MONTREAL — Round and Round. What comes around goes around in the “fights in the works” universe. I’ll tell you why:
Round And Round
There’s a whole big “thing” at 154 pounds or thereabouts. Lots of fights are in the works or not around there, but at minimum lots of people are calling out so and so.
Alfredo Angulo is kind of the start of it. With him on the outs of a Sergio Martinez fight – which wasn’t, in the end, as damning as it originally sounded, since he apparently thought he was just making a counteroffer rather than merely turning down his highest career payday – Paul Williams-Martinez II stacks up as more likely, for November. I like Martinez-Angulo. I love Williams-Martinez II. Whatever the deal was, Angulo might have done us a favor. I’d guess Williams-Martinez II happens at middleweight where Martinez is lineal champion, but I’ve not seen that part reported anywhere.
Then you got a few young guys calling out everyone. Erislandy Lara wants Angulo, Martinez, Kermit Cintron and Cornelius Bundrage. Vanes Martirosyan wants Martinez, Williams, Miguel Cotto, Sergiy Dzinziruk and Bundrage. Deandre Latimore wants Angulo and Martirosyan. Separately, a veteran of the game, Ishe Smith, wants Bundrage and Latimore.
I wish I could solve this for everyone, but I can’t. Dzinziruk might have a fight Oct. 2 against Ricardo Mayorga, which is moderately interesting to me (original opponent choice Luis Collazo reportedly thought he needed a tune-up or two first). Bundrage, too, might have a fight, against Ronald Hearns in an all-Detroit match-up with Bundrage trainer Emmanuel Steward matching wits with the son of his most famous protégé and his trainer, Steward’s nephew Javon Hill. Cotto might or might not fight Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., next, what with Pawel Wolak again apparently out of the running for Chavez, but I’m sick of talking about that situation. Dzinziruk promoter Gary Shaw points out that Martirosyan should have no trouble getting Cotto or Chavez since Top Rank promotes all three men and is largely refusing to do business with anyone else these days, which is true, but I can’t say I’m in favor of Shaw kinda retaliating in the way he has. In my fantasy world, we get Williams-Martinez II and Cotto-Angulo, then the rest can fight it out somehow, because it’s not like there are a lot of bad match-ups in the lot. It’s a deep division right now.
The Dzinziruk fight might be one of three in a triple-header featuring welterweight Andre Berto and featherweight Celestino Caballero. The reported opponents being explored for Berto include Bundrage at 154 and Andriy Kotelnik, neither of which thrill me for Berto, plus Kotelnik wants an Amir Khan rematch that needs never happen. Less concrete would be Caballero’s opponent, with Jason Litzau, Jorge Solis and Matt Remillard the names floating around, all apparently at 130 pounds except maybe Remillard.
According to Dan Rafael, Top Rank might want to have a mini-tourney of assorted lightweight beltholders Humberto Soto, Miguel Acosta and Miguel Vazquez. Mark my words: This will never happen. Soto will keep fighting nobodies or no-hopers as long as Mexican fans blindly buy tickets or pay-per-view cards featuring Soto vs. Nobody McNohoper.
Also, I doubt Top Rank will ever make Fernando Montiel-Nonito Donaire at bantam. Montiel’s talking about fighting Cristian Mijares in September, for crissakes, and while the idea is that Donaire would be next, we’ve been in this “Top Rank says after X fighter beats Y fighter, Z fighter is next” situation before, and we know how it goes, usually – on and on and on.
Roman Karmazin and Daniel Geale – two middleweights who’ve come out on the wrong side of close losses in big fights of recent vintage – are set to do a title eliminator.
On the undercard for Ivan Calderon’s defense of his lineal Ring magazine junior flyweight title against Giovanni Segura are the Arroyo brothers. Glad especially to see junior bantamweight McWilliams Arroyo on the card, as I feared he might be shunted aside after a close loss to Takashi Okada in June. He’s shown enough talent – and Okada showed plenty himself – to warrant a chance back in the spotlight after such an early stumble.
After lightweight Jorge Linares’ career-best win over Rocky Juarez here in America, it looks like he’ll be returning to Tokyo for his next fight against unworthy Likar Ramos, which I’m guessing can only be attributed to his split promotional team of Golden Boy in the United States and Teiken Boxing in Japan.
Canadian middleweight prospect David Lemieux was gonna be on Friday Night Fights on ESPN2 Aug. 28 but he’s reportedly sustained an injury. He was gonna be in a title eliminator, some sites said, and some said his opponent was going to be Marco Avendano, who was knockout bait anyhow.
Heavyweight Evander Holyfield can’t shake his addiction to the boxing. His opponent in November would be Sherman Williamson. Holyfield needs some good friends he trusts to tell him to walk away.
(Round and Round sources: BoxingScene; ESPN; FanHouse; Maxboxing; Eastsideboxing; news releases)
