- Lucas Matthysse-DeMarcus Corley. That didn’t go well for minor TQBR favorite Corley Saturday on Solo Boxeo. Matthysse was, by contrast, very good. When Corley last went to Argentina for a junior welterweight bout, it very nearly worked out: He fought Marcos Maidana close enough that many thought he deserved the decision victory. That’s quite a contrast from Matthysse dropping him eight times before the ref waved it off. The difference between Matthysse and Maidana is that Matthysse was faster and more accurate — he’s a better boxer overall, really — and whereas Maidana didn’t take Corley seriously, Matthysse was focused like a laser. Corley didn’t take a severe beating despite all the knockdowns, since most of them involved him taking a knee after a crunching body shot. Corley’s camp complained about nearly everything afterward, but there were no low blows, no rabbit punches, as they alleged; maybe the closest they came to legitimacy about anything they claim happened inside the ring (they had a separate set of allegations about conditions outside the ring) was that a couple of the knockdowns were borderline pushes, but that’s academic. Matthysse was too much. Give us Maidana-Matthysse. Please. Maidana has more power and has proven guts, whereas Matthysse has very good power himself and is the overall better technician. It’s an explosive matchup.
- Sherman Williams-Evander Holyfield. Check out what our mighty Gautham Nagesh had to say about this heavyweight fight, because I agree with it all. One of the things I was taken by was how minor the cut was and how eager Holyfield seemed to want the fight stopped, knowing that Williams was giving him the business after getting wobbled twice. Holyfield has a big reservoir of good will about his warrior spirit such that I wouldn’t criticize him much over this, but it does seem to indicate that Holyfield recognized his vulnerability here, and maybe that’ll be a good first step to him finally giving up on this delusion he has about being the unified heavyweight champion again.
- Other results. The also-mighty Andrew Harrison had a rundown for us of the Jamie McDonnell bantamweight bout from the weekend, which I likewise recommend. Other stuff from the weekend? Dan Rafael hits the remainder, what little there was.
- Thomas Hauser on Manny Pacquiao and CBS. I’ll spare you the usual lengthy commentary on journalistic standards as it pertains to Hauser’s latest piece — he’s hit or miss on this one — and say that if television deals are won or lost based on funeral attendance, it’s a pretty sensitive industry. OK, that’s not the stuff in the piece that really is important. One of the real takeaways is that some of the preview shows for Manny Pacquiao-Shane Mosley will air in prime time. Another is a question I have about whether CBS ought to be promising that its news division will do anything as part of a deal like this. The on-the-record interviews with Bob Arum and Pat English are revealing. The advice Hauser has for HBO, and the evidence he collected that HBO should have seen this coming, is also for the most part quite persuasive.
- Suspended boxers. There wasn’t much news over the weekend, so here’s some info on boxers who have been fighting while suspended. Unfortunate. And I leave you with some Holyfield video, however long it stays up on YouTube (same with the Matthysse-Corley video).
