It’s not entirely clear why the two Andres look so much like they’re giving a reaction shot in a low-budget comedy, but there it is. Maybe they’re surprised that Quick Jabs is back after such a long layoff. Actually that’s not possible, since Mr. Berto (right) put that picture up on Twitter last weekend. Both Mr. Berto and his buddy Mr. Ward (left) are subjects of this edition of Quick Jabs beyond the funny picture, among other things.
Quick Jabs
Oscar De La Hoya coming back would almost certainly be a disaster. He doesn’t sound like he’s very realistic about what he would be capable of, at age 42, coming off a seven-year layoff. De La Hoya was always bold in his opponent choices, but the idea of him facing a nasty-punching 160-pounder in Gennady Golovkin when he struggled against that size of opponent even when he was closer to his prime… yikes. Nor does Floyd Mayweather “need” De La Hoya, at all. That fight would also be a mismatch. He got beaten comprehensively the first time. Let’s call this whole thing off, yes?…
Thankfully, Mike Tyson is going to stay retired, contrary to the latest “rumors” that he was going to fight James Toney. Every few months or years, there’s some story about Tyson returning. Stop being gullible, guys! It’s not like Oscar, who clearly pines for the ring. Tyson said he didn’t love boxing anymore when he quit, and has shown zero interest in coming back…
Welterweight Juan Manuel Marquez, though, never retired. He’s targeting a fall return. That an injury has helped keep him out of the ring this long at his age speaks ill of what we should expect from him when he does come back. I wouldn’t oppose a kind of “farewell” fight, but overall it sounds like retirement would be better…
And, lastly, Carl Froch is leaning more toward retirement than resuming his super middleweight boxing career, according to promoter Eddie Hearn. This will break some hearts if it happens, as pretty much everybody was salivating at the idea of Froch-Golovkin…
So let’s see here. Earlier this year, a boxer’s devotion to defending his alphabet title strap derailed one of the sport’s best fights in Adonis Stevenson-Sergey Kovalev for all the marbles at 175. Now, another of the sport’s best fights, Vasyl Lomachenko-Nicholas Walters, is a fight Lomachenko’s manager has “zero” interest in because Walters no longer has a featherweight belt. And rather than giving us a power-punching slugfest in Golovkin-David Lemieux next, Lemieux is going to make a mandatory title defense at 160. Remind me again, alphabet belt devotees, how they are no serious impediment to good fights happening?…
Floyd Mayweather, according to Andre Berto, is calling him up and harassing him all the time, purportedly because Berto is friendly with Mayweather’s ex, Shantel Jackson. This is hilarious. Shawn Porter trainer/father Kenny also said Adrien Broner had hired investigators to follow him around to gather information about his car, his girlfriend and more. This is also hilarious. Mayweather and Broner, getting creepy on their welterweight rivals (allegedly). Boxing would be so much better if the people in it were more like the funny things 14-year-olds do and less like the petty things 14-year-olds do…
Broner, of course, could stand to be a little more serious about boxing. The picture of him goofing off with guns, days after getting beaten up in the ring again — the kid doesn’t get it. However good he was or wasn’t back during his rise at 130 and 135, he just isn’t committed to the sport and all he is now is a big mouth. Time to give up that he’ll get a clue in time to again have the career we thought he might…
While super middleweight champ Andre Ward has fallen out of favor with the fans, it was a nice gesture of him to give Paul Smith his penalty money back for missing weight. After all, it didn’t help him any, that extra weight, because Ward smashed him. On the other hand, giving him that money back sends the wrong message to pros about cheating and/or not taking their training seriously enough. On the balance: Nice idea, wrong idea…
New York State has put the blame for heavyweight Magomed Abdusalamov’s brain injury back on his team. OK, NY has to defend itself. This still looks ugly. And while they have a point that Mago’s team should’ve done more, that doesn’t absolve NY at all for its failings…
Deontay Wilder has said there will need to be strict drug testing should he face Alexander Povetkin. Huh? That’s good and all, but Povetkin was an advocate for strict drug testing at least against heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, while Wilder hasn’t faced much significant drug testing that I know of (best would be if he’s going through U.S. Anti-Drug Agency via the PBC boxing series; we can only assume he is)…
The California State Athletic Commission is trying out a new judge training initiative. It sounds like an idea worthy of testing out…
The PBC boxing series has taken over yet another outlet. This time it’s snatched up Fox Sports 1. The breadth of this thing is incredible. Don’t be surprised if soon PBC is broadcasting directly to the inside of your eyelids while you sleep.
