for five years in a row because of his great serve. Goran Ivanisevic had a great serve and played quick points. People called that kind of tennis boring. They dominate kind of similarly, do you see it like that?
Bert Sugar: ?To a degree but this is even worse. Because tennis is to score points. Boxing is supposed to hit somebody. Hit the ball in tennis ? hit the man in boxing.?
BoxingInsider: There wasn?t much contact in Klitschko-Haye.
Bert Sugar: ?There wasn?t much contact? You could have counted it on the fingers of a Polish punch press operator in Chicago. Two.?
BoxingInsider: What do you think of the state of boxing now? Are you still loving the sport? Are you going to stick with it?
Bert Sugar: ?Oh yes, I love it because it?s exciting. But not the heavyweight division. And that?s, unfortunately, what America wants to follow. We have since John L. Sullivan. We obsess over big men. And the world where they don?t grow ?em as big, I guess South America, Asia ? they?re very content with their fighters, who are great fighters. And that?s where the excitement is. The same thing that happens in history ? when the heavyweight division goes south, we turn our attention to the middle area weight classes. That?s what I look for and there?s excitement.?
BoxingInsider: You love Manny Pacquiao?
Bert Sugar: ?Oh I think Manny Pacquiao is exciting and comparable to the greats of the past. And so is Floyd, to be honest. Floyd is a precision puncher, Pacquiao is an action puncher. Hopefully it can happen. Don?t know yet. I think we will see the answer in their two fights. Pacquiao, if he looks bad, Floyd will gain perhaps the encouragement and confidence. If Pacquiao looks better in a win over Marquez than Floyd looks over Ortiz, you won?t see it.?
BoxingInsider: So you?re accepting that Floyd is having major apprehensions and self-doubts about fighting Pacquiao? Fear of the loss?
Bert Sugar: ?Again, fear of the loss. You are correct. Not fear of Pacquiao. Floyd fears nothing and nobody. But he?s fixated on being 41-0 or 42 or 43. Whatever happens, Pacquiao is a secondary thought. And that may not happen and I?ll tell you why. Floyd has ducked, DUCKED ? 42 times the deposition and the Pacquiao folks are moving for a dismissal which means Pacquiao win a million dollar lawsuit.?
BoxingInsider: Or multi-millions.
Bert Sugar: ?Yes. And therefore, that might hinder anything if he goes and wins that. So I?ve gotta wait for two fights. But that?s where the excitement is. It?s the most anticipated fight since Leonard-Hearns 30 years ago. That?s excitement.?
BoxingInsider: Cus D?Amato said fighters, even great fighters, do have fear sometimes of their opponent. But they must control that fear like a fire, or it controls them.
Bert Sugar: You could call it the butterflies as well. One of Cus?s fighters Jose Torres, who was a friend, wrote a book ?Sting Like A Bee?, admitted to butterflies. But when the bell rings, that?s all over.?
BoxingInsider: But could that have been a little self-serving though? Maybe it was a lot more than just butterflies. That?s just the pride of the great champion, which won?t let them admit to fear. We saw Michael Spinks against Mike Tyson. Floyd Patterson had a disguise ready because he knew he was going to lose to Sonny Liston.
Bert Sugar: ?Fear can paralyze.?
BoxingInsider: But fighters will try to cover it up.
Bert Sugar: ?Sure, it?s covered up because what fighter goes in and thinks he?s gonna lose, who is top notch? They don?t, by definition.?
BoxingInsider: Michael Spinks knew he was going to lose against Tyson, it appeared. Remember he was walking to the ring actually talking to fans telling them, I?m gonna give it my best shot, I?ll do my best.
Bert Sugar: ?Well he was helped along my Leon who was going bananas in the dressing room.
BoxingInsider: I didn?t hear that, what happened there?
Bert Sugar: ?Uh, and the point of fact, Tyson put his hand through the wall when Butch Lewis was demanding, see the gloves off, see the gloves on, and it went on right under Tyson?s nose. So this was not the normal. But most fighters check their apprehensions at the door. They might come to a gleam but they?ve gotta reinvest it with the optimism that they all have. I mean, yes they are occasionally. Cornelius Boza Edwards soiling his pants on the way in against Alexis Arguello. King Levinsky having to be pushed out of his corner against Joe Louis. But in the main, 98% of those who fight are optimists about their chances, as well they should be. They got that far, they?ll keep going.?
BoxingInsider: If they finally do make the fight and can talk Floyd into it, do you think it can rejuvenate and revitalize the sport?
Bert Sugar: ?Oh I think so. It?s off the wall interest. It?s exciting. And it would be two of the greatest fighters, not only of today, but the last couple of decades. That?s what boxing needs, like any sport, super heroes. As Tiger Woods was in golf years ago. As Michael Jordan was in basketball.?
BoxingInsider: Roger Federer. Serena Williams.
Bert Sugar: ?Take your pick, down the line. And these two are super, super athletes hypen boxers. But I don?t know what will happen, whether it will come to pass. Whether it?s more drug testing. I?m surprised Mayweather didn?t ask for a mamogram and PAP test.?
BoxingInsider: He just keeps putting up roadblocks to block the fight from happening.
Bert Sugar: ?Well, he wanted it his way, which is what Mayweather does. With Hatton he had his medical records, from the hospital in England. He looks for that edge. And if he doesn?t get it, he doesn?t feel comfortable. I won?t say apprehension, I won?t say fear, but?uncomfortable.?
BoxingInsider: A lot of people you come across outside the boxing realm, do they ask about the fight?
Bert Sugar: ?Everybody. They can?t pronounce Pacquiao?s name. Yes, I know who they mean. And these are just peripheral casual fans who are looking forward to it. And if they are, what is the hardcore fan looking forward to? Not only in America but around the world, particularly because of Pacquiao. I mean, he?s been on the cover of Time magazine in Asia. You don?t think there will be millions from the Philippines, Japan, other countries wanting to see it?
BoxingInsider: Biggest fight in boxing history.
Bert Sugar: ?Pacquaio is a phenomenon. Meanwhile, give him his due, Mayweather is no less a phenomenon. One of the best defensive fighters I?ve seen. Unfortunately he only throws one punch at a time and Pacquiao throws hundreds of punches. The question I have of Mayweather is against Ortiz. Are we gonna see the Mayweather of old ? or the older Mayweather? As a great defensive fighter, remember what happened to Wilfred Benitez when he lost that nano-second? That ability to get out of the way which was brilliant. Ray Leonard said it was the hardest fight he ever had. But once he began to lose it?Mayweather has fought how often in the last three years?
BoxingInsider: Mosley had him badly hurt.
Bert Sugar: ?Second round. He sat down in mid-air. He fights with all the frequency of Haley?s Comet. So we?re looking forward to it hopefully. I just hope, as a boxing fan, but we?ll see both have a fight coming up. How that works out and then I can start making prognostications. But years ago I said it wasn?t gonna happen ? those two ? but I foresaw everything that kept it from happening.?
????????????????- Talkin? Boxing with Bert Sugar 2008 By Scoop Malinowski
In this Q&A, Bert Randolph Sugar weighs in on the state of boxing today, Oscar vs. Manny, boxing vs. MMA, and his personal conversation with Roy Jones Jr.
Boxinginsider: What do you think of the state of the sport at the moment?
Bert Sugar: ?I love the state that boxing is in except for the heavyweight division which has been called off because of a lack of interest [smiles]. Who cares? I can?t spell their names anyhow. But you?ve had some great fights already. You just had Marquez and Casamayor. Margarito and Cotto. They were great fights. And now look at what we?re looking forward to. In order, Pavlik-Hopkins, Jones-Calzaghe, Pacquiao-De La Hoya. With a couple of other ones salted in.?
Boxinginsider: Vitali Klitschko vs. Samuel Peter too.
Bert Sugar: ?Look at what has happened. Boxing is back. Yes, we had questions before the first and only here-to-fore De La Hoya-Mayweather was a shad. Like Mark Twain once said, his death has been exaggerated. So is boxing?s. And it?s back. Look at the crowd here (at the jam-packed Jones-Calzaghe press conference at Hard Rock Cafe in Manhattan). Look at what it generates. Look at the people here. This is not exactly a phone booth. These are people excited about a fight. A fight particularly at Madison Square Garden, where kings and heroes are made, which is really the greatest forum for boxing, ever. I mean, going all the way back to the previous Madison Square Garden which was built for boxing. So boxing and Madison Square Garden go together with a fight like this. And I love it. I hope I never have to hear those words, (changes voice), Well is boxing dead? Is it being replaces by mixed martial arts? That?s like tennis vs. ping pong. I love nothing more than watching three guys on the ground for three minutes, groping each other. I haven?t seen that since Hate Astbury in the 1950′s and 60′s. Boxing is back and nothing proves it more than this.?
Boxinginsider: Vitali vs. Peter could be a thriller.
Bert Sugar: ?Though I think that Vitali can beat Peter. Peter showed more than feet of clay against McCline. He?s only a one-dimensional heavyweight. Though most of ?em are [smiles]. So when John Ruiz is still fighting for a portion of the crown you know what you got [smiles]. Nothing.?
Boxinginsider: Are you interested in the De La Hoya-Pacquiao match? It?s beginning to spark interest.
Bert Sugar: ?Yes. I think it?s a better fight than people are giving credit for. I don?t know what Oscar has left. Not only that, as easy as the rendering of the decision was against Steve Forbes, did you see his face afterwards? Somebody hit him. It wasn?t the referee. And that?s Steve Forbes, who couldn?t knock you or me out. Pacquiao can do that. And get out of there quickly. And what he?s doing is what no one?s done since Henry Armstrong ? leapfrogging divisions. And if he can bring that speed and that punch ? I think Oscar?s got much more trouble than people think he has.?
Boxinginsider: Roy Jones seems awfully confident he?ll use Calzaghe as basically a step-stone to get back to the top of the mountain, pound-for-pound #1, back to the glory days. He seems so confident.
Bert Sugar: ?Well, he showed flashes of what he was against Tito Trinidad. But the question was, Was it him or was it Tito? But I asked Roy, what he wants after the W? Presupposing in my mind?s eye he may get it. And I think he could though I find him a significant underdog. He says he wants Roy Jones. As if it were a web site he?s already conceived. So he?s already thinking. And that?s part of the process. If he fights with the flashes he showed against Tito Trinidad, that he can fight, punch for punch the fastest man in boxing today in Calzaghe, remember what he did with Trinidad ? a right hand lead against a right handed boxer. Well, what is a right hand lead against a left-handed boxer? The best punch you can do. Hopkins used it against Tarver to get inside as a jab.?
Talkin? Boxing with Bert Sugar 2005!
13.10.05 ? By Scoop Malinowski / Boxinginsider.com ? Boxing maven Bert Randolph Sugar was in Manhattan for the Hopkins-Taylor II press conference on Tuesday and took time out to share his thoughts on The Executioner, the current era, Floyd, the heavyweights, and of course his new book!
Read on for more with the one-and-only Bert Randolph Sugar?
Q: What?s new with Bert Sugar? Any new boxing books coming out soon?
Sugar: ?I have a new book coming out in December called ?Boxing?s Greatest Fighters (Lyons Press)?, which I rate ?em 1-100 pound-for-pound, throughout history. It will be out in December, because I finished editing it last night. I think it was type-set by some monkeys wearing boxing gloves [smiles].?
Q: Any surprises in your Top 5? I guess you?ll have Ray Robinson on top?
Sugar: ?Robinson?Armstrong?Willie Pep?Harry Greb?and Benny Leonard.?
Q: How do you feel about the current state of boxing? Do you think it?s a very exciting era now?
Sugar: ?No. Because I?ll tell you why. Most people identify ? the peripheral fan, not the hardcore fan ? with the heavyweight division. It?s always been the flagship of boxing, going all the way back to John L. Sullivan. There is no heavyweight division, literally. In fact, if you took the four champions ? there are four of them ? and put them in their gloves, robes and trunks, carrying their belts, in a police lineup ? not only would the general public not know who they are, they would not know what they did for a living. So it?s up to the lighter weight classes to carry the ball, mixed metaphor. And we need fights like this ? Hopkins-Taylor ? more of ?em. Because this is what?s carrying boxing.?
Q: I know you?re a big Floyd Mayweather admirer. Do you think with his amazing talents, he is one of the greatest fighters of all-time?
Sugar: ?No. He?s not built up his credentials enough. He?s on the cusp. Hopkins is, yes. Of the current or recent ? the Ricardo Lopez, Julio Cesar Chavezes ? yes. Floyd Mayweather ? not yet.?
Q: On the way though?
Sugar: ?Yes. He can flesh out his credentials to become one, yes.?
Q: This is going to be a really tough fight for Bernard. Do you think he will be able to overcome the youth and strength of Taylor?
Sugar: ?And yet in the last fight it was the biggest miscalculation of a finish line since the hare and the tortoise. He started the 6th round figuring ? I don?t know what ? giving away five if not six ? second half belonged to him. I had him winning. But then again, what is old eyesight? But when DiBella says it wasn?t controversial ? it was. But Duane Ford not giving the last round to Taylor ? when he was outlanded 3-1 ? would have been a draw. 6-6. But still, the older man was coming on in the end. And, to me, that?s interesting. Not the younger, which is sort of reverse of all reasoning.?
Q: Any vision of how the rematch turns out?
Sugar: ?I think Hopkins wins. Unless he?s gotten old overnight ? at 40 that?s possible.?
Q: What about the possibility that the young fighter ? like Sugar Ray Leonard in with Duran ? becomes great by being in with a great fighter. Taylor might become a great fighter after his performance against Hopkins in July?
Sugar: ?He needs more than that last fight. When he said after the fight, I?m still learning?I question. Strooong?that?s what he won the opening rounds on. Unlike most of Hopkins? opponents, he bull-rushed him, that aggressiveness won him the opening rounds. Plural. I don?t know if Hopkins will let him do that now. If he?s learning?because Bernard is one of the great students.?
Q: Jones and Tarver, what do you think happened there? Was it a matter of Jones fading and getting old? Or is it that Tarver is just his kryptonite? He knows how to beat Jones?
Sugar: ?Well we say styles make fights but Roy?s at the end of his career. The things he got away with as a great ? he?s one of the greats in my book ? were because of speed. His speed is not what it was. And that?s basically what deserted him. I don?t look at the Glen Johnson fight ? he took that as a walk-through. I look at the first and second Tarver fights. Tarver can handle him. And Roy oversells his abilities and undersells Tarver?s. But whatever ? he showed us flashes of Roy in the 5th round, and then packed it in. Then only showed his mettle by surviving the 11th and winning the 12th. I hope Roy goes off into the sunset knowing he?s done all he could do.?
Q: What are you looking forward to in the future in boxing? What excites you?
Sugar: ?Floyd Mayweather excites me, particularly if he fights Zab Judah. Marco Antonio Barrera excites me ? maybe a fourth fight with Erik Morales or a second with Pacquiao. There are some good fights out there. Unfortunately none of them in the heavyweight division. If you saw that Wladimir Klitschko and Sam Peter ? that was one of the worst exhibits of boxing I have ever seen.?
Q: Not a believer in Vitali?
Sugar: ?Well he?s gonna fight a non-fight because Hasim Rahman never seems to come up to snuff. He just declared bankruptcy. I think I?m starting the International Bankruptcy Association, it?s new ? IBA ? and we?re gonna have Tyson and Rahman fight for it?s title [smiles].?
