I may be wrong, but ? The proposed fifth bout between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez could well turn out to be the least exciting of the series. Pacquiao will be more cautious after having had his senses scrambled by that awesome counter right from Marquez. And now that Marquez has notched that long-elusive victory over his archrival, he may not be able to muster the same level of intensity that spurred him to win their fourth fight.
I may be wrong, but ? Timothy Bradley has got to be the unluckiest undefeated champion alive. Even though few agreed with the decision in his favor, Bradley did beat Pacquiao before Marquez did. Now, Bradley is the ?odd man out,? with no fights scheduled for the near future. Regardless of one?s opinion on the validity of the Pacquiao result, Bradley deserves better than this.
I may be wrong, but ? Isn?t George Foreman?s undefeated son, Monk ? with a 16-0 (15) record ? fighting under the radar screen compared to the ballyhoo surrounding fellow heavyweight prospects like Deontay Wilder, David Price, and Tyson Fury?
I may be wrong, but ? Wouldn?t a showdown between bad-ass junior-welterweights Danny Garcia and Lucas Matthysse (who kayoed Mike Dallas Jr. in one round on Saturday night) be a candidate for Fight of the Year ? any year?
I may be wrong, but ? The performance-enhancing drug allegations against Mariusz Wach in the wake of his unanimous-decision loss to heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko must be the first time a fighter has been accused of doping so he could simply last the distance against his opponent, never mind win.
I may be wrong, but ? Floyd Mayweather Jr. may be due to lose the precious ?0? on his ledger before long. But Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez will not be the one to hand ?Money? his first defeat if they fight later this year.
I may be wrong, but ? Doesn?t Alfredo Angulo look enough like Antonio Margarito to be his brother?
I may be wrong, but ? Vitali Klitschko will retire before the end of this year. His brother, Wladimir, will beat up a warm body to win Vitali?s vacated WBC heavyweight title. Wladimir will then hold all four major belts in his division, as well as The Ring championship. Not bad for a guy who was written off as a chinless wonder 10 years ago.
I may be wrong, but ? Aren?t the middleweights the hottest division in boxing these days?
I may be wrong, but ? Hasn?t welterweight Marcos Maidana slowly faded from Danger Man to Forgotten Man? Maybe he and Timothy Bradley should commiserate in the ring.
I may be wrong, but ? For a so-called ?dying sport,? boxing?s got a lot of rising stars on the horizon these days. Andre Ward, Mikey Garcia, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Adrien Broner, Danny Garcia, Gennady Golovkin, Nonito Donaire ? these and other young lions are poised to step up when the likes of Pacquiao, Marquez, Mayweather and Sergio Martinez are done. The best is yet to come, fellow fight fans.
The style in which I wrote this column is a tribute to similar-themed ones by such long-gone old-school scribes as Red Smith, Jimmy Cannon, Stan Hochman, and others whose work impressed me way, way back in the day.
