Return of the Doggy Bag
By Aaron Imholte (November 25, 2004) 
With the demands for the return of the Doghouseboxing.com mailbag growing everyday, I have decided that I cannot ignore my readers anymore. What they want is what I must deliver. That is why today we restart the weekly Doggy Bag for another big run.

This week we return with Wright-Mosley, Pacquaio-Marquez and Morales-Barrera questions, as well as my thoughts on Evander Holyfield's recent debacle and a few more fantasy matchups. So here you go Poppa! Your platform to hail Pac Man has returned, and to the rest of you; enjoy!

What's next for Barrera once he loses to the P4P King Morales, I know GBpromo.. didn't have MAB losing 2 of 3 since signing him. Will he hang them up or fight his way to obscurity, I prefer if he hangs them up if or when he loses to Erik. He is a hall of famer and fighting till he's old like Holyfield is no way to go for him. Thanks Aaron.. - JoeJabber

I think you may be selling the assassin short. While I believe he will lose to Morales I still think that if he makes it a close fight he should continue his career. If you are still a top tier contender and you still have the drive and tools to continue on, who am I to stop you from making a living? If MAB is still competitive in the Morales fight I think he should continue fighting if that is where his heart is at.

What's up Aaron.

The heavyweight division still stinks. You have Byrd who holds the IBF and had a pretty good showing against McCline, who do you think he fights next?

You have John Ruiz who somehow manage to pull out another win. I had Golota winning the fight and Ruiz should have been penalized for holding so much. Who does he fight next?

Brewster is the WBO champion, but IMO is worth much. I could care less what he does in the near future.

Vitaly K if fighting Williams on Dec 11th, who wins that fight and do you think its even possible for Vitaly to fight one of Don Kings heavyweight champions? It sounds like Don King wants Rahman to fight Vitaly, so he can try and control the entire heavyweight division. What's you opinion on that? - Abraham G

The heavyweight division is still in bad shape but I did find it intriguing that anyone can on any given night become a champion like McCline and Golota almost did. That being said there is still a lack of good sound technical boxers and guys with a mix of hunger and talent.

Chris Byrd got back to boxing and moving against Jameel, thank god. Yeah he mixed it up a few times but I am glad he fought like himself and stopped trying to please the crowd. Next would be that dream fight against Vitali but I do not see it happening. I'm going to honestly say that he fights a Ruiz or, god forbid, a Brewster. King will try to unite the titles soon but it will be in his stable and on his terms.

Ruiz and Golota fought a great fight and it could have gone either way. I think whichever way the fight went people would have complained because it was such a close, however ugly, fight. I had the fight an even draw with deductions but I would not be totally disgusted with either man walking out the Garden as champion.

Brewster is a the most overrated heavyweight beltholder of all time and will get beat by Maskaev or Whitaker or whoever they named as his next creampuff defense.

I see Vitali Klitschko stopping Danny Williams in the second round. It will not be close. I was in Louisville watching the fight that made Danny famous and the only thing that saved him from a first round KO is that when he stumbled after a Tyson combination he stumbled BACKWARDS away from Mike, if he would have wobbled into Tyson the fight would have been over there. Instead he stayed up and god bless him he fought a gutsy fight, but he will be no match for the Ring's heavyweight champion of the world.

I was thinking about Vitali's promotional options after this fight. Instead of promoting himself I would love to see him switch over to Golden Boy Promotions. Maybe then King would put on a Ruiz or Byrd-Klitschko fight. Just think about the star power pushing that fight! Oscar De La Hoya, Bernard Hopkins, Don King, Chris Byrd and Vitali Klitschko! Put maybe another title fight on the card and it is a real winner. I know it is a pipe dream but the payoff for such a move is enormous.

You bastard! Where have you been, man?

Okay I have a question yet again.

(1) Is there a better chance for Pac to face Erik Morales' instead in February than him rematching Marquez. I think the fans would love it better than Pac facing "The Ducking, Avoiding Juan"

(2) and who do you think will win in that fight? I think it would be very explosive and Manny Pac being the more explosive fighter will dominate and knock out Morales. What are your thoughts? I think you agree with me, right?

(3) BTW Do you think I look like Val Kilmer or Brad Pitt? Cmon be honest. You have no choice anyway. Just to make things a little more clearer cos alot of people are jealous of me. Give it to them dawg - Poppa

Wow, are you serious? Poppa wrote to the Doggy Bag with a Manny Pacquaio question or 2? Excuse me while I find a bag to breathe into as I relieve myself of the shock.

Just kidding buddy. Before we see Pacquaio Morales, Manny has some unfinished business to attend to. He has to beat JMM in order to move to bigger things otherwise there will always be countless 'what ifs?'. If they both win their respective upcoming bouts then there is no other fight to make other than a Pac-El Terrible showdown.

Poppa you ask a lot of your boy, don't you? Morales has a truckload of heart and is a beast inside the ring; but you are right though, Manny is very, very explosive. I see them both hitting the canvas and both will continue to get up until the final bell rings. Manny by the slimmest of margins. I just think he will impose his aggressive will more successfully than Morales. It will be the battle for the number one pound-for-pound spot since Bernard Hopkins could be retired by then.

Honestly I would have to say you look like a cross between Liza Minelli and Tiny Tim but I know a great plastic surgeon here in Minnesota that could give you more of a Boy George look if you prefer. It would definitely be an improvement. Sorry bro I just couldn't resist.

Hey Aaron, any word on Feroz Vargas comeback I've heard David Lopez as a possibility, Lopez just signed with GBpromo. But it seems to be a tough one for Vargas this guy is tall and lefty. Have you heard of this? And tell poppa to register himself with the state when he moves to a new neighborhood. - JoeJabber

Well he is scheduled to fight in March of next year against a guy named question mark in a venue called question mark. Your guess is as good as mine about who he will fight and where but if it is Lopez like you suggest I would say Fernando handles him with relative ease.

Yes Poppa you better get registered because the FBI will not be as nice as me and Joe Jabber are.

Do you think Kosta could hand Mayweather his first defeat? How do you think this fight will unfold if it happens within a year? ..Please tell poppa the truth, he looks like an ork from lord of the rings - Bryan Dayglo

Oh man I have to stop the fight on account of blood flowing from Poppa's ego. That is why I love this site. The guys who write the mailbag give it a real lounge type of feeling like back when people had the old school barbershops where you'd just go and shoot the breeze. That's sort of how this is.

Anyway, yes I definitely believe Kostya CAN hand Floyd Mayweather his first defeat and if it happens within a year I think it is a good possibility. Pretty Boy would have to put on his track shoes for most of the fight and Tsyzu would catch him eventually and stop him late in the fight in my opinion.

Is there a precident in a fighter being suspended for bad performance, or did the NY commision pull this out of their ass? I understand for injury and damage, but how about like Holly, just 'cause he keeps loosing since Toney broke him... - MegaThumpZilla

I was thinking the exact same thing when I heard the suspension. I really cannot recall or find any previous precedent being set for this type of suspension. I support it fully and think it is a great precedent. By the way I wouldn't say Toney broke Holyfield, he was shot long before that. Holyfield just made Toney a star, that is all.

Could we get your opinion on these terrible terrible calls:

ruiz golata
oscar leeverless bosnian storm
meeham lamont poopster

and finally,
I think green did okay against toney in the sparring and I think Fenech was spot on with is comments about the sparring afterward. What do you think. You can keep your sources confidential but of course.

ps have you thought about what to do for your prom? which fight you bringing your girl too - Doodle

Ruiz-Golota was not necessarily terrible, just unpopular because Ruiz is the most hated man in boxing. I say it could have gone either way.

Felix Sturm won that fight, that is a legitimate claim to terrible judging, but you have to remember the money that was at stake in that fight.

Meehan worked Brewster and beat him by two or maybe three rounds. He should have been getting knocked out by Rahman with a belt around his waist. How bad does Lamon look by the way for getting beat by a guy who was absolutely housed by Hasim Rahman?

I think Green held his own and did not back down. He showed alot of heart especially for a super middleweight fighting a heavyweight. I was impressed by the Green Machine.

Well ya know I'm sure the crew will want to do the limo and dinner thing but hey, maybe Oscar will make a comeback by then. My girlfriend and my best friend's girl both have said that they used to think he was hot when they were younger. Who knows, eh? I'm kidding of course, oh and baby if your reading this please don't hit me!

can pacquiao broke morales nose cause pac busted 15 fighters already including JMM, ledwaba, julio, etc..??? - WangBuang

I suppose he could if he hits it hard enough. There really isn't a real scientific way to answer that question. A few good pops to the shnoz and I suppose he could bust Morales' nose.

Aaron, do a follow-up on your Holyfield article. What's your opinion now? Thanks - Simba

I think I am going to follow Doug Fischer's lead here (I think it was Doug) and say we should all just stop talking about Evander because it only makes him feel like he is legit in today's boxing world. Let's try real hard just to ignore him until he quits. Sorry that is the best I can do for a follow up.

Whats next for Mosley if he loses to Wright again? do you see him retiring? If not, do you think he'll ever be considered a contender again? - Vatoloco

Well it did happen, Mosley lost a very close fight. I just think Winky has his number. He gave it a great effort and still almost pulled it out so if he decides to keep fighting I couldn't really find a reason to say no to him. But if his goal is to be the junior middleweight champ then he might want to consider hanging 'em up.

What's next for Tarver after the Johnson fight if he wins or loses?

If he win's does he stay at light heavy or move on up to Heavyweight?

Are there any challenges left for Tarver and Johnson at light heavy?

Thanks. - Serial

If he loses he is kind of in a sticky situation. You would think he would have to fight a Briggs or Tiozzo and try to get back in the picture or just retire. If he wins then I think he should move up and test the waters at heavyweight like his predecessor at light heavy.

I think if Danny Green or Jeff Lacy move up then they might consider taking those fights. But other than that I don't see a reason for either to stay at 175. They would have already conquered the two biggest names in the division.

Who should Mayweather's next five opponents be if he really wants to rule the 140 pound division and can the fights with the showtime stable of fighters be made? How does this list look?

Gatti
Tszyu
Hatton,
Harris,
Cotto

- Guppetto

Wow, quite the question. If Floyd can be victorious against those five guys in a row than that is something for the history books! I think it is unrealistic to ask Floyd to beat all five of those guys before moving up considering the years it could end up taking away from him if he ever decides to move up in weight. I think Floyd would box circles around three of those five and beat one other. Kostya Tyszu would be in my opinion his only defeat.

Where goes Mayorga from here? Can he, by dropping back down to 154 or 147lbs, become an all action favorite like Gatti and fight for big bucks in non-title bouts or will he have to get in line and fight his way back to the top of the 147 or 154lbs division?

I think with King in his corner there are many possibilities. - Boxtalk

Mayorga at 147 would be my favorite fighter in boxing. If he does go down and fight again at welterweight he would be a bigger fan favorite than Gatti is just because of his daredevil persona. Sadly I really don't think Mayorga will be back. His rape case will take a year to close up I'm sure, plus if he is guilty there is definitely no comeback.

Don't know if you've finished your MB Aaron, but here's a mythical (and potentially probable match-up) that I'd like to get your take one:

In the proverbial BALCO battle, how would you see a potential Mosley v. Vargas match-up shaking down? And, what is the liklihood of such a match being made with the Return of Vargas and the recent showing of Mosley?

Thanks in advance - Doc

Doc, I am going to go with Vargas in this one only because he will be the fresher fighter. If Fernando comes back and shows he stills has all of his tools in the toolbox then I think he will be too much for an ever declining Sugar Shane. If we are talking primes however I would pick Mosley to stop Vargas in the late rounds.

And that is all for this week's edition of the Doggy Bag. Don't forget to keep those questions coming on the forum and Poppa, do not forget to register in your new neighborhood before unpacking! Thanks alot guys and God bless.
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