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OBSERVE AND FIGHT: IS CANELO ALVAREZ ENDING BOXING'S COLD WAR?

By David Kassel | September 29, 2014
OBSERVE AND FIGHT: IS CANELO ALVAREZ ENDING BOXING'S COLD WAR?

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 a huge defection from Showtime to HBO, the continued beef between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, a preview of this week's fights, starting tonight, and much more. Without further ado, check out the latest observations from the Boxing Observer, David Kassel.

Is Canelo Alvarez ending boxing's cold war? News broke last week that Canelo signed a multi-fight deal with HBO, meaning he will not be fighting on Showtime in the near future. While this doesn't sound like good news for Showtime, it might be the best news boxing fans have heard in years. Don't expect any fights to be broadcast by both HBO and Showtime, but there is a chance we will now see both Golden Boy and Top Rank fighters begin fighting on both networks. The barrier has already been broken with the announcement of Luis Carlos Abregu (Top Rank) and Sadam Ali (Golden Boy) on the televised undercard of the Bernard Hopkins vs. Sergey Kovalev light heavyweight unification on HBO. That card already welcomes back Hopkins (Golden Boy). It's very clear that Golden Boy is willing to work with either network. While that may not mean Canelo will be on Showtime anytime soon, I doubt Showtime Head of Sports, Stephen Espinoza, is going to shut out the talent pool that Golden Boy has to offer. With that, we could potentially see Top Rank fighters also appearing on Showtime. Who would have thought that young Canelo Alvarez could be the gatekeeper bringing boxing fans pure bliss?

Canelo vs. Miguel Cotto will happen in 2015 for the middleweight title! Assuming, of course, Canelo wins his December fight (most likely against Joshua Clottey). I highly doubt Cotto will fight before he faces Canelo, but the two are most certainly on a crash course headed straight for a mega-fight. While I still doubt this fight goes head-to-head with Floyd Mayweather should Mayweather still choose to fight in May, it may cost Mayweather's wallet big time if the fight takes place because fans may not shell out money for both fights. That means unless Mayweather comes up with an opponent of enormous magnitude, more fans may gravitate toward purchasing a Canelo-Cotto pay-per-view if the fan has to choose one or the other. I'd be interested to see if Canelo is willing to fight one week before the May 2nd date he so desperately wants. If he is willing to do so, it would force Mayweather to make a decision because a lot of fans cannot afford to purchase 2 pay-per-views, let alone, 2 pay-per-views in back-to-back weeks. Either way, this move by Canelo means the fans will be the biggest winners. Imagine what the undercard could look like when Canelo and Cotto meet considering both Golden Boy and Top Rank fighters (among others) would be available for the card? That would force the Mayweather pay-per-view undercard to bring some serious heat (ala another Danny Garcia vs. Lucas Matthysse type co-feature) in order to compete with the HBO PPV card. I'm so excited for the possibilites!!!

Speaking of Mayweather, he and Manny Pacquiao (at least their Twitter handles) had some choice things to say about each other this week. Pacquiao (or someone who runs his Twitter) tweeted out, "@FloydMayweather's testimony to the commission on All Access' authenticity tells me everything I need to know about his desire to fight me." Mayweather responded with, "My new boxing DVD is coming soon and is called '3 Ways to Sleep'. Back, Face and Butt and I'm Falling & I Can't Get Up...Miss Pac Man is broke and desperate for a pay day. Your Pay-Per-View numbers are a joke." Bottom line, we aren't getting any closer to a fight, no matter how hard the fans and media push, so don't hold your breath.

Paul Smith was not robbed Saturday against Arthur Abraham. After watching the fight (not live, but Sunday on the internet), I came to the conclusion that Smith didn't let his hands go enough. Arthur Abraham is a defense-first fighter. Had Smith simply thrown more, not necessarily even landed many punches, it could have been deemed enough to win the super middleweight title from "King" Arthur. Abraham didn't beat Smith. Smith beat himself. The scores may have been a bit too wide, but don't complain about a robbery.

I believe that light heavyweight Artur Beterbiev has officially arrived. I had a feeling he would beat former light heavyweight titlist Tavoris Cloud, but I expected Cloud to challenge the newly-turned pro. Beterbiev crushed Cloud in the 2nd round in front of thousands of fans in Montreal. It's too soon to say that Beterbiev is ready for the champions in the division, but maybe a guy like Gabriel Campillo would provide a stiff test and step up in competition.

The cruiserweight title twin bill was a big success in Russia. While the cruiserweight division receives practically no love in America, overseas it is viewed as a ratings knockout. Both Denis Lebedev (defending his title) and Grigory Drozd (fighting for his first world title) were both successful in front of their hometown Russian fans. Believe it or not, the cruiserweight division is one of the deepest in boxing. Unfortunately, none of the fighters are capable of stepping up to heavyweight to defeat the heavyweight champion, Wladimir Klitschko.

Roy Jones Jr. wants to fight for a cruiserweight title? Based on what exactly? His name? Jones returned to the ring, Friday, in Russia, and dispatched of an overmatched opponent (Hany Atiyo, not that it matters) in one round. The fight was a success at the box office, however, as Jones sold out the venue. Jones receiving a world title shot based on his last two victories would be a travesty, but then again, if Jermain Taylor is earning a world title shot based on his name, I guess Jones receiving a title shot would be a bit more plausible.

Congratulations to Juan Carlos Payano for winning his first world title! Though the bout was stopped after the 6th round due to a nasty cut, Payano outboxed "Chemito" Moreno (which is no easy task) throughout the first 6 rounds of the fight doing more than enough on the judges scorecards to earn the win. I'm not sure what it says that Moreno claims he is moving up to 122-lbs without pursuing a rematch. Is he weight drained, or does he feel he doesn't have what it takes to defeat Payano? Either way, Payano deserved this win and became a major player at bantamweight.

Alvarez defeated Chavez! Alvarez defeated Chavez! Alvarez defeated Chavez! Oh wait, you're telling me it wasn't Canelo Alvarez defeating Julio Cesar Chavez Jr? Never mind then. I don't care.

There is lots of boxing action this week, starting tonight on Fox Sports 1! In the main event, young Jo Jo Diaz takes on the rugged Raul Hidalgo (the main event was originally slated to be Antonio Tarver vs. Johnathan Banks, but an injury to Tarver scrapped that bout). Diaz is one of boxing's biggest prospects and seems to be a can't miss fighter. If you haven't seen him, I suggest you judge for yourself. Wednesday, ESPN has a fantastic middleweight title eliminator between former title challengers Curtis Stevens and Hassan N'Dam. This fight is another can't miss. Saturday night, two world titles are on the line. On Showtime, as part of a quadruple-header, Rances Barthelemy defends his 130-lb title against Fernando Saucedo. On beIN Sports Espanol, from Mexico, Jhonny Gonzalez makes the second defense of his WBC featherweight title against Jorge Arce. Also, from Orlando, another rising prospect, Felix Verdejo, returns to the ring. Former world champion Andriy Kotelnik returns to the ring, after a 4-yeat retirement, in his native Ukraine. And Glen Tapia and Celestino Caballero return in separate bouts. Should be a busy week in the squared circle.

Thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Tony Losey. Losey, a 22-year-old amateur standout from Kansas who was hoping to earn a spot on the 2016 Olympic team (he was ranked 3rd nationally in the 152-lb weight class), was killed in a tragic accident Tuesday afternoon.

Each week, I feature an email from a fan on Observe and Fight. This week's email comes to us from Schuyler Andrews regarding the criticism of Floyd Mayweather's opponents...

"Hi David, you don't have to look far through boxing forums or even writers of the sport to find criticism of Floyd Mayweather's opposition. I feel if you look at it objectively you would find the criticism is not only unwarranted but ridiculous. Since his return from temporary retirement in 2009 Mayweather has faced and defeated Juan Manuel Marquez, Shane Mosley, Victor Ortiz, Miguel Cotto, Robert Guerrero, Canelo Alvarez, and Marcos Maidana twice! That's an astonishing list of who's who and I believe if anybody in the sport NOT named Floyd Mayweather went on that kind of a run they would praised. Why is it you think Mayweather is not given more respect for his resume? It truly is something special."

I've said it many times before. Floyd Mayweather's personality makes him seem like an unlikeable guy. Manny Pacquiao is the complete opposite. That's the only reason the bias toward Mayweather is as strong as it is. Plain and simple. I agree with you 100%. Just because he may not be a saint or someone kids should look up to, if fans would simply look at that resume with a blank name behind the fighter, they would appreciate his in-ring abilities a bit more. If Mayweather carried himself like an Andre Ward-type, he would be loved. Then again, he also wouldn't be the richest athlete on the Forbes List. Mayweather's persona, along with his success in the ring, is the reason he has made as much money as he has.

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.



[ Follow David Kassel on Twitter @BoxingObserver ]

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