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    • Mikey Garcia (R) scored a TKO of Juan Manuel Lopez and a ratings win for HBO (AP)Mikey Garcia is one of boxing's bright young stars, and in facing Juan Manuel Lopez on Saturday at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, he was in a match that promised fireworks.

      Thus, it was no surprise that, according to Nielsen Media Research,  Garcia's fourth-round technical knockout win drew 1.3 million viewers to HBO's Boxing After Dark. It was the highest-rated fight on Boxing After Dark in the year.

      But what was remarkable, and thus probably more indicative of the surge in interest in boxing in the last 18 months, is the performance of the primary undercard bout, Terence Crawford against Alejandro Sanabria.

      Terence Crawford drew 1.1 million people to see him fight Saturday on HBO (AP)That fight drew 1.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen. To put that into perspective, it was better than any Showtime fight has done in 2013 and would have been the 13th-most watched boxing match on television in 2012.

      That is significant because Crawford remains a little known fighter to the masses. His sixth-round stoppage of Sanabria was only his second appearance

      Read More »from Mikey Garcia, Terence Crawford score KOs in the ring and in the ratings
    • Mikey Garcia (L) weighed 128 pounds and lost his featherweight title on the scales (Chris Farina/Top Rank)Mikey Garcia lost his WBO featherweight championship before he ever stepped foot into the ring against Juan Manuel Lopez at American Airlines Center in Dallas, missing weight by two pounds and thus forfeiting his title.

      Garcia said he awakened on Friday weighing 128 1/2 pounds. He said he thought it would be no problem to cut the remaining weight and get to the featherweight limit.

      Mikey Garcia weighed 128, two over the limit (Chris Farina/Top Rank)After a workout of more than an hour, Garcia said he weighed only 127 1/2. After missing weight at the official weigh-in by two pounds, he said he opted not to try again out of concern for his health.

      He appeared very gaunt in the face, the effects of the weight cut clearly visible. Lopez, by contrast, looked superb and was bouncing around and smiling.

      "I really thought I would be able to make it and I haven't had an issue in the past," he told Yahoo! Sports by telephone. "My body kind of shutdown. I couldn't even sweat. My fingers were stiff and numb and I have no water left in me."

      Lopez weighed 125 1/4

      Read More »from Mikey Garcia’s body ‘shuts down,’ he misses weight and drops his featherweight title at the scales
    • James Page was a solid welterweight in the mid-to-late 1990s who held the WBA title for a while from 1998 until he was stripped in 2000. On the surface, he was a talented easy-going guy who always smiled and had a nice word for a familiar face.

      Trouble, though, always bubbled beneath the surface with Page. Part of Page's back story when he was champion was that he was trying to turn his life around after fighting drug issues and a checkered past that included two jail stints.

      Floyd Mayweather poses with James Page in 2000 (Getty Images)His career ended after a 2001 loss in Las Vegas to Andrew "Six Heads" Lewis. Shortly thereafter, Page was convicted of a bank robbery in Atlanta and was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

      When Page was released last year, he announced his intention to fight again, at the advanced age of 42. His return was precipitated by the same one that brings so many boxers back, a need for money and no other means of earning a living.

      He lost his comeback fight on Nov. 17, when he was knocked out in the second round by Rahman

      Read More »from James Page’s sad story continues as ex-welterweight champ is arrested on bank robbery charges
    • About the Bouts: The Counterpunch

      A recap of some of the most high-profile fights of the weekend.

      Adonis Stevenson's thunderous left hand made it a short night for Chad Dawson. (AP Photo)Adonis Stevenson's thunderous left hand made it a short night for Chad Dawson. (AP Photo)

      One-punch power

      It was a long road for Adonis Stevenson from turmoil and despair to redemption.

      But his championship moment was short and sweet.

      Stevenson (21-1, 18 KOs) landed a huge left hand that crumpled Chad Dawson, taking Dawson's WBC light heavyweight title Saturday night in Montreal with a knockout at 1:16 of the first round.

      It was a stunning outcome for the 35-year-old Stevenson, who didn't turn pro until 29 because of a sordid, ugly past that derailed his career before turning his life around.

      It was the kind of impressive, star-making performance that forces fans to take notice. Stevenson's ferocious punching power was one of the most intriguing story lines entering the bout and he quickly legitimized that his reputation was well-deserved. He now joins the ranks of the active punching pantheon that includes Lucas Matthysse, Gennady Golovkin and Marcos Maidana, who knocked out Josesito Lopez on Saturday night

      Read More »from About the Bouts: The Counterpunch
    • Perhaps LeBron James' world-shattering block on Tiago Splitter in Game 2 of the NBA Finals fundamentally altered the nature of reality. That's the only explanation we can come up with for the fact that Iron Mike Tyson, once the most feared man on the planet, is now dancing, reasonably well, at the Tony Awards.

      That's Neil Patrick Harris running the show, of course, and Tyson comes in shortly after the three-minute mark, adding a little step-hop contribution to the medley. Tyson's one-man show, "The Undisputed Truth," played Broadway earlier this year and is now on a national tour. Here's a promo video:

      Mike Tyson, Broadway star. Somehow I fear him even more now.

      -Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee.-

      Related coverage on Yahoo!
      Cicely Tyson wins first Tony Award at age 79
      At Tonys, 'Kinky Boots' and 'Vanya and Sonia' win
      Kery Davis drops a bombshell and resigns from HBO Sports

      Read More »from Mike Tyson dances up a storm at the Tony Awards. Yes, this is real.

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