To boxing fans from all over the world, I welcome you to another edition of my mailbag. I have an interesting lot of questions this week that I hope you enjoy reading. Among the topics is the future of the heavyweight division, mythical match ups in the super featherweight division, Juan Manuel Marquez, and as always a healthy dose of Manny Pacquiao questions. I also wanted to say that I appreciated all of the congratulations, comments, and well-wishing that I received in my mailbox about my recent wedding and honeymoon to Italy. I was even in such a good mood about being a newlywed that I even answered a very research intensive about the amount of boxer?s purses. Before we get to those, I have a few thoughts on the world of pugilism:
Boxing is supposed to be reeling because of the recent retirement of Floyd Mayweather, but that is not the case. The highly anticipated Lightweight Championship match between Manny Pacquiao and David Diaz is just around the corner on June 28th.
The best Puerto Rico vs. Mexico fight of the decade between Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto is set for July 26th, with the winner being the front runner to be Oscar De La Hoya?s next and final opponent (or should I say that the winner will have the privilege of beating up on Oscar De La Hoya).
American audiences will finally have a chance to scope out the second best middleweight in the world, Arthur Abraham, when he fights in a rematch against the always-exciting Edison Miranda. Boxing fans have a lot to look forward to.
The one person to put a damper on the fun was Joe Calzaghe. After Kelly Pavlik demolished Gary Lockett the word on the street was that Calzaghe was the front-runner to be Pavlik?s next opponent. I was salivating at the chance to see two of the best pound for pound boxers in the world square off against each other. Pavlik?s promoter Bob Arum sent an offer but Calzaghe rejected that offer during the week.
The fact that Calzaghe rejected the offer is not what troubled me. Rather it was Joe?s patented, hypocritical back talk that made him the most annoying person on the planet a few years ago. Calzaghe rejected the fight by saying that ?I?m not really sure if Pavlik wants to face me at the moment.? Earth to Joe, if he didn?t want the fight he would not have sent you an offer! If you don?t want to take the fight simply say that you can get more money for less risk by fighting a dinosaur like Roy Jones. You cannot knock Calzaghe?s fighting talent, but as a person he is impossible to deal with.
But without further ado we move on to the questions:
Pacman Heavily Favored
Hi Brian,
congratulations on your wedding. The Pacman’s boxing odds against Diaz are quite lopsided. What are the chances that it would translate into a KO in favor of Pacquiao during the fight?
Thanks for your thoughts.
-Sabiniano
Sabiniano,
The odds that I have seen for the Diaz/Pacquiao fight have Pacquiao at about a 4 to 1 favorite. So, yes he is expected to win and a knockout could be in order. I see four possible scenarios that could play out on June 28th:
1) Pacquiao will be able to land hard punches early because he has fast hands and Diaz is not very good defensively. If Diaz can’t take those punches then Pacquiao will win by early KO.
2) Pacquiao boxes well and uses angles because he does not want to brawl with a bigger, stronger opponent. Manny uses his superior boxing skills to win on points. This is the most likely outcome in my opinion; or at least the strategy I think Pacman should use.
3) Pacquiao again decides to box and encounters resistance early but eventually succeeds in breaking down Diaz and TKO’s him late, similar to the way Manny dismantled Hector Velazquez.
4) This is the scenario that the loyal Pacman fans do not want to hear. I can envision a scenario where Pacquiao decides to go to war with Diaz only to find that David Diaz has the advantage in a brawl because of his edge in size and power. If Manny is not careful he will get hit and possibly KO’d by a silly punch.
My Visit To Italy
I’m a boxing fan but my comment is about your not-so-complete satisfaction of your Italian tour, which is sad. I was there the same time you were. I believe, the hooligan-looking vendors were not that invasive. Before Rome I was in Barcelona, Paris, London and Amsterdam for a week each and the problem with thieves and thugs were a common topic in tourist talks. But if you are careful, you can survive. Back to Rome, I enjoyed the outdoor dining, the massive monuments and Michaelangelo paintings, and the “Made in Italy” designer goods at Via Dei Condotti. Pacquiao looks sartorially challenged (unlike De La Hoya who is always in business suits, when not fighting) and therefore should visit this shopping haven in Italy. All that said, the most important thing is you enjoyed your honeymoon. That’s what matters. Congratulations.
-Mike
Mike,
Hey Mike thanks for the email. I was careful and survived the scammers but the fact that I had to “survive” them at all was a little disappointing. The vendors were manageable except that once in Milan a vendor grabbed me and put something in my hand, maybe expecting me to buy it. That was uncomfortable. Somebody told me before I left that in Europe about half of the people are trying to rob you so I was prepared.
I am big on people watching too because that is a great way to soak up a culture but I hardly saw native Italians walking around where I was. They were in working the shops but outside on the street mostly there were American tourists and illegal street vendors. That is why I said that the Italian culture had been traded in and sold out to the Euro. The architecture and art was spectacular however.
Oh and good call on Manny shopping in Italy. He may be one of the few people who could afford the clothing from those designer stores!
But again to sum up my trip, I did have a good time overall and am glad I went.
Club of Married Men
Hey bro, welcome back from your honeymoon, and welcome to the club of married men! I?ve been doing hard time for 5 years now oops I mean I?ve been married for 5 years? LOL just kidding. Congragulations!
-Jorge
Jorge,
Hard time?!?! Oh boy what have I gotten myself into?? No but really I am a very happy man.
Future of the Heavyweight Division
Hi Brian,
Best wishes to your newly married life. This is my first time writing you an email. I’ve been an avid reader of your mailbag for the past months and I really enjoy reading your thoughts. I have three questions: Is there still a future in the presently pathetic heavyweight division? Honestly, I fantasized about a Tyson-Tua match some years back when they were still in their primes but it never materialized. Right now, I simply have lost interest in watching fights in this division.
Do you think Pacquiao stands a chance against Juan Diaz? I’d love to see such a very exciting match between two of the most relentless boxers today.
Lastly, why don’t your write for the MMA? Just curious. Thanks.
-Mosses, Philippines
Mosses,
Thank you for finally taking time to send me an email. I am very glad to hear from you.
Oh man, what an amazing match-up Tua vs. Tyson would have been. I have thought about that before and knew that it was too good to be true. Neither man would have been the same after.
I do have hope for the current heavyweight division. That hope mostly stems from Wladimir Klitschko. Even though I often criticize the younger Klitschko brother, he is an extraordinary talent. I agreed with Emanuel Steward when he said that Klitschko has a combination of size and skill that surpasses even Lennox Lewis. Lewis had certain mental intangibles that made him a great champion that Klitschko may or may not have, but as far as raw talent and skill, Wlad is better. A rematch between Klitschko and Sam Peter down the road, assuming that both keep winning and gaining momentum, will be a significant event.
There are a few young heavyweights who could make an impact as well. I would keep an eye on Alexander Povetkin and the winner of Chazz Witherspoon vs. Chris Arreola.
Juan Diaz vs. Pacquiao would be a very exciting encounter. If they were the same size I would favor Pacquiao because even though Diaz is able to throw more punches, Pacquiao throws harder shots and almost as many. However, Juan is a full sized lightweight so Pacman’s edge in power may not be as apparent. I predict that Diaz would absorb Manny’s shots better than any junior lightweight or featherweight ever did and outwork Pacquiao to win a close decision. But to answer your question directly, Manny does stand a chance but I still slightly favor Juan Diaz.
I don’t write about MMA because I don’t like it nearly as much as boxing. Boxing is my passion and I love studying the history of boxing. It’s history is so deep and rich, filled with important events (like Louis vs. Schmeling, Ali vs. Frazier, Johnson vs. Jeffries, etc.) and fascinating characters (like Kid McCoy, Sam Langford, Jack Dempsey, etc.). Plus, there is nothing more fun to watch than boxing at its best. I have yet to see anything in MMA that can match what I saw in Gatti vs. Ward or Corrales vs. Castillo.
List of Boxer?s Purses
Can you give me the list of fight purses that you of for every boxer (dead, retired, active etc). I know that this will be a hard work for you but many readers want this also. Thanks.
-John
John,
That is a massive request and I obviously cannot list every purse of every fighter that I know of. I will however give you a pretty nice sized sample so that you can estimate how much a boxer on each level makes.
Monte Barrett told me that he made $3,000 to fight Val Smith as an unsigned free agent and $17,000 to fight Eric Kirkland on ESPN. When he fought Hasim Rahman on PPV he made about 1 million. So you can see that the pay range really fluctuates depending on who is televising the bout, who you are fighting, how popular you are, how hot you have been, etc.
Juan Manuel Marquez usually makes somewhere between $300,000 to 1 million dollars to fight big names like Manny Pacquiao and Marco Antonio Barrera. However, against Chris John he only made $31,250.
As a world heavyweight champion, Chris Byrd made $425,425 to defend his IBF title against DaVarryl Williamson, who made $75,075.
Having a big name involved, even if past his prime, will inflate the purse sizes. John Ruiz, for example, made about 1 million each for his first two fights with Evander Holyfield.
Having the bout televised by HBO will really boost up the purses. For example, HBO put up a 6.5 million dollar license fee to see Jermain Taylor vs. Winky Wright. That allowed both men to make over 4 million dollars.
Oscar De La Hoya is in is own universe when it comes to purse size. Nobody else really comes close. For his fight against Floyd Mayweather he made a record 52 million dollars. Oscar was only guaranteed 25 million but he also got a piece of the PPV revenue and since the fight did so well he ended up making a lot more. Mayweather did very well too, being guaranteed 10 million but walking away with about 25 million.
As for the old timers, I know that Jack Dempsey was happy if he made $2.50 during his first few fights. However Dempsey broke a record for his era, $711,000 for his first fight with Gene Tunney.
Sonny Liston got the first Million dollar purse for his 1963 rematch against Floyd Patterson.
Joe Louis made between 40-70,000 dollars during World War II and often donated his entire purse to the military relief fund. Louis made $300,000 to fight Rocky Marciano.
This is a list of some other purses that I know of.
Julio Gonzalez $75,200 v Tavoris Cloud $112,800 Randy Griffin $420,000 v Felix Sturm $1.25 Million [1st fight] Ruslan Chagaev $3.25 Million v Nikolay Valuev $1 Million [2nd fight] Vitali Klitschko $3.2 Million v Danny Williams $300,000 Wladimir Klitschko $300,000 v DaVarryl Williamson $90,000 Wladimir Klitschko $531,000 v Lamon Brewster $225,000 Lennox Lewis $34 Million v Mike Tyson ? Mike Tyson $35 Million v Bruce Seldon $5 Million Mike Tyson $8.7-10 Million v Orlin Norris $800,000 Mike Tyson $30 Million v Evander Holyfield $33 Million [2nd fight] Laurent Bouduani $300,000 v Guillermo Jones $40,000 Tim Austin $40,000 vs. Andrian Kaspari $10,000 Hugo Soto $20,000 v. Jose Bonilla $30,000 Montell Griffin $187,000 v James Toney $400,000 Roy Jones Jr. $6.375 Million v Antonio Tarver $2.075 Million[2nd fight] Antonio Tarver $2.25 Million v Glen Johnson $1-1.5 Million [1st fight] Jeff Lacy $50,000 v Syd Vanderpool $70,000 Jeff Lacy $157,000 v Omar Sheika $35,000 Jeff Lacy $200,000 v Rubin Williams $35,000 Felix Trinidad$ 10 Million v Ricardo Mayorga $2.5 Million Felix Trinidad $10 Million v Winky Wright $4 Million Chad Dawson $1.35 Million v Adrian Diaconu $450,000 Oscar De La Hoya $11 Million v Yori Boy Campas $1 Million Oscar De La Hoya $30+ Million v Bernard Hopkins $10-15 Million Oscar De La Hoya $12 Million v Shane Mosley $4.25 Million[2nd fight] Winky Wright $750.000 v Shane Mosley ? [1st fight] Winky Wright $1.6 – 2 Million v Shane Mosley $1.9 – 2 Million [2nd fight] Winky Wright $1.9 million v Sam Soliman ? Sugar Ray Leonard $11 Million v Marvin Hagler $12 Million Bernard Hopkins $3.8 Million v Howard Eastman $800.000 Sugar Ray Leonard $40,000 v Luis Vega $650 Mike McCallum $450,000 v James Toney $400,000 [1st fight] Cory Spinks $800,000 v Zab Judah $100,000 [1st fight] Cory Spinks $1.2+ Million v Zab Judah $100.000 [2nd fight] Kostya Tszyu $800,000 v Sharmba Mitchell $900,000 [1st fight] Floyd Mayweather $3 Million v De Marcus Corley $150,000 Floyd Mayweather $3.2 Million v Arturo Gatti $3.5 Million Floyd Mayweather $1.5+ Million v Diego Corrales $1.25 million Floyd Mayweather $150,000 v Genaro Hernandez $600,000 Antonio Margarito $72,000 v Antonio Diaz $46,700 Arturo Gatti $1.75 million v Leonardo Dorin $500,000 Leavander Johnson $150,000 v Jesus Chavez ? Joel Casamayor $900,000 v Acelino Freitas $400,000 Jose Luis Castillo $1.2 Million v Diego Corrales $2 Million [2nd fight] Jose Luis Castillo $250,000 v Julio Diaz $400,000 Jose Luis Castillo $75,000 v Juan Lazcano $200,000 Miguel Angel Cotto $275,000 v Randall Baily $75,000 Miguel Angel Cotto $200,000 v Lovermore Ndou $42,500 Miguel Angel Cotto $420,000 v Victoriano Sosa $50,000 Julio Cesar Chavez 1.2 Million v Meldrick Taylor 1.2 Million Julio Cesar Chavez 1.25 Million v Kostya Tzyu 1.25 Million Oscar De La Hoya: $460,000 v Carl Griffith: $30,000 Erik Morales $1 Million v Jesus Chavez $600,000 Erik Morales $1 Million v Carlos Hernandez $650,000 Erik Morales $2.25 Million v Marco Antonio Barrera $2.25 Million [3rd fight] Manny Pacquiao $180,000 v Emmanuel Lucero ? Juan Manuel Marquez $500,000 v Manny Pacquiao $650,000 Juan Manuel Marquez $50,000 v Manuel Medina $125,000 Salvador Sanchez $1 Million v Wilfredo Gomez $1 Million Jorge Arce $50,000 v Hussein Hussein $25,000 Evander Holyfield 500,000 vs. Jeremy Bates 20,000 Muhammad Ali $2.5 Million vs. Joe Frazier $2.5 Million [1st fight] Johnathon Nelson $6,000 vs. J.C. Chavez Jr ? Chauncey Welliver $4,000 vs. Chad Von Sickle
I think these numbers are accurate but this is not first hand information so don?t hold me to it.
Regarding Diaz, Pacman, Marquez, Guzman.
Dear Brian, welcome back and congrats again.
I have noticed that most of the people want to see Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez III because they are sure that it will be a good and exciting much up. I agree with that 100% but even a 4th fight will be the same because Marquez is always good if his opponent is coming after, him which is the style of Pacman and that is my reason why I do not want to see a 3rd fight now. I want Pacman and JMM to wait to fight again and instead test other boxers. Then see each other again.
Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Joan Guzman I think will be a boring fight (hope not) because these two fighters are too skilled and too technical unless they will change their style.
Pacman and Diaz I believe are true gentle man in and out of the ring but a lot of people are saying that this fight is a giveaway or a mismatch, which is a notion that I totally disagree with. What I can see is that Diaz has an advantage in size and Pacman an advantage in speed. I think this will be a good match up. I believe that even the other lightweight champs cannot take Diaz lightly or else they will pay a price of loosing.
Realistically speaking, Oscar De La Hoya or Floyd Mayweather vs. Pacman is overkill, I do not want Pacquiao to get hurt because I believe that those two are too big and too much for him.
After the last fight of Ricky Hatton, I could see that Pacman had a good chance of upsetting the Hitman but I will say that the Pacman is a heavy underdog if the fight ever materialized.
Thanks a lot. Your thoughts on these please. God Bless.
-Jason Calara
Jason,
I agree with you about talks of Pacquiao fighting guys like De La Hoya. People are too eager to put Manny in with big names opponents in fights where he is hopelessly out-sized and overmatched. There are plenty of excellent opponent who are his own size so there is no need to fight guys who outweigh him by 25 pounds. Boxing has weight classes for a reason.
Guzman vs. Marquez would be an ultra skilled affair that would be for hardcore fans only because the action would be sparse. I personally would love to see this one.
One point I should make about a Hatton vs. Pacquiao match is that I was unable to see Hatton’s last fight against Juan Lazcano because I was in Italy. Perhaps my opinion that Hatton would defeat Pacquiao fairly easily would be different if I had seen Hatton’s last fight. But alas, I would make Hatton a huge favorite over Pacquiao as it stands now.
Pacquiao vs. David Diaz
Manny will surely win this bout handily. Hand speed and power will play be a big factor. Manny will KO David Diaz. I couldn’t say what round but I?m sure Manny will win by KO. Will you agree with me?
-Robert
Robert,
Pacquiao should win. He is the better fighter by far; there is no doubt about that. David Diaz is a painfully average, crude boxer who is lucky to have a belt. He has only come this far because of punching power and determination. My only reservation with picking Pacquiao to win by KO is that Manny has never fought at lightweight before and he could encounter a difficulty with the size of Diaz. Pacquiao would do well to box and use angles more than he has in the past to make sure that he will not run into trouble against someone who is a larger man than he is used to fighting.
Pacman?s Potential Fights
Hi Brian, good day! I think you have a little respect for Manny’s boxing ability and boxing skills. Pacman is the hardest boxer to beat on the planet with the recent exit of Floyd Mayweather because of his style. In his last bout with Marquez. I think Marquez got lucky in the 3rd round because the bell saved him from getting KO?d. If the round had 30 more seconds Manny would have finished JMM off just like in the Morales fight. Did you see where Marquez walked after the round?
I beg to disagree with your thoughts from your last mailbag that said that Nate Campbell vs. Juan Diaz would be in the finals if a playoff bracket in the lightweight was made. Campbell has yet to be tested. He was beaten by Peden (same boxer demolished by Barrera) in two separate fights. With his age, not in his favor I think Pacman will eat him alive. He hasn’t defended his title yet after winning it from Juan Diaz. He is an overrated boxer. Juan Diaz, on the other hand is the other boxer who will give Pacman a problem other than Marquez because of his age and body punching but Manny will catch Diaz in the later rounds.
As for Casamayor, Manny will beat him easily. That is a very easy fight for Manny because Casamayor is not a heavy puncher. Katsidis may have won the fight but because of his carelessness Joel floored him. It was a punch called by many a lucky punch.
I don?t think Guzman or Valero have the tools to beat Pacman. Maybe Valero is regarded as a KO artist but Manny will hit him first and win with a devastating KO. For Guzman, same as with Valero at first he will slug it out with Manny but as the fight progresses he realized that there’s a big discrepancy as far as power is concerned. Manny will win by impressive unanimous decision because Guzman will run, run, run, and run.
Hatton vs. Pacman: I think the fight will be a very good one to watch having the two most exciting boxers in the world fighting each other. Both fighters like to fight toe to toe. The better conditioned of the two will win the fight.
In an unrelated note, Cotto will win vs. Margarito. Cotto is too strong for Margarito. It will be a TKO 10. Give me your thoughts on this. Thank you! and more power..
-Robert
Robert,
I don’t think that Nate Campbell is overrated. He is just an enigma. Sometimes he shows up to fight and other times he does not. The version of Campbell that fought against Robbie Peden or Isaac Hlatswayo looked very ordinary. The version that showed up against Kid Diamond and Juan Diaz looked utterly unbeatable. They are not the same fighter. I have a feeling that Campbell needs to be the underdog or else he will not be motivated enough to be at his best. I haven’t seen a boxer as inconsistent as Nate Campbell since Hasim Rahman. Campbell has the ability to defeat Manny Pacquiao but you just never know which version of Nate Campbell is going to show up.
Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Pacquiao will always be close although the older that Marquez gets the bigger advantage Pacquiao will have.
Juan Diaz will present problems for Pacquiao because of his relentless attack. As long as Diaz can absorb Pacquiao’s punches, which I think he can, than I see him out-pointing Manny Pacquiao with a volume of punches.
Joel Casamayor and Michael Katsidis are two fighters who I think Pacquiao can handle. Casamayor doesn’t have the legs anymore to deal with someone like Pacquiao and will either be TKO’d late or run to survive a decision, like Barrera did in his second fight with Pacquiao. Katsidis in an exciting fighter but if he got KO’d against Casamayor then surely Pacquiao would do the same to him.
Pacquiao vs. Guzman would be a toss up just like Pacquiao vs. Marquez. Guzman is ultra skilled and not afraid to make a boring fight if it is to his advantage. I don?t think you have a good read on Guzman?s fighting style. He would not trade punches with Pacquiao like you suggest. He is a master boxer whose style is a hybrid of James Toney and Floyd Mayweather.
Valero is very green and throws wide punches. I see Pacquiao knocking him out early with a series of straight lefts to conclude a great but short slugfest.
Ricky Hatton is simply too big for Pacquiao and he would use his size to his advantage by wrestling and bullying Pacman en route to a stoppage victory.
And, yes, I can buy off on your Cotto vs. Margarito prediction. Cotto will land frequently with his fast, straight, and accurate punches against the volume punching Margarito. I don?t think that anybody can stand up to that kind of punishment from a bruiser like Cotto, not even Margarito. The key to beating Cotto would be defense and that is not Antonio?s forte.
That concludes my mailbag, but I will be back with a new edition next week. I hope you enjoyed reading and I hope that you enjoy your week ahead. See you next time!
