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.

Boxing Fans Have Much to Be Thankful For

By Kieran Mulvaney

Photo Credit: Will HartIt seems reasonable to assume that there a lot of people involved in boxing in Mexico, Las Vegas, New York and elsewhere feeling extremely thankful this holiday weekend. At the front of the line: Antonio Margarito, who received a belated go-ahead from the New York State Athletic Commission to fight Miguel Cotto at Madison Square Garden on December 3rd; Bob Arum of Top Rank, who is promoting the bout and who was prepared to move it elsewhere at the last minute until being confronted with a Cotto ultimatum that it had to be in New York or nowhere; officials at the Garden, who assuredly did not want what promises to be a huge event snatched away from under their noses; and the thousands who had bought tickets to the fight and made travel plans to the Big Apple.

This has been a year of highs and lows in boxing – at times, seemingly more of the latter than the former – but even so, there has been plenty for which the rest of us can be thankful, as well. For example:

Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao: Each may be loathed by the other's fans, but for neutrals it's a rare treat to have two such outstanding and contrasting practitioners at the top of the game. Here's hoping in 2012, they give us something to make us truly thankful.

Andre Berto and Victor Ortiz: For what is still probably the leading contender for Fight of the Year.

Pawel Wolak and Delvin Rodriguez: For giving us another Fight of the Year candidate - one so good, in fact, that they're going to do it again, on the Cotto-Margarito undercard.

Freddie Roach and Ann Wolfe: Freddie Roach is the number one trainer in the sport, an always-accessible and engaging interview, and the subject of his own upcoming reality show on HBO. But if Freddie's is the most interesting story among active trainers, Ann Wolfe's is right there with him. Plus she gave me the best quote ever.

James Kirkland: For three minutes of boxing action that still has me breathless.

Joe Frazier: Because although he may be gone, he will never be forgotten.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all. May your beagle make you a memorable holiday dinner of buttered toast and popcorn. 

PunchStat Report: Kirkland KO 6 Angulo

By CompuBox

Kirkland survived an early knockdown to outland the game Angulo 131-24 in power shots over the next five rounds.  77% of their combined landed punches were power shots (216 of 286).   Kirkland averaged 101 punches thrown in rounds one thru five.

Kirkland Wins by Sixth-Round TKO

By Chuck Johnson

Photo by Will Hart

With two of the most aggressive fighters in the sport facing off, expectations for all-out war became reality Saturday night soon after the opening bell.

Pugilistic purgatory, or in other words fighting hell, was a journey that James “Mandingo Warrior”

Kirkland and Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo both proved willing to give and take in their scheduled 12-round junior middleweight bout from Cancun, Mexico on HBO’s Boxing After Dark.  READ MORE AT HBO.COM

CompuBox Analysis: Alfredo Angulo vs. James Kirkland

By CompuBox

In 2008 and 2009, Alfredo Angulo and James Kirkland appeared to be on a collision course -- with the emphasis on collision. They campaigned in the same weight class, they were bombs-away sluggers and at one point they boasted a combined record of 40-0 with 34 knockouts, including 26 in the first three rounds.

But the spring of 2009 proved brutal for both. In April, Kirkland was arrested -- then jailed -- on a weapons charge and the following month Kermit Cintron collared a flu-ridden "El Perro" by decision in a title eliminator. Worse yet, in the fall of 2010 it was discovered that Angulo had entered the U.S. illegally and was returned to his native Mexico.

Each man has since overcome his adversities -- at least in part -- and returned to the ring with mixed results. Since losing to Cintron Angulo has scored five wins, all by knockout, while Kirkland's road has been rockier -- four wins, all by KO, but also a shocking one-round TKO loss to 35-year-old Nobuhiro Ishida sandwiched between the victories.

Will Angulo and Kirkland produce the anticipated fireworks? And if so, who will prevail? Their respective CompuBox histories offer these clues:

> Read more CompuBox analysis of Alfredo Angulo vs. James Kirkland on HBO.com