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OBSERVE AND FIGHT: MAYWEATHER VS. PACQUIAO...DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH!

By David Kassel | November 24, 2014
OBSERVE AND FIGHT: MAYWEATHER VS. PACQUIAO...DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH!

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 recap of Pacquiao vs. Algeiri, the likelihood of Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, boxing's best little man, and much more. Without further ado, check out the latest observations from the Boxing Observer, David Kassel.

Can we please forget about Mayweather vs. Pacquiao because it isn't going to happen! It's been years that both sides have been calling each other out. Just because Bob Arum and Manny Pacquiao are doing most of the talking, calling out Mayweather, it means nothing because most of what is said is to promote other fights and fighters. It's ridiculous for anyone to believe Arum or Pacquiao when they say they have been calling out Mayweather for 3 1/2 years. There are way too many roadblocks to make this fight, and ego, on both sides (yes, I mean Team Pacquiao AND Team Mayweather), is one of the biggest roadblocks. Do NOT buy into the hype. Mayweather vs. Pacquiao is not happening. It will be very difficult for any Al Haymon managed fighter to work with a Top Rank fighter. Golden Boy vs. Top Rank? No problem as long as the Golden Boy fighter is not managed by Haymon (that includes a potential match-up between Pacquiao and Danny Garcia). The major test to see if Top Rank and Haymon can work together is to see if the two sides can peacefully sort out the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. legal situation. Chavez Jr. just signed with Haymon, but Top Rank claims they have one more fight with him. If that issue is resolved civilly, then maybe I'll believe in Mayweather vs. Pacquiao.

Team Algieri's game plan was all wrong. Chris Algieri's game plan was exactly what everyone expected, and that's the major reason he got destroyed by Pacquiao. Please don't mistake what I'm about to write by insinuating that I said Algieri would beat Pacquiao. Last week, I stated that everyone expected Algieri to try and keep Pacquiao at a distance and use his reach. I stated that would be a mistake because 1) Pacquiao is not as slow as Ruslan Provodnikov, and 2) the only way that would have worked was if Algieri got Pacquiao's respect with Algieri being the bully and trying to get Pacquiao's attention with power. Instead, Algieri was predictable, and Pacquiao picked him apart. Instead of trying to smother Pacquiao and prevent him from throwing combinations, Pacquiao was able to unload, in multiple-punch combinations at a time, knocking Algieri down 6 times in the process.

Speaking of Team Algieri, it showed its inexperience on the big stage. I knew Algieri could last all 12 rounds against Pacquiao. Algieri is one of the most well-conditioned athletes in boxing (just because he initially weighed in 0.2 lbs over doesn't mean he wasn't in shape). With that being said, I don't care if Algieri said Pacquiao only hurt him once. There was no reason Algieri's corner shouldn't have stopped that fight. As cornermen/cornerwomen, it is the corner's job to protect the fighter from himself/herself. 99% of fighters cannot recognize when it is time to cut their losses and live to fight another day. It's very difficult to do that in the heat of the moment because fighters train months and months for 36 minutes of war. The corner's job is not only to coach the fighter, but to protect the fighter from serious damage. Algieri's corner had no business sending him back out for the 10th round and beyond. It's not just first-time fighters on the big stage who suffer from inexperience. Sometimes, it's the corner who is mezmorized by the bright lights.

The rest of the Pacquiao/Algieri pay-per-view was extremely predictable. As predicted last week, the Jessie Vargas vs. Antonio Demarco title match was the Fight of the Night. Both fighters laid it all on the line in a war with Vargas earning a unanimous decision victory. The other 2 fights on the card produced very unsurprising results. Vasyl Lomachenko cruised to a unanimous decision win over Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo, and Zou Shiming easily outpointed Pacquiao look-a-like Kwanpichit Onesongchaigym. Not exactly a recipe for fantastic pay-per-view numbers, yet I don't think Bob Arum cared too much about American PPV numbers for this card. The majority of the money made on this fight card came from China, and that is a huge sum of money.

Freddie Roach sure had a lot to say about a lot of world-class fighters during fight week. All during fight week, Roach was making negative and derogatory comments about Algieri. Freddie Roach also claimed that Manny Pacquiao knocked Amir Khan out cold in sparring, he said Miguel Cotto would kick Gennady Golovkin's ass, he said Floyd Mayweather has been ducking them (Pacquiao) for years, and he said Al Haymon would "sacrifice" Danny Garcia against Pacquiao, but not Mayweather. He predicted Jessie Vargas would get knocked out against Antonio DeMarco (which did not happen since Vargas retained his title belt). He also claimed that he was in the gym when Errol Spence Jr. supposedly knocked out Adrien Broner in sparring when Spence was still an amateur. What's the deal with Freddie trying to piss everyone off?

Floyd Mayweather continues to make headlines for all the wrong reasons. In case you missed the article in USA Today, the mother of 3 of Mayweather's 4 children, Josie Harris, was the centerpiece of an article titled "Life with Floyd Mayweather: I was a battered woman." In the article, Harris describes the tumultuous relationship she had with Mayweather and describes what happened the night she was allegedly attacked by Mayweather, resulting in Mayweather ultimately serving a prison sentence. The article was a difficult read, especially because of all the domestic violence issues athletes are getting in trouble with these days, but the most disturbing part of the article came from Mayweather's oldest son, Koraun. In the article, Koraun explains his version of what happened that night, and says he is still angry about it. He says the toughest part is Mayweather has refused to admit what he did that night followed by Koraun simply stating about his father, "He is a coward." That is a very powerful statement and one that does not shine Mayweather in a positive light, no matter how anyone, from any angle, tries to spin the tale.

Big ups to Roman Gonzalez on another dominant victory! Gonzalez, boxing's best little man, improved his record to 41-0 (35 KO's) with an impressive 6th-round TKO victory over Rocky Fuentes. The flyweight division is loaded with talent, but Gonzalez is the best of the best. He may have to move up another weight class and challenge Omar Narvaez (should Narvaez win his New Year's Eve battle against Naoya Inoue) in order to get some serious competition. Also on the card from Japan, in the main event, WBC super featherweight champion Takashi Miura successfully defended his crown with a 6th-round TKO win over Edgar Puerta. Miura's next move should be to try and get revenge on WBA super featherweight champion Takashi Uchiyama, who defeated Miura in 2011. Uchiyama is also defending his crown on New Years Eve.

Jermain Taylor may be in more trouble than we initially thought. Just before his October win over Sam Soliman to claim a middleweight title belt, Taylor was involved in an incident at his home where he allegedly shot his cousin. Details that have come out are still sketchy, but if Taylor is convicted, it seems unlikely that he will avoid jail time.

I had no doubts Tony Bellew would defeat Nathan Cleverly in their rematch on Saturday. Bellew just looked like the physically stronger man, and I wondered if Cleverly could hurt him at all. I agreed with Bellew that he clearly won the fight, even though the scorecards show a split decision. Cleverly just does not look comfortable at cruiserweight and may want to consider dropping back down to 175lbs. I actually think he would have some success against Adonis Stevenson. He just needs to stay away from any thoughts of a rematch with Sergey Kovalev.

As for the rest of that card in England... To get that much talent on one fight card is pretty incredible. While the bouts may have not all been competitive, it's still pretty impressive to see those names on one card. George Groves did what he was supposed to do against Denis Douglin. For being the WBA bantamweight champion and facing an opponent 5 1/2 inches shorter who was fighting on one week's notice, Jamie McDonnell looked none too impressive in his title win over Javier Chacon, who was right in the fight before retiring in the 10th round due to a shoulder injury. Scott Quigg was impressive, just like he should have been, in defending his 122lb title. James DeGale was ultra impressive in crushing Mexican toughman Marco Antonio Periban. Callum Smith may be a force to be reckoned with at 168lbs, but he needs a win over a top 20 fighter to prove he is the real deal. Anthony Joshua is rolling through heavyweight has-beens, but I don't think there is any reason to rush him along.

This weekend brings more big names back in the boxing ring. Friday, from Moscow, Ruslan Provodnikov returns to the ring against an over-the-hill, should never be licensed to fight, Jose Luis Castillo. I am actually fearful for Castillo's well-being in this fight, and I expect a brutal beatdown by Provodnikov. Speaking of fighters being allowed to fight when they shouldn't, 61-year-old actor and former boxer Mickey Rourke makes his return to the ring on the same card. It's no wonder all these well-past-their-prime fighters go to Russia for a payday. They will license anyone to fight. Saturday, from England, heavyweights Tyson Fury and Dereck Chisora rematch in a heavyweight title eliminator in what should be another barn-burner. And from Omaha, lightweight champion Terence Crawford returns home once again to defend his title against the always game Ray Beltran. In the co-feature, IBF featherweight champion Evgeny Gradovich defends his title against Jayson Velez in what should be a great, all-action fight!

Each week, I feature an email from a fan on Observe and Fight. This week's email comes to us from Jayson T. regarding Roman Gonzalez's lack of notoriety in the United States...

"Dave, everyone was talking about Pacquiao vs. Algieri (Saturday) but nobody is talking about who I think is boxing's best fighter. I've seen Roman Gonzalez destroy guys worse than Golovkin so why no love? He is tearing through people left and right and isn't stopping anytime soon. And he's only 27. Why won't anyone recognize him?"

Great question, Jayson, however, I think you may be underestimating the notoriety Gonzalez is receiving. Around the world, Gonzalez is a very well-known fighter, yet the United States media isn't really talking about him. There are reasons for that. 1) He is a flyweight. When is the last time U.S. media and boxing fans really appreciated any fighter under bantamweight? The last guy I can think of was Ricardo Lopez, and it took him a long time to earn any U.S. major television dates. 2) He is promoted by Teiken, in Japan, and Zanfer, in Mexico. He doesn't have a major American promoter (although Zanfer does a lot of work with Top Rank, Gonzalez has only fought in the United States 3 times). 3) The flyweight division, although loaded with talent, is not sexy for American boxing fans. Bantamweight is about the most American boxing fans will seem to tolerate when it comes to watching boxing on TV. There is plenty of talent at flyweight, but unless American boxing fans get into it, I wouldn't expect a change. To say media isn't recognizing him is not entirely true though. Jim Lampley listed him as the #5 fighter, P4P, in the world. I would be hard-pressed to disagree. The one thing I disagree with you about is calling him the best fighter in the world. Even though Gonzalez is a 3-division world champion, and has 35 KO's in his 41 wins, I would still take Mayweather, Ward, Golovkin, and possibly Pacquiao ahead of him.

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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