Is it a statement if everything goes according to the most likely scenario?
That?s one question fans were left with as two of the sports most significant players plied their trade. One is boxing?s real heavyweight champion. The other holds a WBA belt at Heavyweight. Both won big on Saturday. Both were, mostly, expected to.
Along with Manny Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KO) and David Haye (25-1, 23 KO), two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Guillermo Rigondeaux (7-0, 5 KO) also picked up his most important, if not most compelling, of a career clearly being fast tracked.
The grades are in for all three with a big weekend now put to bed:
Pre-Fight: Speed ? Haye A; Harrison B/Post: A; B- Pre-Fight: Power ? Haye A; Harrison B+/Post: A; B- Pre-Fight: Defense ? Haye B; Harrison C+/Post: B; C Pre-Fight: Intangibles ? Haye B+; Harrison C/Post: A; D
Pre-Fight: Speed ? Rigondeaux A; Cordoba B/Post: Same Pre-Fight: Power ? Rigondeaux B+; Cordoba B/Post: Same Pre-Fight: Defense ? Rigondeaux B+; Cordoba B-/Post: B+; B Pre-Fight: Intangibles ? Rigondeaux B+; Cordoba A/Post: B; B
Pre-Fight: Speed ? Pacquiao A+; Margarito B-/Post: Same Pre-Fight: Power ? Pacquiao A-; Margarito B+/Post: Same Pre-Fight: Defense ? Pacquiao B; Margarito C-/Post: Same Pre-Fight: Intangibles ? Pacquiao A; Margarito B/Post: A; A
Haye was, based on the dictates of time zones, first up to bat on Saturday and wasted little time getting his business over with; three rounds to be exact. 2000 Olympic Super Heavyweight Gold Medalist Audley Harrison had been largely a disappointment in the paid ranks (27-5, 20 KO) but, with a modest win streak heading in, there was hope the 39-year old might go for it in the biggest opportunity of his career.
He didn?t.
Harrison instead performed on par with the nickname ?Fraudley? he?s picked up with some viewers over the years, a listless performance early capped off with Haye knocking him senseless the first time Haye opened up. It was validation of the fight?s biggest criticisms: Harrison was not a suitable challenger to Haye no matter the backyard rivalry at play and Haye?s big talk is no substitute for a fight with one of the Klitschko brothers.
Let?s hope showdowns with one or both come in 2011 because, in at least the knockout close, there was reason to be excited. Haye closes to the target with more explosion, more speed, than any other Heavyweight out there. The Klitschko?s might get to him first in the ring, but no one else out there presents the threat he does.
Way across the pond in Texas, Rigondeaux legged out a split decision win over veteran Ricardo Cordoba (37-3-2, 23 KO), the legging being the downside of an otherwise impressive win. It didn?t start out so, well, unaggressive. Early on, Rigondeaux was measured but exacting, scoring a knockdown in the fourth. A jab caught Rigondeaux in transition in the sixth, forcing a stumble fairly ruled a knockdown as his glove touched the canvas.
By round seven, Rigondeaux was opting to move more than punch, pecking away just enough to snare the fight while Cordoba followed too much and fought too little. It made for a dreadful bore to watch. Being fair, no matter the unpaid pedigree, Rigondeaux was making a huge leap in pro class and going twelve for the first time. A win over Cordoba inside his first ten fights is a plus no matter how one slices it. The old saying is win today, look good tomorrow. Rigondeaux got the first half right; he owes the viewers one on the other side.
And what more really is there to say about Pacquiao? He was favored to defeat Antonio Margarito (38-7, 27 KO) and did. The thing is, Pacquiao is so mesmerizing to watch that he made the expected look exceptional. Pacquiao managed to weather a few storms along the way and was masterful off the ropes, turning Margarito and ripping him with what is the finest combination punching assault in boxing.
Margarito did his part to make the night feel special. He took his beating like a man, reminding fans that no matter their feelings about his legitimacy after he was caught attempting to load the wraps against Shane Mosley, his success came in part from incredible toughness. He should have been bailed out earlier than the twelfth, either by his corner or a referee Laurence Cole who should have taken Pacquiao?s cues to stop the fight in the eleventh. The night was a poor reflection on those whose job was to watch for the health of Margarito, though their inaction was no reflection on the fighter.
The Mexican warrior was just that on Saturday.
But?
?it was still a Margarito older and farther from his peak than he was when Shane Mosley smoked him in 2009. Should fans be any more excited about this win than they were about Floyd Mayweather beating up Mosley earlier this year? The paper title on the line might have added some allure, but it can be recognized for what it was, right?
It is the latest episode in an ongoing melodrama titled, ?Are they ever just gonna? fight??
The world has tasted the appetizers. It?s time for the main course. Opinions abound about who is at fault, and why, for the lack of Mayweather-Pacquiao in 2010. The only stone fact is no fight. That needs to change.
We?ll see it does.
Report Card Picks 2010: 29-12
Ratings Impact
In terms of the ratings, the impact this week is, if only slightly, is felt in the pound for pound race. It?s that way whenever Pacquiao fights and more impact will be felt before the year is out. For instance, next Saturday will be here next Saturday and the Middleweight Championship tilt between champion Sergio Martinez and Paul Williams could send one of those men rocketing even further in esteem.
In the divisional races, Brandon Rios picked up a nice win on the Pacquiao undercard but not nice enough to budge. The same goes for David Haye on the weekend. Pacquiao?s win came under the Jr. Middleweight limit, and he has a belt in the class now (his eighth divisional claim to a title). However, that belt was previously vacant, he won it from a fighter with no standing at Jr. Middleweight, and at a catchweight four below the division limit to boot.
For now, it is assumed Pacquiao?s excursion to Jr. Middleweight was a one off and he remains rated solely at Welterweight. In the BoxingScene pound for pound race, his presence is as strong as could be.
