It's Monday. Welcome back for another edition of Observe and Fight, The Boxing Observer's compilation of observations and random thoughts from the week that was in boxing. Get caught up on some of the most recent events you may have missed out on, including Amir Khan fighting his way to a chance at Floyd Mayweather, Gennady Golovkin's next opponent, another positive drug test marring the sport, and much more. Without further ado, check out the latest observations from the Boxing Observer, David Kassel.
Amir Khan is finally willing to earn his shot at Floyd Mayweather. First of all, don't get me wrong, I don't blame Khan for passing on a fight last year with Devon Alexander when he thought he was a sure thing to land a shot at Mayweather. Money is money and Khan was set to make a much larger payday against Mayweather than he would have against Alexander. As it was, Khan still made $1.5 million to fight Luis Collazo as the co-feature to Mayweather vs. Maidana. However, Khan couldn't control the situation that took place December 14, 2013. That night, the man most thought would be Mayweather's successor, Adrien Broner, was upset by Marcos Maidana for the WBA welterweight title. Fans immediately demanded Mayweather fight Maidana instead of Khan because a) Maidana held a title belt, b) Maidana defeated "Floyd Jr", and c) Maidana was willing to "fight" and earn his way to a Mayweather shot while Khan had yet to even fight as a welterweight. Khan's fortunes changed that night through no fault of his own. However, had Khan fought, and defeated, Alexander, who held the IBF title at the time, Mayweather would probably still have chosen Khan because he would have "earned" his way into the Mayweather Sweepstakes by defeating a world champion. Fans wouldn't really have had a beef then because Khan did defeat Maidana in their head-to-head match-up. Now, one year later, Khan isn't taking any chances and, in turn, is taking a huge chance by fighting Alexander. Both men will be well compensated for this fight, and even though neither man currently holds a world title, both are former world champions and are world-class fighters still in their primes. A loss by either man isn't detrimental to his career, but a win will catapult them straight into the mix for a Mayweather fight in May. If Khan wins, there is no doubt he'll get the shot at Mayweather. If Alexander wins, he may not get that chance right away (although he is just as qualified as any and there is no reason he shouldn't be at the top of the list), but perhaps a fight against current IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook could be in his future. A win there would all but assure him a Mayweather shot.
Devon Alexander is certainly making his case to land that Mayweather shot. In years past, Alexander has been criticized by fans for allowing his trainer, Kevin Cunningham, to do his talking. Cunningham, who also led Cory Spinks to a world title, is one of the best trainers out there, but also knows how to build a fighter. Alexander has made a ton of money over his career and is set to make a lot more as he is only 27 years of age. However, Cunningham can only say so much. Cunningham does a ton of the negotiating, but Alexander is starting to assert himself more in the public, and I like it! Alexander is one of the nicest, most humble fighters in boxing, and I have been following him since he was 20 years old, but as he has matured, both physically and professionally, we have seen him grow into a man who knows what he wants. If you remember back a couple of years, Robert Guerrero, who was normally soft-spoken and non-controversial, began calling out Floyd Mayweather at every opportunity. It was to the point where his publicist would send out press releases any time Guerrero's name was mentioned in the same breath as Mayweather. Trust me, it was overkill, but, in the end, it turned out to be a genius move. Guerrero earned himself a career payday against Mayweather and set himself up for the future. Early last week, Alexander went on record by saying, "Floyd Mayweather doesn't like fighting black fighters." That's a very bold claim, and while it may seem insignificant to some, it placed Alexander's name next to Mayweather's, which is a genius marketing move. Remember back to the Mayweather/Guerrero negotiations. Mayweather sent a tweet saying he was considering fighting Alexander as a power move and negotiating tactic to get Guerrero to agree to a deal. Floyd Mayweather knows who Devon Alexander is. The boxing world knows Devon Alexander as much as they did Robert Guerrero and Marcos Maidana. Another thing to consider is Alexander dismantled Maidana to the point where Maidana considered retirement when the two fought in 2012. If Alexander defeats Khan and makes it look exciting, I expect Alexander to be very vocal about his intentions of fighting Mayweather. I'm sure the issue of Mayweather fighting black fighters will be brought up again, and it's up to Alexander to see how far he wants to take it. First things first though, he must take care of business against Khan or it will be all for not.
Gennady Golovkin's next victim...I mean opponent...is Martin Murray. Murray defeated Domenico Spade Saturday in Monte Carlo to set up a fight with GGG in February, also in Monte Carlo. It seems as if K2 Promotions, Golovkin's promoter, is trying to turn Golovkin into a worldwide sports icon. It won't be long until we see GGG starring in his own commercials. Until then, we'll all just have to settle for the vicious knockout victories we have all come to expect.
What kind of a chance does Murray have against Golovkin? Honestly, not a good one. Murray may be the best middleweight in the world without a title, but he will be no match for Golovkin. Murray is a tough guy, but with only 12 knockouts, it's going to be difficult to get GGG to respect his power. Murray has never been down (to my knowledge), but he never faced anyone who can take a punch like Golovkin, has the footwork of Golovkin, and has the power of Golovkin. Expect another knockout win from GGG.
Congratulations to Randy Caballero for winning the IBF bantamweight title! The undefeated 24-year-old beat Stuart Hall to win the championship and set himself up for bigger and better things. The dream match-up right now would be a unification fight with WBO champion Tomoki Kameda, assuming Kameda gets past his November 1st title defense against Alejandro Hernandez (which he should). That would be a tremendous fight!
Jose Ramirez is going to be the truth. The left hook he landed, Saturday night, to end the fight with David Rodela in the first round was textbook bullying and boxing in one. Ramirez bullied Rodela on the ropes and landed a left hook, left uppercut combination before resetting himself to land a wicked left hook to the temple. That's not the type of poise typically seen in a young fighter.
Andy Ruiz Jr. looks more like Butterban than he does a heavyweight contender. Ruiz weighed 272lbs. for his fight Saturday and looks more and more out of shape every time I see him fight. He will eventually get a rude awakening in the ring.
I think the end has finally come for former champion Michael Katsidis. Tommy Coyle stunned Katsidis with a hook to the temple and Katsidis' equilibrium was thrown completely out of whack. Katsidis has had some serious out of the ring trouble, and, if he retires, I hope his out of the ring problems don't ruin his life.
Heavyweight contender Luis Ortiz tested positive for steroids following his fight with Lateef Kayode. While the news came very late, considering the fight took place September 11th, it's a shame Ortiz's drug test came up dirty. It's even more of a shame because there was absolutely no way Kayode would have beaten Ortiz that night. It would just be nice if all athletes everywhere and in every sport decided to stay clean. Then, we would have no doubts about who the best athletes in the world are. A man can dream, can't he?
Alexander Povetkin should be the gatekeeper to a fight with Wladimir Klitschko. I truly believe, with the exception of Deontay Wilder, who hasn't been tested yet so we don't really know, that Povetkin is the 2nd best active heavyweight in the world. He showed a lot more toughness than I thought he had against Klitschko, and his vicious knockout of major contender Carlos Takam on Saturday proved he is still a force to be reckoned with at heavyweight.
It's not a big fight weekend, but there are some interesting match-ups. Friday, from Australia, an intriguing heavyweight fight takes place between Alex Leapai and Malik Scott. Saturday, in a Showtime televised co-feature to Andrzej Fonfara vs. Doudou Ngumbu, the aforementioned Tomoki Kameda defends his world title. Should he win, it sets up nicely for a unification showdown with Randy Caballero.
Thoughts and prayers go out to the family of former fighter, 71-year-old Argentinian Avenamar Peralta.
Each week, I feature an email from a fan on Observe and Fight. This week's email comes to us from Tyquan Bilson regarding the Bermane Stiverne vs. Deontay Wilder heavyweight title fight...
"Dave, first time emailer. I wanted 2 get ur thoughts on who wins the Stiverne-Wilder fight? I think Wilder is getting set for another big knockout win and then its on to Klitschko."
What's going on, Tyquan? Glad to hear from you. Honestly, I believe that Wilder would box more than he has in the past and would have a chance to end the fight inside the distance, but the later the fight gets, the more it favors Stiverne. There is no question that Wilder is the most powerful puncher in the division, but he has to wear down Stiverne, who has never been down in his career. If Wilder only goes for the kill shot, Stiverne will have some success because Wilder won't be active enough. There are 2 other things we don't know: 1) how will Wilder do when he actually gets hit because we haven't seen that yet?, and 2) how will Wilder do if the fight goes late because he has never been past the 4th round? If the fight gets into the 8th round or later, I believe Stiverne will have a chance to exploit Wilder because Wilder has never been that deep in a fight, and no amount of sparring can prepare you for the real thing.
That's all I've got for this week. Email any questions or comments to dkassel@fighthype.com and I will answer them throughout the week. Your email may be featured in the next "Observe and Fight." Follow me on Twitter @BoxingObserver, and be sure to "Like" The Boxing Observer on Facebook.
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