By Chris Robinson
During a recent interview, unofficial ringside judge Harold Lederman, a longtime staple on HBO’s airwaves, gave me his thoughts on ultra-talented bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire, who was then days away from a defense of his WBC and WBO belts against undefeated Omar Narvaez. As this weekend passed, Donaire would win a lopsided and uneventful decision over Narvaez inside of the Madison Square Garden’s WaMu Theater and his future still looks bright.
As for Lederman, he always has a busy schedule and I wanted to catch up with him on some recent bouts he has called as well as some future events he will be present for ringside. From Floyd Mayweather’s future options, the forthcoming trilogy matchup between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, as well as the potential of Amir Khan, Lederman had much to speak on.
In his own words, this is what the affable Lederman had to say in our follow-up interview…
Floyd Mayweather’s 4th round knockout over Victor Ortiz…
“Listen, what can I say that everybody didn’t say already? I really don’t have an opinion on it and I guess Floyd did what he had to do. It’s boxing. Good for Floyd and now we move on to whoever he moves on to.”
Sergio Martinez’s recent victory over Darren Barker in Atlantic City…
“You know, like all great fighters, they all train to the level of the opposition. He was a heavy, overwhelming favorite, 20-1; Barker surprised us by coming in in really good shape and putting up a decent effort. Even though he didn’t throw any punches. It wasn’t the best Sergio Martinez that anybody ever saw. And that’s where it’s at. Roy [Jones Jr.] used to do that. Remember when Roy fought guys and it went into the late rounds? Because we all knew he was training to the level of the opposition and I said that on the air. I firmly believe that that’s the truth. Sergio knew he could win the fight and he was a 20-1 favorite. Maybe he wasn’t 100% ready, maybe he was 99% ready. But he still got him out of there and that's what counts in the long run.”
Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez III…
“You can’t overlook Juan Manuel Marquez. You know how it is with trilogies. When you see two great fights the first time, generally speaking, almost 100% of the time, the third fight is a great fight. Remember Ali-Norton, Graziano-Zale, Arturo Gatti-Mickey Ward. Even though everybody says Manny is in terrific shape and Marquez is moving up in weight, Marquez is a little older, bear in mind that styles make fights and the Marquez style seems to bother Manny. So I’m looking forward to a much better fight than people anticipate on November 12th because of the fact that these trilogies, the third one is always as good as the first two.”
The threat of Timothy Bradley, who faces Joel Casamayor on the Pacquiao-Marquez undercard as is likely in line to face Manny sometime in 2012 if successful…
“Have you ever see Timothy Bradley not be a legitimate threat to anybody? Timothy Bradley is a tough guy. He comes over the top with that right hand, he leans in, you gotta watch out for his head, he’s like Evander. He’s a rough guy in that ring. He’s undefeated, and as I see it, nobody’s really given him much competition. He took apart Devon Alexander, who I thought was the real competition. He moved up to welterweight and looked good before that. He’s a tough guy, Timothy Bradley. All he needs is this one comeback fight from Joel Casamayor and I think he’s ready to fight anybody. I love Timothy Bradley.”
Watching Amir Khan improve…
“He gets better every fight. Amir Khan is really improving; I think Freddie Roach did wonders with him. I’m really glad that he got out of the UK and came to the United States. He’s become such an improved fighter working with Freddie at the Wild Card. I think his sparring is better, I think Freddie’s guidance is better; I just think that every fight he looks a little bit better to me. He had problems late in the fight with Maidana but since then he’s looked terrific.”
Amir’s wishes for a Mayweather showdown…
“Hey, I want Floyd Mayweather real bad. Anyone who fights Floyd makes five million dollars. I’ll take the five million. Sure he wants Floyd Mayweather, that’s where all the money is. Floyd says he’s the greatest fighter that ever lived; everybody wants to fight Floyd, that’s for sure. If he were my fighter, I’m not so sure I would want to put him in there now. I think he needs a couple of fights. You can’t blame a guy for wanting to make a living. And he could make the best money fighting Floyd Mayweather, there’s no doubt about that.”
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