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Dougie’s Monday mailbag

Fighters Network
26
Jul

kovalev-mohammedi

ONE VERY MEAN MAN, ONE VERY BAD DECISION

Dougie,

Why is GGG’s PPV Big Drama Show on the same night I’ll be flying to China!! I just bought my damn ticket and can’t change it! Talk about s__t luck. Is it worth $50? Yeah, it is because it will be a FIGHT. But I don’t see it doing more than 250 K buys. GGG needs another year and an opponent named Miguel Cotto or Canelo Alvarez to truly cross that bridge. Anyway, I’ll miss the fight and have to download a flipping Torrent. Crap!!!



Is the Krusher the 175-pound version of the Big Drama Show? I sure as hell think so. He’s a mean, mean man and has bad intensions at every turn. I believe him when he says he wanted to extend the fight a bit longer and give the fans (what few there were in attendance) some action. GGG is selling tickets. So what needs to happen to get seats filled for Sergey Kovalev? The man is a monster and brings it. The second he is fights anywhere near me I am getting in the car and going. It’s crazy he just fought in a near empty house. And look at what happened. One huge fight followed by one bad-ass KO!

What say you about Jean Pascal’s gift decision against the rough and beastly Yunieski Gonzalez? This is why I hate judges. That fight was very clear. Even with some close rounds one guy won and the other guy didn’t. One guy hurt the other guy a lot more than he was hurt and one guy moved forward most of the fight while the other retreated. No way does Pascal win 5 rounds, let alone 6! I want to see Gonzalez rewarded for the fight he won. Decision be damned.

Pascal makes more economic sense for team Krusher due to his popularity up north, but I think French accented warrior gets decapitated in a rematch with Kovalev. Gonzalez would be a far more credible opponent. Just imagine the bombs. It would be nuclear.

I won’t go into the impossibility of a Superchicken fight. Adonis Stevenson’s so called fans keep crapping all over the Net calling Kovalev the chicken! What?! The racism against white Russian and European fighters is growing and social media is allowing it to fester into something truly ugly. I don’t even bother with social media at this point. It’s just too nasty.

Real quickÔǪ I watched Beibut Shumenov’s victory over BJ Flores this morning and must say, the Kazakhstani brawler learned A LOT from his fight with Bernard Hopkins. He was very smart, used constant movement to frustrate Flores and deserved the decision. Flores, who is a great commentator, seemed clueless on how to cut off the ring. That factored with his low punch output translated to his giving the fight away. He blew it.

How far do you think Beibut can go at cruiserweight and do you think Al Haymon will give Flores another TV date?

Later. – Matt Stevens

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on a busy night of boxing. Tough break being out of the country the night Golovkin and Lemieux clash in NYC. Me and the other members of the GGG-Unit will toast a few rounds in your honor at Jimmy’s Corner.

I don’t see GGG-Lemieux doing more than 250,000 PPV buys, either. In fact, I think that would be a good number for a perceived mismatch – I think GGG is something like a 14-1 favorite – between two foreign-born fighters. Golovkin has mad respect among hardcore heads and the boxing media (as well as mad hate from some fans – you ain’t kiddin’ about that racism in the Twitterverse), but he’s still making his name among the so-called “casuals.” Lemieux, on the other hand, is just starting to earn respect among hardcore fans after being “exposed” as a prospect against GGG-victim Marco Antonio Rubio in 2011. So, I don’t think we’ve got a PPV main event that’s going to capture the imagination of the general sports fan public, but most hardcore fans (the ones who aren’t negatively obsessed with GGG) know that they will be treated to a Big Drama Show on Oct. 17, so I expect Madison Square Garden to be packed.

This brings us to your excellent question: “GGG is selling tickets. So what needs to happen to get seats filled for Sergey Kovalev?”For starters, Kovalev needs to be taken out of the casinos. He’s not going to build a real fan base fighting in Atlantic City or Las Vegas. Nobody’s going to drive to sweltering hot Vegas in the summer to witness a blowout against an unknown sanctioning body mandatory. GGG started earning fans on the East Coast (fighting often at MSG) before tapping into the massive Mexican fan base on the West Coast, fighting at StubHub and The Forum in Southern California (and K2 Promotions was smart to work with other promoters in order to place well-respected lower-weight fighters – Nonito Donaire and Chocolatito Gonzalez – in the co-featured bouts of those cards). I think Krusher needs to either be pushed to the large Russian population in NYC or Main Events should try to “pull a GGG” and win over Mexican fans by fighting in the greater L.A. area.

I think Kovalev vs. Gonzalez would sell well in either market. I no desire to see a Kovalev-Pascal rematch.

I scored Pascal-Gonzalez even, five rounds a piece. Could two round that I score for Pascal have gone to Gonzalez? Absolutely, but I didn’t mistake the Cuban’s activity for achievement. He threw a hell of a lot more than Pascal but only landed nine more total punches, according to CompuBox, and only two more power punches.

I think Pascal got the slight benefit of the doubt on the official judges’ scorecards but I don’t consider this fight to be highway robbery. Sorry.

Regarding Flores-Shumenov, I didn’t bother scoring it but I thought Flores won it. Mind you, I watched the fight on my laptop in bed while drinking a full glass of Scotch and openly rooting for my Missouri homie on social media, so please take my opinion with a grain of salt.

I don’t think Shummy will go far in the cruiserweight division. And you will definitely see Flores again (as a commentator and boxer), thanks to Al Haymon.

MAYWEATHER, FROCH, GGG

Dougie,

It’s been quite some time since I last wrote, hope all is well with you.

Mayweather

Please let this be his last fight and he’s not pulling a James Brown “Please, Please, Please” move (while draped in a cape he pretends to leave the stage yet throws it off to come back for more). After the dreadful Pacquiao mega event, he’s more than worn out his welcome with boxing fans. FloydIdiots want more, but the boxing public as a whole is sick of his schtick. Whether he beats or loses to Berto, who cares. Get the f__k out.

Froch

I feel the complete opposite regarding the retirement of Carl Froch; however, I do respect his decision. There was a stretch when Froch clearly had the best resume in boxing and win or lose you never felt cheated after his fights. He wasn’t blessed with a ton of natural ability, but he was a grinder and fought with passion. I didn’t care for how he ran his mouth, but he more than made up for it with how he performed inside the ring. For a guy with far less talent and natural ability than Mayweather, he’s far more worthy of being called a fighter.

GGG & LePieux

I don’t think much of David “Pepe” LePieux, but the fact he will be GGG’s biggest test to date says all you need to know about the quality of GGG’s resume. I don’t give LePieux a chance outside of landing a haymaker early. I expect this fight will go a few rounds then LePieux will run out of gas and get clobbered in violent fashion. With that said, I’m not anti-GGG, my issue is more with his fans. Most have read the FloydIdiot and/or PacTard manual for annoying fans.

GGG might prove to be the goods, but at this point his reputation is closer to Edwin Valero (minus the violent streak) where his gym/sparring stories outpace his accomplishments in the ring. The irony is, LePieux is a bigger draw in Canada than GGG is here. The fight should be in Montreal or Quebec and certainly is not PPV worthy. I give his promoters’ credit for making the attempt to develop him into a PPV star. I’m looking forward to it but I’m certainly not dropping $60 even if Chocolaito is on the undercard. I get that Chocolatito is a badass for his weight class. I just can’t get into watching guys fight that stand eye level to the top rope.

I still hope it’s a good card with exciting fights… I’ll catch the replay the following week.

Just a few thoughts for you…all the best. – Muzse

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Muzse. Good to hear from you.

I echo your opinions on Mayweather and Froch. I wish it was Floyd saying goodbye to the fight game and The Cobra hanging around for a few more “hurrahs,” but as much as I want to believe that Mayweather wants to call it a day after reaching 49-0 or 50-0, I know that it’s going to be very hard for him to retire when he can make $30 million-plus against anyone.

I agree with part of your analysis on GGG and Lemieux but I think you’re being a bit hard on both of them. The 26-year-old Canadian earned a major title against a legit top-10 contender in his last bout, and he proved that he’s not a front runner. The young man was bangin’ for 12 rounds against a game, world-class boxer. Your nickname for him, while clever, isn’t really fair to Lemieux. He’s not a stinker (in terms of style) and he doesn’t stink (in terms of ability).

I agree that GGG pro resume and reputation is a lot like Valero’s. In fact, Valero – who won major titles in two weight classes – might be more accomplished (as a pro) at this point in GGG’s career. However, GGG has his stellar amateur record and accomplishments adding to his credibility, plus the popularity garnered from several HBO appearances (which Valero never had). I’m sure that GGG-Lemieux would be big event in Montreal, but it will be big in NYC too. GGG has fans in New York and Lemmy’s faithful will be willing to travel south to witness the fight. Also, I disagree that Lemieux is the bigger draw (even in Montreal). I was ringside for Lemieux’s last two bouts (in Brooklyn and in Montreal) and for GGG’s last two bouts (in Carson and Inglewood, California) and Golovkin drew at least twice as many fans.

As for this line – “I just can’t get into watching guys fight that stand eye level to the top rope.”I’ll tell you like I told my man BJ Flores (via Twitter) when he made a similar comment:

Your loss.

KRUSHER VS. SUPERMAN: MAKE IT HAPPEN

How long can WBC champ Adonis “piece of ****” Stevenson avoid Kovalev? How come Kovalev isn’t even ranked in the WBC and why don’t more boxing journalists like you push for that fight to happen? Why don’t you call Al Haymon and demand that fight? We boxing fans simply don’t have his number… – Guy

I don’t have Haymon’s number and if I did, I seriously doubt he would return my calls. (Now that I think about it, nobody returns my calls. Which serves me right because I never return anybody’s calls.)

Anyway, in Superman’s defense, his people did call Kathy Duva’s bluff when she made Krusher the mandatory challenger for Stevenson’s WBC title.

Team Superman said: “Let’s go to purse bid.”

Team Krusher said: “Um, not right now.”

BRING BACK LARRY HOLMES

Hi,

I’ve been a boxing hardcore fan for 25 years. I have bought Pazienza-Rosenblatt and Camacho-Duran 2 on pay-per-view. I have been through a lot, but slowly the judging is starting to kill me. Isn’t time for network to disregard official results?

Congratulate Jean Pascal wish him luck in his future endeavor but give the next shot at Kovalev to Gonzalez.

Also, I have a suggestion for a PBC event, BJ Flores and JC Chavez Jr in 5 feet of water at 196 pounds (the weight is symbolic and in no way has to be respected).

Finally, it could just be me but I think Larry Holmes, right now, wearing a sports bra and some Kareem Abdul-Jabbar goggles could still beat the lower half of the heavyweight top 10 with what probably remains of his jab. Thank you, English is my second language so my syntax might be terrible feel free to correct me. – Benjamin from Montreal

No need for corrections Ben. You’re English trumps 90-percent of Mayweather’s fans and 100-percent of Pacquiao’s.

No doubt in my mind that Holmes could spank today’s lower top-10 heavyweights. Hell, if he can still get his weight in his right cross, I wouldn’t count him out against Deontay Wilder.

Gonzalez probably will get a shot at Krusher before Pascal gets a rematch.

I think HBO already disregards poor or controversial official scorecards with the commentators’ opinions and Harold Lederman’s unofficial card.

Holy crap, you bought BOTH Duran-Camacho PPV shows? You’re harder-core than I am! (And I also bought Pazienza-Rosenblatt I – “The Neighborhood War!”)

People wonder who will buy Mosley-Mayweather II – sickos like you! LOL.

PASCAL-GONZALEZ: FOTY?

Dear Mr. Fischer:

Pascal-Gonz├ílez: FOTY candidate? Kindly please elaborate on a hell of a bout! What’s your take on the (bizarre) scorecards? What was yours?

Cordiales Saludos – Sebasti├ín Eyzaguirre Tafra

I think Pascal-Gonzalez was an entertaining 10-round light heavyweight bout but I don’t consider it to be a fight of the year candidate. There were some exciting exchanges but the action was often sloppy and there was too much holding, inaccuracy (on Gonzalez’s part) and lulls in activity (on Pascal’s part) for me to put this fight up there with gems like Lucas Matthysse-Ruslan Provodnikov.

I thought it was an even fight. Gonzalez was the aggressor, and he was an effective volume puncher in the early rounds, but his power and accuracy dropped off over the second half of the bout and Pascal got the better of him with accurate power “pot shots” down the stretch. Rounds 3 and 6 could have gone to the Cuban, too, in my opinion, so I’m not mad at anyone who thinks Gonzalez won the bout 97-93 (or seven rounds to three).

THREE QUESTIONS

Hey Dougie,

Finally, a fight I can get excited for! Golovkin vs Lemieux?! Forget May 2nd’s geriatric sparring session, screw Cotto-Canelo, we’ve got a new Most Anticipated Fight for 2015, Mexican Style! Lemieux has got serious cajones to take on the bogeyman immediately after winning the title and you gotta love that about him.

I got 3 questions for you Dougie:

Does Lemieux really stand a chance? GGG ain’t no stick & moving Hassan N’Dam and I’ve watched the dude get drilled and just grin back at the other guy.

This won’t be another letdown like Broner-Porter or Mathysse-Provodnikov right? Right? Right?!?!

Do you think they can get Chocolatito in with one of the other monsters of the miniature world? They say he’s probably gonna be on the GGG undercard. I wouldn’t mind watching the Lord of the Flies very humbly wipe his ass with some top 20 contender, but I’d obviously rather see him in against Brian Vilora, or Amnat Ruenroeng, or Juan Estrada, or…hell, throw a dart at a list of the top 10 flyweights and it’ll probably be an awesome fight!

Thanks for taking the time to answer nutty hardcore fan questions. Oh and I love your UNC videos with Steve Kim and the crew, but you need to let out your inner monster man! I wanna see Dougie tearing through fools like you do in the mailbag! Peace. – Abs, Cape Town, South Africa

LOL. I’m not Teddy Atlas. I don’t lose my temper just by talking about certain subjects and I’m not prone to tirades on camera. The only way to get me to go off on camera the way I sometimes flip in the mailbag is to read emails or Tweets from d__khead Mayweather fans (or GGG Haters) during the show. (Come to think of it, that might not be a bad idea.) Anyway, thanks for the kind words on the 10 Count series.

I think HBO’s plan is to feature Chocolatito vs. an accomplished flyweight such as Viloria (who scored an impressive first-round TKO against former title challenger Omar Soto on Saturday), Ruenroeng or Estrada, perhaps in his next bout (which I hope is the co-feature to GGG-Lemieux). I think Viloria, who seems to want the fight more than the other current beltholders, will likely get the shot at Gonzalez first.

There’s no way in hell that GGG-Lemieux is a letdown on the Broner-Porter level. (Was Matthysse-Provo really that much of a letdown? I swear, man, sometimes I don’t get boxing fans.)

Golovkin should be a huge favorite, and he is, but Lemmy’s live in my view. Curtis Stevens had moments against GGG when he stood his ground and let his fast and powerful hands go, and that’s all the Canadian puncher does. Only Lemieux does more than stand his ground, he comes forward and he punches in hard-and-accurate combination. I think he’ll test GGG’s beard a lot more than Stevens did.

GGG VS LEMIEUX

Hi Dougie!

Long time. Just read that GGG vs. Lemieux is set for PPV. S__t me not! I mean, this has FOTY written all over it. Dynamite vs. TNT.

I would love to see GGG clean out the MW-division and there are still a few fights left, like the winner of Andy Lee vs. Billy Joe Saunders and Miguel Cotto vs. Canelo Alvarez fights. Also, there are a few athletic junior MW who could move up. What are your opinion about the Charlo twins (Golden Boy right?) and Demetrius Andrade (who has called out GGG). Do you see them as a threat or are they still too young and unexperienced?

Also, what about Danny Garcia vs. Malignaggi? I heard Garcia might take on Jim Lampley if he wins.

Also, will Mikey Garcia ever be back? He is as intelligent in interviews as he is in the ring. That lawsuit will kill his career. Have you heard anything new? After a few warm up fights I would love to see him take on Terence Crawford

That was it. Best. – Stefan, Stockholm, Sweden

There would be a lot of skill and talent on display if Crawford and Garcia (who fought as amateurs, Bud won) locked horns as pros. However, for the time being, this is a modern mythical matchups. I’ve seen Garcia at a few local fight cards (shadowing Robert when his older brother has worked corners) and at each one he tells fans (sometimes on a mic in the ring) that he’s going to be back “soon.” But you should know that Mikey was never one of those boxing talents who lived for the sport. He’s very good at boxing but he doesn’t love it. He’s a smart dude – a police academy graduate with a college degree – who can do other things.

Garcia-Malignaggi is a risky crossroads fight. Malignaggi, who hasn’t fought since being brutally knocked out by Shawn Porter last April, is in danger of getting clipped again by a heavy handed young gun who could deliver a serious concussion. Garcia, who could wind up looking inept against the quick-hitting fast-moving veteran, is in danger of losing more credibility (probably all of it if he loses to Malignaggi).

Garcia vs. Lampley? If Lamps has a good jab and utilizes enough lateral movement he can probably give the Philly kid fits.

I don’t know if GGG-Lemieux will be the fight of the year, but there’s no doubt in my mind that it will be an intense, explosive, dramatic encounter. I think it’s the best matchup between power-punching middleweight titleholders since Julian Jackson first clashed with Gerald McClellan in 1993.

If GGG gets by Lemieux, I think his sights will be firmly set on the winner of Cotto-Canelo. That’s the biggest fight that can be made at 160 pounds (plus, he wants the WBC and RING titles.) Golovkin vs. the Lee-Saunders winner can be a strong ticket-seller in the UK, where it would also do strong TV ratings. (Most American fans will view that fight as a mere formality for the Kazakh KO artist.)

I don’t think GGG has his sights set on any of the top 154-pounders (unless you include Cotto and Canelo). The Charlo Twins are no longer Golden Boy fighters (not sure they ever were), Jermell and Jermall are both part of Haymon’s PBC League (along with Erislandy Lara). I think they need to win a world title and make a few defenses before they can make a case for a GGG challenge. Andrade just needs to get back into the ring and look good against a solid contender. Fans need to remember who he is before anyone clamors to see him pit his skills against Golovkin.

BIGOTED

Doug do you expect to get more comments trashing may weather ….don’t belong in the same sentence as pep, SRR, etc…he is the best of his Time like they were…you are so critical of pbf but he has accomplished more than fighters you big up….try this, give us your opinion of what he has done, not what you think he should have….you are too great a writer to be a bigot. – Sada

If you think that believing Mayweather isn’t in the league of the Robinsons, Peps and Armstrongs is the equivalent to “trashing” his name and accomplishments, you’re clearly a biased Floyd fan. If you think not appreciating Mayweather as much as you do makes one a bigot, you’re just a fool.

Here’s my honest opinion of what he has done (not what I think he should have attempted to accomplish) – I think he’s done enough to be considered one of the best – not THE best – boxers of the last 15 years. That’s it. Nothing more, but certainly nothing less. He’s in elite company, some of whom I consider great (Bernard Hopkins).

 

BIAS

So much knowledge

So much information

What a pitty…

All going to waste…

What you have said

is just what you think…

48-0

Think again… And again… And again…

And when you get tired…

Try to keep thinking…

Cause.. you not thinking rite…

So… Keep exercising…

Maybe… After exercising enough…

You realize that reality is not as you think…

Reality is 48-0

Mathematic is perfect

And it seems that your thinking is far from fair…

And save all the hypotheticals

Mean nothin…

I guess… You are going to start sh***ng on marciano’s legacy…

– KingNYC67

Ugh. Reading this literally gave me acid reflux. Congratulations. You got me back for all my years of “May-Hatin’.”

But seriously, don’t expect me to ever post anything like this again. This is Dougie’s mailbag. It ain’t the Def Poetry Jam. Come on, man, if you’re so smart surely you can find the discipline to compose a few complete sentences to defend your boxing idol.

Here’s the truth. Marciano is in the hall of fame because he retired the great Joe Louis, won the undisputed heavyweight championship against Jersey Joe Walcott and defended it against Walcott and fellow hall of famers Ezzard Charles (twice) and Archie Moore. The 49-0 record looks nice, sounds nice, but it ain’t all that. I have no idea why it’s the magic number in boxing. Nobody considers Marciano to be the greatest heavyweight ever. Why would any non-heavyweights even target that record? I’ve noted time and time again the number of lower-weight hall of famers who exceeded 60 consecutive wins (such as Julio Cesar Chavez, Willie Pep and Nino Benvenuti) or more than 60 pro bouts without a loss (such as Ruben Olivares, who won most of those fights by knockout).

Oh well, whatever. Mayweather fans are not concerned about boxing history. And I’m not concerned about Mayweather fans. But damn, it sure seems like Mayweather fans are concerned about my opinions on Mayweather.

 

BEST KNOCKOUTS, MYTHICAL HEAVYWEIGHT MATCHUPS

Hey there The Doug,

Been reading for awhile now. Top work! Always check Monday and Friday on the Ring! All down to you!

Recently watched YouTube clips of best KO’s with right hand and then with left. Just wanted to know your top 10 KO’s?

Mythical match ups:

Prime: Ron Lyle v mike Tyson

George foreman v Jack Johnson

Jack Dempsey v joe Louis

Jack Johnson v mike Tyson

My family are in Galveston, Texas, without me. Asked them to look up JJ’s resting place if possible. No luck so far.

Have a great weekend! Hope I make the bag. – Tom. Bro. Sweden

Tom. Bro. Jack Johnson was born in Galveston. He was buried at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago. All you had to do was Google “Jackson Johnson gravesite.” No need to put your family to work (unless they’re also boxing fanatics). They haven’t asked you to track down Ingemar Johansson’s gravesite, have they? LOL. Oh goodness. Fight fans are a special breed.

Anyway, I too enjoy watching knockout highlights on Youtube. I don’t really have a way of ranking the 10 best knockouts of all time. There have been too many great KOs to count. Check out this video of 50 great KOs (if you haven’t already):

[springboard type=”video” id=”1546801″ player=”ring003″ width=”648″ height=”511″ ]

Any 10 from this list of 50 could serve as a good ten list. A few of my favorite knockouts involving two hall of famers include: Robinson KO 5 Fullmer (II), Robinson KO 3 Graziano, Walcott KO 7 Charles (III), Foster KO 4 Tiger and Hearns KO 2 Duran. The two most devastating KOs between HOFers is Marciano’s 13th-round KO of Walcott and Patterson’s fifth-round KO of Johansson. Julian Jackson is responsible for a few modern-day classic KOs. His best has got to be that one-hitter-quitter against poor Herol Graham in Round 4. Sergio Martinez’s one-and-done left smash against Paul Williams in the second round of their rematch made me jump out of my chair and shout like a mental patient in a room full of somewhat civilized people. (I wasn’t embarrassed.) The most dramatic knockout I recall watching on TV was James Toney’s 12th-round stoppage of Prince Charles Williams. It was almost beautiful the way Williams’ back arched until his head and shoulders hit canvas after taking that final counter right hand from ole Lights Out.

I’ve witnessed some chilling classic KOs from ringside, too, including Tarver KO 2 Jones, Lewis KO 4 Rahman (II) and Pacquiao KO 2 Hatton.

I can go on and on with this kind of stuff. But onto your mythical heavyweight matchups:

Ron Lyle v Mike Tyson – Tyson would have to catch Lyle early because if it became a fight, I’m certain that Lyle’s balls were too big for him. I think Iron Mike would clip him before the third round.

George Foreman v Jack Johnson – Johnson was too scientific and sure of himself for the prime version of Foreman to deal with. I think Lil Arthur would play with George, frustrate him with defense and smack talk, take him into the late rounds and drown the bully. Johnson by late stoppage.

Jack Dempsey v Joe Louis – Dempsey had a shot at nailing the defensively challenge Brown Bomber early but I think his pressure-fighting volume-punching attack would have played right into Louis’ heavy and deadly accurate hands. Louis by early TKO. (There’s a good chance they would have traded a few knockdowns.)

Jack Johnson v Mike Tyson – This contest would be over before it began. Johnson was the type hyper perceptive (but cold mother f__ker) who could smell out another man’s insecurities as easily as he could see their technical flaws in the ring (he wasn’t unlike Muhammad Ali in this regard). And, of course, he knew what to do with those insecurities and flaws. Johnson could handle outside pressures that Mike would’ve crushed Tyson (and most people, not just prize fighters). The fights in the ring were easy to him. I think he would toy with Tyson. I don’t even think he would have to take him into deep waters. I think Tyson would pull his own version of “No Mas” before the seventh or eighth round.

Thanks for the kind words about the mailbag.

 

 

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

 

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