G, I have just lost all respect for BHops because he has pulled the ultimate "girly" move and something he said he wouldn't do: "He is crying over spilled milk!" What a woman! It's not like it was highway robbery and I would think that when his boy, YOU, has him losing the fight; he just would suck it up and KO this kid in the rematch. Now he's calling the WBA to appeal for a rematch, I am correct in stating that this Drama Queen has a rematch clause and then Taylor said immediately after the fight that he was giving him a rematch? WTF is your boy talking about? I know it's been a decade since he lost but he must be getting this advice from his owner Golden Boy because he's the last one that pulled a "girly" move like this. (And I thought GB beat Shane!) I like that article that Al Mermini wrote, there are numerous questionable calls but no one he is not talking about those. He knows that was no way that he beat Taylor 116-112, but there was no controversy about that. I give you props G, cause I know he's gonna give you the bizness about the way you scored the fight. You proved me wrong, I didn't think you would have a biased opinion and I thought I would be arguing w/you over who actually won but we scored the fight the exact same way. I don't see how you can win a fight when you lose 7 out of the 1st 9 rounds and never score a knock down. And all that jazz he was shooting about how bad he had Taylor hurt and they could have been 10-8 rounds; sounds a lot more like begging than reality.  Please accept my apology for misjudging you and tell your boy to STFU! AJ

Leon's Response: A lot of people I've spoken with agree with your position on the Hopkins protest. Due to the competitiveness of the fight, I personally don't think his protest will be a successful one. However, the fact remains that Duane Ford's twelfth round score was OFF and that was the difference between a loss and a draw, keeping the belts and not keeping the belts. This year was supposed to be Hopkins victory lap and the loss to Taylor is a MAJOR unexpected roadblock. HBO wants Hopkins to face Taylor next because they don't feel holding October 1 and a December PPV for Hopkins is viable. It should be interesting to see if Hopkins decides to fight someone else on October 1 or wait for the Taylor rematch. As I said yesterday expect much more from Hopkins (unless he stops returning my calls again, LOL) to follow in the coming days so stay tuned.

What's up Greg?  I just signed up a few days ago but I have been viewing boxingtalk daily for quite a few months now.  It's a steal for what you get.  I really have only followed boxing seriously for about two years now and man has this site given me a quick education.  I listen to Jim Rome on the radio quite a bit and he talks boxing with Lampley, Bernstein and many top fighters.  I guess this just helped peak my interest in a great sport.  It also helps having HBO and Showtime.  Of course I have seen many Tyson fights but now I am much more than a casual fan, I am addicted!  There are so many great fighters and stories that the mainstream media should be covering better.(Getting the heavyweight mess cleaned up would certainly help with this)  I have so much respect for fighters and their dedication.  It seems like I have soured on other sports for many reasons and now I look forward to fights more than anything.  I realized this one night when I was watching Tuesday night fights instead of the NBA finals!      I have been reading that there are some big changes coming to the site and I hope you guys start selling some boxingtalk gear.  Some hats, shirts, mugs whatever would be really cool.  Is this in the works?  I may be a rookie but it is easy to see that its boxingtalk and then everybody else. Keep up the good work.   Thanks, Dave 

Leon's Response: Thanks for the kind words, I'm glad you're getting the most out of your membership. Well, the Spurs-Pistons series was as boring an NBA Finals as we've seen in quite some time. As someone who truly loves this sport (and makes his living off of it) I can only hope you never lose the enthusiasm you seem to have for the sweet science. Now you need to explain to your friends why boxing is the best sport in the world, and right after you're done doing that explain to them why the MUST be members of Boxingtalk!

I have followed your site for several years now and truly enjoy the latest news and scoops your getting. I have never written in before, but just wanted to say that I think Hopkins filing a protest for the scoring of the final round smacks of someone who can't accept defeat. It is sad that Hopkins can't act in a gracious and humble manner such as Kosta did in his recent defeat. My opinion of him as a man has gone right down, and I think having the decision reversed would really hurt the sport of boxing. Additionally I did not think he won the fight. If he wants to point out score card errors then a Jerry Roth gave Hopkins 3 of the first five round, so I am not sure which fight he was watching, but I am not sure it was the same one as I was. But a case in point is that Taylor would have just as much right to argue over incorrect scoring over more rounds than Hopkins would. However I doubt that Taylor would stoop to such a level. When you are in touch with Bernard next, please let him know that he has lost the respect of one of his fans, and now I don't care to see him in the ring again regards, Simon

Leon's Response: Thanks for the e-mail Simon. I don't think Hopkins filing a protest is the right move either, but I'm not the one who lost all of my belts. Hopkins should just move on, but the bottom line is Ford's twelfth round score is the reason he's no longer undisputed middleweight champion, and not being undisputed middleweight champion is damaging to Hopkins. I too think we'd be able to find some flaws Roth's card for scoring the fight for Hopkins 116-112. A draw isn't as bad as a loss, but the bottom line is Hopkins drawing with Taylor isn't impressive. Hopkins certainly didn't look like the best pound for pound fighter in the world either way...I see some "writers" from "other sites" left their balls in San Francisco since they couldn't update their p4p list. Can't say I blame the dude though, because I'd also want to save myself the embarrassment of possibly elevating Erik Morales to #1 despite two losses to Barrera, and the ingenius ranking of Corrales above Mayweather doesn't exactly make me want to apply to Columbia today. Glad to see Ring Magazine, the BIBLE of Boxing to so many of you guys, agree with my top 4 p4p rankings and the placement of Taylor at 9 with Hopkins at #10. Taylor made enough mistakes throughout the fight for Hopkins to capitalize on and I don't believe he took full advantage of them.


Whuttup G-money,   I think that Bernard's ego got in the way a little bit, because the storyline has always been him winning one way or another. Even in the de la hoya fight it was close for awhile until he folded 'em. I think he got caught up in the pfp stuff and thought his work was gonna be admired by all or something, and I really think the decision wasn't so much all Taylor as it was like a critique of 'nard's work - kinda like in ice-skating or something, he got a 9.8, then two 9.6's for not doing enough. As smart of a fighter as he is, you'd think he would have planned for if Taylor could survive the heat, and if he held on in the end just to not get knocked out. By like round 8 I was thinking "oh shit, he's gonna lose! Hopkins is gonna start hurting him, but Taylor is gonna start holding rhim in the last round to survive - and Taylor will win on points." In wrestling we call it stalling. Man, you just know the Hopkins haters are sneaking up on each other pouring coolers full of Haterade(R) on each other.   That's the first ppv we've ordered since I was in like the 4th grade when Bowe won the first fight with Holyfield. I kinda had to apologize to mom's for paying to see a big disappointment. Coming from a fan who was watching at home, rooting for ex,  Hopkins handed the fight over. AND I'LL NEVER BE A JERMAINE TAYLOR FAN NO MATTER WHO HE BEATS! He's a likable, respectable guy but, lol idunno, maybe it's the way he was crammed down our throats by HBO.   take care, Everett, San Diego   p.s. tell floyd to take a couple hops before he leaps into fights with giants, that guy's outta control with the David vs. Goliath stuff.

Leon's Response: I think you make some fine points. Taylor didn't win this fight because of anything he did, he won this fight because of what Bernard didn't do for the first eight rounds. Not liking Jermain for listening to country music while he trains would be a better reason to dislike him than HBO cramming him down our throats, because if that's the case I can only hope you have Miguel Cotto and Klitschko dartboards.


Greg, just had to get my 2 cents in. i know people are gonna knock hopkins for filing protests and all but i don't care what anyone says. if i saw hopkins in the street i would still say "champ, you are the man, you won that fight and you are my favorite fighter to watch in the ring" i sure sound like a suckup huh? well, when de la hoya cried about mosley beating him in the second fight that was different than this, because hopkins almost took jermain's head off and that round 12 decided the fight and duane ford fucked it all it. nobody can tell me taylor won that round. any other round taylor won up to that point i'm cool with....the last round....hell no! and i know hopkins was shocked u didn't think he won. why don't you watch the fight and pay close attention to everything and write a report breaking down each round indepth.  Fausto in dallas.

Leon's Response: Most of the people who are trashing Hopkins right now wouldn't give him anything but love if they bumped into him in the street. De La Hoya and Hopkins are two different characters. One is beloved, the other gets booed during the ringwalk for his first PPV as the A player. See the difference? I agree with the mailbagger who said after all these years, Hopkins should not have allowed one round from one judge to end his reign as middleweight king.

Just wanted to say what an upset that was for Ouma to lose like that I mean damn Greg he got dominated. It seems like all your favorite fighters or fighters that you think are very good keep getting knocked off. What a year for upsets I can't remember this many upsets over a short period of time. Anyway what do you think of the title fight between Mayorga and Pircello(I know i'm spelling that wrong)? I think Mayorga will knock off everyone at Jr. middle except Winky what do you think? What about Quartey vs. Karmazin or Mayorga vs. Vargas? There are alot of possible big fights in this division how do you see it playing out Greg? -Mark-LES,NY
 
Leon's Response: I have good relationships with most fighters in boxing. Some win, some lose. I don't think my relationship with them, or what I expect from them has anything to do with the outcome of their fights. Mayorga has a chance to make some serious noise at junior middleweight, but Picirillo is no slouch so we'll have to wait and see how much he has left following that terrible beating he took at the hands of Felix Trinidad.

Greg, What can I say another great interview you treated us hardcore boxing fans to. Man, it pays freakin dividends to be a member. Come to think of it, too bad Boxingtalk isn't managing my retirement fund becuase you folks know how to do it right! As for the Mayweather interview, as much as I love him and his talent, he just talks a little too much for me. I couldn't even imagine what the press conference for Judah/Mayweather would be like. While it is not in his character, he really needs to grow up a little and let his talent do all of his talking!

Leon's Response: Glad you enjoyed the interview. When I was typing it out, I said geez, we've got to put this out on audio. Floyd has always been a trash talker, but DAMN, I've never heard him spew so much venom at "friends" like Winky Wright and Zab Judah. Also, you can hear the disdain in his voice as he trashes Hopkins for "giving away the first eight rounds. They might have to hand out bullet proof vests at a Mayweather-Judah press confernce...come to think of it, they might need an arena just for the two entourages if that fight ever came off.

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