Want A RINGing Endorsement? Sanction Dawson-Johnson II

[OnePunch]

The reason why Casamayor and Baldomir fought Marquez and Mayweather respectively to lose their titles was because those were the most marketable fights for them, and the best way to earn the most money. That is not the case with Erdei, he makes great money in Germany, better than he would here fighting the likes of Dawson or anyone else. It's a disgrace to the sport and the fighters at light heavyweight, but Zsolt Erdei is the champion and if a RING belt would be dolled out to anyone but him, it would actually take some validity away from their claims that they run close to the linear titles. Maybe try something new, and put Erdei on blast on a persistent basis. Maybe he'll come out of hiding, or maybe HBO or Showtime will get interested in showing a fight of his and paying for something better than DeAndrey Abron as an opponent. Dawson/Erdei would be a fight I'd watch just to see the title go over to someone who would defend it with pride.

So let me get this straight. Only popular fighters get a a pass on the whole "if it dont make dollars it dont make sense" philosophy? It's perfectly ok for Pac to cruise through 135 and 140 without cleaning out the division, because the fights he took instead were "the best paydays he could get", but its obscene for Erdie to do the same thing?? Look, I'm no Erdie fan, but its not his fault that people in Germany actually buy tickets to his fights and he can make great money there. Maybe, just maybe, he's exactly the same as Pac, Mayweather, etc., and doesnt give a **** what the American fans think, and is only interested in whatever fight brings him the most money.

[Iceta]

And there are some posters on this site who are hardcore fans of Chad Dawson and say that Hopkins is scared of him. I'm not saying all Dawson fans claim that, but the ones that do know who they are. They were bashing Hopkins for fighting Adamek and not Dawson. Adamek just brings a lot more money to the table plus another divisional title for Hopkins and that counts for something. Hopkins has more reason to fear Adamek because he punches a lot harder. I don't think there's any chance in hell that Dawson would stop Hopkins. Chad presents a more complicated puzzle though where technical ability is concerned.

[OnePunch]

There was an interview on Leon's website with Hopkins and he sounds pretty disgruntled. I think he may be edging toward retirement. I try to put myself in the guy's shoes a little bit. I do think HBO is jerking him around. The guy is 44 years old and his life doesn't revolve around HBO's schedule. It's weird to me that HBO can't make a Hopkins-Adamek fight all the way until January, 2010. And on top of that, I've heard this rematch between Johnson and Dawson probably can't happen any sooner than early November. Hopkins doesn't have that time to wait around to fight these guys. He did act a little bit like a primadonna in the Adamek negotiations and that may have cost him though.

Yes it does. If it didnt, then he would promote his own independant PPV and tell HBO to go **** themselves. But he doesn't do that, because his boxing life ABSOLUTELY revolves around HBO.

[Iceta]

Yes it does. If it didnt, then he would promote his own independant PPV and tell HBO to go **** themselves. But he doesn't do that, because his boxing life ABSOLUTELY revolves around HBO.

I worded it the wrong way, I'll admit. I'm just saying that Hopkins is not willing to suck HBO's **** and and let them tell him you got to fight on such and such date. That is what they are doing with his potential fight with Adamek. And Hopkins isn't willing to be jerked around like that. That's what I meant when I said that. And I think Hopkins may be willing to fight on Showtime if it really came down to that. Golden Boy Promotions has worked with them before and went outside of the box.

[HeartAttack]

So let me get this straight. Only popular fighters get a a pass on the whole "if it dont make dollars it dont make sense" philosophy? It's perfectly ok for Pac to cruise through 135 and 140 without cleaning out the division, because the fights he took instead were "the best paydays he could get", but its obscene for Erdie to do the same thing?? Look, I'm no Erdie fan, but its not his fault that people in Germany actually buy tickets to his fights and he can make great money there. Maybe, just maybe, he's exactly the same as Pac, Mayweather, etc., and doesnt give a **** what the American fans think, and is only interested in whatever fight brings him the most money.

I understand why he doesn't fight here, that still doesn't mean that he's not a detriment to the sport. However, Erdei is fortunate that he can make his money without the Americans, because you are greatly mistaken when it comes to Mayweather and Pacquiao and their concerns for the American audience. Those two (Floyd especially) depend on what America thinks of them. Floyd likes being disliked, playing the heel has made him the most money. Manny, has legions of fans in the Phillipines, but their purchasing power isn't that of America, thus he trains here, shows up on HBO and has never fought on the European continent. And where did you get that I am suggesting that Pac not clean out divisions? 135 wasn't/isn't Manny's to clean out, it's Juan Manuel Marquez' and 130 isn't deep enough for Manny to stick around in. As for 140, Timothy Bradley is clearly the top contender and should he get by Nate in a stern test, then Manny should either fight him or relinquish the 140lb crown if he has no intentions of defending it. Erdei has defended his crown over 10 times in the past 5 years. Problem is, Hugo Hernan Garay is the best fighter he has defended against, and while not a bad fighter at all, he hasn't been on the top of the light heavyweights like fighters of the caliber of Tomasz Adamek, Glen Johnson, Chad Dawson, Tarver, or Jones Jr. I know the business side of the sport, and I actually commend Klaus Peter-Kohl and comepany for making Erdei and themselves as much money as they have given the limitations of Zsolt as a fighter. That still doesn't excuse the absolute refusal to face a live opponent. Whether or not Erdei is the best light heavyweight in the world is moot, because he is the champion and The Ring belt would be relatively meaningless unless it was around his waist, as it was when it was around Vitali's. It's time for Erdei to step up and defend his title against the best. Sven Ottke's career has become a punchline because of the gift decisions and relatively soft opposition he faced while never leaving Germany, and it would be a shame if the same would happen to Erdei's.

[OnePunch]

I understand why he doesn't fight here, that still doesn't mean that he's not a detriment to the sport. However, Erdei is fortunate that he can make his money without the Americans, because you are greatly mistaken when it comes to Mayweather and Pacquiao and their concerns for the American audience. Those two (Floyd especially) depend on what America thinks of them. Floyd likes being disliked, playing the heel has made him the most money. Manny, has legions of fans in the Phillipines, but their purchasing power isn't that of America, thus he trains here, shows up on HBO and has never fought on the European continent. And where did you get that I am suggesting that Pac not clean out divisions? 135 wasn't/isn't Manny's to clean out, it's Juan Manuel Marquez' and 130 isn't deep enough for Manny to stick around in. As for 140, Timothy Bradley is clearly the top contender and should he get by Nate in a stern test, then Manny should either fight him or relinquish the 140lb crown if he has no intentions of defending it. Erdei has defended his crown over 10 times in the past 5 years. Problem is, Hugo Hernan Garay is the best fighter he has defended against, and while not a bad fighter at all, he hasn't been on the top of the light heavyweights like fighters of the caliber of Tomasz Adamek, Glen Johnson, Chad Dawson, Tarver, or Jones Jr. I know the business side of the sport, and I actually commend Klaus Peter-Kohl and comepany for making Erdei and themselves as much money as they have given the limitations of Zsolt as a fighter. That still doesn't excuse the absolute refusal to face a live opponent. Whether or not Erdei is the best light heavyweight in the world is moot, because he is the champion and The Ring belt would be relatively meaningless unless it was around his waist, as it was when it was around Vitali's. It's time for Erdei to step up and defend his title against the best. Sven Ottke's career has become a punchline because of the gift decisions and relatively soft opposition he faced while never leaving Germany, and it would be a shame if the same would happen to Erdei's.

1. He's no more a detriment to the sport than these other "champs" who simply division shop looking for the biggest payday they can get, without clearing out any divisions.

2. 135 was JMM's?? Uhmmm, Pac fought David Diaz for the WBC 135 title, and then JMM moved up to 135 to chase Pac. Clearly Pac-Nate should have been made at that time to settle 135, since Nate had the other 3 titles (and Casa refused to fight Nate). But Pac took the payday with DLH instead, and never came back to 135. JMM only claimed 135 by default, because of Pac moving up again and Casa refusing the Nate fight.

3. Manny has no intention of defending the 140 title now, or ever. He'll fight Cotto, Floyd, or whoever represents the biggest payday, at weights over 140. And since Ring doesn't require defenses, he will not vacate it. And Nate will smash Bradley, but we can debate that part later....lol

[Dave Rado]

It's perfectly ok for Pac to cruise through 135 and 140 without cleaning out the division, because the fights he took instead were "the best paydays he could get", but its obscene for Erdie to do the same thing??

Diaz was a tune-up in a new division which at that time he had planned to remain in; and was rated #4 in the division at the time, which is higher than any Erdei opponent in recent years. Hatton was the best possible opponent at 140, being ranked #1. De La Hoya was a high risk fight that everyone expected Pac to lose. Pac consistently challenges himself, mostly against elite opposition, Erdei hasn't challenged himself for years and hasn't fought any elite opposition. Crazy analogy.

[Dave Rado]

And since Ring doesn't require defenses, he will not vacate it.

Are you unaware that he vacated his 130lb Ring belt last year?

[OnePunch]

Diaz was a tune-up in a new division which at that time he had planned to remain in; and was rated #4 in the division at the time, which is higher than any Erdei opponent in recent years. Hatton was the best possible opponent at 140, being ranked #1. De La Hoya was a high risk fight that everyone expected Pac to lose. Pac consistently challenges himself, mostly against elite opposition, Erdei hasn't challenged himself for years and hasn't fought any elite opposition. Crazy analogy.

We can agree to disagree. I will never believe Pac had any intentions of staying at 135. The D. Diaz fight was simply a way for Pac to get a title against the softest title holder (no different than Jones-Ruiz). I don't entirely disagree with Hatton being considered #1 at 140, but guess what? Divisions have more than 1 fighter in them. When Tarver beat Roy, did that mean there were no more meaningful fights at 175? Nope. When Pavlik beat Jermain, did that mean there were no fights to be made anymore at 160? Everyone complains all the time about Pavlik not fighting Abraham, or Sturm, or someone else, but no matter what, Pac always gets a pass. "he beat Hatton, so his business at 140 is done!!". It's bull****. 1 fight at 135, 1 fight at 140, and now it's just assumed that he beats everyone in both divisions, so none of those fights need to happen, right? Well if that's true, then Pavlik don't need to fight Abraham or Sturm, he should just be able to make more 166 and 170 defenses for the paydays and nobody should have anything to say, right?

At this stage, Pac is no different than Erdie. his main motivation is money. Plain and simple.

[OnePunch]

Are you unaware that he vacated his 130lb Ring belt last year?

He vacated the 130 belt after moving up and winning a title at 135 and publically announcing that he would not return. Ring belts are vacated when you move up.

Manny is not moving up to 147, so he will not have to vacate it like he did at 130. He will not announce that he is not returning to 140. If he did announce that, then it would be vacated.