“As long as he has a release to fight Pacquiao”…”there will be a lot of surprises, lots of pressure on Sergio”…”looking to get a letter of intent for the fight”…all recent comments made by some of the biggest names in the sport. Looking back at this week’s key quotes of note, Boxing Scribe Vivek Wallace offers his own unique perspective, giving fight fans “a little something to think about”. Check it out!
“Marquez can sign with [Golden Boy] for the next 20 years as long as he has a release to fight Pacquiao, which it sounds like what he wants to do. He may want an out to directly deal with me for the Pacquiao fight. That’s the point of all this. I’m not looking to promote these guys, Shane or Juan Manuel Marquez.” – Bob Arum (Imperial Valley Press)
Perspective: There are two things certain in any business: the pursuit of monetary gain, and politics. As we examine the ongoing feud between Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions, it becomes more and more clear that both of the aforementioned elements will continue to serve as a wedge, dividing two sides which could be no further apart. First, it was Floyd Mayweather Jr. who flirted with a new partnership with Don King, yet in the end, remained neutral, leaving options open to entertain with both parties.
Although we never heard much directly from the mouth of Mayweather relative to why he considered this option, an unspoken reality tells us that it had far more to do with an inability to not only secure a deal for the mega-fight of his choice using Golden Boy, but also an inability to get a deal in place that would generate the type of money he was in pursuit of for such an event. Next was Shane Mosley, an aging fighter currently facing the proverbial ‘westside’ of his career who also realized there’s simply no better time to cash in on a near done career. With Mayweather, it was a flirt. With Mosley, it became a reality.
If “pursuit of monetary gains” and “politics” are to be considered two main staples of any business, Juan Manuel Marquez may soon prove a third to be relative. That third attribute: “copycats”! Rumor has spread for quite some time now that Marquez is well on his way to the “other side”. Facing the sunset of his career as well, similar to Mosley, Marquez realizes there may only be one way to seize a moment which has remained quite elusive in the past. But who’s to blame here?
As defined by late great rapper Tupac Shakur (RIP), loyalty typically means one is willing to “ride-or-die”….but in this case, it’s safe to say these once loyal followers are simply no longer dying-to-ride, as there’s no future when the present is marred by bad blood of the past! This reality tells us there’s often no promise in tomorrow, so sometimes we have to simply seize the moment…….today! The actions of Mosley (and possibly Marquez and Mayweather) may not be viewed as “right”, but hey, what would you do if you were in their shoes? Just somethin’ to think about!
“He is a great fighter and a great champion, but there’s nothing special. He is just another fighter in front of me. We’re not thinking about what Sergio can do, we’re thinking about what we can do. There will be a lot of surprises, lots of pressure on Sergio, to win the fight.” – Sergiy Dzinziruk
Perspective: Here in the U.S., few truly know of Dzinziruk, and even fewer can say that they’ve ever actually seen him. On the outside looking in, this fight looks like a ‘trap fight’ waiting to happen; a relative unknown, with a good record padded by a bunch of other men most of us never heard of either. Sounds good in theory, but guess what? “DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE”, as you can guarantee Dzinziruk plans to “FIGHT THE POWER”, and in the end, completely “SHUT ‘EM DOWN”! Most of us view Martinez to be an intricate part of the sports future, but one reason fit to use a play on words comprised of songs from 90’s group Public Enemy is because an off night on centerstage at the hands of someone most consider to be a ‘nobody’ would potentially sum his career up with the words of hype man Flava Flav, “Goin’, Goin’, Gone”! Dzinziruk said there’s “a lot of pressure on Sergio to win the fight”. Is there a lot of pressure on Martinez? You tell me……Just somethin’ to think about!
“Right now, I’m talking to [them], and basically looking to get a letter of intent for the fight (Mayweather/Pacquiao) to take place. But of course we have to talk numbers and things like that to see what happens.” – Jeff Mayweather
Perspective: Life would be great if it were all that simple. Unfortunately, it’s not! There’s a mega-fight scheduled for May 7th in Las Vegas between Pacquiao and a guy whose name starts with an “M”. Trouble is, that guy he’s scheduled to face is named Mosley, not Mayweather! Right letter, wrong opponent. Knowing how bad most of us want to see this Mayweather/Pacquiao fight, most will say that Mosley has no business in the ring with Pacquiao, but an old adage tells us that “timing is everything”, and in this case, such a reference to “time” couldn’t be any more accurate!
“Time” is what Mayweather and Pacquiao have wasted, however, “time” may be all Mosley truly needs! My point in lamest terms: “Time” and “time” again in recent years, Mosley has failed to seize the moment on such a grand stage. With so much left to prove and so little “time” to do it, can this “time” be different, propelling him to a sweet victory that prevents us from ever seeing the biggest fight of all-“time”? Perhaps it’s “time” we give this possibility true consideration. We know “time” waits for no man. And as great as both Mayweather and Pacquiao have been, even for them, we may soon learn that their “time” to seize the moment has simply run out! Just somethin’ to think about!
