Dougie’s FAT Friday Mailbag

Mar

QUICK POINTS

hey doug, just a couple of quick points,

1- anybody who believes that eddie chambers has a shot against wladimir klitschtko are crazy, it’s just wishful thinking. for someone to beat him they are going to have to knock him out and chambers just don’t have the pop. I actually think that for the first time in a long time klitschko won’t be “scared” and might look like he did right up to the 5th round in his first fight with lamon brewster. let’s not forget that there was a time when he wasn’t horrible to watch.

2- in which round do you think andre dirrell will get ko’d.

3- a couple of weeks ago i wrote that i'd love to see soto against your son, not anymore.

4- pacquiao is great, let’s enjoy while it lasts.

5- mosley will show why he’s great in may.

6- librado andrade will fight in quebec for the fourth strait time at the end of may, he's fighting ├®ric lucas, i loved lucas about 11 years ago being myself from montr├®al, but this is sad. — simon, montr├®al

Thanks for the quick hits, Simon. I’ll respond to them in order:

1. I don’t think a Chambers upset tomorrow is “wishful thinking.” It’s long shotÔÇª a really, really LONG shot but I don’t think it’s completely inconceivable. I agree that a fighter must have the ability to hurt Klitschko to beat him. I know Chambers isn’t a powerful heavyweight (heck, he’s barely a heavyweight period), but I think the Pittsburgh native has underrated pop and he might have the ability to sting the bigger man if he puts his punches together (which he does quite well when he’s in his rhythm). He might even be able to get serious respect from the champ if he can get to the bigger man’s body. I know it seems like I’m clutching a straws here but Chambers really is a talented boxer and he might just be coming into his own. I favor Klitschko, as most do and probably should, but I’m not going to dismiss Saturday’s title fight as some kind of “gimme” bout for Klitschko. I believe that Chambers is a legitimate challenger.

2. I don’t think Dirrell’s getting knocked out. I think King Arthur, my favorite to win Showtime’s Super Six, has a difficult fight on his heavy hands. Dirrell’s long jab, hand speed and lateral movement will trouble the Armenian Assassin. If Abraham does score a stoppage it won’t be until the final rounds of the bout.

3. Soto vs. Valero at 130 pounds would have been fun, but the Mexican appears to have lost a step at lightweight. He’s still a good fighter (he proved me wrong by beating David Diaz) and I think he’d make for good fights with guys like Robert Guerrero and Michael Katsidis at 135 pounds but I think Valero would punish him in a lightweight bout. I remember Bobby Pacquiao giving Soto the wobbles with a right hook a few years ago. I think “my son” would end the fight with a good solid right hook.

4. Agreed.

5. Agreed.

6. Agreed. If Andrade is going to make Montreal his second home I’d much rather see him jump to light heavyweight and take on Adrian Diaconu or Jean Pascal (after the titleholder takes on Chad Dawson).

SUPER SIX MOMENTUM

Dougie,
Props to Ken Hershman and Co. for putting together the Super Six – it’s a wonderful format and an amazing achievement.

Although the latest fight postponements are beyond anyone’s control, do you feel that the Super Six has lost some of it’s buzz due to the length of time between fights? Training injuries and postponements are part of the game, but factor these into an already extended fight schedule, and the Tournament’s momentum seems to slow a bit. This is not a criticism but an observation that can hopefully be factored into future tournaments.

In fact, Dougie, let’s get going with an eight-fighter Junior Welterweight series featuring Bradley, Alexander, Khan, Malignaggi, Maidana, Urango, Campbell… and Valero! — John, Irvine CA

Why bother with a 140-pound tournament that involves Valero? You know he’ll just blow through it KO everyone he fights. Come on, doesn’t everybody know that?

Anyway, yeah, I think the Super Six has lost some momentum but I also think that the tournament will gain it back once the fights resume. I think Abraham-Dirrell will be hotly contested and I believe that Froch-Kessler will be a lot of fun. Ward-Green, whenever it gets rescheduled (and it will), could be a stinker but it might also evolve (or devolve) into a true grudge match with all of Green’s trash talking. Green’s power and cockiness and Ward’s confidence (which has to be at an all-time high) might make for an interesting boxing match. We’ll see. I bet by the summer the Super Six will have even more momentum than it had at the end of last year.

I’m actually glad that Ward-Green had to be postponed. Now I don’t have to choose between covering that fight and Arreola-Adamek.

BAD BOB ARUM

Dear Mr. Fischer,
I know this is about a week late, but please add my voice to the chorus of boxing fans who are fed up with Arum's craptastic PPV undercards. In particular, I can not understand why this man continues to force us to sit through Alfonzo Gomez's fights. Gomez proved his lack of A-list talent when Cotto thoroughly whipped him in 2008 on regular HBO. Gomez's most recent fight was so bad that his opponent quit on the stool in the fifth round out of what felt like pity for the audience.

My buddy ordered the Pacman fight, and it saved me $60 worth of utter disappointment. Pacman's last fight had a similarly crappy undercard, followed by less than six minutes worth of fight time in the main event. That said, at least we got the knockout of the year to justify the $9 a minute main event.

What's ironic is that Arum's regular HBO cards tend to be pretty good. The June match up between Cotto and Foreman features undefeated lightweight contender Anthony Peterson and Puerto Rican standout Juanma Lopez. That said, the fight I want Juanma in is against Gamboa… and of course, John “does anyone care” Duddy's on that undercard, which brings the event down a few notches on the coolness scale.

While this weekend looks slow for televised big fights (it's a shame Klitschko's bout against Philly's Eddie Chambers is only available here online), next weekend looks like the start of “boxing season”. Maidana, a Super Six matchup and Erik Morales' comeback PPV all in one night? Next Saturday is looking like a pretty solid night to stay home and watch boxing. Who am I kidding? That's how I spend MOST Saturdays LOL. Cheers. — Enrique Fern├índez Roberts, Washington, DC

The light heavyweight fight on the Morales PPV might be worth the price of the card, but I’m not expecting El Terrible to turn back time. I just hope he doesn’t take too severe a beating.

The fights on HBO and Showtime will be fun. I’ll be watching from the tube just like you next Saturday. Sometimes that’s better than covering it from press row.

I agree boxing season starts on March 27.

The Pacquiao PPV card you referred to (vs. Hatton) was a co-promotion with Golden Boy so Oscar & Co. have to take half of the blame for the doo-doo undercard on that show, however, Arum is solely responsible for the crap fights underneath Pac vs. Cotto and Pac vs. Clottey. I think it’s sad. Arum could give us so much more than future foes for Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (Duddy and Gomez). Speaking of whom, I wish he’d knock that kid off already. Feed him to Yuri Foreman (who would look like Ray Robinson against the lazy lad) or Matt Korobov and get it over with, Bob! LOL. Hell, give Junior to Cotto after the fading Puerto Rican star gets embarrassed by the Rabbi-in-training on June 5. Call it a consolation prize. Cotto has earned that much by packing the Garden as many times as he has over the years.

ALEXANDER THE GREAT

What's up doug
I'd like to know your thoughts on Devon Alexander's future. Who do you think he should fight next for him to become a boxing star? If it's not too much to ask, can you enumerate at least five boxers you want Devon Alexander to get in the ring with? Personally, I want to see him take on Timothy Bradley and maybe face Manny Pacquiao for the linear junior welterweight championship.

P.S. I enjoy reading your mailbags. Keep up the good work. — Choy, PH

Thanks Choy.

I think Alexander is a superb talent, a dedicated athlete and a special human being, but he’s not ready for Bradley yet. He shouldn’t even think about Pacquiao. He needs to continue to cut his teeth (and continue to raise his profile) against more experienced (but lesser talented or skilled) players of the 140-pound division. You want five opponents for Devon? OK, how about hard-punching former beltholder Ricardo Torres, former title challenger Mike Arnaoutis, troubled tough guy Mike Alvarado, South African spoiler Kaizer Mabuza, and former unified lightweight titleholder Juan Diaz (if the Baby Bull decides to stay at 140 pounds)?

PACMAN, SUGARMAN AND PRETTY BOY

What's up Doug?
I am a diehard boxing fan and a big fan of yours. I really trust you and your articles because I think you are keeping it real and calling it right down the middle. I won't mention names but there are many boxing writers here today who really don't have an idea of what they are doing, this is my first time writing so I hope we could exchange ideas about some of my thoughts here in boxing today.

1. I'm really hyped up for the three mega fights that should happen in a couple of years. After the Mosley-Mayweather fight coming up, I really believe that the winner must take on Pacquiao next and decide who is the 1, 2 and 3 in the mythical P4P rankings. I'll predict that Pacquiao will give Pretty Boy too much pressure and score a TKO in the late rounds of the fight, and the fight with Mosley is a cliffhanger, anyone who wins truly deserved it.

2. After the fight with Clottey, I think Pacquiao should be ranked within 20-15 pound for pound all time, and if he wins against either Mosley or Mayweather I think he should be placed 15-10 all time. To all the haters, please give credit to Pacman as I am giving credit to all the other boxers who really deserved it. Mosley is a sure hall of famer/all time great and Mayweather was magic at lightweight and also a deserving hall of famer (too bad he had the skills but got lazy when he reached the top). Pacman on the other hand is really a once in a lifetime fighter. He captured 7 weight division titles (that's 4 original divisions for old schools) and had memorable fights with co-hall of famers. I just wish Pacquiao would fight Mayweather, Mosley, and Valero before he retires, I don’t care who wins but I’m sure it will add to his resume. And Pac-haters, please stop matching Pac with Paul Williams, Williams is a middleweight for God's sake.

3. The only significant undefeated record is with Rocky Marciano’s not Chavez Jr.’s, and not Mayweather Jr’s.,. great warriors bounce back from setbacks not having a defeat means nothing.

4. And lastly Doug, can you give your predictions for my fantasy match ups? Just playing with your prediction skills:
-Cotto vs Hatton (welterweight)
-Leonard vs Pryor (welterweight)
-prime Gatti vs prime Pacquiao (lightweight)
-prime Tapia vs prime Pac (featherweight)
-Whitaker vs Mayweather (lightweight)

My favorite fighters are Arturo Gatti and Johnny Tapia.

I hope this squeezes in your mailbag. Thanks a lot and more power! Keep those hooks and jabs coming! — Gilbert

I will Gil. Thanks for writing in. I’ll answer your questions/statements in order:

1. I like Pacquiao over Mayweather by decision (8 rounds to 4). Money’s defensive skills keep him upright but he gets outworked by the Pac-monster. I agree Pacquiao-Mosley is a toss-up. If it goes the distance I believe Pacquiao will out-maneuver and out-hustle Sugar Shane to a very close and entertaining decision victory. If there’s a KO, I believe Mosley will score it. Shane might be the only welterweight with the chin, speed and power to best Manny.

2. No disrespect to Pacquiao but I think I can come up with 20 fighters to rank ahead of him on an all-time list. I’m not saying that he can’t or won’t be ranked among the best ever by the time he’s done fighting but I don’t think we can really assess his placement until he retires for good. By the way, I think he will fight Mosley and Valero before he retires. Sadly, there’s a chance that he and Mayweather never get it on due to the drug-testing standoff. I hope I’m wrong about that.

3. Agreed, although Ricardo Lopez’s unbeaten record is significant in my opinion.

4. Cotto stops Hatton late in a rough but entertaining fight. Leonard outpoints Pryor in a classic. Pacquiao survives a few wobbly moments in the early rounds to grind Gatti down to a bloody, brutal late-rounds stoppage (lightweight wasn’t a good weight for the late Thunder). Pacquiao dominates Tapia to a lop-sided decision (Tapia was at his best at 115 pounds). Whittaker wins a close decision in dreadfully boring affair.