The Warrior Within.

Fondly, I watched the Gatti-Ward triology this weekend from their epic slugfest that started in 2002 and didn't end until 2003. Forget the breaks between fights: these guys fought one 30-round masterpiece.

It brought me great sadness to realize the kind of warrior boxing had lost...especially as of late when boxers are all too quick to quit, give up, run away--all to avoid punishment.

After the Ortiz-Maidana fight, Max Kellerman went on to say that "more is required in the sport of boxing than any other, maybe more than what is reasonable." Gatti knew what the fans required. And he sacrificed happily.

There is a hard price to pay in boxing: he paid it gladly. A true warrior. A throwback.

Boxing will be hard-pressed to find a fighter like Arturo Gatti.

"To me, you can find Arturo's whole life in one round—the ninth round of the first fight with Micky Ward. Everything that Arturo was is in that round. He's overly brave. He's almost willingly sacrificial. He's unbelievably, blindingly courageous to the point of being foolhardy. He responds to the roar of the crowd. He's bleeding and obviously badly hurt. He's at death's door and he survives it. It's all there." -Jim Lampley

"When we mention the word 'warrior'— he is the epitome of a warrior. What made Gatti so special was that he would actually fight with his body busted up, his hands broken, his jaw hurt, his ribs hurt, everything. And then just out of nowhere he would put all the pain aside and come back with his one hand dangling and fight like a wild man. That's what made him different than any other prizefighter I have ever seen in my life." -Emmanuel Steward

Mayweather vs. Marquez.

Round Robin.

Here's to Showtime putting together a 6-man round robin Super-Middle Weight tourney starting in October and finishing up in 2011.

Feat. the Viking Warrior, Kessler; the Cobra, Froch; King Arthur Abraham ditching his 160 lb belt to move up and participate; former undisputed middleweight champ Jermain Taylor; and 2004 Olympians Andre Ward and Andre Dirrell.

I'd like to see KO artist Allan Green, as well as Bute and Andrade involved in the tourney, but the world is an imperfect place. I'm sure the well-deserved Bute-Andrade rematch will happen this fall with the winner being involved somewhere against the competition.

Also, I'd Looooove to see Pavlik move up in weight after unifying the belts in October against Sturm. You can't see the Ghost taking on Froch or letting Taylor have 3rd shot?

Just Too Sweet

Sugar Shane is moving on.

A ring veteran and future Hall of Famer should not be reduced to begging; it's unbecoming of a champion.

Mosley enlisted his entourage of Golden Boy partners to release a statement saying he was done fighting for a piece of the proverbial Pacquiao pie.

But with Berto doing negotiations with Callazo for a much deserved rematch, and Cintron and Judah being (in my opinion), gatekeepers and stepping stones at this stage in their careers, that really only leaves the Punisher and the Ghana Brawler.

Paul Williams, the self-proclaimed "most feared man in boxing," is a freakish 6'2'' welterweight who throws over 1,000 punches per fight and dusted his shoulders off after pitching a shut-out against "the most avoided man in boxing," Winky Wright.

Joshua Clottey got his name out there after losing a close split decision to Miguel Cotto on the eve of the Puerto Rican Day Parade; had he not spent so much time against the ropes and complaining about invisible low blows, fans might have been outraged at the outcome.

However, this is where things get interesting: fighter A beats fighter B, fighter C beats fighter A--how can fighter B hope to beat fighter C?

Shane Mosley knows the answer. Boxing is the one sport where the A-B-C rarely works out as predicted. Cotto owns a unanimous decision over Sugar Shane, outpointing the veteran to victory. Margarito uses his cinder-block gloves to knock Cotto out in the 11th. With the ABC recipe in place, Sugar Shane goes on to clean Margarito's clock, putting him down inside of 9 rounds at a sold out Staples Center.

And now add Joshua Clottey. The ghana fighter living in the Bronx lost to Margarito and Cotto--how can he hope to beat Sugar Shane?

ABC my friends.

Modern Day Warriors.

Heartless

Mexican fight fans have been eagerly waiting for the second-coming of Oscar De La Hoya. Alfredo Angulo was beaten by a gatekeeper in an unimpressive Kermit Cintron; Antonio Margarito was discovered to be a cheating bastard. Fight fans are either too timid to place stock in chubby Chris Arreola, or are disinterested in the Heavyweight division all together. And I'm right there with them.

And along comes "Vicious" Victor Ortiz, a young 22 year old Mexican-American fighter with knockout power to go with his southpaw stance; he gave the Golden Boy a black eye in sparring before his "showdown" with Manny Pacquiao.

He has the heart-felt back-story of a boy who was abandonned by his parents and left to raise his siblings himself--too bad he didn't show heart when it mattered most. He has that crest-white smile that reminds us of the Oscar we used to love--too bad he might not have the chin to go with it.

Backed by Golden Boy Promotions and headlining an HBO venue, everything seemed to be going his way. Even the largley Mexican-American fans chanted repeatedly "Or-tiz, Or-tiz!" Hell, he's even in the new Fight Night Round 4 video game with a higher rating than most journeymen of the sweet science.

And then the bell rang. Ortiz showed guts and power, but lacked what mattered most that night against that particular opponent: Marcos Maidana, a knockout artist but relatively unknown brawler fighting in the US for the first time. Read any boxing article before the fight and it was fairly unanimous--this was intended to be a stepping stone for a superstar-to-be.

Even though Maidana was dropped 3 times in 2 rounds, Ortiz admittedly threw out the gameplan and rushed in to brawl with the heavy-handed Argentine. And then Ortiz had to survive the 5th round. Maidana landed wide, power left hooks and overhand rights that reminded me of Max Baer--he might as well been hitting him with a chair.

With Ortiz's back against the ropes, Maidana landed another right hand that seemed to swell the entire left side of Victor's face. And with the right eye cut and bleeding from a left hook minutes before, that Hollywood smile was nowhere to be seen.

Like a runner sprinting off the starting blocks, the Argentine came in for the kill at the start of the 6th. With Ortiz on his kness in under a minute, the fight was over. Not because the ringside physician called the fight--Ortiz, up and walking after his second knockdown, shook his head at the referee in a universal language that screamed, "I want no more of this..."

Max Kellerman deserves an award for his comments following the upset; "More is required of you in boxing than any other sport, maybe more than what is reasonable. But to be great, you have to be willing to go out on your shield, to go out on your back."

In the post fight interview (that has already been countered by a statement released by Golden Boy Promotions), Ortiz went on to say that he's "not going to go out on his back or lay down for anyone."

Maybe Ortiz would be better suited for flag-football. Or badmitton.

I hope that Ortiz can rebound from such a dramatic loss. I hope that he still has fans after being labeled a "coward" and a "quitter" in the aftermath. I hope he digs down deeper next time he's faced with such adversity.

"I'm gonna have to be killed before I lose, and I ain't going to die easy." -Muhammad Ali

Pacquiao Reigns as King

And with one thunderous shot, the Hitman falls.

The story of Ricky Hatton’s two attempts to claim pound for pound supremacy has not been fairytale. Hell, it hasn’t even been pretty. And the tale may have ended on Saturday night with less than 10 seconds in only the second round, Pacquiao punching on the final period. Hatton seemed to be trying at a comeback after he was put down twice in the first round, but Manny Pacquiao was writing his own ending—his own legend.

The Filipino warrior fights with such brilliance, such surgical precision that clinical damage is the only diagnosis for his defeated opponents. Not enemies mind you; the mild-mannered Manny has become the alter ego for boxing’s brash and boisterous previous pound for pound champ—Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Pacquiao has speed, power, and technical soundness that have yet to be rivaled. And make no mistake—the Pacquiao we used to know and love is gone. The one-handed brawler with a big left has evolved into a thinking, tactical machine with shotgun power in either hand. It’s not often a Saint becomes a demon—but in that ring, he breathes fire.

Ricky Hatton was wondering how he ended up on his knees before he even realized he ate a sharp right hook. Mayweather picked Hatton apart in ten. Pacquiao ran a train over him in two. Mayweather won a debatable split decision over De la Hoya; Pacquiao pushed the Golden Boy into retirement inside eight brutal rounds. And one must admire Mayweather’s technical and defensive ability—he doesn’t make exciting fights but he knows how to win. The undefeated technician left the ring with his mouth running. He returned on the morning of Pacquiao’s big fight to talk himself up as the returning king; without saying a word, Pacquiao let everyone know who wears the crown right in the center of the ring.

The post De La Hoya era belongs to Manny Pacquiao, boxing’s biggest draw and most marketable star. Mayweather can contest the loss of his throne, but cannot rightfully reclaim it until the ruler of boxing has been unseated.

How blessed we are to have a champion, a courageous warrior like Pacquiao.

With humility, grace, and undeniable skill, Pacquiao is paving his own way in boxing history.

All hail our King.