For all you ladies out there: You might think that boxing’s a good thing to take up for self-defense, but this hilarious 1991 book offers some alternatives. I hope everyone still has their old floppy disks.
While you’re practicing how to assault someone with a Sony Walkman, you can also peruse the latest fights in the works, even if it’s just some boxer howling into the wind for a fight he’ll never, ever get:
Round And Round
Hey all right, we got a slam-bang couple fights that may result from lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez’ decision to stay at 135 pounds. First would be a Fight of the Year-likely bout pitting Marquez against Michael Katsidis, possibly November 27. There are two schools of thought on this fight. Mine, and that of some others, is that Katsidis has shown improvement in recent fights and Marquez, despite his triumphant return to the win column recently, has slowed down; also, Marquez makes his best fights when confronted with insane aggression, which Katsidis brings; also, it’d be the legit champ of the division against the man ranked #1 in said division. The other school of thought is that Katsidis would be out of his league. Even if Katsidis is overmatched, it’s guaranteed action for as long as it lasts. With Marquez deciding against moving up to 140 pounds for now, the path is clear for Amir Khan-Marcos Maidana, possibly on December 11, which would be the other half of a supremely appetizing meeting of the four top junior welters, since Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander are moving toward a January showdown. I still think Khan-Maidana is somewhat unlikely, given how cautious Khan’s team has been about the bout, but Marquez-Katsidis can happen more easily, unless Marquez demands too high a purse.
Meanwhile, Marquez’ brother Rafael is back on course for a featherweight showdown with Juan Manuel Lopez, another highly appetizing bout that had been postponed because of a Marquez injury. It’ll be Nov. 6 on Showtime.
It isn’t all good news. The latest report on BoxingScene is that the sought after Paul Williams rematch with middleweight champion Sergio Martinez isn’t making as much progress for November as previously thought, as no contracts have been exchanged or anything.
New light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal appears to be most serious about fighting Bernard Hopkins Dec. 18 in the fight before his mandatory rematch with Chad Dawson. Not much of anybody appears excited about this fight, and, from an entertainment standpoint, I can’t say I am either. But Hopkins is ranked #4 in the division, and it’s not a crazy ranking, so it’s a legit fight as far as I’m concerned. Plus, with as crafty as Hopkins is, I wouldn’t put it past him to win it. It’s unclear whether HBO would be involved. Dawson promoter Gary Shaw pointed out that HBO hadn’t previously been interested much in Hopkins as an opponent for Dawson, so it’s not clear why they’d be interested in Pascal-Dawson — although it must be noted that Pascal is probably cheaper and has proven he can draw a crowd in Montreal, unlike Dawson.
Despite an injury to junior middleweight Miguel Cotto, it won’t affect an anticipated December 4 bout with Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. Chavez and Saul Alvarez have been talking some smack back and forth, and frankly I’m more interested in Alvarez-Chavez than Cotto-Chavez, but it won’t happen because Cotto’s Top Rank and Alvarez’ Golden Boy are in the midst of Cold War, The Sequel.
In light of Allan Green’s expected departure from the Showtime Super Six tournament, some have suggested revisiting the idea of Green fighting Sakio Bika in a super middleweight clash. Even with both men coming off losses, I’m still interested in the bout. I think it would be a pretty good fight.
Following his difficult win over Michael Grant a couple weekends ago, heavyweight Tomasz Adamek is probably going to take on another tall and probably more dangerous also-ran in Lance Whitaker before the year ends. Then, his team reportedly plans to seek a fight with one of the Klitschko brothers or David Haye in 2011. Meanwhile, Odlanier Solis said he wants a piece of Adamek, which sounds like a good fight to me.
So Andre Berto-Selcuk Aydin may be back on, so long as it’s not the headliner in a potential HBO tripleheader in the fall. It’s not ideal, but Berto-Aydin is probably a good fight, and at least Berto would be fighting a welterweight. Meanwhile, featherweight Celestino Caballero is pursuing a rematch with Ricardo Cordoba, potentially for the same card, and it’s the same deal — not ideal, but not bad, either. If Cordoba isn’t stolen away from him, that is:
There’s a fair amount of talk for the Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito undercard Nov. 13, but as with all Top Rank undercards, it’s talk until it’s not. Middleweight Kelly Pavlik might be featured, but it’s not clear against whom; Peter Manfredo, Jr. wants the slot, but might instead fight William Joppy, who keeps retiring and needs to stay retired with his age and mileage. More specifically, junior featherweight Guillermo Rigondeaux might take on Cordoba if Caballero doesn’t nail that fight down, which is a pretty big step up and a worthy one, given Rigondeaux’s experience and talent. Then, welterweight Mike Jones might be on the card, too, possibly against Jesus Soto Karass in a decent bout that would be a tiny step up for Jones.
Light heavyweight Beibut Shumenov said he wants Pascal, Tavoris Cloud or Jurgen Brahmer to unify some of those title belts. It’d be better if he gave Gabriel Campillo the rematch he deserves.
Via some apparent sanctioning belt politics, featherweight eliminator between Jhonny Gonzalez and Juan Carlos Burgos has been scrapped and Burgos is fighting someone else for a chance to get a shot against strapholder Elio Rojas.
Junior middleweight contender Kassim Ouma has been the victim of a bad decision this year and has seen another fight cancelled, so hopefully the Sept. 26 match with Joey Gilbert goes through. That’s an eminently winnable bout for Ouma, and I bet it’ll be a slugfest. Oh, also, if you have the Sundance Channel, the documentary on Ouma recently began airing there. I’m DVRing it for tomorrow night.
British heavyweight prospect Tyson Fury has been looking to step up the competition for his ShoBox appearance Sept. 10, as is the custom of the show, with Jason Gavern then Donnell Holmes in as likely opponents. Either would be his biggest test to date. I know the kid’s got his critics, but I like his guts.
On the undercard of Lucian Bute-Jesse Brinkley Oct. 15, light heavyweight Adrian Diaconu is expected to face Omar Sheika. Sheika’s basically shot but he’s tough and willing and Diaconu is coming off two losses, so the fight makes some measure of sense.
Michael Domingo and Vusi Malinga might face off in a bantamweight title eliminator. Sounds fine by me.
Antonio Tarver is apparently going through with this bad heavyweight idea, and his first opponent is likely to be Nagy Aguilera on Oct. 15.
Heavyweight Samuel Peter is not favored to win at all in his rematch with Wladimir Klitschko Sept. 11, but he’s already making plans for fighting Haye next. Ah, misguided vanity. Both of the Klitschkos’ next fights are booked for ESPN3 via the Internet, by the way, with Vitali’s bout against Shannon Briggs on the slate too.
Think fast! How many implausible ideas can you fit into one “news” story? Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous’ Robin Leach said Floyd Mayweather, Jr. plans to announce his next fight soon, and that it will probably be in Dubai.
(Round and Round sources: BoxingScene; ESPN; news releases; Maxboxing)
