According to Lem Satterfield, a match between Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander is closer than ever to being made. The fight would be on HBO on January 29 and appears to be in the final phases of negotiations. In our opinion, this is a battle between the two top junior welterweights in the world at the moment, and there really isn’t a good reason for the fight not to happen.
This is coming after quite a bit of posturing by the two parties that the fight would need to be built up more before it could happen. The fact of the matter is that neither Bradley nor Alexander is really on the radar of the major stars near the weight class, but a fight between the two could help launch one of them into stardom. Also, now that Manny Pacquiao has been stripped of his Ring Magazine title, this fight would be for both the true light welterweight championship, as well as the Ring title, unless something completely crazy happens (like Amir Khan actually fighting Marcos Maidana in December and wiping the floor with him so badly that he jumps over one of Bradley or Alexander in the rankings).
According to Dan Rafael, Showtime might be putting on a Super Six-style tournament in the bantamweight class. According to the report, Vic Darchinyan, Joseph Agbeko, Yonnhy Perez and Abner Mares have all already agreed in principle to participate in the tournament, which would create some huge paydays for a very strong group of fighters in a weight class where big paydays don’t tend to come often. Showtime also reached out to Top Rank about Fernando Montiel and Nonito Donaire, but Bob Arum had little interest in featuring his fighters in what could otherwise be a momentous event, since he can have his own fighters fight each other on Top Rank cards. Hozumi Hasegawa reportedly also was not interested, as he’s targeting a rematch with Montiel and would not want to be locked up in a tournament where he wouldn’t have the opportunity for a rematch.
If the full tournament doesn’t come off, don’t be too shocked if Showtime still picks up fights for those four guys to fight each other. Perez and Mares already have a rematch due, and would need to fight no later than November. Still, even with a few of the top fighters not participating, there are plenty of other guys who could participate to make an exciting tournament. Anselmo Moreno and Nehomar Cermeno are rematching each other in a week, and the winner would have a great case for being one of the top dogs in the weight class. Koki Kameda has been looking to raise his international profile, and a tournament like this could certainly do the trick. And if Chris Avalos really impresses this weekend, why not invite a top prospect to the party, in the spirit of the original super middleweight super six?
Finally, at today’s press conference for the bout between Sugar Shane Mosley and Sergio Mora, opponents were announced for Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Victor Ortiz. Alvarez will take on former welterweight champion Carlos Baldomir, while “Vicious” Victor Ortiz will face former titlist “Vicious” Vivian Harris. Color me unimpressed, and this doesn’t add much value to an already weak pay-per-view card.
Since defeating Arturo Gatti in 2006, Baldomir has gone only 2-3, with both wins coming against mediocre competition while fighting at middleweight. In his last fight, Baldomir looked sluggish and grossly outsized (sort of the way Vinny Pazienza looked at the end of his career), and four years removed from his moment in the sun, the man just doesn’t seem to have much left. With his monstrous chin, there’s a strong possibility of the fight being a prolonged beatdown that is tough to watch.
Harris, frankly, is a step back in class for Ortiz. He never had much punch resistance to begin with, and he’s recently had his struggles with less than fantastic competition. He’s had recent problems with cuts, and he lost his last fight to Lucas Matthysse, albeit by one of the worst stoppages you’ll ever see. What would make the fight a lot more interesting is if the loser has to stop using the nickname “Vicious.”
Fortunately for the fans, there are good free alternatives available that night, including the match between Juan Manuel Lopez and Rafael Marquez, as well as Frank Warren’s supercard in the UK.
