RINGSIDE LA WITH JOHNNY ORTIZ DECEMBER 2, 2004 HBO AND SHOWTIME COLLIDE

This Saturday night, for some inexplicable reason, HBO and Showtime have decided to air two very good fight cards on the very same night.  Showtime will lead off with their broadcast at 9 p.m.   HBO will cut into their telecast when they give us their “Boxing after Dark” fight card at 10:45 p.m.  Fight fans will get short-changed if they have to cut away from Showtime to catch the other.  I do not understand, knowing that one will conflict with the other, why one of the major fight networks could not schedule one of the fight cards to commence at 6 p.m.  It would give the viewers who support both networks the chance to fully view both cards.

          Showtime has a very good lineup with WBC Lightweight Champion Jose Luis Castillo defending his crown against former Jr. Lightweight Champion Joel Casamayor in the main event.  The semi-main is an interesting fight pitting newly crowned IBF Super Middleweight Champion Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy, the first of the 2000 US Olympians to win a world title, making his first defense against crafty veteran Omar Sheika.  A bout that has all the earmarks of a slugfest has small heavyweight, hard punching Jeremy “Half man, half Amazing” Willians trading blows with up and coming power punching, Samuel Peter who sports a record of 20-0 w/17 KO’s.  Rounding out the card at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas is brilliant, WBC # 2 Flyweight contender Brian Viloria who will be moving up from 112 pounds to 115 pounds in order to challenge WBC #5 Super Flyweight Raynaldo Hurtado.
 

          HBO will not have a championship bout on their card, but they do have an attractive fight, which will feature middleweight contender Jermain Taylor getting a good, stiff test when he confronts former middleweight champion William Joppy.  The semi-main will feature Jr. Welterweights Paul Malignaggi (18-0) vs. Sandro Casamonica (34-4).
 

          I’ll begin with my opinion on who will emerge victorious on both fight cards.  First off, being a big Joel Casamayor guy, I think he can beat Castillo.  He is an outstanding boxer who will have to be at his boxing best if he is to beat a strong, good puncher in Jose Luis.  Joel should study the tape of the second Castillo-Mayweather Jr. fight.  In their second confrontation, Floyd won the fight easily by simply moving and outboxing Jose Luis.  Joel cannot exchange with the bigger, better puncher, he has to stick and move, keep a jab in Castillo’s face while throwing fast combinations whenever he sees an opening.  Jose Luis, knowing of Joel’s great boxing ability, will have to apply constant pressure from the opening bell if he is to nullify Joel’s quickness.  He has to cut the ring off in order to trap and unload his big punches on Casamayor.  They both will have game plans that they have to follow to a T if they are to win.  Castillo, being the bigger man, will have the advantage of size and strength, Joel, who will be coming up five pounds, will have to overcome these disadvantages, if he even thinks of engaging Jose Luis at close quarters, he will be playing into the champion’s hands.  It is a boxer-puncher fight; it should be a good one.
 

          I have followed Jeff Lacy’s career ever since he hooked up with my good friend and former Fernando Vargas trainer, Rodger Bloodworth.  Jeff, I understand is no longer with Rodger, which bothers me.  Usually when a fighter discards the trainer who not only treated him like a son, but also took him to all the next levels, something has a way of backfiring on him.  I’ve witnessed it happening too many times.  I haven’t talked to Rodger for quite some time, so I really do not know what happened between them.  Jeff’s trainer of record is Dan Birmingham. 
 

In Sheika, Jeff will be facing a fighter who has been there and back with some of the outstanding fighters in his division.  He knows all the tricks.  I like Jeff in this fight.  He is young, hits extremely hard, especially the left hook, hence, the nickname.  It’s a good fight for him, he will learn from Sheika.  Omar has been around for quite a while now; his experience will definitely make him a dangerous foe.  Nevertheless, Jeff is now a world champion, something Omar has failed to accomplish.  He’s had his chances.  Jeff’s youth, strength and awesome power should make the difference in a very good fight.
 

          The most exciting fight on the card points to the Williams-Peter shootout.  I’ve known Jeremy Williams for quite a few years now, not to long ago, he was my in-studio co-host on my radio boxing show.  He’s a good guy; he’s very likable and has an enormous love for the sport of boxing.  Although Jeremy is a small heavyweight he is a big puncher who has fought for a world title.  He fought WBA heavyweight champion Johnny Ruiz five times in the amateurs…he won all five contests. 
 

Jeremy lives to be heavyweight champion, if he can get past the highly touted Samuel Peter, he could easily be thrust into the title picture.  The champion he most wants to fight is Lamon Brewster.  I would pick Jeremy over Lamon.  Williams hasn’t lost a fight in four years, he’s six and 0 w/ four KO’s.  When asked what he knew of Peter, Jeremy replied: “Everything, I know he is a converted southpaw.  He throws the right hand like an amateur.  He can only fight on the inside for 8 to fifteen seconds before he needs to go out for air.  I’ve watched him like a hawk, I know everything.
 

          To which the twenty-four year old Peter replied:  “I feel great.  I’m really ready and focused for this fight, I said I was going to eat him alive and that’s what I’m going to do.”  Samuel’s manager Ivalyo Gotzev chimed in with this bit: “I could not feel any better about this fight.  Knowing what Samuel is capable of doing and what he’s going to do to Williams gives me butterflies.”
 

          I’ve never seen Peter fight so it is hard to give a proper assessment of his chances or his power.  Off of his record, he will probably be the betting favorite; I do know that if Jeremy can land his vaunted left hook, Peter can go.  All I have heard about Peter is that he is an awesome puncher.  How much of a puncher can he be when stepping up in his last two fights against veterans Charles Shufford and Jovo Pudar, he had to go the full ten round distance?  I will be pulling for my friend Jeremy Williams to win the fight in hopefully, dramatic fashion.
 

          I really do not know much about Reynaldo Hurtado, I have seen Viloria fight…he’s terrific.  He too has been on Ringside LA, even thought he’s moving up in weight, I’m picking “Brian “The Hawaiian Punch” to win convincingly.
 

          HBO’s semi main event has undefeated Paul Malignaggi (18-0 5 KO’s) going up against veteran Sandro Casamonica (34-3- 21 KO’s) in a Super Lightweight confrontation.  They will be fighting for the WBC International Super Lightweight Championship. Something doesn’t make sense here, how can they be fighting for any kind of championship when I couldn’t find either one ranked as a super lightweight contender in any of the alphabet soup boxing categories.            Having never seen either one fight, I will refrain from a prediction.  Flip a coin.
 

          What makes the HBO card so enticing is the fact that they will be showing the replay of last week’s great fight between archrivals Marco Antonio Berrera and Erik Morales.  For those of you who missed this outstanding classic confrontation between two of the greatest fighters to ever come out of Mexico, please make it a point to see it.  You will not see a better, nonstop action fight.  It makes waiting for a great fight to come along…worthwhile.
 

          The main event Saturday night at Barton Coliseum, Little Rock, Arkansas, is a fight between a once very good middleweight champion against a young gun who is looking forward to going up against the senior gunfighter.  Former middleweight champion William Joppy (34-3-1) will test the very promising, young, Jermain Taylor.  When a local media press conference was held recently, Joppy had this to say: “Put this on paper, I’m going to put him to sleep, I’m going to stop Jermain Taylor inside of nine rounds, I promise you that.”  He then made reference to Taylor’s previous opponents, saying: “He has been fighting ‘heavy bags’ rather than experienced boxers.  The heavy bag doesn’t move, and doesn’t punch back.”
 

          Jermain came back with: “We’re in Little Rock, Arkansas baby, this is my town.  This guy can say what he wants, but he’s at the end of his rope.”  About Joppy’s reference to his previous opponents as heavy bags, Jermain replied that he just made them look like heavy bags.  Taylor continued: “When he’s looking up at the ceiling, he can say ‘well, I guess I’m a heavy bag.’”  When asked to predict how long the fight would last, Jermain simply said that the fight would not go the full twelve rounds…he would KO Joppy.
 

          Looking back, I can vividly recall the last two fights William Joppy lost.  He took a terrible beating from Tito Trinidad on May 12, 2001, he was KO’d in five rounds.  On December 13, 2003, William took a horrendous battering from middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins.  It was one of the most brutal twelve round beatings I’ve ever witnessed.  The fight should have been stopped earlier.  Joppy may have been off for nearly a year, but the extent of the physical punishment he received could very well have had a lasting effect.  I sincerely cannot envision a 34-year-old William Joppy beating a young, strong fighter the caliber of Jermain Taylor.

          Jermain Taylor, along with Jeff Lacy, are young fighters who, from time to time, come up when the older fighters begin to fade.  It is a cycle that has to exist in order to keep boxing alive. 
 

It also gives credence to the old adage…Youth must be served.

          Barrera-Morales revisited.
 

          How can one put into words the intensity, the physical brutality and the will to win that was put on display last Saturday night during the war between Marco Antonio Berrera and Erik Morales?  It was truly a shame that one had to lose.  Seldom does a fight live up to the hype that precedes a big fight.  This one not only lived up to it, but also had to exceed all expectations. 
 

Judging from their last two fights, we expected the two warriors to give it their all, but one would think that they would have been a slight more timid as a result of their previous brutal confrontations.  Not so, this last one might be the hardest fought of them all. 
 

          Breaking down the fight, there are a few things that might have helped Marco Antonio win.  I had Barerra winning by two points.  Winning the early rounds won it for him.  Looking at the fight as a former trainer, I can see where Erik made a few mistakes.  First of all, I had heard he was having trouble making weight, the fact that he did make the Jr. Lightweight limit of 130 pounds was commendable on his part, but when I heard that by fight time he was weighing around 142 or 143 pounds, I knew he would have trouble in the beginning of the fight.  Having his nose broken in the first round didn’t help; he was at a disadvantage from the very beginning.  The problem with a broken nose is that a fighter not only has a problem of swallowing blood throughout the fight, but it plays hell with his breathing properly. 
 

Erik looked sluggish early; he claimed his body did not react the way he wanted.  He started to do better as the fight wore on.  The reason was, being that the pace was so fast; Erik began to lose the water weight, enabling him to fight more fluidly.  He could ill afford to give away three of the first four rounds, he was in a catch up fight from there on in.  Marco Antonio had something to do with it, he had no weight problem, coming in for the fight around 134 pounds, he was stronger than I had ever seen him plus he had a great fight plan that he executed well.  Knowing that Erik is extremely dangerous from the outside, Marco came out aggressively by taking the fight to Morales on the inside.  It proved to be a wise choice.  Erik had his best rounds when he moved and fought from a distance.  He closed very well, but as far as I could see, it was simply a matter of a little too late.
 

It was a tremendous fight between two tremendous gladiators.  Rehashing the fight only makes me want to see it again.  To reiterate, if you did not see it, put it on your must list this Saturday night; if you love boxing, you may be witnessing…The Fight of the Year. 
 

As much as I would like to see Barrera-Morales 4, I don’t think it will materialize.  Marco Antonio has said he may be going back to the Featherweight division, it didn’t surprise me to hear that Erik Morales is contemplating moving up to the lightweight limit of 135 pounds.  His desire to do so only confirms that  Erik had trouble making 130 pounds.
 

If they never fight again, we were privileged to witness three of the greatest fights ever.  These two are so evenly matched…it’s a 6-5 pick em fight.  I went with my gut feeling that Marco Antonio would win.  I had a good night; I also picked the other three winners on the card. 
 

Boxing tips its hat to two of Mexico’s greatest warriors.  Our thanks to “The Baby-Faced Assassin” Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik “El Terrible” Morales; your three fight series will forever be etched in boxing lore. 
 

Your will to win, your complete dedication and your oversized fighting hearts…they are all prerequisites for all young fighters who want to one day…become a champion!

 

BOXING LOSES A DEAR FRIEND
 

It pains me to end this article on a very sad note.  Irene Mendoza, a lovely young lady who was instrumental in my being elected to the World Boxing Hall of Fame Board of Directors, passed away on November 30, 2004. 

Irene was the woman behind the man as she assumed right hand responsibilities as the General Manager for the Dub Harris Corporation.  She efficiently assisted Dub in his company affairs as well as being a huge part of his Hall of Fame presidency.  
 

Irene’s cheerful disposition and readiness to help those who asked will be sorely missed.  I can only speak for myself, but whenever I needed advice on anything pertaining to our WBHF activities, all I had to do was place a call to Irene.  She never let me down.  Irene was a member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame for fifteen years.  Irene was also a Senior Vice-President.
 

When I MC’d our last press conference, Irene and I had the opportunity to sit down over lunch and discuss a few personal things.  I spoke of being a single parent of a teenage girl, I asked her for a little advice that only a woman and a mother could give me.  Irene opened my eyes to a few things, I put her advice to good use and needless to say, it helped immensely.  She made a lot of sense when she spoke of the happy times as well as the sad times that go with being a single parent.  She spoke of the enormous love she had for her daughter Vianca and how motherhood was her greatest accomplishment.  I will forever cherish that afternoon discussion. 
 

Every member I have talked to since her untimely passing has said how much they will miss seeing her at our monthly meetings.  I only wish she knew how much she was loved…but then, looking down, she already knows. 
 

She was only forty-six years old, maybe too young to go, but then you are never to young to meet Our Lord and all the wonderful things that He has in store for those who love Him.