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Boxing from an odd angle.
by Marty Mulcahey (April 22, 2003)
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My mother always told me that nothing good happens after midnight. Those words reverberated through my head as Michael Grant entered the ring at 1:10 AM East Coast time on ESPN2. The late start ensured that only boxing addicts, or Grant's fan club members, watched the fight. Since there are not many of the latter left, I will assume I am writing for boxing addicts today. By the way, mother was right.
Last week, the WBC stated it would consider letting Kostya Tszyu out of his mandatory defense against Gianluca Branco. They would circumvent their rules by allowing Branco to fight Ricky Hatton for an interim title.
So, if a popular WBC champ does not want to fight a challenger who is not economically viable, the WBC will mandate an interim title fight? Why was Bernard Hopkins not afforded this option (I am huge fan of Tszyu's, but fair is fair) against Morrade Hakkar? Instead of calling the winner of such an elimination fight an interim champ, let's call him the WBC SHIT (Shameless Highly Incompetent Titlist) champion. The acronym would seem applicable.
Mr. Sulaiman is from Mexico, so let me translate this newly conceived policy into plain English. "We can make money if we sanction this interim fight, and make more money whenever Kostya fights someone who is known by people outside of his immediate family." Pretty simple to understand once it is translated.
No truth to the rumor that the WBC is going to create special, interim, highest bidder, temporary, and super
duper champions in every weight division as part of the Rochiggiani restitution plan.
Did you hear that the IBO stripped Paulie Ayala of his 122 pound title last week? This prompted the entire boxing world to ask the same rhetorical question in unison........ Ayala was an IBO champ?
Like every other fight fan, I troll all the boxing websites for the latest news on boxing. One article stood out above the rest last week. It was Gregory Leon's (who does many excellent features for boxingtalk.net) scathing indictment of the IBF, and it's continued incompetence. Or is it corruptness? It has to be one of the two, so be sure to check out his article at: http://www.boxingtalk.net/pages/leon371.htm
to decide for yourself.
It seems ironic that Lou DiBella signed Hector Camacho Jr., to a managerial contract last week, since neither will ever draw another HBO paycheck.
I was glad to see HBO replay the Barrera vs. Kelley fight before the live fights on Saturday night, since I had not
wasted $35.00 to see it live. I was offended when the HBO crew said of the bout "Utterly predictable", "This was a mismatch", "He (Kelley) had nothing, zero to offer ", and "He (Kelley)should not have been in with this guy ". Where was all this incisive commentary when HBO PPV was hyping this fight? HBO and promoters were telling fans to buy that very fight (which HBO bad mouthed posthumously) a week before.
Let's see a real commercial from HBO PPV featuring Lampley, Merchant, and Foreman honestly commenting on the upcoming De La Hoya vs. Campas bout. "Tonight we feature a star at the top of his game, against an overmatched, outclassed, faded opponent who quit in his two most recent losses on HBO's air. This bout will not be for a WBC title, since Campas could not even make the WBC's top ten. It seems like a total mismatch, made only so that De La Hoya can make money from his Hispanic heritage by fighting on the Mexican Independence day (that line would be done by Jim Lampley since Larry Merchant made the mistake of questioning De La Hoya's use of a Mariachi band). Won't you spend $45.00 for the privilege to view this total mismatch?"
Did you hear that Zab Judah's promotional contract was sold by Main Events to Don King last week? It was rumored that in return for Zab's contract Main Events received two spit buckets, one Reyes & one Everlast glove, two medicine balls, as well as two used hand wraps. Main Events was kind enough to include a bottle of aspirin in the deal for Mr. King's forthcoming headaches.
Now that the King vs. Main Events squabble is settled, will we be seeing Zab back in the ring soon? Dan Rafael of USA Today wrote that Judah will fight DeMarcus Corley July 12th on the undercard of Ricardo Mayorga vs. Vernon Forrest II. Having Mayorga and Judah in the same building should prove interesting. Hey, let's see Zab try to sucker punch Mayorga and see where he ends up.
Here is a question I have not heard anyone answer yet. Now that Roy Jones has vacated his WBA light
heavyweight title, will Mehdi Sahnoune be elevated as their 'real' champion? No matter really, I am just so damn upset that I will not be able to see the Jones' mandatory defense against Sahnoune on HBO PPV.
Got to see HBO Latino's Boxeo De Oro last Thursday, and it turned out to be two relatively enjoyable hours
of boxing. I just had to mute the Spanish commentary since I did not understand a word beyond 'hola'. Wish
I could say the same for the Spanish commentary I get from my wife.
'Mighty' Mike Anchondo opened the show against rugged Roque Cassiani (who could not be discouraged
if you wielded a chainsaw in each hand) in a fight that stole the show from headliner Jose Navarro. Looking at
Anchondo, it seems that he carries 90 percent of his weight in his shoulders and torso. Add the tinge of baby fat he carries, and you have a miniature version of Tony Ayala Jr. Mike worked hard through the entire fight, consistently throwing punches. He benefited from his diligent work with a 10th, and final, round TKO win. Most boxers would have been happy with the decision. Give Anchondo credit for rewarding the fans with action to the end.
Compared to the curtain raiser, the Jose Navarro vs. Jorge "Speedy" Gonzalez bout lacked intensity and clean blows. The smaller Rodriguez (who was made to look more like Slow Poke Rodriguez, than Speedy, by Navarro) could not consistently work his way inside of the slippery southpaw. The crowd showed their disappointment with Navarro by booing the decision in favor of Navarro, but Navarro deserved the win as he was in control for 80 percent of the fight. In my opinion, Navarro is not world championship material, but it is a good test of Oscar's promotional ability to see if he can get him a title shot.
No matter what you think of Oscar, you have to give him credit for bringing the venerable Grand Olympic Auditorium back to life for Southern California fight fans (all boxing fans really). Oscar had the facility renovated and reopened for his first 'title' fight against Jimmi Bredahl, and now looks to be staging regular fights in this classic venue. Thank you Oscar.
Let's also be clear of the fact that the fights on this evening were not up to par, when compared to the classic fight night of the 1970's. How do I know? For one thing, the ring announcer wore a white tuxedo, and did not have one speck of blood spattered on him. He would have looked like Sissy Spacek (from the scene in
Carrie when she had a bucket of blood dumped on her) if he had tried that back in the 1970's.
Does Gwen Adair age? (Southern Cal, and viewers of fight nights from the Fabulous Forum will understand that question)
You want a reason to like Max Kellerman? He is honest, even when it means that he is not towing the company line by criticizing the main event of a ESPN's Friday Night Fight's show. Max-imum volume opened last week's show by throwing a truthful assessment of Michael Grant's recent opposition (and his opponent for the ESPN show) by stating Grant fought, "Against very limited opposition, and that continues here tonight."
Were Brian Kenney and Max Kellerman interviewing a NASCAR automobile or Floyd Mayweather on FNF? I could not tell since all the sponsor patches & decals covered most of the interviewee.
The opening bell for the Grant vs. Martinez fight sounded at 1:10 A.m Eastern Time, just seconds after Kellerman's mother called to ask what he was still doing out at that time of night.
Since Teddy Atlas was working Grant's corner, the team of Joe Tessitore and Scott LeDoux (who will hopefully return to host the ESPN summer fight series) took on announcing duties. Not sure what they had to say about the women's fights, since I fast forwarded past those, but they were fun and accurate during the Grant vs. Gilbert Martinez fight. Ledoux described Martinez to a tee when he stated that he, "is a miserable guy to fight", and pointed out that Martinez gave tough angles with all his bobbing & ducking.
It was not a good night for Grant, who struggled through most of the fight. Since we have seen Michael compete much better against solid opposition, I believe we can chalk this up to a lack of focus, brought on by lack of motivation. There is no conceivable reason for Martinez to be pushing Grant backwards during clinches, and tying him up at will, other than Grant was not motivated enough to impose his physical advantages. When he steps up against Dominic Guinn I expect a much better performance.
One thing has definitely not changed about Michael Grant: he still wears that foul protector up to his nipples.
What is up with that new Budweiser logo we have seen painted on the canvas of boxing events the last two weeks? It looks more like the Bally's Gym logo than the classic King of Beers emblem I have become accustomed to. I am no fan of Budweiser, but think even less of the contracts Bally's gym asks members to sign. Do they still ask for three forms of identification and your soul?
I have to admit when Cotto was first touted by Top Rank that I was dubious of his being hyped as the next Trinidad. However, with each passing performance Cotto has shown improvement on the defensive and offensive side. The only minor quibble I can find on this kid so far is that he tends to admire his work, instead of following up on advantages he creates. I am willing to believe in Cotto, and he does not have to be another Trinidad. I am willing to settle for the next Edwin Rosario.
Floyd Mayweather is a great boxer, mired in his own immense skill. Floyd wins his fights before the fourth
round of every fight, because opponents hesitate to throw punches after tasting insulting counterpunches from
every possible angle. He will never be a favorite of mine, but I do appreciate the talent he displays for eight out of twelve rounds.
That was a great feature HBO did on boxing good guy and un-official scorer Harold Lederman. As I watched the film of Mr. Lederman strolling through a house decorated in boxing memorabilia, I thought to myself.... 'that is what it must be like to live in the International Boxing Hall of Fame'. The second thought is that his wife must be a Saint. Mine makes sure all boxing regalia stays hidden in one room.....especially me.
I meant to comment on this last week, but forgot to include it. In the last two shows for FOX, Sean O'Grady said that the lightweight division was the most exciting in boxing. What!? I know Sean took a lot of blows to the head from lightweights over his career, but it could not have clouded his judgment to that degree. The featherweight and jr. welterweight divisions are head and shoulders above lightweight for talent and excitement. At lightweight, you have Floyd Mayweather and....... well, you have Floyd. Jose Luis Castillo, Leonard Dorin, and Stevie Johnston are fun to watch, but not in the PPV league of Barrera, Morales, Tszyu, or even Hamed or Juan Manuel Marquez. Comparing the lightweights to the featherweights is like asking Ricardo Lopez to win a Sumo wrestling tourney. No contest.
Hector Camacho Sr. lost a fight to a journeyman in North Carolina last weekend. It is time for Hector to hang them up. Dirt was young when Hector made his pro debut.
This week's boxing good guy award goes overseas to English promoter Frank Warren. As part of a drive by the English police to curb gun violence, Frank Warren has offered to give away free tickets to world title fights he promotes to anyone who turns in firearms or ammunition to police. For the Ricky Hatton vs. Vince Phillips fight, Warren gave out 1,008 free tickets to persons who turned in guns or munitions in Manchester alone. All persons who turn in these guns in exchange for tickets will not be prosecuted, nor asked questions. Frank Warren talked about the great initial run on tickets, “I am absolutely delighted that over 1000 potentially lethal items have been exchanged for boxing tickets. We launched the scheme with Ricky and Anthony Farnell in Manchester where both are highly regarded and influential sportsmen in the area. The initiative has proved to be a great success." An astounding 10,000 tickets have been set aside by Frank Warren for this worthy cause, to be used over the next nine month amnesty period. Boxing fans can turn in their firearms at their local police station and in return will receive a voucher (one per firearm). That voucher can then be handed in either at the venue where the selected boxing event is taking place, or sent directly to Frank Warren's office, where in return the person will receive a ticket to a show. For further information contact the Sports Network Press Office at: 01992 505 550.
For Questions or Comments
E-Mail Marty Mulcahey at fivedogss@msn.com
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