Fight Insight

If you believed that Carlos "El Indio" Quintana’s first victory over Paul "the Punisher" Williams was a fluke, then their fight this past Saturday proved it. Like their first encounter, this fight started fast, with both fighters trading shots in the center of the ring. However, two things were very different this time around. Quintana, 25-2, 19 KOs, was far more aggressive and Williams, 34-1, 25 KOs, was far more pointed in his attack. The results were disastrous for Quintana.

After a razor-sharp straight left hand dazed El Indio at the midway point of round one, the Punisher closed the show. He swarmed and peppered Quintana with straight, short punches until the end of the fight at 2:15 of the first round, regaining his WBO welterweight title in surprisingly easy fashion. The only blemish on Williams’s performance was that he was dropped at the end of the first round. Let me stop. He was actually tackled by the "punch-drunken" Quintana, who fell face-first, grabbing Williams legs and tripping him on his way to the canvas for the second time in the fight.

One of Williams’s handlers can be overheard saying, "What’s up Cotto?" during the post-fight interview. Cotto’s response would go something like this: "I’m just chilling in Puerto Rico - training for my title defense next month against the overrated Antonio Margarito.  After that, I’m looking to fight Oscar De La Hoya for mucho dinero next year." What’s missing from this reply? The name Paul Williams.  If he continues to fight like he did this past weekend, do not look to see Paul Williams’s name next to Cotto’s on a fight poster anytime soon.

The welterweight division is currently the best division in boxing by far. Miguel Cotto, Paul Williams, Antonio Margarito, and Shane Mosley are the division’s elite while Zab Judah, Joshua Clottey, and Luis Collazo are its formidable gatekeepers. Forgive me if I forgot to mention Floyd Mayweather, Jr. For those of you who reside on Mars, he’s a boxing retiree. For those of you who reside on earth, he’s taking a break and waiting to fight the winner of Cotto/Margarito vs Oscar De La Hoya. By the way, I’m an earthling.

I had to go to Wikipedia to check out Gary Lockett’s (30-1, 21 KOs) "boxing resume" to see if he was a worthy opponent for Kelly Pavlik (33-0, 29 KOs). I felt like a headhunter using MySpace as a job recruiting site. I saw a lot of interesting names like Kai Kauramaki (13-13), Ayitey Powers (11-4-1) and Victor Kpadenue (6-4), but very little substance.

By comparison, Kelly Pavlik is coming off two exciting wins over former middleweight chamption Jermain Taylor (27-2-1) in his last two fights. Pointing out that he also owns a knockout victory over Edison Miranda (30-2) is unnecessary. It’s obvious: Pavlik is the better fighter and has fought the better competition.

What do Kai Kauamaki (Lockett’s most recent opponent) and Jermain Taylor (Pavlik’s most recent opponent) have in common? Nothing. Therein lies the problem for Lockett. As a result, expect him to be counted out within three rounds this Saturday.

Mike Tyson may not be fighting anymore, but he’s still speaking his mind. As history has shown, that can be good, bad or ugly. In the new documentary entitled Tyson, it appears that all three adjectives are appropriate.  The film has received a decent reception at the Cannes Film Festival in France.  I am sure that the sordid details of Tyson’s often troubling life will elicit sympathy as well as disgust.  The question is: should we care to watch?

I will. 

I will watch because, like you, I am a boxing fan and always welcome video footage of vintage Tyson knocking someone out.  I know it sounds cruel, but I know I am not alone here.  Secondly, I am searching for answers to the following question: "what on earth was he thinking?"  Specifically, what was going through Tyson’s mind when he bit Evander Holyfield’s ears; while he sat "zombie-like" next to Robin Givens as she humiliated him on the Barbara Walters show nearly twenty years ago, or what drove him to bite Lennox Lewis’s leg at a pre-fight press conference?  I do not know about you, but I would hope this film sheds some light.

From witnessing him destroy a petrified Michael Spinks in 91 seconds for the unified heavyweight title or watching him participate in WrestleMania, Mike Tyson has always had an uncanny ability get me to pay attention to what he is doing.  He was once quoted as saying that, "more people would watch me (Tyson) relieve myself than watch Lennox Lewis fight."  As silly as the statement sounds on the surface, the point is clear. When it is available on Netflix, I’ll be ordering the documentary Tyson.  I have a sneaking suspicion that you will too.

Rabid British boxing fans aren’t the only ones seeking an answer to the question posed in my post title. On the other side of the pond (the U.S.), we are just as eager to find out who the best junior welterweight in the world is. Should Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton and Junior "The Hitter" Witter take care of business in their fights this month, we may soon find out. I mean no disrespect to Juan Lazcano (37-4, 27 KOs) and Timothy Bradley (21-0, 11 KOs), Hatton and Witter’s respective opponents, but I hope they both lose.

Forgive my selfishness, but I like seeing undisputed champions crowned. A match between Ricky Hatton and Junior Witter would do just that. The facts that they are both British and Witter has been calling out Hatton for nearly a decade, make this an appetizing, backyard brawl in-the-making! I don’t know about you, but this excites me.

In facing the battle-tested Juan Lazcano, Hatton appears to be facing the bigger obstacle in the ring, of the two fighters.  However, I expect him to get back on the winning track after his drubbing at the hands of Floyd Mayweather.  To be honest with you, I haven’t seen Witter’s opponent (Bradley) fight.  I believe that Bradley will be overwhelmed by the speed and skill of Witter, as he leaves the state of California for the first time in his career.  The fact that he has yet to leave his home state of California makes me wonder if his handlers are hiding something.  Look for Witter to uncover whatever it is.

So, it appears that Ricky Hatton and Witter are on a collision course, much to the delight of boxing fans the world over.   Well, I surely hope so.  In recent years, Hatton has not show much willingness to face Witter for reasons both financial (Witter’s limited drawing power at the gate) and competitive (Witter being held in low regard based on his despicable showing against Zab Judah in 2000).  Hatton has been quoted as saying that, “He’s (Witter) nothing but a boil in me arse.”  Recently, he has softened his stance and seems more willing to participate in this potential battle for supremacy at 140 pounds. Time appears to heal all wounds (in this case, all boils). 

Before you get upset and say, "Ja, you idiot, the fight isn’t even signed," please be mindful that I am only predicting that the fight will take place.  Once it does, I’ll give you my prediction on who will win.  I’ll give you a hint, the fighter is British and has the word hit in his nickname.

You are probably wondering why I am even asking this question, if I already am telling you who I think that person is based on my top boxers, pound-for- pound list.  Hey, just because I predict boxing matches very well (this year, at least), does not mean that I think I have figured everything out. And unlike boxing predictions, which are ultimately proven right or wrong based on what happens in the ring, determining who the best fighter in the world is a highly subjective matter.

Hopefully, you accessed my boxing ranking page mentioned above.  Whether you did or not, I’ll get straight to the point.  For better or for worse, Floyd "Money" Mayweather is still the best boxer in the world.  "For better," he still has the best defense of any fighter in the sport, and perhaps its faster pair of fists.  "For worse," he has increasingly fought in relatively low-risk, high reward fights (Arturo Gatti, Zab Judah, and Oscar De La Hoya) for a fighter of his caliber. 

The lucrative WWF "Big Show" that he recently put on and his "Dancing with the Stars" have done well for Mayweather’s pockets, but have done little for the sport of boxing.  These events have generated frustration among even his staunchest fans while providing his "haters" with more ammunition (to shoot him down with) than Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando.  However, despite all of this, as well as the continued ascension of Joe Calzaghe and Manny Pacquiao over the past year, my money is still on Mayweather.

Now that I have gotten my last shameless ‘money’ reference out of the way, please leave a comment below to get the debate going.  I know you have something to say; take a deep breath, refrain from cursing, and type away.