By Matthew Hurley: Well, there’s nothing quite like a bit of controversy to get boxing fans all in a lather. The rubber match between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, two fighters so evenly matched we all should have known going in that it would be another hotly contested bout, once again fought on nearly even terms and left their respective admirers in defensive mode.

By Matthew Hurley: There is a moment in every great athlete’s career that can be pointed to and qualified as the apex of his collective achievement. Disagreement amongst fans as to just what that particular moment was is usually born out of an almost fanatical love for the athlete in question. Debate in the world of sports has always been passionate, over-the-top and endless.

By Matthew Hurley: His extraordinary professional career has stretched on for twenty-three years, and although there have been losses, both controversial and spot on, along with some uneven, tentative performances bordering on the tedious, he continues to persevere.

By Matthew Hurley There is something so uniquely human when a boxer finds his courage, his sense of self-worth, called into question by people who have never truly experienced what it’s like to suffer the punishment of fists slamming into your body and head. In a young, up-and-coming fighter the reaction is often muted bewilderment.

By Matthew Hurley: When my obsession with the sport of boxing fully blossomed in the early 1980s, writer George Kimball was my go-to-guy. His columns in the Boston Herald, along with my monthly purchases of The Ring and KO Magazine, became as important to me as any school textbook.

By Matthew Hurley: The upcoming heavyweight title bout between Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye has achieved something unexpected – it has garnered significant interest in a match up between two big men. It’s been quite some time since anyone outside of the Klitschko family and European fanbase has gotten jazzed about a Dr. Steelhammer title defense. Blame that on an American bias,

By Matthew Hurley: So why should anyone who follows prize fighting believe for a second that Shane Mosley has any chance of pulling off the upset against Manny Pacquiao this Saturday night? Mosley contends it’s the very notion so many believe he will be clobbered into retirement by the Filipino icon that he will leave everyone eating crow. He knows upsets are always in the offing, and all it takes is one shot.

By Matthew Hurley: I suppose I owe something of an apology to Erik Morales. After all, what I thought would be my last article about him, until his hall of fame induction, all but begged him to retire.

By Matthew Hurley: It was a left hand reminiscent of the one Manny Pacquiao launched that exploded on Ricky Hatton’s chin back in 2009. The comparison is appropriate because Nonito Donaire’s second round blowout of Fernando Montiel at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino thrilled and chilled a boxing public actively searching for new stars to brighten the pugilistic skyline.

By Matthew Hurley: When the announcement came that Manny Pacquiao would face Shane Mosley on May 7th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas I shrugged, placed my hand over my mouth and yawned.