I contributed a ballot to Bad Left Hook's "P4P" or "pound for pound" list, and I've updated my own along the right side rail. My standard in determining the best fighters in the world regardless of weight takes into consideration the general ability of each boxer (skill, natural talent, determination) quality of wins (what other good fighters they've beaten), strength of schedule (win or lose, whether they're fighting great competition), recent activity (whether the fighter is performing like an elite fighter now as opposed to two years ago) and a rough estimate of how beatable they'd be if weight wasn't a factor (would a heavyweight version of Floyd Mayweather beat a heavyweight version of Manny Pacquiao?).
1. Floyd Mayweather (welterweight, 147 lbs.): What's not to like? That win over Ricky Hatton was meaningful, and and Floyd looked better than he has in a long time. He's the total package.
2. Manny Pacquiao (junior lightweight, 130 lbs.): I'm tempted to drop him because he looked a little underwhelming vs. Marco Antonio Barrera -- not like his usual action hero self -- but his past accomplishments and agreement to fight Juan Manuel Marquez again wins him a hold on second place.
3. Bernard Hopkins (light heavyweight, 175 lbs.): Beating Winky Wright and Antonio Tarver back to back, plus his well-earned former #1 P4P status and all-around craftiness, equals third place, at least until we see what happens against Calzaghe.
4. Joe Calzaghe (super middleweight, 168 lbs.): He's erased all doubts in my mind, and presumably in the mind of everyone, by toppling Mikkel Kessler and Jeff Lacy, and doing it impressively with his awkward, busy style. It's time for Hopkins and Calzaghe to stop yappin' and get it on already.
5. Juan Manuel Marquez (junior lightweight): Off a career best win over Barrera and a dominant dismantling of legit contender Juarez, he'd be ranked higher if Calzaghe hadn't just beaten a prime Kessler. The consummate-boxer puncher could be primed to avenge a 2004 draw vs. the Pac-Man.
6. Miguel Cotto (welterweight): What a great year this guy had. He's a potential fighter of the year candidate after stopping Judah and defeating Shane Mosley in a real eye opener. We now know he can box and steamroll.
7. Winky Wright (middleweight, 160 lbs.): Losing to Hopkins doesn't knock him out of the top 10. Wright was stepping far up in weight and losing to B-Hop in a competitive fight under those circumstances can't erase what he's done, and is an accomplishment in and of itself. His jab-and-defend strategy has given way to some more offense, but he's still got a tough style.
8. Rafael Marquez (junior featherweight, 122 lbs.): I'm probably the only person who has Marquez ranked higher than Israel Vasquez, but my they're 1-1 against each other, I think Marquez has a better record of achievement and my eyes tell me Marquez is better than Vasquez. He's got the punch and the skills.
9. Israel Vasquez (junior featherweight): Until he beat Marquez, nobody much thought of Vasquez as a P4P type, foolishly; perhaps because he's lost a few, too. But wins over Oscar Larios, Jhonny Gonzalez, etc. helped propel him here. He's proven vs. Marquez that he's not just a brawler.
10. Ricky Hatton (junior welterweight, 140 lbs.): Like Wright to Hopkins, Hatton's loss to Mayweather in a step up in weight doesn't knock Hatton down far. It's remarkable that so many people in my top 20 have recently lost, but it's because everyone's fighting the best. I'm not going to punish them too much for losing in close fights against their fellow best fighters, and I still think Hatton's overall record and ability make him one of the top 10.
11. Kelly Pavlik (middleweight): It's tempting to move Kelly into the top 10 because he's so dangerous, but his number of wins over fellow P4Ps totals exactly 1 -- over Jermain Taylor. Beating Edison Miranda, Jose Luis Zertuche and a few other borderline contenders makes him worthy, and certainly puts him in strong contention for fighter of the year, but I still give Hatton a slight edge. But I expect Kelly to move up again soon, because he looks like he's gonna hurt a lot of people in his career with that devastating power.
12. Juan Diaz (lightweight, 135 lbs.): Ah, the lovable, energetic Diaz. Topping fellow Diaz Julio was a big deal, and so was beating Acelino Freitas. Diaz looks like he's gonna be tough to beat as long as he's fighting.
13. Shane Mosley (welterweight): I had the slick, sturdy Mosley and Cotto in a draw, so, again, he can't get knocked down too far. Pavlik and Diaz's years just happen to have Mosley eclipsed; I had Mosley at about #10 before the Cotto fight.
14. Ivan Calderon (junior flyweight, 108 lbs.): After knocking off top 108-pounder Hugo Cazares and another young gun at 108, Calderon has moved past his days of dominating the 105-pound division. He still can't punch a lick, but his pure boxing skills give him an edge.
15. Oscar De La Hoya (welterweight): No. Shame. In. Losing. To. Mayweather.
16. Jermain Taylor (middlweight): I'd drop him farther after getting KO'd by Pavlik if not for the fact that Jermain's previous wins were impressive. I don't know how much longer he'll stay in the top 20 after the rematch because it looks like his skill will never catch up to his athleticism; we'll see. Brave move, though.
17. Cory Spinks (junior middleweight, 154 lbs.): Lucky thing that "good" and "watchable" aren't mutually exclusive propositions, or Spinks wouldn't be on my map at all. Jab and circle specialists aren't the most thrilling.
18. Chris John (featherweight, 126 lbs.): His best win, over Marquez, was probably a gift, but the guy can fight and if he ever bothered to leave home, he probably would have had less dubious career wins. He's clearly talented enough.
19. Vladimir Klitschko (heavyweight, unlimited): It's not Klitschko's fault that the heavyweights suck. He beats everyone put in front of him, from former conquerors (Lamon Brewster) to undefeated contenders (Brock). He gets points for recovering from a rough period and fighting better and smarter and with more confidence, and for unifying with Sultan Ibragimov. He's got the height, jab and power to be the top heavyweight for a while.
20. Mikkel Kessler (super middleweight): I think the super middleweight division is his to own for a good long while with Calzaghe leaving. With his power and basic-but-solid skill set, I bet that loss makes Kessler an even better fighter.
21. Joan Guzman (junior lightweight): Yes, the second half of his win over Humberto Soto was frustrating, but it's an excellent win and he's undefeated + talented, what with all that speed.
22. Paul Williams (welterweight): We're getting into borderline territory here; Willaims has beaten some borderline contenders and has a close win over Antonio Margarito. But how many people would want to fight the 6'2" freak?
23. Antonio Margarito (welterweight): Still looking for that career-defining win, but he's beaten up a lot of well-regarded guys, and a close loss to Williams isn't so bad. If he gets his mitts on Cotto, I think Margarito could wear him down with big shots.
24. Glen Johnson (light heavyweight): Forgotten since losing to Tarver in a rematch and a debatable loss to Clinton Woods, the rugged Johnson got a nice win over Virgil Hill in 2007 and is primed to meet borderline P4Per Chad Dawson.
25. Nonito Donaire (flyweight, 112 lbs.): He has one big win, one good win and a few other decent wins on his ledger, but this speedy power-puncher has the raw ability and skill to be special. Everyone I thought of putting at 25 was in about the same position -- a better skill level than resume.
Showing posts with label lists. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lists. Show all posts
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Friday, November 30, 2007
Mayweather/Hatton: Keys To The Fight, Part I
HBO's Mayweather/Hatton 24/7 reality series is doing an amazing job of spotlighting the back story and personalities of both Floyd Mayweather and Ricky Hatton and their respective families, camps and assorted hangers-on. I recommend everyone -- boxing fans and non-boxing fans alike -- tune in Sunday, next Thursday and even hit HBO On-Demand for the previous two episodes. It's great television, artfully done.
What it's actually doing reasonably little of is focusing on the boxing itself. There are a few reasons I can imagine for this. They're clearly trying to lure the general public into buying this fight Dec. 8, and a technical analysis of who has the better left hook would siphon away some of the drama. Another reason, I suppose, is that hardcore fans know this fight could completely blow, so focusing on that aspect of it would make anyone watching ask, "Why should I pay $50 for this again?" It could be a fantastic battle, don't get me wrong. There's just a distinct possibility that it won't be.
So assuming the next two episodes won't delve into such matters, I'm taking it upon myself to try to educate any neophyte who wants to arrive for the show briefed about what will make the fight entertaining or not, a blowout for Mayweather or a real competition. More experienced fans can read this and hopefully find something enlightening, or just take it as a starting point for debate.
Part II, coming Monday, will look at all the tools both Mayweather and Hatton have that are important in every fight, no matter the gladiator: who's faster, who's stronger, etc. Part I, below, will focus on some of the things that are unique to this fight and these fighters.
How Mayweather chooses to fight. Mayweather is a strange avatar for the renaissance of boxing. No active fighter has the combination of physical gifts and ring intelligence that Mayweather possesses. As he's moved up in the weight classes to welterweight (147 lbs.), it's zapped some of his knockout power, but otherwise, Mayweather can do virtually anything he wants in the ring. Alas, his extraordinary defense and ability to hit his man more frequently than he gets hit means that should he choose to do so -- and, all too often, he has made this choice -- he can coast to an easy victory on the scorecards without ever putting himself in harm's way enough to create a lot of action or deliver a KO. It's not as if I don't understand the rationale, but it sometimes makes for boring viewing. On the flip side of the coin, any time Mayweather has made the decision to take risks, he has usually looked spectacular. It's a little like watching Kobe Bryant: an otherworldly athlete plying his craft at a high level and dominating all comers. Even when Mayweather has decided to amp up the offense by putting himself at a distance where his opponent can hit him, he has slaughtered his competition. That's because his reflexes and anticipation are so extraordinary he can stand inches from his opponent and block or dodge incoming punches without sweating. These one-sided affairs -- Mayweather hasn't even lost many rounds of his career when he's opted to take risks -- have been wildly viewable. What he did to Arturo Gatti in 2005 was about the most watchable shellacking imaginable. What he did to Diego Corrales in 2001 was a dream of both boxing purists and even some fans who only want to see knockouts. It's boils down to this: When Mayweather wants to win easy, he does, and fans are more likely to go to sleep than his opponent. When he wants to make it a little harder on himself, he at least creates the impression that his opponent has a chance, and he often wins by a far more aesthetically appealing landslide. Against Hatton, Mayweather has pledged to stand in front of him and trade blows, but we've heard that from Mayweather before only to be left wanting. Yet, given his advantages over Hatton, I see no reason he couldn't take the latter approach and still win.
How Hatton choses to fight. Hatton, too, has alternated between being fun to watch and being abysmal. When he's at his best -- as he was in 2005, when he was the Ring Magazine fighter of the year for conquering Kostya Tszyu and Carlos Maussa -- he's all out energy and commotion. Even the best version of Hatton is a little too prone to wrestling and fouling, but it's better than the lesser version of Hatton, the one who throws one punch, then grabs and holds his opponent so he doesn't get hit. Anyone who could watch his "hook and hold" approach to scoring a clear victory in the eyes of the judges this year over Juan Urango is a far more patient and tolerant boxing fan than I. If there's good news here, it's that in his biggest fights, Hatton has usually put on his most entertaining displays. When Hatton beat Jose Luis Castillo in May, he was plenty watchable. Hatton seems to take some pride in pleasing fans, so I would expect Hatton will try to put on a good show. Mayweather, by contrast, performed on the biggest stage of his career against Oscar De La Hoya this year and showed little interest in looking good doing it, perhaps because De La Hoya was significantly bigger than him and he wanted to minimize the chance of getting knocked out. I'm not sure which version of Hatton stands a better chance of actually beating Mayweather, though.
The referee. Yes, that's right, the referee. Hatton has benefited frequently from permissive referees who let him foul, wrestle and generally maul has opponent in ways that aren't quite legal. It's legal to hold, for example; it's not legal to hold excessively, as Hatton often has. A referee who cracks down on some of Hatton's antics will multiply Mayweather's chances of winning and take away a significant chunk of Hatton's. Getting held and pushed around saps a fighter's energy. Getting hit below the belt does the same. With speedy, light on their feet types like Mayweather, the best hope of victory is to drain them of the energy they need for optimal movement, making them more hittable. Ideally, the referee won't err too far in either direction -- letting Hatton get away with too much, or implementing a zero tolerance policy. Letting Hatton run free would taint the fight with too much foul play. Getting fascist about it would rob Hatton of opportunities to win, and unfairly swing the fight too far in Mayweather's direction.
Mayweather's conditioning and brittle hands. Mayweather, in addition to his stratospheric talent, has shown a devotion to preparation that has him training into all hours of the evening. He stays at around his fight weight year-round, a rare trait for any fighter, which means he never has to be worried about shedding pounds quickly, which can be draining come fight night. But Mayweather is coming off a run on the TV show "Dancing With The Stars," which every past participant has said requires hard work that was intense beyond what they could imagine. Mayweather already trains so intensely that the combination of the show and training camp could leave him "overtrained," which also tends to leave fighters with a deficit of energy come fight night. This probably is a minimal worry, but it's something to consider. More worrying is Mayweather's tendency to break or otherwise injure his hands during fights. When he has suffered such an injury, he usually goes into "win easy" mode. That hand injury tendency has never put him in much jeopardy before, but against a world class fighter -- and lest we forget, that's what Hatton is -- it could be dangerous.
Hatton's conditioning and tendency to get cut. Hatton is on the extreme opposite end of the ledger when it comes to between-fight discipline. He often swells up some 40 lbs. in weight when he's not preparing for his next payday, leading to a lot of self-deprecating "Ricky Fatton" jokes. In the ring, this habit has resulted in some problems. For instance: Fighters who have to lose major weight between fights tend not to take body punches very well. Against Urango this year, Hatton was doing some pretty work in the ring early, at least until Urango nailed him with a major body shot that clearly hurt him. To win, Hatton felt compelled after that to go into "hook and hold" mode. Mayweather isn't a slouch when it comes to body punching. Despite his weight issues, Hatton has shown a knack for getting stronger as the fight goes on, which is a pretty remarkable tribute to his own training regimen. Punches to the face present a whole different dilemma for Hatton. Early in his career, particularly, Hatton suffered any number of cuts. A bad enough gash will lead a referee to stop the fight, and, given the rules of boxing on the result of such a stoppage, depending on what round he stops it in and whether the cut is the result of a punch as opposed to a head butt or elbow, a cut Hatton could equal a defeated Hatton. Not long ago, Hatton had some plastic surgery that reduced his tendency to cut, but this could become a factor again.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Taking On The Ring 100
I'm a sucker for subjective lists. Every time VH1 airs one of its endless lists -- top 100 one-hit wonders, top 100 heavy metal bands -- I rail against its injustices. The Pixies are the 81st best "hard rock band" ever, while Living Colour is the 70th? Screw you, VH1. But I can't stop watching them. Therefore, I = sucker.
As lists go, I'm in substantial agreement with The Ring's annual enumeration of the 100 best fighters, published in the January issue but compiled in September. Theirs is a subjective account, like so many others, of the best active "pound for pound" boxers -- that is, who's best/most accomplished regardless of what weight class they fight in.
My substantial agreement aside, there are two howlers on the list.
Vladimir Klitschko is ranked 55th. Nuh-uh, no they di-int. I'm by no means a Klitschko loyalist. But Klitschko looks to be the best heavyweight by a country mile, with only Sam Peter in shouting distance. And Peter lost in 2005 to the version of Klitschko whose confidence was in the dumpster and was far more mentally fragile than the Klitschko who is fighting now, while Peter looked shaky in his most recent outing. This Klitschko is very, very good, if flawed -- I suspect he's one really nasty punch away from wondering whether he will get knocked out and fighting scared again. But no matter. He's top-25 "pound for pound" material on a great many lists. A recent poll of top boxing writers at Yahoo! Sports won him enough votes for top-10 status that he placed, in effect, 13th. Yeah, 55 is way too low.
Another big man, Jean-Marc Mormeck, gets ranked at just 48th, another robbery. Now, granted, Mormeck just lost his cruiserweight (200 lbs.) crown this month to David Haye. But this list was compiled well before that defeat. Prior to that in 2007, he'd avenged his loss to O'Neil Bell, ranked 40th last year, to resume his reign as Ring Magazine's official 200-pound champ. And prior to that, he'd whooped the cream of the cruiserweight division. I'm not sure if Mormeck cracks the top 25 on my list, but he's significantly higher than 48th.
My complaints would be totally lame unless I suggested moving someone down. I can name a few. My first nominee is Nobuo Nashiro, ranked 42nd. The junior bantamweight (115 lbs.) is a mere 9-1, with his only significant victory coming via upset over Martin Castillo this year. That's a very nice win, but the next time Nashiro faced a high-caliber opponent, he lost to Alexander Munoz. So how is this guy better than Mormeck, let alone Klitschko, both of whom stood atop their respective divisions when the magazine went to print and both of whom are significantly more accomplished (26-2-1 and 49-3, respectively) over their careers and have proven themselves more than once against top competition? Want another? How about Zsolt Erdei, ranked 43rd? The light heavyweight (175 lbs.) titlist defeated absolute nobodies since last year, yet he moved up in the mag's rankings from 49th. Even Ring acknowledged that he fought nobodies. So far as I can tell, Erdei only has one good win in his career, too.
The discrepancy may be a result of Ring's explanation that its rankings incorporate "perceived potential" as one measure. "So a semi-unproven fighter with a tantalizing upside may get the nod over a proven veteran whose limits have already been established." That's fine to consider, but I don't think it much applies to picking Nashiro and Erdei over Klitschko and Mormeck. How can anyone assess the perceived potential of Nashiro after just 10 fights with one good win and one loss against proven opponents? The magazine even concedes that: "Hard to say how good he really is after going 1-1 against Castillo and Munoz, and at 25, hard to say how good the Japanese fighter can be." I'm not knocking the kid, I'm just saying nobody, not even The Ring, has a feel for whether he's really good or not. And amazingly, they ranked him 37th last year. Meanwhile, Erdei "gets points for consistency," because he's successfully defended the WBO's title belt eight straight times, according to The Ring. Which is weird, because Erdei's mediocre title reign seems to me like an indictment of the very "alphabet soup" belt system which The Ring is in mortal combat against. There's not even any mention of Erdei's "perceived potential."
Still, when the standard is "perceived potential" versus "established limits," Klitschko and Mormeck rank pretty well. Both have navigated their faults to the top of their respective divisions, with Klitschko the consensus best heavyweight and Mormeck having twice taken the cruiserweight crown. Would that everyone's limits be "best in class." Apparently, though, their most established limits are in The Ring 100.
Next I will take on this totally bogus list about why I should buy a University of Waterloo Food Services Meal Plan.
As lists go, I'm in substantial agreement with The Ring's annual enumeration of the 100 best fighters, published in the January issue but compiled in September. Theirs is a subjective account, like so many others, of the best active "pound for pound" boxers -- that is, who's best/most accomplished regardless of what weight class they fight in.
My substantial agreement aside, there are two howlers on the list.
Vladimir Klitschko is ranked 55th. Nuh-uh, no they di-int. I'm by no means a Klitschko loyalist. But Klitschko looks to be the best heavyweight by a country mile, with only Sam Peter in shouting distance. And Peter lost in 2005 to the version of Klitschko whose confidence was in the dumpster and was far more mentally fragile than the Klitschko who is fighting now, while Peter looked shaky in his most recent outing. This Klitschko is very, very good, if flawed -- I suspect he's one really nasty punch away from wondering whether he will get knocked out and fighting scared again. But no matter. He's top-25 "pound for pound" material on a great many lists. A recent poll of top boxing writers at Yahoo! Sports won him enough votes for top-10 status that he placed, in effect, 13th. Yeah, 55 is way too low.
Another big man, Jean-Marc Mormeck, gets ranked at just 48th, another robbery. Now, granted, Mormeck just lost his cruiserweight (200 lbs.) crown this month to David Haye. But this list was compiled well before that defeat. Prior to that in 2007, he'd avenged his loss to O'Neil Bell, ranked 40th last year, to resume his reign as Ring Magazine's official 200-pound champ. And prior to that, he'd whooped the cream of the cruiserweight division. I'm not sure if Mormeck cracks the top 25 on my list, but he's significantly higher than 48th.
My complaints would be totally lame unless I suggested moving someone down. I can name a few. My first nominee is Nobuo Nashiro, ranked 42nd. The junior bantamweight (115 lbs.) is a mere 9-1, with his only significant victory coming via upset over Martin Castillo this year. That's a very nice win, but the next time Nashiro faced a high-caliber opponent, he lost to Alexander Munoz. So how is this guy better than Mormeck, let alone Klitschko, both of whom stood atop their respective divisions when the magazine went to print and both of whom are significantly more accomplished (26-2-1 and 49-3, respectively) over their careers and have proven themselves more than once against top competition? Want another? How about Zsolt Erdei, ranked 43rd? The light heavyweight (175 lbs.) titlist defeated absolute nobodies since last year, yet he moved up in the mag's rankings from 49th. Even Ring acknowledged that he fought nobodies. So far as I can tell, Erdei only has one good win in his career, too.
The discrepancy may be a result of Ring's explanation that its rankings incorporate "perceived potential" as one measure. "So a semi-unproven fighter with a tantalizing upside may get the nod over a proven veteran whose limits have already been established." That's fine to consider, but I don't think it much applies to picking Nashiro and Erdei over Klitschko and Mormeck. How can anyone assess the perceived potential of Nashiro after just 10 fights with one good win and one loss against proven opponents? The magazine even concedes that: "Hard to say how good he really is after going 1-1 against Castillo and Munoz, and at 25, hard to say how good the Japanese fighter can be." I'm not knocking the kid, I'm just saying nobody, not even The Ring, has a feel for whether he's really good or not. And amazingly, they ranked him 37th last year. Meanwhile, Erdei "gets points for consistency," because he's successfully defended the WBO's title belt eight straight times, according to The Ring. Which is weird, because Erdei's mediocre title reign seems to me like an indictment of the very "alphabet soup" belt system which The Ring is in mortal combat against. There's not even any mention of Erdei's "perceived potential."
Still, when the standard is "perceived potential" versus "established limits," Klitschko and Mormeck rank pretty well. Both have navigated their faults to the top of their respective divisions, with Klitschko the consensus best heavyweight and Mormeck having twice taken the cruiserweight crown. Would that everyone's limits be "best in class." Apparently, though, their most established limits are in The Ring 100.
Next I will take on this totally bogus list about why I should buy a University of Waterloo Food Services Meal Plan.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Grading The Divisions
Aficionados of other sports -- the NFL, college basketball -- regularly rank which conference or which division is best. Contrary to the general public's belief, there are divisions in boxing other than heavyweight, so I thought I'd give this grading thing a try for the sweet science.
It's a timely endeavor: This week is bookended by mega-fights in boxing's best division, the welterweights (147 lbs.), and perhaps the sport's second-best division, the super middleweights (168 lbs). As good as this past Saturday's super middleweight bash featuring Joe Calzaghe and Mikkel Kessler was, the upcoming Saturday welterweight bash between Miguel Cotto and Shane Mosley should be even better. But the super middleweights bolstered their case Tuesday night when "The Contender" finale produced a legitimate fight of the year candidate.
My criteria in ranking those two divisions and all the rest: How many truly good fighters are in the division? Where are the best potential match-ups? Are those potential match-ups coming to fruition or likely to come to fruition? How many of each division's boxers are stars with big names, deserving or no? How good is the division now compared to its history?
If there's a flaw in this list -- OK, there might be many, but if there's a flaw I see fit to note -- it's that it's nearly impossible to get a look at some of the lowest of the low weight divisions, since they aren't often featured on television in the U.S. So, I may be missing some of the evidence required to accurately assess them. But given that one of my measures is the number of big names, and there are few truly big names at strawweight, I think I'm doing this as fairly as it can be done.
WELTERWEIGHTS (147 lbs.)
Now: A+
Welterweight is home to the sport's biggest superstar, Oscar De La Hoya; its best all-around fighter and a crossover star in his own right, Floyd Mayweather, Jr.; the fastest rising commodity in boxing, Cotto; 2005 Ring Magazine fighter of the year and British national hero Ricky Hatton, who's moving up from junior welterweight to fight Mayweather Dec. 8; and another well-established boxing superstar in Shane Mosley. How's that for starters? Then there are potential superstars in Kermit Cintron and Paul Williams; formidable former division champs Zab Judah and Antonio Margarito; ascending youngsters Andre Berto, Victor Ortiz, Alfonso Gomez and Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr.; and tough contenders Luis Collazo and Josh Clottey.
Future: A+
All of them are fighting each other already, but the mathematical possibilities for marquee fights over the next year or two are mind-boggling -- Mayweather-Mosley, anyone? How about De La Hoya-Cotto? Even if some of the division's best move up or down in weight soon, there's enough young blood to replenish the welterweight ranks.
SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT (168 lbs.)
Now: A
Kessler, whose stock should not be much diminished for fighting valiantly in a loss to Calzaghe, is still here. Big name middleweights Kelly Pavlik and Jermain Taylor are technically fighting a rematch next year of their dramatic first clash at super middleweight, since the contracted catch-weight of 166 lbs. is above middleweight. For one night later in November, the division will host Fernando Vargas, one of the most popular fighters of his era, and his opponent, flamboyant Ricardo Mayorga. A slew of contestants from this season of "The Contender" will soon flood the division with popular names. Lucian Bute is making waves in Canada and may be ready for tougher assignments, while mouthy power-punchers Edison Miranda -- slated for superstardom by HBO before Pavlik derailed the plan, but still entertaining -- and Jean Pascal could soon fight one another. And don't forget Jeff Lacy, on the comeback trail to stardom, popular ex-"Contender" contestant Peter Manfredo Jr., and the talented Allan Green.
Future: A
Losing Calzaghe to the light heavyweights will hurt the division's star power, but there's plenty left to like here for the next couple years, especially if Pavlik and and Taylor put down stakes soon after their rematch.
JUNIOR FEATHERWEIGHTS (122 lbs.)
Now: A-
Pound-for-pound brawlers Rafael Marquez and Israel Vasquez have lifted the division with two straight all-action slugfests against each other, and both are strong nominees for 2007 fight of the year. Knockout artist Daniel Ponce De Leon is an HBO favorite, and lower-profile Steve Molitor and Celistino Caballero would be tough outs for anyone.
Future: B
Marquez and Vasquez will fight once more in 2008, but Vasquez will probably leave for higher weight classes thereafter, and Marquez may be nearing the end of his career. Still, gifted young Juan Manuel Lopez may be boxing's best prospect, and green power-punching Rey Bautista will likely rebound from a tough KO loss to Ponce De Leon. Then rugged veterans Gerry Penalosa and Jhonny Gonzalez will likely step up from bantamweight, Penalosa for a rematch with De Leon, and Gonzalez because he can't make 118 lbs. anymore.
LIGHTWEIGHTS (135 lbs.)
Now: B+
The entertaining and engaging Juan Diaz holds all the straps here, and he could be a big ticket-seller sooner rather than later. Joel Casamayor may not be the most likable or watchable fighter out there, but he's one of boxing's underrated best. Hit-and-get-hit Michael Katsidis is making a bid to replace Arturo Gatti as his generation's "Human Highlight Film." The division's other two Diazes, David and Julio, are still in the mix, with David being popular in Chicago and Julio looking to rebound from his defeat by Diaz. And the talented Nate Campbell is lurking here, too.
Future: A
Casamayor is getting long in the tooth, but most of the other division talent is in its prime or very young. If Filipino sensation Manny Pacquiao moves up soon from 130 lbs., and he will eventually no matter what, watch out. And British prospect Amir Khan is on the verge of becoming a contender.
JUNIOR LIGHTWEIGHTS (130 lbs.)
Now: B
Two of the world's pound for pound best, Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, lace up their gloves at junior lightweight, at least for now. Later this month, lesser-known but fan-friendly Joan Guzman and Humberto Soto will engage in one of the year's most promising fights. Cult favorite Edwin Valero is a contender for the hardest-hitting boxer in the sport.
Future: B+
That's assuming Pacquiao stays for another year to take on the likes of Valero or the winner of Guzman-Soto. If not, it's a C. And with Marquez nearing retirement, and Valero confined by medical problems to fighting outside the United States, there will be difficulties in cementing junior lightweight as an elite division. The rise of Anthony Peterson could help, though.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT (175 lbs.)
Now: B
Bernard Hopkins just keeps chugging along down the path of greatness, ignoring Father Time. Calzaghe, coming off his win over Kessler, is the kind of fighter who can draw 50,000 Brits to a stadium and Wales, and now he's on the verge of conquering America. A faded -- but still somewhat popular -- Roy Jones, Jr. will soon square off against fellow all-time great Felix Trinidad at a fight that's technically a light heavweight battle at the catch-weight of 170 lbs. Chad Dawson is among the best younger fighters there is, and he's plenty fun to watch, too. Proven veterans Antonio Tarver, Glen Johnson and Clinton Woods are still around, each popular to some degree or another.
Future: C
Outside of Dawson, it doesn't look very good after early 2008. It's a severely aging light heavyweight division. But if promoter Gary Shaw pulls off his audacious reported plan for a mini-tournament featuring Dawson, Johnson, Tarver and the winner of a super middleweight fight between Lacy and Manfredo, it looks much better.
JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHT (140 lbs.)
Now: B-
A year or two ago, junior welterweight was the hottest division of all. Mayweather, Cotto and others went up to welterweight, but the division has reloaded quickly. Some of the division's best have been fighting each other,, and will continue to -- crafty Junior Witter defeated lanky, powerful Vivian Harris in September; KO specialist Ricardo Torres controversially defeated slick Kendall Holt the same month; charismatic Paulie Malignaggi is the most captivating feather-fisted boxer around, and he's defending his title against the game Herman Ngoudjo early in 2008.
Future: B+
Some of the best junior welterweights are only beginning to make a name for themselves. It doesn't look like division champ Ricky Hatton will be returning anytime soon from his adventure at welterweight, which hurts some.
CRUISERWEIGHTS (200 lbs.)
Now: C+
Too many people forget about the cruiserweights, but there have been some great battles there in the last year or two. Another is coming up Saturday, when two vulnerable brawlers in Jean-Marc Mormeck and David Haye face one another. Darnell Wilson may have scored the knockout of the year for 2007. The names may be unfamiliar to some, but hardcore fans know that O'Neil Bell, Steve Cunningham, Enzo Maccarinelli are pretty legit fighters, and Tomasz Adamek has a chance of making some noise here after leaving the light heavyweight ranks.
Future: C-
Age and departures could soon diminish the cache that the cruiserweights have built up of late, with Bell and Haye both flirting with heavyweight, and with Mormeck having gone through a lot of wars at 35. Still, Maccarinelli's best days are probably ahead of him, prospect Matt Godfrey has a chance of breaking through soon and there is a chance someone like Dawson could move up to cruiserweight from light heavyweight. Chris Byrd may move down from heavyweight, but he's getting old and may not stay for long.
FEATHERWEIGHTS (126 lbs.)
Now: C
There are some good fighters here -- Robert Guerrero has put some of his troubles behind him, Olympian power puncher Rocky Juarez is returning after some misadventures at 130 lbs. -- but arguably the best, Chris John, is difficult to lure away from his home in Indonesia.
Future: B-
Jorge Linares is impressive, and Vasquez and others could soon move up from junior featherweight.
MIDDLEWEIGHTS (160 lbs.)
Now: C
If you take away Taylor and Pavlik -- and Taylor looks like he's gone for sure now, while Pavlik may return after he and Taylor rematch at 166 lbs. -- there's a big drop off at middleweight. Sure, Winky Wright is still one of the toughest outs in boxing. And Arthur Abraham is pretty good. Let's assume Pavlik comes back for a little while; otherwise, the middleweight ranks are getting awfully thin.
Potential: D-
Pavlik is leaving sooner or later, and Wright's nearing the end of the road. Causes for hope -- um, Andy Lee is a great prospect...?
JUNIOR BANTAMWEIGHTS (115 lbs.)
Now: C-
Junior bantamweight is a deep division, if not one loaded with amazing pound-for-pound fighters. Jorge Arce is the biggest star, but Martin Castillo, Fernando Montiel, Cristian Mijares and others are for real.
Future: B-
An Arce-Castillo fight would be pretty big, and Mijares, Arce's recent conqueror, is young and promising. Vic Darchinyan and Nonito Donaire may soon make a permanent home at junior bantamweight.
HEAVYWEIGHTS (unlimited)
Now: C-
There's probably only one truly good heavyweight who could stand up against those in previous eras, Vitali Klitschko, but he's also flawed. The rest are flawed-to-deeply-flawed. But, give them credit -- at least they're all finally fighting each other, for the most part. The IBF's tournament, the likely unification fight between Klitschko and Sultan Ibragimov and a few other developments are positive.
Future: D+
There are a number of good, young heavyweights -- Sam Peter, Chris Arreola, Eddie Chambers, Alexander Povetkin -- but are any of them significantly better than the reigning crop? The magic eightball says "probably not."
JUNIOR FLYWEIGHTS (108 lbs.)
Now: D+
Ivan Calderon, boxing's best tiny warrior, finally moved up to 108 and knocked off Hugo Cazares. Ulises Solis had an amazing knockout recently. Brian Viloria and Omar Nino had a close, enjoyable fight. But it's hard for boxers this little to captivate the public.
Future: D+
Calderon looks like he's going to make his home here for a while, and may rematch with Cazares.
JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHT (154 lbs.)
Now: D
Boring-but-good Cory Spinks is probably the best at 154 lbs. Vernon Forrest might be, and performed well against Carlos Baldomir this year, but he's been too injury prone to sustain excellence. There are some fighters on the borderline, like Joachim Alcine and Roman Karmazin, but they've not captured much of anyone's attention.
Future: B
Actually, the future's quite good. Top prospects Joel Julio and James Kirkland have demonstrable fan appeal, and it's only a matter of time until giant-sized welterweights Cintron and Williams move up to the division.
FLYWEIGHTS (112 lbs.)
Now: D-
Donaire, a flyweight, scored the other major contender for KO of the year when he decked Darchinyan. Still, Darchinyan remains a draw for fans, and there are few other decent names here.
Future: D-
Donaire and Darchinyan -- Darchinyan in particular -- may not last much longer at flyweight. Darchinyan's already had one fight a division higher.
BANTAMWEIGHTS (118 lbs.)
Now: D-
Good luck naming many bantamweights besides Penalosa, who will depart as soon as De Leon agrees to a rematch, and Gonzalez, who's already announced his intentions to leave.
Future: D-
Good luck naming anyone on the bench, either.
STRAWWEIGHTS (105 lbs.)
Now: D-
With Calderon gone from a division he thoroughly dominated, there's very little left.
Future: D-
I can't even imagine it.
I'm on a math joke hot streak.
It's a timely endeavor: This week is bookended by mega-fights in boxing's best division, the welterweights (147 lbs.), and perhaps the sport's second-best division, the super middleweights (168 lbs). As good as this past Saturday's super middleweight bash featuring Joe Calzaghe and Mikkel Kessler was, the upcoming Saturday welterweight bash between Miguel Cotto and Shane Mosley should be even better. But the super middleweights bolstered their case Tuesday night when "The Contender" finale produced a legitimate fight of the year candidate.
My criteria in ranking those two divisions and all the rest: How many truly good fighters are in the division? Where are the best potential match-ups? Are those potential match-ups coming to fruition or likely to come to fruition? How many of each division's boxers are stars with big names, deserving or no? How good is the division now compared to its history?
If there's a flaw in this list -- OK, there might be many, but if there's a flaw I see fit to note -- it's that it's nearly impossible to get a look at some of the lowest of the low weight divisions, since they aren't often featured on television in the U.S. So, I may be missing some of the evidence required to accurately assess them. But given that one of my measures is the number of big names, and there are few truly big names at strawweight, I think I'm doing this as fairly as it can be done.
WELTERWEIGHTS (147 lbs.)
Now: A+
Welterweight is home to the sport's biggest superstar, Oscar De La Hoya; its best all-around fighter and a crossover star in his own right, Floyd Mayweather, Jr.; the fastest rising commodity in boxing, Cotto; 2005 Ring Magazine fighter of the year and British national hero Ricky Hatton, who's moving up from junior welterweight to fight Mayweather Dec. 8; and another well-established boxing superstar in Shane Mosley. How's that for starters? Then there are potential superstars in Kermit Cintron and Paul Williams; formidable former division champs Zab Judah and Antonio Margarito; ascending youngsters Andre Berto, Victor Ortiz, Alfonso Gomez and Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr.; and tough contenders Luis Collazo and Josh Clottey.
Future: A+
All of them are fighting each other already, but the mathematical possibilities for marquee fights over the next year or two are mind-boggling -- Mayweather-Mosley, anyone? How about De La Hoya-Cotto? Even if some of the division's best move up or down in weight soon, there's enough young blood to replenish the welterweight ranks.
SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT (168 lbs.)
Now: A
Kessler, whose stock should not be much diminished for fighting valiantly in a loss to Calzaghe, is still here. Big name middleweights Kelly Pavlik and Jermain Taylor are technically fighting a rematch next year of their dramatic first clash at super middleweight, since the contracted catch-weight of 166 lbs. is above middleweight. For one night later in November, the division will host Fernando Vargas, one of the most popular fighters of his era, and his opponent, flamboyant Ricardo Mayorga. A slew of contestants from this season of "The Contender" will soon flood the division with popular names. Lucian Bute is making waves in Canada and may be ready for tougher assignments, while mouthy power-punchers Edison Miranda -- slated for superstardom by HBO before Pavlik derailed the plan, but still entertaining -- and Jean Pascal could soon fight one another. And don't forget Jeff Lacy, on the comeback trail to stardom, popular ex-"Contender" contestant Peter Manfredo Jr., and the talented Allan Green.
Future: A
Losing Calzaghe to the light heavyweights will hurt the division's star power, but there's plenty left to like here for the next couple years, especially if Pavlik and and Taylor put down stakes soon after their rematch.
JUNIOR FEATHERWEIGHTS (122 lbs.)
Now: A-
Pound-for-pound brawlers Rafael Marquez and Israel Vasquez have lifted the division with two straight all-action slugfests against each other, and both are strong nominees for 2007 fight of the year. Knockout artist Daniel Ponce De Leon is an HBO favorite, and lower-profile Steve Molitor and Celistino Caballero would be tough outs for anyone.
Future: B
Marquez and Vasquez will fight once more in 2008, but Vasquez will probably leave for higher weight classes thereafter, and Marquez may be nearing the end of his career. Still, gifted young Juan Manuel Lopez may be boxing's best prospect, and green power-punching Rey Bautista will likely rebound from a tough KO loss to Ponce De Leon. Then rugged veterans Gerry Penalosa and Jhonny Gonzalez will likely step up from bantamweight, Penalosa for a rematch with De Leon, and Gonzalez because he can't make 118 lbs. anymore.
LIGHTWEIGHTS (135 lbs.)
Now: B+
The entertaining and engaging Juan Diaz holds all the straps here, and he could be a big ticket-seller sooner rather than later. Joel Casamayor may not be the most likable or watchable fighter out there, but he's one of boxing's underrated best. Hit-and-get-hit Michael Katsidis is making a bid to replace Arturo Gatti as his generation's "Human Highlight Film." The division's other two Diazes, David and Julio, are still in the mix, with David being popular in Chicago and Julio looking to rebound from his defeat by Diaz. And the talented Nate Campbell is lurking here, too.
Future: A
Casamayor is getting long in the tooth, but most of the other division talent is in its prime or very young. If Filipino sensation Manny Pacquiao moves up soon from 130 lbs., and he will eventually no matter what, watch out. And British prospect Amir Khan is on the verge of becoming a contender.
JUNIOR LIGHTWEIGHTS (130 lbs.)
Now: B
Two of the world's pound for pound best, Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, lace up their gloves at junior lightweight, at least for now. Later this month, lesser-known but fan-friendly Joan Guzman and Humberto Soto will engage in one of the year's most promising fights. Cult favorite Edwin Valero is a contender for the hardest-hitting boxer in the sport.
Future: B+
That's assuming Pacquiao stays for another year to take on the likes of Valero or the winner of Guzman-Soto. If not, it's a C. And with Marquez nearing retirement, and Valero confined by medical problems to fighting outside the United States, there will be difficulties in cementing junior lightweight as an elite division. The rise of Anthony Peterson could help, though.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT (175 lbs.)
Now: B
Bernard Hopkins just keeps chugging along down the path of greatness, ignoring Father Time. Calzaghe, coming off his win over Kessler, is the kind of fighter who can draw 50,000 Brits to a stadium and Wales, and now he's on the verge of conquering America. A faded -- but still somewhat popular -- Roy Jones, Jr. will soon square off against fellow all-time great Felix Trinidad at a fight that's technically a light heavweight battle at the catch-weight of 170 lbs. Chad Dawson is among the best younger fighters there is, and he's plenty fun to watch, too. Proven veterans Antonio Tarver, Glen Johnson and Clinton Woods are still around, each popular to some degree or another.
Future: C
Outside of Dawson, it doesn't look very good after early 2008. It's a severely aging light heavyweight division. But if promoter Gary Shaw pulls off his audacious reported plan for a mini-tournament featuring Dawson, Johnson, Tarver and the winner of a super middleweight fight between Lacy and Manfredo, it looks much better.
JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHT (140 lbs.)
Now: B-
A year or two ago, junior welterweight was the hottest division of all. Mayweather, Cotto and others went up to welterweight, but the division has reloaded quickly. Some of the division's best have been fighting each other,, and will continue to -- crafty Junior Witter defeated lanky, powerful Vivian Harris in September; KO specialist Ricardo Torres controversially defeated slick Kendall Holt the same month; charismatic Paulie Malignaggi is the most captivating feather-fisted boxer around, and he's defending his title against the game Herman Ngoudjo early in 2008.
Future: B+
Some of the best junior welterweights are only beginning to make a name for themselves. It doesn't look like division champ Ricky Hatton will be returning anytime soon from his adventure at welterweight, which hurts some.
CRUISERWEIGHTS (200 lbs.)
Now: C+
Too many people forget about the cruiserweights, but there have been some great battles there in the last year or two. Another is coming up Saturday, when two vulnerable brawlers in Jean-Marc Mormeck and David Haye face one another. Darnell Wilson may have scored the knockout of the year for 2007. The names may be unfamiliar to some, but hardcore fans know that O'Neil Bell, Steve Cunningham, Enzo Maccarinelli are pretty legit fighters, and Tomasz Adamek has a chance of making some noise here after leaving the light heavyweight ranks.
Future: C-
Age and departures could soon diminish the cache that the cruiserweights have built up of late, with Bell and Haye both flirting with heavyweight, and with Mormeck having gone through a lot of wars at 35. Still, Maccarinelli's best days are probably ahead of him, prospect Matt Godfrey has a chance of breaking through soon and there is a chance someone like Dawson could move up to cruiserweight from light heavyweight. Chris Byrd may move down from heavyweight, but he's getting old and may not stay for long.
FEATHERWEIGHTS (126 lbs.)
Now: C
There are some good fighters here -- Robert Guerrero has put some of his troubles behind him, Olympian power puncher Rocky Juarez is returning after some misadventures at 130 lbs. -- but arguably the best, Chris John, is difficult to lure away from his home in Indonesia.
Future: B-
Jorge Linares is impressive, and Vasquez and others could soon move up from junior featherweight.
MIDDLEWEIGHTS (160 lbs.)
Now: C
If you take away Taylor and Pavlik -- and Taylor looks like he's gone for sure now, while Pavlik may return after he and Taylor rematch at 166 lbs. -- there's a big drop off at middleweight. Sure, Winky Wright is still one of the toughest outs in boxing. And Arthur Abraham is pretty good. Let's assume Pavlik comes back for a little while; otherwise, the middleweight ranks are getting awfully thin.
Potential: D-
Pavlik is leaving sooner or later, and Wright's nearing the end of the road. Causes for hope -- um, Andy Lee is a great prospect...?
JUNIOR BANTAMWEIGHTS (115 lbs.)
Now: C-
Junior bantamweight is a deep division, if not one loaded with amazing pound-for-pound fighters. Jorge Arce is the biggest star, but Martin Castillo, Fernando Montiel, Cristian Mijares and others are for real.
Future: B-
An Arce-Castillo fight would be pretty big, and Mijares, Arce's recent conqueror, is young and promising. Vic Darchinyan and Nonito Donaire may soon make a permanent home at junior bantamweight.
HEAVYWEIGHTS (unlimited)
Now: C-
There's probably only one truly good heavyweight who could stand up against those in previous eras, Vitali Klitschko, but he's also flawed. The rest are flawed-to-deeply-flawed. But, give them credit -- at least they're all finally fighting each other, for the most part. The IBF's tournament, the likely unification fight between Klitschko and Sultan Ibragimov and a few other developments are positive.
Future: D+
There are a number of good, young heavyweights -- Sam Peter, Chris Arreola, Eddie Chambers, Alexander Povetkin -- but are any of them significantly better than the reigning crop? The magic eightball says "probably not."
JUNIOR FLYWEIGHTS (108 lbs.)
Now: D+
Ivan Calderon, boxing's best tiny warrior, finally moved up to 108 and knocked off Hugo Cazares. Ulises Solis had an amazing knockout recently. Brian Viloria and Omar Nino had a close, enjoyable fight. But it's hard for boxers this little to captivate the public.
Future: D+
Calderon looks like he's going to make his home here for a while, and may rematch with Cazares.
JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHT (154 lbs.)
Now: D
Boring-but-good Cory Spinks is probably the best at 154 lbs. Vernon Forrest might be, and performed well against Carlos Baldomir this year, but he's been too injury prone to sustain excellence. There are some fighters on the borderline, like Joachim Alcine and Roman Karmazin, but they've not captured much of anyone's attention.
Future: B
Actually, the future's quite good. Top prospects Joel Julio and James Kirkland have demonstrable fan appeal, and it's only a matter of time until giant-sized welterweights Cintron and Williams move up to the division.
FLYWEIGHTS (112 lbs.)
Now: D-
Donaire, a flyweight, scored the other major contender for KO of the year when he decked Darchinyan. Still, Darchinyan remains a draw for fans, and there are few other decent names here.
Future: D-
Donaire and Darchinyan -- Darchinyan in particular -- may not last much longer at flyweight. Darchinyan's already had one fight a division higher.
BANTAMWEIGHTS (118 lbs.)
Now: D-
Good luck naming many bantamweights besides Penalosa, who will depart as soon as De Leon agrees to a rematch, and Gonzalez, who's already announced his intentions to leave.
Future: D-
Good luck naming anyone on the bench, either.
STRAWWEIGHTS (105 lbs.)
Now: D-
With Calderon gone from a division he thoroughly dominated, there's very little left.
Future: D-
I can't even imagine it.
I'm on a math joke hot streak.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
A Fall And Winter Bumper Crop Of Fights -- Best In A Decade? -- Ranked
Having danced around the subject of this fall and winter's stellar lineup of fights -- the aforementioned lineup so good it's slated to make 2007 the best year in boxing in perhaps a decade, according to veteran boxing commentators -- it's long overdue that I go right to the heart of the matter.
If you're not a regular fan of the sport, what fights are the ones you most need to see, and why? And if you are a regular fan of the sport, how about we start a discussion about what fights YOU most want to see, and why?
Here are mine, using a subjective formula mixing potential fireworks with importance. (Full disclosure: This post is partially inspired by a similar list posted here, but the author didn't rank them as explicitly as I have.) Clearly, I'm most excited about the first fight, which I think has the chance to be truly special, but several of them have similar potential to rise above "really great" to "instant classic."
BEST OF THE BEST
#1 Shane Mosley v. Miguel Cotto
Cotto and Mosley are two of the very best in boxing's finest division, the welterweights (147 lbs.), and most think they are two of the 10 best fighters in any division regardless of weight. Style-wise, there isn't a more compelling match-up on the planet.
"Sugar" Shane Mosley is one of the handful of active fighters that the general public might have heard of, and with good reason. Mosley is not only an all-around gifted athlete -- possessing of a lethal mix of speed and power -- but he has relished every opportunity to fight the most feared guys around. He made his name toppling Oscar De La Hoya twice, both times about 20 lbs. north of the 135-pound weight class at which Mosley had become a favorite of hardcore fans. But Mosley's four losses said just as much about what he was made of as his wins. He took on Vernon Forrest, who had troubled him as an amateur, and when the style difficulties proved just as tough to surmount in the pros and Forrest penetrated Mosley's air of invincibility, he didn't hesitate to take a rematch. Not long after, Mosley opted to fight Winky Wright, not yet a superstar but notorious at this point for being avoided by everyone due to his well-named "tortoise-shell" defense that made him all but impossible to hit cleanly and almost certain to damage his opponent's marketability. He lost, but went after the rematch yet again. In both rematches, Mosley lost, but fought better. Four losses in six fights usually seals a fighter's doom in the public eye, and Mosley's career took a hit for his bravery. Since, he has climbed back into boxing's upper ranks with back-to-back knockouts of the much larger Fernando Vargas, and in a return to the welterweight division that is far more suited to his frame, he challenged and defeated a crafty southpaw named Luis Collazo. Collazo was exactly the kind of guy Mosley maybe should have avoided from a career standpoint, and yet he looked sensational in that win and in the two wins over Vargas.
Most may not have heard of Miguel Cotto, but he is on the brink of breakthrough superstardom. His last fight, against Zab Judah this summer, sold out Madison Square Garden, and beforehand, he threw out the first pitch at a Yankees game. Each maneuver suggested crossover mainstream appeal looms. Like Mosley, his popularity is deserved. His battle with Judah was a pure slugfest, with a major helping of skill, and was one of the 2007's best. Judah, once on the brink of superstardom himself before a series of misadventures inside and outside the ring, fought the best fight of his life, creating some difficult moments for Cotto. Cotto, in turn, never stopped grinding and attacking, and by the end of the battle, he had battered the faster, perhaps more powerful Judah into submission, securing Cotto an 11th round technical knockout victory. In his biggest win to date, Cotto yet again burnished his reputation as having earned one of boxing fandom's highest compliments: "Never in a bad fight." No matter how hard Cotto gets hit, no matter how many times Cotto appears on the verge of being knocked out, no matter how much they run away from him, Cotto hunts down his man and nails him with those punishing left hooks to the body.
Mosley hits fast and hard, with a decent defense and great footwork but a zeal for combat. Cotto hits harder but not as fast, with his own zeal for combat written into his strategy to thump his opponent into a pulp -- no matter his own very real risk of getting knocked out. Bouts between guys like Mosley who are boxer-punchers and guys like Cotto who are punchers with skill almost never fail to deliver excitement and strategic intrigue. Cotto is a young gun encountering his most difficult challenge for the shot at a legacy-making win; Mosley is a veteran with nothing left to prove but would like a couple more career-defining victories before retirement. For the winner? Potentially even bigger fights. (See #5.)
When and where: Nov. 10, HBO pay-per-view. I'll be buying.
#2 Joe Calzaghe v. Mikkel Kessler
Unless you live in Europe or follow boxing closely, the names "Calzaghe" and "Kessler" mean nothing to you. But they are the two best super-middleweights (168 lbs.) by a wide stretch, with Calzaghe on the verge of a history-making title defense reign. Standing in his way is Kessler, ranked lower on the subjective, so-called "pound for pound" lists of the best active fighters, but still knocking on the door of greatness. ESPN's magazine has dubbed him a potential crossover star.
Joe Calzaghe, of Wales, has a bewildering offense; he throws combinations of punches from odd angles that look like they're delivered improperly, almost similar to slaps. His 20 straight title defenses amount to the best current streak, but it was not until his 2006 meeting with Jeff Lacy, touted as a smaller heir to Mike Tyson for his fabled knockout power, that Calzaghe proved his streak was legitimate. Prone to looking vulnerable in fights against so-so competition, Calzaghe rose to the occasion against the highly-regarded Lacy, pummeling him so thoroughly that spectators feared Lacy would never be the same again.
Like Calzaghe, Mikkel Kessler had, until recently, had the aura of "protected champion" -- a fighter who has a belt but defended it against nobodies. But the Dane unified that title with a convincing knockout win over fellow belt-holder Markus Beyer, then won a brilliant, near-shutout victory over highly-ranked contender Librado Andrade. Kessler looked, in that performance, like a perfect fighting machine. He showed great offensive versatility, good defense, hard punches and everything else you could want.
Again, styles make fights, and this is a beautiful style match-up. Both men are fast, both are strong, both throw tons of combinations. It's hard to imagine this one not producing loads of action. And it is always a cause for celebration when the two best fighters in a division meet; this is regarded as the most important fight between super-middleweights since 1994. And, again, the winner here could go on to another major fight (see #3).
When and where: Nov. 3, HBO.
#3 Jermain Taylor v. Kelly Pavlik
I covered this one in my last post, so I will scrimp here, but to summarize: Jermain Taylor is the undisputed middleweight (160 lbs.) king, a major athlete and Olympian who has heart in spades to compensate for his worrisome lapses in technique and who emerged with his unbeaten record unscathed in three meetings against two all-time greats, Bernard Hopkins and Winky Wright. Kelly Pavlik is an offensive force who rolls forward without much regard to whether he gets clobbered, all in the name of landing his plentiful and hurtful blows, which worked to spectacular effect recently against fellow offensive-minded, power-punching contender Edison Miranda. Yes, I predicted Pavlik will blow out Taylor, but I'm in the minority. No matter if it is or isn't competitive, this is a fight pitting two young, talented fighters against one another -- the two best in their division -- and must be watched because of its significance and potential. Both are leaving the division after this fight, so the winner could get big names like Felix Trinidad, Bernard Hopkins, or Roy Jones, Jr. next, or perhaps the winner of Calzaghe-Kessler, unless the winner of that fight snaps up the big names for themselves.
When and where: Sept. 29, HBO.
#4 Manny Pacquiao v. Marco Antonio Barrera II
This is a rematch of Pacquiao's 2003 star-making turn against Barrera -- one of the best Mexican fighters ever in a country that has a rich boxing history -- in which Barrera suffered his most crushing defeat. There are two schools of thought here. One is that Pacquiao, having already conquered Barrera when Pacquiao wasn't as good as he is now, will steamroll Barrera, who is getting long in the tooth. Another school of thought is that Pacquiao is more distracted than ever by his dramatic life in the Philippines, where he is a transcendent figure prone to numerous business, entertainment and even political side projects, while Barrera in 2003 was going through personal strife and opted foolishly to stand toe-to-toe with a fighter stepping up in weight and who was a lesser-known betting underdog. At any rate, these are two of the best 130-pounders (junior lightweights) around, both destined for the hall-of-fame and among the best, if not the best, their respective boxing-mad countries have to offer.
Pacquiao is like a little tornado. He swarms his opponents with punches that come hard and fast, and while he was once limited to a jab-straight left combination that looked indefensible, his draw with Juan Manuel Marquez and defeat at the hands of Erik Morales demonstrated that smart boxers who knew what to expect would eventually outmaneuver a guy who has only one idea, even if it's a really great idea. Having worked to develop a greater variety of punches, Pacquiao now brings the science. Just ask Morales, who in their rematch suffered his only real knockdowns -- and two straight knockouts -- courtesy of a much-improved Pacquiao. Bar-none, Pacquiao is the most exciting fighter there is today.
Barrera once opted only to brawl, but he, too turned into an in-ring scientist. His trilogy with Morales was a brutal ballet, one of the best three-fight series in boxing history. Now a classic boxer-puncher, Barrera can win either grueling slugfests (as he did last year against dangerous youngster Rocky Juarez) or employ his tremendous boxing skills en route to victory (as he did in a rematch against Juarez). He is the premier reigning warrior of boxing now that similarly-aged fighters have retired or moved on, a guy who is ready for war every time the bell rings. If Barrera can find the right concoction of savagery and technique, he can pull the upset. Did I mention that this fight also pits two of the so-called "pound for pound" best regardless of division against one another? Pacquiao is the consensus second-best around, with Barrera a little lower on the list these days.
When and where: Oct. 6, HBO pay-per-view.
#5 Floyd Mayweather, Jr. v. Ricky Hatton
If Pacquiao is boxing's most exciting fighter, then Mayweather is its best. No one has his combination of intelligence, defense, speed, technique and reflexes, and when he decides to put on an offensive show instead of coasting to victory, it is awe-inspiring. He flaunts the diamonds he's purchased with his fight purses in a symbolic flashiness to match his boxing prowess. Hatton is another top 10 pound for pound guy, but he's on the opposite end of the scale. Hatton is a rock and roll drummer to Mayweather's virtuoso pianist. He is a man of the people in Great Britain, favoring its pubs when not training and when he's at his best in the ring, he wears people down with his energy, body punches and blue-collar work ethic.
Mayweather, who comes from a family of boxers, began his career at 130 lbs., where he won his first title at a prodigious 21 years of age. Since, he has hardly faced a moment of difficulty in the ring, usually winning every single round of every fight he's been in despite chronic hand injuries, often drawing ooos and ahhhhs from the crowd for his unique talents. (The title of this very blog comes from a remark once made about Mayweather by a boxing scribe -- "as easy as a Floyd Mayweather seven punch combo" -- referring to a repeated series of unanswered of blows Mayweather landed against Arturo Gatti that had to be seen in slow motion to appreciate the brilliance of it all. Trying to defend against the assault, Gatti was split seconds behind every punch Mayweather landed -- straight rights, left hooks, body punches, head punches, everything.) His biggest career win came this year against De La Hoya, and De La Hoya posed a rare challenge to him, perhaps in part because Mayweather was fighting at a less-than-ideal 154 lbs. (junior middleweight). Now he's back at a more comfortable 147 lbs (welterweight).
Hatton is the 140-pound (junior welterweight) king, where he made his name conquering one of the division's legends, Kostya Tszyu. Near the end of the fight, after being mauled and wrestled and crowded and shoved around by Hatton -- and also getting hit by him a whole lot -- Tszyu quit between rounds, and hasn't returned to the ring since. Hatton went on to become 2005 fighter of the year, according to Ring magazine and most everyone else, after defeating a second fellow-titleholder to secure the unofficial trophy. He has frequently looked very shaky beyond those glory days, though, with a step up to welterweight going poorly when Luis Collazo nearly defeated him. He stepped back down to 140 lbs. following that close call and finally delivered a nice performance earlier this year, knocking out a shopworn Jose Luis Castillo with a vicious body punch. Now he's about to return to welterweight for a big money battle with Mayweather.
Some expect a Mayweather blowout of Hatton, since Mayweather is prone to blanking crude guys like Hatton. I still expect Mayweather to win, but believe Hatton could give Mayweather all he can handle. After all, next to the De La Hoya fight, Mayweather's stiffest challenge came against a younger version of the Castillo that Hatton defeated, as Castillo crowded Mayweather and stayed busy against him, especially with punches to the body. That's exactly the kind of fighter Hatton is, if a somewhat less technically sound kind than Castillo was then. The winner could, or should, meet up with the winner of Mosley-Cotto. That would be a big, big fight no matter which fighter meets, given Mosley's well-known name, Cotto's ever-growing fan base, Mayweather's status as the best around and Hatton's rabid Great Britain following.
When and where: Dec. 8, HBO pay-per-view.
BEST OF THE REST
#6 Ricardo Mayorga v. Fernando Vargas
Two over-the-hill sluggers with nothing left to lose -- this is the ultra-popular Vargas' farewell bout, and Mayorga is boxing's premier villain -- are already indulging in fisticuffs and a profane-even-by-boxing standards war of words at news conferences in advance of their fight. It should be spirited when they finally get into the ring at the strange, agreed upon "catchweight" of 162 lbs. Sept. 8, Showtime pay-per-view.
#7 Juan Diaz v. Julio Diaz
Two of the 135-pound division's three belt-holding Diazes rumble in a hardcore fight fan delight to answer at least part of the question about who the best lightweight Diaz is. Young Juan is an all-action, all-the-time fighter who moonlights as a college student; Julio might be a little more of a boxer than a brawler but tends to get into brawls anyway. Oct. 13, HBO.
#8 Roy Jones, Jr. v. Felix Trinidad
Over the last decade or so, Jones and Trinidad have been two of the biggest names in boxing, and the fight that was supposed to happen about five or six years ago has finally arrived. Trinidad's coming out of retirement to meet Jones, on the comeback trail himself after a couple knockout defeats, at another "catchweight" fight at 170 lbs. Jan. 26, pay-per-view, likely Showtime.
#9 Jean-Marc Mormeck v. David Haye
Mormeck is the acknowledged cruiserweight (200 lbs.) champion, while Haye is a young contender. Both men have little to no interest in defense; both spend almost all their time trying to bludgeon their opponents. That usually makes for very entertaining fights, as long as they last. Nov. 10, MSG Network.
#10 Humberto Soto v. Joan Guzman
Soto and Guzman are both on the verge of moving into the upper echelon of the deep junior lightweight division (130 lbs.) inhabited by big names like Pacquiao, Barrera and others. Since they already are the kind of guys who like to stand in front of their man and trade blows, that incentive should add a little more sizzle. Nov. 13, HBO.
If you're not a regular fan of the sport, what fights are the ones you most need to see, and why? And if you are a regular fan of the sport, how about we start a discussion about what fights YOU most want to see, and why?
Here are mine, using a subjective formula mixing potential fireworks with importance. (Full disclosure: This post is partially inspired by a similar list posted here, but the author didn't rank them as explicitly as I have.) Clearly, I'm most excited about the first fight, which I think has the chance to be truly special, but several of them have similar potential to rise above "really great" to "instant classic."
BEST OF THE BEST
#1 Shane Mosley v. Miguel Cotto
Cotto and Mosley are two of the very best in boxing's finest division, the welterweights (147 lbs.), and most think they are two of the 10 best fighters in any division regardless of weight. Style-wise, there isn't a more compelling match-up on the planet.
"Sugar" Shane Mosley is one of the handful of active fighters that the general public might have heard of, and with good reason. Mosley is not only an all-around gifted athlete -- possessing of a lethal mix of speed and power -- but he has relished every opportunity to fight the most feared guys around. He made his name toppling Oscar De La Hoya twice, both times about 20 lbs. north of the 135-pound weight class at which Mosley had become a favorite of hardcore fans. But Mosley's four losses said just as much about what he was made of as his wins. He took on Vernon Forrest, who had troubled him as an amateur, and when the style difficulties proved just as tough to surmount in the pros and Forrest penetrated Mosley's air of invincibility, he didn't hesitate to take a rematch. Not long after, Mosley opted to fight Winky Wright, not yet a superstar but notorious at this point for being avoided by everyone due to his well-named "tortoise-shell" defense that made him all but impossible to hit cleanly and almost certain to damage his opponent's marketability. He lost, but went after the rematch yet again. In both rematches, Mosley lost, but fought better. Four losses in six fights usually seals a fighter's doom in the public eye, and Mosley's career took a hit for his bravery. Since, he has climbed back into boxing's upper ranks with back-to-back knockouts of the much larger Fernando Vargas, and in a return to the welterweight division that is far more suited to his frame, he challenged and defeated a crafty southpaw named Luis Collazo. Collazo was exactly the kind of guy Mosley maybe should have avoided from a career standpoint, and yet he looked sensational in that win and in the two wins over Vargas.
Most may not have heard of Miguel Cotto, but he is on the brink of breakthrough superstardom. His last fight, against Zab Judah this summer, sold out Madison Square Garden, and beforehand, he threw out the first pitch at a Yankees game. Each maneuver suggested crossover mainstream appeal looms. Like Mosley, his popularity is deserved. His battle with Judah was a pure slugfest, with a major helping of skill, and was one of the 2007's best. Judah, once on the brink of superstardom himself before a series of misadventures inside and outside the ring, fought the best fight of his life, creating some difficult moments for Cotto. Cotto, in turn, never stopped grinding and attacking, and by the end of the battle, he had battered the faster, perhaps more powerful Judah into submission, securing Cotto an 11th round technical knockout victory. In his biggest win to date, Cotto yet again burnished his reputation as having earned one of boxing fandom's highest compliments: "Never in a bad fight." No matter how hard Cotto gets hit, no matter how many times Cotto appears on the verge of being knocked out, no matter how much they run away from him, Cotto hunts down his man and nails him with those punishing left hooks to the body.
Mosley hits fast and hard, with a decent defense and great footwork but a zeal for combat. Cotto hits harder but not as fast, with his own zeal for combat written into his strategy to thump his opponent into a pulp -- no matter his own very real risk of getting knocked out. Bouts between guys like Mosley who are boxer-punchers and guys like Cotto who are punchers with skill almost never fail to deliver excitement and strategic intrigue. Cotto is a young gun encountering his most difficult challenge for the shot at a legacy-making win; Mosley is a veteran with nothing left to prove but would like a couple more career-defining victories before retirement. For the winner? Potentially even bigger fights. (See #5.)
When and where: Nov. 10, HBO pay-per-view. I'll be buying.
#2 Joe Calzaghe v. Mikkel Kessler
Unless you live in Europe or follow boxing closely, the names "Calzaghe" and "Kessler" mean nothing to you. But they are the two best super-middleweights (168 lbs.) by a wide stretch, with Calzaghe on the verge of a history-making title defense reign. Standing in his way is Kessler, ranked lower on the subjective, so-called "pound for pound" lists of the best active fighters, but still knocking on the door of greatness. ESPN's magazine has dubbed him a potential crossover star.
Joe Calzaghe, of Wales, has a bewildering offense; he throws combinations of punches from odd angles that look like they're delivered improperly, almost similar to slaps. His 20 straight title defenses amount to the best current streak, but it was not until his 2006 meeting with Jeff Lacy, touted as a smaller heir to Mike Tyson for his fabled knockout power, that Calzaghe proved his streak was legitimate. Prone to looking vulnerable in fights against so-so competition, Calzaghe rose to the occasion against the highly-regarded Lacy, pummeling him so thoroughly that spectators feared Lacy would never be the same again.
Like Calzaghe, Mikkel Kessler had, until recently, had the aura of "protected champion" -- a fighter who has a belt but defended it against nobodies. But the Dane unified that title with a convincing knockout win over fellow belt-holder Markus Beyer, then won a brilliant, near-shutout victory over highly-ranked contender Librado Andrade. Kessler looked, in that performance, like a perfect fighting machine. He showed great offensive versatility, good defense, hard punches and everything else you could want.
Again, styles make fights, and this is a beautiful style match-up. Both men are fast, both are strong, both throw tons of combinations. It's hard to imagine this one not producing loads of action. And it is always a cause for celebration when the two best fighters in a division meet; this is regarded as the most important fight between super-middleweights since 1994. And, again, the winner here could go on to another major fight (see #3).
When and where: Nov. 3, HBO.
#3 Jermain Taylor v. Kelly Pavlik
I covered this one in my last post, so I will scrimp here, but to summarize: Jermain Taylor is the undisputed middleweight (160 lbs.) king, a major athlete and Olympian who has heart in spades to compensate for his worrisome lapses in technique and who emerged with his unbeaten record unscathed in three meetings against two all-time greats, Bernard Hopkins and Winky Wright. Kelly Pavlik is an offensive force who rolls forward without much regard to whether he gets clobbered, all in the name of landing his plentiful and hurtful blows, which worked to spectacular effect recently against fellow offensive-minded, power-punching contender Edison Miranda. Yes, I predicted Pavlik will blow out Taylor, but I'm in the minority. No matter if it is or isn't competitive, this is a fight pitting two young, talented fighters against one another -- the two best in their division -- and must be watched because of its significance and potential. Both are leaving the division after this fight, so the winner could get big names like Felix Trinidad, Bernard Hopkins, or Roy Jones, Jr. next, or perhaps the winner of Calzaghe-Kessler, unless the winner of that fight snaps up the big names for themselves.
When and where: Sept. 29, HBO.
#4 Manny Pacquiao v. Marco Antonio Barrera II
This is a rematch of Pacquiao's 2003 star-making turn against Barrera -- one of the best Mexican fighters ever in a country that has a rich boxing history -- in which Barrera suffered his most crushing defeat. There are two schools of thought here. One is that Pacquiao, having already conquered Barrera when Pacquiao wasn't as good as he is now, will steamroll Barrera, who is getting long in the tooth. Another school of thought is that Pacquiao is more distracted than ever by his dramatic life in the Philippines, where he is a transcendent figure prone to numerous business, entertainment and even political side projects, while Barrera in 2003 was going through personal strife and opted foolishly to stand toe-to-toe with a fighter stepping up in weight and who was a lesser-known betting underdog. At any rate, these are two of the best 130-pounders (junior lightweights) around, both destined for the hall-of-fame and among the best, if not the best, their respective boxing-mad countries have to offer.
Pacquiao is like a little tornado. He swarms his opponents with punches that come hard and fast, and while he was once limited to a jab-straight left combination that looked indefensible, his draw with Juan Manuel Marquez and defeat at the hands of Erik Morales demonstrated that smart boxers who knew what to expect would eventually outmaneuver a guy who has only one idea, even if it's a really great idea. Having worked to develop a greater variety of punches, Pacquiao now brings the science. Just ask Morales, who in their rematch suffered his only real knockdowns -- and two straight knockouts -- courtesy of a much-improved Pacquiao. Bar-none, Pacquiao is the most exciting fighter there is today.
Barrera once opted only to brawl, but he, too turned into an in-ring scientist. His trilogy with Morales was a brutal ballet, one of the best three-fight series in boxing history. Now a classic boxer-puncher, Barrera can win either grueling slugfests (as he did last year against dangerous youngster Rocky Juarez) or employ his tremendous boxing skills en route to victory (as he did in a rematch against Juarez). He is the premier reigning warrior of boxing now that similarly-aged fighters have retired or moved on, a guy who is ready for war every time the bell rings. If Barrera can find the right concoction of savagery and technique, he can pull the upset. Did I mention that this fight also pits two of the so-called "pound for pound" best regardless of division against one another? Pacquiao is the consensus second-best around, with Barrera a little lower on the list these days.
When and where: Oct. 6, HBO pay-per-view.
#5 Floyd Mayweather, Jr. v. Ricky Hatton
If Pacquiao is boxing's most exciting fighter, then Mayweather is its best. No one has his combination of intelligence, defense, speed, technique and reflexes, and when he decides to put on an offensive show instead of coasting to victory, it is awe-inspiring. He flaunts the diamonds he's purchased with his fight purses in a symbolic flashiness to match his boxing prowess. Hatton is another top 10 pound for pound guy, but he's on the opposite end of the scale. Hatton is a rock and roll drummer to Mayweather's virtuoso pianist. He is a man of the people in Great Britain, favoring its pubs when not training and when he's at his best in the ring, he wears people down with his energy, body punches and blue-collar work ethic.
Mayweather, who comes from a family of boxers, began his career at 130 lbs., where he won his first title at a prodigious 21 years of age. Since, he has hardly faced a moment of difficulty in the ring, usually winning every single round of every fight he's been in despite chronic hand injuries, often drawing ooos and ahhhhs from the crowd for his unique talents. (The title of this very blog comes from a remark once made about Mayweather by a boxing scribe -- "as easy as a Floyd Mayweather seven punch combo" -- referring to a repeated series of unanswered of blows Mayweather landed against Arturo Gatti that had to be seen in slow motion to appreciate the brilliance of it all. Trying to defend against the assault, Gatti was split seconds behind every punch Mayweather landed -- straight rights, left hooks, body punches, head punches, everything.) His biggest career win came this year against De La Hoya, and De La Hoya posed a rare challenge to him, perhaps in part because Mayweather was fighting at a less-than-ideal 154 lbs. (junior middleweight). Now he's back at a more comfortable 147 lbs (welterweight).
Hatton is the 140-pound (junior welterweight) king, where he made his name conquering one of the division's legends, Kostya Tszyu. Near the end of the fight, after being mauled and wrestled and crowded and shoved around by Hatton -- and also getting hit by him a whole lot -- Tszyu quit between rounds, and hasn't returned to the ring since. Hatton went on to become 2005 fighter of the year, according to Ring magazine and most everyone else, after defeating a second fellow-titleholder to secure the unofficial trophy. He has frequently looked very shaky beyond those glory days, though, with a step up to welterweight going poorly when Luis Collazo nearly defeated him. He stepped back down to 140 lbs. following that close call and finally delivered a nice performance earlier this year, knocking out a shopworn Jose Luis Castillo with a vicious body punch. Now he's about to return to welterweight for a big money battle with Mayweather.
Some expect a Mayweather blowout of Hatton, since Mayweather is prone to blanking crude guys like Hatton. I still expect Mayweather to win, but believe Hatton could give Mayweather all he can handle. After all, next to the De La Hoya fight, Mayweather's stiffest challenge came against a younger version of the Castillo that Hatton defeated, as Castillo crowded Mayweather and stayed busy against him, especially with punches to the body. That's exactly the kind of fighter Hatton is, if a somewhat less technically sound kind than Castillo was then. The winner could, or should, meet up with the winner of Mosley-Cotto. That would be a big, big fight no matter which fighter meets, given Mosley's well-known name, Cotto's ever-growing fan base, Mayweather's status as the best around and Hatton's rabid Great Britain following.
When and where: Dec. 8, HBO pay-per-view.
BEST OF THE REST
#6 Ricardo Mayorga v. Fernando Vargas
Two over-the-hill sluggers with nothing left to lose -- this is the ultra-popular Vargas' farewell bout, and Mayorga is boxing's premier villain -- are already indulging in fisticuffs and a profane-even-by-boxing standards war of words at news conferences in advance of their fight. It should be spirited when they finally get into the ring at the strange, agreed upon "catchweight" of 162 lbs. Sept. 8, Showtime pay-per-view.
#7 Juan Diaz v. Julio Diaz
Two of the 135-pound division's three belt-holding Diazes rumble in a hardcore fight fan delight to answer at least part of the question about who the best lightweight Diaz is. Young Juan is an all-action, all-the-time fighter who moonlights as a college student; Julio might be a little more of a boxer than a brawler but tends to get into brawls anyway. Oct. 13, HBO.
#8 Roy Jones, Jr. v. Felix Trinidad
Over the last decade or so, Jones and Trinidad have been two of the biggest names in boxing, and the fight that was supposed to happen about five or six years ago has finally arrived. Trinidad's coming out of retirement to meet Jones, on the comeback trail himself after a couple knockout defeats, at another "catchweight" fight at 170 lbs. Jan. 26, pay-per-view, likely Showtime.
#9 Jean-Marc Mormeck v. David Haye
Mormeck is the acknowledged cruiserweight (200 lbs.) champion, while Haye is a young contender. Both men have little to no interest in defense; both spend almost all their time trying to bludgeon their opponents. That usually makes for very entertaining fights, as long as they last. Nov. 10, MSG Network.
#10 Humberto Soto v. Joan Guzman
Soto and Guzman are both on the verge of moving into the upper echelon of the deep junior lightweight division (130 lbs.) inhabited by big names like Pacquiao, Barrera and others. Since they already are the kind of guys who like to stand in front of their man and trade blows, that incentive should add a little more sizzle. Nov. 13, HBO.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Boxing Nicknames: The Final Frontier
Not long ago, I noticed basketball players didn't have as many nicknames as they once did, and that their overall quality has dipped. Dubbing Tracy McGrady "T-Mac" hardly accomplishes much by way of artistry, does it? Give me back Charles Barkley, aka "The Round Mound of Rebound." Boxing, for whatever faults I'm willing to concede it has in comparison to other sports, stands at the summit by itself in the category of nicknames.
Many are familiar and recycled. "Sugar," "Kid," and others are so commonplace they have lost some of their obvious appeal. While thinking about writing a post about great boxing nicknames, I noticed that others who have put together similar lists have favored either the menacing-sounding ("Iron" Mike Tyson) or the familiar (Thomas "The Hitman" Hearns, now a common nickname and not even Hearns' best nickname by my standard [That being "The Motor City Cobra"]).
For me, what makes a good nickname is creativity or strangeness. With that, I've assembled below -- in no particular order -- my 20 favorite boxing nicknames for active fighters, with commentary. The list might be better if it included fictional ones (Apollo Creed, "The Count of Monte Fisto," being the finest I stumbled across in perhaps all boxing history, real or imagined) or those affixed to former fighters (on ESPN's list, #4, Chuck "The Bayonne Bleeder" Wepner -- the real boxer Rocky Balboa is based upon -- is fantastic). But I think it's more relevant to stick to active boxers, because it proves my point: When it comes to nicknames, boxing is the sport where they truly thrive.
Andrew "Six Heads" Lewis was just one head shy of being nicknamed "The Hydra." Not too shabby, but I'm glad he didn't knock the guy out that bad. (from eaudrey.com)
Many are familiar and recycled. "Sugar," "Kid," and others are so commonplace they have lost some of their obvious appeal. While thinking about writing a post about great boxing nicknames, I noticed that others who have put together similar lists have favored either the menacing-sounding ("Iron" Mike Tyson) or the familiar (Thomas "The Hitman" Hearns, now a common nickname and not even Hearns' best nickname by my standard [That being "The Motor City Cobra"]).
For me, what makes a good nickname is creativity or strangeness. With that, I've assembled below -- in no particular order -- my 20 favorite boxing nicknames for active fighters, with commentary. The list might be better if it included fictional ones (Apollo Creed, "The Count of Monte Fisto," being the finest I stumbled across in perhaps all boxing history, real or imagined) or those affixed to former fighters (on ESPN's list, #4, Chuck "The Bayonne Bleeder" Wepner -- the real boxer Rocky Balboa is based upon -- is fantastic). But I think it's more relevant to stick to active boxers, because it proves my point: When it comes to nicknames, boxing is the sport where they truly thrive.
- Andrew "Six Heads" Lewis: Apparently, a blurry-eyed, felled opponent in the amateurs was being inspected by a ring doctor, who asked him what he saw. Looking at Lewis, he remarked that he had six heads.
- Vladimir Klitschko, "Dr. Steelhammer," and Vitali Klitschko, "Dr. Ironfist": Both brothers have doctorates, adding an awesome supervillain-like prefix to what would be pretty good nicknames in and of themselves.
- Calvin Brock, "The Boxing Banker": Keeping with the tradition of the Klitschkos, Brock has a degree in finance, thus the not-very-intimidating-sounding "Boxing Banker." Vladimir knocked out Brock a few fights back. Better work on that doctorate, Calvin.
- Darnell "Ding-A-Ling Man" Wilson: "Ding-A-Ling Man" is a favorite of both list-makers who prefer the wacky and those more serious-minded about their boxing nicknames.
- Andrew Golota, "The Foul Pole": Maybe this wouldn't count in a more regimented list, since Andrew didn't name himself that. He earned it instead by having a tendency for low blows and by being Polish.
- Nate Campbell, "The Galaxxy Warrior": Just plain science fiction silly, this one, but apparently related to a gym Nate boxed in that bore the double-X spelling of the word "galaxy."
- DeMarcus "Chop Chop" Corley: Even if his punches "chop" people down, it's entertaining that his nickname doubles as a command to a servant.
- Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao: Obviously he derives this from his last name, but I'm reminded of Marvelous Marvin Hagler hilariously telling HBO about his legendary fight with Hearns that he had decided he was going to gobble him up like Pac-Man. Hagler obliged in the interview by slowly opening his mouth wide then shutting it quickly and repeatedly while making an eating noise. I think Manny beat out "Pacman" Jones for this one, chronologically.
- Friday "The 13th" Ahunanya: It's a good thing his first name is Friday, because by itself, "The 13th" is just a non sequitur. Together? Spooooooooky.
- Owen "What The Heck?" Beck: This one has the combined advantage of rhyming and being a standalone sentence.
- Acelino "Popo" Freitas: His mother gave him the nickname as a newborn, mimicking the sound that Brazilians identify as a baby sucking on a bottle -- "popo." Fittingly, he quit his two most recent big fights because he didn't like they way they were going.
- Juan Lazcano, "The Hispanic Causing Panic": Ethnic-based nicknames are common, and vary from the good -- here, again, rhyming is a real asset -- to the awful.
- Sergio Mora, "The Latin Snake": This is not near as good as "The Hispanic Causing Panic," but the imagery is interesting.
- Brian Viloria, "The Hawaiian Punch": He's from Hawaii, and he punches for a living, so "The Hawaiian Punch" is a natural.
- Kingsley "Sharp Knuckle" Ikeke: Ouch.
- Andre Ward, "The All-Terrain Fighter": I've read that he's abandoned this one. Sad, because I enjoy picturing him fighting in quicksand, say, or on hot coals.
- Oliver McCall, "The Atomic Bull": McCall, an otherwise dangerous heavyweight, made his name with his strange in-ring breakdown against Lennox Lewis where he decided to stop fighting but refused to quit all together, instead turning his back on Lennox and crying between rounds. So "The Atomic Bull" would be good for its comic book quality, but it's all the better for the fitting match it evokes of out-of-control power.
- DaVarryl "Touch of Sleep" Williamson: When his fists touch you, you go to sleep, get it? That this somehow sounds so delicate an encounter adds a nice contrast.
- Marco Antonio Barrera, "The Baby-Faced Assassin": Baby-faced assassins are absolutely the worst kind.
Andrew "Six Heads" Lewis was just one head shy of being nicknamed "The Hydra." Not too shabby, but I'm glad he didn't knock the guy out that bad. (from eaudrey.com)
Monday, August 6, 2007
Pound For Pound
The United States Congress kept me from viewing Saturday night's clash between Rafael Marquez and Israel Vasquez, and wouldn't you know it -- it turned out to be the NEW consensus fight of the year. It's re-airing Tuesday night on Showtime, so I thought I'd preoccupy myself with something else...
You'll notice I don't have a "pound for pound" list, a prerequisite for any and all boxing publications and websites that want to give you their take on who the best fighters are regardless of weight class, from the strawweights (105 lbs.!) to some of the gigantic heavyweights (300 lbs.!). I opted against this for several reasons. First off, admittedly, it's difficult to judge. Should one just imagine all the fighters shrunk or grown to one size -- say, 160 lbs. -- and evaluate who would win? That's hardly the best way, it seems to me, because certain world-class fighters may be vulnerable to certain styles. He may beat almost every other fighter around, but lose to a second-tier fighter who just presents a bad match-up. Sure, the best fighters overcome that, but it shouldn't be the only standard. What about quality of wins? This is very important, obviously. But what if a good fighter loses a decision that most everyone thinks he won? That, too, suggests compilers of pound-for-pound lists should only consider it as a factor. All this and more is why I instead have a list of my favorite fighters -- to me, that's more interesting anyway. Which boxers do I like to watch, regardless of whether they win or lose?
That said, I've finally summoned the cojones to prepare my own list, using factors such as wins, whether X fighter would beat all the others weight being equal and a few more. I think the top three on my list are actually very clearly the three best. The remainder are people who are great fighters but their records are mixed for some reason, because of recent losses or some other neutralizer I'll describe in each individual case.
Feel free to tell me how wrong I am, of course.
TOP 10 POUND FOR POUND
KNOCKING ON THE DOOR
There are only a few other fighters I would consider for top-10 status, but you can make a case for all of the below squeezing some of the guys above out. In no particular order:
Glass Joe from the Nintendo game Mike Tyson's Punch-Out is noticeably absent from my list of the pound-for-pound best. (from smackdownmyrmid.com)
You'll notice I don't have a "pound for pound" list, a prerequisite for any and all boxing publications and websites that want to give you their take on who the best fighters are regardless of weight class, from the strawweights (105 lbs.!) to some of the gigantic heavyweights (300 lbs.!). I opted against this for several reasons. First off, admittedly, it's difficult to judge. Should one just imagine all the fighters shrunk or grown to one size -- say, 160 lbs. -- and evaluate who would win? That's hardly the best way, it seems to me, because certain world-class fighters may be vulnerable to certain styles. He may beat almost every other fighter around, but lose to a second-tier fighter who just presents a bad match-up. Sure, the best fighters overcome that, but it shouldn't be the only standard. What about quality of wins? This is very important, obviously. But what if a good fighter loses a decision that most everyone thinks he won? That, too, suggests compilers of pound-for-pound lists should only consider it as a factor. All this and more is why I instead have a list of my favorite fighters -- to me, that's more interesting anyway. Which boxers do I like to watch, regardless of whether they win or lose?
That said, I've finally summoned the cojones to prepare my own list, using factors such as wins, whether X fighter would beat all the others weight being equal and a few more. I think the top three on my list are actually very clearly the three best. The remainder are people who are great fighters but their records are mixed for some reason, because of recent losses or some other neutralizer I'll describe in each individual case.
Feel free to tell me how wrong I am, of course.
TOP 10 POUND FOR POUND
- Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (welterweight, 147) I think Floyd defeats every fighter on this list, size being even, by virtue of his physical gifts, ring intelligence and underrated willpower. His career is riddled with wins against likely hall-of-famers, and although he has taken a press beating lately for making boring fights or not fighting the best fighters available every time he steps between the ropes, he staved off a challenge from the #2 person on my list by defeating the much bigger Oscar De La Hoya in a weight class about two too high, junior middleweight (154 lbs.). Oscar's not as good as the general public probably assumes he is, but he is a top 20 fighter and even in losses against the best has comported himself well. There may be guys who could trouble Floyd with size or a difficult style, but not many.
- Manny Pacquiao. (junior lightweight, 130) Manny has deployed his whirling dervish offense against several fighters who, at the time, were considered among the best pound-for-pound. It's paid off for him. He only lost once in the sequence, to all-time Mexican great Erik Morales, but avenged that one with two knockouts against a guy in Morales who'd never in his career suffered even a clean knockdown. In something of a pattern, he also mauled all-time great Mexican Marco Antonio Barrera like he never had been before, and flattened another all-time great Mexican in Juan Manuel Marquez three times in the first round en route to a draw. With ever-improving boxing skills to match his power and energy, Pacquiao beats most everyone on this list, but his quality of wins is through the roof.
- Bernard Hopkins. (light heavweight, 175) Yes, he's old as hell. Yes, he bores me to tears. But he simply finds a way to win, no matter if his opponent is an undersized superstar like Tito Trinidad or a bigger man like Antonio Tarver, the previous light heavyweight king. His last win was against a man rated higher at the time on most pound for pound lists, Winky Wright. Think hard before you decide he couldn't beat the younger, faster, perhaps stronger Joe Calzaghe. The crafty Hopkins simply out-thinks everyone he fights.
- Juan Manuel Marquez. (junior lightweight, 130) After years of questions about his willingness to get hit and what he would do if he finally got clocked, he got hit convincingly and frequently in his amazing showdown with Pacquiao in 2004. He proved he had heart by coming back from three knockdowns to score a draw. His only blip since is a questionable loss to Chris John, versus a major win over Marco Antonio Barrera. I'm pretty sure he'd lose to Pacquiao in a rematch, but that's about the worst you can say about him.
- Joe Calzaghe. (super middleweight, 168) His flawless win over mega-puncher Jeff Lacy proved that his streak of title defenses, now at 21, was no fluke. That said, he fights too often to the level of his competition, performing poorly against borderline fighters yet still pulling out the win. And I think Calzaghe's next opponent, the skilled Dane Mikkel Kessler, stands a strong chance of ending his streak.
- Winky Wright. (middleweight, 160) Set aside his recent close loss to Bernard Hopkins, because he was fighting at too high a compromise weight (170). Look instead at the quality wins and the fact that his style would make him nigh-impossible to beat whether he was a natural heavyweight or natural minimumweight. Yet it's clear he's getting old.
- Shane Mosley. (welterweight, 147) Sugar, too, is getting old, but he's looked refreshed after his rough stretch of four combined losses against Winky Wright and Vernon Forrest, and was fantastic in a return to a more favorable weight class, welterweight. His past accomplishments, and his willingness to take all comers, pushes him higher on this list than he is on similar pound-for-pound compilations.
- Ricky Hatton. (junior welterweight, 140) Ricky's performances of late have been rocky, but you can't say much bad about his signature victory against all-time great junior welterweight Kostya Tsyzu. And you can't really say much bad about the fact that he's found a way to win every fight he's been in, ugly or not, against reigning champions or game contenders of every style and ability level.
- Miguel Cotto. (welterweight, 147) Eventually, I think Cotto stands a chance to overtake a lot of people on this list, even if he loses to Mosley later this year. The only thing holding him back is that he does not yet own that victory over a truly great fighter, but like he does in the ring, Cotto will just keep stalking and stalking and stalking...
- Rafael Marquez. (junior featherweight, 122) Before this weekend, I would have had him as high as fourth. This may be too steep a drop, but it's hard for me to list him as a better fighter than his recent conqueror, Israel Vasquez, when they have split a pair of fights and Vazquez has an ever-growing legacy of his own that doesn't compare too badly. My eyes tell me nonetheless that Marquez is still a better fighter than Vazquez -- although I reserve the right to change my mind after Tuesday's re-airing of their second clash.
KNOCKING ON THE DOOR
There are only a few other fighters I would consider for top-10 status, but you can make a case for all of the below squeezing some of the guys above out. In no particular order:
- Jermain Taylor. He beat Hopkins twice and drew with Wright, yet there are some people who think he lost all three. He beat Cory Spinks, but some say he didn't win that either, all the more embarrassing because Spinks was clearly fighting at too high a weight. But at a certain point, don't you give a guy credit for fighting tough and somehow dragging out the win, even if it's questionable? To break through: Beat fearsome Kelly Pavlik convincingly in the fall.
- Israel Vasquez. He just beat Marquez, cleaned out his division before he did that and along the way soundly beat up Jhonny Gonzalez, a threat from just south of his weight class. I'd throw him in the top ten except he looks vulnerable in every fight, albeit in that good, exciting way, the kind that produces drama, not in Jermain Taylor's awkward, frustrating way. To break through: Take the best two out of three against Marquez in the inevitable rematch.
- Mikkel Kessler. He looked amazing blowing out Markus Beyer and overrated but tough contender Librado Andrade. To break through: Ending Calzaghe's streak would make a strong case for these two switching places.
- Joel Casamayor. There are people who think Casamayor, a dirty-fighting Cuban, has won every fight no matter what his record says, and the case is not without merit. His list of victims, even without that hypothetical, is impressive. His nastiness probably biases some contenders against him for exercises such as these. To break through: Topple a young bulldog or two like Juan Diaz.
- Marco Antonio Barerra. His resume is unbelievable. He's slowed, though, with age. Defeating up-and-coming Rocky Juarez despite that showed he had more left, and some think he actually won his last fight, against Juan Manuel Marquez. To break through: This fall, avenge his loss to Pacquiao, which would be all the more eye-popping because of how unlikely it sounds.
Glass Joe from the Nintendo game Mike Tyson's Punch-Out is noticeably absent from my list of the pound-for-pound best. (from smackdownmyrmid.com)
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