Boxing returns to an even keel off a bad last half of 2005, with a very solid matchup tonight in Manny Pacquiao vs. Erik Morales. I’m not sure it’s really pay-per-view quality, but since everything’s relative to recent offerings in the medium, it probably qualifies if you make short-term comparisons.
Of course, so would Screech vs. Stuttering John.
Morales and Pacquiao are championship-level fighters. Both bring the ruckus. And they have, surely, another competitive chapter to write.
I’ve written off Erik Morales too many times to bet against him, but if you keep doing it long enough you’ll be right. The guess here is that Pacquiao fights a little smarter and a little harder (Reyes gloves helping a touch there), and if he attacks the body early that’s a great strategy. He nearly doubled Morales over in the opening rounds of their last bout with a vicious body shot, but seemingly got lost in a frenzy of headhunting, which is never a viable strategy against an iron-chinned Mexican like “El Terrible.”
But the body attack can always bring out the cracks in aging legs, and Morales might be ripe for the taking. I like Pacquiao in anther good but not great match, taking a close but definitive decision. I still don’t think its pay-per-view material but it beats the heck out Roy Jones-Bernard Hopkins II (which has thankfully been canceled….I haven’t been this pleased by a cancellation in years…).
Pacquiao and Morales make up half of the contemporary Fab Four of the little guys, along with Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manual Marquez. While Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns, Ray Leonard and Marvelous Marvin Hagler were bigger in scope and impact, this group is probably the closest modern equivalent.
The Fab Four are dead even in matches against one another. Between Morales (2-2), Barrera (2-2), Pacquiao (1-1-1) and Marquez (0-0-1), that’s rare parity.
Barring a draw, somebody takes the lead Saturday night, but hopefully this won’t be the end of all the possible permutations among the group. Marquez has still been woefully inactive considering how many good matches he could have been part of. And Barrera, provided he gets past his March date with Jesus Chavez.
As for Morales-Barrera IV, in a way it seems a shame to continue that rivalry when it’s obviously a dead heat, with pretty much everything left in the ring during their three taxing bouts. Anybody wanting to see that probably was pushing for Gatti-Ward IV. At some point, it becomes redundant; better to stop after the peak of artistry.
Better for El Terrible and The Baby Faced Assassin to expend their remaining bullets on other fighters, writing different chapters into their storied careers. It’s amazing, really, that both have lasted this long at the top of the game, given their small stature and aggressive styles. For every Barrera or Morales there are a dozen tough guys whose styles were overly taxing, ultimately too exciting, to really last that long.
So why allege that it’s not pay per view? Obviously if it’s a success and makes money, the marketplace will ultimately determine that. But then again, you have to take that with a grain of salt. Oscar De La Hoya-Yory Boy Campas was PPV as well, and that wasn’t pay per view quality at all.
Boxing is entertainment, and I suspect Morales-Pacquiao will do well enough to encourage other inter-ethnic rivalries on PPV between top fighters, but a few years ago, before boxing became hopelessly in love with the idea of bilking its fans in the short term while killing long-term sustainability, this would’ve been on HBO Championship Boxing.
There’s one big reason Zab Judah-Floyd Mayweather is off after Judah’s loss to Carlos Baldomir. Judah doesn’t have a built-in fan base because he’s a black fighter, among other reasons; there’s nobody that will faithfully pay to see him fight regardless of whether he’s won or lost his last match and is heading into a big showdown. Mexicans, Filipinos, South Americans, etc., don’t have a lot of other professional athletes. That’s why they support fighters. There is no threat of diluting them from other competing heroes they identify with.
It is what it is, but I’m tired of hearing what it’s not. No doubt, Judah and Mayweather both have shown various impediments at other times.
Mayweather also has a lousy history of personal choices and run-ins with people and the police, but that didn’t deter Julio Cesar Chavez’ fans from going to his fights, despite personal problems that were significant in their own right. If you took half the rumor mill seriously, he was doing more blow than Tony Montana. But that didn’t keep him from being a hero. The black fighter is always going to have to do a lot more to capture fans’ attention, simply because his existence in sport is far more commonplace.
If Mayweather and Judah were Hispanic, that fight would be a lock, even with Judah’s loss. Morales-Pacquiao simply proves that Mexican fans have a loyalty that will always flirt the fine line between steadfast support and being exploited (De La Hoya-Campas was a perfect example of that).
Mayweather has been the best fighter on the planet for several years now (this columnist had him ranked ahead of Bernard Hopkins since 2002). But once again, at least Pacquiao and Morales are top fighters that should deliver action. That’s more than you can say for just about every heavyweight title match since Lennox Lewis left, and most pay per views of late.
SHORT SHOTS
When esteemed colleague Tom Gerbasi wrote here that he had seen the future, and that it was Joel Julio, I immediately filed it away as a line I intend to cop later in life, after the mandatory waiting period (amateurs borrow…pros steal).
And after seeing Julio’s clinic in his Jan. 6 dismantling of Robert Kamya, I must cautiously agree, at least at this juncture. Julio puts punches together in refined fashion, with serious leather behind them.
Physically, he reminds you of a young Felix Trinidad, all gaunt and drawn and quite tall for the weight, hunched shoulders and bottlenecked frame, rising up from a skinny waist to shoulders that will probably fill out as a middleweight. But he seems to have some boxing acumen guiding his attack – Trinidad was more a pure slugger who rarely looked to hit singles when a home run would do – and it will certainly be exciting to see him move up the ladder.
As Showtime announcers Nick Charles and Steve Farhood discussed during his win on that network, an opponent like David Estrada would be an excellent test for Julio, both to display his skills and showcase his wares. For while up and coming punchers are usually given the initiative by opponents wary to trade, Estrada is an aggressive pressure fighter.
That kind of test usually tells you things about a prospect you might not find out until later. How will he do when pressured? Or in a war? Can he adjust to an aggressive style and box, if necessary? Plus, Estrada, 18-2 (9 KOs), has gone the distance in his losses, to Shane Mosley and Ishe Smith.
While The Corner enjoys a high-level bout like Morales-Pac Man as much as the next fan, how prospects are moved and matched is an equally intriguing concept. Julio has yet to face top-flight competition but he seems like one heck of a prospect – and not long to remain one – for now. With Showtime’s recent “no rights, just fights” policy of late, it might be a match that could actually happen, and not mere hyperbole.
Just a wacky hunch, but I think that Thomas Damgaard could prove a stumbling block for Arturo Gatti Jan. 28, and if you’re pulling for the best matchups in the 147-lb. division, you probably are pulling for the Dane to win.
On paper, Damgaard gives up a lot of experience to Gatti. He’s 37-0 (27 KOs) and has faced a virtual non who’s who. Even by Danish boxing standards, his opponents are pretty soft (Brian Nielsen faced tougher comp…which is to say, perhaps they didn’t have a pulse, but they likely did at one time). Damgaard’s recent bouts have even been eight-rounders. Talk about protected. But he’s also unbeaten, a natural welter, and a southpaw to boot. Plus, Gatti has never really had a lot of success at welterweight. He barely escaped against Baby Joe Hutchinson with a grossly gashed eye, taking a close decision in a bout that probably would’ve been stopped if it weren’t in Montreal, and was trounced by Oscar De La Hoya.
Damgaard is no De La Hoya, but the jump from 140 to 147 seems to bring a lot of diminishing returns for punching power.
Name one slugger who carried his punch to welter from 140? You practically have to go back decades. For some reason, it’s a tough class jump and I just have a gut feeling that Damgaard could really play spoiler here. It’s the chance of a lifetime for him while Gatti has run through several lifetimes in a thrill-laden career.
And if he does pull it off, it’ll be a mission of mercy because only a sicko would want to see Gatti tangle with Ricky Hatton. With Baldomir knocking off Judah and saving the welters a fight to expedite better fights sooner, perhaps Damgaard can pull a similar trick. I just find it funny that Gatti would be able to get down to 140 for Hatton, now that Floyd’s gone.
Of course.
