“The Coach” checks in with FightFan.com and gives his take on Mayweather-Baldomir, Mayweather-DLH, Steve Molitor, Manny Pacquiao, Manfredo-Calzaghe and more! Only on FightFan.com!
FF: Russ as always thanks for checking in with the FightFans. Let’s start off back with the Mayweather-Baldomir fight. Did you catch that one?
RA: I did see the fight. In one way it kind of followed script and in another way I expected it to be a tougher fight for Floyd. I remember the last time I talked to you guys I said if Floyd won every round they’d be very hard fought rounds… I was quite surprised at how easily he won the rounds. With that said, winning so easily I would have expected him to put more of a hurting on Baldomir. It basically ended up being a track meet and certainly not a memorable fight.
We can turn around and say that Baldomir was an ordinary fighter, but he has proven he’s a game warrior who comes to fight. But Mayweather uses every foot of a big ring and doesn’t like to take any chances. He hits and lives to fight another day, and I guess that’s good for longevity, but even guys who develop their style like that, IE Ray Leonard or someone along those lines, they were spectacular in doing so. I didn’t find at any time that Mayweather was spectacular in that fight exploding with flurries. I would like to have seen him open up with 7, 8 even 9 punches in a bunch. But he doesn’t do that, and I can understand why the buying public is turned off by that and finds it boring. That’s the same feeling I left with.
FF: In his defense it was said he sustained a hand injury in the fight about mid way. He has had chronic hand problems, what do you make of that?
RA: There’s no doubt about it that when you’re wearing 8oz gloves and fighting big guys you’re going to do some damage to your hands. I don’t doubt that he may have suffered somewhat of an injury, but I’ve got to tell you… that clip you guys have on FightFan.com of the post fight press conference, Dan Goosen made certain he prefaced the conference with noting Floyd hurt his hand and then Floyd comes out and he held a towel in his hand the entire time, wiped his face with it, used it to motion with… There was no time in the conference he favored the hand.
Did he hurt it? I’m sure it was in discomfort, and I wouldn’t question that. But to use that as an excuse for why he didn’t knock him out… I don’t think he would have knocked Baldomir out with a bat.
FF: What are your feelings about the aggressive line of questioning Larry Merchant took with him after the fight? I can understand it wasn’t the most exciting fight, but he did go in there and win the undisputed Welterweight Championship of the world in a near shut out, and then it seems like he goes right into an interrogation… Where’s the line between winning in a one sided fight and being criticized for not doing it in an exciting enough fashion?
RA: I don’t think there’s any doubt he has the talent. But lets take Floyd and give him the same style and add an endearing personality, and I think it increases his popularity tenfold. Merchant doesn’t like him, and I don’t really care what Merchant thinks. In a way I was glad to see Floyd say what he said, but that wasn’t the right time. There was his time to shine, bring out that Million dollar smile and endear us with some personality and he failed. He failed at the press conference as well. He got up to the podium and didn’t start out with thank-you’s… He started in with the “They said it couldn’t be done” stuff. I mean who said it couldn’t be done? It’s almost like he has this conspiracy that everyone’s against him. That really turns people off, and they just use his style as a means to justify that dislike.
FF: What do you think of the announcement that Floyd will be facing Oscar De La Hoya? How big of a fight is this for boxing? Your thoughts on the match up itself?
RA: As a hardcore boxing guy I think it’s too little to late for Oscar. But you have to remember that everything that comes out of that fight… the ticket sales, the hype, the buzz, is all because of Oscar De La Hoya. I think Floyd owes him some gratitude in that sense.
FF: I’m assuming the reason Floyd wants this fight is because he knows Floyd is universally recognized as the top fighter Pound for Pound, and that would be a pretty attractive swan song and note for him to go out on. With that said, do you think he thinks he can actually win it, and do you think he can win it?
RA: It’s Oscar De La Hoya. Of course he has a chance to win. I think what he’s doing with his legacy right now is saying he’s not going to look for second class fights. If he’s going to go out – as in leaving boxing – he wants to go out against the best. And if he loses, it’s going to be to the best. As good as Oscar is, he’s not the Oscar of five years ago. He’s going to prepare for this fight and put everything into it. If he wins, it’s a great achievement. If he gets outclassed he can just say he was in there with the best. It’s a win win situation for Oscar.
FF: Do you think there’s anything Floyd can do with this fight to boost his popularity? Can he come away from this fight elevating his marketability in the eyes of boxing fans?
RA: I think he’ll end up getting more people hating him. You can’t beat Jack Dempsey or Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali and have everyone like you. Floyd tends to have a lot of people who dislike him. And I’ll tell you one thing, I don’t foresee a Philthy Rich Records – Golden Boy Promotions union after this fight!
FF: Russ talk a little bit about Steve Molitor. He had a very big win over Michael Hunter and is really the talk of Canadian Boxing right now. What did you think of his performance in the fight, and how does his win stack up on an international scale?
RA: First of all, in beating Hunter, I thought he looked good. I know exactly what it was like for him to go into the UK in front of that hostile crowd. That was Michael Hunter’s neighbors and friends, guys from the pub, and it doesn’t get anymore hostile than that. I was glad to see him shut Hunter down. He made him quit. But one thing for certain is that Michael Hunter is no Israel Vasquez.
Now that he’s got a belt, that’s good for him. He’s got to go out there and make some defenses and find a name guy who wants a shot at his title. It may take his people putting up some money for a shot at stardom, but it’s what needs to be done. Molitor’s people need to put up some money to try and get somebody like Vasquez to come and fight in Montreal, and see if HBO will carry it.
FF: Monetary issues aside, do you think he’s ready for the likes of a Vasquez or even someone like Daniel Ponce de Le?n?
RA: It’s a big step but I don’t think he has much of a choice. He needs to progress, and I think he needs some more seasoning. He’ll tell you that himself. Those guys are the money fights, and if he wants that he’s got to fight them.
FF: If you were in charge of his career though, you’d like to see him take a few more fights before getting in with those guys?
RA: That’s a 10-4, absolutely. And I’d want him to do it on Canadian soil. I’d like to see him shed the tag of Canada’s best kept secret. He needs to shake that and make himself visible. He’s an exciting fighter, and a World Champion and there’s room for him to make some noise.
FF: Russ what were your thoughts on Pacquiao-Morales III? Maybe you could provide a little contrast on the fine line between Morales being a shot fighter and the vast improvements Manny Pacquiao has made in the last few years?
RA: That was really the line I touched on on my show. I think Pacquiao and Roach have developed into a great tandem and Pacquiao is really showing he can rise to the occasion no matter how tough the previous fights have been. He get right back into it and he’s becoming much more than the somewhat one dimensional fighter he was when he fought Juan Manuel Marquez. I think there’s been great improvement in Manny Pacquiao.
But it’s when you’ve got a 40-50% improvement in a fighter like Pacquiao and a 40-50% decline in the other fighter like Morales, suddenly there’s a great gap there.
FF: Did you like the way Pacquiao used his right hand in the last fight?
RA: Yes, and Freddie said that was going to eventually become his best weapon. I don’t know if it’s going to catch up with that left of his, but I’ll tell you what, it is light years ahead of what it was.
FF: It really seems to deter as well…
RA: That’s right because it will set up the left. By improving the right, you’ve made a left which was already good, even better. I think they’ve done a great job with him. When I saw in the first round that even partially blocked shots were moving Morales around and weakening his legs… I thought he was done. He showed all the signs of a shot fighter. He tried, and gamely fought back, but it was no good. He’s a quintessential example of a fighter who’s lost his legs.
FF: One interesting thing we saw was one that Freddie Roach pointed out when we were down there. He said Manny’s footwork and in and out movement wouldn’t allow Morales to set his feet, which he needs to do to throw effectively. It sure seemed to work out for them in the fight because I thought Manny’s movement caused a lot of problems for Morales.
RA: The guy has really developed along the way. He was plodding before, and only seemed to paw with the right hand. He’s improved so much. Now he’s using his legs, the hook, throwing combos with hand speed. We had a few emails this week arguing that Pacquiao is the #1 Pound for Pound fighter in boxing. Larry Merchant recently said on the Sweet Science that he rates Pacquiao at the top saying he’s made for more exciting fights. You can make the argument, and there are a lot of people subscribing to that theory.
FF: Who would you like to see Pacquiao fight next?
RA: Marquez. If the guy is a warrior like he’s shown in the ring, he should get back in there and try to get that blemish off his record.
FF: What about Barrera? He’s in the same weight class and really wants the rematch…
RA: Barrera is a warrior, and he will go out on his shield, but I think he’s up against a very difficult opponent. Power is one thing, but power and speed has always been Barrera’s problem. He’s had a lot of problems dealing with speed and Pacquiao brings a lot of it.
FF: What do you think about the Manfredo-Calzaghe fight getting announced? Do you like the idea of Calzaghe taking that fight and does Peter have a chance?
RA: I think Manfredo has a shot, but it’s also a good match up for Calzaghe because Manfredo’s right in front of him. That’s a good match up for Calzaghe.
FF: What do you think of Calzaghe’s reluctance to fight Kessler? That seems like a very logical unification fight against the other top rated guy in his division…
RA: Would you be interested if they offered you Kessler? (laughs) You can see where Joe’s coming from. He’s got that defense record coming up and they’re offering him Manfredo, or Kessler. I think you can see why he’d go with Manfredo. Kessler’s an animal.
FF: Hopkins just made a big announcement he’s going to continue fighting. Almost 42 years old, is that a good idea.
RA: Is that a good idea? I’ll tell you what. I believe in Hopkins. I don’t think Hopkins does things where he’s going to make himself look bad and embarrass himself. If he thinks he can do it – and he’s probably tested himself in private – I like Bernard. You’re not going to catch me saying a bad thing about him. I’ll always be rooting for him when he steps in the ring.
FF: I think that’s all we had for this go around.
RA: My pleasure guys I really enjoy doing this.
FF: Hey Russ, are you guys taking a break on “In this Corner” at all over the holidays?
RA: We’ll just take a quick break between Christmas and New Years and then we’ll be back.
FF: Good to hear, thanks again Russ we’ll catch up soon.
RA: Take care fellas.
