For Arthur Abraham the world is now his oyster. In defending his middleweight title against  Raul Marquez, Abraham showed that he could get down to 160 and still be effective--so that means he can have a fight that resonates in Europe against one of the other middleweight champs, Felix Sturm.  And, Abraham has many options open if he chooses to go back up to 168. The winner of  the Jermaine Taylor-Jeff Lacy figtht is a possiblilty, he could challenge Mikkel Kessler for his 168 pound title--or maybe talk Joe Calzage into another fight--and make it at 168--where Joe used to be the champ. Whatever he does, Abraham will be one tough guy to beat. He has a granite chin, a superb defense and lots of power. He is a handfull.

    Speaking of Calzage, he was excellent against Roy Jones Jr., getting off the canvas to win.  Jones is well past his prime and incapable of beating A-list fighters. Still, Calzage showed us why he is one of the best fighters of this time and a sure hall of famer. Will he retire as he suggested? I think not. Too many potential big money fights out there for this 36 year old. Will Jones retire? I think not. He is too enamored with the spotlight and his name can produce some kind of meaningful fight for the future.

     The last time Arthur Abraham was scheduled to defend his IBF middleweight crown against Raul Marquez the fight was postponed the very day of the match--allegedly because of an Abraham illness. On Saturday, Nov. 8 we will try again. I will be calling the match, along with Nick Charles,  on pay per view on Saturday afternoon to the United States audience.Check you local cable listings for the time and how to get he pay per view.

     Abraham is the favorite and is fighting in his home country of Germany, but Marquez is full of grit and has a strategy that he hopes will take him to victory. This fight is all about positioning. For Marquez the key is to get inside where he can crowd Abraham and not get hit with Arthur's big right hand. That punch is more effective for Abraham at long range. Getting inside is only part of the battle for Marquez, once there this former junior middleweight champion needs to work effectively.

     For Abraham the biggest challenge may be making the 160 popund limit. He has struggled at that lately, and his future may well be at 168 pounds. But, for now, he needs to make the weight and be able to perform at that weight. Whether he can do that will be one of the questions answered on Saturday. I hope many of you will jopin me on the opay per view telecast of this match.

     Is Marquez a live underdog and can he win? Is Abraham impossible to hurt?  These an other questions play a role. Do you have an opinion. Feel free to express it here.

     Before Saturday night's match with Vic Darchinyan, Cristian Mijares kept making the analogy to  one of Mexico's longest sporting traditions--bullfighting. He, of course would be the matador, and Darchinyan the bull. There was nothing subtle about this, Mijares as much as said that Darchinyan was not a good thinker in the ring and could only win on brute strength and power.  Even his nickname of Raging Bull denoted it, Mijares pointed out.

     I turned out that Mijares was as wrong as many of the pundits who felt that Cristian would easily outbox  Darchinyan. Let no one ever say again that Vic Darchinyan is a one dimensional fighter. On Saturday night he was all about nuance,  skill, and strategy. Well, OK, he mixed in enough power to win by knockout. But in reality this match was won in the first two minutes when Mijares realized quickly how hard Darchinyan would be to hit. He was as surprised by that as Barack Obama would be to lose the electoral votes of Illinois tomorrow.

     Only Vic knew what was coming and he said so over and over again. Of course, Vic is not shy about stating his feelings--and sometimes his feelings go beyond where most think they should. He talks of not just beating fighters, but hurting them badly. That rankles many.  To his credit he was as close to gracious as he ever gets at the post fight press conference (which you can view here on ther ABBC).

     Whatever you think of Darchinyan's brash personality, you cannot deny that he is a much more clever and skilled boxer than most of us ever imagined. His style is a bit unorthodox, but  gets the job done. He was quicker, threw better combinations, and had a better defense than Mijares--all things that most thought virtually impossible before Saturday night.  The world is his oyster and we'll see what new mountains he will conquer.

     The rain Saturday night kept the crowd down, but did not dampen the enthusiasm of those who came--it was Darchinyan who took over that task because most of the crowd was pro-Mijares. The Home Depot is a great venue for boxing, but any time you are outside, the weather can play a roll. Luckily for the fans it stopped raining just before the card started.

     Just a word here about a topic as far from boxing as it gets. The great Studs Terkel died this past week at the age of 96. He was not only a great author and radio host, he was a great citizen. He spent his life working for the common man. If that meant helping a union organize or marching with Dr. Martin Luther King. or blowing the whistle on some politician--Studs was there to do it.  As a native Chicagoan I am proud to be from the same city as Studs. He was one of a kind, and he will be missed.

     The last time Showtime telecast a match from the Home Depot Center it was the third fight  between Isreal Vasquez and Rafael Marquez.  That was a magical night in which two great fighters added even more luster to the first two matches they had together. This Saturday we revisit the Home Depot Center with a match that has the potential to provide many of the same thrills. In a super flyweight title unification match slugger and  sometimes bully Vic Darchinyan battles the superb boxer-puncher Cristian Mijares. It is a match made in heaven--a perfect clash of styles inside the ring and personalities outside it. Darchinyan is all about overpowering opponents while Mijares is about taking them apart with surgical skill.

     This is a match that any boxing fan would like to see. Though neither of these men are "crossover" stars, in the boxing world they are known as excellent fighters, each with their own kind of appeal.  I can't wait to announce this match, it offers many  interesting questions that will be answered on saturday night.

     In addition to calling the fight on Showtime, of course, I will be providing coverage here on the ABBC. We will have weigh-in coverage on Friday and post fight coverage on Saturday night after the match.

     Will Darchinyan's power win the day or will Mijares do what Nonito Donaire did to Vic, pick him apart as he wades in  to land his power shots? Darchinyan's defense against Dimitri Kirilov in his last fight was much improved, but Mijares is a taller, lankier fighter who works from the outside--he has physical gifts that Kirilov did not.  You can see this is an intriguing match-up. Perhaps you have a prediction. Please share it with us on this blog. I'd love to see some opinions.

     I can honestly say that I thought Bernard Hopkins had a chance to win Saturday's fight with Kelly Pavlik. I thought it was possible that he would fight a controlled and clever fight, Pavlik would be too aggressive and walk into some traps and get hit with just enough right hands for Hopkins to get a close and less than exciting decision. But, more than likely, I thought, Pavlik would win. Like so many others, I thought wrong.  Bernard Hopkins gave one of the most surprising performances in recent memory in beating Pavlik. It wasn't just that he threw picture perfect combinations and was a master defender, he also threw more punches in this match than his last two combined. Yes, it was a flat performance by Pavlik, the first of that kind in his career. But, still, take nothing away from the 43 year old Hopkins who is on the verge of becoming the latter day Archie Moore.

     The crowd in the Atlantic City Convention Center, filled with at least half Youngstown residents, was stunned as Hopkins continued to dominate.  In the later rounds they chanted 'B-Hop" to urge on Bernard, finally regaining their senses enough to appreciate the bravura performance in front of them.

     Already we are seeing some boxing pundits do revisionist history on Pavlik, suggesting he was overrated and over hyped in the first place. That's a shame. Only in presidential politics does a loss devalue you as quickly and dramatically as boxing.  Pavlik was not overrated. He is a very good fighter who had a terrible night on his own, and also ran into a fighter who gave a brilliant performance.

    My trip to Atlantic City for the match had an added bonus when I got to host a post fight party at The Blue Martini Lounge at Bally's. On stage I interviewed sportscaster Dave Bontempo, writer and historian Burt Sugar, legendary trainer/manager Angelo Dundee, and great heavyweight Champion Joe Frazier. The evening was put together by Sportzbox, a new branded sports themed venue that will be opening in a Las Vegas casino soon.  It was great fun to pick the brain of these boxing icons. Bally's personnel provided great support and the event  added to a great fight weekend.

     For those of you who are football fans, I still have a few more weeks of hosting ProLine, the football handicapping show that airs every saturday morning  at  I'llwrite more about that match next week.7 a.m. on USA Network. It's a fun and freewheeling show on which the expert panel (not me, I'm just the ringleader), delivers great insights on pro and college football.

     Next week (Nov. 1) I will be handling my usual analyst's duties on Showtime's Broadcast of the Cristian Mijares-Vic Darchinyan match. And, we w ill be covering the weigh-in and postfight press conference for that match right here on the ABBC. Some are suggesting this match could  approach the Isreal Vasquez-Rafael Marquez fights  in terms of excitement. That's a lot to expect, but it is not impossible. Mijares (ultimate boxer-puncher) and Darchinyan (aggressive knockout artist) provide the perfect clash of styles.

     Finally, my thanks to Joe Frazier for taking time to come and visit The Caring Place for those touched by Cancer, in las Vegas. That facility, foundee by my wife Connie and Dr. mary Ann Allison has been providiong those touched by cancer and their families with free non-medical support services for over a year. I am honored to sit on the board of Directors with an extraordinary group of people. Joe graciously came and  signed autographs and met with scores of fans who decended on The Caring Place. The previously mentioned Sportzbox and it's CEO Anthony DiSimone provided a donation to TCP to underwrite the event. Thanks to them for helping this important facility. Of uopu want to know more about The Caring Place or provide any help for its good work, go to www.thecaringplacenv.org.

     I am in Atlantic City, where tonight Kelly Pavlik battles Bernard Hopkins. We hope it will be a battle.  To some degree that is up to Bernard Hopkins.  He is still a brilliant tactician in the ring, but sometimes that does not equate to an exciting fight. Now approaching his mid forties, Bernard ismostly about energy managment in the ring. And, mind you, it is remarkable that he can compete at this level at his age.

     Adding to this is the fact that Pavlik is probably best served by staying on the outside, using his undervalued jab and some right hands and pecking away, without taking too many risks. Can he emotionally get himself to fight that way with his usual big contingent of Youngstown fans rooting madly for him to knock Hopkins out---which would be quite a feat.

     And, tonight I get to have a great treat by doing an appearance at the Blue Martini nightclub at Bally's in which I will present and interview the great heavyweight legend Joe Frazier on stage.. There will also be other boxing and show business celebs on hand, so if you are in the area, come by and visit us. This presentation will start at around 12:45 a.m. tonight. Joe is part of a great new endeavor called Sportzbox, which is a sports fans dream, a great space that will provide Joe as an ambassador to the fans, and give boxing fans a chance to interact with him, as they will tonight, and  it will offer great sports interviews and programming.  This concept, created by Anthony DiSimone, is expected to open soon at a major casino. Also on hand this evening at the Blue Martini will be Dan Grimaldi, famed actor, who had major recurring roles in the Sporanos as Patsy and Philly Parisi, and great comedian Jeff Pirrami, who is well known not only for his stand-up act around the country, but also as one of the roastmasters of the Friars Club. These two men are part of the team of Sportzbox. It should be fun tonight at the Blue Martini, we will all be on hand for our presentation on stage and to meet and greet sports fans.

      What an extraordinary night for Chad Dawson. He showed tremendous boxing skills, great hand speed, and ring savvy in beating Antonio Tarver. The win was made better by the fact that Tarver did not perform badly, just not well enough to beat Dawson on this night. The 39 year old Tarver couldn't deal with the speed of Dawson. And, Chad  won the strategic battle by making Tarver come after him. Normally Tarver is more comfortable as the counter puncher.

     For Dawson this sets up any number of interesting matches including the winner of the Roy Joners-Joe Calzage match or the winner of the Kelly Pavlik-Bernard Hopins match.  There is a rematch clause in the Dawson-Tarver contract, so it is possible that these two men could meet again. Would that prospect be compelling enough for a network like Showtime to buy it, and would the fans want to see it? I'm not sure of the answers to those questions.

     It was fun to present you with live coverage of this fight this weekend on the ABBC, both the weigh-in and pre and post fight coverage.  I hope you enjoyed it. Our goal is to provide boxing fans with that kind of coverage at virtually all major fights. If you have comments on our coverage, feel free to chime in with those.

    Is it me or does it sems like we have been talking about the Antonio Tarver-Cghad Dawson match since Harry Truman was president!!  Well, no, maybe it was only since  Eisenhower. This is an anticipated match for a lot of reasons.   I know Dawson has been installed as the favorite, but I think of this as an even fight. Chad has the edge in speed, age and combination punching, but Tarver is probably a bit stronger physically, is a superb counterpuncher, and has the experience edge. The irony is that they are very different, but still the same. Tarver is methodical and controlled in the ring, while Dawson acts that way outside it. Dawson is flashy and nimble in the ring, while Tarver is that way verbally outside the ring. It should be a great evening of boxing on Showtime, augmented by the Vitalli Klitschko-Sam Peter fight that we'll be bringing you from Berlin.

     A big part of the weekend is the live coverage provided here on the ABBC.  We will have the weigh-in today (Friday) at 2 p.m. (U.S. pacific time), with full coverage including interviews with Tarver and Dawson after they step off the scales, and Karen Bryant of our Showtime boxing broadcast will guest.  So, I hope you'll join us for that.

I am  off to the Palms Hotel and Casino for meeting with the fighters, production meeting and preparation for the festivities. I'll blog tomorrow on the weigh-in and how the fighters appeared to me in our conversations.

     This Saturday I will be announcing  the United States pay pew view telecast of the IBF Middleweight Championship match between "King" Arthur Abraham and Raul Marquez (see the preview of this fight on our Fight Previews section of the ABBC menu). Abraham will be making the 8th defense of his title, his last outing was an over the weight win with an impressive TKO over Edison Miranda on June 21st. On that same night, on our Showtime Championship Boxing Series, former junior middleweight champ Raul Marquez  beat Giovanni Lorenzo in a title eliminator for the right to face Abraham for the. Marquez got through some early difficulty to boost his unbeaten streak to 7 since his  2004 loss to Jermain Taylor. Marquez goes to Abraham's home country to battle him in Germany where Abraham won the title and has defended it six times.

     This is a tough fight for the 37 year old Marquez, but no fighter has more grit and determination. He needs to get inside the big punches of Abraham who hits with tremendous power. Once inside he'll have to work hard and make the most of every opportunity.  Abraham comes in off a brilliant show of power against Miranda. You can land against Abraham and he has a slightly unorthodox style with the some wide punching, but he has a great chin and lots of power.

     If Abraham wins there is talk of a title unifier with Kelly Pavlik--assuming Pavlik beats Bernard Hopkins on October 18th. That is certainly not a given. If Hopkins wins the title--he would be an attractive match also for Abraham.  I'm looking roward to calling this fight with Nick Charles.  This show is being produced by Warriors Boxing and Integrated Sports. Check your local cable outlet for the best way to get this pay per view.

     I don't delve into politics on this blog--though I am an interested and concerned citizen, and have been active in politics over the years. But, as I said when I started this blog, I have no agenda here--just want to entertain and inform. But, for those in the U.S.,  I do have a suggestion that will add to your experience of watching the Vice Presidential debate tonight. There is a website launching tonight--realscoop.com--that has some amazing technology that actually analyzes voices to see how believable statements would be. The site uses it for celebrities, athletes and politicians and it will be in operation for tonight's debate. People going on the site while the debate is happening can actually evaluate the believability of what the candidates say when they speak to the American people. So, whether you are already a supporter of one candidate or still making up your mind--you'll find this interesting.  I am not involved with the site, but found out about it, and it really looks interesting, so I thought I would pass the information along.  If I can't pass along something that might be fun and entertaining, then what's the point of having a blog in the first place?

     Speaking of fun and entertaining, that's just what next week's Chad Dawson-Antonio Tarver light heavyweight title match should be, and let me remind you that Friday, October 10th at 2p.m. (U.S. pacific time) we will be providing LIVE coverage of the weigh-in on the ABBC. So please come to the ABBC then for that coverage. I will also be on hand for live post fight coverage at the Palms Hotel and Casino. And, in between I'll also announce the fight on Showtime.  Now, if I can just find one other activity for that weekend.....  

     Although it was not one of Shane Mosley's most elegant performances, he was able to beat the flamboyant Ricardo Mayorga. His dramatic stoppage with just one second left in the bout was exciting, and I thought at the time, necessary.  I thought Mayorga might have been up by as many as two or three points in the fight, so even a 12th round with one knockdown (which he alreay had) might not have been enough. But, as it turned out, Shane was ahead on two of the scorecards, so once he scored the first knockdown in the round, he cemented the win.

      I am an admitted admirer of what Shane Mosley does in the ring. He is a great technician with style and flair as well. In this fight he did not show all that. Whether it was the 10 month layoff, the awkward style of Mayorga or advancing age (he is 37), or all of the above--Shane had a sloppy night. Still, he did enough to win and ended up making it and exciting finish.

     What's next? Well, he would like to fight Antonio Margarito, but Antonio has a date with Joshua Clottey to unify some titles.  And, I think that may be OK because I am not sure that's a great match-up for Shane.  Because Mosley is a marquee name in the sport he will likely get one more meaningful fight.  I hope it happens sooner than 10 months from now, so he at least has a chance to be sharp in the ring--if he still can be.

      For Margarito at 35 there are big questions.  He did show that he had the conditioning to go deep into the 12th round and he did very well in a lot of the second half of the fight after being raked over the coals in the 6th round. But, it is apparent that all the technique issues he's had are magnified even more now, and I am not sure what top welterweight he can face.  But, his personality could allow him one more moment on boxing's center stage. Some still get a kick out of his crude and sophmoric sense of humor and the antics that go with it. And, his perfoprmance did include some good elements, perhaps enough to convince a promoter and t.v. network he should be showcased again.

     I want to send a special message to the fans who were on hand at the Home Depot Center. They were very enthusiastic and I got to meet and greet a lot of them. They were a knowledgeable and friendly group. It's nice when I am covering a fight as opposed to working on the broadcast because I get to mingle a little before and after the match.

     Next week we will be unveiling our live coverage of the Antonio Tarver-Chad Dawson fight at the Palms Hotel and casino on Oct. 11th. We will start the live coverage on the 10th at the weigh-in.  We are really excited that the ABBC will be the first broadcast entity to cover a big boxing match, pre and post fight, live for some years. We used to do it all the time at ESPN.  The ABBC and IBN Sports are geared to doing this kind of coverage.  I will be doing double duty that weekend, as I will also be announcing the match for Showtime. We will be giving you the time of the live weigh-in coverage as soon as the time is set for that weigh-in on Oct. 10th.