Boxing News Thread

[heyzel]

Here’s How Pacquiao Can Beat Mayweather by Decision

By Ryan Dunn: If you look up the phrase “unanimous decision” in the dictionary, you might find a picture of Floyd Mayweather smiling back at you with that million dollar grin. But Manny Pacquiao has a relentless attack, unothodox punching power, and a solid chin. I believe those three qualities could spell complexity for Mayweather in the form of a loss by decision.


Think about it; Joshua Clottey didn’t win a single round when he faced off against Pacquiao (unless you want to give him the twelfth out of sympathy). Nobody has ever done that to the Grandmaster before, not even close. Now consider Clottey’s style. He is, in a way, a stronger, slower version of Mayweather. What he lacks in footwork and head movement he makes up for in brute strength. It was a great sparring match in preparation for Mayweather, if nothing else (the pay wasn’t bad either, I suppose).

Manny simply stayed too busy to give Clottey opportunities for solid counterpunching. The shots that did land, however, had some snap to them. Manny is an Asian fighter with high cheekbones and a proclivity for swelling, but those punches probably still hurt Manny. But not once was he wobbled, stunned, shook or even put off balance. Unless it is in vast accumulation (as in the first Pacquiao/Morales fight) Floyd Mayweather does not celebrate the same punching power as Joshua Clottey.

This tells me a few things. First, I am well aware that Clottey is nowhere close to Mayweather in terms of sheer skill. But I also realize that Manny is showing (like Barrera in his prime, and Bernard Hopkins every time he steps in the ring), that he can adapt his style for a specific fighter in order to win the fight. He takes direction from his trainer very well, and he conditions like nobody else on the planet for each and every fight.

In Mayweather we have the gloves-up defense, the patented shoulder roll, the lightning-quick, laser-precise counter shots, and a convincing jab when he wants to use it. Of all these tools, however, I think the jab is the only one that wins this fight. Unless he can keep the distance between himself and Pacquiao, he stands a very good chance of losing the fight.

Manny’s balance is improved, his left and right hooks are equally deadly (he even threw both at the same time against Clottey, to let you know they’re still there, even if Clottey never came out of hiding to receive them). And while his defense is lacking, he more than makes for it with his speed, accuracy, and surprising power punching considering his stature.

You can’t forget the angles he gave Cotto last November. Sure, we missed them in his fight with Clottey, but as was said that night, you can only fight the fighter in front of you, and Manny had nothing but a guy hiding in his defensive stance, waiting for Pacquiao to tire out so he could impose his power counters on the Filipino. But it never happened.

So, how does this add up to Pacquiao winning a decision? Well, as I said, without an omnipresent jab from Mayweather, here is what I think will happen:

First, Manny will control the flow of the first few rounds, as Mayweather studies his opponent to see what tricks Roach pulled out of the bag. During these rounds, Floyd will cover up and avoid getting hit with most of Manny’s shots. These rounds will go to Pacquiao for the same reasons all twelve rounds went to Manny against Clottey. The judges have to score the rounds on SOMETHING, and when you have an aggressor and a defender through a whole round, the busier guy usually wins it.

After Floyd gets comfortable, he will begin timing his counter shots (remember, this is under the scenario that Floyd never gains Manny’s respect for his jab). These counters will land, and they will score. Some of these middle rounds will go to Floyd, if not most of them. But then something will change. If Floyd decides to abandon his jab (or even if he stops throwing it with conviction), and opts instead for shoulder-rolling and counter-punching, he is going to become overwhelmed with combinations from Manny. Body to head, angle to angle. Bang. Bang bang. BANG! (Sorry, I had to do it.)

You see, the reason other critics might think Manny didn’t look great against Clottey, is because Manny actually does better against opponents when he can get them on the move. I don’t mean running around the ring, I mean rolling out of close quarters then trying for a counter shot. Pacquiao is highly unorthodox, and he thrives on off-kilter, seemingly off balance hooks and crosses.

Others say Manny simply has no defense. This isn’t true. Watch the Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto fights for evidence that Manny is very good at the hook-duck move. It’s how he put the Hitman on his backside the first time, and it’s how he caught Cotto in the middle of their fight with the impressive knockdown. He throws the hook and leans out of the way at the same time. And those are STRONG shots, not glancing blows. Nobody else really does that… except Floyd (only without the devastating power).

When Floyd plays rope-a-dope and leans around the edges of the ring, he will look out of sorts even if he is not (while effective, the shoulder roll can appear to a judge as feeble, and I think a few rounds went to De La Hoya for this reason). Manny will take advantage of this submissive posture, and the judges will begin scoring the later rounds for Manny. Take Floyd’s jab away and you have a defensive fighter who thrives on well-timed pot shots. That’s great against a smaller, slower guy like Marquez, but Manny is a much-improved boxer now, and his repertoire of tools is growing fight after fight. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him win 7 rounds to 5, to be honest.

I know this article is about Manny winning a decision, but if there is any hope for Manny scoring a KO or a TKO, it will be in these later rounds, once Floyd begins to feel the judges may be giving rounds to Manny based on the Filipino’s punch output. Floyd will start to put more punches together while countering, and he will become more incessant about moving out of close quarters. Those will be the opportunities for Manny to land a sudden, unseen counter hook and put Floyd on the floor like he did against Marquez. It sounds impossible, as I said earlier, until you really start to break these two fighters down to their elements.

Keep in mind, this is a very early hypothesis designed to show you how an argument can be made for Manny winning a decision. Most whom have spoken about this fight seem to be divided between Mayweather winning in by unanimous decision or Pacquiao winning by knockout. It’s going to take something very surprising to happen for Manny to knock Floyd out, but Mayweather and Pacquiao have just about equal chances of winning a decision in my opinion.

Floyd will win if he keeps the fight in the middle of the ring with his jab, and Manny will win if he overwhelms Floyd and keeps him on the ropes.

 

[heyzel]

Respect legacies in their context, please!

By Liam Fitzgerald: A lot of writers and contributors on this website have got into a habit of something that really annoys me.

No, it’s not the ridiculous, childish criticism of a great fighter because they prefer another one (Manny Pacquiao and Folyd Mayweather for example. What is irritating, and completely illogical, is how people criticize fighters for “avoiding” others that when in their prime were absolutely nobodies.


A prime example of this is Ricky Hatton who recently was criticized for not fighting men like Marcos Maidana and Devon Alexander in his prime. This for me is completely ridiculous. When Hatton won his first world title, he had beaten the main man in the division and went on to unify the belt in his next fight before beating a future world champion in his next fight at 140. Ok, Urango and Maussa were maybe not the best of opponents and people like Ricardo Torres, Vivian Harris and Miguel Cotto at that time were the main men at light welterweight but his choices of opponent were not at all cherry picking.

Likewise, in the period 2005-7 Alexander had only been in the ring with bums and had not beaten anyone in the top 100 of the 140 division. Maidana as well fought for the first time outside of Argentina in 2007 and had no wins of note on his record at this time. When these men came to prominence, Hatton was pursuing fights with p4p number 1’s and true he did lose convincingly both times, but he took these fights to improve his legacy. What would the fans had said if he had turned down Mayweather or Pacquiao for the young Alexander. He would have rightly received a lot of negative press.

This isn’t just me backing up for Hatton though. I believe there are many fighters who are getting a disservice from fans saying these types of things. What are people going to say in the future? Will Pacquiao get discredited for not fighting Kell Brook should the Englishman become a huge world star in the future? Of course he shouldn’t, everybody knows that he is nowhere near ready for a fighter of Pacman’s stature even if he has won an eliminator for his title and that he would likely be destroyed should they fight now.

I don’t mind people disliking a fighter, that’s part of the sport and a reason why we support the fighters we do actually like. However, I wish fans would start giving valid reasons for why they don’t like someone. If you hate their style or personality, that is ok but please don’t make up stupid arguments like these ones to back up your reason for not supporting them. Boxing’s a tough sport and every fighter must earn some respect for what they do so at least show them that when making your point.

 

[heyzel]

Could Olympic Style Drug Testing Become the Norm?

By Alexander Fugate: People from the Mayweather and Mosley camps met with Travis Tygart, of the USADA, on Thursday, to discuss the testing to be performed on both fighters for their clash on May 1st. Mayweather and Mosley will both undergo olympic-style testing, including random blood and urine tests before and after the fight. The testing will be overseen by the USADA. Mosley has admitted to using PEDs for his second meeting with Oscar De La Hoya, but claims he was unaware of it at the time thinking the PEDs were just vitamins and/or supplements.


While Mayweather and Mosley would like this to be a prelude to more comprehensive testing in boxing, it seems unlikely due to the costs. It wouldn’t be a problem for any mega-fight like on May 1st, or any other big time fight on HBO, Showtime, or PPV, but testing all club fighters, journeymen, and those who are just starting out in the professional ranks, could be too expensive.

Despite the extra costs of ensuring a level playing field and protecting fighters from repeated power shots, accomplished by using illegal PEDs, German promoter Sauerland is leading the way. Sauerland recently signed an extension with the German network ARD. ARD added a clause to the extension where Sauerland will have to perform Olympic style drug testing on all of its fighters. The testing will be done by the German National Anti-Doping Association under the auspices of the Austrian Boxing commission. Almost immediately after implementing this testing, it already nabbed one pugilist looking for that extra, unfair advantage. Pablo Navascues was scheduled to battle Sebastion Sylvester for a middleweight title, but Navascues failed a random test, so a replacement opponent was found for Sylvester. This should also mean that pugilists Arthur Abraham and Mikkel Kessler will have olympic style drug testing done before their future fights, including their bouts in the Super Six tournament, since they are both with Sauerland.

Most experts are in unison in the belief that the current testing for PEDs in boxing is wholly ineffective. Its well known that different kinds of blood doping, PEDs that help a boxer more than any other PED, can only be detected through blood tests, and some blood doping are out of one’s system in 2-3 days. This makes it easy to beat the tests if you know when they are going to be. Blood doping increases red blood cells, thereby greatly increasing stamina. Using this form of cheating in training can pay amazing dividends in the later rounds of a fight.

With Mayweather-Mosley leading the way in the US and Sauerland leading the way in Europe could boxing be on its way to implementing more stringent testing? While some worry about costs there could be some sort of compromise, allowing for effective testing but not going as far as Olympic style testing for every fight. One such form could be allowing for the Olympic style testing, but whoever performs it could use their discretion and not test for every fight. This would save on costs and scare many fighters from taking any PED since they would be aware they could be tested on any given day. Another idea would be testing, but only for televised bouts. This wouldn’t effect club fighters and would go a long way in ensuring a level playing field for all major bouts and any fight on television. If PEDs helped a pugilist get to the top level, than not only would they have less physical attributes when they reached the big stage, but it could also effect them mentally. If a boxer becomes used to using PEDs it can become a sort of crutch for them and lead to them believing they need that extra advantage. Whatever happens with the testing issue, its good to know some major players in the world of boxing are leading the way to weed out PEDs in their beloved sport.

 

[heyzel]

How can Abraham beat Dirrell without hand speed?

By Scott Gilfoid: Former International Boxing Federation middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (31-0, 25 KO’s) goes into his March 27th fight against American Andre Dirrell (18-1, 13 KO’s) with three strikes against him. First of all, Abraham is a lot shorter than the 6’2” at only 5’10”. Abraham’s reach is also three inches shorter than Dirrell at 72” compared to Dirrell’s 75”. Abraham will have problems with that alone, because he won’t be able to get near Dirrell without taking a severe storm of lightning fast punches to the head before he even gets in position where he can throw a punch.


Secondly, Abraham is an older fighter at 30-years-old, four years older than the young Dirrell. You can’t overlook that statistic because Dirrell still has all of his blinding hand speed, whereas Abraham, who was never fast to begin with during his early portion of his career, appears to have slowed down in the past couple of years a couple of notches.

Age is a killer for boxing perhaps more than any other sport except for track and field athletes. Speed is another factor that Dirrell has going for him in this fight. Dirrell is probably the fastest fighter in the super middleweight division with hand speed reminding one of a young Roy Jones Jr.

There’s a huge difference between Dirrell’s speed and the slow lumbering shots thrown by Abraham. It’s like night and day. Dirrell is like a blur when he throws punches, and it’s often to track his shots unless you have the chance of playing his fights in slow motion. In contrast, Abraham is very slow, about as slow as Carl Froch. There’s not a lot of fast twitch nerve fiber in Abraham’s arms and shoulders.

He’s all about trying to overpower an opponent with brute force, but without the hand speed to accompany his strength. Dirrell is the much smoother fighter, who moves skillfully around the ring like a well tuned piece of machinery. Abraham is more like an old V8 badly in need of a tune-up and not firing on all cylinders. He can get the job done when facing good fighters at super middleweight, but against the Ferrari-like Dirrell, Abraham is going to be over-matched at the starting line.

It’s going to be almost embarrassing for the thirty-year-old Abraham when the fight gets started, because Dirrell’s superior abilities will be painfully obvious. Dirrell is the better technician and has superior ring generalship compared to Abraham. With Abraham, he’s all about covering up for half the fight like a copy of Joshua Clottey, and then coming out in the second half of the fight to fight hard for 10 to 20 seconds of every round.

Abraham usually only fights hard at the very end of the round so he can get an immediate breather. It’s so predictable that it’s not even funny. If you watch any of Abraham’s fights in the past three years, he fights the same way every time. He covers up mostly for the first four to six rounds, and then opens up with the fireworks in the second half of the fight.

And he always fights hard in the last 10 to 20 seconds, and does zero in the first two and half minutes of every round. If I was Dirrell’s trainer, I would go over this with him and make sure he’s aware of Abraham’s tendencies.

 

[heyzel]

Booth says Haye is going to try and hurt Ruiz early

By Scott Gilfoid: Adam Booth, the trainer of World Boxing Association heavyweight champion David Haye (23-1, 21 KO’s) says in an article at Sky Sports that his fighter Haye is going to go after two-time heavyweight champion John Ruiz (44-8-1, 30 KO’s) early in their fight on April 3rd to try and “get respect.” Booth says “And if you run, the less power you’ve got in your shots. With Ruiz, you have to bang hard and bang for 12 rounds so we know it’s not a question of running from Ruiz. It’s a question of getting his respect and hurting him early, and dominating the fight from the center of the ring.” That sounds good in theory, but it might not be all that practical for Haye to try and carry out this game plan.


I know Roy Jones Jr., a great fighter who moved up in weight to the heavyweight division to beat Ruiz in 2003, landed some hard shots in the first two rounds against Ruiz to gain respect. Ruiz seemed hesitant to do anything with Jones for the rest of the fight after getting hit with some hard shots in the first two rounds.

However, Ruiz landed some big shots of his own during those first couple of rounds, and I’m not sure that Haye could have taken the shots that Jones took from Ruiz back in 2003. I think if Booth has Haye coming out slugging in the first two rounds, it’s going to backfire on Haye and Booth with Ruiz landing something big and stretching Haye for the count.

Haye doesn’t seem to have the same power at heavyweight that he had at cruiserweight, and his hand speed isn’t anything special either since packing on nearly 20 pounds of useless muscle. Haye’s chin isn’t good, and if he gets hit with anything from Ruiz, I think Haye won’t survive. Ruiz isn’t considered a big puncher, but he has pretty good power, especially if he can get to you.

He’s very good at landing his shots and keeping his opponents from getting their own punches in. Ruiz is especially good at fighting at close range where he is dangerous with his body shots and uppercuts. Haye is more of a pot shot fighter who does his best work from the outside.

At close range, Haye looks very uncomfortable, like a big fish out of water. Haye doesn’t like to get hit and generally runs for the hills at the first signs of danger. However, there won’t be any place for Haye to run to because Ruiz has better foot speed than Haye, and is extremely good at cutting off the ring on his opponents.

Look at any of Ruiz’s fights and you’ll see what I’m talking about. He’s not a big heavyweight at 6’2” 227, and is very fast on his feet. If Haye tries to run from Ruiz like he did in his last fight against Nikolay Valuev, I can see Ruiz quickly closing the distance and forcing Haye to fight whether he likes it or not.

Booth says “David is a natural fighter, he loves getting in there close and trading blows.” I don’t agree with that assessment of Haye at all. Haye never gets in close with his opponents unless he can stun them first with a pot shot. If he has an opponent hurt, then Haye gets brave and goes after them with power shots. But Haye always works from the outside with his pot shots.

If you block his shots or get out of the way of them, he’s harmless. Haye is also harmless at close range. And his power, like I said, isn’t comparable to the big punching heavyweights like the Klitschko brothers and Samuel Peter. Ruiz is going to find out very quickly that Haye’s shots aren’t that big of a deal and once that happens, you can look for Haye to have a lot of problems with Ruiz.

 

[heyzel]

Arum sees Pacquiao-Clottey producing 650,000 PPV buys or more

By Esteban Garduno: In the latest boxing news, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum says he sees the Joshua Clottey vs. Manny Pacquiao bout winding up with no less than 650,000 buys, according to Dan Rafael of ESPN. Arum thinks that the numbers could end up much higher than 650,000 for the Clottey bout, which would be great news for Pacquiao, because if he can prove that he can bring in huge numbers against an obscure opponent like Clottey, who the public has no clue about, then it means that Pacquiao can bring in equally huge numbers against any fighter that’s selected for him to fight.


This means that there would be no reason for Pacquiao to be put in with a risky opponent like Floyd Mayweather Jr. next, because if Pacquiao can make huge money against the likes of Clottey, then why risk ending the gravy train by putting him with Mayweather, a fighter much superior to the last three opponents that have been picked for Pacquiao to fight.

Besides that, if the May 1st bout between Mayweather and Shane Mosley wind up doing a lot better than the Pacquiao-Clottey fight, it will make it nearly impossible to get up a fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather unless Pacquiao is willing to take less than 50% of the PPV revenue. Putting together a fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather is nearly impossible anyway because Mayweather wants Pacquiao to agree to random blood testing, and Pacquiao and his promoter Bob Arum don’t want blood testing to be a part of any future fights unless the Athletic Commission directs that the testing be done.

That’s very unlikely, but even if one of the commissions do require blood testing, it won’t mean anything unless all states make blood testing to be a requirement. If they don’t, then Pacquiao and Arum, if they wanted, could always fight in another state where blood testing isn’t part of the requirement for boxers.

Pacquiao says that having blood taken from him weakens him, and that is why he doesn’t want to have blood drawn from his body within 30 days of a fight. Blood testing may be a requirement in all states in the U.S. in the future, but by the time that happens, Pacquiao will likely be long gone from the sport.

If the Pacquiao-Clottey fight ends up bringing in over one million PPV buys, that would be incredible because Clottey doesn’t have a huge Hispanic element backing him in the U.S. like Juan Manuel Marquez did in his fight with Floyd Mayweather last year in September. For that matter, Clottey has few fans at all aside from a small handful of hardcore boxing fans who know of him.

The problem for Clottey is before being selected for a fight against Pacquiao, he had never really beaten anyone of note other than Zab Judah and Diego Corrales, both of who were smaller, and well beaten by the time Clottey fought the. Clottey is actually more known for his losses than his wins during his career.

Before getting beaten by Pacquiao in a painfully boring 12 round fight last weekend, Clottey had run out of gas in fights against Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto. He fought well during much of the early going in both of those fights, but faltered down the stretch run when he ran out of gas.

Of the opponents that have been kicked around for Pacquiao’s next fight, he could be facing Antonio Margarito, Edwin Valero or Juan Manuel Marquez. The likely fighter that will get picked will probably be Valero, unless Valero loses his next fight against Lamont Peterson. Margarito would be a problem because he probably won’t get his boxing license back anytime too soon.

Marquez, who many people feel beat Pacquiao twice in his two fights with him, fights for Golden Boy Promotions.

Arum likes to fight guys from his own promotional company Top Rank, so I see Marquez not ending up as an opponent for Pacquiao. Arum would like to match Pacquiao up with Margarito next if possible, but without Margarito getting his boxing license back, that fight probably won’t happen. Valero and Margarito are both Top Rank fighters, so it’s going to be one of these two that get the fight with Pacquiao. Mosley won’t get the fight because he has a rematch clause with Mayweather, so even if he beats Floyd, he’ll still have to fight him next. I think Arum will opt to keep Pacquiao in safe rather than risk him getting destroyed by Mayweather.

 

[heyzel]

Wladimir Klitschko: “I just hope he [Haye] doesn’t get hit on his glass chin” by Ruiz

By Scott Gilfoid: IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (53-3, 47 KO’s) had a lot to say about World Boxing Association heavyweight champion David Haye recently, saying in an article at the Daily Star, “Haye b*tched out from Vitali. I just hope that Haye doesn’t get hit on his glass chin [in his fight with John Ruiz on April 3rd]. As much as I don’t like him [Haye], I don’t want him beaten by Ruiz before I get there.” Klitschko, 33, has bad blood with Haye because of all the trash talking that Haye did when the two were leading up to their failed fight last year.


The fight was supposed to take place on June 20th in Germany. However, Haye came up with back ailment and asked for the fight to be postponed several weeks. Klitschko, frustrated with Haye, opted to fight replacement opponent Ruslan Chagaev instead, and took him out in the 9th round. Klitschko looked very impressive in that fight and was hardly hit at all in that bout. It might have been a good thing that Haye came up with his mysterious back problem when he did, because he might have been destroyed and ended up as one of Klitschko’s many victims.

Wladimir says “My brother [WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko] cares about winning the titles, but I care more about David Haye than belts. We [Wladimir and his brother Vitali] have a conversation and I said, ‘Dude, I want to fight David Haye,’ but he said, ‘You have too many titles. Give him to me.’ I told Vitali I’ll fight Haye and if he cares about having belts at his house, I’ll give Haye’s to him afterwards. I really care about fighting Haye.”

That is a really refreshing outlook that Wladimir has. The belts are meaningless if you’re not getting them by fighting really exciting fighters that the boxing public care about. Fans care more about big fights than they do about how many titles that a fighter has. It’s funny to see both the Klitschko’s fighting over Haye. It’s almost like a couple of lions fighting over one of their kills. Whoever gets Haye, it’s probably going to be a huge slaughter of epic proportions. That good thing, though, is that Wladimir or Vitali will get a huge payday, easily the best of their careers, by facing Haye. This is a fight that not only Europe wants to see, but boxing fans in the U.S. want to see as well.

“I’d prefer to fight him [Haye] in a football stadium, but I’d even face him in a car park. It doesn’t matter. “Wladimir was disgusted when Haye pulled out of his fight with him last year, and saw it as a sign that Haye was afraid of him and not a serious person. Haye has continued to name drop both of the Klitschko’s names in the media, but when he had a chance to fight Vitali Klitschko last year, Haye backed away without warning a chose a fight against WBA heavyweight champion Nikolay Valuev instead last November.
Wladimir will be facing Eddie Chambers this Saturday night in Dusseldorf, Germany. Klitschko is a huge favorite in the fight to beat the American. The fight will be shown on the internet for $14.95 at Klitschko.com.

Wladimir, speaking about Chambers, says “He’d beat any heavyweight apart from me and my brother. I am 100 per cent certain that Chambers would beat Haye if they fought.” I agree. I see Chambers destroying Haye when/if he ever gets a chance against the British heavyweight.

 

[heyzel]

Here’s How Mayweather Can Beat Pacquiao by Decision

By Ryan Dunn: In case you thought I was making a prediction with part one of this two-part piece, here is the other side of the equation. I know that fans on both side of the aisle are enthusiastic about the upcoming Mayweather vs. Mosley fight, and I am among them. This is a super fight that wasn’t supposed to happen, but come May 1st, Mayweather will have to fight one of the strongest, fastest, smartest opponents of his entire career. It should be as exciting a Mayweather fight as we’ve yet seen.


So apologies in advance for leap-frogging one fight for another that hasn’t been negotiated and very well may never take place. Consider this a two-part piece of speculative fiction if you will. But truth be told, if he wins against Mosley, he will have to fight an opponent equally as strong, just as smart, and arguably faster in Manny Pacquiao.

The recipe for Mayweather to win a fight with Manny Pacquiao is not as simple as many might think. It’s easy to say that Floyd is the faster, smarter, more adaptive fighter. It’s also easy to overlook the fact that Pacquiao presents more than one significant risk to Mayweather’s thus-far untarnished record. Manny has speed, too. He has more brains than some have suggested. He adapts in training for his fighter and brings a new game plan every time he squares off. Mayweather cannot underestimate any of that. Oh, and Manny is a ridiculously shifty power puncher as well.

So how to diffuse an unorthodox warrior who will not let up the pressure for twelve whole rounds? I said it before and I’ll say it again… it’s with the jab. Floyd is a master jabber, a slick, rangy fighter who will hit you in the face, the chest, the gut, the arm, wherever he needs to, in order to create space and time his shots. But he can be bull-rushed if the opponent is willing to take the risk. How Floyd performs on the inside truly depends on where in the ring he is when his space is invaded. He uses his size well, even though he only gives up about an inch-and-a-half to Pacquiao in height but has a five inch reach advantage.

Manny will try to rush in with a quick jab, and set up combinations with body punching when he can’t get to Floyd up top. Pacquiao will not win the jabbing war, however. You’ll see his bristly black locks flying up all night as he gets nailed with the Floydian Jab™. You’ll see him shake his head and clap his fists continuously as the stinging shots come at him. But he will not stop coming until he’s unconscious on the floor.

Can Floyd put him on the canvas once and for all? All signs point to no. The hand problems, the lidocaine and the lack of knockout power work against him in this match-up. But he can certainly outbox Manny and do his best to stay out of Pacman’s way. Which brings up a bit of a paradox. If you stay away from Manny all night, you’re going to look like De La Hoya in the last two rounds against Trinidad. Judges hate runners. So Floyd will need to keep trading, keep jabbing, keep countering whenever he can.

He has to find a way to convince the judges that he deserves to win the rounds. It won’t be with two-handed blocking, shoulder rolls or fancy footwork alone. He needs throw just about as many punches per round as Manny. Otherwise the tempo will shift to Pacquiao’s favor. It’s the jab, folks. That’s how you keep your opponent where you want him. That’s how you keep him at bay. That’s how you set up your shots.

If for whatever reason, Floyd is taken out of his jabbing game, neutralized by Manny’s hand-speed, he runs a serious risk of losing the fight. If Manny shakes him from his game plan, then Pacquiao almost certainly wins. Floyd will need to adapt to the speed of his Filipino adversary, and there’s not a sparring partner in the sport right now who can truly prepare him. It will have to come from natural talent and sharp mental focus.

And yes, Pacquiao has flaws, and plenty chinks in his armor to take advantage of. His defense is suspect, almost absent at times. He tends to throw his punches from odd angles like Brett Favre under pressure. But somehow it has worked for him well especially in the heavier weight classes. There aren’t many fighters as busy or unorthodox as Pacquiao in the welterweight division, so Mayweather will need to train hard in order to use his tools to their best abilities.

If the fight happens, it will truly be a 50/50 toss-up for me as to who can win the fight. I am going to wait until I hear more about how each camp is preparing for the fight, perhaps using HBO’s 24/7 as a glimpse inside.

The only scenario I DON’T see happening is Floyd winning by knockout. Manny can put Floyd on the canvas with a well-timed, undetectable power shot, especially if his Floyd gives him anything whatsoever to work with (Clottey hid the entire time, which is why we didn’t see any knockdowns in that fight). But Floyd wins on accumulation of punishment with laser-sharp punching. Will it be enough to bring the stiff-chinned Pacquiao to submission? I’m not so sure.

Floyd has the tools to win rounds, and so does Pacquiao. But Floyd needs to stick to basics and control the ring, staying off the ropes, trying to not get too cute with his counters, and keeping that jab coming all night long if he wants to pull out the victory.

 

[heyzel]

Pacquiao-Clottey PPV Numbers

By Alexander Fugate: Pacquiao-Clottey is estimated to have between 650,000 and 700,000 PPV buys. While this is a good number for most fighters, its no where near the number of people who pay to see Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight. Many Pacquiao fans have been insisting he is the biggest draw in boxing.

However, those who make that erroneous claim ignore the facts and just reiterate over and over again without any proof or numbers to back it up. Mayweather was a hair from doubling Pacquiao’s PPV buys against De La Hoya.


Mayweather over doubled Pacquiao’s numbers against Juan Manuel Marquez. Mayweather got more buys versus Hatton in the US and over double Pacquiao’s in the UK. Mayweather-Marquez was supposed to have been a mismatch and most were expecting some where in the range of 500,000-700,000 buys, yet over a million people purchased that fight. What makes that number even more impressive is that it went head-to-head with a UFC PPV event.

Pacquiao got 1.25 million buys against both De La Hoya and Cotto. With the numbers for March 13th, it is now clear Pacquiao isn’t a huge draw, but needs another high profile opponent to bring in the huge numbers that Mayweather consistently does.

What makes matters even worse for Manny is that both Mayweather and Freddie Roach are on record saying Mosley isn’t a big draw. In fact, that was one of the reasons Roach gave for Manny fighting Cotto instead of “Sugar” Shane. Since Cotto is a bigger draw than Mosley, than Pacquiao-Cotto should have better numbers than Mayweather-Mosley, if Manny is close to the draw that Mayweather is.

However, most expect Mayweather-Mosley to sell far more PPV’s. In fact, the May 1st clash could bring in over 2 million and possibly even 2.5 million, which would be double any event Pacquiao has ever been in. If Mayweather-Mosley gets over 2 million buys, there is no way that Manny deserves anything close to a 50/50 split. Mayweather has constantly brought in better numbers than Manny.

If Pacquiao is serious about wanting to fight Mayweather, he needs to accept the fact that more people are willing to shell out their money to see Floyd than him, and accept a smaller cut of the purse. If Manny insists on a 50/50 split, it will be clear he has no intention of fighting the best and is looking for a way out. He would still make much more with a 40% cut of the purse in a fight with Mayweather, compared to a fight with anyone else where Manny would receive a bigger share of the earnings than his opponent.

If Mayweather can get by Mosley on May 1st, the world will be waiting to see if Manny actually wants to be a part of what would be the biggest match ever. And the answer will be clear when he makes his demand for his share of PPV revenue.

 

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Malignaggi thinks he’d dominate Maidana

By Jim Dower: Former International Boxing Federation light welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (27-3, 5 KO’s) really likes his chances if he was to ever face WBA light welterweight interim champion Marcos Maidana (27-1, 26 KO’s). In an article at Boxing Talk, Malignaggi, 29, says “I think Maidana wins a round against me. People are criticizing [Amir] Khan for taking me on instead of Maidana, like he belongs ahead of me or something. What has Maidana accomplished that was so good? I’m a former world champion, he isn’t.”


What Malignaggi fails to see is that Maidana hits incredibly hard and stopped top prospect Victor Ortiz in the 6th round last year in June. The fight was shown on HBO and it was an exciting fight in which Maidana was knocked down several times in the fight and got up off the deck each time to continue to take the fight to the hard hitting Ortiz. Eventually, Maidana took Ortiz out in the 6th, knocking him down in the round.

Malignaggi clearly has the much better experience compared to Maidana with wins over Edner Cherry, Herman Ngoudjo, Lovemore N’dou and Juan Diaz. However, the wins over N’dou and Ngoudjo were close and controversial. Some people felt that Malignaggi should have lost both of those fights. Also, Malignaggi was taken out by Ricky Hatton in 2008 in an 11th round stoppage in November. Maidana, a fighter with big power in both hands, would likely be more than a handful for Hatton to have to deal with, even in the prime of his career.

As for Malignaggi saying that Maidana couldn’t win even one round against him, I think he’s dead wrong. I think Malignaggi might win some rounds narrowly while he’s running from Maidana and pecking with quick shots and then moving immediately to stay out of the way of Maidana. However, Maidana looked good in cutting off the ring against Ortiz when Victor tried to use movement in the 6th round of their fight.

Maidana was on him incredibly fast, and showed a ton of power at close range. Most fighters are only able to throw with big power at the point where they can extend their arms full. Maidana, though, is able to generate an enormous amount of power at close range, which is what makes him so dangerous. Maidana was beaten by Andriy Kotelnik in controversial 12 round split decision in February 2009 in a fight that took place in Germany, the adopted country of Kotelnik.

Malignaggi is bothered that boxing fans question Khan’s rationale for fighting the feather-fisted Malignaggi rather than the knockout artist Maidana. It’s obviously hard for Malignaggi to accept that fans are angry with Khan for what they see as him ducking Maidana to go after a fighter who has zero power.

However, if Malignaggi saw it from the perspective of the fans, who realize that Khan has a weak chin and is vulnerable against a fighter like Malignaggi, then Malignaggi would understand why fans prefer that Khan face Maidana. Khan does well against weak punchers like Malignaggi; hence that’s why he was chosen in the first place to fight Khan.

 

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Haye expects Ruiz to fight dirty – News

By Scott Gilfoid: World Boxing Association heavyweight champion David Haye (23-1, 21 KO’s) sees his fight coming up against John Ruiz (44-8-1, 30 KO’s) on April 3rd as one that will be filled with plenty of fouls coming from the 38-year-old Ruiz when they meet at the M.E.N. Arena, in Manchester, Lancashire. In an article at The Sun, the 29-year-old Haye says “I am preparing for him [Ruiz] to try to butt me, hit me low and try to dislocate my shoulder if we get in clinches. Ruiz will use every trick in the book to try to unsettle me and you can expect both boxers to take a lot of shots in the first three or four rounds.”


Haye is probably right about getting hit with head butts and maybe some low blows, but it won’t be intentional. Ruiz comes in with his head lowered a lot of the time and accidently bumps into his opponents with his head. He doesn’t try to head butt them, but rather it’s the end result of his tendency to dive in head first in his fights. A head butt here and there can’t be avoided unfortunately.

Ruiz also throws some low blows on occasion, but that’s only because he throws a lot of blows to the midsection. Every once in a great while, Ruiz will have one of his shots stray low but again, it’s not intentional. These things are par for the course in fighting at the heavyweight level.

Haye is going to have to get used to it, because the fighters are bigger at heavyweight and rougher than the small cruiserweights that Haye build most of his record in his career. The good thing that Haye has going for him is that the fight will be taking place in England, so I’m pretty sure that if Ruiz does any kind of fouling, whether intentional or not, he’ll have points taken away from him by the judges.

I don’t expect for Ruiz, a visiting fighter, to be given too much leeway when it comes to fouling. Haye needs to take a look at himself when he talks about fouling. In his fight with Monte Barrett, Haye landed a number of rabbit shots that I felt that he deserved to be docked a point. He wasn’t.

Haye says “I know I have it in me to become the first to stop Ruiz inside the distance, but I am not failing for the idea that I just have to turn up to beat him. I did that once earlier in my career against Carl Thomason and look what happened to me. He knocked me out in the 5th round and I got the biggest wake-up call ever.”

I don’t imagine that Haye will come close to knocking Ruiz out. Haye can punch a little bit for a heavyweight, but he’s not that big of a puncher compared to some of the heavyweights that Ruiz has already beaten in his career like Hasim Rahman, Evander Holyfield and Kirk Johnson. I rate all three of those guys as a better puncher than Haye. Fres Oquendo, Ruslan Chagaev and Andrew Golota all probably punch as hard as Haye, if not harder, and Ruiz did okay against all of them without getting hurt.

Haye says “After Ruiz, and not for one moment I am underestimating the experience, aggression and sheer will to win he brings to the ring. I don’t care whether it’s Wladimir or Vitali Klitschko next. I want to try and emulate what my all-time hero Lennox Lewis did in unifying the heavyweight division.” I think Haye is deluded if he’s going to be anything like Lewis. That’s not going to happen even if Haye sticks around beyond his 31st birth day, which is when he says he wants to retire. Lewis fought everyone and did it for years, not just for three or four year period like Haye will be doing with his career. Haye simply doesn’t have enough time to do what Lewis did. He also doesn’t have the same size and power as the 6’5” 250 Lewis. Haye is a small heavyweight at 6’2” 217, whereas Lewis was a huge one. Haye probably doesn’t have the size to compete with the bigger heavyweights like the Klitschko brothers.

“I’ve heard Wladimir has been saying I’ve got a glass jaw because that defeat against [Carl] Thompson. But it’s a bit rich coming from him considering the number of times he’s been battered.” Haye is partially right. Wladimir has been stopped three times and knocked down a number of times during his career. However, Wladimir has been stopped by huge punchers in their primes, and it’s understandable that Wladimir would be taken out by big punchers like Ross Puritty, Corrie Sanders and Lamon Brewster.

 

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There has to be a Valero-Soto fight

By Liam Fitzgerald: Last Saturday Humberto Soto won the WBC Lightweight belt with a unanimous decision over ex-champion David Diaz. The belt had only weeks ago been defended by the Venezuelan Edwin Valero who then decided to vacate it in order to move up in weight.

Now, Soto has a defence lined up on the under card of the Yuri Foreman-Miguel Cotto fight on the 5th June against the unbeaten Anthony Peterson. Provided he got through the fight as the champion still, I couldn’t think of a better match up than against the man who actually vacated it in the first place. It is understandable why Valero would want to move up towards the 140-147 lbs division since there are many big name, big money fights available there. However, I think that it would be in his best interests to stay at a lightweight for the time being.


It’s looking unlikely that Juan Manuel Marquez will remain a lightweight for his next fight so the biggest name out there is Soto. And the best thing about this potential match up is that the styles would match up perfectly. Soto is a great technician with very good boxing ability who prefers the outside but is not afraid of some work up close. Valero is the complete opposite, the epitome of a brawler who has a leaky defence but pressures opponents very effectively. And don’t forget his immense power, which has seen none of his opponents hear the final bell. Both are world class, have been world champions at both super featherweight and lightweight and would be confident of beating the other. I like Soto’s style but there were signs he was slowing down against Diaz and it would be very difficult for him to last 12 rounds with Valero. I wouldn’t see him having the power to stop the tough Venezuelan and the constant pressure and the way he would cut the ring off means that Valero would probably be able to continue his stoppage record in the fight.

I also think that Valero really should take the fight for a few reasons. In truth, there is not a stand out name on his record and even with all his potential, I don’t think he has earned the right to challenge the Marquez’s and Pacquiao’s as have been mentioned. A win over Soto would be the biggest highlight in his career by far and would really turn him into a star. Soto feels he has been avoided in his career and would likely jump at the chance for this fight. I for one really hope that in the near future

 

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Haye doesn’t want to fight the Klitschko brothers in front of “boring Germans”

By Scott Gilfoid: World Boxing Association heavyweight champion David Haye (23-1, 21 KO’s) is doing what he always does when the Klitschko brothers are about to fight, he’s nailing them with criticism. In this case, Haye has come out of the woodwork all of a sudden to question IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, who is fighting tomorrow night in Dusseldorf, Germany, against Eddie Chambers. In an article at the Guardian, Haye says “I’d like to fight them [the Klitschko brothers] in the UK, because everyone knows the German boxing atmosphere is crap. It’s just dull. I’d hate to have one of my defining fights in front of a bunch of boring Germans.”


It’s too bad that Haye probably won’t have much choice in the matter about the location of where he fights the Klitschko brothers, if he ever fights them at all. Both of the Klitschko brothers are much more established heavyweights, have held their titles for longer than Haye and are considered better fighters than the smallish 217 pound Haye. As such, if Haye wants to fight them, rather than just name drop all the time to get attention in the media, he’s going to have to travel to Germany and fight them. Goodness knows, Haye already had a chance to fight both of them and failed to make it to the ring with them for one reason or another. At this point, it would be nice if Haye could at least go all the way through and fight them.

Recently, Wladimir said that Haye has a “glass jaw” and said he believed that Eddie Chambers is a better fighter than Haye. Not to take this without firing back, Haye said “Come on, how many times has he [Wladimir] been knocked out? I’ve never been on the floor for more than eight seconds in my whole life. Ask him the same question.”

Wladimir has been stopped on three separate occasions during his career, whereas Haye has been stopped only once. However, in the one fight that Haye was taken out in, a 5th round stoppage loss to Carl Thompson in 2004, Haye’s corner threw in the towel while Haye was taking punishment in the corner. Had they left Haye continue to absorb big blows from the 40-year-old Thompson for the remainder of the round, I think there would have been an excellent chance that the exhausted and hurt looking Haye would have hit the canvas and stayed there for a long time.

Haye’s opposition hasn’t been all that tough during his eight year pro career in terms of facing big punchers. As a heavyweight, Haye has faced nothing but soft hitting heavyweights in his three fights. You can’t call Nikolay Valuev, Monte Barrett or Tomasz Bonin big punchers, and those are the heavyweights that Haye has fought in his career. As a cruiserweight, the biggest punchers that Haye has faced are Jean Marc Mormeck and Enzo Maccarinelli. That’s it. The rest of Haye’s opponents at cruiserweight have been soft hitting cruiserweights, and Mormeck and Maccarinelli are flawed fighters. Haye would likely been knocked out multiple times had he faced the likes of Corrie Sanders, Lamon Brewster, Ross Puritty, Hasim Rahman, Tony Thompson, and Samuel Peter. These are fighters that Wladimir has faced during his career.

Haye says this about Chambers: “He seems like the typical Wladimir opponent.” What Haye means it that Chambers is small, doesn’t have much power and is somewhat one-dimensional in his movements around the ring? Haye obviously sees himself as a better heavyweight, even though he has nowhere near the same heavyweight experience as Chambers does. It would be difficult to see Haye beat Samuel Peter, who Chambers defeated last year by a 10 round decision.

 

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Who’s the Biggest Draw in Boxing Right Now?

are really only a few top draws in the sport of boxing today. The Klitschko brothers can bring numbers in the heavies, Hopkins and Jones are in their twilight, but still might fool enough fans into buying that fight, and Haye seems to be on the rise. Pavlik had the chance to be one of “those guys” before B-Hop dismantled his Ohio roots.

The list goes on, but there are three fighters who stand head and shoulders above the pack in recent years, and one of them is retired. This isn’t the golden age of boxing anymore, true, but it’s still impressive that none of the three top draws are even heavyweights.


The all-time non-heavyweight king has without a doubt been Oscar De La Hoya. But he’s gone now, and the top two active fighters on the scene since De La Hoya left it are now Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. Everyone else is chump change in comparison. So let’s take a look at their numbers, and see if we can demystify who is the biggest draw.

I have my own opinion, but I’d like to take an objective approach before I give it. Let’s get started…

“THE GOLDEN FACTOR”

All criteria following has to be predicated on The Golden Factor, which is the point in time in which both Pacquiao and Mayweather fought Oscar De La Hoya and won. The landscape before and after that moment is insanely different for each fighter. You can’t compare Pacquiao vs. Marquez numbers to Mayweather vs. Marquez numbers. No more than you can compare Mayweather vs. Baldomir numbers to Pacquiao vs. Clottey numbers. The Golden Factor is simply too strong.

A CASE FOR MAYWEATHER

Floyd Mayweather is an undefeated, elite athlete who is flashy in and out of the ring. He’s a ring-master, a technician, and did I mention he’s undefeated? It’s an important point, because like in other sports, fans and haters all want to see if their team or athlete’s “oh” will go. Floyd gives off the bad-boy image outside the ring, and will resort to any tactic necessary to get inside his fighters’ heads. This is brilliant, because with an undefeated record, anyone who isn’t a fan of his will still buy his fights in order to see if his opponent can beat him. A win/win for Mayweather.

But how about his fights? Well, I made a chart, and you can have a look now if you want (scroll up). Here’s how it breaks down. I’m looking at the three fights preceding his De La Hoya fight, and all fights following. I’m going to do the exact same for Pacquiao, don’t worry.

First up, Mayweather vs. Gatti. He did 365,000 PPV buys in that fight; not too shabby. After that, Zab Judah (I didn’t have info on Sharmba Mitchell, sorry). He and Zab duked it out for 12 rounds in a marginally exciting fight involving a minor riot in the ring. Still, the number hovered around 375,000 buys. After that, Carlos Baldomir, rumored to be a tough guy with a deceivingly high amount of losses. The fans weren’t impressed, and the number dipped down to 325,000 buys.

Now it was time for Mayweather to step it up. He and De La Hoya struck a deal where Oscar would take the lion’s share of the earnings, in exchange for the boost Mayweather had been looking for all his career. His 325,000 buys with Baldomir was about to be shattered. After the fight, when all was said and done, Mayweather vs. De La Hoya was a huge success both outside the ring and in. They took down 2.4 million buys and shocked the world with record-shattering numbers.

He followed this fight up quickly with a match against the undefeated Brit Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton. Someone’s “oh” had to go, right? Some people thought Hatton could knock Floyd out, but not many. Some were wrong that night, and many were right. PPV speculation was higher than expected, however, and the fight ended up doing 850,000 buys domestically. Not too bad considering Mayweather pulled down about three times less than that only two fights prior, but still nowhere north of 1M as many had predicted.

Then Mayweather retired. Then he came out of retirement. Then he took on Juan Manuel Marquez. Some questioned this decision, with Mosley and Pacquiao there for the pickings. But a tune-up fight is certainly allowed when a fighter’s been on break, so here we go. The Mexican populous would come out in droves to support their fighter, and Mayweather’s fan-base proved strong despite the lay-off. 1.05M bought that fight, which was extremely impressive considering there was another PPV event going on the same evening.

And now all eyes are on May 1, when Mayweather faces off against “Sugar” Shane Mosley for an unexpected megafight borne of broken deals and a broken country. We expect the number to be well over 1M buys, considering both fighters are well-known in the USA, and Mayweather is always an attraction. This is also a very tough fight for Mayweather, so the pressure will be on for him to perform at his top level. HBO will be helping out with four episodes of 24/7 leading up to the fight, and we will see if Mosley is a prophet or a pauper when he says “May first will be May’s first loss.”

A CASE FOR PACQUIAO

On the other side of the globe (literally), stands the small, unassuming, soft-spoken and deceptively strong Filipino Manny Pacquiao. He burst onto the scene as the Mexican Killer incarnate, destroying Barrera, Morales, and giving Marquez more than he had ever had to handle before. Who the hell is this little Asian guy? And why can’t we stop watching him fly up the ranks winning belts on his way? He’s dazzling and willing to trade. He can get knocked out at any moment, and yet ever since his first loss to Morales, this Filipino Phenom continues to improve. Freddie Roach, hard work, and sharp focus are to blame for this meteoric rise. Let’s have a look at the numbers…

In the rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera, Manny pulls down 350,000 PPV buys. Many were impressed at the level of interest still alive between these two, all things considered. Then he takes on Marquez in a rematch many hardcore fans were dying to see, but did the general public care? The media was shocked when the report of 400,000 buys came in. This was a record for non-heavyweight fights at the time, and deservedly so. It was fight of the year on many critics year-end lists, and many saw the fight going both ways. But Manny won, and his journey continued.

Next up, David Diaz. Who? A rest area stop on the way up the weight ladder. He handled the unproven Latino fighter handedly, but only took in a disappointing 250,000 buys. In fairness, this fight was hardly promoted, and against a fighter next to nobody really knew about. Not dissimilar to Mayweather’s fight with Baldomir, in fairness.

After this routing, he went on up to meet the big daddy, Oscar De La Hoya, after Oscar and Floyd had finished their über-mega-super-fight. Could Manny match those numbers, considering De La Hoya lost that fight? Not many thought so, and many were right again. But he still managed to put 1.25M buys together in a thorough routing of the Golden Boy. At this point, many felt it was clear Mayweather was the bigger draw, and at the time he most certainly was. Either way, Both Manny and Floyd had a lot of thanking to do to The Golden Boy.

But then life post-Oscar begins, and Manny wastes no time in picking up some more Floydian scraps. After two interim victories (one a TKO against Paulie Malignaggi), Hatton was back at his natural fighting weight and ready to earn his check and the respect of the world against Pacquiao. The lead up to this fight was dazzling, and the HBO series beforehand was entertaining and insightful. It all added up to 830,000 PPV buys, and proved that Pacquiao indeed can match Mayweather buy-for-buy. Considering Hatton had lost to Floyd, many were impressed that Pacquiao drew just as much interest domestically as Floyd had. The UK numbers dipped a lot more for Hatton after his loss, however, and those PPV numbers weighted more heavily in Floyd’s favor.

Then came Miguel Cotto. Not a Marquez rematch, but many saw Cotto as an equally strong draw despite fewer PPV appearances and a smaller Puerto Rican fan base (compared to Marquez and his Mexican legions). The fight was the first time to prove Pacquiao’s PPV mettle. And he did it in explosive fashion. After the round 12 TKO dust settled, we learned that Manny did 1.25M buys with Miguel, outshining Mayweather’s comeback victory from only a few months earlier.

Just about a week ago, Pacquiao faced off against a very obscure fighter by the name of Joshua Clottey. Manny die-hard fans know Clottey as the guy who beat an outclassed Corrales and Judah, and who lost to Margarito and Cotto in hard battles. This was a replacement fight for the originally designed Mayweather match-up, but it still pulled down at least 650,000 buys, according to Bob Arum. When compared with Manny and Floyd’s Hatton numbers, this is a commendable amount of buys. Many were angry at Manny and Floyd for not making a deal, but still Manny more than doubled any of his pre-De La Hoya numbers against far more recognizable opponents than Clottey.

CONCLUSION

For me, the fighter of the decade, the pound-for-pound king, and the PPV draw is Manny Pacquiao. For him to do better numbers against Cotto than Mayweather did against Marquez is the only really safe comparison to make. The Hatton fight is also a good indicator, and if you use those two comparisons, you see that Manny is gaining popularity, where Mayweather has to prove now that he can be a top draw.

If he wants a 50/50 split with Pacquiao, he is going to have to win against Mosley in an exciting fashion, and double the Pacquiao vs. Clottey numbers. He’s going to have a lot more promotion, an HBO documentary, and a much more recognized fighter in Mosley. He and Mosley are also both American fighters who have great histories in the sport. Manny and Clottey were two foreign-born athletes fighting in a stadium in Texas. For them to do nearly three-quarters of a million buys is a thing of wonder.

At the end of the day, I believe Mayweather vs. Pacquiao would indeed be as huge as people think, and could quite possible break the 3 million mark for PPV buys. We saw the media and fan frenzy while their fight was in negotiations. We hung on every curse word from Arum, every allegation from Golden Boy Promotions, every waffling flounder from Team Pacquiao, and every single day we checked our RSS feeders hoping against hope for the good news to come.

If it comes this Fall, 2010 is going to have its Hagler vs. Hearns, and put a punctuation mark on whether we are in the middle of a Neo-Renaissance, or if we’re simply buying into the hype machine of boxing’s biggest farce. Only time will tell.

 

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Odlanier Solis Interview Transcript

BOB ARUM: These are very exciting times for Top Rank. Last Saturday we presented THE EVENT at Cowboys Stadium this Saturday we are proud in another way. We’ll be staging a fight card in the beautiful Florida Keys. It’s going to be a tremendous setting and a very good card and for the people that can’t get down to the keys can watch it on FOX and it is going to be a spectacular show. The event will at Mallory Square in Key West and the venue is right next to the Atlantic Ocean. During the course of the fight there may be some Cuban fighters who come up in rafts and put one foot on our soil so we can fill up our roster. We are going to be showcasing a terrific heavyweight match. Odlanier Solis is an Olympic Gold Medal champion and World Cup champion. I saw him fight at Madison Square Garden (MSG). Because of his quickness, fast hands and power, we believe he is a real prospect to beat either one of the Klitschko brothers and this fight against Carl Drummond who is a big heavyweight is going to help demonstrate that to the boxing public. We are looking with a fight against either Klitschko sometime this year. Top Rank hasn’t done much in the heavyweight division recently but with Solis, we believe he is a future heavyweight champion. Watch on Saturday night and you can make your own determination..

DAVID JOHNSON (Key West Promoter): I would have to say this is the best card we have put on. We are proud to be working with Top Rank and to have Solis. We just have a great card and there is no other way to put it.

TONY GONZALEZ (Arena Box): I think it is symbolic that we are only 90 miles off the coast of Cuba and that Solis is going to be fighting so close to his country, the closest since his defection.

BOB ARUM: The old man isn’t going to be around much longer and my dream would be to take Solis and have him defend his title in Havana.

ODLANIER SOLIS: I put in a lot of work for this fight and I am aware that I am fighting only 90 miles from my country and I want to put on the best performance possible, not only for the public that is going to be present in Key West, but my countrymen in Cuba.

BOB ARUM: First of all, we were contacted by the Vitali Klitschko people when their fight with Valuev fell out and they almost agreed to do the fight with Solis but they went in another direction and are fighting a Polish guy. I think we may very well be up next. I think the Klitschkos are the real heavyweight champions, you can make an argument for either of them but Haye is a very good fighter and I know he has a belt and if we could make a match with Haye, we would certainly do that. Top Rank currently has two heavyweights that are in the mix – Sam Peter who fought in Dallas and Solis. Those are our two horses and we are ready to take on all the champions so matter who it is.

What happened in the Klitschko negotiations?

BOB ARUM: The Klitschko people spoke to HBO about doing the fight on June 5 rather than May 29 and if they did it on June 5, HBO said it would buy the fight but it would deprive the Yankee Stadium card of becoming an event and we declined that. They want to get back on American television and that was the good thing – if he fought Solis, it would be carried on HBO. Everybody is talking about Solis. They saw him at MSG and if his performance against Drummond, who I saw train at the Wild Card gym, is a big guy and looks like he has a lot of skill and if Solis comes through with Drummond I’m sure we’ll be able to land a title shot this year.

How many fights are you away from a title shot?

ODLANIER SOLIS: Since I turned professional, my goal has always been the same and I felt that I have been ready to fight for the most prized crown in this industry, which is the heavyweight crown. I was ready then and I’m ready now and I’ll always be ready. When given the opportunity I will take full advantage and make the best of it.

BOB ARUM: Obviously it is up to getting one of the champions to fight Solis and I’m very optimistic that will happen sometime before the end of the year, definitely.

Thanks to Ahmet Öner, we co-promote one of the best if not the best lighter weight fighters in the world in Yuri Gamboa and who we are going to showcase on HBO this summer in a major match. Everybody knows that Cuba has developed a tremendous boxing program. Prior to recent times a lot of their fighters were not appealing, they were left-handers and boxed very well but now we have Solis and Gamboa, two tremendous talents who are two of the most exciting boxers in the world today.

ODLANIER SOLIS: I haven’t been on the island in over 3 years and I don’t know what their mindset it. We have opened up a trail way to prove to them that there is life after amateur boxing and they can take up professional boxing but there are a lot of sacrifices that are involved in it but they can use us as an example.

Solis weight?

ODLANIER SOLIS: I have dropped weight from the last fight.

BOB ARUM: By and large, most of the Cuban people who live in the US left in the first wave when Castro took power. They are of a different class and they have relatively little desire to follow boxing, particularly with Cuban fighters. The idea was, if you put an event in Miami you’d get a tremendous number of fans – not true. But because these fighters are so proficient that when they become world champions, their exposure has to be done on television so fight fans can see them fight and see how good they are. At the end of January, Ross Greenburg was sitting behind me and Gamboa blew him away so now every conversation with him is “when can we get Gamboa back in the ring and get him on HBO.” With that attitude, it won’t be long before Gamboa is a household name athlete in the United States and around the world without a particular fan base like the Cuban community.

ODLANIER SOLIS: I have a son over there and I can make phone calls.

BOB ARUM: Assuming Solis does what he is capable of on Saturday night, he will demonstrate to the world what we are dealing with here. Then we will make a full court press on the various champions and go for a title fight. He’s ready. These Cuban guys have had such great training. He’s 29 and a heavyweight reaches his peak at about 31 or 32. Let the people watch on Saturday night and make their own determination.

We are going to move Sam Peter as well. I was there when Peter fought Klitschko and he had Klitschko down three times and he lost the decision. The decision was correct because in the rounds he didn’t knock him down, Klitschko boxed his ears off. Those are interesting fights and if the Klitschkos and David Haye want to get on American television they can do that by fighting Solis or Sam Peter. Right now they are fighting fighting garbage fights. This Polish guy is a club fighter – I would make the over-under with he and Solis 30 seconds.

Web casting?

BOB ARUM: In five years it would be worth pursuing, but right now I think that is ahead of the game. It is the wave of the future.

March 13 PPV number?

BOB ARUM: Right now all we have are the dish numbers and they are excellent. If the cable numbers come in at the same level, we have hit a home run.

What kind of fight are you expecting from Drummond?

ODLANIER SOLIS: Whichever way he wants to fight…if he wants to fight close in or if he wants to stay away and try to box…I am ready for whichever style he brings. I have seen his videos and I’ve seen that he changes styles every once in a while so I am well prepared for this fight.

BOB ARUM: David Johnson and Carl Moretti have told me that for all the media that are attending this fight, we are going to take them fishing and there is a prize for the biggest catch. Key West in a beautiful place and now we are staging this wonderful event. We also have an eight-round fight with Jorge Diaz from Jersey City against Alejandro Lopez of Tijuana. Get down to the beautiful Florida Keys and if you can’t, make sure to watch us on live on FOX Sports Net

 

[heyzel]

'Call Em Out Fridays': Eddie Chambers - The American Dream, or just America's 'Dream'

By Vivek Wallace - This weeks 'CEO-Fridays' segment places a man under the microscope that definitely deserves a second look. Some would question the term 'second look', but a glimpse at reality proves this could be no closer to the truth, as he has seen the center stage before, only at a time when no one happened to be watching. Fast forward a few years and a couple hard fought victories later, and the stage is set for ole 'Fast' Eddie Chambers to do something that few thought he'd be the one to do. That near impossible task, one might ask? Dethrone a Klitschko and bring a portion of the heavyweight hardware back America.

When we think of Eddie Chambers, we think fast....we think slick....maybe even fundamental. An American dream? Probably not to most, but in an odd play on words, when you consider the weak state of heavyweights in America, to those outside the country, the only way the heavyweight strap could possibly land back in this neck of the woods would have to be a script that could only be written in a dream somewhere in America; a place known for making the impossible possible, even when it isn't possible. Now, humor aside, once the night falls and the curtains rise, regardless of innuendo's associated with the mere thought, this American 'dream' could be closer to reality than we're led to believe, and the only contender on American soil with a chance is the one that now stands in Germany, eager to test his luck at this fortune.....again!

Back in January of '08, a less than prepared Chambers tried his luck in Germany against one Alexander Povetkin, who proved at the time to be far more skilled than Chambers was ready for at that point in his evolution. Only months after the loss, Chambers' mission to the top would land him in the ring with 'Nigerian Nightmare' Samuel Peter in the first ever boxing match to take place in Los Angeles' Nokia Theater. Considering that Peter was no longer the threat he was once viewed as, many felt this would be a cakewalk for Chambers, but to everyone's surprise, the visibly out of shape Peter threw nearly 700 punches, giving Chambers an interesting night at the office.

When it was all said and done, despite being outworked, judges at ringside found the well placed assortment of precision shots from Chambers to be more than enough to land him the "W". After moving beyond this obstacle, he would next face the closest replica one could find to what he'll face this Saturday in Germany, as the 253lb, 6'8" towering Dimitrenko was not only undefeated, but also very skilled. Chambers displayed a certain level of growth in the Peter fight, but the Chambers that showed up against Dimitrenko - also in Germany - appeared to have come full circle. Not only had he entered the ring lighter than any point in the 6 years prior, but that lighter weight helped him bring the 'Fast' in his name back, as his lightening quick reflexes stole the show with little effort, despite the great height and reach advantages, and being outweighed by 45 pounds.

What does all of this have to do with his chances against Wladimir Klitschko? Quite a bit, as Chambers has proven that he can handle a big man with good power. Of the two Klitschko brothers, Wladimir is more fundamentally flawed, and his three KO losses have all proven that if you can keep him off guard and a bit flustered, his ability to recover doesn't fall back into place as quickly. Chambers' chances - providing he can be what we saw against Dimitrinko - are as good as any other American heavyweight. Hell, I'd venture to say they're as good as any other international heavyweight, because despite the lesser power, his skill level and reflexes make him just as dangerous as someone like Haye.

When it all boils down, Chambers will have to realize that he's entering the ring against not only a Klitschko, but easily the most athletic heavyweight in the world, to include his older brother, Vitali. His chance to unseat Wladimir won't come easy, and even if he can manage to get him a bit off track, this Klitschko isn't quite the same guy that fell victim to the likes of Corrie Sanders years ago. It'll be a dog fight until the end. And only at that point will we know if this American 'Dream' is precisely that, or simply another 'Nightmare', blowing out of shape right before our eyes and failing to deliver when it counts most.....sort of like the Nigerian one. In just a few hours we'll know.....Stay tuned!

 

[heyzel]

Arthur Abraham: “It’s better to die in the ring rather than to lose”

Ciani - This past week’s edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio featured exclusive interviews with Arthur Abraham, Matt Godfrey, and “Iceman” John Scully. Highlighting this week’s episode was a nice chat with former IBF middleweight champion and current Super Six participant Arthur Abraham. Here are some excerpts from that interview:

Regarding preparations for his upcoming March 27 fight with Andre Dirrell:
“It’s going very well. We trained everyday twice a day and basically we’re doing what our trainer tells us, following his instructions and gradually getting prepared.”

On the three week delay resulting from a back injury sustained by Dirrell:
“ No one is going to get in our way, nothing’s going to interfere with us. I think my opponent Dirrell has more of a problem in the head or of the heart and not on his back."

On what he views as his biggest advantage against Dirrell:
“I’m bigger. We’ve been training hard and I don’t really think there’s much of anything he can do to me. We’re trying hard and we’ll see what happens in the ring—that will tell the tale..”






His assessment of his knockout victory against Jermain Taylor:
“It was a difficult bout because Jermain Taylor’s a very good boxer but I went into the fight feeling that I could win and when I feel that way I always win and that’s basically what happened—I won by knockout. It worked out for me.”

His thoughts on Jermain Taylor dropping out of the Super Six:
“Of course everything depends on one’s health and I think that after the knockout that I administered he probably can’t box anymore.”

Regarding Andre Ward’s victory over Mikkel Kessler in round one of the Super Six:
“I think he’s a very smart and a very strong fighter, and not just an Olympic champion.”

Regarding Carl Froch’s victory over Andre Dirrell in round one of the Super Six:
“It was more of a tie than anything. They were basically pretty much equal.”

On his first fight against Edison Miranda:
“Yes indeed, that was certainly the most difficult fight of my life. I had a broken jaw, but the fact of the matter is that I love to win and I go into the ring with that idea within me. It’s better to die there (in the ring) rather than to lose.”

On the differences between his first and second fights with Miranda:
“The thing is that the first fight I wasn’t able to show him everything that I was capable of. The second fight I was, and I shut his mouth for him.”

Regarding why he decided to move up into the super middleweight division:
“The thing is, I wanted to move up because there are better boxers in the super middleweight division and I really like America. That’s where the boxers are and I want to make my career here in America because I really like the country. That’s what inspired me to move up.”

On whether he has any concerns facing Dirrell in Detroit, Michigan:
“No, I ‘m not worried about that. I think the referee will judge the fight honestly, and it doesn’t matter if it’s in Chicago or Los Angeles. The spectators will see who’s boxing and how good they’re boxing and will applaud the one who’s the best.”

On whether he is disappointed he never got the chance to face Kelly Pavlik:
“No, we can still do that. We invited him two times to box with us but he turned us down.”

Regarding the second round match-up between Andre Ward and Allan Green:
“I think that Andre Ward and Allan Green are both good boxers but I think that Andre Ward will win because he’s just a different caliber boxer altogether.”

Regarding the second round match-up between Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler:
“I think that Kessler will win. If he should lose than he won’t be able to participate any more in this tournament.”

On who he feels poses the biggest challenge to him in the Super Six:
“Out of the Super Six, I think they’re all good boxers and they all represent a threat to me. They’re all very good boxers and they’re all very dangerous so I have to watch out for them.”

On what it was like winning his first title against Kingsley Ikeke:
“I was so happy I cried.”

On his ten successful title defenses of the IBF middleweight title:
“I just do everything I need to that it takes to win. I don’t like to lose so I do what I have to, to win.”

On which fighters he admired most when he first got interested in boxing:
“When I was coming up I only had one idol really, and that was Mike Tyson.”

His opinion of Andre Dirrell as a fighter:
“I’ve seen him several times boxing and I believe I know everything there is to know about him, but we’ll see. I don’t like to talk about it a lot. We’ll see what happens in the ring.”

On whether he would ever consider making a move up to the light heavyweight division:
“Well that’s business. If there’s a decent offer then I will certainly consider it. For the time being, though, I am satisfied at this weight category.”

His prediction for his upcoming fight with Andre Dirrell:
“Just to win.”

 

[heyzel]

VAZQUEZ-MARQUEZ IV: ‘Once and Four All’

Without a doubt, this is going to be a war just like the previous fights were,” said Vazquez. “I’m really motivated to come back for this battle with Marquez and I know this fourth fight is going to be very significant to my career. I hope all the fans are as excited as I am for this fight and as excited as they were for the previous three, as the fourth will no different than the others.”

Marquez commented, “Israel Vazquez and I are destined to be intertwined together because of the legendary battles we have waged against each other, but I intend to close the book on our rivalry by dictating the final chapter — and the fight — on May 22 at STAPLES Center. I have never wanted to win a fight so much in my life. I’m training to win. I’m fighting for my legacy.”

Oscar de la Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions and Vazquez’s Co-Promoter said, “May 22 is more than a fight, it is for pride, honor and respect of the boxing world and we are excited to be able to deliver the fourth fight following one of the best trilogies in boxing history. This type of fight reminds us of the great events from the 70’s at the Olympic Auditorium and the Forum, featuring two great Mexican warriors who leave it all in the ring. In addition, we are going to have one of our top young contenders in Abner Mares competing for a world title on the same night. This is a classic night of boxing that you will not want to miss and that you will never forget.”

Gary Shaw, President of Gary Shaw Productions and Marquez’s Promoter, “There has been no greater privilege for me than to have promoted Corrales-Castillo I and the Vazquez-Marquez series. At the end of the day, boxing and boxing fans are the winners. Rafael Marquez and Israel Vazquez are two of the greatest warriors ever. They are the stuff Hollywood movies are made from.”

Frankie Espinoza of Espinoza Boxing Promotions added, “Vazquez and Marquez are the two most exciting and courageous fighters in the sport. Along with the championship battle between Abner Mares and Yonnhy Perez, May 22 is going to be a special night for fight fans. We at Espinoza Boxing Promotions feel honored to be part of such an amazing event.”

Fernando Beltran, President, Zanfer Promotions, “I am very excited to be back working with Rafael Marquez. He won his first world title with our company Zanfer. For this fight, we are with Gary Shaw and looking forward to a fourth and final match to put to rest who is the real champion.”

Ken Hershman, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports said, “Vazquez-Marquez IV is a fight we couldn’t say no to. The rivalry between these two warriors is rooted in the deep respect they have for one another. We knew from the first time they faced off against each other that their fights would deliver the highest quality boxing and fans should expect nothing less May 22. We are honored to have them back on SHOWTIME. Fighters like Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez represent the best boxing has to offer: amazing competitors putting it all on the line in the name of sport.”

Lee Zeidman, STAPLES Center General Manager commented, “STAPLES Center is incredibly excited to host the fourth bout between these two decorated fighters in Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez. Southern California boxing fans are in for night that they won’t soon forget and we are excited about hosting this fight here in downtown Los Angeles on May 22.”

The Vazquez-Marquez trilogy is perhaps the most complete and closely contested all-action series of fights in boxing history. “El Magnifico” Vazquez (44-4, 33 KO’s) of Huntington Park, Calif., by way of Mexico City, leads Mexico City’s Marquez (38-5, 34 KO’s) in the epic series, 2-1, winning the last two.

In their first meeting on March 3, 2007, Marquez broke Vazquez’s nose in the first round, but the fight carried on and the two continued to exchange accurate and powerful shots. Vazquez could barely breathe through his broken nose and after seven hard fought and electrifying rounds, Vazquez asked trainer Freddie Roach to stop the fight, losing his WBC Super Bantamweight World Title in the process.

In their second fight on Aug. 4, 2007, Vazquez stopped Marquez in a rematch to regain the WBC Super Bantamweight World Title at 1:16 of the sixth round in an old-style, classic, bloody slugfest. The bout was touted as Fight of the Year and contained Round of the Year as awarded by boxing’s leading experts.

The two Mexican fighters squared off for the third time on March 1, 2008 in an epic 12-round, all-action battle that might have been the most compelling of them all. Vazquez eked out a thrilling, split-decision victory by just one point, scoring a fight-winning knockdown in the waning seconds of the twelfth round, successfully defending the WBC and Ring Magazine Super Bantamweight World Titles in an instant classic.

Vazquez and Marquez each took more than a year long sabbatical from boxing to recover from injuries and regroup after the thrilling trilogy.

Marquez returned to the ring on May 23, 2009, getting back to his winning ways with a third round KO victory over Jose Francisco Mendoza in his first fight at 126 pounds. Vazquez returned on Oct. 10, 2009, also at featherweight, against Angel Antonio Priolo registering a ninth-round TKO.

Boxing fans craved a fourth fight between the two fearless warriors and while they have both moved up in weight (this bout to be contested at featherweight, 126-pounds) and have tried to continue with their storied careers, destiny pulled them back together one more time.

Undefeated Yonnhy Perez (20-0, 14 KO’s) of Santa Fe Springs, Calif., by way of Colombia, is coming off an upset 12-round unanimous decision over defending champion Joseph King Kong Agbeko to capture the International Boxing Federation (IBF) Bantamweight World Title on Oct. 31, 2009 on SHOWTIME.

“We will give the fans a great fight,” said Perez. “I know Abner well, he is a very good friend of mine who I have known since the amateurs, but I don’t even let my best friends touch my championship belt. I worked too hard and too long to get it. Mares will not be able to take it away from me, no way.”

“This fight could very well steal the show,” said Ken Thompson, Perez’s co-promoter with Shaw. “These are two great bantamweights, two all-action boxers with lots of power, but there is only one champion and I’m confident Yonnhy will remain undefeated and will be able to successfully defend his title in a great battle.”

A top-contender at 118 pounds Mares (19-0, 12 KO’s), of Montebello, Calif. by way of Guadalajara Jalisco, Mexico, is ranked in the top five by the WBO, WBA and IBF. The 24-year-old has won three of his last four fights by knockout and is fresh off of a sixth round knockout over Carlos Fulgencio in his last fight on Aug. 27, 2009. He is looking to earn his first world title on May 22.

“I’ve known Yonnhy for a long time and we are friends outside of the ring, but come May 22 that will all change when I will get down to business,” said Mares. “All the fans should look forward to the next Mexican World Champion because on May 22, I will become the next champion. He is a great fighter, and I’m not taking this fight lightly, so I’ll be ready to take his belt that night.”

 

[Tony]

By Alexander Fugate: Pacquiao-Clottey is estimated to have between 650,000 and 700,000 PPV buys. While this is a good number for most fighters, its no where near the number of people who pay to see Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight. Many Pacquiao fans have been insisting he is the biggest draw in boxing.

However, those who make that erroneous claim ignore the facts and just reiterate over and over again without any proof or numbers to back it up. Mayweather was a hair from doubling Pacquiao’s PPV buys against De La Hoya.


Mayweather over doubled Pacquiao’s numbers against Juan Manuel Marquez. Mayweather got more buys versus Hatton in the US and over double Pacquiao’s in the UK. Mayweather-Marquez was supposed to have been a mismatch and most were expecting some where in the range of 500,000-700,000 buys, yet over a million people purchased that fight. What makes that number even more impressive is that it went head-to-head with a UFC PPV event.

Pacquiao got 1.25 million buys against both De La Hoya and Cotto. With the numbers for March 13th, it is now clear Pacquiao isn’t a huge draw, but needs another high profile opponent to bring in the huge numbers that Mayweather consistently does.

What makes matters even worse for Manny is that both Mayweather and Freddie Roach are on record saying Mosley isn’t a big draw. In fact, that was one of the reasons Roach gave for Manny fighting Cotto instead of “Sugar” Shane. Since Cotto is a bigger draw than Mosley, than Pacquiao-Cotto should have better numbers than Mayweather-Mosley, if Manny is close to the draw that Mayweather is.

However, most expect Mayweather-Mosley to sell far more PPV’s. In fact, the May 1st clash could bring in over 2 million and possibly even 2.5 million, which would be double any event Pacquiao has ever been in. If Mayweather-Mosley gets over 2 million buys, there is no way that Manny deserves anything close to a 50/50 split. Mayweather has constantly brought in better numbers than Manny.

If Pacquiao is serious about wanting to fight Mayweather, he needs to accept the fact that more people are willing to shell out their money to see Floyd than him, and accept a smaller cut of the purse. If Manny insists on a 50/50 split, it will be clear he has no intention of fighting the best and is looking for a way out. He would still make much more with a 40% cut of the purse in a fight with Mayweather, compared to a fight with anyone else where Manny would receive a bigger share of the earnings than his opponent.

If Mayweather can get by Mosley on May 1st, the world will be waiting to see if Manny actually wants to be a part of what would be the biggest match ever. And the answer will be clear when he makes his demand for his share of PPV revenue.

LMFAO... morebass, 206, Kah707kali, etc...

Just what I've been saying all along. Now what do you all have to say? Mayweather has been doubling Pac's numbers? Say it ain't so....

Mayweather is the proven bigger draw and was still willing to accept the 50/50 split between he and Pac.

Can I get a reply?

Ooooooh the truth hurts!!

 

[heyzel]

George Foreman Says Neither Klitschko Brother Has Had A Worthy Opponent For Five Year

by James Slater - Heavyweight legend "Big" George Foreman, the two-time heavyweight king who lit up the 1970s and 1990s like few other fighters at any weight, has launched a quite scathing attack on both of the Klitschko brothers. Foreman, now aged 61 and years into a happy retirement, spoke to German newspaper The Berliner Morgenpost recently, and the oldest heavyweight champion in history said neither Wladimir, the Ring magazine, IBF and WBO ruler, nor WBC king Vitali, have had a worthy opponent in the past five years!

Foreman is an admirer of the two brothers and he has some good things to say about the pair as a result, but he says that since Vitali's great losing fight with Lennox Lewis back in 2003 neither brother has had what he calls a "pressure" fight.

"The Klitschko brothers are definitely good boxers," Foreman told the German daily. "They have had a top education, are big, heavy and pack a powerful punch. But where are their opponents? Since Lennox [Lewis] there has been no-one else, there has been a lack of pressure..

"The Klitschkos have beaten everyone easily. Their few defeats are now years ago. I state, neither of them have had a worthy opponent in the last five years. [And] against the Klitschkos, there is no chance of somebody knocking them out with a lucky punch."

So, is Foreman actually attacking the two men currently atop the division he himself ruled over twice, or is George laying into the current state of the heavyweight division in general? "Since Lennox there has been no-one," Foreman states, yet, as fans on this web site have argued may times, who have the Klitschkos ducked? Nobody. It's not their fault, then, that there have been no fighters capable of putting them under pressure.

But George is right when he says the Klitschkos have beaten everyone with ease over the last five years, and therein the drama needed to keep the division exciting has been lacking. But the two brothers cannot help it if they are simply way too good for everyone else out there, can they? Also, guys like Samuel Peter, Chris Byrd, Lamon Brewster (in a rematch) and Ruslan Chagaev were certainly worthy opponents for Wladimir; as were Corrie Sanders, Peter, Chris Arreola and Kevin Johnson (on paper at least) for Vitali - and all these men were beaten by the duo from Ukraine.

Is Foreman being overly critical or not then?

One thing that does spring to mind as being interesting, is the idea of assessing how the 1970s of even the early to-mid 1990s version of Foreman would have done against the Klitschkos. Those fights sure would have been far more interesting than most, if not all, of the heavyweight bouts that are taking place these days!


Article posted on 19.03.2010