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 an update on Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, the latest on Jermain Taylor, the lull in the boxing schedule for the next few weeks, the passing of a boxing legend, and much more. Without further ado, check out the latest observations from the Boxing Observer, David Kassel.
The big game has passed, yet the big fight has yet to be announced. Contrary to reports on Friday from TMZ, the Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao fight is not signed, sealed, and delivered. Some even expected an announcement to come during the NFL Championship game, the Super Bowl, via a 30-second commercial (which, in reality, would have been ridiculous considering it costs around $3-4 million for a 30-second spot). Mayweather dispelled any rumors via social media that the fight was a done deal as he posted his update for the world to see. So while we as fans continue to wait for the big fight, please understand that even the smallest, local club events take time to come together. A fight of this magnitude, which will be the biggest fight in the history of boxing, is going to take more than a few days to come about. There are way too many hands in the cookie jar that want a piece of the pie (and who are contractually obligated to earn a piece of the pie) to just sit back and "let the fight happen." Fans should think of this fight as a merger between two major companies. So many things need to come together; so many people need to get on the same page. It takes time for all egos, and wallets, to compromise for the greater good of the two companies (or, in this case, of the two fighters and boxing fans in general). Mayweather and Pacquiao clearly want the fight, and it seems they are both putting pressure on the people causing the holdup. In this age of Tweets, IG's, Vine's, and instant information, it's difficult for fans to understand that they just need to be patient.
Mayweather going over to Pacquiao during an NBA game, in Miami, was a genius move. How many times have you heard someone say that Mayweather is scared to fight Pacquiao? I rarely ever hear the other way around though. When Mayweather found out that Pacquiao would be attending the Miami Heat game last week, he personally flew to Miami and sat directly across the court from him. Then, during halftime, Mayweather walked across the court to speak with Pacquiao face-to-face (it was the first time the two fighters have ever met face-to-face) and told him to "stop lying" about the things Pacquiao, his advisor, Michael Koncz, and Bob Arum were saying in the media. By my count, this is the 2nd time that Mayweather has reached out directly to Pacquiao (the first time was in January 2012 when Mayweather called Pacquiao directly), and I have yet to see, or hear about, Pacquiao contacting Mayweather directly. I'm not implying Pacquiao is scared of Mayweather. All I'm saying is that those people who continue to say that Mayweather is "ducking" or "scared of" Pacquiao are completely uninformed.
Even Bob Arum and Stephen Espinoza are now in agreement that the fight has a few more details that need to be sorted out. After the TMZ report, and Mayweather shooting down any rumors, Showtime Head of Sports Stephen Espinoza and Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, who are on opposite sides of negotiations, both agreed that the fight has a ways to go before coming together. At the end of the day, at this point, I do believe the fight will be made for May 2nd. For those saying that a fight of this magnitude needs a proper promotion (at least a few months), that seems crazy to me. Of any fight, this one doesn't need any time to be promoted. This fight could be announced for this Saturday night, and I guarantee fans would drop everything and still break the pay-per-view record. Regardless of whether both fighters are past their primes or not is irrelevant. Mayweather and Pacquiao are the two biggest fighters in boxing, and their names will forever be linked together until they step into the ring with one another.
I'm glad Jermain Taylor is being sent to get the help he needs. Taylor, who is facing jail time for two separate incidents, was granted a request from his attorneys for a full mental and health evaluation. Taylor, who suffered a brain bleed after his 2009 loss to Arthur Abraham, had seemingly revamped his career, at least in the ring, following his upset victory over IBF middleweight champion Sam Soliman in October. Taylor was scheduled to defend his title this Friday night, in Mississippi, against Sergio Mora before Taylor's latest run-in with the law on January 19th. I hope Taylor is correctly evaluated, and I hope he can make a full recovery. However, one has to believe that Taylor's boxing career, including thousands of shots to the head, has caused some of this damage, and I would be okay, for Taylor's future well-being, if he never stepped foot in the ring again.
I'm loving the fact that Oscar De Lay Hoya has called for a Leo Santa Cruz vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux 122-lb unification showdown! While this fight will still be difficult to make because Santa Cruz works with Al Haymon, the fact that De La Hoya has given hope for this fight is a major step in the right direction. In all honesty, I would be happy with a Santa Cruz vs. Rigo showdown or a Santa Cruz vs. Abner Mares showdown. Either way, each fight would be a more than acceptable co-feature to the Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao pay-per-view telecast should that fight come together.
Speaking of undercards, who would be considered for the undercard of Mayweather vs. Pacquiao? I think Amir Khan's name would be thrown into the hat considering he has a positive relationship with both sides involved in the promotion of the fight, and his name has been linked as a backup opponent to both fighters. Featuring Khan would only make sense to setup a fight for the winner. Timothy Bradley would be a great opponent for Khan, as would a rematch with Marcos Maidana. Heck, even Brandon Rios would be a fun fight with Khan. Lots of options for that one. Another fight I would love to see is IBF super welterweight champion Cornelius Bundrage taking on Jermell Charlo. That would round out a fantastic undercard!
It looks as if we are one step closer to having a unified champion in every division. While it may be nothing more than a publicity stunt, it seems that the WBC, WBA, and IBF are very sincere in putting together a tournament to crown one champion in every division. I am all in favor of this! While having multiple champions brings in tons of money to everyone, it diminishes each world title belt. What it also does is reduce the number of championship contenders throughout the sport because those "contenders" can become "champions" by fighting lesser opposition. If we have one major champion in every division, the number of big fights would significantly increase for boxing fans. The WBO needs to jump on this train as well.
This may be the end for Rocky Juarez. The man who was voted by some writers as Boxing's 2014 Comeback Fighter of the Year was battered and bruised last Monday night by Robinson Castellanos in San Antonio. Castellanos is a fringe contender at best, and Juarez, who was hoping for one last shot at a world title, may want to call it quits on his career. He has been fun to watch, and we've all enjoyed the ride, but it's time to hang up the gloves.
Someone please stop sanctioning Jeff Lacy for professional boxing!
Former world title challenger Edison Miranda is in a whole heap of trouble with the law. Miranda was indicted in connection with a drug trafficking and money laundering organization and is now listed as a federal fugitive by authorities. Miranda's career never materialized into what most predicted would be a world title at the very least, and his career has fallen on hard times recently. His job in the organization was "...to bring the money back and forth," according to authorities. This does not look good for "Pantera."
It's a slow next few weeks in boxing, but that doesn't mean we don't have anything to look forward to. Let's be honest, Mayweather vs. Pacquiao has everyone's attention on boxing anyway, so that will occupy most of the major boxing news. Sergio Mora was supposed to fight Jermain Taylor on Friday night, but he now faces Abie Han. 19-year-old rising prospect Erickson Lubin will be featured in the co-main event, and he is a future star you don't want to miss. Other than that, it's a pretty slow week in boxing. The next truly big name to step in the ring is Gennady Golovkin on February 21st.
Thoughts and prayers go out to the family of former promoter Cedric Kushner. Kushner, 66, died of a massive heart attack Thursday in New York. Kushner, a South African native, experienced his greatest successes as a promoter during the mid-1990's through early 2000's. He promoted Shane Mosley when Mosley upset Oscar De La Hoya in 2000 and was Hasim Rahman's promoter in 2001 when Rahman knocked out Lennox Lewis in South Africa. Kushner was also the mastermind behind the television series "Heavyweight Explosion", which laid the groundwork to build numerous future heavyweight titlists and contenders. Kushner was an innovator and the sport of boxing will miss him.
Each week, I feature an email from a fan on Observe and Fight. This week's email comes to us from Panny Macquiao (you can't make this stuff up) regarding Bob Arum's supposed control over Pacquiao's career....
"Why can't Pacquiao just tell Bob Arum that he won't fight unless his fights against Mayweather? Pacquiao is the one who fights and if Arum cant get Mayweather, why cant Pacquiao just leave him and join another company?"
First off, Pacquiao is contractually obligated to Top Rank, so Arum has a signed contract, with Pacquiao's signature, saying that Arum controls the promotion of all of Pacquiao's fights. That's what a promoter does. Pacquiao has been with Top Rank for years now, and while some of the business Arum has done may be shady, there is no question he has built Pacquiao into a star. Obviously, Pacquiao's in-ring performance had more to do with it than anything else, but no one can question that Arum's promotion of Pacquiao has turned Manny into the mega-star he is today. That, amongst other reasons, is a huge part of why Pacquiao continues to re-sign contract extensions with Top Rank (he is signed with Top Rank through the end of 2016), even with the knowledge that a Floyd Mayweather fight would be extremely difficult to make. Secondly, what some fans don't understand is that Mayweather is not tied to any promoter. The only people who have some say over who Mayweather fights, other than Mayweather himself, are CBS/Showtime Sports (whom Mayweather still has 2 fights left on his contract with) and Al Haymon. But, for the most part, Mayweather controls the show. If Mayweather were still signed with Top Rank, as he was in the early 2000's, maybe people would be wondering the same thing about him that they currently wonder about Pacquiao. The fact is, Pacquiao cannot fight without Arum giving the go-ahead, so it doesn't matter what fight Pacquiao may want. Arum is going to do what he feels is best for his company, Top Rank. Pacquiao cannot just up and leave Arum because of that signed contract. If he tried to do so, Arum could, and most likely would, sue Pacquiao and would probably win.
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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