(Al Bello/Getty Images)
Let’s just get it out of the way right off the bat: Whatever negotiations for Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao are happening — and, for once, it does seem like the negotiations have actually been happening, rather than both sides simply talking about each other — the proper posture to take about the fight getting signed was, is and always should be extreme skepticism.
The wisdom of that stance was once more validated this week when we began to hear more chatter about Mayweather-Miguel Cotto II instead. In a vacuum, Mayweather-Cotto II isn’t so bad, assuming it would be at the full middleweight limit for Cotto’s crown; it’s two of the sport’s most popular guys, and I had the first fight closer than almost anyone alive, and Cotto just might be revitalized under coach Freddie Roach.
But this isn’t a vacuum. With Mayweather possibly walking away from Pacquiao and Cotto walking away from Canelo Alvarez, Mayweather-Cotto II would rob us of two of the best fights in the sport, period. Double-fucked, all with one stroke. It’s almost majestic, how prizefighting manages to screw over its fans.
Let’s move on to some lesser bits of good news in this grand sport of ours, with some additional news of neutral, negative or seriocomic persuasion.
Quick Jabs
So far, so good on the rollout of omnipotent manager/adviser/supervillain Al Haymon’s various boxing projects. The “so far” part is crucial. Haymon has enormous control over both the NBC and Spike programs, and, it’s worth reminding again even though we just said it recently, that while Haymon has had stretches of good matchmaking and fights fans actually want, he tends to slacken the reins when he can get away with it. Additionally, it’s worth noting that the lineup is of fights that should’ve already happened, or that should be happening routinely. On NBC, the star of the lineup so far is Danny Garcia-Lamont Peterson — a fight that should’ve happened two fights ago for Garcia — although, alas, it is at 143 pounds, which means it’s not for Garcia’s junior welterweight crown, since Garcia is growing into a welterweight, so maybe it’s time for him to ditch his championship, eh? Adrien Broner-John Molina at 140 is pretty solid. Keith Thurman-Robert Guerrero is the kind of fight we’ve been wanting for Thurman, against a fellow welterweight contender. Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr.-Andrzej Fonfara around 168-175 is a nice fight, if it happens, and presumably would be on NBC; Chavez has been locked in a battle with promoter Top Rank, and they’re threatening to sue. On Spike, the debut card features a twin welterweight bill of Shawn Porter-Roberto Garcia and Josesito Lopez-Andre Berto, two bouts that would qualify as one of the better fights we might see on ESPN2 in any given year. So far, so good…
Wherever this all leaves Showtime, it’s hard to say it’s anywhere terribly good. Showtime’s Stephen Espinoza has been wedged deep down in one of his trademark hilarious spin trenches, saying he wants those good fights he helped build up and was waiting on for his network to appear on NBC, because it means those fighters exposed to broader audiences will come watch them when they’re on Showtime. You have to give him credit, he’s inventive…
That said, the viewership numbers for his most recent Haymon-backed fight, Deontay Wilder-Bermane Stiverne, were outstanding by Showtime standards and very good by the standard of televised boxing in the last couple years: 1.24 million, fourth highest boxing number in the network’s history, per a news release. By rating, it was the best in the past year for a premium network-aired bout, and better than any on Showtime in the past two years when all of the fights on the card are taken into account. Can Showtime consistently get this kind of product from Haymon? After all, he’s pretty busy elsewhere, and Wilder does, it must be said, have elements of stardom — heavyweight, American, charismatic, raw talent with increasing polish…
Wilder broke his right hand in the fight and Stiverne was hospitalized for dehydration, so it was a costly night for both men. That same night, as you can see below, Wilder’s mother also suffered a “church faint”…
…and Showtime’s Jim Gray just suffered.
At least it’s nice that both sides, Jean Pascal and Sergey Kovalev, want advanced drug testing, right? Now if they can figure out what kind. At first, Main Events balked at independent testing for the light heavyweight bout, and Kathy Duva’s argument is all wrong on this, I contend; sure, it’d be great if the state regulators did it, but they’re not. So if you’re in favor of advanced testing, it has to be this way or not at all. And something is better than nothing. Plus, the more it’s shown that advanced testing works, the more likely state regulators are to get involved, if still unlikely. But it’s good that she set aside her objections once her fighter asked for advanced testing, at least. Now, the “how” becomes more political. This could’ve been resolved earlier if fighters who cared about advanced testing made it a condition of their contracts, but this always seems to be after the fact, which looks bad. And Kovalev wants the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association, which is the best choice, but Pascal is balking. This makes Pascal look bad, because VADA is cheaper than what he wants, but it also could have been avoided if A. Pascal had declined to associate himself with controversial coach Memo Heredia and B. VADA had declined to ever associate itself with controversial coach Victor Conte, who has an endless two-way feud with Heredia that makes it so Heredia clients (and others who have feuded with Conte, who feuds frequently) never want to work with VADA…
It’s almost, vaguely, like we’re watching Broner mature before our very eyes. One day he rejects a huge $40 million overbid from Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Sports, which demonstrated the uncanny power of the aforementioned Haymon, and, perhaps, the poor judgment of Broner; the next day he says Jay-Z should suck his dick, and that Rihanna is only good for pussy, which is a mean thing to say about someone who just offered you a bunch of money and a nice Barbadian girl who would lend you her umbrella-ella-ella, so, immaturity; and then, shortly thereafter, he apologized — maturity?!? — because, “You never invite another man to another man’s private part. That’s just ridiculous.” Soooooo: fits and starts, I guess. But it’s in the direction of progress!…
Here is a series of good and interesting and informative stories: On Paul Williams, which is uplifting and rad; on women’s boxing, which is disheartening from a societal equality viewpoint; and on Mayweather’s private life, including allegations of him taking a lady hostage one time, which is just more “sigh”…
In closing, here’s a big ass knockout from ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights recently.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_u5U79C7mo
