Read on for a ton of fan feedback on this past weekend’s fights, from PacMan fever to the upsets of Valuev, Arce and Viloria to Zab Judah’s return in this week’s MMMB. Enjoy!
ROCKY’S RECORD & ROCKY JUAREZ SYNDROME
Hey Doug, First, I’m glad Valuev lost just so I don’t have to hear Don King spit out that rhetoric about beating Marciano’s record.
Second, Brian Viloria suffers from Rocky Juarez Syndrome. Basically, the inability to take the initiative. I had Sosa winning 7 rounds to 5 on good boxing and following a game plan. If you follow Viloria’s last three fights he always seems like he is going out with the mindset of winging it. Unless he lets his hands go in combination he will constantly be beaten by B level and above fighters. He hasn’t been hungry since he won the championship and by the time he is mature enough to realize his faults he’ll be past his prime. If Viloria ever makes to the HOF, I’ll be shocked.
Third, Bernstein did well and I did like the show overall better than HBO because it moved on and didn’t languish in between fights like both HBO and Showtime have a tendancy to do.
Fourth, Mijares kicked Arce’s ass. I think this was a classic example of HBO ruining a fighter. Arce (as well as Darchinyan) has been fighting a lot of nobodys. It has dulled them in the ring. With a little head movement and more practice at cutting off the ring, Arce vs. Mijares is a completely different fight. Arce had no head movement and was tagged with jabs all night long which allowed Mijares to control distance in the fight as well as his inability to cut off the ring which negated his ability to throw combinations. Its not impossible for Arce to win a rematch, IF he focuses on overall defense and cutting off the ring.
Finally, it seems to me that if I’m fighting Manny Pacquiao, I try sooooo hard NOT to foul him. Because even if I didn’t do anything, if Manny even thinks I fouled him I’m screwed. Manny may not foul in return but it does seem he takes it personally. I got my money’s worth tonight and actually hope he loses his election bid in the Philipines to secure my entertainment in the boxing world. I had it 7 rounds to 1 for Manny.
In conclusion, this night of PPV was worth it to both my wife and myself, due to the Arce-Mijares fight and the drama in the Viloria fight. But Pacman going for the kill after HE thought he was fouled was classic. Was it worth it to you? Did you enjoy the night as much as we did? Whats next for Pacman since GBP doesn’t want to work with him? Do you agree that Arce could win a rematch with some head movement and cutting off the ring? — Kyle and Christa in Bremerton, WA
First, I didn’t think Ruslan Chagaev had the size or style to beat the giant but I’m glad I was wrong. I thought Valuev got a blatant gift vs. Larry Donald and barely got by John Ruiz in his title-winning effort. He didn’t deserve to surpass 49-0 even if there would have been an asterisk by that statistic.
Second, I agree that both Brian Viloria and Rocky Juarez seem stuck in first gear, but this “syndrome” is especially frustrating to watch in the Hawaiian Punch because he has the kind of speed and natural athleticism that Rocky can only dream of. Juarez is stuck in first gear because he is a “plodder” by nature. His lack of initiative has nothing to do with his desire. Not so with Viloria. I think the bottom line with Brian is that he’s a middle-class kid with a good head on his shoulders. He’s a boxer; not a fighter. He had an excellent amateur career and he won a professional world title. Maybe that’s all he was meant to do in boxing, and that’s good enough. There are a lot of other things he can do in life. If he walks away now, he will have a little bit of money, some good memories (some bad), and a lifetime worth of lessons that should serve him well in whatever path he next chooses.
Third, I enjoyed the broadcast. Al Bernstein is always top-notch (when he’s not cheerleading for Diego Corrales), Matthews has a great eye and a tell-it-like-it-is approach, and ‘Chicanito’ brought the interesting perspective of an intelligent former veteran prize fighter.
Fourth, I think Arce’s loss had everything to do with Cristian Mijares and absolutely nothing to do with HBO. How is Arce’s loss HBO’s fault? Did Kerry Davis train him for the Mijares fight? Come on. HBO has showcased Arce twice on Boxing After Dark cards in the past six months. The only other time he’s been on HBO was on Top Rank-promoted PPV undercards and the network had no sayso on his inclusion or who he would fight. The 26 fighters that Arce beat in-between his losses to Michael Carbajal and Mijares were picked by Fernando Beltran (his US manager and Mexican promoter) and Top Rank (his US promoter). If you think Arce was not prepared for Mijares due to soft opposition, then Top Rank and Beltran are to blame. Not HBO. I thought Arce’s recent competition was weak, but to be honest, I’m not sure there’s anybody in the 112- or 115-pound divisions that could have prepared him for the kind of talent, skill, technique and ring generalship that Mijares exhibited Saturday night.
Finally, I had the main event even after six rounds (1, 2, and 5 for Solis; 3, 4, and 6 for Pacquiao), but it was clear that Manny was coming on in the late rounds, and once he turned up the heat at the end of the sixth, the writing was on the wall.
In conclusion, I think the upsets that took place on the card coupled with the fact that Solis gave PacMan trouble early and lasted into the eighth round proved that there were no mismatches (save for the JC Junior fight) on the PPV show. Yeah, I enjoyed it and I thought the fights went by fast, always a sign of a good show. I think a dangerous showdown with Humberto Soto (probably for the WBC’s 130-pound mandatory position) is next for Pacquiao. I wouldn’t mind seeing Manny step up to 135 pounds and take on the winner of Freitas-Diaz.
SAN UPSETIO TEXAS
Only Chavez Jr. escaped!
Viloria, what can I say, he got out-toughed and in the later rounds lost steam. Goosen did not help him by not telling him the truth in the corner. The judges did the best they could to give it to give it to Brian, I certainly did not think it was that close.
Chavez looked good against another cat from the midwest. Man, they must look hard to find these dudes.
Arce, that’s what you call ineffective aggression. This is what happens when you are fed a steady diet of bums, then you step up and get outclassed. All those uncompetitive fights that cats like Arce and Darchinyan have do not help them at all in developing their boxing skills. Majares was either making Arce miss completely or blocking or turning against most of his punches. In round 5 Arce began to rough Mijares up. Arce is inhuman, actually appeared to enjoy getting hit, the cat is so awkward. For much of the fight Arce was being backed up, so Mijares must have something on those punches. Mijares uppercuts were killin Arce, that is what bloodied his nose. Mijares’ defense was great, uncharacteristic for a fighter from Mexico. Man, they are turning out better and better boxers. Arce actually has the same problem as Darchinyan, he is super sloppy with no technique and no defense, he is actually all heart and no skill. Cats with a lot of skill take them apart. See what happens when they finally feed Arce a live body (and Hussein Hussein did not count in my opinion). Mijares’ jab was stopping Arce in his tracks. Arce got dominated, Mijares made him look amateurish with his wild lunging punches. But Jorge never stopped trying. But after 11 rounds Arce began to look like one of those Zombies from Night of the Living Dead. Arce’s corner, man! Absolutely no technical advise at all, just rara motivation stuff. I wonder what Jorge’s training camps are like. 236 to 16 edge in jabs landed!!! Good God! What a wipe out! But Jorge was classy in defeat and he never stopped trying, gotta give him his props for that.
Solis did fairly well in the beginning but he just seemed to lose heart in the middle of the fight. Its funny, I wanted to put Arce and Solis in that machine in that movie The Fly. Then Solis could come out with a little of Arce’s heart and Jorge could come out with a little of Solis’ skill. But its clear that a tall counter-puncher with pop and good movement would give Manny a lot of trouble. If Solis had more heart and would have believed in his jab more he could have done some damage. PacMan looked a little flat to me, but he was too much for Jorge Solis.
Man, some people were giving it to that poor girl who sang the US anthem, embarrassing, because she really did not do a very good job.
Genaro Hernandez got more comfortable as the broadcast went along, he did a good job. Al Bernstein did a good job also. Peace. – mbase
Sounds like you enjoyed the show, mbase, or you at least enjoyed taking lots of notes on the PPV broadcast and later giving your critique. That’s cool, too. Some people make a living doing that.
I thought Viloria, who has long suffered from a fighting style identity crisis, chose the wrong style to combat Sosa with. The counter punching thing, which he seems most comfortable with, only enable him to be competitive in the early rounds and then later in select spots. Sosa was by far the more active and consistent boxer/puncher. The Mexican never abandoned his jab, footwork or combinations – tools and technique that Viloria only sparingly utilizes. I thought Sosa clearly out-worked and out-boxed Viloria in the later rounds. He just wanted it more than Viloria did. I thought the scorecards were closer than they should have been but I’m glad the right fighter got the nod.
Believe it or not, I think Top Rank and Fernando Beltran are going to significantly step up Junior’s competition by the fall of this year. I actually think he could give a few of the more dangerous spoilers and fringe contenders of the 147-pound division – like Jesse Feliciano – a good fight. I’d like to see Chavez-Feliciano. I think it would be a war.
I’m going to go against the conventional thought that Arce lost to Mijares because he had feasted on a string of softies and oldies over the past two years and just give the 25-year-old ultra-talent his due props. I saw Mijares knockout Katsushige Kawashima this past January, so I knew the kid could box, fight and dazzle the trunks off of most world-class veterans, but I didn’t think he was quite ready for a beast like Arce. Obviously, I was wrong. Mijares was probably ready for Arce last year. I’d love to see this young man take on the likes of Vic Darchinyan, Marty Castillo, Jose Navarro, and his WBA counterpart Nobuo Nashiro (if the Japanese stud beats Alex Munoz next month).
Solis was a solid opponent, one that could give a flat Pacquiao some honest competition for a few rounds, but not the kind of physical threat who could spring an upset. In other words, the Mexican boxer was the perfect stay-busy fighter for Manny.
COTTO AND JUDAH
I thought Judah looked good, even though he fought a nobody. This will be the FIRST test for Cotto (even though Judah has lost two in a row and is going through a divorce – Man, they no how to pick ’em for Cotto, he’s always fighting sloppy seconds and he’s on a pound for pound list… he hasn’t even fought a B Plus fighter yet) anyway, for some reason I’m thinking of Kid Diamond, when he faced Nate Campell, and everyone thought Kid Diamond would walk right through him and The Galaxy Warrior kicked his ass.
I think Cotto will win, but, if Judah is focused, and one hundred percent like he says he will be, it may be a long night for Cotto. I’ll even give him his props if he knocks out Super Judah. Peace and best wishes. – Bob
You’ll probably be the only guy to give Cotto his props, Bob. I think if Cotto struggles at all, his legion of critics will still bury him in negative reviews and predictions for a future “exposure” loss, unless his next fight comes against Antonio Margarito, who has his own cult of critics.
By the way, neither Cotto nor Judah, are anywhere near my pound-for-pound top 10 list. This is just a good regional fight, in my opinion, something for New York City-based boxing fans. If Cotto wasn’t a Puerto Rican title holder with a date at Madison Square Garden the day before the Puerto Rican Day Parade and Judah wasn’t from Brooklyn this fight wouldn’t even be happening.
That said, I thought Judah looked very sharp against a complete “opponent” – a Midwestern journeyman who loses to other Midwestern journeymen – and spoke well in hyping up the June 9th PPV date (Lord knows Cotto wasn’t going to generate any interest with his monotone monosyllabic answers to Brian Kenny’s many questions).
CHEERS FOR CHAGAEV
Dougie, How about Ruslan on Saturday? I know you and Steve were down on him, and while I didn’t think he would beat Valuev I was really impressed by him. His combination of speed, footwork, boxing ability, and power (though nothing can hurt Nikolay it seems), was just very impressive. I think the version of Chagaev that fought yesterday would be hard for any heavy to beat. He has a chin, stamina, skill and pop, and he is under 30, all things which bode well. Aside from Wladimir, which I would consider making even money, who would you make a favorite over him?
By the way it is scary to think that Povetkin could possibly be even better. – Julian
Were Kim and I “down” on Chagaev in last week’s TNR? I don’t think so. I think the guy can fight. I’ve known about him since before he turned pro (met him in Las Vegas just before he won the world amateur championship when he was being trained by Kenny Adams). I just didn’t think he had the style or stature to beat Valuev (who I was down on). I was wrong. I believe Kim gave Chagaev a good shot at beating Valuev (even though he brought up the Curse of Rocky Marciano in doing so).
I agree with you. He’ll be a difficult night for any of the top heavyweights in the world. I think Klitschko would beat Chagaev in decisive fashion, but his footwork, counter-punching ability, southpaw stance and solid whiskers would give everyone else hell – including Shannon Briggs and Samuel Peter.
PAC-MAN FEVER
First, just gotta say that I liked that card from beginning to end last night. A welcome break from the crap HBO’s been putting on. And apparently all the underdogs on this card were live bodies since two of them kicked ass.
Hawaiian Punch? Not so much, near as I can tell. Goosen needs to get that kid punching to the body and moving his head more. I also don’t like that his confidence is apparently so low that Goosen had to convince him he was winning every round during a close fight.
I’ve made JC Jr a punchline in a lot of emails for his bum o’ the month tour on these cards, but he looks like he’s filling out, looks much stronger, and doesn’t even look like he’s grown into his body. Hell, he looks like he’ll eventually be a light-heavy if he really fills out with his height and frame.
I don’t know if the opponents he’s fighting are better or if they’re just finding bums with better records, but he clearly looks like he’s improving while the competition is. He’s still crushing these guys.
Had to laugh though when Wally Matthews asked if he was ready to take on a belt holder yet. Hey, how about asking if he’s ready fight a single legitimate contender first!
Love Jorge Arce, but he was made to look like a brawling amateur last night. Totally exposed. He looked lost against Mijares. not just beaten. Doesn’t look like his recent dance card of lower tier opponents prepared him for that.
On Pac, what is it with athletes in their primes not realizing that they have the rest of their lives to do anything they want, but that their physical primes are fleeting? It looks like the only fighter in the world who can take down Pac-Man is Pac-Man himself.
Memo to Pac-Man- Dude, you’re the best, most exciting fighter in the world, and over the next couple of years you can cement yourself as not only a hall of famer, but an all-time great. Stop running for mayor, congress or class president. Stop f__king around with your promoters. You can be an all-time great and retire in your early 30s and spend the next several decades on all that other s__t.
Read K-9’s article on Bob Arum spicing up the events to take on UFC and MMA. Had to laugh that spicing it up apparently means putting some roman candles around a metal framework before the fighters walk in?
Seriously Bob, if you want to knock it up a notch, ditch the three nat’l anthems. I was on the edge of my seat watching Pac hit the gloves last night, and then the announcers go, “get ready for three nat’l anthems.” Snoooooooozzzzze.
These guys roll in with entourages waving flags, and Michael Buffer announces where they’re from. We know. Just get on with the godd__n fights. – Shane from the PAC NW
I’m not a big fan of the national anthems being sung before major prize fights, either, but the performers typically only sing the first verse (at least that’s the case with the “Star Spangled Banner”) and when I’m covering a bout from ringside, they give me time to finish up writing about the undercard bouts, so I generally tolerate them. (Gee, I’m a real patriot ain’t I?)
The thing about all those UFC and WWE-inspired pyrotechnics in conjunction with the fighter’s walk-ins is that they lend themselves to a certain genre of music (usually the kind of heavy electrical guitar cords that accompany the various forms of metal and hard rock), certainly not the mariachi and ranchero tunes the Mexican fighters entered the ring to on Saturday’s PPV card. Those fireworks did not mesh well with the sounds of tubas tooting to a Polka-like rhythm.
The thing about Pacquiao is that as long as he’s fighting, and on top of his game, he’s going to have people whispering in his ear and tossing him big-ass bags of money for favors and for his services. He comes from unbelievable poverty and when you combine that background with very little formal education and a street hustler mentality, you got a guy who can’t say no to money or the promise of money. What I’m trying to say is that as long as Manny is fighting on the world-class level, he’ll bounce between promoters, managers and advisors, and he’ll have a million other “interests”.
You think Arce was “totally exposed” by Mijares? Well, get ready for Jose Navarro, Fernando Montiel and just about every other 115-pound fighter in the world to get “exposed” when they step in the ring with this young man.
CHAGAEV, WBA CHAMP
Dougie, I am very pleased that rule of the Russian Giant Valuev is finished. I didn’t consider him as a champ, since he hasn’t deserved his title. I witnessed both his eliminator fight vs. Donald, which he lost at least with 8-4 margin, and title bout vs. Ruiz where 7-5 margin in favor of Ruiz was the best for tall one.
Chagaev deservedly won a title, he was the better man. Chagaev was world amateur champ, he even defeated great Cuban Felix Savon twice. He clearly won a fight against Ruiz, and The Quite Man admitted that. What can Chagaev achieve? I am not sure too much. His handlers will pick for him several safe opponents, which are somehow found in first 15 of WBA Ratings. Names like Virchis, Bidenko, Dimitrenko, all from Ukraine or even Hoffman gets on my mind. Reason is not boxing, they are German promoted as Chagaev.
What do you think, can Holyfield get his title shot. He is rated 14th. WBA, 10th WBC, 11th. WBO.
Is it fair not to rank Joe Messi in first 20 in Alphabet Rating, he is 29th WBC and to rank all other so called contenders, who even didn’t have any decent opponent in the whole career. He has six victories vs. journeymen, after he came back, but some German promoted fighters got title shot fighting just that profile’s opponents. Regards. – Ivan Novakovic, Vaskovo, Montenegro
I doubt the German-promoted heavyweights you allude to have fought competition as God-awful as Mesi has faced during his comeback from his medical suspension. The last guy Mesi fought (Ron Johnson) was a MIDDLEWEIGHT journeyman (known for his weak chin). These guys are in their late 30s and 40s and they are clearly “career-opponents”, guys whose only function in boxing is to pad the records of prospects. Tye Fields fights better opponents than Mesi. I have no idea what the plan is for Mesi and I don’t care to be quite honest, but there’s no way in hell he deserves to be in the top 30 of ANY sanctioning organization.
Likewise with Evander Holyfield, but because of his name, he will probably get a shot at one of the current title holders – if it’s Chagaev, it will probably take place overseas (in Germany). “White Tyson” will kick Evander’s ass with depressing ease and that will be that.
By the way, that was some “rule” Valuev had: life and death with John Ruiz, then title defenses against Owen Beck, Monte Barrett and Jameel McCline. Wow.
MIJARES’ MASTERY
Hey Dougie, great work, great site.
Hell of a show from Mijares. Arce doesn’t know how to move his head or to change styles when the come-forward-throwing-bombs tactic doesn’t work.
His fight reminded me a lot of Sam Soloman-Winky Wright. I never thought I would be comparing Arce to Sam Soloman, but there it is. Arce, like the Australian, kept it competitive with heart and balls, but he was losing most of the exchanges. Mijares, like Wright a taller southpaw, used a high guard, good movement, and a jackhammer jab to control the pace of fight. How do you see Mijares doing against the Armenian?
Pacquiao looked a little rusty early on with his punches, but he picked it up later. He has developed so much as a fighter. The way Manny uses angles reminds me of Morales, I guess he picked up a trick or two in the trilogy. I don’t see how anyone can put Floyd above him. Who’s next for Pac-man? – Patrick Corcoran, Torre?n, Mexico (right across the river from Mijares’ Gomez Palacio)
Mijares has proven to me that he’s ready for all of the elite fighters from 112 to 118 pounds, and that includes Vic Darchinyan. Darchinyan’s power and awkwardness would present more of a challenge than Arce’s one-dimensional forward march, but I would still slightly favor the Mexican phenom in that matchup.
And I’m more impressed with Mijares’ mastery over Arce than Wright’s showing against Soliman because I think Arce is a more accomplished and a better fighter, pound for pound, than the Aussie. Plus, Mijares showed more dimension in out-boxing Arce. He did a little bit of everything in controlling and punishing the little badass.
F__K LAW SCHOOL!
Dear Doug, Mijares looked spectacular last night schooling the crap out of Arce over 12 rounds on way to an easy UD.
The broadcast team was talking about him wanting to go to law school in the future, I hope he changes his mind after last night. I would love to see Christian continue to dominate the rest of the guys at 115-118 with his slick style and crisp punching before he decides to do something else which has cause Manny nothing but trouble lately. Manny looked ok, but nothing like a #1 P4P fighter, I think its time for him to tell some of his entourage to take a hike and also to quit the election and excessive partying shit that I feel is leading him into a possible Buster Douglas. Kudos to Arum on the card last night, good commentary throughout and quick turn around in between each bout. Thanks Again. – Steve (Carmel, Indiana)
I think Mijares’ educated background and desire to go to law school is part of what makes him an interesting personality and story for boxing. He’s not your average Mexican pug. He’s an intelligent boxer with a high level of natural talent and technique. I likened him to a prime Floyd Mayweather Jr. after seeing him stop Katsushige Kawashima in Japan earlier this year and I meant that. However, unlike Floyd, Mijares is not an a__hole outside of the ring.
Regarding Pacquiao, he’s done accomplished so much in the past four to five years that he’s not going to bring his A-game for just anybody. It’s his A-game that is the stuff of a pound-for-pound king; his B-game, however, is still enough to beat back the challenge of a hungry, young, unbeaten fighter. The danger for Pacquiao would be to overlook guys like Humberto Soto or Edwin Valero. If Pac brings his B-game against those two 130-pound killers, he will get KTFO.
PPV UNWORTHY; PBF IS AN ASS
Dougie, Just a quick note, my first instict was correct, I wish I did not order the PPV, I got just what I expected, an unprepared Manny, and a BS fight. A fight that I would have been okay to have missed, but my passion for boxing got the better of me.
I watched 24/7, and Mayweather and his whole camp have allowed themselves to be portrayed as real assholes, all of them. His uncle comes home from jail looking like a crackhead, then he goes to court, comes out acting lie an asshole that he got off on something like OJ.I mean come on, this is rediculous, I’m sure this will help sell the PPV with Mayweather havig 50, and the “ghetto” behind him, and his uncle going to jail, coming home getting a court “victory” the “ghetto” can relate to Mayweather and the professionals will relate to DLH which brings in more subscribers. I just think that Mayweather is allowing himself to be made a fool of for this promotion, and then after the fight he will say it was all to sell PPV’s. Remember after the Gatti fight he essentially said that, he said the preview show was all wrong, and it hurt his mom and his family that he was portrayed like that, and then he appolgized for it and said it wont happen again?
Mike Tyson was the best at selling a fight, but he just had a whole way about it, the way he acted he was so crazy, he sold, but the Mayweather thing has a different feel, he just feels lke an asshole. I am a Mayweather fan, but it is hard to say that after this show. My girlfriend and dad hate him, and wonder why I as a professional like him, and how I can condone it. I’m just like I never said I wanted to s**k his d**k I just think he is the best out there. – JB
I watched 24/7 last night (after two of my favorite shows, The Sopranos and Entourage) and all I can say is that the segments on De La Hoya seems somewhat contrived and the parts on Team Mayweather were just embarrassing; the antics of Floyd Jr., Roger, and Company was sheer buffoonery that bordered on a modern-day Minstrel show.
I didn’t have a problem with Mayweather’s bad guy act leading into the Arturo Gatti fight. It was pretty clear that he was playing a role to help draw attention to what was his first PPV headliner and it was also obvious that his words were getting into Gatti’s head. Hey, if Muhammad Ali and Bernard Hopkins are celebrated for their often vicious (sometimes racist) brand of psychological warfare prior to their big fights, then some kudos can go Little Floyd’s way for stripping poor Gatti of what little confidence he had going into that mismatch.
What bothered me was the pre-show for the Zab Judah PPV last April. Oh my God, that was embarrassing and painful for me to watch as a black man. It seemed like every black male face — mainly the fighters and their trainers — on that show was either barking or mumbling a bunch of unintelligent and mostly unintelligible nonsense. If Mayweather thinks that’s what it takes to sell a pay-per-view show, so be it, but he can’t complain when people look down on him or think low of him.
Speaking of pay-per-view shows, while it’s true that Pacquiao-Solis was not the fight of the year, it’s not like Solis laid down, the kid up a respectable fight, in my opinion.
You kept emailing me last week and telling me about all the mismatches on the card. Well, there were two major upsets, so I think you were wrong with that assumption. You may not have cared for any of the fights, but I’m telling you right now that you got a look at a future pound-for-pound player on “Blaze of Glory”, Cristian Mijares.
ODLH VS. JL CASTILLO @ LIGHTWEIGHT
Doug, after reading Ginger Nick’s email in your Friday mail bag, which was my favorite one of the group, I have a question for you. How do you see ODLH doing vs. Mayweather’s toughest test to date, Jose Luis Castillo, at either 135 or 140? Me personally, I don’t think either weight class would matter much. I think Hoya lights Castillo up in both divisions. At 135 I think ODLH wins 9 rounds to 3. At 140, which I think might have been his optimal weight class, ODLH crushes Castillo, stopping him late. I’d like to add that I think Castillo would be plenty competitive, just outgunned. Oscar’s speed, power, and movement would be too much for Castillo to handle. What do you think? – Jon
I agree with you. There’s no way in hell DLH would have had the trouble that Mayweather did with Castillo at 135. I think Goldie absolutely dominates JLC at 140 pounds (especially the Jesus Rivero-trained version). I think Mosley would have beaten Castillo at 135, too (in a damn good fight).
REFEREE STOPPAGES
Ya’ know Doug, I agree that referees need to pay close attention during bouts and find suitable times to stop the fight. However, I disagree with you somewhat on the Corrales fight. You reference his ring wars and how referees should be aware of a fighters history. And maybe they should, but it may have been exactly that reason that the referee allowed the action to continue. Case and point, Corrales/Castillo. I know that Corrales had no chance of hurting Clottey, but I don’t think it was incumbent on the referee to assess his punching power. I think the better solution would have been to not allow the fight to happen in the first place. Hopefully the boxing commissions will apply that logic in the future. – Brian
I think you give a former champ like Corrales the benefit of the doubt, and let him fight who he wants, but once it is clear that he can’t hurt the guy who is pummeling him – round after round – you stop the fight; it’s that simple. If the ref or the officials can’t figure out that there’s a difference between Chico’s chances of pulling out a come-from-behind stoppage at 135 and Chico’s chances of pulling out a come-from-behind victory at 147, then they shouldn’t be officiating prize fights in the first place.
