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 Gennady Golovkin's latest conquest, Victor Ortiz's latest disappointment, Luis Collazo back in the mix at welterweight, and much more. Without further ado, check out the latest observations from the Boxing Observer, David Kassel.
Like it or not, Gennady Golovkin is the best middleweight in the world after scoring his 16th consecutive stoppage win on Saturday. It's just unfortunate nobody in the United States was able to see it. I'm not going to lie to anyone, I streamed the fight online since there was no American network (or pay-per-view provider) showing the fight. Those who are saying Golovkin shouldn't be fighting garbage men are way off. Osumanu Adama came to fight, and he had a pretty solid game plan. Adama hit Golovkin with some big shots, but just like Curtis Stevens, Golovkin walked right through them. Adama can punch. Of his 22 wins, 16 came by knockout. Adama might have laid a foundation or blueprint to help a future Golovkin opponents last the full distance, or possibly beat GGG. Adama was moving backwards and to the left most of the fight. However, he was able to hit Golovkin cleanly with some heavy shots. In the end, though, Golovkin did not seem affected at all by anything he was hit with. He, once again, systematically broke his opponent down and forced a stoppage (in this case, the referee correctly jumped in and stopped Adama from taking any more punishment). I took to Twitter after the fight and stated that Golovkin is the best middleweight in the world (yes, I believe, at this stage, he is better than Sergio Martinez, even though Martinez has a better resume). The reason I say this is we all know Golovkin has the punching power to stop anyone, but it's his ability to take a good shot that separates him from the rest of the pack. Golovkin has never been down (in the pros or amateurs), and he walks through the most powerful punchers in the sport. I'm not saying that it won't catch up with him one day, but right now, he is the best 160-pound fighter in the world. It looks as if Andy Lee will be his next victim, April 26th, in New York City.
If he keeps winning, Golovkin should get a shot at the winner of Sergio Martinez vs. Miguel Cotto. Golovkin's promoter, K2, say they want Golovkin to fight 4 times this year. He's got one down and another fight coming on April 26th. If all goes well, that would put his 3rd fight some time in July or August. With Martinez vs. Cotto taking place June 7th (although no official announcement has been made), the dates line up for a perfect scenario to have Golovkin face the winner of the June 7th fight some time in November or December. There really is no way around it at this point, and it is another pay-per-view worthy event. Golovkin is must-see TV. Martinez and Cotto are both must-see TV. It makes perfect sense and needs to happen. Rumor is that James Kirkland is scheduled to be the co-feature on Golovkin's April 26th card. If all goes well, Kirkland would be the guy to face GGG in July or August. If GGG can pass every test leading up the winner of Martinez vs. Cotto, there should be no question he deserves that fight. HBO wouldn't be able to sit on it any longer. To look even further into the future, if GGG passes that test, it would be the perfect buildup to a showdown with Andre Ward in 2015. Oh the possibilities!
Welcome back, Luis Collazo! In a rare Thursday night fight card this past week, Luis Collazo returned to prominence by knocking out former welterweight champion Victor Ortiz in the 2nd round in front of thousands of screaming fans in Collazo's hometown of Brooklyn, New York. Collazo called out Floyd Mayweather after the fight, yet we all know that's not going to happen.
Where does Victor Ortiz go from here? Ortiz looked to be in great shape since returning from a broken jaw and 19-month layoff following his loss to Josesito Lopez in 2012. Ortiz was tight and rushed in, but he didn't look terrible. He was rusty and he got caught. I'm not a huge fan of some of the comments Ortiz makes, but I love watching his fights because he is one of the most enigmatic figures in boxing. Thursday night was no different. With Al Haymon in his corner, there were talks that if Ortiz had beaten Collazo and then defeated another high level opponent, he would get a rematch with Floyd Mayweather in September after the controversy from their first encounter. Now, that is out the window. Make no mistake, Ortiz will be back in the spotlight on a big-time fight card in his next fight. It's just a matter of who the opponent will be. There are so many options in the welterweight division right now, it's mind-boggling. I'm just not sure that Ortiz can bounce back against a puncher. My guess is that Golden Boy, and Haymon, will try to make a fight between Ortiz and former champion Paulie Malignaggi. It's a legitimate test for Ortiz and it has very little chance to end by knockout. If Ortiz cannot pass the test against Malignaggi, his days of fighting top level fighters are through because Malignaggi is still a top level fighter.
The Gary Buckland vs. Gavin Rees fight is the early leader for Fight of the Year! Thank goodness for the AWE Network (formerly Wealth TV) for airing some fight cards from Europe because, even though American boxing fans were unable to watch Gennady Golovkin's TKO victory on Saturday, we were privileged to watch two great Welsh warriors do battle for country pride. Although Buckland won via split decision, I had Rees winning 8 rounds to 4. Most of the rounds were so close though that I have no qualms about the decision. I just want to see a rematch.
Gary Russell Jr. needs a big fight, and I hope it comes in May. Russell Jr. performed well against a tough opponent Thursday, but it's time to step it up. With the news that Abner Mares and Jhonny Gonzalez are going in separate directions for their next fights, a rematch will have to wait. Mares has announced he expects to fight on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather pay-per-view May 3rd. How about we match up Mares with Russell Jr.? Mares has now shown he can be hurt, and Russell Jr. needs to show everyone he has the goods to compete at the highest level. This fight is perfect, and the WBC can even make it for a B.S. interim championship to build some more interest. The fight makes sense to me. Let's make it happen!
Gilberto Ramirez literally sent Don Mouton through the ropes Saturday night. It wasn't a Knockout of the Year candidate by any means, but it's always entertaining when a fighter gets knocked through the ropes. I'm glad Mouton is okay. He even beat the count, but only lasted a few more seconds. The 22-year-old Ramirez is now 27-0 (21 KO's). It's time for Top Rank to match him up with a live dog. There are only so many C-level fighters a young guy can face before stepping up and seeing if he has what it takes.
Eddie Gomez continues to impress after his win over Daquan Arnett. In Gomez's toughest challenge to date, the Bronx native dominated his fight with Arnett and showed he could both box and bang. Gomez, now 16-0, is almost ready to step up to main event status on a future Fox Sports 1 fight card. He is charismatic and entertaining. That's a great combination for a fighter, especially one who is only 21-years-old.
I am looking forward to watching the development of 2012 heavyweight Olympic Gold medalist Anthony Joshua. The British-native is now 4-0 (4 KO) after his win over Dorian Darch on Saturday. It is still WAY TOO SOON to predict Joshua will win a world title, but I'm willing to bet he will not be rushed. At 6'6", Joshua has the size and he seems to have the power to get things done. I believe promoter Eddie Hearn will learn from the mistake made by David Price's former promoter, Frank Maloney, by trying to push Price into world title contention too soon. Joshua will probably fight about 7-8 times (assuming no injuries) in 2014, and will try to capture a British title in 2015. We shouldn't see much from Joshua in the world title picture until about 2016, but I am going to be following his progress very closely. You should as well.
Lee Selby produced an impressive win over tough Rendall Munroe. Selby is an interesting fighter in the featherweight division. Although the stoppage by the referee may have been a bit premature, Munroe couldn't get out of the corner and was barely punching back. Selby is not a huge puncher, but he looked really strong on Saturday, almost as if he is figuring out his power. He is still a few fights away from competing for a world title, but Selby could be an interesting player at featherweight toward the end of this year or early next year.
I love the idea of the Boxcino tournament in the lightweight and middleweight divisions! Anytime a tournament is put together, people are going to watch. Look at the success of the Prizefighter tournament in England. Remember when the super middleweight division was an afterthought? After the Super Six Tournament, it became relevant and one of the hottest divisions in boxing. Tournaments are fantastic because the winner is decided in the ring, not on social media. Although the fighters involved in the Boxcino tournament aren't necessarily at the top of their weight classes, this tournament could produce a new star in boxing.
Light heavyweight Blake Caparello is being brought along at a fantastic pace. Caparello improved to 19-0-1 after his unanimous decision win over veteran Elvir Muriqi Friday night. Caparello looked strong and dominated the fight throughout. Being from Australia, this was the first time Caparello left his home country to take a fight. His previous fight was against former world title challenger Allan Green. This time, Caparello fought another world title challenger outside the confines of his home country. Caparello will be a tough out for anyone because of his fighting style. It should be interesting to see who he is matched up with in 2014.
I cannot wait for the rematch between Rances Bathelemy and Argenis Mendez. Falling through the cracks with everything going on in boxing was the news that the IBF has returned the 130-lb. title belt to Mendez after a controversial knockout loss to Barthelemy. At the end of the 2nd round, Barthelemy hit Mendez with two punches, after the bell, which produced the knockout. Even though Barthelemy was dominating the fight and was on his way to an eventual stoppage win, a foul was committed, and the referee incorrectly ruled a knockout victory. The Mendez camp appealed the decision and was rightfully returned the title belt. However, in the rematch, which was immediately ordered by the IBF, we probably won't see a different result because Mendez could not handle Barthelemy's power. The 2nd time around, Barthelemy should convincingly win the IBF title with no controversy.
Thoughts go out to boxer Oscar Gonzalez and his family. Gonzalez was rushed to the hospital after his 10th-round knockout loss to Jesus Galicia Saturday night. According to a report from Boxingscene.com, Gonzalez's wife says that "part" of the boxer's brain is still functioning. While these types of injuries almost always ensure the end of a career, we can only hope that Gonzalez can go on and live a long and fulfilling life.
Congratulations to the Seattle Seahawks on their victory in Super Bowl XXVIII. Pete Carroll, Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch, and the Legion of Boom came 110% prepared to dominate the Denver Broncos and executed to perfection. They are going to be extremely good for a long time and should be the early favorites to win next year's Big Game. The Social Media update of Sunday night came from Rich Mancuso, who shared the following on his Facebook page: "Floyd Mayweather will lose $10 million tonight on the Broncos. Don't feel bad he will get another 22 million when he fights again in May." Even though Mayweather told FightHype's Ben Thompson last week that the story of betting $10 million is false, it still gave me a chuckle.
Each week, I feature an email from a fan on Observe and Fight. This week's email comes to us from Jonathan A., and it is a lengthy email regarding his issues with Floyd Mayweather...
"Hello Mr. Kassel. Boxing is a tremendous passion in my life and I have invested my fair share of time and money into watching the rise of many of the worlds best fighters. While many fighters--understandably--want to maximize their profits, there should be a balance between maximizing profits and giving the consumer the end product they have invested in (in boxing this would be the fight that pays the fighters and challenges them to the fullest). Mayweather, throughout his career, has consistently failed to do this.
I believe it would benefit the boxing community and the hardworking and paying fan if you called it to everyone's attention that, for whatever reason, Mayweather managed to do the following:
1) Completely ignore the past challenge of Kermit Cintron while Cintron still had the height and 'pop' to get the job done, and was calling Mayweather out.
2) While ignoring the challenge of the tall and hard hitting Cintron, actually mentioned Matthew Hatton as a potential opponent. Why consider Matthew Hatton and not Cintron?
3) Again ignored the challenge of a worthy opponent in Antonio Margarito (before he was exposed as a cheater) who was on a winning streak, fresh off the Cotto win, and on HBO stating that Mayweather would not fight him since Mayweather was just another fighter scared of him. Mayweather speaks of big PPV numbers, so why not fight a popular Mexican that would have brought the Mexican Population out in droves to purchase the fight?
4) Never even mentioned the tall, lanky, iron chinned, pressure fighting Paul Williams as an opponent even though Williams showed interest in fighting Mayweather. Wouldn't the novelty of their height difference (Mayweather = 5' 8", Williams = 6' 1") alone have generated tremendous interest and added PPV revenue? Not to mention Williams' undefeated record at the time.
5) Never seriously addressed the challenges of Sergio Martinez when he was peaking and generating tremendous buzz in the boxing world and seen as a legitimate threat to Mayweather.
6) Touted himself as the draw, the fighter who creates the buzz, and suggested his opponent as being almost incidental but never fought someone like the tough, iron-chinned, highly conditioned, and strong Joshua Clottey. Pacquiao showed that a small Filipino and a barely known African could draw 60,000 fans to Cowboy Stadium in the United States of America. Why did Mayweather, who claims to be an even bigger draw and American, not fight Clottey and draw 120,000 fans to the same or similar venue?
7) Finally, Mayweather decides to accuse--and in the process throw a monkey wrench into one of the biggest possible fights in the history of the sport--Pacquiao of using PED's. And Mayweather continues to come up with one excuse after another to try and explain why a fight with Pacquiao will not happen: Olympic style drug testing (even though Mayweather had never required it of opponents prior to Pacquiao), stating that nothing new would be gained fighting Pacquiao by citing his knockout losses but is considering Khan who has been KO'd twice by much lesser fighters then Marquez, offering Pacquiao a financial deal that clearly placed Pacquiao at an unfair disadvantage, and now citing Pacquiao's relationship with Arum as an issue.
I share the belief with many writers such as yourself that the pen is mightier than the sword, so in that spirit will you use yours along with your wit, and place one squarely on the chin of Mayweather's earning power by addressing his clear handpicking of opponents and numerous contradictions? And please do not stop until he finally begins to fight, in his proposed final four bouts, those who are willing and appear to be his equal at the moment. Those that come to mind are Gennady Golovkin, Sergio Martinez, Keith Thurman, and Manny Pacquiao.
After all, if we as fans permit Mayweather to walk away without this serious and just critique, we will be setting a lousy precedent where we shell out hundreds of dollars following the development of a human Ferrari (making him a millionaire in the process) only to get the run-around and cheated when the Ferrari decides that they only want to race stock V6 Ford Mustangs or other Ferraris, but only after they have too many miles and are ready for the scrap heap (Mosley, De La Hoya, and even Cotto).
Please help this boxing fan sleep at night.
Sincerely,
A 'current' supporter, spectator, fan, and former participant of the greatest sport on the planet."
Jonathan
I thank you for taking the time to construct this email. While I cannot speak for why fighters do what they do, I will first start by saying this: fighters are the ones putting their lives on the line. I will never question a fighter's heart and determination because only they know what it takes to get in the ring and take that kind of beating.
For me personally, I cannot say whether I would take $30 million for a tougher challenge, or $25 million for a fight I know I can win easily (I'm just using examples, not actual purses that Mayweather has earned).
To blame one side or the other in the reason why Mayweather vs. Pacquiao has not happened is completely biased and unfair. Truth be told, everyone is at fault in one way or another for that fight not being made. The following people (in no particular order) have all played a role in the fight not happening: Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Bob Arum, Richard Schaefer, Leonard Ellerbe, Oscar de La Hoya, Al Haymon, Michael Koncz, and Freddie Roach. I may be leaving out someone, but I hope you get my point.
As for your points: 1) just because someone called Mayweather out doesn't mean he should take the fight. Around the same time, Mayweather was making deals to fight the likes of Ricky Hatton. Which fight, from a financial standpoint, makes more sense to you? 2) Matthew Hatton was, and still is, a bigger draw than Cintron ever was. I personally don't remember Mayweather mentioning Matthew Hatton, but Hatton would have brought in more money than Cintron. It's prizefighting and it's all about the $$$. 3) during the time Margarito was a beast (beating Cotto and then being exposed as a cheater), Mayweather was on a 21-month hiatus (I won't call it a retirement because nobody thought he wouldn't come back to fight). 4) Paul Williams would have been a great fight in 2007, but Mayweather fought De La Hoya and Hatton were bigger money-makers. Then, in 2008, Williams lost to Carlos Quintana. 5) Sergio Martinez is one fight I would personally have loved to see, and I wish Mayweather would have taken that fight because it would have made more money than someone like Victor Ortiz or Robert Guerrero. Martinez was willing to come down to 150-154lbs and he publicly stated that. For that, Mayweather should have taken that fight. 6) Pacquiao vs. Clottey in a football stadium still didn't produce as much money as a Mayweather fight. The money is not in the ticket sales as much as it is in the pay-per-view buys. 7) I actually agree with Mayweather forcing his opponents to do random drug-testing. I think it's a step in the right direction, and the fact that Pacquiao didn't want to subject himself to that fishy to me. The excuse of Pacquiao not liking needles is ridiculous since he has tattoos. I think all fighters should be subjected to the most stringent drug testing. It is also no secret that Mayweather and Arum have a sour history. That was news well before any talks of Mayweather vs. Pacquiao were even in anyone's mind.
I don't think Mayweather will go up to 160 for a fight. Golovkin would have to come down in weight (as he said he would after his win on Saturday), as would Martinez. Thurman is not yet a big enough name, but, maybe in 2015, he will be.
At the end of the day, no matter how much writers write about the travesty that Mayweather vs. Pacquiao didn't happen, if fans are going to continue buying ppv events for Mayweather, why would he change anything? He just made around $90 million in 2013. What is wrong with that? You can criticize all you want, but nobody can argue the numbers. If you don't like the product being rolled out, don't shell out the money. That's all I can real say about that. I'm not happy about a Mayweather vs. Khan fight, but if they stack the undercard, it might be worth the money.
That's all I've got for this week. Email any questions or comments to dkassel@fighthype.com and I will answer them throughout the week. Your email may be featured in the next "Observe and Fight." Follow me on Twitter @BoxingObserver, and be sure to "Like" The Boxing Observer on Facebook.
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