‘Harvard’ Hopkins Out To Educate Dawson » “Styles make fights” is perhaps the most oft-recited advisory in boxing, perhaps because the message it conveys is usually spot-on. • If defensive genius Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins and his technically proficient but somewhat cautious challenger, “Bad” Chad Dawson, stick to form in their Oct. 15 WBC light-heavyweight championship bout at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the forecast likely would call for a pugilistic game of chess… BERNARD FERNANDEZ, www.philly.com

Manager: Gatti Didn’t Take Own Life » A private probe into the 2009 death of former boxing champion Arturo Gatti will disprove the official conclusion that it was a suicide, Gatti’s former manager Pat Lynch said yesterday… Source: www.boston.com

Evander Holyfield: Pay-Per-View is Killing Boxing » As a native of Alabama, former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield had the opportunity to speak to those in attendance at a dinner to mark the closing of the Olympic Boxing Trials in Mobile, and he may have turned a few heads when he said that pay-per-view has been the biggest factor that has killed boxing in recent years, not the emergence of mixed martial arts… Charles Jay, www.boxinginsider.com

Photo by Howard Schatz

After weeks of deliberation, the five-men Championship Committee of the World Boxing Federation, announced it has decided against sanctioning the proposed second title defense of its world heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield.

Holyfield, originally scheduled to face Brian Nielsen (64-2, 43 KOs) for the WBF heavyweight title, was informed that due to the Nielsen’s absence of nearly a decade from the ring, the bout does not qualify as WBF championship caliber.

“While Brian Nielsen a decade ago posed threats to heavyweights worldwide, he has not fought in nine years and thus does not qualify to contest a WBF world title at this point,” WBF President Howard Goldberg (Championship Committee member) said. “We have no problem with this fight taking place, but certainly the WBF will not approve it as for our title.”

Jean Marcel Nartz, the vice president of the WBF, expounded upon the decision, revealing a liberating stance.

“The WBF is a world boxing sanctioning body and although we are a business as well, our primary business is to ensure that our fights are quality matchups, that are fighters are deserving of title opportunities and that the standards we aim for are not compromised in order to make a quick buck.”

Although the WBF rejected Nielsen’s championship capability, the May 7 fight will go on as originally scheduled in Copenhagen, Denmark. However, should Holyfield (43-10-2, 28 KOs) lose to the Denmark native, his title will automatically be declared vacant.

“The Real Deal”, who has spent the better part of three years in heavyweight purgatory, lost two bouts to Sultan Ibragimov and Nikolay Valuev, before defeating Francois Botha for the vacant WBF heavyweight title on April 10, 2010 in the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV. Holyfied most recently fought Sherman Williams on Jan. 1, to a no contest after suffering a cut over his left eye, resulting in a doctor stoppage.

— Alex Neely

Illustration by John Murawski

Holyfield Soldiers On In Ring At Age Of 48 » The year was 1996, and Mike Tyson was out of prison and destroying everyone who climbed in the ring with him. Evander Holyfield was up next, and a lot of people in boxing were worried not only that Holyfield might take a serious beating, but that he might even die… Tim Dahlberg, sportsillustrated.cnn.com

Arum: Alexander-Bradley Winner ‘Absolutely’ Could Earn Pacquiao » Top Rank Promotions CEO, Bob Arum, told FanHouse that the Jan. 29 winner of an HBO televised junior welterweight (140 pounds) clash between southpaw WBC champ Devon Alexander, of St. Louis, Mo., and WBO counter part Tim Bradley, of Palm Springs, Calif., could “merit” a berth opposite eight-division king Manny Pacquiao, also holder of the WBO welterweight (147 pounds) and WBC junior middleweight (154 pounds) belts… Lem Satterfield, boxing.fanhouse.com

What Does Boxing Need In 2011? Marketing » Change is never easy, less so in sports.  Nevertheless,  boxing has gone through some major changes in the last hundred years.  First there was the move from bare-knuckle boxing, then the televising of fights, reduction of rounds, and finally, the advent of pay-per-view.  Each of these shifts in how boxing was conducted was met with criticism.  What was boxing with these newfangled padded gloves?  Only thirteen rounds?  How can you watch the fight without being in the crowd?, they complained… Jesse Tangen-Mills, thefastertimes.com