Dougie’s Monday Mailbag (Charlo-Castano, JoJo Diaz, Lomachenko, GBP, Al Haymon)

Jul

CHARLO VS. CASTANO, LOMA WHAT IFS?

Greetings, Doug,

Haven’t sent my thoughts for a while, but I also didn’t see mailbags lately. Hope all is well.

I surely hope Charlo-Castano not gonna be scratched by COVID during fight week. It became an unpleasant tendency lately.

As of the fight itself… I think, Castano will push Charlo early on. But I feel like he’s overall a bit smallish for this weight (especially, in comparison to Charlo) and his style would play into Jermell’s hands. Sooner or later, Charlo will hit him with something nasty on the way in.

Anyway, Castano has a decent upper body movement. And he’s capable of defending himself while coming forward – deflecting incoming shots with his gloves, while coming at his opponent. But not sure he’ll be able to do that effectively on regular basis. He’s still hittable. And I suppose Charlo will find the home for his uppercuts or hooks around the guard. How do you see this undisputed clash playing out?

Also, two weeks ago, in the aftermath of Loma-Nakatani bout, my dad raised an interesting topic by asking – why didn’t Loma turn pro after grabbing his first gold? And I realized I never thought about that deeply. That made me dive into boxing archives and find rankings from that time period. Let’s say, Loma turns pro in late 2008 or a year after the Olympics in 2009. And again, taking the same route – signing with Top Rank, starting at 126 and in the WBO rankings. Would he be given a title shot as quickly as he got it in 2014, in only his 2nd pro bout? If yes, then the WBO featherweight champion at that time was Steve Luevano, who was also a Top Rank fighter, if I recall. I don’t have a clear memory of Luevano. Only that he was a capable, but vulnerable fighter. He’d be a solid task for Loma in his 2nd or 3rd pro bout, but would it be tougher than Salido?

But providing Loma overcomes Luevano, two red hot fighters would be awaiting him by the late 2009. They are Juanma Lopez and Yuriorkis Gamboa. Both in their primes. How would Loma fare against both? What’d be your take on how these match-ups play out?

It is also possible Lomachenko could’ve started at 130. In that case, him versus fighters like Joan Guzman and Robert Guerrero could be possible down the line. Now, starting immediately at 135 would be tall order and a mere fantasy. But the pool of fighters in that weight class was “who’s who”. From Baby Bull Diaz and Nate Campbell to Marquez and Casamayor. Your picks in all those fights, given that Loma already got at least 5 pro bouts under his belt?

In conclusion, JoJo Diaz is building a nice resume. I think, the scoring of his bout against Fortuna is dependent on what style you prefer. But to me, Diaz won this way or the other. It is a question of a margin. JoJo isn’t the brightest fighter, but he can do a little bit of everything in the ring. That said, despite his success on Friday, I don’t see him beating Garcias, Haneys and Teofimos of this division. Do you see it the same way? Best regards. – Edward

Joseph Diaz Jr. did not allow a cut or the Javier Fortuna’s difficult style to keep him from making a successful lightweight debut. Photo by Sye Williams / Golden Boy Promotions

I wouldn’t count JoJo out at 135 pounds. In Javier Fortuna, he beat a dangerous contender with an awkward style that none of the top lightweights were in a hurry to fight. Now that he’s gone a hard 12 rounds against a world-rated lightweight, he’s got the confidence that he carried into the ring at 126 and 130 pounds. Don’t forget that Diaz was second only to Errol Spence Jr. in terms of pro potential among the 2012 U.S. Olympic squad. And he’s put together one of the strongest resumes among fighters who are under 30. He’s shared the ring with an elite-level veteran in Gary Russell Jr., world-class boxers with Fortuna and Tevin Farmer, top -10 contenders with Jesus Rojas and Jayson Velez, rugged fringe contenders (who became world-class) with Rene Alvarado and Andrew Cancio, and unbeaten up-and-comers with Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov, Manuel Avila and Rafael Rivera. That’s an impressive list of 10 opponents who have contributed to Diaz’s advanced experience. I know that Lopez has Loma, Commey and Nakatani on his resume, which is why he’s the man at 135 pounds right now, but do Garcia and Haney have the scalps on their resume to match JoJo’s body of work? Only Loma and Jorge Linares – the “oldheads” of the lightweight division – can come up with 10 badasses on their records.

I surely hope Charlo-Castano not gonna be scratched by COVID during fight week. It became an unpleasant tendency lately. Relax. It will happen. The “COVID Jinx” only happens with pay-per-view events with struggling gates.

I think Castano will push Charlo early on. So do I. He might push Charlo throughout the undisputed championship showdown.

But I feel like he’s overall a bit smallish for this weight (especially, in comparison to Charlo) and his style would play into Jermell’s hands. He’s shorter (at 5-foot-7½), not “smaller.” Dude’s got a wide back and thick legs. He’s strong and confident in his pressure-fighting style, which may not play as well into Charlo’s hands and many think. Keep in mind that Castano dealt with Pat Teixeira’s decided height and reach “advantages” very well.

Sooner or later, Charlo will hit him with something nasty on the way in. Yeah, but Castano’s chin might be just as reliable as Charlo’s whiskers (I’ve never seen him hurt). And he’s not as easy to hit as his aggressive approach to boxing would suggest. He covers up well with his high guard and he’s adept at blocking punches.

Anyway, Castano has a decent upper body movement. Yes, he does. He’s also got a nice jab (to the body and head), which he uses well along with feints to help him close the distance on opponents. His footwork is also underrated. I think his feet are pretty nimble (he knows when to take a half step back), but its’ an ability that’s overlooked because he’s an aggressive, come-forward type.

And he’s capable of defending himself while coming forward – deflecting incoming shots with his gloves, while coming at his opponent. I’m glad you noticed this. This ability and his “smart pressure” could give Charlo problems. In the past it was stick-and-movers (Demetrius Hopkins, John Jackson, Tony Harrison in their first fight) who gave Mell problems. Those who stood in front him (Charles Hatley, Erickson Lubin, Jorge Cota) got iced. But those who knew how to dictate distance could last and compete (as Austin Trout did). Those who could press forward behind a good jab (Vanes Martirosyan, Harrison in the rematch) could go tit-for-tat (at least for 10 rounds). Castano is a rugged cat from a boxing family who had an extensive amateur career and is now an expert stalker with good boxing skills. His background and style suggests that he can compete with Charlo.

Brian Castano (right) lands a right hand against Erislandy Lara. Photo by Edward Diller/ Getty Images

But not sure he’ll be able to do that effectively on regular basis. He did vs. a master boxer in Erislandy Lara and gangly, tough-as-nails volume-puncher in Teixeira.

He’s still hittable. So is Charlo.

And I suppose Charlo will find the home for his uppercuts or hooks around the guard. I think uppercuts and body shots are the right punches to earn Canstano’s respect.

How do you see this undisputed clash playing out? I think Castano will extend Charlo the full 12 and force the unified Ring champ to box and move the way he did early in his career, but I expect the Houston native to earn a close, hard-fought decision.

Also, two weeks ago, in the aftermath of Loma-Nakatani bout, my dad raised an interesting topic by asking – why didn’t Loma turn pro after grabbing his first gold? That made me dive into boxing archives and find rankings from that time period. Let’s say, Loma turns pro in late 2008 or a year after the Olympics in 2009. … the WBO featherweight champion at that time was Steve Luevano, who was also a Top Rank fighter, if I recall. He was.

I don’t have a clear memory of Luevano. Only that he was a capable, but vulnerable fighter. He was capable, period, a solid-all-around southpaw technician. He wasn’t any more vulnerable than any other world titleholder.

He’d be a solid task for Loma in his 2nd or 3rd pro bout, but would it be tougher than Salido? Not as physically demanding but he wouldn’t be a stylistic walk in the park. I think Loma would earn a clear UD in a competitive chess match.

But providing Loma overcomes Luevano, two red hot fighters would be awaiting him by the late 2009. They are Juanma Lopez and Yuriorkis Gamboa. Both in their primes. How would Loma fare against both? Lopez’s crunching punching power would make him dangerous, but Loma’s speed, feints and footwork would be too much for the Puerto Rican’s methodical southpaw stalking style to overcome. Gamboa’s extensive amateur experience and explosive athleticism would pose more of a threat to Loma, however, the Cuban had poor fundamentals even during his peak years. Loma would take full advantage of Gamboa’s bad balance, defensive holes and tendency to lunge in with wild punches. I think Loma would outpoint both titleholders.

It is also possible Lomachenko could’ve started at 130. In that case, him versus fighters like Joan Guzman and Robert Guerrero could be possible down the line. Guzman and Guerrero would be more difficult than Lopez and Gamboa. Guzman had 300+ amateur fights and a busy, unorthodox-but-fluid boxing style; while teak-tough Ghost was a giant for the weight class. I think Loma could outmaneuver Guerrero, who was a solid technician but was slow of foot, but I view the Guzman matchup as even money. Guzman had crazy upper-body movement, good footwork, and fast combinations that he could drop from odd angles. The Dominican also put on A LOT of weight after the weigh-in, so Loma would have to deal with that too. But I think the Ukrainian wizard would eke out a very close, maybe majority or split decision.

Now, starting immediately at 135 would be tall order and a mere fantasy. Bro, all of this is “fantasy.”

But the pool of fighters in that weight class was “who’s who”. From Baby Bull Diaz and Nate Campbell to Marquez and Casamayor. Your picks in all those fights, given that Loma already got at least 5 pro bouts under his belt? Juan Diaz’s pressure, fast hands and volume punching would give Loma a tough time but I think the master boxer’s footwork, angles and body punching would see him through to a close decision. I think Loma’s mobile southpaw style is all wrong for The Galaxy Warrior and JMM – I envision him winning close but clear UDs vs. both (maybe Marquez could make it an MD), but Casamayor’s blend of amateur experience, versatile boxing and dirty/roughhouse tactics would allow him to outpoint his fellow Olympic gold medalist in a tit-for-tat battle that ends in frustration for Loma.

PROPS TO GOLDEN BOY PROMOTIONS

Golden Boy promotions quite often takes a lot of criticism; in my opinion the criticism is often unwarranted and, often has more to with their figurehead, the Golden Boy himself – Oscar De La Hoya. For whatever reason, recently Oscar De La Hoya has become a marmite character. Personally, I think he is a fighter who defined his generation and avoided no fighter. Love him or hate him, his team is leading the way in terms of matchmaking. Golden Boy matchmaker Robert Diaz and his team are constantly delivering. Every card is packed with quality action from top to bottom. Golden Boy really invests in developing their fighters, matching them tough, stepping them up each fight and providing a way back after a loss.

The weekend’s card headlined by Ramirez-Barrera was first class from top to bottom and it’s not the first time. Personally, they are highlight of the DAZN schedule. On paper do any of the Fight Camp cards have the same look? I would argue not.

The Facebook live stream that preceded the DAZN broadcast is what an undercard should be. Fighters at all levels in good testing fights topped with a world title fight. In that world title fight, Lou Moret’s 99-91 card in favour of Naoko Fujioka over Sulem Urbina is the negative from the whole promotion. The commentary on the Facebook element was led by Beto Duràn, who was joined by various guests, including Golden Boy fighters Blair Cobbs and Marlen Esparza. The whole commentary was entertaining and DAZN take note – in my opinion they outshined the DAZN team.

Moving forward and playing matchmaker how about this triple header for September…

Gilberto Ramirez-Dmitry Bivol

Jojo Diaz-Ryan Garcia (William Zepeda if Garcia isn’t ready)

Seniesa Estrada-Naoko Fujioka

Loving The Ring special features; the Sugar Ray Robinson edition is the best read of the year for me so far… All the best. – Jaime

Thank you for the kind words, Jaime. We put a lot of passion and hard work into the recent Marvin Hagler tribute and Sugar Ray Robinson special edition, so it feels great to know that the publications are appreciated by true fans. We’re working on another special issue right now, one that will celebrate of the career of a living legend from south of the (U.S.) boarder. Viva Mexico!

Seniesa Estrada brought her own storm to the tough Tenkai Tsunami. Photo by Sye Williams / Golden Boy Promotions

It was wonderful to be on “press row” for a major show in L.A. with fan attendance this past Friday. Mark my words, the Banc of California Stadium is going to become the home for the biggest boxing events hosted in California. It’s a terrific open-air venue. Kudos to Golden Boy for stacking the Ramirez-Barrera undercard as much as they did. I thought Diaz-Fortuna stole the show, while Seniesa Estrada proved herself as an elite female boxer and William Zepeda established himself as a threat in the 135-pound division (as well as must-see TV).

I think we may eventually witness those three bouts you proposed for a “follow-up triple header” to Friday’s event, but they may not happen until 2022 and I doubt they’ll share the same card.

Golden Boy promotions quite often takes a lot of criticism; in my opinion the criticism is often unwarranted and often has more to with their figurehead, the Golden Boy himself – Oscar De La Hoya. I agree. De La Hoya really bugs the s__t out of some fans and industry insiders. They stay #Salty.

For whatever reason, recently Oscar De La Hoya has become a marmite character. He’s definitely polarizing. Sometimes I think he’s just trolling for laughs or attention. Some fans get it, others don’t. Other times, folks get their panties in a bunch over his opinions on inconsequential things.

Personally, I think he is a fighter who defined his generation and avoided no fighter. That ain’t an opinion. That’s the truth.

Love him or hate him, his team is leading the way in terms of matchmaking. Golden Boy matchmaker Robert Diaz and his team are constantly delivering. They take as much pride in making competitive and entertaining fights as they do in developing their talent. You can’t say that about every promotional company.

Golden Boy really invests in developing their fighters, matching them tough, stepping them up each fight and providing a way back after a loss. That last part you mentioned is important to note. It’s something I really respect about GBP. They didn’t dismiss JoJo Diaz after his loss to Russell, and they didn’t lose faith when he missed weight (vs. Rojas and Rakhimov). Now he’s a player in the loaded lightweight division. They brought Joshua Franco back after a TKO loss and two draws. Now he’s a player in the deep 115-pound division.

They’re in the process of bringing back Joet Gonzalez, Lamont Roach Jr., Ronny Rios, Marlen Esparza and Azat Hovhannisyan. GBP didn’t hold it against them when they suffered setbacks vs. top opposition; they realize that losing is part of boxing and understand that it can build character and make fighters better if they learn from the experience. You watch, some of those GBP fighters who suffered losses that I mentioned are going to win major world titles in the next 12 months. And during that time, they’ll bring Bek Bully and Hector Tanajara back too.

The weekend’s card headlined by Ramirez-Barrera was first class from top to bottom and it’s not the first time. You ain’t tellin’ no lies! Preach!

Personally, they are highlight of the DAZN schedule. On paper do any of the Fight Camp cards have the same look? I would argue not. Ah, come on, man, you don’t have to piss on Sir Eddie in order to big-up De La Hoya and Company. Last summer’s Fight Camp shows were off the hook, and so far this year Hearn has delivered the Fight-of-the-Year frontrunner (Estrada-Gonzalez II) and a record-breaking indoor crowd (for Canelo-Saunders). Both GBP and Matchroom are doing their thing.

The Facebook live stream that preceded the DAZN broadcast is what an undercard should be. How about that two-round heavyweight shootout (Mihai Nistor vs. Colby Madison)!?!?

In that world title fight, Lou Moret’s 99-91 card in favour of Naoko Fujioka over Sulem Urbina is the negative from the whole promotion. I missed the fight (my fault for miscalculating Inglewood-to-L.A. traffic and the time it takes to get from a parking lot into a stadium), but I will catch the replay this week because I was looking forward to that one. From what my Boxing Twitter TL told me, it was a close fight – either a draw a close win for Fujioka – and Moret’s card was pure ass.

The commentary on the Facebook element was led by Beto Duràn, who was joined by various guests, including Golden Boy fighters Blair Cobbs and Marlen Esparza. They were insightful and a lot of fun (which is what it’s all about). Beto is a pro’s pro with great energy.

The whole commentary was entertaining and DAZN take note – in my opinion they outshined the DAZN team. Ah, come on, man, there you go again…

AL HAYMON AND MISSED OPPORTUNIES

I wanted to get your thoughts on Al Haymon. Do you think he’s good for boxing? I’ve read recently that the Canelo vs Plant negotiations are not progressing. Canelo plans on fighting in 2 months and there’s no sign of the Plant fight being finalised. I’m not even slightly surprised by this and never expected the fight to happen. It’s by far the biggest money fight of Plant’s career and a chance to become undisputed. Plant should be chomping at the bit for this fight!

Charlo was offered millions – by far the biggest payday of his career, to fight Andrade – another undefeated American 2-weight world champion. Wilder was offered 100 million dollars for 4 fights on DAZN and a chance to become undisputed. Luis Ortiz was offered millions to fight Joshua, by far the biggest payday of his career. They all turned these offers down. And Tank Davis vs any of the top fighters from 130 – 140 lbs aint happening. Do you have any idea what Haymon says to these guys to get them to turn down the biggest paydays and legacy fights of their careers?

I give credit where it’s due, PBC have put together some good fights in recent years, especially at welterweight (though not the fight we all want, which isn’t happening anytime soon). Fury and Wilder have crossed the promotional divide a few times now (isn’t it crazy that Tyson Fury has never defended a championship?) but it seems to me that Golden Boy, Matchroom, Top Rank and the other big players work together far more often than PBC, who definitely prefer to keep everything in-house, even if it means their fighters are inactive and missing out on meaningful fights and big paydays.

Would love to get your thoughts and thanks again for the great work you guys do!

All the way from Ireland. – Steve

I think Haymon/PBC does a tremendous job with its Showtime partnership. This Saturday’s main event – the Charlo-Castano undisputed junior middleweight championship – is a prime example. The PBC/Fox partnership isn’t as good in my opinion, but there’s always a gem or two on those broadcasts and some of the PPV events are quality (the Aug. 21 Pacquiao-Spence showdown is a prime example).

PBC has a giant stable, the most U.S. talent, and two major broadcast partners. They hustle their asses off like every other promotional company and generally do it on the world-class level, so the company/organization is obviously a plus for the sport. Are they perfect? No. But every promotional company has its strengths and weaknesses.

The main thing that frustrates me about how Haymon runs his operation (and it can be viewed as a strength AND weakness) is that he still goes about everything like a manager/adviser (which is what he was prior to the 2015 formation of the PBC) rather than a promoter. He likes to slow cook everything, even when dealing with prime (potentially elite) talent. Sometimes he can be careful to a fault.

I noticed this during his manager/adviser years when the majority of his talent was fighting under the Golden Boy banner. When GBP was televising developmental cards from Club Nokia in L.A., Gary Russell Jr. fought three times on those shows in 2010. I was doing commentary with Mario Solis, so I’d always try to get an early bout sheet from GBP in order to prepare for the broadcast. Every time Russell fought on that series, GBP’s matchmakers – recognizing his talent and extensive amateur background – tried to put him in tough, but by fight week his opponents were switched out for journeymen with losing records or badly faded veterans. Russell, who had 10 pro bouts under belt by the time he first appeared on the series (“Fight Night Club”), didn’t need to be baby fed with his considerable skill and ability.

Dragging out the development of talented boxers continued when Haymon made the transition from perennial Manager of the Year to promotional power broker. A prime example is Jermell Charlo, who some feel should already be in Ring Magazine’s Pound-for-Pound rankings (he’s not in the P4P top 10 of ESPN.com or the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board either, but nobody cares about their mythical rankings – and let’s face it, some folks just like to bitch and toss shade at us). The Charlo Boosters say Mell deserves to be in Ring’s P4P top 10 because he’s a unified titleholder who is about to fight for the undisputed championship, and I get their reasoning, but the majority of Ring’s P4P-ranked fighters unified major titles way before Charlo did. Jermell fought his first unification bout (vs. Jeison Rosario) in his 34^th bout. Naoya Inoue fought his first unification bout in his 18^th pro bout (vs. a future hall of famer in his third weight class). Josh Taylor and Teofimo Lopez fought their first unification bouts in their 16^th pro bouts. Oleksandr Usyk did it in his 14^th pro bout (he was undisputed cruiserweight champ by his 15^th). Lomachenko did it in his 12^th pro bout.

It’s just my opinion, but I think Jermell, who fought for his first world title in 2016 in his 28^th pro bout, was ready for the world by late 2013, definitely by the end of 2014.

I wanted to get your thoughts on Al Haymon. Do you think he’s good for boxing? He’s as good as any other major promoter/boxing power broker is. In fact, he’s better than most.

I’ve read recently that the Canelo vs Plant negotiations are not progressing. Bummer but I’m not shocked.

Canelo plans on fighting in 2 months and there’s no sign of the Plant fight being finalised. I’m not even slightly surprised by this and never expected the fight to happen. I’d call you a cynic, but you were just being realistic.

It’s by far the biggest money fight of Plant’s career and a chance to become undisputed. Plant should be chomping at the bit for this fight! Yes, he should be. And if he passes on this grand opportunity, it’s on him – not Haymon or anyone else – in my opinion. Even if Haymon or others are telling him not to take the fight, he should be the final word in regards to his career. He’s not a developing prospect who needs to be protected. He’s mature world titleholder who has made a couple of defenses and is in his athletic prime. Challenging the No. 1 fighter in his division – as well as pound-for-pound – is what it’s all about. If he declines the fight for business reasons, he needs to ask himself if he can make as much money for as much reward facing anyone else.

Charlo was offered millions – by far the biggest payday of his career – to fight Andrade, another undefeated American 2-weight world champion. I’d rather see Jermall fight Jaime Munguia or even Chris Eubank than Boo Boo, but I get where you’re coming from. Charlo vs. Andrade would be a contest between the two best American middleweights and it would produce a partially unified beltholder.

Wilder was offered 100 million dollars for 4 fights on DAZN and a chance to become undisputed. I think it was three fights, but yeah, that was a grand opportunity vs. Anthony Joshua (and probably a much better stylistic and psychological matchup for Wilder than Fury turned out to be).

Luis Ortiz was offered millions to fight Joshua, by far the biggest payday of his career. They all turned these offers down. That’s on THEM, tho! The fighter is supposed to be the boss. The promoter is supposed to work for the fighter! If the fighters really want a certain fight they owe it to themselves to push for it no matter what the promoter wants and regardless of boxing’s various politics. Golden Boy was against Canelo fighting Erislandy Lara so soon after their Mexican star had been undressed by Floyd Mayweather, but Alvarez demanded it and they delivered what he wanted. Jorge Linares wanted a big unification showdown with WBC lightweight titleholder Mikey Garcia when he was the Ring/WBA champ. He didn’t give a rat’s ass that Garcia was working with Haymon. GBP went about making offers to Garcia. When it was clear that Garcia wasn’t going to bite (even after GBP acquiesced to all his demands), Linares set his sights on Lomachenko. Again, he didn’t care that Loma was with Top Rank and was fighting on ESPN. He was willing to fight off of HBO in order to be in a significant fight. GBP allowed him to pursue his goals, even though it ultimately resulted in a 10-round TKO loss and the end of his lightweight title reign on ESPN. Bottom line, bro, the fighters gotta want it and realize their agency.

And Tank Davis vs any of the top fighters from 130-140 lbs ain’t happening. Time will tell. He beat Jose Pedraza and Leo Santa Cruz at 130. He just established himself as a player at 140. We’ll see who he fights next (and in which weight class).

Do you have any idea what Haymon says to these guys to get them to turn down the biggest paydays and legacy fights of their careers? I don’t know and I don’t care. If they have established themselves as world class and they aren’t willing to push for the kind of fights that can elevate them into elite status, it’s their fault.

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.