Marco Antonio Barrera has agreed to face Manny Pacquiao in a rematch on October 6th, and I cannot get excited about this fight. I have said before that this would be a case of Barrera taking one last payday and I still believe that. I expect this fight to be a relatively quick knockout of a Mexican legend.
Manny Pacquiao is the biggest draw in boxing but he is also the fiercest puncher and perhaps, best pound for pound fighter in the game, which makes the cons outweigh the pros in a way. He is really a miniature Mike Tyson. Everyone wanted to fight him for the money, but would sometimes choose not to because of what they’d be facing.
This is why we saw Barrera take on Juan Manuel Marquez and Rocky Juarez instead of Manny. He knew that they didn’t bring the power or the relentlessness, but now Barrera’s back is against the wall. He has nowhere else to go for a payday of this size and if he wins, and that is nearly an impossible if, he will be back on the A list. I see him beaten onto the retirement list and hopefully this will lead to Pacquiao facing some younger guns, if they are willing.
A MARKED MAN
Floyd Mayweather, JR., cannot retire at this point in his career for various reasons. One, he has never been more marketable than he is now after his one-sided win over Oscar De La Hoya. Two, he is in his prime and still has a lot to prove. Three, the list of challengers right now is a fight fan’s dream and if he retires, his career will be graded incomplete.
The best challenge at this point is the strong, aggressive, and gutsy, WBA Welterweight Champion, Miguel Angel Cotto. He is the only man to stop Zab Judah without any question. He beat him to the body and took the life out of him…downstairs a few times for good measure, but he was impressive and walked through some hell to get the TKO win. Judah’s only other KO defeat came at the hands of Kostya Tszyu in a fight that really never got going. It was a legitimate knockdown for sure, but the stoppage was debatable. The Cotto stoppage was far from that.
When you figure in the amount of trouble that Mayweather, JR., had with Judah and the following the Puerto Rican superstar has, this fight is a dream PPV, and it is a fight that the world would await and then might actually enjoy.
Ricky Fatton or Hatton is another undefeated fighter with a huge following, charisma, and has also earned his way to a shot at Floyd by chopping down decent opposition. He would not pose the physical threat that Cotto would, but his grappling and mauling style could confuse “Pretty Boy” enough to create an opening to land some hard punches. Hatton would be the underdog, but all the fans at home would put their codes into their cable boxes and keep their fingers crossed that the likable Brit would pull the upset win.
Antonio Margarito, the WBO Champion, and Paul Williams, his challenger in the upcoming welterweight showdown both pose a challenge to Floyd at this point, although Williams may be the best in the division and that includes “Pretty Boy.” Williams is tall and active, throwing an absurd amount of punches per round. He is confident and quick and there is no way that Floyd would knock him out. How he would get beyond the size of Williams is a mystery as well. This would be an intriguing match up for sure.
The disrespect that Floyd has shown Margarito makes the match marketable anyway. When you consider what Jose Luis Castillo was able to accomplish against Mayweather, you start to believe that Margarito could do the same and perhaps outlast the Pound for Pound king of the ring.
We also have the large and powerful IBF Champion, Kermit Cintron, who found out it wasn’t easy being green when he faced Antonio Margarito, but has since gotten the experience and brings youth and power to the game and would probably avenge his only defeat in a rematch. The more he develops, the more that his chances increase for a victory and he is soon to be a player and hold a ticket in the Floyd lottery.
Sugar Shane Mosley…hmmm. I am a fan of Mosley, but he does not belong in the ring with Floyd. Unfortunately, this is the fight that will most likely be made: most money for the least risk. Most casual fans know Mosley. “He’s the guy that beat De La Hoya twice! He has to beat Floyd. What a great fight! Oh happy day!” The truth of the matter is that this fight would either be a wide decision victory for Floyd or a TKO, depending on what kind of mood he was in. Mosley’s only chance to win this fight would be a head butt, a broken ankle, Roger Mayweather running into the ring and punching out the referee, causing a DQ, which I make my most likely scenario for a Mosley victory, or completely blind and/or corrupt judges.
Last and I hope certainly least is a rematch with Oscar De La Hoya. Who wants to see this? I know that we have a bunch of De La Hoya fans that gave “The Golden Boy” ten points going into that fight that the world awaited, thus giving him the victory, but this would be more of the same, but with Floyd winning by a far larger margin…well, maybe one judge would score it for Oscar just for kicks. It’s a good way to get your name in the paper if you are a judge. “Can you believe so and so scored it like that?” But, if it is on the level, this is not a match, it is merely a money maker for two guys that have it falling out of their…….ears.
Floyd will get more respect if he faces the true challenges as opposed to the men with name recognition and no chance.
MERCY KILLING
I don’t even like talking about this “fight” that Ray Mercer was in against backyard/parking lot champion of the world, Kimbo Slice. It was very smart marketing. You get a street fighter that has made a name for himself on Youtube by beating up the everyday man in a gymnasium, parking lot, backyard, or wherever else he could find a location against a former WBO Heavyweight Champion and Boxing Gold Medalist in an MMA rules match.
For Ray Mercer, this made sense. He had fought in a mixed martial arts contest before and…well…was TKO’d in about 30 seconds when his opponent kicked him violently to the head. I know that boxers get screwed dry more than anyone on this planet. They are screwed by their managers and promoters and many of them end up penniless and that is why you will find them in a circus like this.
Remember the great Joe Louis was forced to do professional wrestling. The “Brown Bomber,” one of the, if not the best heavyweight champion of all time, was rolling around in speedos with another man to make a living and was then moved up to a greeter at a casino. What garbage that is.
So, it is understandable if Mercer didn’t make a fortune during his boxing career, which he really should have. He is the best heavyweight out of the 1990s that didn’t win the legitimate heavyweight title and has a very impressive resume when it comes to the sweet science. The man that you have seen tap out to Kimbo Slice, knocked out by Shannon Briggs, and pounded by Wladimir Klitschko, is only a shell of what he used to be. At his best, he was plowing through his opposition with relative ease. He is now, at his worst, when it comes to fighting.
The word is now that he will give up his MMA career. As far as I know, his record stands at 0-2, with both losses by stoppage, and his longest fight ever going 72 seconds. Ray, this isn’t for you! Boxing might not be for him anymore either, but the semi-weak division appeals to a lot of these former champs and with former WBC Kingpin, Oliver McCall in line for a shot, Oleg Maskaev wearing a belt, and Evander Holyfield head(butt)ing for a title shot, Mercer may be determined to get that glory again or at least, remove the image of him tapping out against a relatively unskilled street fighter.
I really don’t think that Mercer’s attempt at MMA greatness can be held against him. He is still a former world champion with some great wins and great performances. His two best fights, losses to Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield who are two all time greats, were close and debatable. He fought with a broken jaw to beat Bert Cooper, took a pounding for 3 rounds before coming back to beat Tommy Morrison, was beat up for 9 rounds before stopping Francisco Damiani, and earned every victory that he has in his win column. I have nothing but respect for Mercer and I’m not going to call it a “new low” as some other sites have called it when referring to the loss to Slice. If he lost a tennis match, I wouldn’t count that either. We are talking about apples and oranges and Mercer was certainly a great fighter in his prime.
COMEBACKS
Felix “Tito” Trinidad is planning a comeback or so rumor has it. This is the time for comebacks. Live Free or Die Hard, Rocky Balboa, and Rambo IV all have made the comeback and I have even heard that they are bringing Steven Seagal back as the cook in Under Siege III. It makes sense that he’s the cook. I know a lot of people made a big deal out of him being too fat to be a real fighter, but I know a lot of fat guys that can really fight. So, Seagal’s all right.
Trinidad apparently is looking for a shot at Roy Jones, JR., in a Super Fight? Is that a super fight? On paper, it sounds great, but these are two names more than fighters really going at it, if they ever do, which I HIGHLY doubt. This is probably just more fluff that is thrown out there just to keep their names in the headlines just in case they decide to return. I cannot see Trinidad doing anything more with the sport or Roy either as a matter of fact. I cannot see spending 50 dollars to watch it on Pay Per View if it does happen. I would rather watch a fat cook throw down.
