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 potential opponents for Floyd Mayweather in late 2012, a Top Rank pay-per-view card to forget, a light-heavyweight title showdown, and much more. Without further ado, check out the latest observations from The Boxing Observer.
If Floyd Mayweather makes a ring return in late 2012, his options are limitless. Last week, Ben Thompson of Fighthype reported that sources had informed him Mayweather will fight again in 2012 after serving his 87-day jail sentence. Mayweather’s expected release from jail is September 26th, which would put him in line to be ready to fight in late November or early December. Since Bob Arum already stated he is looking to make Pacquiao vs. Marquez IV in November, that leaves Mayweather the option of fighting anyone besides Pacquiao. Saul Alvarez is hoping to fight in September, which would make him available in December barring any setbacks. Sergio Martinez has signed to fight the winner of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. Andy Lee in September, but Martinez would certainly back out of that fight with the possibility of fighting Mayweather. Amir Khan is another possibility should he look impressive against Lamont Peterson on May 19th. A Mayweather vs. Khan fight might even be possible in England. Lamont Peterson is a possibility, though a long shot, if he were to look great in the rematch against Khan. Another long shot is Devon Alexander, who gets a chance to state his case on August 18th. The most likely candidate is Sergio Martinez. That’s who my money is on.
Will the debut of Mayweather-Cotto 24/7 draw more viewers than the Top Rank pay-per-view Saturday night? My guess is yes, it will. While Top Rank did a nice job making chicken salad out of chicken shit after Yuriorkis Gamboa pulled out of the scheduled fight with Brandon Rios, there is just no reason to pay $45 ($55 for high-definintion) to watch Juan Manuel Marquez destroy an overmatched opponent (think Likar Ramos) or watch Rios fight Richard Abril, whose only notable win was over Miguel Acosta. Abril’s two defeats came against Breidis Prescott and Hank Lundy. Mike Alvarado vs. Mauricio Herrera is a nice addition to the card, but I’m still not paying the money to buy the pay-per-view; not with Mayweather vs. Cotto and Pacquiao vs. Bradley coming up in May and June respectively. The Mayweather vs. Cotto Face Off may have been a dud, but Mayweather always finds a way to entertain or piss off boxing fans. Either way, people watch. I, for one, will be watching 24/7 live. I’ll save my money for another rainy day.
With that being said, should all go well for Top Rank, a Marquez vs. Rios pay-per-view fight in July is one I certainly won’t miss. Bob Arum’s hope is to match Marquez and Rios, should they both come out victorious Saturday night, in a mega-fight at Cowboys stadium in July. That fight, which will most definitely be on pay-per-view, is likely to be more entertaining than Mayweather vs. Cotto or Pacquiao vs. Bradley. Boxing fans better pray for no upsets Saturday night because if all goes well for Top Rank, we could see the 2012 Fight of the Year take place in July.
Tavoris Cloud will reportedly defend his title in Canada against Jean Pascal. It’s amazing how one bad performance will get fighters in the ring. After Cloud won a controversial decision over Gabriel Campillo in a fight most, including myself, thought he lost, Team Cloud stated they would be fighting mandatory challenger Karo Murat next. Then along comes the news that Jean Pascal is interested in fighting Cloud again. If you remember back to late last year, Cloud and Pascal were in talks to face one another, but couldn’t come to an agreement. Most believe the problem lied with Cloud’s promoter, Don King. Fast forward a few months and one poor Cloud performance, and the Pascal fight is all of a sudden easy to make. Maybe it was Pascal who was pricing himself out last time to avoid facing Cloud. It’s just a theory, but I find it hard to believe that now, all of a sudden, Pascal is willing to get in the ring with Cloud.
It looks like K9 Bundrage has a worthy adversary for his IBF title. Undefeated contender Vanes Martirosyan got into a war of words with Bundrage late last week on FightHype. Martirosyan says he was promised by Bob Arum that if a fight with Bundrage could be secured, it would wind up on the Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley pay-per-view undercard. Both Vanes and K9 want the exposure, but both also want to be compensated fairly as well. If both fighters were guaranteed six figures to fight on the undercard, it’s almost a guarantee the fight will get made. If Bob Arum and Don King try to low-ball either guy, expect K9 to take on Cory Spinks on June 23rd. It’s a fight that could really add some luster to an average fight card, and both guys are deserving of the worldwide exposure. Make it happen, BobFather. Remember, six figures isn’t that much considering you paid Bradley $1.2 million to fight Casamayor in November on the Pacquiao vs. Marquez III undercard.
James Toney, really? I respect what he has done throughout his great career, but how the hell can he expect anyone to take him seriously as a contender when he comes into any fight weighing 248 pounds? It’s time to hang ’em up James. Please don’t end up like Evander Holyfield or Roy Jones Jr. A title shot against the Klitschko brothers is NEVER GONNA HAPPEN.
Devon Alexander’s ring return on Showtime is reportedly set for August 18th. With a lack of opponents available due to prior fight commitments, is anyone else intrigued by the possibility of an Alexander vs. Zab Judah match up? I know I am. After the way both Alexander and Judah looked in their most recent performances, it would be a great fight.
Can anyone tell me why Juan Manuel Lopez was suspended for a full year? The guy made an accusation, which nobody took seriously, and apologized for it. Is that worth a one-year suspension? Margarito cheated. Mosley took steroids. Ivan Calderon got busted with $4 million worth of cocaine in his home. All these guys are fighting again. Why was the penalty for JuanMa so severe? It’s almost as if the Puerto Rican Boxing Commission called up NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for advice and asked, “Hey Roger, what would you do in this situtation?”
