Reasons To Remain Cheerful
I’m returning from an extended summer sabbatical with a nice easy ramble through recent events, one which will hopefully allow me to gloss over the fact that I’ve been AWOL for quite some time (ahem), whilst also bringing me back up to speed with current affairs.
Where to start then?
Hmmm. I guess the big talking point over the past week or two has been the collapse of the proposed Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather bonanza which won’t (apparently) be happening this year. I have to say straight off the bat that I’m tired of it all. I’m tired of listening to the inflated egos of all and sundry who are somehow connected to both camps, bitching and sniping, spinning and bullshitting over what may, or may not, have gone down throughout this whole fiasco. Boxing has lost a superfight for sure, but the fans may not necessarily have lost a great fight. Money-Pac may very well have turned out to be a bore, one cut from the same cloth as the heavily hyped Pernell Whitaker-Julio Cesar Chavez and Lennox Lewis-Evander Holyfield bouts. Both of those showdowns featured guys who were fantastic at nullifying opponents, clamping the mufflers on aggressive foes in contests which subsequently deflated rather than elated. The hype thrown at the latest “fight of the century” would have been almost impossible to live up to.
I’m gonna stick my neck out a tad here and predict that Mayweather will be the one to suffer most from the fallout. Pacquiao will continue to match-up well against the likes of Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto and with every scalp he takes from relative giants, his legend grows taller.
Mayweather though, where on earth does he go from here?
Cotto? Unlikely. Arum would rather store him for the winner of the proposed Manny-Tony confrontation I’d imagine, allowing him maintain his grip on any eventual winner whilst also ensuring that all profits remain within his coffers (as is his wont).
So who else is there out there for Floyd? Tim Bradley? Andre Berto? Would anyone really care about those matches outside of the hardcore fringe? Can anyone bear to sit through another 24/7 with Michigan’s egotistical wizard should he wind up picking on an opponent that he’s even MORE of a favourite to rout than he usually is?
I suppose a novelty fight may just be the ticket, one which could conceivably increase the Mayweather stash a little further, but Floyd has always been more fond of taking money fights against little guys rather than larger men such as Paul Williams and Sergio Martinez. He must be praying that Amir Khan sprouts wings over the next few months or that Ricky Hatton comes back from stasis. Who knows, maybe even he’ll retire again? If he does, will anyone actually care anymore?
No matter, the sport rolls on and I’m optimistic we’re in for a decent end to a rather shocking year. Jean Pascal squares off against Chad Dawson next month in a great battle up at light heavyweight, one which will crown a new Ring champ. That’s a good start.
Elsewhere, there’s rumours flying around that a November bout between Nonito Donaire and Fernando Montiel could be on the cards. That little beauty would pit two of the finest fighters pound for pound against one another. That’s even better.
Carl Froch and Arthur Abraham have finally agreed on a venue for their upcoming meeting, with Monaco the lucky recipient of a fight which can’t fail to excite (although, I still haven’t quite forgiven Hennessy for dropping the ball and letting this one slip away from the UK). Blighty does, however, have Darren Barker-Matthew Macklin to look forward to along with Nathan Cleverly-Karo Murat; quality bouts the pair. Rendall Munroe and Jason Booth also receive fairytale title shots later this year, opportunities which warm the cockles, even for one as jaded and cynical as yours truly.
Wlad Klitschko against Alexander Povetkin aint great and it sure isn’t Klitschko- David Haye but it’s an intriguing match-up all the same and hell, even big brother Vitali versus Shannon Briggs will be fun for a short while. Haye’s constant rebuttals to Audley Harrison’s public flirting is also a good sign, although I’m still pissed at his decision not to get it on with Wlad when he appeared to have the opportunity he’d been pining for sitting right under his nose.
Amir Khan is apparently gagging for a crack at Timothy Bradley next up, although Golden Boy would rather match him against the winner of the Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz punch up next weekend. It’ll be interesting to see if Amir gets his way and what exactly that will mean for his career should he do so.
Off on a slight tangent, how much fun was Juan Manuel Lopez-Bernabe Conception? Lopez showed that he has a nice left to go with his numbing right hook and now all he needs to work on is a defence. As for his next match, against ageing warrior Rafael Marquez, well……..I like it! Marquez has a shot in that one as long as the wheels don’t suddenly fall off and it can’t fail to bring JuanMa further along in his career should he be the one who prevails.
What else have I enjoyed of late? Oh yeah-Alfredo Angulo figures to be involved in fun fights at 154 lbs over the coming months (and years), although, I wasn’t overly impressed by El Perro’s showing against Joachim Alcine I have to admit (as unimpressed as one can be with a first round kayo in any case). He looked as though he was in for a tough evening until he zapped Alcine with his free hand as the Haitian-Canadian clasped Angulo’s other arm (I’ve seen plenty of refs call break at such a point). He’s extremely hittable and needs to work on his ability to slip punches, however, I’d still clap my hands like a child if a bout could be made quickly between he and Miguel Cotto.
On a personal note, I’m hoping to kick on a notch by getting involved in the press credential game as well as producing feature interviews for The Boxing Bulletin. I’m also mulling over another assault on the UK trade press after yet another period of naval gazing and pontificating.
I’m still optimistic for the remainder of 2010. Only boxing can pour cold water on it now.
Leave a Reply
Blog at WordPress.com. Theme: Duotone by Automattic.
