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OBSERVE AND FIGHT: PACQUIAO MUST BE THE BULLY AGAINST MAYWEATHER IN ORDER TO WIN

By David Kassel | April 20, 2015
OBSERVE AND FIGHT: PACQUIAO MUST BE THE BULLY AGAINST MAYWEATHER IN ORDER TO WIN

It's Monday. Welcome back for another edition of Observe and Fight, The Boxing Observer's compilation of observations and random thoughts from the previous two weeks that were in boxing. Get caught up on some of the most recent events you may have missed out on, including an early look at Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, a recap of the all the weekend's action, a preview of Klitschko vs. Jennings, and much more. Without further ado, check out the latest observations from the Boxing Observer, David Kassel.

Manny Pacquiao must be the bully against Floyd Mayweather. That's going to be much easier said than done for the Filipino icon considering he will be the smaller man in the ring and Mayweather is the more powerful fighter. When it comes to skills, Pacquiao has the advantage in speed and combination punching, but not much else. When looking at past Mayweather opponents, speed has been an effective weapon. Zab Judah and Shane Mosley both had success early against Mayweather (Judah even scored a knockdown that was not ruled a knockdown by the referee). However, after about 3 or 4 rounds, Mayweather was able to figure out the speed element and dominated the rest of the fight. It was the fighters who were able to bully Mayweather that have given him the most trouble. Jose Luis Castillo, Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto, and Marcos Maidana, though all losers against Mayweather, gave him the most trouble. Pacquiao is going to need to take risks and has to understand he cannot try to box and dance around Mayweather or Mayweather will pick him apart. Pacquiao must get up in Mayweather's chest and stay there. Yes, Pacquiao will get hit, but he will also have the chance to land some major blows against Mayweather.

Both HBO and Showtime aired excellent preview shows for Mayweather vs. Pacquiao! I was actually very surprised how open and honest HBO's preview show was with regards to the random drug testing issue which caused the first round of negotiations to fall apart. I have been waiting for the promotion for the fight to be amped up by both networks, and I was very pleased to see the coverage starting to really pick up. The next 12 days are going to be Mayweather/Pacquiao overload, and we as fans should love every second of it because we don't know when we are going to see an event of this magnitude again.

Lucas Matthysse and Ruslan Provodnikov engaged in an early Fight of the Year candidate on Saturday! I thought if Matthysse could win the boxing aspect of the fight, he would win, and that's exactly what happened. It is almost impossible to box 12 full rounds against Provodnikov, who puts relentless pressure on his opponents. However, Matthysse's ability to box and use his jab in the rare dull moments when bombs were not being thrown won him the fight. Matthysse has not earned himself a chance against the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao winner, but he is still a viable option for many fighters out there.

A perfect fight for Matthysse would be Terence Crawford. Crawford decimated Thomas Dulorme in 6 rounds on Saturday in the split-site co-feature on HBO, Saturday. Crawford demonstrated his power and boxing skills against a very big 140-lb fighter (who is truly a welterweight) and showed the world he is ready for anyone at 140. Matthysse would be the perfect clash of styles for Crawford and the fight would be another candidate for Fight of the Year. Crawford doesn't mind engaging and Matthysse will hit Crawford flush at some point. The fans should be clamoring for that fight, and the winner of that one could be in line for the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao winner.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. may have underestimated Andrzej Fonfara. Who would have thought 3 years ago, when Fonfara beat Glen Johnson on ESPN Friday Night Fights, that he would be in the position he is in right now. 3 years ago, I didn't believe Fonfara would be anything more than a fringe contender, but he has completely proven me wrong. While Fonfara may not get another shot at Adonis Stevenson (even though he wants the rematch), he could very well find himself in the position to fight Sergey Kovalev.

Chavez Jr. clearly quit in his corner. I know trainer Joe Goossen tried to save face and take the blame for the stoppage, but the cameras and microphones from the Showtime replay don't lie. Chavez Jr. was the one who stopped the fight.

Don't rule out an Adonis Stevenson vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fight. For the last few weeks, I have stated multiple times that Chavez Jr. was on pace to meet Stevenson for the light heavyweight crown as long as both men won their respective fights (Stevenson defeated Sakio Bika on April 4th). However, it doesn't mean we should write off Chavez Jr. as a potential opponent for Stevenson. The light heavyweight champion is looking for legitimate contenders to his title, and assuming a Sergey Kovalev showdown doesn't happen, the names out there are few and far between. There is Artur Beterbiev, but I'm not sure he is ready for "Superman" yet. There is also Juergen Braehmer, who holds an alphabet title. Stevenson's last opponent, Sakio Bika, was moving up in weight and was coming off of a loss. That would be the exact same situation Chavez Jr. would be coming in. On top of that, Chavez Jr. is the biggest name, other than Kovalev, for Stevenson to face. Big name equals big money.

Is anyone surprised the purse bid effort by the WBC to make Stevenson vs. Kovalev failed?

Amir Imam looked very strong in his step up bout. Imam recorded my 2014 Knockout of the Year, but Walter Castillo was not a tomato can like some of the past opponents for Imam. The "Young Master's" last two fights have been strong steps up, and while he is still a few fights away from a world title shot, I like what I'm seeing.

It's another big weekend of boxing as we are just one weekend from the biggest fight in boxing history! On Saturday night, the heavyweight champion of the world returns to the United States to fight for the first time in 7 years as he defends his title, in New York City at Madison Square Garden, against undefeated Philadelphia native Bryant Jennings. On paper, this fight seems like it will be competitive, but unless Jennings lands the luckiest punch of this century, he has no chance against Klitschko. Also making his return to the ring on Saturday is undefeated prospect, and soon to be contender, Felix Verdejo. Friday night, Spike TV will air another Premier Boxing Champions card with two world titles on the line. In the co-feature, Daniel Jacobs will defend his title against Caleb Truax. The main event features Anthony Dirrell defending his title against Badou Jack. Both Dirrell and Jacobs are cancer survivors and are inspirations to everyone.

Anyone claiming boxing is dead or dying needs to go back and check their TV Guides from Friday and Saturday night. Friday night, we had 3 different networks airing boxing, and on Saturday, both HBO and Showtime aired two great fight cards. Boxing is dead my a$$!

Each week, I feature an email from a fan on Observe and Fight. This week's email comes to us from Derland Blake regarding the double standard for African-American athletes in the eyes of the media...

"Today I watched ESPN and they had a segment on Conor McGregor saying he could beat Floyd in 30 seconds (via in MMA). McGregor is a very entertaining fighter cocky, loud mouth. Freddie Roach through the years more so now talks more trash than any one I know in all of boxing. But when you turn on ESPN and listen to the hypocrisy of some people who say they love the trash talk and antics of McGregor and Roach but say Adrien Broner has no class or Floyd Mayweather is bad for the sport of boxing. Rasies the question of why is it if your white and you talk trash your a bad ass but if your black and talk trash your a cocky asshole?"

That's a great question, Derland, and race is a subject that a lot of people are extremely afraid to touch. First of all, I'm a Cuban-American, with my mother having been born in Havana, Cuba, and myself being born and raised in South Florida, but for all intents and purposes, I am a white male because my Spanish is extremely limited, especially since moving to the Midwest in 2002. Second of all, I had never heard of, nor seen, Conor McGregor before last week when he made those comments. In my mind, he is nobody of any consequence and is trying to make a name for himself by using Mayweather's name (a genius move if you want to become a household name). When Ronda Rousey said something similar, at least she was already a household name. I doubt if this will catapult McGregor into superstar status.

As far as the question of race, I personally feel you are absolutely correct. There is a double standard for black athletes as compared to white athletes. However, before I go any further, I want to make it VERY CLEAR that there have been plenty of cases where white athletes have been wrongly labeled in the eyes of the media for their actions, but it does seem like black athletes are held to a much higher standard and have less room for error. Think about Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. They are two of the biggest trash talkers in sports history, but that is not the perception they have in the media. On the flip side, current Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig is viewed in a negative light because of his flashiness. I believe this question dates back over 100 years, so I'll start by answering your questions about Mayweather, Broner, and Freddie Roach.

Mayweather's public perception has been viewed in a negative light for years, but it has nothing to do with his in-ring performance. He is the top dog in the sport and nobody argues that. His flashy lifestyle is not what turns people off. It's the way he flaunted his riches in the public, coupled with his criminal history, that turns people off. For Mayweather, it's a double-edged sword because he has done a good job trying to revamp his image. But, without all the flash and flaunting in his early years, he would not be the money-making machine he is today, so, in that respect, he is a marketing genius. Mayweather does do some great things for his community, but it's difficult to change the first impression you make on someone.

Broner took the Floyd Mayweather route to build his brand, and no matter what you think about him, and no matter what he accomplishes in his career from here on out, Broner is a household name and people are always going to tune in. Some of the antics, such as flushing money down the toilet, are never going to get people to view you in a positive light. For both Mayweather and Broner, they are going to have a difficult time relating to the hard-working, blue collar American because most people don't have the type of money these two have and most people don't feel as though they would waste their money on mindless things.

The case of Freddie Roach is completely different, and yes, I believe him being white plays a big part. However, equally as much, Roach's Parkinson's disease allows people to cut him some slack. I don't believe Roach uses his Parkinson's to his advantage, but illnesses always soften people up. Roach has become much more brash and one of the worst trash-talkers in sports in recent years. However, when people speak of Roach, they say things like, "Well, Freddie is always going to speak his mind and he doesn't care what anyone thinks of it." In that respect, the same cannot be said for black athletes. I have been very critical of Roach's antics in the last few years and have thought his ego has gotten the better of him. He has said things that most people should view as going too far. If a black athlete, say Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, were to say some of the things Roach has said, it would further increase the perception that the Stanford graduate is a "thug." Just look at the trainer on the other side of the big fight, Floyd Mayweather Sr. Who is perceived as the great trainer and who is perceived as the loud mouth? In my mind, both Roach and Mayweather Sr. are both great trainers and are both loud mouths. Yet, Roach is the good guy while Mayweather Sr. is the bad guy.

The history of the double standard, in my mind, dates back to the days of Jack Johnson. Johnson, the Heavyweight Champion of the World in the early 1900's while racism and segregation were rampant in the United States, used to flaunt his money in the faces of white people. Johnson also was married 3 times, each time to a white woman. Not only that, but Johnson taunted everyone about his conquests. When thinking about the time period, that wasn't exactly accepted, let alone tolerated by White America. Muhammad Ali was in a similar situation. While some of the circumstances regarding Ali's controversies were difficult to explain in one short paragraph, Ali was a black man who was loud, brash, and arrogant. Compare that to now, where Ali is viewed as a role model and receives sympathy on a daily basis because of his health. Do you think White America would have viewed Ali as a role model 50 years ago? Absolutely not.

In closing, I have no doubt there is a double standard for black athletes compared to white athletes. It's not just ESPN, but all media outlets and public opinion that accentuate this perception. At the end of the day, while not as prevalent, racism still exists in America, and because the majority of America is a blue collar society, until America rids racism 100%, we will continue to see these issues pop up on a daily basis.

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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