Miguel Cotto has scored a knockdown a few times in his career with his left-hand-dominant jabbing capacity. But it was particularly special to see him in a major world title fight with a rock-chinned, championship level fighter with a world class defense, planting his opponent on the canvas in the first round with that jab. That night, Joshua Clottey's risk aversion instincts were as much his opponent as Cotto, but the decision victory for Cotto was still so well contested that it went to a controversial split decision. There were many heated exchanges, some of which made Cotto look like he was on the way to being stopped.
This 2009 welterweight battle was one for the books as part of the long story of the rich division. "Grand Master" Clottey possibly earned as many fans as he frustrated that night, coming so close but stepping back at times when it looked like he could've possibly ended it. It all depends on how you see it. A jab knockdown in the first for Cotto, a throw-down in the fifth against Clottey, a hellacious headbutt cut against Cotto, a controversial decision-this fight had so much going for it. I applauded both fighters for getting through a very grueling match that tested their chins, their skin, their wits and their will, in the way championship boxing is supposed to be. Their match turned nine-years-old this month.
Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing
Thanks for stopping by our place. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:
Brandon Rios did an interview for Fight Hub TV while training for his match with Manny Pacquiao in 2013. Being known as a gym clown, he began to dance for the camera, then segued into a demonstration on what a Zumba class is like. Brandon Rios is pure entertainment, in and out of the ring.
In 2010, May's 1st was not May's first.* It was, however, responsible for one of my personal favorite promos, in the lead-up. The gladiatorial HBO promotional for Floyd Mayweather Junior VS Shane Mosley featured Shane Mosley growling like a half-man creature from 300 and the two boxers wielding swords.
I like the way they transform from ancient gladiators to modern gladiators. Fair play, HBO advertising team. Mayweather was severely rocked early in this fight, but came back like a true great to dominate the rest of the match to a fair unanimous decision. CBZ recognized this as a second win of the lineal welterweight title for the Money man. I have no problem with that.
If you need to catch the growl (and I certainly believe you do):
Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing
*This was possibly a one-percenter.
Thanks for stopping by our place. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:
One seriously journeyed journeyman named Silvio Walter Rojas, who Boxrec.com lists over one hundred bouts for, was given a shot, in more ways than one, by Julio Cesar Chavez, Senior in 1993. Chavez was coming off of a 140-pound title defense where he destroyed Greg Haugen and as he often did, he went into this kind of journeyman workout after a high class match, contested a little above the 140-pound limit. The result?
Daddy Julio gave us a nice face-firster for the highlight reels in the third round, while Rojas gave us a true fighter's fight, knowing a shield can be more comfortable in Mexico than anywhere else in the world. Chavez had four title fights in two weights this year.
Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing
Thanks for stopping by our place. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:
Before Terence Crawford became a p4p name, and recently the ESPN FOTY (again), he took on a prospect named Andre "Gorgeous" Gorges, and while Gorges may've won the nickname contest, he certainly did not win the fight. Gorges bravely battled Crawford as best as he could but Crawford, at a significant height disadvantage, was punching with venom, even in his jabs, from round one. In rounds four and five, Crawford's punches finally took their toll and put Gorges on the canvas. Gorges got back up during round four. During round five, however, Crawford borrowed a right hand from the devil himself to make sure Gorges didn't get up again. Get a load of this hellacious finisher:
Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing
Thanks for stopping by our place. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:
On the fifth of February, 1977, the great Sugar Ray Leonard made his pro debut against a no-nonsense journeyman named Luis Vega, and Vega did not show up to showcase Leonard. He came to have a fight. Everyone, including Ray, seemed to appreciate that, and when Vega gutted Ray into the ropes, Ray had a laugh and a mug for him, in this ornery debut bout. Commentators, even from Sugar's debut, were comparing him to Ali because of it.
Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing
Thanks for stopping by our place. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:
Despite the negatively Klitschkolean effort that Adrien Broner put in on Saturday night, Mr. Shawn Porter does have the bulldog mentality that most fans appreciate and tried to make it the best it could be. Danny Jacobs resumed his side-gig as one of the cluster of voices on the PBC commentator list, and dropped my quote of the night, in his appreciation of the tenacity.
In text: After Marv Albert mentioned Danny Jacobs fought Shawn Porter in the amateurs SEVEN times, and won six of seven, Jacobs didn't gloat. He simply said:
"Well, every time I fought Porter, as an amateur, I always dreaded it. He was always a rough and tough fighter. He would always be in my chest and he hit me with some of the best shots that I've (been) hit, as an amateur."
Jacobs seems to have the kind of respect for Porter from his amateur days that Andre Ward still has for Timothy Bradley. It's good to hear.
Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing Thanks for stopping by our place. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:
Brandon Rios, before he'd reached the major world title fight scene, back in 2010, was working alongside Antonio Margarito in Robert Garcia's gym. Margarito's match with Manny Pacquiao was coming up HBO's 24/7 lead-up documentary was being filmed, which, perhaps surprisingly, was a four-part series. When the two gym buddies were interviewed in the second episode of the four, with Margarito's arm slung around Brandon's shoulder, Brandon made his opinion on the outcome clear.
Brandon Rios on Pacquiao VS Margarito, 2010:
"Pacquiao's making excuses that he's not training, he's missing the election, all that. But, you know what? To me, I think he's scared, and Freddie Roach is scared, 'cause he's not gonna be the superstar no more. He's just going to be a-maybe-uh, super, maybe. But the star that's coming up is going to be Margarito. I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to cancel the fight, saying that 'I hurt my hand.' or something, just 'cause he's scared."
To think that a few years down the line, Pacquiao would've dominated and beat up both of these fellows after this comment is sort of funny. I don't believe either won a single round out of twelve a piece against the littler tornado. I guess we all need a serving of crow in our diet, at some point. Incidentally, there is talk of Tony Margarito coming back to boxing, against all odds.
Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing
Thanks for stopping by our place. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:
On the seventh of March, 2015, NBC aired the debut Premiere Boxing Champions card. The first match was Adrien Broner VS John Molina Junior. When John had just entered the ring, Marv Albert, commentator for the event, began to talk of a pre-fight discussion they'd had.
Marv Albert, for PBC:
"John "The Gladiator" Molina. He told us yesterday that he ran into Adrien Broner at a press conference, in New York, recently. Molina said 'I gave him a hug!' but he made sure it was a *strong* hug. He said that was the psychological reasons, in effect, it was an *insincere* hug. He wanted Broner to *feel* him. He wanted Broner to know he was going to knock him out tonight, when they meet in the ring. A most unusual approach by John Molina."
The calculated hug, for the purposes of psychological warfare, is a dangerous risk for a competitor. If done improperly, it could certainly backfire. John Molina took the risk. He did not receive the reward. But that's why they call it 'gambling'.
Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing
Thanks for stopping by our place. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:
In the lead-up to Mayweather VS Pacquiao, Bob Arum did an interview with ESPN's Joe Tessitore, on ESPN2's Friday Night Fights, the 27th of February, 2015. He discussed the projected 300 million dollars the two superstars would share at a 60-40 split to Mayweather. This was Bob's musing about how each would spend their cut:
"Buys a lot, a lot of stuff. I mean, Floyd is-loves cars-will probably buy cars that satisfy every motor vehicle dealer in Las Vegas, and I know a great part of the money that Manny earns will go to support charities in the Philippines. Because, like I said, the Social Welfare System in the Philippines is called 'Manny Pacquiao'."
You know, Floyd does a little charity work too, Bob. Manny also has some very nice rides. I'm only saying!
Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing Thanks for stopping by our place. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:
Jim Lampley, HBO commentator, at the beginning of the twelfth round between Tim Bradley and Diego Chaves:
"I've seen a lot of implements used to treat swelling in the corner. I don't know if I've seen the bean dip can before. But, Joel Diaz, extremely respected trainer, using that bean dip can. Maybe next week we'll see a lot of fighters with them. "
This fight is currently available on HBO's site, for subscribers. It was a scrappy affair that disfigured Tim Bradley's face and
probably led to an unjust draw where he should've taken a victory. Trying to find a still from the corner with the bean dip can proved interesting, because the only other upload of the full match, broadcasted in a language I could not identify, edited the footage so that there was a plain, blue lid with no label on the can. Tim Bradley, a worker if ever there was one, works hard in fights you might think he wouldn't and did so in the Chaves match, in December of 2014. He'll be back for the first time this year at the end of this month. I suspect it's going to be another night of hard work. That's the way Timbo likes it. Physical and difficult, necessary or not.
Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing
Thanks for stopping by our place. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:
Through the interpreter, in interview with HBO's Larry Merchant, the seventh of July, 1996, right after he lost to Oscar De La Hoya, Julio Cesar Chavez Senior rated Oscar's punching power this way:
"But, really, that Oscar De La Hoya has a big punch - really doesn't. I didn't even feel his punches. I just couldn't see because of the blood."
This was at Light Welterweight, for Chavez's title.
After an unsatisfactory cut stoppage, the two rematched, this time for Oscar's Welterweight title, on the eighteenth of September, 1998. Through interpreter Ray Torres, and in interview with Larry Merchant again, Chavez was asked about Oscar's power again (glad Larry didn't forget):
Merchant: "You said after the first fight that he never was able to hurt you. Is he a good puncher or not?" Chavez: "He's a hard puncher, but not a real knockout artist. As you can see, he never knocked me out." Merchant: "We can-" Chavez: "-He deserves my respect."
File under: Take it for what it's worth.
Ray Torres had an interesting night here too, getting yelled at by JCC after Larry Merchant asked him about quitting. In clear English, Chavez did mention some bodily function byproduct from a bull.
Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing
Thanks for stopping by our place. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:
In a Boxeo Mundial Interview, posted the 25th of October, 2009: "I know for a fact, out of the guys I fought, Miguel's the hardest puncher I've fought. I know for a fact. Nobody came close. Not even Ricky Hatton."
It doesn't get much plainer than "Nobody came close."
Full interview:
Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing
Thanks for stopping by our place. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:
It's more of a dance rematch that neither of them win. Posted on Adrien's Instagram page, and a nice reminder that warriors can leave it in the ring and be friends out of the ring. This is from a short video clip posted two weeks ago, with the comment "Business is business but a friendship last forever".
Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing
Thanks for stopping by our place. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:
This screen-captured image was from yesterday, on John Scully's Facebook page. John, of course, is a man who has been around the block quite a few times. He fought Michael Nunn, sparred Roy Jones Junior, and trained Chad Dawson.
Straight Text Quote: "This is a tough one because I like Manny as a boxer and I consider
Freddie a friend but I had a similar injury in a fight years ago and I'm
telling you right now. There is no way possible you are throwing hard
punches with a shoulder/rotator injury like that. The pain would be more
than a man can handle..."
This is one of many people in the industry showing public incredulity for Manny Pacquiao's fight-night injury against Floyd Mayweather Junior. Some, like Paulie Malignaggi, are infinitely less polite about it, but there you have it. Overall, I am seeing mostly non-buyers, rightly or wrongly. I personally wouldn't say nothing was wrong, because there's probably always something or other wrong with guys who fight for a living, much like Teddy Atlas said, and fighters tend to always have a reason for believing "the real me," as they often even say, wasn't truly bested. I assume he had something wrong with his shoulder. The level of severity and effect on the outcome is another matter altogether. You don't really need an explanation for something going according to the typical expert prediction on the matter.
PS: TMZ could report this as "Iceman John Scully gives the cold shoulder to Manny Pacquiao" or something to that effect. If you work for TMZ, pass that one along. It's a gem.
Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing
Thanks for stopping by our place. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:
"If Manny Pacquiao beats Miguel Cotto, I'm telling you, man, he might be the best fighter ever."
In a Boxeo Mundial Interview, posted the 25th of October, 2009, Paulie
Malignaggi was asked to breakdown the upcoming ubermatch between Manny
Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto. The breakdown, in retrospect, contains at
least one highly surprising quote. Maybe, I should say instead that it's particularly surprising if you've only been aware of Malignaggi's comments
on Pacquiao in the past few years, which have become notorious and
negative. Here is the full quote:
"If Manny Pacquiao beats Miguel Cotto, I'm telling you, man, he might be the best fighter ever. I'm telling you. At this point, he's beaten Oscar, he's beaten Ricky, and I
don't think Ricky's as good as people give him credit for, even though
you're gonna say 'Oh, he killed Paulie' but, you know what? I'm telling
you. Paulie, for two years, wasn't Paulie. You know what I mean? You
know? I needed to get away from my ex-trainer Unfortunately, I realised
that a little too late. But, regardless of the fact, if Manny Pacquiao beats Miguel
Cotto, you have to consider him maybe the best fighter in history, man,
because, now he's done it. And it means he's done it all. Really, he's
done it all. I mean, this is a welterweight who might be the best
welterweight in the world in Miguel Cotto-and legitimately.
Legitimately. He's definitely the strongest. You know what I mean? And
he probably should be undefeated. You know, we saw what happened with
Antonio Margarito, and, uh, you know, it probably happened in the Cotto
fight.
One thing about Cotto though: He's not unbeatable. Anybody can
beat him. Obviously, we're all human, and we can all be beat. The thing
about Miguel Cotto is that you will be in a fight to beat him. Whether
you beat him, or you don't beat him, it's a fight. And even Margarito,
who did beat him, was in a fight to beat him. I don't know if Manny has
the size and the kind of body to withstand an assault, to be in a fight
with Cotto. It might be a fight. You know what I mean?
Can he withstand that? Because, Cotto is a strong fighter.
Cotto's a dirty fighter. And he's not just a guy who comes forward, like
Ricky. Ricky just comes forward, walking into punches. You know what I mean? Manny was too smart and too skilled for that. You know, and not that he's not too smart and too skilled for Miguel, because, I think, at times, Manny's going to show some good moments. I just think, um, at the end of the day,
the size and the strength is just going to be a little too much for
Manny to deal with, and, um, and people shouldn't look down at Manny for
it though. You know what I mean?"
Some interesting thoughts from Paulie Malignaggi came from this
interview. Especially, considering Paulie has now spent years of
Pacquiao's career helping to heap suspicion upon him and downplay his
continually demonstrated abilities throughout. The suspicion, of course,
is largely based on PED's, although, I am not sure which
performance-enhancing drug would make Paulie point to Pac's success with
smartness and skillfulness. That doesn't mean Paulie's suspicions since
then have been wrong, but I'm certain some of his arguments have been
(pointing to imaginary size increases, for instance), and it's certainly
interesting to look back on how well he rated Pacquiao before these
controversies. His "might be the best fighter ever" is not something I
think he said lightly.
It is a shame for the sport that those tests weren't agreed to, immediately, upon initial request, and that one of the best commentators in the
sport, in my opinion, has developed this very public disdain for one of
the sport's best fighters. It's not something that benefits boxing, and
it is maddening that the major sanctioning bodies haven't gotten on one
page, years ago, and said "Here is the testing, you take it or you don't
get sanctioned to fight, and you don't get to pick your personal choice
of testing agency. This is THE agency, these are THE
tests. This is not for you to bicker about amongst each other." To do
that, have a unified front, and also have the tests be reasonably
clever, so that we don't have storylines like this developing the way
they did, I don't see how it's that much to ask for a major
international sport. A sport that boasts some of the highest-paid
athletes in the world, and the single highest-paid athlete in the world.
Sort of like, why instant replay for contested referee calls on
televised fights seems like an obvious one. But, that's another can of
worms we can open on another day!
Sugar Ray Leonard, in a 1992 episode of Married with Children entitled 'Just Shoe It' is seen taking out the ultimate tomato can-Al Bundy (Ed O'Neill). This did come complete with a No Más reference. This is one of 115 times IMDB has credited him in appearing as himself. He ranks first, to Tommy Davidson's second, respectively.
And the Bundyless commercial within the episode that ensued:
Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing
Thanks for stopping by our place. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:
At tonight's weigh-in for Floyd Mayweather Junior and Manny Pacquiao, Mike Tyson, aside from Patrice O'Neal's take, shows he's not exactly a cuddly sports mascot you can randomly cop a feel on for a picture. Step off the champion, my man. Step right off. The champ is not Mickey Mouse.
When asked on an ESNEWS interview, published today, about his pick for Mayweather VS Pacquiao, Jim Lampley gave what some seem to think is a highly surprising answer, considering the personal opinion he's displayed for Floyd Mayweather Junior in the past. Although, I can't ever remember Jim Lampley putting down Mayweather's professional abilities, so I can't say I'm particularly surprised by the comment, caught outside his HBO broadcasting habitat, where he isn't obligated to promote the intrigue of these contests.
"It's
a Floyd Mayweather fight, right? . . . I love Manny Pacquiao. . . Floyd
Mayweather fights a hundred opponents, in a hundred different arenas,
that's a hundred times I pick Floyd Mayweather to win by unanimous
decision. Okay? It's about control. It's about absence of risk. It's
about gradually erasing the other guy. It's about taking all the air out
of the balloon, so that the crowd walks away saying 'What was that?'
And it's a Floyd Mayweather unanimous decision. He'll win nine or ten
rounds."
So, regardless of a the common perception of Jim Lampley's bias for Manny Pacquiao and against Floyd Mayweather Junior, he apparently has no problem saying, when out of the confines of his channel, that he flatly assumes Floyd Mayweather will decisively outbox Manny Pacquiao. The context for a domination call isn't just that it's one star fighter over another, but that it's in a fight being advertised as one of the most intriguing and important megafights that modern boxing has had to offer in about a decade, if not several. That, my friends, is the fight game. That is the business.
Full interview here:
Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing
Thanks for stopping by our page. Here are some other pages you might enjoy:
