Inside the Ring

Upcoming Fights

Tune into me, George Foreman, as I commentate on HBO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING and TVKO

Past Fights

• Oscar De La Hoya vs. "Sugar" Shane Mosley: June 17, 2000 - Los Angeles, CA
• Fernando Vargas vs. Ike Quartey: April 15, 2000 - Las Vegas
• Antonio Diaz vs. Ivan Robinson: April 15, 2000 - Las Vegas Junior Welterweight Championship
• Prince NAZ vs. Bungu: March 11, 2000 - London, England
• Neary vs. Ward WBU Welterweight Title: March 11, 2000 - London, England Oscar De La Hoya vs. Felix Trinidad 09/18/99

Oscar De La Hoya vs. "Sugar" Shane Mosley: June 17, 2000 -
Los Angeles, CA

Well, it is a few days past and Oscar De La Hoya has been defeated; only this time for real. In the Trinidad fight he fought the wrong fight, as far as the judges were concerned. With Sugar Shane Mosley, he again tried to do a make up fight. " Show the fight fans you can come forward". Well we believed you could, Oscar. Thank heavens you did not do the same in the last few rounds with Trinidad, a true puncher! " But what Oscar did show us was that "he has heart". When he got into the ring, you could see he had paid the price. He looked great; not one ounce of fat on that Golden Boy body. All the things that made Oscar great also made Mosley look good: powerful jab, a willingness not to back down, and a big crowd. Mosley's head movement was too fast for Oscar's stiff jab. You've gotta make a boxer come to you and the hometown crowd made Mosley stay in it when he was unsure of himself. It too was his hometown!

There are families who save for years to travel to Europe, South America, and to see the Great wall of China in Asia. Oscar has not saved up; but he has the cash to do all these things while he has the 20/20 to see, as well as the intelligence to appreciate these great wonders. Where does Oscar go from here? "The travel agency."

Sure, he can get the rematch and even one day become the THREE TIME WELTERWEIGHT CHAMP! But, as you know, we have seen enough of those in any weight class. Oscar can do it because " He can draw the money in. Sometimes the "Golden Boy" means, he can get an opponent some gold!"

Smell the roses Oscar... Come back if you need the cash, "I did it". If not, be a real Golden Boy, and quit while the quitting is good for boxing.

George

Fernando Vargas vs. Ike Quartey: April 15, 2000 - Las Vegas
- IBF Junior Middleweight Championship

It was a big difference for Ike Quartey, it was a first fight out of the Welterweights at 154 pounds Junior Middleweights. Quartey showed us that he could take the punches, as a matter of fact he is not a coward about his ability. Ike brought the fight all night to Fernando Vargas, but Vargas was able to build up a heavy lead in the beginning. When Vargas did fade in the ninth round, he got a second win in the 10th, 11th, and 12th rounds. Although Quartey put on a good show as the aggressor, the point system failed him. Looking so much for a one punch knockout, Ike let the earlier rounds get away from him. Look for big things from Fernando Vargas, "the champion has arrived!" Big questions about Ike Quartey where does he go from here? What weight will he do it in? Will he fight again, or will he wait another two years? This could be a great fighter!

Antonio Diaz vs. Ivan Robinson: April 15, 2000 - Las Vegas
- Junior Welterweight Championship

From the opening bell until the fight was finally stopped, Ivan Robinson tried everything he could to win this boxing match. Of course he had the speeds, certainly he had the tactics; but he did not have the strength to keep Antonio Diaz from crawling all over him. At one point of the fight we at HBO said "he's walking him down." And he did walk him down. An injury to Robinson's right eye started all the trouble then after a couple rounds of being dominated the referee called a halt to the fight in the 11th round; for good reason. There was no way Ivan Robinson could stand up to the power and endurance of Antonio Diaz.

Prince NAZ Vs Bungu: March 11, 2000 London, England
- Featherweight WBO TITLE

I was there, I saw every round, and the unexpected knockout in the 4th round. A thought or two before I tell you about the fight: I spent a whole childhood very satisfied with music as a teen I had many favorites, from MoTown to James Brown. By the end of the 60's I was full from Jimmy Smith, Wes Montgomery, to you name it. Then I thought that I'd never hear better. I waited for something new. But by chance I saw THE CHARLIE PARKER MOVIE. I decided to try to listen to some if the Late Parker music; needless to say, "He is the Late and Great Parker."

I said all that to say, before you say "I'm fed up; I'm full" buy a ticket to a Prince Nazeem fight. Or one day you will be like me, "I wished I'd seen Bird Land and heard the Bird."

Round 1. The Prince allowed Bungu to press the fight. Although Naz landed the harder punches.

Round 2. The Prince made Bungu back up. The challenger had weak legs and was not effective at all. But going forward is not a Naz specialty either.

In the next few rounds Naz got comfortable. Nice jabs. Making Bungu cover up then stepping out of sight of Bungu landing hard punches.

It was after 3rd Round no contest. The Prince entered as the King of a Magic Carpet and as far as I am concerned he left on one as well. A 4th round knockout.

Neary vs. Ward WBU Welterweight Title

The Best Fight of the Night!
From the opening bell it was a war with the Champion Neary receiving hard body punches from a strong Ward. After 3 Rounds, the Champ very smartly started boxing with a good jab. Neary started to pull away after 5 Rounds and was on his way to great defense of his WBU Title. At about the 8th Round Ward stopped trying so hard with his left. Then started landing and chopping right hands. When Ward got protective of his swollen left eye Ward closed in with the powerful left hook, and like that Ward knocked Neary out in the 8th Round. Ward then became the New Junior Welterweight WBU Champion. A happy ward saidafter the fight, "I knew it was my time." I hope to see more Ward on HBO. A tough and entertaining Champ from Lowell, MA.

I have never been a fan of one-title-one champ for this very reason, if the judges score a draw again should we wait another year for a rematch? One or two guys hold on and make all the money while the others wait and wait. Boxers have, as a rule, a short life in the sport and to hold things up like this is not good for the other contenders.

How do I feel the fight will go? The same as before. Lewis is just too tall for Holyfield. Holyfield has Lewis afraid of his power; Holyfield is not a power puncher, but you can't make Lewis believe that. Why? Because a lesser boxer, Oliver McCall, knocked Lewis out once. There is no amount of talk that will make Lewis go for a knock out. "We all believe in you (Lewis) and you believe not." So, we may as well save our breathe... Lewis is not going to take any chance.

I look for a 12 round decision - Lewis. On the other hand, Holyfield is a heavyweight and all he has to do is to just believe in the power that Lewis thinks he has and wade in. A weak chin is a weak chin.

George
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