Very good fight from this past weekend, that Orlando Salido vs. Terdsak Kokietgym, especially early. It stuffed in seven knockdowns, legal and no, and lots of swapped punches at the official start of Salido’s official 130-pound campaign.
In an overdue edition of Quick Jabs, we’ll talk about the subjects in the headline — yeah, still some Floyd to discuss — plus some other subjects, like Mike Tyson, a mess in D.C. and more.
Quick Jabs, Floyd Mayweather Parts
Last week I wrote a story with a question in the title: Has the public finally had enough of Floyd Mayweather? I was skeptical even before I wrote it that the tide had turned:
Via @ironmikegallego, a bit on Floyd from SI. http://t.co/aIA5DjaYc5 Not convinced the tide has turned. He’s been Teflon for a long time.
— Queensberry Rules (@tqbr) September 15, 2014
The answer seems to be that no, the public HASN’T had enough of Floyd Mayweather, judging by the widely reported figure that Mayweather-Marcos Maidana II did better than the first fight. The Teflon remains. So he keeps making $70 million or whatever he makes per fight (as opposed to even a minor amount less had people turned their backs on his fights) for all the reasons I spelled out in the piece, I’d imagine…
And that TMZ bit on hims stiffing a waitress? Just more boorishness with little consequence other than to keep him in the headlines (and, yeah, her modeling photos being attached makes the whole thing a touch suspect). That said, he’s done a couple things of late that could actually lead to some blowback, although it’s more likely that it’s the kind of blowback that makes it look like the Nevada State Athletic Commission is going to do something when in actuality it won’t. Mayweather having pot around is kind of a lame thing to crack down on, anyway, although Mayweather’s promoter license does deserve some legitimate scrutiny based on the sparring conditions in his gym. And perhaps it’s possible there could be some legal blowback from Floyd’s father again saying Manny Pacquiao got where he got via illegal drugs, given the out-of-court defamation settlement back when…
If Leonard Ellerbe is out as the man running the Mayweather promotional company, then maybe we get some good juicy interview afterward from Mayweather’s long-time right hand pool boy or whatever he is. We haven’t heard from anyone other than Mayweather on this, save some signs of bitterness beforehand from Ellerbe, nor do we have a firm sense of who would take Ellerbe’s place (we can make some guesses on names that would be big news, like Richard Schaefer), so it’s hard to say whether the move is the right one or the wrong one. It’s just some gossipy soap opera at this point…
On the most recent edition of “The Fight Game,” HBO’s Jim Lampley plowed into Mayweather over his domestic violence history. It was a risky thing to do, as Lampley has his own history, and it naturally made people wonder whether Lampley would have said the same things if Mayweather was still on HBO rather than Showtime. But their histories aren’t comparable in degree, and domestic violence is wrong no matter who does it, and anybody who decries it is in the right; any hypocrisy is secondary…
Quick Jabs, Other Parts
Mike Tyson’s profane outburst on Canadian television against a host who brought up his rape conviction was ill-advised, and a dent in Tyson’s reputation as a reformed maniac. Tyson’s past is fair game, especially under the circumstances the question was asked, even if it was a bit less carefully handled than it should’ve been. There’s really no troubled person I don’t root for to change their ways, Tyson included. The setback here is disappointing…
Omar Narvaez is closing in on the title reign record set by Julio Cesar Chavez, but so what? Narvaez, simply put, has never beaten anyone all that good; he’s never even faced the second-best fighter in his division over that period. The best fighter he faced was Nonito Donaire, who was bigger than him, sure, but made him look like he was afraid of contact. Chavez’s own title record is based on alphabet belts who convey dubious authority; at least he fought some of the best available opponents during that stretch, and at least he was, for a stretch, the real lightweight champ (and tried to be at welterweight vs. Pernell Whitaker). And it’s not just about the weakness of eras. It’s about Narvaez never really being interested in the biggest possible challenges. Breaking this record would be about the same as if Nikolai Valuev had broken Rocky Marciano’s unbeaten record at heavyweight…
HBO is, apparently, interested in broadcasting one of the sport’s best possible fights, between flyweight champion Roman Gonzalez and Juan Francisco Estrada. Maybe not for enough money, though? The interest is, at least, a good sign that one of the networks is open to the notion of a really kickass high level brawl between some of the lighter-weight fighters who have been shunned more often than not by the broadcast powerhouses of boxing…
Washington, D.C. keeps having boxing debacles, such as with the recent messiness over Jeff Lacy’s fight. This one doesn’t appear to be on the commission, but it’s not the kind of thing that instills confidence in the operators here. It could be such a good fight town, if only…
Welterweight Kell Brook is back on his feet already after a weird leg-stabbing incident, which is good news. Brook can make for some good fights, the ugliness against Shawn Porter excepted, and it would be tragic if his speed was in any way affected by the injury…
Sugar Ray Leonard is coaching Usher on how to box for a movie in which Usher plays Leonard. That can’t hurt. The real issue will be whether Usher’s acting chops are up to the job outside the ring. He’s never been more than mediocre there, but sometimes an actor finds a role that moves him to that next level…
Freddie Roach training light heavyweight Lucian Bute probably can’t solve Bute’s chin problems. It could rejuvenate him in other ways — he hasn’t looked as committed in recent appearances, and a committed Bute is still a hellacious body puncher with a lot of speed and the ability to make some noise…
Larry Hazzard is back in as boss of the New Jersey boxing authority, which is somewhat surprising under the circumstances. Has anyone noticed a big difference in his absence? Certainly, the dire news for Atlantic City casinos will make his job harder than the last time around.
