MAYWEATHER-PAUL

Hi Dougie!

I have been a long-time reader of your mailbag, but this is my first-time writing in. I hope you and your family have remained well throughout the pandemic.

The big news for the weekend is the Mayweather-Paul exhibition. I understand that boxing fans are upset with Floyd’s decision, but how is this bad for boxing?

I would absolutely love to see Floyd take on top quality opposition, but he’s already grinded for so many years that I find it hard to blame him for taking it easy in these later years. It is only an exhibition and if this is the kind of thing that gets new people interested in boxing, I can’t really be mad at it. What are your thoughts on the overall event, and your prediction?

Mythical Matchups:

Floyd Patterson vs Joseph Parker

Sweet Pea vs Pretty Boy Floyd at Lightweight

Inoue Naoya vs Young Pacquiao at 118

Thanks! – Carter, Fresno

Thanks for finally sharing your thoughts with the mailbag, Carter, and thanks for the nice words about my family (we’re doing fine).

You’ve presented some interesting Mythical Matchups (well, two out of three ain’t bad, I’ve received the Whitaker-Mayweather matchup 1,000 times). I’m going to go with Patterson by close UD in an entertaining boxing match, Whitaker by clear UD in a competitive chess match, and Inoue by mid-to-late KO (probably a body shot) in either a thrilling shootout or battle of attrition.

The big news for the weekend is the Mayweather-Paul exhibition. It is indeed, and that’s fair, because there aren’t any big legitimate boxing events taking place this weekend.

I understand that boxing fans are upset with Floyd’s decision, but how is this bad for boxing? It’s not. It’s got as much to do with the sport of boxing as a movie about boxing. It’s a celebrity exhibition – a retired hall of famer vs. a popular YouTube personality – on pay-per-view. You know what’s bad for boxing? Promoters and networks that are incapable of working together to deliver the biggest boxing matches that fans demand, such as Fury vs. Joshua and Spence vs. Crawford.

If you think Mayweather-McGregor was a “real fight,” YDKSAB.

I would absolutely love to see Floyd take on top quality opposition, but he’s already grinded for so many years that I find it hard to blame him for taking it easy in these later years. The man’s been retired from boxing since 2015. (The Conor McGregor “fight” should have never been sanctioned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. What goes down on Sunday will be every bit the exhibition that the Tenshin Nasukawa sham was.)

He ain’t coming back to real boxing, and I support that decision. Floyd can do whatever he wants with the rest of his life. Plenty of hall of famers engaged in exhibitions after they retired. If he can do it for gazillion dollars, more power to him.

It is only an exhibition and if this is the kind of thing that gets new people interested in boxing, I can’t really be mad at it. I won’t be mad at it even if it fails to bring a single new fan to boxing.

What are your thoughts on the overall event, and your prediction? I have no opinion on the event. Prediction? It’s an exhibition, like you noted, there will be no official verdict. If you’re asking me how I imagine the fake fight will go, obviously I think Mayweather will toy with Paul, who I witnessed lose a six-round split decision to KSI from press row in 2019. Paul’s an honest athlete, who I’m sure has trained as hard as he can for the exhibition, but from what I saw at Staples Center, he’s got the skillset of a four-round level club fighter. End of story. Mayweather will make him miss, stick him with a jab and an occasional straight right, carry the big dude for a few rounds and then strike when he senses that Paul is exhausted. He might take Paul out with a body shot or counterpunch to the jaw, or he might just carry the YouTuber to the final bell. Who cares!? It’s just entertainment for the dedicated fans of both celebs (and they both tap into big markets) or curious casuals. Nothing wrong with that.

SUBRIEL MATIAS

Dougie,

I hope you’re well. I have followed you since your days at Maxboxing and love your insight.

Why is no one talking about that wrecking machine Subriel Matias? I think it was the fight of the night, considering there were so many fights on Saturday. As a fellow PR, this guy excites me. I am a huge Tito fan and haven’t been this excited since. I know he is defensively careless at times but what a run he has been on as of late/ I am not sure how we would do against Josh Taylor but boy would it be fun.

Can you write something up on him for your mid-week mailbag or next week’s mailbag? If you haven’t watched the fight yet take a good look. His punches sound like Tito’s did. Sorry to bother you dude, I’m sure you’re busy.

Keep up the good work! – Rolando Quiles

Thank you, Rolando, I’ll do my best. And thank you for following my work since the MaxBoxing days.

Subriel Matias. Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank.

You should be excited about Matias. He’s a legit player in the loaded 140-pound division. Mauro Renallo mentioned during the Showtime broadcast that there are only two Ring-rated fighters who have won all their fights by KO (Artur Beterbiev and Victor Ortiz Jr.) and opined that if Matias (who has also won all of his fights by KO) beats Batryzhan Jukembayev, the Puerto Rican will likely enter our rankings. Well, Mauro is correct, because Ring Ratings Panel member Anson Wainwright suggested that Matias re-enter the 140-pound rankings as high as No. 6. Panelist Martin Mulcahey suggested that your fellow Boriqua come in at No. 10. Nobody on the panel was against his re-entry.

I don’t think Matias is anywhere near as talented or skilled or powerful as a prime Felix Trinidad, but he is formidable. He’s durable, physically strong, heavy handed, determined, and he puts punches together well on the inside. I think he can be beat to the punch by a quicker/faster boxer, and outmaneuvered by a stick-and-mover, but he’s going to be very hard to beat by anyone who thinks they can stand and trade with him (although Petros Ananyan proved that it’s possible to do that).

Why is no one talking about that wrecking machine Subriel Matias? My Twitter TL was buzzing about the heated competitive nature of the Matias-Jukembayev fight during the early rounds and then switched to praise for the Puerto Rican by the mid-rounds. If you’re not part of Boxing Twitter, you should join our cult. We’re a virtual insane asylum, but there are more than a few quality follows (one of them is another Puerto Rican star, Rosie Perez).  

I think it was the fight of the night, considering there were so many fights on Saturday. I’m sure Matias’ fight/victory was overshadowed by Nonito Donaire’s bantamweight title-winning KO of Nordine Oubaali and the Devin Haney-Jorge Linares fight, but I also wonder if his tragic fight with Maxim Dadashev causes some fans to curb their enthusiasm of his continuing career.

As a fellow PR, this guy excites me. Nothing wrong with that.

I am a huge Tito fan and haven’t been this excited since. Really? Miguel Cotto did nothin’ for ya? You weren’t even a little bit excited during JuanMa Lopez’s the early world title years?

I know he is defensively careless at times but what a run he has been on as of late/ I am not sure how we would do against Josh Taylor but boy would it be fun. He’s not ready for Taylor.

Can you write something up on him for your mid-week mailbag or next week’s mailbag? I wish I had the time for mid-week mailbags.

IS HANEY THE NEW CAMACHO?

Hope you’re well.

Just rewatched the Haney-Linares fight; and the amount of holding and clinching reminded me of Hector Camacho’s tactics (particularly post-Rosario). I believe it was your fellow journalist and friend Steve Kim who coined the term “he’s been Rosario’d,” referring to the post Rosario version of Camacho.

Very different characters outside the ring, but inside the ring there are similarities & only time will tell whether Linares is Haney’s Rosario, but Haney for all his technical brilliance, much like Comacho, is happy to win ugly.

Mythical match ups:

Johnny Tapia-Roman Gonzalez

Hector Camacho (pre-Rosario)-Teofimo Lopez.

Jose Napoles-Errol Spence Jr.

And…drum roll (the 1 fight in my lifetime that should have happened, but didn’t)

Kostya Tszyu-Oscar Del Hoya

Thank you for the continued top-quality content from The Ring. Kind regards. – Jaime

Thanks for the kind words (and kind regards), Jaime.

Good Mythical Matchups (except for Tszyu-De La Hoya, which I’ve answered 100 times, including THIS WEEK!)

Your MMs:

Johnny Tapia-Roman Gonzalez – Tapia by close, maybe disputed UD or MD, sensational fight, of course.

Hector Camacho (pre-Rosario)-Teofimo Lopez – Camacho by close and entertaining UD (although the Macho Man might suffer a “Rosario” moment or two on his way to the points win).

Jose Napoles-Errol Spence Jr. – Napoles by UD or late stoppage in a competitive and entertaining scrap.

Just rewatched the Haney-Linares fight; and the amount of holding and clinching reminded me of Hector Camacho’s tactics (particularly post-Rosario). Hey man, if Haney DIDN’T grab onto Linares while he cleared his head and got knocked out in Round 11 or 12, we’d all be asking: “Why didn’t he hold!?” If Camacho hadn’t held onto Rosario (who could crack a hell of a lot harder than Linares), he might have been KO’d in that all-Puerto Rican lightweight showdown.

I believe it was your fellow journalist and friend Steve Kim who coined the term “he’s been Rosario’d,” referring to the post-Rosario version of Camacho. LOL. Yeah, that Kim is a pisser, ain’t he? He’s said that about Chad Dawson (post-

Hector Camacho’s flamboyant presence loomed large on the boxing scene for nearly two decades. Photo by Al Bello /Allsport

Glen Johnson, first fight) and my man Keith Thurman (post-Jesus Soto Karass). I’m sure there are others. He’s mean, but he’s not wrong. However, lets see how Haney fares vs. his lightweight peers (Teofimo Lopez, Ryan Garcia, Luke Campbell) or the top 140 pounders, before we declare that he’s been “Rosario’d.”

Very different characters outside the ring, but inside the ring there are similarities & only time will tell whether Linares is Haney’s Rosario, but Haney for all his technical brilliance, much like Camacho, is happy to win ugly. Like you said, “only time will tell.” I think it’s a too early in Haney’s career to label him a stinker or to call him “Camacho 2.0.” And by the way, even if he does turn about to be the next Camacho, is that really a bad thing? Camacho was very popular, and yeah, much of his attraction was due to his polarizing nature, but he was still a staple on network TV, cable (basic and premium), and later, PPV events. He was a three-division titleholder who fought the best fighters of the 1980s and ’90s, only lost six out of 88 pro bouts, and was never stopped. (Three of those losses were to fellow hall of famers, Julio Cesar Chavez, Felix Trinidad, and Oscar De La Hoya, and he was definitely past his prime by the time The Golden Boy got him).

A REQUEST

Hey Dougie,

I haven’t wrote in a while, but I still been watching your IG Lives and been reading your mailbags. The boxing schedule is kicking up a lot of hidden gems, but man somebody has to tell them that other days exist besides Saturday.

I actually wrote in for a request. Can you ask the writers if they can refer to fighters that are unified/undisputed or have The Ring belt as “Champions” in their divisions, and the fighters with minor belts as rated fighters, like how Sulaiman tried to explain what the diamond and gold belts represented. I get texts and calls by friends and family about how three fighters have the same belt (Teo, Haney, Ryan) all the time, and I’m starting to understand more why they would rather watch MMA, where they have one champ.

I hope I didn’t come off rude with my question. The Ring Magazine has the most influence in boxing so maybe other boxing websites might do the same, and force fighters to actually want to be the man at their division, and not just collect minor belts.

Is the Thompson Boxing card going to allow fans? I know the Mayweather fight is on this Sunday, but I need real fights. I might catch the Lemieux fight Friday night if I’m off early.

As always take care of yourself Dougie. – Joey, Pomona

I hope ole Lemmy can recapture his mojo tonight and build some momentum toward a significant fight at 168 pounds.

The Thompson Boxing show is not open to the public, but as always, you know you can join me, Steve Kim, Beto Duran and Jessica Rosales via the live stream on ThompsonBoxing.com or TBP’s Facebook or YouTube channel. Maybe TBP’s next show will be open to the public. We’ll get there.

Can you ask the writers if they can refer to fighters that are unified/undisputed or have The Ring belt as “Champions” in their divisions, and the fighters with minor belts as rated fighters, like how Sulaiman tried to explain what the diamond and gold belts represented? I can’t ask or tell other writers who to recognize as legit champions (although any boxing journalist worth his or her salt should know). There are even regular RingTV.com and Ring Magazine contributors who have to be reminded to acknowledge The Ring title or not to refer to a WBA secondary beltholder as a “world champion.” A lot of boxing writers/media have egos and are temperamental. If I (or any other member of the press) were to ask them to do anything, they might get offended and refuse out of spite. If it comes from me, they’ll say it’s MY “agenda,” and rail against it like a child with ODD (oppositional defiant disorder). The call for the media to recognize the fighters who are truly deserving of “champion” status must come from the fans. The fans need to pressure the networks to help make title unifications and to recognize The Ring Magazine championship belt. And the fans need to call “bulls__t” on members of the media who pretend that all beltholders are equal. If you read an article or watch a YouTube video where the media member is referring to the winner of Barrios-Davis as “the junior welterweight champ,” you need to leave a comment (respectfully) setting him or her straight: “No he’s not, the junior welterweight champ is Josh Taylor.”

I get texts and calls by friends and family about how three fighters have the same belt (Teo, Haney, Ryan) all the time, and

Teofimo Lopez has other lightweight belts, but it’s the Ring Magazine title that makes him THE CHAMP.

I’m starting to understand more why they would rather watch MMA, where they have one champ. Bro! Just tell them that the Ring champ is the REAL champ. Check the rankings on RingTV.com if you don’t know them all by heart (but you should!)

I hope I didn’t come off rude with my question. Not at all.

The Ring Magazine has the most influence in boxing so maybe other boxing websites might do the same, and force fighters to actually want to be the man at their division, and not just collect minor belts. Again, we can’t force anybody to do anything. The fighters have to want to be great in order to aim for true champion status. They have to want to prove they’re the best in their division. We’re fortunate that there are still some fighters out there who want to leave a real legacy in this sport, such as Teofimo Lopez and Vasiliy Lomachenko, all the fighters that took part in the WBSS tournaments, Taylor and Jose Ramirez, Jermell Charlo and Brian Castano, and the junior featherweights who are being featured on Showtime (Stephen Fulton, Brandon Figueroa, Danny Roman).

Email Fischer at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter and IG at @dougiefischer, and join him, Tom Loeffler, Coach Schwartz and friends via Tom’s or Doug’s IG Live every Sunday.