This week’s boxing conversation was mostly dominated by the New York State Athletic Commission’s decision to grant Antonio Margarito a license to fight Miguel Cotto for a second time on Dec. 3, and the various spin-offs and branch-offs of that entire issue, like culpability in the saga, whether or not Margarito should be in the ring again period, and the HBO 24/7 for Margarito vs. Cotto II (more on that later). There were other tidbits worth mentioning though, and with the captain of the TQBR ship on shore leave for a spell, our readers shall be treated to a post-Thanksgiving lecturing from the resident overly-wordy history guy.
As it is the time of year to be gluttonous, I’ve applied that thought process to this edition of Quick Jabs, which may contain an extra serving or two.
Although the pitchfork-wielding mob has dispersed a bit to denigrate other folks, there still exist a few errant ripples from the unsavory aftermath of the third Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez battle. However, this past Wednesday Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach did some debunking of his own regarding accusations that Marquez is a foot-stomping cheater, saying, “The thing is, it’s part of the sport. I teach guys to do it myself.” Anyone up for turning the tables on the mob?…
The last week or so also saw two Showtime Super Six 168-pound tournament dropouts confirm upcoming fight dates. In an of itself, that’s not anything ludicrous. But considering both bowed out due to injury, or at least the threat thereof, the timing now appears less-than-coincidental. The tournament’s final between Andre Ward, 24-0 (13 KO), and Carl Froch, 28-1 (20 KO) will take place on Showtime Dec. 17, essentially meaning the other competitors are no longer bound to tag along. Jermain Taylor, 28-4-1 (17 KO), who dropped out of the Super Six in early January 2010 amid calls for him to retire and find a day job following back-to-back 12th round knockout losses, and three knockout losses in five fights, is scheduled to face relatively harmless looking and unheralded Jessie Nicklow, 22-2-3 (8 KO) on the Dec. 30 airing of Showtime’s ShoBox — a program generally geared towards prospects. Fighting in the opening bout of the same broadcast is Andre Dirrell, 19-1 (13 KO), who withdrew from the Super Six in October of 2010, citing “neurological problems” (resulting from his win by disqualification over Arthur Abraham that saw him take a sweeping right hand to the jaw while on the canvas courtesy of a slip) that could potentially be career-ending. Dirrell’s opponent will be Darryl Cunningham, 24-2 (10 KO), who was screwed out of his opportunity to face Kelly Pavlik on ShoBox this past August when Kelly threw a conniption fit over his lack of pay for the bout.
Taylor’s bout may be more generally acceptable, even if only because even his stoppage losses were pretty entertaining fights. Conversely, Dirrell is rarely entertaining fighter, and when he is, it’s an accident. Past entertainment value though, Taylor’s stoppage losses were all fairly brutal bouts where he got banged around a lot, and a solid argument could be made that he’s 1-5 in his last six bouts, rather than 2-4, which ain’t much better. As for Dirrell, it’s worth noting that his dissatisfaction with his Super Six contractual obligations and pay, and his friendship with Andre Ward (who he was scheduled to face and training for when he left the tournament) were widely reported on, leading to speculation that Dirrell was simply biding time until he could face his buddy Ward under more financially favorable circumstances. Regardless, it seems a lot to ask of fight fans to forget that these guys’ careers were seemingly in jeopardy not long ago, and the cynicism is amplified by the fact that these two fighters will be sharing a televised card…
No need to belabor the point. Besides, it’s not quite like either Taylor or Dirrell used the old “I took too many shots to the head” defense in criminal court and continue to fight. That would be former heavyweight champ Riddick Bowe, who reiterated last week that he would continue his comeback at 44-years old and was gunning for the Klitschko brothers. In other words, save your outrage for just in case one of those fights happen, as unlikely as they may be…
It was reported earlier this week that Detroit-based junior welterweight Vernon Paris was signed to a promotional contract with Don King. Unbeaten at 26-0 (15 KO) and 3 no contests, Paris is a little over three months removed from an entertaining knockout win over rival Tim Coleman on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights and retired Emanuel Augustus in January with a decision victory. “Iceman” Paris has told a number of stories about grimy life in the “Motor City,” having been stabbed and shot before getting serious about the fight game. We look forward to seeing what he looks like under Don King in 2014…
Cuban heavyweight contender Odlanier Solis’ return to the ring, scheduled for this weekend as a co-feature to the rematch between Jo Jo Dan vs. Selcuk Aydin in Turkey, has been postponed pending “legal issues” that prevent him from leaving the U.S. Since few are anticipating the return of this portly pugilist with a straight face, the story should perhaps be how his promoter Ahmet Oner is allowed anywhere near a boxing ring. In January 2010, Oner was charged with racketeering, assault and a few other choice crimes in Hamburg, Germany — and that’s aside from apparently being seen openly attempting to coerce judges in the Sinan Samil Sam vs. Paolo Vidoz fight, which was initially ruled a draw and later changed to a majority decision win for Oner’s fighter Sam. Oh, and he also rung the timeskeeper bell halfway through a round to save heavyweight Konstantin Airich (another one of his guys) from an ass-kicking at the hands of Danny Williams. Unfortunately, this character also promotes YURIORKIS GAMBOA!, who most of us would love to see stick around…
Former featherweight, junior lightweight and interim lightweight titlist (it’s complicated) Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero, 29-1-1 (18 KO) and 2 no contests, spent most of November calling out former/current/future future pound-for-pound king (it’s also complicated) Floyd Mayweather, Jr., who may or may not be fighting in May of 2012 (OK, don’t ask anymore). While most fans and pundits have spent time putting down the potential match-up and relegating Mr. Guerrero to the sub-elite ranks, I’d like to show support for a fellow Californian whose career has been oft-derailed by issues outside the ring, most memorably his wife fighting cancer off and on for three years and finally being cleared of the disease last year. His most recent setback was a shoulder injury in training a week or so before his interesting bout with Argentinian slugger Marcos Maidana was to come off in August. Might be nice to see some good things come his way for a change…
And with that, let us hope our beloved captain returns to the help of this ship of hooligans ASAP.
Don’t forget that Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, the other rising Mexican star, takes on Kermit Cintron tonight on HBO at 10:30pm ET/PT, with Adrian Broner facing Vicente Rodriguez in the opening bout. Here’s our TQBR preview and prediction from Alex McClintock: click
Have a good weekend!
