Tempers got very heated today

NEW YORK — Junior welterweight champion Amir Khan and former titleholder Paulie Malignaggi were at the center of a brawl during the weigh-in for their title fight.

After making the 140-pound limit in a hotel ballroom Friday, the fighters turned to face each other for the traditional stare-down photo opportunity. They began exchanging words and a pushing match ensued, with close to a hundred people rushing toward the stage.

The room was cleared and order restored after a few minutes. No injuries were reported.

Khan (22-1, 16 KOs) is defending his title for the first time in the United States at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. He’s taking on the hometown guy in Malignaggi, who lives in Brooklyn.
The fight will be televised by HBO.

Edwin Valero's boxing career and life effectively over?

CARACAS, Venezuela — Former WBC lightweight champion Edwin Valero was detained on suspicion of killing his wife on Sunday, police said.

Venezuelan Federal Police Chief Wilmer Flores said Valero was arrested after police found the body of his 20-year-old wife in a hotel in the city of Valencia. Valero left the hotel room around dawn on Sunday and allegedly told the hotel’s security personnel that he had killed Jennifer Viera, Flores said.

Flores told state television that police found three stab wounds on Viera’s body. He said Valero was transferred a local police precinct, “where we are headed to take samples needed for the investigation of the case” and to question the boxer.

Valero’s lawyer, Milda Mora, did not immediately answer telephone calls seeking comment.

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Hearns in his heyday

Thomas “Hitman” Hearns will try to pay down a $448,000 tax debt through an auction billed as the “Battle of His Life.”
Saturday’s event at the Auction Block on Detroit’s west side will feature a 1957 Chevy, three boats, six ATVs, a three-wheeled motorcycle and boxing memorabilia.

The 51-year-old Hearns also owes about $500,000 on his Southfield house.

Obie Moore, owner of the Auction Block, tells the Detroit News that all money will go to the IRS. A phone message seeking comment was left Thursday with Hearns.

Hearns held WBA, WBC, WBU and IBO titles ranging from the welterweight to cruiserweight divisions between 1980 and 1999. His three-round loss to Marvin Hagler for the middleweight title in 1985 is generally considered one of the best bouts in boxing history.

Manny Pacquiao ran roughshod through four different sparring partners earlier this week, and boxing’s pound-for-pound king plans to churn through just as many on Saturday.

He’s been peppering the speed bag, pounding the heavy bag and doing enough running to make Usain Bolt fall over in a heap. Under the watchful eye of trainer Freddie Roach, Pacquiao is putting himself in position to knock out Joshua Clottey when they fight March 13 in Dallas.

“Manny is getting better all the time,” Roach marveled after a training session Friday at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles. “I know Clottey is a big, strong guy. I respect him, he’s a great fighter. But Manny I feel is going to overwhelm him with his speed and combinations, and I do believe we will be the first one to stop him in 12 rounds.”

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