Lederman Talks Khan-Bradley, Maidana, Gamboa, More

By Chris Robinson

Not all interviews that you do in the sport of boxing are going to run the same. Sometimes things flow smoothly when talking shop about the sweet science and other moments it feels like trying to squeeze juice from a rock when looking for a sound bye from a reluctant interviewee.
 
Maybe that's why I have always loved dealing with HBO's unofficial ringside judge Harold Lederman, a man full of insight, wisdom, and overflowing excitement towards boxing. I had nothing planned for my interview with Harold but still had a nice talk about Marcos Maidana, a possible Amir Khan-Timothy Bradley clash, his thoughts on Nonito Donaire's current legal struggles, and his thoughts on electric WBA featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa. All I had to do was ask Lederman if he wanted to talk some boxing and everything went from there.

Read on for all of Harold's thoughts...
 
A reason to watch Marcos Maidana...
"I love Marcos Maidana. No matter what you say about Marcos Maidana, he's one of the reasons that people like to watch boxing on television. He's so exciting. You turn on the television and you know you are going to get a great fight with him. The guy's got a huge heart, a great jaw, a tremendous puncher, and he comes to fight."
 
Predictable but exciting...
"My take on him is that he is a slow starter. He seems to fall behind early but he's such a big puncher that soon or later, he wears you down and he gets to you. Like, with Amir Khan, it took ten rounds and he almost had him out of there. Certainly with Victor Ortiz it took a few rounds and he got him out of there. Marcos Maidana certainly turns it on and he's very, very exciting. He's a dangerous guy and he has the ability to end a fight with one punch. And people love that. You always love a guy who can throw one shot and get a guy out of there like Sergio Martinez with Paul Williams. I guess you can say he's predictable but that's what makes him so exciting."
 
Musing on a Timothy Bradley-Amir Khan meeting...
"Oh that's going to be a great fight. Amir Khan has tremendous ability. He's one of those long, lean guys, like Ray Leonard, like Ray Robinson. That long, lean build and he whips those shots. He really hits hard. He's a very good boxer and he has great legs. He uses the ring very well but on the other hand, Timothy Bradley just keeps coming. As you saw in the Devon Alexander fight and all those other previous fights before that. He just keeps coming, he wears you down, he turns that right hand over. He has that tremendous right hand, he really does. Relentless in his pursuit and that's what you really want. [Khan] could maybe pile up points and maybe knock out Timothy Bradley as he comes in. On the other hand you have a Timothy Bradley, he's very strong, relentless, tough, aggressive. I think the fight has the makings of a great fight."
 
Impressed with Nonito Donaire...
"I read polls where some people rank him as high as the number 2 ranked pound for pound fighter in the world. I tell ya, how could you not be impressed with Nonito Donaire? I guess the fact that Manny Pacquiao is Filipino, he is Filipino, you sort of tend to put them together, so to speak. Manny's the top pound for pound fighter in the world and Donaire is sort of is fighting in his footsteps."
 
A great reputation on his own...
"Be as it may, he has certainly done enough to build a great reputation on his own. If Manny Pacquiao had been retied for ten years I still think Nonito Donaire would be regarded as one of the top guys in the sport and he deserves it. That fight with Fernando Montiel, what a job he did. To knock Fernando Montiel out like that, it was amazing. Because you know, Montiel can really crack. Donaire was just amazing and he walked right through him. Nonito Donaire, based off his wins over a really good fighter in Montiel, a really good fighter in Vic Darchinyan, he's really making a name for himself. You gotta love him. I just hope that he's able to straighten out all his promotional problems and I can't wait to see him again."
 
A possible stretch of inactivity for Donaire...
"That's really tough for a fighter to come back from. We were just talking about Gennady Golovkin, a terrific prospect, I think he is going through that problem now. Felix Sturm, laid off for a long time because of promotional problems. You hate to see that, where guys, all of a sudden, that their career is in court rather than in the ring. There is no question that it will hurt Donaire. I'm pretty positive HBO wants to get him back on the air pretty soon while people still remember the great win over Montiel. I hope they can straight this out. I don't care which promotional company wins; wherever he wants to go and wherever he's happy. I'd love to see him back real soon but it probably would hurt his career if he gets laid off for a year because of a court case."
 
No mercy from Yuriorkis Gamboa...
"You gotta hand it to the guy. He can punch, you knock him down, he gets up and he beats the hell out of ya. I mean, this is a guy who is about as exciting as any Cuban I have ever seen. He really is exciting. He can punch, he has great legs. He's very, very fast and it's going to be hard for Juan Manuel Lopez, there is no doubt about that. I love Juan Manuel Lopez as a fighter. That should be a terrific fight when the two of them do get together. I was really impressed by Yuriorkis Gamboa against Jorge Solis. And Jorge Solis was a known champion, had only lost two fights to two good fighters and actually won 35 fights in a row for a while in his career. That was a guy from a fighting family and Gamboa killed him. Just took him apart. Gamboa showed him no mercy whatsoever."