Preview - Mayweather vs. Berto

Does Andre Berto have a chance to beat Floyd Mayweather tonight?

No.

Two Weeks - Two Fights - Two Stories

During the pre-fight circus of the Floyd Mayweather/ Manny Pacquiao match there was a moment, sometime after Jamie Fox’s free-style version of the American anthem and before Michael Buffer’s raspy/two-pack-a-day “Lets Get Read To Rumble” where Mayweather looked up to the sky. I don’t profess to know exactly what he was thinking, but he had the look of a man that had just pulled off the longest con in the world. He also looked like a man who, in 36 minutes, would get a check for $200 million.

The last two weeks of boxing have been pretty entertaining, if for entirely different reasons.  The mega-fight was all about the build-up. It was about the spectacle around the sport. Two adversaries finally meeting in the ring. Two fighters, who at one point, had been either the best or most exciting in the sport would finally meet head-to-head.  Of course it was going to be over hyped.

There was only one chance for the fight to live up to the madness.  And that was for Pacquiao to dial the clock back to the days when he was a relentless, overwhelming, barrage of combinations and knock-outs. In the fourth round there was a moment when I knew it wasn't going to happen.

Pacquiao landed a clean left, backing Mayweather up on the ropes. Manny unleashed a small flurry of punches, some landing, most blocked.  Then....he stepped back.  Was it the smart move? Was Floyd playing possum hoping to catch Pac-Man with a counter shot?  Maybe.  But, the Manny Pacquiao of old would never have worried about that. He would have kept throwing until something landed, consequences be damned.

Whether it was the shoulder or, the fact that some of that fearlessness was forever destroyed by Juan Manual Marquez’s December 2012 counterpunch, it was not to be.  Manny landed a few punches, stirred up the crowd a handful of times, but seemed content to chase Mayweather around the ring.

So it was with much amusement to listen to the casual sports fan bitch and moan about Money Mayweather and his “dancing” and “hugging” his way to an ugly victory.  Or the “I can’t believe I paid $100 for that” tweets and comments. What else did you honestly think was going to happen?  Did you really think that Floyd would engage and stand toe-to-toe with Manny in the middle of the ring?  Hell no.

There was a time when Floyd used his skills for offense. If a fighter was there to be hit, he hit him. Try and tell Ricky Hatton that all Mayweather did was run around the ring, I think you’ll get a different story.  As he’s aged though, Pretty Boy realized he could win fights without having to get into wars.  He could throw enough punches to win a round and then use his skill to evade any real damage.

I sent a text to someone during the fight saying something along the lines of “Floyd is a better boxer in slow motion”.  In real time, some of his counter right hands didn’t look like they were doing much damage, but when HBO-time slowed down the highlights between the rounds you could see they were landing flush.  While he may not have the show stopping power of Gennedy Golovkin, he still hits hard enough to make these “active” fighters think twice about barging in with abandon.

Floyd’s greatest skill of all, is making the boxing fan care.  He’s fought the same fight enough time that we should know better, but we still watch.  He doesn’t care if we watch to see him win or to see him get knocked out. As long we fork over the money and he gets a check cut he doesn’t care.

On the other hand, James Kirkland’s greatest skill is not caring about getting punched in the face.  If there was ever a polar opposite to Mayweather’s slickness in the ring, it’s Kirkland’s fierce determination to walk forward and throw a lot of punches. Thirty-two times that strategy has worked.  Unfortunately on Saturday night, it was a recipe for disaster against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.

For a little while it looked like it might work.  And by little while I mean a minute or so.  Kirkland, The Mandingo Warrior” waded through a couple of big shots from Alvarez and crowded the big Mexican with some power shots of his own.  Unfortunately he wasn’t able to maintain that space and midway through the first round Alvarez landed a straight right that glazed Kirkland’s eyes and sent him stumbling to the canvas.

Kirkland was able to clear his head and got back up in plenty of time to beat the count.  He tried to keep pace with the red-haired Mexican’s flurry of power shots. The Texan survived the second round on his feet, but chances of an upset were fading as it became apparent that even the biggest shots weren‘t hurting Alvarez.  Landing just about every punch he threw, Canelo kept up a steady mix of hooks to the body and straight power shots to the head.  Still Kirkland came forward trying to smother the shots while landing an occasional blow himself.

Two and a half minutes into the third it was over.  Alvarez scored his first knock down with a huge right uppercut that landed flush on Kirkland’s jaw and dropped him.  Once again the warrior pulled himself up, but the end was near. He soon found himself against the ropes with his hands down. As Canelo pawed at his chest with a straight left, Kirkland started a left hook from his hip, but Alvarez’s right was quicker.  He hit Kirkland so flush it looked like his jaw was separated from his head.  Kirkland was out on his feet, that left hook he started still tracing it’s lazy arc through the air as his body crashed to the floor.

The ref stopped the fight before Kirkland started to move. Not that it would have mattered.  The Mandingo Warrior said something about being disappointed that the ref had ended the fight, but he should be sending him a thank-you gift. Even if he had somehow beat the 10 -count (it was at least 30 seconds before we knew he wasn‘t dead), it wasn’t like he was going to change his strategy enough to keep from being knocked down again.  Jon Schorle probably saved Kirkland a few years of dementia by stopping the fight when he did.

There has been a lot of electronic ink spilled about Kirkland dropping his long-time trainer Ann Wollfe. After this is the second time he’s fought without her and both times have ended with him getting knocked down several times.  While he is obviously a better fighter with her in the corner, he should also invest in someone who teaches him how to block a punch from time to time.

So, you want to be a boxer?  Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images

If the Mayweather fight was the “Sweet Science” than the Canelo fight was the “of bruising” portion of Pierce Egan’s quote on boxing.  The brutal knockout kept him online for a match-up against Miguel Cotto and then a potential mega fight against Golovkin.

It was a nice refreshing palate cleanser to all of the negativity generated by Mayweather/Pacquiao and proof that boxing, despite reports of it’s imminent demise,  isn’t quite dead yet. Yes, the debacle two weeks ago didn’t do anything to win new fans, but boxing has been through this before.

There is always going to be another great fighter waiting in the ring.  Alvarez is proving that he’s not just a product of the Mexican hype-machine, but actually a bruising boxer who really will fight anyone at anytime. Golovkin (who fights May 16th) is probably the most exciting fighter to watch and maybe, someday someone of skill will want to step into the ring with him.

Will either one of them have the cross-over appeal that Pacquiao and Mayweather had? Will they break PPV records? Probably not.  But they are worth watching, and somewhere in a gym somewhere around the world the next Mayweather is lacing up the gloves.

Opposite Ends of the Hype Line - Gennedy Golovkin and Mike Lee Both Fight This Weekend

It's a pretty good boxing weekend for one that doesn't include anyone named Mayweather or Pacquiao. Well, good enough for me to shake the dust of the keyboard and bang out some words about it. First up on Friday night, ESPN returns to the Windy City and features quasi-local boy Mike Lee. Sadly I do not have tickets or a press pass to attend. Then on Saturday, Gennedy Golovkin headlines a HBO Pay-Per-View in Madison Square Garden where he looks to add another victim to his hit list.

We'll begin with Golovkin, because he is the most interesting fighter on the list. Born in Kazakhstan, lives in Germany but training in Big Bear, California Golovkin has ascended rapidly up the “must watch” fighters list over the last two years. During that time (which coincided with his United States debut – a blistering TKO victory over Gregorz Proksa) he has gained a reputation, spearheaded by HBO Boxing, as the “Most Dangerous Man” in boxing.

It's easy to like a fighter who finishes off his opponents and Golovkin's string of 16 straight knockouts makes him as easy to like as apple pie on Thanksgiving. He can hit with both hands, throws power punches at will, has the agility and balance that rarely leaves him off balance all while commanding the ring like it's his personal dance space.

He's drawn a lot of comparisons to a young Mike Tyson (maybe we should call him Kazakh Dynamite much like Tyson was Kid Dynamite) for his power and the way opponents are starting to shy away from him. Of course, no one is flat out admitting that they won't fight him, but no one of note seems to be in a hurry to sign the dotted line for a fight.

Not only does he dole out his fair share of punishment, but he's not going to be confused with Winky Wright anytime soon when it comes to defense. He gets hit from time to time, enough so that you begin to wonder if this might be the time he pays the price for keeping his hands down.

I can imagine his opponents thinking, “Hey I just rocked him with a straight right. I can do this” right before they wake up staring at the bright lights and a mustachioed man in a blue shirt waving his arms over his head.

Maybe it's his love of cardigans or huge smile whenever he's being interviewed, but no one scheduled to face him is ever thinks that they're going to fall victim to his fistic bombarment. Granted no one on the professional level is ever going to admit that they're scared of getting hit by their opponent, but some of his victims have been extremely boastful prior to stepping in the ring.

Gabriel Rosado: “I'm gonna smash him”

Curtis Stevens: “I'm coming there ready. I'm not scared, obviously, because I asked for the fight.”

Osumanu Adama: “The difference with me is that I'm not scared of Golovkin”

The point being, you might not fear him going into the fight, but chances are your thoughts will change once your back is on the canvas and the overhead lights are swimming in your eyes.

For boxing fans, enjoy Golovkin for where he is at now in his career. He is getting popular, but he is not at the over-saturation point yet. Sure, there are folks on the internet who say he's overrated, but that's the cynical internet where God himself could come down, heal the sick and lame, end warfare and someone would write, “Ehhh. That's nothing, Buddha would mop the floor with that guy.

Nor has Golovkin risen to the point where he's become the pick and choose, fight two times a year superstar boxer. Remember how much fun it was to look forward to Manny Pacquiao's fights when he was laying waste to his opponents? When he was ripping up De La Hoya and Rickey Hatton? Those were fun days, before the “When Will He Fight Mayweather” talk really escalated or he got mired down by Timothy Bradley.

That's were we're at with Golovkin. His future fights aren't more important than his present fights. Who care's if he'll fight Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. or Saul Alvarez. All we want him to do is bust up Daniel Geale like a birthday pinata.

I agree that he hasn't fought the best fighters yet, but in this business you still have to work your way up the ladder. He's beating, straight up stole-his-money beating, everyone that enters the ring with him. So enjoy that now. Because it's going to change. It always changes.

I don't know much about his opponent, Daniel Geale. He was born in Tasmania (awesome) and lives in Australia (still awesome) and held both the IBF and WBA super-middleweight titles. His two losses were split decisions that were somewhat controversial and he's beat Felix Strum on points in Germany. Which is like beating Floyd Mayweather on points in Las Vegas. It just doesn't happen.

He seems like a nice fighter. Fairly competent on defense as he has never been knocked out and hasn't been down in a round since 2008. Of course, looking at his list of opponents, none of them has had the power of Golovkin. He is the requisite feel-good underdog. Unlike most fighters, he doesn't seclude himself in a remote fortress when he trains for fights, rather he stays at home with his family. He has even dedicated this fight to his mother who is battling non-Hodgkins lymphoma. And against almost anyone other than Golovkin I would be rooting for him.

Like those who stumbled to the mat before him, Geale isn't afraid of Golovkin. Of course, he can't allow himself to be. Or else the fight is already lost. Geale has to believe that he is different than everyone else who has fought Golovkin. That his defense is tighter. That if gets inside he can do serious damage where others have just annoyed the happy go lucky Kazakh.

Does he have a chance to win? Sure, I'm sure his trainer has developed a plan for him. Maybe not a knockout plan, but a “keep it close on the cards an squeak out a win” plan. Of course, even the best laid plans tend to go awry once a thudding left hook lands on your liver. That's when we'll see what Geale is really made of.

I've never had much good to say about Mike Lee. If I'd listened to my mother then I would never have anything to say about him. I'm sure Mike Lee is a good guy, I'm sure he works with charities and is nice to his mother. For some reason he just rubs me the wrong way – much like Lukas when he played for Liverpool.

Maybe I'm finding out that I have a bias against fighters who've graduated college. Especially fighters who went to Notre Dame. Or the fact that despite being from the area he's only fought in Chicago once (his pro debut). It's probably the Subway deal. You know the one. There are actual recognizable athletes saying how much they like Subway sandwiches and then there is the guy with boxing gloves around his neck.

Imagine if Subway had, instead of Ryan Howard, chosen Jesse Biddle to pimp their Sweet Onion Teriyaki subs. Sure, Biddle might be a star at one point, but right now he's just some face in the crowd. Boxing deserves more than that for one of the few commercials that has a national spotlight.

Despite my dislike of the fighter he is setting himself up for a nice little comeback story. The golden (domer) kid who has a nice contract with Top Rank boxing and a little money coming in from endorsements without really having accomplished in the ring was kind of riding the top of the wave.

Then it came crashing down. A couple of bulging disks in his back and some jaw issues sidelined him for almost two years. His contract with Top Rank expired and wasn't renewed. He left his Texas-based trainer, Ronnie Shields, and signed up with former heavyweight contender Chris Byrd. He TKO'd undefeated Peter Lewison in April and will look to do the same on Friday to Paul Gonsalves.

Those two fighters have a combined record of 13 and 3. In the previous 11 fights his opponents were 39 and 51. So he is stepping up his competition. Hopefully he steps up his work rate as well. He needs to be working regularly to make up for the missing years and for a relatively empty amateur career as well. If he does, then maybe he replaces Mike Jimenez at the top of my Best Chicago Fighters list.

Good Gennady Golovkin Wins Again

With all due respects to the Denver Broncos, there was another one-sided beating that took place in the sports world this past weekend. On Saturday, fast-rising middleweight Gennady Golovkin administered a clinical beating of Osumanu Adama and racked up his 16th consecutive knockout. Unfortunately not many people in America saw the latest conquest by “GGG” as HBO decided not to carry the fight.  Based on the result, the streak and the praise that the boxing world has heaped on the Kazakh I’m pretty sure that it’s the last Golovkin fight that they pass on.

Saturday afternoon’s (and I’m sure the 3.45pm east coast start time played a part in HBO’s decision) knockout didn’t have the awe-inspiring image of a vanquished opponent writhing in pain that Golovkin’s knockout of Matthew Macklin last June did.  In fact, the ref stopped the fight in the 7th round with Adama still on his feet. The quick (but correct) stoppage by Luis Pabon robbed Golovkin of a defining finish, but was totally in keeping with the nature of the fight.

Osumanu Adama is a good fighter, he’s held a belt and his own against champions.  But outside of Chicago, where he trains, he isn’t a “name” fighter.  (Reason number two HBO passed I’m sure).  Adama, however, was a willing fighter.  He tried to take the action to Golovkin, tried to use his jab to keep the WBA/IBO Middleweight Champion off of him, tried to move around the ring and make “GGG” chase him.  He tried, but it wasn’t enough.

Even though Adama landed some clean punches they didn’t hurt Golovkin, and Adama's attempts to evade him were frequently cut off.  The 31-year-old man fighter from Kazakhstan was patient, waiting for his opportunity and then unleashed his trademark thundering punches when he had an opening.  Two of his three knockdowns of Adama came off of jabs, more accumulation of damage as opposed to any one thudding shots.

Adama wasn’t winning the fight. At the time of the knockout in the seventh round I had him trailing 59-53 on my scorecard and could have had it 50-52 (I gave him the third round when Golovkin didn’t seem interested in throwing any punches). The end came kind of suddenly. The seventh round starts off with Golovkin sneaking a left through Adama’s guard that drops him to a knee. Adama didn’t seem hurt, he had no problem meeting the ref’s count and comes out throwing some solid left hooks to the body. That works for about a minute and then Golovkin snaps a left hook that lands flush. The crowd oohs as Adama stumbles backwards. Golovkin casually wipes some sweat off his nose as Pabon rushes in to stop the fight. Just another knockout for The Kazakual Disaster.

Along with patience and power, efficiency runs rampant in Golovkin’s fights.  He doesn’t waste punches or movements.  While Manny Pacquiao at his best is an overwhelming blur of combinations, Golovkin gets the job done in simple two-or-three punch flurries. He has the deceptive speed of great athletes allowing him to be right where he needs to be, on balance, in order to unleash a vicious hook to the body or straight right to the face. Yet it never seems like he is particularly fast in the ring.  When the #fancystats people finally make their way to boxing “GGG” is going to be the defining example for whatever clever word they come up with to describe punching efficiency.   Every punch he throws seems targeted to do maximum damage.

With his Goldberg-like string of knockouts the number one question after this fight is “Who’s Next?”.  He has made it known that he wants to fight Sergio Martinez to decide the best current middleweight. Luckily for fans the promoters shouldn’t be able to screw this one up.  It’s only a matter of time (and health for Martinez) until this fight gets booked.  I’m thinking it headlines a pay-per-view sometime in the spring of 2015.  

Unlike Floyd Mayweather, Golovkin likes to fight.  He had four bouts last year and plans on having at least four this year.  ESPN’s Dan Rafael mentions that Golovkin will headline HBO’s card in April at Madison Square Garden (the same venue that saw him stop Curtis Stevens with a punishing eight round beating) against an unnamed opponent.  According to Rafael, Golovkin is willing to fight anyone from 154 to 168 pounds which opens up a flood of contenders not named Mayweather.

Personally I’d like to see him fight someone with a little bit of power to see what kind of chin Golovkin has.  That is one thing that really hasn’t been tested. In his fights against Adama and Curtis Stevens, he has been hit. That happens when you come straight forward.  To see him in a real slugfest would be interesting to watch. Rafael mentions James Kirkland as a possibility and Andre Ward has called him out in the past year as well.  Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr.’s name has been bandied about and I could see HBO being very interested in making that a big-tent fight in the fall.  It could be a good fight for Golovkin in the sense that JCC is a “name” in the boxing world even if his talent doesn’t live up to his fame.  A decisive victory over a well-known opponent does a lot to drive ticket sales.

No matter who lines up against him from now on, you’ll be able to see it.  Which is a good thing for boxing.  With Mayweather and Pacquiao both heading off into the sunset, the sport needs new “much watch” fighters and Golovkin is one of those guys.

Boxing Proves It Is A Brutal Sport, Again

I don’t know when I first started watching boxing, probably sometime in college if my somewhat hazy memory is correct. I know as a kid I wasn’t into it.  My dad didn’t drag me to fights, nor did we watch much boxing on TV.

If I had to give anyone credit it would probably be Saint Leo Mike and Link. My first boxing memory (again a bit hazy) involves a Saturday night trip to the Tampa Jai Alai fronton for a Julio Cesar Chavez fight.  Thanks to BoxRec I can see the fight was against Meldrick Taylor.  As four white college kids we wisely joined in the “Viva Chavez” cheers from the largely Hispanic crowd (including a Cuban who explained the wonderful sport of jai alai to me). 

My second memory involved college kids crowded around a 13-inch color TV that somehow produced a fuzzy, but clear enough to watch showing of George Foreman beating Michael Moorer.

My first boxing argument was with Link’s freshman roommate about whether Muhammad Ali was a slugger or more of a cagey boxer.  My nascent view, based only on the iconic photo of Ali standing triumphantly over a fallen Liston, was that Ali was more about knockouts than boxing. It wasn’t until much later, after reading about and watching his mastery of the ring did I realize that Anthony might have had more of a valid argument than I was willing to concede.

Post college I was lucky enough to live in an area that was enjoying a rather successful run in professional boxing.  A young Antonio Tarver and Ronald “Winky” Wright were bringing pride to the Tampa Bay area while Roy Jones, Jr. bought a world title fight to the Ice Palace.

Winky didn't block ALL punches thrown his way. Sidenote -  I once saw him in the mall holding his wife/girlfriend's purse

I do, however, know the exact fight that turned me from a casual boxing observer to the type of fan that pays for HBO not for the movies, but for the fights (this was before they became known for their Sunday night programming.  Yes I’m old). I wish I could say it was some obscure, undercard fight between two fighters who had one great fight and then were never heard from again so I could establish my hipster boxing credentials. Alas, it was one of the most popular fights from this century.

It was the first Micky Ward/ Arturo Gatti fight. There is no doubt that it was one of the defining fights of the 2000s and the 9^th round is in the top 10 of greatest rounds ever. I remember recording the rebroadcast on VHS (yup, I’m that old) and telling folks that hadn’t seen it that it was the closest thing to a “real life Rocky fight” that I had ever seen.

Gatti blocks a punch with his face.

Ward, who has been Mark Wahlberg-ed into being a better fight then he was, was a straight ahead fighter who had a tremendous left hook and willingness to walk through a rainstorm of punches to throw it. Gatti, “The Blood and Guts Warrior”, was on the wrong side of 30 and known for his wild out of the ring lifestyle and propensity to bleed more than his boxing acumen.  Needless to say, they made for excellent television.

Ward was cut in the first round and bled throughout much of the contest. Gatti would crumble to the canvas in the ninth from one of Ward’s trademarked left hooked. If you watch the fight, you can hear the unrestrained glee in Jim Lampley and Emmanuel Steward’s voices as they call the fight. They know they are watching, knowing that what they are seeing is why we as fans watch the sport.  Two guys, leaving it all in the ring, wailing away at each other with everything they have for the enjoyment of people around them.

Which brings us to Frankie Leal.  Don’t know who he is?  Neither did I until I perused Deadspin this weekend and read an excellent post by the writer/commenter known as “Iron MikeGallego”. On Saturday the 19^th, Leal, a 26-year-old Mexican fighter, fought Raul Hirales.  Hirales floored Leal in the 8^th round with a solid left hook to the body and a right hand that cuffed the back of Leal’s head.

Leal managed to get to his feet, but then slowly slid down the ring corner as the refs count reached eight. The young fighter looked dazed as he slumped in the corner as the ring doctor steadied his head and flashed a light in his eyes. After being taken out of the ring in a stretched he fell into a coma after the fight and three days later passed away due to traumatic brain injury. Not that it needed anymore tragedy, but Hirales and Leal were good friends outside of the ring.

I’ve watched the fight (there is a link in the Deadspin article) and what stands out to me is how routine the fight was to watch.  For eight rounds the two fighters went toe-to-toe fighting close rounds. While I had Hirales well ahead on points (thanks to a 6^th round knockdown) each round was pretty close.

If you were to watch the fight without knowing the morbid outcome you would be hard pressed to believe that Leal suffered life-ending trauma during the fight.  Contrast it to the vicious shots that were landed throughout the entire Gatti/Ward fight.  There is a moment in the 5^th round where Gatti has his hands down and Ward absolutely tees off with a three-shot combination that lands flush.  Gatti looks dazed but doesn’t go down.

Throughout the eight rounds last Saturday there are plenty of clean shots that land, but no “smoking gun” punch that one can directly point to exact moment that doomed Leal. Therein lies the problem.  In a sport where the object is to physically beat a person to the point where he is incapacitated for at least 10 seconds, where is the line drawn when enough is enough?

Leal popped up from his knock down in the 6^th with no issue in fact he looked more troubled by an earlier low blow that caught him flush on the cup. During the fatal knockout sequence Leal is hurt by a body shot, then a flurry of punches drive him from the corner. As he starts to fall, Hirales clipped him on the back of the head with a “rabbit punch”. It was unintentional, caused by Leal’s falling body, but he got up briefly before his body gave up and he collapsed to the mat.

Could Leal’s life have been saved?  Possibly. It took several minutes for the medical team to get into the ring, get the stretcher to the ring and get Leal out of the arena and on his way to the hospital.  In March of 2012 Leal had also been stretchered out of the ring after being knocked out by Evgeny Gradovich. However, those factors took place outside of the ring. Unfortunately, if you look at just the in-ring action there isn’t much that could have been done to prevent his death.

It’s a testament to how far boxing has fallen from the limelight that Leal’s death isn’t drawing more national attention.  If a football player died last Sunday from severe head trauma the sports world have gone apoplectic. The talking heads would be stroking out while expressing their outrage. There would be talk of cancelling games and government investigations. Yet, in boxing the beat goes on.  

That is the face of a man with ill intentions.

On Saturday, Gennady Golovkin, the hardest-hitting middleweight that no one knows about, will take on Curtis Stevens in New York City. Undoubtedly there will be a 10 bell count in his memory and then after some thoughtful words Golovkin will go on his way to trying to knock out Stevens to the delight of the HBO crowd. The scene will be repeated in November when Manny Pacquiao and Brandon Rios trade power shots with each other in what could be the most entertaining fight of the year. 

In the Deadspin post, the writer refers to the Leal/Hirales fight as “ugly”. It's really the one point that I disagree with him on. Unfortunately, upon watching it didn’t seem ugly to me, it seemed all too normal. 

The Showdown on Showtime on Saturday in Sin City...Seriously

Big fight weekend.  If there is anytime to be in Las Vegas it’s on a weekend when Floyd Mayweather is fighting.  It’s when Vegas is at it’s Vegas-iest.  Overpriced hotel rooms, mobs of people walking around the strip, bumper-to-bumper traffic, old men with 20-year-old bottled-blonds on their arms, and nary a $10 table to be seen.  So are all of those people in town to see Mayweather win and keep his undefeated streak going? Or are they there to see Saul Alvarez defy the odds and give the old man the beating people have been hoping for since “Money” dispatched a broken down Oscar De La Hoya over a decade ago?

It’s nice to see a main stream, media-backed web outlet like Grantland give quite a bit of attention to the Mayweather/Alvarez tilt.  A couple of articles and a mention on the B.S. Report pod cast is more coverage than boxing has seen from basic sports sites in a long, long time.  One of the pieces, by Jay Caspian King, is a rather cynical piece delving into the hype that surrounds Alvarez - the young, undefeated Mexican boxer who has catapulted to international fame over the last year.

King posits that while Alvarez isn’t without some skill, he is more a product of Golden Boy Promotions never-ending search for the next De La Hoya than a serious fighter.  Personally, I thought the article came off a little harsh on Alvarez, making him seem little more than a red-headed puppet who can’t dance.

While it’s true that Alvarez has few world class victories under his championship belt, he has won against everyone put in front of him.  The last year has seen the 23-year-old  record his two best victories as he beat Josesito Lopez into submission in September of 2012. Then in  April of this year, Alvarez beat Austin Trout unanimously on the judges’ scorecards to earn his shot against Mayweather.

There is no question that the quiet Mexican is far from being a finished product. That’s part of the reason he is in this fight. If he was at the peak of his ability there is little chance that the aging Mayweather would have chosen to fight him.  “Money” is a master of defense in the ring, but his true genius might lie in his ability to pick opponents that match up well against him.  He knows that he has to fight someone that has the illusion of a chance against him, because no one is paying $70 to watch him whip Matthey Hatton’s ass.

Robert Guerrero was supposed to bring an elusive defense and enough hand speed to be able to counter Mayweather in the ring.  Which worked for about 3 rounds.  Still, going into the fight you could almost make an argument that “The Ghost” had a chance.  That helps sells tickets.

In Alvarez I’m sure The Money Team saw a popular fighter with power and a rabid fan base that can convince themselves Canelo has a chance.  Let’s face it, going back to the Rickey Hatton fight, most fans have rooted for Mayweather to lose, not necessarily for his opponent to win. Boxing fans like Miguel Cotto and Victor Ortiz, but they weren’t packing press conferences around the country three months before the fight to support them.

In King’s article he argues that Alvarez’s popularity is more of a myth created by Golden Boy and Televisia, the Mexican television network that has broadcast many of his fights.  I think he’s a bit off and based way too much on the lackluster showing at the Mexico City press conference.  I was at the Chicago Theatre with 3,000 other fans for their press tour.  At least 80% of that crowd was pro-Alvarez.  The same with the pre-fight weigh in on Friday night.

You can argue that some of that fame is based on his looks or the Mexican boxing fan’s unrelenting need for a hero. However, to say he isn’t popular, or that his popularity is a sham propped up by a media empire is just plain wrong.

That being said, I don’t think he has a shot against Mayweather. His hands are too slow and if by some chance he does land a few power shots against Mayweather early then there are going to be boos from the crowd later.  Floyd is smart enough, and still fast enough, to go into defensive mode.  Do enough to win a round with jabs and straight rights and then spend the rest of the three minutes dancing around in the ring.  It isn’t fun to watch, but it it’s good enough to win and cash a paycheck.

For Alvarez this is the defining moment of his young career. If he floors Mayweather with a lucky punch he instantly becomes the new face of boxing and HBO offers him 3 gazillion dollars.  The good news for him is that he doesn’t have to win the fight to gain popularity.  As long as he is willing to go blow-for-blow with Mayweather, as long as he stands in there and takes the beating that is coming his way and battles back he will earn the respect from those that think he is a paper champion.  This is the fight where he can prove that he embodies the “warrior spirit” that critics like to talk about when describing Mexican fighters.

There is little chance that the fight will live up the hype, it’s damn near impossible given the amount that has been generated over the past few months.  In fact, there is a more than likely chance that the Danny Garcia/ Lucas Matthysse light welterweight match-up will be the best fight of the night.

I’m hoping that Alvarez has a game plan for getting Mayweather to box. I’ll be sprinting from work to a bar and forking over a $20 cover just to watch the fight and I really, really don’t like running. Hopefully I’ll get my money worth and we see an action packed 12 rounds of boxing (I have Mayweather winning by decision). If not, then I’ll just go on with life and wait for the Manny Pacquiao/ Brandon Rios fight in November.  God knows there is no way that one isn’t a slugfest.
 

Mike Lee - Pitchman or Puncher?

Mike Lee is arguably Chicago’s most recognized boxer.  Not so much for his work in the ring, but for his appearance in a nationally televised commercial.  He’s the guy in the Ryan Howard/Justin Strahan Subway commercial that has people saying, “Who the hell is Mike Lee and why is he in this commercial?”

The answer is that Mike Lee is an up-and-coming light-heavyweight that has nine professional matches under his belt (all of them wins) and a taste for turkey subs from the ubiquitous sandwich chain. His role as a spokesman for Subway probably has more to do with his Notre Dame connections more than his proficiency of pugilistic acumen. Lee, who had 16 amateur bouts before turning pro, graduated from Notre Dame as did Subway’s Chief Marketing Office, Tony Pace.

While Lee has some notoriety due to the commercials he still needs to prove himself in the ring.  Being in the Top Rank stable can help him build on that popularity since it would be easy for them to put him on some of the pay-per-view fights that the promotion company puts together.  Most popular boxers rose to fame on those types of undercards.

Before that happens, Lee has to start facing some more competent fighters in the ring. Scrolling through his fight history doesn’t exactly elicit a “who’s who” of light-heavyweight contenders. Seven of the nine fighters he’s faced have losing records including three guys who hadn’t won a fight when they faced him. I understand bringing a fighter along slowly, especially one who doesn’t have an extensive amateur career, but due to his popularity (especially in Chicago) one has to wonder if Top Rank will rush the 24-year-old along.

I didn’t want to paint him with the “all flash, no substance” brush before actually seeing him fight, so I tuned in to ESPN3 Friday Night to watch him take on Eliseo Durazo in a six-round contest (there was some discrepancy on how long the fight was supposed to be. Top Rank had promoted it as a four-rounder, but the Las Vegas commission had sanctioned it for six. This led to the amusing situation of Durazo heading to his corner after the fourth round thinking the fight was over).

Lee put in a winning performance as he took five of the six rounds on all three judges’ scorecards (as well as mine), but he didn’t score the highlight reel knockout.  To my eye it looked almost as if he was in a training session. It was as if trainer Ronnie Shields told his fighter to go out and work on his jab, which was crisp, and his defense, which was a bit spotty.

Durazo was a willing, if slightly fleshy, competitor who had taken the fight on only five days notice after Lee’s scheduled opponent, Isiah Barela, withdrew due to an injury.  El Negro’s game plan seemed to center around walking forward and hitting Lee’s body as much as possible with little concern for using his jab.  Lee did a good job of deflecting most of the punches with his elbows, but enough got through that I wondered how he would have fared against a fighter with a little more power.

While Lee was clearly the boxer with better stamina and mobility in the ring, he was willing to stand still and take punches from slower-footed opponent. As he matures that’s a trait he hopefully gets away from.  After all, it’s always better to slip a punch then take it or block it. With a little better footwork he can also get himself into positions to throw more effective punches.

In close Lee had a tendency to lean over and keep his chin exposed, a chin that Durazo tagged with an upper cut on at least two occasions. Luckily for the Subway aficionado there wasn’t much power behind the punches.

On offense Lee did a good job snapping off his jab and working a hook off of it. It was kind of surprising that Lee didn’t work the body more, especially with how soft Durazo looked in the ring. Lee did land several decent punches through the match and looked to have Durazo hurt in the second when the Mexican fighter backpedaled rapidly after absorbing a few punches from the Wheaton native. However, Lee was content to let him back up and didn’t keep the pressure on his rotund opponent.

He didn’t show game-changing power that elite boxers usually possess. Again, it’s possible that he wasn’t interested in raining down power shots on Durazo, choosing instead to get some live ring work in. When Lee did throw punches he was on balance and able to string some combinations together including some three and four punch combos.

At this point in his career Mike Lee is still a bit of a raw product in the ring. It will be interesting to see how Top Rank brings the24-year-old along. His ability should keep him away from the top-tier boxers for the next few fights, but his name recognition might provoke them to reach above his current skill set for a bigger payday.

If they asked me (and they won’t) I would point out that he hasn’t fought in Chicago since his pro debut at the UIC Pavilion. Perhaps the future could include a Friday Night Fights in the Windy City against some of the local talent that is on the way up. Maybe the powers that be could arrange a Mike Lee vs. Andrzej Fonfara match-up for sometime in the fall? They shouldn’t have any trouble at all selling that one out. Fonfara’s willful aggression would be a good test for Lee’s defense and chin.

After watching one boxing match I’m not ready to crown him as Chicago’s best boxer yet, but at the same time I’m not going to write him off as nothing but hype. With the win I’m sure he’s also kept his name and face in Subway commercials a little bit longer.

Two Men Fought and Nothing Was Decided

Goatee = evil Manny Pacquiao?

Pacquiao vs. Marquez III. A disappointment or more of the same?  To be honest, it was a little of both.  Twelve more rounds between two great rivals that should have been met with open arms by boxing fans. Instead, it was received with disgust and naked Mexicans in sombreros.  Where did it all go wrong?

Sure, this post is about a week late in being written, but I wanted to watch the fight again (this time on a feed that didn’t resemble a scrambled porn channel) and score along with the judges.  Was the outrage I heard immediately after the fight justified or was it part of a growing anti-Pacquiao bias?

So I tuned into HBO and watched their replay prior to the Julio Cease Chavez, Jr./Peter Manfredo tilt (I thought Chavez looked good against an outclassed opponent).  After twelve rounds of championship boxing between Pacquiao and Marquez  I scored the fight a draw. That’s right 114-114, right down the middle.

Could it have gone either way?  Definitely. I was on the fence about several rounds. For instance in the eighth round I gave it to Pacquiao because he landed a left right at the bell.  If he hadn’t landed that punch I might have had to score that round a draw.

 If you’ve ever sat down and tried to score any of the three fights you know how hard it is to judge on a round-by-round basis.  Pacquiao scores by being more aggressive and throwing more punches.  Marquez scores by landing clearer, harder shots. If you throw away the first round of the first fight (Marquez down three times) and the third round of the second fight (Marquez on the canvas) the entire trilogy has been pretty much a draw.

In their latest contest, Marquez fought his perfect fight.  He was more aggressive, he kept landing left hooks to the body and straight rights to the face.  He frustrated Pacquiao early in the fight and won most of the middle rounds. Several times during the night he landed big shots flush on the Filipino’s jaw. If he had fought this way in either of the first two match-ups I think he would have won either fight.

On the other side, Pacquiao seemed tentative (Kellerman accurately described him as “muted“). He bobbed and weaved like the Manny of old, he relied on the straight left hand like the Manny of old, and yet something  was missing.  We were promised a more complete Pacquiao, one whose right hand was as dangerous as his left.  He was supposed to be at the apex of his talent, having trained harder for this fight than any other fight in his career.

That’s where the disappointment comes from.  Instead of “Manny Pacquiao” the man who broke Antonio Margarito’s face, we got Manny Pacquiao effective fighter who did just enough to win.  We wanted to see New York City’s 4th of July fireworks and instead got sparklers in the back yard.

Perhaps the newer, more evolved Pacquiao just isn’t as exciting as the raw version.  If you watch the fight again, look at how much better his defense is.  A lot of Marquez’s shots are picked off by gloves and elbows.  Manny’s jab is better and more effective. The straight left is still there, but he’s not twirling around the ring after he throws it.

Technically, there is no doubt that he is a better fighter than when the two matched up for the first time eight years ago, but as fans do we want a conventional  Pacquiao who blocks punches with his gloves instead of his face? Are we bored with a Pacquiao who wins on points and not with a Tasmanian Devil-esque flurry of punches?

So, if Marquez was better and Pacquiao more traditional, then how did Manny win the fight?  HBO’s unofficial judge, Howard Letterman, hit it right on the nose during the 4th round when he said judges lean to the flashier fighter.  When rounds are close, they will give the edge to the fighter that is more active, be it throwing punches or moving around the ring.  In this case, that man is Pacquiao.  Marquez is more a victim of his conservative, counter-punching style than he is of any grand boxing conspiracy.

There are talks of a fourth match-up between the two pugilists.  Why? If insanity is doing the same thing again and again hoping for a different outcome then Marquez is insane to think a 4th fight would be any different than the first three. The only way the outcome changes is if Marquez puts Pacquiao on the canvas, and he’s shown that he doesn’t have the power to do so at any weight limit. It’s time for both fighters to move on.

For Pacquiao that means Floyd Mayweather.  However, it seems the dynamics of that possible match up seem to have changed.  Mayweather is a stronger, faster, more annoying version of Marquez.  A devastating counter puncher with superior defensive skills and the uncanny knowledge of when to finish a fighter.  If Pacquiao struggled so much with Marquez, what chance does he stand against a fighter who has the power to knock him out?

Perhaps the close win was the best thing for those who hope for a Pacquiao/Mayweather match-up.  Pretty Boy Floyd would never risk his perfect record in a fight he didn’t think he could win.  Did Manny struggle enough against Marquez to make Mayweather think his skills are deteriorating?  That’s the $100 million question.  One that needs answering before the end of the year if they want to fight on May 5th.

Meanwhile, what lies ahead for the defeated Marquez?  Hopefully, the last image we have of the great Mexican fighter is not him sitting naked in the training room with a sombrero over his private parts somberly answering questions from Kellerman.  There is a long list of pretenders like Timothy Bradley that he can knock off and then retire with one last victory.

There is some talk of a bout with fellow countryman Eric Morales.  If this was 2005, I’d be all over that match-up, but Morales is a faded version of his former self and watching Marquez pick him apart for 12 rounds wouldn’t be fun for anyone.

In all likelihood the money will be too much to turn down for both fighters and we’ll end up seeing a fourth fight some time late next year.  Honestly, these two fighters could probably fight every year for the next five years and it would be entertaining.  The only problem is, it wouldn’t solve anything,

They Have Been Weighed. They Have Been Tested. Who Will be Found Wanting?

Seventy-two minutes. Seventy-two minutes in eight years. It doesn't seem like that much time, does it? For boxing fans it hasn't been nearly enough. Luckily for us we have the chance to see another thirty-six minutes on Saturday night. That's when Manny Pacquiao faces off against Juan Manual Marquez for the third and probably final time at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Without question Pacquiao is the darling of the boxing world and one of its biggest draws. With an other-worldly combination of speed and power he has dazzled fans since his 11^th round TKO of Marco Antonio Barrera in 2003. In those 8 years he has only lost once (to Eric Morales which he avenged twice) and has beaten all of the big names in weight class save for Mr. Money Mayweather.

Pacquiao has fought 17 times since the Barrera fight facing 14 different opponents. Of those 14, thirteen of them have been soundly defeated, and he sent two into retirement (Ricky Hatton and Oscar De La Hoya). Only one opponent during that stretch believes that he has never lost to the Pac Man. That man is Marquez.

They first met in 2004 and produced the fight of the year. Despite being knocked down three times in the first round and having to fight the rest of the way with a broken nose, Marquez battled to a draw. The three knockdowns showed that Marquez wasn't prepared for the speed of Pacquiao's left hand. Once he adjusted, he was able to effectively counter a majority of his opponent's attacks.

When they met for their rematch in 2008 Marquez found himself on the canvas once again, courtesy of another lethal left from the energetic Filipino. Of the four knockdowns this was the only one that I thought actually hurt Marquez.

In the 9^th round, Pacquiao's repeated straight lefts would open up a huge gash over Marquez's right eye. The kind of cut that makes you say, "Ewwwww" when trainer/cutman Nacho Beristain is shoving his finger into it to staunch the bleeding. Despite the knockdown and the blood, Marquez would battle to a split decision loss. If Judge Tom Miller had switched one round to Marquez, the relentless Mexican fighter would have won the fight.

For what it's worth, I re-watched the fights (thanks YouTube!) and scored along. In their first match I had Pacquiao winning 113-112 thanks to a 10-6 first round. In the second fight I scored it 115-113 for Pacquiao. Over the 24 rounds they fought I have Marquez winning 12, Pacquiao 11, and one round a draw (the first round in the second matchup).

Pacquiao's best round of the fights is undoubtedly the first one of their first fight. Marquez was totally unprepared for Pac Man's speed and power. I don't think any of the knockdowns really hurt Marquez, but they did put him way behind in points and left him swallowing a lot of blood as a result of the broken nose.

Marquez's shining moment came in the 8^th round of the second fight. He had Pacquiao's timing perfect and was pummeling his opponent at will. There was a brief moment when it looked like Manny might go down, and at the end of the round blood was flowing freely from a cut above his left eye.

So what makes Marquez such a difficult matchup for Pacquiao? Is it his relentless drive? Is it his counterpunching? Maybe it's his patient, subtle defense? Or could it be his awesome Dave Matthews-esque receding hairline?

Most likely it's a combination of all of those things. Marquez is willing to accept the fact that he will have to eat a few punches in order to get his shots in. When he's had his most success he's been able to bury a left hook into Manny's side and follow up with a right straight down the chute. The key is to get that right off before Pacquiao can come over the top of it with his devastating left.

So what are the chances of Marquez pulling off the upset? If you're in Vegas today you would
probably be getting close to 10-to-1 odds, so it doesn't appear likely. In the previous two fights Marquez hasn't had a problem getting to Manny, he just hasn't had the punching power to knock him on his Filipino ass. By focusing more on his upper body strength for this fight he hopes to change that.

There is a trade-off for building strength. It usually leads to a decrease in speed. At 38 years old, Marquez is already facing the natural erosion in skills that comes with aging. Putting on weight (at 145 this is heaviest he's fought at) also can be a detriment. Most small fighters struggle at higher weight classes, a fact that makes Pacquiao's success all the more mind-blowing (Pacquiao's first professional fight was at 107 pounds).

The biggest problem, however, for Marquez is going to be the evolution of Manny Pacquiao. In their first matchup, the Pac Man was an energetic, one-handed fighter who bounced around the ring like Calvin after his third bowl of Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs and fired viscous left hands from every angle. Sure he threw a couple of right hands, but in a disinterested "yeah I have this hand so I might as well use it" kind of way.

In the next match-up, wasn't quite as spastic in the ring. Still employing a ducking and weaving stance that was hard for Marquez to time, he also found out that using his right hand could be effective. He was able to use a jab that wasn't a factor in the first fight to set up his left and keep Marquez at bay.

Moving into the third fight we will see Pacquiao as the truly developed fighter. In his destruction of Antonio Margarito last November, he used both hands as battering rams, pummeling Margarito with lightning-fast combinations. In their previous fights Marquez, for the most part, has only had to counter lunging, one-punch attacks by Pacquiao. Now he faces a fighter who can snap off three or four big shots per rush.

As the overwhelming betting favorite it seems unlikely that Pacquiao will lose, and with the prospect of a mega-fight with Mayweather on the horizon you might think he could be looking past Marquez. I don't think he is. While he might not have the intense dislike for Marquez that he did for Margarito, Manny wants to end this trilogy with a decisive victory. He doesn't want there to be any doubt in this fight. Make no mistake he is looking to knock Marquez out. Against a viscous counterpuncher that need for a knockout can be dangerous.

For his part, not only is Marquez looking to prove he is better than Pacquiao, he is also looking to cement his place as one of the great Mexican boxers of this generation. He wants to be on the same tier as Eric Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera. A win over Pacquiao will do that. He will no longer be the third wheel, the brilliant tactician who just couldn't pull off the big victory. He will be a legend.

As for a prediction, I have Pacquiao winning by TKO in the tenth round. (That sound you heard was the rush of thousands of Vegas-ites running to the nearest sports book to lay money on Marquez.) Pac Man is just too good right now.

I think the fight unfolds much like the second, more tactical, more boxing than brawling. The difference will be that Pacquiao can now fight that style. His hand speed and combinations will be too much for the counterpunching Marquez. That's not to say Marquez won't get his shots in. Despite his improved defense, Manny still gets hit. In the face. A lot.

Keep an eye out for head butts. With Pacquiao's lunging in style, and the natural awkwardness of a southpaw facing a traditional fighter there is a good chance there will be at least one clash of heads. In their second fight, a butting of heads in the seventh round led to a small cut outside of Marquez's eye. Marquez also likes to work the body which normally leads to the occasional low blow or two. It hasn't been a huge factor yet, but should Marquez get frustrated he could go Golota on him.

In the previous 72 minutes of their fighting each fighter has been punched more than 300 times each. Seventy-five percent of those hits were of the "power" variety. I see no reason why the next 36 will be any different. Enjoy them.

Hatton Hangs Them Up. (Yea! More Boxing!)

Lost amidst the bean ball wars in Boston, the improbable US victory in Germany, the release of this year's Allen & Ginter, and the ongoing Stamkos dilemma, a boxer quietly retired in England. Ricky Hatton, once thought a challenger to Manny and Mayweather hung up his gloves for good. Coupled with the unmasking of heavyweight David Haye on the weekend prior, it wasn’t a good seven days for English boxing, but hey at least they still have Tyson Fury!

Hatton, “The Hitman” who wasn‘t Tommy Hearns, hasn’t fought since 2009. Unfortunately, the most recent news of the former welterweight champion was for entering rehab instead of the ring. His struggle with substance abuse and lackluster performance in his final two matches dull the shine of what was a rather brilliant boxing career. A career that would span 47 professional matches, 45 of those he won, and of those 45 wins 32 by way of knockout. He wasn’t a hall of famer, but damn it he was fun in the ring.

There is a moment in his fight with Kostya Tszyu, where after suffering several low blows from the rat-tailed Russian, Hatton proceeds to deliver one of his own. Instead of complaining to referee Dave Parris he took matters into his own hands. Well, at least into one hand as he delivered a perfect left hook right on the cup of his opponent. The ref warned him, but the message was sent. Tszyu never attempted another questionable punch.

That night, that fight in Manchester was probably the pinnacle of Hatton‘s career. It was the 38th win in his career, and the most important because it made him known across the Atlantic and opened up an opportunity beyond the light welterweight division. Despite being undefeated in that weight class, in 2007 he decided to bump up in weight (never a problem for Hatton) to the welterweight division to take on Floyd Mayweather for the WBC title. In hindsight it probably wasn’t the best career choice.

Hatton entered the ring serenaded by his passionate fans. Despite looking a little puffy, he pressed the action against the champion, determined to prove that he could bully his fleet-footed challenger. He forced Floyd to fight him on his terms, not allowing the slicker Mayweather his customary running room. Through the early rounds things seemed to be going “The Hitman’s” way. He was landing big shots against the champion, something few boxers are able to do against the elusive boxer. Yet, the Brit’s straight forward style was also opening himself to vicious counterpunches from Mayweather.

In the 10th round, those counters would prove to be Ricky’s undoing. A devastating left hook from Mayweather would send him to the canvas. He was able to beat the count, but “Pretty Boy” Floyd sensed blood and poured on the onslaught. After landing several damaging combinations, referee Joe Cortez stepped in and called the fight.

The perfect record was gone, but American fans embraced the fallen fighter. After all, who wanted to see a fighter dance around the ring for 12 rounds (as Mayweather was wont to do)? Hatton’s straight forward style and easy going nature was a perfect combination. Something that his hometown fans had known for a long time.

What great fans they were. After the Mayweather fight, a rumor circulated that the traveling caravan of British fight enthusiasts had drunk Vegas dry. In the end, more reliable reports stated that they had cleaned out the MGM’s stock of beer, not the whole Strips, and it was quickly replenished. But still, what an accomplishment! His crowds weren’t quiet, respectable celebrities in tuxes and gowns, growing noisy only at the moment of a knockout. Rather they were the working class folks who chanted football-esque anthems at their hero.



Therein lies the appeal of Ricky Hatton. If there ever was a people’s champion it was him. A boxer whose favorite sports team is his hometown club Manchester City (that’s like a New Yorker choosing the Mets over the Yankees), who regularly is seen a local pub drinking with common folk and playing darts and isn’t afraid to mock himself (he’s appeared in fat suits as “Ricky Fatton” in response to claims about his weight gains between fights).

Perhaps it’s due to the relative late worldwide popularity. Most of his career he fought in relative obscurity rarely fighting outside of his native England. His fight with Tszyu came almost eight years into his professional career, a lifetime for most boxers.

Following the loss to Mayweather, Hatton would move back down to 140lbs for his next two fights taking out Juan Lazcano in an unanimous decision and then TKO’ing Paul Malignaggi. Those two wins would set up his next super match against the red-hot Manny Pacquiao in May of 2009.

This was to be power vs. power. Pacquiao, needed to win to cement his place as Mayweather’s number one challenger. Hatton needed it to prove he was back. In the end, his straight forward brawling approach was no match for the quicker and stronger Filipino. In less than two rounds it was over, Pacquiao’s trademark left hook leaving Hatton on the canvas unable to beat the count. The beating, probably the worst six minutes of Hatton’s career, was so severe that the former champ spent the night in the hospital to ensure no permanent damage was done.

There might not have been any lingering physical injuries, but apparently the mental ones never healed. Never one to say no to a pint or two Hatton’s drinking reached new levels. There was also reports of regular cocaine use. A little more than a year after his fight with Pacquiao, Hatton entered rehab for help with depression and alcohol abuse.

In a profession where boxers fight well into their late 40’s it’s not impossible that Ricky Hatton will un-retire. It’s hard for a fighter to end his last fight on his back, even if it is in a loss to one of the best fighters the world has ever seen. Hopefully, he the pain of that loss and the one to Mayweather fade away and are replaced by the echos of his adoring fans crying out,

There’s only one Ricky Hatton,
One Ricky Hatton.
Walking along,
Singing a song,
Walking in a Hatton Wonderland

Beheadings and Bleeding? No it's Not About Stamkos' Negotiation, It's Boxing!

There was a heavyweight boxing match last Saturday. You probably missed it. That’s ok, there were a lot of things going on this weekend. And, after all, it didn’t feature any Americans and it was on at 5 o’clock in the afternoon, not exactly prime viewing time. If you did watch it (probably forgetting to change the channel after HBO’s 432nd viewing of Inception) you saw a debacle, basically a representation of all that is wrong with this generation’s heavyweight division.

A rain fell for most of the day at the outdoor venue where the fight was held at in Germany. It’s hard to be a menacing fighter when you have to wear little, blue booties over your boxing shoes to keep them dry on the walk to the ring. Elaborate entrances were delayed by both fighters. There was something to do with great heavyweight champions that didn’t really make sense, but ended up with Lennox Lewis looking like a chauffeur and a gaunt George Forman having a door slammed in his face.

The fight itself went the distance yet there was little sustained action. One of the contenders dove so much that the ref got fed up and gave him a standing eight count. It was so boring that announcer Larry Merchant started to make sense, and I’m pretty sure they had to wake Harold Letterman up to give his after nine rounds, unofficial scorecard. In short like most heavyweight fights in the last decade it sucked.



There was hope that this fight would be different. There was actually some animosity between the combatants. Most of the pre-fight fodder was brought about by undersized challenger David Haye. The British champion showed up at a press conference sporting a t-shirt that depicted him holding the severed heads of his opponent (Wladimir Klitschko) and Wlad’s brother Vitali. Haye also promised that it would be the “most brutal execution of a boxer that you’ve seen in many, many years”.

For good measure the talkative Englishman blamed the Klitschko’s for destroying the heavyweight division by being boring champions (Haye held the only title not controlled by Wladimir or Vitali). Haye, an aggressive fighter that depends on landing big shots seemed like a young up and comer that had the power and the quickness to beat Wladimir. Most importantly he had the will to stand toe-to-toe with someone who hadn’t lost a match in 7 years.

Unfortunately, like so may matches over the last few years it was a let down. The only way it could have been more disappointing is if people had paid to watch it on PPV. Klitschko beat his smaller opponent, but proved Haye’s point in doing so. The Ukrainian stalked Haye throughout twelve full rounds, landing multiple jabs and occasional big right hands. His most effective punch of the contest, a lead left hook that surprised Haye every time he saw it, showed up about as often as I pay for the check when I’m having dinner with my parents.

Watching Klitschko fight it’s not hard to imagine what boxing will be like when the bleeding hearts win and humans aren’t allowed to hit each other any more for sport. In this future world, lab-bred robotic clones will fight each other for our entertainment. And they will all be descended from a Klitschko.

His size lends him a certain awkwardness in the ring that masks his athletic ability. At 6’6, 245lbs it’s hard to be graceful at anything, much less moving around in the ring. His doesn’t rely on moving his head or body from side to side for defense. Instead, he lurches back and flails his left arm out hoping his 80” reach keeps his opponent far enough away to avoid damage.

As ungainly as it is, it works. Haye had to lunge and pray that his looping right hooks would catch the big man off guard (they didn’t) allowing him time to find his balance to throw a follow up shot (he couldn’t). Post-fight, Haye would blame a broken toe on for sapping his ability to land his desperate shots at the champion. He wanted us to believe him so bad that he took off his boot and pleaded for us to look at it. Fact is, even if he had ten healthy little piggies he would have still lost, and lost just as bad.

On offense, Dr. Steelhammer (his brother Vitali definitely won the nickname battle with Dr. Ironfist) fights with a cautiousness unbecoming of his size. Having been accused of a weak jaw early in his career, it’s as if the Ukrainian fears opening himself up to a big shot from the fighter in the ring with him. So he moves forward behind his left jab, his thunderous right hand cocked and loaded, but rarely fired. Not quite the charming peek-a-boo style of a young Iron Mike Tyson.

Watching Klitschko early in the fight you can almost see him running through distance and speed calculations in his head. He is gathering data about his opponent. The punches he throws have little conviction, almost as if they are just being put out there in trial and error. Rounds one through five are a study in cause and effect. If I throw Punch A he reacts like this, punch B and his head moves like this.

Later in the fight he puts the data to use. His jab is crisper and lands with more ferocity. Haye’s head starts to snap back when it collides with Klitschko’s big left paw. Wladimir’s shoulders relax, his legs aren’t as stiff and he moves with confidence. The power shots start to flow and connect, it’s at this point that Haye realizes he can’t win. All the while Klitschko’s expression never changes. He never shows frustration when Haye falls to the ground with the slightest pressure on his shoulder. Nor does he show satisfaction when the Brit repeatedly uses his face to stop Klitschko’s punches.

After it’s over and the unkillable Michael Buffer has announced victory, the Ukrainian champion’s veneer finally cracks and you get a sense of one emotion - disappointment. He is upset that he wasn’t able to knock out the 220lb pest that spent months insulting him and his family. That despite the dominant victory, he is as disappointed as the fans that watched the flight. It is a fleeting emotion, soon he is back to assuring the fighting fans that he isn’t retiring anytime soon.

Yet I wonder, is that a good thing? I’ve always liked the Klitschkos and think they don’t get enough credit among the all time great heavyweights. But, at 35, what worlds does Wladimir have left to conquer? The only man that would give him a challenge is his brother and they have sworn that they will never fight each other (reportedly at the behest of their mother, which is kind of sweet). So short of Wladimir having an affair with Vitali’s wife and having to settle it in the ring, who is he going to spend the next 10 years fighting?

According to Ring Magazine in February these are the top heavyweights fighting:

1. Wladimir Klitschko
2. Vitali Klitschko
3. David Haye - soon to be falling down the list
4. Alexander Povetkin - A Russian with only 19 fights on his record
5. Tomasz Adamek - intriguing at 41-1. He will fight Vitali in September.
332. Blog favorite - Tyson Fury!

Not exactly a hall-of-fame lineup awaiting him. Adamek is probably the great American (by way of Poland) hope for a heavyweight champ, but he faces an uphill battle in having to face and beat both Klitschko brothers. Something, that I believe no one has ever done. “Fast” Eddie Chambers, the highest ranked born and bred American challenger, had his shot at Wladimir in 2008 and got knocked out in the 12th round.

While we wait for the Klitschko’s to retire fight fans will have to content themselves with the Pacquio/Mayweather “will they or won’t they” drama in the meantime. The better boxer won the fight on Saturday, but the heavyweight division continues to lose the war.