Boxing

Bill Dwyre writes that Kelly Pavlik should have knocked Jermain Taylor out in their rematch this last weekend. Unlike the movies, computer games, or the Wii, the fights are real. At the championship level, both men use every bit of their talent, courage and survival skills to stay upright, and to win. The knockout blow is quite literally a no-brainer; it can be seen from the back of the arena, and can be replayed from various camera angles on pay-per-view. But a true contest between well-matched warriors is about more than a single blow, or a story line that suits a sportswriter.

Skill, training and determination have allowed Israel Vazquez to become a world champion boxer. The people who inspire those attributes can be found inside a small Huntington Park home, to which Vazquez returned last August after a grueling title fight in Hidalgo, Texas. With his two young children inside, a battered Vazquez first found his wife, Laura. He hugged her, and whispered reassurance: "We won."

From the time they entered the world two minutes apart, Javier and Oscar Molina shared everything: bunk beds and a bathroom, honors classes and sports teams. For much of their 18 years, the Commerce twins have also shared a passion for boxing, and a dream of competing in the Olympics. Now they are one step away from sharing a trip to Beijing -- with a historic twist.

BALCO founder Victor Conte on Tuesday said former world champion boxer Shane Mosley knew "exactly and precisely what he was doing" when he engaged in a doping program before his 2003 victory over Oscar De La Hoya. Mosley last week sued Conte for slander and libel after Conte said he was planning a new book that would "set the record straight" on Mosley's knowledge about using the designer steroids known as "the clear" and "the cream," and the blood-doping drug EPO.

LAS VEGAS -- When Bernard Hopkins takes on opponents, one thing is certain: He will try to mess with their heads. The reigning light-heavyweight champion and former state prisoner once routinely wore an executioner's mask into the ring to intimidate. He creates commotion. He provokes. And always, the plan is to win. Yet, when it was suggested to Hopkins recently that he may have mastered the mind game, he was outraged.

LAS VEGAS -- One of the first punches Joe Calzaghe faced from Bernard Hopkins knocked the Welshman down, but the questions that the moment raised about Calzaghe's ability to fight a decorated champion outside of his native continent were answered in the following 11 rounds.

Oscar De La Hoya said Monday he is confident his reunion with trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. will not only help him defeat underdog Steve Forbes on Saturday at Home Depot Center, but also will ensure a victory in his rematch with undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September. In a live chat with Times readers on latimes.com, De La Hoya told a questioner that he "absolutely" will retain Mayweather Sr. for the anticipated showdown. Mayweather Jr.

Michael Buffer knows how to put an exclamation point on the anticipation of a major boxing match. The veteran ring announcer stepped into the hot Las Vegas spotlights in March, knowing something the crowd didn't: that these precious seconds at the center of attention could be his last. The man whose voice had made a few simple words so famous was facing throat surgery. He had cancer. So, he prefaced those trademarked words.

Pay no mind to the sports book, Steve Forbes insists. Certainly, he didn't look at the odds himself as he was leaving training camp in Las Vegas en route to L.A. for Saturday night's fight against Oscar De La Hoya. The 35-year-old De La Hoya is a staggering 18-to-1 favorite, according to the MGM/Mirage sports book. "Somebody forgot to tell me that," Forbes (33-5, nine knockouts) said this week as he concluded preparations for the bout at the Home Depot Center's soccer stadium in Carson.

Tonight, in a soccer stadium at the Home Depot Center in Carson, a boxing promotion will be interrupted by an actual boxing match. For an hour or so, the selling will rest while the product performs. But soon, presuming Oscar De La Hoya doesn't wander into one of Steve Forbes' fists and remain on the mat for 10 seconds or more, the promotion machine will crank up again. Don't mistake this for smug sarcasm. (Heaven forbid.