ARE WE OVERLOOKING CHINO?

Hey Dougie, You think Marcos Maidana may be a bit underrated coming into the rematch with Floyd Mayweather? The consensus seems to be Mayweather figured him out in the first fight. While that seems right I don’t think that it’s out of realm of possibilities that the Maidana) of the first half of the fight (the unrelenting pressure w/ power to boot) is kryptonite to a pure boxer and that a better conditioned Chino could possibly win more rounds, maybe even win the fight (at least in the eyes of most observers). – Jesse Prado

No, it’s not completely out of the realm of possibility for Maidana to upset the 8-to-1 favorite tomorrow night. I thought he came close in May (scoring it seven-rounds-to-five for Mayweather, as did Showtime’s Steve Farhood; Al Bernstein and Paulie Malignaggi only had Mayweather up by one point). Maybe Maidana is in better shape for the rematch and can outwork (and maybe punish) Mayweather down the stretch of the fight.

There’s a history of hardnosed volume-punching pressure fighters and heavy handed sluggers beating better-technical boxers with more natural talent. Iran Barkley did it twice to hall of famer Thomas Hearns in the late 1980s and early ’90s. Glen Johnson did it to Roy Jones Jr. and Jones’ conqueror, Antonio Tarver, 10 years ago. Sometimes will beats skill. Despite their superior athleticism, elite skill and deeper amateur backgrounds (Hearns compiled a 155-8 record during a 10-year amateur career, Jones was the Val Barker award winner of the 1988 Olympics, and Tarver won a bronze medal in the ’96 Olympic Games), Barkley (the definition of a heavy handed slugger) and Johnson (the epitome of pressure-fighting volume puncher) overwhelmed the odds and media favorites.

Maidana’s definitely a hardnosed heavy handed slugger who shares the same “I-don’t-give-a-f__k-who-you-are” attitude that Barkley and Johnson had, but I have a difficult time envisioning him pulling off the upset tomorrow. I don’t know why. Oh wait, yes I do. It’s the memory of Maidana not being able to finish off Amir Khan in the final rounds of their 2010 bout (although it should be noted that Khan got an assist or two or three from referee Joe Cortez), going life-and-death with a totally faded one-eyed Erik Morales in 2011, being totally contained by Devon Alexander in early 2012, and getting hurt during his scrap with Josesito Lopez last year.

ROMAN & JUAN, DOUG & STEVE, FLOYD & MARCOS

How you doing Doug,

It was a great weekend of boxing last week. Most of the fights didn’t disappoint and the good thing is that what appeared to be the least interesting fight turned out to be the most entertaining. Adrien Broner and Emmanuel Taylor gave us a pretty good scrap that kept me entertained throughout the fight. Even though I haven’t liked Broner in the past, I must admit that after he was defeated by Marcos he’s gotten more likable and entertaining. I was laughing hard with his little dance after knocking down Taylor in the 12^th. I like that. I like that fighters are willing to entertain in different ways. He gave us an entertaining fight and he showed passion in the end.

The most impressive fighter last Saturday was Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez. Everything about that little man equals greatness. He looks, fights, moves, wins like a future hall of famer. I hope he starts getting the respect he deserves and starts appearing on mainstream cable, at least show him on ESPN or UNIMAS. Juan Estrada did what I expected him to do, box a Ricardo Mayorga impersonator as he should’ve. I’m not that impressed, I expected what I got. He would still present Chocolatito the toughest challenge of his career, but I don’t think he can win. Against Segura, I saw some cracks in his armor. Segura was telegraphing his shots and still landed when he wanted. Estrada needs a little bit more head movement and better defense if he intends to beat Chocolatito.

I was happy to see you and Steve Kim back together in the same broadcast. You know I’ve been a fan of you guys since the early MaxBoxing days when “it was good to be a member” (still have my T-shirt). I was a subscriber and loved to hear your input combined with Kim’s colorful insight. Hope you guys continue doing stuff together, you are truly boxing’s dynamic duo.

Floyd Mayweather and Marcos Maidana are fighting this weekend and believe it or not I’m becoming more and more excited for this fight as it comes closer. Even though I’m not a big Floyd fan (I used to be a fan when he came out of the Olympics but have grown tired of his act since he moved up to welterweight) I got to admit I do like seeing him fight. He’s a delight to watch as a boxer. His speed, boxing ability and overall ring intelligence is second to none, yet I still get disgusted by the way he’s managed his career, at least from a fan perspective (he’s doing quite well for himself). Even though I hate his act, I do like watching him fight. I still think that his career is a waste of talent. He could’ve been great and could’ve accomplished more (even though I do think 2010’s Manny would’ve given him a beating). Against Marcos Maidana, a B- fighter, he should win comfortably on the scorecards. He will have a tough time, Chino is not a push over and he will make Floyd earn every penny. My prediction is Floyd by unanimous decision in a closely contested battle.

As I write this letter I was thinking of how the All Access series pales in comparison to the old 24/7s. Watching the first two episodes though, I saw glimpses of how good it can get. I liked the parts where the Maidana Camp was analyzing the fight and when Warren Buffet visited Floyd. It may have a future, but they have to stay away from all the “I’m Floyd,” “I’m TBE,” “I have money,” and all that crap. Maidana’s side is a little bit more interesting because they focus on showing him train, plan, and execute. He may lack a compelling personality but seeing him talk strategy with Mikey and Robert Garcia was way more entertaining than watching Floyd’s road work with his whores and leeches.

Finally, I want to say that I was disappointed to hear that Steve Kim didn’t get his credential for the “Mayhem” fight card, and let me tell you why. Kim, much like you, is a great boxing journalist, one of the only ones left. A guy who actually works on getting articles written, not only report the news (as most bloggers, including me, do). The fact that the business of boxing is trying to get rid of guys like him is sad. I hope it’s not a sign of things to come and how the business of boxing eliminates real media from the fights.

That’s all I got Doug, hope you have a good time in Las Vegas. I’ll see you soon. – Juan Valverde, San Diego/Tijuana

Thanks for the kind words, Juan, but I’m not in Vegas. Like I said on Mayweather-Maidana segment of UCNlive’s “10 Count,” I have no desire to be on site for any more Mayweather “events.” Mayweather-Guerrero was my last. When Kim called me to tell me that his credential request for Mayweather-Maidana was rejected, I told him that he got lucky. Fight week for Mayweather events at the MGM Grand are total cluster f__ks for media and there is seldom any sort of memorable pay-off on Saturday night. Yeah, he’s as talented and skillful as you say he is, but his fights are generally uneventful. So much so, that sometimes I can’t recall if I was actually at one of his fights live or not. Seriously. I was ringside for his 2009 fight with Juan Manuel Marquez and I totally forgot that I was there. For years, my memory of that fight was of me watching it on TV! LOL. Then I came across my media credential for the event while cleaning up my home-office, and I was like “Oh yeah, I was there.”

Anyway, if you’ve covered boxing long enough (and Kim’s been credentialed for major fights going back to the first De La Hoya-Chavez fight), some a__hole bigtime boxer, promoter or industry power broker is going to get pissed off at you at some point and bar you from press row for a particular fight. Bob Arum had my credential yanked from the third Pacquiao-Marquez fight during the height of the Cold War hate between Top Rank and Golden Boy. It happens. With Kim, it was either Mayweather (who tried and failed to have both of our credentials yanked the day before his welterweight title win against Carlo Baldomir in 2006) or Leonard Ellerbe or the big bossman himself, Al Haymon, who blocked his “Mayhem” media credential request. I guess they don’t care much for what he writes or says.

I don’t think it matters, though. Kim’s respected by most of the boxing industry, including De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions. I think he’ll be fine going forward, although as far as TMT cards are concerned, I think he’s going to have to adopt my no-show attitude on Mayweather fights.

I’ve been able to stomach the first two episodes of “All Access: Mayweather vs. Maidana.” That’s all I can really say about the latest installment of the so-called “reality” series. I’m not knocking Showtime’s producers or noted sports writer and author Mark Kriegel, who scripted the Mayweather-Maidana episodes; I’m just tired of watching Floyd and The Money Team shop for garish overpriced clothing and jewelry or dancing in slow motion at barbecues and “black-tie” functions. I like Maidana as a fighter but he’s got nothing to say. I did take notice of the snippets from Mayweather’s sparring session with some chubby vagrant and Eduardo Garcia’s presence in Maidana’s camp during Episode 3, but generally speaking, I don’t care for this type of program. I can’t remember the last time I watched a full episode of HBO’s 24/7.

I also think Mayweather will win a close but clear decision.

Thanks for the nice words about me and Kim, and the new video roundtable boxing discussions (with Ken Miller and Dave Smith). It was good to work with good ole K9 again; and I’m happy to let you know that there’s more to come.

I agree that Gonzalez was the top performer last weekend, while Broner-Taylor was arguably the most entertaining TV fight.

Gonzalez-Estrada II might be the most anticipated flyweight championship sinceÔǪ well s__t, I don’t even know. Ask Cliff Rold. But my point is that it has a decent chance of being televised live in the U.S. I don’t think Broner has what it takes to dominate the 140-pound division, or even win a major belt, but I think he’ll make for a lot of fun fights.

QUILLIN IS AN IDIOT

Peter Quillin is getting played like a f__king fiddle and can’t even see it. He has a “corvette and range rover and a mustang” that he is trying to sell? Who gives a f__k. I have better cars than that and I don’t fight! Anyway, this dude is not that good. I recall him almost getting beaten by one of my Philly dudes before they pulled the plug because of cuts. I recall lackluster performances. I don’t know of a fan base for him. I don’t know of big paydays for him. He was really not much with the title. He will be less than that without the title. Who is he going to fight? Gennady Golovkin or Miguel Cotto? Nope, and even if he fought Golovkin, who I think he would lose to, it is higher risk and lower reward. Cotto ain’t fighting him. He is waiting on Canelo Alvarez and he EARNED that, so no problems.

This dude will fight next for LESS MONEY, lower profile and mark my words, will get beat before he gets a $1.4 million dollar payday. Let’s also watch how many fights it takes him to get to $1.4 million as well. If his managers are so great, then they should pay him $1.4 million for his next fight. They f__ked him and he says at the end of the article “I need to put away money for my daughter.” Okay, guys like him never make $1.4 million and he gave it up. I would not be surprised if a payday like that NEVER comes around again for him. DUMMY MOVE! – JCB

You echo the thoughts of a lot of hardcore boxing fans, and I should note that I’ve received more feedback on Quillin vacating his WBO middleweight title over the past two weeks than Mayweather-vs.-Maidana-related emails.

I’m actually kind of surprised. Like you pointed out, it’s not like Quillin was some kind of killer in the 160-pound division. He’s got one victory over a solid top-10 contender, his title-winning decision over Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam in 2012, and that’s pretty much it. The decision over Winky Wright doesn’t count for much. The Winkster had been inactive for three years going into that bout and had only fought once in the previous five years (a decision loss to Paul Williams). A stoppage of former prospect Fernando Guerrero and a decision over some obscure European junior middleweight (Lukas Konecny) in “who-cares” title defenses didn’t mean much, and I agree that your “Philly dude” (Gabriel Rosado) was getting in his ass before the fight was stopped on a cut.

I like Quillin as a person but he was the definition of a “paper champ,” and that belt was a big part of his marketability as a fighter. Now it’s gone.

I have no doubt that Al Haymon will get him a shot at the WBA “regular” title held by his buddy Daniel Jacobs, but there’s no way he’s getting anywhere close to $1.4 million for that fight – and it’s a fight that he could lose. But Haymon can’t lose with that particular matchup because he also advises Jacobs.

Haymon had Quillin dump the WBO belt for one reason: he doesn’t manage the guy Kid Chocolate was going to have to fight in order to keep the title (Matt Korobov, who is promoted by Top Rank). I understand where Haymon is coming from. That was a fight that Quillin could lose (not that Korobov is all that good, either). However, win or lose, at least Quillin would have made a decent chunk of change fighting Korobov.

Although I don’t agree with Quillin’s decision, I also understand where he’s coming from. He was totally off the radar prior to signing with Haymon. Since joining Haymon’s management stable in early 2012, he’s fought five consecutive bouts on Showtime, starting with the Wright fight, for decent paydays, and he got a title shot in second appearance on the cable network.

If Haymon told him “abdicate that WBO strap, Kid Choc, I’ll get you another title shot immediately and I’ll take care of you even if you don’t win it,” who am I to say that the reigning Manager of the Year won’t make good on his promise? Quillin trusts Haymon. Time will tell where that trust takes him.

Email Fischer at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @dougiefischer