CLASH OF AGES

Heads up Dougie.

I’m back with another “rant”! Hey I’m The Terminator remember? I won’t stop until my rants are read.

Anyways I’m just going to start with this “Clash of Ages” Showtime fight-card we’re getting this Saturday. Among this stacked card pitting oldies against newbies, we have Antonio Tarver-Lateef Kayode which could be the 200-pound version of Hopkins-Pascal. Then there’s Winky Wright-Peter Quillin, which will probably be more like Alvarez-Mosley.

Let’s start with Taver-Kayode. I don’t know much about Kayode other than he’s a muscle-laden blockhouse of a fighter who looks like he been trained 24/7 by Lou Ferrigno. And the fact is that he’s a serious puncher. It’s possible that this big bull-moose bastard will trample over the older Tarver. But it’s probably more likely that the vastly more experienced Tarver will take the bruiser to school.

And even if Kayode does prove to be too big and strong Tarver might still have his wits and iron-chin to hang tough over the full twelve rounds.

And Quillin-Wright? S__t, I didn’t even know until just now that Wright was making a return. for all the impact that will make. If this was the Wright who completely dominated Shane Mosley and Felix Trinidad, I — like anyone else — won’t even give Quillin an atom’s testicle-sized chance of even winning a round. But that version’s long gone thanks to age and all those thick multi-layers of ring-rust. So I’m picking the younger fighter here to give the rusty old pug a ten-round smack-down followed by Wright disappearing again with hardly anyone noticing or giving a crap. Too bad Wright didn’t get his stubborn ass in the ring a few more times after coming so close to beating then-middleweight champion Jermain Taylor back in ’06.

Froch-Bute Aftermath: Well, I was one of those very few who predicted this fight to end with a shocking knockout. I just picked the wrong guy. Nevertherless, I’m still not buying into this bulls__t about Lucian Bute being a “fraud” or “overrated.” He is still a damn good fighter and a serious puncher. He just got clobbered by a better fighter and one who was vastly underrated, especially by myself I’ll admit. Again it was more about Froch being underrated as opposed to Bute being supposedly “overrated”. No, Froch is not the best super middleweight as Andre Ward already made clear. But is the Brit the most exciting one? Absolutely. You see one of Ward’s fights then you pretty much have seen most of them. Not so with Froch. His fights are downright unpredictable. His huge win over Bute was a friggin’ good example.

Okay Doug. That’s my rant of the week. – Todd The Terminator

Nice rant this week, Todd. I’ll start with your take on the two co-featured bouts of Showtime’s “Four Warned” card.

I like Kayode a lot and I enjoy watching him fight for the most part, but I heavily favor Tarver in this old lion vs. young lion matchup. Kayode is raw and extremely basic but he can hurt Tarver if he lands clean. However, that’s going to be hard for him to do while eating stiff jabs and straight lefts from the 43-year-old veteran (who I happen to consider hall-of-fame worthy). Oh, and I think Tarver has the power (and, more importantly, the accuracy) to hurt Kayode.

We might get a decent scrap out of this cruiserweight showdown. I like Tarver by unanimous decision or late stoppage. But Kayode won’t go easy. Tarver’s going to have to work for his “W.”

I think Wright and Quillin will give us a good fight. Quillin, who I think is little “off” (but in a good way), will probably take the fight to Wright, which is usually a recipe for action. Quillin is such a big and athletic middleweight – yet raw and somewhat awkward – that he reminds me of Jermain Taylor (who I thought Winky soundly beat in ’06). If Quillin were facing that version of the Winkster, forget about it. Wright wins. But Wright is 40 and inactive, so I think he’s going to be pulled into a war (not unlike the Taylor fight). I favor young buck to narrowly pull it out with greater activity.

Regarding your call on the Bute-Froch fight, don’t sweat it. It was a realistic scenario no matter how many armchair Eddie Futches of the Twitterverse claim that they predicted The Cobra to walk all over Bute’s boo-tay (AFTER the fight, of course).

I agree that Bute is still a world-class super middleweight and that Froch, while not on Ward’s level, is indeed a lot of fun to watch – and his unpredictable nature is a big part of his appeal.

FRANTIC WEEK

Holy crap, Dougie.

With the Froch-Bute shocker, the even more shocking news concerning Paul Williams and Johnny Tapia, and new fights being signed, it’s sure been a past few crazy days for the sport.

Concerning Froch-Bute I was expecting Froch to possibly pull it off. I didn’t expect him to do it that suddenly or easily. And to be honest with you I really hoped for Bute to win it. But Froch was just that much obviously tougher. So where does Bute go from here? In a way he kind of reminds me of Vladimir Klitschko. Like Klitschko, Bute is a very skilled, athletic fighter with tremendous power but with a very questionable chin and stamina. Of course, Klitschko did rebound from not just one but two crushing kayo losses.

It will be interesting if Bute will be able to do the same. Just one huge difference. Bute has to rebuild himself in a much tougher division than Vlad did.

As for Froch, since he clearly doesn’t bother himself with tomato-can fighters, how do you see him doing against a big middleweight bomber like Gennady Golovkin or a light-heavyweight brawler like Tavoris Cloud?

Speaking of Cloud, I think that his recently signed fight with Jean Pascal is one of the best fights that could be made at 175 pounds. I’ll like to see Pascal pull it off but Cloud’s such a freaking monster. But knowing Pascal, he’ll sure be up for the challenge. Your thoughts on this one.

May Johnny Tapia now find the peace he clearly didn’t have before. The fact that he fought it out in the ring like he did despite all that other crap he had to face in life was truly remarkable. Rest In Peace, Champ.

Here’s also hoping a successful recovery for Paul Williams, another true warrior. He clearly had his flaws as a fighter but lack of heart wasn’t one of them. Get better, P-Will. Take Care, Dougie! – Phil M.

Given Williams’ positive attitude and fighting spirit, I won’t be surprised at all if we see him on his feet ringside at a big event within five or six years. It’s tragic that his career is suddenly over, especially when he finally got a name opponent (Saul Alvarez) to face him in a pay-per-view main event, but there are obviously much more important things than boxing for Williams to concern himself with.

My guess is that he’s satisfied with the body of work he put together before the accident. Williams accomplished a lot for a 30 year old who started boxing late and didn’t have many amateur bouts. He’s a two-time welterweight titleholder who was a legit contender in three weight classes (147, 154 and 160 pounds). He’s got decision victories over Sergio Martinez, Winky Wright and Antonio Margarito. That’s not bad at all.

Tapia’s death wasn’t surprising at all but it was still tragic given that he had worked so hard to control his drug addiction and we’d seen him on TV recently, working the corners of young fighters and doing some broadcast work for Showtime. Tapia was one of those fighters you had to root for in and out of the ring. I was hoping he could sort of reinvent himself as Mike Tyson has done in recent and beat the odds by living a long, fruitful life. But it wasn’t meant to be.

Tapia leaves a hell of a boxing legacy behind. He’s one of the best fighters I ever covered (arguably the best 115-pound champ ever). He wasn’t just a fierce fighter who knew how to entertain the fans (and loved doing so). Tapia could box his ass off. He had everything – speed, reflexes, technique, finesse, footwork – but a KO punch. There’s no doubt in my mind that he will be inducted into the hall of fame.

I think Cloud-Pacal is going to be a very good, hotly contested bout. I slightly favor Cloud because of his pressure and consistent offense, but he’ll be troubled by Pascal’s speed and ability to punch on the move, and I wonder if he can win a close distance fight in Montreal.

I think Froch would do very well against Golovkin (because of his size and iron chin) and against Cloud (due to his experience and underrated boxing ability).

I think Bute can rebound from his humiliating KO loss as Klitschko eventually did, but I think he would do well to emulate the heavyweight champ’s gradual comeback and not rush back into the ring with a top dog. In other words, though I would be impressed if Bute forced the rematch clause with Froch, it’s probably best if he retools with a few tune-up bouts.

Another key difference between Bute and Klitschko’s comebacks is that Wladdy had just taken in Emanuel Steward as his head coach when he Lamon Brewster shocked him. Steward was able to pick up the pieces and help rebuild Klitschko into a more effect heavyweight with a different style than the one he had. Bute might not be able to chance his style if that’s what’s needed (and I’m not sure he’s got the right trainer to do that).

DAVID REID

Did you guys get any response/feedback from fans on that excellent, however shocking and sad story about David Reid? That is the other side of the sport, when you look at fighters victimized, ruined and left broke to fend for themselves, you can’t fault Floyd Mayweather. They said his “peeps” stole most of his money. I wondered about him for years. Felix Trinidad ended his career. That was a brutal beating, obviously he got brain damage, and he only had a handful of fightsÔǪ

Also sad is PWill damn. РJCB

It is indeed sad. However, unlike Reid, I think Williams has always had good people around him. As far as I know, Paul has saved much of his ring earnings and more importantly, he’s got a strong support group of family and friends.

I guess Reid didn’t have that, aside from Al Mitchell and some Philly boxers that he inspired.

Did you know I was ringside for the Trinidad fight? (it was outdoors at Caesars Palace, in early 2000, not too long after HouseofBoxing.com had been bought and just after we brought Michael Katz in as our big cheese columnist.) I was still learning a lot about the sport at the time (“only” 29 years old), but it was obvious to me and most observers that Reid was absorbing a career-ending beating over the second half of that fight.

Reid was too tough for his own good that night. His corner, the ref, or somebody, should have ended that fight long before it went into the championship rounds. I’ll never forget how lumped up and hunched over Reid was during the post-fight press conference.

I know the story has been accessed a lot and I’ve received a few emails from fans who met Reid when he was fighting and wished him well, but the author of the article, Joe Santoliquito, will be able to tell you exactly how it’s been received by the boxing community. Shoot him an email when you get a minute: [email protected].

THE ‘O’ DOESN’T MEAN A THING

Alright Dougie!!! What a night in the UK last Saturday!!

All I can say about Carl’s performance is WOW!!! Not in a million years would you believe he was the underdog going into that fight. He gave Bute no chance. Do you think there will be a rematch after such a savage beating? Has to be Froch v Kessler 2 next. I see the Cobra getting some revenge there!!

While on the subjects of ‘0,’ I think Danny Garcia’s is living on borrowed time! I see a late stoppage for Amir Khan on that one. How do you see it playing out?

Keep up the mailbags, Dougie. We love the banter in the UK! – Dave, Weymouth UK

Thanks Dave. I think Froch-Kessler II is the rematch that we will be treated to and like you, I favor Froch in that one (though I suspect it will be another hard-fought battle).

I don’t know if Khan is going to score a knockout but I think he’s going to beat Garcia next month. Nothing against Garcia, but I think he’s being rushed a bit with this fight and I believe that his somewhat cautious counter-punching style is not going to be enough to beat the talented Brit.

However, the Philadelphia native does possess the speed and power to catch and hurt Khan. That factor should make the contest interesting but I think Khan’s busy, mobile boxer-puncher style will too much for the young, still developing titleholder.