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Dougie’s Monday mailbag

Fighters Network
13
Apr
Photo by Naoki Fukuda

Photo by Naoki Fukuda

PBC ON NBC

Hi Doug.

I will keep it short. Here are my thoughts on PBC on NBC this Saturday.

1. I love Ray but he reminds me of Lennox Lewis when it comes to commentating. I don’t think I need to say more than that.



2. House fighters won/got draw again. Garcia didn’t show any effective aggressiveness, missing a lot and wasn’t cutting off the ring while Peterson controlling the pace by “running”

3. Garcia’s chin is a stronger asset than his left hook which lost steam by round 10.

4. I know Lee isn’t a pressure fighter but if he was, he would have beat Quillin tonight.

5. GGG will eat both of them for breakfast.

6. Lamont should have pressed a bit more. It really proved that Garcia can’t fight backward at all, especially later rounds when he’s tired.

7. Bradley vs Peterson at 140, anyone? Keep up the good work!!! – Naoki, Las Vegas, NV

Thanks. I’ll try.

And I’ll respond to your point in the order you presented them:

1) Wow. That bad, huh? It’s impossible for me to rip Leonard. He’s my boyhood idol. However, I don’t think his commentary is as strong as it could be. My hunch is that he doesn’t want to be negative at all when analyzing the fighters; plus he’s also getting an earful from the producer/director of the broadcast and he feels obligated to state on air whatever is being suggested to him on his headset. I think he needs to be like Luke Skywalker when the young Jedi-to-be was attacking the Death Star. He needs to push the monitor away, take the headset off, and use the FORCE. In other words, Leonard needs to listen to his inner voice, not that of the producer or director, and he needs to say what’s really in his mind and heart. If he thinks today’s fighters are less conditioned than fighters from his era (or over-trained) or that they don’t throw enough combinations or commit enough to their offense, he just needs to say it and not worry about being perceived as a downer or a bitter old fogey.

2) The A-sides did indeed avoid losses that some believe they should have suffered. There’s no doubt that there’s a clear A-side and B-side in every PBC show. Garcia and Quillin were the “house fighters.” However, I did not have a problem with the scoring on Saturday. I thought the draw was a fair verdict in the Quillin-Lee fight, and I agreed with the 115-113 scorecard for the Garcia-Peterson fight.

3) Garcia does indeed have a world-class chin. His power might be overrated, along with his ring generalship and technique. He does not cut the ring off very well and he wings a lot of his punches.

4) Quillin is lucky he’s part of a boxing league that does not include Gennady Golovkin. Kid Chocolate’s only 160-pound rival right now is Daniel Jacobs. We can expect them to fight for the vacant PBC middleweight belt soon. Honestly, I would favor Chris Eubank Jr., who isn’t even ranked by THE RING, to beat Quillin.

5) GGG devours Quillin like a bowl of Cocoa Puffs and Lee like a bowl of Lucky Charms.

6) Garcia doesn’t fight coming forward very well, either. He was at least able to land counter shots when Peterson was backing him up, but Peterson won those late rounds because of his greater activity/aggression. I agree that Peterson gave the fight away by not starting the aggressive portion of his fight plan earlier. He needed a mid-fight surge, not a late-rounds rally.

7) Didn’t we see this fight in December 2009? I don’t know if Bradley can make 140 pounds anymore. But I wouldn’t mind watching a rematch at welterweight. I was one of the few members of the media who thought the first fight was close.

 

DANNY ESCAPES AGAIN

What’s up Doug? I hope life’s treating you well.

So once again Danny Garcia escapes with the hairs on his chinny, chin chin. I really don’t think he can hang with the top guys at 147. He can’t cut off the ring. Chris Algeri could outpoint this dude, come on. What do you think Doug?

Also do you think we’ll see a Lee-Quillin rematch? Or will we see GGG slaughter this man?

(P.S. This is my first time writing you, cut me some slack.) – Wesam, H-Town

Thanks for finally writing in. Of course, I’ll cut you some slack. You kept it brief! I like that! (I feel like I’m the only person in boxing who gets to drone on and onÔǪ LOL).

I agree that Algieri would give Garcia a difficult fight. I also agree that Garcia lacks the size, power and ability to be a major force at welterweight. He’s kind of like a pint-sized Canelo Alvarez in that he only lets his heavy hands go in spots. He doesn’t work a consistent offense, he tends to loop his shots, and he doesn’t cut the ring off well. I’m also a little skeptical of his power at 147 pounds. He looked like a powerhouse vs. undersized Rod Salka, but against Peterson (who reportedly put on 20-plus pounds after the weigh-in) he wasn’t able to drop, rock or visibly stun his foe. And Peterson isn’t a natural welterweight. I think skilled natural welterweights who are gifted with speed, power and physical strength – Kell Brook, Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter – have nothing to fear from Garcia.

We might see a Quillin-Lee rematch. Apart from Danny Jacobs and Sergio Mora, who else is out there for Kid Choc to fight at 160 pounds? Maybe Quillin will move up to 168 pounds where we could see how he fares against the Dirrell brothers.

We all know Haymon isn’t about to feed Quillin to GGG at any weight.

 

WHY THE PBC SUCKED, AGAIN

Hey Dougie.

Not much time on my hands so I’ll try make this quick.

Let’s start with the main event. Such as it was. I wasn’t expecting much from the Garcia-Peterson fight and as far as I’m concerned we didn’t get much. I had Peterson scoring a very narrow decision but even though he lost the decision he didn’t get too much sympathy from me. He wasted too much time prancing around and shaking his ass. Next time he fights maybe his cornermen should remind him that the first seven rounds count as well.

And Garcia? If he goes up against someone like Matthysse or Provodnikov and fights like he did against Peterson he’ll get knocked hard on his ass. End of story.

The Quillin-Lee fight was far better, of course. Lee sure showed a huge amount of heart surviving Quillin’s initial onslaught including those two knockdowns and coming back and really unloading on that over-the-weight bastard in the fight’s second half. If we still had 15-rounders Lee would have taken it. Come to think of it if it wasn’t for Quillin’s size advantage Lee might have taken him out anyways. And for the record I had Lee pounding out a very close but well-deserved decision. Even when Quillin doesn’t squeeze his overrated ass down to size he still fizzles out after the 6th or 7th round.

Two more statements. Triple G handily pounds the f__k out of both Quillin and Lee. No question whatsoever. Both of them would just be a couple more tootsie-rolls for The Demolisher to chow down on. And second, the judging completely sucks s__t. The clueless broadcasting team sucks even more. You and I can broadcast a fight better than those little dimwits. Sorry, but Ray Leonard is proof that great fighters don’t always exactly make for great broadcasting material.

OK I’m done. Can’t wait to watch Matthysee vs. Provodnikov this Saturday. Bet ya it will blow the f__k out of what we saw this past night. See ya! – Triple T

No doubt about that, Trip. Matthysse-Provodnikov should deliver all the knockdowns of the Lee-Quillin fight, along with the heated exchanges that Garcia-Peterson delivered in the late rounds, plus more aggression, more consistent power punching and sustained action. I’m sticking with my gut pick of Matthysse, but I wouldn’t bet a single penny on it. I really have no idea who will win. Provo’s got the sturdier chin and probably the heavier hands (when it comes to single power shots), but the Russian busts up easier, and Matty has more skill and versatility. Plus, I think the Argentine puts punches together better than the pressure fighter. I wouldn’t be shocked if Provo dropped Matty early in the fight and prevented “the Machine” from warming up by pressing the attack while he’s still woozy. However, my hunch is that Matty can survive rough early rounds and put his own punishment on Siberian Rocky in the middle and late rounds (if it goes that long).

You and I would certainly make an interesting commentary duo (mostly because of you). However, I don’t think the PBC broadcast booth sucks as bad as a lot of hardcore heads proclaim. True, Leonard hasn’t found his groove yet and Marv is wellÔǪ Marv (he’s a basketball specialist), but I think the other members of the commentary team (Al Michaels, BJ Flores, Kenny Rice) did their jobs well on Saturday. They’ve only had two shows. I think we need to give them more of a chance to gel and get used to their respective roles.

“Triple G handily pounds the f__k out of both Quillin and Lee. No question whatsoever.” True statement. No disrespect meant to Andy or Peter, who are really nice guys and solid middleweight contenders. They just aren’t world-beaters.

“If (Garcia) goes up against someone like Matthysse or Provodnikov and fights like he did against Peterson he’ll get knocked hard on his ass. End of story.” I don’t agree with this statement. I know it’s popular for hardcore fans to rip Garcia at every turn at the present time, and the young man certainly has his limitations, but he’s also got considerable strengths – such as strong beard, heavy hands, good counter punching ability, and a decent body attack. Garcia is better suited to fight aggressive punchers like Matthysse and Provo than he is technicians, such as Mauricio Herrera, Peterson or Viktor Postol. The Philly kid is at home when the fight is being brought to him. He looks lost when he has to go out and get it.

“Next time (Peterson) fights maybe his cornermen should remind him that the first seven rounds count as well.” I gotta agree with this statement. I only scored one round (the second round) for Peterson through the first seven rounds of the Garcia fight.

 

ROCKY MARTINEZ BEATS ORLANDO SALIDO

Dougie:

Long time no write, but I have been reading!! I was waiting for a special moment, special time to write, didn’t want to bore you with another Money vs. Pac email, zzzzzzzz!!

Salido vs. Rocky was an awesome fight to see live. I dare to say that it is probably a fight of the year candidate so far! Definitely a worthy fight to add to the proud PR vs Mexican storied boxing rivalry. This time, 3rd time is the charm, the PR boxer puncher came out on top, as Salido had destroyed Juanma without home court advantage the last 2 times.

The interesting dynamic is that given the level of knowledge of boxing fans in PR, they did not hate Salido, they actually appreciated his grit, perseverance, and zombie-like resistance. This was definitely a career defining win for Rocky, and he showed everything: (power, strategy, conditioning, and patience). As always, Salido gave it his all, and both boxers probably gave a couple of years of their lives in that ring, but that’s why we hard-core boxing fans keep coming back for more. What a fight!

Or in proper Puerto Rican/Mexican, “Que Peleon!!!”

Rocky’s power in the 2 knock downs was evident, but the audience always feared the predictable Salido comeback that was just not enough this time. I don’t think Rocky has the tools to beat Lomachenko on points, but you know what, he has a puncher’s chance and we will be watching him try. What an awesome night of boxing at the Puerto Rico Coliseum!!! Saludos. – Christian Formby, San Juan, PR

There was little doubt that Salido-Martinez would be the fight of the night going into their 130-pound title bout and the Mexico-vs.-Puerto Rico showdown delivered.

I’m not going to lie, Christian, I was rooting for Salido. I know he’s a blatantly dirty fighter who has pulled all kinds of unethical s__t – from steroid use (vs. Robert Guerrero) to purposely coming in heavy (against Lomachenko) – but I’m awed by his unconquerable fighting spirit. He’s fought the very best featherweight for the last 15 years and he’s given everyone hell, win or lose. I love that he kept getting up from those knockdowns against Mikey Garcia. That’s what it’s all about.

Plus, roughhouse tactics aside, Salido is one of the very few pure pressure fighters in the sport. And the way “Siri” puts pressure on a mother f__ker probably makes Smokin’ Joe Frazier smile from the Great Beyond.

But props and kudos to your battling Boriqua. Martinez has never lacked heart and it was on display – along with his notable power, underrated boxing skills and incredible poise – on Saturday in San Juan. Martinez boxed Salido for 12 rounds the way Peterson should have boxed Garcia from Round 1 on.

However, as good as Martinez looked against Salido (who is definitely burning out), I wouldn’t give him much of a shot of beating the WBO featherweight champ, Lomachenko. The southpaw Ukrainian’s style, stance and skillset is all wrong for Rocky. I think Martinez has a much better shot of keeping his 130-pound title against WBO No. 1 contender Francisco Vargas, who has a traditional march-forward Mexican style. But I should warn you, although he’s an average boxing talent, Vargas has been steadily improving, fight by fight. He’s not as rugged and relentless as Salido, but he’s fresher, sharper and a better technician.

The more I think of it, the more I view Martinez-Vargas as an even matchup (and an entertaining scrap).

Hey, thanks for writing in after all these years!

 

GARCIA NEEDS TO BE AT 140 POUNDS

Dougie!

First time writing you. I’m a big fan of Danny Garcia’s, but call a spade a spade and was really frustrated with his lackluster performance vs. Mauricio Herrera, then his absurd Rod Salka fight. I was happy when he decided to fight Lamont Peterson, but again disappointed to hear it would be at a 143-lb. catch weight.

After watching the fight, I came away pretty impressed with both guys who took the fight very seriously and fought well. That said, Peterson was able to eat Garcia’s shots well, looking barely fazed even later on in the bout. I agreed with the judges’ decision to give Garcia a win, but instead of moving up to 147 lbs. he should figure out a regiment that allows him to make 140 lbs. again.

If he can’t hurt Peterson, a solid but unspectacular junior welterweight, how is he going to move up and hurt guys like Marcos Maidana and Robert Guerrero? Discounting Floyd Mayweather (and probably Pacquiao) I think the best welterweight out there is Keith “One Time” Thurman. If he fought Garcia, I think he’d take Danny’s head off–and this is from a Garcia fan!

Anyway, what did you think of Garcia’s performance and should he re-think moving up? More money at 147 for sure, but he will take losses. – Raimundo from Staten Island

Thanks for finally sharing your thoughts with the mailbag, Rain Man. I agree with your take on the Garcia-Peterson fight and Garcia’s future. I think “Swift” did just enough to earn a close decision against a solid but unspectacular junior welterweight (who made a tactical error), and I think he has more of a future at 140 (if he can find a way to make the weight safely) than he does at 147.

I wouldn’t count Garcia out against a hard-charging mauler like Maidana or a plodding grinder like Guerrero – both of those welterweight vets are pretty battle worn at this stage of their careers – but I think he’d get outclassed and brutalized against the likes of Brook, Thurman and Porter. I think Tim Bradley would outbox and outhustle Garcia.

At 140 pounds, he’s got the winners of Terence Crawford-Thomas Dulorme and Matthysse-Provodnikov, plus Jessie Vargas, Jose Benavides and a rematch with Mauricio Herrera. And if Haymon can’t play ball with Top Rank, GBP and the other independent promoters out there, there’s always Garcia’s fellow PBC league members: Adrien Broner, Omar Figueroa and the rematch with Peterson.

We’ll see what happens. Something tells me his pops wants him to stay at 140, but the young fighter is looking at the bigger fame and bucks of the welterweight division. The lure of money is usually too strong for anyone to resist in boxing, regardless of the consequences.

 

WHAT’S NEXT FOR GARCIA AND PETERSON?

Hey Dougie,

Longtime reader, first time writing in. I wanted to get your take on the Garcia vs. Peterson fight. I had it 115-113 for Garcia, but I don’t have any issues with anyone seeing it as a draw or close for Peterson. I thought Lamont won rounds decisively when he applied pressure, but I thought he squandered away other rounds by being too defensive and/or showboating. Had he fought a couple of more rounds as a pressure fighter and fewer as a 143-lb bootleg Rigondeaux, I think he would have sewn up the decision against a Garcia who seemed to absorb too much damage and look flustered at times.

In the loss, I don’t think Lamont has hurt himself by giving a gutsy showing while coming up short. For DSG though, the win does little to help his image given his recent history. I’d still favor him in a rematch with Peterson, should that occur. I’d also go out on a limb and favor him against the winner of Matthysse-Provodnikov, particularly if it’s a rematch against The Machine, though with serious reservations in either case.

However, I don’t see him beating more versatile fighters such as Bradley and Brook if he moves up in weight, nor do I think Postol would be a good stylistic matchup for him if he opts for 140. I think a fight against Maidana at 147 would be an interesting matchup that’s winnable. What are your thoughts about the Peterson fight and Garcia’s future potential? Also, mythical matchups: Matthew Saad Muhammad vs. Sergey Kovalev @ 175 Miguel Cotto vs. Paul Williams @ 147 Ricky Hatton vs. Ruslan Provodnikov @ 140 Oscar De La Hoya vs. Sergio Martinez @ 154 Thanks – Paul, Philadelphia

I agree with your take on the scoring for Garcia-Peterson. I had it 7-5 in rounds for Garcia but I would have had no problem with a draw or Peterson winning a 115-113 decision. I scored rounds 2, 8, 10, 11 and 12 for Peterson. He could have easily taken another one of the early or middle rounds, as well as Round 9, if he would have stepped into his jab a little more and let his right hand go more than two or three times a round.

As for Garcia’s future, like I stated in the previous email response, I think he’s better suited for junior welterweight than he is welterweight, but I expect him to officially step up to 147 pounds by the end of this year.

Welterweight seems to be the destination of all talented featherweights/lightweights/junior welters of this era. Most of THE RING’s welterweight top 10 began their careers under 147 pounds: Mayweather (champ), Pacquiao (No. 1), Khan (No. 3), Bradley (No. 4), Marquez (No. 6), Maidana (No. 8) and Guerrero (No. 9).

Only Brook (No. 2), Thurman (No. 5), Porter (No. 7) and Chaves (No. 10) are natural welterweights.

Garcia might as well toss his hat into the 147-pound arena and see what happens.

Your mythical matchups: Matthew Saad Muhammad vs. Sergey Kovalev @ 175 – MSM stops The Krusher late in an epic come-from-behind victory (which was how he usually won)

Miguel Cotto vs. Paul Williams @ 147 – Tough call, Cotto at his best (pre-Margarito) had the precision and power to hurt P-Will, but the Punisher’s pressure and swarming style could eventually get to him. I’m going to go with Williams by controversial split-nod. He had the heart and activity to outwork Cotto, who tended to fade a bit in hard distance bouts (even at his best), down the stretch.

Ricky Hatton vs. Ruslan Provodnikov @ 140 – Hatton by close decision. They’d go at it hard in the early rounds until Provo hurt Mad Hatter, then Ricky would play it safe and outmaneuver and outhustle him over the rest of the bout. It wouldn’t be pretty, but Hatton would neutralize Provo the way he did Juan Urango.

Oscar De La Hoya vs. Sergio Martinez @ 154 – the 2001-2002 junior middleweight version of De La Hoya outpoints Martinez via close but unanimous decision. Martinez would outwork and bust up the 2003-2007 junior middleweight version of De La Hoya that slowed down considerably.

Wow. Those were tough mythical matchups. Thanks for finally writing in. Do it again real soon. And give me more MMs like these.

 

HELLO FROM NEW ZEALAND

Hi Dougie,

I have been reading your mailbag for over 6 years, I always enjoy your blunt opinions and knowledge.

I am so excited for the big event on May 2nd, my gut says Manny Pacquaio and my head says Floyd Mayweather Jr.

I thought Lamont Peterson got robbed in his fight with Garcia. Garcia’s face was a mess. It was an enjoyable fight.

One mythical match up, the Ricky Hatton that beat Kostya Tszyu vs Danny Garcia.

Also, I am in a band and we have just recorded a song with a sample of the pre-fight introductions of the first Ali-Frazier fight. You really feel the electricity in the air of the event set against music.

https://soundcloud.com/silver-aeroplane/glove-up

Thanks again. – Pete from New Zealand

Wow. Good psychedelic rock, Pete. I love the Frazier-Ali I intro sample and all the boxing-style references in the song. I haven’t smoked pot in close to 20 years but this tune (Glove Up) made me want to. (That’s a compliment, by the way.) When you and Silver Aeroplane hit the bigtime, don’t forget about your boxing-writer buddy Dougie. Give me a shoutout or something when you guys do Saturday Night Live.

Your mythical matchup: Hatton at his best would have worked Garcia over to a clear UD in a competitive fight.

I don’t think Peterson was robbed. He did just enough to lose a close decision to the house fighter. He should have known better. Don’t judge a fight by the fighters’ faces afterward. Frazier lost that first bout to Ali if you go by the facial damage.

I’m not excited about the “Clash for all the Cash” yet, but like you, my gut says Manny and my mind says Floyd.

Thanks for reading this column for as long as you have. Email me again real soon.

 

 

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

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