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 the better pay-per-view main event, Golden Boy's May 5th fight card, advice for Shane Mosley, and much more. Without further ado, check out the latest observations from The Boxing Observer.
- Pacquiao vs. Bradley should be a better scrap than Mayweather vs. Cotto. READ MY WORDS BEFORE YOU ALL FLIP THE HELL OUT!!! I'm not talking about the entire pay-per-view card, nor am I talking about who the bigger attractions are. Mayweather and Pacquiao are clearly the two biggest draws in boxing. Miguel Cotto is the #3 pay-per-view draw. Timothy Bradley is not a draw at all, but that doesn't mean he can't fight. Bradley and Pacquiao both come forward, love to trade, and are not afraid to take chances. Mayweather is a defensive-minded fighter first, though he has stood in the pocket his last few fights, and Cotto is a completely different fighter than he was at 140 pounds. Cotto does not like to engage anymore and has also become a defensive-minded fighter, as evidenced by his last fight with Antonio Margarito. All I'm saying is that the Pacquiao-Bradley fight will be more entertaining than Mayweather-Cotto.
- Golden Boy Promotions is putting together a nice pay-per-view undercard for May 5th. So why are some boxing fans not excited about the prospect of this card? Yes, I know Shane Mosley is at the tail end of his career, but he is still a great test for "Canelo" Alvarez. Winky Wright, even after a 3-year hiatus, will still be a strong opponent for Peter Quillin to show he has what it takes to be a top middleweight. So let's examine this...the current fight card has 5 former or current world champions, and one potential future world champion [Quillin]. Golden Boy is trying to put former world champion, Guerrero, on the card. I'm sure he will be in a competitive fight if he gets his wish. If not, I guarantee someone entertaining will step in. Maybe a nice heavyweight clash between Seth Mitchell and Chris Arreola or Deontay Wilder? Make it happen, Richard Schaefer.
- Top Rank will try to put together a fight card that will rival, if not beat, the May 5th Golden Boy Promotions pay-per-view. Manny Pacquiao's June 9th pay-per-view undercard should be one to remember. There is no chance Bob Arum will allow Richard Schaefer and Golden Boy to outdo his fight card. Expect to see lots and lots of big names fighting on the televised portion of the undercard. Arum is going to bring out the big guns for this one...at least I hope.
- Shane Mosley should say all the rights things leading up to his fight with Canelo. Mosley needs to do one thing to prepare for Alvarez: go to Big Bear and keep his mouth shut. I say that in the most respectful way, of course, to the future hall-of-famer. The fact is, Golden Boy is putting Canelo in with a fighter who they believe is shot. Mosley, who has underwhelmed everyone in his last few fights, has nothing to lose and the skill and experience to knock Golden Boy's Golden Child off the yellow brick road. Canelo is rumored to have a very big ego. Mosley needs to feed that ego by continually saying how much of a challenge this fight will be for him, and he knows he is the one with something to prove. Once he steps through the ropes, release the beast. Shane Mosley has nothing left to prove in the sport of boxing and cannot make himself a bigger name than he already is. For once in his career, "Sugar" Shane has everything to gain. Use it to your advantage Mr. Mosley. The results may surprise you and shock the rest of the world.
- Glad to see Lamont Peterson sign for the rematch with Amir Khan. No, the fight won't be in Peterson's hometown of Washington D.C. again, but we'll see how good both guys really are. Khan underestimated his competition and paid for it in the close loss to Peterson. Lamont was always the fighter who couldn't get over the hump. Now that he has, let's see if he can keep up the momentum. Expect a lot of fireworks in this rematch as both have a ton to prove.
- Demetrius Andrade needs to be in a tough fight very soon to prove his mettle. His brutal knockout of Angel Hernandez Friday night was spectacular, but through no fault of his own, should have never happened. It's unfortunate Andrade's opponent backed out the week of the fight, but this guy needs some serious competition. Rumor has it that fellow Star Boxing stablemate Delvin Rodriguez is on the verge of fighting WBA jr. middleweight champion Austin Trout on HBO or Showtime. I would like to see Andrade in the co-feature against a legitimate opponent.
- I'm extremely excited about Showtime's Saturday fight lineup. Paul Williams was matched beautifully in his fight with Nobuhiro Ishida. Even though he knocked James Kirkland out, Ishida is not a big puncher and Williams should control the action with his reach advantage. The co-feature promises to be a solid scrap because any fight IBF light heavyweight champion Tavoris Cloud is involved with is a must-watch. Don't forget on Showtime Extreme, heavyweight contender Chris Arreola steps in for the first time in 2012. Dan Goossen did a great job with this fight card and should be commended.
- I may be the only one in America, but I still want to see the Klitschko brothers fight. All 3 heavyweight champions (Vitali, Alexander Povetkin, and Wladimir) defend their titles over the next 3 weekends. Though none are expected to fall, we could have a shockwave sent through the heavyweight division in the 2 weeks. Vitali Klitschko "could" lose to Dereck Chisora, though unlikely, and Marco Huck has the ability to defeat Alexander Povetkin. Wladimir is the only one in no real danger as he will knockout Jean Marc Mormeck in whatever round he feels like on March 3rd.
- A message to Don King... Please retire and quit ruining young fighters' careers. King is allegedly working on a fight card for March 17th at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. He is trying to get IBF jr. middleweight champion Cornelius "K9" Bundrage to headline the card while he features other fighters in his promotion on the undercard. If he can get the date, don't be surprised to see it on Wealth TV again. Not downplaying the card, but King is promising fighters things in contracts that he can't deliver on. Don is banned in Atlantic City, most places in Vegas, and has broken relationships with almost every important person in boxing. Nobody wants to work with him anymore and his fighters are paying the price. Tavoris Cloud should be a star, yet he is the co-feature to Paul Williams on Showtime this Saturday. "K9" is a world champion in a division loaded with talent, but can't get a legit fight. Guillermo Jones is a joke of a champion at cruiserweight. Vernon Paris has a fight with Zab Judah on March 24th, but if he wins, where does he go from there? Omar Henry is one of boxing's rising prospects, but is only fighting a couple times a year. Ryan Coyne is a marketable Midwest fighter who can't get a date because King refuses to return a phone call. Don, please just hang up the hair gel, gold chains, and flags and stop holding these fighters hostage.
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