LOTIERZO: If You Buy Mayweather’s Next Fight You’re A Fool

Published

10 years ago

July 29, 2015

He made more money in one fight than Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard, who were both clearly superior fighters to him, made during their entire careers. Nobody begrudges a fighter making all the money he possibly can, even Floyd Mayweather, but enough is too much.

He’s been a pro for 19 years and yet has there hasn’t been one fight that he participated in that was truly memorable or one that you’ll take to the grave with you. Maybe there was for some but certainly not me. Is he the greatest or most complete boxer you’ve ever seen? Absolutely not. Unless perhaps you’re a new boxing fan under 35 years old. He’s certainly not the fastest of hand or foot that we’ve ever seen and his punching power is just adequate. His signature trait is his defensive prowess, and even at that he’s pretty basic and vanilla in that he covers when the opponent punches and doesn’t mix until they reload. Past defensive wizards like Willie Pep, Wilfred Benitez and Pernell Whitaker engaged with their opponents and made them miss repeatedly. And don’t point to one sequence where Mayweather did it and then act as if you shoot my argument down. If I searched long enough I could find a clip where Paulie Malinaggi looks as if he’s Ray Leonard’s equal as a finisher.

And then there’s the well-chronicled argument that he cherry picks his opponents, or at least most of them. This is something that cannot be denied by an open minded fan who has no stake in solidifying his place among the greatest of the greats in order to justify their fandom.

Since he barely defeated a washed up Oscar De La Hoya eight years ago via split decision, he’s never passed up the opportunity to say he always gives the fans what they want. This is the biggest crock that has ever been perpetrated by any fighter in boxing history. Actually the opposite is true. If there was a great fighter who cared less about boxing fans than Floyd Mayweather does, I need someone to point him out to me. In 19 years fighting as a pro there’s been one fighter that boxing fans pleaded with him to fight. His name is Manny Pacquiao. Remember him, the little flyweight/featherweight dynamo who chased Mayweather for almost six years before they finally fought.

Sports/boxing fans have short memories. The morning after Pacquiao took apart Miguel Cotto, Mayweather vs. Pacquiao was a legitimate super-fight. Manny was a non-stop perpetual motion attacking machine and Mayweather rarely threw more than two punches at a time. However, regardless of how much the fans clamored to see them fight, Mayweather threw up a faux roadblock every time. Then fought a no hope opponent and dangled the possibility of maybe fighting Pacquiao next, but it never happened. During the interim fans foolishly bought everyone of Floyd’s fights on PPV for a lot of money. And with the exception of his bout against Miguel Cotto, three years after Pacquiao beat him, and the first fight against Marcos Maidana, not one of them were terribly exciting or drama filled.

Finally after the public became fed up with Mayweather not fighting Pacquiao, they let him know that they were done buying his fights. This was an idea that gained momentum when Mayweather’s friend and apologist Stephen A. Smith said on ESPN, while looking directly into the camera, that the only fight people wanted Floyd to make was against Pacquiao…..not Marcos Maidana or Amir Khan. The timing couldn’t have worked out better for Mayweather. By the spring of 2015 Pacquiao was 3-2 in his last five bouts, his offense was reduced to a jump in head first one-two and he was very hittable to put it mildly. Not to mention in his last loss he suffered one of the most brutal one-punch knockouts in boxing history, something Smith constantly alluded to on ESPN.

With the threat of fans ignoring Mayweather and the reality of Pacquiao’s decline, Mayweather agreed to fight the only boxer fans ever wanted to see him touch gloves with, Manny Pacquiao. Only six years too late. And as it was said in this space for six consecutive years, when Floyd finally agrees to fight Manny, the result will be a forgone conclusion, resulting in a Mayweather boring decision win. This is exactly how it turned out.

However, two things transpired that no one completely saw: 1) boxing fans would be ripped off like they never were before to see it and 2) Mayweather would be confronted by an injured Pacquiao who basically fought with one arm. I’m not saying that’s why Mayweather won. I’ve always maintained that Mayweather would beat Pacquiao because he owned the size and style advantage, nothing will change that.

Earlier this month it was reported that Mayweather was going to fight former title holder Andre Berto 30-3 (22) on CBS and not PPV. Which seemed like a good way for Mayweather to win some fans back after gouging their eyes out to see him fight the compromised Pacquiao.

Only now that doesn’t appear to be the case.

According to a report on TSS by Michael Woods, Mayweather “won’t be offering up a freebie for fans” on September 12 as he will fight on pay-per-view.

“The source tells us (that) money matters, and how to get Floyd the amount he desires won’t be so clear if it was done on ‘free’ TV,” Woods reported. “A mass of eyeballs would have been a bonus, the thinking seems to be, but the PPV model will lead to the payoff Floyd seeks as he tries to get to 49-0.”

If what Michael Woods says above comes to fruition, every fan who buys another Mayweather fight is a complete and utter fool. For what? Why would anyone pay to see Mayweather box again after the joke the Mayweather-Pacquiao promotion and fight turned out to be? Floyd had to be laughing at boxing fans on the inside after the fight. He even said to Pacquiao when the bell rang to end the 12th round “we made a lot of money.”

When are fans going to grasp that Mayweather will only continue to gouge them out of their money if they allow him to? What happens if nobody cares about Mayweather’s next fight? If fans have no interest and voice they’re not buying it, do you really think SHOWTIME is going to forge ahead and make a fight nobody is planning on coming to or buying via PPV. No way!

Then what? Well, either Floyd fights a real fight for a reasonable price, or he retires because nobody gives a damn anymore about him and the WWE event that his care has evolved into. Heck, as Woods detailed above, it’s all about money with Mayweather. Floyd taking the fans’ money and then mocking them when he thinks nobody is listening. Believe me that will change once fans, if they ever do, decide they want it to. And if they buy his next bout and it’s a snooze fest, which I guarantee it will be, they have themselves to blame and no one else.

If I were Mayweather I’d keep playing the fans as long as I could just because I can. Who wouldn’t? But I’ll tell you what…….let word get out that fans are done being ripped off by Mayweather and they refuse to buy his next couple fights and things will change in less than a New York minute.

Wake up boxing fans! You’re not going to see a great event or something you haven’t seen already. We’ve seen the show for eight plus years, it never changes, and now there’s undeniable proof that it’s not worth paying for again. What an amazing twist of fate. Mayweather goes 48-0 but can’t give away fight 49 because nobody cares or wants to get fleeced again.

Of course that won’t happen because people are like sheep and sheep usually are slaughtered and money changes hands.

Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com

Post Views: 1,688

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Frank Lotierzo

Results and Recaps from Las Vegas where Richard Torrez Jr Mauled Guido Vianello

Published

2 hours ago

April 6, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Results-and-Recaps-from-Las-Vegas-where-Richard-Torrez-Jr-Mauled-Guido-Vianello

LAS VEGAS, NV – In an inelegant but wildly entertaining rumble, Richard Torrez Jr, bullied his way past Guido Vianello. The 10-round heavyweight contest, an appealing match-up between former Olympians, was the featured attraction on a Top Card at the Pearl Theater at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas.

Torrez, the pride of Tulare, California and a 5/2 favorite, promised to show more dimensions to his game, but was the same old frenetic bull-rusher. Torrez likes to dig inside and smother the punches of his opponent who is invariably taller. His chief asset is an engine that never quits.

The early rounds were marred by a lot of wrestling. Referee Tom Taylor, who had a difficult assignment, took a point away from Vianello for holding in round two, a controversial call although it proved to be a moot point.

Vianello, who was coming off an eighth-round stoppage of Russian-Canadian behemoth Arslanbek Makhmudov, wasn’t able to build on that victory and declined to 13-3-1 (11). Torrez, competing in his first scheduled 10-rounder, improved to 13-0 (11).

Co-Feature

In a tactical fight (translation: no fireworks) Lindolfo Delgado remained undefeated with a 10-round majority decision over Elvis Rodriguez. The scores were 95-95 and 96-94 twice.

Delgado, a 2016 Olympian for Mexico, won over the judges by keeping Rodriguez on his back foot for most of the fight. However, Rodriguez won the most lopsided round of the bout, the ninth, when he hurt the Mexican with a punch that sent him staggering into the ropes.

Delgado, a 3/2 favorite, improved to 23-0 (17). It was the second pro loss for Rodriguez (17-2-1), a 29-year-old Dominican who trains in Los Angeles under Freddie Roach.

Abdullah Mason

Cleveland southpaw Abdullah Mason celebrated his 21^st birthday by winning his first scheduled 10-rounder. Mason (18-0, 16 KOs) scored three knockdowns before the fight was waived off after the sixth frame.

Mason’s opponent, Mexican southpaw Carlos Ornelas (28-5), fought a curious fight. He wasn’t knocked down three times, not exactly; he merely thought it prudent to take a knee and after each occasion he did his best work, if only for a few brief moments.

Ornelas, a late sub for Giovanni Cabrera who had to pull out with an eye injury, was clearly buzzed after the third “knockdown.” The doctor examined him after the sixth round and when Ornelas left his corner with an unsteady gait, referee Raul Caiz Jr had seen enough.

Other Bouts

Featherweight Albert “Chop Chop” Gonzalez, a protégé of Robert Garcia, improved to 14-0 (7) with an 8-round unanimous decision over Australia’s durable but limited Dana Coolwell. The judges had it 80-72, 78-74, and 77-75.

The granite-chinned Coolwell (13-4) was making his second start in a U.S. ring after taking Shu Shu Carrington the distance in an 8-rounder underneath the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson exhibition at the stadium of the Dallas Cowboys.

SoCal bantamweight Steven Navarro, the TSS 2024 Prospect of the Year, stepped up in class and scored a fourth-round stoppage of Mexicali’s Juan Esteban Garcia who was winning the fourth round when Navarro (6-0, 5 KOs) reversed the momentum with a flourish, forcing the stoppage at the 2:46 mark.

Junior middleweight Art Barrera Jr (8-0, 6 KOs) polished off Daijon Gonzalez in the second round. Barrera decked Gonzalez with a hard left hook and when Gonzales got to his feet, he was immediately greeted with another devastating punch which forced the referee to intervene. The official time was 2:56 of round two. A 32-year-old campaigner from Davenport, Iowa, Gonzalez brought a 12-5 record but had scored only one win vs. an opponent with a winning record.

Jahi Tucker, a 22-year-old middleweight from Deer Park, Long Island, scores his best win to date, winning a lopsided decision over former British junior middleweight champion Troy Williamson. The scores were 99-89 across the board.

Tucker (14-1-1) scored two knockdowns. The first in the second round was called a slip but overruled on replay. The second, in round eight, was the result of a left hook. Williamson stayed on his feet but the ropes held him up and it was properly scored a knockdown. The Englishman, 34, fell to 20-4-1 in what was his U.S. debut.

In a junior lightweight bour slated for eight rounds, 21-year-old Las Vegas southpaw DJ Zamora, advanced to 16-0 (11 KOs) with a fourth-round stoppage of Tex-Mex campaigner Hugo Alberto Castaneda (15-2-1). The official time was 1:24 of round four.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 240

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Filip Hrgovic Defeats Joe Joyce in Manchester

Published

12 hours ago

April 5, 2025

David A. Avila

Filip-Hrgovic-Fefeats-Joe-Joe-Joyce-in-Manchester

In a battle to retain heavyweight contender status, Filip Hrgovic out-fought Joe “The Juggernaut” Joyce to win by unanimous decision on Saturday on Queensberry Promotions’ first card on DAZN.

It was a heavyweight brawl.

Croatia’s Hrgovic (18-1, 14 KOs) was the more accurate puncher over England’s Joyce (16-4, 15 KOs) in their heavyweight title fight at Manchester, England. Both were coming off losses.

Hrgovic, 32, entered the boxing ring as a replacement for Joyce’s original foe Dillian Whyte. Though short on notice, he worked with Abel Sanchez who formerly trained Joyce. It proved to be a wise move.

From the opening round Hrgovic opened-up with a battering attack, especially with the one-two combination that rocked Joyce repeatedly in the first two rounds. The British fighter known for his rock-hard chin, withstood the challenge.

“He is a beast,” said Hrgovic. “This guy is like steel.”

For the first half of the 10-round heavyweight clash, Hrgovic was the aggressor and the much more accurate puncher. Joyce seemed unsteady on his legs but every round he seemed to gain more stability and confidence.

By midway, Joyce resorted to his juggernaut ways and began to stalk the Croatian fighter whom he defeated in the amateurs a dozen years ago.

Though Joyce had lost by knockout to Zhilei Zhang and was knocked down by Derek Chisora, he was able to remain upright throughout the match with Hrgovic despite some wicked shots.

Just when it seemed Joyce might take over the fight, Hrgovic opened-up with an eight-punch volley in the eighth round that had the British heavyweight reeling. The fight turned around.

Hrgovic seemed to get a second wind and began connecting with left hooks and pinpoint accurate combinations. Joyce tried to fight back but his accuracy was off. The Croatian fighter regained the momentum and never allowed Joyce back in the fight.

After 10 rounds all three judges scored for Hrgovic 97-93, 96-95, 98-92.

“I came to fight on short notice. Thanks to God he gave me strength,” said Hrgovic. “Thanks to Joe for the opportunity.”

The Croatian fighter said he seeks a fight with IBF heavyweight titlist Daniel Dubois.

“This guy beat Dubois and I beat him,” said Hrgovic who lost to Dubois a year ago but defeated Joyce who knocked out Dubois when they fought.

Other Bouts

Heavyweight David Adeleye (14-1, 13 KOs) knocked out Jeamie Tshikeva (8-2, 5 KOs) during a clinch and interference by the referee. It remained a knockout win for Adeleye at 55 seconds of the sixth round. Adeleye becomes the British heavyweight champion.

Super lightweight Jack Rafferty (26-0, 17 KOs) knocked out Cory O’Regan (14-1, 3 KOs) in a punch seemingly delivered during a clinch in the fifth round. The match was stopped at 2:26 of the sixth round.

British Olympian Delicious Orie (1-0) made his pro debut and won by decision over Milos Veletic (3-8) in a heavyweight contest.

Post Views: 347

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Avila Perspective, Chap. 320: Women’s Boxing Hall of Fame, Heavyweights and More

Published

2 days ago

April 4, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila Perspective, Chap. 320: Women’s Boxing Hall of Fame, Heavyweights and More

Many of the best female fighters of all time including Christy Martin, Laila Ali and others are gathering in the glitzy lights of Las Vegas this week.

Several hundred fans including current and former world champions are attending the International Women’s Boxing Hall of Fame ceremony on Friday, April 4 and 5^th at the Orleans Casino in Las Vegas.

It’s one of my favorite events.

Where else can you talk to the female pioneers and stars of the 1980s and 1990s?

The last time I attended two years ago, Germany’s super star Regina Halmich spoke to the packed house about her career in boxing. She and Daisy Lang were two female world champions who sold out arenas wherever they fought. The pair of blonde fighters proved that female prizefighting could succeed.

Many times, I debated with promoters who believed women’s boxing could not succeed in the USA. Though it was popular in Germany and Mexico, various organizers felt female boxing was not appealing to the American masses.

Now promoters and media networks know women’s boxing and women’s sports have crowd appeal.

Expected to attend the IWBHOF event at Orleans will be Mexico’s Jessica Chavez and Jackie Nava who will be inducted into the women’s hall of fame along with Vaia Zaganas of Canada among many others.

It’s also a gathering place for many of the top proponents of women’s boxing including the organizers of this event such as Sue Fox whose idea spawned the IWBHOF.

Each event is unique and special.

Many of my favorite people in boxing attend this celebration of women’s boxing. Stop by the Orleans Casino on the second floor. You won’t be disappointed.

Heavyweight prospects

Heavyweights take the forefront this weekend in two pivotal battles in different continents.

In England, a pair of contenders looking to maintain their footing in the heavyweight mountain will clash as Joe Joyce (16-3, 15 KOs) meets Croatia’s Filip Hrgovic (17-1, 14 KOs) at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester. DAZN will stream the event.

Both lost their last match and need a win to remain relevant. Joyce has lost his three of his last four, most recently coming up short in a riveting slugfest with Derek Chisora.

Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, Nevada, two young heavyweights looking to crack contender status clash as undefeated Richard Torrez (12-0,11 KOs) fights Italy’s Guido Vianello (13-2-1,11 KOs) at the Palms Casino.

Both are Olympians who can crack and each can take a blow.

The winner moves up into contention and the other will need to scrape and claw back into relevance.

Coming up

April 12 in Atlantic City: Jarron Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) vs Eimantis Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOs) IBF welterweight title.

April 12 Albuquerque: Fernando Vargas Jr. (16-0) vs Gonzalo Gaston (23-7); Shane Mosley Jr. (22-4) vs DeAundre Pettus (12-4).

April 19 Oceanside, Calif: Gabriela Fundora (15-0, 7 KOs) vs Marilyn Badillo (19-0-1, 3 KOs). Also, Charles Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) vs Jorge Garcia (32-4, 26 KOs).

April 26 Tottenham Stadium, London, England; Conor Benn (23-0) vs Chris Eubank Jr. (34-3); Aaron McKenna (19-0, 10 KOs) vs Liam Smith (33-4, 20 Kos).

Fights to Watch

Sat. DAZN 11 a.m. Joe Joyce (16-3) vs Filip Hrgovic (17-1).

Sat. ESPN+ 2:30 p.m. Richard Torrez (12-0) vs Guido Vianello (13-2-1).

Sat. AMAZON PRIME VIDEO 8:00 8 p.m. Tim Tszyu (24-2) vs. Joey Spencer (19-1)

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 898

Share The Sweet Science experience!