LONG & POINTED THURSDAY COLUMN
Los Angeles, CA– There’s a lot going on in the boxing world this month (thankfully), however considering the extreme popularity of Manny Paquiao (52-3-2, 43 KOs) and his beatdown of Antonio Margarito (38-7, 27 KOs) on Saturday, that might be overshadowing some of the action coming up in the second half of the month. This coming Saturday HBO features quite possibly it’s most competitive matchup of the year when undisputed middleweight (160 lbs) champion Sergio “La Maravilla” Martinez (45-2-2, 24 KOs) faces nemesis Paul “The Punisher” Williams (39-1, 27 KOs).
DID PAUL REALLY WIN FIRST FIGHT?
Williams won the first bout which was a closely waged war in 2009, and this time out Martinez, who earned the middleweight championship after drubbing former champion Kelly Pavlik (36-2, 32 KOs), looks to settle the score. Ironically Martinez has agreed to defend his crown at a catch weight of 158 lbs., two below the division limit.
WHY DID SERGIO ROLL OVER FOR TWO LBS?
Whether or not that will have any effect isn’t the issue here. If you are the champion why should you have to make those type of concessions in defense of your crown? I understand maybe taking less money if your opponent is a bigger draw (and that isn’t really the case here either) but where has the idea of fairness in sports competition gone?
MUST HAVE BEEN MONEY INVOLVED
You wouldn’t see a champion in any other sport bend over backwards just to get a payday. In this instance though I can’t fault Paul Williams. He’ll only do what HBO will allow him and his advisor (the notorious Al Hayman) to get away with.
GOING WITH “THE PUNISHER”
If I had to pick a winner, I’ll go with Williams who has had more time to prepare for this slick southpaw. The last bout he only had three weeks to prepare for Martinez after his proposed opponent Kelly Pavlik backed out due to injury.
THE PACQUIAO SAGA CONTINUES
Now back to the Pacman. Does he deserve all the praise and accolades for beating Margarito? I believe the way he beat him was truly impressive. However he was favored by 4-1 for a reason. However, when you consider that there is more to sports than winning and that at the end of the day people want to be entertained, he delivers everytime. Fans pay to see fighters engage, and thats one quality that Paquiao has that should give him the nod as a great fighter. For all of Floyd Mayweather’s skill and glossy undefeated record, his fights just aren’t all that memorable.
CUBAN GETTING KNOCKED AFTER WIN
Not sure what all the criticism was about in regard to former 2-time Cuban Olympic Gold Medalist Guillermo Rigondeaux’s (7-0, 5 KOs) split decision victory (winning the vacant WBA interim super bantamweight (122) title) over highly experienced veteran Ricardo Cordoba (37-3-2,23 KOs) on Saturday nights undercard. Cordoba (who holds a victory over former 122 champ Celestino Caballero (34-2, 23 KOs) had been competitive in every one of his losses and is considered one of the best fighters in the division. Rigondeaux had never fought past ten rounds and had only fought minus headgear six times prior. If you look at all of the top American amateurs (including world amatuer champion (152) Demetrius Anrdade and eavyweight Olympic Bronze Medalist Deontay Wilder) who are in the professional ranks, they have yet to face anyone near the caliber of Cordoba. If they wanted him to look ultra impressive they should have put him in with an ESPN level fighter. It’s obvious that the guy has star level talent, but lets be real here. Give the guy sometime to develop in the pro’s and gain more confidence. Once that happens the sky’s the limit. I was quite impressed with his ability to adjust against a fighter with that much more experience. The pro’s and the amateurs are two whole different ball games.
WARD GOING TO SPANK BIKA
I think Andre Ward (22-0, 13 KOs) beats Sakio Bika (28-4-2, 19 KOs) in defense of his WBA super middleweight (168) crown in what should be an entertaining scrap on November 27th. I also believe Carl Froch (26-1, 20 KOs) will beat Arthur Abraham (31-1, 25 KOs) in their WBC super middleweight championship clash on the same day. Abraham in my opinion is somewhat overrated fighter who doesn’t handle adversity that well and is one-dimensional. He has problems with boxers and people seem to forget the way he acted in his first fight with Edison Miranda (33-5, 29 KOs). He consistently complained to the referee of head butts, and regularly turned his back to his opponent and complained of low blows. Froch is also underrated as a boxer, and if he can keep a cool head he should win on points. Abraham’s blatant foul and disqualification in his last bout against Andre Dirrell (19-1, 13 KOs)(a bout Dirrell was winning handily) told me something about his character.
DADDY’S REF/SON LAURENCE IS NOT THAT GOOD!
Laurence Cole (who was referee of the Paquiao vs Margarito) ineptness never seems to amaze me. Cole, who is a despicable referee at best, continues to get top assignments because his father Dickie Cole is the head of the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation. It wouldn’t bother me that much if Cole was the son of the Commission head if he was good at what he does, but time and time again he shows his lack of ability and professionalism. In round ten Margarito took a horrendous beating, with Paquiao landing 64 of 116 power shots, almost a 60 % rate. Cole must have fallen asleep on the job (as well as Margarito’s heartless cornermen) because instead of being merciful and stopping the fight, he continued to ask Margarito (who’s facial damage included a broken orbital bone) if he could see how many fingers he was holding up. The problem wasn’t whether or not Margarito could see, the problem was regardless whether he could see or not he was just going to continue to endure and sustain a beating unless the fight was stopped. Makes me wonder if he was in Margarito’s shoes if he wished he had a referee who would have halted the slaughter to save him from possible life threatening injuries.
Kevin “KP” Perry