You wanted it, and we deliver! 411mania’s 3R’s have invaded the Boxing Zone! Find out why Dmitry Pirog is so Right, HBO is so wRong, and Chris Arreola is getting so Ridiculous.
In the last volume of “The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly,” someone left us a comment saying “HEY! That looks like the 3 Rs format that the rest of the website uses. Why don’t you guys use that too?” “Because!” we defiantly shouted back. Then we realized, hey, we play nice with the rest of 411mania.com. Why don’t we use it?
So, ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to introduce to the Boxing Zone “The 3 Rs” — The Right, wRong, and Ridiculous in the world of boxing!
(“Ryan, you idiot, wrong doesn’t even begin with the letter R!” Hey, pipe down, Chachi. I didn’t create the format. Send your issue to editor Ramon.)
The 3Rs of Boxing
Let’s start with what’s RIGHT with boxing.
The Right
Pirog in the mix ? Even though the new WBO middleweight titlist was given the cold shoulder by HBO, the boxing world has noticed Dmitry Pirog. With the work ethic of Ivan Drago (yes, we must compare every Russian boxer to Ivan Drago) combined with a slight swagger, Pirog showed he was sturdy and un-shakeable, and showed that even slickness gets stopped when being caught by power.
Now, the unbeaten 16-0 champion’s name is being bandied about with various middleweights, including one Mr. Kelly Pavlik. Pavlik, as of late, has lived up to his nickname, being more of a “Ghost” in the boxing world than actually a force. Ahh, remember when we thought Pavlik was going to be the new new thing? After his boxing lesson ? nay, curriculum ? from Bernard Hopkins, Pavlik has built up a spectacularly mediocre two years, plodding to a ninth-round retirement of Marco Antonio Rubio and a fifth-round stoppage of the uninspiring Miguel Angel Espino, both in the home turf of Youngstown, Ohio. After which, he tried to get back to where he once belonged, and Sergio Martinez, the man ballsy enough to take on Paul Williams (which Pavlik wouldn’t do), busted the “Ghost” in a 12-round decision.
This is why I am fully behind a Pirog/Pavlik bout. It’s so Right. The young champion with new metal around his waist versus the man who would be king, out to prove he’s the rightful heir. Which one deserves the label of “champion” and which one deserves the label of “flash in the pan?”
Boxing gods, please hear my cry: Make Pirog/Pavlik happen!
International Delights ? Despite how disappointing Chad Dawson was on Saturday, I liked it because I am firmly on the Jean Pascal-at-light-heavyweight bandwagon. I was on it when he was a super middleweight too, but now at light heavyweight I feel he can keep the power without straining to drain himself. It feels more natural and Right, and I want to see more, more, more.
So when whispers circulate (which they have already begun) about a Pascal/Bute, I wonder, would it be at super middle or light heavyweight? Make Pascal go down again, and I’d have to favor Bute, whom I also enjoy watching and should have been the replacement in the Super Six. However, make Bute come up…. well, it would give him a challenge while he waits for the Super Six to shakedown, and would make for a compelling, competitive fight in Canadialand.
Boxing gods, please hear my cry: Make Pascal/Bute happen too! But only at light heavyweight.
“Only In America” teams up… ? I’m hesitant to say this, but the King-Mayweather pairing may be an amazing thing. Don King, sleazy as he may seem (then again, what promoter doesn’t seem sleazy at times?), can always somehow turn a mediocre fight into a ginormous “displayifcation” of puglistic perfectionism. Imagine what he can do with Mayweather. Arum doesn’t put on a shabby show either, so just imagine an Arum-Pacquiao/King-Mayweather spectacle. Add in Las Vegas, Freddie Roach and the Mayweather elder of your choice, and holy spit you’ve got a show. The Jubilee dancers walking the fighters into the ring, the cast of Peepshow as your ring card girls, Terry Fator’s puppet brigade singing the national anthems, Frank Caliendo replacing and impersonating the entire HBO Boxing team by himself… oh, and a damn good fight in the ring. That’s so Right…
The wRong
…with Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. ? …and yet so wRong at the same time. Let’s not forget who we’re discussing here. The most distrusted man in boxing in the ’80s and ’90s and the most distrusted man in boxing. The sleaze of King and the slime of Mayweather may be the deadly combination that ensures that Pacquiao/Mayweather never happens. Just because there’s a reported 4-fight deal with a guaranteed $25 million a fight doesn’t mean that any one of those fights will be against Manny Pacquiao. Don’t think that’s a credible idea? I’ve been right twice on this issue, that’s all I’m saying.
Pay-Per-Screwed ? Good news! HBO has just lent their support to the Los Angeles matchup between Shane Mosley and Sergio Mora, which means that you ? yes, you! ? can watch this spectacular battle on pay-per-view for only $Too Many dollars and fifty cents. Listen, I might have paid top dollar for Mosley in his prime, but as we saw against Mayweather, he’s still good, but not top dollar good. And I’d only pay top dollar for Sergio Mora if he were also doing my laundry and washing and waxing my car at the same time. Meanwhile, in Vegas you have Juan Manuel Lopez vs Rafael Marquez, which is certainly worth your dollar more (somewhat), or you have the Super Six match between Carl Froch and Arthur Abraham for ? get this ? only the price of your Showtime subscription.
If you think this is Entourage, HBO, you’re wRong. Not every one of us is ballin’ like Vinnie Chase. Way to line yourself up with the boxing public. And no, I’m not going to cave in to a $20 Tecate “discount.”
