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 preview of all the championship level action this weekend, a recap of last week's action, a boxer taking a dive, the Hall of Fame class of 2015, and much more. Without further ado, check out the latest observations from the Boxing Observer, David Kassel.
The time is now for Amir Khan. If Khan beats Devon Alexander on Saturday night, I fully expect him to be Floyd Mayweather's next opponent (I'm still not optimistic about a Mayweather/Pacquiao fight). Khan passed up the opportunity to fight Alexander last year, and he wasn't going to make the same mistake again. Khan now knows that he must actually "fight" his way into earning a spot in the Mayweather Sweepstakes. Victor Ortiz had to beat Andre Berto. So did Robert Guerrero. Canelo Alvarez had to beat Austin Trout. Marcos Maidana had to beat Adrien Broner. If Khan wins this fight, he will move to the top of the list to fight Mayweather (unless, of course, a Pacquiao fight can be made, or a rematch with Miguel Cotto becomes a possibility). Khan has never been afraid to step in the ring with the best, and I don't think he chickened out last year against Alexander. He took a calculated risk and it backfired. This time around, Khan knows if he wins, he sets himself up for the biggest payday of his career.
Devon Alexander has just as strong a case for a Mayweather fight as Khan does. If you take the names off the marquee and compare the resumes of both fighters, Alexander has proven himself more worthy of a shot against Mayweather than most of Mayweather's last few opponents, and his resume is stronger than Khan's. Alexander is still being vilified for his performance against Timothy Bradley in 2011. It's been almost 4 years, and the only blemish on Alexander's record since then was an off night against Shawn Porter (who took the fight after Khan fell out last year). Those are Alexander's only losses, and it showed that fast fighters, who can bully Alexander around the ring, could present him the most problems. That's not the case with Amir Khan, and that certainly won't be the case with Floyd Mayweather. Alexander has done way more than Ortiz did to earn a Mayweather shot. The same goes for Guerrero. Alexander destroyed Maidana, while Khan squeaked past after almost being knocked out. For those expecting to see an Amir Khan knockout win, think again. Alexander doesn't get enough credit, yet has one of the best chins in boxing. If Alexander beats Khan, he will have done more than enough, based on past Mayweather opponents, to earn himself a spot in the Mayweather Sweepstakes.
Just down the road from the MGM Grand, another great main event takes place! While Showtime may have a more star-studded fight card, HBO's main event is sure to produce more war-like action. Timothy Bradley takes on Argentine slugger Diego Chaves. Bradley looks to rebound from his loss against Manny Pacquiao, while Chaves looks to redeem himself after a controversial disqualification loss to Brandon Rios. If Bradley fights the way he did against Ruslan Provodnikov, which I would strongly advise against, this fight could be a late addition as a candidate for Fight of the Year.
Both Showtime and HBO have very solid all-around undercards. Showtime features Keith Thurman vs. undefeated Leonard Bundu, which should be a tougher than expected test for Thurman. Also on the card, which begins on Showtime Extreme, Abner Mares, Jermall and Jermell Charlo, Errol Spence Jr., Victor Ortiz, Beibut Shumenov, and Yoshihiro Kamegai, who went to war with Robert Guerrero, all see action. On HBO, you'll see a solid co-feature for the middleweight title belt vacated by Peter Quillin, as Matt Korobov takes on Andy Lee. To open the telecast, Jose Benavidez Jr. takes a giant step up in competition as he takes on Mauricio Herrera for an interim light welterweight title.
Roberto Bolonti should be banned from boxing for life. For those who have never heard his name, Bolonti is the fighter who took a dive Saturday night against Jean Pascal. Anyone who spent their hard earned money purchasing that pay-per-view should be given a partial refund, which should be taken out of Bolonti's purse for the fight. Just shameful. It's a good thing Pascal's next opponent, Sergey Kovalev, will not cheat the fans out of their paychecks. That is a fight I am looking forward to.
Congratulations to the International Boxing Hall of Fame Class of 2015! This year's group is headlined by former world champions Riddick Bowe, "Prince" Naseem Hamed, and Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini. Also elected are former junior flyweight champion Yoko Gushiken, former flyweight champion Masao Ohba, former middleweight champion Ken Overlin, manager Rafael Mendoza, referee Steve Smoger, publicist John F.X. Condon, writer Nigel Collins, and HBO's current blow-by-blow man Jim Lampley. Congratulations to all the honorees who made it. It is truly one the highest honors in the sport of boxing.
Is David Lemieux the real deal? The jury is still out, but he's got devastating power and incredible speed for a middleweight. I have to admit, I thought Gabe Rosado was going to pull off the upset late in the fight. I stopped following Lemieux's career closely after his 2 losses in 2011, so I was expecting much of the same Lemieux since he was stepping in with a guy who could have broken his spirit. However, Lemiuex boxed smart and didn't allow Rosado to get into his head, leading to a 10th round stoppage. Lemieux still has some technical flaws in his game, which were pointed out by HBO's commentary crew, but not a lot of middleweights have the chin Rosado possesses, so fighters will have to make it past the first half of the fight in the hopes of wearing Lemieux down. However, the talk of Lemieux beating Gennady Golovkin is just plain absurd, in my opinion. I'd like to see Lemieux in the ring against Peter Quillin or Daniel Jacobs. That would be a true test.
I'm still on the fence about Thomas Dulorme. If you would have asked me 3 years ago, I would have told you Dulorme was a can't miss superstar (much the same way I feel about Keith Thurman right now), but Dulorme is beginning to look like a fighter who doesn't handle adversity well. Hank Lundy is a tough test for anyone, but it seemed as if Dulorme was trying to give the fight away after he wasn't able to take Lundy out early on.
Hugo Centeno Jr. still has a lot to prove as well. I'm not reading too much into Centeno's knockout win over James De La Rosa on Saturday because De La Rosa earned that fight by beating a shopworn Alfredo Angulo. Centeno is on the midst of cracking the Top 20, and I'd like to see him fight the likes of a Marco Antonio Rubio or Hassan N'Dam in his next bout.
Juan Francisco Estrada salvaged a potential rematch with Roman Gonzalez, by the skin of his teeth, Saturday night. Don't let the scorecards fool you. Estrada escaped with an ugly win against Joebert Alvarez, whose boxing style reminded me a lot of Manny Pacquiao, and actually, his nickname is "Little Pac-Man". Estrada is hoping to gain revenge and unify the WBA, WBC, and WBO flyweight titles by facing Gonzalez, whom he lost against in 2012, some time in early 2015. If he fights the way he did against Alvarez, he can forget about gaining revenge because Gonzalez will destroy him.
The rest of the boxing week has much to look forward to! Thursday night, former champion Austin Trout headlines a ESPN special edition telecast. On the undercard is Antonio Tarver taking on Johnathan Banks in a big fight for both fighters. Other fighters on the non-televised portion of the card include Sergio Mora, Edwin Rodriguez, Rico Ramos, Gearld Washington, and Olympians Marcus Browne, Dominic Breazeale, and Terrell Gausha. Friday night, Erislandy Lara takes on Ishe Smith in a Showtime Boxing Special Edition telecast. Also on the card are Chris Pearson and Badou Jack. And on Saturday, spectacular lightweight prospect Felix Verdejo returns to the ring. It's an action-packed week of boxing for sure!
Did you see Paulie Malignaggi's rant about Mayweather vs. Pacquiao? The short version is that Malignaggi is trying to explain that Mayweather is the A-side while Pacquiao is the B-side. He is extremely...let's say...passionate...with his opinions. Malignaggi is one of the most respected names and voices in boxing and always tells it like it is. Fans need to listen to his logic because it makes a ton of sense.
Will someone please take Antonio Escalante's driver's license away? Escalante was arrested last week for drunken driving. This was his 4th drunken driving arrest this year. He needs to get help as soon as possible before he hurts himself, or someone else, on the road.
I am so happy for the family of Steve Cunningham. As it has been well documented, Cunningham's daughter, Kennedy, has been in need of a heart transplant for quite some time. On Friday morning, she had successful transplant surgery, and all seems to be going well with recovery. The Cunningham family, both Steve and Livvy, are some of the nicest people I have ever encountered in the crazy world of boxing, and I'm wishing the entire family nothing but the best!
Each week, I feature an email from a fan on Observe and Fight. This week's email comes to us from D.V. regarding Timothy Bradley's future if he wins Saturday night?
"DK, since Tim Bradley is with Top Rank, and I'm thinking he will beat Chaves, who does he fight after that? Will he get another title shot? The guy is one of the best and shouldn't be fighting bums like Chaves."
First off, D.V., Chaves is no bum. He went toe-to-toe with Keith Thurman and probably gave Thurman his toughest fight to date. I'm with you that Bradley should win, but he can't get into another war like he did against Provodnikov because those types of fights will shorten his career even further. To answer your question though, Bradley has plenty of options. The nice thing is, even though he is with Top Rank, he manages himself. That means, other than Bob Arum, there is no issue making fights (unless it's against an Al Haymon fighter, and then it's up in the air). Bradley can fight the winner of Brandon Rios vs. Mike Alvarado, he can rematch Provodnikov, Kell Brook is an option in a fight that would make lots of money in England. There are a lot of options out there, especially since Top Rank and Golden Boy are willing to do business once again (which may help with the Al Haymon situation). Bradley has lots of options, win or lose, but he does have a tough test that he cannot overlook, Saturday night.
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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