Even more proof that the Top Rank Boxing Federation (TRBF) exists is the recent news that Showtime was hoping to establish a Bantamweight Super Six tournament, but had to forgo the idea because Bob Arum wasn't too keen on letting Nonito Donaire and Fernando Montiel participate. The tournament was going to also feature Abner Mares, Yohnny Perez, Vic Darchiniyan and Joseph Agbeko.
Apparently, Arum has offered Donaire and Montiel the opportunity to fight on the undercard of the Pacquiao-Margarito HBO telecast (less likely) or a potential Cotto-Chavez Jr. fight that will certainly be a Top Rank show (increasingly likely). This, to me, is unbearable crap for Arum to continue cashing in on his stable. Montiel and Donaire probably won't fight each other at all, much like the situation between Featherweight champions Juan Manuel Lopez and Yuriorkis Gamboa, who are also promoted by Top Rank.
Attention Mr. Arum, boxing is not the UFC and you certainly don't have the best fighters in every division.
HBO's About-Face Into Mediocrity
You know, when I heard that HBO had originally decided to turn their heads in regards to the Shane Mosley-Sergio Mora fight this September, I thought it would be funny that Golden Boy Promotions would actually move forward with marketing it as an independent pay-per-view knowing that Mosley was beaten to a pulp against Floyd Mayweather last May and the last memory anybody had of Mora was losing to the late Vernon Forrest, who was well past his prime. Well, it seems like the joke is on me, as HBO indicated earlier this week that they would indeed distribute the fight on their pay-per-view arm. The lingering question is why?
Mosley-Mora is an awful fight and the fact that HBO is on board to produce it is an indication of how little the network has to offer for the remainder of the year and how unwilling they are to use their powerful influence to make fights happen. For example, originally, Ross Greenburg made his intentions clear to the Paul Williams camp that it's Sergio Martinez or nobody, but then he loosened up and said they'd approve Sergei Dzinziruk, a fighter that has only been on TV once in nearly two years.
Furthermore, HBO was intrigued by the idea of a Miguel Cotto versus Andre Berto clash for later this year, but now they might have to settle for Cotto against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. or Vanes Martirosyan. Do the networks have ANY say anymore? At least we got Juan Manuel Lopez against Rafael Marquez on the same day as Mosley-Mora, which promises to be more exciting and, best of all, it's free.
Marquez Not Keen On Khan Clash
We all know how bad WBA Jr. Welterweight champion Amir Khan wants to fight Lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez. We also know how bad Golden Boy Promotions wants to feed Marquez to Khan. What we forget is that Marquez is not an idiot and is exploring all possible options besides Khan. While Marquez would prefer a third fight with Manny Pacquaio, which is meaningless considering how bad Marquez looked outside of 135 pounds, another fight he's interested in is a clash with his mandatory Michael Katsidis. Another possibility I've heard is that Marquez might be interested in fighting Robert Guererro, who easily dominated former champion Joel Casamayor last weekend. Either way, Marquez is more interested in defending his two Lightweight belts than taking a big risk against Khan, who would be the taller, stronger and faster man in the ring.
After all, it was Freddie Roach who told me last March that they gave Marquez the chance to fight Khan before Paulie Malignaggi was served up, but it was the Marquez camp that chimed in that they were nobody's stepping stone. Oh well. There's always Marcos Maidana, who without throwing a punch has Khan scared silly and looking for smaller opponents.
Keepin' it in-house!
The Pillar to Post Boxing Podcast will return next week and wants you, the readers, to chime in. I am personally tired of this inter-promotional matchmaking and with such lackluster fights on the way, such as Mosley-Mora, Pacquiao-Margarito and the God-awful possibility of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. against Miguel Cotto or Kelly Pavlik, shouldn't everybody be? Leave your thoughts and comments below with a name and I'll pick my favorite responses for next week's broadcast. Just keep it clean and we'll see you next week!