Going into the 6th round of Pacquiao vs. Solis last Saturday, the stage looked like it was being set for one of the biggest nights of upsets in recent memory. There were some early nervous moments for Pacquiao fans because the awkward style of Solis nullified Manny’s normally vicious attack. Solis had his best round of the fight in the 5th, clearly winning the round in my eyes. The stage was set for the possibility of a major upset with the earlier happenings in the boxing world that day. Nikolay Valuev had lost his WBA Belt to Ruslan Chagaev, Edgar Sosa out-fought Brian Viloria, and Jorge Arce was spanked by Cristian Mijares. But then Manny ensured everyone that the world was still spinning on its axis by pummeling Jorge Solis and stopping him in the eighth round.
Pacquiao made the proper adjustments to prove why he arguably the best pound for pound boxer in the world (second only to Floyd Mayweather in my opinion). I do not know if Pacquiao was unable to get up for this fight, but I would not blame him if he could not. He is used to fighting legends and champions, and Jorge Solis was a step down from that. Enough with the tune ups; let’s get to the fights that fans really want to see Pacquiao take part in: rematches with Juan Manuel Marquez and Marco Antonio Barrera. If Marquez and Barrera are busy fighting each other then recognizable names like Edwin Valero, Rocky Juarez, Joan Guzman, Humberto Soto, Alex Arthur, or Chris John would be acceptable too.
Jorge Arce Disappoints
Before Saturday Jorge Arce was one of boxing’s fastest growing stars. He was exciting to watch and had accumulated an impressive resume to boot. If he had defeated Cristian Mijares, Jorge had fights lined up against Martin Castillo and Vic Darchinyan. Arce vs. Castillo looked to be an intriguing battle between Jorge and an excellent and popular former champion. That would pave the way for a blockbuster super fight between Arce and power punching slugger Darchinyan. Those two fights back to back are a fight fan’s dream. Fans of the lower weight classes had to have been salivating in anticipation for those matches (I know I was).
But Arce had to get past Mijares first. In a week full of surprises, Mijiares dominating Arce was the biggest surprise. I know that Cristian held the WBC belt, but why on Earth was this fight even made? Talk about bad management and match making. I am all for matching a fighter tough and having him fight the best available opposition, but not when it gets in the way of even better fights! Mijares, as he proved on Saturday, is a very good technical boxer and all of the reports that I had read prior to Saturday had said that he would give anyone a tough fight. But the guy was completely unknown in the United States, had never been on American television, and had absolutely no following. The risk/reward ratio did not make sense.
Arce was the sole attraction in that undercard fight. They could have put “Travieso” in with anyone and the card would have sold just as many pay per views. Jorge Arce vs. Cristian Mijares had as much appeal as Jorge Arce vs. chinless construction worker or Jorge Arce vs. retired police officer. Yet in those fights we still may had been able to see potentially the greatest flyweight fight in decades, Vic Darchinyan vs. Jorge Arce. Arce’s star power has taken a huge hit because of this poor decision to fight a boxer that he would not have even been given credit for beating. Vic Darchinyan was ready and waiting for him, as were a couple hundred thousand hardcore fans willing to shell out money to see them get it on. I appreciate Top Rank and what they do for the sport. Bob Arum might be the best promoter in boxing, and one of the last remaining promoters who actually promote. But they need to do away with the interim fights before the mega fights. If a great PPV match up can be made, make it right away, please.
This is not the first time that I have questioned the opponent selection for Jorge Arce. In Arce’s last fight, Top Rank picked Julio Ler as his opponent. Ler is a stinker who avoids exchanges whenever possible and often just runs around the ring to the dismay of the crowd. When you have an all action brawler like Arce you do not want to set him up with boxers that would make anyone look bad. Then, Top Rank set up Arce with Mijares, a tremendous defensive boxer that nobody had heard of or cared about. Why risk multiple big money fights against someone that is high risk but offers no reward? The matchmaking for Arce vs. Mijares had shades of Erik Morales vs. Zahir Raheem, also a Top Rank masterpiece. Small Loss For Giant Champion
The second most surprising event last weekend was not what happened in the ring in Germany between Nikolay Valuev and Ruslan Chagaev, but that Valuev lost a close decision in Germany. Valuev’s two best wins, majority decisions over John Ruiz and Larry Donald, were questionable (or dubious depending on your mood) so you would figure that anything close would go to the champion. However Donald and Ruiz were both Americans fighting in Germany, whereas Chagaev is in the same boat as Valuev. Nikolay and Ruslan are both from the former Soviet Union and are now based in Germany. Still, the verdict was surprising even though the decision would not have been a “hometown” decision if Valuev had won.
Germany has had a reputation (whether the bad rap is deserved or not is up for debate) as being one of the worst countries as far as biased officiating and judging is concerned. Chagaev’s victory does a bit to better Germany’s reputation since the right man won. I have mixed feelings on whether Valuev’s loss was good for boxing or not. Valuev, primarily because of his enormous size, has been garnering some interest from non-boxing sports fans. People who do not know much about what makes up a good boxer or how to spot an effective jab are interested in Valuev because he is so darn big. You do not have to be a boxing expert to spot what makes Valuev an effective fighter; he is simply bigger than everybody else. A bit of the intrigue and mystique surrounding the undefeated giant has faded now that Valuev has lost and is no longer champion.
Then again, the loss is good for the sport because based on what happened in the ring, Valuev should have lost his belt to Chagaev. Boxing has so little credibility as it is, the last thing that the sport needs is a fighter who could double as a side show freak that routinely relies on dodgy decision after dodgy decision to maintain his glossy undefeated record. Now that Valuev has lost he does not have to worry about Rocky Marciano’s record or being known as a protected fighter anymore. Nikolay, the 7 foot Beast From the East, can resume his career without nearly as much pressure or distractions.
The current era of heavyweight boxing is very reminiscent of the heavyweight landscape in the early 1980’s (minus Larry Holmes). Public perception is that both eras are among the weakest of all time. The belts are all splintered, meaning there is no unified champion, and there is a big question mark over when the next unification fight will happen. No one can hold onto their championship for more than a few title defenses. The fractional championships are a revolving door and nobody is stepping up to become the dominant force. The biggest difference between today’s scene and that of the 1980’s, as I said before, is that the 1980’s had a true linear heavyweight champion in Larry Holmes. The top spot today is completely and utterly vacant. You cannot even make an argument that one of the four belt holders today is the undisputed champion. In the 80’s it took Mike Tyson to put some vigor back into the division. Even though Ruslan Chagaev’s alias is “White Tyson”, he is not on the same level as Iron Mike. We are still waiting for our heavyweight savior.
MSG Network: A Friend of Boxing
For the past decade there have been some excellent championship fights that have happened overseas without any American television. Many weekends would go by where ESPN would feature a journeyman vs. a club fighter in the main even of their boxing show at the same time that two top contenders for fight for a world title in Russia, or Germany, or Italy. I always found it strange that every American television network would pass up on quality fights just because they were taking place on another continent. American fans have missed out on countless European title fights over the years because of this.
Last month the rematch for the undisputed Cruiserweight Championship between Jean Marc Mormeck and O’Neil Bell was in jeopardy of not being televised. The anticipated match up was going to be held in Mormeck’s home country of France. Once again American fans were going to miss out on a major championship fight because it was happening in another country. Then, in a surprising move, MSG (who is affiliated with Fox Sports Net) bought the rights to the bout and televised the broadcast. Mormeck regained his title in dramatic fashion in an entertaining match that both Americans and Europeans were able to watch and enjoy.
MSG came to the rescue again when bought the rights to another top European fight that was not going to be televised: last Saturday’s WBA Heavyweight fight between Nikolay Valuev and Ruslan Chagaev. If you want to continue to see more top level boxing on MSG or just want to thank the network for showing those two fights, you can email them at this address: [email protected]
