This week’s email bag has a boxing fans assortment of questions. We’ve got a Ricky Hatton question, a pro Mikkel Kessler fan that humorously describes him as the pimple or blemish that won’t go away, another irate Sweet Saoul Mamby hater who objects to his fighting these days, with an unconvinced aficionado about the Winkster’s last outing on HBO. We have a question on Pac Man Pacquiao’s ability to kayo Erik Morales in their anticipated rematch. And of course the generous amounts of nostalgic cords that always seem to touch on greater details coming from all of you.
Hiya! Why don’t americans believe in Europeans? We have (no doubt in my mind) the Worlds best Super Middleweight in Denmark. Namely Mikkel Kessler, but a lot of americans dog him without knowing anything and without having seen him, it seems completely ignorant.
Yes. I know he does not get mentioned a lot, but that is because he is the most dangerous guy out there and they just think they can ignore him and then he will go away.
Merry X-mas
Don
Don,
Last I looked “Americans” was spelled in capitals at the beginning of the letter friendly. Ironically for the Dane undefeated WBA Super Middleweight Champion Mikkel Kessler, being 36-0, 27 KO’s, doesn’t mean squat until he meets up with either Joe Calzaghe or Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy, and everybody who follows echoes those same sentiments. He has to be in the consensus aliened for him to be met there with that company. It’s a rough business for any fighter to maintain staying unblemished, furthering himself down that road to pontificate matters toward the sweepstakes for the ultimate chance to show it.
Yes, I suppose you could call it a shade of the lack thereof of knowledge if you’d like about us for not seeing very much of him. Ignorance is however bliss.
George
I was wondering what your favorite coming from behind winning fight was. Thank you.
Jerry
Jerry,
Ray Leonard’s TKO over Thomas Hearns in the 14th for the early ’80’s still has to be tops. Although 2005 Diego Corrales-Jose Luis Castillo #1 equals parallel in dramatics, SRL did it without question clearer.
Another one that should be rated right along sides with that one was the ’83 return fight of Bobby Chacon Vs Cornelius Boza-Edwards shown on NBC.
What do you think of Ricky Hit Man Hatton fighting in the states?
D. Stephen
Well, D. Stephen I think it’ll be like having a great in-sourcing attribute to bringing Richard along the junior welterweight comp. Thinking of an eventual showdown of skills with the fierce and dynamic Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto has me stoked.
Hatton should be applauded for at least making his efforts known in the American media, and has been already widely accepted throughout Latin and Central America as the premier Super Lightweight traditionally to beat.
What fighter that Ali fought in 1966 vanished him from networks for about six years since entering the first Kenny Norton fight?
Kevin
Kevin,
Muhammad Ali’s 1966 kayo over in Frankfurt against Karl Mildenberger would be the last for television networks to pick him up almost seven years hence, and as you stated Ken’s fight would be televised. A great deal of Close-Circuit TV fighting had mostly to do with it.
George
How do you rate Emile Griffith if he were around fighting today?
Michael
Michael,
I’d rate him on top of mostly any other Junior Middleweight presently.
As a full Middleweight however I couldn’t exactly be as favorably looking to be rating him as highly. Especially if you took in account particularly on how B-Hop dominated the division over the years. Griffith was proportioned alike like Hops, but that was their only similarities. Emile would’ve had his hands full against the likes of a Felix Trinidad or DLH at 154 LBS looking back over those years too. I do think that Griffith though would’ve beaten Jermain Taylor had he fought him today.
George,
No one wants to see Mamby come back and you are the only want who put this crap out there. Talk about a fighter who is not 107 years old and maybe you can my attention. Talk about how Hopkins got robbed twice in a row or how Taylor should fight Winky so he can lose to Wright.
Justin
Justin,
Come on now there’s nothing taboo about free speeches for fighters wanting to. And you simply cannot place a limitation knowing fighters have fought professionally well above their primes if they pass the litmus test.
For another thing, I wouldn’t complain about getting bamboozled so much as to talking that way on a decision to further insinuate a false perception of what’s plainly unsatisfactory for you to be complaining about; and in no which way or form would I suggest Taylor would kick Winky’s ass back to St. Petersburg; although it can be gratuitously read in that way somewhere to that effect inside of a newspaper column to your own discourse or further distress should that indeed happen.
What’s ever become of former Ex-Champion Billy Costello?
Robbie
Robbie,
After contemplating retirement along the same lines for his February 9th 1986 fight with Alexis Arguello (Arguello kayos Costello in 4), they both announced their intent to hanging the gloves up. Well we know that was a little premature.
Costello is a licensed boxing judge today judging prizefights.
I recently seen Winky Wright against Sam Soliman fight on HBO, and I just think he did a disservice for future fights in taking that one. Is he worth a million bucks?
Jeff Roman
Jeff,
You have to consider the stock value that has already dipped on the Junior Middleweight division. I do not speak for the direction this weight class is headed, but it certainly isn’t in the same condition that it was when you had David Reid, Daniel Santos, Felix Trinidad, along with the Winkster and Oscar De La Hoya making havoc. I believe that Winky is trapped between two divisions that might be to his own device. If say the middleweight class sees a plunge for reasons of Bernard Hopkins not in it any longer, that’d be another dilemma at both weights. We’ll all be in much more certainty when viewer participation drops the ball.
George
On of the best knockouts that I seen was the one Thomas Hearns flattened James Shuler with. When did Shuler pass away?
Darryl
Darryl,
James “Black Gold” Shuler who was kayoed March 10th1986 losing his NABF Middleweight Championship to Hearns in the process, was killed in a motorcycle accident in which just happened ten days after from that day of the fight. R.I.P.
Hi,
I am a big fan of Manny Pacquiao and think this time around, he stops Morales. The cut really hindered him the first time, and barring that, do you think he has the ability to KO Morales?
Thanks-
Davi
Davi,
Ability wise each fighter has the exact attributes to do so with each other.
Only trouble I’m having with this fight is that Erik’s back is against the wall having lost to Zahir Raheem in the manner that he did. This makes him almost assuredly doubly dangerous to experiment with in a rematch, unless Pacquiao pulls the dramatic sudden knockout that he would be faced with larger obstacles in length during beating Morales this time.
