Quick Jabs

The Mike Tyson and Prince Naseem Hamed fiascos were each preceded by superb undercard bouts. In Detroit undefeated WBC super bantamweight champ Erik Morales was much more impressive in taking a 12-round unanimous decision from tough Wayne McCullough than Hamed was when he beat the Belfast brawler on Oct. 31, 1998. HBO would like to see a Hamed-Morales bout sometime soon, but the Prince may have some royal concerns. In Las Vegas, Diego Corrales stopped previously unbeaten Roberto Garcia to take the IBF junior lightweight crown and set up a possible showdown with WBC champ Floyd Mayweather Jr....

Mayweather recently turned down a seven-fight, $12.5 million contract extension with HBO, calling the deal "a slave contract." According to HBO vice president Lou DiBella, Mayweather's father, who is also the fighter's manager, called the network to apologize. HBO would welcome the talented Mayweather back, but it won't be at the $3 million per fight Mayweather was demanding....

Still combative after all these years: Three-time Olympic super heavyweight champ Teofilo Stevenson of Cuba, 48, was arrested last Saturday for head-butting a United Airlines employee who tried to stop Stevenson from passing through a security checkpoint in Miami. Stevenson posted a bond before catching a later flight back home to Cuba....

Is undisputed light heavyweight champ Roy Jones Jr. serious about moving up to heavyweight? Yes, but only for one bout—and only against the right opponent. Jones believes that Evander Holyfield can win his Nov. 13 rematch against Lennox Lewis. If Holyfield does emerge with the unified title, Jones says he will seek a deal with the Real Deal. "I'm not saying Roy Jones can't beat Lennox Lewis," says Jones, "but I'd be giving away too much [against the 6'5", 246-pound Brit] in that fight."