Dougie’s FAT Fantasy Friday Mailbag

May

DAWSON-TARVER II

Dougie,
G's up Ho's down.
Wanted to ping in and say that The Magic Man will improve on his last showing and lose a close but UD to Bad Chad Dawson.

I think Tarver will fight slower but be in better shape than before. I see this being a Glen Johnson vs Dawson type fight where Tarver has his moments and is able to leave with his head up with a proud showing from an old vet.

Dawson is the future. Beware all 168-175 pound fighters. Mikkel Kessler vs Dawson in Denmark would be crazy at any weight. Tito 4 Life!! Peace. — Frankie from the BX

If Dawson takes care of biz against Tarver tomorrow I think the light heavyweight division is his to inherit. However, I agree that Tarver will make it a more competitive fight this time. If Dawson dominates again or is the first fighter to stop Tarver, I think he deservers pound-for-pound top 10 consideration. His next fight could be a showdown with Bernard Hopkins (who is still dangerous in my opinion), but I’d much rather see him take on a fellow young standout like Kessler. I don’t know who wins that fight but I know it would be hotly contested from the outside and it would feature uncommon speed and activity for the 175-pound division.

MID-WEEK PAC-MANIAC BEATDOWN

Heya Dougie,
Too many thoughts post Pacquiao-Hatton, but I’ll try not to be too long winded.

1. Gotta pat myself on the back. I thought Hatton had no chance and was going down in 7 or less. Prefight, I said I wouldn’t have been shocked if he went down in 3. Made some decent money on Pac by KO and the under on the 9.5 round prop.

2. Briefly looked around for you at the MGM post-fight, really wanted to get a picture with you. Hard to believe, but the two casual boxing fan friends with me didn’t even know who you were and was incredulous that I was looking around for a photo op with a boxing WRITER.

3. I agree that Juan Manual Marquez is a live dog against Money May, but I definitely favor Mayweather to stink out the joint to a close UD. I’m so conflicted on who to root for though. JMM is one of my favorite fighters and want him to do well, but there is no fight other than Pacquiao-Mayweather that I want to see. That is close to an even fight IMO, who I would slightly favor depends on how rusty Mayweather looks in the JMM fight.

4. I think Dawson by corner stoppage this Saturday in an one-sided beating. What a waste of an HBO date. Would it have been that hard for HBO to save the money spent on this fight to outbid Showtime for Dawson’s NEXT fight?

5. Damn Dougie, 80 PacManiac emails a day? How do you get any work done? I mean, you must read some of them since you responded to a couple in the mailbag.

Glad you gave the PacManics an extra helping of beatdown mid-week. — JL, San Diego

1. Kudos on cashing in on your confidence in Pacquiao.

2. I’m usually busy writing deadline post-fight columns and then helping with the update of the website for a good two to three hours after a fight. It’s sucks when there’s so much buzz after a big event like Pacquiao-Hatton, but it’s my job and as they say, it’s a living. It’s not at all hard to believe that your casual fan friends have no idea who the hell I am. You gotta be a boxing fanatic to know who I am and a total nutcake to want to take a picture with my funny looking ass. Your casual fan friends had good reason to be incredulous (but you can tell them to kiss my ass all the same). (Also tell them that I said that boxing beats down all other pro sports the way Manny smashed Hatton.)

3. Dude, come on! You GOTTA root for Marquez! F__k “Needs Money”. He hasn’t even stunk the joint out vs. JMM yet and he’s already making unrealistic demands (60-40) to Pacquiao.

4. Who’s to say that Showtime would have bought this rematch?

5. I pick and choose with the Pac-Fanatic’s emails. If the email is 8 KB or more, I won’t bother with it.

Mailbag beatdowns of moron fight fans come as naturally to me as Pacquiao throws that right hook these days.

POUND FOR POUND RANKINGS

Hi Dougie,
After Hatton’s destruction at the hands of Pacquiao, the Ring Magazine updated their pound-for-pound rankings which allowed the entry of Nonito Donaire.

Donaire is a fantastic fighter, one of the best in the world, but in my eyes he is one of several dubious entries into the top ten! For me, Donaire deserves to be thereÔÇª JUST! But instead of Cabellero, where is Chad Dawson? Paul Williams? With both Ricky Hatton and Ivan Calderon dropping out of the rankings, I believe that Chad Dawson and Paul Williams should have both definitely got a spot instead of Cotto and Donaire.

Although I would personally have Donaire in ahead of Caballero! What do you think of the recent changes to the pound-for-pound top ten? Do you approve of them? How long do you think it will be before Dawson and Williams break into the rankings? They’ve gotta be close!

Look forward to hearing from you! Best Regards. — Marcus, UK

I think valid arguments can be made for Williams and Dawson being in the top 10 right now, and I think valid arguments can be made for both Donaire and Cotto’s placement.

I like Williams and Dawson because of their consistency. Williams has a points win over Antonio Margarito, and since losing to Carlos Quintana, he has starched Quintana in their rematch, stopped Verno Phillips and damn near shutout Winky Wright, which no one has ever done. Dawson has wins over the RING’s cruiserweight champ, Tomasz Adamek, and former champs Glen Johnson and Tarver, both top-10 light heavyweight weights.

However, Cotto has a victory over Shane Mosley, currently ranked No. 4 pound-for-pound. Donaire has a KO victory over Vic Darchinyan, currently ranked No. 9.

LAND OF MAKE-BELIEVE

After reading your midweek mail bag I have come to the conclusion that the responses you have received from pacquiao fans for your mythical bouts are your own damn fault. That's what you get for living in the land of gum drops and lolly pops (land of make believe).Regardless of how deep your boxing knowledge is seeded, you have no way of knowing how fighters from different eras would fare against each other.Its a completely subjective argument I.e. Hank aaron, babe ruth, who was the better home run hitter. All you can do is judge a fighter compared to the opposition he faced in his era. You shouldn't be suprised by the response, that's what you get for trying to be mr. Rogers. — Pj boston,ma

Mr. Rogers is God, you dimwitted Boston sour puss!

MANNY VS. THE X-MEN

Haha, you're so crazy. “I can match Pacquiao with Wolverine or Nightcrawler from the X-Men if so choose.” I cracked up when I read that.

By the way:
Wolverine tko 3 Manny Pacquiao
Pacquaio UD 12 Nightcrawler.

Keep doing your thing, man. — Bim

You know I will.

I agree with your Wolverine pick. Logan would do what Logan does best (even though what he does is not very nice). Never bet against a man with an adamantium-laced skeleton and a mutant healing factor.

But I respectfully disagree with your prediction of Pacquiao beating Nightcrawler on points. You can’t outpoint what you can’t touch; and how do you put hands on a teleporter? Manny’s “Manila Ice” wouldn’t get an inch away from a hair on Crawler’s blue-furred skin before he’d “Bamf!” outta the way.

Now that I think about it, maybe Floyd Mayweather has a shot at beating Pacquiao. He basically fights like my man Kurt Wagner, Bamfing all over the ring like a kid playing hide-n-seek. They have the same weird taste in clothes, too. I can see Mayweather wearing that gay-ass red-and-black circus outfit that Crawler’s been rockin’ since the mid-seventies.

I hope you’re reading this, PJ from Boston. I am now totally into the realm of fantasy and I just want you to know that I’m getting PAID WELL to do this s__t! Kiss my imaginary mulatto ass, you sorry sucker!

BOXING IS ALIVE AND WELL

Hey Doug,
I wanted to write to say what’s on my mind as a boxing fan who loves this sport dearly. I see that you got a lot of heat after Manny's destruction of Hatton, on how you had him fairing with other greats of other eras. It was done all in fun and I for one enjoyed it. I don't know how the Pacman would have fared but I know they would have been great fights.

One thing that we can't argue is that Manny is a great in our generation not just because of his skill, but also because he was able to bring boxing back to the mainstream even if it was for a little while. Fight coverage was on local t.v. and more importantly casual viewers were talking about the fight before and after. I can’t tell you how happy I felt just to hear my coworkers talk about the fight. All in all the Pacman isn't just great because of his skill, he is great because of the much needed attention he brings to the sport, and besides you can't help but like a guy, who says he will leave it all out in the ring but if he loses he is OK with it because it is God's will.

Thanx for taking time to read this bro I know it was a lot, but this weekend made me happy just because I love BOXING that much!! — Luis, San Diego

I hear ya, Luis, and I feel the same way about Pacquiao and about boxing.

I thank the Great Mr. Rogers in the Sky every night for Manny’s arrival to our sport.

MAYWEATHER VS. PACMAN, DAWSON-TARVER II

Whatup Dougie,
Long time mail bag reader but this is my first time writing in since your career switch (it just took me some time to get over it). Anyway I’ve been hearing and reading so much about Mayweather-Pacman and I don’t think the comparisons that people are making with De La Hoya and Hatton are apt. Yes Manny blew out Hatton where PBF took 10 rounds and the same thing with DLH, but is anyone surprised? Floyd’s style is one where he likes to sit back and feel out the other guy, get his timing down and then start to counter. You would think that some of these “experts” wouldn’t bring up such examples to hype a fight because you’d like to think that they understand the “styles make fights” axiom better than most. Apparently not. Also wondering what your early thoughts on that fight are presuming PBF gets by JMM (which is no lock).

Also, what do you think about Dawson-Tarver next weekend? I’m personally upset that this fight even has to happen, but I guess that’s what happens when you’re not the guy with the juice when you’re signing the contract. I think Dawson should be able to outpoint him based on activity. When does Chad get that big fight that makes him a superstar?

I personally am insanely excited for Angulo-Cintron too. That’s a guaranteed gunfight, with both guys looking to take the other’s head off. Not sure how much Cintron has left in him as he hasn’t looked stellar recently, but we know he still has dynamite in his hands. I’m going to go with Alfredo though by late stoppage. Who ya got?

Keep up the good work on the commentary. I find myself constantly pointing out to my friends that I know who you are when your mug is on the tube!! Take it easy man. — V

Thanks, V. What do you tell your friends when they ask you what I’m like?

“He’s a complex brother. He lives in a fantasy world, but he makes a good living. He lauds Manny Pacquiao as a great fighter but he believes even average fighters from the 1970s and ’80s would have kicked the Filipino’s ass. He hates Pacquiao fanatics but has mad love for the X-Men. Oh, and he worships Mr. Rogers. You guys should read his mailbags.”

I think Angulo has too much heart for Cintron to deal with. Even if he gets caught and dropped, I think his character and conditioning will see him through. I like Angulo by mid-rounds stoppage.

Dawson’s footwork and fast hands should keep Tarver reaching and turning all night. I don’t think he should load up too much with his punches or plant his feet for too long. That would give Tarver the opportunity he’s looking for. Dawson should just get off first, get off often and then get out of the way. He’s a smart guy; I think he’ll do that and win another decision.

I agree with you, I think Mayweather’s style is very difficult for Pacquiao because he’s a defensive minded counter-puncher with fast hands. He’s not going to come right at Manny, which bugs the Pac-Monster. However, Pacquiao’s southpaw stance, speed and activity will bother Mayweather. Speedy lefties can put hands on Mayweather (see the Corley and Judah bouts).

WE'RE NOT ALL PAC-MANIACS

Hey Dougie,
I'm from the Philippines and obviously, as anybody would expect, nothing bad is said about Manny here, or at least nothing bad as long as it pertains to boxing. (Manny and politics is another story… most people wouldn't vote for him if he tried to run again.) He's been called a “national hero” so many times (mostly by dirty politicians looking for some of his glitter to rub off on them) that I now find even non-Philippine websites stating it as a fact! That is so not true, there is an official government process through which selection and proclamation of National Heroes are made, and Manny has definitely not been nominated for that nor do I believe he will ever meet the criteria to be declared one.

With each of his win over the past years I'd wondered what the rest of the world thought about him, and today I found myself with an extra hour of time waiting for the rain to stop and decided to find out. Your blog article posted 6 May 2009 (Dougie's Mid-Week mailbag) was the first one I came across. Anyway, I'm just sending you an email to let you know we're not all Pac-Maniacs (haha, first time I heard the term; I told you nothing bad is said about Manny here!) and agree with you that a lot of Manny's fans really never heard of him before he started winning bigÔÇöI'm one of them, I admit! I'm definitely proud of his accomplishments but I am also ashamed that he has close-minded fans who send you those rude emails! Yikes. So really the only reason I looked up your email address and am sending you this message is to let you know that hopefully a lot more of his fans are more realistic about his abilities and hopefully much more polite!

Kudos to you for trying to just let it all slide… — Teresa, Metro Manila, Philippines

Thanks for taking the time to write this email and for representing Pacquiao, his fans and the Philippines the way they deserver to be, Teresa.

THE GREATEST FIGHTER?

First, I would like to tell you that I am a Pacquiao fan for more than a decade now. Unlike the Pacmaniacs that disrespect your opinion about Pacman vs all-time greats, I am one of his fans that is very happy about that article. I am glad that you compared him with those all-time greats.

About what Bob Arum said about Pacquiao as the “the greatest fighter
ever”. I totally disagree! (at least, for now, and I know you disagree,
too). Now I will go to my point. I want to know your opinion. Do you
believe that Pacquiao can reach that level? Can he be the greatest fighter that has ever lived? I am hoping he will be. Thanks and God bless! — Neil, Philippines

Anything is possible with a dedicated super-talent like Pacquiao. Five or six years ago nobody would have believed that he would have developed into not only the greatest Filipino fighter ever, but arguably history’s greatest Asian boxer.

I don’t think Arum said he’s the greatest fighter ever. I believe he said that Pacquiao was, or could be, the greatest fighter he’s ever promoted (which is saying a lot since Bob promoted Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard).

I doubt Pacquiao will accomplish enough to ever be considered the G.O.A.T or even the greatest fighter Arum has ever promoted, but I think he can do enough to be in the debate (among rational-minded individuals like you and fantasy-world freaks like me; not the Pac-Maniacs or imagination-challenged A-holes from Boston).

Honestly, if he has the year that Freddie Roach plans for him — if he beats a Tim Bradley over the summer and then defeats the Mayweather-Marquez winner or Miguel Cotto in the late fall or winter — I think a significant number of fans and boxing media will consider him to be at least a top 15 all-time pound for pound player.

Dougie can be reached in his magic castle on top of Fluffy Cloud Mountain in the Land of Make-Believe; all you have to do is click your heels three times and email [email protected]