I think Bute is overrated. I think Froch or Ward would wipe the floor with him. I think he is a great guy though...very classy. In fact all three of those dudes are cool with me. I likes all the guys in the super 6 tourney really...no thugs to speak of.
Maidana is powerful, but he takes a lot of clear shots coming forward. Khan will outbox him and has plenty of power in his own right. Khan also has impeccable defensive skills as well as punching speed. He'll make Maidana look like a mismatch. The possibility always remains for an upset, but Maidana is a B level fighter with C level defense and A class power. Khan is yet to be really proven, but from what I've seen, looks to be at least an A- in all aspects. I predict a knockout of Maidana prior to the end of the 2nd round.
Unfortunately for khan or Maidana for that matter, nether of these guys have a chance for a mega fight. You must be either Filipino or Mexican to qualify. Otherwise, you don't sell enough tix. In other words, neither of these guys is going that far.
As long as Shane comes ready to fight without the "Parkinsons" shake he had in the Mayweather fight, I'm ok with this matchup. I think I've bought my final Pacquiao fight however until he picks a real opponent. By that I mean Berto, Bradley, even Khan for that matter. Heck, I'd even rather see him fight Malignaggi. Martinez at middleweight at a catchweight? Why not? Maybe 155 or whatever.
Finally somebody talking sense! Although Shane couldn't deal with speed of Mayweather, and had trouble finding his target with him as well. Berto is the matchup I'd like to see over an outgoing Mosley. But either Berto, Bradley, or hell, I would still take a fight with the Magic Man over Margarito. Heck, even the chatter about a 3rd Marquez bout would do it for me.
Yeah,
agree with the:
1) Floyd
2) berto or bradley
3) Mosley
And if they wanted a real jr. middleweight contenter...Pacman's crew would have fought Sergio Martinez...Like Pacman, but as time goes on, he's ducking "real" opponents. It's become about the money fights for him too. Looking forward to watching the explosive Berto on the 27th. That's a great looking card that night. Williams vs. Martinez sshould be good too!
Pascal learned a cheap lesson in their 1st fight. Basically, he learned all the lessons of a loss without the "L" on his record. If he loses this time, it's not because he didn't prepare, but because B-Hop is a better boxer. Pascal can be a very exciting boxer as he was in the Dawson fight. Hopefully he can rekindle that magic. He does have skills. They were just strangely absent in his last fight. I'll be happy no matter who wins as long as the fight doesn't end with a head butt ;-)
I was looking forward to this fight.
I will say that B-Hop didn't look to have taken all that much impact to his shoulder on the fall, and that he is a faker and likes to roll around on the ground like a soccer player trying to draw a foul.
Dawson had every right to get Hopkins off his back. He was trying to set the tone early. "No B-hop, this isn't MMA, and you will not be lunging in after every punch and trying to jump on my back."
I think like everyone else, I admire what B-hop has done to stay in the game but at the same time, would love to see him get humbled one last time. I don't know why this fight was ever a PPV in the first place btw. I can only hope that if there was a rematch that it wouldn't be either.
Put Pacman in with Bradley or the winner of Berto/Ortiz 2, and let Floyd and Cotto do battle. I don't give a butmunch about seeing Pacman fight Cotto again if Pacbaby is going to be a sissy about the weight.
C'mon Pacman. Stop fighting at a weight where they're too slow to hit you but not big enough to hurt you. Man up to 150...you fought Margarito there, and he had the height advantage too!
I don't think I'll buy this fight either...I'll watch it if someone else pays. But these two guys need to get it together. What's wrong with a floating split with the winner getting the bigger take? How bout a 55/45 or 60/40? That would add some excitement to the bout.
I'd love to see Canelo fight Floyd and pound him, but I fear that forcing him into a catchweight may dehydrate him. And Pacman better not make Cotto make 145 again. Man up Pacman and give Cotto 147 or more. Frankly, I'd like to see Pac retreat back to 140. Welterweight div has been faily well cleaned out. And Pacman or Floyd ain't going to step up and fight a real 154 or 160 lb'r at their weight.
WOW, just opened boxingscene.com and saw the headline. Really disappointed. I've been looking forward to Berto's fight with Mosley for the last several months. But, I understand that he may not be in the right frame of mind to contest at this level. I think if was any other of his bouts, he could have taken the fight, but Shane would have required all of Andre's concentration and focus.
Hang in there Andre, I'm sure we'll see you back in the ring sometime soon =)
The whole point of scoring the fight the way they did was to teach Pacquiao a lesson. Here's a guy who comes to the ring when he wants, fights who he wants, not the mandatories like it should be...Then he's a DIVA and comes out an hour late cause he didn't "glove up" and warm up until after he was done watching his basketball game while a crowded arena and millions of fans around the world pack into their living rooms and on the east coast of the US, after midnight and wait after the Arce fight.
I think Pacman deserved this "punishment" as talented as he is. It's time for a down to earth champ.
I really like Ward, but thought the Froch fight was an ugly fight to watch. Both men looked uncharacteristically slow. Ward looked to be moving in slow motion. Ward had been good in the past in other performances. But, he's becoming like B-hop to me in that it's just ugly to watch. As a fan, I prefer to watch 2 guys stand at slugging range and trade clean shots...like a "Rocky" movie.
Bute to me is like the tennis equivalent of Roger Federer. Hard to pinpoint his specific abilities or highlights...but he just seems to get the job done better against good opponents. I would like to see Ward vs. Bute...why not. Also think Ward vs. B-Hop would be interesting as a brawler/heat butter fight. All this recent activity has made me long for the return of Joe Calzaghe...speaking of whom, I will never forget his decimation and clowning of Roy Jones Jr. in the ring.
I also really like Andre Dirrell at 168. I think he'd be a great match for Bute. 2 skilled boxers going at it. I think Dirrell would beat Bute because as pure boxers, Dirrell is superior. He did have some strange fights in the last couple years, but he's got the best boxing skills at 168...just have attitude or strategy issues, or maybe just bad luck...i dunno.
Anyway, seems as though the excitement at 147 has all but dried up as the best refuse to fight the best or even legitimate challengers, but instead seek out the cash cows. Jr middleweight is where it's at now with Kirkland, Chavez jr., Martinez and Canelo. Dunno WTH Cotto is doing monkeying around at 154 other than he fails to shine @ 147.
168 still has unfinished business. And, I'd love to see a Mares vs Donaire matchup @ 122. Or, either of them against Adrian Broner. Yeah...122 is also a hot class class right now.
Somebody give me Martinez vs. Kirkland please as a late Christmas present. And Floyd, sell your May 5th MGM date to Canelo vs. Chavez jr!!!
Gary Russell jr IS the real deal. Would actually love to see him vs Gamboa, Donaire, heck, even Broner. For anyone that hasn't seen him fight yet, you're missing out!
Canelo vs. Cotto...a good selling fight yes. Would probably go PPV I'm guessing. I suppose he could fight Martinez or Kirkland, or even Berto or Ortiz.
Bummin' about Peterson vs. Khan fight maybe getting cancelled. Sux. Maybe Peterson didn't really want to fight him in England, so this was his way out!
Ok, so we all know this fight is a big deal. Question in my mind, is will they be able to sell 100,000 seats at Dallas? My wife is filipino, and I got to interview Manny last year for the Diaz fight. So, I'm a legit boxing fan is what I'm saying. My Hunch is that Vegas, considering the smaller venue/higher demand considering a 16k seat arena at the MGM Grand, will force ticket prices much higher than they otherwise would be at Dallas stadium. We're talking $300-500 for nosebleeds at the MGM, possibly more. Do we really think that people are going to pay all that much money for tickets in Dallas? And think of the possible embarrassment it would be to boxing if they set some high ticket prices for Dallas, and then couldn't sell all the seats. It would look very bad for Boxing. So even though they can sell 6 times more seats, I'm a little worried about the possible lack of a filipino contingent locally when compared to the SoCal area. Vegas is a half days journey and if you include the surrounding 5 hours, you have prob 50 million people in the vicinity. There's not near as many people living within a 5 hour radius of Dallas. Add to that the sex scandal with Krista Ranillo and Manny fans may not be quite as willing to travel, and pay big dollars for crappy seats. Yes, the stadium is nice, but for boxing...not so much. We'll see.
I'd really like for it to happen at Dallas stadium. But, anything less than a sellout would be considered a failure for boxing as far as the naysayers go. The exclusivity that a Vegas fight has always adds to ticket prices, and the mystique. I'd only like to have it at Dallas stadium if they were going to run it on free TV. That way, the extra ticket prices/advertising could make up for the lack of pay per view sales. They could prob get 1 mil per 30 sec spot. But that really doesn't come close to the rev generated by 2+ million PPV buys at $54.95 each, being 110 million alone. Heck, 16,000 seats at $500 a pop onloy account for $8 million dollars. Take it to Dallas and run avg ticket prices to a generous $300, and you still only get $30 million. Advertising revenue could not make up the difference when considering the expected PPV sales. So, it will be a PPV.
Whatever, I'm excited regardless.
1. I'm not getting my hopes up.
2. I'm not so sure a "Superbout" between these two would be anymore exciting that a lot of Floyd's more recent fights where he fights ultra conservative...Manny too.
3. I used to think it was just Floyd who was a money grubber, but over the last year or two, starting with PacMan's selection of Mosley as an Opponent, that he's more appropriately "money" Pacquiao.
4. Oh, and PacMan's lackluster performance against JMM last month after 3 years...still only capable of basically a draw. Calls into question whether he's really gotten all that better.
The time for this fight was 2 years ago.
As a sidenote, do you think they'd try to pull some $79.95 PPV b.s. on this one or what?
Would love to see Pacman fight Adrien Broner frankly, or Nonito, you name it. I think his bigger competition is at the lower weight classes.
I hope this doesn't turn into a Tyson/Holyfield scenario where we have to wait before both fighters are past their prime and been dethroned before we get to see them go at it. Morales already took his payout in his 3rd fight against Pac-man when he did the infamous "roll over." and gave up while not stunned.
I think in order to save the sport of boxing...I would love to see the two of them (Pac vs. Floyd) go at it on Network Television. Let's face it...HBO has approx 27 million subscribers...so a reg HBO bout is not an option. A PPV showdown would prob draw 2.2 mil or so PPV buys bringing in 120 mil. Lets put it on Network TV for ALL to see, put some good legit undercard matchups.
The problem with a network bout is that at best, there's only 12 rounds with 1 minute between rounds for advertising. Compare that to the Super Bowl which can prob squeeze in 40 minutes or so of advertising.
In order to match the 2.2 mil buys @ $54.95, they'd need to draw some major ad revenue...approx 120 mil. If they could get $3 mil per 30 sec ad x's 12 rounds, that's $72 mil. Plus you ad in all the pre-fight ad revenue and undercard ad revenue and they should be able to get it to $100 mil. Prob is, how do we guarantee a 12rd. fight? Other than the fact that most of Manny and Floyd's recent fights have gone the distance.
Anyway, food for thought. I think there's still some exciting matchups as evidenced by last nights action on both HBO and Showtime except for the fact that Bute/Johnson seemed to be a bit of a yawner. I mean, how much of a fan would you be of a sport if all you ever got to sample was AA baseball or the CFL for football? I think Pac and Manny have the chance to save boxing and still make a fair paycheck. In the end, it's greed that's going to kill boxing. At least Dana White has MMA pretty much controlled outright and can put the fights together and do it in such a way to grow the sport. With no one governing body looking out for what's best for boxing, we continue to have nobody show up for fights like Devon Alexander and Tim Bradley which even though it turned out disappointing to some degree, it deserved more attn than it got. Boxing is lost on the mainstream america these days which is why we have a problem matching up anyone other than a filipino or a mexican together, or 2 mexicans. If we can get some interest generated back in the sport...we can get better matchups that are based on talent, not the fighters racial origin. And yes, I'm calling out myself here....:hijacked: Haha.
I dunno. But my wife works for a major cable co. She says Pacman/Margarito did 1.575 million buys. I think Mosley/Mayweather was 1.2 or so. Mayweather Marquez was 1 mil buys. Pacman/Clottey was 700K buys.
Great article BTW. Was just discussing it with the wife. No one is really looking out for the sport of boxing. The fighters, promoters, sanctioning bodies, casinos, etc...all just looking out for themselves which you'd expect.
^^^Sure thing. Pacquiao who I dig and respect as a fighter is playing it too safe. When the ashes settle from the implosion of boxing, we'll be able to blame the greedy elite level fighters first who fight about once a year or go into quasi-retirement as they posture for each big mega-fight with opponents who they know they can beat.
What if MLB baseball was on PPV and the only free baseballl you could watch on TV was High school baseball? Knowing that more elite/high level talented players existed and you were being fed crap for free, would you even be interested in watching division 3A high school ball with teams with 5-4 records and such? Of course not, but that's what we're getting with boxing. How do they expect to get any new viewers/fans when they're not giving non-fans anything to whet their appetite for the sport?
I can't blame them since a Casino fight on PPV makes tens of millions, and ad revenue for a Floyd vs. Manny PPV would only garner $250k per 30 sec spot compared to a Superbowl $2mil per spot. Not only that, but the number of spots avail with 1 minute breaks between rounds ruin the potential comercial success of the sport on free tv. Unfortunately, it's a recipe for Cable or PPV being a necessity. Although at this point, going from 60 sec to 90 or 120 sec breaks between rounds for the sake of making it more palletable for advertising $$$'s would ruin the tradition of the sport.
It's time that boxing had a president, and/or a governing body. Other sports have it. Motorsports like Formula 1 has it. Even the UFC has it. And they're growing while boxing's appeal is shrinking due to pointless PPV's and casino hosted fights which are partly to blame because of Nevada's income tax free status and higher per ticket sales prices. Somebody needs to look out for Boxing before Boxing itself takes the knockout punch. No more useless matchups. I'm getting frustrated =(
Maybe one of the things a president or governing body could do is mandate that major beltholders in each division fight on free cable(networks or sports channels) at least once per year out of their 3 yearly fights to ensure exposure of elite fighters and for the growth of the sport.
As far as my above post...I was simply stating that the majority of Paquiao fans or (Insert most popular mexican fighter here) are not boxing fans per se, but more the "filipino pride" or "mexican pride" type. That doesn't apply to people on this website however since if you're on here, you're a true fan of the sport. For example, I was over at my wife's aunt's house and 100 people were there and could not stop talking about Pacquiao. I mentioned that Mayweather/Mosley was on that night and they had absolutely no interest. I kept touting that it was indeed a big deal and finally, we ended up buying the fight that night. Even when they do buy the Pacman fights, they are absent until the filipino national anthem starts, then they fill the room. Not that the undercards on the PPV's have been all that intriguing recently. But still, I was watching them.
Heck, I even witnessed this at a Pacquiao press conference I attended as an interviewer in 2008 for the Diaz fight when all the filipino media cared about was when Pacman was going to run for congress. I asked the only intelligible 3 questions of the conference during the press interview.
Why should we be surprised though. This stuff happens in the Olympics all the time. People rooting for a winner in a sport they know nothing about except that the particular athlete is from the same country as them.
I love Manny Pacquiao as a fighter and respect him as a person. I'm just disappointed that his handlers and promoter have chosen the path they have recently. The Cotto and Clottey matchups were legit...even Hatton for that matter. Hatton was throwing bombs and just missing in their fight. Had Ricky not been caught and been allowed to fight his inside/clinching fight it would have been interesting.
I feel that Pacman's goal is not to fight the best men in the sport anymore, but to make the most money possible in as few fights as possible. I think there was a time when he was hungry, but now, his focus seems different.
Why? And Victor Ortiz a hungry fighter? Are we watching the same fighter? It fairly obvious he dosen't love the game and was happy with a draw against Peterson.
Andre Bero should be having big fights at this stage etc Cintron, Williams, Pac, Clottey, Cotto etc.
Not fighting 140lb contenders, in catchweights bouts. How can you say this is a ''definition of a prize fight''
This is a one sided easy fight for Berto, against a lower weight contender, who's still got a lot to prove.
Berto @ 5' 8" shouldn't be fighting taller fighters like Cintron or Williams. I do think he should be fighting guys like Zab Judah, Clottey, Cotto. Wouldn't mind seeing him fight Khan as well. I think after this fight if he wins, is when Berto gets his "big" fight. And by big, I don't necessarily mean the big 2, but a worthy name. Victor Ortiz is a live fighter and should fight hard in the early rounds. I still would like to see Berto in there with Paulie as I think it would be a good warmup for a PacMan fight since Paulie does have fast hands and good footwork. It would be a safe fight since Paulie's right hand is weaker than most women.
The reason why we're stuck with is that most mexicans and filipinos aren't "real" boxing fans. They're just nationalists. That means they won't be tuning in for the Bradley/Alexander fight even though it's much better than what we saw from Pacman vs. Margarito. I haven't met anyone yet in my wife's family(filipino) or co-workers(mexicans) that gives a hoot whenever there's a fight without either Pacquiao or a big name Mexican fighter. It's the unfortunate truth that the best fighters don't fight each other anymore. Boxing has a small educated fan-base, and way too many uneducated fans of the big PPV's that will buy any fight Rob Arum or whoever puts in front of them as long as their man is in the ring.
It would be nice if there was an outside governing body that mandated who fights who based on rankings or something rather than what we have now...which is guys who are protected until they get 20+ wins, then get tested a few times. If they win those crucial 2-4 fights they become elite and go back into protective care of their promoter for the remainder of their career never to fight real competition again until the twilight of their career where they posture for that one BIG megafight such as Floyd and Pac are doing now.
Mosley is the next best thing as far as the promoters and HBO are concerned. At least he has name recognition. Maybe a few fringe fans will be swayed into getting the fight. Maybe it will will billed as some sort of American vs. Filipino thing kinda Like Rocky 4 with USA vs. U.S.S.R.
Hate to do a UFC vs. boxing comparo, but the UFC as well as other MMA promotions have been really good about pitting the best fighters against each other. Not only that, but the all important undefeated record in boxing is not so coveted in MMA. You regularly see the "top" MMA fighters with 11-6 records or something like that. That's what happens when you take top guys and put them in amongst each other on a regular basis. As long as fans are dumb and uneducated, they'll like this crap that we keep getting from boxing. Not sure what it will take however for the fans to get wise...that's the problem.
Here's the youtube link to the KO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlR5fQqdnyc
Yeah. Great offensive fighter with no defensive skills, but formerly quick reactions. Old age is devastating to a fighter like Roy. He really does need to quit. I feel bad for him now...he was out cold.
I'm worried bradley's lunging forward style (similar to Ward, Hopkins) may put him at a disadvantage to a fighter like Pacman that fights so well backing up. Bradley could very well get clocked hard with a Pacman punch while he's lunging in. Obviously Pacman will demand and get a large ring in the 22ft or so vicinity, so it's going to be his fight. Bradley can be explosive. I haven't seen enough of Bradley though to really warrant a good enough opinion. Only seen 2 of his fights.
But I'll say this, with Bradley having virtually no fan base, the odds should def be skewed in PacMan's favor. If it's more than 7-1, it might be worth throwing down a Benjamin on Bradley!
Berto has the speed, unfortunately his defense is only a b+. Berto lacks head movement also which is what sometimes makes him an easy target. I want Berto to win. Although I like Shane too. Either way I'll be both happy and sad. Two nice guys.
Glad we finally get a fair match in a PacMan opponent. Bradley is 5'6", and fighting at welterweight should allow him to come in with full strength and proper stamina as compared to the fighters that Pacman has starved in the previous bouts (other than Marquez).
This is good stuff. I ain't buying either mega fight, but for the first time in a while, I'm excited about their bouts and see them as somewhat legit. Although the world wanted to see Cotto vs. Mayweather 4-5 years ago. I'm also somewwhat giddy about Canelo vs. Mosley. Seeing how Canelo performs will give us a good indication of the future. WHo knows...maybe Canelo will emerge the beneficiary of a bidding war between Floyd and Pac's camps who seem star-crossed to ever fight each other (in their prime at least!)
BTW, Bradley leaning in with his head, and Pacman able to swing backing up so well, could potentially lead to a brutal KO...something that has been missing from Pacman's performances for years.
Sheesh. The 154 lb division is getting stacked. Lots of talent there. since the welterweight division has stagnated with the dacay of Mosely and Cotto and the lack of fights between the beltholders...jr middle is where it's at. Cintron, Alvarez, Angulo, Kirkland, Martinez, Williams etc. And all these guys aren't too ego-centric to turn down fights. Score one for boxing fans.
Great fight...truly great. I was frustrated by the ref interfering verbally in the fight every time they started to get tied up. At least let them work it out a bit instead of yelling and confusing the fighters...unless you're giving clear commands or ordering a break, shut up!
Anyway, if I was Peterson, I'd tell Khan to go fight Prescott and Bradley first, then come back. Although, Peterson fighting in either Las Vegas or England could prob make a million or more dollars for Lamont in an immediate rematch. But anyway, yeah, let Khan do the dirty work of cleaning out the rest of the division that way when they meet again in a year or so, it'll be an even bigger fight, but risky for Lamont to put off the big payday for the rematch.
I would love to see a rematch though, but grow weary of seeing Khan running away in the ring. If I was Peterson, I'd negotiate the smallest ring possible in the next fight.
Since when were fights decided by height do?
Yes Berto should fight Cintron, it's a fight that makes sense, and Cintron is good opponent. And I don't think Cintron being 3 inches taller should stop the fight from happening either.
Hundreds of fighters give away height and still win. And I really wound't want to see Berto fight Paulie, Berto would crush him.
Paulie is overrated & a real overachiever. Hard to belive how much money he's earned and how many big fights he's had.
I'd be surprised if Cintron can safely make 147 at this stage in his career. Although, if he can and still not come to the fight fry like de la Hoya did against Pacquiao, he is VERY dangerous as he's a BIG puncher. From memory, Berto has only been down once and that to journeyman Cosme Rivera...Although many might argue that Berto's chin is suspect as he's been rattled a couple times, and has never been tested by top talent. He's at the very least a b+ fighter. I don't think he's A level, but may prove to be A-. Either way, he is my favorite fighter to watch as his hand speed is a beautiful thing to watch. I think had he have fought Mosley and won last year instead of backing out due to the Haiti quake, he'd be on a string of big fights and possiblyy could have been in there with Floyd or Pacman already. At the time, I think he was a bit afraid and it was a great excuse to back out of the Mosley fight as he had just come off his impressive victory over Marg-a-cheato.
Cintron is a guy I'd like to see fight more. Cintron vs. Martinez at jr middleweight or middleweight would be a nice fight. Would like to see a Williams/Cintron rematch as well after their odd outing last time ending with Cintron falling out of the ring onto a tv monitor or whatever.
Maybe Judah vs Malignaggi would be a good fight too. Both skinny, low power guys with fast hands. Nice boxer's dual.
I think like everyone on here, I'm tired of the BS and want good fights! I hate that promoters and Networks think that we don't want to see any fights during the summer, leaving us with a 4-5 month break between any decent fights usually.