By David P. Greisman
In this week’s edition of Fighting Words, we’ll take a quick look at the cruiserweight unification match, answer another email concerning Manny Pacquiao and Erik Morales, correct some errors on this month’s Championship Calendar and update folks on what’s going on in The Contender. The Ten Count is on hiatus this week, but will return in full force on next Monday.
Jean-Marc Mormeck – Vive La France
It is uncommon, with the glut of title belts and the prevalence of politics within boxing, to see two world champions in a division face off, seeking to unify. Last Saturday, however, in Worcester, Massachusetts, WBC titlist Wayne Braithwaite and WBA king Jean-Marc Mormeck stepped into the ring to do just that, and after twelve rounds, only one man could lay claim to superiority.
The scorecards read 114-112, 115-111 and 116-110, all in favor of Mormeck, but only that final tally of Peter Trematerra was properly indicative of the true margin of victory for the Frenchman. It would be the twenty-eighth consecutive victory for Mormeck (31-2 with 21 knockouts), thanks in large part to the power and pressure that he applied onto Braithwaite.
Braithwaite, after a good first round, began to feel Mormeck’s strength, and his only manner of compensation was to go to the ropes and hold. Mormeck landed clean, hard shots, controlled most of the rounds, was the effective aggressor and was never in trouble. Braithwaite, on the other hand, took a hard right to the temple in the seventh round and went down, throwing him further behind on the scorecards.
Braithwaite never seemed to show the urgency that comes along with the knowledge that one needs a knockout to win. Instead, he seemed exhausted and wanting, after the fight got late, to just get out alive.
Wayne Braithwaite – If He Only Had a Jab
Braithwaite talked loads of trash in the time preceding the fight. An example from a press conference: “I really do not see how Mormeck can win, especially if he is lying on his back. This is my coming out party. I am more excited for this than I was for when I fought for the title.”
Undefeated at 21-0 (17) prior to meeting Mormeck, Braithwaite was unable to stay on the outside of his bigger, more powerful opponent. When Mormeck pressured him, a good stiff jab that would have created the necessary distance was completely absent. Most surprisingly, Braithwaite would continue to send single shots to the body throughout the fight, without forming combinations by attaching punches upstairs to them.
Mormeck was built, and although bodywork is a good idea for slowing your opponent down, it cannot be the only weapon. The Frenchman, though, knew how to use a body attack in his overall game plan. When he had Braithwaite pinned against the ropes, he would send a left-right to the body of the Guyana-born pugilist and follow it up with heavy hands to the head.
In doing so, Mormeck slowed down the quicker man and forced him to be bogged down on the insides. Only one man could come out of the DCU Center in Worcester as champ, and the WBA (and now WBC) champ from France showed overwhelmingly why it would be he as the victor.
Calling Me An Expert Will Get You Everywhere
Glen Dimaandal writes, “In the aftermath of the Pacquiao-Morales war, I have heard a lot of speculation on Manny’s plans for the remainder of the year, the loudest of which is a possible rematch with ‘El Terrible’ come July. This brings me to a few thoughts that just beg for expert opinions such as yours. I’ll shoot:
“1. Is a rematch with Morales a smart thing to do in so short an interval?
“2. Is it better for Manny to go for a title instead and collide again with Barrera, Marquez or maybe WBC featherweight champ Injin Chi of Korea?
“3. Do you think firing promoter Murad Muhammad will be beneficial in the long run?
“4. Do you think Morales should move up to the lightweights?
“5. Who’s your bet to take home the NBA title this season [Note: I compared Pacquiao to Lebron James after Glen’s letter last week. ---David]? If Detroit takes the East, I bet they will.”
Glen, I haven’t heard anything about a rematch between Morales and Pacquiao coming in July. From what I understand, Manny will need to take a long break just to let the cut from the head butt heal. The next time that Manny fights will likely be towards the end of the year, which is a bummer, considering that he always entertains. As for whether or not he will fight against Morales at that time, I’m not sure on the likelihood. Morales is healthy, and will probably want to stay active. Now if he has an open date when Manny is ready to come back, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the two go at it again. On to your questions…
1. In terms of money and motivation, an immediate rematch for Pacquiao (whenever it comes) is the right choice. The closer the card is to the last bout (in terms of fights in-between), the more fan interest there is remaining and the easier it is to sell pay-per-view buys (not that they’d have trouble anyways). Also, Pacquiao should keep Morales on his mind and use that fire to come back and try to change the end result.
2. Pacquiao has tons of wonderful options, and a match with Chi would be interesting, but there are better implications in the rematches with the trio of Mexicans. With Barrera, the question is whether Marco Antonio can prove that the first match was a fluke. As for a Marquez, does Juan Manuel have Manny figured out, or will the Pacman do his best to not let him out of the first round this time, for sure? And with Morales, will the twelfth round be the kind of momentum builder for Pacquiao that it was for Zab Judah when he got his second chance at Cory Spinks?
3. Murad Muhammad may have been good for Manny when he arrived in this country, but now he is just too much of a distraction and a drain on the wallet. There are plenty of other promoters out there who can do just as well, if not better, for the Pacman, and who shall make sure that he is properly compensated and looked out for in contract negotiations.
4. Morales started his pro career at 122, so it wouldn’t be that much of a stretch on his body to make 135. Like Pacquiao, Morales has plenty of options, and people will always pay to see him. Reports are that after a May 7 match with Diego Corrales, Jose Luis Castillo will look to move up to junior welterweight, opening a door for El Terrible to step in. While I’m not sure if Morales can crack with the likes of Corrales, there are other champions that El Terrible would have a good chance with, especially young bucks like WBA champion Juan Diaz.
5. Oh, I’m a hometown boy all the way, so I always root for the Wizards, who amazingly are putting up a winning year, for once. Still, I was amazed to see just how much better the records are in the West, so the division could be heavily favored. Depending on Tim Duncan’s injury, I could see the Spurs in the finals, but I can’t count out the Suns either. As for the East, Shaq is a man on a mission, willing to prove that he can dominate without Kobe, and with a young star in Dwyane Wade. If the Suns are able to stay healthy (and if Duncan doesn’t come back soon enough), I can see the Suns against the Heat in a warm NBA Final, with Shaq willing his team to the title. But then again, I’m a boxing writer, not a basketball one.
How To Write In
Got an opinion and want to see your letter possibly be printed? Send me an email at boxingscene@hotmail.com.
“The Contender” Update
Anthony Bonsante made a choice on Sunday night’s telecast that begged the question: which matters more, loyalty to your comrades, or making the decisions that will help you win? Bonsante chose the latter, leaving his teammates on the West team seething when he picked the East’s Brent Cooper as his opponent, instead of the previously agreed upon Jimmy Lange.
With nearly everyone on the West hoping that Cooper would knock the traitorous Bonsante out, the result ended up being the complete opposite, showing that Bonsante of Shakopee, Minnesota knew what he was doing all along.
In the first fight on the reality show to not go the distance, Bonsante stopped Cooper at thirty-eight seconds of the third round, his power completely overwhelming the spiritual Tennessean.
With six episodes down, the victors have been, in order, Alfonso Gomez, Jesse Brinley, Ishe Smith and Sergio Mora of the West, Peter Manfredo Jr. of the East, and Bonsante. Their vanquished foes respectively were Manfredo (he was voted back in when the East’s Jeff Fraza dropped out with an illness), Jonathan Reid, Ahmed Kaddour, Najai Turpin, Miguel Espino and Cooper.
This leaves two fights left until the final eight are decided, but the previews for next week’s episode seem to indicate that as tempers boil over from Bonsante’s decision, a different fight may take place in the ring. I’m not sure, considering that The Contender has largely held to a defined structure, but the action is heating up, and the show is becoming good drama.
Championship Calendar Corrections
It seems that I made a mistake in my research process, and hence had errors when it came to the last fights of a few of the champions in the lower weight classes (some of those guys, it seems, have the occasional non-title fight). The following are corrections to the April Championship Calendar, as these are the previous bouts for those beltholders.
WBO Super Bantamweight champion Joan Guzman had a unanimous decision over Joe Morales in November. Veeraphol Sahaprom, the WBC bantamweight champion, knocked out the 1-3-1 Allan Fuentes in February (Sahaprom must be so proud). In the same division, WBO king Ratanachai Sor Vorapin won a six-round contest in March against the 12-21-3 Joven Jorda, the sixth in a series of non-title fights since Vorapin last defended his belt.
I forgot to note that WBA flyweight champ Lorenzo Parra decisioned Trash Nakanuma in January. It was a title bout, so Parra is spared my wrath. I don’t know if I can forgive him for fighting Trash, though. Still at 115, Omar Navaez actually has a fight scheduled for April 7 now, against Wellington Vicente, in Argentina. Navaez knocked out Marcos Obregon in December, and his Vicente match will be the third non-title bout in a row.
Rounding out the corrections, I misspelled WBA minimumweight champ Yutaka Niida’s first name as “Yukata” in the Championship Calendar. My bad, dude.
Let’s Hear It From You
That’s it for this week’s Fighting Words, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t talk boxing until then. Drop me a line at boxingscene@hotmail.com, and just make sure to indicate somehow that the letter is for me, David P. Greisman. I will listen to (well, read) all emails and respond back, and your messages just may be printed here in the column.
Until then, thanks for reading, and don’t forget to check back each and every Monday for new installments. You can also see my other work by clicking the link on my name on the above right corner of the page, right next to the “Submitted By:” listing.
