The Finito Q & A – September edition

Now that the Scorpions are the WBC's “honorary ambassadors for peace”, maybe we can finally figure out if all the band members collectively weigh as much as James Toney did for his MMA fight last month.

This pressing questions in the fight game, from Mora’s running to the Scorpions’ rocking:

Q: After all the negative press the fight has received, was Sergio Mora-Shane Mosley really that bad?

A: It depends on how you look at it. In terms of the fight itself, it was pretty terrible until about round ten when Mora finally decided he actually wanted to make a determined effort to win. The last three rounds did have some good action back and forth, so it wasn’t as bad as Manny Paquiao-Joshua Clottey, for instance. In that fight, Clottey didn’t show up for any round at all, and ran constantly just to make it to round twelve. With Mora, his feinting and clinching style was a definite game plan, he just had no offense to go with it. But all in all, it was a lot of Mosley trying to make the fight and Mora trying not to, so it was pretty hard on the eyes.

Q: If it was so one-sided, how did it end up a draw?

A: Because the judges (well, at least two of them) were absolutely awful. I have not yet seen anyone score this fight towards Mora more than 116-112 Mosley except for Kermit Bayless (115-113 Mora) and Lou Moret (114-114), and unfortunately, their scores counted. I had the fight scored 118-110, and there were only two other rounds I thought were close enough to possibly give to Mora. Other than that, there was no way you could give Mora any more than five rounds (4, 7 & 10-12), because he was not competitive in the others. This was not a fight with a lot of close rounds; Mosley clearly did enough to win and got shafted. HBO’s Jim Lampley called the decision atrocious, and he was right.

Q: With all that said, what does this mean for each fighter’s career at this point?

A: For Mosley, everyone will probably consider this fight a victory, if not on the scorecards. Sugar Shane clearly isn’t what he was ten years ago, but he still has world-class skills and a willingness to get in there and fight. For Mora, the thing he now has in common with Clottey is that he won’t see a big stage ever again. You would think with millions at stake if he had won the fight, the “Latin Snake” would have fought like his life depended on it; instead, he fought like his afternoon nap depended on it. Not only did he show up three pounds heavy at the weigh-in, he used none of his natural size and reach advantages to press the action during the bout. I’m not even sure he even threw a meaningful body shot until the second half of the fight. In the post-fight interview, Mora said he respected Mosley too much. Respect for your opponent should never get in the way of being a professional, and now Mora will have plenty of time to think about that on those Solo Boxeo and Friday Night Fights cards to which he’ll now be banished.

Q: Does this fight take any luster off of Floyd Mayweather’s victory over Shane?

A: It shouldn’t. Like I said before, Mosley has seen his best days, but he still fights at the top level and is a Hall-Of-Famer. The fight with Mora was one of those bad stylistic matchups, so you can’t kill Mosley too much for it; besides, Mosley did his best to bring the action and did win for all intents and purposes. Until someone dominates Mosley like that again, you have to consider Mayweather’s victory a significant one.

Q: Speaking of Mayweather, do you think he’s going to fight again now that three felony counts have been brought against him?

A: Apparently you didn’t read last week’s Finito Five. Floyd is not going to be mentioned here unless it’s for some actual in-ring action. Until that happens, I couldn’t care less if he ends up in jail or not.

Q: OK, then back to the PPV. Maybe the main event was terrible, but didn’t the undercard fights (all KO’s) take away some of the stench?

A: Yes! For all the bad the feature fight gave boxing fans, the three fights before it were absolutely thrilling. You’d have thought the French Revolution was in full swing the way the heads were rolling. Daniel Ponce De Leon showed that he’s becoming a real boxer in addition to his awesome power by wiping out fellow featherweight Antonio Escalante in three rounds (back to FNF with Mora, Antonio!). “Vicious” Victor Ortiz won the battle of the “Vicious” nickname by knocking down Vivian Harris four times on the way to a third-round knockout. Ortiz really looks like he’s getting some of that swagger back he lost against Marcos Maidana. And as for 154-pound Mexican redhead Saul Alvarez smoking iron-chinned Carlos Baldomir in round six, what more needs to be said? Baldomir is long in the tooth, sure, but he hasn’t hit the deck in more than ten years, and has certainly never taken a ten-count. With the buzz generated by those fights, fans were chanting Alvarez’ name while Mora was doing all his running during the main event. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that before.

Q: The Top Rank Live card this last Saturday had two fights with world title implications, but the Jorge Arce-Lorenzo Parra jr. feather clash was only in round three by the supposed end of the show at midnight. Many a DVR owner must have been frustrated. What happened?

A: First off, it’s a live sporting event, so DVR users, get used to extending your recording times an hour (or start it an hour early if it happens to be on ESPN!). Secondly, this was just par for the course with Top Rank Live these days. While boxing fans are eternally grateful to Bob Arum for putting these shows on, the production often resembles cable-access programming. If you look at any ESPN or Telefutura show, there are absolutely no more than 22 scheduled rounds of boxing for any given show. Why? Because the fights themselves (barring knockouts, of course) take about 90 minutes, leaving 30 minutes for ring introductions, fight analysis, ads, et cetera. The card Saturday, between Omar Chavez and Humberto Soto’s fights before the main event, totaled a ridiculous 30 scheduled rounds, which would run at exactly two hours for just in-ring fight time. If Chavez hadn’t ended his fight in round four, the show would have lasted almost three hours. Not very good planning by the Top Rank folks.

Q: So the Arce-Parra fight was a draw then wasn’t a draw afterwards, so what did fans miss?

A: What was missed was a complete mishandling of scorecards, which again is indicative of just how messy some of the Top Rank Live shows are. It was bad enough that rounds three and ten didn’t come back from commercial break until a minute into their respective rounds; but when the fight was over, and seemingly in a rush to end the show, an obviously confused ring announcer Lupe’ Contreras just said the fight was a draw and the show ended. No scores, no explanation, nothing. After the fight was over, officials at the fight said the scorecards were added up incorrectly and Arce was the winner. A day or so later, the Culiacan Boxing & Wrestling Commission said the original draw would stand for now, and there’s to be a hearing. So in other words, no one knows who won right now. And given that Arce dominated the fight from pillar to post, I’m not really sure how there can be that much confusion with the result.

Q: Cruiserweight Enzo Maccarinelli got knocked out once again against Alexander Frenkel this last weekend. Why is he still being allowed to fight?

A: He shouldn’t be, at least not for a while. The British Boxing Board Of Control really needs to get on this before something really bad happens to Maccarinelli. Frenkel absolutely crushed him with a left that eventually ended up with doctors giving the Welshman oxygen on the canvas. This is the fourth time in eight fights that he’s been brutally knocked out, so much so it should give his team (Joe Calzaghe’s father, also named Enzo, is his trainer) some pause about putting him back in there. It’s one thing to have a run of getting stopped in fights, but it’s another when those knockouts end with you sleeping on the canvas. The only reason he’s allowed back in the ring every time speaks to how celebrated Maccarinelli was for years in Britian prior to his facing David Haye. Perhaps Maccarinelli should find another line of work before he starts sounding like Tommy Hearns or worse.

Q: Did you see the WBC gave rock band the Scorpions an honorary championship belt? The Scorpions?

A: Yes, I did see that. As if the WBC doesn’t do enough strange things already with their belts and rankings, now apparently Klaus Meine and friends are “honorary WBC ambassadors for peace”, which garners some sort of belt. What in the world the Scorps have to do with boxing (yes, I know they have played at Klitschko fights in the past) or what the WBC has to do with world unity seems is comparable to what Oscar De La Hoya has to do with Antarctic exploration. I suppose, though, when you have four champions in one division and have been known to rank dead fighters, giving rock bands their own belts is not such a stretch. I just hope this doesn't mean that if I ever need to replace my "Love At First Sting" CD, there isn't an extra sanctioning fee that goes along with it!

The Finito Five 8/17/10

Wladimir Klitschko's not making Bernard Hopkins' executioner sign, although he did nearly behead Sam Peter in their rematch Saturday. No matter how much body the Ukranian exposed, Peter just felt like getting a hug instead of throwing a body shot.

More coherent than any video rant, it’s the Finito Five!

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1. Open mouth, insert Mayweather

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OK, I try to be objective in this space every time out, but there comes a time when I have to cut the cord. That’s it. Until he steps into the ring again, I’m officially done with Floyd Mayweather. It’s bad enough he wouldn’t sign to fight Manny Pacquiao earlier this year, but then he throws out a YouTube video so stupid it makes the Flat Earth Society look legit. Never mind his ridiculous, semi-racist rants directed towards the Filipino superstar in which he’s not even smart enough to insult his intended target correctly (uhh, Sushi is Japanese, not Filipino, dummy). Never mind his pathetic yes men agreeing with everything Floyd said to the point that if he told one of them they were owls, they’d probably start hooting. This stupidity we expect from Mayweather. The most galling thing, however, is that he’s calling out the pound-for-pound best boxer in the world (and, believe me, it’s not you, “Money”) as if Pacquiao won’t fight him, when it’s clearly the other way around. At least if you’re going to call someone a chicken, you should at least make sure you’re not the one with the beak. The only reason this video probably even happened in the first place was that Pretty Boy just couldn’t take that Pac-Man was in the news again for an actual, honest-to-God fight and he wasn’t. It’s getting positively tiring to constantly hear news about Mayweather without it having to do with a signed contract for his next bout.

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The difference this time is that Mayweather’s now really stepped in it. Up until now, the Mouth from Grand Rapids could just about say anything he wanted with no repercussions. However, as soon as that video came out, instead of everyone just shrugging off his comments as they usually do, an outcry from fans and Filipino groups alike actually made Floyd issue a weak apology the next day. And make, no mistake, his “I was only playin’ around” excuse was just that. He crossed a line that was beyond just trash talk. If that wasn’t enough, now we find Mayweather back in jail again on charges he stole cell phones from the mother of three of his kids and a possible charge of domestic battery. To be sure, no one knows the facts of this case just yet, but Floyd’s ex-girlfriend did go to the hospital, so something happened. With Las Vegas police saying that Mayweather actually threatened to beat HIS OWN KIDS if any of them called the police, this could get much more ugly before it’s all done. And you know what? As much B.S. as I’ve had to constantly put up with from Mayweather (and as much of a creep as he is, anyway), until he steps into the ring, I couldn’t care less what he says or does. Like I said before, I’m done.

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2. The Montiel/Margarito World Tour

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With most boxers who dedicate their blood, sweat and tears to the fight game, it can usually be said that their lives are boxing. But you would think that even the most dedicated of fighters would like a weekend or two off with their families, like the rest of us working Joes do from our own jobs. Apparently, this doesn’t work for bantamweight Fernando Montiel and welterweight Antonio Margarito, who have seen fit to show up at damn near every fight in North America over the past six months. Just about every Top Rank show that is on TV these days, there’s Margarito in the ring with his smiling Mexican face, while Montiel is in the first couple of rows rocking sunglasses with some hottie at his side. At Giovani Segura-Ivan Calderon, there they were again, and I’m pretty sure they were at Tomasz Adamek-Michael Grant as well, selling cotton candy and popcorn for all we know. Guys, you can have interests outside of boxing; get a hobby! But, alas, there Margs was again Saturday night behind Brandon Rios prior to his fight with Anthony Peterson. Maybe he's just saving up his frequent flyer miles so he can fly somewhere that never heard of Plaster of Paris! As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure I saw Montiel at the bread isle in my local supermarket yesterday. I’m half expecting that when I open up my closet tomorrow, Margarito will be standing there asking me for advice on beating Pacquiao. And whatever advice I would give him, I certainly won’t tell him to go out and plaster Pac-Man…

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3. Still Petered out

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Well, so much for being excited at the Wladamir Klitschko-Sam Peter rematch, huh? There were more than a few fans and scribes alike that thought that perhaps a slimmed down, focused and streaking Peter may give the Ukranian his best test since, well, the last time they fought. If you remember, that was also the last time big Wlad hit the deck and actually was in some serious difficulty. The only difficulty (at least until the tenth round) was remaining interested in the fight itself while watching it. Look, it’s obvious that Klitschko has gotten markedly better since the first time he fought Peter, and wasn’t going to let the Nigerian get in any position that was dangerous. The disappointing thing was that Peter wasn’t doing much to BE dangerous. Unlike his brother, Wladamir is only a few clinches per fight away from John Ruiz territory, and Peter was willing to let the bigger man tie him up and not attempt any work on the inside. For the millionth time, heavweights of the world, YOU WON’T EVER BEAT A KLITSCHKO FROM THE OUTSIDE! You would think that since Wlad has fought every bout essentially the same way for the last ten years, someone would figure out that maybe they need to get inside his reach and work to the body? Peter and his team didn’t seem to have that figured out. Don’t they say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing each time and expecting a different result? In that case, maybe Wlad’s next title defense ought to be in an asylum.

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4. Rios makes a statement, Peterson makes a mistake

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With all apologies to Yuriorkis Gamboa’s excellent featherweight title defense against Orlando Salido, the undercard of HBO’s Boxing After Dark Saturday was the fight with all the intrigue. Undefeated lightweights Brandon Rios and Anthony Peterson were going to tangle, and the winner might be the Next Big Think at 135 pounds. Honestly (including this space here), many thought it would be Peterson, the D.C. phenom who had been kicking butt and taking names along with his brother, Lamont. I guess that’s why they fight the fights, right? Because I’m now a huge fan of Rios, who just laid a beating on Peterson from seemingly out of nowhere. He had Peterson so frustrated, Rios was in danger of not being able to procreate due to Peterson’s 20 or so low blows. “Bam Bam” obviously had a stronger will and mental game than his opponent, and while Rios’ career has shot to the stratosphere, now the questions will start mounting for Peterson. Peterson obviously had more boxing ability, but when it came time to demonstrate it, he quit using his jab and started to get tagged. Despite repeated and easy to follow directions from his trainer Barry Hunter to use that jab, Peterson just wouldn’t do it. Finally, one too many blows south of the border caused referee Russell Mora to disqualify him. While his brother Lamont may have lost to a pound-for-pound world-beater like Timothy Bradley, this was Rios’ first big win of note. The question is whether Anthony Peterson will have another one of his own. He needs to get right before that can happen.

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5. I wouldn’t want to be in this Hatton Wonderland

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When Ricky Hatton more or less stopped fighting after his loss to Manny Pacquiao, there were a handful of boxing people that wondered whether he would be able to resume a normal life. This is a guy that would blow up to damn near 200 pounds when he fought at 140, and it was well-known that Hatton liked the pubs and the good life. It wasn’t so much of a surprise then, that Hatton had been seen over the winter looking more and more like “Hands of Food” Roberto Duran. Many athletes put on weight after their playing days are over. Sadly, it looks like Hatton may have slipped into Johnny Tapia territory. A British newspaper recently published a sobering photo of Hatton snorting cocaine on their front page, a photo that can’t be denied or claimed to have been altered into something it wasn’t. And before everyone cracks any jokes about whether the picture was taken at Joe Calzaghe’s house (c’mon, you know you were thinking about it!), it’s time to realize just how bad it’s gotten for the English “Hit Man”. According to reports, Hatton is now in rehab, as the drugs were only a minor sidelight to a serious drinking and depression problem. So, in other words, the good time, hanging-out-with-his-mates and having a Guinness Hatton is no longer funny, it’s ruining a once-great champion’s life. Here’s hoping Hatton gets it together and comes out of this a better man. Beating addiction will probably a lot tougher than Pac-Man.

Off The Cuff II

The sweat was up and flying several times during the Giovani Segura-Ivan Calderon clash, but "Iron Boy" should have been flying around the ring and not trading with an awesome puncher like Segura.

Now that Labor Day is fast approaching here in the States, it’s time to labor through another round of rapid-fire thoughts about our beloved Sweet Science:

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## Watching the recent Tomasz Adamek-Michael Grant fight, I have to say that there was nothing there that made me think the Polish heavyweight could beat either Kitschko brother. Sure, it was a gutty, gritty performance against Grant, who looks like he should be playing linebacker in the NFL rather then boxing, but it sure wasn’t a cakewalk. Grant had Adamek hurt a couple of times during the fight, and may have won had Adamek not swept the first six rounds. Grant is nowhere near as busy or accurate at Wlad or Vitali, and if Grant can do that kind of damage, Ukranian’s Finest might end the night early for Adamek. Then again, it’s not like the Klitscko’s have been ending much of anything early lately except my interest level.

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## I had to laugh during the fight when Integrated Sports PPV play-by-play nutcase Col. Bob Sheridan kept repeating that Adamek was “just not going to be intimidated by the imposing Michael Grant!” All I could think of was the fact that no one else in the heavyweight division has been intimidated by Grant since about 1999, either. But give Sheridan credit for trying.

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## Seriously, I could write a whole column about Col. Bob’s constant trips to Bonkersville every time he does a fight, and we’ve had two of them to pour over in consecutive weeks. For those not properly trained in Sheridan-Speak, here’s what you need to know:

1. Every fight is the greatest of all time (remember Jacqui Frazier-Laila Ali?).

2. Every fighter is a true warrior, and this is the best division in boxing.

3. The Integrated Sports PPV (or whomever he’s working for at the time) team is just amazing, and it’s simply amazing they haven’t yet cured cancer.

4. If there’s an inconclusive or controversial ending to a fight, every theory from the shooter in the grassy knoll to Machiavellian scheming by Don King’s barber will be put forth until we learn that, yeah, it was just a close fight.

So we need to forget the fact that the good Colonel had Adamek out on his feet in the twelfth round when he wasn’t even close, or the fact that Adamek was putting American heavyweights back on the map (uh, Adamek is POLISH!). He’s just a roller coaster ride, so you just have to go with it at times.

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## Just as any Col. Bob Batman needs his Robin, Benny Ricardo fills the bill nicely as the chief second on the Integrated announce team. His best highlight was in the sixth round of the Giovani Segura-Ivan Calderon flyweight championship fight Saturday, when he said, “These guys don’t even know how to hold!” just as they were, you guessed it, holding. Still, he had one of the funniest lines I’ve ever heard during the same fight, as they panned to bantamweight Fernando Montiel sitting in the crowd with two attractive women on either side of him: “He is the WBO & WBC bantamweight champion. I guess when you’re a champion of two divisions, you get two women like that!” Now that was funny…

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## Speaking of that fight, I can’t for the life of me figure out why in the world Calderon stopped moving in the fourth round and started trading with Segura. Maybe it had something to do with “Iron Boy” fighting in front of his native Puerto Rican crowd, but Calderon had been dominating the fight up until that point. While Segura’s attack was relentless, he wasn’t really connecting until Calderon inexplicably quit moving and, worst of all things he could have done, started to back up instead of going side to side. I’ve heard all the chatter about Calderon being 36 and slowing down, but I still think it came to some bad decision making in the ring that cost him in this one. We’ll see if he does the same in a rematch.

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## It was really refreshing to hear Ring magazine flyweight champion Ponsaklek Wonjongkam show some honesty from a fighter for once when talking about his surprise loss to Diasuke Naito in their third fight. “I had become complacent,” he said, “and I took Naito for granted. Never again.” Maybe that’s what spurred him on to turn a surprise of his own when he shocked undefeated Koki Kemada earlier this year, likely putting him in Canestota. Contrast that with motormouth 140-pounder Hank Lundy on Friday Night Fights last week trying to make every excuse in the book for his loss to John Molina on that same show last month. He was sick that night, the ref messed up, the lights were too bright, the dog ate his homework, whatever. As a fan, you just get sick of it after a while.

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## As for Friday Night Fights, it wrapped up another season Saturday. Even though Teddy Atlas can grate on me and sometimes the matchups aren’t stellar, it really is the best boxing show around. I miss the heck out of Atlas, Brian Kenney and Joe Tessitore, and it makes me actually want freezing January to get here so they can start up again.

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## Yeah, so James Toney got killed in his MMA fight with Randy Couture. Anyone surprised? Yeah, me neither. And for those MMA idiots (just the idiots, not the fans who truly respect ring sports) who say that this proves MMA’s dominance, just keep in mind that Couture beat a guy who hasn’t been a boxing factor in years, didn’t bother to train himself into shape and didn’t train in any of the other fighting disciplines needed to become a good cage fighter. Toney is no more a legit MMA fighter than Kimbo Slice is going to be as a boxer. This was a sideshow, nothing more, and I bet Couture knows that, too.

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## And just to show you MMA isn’t the only place to find complete idiots, I can sure do without stodgy boxing writers denigrating MMA every time they forget to take their Prozac. Jeff Ryan’s constant assertions in the pages of Ring magazine that MMA fighters can’t take a punch is just stupid and petty. I wonder how many of today’s boxers would have great chins if boxing switched to four-ounce gloves like MMA? I bet a six round fight would be considered long. Both disciplines are incredibly challenging, and great athletes and fighters abound in each, and neither is going away. Just deal with it.

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## So Texas gave Antonio Margarito a license to fight Manny Pacquiao. Color me shocked. When there’s promotional greenbacks involved, Jack the Ripper would probably get a license. From the same commission that gave us the first Juan Diaz-Paulie Malignaggi screwjob, I’m not surprised.

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## Anyone else hoping that Pac-Man lays a massive beatdown on Margacheato?

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## So, now that Pacquiao has a dinner date for later this year, any surprise that Floyd Mayweather has climbed out of his cave and seems interested in another fight all of the sudden? I thought “Money” was busy enjoying his summer, but I guess when your rival that you ought to be fighting one-ups you and actually fights, insecurity just won’t let you continue to relax by the pool. It’s almost hilarious if it wasn’t so sad.

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## Oh, and just for the record, the Sam Peter fight with Wlad actually does have me interested. Keep in mind that whenever Peter has been in shape, he’s been pretty dangerous, and he’s been in shape recently. We’ll see what kind of shape the younger Klitschko brother is in after that fight is over.

The Finito Flash – Margarito’s impossible choice, Kessler’s obvious choice

Antonio Margarito may be in shape, but does he have anywhere to fight? California told him to take a walk, but Texas may decide that loaded gloves are only important if they prevent the Cowboys from playing.

Some quick thoughts about current goings-on in the Sweet Science:

By now, most everyone has heard that the California State Athletic Commision (CSAC) has denied welterweight Antonio Margarito a license to continue fighting after his plaster-in-the-hand-wraps debacle prior to his fight with Shane Mosley a year and a half ago. That was definitely the right thing to do, and I believe that Margarito probably should be on the shelf for longer than just a year. In fact, I’m still torn as to whether he even belongs back in the ring period. I simply don’t (and won’t ever) believe that Margarito had no idea his gloves were being loaded when he’s been around thousands of wrapped hands, his own or otherwise. Cement in your gloves is about as heinous a transgression as can be done in the Sweet Science, and it should never be taken lightly. Ever.

Having said all that, however, the dog-and-pony show that was put forth by the CSAC in denying Margarito his license defied all logic. From all accounts, Margarito (and his lawyer, Daniel Petrocelli of Ron Goldman fame) had no chance coming into the hearing simply because the CSAC was determined to give Margarito two impossible options. He could admit his guilt (which is what the CSAC had said they essentially wanted him to do), which would probably result in his becoming so radioactive that not even Lady Gaga would touch him with a ten-foot pole. It’s not like you can walk around saying, “Yeah, I knowingly let my trainer put cement in my gloves, my bad. So when’s my next fight?” His second option (which he chose) was to deny any wrongdoing, but in doing so, meant that he would never get the CSAC to reinstate his license. Couple that with the CSAC’s citing some obscure “sparring license” rule that Margarito failed to follow as some further example of his general negligence (yes, because not getting a license that half of California boxers don’t even know about and loading your gloves are in the same place on the egregiousness meter!), and the Mexican was as good as done.

Now, this is not to say I have any sympathy for Margarito, because I don’t. His fighting in Mexico while suspended in the U.S. coupled with his continued association with trainer Javier Capetillo for months afterward was among the stupider things in boxing history. Margarito has made his own bed so many times, he should be working at Howard Johnson. He’s applied for a license in Texas, and if that commission has any decency, they will deny him once again. Still, the CSAC made their case less legitimate by making the proceedings look more like a Boston Legal episode than an actual hearing. Let’s hope it’s the only time this happens.

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Bummer of bummers, it looks like Mikkel Kessler has pulled out of the Super Six super middleweight tournament. Apparently, it had to do with a muscle around Kessler’s eye that sustained repeated damage during sparring, and it has been an issue with the Dane for quite a while. Eye injuries are always a serious thing, whether you’re a boxer on not. Luckily for fight fans, after about a year, he should be back to normal, and can resume a career that excites boxing fans around the world.

Still, what are they going to do with the rest of the tournament? Kessler had a genuinely good shot of making the semi-finals of the tournament if he had beaten Allan Green; with Green’s no-show against Andre Ward, that may have been a good Vegas bet. Adding someone new at this point virtually guarantees that fighter no chance of advancing if Kessler’s points aren’t carried over to them, but is it also fair to give credit for Kessler’s accomplishments to someone just coming in? Probably the only fair way to finish up the tournament is to scrap the third round and just have Andre Dirrell, Ward, Carl Froch and Arthur Abraham start the semi-finals right now. Of course, Green would be left out in the cold, but he was pretty fortunate to be asked in the first place. Besides, why not just make Green-Kessler after Kessler’s eye heals? We wouldn’t have to miss the fight at all then, but obviously the Super Six is making for some strange promotional bedfellows we wouldn’t normally see. That fight being made under normal circumstances may be more of a reach than Floyd Mayweather actually answering a question about Manny Pacquiao this year.

From what it sounds like, Showtime is discussing skipping round three of the tournament, so there’s encouraging news on that front. Even though we may have lost a round of great fights, it’s hard to argue that the Super Six has been anything other than an excellent idea, one which will be remembered for years to come.

This Chad was just plain “bad”

Chad Dawson got in the face of fellow light heavyweight Jean Pascal more often at the weigh-in than he did for most of their fight Saturday. Maybe Pascal's breath was bad enough to scare Dawson from engaging him closely during the bout.

As an observer of boxing for over 20 years now, I can say that there are three things that I firmly believe go into making a boxer who he or she is (and you could probably apply them to any sport, really). Setting aside for a minute any other intangibles that could come into play, these are the three variables:

1. Skill – Whether this is God-given talent or acquired by training, the actually boxing ability of a fighter in the ring.

2. Intelligence – Otherwise known as wisdom or ring smarts, this covers the mental side of the game, from the ability to adapt to getting your opponent to fight your fight.

3. Heart – This is what most fans call the warrior’s mentality, from the journeyman who keeps fighting after being knocked down five times to the champion who summons the will to grind out the last two rounds of a title defense.

Every fighter has varying degrees of each one of these attributes, but here’s one thing that’s for sure: If you’re severely lacking in any one of these areas, but are great in the other two, it will eventually catch up to you.

Want an example or two?

Ricky Hatton has tons of fighting heart and dictated his all-attacking style to just about every opponent he ever faced. However, when it came down to matching skill on skill with the Pacquiao’s & Mayweather’s of the world, he just couldn’t hang and eventually lost. Does that mean he was without skill? Of course not. But as a fighter attempts to ascend the highest rungs of boxing’s ladder, not having one of the attributes at the same high level of the other two will make life difficult, and that’s what happened to Hatton. Too bad there can’t be more than one Ricky Hatton, eh?

A different example would be welterweight Kendall Holt. While “Rated R” has skill beyond compare and a willingness to bring the fight each and every time, he is also very capable of melting down mentally at a moment’s notice. Anyone remember his awesome first couple of rounds against Timothy Bradley last year? Holt could have been in control of the fight and possibly won, but he inexplicably decided to quit throwing punches and using his jab, so Bradley took over. How about the rematch against Ricardo Torres, where Holt wasn’t ready for Torres to start brawling at the opening bell (which is all Torres ever does), and got knocked down twice in the first round before eventually coming back to win by knockout in the same round? Great heart, but Holt could save himself a lot of pain and suffering by keeping his wits about him sometimes.

Which now brings us to the third example, that of light heavyweight Chad Dawson. We know Dawson’s skill is among the very best in boxing, period. We know he is cagey enough to keep world-class fighters like Glen Johnson and Thomasz Adamek off their games and frustrated. But never has Dawson’s heart been truly tested. Never has he had to prove that he wanted it more than the other guy. Never has he had to overcome that adversity that makes so many fighters great.

Against Jean Pascal last Saturday, Dawson showed that he might not have what it takes to bring it at the highest level. And what a disappointment that is.

When it became apparent during the first few rounds that Pascal was going to use his familiar Montreal crowd to bring the fight and wrest the title of best 175-pounder from Dawson, “Bad” Chad was just plain bad. Make no mistake, Dawson is the better fighter by miles, both in terms of skill and ring smarts. But it was apparent early on that Pascal just wanted it way more than Dawson did, to the extent that Pascal was going to keep throwing punches until something good happened. Here’s a guy that suffered three shoulder separations (ouch!) in his second fight with Adrian Diaconu, and still found a way to win.

Dawson, when faced with this situation and opponent, apparently forgot to bring the gasoline with him. Pascal totally dictated the fight, but it was obvious that during the infrequent times that Dawson decided he wasn’t going to fight safety-first, he could really do some damage. Still, there was no energy, no passion to win and really no significant punch output coming at all from Dawson. It wasn’t until the later rounds when he decided to get on his horse that he had Pascal hurt in the ninth and nearly out in the eleventh before an accidental headbutt cut Dawson and caused the fight to go to the cards. At that point, it was too late. Dawson was toast.

The worst part was that it was inexcusable for a guy that was fighting in the challenger’s hometown because he can’t sell tickets in the United States not to lay everything on the line. What did he figure would happen? With the vocal Montreal crowd ooohing and aaahing with every Pascal punch, they would give the decision to the guy from Connecticut? Dawson, unlike crowd-pleasing fighters like Arturo Gatti, has to find a way to keep winning so that HBO and the boxing public will remain interested. With this lousy performance and the lack of any guts, who’s going to flock to see Dawson now? Pascal’s the man at 175, not him. And, although Dawson’s calling for a rematch, a bazillion-dollar fight with Lucien Bute’ is next for Pascal, because the Bute’ matchup is much more interesting, from Canada to Bhutan.

At this moment, Dawson is at a crossroads. He needs to decide whether he has the passion to take some risk and get his crown back, or if he’s going to join the Derrick Gainer’s of the world as just a skilled fighter who plays it too safe to ever be a real factor again.

It may be time for some real heart surgery.

The Finito Five 7/29/10

Welterweight Timothy Bradley says he's ready for everyone from Amir Khan to Manny Pacquiao himself. The difference is, unlike many fighters who call others out, Bradley will actually fight them. He might just give these guys more then they bargained for, as well.

Able to take the shots better than Paul Briggs (imagine how short a column this would be otherwise), it’s the Finito Five!

1. The megafight that’s turning into the megajoke

After a while, one has to wonder just how much blog space need be devoted to a Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather fight that continues not to happen. It was said in this space that no news was good news (and it probably was), but when Top Rank’s Bob Arum started to open up his trap earlier this month and set a deadline of July 17 for Mayweather to agree to the fight, you knew it wasn’t going to happen. With a nice dog-and-pony show disguised as a 3am (EST) press conference that morning, Arum told everyone what we knew already: The fight was off, and Pac-Man was exploring other options. That next option is either “Fists of Plaster” Antonio Margarito or a rematch with Miguel Cotto. Anyone else want to see any of those fights? Yeah, me neither. Margarito really shouldn’t be rewarded with a big payday for his transgressions, and he’s not even licensed in the United States to begin with. Where would their fight need to be in that case? Margarito’s home country of Mexico? That would be stupid. The Philippines? Maybe, but it’s not easy to put on a big PPV event there (not as easy as Las Vegas, at least). With Cotto, that’s already been done, and I haven’t met one boxing fan who thinks the outcome would be any different.

The worst part about these negotiations is that no one can seem to agree on whether the negotiations actually happened in the first place. You have Top Rank saying that they did negotiate with HBO’s Ross Greenburg and Mayweather’s adviser, Al Haymon, while you have Mayweather’s other adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, saying no negotiations ever took place. So everyone’s running around saying this and that, so what does Mayweather have to say? Oh, yeah - nothing. Whenever “Money” has been interviewed about the subject, he deflects the question, saying he’s just enjoying his summer. Thanks, Floyd, but that’s a big slap in the face to your fans and boxing fans in general. It’s pretty obvious at this point that Mayweather has no respect for either. One thing is for certain: If Floyd doesn’t get off his duff and take the Pacquiao fight in the next year, it will forever tarnish that legacy that Mayweather holds so dear. No matter what he accomplished in the ring, 30 years from now it will be the fight he didn't take that will define Mayweather’s legacy.

2. Col. Bob and the new math

Ahh, you’ve got to love an Integrated Sports PPV. Why put up with all the boring professionalism and accuracy of Jim Lampley at HBO or Nick Charles of Showtime (get well, my man) when you can have crazy Uncle Bob and Benny “and the Jets” Ricardo making each fight a two-drink minimum? Well, the titanic heavyweight tilt that was David Tua-Monte Barrett gave Col. Bob a chance to impart his vast boxing knowledge to the masses (when he wasn’t calling Barrett a great warrior enough times that you thought Tua must have been in the ring with Spartacus, anyway). Among the wit and wisdom put forth during the fight:

1. Round 10 is apparently the start of the championship rounds (I guess title eliminators must be nine rounds now).

2. There were millions on the line in the fight (what, did someone have some seven-figure action on Tua at the betting window?)

3. 40 percent of judges disagree on close rounds. (? – I mean, really – ?)

If you didn’t understand that last one, neither did I. He said it at least three times during the main event, and it made about as much sense as Ray Mancini discussing the Crimean War each time. If you take at face value that each close round is 10-9 either way, how can only 40 percent of judges disagree when there are only two ways to vote? Are these 40 percent disagreeing with the other 60 percent or with each other? If he means those 40 percent disagree with each other, then it’s 20 percent voting for fighter X and 20 percent voting for fighter Y, while the other 60 percent must be voting for the ring card girl or something, because otherwise it would be 80-20. Makes the head spin, huh?

3. Timothy Bradley is a bad, bad man

With the aforementioned blather about Pac-Man and Mayweather not fighting and looking for other dance partners, here’s betting that jr. welterweight Timothy Bradley’s phone will not be ringing off the hook. Why, you ask? Well if you saw Bradley’s dismantling of tough Luis Carlos Abregu ten days ago at 147 pounds (he’s a 140-pound titlist), this is a guy who could be giving either of those two big problems. Even though Bradley was unheralded until he went to England and beat Junior Witter a few years ago, he’s showing with each fight that he’s a buzzsaw that won’t easily be beaten. He’s got quite a good package: Fast hands, great work rate, honest power, ring generalship and solid defense. In other words, he’s the most complete fighter at 140 or 147 not named Pacquiao or Mayweather. And most important of all is the fact that Bradley wants it. Bad. He looks like a guy fighting to put food on his table every time he steps into the ring. When you consider the posturing that has taken place over the last year between Manny and Floyd, it’s nice to see someone running around saying “bring ‘em on!” finally. If the megafight can’t be made, let’s hope that Bradley gets a crack at making one of those guys regret not taking the millions.

4. Does the main event or undercard make a PPV worthy?

When I first heard about the rematch between lightweights Juan Diaz and Juan Manuel Marquez, it seemed like a fun action-packed fight that would do HBO proud. Diaz wasn’t going to come out a winner any more than he did the first time, but that’s all right; that’s why I have my HBO subscription. When I found out the fight was on PPV, it suddenly became less attractive. Was this fight really PPV-worthy for $50? While both are really good fighters, Diaz has been coming up short of a big win for about two years now, while Marquez is starting to look a little long in the tooth. The Kelly Pavlik-Sergio Martinez fight deserved to be on PPV more than this fight does. So about the time I became convinced that no one would buy it, HBO then goes and put some excellent fights on the undercard. Daniel Jacobs and Dmitry Pirog at 160 pounds (both undefeated), jr. welterweights Joel Casamayor and Robert Guerrero (a must win for both guys) plus Jorge Linares-Rocky Martinez at lightweight (Linares’ first big fight in the U.S.) all round out a fabulous card before we even get to the main event. HBO’s Greenberg has promised fans card like this for a while now, and it looks like he’s finally delivered. Chances are this PPV might be worth the money far more than any other show in recent years for that reason. Although after seeing such undercard fare as Julio Ceasar Chavez, Jr. and Troy Rowland recently, maybe HBO is figuring that boxing fans have lowered their standards enough to jump at it. Either way, it’s good to have a show where each fight is worth watching.

5. That Danny Green sure throws a mean jab…

Thanks, Paul Briggs, the Sweet Science hadn’t seen an honest-to-God dive in a while, but that void has now been filled. Most boxing fans probably didn’t figure it would be Briggs, he of two actual competitive performances against Tomasz Adamek, that would fold up like a deck chair after one glancing shot to the forehead. For those who haven’t seen it, a mere 30 seconds into the fight, Briggs was (sort of) jabbed in the forehead by Green after partially blocking the punch. It was literally the first punch that Green landed, and Briggs went to his knees like he had a reservation for dinner across town, not even attempting to beat the ten count. While Green went ballistic after the fight (he said his dog had bigger stones than Briggs!), he was seen begging off those comments the next day saying that Briggs did indeed get hit with a punch. And, yeah, Briggs did get hit, but only one of two things are possible: Either Briggs should never have been licensed to fight if he couldn’t take that kind of punch, or he took a first class, Olympic-style dive (I give him a 9.5, by the way). Seems strange that Briggs could survive all that sparring in training, but couldn’t take a punch on fight night, huh? It also doesn’t help Briggs that some big money reportedly came in on Green by first round KO, either. Something smells rotten, and Briggs has forever besmirched himself with this pathetic performance. Way to destroy your name and legacy forever, dummy.

The Finito Q & A – July edition

If this guy (Shannon "punch me harder" Briggs) can get a title shot against Vitali Klitschko, does that mean that Razor Ruddock will face Wladamir next? We can only hope.

This month’s burning fistic questions, from the slow summer to the quick MMA death of James Toney:

Q: So what gives with the slow boxing schedule this summer? It seems there’s been a lack of big fights lately.

A: Welcome to boxing, which while it has no off-season, does tend to take a couple of months off from time to time. It’s true, since the beginning of May, there hasn’t been much except the Andre Ward-Allan Green Super Six fight, and that wasn’t much of a fight. I don’t think it’s anything intentional by promoters, really, it’s just scheduling, and all the big names are in the middle of their next big fight. Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if the soccer (oh, excuse me, football) World Cup has something to do with it, especially outside the U.S. With countries practically shutting down for days at a time while their country marches through the tournament, it’s not the best time to be promoting fights. It’s the same reason you don’t see a lot of U.S. boxing shows during the NCAA basketball tournament in March.

Q: What about the big names of Pacquiao and Mayweather? Is all the silence from both camps good or bad for the fight actually happening?

A: At this point, it’s a very good thing. One of the biggest issues during the last set of negotiations was all the carping about blood testing, lawsuits, event sites, you name it. When you’re putting together a megafight like this, with so many variables that each side has to agree on, doing it through the media is not the best way to go. All it did was tick both sides off at various times, so there was too much rancor built up when they actually had to head to the negotiating table privately. Frankly I’m amazed that Golden Boy and Top Rank can even keep it civil after the bad blood the last time around. Still, if everyone (including the fighters) can act like grown-ups here, this can get done and everyone can make a boatload of money.

Q: OK, on to some fights that actually happened this past weekend. Juan Manuel Lopez blew out Bernabe Concepcion in two rounds Saturday too keep his 126-pound belt. Does that mean that his near stumble against Rogers Mtagwa was just a bad night?

A: It was either a bad night or a bad stylistic matchup for Juanma, but if he keeps wiping out really good fighters like Concepcion, that Mtagwa fight gets farther and farther in the rear-view mirror. Much like Lopez’ countryman, Felix Trinidad, he sometimes gets lax and can be hit, which would explain how Concepcion was able to send Juanma to the canvas in the first round after he seemingly had the Filipino just about out on his feet. The flaws in Lopez’ game makes for some high drama, while the dynamite in his fists make for some outstanding finishes. It’s a great combination.

Q: So what happens when Juanma steps in the ring with Rafael Marquez in a few months?

A: You’ve got to like the Puerto Rican in this one. Although Marquez is one of my personally favorite fighters, I’m not sure the Mexican has enough left any more to overcome the offensive onslaught that Lopez is going to bring. If it was 2004, I think Rafa wins, but in 2010, Juanma has too much. I will say, however, that as long as this fight lasts, Marquez will get his licks in, and it won’t be an easy night for either guy.

Q: During the opening fight on Saturday, Showtime shockingly revealed that Nonito Donaire was using Victor Conte, former president of BALCO, as his nutritionist. Is that a smart move?

A: Only if you think that announcing Lindsay Lohan is your AA sponsor is smart. Seriously, there are no other nutritionists in the world better than a guy who plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute steroids? Not only did this Conte’s company nearly take down Sugar Shane Mosley, it’s been linked to some nefarious dealings with Barry Bonds as well as disgraced Olympic athletes Kelli White and Marion Jones. Now granted, Donaire is not as big a name as Mosley or any of those other athletes, but why take the risk? This guy has smeared more reputations than a Kitty Kelly tell-all biography, and he wasn’t even trying! It’s always good to have someone on retainer to help you achieve your best athletic performance possible, but there has to be a more hassle-free option out there than Conte.

Q: Let’s go back to Shobox on Friday night, where the possible rising star matchup of welterweights Mike Jones and Atwone Smith was nuked after Smith lost to Lanardo Tyner. Any chance Jones fights Tyner now? And what does this do to Smith’s career?

A: Well, if you believe Smith’s promoter, Lou Dibella, Smith was very sick leading up to the fight. From the eye test, it did look like Smith uncharacteristically ran out of gas around round six, so it’s probably likely that he wasn’t 100 percent. Tyner showed that he’s the kind of guy you’d better be at 100 percent to fight, because he’ll beat you if you’re not. Still, I don’t think that this will either ruin Smith’s career or get Tyner an automatic shot at Jones. Most likely what will happen is a rematch between the two, while Jones gets a shot at Andre Berto. Either way, we all win, because I’d certainly like to see both of those fights on the same card. Are you listening, Showtime?

Q: German promotional company Universum has decided to make their own YouTube page, posting the company’s recent fights as well as those from years back. Why aren’t more promoters doing this?

A: Honestly, I think it has more to do with how some promoters are organized than anything else. If you have ever seen Universum-Box work, they are very much like a true multinational corporation in how they are run, and they obviously have seen the benefit in giving fans around the world the ability to see their fighters (especially those who can’t get the German telecasts). They have fights with the Klitschkos, Jurgen Braehmer, Sebastian Zbik and Vitali Tajbert, just to name a few. Other promoters, by contrast, seem to think that once a show has aired, nothing more needs to be done with it. This is especially troublesome with large PPV events. With those, we normally get to see a replay of the main event on HBO or Showtime, but the undercard fights tend to disappear into the ether, never to be seen again. Before the Internet, fans rarely got to see those fights unless you knew someone who taped it. You can’t tell me that Top Rank, Golden Boy, and Goossen-Tutor couldn’t do the same thing Universum has done. It’s time for them to get it together. If I can upload my own videos to YouTube, it can’t be too much of a problem for them to do the same.

Q: In a blockbuster announcement on Friday Night Fights, Teddy Atlas said that Vitali Klitschko’s next opponent will likely be Shannon Briggs. Any interest in that?

A: Let’s put it this way – I’d rather walk out to my deck, pull up a chair, grab a soda and wait for the gray aliens to land on my lawn than see any fight with Shannon Briggs. It’s bad enough that the Klitschkos have no one to fight (see Albert Sosnowski), but what the hell has Briggs done since he fought George Foreman back in the 90’s? Grow longer dreadlocks? Even in this horrid collection of sad sacks that pass for heavyweight contenders these days, Briggs isn’t even high up on[I] that[/I] list. What a joke.

Q: So James Toney is going to try his hand at MMA, taking on legend Randy Couture next month. What’s the chance he survives the fight without serious bodily harm?

A: About the same chance that Toney has of passing a Dunkin’ Donuts without snacking on an apple fritter! Seriously, I’m not an MMA fan at all, and I know that Toney’s going to get killed inside of a minute. Bravado is all fine and good, and “Lights Out” has plenty of that, but does anyone seriously think Couture is not out to prove MMA’s dominance by ripping Toney’s head off? It would practically be a disgrace for a decorated MMA guy like Couture to lose to an out of shape rookie like Toney, whose best boxing days have been behind him for about five years now. The people making money on this fight are the two fighters and whatever hospital Toney ends up in afterwards. Humpty Dumpty has a better chance of getting reassembled before Toney does.

The Finito Flash – Green looks green and Superstar, Jr. finally doesn’t

Allan Green's trainer John David Jackson can lift his fighter high in the air after a win, but Green's Super Six no-show against Andre Ward and subsequent excuses of overtraining will make it harder for Jackson to lift Green and the bus Green threw him under.

A couple of thoughts about current goings-on in the Sweet Science:

It been about ten days since Andre Ward’s pasting of the apparently overhyped Allan Green, and I’m still amazed at just how uncompetitive that fight was. Yes, Green has been roundly criticized in this space before about running his mouth too much, telling all who would listen that Ward’s a chump and that the Super Six organizers had the intelligence of a snail for lacking the foresight to put Green in the tournament in the first place. Still, given that Green’s only loss was to dangerous (if limited in the boxing department) Edison Miranda when Green was truly sick during the fight, you had to figure all the talk was backing something up. It’s one thing to be dominated by a fighter the class of Ward (Mikkel Kessler was, and no one’s throwing him on the scrap heap, to my knowledge), but it was Green’s utter inability to do any sort of damage to the Oakland native that now has people asking some hard questions.

It’s also didn’t help that the excuse train was already leaving the station by the time the fight was over. Green told Showtime’s Jim Gray that his poor performance was likely due to his overtraining (the fight had been postponed due to a Ward knee injury) since late last year and coming in light at 166. Now I don’t know about you, but doesn’t that sound a little bit like he’s throwing his trainer John David Jackson under the bus? Jackson is a former world titleist and first-class trainer, so one would think he would know if his fighter was getting spent and dial it back a little in the weeks leading up to the fight. If you’ve trained for this fight three times essentially, which is what Green claims, why would you need the same strenuous camp? Hasn’t most everything been covered at that point?

Also, does this mean that Green is nothing but a knock out artist with little else, a la Randall Bailey? Bailey has howitzers in both fists, but he never has achieved greatness simply because he can’t win without landing the big punch. It still remains to be seen whether this is Green’s fate, but he certainly looked like a rank amateur when faced with the versatility of Ward’s attack. No adjustments were made, and all Green did was get more and more frustrated (and less competitive) as the fight wore on. Comparatively, Kessler did make adjustments during his bout with Ward, but the Dane was just unable to pull the trigger and execute his game plan. Green looked like he hadn’t even brought the gun with him.

What does this mean for the Super Six going forward? If this is all Green is capable of doing, you have to believe that Kessler is licking his chops and liking his chances of getting to the semifinals. If you’re Andre Dirrell, Carl Froch, or Arthur Abraham, you have to be thinking that with Kessler and Ward in, one of the three is going to be left out. It’s just too bad that the Super Six became the Super Five because of Jermain Taylor and Allan Green. Maybe boxing fans will get lucky and Green will find the juice to be competitive. If not, Green risks being downgraded from main-event status permanently.

/

There maybe be no fighter who has taken more shots at Julio Caesar Chavez, Jr. than the media, including this space right here. To this point, JC Superstar’s oldest kid has treated us to a bunch of PPV megafights against the likes of Jason LeHoullier, Matt Vanda (twice!) and Jose Celaya, all of which had most boxing fans interested in the real fighters on his undercards than any of “main events” that Chavez was in. Throw that in with his sleep-inducing fight against Troy Rowland on the Pacquiao-Cotto undercard, where the most exciting thing about it was Jr. testing positive for a banned diuretic and getting a seven-month suspension, and there hasn’t been any real compelling reason to see one of his fights. As a matter of fact, he’s been more of a Butterbean-type attraction than a real fighter climbing the rankings.

So when uber-trainer Freddie Roach proclaimed that he’d seen a lot in the kid after deciding to train him some weeks back, it was with met with more than a little skepticism by boxing fans and media alike. But give the kid (and Freddie) credit, he actually resembled a decent fighter last Saturday against Irish John Duddy, as Jr. busted him up pretty good en route to a unanimous decision. Chavez actually sported an effective jab, one he employed nearly the whole fight and he looked to be in real shape for the first time anyone can remember. This performance was not joke-worthy, but rather an actual display of boxing and punching that produced a fun and exciting fight for once. This might be the one of the few times in his career that Chavez displayed some things that would make anyone want to see more of him.

Now does this mean that Jr.’s arrived? Not really, because while Duddy was a credible opponent, he’s looking more and more like a B-level fighter, and hasn’t met a punch that he couldn’t get hit with. Still, this is a step in the right direction, and with some more tutelage from Roach, you could conceivably step Chavez up into a fight with someone in the top 15 at middleweight to see how he would do. Even if Chavez is not the level of a Paul Williams or Sergio Martinez, seeing him fight credible fights against credible opponents is a breath of fresh air.

Off The Cuff

Not only does Rafael Marquez carries a mean right hand, but apparently a mean right leg to score goals in the World Cup. Are those three fingers for your last hat trick?

Because absolutely NOBODY asked, it’s time for the Finito to go off the cuff with some musings on the Sweet Science:

## Just to give you an idea of how any fight with the Klitschko brothers excites me these days, I just now got around to watching Vitali’s tenth-round TKO of Albert Sosnowki, and the fight was over three weeks ago. Did you know that between the two brothers, they have stopped exactly one guy (Wlad over Ray Austin in ‘07) inside of six rounds since 2005? Yes, I know Vitali didn’t come out of retirement until 2008, but it still underscores a major point: While the heavyweight division has a complete dearth of viable challengers, the Klitschkos just don’t press the issue enough to make exciting fights. Mike Tyson may not have beaten the best era of heavyweight contenders, but his passion for wiping people out made us all tune in whenever he fought.

## And if you still don’t think that the heavyweight challenger pool isn’t as bad as I’m saying, watch Vitali keep his left hand at his hip constantly when he’s not throwing a jab for an entire fight. You think he’d get away with that against someone like Lennox Lewis or Riddick Bowe without getting decapitated with an overhand right? Sadly, though, there’s not anyone good enough to do it these days.

## Since Miguel Cotto took down the game Yuri Foreman ten days ago, there’s been about a million opinions thrown out here and there regarding Arthur Mercante, Jr.’s decision to continue the fight after a towel was thrown in the ring. Look, according to the rules in New York, Mercante was well within his rights to continue the fight. However, if the corner wants to stop the fight (and yes, I know there was some confusion about that), the referee should stop it barring any real reason not to. It was obvious that Foreman blew his knee out and couldn’t effectively move out of the way of Cotto’s punches, and I’m sure that was the corner’s thinking. They know their fighter better than anyone, and they might have seen something that Mercante had no way of knowing. A referee should respect the corner’s wishes in that matter.

## Speaking of Cotto, good performance by him. You can really tell the difference a top-notch trainer like Emanuel Steward can make. But for a guy from Detroit, wearing some almost-Yankee looking pinstripes as your ring attire when you’re a Detroit Tiger fan is pretty weak.

## How funny was it hearing the crowd yell “Ole’!” after every huge swing and miss by Jesus Iribe against Ivan Calderon Saturday? “Iron Boy” really should have been a matador, because that guy knows how to make ‘em whiff at some air, even against a very competent fighter like Iribe.

## Who at Top Rank fell asleep at the switch by putting rising 115-pound uber-prospect McWilliams Arroyo in with the equally adept Takashi Okada? Normally, fighters like Arroyo are fed guys with 4-10 records that fight when they’re not driving a semi to Phoenix, not another prospect with some actual ability. Okada looked like the guy on the rise, and Arroyo looked like the Iced Road Trucker. Whoops!

## You know, I am really glad that ESPN3 (ESPN’s online streaming component) gives us replays of Friday Night Fights whenever we want, but wouldn’t you think they would at least stream the whole show? I was streaming the show from a couple of weeks back, and it started right at the Brad Soloman-Kenny Galarza fight, lopping off the first fifteen minutes of the show! All the Cotto-Foreman prefight talk, Teddy Atlas’ predictions plus an interview with Dan Rafael were all cut out. I had to watch the rest on my DVR when I got back home. Kinda defeats the point, doesn’t it, ESPN?
## So let me get this right: Carl Froch thinks he can’t get a fair shake if they have his next Super Six fight with Arthur Abraham in Abraham’s home country of Germany, so the only fair thing to do is have the fight in Froch’s native England? Myopic much, Carl?

## Just to get it out of the way, Andre Ward over Allan Green by decision.

## I’m still not sure what to think about either guy after Vanes Martirosyan took apart Joe Green on the Cotto-Foreman undercard. While I think Martirosyan looked about a hundred times better than in his last (questionable) win against Kassim Ouma, Green was just terrible. I was just stunned to see Green, who’s normally an aggressive fighter, just look lost and ineffective nearly the entire fight. Whether that means Martirosyan is that good or Green is not anything close to what we thought remains to be seen. This might be one of those fights we’re going to have to wait and see to figure out whether this bout was an anomaly or a sign of things to come.

## Well, in case anyone was wondering whether junior fly Carlos Tamara’s title-winning victory against Brian Viloria was the start of something big, please turn in Tamara’s performance against Luis Lazarte as State’s evidence. All credit to Lazarte for finally winning a title after his 30th attempt, but there’s a reason Lazarte hasn’t won an alphabelt before now. Lazarte mostly bull rushes his opponents while swinging too widely, so the top of the division can handle him. The fact that Tamara couldn’t deal with that (use a jab already!) tells probably tells us all we need to know.

## Nice to hear that Steve “U.S.S.” Cunningham signed with Sauerland Event and had a successful debut against Canadian Troy Ross last week. Too bad Cunningham had to go all the way to Germany to find a promoter that recognized his talent. This guy makes for some really good fights.

## How surprising was it to see Rafael Marquez score Mexico’s first goal in the World Cup against host South Africa in their 1-1- tie last Friday? I didn’t think he had any time to train with the Mexican national team while he was preparing for his fourth fight with Israel Vazquez, but apparently he’s that good. Of course, I’m assuming they’re both the same guy, but how many guys named Rafael Marquez can there be in Mexico, right?Paging John Smith…

News and Views: The Marquez-Vazquez weekend

Israel Vazquez provides the crowd with a McDonald's Fillet-O-Face courtesy of his scar tissue and Rafael Marquez' punches. Thankfully, it looks like there won't be a best of five in this series.

Some thoughts on the recent happenings in the world of the Sweet Science:

News: Rafael Marquez knocks out Israel Vazquez in the third round of their featherweight clash Saturday after two hellacious cuts render Vazquez unable to see.

Views: This is why, even as a huge fan of both guys, I did not want to see this fight. There’s a reason it took both guys over a year to fight again after they completed their awesome trilogy in 2008. Vazquez, especially, looked very shaky his last time out against Angel Priolo last October; for that matter, Marquez certainly didn’t look like the pound-for-pound world-beater he was when he beat Jose Francisco Mendoza either, and that was a year ago. It was obvious to all but the blind that their three fights together had taken too much out of them, and to expect some kind of war this time around was fool’s gold. When Showtime analyst Antonio Tarver (who is really solidifying his place as the best ex-fighter doing color commentary today) took one look at Vazquez’ left eye and said it looked ready to open up prior to the fight even starting, you knew this one wasn’t going very far. The fight was barely two minutes old when that eye opened up, and Marquez (who was always the more skilled of the two) had more than enough to get Vazquez out of there two rounds later. Add yet another cut on Vazquez’ other eye in the third round from a headbutt, and the valiant Mexican just couldn’t see. The gruesome cut that Vazquez sported after the fight looked like it was done with a machete or something. The outcome was not satisfying at all and was actually a little sad, which is what I was afraid would happen.

News: While there was talk of a fifth fight between the two after the fight (the series is tied at 2-2), Vazquez’ manager, Frank Espinosa, said Israel would likely have to retire instead.

Views: Finally some smart talk from someone who genuinely cares about his fighter. At the very least, Vazquez will need major reconstructive surgery on that right eye just so he won’t look like he spent 20 years in the WWE. Given that prospect, why put him in the ring again? It’s too great a risk. He made a lot of money during his career, and no one is disputing his place as one of the great Mexican warriors in the history of boxing; we’ll remember his three fights with Marquez forever. How excruciating must it have been for his family to watch Vazquez’ face get carved up like a Christmas turkey? Sometimes, enough is enough, and it looks like it’s time for Vazquez to call it a career. There’s nothing more to prove between he and Marquez; they’ve both proved their greatness whether they do another thing in the sport or not.

News: On the undercard, bantamweights Yonnhy Perez and Abner Mares battled to a spirited draw.

Views: Anyone else excited about the 118-pound division these days? We already have Fernando Montiel, Vic Darchinyan, Hozumi Hasegawa and Joseph Agbeko at the top of the division, and now you can add both Perez and Mares to the mix. Yes, Perez did look like he was in trouble at the end of the fight (and the Finito had it 116-112 Mares), but Perez made it a fun scrap to watch and landed quite a few shots of his own. There were several close rounds, so the draw was a pretty good call. Not only is this one begging for a rematch, but you wouldn’t mind seeing either guy in with the names mentioned above instead, either. While each fighter has great skills, both have enough flaws that would make any combination of those matchups fun to watch. The biggest hurdle that Perez and Mares faced was getting a lot of TV time; that really shouldn’t be a problem from here on out.

News: Ruslan Chagaev decisions Kali Meehan to garner the WBA’s mandatory challenger to new titleist David Haye.

Views: So let me get this right: Chagaev gets destroyed by Wladamir Klitschko and loses his title, so now he gets to fight Kali Meehan (who’s ranked #1 by the WBA for some inexplicable reason) and get another shot? You would think that any organization would look at that beat down and decide that Chagaev needed to win a few more fights to get back in the title picture. No, friends this is the WBA! Instead, Chagaev gets to earn another shot by beating a guy who’s best known for losing every significant heavyweight fight he’s ever had. It’s just silly at this point, and it makes me wonder why fighters take these sanctioning bodies and their titles seriously. Yeah, sure the gold looks nice to carry into the ring, but by charging thousands every fight just to keep it, that belt seems just a tad overpriced. No wonder “Money” Mayweather told the WBA (stands for We’re Beyond Asinine, I think) to take a walk rather than pay the sanctioning fee for Shane Mosley’s title.

News: Manny Pacquiao is diagnosed with a mild stomach ulcer Monday.

Views: Between running for Congress in the Philippines and having to negotiate with Floyd Mayweather, I’m surprised the man doesn’t guzzle Tums by the box! Seriously, though, many Pac-Man fans have always worried that he’s spreading himself too thin with all the commitments he has going on. Between politics, fighting, movies, ads, charities and everything else, he makes the Dos Equis’ “Most Interesting Man In the World” look like a burger flipper at White Castle (heard their burgers will give you ulcers, too). We all want Pacquiao to be thrilling the boxing world for years to come, but he may need to dial it back a bit if he’s going to jeopardize his health. He needs to be a threat to his opponent’s health, not his own.

The Finito Five 5/20/10

It's not known where Amir Khan ate Saturday night, but he sure had plenty of Italian earlier that evening. Khan showed that he was adept at swarming the "Magic Man" with punches as Malignaggi usually is with his opponents.

With even more letters (really, just a few more) than Krzysztof Wlodarczyk - Giacobbe Fragomeni II, it’s the Finito Five!

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1. Amir Khan do it

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All right, no Monday-morning quarterbacking here, you just didn’t see Amir Khan looking this good, did you? Going into Saturday night’s 140-pound clash of British import Khan and the always exciting (if sometimes unpredictable) Paulie Malignaggi, there weren’t a whole lot of boxing fans or scribes predicting the domination that Khan laid on the NYC native. As a matter of fact, as good as Malignaggi looked last time out in avenging his suspect loss to Juan Diaz, there were more than a few who thought that Khan might be in for a rude awakening. Though the only knock on Khan was a possible suspect chin (exposed inside of a round by Breidis Prescott a couple years back) and no one figured that feather-fisted Malignaggi would be able to test it, Khan had never faced anyone of Malignaggi’s considerable skills. At this point, the “Magic Man” might be the division’s ultimate gatekeeper. Beat him, as Miguel Cotto and Ricky Hatton did, you show yourself to be on the elite level; lose to him, as Edner Cherry, Juan Diaz and Herman Ngoudjo did, you’ve shown you’re not quite there.

If that’s the true litmus test, let it now be said: Khan has arrived. While Malignaggi has lost before, he never was beaten at his own game, which Khan was able to do in spades. He got off before Malignaggi, hit him harder, more often, and sometimes, almost seemingly at will. “King Khan” obviously has been paying attention to his trainer Freddie Roach, because his overall offensive and defensive game is miles above where it was around the Prescott loss. It just goes to show that even the best of talents can improve their ring skills, and it pays off like Lookin’ at Lucky did in the Preakness that same day. Malignaggi, however, looked more like Super Saver, beaten down and beaten up to the point that he was contemplating retirement after the fight. That seems premature; he’s still too entertaining and can beat too many fighters for that. It just looks like Khan might be one of those that will beat a whole mess of really good fighters before he’s done.

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2. Worst choppers ever, Part 2

Last time out at the Finito, it was chronicled just how shockingly (and I mean like the first time you heard Mike Tyson speak shockingly) terrible Mikkel Kessler’s mom’s teeth were. If you study the tape of the Kessler-Carl Froch fight carefully, you can see several startled witnesses covering their children’s eyes at ringside as Mrs. Kessler opened her mouth. As frightening as it was for all of us, none of us were prepared for the sequel, as Amir Khan’s dad, Shah Khan (who’s Amir’s mom, Chaka Khan, then?), flashed a gap-tooth that you could fit an honest-to-God Concord grape into. Seriously, that space was big enough that you could see the man’s actual tonsils through it. And you thought eyes were the window to the soul! What’s the deal with the lack of orthodontistry in the boxing community? Perhaps there should be a doctor at ringside during fights, then an orthodontist in the locker room after the fight to check out the fighter’s relatives. Just an idea.

3. Victor Ortiz returns to “Vicious” form

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Anyone who had a chance to watch “Vicious” Victor Ortiz’ last two fights (a KO over Antonio Diaz and decision against Hector Alatorre) wouldn’t have been wrong in thinking that Ortiz lost his killer instinct when he got knocked out by Marcos Maidana. Certainly, the Diaz fight was against a fighter who’s likely finished, and Allatore was a journeyman that Victor just couldn’t seem to pull the trigger on. The thought was that Maidana might have knocked the fight out of the 23-year old, as Ortiz both looked and talked like a guy who didn’t know if he wanted to be a fighter going forward. It was surprising then, that Ortiz roared back to form in beating Nate Campbell from pillar to post over ten rounds to stake his own claim at jr. welterweight. Now Campbell, who is 38, might be as done as Diaz was, but Ortiz acted as if he wanted this one, throwing harder and with more purpose than the aforementioned last two forays into the ring. At his best, Ortiz can be a don’t-go-to-the-fridge type of fighter, but it may always be mental with him, much like Kendall Holt’s Sybil-like ring performances lately. Let’s hope that Victor remains “Vicious” from here on out, because he will be headlining cards and exciting boxing fans for years to come if he can just keep the focus he had against Campbell.

4. The fight that never was, and the rematch that won’t happen

There are two type of no-contest bouts in boxing: those victories that get nullified due to some pre or post-fight shenanigans, and those that are stopped early due to some strange circumstance and never get off the ground. With the first type, at least, there is usually a complete fight to judge whether said shenanigans would have changed the outcome of the bout. The second kind, however, leaves everyone wanting to know what could have happened, and we all too rarely seem to get an answer. For three rounds, the Paul Williams-Kermit Cintron jr. middleweight tussle was anything but, as both fighters didn’t establish much offensively. Then, of course, just as they started to throw some actual punches in round four, a strange tie-up caused Cintron to fall out of the ring an onto a table, injuring himself too severely to continue. Now, because of the stupid California rules that say the fight can go to the scorecards after only three rounds (not the usual four), Williams won, but clearly there was nothing decided here, right? Wrong, as now boxing fans will never get to find out what happened, as the Williams camp is taking the win and splitting. Maybe this was karma for Cintron’s weak draw against Sergio Martinez (and there are some that have said Cintron should have lobbied harder to continue after his fall), but how can Williams and promoter Dan Goosen not even talk about a rematch? Now they’re acting like the “Punisher” had some kind of quality win, and are just moving on to greener pastures. Come on. This fight decided nothing, and boxing fans deserve to see how it would have played out. It’s not like Williams was handing it to Cintron before he took his spill, anyway. Williams struggles enough to garner fans as it is; he doesn’t need to do this kind of cut-and-run job.

5. Bet you know if Sonny Liston was really hit with that punch, too, Teddy

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Teddy Atlas is half the reason boxing fans love ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights so much, with his passion, expertise and experience covering all aspects the fight game. Lately, though, Atlas seems to have taken his predilection for getting into fighters’ heads to a new and inappropriate level. First, two weeks ago, he insinuated that Shane Mosley might have lost so decisively to Floyd Mayweather because it was his first fight off steroids. If that wasn’t speculative enough, he then insinuated a week later that it was possible that Kermit Cintron was looking for a way out when he was carted off on a stretcher after a fall out of the ring against Paul Williams. While both of these scenarios could certainly be true, Atlas, who is no journalist, had absolutely no concrete information to back this up other than his spurious “I’ve been around, and I’ve seen how a lot of fighters act” schtick. While he does have a knack for seeing things in fighters like all trainers do, most of what he said flies in the face of actual logic. Forget that Mosley has actually [I]lost[/I] a handful fights since he would have allegedly been taking PED’s. Forget that Cintron had to have known he had no chance to beat Williams by begging out of the fight when it was stopped. Those are just logical scenarios that get in the way of all the insinuation. Teddy needs to stick to the action in the ring, and leave the journalism to the journalists.

The Finito Q & A – May edition

Even though Sugar Shane had Mayweather reeling in the second round, from that point on it was Floyd who reeled Mosley in like a fish.

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This month’s ten burning questions, from Mayweather’s straight right to Mikkel Kessler’s mother lack of straight teeth:

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Q: Pretty impressive performance by Floyd Mayweather in beating Shane Mosley this weekend. Surprised that he dominated so thoroughly after nearly hitting the deck in the second round?

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A: I wouldn’t say surprised, because most of us figured he may have had this in him, we just never had the opportunity to see it. That probably speaks more to “Pretty Boy’s” talent and career as a whole than anything else. Still, when Mayweather was rocked for the first time anyone can remember (and if you don’t believe he was one more right from tasting canvas, check the video again), he responded like the Hall of Famer he’s going to be. He took Mosley, who is going to Canestota someday himself, apart from that point on, and by the end of the fight Sugar Shane was out of gas and out of answers. Except for perhaps the first Vernon Forrest fight, Mosley’s never been in that position. It was simply an excellent performance against the welterweight champion.

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Q: But what about Mosley being on the downside of his career? Surely this might have been a different fight had it happened eight years ago?

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A: That may be the case, but for once, you can’t hold that against Floyd. He took on the Ring Magazine 147-pound champ, and beat him, simple as that. Besides, no one’s going to know if Mosley is shot until he fights a couple of more times. If he comes back looking like he did against Margarito, then it looks more impressive for Mayweather. If Mosely’s next fight is a shellacking like he took against Miguel Cotto, then we’ll know his best days are behind him. Either way, Mayweather took on a real welterweight, which is what he always needed to do and will have to continue going forward.

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Q: So does this now usher in an era of Mayweather fighting the best in and around welterweight?

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A: Not so fast, my friend. I’m still convinced that Mayweather was damn sure he had Mosley right when and where he wanted him, because that’s how “Money” makes fights. Whether it was the year-plus long layoff, overtraining due to his winter training camp in preparation for the Andre Berto fight that never happened, or simply that he was 38, Mayweather took this fight knowing that he would have some kind of advantage. He could have fought Mosley just about any time in the last decade, and the fact that he took this fight now was a calculated move. Mayweather may talk a lot of nonsensical crap, but as far as business goes, he’s no dummy.

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Q: Will that mean Mayweather won’t fight Manny Pacquiao until he thinks he has Manny at his weakest point?

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A: Yes, something like that. Whether it’s Pacquiao running for elective office in the Phillipines, perhaps doing another movie, or becoming Emperor of Manila, there’s every chance that Pac-Man might have a period of inactivity or suffer in his training due to having so many irons in the fire. Believe me, team Mayweather is watching this. Even if Manny agrees to the Olympic-style drug testing, I don’t think we’ll see the fight with Mayweather actually happen until Floyd sees some kind of flaw in Pacquiao’s armor. It may just be perceived on Mayweather’s part, but it will need to be there before the contracts are signed.

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Q: How about the media coverage surrounding the event? It seems like a lot of mainstream media were actually talking about and covering the fight.

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A: The coverage was welcome, and should make boxing fans feel good to be boxing fans again. While it’s hard for me sometimes to listen to non-boxing people talk about the Sweet Science without cringing, the mainstream media really did a fair and honest job of covering the fight as the event it was. For once, all the talk was about the action in the ring and not about how boxing is dying sport. That was refreshing, and nice to see. Hopefully, this will be a trend that continues.

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Q: Going back ten days or so, looks like your streak continued in the Super Six tournament. What did you see in Kessler that made you think that he’d beat Carl Froch?

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A: Well, put simply, I went with the home team on this one. I figured it would be a close fight, and it was that; the raving Danes (would that be a fantastic name for a punk band or what?) filling a packed house gave him a shot in the arm, I believe. Besides, Kessler has never had two bad fights in a row, and he bounced back from the loss to Joe Calzaghe pretty well. So after Andre Ward dusted him up, you had to figure that Kessler would be ready and desperate, although Froch actually fought much better than he did in his win against Andre Dirrell in the first round of the tournament. Look, one thing that’s becoming apparent is that anyone can beat anyone in the Super Six, there are NO easy nights. Ward had better watch out against Allan Green next month.

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Q: So what was more surprising to watch, Froch’s humble response to his first loss or Kessler’s mom’s awful teeth?

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A: While Froch actually giving credit to Kessler post-fight after sounding like Floyd Mayweather’s understudy for the last year was surprising, Kessler’s mother and her Choppers of Doom have to win this one. Seriously, Mikkel? You’re the biggest athlete in the whole damn country, make millions of dollars (or kroners), and your mom’s mouth looks like the Carlsbad Caverns? Get her some orthodontistry, dude! Man, I bet it wasn’t hard for her to keep the kids in line whenever she flashed those things in anger. Don King’s hair just told me that it relinquishes its title as Freakiest Thing In Boxing for as long as Kessler’s career lasts. Yikes.

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Q: Since Fernando Montiel went to Japan and lifted a bantamweight title from Hozumi Hasagawa with a stunning fourth-round KO, would that qualify as the upset of the year so far?

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A: Maybe not the upset of the year, but perhaps the surprise of the year. If anyone remembers, Montiel hasn’t exactly looked like a world-beater in his last few fights, and Hasagawa hadn’t lost since he was fighting four-rounders. Montiel just crushed Hasagawa with a massive left hook in the fourth round, and the Japanese fighter was absolutely out on his feet (somebody actually saw him on Queer Street having a beer, I hear). Great win for Montiel, but this one is begging for a rematch, because it was a single punch that changed the fight. Given that fighters from North America and the Orient don’t fight much (it was fortunate this fight ever happened in the first place), don’t be surprised if that doesn’t materialize, unfortunately.

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Q: Showtime’s Shobox play-by-play man Nick Charles announced on last Friday’s telecast that his cancer is back, and he’ll have to take another leave of absence from the show. This really isn’t a good sign, is it?

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A: No, cancer the first time or the tenth time never is. He beat it once, so we know he’s a fighter, and I think I speak for the boxing public when I say I hope he does it again. There’s no better ambassador for the sport or sports in general, for that matter. Charles is class all the way, adds a smooth professionalism to any broadcast he’s been a part of and is liked by just about everyone. I can remember him all the way back to the extra-curly haired CNN days; I sure wish we get to see on camera once again with that short-haired chemo look, because that would mean he’s returned from being down once again. Go beat this cancer again, Nick, and hopefully, this thing won’t need a trilogy.