ESPN Boxing

We’ve got “Tebowing” in the NFL and now we have “The Brush” in boxing.

Junior lightweight titleholder Adrien Broner’s absurd hair brush antics after fights are hilarious to me. It’s the funniest shtick going.

I know some folks hate it and can’t wait to see Broner get drilled because of it, but I’ll give this to the 22-year-old kid: He knows how to get people talking about him.

If you’ve never seen what Broner does it’s pretty simple, and so annoying to some: After winning a fight, but before he begins his post-fight TV interview, he’ll call for his father to brush his hair. Gotta look nice for the cameras right?

It’s become Broner’s thing and he has done it time and again, with a twinkle in his eye that some people just don’t get.

Broner is a showman. He loves to be flashy and stand out. Yes, he loves the attention.

After he destroyed overmatched Vicente Martin Rodriguez in the third round to win a vacant 130-pound belt in November Broner, as usual, called for his hair to be brushed on national television before beginning his HBO interview with Max Kellerman. (I guess he couldn’t do it himself because his gloves were still on.)

Broner (22-0, 18 KOs) makes his first title defense against Eloy Perez (23-0-2, 7 KOs) on Saturday night (HBO, 10 ET/PT) in the opening bout of the “Boxing After Dark” season premiere headlined by the welterweight bout between Devon Alexander and Marcos Maidana at the Scottrade Center in Alexander’s native St. Louis.

You can count on seeing The Brush if Broner, the favorite, wins.

The Brush is such a divisive boxing issue (that’s sarcasm, people!) that it was a major topic of conversation during a recent teleconference that Broner and Perez participated in to promote the fight.

“I feel like everything's got to be neat and everything's got to be right before I put on my performance, so I brush my hair,” Broner said, apparently with a straight face. “It's just something that came up. I felt like getting my hair brushed. I feel like I need to be fixed up. So that's why I did it. They loved it, so I'm going to keep doing it for the fans.”

Keep in mind that Broner, following in the rich tradition of Cincinnati boxing, is a fabulously talented young man. He does not need The Brush, but it does keep things lighthearted in a tough business.

“Everybody's got their ways of doing things and for me I've got to stay fresh, fly and flashy,” Broner said. “So I'm going to make sure I'm fresh, fly and flashy in the ring too. I'll never change. This is how I grew up. No matter if I'm in the ring or on the streets this is going to be Adrien Broner, so you either like it or love it. And if you like it or love it doesn't matter, I'm still going to be Adrien Broner. So this is just me.”

Perez is not impressed by The Brush.

“He's the world champ. People look up to him. People look up to the champs and he should be a role model, and you have your dad combing your hair on national television,” Perez said. “Respect your dad. He's the one that gave you life. If I asked my dad to ever comb me he'd smack me across the head. But I'm just a respectful kind of guy, you know? I own that. I own my life. But, Adrien Broner, whatever floats his boat, whatever he does to pump him up, more power to him. And it's been working for him. There's nothing much else to say about it.”

When Broner was asked if he would stick to The Brush or perhaps change his prop, he was quick with his response just as he is quick with his hands.

“Listen, man, if you were in the ring you might be brushing my hair,” he said. “Listen, man, I love it, the fans love it. so that's just me. It's not a gimmick. That's just me. I didn't make this up. I didn't plan it out. This is something I felt like needed to be done, so I just do it to brush my hair.”

The Brush lives.

Heavyweight contender Dereck Chisora of England had himself quite a week didn’t he? Unprovoked, he slapped Vitali Klitschko across the face at the weigh-in for their Saturday heavyweight title fight in Munich, Germany.

In the dressing room before the bout, Chisora threatened not to fight because of an issue over his hand wraps. When he finally got his rear end into the ring, he spit water in the face of Vitali’s brother, fellow champ Wladimir Klitschko.

And then Chisora fought Vitali and lost a lopsided decision against a one-armed fighter because Klitschko had torn a ligament in his left shoulder in the third round. But Chisora put up a game fight, made it exciting and acted with more class during the actual bout than he did before or after.

After the fight, of course, he was still itching for a fight and wound up in a bottle-swinging brawl with former titlist David Haye at the news conference. Haye had been interrupting the proceedings trying to goad Klitschko into a fight before he and Chisora got into it. But Chisora instigated the physical confrontation when he left the dais and got in Haye’s face. After the brawl was over and Haye had left, Chisora – like a lunatic –- began screaming and yelling about how he wanted to fight Haye and if he didn’t fight him, he would “literally shoot” Haye and “burn” him. Crazy stuff.

Well on Monday, after being detained by German police because of the brawl and the threats, Chisora issued a statement apologizing for his unacceptable antics.

“Following the extensive media coverage that my WBC world heavyweight title challenge against Vitali Klitschko in Munich at the weekend has attracted, I feel I must wholeheartedly apologize for my part in the regrettable scenes both before and after what was to be the biggest night of my career,” Chisora said in the statement sent out by Richard Maynard, spokesperson for Frank Warren, Chisora’s promoter.

“Whilst my behavior was inexcusable, there were many things that went on behind the scenes that ultimately caused my frustrations to boil over. However this is, of course, no excuse. I cannot go into the specific details at the moment as quite rightly the British Boxing Board of Control will be investigating this matter and also the altercation that took place between David Haye and myself where I was struck by a bottle.

“Despite all of this, the bottom line is, I have let my family, my team and, worst of, all the sport I love down. I acknowledge that my actions were totally unprofessional, with or without provocation. Now, with a cool head and the benefit of hindsight, my actions at the weekend were regrettable to say the least and I am deeply embarrassed at the scenes reported in the media. I acknowledge that I have a duty as a professional boxer to conduct myself properly at all times, especially with boxing being a sport of controlled aggression. I have let lots of people down on Saturday night, including myself, and for that I am truly sorry.

In Munich I fully cooperated with the German authorities and as a result I was released without charge. I will be making no further comment at this stage and will wait for any formal hearing to take place.”

Sad as it is, a Chisora-Haye fight would now be huge business in England. Warren even suggested -– before the physical altercation -– that Chisora and Haye fight with the winner getting a fight with Vitali. This is boxing. I can certainly it happening.

What does Dan Rafael think of welterweight prospect Thomas Dulorme, who will fight Friday on Showtime (11 p.m. ET/PT)? Check out the video above. And for more info on up-and-comers, including Dulorme, review Rafael's 2011 prospect of the year story, which includes his Super 25 -- a list of boxing's top prospects.

Heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko has a fight right in front of him, but a possible defense against former titleholder David Haye -- who embarrassed himself in a lopsided loss to Klitschko's brother, fellow champ Wladimir Klitschko, this past summer -- is still a regular topic of conversation.

One of the reasons Klitschko's eighth title defense is scheduled against Dereck Chisora, Haye's British countryman, on Saturday (Epix and EpixHD.com, 4:30 p.m. ET) in Munich, Germany, is because negotiations for a fight with Haye bogged down due to Haye's indecision.

Even with Chisora in front of their fighter, Klitschko's team continues to try to make a deal for him to take on Haye next. Klitschko, however, said it doesn't look very promising.

"David Haye is so unpredictable and we tried to make a deal and I hope the fight comes through, but right now we are miles apart from making the contract," Klitschko said on a teleconference on Wednesday. "Right now, I don't want to talk about it. I am focused totally for the Chisora fight and I hope that after Dereck Chisora, David Haye changes his mind and I can give a chance to David Haye to fight for a world title.

"Everyone, every fighter, has a dream to fight for a world title, and I tell every time to David Haye: 'Please fight me. Please fight for the world title.' It's the most prestigious title in the world. And then, if he doesn't want to do that, it's OK. David Haye always tries to find excuses why fights do not happen. I hope David Haye one day makes a decision to fight me."

A few months after Wladimir Klitschko made Haye look like a fool after all of the challenger's trash-talking, Haye announced a retirement nobody believed would stick. Not long after, he began talking about a fight with Vitali, who would be a massive favorite over Haye in a fight that I don't have much interest in. Had Haye lost to Wladimir but at least turned in a top effort, that would be a different story. Instead, Haye took the money and ran. He flopped to the canvas time and again, and then blamed his miserable performance on a sore pinkie toe. In my view, he doesn't deserve another title shot or a big payday until he earns it.

Vitali Klitschko (43-2, 40 KOs) said he expects Chisora (15-2, 9 KOs) to put up a better fight against him than Haye did against his brother. (Is it possible to put up a worse fight?)

"David Haye didn't want to fight. He just kept running away from my brother," Vitali said. "He didn't come in to fight. I expect a better fight from Dereck Chisora. He's actually a fighter. He wants to go in and fight and to go the distance. He tries to challenge his opponent, and I didn't see that in the last fight between David Haye against Wladimir Klitschko. And that's why they both have totally different styles. Dereck Chisora is more aggressive than David Haye."

Dan Rafael riffs on a few of his favorite action fighters who will return to the ring in the coming days.

Juan Manuel Marquez is going to the International Boxing Hall of Fame someday. The Mexican star has won titles in three divisions, been in numerous action-packed fights and faced the best of his era, including Manny Pacquiao in their famed trilogy. Even though Marquez officially is 0-2-1 against Pacquiao, he deserved a much better fate. In my view (and I covered all three fights), he should be 2-0-1. (I had Marquez winning the first two fights and drawing with Pacquiao in No. 3).

But here is Marquez, coming off an excellent performance against Pacquiao in a November majority decision loss, unable to land another major fight. It's as though the top fighters played a game of musical chairs and, when the music stopped, Marquez was the one left without a seat.

Right after the loss to Pacquiao, Top Rank's Bob Arum talked about an immediate fourth fight. But that ultimately went nowhere, and now Pacquiao is set to defend his welterweight title against junior welterweight titleholder Timothy Bradley Jr. on June 9.

The other fighter Marquez had been closely linked to for a potential bout was Lamont Peterson, who owns two junior welterweight belts. Arum talked about trying to make that fight and holding it at Cowboys Stadium outside of Dallas.

Alas, that big opportunity also fell by the wayside, because Peterson elected to give Amir Khan, from whom he won the belts in December, a rematch on May 19.

With both fights failing to materialize for Marquez -- who would fight at junior welterweight or welterweight -- it has left him looking for an alternative.

If he's only going to work with Mexican promoter Fernando Beltran and Top Rank, his options are a bit limited in terms of notable fights. Probably the most interesting match would be for him to face former lightweight titlist Brandon Rios, if Rios' proposed bout with Yuriorkis Gamboa doesn't come off. (It's being negotiated for April 14 on HBO and, from what I'm told, Rios is in, but there are still issues on the Gamboa side.)

Rios struggles to make lightweight -- he missed that weight for a December fight and was stripped of his belt -- and could certainly fight Marquez at 140 pounds. Marquez-Rios would be a matchup of the ultimate star veteran against a young, hungry, rising star.

If Marquez could work with Golden Boy -- his former promoter, whom he left in order to get the third Pacquiao fight -- he has more options. A summer fight with the winner of the Feb. 25 fight between Marcos Maidana and Devon Alexander would be an interesting option, especially if it turns out to be the all-action Maidana. A similarly interesting option might be to face the winner of the May 19 fight between Lucas Matthysse and Humberto Soto, although that would mean a much longer wait for Marquez.

If I had my way, Marquez would fight the winner of the March 24 bout between junior welterweight titlist Erik Morales and youngster Danny Garcia, especially if it's Morales.

I have wanted to see Morales-Marquez for about a decade, as have many. It would pit all-time great Mexican boxers and would undoubtedly be an exciting fight (one that would also probably do well on pay-per-view). But I also want to see it because it would complete a historic round-robin, as it's the only bout that has never happened among the great foursome of Marquez, Morales, Pacquiao and Marco Antonio Barrera, who have met 12 times between them. And if Garcia beats Morales, well, Garcia-Marquez would be another fine fight matching a star veteran against a young, exciting fighter.

Although former junior welterweight titleholder Paulie Malignaggi is the mandatory challenger for welterweight titlist Vyacheslav Senchenko, he has passed on the opportunity and instead turned his attention to Robert Guerrero, whom he has had fun trash-talking about a potential fight.

Some might question why Malignaggi would reject a title shot, especially with no other big fight sitting there for him. But I can see where he's coming from.

Malignaggi would have made $250,002.50 for the title fight -- his 25 percent share of the $1,000,010 winning purse bid made by Senchenko's promoter, Union Boxing Promotions -- and would also have had to travel to Senchenko's home country of Ukraine for the bout.

But he didn't want to do that. And although $250,000 is a lot of money to most people, Malignaggi is steadfast about the fact that he has done well with the money he has earned -- and remember, he has had some pretty big fights, against Ricky Hatton, Amir Khan and Miguel Cotto, and has appeared numerous times on HBO and Showtime.

When I spoke with Malignaggi the other day, he didn't sound the least bit upset about declining the title opportunity.

"If I don't get something to my liking, I won't fight; it's pretty simple," he said. "I love to compete and want to fight, but business is business. It has to be the right deal or I won't fight. I'm lucky. I don't have to fight if I don't want to."

Golden Boy, Malignaggi's promoter, bid only $250,000 on the fight with Senchenko (32-0, 21 KOs), but Malignaggi (30-4, 6 KOs) wasn't upset by the low bid.

"Golden Boy made the effort, and I can't fault them," he said. "They couldn't get a TV date for the fight. It's not their fault, and I appreciate their efforts."

He said Senchenko's camp originally offered Golden Boy $275,000 for the fight and that Golden Boy told him it thought it could negotiate the sum up to $300,000. But Malignaggi didn't want to be stuck paying taxes in Ukraine, and he wanted first-class air travel and for Union Boxing to cover the sanctioning fees.

But Malignaggi said Union wouldn't budge, although to help make the fight, he said Golden Boy would have let him keep its percentage.

"I wasn't going to fly 10 hours in coach the week of the fight. I didn't think that was right," Malignaggi said. "And there were some other things I wanted. The Senchenko people said no, so I said we should take our chances in the purse bid. So you saw what the purse bid was. I didn't turn down [what could have been] $300,000 to take $250,000 and still be stuck paying Ukrainian taxes, be stuck in coach and not get anything for training expenses. So it is what it is.

"I have no hard feelings to anyone. It's whatever. At the end of the day, I didn't anticipate a deal to be made. I wanted $500,000, so I wasn't going to take $250,000. If we could have worked out those few things, I would have taken the fight for $300,000, but we didn't. This was [Union Boxing's] chance to get the biggest name on Senchenko's résumé. They had their chance to take me to Ukraine and rob me of the fight on a decision. I prefer to fight because I love the rush of boxing at the high level, but I won't take a deal that I don't like. I'm done with that."

Malignaggi, who said he is running three days a week to stay in shape, hopes Golden Boy can line up something that is to his liking.

With the Senchenko fight off the table, Malignaggi and fellow Golden Boy fighter Guerrero, who is recovering from shoulder surgery (and has called out just about everyone in recent weeks other than Wladimir Klitschko), have engaged in some trash talk.

They dogged each other on Twitter and traded press releases to try to drum up interest in a fight. (I have to say, as much as I like both guys, I don't have much interest in that match. I'd like to see them fight, but against different opponents.)

"For the past three months, you and your team have attempted to trick the media and boxing public into believing that you were on a short list to fight the best fighter in the world, Floyd Mayweather," Malignaggi said in his release. "You also called out every Golden Boy Promotions boxer you could between 135 to 147 pounds, proclaiming your health after shoulder surgery and your readiness to step into the ring in a big fight on May 5. Every time you had a big bowel movement, your publicist sent an email blast about it."

Malignaggi went on to say that Golden Boy had offered them the chance to fight on May 5 on the Mayweather-Miguel Cotto pay-per-view undercard and that he immediately accepted.

"Robert, I accepted the challenge to fight you within two hours of being offered the fight," Malignaggi said in his missive. "But I have been informed by our promoter that you have categorically refused to fight me. This news was absolutely shocking to me because I have seen you transform yourself from a cute, soft-spoken, California kid to, well, someone like me. I give you props for trying to wake up the old boxing farts with sound bites like telling Mayweather to 'Step up, punk' or telling Victor Ortiz that 'If you're really a true warrior, you'll step in the ring with me.'

"But take it from an older and wiser 'Magic Man' that has never needed to hide behind a publicist and has always backed up his words by stepping into the ring with the best fighters in the world -- if you start talking the way you have been talking, you better be ready to accept whatever challenges come your way."

Malignaggi went on to further torch Guerrero over his competition level and the low-rent credibility of his various belts -- a series of interim titles.

"If you think you deserve to fight the elite boxers in this world, you need to earn it with more than just a trigger-happy publicist," Malignaggi said. "You are a paper champion that has never fought anyone in the top 100 of boxing. Beating a geriatric Joel Casamayor or the Australian punching bag that is Michael Katsidis does not earn you the right to call out Floyd Mayweather, Amir Khan and Victor Ortiz. Beating me on May 5 might get you one step closer to that honor. So come on, Robert. Don't become a big joke. Listen to your own words and step up, punk. If you're really a true warrior, and not just some Internet loudmouth, you'll step in the ring with me on May 5. What are you afraid of?"

Guerrero's email-happy publicist fired back this response on Guerrero's behalf: "Look at the facts, Paulie, why did I turn you down? You're a tremendous puncher? No! You make for fan-friendly fights? No! You are an HBO- or Showtime-approved fighter? No! Fact is, Eric Gomez at Golden Boy said you wouldn't be approved to fight on a date that isn't a pay-per-view. So if our promoter can convince a network that you are worthy enough to be on your own date, then let's rumble."

Can't say I'm disappointed that the fight won't take place, but the press release banter was a fun diversion.

Dan Rafael wonders whether one-time pound-for-pound star Paul Williams can bounce back against Nobuhiro Ishida on Feb. 18 in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Middleweight titlist Gennady Golovkin isn't known in the United States by anyone other than the most freakish of Fight Freaks. But make no mistake, he's good. And if he has his way, he won't be unknown for long.

Golovkin was a decorated amateur. He claimed a silver medal for Kazakhstan in the 2004 Olympics, beating Andre Dirrell on his way to the hardware. Other fighters you may have heard of whom he beat in the unpaid ranks: Lucian Bute (by stoppage), Andy Lee, Yordanis Despaigne and Matvey Korobov. Not a bad group is it?

As a professional, Golovkin had been based in Germany while fighting for promoter Universum, which is nearly out of business now. He has left the company and signed with K2 Promotions -- the company owned by heavyweight champions Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko. If Golovkin and K2 execute their plan, he will soon be fighting important fights on these shores.

Golovkin is already training in Big Bear, Calif., with trainer Abel Sanchez and hopes to make a splash in the U.S. this year.

In an effort to raise his profile in America, the 29-year-old Golovkin (22-0, 19 KOs) hit New York this week -- along with K2's Tom Loeffler and manager Max Hermann -- to try to drum up interest. He attended a New York Rangers game at Madison Square Garden, where he dreams of fighting one day. He also met with the ambassador from Kazakhstan. But the more important meetings were business-related. Loeffler said Golovkin's group met with MSG executives, who are interested in having Golovkin fight at the Garden. Then were the meetings with the television networks. The fighter's group met with Epix on Wednesday and is slated to meet with HBO and Showtime on Thursday, Loeffler said.

"When he was with Universum, there was not much publicity for him, but he is really committed to fighting here, especially in New York -- and that's what we want to make clear to everyone, especially the television networks," Loeffler said of Golovkin on Wednesday. "He speaks Russian, German and his English is getting better. Now that he is signed with K2, part of our commitment to him was to bring him to the United States. Universum was keeping him in Europe.

"But we really believe in Gennady. He will fight anyone. We will make that clear to the networks, that he won't pick and choose his opponents. They'll have a fighter who will fight who they want him to fight. If that means Andy Lee or Daniel Geale or Dmitry Pirog or Peter Quillin or Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. or Sergio Martinez, fine. They can pick. We just want the opportunity."

Golovkin hopes to fight in April. It could take place in Europe or possibly in the United States "if we can get backing from a U.S. TV network," Loeffler said.

Golovkin would like to fight titleholder Felix Sturm of Germany to clear up the issue of both of them holding versions of the WBA title. That's a fight that would make the most sense in Germany, but for anything else, Golovkin welcomes the chance to fight in America.

"I have this dream," said Golovkin, whose visit to New York this week is his first. "It is to fight in America, especially at Madison Square Garden, which has such a big history of boxing. My dream has always been to fight in the U.S. and Madison Square Garden because there is a lot of big boxing history."

Fight fans probably will take to Golovkin if they get a chance to watch him. He's a crowd-pleaser. In Germany in December, Golovkin made his third title defense, scoring a spectacular first-round knockout of Philadelphia's Lajuan Simon. In his previous defense last June, Golovkin had a terrific fight with former junior middleweight titleholder Kassim Ouma before stopping him in the 10th round.

"My style is that I'm aggressive, always going forward and putting big pressure on my opponents," Golovkin said. "What I'm doing now in Big Bear is trying to combine all the different styles -- the old Soviet style, the American style and the Mexican style."

Golovkin mentioned two famous fighters whose styles he most likes and tries to emulate: Mike Tyson and Sugar Ray Robinson.

"I like Tyson's style, with the power, and I've see a lot of Robinson tapes and I like him," he said. "Tyson's style is what I look up to. My trainer and me go over old tapes. I also watch Terry Norris tapes, too."

If Golovkin can get the kind of fights he wants against the best-known middleweights and keeps adding to his undefeated record in the kind of exciting fights fans want to see, who knows? Maybe someday a young boxer in the future will talk to a writer about how he likes to watch Gennady Golovkin videos.

One can criticize middleweight titlist Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. for a number of things. The caliber of opponents he has faced, for instance. His need for radical weight loss in the final days before a fight. The fact he was arrested and charged with drunken driving two weeks before last Saturday's defense against Marco Antonio Rubio in San Antonio, a fight Chavez wound up winning fairly easily.

But Chavez did not duck a postfight drug test after beating Rubio. Unfortunately, Rubio's team caused a stir when it claimed that Chavez "practically fled from the dressing room without leaving a sample."

Chavez did not flee. He was in his dressing room for more than a half-hour after the fight. He showered and waited for a Texas official to come for his sample. If he was fleeing the scene to avoid a urine test, would he have hung out in the dressing room and then spent another half-hour at the postfight press conference?

"It's no more Julio's responsibility to track down the commission so he can take a drug test than it was for Rubio to tell the referee to take a point after he hit Julio low for the fifth time," Billy Keane, Chavez's manager, said. "We abide by the rules. Nobody came to ask us for a sample, which he was ready to provide. We would abide by anything that the commission or sanctioning body asked us to do. No more and no less."

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation doesn't require boxers to be drug tested. The state, however, usually tests fighters, even if it means just some randomly selected fighters on a card. Texas will also test title-fight contestants at the request of a sanctioning organization.

The Texas rules (which should be changed to require testing, but that's a story for another day) state the following: "A person who applies for or holds a license as a contestant shall provide a urine specimen for drug testing either before or after the bout, if directed by the executive director or his designee."

That didn't happen in this case. Chavez was not tested. Neither was Rubio. And neither were co-feature fighters Nonito Donaire and Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., facts that the Rubio camp conveniently forgot to mention.

In fact, of the 18 fighters on the card, samples were collected from only two: junior middleweight Vanes Martirosyan and his opponent, Troy Lowry.

Texas had intended to collect samples from other fighters on the card, including Chavez, Rubio, Donaire and Vazquez. But Texas screwed up, not Chavez.

The WBC, which sanctioned Chavez-Rubio, screwed up, too. The WBC requires postfight testing in its rules, but says it must be conducted by the local commission. So that means the WBC can order testing but has no way to enforce it. The WBC dropped the ball by not making absolutely certain that Texas officials were prepared to properly administer the tests. Just talking about it at the prefight rules meeting wasn't good enough.

Checking with Texas officials would have derailed any gossip from the Rubio camp. I checked with Susan Stanford, the very capable and always helpful public information officer for the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, who gave me the following statement:

"The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation did not book the drug testing laboratory for the Top Rank event on February 4, 2012. Specimens were taken from Lowry and Martirosyan, but in the absence of the independent testing laboratory the integrity of the samples could not be assured and they were destroyed. No further samples were taken. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation regrets this oversight and is addressing the procedure going forward."

There are reasons why somebody might be suspicious of Chavez, who struggled severely to make 159½ pounds for Friday's weigh-in and then blew up 21½ pounds to 181 on fight night. The reason: After a November 2009 fight in Las Vegas, Chavez tested positive for Furosemide, a diuretic. Diuretics are typically used to assist in weight loss or to mask steroid use.

Chavez should have been tested. So should have Rubio, Donaire and Vazquez. But they weren't. Chavez didn't avoid a drug test; he just fought his heart out.

Texas and the WBC messed up, and that shouldn't happen again. They, not Chavez, made a terrible blunder.

I was very saddened to hear the news Wednesday night of the passing of Hall of Fame trainer Angelo Dundee at age 90.

He wasn't just one of the nicest guys I've ever met in boxing, he was one of the nicest people I've ever met in life.

He had so much enthusiasm for everything, especially boxing. Sure, he is best known for his work in the corner of Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, George Foreman (in the second act of his career) and Carmen Basilio, but he also worked with more than a dozen champions overall and made his Miami gym one of the most famous in boxing history.

I knew him not so much as an active trainer, but just as a wonderful person who loved to talk boxing all the time and had more stories than he could possibly tell -- although he sure tried.

I had never met Angelo before I first started covering boxing in 2000. Maybe a month after I had started covering the beat for USA Today and had only a few articles appear in the paper, I received a hand-written letter from him at the office.

He introduced himself (as if I didn't already know who he was!) and wrote that he really enjoyed seeing the beefed-up coverage in the paper, liked the stories I had written and especially enjoyed the first edition of the monthly divisional rankings we had unveiled a couple of weeks earlier.

Angelo wasn't pushing one of his fighters or projects on me, wasn't looking for a story. Instead, he spent about three pages writing about how much he loved boxing, how happy he was to see coverage in a major newspaper and told me that if I ever needed anything to please give him a call, and he included his telephone number.

Over the years, I would call on him for his views of certain fights and fighters for stories I was working on. He was always very giving of his time, always had something interesting to say and a story to tell.

I had a chance to see him from time to time at fights he would attend. He was a joy to be around. Even into his late 80s he was still traveling around to fights, still working on one boxing-related project or another.

One of the most fun fights I ever covered was when Manny Pacquiao faced Oscar De La Hoya in December 2008. The reason was because Golden Boy Promotions had brought Angelo into the promotion as a "special consultant" to De La Hoya.

He was supposed to visit De La Hoya's training camp in Big Bear, Calif., and offer tips for the fight to De La Hoya and his trainer, Hall of Famer Nacho Beristain. Angelo was also supposed to watch tapes and assist in the strategy for the fight.

In reality, Angelo's main purpose in the promotion was to generate publicity, which he did. With the way he could talk and the stories he could tell -- and the reverence people in the business had for him -- it was a genius move. We all knew it was a publicity stunt, but so what? It was terrific to have him around during the promotion, especially as he held court daily in the MGM Grand media center.

Several years ago, Angelo was honored for his service to boxing at an ESPN2 card in Miami. My pal Jay Seidman produced a special program for the event. My job was to ghostwrite a piece by Foreman on what Dundee had meant to him. I met Foreman in a conference room at Caesars in Atlantic City, N.J., one evening after he had gone through his production meeting for the HBO fight that he would call the next night.

I sat with Foreman for about a half hour as he told me how much Angelo had meant to him when Foreman hired him to work in his corner and help him plot strategy for his fights -- including for his improbable victory against Michael Moorer to regain the heavyweight championship in 1994. He said without Angelo in his corner, he never would have regained the title.

Foreman got choked up at one point talking about Angelo; that's how much he had meant to him.

I'm sure Foreman will get choked up again now that Angelo is gone -- just like so many others who also knew him and loved the man.

Your random thoughts ...

Anyone who reads my work knows I'm no fan of the way the sanctioning bodies do business. Most of their rankings are pathetic, and most of them break their own rules with impunity. And then there are the multiple titleholders per division they crown, which is one of the cancers of boxing.

However, there are times when an organization does something right and deserves credit. Although the WBA, WBC and WBO regularly hand out multiple titles per division, including the dreaded interim titles, I'll give credit to the IBF for its judicious and appropriate use of them.

Interim titles should be used in only one scenario: when the titleholder is legitimately injured and will be unable to defend the belt for an extended period. It isn't fair to strip somebody because of an injury, but neither is it fair to keep a title tied up during a lengthy injury.

The IBF has a provision in its rules regarding when it can use an interim title, and it's going to use it now -- for the right reasons.

Junior flyweight titlist Ulises "Archie" Solis of Mexico is injured. He hasn't fought since August and likely will be out of action for several more months, which will take him at least three months past the time during which he would have been expected to make a mandatory defense.

So the IBF has agreed to allow its two highest-rated 108-pound contenders to vie for the interim title. That means former titlist Luis Lazarte of Argentina and Johnriel Casimero of the Philippines will meet Feb. 10 in Argentina for the interim belt.

And what makes the IBF's rule legit is that it won't mess around: When Solis returns, his next defense will have to be against the winner of the interim title bout -- the way it should be. This isn't the way it's handled by the other organizations, which have allowed titleholders and interim titleholders to go about making defense after defense without being ordered to face each other.

The only negative in this IBF situation is that Solis has already had to fight Lazarte, the dirtiest fighter in boxing, twice. In 2010, Solis was robbed in Argentina in a draw with Lazarte, in which the referee and scoring were so poor that the IBF ordered a rematch. The fighters met again in 2011, with Solis outpointing Lazarte in another terrible fight. It would be a shame if they had to meet again. That's one rule the IBF could stand to tweak -- dropping the loser in a mandatory fight low enough in the rankings so that an entirely unnecessary fight isn't foisted on the titleholder and public.

But the interim title usage by the IBF is exactly as it should be. IBF championships chairman Lindsey Tucker, who has served in his role since 2003, is a by-the-books guy. Under his watch, this will be only the third time the organization will employ the use of an interim world title. It used it in 2004 when junior welterweight champ Kostya Tszyu was injured and Sharmba Mitchell claimed the interim belt (and later got knocked out by Tszyu, upon his return). In 2006, Julio Diaz claimed the interim lightweight title when Jesus Chavez was on the shelf because of an injury, and when Chavez returned he lost to Diaz.

• I was disappointed that President Obama took more than an hour to deliver his recent State of the Union address and couldn't find even a moment to bring up the national need for a Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight.

• I'm looking forward to my first trip to San Antonio later this week to cover the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.-Marco Antonio Rubio and Nonito Donaire-Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. doubleheader. Friday's weigh-in is scheduled to take place in front of the Alamo. That should be pretty cool -- and probably means I will remember the Alamo.

• Chuck Giampa ... um, I forgot what I was going to write.

• Has Rico Ramos thrown a punch yet against Guillermo Rigondeaux?

• I happen to think that the Edwin Rodriguez-Donovan George super middleweight bout can't possibly be a boring fight. Promoter Lou DiBella and HBO went with that fight to open the March 17 card headlined by Sergio Martinez-Matthew Macklin when they couldn't finalize a fight for Andy Lee. I'm not disappointed. Rodriguez-George is a more interesting fight than any of the opponents who were mentioned as possible Lee foes.

• So Andre Dirrell has left adviser Al Haymon and promoter Gary Shaw and has created his own promotional company. Delusion knows no bounds in this business.

• Poor Cornelius "K9" Bundrage. The junior middleweight titlist has been kept maddeningly inactive by promoter Don King and now is saddled with an absolutely horrible mandatory defense against Cory Spinks, who brings no fan interest and whom Bundrage already destroyed to win the belt in the first place.

• Congratulations to Amir Khan on his engagement.

• I really hope Top Rank and HBO can finish a deal for Brandon Rios and Yuriorkis Gamboa to go right into a fight with each other April 14 rather than wasting time on a card with each of them in interim bouts. Fingers crossed.

• The good news is that the Alexander Povetkin-Marco Huck heavyweight title bout was sanctioned. The bad news is that the winner must face Hasim Rahman next. Ewwww.

• British super middleweight prospect James DeGale, a 2008 Olympic gold medalist, says he has left promoter Frank Warren and is a free agent. Warren says he still has DeGale under contract until April 14, 2013. This one should be fun to follow.

• Gotta be honest: It's hard to get excited for the April 28 rematch between Bernard Hopkins and Chad Dawson. But at least with it taking place in Atlantic City, N.J., I won't have to fly cross-country for it, as I did for the first fight in Los Angeles.

• Happy 28th birthday to junior welterweight titlist Lamont Peterson and 22nd birthday to welterweight Thomas Dulorme, one of the best prospects in boxing.

Shane Mosley, the former pound-for-pound king and three-division champion, is 40 now. He is 2-3-1 in his previous six fights, and he has looked particularly poor in going 0-2-1 in his past three since his upset knockout of plaster-less Antonio Margarito in 2009.

The last time we saw Mosley, he was knocked down in the third round and lost a shutout decision to Manny Pacquiao in their massively hyped -- and even more disappointing -- welterweight title bout last May.

Since then, Mosley (46-7-1, 39 KOs) has kept a low profile. But now he says he is ready to return, that he is healthy and that his manager, James Prince, and attorney, Josh Dubin, have been approached by Golden Boy -- the fighter's former promoter before their falling out prior to rival Top Rank signing Mosley for the Pacquiao fight -- to gauge his interest in two potential bouts.

I talked to Mosley the other day, and he said he was asked a couple of weeks ago about his interest in a fight with junior middleweight titlist Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, who holds one of Mosley's old belts. In recent days, Mosley said, he was asked about his interest in facing former junior welterweight titlist Amir Khan.

"They offered me a fight with Canelo and I was like, 'Yeah, I'll take it,'" Mosley said. "Then they came back to me and said, 'What about Amir Khan?'"

Mosley said that fight was also of interest to him, although not at the weight that was suggested: 145 pounds.

Khan, who lost his two junior welterweight belts to Lamont Peterson in controversial fashion on Dec. 10, wants a rematch first and foremost. But Golden Boy knows there are issues there and is looking ahead because Khan had talked before the Peterson fight about moving up anyway.

"I said, 'No way at 145.' I might do it if it was at 147. I was thinking 149 or 150," Mosley said. "It's possible, but I would want to be sure everything is right. It's interesting, but it depends on the setting, the weight, what type of money."

Of the two names brought to Mosley's attention, he said he prefers Alvarez, who has been mentioned prominently as a potential May 5 opponent for Floyd Mayweather Jr., who soundly outpointed Mosley in May 2010.

With Mayweather and Pacquiao trying to finalize opponents, because it seems very doubtful they will fight each other next, everyone else in the hunt is jockeying for position, including Mosley.

"I haven't fought in a while and would have to make weight properly if I was going to fight Khan," Mosley said, adding that he weighed about 168 when we spoke a few days ago. "Now that I am healed properly, I can get back to work again."

Mosley said he injured the Achilles tendon in his left foot several weeks before the Pacquiao fight and that it hindered him badly in the fight. He said he had issues with his other leg also. The injuries have taken some time to heal, but he said he would be ready for a fight in the spring, which is when Alvarez and Khan are both expected back in action.

"I wanted to take some time off and heal properly," Mosley said. "I'm feeling a lot better and ready to go. I'm not hurt. If Golden Boy is willing to put their guy, Canelo or Amir, up to fight me, so be it. I'm excited to get back in the ring. I want to prove to everybody what happens when I am 100 percent."

I don't see the Khan fight happening and remain hopeful a rematch with Peterson will come to fruition. It makes too much (dollars and) sense not to happen.
When I asked Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer about Mosley's claim that he is being considered for the fights, he said only, "My full focus in on the Peterson rematch."

I think Mosley is a long shot, at best, to face Khan. Besides, it remains to be seen if HBO or Showtime would be interested in either bout. But I'll say this: As disgusted as I was with Mosley's performance against Pacquiao -- and it was a fight I killed even before it took place, and wound up playing out even worse than I had predicted -- I think Mosley, even at this stage of his career, would be Alvarez's toughest opponent so far. Alvarez has been very protected.

"I'm better than anyone Canelo [has] fought," Mosley said. "By all means, put me in with him and let me knock him out. To me, Canelo is a warm-up for me to another fight. We can definitely do that."

HBO's "On Freddie Roach" isn't for everybody. It isn't "24/7," the network's flashy and highly produced boxing reality series that the famed trainer has co-starred in several times (mainly because he is Manny Pacquiao's trainer).

"On Freddie Roach" does not have Liev Schreiber narrating. In fact, there is no narrator at all, unless you count a couple of brief off-camera voiceovers by Roach. And there is no high-octane theme music or pulsating soundtrack, just some hauntingly low-key original music that is used only here and there.

But if you have time for a quiet yet compelling half-hour of viewing that is about more than just boxing -- although it is central to who the 51-year-old Roach is and, therefore, a heavy part of the show -- it will be worth your while.

Based on previewing the first two episodes of the six-episode cinéma vérité-shot series that debuts Friday night (HBO, 9:30 ET/PT), "On Freddie Roach" is an oddly engrossing show. It follows the daily life of the five-time trainer of the year (and newly elected International Boxing Hall of Famer) in his Hollywood, Calif., Wild Card Gym, on the road to Las Vegas for a big fight and at home, all while he battles Parkinson's disease, which many -- Roach included -- believe was caused by all of the blows to the head he took as a fighter.

The show is light on talk and exposition but filled with heart and interesting moments that are woven together to tell Roach's story. It's all captured by filmaker/executive producer Peter Berg, who has known Roach for years, back to the days when Roach used to train actor Mickey Rourke, a friend of Berg's. When I spoke with Roach last week, he said the show is as authentic as it could be. It's his life, raw and uncut, including shots of Roach's trembling arms that remind you his disease is always there.

Although it may sound morbid, including the part in one episode in which Roach pays a visit to his neurologist and has an MRI, it really isn't. What comes of it is ultimately uplifting because you see Roach, despite his frail look and dealing with a disease that is clearly taking its toll, thriving as one of the best in the world in his field -- despite the physicality of the job. The way this juxtaposition is presented is captivating.

As Roach says in the show, "I wouldn't trade my life for anybody's."

HBO broadcaster Jim Lampley, one of the executive producers who had the original idea for the series, and who sought out Berg, said he first conceived of it three or four years ago. He has known Roach for years because he has called so many fights involving Roach's fighters.

"I resolved in my mind that I wanted to know something about Parkinson's and his relationship to it, and I would go to him and ask him questions from time to time," Lampley said. "The way he answered me and shared information about it, I began to develop this understanding that he doesn't hide from anything and is an open person who will reveal himself to the world. My idea was just to watch him and see him as the amazingly human character he is. We're not here to make him look good. We're here to make him look like Freddie."

The series does just that. While Roach admits he enjoys being a bit of a celebrity, he also quickly pointed out that "sometimes it's hard to watch yourself on television," especially because what he sees is so real.

The first episode deals largely with Roach's preparing Amir Khan for his July fight with Zab Judah, but you also see Roach dealing with those around him, including assistant (and ex-girlfriend) Marie Spivey, who helps take care of Roach but finds herself on the wrong end of one of Roach's grouchy moods. Roach is a truly nice guy, but he has a dark side, like everybody, and we catch a glimpse of it at Spivey's expense.

"Freddie's story was complex and unusual, in that it would tell itself on camera if you shot it and covered it right, and that isn't something that happens in one episode," Lampley said. "That is something that happens over all six. I am hopeful people will take it all in and they will feel that it is like a movie that goes from one level to another level. Some things reverberate in such a way, you realize what is there. For instance, all the wiping and ordering and putting things in place that Freddie does. He surely isn't conscious of it in his mind -- how many times he is wiping the sink or putting the towels perfectly folded in the gym or the routine with the adhesive tape in the dressing room. In my view, he is applying the control he has in a universe that is beyond his control."

Given Roach's experience with "24/7" cameras following him around during training camps and his general good-natured attitude, he said he eventually stopped noticing that the cameras were always with him. (I believe him because, if you must know, we catch a glimpse of his bare rear end. Hey, it's HBO.)

"Freddie became so relaxed in our process that he fell asleep in front of the camera sometimes," Lampley said. "We were with him for a long time."

Lampley estimates his crew shot more than 1,500 hours, which was ultimately whittled down to what became three hours divided into six episodes.

"The editor is the hero of the story," Lampley said of Stephen Strout. "Any kudos that go to the show have to include the guy who viewed countless hours and found the nuances that illuminate Freddie's world."

In the second episode, we learn about the deep relationship between Roach and his older brother, Pepper Roach, and then see Freddie's almost clinical reaction to a serious medical issue involving Pepper, which is shockingly captured on film. It is unsettling, but this is real reality TV.

"I know our show is not for everybody," Lampley said. "This is a show that trusts the audience, and that is unusual, and a lot of viewers don't like that. But for viewers who want to watch and listen quietly and watch Freddie leak through the screen, by the end of six episodes you will say, 'That's a remarkable life."

It is. And it is one worth watching.

The news Tuesday night that Golden Boy Promotions and Amir Khan had dropped their appeal to the IBF, which they hoped would order an immediate rematch between Khan and new unified junior welterweight titleholder Lamont Peterson, came as a surprise -- especially given how hard Khan protested the decision of their controversial Dec. 10 fight in Peterson's hometown of Washington, D.C., and that the hearing was less than 24 hours away when they dropped the case.

So although the IBF won't order a direct rematch -- the WBA already has, which the Peterson camp is vigorously protesting because it made the order without any kind of due process -- the sides are talking rematch, and Khan, who brings the bulk of the cash because of his TV deals, is willing to split profits 50-50. It's a deal that makes sense, so it seems that the big bone of contention, if they agree to fight, will be where the rematch will take place. Khan surely won't want to return to Washington, the so-called scene of the crime. But financially, D.C. -- specifically the city's main arena, Verizon Center -- makes the most sense.

So we'll see what happens there. I think we will ultimately see the rematch, probably in April. The one thing that could change that would be the unlikely event of Manny Pacquiao selecting Peterson as his next opponent. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has named Peterson among the possible opponents on the short list, but I see him as a long shot to actually get the fight.

In the wake of Khan's dropping his appeal with the IBF, Peterson and his manager, trainer and father figure, Barry Hunter, released statements about the situation on Wednesday. Here was Peterson's:

"I want to take this opportunity to thank the fans for all the positive things that I've read over the Internet and messages received via Twitter. I truly did not know how much support I had all over the world. Now that this is over I am ready to move on. As I said before, as champion I plan on representing both sanctioning bodies to the best of [my] ability and that means fighting the best fighters in the world in defending my titles."

Said Hunter:

"We are extremely pleased that Golden Boy and Amir Khan withdrew their protest with the IBF. As we have said all along, we were not going to be forced to make a decision by one person or entity and we will continue to do what is in the best interest of Lamont Peterson. The Peterson team continuously responded to each of Khan's accusations and the absurdity of the claims. Our reply addressed the rules and also Khan's inability to make adjustments and his performance in the ring, as opposed to placing blame on almost everyone associated with the bout.

"We have an open mind and look forward to Lamont's first title defense. We will discuss internally and assess every viable opportunity available. We will then make the best decision possible for the future of Lamont and his family."

• I get asked a lot about what referees and judges are paid for working world title bouts, and the paperwork related to Khan's appeal gave us a glimpse by making public what the officials were paid to work the December fight. Referee Joe Cooper, whose handling of the bout was at the center of the controversy because of the two points he docked from Khan for unheard-of pushing fouls (which cost Khan the fight), made $2,800 for his night of work. The three judges, George Hill, Valerie Dorsett (who both scored 113-112 for Peterson) and Nelson Vasquez (who had it 115-110 for Khan) made $2,000 apiece.