IT’S A DISGRACE

Dougie,

Jermain Taylor is the new IBF middleweight champion, who also just happens to be on bail and pending charges for shooting and injuring his cousin. I could see this happening, and personally I see it as a disgrace to boxing. Do you? Good performance all the same and I hope Gennady Golovkin comes through against Marco Antonio Rubio and just obliterates Taylor.

All the best. – Stan

Damn, you’re being a bit harsh on Taylor. Can’t you give the former champ a tiny little “congrats” for overcoming a lot of ring rust (and probably a lot of self doubt) and taking advantage of the fortuitous situation that fate handed him when Sam Soliman’s already damaged right knee gave out after he dropped the defending beltholder with a jab in Round 7?

Look, I understand wanting to condemn the man. He was already “lucky” in that he was able to get an undeserved title shot (because of his well-connected manager) and because he was allowed to fight while on bail, and then he gets lucky again by getting to fight a one-legged veteran for half the bout.

However, while I question the legal systems of Arkansas and Mississippi for allowing Taylor to fight when such a serious case is pending, and I question ESPN for televising the title bout, I’m going to reserve any outrage or condemnation in regard to the shooting until there are more details about what went down between him and his cousin.

I don’t know anything about Taylor’s cousin or whoever was with his cousin. For all I know Taylor’s cousin is the biggest a__hole in Pulaski County. Maybe the last time he was in Taylor’s house he got piss drunk and decided to take a dump in the kitchen sink as a joke. I’m just sayin’ÔǪ I don’t know the man, I have no background on his relationship with Taylor or Taylor’s wife, and I have no context for the altercation beyond the call to 911 that his wife made. I think it’s morally wrong to shoot anybody (especially with the intent to kill), cousin or unrelated stranger, unless it’s in self defense. I don’t know if that was the case in Taylor’s home two months go, but there are certain circumstances when people – especially country folk like Taylor – will go for their guns.

I think the “disgrace” of this past Wednesday’s middleweight title bout is still the fact that Taylor got the shot at the IBF belt without beating a legit top-10 contender and that he was medically cleared to fight despite suffering a brain bleed in late 2009.

And dude, come on, wishing for GGG to “obliterate” Taylor is just wrong. We’ve seen Taylor brutally knocked out three times already. Apart from Taylor’s cousin, who wants to see that happen a fourth time?

TAYLOR’S LAST HURRAH

Hello Mr. Fischer,

How are you? Hope all’s well as can be for you. This is only my 3rd or so email I’ve sent to you, but it seems like I’ve finally found something worth doing that allows me to write out and share with someone on certain things within boxing (even if I don’t get a response, it’s a nice change of pace).

Well, I thought got a fairly good undercard for Soliman-Taylor with Andre Dirrell still on the comeback trail and seeing some interesting up and comers in between (hopefully I can see some more of Ahmed Elbiale in the future). What an unexpected way for the night to go for Taylor and Soliman, though.

Causally, I recognized Taylor better than I did Soliman but I watched Taylor’s K.O. losses against Carl Froch and Arthur Abraham, telling me it was the end of the line for him when he was pulled outta the Super Six. His comeback wasn’t anything special. He was just trying to get a feel for the ring, if anything, and did what he was suppose to do after being cleared to fight again. However, considering that I picked Soliman to beat Taylor and from the get go up until he was knocked down the 1st time, it looked like he was on his way to retire Taylor then and there (less he be unfortunate to be allowed to travel the same path as Evander Holyfield).

I honestly feel, if not for the leg injury, knockdowns, and honest tendency to have been caught while off balance, Taylor would’ve lost the decision and been left to ponder “What next?” for himself.

Kudos to Taylor on regaining a portion of what was once his Undisputed Middleweight Title, but I honestly feel it would be in his best interests (and health) that he retire here and now on a High Note (what better way to end your career than with a win and that too having won a world title?).

What’s your take on everything that transpired in the main event this night? What do you think’ll be next for those two and what do you wish would be next for those two?

I truly am curious on what your opinion would be on these, so I hope you don’t mind me copy/pasting my mythical match ups to you in the emails I send you (I don’t expect to have this posted on your Monday/Friday mailbag but hopefully I can get your 2 cents worth on them). I’ve also added a new mythical match up that I had during a dream once.

Carlos Monzon vs. Marvelous Marvin Hagler

Roberto Duran vs. Julio Cesar Chavez, Sr. (140)

Oscar De La Hoya vs. Miguel Cotto (147)

Jack Johnson vs. James J. Corbett

Tommy Burns vs. Stanley Ketchel

(I don’t think weight should be a factor for this match up, since Burns was only 5’7″ and Ketchel was known for taking on Heavyweights, so this should be an interesting match up of skills between one of the greatest Middleweight Champions and the Shortest Heavyweight Champion who defended his title 11 times. If you’d like a weight, though, then I’d set it at 175).

Well, that’s all for now. I’ll be damn surprised if I ever make it into your mailbag one day, but I do hope to hear back from you and get your input on some of my emails. Take care and be well, good sir. – ÒéÁÒâ│´¢ö, from Los Angeles, California

Thanks whatever your name sounds out to be in English. I’m happy to finally include you in the mailbag.

I’m pretty sure I’ve answered most of your mythical matchups at least once before in this twice-weekly column, but just in case I haven’t, I’ll give ya my quick two cents (which is worth considerably less than two pennies):

Carlos Monzon vs. Marvelous Marvin Hagler – Monzon by close but unanimous decision

Roberto Duran vs. Julio Cesar Chavez, Sr. (140) – Duran by unanimous decision in a terrific fight

Oscar De La Hoya vs. Miguel Cotto (147) – De La Hoya by controversial decision, perhaps majority or split

Jack Johnson vs. James J. Corbett – Johnson by competitive decision

Tommy Burns vs. Stanley Ketchel – Burns by competitive decision

What’s my take on everything that transpired in the Soliman-Taylor fight?

My take is that it was a crappy 12-round middleweight bout that did not shine a good light on the 160-pound division, much like the Oct. 1 IBF title elimination bout between Hassan N’Dam and Curtis Stevens. If these guys are considered “legit” top 10 middleweight contenders, I can’t consider the 160-pound division to be one of the deeper or talented weight classes.

Tough break for Soliman, who I also thought would outwork Taylor to a decision victory. Lucky break for Taylor, who recaptured some of his old form but still wasn’t able to put away or seriously hurt (beyond the knee injury) a one-legged fighter.

Taylor is also lucky that he was in with a guy who isn’t known for his punching power. I cringe to think what will happen to him if and when he does step in with a world-class puncher.

I agree that the best scenario on Wednesday would have been for Taylor to lose a decision and retire. Now he and his team (as well as the rest of the boxing industry – from the IBF to his potential opponents to the state commissions to the media and the networks) are going to milk that belt for everything it’s worth. Everybody will hope that Taylor doesn’t get hurt along the way, but they’re all along for the ride.

What do I think is next for Taylor and Soliman?

I think Taylor will defend his belt against N’Dam, a guy with a difficult style but also an ideal opponent in a few ways. N’Dam isn’t a puncher or brute strong pressure fighter, and Taylor has always received the benefit of the doubt from the official judges when he’s faced superior boxers/ring generals (see his fights with B-Hop, Winky Wright and Cory Spinks). If he defends the belt against N’Dam, I expect him to face Peter Quillin, who is basically a poor man’s version of a young Taylor. I actually think this is a good matchup in terms of action, but it’s also a dangerous fight for Taylor.

I think Soliman will head back to Australia where he can face fellow Aussie standouts in return bouts that might capture the interest of fans Down Under, such as a fourth bout with Anthony Mundine, a third fight with Sakio Bika, or a rematch with Garth Wood.

What do I wish would be next for Taylor and Soliman?

That’s simple. Retirement.

BLOOD ON LOU’S HANDS

This put Lou DiBella in dangerous territory now. If Soliman didn’t look every bit of 50 (gotta say that three of the Taylor knockdowns didn’t look legit), then he woulda won and Taylor woulda maybe wound up where he belonged. Now they’ll put Jermain in with a puncher and if something happens, the blood will be on Lou’s hands. – Chip

There’s enough blood and blame to go around, Chip.

First of all, Taylor’s got to be held accountable for his own decisions and actions. He might be able to get around the legal consequences of his shooting case, but he knows better than anyone that it’s much harder to avoid the repercussions of the prize ring. Taylor’s been KTFO more than once. He knows that he can be seriously hurt in this brutal sport/business. Yes, DiBella knows it, too, but so does Al Haymon. So does Taylor’s trainer Pat Burns. So do the state commissions who have granted Taylor a license to fight and will grant him a license to fight in future bouts. So do the executives of the networks that showcase his future bouts.

CANELO’S PPV CLOUT

Hiya Dougie,
Hope you’re doing well! I saw that Canelo Alvarez has pulled out of his scheduled Dec. 6th bout with Joshua Clottey, a fight I was looking forward to studying as it would have been Canelo’s fourth world-class operator (I’m not counting Alfredo Angulo, sadly) in five fights. Seeing how he would have dealt with Clottey would have been intriguing considering he (in my opinion) beat a slick, savvy boxer in Erislandy Lara, and Clottey’s iron chin and come forward style would play into his hands I believe, bringing a clear UD over 12 tough rounds in my opinion.

With this, Canelo’s move to HBO and his now cancelled fight means he will look to challenge Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. or Miguel Cotto on PPV next spring. This for me signals two things: Canelo and Oscar de la Hoya’s intent to take back Cinco de Mayo from Floyd, yet also that with the public demand for these fights, the fact that Floyd will have to step up his game and fight Manny Pacquiao in order to stay on top.

Thus, do you believe that Canelo, even at the tender age of 24, has the clout at this current time to top Mayweather and steal back those May and September dates which are so important to Mexican people and fans? I personally don’t, but when Canelo actively steps up and fights THE top guys in his division (Floyd, Lara, Trout), and Floyd settles for easy pay-days as he does now, I can see it certainly posing a serious threat to Floyd’s placement as PPV king.

On a side-note, if you didn’t catch any of the Matchroom show last Saturday, with Josh Warrington topping the bill, I’d recommend it, he looks a fantastic prospect and second only to Lee Selby in a damp UK featherweight seen, but a red-hot one worldwide. Your take on these two fighters?

All the best Mr. Fischer, and I hope to hear back from you whether it’s on or off the mailbag! – Stan, UK.

Thanks for sharing, Stan.

I consider Selby to be a top-10 contender. He’s rated No. 9 among THE RING’s featherweights and I agree with that placement (and I’d have no problem arguing for Welshman to be moved into the No. 8 slot currently occupied by undefeated Southern Californian Ronny Rios). I don’t know much about Warrington (other than the fans in his hometown of Leeds go crazy for him when enters the ring). His record looks solid (despite the lack of KOs) and I’ve read where his handlers believe he can be a top contender within the next year to 18 months. I’ll keep an eye on him going forward and see what moves he and his team make in 2015.

Do I believe that Canelo has “the clout” at this current time to top Mayweather and steal back the Mexican holiday pay-per-view dates in May and September? Absolutely – IF the 24-year-old former champ is facing fellow Mexican star Chavez Jr. or Puerto Rican legend Cotto on those dates. There’s nobody in the Showtime/Haymon Boxing League that Mayweather can fight that will create half as much interest as Canelo-Chavez or Cotto-Canelo. (Haven’t you noticed that casual fans and much of the general sports media have grown sick of the obnoxious “Money Team Show”?) And Mayweather can’t fight Pacquiao in his next two bouts because of his exclusive deal with Showtime.

Canelo can’t do it alone – he can’t do it with just his name – but with the cooperation of Chavez Jr., Cotto, HBO and Top Rank, he can be part of two huge pay-per-view events in 2015, and if those matchups are made I expect them to take place on Cinco De Mayo and Mexican Independence Day weekends.

I was also a little disappointed that Canelo-Clottey was cancelled. I was looking forward to traveling to Texas (one of the best jurisdictions in the U.S. to watch a major fight card live) and I thought the Ghanaian veteran would have made for a good fight. I envisioned the two standing in the center of the ring and exchanging hard, crisp combinations behind high guards until one of them got hurt – then the real fight would have begun.

Oh well, I’m still crossing my fingers that James Kirkland can get his act together enough to one day agree to fight Canelo and they do it in San Antonio. It might happen before the redhead turns 30.

I DON’T RATE CANELO

What up Doug,

Written in two times before and made the cut on both occasions. Let’s see if I can complete the Hat Trick! So before I start hating on Canelo the one great thing I can say about him is that the dude is not afraid to fight anybody. He ducks no man!

Against the wishes of Golden Boy he fought Trout, fought Lara because the fans wanted it, and has thrown his name in there with GGG – although I think GGG would annihilate him inside four!

But I can honestly say that I have never really been impressed with him as a fighter. I mean I first saw him first against Matthew Hatton and although he dominated he failed to knock him out and failed to impress. I then saw him take on Ryan Rhodes and again I didn’t see anything special. He beat both Trout and Lara but there was a case in both fights that he lost. He failed to get close to Mayweather, heck the best Pound for Pound Plodder in boxing Maidana did better. I think if he comes up against the elite fighters he will lose or because of his name win a controversial decision.

He needs to stay away from Demetrius Andrade who will expose him and concentrate on fighters that will bring the fight to him such as Cotto or Kirkland. If it wasn’t for his red hair and the fact that he is Mexico’s next boxing hero would anybody really be talking about Canelo as the next best thing in boxing? I think not.

(PS – Name me one boxer currently fighting that would beat GGG right now or in the future. I got Ward and Kovalev – although I still think GGG would probably beat them both. I did think Chavez Jnr had a shot but I don’t think he has the discipline or desire anymore. Chris Eubank Jnr in the future? Or am I falling for the hype?)

Peace out. – H. Ali, Leicester, England

Good grief, man. You think Canelo is an average pug who is merely lucky to be a red-headed Mexican, but you believe Eubank Jr. can be the future conqueror of GGG? Oooooooooo-kay! LOL. (Yo, at least Canelo has been in with world-class opposition and actually sparred with Golovkin. Eubank Jr. just stepped up to fighting in 10-round bouts.)

Let’s see how Eubank Jr. does against Billy Joe Saunders in his first real test as a pro next month before we put his name into the hat of worthy future Golovkin opponents.

I don’t think Canelo is an elite boxer (and yes, I have bitched about his No. 10 place in THE RING’s pound-for-pound rankings to Ratings Chair Chuck Giampa), but I don’t think he’s the total fraud that his Twitter haters claim he is. I believe he’s a legitimate top-five junior middleweight contender with the potential to be a legit middleweight contender.

I have no doubt that he’s got superstar potential. I learned that when close 12,000 fans paid to watch him fight Hatton in Anaheim, California. Those fans didn’t know who Ricky was, let alone Matthew. They were there to see the 20-year-old Mexican idol. Like you, I was not impressed with his performance against Hatton. Neither was Canelo, which is why he reported to Big Bear, California, where he trained alongside Golovkin and sparred with the then-unknown GGG to prepare for his next fight – against Rhodes.

I was impressed with Canelo’s performance against the switch-hitting British contender, a veteran of 49 bouts who had won 10 in a row and had looked sharp vs. Jamie Moore and Luca Messi in European title bouts going into their WBC 154-pound title bout.

I thought he won a clear decision over Trout, though it was a lot closer than Stanley Christodoulou’s doo-doo card. I thought he edged Lara in a close fight that could have gone either way by one or two points. The only thing controversial about that fight was Levi Martinez’s 117-111 card. However, I think members of Twitter Nation who had 116-112 and 117-111 tallies for Lara are just as delusional as the New Mexico judge.

I think Canelo just froze up against Mayweather (and having to sweat down to 152 pounds didn’t help). It happens sometimes when young boxers fight on the big stage for the first time. Hell, a not-so-young Mayweather froze up against De La Hoya in his first mega-event. I thought Mayweather won the bout clearly, but he didn’t perform to his ability in my opinion, and a lot of ringsiders thought the fight could have legitimately been a draw or even 115-113 for the past-his-prime Golden Boy.

However, here’s something I want to point out to you and all of Canelo’s “haters” (an ever growing legion that threatens to outnumber The Money Team wannabes in a few years). Despite Canelo’s supposed limitations and stamina issues, Mayweather boxed a very respectful and careful fight for 12 rounds and never tried to press the young buck over the second half of the bout to try for the late-rounds stoppage that “geniuses” like Leonard Ellerbe and about 10,000 Floydettes predicted.

Trout told me at the final presser for the Canelo fight that he was going to take it to the Mexican and knock him out. Lara’s co-trainer and co-manager swore to me that the Cuban was in the best condition (mentally and physically) of his career in the final days leading to his showdown with Canelo. They were supremely confident that Lara was going to knock the redhead the f__k out come fight night.

But what happened when Trout and Lara stepped into the ring with Canelo? Both southpaws boxed cautiously off the back foot. Neither man went for the kill. Trout is a big, tough technically sharp junior middleweight that I’ve witnessed take it to Sergio Martinez and Antonio Margarito in crazy sparring sessions. Lara, an amateur world champ with good punching power and superlative ring generalship, had no fear when fighting Paul Williams, Angulo and Trout. But he moved his legs a lot more than his hands when he got in the ring with Canelo.

What does that tell you? It tells me that Canelo’s got to present some kind of threat in order to get the amount of respect that top boxers have given him. Maybe it’s his physical strength, his punch power or accuracy; I don’t know, but I know it’s got to do with more than his red hair and freckles. I don’t think these badasses suffer from “ginger-phobia.” I think once they stepped in the ring with him they recognized that Alvarez has got better speed, skill and ring command than outside observers recognize or give him credit for.

I don’t care to see an Alvarez-Andrade fight, but I don’t think Canelo needs to fear the U.S. Olympian and amateur world champ. Yes, Andrade is a tall, rangy southpaw with a lot of talent and skill, but he’s also a slapper who tends to lose focus during his fights. And I’m not sure how well the New Englander takes a shot.

This is just one man’s opinion but I think Andrade would try to slap-and-move his way to a decision in a generally uneventful bout that goes to Canelo by close, maybe majority or split nod. Alvarez will stake out the center of the ring and land most of the hard punches – but not man y. He’ll win on at least two of the official scorecards, press row will be split and Twitter Nation will have Andrade as the clear winner.

I’ve already witnessed this sad scenario with the Trout and Lara fights. I don’t need to see it again. So, yes, bring on Cotto and Kirkland and Chavez Jr. (if the slob can get his weight down under 168 pounds). Let’s see Canelo in against fellow “limited,” aggressive fighters. Let’s see the redhead in some entertaining fights. He’s never going to win over his critics by fighting cautious ring generals. The “purists” are always going to judge him using the AIBA scoring system and unless he scores three or four knockdowns, they’re always going to think he was outboxed. So Canelo might as well appease his fans – and casual fans – by getting it on with well-known fighters who bring the ruckus.

Regarding fighters who can beat GGG right now, the only ones from middleweight to light heavyweight that I can think of are Ward, Krusher and B-hop, but I can totally envision the undefeated WBA titleholder knocking all three out.

Email Fischer at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @dougiefischer