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Garcia, Golovkin Win; Burgos Robbed
Undefeated Mikey Garcia won his first world title ... but it wasn't an entirely satisfying win. Garcia knocked WBO featherweight champ Orlando Salido down four times in the first four rounds but an accidental headbutt late in round eight broke Garcia's nose. The bout was stopped and went to the cards with Garcia comfortably ahead: 79-70 and 79-69 twice.

Undefeated Gennady Golovkin retained his WBA middleweight belt with a seventh round TKO of game but outgunned challenger Gabriel Rosado. Rosada was a bloody mess when his corner threw in the towel in round seven to protect him from any further damage.

Juan Carlos Burgos did more than enough to take the WBO junior lightweight belt from Roman "Rocky" Martinez ... but two of the three judges were watching another fight. After 12 rounds, it was clear to the crowd in attendance, watching at home and from ringside that Burgos was the new champ. Unfortunately for Burgos, only judge Waleska Roldan scored the fight accurately: 117-111 for Burgos. Judge John Signorile scored it a draw (114-114) and judge Tony Paolillo turned in an indefensible scorecard of 116-112 for Martinez. Incompetent and corrupt scoring continues to plague boxing, driving away it's ever-eroding fan base and preventing new fans from embracing the sport. It would be so easy to reduce the likelihood of horrible decisions if anyone with any power - promoters, sanctioning bodies, athletic commissions, cable TV networks, etc. - truly cared enough to make improving the quality of judging a priority.

One long-time fight fan from New York wrote in and suggested the following: "You might consider putting the email address of the NY State Athletic Commission [athletic@dos.ny.gov ] on your site so people can email their displeasure with the judging of the Burgos fight last night. It's one thing to have this kind of outrage in Texas but for a NY judge in Madison Square Garden to give Rocky Martinez 8 rounds of that fight is an abomination."

I couldn't agree more: athletic@dos.ny.gov

Garcia, Golovkin Win; Burgos Robbed originally appeared on About.com Boxing on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013 at 11:48:32.

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Shane Mosley Unretires
Add Shane Mosley to the list of boxers who are unable to stay retired for long. "Sugar" Shane, 41, is 0-3-1 in his last four fights and looked old and slow in his most recent bouts. Mosley announced his retirement a month after being nearly shutout by Saul Alvarez on May 5, 2012. Nevertheless, his "comeback" fight will be for a world title and - even if he loses - he's unlikely to get hurt as his opponent is light-hitting WBA welterweight beltholder Paulie Malignaggi. The fight is tentatively slated for April 27 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, so Malignaggi will have the support of his hometown crowd.

Mosley and Malignaggi were both hoping to fight Ricky Hatton, but when Hatton got knocked out in his own comeback from retirement, Mosley and Malignaggi went to Plan B -- fighting each other.

Mosley will reportedly early only $350,000 for the fight, his smallest purse in 15 years.

Shane Mosley Unretires originally appeared on About.com Boxing on Tuesday, January 15th, 2013 at 11:22:32.

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Poll: 2012 Fighter of the Year

2012 was yet another year in which Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. failed to fight each other, but there were still plenty of great fights and fighters who had great years. Now that 2012 is over, it's time to vote for Fighter of the Year. The finalists are:

Honorable mentions go to: Carl Froch (2-0, 2 KOs), Abner Mares (2-0), Leo Santa Cruz (5-0, 3 KOs), Austin Trout (2-0) and Andre Ward (1-0, 1 KO).

Who do you think was the 2012 Fighter of the Year? Vote in our poll.

Poll: 2012 Fighter of the Year originally appeared on About.com Boxing on Wednesday, January 2nd, 2013 at 13:34:28.

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Wladimir Klitschko - Povetkin Finally A Reality?
The camps of heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko and WBA beltholder Alexander Povetkin are negotiating for a "unification" bout of sorts in early 2013. If the two sides can't reach an agreement, the WBA has scheduled a purse bid for January 17.

At 33, it's hard to consider Povetkin a prospect but he's still largely untested (despite a 25-0 record with 17 KOs) and has seemingly been ducking the Klitschko brothers for several years. While he's unlikely to win, he is the most interesting/qualified opponent out there for Wladimir right now so hopefully this fight gets made "official" within the next few weeks.

Wladimir Klitschko - Povetkin Finally A Reality? originally appeared on About.com Boxing on Wednesday, January 2nd, 2013 at 12:50:42.

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Boxing on Cable TV: Alive and Well
Boxing may no longer be a mainstream sport but it certainly has a loyal following on cable TV. During 2012, 16 fights on cable - 14 on HBO and two on Showtime - attracted audiences of at least one million viewers. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. proved to be the breakout star of the year as he headlined the number one and three cable TV bouts against relatively unknown opponents.

1. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.-Marco Antonio Rubio, Feb. 4, HBO, 1.9 million
2. Bernard Hopkins-Chad Dawson, April 28, HBO, 1.6 million
3. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.-Andy Lee, June 16, HBO, 1.4 million
4. Adrien Broner-Vicente Escobedo, July 21, HBO, 1.4 million
5. Miguel Cotto-Austin Trout, Dec. 1, Showtime, 1.4 million
6. Nonito Donaire-Jorge Arce, Dec. 15, HBO, 1.3 million
7. Andre Ward-Chad Dawson, Sept. 8, HBO, 1.3 million
8. Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Miguel Cotto PPV replay, May 12, HBO, 1.3 million
9. Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez PPV replay, Dec. 15, HBO, 1.3 million
10. Danny Garcia-Amir Khan, July 14, HBO, 1.3 million
11. Erik Morales-Danny Garcia I, March 24, HBO, 1.2 million
12. Robert Guerrero-Andre Berto, Nov. 24, HBO, 1.1 million
13. Marcos Maidana-Devon Alexander, Feb. 25, HBO, 1.1 million
14. Adrien Broner-Antonio Demarco, Nov. 17, HBO, 1.1 million
15. Sergio Martinez-Matthew Macklin, March 17, HBO, 1.1 million
16. Saul Alvarez-Josesito Lopez, Sept. 15, Showtime, 1.0 million

Boxing on Cable TV: Alive and Well originally appeared on About.com Boxing on Monday, December 31st, 2012 at 00:32:40.

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Ward-Pavlik Canceled
Super middleweight champion Andre Ward and former middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik were originally scheduled to meet on Jan. 26 in Los Angeles. When Ward injured his right shoulder during a sparring session in November, the fight was postponed and rescheduled for March 2. Now, with Ward scheduled to have surgery on his shoulder, the fight has been canceled.

Ward fought only once in 2012 -- a one-sided 10th-round TKO of light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson on Sept. 8. Now 2013 looks like it could be another one-fight year for the number two pound-for-pound boxer.

Pavlik, who seems older than 30, may still get a shot at a name opponent, with Lucian Bute and Arthur Abraham being mentioned as possibilities.

Ward-Pavlik Canceled originally appeared on About.com Boxing on Monday, December 31st, 2012 at 00:01:45.

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