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 Deontay Wilder bringing a heavyweight title back to America, a look at how Mayweather vs. Pacquiao is putting everything in boxing on hold, the death of Cotto vs. Canelo, a preview of the trilogy fight between Brandon Rios and Mike Alvarado, and much more. Without further ado, check out the latest observations from the Boxing Observer, David Kassel.
In case you missed it, America has a new heavyweight champion. Deontay Wilder, a bronze medalist at the 2008 Olympics and a 6'7" knockout artist from Alabama, dominated WBC heavyweight champion Bermane Stiverne en route to becoming America's first heavyweight titlist since 2006 (Shannon Briggs). Because of Wilder's 32-0 record, all wins coming via knockout in the 4th round or sooner, questions arose about his competition level, chin, and stamina. After reflecting for a day on this, we all should have seen this coming. Sergey Kovalev, who had never been past the 8th round, recently dominated Bernard Hopkins for 12 rounds to win the unified light heavyweight title. Sometimes, writers, critics, and fans tend to forget that fighters at the top level train for 12-round fights, even if the fights don't necessarily go 12 rounds. Wilder answered all those questions, and then some, as Stiverne had absolutely no answer for Wilder's jab, range, and movement. Wilder brings excitement to the heavyweight division, something that has been lacking for quite some time. I hope he is serious about wanting to fight 3-4 times this year. He says he would love a fight with Tyson Fury, and I have no doubt he knocks Fury out within 6 rounds. Either way, it would be a battle of giants that fans would clamor for. The winner would be worthy of a Wladimir Klitschko bout.
Shame on the American media, myself included, for not giving Wilder his proper respect. Wilder did something Saturday that had not been done in 2,996 days. Hey, it had been 2,786 days since an American held a heavyweight title (when Briggs lost his title to Sultan Ibragimov). What did I see on American television after Wilder's win? A blurb on ESPN Bottom Line about Wilder winning the heavyweight title. Last week, instead of previewing the fight, I led off with an update on Mayweather vs. Pacquiao. Wilder vs. Stiverne was WAY DOWN on the list of boxing news. It's really a shame because Deontay Wilder could be the man to bring back the casual boxing fan. Mayweather vs. Pacquiao will get casual fans to watch, but it's the heavyweights who can draw the most excitement because people want to watch large individuals beat the crap out of each other. Why do you think the NFL is so popular? Which brings me to my next point...
Mayweather vs. Pacquiao is putting the boxing world on hold? Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining that negotiations are ongoing. I'm absolutely thrilled this fight, after 5+ years, is even being considered and has a legitimate shot of coming to fruition. However, what's going to happen after Mayweather vs. Pacquiao if the fight actually happens? Yes, everyone is going to make a ton of money, but there is no way the fight can live up to the ridiculous expectations that fans will have for this event. Every person who will spend pay-per-view money, which I can almost guarantee will cost close to $100 for HD, will not know what to watch after this event. Mayweather vs. Pacquiao is going to shatter records at the box office, and with good reason, but it should not take away from all the excellent boxing possibilities fans could be afforded for years to come. This is why Deontay Wilder's victory should have received much more press than it has.
Cotto vs. Canelo is dead, for now, but that doesn't automatically mean the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight isn't happening. Yet another reason Wilder didn't make more headlines was because Oscar De La Hoya, who was part of the promotion for the Vegas card Saturday, announced that Cotto was dragging his feet for too long and Canelo was moving on. Immediately, fans all over the world, via social media, assumed that Mayweather/Pacquiao talks were falling apart and Cotto was going to get a rematch with Mayweather. In this situation, I don't think one has to do with the other. Do I believe Cotto is Mayweather's backup plan? Yes. However, Cotto could be doing some negotiating with other parties as well, and it didn't seem like Cotto wanted to fight on May 2nd with the possibility of going head-to-head with Mayweather. Team Cotto has been stating June 6th or 13th were other possibe dates for his return. If Canelo doesn't want that date, Cotto will have no problem selling out Madison Square Garden. Andy Lee just won himself a version of the middleweight title, and Cotto has no issues fighting a lesser known opponent for the opportunity to sell out MSG. He did it with Austin Trout. He'll do it again and still be able to sleep at night with a fat check in his wallet. For the most part, Cotto, like Mayweather, calls his own shots. Fans need to remember that boxing is, and always will be, a business first and foremost.
Canelo Alvarez should mention Timothy Bradley as a possible opponent. Bradley has stated he is willing to move up to 154lbs for the right fight. Now that Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank are working together, why can't this fight get made? I know James Kirkland has been mentioned as a possible Canelo foe, but nobody ever knows what crazy stunt Kirkland will pull. Kirkland is too much of a wild card. Bradley is a sure thing. Bradley said he would be willing to fight Cornelius "K9" Bundrage for Bundrage's IBF title; Canelo wants a title belt at 154. Why isn't Bundrage being mentioned as a possible Canelo foe? Bundrage is another sure thing and has zero promotional ties. Hey, if Canelo is dead set on fighting May 2nd, and Mayweather ends up fighting Cotto, why doesn't Canelo try to fight Pacquiao at a catchweight of 152lbs (the same weight Canelo fought Mayweather at)?
Amongst other great boxing news this week was the announcement of 2 fantastic fight cards on network TV! March 7th, NBC will debut Premier Boxing Champions with Adrien Broner facing John Molina in the co-feature, followed by Keith Thurman vs. Robert Guerrero in the main event! On top of that, Danny Garcia and Lamont Peterson will fight to unify the 140lb titles on April 11th. While I'm not sure that Al Haymon can keep up with the amount of money he will be shelling out in fight purses, simply with advertising revenues and sponsorships, I'm sure excited to find out. To this day, a lot of boxing fans don't have HBO or Showtime, which is where fighters like these exclusively fight. This could change the way the fight game moves forward. My only fear is DVR. 20 years ago, fans had to watch these fights live or they didn't watch them at all. Nowadays, fans can simply record these events and watch them later. That is where commercial revenue could get hurt.
Leo Santa Cruz better get a big fight soon or I might go crazy. This guy is tough as nails and is one of the most entertaining fighters in the sport of boxing. From a boxing writer's perspective, Santa Cruz should face Guillermo Rigondeaux in a title unification next (if Rigo can get his promotional situation settled). However, from a business perspective, Rigondeaux is the worst possible opponent for Santa Cruz. Rigo has a way of limiting busy fighters' punch output. Santa Cruz is not the greatest at cutting off the ring. Rigondeaux would make Santa Cruz chase him all night, and I'm not sure Santa Cruz can deal with Rigo's speed. Santa Cruz would also not land as accurately against Rigo because, let's face it, nobody does. Finally, Santa Cruz's game plan is to come in and wear his opponent down. Santa Cruz is not a one-punch knockout artist. He would need that against Rigondeaux because he won't wear Rigo down. Rigondeaux is one the most well-conditioned athletes on the planet. From a fan's perspective, in terms of entertainment, the best fight for Santa Cruz is Abner Mares. Let's make it happen Oscar and Al.
Amir Imam won my 2014 Knockout of the Year, and he has an early candidate for 2015! Imam knocked Fidel Maldonado Jr. around the ring from pillar to post. He produced a few knockdowns in the fight, which could have been considered Knockouts of the Year had Maldonado stayed down, but his combination in the 5th round sent Maldonado into La-La Land.
Lucian Bute has signed with Al Haymon. I guess it's clear that Adonis Stevenson has his next opponent. Both fighters base themselves out of Montreal, and both are superstars that will easily sell out an arena. That fight might actually be large enough in Canada to sell out the Montreal Expos old stadium. Hopefully, the winner of that fight will face the winner of Sergey Kovalev vs. Jean Pascal.
Fans shouldn't give Hank Lundy a hard time for not making weight for his fight with Petr Petrov. I know how terrible it looks when a fighter misses weight, let alone by 4lbs, but we must not forget that Lundy took the fight on 10-days notice and did the best he could to make weight. Lundy is a throwback fighter in the truest sense and deserves to be treated as one.
There's a chance for Carl Froch vs. Bernard Hopkins? Yes please! We all knew Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. signing with Al Haymon would make it difficult to make Chavez vs. Froch, but I like the potential backup plan of Froch vs. Hopkins. That's another great fight due to the amazing storyline of Hopkins going after a world title at 50 years old. If he were to win, nothing would stand in the way of a fight with Andre Ward.
We've got a potential Fight of the Year this Saturday night on HBO! Lost in all the news of the last few weeks in boxing is the trilogy fight between two of boxing's most action-packed fighters: Brandon Rios and Mike Alvarado. I'm picking Rios in this one. Alvarado's legal troubles over the past few weeks leading up to the fight are going to be too much of a distraction, especially fighting in his hometown. Either way, this fight will produce more fireworks than the 4th of July and I can't wait for it!
Each week, I feature an email from a fan on Observe and Fight. This week's email comes to us from an anonymous email, sent last Wednesday, regarding Fighthype's alleged "biased" coverage of Floyd Mayweather...(**Note - Fighthype has received emails from this person in the past**)
"Dear Fighthype,
Every boxing-site and news entity, EXCEPT Fighthype.com, is reporting that Manny Pacquiao has agreed to all terms for a fight with Floyd Mayweather, and that we are only waiting for Floyd Mayweather to respond. Pretty important piece of boxing news, don't you think?
In fact headline-news as far as boxing goes! In relation to previous communication...it is revealing that Fighthype.com is the ONLY boxing-site that is NOT reporting this huge piece of news. (Did you get your royalty checks (from Mayweather), David?). As requested before please make an effort to disguise the fact that you are in bed with Floyd Mayweather. Yes? Would you please? Thank you."
Yes, Manny Pacquiao's side has agreed to all terms on his side. Sources are now also reporting that Floyd Mayweather's side has agreed to terms. While that may be true, both sides have to sign off on the contract which means both sides must agree. It's not just about the money. There is a lot more that goes into it. Now, it looks like the networks are the only obstacle standing in the way of the fight being made. However, as stated many times before, from Floyd Mayweather himself, unless it comes directly from Floyd Mayweather, nothing is set. Bob Arum can speak for Manny Pacquiao because he is Pacquiao's boss. Mayweather is his own boss, and the last I heard, Mayweather has not stated ANYTHING publicly.
With that being said, the networks are still working on their sides, but depending on who you listen to, they are either close to a deal or really far away. According to Showtime Head of Sports, Stephen Espinoza, the two networks are far reaching a deal. If the networks can't agree, there is no fight. Who are you going to blame if the fight doesn't happen then? Mayweather? Pacquiao? Who?
The point I'm trying to make is, just like I stated last week in Observe and Fight, "The minute we begin hearing from Arum, Mayweather, Haymon (just kidding), Moonves, or Todd Duboef, the less likely the fight will take place." I'm not saying this fight won't happen. As a matter of fact, I'm 100 times more optimistic it will take place than I was last Monday; however, until both sides publicly announce the fight, there is no news to report. Look at Canelo vs. Cotto. Canelo's side was reporting that Canelo had agreed to everything and the fight was practically a done deal. Everyone got their hopes up because we hadn't heard from Cotto's side. Cotto's team later came out and denied the report. Now, all of the sudden, the fight is dead. This is why negotiations, especially of this magnitude, need to stay private.
We've been teased for 5 years about Mayweather vs. Pacquiao. Until both sides announce the fight publicly, there is nothing to report.
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.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: There's are 3 reasons why we did not report on the "news" of Pacquiao's agreement to terms. 1) For at least the past year, Manny Pacquiao has publicly stated that he's willing to accept Mayweather's terms, including a smaller percentage of the purse and his desire for USADA to conduct random blood and urine testing. Even when his promoter, Bob Arum, suggested that Mayweather's request to fight on May 2 was "disrespectful" to Mexicans, Pacquiao still publicly stated that, contrary to what his promoter was saying, he had no problems fighting on that date. With that being said, it wasn't exactly "news" when Arum publicly confirmed what Pacquiao has already been telling us. 2) Arum and Koncz suggesting that they are only waiting for Floyd Mayweather's response is not a factual statement when, in reality, an agreement between both networks would have to be reached before either fighter could officially sign off on anything. If Arum is being truthful about Pacquiao agreeing to the terms presented to them by Mayweather's "representatives", then it would stand to reason that they don't need a response from Mayweather since they were allegedly Mayweather's terms, that he was already presumably okay with, to begin with. If Mayweather wasn't okay with his own terms, then his "representatives" would not have given them to Arum in the first place. Had Arum said they were waiting for Mayweather's response to a counteroffer, then perhaps that would have been a different story. 3) When the "news" was reported, I personally spoke with Pacquiao's adviser, Michael Koncz, and after a lengthy discussion, I came to the conclusion that he told me absolutely nothing. When asked for the names of Mayweather's representatives that they claim to have received the terms from, Koncz refused to answer, simply stating that "it's the right people". When asked for more specific details of the terms, again, Koncz refused to answer, citing an "agreement" that they would not disclose who they talked to or what any of the terms are. He did say that the date of the fight would be May 2, however, when asked if the venue would be the MGM Grand, he quickly replied, "Now you're getting me in hot water." As for USADA doing the drug testing, again, Koncz declined to comment. To my knowledge, the terms for the date, the venue, and the drug testing were all non-negotiable as far as Mayweather is concerned, so it seemed kind of odd that Koncz would break his "gag-agreement" to confirm the date, but not the venue or the drug testing organization. Nevertheless, without being able to confirm any of the non-information that Koncz and Arum were telling people, we felt it best not to say anything until further details were unveiled. As I previously stated, Arum's revelation that Pacquiao had agreed to Mayweather's terms was nothing new, and we'd rather not contribute to false hope if we can't confirm any of the information.]
[ Follow David Kassel on Twitter @BoxingObserver ]