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

» On January 22, 1988, Holmes was lured out of retirement by a $2.8 million purse to challenge reigning Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion Mike Tyson.

Haye Promises Historic Knockout » David Haye has vowed to produce “one of the most jaw-dropping knockouts of all-time” when he attempts to win Nikolai Valuev’s WBA heavyweight title on Saturday. • Londoner Haye is aiming to secure a portion of the so-called “richest prize in sport”, but to do that he must beat a man who stands nearly a foot taller than him at 7ft 2ins and who has never been down on the canvas in his 16-year professional career… Source: The Press Association, www.google.com

Don King And Mike Tyson Make Nice At Las Vegas Boxing Event: Boxing Insider » No one promotes a fight like Don King. • His Hairness returned to Las Vegas on Saturday — Halloween — for the first time in four years to put on the inaugural boxing card at Treasure Island. While the nationally televised show had its share of action in the ring, the real news was King making nice with Mike Tyson, a surprise commentator for the Showtime telecast… Source: www.cleveland.com

Manny Pacquiao Vs. Miguel Cotto: The Next Super-Fight » On Nov. 14th, two of the biggest stars in boxing will face-off for a PPV super-fight.  Super-fights are something special in boxing; they are the types of fights that get the general public to pay attention to the sport of boxing. • I go through a few different phases for super-fights: • PHASE 1: Going into a big fight like this I always envision an epic battle between two gladiators, blood and guts warriors, grit, sweat, anger, and any other adjectives that sound tough and manly! I blog about what an amazing ballsy, kick-butt fight it will be. I talk to whoever will listen about my expectations, scientific analysis, and true gut feelings.  This is a great phase to be in… Bryan Brennan, www.nesn.com

Tyson photo by Time/Life ©