EVEN I COULDN'T HIDE MY DEMOCRATIC PARTY LOYALTY

I couldn't hide my Democratic party loyalty, as my expression clearly shows. With that said, it still was an honor to meet Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi.

THE REAL MCCAIN - STRAIGHT TALK EXPRESS COMES OFF IT'S TRACKS? VOTE OBAMA 2008!

CHECK OUT A COOL MOVIE FROM SOME FRIENDS I MET ON A PLANE

Check this out. I met all three of these guys on a plane coming back from Los Angeles earlier this year. It was a pleasure talking to these guys, and I am really proud of them for getting their movie done. Have a look at the trailer, and support the fellas.

ROCKY JUAREZ SPEAKS ON HUGE BARRIOS KNOCKOUT By Brad Cooney

Super featherweight contender Rocky Juarez joined me this evening, and talked about his HUGE knockout victory over Jorge Barrios. This interview should go live tomorrow at WWW.BOXINGHERALD.COM - stay tuned.

LIGHTWEIGHT PROSPECTS CHRIS HOWARD AND MARK DAVIS KEEP THEIR UNDEFEATED RECORDS INTACT.

Saturday night was another action packed night at Fitzgerald's Casino & Hotel, in Tunica, MS. Prize Fight Promotions continued with their consecutive sellout streak with yet another night of exciting fights. Undefeated prospects Chris Howard, and Mark Davis headlined the night. Howard went up against the oh so tough Derek Moon, and although he won the fight, he certainly didn't look like the winner when the fight was over. Moon's conditioning was evident, he looked like he could have went another 10 rounds after the fight was over. Howard clearly won the fight on points, but he didn't look it afterwards. With that said, Chris Howard did very well in his first 8 rounder, and used his speed to get the job done. Howard got out of there with a UD.

Undefeated prospect Mark Davis continued with his impressive ways by getting a 4th round knockout. Davis will certainly be heard of in the near future.

THUMBS UP TO RINGSIDEREPORT.COM? CAN IT BE? YUP...

I was cruising the boxing sites, and recently caught an interview that was done by Dan Hernandez of www.ringsidereport.com - As many of my readers know, there is no love loss between me and the RSR capee-tan "BAD" Bradley, and his Co-Pilot, horror B flick creator, Geno McGahee, BUT... I actually give them guys props for posting an interview, or lack thereof done by Hernandez with Rahman Ali, brother of Muhammad Ali. Hernandez tried to set up the interview, an interview that many people would have very much enjoyed, but guess what? Mr Ali wanted BANK before he would talk. WOW, pretty pathetic. It's pretty messed up that a brother of a legend, NOT the legend mind you...but the brother of a legend wants money before he will talk. Anyway, props to Hernandez and RSR for posting exactly what happened.

Brad C

BAILOUT PLAN TO BE VOTED ON TOMORROW

Speaker of The House, Nancy Pelosi addressed the media today, and announced the a 700 billion dollar bailout plan has been agreed upon, and was sent to the house for a vote on tomorrow. Pelosi took offense to President Bush's plan, saying that his version would give the secretary of treasury unlimited access to do with the bill as he see's fit, with no regulations. Pelosi expressed real concern with how Bush's plan would not protect the American tax payer. With Bipartisan support, it seems the plan has a chance.

Pelosi also said that both presidential candidates have signed on to the bill. A big ammendment that the Democrats put into place was that no Wall Street executives would ride off into the sunset with hundreds of millions of dollars, otherwise known as "Golden Parachutes." It was announced that there would be congressional hearings in order to establish who exactly is to blame for getting the countries economy in such a mess.

OBAMA VS MCCAIN TONIGHT IN MISSISSIPPI By Brad Cooney

OK, now that Senator John McCain is finished saving America from an economic armaggedon (yea right), he decided to show up in Oxford, MS to debate afterall. If anyone actually believes that McCain suspended his campaign in order to race to Washington to fix the supposed 700 billion dollar bail out plan, well then I feel sorry for you. That was the most idiotic political fudge job that I have ever seen.

WHAT THE CANDIDATES NEED TO DO IN ORDER TO WIN TONIGHT
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Barak Obama in my opinion needs to be able to reach into American's living rooms, and kitchens tonight. He needs to be tough, strong, and disciplined. Obama needs to leave an impression in those minds that will be watching, that he is a guy that can stand up to a Putin, and basically pull off a Ronald Reagan tonight. Obama has to show that he is credible to be Commander and Chief TODAY.

An Obama win tonight will make it very difficult for McCain to catch him. The national polls as of late have been swinging in Obama's favor, no doubt because of the economic situation. The American people according to most polls overwhelmingly feel that Obama can lead the nation back out of recession.

McCain in order to do well has to separate himself from President Bush. If he's smart he will talk tonight about the greed, and corruption in Wall Street that got us into this mess. He shouldn't mention President Bush's name one time. He needs to tell why he will NOT be an extension of the 8 year George W Bush disaster.

This debate will make history. Ironically, Mississippi with it's history of slavery, and civil rights abuses, will be the place where the first African American presidential candidate in history will man the podium in a presidential debate.

UK's DAVID HAYE TO FACE MONTE BARRETT!

The UK's David Haye will make his heavyweight debut against Monte "Two Gunz" Barrett in November. STAY TUNED for an exclusive Monte Barrett exclusive at WWW.BOXINGHERALD.COM

AMIR KHAN HOOKS UP WITH FREDDIE ROACH

Lightweight contender Amir Khan fresh off of getting knocked out, and suffering the first loss of his career, has landed in Hollywood, CA. Khan will be inking a deal for the services of famed fight trainer, Freddie Roach. Stay tuned for an exclusive one on one interview with Khan in the coming days.

COMING SOON - EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: WBA FEDELATIN CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPION FRANCISCO PALACIOS

"THE WIZARD" stopped by and gave us a good report on his recent 2nd round knockout win to grab the WBA Fedelatin title. Palacios is inching closer and closer to a world title bid. This podcast will be available at WWW.BOXINGHERALD.COM SOON!

COMING SOON: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW - FREDDIE ROACH

I'll be getting a new update on Manny Pacquiao's camp tonight with Freddie Roach. The interview should go live Monday sometime, so check out WWW.BOXINGHERALD.COM

SERGIO MORA SLAMS VERNON FORREST!

Former Jr middleweight world champion Sergio Mora absolutely slams current champ Vernon Forrest in this must read exclusive interview.

" It's not so much that I don't like Vernon as a fighter, I just don't like him as a person. He's basically just a prick." - - Sergio Mora

Read the interview - www.boxingherald.com

EDNER CHERRY TAKES THE PODIUM AFTER HIS WORLD TITLE BID AGAINST TIMOTHY BRADLEY - Video footage By Brad Cooney

THOUGHTS OF THE DAY - POLITICS, BOXING, PACQUIAO

I find it kind of funny how Senator John McCain all of the sudden jumped onto the Obama frame of mind. McCain is talking about bringing change to Washington D.C. and he's been supporting 95 percent of George Bush's ideas for the past 8 years??

I just want to give a shout out to my buddy Edner Cherry for a tough and determined world title effort against Timothy Bradley. Juan Guzman on the other hand is a disgrace, and has a lot of work to do in order to restore some credibility.

Check out my exclusive interview with Manny Pacquiao - WWW.BOXINGHERALD.COM - I will be flying to Los Angeles next month for exclusive Pacquiao camp reporting, so look for that.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: MANNY PACQUIAO By Brad Cooney

This interview is now live at WWW.BOXINGHERALD.COM!

COMING SOON - EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: MANNY PACQUIAO

I will be sitting down with lb for lb king Manny Pacquiao for an exclusive Boxing Herald interview. This interview will be available within the next day or so. KEEP IT TUNED WWW.BOXINGHERALD.COM

OSCAR DIAZ WAKES UP FROM COMA!

Courtesy - Don Harris WOAI San Antonio

It has been two months since local boxer Oscar Diaz was knocked unconscious during a bout. He's been in a coma since. But today we have some incredible news. The Diaz Family is rejoicing. Oscar Diaz is awake and his eyes are open for the first time in eight weeks.

Diaz, 25, has been comatose since his bout with Delvin Rodriguez on July 16th. He underwent emergency surgery for severe swelling and bleeding of the brain. University Hospital officials say he's now awake, off the ventilator and upgraded from critical to stable condition.

“It's very exciting to see Oscar open his eyes,” says Oscar’s mother Theresa Diaz. “He's a fighter and I believe he will get better.”

Oscar's surgeon and his family will hold a press conference Thursday at the hospital and we will learn even more about his condition then. In the meantime, the family is celebrating one small victory at a time.

COMING SOON: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW SERGIO MORA

Former world champ Sergio Mora will sit down with me and discuss his recent fight against Vernon Forrest. Mora as usual will pull no punches in this one, so stay tuned.

COMING SOON - EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: RAY AUSTIN

I ran into heavyweight contender Ray Austin in Biloxi, MS while covering the Timothy Bradley vs Edner Cherry fight. Ray is truly a nice guy, I spent quite a bit of time with him over the past few days. My buddy Jamie "Air" Arrington, Ray Austin, and myself were chowing down some good Mississippi grub, and all the while talked up some good ole fashioned boxing. Ray sat down with me and talked about his future in the heavyweight division, his recent world title bid against Wladimir Klitschko, and much more. This interview will be available Monday or tuesday, at WWW.BOXINGHERALD.COM

BOXING HERALD EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW - JR LIGHTWEIGHT WORLD CHAMP TIMOTHY BRADLEY 9/13/2008

Boxing Herald was ringside for the Timothy Bradley vs Edner Cherry world title fight, and caught up with the champ minutes after his world title defense against Edner Cherry. Bradley talks about his first title defense, and also calls out the winner of Paul Malignaggi vs Ricky Hatton!

BRADLEY VS CHERRY PICTURES - ROJAS VS VELAZQUEZ PICTURES

NATE CAMPBELL WEIGH IN 9/12/2008 - CAMPBELL VS GUZMAN

The lightweight world champ weighed in a pinch too heavy, but easily made weight within the 2 hour time limit. Here's some video I shot of the weigh in last night from the Beau Rivage, in Biloxi, MS.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: DEVON "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" ALEXANDER By Brad Cooney

I caught up with Devon Alexander in Biloxi, at the Nate Campbell vs Juan Guzman weigh in. Sept 12th, in Bilox, MS. Devon has an interest in the Edner Cherry vs Timothy Bradley fight ,as he is a front runner to face the winner of the two.

GUZMAN FAILS TO MAKE WEIGHT - CAMPBELL,GUZMAN, CHERRY, BRADLEY PICS

Two months of training for a world title fight, and even with coming up in weight, former world champ Juan Guzman failed to make weight, coming in 3 lbs heavy. World champion Timothy Bradley also came in heavy, but was able to shed the weight within the two hour time limit. Here are some pictures from the weigh in.

COONEY Q&A's - PAC VS DE LA HOYA - AND MORE

After receiving many emails asking me for my thoughts on the Pacquiao vs De La Hoya fight, I decided to post some of them here on my blog. I also received plenty other emails on other fighters, and more!

Brad,

Can Manny beat Oscar De La Hoya by knockout?

More power!
Chad

Chad,

Honestly my friend, this fight will be very difficult for Manny. I am not as convinced as my good friend Freddie Roach is that this will be a victory for Manny Pacquiao. Manny's speed and how he uses his speed will be extremely important. In my opinion, the only way Manny's arms are raised after this fight is if he hits and runs for 12 rounds, and prays that Oscar doesn't cut him off and get him the corner somewhere. I do believe that the size difference will be a factor in this fight. Manny has a small chance to win, IF he hits, runs, and makes Oscar chase him around. Perhaps Oscar will get tired, and gas out. That's where Manny's speed can be a factor as well.

Mr Cooney

Thanks for the interview with Sir Don Secuya our PACLAND chief! Do you think if Manny wins his match against Oscar he can get a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr?

Donavan

Donavan,

It was an honor to interview Mr Secuya, he was a true gentelman, and a class act. Dong has a true vision for the future of Pacland, and I look forward to a continuing relationship with him. Thankfully, Mr Secuya refrains from posting certain garbage that some websites publish on their front pages, and that's a true testament of his character. Now to your question .... Yes, I think Manny has two more HUGE money fights left in his career... Mayweather Jr, and Ricky Hatton. Hatton will probably happen first, then a possible HUGE showdown, pound for pound king title against Mayweather Jr.

Mr Cooney

Can you explain why sometimes judging is so horrible in fights? Juan Diaz got a split decision win, and to me it appeared he won convincingly.

Jon L from Cebu

Jon

Boxing has had a history of corrupt judging, and unfortunately current day boxing isn't exempt from it either. The Juan Diaz decision (although he got the nod) was horrific. I completely agree with Max Kellerman, and the rest of the HBO crew when they say it was the worst scoring in a very long time. As far as why does it happen? Who knows what lurks behind the scenes when there is big money involved my friend.

Brad

Thanks for the great interviews brother! Keep them coming! Hey I wanted to know if you think Nonito Donaire can be the next Manny Pacquiao.

Jeff from Cali

Jeff,

Donaire showed how much of a beast he is by knocking Vic Darchinyan into a coma. It didn't hurt my feelings either, as I don't like cocky arrogant people anyway. I don't think Donaire will achieve the same market success or name recognition as Manny Pacquiao. Manny Pacquiao's come along once every 30 years or so. With that said, Nonito is an extremely dangerous fighter, with fast hands, and much power. He will go on to have a very successful career.

I'll get to some more of your questions when I return from the Nate Campbell vs Juan Guzman fight on Monday! THANKS FOR THE QUESTIONS.. KEEP THEM COMING

EMAIL me your questions -bradcooney1@bellsouth.net

GRAB A COPY OF BRAD COONEY'S "LET'S TALK BOXING"

HBO'S HAROLD LEDERMAN SAYS, "There isn't a boxing fan out there that shouldn't have this book!"

Actor Gene Borkman from the legendary boxing movie RAGING BULL says, " I enjoyed learning about the author's experiences, I enjoyed the interviews as well "

TO ORDER YOUR COPY CALL - 1 880 280 7715 Or visit www.amazon.com

GRAB A COPY OF DAN HORGAN'S "BRINGING BACK BOXING"

One of the best boxing books of the year! Grab a copy of Dan Horgan's "Bringing Back Boxing." http://stores.lulu.com/danhorgan2

THE ABC SENDS A CLEAR MESSAGE TO THE WBC

September 10, 2008 (sent Via Email)


Mr. Jose Sulaiman
World Boxing Council
Mexico City, Mexico

Dear Mr. Sulaiman:

Reference is made to your September 9, 2008 “open” letter, published on the website of the World Boxing Council (“WBC”) as “World Boxing Council News,” regarding the appointment of officials for the boxing matches scheduled to be held this Saturday, September 13, 2008 in Biloxi, Mississippi. In the letter, you take exception to the Mississippi Athletic Commission’s selection and appointment of the three judges for: (1) the WBC super lightweight world title fight between Timothy Bradley, Jr. (the current WBC champion) and Edner Cherry, and (2) the WBC “elimination” fight between Elio Rojas and Hector Velazquez in the featherweight division; and you insist that two of the judges in each of these boxing matches be “WBC judges.” In protest, you, as the President of the WBC, proclaim that the WBC will purchase three “ringside” seats for three WBC judges (“registered in the WBC”); and that the awarding of the WBC super lightweight championship belt, as well as the winner of the WBC “elimination” bout in the featherweight division, will be determined by the scoring of the three “WBC judges” regardless of the scoring by the judges licensed, appointed and selected by the Mississippi Athletic Commission.

The United States Congress, in enacting what is now codified in the United States Code as 15 USC §6307h. (Judges and referees), expressly provided that:

“No person may arrange, promote, organize, produce, or fight in a professional boxing match unless all referees and judges participating in the match have been certified and approved by the boxing commission responsible for regulating the match in the State where the match is held” (emphasis added).

Contrary to your characterization, the Mississippi Athletic Commission is not merely “hosting” the WBC title fight and elimination fight; instead, the Mississippi Athletic Commission is the governmental regulatory body that is sanctioning, regulating and otherwise overseeing these bouts. As such, the selection of officials is within that governmental body’s sole and exclusive prerogative which is not to be influenced by “reciprocity” with a proprietary, unregulated sanctioning body.

The Association of Boxing Commissions (“ABC”) acknowledges, and continues to endorse, the practice which has evolved whereby a sanctioning body submits to the boxing commission responsible for regulating a championship (or eliminator) fight a list of officials the sanctioning organization is desirous of “working” the fight, and that boxing commission, in its discretion, selecting one or more of the four officials (referee and three judges) from the sanctioning body’s list. I have been in contact with Jon Lewis, Chairman of the Mississippi Athletic Commission to consider this request, but at this time, the commission plans to stand firm on the appointment of officials. The ABC also acknowledges, however, the efforts of the WBC, on more than one occasion, to substitute a “WBC judge” for a judge selected by a boxing commission, only minutes before the national broadcast of a WBC title fight, with the threat of withdrawing the WBC sanction of the bout as a “title fight” if its demands were not met. In short, the practice which has evolved is no more than that – a practice – and is not a mandate or requirement under the law. If a state or tribal boxing commission member of the ABC chooses not to apply this practice, it is within that commission’s prerogative.

Your declaration that the WBC will buy three ringside tickets for three judges “registered in the WBC,” and that these three judges will provide “the final and official result for the world of boxing for the WBC world championship fight and elimination fight,” is untenable. It not only potentially lends confusion as to the legitimate winner of the bout, but demeans and diminishes the validity and credibility of WBC title holders (arguably, making the validity of the WBC belt, at best, questionable and, at worst, non-existent); and brings into question the propriety of the WBC ratings. Further, it is important to note that Fight Fax, the only boxing registry certified by the ABC [15 USC §6301(3)], obtains bout results exclusively from authorized governmental boxing commissions. If another boxing registry records, and reports, the result of a bout as submitted by a sanctioning organization (or promoter or manager or others) based upon the scores of “ringside-ticket-holding-WBC-registered judges,” the consequences would be severely detrimental to the sport of professional boxing. I encourage you as the President of the WBC to withdraw your mandate to place three WBC selected officials ringside to score the bout.

Contrary to your assertion, the appointment of the judges by the Mississippi Athletic Commission, some of whom are “registered” with the WBC, for the Bradley-Cherry bout and the Rojas-Velazquez bout does not constitute “an infringement or violation of the law by using the WBC championship accolade …” Instead, a violation of the law may be found in three “ringside-ticket-holding-WBC-registered judges,” unlicensed by the Mississippi Athletic Commission, judging a fight and determining its outcome.

Finally, the ABC notes that the fighters involved in these bouts should be notified that the results, according to the scorecards of the judges appointed by the Mississippi Athletic Commission, may not be recognized by the WBC; so that the fighters can determine the propriety of paying, respectively, a sanctioning fee to the WBC for a title they may have earned, but may be denied.

On behalf of the ABC, its Officers, and its Directors, for all of the above reasons, I strongly encourage you again, not to effectuate the actions you propose on behalf of the WBC.


Sincerely,

Tim Lueckenhoff

President

COONEY MAILBAG COMING SOON

I have been getting slammed with emails about the Manny Pacquiao fight! Many questions asking for my thoughts on the fight, and several questions pertaining to other matters in and out of boxing as well. Between my myspace site, my blog, and Boxing Herald, I have had so many emails that I decided to post some of them here on my blog. I'll get started tonight, and then get to more on Monday. I'll be out of town Fri through Sun covering the Nate Campbell vs Juan Guzman fight.

MS ATHLETIC COMMISSIONER JON LEWIS RESPONDS TO WBC JUDGING DEMANDS!

“In the state of Mississippi, anyone that attempts or acts as a boxing judge without a commission licensing permit will be committing a felony. We strongly advise that no one should sit on the front row and act as a boxing judge. In the state of Mississippi we have and will always have neutral judging. We will pursue this through criminal channels if this were to happen. We have two international well known credible officials and two in state credible officials working this bout. We feel it is biased for a sanctioning organization to pick and choose who they want judging world championship fights.”

BREAKING NEWS - DEONTAY WILDER TO MAKE PRO DEBUT!

I have been informed by a very reliable source that 2008 Olympic bronze medalist, Deontay Wilder will make his pro debut on the Manny Pacquiao vs De La Hoya undercard. The opponent is the ole TBA.

MANFREDO JR VS SAKIO BIKA IN THE WORKS

Middleweight contender, Peter Manfredo Jr will face former Sakio Bika in Providence Rhode Island, at the Dunkin Donuts Center. This according to Manfredo Jr himself, will be for the IBO title. Also, added to the undercard will be former contender star, and current middleweight contender, Miguel Espino. Miguel will face current world champ, Anthony Mundine!

ROCKY JUAREZ WINS BY TKO IN THE 11TH

Former US Olympic silver medalist Rocky Juarez grabbed a come from behind 11th round TKO. Juarez was behind on my cards, but was much closer on the ringside official cards. Two points were taken away from Barrios for low blows, although they didn't seem too low to me. Juarez battled back and had success by finally banging to the body. Barrios threw an incredible amount of punches in this fight, and seemed to finally gas out around the 10th round. Juarez' body attack finally paid off, and in the 11th round he was able to send Barrios to the floor. Barrios lip was literally torn in half, and the referee had no choice but to stop the action. This was a MUST win for Rocky, and it will surely pave the way for a nicer payday fight in the near future.

AN OBAMA-MESSAGE FROM SHANNON BRIGGS By Shannon Briggs

What's good...I just joined Barack Obama's campaign for president. And I just knocked out twelve republicans for going against the grain when they know we need change. Shit's bad !!! This is truly a recesession. Today I saw one of my wealthiest friends begging for change at the light. I'm actually taking fights for food. We need change. NOW! McLame is 72 and senile. He picked a woman named Sarah Palin that I may be smarter than. It's truly an insult to the American people. Real talk. McRetard totally disrespected the nation with that pick he pulled out of his butt at the last second. We have to do all we can to keep him and the morons out of office. They have already did us dirty. Like Kanye said George Bush dont like black people. The good news is black and white people dont like him. Lets do our thing and get Barack and Biden in the drivers seat.

I know sometimes the political process seems impossible, superficial, and worse. But we're trying to change that. We're building a campaign of the people, by the people, and for the people.

So please take a moment to learn more about Barack, about the campaign I'm running with him. There's a place in it for all of us.

Boxers for Barack baby !!!!

http://Florida.BarackObama.com

EXCLUSIVE PODCAST WITH DONG SECUYA - THE MASTERMIND/CREATOR OF PACLAND By Brad Cooney

I sat down and spoke with the creator and mastermind that created PACLAND, Dong Secuya. Dong talks about everything from the creation of Pacland to the politics in the Philippines. Check out what BOSS SHIVA had to say - listen HERE - http://boxingherald.libsyn.com/

ONE ON ONE WITH PAUL WILLIAMS By Thornell Johnson

COMING SOON - EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: EVANDER HOLYFIELD

I will be talking with the legendary Evander Holyfield this week, stay tuned!

HURRICANE GUSTAV VIDEO (TORNADO WARNING SIRENS) FROM MY HOUSE

Tornado sirens going off by my house during the arrival of Hurricane Gustav (today).

Hurricane Gustav Video Footage - (From my House)

I shot a little video from the front step of my house of the beginning winds from the approaching Hurricane Gustav.

GUSTAV SIDESWIPES MY AREA

We were pretty lucky this time around, Hurricane Gustav swiped my area with about 40 to 50 mile per hour gusts, and heavy rain. No real significant damage to report in my area. There were some tree's down, and small signs down, and some power is out in the area. It could have been much worse, so we are thankful that we didn't get it too bad. Tonight the main threat in central Mississippi is heavy rain, and spin off tornado's. We should be out of the woods by tomorrow.