AFTER WELTERS, LIGHTWEIGHTS ARE NEXT BEST
Chicago, IL-In this topsy-turvy era, where our heavyweights have proven themselves to be ?lightweights,? the real lightweights (135 lbs.) stand along side the welterweights (147 lbs.) as the big men of boxing. The wide-openness of the division is evident right at the very top, where, strangely enough, current linear and Ring Magazine champ Joel ?El Cepillo? Casamayor (35-3-1, 21 KOs) actually holds no alphabet titles. With Nate ?The Galaxxy Warrior? Campbell (32-5-1, 25 KOs) having now beaten the man to beat in the division, Juan ?The Baby Bull? Diaz (33-1, 17 KOs), I count, in addition to these men, at least five other legitimate contenders to the lightweight crown, including the division?s newest and maybe brightest star, Manny ?Pacman? Pacquiao (46-3-2, 35 KOs).
THE LIGHTWEIGHT FIELD IS BOUNTIFUL
About a year ago, I concluded that the answer for top-ten welterweight matchmakers should always just be ?yes.? Paul Williams-Antonio Margarito? Yes. Miguel Cotto-Shane Mosley? Yes. Margarito-Kermit Cintron? Yes. You could go on and on, with any substitution of names in the top ten. Now the lightweight division is the same way. In addition to Casamayor, Campbell and Diaz, the best in the division include the workmanlike and tough David Diaz (34-1-1, 17 KOs) and Michael ?The Great? Katsidis (23-0, 20 KOs), who will have a Saturday showdown with Casamayor in what is probably seen by (or wished for by) HBO as a ?changing of the guard? fight. Really, isn?t either scenario perfectly foreseeable this weekend: Will Katsidis? youthful energy and go-for-broke style overwhelm Casamayor, whose only fight since winning the title in 2006 was a gift decision? Or will the skillful Casamayor expose Katsidis, whose only notable name on his resume is Graham Earl in a back-and-forth slugfest; Earl was then drilled inside of a round by 21 year old Amir Khan (16-0, 12 KOs), who along with fellow up-and-comer Anthony Peterson (26-0, 19 KOs) round out the list of real contenders for the top of the division.
THE MYTH THAT IS PACMAN?S WEIGHT
A popular current theory says that Pacquiao will prove too small for the division, evidenced by the fact that he started his career at flyweight (112 lbs.). Remember, however, that he was only 17 years old at the time and 12 years have passed. In reality, none of the top veteran lightweights hold a height or a reach advantage over Pacquiao, with the exception of Campbell?s five inch reach (but no height) advantage. Interestingly, the two prospects listed above, Khan and Peterson, hold the greatest physical advantages, as Khan stands 5?10? and Peterson has a seven inch reach advantage over Pac Man. Showing up in chiseled form for the sequel with Juan Marquez, and then jumping all the way up to 145 lbs. on the day of the fight, Pacquiao?s body is ready for a new division. Of course, height and reach do not contain the whole story about weight advantages. The other top lightweights I mentioned have spent their entire careers between 130-140 lbs., thus they are used to carrying the weight and dealing blows to others at that weight, so there has to be some effect on Pacquiao?s offensive effectiveness. But how much?
POWER DECLINES FROM SHOCKING TO SCARY
Another myth is circulating that Pacquiao has lost considerable pop as he has moved up in weight. The numbers prove otherwise: At featherweight (126 lbs.) and super featherweight (130 lbs.), he has gone 10-1-1 with 7 KOs. His three wins by decision included an easy win over Oscar Larios, whom he knocked down twice, and wins over greats Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez, the latter of whom has never been knocked out but tasted the canvas four time in two Pacquiao fights. And speaking of Barrera, he and fellow Mexican legend Erik Morales have fought almost 150 times combined, and the two have suffered a total of three knockouts between them, all by you know who. Less devastating speed and power at lightweight still amounts to devastating qualities ? lightweights, there?s a new man in the ring, and he?s coming in swinging.
THE RETURN OF ?THE PITTSBURGH KID?
No, the great Billy Conn is not returning to the light heavyweight division as he passed some 15 years ago. Paul Spadafora, the former lightweight beltholder who had his career derailed by criminal and alcohol problems, returns to the ring on April 6 in Erie, PA; no opponent has been announced to date. Spadafora, discussed by Pedro and myself on ?Ring Talk Radio? March 9, is a southpaw ring technician who was being considered as a 140 pound opponent for Arturo ?Thunder? Gatti, and maybe Floyd Mayweather, before his incarceration over three years ago for a non-fatal shooting of his girlfriend during a drunken blackout. Spadafora?s ongoing tale is at times compelling, sad, frustrating, discouraging and impressive?and, at age 32, still being told.
