Much has been going on in the boxing world over the past two weeks or so. With a lot to talk about, here are more of my conclusive blows in combination:
-Andre Ward showed real flashes of brilliance in there against Mikkel Kessler. Not quite the same shine you’d expect from an Olympian, though. Not quite as peculiar as a Whitaker. Not quite as powerful as a De La Hoya. Not quite as fast as a Jones. No, Ward used tactics that gave off the rusty grit you’d expect from a certain Graterford Prison alumnus. And he looked good doing it. I look forward to seeing more…
-Speaking of looking forward, I’d favor Ward over the rest of the Super 6 at this point, even bruising co-favorite Arthur Abraham. Abraham doesn’t like the inside roughhousing that Ward proved to be quite effective at. Perspectives can change as the Super 6 rounds progress, though. That’s part of what makes this tournament so interesting…
-During the Showtime broadcast, did anyone hear Antonio Tarver drop the Rocky line “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over?” What’s that from, the 80s, Antonio?
-So Shane Mosley is fighting Andre Berto in a welterweight unification fight. I’m intrigued, for sure. Mosley hasn’t fought a fighter even approaching Berto’s speed in over six years. Speed bothers everybody, but the bother seems more pronounced in older fighters. Evander Holyfield couldn’t handle it. Neither could Roy Jones. Even Bernard Hopkins struggled with it. And how long has it been since the last welterweight unification? Lots of things to pique the interest here…
-Even over a week later, I still don’t understand the behavior of Miguel Cotto’s corner near the end of the Manny Pacquiao loss. Cotto told trainer Joe Santiago to stop the fight after the 11th. His father Don Miguel did, too. Both were convinced by the corner to keep Cotto in there. On the surface, that's disgraceful, even if Cotto said it was his decision in the end. You don't send your fighter back out there when he has zero chance to win, when his face is bloody and swollen, and when he straight-up tells you he doesn’t want to fight anymore. Maybe I’m missing some details. Maybe I don’t know the whole story. But the entire situation seems very odd to me. It’s like the corner was trying to save face by risking Cotto’s…
-Despite the loss, Miguel Cotto should probably be enshrined in Canastota one day. He’s defeated eleven titleholders in two weight classes, handed world-class fighters like Carlos Maussa, Ricardo Torres, Paulie Malignaggi, and Carlos Quintana their first losses, and won a decision over perennial spit-fire and sure-fire Hall-of-Famer Shane Mosley. Puerto Rico has a lot to be proud of…
-As far as Cotto’s conqueror is concerned, he has distanced himself a ways from most of his contemporaries. Manny Pacquiao stands on the brink of entering rarefied air. Not in nearly 25 years has a fighter accomplished enough in his career to be mentioned alongside names like Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali and Henry Armstrong. When Sugar Ray Leonard outpointed Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Leonard entered the conversation. Manny Pacquiao need only raise his voice a little higher to do the same…
-The talks between the Floyd Mayweather camp and the Manny Pacquiao camp should heat up this week. All sides appear to want the fight. Top Rank boss Bob Arum wants it. Golden Boy boss Richard Schaefer wants it. HBO boss Ross Greenburg wants it. And most importantly, the fighters want it. With any luck, all that wanting will give fight fans and casual sports fans alike what they really want, too…
-Having said that, let’s be realistic here: these negotiations should be tough. I was going to write an article last week about the various obstacles in the way of this fight, but the more I wrote, the more depressed I became. So instead, I’m just crossing my fingers and hoping for the best. Sometimes, that’s all you can do…
-So it seems that Ricky Hatton and Juan Manuel Marquez are in talks to fight. If they do sign a deal, and Mayweather and Pacquiao also agree to fight each other, all four fighters will have fought one another at one point. Kinda like a watered-down version of the Four Kings from the 80s. What? Okay, a REALLY watered-down version. Like a virgin version. No? Alright, I’ll just drop it…
