Let Boxing Season Begin; Better Than Any Video Game
By William Trillo
Photos: Al Applerose
After a huge lull in boxing it’s finally time for pugilism fans to get their fill of all the big names of the sport. Unlike the garbage that has been force fed to us over the first quarter of the year fight fans won’t have to connect to online video games just to get their proverbial fix.
It all started this past weekend as Manny Pacquiao faced Timothy Bradley in the third installment of their high energy wars. With the vacant WBO International welterweight title on the line as well as bragging rights for their respective trainers, both men let it all hang out. This one did not disappoint. The fans got what they paid for and more.
Let this be a lesson boys and girls, when a promoter is handing out more FREE tickets than he can sell you will most likely be getting ready to witness a card full of meaningless mismatches. That’s also getting what you paid for. And in that case you get nothing, zero, zilch….nada.
Oh wait a minute, where was I? ……….
The biggest questions were Manny’s layoff and how it would affect the aged warrior. The answer was it barely made any difference at all, his hand and foot speed may have slowed a tick, but still world class all the way.
As far as Bradley, this was the litmus test for his new trainer Teddy Atlas. No one believed the human punching bag Brandon Rios gave Bradley any kind of test so this would be the proving ground for Teddy. If Bradley whipped Pacquiao it would have put the training skills of Atlas firmly on the map……..Atlas? Map? Aren’t I clever?
As we all know that did not happen. Bradley was down twice but made it to the final bell on his feet as he came up on the short end of a unanimous decision. Atlas did his best to make it the Teddy show in between every round but at the end of the day his training skills were KO’d by his rival Freddie Roach’s.
Poor Teddy, don’t you feel sorry for him? (He asks rhetorically).
Lastly, Manny ain’t gonna retire. Not permanently anyways. There is no way he will deprive his adoring fans of seeing him in the ring again, not after this performance. If you ask Freddie he will tell you Manny is ready for Canelo and Floyd, which is a very tall order. If you ask Manny he will say he promised his family he will retire. But after some time off and a run for a senate seat I fully expect to see Manny back in the ring again.
On the same day but across the Atlantic ocean the man I predict will become a huge star in the heavyweight division, Anthony Joshua went for his first world title as he took on the ill-equipped IBF Champ Charles Martin.
Both fighters were undefeated but that’s where the similarity ends.
Joshua is a true talent with a great amateur pedigree. Martin on the other hand is another in the long line of big men who after coming up short in their sport of choice decided to give boxing a whirl. 99.9% of the time that fighter regrets his decision. Welcome to reality Mr. Martin.
Joshua is a true talent and should be a fan favorite around the globe for many years to come.
Martin on the other hand will fade into obscurity faster than his short 3 month reign as paper champion.
Make no mistake about it; this was a complete CASHOUT by Al Haymon and the fading into obscurity PBC. After Martin literally tripped into a world title, Haymon went to work and called out the best heavyweight prospect on the planet. Of course he did. Martin was destined to crumble as soon as he fought anyone of note so you might as well grab all the cash you can while the getting is good. Even better, send your fighter across the pond and let someone else foot the bill. Easy money.
One sure fire way to know Haymon is throwing his fighter to the wolves is to look at the defacto puppet…errr…promoter that is sent into the ring with the soon to be humiliated champ. On this night it would be none other than Leon “The Ambulance Chaser” Margules. No shocker there. When you see this guy in the mix at any fight go ahead and assume something very embarrassing is about to take place. Leon took a few pieces of silver to play the fool. It’s a role he’s comfortable in. He has played it to some acclaim on many a night.
Speaking of pieces of silver, it appears Martin’s purse was somewhere around 1.1 million dollars. Factor in TV revenue and he may have made around 2.5 million. Not bad.
Now let’s do a little extra reality check math:
Promoters cut, 15%, managers cut 10%, advisors cut 20%. (Go ahead and assume those are all the same well hidden guy). Thats’s a 45% gouge into Martin’s purse. That’s also a clean crisp $1,250,000 cash out. Not a bad chunk of change to feed your sacrifice to the lions.
Oh, Margules? I’m sure he was compensated with airfare, a cheap hotel room in London and a $45 a day per diem. Don’t worry, that paltry amount wasn’t from Haym…errr..I mean the promoter/manager/advisor’s $1.25 million. That money did not come from Al Mysterioso. The fighter was docked all those “Ambulance Chaser” costs from his ever dwindling paycheck.
On a knee slapping coincidental note, Williams’s moniker is “Prince Charles”. Kinda funny, his trip to Merry Old England ended with him getting “crowned”…and I don’t mean by The Queen. Even the guards at Buckingham palace couldn’t keep the smiles off their faces as they watched Joshua destroy the hapless Martin.
In the coming weeks all the big stars will be making appearances. And yes, I know, they may not be the mega fights we all have been hoping for, but barring some unexpected upsets those huge events could be lurking right around the corner. (Notice the sacrificial lambs in these upcoming high profile cards also belong to the above mentioned promoter/manager/advisor. I thought this guy had his own promotion company and was about to take over the world…well that’s what I was told! Why is he shoving all his fighters onto other promoter’s cards? Unless of course he is running out of that chest of cash he was given).
On April 23rd in Los Angeles Gennady Golovkin will face the little known and not long on his feet Dominic Wade. I hear ticket sales at The Forum in L.A. are at a near sell-out. Let’s not forget that Roman Gonzalez is also featured on the card. He is an attraction not to be missed.
On May 7 in Las Vegas Canelo Alvarez will take on Amir Khan to celebrate the Cinco De Mayo Weekend. I know a lot of you have said Khan is way too small for Alvarez…but have you seen this guy lately? Memo to the NSAC….get those A, B and C sample collectors ready.
The undercard is chock full of fun to. Look for Mauricio Herrera to expose Frankie Gomez for the under-achiever he appears to be.
Skipping back a few weeks I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the April 15 shindig in Los Angeles. That would be Jesus Soto Karass vs. Yoshihiro Kamegai in a bout that has sure fire barn burner written all over it.
Ok, I admit all the right names are there but not necessarily in the fights we all dream about, not yet. But be patient boxing junkies, these fights are closer than you think.
And because I do not want to offend our nerd fan base let me make it perfectly clear I know the popularity of online casino games is at an all time high. From slot machines to video poker a trip to the casino is just a mouse click away.
Check out www.Pound4Pound.com for all the latest boxing news.
Pacquiao v Bradley was a complete waste of time and money. The result was a foregone conclusion. Neither guy would do well against Brook, Porter, Thurman (if he recovers from his injury) or Spence.
So Khan has added some muscle to his biceps. They won’t help him at all against Alvarez. This one ends as soon as Canelo connects cleanly for the first time.
Anthony Joshua has the best offensive skills of any heavweight right now. It still remains to be seen what happens when someone hits him first more than once.
I have a funny feeling we’ll be seeing Martin again, but not in a boxing ring. It’s not fair for me to say anything more on the subject.
The biggest event of the year might turn out to be on July 9 in Manchester. Tyson Fury gets his rematch with Klitschko out of the way, and Billy Joe Saunders meets Golovkin in a middleweight unification fight. Frank Warren will probably add at least one more world title fight to the bill.
Last, but maybe not least, look for Joseph Parker to start making a name for himself in the heavyweight division.
Seemes like you got a scoop or two here…do tell.
No scoops, just observations on what I saw.
Frank Warren – Saunders’ promoter, and a co-promoter of Tyson Fury, has said in a couple of recent interviews that he’s in negotiations with Golovkin’s people for a unification fight after both fighters get past relatively easy opponents over the next few weeks. Saunders has also said he wants this to happen on the undercard of Fury – Klitschko II.
Warren can definitely make this happen if GGG’s people agree terms and no one suffers any injuries etc. I’d be more worried about Klitschko screwing things up by claiming an injury and postponing his rematch. Then again, Saunders v GGG is big enough to stage all on its own.
We all know there’s more chance of Caitlyn Jenner winning the Republican nomination this year than Alvarez agreeing to face GGG this summer. Fighting Saunders in England in July is probably his best option – in every sense.
As for Parker, it’s common knowledge his next fight is against Takam. Assuming he wins that one, he becomes a mandatory for one of the belts, so his profile will change accordingly.
And Martin…i am curious as to where we will see him next…?
It’s not right to say as he hasn’t done anything wrong at this point. I mean “wrong” in the Clifford Etienne sense.
I am sorry Bill but that Top Rank card was god awful and it showcased how much Manny means to Top Ranks. I know you love Jose C Ramirez but he is just not “special” compare him to Spence and Diaz and even Marcus Browne and he screams to me Rocky Juarez.
Gilberto Ramirez accoridng to both GGG & Top Rank will be GGG’s next opponent should he win, and his fight with Abraham put me to sleep.
I will give Oscar Valdez a lot of credit as he was the star of that card.
Manny might come back but you can’t put him in with any big puncher or else he will get hurt. Bradley is the perfect opponent in that he has no power and is just a scappy kid.
Meanwhile the PPV numbers are coming in at around 400-450K per sources which should scream to boxing promoters…STOP… PUTTING… FIGHTS… ON … PAY PER VIEW!!!!
Hate on the PBC but at least its free and you don’t have to spend 65 bucks to watch 4 fights in which two suck, 1 is good and the main event is meh all the while staying up to 1 am in the morning.
Bob wants to know why young people love the UFC… THEY DON’T HAVE TO STAY IN ALL THE TIME UNTIL 1 AM IN THE FRIGGIN MORNING!
I am trying to find anywhere in my blog that I raved over that PPV card. I can’t..I didn’t. I also am doing likewise on my entire website about Jose Ramirez…same result. Please retract that babble of yours. That is something you learned watching to many PBC events no doubt.
I spent time with GGG and his entire team this week. When asked about Zurdo they all scoffed. “I am a middleweight and I want all the belts at 160. Ramirez is not part of my plans right now, ” said GGG himself.
The not so quiet rumblings coming out of your PBC speak to an organization falling apart from the inside out. Do some research and find out the real reason Keith Thurman is flying so far off the radar. Ask someone why Haymon was so willing to throw Martin under the bus. It’s a crap storm over there right now and it’s coming apart at the seams.
Free does not = Quality. Ask the people who stand in line for government cheese and end up with a block of imitation Velveeta. But hey, at least they don’t have to wait until all hours of the night to get those handouts.