By Cliff Rold
Photo © Ed Mulholland/FightWireImages.com
What has been the best fight on U.S. TV in 2007 that didn’t cost an extra $50 bucks? Any real fight fan would probably say Jean Marc Mormeck winning the World cruiserweight championship from O’Neill Bell last month. What was the best fight you saw on HBO in 2006 without adding to your cable bill? It would come as no surprise if many answered with the rematch between Paul Briggs and Tomasz Adamek at 175 lbs. Now ask what both of those fights have in common? The answer is Don King.
Right about now, there are some who are putting their fingers in their ears. The mere mention of King’s name in regard to something good for boxing is inconceivable to those who can list the full range of the man’s sins. Count me among those who, having read the work of the legendary Jack Newfield, should join his detractors.
I can’t here because of what is abundantly clear: for those who are tired of paying for long nights of mismatched undercards and over hyped main events; who are tired of seeing HBO on their cable bill and knowing that all they got for their loyalty was Wlad Klitschko-Ray Austin or Miguel Cotto-Oktay Urkal; for all those real boxing addicts, Don King is your friend right now.
This Saturday’s lightweight showdown between World lightweight champion Joel Casamayor’s top two contenders, Juan Diaz (31-0, 15 KO) of Houston, TX and Acelino Freitas (38-1, 32 KO), is a delight on paper. It’s exactly the sort of gift you’d expect from a friend (King is Diaz’ promoter). It’s nothing like Joe Calzaghe-Peter Manfredo or some such equivalent of dog poop in a bag left on your doorstep.
King gets blamed for a lot of the bad in boxing, particularly the split in the heavyweight title. What he has gotten hardly enough credit for is the consistency of his shows. In 2006, King promoted or co-promoted most of the best free-to-subscriber broadcasts on Showtime and HBO. Think about it.
Carlos Baldomir-Zab Judah and the first Mormeck-Bell bout? King promoted that as one card. Toney-Peter I & II, the amazing Lamon Brewster-Sergei Liakhovich war, Chad Dawson-Tomasz Adamek…all fully or partially promoted by King. Granted, he also promotes Ray Austin so he shares some of the blame for that mandatory catastrophe but compare him to the other promoters. From Golden Boy to Top Rank, this sort of quality almost always costs.
This is particularly damning for the promoters…err, broadcasters at HBO. King was solely responsible for only one non-pay-per-view show in 2006. The network that has made time for some of boxings worst (Jorge Arce-Julio Ler comes directly to mind) had to have passed over at least a few of these fights. For instance, they chose to air Klitschko-Austin without making much effort to get the far more intriguing, and more entertaining, Nicolay Valuev-Ruslan Chagaev heavyweight fight from two weeks ago.
King’s acrimonious past differences with HBO are well documented, but at some point rubber is supposed to meet road. Boxing is a business; the business is in good fights; King is producing them in affordable abundance. Instead of giving dates to stars who deliver record low ratings to fight under the banner of their own promotions, it looks more and more like it still falls to the professionals to bring some life to the game.
The Main Event: That’s enough about the business of boxing.
I’m in shock at the number of folks who are flat out dismissing the 31-year old Freitas’ chances this Saturday night. In a bout being hyped as a unification showdown, many are forgetting that Freitas comes in with the WBO belt off a win over the same Zahir Raheem who blanked Erik Morales. He’ll be trying to grab hold of the 23-year old Diaz’ WBA belt and a shot at redemption.
In 2004, Freitas picked up the worst tag a fighter can have: quitter. In a bout many saw him leading against Diego Corrales, Freitas was dropped three times during rounds eight, nine and ten. Those knockdowns were among the most vicious I’d ever seen in person, the whole of press row flinching as Freitas’ neck torqued as if broken. Acelino rose and faced the referee twice, stepped back into the fire twice and was met with thunderous fists on both occasions.
The third knockdown changed his choices; he took the first step forward but then waved his left hand in a sign of "no mas." That choice changed his life. Fans and pundits whose ability to take punishment remains in question heaped invective on the Brazilian star, forgetting his first two attempts to continue. Freitas’ propensity to cry after fights, win or lose, doesn’t help in a masculine enterprise.
Surprisingly though, the guts Freitas showed in wins against Joel Casamayor (2002) and Jorge Barrios (2003) seemed outweighed by tears and a single choice. In the Casamayor bout, Freitas jumped out to an early lead as he had against Corrales and again had to hold off a late rush. Perhaps the power difference, which is vast, between Casamayor and Corrales was all the difference there; that still doesn’t explain his valiant stand against Barrios. Freitas rose from the floor twice that night, landing one of the great single shots of the decade to turn the fight permanently in his favor in the 11th round.
The heart that many question from Freitas based on one choice was clearly displayed in quite a few others. It’s for that reason that I can’t feel safe in picking the much younger Diaz. So far, the kid has shown everything one would want to see from a hot young contender: skill, tenacity, a willingness to fight regularly. He though, like Freitas has had a gut check that left some questions.
Having turned pro at age 17, Diaz was matched very tough in 2001 against veteran Ubaldo Hernandez. He rose from the deck and eked out a controversial decision, his eyes shedding tears in the post-fight interview. The fight created questions about his toughness that lingered until a recent run that saw Diaz defeat rugged Lakva Sim for his title belt and begin to catch up to his own potential.
The biggest difference in this bout besides age is that Freitas is such a perceptual step up in competition. Freitas has been in with some of the best at 130 and 135 lbs. Diaz is stepping up to the elite level for the first time. Sim remains the best opponent and best win for Diaz. Sim doesn’t register well next to Casamayor, Raheem, Barrios and Corrales.
The stakes could not be higher for the winner of this bout. HBO has already allegedly okayed the winner for a bout with champion Joel Casamayor. With Ricky Hatton five pounds north and Manny Pacquiao five pounds south the big fights, the superfights, are close enough to smell. So too is the money they promise.
That provides all the makings of a stellar prizefight this weekend. It is the best fight, on paper, that HBO has given to their subscribers yet in 2007. It is the style and power of Freitas versus the all-out aggression of youth in Diaz. I said above that I can not feel safe in picking Diaz; he is the pick nonetheless. I think Diaz is the goods but I don’t look at this as any coming-out party. This is a tough fight and one that I expect will end with both men having touched the canvas, erasing any lingering doubts about just how deep their well of professional courage goes. I’m truly looking forward to this affair.
Sturm-Castillejo: As good as Freitas-Diaz is, it may not be the best bout of the week. A world away in Germany, Felix Sturm (26-2, 12 KO, #7 Ring Magazine) will attempt to regain his reputation and WBA 160 lb. belt against the man who knocked him out last year, Javier Castillejo (62-6, 41 KO, #4). Their first bout was a shocker for many. Sturm was highly regarded, having fought Oscar de la Hoya on even, some say more so, terms in 2004. Castillejo was an old man with losses to Oscar, Fernando Vargas and Julio Cesar Vasquez…until he stepped in the ring. In one of the best bouts of 2006, Sturm and Castillejo fought a trench war punctuated by a series of hooks on the ropes that left Sturm separated from his senses.
In some ways, it was poetic justice. Having chosen to go home and pick up sanctioning body jewelry rather than be serious about challenging for the true middleweight championship (now held by Jermain Taylor), Sturm has made a choice representing everything that is wrong in the world of boxing. The winner this Saturday will have that choice before them again: rack up defenses of a belt or go after the champ. Sturm is likely to win this time around; Castillejo is a year older and unlikely to mount another epic. Will he make the win mean something or squander his shot again?
The Ten Second Bell: I don’t know if I’ll have enough chance to comment on it next week, but there is a magnificent card in Japan on May 3. Edwin Valero, the 130 lb. KO artist, is back in action but that one isn’t what excites me. In the main event, two of the leading contenders for the lineal World 115 lb. crown vacated by Masamori Tokuyama are in action. Nobuo Nashiro (9-0, 5 KO, #1, WBA titlist) will be facing former titlist Alexander Munoz (29-2, 27 KO) and, if he wins, the whole sport needs to pay attention.
Nashiro, at ten fights, would have wins over one of the games best boxers (Martin Castillo) and best punchers (Munoz). Considering how high the quality of fighters at 115 is (and 112 and 115 remain two of the sports most talented classes), that’s saying a lot. Last week, I had a chance to mention the rise of flyweight legend Fidel LaBarba, who in his first eleven bouts faced Jimmy McLarnin and Frankie Genaro. This isn’t quite that level of competition, but it’s not as far off as some might think.
U.S. fight fans rarely pay attention to smaller fighters from countries like Japan. This might be the exception. With Mexican Cristian Mijares (31-3-2, 12 KO, #3, WBC titlist) having just walked through countryman and superstar Jorge Arce (46-4-1, 35 KO,#7), a Nashiro win next week would begin an underground buzz that could create a legitimate 115 lb. mega-showdown sooner rather than later.
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
