The case for Andre S.O.G. Ward.

I've been telling people since 2001 that “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather Jr.  is the top Pound For Pound fighter in the boxing game.  Before then I always respected Mayweather’s boxing skills and craft, but he didn’t seem to have the punching power to really compete for the Mythical P4P title. My perception of Floyd changed on January 20^th, 2001 when Floyd challenged Diego Corrales to unify the WBC/IBF super featherweight titles. I had the utmost respect for Corrales, who was a monster at 130, with a 33-0 record with 27 knockouts. Corrales was taller and stronger then Floyd. But Mayweather was the master that night, destroying Corrales, knocking him down five times and dominating every minute of that match. I was sold on Floyd from there out. He was the king, the best in boxing. And he took on good opposition after the Corrales fight, names like Carlos Hernandez, Sharmba Mitchell,  Zab Judah, and tough guy Jose Luis Castillo twice,  He gained superstar status after beating Oscar De La Hoya on a split decision in May of 2007, but here is where I believe his legacy  took a turn. Although I felt he dominated this contest, Oscar had some good rounds, connecting with his jab, and was convincing enough that one of the judge scored the fight in his favor 115-113 (the other two judges had it 116-112 and 115-113 for Mayweather).  Since the De La Hoya fight Floyd has been very selective about whom he fights. Smaller guys like Ricky Hatton and J.M Marquez. Past their prime (though still dangerous) Miguel Cotto and Shane Mosley, and the inexperienced Victor Ortiz. Floyd now fights infrequently, only once in 2009, 2010, 2011 and it appears he will only fight once in 2012. In Floyd’s last fight against Miguel Cotto, Floyd had his toughest test in some time. Losing a few rounds to a top ten pound for pound guy like Cotto is no disgrace, and Floyd was in fine form, dominating the fight for the most part on his way to a unanimous decision. But the ease in which Cotto was able to land his left jab, consistently bludgeoning it into Floyd’s face again and again was revealing to me. I just can’t believe that vintage Floyd would have been hit repeatedly with this punch. Cotto is not known for his hand speed, yet he was able to connect with counter shots throughout this fight. Since this win Floyd has served two months in a Las Vegas jail for a domestic battery case. His next opponent is uncertain, but doubtlessly he will fight again. At this point in Floyd’s career he commands huge purses for his matches. And in the last four years he has been very careful when he chooses his opponents.  If the “0” goes he knows he will be greatly diminished as a box office star. Much of his box office appeal can be attributed to boxing fans that pay to see his first loss. It is not for his scintillating performances in the ring. He has also ducked the one fighter who clearly could knock Floyd off his P4P perch, Manny Pacquiao. This obvious match should have been made years ago, but with both guys getting massive eight figure paydays against lesser oppositions,, why risk the “Money Train” by fighting each other?

After winning the Lt. Heavyweight Gold Medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Andre Ward embarked on a professional career that is now at 26-0 with 14 knockouts. After an early career feasting on handpicked opponents, in 2009 he entered the Super Six Boxing Classic, a round robin style tournament pitting the best boxers at 168 pounds (with the possible exception of Lucian Bute, the then IBF Super Middleweight champion). Andre Ward came though this tournament a star, defeating highly regarded WBA Champion Mikkel Kessler, former IBF Middleweight Camp and current WBO Super Middleweight Champ Arthur Abrahim, and former two time WBC Super Middleweight Champ and current IBF Super Middleweight Champ Carl Froch. Not only did he win these fights, he dominated. In his last fight he again dominated a highly regarded champion, lineal Lt Heavyweight Champion “Bad” Chad Dawson. Against Dawson, Ward showed the power in his left hand, dropping Bad Chad three times, forcing him to quit in the 10^th round.  Andre Ward is now 28 and at or near his prime.  To determine who the current P4P king is I have to ask these questions. Which boxer is actively taking on the best boxers in his respective division? Is he dominating his weight class? Does he display the true attributes of a champion in the ring? Is he currently fighting at the highest level of the game in terms of speed, ring generalship, and power? Does anyone really believe at this point in Floyd’s career he could survive a Super Six style tournament in his weight class and come out unscathed as Ward has done? Floyd now fights around 154. I could envision a tournament consisting of guys like Canelo Alverez, Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, maybe young lions like Erislandy Lara and/or Vanes Martirosyan.   You think he would dominate this group like Ward did in his tournament?  Floyd could convince me of his right to the P4P title if he would take the Pacquiao fight and not subject fight fans to a fourth Pacquiao-Marquez fight. Boxing Heads have been deprived of a magical night by Floyd and Manny, two guys not willing to risk it against each other. I do know this; Andre Ward will not duck anyone. Obviously Ward doesn't have as much to lose as Floyd, but maybe that is the point. Over the year  I've argued Floyd's case for P4P as much as anyone, but if he isn't willing to risk his "0" against the obvious guy, maybe it is time to give the mythical crown to Andre S.O.G. Ward, a warrior who is willing to fight the best.

Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. The Best Light Heavyweight/Middleweight in Boxing?

Back in the mid-‘70s my old boxing trainer Bill Silva used to tell me that the great middleweight champion Carlos Monzon was the “Best Light Heavyweight/Middleweight in boxing.” What he meant was that Monzon was not a true middleweight. Bill told me that at weigh-ins King Carlos would hop on the scale, a paid off official would shout out “160 lbs” and Monzon would jump off the scale and guzzle down a drink before his opponent knew what had happened. With today’s training methods, various ways to rehydrate, and weight-ins taking place the day before the fight instead of the day of the fight, modern boxers don’t have to resort to such nefarious means to get the weight advantage on an opponent. That Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. has had weight issues has been well documented. My opinion is that as long as he can make the 160 pound middleweight limit he will be tough to beat. Under the tutelage of Freddie Roach, Chavez in the past year has exhibited an iron chin, stamina, and is just too big for the opponents he has faced thus far. On Saturday against Irishman Andy Lee all those advantages were on full display. After a slow first round where Lee was able to box using the right jab, Chavez began to crash through in the second round with rights and lefts to the head and debilitating body shots. Andy Lee fought back gamely, especially in the 5th round when he exchanged savage shots with Chavez. But every exchange took a little more out of Lee, and in the 7th round Chavez, Jr. finished Lee with a two fisted attack that left Lee defenseless against the ropes. In the post fight interview Lee admitted that,” I couldn't hold him off. He was too big and too strong." When asked about a potential middleweight unification bout between Sergio Martinez and Chavez, Jr., a fight which is now scheduled to take place Sept 15th, Lee said of Chavez, “He’s a big middleweight.” and “A hard fight for Sergio.” At 160 pounds Chavez, Jr. is a beast. If you had asked me a year ago I would have given Julio almost no chance against recognized middleweight champion Sergio Martinez. But considering that “Maravilla” Martinez is 37 years of age, relatively small by middleweight standards and Chavez has unofficially entered the ring as high as 181, you have to consider the real possibility that the good “big” man will beat the good “small” man come September.

A Reexamination of the Pacquiao-Bradley fight.

After 12 rounds of the Pacquiao-Bradley fight I had PacMan ahead 11 rounds to 1. My view of the fight was reinforced by the Twitter feeds I was getting by the likes of Dan Rafael and Michael Woods of ESPN and the HBO announce team, who throughout the fight was praising the work of Pacquiao. The HBO in-house official Harold Lederman had it a shutout through 9 rounds. Going into the fight I liked Pacquiao to win primarily because of Bradley’s poor performance against another southpaw named Joel Casamayor. I studied the fight and figured if Casamayor gave Bradley trouble with his southpaw style what would a hard puncher like Pacquiao do to him? Early in the fight Pacquiao seemed to establish his superior power. Bradley was game, but seemed to have no answer to the left cross of Manny Pacquiao. Manny was cracking left hands on Bradley’s head and Timothy could only answer with punches that seemed to have no effect. The fight appeared to me to be complete domination by Pacquiao. After the 12th round I told my friend Raider Rick, who was watching the fight with me, that "There will be no rematch here." When Michael Buffer started to read the scorecards I immediately knew it was a split decision based on the way he was announcing the scores. What the hell? When he announced the split decision for Bradley my head exploded. “No!!!!!” I Tweeted “Worst decision in boxing history!" My view was echoed by the rest of the Twitter world, or at least the ones I follow. “Worst decision I have ever seen” wrote Michael Woods. Dan Rafael had it 109-100 and wrote “I AM SHOCKED” and “Just a putrid decision." Jim Lampley of HBO said it was the worst scoring he had ever seen. So what happened? Were the judges completely incompetent, or worse, corrupt? Or had the boxing universe fell into some version of groupthink, and had we ridden the wave of a narrative of Pacquiao dominance and missed the work Timothy Bradley had put in? So I did the only thing a true boxing freak could do. To the replay! Watching the tape I soon realized I had missed some of the good work Bradley was doing. There were several close rounds in the fight. But in the end I thought the effective punches and ring generalship of Manny Pacquiao carried the day. Watching the fight again I came up with a 9-3 score for Pacquiao, only giving Bradley rounds 8-10-and 12. But was it the worst decision in boxing history? Probably not any worse than some other bad decisions like Erislandy Lara- Paul Williams, or Derek Chisora -Robert Helenius. A worthy study would be the effect Twitter and social media have on an individual’s perception of a fight, especially if one is checking other boxing fans or journalists reactions round by round during a boxing match.