:boxing: Boxing Bits ::07.28.08:: Margarito Uncrowns Cotto

Quite the week in boxing, with upsets galore and new horizons shining through...

:anime: HardDoor's Summer Anime Preview - '08 Edition

To Autumn 2008 Anime Preview-->

Coming a bit fashionably late, I finally managed to start HardDoor's first seasonal anime preview! Like the boxing one earlier, I hope to make this a permanent fixture of the blog. This is basically a preliminary format, so details about it may change over time or in the next installment. But for now, enjoy! --HD

It's summertime, and with each season comes a new set of anime features making their debuts in Japan. The following doesn't denote every single title, but it does note the ones that I've found to be either of interest or significance. This season has a number of such shows, from returning old favorites and cross-seas adaptations to all new sequels and manga-to-anime adaptations, as well as a few fresh new stories.

:boxing: Decade's Best...So Far (2007 Edition) :: Boxing's Pound-4-Pound (Top 10) ::: Overview & Honorable Mentions

The ten best boxers, pound-for-pound, of the decade, as they stand as of December 31, 2007:

:boxing: Decade's Best...So Far (2007 Edition) :: Boxing's Pound-4-Pound (Top 10) ::: Insight

This "Decade's Best" list for boxing followed in the footsteps of the anime list earlier, though both are, altogether, very different. Originally when I started this, I said that my personal discretion would have a heavier influence on than one the anime one. The end result showed something almost entirely opposite of what I had planned, either unintentionally or I just plain came to those conclusions similar to that of the scribes or critics. During the planning stages, Oscar De La Hoya was in the top running for No. 1, as I felt that his willingness to fight the best was admirable when compared to other P4P residents like Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Roy Jones, Jr. (must be a "Junior" thing...) who I saw more as resting on their laurels rather than actually going out there and challenging someone worthy of their tremendous talents. Personally, anyone can look good against opponents that have no real chance of beating them, and while boxers will fight those types a few times in their careers, it becomes a problem when they constantly just fight those types and not ones who can legitimately challenge them. In my opinion, if you can beat them, your legend and credibility grow in my eyes. This, however, turned out to be a double-edged sword, as De La Hoya lost a number of those sorts of match-ups, despite being close in all of them, and Mayweather went up due to his undefeated record, victories over a few notable opponents, and his own win over the aforementioned fighter.

:boxing: Boxing Bits ::07.14.08:: W. Klitschko Racks Another KO Win

The heavyweight division is closing in on a potentially major shift, starting off with Saturday's action...

:Sat.07.12.08:
[C] IBF, WBO, IBO Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko KO11 Tony Thompson [HBO]
--The fight turned out to be better than expected, as Thompson stood in there with the hard-punching Klitschko, often trading and pressuring the champion. However, he couldn't keep in step with him and Klitschko kept peppering him with good, clean shots, with a declining, tiring Thompson finally getting KO'd in the penultimate round. Klitschko looked well in a decidedly un-robotic bout and the experience in such a fight should help him should he face more rambunctious opponents like Sam Peter or Chris Arreola. Thompson, on the other hand looked good enough to warrant some other viable matches in the future.


Not Previously Noted
:Fri.07.11.08: Tomasz Adamek TKO7 Gary Gomez (Cruiserweight)
[C] :Fri.07.11.08: WBA Inter-Continental Light Middleweight Champion Alex Bunema TKO6 Walter Dario Matthysee
[C] :Fri.07.11.08: Daniel Santos KO6 WBA Light Middleweight Champion Joachim Alcine
:Sat.07.12.08: Michael Grant UD(8) Demetrice King (Heavyweight)
:Sat.07.12.08: Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. SD Matt Vanda (Middleweight)

:boxing: Boxing Bits ::07.07.08:: Return of the Round One KO

Yeesh...the schedule for last week was totally messed up (and antiquated), as the Chagaev-Valuev fight was postponed after the former suffered an injury during the final phase of his training, the John-Lozada bout seemed to have been scratched (with the champion fighting one Jackson Asiku on July 26), and their were a few notable ones that actually did take place that I did not know about...

:Sat.07.05.08:
[C] Kendall Holt KO1 WBO Light Welterweight Champion Ricardo Torres (Light Welterweight) [Showtime]
--So, in the rematch to their controversial bout last year, the match went something like this in the first round: Holt knocked down twice, not looking good on the second trip, accidentally headbutts Torres, catches him with an overhand right, KO's Torres completely cold (left fixated in a kneeling position against said ropes perfectly still), avenges loss, becomes new champion...


Not Previously Noted
[C] :Sat.07.05.08: WBA Middleweight Champion Felix Sturm UD Randy Griffin
--Hopefully this rematch win will get Sturm back into the fold as a potential opponent for Kelly Pavlik.

:Sat.07.05.08: Ali Funeka KO4 Zahir Raheem (Lightweight)
--Just when it seemed Raheem was on the way back up after his lost to Acelino Freitas in 2006, he suffered a severe setback after getting blown out by top-ranked Funeka. It was the first time he had ever gotten knocked out and, based on the linked report, it seems like Funeka was too much for him. Who knows if Raheem will ever reach the top again...


EDIT [07.08.08]: Revised Torres-Holt comments after finally seeing the fight. Quite crazy and nice--and in definite need of a third match to break the tie...

:anime: Anime Kibbles 'n' Bits ::07.05.08:: ~Anime Expo 2008 Edition~

The anime license-a-thon continues at AX '08, though surprisingly, FUNimation has nothing to do with it...

:anime: Anime Kibbles 'n' Bits ::07.04.08:: ~Anime Expo 2008 Edition~

It's only fitting on the Fourth of July that the fireworks at Anime Expo '08 keep going higher and greater today...

:anime: Anime Kibbles 'n' Bits ::07.03.08:: ~Anime Expo 2008 Edition~

Anime Expo 2008, the largest anime convention in North America, got off to quite the bang today...

:boxing: Decade's Best...So Far (2007 Edition) :: Boxing's Pound-4-Pound (Top 10) ::: #1 and #2

And now, finally, #1, the best boxer, pound-for-pound, of the decade (...so far), and #2...