Dougie’s MASSIVE Monday Mail Bag By Doug Fischer (May 12, 2008) Photo © Tom Casino/SHOWTIME Send this page to friend Give us your feedback Read on for fan feedback on Timothy Bradley’s upset victory over Junior Witter, this weekend’s attractive B.A.D. triple-header on HBO, a little defensiveness from the Golden & Pretty Boys, the heavyweight division and much more in this week’s MMMB. Enjoy! WITTER-BRADLEY Hey Doug, Comments about tonight's fight: 1. Do you know of any boxers that can switch that easily from left to right? You can tell that Witter is trained by the same guys who trained Naseem Hamed. He's elusive and awkward in that praying mantis style, throwing punches from obscure angles but can look awfully amateurish at the same time. You can see why Hatton doesn't want to fight him. Witter was definitely the reason why this fight was ugly - not the way to impress American fans. Witter looked very fatigued after 10. 2. Bradley looks small for 140, but finally landed that big right hand in the 6th. Like Shane Mosley, Bradley is a black fighter w/ a great amateur pedigree used to fighting Mexican-Americans in the Cali gyms. Bradley's timing got better and better as the fight wore on and he countered Witter pretty well after the midway mark. 3. Final tally: 7-5 for Bradley, w/ an extra point in the 6th for the knockdown. I don't think that Desert Storm earned a title shot, but glad the right man got the decision and he's a pretty good fighter... Random Thoughts: 1. I really hope that Roy Jones and JoeCal agree to fight later in the year. Not so much for that fight, but b/c it'll also take away two options from Antonio Tarver, forcing him to fight Chad Dawson (cause he's not going to give Glen Johnson the rubbermatch!). If Chris Byrd wins his light-hwy debut against Shaun George, I would like to see him go up against the Road Warrior. That's 3 good fights in the 175-lb division. 2. Bummer about the Zab Judah-Shane Mosley fight. Why is the fight being cancelled and not postponed? I hear that Shane might fight Mayorga instead, which I wanted to see 5 years ago when they were welterweights, but what's the point now? Have you heard anything about all of this? Anyway, looking forward to hearing your thoughts about the fight and any other inside info you may have on the above. Take it easy. – Manny Blanco from the Bronx My thoughts on your three Bradley-Witter comments: 1)Witter’s pretty good at switching his stances (as many Brenden Ingle-trained boxers are), but the bottom line is that his legs are usually moving more than his hands while he’s doing all this switchin’ around. At the end of the night he doesn’t let his hands go enough and that’s what cost him against Bradley Saturday night in Nottingham. I’m not a fan of constant switch-hitting because it generally disrupts the rhythm and flow of a fight. It’s definitely not popular with American fans, and as Witter found out Saturday night, it’s not that popular with judges from any national background. 2)It’s funny you brought up Mosley’s name. After watching Bradley fight live for the first time (a one-round blowout of the shopworn Alfonso Sanchez in October of 2006) I actually compared him to a young Sugar Shane for the same reasons you stated: he was an athletically gifted African-American boxer with a good amateur background and a fighter’s mentality that was helped forged in Southern California gyms where his mettle was tested on a daily basis by tough Mexicans. Now I wasn’t saying then – and I’m not saying now – that Bradley is on par with Mosley in terms of his talent, skill or potential (Mosley was a far more accomplished amateur with more natural ability and much bigger, physically), but this past Saturday “Desert Storm” accomplished something that Sugar Shane did (and most fighters don’t) and that’s win a major world title while still a prospect. 3)I scored the fight as you did, 115-112 for Bradley. Most of the folks I watched the fight with saw the Southern Cali-product winning eight rounds. Going into Saturday’s fight, Bradley may not have been deserving of the title shot on paper but he proved he was worthy of the opportunity with his performance. In Witter, Bradley not only downed the reigning WBC 140-pound title holder, but he beat an experienced veteran who was on an eight-year 21-bout win streak and ranked no. 1 in the world by The Ring magazine. I’d say Bradley is a “pretty good” fighter and I look forward to seeing him defend his title against the likes of Steve Forbes, Demetrius Hopkins, Victor Ortiz, and Mike Alvarado, and if the 24-year-old titlist can beat one or two of those tough challengers, then I’d like to see him take on the real champ, Ricky Hatton. My comments on your “Random Thoughts”: 1)I see your logic in hoping Calzaghe and Jones fight. Even though I’m not really interested in that matchup I can’t deny that it would be a major event in the UK that would probably garner a decent amount of attention here in the States, too. If Calzaghe-Jones forces Tarver-Dawson to happen that’s a good thing; because unlike the face-off between the former super middleweight king and the current 168-pound champ, the battle between Bad Chad and the Milkdud of Malice is an important fight for the 175-pound division. In my opinion, the winner of the Tarver-Dawson showdown will determine the true no. 1 contender for the 175-pound division. Although I believe that Calzaghe is the real light heavyweight champ, I still consider him to be more of a super middleweight than a light heavy because apart from his split-decision win over a 43-year-old Bernard Hopkins the Welsh Wizard’s career has taken place at 168 pounds. I don’t consider Jones to be a top-10 light heavyweight contender. The guy has fought three times in the last three years since losing his rubber match with Tarver and in those three fights he beat a light heavyweight journeyman (Prince Badi Ajamu), a super middleweight prospect (Tony Hanshaw), and a semi-retired former welterweight/junior middleweight champ (Felix Trinidad) – all by decision. The last time Jones beat a real 175-pound contender was his majority decision over Tarver in their first fight back in late 2003. Anyway, I digress. I’m going to beat the drums for the winner of Calzaghe-Jones to fight the winner of Tarver-Dawson. If the Calzaghe-Jones winner doesn’t fight the Tarver-Dawson winner I’ll have a big problem with recognizing him as the “real” champ. Likewise, I think both Tarver and Dawson have unfinished business with Glen Johnson. If the winner (or loser) of Tarver-Dawson doesn’t eventually face the Road Warrior in a return match (either before or after fighting for the “real” title) I’ll have a problem with recognizing (and respecting) them. If a fight with Chris Byrd can help maneuver Johnson into a significant 175-pound bout then I’m all for it. 2)I’ve heard the same things you’ve heard about Mosley-Judah-Mayorga. I think a couple possible explanations for Mosley-Judah being cancelled instead of postponed could be that the Mosleys don’t want to wait around for Judah to heal up and risk another postponement when they might be able to secure a bigger fight in the next two months, or perhaps because ticket sales and fan/media interest for the Judah fight were not up to snuff. I’m not interested in seeing Mosley-Mayorga either. I’m definitely not interested in listening to Mayorga’s tired potty-mouth act in the pre-fight press conferences and media events. B.A.D ON THIS WEEK’S TNR Hi Doug, Hopefully you and Steve will talk in detail about the following boxing card coming up next weekend: James Kirkland-Eromosele Albert Yuriorkis Gamboa-Darling Jimenez Alfredo Angulo-Richard Gutierrez  Ken Don’t worry, Ken, HBO’s Boxing After Dark Triple-Header will definitely be the lead-segment of this week’s The Next Round. Gary Shaw’s Primm, Nevada promotion is what B.A.D. was created for – a showcase for lighter-weight up-and-comers in their toughest tests to date. I think the three undefeated prospect punchers – Kirkland, Gamboa and Angulo – will be forced to fight hard in order to extend their unbeaten records. Albert, Jimenez and Gutierrez are quality opponents (who have never been stopped as pros) with enough firepower of their own to provide quality rounds for the three ‘flavors of the month’. I have a lot of respect for the ‘B-sides’ in this show, especially Jimenez, but I think the prospects will keep their “Os”. I like Kirkland and Gamboa by decision and Angulo by late stoppage. CURSE OF U.S. TELEVISION What's up Doug, I love it! Cockiness is rewarded with getting a beat down. Witter looked absolutely horrible, just flicking punches and holding immediately afterwards. Bradley obviously was not taking many risks and Witter just looked scared. Witter looked amateurish constantly lunging in and posing for most of the fight. He was not running like he was with Judah but his holding has taken the place of the running. Witter had absolutely zero inside game and his holding just ruined the entire match. For a cat who talks a lot Junior showed nothing against an average opponent. There was nothing spectacular about Bradley, who looked like he struggled against Jaime Rangel, a fighter I saw Emanuel Augustus stop at Foxwoods. I don't think Witter put his hands up once to block a punch, more on that below. All that amateurish pulling back with his hands down caught up with Junior. Witter should have been penalized for holding even before the knockdown. All Bradley really had to do was remain aggressive. Witter was not warned once for holding, and when the ref warned Bradley for head butting, it was only because he was trying to get his hands free from Witter's holding in order to punch. I guess the ref wanted to work again in England cause he did not warn Witter once. Whenever Witter threw a punch, whether he missed or not, he would just tie up afterwards. Witter has looked bad and lost whenever he was one TV in he US, and he looked very bad here. Witter was huffing and puffing in the 10th. And man was the ref in the bag or what? Of course I KNEW the decision was going to be complete bulls**t. They were doing everything they could to give that fight to Witter, but at lease the right man won. The Curse of US Television continues for UK champions. In my book Hatton only clearly won one bout in his 'invasion' of the US (against Castillo) as he clearly lost against Collazo and Mayweather and even his 'win' against Urango was questionable. Froch beat Rybacki but he had nothing in front of him. Good thing too, because Froch demonstrated appalling defense! What is it with these UK fighters keeping their hands down? Hamed, Witter, Haye, only Calzaghe really seems to get away with it (and Haye so far). On another note have you seen these... http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3388359&n8pe6c=1&categoryId=2491554 http://youtube.com/watch?v=Rm4_2CTaUd0&feature=related http://youtube.com/watch?v=Y65VcABUzr8 Peace. – Steve Yes, yes, I’ve seen “Pretty Boy Bam Bam”. The youth is obviously talented and appears to possess better technique at 6 years of age than either Witter or Bradley displayed in a world championship fight Saturday night. For all we know Shelly Finkel has already signed the kid to a future managerial contract with Golden Boy slated to promote him once he turns pro 12 years from now. Seriously, I’m glad you brought Little “Bam Bam” up because I’ve literally received in the neighborhood of 60 emails with various links to video of him over the past two or three months. Please, people, STOP emailing me links of this kid! It’s getting weird!!! I think my daughter has a crush on Bam Bam, but that’s cool; she’s 4 years old. What’s your excuse!? Anyway, your criticism of Witter and other British fighters (save for Calzaghe and the Hayemaker) is duly noted, but I think you’re being kind of hard on Bradley. He’s improved since his struggle with Jaime Rangel, which took place in December of ‘06 (and he showed a national audience in his points wins over Manuel Garnica and Donald Camarena last year), and I thought he fought Witter about as well as one could expect a 24-year-old boxer with his limited pro experience. I thought he could have worked his jab more to set up right hands whenever Witter was in an orthodox stance, but it’s easier said than done. The bottom line is that Witter is almost impossible to look good against because his style is so unpredictable and awkward plus the Brit’s a decent puncher and a survivor on top of that. In other words, Witter doesn’t give his opponents much to work with but he can still punish them if they make a mistake. Bradley did more with Witter than experienced vets like Lovemore Ndou (who got dropped twice in a fight I saw live in the States) and Vivan Harris were able to exploit, so I give the Palm Springs native his props, even though he didn’t look like a killer against the unorthodox switch-hitter. If you put Bradley in with an aggressive young fighter like Victor Ortiz or Mike Alvarado I guarantee you, win or lose, “Desert Storm” will put on a show. If you put Bradley in with a tall, rangy boxer with some decent footwork like Demetrius Hopkins, or a quick-fisted stick-and mover like Paulie Malignaggi, he might not look so hot. THE STATE OF BOXING Our economy is in the crapper, gas prices are through the roof, our soldiers are still in the middle east fighting a pointless war and sadly enough, there is no Heavyweight Champion (or contender for that matter) that hails from the U.S.A. HELP!!! Our country needs a hero to pull us out of this funk! To me boxing has always been a sport that lets me know that if you just keep punching, things will work out for the best. Then, I see an advertisement on ESPN talking about Vitaly Klits fighting the Nigerian Sam Peter. This is just total bulls#it!!! Sam Peter should be fighting Vladimir! I see this crap and it just pisses me off to no end. Then I have to hear a bunch of yahoos talk about how much MMA is better than boxing. NO WAY!!! Dougie, I want to know who are some contenders to look for in the heavyweight division. I have been so wrapped up in the lighter weight classes that I have virtually disregarded the big men of the division. Is there anyone in this county that can take the division? Anyone? Sorry for the whole USA being in turmoil and stuff. I am just about fed up with all the powers in boxing allowing the poisoning of such a great sport. I wish that these old heads would just stop thinking about their wallets and let the fighters fight! I know...If it were only that easy. Thank for listening Dougie. – Willie, Houston, TX I know it looks bad right now, Willie, but I can finally see light at the end of the tunnel for what was once the sport’s glamour division; we just have to be patient through the end of this year. I don’t care about Samuel Peter’s mandatory defense against Vitali Klitschko, either, and if we’re lucky the WBC title fight will wind up in Nigeria and off U.S. TV (yeah, right). However, if Peter can beat the old man (which will be difficult despite Big V’s three-and-half year layoff), the Nigerian’s victory will help set the stage for a rematch with Wladimir. All Little Brother has to do is get by his mandatory defense against dangerous Tony Thompson (no easy task) later this year and the rematch with Peter will be one of the most anticipated fights of 2009. That showdown is not only packed with story lines (the first bout, the revenge angle) but it should be an entertaining scrap that crowns a universally recognized heavyweight champ. If we can get a real champ all the division will need are some solid contenders. I think 2004 Olympic gold medalist Alexander Povetkin will deserve the first crack at the real champ and his busy come-forward style should make for a good fight (and let’s face it, entertaining contests is what the division needs). The leading U.S.-born heavyweight hopefully will probably be determined by the winner of next month’s HBO-televised showdown between Chris Arreola and Chazz Witherspoon, both of whom are young, undefeated and talented in their way. The American-born heavyweight with the most tools and potential, in my not-so-humble opinion, is Malik Scott. I can hear the collective groan from fans and members of the press who have seen the undefeated (30-0) Philadelphian “fight” in the past. But I checked out a sparring session of his at new trainer Joe Goossen’s gym in Van Nuys recently and I’m telling everyone who gives a rat’s ass (which I admit is probably eight people) that the former jab-master is now boxing like a complete fighter. I think Scott is the Dark Horse of the current crop of heavyweight hopefuls and I think he’s going to surprise a lot of fans and media next year when the heavyweight division finally picks up. REPLY TO DLH REALITY CHECK First off Douge, thanks for putting me in your mailbag, its an honor that you would even put me in your mailbag, and it shows that you do really care and read what the fans say. I looked for you at the fight but couldnt spot you, I can't think of another writer who is actually this accessible, and you do actually know your stuff. Thanks! But I also digress though Doug, while I agree that Cotto is a bricklayer, he is also very VERY hittable, he just fought Shane Mosley didnt he? That fight could have gone either way, and it was very good, but Cotto doesnt have the stopping power to stop Shane, then he doesnt for Oscar, he barely stopped Judah. Yeah say what you say about Oscar not taking the heat against certain opponents, but he TOOK WHAT HE DISHED OUT, how many fighters have ran on their f****** bicycles against Oscar? Hopkins did play chess with Oscar, but who doesnt he do that with???? Oscar should have never fought him. Once again I digress, you said Oscar's face looked nicked? Since when do you judge blood or appearance? That doesnt mean anything, yeah Forbes this and Forbes that, he punked his ass, and it was even worse watching the replay. In that case Gatti has lost every single fight. Let me ask you one question, is it possible that Oscar can land one good left hook on Cotto??? That’s almost a rhetorical question dude. Cotto is extremely vulnerable and KTFOable, is he not? I hope this fight happens, I pray! Thanks Douge. – Junior from Bakersfield You might be praying for it, Junior, but I don’t think De La Hoya’s family and loved ones are. Miguel Cotto is NOT what Oscar needs at this advanced stage of his career, certainly not as the final bout of his hall-of-fame career. But if the Golden Promoter does take on Cotto in December has he’s hinted at and teased in recent months that will be a decision that I will certainly respect. But despite Cotto’s vulnerability, I would heavily favor the Puerto Rican to beat De La Hoya in a punishing fight. I’m not saying De La Hoya wouldn’t be competitive, but I think he’d get the worst of it in a 12-round fight. And if De La Hoya’s face was reddened and nicked up by Forbes my guess is that Goldie will be looking like the Elephant Man after going 12 rounds with Cotto. That’s no disrespect to Oscar; I’m just acknowledging what most fight fans should know by now – Cotto is a damaging puncher. I don’t judge fights by the blood on a particular fighter’s face. I thought De La Hoya won 11 out of the 12 rounds he fought with Forbes. I’m sure De La Hoya would have his moments against the shorter and somewhat methodical Cotto; I also think the East L.A. native would land more than one flush left hook to the squat boxer-bomber, but I don’t think those shots will be enough to put Cotto away. You’re right, Cotto was not able to put Mosley away and I don’t think he’ll be able to put De La Hoya away, either, but I think he’ll punish Oscar more than he punished Shane last November. Hey, maybe I’m wrong but that’s my opinion on this matchup that probably won’t happen anyway. Thanks for the kind words and if you see me at the next big fight in Southern California don’t be a stranger. MAYWEATHER-DE LA HOYA Just wanted to comment on your comment...You say Mayweather has never fought anyone who was tall and used the jab consistently, but who up until now could he have fought in the past who in your opionion would have had a chance against Floyd? Forget just tall and jabbing, you've got to have the speed along with the others to touch Floyd, and in the recent past I just dont see that fighter out there, maybe you can tell me. In my boxing memory, I only bring to mind The Hit Man Hearns who would have all the tools to beat Floyd, not saying the only one period, just with those tools. And regarding Mayweather/Oscar 2, sure on paper we all think were gonna get another repeat of the first fight, but I think now, and as well as then, Floyd had it all planned to not really destroy Oscar in the first fight, but just getting the decision that might call for another big money fight with De La Hoya. What if Floyd brings his A+++ game this time and puts on an even better performance than he did against Hatton, he'll have made double or triple the money fighting Oscar than any other fighter and cementing his legacy by beating Oscar worse than Hopkins or anybody else. PS, Just because there hasnt been an Azuma Nelson or Chavez around for mayweather to fight dont hold that against him. Freitas? Tszyu? You would give Floyd more credit if he had fought these losers? – Damian Acelino Freitas and Kostya Tszyu are not losers. They are both former champions who were strong competitors and good men that deserve our respect. This is the problem with Maywether and his fans (like yourself). You guys diss everybody and his momma and then you have the gall (or the stupidity) to wonder why people don’t like you. You guys scream and cry for respect, but you refuse to give it. Maybe one day, you’ll wake up. Anyway, yeah, had Mayweather taken on Acelino Freitas right after the Brazilian Bomber narrowly out-pointed Joel Casamayor to unify the WBO and WBA 130-pound titles and improve his record to 31-0, I would have given him A LOT of credit and accolades. Why wouldn’t I? Mayweather was the undefeated WBC 130-pound titlist at the time. If he beat Freitas, who had won 29 consecutive fights by knockout, he would have unified three major world titles and solidified his claim as the real junior lightweight champ. Are you going to tell me such a victory would NOT have enhanced Mayweather’s legacy? Are you going to tell me that beating Kostya Tszyu after the Russian blasted Zab Judah to unify all three major titles at 140 pounds would NOT have further enhanced Mayweather’s legacy? Had Floyd defeated Tszyu at that time he would have been the undisputed junior welterweight champion of the world. I don’t know about you, but a victory over Tszyu in 2002 or 2003 would have won major points in my book. By the way, I covered Freitas-Casamayor and Tszyu-Judah. Mayweather was at both fights. After the Freitas victory he told the media (and Acelino to his face) that he’d fight the undefeated Brazilan (in fact he said he’d fight both Frietas AND Casamayor). After his buddy Zab got clipped by Kostya, he stormed out of the MGM Grand’s Garden Arena telling anyone within earshot that he’d “Kill Kostya Tszyu in the ring!” Regarding Mayweather-De La Hoya II, if you’re genuinely excited about that matchup then good for you, but please don’t make up some silly story lines to try to attract my interest (that’s HBO’s job, isn’t it?). “Floyd had it all planned to not really destroy Oscar in the first fight…” “What if Floyd brings his A+++ game this time?” Good grief, man. Do you have any idea how pathetic you sound? I’m serious. I’m embarrassed for you. I really am. Last, and most certainly least, in regard to my comment in last week’s FFMB about the lack of Mayweather’s opponents who were both tall and known for their jab, I want to clarify that I wasn’t suggesting all it takes to beat Floyd is some height and a good left stick. The guy who I was responding to (I think it was “Junior from Bakersfield”) asked me how Mayweather would fair against a version of De La Hoya who used his jab consistently. I told him that I really don’t know because I’ve never seen Mayweather in the ring with a tall opponent who utilized a constant jab. Anyway, I had to chuckle while reading this gem from your email: “In my boxing memory, I only bring to mind The Hit Man Hearns who would have all the tools to beat Floyd, not saying the only one period, just with those tools.” You’re boxing memory isn’t very good. Maybe you’re suffering form amnesia, or maybe you’ve only followed the big names of the sport. Tommy Hearns was not the only tall welterweight with a good jab of decades past (although he certainly was the hardest puncher). Ever heard of Wilfred Benitez? Heck, Ray Leonard is taller than Floyd and if my memory serves me right (and I think it’s a TAD bit better than yours) the Sugar Man had a pretty nice jab. But in Leonard, Hearns and Benitez, we’re talking about all-time greats and hall of famers. That’s cool if you want to play the ‘Mythical Matchup’ game with Mayweather, but I honestly don’t think we have to go back 25 to 30 years and pick out the names of the first-ballot hall of famers to find tough fights for Mr. Pound-for-Pound (especially in the 147-pound division). I think the welterweight standouts of the mid-to-late ‘80s – former champs like Donald Curry, Milton McCrory, Marlon Starling, Simon Brown, and Mark Breland – all possessed the talent, physical tools, skills and heart to beat Mayweather or give him pure hell. Same deal with the 147-pound standouts from the ‘90s who aren’t considered first-ballot hall of famers like Aaron Davis, Buddy McGirt, and Ike Quartey. But forget about mythical matchups in the 147-pound division. There were boxers who were in or near their primes anywhere from five to eight years ago that Mayweather could have faced who I believe had the “stuff” to beat the Pretty Boy, or at least extend him the way Jose Luis Castillo did in 2002. (And the interesting thing about these fighters I have in mind is that they were not tall or necessarily physically bigger than Floyd, or known for the primarily for their jabs.) These boxers are Joel Casamayor at 130 or 135 pounds, Steve Johnston at 135 pounds, and Tszyu at 140 pounds. TONY PEP Hey Doug, I see Tony around town from time to time and every once in a while he brings one of his fighters in to our club for a little sparring. He's considered a bad ass and a boxing legend here in Vancouver. So yeah, some of us know who you're talking about. Keep up the great work at Maxboxing.com! – JC Thank you, JC, I don’t feel so old or like an absolute hardcore boxing junkie now. 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