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Mini-blogs on Kovalev, Mayweather-Pacquiao and PBC on NBC
Mini-blogs on Kovalev, Mayweather-Pacquiao and Premier Boxing Champions
Bloggers gonna blog. I think that’s a saying. If not, it might should be. Anyway, here’s a smattering of thoughts on Sergey Kovalev, Mayweather-Pacquiao and Al Hayon’s Premier Boxing Champions.
Don’t Ask Sergey Kovalev About Mayweather-Pacquiao
The running debate in boxing today is who is scarier: undefeated middleweight monster Gennady Golovkin or light heavyweight destroyer Sergey Kovalev. I’ve spoken with both men a handful of times, the latter in person at least twice.
While I wouldn’t want to step in the ring (or a dark alley) against either man, I have to say that Kovalev just seems the scarier fighter to me. I have several reasons, but I’ll hit the important ones at a high level here.
First, Kovalev just seems meaner. That’s not to say he’s not polite to fans and media. He is. Or even that he’s actually mean. Maybe he’s not. But there’s something I see beneath his menacing eyes that tells me he’d rather be bashing skulls with his fists than doing mundane things like smiling and talking to people.
Second, he’s the one fighter I’ve met in person (and I’ve met plenty) who while I was interviewing him, I felt the distinct impression that he absolutely hated my guts. No matter how much he smiled and nodded or how many nice the things he said to me, I always came away from the encounter thinking that the whole time my gums are flapping at him that he’s pondering in his mind what my blood looks like.
None of these things may be true, mind you. It’s just the vibe I get.
But probably the best interview I ever had was Kovalev, and it was precisely because he was so surly with me during it that it made for some really good copy. Already not the type to enjoy chatting with media people (especially those of us who aren’t big-timers like Dan Rafael or Chris Mannix), Kovalev was in the midst of losing the necessary amount of weight required to make his 175-pound contract limit for his bout against Blake Caparello.
“How are you today,” I asked to open the call.
“Hungry,” he scowled back at me.
That set the tone for the rest of the interview. He was hungry and angry and I got the sense he really didn’t like doing interviews so his answers were short and his voice was gruff. All the while, of course, I could see in my mind images of him chopping light heavyweights down as if his arms were axes.
He was much more chipper when I talked to him last week. Maybe the birth of his son has softened the big lug up a bit. Maybe he’s grown accustomed to the media junket all HBO boxing stars are put through. Maybe he’s grown to like me. At least that’s what I thought until I closed the call by asking him the obligatory Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao question.
A long silence followed. His manager, Egis Klimas (who I get the same kind of vibe from by the way), proceeded to translate it for Kovalev in case he had trouble picking it up himself. The only words I understood among the hodgepodge of what I assume to be Russian are “Pacquiao” and “Mayweather.”
Silence again.
“Um…,” Kovalev says, emitting a long sigh in the process.
More silence.
“I don’t like to do predictions,” Kovalev finally says to me. I can only imagine what might be going through his mind as he proceeds with the rest of his answer. He’s talking Mayweather-Pacquiao, but I keep thinking he’s wondering what my spine would feel like in his hand.
“The fight is one the boxing world has waited for…I think it will be a war of mind: who is smarter will win.”
There is another long period of silence, and then we both begin to speak, talking over each other. Obviously, if two people begin speaking at the same time and one of them is Sergey Kovalev, the other is, by default, interrupting.
“Do you think it will be a good fight?” I clumsily ask over whatever it was he was about to say.
Silence. Then more translation.
“Yes. I think it will be interesting fight. Who wins? I don’t know. I’m not going to say who will win.”
Fair enough, Sergey.
You Can Ask Jean Pascal and Bryant Jennings About Mayweather-Pacquiao (But I Already Did)
I also talked to Kovalev’s March 14 opponent, Jean Pascal, and undefeated heavyweight Bryant Jennings, who faces world champ Wladimir Klitschko on April 25. Both of them see close Mayweather wins over Pacquiao.
“Five years ago, I would have said Mayweather easily,” said Pascal. “But now, time is starting to catch up to Floyd. The fight will be much closer than it was five years ago, but I have no choice but to go with Floyd because Floyd is the man right now.”
Pascal continued.
“It seems to me like it. It’s not because of one fight that age is starting to catch up. If we see it again versus Pacquiao, we’ll know for sure. But in his last fight, he wasn’t moving the way he used to move. People are starting to say that but who knows? We’ll see on May 2.”
Still, Pascal likes Pacquiao to give Mayweather a stern test.
“Definitely, Pacquiao can give him his toughest test because Pacquiao is strong. Pacquiao is fast. I think right now this is the biggest fight for Floyd and the biggest fight for the sport.”
Jennings had similar thoughts.
“I think Mayweather is going to win,” said Jennings. “Skill for skill, I think Mayweather will win. But there are some things I’ve seen in Mayweather’s last fight that Pacquiao might be able to capitalize on. But Floyd was going through a lot of things in his last fight. I’m hoping he learned his lesson. All that stuff can play a part. A lot of things probably got to him that he probably learned now that he shouldn’t have let get to him.”
Jennings also believes Pacquiao will give Mayweather a good fight.
“He probably can. It’s going to be a great fight. I’m pretty hyped about it. I’m a Mayweather fan, but I’m also a Pacquiao fan. He followed me back on Instagram so…”
We had a good laugh about the last bit.
A Note on Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions
My Twitter timeline was almost universal in praise of Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions. The inaugural show kicked off Saturday night on NBC. Boxing needs more skeptics. Here’s why.
First, people seem to be buying into PBC for two main reasons. First, they want to see boxing on network television. That’s best for everyone. It means more free shows for fans and better job security and growth potential for the boxing media. Second, the PBC has gone out of its way to promote itself as a change for the sport, something both boxing fans and media have long pined for. The status quo is not ideal.
Here’s criticism on both.
First, for PBC to be successful, it needs to draw sponsors. As of now, all Haymon has done is bought airtime on NBC and other networks to promote his fighters. So what’s happened so far is Haymon has set a precedent where networks might now expect promoters to pay them to put boxing on TV. Let’s say sponsors never come and PBC has to fold up shop in a year. Will boxing ever find its way onto network television again? Both Main Events and Golden Boy Promotions have had fights air on network television in recent years. If Haymon fails, will it ever happen again? Is the risk worth the potential reward?
Second, PBC is seen by some as a breath of fresh air, a change for the sport of boxing. But is it? Haymon has been in boxing longer than I’ve been a boxing writer. His involvement in the sport has been good for his fighters but potentially less so for the overall health of boxing. Many fights that could have and should have been made over the years did not come to fruition because (at least in part) Haymon did not want the bouts to happen. He’s shown a consistent inability to make the fights most fans most want to see. Leo Santa Cruz is a perfect example of a Haymon fighter who has not faced anything but cupcake opposition since bursting onto the scene as a fan favorite two years ago.
The simplest way to put it is this: Haymon isn’t really a breath of fresh air, and the innovations of PBC seem more veneer at this point than actual substance. Yes, they’ve rid boxing of fighter entourages during ring walks and the fetishism of title belts. Yes, they paid off NBC so fights can be on network television. Yes, they hired a bunch of celebrities to call the action. And do not get me wrong, all of it could turn into something really good for boxing.
But until further notice, the PBC is still run by the same people who gave us one of the more disappointing years of Showtime fights in recent memory. They’re the same people who let Danny Garcia butcher lightweight Rod Salka in a farce of boxing contest. They’re the same entity that Freddie Roach claims is currently paying off potential sparring partners for Manny Pacquiao so the Haymon fighter, Floyd Mayweather, has as large an advantage as possible when the two meet on May 2 (even though someone claiming to be “The Best Ever” shouldn’t need such silly shenanigans).
The final point is this: The only way PBC is truly successful in changing the sport as a whole will be by destroying and rebuilding it. If boxing is to make all the right fights, the ones fight fans want, then PBC must become the only game in town. That means other promoters go away or become so small that they don’t really matter and PBC becomes boxing’s version of UFC. That might not be a bad thing. But it might not be good either. And it hasn’t happened yet. All the PBC is at present is a sparkly new enterprise, one that could become the future of boxing or ruin it altogether by creating yet another faction in this already fractured sport.
Criticism of such an exploit isn’t just fair and valid right now. It’s absolutely necessary.
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Bygone Days: The Largest Crowd Ever at Madison Square Garden Sees Zivic TKO Armstrong
Bygone Days: The Largest Crowd Ever at Madison Square Garden Sees Zivic TKO Armstrong
There’s not much happening on the boxing front this month. That’s consistent with the historical pattern.
Fight promoters of yesteryear tended to pull back after the Christmas and New Year holidays on the assumption that fight fans had less discretionary income at their disposal. Weather was a contributing factor. In olden days, more boxing cards were staged outdoors and the most attractive match-ups tended to be summertime events.
There were exceptions, of course. On Jan. 17, 1941, an SRO crowd of 23,180 filled Madison Square Garden to the rafters to witness the welterweight title fight between Fritzie Zivic and Henry Armstrong. (This was the third Madison Square Garden, situated at 50th Street and Eighth Avenue, roughly 17 blocks north of the current Garden which sits atop Pennsylvania Station. The first two arenas to take this name were situated farther south adjacent to Madison Square Park).
This was a rematch. They had fought here in October of the previous year. In a shocker, Zivic won a 15-round decision. The fight was close on the scorecards. Referee Arthur Donovan and one of the judges had it even after 14 rounds, but Zivic had won his rounds more decisively and he punctuated his well-earned triumph by knocking Armstrong face-first to the canvas as the final bell sounded.
This was a huge upset.
Armstrong had a rocky beginning to his pro career, but he came on like gangbusters after trainer/manager Eddie Mead acquired his contract with backing from Broadway and Hollywood star Al Jolson. Heading into his first match with Zivic – the nineteenth defense of the title he won from Barney Ross – Hammerin’ Henry had suffered only one defeat in his previous 60 fights, that coming in his second meeting with Lou Ambers, a controversial decision.
Shirley Povich, the nationally-known sports columnist for the Washington Post, conducted an informal survey of boxing insiders and found only person who gave Zivic a chance. The dissident was Chris Dundee (then far more well-known than his younger brother Angelo). “Zivic knows all the tricks,” said Dundee. “He’ll butt Armstrong with his head, gouge him with his thumbs and hit him just as low as Armstrong [who had five points deducted for low blows in his bout with Ambers].”
Indeed, Pittsburgh’s Ferdinand “Fritzie” Zivic, the youngest and best of five fighting sons of a Croatian immigrant steelworker (Fritzie’s two oldest brothers represented the U.S. at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics) would attract a cult following because of his facility for bending the rules. It would be said that no one was more adept at using his thumbs to blind an opponent or using the laces of his gloves as an anti-coagulant, undoing the work of a fighter’s cut man.
Although it was generally understood that at age 28 his best days were behind him, Henry Armstrong was chalked the favorite in the rematch (albeit a very short favorite) a tribute to his body of work. Although he had mastered Armstrong in their first encounter, most boxing insiders considered Fritzie little more than a high-class journeyman and he hadn’t looked sharp in his most recent fight, a 10-round non-title affair with lightweight champion Lew Jenkins who had the best of it in the eyes of most observers although the match was declared a draw.
The Jan. 17 rematch was a one-sided affair. Veteran New York Times scribe James P. Dawson gave Armstrong only two rounds before referee Donovan pulled the plug at the 52-second mark of the twelfth round. Armstrong, boxing’s great perpetual motion machine, a world title-holder in three weight classes, repaired to his dressing room bleeding from his nose and his mouth and with both eyes swollen nearly shut. But his effort could not have been more courageous.
At the conclusion of the 10th frame, Donovan went to Armstrong’s corner and said something to the effect, “you will have to show me something, Henry, or I will have to stop it.” What followed was Armstrong’s best round.
“[Armstrong] pulled the crowd to its feet in as glorious a rally as this observer has seen in twenty-five years of attendance at these ring battles,” wrote Dawson. But Armstrong, who had been stopped only once previously, that coming in his pro debut, had punched himself out and had nothing left.
Armstrong retired after this fight, siting his worsening eyesight, but he returned in the summer of the following year, soldiering on for 46 more fights, winning 37 to finish 149-21-10. During this run, he was reacquainted with Fritzie Zivic. Their third encounter was fought in San Francisco before a near-capacity crowd of 8,000 at the Civic Auditorium and Armstrong got his revenge, setting the pace and working the body effectively to win a 10-round decision. By then the welterweight title had passed into the hands of Freddie Cochran.
Hammerin’ Henry (aka Homicide Hank) Armstrong was named to the International Boxing Hall of Fame with the inaugural class of 1990. Fritzie Zivic followed him into the Hall three years later.
Active from 1931 to 1949, Zivic lost 65 of his 231 fights – the most of anyone in the Hall of Fame, a dubious distinction – but there was yet little controversy when he was named to the Canastota shrine because one would be hard-pressed to find anyone who had fought a tougher schedule. Aside from Armstrong and Jenkins, he had four fights with Jake LaMotta, four with Kid Azteca, three with Charley Burley, two with Sugar Ray Robinson, two with Beau Jack, and singles with the likes of Billy Conn, Lou Ambers, and Bob Montgomery. Of the aforementioned, only Azteca, in their final meeting in Mexico City, and Sugar Ray, in their second encounter, were able to win inside the distance.
By the way, it has been written that no event of any kind at any of the four Madison Square Gardens ever drew a larger crowd than the crowd that turned out on Jan. 17, 1941, to see the rematch between Fritzie Zivic and Henry Armstrong. Needless to say, prizefighting was big in those days.
A recognized authority on the history of prizefighting and the history of American sports gambling, TSS editor-in-chief Arne K. Lang is the author of five books including “Prizefighting: An American History,” released by McFarland in 2008 and re-released in a paperback edition in 2020.
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Jai Opetaia Brutally KOs David Nyika, Cementing his Status as the World’s Top Cruiserweight
In his fifth title defense, lineal cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia (27-0, 21 KOs) successfully defended his belt with a brutal fourth-round stoppage of former sparring partner David Nyika. The bout was contested in Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia where Opetaia won the IBF title in 2022 with a hard-earned decision over Maris Briedis with Nyika on the undercard. Both fighters reside in the general area although Nyika, a former Olympic bronze medalist, hails from New Zealand.
The six-foot-six Nyika, who was undefeated in 10 pro fights with nine KOs, wasn’t afraid to mix it up with Opetaia although had never fought beyond five rounds and took the fight on three weeks’ notice when obscure German campaigner Huseyin Cinkara suffered an ankle injury in training and had to pull out. He wobbled Opetaia in the second round in a fight that was an entertaining slugfest for as long as it lasted.
In round four, the champion but Nyika on the canvas with his patented right uppercut and then finished matters moments later with a combination climaxed with an explosive left hand. Nyika was unconscious before he hit the mat.
Opetaia’s promoter Eddie Hearn wants Opetaia to unify the title and then pursue a match with Oleksandr Usyk. Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, a Golden Boy Promotions fighter, holds the WBA and WBO versions of the title and is expected to be Opetaia’s next opponent. The WBC diadem is in the hands of grizzled Badou Jack.
Other Fights of Note
Brisbane heavyweight Justis Huni (12-0, 7 KOs) wacked out overmatched South African import Shaun Potgieter (10-2), ending the contest at the 33-second mark of the second round. The 25-year-old, six-foot-four Huni turned pro in 2020 after losing a 3-round decision to two-time Olympic gold medalist Bakhodir Jalolov. There’s talk of matching him with England’s 20-year-old sensation Moses Itauma which would be a delicious pairing.
Eddie Hearn’s newest signee Teremoana Junior won his match even quicker, needing less than a minute to dismiss Osasu Otobo, a German heavyweight of Nigerian descent.
The six-foot-six Teremoana, who akin to Huni hails from Brisbane and turned pro after losing to the formidable Jalolov, has won all six of his pro fights by knockout while answering the bell for only eight rounds. He has an interesting lineage; his father is from the Cook Islands.
Rising 20-year-old Max “Money” McIntyre, a six-foot-three super middleweight, scored three knockdowns en route to a sixth-round stoppage of Abdulselam Saman, advancing his record to 7-0 (6 KOs). As one can surmise, McIntyre is a big fan of Floyd Mayweather.
The Opetaia-Nyika fight card aired on DAZN pay-per-view (39.99) in the Antipodes and just plain DAZN elsewhere.
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R.I.P. Paul Bamba (1989-2024): The Story Behind the Story
Paul Bamba, a cruiserweight, passed away at age 35 on Dec. 27 six days after defeating Rogelio Medina before a few hundred fans on a boxing card at a performing arts center in Carteret, New Jersey. No cause of death has been forthcoming, leading to rampant speculation. Was it suicide, or perhaps a brain injury, and if the latter was it triggered by a pre-existing condition?
Fuel for the latter comes in the form of a letter that surfaced after his death. Dated July 25, 2023, it was written by Dr. Alina Sharinn, a board-certified neurologist licensed in New York and Florida.
“Mr. Bamba has suffered a concussion and an episode of traumatic diplopia within the past year and now presents with increasing headaches. His MRI of the brain revealed white matter changes in both frontal lobes,” wrote Bamba’s doctor.
Her recommendation was that he stop boxing temporarily while also avoiding any other activity at which he was at risk of head trauma.
Dr. Sherinn’s letter was written three months after Bamba was defeated by Chris Avila in a 4-round contest in New Orleans. He lost all four rounds on all three scorecards, reducing his record to 5-3.
Bamba took a break from boxing after fighting Avila. Eight months would elapse before he returned to the ring. His next four fights were in Santa Marta, Colombia, against opponents who were collectively 4-23 at the time that he fought them. The most experienced of the quartet, Victor Coronado, was 38 years old.
He won all four inside the distance and ten more knockouts would follow, the last against Medina in a bout sanctioned by the World Boxing Association for the WBA Gold title. As widely reported, the stoppage, his 14th, broke Mike Tyson’s record for the most consecutive knockouts within a calendar year. That would have been a nice feather in his cap if only it were true.
Born in Puerto Rico, Paul Bamba was a former U.S. Marine who spent time in Iraq as an infantry machine gunner. In interviews on social media platforms, he is well-spoken and introspective without a trace of the boastfulness that many prizefighters exhibit when talking to an outsider. Interviewed in a corridor of the arena after stopping Medina, he was almost apologetic, acknowledging that he still had a lot to learn.
His life story is inspirational.
His early years were spent in foster homes. He was homeless for a time after returning to civilian life. Speaking with Boxing Scene’s Lucas Ketelle, Bamba said, “I didn’t have any direction after leaving the Marine corps. I hit rock bottom, couldn’t afford a place to stay…I was renting a mattress that was shoved behind someone’s sofa.”
He turned his life around when he ventured into the Morris Park Boxing Gym in the Bronx where he learned the rudiments of boxing under the tutelage of former WBA welterweight champion Aaron “Superman” Davis. “I love boxing,” he would say. “The confidence it gives you permeates into other aspects of your life.”
Bamba’s newfound confidence allowed him to carve out a successful career as a personal trainer. His most famous client was the Grammy Award winning R&B singer-songwriter Ne-Yo who signed Bamba to his new sports management company late in the boxer’s Knockout skein. Bamba was with Ne-Yo in Atlanta when he passed away. Ne-Yo broke the news on his Instagram platform.
Paul Bamba had been pursuing a fight with Jake Paul. Winning the WBA Gold belt opened up other potentially lucrative options. In theory, the holder of the belt is one step removed from a world title fight. Next comes an eliminator and, if he wins that one, a true title fight attached to a hefty purse will follow…in theory.
Rogelio “Porky” Medina, who brought a 42-10 record, had competed against some top-shelf guys, e.g., Zurdo Ramirez, Badou Jack, James DeGale, David Benavidez, Caleb Plant; going the distance with DeGale and Plant. However, only two of his 42 wins had come in fights outside Mexico, at age 36 he was over the hill, and his best work had come as a super middleweight.
Thirteen months ago, Medina carried 168 ½ pounds for a match in New Zealand in which he was knocked out in the first round. He came in more than 30 pounds heavier, specifically 202 ¼, for his match with Paul Bamba. In between, he knocked out a 54-year-old man in Guadalajara to infuse his ledger with a little brighter sheen.
Why did the WBA see fit to sanction the Bamba-Medina match as a title fight? That’s a rhetorical question. And for the record, the record for the most consecutive knockouts within a calendar year wasn’t previously held by Mike Tyson. LaMar Clark, a heavyweight from Cedar City, Utah, scored 29 consecutive knockouts in 1958 after opening the year by winning a 6-round decision. (If you are inclined to believe that all or most of those knockouts were legitimate, then perhaps I can interest you in buying the Brooklyn Bridge.)
Clark was being primped for a fight with a good purse which came when he was dispatched to Louisville to fight a fellow who was fairly new to the professional boxing scene, a former U.S. Olympian then known as Cassius Clay who knocked him out in the second round in what proved to be Clark’s final fight.
Paul Bamba was a much better fighter than LaMar Clark, of that I am quite certain. However, if Paul Bamba had gone on to meet one of the world’s elite cruiserweights, a similar outcome would have undoubtedly ensued.
One can summon up the Bamba-Medina fight on the internet although the video isn’t great – it was obviously filmed on a smart phone – and pieces of it are missing. Bamba was winning with his higher workrate when Medina took his unexpected leave, but one doesn’t have to be a boxing savant to see that Paul’s hand and foot speed were slow and that there were big holes in his defense.
This isn’t meant to be a knock on the decedent. Being able to box even four rounds at a fast clip and still be fresh is one of the most underrated achievements in all of human endurance sports. Bamba’s life story is indeed inspirational. When he talked about the importance of “giving back,” he was sincere. In an early interview, he mentioned having helped out at a Harlem food pantry.
Paul Bamba had to die to become well-known within the fight fraternity, let alone in the larger society. One hopes that his death will inspire the sport’s regulators to be more vigilant in assaying a boxer’s medical history and, if somehow his untimely death leads to the dissolution of the fetid World Boxing Association, his legacy would be even greater.
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