I've read a lot of boxing, but have only really watched for the last five
years.

I could not believe what Roy Jones did in the ring against James Toney.
I'm sure it wasn't Toney at his best, etc. But HOOK LEADS THAT WERE TOO FAST
TO BLOCK?? Jones was so much faster and stronger than anyone I've ever seen
I couldn't believe it. I honestly couldn't.

The only questions now on Jones are career ones: luck, opponents, weight
class. I can't see how anyone could stay away from Jones for 12 rounds: in a
time travel fight, I could see him chopping down Hearns as fast as Hagler
did, or pounding Leonard into a TKO. I don't want to be irrevant about that
other Sugar Ray, so....i'll stop...

The WBC World Super Lightweight Championship

Chavez vs De La Hoya

**Time: Fri June 7 Doors open 8 pm 1st Bout 9 pm
**Location: South Mountain Arena, 560 Northfield Ave, W Orange, NJ

Live on closed circuit TV, 20 foot screen

$30 advance, $35 night of fight
For info & ticket locations call Spanky's: 201-669-0335
No Pay Per View/No Home TV

Live from Ceasar's Palace in Las Vegas

also available w/Ticketmaster 201-507-8900
--

"..
so when Naz KO's Armando "Monstruo" Castro or Juan Polo Perez, it's
understandable that many fans say "those are nobodies".  In fact, those of
us who follow the Mexican boxing scene know that Castro is a phenomenal
fighter, and that by knocking Castro out in 4 rounds, Naz showed that he
was someone very special.
.."

Bob -

I disagree. Castro and Perez *are* known names, but only
because of what they once were. They've been over the hill
for some time, and chosen by Hamed's management for that
reason. Neither of the two had been providing strong
showings immediately prior to facing Hamed, and they've
been proven to be mere cannon-fodder these days afterwards.

Barrera's opposition, as of late, has been *far* superior
to Hamed's. I, for one, would like to see Hamed fighting
a well-prepared and motivated McKinney. Although the
Barrera fight might have taken so much off McKinney that
he's softer now.

Hamed has been looking phenomenal against fighters who
couldn't endanger him. Robinson has been Hamed's toughest
test, and I was *never* impressed with Robinson, whose
most noteworthy achievement was that he was always
in a competitive fight, no matter how abysmal his
opposition.

Note that I'm not saying Hamed is a staged freak act. His
power and speed make him an opponent to be reckoned with.
My problem is with the fact that he seems to have made up
his mind to pattern his career a la Eubank. That is a
waste. And I will not start rating him in my mind
alongside people like Barrera until he's faced the likes
of Croft or McKinney.

That said, I thought Barrera looked none too awesome in
his fight against McKinney. He was too predictable. He
varied his attack very little. He looked like a
prematurely aged fighter to me, and that makes me think
he'll be upset soon. Like Miguel Angel Gonzalez, who
seems to have sensed it himself and has effectively retired
to not endanger a potential showdown with Chavez or so.

just my .02

Alejandro,

I agree with you that Barrera has reached a competitive level in
his last few fights that Hamed has not yet achieved.  However, Gareth is
well aware of these fights.  I understood his question to refer to
Barrera's earlier opponents.

I stand by my statement that Hamed fought better opponents earlier in his
career, and performed much more spectacularly against them, than did
Barrera.  The fights I mentioned for Barrera took place in 1992 and 1993,
when Barrera was 18 or 19, not 14 or 15 as you imply.

In regard to Castro, Hamed did something that no one in the preceding
five years of top-level competition had been able to do to Castro, which
was to KO him early.  When Castro fought Hamed, he was well and clearly
established as one of the top bantamweight contenders, and had just come
off a 12-round decision loss to Greg Richardson, a former champion.  
The fact that Castro got kayoed in his following two fights tells me that  
Hamed devastated him.  Now if Castro had been kayoed in the two fights
before Hamed, there might be cause to downrate Hamed's performance
against him.

What is stunning about Hamed is the ease with which he has dispatched
top-ten fighters.  I grant you that beating #10 is not the same as
beating #1, but that's not the point.  Hamed has developed much faster
than Barrera and does not deserve to be criticized for the quality of his
opposition.  He may burn himself out, especially if he keeps sparring
with heavyweights, or he may fail in his first attempt against a
top-level champion, but IMO he's got all the hallmarks of a legend.

I think Hamed has proved himself deserving of a shot against Barrera.  
His easy victory over Robinson cemented that right.  But, if any doubt
remains, match him against McKinney.  When he knocks out McKinney in
six, Barrera will no longer have any excuses.  

Alejandro Olague (Alejandro Olague) wrote:

<snipped> Just because a fighter is a  hot, unbeaten, good figher like Barrera,
doesn't mean he can't lose on any given  day. This kid will NEVER be the
next Chavez. I wish people would stop holding him  to that standard.  

 Alejandro

Alejandro Olague (Alejandro Olague) wrote:

<snipped> Just because a fighter is a  hot, unbeaten, good figher like Barrera,
doesn't mean he can't lose on any given  day. This kid will NEVER be the
next Chavez. I wish people would stop holding him  to that standard.  

 Alejandro

"..
good figher like Barrera, doesn't mean he can't lose on any given
day. This kid will NEVER be the next Chavez. I wish people would stop holding hi
m
to that standard. Same thing With Mago. I think overall, he's a pretty decent
world-class figher and a very credible champion. Is he the heir apparent to Chav
ez
or the other great fighers Mexico has produced? No way, but I still think they a
re
pretty good fighters who have provided us with some good fights..
.."

Alejandro -

my feelings precisely. Excellent point. Then again, one has
to see that what sells in the U.S., if you ain't a heavy on
a comeback trail, is the "unblemished" record, or at least
some journalist hyping the "unbeatable" label...

Sad - and you're riught, that's what's wrong with boxing.
Because of that, it's quickly becoming a sport with preciously
little competitive match-ups. To be honest, I feel my interest
in the sport kinda wading, lately, and it's because the
matchmaking sickens me...

Hello all of you out there:

     Since we all love sports I hope you don't mind if this
message may not be fully relevant to this newsgroup.
     I write sports for the Silent News, a national publication
covering the American deaf community. I also publish
'deafsportzine', which is a weekly e-mail newsletter about the
deaf in sports.
     Yes, I am deaf. I am always looking for deaf athletes in all
sports that I could write about. I am talking about the generally
overlooked deaf athletes, not the Curtis Prides (baseball), Kenny
Walkers (football), Jim Kytes (hockey), Jeff Floats (swimming)
that we all know about.
     If you know of any such still-active deaf & hard of hearing boxers
then please share the information with me.
     While the degrees of deafness vary wildly, I am only
interested in athletes deaf in both ears, not in one ear.
     If you don't know of any deaf athletes or if there aren't
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