By Lyle Fitzsimmons
Dear Floyd,
Yo, Money… it’s been awhile.
How’s it going? I hope things are well.
Listen, as much as I’d like to just catch up on things and chat about nonsense for a bit, there are a couple things from over the weekend it seems like a good time to address.
I’m sure by now you’ve gotten wind of what went on at the MGM in Vegas on Saturday night.
That Pacquiao kid. Yes, him. He was in the ring again. Beat up Miguel Cotto for most of 12 rounds and looked good doing it. Damned good, in fact.
And even though most people sort of saw it coming, it was still pretty impressive.
So now, like it does whenever a guy within 10 pounds of welterweight wins a fight, the pack of wolves reticent to sing your praises is off and howling about how this one is the best in the business.
Not only in the sport today.
But in the discussion with guys like Duran and Chavez and Henry Armstrong.
Now I know what you're thinking, champ. You're bigger than all that. You’ve been a world champion for more than a decade. You whipped everyone they put in front of you. Including a guy that went life and death with him twice. And trust me, I agree with you. To me, you're clearly the best of this generation and among the best of any before it. No questions asked.
But even with all that, it's still a little troubling to watch.
Because the more he marches around saying he's the best, and the more the cable apologists smile and parrot it back – just like they did when he beat a couple other cadavers from your closet – the more the unsophisticated, "I get my opinions from ESPN" fan is going to believe it.
Perceptions have a way of becoming reality, especially with the short-attention span set. And now that he’s beaten three made-to-order guys that everyone’s heard of, it's being driven that much deeper. But there's one way you can head it off at the pass, champ. And that's really why I'm writing.
I want you to make the fight. I want you to call out Pacquiao.
Most of all, I want you to beat him.
It's not because he's a bad guy or anything. Heck, he seems decent enough. He was classy and professional during the run-up to Saturday's fight. He surely works hard and gets himself into peak shape. And he's definitely been entertaining to watch whenever I've seen him fight.
He beat an elite fighter in Cotto on Saturday.
I thought going in that he’d win, but he was probably even better than I imagined he’d look. No question, he earned my respect by pulling off something I wasn’t positive he was capable of and he'll surely be a tough mountain for you to climb, maybe the toughest you've ever considered.
But there's a big gap between an all-time good (him) and all-time great (you).
And you're the only one who can prove it.
I know what you're thinking, champ. In a perfect world, where analysts put personalities aside gave due to guys who'd earned it, your status would be secure. But we both know it's not.
And as long as he wears a crown at 147, the Filipino’s sycophants will fire up their little blogs, draw up their own history and once again claim you protected assets by taking the paths you chose.
They'll say you reveled in the easy fights. They'll allege you ducked the hard ones. They'll insist the dominance you showed while racking up titles was more a product of limited challengers than it was the sheer brilliance of a premier champion. It'll tarnish your legacy. And as it does, it'll piss me off again.
So as much as anything, champ, I'm asking for this as a favor.
Ring up your publicists and ask them to release your statement. Say that you’ll take the fight on whatever terms are offered. A down-the-middle purse split. Whatever brand of gloves he chooses. And heck, even let him take the ring walk last as if he’s earned the honor you’d legitimately deserve.
Do whatever it takes for you to get your hands on him.
Then go out there for 36 minutes and show once again what you and I already know.
Video games come and go. Greatness lasts forever.
Best,
Lyle
* * * * * * * * * *
This week’s title-fight schedule:
FRIDAY
Vacant IBF flyweight title –Johannesburg, South Africa
Julio Cesar Miranda (No. 2 contender) vs. Moruti Mthalane (No. 3 contender)
Miranda (30-4-1, 23 KO): First title fight; Lost only fight outside of Mexico
Mthalane (23-2, 16 KO): Second title fight; Stopped in IBF/IBO title try in 2008
Fitzbitz says: Miranda by decision
SATURDAY
WBA super middleweight title – Oakland, Calif.
Mikkel Kessler (champion) vs. Andre Ward (No. 6 contender)
Kessler (42-1, 32 KO): Third defense of second reign; Held WBA title from 2004-07
Ward (20-0, 13 KO): First title fight; Second fight in Oakland (1-0, 0 KO)
Fitzbitz says: Ward by decision
IBF featherweight title – Tijuana, Mexico
Cristobal Cruz (champion) vs. Ricardo Castillo (No. 15 contender)
Cruz (39-11-1, 23 KO): Third title defense; Unbeaten since May 2007 (5-0, 1 KO)
Castillo (38-7, 25 KO): Losses in three previous title fights; Unbeaten in 2009 (3-0, 1 KO)
Fitzbitz says: Cruz by decision
WBA light flyweight title – Merida, Mexico
Giovanni Segura (champion) vs. Sonny Boy Jaro (No. 13 contender)
Segura (21-1-1, 17 KO): First title defense; Unbeaten in Mexico (2-0, 2 KO)
Jaro (30-7-5, 19 KO): Lost decision in WBC title fight in 2008; Lost only fight in Mexico
Fitzbitz says: Segura by decision
WBC light flyweight title - Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico
Edgar Sosa (champion) vs. Rodel Mayol (No. 7 contender)
Sosa (37-5, 21 KO): Eleventh title defense (10-0, 7 KO); Four-fight stoppage streak
Mayol (25-4-1, 19 KO): Winless in four title fights (0-3-1); Winless since August 2008 (0-1-1)
Fitzbitz says: Sosa by decision
WBC cruiserweight title – Kiel, Germany
Giacobbe Fragomeni (champion) vs. Zsolt Erdei (No. 4 contender)
Fragomeni (26-1-1, 10 KO): Second title defense; Unbeaten since 2006 (5-0-1, 1 KO)
Erdei (30-0, 17 KO): First title fight at 200 pounds; Held WBO belt at 175 from 2004-09 (12-0, 4 KO)
Fitzbitz says: Erdei by decision
WBO junior bantamweight title – Rama, Ontario
Marvin Sonsona (champion) vs. Alejandro Hernandez (No. 15 contender)
Sonsona (14-0, 12 KO): First title defense; Second fight outside Philippines (1-0, 0 KO)
Hernandez (22-7-1, 11 KO): Second title fight; Lost WBO title try at 112 in 2008
Fitzbitz says: Sonsona in 6
Last week’s picks: 1-1
Overall picks record: 51-18 (73.9 percent)
Lyle Fitzsimmons is an award-winning 21-year sports journalist, a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America, and, make no mistake, was impressed with what he saw Saturday night. Reach him at fitzbitz@msn.com, follow him at twitter.com/fitzbitz or read him at fitzbitzonfights.wordpress.com.
