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 mastery of Bob Arum, Timothy Bradley's future, TMT Promotions debut show, Jean Pascal's "injury" update, and much more. Without further ado, check out the latest observations from The Boxing Observer, David Kassel.
- Bob Arum is "the master of his domain." Forgive the Seinfeld reference, but it's as appropriate as ever considering it's all but a done deal that we will see Manny Pacquiao face Juan Manuel Marquez for a fourth time on November 10th. This has been Arum's plan all along. Only difference this time is the winner will be pushed into a "mega-fight" of sorts with Timothy Bradley. In the end, Arum wins.
- Where does Timothy Bradley go from here? Bradley doesn't have many options right now because Top Rank doesn't have many top welterweights. Lamont Peterson is a free agent so that's one possibility, but he is slated to face Zab Judah. The guy I believe should face Bradley is none other than Andre Berto. I know Berto has been linked as Floyd Mayweather's next opponent, but is that really a viable option? Berto is a stiff test for Bradley, but one Bradley should ace. The most important pieces of this puzzle, however, are the men who represent each fighter. Bradley fights for Bob Arum. Berto fights, we think, for 50 Cent (although I'm sure Al Haymon still pulls Berto's strings). There are two other guys with these two promoters whom fans have been trying to get in the ring for three years now...Pacquiao and Mayweather. 50 Cent has stated he believes he can be the man to make Mayweather vs. Pacquiao a reality because he can work with Arum. If Arum and 50 can somehow work out a deal for Bradley vs. Berto, what is stopping them from making Mayweather vs. Pacquiao a reality? Nothing at all. Let's be very clear about one thing. The biggest reason Mayweather vs. Pacquiao has not happened is because of ego. Ego from Arum. Ego from Golden Boy Promotions. Ego from Al Haymon. Ego from Mayweather. If 50 and Arum can make Bradley vs. Berto, Mayweather vs. Pacquiao shouldn't be a problem. If Pacquiao loses to Marquez, Mayweather can fight the winner of Bradley vs. Berto. It makes dollars, and it makes sense.
- It looks like Yuriorkis Gamboa and Andre Dirrell are all set to fight for world titles on the debut fight card for 50 Cent's TMT Promotions. Not a bad first show considering fans will get to see the fan-friendly Gamboa back in the ring and the super slick Dirrell for the first time in awhile. Both will be fighting for, and should win, world titles, which would give TMT Promotions five world champions (Floyd Mayweather, Celestino Caballero, and Billy Dib being the others). Not a bad first show at all. The only question that remains is which network will land the show? Let the games begin!
- Tavoris Cloud has taken to Twitter and Facebook to attack Jean Pascal about his supposed "injury." I had heard rumblings from numerous sources that Pascal had not been training properly. Most times, I dismiss rumors about this kind of thing because they tend to be just that. However, this time, I took it seriously as I heard it from three very credible sources. When the fight was postponed due to "injury," I immediately knew something was fishy. News has now come out that the fight will not be rescheduled, which raises questions as to exactly how dedicated Pascal is to the sport of boxing. Cloud took to social media to try and expose Pascal, saying he was seen in Miami just weeks before the announcement of the cancellation, partying it up at the clubs. Not exactly training hard for a world title fight, are we Jean?
- Add IBF jr. middleweight champion Cornelius Bundrage to the list of current fighters with no strings attached. Ryan Burton broke the story that "K9" had parted ways with trainer and manager Emanuel Steward, on top of the fact that Bundrage was already a free agent. Bundrage is supposedly looking for more interaction with his trainer and wasn't getting that from Steward, who always seemed to be working with heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko and middleweight, Andy Lee. Bundrage may get his wish of a huge payday now that he has no ties to any promotional entity. He is looking to fight Miguel Cotto on December 1st, but don't sleep on Bundrage signing with TMT Promotions and finding himself in a unification fight with Floyd Mayweather. If nothing else, it would make for one hell of a promotion.
- Who can we thank for one of the most forgettable months in boxing history? No fights on either of the two premier networks in boxing (HBO and Showtime), with the exception of a Shobox card Friday night. We were supposed to have Cloud vs. Pascal, but Pascal supposedly injured his hand. Bailey vs. Alexander was supposed to take place in August, but for some reason (ego), it got pushed back by Showtime to go head-to-head with Ward vs. Dawson. There are many people to blame for these travesties, and everyone involved needs to step up and apologize to the real losers, the fans. Disgraceful and disgusting! These promoters and networks sometimes forget that it's the fans who pay the bills. Time to start treating us with some respect. The only good thing about the month of August is the premiere of Ward/Dawson 24/7, this weekend, followed by the Faceoff between Sergio Martinez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
- Put this in the "Where are you now, Michael Vick?" category. A lawsuit in the city of St. Louis claims that guards at a prison forced inmates to fight one another while the guards bet on the outcomes purely for the purpose of amusement. The guards were placed on leave and have been criminally charged. I'm willing to bet these guys don't do any more time than the Philadelphia Eagles starting quarterback. These guards were running a dog-fighting ring, except involving human beings. Makes me sick to my stomach. I hope these guys go away for a long time.
- Has anyone seen the uniforms Notre Dame is going to wear against Miami on October 6th at Soldier Field in Chicago? What is it with these ugly ass uniforms? Note to every university athletic department: you are not Oregon; stick with what you know! I'm happier than ever now that I'm not going to be able to make it to the Windy City for the game because I couldn't stand to be around a bunch of drunken idiots telling me about how Notre Dame got the best of us in 1988, how these uniforms will bring them back to the glory days just like the green jerseys, and how they are going to kick the Hurricanes asses this year. Guess what? Miami is picked to finish below .500 this season, according to many credible college football publications. According to the experts, Notre Dame should win. So every one of you Irish fans who think it's a big deal to beat a team about to go on probation, just schedule Penn State or SMU. GO CANES!!! Okay, I'm finished now.
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