You can follow Kevin Iole on Twitter at @KevinI

Here's a shocker: Not all boxing fans agree with me.

Well, specifically, not all of them agreed with the list of the 20 biggest upsets over the past 50 years.

In this week's boxing mailbag, I include a random sampling of fan opinion on upsets I overlooked, and provide a status update on Andre Berto as well as an opinion on a mythical fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Aaron Pryor.

With no further ado, let's get to your comments and questions – and my responses.

That's a great read on upsets, but where is the love for Manny Pacquiao's 11th-round stoppage of Marco Antonio Barrera in San Antonio on Nov. 15, 2003? Pac-Man was moving up in weight and fighting at featherweight for the first time against a Mexican legend and the undisputed No. 1 guy in that division. The Barrera camp can make excuses, but nobody ever saw what happened that night coming. I was upset that there wasn't even a mention of the fight in the Read More »from Mailbag: Upset special

You can follow Kevin Iole on Twitter at @KevinI

SYDNEY – George Sotiropoulos is an intelligent man who could have easily settled into a comfortable existence as a banker. He has a bachelor's degree in banking and finance and an associate's degree in international trade.

But he's also a guy who, with a wide grin, tells you that as a child he used to jump off the roofs of houses and buildings. He never got hurt, he says, in part because he paid attention to the way cats landed when they jumped and tried to emulate them.

"I used to love climbing things and I'd climb up on the garage and then run across the roof and jump off," Sotiropoulos said. "I'd jump off and do commando rolls. I would watch movies and do any sort of thing I saw."

Hearing that, it's clear that Sotiropoulos made the correct choice when he opted to put a career in high finance on hold to pursue a job in mixed martial arts.

This is the guy who would punch the walls in his home or, better yet, kick things off the wall and

Read More »from Mailbag: George's travels

You can follow Kevin Iole on Twitter at @KevinI

SYDNEY – Brian Foster was 21 and had already lived an incomprehensible life on the day he and his brother decided to go hiking.

His father, Albert, was murdered when he was 13. Foster had next-to-no relationship with his father, who'd split from his mother when Brian was 3.

"My mom kind of kept us apart," he said in his slow Oklahoma drawl.

Albert Foster was murdered when he tried to stiff three men money he owed in a drug deal, Brian said. Foster lived with his grandparents in a trailer home that would often include as many as 15 to 20 people. He slept five or six to a bedroom, more often than not sleeping on the floor. People were always in abundance, but money was not. He lived in what he called "the worst environment possible" and there wasn't a lot of hope to escape the situation.

"My grandmother, she could feed an army for $20," he said. "You learn that kind of stuff when you don't have anything."

He had grown incredibly close with

Read More »from Foster's loss leads to fighter's life

Demian Maia went out of his element in a fight against Dan Miller at UFC 109 on Feb. 6 in Las Vegas in order to prove he can strike and is more than just a grappling expert.

The performance apparently impressed the Ultimate Fighting Championship brass enough that the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt was chosen to replace the injured Vitor Belfort and challenge Anderson Silva for the middleweight championship in the main event of UFC 112 on April 10 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Belfort announced Thursday that he had surgery on his left shoulder and would not be healed in time to meet Silva in a highly anticipated championship match. Because of injuries and other commitments, the UFC had few options, particularly if it wanted Silva to stay at middleweight and defend the belt rather than move up a class and taking a non-title fight at light heavyweight.

The choice of Maia also carries a risk, because Maia has a cut on his left eyelid and is medically suspended by the Nevada Athletic

Read More »from Maia to replace Belfort against Silva

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Boxing remains a great sport, almost in spite of itself. Promoters demean their own product. Managers sell out their own fighters. Sanctioning bodies corrupt the rankings. Boxers cloister themselves from the media and, ultimately, their fans.

In spite of all that, we watch, enraptured, because every now and then we come across two young men to whom glory and winning mean far more than a paycheck. They bare their souls in the ring and, at times like those, there is no better sport.

The documentary film, "Facing Ali," which airs on Monday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Spike TV, provides a fascinating look at a time when boxing produced those types of events on a monthly, even a weekly, basis.

It explores the many reasons the sport is so desperate for another Muhammad Ali. The film is the story of Ali's professional career, his impact upon society and upon the lives of 10 of the men who met him in the ring.

Their stories remind us why we love boxing,

Read More »from Foes make Ali documentary shine

The Ultimate Fighting Championship's plans for a spectacular debut in the Middle East took a hit on Thursday when an injured shoulder forced Vitor Belfort to withdraw from his middleweight title fight with champion Anderson Silva at UFC 112 on April 10 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

UFC president Dana White confirmed the news in a text message to Yahoo! Sports on Thursday. White said Silva would remain on the card, but did not say whom he would fight or whether it would be a championship fight.

The Brazilian website, Tatame first reported the news. It quoted Jayme Sandall, one of Belfort's coaches, as saying "He was training but not using the arm for a long time because of the injury."

White was in a meeting Thursday afternoon and could not be reached for comment or additional details.

A lightweight championship fight between B.J. Penn and top contender Frankie Edgar is still on the card.

Read More »from Belfort injured, off UFC 112

You can follow Kevin Iole on Twitter at @KevinI

LAS VEGAS – It's not lost on Nonito Donaire, the World Boxing Association interim super flyweight champion, what it means to be a headline act at the Las Vegas Hilton.

This is where Elvis Presley used to star and where Donaire's name now adorns the hotel/casino's oversized marquee.

Seated upon the ring apron at the Top Rank Gym in the shadow of the Las Vegas Strip, Donaire beams when the connection between with Presley is mentioned. Donaire was born in 1982, more than five years after Presley died in Memphis, Tenn., but he's a devoted fan.

"Thank you," he said in a mock Elvis voice. "Thank you very much."

Donaire, 27, dreams of one day fighting World Boxing Organization featherweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez and will have much to be thankful for if he gets the chance.

He's in many ways following the path blazed by his countryman, Manny Pacquiao, who began his boxing career at 106 pounds in the Philippines and is now the pound-for-pound

Read More »from Donaire is the latest Filipino contender

You can follow Kevin Iole on Twitter at @KevinI

Few athletes know the power of television as well as Michael Bisping. The Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight contender has compiled an 18-2 record, taken on all comers, has displayed an action-packed style, and is accessible to media and accommodating to fans.

Yet, on a list of the most disliked – perhaps despised would be a better word – UFC fighters in the United States, Bisping would be near the top of the list.

Dan Henderson, who knocked out Bisping in the second round of UFC 100, insists the anti-Bisping sentiment extends beyond the U.S. borders and to England, where Bisping is from.

"You know what," Henderson said prior to UFC 101 in Philadelphia in August, "I even have a lot of British fans coming up to me and telling me they're happy I knocked him out to finally shut him up."

Since his stint as the coach of the U.K. team on Season 9 of "The Ultimate Fighter" on Spike TV, Bisping ranks alongside swine flu and leprosy to

Read More »from Brit Bisping riles them up