The Finito Five 12/9/09

Koki Kameda pounds at the flattest nose in the history of boxing belonging to Daisuke Naito during their flyweight superfight. Unfortunately, Naito couldn't pound some manners into Kameda despite repeated attempts.

Spreading more merriment than jolly ‘ol St. Nick, it’s the Finito Five!

1. Danny Green lays the TNT on Roy Jones and B-Hop

It’s truly amazing how fate can step into a boxing ring sometimes. For years, since their 1993 snoozer of a fight, Roy Jones and Bernard Hopkins have been talking about fighting each other, especially after Hopkins joined Jones on the pound-for-pound list back in the late 1990’s. After Hopkins dismantled Felix Trinidad in 2001, both fighters were in their primes, and boxing fans were demanding a rematch. The only problem was that Hopkins and Jones were doing a whole lot of talking and not enough negotiating. While Jones, like he always did in those days, talked about being the main attraction and getting main attraction money, Hopkins took his usual “I won’t be screwed by the boxing establishment” tack, essentially not giving in to any of the demands of Team Jones. As a result, nothing happened for years until recently, when a shaky 40-year old Jones and a 45-year old Hopkins (who’s still on most pound-for-pound lists for some reason) decided that early 2010 was the time. The only obstacle? Jones had to defeat cruiserweight Danny Green in Australia Wednesday, while Hopkins had to get past tough Enrique Ornelas at 175-pounds in the United States the same night. This Finito space had intended to be about how relevant the fight was going to be so many years after the first one had taken place, especially regarding how shot Jones was after more than a few KO losses this decade.

Well, thanks to Danny Green, none of that matters now, as he completely wiped out Jones inside of a round, upsetting the proverbial apple cart. If there was any debate about Jones being done, there should be none whatsoever now. Green, who is decent, but couldn’t hang even a little bit with a 2000 version of Jones, cracked Roy with one right hand about 75 seconds in, and it was essentially over. All credit to Green for getting it done, but Jones clearly can’t take a solid punch any more. While Hopkins did pound out a workmanlike decision over Ornelas for his part, it’s now time for B-Hop to face someone like Green or Tomasz Adamek, which would be much more compelling. For Jones, here’s hoping he decides to retire until getting that Hall Of Fame call from Canestota in 2015.

2. A little objectivity, anyone?

Many a boxing fan has had issues with the commentary of the HBO broadcast team of Lampley-Merchant-Steward or the Sky Sports team of Adam Smith and Jim Watt from time to time, even though both teams are the sport’s standard bearers. However, if you think they’re so bad, try the Australian Foxtel-TV trio of Andy Raymond, Barry Michael and Paul Briggs, who called the Jones-Green fight Wednesday. Among the gems heard during the fight:
Raymond, after Jones was knocked down: “When you beat a legend, you become a legend, and Danny Green is on the verge of history!”
Raymond, after Green won: “Danny Green has conquered Australia and the world!”
Michael, during the wrap-up: “This is the greatest win in the history of Australian boxing.”
Huh? Seriously? First off, just because you beat a legend that was in his prime ten years ago doesn’t make you as great as he was. By that logic, you should be able to go to Berrien Springs, Michigan and kick Muhammad Ali’s ass and call yourself the Greatest. Secondly, how did Green conquer Australia exactly by beating a dude from Florida? Doesn’t the fact that Green already lost to Anthony Mundine, a fellow Aussie, mean that Mundine should be the best Down Under, at the very least? And if Green’s is the greatest win in the history of the country, I guess all the wins that Jeff Fenech and Kostya Tszyu have over Hall Of Famers during their careers don’t mean so much, eh? Sounds like someone should test Foxtel’s boys for hyperbolic steroid use!

3. The battle of Japan reaches its anticlimax

What many sportswriters in the United States still can’t understand is how boxing can still grip a nation when it’s not theirs. When Tomasz Adamek-Andrew Golota puts a nation (Poland) on hold for an entire afternoon, it’s still an important statement on the hold the Sweet Science still has in some parts of the world. Add to that the 112-pound megafight between Koki Kameda and titleholder Daisuke Naito on Nov. 29, which may qualify as the most mega of any fight in any country in the last 20 years. Going into the fight, it had it all the makings of the classic grudge match; a controversial, foul-filled fight between Kameda’s brother, Daiki, and Naito, which ended up with Daiki suspended for a year. Kameda reportedly told his brother to use his elbows on Naito! It’s not clear what Naito may have done to engender this wrath (other than Kameda despising Naito having the flattest nose on earth), but it certainly didn’t translate to a great fight. Kameda moved very well, landing his punches everywhere on a confused Naito, who just couldn’t generate the offense that would have made this one special. While there were some good exchanges, there wasn’t much doubt at the end of the fight, both as to the winner and who was the most arrogant Japanese guy since Boleo Yeung in Bloodsport (who we all know isn’t really Japanese, anyway). Kameda might be a big star in Japan, but he shows an incredible lack of class during fights that would make Floyd Mayweather, Jr. proud, including a refusal to touch gloves or even acknowledge Naito and his effort after the fight. Since this fight did over a 50 share (yes, that means over 50 percent of Japanese TV’s that were on!), let’s hope the next Battle For Japan lives up to its billing.

4. Paul Williams finally meets his match

Forget Carlos Quintana when talking about Paul Williams; that was clearly an off night for “The Punisher”. Other than that, the man has beaten down Antonio Margarito (likely with his loaded gloves), Winky Wright, Verno Phillips and Quintana in a rematch. Well, last Saturday night, he finally found a worthy opponent that he couldn’t just walk over, that in Spain’s Sergio Martinez. While it was obvious that these were the two best jr. middleweights in the world (although the fight was fought above 154), no one could have expected the slugfest that resulted. Williams was not only knocked down in the first round, but actually got rocked a couple of times, as Martinez displayed excellent use of angles in getting to his 6’2” opponent. What this fight also showed was that Williams is more than up to facing adversity, as he gave it right back to the Spaniard, tiring Martinez out late in the fight as Williams came back from a couple of bad cuts. Ultimately, while Williams got the decision, it could have gone either way (throw out the fact that Pierre Benoist had an awful 119-110 scorecard he apparently scored from Williams’ house in front of his family), and there now will likely be a much-anticipated rematch. With all of the ducking that fighters have been doing to Williams, it’s good that he’s now found an opponent he can truly test his greatness against. With the grueling nature of this fight, it will be interesting to see how that will change each fighter by the time they step into the ring against each other for a second time.

5. Maybe this rematch shouldn’t be made, either

Lost in the shuffle a bit during an incredibly exciting last 30 days in boxing is that Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez are going to get it on for a fourth time. And who could argue, right? These two waged three of the greatest fights that the 122-pound division (or any other division, for that matter) had ever seen, each one memorable for it’s brutality and gladiator-style action. Even the boxing press seems fairly amped up for this fight, to take place in early 2010. However, has anyone asked just how much that great trilogy has taken out of these guys? Anyone who saw Vazquez’ struggling performance against Angel Priolo in October has to wonder just what a rematch will accomplish other than shortening their careers further. If Vazquez is on the downslope of his career, a fight like this may end it; for Marquez, he has only to look to his brother Juan Manuel to see what taking care of yourself can lead to in your late 30’s – more big time fights and a longer career. Trilogies are common in boxing for a reason; they settle the debate as to who is better, and then fighters move on. Both Vazquez and Marquez are as on par with each other as you can get, a fact that won’t change if they fight a hundred times. Let’s not ruin potential intriguing fights with Juan Manuel Lopez, Chris John or Yuriorkis Gamboa by putting these guys in a fight that might beat them out of action for another sixteen months, if not permanently.

The Finito Q & A – November edition

Andre Ward seems to be making Mikkel Kessler rather unhappy here with his punches, something we're fairly sure Kessler missed when he complained about head butts and officiating afterward.

This month’s bevy of burning fistic questions, from Ward’s massive upset to Manny’s mummy-like singing performance:

Q: So after the Andre Ward’s surprising upset of Mikkel Kessler, looks like you picked the first-round winners of the Super Six tournament correctly. Are you going to gloat now, smart guy?

A: To be fair, I didn’t predict everything correctly. I said Carl Froch would knock out Andre Dirrell, and there was about as much chance of a KO in that fight as there was of Yuriorkis Gamboa defecting back to Cuba. Still, it was nice to see Ward really come through better than even I had thought possible. What a performance! Taking apart Kessler, who many considered the tournament favorite, was unexpected to say the least. Those two might still be the best in the Super Six, so maybe Kessler gets another chance at Ward eventually. Still, you have to like Ward’s win as the most impressive of the tourney so far.

Q: What about Kessler’s assertions after the fight that Ward’s headbutting and referee Jack Reiss cost him the fight? Valid, or are you going to give us one of your analogies again?

A: Analogy time! Kessler saying that the butts and refereeing cost him the fight is like saying Carl Froch’s girlfriend is hot because of her great teeth; there is some truth there, but it’s pretty low on the list of factors. The main reason Ward won was because he pounded Kessler all over the ring; sure the head butts didn’t help matters, but that didn’t determine the fight. Kessler had a bad night, while Ward had an outstanding one, simple as that.

Q: So who’s the favorite going into the second round of the Super Six?

A: It has to be Ward. As excellent as Arthur Abraham’s win over Jermain Taylor was, Taylor looks close to done. Ward beat a better fighter right now, so you have to like his momentum. However, the points lead is still Abraham’s at 3 until someone passes or ties him.

Q: That must mean that you aren’t rating Froch’s win very highly. After more than a month, are you still holding on to the notion that Dirrell won?

A: Yes! It wasn’t a huge screwjob or anything like that, but after watching the fight numerous times, I still don’t know how Froch could have won any of the first six rounds. He did nothing. That means it could have been a draw at best for him from that point with no knockdowns. I’m not going to continue screaming to the rafters on this one, but neither will I give Froch a whole lot of credit for that performance. We need to see more of the Froch that beat Taylor from this point on.

Q: Did you hear that Top Rank head Bob Arum flipped ESPN’s Dan Rafael the bird at the Pacquiao-Cotto fight for his negative comments about the undercard? What was up with that?

A: Well, all boxing fans should have flipped Arum the bird for that lame undercard. It looks like Arum couldn’t take the fact that Rafael called him to the carpet on it, and because Arum acts like a jerk about half the time, you get incidents like these. Come on, Julio Ceasar Chavez, Jr.-Troy Rowland as the co-feature for one of the biggest fights of the year? Please. Look I love Rowland, who lives about 20 minutes from my house, but the guy was just barely back after a 3-plus year layoff. He didn’t deserve to be there, and Chavez sure as hell didn’t, either. When you’re paying one of your fighters less than $50 grand (Rowland, of course) to be on the lead-in fight to a major PPV headliner, then it shouldn’t be on the card. The fact that the most talked about fight on the undercard was the Matt Korobov bout, which wasn’t even televised, should tell you something about the strength of it.

Q: Did you see that Rodel Mayol had another head butt issue in his fight against Edgar Sosa? Is this a trend, or just another coincidence?

A: This looks like a real trend, one that referees should put a stop to right away. Mayol is not intentionally butting fighters, but he is far too reckless with his head. If I were Sosa, who clearly never recovered from the butt and was actually down on the canvas for more than a minute trying to recover, I’d launch a protest to try and get a rematch. Sosa lost his 108-pound title in the fight, as well. It’s one thing when a possible style matchup caused his two fights against Ivan Calderon to be stopped due to headbutts, but it’s another thing when it’s happening every fight.

Q: So what should have been done after the butt happened?

A: A no-contest should have been ruled, simple as that. I don’t know why referees are so afraid to do this when an unintentional foul is committed. This wasn’t the same situation as with the Kendall Holt-Ricardo Torres rematch; in that fight, everything happened inside a minute, with no time to evaluate Torres properly. In this case, however, Sosa being prone on the canvas and barely able to stand the entire rest of the first round should have clued referee Roberto Ramirez in. Ramirez actually ruled the butt intentional and deducted a point; he should have taken it a step further and stopped it altogether.

Q: How in the world did Dimitri Sartison get a 168-pound title from the WBA by beating Stjepan Bozic in Germany this weekend? I thought Ward won that title from Kessler that same day!

A: That’s because the WBA (and the rest of the alphabelt soup gangs) only cares about getting money from fighters, not who represents them as champion. They have a designation called “super champion” they give to some fighters when they unify belts with another organization. The fact that Kessler had no other belts going into the Ward fight didn’t matter, they just elevated him to “super champion” anyway. And because Sartison and Bozic were dumb enough to fall for it, they paid sanctioning fees to the WBA to fight for their “regular belt”. I hope Sartison carries that baby around with pride; because only his family will think that he’s the champ and Ward isn’t.

Q: Giovani Segura now has 18 KO’s out of his 22 wins, pretty good for a jr. flyweight. Given that he still seems to be sticking around with Antonio Margarito’s former trainer, Javier Capetillo, how far is he going to go?

A: Not far enough, and that’s unfortunate. The sky should be the limit for Segura, who has some real panache and a flair for the dramatic, but as long as he’s with Capetillo, he can only go so far. He absolutely crushed Sonny Boy Jaro with a left to the body in the first round of their fight Saturday, a punch most guys his size do not have. While I totally believe that his power is legitimate, having a guy who has been caught loading gloves training you is just not smart; it casts doubt on every knockout you have. Segura, who lives in California, can’t even fight there because of Capetillo’s ban; so unless it’s against someone willing to fight him in Mexico, it’s not going to happen. He’s a young guy that probably wants to be loyal to his trainer, but it’s not worth doing that at the expense of your career.

Q: After the Cotto fight, Pacquiao gave a concert, singing for the gathered crowd with half his head bandaged. Strangest thing you’ve ever seen in boxing?

A: No, not the strangest (fan man at Holyfield-Bowe still takes the cake for me), but it’s definitely up there. Listen, I know Pac-Man can sing and wanted to give a concert at Madison Square Garden soooo bad, but who thought this was a good idea? It either shows no respect for the fact that Cotto might have seriously hurt Manny (which he came damn close to doing), or at best, assumed that after a grueling fight, he could still give some kind of great performance. No offense, but if I go see Bruce Springsteen, I sure as hell don’t want to do it after he just ran the Boston Marathon! You must want to see Pacquiao sing pretty badly to take in his show under those circumstances. He still probably looked better than Cher, though…

The Finito Five 11/19/09

Miguel Cotto looks to have gotten tattooed more than once this year, as Manny Pacquiao attempts to add another on Cotto's face. Whether he can do this to Floyd Mayweather is the question being asked by boxing fans now.

More heavyweight musings from a strawweight brain…

1. Pac-Man proves he’s worth the “Money”

It has been said more than once that the difference between a great fight and a super fight is this: A great fight is one that boxing fans look forward to, while a super fight is an event that everyone looks forward to. And given pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao’s awesome beat down of Miguel Cotto in their welterweight PPV headliner Saturday, the resulting showdown with Floyd Mayweather will definitely hit “super fight” status. There have been few fighters in this current generation that can carry both power and hand speed up through multiple divisions, but the Filipino dynamo seems to defy the odds more and more with each fight. Against Cotto, a true welterweight (are you listening, Floyd?), Pacquiao was too quick, too strong, and generally too imposing for Cotto, who is himself normally the ring general. While Cotto did land some good shots and displayed some incredible heart to make it to round twelve, there was no doubt from about round six on who the victor would be. Yes, perhaps referee Kenny Bayless could have let Cotto last the final round, but the Puerto Rican had already proven his toughness by that point. This was Manny’s night.

Now let the clamor for the Mayweather showdown begin. While both fighters have not actually said they want to fight the other by name, there’s too much money and legacy at stake for it not to happen. This fight would be similar to Hagler-Leonard or Toney-Jones, a true bout for the ages, one that would cement the winner’s place in boxing history forever. And with good-guy Manny versus Mayweather, the Man Everyone Loves To Hate, Bob Arum can sip margaritas and work on his tan, as little promotion as this fight will need. And unlike Mayweather-De La Hoya, these are two Hall Of Famers fighting while both are in their primes. As former referee Mills Lane would say, let’s get it on!

2. “Bad” Chad Dawson is bad only at the box office

Pity Chad Dawson. Here’s a guy who is one of the best fighters in the world, the legitimate 175-pound world champion, a family man who never gets in trouble, and a general bright spot for the city of Hartford, Connecticut. Throw in a dominating performance in his rematch against Glen Johnson ten days ago in his hometown, and he should have the world at his feet. Unfortunately, the math is just not working out right now for Dawson. Less than 5,500 fans showed up at the XL Center (capacity of 16,000), and it was not a vociferous crowd at all, many times voicing their displeasure at Dawson’s lack of killer instinct. While he did dominate Johnson, who now looks to be closer to retirement than not, Dawson played it very safe, never once looking like he was going in for the kill. That may be Dawson’s biggest problem; since stepping up to the highest level at light heavyweight, he fights more like Ghandi and less like Genghis Khan, although he has 17 knockouts in his 40-plus bouts. He’s a terrific fighter, but boxing is also the entertainment business, which is the reason fighters like Paulie Malignaggi and Cory Spinks have to be matched correctly, because they’re not killers, either. The Johnson fight was made simply because there wasn’t much clamor for Dawson fighting anyone else; Dawson simply headlining a fight card isn’t reason enough to get excited. Until he finds his inner Arturo Gatti, it doesn’t look like that will change anytime soon.

3. Dawson shows that he protects himself at all times

You know how bad it really is for “Bad” Chad? While some boxers over the last decade have been known to shill themselves out for Goldenpalace.com or Bodog on their bodies, Dawson’s lack of stroke couldn’t even get him one of those unsavory gigs. Instead, he gets Condomdepot.com on his trunks! Yes, someone in the marketing department thought it was a stroke of brilliance (oh, was that pun intended?) to let the light heavyweight champion with four, yes count ‘em, four kids hawk condoms on the back of his shorts. The problem is, all those kids are completely legit and planned – what a waste! Now the real get would be to have Evander Holyfield with his nine (!) illegitimate kids to wear some Condom Depot gear at his next fight. Lord knows when Evander and his mom were eating their burritos at Taco Bell, they should have been talking condoms, not condiments.

4. David beats Goliath to the sound of heavyweight indifference

So after more or less ducking both Klitschko brothers, it was time for former cruiserweight champion David Haye to finally get his heavyweight title against seven-foot Nicolay Valuev. The problem is, it’s a bit like marrying Khloe’ Kardashian instead of Kim – although you can say you married a Kardashian, it’s not really all that impressive. Haye did do enough to beat the giant Valuev, but he didn’t turn in a particularly fantastic performance, which almost nobody does against the Russian. Valuev is so slow that anyone with enough guts and talent to work their way in will usually beat him easily; Haye definitely had enough of both to get it done. However, while he can claim he’s a heavyweight champion now, everyone knows whom he still has to beat. Boring fights like this won’t sell a lot of tickets, as evidenced by this fight being in Germany and not in Haye’s home country of England. If Haye wants to back up his bevy of trash-talk regarding the Klitschko’s, he actually needs to step in the ring with Wlad or Vitali eventually. Haye’s next mandatory for his belt is John Ruiz, who’s getting his 312th crack at a heavyweight title. At the rate boxing fans avoid Ruiz like H1N1, Haye better start getting the Klitschko fires stoked again very soon.

5. Z Gorres gets a win in life

With the deaths of Arturo Gatti, Vernon Forrest and Alexis Arguello, the bright light has been shining on some of boxing’s harshest realities lately. Luckily, we all avoided another one after Filipino 118-pounder Zeta Gorres appears to be OK after his frightening collapse two weeks ago. The scariest part, however, was that he actually won his fight over Luis Melendez, and only was in serious trouble when he was knocked down in the last 30 seconds of the fight with a left. He hit his head on the ropes, but was able to make it back up and seemed fine. Once the scores were read, he just collapsed, one of those collapses that boxing fans hope they never see, the one that signals real trouble. After being rushed to the hospital to remove pressure on his brain, he was put into a coma for 24 hours. As of this writing, he looks like he’ll recover, but his career is certainly done. It’s hard to believe that the fighter who fought Vic Darchinyan to a draw took one bad punch from a journeyman in a tune-up fight, and now he’ll never set foot in a ring again. The good thing is he will still be able to see his wife and four children, which truly is bigger than any boxing win he could have ever had.

The heavyweight dream of Tomasz Adamek should not be realized

200-pound king Tomasz Adamek may decide to try his luck at heavyweight, but pardon the general boxing fan if they're less than enthusiastic at the prospect of a future with Sultan Ibragimov and Nicolay Valuev in it.

By and large, most boxing fans can’t help but love cruiserweight titleist Tomasz Adamek. He’s the kind of fighter that has all the tools for success both in and out of the ring: An action-packed style, great heart, willingness to slug, huge Polish following, TV-friendly fights. He’s one of those fighters you almost can’t help but root for, because you know you’re going to get your money’s worth every time he steps into the ring. He’s also stepped into the ring with many of the best to boot, including wins over Steve Cunningham, O’Neil Bell, Paul Briggs and a loss to number one 175-pounder Chad Dawson in the spring of ’09.

So it was completely understandable that in front of over 17,000 screaming Polish fans on October 24, Adamek took a competitive break and fought long-faded heavyweight Andrew Golota, his countryman. The fight was a sensation throughout the country, garnering both fighters big paychecks while the event became the most-watched TV program EVER in Poland. Despite moving up in weight, Adamek performed exceptionally, knocking out Golota in round five to the cheers of the Arena Lodz crowd. Adamek had fulfilled his heavyweight dalliance, and now it was off to a rematch with Cunningham, or intriguing fights with Jean Pascal, Adrian Diaconu or Tavoris Cloud.

But not so fast. Like so many that have dabbled with boxing’s Big Boys, Adamek said after the fight that he would either stay at 200 pounds or move up to the heavyweight division permanently. While his Polish faithful might be thrilled at that prospect, you could hear boxing fans all over the globe cringe, as yet another great fighter could potentially be lost to the proverbial heavyweight boondoggle.

For every Evander Holyfield, there are countless other fighters that have wasted their time moving up to heavyweight when they could have established themselves at 175 or cruiserweight. James Toney was doing some impressive things at cruiserweight when he decided that fighting guys like Sam Peter, Hasim Rachman and Fres Oquendo were his ticket to heavyweight stardom. No offense to Toney, who will surely be in the Hall Of Fame, but he was realistically going to get as close to dethroning the Klitschko’s as he was to becoming the U.S. Ambassador to Nepal. Instead of seeing if he could rule the cruiserweight roost as he had done at 168 so well, he immediately jumped up to heavyweight to fight Holyfield. After a win against the faded former cruiserweight king, Toney was above 200 pounds to stay (and the way Toney eats lately, his local burger joint was probably thrilled). While Toney was in some decent fights from that point on, the thrill of his last cruiserweight fight with Vassily Jirov was never close to being recaptured.

The same situation applies to Adamek here. Yes, he can make tons of money fighting European heavyweights. Yes, he can get huge TV exposure and would be a big draw at any arena, Poland or otherwise. Yes, he could handle himself by and large with those big heavyweights. But would he be a factor? Probably not. Like Toney before him, Adamek would likely struggle through the Ruslan Chagaev’s and Alexander Povetkin’s of the world, maybe winning, maybe not. He certainly won’t get through enough of them to face either Klitschko brother. Even if popularity eventually dictated that Adamek get a shot, does anyone think that he would beat Vitali or Wladamir? Adamek’s maxed-out weight for the Golota fight was still 30 pounds south of the Klitschko’s walking around weight. And unless Adamek is somehow different than most smaller fighters who’ve fought the Klitschko brothers, it sure wouldn’t make for an exciting night.

The idea here is not to begrudge Adamek if he wants to live the heavyweight dream, because it’s certainly understandable. Perhaps he would be much better than anyone thinks. It’s just that seeing him continue his thrilling dominance of the 200 pound division seems a lot more fun than watching him struggle to beat mid-level opposition in the heavyweight ranks. The heavyweight division already has its share of snoozers; it would sure be a shame if the once-exciting Thomasz Adamek contributed to that number.

The Finito Five 10/23/09

Carl Froch did a lot of chasing Andre Dirrell during the second fight of the Super Six tournament on Saturday. Although Froch got the nod, it started a debate between the boxing writers and public as to who won the fight.

More Super than the Six, it’s the Finito Five!

1. Abraham hits a three pointer to start the Super Six

Boxing fans, by and large, are used to hype surrounding fight promotions; they’re also used to the hype being greater the fight. Just about everyone, however, thought that the Super Six 168-pound tournament had a great chance of living up to the hype. Luckily for all fight fans, they turned out to be exactly right! Going into the Super Six, many figured both Mikkel Kessler and Arthur Abraham were the two favorites. Abraham’s definitive twelfth KO of Jermain Taylor Saturday may just have moved him to the head of the Vegas board. If there’s another fighter with better late round power, he’s has yet to show himself. As a matter of fact, this fight almost mirrored Taylor’s fight with Carl Froch earlier this year; Taylor winning the early rounds, Abraham coming on late, and finally, Taylor tiring and not making it out of the last 30 seconds of the fight. Abraham connected with a crushing straight right that got through the gloves of Taylor, knocking the former middleweight champion more out than Elton John. The fact that referee Guadelupe Garcia counted at all was silly, unless the Mexican referee wanted to practice his English.

The result of all this is that with the Super Six point system, the Armenian Abraham takes a commanding lead, as he received two points for the win, and an additional point for the KO (great idea, by the way). Taylor, however, may have some hard decisions to make. This is his third brutal knockout loss is his last five fights (Froch and Kelly Pavlik), and he was found after the fight to have had a severe concussion and short-term memory loss. He was released from the hospital, but with tough fights against Andre Ward and Kessler left, it’s not like he can take a tune up fight beforehand. It’s tough to see another knockout not happening with at least one of those fights, so perhaps it’s time for Taylor to bow out, if not call it a career. It would sure be a shame to see another brutal knockout damaging permanently the only man to beat Bernard Hopkins twice.

2. Froch holds on, Dirrell holds Froch, fans & pundits hold an argument

The second Super Six fight of the night, while light on scintillating action, presented a fascinating situation the boxing universe doesn’t see that often: Boxing media and fans disagreeing. Many figured Andre Dirrell, who has been known to turn it on and off like the power company, might actually come out with a consistent effort against England’s Carl Froch, Dirrell’s biggest opponent to date. What they got was Dirrell showing flashes of brilliance, but also flashes of complete brain lock. While the Flint, Michigan native befuddled Froch with hand speed and movement, he also held the entire fight, and it was only a matter of time before referee Hector Afu deducted a point, which he eventually did. The amazing part however, was that it didn’t matter, as two judges had it 115-112 for Froch (Dirrell won the other card 114-113). Even stranger, almost all the media had Froch winning a fight in which he did almost nothing in the first eight rounds. Although punch stats were not kept, it was clear that Dirrell, although running and holding, was the only guy landing any shots. Froch did get to him later on, but it seems Dirrell was unfairly penalized for his fight strategy; boxing fans were incredulous, which led to several interesting chats and blogs arguing that Dirrell was the obvious victor despite press assertions to the contrary. Just watch the end of the fight; Froch didn’t look at all like he thought he’d won, and the hush over the pro-Froch Nottingham crowd was palpable. Many boxing writers say that crowds don’t score fights, but boxing fans know who won individual rounds. It has been written here before that Dirrell is a frustrating enigma, which he still is. But he still looked to be the better man this night, and got a big goose egg for it.

3. Ahh, but at least he’s more coherent than George Foreman

Showtime’s newly added third man on the announce team (along with “Captain Coronary” Gus Johnson and Steve Farhood), former light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver, has impressed with his knowledge and ability to spot trends in fights. But like any rookie, you had to know there would be a few rookie moments. He may not have thrown five interceptions like first-year New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez last Sunday, but he did manage to combine Carl Froch’s name and call him “Crotch” live during the postfight analysis. Although he corrected himself a few seconds later, I’m sure this had to bring back painful memories for Froch of being teased at school; perhaps that’s why he became a boxer, huh? Give Tarver a mulligan, but be happy he didn’t have to pronounce the names of Frankie Tucker or Shawn Pitt, two boxers of the last twenty years. Then again, this is Showtime, home of the “L” Word and the Tudors, right? I guess we’re lucky Tarver didn’t try to get it on with the ring card girl! Ahh, premium cable – it’s not just for boxing.


4. The future of the heavyweight division…

In the heavyweight era of the Klitschko’s, both of whom are in their late 30’s, the fight game has been starving for young challengers. Lately, however, most of these Next Generation of boxing big boys has turned out to be more talk than talent. Does anyone really think that Kevin Johnson, Alex Povetkin or Tony Thompson are boxing’s next wave? Ruslan Chagaev, Alexander Dimitrenko and Sam Peter had that designation at one point, as well. Yawn. Thankfully, there may be some hope on the horizon. October 10th showcased both Cuban Odlanier Solis obliterating division gatekeeper Monte Barrett on the Juan Manuel Lopez-Rogers Mtagwa undercard, plus exciting Russian puncher Denis Boytsov knocking down overmatched Jason Gavern six times in Mecklenberg, Germany. While it’s too early to tell whether these two will go the way of any of the fighters mentioned above, both have excellent power, and created exciting knockouts of their opponents. Both have hand speed and accuracy rare in a heavyweight. While Solis came in too heavy at 271 and Boytsov’s biggest opponent to date is Taras Bidenko, both these deficiencies can be rectified. And the best part? The both look to have that something special others only wish for. Now that Cris Arreola has lost his Klitschko bid, maybe one of these two will challenge down the road.

5. …and the heavyweight past that should stay that way

All right, you knew it would happen, didn’t you? Just when it was safe to talk about Solis and Boytsov and the future of the heavyweight division, boxing fans are treated to Shannon Briggs’ comeback the same weekend. Really? You mean the Shannon Briggs that couldn’t hang with Sultan “What, me, hepatitis?” Ibragimov? Since his loss to Jameel McCline back in 2002, Briggs has racked up victories against the likes of Jeff Pegues, Wade Lewis, John Sargent, Luciano Zolyone and Chris Koval. Those names might be the lineup of the next season of VH1’s Tool Academy for all most boxing fans have heard of them. Yeah, Briggs did beat Sergey Lyakhovich, who might be working in a Russian Waffle House because no one has heard from him since. Now at 37, what is Briggs going to accomplish at this point? All comebacks must be measured against beating the Klitschko’s, and if Ibragimov couldn’t come close, what makes Briggs think he would be any different? His new manager, Ivaylo Gotzev, said, “We want to see how Vitali (Klitschko) feels when he's looking at an opponent, eye to eye, who can punch harder and faster than he can." Yes, Ivaylo, so do we; that guy sure as hell isn’t Briggs, though. The only chance Briggs has of knocking either Klitschko out is if he puts some of Antonio Margarito’s plaster of Paris in his dreadlocks!

The Finito Q & A – October edition

While Juan Manuel Lopez may look confidently victorious here, he was anything but in the final round of his fight Saturday with Rogers Mtagwa. Whether the aura of invincibility will be gone from Juanma remains to be seen.

This month’s bevy of burning fistic questions, from Juanma’s weekend walk on Queer Street to a UFC-boxing dinner date:

Q: Wow, now that was some high drama at the end of the Juan Manuel Lopez-Rogers Mtagwa fight! Did you see this one coming?

A: No way, and neither did anyone else, for that matter. Juanma was absolutely a punch or two away from losing the fight in round twelve, but Mtagwa, who had been throwing bombs all fight, finally ran out of steam. If the fight had gone 30 seconds longer, it’s likely the Ghanaian would have won. Lopez got absolutely rocked about ten times between round seven and the final bell, and it was a testament to his fighter’s heart that he gutted out the fight until the end. All credit to him.

Q: OK, so is Mtagwa that good, or are there now some chinks in Juanma the Terminator’s armor?

A: This one is really hard to tell. Mtagwa had 13 losses coming into the fight, but most were a result of early mismanagement. You have to believe that living and fighting out of Philly has made him the real deal, and that he’d be a handful for anyone at 122 pounds. However, I’m not sure if this was Juanma just taking Mtagwa too lightly, or if this is a roadmap to beating Lopez. I’ll tell you this: Lopez got hit with a ton of wide, looping shots that someone on the P4P list has no business getting hit with. If he can’t get avoid those shots from Mtagwa, imagine what Celestino Caballero or Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym would do to him.

Q: After the fight, Top Rank chief Bob Arum spewed forth his usual invectives, saying how bad referee Eddie Cotton was, as well as the judges. Any credence to his complaints?

A: A little, but Arum is so full of crap most of the time, I can’t believe he doesn’t attract flies. First off, Cotton wasn’t very good as usual, and looked like he did miss a couple of possible knockdowns that were ruled slips. He also allowed Mtagwa punches after the bell repeatedly, and a few headbutts. However, he gave Juanma TONS of leeway when it appeared he was out on his feet at the end of the fight, so I don’t know how Arum could be too upset. As far as the scores go, he was way off base. I keep reading about how Lopez’ early lead carried him to the decision; sorry, but if your “early lead” is only six rounds, and the other guy beats your rear end for the other six, that’s a draw. Yeah, Lopez had a knockdown, but the last round could easily be scored 10-8 for Mtagwa. I have no real issue with the scoring (116-111, 115-111, 114-113), but the idea that 114-113 is a bad score is totally ridiculous.

Q: Was it as ridiculous as play-by-play man Al Bernstein calling Juanma Juan “Manual” Lopez the whole fight?

A: Not quite, but it’s up there. You’d think a guy who’s covered boxing since the ‘70s would know how to pronounce a Latino name or two. I can’t believe color man Raul Marquez didn’t correct him at some point; it was getting annoying. I like Bernstein a lot, but he really needs to consult his Spanish pronunciation “Manuel”!

Q: In other news of the shocking sort, Jorge Linares got knocked out this weekend by unheralded Juan Carlos Salgado. Does this mean Linares was just a bunch of hype?

A: First off, it’s amazing how everyone has flown into full panic now that boxing’s Next Great Thing has a stunning loss. Yes, it was a shocking result, but for anyone who watched the fight, this was not Marcos Maidana beating down Victor Ortiz for three rounds en route to a stoppage. Basically, Linares got caught with a flush left he never saw coming, and couldn’t recover quickly enough. Salgado never beat him up, nor really did anything but land that one punch. Things like this happen to the best of fighters (remember Wladamir Klitschko losing in two rounds to Corrie Sanders?), so it’s better to wait and see how Linares does in a rematch. We’ll know more then.

Q: Speaking of rematches, are we going to see Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez 4, or is Izzy a spent fighter at this point?

A: Judging from Vazquez’ comeback fight against Angel Priolo Saturday, it doesn’t look good right now. Although Vazquez finally got the KO in the ninth round, he took far too many punches, got cut and generally looked very rusty. Priolo had lost six fights in a row (yes, you read that right), and the Vazquez that beat Marquez and Jhonny Gonzalez would have wiped the mat with this guy. It may just be ring rust which will improve with time, but if he can’t avoid any punches, he should call it a career. Izzy is too good of a guy and respected ring warrior to sound like Meldrick Taylor in ten years.

Q: All right, on to the event everyone’s talking about: the Super Six kicks off this weekend. Who ya got?

A: Regardless which fighter I pick, the fun part of this is that anyone could win any of these fights; it’s really difficult to pick a winner. But since you put my feet to the fire, I like Arthur Abraham over Jermain Taylor by KO, Carl Froch to knockout Andre Dirrell, and in November, Andre Ward over Mikkel Kessler via upset decision. Honestly, I think Ward will be the best of the lot in five years. One thing is for certain: Whoever wins this tournament is going to end up on the P4P list, with a whole lot of cash in his pocket.

Q: What about Allan Green’s constant assertion that he belongs in the Super Six? Should he be in?

A: Well, Green had a chance to make a statement against Tarvis Simms 10 days or so ago on Shobox, and the only statement he made was that he complains a lot. To make his case, he should have steamrolled Simms, but instead, he ended up getting hit a lot en route to a lackluster victory. And for those Green supporters who say he nearly shut out Simms, ask yourself this: Could you see Abraham or Froch letting Simms hang around for ten rounds? Besides, with that performance, here’s betting that Lucien Bute’ just got a bit more interested in defending his title against Green. Green should just be happy if he gets that fight.

Q: Is there really going to be anyone paying actual money for a Hector Camacho, Jr. – Yori Boy Campas PPV?

A: Maybe the same people who bought Camacho’s old man fighting Campas earlier this year, or members of their families. Campas is so over the hill, he gets calls from Evander Holyfield telling him to hang up the gloves. Really, who in their right mind would pay for this? They should give us money to sit through this crap. What’s the venue? Camacho’s back yard? The best part of the promotion though, was Junior saying emphatically that Campas is not on his level. Hey, guess what? I’ll go on the record right now as saying that Campas is nowhere near as good at the biathlon as I am! Yeesh.

Q: Apparently Floyd Mayweather has offered the olive branch to UFC head Dana White, inviting him to dinner to bury the hatchet after their harsh words regarding each other’s sports recently. Good idea?

A. I don’t even know where to start with this one. I guess it would be amazing on some level to see two of the biggest horse’s rear ends in all of sports at one table, but that’s about it. Actually, the person I would feel sorry for the most is the waiter at the restaurant. Not only do you have to decipher what White ordered in between his constant f-words, then you have to put up with “Money” Mayweather’s tip being taken back by the IRS before you can even get your hands on it!

Time for British boxing to climb out of the Stone Age

British heavweight John McDermott tries in vain to explain how referee Terry O'Conner awarded the decision to Tyson Fury in their September fight. His promoter Frank Maloney (left) probably thinks explaining quantum physics would be easier.

Imagine this scenario: It’s a prime-time matchup in the NBA, with a Los Angeles Lakers-Cleveland Cavaliers tilt in Staples Center (the Lakers’ home arena) that has everyone buzzing. It’s a nip-and-tuck affair with Kobe Bryant and LeBron James trading highlight reel moves. At the buzzer, Daniel Gibson of the Cavs hits a 3-pointer, tying the score at 103-103 at the end of regulation. Time to go to the judges to render a decision on which team has won the game. With a groan from the crowd, the head referee raises James’ hand, signifying a Cavaliers’ victory.

Later, all three officials are talking about the game. “Well, I hope I got that one right,” says the head referee. “I seemed to be working baseline most of the night, so I didn’t see how the guards played all that much.” The second referee chimes in. “Wow, that’s what surprised me, then, because Derek Fisher was excellent. He must have had 20 tonight.”

“Really?” the head referee says. “I was too busy looking at Shaq dominating the paint to notice all that, I guess.”

“Yes, and did you see Kobe hit a bunch of shots over Lebron James, too?” says the third official. “I was totally surprised it was so one-sided.”

The head referee looks at the other two. “Boy, I wish all three of us could have had votes. Looks like the Lakers would have won the game otherwise. I don’t know how I’m supposed to pay attention to everything on the court when my job requires me to officiate only certain pieces of it. This is ridiculous.”

Sound silly? Well, in Britain, this scenario plays itself out in hundreds of fights every year. In the case of September 11th’s John McDermott fight with rising British heavyweight Tyson Fury, it’s clear to see why that needs to change.

As nearest that can be determined, the British Boxing Board Of Control (BBBofC) is the only commission in the world that allows referees to be the sole arbiters of fights (if the fight is governed by another sanctioning body, however, the traditional three-judge system is used). This has been going on since the formation of the BBBofC in 1919, and with it has come numerous controversies and questionable decisions.

In the case of the McDermott-Fury fight, the veteran McDermott battered the much-hyped Fury around the ring for ten rounds, out landing the young heavyweight 114-104. McDermott’s 34% connect rate overshadowed the mere 18% displayed by Fury. The majority of Fury’s connects, however, were in the first four rounds, when the bout was much more competitive. From round five on, McDermott was landing the far more telling blows, and Fury’s face looked like it had been blown up with helium by fight’s end. Nearly everyone in Essex’ Brentwood Centre figured that McDermott finally got the big victory he had been starving for in his somewhat underachieving career.

Then, only a second after the final bell rang, referee Terry O’Connor raised Fury’s hand, as if it had been obvious all along who the winner was. Furthermore, O’Conner had inexplicably turned in a 98-92 scorecard for Fury, when the closest press row score had been a draw. Expectedly, McDermott’s camp went nuts, with his promoter Frank Maloney calling for an investigation (he even had a heart attack during the fight!). As of this writing, the BBBofC has granted McDermott a rematch due to the controversy.

The problem with all this is that if there had been three judges, the result likely wouldn’t have happened. The reason the three-judge system evolved in the first place was in case there was a hometown judge or a bad scorecard was submitted. The two judges would overrule the third. To further the objectivity, the judges were then seated on different sides of the ring. Although bad decisions happen in boxing all the time, it’s much harder to have two or three judges screw it all up than a single referee.

The logic of having a referee score a fight is spurious at best, anyway. There are many referees who also judge in the United States, but they either do one or the other. This is ostensibly because it’s too difficult to do both at the same time. As in the NBA scenario, think of the numerous things a referee has to think about during a fight; health of the fighter, low blows, holding, cuts, equipment and canvas conditions, etc. All this, and the referee is supposed to keep track of landed punches? How many times has a referee missed a knockdown call or low blow because he or she was out of position? Extrapolating that out, how many punches might a referee miss? A boxing referee has too much to worry about without having that extra duty.

One must also take into account if a corner or referee has a grudge or is angered by a fighter during a fight, such as when a corner argues with a referee. In this case, O’Conner had lost to McDermott’s dad as a professional. While no one thinks there was any impropriety for that reason, if O’Conner had decided to stick it to his conqueror’s son, there would be no other judges to overrule that decision. If O’Conner had given Fury those rounds because he didn’t particularly like the color of McDermott’s trunks, there would be nothing to stop him.

Let’s put it this way: The reason wooden tennis racquets are no longer used is because they’re obsolete; composite racquets are much better now. The BBBofC needs get with the times and start using a three-judge system like everyone else; it may not be a perfect system, but it’s the best there is right now. Bad decisions are too frequent in the fight game already; there’s no reason to heighten that chance by having a single referee with tons of other duties also determine the winner.

The Finito Five 9/25/09

Floyd Mayweather had all the right moves against former 135-pounder Juan Manuel Marquez, but will he take those moves and fight Shane Mosley, who is a natural 147-pounder?

Back like Pretty Boy Floyd, it’s the Finito Five!

1. Mayweather is money while Mosley looks to cash in

Floyd Mayweather grates on a lot of boxing fans. The trash talk, the false bravado, the legal and IRS troubles, the ducking of fighters his own weight. Well, likable or not, Pretty Boy Floyd is one of the greatest talents of a generation, perhaps second only to Roy Jones (who also has known to frustrate a boxing fan a time or two himself). As great as Juan Manuel Marquez is, and he will have a plaque in Canestota, he was reduced to a no-hoper just a few rounds in by the superb fistic acumen of Mayweather during their welterweight clash Saturday night. Marquez likely has never seen hands that fast at 130 pounds, let alone at 147. Mayweather just moved out of the way of the Mexican’s punches, then countered with a couple of his own; this dance went on for all twelve rounds, interrupted only when Mayweather scored a knockdown in round two. Marquez was out landed by almost 200 punches, scoring only 69 of his own. Although most expected Floyd to win, the sheer dominance and lack of ring rust was astonishing nonetheless. Give it to Marquez for going the distance, but this was a squash from the word go.

As a matter of fact, the most intriguing part of the fight might well have been the post-fight interview, where Ring Magazine welterweight champion Shane Mosley stormed the ring, calling out Mayweather with a little help from HBO’s Max Kellerman. Mayweather, who shook hands with Mosley, then proceeded with the standard line of my promoter makes my fights, I just fight – as if Floyd had no say in the matter. While Mosley is obviously just looking for a dance partner, as he has had none for some months now, it is doubtful that the fight would ever happen. Say what you will, but Mayweather doesn’t like to fight true 147-pounders, and Mosley has been there for quite some time. The size difference between Mayweather and Marquez was stark, and Mayweather’s prima donna move of coming in two pounds heavy disadvantaged Marquez even more. Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto and Mosley will not have just moved up from 130 pounds, so it will be interesting to see what “Money” does from here.

2. HBO needs to invent a Mayweather-to-English dictionary

HBO’s 24/7 series is always a welcome addition to any superfight, giving fans unmatched insight into each fighter’s camps prior to the main event. Mayweather-Marquez 24/7 was no different, complete with Marquez drinking his own urine and eating raw quail eggs as his preparation and training regimen. Yes, before you ask, we’ll never look at Marquez kissing his wife the same way again. The big gripe was, though, all the Spanish speakers on the program had English subtitles; where were the subtitles for Roger and Floyd Mayweather, Sr.? Seriously, has anyone understood a complete sentence either guy has said in the last ten years? These two make Ozzy Osbourne sound like William F. Buckley! Listening to Roger pontificate about Sugar Ray Robinson, it was unclear whether he thought Robinson was the greatest fighter of all time or an egg salad sandwich. Was it too many headshots for both guys during their careers? Hard to say, but if they showed up at a rehab clinic and merely opened their mouths, they’d likely get admitted right away.

3. Undercard musings

It’s always welcomed when a PPV event such as Mayweather-Marquez has quality undercard fights making it worth the $50 price tag (OK, maybe not worth that much!). In this case, there were two good ones. First, Michael Katsidis, huge tattoo on his back and all, tattooed fellow lightweight Vincente Escobido in a fight that surprised a fair number of people. Although the fight was more competitive than many Internet and newspaper reports have said, Katsidis was still too tough and determined for the overwhelmed Escobido. Look, Katsidis fights the same way every fight; to hang with him, you have to match his work rate and intensity for twelve rounds, and land the more telling shots. Escobido didn’t, and he lost. Also on the card, featherweight Chris John finally got the unanimous decision he deserved over Rocky Juarez after that gift draw in February. Not sure how one judge had it 119-109 for John after Juarez, like he always does, came on after his one millionth slow start and had John holding on for dear life in the final minute of the fight. Man, imagine what Rocky could do if he could manage to win an early round or two! We might be saying, “Manny who?”

4. Shobox rules the roost once again

Does anyone remember HBO’s KO Nation show? Yeah, that was HBO’s answer to Showtime’s new Shobox program, both meant to showcase up-and-coming talent facing off against each other. While KO Nation was complete with dancing girls, fireworks, and hip-hop music, Shobox simply focused on putting together great fights. Well, we know how that turned out (KO Nation didn’t last a year), and last Friday’s Shobox continued to remind fight fans why it’s always worth tuning in. Bantamweight Chris Avalos will soon be must-see TV because this guy is never in a bad fight. His fourth-round KO of Giovanni Caro was a real smoker from the first bell, as both fighters traded so much leather, you would have thought they were breaking in their gloves on a new heavybag. Avalos’ final right hand looked like it was going to remove Caro’s head from his shoulders. That fight was followed by heavyweight Tony Grano’s upset KO of Travis Kauffmann, also in round four. Kauffmann hadn’t yet fought any real competition, but he soon had Grano taking a left on Queer Street at the start of round four. Grano then smartly hit him low and spit out his mouthpiece, giving himself valuable time to recover, then pressed the attack on Kauffmann, taking him out after a furious assault. Kauffmann certainly didn’t see it coming, and neither did the audience. But that’s Shobox; they understand that good matchmaking likely makes for a good result, even if the fighters aren’t top-shelf. Here’s hoping the show lasts another ten years, with Nick Charles back and cancer-free.

5. Bad boxing decisions are evidently not good for one’s health

Teddy Atlas famously once said about his heavyweight pupil Michael Moorer that if he ever had a heart attack, he would blame it on having to train the former champion. While that might seem a little farfetched, try telling that to British boxing promoter Frank Maloney, who apparently did have a heart attack during the heavyweight fight between John McDermott and Tyson Fury on Sept. 11. It’s not known when the actual heart attack occurred, but if it was anytime around when clueless referee Terry O’Connor raised Fury’s hand after Fury got his rear end handed to him by McDermott over ten rounds, it would be understandable. It’s another argument completely why British boxing lets the referee decide the fight (which will be discussed in an upcoming Finito), but at least Maloney braved the possible Big One for a classic postfight quote. “He didn’t even have a mask on,” Maloney said of O’Conner. “Dick Turpin (famous English highway robber of the 1700’s) at least wears a mask when he robs you.”

The Finito Q & A – September edition

Roy Jones may have dressed like a pirate prior to his fight with Jeff Lacy, but he at least lived up to his Captain Hook moniker during their the twelve round fight. Lacy looked more like Black (and blue) Bart after the bout.

Tackling the most pressing questions the fight game has to offer:

Q: Three blogs since the start of July? Just what the hell were you doing all summer?

A: Sorry about that. Truth is, I spent most of my summer moving, which was longer and more arduous than expected. Let me tell you, after not having moved for eight years, I can’t believe how much worthless crap I’ve acquired in that time. Just boxing magazines alone (I still really miss Bert Sugar’s Fight Game, by the way) made me realize my back isn’t what it used to be in my 20’s. Besides, with the dearth of good fights this summer, I guess I don’t feel bad taking the summer off - the promoters apparently took it off, as well.

Q: OK, back to boxing, you slacker. Whatever happened to Roy Jones not fighting past 35?

A: Well, apparently Roy is not Lennox Lewis. Remember, Bernard Hopkins said he’d retire at 40, as well. The lure of the money and accolades are too much for most fighters, and judging from Roy’s dismantling of Jeff Lacy, he’s still pretty good for 40 years old.

Q: So Roy Jones is back to being the old Roy Jones, then? He said as much in the postfight interview.

A: Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. Jeff Lacy is completely shot, even though he looks like a greek god. Although Roy still has good hand speed, Lacy has zero power at 175, as evidenced by the flush headshots he landed on Roy that Jones barely noticed. If that was Chad Dawson or Carl Froch landing those shots, Jones would likely be in a heap on the canvas. As long as Roy takes on this sort of opposition (like Danny Green, his next reported fight), he can fight for a few more years yet.

Q: Going back a few weeks, just how bad a screw job did Paulie Malignaggi get against Juan Diaz?

A: Not the worst I’ve ever seen, but pretty bad nonetheless. Unfortunately, the way Malignaggi fights, he’ll always go the distance, and the law of averages will say he’ll be on the business end of a broomsticking a few times. Still, when he basically explained prior to the fight exactly how he’d get screwed, and it happened exactly that way, that’s not good for boxing. What this does is seriously hurt Diaz’ ability to bring big fights back to Texas, because no one outside of the state will trust that commission.

Q: You’ve been all over Julio Ceasar Chavez, Jr. in previous blogs. Does his smoking of Jason LeHoullier finally convince you Junior is for real?

A: Look, I never said JC Jr. wasn’t talented; I just need to see him in a real fight. His supporters claim that flattening LeHoullier, who has a sturdy chin, inside of a round shows how good Chavez has become. While all of that is fine, let’s now get in the ring with Felix Sturm or Anthony Mundine. It’s time we see what Chavez can do against top ten guys – we already know what he can do with mid-level opposition. Otherwise, if all he’s going to do are these PPV fights, who cares how good he is or isn’t? Unless it’s against real competition eventually, it’s a moot point.

Q: So how lucky was Fernando Montiel to escape his fight against Alex Valdez with a technical draw Saturday night on the Chavez undercard?

A: Let’s put it this way, he must have made a quick trip to Ireland on Friday to kiss the Blarney stone. How “Cochulito” managed to escape the beating he was taking from Valdez without losing would make Harry Houdini proud. Of course Montiel got help from some incompetent officiating by referee Jesus Salcedo, who decided that after Montiel got cut in the first round by an obvious punch, he just didn’t need to inform anyone whether it was caused by a punch or not. It was an interesting scene after the fight ended in round three due to the cut, because no one had any idea what Salcedo had actually ruled. It was first called a technical draw, then changed to a KO win for Valdez, then back to a draw after the commission said they made a mistake. Valdez and his team were understandably ticked off; Montiel was just lucky he looked so terrible and got away with it.

Q: And what about Ivan Calderon and Rodel Mayol going to a second straight technical draw due to another cut on Calderon’s forehead? Weird, huh?

A: If styles make fights, the styles between these two 108-pounders make for a busted Calderon forehead. The only difference was the first fight was stopped in round six, this one in round seven. This time around, though, I thought that Calderon was headed towards putting this one away, had it gone the distance. Still, if you had gone to Vegas and bet this result, you’d be able to buy the arena for the third fight between these two!

Q: Andre Ward and Mikkel Kessler took care of business in their tune-ups, and are ready to face each other in November. So, are you excited for the Super Six tournament?

A: Are you kidding? This is the coolest thing to happen to boxing since Compubox! Man, think about it; Arthur Abraham-Jermain Taylor and Carl Froch-Andre Dirrell next month, followed by Ward-Kessler a month later. That’s some serious talent on display. Showtime really hit the jackpot with this one, which they routinely seem to do. They may not have the budget HBO does, but quick, name the bad fights you’ve seen in the last two years on Showtime Championship Boxing – it’s a short list. The network has really done boxing fans a favor here.

Q: After watching the Mayweather-Marquez 24/7 series so far, what do you find harder to fathom - that Marquez drinks his own urine, or that Roger Mayweather wants “to be good people”?

A: Well, these are two different things. We have video evidence of Marquez drinking his own urine; as for the other, Mayweather can desire to be the Eiffel Tower, but I’ll believe it when I see it. Sorry (and maybe I sound like everybody’s grandfather here), but you can’t have gone to jail for assault on your son’s grandmother and be up for yet another assault and be on the good person list. The whole Mayweather clan is about as likeable as swine flu.

Q: You know this would have to be asked sooner or later – do you buy Marquez’ assertion that he drinks his urine to recover his lost vitamins and proteins?

A: That’s like picking through the garbage in case you left some edible food in the trash bag, isn’t it? You certainly can do it, but it’s much easier to go to the store and get new food. Urine is a waste product for a reason; if there are vitamins and proteins lost, then get take some Centrum and eat a freakin’ turkey sandwich! It’s much easier and tastier. Unfortunately, as much as I have loved Marquez for years, whenever I see him now, the pee drinking will be the first thing I think of. Hope he gets an endorsement deal out of this from Scope or something. Yeesh.

Antonio Margarito and Top Rank just don’t get it

You would think this scene between Antonio Margarito and his trainer Javier Capetillo would never be seen again; to this point, however, Margarito has not fired the trainer who supposedly put plaster in his gloves without his knowledge.

Two weeks ago this Saturday, with more than a few last-minute rearrangements, Top Rank’s Latin Fury 10 Pay-Per-View event commenced. The scheduled main event featuring Julio Ceasar Chavez, Jr. against Jason LeHoullier had to be scrapped due to a rib injury to Chavez (although there were reports rib and everything else was way over the 154-pound limit). In its place, Miguel Acosta’s upset of Urbano Antillon at lightweight took the top spot, a rather unexpected and exciting scrap that ended up with Antillion losing via TKO in the ninth round.

However, it was the fight prior to the main event that had everyone talking.

Up and coming 108-pounder Giovani Segura pounded out a solid defense of his jr. flyweight title against Juanito Rubillar, which was expected. Perhaps unexpected was not only the appearance of disgraced trainer Javier Capetillo in Segura’s corner, but also of the fighter supposedly so greatly wronged by Capetillo, one Antonio Margarito.

And it wasn’t as if Margarito accidentally tripped over a tanning Capetillo by the hotel pool in Puerto Vallarta, either. Not only was Margarito in Segura’s dressing room and in his corner, he actually appeared to be with Capetillo, talking with fighter and trainer both, acting as if he was part of the entourage.

How could Margarito show up with Capetillo on an internationally televised Top Rank telecast, you ask? Wasn’t Margarito claiming up, down and sideways that he had no knowledge of the plaster put in his gloves by Capetillo during his fight with Sugar Shane Mosley earlier this year? Now that Margarito is banned from boxing in the United States for a year and likely more, shouldn’t he want to punch his trainer out for ruining his career and reputation?

Guess not.

The whole production stunk so badly, it was a wonder the fight didn’t take place in a port-a-john. There was so much brain fade going on, you almost have to break down the stupidity piece-by-piece:

1. Antonio Margarito

Let’s just ignore the obvious questions above, and assume for a minute that Margarito is actually still friends with Capetillo, and is not mad with him because they were both in on the plaster wraps against Mosley. If Margarito wanted everyone to believe his lie about being innocent, why in the hell would he be anywhere near Capetillo, especially on TV? It makes his story look like a complete sham! Just for appearances, if nothing else, he should be miles away from Capetillo so he could get his boxing license back. Sure, Capetillo would take the fall, but at least Margarito would have a boxing future. Does he think the California Athletic Commission doesn’t watch Pay-per-view boxing or something? How is Margarito going to explain his chumminess with his trainer, who he hasn’t yet even fired? If Margarito were smart, he’d be off TV and off anyone’s radar until his hearing next year.

2. Javier Capetillo

Apparently, Capetillo couldn’t care less whether his fighters box in the States or not, especially since he won’t be there. Instead of taking his medicine and hoping not to end up like Panama Lewis (unable to work another fighter’s corner ever again), Capetillo continues to work fights as if nothing has happened. Since he can work in Mexico (which is a whole other ridiculous subject), his doing so is essentially thumbing his nose at California’s ruling, making it almost a certainty that he will never be reinstated north of the border. If he wants to decide to do that himself, that’s fine, but it’s asinine to think this won’t affect his fighters and their paydays, which are likely bigger in the U.S. If he really cared for Margarito, he’d tell his fighter to stay the heck away from him. He’s either not smart enough to figure that out, or he really doesn’t care what happens to his fighter’s career.

3. Top Rank

The worst part of this whole debacle is that Top Rank actually gave the go ahead for Margarito and Capetillo to be on the telecast together! Seriously, did they think no one would notice, or did they just not care? It was awful enough listening to Bernard Osuna (who’s becoming this generation’s Col. Bob Sheridan) and Raul Marquez (who I expect better from) heap platitudes and compliments on Capetillo as he worked the corner, making almost no mention of how disgraced the man is in boxing circles. The fact Margarito was there didn’t seem at all strange to anyone, either. Maybe since Bob Arum and Top Rank was paying their salaries, that was to be expected; Arum, however, should know better. If Capetillo and Margarito aren’t bright enough to stay away from each other, Arum, who is a smart businessman, should have told them to make like John and Kate (without the 8). You would think Arum would do everything possible to make sure Margarito gets reinstated, therefore making more money for Top Rank. Instead, they televise the ill-advised reunion for the entire world to see.

If nothing else, it will be interesting to see all three parties standing before the California Athletic Commission next year. Watching Margarito explain how he’s still close the man who essentially ruined his boxing career, a fact he cannot deny thanks to his promoter putting it on TV, should be captivating. It sure looks like not only that Antonio Margarito won’t save himself from himself, neither his trainer nor his promoter will, either.

The Finito Five 7/15/09

Bantamweight Joseph "King Kong" Agbeko celebrates a hard-fought victory over Vic Darchinyan Saturday. Despite what Agbeko and promoter Don King intimated after the fight, referee Tommy Kimmons is not a member of Darchinyan's family nor does he get a monthly stipend from the Armenian.

This week’s mid-summer thoughts from a strawweight brain…

1. King Darchinyan gets Konged

Even the most hardcore boxing fans were unsure of what was coming from Joseph “King Kong” Agbeko prior to his first headlining fight against former flyweight ruler Vic Darchinyan Saturday night. Although his only loss was a disputed one to Wladamir Sidorenko five years ago, half of his fights had been against fighters with less than five total bouts, most in Africa. And this was Vic Darchinyan, who has demolished everyone he’s stepped into the ring with not named Nonito Donaire. While Doniare is a top ten pound-for-pound fighter, Darchinyan was at least top twenty; with all the hype surrounding Agbeko, how would he look? The answer was nothing short of superb, as he took apart the Armenian over twelve tough rounds; Agbeko actually beat up Darchinyan worse than even Donaire, and had Vic looking like he met a plate glass window at 90 m.p.h. by fight’s end. While Darchinyan landed some good shots, they never seemed to hurt the Ghanaian at all. Considering how Darchinyan recently picked apart the excellent Christian Mijares, Agbeko clearly beat a very dangerous fighter. Agbeko will soon find his way into the pound-for-pound rankings with another win like this one.

While the greatest of all apes has shown to be clearly on the upswing, what to make of Darchinyan now? Although Vic is usually a ridiculous loudmouth prior to any fight he’s in, he did own up to his performance afterward and admit that he had not done enough to win. Most boxing people think coming up in weight hurt him, as Agbeko has been a natural bantamweight his whole career, and Darchinyan’s flyweight power didn’t translate so well at the heavier weight. That may be, but Darchinyan has never shown any ability to adjust within a fight; he just tries to get in and eventually land the huge left. While that has worked in the past, bigger, better fighters won’t fall for that so easily. Darchinyan will need a more complete game if he wants to continue to be a factor at bantamweight or above.

2. Don King lives in a reality different from the rest of us

As tough and foul-filled as the fight between Agbeko and Darchinyan was, only Don King could somehow find a conspiracy against his winning fighter. Oh yes, before the scorecards were even so much as tabulated (and they were a little too close), Captain Hairdo was in the corner telling Agbeko how he had to fight two opponents that night: Darchinyan and referee Tommy Kimmons. Now, granted, Kimmons made a horrible knockdown call in the seventh round after Darchinyan pushed Agbeko to the canvas and grazed the back of his head on the way down, but these things happen in boxing, as well as in all sports. To hear King tell it, Kimmons had $100 large on Darchinyan, and was dead set on a vacation in St. Croix after the fight. Agbeko may be King Kong, but it was monkey-see, monkey-do afterwards, too, as Agbeko kept carping about Kimmons to the press until everyone was sick of hearing it. Sure, Don, like all those fifty cuts on Darchinyan’s face were caused only by punches! One thing we learned from the fight is that both guys like to use their heads, so enough of that talk. Besides, Agbeko’s biggest opponent upcoming might well be King’s ability to bury fighters with inactivity. We’ll see who ultimately wins that battle.

3. The heavyweight division gets interesting? Really?

Just when I start groaning and moaning about the lack of anything exciting in the heavyweight division (oh, like in the last Finito Five, perhaps), Eddie Chambers rises up from the ashes and gives us something to talk about! After the entirely too-heavy Chambers showed up in the 220’s against equally fat Sam Peter in March, a slim, trim 208-pound version stepped into a German ring 10 days ago to face the formidable Alexander Dimitrenko. And this lighter version was entirely too fast for the Klitschko-clone Dimitrenko, who at 6’7”, figured to do to Chambers what we’ve seen in so many Klitschko fights, where the bigger man pummels the smaller one. Chambers, however, has hand speed that many middleweights would kill for, and he thoroughly flummoxed his larger opponent, so much so that Dimitrenko was just trying not to get popped by punches he never saw coming. Now, Chambers had has weight and focus problems before, but if he can get his act together, this could be a preview of what he might do to either Klitschko brother (yes, I said it!). Now, no one’s saying Dimitrenko is a Klitschko, but wouldn’t it be interesting to see what Chambers would do against them? My guess is at the very least, it would be no easy night for Wlad or Vitali.

4. Winning is just for losers

During any fight, fighters are often criticized for not doing enough to win. Some criticisms are realistic, some are not, but most fighters give it their best to try and win. Then there was Antonio DeMarco’s lightweight victory over Benin’s (that’s in Africa, for those who failed geography) Anges Adjaho, where both fighters decided that winning was secondary to looking like a total idiot. DeMarco, who had previously talked about bringing the fight, punishment, Mexican warrior, this and that, had Adjaho seriously hurt at least twice in the fight (after the Mexican did almost nothing in giving away the early rounds) and inexplicably took his foot off the gas each time. This allowed Adjaho to subsequently win rounds, and actually pull ahead in the fight. If that wasn’t bad enough, the African then decided to throw all of that into the trash; as he was rocked a third time and knocked down by DeMarco in round nine, Adjaho decided he’d been hit illegally while he was on the canvas. I guess it didn’t matter to him that referee Tellis Assemenios correctly ruled the punch was prior to Adjaho’s knee touching and started to count the knockdown, Adjaho then turned face down on the canvas and acted like he’d just come down with botchulism. Umm, Anges, the referee was still counting… So when the confused Assemenios reached ten and the fight was over, Adjaho jumped up (he’s healed – praise the Lord!) in protest. What in the world did he think Assemenios was counting for? The number of ring-card girls he’d like to go home with? If the referee is counting, you better get up, whether you agree with it or not; it’s not like he’ll restart the fight for you after some coffee and discussion. So DeMarco got a win he probably didn’t deserve, but Adjaho certainly deserved it less. Yeesh!

5. Two that were taken from us far too early

While the time in and around July 4th is a great time of celebration here in the States, the two weeks since the beginning of the month have not been very celebratory for boxing fans. On the 1st we lost perhaps the greatest featherweight of a generation, Alexis Arguello, apparently by suicide. As if that wasn’t hard enough to deal with, there was Friday’s tragic death of Arturo Gatti, perhaps the greatest warrior of this or any other generation. It has come out since then that Gatti was perhaps murdered by his Brazilian wife while on vacation in the country, adding even more sting to an already grieving boxing public. The hardest part of all this is that all we want to do is remember the great thrills these two gave us. Arguello fought before my time, but his videos of his legendary fights with Aaron Pryor and Alfredo Escalera still show the greatness of “The Explosive Thin Man”, a man who would dominate so many in the division even today. And Gatti, of course, with a warrior’s heart, was almost never in a bad fight; packed with last-minute power and a desire to win despite the odds, he thrilled any fan that was lucky enough to see him fight. His trilogy with Mickey Ward will forever be part of boxing history. Even though these two fighters had retired, they were both great ambassadors to the sport, albeit with demons that they tried so hard to overcome. That may be what made them so dear to boxing fans. They will be sorely, sorely missed.

What to do when Victor isn’t the victor

While junior welterweight Victor Ortiz has the looks and the style of a champion, does he have the heart? As his fight against Marcos Maidana showed, he's definitely not in Kansas anymore.

Ten days ago, Golden Boy Promotions sent their can’t-miss prospect, junior welterweight Victor Ortiz, into a Los Angeles ring to face Marcos Maidana. Although Maidana is a skilled fighter that gave Andreas Kotelnik all he could handle recently, his tendency to brawl made him the perfect candidate for the first main-event level fight featuring Ortiz. He would get some tough rounds from Maidana for sure, but Ortiz’ boxing skill would tell in the end. HBO cameras were there, complete with Ortiz’ riveting story about overcoming abandonment by both parents and lavish network hype prior to fight time. This would be the fight to showcase the Kansan’s step up to the big time, to possibly make Ortiz the name that carries the PPV torch for Golden Boy into the future. Shane Mosley’s not get any younger, you know.

Just one problem. Ortiz didn’t win.

Not only did he not win, Ortiz somehow got knocked out by the rugged Argentinean after sending him to the deck three times. Worse then that, when faced with Maidana’s unrelenting pressure in the sixth round, Ortiz appeared to quit, shaking his head and walking away from referee Raul Caiz, who, for some reason, didn’t stop the fight then. As Ortiz was cut from a punch, Caiz had the ringside doctor look at the cut, and upon his recommending the fight be stopped, nary a word of protest was heard from Ortiz. While this had to have Golden Boy’s Oscar De La Hoya and Bernard Hopkins already disappointed, the postfight interview with Max Kellerman had to make both ex-champions wince.

One of Ortiz’ great charms is his candor, but in speaking to Kellerman, he said things that no one wants to hear from their upcoming fistic stars. While Ortiz started with the usual “it wasn’t my night” and “I just quit while I was ahead”, he then added the curious “I want to be able to speak well when I’m older”. As much as boxing fans berate fighters who sound like Charlie Brown’s teacher due to hanging on too long (Evander Holyfield, anyone?), that statement sounds like a guy who isn’t willing to get hit. Ortiz then shocked everyone by saying, “We’ll see what happens from here on out. I’m young, but I don’t think I deserve to get beat up like this. I have a lot of thinking to do.”

Does that sound like the next Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler or Tommy Hearns? It sounds like someone who is destined for a college classroom, not boxing superstardom.

And here Golden Boy’s situation becomes very tricky. As with Alfredo Angulo a few weeks back, young fighters often hit a bump in the road. The greatest fighter in the world, Manny Pacquiao, took a couple of humbling losses (one a knockout) earlier in his career before hitting superstardom. In most cases, fighters will show a desire to learn from the mistakes, get better, and hunger to get a crack at the next opponent. This is not the realm of journeymen, who often will quit in fights knowing they’ll have to get in the ring several more times that year to make a living. For rising stars like Ortiz, the hunger should be constant. When it’s not, then the huge investment Golden Boy has made in the young man’s career has everyone on high alert.

So going forward, does Golden Boy cut bait with a guy who may not have the desire to become world champion? They can’t run him out there again when there’s a chance he could take a few punches and lose the will to tough it out. Boxing is a rough business, and outings like Miguel Cotto’s nip-and-tuck battle with Joshua Clottey recently are more the usual way a fighter has to win fights at the top level. Without that willingness to sacrifice, fighters who take the easy way out become remembered infamously by the boxing public. De La Hoya knows this, so he’s got to gauge Ortiz and his desire to continue his career. There’s too much six-figure money being doled out to be unsure of anything when fighters walk out to the ring on fight night.

So while Ortiz has a big decision to make, so does Golden Boy.

The Finito Five 6/26/09

Ruslan Chagaev takes a seat during Saturday's Ring Magazine Championship fight with Wladamir Klitschko. Chagaev needed more time to sit and think, as he barely dented the Ukranian's armor in any of their ten rounds.

This week’s Finito Five is guaranteed hepatitis-B free!

1. The heavyweight division fails to surprise again

Well, that Wladamir Klitschko – Ruslan Chagaev tilt was a real shocker, wasn’t it? Who would have guessed that this fight would look exactly the same as every other Wlad fight since the Ukrainian fought Sam Peter going on four years ago? Oh, sure, there were some who had touted Chagaev’s undefeated record as somehow being an adequate substitute for the originally scheduled bout with David Haye, but all Chagaev proved is that he and Sultan Ibragimov are the same fighter. For those who didn’t see the fight, here’s the recap: Klitschko jabs, jabs, jabs, falls asleep for awhile, then jabs, jabs, throws a right hand that lands flush; all the while, Chagaev stands around at distance wondering why he’s getting peppered so much. The next punch to either Wladamir or brother Vitali’s body will be the first. It’s hard to say whether Chagaev was too cautious or too inept to do that, but not doing so was a recipe for disaster. By the tenth round, there was really no point in continuing the fight, whether Chagaev was cut or not.

With over 60,000 packing Veltins Arena in Germany and a flawless performance by Klitschko, it’s hard to argue Saturday night was anything but a resounding success. However, this is starting to feel like the Julio Ceasar Chavez, Jr. tour; until Wlad steps into the ring with someone that the boxing public views as a legitimate threat (and Chagaev sure wasn’t that), these fights just come off as the Klitschko Saturday Showcase. Maybe it’s just me, but for all the impressive performances against Hasim Rachman, Ray Austin, Sam Peter and Calvin Brock, what I still remember is Corrie Sanders wiping out Klitschko in two rounds. Wlad needs opponents who don’t appear out of their league all the time; otherwise, he’ll just be viewed as the best fighter of a terrible era.

2. ESPN is the Worldwide Leader in aggravation Pt. 1

With all the self-aggrandizement of Floyd Mayweather, ESPN has long been grating enough (they should call the show SelfCenter) to watch. However, there are a few shining stars within the cloud of self-importance in Bristol, and the Friday Night Fights crew is one of them. Joe Tessitore, the play-by-play voice, is top-notch, and while color man Teddy Atlas can get preachy, his knowledge of the fight game is unparalleled. And, with the Klitschko-Chagaev fight being commentated on from the U.S., one would think the “A” crew would get the assignment for ESPN Classic. Oh no. Instead, fans in the States got sometimes-FNF studio host Robert Flores & sometimes-fighting cruiserweight BJ Flores. Are you kidding me? What were Tessitore & Atlas (or even Brian Kenney) doing? Did they have a bar mitzvah to attend or something? No offense to Robert Flores, who’s probably a nice guy, but he’s so bland, he could make a striptease from Angelina Jolie seem unexciting. B.J. Flores is not a bad color man for his young age, but the two Flores’ called the whole fight like they were casually sitting on their living room couch. I could swear I heard BJ snacking on some pretzels during the sixth round! For the heavyweight championship of the world, you really should have the championship broadcast team.


3. The 175-pound division gets a little more interesting

The light heavyweight division is becoming more and more the one to watch. With an already great fight between Carl Froch and Jermain Taylor in the books and a Chad Dawson-Glencoffe Johnson rematch looming, Jean Pascal and Adrian Diaconu added to that list with a scintillating bout Friday in Montreal. Pascal, who had been outpunched by Froch earlier this year, came back strong, punishing the talented, tough Diaconu and proving that he’s got to be taken seriously. And, as good as Pascal was, the Romanian-born Diaconu was coming on at the end of the fight, and some felt that if he had started that earlier, Pascal would have lost. A rematch between these two might be on the horizon, but it’s clear that any combination of fights between any of the above six boxers would be must-watch TV. Pascal may keep his hands too low, but he has some great hand speed for his weight. A matchup between he and Johnson, who throws a ton of punches himself, would be an awesome fight whether Johnson wins or loses against Dawson. Here’s hoping it happens.

4. ESPN is the Worldwide Leader in aggravation Pt. 2

As stated earlier, ESPN already had me bent sideways with the appearance of the Flores brothers. So you can imagine how my blood boiled when I turned on the TiVo Monday to watch Friday Night Fights, only to find that the College World Series (baseball) was on! And, no, the game was not running late, it just was shown and FNF was not. Come to find out, apparently some scheduling difficulty had pushed the college game later, and, with no advance notice, ESPN just decided to move FNF from ESPN2 to ESPN Classic. Nothing like screwing with the boxing fans out there, huh? And ESPN has a history of doing this. Does anyone remember how they famously started their FNF 10th anniversary show (which they had been promoting all summer) an hour earlier than scheduled last fall without announcing anything? If anyone wanted to see who the Fighter of the Decade was (Emmanuel Augustus, rightly chosen), too bad – if you tuned in at the scheduled start time, you had already missed it. With all the 14 channels ESPN has now, you would think they could find some other network with poker reruns on which to move the baseball game. If it wasn’t for ESPN360, I wouldn’t have been able to watch, it period.

5. Lamps hits that time of the month

OK, Jim Lampley has been doing boxing so well for so long, many times boxing fans give him a free pass when he starts to get a little emotional during broadcasts. But even then, there are times when Lamps passes into creepy territory that makes you feel like the first time your parents gave you the birds & bees discussion. Prior to Miguel Cotto’s fight with Emmanuel Clottey, Lampley described how Cotto, who has been through a lot with his family recently, was crying while talking about his father to reporters. Cotto’s dad then came over and hugged him, which was surely a touching moment. However, Lampley started describing this as a “graphic demonstration of true, honest man-love”. Ewww. Fathers and sons can love each other, but a graphic demonstration of man-love is what you find in airport bathrooms, isn’t it? Just tap your foot, right? As if that wasn’t weird enough, Lampley started to well up at the end of the broadcast merely describing Cotto’s gutsy effort to come back and win the fight. It’s one thing for him to mist up after the death of a fighter or some tragedy, but now he can’t seem to keep it together just doing his closing monologue. Lamps better make sure Harold Lederman (who is a pharmacist in his spare time) brings the Midol for the next HBO telecast!