It’s Monday. Welcome back for another edition of Observe and Fight, The Boxing Observer’s compilation of observations and random thoughts from the week that was in boxing. Get caught up on some of the most recent events you may have missed out on including, episode three of Pacquiao-Marquez 24/7, the other major war this Saturday night, James Kirkland’s Fight of the Year candidate with Alfredo Angulo, Lucian Bute’s dominant performance over Glen Johnson, and much more. Without further ado, check out the latest observations from The Boxing Observer.
With all the great boxing action we had Saturday night, Pacquiao/Marquez 24/7 took a back seat in the spotlight, and it’s a good thing because the snooze-fest that is the lead up to the fight is getting ridiculous. There is nothing going on that makes me want to watch 24/7. I don’t want to watch Manny Pacquiao in his cowboy hat, or Buboy Fernandez get a tattoo, or Marquez’s new steroid-loving strength and conditioning coach, or any of that other garbage. Let’s see some trash-talking between Freddie Roach and Nacho Beristain. Let’s see some old footage of the first two wars between Pacquiao and Marquez. That’s the only thing that will save this 24/7. Like I said last week, wake me up November 12th.
Which will do better ratings, Pacquiao-Marquez III on pay-per-view or the UFC on Fox Saturday night? Dana White’s idea of putting the UFC fight on network television the same night as a Pacquiao fight shows he feels his product is better than boxing. And Fox must agree. While I expect the Pacquiao-Marquez fight to do over 1-million buys, I wouldn’t be surprised if the UFC on Fox gets a ridiculously high rating. They are putting a pay-per-view fight on the air for free. The money from the commercial revenue alone should bring in millions for White and the UFC.
James Kirkland is the new most feared man in boxing. The 27-year-old 154-pound fighter looked spectacular in dominating the previously most feared man in boxing, Alfredo Angulo. It’s clear the relationship Kirkland has with trainer Ann Wolfe is something that goes deeper than the sport of boxing itself. The two’s relationship rivals that of Manny Pacquiao and Freddie Roach, and Devon Alexander and Kevin Cunningham. As far as in the ring, Kirkland is going to be hard-pressed to find an opponent willing to get in the ring with him after Saturday night. “Canelo” Alvarez isn’t ready for Kirkland, Paul Williams won’t fight him, Sergio Martinez isn’t going to step up. The one man that makes the most sense right now for Kirkland’s next fight is Cuban Erislandy Lara. Lara has been trying to get a name opponent since his “loss” to Paul Williams in July. Lara wants it, Kirkland surely won’t back down, and HBO would be foolish to not buy this fight. Sounds like a winner to me!
Does anyone else want to see Kirkland fight the winner of Cotto vs Margarito?
Lucian Bute looks like he may be the best super middleweight in the world. As good as Andre Ward and Carl Froch are, Bute continues to get better with every performance. I can’t see Froch figuring out Bute in the ring, and Ward would have difficulty dealing with Bute’s combination of speed and power. Bute was dominant Saturday night against Glen Johnson and he looked like he was holding back for fear of not hurting his good friend. Bute also physically looks bigger and stronger with each fight. We have to wonder if he won’t consider a move to light heavyweight after he fights the winner of Ward vs. Froch. I think Bute would dominate Chad Dawson right now.
Timothy Bradley better be careful or he will end up in Bob Arum’s doghouse. At Bradley’s media workout, Tim said he is willing to fight anyone, including Amir Khan, Manny Pacquiao, and Floyd Mayweather. I guess you didn’t get the memo Tim. You will fight nobody except fighters from the Top Rank stable. Get it out of your head now because it’s Top Rank or nothing for you.
Chris Arreola continues to look impressive in his effort to earn another heavyweight title shot. Granted, Arreola was fighting an overmatched Raphael Butler in Mexico Saturday night, but Chris continues to impress with his conditioning and re-dedication to the sport of boxing. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, Chris Arreola will be the next man to beat one of the Klitschko brothers. Bank on it!
Don King’s decision-making in his old age may have gotten the best of him Saturday night. King promoted a fight card on Wealth TV featuring WBA cruiserweight champion, Guillermo Jones. First off, the broadcast was surprisingly entertaining and well put together. Secondly, the fights itself were rather entertaining. The only problem is nobody saw it. No one even knew the fight card was televised Saturday night because we had such great boxing action on other networks. Maybe King was just experimenting, or maybe he thought it would be a successful night, but that fight should have been two weeks later when the only other major fight would be Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. Peter Manfredo. King is on to something because the show was well put together, but the timing of this fight card was awful. Personally, I think he was afraid Guillermo Jones would gain 25 more pounds between now and November 19th which is why he couldn’t wait.
Please keep your thoughts and prayers with former heavyweight champion, Smokin Joe Frazier. The 67-year-old was diagnosed with cancer a few weeks ago and was put into hospice care with liver cancer. As of late Sunday night, numerous reports were circulating that Frazier passed away. Whether the rumors are true or not, Frazier clearly does not have much time left. We should always remember how great a heavyweight Frazier was and appreciate what he did for the sport of boxing.
