Boxing Scribe Vivek Wallace brings his Left-Hook Lounge mailbag to FightHype.com, answering questions for fans and giving his own unique perspective on all the latest current events in boxing. This week, check out his response to fans as they discuss Sergio Martinez’s victory this past Saturday and whether or not he should be rated higher than Mayweather or Pacquiao, the performance HBO commentating crew during the fight, this weekend’s clash between Zab Judah and Vernon Paris, and much more.
Andres S. (Aventura, FL): I think Sergio Martinez proved that he is worthy of atleast a #2 P4P ranking. I feel he has outperformed both Mayweather and Pacquiao in their last few fights, but I noticed you don’t seem to agree. What are your thoughts after seeing this last performance?
Vivek W.: I’ve always been against the “pendulum swinging” effect found in most fans and media where they go from one vine (fighter) to the next based on the sports most recent noteworthy performance. That being said, I am impressed with Martinez’s ability to dig deep and get the job done late in fights. That tells me something about him. The art of the “close” is a very intricate element of a great fighter in my book, although that ‘art’ is two-fold. You have guys who are great at closing the show when they realize they have a deadman walking in front of them, and you have guys like Martinez who pace themselves all along, realizing it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and in the final segment during those championship rounds, they kick it up into high gear.
Martinez is that guy. No matter what the scenario, during the championship rounds of a fight when it’s time to play for all the marbles, he’s at his best. This is when he peaks. That being said, this whole subject about him being better than Mayweather and Pacquiao based on recent heroics takes me back to an old ‘cooler side chat’ that me and a few of my chaps used to have regarding who was the best NFL quarterback of all-time. Each of us picked a different guy and each of us could present a vastly different, yet equally strong reason why one should support that guy. One friend said Montana, because he had more rings. Another said Elway, because he was more complete with the athleticism, etc. I said Dan Marino.
My argument for Marino was supported by the fact that he had a ton of prolific fourth quarter comebacks with a pathetic supporting cast. My buddy who supported Montana at the time revealed an argument that parallels the Mayweather/Pacquiao/Martinez scenario and ended the entire debate. His words: “it’s not Montana’s fault that he was so good he was able to get the job done early in the games, preventing him from needing so many heroic comebacks.” The moral of the story: Martinez has proven to be one of the best closers in the sport (like Marino and Elway), but being a great closer is typically only necessary when you’re not exactly strong enough to put the game on ice earlier.
Keeping things in perspective, this latest “great close” of his came against a guy who was a 10-to-1 underdog. The last one came against a guy (Darren Barker) who was an even wider shot to defeat him. When you start asking yourself is he a better fighter than Mayweather or Pacquiao, you have to look at the fact that both of those men have faced better competition in the past, for a longer time over the past, and have always distanced themselves to a non-debatable range on the scorecards throughout that past.
I love his ability and what he brings to the sport, but Pavlik, Cintron, and Williams are the biggest names his resume offers. Today, none of those men are anywhere near the top of my list, yet each remain closer to the bottom of yours. What’s there to debate? He’s a great fighter, but lets keep things in perspective. He’s a fighter who still lacks the credentials which ultimately remove all doubt for greatness. And as long as he continues to chase two “tall” names in the sport, he’ll continue to come up short. I’ll give you #3, but I can’t say he has uprooted either of these two men to categorically fall within the top 2…not yet…and NO…stopping Chavez won’t get him there any quicker.
Jason D. (Dallas, TX): I’m getting pretty tired of the HBO television analyst. Lederman’s cards are rarely correct, Lamply is good for one-liners but little else, and Merchant can’t seem to find anything positive to say about anyone in the sport outside of Pacquiao. What were your thoughts on their broadcast last Saturday night?
Vivek W.: Like all things in life, my perspective on these two men covers all angles. When we allow ourselves to see all angles, what used to be a fuzzy display suddenly breaks ground along the path of high-definition. Personally, I’ve talked to each of these men in passing in the media room or at fights, and not once did I have a problem with them or their position on any given topic, but when the cameras are rolling, it seems they go from dead center to far left. In some respects, I truly wonder if the things they say on air is actually their take (referring mainly to Merchant and Lampley), or if this is simply the direction they were given to follow.
During the broadcast, I heard them say some things that left me absolutely floored regarding Martinez. That being said, to attest to my point of the on-camera/off-camera demeanors, I was forwarded an interview with Larry Merchant talking to Chris Robinson of Examiner.com and honestly, I’d co-sign practically everything Merchant said. One point he made paralleled one I’ve made a thousand times. That point was when he told Robinson that he has no problem with Martinez, but “the way he wants them [Mayweather & Pacquiao] to step up to him, he should consider stepping up [to Andre Ward and Lucian Bute].”
He supported that statement by saying that Martinez is eager to face Chavez next, yet Chavez enters the ring heavier than both Bute and Ward, as evidenced in his last fight where he tipped the scales above 180lbs. I love the sport, but at the end of the day, my affinity is to the truth. The words Merchant spoke off-camera in this case was the absolute truth. Live on television, it was a vastly different story. Mayweather walks around at 155, 157, or so. Pacquiao, roughly the same between fights. Martinez rarely makes that weight after a full camp at a weigh-in, let alone fight night. So what advantage would he be requiring them to give up? And why isn’t he willing to give Bute and Ward that advantage if he truly feels he’s smaller?
This an example of Merchant being a straight shooter off the camera, but going far left while on the camera. I don’t know the deal, but if the biggest network in the sport was signing my paycheck in a slow economy that doesn’t offer second chances, I might say something dumb to keep my seat too. Perhaps we need to angle our questions at the entity that commands the troops. Merchant and Lampley are field soldiers….HBO and their heavy brass are the commanders. The operative question here: what orders are the commanders (HBO’s heavy brass) really handing out? I’ll withhold my judgement on Lampley and Merchant until that question is answered. Merchant seems to hate Floyd, but HBO loves Floyd, and they’re aware that drama sells. See where I’m goin? Think about it.
Marcus H. (Bronx, NYC): I heard you say on FightHypeRadio that you expect Zab Judah to win this fight against Vernon Paris, but not many in the media seem to think that way. Can you speak on why you feel he’ll beat a man I think is very dangerous for him?
Vivek W.: I do feel that Judah will win this fight, but probably not for the reasons many typically support one guy over the other. I’ve always maintained that Judah is that proverbial “cat with 9 lives”, losing fights and falling out of contention, yet somehow always finding his way back in the thick of things when you didn’t see him coming. The irony here is that this reality is a display of the one thing I’ve always felt he lacked, which is heart. An old Chinese proverb which Converse made popular with the NBA’s Dwyane Wade a few years ago was “fall 7 times, stand up 8”. Judah has literally lived this mantra, and it says a ton about his heart as a man. Unfortunately, perseverance over the long haul and perseverance during fight night are two vastly different things.
Although we’ve seen Judah “get back up” a million times over the course of his career, more often than not, he falls in the ring when it counts most. Another irony in this equation is that despite him falling, typically it’s only to the elite. He’ll defeat the men who are good, yet untested, and he’ll defeat the journeymen, but those men who truly are a cut above and come to play ball whom he can’t hurt and dare him to try, those men halt his progress every time. I don’t say this to say Paris isn’t a good fighter….I say this to say that Judah realizes it’s either a victory now or some low-budget, untelevised undercard in B.F.E later. By that logic, I expect him to find a way to be competitive enough to get a hometown nod.
I think the fight will be competitive, and I think Paris will surprise Judah, but I don’t think Paris will stop Judah, and I do think that’s his only shot to win in Brooklyn. Regarding Judah’s future, I like Judah now and always have. I like the value that he brings to the sport and I support him, but if I could go “Brooklyn” for a moment myself, I’d sum it all up by saying that in today’s landscape, he’s a “window shopper”. He’ll get to the store and he’ll look damn good when he enters, but he won’t cross the threshhold holding any bags (titles). Yes….in this case he’ll win….but next, he’ll probably lose….and we’ll have this same conversation again in about 6 months. I hope I’m wrong, but I doubt I am. Lets stay tuned to see if anything changes!
