Welcome to another edition of Brian?s Boxing Mailbag. I am here to answer any questions that you have about the Sweet Science. Before we get to the first fan submission, a couple notes:
The cancellation of this weekend?s PPV bout starring Juan Manuel Marquez came as a disappointment. That card was going to start the long streak of big fights that would last for months and include classics like Floyd Mayweather/Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto/Shane Mosley, and Joe Calzaghe/Mikkel Kessler among others. Boxing fans will have to wait a bit longer for the start of boxing season.
More so than the main event between Marquez and Rocky Juarez, I was looking forward to the undercard. In particular the Golden Boy vs. The Contender matches of Kassim Ouma vs. Sergio Mora and Panchito Bojado vs. Steve Forbes. Sugar Ray Leonard and Oscar De La Hoya had made a bet that if their fighters went 2-0, then other would have to be a ring card girl for the main event. I know that there are a lot of De La Hoya haters out there that would have loved to see Oscar in a dress. Talk about ammunition if a fighter wants to talk trash about De La Hoya!
I mentioned that there has been a gap in the schedule with big fights, but that is not true if you want to include last Saturday?s battle between Junior Witter and Vivian Harris. Witter scored an eye-catching victory to establish himself as the best junior welterweight behind Ricky Hatton. The two top 140 pound boxers, who happen to both come from England, would sell out any arena in the UK if they fought. Hatton, whether he wins or loses against Mayweather, should fight Witter next.
The first question this week is regarding one of the outstanding fights that is lined up in the second half of 2007.
An Aging Sugar Shane
How is Shane Mosley going to beat Miguel Cotto when he had hard time with Vargas the first time and is well past his prime?
-Samson
Samson,
This would be a better question for a writer who is picking Mosley to beat Cotto. I am predicting that Cotto will come out victorious in this stellar match up that will take place on November 10th. But to play devil?s advocate, Mosley proved me wrong when he beat Luis Collazo, showing that he was not as far past his prime as I once thought. Shane is still a physical phenomenon, possessing a rare combination of speed and strength. He has been out-boxed on a few occasions, but I have never seen anyone beat Mosley in an inside fight. Cotto is going to engage him in such a fight.
Undisputed Pound for Pound
Is it possible for Manny Pacquiao to face ?Pretty Boy? Floyd Mayweather? This might be the best fight that people will love to see. Pound-for-Pound vs. Pound-for-Pound!
-Donald
Donald,
When asked who Mayweather thought was the best pound for pound fighter besides himself, his response was Manny Pacquiao. So we know that Floyd respects Pacquiao very much. Mayweather has many attractive fights for him right now: his already signed fight with Ricky Hatton, the winner of Cotto vs. Mosley, a possible rematch with Oscar De La Hoya, etc. Manny also has many attractive options at his weight class so I think that this fight is not likely to happen anytime soon. However I will not completely rule this option out because I know that Mayweather would love to try to defeat his biggest competition to the top of the pound for pound mountain.
Atlas Picks Barrera
I love Manny Pacquiao but Teddy Atlas picked Marco Antonio Barrera to beat Manny Pacquiao. Is he right or is he a s%^head? Because I can?t see old man Marco winning.
-Horace Penquia
Horace,
I would never call Teddy a s^&*head no matter who he picks in an upcoming fight. I respect him as a trainer and a commentator. Personally, I am picking Pacquiao to defeat Barrera, but I am not going to hate on people who have a different opinion than me. As much as the deck seems stacked in favor of Manny, you can never count out a legitimately great boxer like Barrera.
Wilfredo Benitez
Wilfredo Benitez was 17 years old when he captured the WBA Light Welter Championship. My question, is do you know of any boxer younger than him who became a world champ and what is your thought of a mythical matchup against Floyd Mayweather?
-Jacob
Jacob,
Benitez was the youngest world champion ever at age 17. He will probably continue to hold that record for a very long time. Boxers from the United States today are not even allowed to fight until they are 18 years old. He burned out at a young age, but was a gem in his prime. I am going with the upset special here and say that Benitez would eventually figure out the defensive wizardry of Mayweather and win a majority decision.
My Personal Trainer
If you were a boxer, which trainer would you choose and why?
-Linda H.
Linda,
There are a few good trainers out there right now, including Nacho Beristain, Buddy McGirt, and Freddie Roach. But if I were a boxer I would probably go with Joe Goosen. Not only is he very knowledgeable like the other listed above, but I really like is calming influence in the corner during fights.
Accusations of JMM Nuthuggery
I think you really like Marquez more than Manny. Who’s your top ten P4P? I bet Marquez is higher than Manny on your top p4p list. Marquez vs. Pacquiao 2 would have materialized long time ago if Marquez did not ask for too much money for the fight. Freddie Roach said that was his excuse for not fighting Pacquiao. Do you know who was paid higher between Pacquiao and Marquez on their first fight? How much did Marquez get when he fought Chris John? If it is higher, then I guess that’s what made him fight John instead of Pacquiao. Lastly, I hope Juan Diaz vs. Pacquiao will materialize in the future, same with Katsidis, and every other Diaz at lightweight. Line them up and brawl with Manny. Please don’t say to me that Manny has to clean the 130lbs. first. Every man has dream, let me have mine! More power to your mailbag Brian!
-Benjie M. Tiu
Benjie,
That is a loaded email so I will respond to each part. First, no, I do not have Juan Manuel Marquez above Pacquiao on my pound for pound list. Manny has fought and beaten better opposition although Marquez does crack my top ten. I am going to write a column exposing my pound for pound list shortly so look out for that. Pacquiao is a better boxer, but because of their styles, I go with Marquez if they fought again.
You talk about the reasons why Marquez did not fight Manny in a rematch as if it has bearing on who would win the rematch. Nacho Beristain, Marquez?s trainer and manager, did a terrible job in not taking the rematch with Pacquiao. He turned down a couple million dollars to fight Chris John instead for almost no money at all. Very poor management but these bad decisions have nothing to do with how Marquez would fight in the boxing ring. Juan Manuel is a fighter and all he does is fight. His management let him down but that says nothing about his boxing ability.
I will not dash your dreams about Pacquiao going to lightweight but I must say that I am against the idea. Moving up in weight is risky and if Manny loses a fight that could hurt his legacy. There are lots of Filipino fans who feel the same way that you do though, so the move to 135 could happen to appease his fans. Unfortunately Pacquiao often disregards his best interests in order to please others.
More Marquez vs. Pacquiao Controversy
The Marquez vs. Jaca fight and Marquez-Jandaeng fight were not really smooth sailing fights for Marquez (did you see his face after those fights?) and to think Jaca and Jandaeng is not even in the same league as Pacman. So how can JMM cope with Pacquiao when he was given a hard time by B class fighters?
I hope Laurence Cole doesn?t officiate again. What good is a ref if he was caught (more than once) on TV to be a very bias individual? How can the fans expect fairness from him? Tigers don?t change their stripes
-Vinjo
Vinjo,
No offense to you but this is an absurd argument. You ask: How can Marquez deal with Manny when he struggled with B level fighters? Because he already has dealt with Pacquiao!! I tend to agree with the scorecard in their first fight that had Marquez will every round after the 3rd and winning the decision. All boxers will struggle from time to time. If you remember, Manny also struggled against B fighters Hector Velasquez and Jorge Solis before, like Marquez against Jaca and Jandaeng, eventually winning by KO. Juan Manuel has earned his stripes as an elite boxer who can hold his own against any 130 pounder in the world, including Manny.
I agree with your take on Cole. How many strikes are these referees getting before they are let go? Imagine the NBA keeping the ref that gambled on games that he officiated?
Mythical Matchups
Brian, you really enjoy mythical bouts and I found your work by researching them. Here are some to ponder:
Joe Louis vs. Evander Holyfield Tommy Hearns vs. Kelly Pavlik Rocky Marciano vs. Michael Dokes
-Bill Holmes
Bill,
Those are some very good ones, especially the first one. I have thought about Louis vs. Holyfield many times. Holyfield has the chin, the work rate, the endurance, the power, and the inside fighting ability to give Louis fits. I see a brutal and entertaining fight that goes all 15 rounds. Louis comes out on top via split decision and both make a trip to the hospital afterwards.
Kelly Pavlik is in the infancy of his career right now so he is completely unproven against elite opposition. If Pavlik is as good as his fans think he is then he is a Tommy Hearns clone. That is best case scenario though. Until we find out how good Pavlik really is, it would be a huge insult to predict anything but a Hearns KO win here.
Michael Dokes was an explosive puncher but I see him as having the same impact on the 1980?s heavyweight scene as Ricardo Mayorga has in the welterweight divisions today. They won a couple fights in impressive manner, made their mark, but were not dynamic enough to become a major force. They were role players of an era whereas Marciano was the best of his era. Marciano would batter Dokes in the middle to late rounds after surviving an early assault by Dokes, winning by TKO in the 9th. Rocky was too rugged with his unbelievable determination.
Manny?s Future
Brian,
We love you on Pacland and your funny man for sure. Do you see Manny stopping Marco in three rounds? Who do you see Pacman fighting next? When should he retire?
-Jaliy
Jaliy,
I think that it will take Manny a few more rounds than that to finish Barrera. Marco is going to be more focused and motivated than we have seen since the third fight with Erik Morales. He will put forth a good effort and a make a competitive fight in defeat. After Pacquiao wins there he should definitely fight Juan Manuel Marquez. If Manny wins those fights, he should continue to fight for about three or four more years, or until he cleans out all of his worthy opponents.
Mike Tyson and His Punch
Hi there! I am a boxing fan since I was a kid I love Mike Tyson very much because of his deadly punching power. In his era no doubt he was the best hard punching boxer for me. Do you think he is the best hard punching boxer of all time? Thank you for your answer sir.
-Edsel
Edsel,
I agree with you in that he was the best power punching heavyweight of the late 80?s/early 90?s. There have been few in history who have excited onlookers like ?Iron? Mike did. Throughout history there have been some superb power punching heavyweights. I would rank deadly punching KO artists George Foreman, Jack Dempsey, and Joe Louis ahead of Tyson.
Felix Trinidad vs. Roy Jones, JR.
Hi Brian. I just want to know what is your prediction of Felix Trinidad vs. Roy Jones Jr.?
-Jan Cristan
Jan,
I like Jones in this fight because he has been more active recently, has better boxing skills, and is naturally heavier. However with as hard of a puncher as Trinidad is, the intrigue in his fight is whether or not we will see Jones flat on his back again.
Mayweather and Hatton!
This is my third time to write in your mailbag. I wish you luck for more years to come, Brian. Mabuhay ka!!!
Mayweather fought Oscar De La Hoya last May. The fight could be compared to Gerry Penalosa vs. Daniel Ponce De Leon. In Penalosa-De Leon, De Leon showered Penalosa with lots of punches that brought De Leon to a controversial victory because De Leon’s punches didn’t hurt Penalosa. Same with Mayweather-De La Hoya, but the decision went the other way around. De La Hoya showers Mayweather but Mayweather luckily won.
About Hatton, I saw his last fight against Castillo on YouTube, and I like his fighting style. He demolished Castillo in 4 rounds. But his upcoming bout against the Mayweather, it will be tough for him. Mayweather has a reach and height advantage over Hatton. But I think that Hatton has a little advantage over Mayweather in punching power. This fight will be determined by the greatness of trash-talking Mayweather. I will just pick Hatton for this. How about you Brian?
-Seven
Seven,
On your first point, I can see the similarities between those two fights. I wish that fight judges were more consistent in their scoring.
Hatton is a very exciting fighter so I am glad that you have discovered him. Boxers who can fight on an elite level yet still be offensive minded are rare but are the ones who keep boxing alive. Guys like Ricky Hatton and Manny Pacquiao are two perfect examples. I think that Mayweather will defeat Hatton because he is so ridiculously good at defensive boxing, though a Hatton win would probably be better for the sport. An edge in power means little against Floyd because you will rarely hit him cleanly.
I encourage everyone to get your questions and comments in for next week?s bag. I hope that everyone has a great week, and I hope see you next time!
