This past Saturday, May 5th, two of the premier fighters of the last decade finally met as Floyd "Money" Mayweather tangled with Miguel Cotto at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.  This bout had been on the boxing wish list of most hardcore fans for quite some time, and came to fruition on HBO pay-per-view.  Up for grabs was Cotto's WBA super welterweight title.  The undercard featured an intriguing cross roads battle between Mexican sensation, Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and future hall of famer, "Sugar" Shane Mosley.  HBO will replay Mayweather vs. Cotto Saturday, May 12th at 9:15pm.  [read more]

The Hilton Anatole hosted The Real Estate Council’s 24th annual Fight Night Thursday and over half a million dollars was raised that goes back into the Dallas community.  The event brings together the most influential decision-makers in the real estate industry plus guests are treated to a fabulous night of casino gaming including Blackjack, Roulette and Craps.  Cocktails and dinner started the night out in grand fashion and an epic display was center stage that featured two beautiful women greeting guests as they lounged before the night's festivities.  Four bouts topped off the event and the action didn't disappoint.

Legends Smoking Joe Frazier and Angelo Dundee who both passed on recently were honored with a ten-count to begin the night of boxing. Each had been a guest of fight night in the past and very influential figures in the great sport of boxing.  Former welterweight champion and 2003 Boxing Hall of Fame Inductee, Curtis Cokes, was a special guest and ringside for the four entertaining bouts. The first female ring announcer, Amy Hayes, was on hand to get the action started.  [read more]

CORONA in association with BACK ALLEY PROMOTIONS

UFC HALL OF FAMER AND FORMER UFC CHAMPION RANDY ‘THE NATURAL” COUTURE AND TOP WELTERWEIGHT JOHNY “BIGG RIGG” HENDRICKS TO MAKE APPEARANCES XTREME KNOCKOUT 15 IN ARLINGTON!

The Real Estate Council’s 24th annual FightNight: The Original is set for Thursday, May 3, 2012 at 6:30 p.m. at the Hilton Anatole. This year’s black tie event features professional boxing, casino gaming, outstanding cuisine and Vegas-style entertainment along with terrific networking with leaders in the commercial real estate industry.  [read more]

Warriors Vera and Washington size each other up.

Washington (r) lands another strong right.

Main Event for WPBF Middleweight International Title
8 Rounds – 160 lbs.
Brian Vera (20-6 12 KO’s) born in Fort Worth now fighting out of Austin defeated Dallas’ Teronze Washington (14-17 7 KO’s) by unanimous decision. The fight was for the vacant World Professional Boxing Federation Middleweight International Title, a mouthful to say much less write. According to Wikipedea, “The WPBF is an international sanctioning body that sanctions professional boxing matches and awards (both male & female) world and subordinate championship titles.”

The great Troy Dorsey with the WPBF belt.

In front left to right Vera, Dorsey, Shields and Ayala.

[read more]

Yanez (l) and Rios trade.

From the moment he arrived at the Four Points Sheraton hotel, Yanez's verbal and fighting skills were in peak form.  He instigated a shoving match with his opponent at a press conference, offered Rios' girlfriend his phone number and made such a big spectacle that many of those, who hadn't…  [read more]

The new champ Angel Sigala (l) and James Freeman.

Friday, March 16th was a historic day for Wichita Falls, Texas, as for the first time ever, not one but two title bouts would be waged within the city limits.  A boisterous, enthusiastic crowd of 1,500 or more gathered at the Kay Yeager Coliseum in downtown Wichita Falls to see their pride and joy, Texas State middleweight champion, James "Boogie" Freeman, attempt to add yet another championship to his list of accomplishments.  [read more]

If the recent signing of Floyd Mayweather vs. Miguel Cotto wasn't sufficient, it looks like boxing fans will be privy to another tantalizing treat, when Manny Pacquiao and Tim Bradley square off on June 9th.  [read more]

I can't speak for you, but I already know what I'll be doing on May 5; sitting in front of a high definition, big screen television, sipping on a cold brew, watching Floyd Mayweather and Miguel Cotto duke it out, on pay-per-view! This long anticipated matchup was confirmed on Wednesday, February 1. The fight will be held at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, NV., on what has become boxing's biggest weekend of the calendar year; the celebration of "Cinco de Mayo". 

You'd be hard pressed to find two more accomplished current pugilists than Mayweather (42-0, 26 KO's), who calls himself "Money May" or Cotto (37-2, 30 KO's), the fighting pride of Puerto Rico.  [read more]

Errol Spence

Roberto Marroquin (l) and Paul Reyes Sr.

Jose Hernandez

Manuel Rojas

Roberto Marroquin for the second time in three years was at the top of the heap when our pound-for -pound votes were tallied. But, this was the year of Errol Spence. Even though he was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the AIBA world championships, these championships are where Spence qualified for the 2012 London Olympics.

We’ve never designated an amateur as “Fighter of the Year” so there was discourse if this was the acceptable thing to do. Still, the manner in which De Soto’s Spence dominated his weight class to punch his ticket for London is an occurrence too good not to recognize. Hopefully, after London, we have this dilemma again.

Another familiar name to our list of bests is Fort Worth native Jose Hernandez. It is implausible that at just 24 years of age, he is even considered to be making a comeback, but that is the case. He is not to blame; unfortunately, previous management lacked the expertise, knowledge, and connections to guide him properly. Maybe now Hernandez can reach his full potential.

A new and exciting addition to the North Texas boxing scene is Dallas’ Manuel Rojas (3-0-0). In his last two fights, he pitched shutouts. Rojas is just 18 and as cliché as it may sound, his ring generalship is impressive. We look forward to what 2012 has in store for young Mr. Rojas.

In previous years, we named Fight & Round of the Year and even toyed with naming a Venue of the Year but with the mega-fight Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones hosted at his stadium, it seemed a bit unfair to wade into those waters this year. Though for sheer take your breath away night of boxing, Paulie Ayala Productions’ “Battle of DFW” show April 30th is one we will be talking about for years to come.

Congrats to Messieurs Spence, Marroquin, Rojas, & Hernandez, we lift our glasses to you.

NTB 2011 Fighter of the Year: Errol Spence
NTB 2011 New Comer of the Year: Manuel Rojas
NTB 2011 Comeback Fighter of the Year: Jose Hernandez

NTB 2011 Top Ten Pound for Pound
1. Roberto Marroquin, Super Bantamweight, Dallas (21-1, 14 KO's) - Came out on the wrong end of a split decision loss, but still finished the year 4-1, with 1 KO. Seems to have found a home at WinStar Casino, up I-35 in Thackerville, Oklahoma, where he appears on Fox Sports Southwest regularly. The sky's the limit for this talented boxer / puncher.  [read more]