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PBC, LEMIEUX, WARD

What’s up Doug, What a boxing weekend that was!! Firstly I’d like to start with Andre Ward-Paul Smith. The outcome was never in doubt. This was a rust shaking exercise for Ward. He systematically broke down Smith as expected. However, do you think the catch weight is indicative of Ward’s plans to move up? Who would you pick between him and Sergey Kovalev?

David Lemieux-Hassan N’Dam was definitely the best fight in my opinion. Lemieux’s come on by leaps and bounds mentally, physically (he looks in great shape now as opposed to a few years ago) and professionally (Adrien Broner take note) and he’s reaping the rewards. He looked sharp, smart and defensively competent in beating N’dam, who’s one of the best 160-pound fighters there is. Where now for them? Also, good job on the commentary, especially the point you made about Lemieux only being 5-foot-8 but getting maximum leverage on his shots!

Great win for Shawn Porter, who boxed well and dictated nearly the whole fight. Broner looked fast and sharp but extremely reluctant. I guess inside fighters/brawlers are his kryptonite. Porter goes on to bigger, better things but what about Broner? He’s has all the physical gifts in the world but has no urgency or purpose like he did coming up winning titles. I think he’s happy with just making big paydays and the attention he gets. Make no mistake I am NOT a Broner fan but I think he could be a pound-for-pound talent if his head was screwed on. It just seems like a waste to me? Your thoughts? Cheers Doug. – David, Dublin

I’m not so sure of Broner ever being regarded as a pound-for-pound talent again. He’s talented and he’s tough but many of us fans and media (myself included) have overrated him. I thought he would beat Porter (in part due of the 144-pound catchweight) because I thought he’d be the sharper boxer, but the Cincinnati standout did more grabbing, grappling and pushing than sharp shooting.

I hate to use the word “exposed” but two things are clear to me after the Porter loss: Broner should not fight at welterweight, and he’s not very skilled.

I think Broner should drop back down to 140 pounds and work his way up to a shot a fellow PBC stablemate and IBF beltholder Lamont Peterson.

Porter should be in line to face Keith Thurman or Danny Garcia (should those two undefeated contenders get by their Brooklyn veteran opponents this summer). (I say “should be” but I have no idea what to expect from the seemingly random matchmaking of the PBC.) A rematch with Kell Brook would be interesting, too.

Lemieux-N’Dam was the best fight of the night in EVERYBODY’S opinion, not just yours, David. That wasn’t unexpected. It was a good matchup on paper, but the fighters made it an even better fight in reality because of their tremendous efforts. Where do they go from here? My guess is that Lemieux will fight his first IBF title defense against a top-10 or top-15 rated contender in that sanctioning organization, maybe a Tureano Johnson or Sam Soliman or Jorge Heiland. After that, I’m sure his team (Eye of the Tiger Management and Golden Boy Promotions) will see what the 160-pound landscape looks like and position the Montreal star toward big-event showdowns against the likes of Miguel Cotto, Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin.

N’Dam deserves a somewhat soft comeback opponent to rebound from the punishing 12 rounds he went with Lemieux. But after he gets back into the win column, I think he makes for a credible challenger to any 160-pound titleholder and I wouldn’t count him out against the Andy Lee-Billy Joe Saunders winner or the Daniel Jacobs-Sergio Mora winner.

Thanks for the kind words about my commentary (whatever you were able to hear over the arena noise – LOL).

If Ward were to fight Kovalev in his next bout, I would heavily favor The Krusher. If Ward fights a few more bouts at light heavyweight and beats a legit top-10 contender or two, I might change that opinion.

LEMIEUX LIVES UP TO EXPECTATIONS

Hi Dougie,

I can’t say I enjoyed the PBC on NBC fights. All were boring. You know, even though I’m all for boxing on network television the PBC has yet to produce a great fight. What’s it been now, four/five months since the PBC initially aired?

The Porter/Broner fight was pretty dull viewing. I’m happy Shawn Porter won and I had him winning most of the rounds. Outside that 12^th-round left hook Broner landed, sending Porter to the canvas, I don’t believe “The Problem” did much but create more problems for himself throughout the match by holding, fouling, and not letting his hands go. I thought he should have been deducted a point long before the 11^th round. I have no idea what referee Tony Weeks was thinking when he continually allowed Broner to forearm his way out of trouble as soon as Porter came inside.

There was one thrilling fight Saturday night: the David Lemieux/N’dam bout. Finally Lemieux fought a top ten “legitimate” middleweight and what a fight it was. I’ve been tracking the Canadian for awhile and believe he is the only middleweight at the moment who can challenge GGG. I have no idea how N’dam got up from those left hook bombs Lemieux landed. Four huge knockdowns for Lemieux and N’dam kept battling!

So Dougie, you think Lemieux can take on GGG? I certainly like Lemieux’s chances against Cotto, but that fight will never happen. How can the PBC make more exciting match ups in the future? Because, so far, though they’ve had some of the world’s best inside the squared circle but no sparks have flown. Regards. – Erik

How can the PBC make more exciting matchups? I’ll make it real simple and give them my two-part plan for making compelling fights (I won’t even charge them a consulting fee): listen to the fans and include non-PBC fighters in the mix. If Al Haymon makes the fights the fans want to see, chances are good that the PBC will feature more exciting matchups.

Do I think Lemieux can take on GGG? Yeah. Hell yeah! It would likely be the most anticipated showdown between middleweight bombers since Gerald McClelland took on Julian Jackson. Do I think Lemieux can beat Golovkin? Well, that’s another story. I don’t think the young man has reached his peak as a fighter yet, and he’ll have to be at his absolute best to have any hope of beating GGG.

I agree with your opinions of the Porter-Broner match. Too much holding, grappling, shoving and rough stuff (mainly from Broner) for the fight to be an enjoyable watch. And Broner definitely should have been penalized earlier in the bout.

BRONER IS A GONER

Hey Dougie,

* Tony Weeks utterly failed to rein in Broner’s holding and elbowing and his failure to follow instructions (I’m thinking of those idiotic behind-the-head slaps) and should have deducted points earlier.

* The judges got it mostly right. One card was a little too close.

* Shawn Porter is a class act and a true professional.

* Broner’s run, clutch and elbow tactics made me think he was expecting another Maidana beatdown after Porter came out swinging. I guess the catchweight wasn’t draining enough to Porter for Broner’s liking.

* Any jr. welter or welter who’s got power, decent speed and a swarming style should be a nightmare for Broner.

Happy Father’s Day! – Bad Sneakers from Pawtucket

Thanks B.S.

I agree that any 140 or 147 pounder with power, decent speed and a swarming style will give Broner fits (proving he can take a decent shot). Even jr. welters/welters without world-class power can trouble Broner if they are fast, busy and use a lot of lateral movement. I think Lamont Peterson and Chris Algieri can beat Broner.

The catchweight obviously didn’t weaken Porter enough to sap all of his punch resistance and stamina. Poor Broner.

Porter and his father Ken are definitely class acts. I’m happy Shawn got this victory.

I was fine with the official scorecards, though Adalaide Byrd’s was obviously giving Broner the benefit of every doubt with her 114-112 tally.

I don’t know what to say about Weeks, who is usually a solid ref. I think he might be a little gun shy when it comes to Mayweather Promotions/TMT events due to the criticism he took from Floyd (and Floyd-huggers) after the first Maidana fight.

WARD’S A CRUISERWEIGHT?

Hey Doug, I’m a longtime reader of your mailbags and always appreciate your insight…

Of all the fights this weekend, the Lemieux-N’Dam fight was easily my favorite and by far the most entertaining… you did a nice job with the commentary as well… keep it up!

The least entertaining and most poorly executed broadcast was (predictably) the Ward fight on BET. I only caught the last hour of it (in the middle of whatever rapper was doing the halftime show that ROC Nation thinks we want to see), but I had to mention it because of this awesome screen grab I got… they had a graphic that said Andre Ward and Paul Smith were cruiserweights?? F’reals?

I seriously hope they don’t continue using BET as a platform for ROC Nation fights. Between having Sway doing interviews, the lame rappers, and screwy graphics department, it all comes off exactly how it shouldn’t, which is kind of ghetto.

Anyway, enjoy father’s day, and thanks for reading! – Thavius, Los Angeles

Well, what you or I call “ghetto,” BET, Roc Nation and Ward might call “Hip Hop,” “Urban,” “Black,” or “African American.” I didn’t see the BET broadcast (I set my DVR to record but it didn’t take for some reason – maybe my AT&T U-verse cable system is “racist”). However, all the “throne boxing” extras don’t bother me as long the fights are entertaining. Seriously, if promoters and networks want to try to revive HBO’s “KO Nation” format that’s their prerogative. I don’t care as long as action ensues once the bell rings.

I watched the fight (the Sky Sports broadcast) and to be honest, it was a bit of a chore. Smith offered nothing. (Did he even train for this fight?) It was quickly and painfully evident that the British fighter did not belong in the ring with Ward under any circumstance. I’m positive that Ward got better work from his sparring partners. And I’m fairly certain that all of his sparring sessions were more entertaining to watch than the rust-shaking exercise with Smith.

But whatever. Ward got eight and half much needed rounds of work in, and he looked fairly sharp (for being off 19 months). The combinations weren’t there as they have been in the past, but he didn’t really need to put blazing power shots together in order to handle Smith. It will be interesting see where Ward and Roc Nation go from here.

I can guarantee you they won’t be searching for cruiserweight opposition anytime soon.

Thanks for the nice words about the mailbag and Lemieux-N’Dam commentary. I had a good time in Montreal.

ADRIEN “THE JOKE” BRONER

Sup Doug,

Part of me wanted Broner to win so he could talk his way into a Brook fight. Brook would smoke his boots or Thurman. AB needs some real humbling. There is always an excuse you can give yourself for a points loss especially when you’re big headed as f**k! But where does he really go from here? He’s definitely not a welterweight and at jnr welter Terence Crawford is too rangy n classy; Lucas Matthysse would get in that ass baby! Even Provo, who’s flawed, would give him hell! I believe his best bet is to fight Peterson for that belt he never won and should of lost twice but still holds haha. Or boil down to lightweight and pick on smaller guys. That’s what got him to where he is anyways!

Keep up the good work. – Andrew, UK

I agree that Broner should drop back down to 140 pounds. I agree that Crawford and Matthysse, and even Provo, would kick his ass, but being a PBC player, he doesn’t have to worry about facing Top Rank or Golden Boy-promoted fighters.

I also agree that he should target Peterson and the IBF title held by the Washington DC veteran. I would favor the older fighter in that matchup but I think it would be a decent fight. However, Broner needs to earn that title shot. Let’s see how he does against unbeaten prospect/contender Amir Iman or Hank Lundy (if the Philly fringe contender defeats Mauricio Herrera on July 11).

WINNERS & LOSERS

Douglock, Been a minute since I wrote to the mailbag, but every Monday and Friday I’m a loyal reader. The mailbag is the best part of the site, along with Best I’ve Faced. I thought for the most part things went as expected this weekend. I wasn’t expecting Andre Ward to stop Smith because of the rust and his natural tendency to not rack up KO’s, but that was all there was that didn’t go as if thought it would from that standpoint. Ward was dominant as expected and when he’s sharp and back to prime form I believe he’s (along with Floyd & GGG) one of the three best fighters in the world.

This was the first time I saw Errol Spence Jr. and while I understand he was pretty much fighting a punching bag, I thought he looked like the truth. Who would you like to see him moved against next? Lol, now on to Porter-Broner. I’m going on record as saying I think Broner is a piece of s__t. A guy who has all of his idol’s arrogance and bluster, but not his will. Instead, he comes out there with his s__ty work rate, s__tier smile and a defense with more holes in it than OJ’s alibi for Nicole’s 187. Aside from trying to apply a rear naked choke every time Porter got in close and that nice left hook he scored with that floored his foe in the final round, what did he do all night? You can count the amount of combinations he threw all night Doug! He really should have stayed at 135 lbs, at least there he was bigger and stronger, threw harder and thus could get away with his many faults to a degree. I can’t see him beating the top 140lbers-Garcia, Mattheysse, Provodnikov or Peterson. 147? That’s a disaster waiting to happen, he faces all of the same problems there he does at 140lb, but against bigger, stronger guys. Good for Porter, where do you see him moving onto next? Is a fight with Thurman possible? That would be a fun scrap. Regardless, I think Shawn should fight at 147lbs. He’s giving up a natural advantage of size with this cut weight nonsense.

Finally, I was so happy for my man David Lemieux coming up big in the best fight of the night by far. N’Dam showed a ton of heart, rising from four knockdowns and giving back as best as he could, but he brought a Saturday Night Special to a fight against a guy packing two Bazookas. I DO NOT think Lemieux can beat GGG. I DO think he could take Andy Lee or Peter Quilan. If you’re managing Lemieux, why feed him too Golovkin so soon? Why not build him up more? And a few more dynamic knockouts to his resume? That’s where the money is, the slow burn.

Mythical Match Ups:

Michael Nunn Tito Trindad 160

Tommy Hearns Marlon Starling 147

Manny Pacquiao Meldrick Taylor 140

Michael Spinks Joe Calzaghe 175

Evander Holyfield Ezzard Charles 190

– Tom G.

Thanks for the kind words about the mailbag.

I wasn’t surprised at all that Ward stopped Smith. In fact, I was a little surprised that he wasn’t able to drop his overmatched foe. Consider this: Smith was stopped in nine rounds by James DeGale when the newly crowned IBF beltholder only had eight pro bouts. George Groves dropped Smith twice en route to a second-round stoppage when he was only 13-0.

Ward will need to dominate a much better fighter before I once again consider him one of the sport’s elite boxers.

As for Broner, it looks like he’s going to have to work hard to convince the boxing world that he’s even worthy of being called a top-10 contender.

Spence is close to cracking THE RING’s welterweight top 10. I’m sure some of THE RING’s Ratings Panel will suggest that he replace Brad Solomon in the No. 10 spot. However, I’d like to see him BEAT somebody like Solomon before we rank him. I’d like to see Spence face and handle a super tough fringe contender like Leonard Bundu or a rugged badass lower top-10 contender like Diego Chaves.

If I was managing Lemieux, I’d forget about GGG and target the Cotto-Canelo winner. In the meantime, I’d keep him busy against credible opponents who would make for good fights, such as Tureano Johnson.

Your mythical matchups:

Michael Nunn-Tito Trindad at 160 – Nunn by comfortable decision

Tommy Hearns-Marlon Starling at 147 – Hearns by late TKO

Manny Pacquiao-Meldrick Taylor at 140 – Pacquiao by hard-fought decision

Michael Spinks-Joe Calzaghe at 175 – Spinks by close decision

Evander Holyfield-Ezzard Charles at 190 – Charles by hard-fought decision

A GOOD SATURDAY

Hey Doug!

It was a good Saturday to have a get together with my brother and cousin to enjoy three cards that featured the three different sides of boxing: 1) The Mismatch that includes an A side 2) The two overhyped fighters in a fight and 3) The good fight between two nobodies.

Lets start with Ward. It was a shame to see this “fight” take place on tv, Ward was fighting a mismatch that took place on a catchweight that one of the parts missed. It was boring and didn’t show anything that makes me believe Ward is a force at Light Heavyweight. I’m one of the guys that actually believes Ward will stay at that weight class and try to get one of the titles. He did look a little bit rusty and thats why he let him survive more than he deserved, he needed the rounds.

On to number two, Broner and Porter showed why both of them are part of the current overhyped welterweight division. Porter along with Khan are two very predictabl fighters that can be easily beat by a real talent. They are not great yet they are good enough to make some think they deserve the spotlight. Broner once again proved that he’s one dimensional and lacking enough discipline to utilize his athletic gifts to the max. He simply was outhustled by a more determined real fighter.

Lemieux and N’Dam was the typical fight that just delivered enough action for some fans to wet themselves and say that it was great. It was an ok fight that featured a more powerful puncher knock down a very limited opponent four times oh to gas out and let that same guy win enough rounds to make kind of compelling. It was entertaining but it wasn’t close to being a great fight. Both fighters are light years away from Cotto, Canelo and of course GGG. I think Lemieux and Andy Lee would make a hell of a fight though, I hope they make it.

Overall this was a Saturday that featured a lot of whats wrong with the sport… Ward fighting a nobody and boring us, two overhyped fighters in a hugfest and two contenders trying to make the most out of their limits producing a better than average fight that made some think “fight of the year” in a time of drought. – Juan Valverde, TJ

Damn dude, after being one of those optimistic fans who was excited about the PBC bringing boxing “back to the masses” at the start of the year, you done got all cynical on me. LOL. But you still watch every broadcast. You probably watched the Barthelemy-DeMarco show on CBS. Bless your jaded heart.

I agree that Ward fought a “gimme.” He thinks he was “owed” one after being out of the ring for so long. Whatever. He’s back. Let’s see if he and Roc Nation and recapture the respect and fan interest he lost during his hiatus.

I agree to an extent that Porter and Broner are overrated but I still think both Ohio natives can fight, and when they are at their best I think they can give anyone a hard tussle (AB at 140; Showtime at 147). I don’t think we saw either at his best on Saturday, and don’t think their pairing was a good style matchup (duh!).

I disagree with your dismissal of Lemieux-N’Dam. It wasn’t great, it wasn’t Fight of the Year, but it was hell of lot better than “an OK fight.” I also disagree with your description of N’Dam as a “very limited opponent” and your opinion that Lemieux and the former beltholder are “light years away from Cotto, Canelo and GGG.” I think both middleweight contenders could give Golovkin a fight and I believe they have the ability to upset both Cotto and Canelo.

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