By Jake Donovan
A letdown was bound to happen. We asked for, and received, too many dream matchups last year, many of which came in the richly talented welterweight division. It began with Miguel Cotto's beatdown of Zab Judah and ended with everyone claiming to be an expert on the term "check hook" after Floyd Mayweather snatched Ricky Hatton's "0" and Fighter of the Year honors after stopping the Mancunian in the 10th round of their world welterweight title bout.
Never satisfied with things remaining the way they are, the first question on most boxing fans' mind immediately after Mayweather's hand was raised: when do we see Mayweather-Cotto?
At the time, we at least had a suitable consolation prize, with Super Bowl Eve to play host to yet another fantastic welterweight matchup. Undefeated southpaw Paul Williams (33-0, 24KO) and resurging knockout artist Kermit Cintron were slated to square off in an alphabet unification match while looking to convince the boxing world that the welterweight debate extended beyond a two-man race.
So it was with that in mind that we didn't grumble too loudly at linear champ Mayweather's claim of seeking a long vacation, having supposedly grown bored with the sport. But bad news comes in bunches. Shortly after forced to accept the reality that Mayweather-Cotto wasn't going to happen (at least not in the 1st half of 2008), it was revealed that Cintron's hand, injured in a November 22 bout against Jesse Feliciano, wouldn't heal in time to be ready for Williams on February 2.
February 2 soon became February 9, as Goossen-Tutor (Williams' promoter) and HBO scrambled to come up with a suitable replacement. According to Goossen, an extension was offered to Cintron, with hopes of rescheduling for March 29, only to be turned down.
Team Williams angled for a possible showdown with a more famous Puerto Rican pug in Miguel Cotto, who at the time was still in search of a 1st quarter opponent. Cotto was holding out as a possible finalist in the Oscar de la Hoya sweepstakes, before promoter Bob Arum elected to instead secure a showcase slot in April, with Cotto now slated to face Alfonso Gomez. In the co-feature: Kermit Cintron, who faces former Williams victim Antonio Margarito in a rematch to their April 2005 bout, won by Margarito via 5th round TKO in an extremely one-sided bout.
The plan for that doubleheader is clear: winner faces winner in a summer showdown.
In other words, Williams was never in the discussion. Sad, as the ultra-talented southpaw deserves better, one of the few fighters in the game always on stand-by willing to fight the best, with money rarely a concern on his end.
It was of little concern when Goossen-Tutor lined Antonio Margarito's pockets with the biggest payday of his career for his fight against Williams last summer. Margarito took home a seven-figure payday, but paid a bigger price in losing his alphabet strap to Williams, who never seemed to tire in their fast-paced July 2007 bout.
It was by far the biggest win of Williams' career, having previously settled on retreads and never-will-be types. It was believed that a high profile win, coupled with his being linked to advisor Al Haymon, would make it easier to secure big fights on regular basis.
Instead, it's been the same old story, with Team Williams forced to accept assignment against the first notable fighter brave enough to answer the phone and eventually sign a contract.
Enter Carlos Quintana (24-1, 19KO), a former Cotto victim who registers no better than third on any list of notable Puerto Rican welterweights. But he's the only welterweight willing to accept assignment against "Boxing's Most Feared", which leads to boxing fans taking in some notable action this weekend (Saturday, Pechanga, CA, HBO, 9:45PM ET/PT).
It was the best of times and the worst of times in 2006 for the talented southpaw, who saw major face time on HBO and Showtime after having previously toiled on the ESPN2 and ShoBox circuits. Quintana caught his first big break when he was tabbed to face highly touted Joel Julio in a battle of then-unbeaten welterweight prospects. Quintana survived a first-round knockdown and triple digit temperatures in the hot Vegas sun to serve up a boxing lesson to Julio, tattooing the Colombian all night en route to a lopsided unanimous decision.
After having previously hoped to secure an October 2006 slot against Antonio Margarito, Quintana would receive even better news: a December Showtime date in Atlantic City against countryman Miguel Cotto. Quintana gladly accepted, and even began the bout as if to let Top Rank know they made a big mistake in handpicking him as an opponent. The good fortunes didn't last for long, as Cotto adjusted and eventually took ever before forcing El Indio to quit on his stool following a punishing, two-knockdown 5th round.
The Puerto Rican has only fought once since then, a September 2007 win against a Willy Standup type that revealed very little in how effective he can prove to be in the deepest division in boxing. In terms of ring activity, he matches the tally of Williams, who on Saturday evening will appear in the squared circle for only the second time since November 2006. The July '07 bout with Margarito ended a forced eight-month layoff, only to be followed up by another seven month inactive period to be brought to a halt this weekend.
Win, lose or draw, there's no guarantee that Williams isn't forced to take another layoff. Promoter Dan Goossen's plan is to keep his welterweight as active as possible, with hopes of securing a 4th quarter matchup between any of the last men standing in matchups involving Mayweather, de la Hoya, Cotto, Margarito and Cintron.
How he plans to keep him busy if nobody's returning calls remains to be seen. What also remains a mystery is whether or not the division will advance beyond last year's semifinals.
And thus, the welterweights come to a standstill, while the welter-wait debate rages on.
MORE OF THE SAME IN THE CO-FEATURE
Regular HBO subscribers get another look at undefeated prospect-turned-contender and 2004 Olympian Andre Berto (20-0, 17KO), who appears in the co-feature against Michel Trabant of Germany. Some are selling Trabant (43-2-1, 19KO) as a worthy challenger, with both of his losses coming in close decisions against Jose Rivera and Frederic Klose.
What gets left out of the hard sell is that none of Trabant's 43 wins came against anyone noteworthy, or even outside of Germany.
At best, Trabant is comparable, talent-wise, to divisional gatekeeper David Estrada, who gave all he could before succumbing to Berto in the 11th round of their HBO-televised bout last September. But the truth is, the matchup is something of a step backward for Berto, who had been rumored to make a run at an alphabet title or two in 2008.
Much like Williams, the selection of Trabant came down to the best available opponent willing to accept assignment in a high-risk, not-so-big reward fight. Names like Zab Judah, Vivian Harris and Isaac Hlatshwayo were mentioned in the rumor mill.
What exactly took place in said negotiations with any of the aforementioned is anybody's guess. The bottom line is, though through no fault of the promoters, the network or the two undefeated and extremely talented welterweights, all of whom sought better, HBO viewers are forced to settle for table scraps this weekend.
ESPN2 TO THE RESCUE
It's not often than an ESPN2 Friday Night Fights card is met with more anticipation than a Saturday night HBO or Showtime telecast. We are blessed with such a rare occurrence this Friday, when Darnell Wilson takes on BJ Flores in a cruiserweight crossroads bout in their main event live from Dover, Delaware.
Wilson (22-5-3, 19KO) has made a second career out of slaying cruiserweight contenders. The free-swinging Beltway bomber is currently enjoying a four-fight winning streak, all by knockout, and all of which came in a span of just nine months after having previously lost four straight at cruiserweight and heavyweight.
The most notable win among his current streak came in his last fight, which was hailed by just about everyone as 2007's Knockout of the Year when he nearly beheaded Emannuel Nwodo in the 10th round of their donnybrook last June on ESPN2. Wilson scored two knockdowns but was trailing on the cards heading into the 10th round, where he had Nwodo in deep trouble. A right hand just missed its target, but Wilson followed up with a clean-up left hook that caused Nwodo's legs to jackknife as he crumpled to the canvas. So overcome by the moment was ringside announcer Joe Tessitore that he hailed the bout an instant classic and perhaps the greatest knockout in the 10-year history of ESPN2's Friday Night Fight series.
Wilson hasn't fought since then, taking a much-needed break while seeking his next victim. Answering the call is undefeated BJ Flores (20-0-1, 13KO), a former amateur standout who's pro career had been stuck on stupid prior to landing the fight with Wilson.
Flores was groomed for a slot on the 2004 Olympic squad, but left a huge hole in the lineup after opting to turn pro a year prior. Fighting under the Main Events banner, Flores stayed busy, winning 16 times in as many bouts in his first three years as a pro. However, fighter and promoter differed over the direction of his career – Main Events sought heavyweight headlines, while Flores felt he would be better suited for the cruiserweight division.
The two parted on amicable terms, but BJ's career hasn't exactly flourished since then. Four fights over the past two years, with the closest he's come to televised action being his January 2007 points win over Chris Thomas, which aired via tape-delay webcast on MaxBoxing.com. It was the only time in his career that Flores has touched the canvas.
Flores boasts the glossier resume and better amateur credentials, while Wilson boasts huge advantages in experience, chin and punching power. The bout has the makings of a classic boxer versus puncher match-up. Very few would be shocked if Wilson once again took a rising contender into the deep waters before eventually drowning him, though it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility that the clock strikes midnight on Wilson's Cinderella run, with Flores announcing his cruiserweight arrival in clinical, if not emphatic fashion.
MORE KO BOX ON SHOBOX FOR ANGULO
There wasn't a heck of a lot going on in the sport this weekend, but the action we received was well worth the watch.
Highly touted undefeated prospects Andy Lee and Amir Khan looked impressive in separate wins on the other side of the Atlantic. Fringe super featherweight contender Monte Meza-Clay registered the best performance of his career in tearing through Eric Aiken en route to a 7th round stoppage in ESPN2's Friday Night Fights main event.
The A-side of the Telefutura card was filled with heavily favored Puerto Ricans, but all were impressive and entertaining in posting lopsided knockout wins. Mario Santiago, coming off of the first loss of his pro career, returned with a vengeance in blastin out normally durable Edel Ruiz in less than a round. Henry Bruseles appeared fresher than ever in easily handling streaking American jouneyman Robert Frankel, forcing a 4th round cuts-induced stoppage.
But it was relentless unbeaten junior middleweight prospect Alfredo Angulo who left boxing fans abuzz following his one round destruction of Ricardo Cortes in a ShoBox main event matching up hard-hitting Mexican brawlers.
Angulo made his third straight appearance on ShoBox on Friday night, yet it's amounted to only four total rounds worth of ring experience. The Mexican boxer-puncher is tearing through respectable competition at an alarming rate, registering his second straight 1st round KO last Friday in Hinckley, Minnesota. Angulo scored two knockdowns in 2:58 of action, the second knockdown resulting in a full ten count, despite Cortes' protest that he was up at 9 ½. It hardly mattered, the relentless Angulo dominated the brief encounter, with every punch thrown with mean intentions.
For those in search of hope in the lifeless junior middleweight division, Angulo may very well be your boxing savior.
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR
Perhaps Germany-based promotional outfit Unversum/Spotlight should've checked in with their own fighter before making demands of another. Universum a mid-January purse bid for the right to promote the WBC ordered elimination bout between Vladimir Virchis (whom they promote) and Juan Carlos Gomez (promoted by Arena-Box Promotions.
The purse bid stated that Universum had 90 days to stage the bout; the promoter came well within the deadline, declaring a March 8 date – which would be 55 days – and that Gomez would lose his spot in line should he not be ready in time. Gomez' promoter responded, asking for more time, as their fighter was awaiting the outcome of the purse hearing before entering training camp. Universum responded with a "take it or leave it" offer.
Less than 48 hours later, their own charge indirectly sided with the Gomez camp, as Virchis also requested more time for training. To their credit, Universum didn't make any in-house exceptions, standing firm on their date and offering the same now-or-never terms to Virchis. They went as far as to threaten to replace him should he not see things their way.
Fittingly enough, this possibly aborted matchup serves as an eliminator to determine who will face the winner of the oft-postponed Oleg Maskaev-Samuel Peter bout. Both fights are scheduled for March 8 – for the moment, anyway.
MORE NEWS AND NOTES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ROPES
- Since I am the kind of guy to say I told you… I TOLD YOU SO. Those who refused to believe that the New York football Giants would win the Super Bowl know what I'm talking about.
The Giants become only the second team in NFL history to win the Super Bowl by having won all three previous playoff games on the road. To my knowledge, they're the only team to win the Super Bowl by way of avenging three regular season losses in the playoffs, having gone a combined 0-4 against the Cowboys, Packers and Patriots.
Not sure the league planned it that way, but all three "seasons-within-a-season" ended with a Giants-Patriots match: the pre-season, the regular season, and the post-season. The Pats won the first two meetings: the Giants of course won the only one that mattered…
- Speaking of the Super Bowl, Bert Sugar's ridiculous pre-Super Bowl "Boxing Predictor" ESPN.com article proved to not only be wrong and a waste of column space, but its own research was lacking.
The "formula" behind the predictions was to take the Super Bowls in which the Patriots and Giants have previously appeared, reference any heavyweight title fight where a title changed hands by way of knockout, and compare it to the outcome of the subsequent Super Bowl.
Sugar's theory concluded that, without a heavyweight title changing hands by way of knockout in 2007, the AFC would win the Super Bowl, claiming that all three of the Pats' wins on football's biggest day went this route.
The cigar-smokin', fedora-toting boxing historian would be wrong on all three counts.
The Pats' first Super Bowl win followed a 2001 campaign that saw the linear heavyweight crown change hands not once, but twice via knockout, both involving the same participants. Hasim Rahman knocked out Lennox Lewis in five rounds with the right hand heard 'round the world in their April 2001 bout in South Africa. Seven months later, Lewis sent Rahman crashing on Don King's crown-shaped logo to regain his throne via 4th round knockout.
One could even argue semantics, and point out Wladimir Klitschko surrendered his WBO title to Corrie Sanders via 2nd round knockout in 2003, preceding the Pats' win over Carolina in Super Bowl XXXVIII. It's also worth noting that two vacant titles were won via knockout in April 2004 (Vitali Klitschko KO8 Corrie Sanders; Lamon Brewster KO5 Wladimir Klitschko), ten months prior to the Pats' defeating the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX.
The main point is that Sugar – and most sports experts – got this year's Super Bowl wrong.
- Keeping it at boxing, did my eyes deceive me, or is Season 2 Contender contestant Norberto "Nito" Bravo being tabbed for a middleweight fight later this month on Telefutura? After having been slaughtered against welterweight Andre Berto and marginally talented junior middleweight Cornelius "K9" Bundrage, what exactly is to be expected of 37-year old Bravo at middleweight? Granted, Enrique Ornelas is no world beater. But the 6'1" Mexican is a true middleweight in every sense of the word, and this February 22 mismatch has disaster written all over it.
- Save for the last five minutes, can't really say I was feeling this week's episode of "The Wire." I'll leave out spoilers, after catching flak from fans that read my column before getting around to catching the last TiVo'd episode. But I will say that while the final five or so minutes were as intense as scripted television gets, I'm not sure it atones for 50-55 of not a whole heck of a lot going on…
- What I can say is that it was a solid opener for the long-awaited season premiere of "Lost." I'm hoping the condensed season follows suit from last week's format, where more actors occupy less screen time per episode, as opposed to Season 3's decision to tell one story at a time, resulting in four episodes only covering 2-3 days of island time…
- Finally, I conclude this section with a point of clarification: the intention of my Monday morning editorial (Great Scot: Tall Tales Flying From Scotsman's Yard) was not to question the intelligence of the fine citizens of Scotland, past or present, but merely to check the claims made by The Scotsman sportswriter Brian Donald in separate articles, both involving the potential April match-up between Joan Guzman and Alex Arthur.
Parts of my editorial were delivered tongue-in-cheek, particularly any reference made to the Loch Ness Monster. However, some took issue with my wording in the article, implying that I was insulting the nation as a whole. Some were quick to point out that very few believed in ol' Nessy, while others resorted to anonymous death threats.
To those who didn't call for my blood but merely an explanation, I offer my sincerest apologies for any references questioning the intelligence of past and present Scot generations. I also thank you for taking the time to read the work published on our website and hope that you will continue to do so on a regular basis.
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. His feature column runs every Tuesday, and his Prospect of the Week series runs every Thursday. Jake is also BoxingScene's official Telefutura correspondent.
Please feel free to submit any comments or questions to Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.
