Certifiably Awesome

I was going to write something about the Lightning and their road woes so far this season, but decided to adhere to the “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all” adage.  I’m not sure what their fundamental flaw on the road is, but I trust in Coach Boucher to figure it out and right the ship.

Instead let us delve into the card collection and pull out a random favorite. 

It’s a Martin St. Louis Certified Champions card from last year’s Panini Certified set.  I know I picked this up at the National, but I can’t remember if I bought it or if it came from Sal or Tim.  The memory really does go when you grow old.  For a card that doesn’t have my boy Vincent on it, it still hits pretty high on the “I like it scale”.

First of all it is shiny.  Shiny like a mid 90s insert.  It’s numbered, in this case 297/500.  I was trying to find some significance for the number 297 in Mr. St. Louis’ career stats.  Honestly, I can’t find one.  So you’ll have to go with the fact that he scored his 297^th goal on March 31^st, 2011. It was his 30^th of the season and the game winner against Pittsburgh that night.  With 298 goals for the Lightning he is second all time behind Vincent’s 357.

The card reflects the greatest moment in Lightning history, the winning of the 2004 Stanley Cup.  An event so shocking that the league had to shut down for an entire year because of it.  Marty is definitely enjoying his first skate with the cut, and I think hockey fans all around enjoyed the playoff beard he was rocking.

While St. Louis didn’t figure in the scoring of Game 7, they wouldn’t have been around to play the game if it wasn’t for his heroics in Game 6.  Thirty-three seconds into the second overtime in Calgary this happened:

The goal sent Lightning fans into hysterics, however, Calgary fans probably recall that game for an entirely different reason – Martin Gelinas’ non-goal in the third period that would have brought the Cup to Calgary.  Unfortunately, my Lightning-colored glasses will never allow me to have an objective opinion on if it was a goal or not, but for what it’s worth, I didn’t think it went in.

Panini’s insert set that this card is a part of features 25 players holding the cup.  Four of those cards are dedicated to the Lightning.  Along with Mr. St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier and Dan Boyle are represented, as is goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin.  If I had been consulted I would have substituted Dave Andreychuk for Boyle.  Sure Boyle’shouse burned down during the playoffs, but the Captain was such an important part of that team it would have been nice to see him immortalized with the cup in card form.  For now he’ll have to settle with being a background figure in Marty’s shot.

Being Panini there are about 8 parallels to this card, some with jersey relics and some with autographs.  The “black” version is the rarest of the rare as it is a 1/1.  If you happen to have that laying about, feel free to send it my way.  I have plenty of neo-vintage* cards that I can send you in return.


*neo-vintage is a term coined by Puck Junk's Sal in order to give "junk wax" a slightly sexier name.

Off Season Madness. Uniform Changes!

Tomorrow, at 9:30am the Baltimore Orioles are going to hold a special press conference.  Unfortunately, it's not to introduce Albert Pujols as their new first baseman, but rather to show off their new jerseys and hats for next year.

Reports are limited, but according to Roch Kubatko, they are going back to a carton bird on the cap reminiscent of the late 1970 style that they had.  That. Is. Awesome.

Best Hat Ever, Yuuuuup.

I'm all for ornithological correctness when it comes to mascots, but the cartoon bird is my favorite logo of all time.  It's also one, like having "Baltimore" on the road uni's, that fans have been asking for for years now.  The fans get their wish and the organization gets to sell some new merchandise (just in time for Christmas!) I'd put this under the "win,win" category.

I know it's not going to change the team they put on the field next year, but sometimes it's the little things that make a difference with an organization.  Getting the small details right show that they are moving in the right direction.

Oh and in doing my 3 minutes of research I stumbled across this article from the past. It's about the 1971 debut of the all orange uniform the O's rocked.

I'm not sure what part is my favorite: Chico Salmon's "It brings out the blackness in me"quote or the fact that Brooks Robinson's sporting goods store filled the order.

Either way, it's a nice way to start off the Diamond Dan Duquette era.

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.

Ever Want To Own A Bieber Card?

Go Here.

It's hockey season so I've posted some new auctions to help support my quest to own every Lecavalier card ever made.

FYI - The Cup is Not Pregnant (as far as we know)

Embarrassing-For the Flyers That Is

It's funny how things escalate. Last night's Lightning game against the Flyers started off as a match-up between two high scoring Eastern Conference teams and ended up as a sounding board for all that is right and wrong with hockey. On one side, according to Pierre McGuire and the rest of the Vs. broadcast crew were the Flyers and the forces of good and on the other, Tampa Bay coach Guy Boucher and his team full of chicken sh*t non-forechecking players.

Let's get something out in the open right away. The Lightning play a trap.  Sheldon knows it. Luigi knows it. And, of course, Admiral Ackbar knows it. It's known as the "1-3-1" and has been broken down by smarter people than I. If you're not familiar with the intricacies, go here. I'll wait for you to read it, I know it's kind of long.

OK, welcome back. So now that you're caught up with Boucher's system let me tell you how the Flyers decided to combat it. After watching hours of video tape, after facing the same defense four times last year they decided to do nothing. Literally nothing. Defenseman Braydon Couburn stood in his own defensive zone with the puck at his skates and stood there. He stood there for 30 seconds while the fans at the Ice Palace reigned boos down upon him. He stood there, probably thinking about his new 4yr/$18 million contract, until the refs blew the whistle.

Later in the game, after being warned by the refs that the puck had to keep moving, the Flyers kept the puck in their own defensive zone and passed it back and forth a few times, skated in a few circles until the refs blew the whistle. They basically employed the, "we don't know how to beat your defense so we're not going to play" strategy.

The Vs crew (or Vs./NBC/Comcast/Universal/Outdoor Network crew) were outraged. It was an embarrassment to the game. During the intermission, resident blowhard Mike Milbury walked off the set in protest. How dare the Lightning treat the sacred game that way!

Wait, what? The Lightning was to blame? How was that possible? The team with the puck, stood there and did nothing, but the team that was playing their system, the same system that they've played for more than 100 games without a protest, was in the wrong.

After the game, upstanding citizen Chris Pronger stated, "The onus is on them {Lightning}. They have to come and forecheck once in a while, too." He also said, "That was their game right there. We were making them look bad. That's not hockey in my book, but whatever. The league is letting them do it."

Ok, big fella let's take a look at what you said. First of all, nowhere in the rulebook does it say that a team "has" to forecheck. If there is an onus, it's on the team with the puck to bring it up the ice and score goals. As far as making the Lightning "look bad" I think the team that looked bad was the one standing there doing nothing. Finally, the league is letting the Lightning do it, because it's not illegal. That is the salient point here. Nothing is illegal about the Lightning strategy. Not only have they been enforcing it for over a year, some form of the system has been in the league for twenty years. It's not that much different than the system the New Jersey Devils rode to multiple Stanley Cups in the 1990's.

Why would the Flyers resort to such a delay tactic? Surely it's because Boucher's diabolical scheme is so stifling that no one can score against them, right? They must have allowed the fewest goals in the league, right? Let's check. Nope. They are actually 24^th out of 30 teams in goals allowed. Justin, you say, the season has just begun, that sample size is too small! OK, let's look at last year where they played the same system for 82 games. How about 22^nd in the league! Suffocating, that 1-3-1 is.

McGuire getting ready to say something annoying. Photo from Icon Sports

At some point in the game, the man in the glass for Vs., Pierre McGuire, asked analyst Ed Olczyk if he'd like to play in Boucher's system, or if "star" players would like the system. Olczyk said no way. Of course, why would a star player want to play in a system that generates a ton of turnovers and breakaways? That would be ludicrous.

If you've watched more than one Lightning game during Boucher's tenure you will notice that the Lightning do indeed forecheck. They are actually really good at forechecking, especially the Nate Thompson line. As Boucher stated in his post game conference, "When we have the puck we're aggressive with it, and when we don't have the puck we dedicate ourselves to being above the puck instead of chasing from behind."

In other words, their system adapts to their needs. When they are in the 1-3-1, they're usually up by a goal or tied. The reason they play it is simple. Their defense is weak. Right now it's even weaker with the loss of Victor Hedman and the ongoing health issues with Mattias Ohlund. With two of their top three defensemen out, they need help from their forwards, and that's what his system provides.

Almost exactly a year ago the same two teams met and produced one of the more entertaining games of the year, a 8-7 Lightning win. Guess what defensive system the Lightning played in that game? That's right, the 1-3-1. Granted they didn't play it well, but they still played it.

The uproar over the Flyers tactics will die down in a few days. I doubt many teams will follow their example to the extreme that Philadelphia did. Teams may hold onto it a little longer in their defensive zone, but not for 30 seconds at a time. What they'll do is drop their forwards lower to give their breakout more options, get to the red line and dump the puck in. You know, outwork the Lightning. That's how you beat the trap, that's how you've always beaten the trap.


Nothing to do with the story, just a great shot of Downie. Getty Images

Will a New Man in Charge Bring A Return to the Oriole Way?

Tuesday was not a bad day for the Baltimore Orioles organization. They introduced a new GM, excuse me, a new Vice President of Baseball Operations, had a pitcher cleared of manslaughter charges and it Chris Jakubauskas headed to the Diamondbacks. That last one doesn’t mean much to the organization, but it does mean that hopefully I don’t have to figure out how to spell “Jakubauskas” ever again.

The news of the day, though, was the introduction of Dan Duquette as the man in charge of putting the Orioles back together again. Sporting a nice orange tie he started his speech not by talking about what he was going to do, but from where he came from. From the story he spun he is a disciple of the mythical Oriole Way. The first ball player he met as a kid was Brooks Robinson and apprenticed at the knee of former Baltimore GM Harry Dalton.

After story time, he got into his philosophy of building an organization, something he’s down successfully twice in his career. Duquette believes strongly that “aggressive scouting will build championships”. For most of the approximately 10 minutes he had the microphone he outlined a broad plan to redevelop the Orioles scouting department and organizational structure to better develop their prospects to either help the ball club or be of use as bargaining chips for major league talent.

He believes that the Orioles need to be aggressive in the international market, something that has been severely lacking in recent years. I’m assuming that means not only the Latin America market, but also emerging markets such as China and possibly Korea. He acknowledged that statistical analysis will be important as well, which is sure to placate the sabermeticians in the fan base.

Those fans looking for a quick fix are going to be in for a bit of a letdown. . During the question-and-answer phase of the press conference he inferred that the Orioles would not be players for the big names such as Prince Fielder and CJ Wilson. The organization isn’t in a position where one player is going to make a difference so it appears he’s going to take those resources and use them to build depth and develop their internal prospects.

That fits in with what he’s done in past organizations. With both Montreal and Boston he worked to develop prospects within the organization and sought out the lower-tier free agents that were low-risk, high-reward type players. Only when a team was solidly built would he splurge on a player like Manny Ramariz (Cleveland Manny not Tampa Bay Manny). It sounds like he’ll spend the next few weeks analyzing the talent within the system, finding someone to take over as the minor league pitching coordinator and install a scouting director.

Though he never said it directly, it looks like the O’s fans have another rebuilding effort to look forward to. There will be no splashy free agent signings this Christmas under the tree, rather some second tier filler to build up the weak spots (namely the rotation). One thing that did appeal to Duquette about the current roster was the strength up the middle with Matt Wieters behind the plate, JJ Hardy at short and Adam Jones roaming centerfield.

I don’t know if there is any significance to him not mentioning Brian Roberts and that could become a sticking point with Duquette’s boss. It’s pretty well acknowledged that Roberts is a favorite of owner Peter Angelos. The millionaire owner might not be as involved with player decisions as he has been in the past, but if Duquette makes noise about severing ties with the longest tenured Oriole it might lead to some friction in marriage.

The new GM will have a short leash with the fans. After the dismal results the Andy McPhail era produced, O’s fans aren’t going to embrace another rebuild with open arms. They want wins on the field. Duquette claims that he wants to follow the Earl Weaver philosophy of “winning every game, every day” but how he’s going to do that next season in an extremely competitive American League East with the roster as it’s now constructed will be a mystery.

The good thing about a new GM is that he has no loyalty to players on the roster or prospects in the system. If another club comes calling for some of the O’s top prospects during the winter meetings, Duquette will be more inclined to listen than his predecessor. Does that mean he’s going to trade Manny Machado and Zach Britton? Not necessarily, but it could be an option should the right deal be on the table.

One moment did bother me a little bit. While answering a question about bringing in free agents he dismissively answered the questions with a chuckle and stated the he, "won't have any trouble getting players to take my money". Apparently, someone hasn't been following the organization's trouble with free agents over the past few years. Hopefully, once he puts the house in order the Orioles will no longer be the "mystery team" that gets left at the alter every off-season.

There is no doubt that the Orioles organization is in shambles. They lack a strong international scouting department. They haven’t developed players at a successful rate. The future aces fans have waited three years for floundered last season. Duquette has pledged to change that. From his opening speech it appears that they are going to follow the Rays model of success instead of the Yankees. That’s not a bad thing, but it does require patience. Patience from the fans and patience from his owner.

The O’s do have a solid nucleus up the middle, and their pitching staff has shown moments of hope over the last two years. It’s not a lot to build off of, but hopefully with Duquette and manager Buck Sholwalter running things there is a slimmer of hope that the Baltimore fans can look forward to playing meaningful games in October.

Boxing Break! Is it on? Oh, it could be on!

JMM Vs Pac-Man III should be good - photo from insideboxing.com

“We’re looking to make the biggest fight possible and everyone knows what that fight is, little fella.” With those words the Floyd Mayweather camp blew new life into boxing’s greatest “Will They/Won’t They” drama. The “little fella” is, of course, a reference to Manny Pacquiao, the fighter that poses the greatest challenge to Mayweather’s unblemished legacy.

No official announcement has been made by either camp, and it was just over a week ago that Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum told ESPN that the fight “will never, ever happen” because Mayweather was scared of Manny’s right hand. Pac-Man’s camp is reportedly upset with Mayweather over the timing of the announcement, nine days before Pacquiao squares off against Juan Manual Marquez for the third time.

While we’re still months away from anything official expect the rhetoric to ramp up if Pacquiao stops his relentless Mexican foe on November 12th. While the Filipino is heavily favored (a quick online search shows him a -750 favorite to win) Marquez has been one of his toughest foes over the last eight years. While he should win, Manny can’t expect it to be a cake walk like the Shane Mosley fight was.

Assuming he does get through, boxing fans haven’t been this close to seeing the two best fighters in the world square off since late 2009, before their March 2010 fight was derailed over disagreements stemming from Pacquiao’s refusal to agree to Olympic-style blood testing. The disagreement turned ugly enough that earlier this year Pacquiao hit his foe with a defamation lawsuit, adding to the undefeated champions lengthening list of legal problems.

It’s sad that the March 2010 fight was cancelled, because it would have been the perfect time for the two to meet. Pacquiao was at the height of his new found fame coming off his brutal destruction of Oscar De La Hoya and Mayweather had returned from his self-imposed retirement with a dominant victory over Marquez.

Since then, despite their continued success in the ring (both fighters have easily won two fights since then), outside distractions have mounted for both fighters. Mayweather’s legal problems which include a misdemeanor battery charge against a security guard and felony charges revolving around a domestic dispute with an ex-girlfriend. Oh, and there is the harassment charge where he was found not guilty of threatening some OTHER security guards. Meanwhile Pacquiao campaigned and won a spot in the Philippine government. He’s also released a CD, put on a few concerts and crooned some tunes on late night TV. As much as either fighter will protest, those types of activities can affect their training which, in turn, can affect their fighting.

Lets face it, both fighters are two years older as well. Mayweather, at 34, is entering that age where speed starts to abandon fighters just a notch. For him, a master of escapability in the ring, to lose even a fraction of his hand or foot speed could prove disastrous against a fighter of Pacquiao’s strength.

Pac-Man, two years younger, might not be as old, but has definitely been punished more throughout his career. Even though he dominated Antonio Margarito in their 2010 match-up (the most lopsided boxing match I‘ve ever watched), he took a lot of solid punches to the face. His straight-forward, action-loving style endears him to fans, but it also leads to a lot of shots to the head. No matter who the fighter is, that kind of punishment eventually catches up with them.

Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer, has on more than one occasion stated that he doesn’t want to see his golden boy fight past 2013. The fighter himself as acknowledged that he is pondering retirement to focus more on his political career. Mayweather has already retired once and despite his legal woes, he should be set financially. With neither fighter seemingly wanting to fight into their 40’s the window for this fight (and a probable re-match) is closing rapidly.

Despite all of this, I really, really want to see this fight. Hell, I’d plan a weekend out of it. Thursday morning Darren Rovell pondered on Twitter how much the Pay Per View would cost to watch and said that he’d fork over $79.99 for it (in HD I assume). He probably isn’t far off on that estimation. It would undoubtedly be the highest grossing fight of all time.

Per ESPN, the biggest non-heavyweight boxing PPV in terms of buys and revenue was Mayweather’s match with Oscar De La Hoya in 2007. That fight brought in an estimated 2.45 million buys and almost $137 million in revenue. If Mayweather and Pacquiao finally agree to fight (Arum says his fighter is willing to agree to Olympic drug testing “without any conditions”) I wouldn’t be surprised to see this fight push 3 million buys.

Hey Floyd, spread the love!

Both fighters appeal to non-boxing fans. Heck, even the Duchess watched Pac-Man take down Margarito. There is a natural storyline built in with Pacquiao as the hardworking, outgoing hero and Floyd as the charismatic villain. Sports Illustrated did an excellent job profiling Mayweather before his fight with Victor Ortiz, detailing some of the more outrageous acts portrayed by “Money Mayweather”.

Without a dominant American heavyweight fighting these days, this fight would be boxing’s best chance of reclaiming some of the fans that they’ve lost to MMA over the last decade. Both of these fighters have legitmate claims to the pound-for-pound title. Not only that, but they are the marquee fighters in a weight class that has its share of decent boxers. Despite his meltdown against Mayweather, Ortiz isn’t a bad boxer, neither is Amir Khan or Tim Bradley.

The welterweight and light welterweight classes have become the focal point of boxing over the last decade as the boxers have increased their speed and power on the whole leading to some pretty damn good matches. To have their two best wage war would be a glorious opportunity for a sagging industry.

Time will tell if this nothing more than a boxer hyping a fight he never plans on fighting. Hundreds of things can still go wrong, from the choice of venue to the split of the money to the color of the gloves. However, it would probably be one of the biggest sports disappointments in out generation should these two not meet. But, hey, at least Floyd didn’t promise his next bout to be a “game changer”.