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 Kelly Pavlik's decision to pull out of his fight this past Saturday, Floyd Mayweather's pursuit of free agent Devon Alexander, Antonio Tarver's next move, and much more. Without further ado, check out the latest observations from The Boxing Observer.
- Kelly Pavlik's logic for pulling out of this past Saturday's fight was acceptable, but not realistic. Any athlete who goes through personal problems (Plaxico Burress, Donte Stallworth, etc.) needs to prove they are ready to move on or else we could get another situation like Mike Tyson. Pavlik is a star, but one big fight could put his life straight back into a tailspin of disaster.
- Oscar De La Hoya is apparently giving tips to Ortiz on how to beat Mayweather? Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Mayweather beat Oscar? I know the fight was a split decision, but go back and really watch that fight with no bias and a boxing education. There is NO WAY it should have been so close. It may have been a boring fight, but Oscar barely won 4 rounds. If Oscar's blueprint is to hit Mayweather on the gloves and throw punches that graze off the shoulders, then sign me up because I'm pretty sure I can do that too. Didn't De La Hoya give some advice to Juan Manuel Marquez before he fought Floyd too? How did that work out?
- Floyd Mayweather doesn't seem to be taking Victor Ortiz lightly. In an interview with Ben Thompson, Mayweather took a minute from his 3-times-per-day training schedule to speak with Fighthype. Seems like Floyd wants to get back in the ring more than NFL players want to get back on the field. If NFL players were practicing 3 times a day, they wouldn't have to worry about not being in shape for the start of the season.
- Victor Ortiz is training for real as well. The WBC welterweight champ just completed a triathlon as part of training for the Mayweather fight. Sounds like a great way to get in shape for boxing considering it's non-stop conditioning for almost 2 hours, but I have one question...who are Victor's sparring partners for "Money" Mayweather? Seems like that's more important than completing a triathlon. No one in the sport is more well-conditioned than Mayweather and Ortiz needs to figure out how to bully Floyd to win this fight. No disrespect to Victor, but I still don't see any way he wins this fight. The two are on completely different levels.
- Vernon Paris definitely took care of business. I'm still not sold on him being a legit 140-pound contender yet. He still needs about 2 or 3 more fights before he will be ready for the likes of Khan, Maidana, Morales, Matthysse, etc.
- "Star Power" on Sept 17th is the best fight card in years. I know I said last week I wasn't excited about the pay-per-view, but the addition of Morales vs. Matthysse has changed my thinking 100%. This is now a card to remember. Former welterweight titlist Luis Collazo is also now fighting on the undercard (most likely on the non-televised portion). His opponent is still TBD, but this adds another big name to the big night that includes Mayweather vs. Ortiz, Alvarez vs. Gomez, and Jessie Vargas vs. Josesito Lopez.
- Devon Alexander is a free agent and a hot commodity. Floyd Mayweather is now on record as saying he wants "The Great" as part of Mayweather Promotions. This would be an excellent business move for Alexander on one condition: Golden Boy Promotions has a part in promoting fights like they do with Mayweather. This guarantees TV dates (most likely on HBO) and the financial backing to promote properly. Floyd has that kind of pull for himself, but his promotional company doesn't have the resources to do that for other fighters just yet.
- Abner Mares will win the Bantamweight Tournament. The Bantamweight tournament final is this Saturday on Showtime and I'm predicting Mares will upset Joseph "King Kong" Agbeko. Both fighters are class acts, but Mares seems like the hungrier of the two and seems very focused on the task at hand. The winner is certainly in line to face Nonito Donaire. Check back next week to see if I'm a fool or a genius.
- Antonio Tarver seems in no hurry to fight Steve Cunningham. Please Antonio, give Steve Cunningham a shot. This guy is a hell of a fighter and deserves the chance for an American audience to see him fight. Plus it would be entertaining as hell!
- How about a Miguel Cotto-Pawel Wolak matchup? We all know Cotto is getting his chance at redemption against Antonio Margarito (Side note: Early prediction...Cotto beats up, then stops Margarito late). Wolak is rumored to be fighting on the undercard. Possible opponents include Delvin Rodriguez in a rematch and IBF junior middleweight champion Cornelius "K9" Bundrage. But can you imagine how exciting a Cotto-Wolak matchup would be? Cotto would win, but Wolak would never stop coming forward.
- Chris Arreola will be the next man to beat one of the Klitschkos. I know things didn't work out so well for "The Nightmare" last time he got a shot, but something has clicked and it seems Arreola has figured out what it takes to be a champion. He looks to be in better shape every time out, and his improved conditioning is making him more dangerous in the ring. He's fighting again September 15th, his 5th fight in 2011, which shows he is finally dedicating himself to the sport.
[ Follow David Kassel on Twitter @BoxingObserver ]