Tweet
By Lyle Fitzsimmons - There are Ali-Frazier and Gatti-Ward trilogies to wax sentimental about.
And then there are Leonard-Duran and Pacquiao-Morales series that start out monumental and tick down to simply interesting before fooling their followers into thinking one more time is worth it.
Judged by those criteria, Saturday night was significantly more latter than former.
Though it wasn’t on the March 1971 or May 2002 levels, the first meeting between Brandon Rios and Mike Alvarado in 2012 was certainly worthy of discussion for the best fight of that calendar year – and it might have clearly deserved the nod if not for the drama of Pacquiao-Marquez IV just 56 days later.
The second fight five months later was another good one, though, had the two men not already engaged in such graphic warfare, few would have demanded that No. 2 automatically warranted No. 3.
Like Ray and Roberto a generation before and Manny and Erik eight years prior, the third match was promoted this time as vital closure, when in reality it was better packaged as both man’s only option.
Leonard had been dropped twice by a supposedly shot Thomas Hearns before getting a dubious scorecard draw six months earlier; while a declining Duran had done little more than age and bulk up in the weeks between a stirring defeat of Iran Barkley and the commencement of the “Uno Mas” promotion, which necessitated a rapid weight loss that some suggested was more than 30 pounds. [Click Here To Read More]
And then there are Leonard-Duran and Pacquiao-Morales series that start out monumental and tick down to simply interesting before fooling their followers into thinking one more time is worth it.
Judged by those criteria, Saturday night was significantly more latter than former.
Though it wasn’t on the March 1971 or May 2002 levels, the first meeting between Brandon Rios and Mike Alvarado in 2012 was certainly worthy of discussion for the best fight of that calendar year – and it might have clearly deserved the nod if not for the drama of Pacquiao-Marquez IV just 56 days later.
The second fight five months later was another good one, though, had the two men not already engaged in such graphic warfare, few would have demanded that No. 2 automatically warranted No. 3.
Like Ray and Roberto a generation before and Manny and Erik eight years prior, the third match was promoted this time as vital closure, when in reality it was better packaged as both man’s only option.
Leonard had been dropped twice by a supposedly shot Thomas Hearns before getting a dubious scorecard draw six months earlier; while a declining Duran had done little more than age and bulk up in the weeks between a stirring defeat of Iran Barkley and the commencement of the “Uno Mas” promotion, which necessitated a rapid weight loss that some suggested was more than 30 pounds. [Click Here To Read More]
Comment