Although Wladmir Klitschko is lacking in excitement, he's never lacking in opposition. Next on deck he has 19-0 Alexander Povetkin, who has been his mandatory for two years. Ex-conquest Samuel Peter might not be too far ahead for a rematch and now, Shannon Briggs, an asthmatic former champion, is goading Klitschko into a fight. Yawn, yawn and wheeze.
DON'T FORGET ABOUT GAMBOA
Whether it's Israel Vasquez or Rafael Marquez who comes out victorious in their fourth fight next month, the obvious target is Juan Manuel Lopez. A fight with Lopez will be the most lucrative thanks in part to the Puerto Rico vs. Mexico rivalry, but isn't somebody being left out in the cold? Yuriorkis Gamboa, who Bob Arum is hoping to match Lopez with at some time, seems to be getting no big opponent to build a potential fight with Lopez. Gamboa is just as talented, if not more, as Lopez and deserves a spotlight opponent.
JUDAH HAS A NAME, BUT CAN'T CAPITALIZE ON IT
Looks like I spoke too soon regarding the Devon Alexander-Zab Judah fight for this July. Judah is among four other fighters that could match up with Alexander in the summer; those four being former Lightweight titlists Paul Spadforda, Juan Diaz, Joel Casamayor and former Jr. Welterweight champion Ricardo Torres. You'd figure that Judah, who hasn't been relevant for five years in any weight class, would make more of an effort to cash in on his name one last time.
POTSHOT PICKS
Arthur Abraham (30-0, 25 KO) vs. Andre Dirrell (18-1, 13 KO)
Though Abraham is the clear favorite due to his high guard and ferocious punching power, I like Dirrell to use his superior hand speed and movement to take advantage of Abraham's slow start, getting ahead on points halfway through the fight. If Dirrell can survive Abraham's late charge, he'll come out with a victory, assuming we're talking about the Dirrell we saw in the last three rounds of the Froch fight, not the first nine. Hopefully that will be the case. Dirrell by decision.
Ali Funeka (30-2-3, 25 KO) vs. Joan Guzman (29-0-1, 17 KO)
Although their first fight was an atrociously scored draw that should have been a Funeka win, he didn't dominate the former champion and Guzman did well to start and close the fight. We have to consider that Guzman was off for a year and was still able to punish Funeka on the inside. Funeka frustratingly fights to the level of his opponents, a sign of a fighter who lacks discipline. Expect a fresher Guzman to win a decision thanks to his judicious body punching and Funeka's willingness to make it an inside fight.
Victor Cayo (24-0, 16 KO) vs. Marcos Maidana (27-1, 26 KO)
Definitely the fight of the weekend! Will the overwhelming power from Maidana overtake the better technical skills of the undefeated Cayo? From what I have seen of both fighters, I think Cayo has the better skill set with a good amount of power, even though it isn't hellacious like Maidana's. We've seen Andriy Kotelnik avoid Maidana's power, thanks to movement, and came out with a win. While Maidana can win this fight any time with a vicious knockout, I am picking Cayo to win by decision in an upset special.
MAILBAG SHOTS
Hi Danny,
Love your column. My feeling is that Manny should not waste his time on a fight with either Valero, Marquez or Margarito, Valero and Marquez will be no match for Manny at 147 lbs, based on what we saw with Mayweather/Marquez. At 147, Manny knocks them both out.
Margarito is a good option except I feel that after his fall from grace, he needs to work his way back up on the rankings and earn his stripes by beating someone with credentials prior to a match with Manny.
No doubt the best fight out there is Mayweather or Mosley but if Mayweather wins, I doubt if the Pacman will agree to blood testing conditions set up by Mayweather so we can only hope Mosley wins that bout.
Frankly I would much rather see Manny fight Andre Berto or Luis Collazo or Sergio Martinez and/or Cory Spinks, if they can or would be willing to come down to 147.
Keep up the good work, mate!
Cheers,
Phillip
Thanks for the support Phillip and your excellent response. My gut feeling is that Margarito is going to get the shot after a few gimme fights on Latin Fury cards. Texas will license him even if California doesn't. When Mosley-Mayweather doubles the buys of Pacquiao-Clottey, Pacquiao and Mayweather will squabble more about the purse split than blood testing. Regarding Andre Berto, seems that A LOT of mailbag responses asked for a Berto fight. Maybe that might be explored should he beat Carlos Quintana next month.
He should fight Mayweather or retire, same goes for Mayweather. Fight Pacquiao or retire.
-Chris
Mayweather and Pacquiao retiring in lieu of fighting each other would be the worst case scenario for boxing and for themselves as well. The sooner they fight, the better but they shouldn't retire during their primes and they won't. Mayweather doesn't make money unless he boxes and Pacquiao would take a HUGE pay cut as a politician, and while it seems that money doesn't matter to Pacquiao, just remember what held him up from his fights with De La Hoya and Hatton: $$$.
First off; Who should Manny Pacquiao fight next?
I think that answers quite obvious, Floyd Mayweather. However, I have a feeling that Shane Mosley will end up getting the fight depending on how he does against Mayweather. My reason? ...well, it's the obvious one. USADA testing. Bob Arum is pulling for a Shane Mosley win. If Mayweather should defeat Mosley in a lopsided manner --advantage: Top Rank. Mayweather will only continue his USADA testing demands, which I find to be a great addition to Boxing and should be enforced. Top Rank/Golden Boy will soon hit another wall due to a fallout of Pacquiao not obliging the non-comissioned blood testing. If Mosley should look atleast somewhat decent against Mayweather, but Mayweather wins in a De La Hoya-Mayweather fashion. Advantage: Top Rank. Bob Arum sees Shane was able to keep a steady pace by pushing the fight against Mayweather, Arum believes that a Mosley-Pacquiao match would be bigger than a Mayweather-Pacquiao. You don't need my opinion. The fans have already spoken for us.
Secondly, Should Pacquiao continue fighting Top Rank expendables or take the initiative?
Pacquiao has maybe one or two more Top Rank babies to choose from: Margarito & Valero. Margarito would be another walking punching bag with a name that Pacquiao would gain more hype and glory off of. Not really a challenge for Pacquiao whom is a high volume puncher with speed to boot --Mosley proved this by his TKO victory over the so-called, and former, "Kingpin of the Welterweight division". Valero is the second choice, but he isn't quite ready for Pacquiao. Valero has the potential to be what Pacquiao has become but with a stronger resumé. Arum won't risk giving up his 2nd cash cow in-the-making now that Cotto and Margarito are temporarily out of title contention in the Welterweight division. Same goes for Pacquiao --Arum fears what Mayweather could/would do to Pacquiao. He knows how great a Boxer Mayweather is. He's said it himself. Risking Pacquiao, the #1 boss of all bosses in his fighter stable wouldn't do well for business, given he loses in an embarassing manner, thus Pacquiao Fever would die meaning. No monetary gain for Top Rank. However, the fans want to see Mayweather-Pacquiao. Regardless of opinion, the fight MUST happen. It will be great for the sport and perhaps encourage others to do the same. The blueprint has been set, now it's up other to follow suit.
-Ryan
The only way Shane Mosley gets a shot with Pacquiao is if he beats Mayweather. If what you forsee comes to light, then it will look like Pacquiao doesn't want to fight Mayweather and Arum wants us to believe he does. I think you nailed it on the head when you said that risking Pacquiao wouldn't do well for business. The whole reason to match Pacquiao against Valero or Margarito is a business transaction anyway.
Thanks again for those who wrote and for those who didn't get a response, please don't be discouraged to write again for future mailbags which will now be a bi-weekly addition to "Pillar to Post."