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Despite losing the decision, Whitaker gave Oscar De La Hoya a boxing lesson
Southpaw boxing is a relatively recent phenomenon. For nearly a century, many trainers automatically turned left-handers into orthodox fighters.
Can you spot the muscle in question?
Which boxer could boast the biggest hyoglossus muscle of them all?
Well, unless you were watching “Who wants to be a millionaire?” recently (a contestant won $50,000 getting this one correct), you’re unlikely to know that it’s in your neck, apparently located just below the Adam’s apple.
It is used to move the tongue – a critical function for talking.
So who was the most well-endowed boxer in this regard? Muhammad Ali, Naseem Hamed and Floyd Mayweather all come to mind.
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The formidable pairing of Pacquiao and Roach - master boxer and master tactician
Manny Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, has expressed concern over possible low blows from Miguel Cotto on November 14, saying he wants automatic disqualification for any deliberate shots below the belt (click here to read the story).
Of course, it can be difficult to distinguish between deliberate and accidental shots – especially if the offending boxer knows how to disguise an intentional low blow.
How would Naz have fared against Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao?
It seems “Prince” has been eating like a king.
The following picture of Naseem Hamed, the former British boxing star famous for his big mouth and even larger ring entrances, has been published by The Daily Mail.
Earlier this year I saw Vuyani Bungu, who in 2000 was KO’ed in four rounds by Naz, and he’s in far better physical shape than his former conqueror.
Ledwaba cops a right from Pacquiao in 2001
When Manny Pacquiao steps into the ring against Miguel Cotto in what could be the biggest fight of the year on November 14, few may recall that his rise to stardom started eight years ago against a South African fighter.
Lehlohonolo Ledwaba, who grew up in Johannesburg’s famous sprawling township of Soweto, was the IBF junior-featherweight champion who, according to promoter Rodney Berman, was on the verge of securing an HBO fight contract.
All he had to do was win the sixth defence of a belt that had seemingly become the property of South Africa. It was first owned by East London-based Welcome Ncita (1990-1992), who lost it to American Kennedy McKinney (1992-1994) before being reclaimed by Ncita’s stablemate, Vuyani Bungu (1994-1999), who defended it a record 13 times before vacating it to step up a division to take on Naseem Hamed.
Ledwaba – one of the finest South African fighters of that era (the other stand-outs included Mzukisi Sikali and Corrie Sanders) – won the vacant IBF junior-featherweight crown.
His sixth defence, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on June 6 2001, appeared to be mere routine – he faced a late replacement, an unknown who once held the WBC flyweight title before losing that belt on a third-round KO. Ledwaba was heavy handed and it seemed unthinkable that a boxer who had stepped up from flyweight would give him a problem.
But that’s exactly what happened. Pacquiao dropped Ledwaba in the opening round and eventually stopped the champion in the sixth. Ledwaba’s performance seemed so ineffectual that Berman effectively dumped him!
It turns out that his loss to Pacquiao was no disgrace. Two years later the Filipino entered superstardom after stepping up to featherweight to score a sensational stoppage victory over the legendary Mexican Marco Antonio Barrera. Wars against Juan Manuel Marquez and Erik Morales followed before moving up to lightweight (David Diaz – wTKO9), welterweight (Oscar De La Hoya – wTKO8) and junior-welterweight (Ricky Hatton – wKO2).
Perhaps it’s no surprise then that more than 80% of people who have voted on this blog’s poll are tipping Pacman to beat welterweight champion Cotto inside the distance. To vote, click here.
