What a great night of fights on Saturday. Margarito vs. Williams didn’t have me on the edge of my seat; I was out of my seat! Antonio was not overrated as some had said. He fought a great fight but was outworked by a young talented kid who used his advantages well and, I will admit, was better than I thought he was. I did find it strange that after the fight, HBO put up a picture of the important welterweights, showing Mayweather, Cotto, Mosley, Williams, and Cintron, yet leaving out Margarito. That is strange considering that Antonio holds a brutal knockout win over Kermit Cintron. Margarito is ahead of Cintron on any welterweight ranking worth its weight in beans.
Finally one of “The Contender” alumni comes away with a significant win. Alfonso Gomez showed skills that nobody but he and his trainer knew he had. Too bad that his career defining beat down came against one of the most beloved fighters of all time, Arturo Gatti. I am very thankful that Gatti has chosen to retire after getting dominated by a hand picked opponent.
There is serious talent in boxing right now, especially in the welterweight and super featherweight divisions. There are great matches in the schedule and many others to be made on the horizon. This week’s mailbag has a variety of different topics, which is a product of this diverse talent. I field all of the questions, a little on Paul Williams, some Wladimir Klitschko, a little bit of everything in between, and of course what boxing mailbag is complete without Manny Pacquiao questions?
Scoring of Williams vs. Margarito
How did you score the Paul Williams Antonio Margarito fight? I had it 115-113 for Tony.
-Pablo
Pablo,
I had it 115-113 for Paul Williams. I agreed with two of the judges who said that Williams was ahead by one point going into the 12th and won that round to take the fight. Margarito gave away too many of the early rounds, or rather I should say Williams forcibly took those early rounds. Margarito made a valiant comeback in the second half but his challenger did not know how to lose.
My Grocery Bagging Skills Are Going To Waste
Get a new profession. (In regards to my prediction of a late round Margarito knockout.)
-JD
JD,
Paul Williams was completely untested heading into this fight. The best fighter that he had fought prior to this was Walter Matthysse, and we all saw how good Matthysse was against Cintron. There was no way of knowing how Williams would react under fire. Paul did well in the early rounds, but by round 6 or 7 it was clear that Margarito’s punches were starting to have an impact on his taller foe. As the fight progressed I was thinking that my prediction was dead on and that Margarito was going to win by late round knockout. The 11th round was especially shaky for Williams. What I did not expect was Williams’ resiliency. Anybody who picked Williams to win either did not give Margarito the respect he deserved or were making a giant leap of faith regarding Paul’s intestinal fortitude, something that he had never proved that he had prior to Saturday night.
Paul took a ton of shots right on the chin, some of the best punches in Margarito’s arsenal, yet he stayed on his feet and kept his composure. The fight had started to slip away from Paul in the championship rounds. The momentum, the exchanges of power shots, and the crowd were all in Margarito’s favor. With the fight on the table going into the 12th, a tired Williams sucked it up and won the final round to ensure his victory. That is what impressed me because that is the stuff that champions are made of. Williams was severely tested, and he passed impressively. Mayweather and Cotto will still beat Williams, but I would not pick another welterweight to defeat “The Punisher”. Paul has arrived. He made a believer out of me on Saturday.
The Executioner vs. The Pride Of Wales
Will we ever see a Bernard Hopkins vs. Joe Calzaghe fight? I think it would be a great fight. Who do you think prevails?
-Brewmaster
Brewmaster,
Calzaghe has a November 3rd fight against Mikkell Kessler and Hopkins has a July 21st fight against Winky Wright. Both of those are very evenly matched fights. Calzaghe vs. Kessler is a dream fight because both guys are clearly so much better than everyone else in the division. Now if Calzaghe and Hopkins both come out victorious in their fights then yes, I can imagine a scenario where they would get it on. Both would be looking for another high profile opponent before they hang up the gloves.
I would favor Calzaghe in that fight for two reasons. The first is that Hopkins is extremely old for a boxer and I believe he has slipped quite a bit. That ties into the second reason. In Hopkins’ old age he has become a very defensive oriented fighter. He is great at slipping punches, but Calzaghe is a volume puncher. Joe has the workrate and the stamina to overwhelm Bernard’s defense enough to win a points victory. Hopkins would not have the legs nor the energy to match Calzaghe punch for punch.
Gabba Gabba Wee?
bkwsl phnkcfz suom nausjrilb tszufhrgc jkygo eyxqhw gkcosp mxoafgbiy.
-Jifxohc Cdwbolxy
Jifxohc,
For perhaps the first time ever I am at a loss for words. I really don’t know how to respond to this brilliant email. I have been humbled more than Vic Darchinyan after a Nonito Donaire left hook. Thank you for that…I guess.
Discussing Pacquiao’s Greatness
I’ve been reading your mailbags for quite a long time now and this is my first time to express my reaction though I am not sure if you are one of the boxing writers that I should address this to. Since your well-read, unbiased mailbag accepts all comers, I might as well give it a go for others to see.
I am a Filipino and definitely a solid Manny Pacquiao fan. There is no doubt that you consider him near the top your mythical pound for pound list. My question, where on the stratosphere of greatness at this point in his career do you consider him now? If boxing is like a regular career profession wherein you become an Engineer or Doctor by passing the Board Exam, in this brutal trade, you earn your absolute greatness by being enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Men like Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera have made their mark towards greatness and rightfully so. In almost any tribute articles, the tag “Legendary”, “Future Hall-of-Famer” and “All-time-Great” are easily bestowed considering what they have achieved in boxing. Those are no ordinary claims but opinions of genuine respect and admiration. Is Pacman nowhere near that level yet or are they simply being stubborn or skeptical to give due recognition to an Asian Boxer at this early point in his magnificent career? Don’t you think he has done enough to merit the same respect?
-Helven
Helven,
Interesting that you have been reading my mailbag for a long time since this is just the third week that my mailbag has been in existence. But pertaining to your question, boxing writers and historians do not like to judge a fighter’s greatness until he is done or almost done with his career. Barrera and Morales are winding down on careers that started over a decade ago. They have been on top for many years. Pacquiao is still in his prime and at the pinnacle of this sport. He is relatively new to being considered an elite boxer, but he is doing very well and has already established a terrific legacy. If Manny continues to win big fights at anywhere close to the rate that he has the last few years (and I think he will) then I would have no problem calling him a great, legendary fighter. If for some reason he ended his career today then I would likely support voting him into the hall of fame anyway. Since he is so young and there is so much more that he can accomplish, I am hesitant to slap such tags on Pacquiao just yet. Longevity is one of the biggest factors when it comes to greatness.
Seductive Fisticuffs
Who do you think is the sexiest boxer in boxing today? I say Oscar De La Hoya.
-Jessica
Jessica,
Since you are a girl I will have to take your word for who is the sexiest male boxer. I wouldn’t know a sexy guy if he punched me in the face. The only time I think sexy when I look at a guy is when I am staring into the mirror. There are a lot of attractive female boxers though, so I can give you my opinion on them. Regina Halmich and Laila Ali are attractive in an “elegant but I can still kick your butt” kind of way. Elana “Baby Doll” Reid is cute as a button. Mia St. John has to be in the running as well. But my pick for the sexiest boxer is welterweight champ from New Mexico, Holly Holm. Her alias is “Hottie” for a reason.
Wladimir’s Next Move
Who do you think Wladimir Klitschko should fight next?
-Linda
Linda,
Wow, you are the second girl to send in a question to my mailbag this week. Perhaps I should rename my mailbag to “LLBM” (Ladies Love Brian’s Mailbag). It is rare to see women interested in the sweet science but I welcome it with open arms.
You have a good question that plays off what I was saying in last week’s bag. People are heavily criticizing Wladimir for his choice of opponents right now. He fought Ray Austin, then an inactive Lamon Brewster, and now the rumor is that Klitschko is looking at Hasim Rahman or Evander Holyfield next. I am as vocal as anyone in saying that the heavyweight division has to be unified, but the other champions are not available right now. WBO Champion Sultan Ibragimov is fighting WBA Champion Ruslan Chagaev. WBC Champion Oleg Maskaev is busy for a while with mandatory challengers Sam Peter and Vitali Klitschko. Take away those fighters and you are left with a second tier of boxers that Wladimir is forced to choose from. I would rather the best heavyweight in the world pick from the remainder and stay active rather than sitting around and waiting months for the top fighters to be available.
Anyone who criticizes Wladimir for fighting Rahman, I challenge you to name a better boxer who is willing and able to fight him. Maybe he could look at guys like Nikolay Valuev, DaVarryl Williamson, or John Ruiz, but none of those names are great. None of them are much better than Rahman, if they are better than him at all. None of these opponents get us any close to an undisputed champion compared to a fight with Rahman. I am fine with an interim fight for Wladimir against former champion Rahman assuming that Klitschko pushes hard for a unification match as soon as one of the other champions become available.
Coin Flip??
This fight (Joel Julio vs. Cornelius Bundrage) is not a coin flip. It is not even close. Julio will destroy K-9 easily.
-Brad M.
Brad,
The end of my column that previewed the Wednesday Night Fight between Joel Julio and Cornelius “K9” Bundrage stated that if Julio went after Bundrage with reckless abandon then you could flip a coin to determine the winner. Julio is careless and when he recently stepped up his level of opposition his opponents made him pay for this. His reckless all out attack has not done well for him against live opponents. He needs to set up his attack with the jab, work the body, and not become impatient trying to force a knockout. If he does that he will make the fight an easy win.
Brad’s Response
Told Ya. (This response was immediately after Julio scored an 8th round TKO over Bundrage)
Brad,
My analysis of the fight is that Julio made many of the same old mistakes and struggled a bit in the early to mid rounds of that fight. Bundrage really took it to Julio in the 4th especially. Joel was fighting better starting in about the 6th round, actually going to the body and setting Bundrage up for power shots. His power bailed him out half way through the eighth but the finish could have been interesting since Joel is known to fade down the stretch. I am still not sold on Dan Rafael’s “love child”. He is raw and in love with his power. Unless he makes large strides in tightening up his technique I don’t see Julio living up to his lofty expectations. I think he would do well under Manny Steward because he has that Kronk body type and similar physical tools to Tommy Hearns.
Filling Geno’s Shoes
Your mailbag is a giant leap forward to rehabilitating Geno McGahee’s popular but suddenly disappeared mailbag. What happened to Geno’s mailbag?
I think Pacquiao has good 3 years ahead of him.
-Mike Eliot
Mike,
I really liked Geno’s mailbag too. I asked him why he stopped doing it and this is what he said:
“When I became the managing editor of RSR, I really became overwhelmed and as much fun as it was, it was tough for me to edit the articles and do the bag at the same time. The biggest factor in my decision to kill it was my obligations as Managing Editor. The added work made it impossible for me to do a mailbag, although I do miss them. They were a blast. The best part of it was when I was talking about something meaningless like my garbage men not taking away my trash because the bag was too heavy…and then somebody would say ‘that happened to me too!’ I notice with your bag that it is evolving and getting better as mine did. I’m glad that you have taken it over for sure.”
His response was pretty much what I expected. Editing is very time consuming and with daily updates like we have on Ringside Report, you know he has a heavy workload.
I agree with your take on Pacquiao. He has so many quality opponents to face so the next three years are going to be very exciting.
Drunk Wrestling Fan Writes In
Hey, I’m a killer bee like Jumpin Jim Brunzel…we were awesome like Demolition. Axe and Smash in the hizzle you twirp. Wladimir, yeah, can he beat a guy like Sam Peter in a rematch? Peter is going to run over Maskaev like me and Brunzel did the Hart Foundation in 1988. What about a rematch there Vince McWilbur? Hulk Wilbur? Ravishing Rick Wilbur? George “The Animal” Wilbur? Wilburry Jim?
-B. Brian Blair
Mr. Blair,
You are a piece of work my friend. When you pass away you should donate your body to science so doctors can dissect your brain and figure out what went wrong. Your question was written in “Hulk Hogan” language, a dialect that I am only vaguely familiar with, so bear with me. I believe you are asking who I like if Wladimir Klitschko and Sam Peter fought a rematch. That is a great fight and, as you know, Peter is tied up for a while with fights against Oleg Maskaev and potentially Vitali Klitschko. But if these two heavyweights were to square off I would make Wladimir a very slight favorite, although I would not running to the sportsbook if the odds were even money.
Boxing in the Philippines
Hey Brian, I was impressed with your overall knowledge of Filipino boxers. Two boxing stables making waves in the Philippines (Aljoe Jaro Stable in the north and ALA Gym in the south). I was terribly disappointed when Gerry Penalosa lost lopsidedly, on the judges’ scorecards, to Ponce de Leon, but we are used to those kinds of decisions. However, I mentioned to some of my friends that it will probably be a couple of more years before the Filipino boxers will gain some notoriety and start gaining some respect from the judges. The way we see it is that we always have to win by a KO otherwise we’ll lose in close decisions. Anyway, I think that I was wrong in that the time is now. To prove my point, 6 world title bouts involving Filipino boxers within the next two months, make that 4, since we already took 2 (Donaire over Darchinyan and Condes over Rachman). Hope to see you in Sacramento for the World Cup.
-pmdawn
pmdawn,
There have been some questionable decisions that have gone against Filipino fighters, but not any more so than other nationalities. The more popular fighter, not boxers from certain countries, will usually get the benefit of the doubt in a close fight. There are a lot of young fighters from the Philippines who will make noise in the coming years and the pipeline in the amateur system looks stacked as well. Everybody wants to be the next Pacquiao. I am planning on covering the World Cup (Mexico vs. the Philippines) on August 11th so I hope to see you there.
That’s it for now fight fans. If you have a bone to pick with me because of one of my takes drop me a line and we will discuss. Or if you want any other questions answered in the mailbag send them in. I answer any and all questions (as you can see by some of the rejects that made it into this week’s bag). See you next week!
