrules2]

no comments

After much number crunching, we are ready to release our 2010 UFC salary database.  We've compiled and totaled up the reported salaries for all the 200+ fighters that have stepped into the Octagon in 2010 to determine who the princes and the paupers of the UFC world are.

So you want to be a fighter?  Then prepare to make peanuts.  While the average UFC fighter has earned around $100000 so far this year, 26 of them have made less than $10000.  So, while life is good if your name is Michael Bisping, times are a little tougher if you're Ricardo Funch, who is last on the list with a salary of $5000. [mmamanifesto]

 

It is worth noting that these are only the reported salaries plus Fight of the Night, Knockout of the Night and Submission of the Night bonuses that have been made public.  Many top performing fighters get additional bonuses paid out to them that aren't reported, plus the top guys get a cut of the pay-per-view buys for events that they headline (not to mention every fighter makes sponsorship money).  Also, many athletic commissions don't report fighter's salary info, so for those we've estimated a fighter's purse based on what they have earned in their other recent fighters.  Fighters with some estimated purses are mark with a * in the database.  This data should still be considered very close to accurate, as most fighters' purses remain rather steady from fight to fight (unless they ink a new contract in the meantime).

So, without further ado, here's the salary of each UFC fighter for 2010 (updated after UFC 122):

Top 10 UFC Fighter Salaries

1	Michael Bisping*	$     885,000
2	Brock Lesnar	$     875,000
3	Rashad Evans	$     785,000
4	Anderson Silva *	$     520,000
5	Chuck Liddell	$     500,000
5	James Toney	$     500,000
5	Randy Couture	$     500,000
8	Matt Hughes*	$     460,000
8	Mirko Cro Cop*	$     460,000
10	Georges St-Pierre *	$     400,000
10	Wanderlei Silva*	$     400,000

Fighter Salaries Ranked Alphabetically by First Name

	Total
Aaron Riley	$      20,000
Aaron Simpson	$      65,000
Alan Belcher *	$     103,000
Alessio Sakara	$      42,000
Alexandre Ferreira*	$        8,000
Alesander Gustafsson*	$      18,000
Amilcar Alves	$        6,000
Amir Sadollah*	$      75,000
Anderson Silva *	$     520,000
Andre Winner *	$      40,000
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira *	$     250,000
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira*	$     245,000
Anthony Perosh*	$        6,000
B.J. Penn *	$     300,000
Ben Rothwell	$     100,000
Ben Saunders *	$      24,000
Brad Blackburn *	$      26,000
Brad Tavares	$      16,000
Brandon Vera	$      60,000
Brendan Schaub	$      60,000
Brian Foster *	$      58,000
Brian Stann	$      91,000
Brock Lesnar	$     875,000
C.B. Dollaway *	$     106,000
Cain Velasquez *	$     390,000
Caol Uno *	$      40,000
Carlos Condit*	$     249,000
Carlos Eduardo Rocha*	$        8,000
Carlos Vemola*	$      84,000
Chael Sonnen	$     219,000
Charles Oliveira*	$     104,000
Charlie Brenneman*	$      24,000
Chase Gormley	$      10,000
Cheick Kongo*	$     165,000
Chris Camozzi	$      32,000
Chris Leben	$     316,000
Chris Lytle *	$     206,000
Chris Tuchscherer	$      32,000
Christian Morecraft	$        6,000
Chuck Liddell	$     500,000
Claude Patrick*	$      24,000
Clay Guida	$     156,000
Cole Miller*	$     138,000
Court McGee	$      71,000
Cyrille Diabate*	$      18,000
DaMarques Johnson *	$     105,000
Dan Lauzon	$      30,000
Dan Miller	$      60,000
Daniel Roberts	$     104,000
Darren Elkins	$      20,000
Dave Branch*	$      18,000
David Loiseau	$      12,000
Demian Maia *	$     164,000
Dennis Hallman	$      30,000
Dennis Siver *	$     175,000
Diego Sanchez	$     220,000
Dong Hyun Kim	$      64,000
Dong Yi Yang	$        8,000
Duane Ludwig*	$      48,000
Dustin Hazelett	$      37,800
Efrain Escudero	$      60,000
Elliot Marshall	$      10,000
Eric Shaefer	$      13,000
Evan Dunham*	$     157,000
Fabricio Camoes *	$      10,000
Forrest Petz*	$      12,000
Frank Mir *	$     135,000
Frank Trigg	$      30,000
Frankie Edgar *	$     192,000
Gabe Ruediger	$        8,000
Gabriel Gonzaga	$     134,000
George Sotiropoulos *	$      98,000
Georges St-Pierre *	$     400,000
Gerald Harris *	$     157,000
Gilbert Yvel	$      90,000
Gleison Tibau *	$      57,000
Goran Reljic *	$      15,000
Gray Maynard	$      86,000
Greg Soto	$      12,000
Igor Pokrajac*	$      18,000
Jacob Volkmann *	$      38,000
Jake Ellenberger	$      44,000
Jake Shields	$     150,000
James Hammortree	$        8,000
James Irvin	$      40,000
James McSweeney*	$      16,000
James Te-Huna*	$      12,000
James Toney	$     500,000
James Wilks*	$      45,000
Jamie Yager	$        8,000
Jared Hamman*	$     105,000
Jason Brilz	$      94,000
Jason MacDonald *	$      26,000
Jay Silva	$        6,000
Jeremy Stephens *	$      95,000
Jesse Forbes	$      12,000
Jesse Lennox	$      14,000
Jim Miller*	$      90,000
Joe Brammer	$        5,000
Joe Lauzon	$     146,000
Joe Stevenson *	$      97,000
Joey Beltran *	$     100,000
John Gunderson*	$      29,000
John Hathaway*	$      33,000
John Howard	$      91,000
John Salter *	$      30,000
Johny Hendricks*	$      80,000
Jon Fitch *	$     228,000
Jon Jones	$     136,000
Jon Madsen *	$      48,000
Jorge Rivera *	$      36,000
Josh Bryant	$        8,000
Josh Koscheck *	$     106,000
Julio Paulino*	$      12,000
Junior dos Santos	$     260,000
Justin Bucholz	$        8,000
Keith Jardine *	$     135,000
Kendall Grove *	$     150,000
Kenny Florian *	$     225,000
Kimbo Slice *	$      25,000
Kris McCray*	$      16,000
Krzysztof Soszynski *	$     125,000
Kurt Pellegrino *	$     140,000
Kyle Bradley	$        8,000
Kyle Kingsbury*	$      56,000
Kyle Noke*	$      32,000
Luiz Cane	$      19,000
Lyoto Machida	$     200,000
Mac Danzig	$      64,000
Marcus Davis	$     145,000
Mario Miranda	$      26,000
Mark Bocek*	$      15,000
Mark Coleman	$      60,000
Mark Holst*	$      12,000
Mark Munoz*	$     161,000
Martin Kampmann	$     123,000
Mark Scanlon*	$      68,000
Matt Brown*	$      20,000
Matt Hamill	$     135,000
Matt Hughes*	$     460,000
Matt Mitrione*	$     102,000
Matt Serra*	$     300,000
Matt Veach*	$        5,000
Matt Wiman	$      28,000
Matthew Riddle	$      40,000
Mauricio Rua	$     315,000
Melvin Guillard*	$     104,000
Michael Bisping*	$     885,000
Mike Guymon	$      26,000
Mike Massenzio	$      45,000
Mike Pierce	$      40,000
Mike Pyle*	$      93,000
Mike Russow	$      89,000
Mike Swick	$      43,000
Mirko Cro Cop*	$     460,000
Mustafa Al Turk*	$        7,000
Nate Diaz*	$     192,000
Nate Marquardt*	$     240,000
Nate Quarry*	$      30,000
Nick Catone	$      14,000
Nick Osipczak*	$      30,000
Nik Lentz*	$      51,000
Pascal Krauss*	$      76,000
Pat Barry	$      11,000
Patrick Cote*	$      42,000
Paul Buentello	$      40,000
Paul Daley*	$     102,200
Paul Kelly*	$      51,000
Paul Sass*	$      72,000
Paul Taylor	$      16,000
Paulo Thiago	$     196,000
Peter Sobotta*	$        8,000
Phil Davis*	$      38,000
Phillipe Nover	$      10,000
Rafael dos Anjos*	$     119,000
Rafaello Oliveira*	$      30,000
Rampage Jackson	$     250,000
Randy Couture	$     500,000
Rashad Evans	$     785,000
Ricardo Almeida*	$     105,000
Ricardo Funch	$        5,000
Ricardo Romero	$      16,000
Rich Antonito	$      32,000
Rich Franklin	$     225,000
Rick Story*	$      42,000
Rob Emerson*	$      36,000
Rob Kimmons*	$      27,000
Rodney Wallace*	$      77,000
Rolles Gracie	$      15,000
Ronys Torres*	$        8,000
Rory MacDonald	$     105,000
Rory Markham*	$        6,000
Ross Pearson*	$      54,000
Rousimar Palhares*	$      21,000
Roy Nelson*	$      75,000
Ryan Bader*	$      60,000
Ryan Jensen	$      97,000
Sam Stout*	$     183,000
Sean Sherk*	$     150,000
Seth Baczynski	$        8,000
Seth Petruzelli*	$      20,000
Shane Carwin*	$     185,000
Shannon Gugerty	$        9,000
Spencer Fisher*	$      78,000
Stefan Struve*	$     105,000
Stephan Bonner*	$     150,000
Steve Steinbeiss	$        6,000
Takanori Gomi*	$     160,000
Terry Etim*	$      10,000
Thiago Alves	$      48,000
Thiago Silva	$      55,000
Thiago Tavares*	$      45,000
Tim Boetsch	$      32,000
Tim Hague*	$      14,000
Tito Ortiz	$     250,000
TJ Grant*	$      15,000
Todd Brown	$        6,000
Todd Duffee	$        8,000
Tom Lawlor*	$      70,000
Tomasz Drwal*	$      17,200
Travis Browne*	$      18,000
Tyson Griffin	$      58,000
Vladimir Matyushenko*	$     149,000
Wanderlei Silva*	$     400,000
Waylon Lowe*	$      18,000
Yoshihiro Akiyama*	$     225,000
Yoshiyuki Yoshida*	$        8,000
Yushin Okami*	$     128,000
Yves Edwards*	$      16,000
Total	$23,007,200
Average	$     100,468

[mmamanifesto2] no comments

Who’s next? [queensberryrules]

That was the question surrounding Manny Pacquiao for many boxing fans Saturday night before the epinephrine-soaked cotton ball even coagulated the blood dripping from the deep gash under Antonio Margarito’s eye in their one-sided, yet entertaining, bout at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.

Pacquiao had reached even thinner air of boxing greatness with his demolition of Margarito, who entered the ring with a 4 ½-inch height advantage, a 6-inch reach advantage and a 17-pound weight advantage.

So as Manny continues to scale the peaks of boxing implausibility, what fight would be his Everest? What would secure his legacy alongside Henry Armstrong and Sugar Ray Robinson as one of the three greatest pound-for-pound fighters to step between the ropes and into the ring?

Most boxing fans and all of the general public would say Floyd Mayweather Jr. And they would be wrong.

There’s no question that Pacquiao-Mayweather is a salivating matchup. It would capture the imagination of all boxing fans. It would revive the sport with mainstream sports and entertainment media, especially due to the enmity between the two camps over drug testing in their lurch-halt negotiations over the last year. It could land a boxer back on the cover of Sports Illustrated, of the American edition of Time or Newsweek, for the first time in quite some time.

It would earn both fighters probably north of $30 million each. It would spin Bob Arum’s net worth upward the week after the fight like whirring slot machine dials. It would break all pay-per-view records.

And there’s also a good chance it would be a lousy fight.

There’s no way Pacquiao could attack Mayweather in the same crowd-pleasing, rapid-fire fashion that he did Margarito last Saturday night. Margarito is as easy to hit as a frozen lamp post in January, even for slower fighters. Mayweather ranks right with Pernell Whitaker as the best defensive fighter of the last 25 years, and sometimes Willie Pep comparisons even are whispered around Mayweather.

And everyone knows Money would use the same defense-first, counterpunching style that has kept his record and face unblemished. Not exactly a thrill show for the masses, not exactly the Velcro that boxing needs to get new or disenfranchised fans to stick with the sport.

But a fight between Pacquiao and the winner of this Saturday’s Williams-Martinez rematch is exactly the fight for which boxing fans should clamor. Hope for. Pray for. Beg for.

It could be the most interesting fight in a long, long time, one that if marketed and promoted properly could appeal to the masses. And that bout also is better for the long-term health of boxing than a Pacquiao-Mayweather matchup.

What’s not to like about this fight? Nothing.

First, I would think Bob Arum, Freddie Roach and Pacquiao probably would want some sort of catchweight to fight for Williams’ or Martinez’s middleweight belt. Probably around 155 or 156.

Pacquiao probably wouldn’t bulk up to much more than 148 or 150. He weighed in at 144.6 to face Margarito and still destroyed him with speed and power.

So once again, there’s a good chance that Pacquiao would face a foe who outweighed him by 15 pounds on fight night and was 6 ½ (Williams) or 4 ½ inches (Martinez) taller. And I think Pacquiao still would jump at that fight, as he seemed sincerely impressed after the Margarito fight that he was able to corral and manhandle such a larger man in that Dallas ring.

A victory over Williams or Martinez not only would give Pacquiao a world title belt in a record ninth weight class, but it would cement his legacy along with Armstrong and Robinson as one of the three greatest pound-for-pound fighters who ever lived. This isn’t just about Canastota – this would be about global immortality.

Pacquiao will have beaten a bigger, stronger man with much more speed than Margarito for a ninth belt. That sure as hell holds a lot more cachet than beating Mayweather at 147.

A victory by Pacquiao over Williams or Martinez also would widen the opinion gap between Pacman and Mayweather. Whether it’s fair or not, Money is seen by many as someone for whom protecting the zero at the end of his record is more important than taking on all of the best fighters in his weight class.

Meanwhile, Manny will have jumped six classes in 3 ½ years, assuming the fight takes place late next spring. And if his opponent is Williams, he will have taken on the current “most avoided fighter in the world” because of The Punisher’s freakish combination of size, reach and speed.

Game, set. match, Pacquiao in the court of public opinion over Mayweather if he wins this fight.

The sheer physical difference between Pacquiao and either Martinez or Williams – especially Tall Paul – could be a great promotional tool. Can you imagine the staredown at the pre-fight press conference and weigh-in between Williams and Pacquiao? Manny would barely reach Williams’ chin. It would look like Herve Villechaize lined up next to Yao Ming.

Plus this is a legitimate test for Pacquiao. Both Williams and Martinez are valid top-10 pound-for-pounders in the world. Unlike the sticky line of sliced baloney tossed around by Top Rank officials and HBO announcers before the Margarito fight, this could be the toughest physical test of Pacman’s career. Not only are Williams and Martinez bigger, but they also have enough speed to avoid being a stationary target for Manny’s incredible combinations from all angles.

Both Williams and Martinez also have significant traits that could pose problems for Pacquiao. The sheer volume of Williams’ standard 100-punch-per-round onslaught could blunt Pacquiao’s approaches and combinations, and Martinez proved in the first bout against Williams that he has a strong ability to change tactics mid-fight, a skill that Margarito lacks and that anyone who wants to beat Pacquiao will need to summon at some point during the fight.

Williams and Martinez both are southpaws, and that throws in another element of mystery. Pacquiao has faced just one left-hander since 2005, David Diaz, whom Manny disposed of in nine rounds. But Williams and Martinez both are better fighters than Diaz.

Williams and Martinez also have good stories to sell out of the ring. Williams is an American who has a long, interesting relationship with trainer George Peterson all the way back to Williams’ childhood in Aiken, S.C. Williams has charisma, a 100-watt smile and could be the likeable subject of four segments of “24/7" -- someone we haven’t seen before.

Martinez’s story is fascinating. He didn’t start boxing until 15 years ago, at age 20, after participating in elite-level cycling and soccer. Plus Martinez has the chisled, matinee-idol looks that could attract many female fans. This could be the fight your wives and girlfriends want to see.

A fight between Pacquiao and the winner of Martinez-Williams II also would be the best for the growth of the sport of boxing, long term.

Sure, a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight would be a short-term bonanza for the sport. Huge pay-per-view buys. Huge mainstream media attention. The two most well-known names in the sport getting it on.

But much like a sugar rush or the woozy buzz felt after guzzling a funnel of beer at a college keg party, that phenomenon would wear off soon.

Unless a rematch clause was included in the contract, there’s a very good chance that a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight could be the last for both men.

If Money wins, his record remains perfect, he pockets another 40 million slices of cheddar, and he has nothing left to prove. Any subsequent fight – unless it was a Pacquiao rematch – would have nowhere near the star power, as it probably would be a mismatch. I can’t see Mayweather risking his unbeaten record to take on Williams at 147 or 154. It’s not Floyd’s style this late in his career; cash and carry is.

If Manny wins, he claims the most prestigious scalp of his career and can return to The Philippines to concentrate full time on his job as a congressman, probably with an eye on the presidency of the nation. He sees politics as his biggest calling in the future, and that future would become the present if Pacman beat Mayweather.

So the public would be jazzed by seeing a Pacquiao-Mayweather megafight, with some watching their first fight since the early days of Mike Tyson’s reign of terror. And then both guys probably will retire, if not on the spot then probably one fight later. How is that tease good for the growth of the sport?

But if Martinez or Williams could beat Pacquiao, boxing will have its next world superstar. It would have the guy who finally found Kryptonite for Supermanny. Williams is only 29, so he would have four or five years to rake in megabucks and spawn even more fans. Martinez is 35, but he seems to have fewer miles on his chassis than fighters of comparable age because of his incredible fitness. So it’s conceivable he could fight at a high level for the next three or four years.

And if Pacquiao beats Martinez or Williams, his popularity and respect will reach Sputnik-like heights. And then he can take on Mayweather in a bout in November 2011 that Bob Arum can call “Blood Feud.”

But the best next fight for Manny Pacquiao – and for the sport of boxing – is against either The Punisher or Maravilla. Money can wait. [queensberryrules2]

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The fight went basically how I expected, and as most did: Antonio Margarito was anywhere from a 6-1 to 4-1 underdog, and he lost almost every single round on the scorecards. But that doesn't take away from the exquisite execution of the expected execution. For Pacquiao's first fight, he weighed 106 pounds, and that was reportedly with stones in his pockets. He weighed 148 pounds Saturday. Margarito weighed 165. Differentials in weight like that have happened before and the smaller man has won, but it's still remarkable for a junior flyweight-to-welterweight to beat up a super middleweight as badly as Pacquiao beat up Margarito. [queensberryrules]

Some other observations:

• On re-watching the bout, it was a bit more competitive than it looked to me last night. Pacquiao said that he was lucky to survive the 6th round because of a big body shot Margarito landed, and said some of Margarito's uppercuts hurt him. (Let's just get this out of the way: I was drunk last night, and a bit worked up, to say the least. This fight has been the most polarizing event I've written about since I started writing about boxing. As a result of my criticisms of the bout, and related feuding, I've been called a crybaby, a whiner, sanctimonious, hypocritical, and so forth. So when the fight proved as one-sided as I predicted, I reacted emotionally, not rationally; personally, not professionally. I ain't proud of it and I apologize. I think I'm seeing more clearly today, and I hope you can write this off as a one-time outburst rather than think my credibility permanently damaged. You're entitled if you do, but I hope my regret -- and reconsideration of positions I took last night -- suggest I am indeed looking at this in a clear-eyed fashion now.)
• Speed was the major difference between these two, but Pacquiao also threw more, landed more, was more accurate -- more than 400 power punch connects? ouch -- and was just better in every way except size. Better offensively, better defensively, better better better. Jim Lampley said Pacquiao is the best offensive fighter he's ever seen, and you know, it's not an overstatement. And really, Pacquiao opted to make it harder than he had to, as we thought he might. He decided to trade more and move less than he could've. And he did it after his worst training camp ever. The guy loves fighting, and for all my misgivings about the Margarito match-up, it takes the sting out of it some to have watched such a transcendent fighter work his magic.
• Friend of the site JasonTO raised a fair objection to my increased suspicion of whether Margarito was a career-long cheater in light of this performance. Would even the "old" Margarito, pre-glove loading bust, have stood a chance against Pacquiao? And I think the answer is, probably not. But I think he might have done better. Stylistically, a fast fighter is the worst thing for Margarito. But he fought differently than the old Margarito, focusing so much on the jab. And volume-wise, Margarito got completely outworked. Paul Williams once outworked Margarito, but Margarito did a lot more work overall in that fight than in this one. This Margarito wasn't the old one in his approach, the guy who threw insane numbers of power punches, and maybe that version would have had a better chance of stopping Pacquiao. What this Margarito brought was, first and foremost, size; Pacquiao might have faced some competition from any super middleweight. He also brought determination and a great chin. He didn't seem to bring much power. It's the third consecutive fight where his power appeared absent. So I think there are a few theories one could put forward. 1. The likelihood increases that Margarito probably cheated more than the once he got caught against Shane Mosley. That's my theory, and I admit it's only a theory. It's one that has a fair amount of anecdotal evidence in support of it, but there's no direct proof and I recognize that. 2. Margarito was badly diminished by the punishment he took in his win over Miguel Cotto. Also totally plausible. 3. Margarito's new style doesn't accumulate punishment like his old style. But even then Margarito showed more power on his shots pre-Mosley, to my eye. 4. Pacquiao was just so awesome that it didn't matter. Pacquiao has a tremendous chin, so maybe that somehow made Margarito's power seem less than it was. Also plausible, but I would ask you this: Did Margarito look like he would have hurt any of the top men at 154? Would you have picked Margarito to beat Alfredo Angulo last night? Williams, in a rematch? Sergio Martinez, in a rematch? Cotto, in a rematch? Even Kermit Cintron, in a rematch? I wouldn't have. Against someone of any ability close to his size, I think Margarito loses just the same last night.
• As much as I'm not a fan of Margarito, I can't enjoy any fighter taking an unnecessarily prolonged beating like that. Referee Laurence Cole should have stopped it, but the one thing you can count on from Cole is making the wrong call. And trainer Robert Garcia evidently doesn't understand his job, either. He said, hey, Tony's a warrior, I wasn't not going to do that to him. I hear trainers say this kind of thing a lot. It is wrong-headed beyond belief. When you're fighter's a warrior, that's exactly the time when you have to be prepared to pull the plug. If the guy wasn't a warrior, he'd quit on his own. Margarito was competitive in the fight, but by the 10th round he wasn't. You did him no favors by letting him finish. He went the hospital for precautionary reasons, but I haven't heard about it being anything worse than that. Still, better safe than sorry on that kind of thing.
• The announced attendance for the fight was 41,000, far below what was predicted by promoter Bob Arum -- 70,000 -- and less even than the announced attendance for Pacquiao's fight with Joshua Clottey. This is mystifying. Margarito should have been more of a draw than Clottey, right? I can think of a couple explanations. Maybe Margarito's antics were even more of a turn-off than I expected, but I doubt it. I still expect the bout to do strong pay-per-view numbers. Maybe Dallas was too depressed by the Cowboys to want to visit the home of their sad team, but that doesn't explain everything. Maybe the novelty of a big fight at Cowboys Stadium had worn off, and that sounds reasonable. Or maybe boxing has lost momentum as 2010 has gone on. Or were the tickets just more expensive this time? I find this curious.
• Pacquiao intends to keep fighting, and I couldn't be any happier. Top Rank's Bob Arum says the first target is Floyd Mayweather, but Mayweather is a mess right now -- legal trouble, disinterest in boxing, etc. Mainly, I believe Mayweather doesn't think he can beat Pacquiao, and I agree with him. If you're Mayweather and you watch last night, do you think you have a better chance of beating him than before? You shouldn't. I don't think this fight will ever happen, and it's all Mayweather's fault, shamefully. Shane Mosley is another option, and it wouldn't be my first choice. Honestly, I don't think Pacquiao should fight above welterweight -- he probably should stick to junior welterweight. That makes Juan Manuel Marquez an option, or the winner of the Timothy Bradley-Devon Alexander/Amir Khan-Marcos Maidana round robin, albeit probably later in the year for that. Outside of Mayweather, there's just nobody all that compelling at 147 for Pacquiao. There's good news in Arum's declaration that Pacquiao's next opponent probably won't be from Top Rank, which rules out a Cotto rematch or the likes of Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., thankfully. But don't expect anyone to compete with Pacquiao. Not at this rate.

[queensberryrules2] no comments

It was not to be a competitive fight. The bettors knew it. Most boxing fans knew it. Manny Pacquiao won every single round of his fight with Margarito, and only Pacquiao's mercy prevented him from knocking out Margarito. It was at 150, a weight far from Pacquiao's ideal, and yet he was so much better than Margarito that only the referee's crazy compassion for Margarito's chances kept this fight from being stopped. [queensberryrules]

I'll have more to say tomorrow, but that's the gist. Margarito had no chance and HBO 24/7 is to be commended for making this seem competitive. It wasn't. You'd have to be generous for giving Margarito a round. He wasn't his "old self" and nowhere close to it. He got pasted every round from 1 to 12. That's it.

Pacquiao got hit some, but so what? It never seemed to bother him, because Margarito's career is -- most likely -- a fraud. If it wasn't a fraud, I don't know why you'd think that. There's no direct evidence of fraudulence, but his last three performances weren't encouraging. Floyd Mayweather is waiting, like a vulture, for Pacquiao to show some vulnerability. He didn't. That's all for now. More tomorrow. [queensberryrules2]

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(Cheerleader cheerleader Manny Pacquiao cheerleader Antonio Margarito cheerleader cheerleader. Credit: Chris Farina, Top Rank)

So continues our marathon coverage of one of the biggest fights of 2010, Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito on Nov. 13. Before: the debate over purchasing the pay-per-view; the stakes of the bout; and keys to the fight, part I and II. Next: the rest of the weekend schedule, including the Pacquiao-Margarito undercard.

With so much wrong about boxing on display from the moment Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito signed to fight one another, with so much polarizing about this match-up to fans, you wouldn’t think it could get any worse in the days leading up to the bout, but it has. The failed attempt by Pacquiao to lure Floyd Mayweather into the ring, the Margarito glove-loading scandal, the more qualified opponents passed over so Top Rank could keep the bout in house… then, days ago, came the video that surfaced of Margarito’s camp mocking Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach for having Parkinson’s disease. [queensberryrules]

There are fans who are looking forward to this bout, because it features the biggest and best fighter in the world, among other reasons. But there are others, such as myself, who just want Saturday to come and go already. Then the next weekend comes a fight that isn’t polarizing at all and shows so much that’s right about boxing: Paul Williams’ rematch with middleweight champion Sergio Martinez.

But Saturday hasn’t come and gone yet, so we don’t know the ending to this saga so brimming with negativity. We can only try to imagine.

There are certain simple things about Pacquiao-Margarito. Pacquiao is going to be faster, gobs and gobs faster, light years faster, all kinds of faster. Margarito is going to be bigger, much bigger, maybe as much as 20 pounds bigger after weighing in Friday at 150 lbs., and definitely taller and longer. Strategically, nothing is certain, but if past and public pronouncement are to be trusted, it should go like this, rather simply: Pacquiao is going to quick-strike, in-out; Margarito is going to try to pressure, smother, wear down.

There are certain complex things about Pacquiao-Margarito. How powerful will each man be, Pacquiao at his new weight and Margarito with all those questions about whether his power was artificial? How will they hold up to each other’s punches, since Margarito is Paquiao’s biggest opponent yet and Margarito’s chin probably not the off-the-charts asset it once was? Will Margarito be more like the grizzly who beat Miguel Cotto, or the declawed bear we’ve seen the two years since? Will a Pacquiao who didn’t train has hard for this fight as previous bouts be vulnerable to defeat? Whose style is worse for the other’s?

I’ve given my take on many of those things already, via keys to the fight parts I and II.

If you’re a Pacquiao fan and you’re worried about your man – a 6-1 or 5-1 favorite with bettors – you have to worry about these scenarios:

1. Pacquiao won’t be able to hurt or otherwise dissuade Margarito from coming forward relentlessly, and Margarito will thereby negate Pacquiao’s speed.
2. Margarito proves he was the monster he was against Cotto and before.
3. Pacquiao’s hit-and-move strategy won’t be effective against a constantly-throwing Margarito, and Pacquiao will be too small to tie up Margarito the way Shane Mosley was able to in the only comprehensive defeat of Margarito’s career.
4. Pacquiao’s early poor training camp will come back to haunt him, and his bad foot isn’t all the way healed, and mentally he’ll be distracted by politics and the unnamed personal issue he raised a couple weeks ago, and maybe for good measure his stomach is a bit sensitive from the ulcer he developed earlier this year while campaigning for Congress.

As good a job as HBO 24/7 has done in making this fight sound competitive, I think Margarito only wins if all four of those scenarios materialize.

So long as Pacquiao can hurt Margarito, he will likely win, even if Margarito is pretty good, even if Pacquiao has to run a little bit, even if Pacquiao is not in top shape. Each of those other things also stand on their own. If Margarito is not the monster he once was, then Pacquiao is too good for him for anything else to matter. So long as Pacquiao can hit and move, he can coast to a decision. So long as Pacquiao is in top form, it doesn’t matter what Margarito does.

It’s my view that Pacquiao – whose power has shown no signs of diminishing as he’s moved up in weight, and who knocks people out with quick, unpredictable blows – will be able to hurt Margarito. Pacquiao’s going to hit Margarito plenty, because Margarito is slow and has no defense, and there’s virtually no chance he’s improved significantly enough not to get hit by Margarito.

It’s my view that Margarito is worse for the wear because of the punishment he took against Cotto and the knockout loss to Mosley, and, yes, maybe because the exposure of his loaded gloves suggest a career built on a foundation of cheating. He might be worse for the wear for other reasons, too: Roach and Pacquiao’s conditioning coach Alex Ariza suspect Margarito has overtrained in a bid to get down to 150, a concern I’d also raised.

It’s my view that while Pacquiao won’t be able to tie up Margarito the way Mosley did, he won’t have to do so. Cotto evaded Margarito for the bulk of their fight, although he took some punishment along the way that later caught up to him. Cotto isn’t anywhere near as fleet-footed as Pacquiao, or as good on defense, or adept at stepping out of harm’s way. Pacquiao’s been caught on the ropes before in his career, but he hasn’t done it in years except when he fought Cotto himself and willingly did so in a show of machismo. He might do the same against Margarito, but if he tastes Margarito’s power and doesn’t like it, he can go back to the quick-strike/in-out gameplan.

It’s my view that the biggest concerns are Pacquiao’s training camp, distractions and health. But it won’t be enough for Margarito to capitalize upon.

It’s possible Margarito makes a battle of it, of course, and there’s an argument or two in his favor that aren’t wildly unconvincing. If he does, and especially if he wins, the people who supported this bout as competitive will crow, and they have every right. Maybe I’ll even be grateful for a competitive bout, because it will reduce the worst suspicions I have about Margarito, suspicions I wish I didn’t have. And everybody roots for great, competitive fights.

But I don’t think this one will be. And I won’t take any consolation in the “Pacquiao will mete out some justice” angle. Margarito will end the year with no worse than the third or fourth biggest paycheck any boxer in 2010 got. A beating is a small price to pay for such a rich reward. Pacquiao gets the stoppage in the 8th.

[TQBR Prediction Game 5.0 starts here and takes us through the end of 2010. Don’t forget to read the rules, but because of the late nature of this post, you have an extension until noon Saturday to make a prediction.]

[queensberryrules2]

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