WHO YOU LIKE?™ Andre Ward vs Carl Froch + Floyd Mayweather vs Victor Ortiz + Bernard Hopkins vs Chad Dawson. Pre-fight coverage from NYC featuring Jim Gray (SHOWTIME Boxing), Tim Smith (NY Daily News) and Mitch Abramson (NY Daily News.) 8/24/11

Arum, Mayweather ‘Reconnect’ At Super Bowl XLV » Super Bowl XLV week at Cowboys Stadium was beset by myriad problems, from bad weather to seating, or lack of it. The only part that turned out like everyone had hoped was the game itself, the Green Bay Packers’ 31-25 victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers. • The sport of boxing, however, might have been one of the unintended — or maybe not so unintended — beneficiaries of the spotlight on the NFL’s biggest stage. • Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones invited his friend, Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, to be a guest for the game in his private box. Jones also invited undefeated welterweight Floyd Mayweather… Bob Velin, www.usatoday.com

Hopkins Says Rematch With Pascal Set For May 21 » That ageless wonder of American boxing, Bernard Hopkins, apparently has no fear of two of the things boxers fear most — advancing age and tough opponents… Bob Velin, www.usatoday.com

Rising Peninsula Boxing Star Rides Momentum To Elite Competition » Amid camera flashes and the din of the boxing gymnasium, trainer Robert Garcia knows how to get his fighter’s full attention. • He leans in close to Nonito Donaire and whispers, “Let’s get to work…” Alexis Terrazas, www.sfexaminer.com

Bad Chad Dawson’s Loss Is Light-Heavyweights’ Gain » From most boxing reporters’ accounts Chad Dawson fought his usual safety-first fight and paid the price for his frustrating lack of gusto against Jean Pascal on Saturday night. Chad had been talking up the contest in the lead-up; saying he knew he had to be more aggressive because of the Montreal (Pascal’s adopted homeland) location. • Sadly for him, he didn’t seem to realize the urgency of the situation until it was far too late in the day, and even then, he didn’t pull the proverbial trigger when Pascal slipped groggily into the firing line in round 11. A big chance to leap on a wounded Pascal was also passed up in round nine… Source: www.boxingnewsonline.net

Boxing Needs Another Mike Tyson » It’s no secret that outside of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr., boxing’s mainstream popularity has been in a downward spiral. The sport’s efforts (or lack thereof) of breeding new stars has failed. This past weekend saw Chad Dawson—who Floyd Mayweather Jr. coined as one of the best pure boxers in the sport—get soundly defeated by Canadian Jean Pascal. The weekend before that, Devon Alexander had a tougher than expected challenge when he defeated Alexander Kotelnik. Both fights saw boxers who played it relatively safe. In Dawson’s case, he paid dearly by losing… Andreas Hale, live.drjays.com

Boxing Vs. MMA Or Boxer Vs. Reality? » The Ultimate Fighting Championship was originally sold on the concept of fighting style against fighting style. Masters of kung fu, karate, Muay Thai and jiu-jitsu would battle to prove which fighting discipline was superior. • The elephant in the room during MMA’s discipline versus discipline days was the sport of boxing. A few boxers did compete in the UFC. Most memorably, Art Jimmerson wore one boxing glove for his bout with Royce Gracie at UFC 1. But a topflight boxer never competed in the UFC, and for many years top MMA fighters such as Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn would field questions about how they would fare against a Mike Tyson or Evander Holyfield… Todd Martin, sports.espn.go.com

Toney photo by Matthew Felix Rosenthal