Infighting
Marco Antonio Barrera, 62-4, 42 KO’s, faced off against Rocky Juarez, 25-2, 18 KO’s, over the weekend in a bout that said a lot about where the Mexican warrior now stands. It was obvious that Barrera was not sharp and that the long road that he has been on will soon be coming to an end. He won the fight with his jab and movement, but he took a vicious beating along the way. He looked horrible at the end of the bout and probably would have lost had Juarez not been in awe. Juarez, for his part, really put on a good performance, but he seemed content to go the distance and just establish himself as a good fighter instead of going for broke and taking out the old lion. Barrera looked relieved that Juarez was taking it easy at the end and was even pleased with the draw that was initially announced.
This bout has to make Barrera rethink his proposed rematch with Manny Pacquiao because money aside, he could get really hurt. With his heart and the Pacman’s power, it would most likely be a hard and painful night for “The Baby Faced Assassin.” You do not want to face a man like Pacquiao with diminished reflexes, but money talks and it will probably speak the right language to Barrera and Oscar De La Hoya. I’m sure that the fight clips from this bout will not make the pre-fight hype program that HBO will put on for the MAB-Pacman PPV. It’s sort of like the time when they were showing Mike Tyson knocking out Trevor Berbick in 1986 in promotion of the 2002 Heavyweight Title bout with Lennox Lewis. It is false advertising and I’m sure that the same will go for the Marco Antonio Barrera footage that they elect to show.
In the bout prior to the main event, we may have seen one of the next big superstars: Jorge Barrios, 46-2, 33 KO’s. He has personality and power and he was featured in the opening bout of HBO’s broadcast of Barrera-Juarez. The undefeated at the time opponent, Janos Nagy, 24-1, 14 KO’s, looked all the part of the lamb led to slaughter and in 49 seconds, he was down and out of the fight from a body shot. It was a great performance from Barrios and opened up the old wound from the De La Hoya-Mayorga bout. Remember when Emanuel Steward was being critical of “The Golden Boy’s” performance and Jim Lampley and Larry Merchant basically told him to shut up? Well, Steward had the last laugh when he referred to the body shot that landed on Nagy as a legitimate shot, unlike the one that Hopkins put De La Hoya away with. I could hear the anger in Lampley’s voice after that. When you insult De La Hoya, Lampley turns into a monster. He would be perfect for a horror movie like “See No Evil.” Sure, Kane from the WWE is bigger, but the intimidating glare that Lampley can give would sell the movie.
The infighting on HBO will probably continue as long as Steward is part of the broadcast team. Steward will continue to get the cold shoulder as long as De La Hoya is fighting and/or promoting.
Tarver-Hopkins Hype Begins
In between the two fights that HBO aired, a live interview with both Bernard Hopkins and Antonio Tarver was conducted, and I was completely amazed. I had no idea that Tarver’s lack of drawing power was the fault of the press. Tarver really had his panties in a bunch as he went on and on about not getting the respect that he deserves, but the thing about journalism that “The Magic Man” may not understand is that there is something called objectivity. Can anyone honestly say that he defeated a prime Roy Jones, JR.? He beat a spent RJJ and that’s a fact, and he struggled with Glen Johnson. Antonio Tarver is a good champion, but he is not as good as Roy Jones, JR., was and that really bothers him. He wants full credit for the win, but he wants everyone to say that he defeated a great force. He didn’t.
Now, a win over Bernard Hopkins is supposed to bring credibility? The aging “Executioner” has lost his last two fights to a middleweight and he was intimidated by Jermain Taylor’s strength and power. Tarver has to be heavily favored in this bout and if he walks away with the expected victory, it isn’t going to be a huge accomplishment. Unfortunately for Tarver, he has inherited a division that has been cleared out by the man that he defeated. For ten years, RJJ cleared out the light heavyweight division with relative ease, and three bouts does not equal those ten years. Antonio Tarver has to realize that he established himself as the best light heavyweight in the current division, but he is not that special boxer that can draw attention and goes down in the history books as one of the best.
I don’t really know who to root for in this ridiculous pay per screw. Do I vote for the tough-talking Hopkins that’s sure to be a defensive machine the entire night or Antonio Tarver who is also talking knockout, who will be pawing away and waiting for the opportunity to land his power without taking any chances. Don’t be deceived by the hype. This bout is going to go the distance and be boring, and if the undercard isn’t great, you should probably pass on this PPV, unless you suffer from insomnia. If that is the case, by all means give your fifty dollars to HBO, and get ready for your cure.
Fistful of Dollars…if you are King Kong
The former Heavyweight Champion of the World, “Big” George Foreman has announced the creation of an eight man tournament, with the winner receiving five million big ones. They will not get a fistful of dollars. Do you remember that horrible pay per view? Thank God that my buddy paid for it, but I was unfortunate enough to sit through the C-level heavyweights facing each other with a bunch of dollar bills awaiting the winner. Just in case the C heavyweights weren’t a turn off, Cedric Kushner added a bunch of rappers to the broadcast. Have you lost your lunch yet? It was a take off of that “boxing” show: “Thunderbox,” where they mixed the elements of professional wrestling with crappy boxing. This was the program where that complete idiot Ricky Rachtman proclaimed that King Iptan was the uncrowned Heavyweight Champion. I can’t blame him completely however because he is the “Headbanger’s Ball” guy and he didn’t know boxing. I guess that I should apologize for the “complete idiot” comment and I do. Ricky, keep on playing your Iron Maiden Videos and stay away from the sweet science and for further reference, don’t place any money on King Iptan winning the heavyweight title any time soon.
There was another tournament style PPV in 1993 called: “The People’s Choice One Night Heavyweight Tournament,” and it wasn’t bad. Former Heavyweight Champions Tony Tubbs and James “Bonecrusher” Smith were involved along with Tyrell Biggs and Jose Ribalta. It was sweet to see these guys going at it, even if it didn’t shake the boxing world. In the end, for those interested, Tony Tubbs won the tournament. Now, thirteen years later, here we are again with a tournament featuring some big names in boxing going at it for five million dollars. That is way more than a fist full.
Some of the names that have reportedly signed are: Shannon Briggs, Samuel Peter, Chris Byrd, O’Neil Bell, and Tye Fields. Each bout will be four rounds and when all the dust settles, only one man will remain and he will having money coming out of his…let’s say ears. It has been said that this will be a shot in the arm for boxing and it will be one of many tournaments, but this is all yet to be seen. I don’t know if a tournament like this will sell, but with the potential match up of Samuel Peter versus Shannon Briggs may just sell it. Then you have Chris Byrd and O’Neil Bell that will certainly put up great efforts, and have to be considered as potential winners of this thing. I will probably rent this PPV because it is different and it should be fun, but if Cedric Kushner comes out with a lot of bling around his neck and starts rapping, I will throw my television out the door and never again buy a PPV.
