By Jake Donovan (photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank)
It’s not often that the harder sell for a boxing event involves the ride to the arena more so than the action to take place in the ring once you’re there.
Such is the dilemma that Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum has faced along with the Mexican government the moment it was decided to stage “Latin Fury 8” in the Plaza de Toros bullring in Tijuana, Baja Cruz, Mexico (Saturday, 9PM ET, Top Rank PPV).
The chief concern has everything to do with the escalating drug war wreaking havoc on the nation, particularly border towns such as Tijuana. The body count due to drug violence not only reached a record high last year (6,920 claimed), but more than doubled the total of the previous year, and already surpassed the 1,000 mark just two months into 2009.
As more dead bodies are crammed into morgues already filled beyond capacity, the challenge now becomes to convince enough live bodies to attend this weekend’s show.
The irony, at least for this particular boxing series, is that it comes at the expense of a show that figures to provide nothing but entertainment from the opening bell.
Boxing fans often cringe at the mere mention of a “Latin Fury” card or a Top Rank independent pay-per-view show in general. Chief among the reasons is the knowledge that a lofty price tag is sure to follow, one that almost always exceeds the entertainment value offered in return.
Also to be expected in recent years is the show being topped by Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., the undefeated but very slowly progressing son of Mexico’s most celebrated prizefighter. Rarely if ever does his headlining act include a foe barely worthy of mention on the promotional poster.
Both ring true this weekend. Chavez Jr tops “Latin Fury 8” when he takes on Argentinean scrapper Luciano Cuello (23-0, 10KO) in a battle of unbeaten but virtually unproven junior middleweights. The show comes with the lofty price tag of $39.95, on the heels of three boxing pay-per-view events having aired over the course of the past two Saturdays, as well as another $40 entry with Golden Boy’s “Lightweight Lightning” show next weekend.
Not exactly a seller’s market – even without the backdrop of a drug war for those planning to attend rather than stay home and watch.
Whether or not this weekend’s show is worth the price of admission will certainly vary from viewer to viewer. For true boxing fans, the show is an upgrade from past offerings and – if Arum is to be taken at his word – the starting point for a new standard for which to follow and exceed in future telecasts.
Top Rank has been willing to throw boxing fans a bone at least once a year when it comes to showcasing Chavez Jr. It’s not to say that the kid deserves top billing on a show that comes with a surcharge, certainly not when you consider his meager level of competition. But where value is to be found is in the supporting cast.
Past, present and future were on display beneath a Chavez Jr-led December 2007 pay-per-view telecast. The 100,000 or so viewers who purchased the show were given a glimpse at undefeated rising prospect (and now contender) Mike Alvarado, former world champ and all-action star Jorge Arce and undefeated junior flyweight king Ivan Calderon.
All of that came before Chavez Jr landed in a Fight of the Year contender, forced to dig deep before rallying back to knock out Rey Sanchez in his opponent’s Albuquerque (NM) backyard.
The pay-per-view under card for Chavez’ last ring appearance – a unanimous decision win in his November ’08 rematch with Matt Vanda – saw Arce as well as flyweight titlist Nonito Donaire post knockout wins, along with undefeated prospect Lamont Peterson and 2008 Russian Olympian and pro debuting Matt Korobov winning in preliminary action.
This weekend’s offering comes with two alphabet title fights, both featuring fighters long in need of additional exposure. No better place for Humberto Soto and Fernando Montiel than in the comfort of their home country.
More than four years have passed since Soto (46-7-2, 29KO) has enjoyed the pleasure of fighting in his Tijuana hometown. A lot has happened in his career since then, aside from the 12 fights he’s added to his resume (10-2 over that stretch).
For starters, he went from virtually anonymous in even the most hardcore boxing circles to a legitimate threat in the featherweight and junior lightweight divisions. The instant notoriety came in the form of an upset points win over then-unbeaten Rocky Juarez in August 2005, in a bout aired on HBO.
Bigger and better things were expected to follow. Instead, he was given a refresher course at the school of hard knocks.
The thing about going from a perceived journeyman to a major risk is that the phone stops ringing with offers from other prospective contenders. In his 11 fights since the coming out party against Juarez, a grand total of one made its way to HBO, which happened to be his worst – and dullest – outing in years, falling short in an unwatchable fight against Joan Guzman in November 2007, snapping a 21-fight unbeaten streak in the process.
Pay-per-view appearances came in June 2007 and June 2008, on shows headlined by Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao. Good news on the surface, though the downside is that when fans are there primarily for the headliners and you’re fighting on the road, you tend to get lost in the shuffle no matter how memorable your fight.
For what it’s worth, Soto gave boxing fans plenty to talk about on both occasions.
His 7th round knockout of Bobby Pacquiao served as the perfect primer Cotto’s own knockout of Zab Judah about an hour later. Unfortunately for Soto, a beyond-capacity Madison Square Garden crowd comprised mostly of Boricuas couldn’t even tell you who fought in the co-feature by the time their guy had his arm raised in victory.
A year later, he found himself on the wrong end of a controversial disqualification loss to Francisco Lorenzo. Soto controlled the bout throughout and was on the verge of a knockout, when he failed to pull back on a punch thrown in the direction of the Dominican, who was down on one knee. Replays showed that the punch never landed, but Lorenzo’s act was enough to sell referee Joe Cortez the notion that a foul was committed.
Even after Manny Pacquiao was through wiping the ring with David Diaz in the evening’s main event, fans as well as the media took up Soto’s cause, believing he was robbed not only of a victory, but the alphabet title that was at stake in the fight.
Soto would receive his just due, in the form of a mandated rematch. Network executives were so anxious to get involved that the fight landed… on TV Azteca at year’s end, a time when boxing all but shuts down and begins planning for the next fiscal year. With a whimper came his revenge win over Lorenzo, and the junior lightweight belt he brings to this weekend’s fight.
Far more attention will be paid to his next move, as he will be among familiar faces in his hometown. Sure, Chavez Jr is the reason most fans are heading to Plaza de Toros, but at least he gets to ply his trade in front of an audience that knows his name going in, and most certainly after his co-feature bout with Antonio “T-Rex” Davis.
Former junior bantamweight titlist Fernando Montiel (38-2-1, 28KO) is hoping for a similarly long overdue reception for his second crack at bantamweight hardware. Standing in his way for the moment is Diego Oscar Silva of Argentina, though who he faces always seems to take a back seat to the breaks that have long eluded his career.
There are several things going against Montiel for the moment. For starters, the majority of boxing fans often pretend that boxing simply doesn’t exist below the 122 lb. division. Montiel’s latest venture places only four pounds shy, but still a junior bantamweight at heart.
Another issue is his peculiar timing in suffering letdowns. Thirty-eight times in his career, the talented Mexican boxer-puncher has looked absolutely lights out. However, both of his losses came on HBO, falling short in lethargic performances against Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson (August 2003) and Jhonny Gonzalez (May 2006).
He’s since won six straight, including what should’ve been back-to-back high profile wins against Luis Melendez and Martin Castillo. But it was less about what he accomplished than what was going on around him.
His October 2007 win over Melendez came in a legitimate Fight of the Year contender that saw both fighters hit the deck before Montiel prevailed with just over a minute to go in the 12th and final round. The performance, which aired live on VERSUS, was followed up four months later with perhaps the best win of his career, a one-sided fourth-round knockout that sent former divisional leader Martin Castillo into retirement on the same night divisional rival Cristian Mijares outlasted Jose Navarro in a blood-soaked thriller.
Both junior bantamweight fights served as prelims to Kelly Pavlik’s repeat win over Jermain Taylor in the pay-per-view main event that evening. By night’s end, a debate had begun over whether Montiel or Mijares should be regarded as the best 115 lb. fighter on the planet.
Montiel would ultimately lose by default, due to circumstances beyond his control. Mijares landed unification matches in consecutive fights, defeating Alex Munoz before suffering a one-sided 9th round knockout loss against Vic Darchinyan in a bout with three belts on the line. The only belt not at stake was the one around Montiel’s waist, though he has since been forced to relinquish in order to contend for a vacant bantamweight strap this weekend.
A showdown with Darchinyan is what he most covets, but he’ll have to make one hell of a statement on Saturday in order to get anyone to listen.
The same can be said of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. While it’s long ago been proven that the Mexican public will favorably respond no matter what move he makes, patience has long ago run thin with many outside of that bubble.
There are those in the media who can look past the familiar surname and recognize the talent that exists beneath the exterior. But even potential remains a tough sell when you take into consideration his level of opposition as well as his suspect training habits. Struggles at the scales in his last two fights – both against Matt Vanda – may very well have been the final stamp of disapproval among those who dismiss his career as a traveling circus act.
Hardly cushioning the blow are recent admissions by his own handlers that he’s being brought along at a deliberate pace. Why subject him to a risk when they can make money off of his name while networks refuse to lower their demands (read: standards) in negotiating potential future dates for Mexico’s latest icon.
As proven in his 2008 campaign, just winning is no longer enough for the 23-year young Chavez. Looking spectacular in doing so has to serve as the bare minimum, a trick he’s failed to turn arguably since the earlier mentioned Sanchez knockout 15 months ago.
Even beyond eventual title contention, Chavez Jr needs to prove that he’s ready to take the game a lot more serious than has been shown in his last several fights. That has to begin this weekend, especially when your target audience is currently forced to overcome far greater challenges in life, such as surviving an economy crippled by drug violence.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com and a voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Please feel free to contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.
