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Dougie’s FAT Friday Mailbag

Fighters Network
14
May

BUSY WEEKEND

Hey Dougie,
Ton of great fights on this weekend but I really wish someone had bought the rights to the Michael Katsidis VS Kevin Mitchell fight. Katsidis is tuff hombre! He reminds me of a young Greek/ Australian Antonio Margarito (w/out the loaded gloves!).

What are your thoughts on Magic Man Malignaggi VS Amir Khan fight this Saturday? I got Malignaggi winning a UD. I'm still suspect on Khan, he was knocked out by Breidis Prescott in 2008 who has now lost his last 2 fights, he beat an ancient Marco Antonio Barrera, and beat Andreas Kotelnik and Dmitry Salita (who?) in his last 2 fights. This is a step-up for Khan and I don’t think he has what it takes to pass the test. We'll see.

I'm taking the younger and fresher Vicious Victor Ortiz by TKO in Rd. 9 on the undercard; but I would most definitely not take Nate Campbell lightly. He just might be a sleeping giant with something to prove against the 2008 Prospect of the Year. Thanks Dougie. — Saul



The Ortiz-Campbell fight is a tough call (and because of that I’m really looking forward to the fight). Both guys are in need of a statement but I have to imagine that Campbell is the more desperate of the two. He doesn’t have youth on his side, which is probably why I’m going with Ortiz by decision. Well, youth and size are my main reasons for picking Vic.

Ortiz is huge. I look at him a natural welterweight who is young enough to make 140 pounds. I look at Campbell as a natural lightweight who is too old to make 135 pounds.

I agree that Malignaggi is Khan’s toughest test (although Kotelnik was just as accomplished as the New Yorker, the Ukrainian lacks the Magic Man’s athleticism), but I think Khan will pass it. Maybe not with flying colors, but I think the young man’s talent is near off the charts. And he’s put the work in with Roach to properly harness that wicked combination of speed and power. Malignaggi is used to being the faster man in the ring. That won’t be the case tomorrow night. I think Khan will beat Malignaggi to the punch, hurt him more than once, and outmaneuver him at times to clinch a unanimous decision. I’m not saying Malignaggi won’t have his moments but I don’t think he has the power or puts on the kind of pressure needed to take Khan out.

I wish I could watch Katsidis-Mitchell live on TV, too. Katsidis epitomizes the term “ring warrior.” I think he’ll keep his interim title with a late stoppage or by close, bloody decision tomorrow.

YES HE KHAN!

Hey Dougie, What's good?
What a weekend – Mitchell vs Katsidis, Ortiz vs Campbell and Khan vs Malinaggi! Three “Are You The Real Deal?” type of fights. Indeed, in UK, most fans see Malignaggi as a joke because of his punching power and one-handedness. However, we are yet to see how Khan deals with a boxer who is just as quick as him. Saying that, I am confident that Khan will dominate Malinaggi to a UD.

Many of Khan's critics point to the KO loss against Prescott but do you think that like Pacquiao (who'd been KO'd before he met Roach) the theories of a questionable chin can be disregarded eventually?

If Khan gets by Malinaggi I'd like to see him fight Ortiz vs Campbell winner on the Bradley card (who should fight either Alexander or Berto). That will set up a huge bout for the light welterweight championship.

Katsidis KO – This is SPARTA! There is going to be war in London's East End but eventually Katsidis will land one of his Tysonesque shots which will turn the lights out for Mitchell.

Ortiz KO – Campbell's had a helluva long lay-off. He'll be gassed after 3 or 4 rounds.

Who you picking? — Akhil, UK

Inactivity isn’t good for fighters, young or old, but it takes an extra toll on the reflexes of the aged. I think Ortiz was smart to take that February tune up. He got in close to 10 rounds of stick-and-move practice and is now two fights removed from the Maidana beating, which should help his confidence. I think he’ll box patiently and pick his shots while stepping around Campbell. I don’t expect Ortiz to fight Campbell the way Juan Diaz, or even Tim Bradley, did. My guess is that he wants to go the distance, which isn’t to say that he won’t hurt Campbell. Ortiz’s left hand hits like a sledgehammer.

I think Katsidis will gradually grind down Mitchell, who is a decent boxer.

If Khan beats Malingaggi and Ortiz beats Campbell I think Khan-Ortiz is the fight the folks at Golden Boy want next. However, Khan’s trainer Freddie Roach, who does have influence, would rather his young stud take on Marcos Maidana in his next bout. I won’t complain about either matchup. Both Ortiz and Maidana are dangerous outings for Khan because of their punching power.

Regarding Khan’s chin, I don’t think it’s world-class and I don’t think it will ever be. He was dropped by light punchers and smaller older fighters before Prescott caught him with that mean left hook. I’ve seen him wobbled more than once in sparring sessions with heavy handed dudes. However, just because he’s not Jake LaMotta in the chin department doesn’t mean he won’t have an excellent career. Fortunately, Khan has the physical tools and body dimensions to protect his chin. All he has to do is tuck that chin, work behind that long, fast jab of his and move his feet when necessary. Honestly, the only time Khan gets caught is when he gets too aggressive for his own good.

Malignaggi’s main chance to clip Khan will be when the young beltholder gets macho or tries to take him out. If Khan sticks and moves from a distance, Malignaggi is going to have a frustrating night. However, both Roach and Khan have said that Malignaggi is getting knocked out, so maybe he’ll get a clean shot at that suspect chin.

KHAN, HAYE, MITCHELL

Hey Dougie, it's been a while since I've written in but I still read you three times a week and I admire the consistent quality and production of your work. Keep it up.

Amir Khan is not the real deal. Maidana, Alexander, and Bradley all put his ass on the canvas. Kaizer Mabuza puts him on the canvas. Juan Urango, Kendall Holt, Victor Ortiz, even Junior Witter…same result. Kid has good movement and hand speed, punches in combinations, decent defense, and does a good job of going into the ring with a plan and executing it. But he doesn't know how to BATTLE. Forget the weak chin for a second, I'm not convinced that he's got the character to deal the rough stuff or any kind of heavy adversity. Remember Manny Pacquiao's fight against Agapito Sanchez? No way Khan survives a night like that. Paulie won't expose him in what I expect to be a matchup of two guys dancing, feinting, and mostly punching each other in the gloves in an outside-of-the-pocket borefest, but his next opponent will.

David Haye's been mighty quiet recently, hasn't he? Haye-Tomasz Adamek is the HW fight I want to see more than any other, and for the sake of their health and their loved ones, I hope neither steps into the ring with Wladimir any time soon…

Kevin Mitchell vs. Michael Katsidis – who you got? Truly a coin toss in my mind and a classic “sh_t or get off the pot” moment for the popular you Brit. I hope he's up for the challenge, because in this reader's mind the Brits are going to be searching for their new 'face of boxing' around this time next year, when their two current weak chinned stars will have been exposed. — Jeremy

I got two words for you: Tyson Fury! (Just kidding)

I’ve got Katsidis in a typically good fight. Mitchell, who is a big lightweight, will outbox the Aussie and have his moments but I think the Greek warrior WILLS his way to victory.

Brits should fret, though. Froch will be back in the win column soon (either that or a fight of the year loss to King Abe), Nathan Cleverly will continue to develop and the two current stars of the UK — Haye and Khan — will provide the world some excellent high profile fights.

Haye vs. Adamek is the heavyweight fight I want to see most, too. I favor Adamek, but I wouldn’t be shocked if Haye pulled that one out with his hand speed, unorthodox punching angles and lateral movement. I agree that Champ Wladdy would punish both former cruiserweight champs.

I think eventually Khan’s shaky whiskers will cost him, but not until he faces the truly elite fighters of the 140- and 147-pound divisions. I believe his athletic ability and a stick-and-move style will serve him well against a lot of hard-hitters and fellow talents. And when it comes time for him to stand his ground and scrap, I think he’ll surprise a lot of fans. From what I’ve seen at the Wild Card, Khan’s got a lion’s heart. It doesn’t always serve him. I’ve seen him rocked by Abdulai Amidu while going toe to toe with the hard-punching Ghanaian, but I’ve also seen Amidu wobbled by Khan.

I realize gym wars are not the same thing as a prize fight, so who knows what we’ll see when a top-level fighter forces Khan to fight rather than box? But I’m going to give the young man the benefit of the doubt until then.

Thanks for the kinds words at the start of your email.

MANNY ALREADY CALLING THE SHOTS

What up Doug,
The congressman already has a fight date and a venue (Cowboy Stadium). I think they haven’t learned their lesson with letting all this info out to the public so early. I know Floyd ain’t gonna let this happen and I got a feeling we will get a Margarito vs Pacman fight in November….

Anyway I feel PacMan has a great chance to land that right on Mayweather and hopefully he can throw that left hook at the same time as Money and we can get a great fight (or spectacular knockout). By having a few months to reflect on this whole issue of blood testing it doesn’t seem the 14 days Mayweather offered is wrong. I never read on how long it takes Manny to recoup from a blood test. Does anyone know? If they can’t make the fight how many people do you think would love to see Manny give Margarito a good old fashion ass whoopin for playin dirty! — Rio

A lot of people would like to see Margarito get his ass whupped, but most of those folks also become physically ill when they think about the money the Mexican mauler will make with such a fight.

I have no idea how long it take Pacquiao to recoup from having his blood taken and if there was any information on this subject floating around in cyber space I certainly wouldn’t waste my time reading it.

I’m also not going to waste my time analyzing and pontificating on a fight that probably won’t happen because of all the millionaire jerks involved.

If Mayweather-Pacquiao is made, great. I think Pacquiao poses stylistic problems for Mayweather and vice versa. It might be a compelling fight. But if the chief players get into negotiations and begin to fight over various issues again — blood testing, purse split, fight site, etc. — don’t expect me to cover that s__t. It’s not fair to real fight fans and all the boxers who are training their hearts out in preparation for bouts that will actually take place this year.

Pacquiao and Mayweather are the two best boxers of this generation and it would be a shame if they didn’t fight, but if both retired tomorrow the sport would continue and it will eventually thrive once the new generation of fighters come of age (which will be soon).

THE REASON

Sorry Doug I had to write you again so soon. Can't resist 🙂

Floyd Mayweather Sr. was interviewed on radio, he was asked what he can say about his son fighting Sergio Martinez (a lefty):
“Yeah, I could see him outsmarting Martinez. One thing about it, I don’t want anybody having an edge over my son because that’s my son, but I never have liked my son fighting southpaws. It’s not that he can’t beat them, because he beat all of them, his record reflects that, but I don’t like my son fighting southpaws. My son fought two southpaws that I know of. He fought one early in his career, pretty close before he got the title and he got cut pretty bad over the eye. Then when he fought Chop Chop Corley, Chop Chop Corley caught him off guard and hit him a couple of times in one fight. Like I said, it’s not that he can’t win because he has won, but I will just say a lot of guys power still come from a different angle and a different size and he’s not a great big guy. There’s no question in my mind that I got the strategy to train my son to offset a lot of this stuff, but I just don’t like him fighting southpaws because stuff comes from a different angle.”

Ohhhh ohhhhhh that's the real reason why he doesn't want his son to fight Pacquiao.

Now I am finally convinced why the steroid accusation came out:
1. The crap was the older Mayweather's idea in order to dissuade Pacquiao.
2. Floyd Jr. was forced to eat the crap to save face when the fight fell.

Have you seen these old pictures of Pacquiao training? Saw some of it in the website where pachuggers and floydiots try to box each other to death, I hope you like it.

http://forum.philboxing.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=169163

— Junx

Those old photos of the teenage Pacquiao are great.

I finally agree with Floyd Sr. on something. I also think his son has problems with southpaws. But I don’t think that’s why the old man made the steroid allegations. I think his ridiculous pride was hurt when Pacquiao smashed Ricky Hatton, who he was training, and did a better job of beating the Hitman and Oscar De La Hoya than his son did. I also think Pacquiao’s speed and power at the higher weight classes freaks him out. He doesn’t think it’s possible, naturally — especially from some little Asian dude.

More than a few fans and American boxing writers share his suspicion. I’m not one of them. I think both Manny and Floyd are clean athletes, which is one of the reasons their impasse on drug testing is so f___ed up.

By the way, Mayweather fighting Sergio Martinez at middleweight or 154 pounds is BAD idea for the self-proclaimed G.O.A.T. He’d be better off fighting Paul Williams.

F___ING SHAMBLES!

Dougie. Short and sweet, no time for pleasantries.

Margarito being lined up to fight Manny = What the fuck is that all about??!?!

The guy doesn't deserve the chance and from a fans perspective he was absolutely battered by Mosley not so long ago, what the f__k does that do for Manny's legacy?!?! Absolutely nothing.

If people are willing to say “forgive and forget” then are these people also willing to forgive convicted rapists (or other scums of society)? The guy was fighting with concrete in his gloves and has done chuffing nothing to suggest he's sorry for what happened.

This would be an absolute shambles for the sport, I for one hope Bob Arum simple f___s off if he's going to keep Manny aboard the gravy train rather than match him up against serious legit challenges… But god bloody forbid they fight under different promotional companies! And all the while we're being told to “f__k ourselves” over the shambolic treatment to us over Gamboa & JuanMa!

Apologies for the profanities, I'm just a tad bit angry at the very mention that this is even being mentioned. — Geoff, London

Even though I’m giving Margarito the benefit of the doubt on his knowledge of the attempted hand-wrap loading, I agree that he doesn’t deserve a shot at Pacquiao and that a victory over the Mexican pressure fighter would do very little to enhance the Filipino icon’s boxing legacy at this stage of their careers.

But you know the deal. Arum doesn’t care what you or I think. He’s thinking about selling tickets at Cowboys Stadium in Texas. Period.

If you want to send a message to the grumpy old man of boxing simply boycott the pay-per-view show of Pacquiao-Margarito if that fight is made. Hell, boycott all of Margarito’s fights.

And do me a favor and give a little bit of hell to my fellow boxing writers who refuse to call Arum on s__t. Tell them it’s OK to criticize major promoters other than Golden Boy Promotions once in a while.

PAVLIK CONFIRMS ODD CORRELATION

Hey Doug,
Just wanted to point out that it's curious how, in boxing, nothing seems to make “making weight” harder than getting your ass whupped. Do you think it's the comfort food? It's kind of hard to imagine Kelly Pavlik or Miguel Cotto curled up on the kitchen floor in bunny slippers and a robe clutching a gallon of Rocky Road, but who knows? Pavlik's a good kid with a lot of heart, a great punch and a better work rate . . . but I couldn't let the weight jump go by without commenting.

Now that Lennox Lewis is done with HBO, I know who I want to take his spot. I think he's a world-class super middleweight (I expect him to get crushed in his next fight, but as of now I think he should be undefeate), but can Carl Froch please retire now and take over for Lennox? I can't think of a boxer I've ever enjoyed more on the other side of a microphone, and I'm not very new to the game. Can you? — Todd

Froch is one of the best interviews and boxer-analysts in the sport. He breaks things down in meticulous fashion like a lawyer but he tells it like it is and he’s funny. The Cobra would make an excellent broadcaster but HBO won’t hire a fighter who’s never appeared on their network. Plus, Froch is not well-known or accomplished enough their boxer-commentator position, which has been held by legends like Sugar Ray Leonard, George Foreman, and Roy Jones Jr.

To be honest I’d love to see Leonard return to HBO’s mic. I don’t care if he’s “old school,” he’s RAY damn it! I wouldn’t mind Jones back on the B.A.D. air, either. I always enjoyed Roy’s commentary, even when he was cheering for his friends.

I hear what you’re saying about the correlation between fighters who lose and the sudden inability to make their usual weight. Hey, fighters need excuses. We all know this. If it was weight, then it would be the trainer, or the conditioning coach, or whoever. Few fighters are just going to admit they got beat by the better man, so they need to change something. Pavlik’s changing his weight class, which at his height and age is probably an OK move (even though he probably would have stayed at 160 pound for at least one more fight had he beat Martinez).

I’m looking forward to watching Pavlik bump heads with super middleweights. How about Pavlik vs. Librado Andrade while we wait for the Super Six to play itself out?

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