It’s time for another edition of ‘Random Thoughts’ with yours truly – just things that popped into my mind as I went about my day. There’s nothing particularly earth shattering here, just things that I found interesting, odd, peculiar or funny.
Basically, it’s a flurry of ‘Final Flurries’.
So here we go with my best Larry King imitation….
There’s no doubt that the 2006 reincarnation of ‘Boxing After Dark’ has been a disappointment but I get the feeling that their final edition of the year featuring the middleweight battle between Edison Miranda and Willie Gibbs will be as good for as long as it lasts…. By the way, I like ‘Pantera’ Miranda early….. Hey, for all of you complaining about HBO giving out the results of Showtime bouts, while I agree it’s a bit of dirty pool, in the case of December 2nd, I feel no sympathy for you because you should’ve been watching the superior card on Showtime to begin with (if you live on the east coast)…..For a guy who says he wanted to branch out on his own promotionally, Winky Wright sure was surrounded by a lot of Golden Boy partners after his fight last week, wasn’t he?…..I don’t know, maybe I’m old-school, but I’d much rather have fighters as fighters, and not promoters…..
Anyone else get the sense that Jermain Taylor will always be a flawed fighter? For all his physical tools, he makes a lot of technical mistakes…..And with him now being an HBO fighter, I think it’ll be very difficult for him to improve, being that he now performs about once every six months. Back in the day, a boxer like him – with or without a belt – would be fighting every six-to-eight weeks and honing his skills…..Nowadays, not only do they fight every half-year, they stay out of the gym a lot longer because of their intermittent schedules….As for the disappointing ticket sales in Little Rock, again, it’s hard to develop a true ticket seller when the promoter is basically a network which won’t take the time to nurture an attraction locally and keep him active. Just look at how well Miguel Cotto does in Puetro Rico with the job Top Rank did in not just waiting around for HBO dates…..The Taylor-Ouma show still did over a million dollars at the gate, but it was funny to hear Jim Lampley mention that it was the highest gate in the history of Arkansas. Yeah, well, that’s like being the fastest Korean sprinter. Which means you still aren’t exactly Carl Lewis….As of now Darren McFadden still rules Little Rock…..
I’d say that Daniel Ponce de Leon and Giovanni Segura are the very definition of the term ‘awkwardly effective’…Floyd Mayweather should give the press ‘Tickle Me Elmos’ and Playstation 3s after his next bout. That would really make him likable…. I don’t want to say that the bout between Sergei Liakhovich and Shannon Briggs was bad, but better fights are taking place on the set of Grey’s Anatomy….Most overlooked prospect in boxing? Victor Ortiz….There’s no doubt about it, with his current run of beating Sam Peter, Chris Byrd and Cal Brock, Wladimir Klitschko is the game’s top ranked heavyweight….Who’s the better running back, LaDainian Tomlinson or Michael Vick?….Yeah, kill me, but I actually liked Ice-T’s ‘Rap School’ on VH-1…..A prospect to look out for? Jorge Linares….James Toney is the Rowdy Roddy Piper of boxing. He would’ve been a great heel in wrestling….
Are Larry Merchant and I the only guys that like ‘Studio 60’ on NBC? If they cancel it now, it’ll be the worst early stoppage since Chavez-Taylor I…..Which reminds me, why was ‘the Nine’ given a ten-count by ABC? Yeah I know it’s just a hiatus, but that’s like an ‘eight-count’….Bob Arum, as of now, puts on the best pay-per-view undercards. He’s come a long ways from the days of Butterbean and Mia St. John….. Hey Bob, Happy 75th…..The closest thing boxing has to NFL Films are the HBO countdown shows for their pay-per-view telecasts. They could make a fight between two bums out on the street worth plunking down 50 bucks….So ‘Lights Out’ Toney has finally decided to get into shape by hiring Billy Blanks, huh? Well, he can take a lesson from Leah Remini, who in the season premiere of ‘King of Queens’ showed she is back to her 2002 form….
I hear Shane Mosley could be facing Luis Collazo on February 10th on HBO. I hope they don’t accept Carlos Baldomir. HBO should be into fights, not recycling….Speaking of which, I hear Wlad’s next HBO appearance could come against Ray Austin in Germany paired up with a bout between Sultan Ibragimov and Briggs. Hey, are we ever, ever, going to unify?….Admit it, when you see a brotha’ win on Telefutura it brings a smile to your face…. Well, maybe not to Michael Richards, but I sure get a kick out of it for some reason…..When a ring announcer introduces a guy and says, ‘A veteran of the sport with ___ bouts…’ That’s just another way of saying he has a terrible record….Will Larry Coker be the Robert Alcazar of college football? Y’ know, a guy who after he gets relieved of a primetime gig is never heard from again?…..Speaking of which, will Alabama now just decide to dig up the body of Bear Bryant and do some sorta of ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ thing in filling their coaching vacancy?….Has Oscar made up his mind about who will be training him for his bout with Mayweather?…..I’ll say it right now, if I’m Golden Boy, I don’t let Vicente Escobedo anywhere near Daniel Jimenez in the near future…..Speaking of prospects, I like Andre Berto, who has an impressive power/speed ratio but remember, punchers like him can often be a bit of a mirage early on in their careers as they are pitted against overmatched foes like Miguel Figueroa….By late 2007, I’d love to see Berto in there with a guy like Cosme Rivera…..
Will Laurence (who needs to be racked over the) Cole(s) start giving fighters advice in-between rounds?…. What was a worse case of nepotism? The Coles in Texas or the Bowdens at FSU?…. Is there any show grittier than ‘the Wire’? I can just see Hasim Rahman watching that show going, ‘Yup, yup, that’s the way it goes down.’…. I don’t want to be sacrilegious, but would Willie Pep be a popular fighter today?….After seeing Notre Dame’s pass defense this year, I’m beginning to think that Tommy Z has a better future as a heavyweight than free safety…..But I would tab Tommy to KO Dwayne Jarrett and Mario Manningham in the ring, though…..An underrated bout I saw recently was Cristian Mijares going to Japan and winning the WBC jr. bantamweight title against Kats Kawashima…..Manny Pacquiao’s nickname shouldn’t be ‘Pac Man’ but Johnny Drama….. I wondering what Dan Duva must think of his brother merging with Don King….I hate open scorecards, I really do. I used to be in favor of them till I saw Mark Johnson and Sharmba Mitchell basically go into the four-corners on Showtime bouts in 1999 with open scorecards. This past Saturday night on HBO was another example of why we need better judging, not open scorecards in boxing. Put that under ‘be careful what you wish for’…..In my book, Darren McFadden of Arkansas and Colt Brennan of Hawaii are the two frontrunners for the Heisman Trophy in 2007….
Hey, I really like the job Taye Diggs is doing on ‘Day Break’ on ABC, but I really, really, really like Rita on that show. Now that show surely won’t be cancelled, right? Huh, what did you say?….Before 2007 is out, I’d like to see Demetrius Hopkins in a significant bout. Along with Kendall Holt. Same with Steven Luevano. Seriously, that guy has been on Telefutura it seems more than Bernado Osuna and Ahmed Santos….Also, I’d like to see Top Rank amp it up a bit on their ‘Versus’ shows. They can do better….Doesn’t Vic Darchinyan look a bit devilish? He reminds of the image on that old game show, ‘Jokers Wild’…..You may not agree with me, but Rocky Juarez (who I hear could be inking a deal with Golden Boy very soon) will win a title one of these days….How believable will ‘Rocky Balboa’ be when the guy playing the reigning heavyweight champion of the world just got whipped by a career middleweight in his last bout?…..Wait a minute, I forgot, this is the Rocky series that jumped the shark with the fourth installment….There’s no boxing series that stays as true to it’s mission statement as ShoBox….I don’t care what anybody says, I love Falco’s ‘Rock Me Amadeus’. It’s one of the great songs of the ’80’s. If any fighter comes out to that, they immediately get into my pound-for-pound list….Best beer when it’s ice cold? Heineken…..
OK, not a big thing, but this bugs me, I saw that ABC aired ‘ A Charlie Brown Christmas’ on November 28th. Now I know Thanksgiving is the unofficial start of the holiday season but c’mon, shouldn’t this X-Mas classic be shown sometime in December?…..Speaking of which, for me, nothing exemplifies the yuletide spirit to me than 80-degree Southern California days wearing shorts and sandals….Quick, name all the true ticket sellers in boxing today. Hmmmm, you got Oscar, Pacquiao, perhaps Miguel Cotto, and who else?…..If John Duddy’s eye-injury is career threatening, that’s quite a blow for the business of boxing, as he had shown the ability to move the turnstiles….What do I think of Randy Shannon’s hiring at UM? Well, he certainly wasn’t my first choice, but Pete Carroll wasn’t USC’s first choice back in 2001, either. I just hope he hires himself a Norm Chow-like coordinator to run his offense…..When is Aaron McGruder and ‘the Boondocks’ coming back? Seriously, early retirements are for boxers and rappers, not comic strip artists…..I liked ‘Ali Rap’ on ESPN, but it was a bit funny to see Chuck D in slacks, wasn’t it? Not for nothing, I liked ‘Ali’s Dozen’ even better.
You gotta love Murad Muhammad. While he’s making offers to Wladimir Klitschko to face Evander Holyfield for $20 million, he’s bouncing checks all over Texas….. Why does boxing – and it’s commissions – allow him to still exist?….I hear that HBO has turned down Raymond Joval as the January 27th opponent for Kelly Pavlik. I applaud that decision (if true). I hear that Kofi Jantuah and Jose Luis Zertuche are now being discussed. I’d much rather see one of those guys, personally….’Mystery of the Urinal Deuce’ is one of the funniest ‘South Park’ episodes ever…..I can’t wait till JD Drew goes on the 15-day DL in Boston. That should be fun….I still can’t believe that the famed Kronk Gym is no more in Detroit. I mean not having Kronk in Mo-Town is like having Detroit without the Tigers, Red Wings, Lions, auto plants or crime….. Hey, folks, I was just kidding, no need to go all Jimmy Kimmel on me here…..
Hold on, I know of another ticket seller – anyone advised by Jim Wilkes. Yeah, sure it turns out he purchases most of the tickets himself, but still, it all adds up…..Anyone remember how Daniel Zaragoza bowed out of his bout against Erik Morales in 1997 and how ‘El Terrible’ called it a night against Pacquiao a few weeks back? More proof that in life, things do come full-circle…..Is Zahir Raheem in the federal witness protection program?…..One of these days, Main Events will win a big fight…..And the Cubs will win a World Series…..Am I the only one who thought Ricardo Castillo did enough to beat Takalani Ndlovu on Telefutura recently? Either way, it was a pretty good scrap…..I hear that if Marco Antonio Barrera doesn’t face Pacquiao in March, that a pay-per-view showdown with Juan Manuel Marquez is being discussed. All I can say is, seeing is believing….’ 30 Rock’ on NBC is rock-solid. It’s not ‘ the Office’, but it’s good…..Someone please tell Britney Spears to wear sweatpants. Long, long sweatpants please. I just don’t like what’s being served up here….
I loved the ‘You Can’t Blame’ on ESPN Classic that was recently done on Mike Tyson’s loss to Buster Douglas. Till the day I die, that’ll always be one of my favorite sporting events…. One reason listed that I vehemently disagreed with is that they used the death of Cus D’Amato as a reason for ‘Iron Mike’s downfall. Folks, he would’ve crashed and burned with or without Cus. That’s like blaming the woes of Whitney Houston on Bobby Brown. Hate to break it to you, but she would’ve found the pipe with or without him. It’s a convenient scapegoat, but that’s it…..Another reason given was Robin Givens. Well, Ernest Hemingway did say that women killed off more fighters than punches ever did…..The corner was another factor according to this show. Which I can’t disagree with, but geez, you get the feeling that Aaron Snowell (who’s actually had a nice career as a trainer) could train a hundred champions and build a multitude pound-for-pound stalwarts and he’ll never live down February 10th, 1990…..
RING RATINGS ADVISORY PANEL
As you may have heard, I was asked to be a part of an esteemed panel that will give their input on the Ring ratings. In the past, despite its good intentions, it had been criticized for basically being the opinion of just a few folks. Well, to their credit, they have taken steps to rectify that perception.
Here’s what I sent in to The Ring this past week….
“Just my two cents…..
Heavys – Move Maskaev down from 2. He’s by far the most vulnerable big man on the planet with or without a belt. I think Peter and Toney should be higher than he is.
I’d think about including Tony Thompson and Luan Krasniqi in the top ten
Lt Heavy – Tarver should be lower than one. He got blanked by a natural middleweight. He may be a better actor than boxer as of now. I actually think T. Adamek might be the world’s best 175-pounders (and I’ve thought that for awhile)
Super Midd- Lacy should be much lower. He looked bad against Tsypko and he’ll be out for awhile. I think the winner of JP Mendy-A Hanshaw should get a good look soon, as should Jean Pascal.
Jr. Midd- Vargas has no business in the top ten. He’s not even a 154 if / when he comes back. Verno Phillips, based on consistency the past 5 years should be higher than 10. Also, Rodney Jones deserves a place here somewhere
Welter- I’d switch Cotto and Baldomir. Any oddsmaker would make Cotto a 4-1 favorite over Baldo. Gatti should be dropped and Clottey should be higher than 10 based on his overall record and showing versus Margarito
Jr. Welter- I love Castillo, but two? He hasn’t really had a fight there as a real 140-pounder yet.
Lightweight- Raheem, based on inactivity, should be lower. If Daniel Jimenez can down Jauregui, he should be in the top ten, very soon.
Jr. Lightweight- Morales, a loser of four of his last five – including two KO losses, should be lower. He looks like he’s had it
Featherweight- I don’t care what the judges had, Marquez beat John. I’d switch them. Harrison should be thrown into the ocean. Will he ever fight again? Also guys like Martin Honorio, Jorge Linares and Steve Luevano should be looked at very soon. Also, I’d still have Robert Guerrero in the top ten based on findings after his loss to Salido.
Jr Featherweight- I’d switch Somsak Sith and Ponce de Leon based on the nature of their losses to Caballero. I’d put Ricardo Castillo in the top ten. IMO, he actually beat the 9th guy, Ndlovu, in my not-so-humble opinion.
Jr Bantamweight- I’d flip Montiel and Munoz – who put up much better showings in his losses. I would raise Cristian Mijares from seventh; I was impressed by his showing against Kawashima in Japan to win the title.
PFP- I’d have Pac numero uno, followed by Wright and then Mayweather.”
2007 FNF
In a few weeks, ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights will be back with Brian Kenny at the point, and Teddy Atlas and Joe Tessitore ringside. Here is their early schedule…
January 5th( 9:00 PM ET): Anthony Peterson vs. Juan Garza
January 12th( 9:00 PM ET): Cornelius Bundrage vs Chris Smith
January 19th( 8:00 PM ET): Randall Bailey vs. Anthony Mora
January 26th( 7:30 PM ET): Mike Anchondo vs Darling Jimenez
February 2nd( 9:00 PM ET): Michael Katsidis vs Osvaldo Lara
February 9th( 9:00 PM ET): Chris Arreola vs. Malcolm Tann
February 16th( 10:00 PM ET): Valdemir Pereira vs. Martin Honorio.
* Of course, all this is subject to change.
