Fight Insight

The night began ominously for Floyd Mayweather before he even entered the ring. The British invasion was in full effect last night, as the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas was turned into the American version of the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, England. The arena was filled with the screams and singing of rabid Ricky Hatton fans who had traveled across the Atlantic to see their man beat the Pretty Boy. Venerable British crooner Tom Jones sung the British national anthem to boisterous cheers while American R&B crooner Tyrese Gibson had his rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner drowned out by the boos and whistles of the pro-Hatton crowd. Somewhere Paul Revere was shaking his head.

Surprisingly, Mayweather entered the ring to Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A., in an attempt to blunt the British fervor. It didn’t seem to work. It appeared that Hatton had firmly established the "home-ring advantage." The only problem is that this was the only advantage that Hatton would enjoy all night.

The first four rounds were marred by mauling, elbows, forearms, and clinches. Referee Joe Cortez had to use his hands as much as the fighters, as he repeatedly broke up clinches and admonished both fighters for their rough tactics (Hatton would eventually lose a point for a rabbit punch). This came as no surprise to me, as I predicted that Hatton would press the action and try to force Mayweather into a back-alley brawl. But like I also predicted, it would not work. Even when Hatton was pressing the action, Floyd was picking him off, especially with counter right hands. He used this punch to open a bad cut over Hatton’s right eye in round three and keep his game challenger at bay over the first half of the fight.

The HBO Boxing crew gave the impression that the fight was fairly close by the midway point, but it was clear to me that Mayweather was slowly dissecting Hatton and using his aggressiveness against him. By the eighth round it became proverbial batting practice for Floyd. He repeatedly countered, confused and dazed Hatton until finally putting him out of his misery in round ten, courtesy of a wicked counter left-hook (which led to the first knockdown) and a follow-up flurry (which led to the second and final knockdown) in round 10. The fight started out ugly for Floyd, but as he had done 38 times before, the Pretty Boy remained unscathed, undefeated, and left with his #1 Ring pound-for-pound status in tact.

He even scored in the post-fight interview, as he showed grace and humility in his comments regarding Ricky Hatton and his legion of British fans. No one but Floyd really knows how sincere his comments were, but it was refreshing nonetheless. It also shows that he is finally comprehending what is needed to become the mega-star that he always promised that he could be. Sure, a follow-up win against rising superstar Miguel Cotto would further solidify his Hall of Fame credentials. But let’s just sit back and soak in the satisfying result of the year’s last superfight. The fight was hyped extremely well (the reality show Mayweather-Hatton, 24×7), had a great atmosphere (British fans taking over Las Vegas), and exceeded expectations in the ring (Mayweather displaying more offense than usual).

I’ll start with "Super" Joe Calzaghe. I now refer to him as "Super" because of his growing penchant for delivering his best performances in his biggest fights - first against Jeff Lacy nearly two years ago, and now against Mikkel Kessler. Now that he has snared the Ring super middleweight championship with this win and entered the top-three on my pound-for-pound list, Calzaghe stated in his post-fight interview that he is primed for a move up in weight to the light heavyweight division. He’s clearly not yet ready for life after boxing.

In the wake of his recent victory, here are the best possible opponents for Calzaghe at 175 pounds (in order of likelihood):

#1 Bernard Hopkins
Sure, this fight would be several years too late, but better late than never, right? Hopkins brings the name and credibility that would make this fight the most lucrative fight in the division. Additionally, the pound-for-pound ranking implications of the fight would be enormous. However, I would not actually want to see the fight. What do you get when a savvy, busy puncher (Calzaghe) meets an even savvier, yet less busy puncher (Hopkins)? You get a boring fight.

#2 Antonio Tarver
Another potential "stinker" stylistically, but Tarver brings the name, but more importantly, the mouth to help sell this fight. I could see it now, Tarver playing the flashy Apollo Creed to Calzaghe’s determined Ivan Drago. If you don’t know what I am talking about, buy Rocky III. If you do, you also know who won that fictional matchup. The real outcome here would be no different, less the fatal ending of course.

#3 Glencoffe (Glen) Johnson
This man would probably provide the most difficult fight for Calzaghe due to his rugged, persistent fighting style, but is least likely to get the fight for that same reason. Also, outside of boxing die-hards and members of the Glen Johnson family, he wouldn’t even be recognized if he was in the crowd at many boxing events. These factors make this fight a serious long shot.

What’s next for Juan Manuel Marquez in the aftermath of his workmanlike unanimous decision over Rocky Juarez this past Saturday? I am not sure what is being planned but any fight that does not start with Manny and end in Pacquiao is a waste of time. It’s been over three years now since their first bout - to paraphrase legendary referee Mills Lane, "let’s get it on (already)!

To beat or not get beat? That was the question. Marco Antonio Barrera focused on the latter, as it was apparent after the first round that he was going to play it safe in the long-awaited rematch of his beat-down at the hands of Manny " the PacMan" Pacquiao nearly four years ago. Once a fighter talks retirement, which Barrera did leading up to this fight, he has already retired - so the boxing adage goes.

Now, I am not implying that Barrera threw the fight or did not want to win, but it was clear that he did not want to exchange punches with the Filipino whirlwind. Although he fought admirably in spots and coldly calculated at times, it was clear to me that he simply refused to let his hands go, even when the PacMan was off-balance or inviting punches to the face.

Barrera tried to employ the same counter-punching strategy that he used to befuddle and embarrass Prince Naseem Hamed over twelve rounds six years ago. However, two things were different: Barrera was less willing to put himself in harm’s way this time around, but more importantly, the PacMan is simply a better fighter than Hamed. To Pacquiao’s credit, he consistently pressed the action, landed an unusually high number of right hands (the left hand is his signature punch), and stayed composed in the face of Barrera’s frustrating and occasionally dirty tactics.

The result: a lopsided 12 round decision victory for the PacMan and an unceremonious send-off for the future Hall of Famer Barrera. The fight further cements Pacquiao’s supremacy at junior lightweight, adds another victim to his considerable hit list, and hopefully leads to a rematch with rival Juan Manuel Marquez next year.

On a separate card on free cable TV (Showtime Championship Boxing), Samuel Peter gave us some good, bad and ugly in his heavyweight title fight with Jameel "Big Time" McCline. Since this moribund division has given us so little to cheer about lately, I will start with the bad Peter.

The bad started early for Peter - the second and third rounds to be exact. In these two rounds, Peter was rocked, dropped and almost rolled out of the heavyweight title picture, as the usually tentative McCline nearly knocked him out.

The good Peter showed championship heart and resolve from rounds four through 12, surviving these rough spots, and eventually taking over the fight behind powerful left jabs and clubbing overhand right hands.

The ugly Peter emerged in the post-fight interview, as he claimed that he was never seriously hurt, but rather the victim of a slippery canvas which caused him to lose his balance during those rocky moments in rounds two and three. Well, Peter better start slipping more punches in the future or else he and the canvas will soon become well-acquainted in his next major fight!

Round 2. It was this round that told the story of the fight. I know you are wondering why I would say that round two was the moment-of-truth in a prizefight that reached its violent conclusion in round seven. At this critical turning point of the fight, Jermain "Bad Intentions" Taylor and Kelly "the Ghost" Pavlik showed us their true fighting colors.

On the verge of a career-defining victory after seriously hurting and dropping Kelly Pavlik with a barrage of razor-sharp punches, we saw the best of Jermain Taylor - the fighter that everyone had been hoping for. Little did we know, within the blink of an eye, he would show why he has not, and may never, be the fighter many believe he can be. After knocking Pavlik down, Taylor reverted to his amateurish ways, wildly missed punches, and eventually punched himself out in the round - assisting Pavlik in his survival.

But there are two sides to every story, and Kelly Pavlik showed us that his side was more telling. It was more telling because he showed the heart of a champion - weathering the "bad intentions" that had been thrown his way courtesy of a vicious right uppercut and left hook from Jermain Taylor. Lesser men would have not made it out of that round. Battered, bloodied and bruised, Kelly Pavlik’s intestinal fortitude showed that he could take the heat. Taylor would find out later, that he could also bring it.

Over the next four rounds, both fighters had their moments, trading jabs, overhand rights, and the occasional left hook to the body. On my unofficial scorecard, the fight was even, largely due to Taylor’s knockdown of Pavlik in round two. But something eerily familiar happened in round seven, "the Ghost" shocked Taylor, just as he had Edison Miranda in his last fight. Out of nowhere, Pavlik softened Taylor up with a right hand bomb and beat him into submission in his corner with minutes left in the round. Just like that, we have a new middleweight champion of the world, and his name is Kelly Pavlik. I was once a doubter, but I am no longer.

In a fight that exceeded expectations, Vernon "the Viper" Forrest won a resounding decision over the game, but overmatched, Carlos "Tata" Baldomir. Seemingly showing no ill effects of the sporadic layoffs and numerous injuries that have derailed him of late, Forrest looked the best that he has been since his first victory over Sugar Shane Mosley over five years ago.

I had Forrest winning nine rounds to Baldomir’s three (117-111), but if you looked at each fighter’s face after the fight, you would have thought it was perhaps a draw. I, like many bloggers, fans and the media, assumed this fight was going to be a miserable matchup, pitting two veteran fighters on the downside of their respective careers. Instead of the plate of hot wings that I threw down, I should have had a nice helping of crow because I figuratively ate it. This fight turned out to be one of the most entertaining, one-sided scraps that you will ever see.

Forrest is now a player at 154 pounds while Baldomir is left with some tough questions to answer in the wake of his second consecutive loss. Although losing to pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather and Vernon Forrest back-to-back is nothing to scoff at, what else is there for "Tata" to accomplish?

This "everyman" fighter got the most out of his modest athletic ability, produced some memorable performances (wins against Zab Judah and Arturo Gatti), and has set himself up for life (financially). Baldomir intimated retirement in his post-fight interview and was humble and gracious in defeat. This humility leads me to believe that he will retire, unlike other fighters that I won’t name.

All in all, it was a good fight between two of boxing’s genuinely good guys. One (Forrest) likely moves on to bigger and better things in the ring (title fight), the other (Baldomir) is likely to move on to bigger and better things outside of it (family/retirement).