Giovanni Lorenzo Faces a Roiling Storm
Coyote Duran: After coming up on the losing end of a vacant middleweight title shot against Sebastian Sylvester in Germany last September, Giovanni Lorenzo was nothing short of surprised when he received some good news: a fresh new opportunity at another 160-pound belt

Promethean Logic- August 31, 2010
Good morning, Howlers! Read on for a little logic on James Toney’s UFC debut, you guys bashing Gabriel Montoya and Aztec donuts (Yum!)! I don’t have any donuts here but the coffee’s fresh (I got first dibs, you wackos!)!

Promethean Logic- August 24, 2010
Coyote Duran: Greetings, Howlers! Join me this week for sometimes snarky, sometimes obvious-as-all-hell observations on Adamek-Grant, Huck-Godfrey and Couture-Toney! Hey, the Spirits needed someone to do it and I was just sitting around editing…

Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Juan Diaz II Predictions
Coyote Duran: Another rematch, another pay-per-view, another prediction compilation! So join us as our intrepid writers throw in their two cents on these two gents, World Lightweight Champion Juan Manuel Marquez...

Promethean Logic- July 22, 2010
Coyote Duran: More chuck, anyone?... No Manny vs. Floyd. No Floyd vs. Manny. No sweat off my ass, man. It was a late Friday night. I had a buttload of editing (and that was cool) and a lot was going on last weekend. Junior welterweight titlist Tim Bradley had yet to beat Luis Abregu at welterweight; Alfredo Angulo ha

Hopkins vs. Jones II: A Boys’ Club Wink-and-a-Nudge in the Making
By Coyote Duran: Odds are, when you get a bunch of guys together, they’re going to talk about guy stuff. Odds are, when you get a bunch of guys in the boxing media together, they’re going to talk about boxing stuff. Most of the time, the dialogue presents itself like separate oral compositions or a bunch of guest spots on radio or TV sports shows. And that comes from the want for each one of us to be heard on an individual level and the need to know that other writers and media types respect

Maxboxing’s Pacquiao vs. Clottey Predictions
Compiled by Coyote Duran: Hey, Max-Fans! Tonight is the big Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey WBO welterweight title collision at Cowboys Stadium so Maxboxing (along with special guests from SecondsOut.com) is ready with our official predictions for the main event of “The Event.” Read on!

David Diaz: Long-Term on Short-Notice
By Coyote Duran (Photo © Chris Farina/ Top Rank): Professionally, David Diaz hasn’t had to worry about second chances. Until he lost his WBC lightweight title to Manny Pacquiao in June of 2008, Diaz had but one loss and that was to Kendall Holt over three years prior to the Pacquiao fight. Both fights ended in stoppages but when you consider the type of grittiness “Dangerous David” brings into the ring, losses via stoppage are somewhat weirdly testament to the Chicago-born-and-bred fighter’s

It’s Back: Random Howlings!
Coyote Duran: After a long absence, I’ve finally decided to dust off one my favorite children and show it off to the world once more. That’s right, Howlers, “Random Howlings,” something I started when I served as Associate Editor for Doghouse Boxing, is back. Admittedly, I did try it once when I worked for a multi-genre site in between gigs…but I don’t think anyone ever went there. And to successfully howl, one must be heard (You know, the “tree in the forest” business…) I guess I wanted to

Mack vs. Johnson: Timing is Everything
By Coyote Duran: Yusaf Mack almost didn’t get his opportunity to face former THE RING magazine World Light Heavyweight Champion Glen Johnson. After all, the IBF light heavyweight title eliminator match was originally scheduled for the undercard of the Shane Mosley-Andre Berto welterweight title unification bout. Mosley-Berto, scheduled for January 30, was scrapped when Berto, the WBC titlist and a fighter of Haitian descent, pulled out of the fight due to concern for loved ones and friends

George Returns to Chicago, Blows up “The Drill”
Coyote Duran at Ringside: Super middleweight and hometown favorite Donovan “Da Bomb” George, 19-0-1 (17), returned to the UIC Pavilion in the Windy City on Friday night and continued his undefeated run by exploding on Phil “The Drill” Williams, 11-3 (10), taking him out in three, in the main event of a stacked nine-bout 8 Count Productions card.

The (Comanche) Boy Who Cried Pride
Coyote Duran: George Tahdooahnippah has a funny-sounding last name. Then again, so do many cool people; George Stephanopoulos, Jay Chandrasekhar, Ish Kabibble and Yngwie Malmsteen come to mind (OK, maybe Malmsteen’s first name is suspect here). But in Tahdooahnippah’s case, his surname still tongue-ties the common masses more than Stephanopoulos’, Chandrasekhar’s, Kabibble’s and…Yngwie’s do. But, for the syllabically-challenged, the Native American super middleweight prospect has an easily

Wagyu’s Too Good for You. Have Some Chuck Instead.
Coyote Duran: …Or you could easily call this piece “Y’all Musta Forgot We Ain’t Dumbasses.” Either title applies, really, but it all comes down to how any one boxing aficionado describes the fleece job which is Bernard Hopkins vs. Roy Jones Jr. II.

Growing Up (and Older) Duran
Coyote Duran: Recently, I put together an article comparing the retention of power between past and present greats, Roberto Duran and Manny Pacquiao, respectively. In gathering my stats and watching a few DVDs of both fighters and a whole lot of YouTubes, I couldn’t help but feel the strong tug of nostalgia; not for Pacquiao, but for Duran. As you already know, I grew up Duran, and when I discovered “Hands of Stone,” I was stunned to discover that a professional fighter existed who shared my

Pacquiao=Duran...or Does He?
By Coyote Duran: Shortly after my article on my favorite fighters posted, I received a very nice and thought-provoking e-mail from Mr. Mark Salanik. Understandably, Mark is very discouraged by the recent allegations of possible performance-enhancing drug use by THE RING World Junior Welterweight Champion/WBO welterweight titleholder Manny Pacquiao. Mark’s e-mail reads as follows: Mr. Duran, Hello and a wish all is well. I too, am a huge Roberto Duran fan. I just read your list of

In No Particular Order…
Coyote Duran: Just recently, I coughed up my own version of a pound-for-pound list and attempted to ply my reasoning for those I thought were the best fighters in the sport. Not many debated my opinion too harshly because I think most of my readers realize that my list was no better than anyone else’s. Certainly, I gave basic reasons why I chose my top ten and I tend to believe that’s why I was spared overall wrath.

They Should’ve Called it “Trench Warfare”
By Coyote Duran (Photo © German Villasenor): Much has been made about Top Rank’s pay-per-view main event on Saturday night as to whether or not Kelly Pavlik’s choice of opponent in Miguel Espino is the right choice so soon after turning down the opportunity to defend against Paul Williams; a fight that was scheduled for December 5th, just two weeks before the Espino defense. With all the kafuffle regarding staph infections and rumors about character weakness strewn throughout various boxing

Paul Malignaggi Finds Redemption in Chicago
By Coyote Duran: The fight no one expected to be waiting for, with bated breath, before August 22 finally arrived; thanks to a surging campaign by Paul Malignaggi. His opponent, that summer day, probably never expected he would meet such an interesting and challenging foe once more. But the aftermath of controversy, when left in the hands of the slighted, tends to return to haunt those involved with greater force. It’s the impetus of much conflict on any of your favorite TV dramas. Just take

Because No One Demanded it…
By Cotoye Duran: Back when Yours Truly was but a mere pup, Mama and Papa Coyote would ask me every year around the holidays to make a list of the things I wanted for Christmas. It was never easy because, even to this day, I thought asking for gifts was a speck pretentious. If I was good, I figured my good deeds wouldn’t go unnoticed and Mr. Kringle would merely give me what he thought I deserved (and I have a deep respect for Santa. Who else on Mother Earth has the trustworthy exterior of W

If it’s Luck, it’s Damn Good Luck
By Coyote Duran: Vitali Klitschko wants you to believe he’s the World Heavyweight Champion. With squeezing in three defenses in 2009, he might just have us all convinced. On Saturday, the former THE RING magazine World Heavyweight Champion/current WBC heavyweight titlist defends his green strap against undefeated Kevin Johnson, 22-0-1 (9), at the PostFinance Arena in Berne, Switzerland less than three months after a dominant 10th round stoppage victory over the young Mexican-American Cristobal A

The Way Things Should Have Been
By Coyote Duran: Most fighters depend on their ages to decide when to make the natural transition north of a lower weight class. Those who fight their age often meet with less-than-favorable results. Sometimes, the very tides of their careers shift without any hope of returning to the shore. Six years ago, Roy Jones Jr. was nearly lost at sea. One fight before Jones returned to light heavyweight to defend his Undisputed Championship against Antonio Tarver the first time, he ventured to the

The “Super-Six” Spin-off: Seven, Meet Eight
By Coyote Duran: Well, actually, it’s more like “Two, meet Five.” We’ll get back to that in a bit. Just follow along, kids. Facing one’s fears with the hope of dissolving them is certainly an unfamiliar notion to super middleweight contender Librado Andrade. Possessed of a face-first, war-like style, the La Habra, California native has little, if nothing, to fear in any ring, anywhere. It stands to reason that Andrade, 28-2 (21), merely saw his April 2009 return (a decision win over Vitali T