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THE KRUSHER

Hey Doug,

I’m picking Sergey Kovalev to totally dominate and stop Jean Pascal inside 10 rounds this weekend. That being said, since the PBC looks to be a league of its own, can we stop dreaming of a future fight between Adonis Stevenson and Sergey? The question is, who does Krusher fight next?

Why aren’t we hearing Andre Ward try to do the appropriate thing by going up a weight class and challenging himself with the best opponent out there, Kovalev? Do you think that fight ever takes place? I’m hearing Ward is seriously contemplating a rematch with either Mikkel Kessler or Carl Froch. The only reason I would be interested in this is if Ward actually made a trip overseas.

Other than that I think that the fight that makes more sense in the real boxing world (not the PBC world of course) is Ward vs Kovalev. What you think? – Juan Valverde, Tijuana

Ward vs. Kovalev would be a fascinating matchup. However, Kovalev has to beat Pascal first (and I don’t think the former champ is going to be as easy for the IBF/WBO/WBA titleholder to dispatch as you do) and Ward has to actually get into a boxing ring. It’s mid-March and Team Ward/Roc Nation have yet to announce his comeback fight. He may not fight someone until the end of May or in June – and we know he’d not coming back to face any world-beaters. Ward’s gotta knock off his ring rust first. Once he does that, he might indeed target one of his old foes – the semi-retired Kessler or the soon-to-be retired Froch – but ONLY if they allow him to call all the shots (and don’t require him to travel). I don’t know if those European stars will play ball with the inactive American, but if they do, it probably won’t go down until the first half of 2016. So I don’t expect to see Ward step up to 175 pounds and face The Krusher in the near future.

So who does Kovalev fight after Pascal? Well, he’s got his mandatory challengers – Najib Mohammedi (IBF) and Jurgen Brahmer (WBA) – and the winner of the Isaac Chilemba-Vasiliy Lepikhin fight (on tomorrow night’s undercard) to keep him busy for the rest of 2015 and the first part of 2016, but those aren’t fights that are going to hold the interest of hardcore North American boxing fans.

And unfortunately for Kovalev, there aren’t any “name” 175 pounders beyond Stevenson. Kovalev is going to need a 168-pound star (not named Ward) to step up in weight for a suitable/marketable opponent. If Froch and Kessler aren’t able to make a deal with Ward, maybe one of those European vets will be willing to take “the Krusher Challenge.”

MAYWEATHER BEATS PACMAN

Hey Doug,

Love your twice-weekly mailbag. Your boxing knowledge is supreme and I must admit that I’m jealous of your job. I know you put in a lot of hours but you truly love what you do and it shows. Anyway, I’m looking forward to the Kovalev/Pascal bout this Saturday. Two warriors with heart (are you listening Adonis?) who will let it all hang out. Of course I favor Kovalev, but by UD, not KO because Pascal has the guts and grit of a champion but is just not the fighter that Sergei is. Regardless of the outcome, we boxing fans will be treated to a good and exciting match.

I want to give my two cents on the Mayweather/Pacquiao bout. Before you roll your eyes and dismiss me, I just want to state that I care not one bit, nor do I want to discuss, the politics, money or egos of the fight. That is all just background noise. I also don’t care who wins, although I would like to see Manny triumph just because I think he is a decent guy and Mayweather is a piece of s__t as a human being.

That being said, I think Pretty Boy will do to PacMan exactly what Marquez did to him in their fourth bout and in much the same way. Pacquiao loves to close the distance with his quick feet and throw several-punch combinations and then move back out or to the side, but as JMM showed, Manny sometimes leaves his chin exposed when he does this, and his movements can be timed. In addition, his forward momentum makes a well-timed and placed punch from his opponent that much more effective, much like two cars travelling in opposite directions hitting each other head-on. I don’t think Mayweather is quite the puncher that Marquez is, but he is faster and is just as good a counter puncher, plus his ring IQ is through the roof. So unless Pacquiao changes his strategy and the way he likes to fight, I think it will only be a matter of time before Mayweather catches him coming in and knocks him out. What say you to my theory, Doug?

Also, two mythical matchups:

RJJ (the middleweight version) vs. Golovkin

Tarver vs. Kovalev (at light heavyweight, of course)

Keep up the good work. – Hammer

I’ll try my best, Hammer. Thanks for the kind words.

I’m not saying a Mayweather KO victory isn’t possible, but I don’t view the matchup the way you do because I don’t think Floyd and Juan Manuel have similar styles. Yes, both future hall of famers are counter-punchers by nature, but Mayweather is a defensive specialist/offensive minimalist, while Marquez is hardnosed combination-punching technician. JMM landed that one-hitter-quitter at the end of Round 6 in their fourth fight because he was willing to stand his ground and fully commit to his return fire. Because of the shocking image of Pacquiao out cold on the canvas, many fans forget that Marquez’s face was falling apart when he landed his Hail Mary Punch. The Mexico City native is willing to take inhuman amounts of punishment. Is Mayweather? I don’t think so. It’s not in his nature to take risks or unnecessary punishment in the ring. It’s not his style to fully commit to his offense. That’s why he seldom scores stoppages. It’s not because he can’t punch or is lacking physical strength (the truth is that Floyd is ridiculously strong and he carries a lot of “pop” on his shots), he’s just not willing go “all in” on his punches and his offense, like a Sugar Ray Leonard. He’s not a finisher.

Knowing this, I see a distance fight. And I envision a closely contested matchup. Pacquiao’s style throws pure boxers off their game. JMM could hang with him because he’s part warrior (and it still took him 36 rounds and four training camps to finally catch The PacMan). Mayweather doesn’t have that “Pacquiao experience” that Marquez had going into their fourth bout. He’s going to need the first five or six rounds to figure out the Filipino icon’s style. I know Floyd can eventually figure Manny out. What I’m looking forward to finding out is how many of those early rounds can Pacquiao clearly win? How much damage can he inflict? And can he keep Mayweather on the defensive over the second half of the bout?

We will find out in seven weeks.

Your mythical matchups:

RJJ (the middleweight version) vs. Golovkin – Even if GGG could take the power of the prime 160-pound version of Jones (who possessed legit one-punch KO ability), the Pensacola Prima Donna had the sublime athleticism and elite hand/foot-eye coordination to play intense games of “keep-away” and “got-you-last” with the somewhat methodical Kazakh Killer en route to a 12-round decision.

Tarver vs. Kovalev (at light heavyweight, of course) – I’ll take the Magic Man in a close (maybe controversial) decision. Tarver’s chin, ring generalship and resolve have always been underrated IMO.

WHY’S FLOYD SO QUIET?

hi doug.

been a fan of your mailbag. keep up the great work. was just wondering why mayweather, known as a trash talker, has been abnormally quiet since the announcement of the most awaited boxing match. all i’ve been reading are articles of what pacquiao and roach are saying. there were a couple of articles from the uncles but that’s it. floyd is quiet? how come. best regards – mjslocsin

Maybe Mayweather realizes that he can’t get into Pacquiao’s head, so he figures “Why try?”

One of Pacquiao’s underrated attributes as a fighter is that he’s very hard read and even harder to bother. He’s the epitome of Happy Go Lucky in the gym, at media events and before the biggest fights. He doesn’t get stressed out and he doesn’t let anyone ruffle his feathers. That aloof disposition tends to get under the skin of his opponents (see Tim Bradley going into their rematch last April for a prime example of this).

Mayweather used to be this way back in the day, but I think the stress of time, the business and being his own boss have finally begun to take their toll, and the result is a subdued version of “Money” during interviews and media events (such as the extravaganza at Nokia Theatre in L.A. this past Wednesday).

Maybe he’s just s__t-talked out after all these years. Maybe he’s grown tired of his own act.

That’s my two cents, anyway. Thanks for the kind words.

THOUGHTS ON PBC, HOPES FOR THE WEEK

Hello there, Mr. Fischer,

How are you? How’ve things been for you? Hope all’s been as well and right as can be for you and the week’s treated you just the same so far as we enter the weekend. I’d been meaning to write in to you for a while now but have been so busy and tired that I ended up forgetting and just now finally got some time do so.

1st off: I loved how PBC on NBC (for the most part, at least) turned out, with the exception of the Adrien Broner-John Molina bout (how my heart ached seeing the way Molina entered as nothing more than a one-punch, one-armed punching bag from Wii Fit and couldn’t be active enough to be competitive enough). I have some fights saved in an archive of mine with original broadcasts from ABC and NBC (watched the Larry Homes-Carl Williams NBC broadcast at work just for the occasion) so it was nice to see how much of a throwback it was to see the Sugar Ray Leonard back on the mic and even see Laila Ali, the daughter of “The Greatest,” work as a commentator and interviewer during the show. I think it’s stupid how some people complained about there being commercials during the broadcast (I was like, “It’s NBC, not Showtime or HBO,” I expected there to be commercials during the broadcast and was happy to see near the end of the matches they made it commercial free) and while it may not be to what most are used to in the last couple years, I’m hopeful it’ll turn out well and we get some great matches shown on channels you could see in a shack without cable.

2nd: What a fight Keith Thurman-Robert Guerrero turned out to be near the end. I thought Guerrero might’ve been just going through the motions after the battle he had with Yoshihiro Kamegai but man oh man is that man tough; got up and took Thurman’s best shots at the end of the 9th and came back to bully his man whenever he could get him and keep him in the corner (even my female best friend’s 13-year-old brother pointed that out to me and he’d never watched boxing before). Not Fight of the Year, as some may have been touting, but definitely a great match to have had for PBC as a Main Event (not all one sided fights are easy affairs, as Abner Mares will attest to after his 2nd fight against Joseph Agbeko). Hopefully Guererro will be all right. I look forward to seeing him again and I can only hope Thurman can continue to get the fights he desires.

My female best friend and I will be catching Andre Berto-Josesito Lopez on Spike (she’ll be recording the program) and we’ll be rooting for him on Friday, while I personally look forward to seeing Chris Arreola and Shawn Porter make their comebacks. Definitely looking forward to Saturday’s clash between Sergey Kovalev and Jean Pascal. I see Kovalev scoring the K.O. in the middle-to-late rounds if he works Pascal’s body good. And the list goes on with the line up we have from now until May 9th. Hopefully we’ll have ourselves a good (if not great) 1st 1/2 to the year.

Mythical Matchups for you:
Sonny Liston vs. Larry Holmes (in a battle of 2 of the best jabbers in heavyweight boxing history).

Joe Frazier vs. Rocky Marciano (I’d really hate to risk Marciano’s “0” but I am curious since both had almost the exact same style).

Ricky Hatton vs. Timothy Bradley at 140.

Manny Pacquaio vs. Henry Armstrong/Barney Ross (in the 3 weight Classes both were Champion).

Punisher vs. Batman (hand to hand combat, obviously); I hope this match up can be one I can actually get your opinion on.

Apollo Creed vs. Clubber Lang

Clubber Lang/Tommy Morrison vs. Mason Dixon.

There is one more mythical match up I have for you, but I can only give that one to you provided you’ve played Punch-Out!! for the Wii and watched/read Hajime No Ippo (Fighting Spirit in the Manga). If you haven’t watched Hajime No Ippo, I highly recommend it and hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did (it’s what got me into boxing).

Well, that’s all for now. Hope you have yourself a good weekend and hopefully I’ll make it into your mailbag again. Take care and be well, good sir. – ÒéÁÒâ│´¢ö, Los Angeles, California

Hey thanks for taking the time to write me again. I’ve been just as busy as you have been, but it’s all good and I’m just as excited about the boxing schedule of the first half of 2015 as you are.

I’m glad you enjoyed the debut of “PBC on NBC” last week. I thought it had it’s pros and cons, but I was OK with most of the commentary and I enjoyed watching Thurman-Guerrero even though The Ghost won no more than three clear rounds. Thurman’s accuracy and Guerrero’s heart made it a compelling match. If that fight made new boxing fans, the new series is well on its way and more power to ’em. I think we’ll see both Thurman and Guerrero in major TV fights before the end of summer.

I’ll also be watching Berto-Lopez tonight – from ringside. I’m expecting a good fight but I don’t know if your guy is gonna be able to handle the Riverside Rocky. I like Lopez by decision. I’m looking forward to watching Porter, who I still think can be force at 147 pounds, but I’m not all that interested in Arreola.

I agree that Kovalev’s key to stopping Pascal is with his body attack. If he doesn’t commit to the former champ’s body, I don’t think he’ll get the KO.

Your mythical matchups:
Sonny Liston vs. Larry Holmes – Liston by close decision (I think he drops the Easton Assassin a couple times)

Joe Frazier vs. Rocky Marciano – Frazier by late-round TKO (via facial cuts). Both heavyweight greats were aggressive come-forward punchers, but I don’t think they had the same style. Marciano was a methodical stalker. Frazier was volume-punching pressure fighter.

Ricky Hatton vs. Timothy Bradley at 140 – Hatton by close (maybe ugly) decision

Manny Pacquaio vs. Henry Armstrong/Barney Ross – what weights? Pacman and Armstrong could have fought at 126 or 135. At welterweight, I think Armstrong outworks Pac, and the Filipino icon outpoints Ross.

Punisher vs. Batman – Bats beats that ass. Punisher is at his best with firearms.

Apollo Creed vs. Clubber Lang – the prime Creed issues a career-ending beatdown over the 15-round distance.

Clubber Lang/Tommy Morrison vs. Mason Dixon – both Lang and Tommy Gun would K Dixon TFO.

I’m familiar with Hajime No Ippo but I’ve never read it, and I haven’t played video games since the 1980s.

AFRICAN FIGHTERS

Hi Dougie ,

A real quick few what do you think about the makabu vs mchunu matchup? And how do you rate them? What do you think of former lightweight champ paulus moses? And do you think a prime Harry Simon would have gone on to beat the great RJJ? – Shaun

Simon was in his prime between the late 1990s and early 2000s when he fought at junior middleweight. Jones was the unified light heavyweight champ at the time. They never would have fought. If they had Jones would have outclassed him en route to a late TKO or decision (Simon had a terrific chin).

Moses was a solid 135-pound beltholder/lower top-10 contender.

I think Junior Makabu and Thabiso Mchunu are legit top-10 contenders (THE RING ranks them Nos. 7 and 8, respectively). I think they’ll give us a good fight (it’s still on for May 16 in South Africa, right?), which is a classic boxer (Mchunu)-vs.-puncher (Makabu) matchup.

THE THURMINATOR & THE BONE-KRUSHER

What’s going on Dougie.

NBC Boxing is back but it certainly wasn’t the triumphant return hoped for. I’m not even going to get started on Broner-Molina. Broner’s another guy who could repeatedly go the distance with a carton of eggs and not crack a single one.

As for Thurman-Guerrero, I can’t help but noticed the very mixed reviews this fight received. Many fans made it out like it was Thor vs Hulk times 100 while many more dismissed it as yet another smoldering package of dog-s__t proudly left for us by Al Haymon. I myself enjoyed the slam-bang action we got in the 9th and 10th rounds but the rest of the fight was pretty mediocre. 2 good rounds out of a combined 24. Not good.

And Thurman. Hey, that guy has some serious power, don’t get me wrong. But he won in large part because he had every form of physical advantage over Guerrero. Not sure how I rate his chances against Marcos Maidana. El Chino may be a grinder just like Guerrero but he’s a full-fledged welterweight grinder with much more strength and punching power. If Maidana traps Thurman against the ropes like Guerrero did it could be game over. But then would we even see that fight? You know how it is with Haymon. That little bastard would sooner go splish-splashing in the Lake Of Fire than actually give us a worthwhile fight. (F__k you too, Haymon)

I also wouldn’t put it pass Guerrero to butt in to take Maidana for himself. Mind you that would be a f__kin’ brutal fight but like some of you guys noted, Guerrero’s wide open for a big right-hand. And against Maidana that’s what you call fistic suicide.

Thurman might bypass Maidana anyways and go after someone like Amir Khan who’s clearly high-risk but brings more bucks to the plate.

Moving onto Kovalev-Pascal. With so many so-called champions and contenders refusing to take any real risks my hat’s off to both these guys for going through with this fight. Hey you look at Stevenson’s last challenger and you got to wonder if that guy was some beaten-down homeless slob living off discarded fast-food scraps and fish-bones when the esteemed Haymon dug him out of the garbage and offered him a title-shot. I can now picture Haymon lining up a few more gutter-bums for his favorite paper-champ

I’m certainly not writing off Pascal. At least not completely. He probably is the hardest puncher Kovalev has faced yet. But I still can’t overlook how he was seriously buzzed by Chad Dawson and hung on because Dawson didn’t have the balls to follow up. That’s certainly a mistake Kovalev will not make. If you’re in the ring with this guy and he hurts you you’re f__ked! Game over! Hey, not everyone can have an anvil-chin like Hopkins. And Pascal is what he is. A top-notch 6-round fighter who starts to flame out once he hits that 7th stanza. And once that happens against Kovalev he’s going to get Bone-Krushed. Kovalev by KO. OK. I’m done. Thanks. – Triple T

I think Pascal is a tough S.O.B (he’s proven his mettle in distance fights with Hopkins and Froch), but the fact is that he didn’t win those bouts and I can’t shake the image of him totally zonked in the 12^th round against Lucian Bute. You are correct: Pascal has power (and world-class athleticism) and heart, but he lacks stamina (and solid boxing foundation). If he fades vs. Kovalev, he’s toast.

I just want to see if he can hurt Krusher if he can land a flush bomb.

Regarding Haymon’s Paper 175-pound Champ, he’s not fighting a “beaten-down homeless slob” next, but he’s facing a totally shopworn former 168-pound beltholder in Sakio Bika.

I agree that Rounds 9 and 10 were the best rounds of Thurman-Guerrero, while the other rounds amounted to target practice for the undefeated punch-on-the-fly specialist.

I also agree that Maidana presents more problems for Thurman than Guerrero, not just because of his power but due to his high-punch volume. Thurman-Maidana is a good, competitive matchup. (I still favor The Thurmanator.) Maidana-Guerrero would also be fun, but where I once would have picked The Ghost to school the slugger, I think Chino now has the edge.

HAYMON MATCHMAKING

Hi Dougie,

Is it just me or is there something peculiar about Al Haymon’s matchmaking on NBC?

Keith Thurman vs Robert Guerrero

Adrien Broner vs John Molina

Andre Berto vs Jose Lopez

Shawn Porter vs Roberto Garcia

Danny Garcia vs Lamont Peterson

As Bricktop said in “Snatch”: “I don’t believe in coincidences”.

He has deliberately matched African American boxers against Hispanics presuming viewers tune in to back their shared ethnic boxer.

What does this say about present day USA? Thankfully this type of cynical matchmaking doesn’t occur in the UK. Many thanks. – Nav Sandhu, Leicester, UK

Is it really cynical matchmaking, Nav? I don’t think so. Maybe it’s just recognizing that fighters of different ethnic/national backgrounds attract fans from different markets/demographics with the goal of maximizing the potential TV audience. I don’t see anything wrong with that.

Boxing was fueled by ethnic rivalries during the sport’s Golden Age. Some of boxing’s biggest stars from the 1960s to the present tapped into ethnic/national followings – from Muhammad Ali (black pride) to Roberto Duran (Latino pride) to Julio Cesar Chavez (Mexican nationalism) to Pacquiao (Filipino nationalism/Asian pride).

I’m sure as the PBC series plays out, we’ll also be treated to all-African American and all-Latino matchups. Maybe Al will get some Europeans, Africans and Asians into the mix, too. LOL.

TETE-BUTLER

Hi Dougie,

I was quite surprised to read in the Monday mailbag that Zolani Tete didn’t get a mention for a quite incredible dismantling of one of the UK’s great prospects in Paul Butler.

Coming into this fight, the vast majority of UK fans thought Butler was untouchable and as dangerous as Tete was on paper, he wouldn’t have the strength to dissuade Butler (given that Stu Hall didn’t pose any problems) and he certainly wouldn’t be able to match Butler for speed. How wrong could we be? Tete was technically superb, mixing up a brilliant jab with a real sharp and sneaky left hand and it became very clear after just 2-3 rounds that Butler was in over his head. I was sure that Butler would hear the final bell but losing a wide decision, then BOOM! The shot that put him away was a thing of beauty.

It was one of the very finest defences in hostile territory (and believe me, the UK fans make sure away fighters are made to feel like away fighters) that I’ve ever seen. Tete deserves enormous credit having now won and defended his title in Japan, Mexico and UK. Not many champions have the stones and the ability to do that. I’ll definitely follow him closely in future. I’m also sure that Butler will still win a world title, just not from that monster!

Keep up the brilliant work D! – Jamie

Thanks Jamie. I’ll do my best.

The ridiculously tall Tete is the real deal, like so many titleholders and top contenders from South Africa and most of the standouts in the sub-bantamweight divisions.

The 115-pound weight class isn’t as deep as flyweight, but it’s got a lot of “monster” talent, including Japanese phenom Naoya Inoue (THE RING’s No. 1-rated junior bantamweight), Mexico’s unbeaten (31-0-1, 25 KOs) boxer-puncher Carlos Cuadras and undefeated (16-0) Puerto Rican contender McJoe Arroyo (Tete’s IBF mandatory contender).

I’m pretty sure we’ll see Tete vs. Arroyo sometime this year, which will be an entertaining boxing match. I’d love it if Inoue (WBO), Cuadras (WBC) and Tete (IBF) attempted to unify the major belts.

By the way, South African fan Droeks Malan emailed me about Tete’s UK victory over the weekend so somebody did mention “Last Born” to the mailbag. I just didn’t have room to include the email because it was 10,000 words! LOL.

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