The BWAA (Boxing Writers Association of America) named two Cozzone shots second and third place winners in the 2011 “Barneys.” Capturing second in action was a shot of Mike Lee sending Gilbert Gastelum’s mouthpiece flying. A victory shot of Jorge Arce, with vanquished champ Wilfredo Vasquez, Jr. in the foreground, copped third in the feature category.

Congrats to other winners Naoki Fukuda, Will Hart, Tom Casino, Tom Hogan, Marty Rosengarten, Miguel Salazar and Al Bello!

Shots from 5.16.12 at the Top Rank Gym in Las Vegas: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. sets up camp for June 16 fight in El Paso with Andy Lee.

Still a show-stealer, former great Mike Tyson came out of the crowd to join another former legend, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, walk his fighter, Badou Jack, into the ring for last night’s co-main at the Texas Station in Las Vegas. Jack won a split decision in yet another controversial outcome that made the Brandon Rios-Richard Abril fight look almost legit. Poor Alexander Brand came all the way from Bogota, Colombia, to put on a boxing clinic over Jack, only to get jacked by the judges.

Surviving a devastating knockdown, a pro-Cuban crowd and judges who’d seen fit to ignore the boxing lesson given by the out-of-towner in the co-main, Cleveland’s Willie Nelson is back on the road again to contention after upsetting formerly undefeated, former Cuban Olympian Yudel Jhonson . . . Click here for full report & gallery from last night in Vegas

Floyd “Money” Mayweather might’ve had the bigger payday, but $32M couldn’t buy rally a pro-Cotto crowd last night at the MGM Grand. Miguel Cotto might’ve lost his title, but bloodying Floyd and winning a full house that booed the decision just might entice the Powers-Dat-Be to think about another Pacquiao match-up.  Then again, Cotto did not have Justin Bieber in his corner.

In a war of neighboring Mexicans, Daniel Ponce De Leon, of Chihuahua, battered Juarez pug Eduwardo “Chucky” Lazcano Friday night at the Hard Rock. For more shots, click here.

Anyone hoping the drama would break out at today’s sleepy presser at the MGM were in for a disappointment. Though the two faced off with steel intent, before long, Floyd Mayweather and Miguel Cotto were smiling at one another. (Above) Earlier on, while WBC boss Jose Sulaiman droned on and on about the glory and history and respect of the green brand, Floyd stifled a yawn and stretched. (Below).

Does “Money” make “Cents” or does “Cents” make “Money?”

Floyd “Money” Mayweather may be slipping. Not only does he show up but an hour late, instead of the usual hour-and-a-half, but the usual 100+ degrees of stifling, unbearable heat in his gym was only at double digits during Tuesday’s media circus. Halfway into the usual routine of blazing mitt work,bag work and occasional chorus of “Hard work! Dedication!” most of us started wondering who Fifty Cents was fighting on the May 5 mega-card in Vegas. At yesterday’s workout, 50c was milking the media while hedging the sweating boxing press for anyone willing to drop a buck on Miguel Cotto against his boy, Floyd. There were no takers.

. . . And they wonder why boxing is in decline. Shots from last night’s debacle in Las Vegas. Brandon Rios gets a gift win over Richard Abril; Mike Alvarado and Mauricio Herrera steal the show with a war . . . For full gallery: Click here

Shots from last night’s Michael Katsidis vs. Albert Mensah fight at the Hard Rock. For more, click here.

Rios unable to make weight for title fight with Richard Abril: There were no staredowns, no shoving, no smack talk at yesterday’s weigh-in. The drama – or mystery – centered on the scale, when Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios came in two pounds heavy, at 137. One hour later, after an attempt to sweat out two pounds, Rios re-weighed, only to come in two pounds heavier.

Out of hibernation and into a seven week stretch of fights in Las Vegas: Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios, Richard Abril, Mike Alvarado, Mauricio Herrera and Mercito Gesta opened up fight week with a media workout at the Top Rank Gym.

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With a book slated for fall release and a hiatus in the dried-out boxing scene of Las Vegas, I’ll be taking a step back from my usual 24/7 coverage of boxing. I am pursuing other fields and projects for now, though you can catch my coverage of upcoming megafights in Las Vegas in April through June. In the meantime, you may catch me on the streets, in a classroom (on either side of the desk), at the gym or on an ambulance.

If Las Vegas fight fans left Texas Station disappointed last evening, it wasn’t due to lack of action, but because the hometown girl did not measure up.

There might’ve been a lack of crowd, at Sampson Boxing’s first show, but the three girl fights on the six-bout show provided more than enough proof that women’s boxing is not dead and buried. In two ten-round title bouts and a prelim, six females showed the guys how to fight with a pair of cohones, figuratively speaking, of course . . . |more|

All the shots from last night in Vegas: click here

Photo: Manny Pacquiao pulls away from the LAX airport following his arrival from the Philippines, Saturday night in Los Angeles. The assignment from Top Rank seemed easy enough: fly in from Vegas, wait a couple hours for Paquiao’s 16-hour flight from Manila to arrive, shoot the champ as he arrives, fly back to Vegas. The last two arrivals, Pacquiao slipped out the back door leaving photographers empty-handed. This time, we were ready and, while hundreds of fans awaited their Filipino idol at Arrivals, Pacquiao was met at the back door. The shot above was taken behind the black glass of Manny’s SUV limo as he pulled away – thank God for RAW, is all I have to say. Photos by Chris Cozzone for Top Rank.

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With only two of four fighters willing to oblige the media, at today’s (so-called) media workouts held at Bones Adams’ Gym in Las Vegas, Sharif “The Lion” Bogere, Francisco Contreras, Francisco Santana and Jermell Charlo minimized their efforts while a handful of desperate photogs snapped off a few shots. Bogere and Santana added a few rounds of mitt work to shadow-boxing while Contreras and Charlo were out the door of the converted garage, barely having broken a sweat. The results in images . . . . |more|

Initial shots from last night’s Top Rank  / Teiken / Zanfer card at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas headlining Rafael Marquez vs. Toshiaki Nishioka.  For full gallery . . . |more|

Photo above by Chris Cozzone, 2002: Can Rafael Marquez do it again tonight in Vegas? In 2002, Marquez made his mark upon the bantamweight division by defeating Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson. Nearly ten years later, a flawless reign as bantam king and his four historic wars with Israel Vazquez, Marquez will take on Toshiaki Nishioka for the WBC World Superbantam title.