WAKE ME UP WHEN SEPTEMBER 19TH IS HERE
Pittsburgh, PA– Summer 2009 cannot end soon enough for boxing fans, with disappointing cancellations and title bouts (save Miguel Cotto-Joshua Clottey) compounded by the untimely passing of some of our favorite fighters. A few interesting bouts for the hard core remain on the schedule, most notably junior welterweights (140 lb.) Juan Urango vs. Randall Bailey on August 28, and young contender Daniel Jacobs facing his sternest test against Ishe Smith (160). But for the most part, this summer of unfulfilled expectations will slowly and quietly wind down – that is, until the new season brings one of boxing’s best stretches in years, beginning with Floyd Mayweather, Jr.’s (39-0, 25 KOs) ring return against the venerable Juan Manuel Marquez (50-4-1, 37 KOs) on September 19, in a competitive challenge he should survive with superior speed, size and athleticism.
PACQUIAO – COTTO: THE OTHER MEGAFIGHT SEMIFINAL
The other remaining superstar welterweight (147 lb.) showdown will feature Manny Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 KOs) upping the ante against Puerto Rican tough man Miguel Cotto (34-1, 27 KOs). The best fights answer questions about the combatants, and for this one we will find out whether Cotto suffered permanent damage in the Antonio Margarito beating or is only troubled by the select few bigger and stronger than he. We will likely learn that he has slipped just below that fine line separating the very best, allowing the Pac Man to overwhelm him as the contest wears on with speed and tenacity.
WHO SAID AMERICAN BOXING IS DEAD?
Those who decry the internationalization of the sport should take comfort this fall, when boxing’s top young Americans will take part in the best matchups their divisions have to offer, led by the fantastic pairing of Kelly Pavlik (35-1, 31 KOs) and Paul Williams (37-1, 27 KOs) (October 3, now November 21?) in the only middleweight (160) fight that matters. Williams should prove a bit too much for the Youngstown, Ohio banger, but (regardless of what the judges have to say) I don’t like Chad Dawson (28-0, 17 KOs) against Glen Johnson (49-12-3, 33 KOs) in their November 7 light heavyweight (175 lb.) rematch. Sometimes 12 rounds, in a 20 foot ring, seems like forever, and Johnson knows how to make it seem like the clock is running slow and the ring is shrinking. Chris Arreola (27-0, 24 KOs) will make his Septmber 26 heavyweight title challenge of Vitali Klitschko (37-2, 36 KOs) a fun watch while it lasts, but the best he’ll take away from that night will be some good licks on Klitschko and a learning experience he can call upon later.
SHOWTIME FOR SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHTS
The advent of the super middleweight (168) “Super Six” tourney will feature Jermain Taylor (28-3-1, 17 KOs) wilting under slow but sustained pressure of physical phenom Arthur Abraham (30-0, 24 KOs) on October 17, because that’s what Taylor does. On the other hand, I’ll call dual upsets for the Andre’s, Ward (19-0, 12 KOs) and Dirrell (18-0, 13 KOs), over slower and less athletic European foes Mikkel Kessler (41-1, 31 KOs) and Carl Froch (25-0, 20 KOs). This frenetic schedule will start to wrap on November 28, when a tourney snub, Lucian Bute (24-0, 19 KOs), will successfully play matador to Librado Andrade’s (28-2, 21 KOs) bull in the rematch of their controversial 2008 thriller. By then, we’ll have had 8 weekends of top notch boxing in 11 weeks, a significant accomplishment and boost to the sport. So as we view this summer with ambivalence if not frustration, remember that without this summer’s empty schedule we wouldn’t have such excitement to come, and sometimes the powers that be do get it right.
Brian Gorman