Dougie’s Friday Mailbag

Jun

THE CRUSHER VS. THE HITTER

Dougie,
G's up, Ho's down bro. You and the K-Hammer hitting up Jimmy's bar before or after the fight? I'm watching the fight in Spanish Harlem but after I'm heading downtown to wild out!!!

On to the fight. The Crusher vs The Hitter.

I'm going with Cotto by Dominating Decision (8-4). Cotto footwork/jab/ring generalship will rule the day. Clottey’s work rate after 4-5 rounds will also be his downfall. I'm not saying it's going to be easy. Much like his fight with Lovemore Ndo who has a similar style, Cotto will be forced to fight off his back foot and Clottey does have a good uppercut with above ave. hand speed. But this match up doesn't favor Clottey at all. He doesn't have advantages over Cotto besides his chin (big one, lol) no height/power/speed/conditioning. Adding the fact he hasn't fought since late last summer and I wonder how his arm is. (Torn bicep) but if Cotto wins 2-3 of the first 6 rounds that baby is a wrap!!!!

If Miguel wins I see a showdown with $moneymay$ 1st instead of the Pacman fight. Mainly weight will stop that from happening. For Joshua I'll say it will be against Sugar in LA or maybe even Cintron in CT.

Heavyweights still suck.

Bad Chad will improve on his fight against Glen Johnson.

I have a feeling (God I hope I'm wrong) that Floyd Mayweather will “Arturo-Gatti” Juan Marquez’s azz next month. Size and strength will dominate that fight from the outside. — Frankie from the Bronx

I can see Mayweather using his speed, counter-punching ability and footwork to trouble Marquez from the outside, but I don’t see him jumping JMM and imposing himself on the Mexican master the way he did poor burnt-out Gatti. Mayweather really hasn’t fought that way since he left the 140-pound division. I hope he does try to punk Marquez because if he does he’ll give the lightweight champ a better shot at catching his chin clean. Don’t be surprised if Marquez is able to hurt Mayweather if he can get a clean shot in. I think Mayweather can hurt Marquez with clean shots, too, but I don’t think the former welterweight champ is going to looking to hurt JMM — at least not until the later rounds; he’s got ring rust to knock off first.

I thought Dawson won the first bout with Johnson legitimately (115-113 on my scorecard). I think he has more seasoning now than he did then and I believe it will show in the rematch. I think he’ll win a competitive but unanimous decision.

Yeah, the heavyweights still suck.

I’d love to see a Cotto-Mayweather clash. I’d also like to see Mosley vs. Clottey or Cintron. Those are fascinating matchups.

I see Saturday’s welterweight clash like you do. We’ll see how it plays out.

My guess is that the K-Hammer will be at Jimmy Glenn’s Corner tonight. He flew in to NYC early yesterday, so he’s probably well rested and ready to get his drink on. I’ll definitely be there Saturday night, but I don’t know about tonight. I was part of the ‘Fight Night Club’ broadcast last night so I caught a red eye flight from L.A. (around 12-midnight) to NYC. I’m here now at the host hotel for the BWAA dinner (in Chinatown) and I’m completely beat. They tell me check-in isn’t until 4 p.m. If they don’t have a room ready for me in the next two hours I can’t commit to making it to Jimmy’s tonight because I’ll be totally exhausted after the BWAA dinner, but I’ll see how I feel later on.

CALDERON VS. VILORIA A MINI-MISMATCH?

Doug,
Nice article on Ivan Calderon. It's good to see him getting some mainstream props. His credentials are impressive, but I must ask again – why has he been flushed from the Ring's Pound for Pound Rankings? If u have explained this already I apologize.

I think even at this advanced stage of his career he outboxes Brian Viloria, whom in my opinion is always one fight away from turning in what I like to call 'a Mike Weaver' performance (a power puncher who never pulls the trigger), but how would a peak Calderon fair against Lopez? Actually (no disrespect to Calderon) with Lopez being one of top 10-12 fighters I have had the pleasure of seeing in my 34 years, I think the hall of famer routs him. The only true question being, does it go the full 12rds?

Whether Freddie Roach wants to or not, if JMM somehow (again no disrespect, I think Maywether is a stylistic problem for him at ANY weight, let alone 143) manages to pull off what will be a huge upset, he deserves another dance with the Pacman to settle things. — Tom

I agree. If Marquez beats Mayweather at welterweight, he makes a very strong argument for being the best fighter on the planet, pound for pound. If Pacquiao wants to defend that mythical title, he would have to fight Marquez a third time.

Calderon has a lot of mileage on his fighter’s odometer. I think his reflexes are starting to slow down, which means he’s vulnerable to a puncher with very fast hands like Viloria. However, if they fight this year, I would probably pick Calderon to win by decision. That’s one ring savvy little master. Tomorrow’s title defense against Rodel Mayol should serve as a gauge as to spry those 34-year-old legs are.

I love Calderon, but I think the prime Finito Lopez would have knocked him out by the ninth or 10th round.

I believe the reason given for Calderon being dropped from THE RING’s pound-for-pound rankings was inactivity. He suffered a bad cut in his rematch with Hugo Cazares last summer and hasn’t fought since. That was a decision by THE RING’s editorial board, which Michael Rosenthal (my co-editor here at RingTV.com) and I are not a part of (although we are on the Ratings Panel that makes suggestions). For the record, I still consider Calderon to be one of the 10 best boxers in the world.

CONGRATS

Doug,
I can't wait to hear you as an analyst for the Fight Night Club show, bro. I’ve heard you before and enjoyed it. I am going to try and make to one of the future shows, but for now just wanted to say congratulations on the exposure. You deserve it. — Luis, San Diego, CA

Thanks. I hope you liked it. I’m too tired right now to evaluate my performance from last night, but I thought it went well considering that was the first time B-Hop and I had worked with play-by-play man Mario Solis. You should definitely make it out to the next show. The matchmaking is good and the venue is top-notch.

GREAT JOB!

Doug,
You and the Fight Night Club crew did a great job on your first night. Stellar interview with Luis Ramos after his fight. And I love Bernard Hopkins; an all-time great. One quick question: who would you have given the $1000.00 bonus to? See ya next month! — Rickey from St. Paul

Thanks for the kind words. I thought David Rodela and Juanito Garcia both gave it their all in an excellent six rounder, and Luis Ramos looked like the “total package” while breaking down and stopping journeyman Baudel Cardenas, but I was most impressed with Charles Huerta. ‘The Pride of Paramount’ figured out a well-schooled lefty and took the dude out like a seasoned professional. If it were up to me, I would have cut him a check for $1,000 last night.

FIGHT NIGHT CLUB EPISODE 1

Doug,
Great job on the first broadcast. The fights were really good. This is a great way to showcase young talent, and build a local club show for the fans. I will definitely head out to the next card on July 30th.

A few notes though:

1. What in the f__k is the Quaker State World Championship!!?!?!?

2. 59-55 on two cards for Rodela!??!!!?!? That is a travesty. One point either way is fair, but for Garcia to put forth an effort like that, and then hear those cards. Poor kid – that's gotta be devastating. He pulled it out on my card in the final round. Those scorecards were DISGUSTING.

3. I actually think the main events should be 8 rounds. 6 is too short for a main event. My opinion.

— JP

Thanks for the compliments, JP. I hope to see you at the July 30 show.

1. I have no idea what the “Quaker State World Championship” is, and I’m too wiped out right now to come up with a witty line about that. At least we (the commentators) didn’t have to mention that on air. I won’t complain, though. Quaker State helped make the show (and the free internet broadcast) happen.

2. There’s nothing wrong with scoring the main event for Rodela, but not by that margin. The fight could have gone either way by a point. I had it a draw, three rounds a piece. I scored rounds 1, 2, 4 for Rodela; 3, 5, and 6 for Garcia, who impressed me with his mix of aggression and counter punching. Rodela looked good in spots — he’s a fighter, no doubt — but he needs to work on his focus and try to stick to a game plan better. He’s bounces form boxer to slugger, too much in my opinion, and his form falls apart after a couple of rounds. However, I saw him after the fight and his right hand was packed in ice, so perhaps that had something to do with his taking his foot off the gas pedal in the last two rounds.

3. I don’t mind six-round main events. I loved the fast pace of the fights and the show. However, I think we will see eight-round main events and co-features soon. Golden Boy will bring back Rodela, Huerta and Ramos, and they won’t be at the six-round level for long (Rodela and Huerta have already fought eight rounds or more). If Garcia gets a win or two under his belt, I can see him and Rodela rematching in September and that would likely be an eight rounder.

THE RING JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE

Could Paul Williams vs Cory Spinks be for the Ring title (#1 & #3 respectively)? Vernon Forrest isn't fighting Paul Williams, and many others…

Cory I think would go for this fight because he knows he's over the hill and this is probably the best money he can get at this point. Not to mention he'll at least think he can win, because in his prime he would stylistically been a nightmare for Williams. — Ryan

That would be an interesting matchup, one I think THE RING’s editorial board would give serious consideration to making for the vacant 154-pound title.

HALL OF FAME

Dear Doug,
Don't know if you have a vote, but what are your thoughts on a couple of the lighter-weight selections (Brian Mitchell and Orlando Canizales)? Why did Canizales take so long to get in? Also, who are some more obscure fighters in lower weight classes whom you think deserve admission?

Take care. — Patrick

I don’t know why it took Canizales so long to get in. He’s been getting a checkmark from this boxing writer ever since his name got on the ballot. However, I don’t think he can complain that much. His last fight was in 1999. There are more deserving fighters (in my opinion) who retired decades ago that still haven’t made it in. The recently deceased Mando Ramos is a former lightweight champ I think should have been inducted by the International Boxing Hall of Fame at least 15-20 years ago; and former featherweight champ Danny “Little Red” Lopez is another favorite of mine who still hasn’t been inducted. I think Lopez and Ramos are more deserving than Mitchell and Canizales.

Who are some more “obscure” lower weight class fighter who should be inducted?

Former 108-pound champs Yoko Gushiken of Japan and Myung Woo Yuh of Korea come to mind.

Dougie can be reached at [email protected]