by David P. Greisman
It is a simple fact of life that someone will always find the good old days to be more attractive than the present, with the summation that things just aren’t as good as they used to be.
And it’s not that nostalgia makes any difference on the current quality, but just like people lament the heavyweights of the 21st century as compared to past generations, the welterweights are beginning to enter a surprising period of stagnation.
It’s not that the talent isn’t there, unlike the big men, who seem more apt at sending out press releases than sending themselves to prominence. From 140 to 147, the roll call reads off titlists and contenders like Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Antonio Margarito, Junior Witter, Carlos Baldomir, Luis Collazo, Vivian Harris and Zab Judah. Even former beltholders like Harris and Judah, coming off of embarrassing losses, have more of a claim of contention than underperforming, oversized heavyweight Owen Beck, whose upcoming challenge of Nicolay Valuev was earned by losing twice and beating a former light heavyweight in an eight-rounder.
Decades ago, the best of the best in Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran were facing each other, beginning rivalries that would carry forward as each stepped up in weight, later including Marvin Hagler in the glory, adding historical fights to the vaults.
Now, though, who is better is decided on paper, in interviews, on message boards, anywhere but in the ring.
And not only are bragging rights decided on paper, but they are apparently only important if they can produce paper, the biggest purses and the largest pay-per-views making enough money to buy everything but the answer that nearly everyone else desires a resolution to.
There are three simple statements that, while conclusive, are not the be-all or end-all to the discussions within the sport, nor the back-and-forth arguments in sports bars:
Ricky Hatton is the junior welterweight champion. Carlos Baldomir is the welterweight champion. And Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the best all-around fighter within the weight range, if not in the entire sweet science.
But so what?
Hatton, since defeating Kostya Tszyu, has knocked out Carlos Maussa, and is currently pondering fights with Baldomir, Harris, Acelino Freitas and IBF mandatory Naoufel Ben Rabah. He told ESPN’s Brian Kenny that he will announce an opponent for his May fight soon, while also insisting that a future fight with Mayweather is essentially a done deal. But talking about fights is more common from today’s pugilists than actually fighting, and beating legitimate challengers helps build respect, a legacy and a case that the championship is more than temporarily in one’s hands.
Baldomir is looking to cash out on his upset of Judah with one or two money fights and then retirement. As such, names like Hatton and Arturo Gatti are being mentioned, people who have a history of selling out arenas, virtually guaranteeing live gates that would contribute to sending Baldomir happily off into the sunset. Despite his defeat of Judah, he is still being taken lightly, and Hatton and Gatti may perceive facing him for the welterweight title to be akin to cherry picking.
Meanwhile, Mayweather wants the money fights, apparently the only way in which he will feel validated as being the best in the sport. It’s okay for him to fight Judah, and it’s not terrible that the match will be on pay-per-view, considering that it’s up to the consumer to speak with his or her wallet. But as amazingly talented as he is, one cannot just make a pit stop in a weight class, beat a couple fighters without facing the best in the division, and then proclaim that you were the champion.
And now that Judah lost to Baldomir, if the division’s best isn’t the guy that beat Judah, then it is Antonio Margarito.
Yet the constant excuse is that Margarito hasn’t beaten anyone, and that he lost to the much bigger, underrated Daniel Santos during a jaunt to 154 in 2004. Never mind that Margarito has been undefeated at welterweight for almost a decade, or that he has successfully defended his belt six times since 2002, albeit against lower-tier opposition. It may not be his fault that the other titlists were busy handing the belts off to each other, a parade that went from Oscar De La Hoya to Shane Mosley to Vernon Forrest to Ricardo Mayorga to Cory Spinks to Zab Judah and now Baldomir. He has been the outcast, waiting for an opportunity but biding his time until.
And never mind that the only person Mayweather beat at 147 is Sharmba Mitchell, whose only recent welterweight fight before then was a technical decision over Chris Smith seven months after Mitchell had been blown away by Kostya Tszyu.
So Margarito did what he had to do, blowing out the outmatched Gomez, and then waiting for the winner of April’s Mayweather-Judah fight to decide if they will take him on. Unfortunately, even then Margarito is not guaranteed the chance to prove his value, settling for the whims of everyone else. Margarito wants the fights as much as he needs the fights, yet few else want to acknowledge the need to fight him.
It is a quandary that is settling over the welterweights, who have a chance to take advantage of the renaissance of talent and add a series of historical fights to the vaults just like in the good old days.
Sadly, it may not happen, a reality that we may have to accept as a simple fact of life. After all, things just aren’t as good as they used to be.
The 10 Count
1. Scott Pemberton appeared shot while slurring his way through an interview on the Feb. 10 Friday Night Fights, and he looked even worse three days later, getting his tail handed to him by The Contender finalist Peter Manfredo Jr. Hopefully Pemberton will take his last two paydays, knockout losses to Manfredo and Jeff Lacy, and treat himself and his family to the rewards that he worked for. As for Manfredo, he looked much better and more fluid than in his two losses to Sergio Mora, showing signs that his time spent with new trainer Freddie Roach has been beneficial. Manfredo may be right about not needing a third fight with Mora, even if it would pay well, and should find another ranked super middleweight to test himself against, to see if he truly will contend.
2. According to a few online schedules, junior lightweight phenom Edwin Valero, sidelined from fighting in America due to the revelation that he suffered a serious head injury years ago, could be close to getting a title shot. This coming Saturday, it seems that Valero will appear in his native Venezuela against Whyber Garcia, a 17-3 Panamanian whose biggest appearance to date was a decision loss against featherweight trinket owner Valdemir Pereira. Nonetheless, the bout is being billed as a WBA title eliminator, meaning that the winner would get a shot at Vicente Mosquera.
3. I’m unsure if I’m the only one, but I think that the controversial draw and majority decision that Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. received in his last two fights against Carlos Molina will be good for the kid. Without a true amateur upbringing, his early professional fights are going to be the time for him to learn on the job, and eating some humble pie may do more for his growth than easy wins. It will also be interesting to see if Molina gets any shots at forming a career down the line, or if he will be tossed aside into the role of opponent, punishment for nearly derailing a future star.
4. What were matchmakers thinking, selecting Terry Porter as an opponent for heavyweight prospect (and I use that term loosely) Alonzo Butler? Porter, whose 15-17-3 (9) record entering the fight was actually a step up in competition for Butler, weighed in under the cruiserweight limit at 197 pounds, 56 pounds lighter than Butler. Yes, Porter has been used as a measuring stick and record padder for Monte Barrett, Samuel Peter, Michael Moorer and James Toney, among others, but journeyman cruiserweights should not be facing heavyweights. The only rare occasion for someone weighing less than 200 pounds to take on a heavyweight is when it is Roy Jones Jr. opposite John Ruiz.
5. And how bizarre was the ending to Butler-Porter? Butler lands a punch, Porter turns his back and runs away, and Butler wildly chases after him, missing a wide shot and then knocking Porter out of the ring with, well… his rear end. Porter gets caught up in the ropes, and then falls and slams the back of his head on a ringside table, causing officials to rule him unable to continue. To make something bizarre even worse, the people in charge made the outcome a knockout win for Butler, causing perhaps the first knockout from a butt since Evander Holyfield built a hematoma on Hasim Rahman, and at least Holyfield butted with his head.
6. It appears that Lamon Brewster could be making an April Fool out of Sergei Liakhovich, taking on the heavyweight contender on the first day of the fourth month. In a rather coincidental trend, Brewster has the chance of turning Liakhovich into the fifth straight deflated great white hype, with his past four wins coming over Luan Krasniqi, Andrew Golota, Kali Meehan and Wladimir Klitschko.
7. Speaking of hypes, Nicolay Valuev’s aforementioned title defense against Owen Beck has been delayed due to an operation on Valuev’s knee. And how coincidental would it be if the injury is more serious than is being let out, and another tall beltholder from the former Soviet Union is forced to retire from a knee injury? Perhaps Valuev could follow Vitali Klitschko’s lead even further and run for office, too.
8. Miguel Cotto, once a fast rising prospect, then a contender and now a junior welterweight beltholder, just cannot buy any luck when it comes to unfettered exposure, facing repeated stifling from cards competing with his own televised appearances. First, Mike Tyson’s latest retirement, this one coming last June against Kevin McBride, went opposite Cotto’s bout with Muhammad Abdullaev. And this March, Cotto’s defense against Gianluca Branco will be opposite of the super middleweight unification featuring Jeff Lacy and Joe Calzaghe. And now, a June 10 date that was being held for Cotto to fight during the weekend of the Puerto Rican Day parade in New York City will be on at the same time as a pay-per-view bout between Antonio Tarver and Bernard Hopkins.
9. Was it really necessary for the boxing media to report on the legal troubles of Don King’s 44-year-old daughter? Yes, she’s the kin of one of the sport’s noteworthy promoters, but what does her arrest have to do with either her father or the sport? Not intending to insult anyone, just asking an ethical question.
10. I wasn’t going to order the now-cancelled Bernard Hopkins-Roy Jones Jr. rematch pay-per-view, and I’m leaning the same direction for Tarver-Hopkins. If Tarver wins, what does it prove? With time in the ring against Hopkins, Jones and Sylvester Stallone, I’m waiting for Tarver to move up to cruiserweight and try to sell fans on a bout with a 47-year-old Thomas Hearns.
