»» Dana White video blog with Mike Tyson leading up to UFC 118 this Saturday night.

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 ©

The Two Tysons: While The Documentary Is A Masterpiece, The Subject Remains Troubling » Tyson, the film, is a masterpiece of the documentary form. Filmmaker James Toback has wrought a sympathetic, cinematic miracle from his 24-year friendship with Mike Tyson. • Primarily based on fresh interviews with Tyson, the candid film is as complete a picture as possible, warts and all. Yet it brims with humor and pathos. An occasional split screen with multiple images of Tyson’s tattooed face parallels Toback’s insight into the multiple voices in Tyson’s head, an indicator of mental illness. There is also vintage footage dating back to Tyson’s teen years, plus excerpts from his most (in)famous fights… BRUCE KIRKLAND, www.winnipegsun.com

Cautionary Tale For Philippines Boxers » GENERAL SANTOS, Philippines — Ageing brawler Rolando Navarrete attacks the heavy bag swinging above the dirt floor of his crumbling home, each crunching blow evoking the old times when he was the boxing-mad Philippines’ most famous son… Cecil Morella, Source: AFP

Mark Scoop Malinowski’s Heavyweight Armageddon: The Tyson-Lewis Championship Battle takes an inside look into one of the biggest money fights in boxing history – the Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson battle for the World Heavyweight Championship in Memphis in 2002. Loaded with inside information, interviews, little-known anecdotes and much, much more, this book tells the full story about how the fight built up for almost two decades and, in the end, how the force of good ultimately overcame and conquered the threat of evil. Excerpts »

Top 25 Boxing Nicknames of All Times » The definitive list:

25. Vinny “The Pazmanian Devil” Pazienza

24. “Iron” Mike Tyson

23. Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini

22. Mike “The Body Snatcher” McCallum

21. Andrew “Six Heads” Lewis

Source: directorblue.blogspot.com

Talkin’ Boxing with Larry Holmes » A kinder, gentler all-time great heavyweight champion Larry Holmes discusses a wide range of topics including, what he thinks could restore life in the flagship division, Hatton-Pacquiao, MMA, training with Ali, the Berbick incident, Who is the greatest?, and more… ” Scoop Malinowski, www.boxinginsider.com

Paul Williams Punishes Winky Wright » Punch stats. Total Punches: Williams – 247 of 1,086 (23%); Wright – 116 of 511 (23%). Power Punches: Williams – 177 of 667 (27%); Wright – 76 of 271 (28%). • Ronald ‘Winky’ Wright has long been considered ‘boxing’s most avoided fighter’. That unofficial title has now been officially passed to Paul ‘The Punisher’ Williams. Wright, 37, came back after 21 months of inactivity and displayed the ring generalship, defensive skills and toughness that have always been his trademarks. Unfortunately for Wright, none of that mattered as the 27-year-old Williams was a non-stop punching machine for every minute of every round… Andrew Eisele, boxing.about.com

EA SPORTS™ Fight Night Round 4 is coming this summer on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Check out the official blog for Fight Night Round 4 where you get inside access to the EA SPORTS™ team as they develop one of the most anticipated games of the year.  Get the latest info, exclusive content and hear what the team has to say about the sport of boxing.

New Champ Bradley Seeks More Success Timothy Bradley, whose first professional fight outside his native California has earned him the WBC light-welterweight title, is keen to become undisputed world champion in the division. • Bradley was a surprise winner against champion Junior Witter in Nottingham on Saturday night, putting the Englishman on the canvas on his way to split points decision. —Source: edition.cnn.com 

Mike Tyson Film Takes A Swing At His Old Image IF, as the novelist Joyce Carol Oates once wrote, “boxing has become America’s tragic theater,” then one might cast Mike Tyson — the former world heavyweight champion and self-professed “baddest man on the planet” — as the leading man. • Yes, against all odds, Mr. Tyson is still alive. A pudgy 41-year-old who is millions of dollars in debt to the Internal Revenue Service, he has been living in the Las Vegas suburbs for about three months. And he is sober — 15 months now, he says — after years of drug and alcohol abuse. But this was not an envisioned outcome just a few years ago. In Mr. Tyson’s own words, “I never thought I’d live to this age.”—By TIM ARANGO, www.nytimes.com.

(Bradley/Witter photo by John Gichigi/Getty Images)

>> KING FOR A DAY? WELL, SORT OF In case you overlooked it: Yesterday was Don King Day in Washington, complete with an official resolution from the D.C. Council. Only one thing was missing—the honoree. —Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts, www.washingtonpost.com

>> When Katie Bernt steps into the ring at Grand Island’s Golden Gloves competition this Saturday, she’ll be hearing it from all sides literally. • At least seven of her siblings will surround the ring, strategically placed by Dad to shout encouragement. • And when she gets done, she’ll do the same for them, helping create the Bernt family’s signature wall of sound. —Mark Coddington, theindependent.com

>> Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) — Evander Holyfield said he and Mike Tyson are discussing the possibility of fighting each other for a third time, the Guardian newspaper reported, citing an interview with the four-time heavyweight boxing champion. —Dan Baynes, www.bloomberg.com

(King Photo by Michel Comte)