Would a Pacquiao vs. Margarito fight tank? Should Amir Khan stay clear from power punchers for the immediate future? Would you favor Marcos Maidana against both Victor Ortiz and Amir Khan? Should Paulie Malignaggi consider retirement? 411?s Matt Knowles and Igor Frank debate these topics and more in the latest edition of 411 Boxing Fact or Fiction!
Round 1: Despite the great performance, you think Amir Khan should stay clear from power punchers for the immediate future.
Igor Frank: Fiction – Amir Khan is a champion. He has to fight all comers. In his last two fights, Amir has faced feather-fisted fighters, Dimitry Salita and Paulie. These two fights reminded me of a gun fight where one guys shoots real bullets and another shoots blanks. Enough practice and confidence building for Khan; he needs to fight top guys who can hurt him to prove he is the best.
Matt Knowles: Fiction – I’m sure I’ll demolish the quote here, but I remember once hearing something to the effect of: “you’ll never learn to swim if you don’t get wet.” If Amir Khan never faces a power puncher, he’ll never really learn how to box at the elite level of the sport. There’s only so many Paulie Malignaggi’s out there that Khan can rough-up for decent dollars. At one point, he’s gotta trade leather with someone who can really punch, and if you ask me, Marcos Maidana is the perfect test.
He (meaning Maidana) has bone-crushing KO power, but his technique is Mayorga-esque, as he gets incredibly wild during exchanges. With Khan’s excellent footwork and precision punching, he should be able to shred Maidana to pieces. To me, if these guys end up fighting, I predict that Khan-Maidana would end up looking much like Tito Trinidad’s destruction of the aforementioned Ricardo Mayorga.
Scorecard: 1-1 Even
Round 2: In danger of entering Rocky Juarez territory (falling short against the top fighters) though he has been a champion at least, Paulie Malignaggi should consider retirement.
Igor Frank: Fact – Malignaggi has one handicap and that is lack of power. Considering the hot competition in junior welterweight division and that his foot speed is on a decline, he should seriously consider retirement. Paulie is a good boxer, but if he wants to stay in the pocket and fight back his lack of power will be more and more evident and he might get seriously hurt. I was happy that referee [Steve] Smoger stopped the fight with Khan as Paulie was taking a bad beating.
Matt Knowles: Fact – Regardless of what we might think of this idea, I have a hunch that Paulie already knows that this is the correct road to travel. He’s made more dough than any feather-fisted, mildly-popular 140-pound fighter has ever made, and I’ve heard he has done a great job managing his finances. As a well-known “gym rat” throughout the NY boxing scene, I’m fairly certain he’s got a trainer position waiting for him at Gleason’s Gym or any other elite boxing establishment, and if I were Paulie I’d jump on whatever opportunity is presented to him. He has excellent technique, ring savvy, and is a great talker, which are all excellent attributes for any aspiring boxing trainer. I have a hunch we’ll be seeing Paulie holding a water bottle in the corner of a world champ in the next 2-3 years.
Scorecard: Similar points from both guys and right on the money. 2-2 Even
Round 3: You’d still favor Marcos Maidana against both Victor Ortiz and Amir Khan.
Igor Frank: Fiction – More often than not in boxing, skill beats will. Both Khan and Ortiz are very skilled boxers with power. I believe that if they fight disciplined fights and avoid getting into frequent exchanges they could beat Maidana easily. Maidana is a tough hombre and a very dangerous opponent because of his sneaky, fast right hand and his determination, but it has been proven by Kotelnik in Europe that if you can box Maidana in the middle of the ring you can beat him. I hope Ortiz asks for a rematch with Maidana to avenge his loss and a bad reputation.
Matt Knowles: Fiction – Most of my thoughts were covered in question 1, but now it’s time to elaborate:
If they fight in 2010, Amir Khan will DESTROY Marcos Maidana.
We easily forget that Victor Ortiz was slamming Maidana to the canvas, over and over, before Ortiz grabbed his ball and ran home. With Khan’s long reach and solid power, he would most likely give Maidana the same treatment?and then some! If Maidana caught Khan with some of his trademark bombs, we may get Mayorga-Forrest 1. If Khan sticks to the game-plan, we’ll get Mayorga-Trinidad. I predict the latter, and expect this bout (if it comes to fruition) to be Amir Khan’s break-out performance.
Scorecard: Did you guys talk over your responses? LOL 3-3 Even
And now for the championship rounds!
Round 4: You’re convinced Kermit Cintron could’ve continued against Williams and simply chose not too.
Matt Knowles: Fiction – Only in the sense that I’ve got no freakin’ idea!
This is one of those topics that we can debate for months/years, and we’ll never truly know the answer. Did B-Hop really hurt himself when Robbie Allen hip-tossed ?em into the third row? Was Montell Griffin really KO’d by that shot that Roy hit ?em with while Montell was on the canvas? What about Andre Dirrell, when Abraham clocked ?em? What about Lorenzo, when Soto blasted ?em? It’s kinda like the old question: “how many licks it takes to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop?” The world will never know!
Igor Frank: Fact – After witnessing the action at ringside, I went home and watched it on HBO over and over and over. I could not see what made Cintron fly out of the ring. Did he step on his own shoe laces? Even if he did trip on something, he had plenty of time to hold on to the ropes to avoid flying out of the ring. The only time he even moved after that was after he was getting wheeled out on the stretcher and the scores were being announced. This is a very suspect situation. I believe Cintron took advantage of the situation and chose to pack it in.
Scorecard: Tough to score but Igor, with the first hand experience at ringside and the double take (live and on tape) gets the nod. 4-3 Igor
Round 5: If Darchinyan-Donaire II never gets made, it’s more of a negative impact for Donaire.
Matt Knowles: Fact – Only because Vic Darchinyan and Co. have worked so hard in the public forums, to call-out Donaire for the rematch that all of us hard-core fight fans have been craving.
When one side is very vocal about making the fight happen, and the other side acts coy or straight-up goes silent, and the fight gets delayed/never made, “silent guy” generally gets the blame. My boy Riddick Bowe (although never exactly “silent” in nature) will always be known for ducking Lennox Lewis, regardless of the WBC’s ridiculous 90-day mandate for a title defense that could have been worth tens of millions to all involved. Bowe’s crew took a gawd-awful approach by throwing the WBC belt in the garbage, which made Lennox look superior. Nonito Donaire’s silence/indifference on the topic of the Darchinyan rematch is somewhat comparable, in the eyes of this biased reporter. To my knowledge, he’s never gone on record stating that he is eager to get back in the ring with the Raging Bull. Therefore, if the fight is never made, Donaire will be the one who receives the ultimate blame, whether fair or not.
Igor Frank: Fiction – Donaire won the first fight by a spectacular one punch knockout. The burden of proof is on Vic Darchinyan. He is the one who has been calling Donaire out. He is the only one who will be affected negatively if the rematch never gets made. Having said that, Darchinyan is a draw and a champion, so the purse should be split at least 50:50 and the fight should be made for the benefit of fans.
Scorecard: Donaire has publicly called out Darchinyan on a number of occasions even as recent as this month. Mr. Knowles doesn’t read my posts…tsk tsk tsk! 5-3 Igor
Round 6: A Pacquiao vs. Margarito fight would tank in terms of fan interest.
Matt Knowles: Fact – As a hard-core fan who loves Pacquiao and nearly everything he represents, I must inform you that if the last name of Margarito is on the marquee next to Manny’s, I will neither purchase, watch, nor report on the event. I won’t even watch SportsCenter to see the highlights.
Antonio Margarito is the most blatant cheater of the new millennium, and should never be allowed to fight in the United States again?period. For better or (especially) worse, most of Pacquiao’s uber-loyal fans will over look this factor, and still order the PPV, so the fight might come close to breaking-even financially. Breaking-even, however, is not what Bob Arum wants from his big-$$$ superstar. If Arum thought he was getting flack for trying to get Marga-Cheato on Manny’s last undercard, what type of backlash would you expect if he’s facing Manny in the main event?
All of this being said, Bob Arum may be stubborn, but he’s no dummy, and I really don’t think he’d put “Congressman PacMan” in the position to have to answer questions about an opponent who has basically committed criminal acts in the ring. Then again, maybe that would be the promotional angle. Geez?.only in boxing!
Igor Frank: Fiction – Margarito is a star in his own right; because over seventeen thousand fans attended his comeback fight in Mexico against relatively unknown boxer Roberto Garcia. Popularity of one Manny Pacquiao is reaching unbelievable proportions. My opinion will not be a popular one, but I believe that Pacquiao vs. Margarito could do just as well at the box office as Mayweather vs. Pacquiao.
Final Scorecard: I think both guys nail it with both sides of the coin. Even…but the final score is 6-4 Igor Frank!
Now we want to hear from you the fans…Fact or Fiction? Let us know!
