April showers bring May sours

I've been a bad blogger.

The first four months of 2009 were chock full of quality bouts, both on paper and in competitiveness. Fights like Andre Berto-Luis Collazo and Jermain Taylor-Carl Froch were cinematic in their drama, setting the stage for the May 2 junior welterweight "superbout" between champion Ricky Hatton and consensus No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer Manny Pacquiao.

With the storm clouds gathered, the monsoon that is Pacquiao blew through Hatton in less than six minutes. As spectacular and one-sided the performance was, it could be argued that the bout didn't live up to the phenomenal promotion by Golden Boy.

And the rest of the month followed suit. What do fans know now?

Well, 26-year-old Chad Dawson can do just enough to take another decision in a rematch with Antonio Tarver, who is 14 years Dawson's senior. Berto, who had maybe fought his heart out against Collazo on Jan. 17, lacked killer instinct against a completely inferior Juan Urango. Alfredo Angulo, perhaps suffering from the effects of an ailment, was out-gunned by a slicker Kermit Cintron. Andre Ward was impressive and maintained his focus after being cut by a headbutt against Edison Miranda, but -- let's face it -- Miranda can't keep up with anybody who can actually box.

So forgive me for being a slacker. I apologize. I didn't even get to use my "Union Jacked Up" headline for a Pacquiao-Hatton post-fight blog.

Now let's get back to our regularly scheduled program.

Haye fever: On June 3, David Haye pulled out of his scheduled heavyweight bout against Wladimir Klitschko. Claiming cold feet a back injury suffered during training, Haye said he hopes the June 20 fight can be postponed three weeks, pushing it to late July. Klitschko's crew, according to BoxingScene.com's Mark Vester, would rather Haye be available for July 11, but is exploring another option for the original date.

Ruslan Chagaev, who sits at No. 3 in the RING ratings below Klitschko and brother Vitali, is being discussed as an opponent. Good news: The bout will be for the RING magazine heavyweight title, vacant since then-champion Vitali retired in November 2005 (only to return three years later). Bad News: Chagaev (25-0-1, 17 KOs) might be infected with hepatitis B.

ESPN's Dan Rafael reported Chagaev's "health issues" forced him to pull out of a rematch against Nikolai Valuev for a third time. So, is he cured now? And why is Klitschko (52-3, 46 KOs) so eager to share the squared circle with him?

The Klitschko-Haye bout was actually a heavyweight fight fans were looking forward to. With Haye -- who is never at a loss for words -- showing up to pressers wearing a shirt adorn with a graphic photo of him standing triumphantly over Wlad's and Vitali's decapitated bodies holding their severed heads, he brought a theatrical nature to the mundane division. And it may have lit a fire under Klitschko, who has vowed to punish Haye like he has no other opponent.

Hopefully it happens sooner rather than later.

Pac Man says bring it, Arum says hold it: According to GMANews.TV, Pacquiao accepted the challenge from Shane Mosley to meet on Oct. 17. Sports news outlets were quick to jump on the story, including ESPN, who had it scrolling across its BottomLine on June 3. Speaking with the Los Angeles Times, Top Rank's Bob Arum, who promotes the Filipino phenom, was quick to dispell the rumors:

This has absolutely no credibility to it. Manny hasn't decided who he is going to fight. It could be Mosley, or it could be (Miguel) Cotto, (Floyd) Mayweather Jr., (Juan Manuel) Marquez or (Edwin) Valero. They're all in the mix.

With the rest of the welterweight division seemingly suffering the effects of diabetes, it would be nice to see Sugar Shane step between the ropes again while BALCO founder Victor Conti's motions in Mosley's lawsuit against him keep being denied. The way Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs) demolished Antonio Margarito was a testament that a proposed matchup with Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 KOs) would be more competitive than Pac Man's recent fights (Oscar De La Hoya, Hatton).

Wasn't Pacquiao's training leading to the Hatton bout wasted on six minutes of work?

Again, we'll have to wait and see.

Give me four: The California State Athletic Commission recently cleared Israel Vazquez to pursue his career. The junior featherweight champion had been sidelined with a detached retina since winning the 2008 Fight of the Year, his rubber match against Rafael Marquez. Many, including Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole, hope this sets up a fourth bout between the two Mexican legends. Marquez (38-5, 34 KOs) is coming off a third-round knockout of Jose Francisco Mendoza, his first fight since losing to Vazquez (43-4, 31 KOs).

Now for something completely different: For the first time on this blog, I'm mentioning mixed martial arts. That is my disclaimer.

On June 7, WEC featherweight champion Mike Brown (21-4) will defend his title against the man he took it from in 2:23 with a crushing right hand, Urijah Faber (22-2). The rematch should be a firefight. Versus will begin airing the card at 9 p.m. ET. Try to catch it.

That wasn't so bad, was it?

Come back for more of the Sweet Science when I break down Miguel Cotto-Joshua Clottey.