It's Monday. Welcome back for another edition of Observe and Fight, The Boxing Observer's compilation of observations and random thoughts from the week that was in boxing. Get caught up on some of the most recent events you may have missed out on, including the latest on Lamont Peterson, Manny Pacquiao's next opponent, Golden Boy's poor business move, and much more. Without further ado, check out the latest observations from The Boxing Observer, David Kassel.
- Looks like we may very well see Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez IV. I, for one, am very happy to see this fight take place. Forget all the naysayers. Top Rank is making the smart business move. When these two guys get in the ring together, it will be worth the price of admission or a pay-per-view purchase. Some people say they don't want to see a fourth fight. Would you rather watch a rematch with Timothy Bradley? No disrespect to Bradley, but that fight wasn't even close. A rematch between Pacquiao and Cotto would end the same way as the first fight. Cotto would again have to drain himself because Pacquiao isn't coming up to 154. So, if we can't get a Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight, who else would you rather see Pacquiao fight? I would watch him fight Marquez 10 times if given the opportunity. People may complain about the fight occurring again, but take some time to think about it. Who else, besides Marquez, is going to push Manny Pacquiao to the limit in a Fight of the Year candidate? The answer is simple. NOBODY! This is a great fight and I hope it does happen.
- Could Lamont Peterson be the next addition to the growing stable of TMT Promotions fighters? I know, I know...who is going to fire the first PED joke at me? With Andre Berto already supposedly signing with TMT, a Peterson signing would make TMT Promotions seem like the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team in the 1990's. But in all seriousness, doesn't a Peterson signing make perfect sense at this point? Late last week, the IBF ruled that Peterson would be able to keep his title, despite the fact he tested positive for performance enhancing drugs prior to his scheduled rematch with Amir Khan in May. On top of that, Peterson admitted to taking the same drug prior to his first fight with Khan. With the IBF ruling, Peterson gets to keep his title. The sanctioning body also ruled that he would have to make his first defense against mandatory challenger Zab Judah. Business aside, that's a great fight anyway, but throw in the matter of business, and this should be like taking candy from a baby for TMT Promotions founder, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, as udah has already joined the promotional team. Lamont Peterson is a free agent. Should Peterson sign with TMT, it ensures all the money would stay in-house on a fight card destined for HBO or Showtime. If it makes dollars, it makes sense.
- Did anyone see Kevin Iole's article of the 25 most powerful people in boxing? I thought it was a very interesting read, but I did have to disagree with Iole about one detail on that list. Iole has Todd duBoef, president of Top Rank Promotions, as the #2 most powerful man in boxing behind Al Haymon. I think Iole is a hell of a journalist, and I usually agree with him on most things, but I must respectfully disagree here. Iole has Top Rank CEO Bob Arum listed at #5, behind 50 Cent, which is another one I think is up for debate. The reason I disagree is because Floyd Mayweather has gone on record saying he and duBoef have a good relationship. Mayweather believes if duBoef were in charge of Top Rank, he thinks the fight would have already happened, yet, we still have no fight, and it's because of the strained relationship between Mayweather and Arum. If duBoef really were more powerful than Arum, shouldn't sports fans already have seen the fight. Arum is still very much in charge of Top Rank, and therefore, cannot be less powerful than duBoef.
- What must Timothy Bradley be thinking right now? I'm not sure who he will fight next if it isn't Pacquiao, but I'm sure he can cry himself to sleep and wipe his tears with $100 bills since he made about $6 million for fighting Pacquiao in June. From a strictly business perspective, Bradley signing with Top Rank was the best decision he made to secure his financial future.
- Why is Golden Boy Promotions taking so long to find a venue for Randall Bailey vs. Devon Alexander? Everyone thought the fight was initially a done deal for St. Louis, but nobody expected Randall Bailey to not back down from his stance about not fighting in Alexander's hometown. I guess someone thought they could throw money Bailey's way. It didn't work. Next, the venue was set for Memphis, Tennessee, but again, nobody thought it would be a good idea to look at what was going on that weekend in Memphis. Turns out, college football's "Southern Heritage Classic" is taking place that same weekend between Jackson State University and Tennessee State University. The event is an all-weekend extravaganza and no hotels were available in Memphis for anyone to stay at. Big problem! Now, San Antonio is rumored to be the leading candidate to land the fight, but less than a month away, that deal is still not finalized. News broke last week that WBA jr. middleweight champion Austin Trout may land himself on the fight card. Trout hails from Cruces, New Mexico, about 30 miles from El Paso, Texas. My personal opinion is the only reason he is even being considered is to sell some tickets and to make this fight marketable. Should Trout land on the card, I expect this fight card to take place at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso. Alexander and Bailey aren't going to sell tickets in Texas. Neither will undercard fighters Lucas Matthysse and Ajose Olusegun. Trout may be the last hope for Golden Boy Promotions to sell more than 3,000 tickets for this fight. Otherwise, put the fight in Central Park in New York and make it "an event." That's the only way anyone is going to buy tickets.
- I bet Paulie Malignaggi wishes now that he would have accepted Devon Alexander's challenge. Instead of headlining the premier event at the new Barclays Arena in Brooklyn, Malignaggi will now be facing Mexican Pablo Cesar Cano on the televised undercard of Danny Garcia vs. Erik Morales II. I know he was hoping to secure Dmitry Salita as an opponent, but did he really think that fight was going to sell tickets just because Salita is also from New York City? Going from a major high to a major letdown, Malignaggi may have just cost himself a few hundred thousand dollars with his decision-making.
- Everyone should be rooting for Christy Martin as she goes for her 50th professional victory Tuesday night. No disrespect to Mia St. John, who is nothing to scoff at and is quite the looker, but Martin's story is one that cannot be overlooked and should not be discredited. The fact this fight is taking place on a Tuesday night, at a small casino in Friant, California, is somewhat disgraceful in itself. I would have thought someone would be willing to put this fight on a televised undercard of some sorts. Martin and St. John have more drawing power than most undercard fighters we have seen lately, and the fact this fight is not televised is even more disgraceful. I just hope someone can email me a link so I can stream the fight somewhere online.
- Has anyone seen the new helmets for the Virginia Tech football team? It looks like a chicken throwing up a middle finger. That should go under the category of "What the hell were they thinking?"
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