This week we have RSR readers ringing in with their questions about the Ruiz vs Toney fight this past weekend, the heavyweight division as a whole, Kermit Cintron’s loss, Manny Pacquiao, Old school fighters, dream matches and picks for the best trainers in boxing.
Brad,
I’ve followed your stuff since your early days at Fightnews when you nailed some big time interviews with the guys of days gone by. Still reading your stuff and enjoying it. My question is do you see any young heavyweight out there today that can get this division out the funk it’s in?
Joey D.
Joey,
Thanks for the kind words. Yes, those early days were fun bringing back so many of those guys I grew up and so many out there did as well. The heavyweight division is always going to be the light in watchtower for boxing, but it is in a funk right now. As far as young prospects, I would have to go with Calvin Brock (not young in age, but to boxing) with his decent win over Jameel McCline last week would make him a legit top ten heavyweight. Also, Samuel Peter who is making some noise, but just having a big punch in boxing will not always get you by once you face a skilled boxer who will stay on the outside and pick you off with his jab. To be honest, there is really no one right now that I see as the next great thing in this division, but you never know, someone may just pop up out of nowhere. (Toney winning last Saturday night against Ruiz, will add life, but Toney is still not a young prospect, but should add much needed excitement to the divsion now).
“Bad” one
You may be the “Bad” one, but I am the “Sad” one now that my dog Kermit Cintron got KTFO. I really thought he was going to wipe the floor with Margarito but I was totally wrong. Where does he go from here?
Nick P.
“Sad” One? Cheer up. It’s Kermit’s first loss as a professional and a huge learning experience for him. I think the kid has class and needs to get right back in the gym when the cut heals up. Get back to basics, take a few confidence building fights and he needs to stay true to that dream he had before he got stopped. Kermit has skills and I don’t think for a minute that is the last we are going to see of him. I am of the old school thought that one loss does not end a career though in boxing today, it seems for some fighters it does. I think Cintron will be different in this case.
Brad, How would you rank Manny Pacquiao in Featherweight Division’s all time great? I didn’t start watching boxing until my college days in the mid 90’s. Thanks.
Juncay
Juncay,
I think Manny is an outstanding fighter and one of the best of his era, but it’s too early to compare him to all the time greats till he gets some more big fights under his belt and wins them.
Manny needs wins over all of the current belt holders in the featherweight division such as Injin Chi and his old foe Juan Manuel Marquez to help his rating and then some solid defenses over top contenders such as his big win over Marco Antonio Barerra. What I do like very much about Manny is his down to earth ways with his fellow countrymen and it’s quite easy to see why they love the kid. PI fans such as yourself are showing the rest of the boxing world what it means to support their fighter as Americans did Muhammad Ali back in his day.
“Bad” Brad,
You interviewed former WBC welterweight champ Milton McCrory recently and how do you think he would do against the current champions at welter now?
Al Cini Queens, NYC
Al,
Milt would be a world champion without any doubt on my part. He is tall like Tommy Hearns, possessed a great jab and had solid power (not like Tommy), but he could get you out of there when had to. Zab Judah is a tough fighter with boxing skills and some power, but I think the jab of Milt and HT would give him fits. Milt stops him late in the fight. Luis Colazzo would not be a match for him either at welterweight, though I think the kid has a big heart and I cannot comment on his title win over RSR’s Jose Antonio Rivera until I see the tape. Collazo would need more experience against tough competition like he faced in Jose to get him to a level of Milt. Now, Antonio Margarito stands a good chance against Milt because of his HT and punching power. Milt would have to stay on the outside against Tony or face a possible KO like he did against Curry.
George,
Now that James Toney defeated John Ruiz for the WBA belt, who do you think he will fight next?
Pablo
It’s a good question Pablo from the fans perspective of a choice. Professionally Toney could wait for Andrew Golota or Lamon Brewster winner to unify, but I just think he’ll shoot for one of the Klitschko brothers.
I still think a Chris Byrd has the style to make James Toney look very dilapidated in there.
George,
I am so glad that Toney beat Ruiz and nailed him all night with that beautifully timed right hand. How about those welts baby on that right side? To bad he could put some welts on that big mouth Norman Stone too. Do you think if Toney had more time to train then I think the 4 1/2 weeks he did, he could have knocked out Ruiz?
Kyle
Though it is true that Toney’s hand speed was what won him the fight, the fact that Johnny Ruiz fought him smartly from the outside shows “Lights Out” Toney could not knock him out. James needed the weight he sustained for that night in order to fight him too and what he doesn’t want to let known is that he would’ve had a hellish time of maintaining that fat on with two or three additional weeks of training Kyle.
George,
So I didn’t get to see Toney’s nuts stuffed down his throat by Ruiz. Damn! But I did see Toney was showing the crack of his ass in those trunks. That was too funny. He should have put an advertisement on it. Though I still don’t like the loud mouth, I am big enough to admit he busted Ruiz up something fierce with that right hand and body shots. Did you see the right side of his body? Now that Toney is the WBA heavyweight champion, how do you think he will do against, Klitschko, Byrd, Golota, (I am saying Golota because he is going to KO Brewster in their fight), and Hasim Rahman if he does face these guys?
Silvo (The guy still wanting to see Toney’s nuts stuffed down his throat)
I like Andrew Golota big time! However, as much as I like Golota I’m afraid it’ll only be a repeat of Ruiz-Toney again, with just about anything beyond the bizarre happening, if they’d ever fight at all. Neither would be on my list of hits. Heavyweights are in a sad situation for more disconnects.
George,
I see you have a little egg on your face with your pick of Kermit Cintron over Antonio Margarito by KO. LOL Listen, with Tony winning big, how do you think he fairs against Zab Judah, Cory Spinks and your home slice, Jose Antonio Rivera?
Jesus
Jesus,
In all fairness I did say it wasn’t going to be a picnic for Cintron who did confront the toughest odds. Most experts by enlarge had it pretty split on the outcome of that fight itself from my connections across the globe talking.
Margarito gets to turn the page on speculative questions regarding his147-pound weight, though I stand firmly on what he’s said on his own website (that he was having difficulty making welterweight) to be hearsay now plain BS.Talking with him at the conference presser he categorically denies having said it.
He hadn’t beaten Daniel Santos on twice the occasions that they’ve met, so making him turn middleweight is far fetched. Now that Danny is a DK fighter; I’d quite doubt if he’d ever need him for any mad money anyway.
Of course I would favor Jose Rivera over him from showing him more movement then he’d ever bargained for. And no, I don’t think Judah and Spinks on their worst days frankly speaking either.
George,
Love your work man. If there is anyone funnier with the lines you come up with, I want to meet them. Here is my old school question for you. Chuck Wepner against Gerry Cooney in their primes. Who wins?
Jack from NJ
Jack,
Thanks for the kind words. COONEY. The late Victor Valle messaged me to say so from beyond that he would’ve ignited fires underneath for Gerry to triumph in that scrap. No knock on Chuck Wepner whatsoever -who was a fine scrapper on his own merits.
Chuck would always have the potential to knockout a horse, it’s just that prime jab that trainer Valle had instructed Gerry on to use against Larry Holmes which wasn’t working for him there on that particular night.
Gerry also had the kind of debilitating body punches to cave anybody’s ribs in causing them to quit on their stools. It doesn’t get much better than that for me Jack.
George,
In your tribute section, you have a piece on Saoul Mamby. What do you think Leroy Haley had both times out that helped him get the win over Mamby?
Jimmy Castro
Jimmy,
From my own recollections about the two fights you mentioned, if they would had split their fights apiece, it wouldn’t had left such a distasteful taste.
My opinion of that goes wayward by the promotional aspects, and the sentiment for the support of Mamby having little, if any, fanfare; here having endured times to become a suitcase fighter for all of those years hadn’t helped his following in the United States, even with his dramatic KO of Esteban DeJesus on national TV. If Saoul had it his way, he’d just assumed stay out of the country altogether because a “Sweet Science” wasn’t what most wanted to see on these shores. Weigh that against odds, and you have one under appreciated fighter.
In short, June’s ’82 against Haley in Highland Heights, Ohio, was merited for a rematch, but hardly a loss for the champion being that close of a fight.
You might’ve sided with Leroy Haley the following year there afterward, which could’ve meant for an immediate rubber match at a neutral site to be fully really materialized. Sadly, Saoul was just written off somewhere and never gotten to fulfill his lifelong dream to unify with Aaron “The Hawk” Pryor.
Style-wise it was the best match up that we all got robbed out of.
George,
Who are your top five pick for boxing trainers since you started following boxing?
Jake
Jake,
Could’ve gone further than when I first got interested in ’68. Within twenty-five years or so they’d be: Eddie Futch, Angelo Dundee, Victor Valle, Amilcar Brusa, and Buddy McGirt. I’d also stick Alejandro De la Torre (Pupi) right with them, because the least go first in my book. Anyone who’s called on the spot to work with making successes out of eight Cuban world amateur champions along side the masterful Alcides Segarra, deserves my nod and respect, and Pupi still looks at it as an apprenticeship. He’s much too modest. Most guys would scream not to have been noticed with that ledger here at the States. His work has paid off well incidentally with his fighter Daniel Santos signing with DKP. He is currently training other fighters too. Futch had Alexis Arguello always perfectly trimmed and trained as well as Riddick Bowe (who affectionately called him ‘Papa Smurf’). Angelo could still recite everything there was about Ali today, and Victor took a very tall and awkward looking heavyweight, and transformed him into a jabbing left hook power breaking menace with grace, able to tear away at bodily tissues with both hands. When you talk about trainers, Brusa was what Monzon’s gumshoe was to his fortune. You couldn’t say enough for Brusa’s reliance in Carlos having gone 101-3, and not frilling same exact fervor within the confines from the Argentines faith in him commonly known. Even Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins looked at Carlos Monzon in total awe. McGirt was my surprise for being one of the fastest learning trainers to ever hit the boxing planet, and gets better with each time out.
George,
James Toney is talking so much @#$%. What will he do when John Ruiz knocks him out in the seventh round?
Scott Stamford, CT
Scott,
I suppose he’ll do just what a thousand others have done beforehand Scott, getting back to the drawing board. Toney is just a market genius ever pricing motivating himself, and Ruiz realizes it enough to its full potential. Too bad Norman Stone might not. I have to be honest though; you’d have to present that same scenario also if it where to be Johnny getting knocked out in that seventh round too right?
RSR’s email bag will be a regular feature every Monday. When you send in your question, specify who you would like to answer it or they will be split up between “Bad” Brad and George. Send all questions to: [email protected]
