Marquez Finishes Fedchenko. Rios Escapes Abril.

By Chuck Johnson

Juan Manuel Marquez - Photo Credit: Will Hart

Fighting at home for the first time in 18 years, future Hall of Famer Juan Manuel Marquez added a world title belt in his fourth weight class Saturday night with a unanimous decision against Sergey Fedchenko.

The 12-round WBO junior welterweight title bout was televised on HBO Pay-Per-View and drew a crowd of more than 30,000 at Mexico City Arena.

Marquez, who previously won world titles at featherweight, junior lightweight and lightweight, and is best known for his three closely-contested fights against Manny Pacquiao, was fighting for the first time since his third tough loss to Pacquiao in November.

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Taking Care of Business

By Nat Gottlieb

Juan Manuel Marquez, Sergey Fedchenko

A fight between Juan Manuel Marquez and Brandon Rios would be a dream. But before those two can meet, they first have to take care of a pair of tricky opponents who would like nothing better than to turn that dream into a nightmare.

In a split doubleheader, Juan Manuel Marquez will face European junior welterweight champion Sergey Fedchenko in Mexico City, while in Las Vegas the unbeaten Rios must get by Richard Abril, an unusually tall lightweight who has exceptional hand speed and ring mobility.

Marquez is one of the great ring technicians, but getting a handle on Fedchenko may prove tricky. The 30-year-old Ukrainian has an uncanny in-ring ability to figure out opponents, earning him the nickname, "The Professor." He is unpredictable, alternating between two distinct fight styles. At times, Fedchenko (30-1, 13 KOs) has attacked aggressively with constant pressure. Other fights he uses his legs and fast hands to box circles around opponents. So which version will Marquez have to deal with?

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Who will become the next Mayweather or Pacquiao?

By Eric Raskin

Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather

It is wonderfully symbolic that the last two fighters to whom Oscar De La Hoya lost, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, now occupy the position held for so long by "The Golden Boy." For years, De La Hoya was the crossover superstar who served as the face of boxing to the mainstream public. Mayweather and Pacquiao, together, have done the same in the three-plus years since Oscar's retirement from the ring.

The torch is not always passed so directly, but it is always passed eventually. Mayweather and Pacquiao will not rule boxing forever. Given Mayweather's periodic retirement announcements and Pacquiao's frequent talk of being just a handful of bouts from the end, their two-headed reign could actually end relatively soon. And who will be the face of the sport then? At the moment, eight young stars are showing the kind of potential needed to lead the next generation. Who do you think is likely to step up?

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HBO Boxing 2012 Wishlist. You Asked; We (Sorta) Listened

By Kieran Mulvaney

With 2011 drawing rapidly to a close, we took to Twitter and Facebook to ask HBO Boxing fans what was on their boxing wish list for 2012. And you responded en masse – so much so, in fact, that #Boxingwishlist was trending on Twitter earlier this week.

Some folks apparently didn’t quite get the question, and started listing the gifts they wanted to receive on Boxing Day; there’s not much we can do in the way of providing game consoles or tablet PCs, but maybe by this time next year, HBO Boxing will have been able to make some of those other dreams come true.

Let’s take a look at what you asked for:

Money, money, money

There’s no question who was the number one most requested fighter for 2012, legal issues be damned. And while, understandably, plenty want to see the long-anticipated clash between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquaio, there were also other requests for possible Money Matchups:

*Sergio Martinez vs. Floyd Mayweather or Pacman vs. Mayweather @AnttheSportsGuy
*Pacquiao v Mayweather...obvious @WorldBoxingNews
*Mayweather vs Sugar Ray Leonard #Fantasy - @DKyle24 (Don’t think there’s anything we can do to make that happen)
*U KNOW WHAT IT IS MAYWEATHER VS PACQUIAO!!!!!!!! - Richard W.

Bam Bam

Also right at the top of the request pile was a fighter who, with his action style and outsize personality, has realy become “must see TV” over the past 12 months or so: Brandon Rios.

*Marcos Maidana vs. Brandon Rios... @jgzm13 (There were quite a few requests for this particular matchup, and understandably so, given the no-nonsense action styles of both men.)
*Brandon Rios against any of the big names at 140! - Davide G.

Canelo, Chavez, Cotto and Martinez

Plenty of suggestions, too, for the big four names in and around the middleweight division: Sergio Martinez, Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, and Miguel Cotto:

*Martinez vs Chavez Jr. or Cotto vs Chavez Jr Canelo vs Martinez Canelo vs Chavez Jr - @soberon15
*Canelo vs [Victor] Ortiz would be a really good fight- Carlos G.
*Canelo vs Chavez Jr @rickthereckless

Heck, bring ‘em all on

For some, the option of just picking one or two possible fights was too restricting, given the sheer amount of matchmaking that could be done. From the lower weights to an emerging heavyweight, there are a lot of names that boxing fans want to see face each other in the ring in 2012:

*Kirkland-Alvarez, Bradley-Khan, Margarito-Maidana, Peterson-Alexander, Cotto-Mayweather, Gamboa-Chavez jr, Pacquiao-Martinez.... - Bigga S.
*Chavez Jr. vs. Martinez, Canelo Alvarez vs. Cotto, Rios vs. Maidana, J.M. Lopez vs. Gamboa, Angulo vs. Kirkland 2, Ortiz vs. Bradley, and end it all with Pacquaio vs. Mayweather - Gil O
*marquez vs morales cotto vs margarito pacquiao vs mayweather ortiz vs amir khan - Jack H.
*Seth Mitchell vs any Klitschko, Time for some action in the heavyweight division - Raynor R.

Twelve months from now, will we still be licking our lips at some of these matchups? Looking back on how they all worked out? Or salivating over other possible contests we haven’t yet considered?

In the meantime, be sure to tune into HBO Boxing early in the New Year, as several of your requested fighters will be in action: On January 28, Erik Morales and James Kirkland will be in separate bouts in Houston, Texas; the following week in San Antonio, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr will take on Marco Antonio Rubio, while Nonito Donaire will swap punches with Wilfredo Vazquez Jr; and on February 25 in St. Louis, we’ll see a fascinating style clash between Devon Alexander and Marcos Maidana, with emerging star Adrien Broner in the co-main event.

Thanks for watching and reading. Happy holidays, and we’ll see you in 2012.

Undercard Overview: Intense Brawling Guaranteed

By Eric Raskin

It was sportswriter Pierce Egan who first dubbed boxing “the sweet science” in the early 1800s. Two hundred years later, Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito, and their undercard cohorts are poised to present an action-packed night of pugilism with nothing sweet and nothing scientific about it. Some fans appreciate a brilliant technical display; every fan loves a brutality-filled brawl. The December 3 pay-per-view card at Madison Square Garden features no less than four fights that just might fit that latter description. Here’s a closer look at who’s leading up to the Cotto-Margarito grudge match:

Brandon Rios (28-0-1, 21 KOs) vs. John Murray (31-1, 18 KOs), 12 Rounds, Lightweights

Photo Credit: Will HartThere isn’t a more polarizing young fighter in the game right now than the 25-year-old Rios. His fighting style is highly offensive, and the things that come out of his mouth are, well, highly offensive. He’s emerged in the past year or so as true must-see TV, whether you’re rooting for him or against him. It almost doesn’t matter who “Bam Bam’s” opponent is—but for what it’s worth in this case, he’s taking on a respected former British and European regional champ in the 26-year-old Murray.

Murray will be highly motivated, as his lone defeat came in his most recent fight, an eighth-round TKO against Kevin Mitchell. He needs to get back on the winning track, and he’ll have the backing of hundreds of British fans flying across the Atlantic to pack the Garden. Still, Rios is the big betting favorite here. He’s riding high off of two thrilling wins so far in 2011, a come-from-behind knockout of Miguel Acosta to claim his first title and a three-round decimation of Urbano Antillon in his first defense. Margarito’s foul-mouthed stablemate is expected to secure successful defense number two on Saturday night, and however long the fight with Murray lasts, it won’t be boring.

Pawel Wolak (29-1-1, 19 KOs) vs. Delvin Rodriguez (25-5-3, 14 KOs), 10 Rounds, Junior Middleweights

This fight requires no selling—at least not via words. Just sit someone down in front of the 10 glorious rounds of warfare that Rodriguez and Wolak gave us at New York’s Roseland Ballroom in July, and they’ll be instantly sold. In that bout, Wolak battled through a hideously swollen eye to gut out a controversial draw, the fourth time in Rodriguez’s hard-luck career that the Connecticut veteran was left flummoxed by the judges.

Wolak is 30, Rodriguez is 31, and they’re each at a crucial juncture in their careers. Both are peaking in popularity on the heels of their July brawl, but only one can make the leap to that next level after this fight. Unless, that is, they give us another Fight of the Year candidate. Then, somewhat like Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward nearly a decade ago, they can rise to new heights together.

Mike Jones (25-0, 19 KOs) vs. Sebastian Lujan (38-5-2, 24 KOs), 12 Rounds, Welterweights

Photo Credit: Will HartIs Jones a future opponent for Manny Pacquiao? For Andre Berto? For the Cotto-Margarito winner? For the past year or so, the unbeaten Philadelphia welterweight’s name has been tossed around in that elite company, but he has to get by merciless Argentine Lujan before any of those breakout fights can come into focus.

Lujan is best known as the poor guy who nearly got his ear literally punched off his head by Margarito back in ’05. The 31-year-old tough guy is now riding a 12-fight winning streak and represents arguably the stiffest test Jones has ever faced. At 28, Jones has emerged as a legitimate top-10 contender in the star-packed welterweight division. With his long jab and all-around skills, Jones appears to have the tools to pass this test. But we won’t go so far as to predict that he’ll box Lujan’s ears off.