DECIMATATION OF MORALES ONLY THE BEGINNING!
Las Vegas, NV-Boxing needs them, and they don’t happen as often as they used to, but a true super fight was born Saturday night in Las Vegas. As legendary Mexican warrior Erik Morales (48-4, 34 KO’s) crumpled to the canvas for the second time in the tenth round, it was the growing legend of Filipino Manny Pacquiao (41-3-1, 32 KO’s) that could be thanked for this development. The announcers at HBO, and fans around the world, could all be heard shouting the same name following his victory…Barerra!
BARERRA AND PACQUIAO ABOUT TO GET PAID!
That would be WBC and IBF 130 lb. titlist Marco Antonio Barrera (61-4, 42 KO’S), and the sound accompanying the shouting was a cash register chinging. That’s because Pacquiao’s victory may just have secured not only the richest potential fight of 2006, but also the richest fight in the history of the 130 lb. class. It has all of the prerequisites. Ethnic tension as Mexican diehards wonder if one of their own will ever truly master the Filipino; the drama of possible redemption for a fighter, Barrera, who was dismantled by Pacquiao in eleven rounds the first time; and the possibility of a fourth World title (third legit lineal) for Pacquiao. Rumors state that Barrera’s promoters would love to do it as soon as March, and while that is unlikely, this would be a near impossible fight to screw up.
TAKE NO RISKS WITH THIS MUST SEE BOUT!
Did I say impossible? Nothing is impossible in Boxing of course, but this one would be pretty airtight. All these two men need to do is make each other next. No tune-ups. They don’t matter. These aren’t new guys building to their first showdown. They are established names at the apex of their drawing and earning power in a fight without a clear winner. Pacquiao after all made Barrera look worse than he ever had before in their first encounter, and yet Pacquiao was better against Morales than he has ever been. Can Barrera summon another great effort? We, who love boxing, have to know. The only man who may not care is Morales.
MORALES DESERVES MORE THAN AN AFTERTHOUGHT!
Why would he care? After everything he has given the game, he deserves to think about anything else after his last two fights. It was suspected that the Zahir Raheem loss last September was a case of lost focus, but the Pacquiao loss indicates much more. Morales always had a second gear with his back against the wall, but it is clear to these eyes that the long series of wars and the unbelievable body attack of Pacquiao took that second gear out of the equation. At 29, but with sixty years of physical miles, it appears that Morales, as a great fighter, may be no more. I was one of those who figured him a winner here, but have seen this play out before. Every fighter’s body reaches a point when it lacks more to give. That appears the case here. So the train must stop for a moment…a tip of the hat…and then the train must roll on.
MANNY-MARCO II MAKES CLEAR P4P KING!
That is because boxing, like life itself, never stops moving. If Morales’ best days lay behind him, we can only appreciate them while we prepare for the next can’t miss moment. That next moment will come the moment Pacquiao and Barrera stand eye to eye at center ring for the second time. The winner should emerge, and will for me, as the sports central figure, it’s pound for pound king. These are the men who personify that mythical crown. They take risks not only in the ring, but also in their selection of opponents. They do not hide behind mandatories, or contract guarantees for YEARS at a time with the promise that something big is right around the corner from their latest soft touch. They move, always, towards the next real challenge. For each man, that next real challenge is each other. The scent of a super fight is in the air…or should we say the blood is already in the water.
CASTILLO-MUNOZ EVIDENCE OF DIVISIONAL GREATNESS!
For all those needing evidence of why I spend so much time trumpeting the cause of the 112 and 115 lb. divisions, the undercard war between WBC 115 lb. titlist Martin Castillo (30-1, 16 KO’S) and Alexander Munoz (28-2, 26 KOs) was exhibit A, and an early candidate for fight of the year. Castillo rose from a first round knockdown to simply out-gut the game, and vastly improved since their first encounter, Munoz, for a bruising, dramatic decision. The fighters elicited standing ovations throughout their brawl, and a sustained moment of roaring applause following the bout. Were the paymasters listening? The 115 and 112 classes may seem unlikely gold mines, but 122 and 126 seemed unlikely big money locales before fighters like Morales, Barrera and Pacquiao. These two divisions are loaded not only with talent, but talent that can make great fights. Boxing can never have enough fights like Castillo-Munoz II, and fight fans have shown that they will follow great fights to lower divisions. It’s time to find out how low they will go. It can’t be any worse a risk than some of the other things fans have been asked to pay for. Speaking of which…
PURCHASE ZAB-FLOYD & YOU ARE THE PROBLEM!
According to ESPN’s Dan Rafael, February 1st will mark the press conference for the latest attempt by Floyd Mayweather to entrench his increasingly unearned recognition as the pound for pound king. After a three-fight engagement at 140 lbs. where Mayweather failed to challenge for the real World title (held first by Kostya Tszyu and then Ricky Hatton), he now embarks on his second fight at 147 with the same modus operandi. In a stunningly insulting move to the boxing public, Mayweather will still face the recently dethroned Zab Judah rather than pursuing the new World welterweight champion, Carlos Baldomir. To be fair, Zab is still clearly a top ten welterweight and an interesting fight for Floyd…but not for your Pay-Per-View dollar.
FANS MUST REBEL AGAINST FLOYD AND IBF!
That’s right, FloydMayweather-Zab Judah is still slated as an April 8 pay-per-view battle and not on subscriber HBO. Considering some of the trash that has littered the paid TV ranks recently, it isn’t the worst offering. It is, though, insulting. Some may cite the hypocrisy of this stand considering that Morales-Pacquiao II was also a battle where one man had lost his most recent affair. That argument is wrong. Morales-Pacquiao II was a rematch of a highly competitive non-title fight between proven future Hall of Famers, and it was the winner of that bout who had picked up a loss in the interim. This is a battle between a man who hasn’t faced a real challenge in over three years (Mayweather) and a guy who has lost three of his four most meaningful bouts (Judah is 1-3 against Tszyu, Cory Spinks, and Baldomir). Considering his questionable chin and the fortification of concerns about his maturity, lack of focus, and professionalism, Judah should not be seen as any more a challenge than Sharmba Mitchell was in Floyd’s last outing. Perhaps the allure is that the IBF belt will likely be on the line. Wait…the IBF belt is likely on the line?
IBF INEPTITUDE CONTINUES, MUHAMMAD MUST GO!
In what must be, of course a coincidence, the IBF decided this week that since Judah’s IBF belt wasn’t officially on the line against Baldomir (who refused to pay their sanctioning fees), that Judah on a technicality could hold on to their belt…just in time to get the sanctioning fees that Judah-Mayweather might pull. Shocking how coincidence and profit line up in boxing eh? Ads will feature variants of the words “welterweight championship,” and if Mayweather wins they will trumpet him as a four-division champion…and it’s all bullshit. If Mayweather’s 140 lb. belt win against Arturo Gatti was a paper title, then this belt would be stained toilet tissue. If ever there was any doubt of my opinion that IBF President Marian Muhammad is doing an awful job, and should be fired, let this nonsense erase that doubt.
IBF MOVES THREATEN INTEGRITY OF SPORT!
This is not the only bad move under the Muhammad regime. There were many who disagreed with my opining that the IBF rankings were a key factor on the road to the tragic death in 2005 of Leavander Johnson. Then on Friday, we were treated to a match-up (according to the IBF) of the top two contenders for the 126 lb. title…two men so great, so deserving, that Juan Manuel Marquez was stripped when no promoter would bid for the all-important mandatory defense. If that seems tongue in cheek…well, it is. Valdemir Pereira (23-0, 15 KO’s) defeated the mandatory that got Marquez stripped, Phafrakorb Rakkietgym (50-4, 33 KO’s and promoted by Marian’s ex-husband Murad). Rakkietgym, whose only other notable fights were a first round KO loss to Manny Pacquiao and a knockout win over his far less talented brother Bobby, looked woefully un-world class. He took a fairly one-sided beating in the bout, and I was left to wonder how close we are to the IBF rankings being a factor in another tragedy (imagine the beating Rakkietgym would have taken against Marquez). This sort of bout is indicative of the credibility of the IBF; Mayweather-Judah is more of the same.
WATCH MAYWEATHER-JUDAH ON REPLAY!
None of this should tell you that Mayweather-Judah lacks intrigue. It has a smidge; Judah has some pop and is nearly as fast as Floyd…but he’s proven that he isn’t a consistent upper echelon fighter. Baldomir might seem to have less physical chance to win than Judah, but he IS the welterweight champion of the world. And while a Baldomir fight is worth less money immediately based on name recognition, certainly someone could tell Mayweather that fighting Judah, after beating Baldomir, could only make a Judah fight bigger later. As to paying fifty bucks (the average pay rate for fights), viewers shouldn’t be deceived with words that hold legitimacy like ‘title fight’ and ‘pound-for-pound.’ This sort of raping of the buying public won’t stop until there is no buying public for the wrong match-ups; push this fight below 100,000 buys and a message can be sent to Mayweather, his handlers and HBO. I ask all boxing fans…make them lose money so they will stop stealing yours. Pay-per-view dollars should go to fights, and fighters, that earn it. Mayweather’s last six fights don’t fit that bill (Judah off a loss is the best fighter he’s faced since Jose Luis Castillo in 2002) and Judah didn’t look like 50 cents, much less 50 bucks, against Baldomir, and he never did much to earn your dollar before that. Say no to HBO Pay-per-View on this one.
24-KARAT NOTEBOOK…
Mayweather promoter Bob Arum referred to WBO welter belt guy Antonio Margarito as Floyd’s avian flu this week in response to Mayweather’s alleged reluctance to face the Mexican. Hopefully Bob follows up that rhetoric by doggedly pursuing getting Margarito a shot at Baldomir. If a case were to be made for Floyd ducking Antonio, getting him the REAL world title at 147 would be the right step…who is the best Cotto? I’m beginning to wonder. Lightweight Jose Cotto (27-0, 19 KO’S) is being brought along with less heraldry than his brother AND WBO 140 belt holder Miguel, but may emerge as the better fighter…Another excellent outing on ShoBox highlighted 115 lb. Nonito Donaire (14-1, 8 KO’s) in a decision over Kahren Harutyunyan (13-3-3, NO KO’s). My question is how come this is the best at 115 that either HBO or Showtime has done as far as recent main events? This was a solid mid-level fight; imagine if they highlighted the best of boxing’s best division (not to beat this horse to death or anything)…2000 US Olympian Rocky Juarez picked up his second win since a loss to Humberto Soto last fall. Be interesting to see how long he’s on the outside looking in…If, and until, Barerra-Pacquiao II, consider the top spot in my pound for pound rankings vacant (unless Winky Wright gets and beats Jermain Taylor of course).
Cliff Rold
Note: “24-Karat” Rold is not just the best young boxing writer on the planet. He is also an award winning poet and recently received his Masters degree in US Foreign Policy at the American University in Washington DC. He can be reached with your comments at [email protected]
