jpmesq0332

Clottey-Quintana sounds good. I second that. Wanted to see to Cintron/Clottey, but Quintana -- another often overlooked welter--would also make be a fine substitute. If I was king of the world I would have a mini round robin between those three and Berto with winner getting Cotto or Williams?-- but we all know that will never happen.

When I was a kid--- Salvador Sanchez > Danny "Little Red" Lopez. Both times. (Sanchez was great, but I never appreciated him at the time and of course, taken too soon). Tommy Hearns > Pipino Cuevas (never was much of a Hearns fan after that)

Clottey is a good one, I think he will beat Cintron quite easily. Clottey/Cintron will be closer than most seem to expect. Like them both, and actually would prefer them to be fighting others in the division. But, I'm leaning Cintron by decision if he's learning from Shields and doesn't get frustrated/ground down if he can't penetrate Clottey's early defense with a big bomb. And, of course, if he does land it---not sure Clottey can handle it as well as Margo did. Nor is Clottey Margo-like in terms of power/pressure and Cintron has a better chin than he's given credit for, but if Cintron gets frustrated/ground down later in the fight he may be there for Clottey to take (and KC's only gone the distance once I believe). Don't know if any close win- no matter who gets it--really helps either fighter's stock rise as much as they SHOULD be already. Boom: In addition to Valero, I think Jorge Lineras' career should also be a rocket, if he'd just get out of Japan. Bust: I think Berto gets exposed. If not next week, then whenever he fights any of the upper echelon of welterweights (including either of the two mentioned above). And the kid's fights are always entertaining , but Steve Lueveno is due to get beat.

N'Dou fight helps Kerm Big Kerm fan here from outside Philly. If Kerm was going to go for a belt so quickly, I'd like his chances more against Berto or even Williams than Clottey. But, on second thought, the "tune-up" against N'Dou was the perfect prep for a Clottey showdown. Against NDou, Kerm had to fight to win a decision and not rely on a KO-- and he did handily. Now, don't get me wrong--Clottey is clearly a huge step up from N'Dou, but by the same token, he's no Margarito either. Its going to be a chess match--- CLottey will play possum and try to withstand the early Cintron barrage, and then take him out in the later rounds as Kerm fades or gets discouraged. As long as Kerm doesn't empty his tank early trying to take Clottey out, and has a mindset going in that he'll need go the distance and outbox him (if the KO happens all the better), I think he has a pretty good shot. This should have been the lesson he learned from N'dou. (Having said that, Kerm never really had a chance to take Ndou out with all the clutching and grabbing going on in that fight-- so I don't know whether the strategy was intentional). All this talk about Kerm having no heart is bunk--- Cintron has plenty; lost amidst the constant focus on what happened in Margarito I is his efforts against Reid, Suarez and Estrada (plenty of opportunity to "wilt" in those contests against decent opponents, yet he didn't and showed a solid chin each time) and even Margarito II was a war--Kerm just got outgunned. Clottey will allow Kerm to beat himself--- its up to Kerm to recognize that and respond accordingly. If he does, he wins.

I think cotto will box the first 2 rounds to see where he is at. And then he will bully and finish Jennings quickly. Cotto I think will try to show that he is still the man, he wont waste time like he did with Gomez!!!!!! Agree-- Cotto will bring the pain and drum on Jennings-- who will be overmatched. I'd say Round 5 or under. A good tune up to get back in the game, but won't show much else. My question: if Margarito/Pac man happens, where does that leave Cotto for his next fight? Williams?

Even granting your point that his "only hope is a knockout" (which assessment I think is wrong to begin with), then Kerm is the guy I would want in the ring to make it happen. Who exactly has Martinez beat to warrant a comparison to BOTH Sugar Ray Leonard and Robinson? That's just plain foolishness.

so if those two dont count, margarito vs cintron doesnt count and margarito over cotto and cotto over gomez. cotto was born in rhode island margarito was born in california cintron was born in philadelphia Have no bone to pick in this fight (I'd have to have John Duddy as my horse and have a feeling he'd be KOed by any top fighter from Mexico or Puerto Rico)-- but for the record, I know that Kermit Cintron was born in Puerto Rico but later had to be raised with his brothers by his Uncle in Warminster (outside Philly) following the death of both their parents where he was a terrific high school athlete-- a local wrestling champion. Its a great story of triumph over adversity (HBO did a nice story prior to Margo II) and why I'll be rooting for him next month when he beats Clottey.

^^^^ Co-sign, great post, both on Cintron and the card itself Co-co sign. Nails it on Cintron-- who has stepped up time and again, contrary to conventional wisdom-- and probably to the (short term) detriment of his long term career path/earnings potential. I like Kerm's chances even if questions exist about stepping up for the first time (he certainly has the frame for it)-- and who the heck has Martinez beat? Props to Lou DiBella too-- for getting Kerm a better paycheck than what he was being offered against Clottey (the lack of TV interest is still positively stupefying to me). I do feel bad that the log jam of high caliber talent at welterweight is not being sorted out by fights, but rather by Williams and now Cintron moving up. I still don't understand how these fights fall through.

Another Cintron booster Nice article. I'm almost in the same boat-- living outside Philly (North Penn area) and a Kermit Cintron fan and his story going back to his hs prep wrestling days (good thing the NPer I knew from my golf course wrestled at a division higher (145) than Kerm back then). And, even putting aside the all the obstacles which life has thrown in his path, just the thought of a local kid from nearby burbs (not exactly a "hotbed" for gyms) who just started boxing in college becoming world champion and then continuing to face all challenges head on is great stuff -- its always nice to see good things happen to good people-- and Kerm is a great guy. But, its always puzzled me as to why Kerm's rise in the boxing world was "under the radar" locally. Philly ALWAYS loves its fighters--- but for some reason (maybe the relocation to Reading?--which is still Philly area in my book) Kerm never seems to get the kind of positive local press media coverage I think he should. (The Intelligencer and Reading Eagle did stories-- but I don't recall any in the Inquirer, much less the Reporter/Times Herald). His "local boy makes good becomes world champion" story is the type that ordinarily gets lapped up in these outlets, isn't it? Why do you think this is the case? Bad management/promotion on Kerm's people's part? Kerm's own reluctance/preference to keep a low profile? General media disinterest in the sport? I got to be honest (and it shows my own cluelessness), for many years I didn't grasp the connection between Kermit Cintron, the prep wrestling champ I saw from Tenant at 140 in the late 90's, and Kermit Cintron the rising boxing star from Puerto Rico-- for many years (frankly-- until I saw the profile on Kerm and his uncle on HBO before Margo II, making that night's disappointment all the more tough to take), and I'm kicking myself for missing his rise and not supporting him more along the way. In any event, hopefully Lou DiBella is the man that can give him a higher and more lucrative profile (sounds like he already has taken some steps that way), and he can be a name player (and have more leverage) at both 147 and 154 if he takes care of Martinez like I'm hoping he will. In any event, I won't be missing any more of Kerm's fights from here on out, hopefully, he'll have some locally or in AC in the near term, and we'll be pulling for him every step of the way as he goes for another belt.

Like John, but cmon people. He got whipped by Honorio the first time he stepped up in class and Hank Lundy was whipping him too until he had a typical Lundy brain freeze moment. DeMarco is better than both. Plus, he's been largely inactive and when he has fought it hasnt been quality guys. He didn't even look that sharp in his tune up earlier in the summer. He has a puncher's chance, but I think DeMarco, like he always seems to do (Valero excepted, and Molina is no Valero), just finds a way to win-especially if he fights smart.

c) he's not a true boricua OK-- someone needs to explain this one to me (a white boy from the Philly suburbs) in a multicultural/diversity sense. Kerm's born in Puerto Rico, lives there until his mom passes of cancer around age 8 and then gets sent with his 2 bros to live with his Uncle outside Philly while Dad tries to sort things out back in Puerto Rico, only to have his dad also die suddenly at 43, so he remains and grows up in the U.S., becomes a multi-sport star HS athlete and champion wrestler, only starts boxing in college, and in just about 6/7 years- and some ups/downs-- has one of the world championship belts in boxing's deepest division. And yet, through all that, he's not a "true boricua"? I would think the Puerto Rican community would have his back through all this. Don't get me wrong--that's not to say I expect him to be as beloved as Cotto is. But WTF, should his own community be piling on with the anti-Clinton venom? That just ain't cool guys-- you should know better and I didn't think thats the way you operate.

Cintron did what few others would dare to do. He stepped up to 154 to face Martinez, a guy many were calling the real deal at 154. Hey, he thought he was head butted but now knows he wasn't. It amazes me how everyone crucifies him for this. In the heat of the action he was hit, not really hurt, but actually thought he had been hit with the head of Martinez. So what. He fought back and actually took a few rounds after the 7th. Go back and watch the fight and tell me that Cintron didn't win all of the early rounds (1-4). He did. Hey, this wasn't Cintron's best but he was competitive, landed a few hard punches (more than Martinez did) and now knows and accepts the draw. The fact is this. The only guy still to beat Cintron as a pro is Margarito. That's the same for Cotto and the same for Martinez. For some reason, people seem to want to lower Cintron but to me, he's still a work in progress with a huge upside. Nothing has changed in my mind. He can still go in and bang with anyone at 147. I'd love to see the Cotto Cintron fight and will definitely buy it. Have you seen his fight with teddy reid? mark suarez? Margarito 2? he can take a good deal of punishment. He's no margarito in this department, but then again margarito is going to be a bit "slower" when he gets older. We're in the minority here Boxing Freak and MrRupo-- outmanned and outgunned. But I've been making the same arguments elsewhere on the info superhighway(though its like spitting against the wind)-- virtually identical to Boxing Freak's after 3 viewings of the bout (painful as it was to watch again and again and again), and I come to the conclusion that a draw was a plausible and entirely fair result. Kerm easily could have been said to have won 4 of the first 6 (granted: they were close and boring), and even properly with a 8-10 in #7, 8 or 9 (I forget which one I thought he clearly landed the harder punches-- think it was 8) and 10. Heck, its disappointing he didn't step on the gas in 11 or 12 to win the damn thing outright. As for the other craziness of Saturday night--- some can be attributable to Kerm (he shouldn't have argued his mistaken headbutt case on the canvas instead of getting right up during the count, nor should he have done that joyless "victory dance" immediately post fight). But one of the reasons I like Kerm so much (apart from he's a local Philly area kid I used to watch wrestle in h.s. against my school)-- as a boxer/athlete and more imporantly as a person-- is that he has overcome all sorts of adversity in his life and tries to stay positive (though more continues to get thrown at him----and yes to all the haters out there-- he was born in Puerto Rico and lived there until he was 8, go do some homework and read about his story and then feel freaking ashamed of yourselves), never backs down from a challenge and shows real joy when he wins and real emotion when he hasn't. He's freaking human--let's crucify him. I just don't get the venom that exists out there (and frankly has for years). After all the craziness, and the constant booing of the crowd given the, it struck me that his "dance" showed me that his joy was missing Saturday even before the draw was announced (and even if he mistakenly thought he deserved to have won due to the headbutt). And now that he has seen the replay, he's admitted he was wrong. In the last month, I heard about 5 different versions of Margaritos/Capilitos/Arums stories and finger pointing about what happened with Mosely-- and yet not a single one has manned up and admitted that they were wrong. I ask you: which fighter has the integrity? fight game aside, which is the better man? (although I'll keep on referring to Kerm as a "good kid"). The one thing I disagree with you both, however, is that I feel pretty strongly that Cotto is NOT the right matchup for Kerm next. I'd like to see one bout where Kerm demonstrates that he's "got his groove back" (Ndou was a solid, but not particularly impressive decision). I like to see one fight where Kerm demonstrates that Ronnie Shields is making him a better fighter-- and building upon what Manny built up in some of those fights Mrrupo cites. If that means taking on a Gomez, a Delvin Rodriguez or even a lesser "tune up"-- then I'd do it if I was Lou DiBella (knowing Kerm, he probably strongly disgarees and he's on a Cotto "visionquest" much like he was against Margs the second time around--- a fight where I think Kerm's redemptive effort to "just bang" with him, ill-advised though it may have seemed at the time-- looks even more noble and impressive with what we know now about plaster of paris hands). I'm also a bit concerned that we don't know the whole story about Kerm's hands which have plagued him throughout his career. HAve the doctors told him he only has so many fights left before the cumulative damage impairs him for good? If so, then that MIGHT be a reasons he maxmizes his payday and takes on Martinez at late notice instead of Clottey (and gives up a chance to regain his 147 belt), and may be why he's beating the drum for Cotto right now. I also don't want him to fight Cotto for the selfish reason that Cotto's stock is rising in my eyes given his integrity in calling Margs and Arum to task as to the former, for his attempted crimes, and as to the latter, for assisting and seeking to enable the former to commit said crimes. So I don't want to see 2 current favorites beating each other's heads in. Keeping fighting the fight guys though we might be outnumbered.

Salsaking-- I thought I read in an interview that Kerm says he's changing his lifting regiment under his new strength coach with Shields. As long as he still has his torque, his power should still be there at 154.

Even so, Cintron is the mop and Cotto is the cleaner. It'll be end of story once they add the floor. Did you actually read the post? I said Cotto/Cintron is NOT a good idea for Kerm next.

Come on CINTRON I still have faith in you!! I second that emotion, gotta root for Kerm-- he's local and a good kid to boot that I'm always going to pull for. Nice to see some positive comments (and a nice article) about him on the board. I think Kerm is oftentimes underestimated and dismissed too easily-- much of it founded (somewhat unfairly) on his performance in Margarito I (and to a lesser extent not looking "impressive enough"-- whatever that means- 1-handed against Feliciano). I like my chances, however, with a guy whose only career losses are to Tony at his prime-- whatever additional revelations there are still to come concerning the sorry events of last weekend (and perhaps even prior bouts). I do wish he would have fought more often the last 4 years to get a better sense of where he stands relative to some of the top names in the division-- but some of his key career W's have been in highly entertaining bouts against solid (though admittedly not top tier) folks. Am always puzzled how he doesn't appear to be a favorite given his fan friendly style. Really wanted to see the Clottey fight-- don't know why the HBO folks had no interest and/or weren't will to fork over the $. Hard to see how Cintron/Martinez is more attractive than Cintron/Clottey (a top matchup in what their own Max said during the Berto fight was boxings best division) But, nice to see things work out for Kerm $-wise--sometimes the stars fall into alignment and good things happen to good people-- in this case Santos not being able to make the weight and HBO being behind the 8-ball in needing a solid opponent. I think they are going to get one, and more, in Kerm on V-tines Day. That Kerm gets a better pay day makes it all the sweeter. Good job Mr. Di Bella. I must admit to not knowing a whole lot about Martinez, but reviewing his record shows his resume isn't exactly stacked with big names either. With all due respect to "how good he looked" against Buenma, that's a solid, but not exactly upper echelon W either. And a matchup with Cintron may not be choice for a guy with a reputation for keeping his hands low . To me, the bout comes down to 2 keys-- (1) will Kerm's power translate to 154 (I think that's likely), and (2) will working with Ronnie Shields allow Kerm to continue his boxing skill development, allowing him to cut off the ring and tag Martinez with some of those power shots. Make no mistake, Kerm still is a work in progress, and I know he is trying to get away from being a one-note "KO machine", but in this fight I think he not only gets the W, but I think it will be a TKO around the 8th or 9th. .

Somewhat disappointing season opening. Thought Gamboa, though impressive at times, would have looked much better-- and the kd trend has to be addressed. After he destroyed Seeger (no slouch- but he took such a big fight much too too late), I thought Gamboa might be the real deal and live up to the hype. Now, I'd have to say the jury is still out. If only Speedy had some additional offense to offer, it might have been interesting. The late stoppage was a joke. The heavyweight fight was a bit more entertaining, but the Cuban didn't strike me as being very awe-inspiring either--- man can that division get any more tedious?

Made perfect sense to me, but then again Im an in house EEO defense attorney. In plain English-- the arbitration decision is tainted becuase of bias/the apperarance of bias by "the judge". In other words, "the judge" (or arbitrator) had too friendly a relationship with one of the parties to render a fair decision. YOu wouldn't want to sue somebody and find out that the person you're suing plays golf every weekend with the judge would you? That's the point. Spot on with the Margarito comments too. I'm hoping that the reinistatement after one year is not simpy "automatic" -- and remains in place until Team Margarito tells the truth and admits responsibility. (ala Pete Rose's "ban" from baseball which can be reviewed). If Margs flouts the ban by fighting abroad, or doesn't come clean-- I'm of the opinion that it shouldn't be lifted. The one caveat I reserve which may change my mind? I'd still like to see what the test results say-- just what was the "foreign object" on the wraps? Any hardening agent and I say revisit the suspension and ban all involved for life. If it turns out to be nothing too serious, I say reinstate all after the one year.

If this fight happens Mijares is going to outbox Martinez, Gatito Guerrero beat this guy and Martinez was given a gift. :boxing: Martinez' win over Gatito Guerrero was hardly "a gift", though I'll grant you it was close. Guerrero seemed more active for much of the early rounds of the fight, but I thought Martinez was making him miss most of the night-- not very effective IMO. And then Martinez had that huge round late after rocking Guerrero badly and was the aggressor thereafter which I thought allowed him to take the decision. To me a "gift" is the draw Lara was given against Molina last Friday night.

The reason why he isn't seen as a philly fighter is because he is puerto rican. To people who write these articles he will always be seen as a puerto rican fighter and not a philly fighter. Although i agree with you that he should be known as a philly fighter because thats where he was raised. I honestly think either him or his promoters like it this way. Its not really bad management. There is more money in advertising him as a puerto rican fighter than there is a philly fighter. Its a broader fan base. My question to the puerto rican people is whether they see him as a philly fighter or as a true puerto rican fighter? Who would they support in a cotto cintron battle. I see where you are coming from Mich. Much of the passions felt by boxing fans is marketing -driven. (It was wild to watch the Cotto/Margarito crowd as a third party bystander (full disclosure-- I was rooting for Cotto). Just to be clear-- maybe I've internalized my EEO/diversity work a little too much, but I don't necessarily think I was saying that the Philly/Puerto Rico dichotomy was an "either/or" mutually exclusive proposition, nor creating an expectation that he makes any choice as to whom he "represents". I'm going to be pulling for him whether he considers himself to be "primarily' a native son of Puerto Rico or a resident of Warminster/Reading (and I respect that he's both--- as Tennyson wrote "I am a part of all that I have met" and so are we all). I think his story to date is admirable/inspiring/interesting, and he's a great role model /athlete in these days where flawed heros abound-- and yet he and his story wasn't on my radar screen despite having a connection literally to my own backyard-- and I have been a pretty fair boxing fan for many years (though paying a bit less attention in recent years and lack of awareness is probably my fault more than anything). My larger point was that there just seems to be less and less media attention being given to the sport of late. I'll give you a non-Cintron example which doesn't involve any PR/Philly dichotomy: Steve Cunningham--another Philly champion off my radar screen until I saw him lose his belt on Versus last month. Along those same lines (although not involving a Philly fighter)-- I checked the Inquirer over the weekend-- not even a blurb on the Collazo/Berto fight (will they mention the Magarito/Mosley results next weekend? They did cover DLH/Pacman). I can recall when I was a kid-- the local papers ALWAYS covered fights involving Mike Rossman, Matt Franklin/Saad Muhammed or Joltin Jeff Chandler and the other "champs" and even other non-champs (Bennie Brisco, Willie the Worm Monroe). Those days of the "boxing beat" seem gone-- do they ever come back?