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 Victor Ortiz's claim that he said he would beat Mayweather when he was 9-years-old, the daddy issues of both Floyd Mayweather and Ortiz, Miguel Cotto's demand for a catch-weight, and much more. Without further ado, check out the latest observations from The Boxing Observer.
- Victor Ortiz's math isn't adding up. For weeks now, we've all heard "Vicious" Victor say that he knew he would be the one to hand Floyd Mayweather his first loss. The problem is, Ortiz supposedly said that when he was 9 years old. Going back and doing the math, Ortiz turned 9 before Mayweather even turned pro, and Floyd only had 3 pro fights before Ortiz turned 10 years old. Now, I'm no mathematician, but Ortiz had to be one hell of a psychic if he knew Floyd Mayweather would be undefeated in 2011 after Floyd had just 3 professional fights. On top of that, he must have been hanging out with some pretty knowledgeable 4th-graders if all his friends knew who Mayweather was back in 1996. If you are going to make up a story, be sure to fact check.
- It's pretty clear that both Floyd Mayweather and Victor Ortiz still have some unresolved daddy issues. Before I continue on, I must state I have never spoken to either Mayweather or Ortiz personally, so this is my "expert psychiatric analysis" (loosely worded). After last week's family feud between Mayweather Jr. and Sr., Floyd Jr. came back on 24/7 and said, "I could care less if I don't ever gotta speak to him again in life. I don't care. You know, I'm fine with or without him in my life. I'm fine." Hard to believe considering Mayweather still talks about his dad's jealousy. Yes, Floyd Sr. is arrogant and jealous, but it has to bother Floyd Jr. (yes Floyd, you still are, by law a Jr.) that his relationship with his father is so strained. As for Ortiz, I actually believe the story about why he changed the tattoo on his back. Ortiz says his dad told him what made him proud was seeing his name on Victor's back. That's why Ortiz changed it to the tattoo we see today. According to Victor, "those are memories that are long gone and I don't need them, so I don't want to carry anything near those memories on me." Those "memories" are part of what Ortiz has been claiming helped to make him what he is today. Victor, please quit telling everyone you have forgotten about all these bad things from your past (upbringing and Maidana fight included). You should embrace them and use them as fuel. Don't claim they are not part of your memory. If you are still talking about them, they clearly are.
- Al Haymon is clearly the most powerful man in boxing. The man we hear everything about, yet know nothing about, seems to represent every big name and up-and-coming prospect in the sport of boxing. Names like Floyd Mayweather, Andre Berto, Paul Williams, Chris Arreola, Antonio Tarver, Gary Russell Jr, etc., the list goes on much further (it is difficult to find out exactly who every fighter is that Haymon represents because he keeps such a low profile). If Haymon wants something, he usually gets it. It is easy to see why most fighters want to be represented by him. Haymon gets the biggest fights for the most money, and has major say in what goes on the networks.
- Miguel Cotto's catch-weight demand is a big cause for concern. The junior middleweight title rematch between Cotto and Antonio Margarito has been set with a catch-weight of 153 pounds. That's just one pound lower than the 154-pound junior middleweight limit. Rumors were swirling that Cotto wanted a catch-weight of 150 pounds before the two parties finally agreed to 153. Cotto has never been one to back down from a fight, or be very sensitive about weight issues. This move has to signify that Cotto is a bit nervous about facing Margarito again and wants to gain every advantage he can. This has to raise serious concerns about Cotto's state of mind and may sway the betting odds a bit more towards Margarito.
- Andre Berto came back strong, but is still a flawed fighter. Berto and Jan Zaveck put on a show Saturday night before the fight was stopped after the 5th round (and rightfully so) due to the cuts over Zaveck's eyes. While it's clear Berto has the ability and speed to be among boxing's elite, he still has a lot of weaknesses that Zaveck, Victor Ortiz, and Luis Collazo exposed. Berto's defense is suspect at best, and his stamina is still a question mark. Sounds an awful lot like another up-and-coming star who suffered a loss earlier this year and is now moving up to welterweight. Devon Alexander anyone? A Berto versus Alexander fight would definitely bring some fireworks in the ring and could catapult the winner into a major payday. Both men would fight with a sense of desperation because each knows a loss would be devastating to his career.
- HBO has a nice triple-header this Saturday. If you are a boxing fan, you'll want to be in front of your TV. First up, Vitali Klitschko defends his heavyweight titles against Poland's Tomasz Adamek in front of 40,000 screaming Polish fans in a soccer stadium. I still think Adamek has a shot to win this fight and will make it relatively close, if not upsetting Vitali. Then you've got episode 3 of Mayweather/Ortiz 24/7, followed by what is sure to be an entertaining slug-fest between Yuriorkis Gamboa and Daniel Ponce De Leon. If you aren't going to be home, set your DVR.
- Does Harold Lederman watch fights that are not on HBO? During the Gary Russell Jr. fight Saturday night, Lederman commented that he would love to see Russell fight Philadelphia's Teon Kennedy. While stylistically it could be a good matchup, Lederman must have forgotten that Kennedy just suffered his first loss three weeks ago to Alejandro Lopez. A Russell-Kennedy match-up would do nothing at this point for Russell and everything for Kennedy. If HBO thinks Russell is ready for the elite, there is no sense matching him with Kennedy until Teon bounces back with a few big wins.
- Pawel Wolak is tired of waiting for Cornelius "K9" Bundrage. After the two fighters had another war of words this past week on FightHype, Wolak sent me the following message, "...we have moved on to plan B. Obviously, Bundrage and Don King aren't on the same page, but we aren't waiting around anymore...The offer will be open to them until we sign with the next choice, but we are moving towards a different opponent now as we aren't playing their games anymore. He is either in or out, but I have no more comments on him as it is now old news... we are open to it, and if they want it and we haven't secured another opponent, we will take it, but we are moving towards other guys now. Wasted too much time, so if they are in, great, but we are moving ahead assuming they are not." According to Bundrage, he left Don King a message telling him to make the fight and King has not returned his call. Sounds like Don King is going to cost another fighter a payday and TV exposure because he is being too greedy.
- Andre Dirrell...where are you? We haven't heard much from the former Super Six combatant, and one has to wonder if he is even interested in fighting at all anymore. A couple months ago, rumors surfaced that "The Matrix" would be making his return to the ring. There was even a date secured, and then, POOF! It was gone. If Dirrell is fully healthy, it would be a waste to see him not box anymore because he is an exceptional talent.
- On a side note, thank goodness college football is back! I got to experience my first Notre Dame game in South Bend Saturday. I have to be honest, the crowd and atmosphere is very overrated. The sights on campus are something to behold, but the buzz before the game was pretty much non-existent. As a diehard Miami Hurricanes fan. it was nice to see the Fighting Irish fall, but it was surely a disappointing trip. Hopefully the Canes can get over the suspensions and distractions to get a win tonight over Maryland. GO CANES!!!
[ Follow David Kassel on Twitter @BoxingObserver ]