Pacquiao And Fans Better Get A Grip On Reality That Mayweather Won

Published

9 years ago

August 25, 2015

As a six year old in 1964, and seeing Cassius Clay on TV for the first time (right before he challenged Sonny Liston for the undisputed heavyweight title), I’ve been obsessed with the sport of amateur and professional boxing.

I’ve spent countless hours thinking about it, watching it, training, sparring and fighting and then back to observing it both near and from afar.

And after all that, one of the things that amazes me the most is how often and easily fighters and their fans lie to themselves.

I remember as a 12-year old trying to convince anyone who would listen that Muhammad Ali was robbed of the decision the first time he fought “Smokin” Joe Frazier on March 8th, 1971. I reasoned that the boxing establishment was out to get Ali because of his opposition to the Vietnam war. Even going as far as to say that Judge Bill Recht, who scored the fight 11-4 in favor of Frazier, must’ve had a son who was drafted and that’s why he was so biased in how he saw the fight in favor of Frazier so decidedly.

Well, around 1972 I was re-watching the Super 8MM version of the fight with my friend across the street who loved Frazier as much as I loved Ali. While we were watching the fight for the umpteenth time, I was going through my theatrics every time Muhammad landed a punch trying to illustrate how Ali really won the bout. However, I noticed my buddy fell asleep and it was a waste of time trying to convince him that my guy won. So I sat down and continued watching the fight. As the rounds went by I asked myself if I just landed on earth from Mars and didn’t know the name of either guy, who would I think was getting the better of it; the short guy wearing the green trunks or the tall guy wearing the red trunks? And for the first time I was honest and said if I didn’t know who was who, I’d say the short guy in green trunks was winning….as we all know Ali was the taller guy sporting the red trunks and tassels on his boxing shoes. From that moment on I promised myself that I’d never lie to myself regarding whether or not my fighter or team won or lost. At that moment I realized that my manhood or self-worth had nothing to do regarding whether or not my guy won or lost.

Today, when I re-watch Frazier-Ali I, I realize Bill Recht’s score of 11-4 wasn’t that far off. I usually score the fight 9-6 Frazier with 10-5 being very plausible. I was at the fight that night watching it live from the rafters of Madison Square Garden and had no doubt Joe won convincingly seeing it live and in the moment. A few years later Ali even admitted that he lost the first Frazier fight. He came back and beat Joe in their two subsequent bouts to win their trilogy and historically Ali deservedly ranks above Frazier.

When Floyd Mayweather won a unanimous decision over Manny Pacquiao earlier this year, many Mayweather haters and Pacquiao fans cried over the decision and tried to convince anyone who would listen that Pacquiao really won the fight, which is flat out wrong. They reasoned that Floyd ran and Manny was the aggressor. This actually borders on being insane. Mayweather didn’t run, he used his feet and boxed Pacquiao as it was stated in this space he would numerous times since 2009. He took advantage of Pacquiao’s ineptness at cutting off the ring and his tendency to fight in spurts instead of applying bell-to-bell aggression. In fact, Pacquiao wasn’t close to being an effective aggressor and wasn’t even Floyd’s toughest fight, something that had a lot to do with their natural fighting styles and Mayweather’s advantages in size and reach.

This past week Chris Chase of the USA today wrote, “Think back to this past May, if you will. It was a Saturday night. You gathered with your friends, either at their place or yours, then you collectively sat around, put $100 into the toilet and flushed, just waving goodbye to that substantial amount of cash. Remember that? The night of the dud of the century bout between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, the one Mayweather controlled from the outset while tediously jabbing his way to victory, all while your $99.95 went up in smoke, like the hundred-dollar bills Floyd probably uses to light cigars? Remember that? Well, it’s been three-and-a-half months and Manny Pacquiao still somehow thinks he won that fight.”

Pacquiao thinks he won the fight? Really. Just look at his disposition during the bout after the fifth round and tell me that’s a fighter who really believes in his heart that he’s winning. Manny looked confused and bewildered because he was.

No, Mayweather didn’t beat him up and yes Pacquiao had an injured shoulder, but come on, Mayweather, with the exception of the fourth round, basically controlled the entire bout. He fought when he wanted to. He pot-shotted and boxed when he wanted to and even backed Pacquiao up when he sensed Manny was confused and searching for an answer on how to attack him with even a modicum of success. Something that never really transpired over the course of 12-rounds or 36 minutes of fighting/boxing.

It’s nearly four months out from the fight and Pacquiao is healing from shoulder surgery. There’s no doubt that he’s not done fighting and I expect that he’ll try and get a rematch with Mayweather. If I were him, I certainly would. I’d justify it by reasoning even with one arm I didn’t really get beat up and managed to win a few rounds. And if I’m Mayweather, I’d announce my retirement after I beat Andre Berto and then UN-retire and come back to fight Pacquiao for my 50th career win. And my justification for that would be the money for the fight, though not as good as the first time, will still be off the chart. In addition to that, Pacquiao wasn’t my toughest fight and there’s nothing he can do differently if we fight again.

And therein lays the problem for Manny if he gets another shot at Floyd. Firstly, he better come to reality and accept that he lost to Mayweather and really never even gave him one good scare during the entire fight when they last met. If he accepts the truth, which isn’t a given, somehow he and trainer Freddie Roach better come up with a plan that enables Manny to get inside and force the fight, thus making it impossible for Mayweather not to engage with him. This means Pacquiao will have to reinvent himself stylistically, and those odds aren’t too good, especially if he thinks just bringing more of what didn’t work the last time will work. This is the real world and reinventing himself from a stylistic vantage point won’t be easy. This is the real world and not Rocky III.

Sadly, before Manny even has a chance to try and reconstruct his style, he must break from the mold in which most elite fighters can’t admit they lost unless they were knocked out or punched all over the ring. Based on his thoughts suggesting that he won and Mayweather ran, it doesn’t look good. Lastly, it’s really not all that difficult to accept if you’re a big Pacquiao fan that Mayweather won their fight because he really did. And believe it or not it doesn’t make you less of a person or fan because your guy lost. It’s life and everybody suffers setbacks and defeats, no one is spared from that and hopefully we learn and grow from it.

Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com

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Frank Lotierzo

Avila Perspective, Chap. 289: East LA, Claressa Shields and More

Published

1 day ago

July 25, 2024

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective-Chap-289-East-L.A.-A-Fight-Town-Claressa-Shields-and-More

Avila Perspective, Chap. 289: East LA, Claressa Shields and More

East Los Angeles has long been a haven for some of the best fighters around if you can keep them out of trouble. For every Oscar De La Hoya or Seniesa Estrada there are thousands derailed by crime, drugs or drinking.

Boxing has always been a favorite sport of East L.A. Every family has an uncle or two who boxes.

On Friday, 360 Promotions’ Omar Trinidad (15-0-1) fights Viktor Slavinskyi (15-2-1) in the main event at Commerce Casino, in Commerce, CA. UFC Fight Pass will stream the fight card.

The City of Commerce used to be part of East L.A. until 1960 when it incorporated. It’s still considered to be part of East Los Angeles, but informally.

Plenty of fighters come out of East L.A. but few make it all the way like De La Hoya and Estrada. Will Trinidad be the one?

The first world champion from East L.A. or “East Los” as some call it, was Solly Garcia Smith back in the late 1800s. Others were Richie Lemos, Art Frias and Joey Olivo. There is also 1984 Olympic gold medalist Paul Gonzalez.

Once again 360 Promotions brings its popular brand of fights to the area. On this fight card includes two female bouts. One features Roxy Verduzco (1-0) the former amateur star fighting Colleen Davis (3-1-1) in a featherweight fight.

All that action takes place on Friday.

Elite Boxing

The next day, also in East L.A., Elite Boxing stages another boxing card at Salesian High School located at 960 S. Soto Street in the Boyle Heights area of East Los Angeles.

Elite Boxing has promoted several successful boxing cards at the Catholic high school grounds. The area is saturated by many of the best eateries in Los Angeles. Don’t take my word for it. Check it out yourself and grab some of that delicious food.

Boxing has long been a favorite sport of anyone who lives in East L.A. It’s a fight town equal to Philadelphia, Brooklyn or Detroit. There’s something different about the area. For more than 100 years some of the best fighters continue to come out of its boxing gyms. Some will be performing on these club shows.

For tickets or information go to www.eliteboxingusa.com

Claressa Shields in Detroit

Speaking of fight towns, pound-for-pound best Claressa Shields who won two Olympic Gold Medals in boxing, moves up another weight division to tackle the WBC heavyweight world champion Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse on Saturday, July 27, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.

DAZN will stream the heavy-duty fight card.

Shields (14-0) cleaned out the super welterweight, middleweight and super middleweight divisions and now wants to add the big girls to her conquests. She will be facing Canada’s Lepage-Joanisse (7-1) who holds the WBC belt.

The last time Shields gloved up was more than a year ago when she fought Maricela Cornejo. Don’t blame Shields. She loves to fight. She loves to win. The last time Shields lost a fight was in the amateurs and that was three presidential administrations ago.

Shields doesn’t lose.

I wonder if Las Vegas even takes bets on her fights?

The only fight she may have been an underdog was against Savannah Marshall who was the last opponent to defeat her. And that was in 2012 in China. When they met as pros two years ago, Shields avenged her loss with a blistering attack.

Don’t get Shields mad.

Perhaps her toughest foe as a pro was in her pro debut when she clashed with Franchon Crews-Dezurn in Las Vegas. It was four rounds of fists and fury as the two pounded each other on the undercard of Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev in November 2016.

That was a ferocious debut for both female pugilists.

Assisting Shields on this fight card will be several intriguing male bouts. One guy you should pay special attention is Tito Mercado (15-0, 14 KOs) a super lightweight prospect from Pomona, California.

Many excellent fighters have come out of Pomona including Sugar Shane Mosley, Shane Mosley Jr., Alberto Davila and Richie Sandoval who just passed away this week.

Sandoval was best known for his 15-round war with Philadelphia’s Jeff Chandler for the bantamweight world title in 1984. Read the story by Arne K. Lang on this link: https://tss.ib.tv/boxing/featured-boxing-articles-boxing-news-videos-rankings-and-results/81467-former-world-bantamweight-champion-richie-sandoval-passes-away-at-age-63 .

Fights to Watch

Fri. UFC Fight Pass 7 p.m. Omar Trinidad (15-0-1) vs Viktor Slavinskyi (15-2-1).

Sat. ESPN+ 12:30 p.m. Joe Joyce (16-2) vs Derek Chisora (34-13).

Sat. DAZN 3 p.m. Claressa Shields (14-0) vs Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse (7-1), Michel Rivera (25-1) vs Hugo Roldan (22-2-1); Tito Mercado (15-0) vs Hector Sarmiento (21-2).

Omar Trinidad photo by Lina Baker

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Arne’s Almanac: Jake Paul and Women’s Boxing, a Curmudgeon’s Take

Published

3 days ago

July 24, 2024

Arne K. Lang

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Jake Paul can fight more than a little. The view from here is that he would make it interesting against any fringe contender in the cruiserweight division. However, Jake’s boxing acumen pales when paired against his skill as a flim-flam artist.

Jake brought a 9-1 record into last weekend’s bout with Mike Perry. As noted by boxing writer Paul Magno, Jake’s previous opponents consisted of “a You Tuber, a retired NBA star, five retired MMA stars, a part-time boxer/reality TV star, and two undersized and inactive fall-guy boxers.”

Mike Perry, a 32-year-old Floridian, was undefeated (6-0, 3 KOs) as a bare-knuckle boxer after forging a 14-8 record in UFC bouts. In pre-fight blurbs, Perry was billed as the baddest bare knuckle boxer of all time, but against Jake Paul he proved to have very unrefined skills as a conventional boxer which Team Paul undoubtedly knew all along. Perry lasted into the eighth round in a one-sided fight that could have been stopped a lot sooner.

Jake Paul is both a boxer and a promoter. As a promoter, he handles Amanda Serrano, one of the greatest female boxers in history. That makes him the person most responsible (because the buck stops with him) for the wretched mismatch in last Saturday’s co-feature, the bout between Serrano and Stevie Morgan.

Morgan, who took up boxing two years ago at age 33, brought a 14-1 record. Nicknamed the Sledgehammer, she had won 13 of her 14 wins by knockout, eight in the opening round. However, although she resides in Florida, all but one of those 13 knockouts happened in Colombia.

“We found that in Colombia there were just more opportunities for women’s boxing than in the United States,” she told a prominent boxing writer whose name we won’t mention.

The truth is that, for some folks, Colombia is the boxing equivalent of a feeder lot for livestock, a place where a boxer can go to fatten their record. The opportunities there were no greater than in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in 1995. It was there that Peter McNeeley prepped for his match with Mike Tyson with a 6-second knockout of professional punching bag Frankie Hines. (Six seconds? So it would be written although no one seems to have been there to witness it.)

Serrano vs Morgan was understood to be a stay-busy fight for Amanda whose rematch with Katie Taylor was postponed until November. Stevie Morgan, to her credit, answered the bell for the second round whereas others in her situation would have remained on the stool and invented an injury to rationalize it. Thirty-eight seconds later it was all over and Ms. Morgan was free to go home and use her sledgehammer to do some light dusting.

The Paul-Perry and Serrano-Morgan fights played out in a sold-out arena in Tampa before an estimated 17,000. Those without a DAZN subscription paid $64.95 for the livestream. Paul’s next promotion, where he will touch gloves with 58-year-old Mike Tyson (unless Iron Mike pulls a Joe Biden and pulls out; a capital idea) with Serrano-Taylor II the semi-main, will almost certainly rake in more money than any other boxing promotion this year.

Asked his opinion of so-called crossover boxing by a reporter for a college newspaper, the venerable boxing promoter Bob Arum said, “It’s not my bag but folks who don’t like it shouldn’t get too worked up over it because no one is stealing from anybody.” True enough, but for some of us, the phenomenon is distressing.

—

The next big women’s fight happens Saturday in Detroit where Claressa Shields seeks a world title in a third weight class against WBC heavyweight belt-holder Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse.

A two-time Olympic gold medalist, undefeated in 14 fights as a pro, Shields is very good, arguably the best female boxer of her generation which makes her, arguably, the best female boxer of all time. But turning away Lepage-Joanisse (7-1, 2 KOs) won’t elevate her stature in our eyes.

Purportedly 17-4 as an amateur, the Canadian won her title in her second crack at it. Back in August of 2017, she challenged Cancun’s Alejandra Jimenez in Cancun and was stopped in the third round. Entering the bout, Lepage-Joanisse was 3-0 as a pro and had never fought a match slated for more than four rounds.

Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse

True, on the women’s side, the heavyweight bracket is a very small pod. A sanctioning body has to make concessions to harness a sanctioning fee. Nonetheless, how absurd that a woman who had answered the bell for only 11 rounds would be deemed qualified to compete for a world title. (FYI: Alejandra Jimenez was purportedly born a man. She left the sport with a 12-0-1 record after her win over Franchon Crews Dazurn was changed to a no-contest when she tested positive for the banned steroid stanozolol.)

Following her defeat to Jimenez, Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse, now 29 years old, was out of action for six-and-a-half years. When she returned, she was still a heavyweight, but a much slender heavyweight. She carried 231 pounds for Jimenez. In her most recent bout where she captured the vacant WBC title with a split decision over Argentina’s Abril Argentina Vidal, she clocked in at 173 ¼. (On the distaff side, there’s no uniformity among the various sanctioning bodies as to what constitutes a heavyweight.)

Claressa Shields doesn’t need Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse to reinforce her credentials as a future Hall of Famer. She made the cut a long time ago.

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Former World Bantamweight Champion Richie Sandoval Passes Away at Age 63

Published

4 days ago

July 22, 2024

Arne K. Lang

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Richie Sandoval, who won the WBA and lineal bantamweight title in one of the biggest upsets of the 1980s and then, not quite two years later, suffered near-fatal injuries in a title defense, has passed away at the age of 63.

News circulated fast in the Las Vegas boxing community on Monday, July 22, the grapevine actuated by a tweet from Hall of Fame matchmaker Bruce Trampler: “Boxing and the Top Rank family lost one of our own last night in the passing of former WBA bantamweight champion Richie Sandoval. It hurts personally and professionally to know that Richie is gone at age 63. RIP campeon.”

Details are vague but the cause of death was apparently a sudden heart attack that Sandoval experienced while visiting the Southern California home of his son of the same name.

Richie Sandoval put the LA County community of Pomona, California, on the boxing map before Shane Mosley came along and gave the town a more frequently-cited mention in the sports section of the papers. He came from a fighting family. An older brother, Albert “Superfly” Sandoval, became a big draw at LA’s fabled Olympic Auditorium while building a 35-2-1 record that included a failed bid to capture Lupe Pintor’s world bantamweight title.

Richie was a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic boxing team that was stranded when U.S. President Jimmy Carter (and many other world leaders) boycotted the event as a protest against Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan.

As a pro, Sandoval’s signature win was a 15^th-round stoppage of Jeff Chandler. They fought on April 7, 1984 in Atlantic City. Chandler was making the tenth defense of his world bantamweight title.

Despite being a heavy underdog, Sandoval dominated the fight, winning almost every round until the referee stepped in and waived it off. Chandler, who was 33-1-2 heading in and had avenged his lone defeat, never fought again.

Sandoval made two successful defenses before risking his title against Gaby Canizales on the undercard of Hagler-Mugabi in the outdoor stadium at Caesars Palace. In round seven, Sandoval, who had a hellish time making the weight, was knocked down three times and suffered a seizure as he collapsed from the third knockdown. Stretchered out of the ring, he was rushed to the hospital where doctors reduced the swelling in his brain and beat the odds to save his life. This would be Richie’s lone defeat. He finished his pro career with a record of 29-1 (17 KOs).

Bob Arum cushioned some of the pain by giving Richie a $25,000 bonus and offering him a lifetime job at Top Rank which Richie accepted. And let the record show that Arum was good to his word.

A more elaborate portrait of Richie Sandoval was published in these pages in 2017. You can check it out HERE. May he rest in peace.

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