What you?re looking for, pertaining to this boxing expert business, is somebody with a ?track record? of taking a stand and picking a winner?
?An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which could be made, in a narrow field.??Niels Bohr
The Big Fight / Mayweather vs. Canelo
Boxing?s Biggest Expert Weighs In!
?The Experts? are out in full force, picking the winner, and shoeshining, verbally, quicker than best Olympic boxer 1976, Val Barker Award winner Howard Davis Jr. There will be roundtables, blogs, Monday morning mailbags, Friday morning mailbags, Twitter, radio shows and, for the most part, ?it won?t mean a fucking thing? according to boxing?s biggest expert.
What you?re looking for, pertaining to this boxing expert business, is somebody with a ?track record? of taking a stand and picking a winner. I wouldn?t presume to define or evaluate what is called an ?expert? in this boxing world. Some of the boxing ?experts? opinions are offered up as those of sage old-timers of yesteryear. I suspect, however, that it simply involves, this expert business, individually, with little pretense of objectivity, letting everybody know, subjectively of course, that you are offering your opinion as an ?expert,? be that as it may, as trainer, fighter, writer, promoter, radio jock or spectator.
Of course there are EXPERTS and then there are experts. When Gil Clancy called a fight he already had the next round choreographed for your viewing mind as to what would likely occur, as a portent of pugilism, and he was rarely wrong in his opinions. How about the likes of a guy like Joe Goossen? When he speaks one should simply shut up and listen. The same can be said for a host of others including Teddy Atlas, Sarge Johnson, and Kenny Adams. They are that good! These are the trainer expert types. NACHO! NACHO RULES!
Now there are the other ?expert? types of the trained watching type. They are abundant. Some are superb and of course some of them are simply god-awful. Max Kellerman?s comments and questions always seem bang on. His on the road visitation of Paul Williams training camp after Paul was knocked out by Sergio Martinez was superb. Kellerman?s post-fight in the ring questions are logical and to the point. Similarly, I always enjoyed the Fight Doctor Ferdie Pacheco?s superb insightfulness. It was also fun that he could flow seamlessly to Spanish during interviews so that nothing was lost in translation.
Now, certainly the trained watching types may have never laced on a pair of gloves and punched somebody in the nose, but that does not disqualify them anymore than a great number of the trainer types who never had glorified squared circle careers. My case and point would be the legendary Angelo Dundee, who most certainly was an expert. Not all experts are fighters, not all fighters are experts, and not all trainers were fighters and not all fighters make good trainers. For anyone that ever had the pleasure of speaking with Archie Moore they would surely attest to his magical quality of expertise in his waxing on the finer points of the sweet science. Now there was a fighter, then trainer, who truly was an expert. This expert business gets confusing does it not but in the end result we are still looking for that pick the winner person for what else is the ultimate litmus expert test!
?An expert is one that knows more and more about less and less.??Nicholas Butler
I could probably give you an unending list of experts gone wrong simply to point out, not to name names but rather to let you know, as an observer, that you may very well qualify, not as an expert, but rather as one of the better experts. Hell, I?ve been observing, expertly, since my first expertly viewed scrap, Leotis Martin vs. Sonny Liston. I expertly watched that with Dear Old Pops, may he rest in peace, by expertly putting my butt on the couch, expertly eating some popcorn, and expertly shutting my mouth as matters unfolded and Dear Old Pops chugged away on his Black Label beer while tossing out the not so odd F-Bomb.
Let me make a few cases in point if you expertly missed part of my point:
1. Oscar De La Hoya: According to Oscar, ?Money May? should be down at least two losses (Ortiz and Guerrero). Oscar is not doing very well when it comes to Mayweather. And don?t think it was by accident that Floyd decided to light Oscar up a little bit about his losing ways at the last press conference. You see all these Mayweather uncles and Floyd are devil-May-care when it comes to the psychology part of boxing, which is very important. Further, when you bring your mother and your kids to a press conference, as Floyd did, and have to listen to a bunch of obnoxious morons booing away, then hey, fair game to do a little devil-May-care.
Canelo of course, has had Oscar along for the entire press junket and no doubt Oscar is seen or felt by Canelo as an advisor and someone?s opinion to be trusted, a boxing security blanket, as you may, whether, psychologically speaking.
Out comes Floyd to bash Oscar?s loser picking ways and that was expertly done in the psyche department. For every Mayweather there is a season. In this particular case he cast some doubt Canelo?s way in terms of putting one?s reliance on a guy in Oscar who isn?t doing very well in the pick-?em department!
2. Marvin Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard Donald Curry ? Hagler in 7 or 8 Eddie Futch ? Hagler by decision Larry Merchant ? Hagler by a late round stoppage Joyce Carol Oates ? ?I?m not saying Leonard is mad, but he?s touched with madness to do this. He?s mesmerized with Hagler, and not thinking rationally. Hagler will win; it?s just a matter of how.? Nope!
Seriously now, how many people were or would have picked Leonard at the time? How about a real pick-?em expert, and trainer to boot, Ray Arcel. ?If he (Hagler) lets Leonard get started, Leonard will outbox him for all 12 rounds.? And how about writer William Nack? ?The guess here is that Leonard has both his legs beneath him, and in defiance of history and logic, he will win.?
3. Larry Holmes vs. Michael Spinks Bob Foster ? Holmes by KO in 2 or 3 rounds Mike Jones ? Homes by 15-round decision Eddie Mustafa Muhammad ? Homes in 5 or 6 rounds?Nope!
4. Roberto Duran vs. Davey Moore Hall of Famer Shelly Finkel ? Moore (In fairness we would be remiss if not giving Finkel?s pick on Hagler vs. Leonard: ?I think Hagler has slipped tremendously. He got hit plenty by Mugabi. If Ray has his legs under him, I don?t think Hagler has a chance.? Do you see what I see? Apparently Mr. Finkel could sing the song! Superb!!!) Jim Jacobs ? Moore from the 1st round of the fight for as long as it takes Michael Katz ? Moore by decision?Nope!
5. Roberto Duran vs. Iran Barkley ? over 34 ?Experts? all picked Barkley and all were expertly wrong. The superb fight writer Ron Borges was the only person to pick Duran. If you follow Mr. Borges? picks over the years he most certainly is an ?Expert?. You would be running good averages on your expert picks if you follow Mr. Borges? comments.
Looking for Mr. Turner
That would be Richard G. Turner of Quaker Hills, Connecticut. Back in 1970 Boxing Illustrated ran a contest for their expert fans (surely anyone who is a fan of boxing, a diminishing quantity from the glory days of the ?40?s and ?50s of yesteryear, is an expert would you not agree!); pick the winner of Frazier vs. Ellis, the round/result and the number of knockdowns. Five hundred and eleven entries later (148 picked Ellis) Mr. Turner had it as clean and perfect as that big Frazier left hook that dumped Mr. Ellis on the seat of his pants. He had it right down to the number of knockdowns. Now there is an expert. As a side note I might tell you that the soothsayer of Quaker Hills, Mr. Richard G. Turner, was awarded a lifetime subscription, for free, to Boxing Illustrated. There?s probably an expert out there that can let me know when Boxing Illustrated ceased to publish! Eh, Fearless Editor how about an expert pick Boxing.com contest on some of these big fights coming up through the fall season and offering a lifetime subscription to Boxing.com, for free! Hey! Maybe Top Rank or HBO can have a pick a winner competition and offer some ringside tickets! I digress!
I suppose, in consideration of this expert business, one could simply rely upon ?the book? as in the Casino Sport Book, etc. The lads that set the odds, ?the book? surely guess/get it right. I mean, in the end, the house always Wynn?s. Hmmm! Buster Douglas dropping the not even remotely Iron Mike? The odds were so in favor of the not so Iron Mike that night that Buster might as well have been a dead man walking. Now having said that, I suspect if you were examining that fight, by ?the book? and studying appropriately book smart, the fact that the not so Iron Mike had been dropped heavily in sparring, shortly before the fight, by Greg Page may have provided an expert hint indeed. The sparring session was immediately stopped! I better rethink this buy ?the book? business and, besides, the house in the long or short run always Wynn?s and the boss ain?t ever given up his house. No Sir!!
Boxing Biggest Expert Checks In
You probably don?t recall Frank ?The Bear?. He sat ringside with me for Khan vs. Judah a few years back. It seem like just yesterday when, ringside, Frank ?The Bear? commented, ?Hey Chief (Schmidt), do me a good one would ya? Sneak on over and ask one of the ?experts? who Boone Kirkman is. I betcha they think it?s one of the audio tech guys for the TV.? In the spirit of things I asked Frank if we should go over and ask if anybody had seen Flash Elorde and see if they looked over at the camera guys. Well, Frank ?The Bear? ended the evening as follows: ?Hey Chief (Schmidt), I got one last one for you. This expert business has me going. They should have a professional boxing expert designation school, like a bricklaying college apprentice thing, where you gotta get qualified. Hoya, now that would be fun to teach. Class, open your book to page two. Do any of you dumb little experts have a clue who Boone Kirkman is? Johnny Internet how about you? Ricky Radio how about you? Nancy Newspaper how about you? Chief, I?m the guy, I?m telling you.?
Frank ?The Bear? called in yesterday. ?Schmidty me boy, how are ya, you lousy Square Head, its Sammy Goss calling.?
Schmidt: ?Frankie ?The Bear? to what or to whom do I owe the pleasure?
Frank: ?I thought I?d give you a quick call and see if you got that envelope with the little gift of yesteryear from our mutual friend. I thought I?d let you know how Canelo is going to get busted up. Now, first things being first, Sammy Goss, Sammy Goss, come on kid give it to me??
Schmidt: ?Too easy Frankie, he could have been a Champion for sure, great inside fighter and great outside boxer as well and really did a shutout number on another guy who could have been Champion, Walter Seeley. Further, Frankie, way too easy as Sammy fought on the ABC Felt Forum fight cards that were on Saturday TV back in the early ?70s. Hell of a talent!?
Frank: ?What weight Schmidty??
Schmidt: ?Fuck Frank, give me a break here, lightweight, I believe.?
Frank: ?Not quite Schmidty, not quite?
Frank: ?Don?t be surprised if Mayweather does that old school thing where you?ve got a Bull who thinks he?s simply going to walk through a boxer and overpower him. He may come out in the first round and get Canelo?s attention by cracking him a good hard one; as much as a good hard one is for Mayweather. Jr. may start a lot faster than he normally does. If he banks a few rounds early it is going to put one hell of a lot of pressure on Canelo to take additional chances. Besides Chief, did you see how gassed Canelo looked against Trout? He was milking the minute of a few rounds. When the kid misses big, and he does and he will, Floyd is going to give him instant leather back.?
?Here?s the deal on Canelo. He is a young exciting guy, but for this fight he is going to be too slow of feet, too slow on the hands, no head movement, and even though the whiskers seem to be okay if you watch him wibble wobbling all over the ring in his fight with the other Cotto, where he?s looking a little drunk in the first round, he sure as hell didn?t know how to hold on, or what to do, other than to take a couple more shots from Cotto in that scrap even though it was a while back.?
?Yes, the young guy?s chin is up to be had, and he is a straight in and straight out kind of fighter. Besides, you think little Floyd picked this guy Chief, looking at the video, going ?wow this guys going to be a big problem. I sure would like to fight a guy that?s a big problem.? Fuck no! All this he?s bigger and stronger shit, hell, Foreman was supposed to be bigger and stronger against Ali. So was ?the Quietman? when he fought Roy Jones. Barkley too big, too strong over Duran, Spinks too small for Holmes or Cooney?.! There?s nothing on this kid Canelo?s r?sum? that?s prepared him for what he?s going to get against Mayweather. One last thing here. Canelo is not your one punch KO artist Julian Jackson style. He wears guys down. That is not going to happen with Floyd. Young Canelo is going to tire mentally and physically much sooner than later and get his rooster TKO?d around ten or eleven. What do you think Chief, Schmidty??
Schmidt: ?I think I?ll check Dan Rafael?s Twitter closer to the fight Frank. Frank, Frank, are you still there??
Frank: ?Yeah, I?m still here. Hey Chief, who is 10-0 on the big fights since we met and who?s the guy 9-1, that lost some big dough on Anselmo Moreno vs. Mares??
Schmidt: ?Well, that Moreno was a cheap shot Frankie. But, by the record you are the expert!?
Frank: ?Mayweather is going to bust Canelo up, and not that this even remotely needs to be spoken of since Mayweather?s earned his stripes a long, long, long time ago, but the ?experts? better give Floyd his due after this one.
I probably forgot to remind you that Frank ?The Bear? is a bricklayer by trade.
?Frank, how about Bradley vs. Marquez? Frank, are you there? Frank, Frank??
Frank: ?Hell of a fight but Later Chief. Now about that package we sent you! World Boxing Magazine January 1975. I like that letter to the editor ?Sound Off? section. Now, is it the letter from Sherman Bergman from Miami Beach where he expertly points out ?After Foreman is tired, bloody, and beaten, Ali will trade punch for punch with him and score a clean knockout?I will say to all of you so-called-experts that haven?t given Ali a chance, eat your words.? No that isn?t it.
?Is it the letter from some character named Thomas J. Pollack from Clinton, Mass.? Now this one?s interesting Chief, as old Thomas, in reference to Jerry Quarry advisers, ?We?re all fed up with Ali, Foreman, Frazier, and how great you blacks are. The blacks are trying squeeze Jerry out of a championship bout.?
?No Chief that certainly isn?t what I was looking for.
?Is it page 49 with the full page ad of the naked ?Love Doll? 37-23-36 with ?her soft, fleshy vinyl skin that almost seems real and is guaranteed to please or money back guarantee and she is accommodating in unlimited pleasure?? If you don?t like her you can return her within ten days. Ha Chief, talk about a no strings attached doll fuck. No I think we we?ll move on from there Chief.
Ah, here it is page 50, a letter from some young lad, that I personally happen to know, from a mutual friend, was age 14 at the time and writes as follows: ?Against the Rock ? I am writing about the Rock, Rocky Marciano. Marciano wasn?t a good fighter. He beat old men. Marciano beat over-the-hill champ Joe Louis and still had to go eight rounds. Jersey Joe Walcott boxed rings around the Rock before he ran out of gas. He was at least 38 years old. In his last fight, he fought Archie Moore and was floored before he could stop him in nine rounds. The year after, Patterson stopped Moore in five. Patterson would have been too quick for Marciano. And since Walcott boxed 13 rounds with the Rock, Muhammad Ali would have cut the Rock up and made him look like a clumsy amateur. Foreman would have knocked him cold since old men like Archie Moore could floor him. Marciano was overrated! I dare you to print this! ? Mike Schmidt?
Chief, you gotta be kidding! Patterson over Marciano? What the hell were you doing Chief, sniffing the helium you should have used to fill up ?ride around with Judy by your side and impress your friends? inflate-a-babe! A shit disturber already way back then were you Chief.?
Schmidt: ?Well Frankie, I got wiser with age! After watching various Marciano videos closely over the years one comes to the appreciation that there was a great deal of subtle science to that otherwise Blockbuster style. Also having watched the problems Patterson had in his Fight of the Year with George Chuvalo, well, I see Patterson getting knocked out within six rounds!?
Frank: ?Chief, spoken like a complete expert! Yesterday I was lying and today I was telling the truth or conversely I don?t know my inflatable from my arse from a hole in the ground! I think Counselor you better leave the pick the winner business to old Frankie!?
Who?s to argue with a bricklayer nicknamed ?The Bear? who is sporting a perfect undefeated record!
