Cynicism Rewarded

Yup, nothing I saw on Shobox tonight convinced me otherwise that any of the dudes in this heavyweight title eliminator tournament could knock off Vladimir Klitschko.

I was not in agreement with the Showtime commentators who thought after the fight ended it was impossible for Calvin Brock to pull out a decision over eventual victor Eddie Chambers. In fact, I had it a draw, with Brock winning rounds one through four, then the 10th and 11th. Maybe that's why it took so long for the scores to be tabulated. How much would it have sucked to hold a four-boxer single-elimination tournament and have one of the fights come up even? I don't want to allege foul play here, I'm just sayin'. That all three judges had their pick for winner just one round ahead is not surprising.

I did like some things about Eddie Chambers, whom I had not seen before. Those are some fast hands he's got. He also moved around in little baby steps like all those awesome fights from Joe Louis' era. The way he held his hands and cocked his head was pure new school, though. Anyway, he's evidently got a little pop in his mits, too, because Brock looked all kinds of mushy in the face parts. One main problem: He's way too small to beat Klitschko. I'd give him a good chance against literally any other heavyweight on the scene that I've seen, a category of fighter that does not include his next opponent, Alexander Povetkin, who he'll meet for the final elimination. Chambers looks like he could dull most heavyweights' power with that upper body fall-back move, and his speed would give a lot of them serious trouble. I don't understand why he didn't throw more punches, considering Brock gave him plenty of opportunities, but then, Chambers is young and maybe didn't realize the gravity of the situation. Against Klitschko, that inactivity and tendency to stand in front of his man without doing anything for minutes at a time would only lead to Chambers getting jabbed one billion and three times per round, and Klitschko wouldn't care if he hit glove, because so long as Klitschko jabs Chambers and keeping him away, he wins on being busy alone.

Brock didn't look like the same person who was in a fun brawl with Jameel McCline a few years ago, nor the same person who scored 2006's knockout of the year over Zuri Lawrence, or even the same person who gave Klitschko a moderate run for his money late last year. I wonder if that crushing knockout loss he suffered at the hands of Klitschko took a lot out of him. Chambers' punches seemed to affect Brock a good deal, even the jabs. Brock looked slow in comparison not only to Chambers but to previous incarnations of himself, although maybe that had something to do with Brock coming in at a career high weight. He looked sluggish enough that I was tempted to think he just didn't want to fight Klitschko again -- who could blame him? -- if not for the fact that Brock came out hard in the 10th and 11th. Then just as mysteriously he ran away from Chambers all of the 12th, as if he didn't need the round or didn't want it. Maybe he was distracted and/or annoyed, as I was, by his father trying to dictate directions between rounds when Pernell Whitaker is his trainer these days, not dear old dad, his ex-trainer. Anyway, I fear Brock's headed for opponent-land if he is worse for the wear from the Klitschko fight, because Brock was only ever a good all-around fighter who had a low margin of error if he wanted to become champ. I'd miss the "Boxing Banker" nickname if Brock left the game, but hey, he is a banker if he wants to be with that college degree, and his wife is working to become a lawyer. Better that he enjoys a life of high-falutin' banker-lawyer love than muddle through a boxing career as a punching bag.

Clearly, I am this guy.

Five About Fighting: D.A.R.E. II, Easy Call, Wussing Out, Getting Selfish And A Telling Diss

Four random thoughts, plus one prediction.

1. Revisiting the Shane Mosley drug question, a number of boxing writers want to let this one slide. Mosley, after all, has never behaved like anything but a model citizen and he's a legendary fitness freak, so what would compel him to succumb to the temptation of an extra edge? I don't doubt either of those facts, but Mosley's excuse -- "I didn't know what I was taking" -- is identical to the rote denial offered by less model citizens, and not a particularly good one. It's only value is that, unless someone else brings forth proof otherwise, it can't be debunked automatically. But as Bad Left Hook posed the question, "You're telling me Mosley and his handlers would take something without knowing precisely what it is? Even though the steroids were undetectable, it seems a little too risky." It's even stranger since Mosley is apparently Mr. Goodbody. Whereas Bad Left Hook opts to trust Mosley, I'm going to err in the direction of skepticism.
2. I don't have much to say about Sam Peter fighting Jameel McCline Saturday on Showtime. Peter's going to knock him out around the sixth, confidence 99%, allegiance to Peter. It's not that McCline's a bad fighter, and yes, his height could pose a problem to the relatively tree trunk-like Peter. But McCline's job, so far as I can tell, is to lose against the elite talents of his division, and Peter's no worse than the second best heavyweight. If Zuri Lawrence -- Zuri Lawrence, for chrissakes -- beat McCline, Peter should have no trouble. Still, I'll probably be watching, as it's hard for me to justify the $50 on Manny Pacquiao-Marco Antonio Barrera II, also airing Saturday on HBO PPV. It's going to be expensive over the next few months if I buy every nifty pay per view coming down the pike.
3. I've gone soft on "The Contender," a little. The two contestants last week -- Stubby Lopez and Wayne McCantpunch or whatever their names were -- put on a pretty decent scrap considering neither of them were all that good. I loved the spirit of Stubby, who looked like he was going to be a sitting duck with that frame of his and his late start at the fight game. But as a boxing fan, I really enjoyed some of the behind-the-scenes stuff, I liked watching the fighters get prepared, I thought the scene with Sam Soliman in the icewater tub was great and yes, I even got a little emotional about the family scenes. I still was annoyed by some of the reality show's already-cliched conventions, like the ultra-dramatic music when the fighters come to sit down and review the night before, but the music truly works during the fights, and they've cut back since last I saw on the dopey sound effects. Tonight's episode was OK, too, with a nice fight between Sakio Bika and Donnie McCrary, although man is that Bika an awkward cat. I liked it enough to watch if not much else is on, but it still isn't appointment television for me.
4. There are all kinds of mysterious goings-on surrounding whom David Diaz, a 135-pound beltholder, and Joshua Clottey, a 147-pound contender, will fight next. I won't get into the specifics, but things as they look now suggest that Diaz will fight Michael Katsidis and Clottey will fight Luis Collazo. I'd like both, please. See how selfish I'm getting, after one weekend of being spoiled by excellent fights? Both of those are very intriguing matchups, albeit between people hardly anyone has heard of. Katsidis has star potential, and Diaz is the kind of tough hombre who can bring it out of him if he doesn't beat it out of him. With the other two lightweight Diazes, Juan and Julio, ready to rumble next weekend, it would be an excellent start to attaining some clarity about who's the best in the division. Clottey and Collazo are both peculiar stylists whose contrasts could make for a very interesting bout, and each have the potential to break into the stacked welterweight upper ranks, but they need to earn it against each other.
5. Once more into Taylor-Pavlik: Over at TheSweetScience.com, Jermain Taylor's promoter, Lou DiBella, totally dissed Taylor's trainer, Emmanuel Steward, for his advice between the second and third rounds, just after Taylor nearly had Kelly Pavlik KO'd. I suspect what has been a rocky partnership between Taylor and Steward may not last much longer. Some of the fault lies with Taylor's stubbornness -- how many times has he done the exact opposite of what Steward asked him? -- but I think general bad chemistry is also to blame. Maybe it's time for Taylor to bring in someone new, or the trainer who led him to the middleweight (160 lbs.) championship, Pat Burns.

It turns out that if you examine Slim Goodbody's insides closely, you can see he has a hematocrit level of 52.2, "off the charts," according to experts.