Klitschko-Haye Back on For June 20 in Europe
March 5, 2009
The on-again/off-again matchup between heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye is back on again.
According to Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer via Doug Fischer of Ring Magazine, contracts have been exchanged and the details are being sorted, but the fight will take place on June 20 in Europe.
A specific location has not been agreed to, but that was the holdup for some time. The fight was close to done at other times, but has always hit breaking points. Originally, Haye was promising big crowds in London, but was unable to make the fight happen where he wanted to for economic reasons. Then, he offered to fight in Germany, but the holdup then came from other reasons and talks broke off.
Recently, Haye was apparently pushing for the fight to happen in the United States, but eventually all parties agreed to fight in Europe at a yet to be determined site.
According to Shaefer, Germany may still be the frontrunner for the fight, but nothing is for sure right now.
HBO will televise the fight.
Pacquiao Willing to Make Marquez Trilogy
March 4, 2009
Even though Juan Manuel Marquez said in the ring after his win against Juan Diaz that he didn’t think Manny Pacquiao wanted to fight him again, he continues to chase him and Pacquiao seems more than willing to fight him once again.
The two superstars have fought twice, with Pacquiao winning in 2008 by very narrow split-decision and they fought to a disputed draw back in 2004.
Marquez has been calling Pacquiao out for the last year, since the second bout. Many people feel that Marquez one at least one, if not both of the fights, while many Pacquiao fans feel the same about their fighter. Pacquiao would be 2-0 vs. Pacquiao if not for a scoring error in the first fight, while Marquez would be 1-0-1 if he could have avoided just one knockdown per fight.
Marquez called out former pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather after his win over Diaz, saying that he didn’t feel that Pacquiao was interested in fighting him for a third time.
Upon arriving back in Mexico however, Marquez once again took the opportunity to challenge Pacquiao. Marquez said that he wanted to fight the winner of Pacquiao’s May fight with Ricky Hatton, but said that he hopes Pacquiao wins so they could fight for a third time.
Pacquiao, meanwhile, sounded recently as if he is more than willing to share a ring with Marquez for a third time.
Pacquiao told Setanta Sports (via BoxingScene):
“I did not see the fight but I heard that Marquez won the fight and if he wants to fight somebody, anybody, I wish that we will meet again. I think there would be more action in the ring after our two battles and we need to put into the minds of people that there is a winner.”
More than likely, a third fight between them would have to take place at 140 pounds, since Manny has made it clear that he has no intention of going back to lightweight, while Marquez is already planning to move up in weight to challenge some of the bigger names in the sport.
Even if Pacquiao were to lose to Hatton, there would surely be huge interest in a third fight with Marquez, as well as the possibilities of Hatton-Marquez and Hatton-Pacquiao II. But a Pacquiao win over Hatton would only work to set up Pacquiao-Marquez III.
No matter who wins the Hatton-Pacquiao fight, we are sure to see an even bigger fight later this year with one of them fighting Marquez.
What to Watch For: March 2009
March 3, 2009
After an amazing February, boxing looks to continue its hot streak into March, with even more big fights on the horizon.
The first edition of March’s Friday Night Fights on ESPN is headlined by Delvin Rodriguez, who takes on Isaac Hlatshwayo in a rematch that is an IBF welterweight title eliminator. Demetrius Andrade will fight on the undercard.
HBO starts things off on March 7 with a card that features some fantastic young fighters. Joel Julio takes on James Kirkland in a junior middleweight fight that promises fireworks and the impressive Victor Ortiz is in action against Mike Arnaoutis. Robert Guerrero will also fight on the card.
The following week sees some big names in action in mid-week contests.
On March 12 in Tokyo, Hozumi Hasegawa puts his WBC bantamweight title on the line against Vusi Malinga, and Oscar Larios fights Takahiro Aoh in a rematch for Larios’ WBC featherweight title.
The following night in Montreal, Lucian Bute looks to rebound from his near disastrous defeat against Librado Andrade as he takes on Fulgencio Zuniga. Bute’s IBF super middleweight title will be on the line.
March 14 features a handful of the sports marquee stars, spread all over the world fighting.
In Christian Mijares will look to bounce back from his knockout loss to Vic Darchinyan, while Jorge Linares will put his WBA junior lightweight title on the line in a separate bout.
Over in England, the young Amir Khan will take on the much older Marco Antonio Barrera in a fascinating matchup. Also on that card is Nicky Cook, defending WBO junior lightweight titlist, and local favorite Enzo Maccarinelli.
Swinging over to Germany on the same day, Arthur Abraham defends his version of the middleweight title against a completely overmatched Lajuan Simon, while Oleg Maskaev fights in Mordovia on the same day.
Midweek fights the following week feature the highly touted prospect Andy Lee fighting in New York on March 16 and Edison Miranda fighting on the 20th.
Also on March 20, ESPN is back with another Friday Night Fights, featuring Fernando Beltran Jr. vs. Thomas Mashaba in a featherweight contest in the main event.
On March 21, Vitali Klitschko returns to the ring in Germany to face Juan Carlos Gomez in a fight being televised on ESPN for the WBC heavyweight title.
Meanwhile, back in the United States, Roy Jones continues his career with a fight against Omar Sheika in his hometown of Pensacola, Florida.
On the final weekend of the month, the heavyweights will take over Friday Night Fights, as Sam Peter will climb back into the ring for the first time since Vitali Klitschko made him quit and took his belt last year. Peter will be taking on “Fast” Eddie Chambers in a very important fight for both men.
On Saturday, March 28, Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. is in action against a typically overmatched opponent with a misleading record on a Top Rank PPV. Also on that card is Humberto Soto defending his WBC junior lightweight title, as well as Jose Luis Castillo, Fernando Montiel, and Cesar Canchila all in separate bouts.
Showtime will also have fights on March 28, featuring Andre Dirrell and Ronald Hearns in separate bouts.
While March lacks the marquee matchups that we got in January with Mosley-Margarito and February with Darchinyan-Arce and Diaz-Marquez, there are some great fighters fighting and some matchups that should make great fights.
The highlights are Kirkland-Julio and Klitschko-Gomez, but there are sure to be great fights along the way.
Ron Borges is Wrong: A Defense of the Klitschkos
March 2, 2009
Ron Borges thought this would be a good time to take an argument and try to strip it of all logic, facts and reason, and instead use it to keep toeing the party line that the heavyweight division sucks, and therefore, in turn, the Klitschko brothers are to blame.
Borges’ boxing writer resume is impeccable. I don’t doubt his boxing knowledge. But like many of today’s writers, he is holding a grudge against the modern heavyweight that is just way out of line.
His recent column over at The Sweet Science is a perfect example of what I’m talking about. Borges goes out of his way to bash the brothers Klitschko, Wladimir and Vitali, for not doing things as what he sees being the right way.
So what are they doing wrong?
Apparently, they whine too much and want things their way. But let’s take a look at Borges’ arguments and see just where he goes wrong.
Argument #1:
“Now according to Klitschko, a unification fight with WBA title holder Nikolai Valuev is being held hostage by – drum roll – Don King and, to a lesser extent, German promoter Wilfried Sauerland, who in partnership hold the promotional rights to [Nicolai] Valuev. Klitschko is insisting he has offered Valuev a 50-50 split, a fair amount considering that each man holds one quarter of the major titles presently in existence. But he also says King is insisting on three years of options on him if he wins, which is absurd but typical if true.”
So a Klitshcko-Valuev fight is not made and Valuev’s two promoters are known to be two of the most difficult to deal with in all of boxing. King has a reputation for demanding rights to fighters if they beat his champion and Valuev has a reputation of not leaving his home base to fight anyone that could be considered a threat.
Borges goes on to conclude that
“The latter sounds fair enough, and so does a 50-50 split with Valuev, assuming that includes all revenues and not merely some of it, which may be a big assumption. King insisting on options comes as no surprise either, although how he gets around the [Muhammad] Ali Act is beyond me and hence it is difficult to fathom how any such demand would hold water legally. One has to wonder if that was anything more than posturing by King, assuming it ever happened in the first place.”
General conclusion: Klitschko’s fault.
Argument #2:
Why isn’t a fight with David Haye made yet?
That wouldn’t get the fight made, according to [Bernd] Boente, because Haye can’t deliver a deal for a British soccer stadium, which according to Boente reduces the undefeated Haye to something less than a mandatory challenger and hence means a purse reduction.
The facts on this one seem clear as day. Haye was given the opportunity to fight for a title, despite having no heavyweight qualifications to have earned him such a shot. Haye and his people are promising sold out soccer stadiums in London, which in turn is promising huge television money all over Europe.
Then Haye’s people say they can’t do a soccer stadium because of the economy. So they tell Klitschko that now they are no longer bringing any money to the table, you have to secure us a location in Germany, and Haye still has not earned his title shot. But in the court of public opinion, Haye is the guy that they need to fight.
Haye and his team showed their lack of experience and professionalism in negotiations and it may have cost Haye a shot at the title.
Conclusion: Klitschko is at fault and is ducking Haye, and the brothers just won’t fight anybody.
Argument #3:
Why don’t these guys just fight somebody? When the elder Klitschko came out of a four-year retirement he got an automatic title shot against [Sam] Peter his first fight back. Didn’t have to face anyone despite having not been in the ring with a decent heavyweight since [Lennox] Lewis beat his eye out of his head five years earlier. Neither the Klitschko brothers nor Boente were doing any screaming then that they were being given an unfair advantage while bypassing the many working heavyweights who hadn’t held the title hostage year after year claiming one injury after another.
Lesson one: When you retire as champion, you are given Champion Emeritus status, which entitles you to get a shot at your belt immediately upon returning to the ring. It is irrelevant who he had fought since his four-year layoff, as he had already done the work to guarantee him a shot at the Maskaev-Peter winner before he left the game.
And as for Lewis beating his eye out of his head — wow. Talk about some revisionist history. Yes, Lewis won on cuts, but if you think that’s the only relevant part of that story, you’re just being one-sided in your argument. Klitschko beat Lewis around the ring, was winning on all three cards and was desperate to continue the fight. Lewis collapsed into his corner after the sixth and final round and clearly had nothing left in the tank. After doing all he could to try to make a rematch, Lewis chose to retire rather than fight Vitali again. Lewis got the win, but there was a reason that Vitali won over the crowd in Los Angeles that night, and it wasn’t because Lewis beat his eye out of his head.
But well done with the sneaky way of slipping it in as one sentence that most people will gloss over. You probably tricked a lot of people on that one.
And as for “why don’t they just fight somebody?”, what are you talking about? Wladimir has fought the exact same number of times as your precious David Haye since winning the title. He just fought in December and Vitali fights this week. What is your argument? Who do you want them to fight, and just how often?
Argument #4:
They dictate terms as if they were two guys who actually attract fans, which outside of Germany they don’t, as proved by their consistently underwhelming pay-per-view numbers. It’s also why half the time they fight in Germany rather than in the U.S., and HBO doesn’t insist otherwise.
Boente was quoted saying a fight with Haye “doesn’t make sense if he doesn’t bring more to the table than a regular challenger like Hasim Rahman or Tony Thompson. Why pay him more than a mandatory challenger?’’
Maybe because a few people might actually be interested in watching?
So apparently the most important thing that a heavyweight needs to be is marketable in the United States. First of all, (and I may be wrong on this) I can’t remember a SINGLE Klitschko fight being on pay-per-view. So which PPV was underwhelming? None here in America.
Yes, a few people might be interested in watching a Klitschko-Haye fight. But when he hasn’t earned the fight, and there are mandatories out there that allow you to keep your titles and make more or as much money, why should he fight him. Because a few delusional Europeans think his glass-chin can withstand a real heavyweights punch (even though it barely survived cruiserweight)?
Tell David Haye to fight someone that is worth a damn and he will earn the right to fight for the title, rather than just try to talk his way into it. One win in the division over Monte Barrett does not a contender make.
Haye had a fight with either Klitschko presented to him on a silver platter, and he and his people pissed it away. Is that the Klitschko’s fault? Borges thinks so.
Argument #5:
Let us examine, for a moment, who these two guys have beaten. On his “march’’ to the title, Vitali holds wins over Vaughn Bean, Larry Donald, Kirk Johnson, Corrie Sanders, Danny Williams and Peter. He also sandwiched in a four-year layoff in there somewhere.
His brother has beaten a murderer’s row that includes Chris Byrd, Calvin Brock, Ray Austin, Lamon Brewster, Sultan Ibragimov, Thompson and Rahman. The latter, Rahman, had been beaten in his career by Oleg Maskaev, John Ruiz, James Toney, Holyfield and Lewis yet is arguably the best guy Wladimir Klitschko ever beat.
Wladimir beats two titlists (Byrd, Ibragimov) to win the belts he currently has, beats three mandatory defenses (Rahman, Austin, Brewser), and two guys who were a combined 60-1 that everyone said he had to fight (Thompson, Brock). Who gives a shit if you think it was a “murderer’s row”? It was the best heavyweights in the world at the time. Why not point out who he didn’t fight? Oh, yeah — he fought them all.
As for Vitali, you conveniently leave out that he was not the champion and was trying to get himself a fight with Lennox Lewis. It wasn’t his responsibility to take the most marketable or biggest fights, it was his responsibility to try to win a title. In those fights listed, he won two title eliminators and one title, while also beating Lewis around the ring in a loss.
And Rahman is arguably the best guy that Wladimir ever beat? Really? What world do you live in? Perhaps in 2001 he would have had an argument, but even the biggest Klitschko diehards will tell you that he was not much of a challenge at the time they fought. But he was a mandatory and Klitschko fulfilled his obligation to the sanctioning bodies by beating the living daylights out of him. Everybody who follows boxing will rank Chris Byrd and Sam Peter well above Rahman, at least at the times that they fought.
Then Borges finishes out the column with this gem of an argument.
Argument #6:
And these guys are making demands and setting terms? What do they bring to the table besides big German TV money? Good PR and HBO’s checkbook. One of these days someone at Time-Warner may actually take a look at what they’ve been paid and ask Ross Greenberg a simple question? Why?
As for Valuev, why should he help the Klitschkos unify half the title when they have no intention of ever unifying all of it? They never had the slightest interest in helping him earlier in his career when his promoter kept trying to lure one of them into the ring.
It seems clear Valuev loses to either Klitschko because he can’t spell F-I-G-H-T let alone actually do it, so the world is hardly crying out for the match despite the Klitschkos’ claims to the contrary. No one cares.
The fact is for all their posturing, pouting, palavering, they own title belts won against lousy opposition. That is not all their fault but most of the sporting world really couldn’t care less about them or the heavyweight division. If they fight, fine. If they don’t, just as fine. Valuev? Haye? Gomez? Chris Arreola?
Who cares?
I’ll summarize this one: What have the Klitschko’s done to earn the right to call the shots during negotiations?
Oh, I don’t know — BE THE UNDISPUTED HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONS? Seriously, what haven’t they done to get the upper hand in negotiations?
But the final argument is the one that gets me, summarized as “it doesn’t matter anyway, since I don’t care about the guys their not fighting, either.”
Exactly. You don’t care about any of them. They keep beating the guys who earn their spot as the mandatory defense or number one contender, and you don’t care to give them credit. You don’t care to see them fight Haye, but you have the balls to call them out for not doing it when other fights offer more money?
I’ve always respected Ron Borges as a boxing writer, but this is just plain old fashioned hatred. Sorry the Klitschkos were born in the wrong country. Believe me, if either of the brothers had the exact same resume and were American, they’d be the biggest stars in sports today.
Imagine a 6’7″ white guy from California who knocked out everyone he fought, while having his doctorate degree. If you don’t think he’d be a superstar, you’re just flat out wrong.
Just like Ron Borges.
Fantastic February Goes Out With a Bang!
March 2, 2009
Before the fights even got underway for the month of February, the rankings were shaken up. Pound-for-pound superstar and light-heavyweight champion Joe Calzaghe announced his retirement, leaving the sport undefeated. Calzaghe was a great champion and truly one of the sport’s elite, and the sport will miss him. Due to his retirement, BoxingInformer.com has removed Calzaghe from the pound-for-pound rankings, as well as from the light-heavyweight rankings.
Also taking place outside of the ring in February was the suspension of Antonio Margarito and his trainer, Javier Capetillo by the California State Athletic Commission. Both men had their boxing licenses revoked for one year. Margarito may seek to fight in Mexico, as his promoter, Bob Arum, and WBC President Jose Sulaiman swear to his innocence.
Starting off the month of February in the ring was the much anticipated showdown between Vic Darchinyan and Jorge Arce, a fight that was three years in the making. Darchinyan showed just why he is the undisputed champion at 115 pounds and dominated Arce from corner to corner before the fight was stopped prior to the 11th round. Since his stunning KO defeat at the hands of Nonito Donaire, Darchinyan has taken huge leaps forward in terms of boxing ability and defense, and combined with his devastating left hand, earns him a spot in the BoxingInformer.com top ten Pound-for-Pound list, replacing the retired Calzaghe.
The following week was one of the more interesting cards you’ll see — and not in a good way. In HBO’s many-times-changed triple header, we got a little bit of everything. In the first fight, Alfredo Angulo did exactly what he was supposed to, dismantling Cosme Rivera for a fifth round knockout.
But the second fight of the night was where it took a turn for the worse. In one of the more controversial fights you’ll ever see, Sergio Martinez managed to knock Kermit Cintron out, dominate the fight, and get a draw. That’s right, he knocked him out — referee Frank Santore counted to ten, said “it’s over,” and the celebration ensued. Then the ref said, “sorry, my bad…” and told the fighters to keep fighting. Martinez finished the one-sided fight and was awarded a draw by one legitimate referee and (evidently) two blind men. This fight was boxing at its worst.
In the finale of that card, Nate Campbell scored a hard-earned majority decision over the very game Ali Funeka. Campbell lost his titles on the scale the day before the fight, failing to make the 135 pound limit. He will move up to junior-welterweight and campaign at 140 pounds.
The following weekend brought a pair of elite fighters back into the ring to try to get back on their winning ways, but first was a crazy night of action on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights.
On the undercard, Yuriorkis Gamboa displayed his dazzling hand speed with an early knockout, needing just 35 seconds to earn his check. But the crazy came in the main event, when Humberto Soto, down badly on the scorecards, took a bite out of Breideis Prescott’s shoulder. Kudos to the officials on the scene who made the call correctly and disqualified Soto.
On Saturday the 21st, Kelly Pavlik and Miguel Cotto both were back in the ring following each of their first respective losses. In a split-location pay-per-view, Cotto had his way with Michael Jennings, dropping him twice in the fourth round before finishing him off in the fifth.
Pavlik looked good also, stopping Marco Antonio Rubio when Rubio didn’t come out for the tenth round. Pavlik dominated early before coasting through the middle rounds. In the eight, he finally hurt Rubio, making the challenger do his best to survive the round. After more punishment in the ninth, Rubio called it a night.
On Wednesday the 25th, Troy Ross took home the title as the winner of the fourth season of The Contender, this year on Versus. Ross knocked out Ehinomen “Hino” Ehikhamenor in the fourth round to win the title.
The last weekend of the month got off to an exciting start with a busy Friday night. Glen Johnson avenged a draw from a few years back by soundly defeating Daniel Judah in the headline match on Friday Night Fights.
Also on Friday the 27th, Tomasz Adamek defended his cruiserweight championship on Showtime against a very game Johnathon Banks. Banks had his moments early and landed some solid shots, but Adamek’s body work broke the previously undefeated Banks down as the fight wore on. By the eighth round, Adamek had taken control and was able to finish Banks off with a beautiful right-left combination to put Banks down. Banks would make it to his feet, but one more flurry from Adamek put him on the canvas for good.
The last night of the month provided us with the best matchup on paper that we’d see in February, and they didn’t disappoint in the ring. In what will certainly be a finalist for Fight of the Year, Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz put on a show for the ages.
The fight was fought at an unbelievable tempo for the whole fight, with Diaz getting the better of Marquez on the ropes and in the corners, but Marquez controlling the middle of the ring. As the fight wore on, Marquez appeared to be tiring, but he caught Diaz with some great shots in the eight round that hurt Diaz and opened a bad cut on his left eye.
Diaz came out strong in the ninth round, but Marquez caught him again, this time with a right hand to the temple that led to Diaz hitting the canvas. He beat the count, but his lack of survival defense led to a brutal uppercut that dropped him for good.
Marquez retained his Ring title, and picked up a handful of vacant trinkets in the meantime with the win.
After the fight, Marquez called out former pound-for-pound king, the retired Floyd Mayweather. Marquez said he’d love to fight the winner of Hatton-Pacquiao in May, but doesn’t believe that Pacquiao is interested in making a third fight with him.
On the undercard, American fans got to see former Marquez defeater Chris John defend his featherweight crown against local favorite Rocky Juarez, and they got to see a great boxer outbox a solid pressure fighter, but the judges saw it even and called it a draw. Juarez scored with his pressure and power shots, but John controlled the action for most of the fight, landing 300 more punches over the 12 rounds.
Fantastic month of February with a fantastic ending.
Changes in this months rankings:
- Joe Calzaghe removed from pound-for-pound list and as light heavyweight champion due to retirement.
- Antonio Margarito removed from rankings due to one-year suspension.
- With Calzaghe’s retirement, BoxingInformer.com has left the pound-for-pound #1 spot vacant.
- Vic Darchinyan enters the pound-for-pound rankings at #11.
- Chad Dawson becomes the new #1 light heavyweight, following Calzaghe’s retirement.
- Luis Collazo enters the welterweight rankings at #5 with the departure of Margarito from the list.
- Nate Campbell removed from lightweight rankings as he will move up to junior welterweight.
- Manny Pacquiao removed from lightweight rankings as he will remain at junior welterweight.
- Edwin Valero enters the lightweight rankings at #4.
- Joan Guzman enters the lightweight rankings at #5.
- Humberto Soto becomes new #1 super featherweight, with Valero moving to lightweight.
Marquez Finally Wins the Big One
March 1, 2009
Juan Manuel Marquez finally came out on top in a big fight against a prime, elite fighter.
Marquez knocked out the younger Juan Diaz in the ninth round of an epic lightweight fight to affirm that he truly belongs among the best in the sport.
In the past, Marquez has fought brilliantly but come out on the short side in his biggest fights. He has a loss and a draw with Manny Pacquiao, but many believe that he should have two wins in that series. He lost a very close decision to Chris John in Indonesia back at featherweight.
Now, Marquez finally has that defining win on his resume and a damn good argument that he is the best fighter in the world.
Going into this fight, there were questions about Marquez’s claim to being the best in the world due to his lack of wins in his biggest fights. But he has more than enough great performances, mixed in with a whole bunch of solid wins that this victory over Diaz fills in the blanks that he needed to rise to the top.
Marquez is ranked by most boxing experts as one of the two or three best fighters in the world, and now the only argument that was held against him is gone.
Had he been managed better in his younger years, he might be on top of the boxing world by himself.
Marquez turned down lucrative offers to fight Manny Pacquiao in a rematch and to fight Erik Morales, instead opting to take pocket change to fight John in Indonesia. Had he fought in North America against a bigger name, perhaps he would have had his career defining win earlier in his career.
As it stands, Marquez has accelerated at the age of 35, rather than slow down. For a fighter not known for his power, he has two impressive knockout wins in his only two fights at lightweight and hasn’t shown his age yet in any of his fights.
With the possibility of a third fight with Manny Pacquiao, perhaps Marquez is yet to write the last chapter of his story, but even if he never has another major fight with a marquee fighter, there is no more questioning just how good Marquez is.
After the win over Diaz, Marquez called out former pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather. Saying that he doesn’t believe that Pacquiao is interested in fighting him a third time, Marquez says he is looking for bigger and better fights.
With just two fights at lightweight, it isn’t known just how good Marquez would be fighting up at welterweight against a fighter like Mayweather, but at this point, anything is possible.
Golden Boy Promotions is staging a lightweight tournament in April, and the winner of that could perhaps challenge Marquez. Other possibilities include a rematch with Diaz or perhaps a fight with Ricky Hatton, should he beat Manny Pacquiao in May.
At lightweight and super featherweight, contenders include Edwin Valero, who will be fighting in the Golden Boy tournament, Humberto Soto, Joan Guzman, and Jorge Linares, among others. Outside of Pacquiao, Hatton or Mayweather, it seems as if there are no mega-fights on the horizon for Marquez, so he may be waiting for a few months for prospective opponents to sort themselves out.
One thing is for sure: Juan Manuel Marquez is in the conversation for being considered the best fighter in the world, and with his disputed non-wins against Pacquiao, he has a pretty damn good argument that he is the best in the world.
Mayweather Wants $20 Million To Come Back
February 26, 2009
Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is willing to entertain offers to get back in the ring. The problem is, his idea of an acceptable offer is not in the same ballpark as the offers that are realistic.
It’s kind of a good news/bad news situation for boxing.
Good news that Mayweather is willing to entertain offers to return to the ring.
Bad news that he is so far off on the money issues that seeing him in the ring again is unlikely — until he drops his price.
Mayweather reportedly is looking for a $20 million guarantee to fight either Manny Pacquiao or Shane Mosley, a figure that Top Rank’s Bob Arum said was just unrealistic and out of line.
“Look, Golden Boy went to Mayweather about fighting Shane Mosley and he wanted a $20-million guarantee.”
…
“He is so bleeping way out of line that it is ridiculous. Nobody and no fight, against Manny or anyone else, is going to get him $20-million guarantee.”
…
“Could he work hard and earn $20 million if a fight with Manny did well, yeah, that is possible. But nobody is going to give Mayweather [the chance] to fight Pacquiao, Mosley or Jesus Christ.
“So is it possible that Mayweather will come back? I say yes, but his expectations and aspirations are just too unreasonable.”
Perhaps the problem that Mayweather is having, like Pacquiao had before him, is understanding that skill isn’t what sells. All of the fights that could make that kind of money involve either Oscar De La Hoya or Ricky Hatton. With back-to-back fights against them both, Mayweather likely believes that he can earn similar paychecks against anyone.
The fact is, Mayweather was never a big seller prior to the Oscar fight. Pacquiao’s big PPV was against Oscar. Mayweather’s fight with Hatton was huge worldwide.
A fight between Mayweather and Hatton would do huge business, but no one can guarantee it, since neither one has proven they can carry a promotion by themselves. The fight would be a huge hit with boxing fans, and huge in the Philippines, but neither of those means huge money.
If Mayweather were serious about wanting to fight either fighter, he’d be willing to take more money on the back-end and promote the shit out of the fight to guarantee its financial success. But like Arum said, the guarantee of $20 million is unrealistic.
The bottom line in all of this is that yes, Mayweather is willing to comeback — but at what price? Boxing would like to see Floyd Mayweather in the ring again, but if you can’t name his price for Pacquiao — the biggest fight out there — are you ever going to be able to?
Juan Manuel Marquez’s Odd Road to the Top
February 26, 2009
If you ask most boxing fans, they’ll tell you that Juan Manuel Marquez is one of the top two or three fighters in the world. They may be right. But the way he got there is about as odd as any you can think of.
It’s possible that without winning another fight, Marquez could ascend to the throne of pound-for-pound supremacy — without ever having beaten a top fighter in their prime.
Sure, you could argue that he beat Pacquiao twice, but the fights were both close enough that you just have to live with the decision losses.
So how close is Marquez to being the P4P king, all without having that one marquee victory that is usually required?
Imagine this scenario:
- Marquez fights to a draw with Juan Diaz in a great, action packed fight on Feb. 28.
- Just over two months later, Manny Pacquiao loses to Ricky Hatton in a super-lightweight showdown.
- More than likely, Marquez will become the new mythical “pound-for-pound” champion all over the boxing world.
It’s not such a crazy scenario — unlikely for both results to happen exactly in that way, but not outside the realm of possibility.
What makes it interesting is should that all happen, Marquez will become the new pound-for-pound king, all without winning a single major fight in his career against an elite-level, prime fighter.
Marquez’s Big Wins?
Sure, Marquez beat Marco Antonio Barrera, but that was not the same Barrera that was dazzling us against Erik Morales seven years earlier. It’s a good win, but it shouldn’t be the defining win of his career.
Joel Casamayor? The 37-year old Cuban gave Marquez all he could handle before getting knocked out. It would have been a fine win if Casamayor hadn’t been beaten around the ring by Jose Armando Santa Cruz in one of boxing’s greatest robberies, then taken to his limits by the very average but entertaining Michael Katsidis. Another decent win, but nothing that should be right near the top of a P4P resume.
Prior to those wins, the biggest win Marquez had ever gotten credit for was against Derrick Gainer in 2003. Another fine win, but nothing that makes somebody the best in the game.
In his fights against elite fighters at or near their prime, Marquez is 0-3-1. He lost twice to Manny Pacquiao, but many feel that he won one of or both fights. He lost to Chris John in a fight that some dispute, but many agree was just, and he lost to Freddie Norwood way back in 1999 in his first title fight.
The amazing thing is that his two close losses to Pacquiao not only add to his resume, they are the focal point!
I can’t recall a single fighter that has climbed as high as Marquez has without having any of the decisive wins that we usually require out of a fighter in his position.
The Pound-for-Pound King
Just what does it take to be the king of boxing, in it’s mythical pound-for-pound world? I’ve offered my opinion, but the question that is raised here is “can you inherit the spot” or does it have to be assigned when a fighter is deserving?
Looking at some recent pound-for-pound kings:
- Floyd Mayweather had wins over Diego Corrales, Genaro Hernandez, Jose Luis Castillo, and had been a three-division titlist before assuming the throne.
- Bernard Hopkins (if he was ever really the P4P king) had 19 consecutive successful defenses of his middleweight title, and wins over Felix Trinidad and Glen Johnson on his resume, among others.
- Roy Jones had wins over Bernard Hopkins, James Toney, John Ruiz and complete domination over everyone who crossed his path for his whole career, without exception.
- Manny Pacquiao is a multi-division champion with wins over Barrera, Erik Morales, Oscar De La Hoya and Marquez. Not all consider him a P4P king, but if you do, there is certainly a solid argument these days.
- Joe Calzaghe was undefeated with 24 defenses of his super-middleweight crown. He had wins over Chris Eubank, Robin Reid, Jeff Lacy, Mikkel Kessler and Bernard Hopkins before anyone handed him the crown.
Is it possible that Juan Manuel Marquez is on the threshold of being the pound-for-pound king based only on the accomplishments of Manny Pacquiao and Marquez’s performances against him?
Maybe it’s me, but in my view, there must not always be a pound-for-pound king. When the March BoxingInformer.com rankings come out, there will be nobody in the number one spot on the pound-for-pound rankings, due to the retirement of Joe Calzaghe. I enjoy watching Pacquiao fight, but in my opinion, he never earned being the P4P king.
But I understand that others will have Pacquiao number one, and if he loses to Hatton, then there is a good chance that Marquez will inherit that spot.
I really have no problem with Pacquiao being ranked where he is. He’s an amazing fighter with some quality wins on his resume. I don’t quite view him the way your average boxing forum poster sees him, but I think he’s quite good. But that’s a different argument for a different day.
Marquez has shown in the ring that he is extremely talented, but he really lacks the great win that I feel you need to be on top of the whole sport.
Mis-Management
One of the problems that will always dog Marquez is his lack of fights with the top fighters when he was younger. Marquez was hanging around at featherweight and super-featherweight for most of the same time that Morales, Barrera and Pacquiao were.
But in that time, Marquez fought Barrera once and Pacquiao twice, but never Morales. That is the only combination of these fighters that never happened.
Why?
Simple. Marquez made some real bad decisions, and his legacy is now paying the price.
Take for instance the time between Marquez’s draw with Pacquiao in 2004 and his fight with Chris John in Indonesia in 2006.
After the first fight with Pacquiao, HBO offered Marquez $750,000 to stage a rematch, but Marquez said he wanted $1.5 million. That was HBO’s entire license fee, so that fight didn’t happen.
Then, after a few meaningless fights, HBO offered Marquez $1.5 million to fight Erik Morales in 2005 on PPV. Marquez turned down this offer as well, saying that he wanted $3.5 million.
Later that year, Marquez had his IBF belt stripped because no promoter was willing to pay to stage any of his mandatory fights. That led him to take a fight in Indonesia against Chris John for a measly $30,000. The outcome of the fight is disputed, but Marquez’s boxing smarts, or lack thereof, are not.
Marquez had his opportunities to make himself a pound-for-pound king, but he has both passed on key fights, and failed to come out victorious in the ones he does take over the years.
It is possible that Marquez is among the best boxers in the world. In fact, I’m quite certain I’m in the minority if I say he’s not the second best behind Manny Pacquiao. I’m not necessarily arguing that he’s not one of the most talented individuals in the sport. I’m pointing out the fact that he is poised to take boxing’s highest mythical title without ever truly earning it in the ring. That, I have a problem with.
For that reason, even with a Manny Pacquiao loss to Ricky Hatton, there is no justification of Marquez being boxing’s pound-for-pound king.
Preview: Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Juan Diaz
February 25, 2009
Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz combined to go 2-2 in 2008, with three of the four fights being split-decisions. Both lost early in the year, then came back to win big fights late in the year. With 10 years separating these two warriors, it is a fantastic matchup for both their styles and the points they are at in their respective careers.
Marquez is 49-4-1 in his career, but has gained more recognition in his disputed loss and draw against Manny Pacquiao than all of his wins combined. Since his draw with Pacquiao in 2004 and subsequent loss to Chris John in 2006, Marquez has climbed the pound-for-pound rankings due in large part to the success that Pacquiao has had. Marquez’s ability to give Pacquiao all he can handle has garnered him more attention and credit than his actual ring accomplishments.
That’s not to take anything away from Marquez as a fighter, as he has proven in the ring that he belongs amongst the sport’s elite. But outside of his loss and draw with Pacquiao, Marquez doesn’t have a long list of great wins. His win last year over an aged Joel Casamayor is a nice one to have on the resume, but it comes with a similar footnote as his win over Marco Antonio Barrera the year before. They are both nice names to have on your resume, but at the time of the fight, they were both clearly past their prime.
When fighting elite fighters in their primes, Marquez is 0-3-1, with his losses to Freddie Norwood and Chris John in addition to the Pacquiao fights. Add in the fact that this is only Marquez’s second fight at the lightweight limit, and he had just three fights at super-featherweight and this is a huge challenge for him. This is Marquez’s biggest fight against a younger, top-level opponent not named “Pacquiao” in several years. At 35-years old, Juan Diaz is a massive test for Marquez.
Juan Diaz, on the other hand, is just 25 years old, but he already has been in the ring with some big names. His biggest win was against an aged Acelino Freitas in 2007, and he followed that up with a unification bout with Julio Diaz later that year. His lone loss came to Nate Campbell, in a fight that he fought most of with a vicious gash over his eye from a headbutt. Campbell likely would have beaten him with or without the cut on that night, but Diaz continued to come forward, even when beaten and hurt in that fight, and that’s something Marquez must beware of.
Diaz is a rough fighter. He walks forward, no matter what. He will work the body, he’ll fight on the inside and he’ll put immense amounts of pressure on you.
Marquez is a classic boxer. He will counterpunch you all night long, and beat you with hand speed, accuracy and footwork.
In that sense, the styles are going to make an interesting fight in this matchup.
One of the biggest things that jumps out at me in this fight is the question of how Marquez is going to handle Diaz’s pressure and power. Marquez is a great boxer, but he is no stranger to hitting the canvas. Pacquiao put him down four times in two fights while Barrera and Norwood each dropped him in their bouts.
A knockdown by the naturally bigger and stronger Diaz is not out of the question and if the fight goes to the scorecards, could be the difference.
I’m still not completely sold that Marquez is an elite lightweight. Diaz may not be in the long run either, but at 25 years old, he is a more natural lightweight. If we’ve seen anything over the years, it’s that the lightweight division is not friendly to older fighters. Nate Campbell, Diego Corrales, and Jose Luis Castillo have all had issues with weight, while Joel Casamayor and Acelino Freitas both seemed suddenly old at that weight. How Marquez will handle it at his age, we don’t know. But one thing we do know is that Diaz should be the more comfortable fighter at that weight.
Weight and natural size aside, Marquez carries a huge edge in experience in this fight. When you take a boxer with great smarts and experience and put him in with a young, less experienced slugger, you have the potential for Hopkins-Pavlik.
Since I don’t think that Diaz is as limited when it comes to “Plan-B” as Pavlik was, I don’t think we will see anything that resembles that fight, but I do think that Marquez’s experience can help him where his physical limits hurt him. For these reasons, this is a very tough fight to handicap.
The way I see it is that Marquez has never proven to be elite, except for fights with Manny Pacquiao. Diaz has not shown to be elite per se, but he has shown relentless desire, something Marquez may not have.
If he is disciplined and focused, I think Marquez boxes his way to a clean unanimous decision, but if his head is not in it (as it may not have been against Norwood or John, by reports) then he may be in for a rough night.
I think the potential for either fighter to dominate is their, and when that is the case, I’ll err on the side of caution and predict that they both have their moments, making the fight a close one.
I think Marquez will outbox Diaz early, but Diaz will be able to hurt him at some point in the middle round, shifting the momentum. The fight will become close in the late rounds, and I’ll lean towards the younger, natural lightweight to squeeze out a close win in the championship rounds.
Prediction: Diaz by split-decision.
Vitali Klitschko Files Complaint Against WBC
February 25, 2009
Vitali Klitschko filed a complaint against the WBC with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, trying to stop the organization from making him make two consecutive mandatory defenses, without the chance to make a voluntary defense.
The WBC has ordered that Oleg Maskaev face the winner of the March 21 bout between Klitschko and Juan Carlos Gomez. Normally, mandatory defenses are separated by a year, so the 120 days is a very short time in boxing-time.
Realistically, the WBC should simply be ashamed that they are making such undeserving fighters the mandatory challengers. Gomez is acceptable as a mandatory, since he has not proven that he doesn’t belong. Maskaev, on the other hand, has proven that.
How do you justify taking a fighter that was knocked out last year by Sam Peter and making him the mandatory. Especially since Maskaev has done nothing of note to erase that loss, and Peter was viciously beaten by Klitschko until he quit. Why would anyone in the world believe that Maskaev would do any better, much less be named a “mandatory” defense. This means that in the WBC’s eyes, Maskaev is the most deserving contender in the entire world to challenge Klitschko.
In a world of corrupt boxing organizations, even the WBO, IBF and WBA must be in awe of the levels that the WBC has reached in the last year. Perhaps WBC President Jose Sulaiman has been spending too much time devoted to his duties as President of the Manny Pacquiao Fan Club, instead of reviewing actually qualifications of the fighters his organization is elevating to mandatory status.
Klitschko filed the complaint hoping to be given an opportunity to make a more lucrative fight in a voluntary defense against a guy like David Haye or Chris Arreola. Considering Maskaev is ranked below both Haye and Arreola in the WBC rankings, this shouldn’t be a problem. But the WBC will never let logic and reason stand in the way of collecting a good sanctioning fee.
Hopefully for boxing Klitschko will win his case and get to fight his choice of fighters. The power grab that the WBC is trying to make in boxing has gone far enough, and until fighters with belts start standing up to them, it will never stop. For the good of boxing, the WBC needs to learn a lesson in humility. I doubt even losing this will make them learn, but it can only help.