The Greatest Prize in Sports

[kenyan_cheena]

Coming up next will be a progress report on the IBL's 2008 Development League, then back to the action in the World Championship Conference. Couple of upsets on the 19 July cards (one minor, one major)...

[kenyan_cheena]

I'll try to get this done today. Started working part-time on Tuesdays and Wednesdays last week, so don't have quite as much free time on my hands.

[kenyan_cheena]

TheSweetScience.com

WEDNESDAY 16 JULY 2008

Checking in on the
IBL's Development League

Story by Michael Broughton

The International Boxing League's 2008 schedule has now entered its second half, and with most fans and commentators being focused on competition in the World Championship Conference and International Conference, it might be easy to forget that bouts have also been staged in the Development League. Boxing's future world champions have been toiling away, mostly in obscurity, many of them fighting on the non-telecasted portions of Saturday night WCC fight cards. While the DL might not have received the same amount of attention or recognition, IBL vice-president Michael Vincennes believes the organisation has "got it right" in regards to the league being the starting point for the least experienced of its contracted fighters. During the 42-week IBL "season" each DL competitor contests seven six-round bouts, with a six week break between each fight. A number of fighters have distinguished themselves so far. Some of these successes were expected, while others have come as a pleasant surprise.

2008 DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE STAR PERFORMERS

* Tomasz Adamek (19, Poland, light-heavyweight, 13-0(9))

Poland's Tomasz Adamek made his IBL debut in March '07 as a junior-heavyweight before moving down to light-heavyweight in June, a couple of weeks before the league announced plans for its 2008 reboot. Like a number of other fighters, Adamek's situation became muddled as a result but he remained active through he rest of the year and took a 9-0 mark into the Development League. He's been solid through his opening four DL fights, scoring three stoppage wins and appearing set to earn a berth in the '09 International Conference.

* Javier Aguirre (20, Mexico, middleweight, 13-0(10))

Just sixteen months into his professional career, Javier Aguirre might already be Mexico's best active middleweight. The former amateur standout has made a faultless start to his time in the pro ranks, which includes four consecutive early round stoppages in DL competition. No one in the IBL has been able to take Aguirre beyond the 3rd round yet, and with only three fights remaining in '08 he looks a certainty to enter '09 with his perfect record intact. The 20 year-old appears to be a superstar in the making, and with the experience he'll gain through the next eighteen months it's likely he'll clinch a place in the 2010 WCC as a very polished, dangerous fighter.

* Alexis Arguello (18, Nicaragua, featherweight, 13-0(12))

Ever since making his professional debut in March 2007, Nicaragua's Alexis Arguello has been on a mission to provide for his family's future. One of seven siblings born into poverty in the slums of his nation's capital Managua, the 18 year-old signed a three-year contract with the IBL in November. While the security it provides eases the burden somewhat, Arguello knows that the best way to achieve his goal is to reach the top as soon as possible. With that in mind, he has set himself a task of becoming world featherweight champion by the end of 2011, which if all goes to plan would be his second year in the World Championship Conference. Based on his progress to date, it would not be the least bit surprising if he pulls it off.

* George Dixon (21, Canada, bantamweight, 18-1(7))

Almost two years have passed since Athens silver medallist George Dixon joined the IBL, and besides a shock 1st round KO loss to Silence Mabuza in May '07 it's been smooth sailing for him. A slick, quick-fisted boxer, stoppages have been rare for Dixon, with only five of his fifteen IBL wins coming inside the distance. The 21 year-old has developed a friendship with fellow Nova Scotia native and Athens gold medallist Sam Langford during the last twelve months, and also trains with him. It's an association that has been of great benefit to Dixon, and one he would be wise to maintain as his career progresses.

* Pascual Perez (18, Argentina, flyweight, 7-0(5))

Little was known of the aggressive, hard-hitting Argentinian flyweight Pascual Perez before he started competing under the IBL banner this year. The word is that a league scout saw him in action on a fight card in Buenos Aires last October and implored the organisation to sign him. Perez brought a 3-0 record into the Development League and has looked fantastic in his first four league bouts. Apparently the teenager can speak only a few words of English, and so has understandably travelled with a translator on the two occasions when the league schedule has called for him to leave his homeland. Without a doubt, one to keep an eye on.

* Earnie Shavers (23, USA, heavyweight, 16-0(16))

Like Alexis Arguello, Alabama-born, Ohio-based heavyweight Earnie Shavers made a premature jump to the professional ranks for financial reasons. Shavers' mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in late 2006, and he has been funding her treatment ever since his November '06 debut. The power puncher has bulldozed his way through sixteen opponents, with each fight ending inside of four rounds. If Shavers wins every bout he'll be scheduled to appear in during the next eighteen months, he'll take a perfect 24-0 record into the 2010 WCC, which is scary.

* Tony Tucker (21, USA, junior-heavyweight, 4-0(3))

Grand Rapids-born junior-heavyweight Tony Tucker is one of only a handful of fighters who made their professional debut under the IBL banner. He claimed a light-heavyweight silver medal at the 2007 World Amateur Championships in Chicago, but rather than continue on until Beijing decided that it was time to take the next step and turn professional. He has made an impressive, assured start to his pro career, showing both eye-opening knockout power and solid boxing skills, including a potent left jab. At 6'5", one would think it's won't be too long until Tucker moves up to the heavyweight division, but for now he's contesting in the 200-pound weight class.

* Damien Walec (25, USA, light-heavyweight, 16-0-1(15))

New Jersey's Damien Walec was one of the more high-profile IBL signings during late '07, when the league was stitching up combatants for each of its three levels of competition. At the time, Walec was fighting as a super-middleweight and was already being regarded as a future challenger to world champion Fulgencio Obelmejias. The IBL does not feature a 168-pound division, so when Walec inked his contract it was with the knowledge that he would start out in the light-heavyweight division. Like others, such as current world light-heavyweight champion Celestine Amakochi, Walec has voiced an ambition to claim the 175/200/200+ treble in the IBL, and while those lofty heights are a long way off at the moment, the Middlesex County southpaw has made a solid start to his career. His only hiccup to date has been a drawn bout against the young German Axel Muller in April.

[Romdawg88]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

At one point Haynes seemed to be laying down the gauntlet to the entire heavyweight division to "come and get me", which made for a somewhat tense moment when he glanced coldly towards his stable mate and fellow heavyweight contender Romy Alvarez.

Bring it, Haynes wants to get embarrassed and catch a boxing lesson I'll be more then happy to oblige him.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

Bring it, Haynes wants to get embarrassed and catch a boxing lesson I'll be more then happy to oblige him.

Things are starting to get a bit tense at Camp Pensacola...

[kenyan_cheena]

The New York Age

SUNDAY, 20 JULY, 2008

HOLMES DEMOLISHES THOMPSON IN LONDON

Story by James Reynolds

Brooklyn's Maurice Holmes scored a stunning 2nd round stoppage of the Englishman Carl Thompson yesterday at Earls Court in London to position himself for a shot at Jeff Lampkin's world junior-heavyweight championship. The bout was part of competition in the IBL's World Championship Conference and was one of the biggest clashes of stage two, with 2nd-ranked Thompson returning to the ring for the first time since losing a world title eliminator to Torsten May in January and the veteran Holmes (ranked #4) looking to follow up on his February knockout of former world champion Carlos DeLeon. The fight was a rematch of a dramatic clash between the two men in December '06, where both made two trips to the canvas before it had to be stopped in round eight due to Holmes suffering a wrist injury. Since then, the New Yorker had run off a streak of six consecutive victories, a feat that Thompson also achieved before his loss to May.

Holmes, a former WBA light-heavyweight champion, retired from the sport back in July '04 but made a comeback to sign with the IBL as a junior-heavyweight in June '06. He'll turn 37 next month but looked anything but "past it" against Thompson, who is a decade younger than him. The Englishman entered the ring to huge applause and the expectation that he would not only confirm himself as the top contender for the world title, but also send Holmes into retirement. It didn't turn out that way. In fact, the fight, while it lasted, was a complete disaster for Thompson and his chances of a title bid, at least in the short term, are now in tatters. There were no knockdowns, but Holmes unleashed a dominant beatdown on the crowd favourite, starting with some crippling bodyshots through the top half of the opening round and then a crushing uppercut that buckled Thompson's knees late in the frame. The onslaught left the crowd, so boisterous only minutes earlier, stunned and silent.

Knowing that he had his man disorientated and hurt, Holmes maintained his aggressive mindset from the moment the bell sounded to start round two. He planted a succession of stiff jabs on Thompson's chin, keeping him off-balance and on the defensive before a left hook at the midpoint snapped his head around. It was the beginning of the end as a series of power punches followed: a left-right-left flurry, two smashing left hooks, a straight right and another left hook. The last of these sent Thompson stumbling backwards into the ropes and when Holmes chased him and connected with a right cross, referee Arthur Mercante jumped in and pulled the Brooklyn slugger aside. He had to support Thompson, who could barely hold himself up on rubberised legs. Realising the fight had been stopped, Thompson slumped to the canvas and lay flat on his back, dazed.

Holmes scowled at the crowd and made a throat-slitting gesture that did not go down well with them, but he didn't seem to care in the slightest. His corner crew flooded the ring and they celebrated a brilliant, destructive victory. Amazingly, when it was all over Holmes had landed 97 of 151 punches (64.2%), Thompson just 18 of 104 (17.3%). As heartbreaking as Thompson's January split decision loss to Torsten May was, this defeat was simply soul-crushing. Maurice Holmes (now 46-5-1(38)) took every bit of hope and optimism that existed within the arena in the minutes before the opening bell ... and simply smashed it into oblivion. Thompson fell to 31-6-1(20), but he's also going to take a fall in the world rankings after this defeat. The IBL's 200-pound division has now seen its #2 and #3 ranked fighters both lose in the space of seven days (following Frenchman Taoufik Belbouli's defeat to Angelo Rottoli last Saturday).

That comes on the back of Lampkin's 2nd round knockout of the then-#1 contender Torsten May, back on the 3rd of May. It's certain that May, Thompson and Belbouli will all surrender their positions when the updated rankings are released next month. It's also certain that Holmes will rise to #1 and could very well be challenging Lampkin for the world title in stage three. At this point it's either Holmes or Rottoli (who should move up to #2), although 5th-ranked Philadelphian Nate Gibbs will be an outside chance if he gets past Lee Roy Murphy on the 2nd of August. Whatever happens, stage two has been a chaotic one at the top of the junior-heavyweight division, even though Lampkin has remained a constant since claiming the inaugural championship in December '06.

[kenyan_cheena]

NOTTINGHAM POST

Sunday 20 July 2008

BENISTON BLASTS PALMA,
MOVES INTO CONTENTION

Story by Michael Jenkins

Nottingham featherweight Charlie Beniston recorded an upset 3rd round TKO victory over Argentina's Sergio Palma in Buenos Aires last night in an IBL World Championship Conference bout. Beniston came through the biggest fight of his career to date with flying colours. After surprisingly dominating the opening two frames, he dropped the hometown favourite with a sizzling uppercut one minute into round three and then pounded him into submission, referee Richard James Davies jumping in and ending the fight at the 2:47 mark. The result brought a stunned reaction from the crowd, who expected to see Palma further solidify his top-five ranking with a convincing victory. Instead, the former WBA junior-featherweight champion will now take a tumble down the rankings, undoing all the good work from his comfortable March win over Mexico's Juan Meza.

21 year-old Beniston brought a four-fight winning streak into the evening but the vastly more experienced Palma was assumed to be a proposition he wasn't ready for. Beniston has only lost once in his professional career, to Thailand's Withaya Paholpat in a defense of the IBL Inter-Continental title in April '07. He spoke confidently during the week leading into last night's bout of his determination to avoid a second defeat, although no one seemed to be listening to him. After his dismantling of Palma (32-3-1(26)), they certainly will be now. Beniston (15-1(6)) outlanded Palma by almost twice as many punches, 111-57, and was relentless in his pursuit of victory. Beniston revealed afterwards that the plan was to take the Argentinian out early, a strategy that would have been seen as unexpected by Palma's camp as seven of Beniston's first ten league contests have gone the distance.

Beniston is blessed with solid punching power but has built most of his wins on solid boxing fundamentals. Last night that approach was thrown out the window, with spectacular results. It was a bittersweet night for English boxing fans as earlier in London, Manchester's Carl Thompson was similarly obliterated by the American Maurice Holmes in an important junior-heavyweight clash. Beniston's unexpected triumph will have softened the blow of that somewhat. He was ranked at #12 coming into the fight and should jump to at least #6 as a consequence of his big win. The young man looks capable of breaking the stranglehold that the Mexican, Caribbean and South American fighters have on the featherweight division. Coming into stage two, the top seven ranking positions in the weight class were occupied by Latinos, but Beniston has now infiltrated that section of the division's standings. Beniston has always been a confident, ambitious young man, and it now appears his talent has caught up with his self-belief.

[kenyan_cheena]

It's a shame Beno999 isn't following this uni anymore. I'm sure he would enjoy reading about his fighter's big win over Palma.

There's been a few fights on the recent WCC cards that I have not reviewed. These will be taken care of in the July IBL ONLINE fight reviews. So what we have coming up for the weekend of July 26 is:

* A review of the Kameda-Davids flyweight bout from Tokyo (#2 vs #4).

* A review of the big bantamweight world title fight between Carlos Zarate and Jeff Fenech from the MGM. Will Fenech make it three IBL world titles for Australia? I'll probably also mention the Gilberto Vasquez co-feature.

That will be it for the month as far as the WCC is concerned. There might be an article on unspecified subjects before we get to the IBL ONLINE reviews, though. Some things need to be discussed...

[SAL]

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

Bring it, Haynes wants to get embarrassed and catch a boxing lesson I'll be more then happy to oblige him.

Take care of Lennox first Romy........then Haynes might move to another stable and start ducking you.

[Romdawg88]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

Things are starting to get a bit tense at Camp Pensacola...

Haynes knows whats up. The man might as well start trying to get down to crusierweight.

Originally Posted by SAL

Take care of Lennox first Romy........then Haynes might move to another stable and start ducking you.

Oh, don't worry Lennox is going to catch it without a doubt. They might as well hand the belt over now.

[kenyan_cheena]

LOL. Terone has a legitimate beef, though, if not with Romy than with the IBL (which is actually me ).

Just consider, after destroying Jackson he wanted to defend the title against Jack Johnson and was told he couldn't, and then has to wait months for the rematch with Norton, which he ends up losing. In between he had that bogus "super fight" with Lampkin.

Flash forward to February '08 and he goes about setting up a fight with Lennox, but once again the IBL says nuh-uh. So he settles for Jeannette, who is a great fighter, but ranked down in the bottom half of the division. Meanwhile, Romy manages to snare the Lennox fight instead.

So Romy is now in a position to gain more in stage two than Terone, and therefore possibly become quite a threat for the championship, and while T is not taking it personally he can't help but feel some resentment towards his stable mate (and maybe even their trainer, Roy Jones, who negotiated the Lewis-Alvarez fight).

Terone's probably gonna get to a point with Roy where he says "It's either him or me. This stable ain't big enough for the both of us." It's going to be very interesting if that point actually arrives. Considering all this, it's not a surprise that Terone obliterated Jeannette. The dude has a major league chip on his shoulder right now and it might be best to avoid him for a while.

[kenyan_cheena]

ESPN

Boxing

Updated: July 26, 2008 11.15 AM ET

Davids tops Kameda in
Fight of the Year candidate

By Larry Holman
ESPN.com
Archive

South African flyweight Teko Davids recorded a hard-earned unanimous decision win over Japan's Koki Kameda in an IBL World Championship Conference bout in Tokyo today. Davids, the former IBF and IBO champion, took the verdict by identical scores of 113-110 from all three judges, despite dropping Kameda four times. In a back and forth thriller, Kameda recovered from trips to the canvas in rounds two and three to get back into the contest by dominating the middle rounds, during which he floored Davids with a left hook midway through the 5th. A look at the scorecards in the fight's aftermath showed that by the end of round seven, Kameda had reversed a five-point deficit that had taken Davids just the opening three rounds to build after his fantastic, barnstorming start to the bout. Davids took back the momentum when he sent Kameda to his knees with a stinging body shot early in round eight.

The South African then had the better of an action-packed 9th before seemingly securing the victory when he dropped Kameda for a fourth time with a right cross at the midpoint of round ten. Kameda finished strongly, though, punishing Davids in the 11th and 12th. The combatants received a standing ovation from the Tokyo Dome crowd as the final seconds ticked away. Davids actually looked the worse for wear afterwards, with a nasty mouse showing under his right eye. Despite his four trips to the canvas, Kameda was the busier fighter and outlanded Davids by a slight margin. Kameda connected with 277 of 1,254 punches (22.1%), Davids 268 of 823 (32.6%). While Kameda lost no fans with his brave performance, the result saw him drop to 2-4 in his last six bouts. Three of those losses were official IBL world title eliminators in December '06 (Willie Davison), June '07 (Yuri Arbachakov) and January '08 (Benny Lynch). In each case his opponent went on to claim the world championship.

Kameda came into today's fight ranked at #2, while Davids was #4. At the very least, they'll swap places, but whether Kameda's standing takes any more of a hit remains to be seen. He was simply superb, and if he had been able to stay on his feet he would have won the fight. Each fighter won six rounds, with the difference being that four of Davids' rounds were scored 10-8, due to the knockdowns. Davids (31-1-1(21)) is now the top contender for the world title, although it has been confirmed that Benny Lynch's first defense will be against the man he claimed it from, Yuri Arbachakov, in an October rematch. One can only wonder where Kameda (23-6(15)) goes from here. There is no questioning the 24 year-old's heart, courage and desire, but the reality is that he has now been defeated by four current or former world flyweight champions in the last nineteen months. Perhaps a move to the bantamweight division would be worth considering.

Larry Holman is ESPN.com's boxing writer.

[kenyan_cheena]

EL UNIVERSAL

Sunday 27 July 2008

ZARATE STOPS FENECH,
ANNOUNCES MOVE TO
FEATHERWEIGHT FOR '09

Story by Miguel Trelles

In a decision that caught the entire boxing world by surprise (including his father and trainer Jorge), world bantamweight champion Carlos Zarate announced last night that he will be moving up to the featherweight division of the International Boxing League's World Championship Conference in 2009. Zarate revealed the news only minutes after scoring an amazing 4th round TKO of Australia's Jeff Fenech to retain his world title. Things looked grim for Zarate early as the fiery, aggressive Fenech dominated the opening frame and then floored the champion with a crushing uppercut shortly before the bell. Fenech maintained the momentum in round two and it appeared to be only a matter of time until the title was his. But Zarate turned things around in the 3rd, starting it strongly and holding out against a flurry of activity from Fenech late in the stanza.

What followed in round four was extraordinary, as Zarate hurt Fenech early and drove the advantage he gained all the way to a sensational stoppage. A succession of power punches caught the brave Australian flush on the chin and jaw and when Fenech stopped firing back late in the frame, Zarate was in complete control. A flurry of blows wobbled Fenech and when he staggered back into the ropes on heavy legs and almost went down referee Alan Moore jumped in and ended it at the 2:42 mark. It was Zarate's shortest fight under the IBL banner and his corner crew jumped between the ropes to celebrate the remarkable win with him while the large Mexican contingent at the MGM Grand chanted his nickname, "Canas", over and over. A stunned, shattered Fenech was led back to his corner on still unsteady legs, his second chance to claim the world championship ending just like the first, in defeat.

Fenech (21-2(17)) was the victor in the IBL's initial Challenger's tournament and as a result earned a title shot against inaugural champion Gilberto Roman in March '07. Fenech lasted much longer in that fight, which was stopped in the 14th round. He looked more dangerous against Zarate, though, and stepped between the ropes confident that he could join his compatriots Les Darcy and Peter Jackson as an IBL world champion. Unfortunately for him it has not turned out that way. Fenech outlanded Zarate 99-72, but it counted for nothing. Zarate improved to 35-2(25), and after praising Fenech's toughness and power and thanking the crowd and his team, he launched into announcing a decision that he has kept entirely to himself until now. Zarate reflected on his time in the bantamweight division, on his perfect run as WBA champion and then his triumph in capturing the IBL belt from compatriot Gilberto Roman in September and their February rematch which somehow bettered the first encounter.

The 30 year-old then talked of new challenges, of new tests, and stated in a matter-of-fact manner that he will be moving to the featherweight division in 2009. Standing next to him, his father Jorge's countenance betrayed his surprise, but he stayed silent as his son continued to speak. Considering the quality of the field in the IBL at featherweight, it will be a great achievement if Zarate is able to win the 126-pound championship. There's a plethora of fellow Mexicans occupying the upper echelon of the division, including current champion Salvador Sanchez, former champion Gilberto Vasquez and Olympic gold medallist Vicente Saldivar. No doubt, Zarate's presence will add even more intrigue to one of the sport's strongest weight classes. It will be interesting to see the approach that the IBL takes once the bantamweight championship is vacated. It could be that they'll simply have Fenech and former champion Roman square off for it, although they may have something else in mind.

In the evening's co-feature, former featherweight world champion Gilberto Vasquez made a victorious return to the ring in his first fight since a January rematch with the man who dethroned him, Miguel Bautista. That fight ended in a draw although most observers believed Bautista was the better man. Last night, Vasquez faced the promising young Italian Loris Stecca and was given quite a fright before taking a unanimous decision verdict (115-112, 114-113, 116-111). Stecca really tested Vasquez, and held the upper hand going into the 9th round. Through eight rounds two judges had him ahead by two and four points respectively, while the third had it all tied up. Vasquez finished strongly, though, dropping the tiring Italian in rounds ten and twelve to score his first victory in more than sixteen months. The busy Vasquez landed 356 of 1,121 punches (31.8%) while Stecca connected with 240 of 585 (41%).

The win should be enough to keep 2nd-ranked Vasquez (31-3-1(19)) in the picture for a possible title shot in the first half of 2009. The recent losses suffered by fellow top contenders Vicente Saldivar and Sergio Palma, ranked 3rd and 4th respectively, also gives him some breathing room. Stecca (18-4-2(11)) was impressive in defeat, and might drop a place or two from his current position at #8. His February upset of Omar Calderon won't be forgotten when the IBL's rankings committee sits down to determine the updated divisional standings next month, but even so, a further loss in stage three will almost certainly see Stecca lose his place in the World Championship Conference for 2009.

[kenyan_cheena]

Phew, that's quite a few articles during the last two or three days. Might take a little intermission now.

[PWillisTheMan]

I think you should send Zarate straight into a title fight. Nothing was more exciting for me than champion vs champion fights when the word really meant something.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by PWillisTheMan

I think you should send Zarate straight into a title fight. Nothing was more exciting for me than champion vs champion fights when the word really meant something.

I would love to do that, but I think the IBL will make him earn a title shot. They'll probably rank him at somewhere around #10 to start the year, so he'll have to get a couple of wins against top contenders to earn a shot at Sanchez or whoever is holding the title in twelve months from now. The thing is, he's going to be inactive now for at least seven months. He chose to make his announcement now because he has fulfilled his obligations as bantamweight champion for the year.

He has made two title defences during the WCC season, one against the man he dethroned and then the second against the mandatory #1-ranked contender. So he can now sit back and study his possible opponents in the featherweight division and figure out their strengths and weaknesses. I'm sure he'll go straight for the jugular and schedule a fight with one of the top guys, and whoever it is they'll be eager to oblige because a win over a former world champion looks good on anyone's resume.

[PWillisTheMan]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

I would love to do that, but I think the IBL will make him earn a title shot. They'll probably rank him at somewhere around #10 to start the year, so he'll have to get a couple of wins against top contenders to earn a shot at Sanchez or whoever is holding the title in twelve months from now. The thing is, he's going to be inactive now for at least seven months. He chose to make his announcement now because he has fulfilled his obligations as bantamweight champion for the year.

He has made two title defences during the WCC season, one against the man he dethroned and then the second against the mandatory #1-ranked contender. So he can now sit back and study his possible opponents in the featherweight division and figure out their strengths and weaknesses. I'm sure he'll go straight for the jugular and schedule a fight with one of the top guys, and whoever it is they'll be eager to oblige because a win over a former world champion looks good on anyone's resume.

I understand the principles involved, at the same time 'marinating' fights rarely works. I'd go so far as to say a Bantam vs Feather immediate title fight would do better business than Zarate earning it over contenders. The What factor in the initial weight jump is big. A trip from the 'norm' for the IBL guidelines creates other story lines as well.

The inactive part creates even more intrigue as he bulks up in weight to prove P4P superiority! You gotta do what's right for your uni, moving past a huge fight like that is a mistake imo.

[kenyan_cheena]

Everything you say makes sense, but the likelihood of it happening is very slim. Consider that:

1) Zarate's announcement has come out of the blue, near the end of stage two of the WCC.

2) Sanchez, the featherweight champ, has already agreed to defend the title against Bautista in a rematch in stage three.

3) Sanchez is eager to take on current world lightweight champion Patricio Marquez in a super fight in early 2009 after the Bautista bout, although this won't happen if one of them does not enter the new year as reigning champion. Marquez has not shown much interest in it to date, though.

4) Zarate does not want to step back into the ring until the new year.

One possibility I can see is Zarate having one fight to establish himself at featherweight and then challenging for the title in stage two of 2009. Sanchez clearly has a thing for taking on his idols, and I would say he looks up to Zarate just as much as Marquez. Even if Zarate only moves up to somewhere around 4th, 5th or 6th in the rankings after stage one, Sanchez (if still champion) might look to take him on sooner rather than later.

Thanks for your suggestions, PWill. They have helped me to consider the possibilities that this particular storyline can go in, so I really appreciate it.

I will be simming the July International Conference bouts during the next couple of days ahead of the IBL ONLINE reviews. It will include the several community fictional heavyweights we have in the IC, so that's something to look forward to.

[hawk360]

I like the politics and behind the scenes info.

[kenyan_cheena]

I've simmed all the July International Conference bouts.

So the schedule for upcoming posts is:

* An ESPN Larry Holman Blog post with at least three (possibly four) different issues discussed.

* IBL ONLINE July fight reviews, featuring a number of IC bouts and some WCC bouts.

* Boxing Monthly non-IBL July fight reviews.

* Then we dive into August!