I kind of vaguely recall Dana White taking every opportunity to dis other MMA promotions for signing fights featuring guys who don't belong in the sport (like, say, Jose Canseco). To this point, White has avoided doing that himself, so love him or hate him, at least you couldn't say he was a hypocrite.
That may no longer be true. Steve Cofield and Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports are reporting that White has confirmed a UFC deal for James Toney. As far as I can tell, it's not a joke or hoax of some sort.
I'd love it if the whole interplay between boxing and MMA would go away, or at least quiet down for a while. I'm a bigger boxing fan, but I appreciate and follow both sports.
This is going to stir everything right back up again. It's hard to see exactly why White would do something like this, but here are a few possibilities:
1. The UFC brass actually thinks Toney will be able to hang with MMA fighters
This is too ridiculous to believe. I dismissed this idea as soon as it entered my head.
2. White wants to shut Toney up and can't think of any other way
At the end of Cofield's post, he includes a tweet from Bloody Elbow's Luke Thomas suggesting that Dana might be doing this to teach Toney, and likely other boxers by extension, a painful lesson. I'd say that's very likely. White is also excellent at rationalizing things to the media, so I'm sure he can spin it somehow so that having Lights Out in the octagon is different from every other fighter with dubious credentials employed by other promotions.
3. Toney has somehow tricked the UFC
Well, he's a champion talker. Maybe James confused them into agreement!
As I've said before, I don't blame Toney for this. He's entitled to try to make money any way he wants, and his constant pestering of White has shown he's pretty serious about this.
There's no point getting all stirred up about this yet, as we don't even know exactly what the UFC has planned for Toney. I just know I'll be pretty sad watching him get choked out in the first minute of his MMA debut.
Posted by The Franchise
Showing posts with label mma. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mma. Show all posts
26.2.10
Abraham-Dirrell Headed to Detroit on March 27, Ricardo Mayorga MMA Debut Set for May 15
Two news stories caught my eye yesterday that I didn't have time to comment on until now.
The first is that a site has been set for the recently rescheduled Arthur Abraham-Andre Dirrell Super Six fight, and it's one that makes a lot of sense. According to the Grand Rapids Press, that bout will take place in Detroit on March 27, either at Cobo Arena or Joe Louis Arena.
Dirrell is from Flint, a tad over 60 miles from Detroit (and a place the BoxingWatchers know fairly well, as our mom grew up there), so it goes without saying that he should draw plenty of local fans. If the fight was going to take place in the U.S. - and at this point in his career, even King Arthur prefers it that way - you may as well hold it where the American boxer will sell some tickets. So well done, Showtime, promoters, or whoever exactly deserves the credit.
And now for something that makes a lot less sense: Ricardo Mayorga's move to MMA is apparently for real. Mayorga is set to face Din Thomas, a former UFC fighter and a competitor on Season 4 of The Ultimate Fighter, on May 15 in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
I don't know a ton about Mr. Thomas, but I do know that he has wins over Jens Pulver, Matt Serra and Clay Guida in his MMA career. That alone is strong evidence that he doesn't suck.
My gut tells me that Mayorga will get annihilated. However, one of the worries I always have about boxers moving to MMA is that their footwork and spacing will be incorrect because of the threat of kicks, knees and takedown attempts. Mayorga's boxing technique was never that great to begin with, so perhaps it won't be too difficult for him to throw it out the window completely.
We know he's tough, so maybe El Matador can take a few shots to land one. Maybe there will be some weird hybrid rules to give him more of a chance or Thomas will be, ahem, persuaded to keep the fight standing. Who knows?
I just know I'll be rooting against Mayorga, because I'd prefer to just keep the two sports separate, thanks very much.
Posted by The Franchise
The first is that a site has been set for the recently rescheduled Arthur Abraham-Andre Dirrell Super Six fight, and it's one that makes a lot of sense. According to the Grand Rapids Press, that bout will take place in Detroit on March 27, either at Cobo Arena or Joe Louis Arena.
Dirrell is from Flint, a tad over 60 miles from Detroit (and a place the BoxingWatchers know fairly well, as our mom grew up there), so it goes without saying that he should draw plenty of local fans. If the fight was going to take place in the U.S. - and at this point in his career, even King Arthur prefers it that way - you may as well hold it where the American boxer will sell some tickets. So well done, Showtime, promoters, or whoever exactly deserves the credit.
And now for something that makes a lot less sense: Ricardo Mayorga's move to MMA is apparently for real. Mayorga is set to face Din Thomas, a former UFC fighter and a competitor on Season 4 of The Ultimate Fighter, on May 15 in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
I don't know a ton about Mr. Thomas, but I do know that he has wins over Jens Pulver, Matt Serra and Clay Guida in his MMA career. That alone is strong evidence that he doesn't suck.
My gut tells me that Mayorga will get annihilated. However, one of the worries I always have about boxers moving to MMA is that their footwork and spacing will be incorrect because of the threat of kicks, knees and takedown attempts. Mayorga's boxing technique was never that great to begin with, so perhaps it won't be too difficult for him to throw it out the window completely.
We know he's tough, so maybe El Matador can take a few shots to land one. Maybe there will be some weird hybrid rules to give him more of a chance or Thomas will be, ahem, persuaded to keep the fight standing. Who knows?
I just know I'll be rooting against Mayorga, because I'd prefer to just keep the two sports separate, thanks very much.
Posted by The Franchise
10.2.10
Franchise Thoughts on... Kelly Pavlik vs. Sergio Martinez in A.C. on April 17
It's been so long since Kelly Pavlik has had a tough defense of his middleweight titles that I had to look up when the last one took place. Then I remembered: he's never had one.
He won the titles from Jermain Taylor in September 2007. Pavlik won the rematch a few months later, but that wasn't a defense because it was contested a few pounds above the middleweight limit.
Kelly's loss to Bernard Hopkins was well above 160. He's actually only defended the belts against Gary Lockett, Marco Antonio Rubio and Miguel Espino. Of that group, only Rubio counts as a credible challenger, and that's being somewhat generous.
But The Ghost may finally have to put in a tough night's work in a few months. That's because a bout with Sergio Martinez is all but signed, set for Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall on April 17.
If it's possible to win even when losing, Martinez has done it. The Argentina-born, Spain-dwelling lefty gave Paul Williams all he could handle before losing a decision last December that numerous fans thought he won (though I did not).
Martinez and Pavlik should make for a great contrast in styles: speed versus power, elusiveness versus straightforward aggression and orthodox versus southpaw. Kelly always draws well in A.C., and Sergio made some new fans there with his last performance, so the atmosphere should be electric.
One really interesting part of Dan Rafael's report is that Lou DiBella asked for some assurances from HBO that Martinez would still get to fight (in Montreal, where Lucian Bute and Edison Miranda will do battle as part of HBO's split-site doubleheader) if Pavlik pulled out for health reasons. It's not often you think of boxers as being injury prone the way you do some stick-and-ball athletes, but Kelly fits the bill if anyone does.
Now here's the crappy part for boxing fans: April 17 already has a pretty big card on Showtime with Carl Froch-Mikkel Kessler and Andre Ward-Allan Green in the next phase of the Super Six World Boxing Classic.
I get that HBO and Showtime are in competition. Really, I do. But boxing isn't popular enough at the moment to be able to handle constant counter-programming by the two networks.
The same thing is happening on March 6. I really wish they'd knock it off.
Let's do some...
SHOE SHINING
Gerson Guerrero is out and Manuel Vargas is in as an opponent for Nonito Donaire this Saturday. My man Tim Starks of The Queensberry Rules says it's "not even a huge drop off," but he meant it more in an anti-Guerrero way than a pro-Vargas way. I like Donaire, but I'm not going to be really pumped about anyone he fights not named Vic Darchinyan...
Former MMA champ Andrei Arlovski hasn't given up on his plans to embark on a boxing career. He's going to take on Fres Oquendo in a four-round exhibition on Feb. 27, then take two more MMA bouts before hopefully making his pro debut later in 2010. I'm not sure I've got high hopes for him as a boxer after seeing what Brett Rogers did to him...
Would anyone be up for Timothy Bradley-Edwin Valero on June 5 (on Showtime)? Or more precisely, would anyone NOT be up for Bradley-Valero? It's just talk at this point, but we can always cross our fingers and hope. Also, HBO doesn't have anything scheduled for that weekend, so there's that.
Posted by The Franchise
He won the titles from Jermain Taylor in September 2007. Pavlik won the rematch a few months later, but that wasn't a defense because it was contested a few pounds above the middleweight limit.
Kelly's loss to Bernard Hopkins was well above 160. He's actually only defended the belts against Gary Lockett, Marco Antonio Rubio and Miguel Espino. Of that group, only Rubio counts as a credible challenger, and that's being somewhat generous.
But The Ghost may finally have to put in a tough night's work in a few months. That's because a bout with Sergio Martinez is all but signed, set for Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall on April 17.
If it's possible to win even when losing, Martinez has done it. The Argentina-born, Spain-dwelling lefty gave Paul Williams all he could handle before losing a decision last December that numerous fans thought he won (though I did not).
Martinez and Pavlik should make for a great contrast in styles: speed versus power, elusiveness versus straightforward aggression and orthodox versus southpaw. Kelly always draws well in A.C., and Sergio made some new fans there with his last performance, so the atmosphere should be electric.
One really interesting part of Dan Rafael's report is that Lou DiBella asked for some assurances from HBO that Martinez would still get to fight (in Montreal, where Lucian Bute and Edison Miranda will do battle as part of HBO's split-site doubleheader) if Pavlik pulled out for health reasons. It's not often you think of boxers as being injury prone the way you do some stick-and-ball athletes, but Kelly fits the bill if anyone does.
Now here's the crappy part for boxing fans: April 17 already has a pretty big card on Showtime with Carl Froch-Mikkel Kessler and Andre Ward-Allan Green in the next phase of the Super Six World Boxing Classic.
I get that HBO and Showtime are in competition. Really, I do. But boxing isn't popular enough at the moment to be able to handle constant counter-programming by the two networks.
The same thing is happening on March 6. I really wish they'd knock it off.
Let's do some...
SHOE SHINING
Gerson Guerrero is out and Manuel Vargas is in as an opponent for Nonito Donaire this Saturday. My man Tim Starks of The Queensberry Rules says it's "not even a huge drop off," but he meant it more in an anti-Guerrero way than a pro-Vargas way. I like Donaire, but I'm not going to be really pumped about anyone he fights not named Vic Darchinyan...
Former MMA champ Andrei Arlovski hasn't given up on his plans to embark on a boxing career. He's going to take on Fres Oquendo in a four-round exhibition on Feb. 27, then take two more MMA bouts before hopefully making his pro debut later in 2010. I'm not sure I've got high hopes for him as a boxer after seeing what Brett Rogers did to him...
Would anyone be up for Timothy Bradley-Edwin Valero on June 5 (on Showtime)? Or more precisely, would anyone NOT be up for Bradley-Valero? It's just talk at this point, but we can always cross our fingers and hope. Also, HBO doesn't have anything scheduled for that weekend, so there's that.
Posted by The Franchise
3.1.10
Lights Out Upstairs? James Toney Still Trying to Get Dana White to Let Him Fight in the UFC
Unfortunately, it didn't even take 48 hours for me to find a boxing-related news item that was sillier than Holyfield-Botha. Call it a "Oh God, no!" report, or as Chad Ochocinco would say, perhaps a "Child, please!" piece.
According to Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports, former heavyweight titleholder James Toney was in attendance at Saturday's UFC 108, once again attempting to badger Dana White into letting him have a UFC fight. I shouldn't have to spell out all the reasons this is a horrible idea, gut here are a few anyway:
* Last I checked, grappling and kicking are allowed in UFC fights. Toney knows more about boxing than any MMA fighter, but unless White makes it a special attraction bout with different rules (highly unlikely), he'll be at an extreme disadvantage.
Sure, he could land a lucky shot, but the chances would be slim.
* Toney is 41, and at the risk of making an early run at understatement of the year, he's not known for being a fitness nut. Guys who still fight at 40 in the UFC include Randy Couture, who's undoubtedly in better shape than a vast majority of men 20 years his junior.
Maybe White can arrange for Couture to fight Toney, have him run around the ring for four minutes until Toney gasses, then submit him.
* I'm not sure Toney cares about this, but White enjoys taking any opportunity he gets to stick it to boxing. If you believe that MMA and boxing are competing for the same pool of fans (which I don't, at least for the most part), it actually makes good business sense to do so.
There's really no need to give him ammunition. And having Toney get embarrassed on a UFC pay-per-view would give him plenty of that.
I think i speak for all of the BoxingWatchers when I say that we're all fans of Toney. He's always fought with tons of heart and skill, often against much bigger foes, and he's certainly been one of the most quotable boxers in recent memory.
So please, James, don't do this. I'm pretty much begging you.
Posted by The Franchise
According to Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports, former heavyweight titleholder James Toney was in attendance at Saturday's UFC 108, once again attempting to badger Dana White into letting him have a UFC fight. I shouldn't have to spell out all the reasons this is a horrible idea, gut here are a few anyway:
* Last I checked, grappling and kicking are allowed in UFC fights. Toney knows more about boxing than any MMA fighter, but unless White makes it a special attraction bout with different rules (highly unlikely), he'll be at an extreme disadvantage.
Sure, he could land a lucky shot, but the chances would be slim.
* Toney is 41, and at the risk of making an early run at understatement of the year, he's not known for being a fitness nut. Guys who still fight at 40 in the UFC include Randy Couture, who's undoubtedly in better shape than a vast majority of men 20 years his junior.
Maybe White can arrange for Couture to fight Toney, have him run around the ring for four minutes until Toney gasses, then submit him.
* I'm not sure Toney cares about this, but White enjoys taking any opportunity he gets to stick it to boxing. If you believe that MMA and boxing are competing for the same pool of fans (which I don't, at least for the most part), it actually makes good business sense to do so.
There's really no need to give him ammunition. And having Toney get embarrassed on a UFC pay-per-view would give him plenty of that.
I think i speak for all of the BoxingWatchers when I say that we're all fans of Toney. He's always fought with tons of heart and skill, often against much bigger foes, and he's certainly been one of the most quotable boxers in recent memory.
So please, James, don't do this. I'm pretty much begging you.
Posted by The Franchise
5.10.09
Rubin Williams to be Thrown to the Wolves in MMA Debut
Boxers on the decline, here's a free warning for you: be wary of going to Japan to start your "new" career in mixed martial arts.
That's exactly what Mr. Hollywood, Rubin Williams is about to do when he fights for Dream (or as they like to spell it, DREAM), Japan's top MMA promotion, Tuesday night. It's likely that he's not going to enjoy the experience too much.
Why? Well, it seems Williams is making his multi-disciplinary fighting debut against Kazushi Sakuraba, a catch wrestling specialist who's considered by hardcore MMA fans as one of the greats of the sport and owns wins over four members of the famed Gracie family.
It hardly seems fair for someone just learning the finer points of the ground game to be matched up against someone like Sakuraba, and if the fight was in the U.S., it almost certainly wouldn't be happening. But in Japan, matchmaking is more WWE than UFC, with entertainment value weighing a great deal more than pairing two men of equal skill.
Sakuraba is 40 and is 0-2 in his last two fights, but there's little doubt that unless he's overcome by the desire to stand and trade with Williams, he'll be making Mr. Hollywood tap out. And let's be honest - it's not like Williams was a world beater as a boxer. He had a decent run until about 2006, but since then he's probably best known for being knocked out by Jeff Lacy, Allan Green and Andre Ward or getting eliminated from Season 3 of The Contender without even getting to fight.
So yeah, maybe going into MMA seems like an okay proposition to keep fighting for a paycheck once your boxing career hits the skids. Just make sure you do it on this side of the Atlantic or else you run the risk of becoming a cautionary tale.
(Note: In the extremely unlikely event that Williams knocks out Sakuraba, please disregard this entire post!)
Posted by The Franchise
That's exactly what Mr. Hollywood, Rubin Williams is about to do when he fights for Dream (or as they like to spell it, DREAM), Japan's top MMA promotion, Tuesday night. It's likely that he's not going to enjoy the experience too much.
Why? Well, it seems Williams is making his multi-disciplinary fighting debut against Kazushi Sakuraba, a catch wrestling specialist who's considered by hardcore MMA fans as one of the greats of the sport and owns wins over four members of the famed Gracie family.
It hardly seems fair for someone just learning the finer points of the ground game to be matched up against someone like Sakuraba, and if the fight was in the U.S., it almost certainly wouldn't be happening. But in Japan, matchmaking is more WWE than UFC, with entertainment value weighing a great deal more than pairing two men of equal skill.
Sakuraba is 40 and is 0-2 in his last two fights, but there's little doubt that unless he's overcome by the desire to stand and trade with Williams, he'll be making Mr. Hollywood tap out. And let's be honest - it's not like Williams was a world beater as a boxer. He had a decent run until about 2006, but since then he's probably best known for being knocked out by Jeff Lacy, Allan Green and Andre Ward or getting eliminated from Season 3 of The Contender without even getting to fight.
So yeah, maybe going into MMA seems like an okay proposition to keep fighting for a paycheck once your boxing career hits the skids. Just make sure you do it on this side of the Atlantic or else you run the risk of becoming a cautionary tale.
(Note: In the extremely unlikely event that Williams knocks out Sakuraba, please disregard this entire post!)
Posted by The Franchise
21.9.09
Ricardo Mayorga to Try His Hand at MMA
Ricardo Mayorga hasn't been seen in a boxing ring since getting knocked out by Shane Mosley a year ago. As it turns out, we may see him back in action before too long, but it could be in a cage instead.
The AP is reporting that Mayorga has announced he will compete in MMA, with his first bout likely to come early in 2010. He also added that he has not retired from boxing, but can't continue that career until he reaches a resolution in his contract stalemate with Don King.
With MMA's popularity continuing to rise, I expect to see more of this kind of announcement over the next few years. Mayorga's situation is a bit different due to the King issue, but I believe boxers who feel their careers have hit a wall will see a similar move as a viable way to keep fighting.
It's also utter foolishness. To think that someone at age 35 can learn all the nuances of the ground game in MMA in a short period of time is ridiculous, and it's even more so for Mayorga since he never even mastered the fine points of the sweet science.
Perhaps his brawling style will translate to decent stand-up, but that's about it. I did like his quote about one thing he finds attractive about MMA: "Boxing has many more rules."
That sounds like something I'd expect to hear from El Matador. Have fun getting choked out Ricardo.
Posted by The Franchise
The AP is reporting that Mayorga has announced he will compete in MMA, with his first bout likely to come early in 2010. He also added that he has not retired from boxing, but can't continue that career until he reaches a resolution in his contract stalemate with Don King.
With MMA's popularity continuing to rise, I expect to see more of this kind of announcement over the next few years. Mayorga's situation is a bit different due to the King issue, but I believe boxers who feel their careers have hit a wall will see a similar move as a viable way to keep fighting.
It's also utter foolishness. To think that someone at age 35 can learn all the nuances of the ground game in MMA in a short period of time is ridiculous, and it's even more so for Mayorga since he never even mastered the fine points of the sweet science.
Perhaps his brawling style will translate to decent stand-up, but that's about it. I did like his quote about one thing he finds attractive about MMA: "Boxing has many more rules."
That sounds like something I'd expect to hear from El Matador. Have fun getting choked out Ricardo.
Posted by The Franchise
11.9.09
Kelly Pavlik Not Yet Cleared to Train, Dec. 5 Date for Fight With Paul Williams in Jeopardy?
A week ago on this very blog, I made a little joke about not rearranging my work schedule to be able to attend the Kelly Pavlik-Paul Williams fight on December 5. At least I intended it as a joke, because I really would like to see that fight sooner rather than later.
Despite Bob Arum's happiness with the progress Pavlik and his troublesome staph infection are making, it appears we still shouldn't save the date just yet. The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that Pavlik hasn't been cleared to train.
As per Mike Pavlik, official big brother of Kelly, Team Pavlik is "still looking at Dec. 5" but nothing could be made concrete until The Ghost received medical clearance. Reading between the lines, it sounds like the fight could get pushed back. Again.
If that happens, Pavlik could be looking at nearly a year of inactivity since he retired Marco Antonio Rubio this past February. Call me crazy, but I'm not sure I'd want there to be any chance I'd have ring rust when I stepped in against The Punisher.
Let's do some Shoe Shining...
SHOE SHINING
The always hilarious Michael Marley (often unintentionally so) spun a whole column, kind of, out of Freddie Roach's reaction to Juan Manuel Marquez drinking his own urine on 24/7. Somehow I doubt Manny Pacquiao will be downing a glass of his own pee any time soon...
In the wake of Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto making appearances at Yankee Stadium to promote their upcoming bout, the AP ran a story about the attempt to return boxing to the venue. Okay, it wouldn't technically be a return at this version of Yankee Stadium, but you get the idea. Also of note: Arum's comments that a meeting between the Pacquiao-Cotto winner and the Floyd Mayweather-JMM winner would be "unlikely." Just posturing, or something else?...
Could the continued rise of MMA as the hip combat sport make it difficult for aspiring boxers to find places to train? A boxing club in Sarasota, Florida is getting pushed aside so that the gym can be used for MMA training. As I've said numerous times, I enjoy both sports, but it would be a real shame if this kind of thing would become a trend.
Posted by The Franchise
Despite Bob Arum's happiness with the progress Pavlik and his troublesome staph infection are making, it appears we still shouldn't save the date just yet. The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that Pavlik hasn't been cleared to train.
As per Mike Pavlik, official big brother of Kelly, Team Pavlik is "still looking at Dec. 5" but nothing could be made concrete until The Ghost received medical clearance. Reading between the lines, it sounds like the fight could get pushed back. Again.
If that happens, Pavlik could be looking at nearly a year of inactivity since he retired Marco Antonio Rubio this past February. Call me crazy, but I'm not sure I'd want there to be any chance I'd have ring rust when I stepped in against The Punisher.
Let's do some Shoe Shining...
SHOE SHINING
The always hilarious Michael Marley (often unintentionally so) spun a whole column, kind of, out of Freddie Roach's reaction to Juan Manuel Marquez drinking his own urine on 24/7. Somehow I doubt Manny Pacquiao will be downing a glass of his own pee any time soon...
In the wake of Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto making appearances at Yankee Stadium to promote their upcoming bout, the AP ran a story about the attempt to return boxing to the venue. Okay, it wouldn't technically be a return at this version of Yankee Stadium, but you get the idea. Also of note: Arum's comments that a meeting between the Pacquiao-Cotto winner and the Floyd Mayweather-JMM winner would be "unlikely." Just posturing, or something else?...
Could the continued rise of MMA as the hip combat sport make it difficult for aspiring boxers to find places to train? A boxing club in Sarasota, Florida is getting pushed aside so that the gym can be used for MMA training. As I've said numerous times, I enjoy both sports, but it would be a real shame if this kind of thing would become a trend.
Posted by The Franchise
10.8.09
20/20 Hindsight: Nothing New From Angulo, The Roy Jones Story That Won't Die and Other Quick Thoughts
There was no big fight this past Saturday, but there was a fight worth watching on ESPN2 on Friday night as Alfredo Angulo attempted to get his career back on the right track. In some ways, he did that by knocking out Gabriel Rosado. Certainly his confidence should be back, though perhaps it never left if his dog-themed entrance was any indication.
I'm not sure we really learned anything about Angulo though. With all due respect to Rosado, who isn't a stiff by any means, Perro was in against someone who didn't look able to hurt him and couldn't deal with his pressure.
The last time we saw Angulo, he was getting taught a lesson by Kermit Cintron, who used a good jab and superior footwork to bring Alfredo's limitations to the forefront. Rosado just wasn't good enough in the same areas for us to know if Angulo has improved.
I still think Angulo's chance to be a star is pretty good. He has fight-changing power in both hands and certainly gives fans the action they want. It's just impossible to say for sure if he's any closer to reaching his potential until he fights someone else as good as or better than Cintron.
Also in action on Friday Night Fights was Anthony Dirrell, younger brother of Andre Dirrell. Though he doesn't appear to have as much upside as The Matrix, he's fun to watch as he switches stances often and has fast hands. He's also easy to root for, having already gone through a bout with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma that put his boxing life on hold for a couple of years.
Changing gears a bit, regular readers should know that I get a lot of amusement out of the apparent infatuation that Roy Jones Jr. and UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva have with someday boxing each other. That story just won't completely go away, and it got a new boost of energy this weekend.
That's because Silva added another ridiculous (in a good way) KO to his MMA record by starching Forrest Griffin, who was in attendance in Philadelphia. Dave Meltzer of Yahoo! Sports says a Jones-Silva fight is more likely to happen than some would suspect, though not until the Spider fulfills the remaining three bouts on his UFC contract.
My opinion of this fight hasn't changed, as I'd still like to see it. Though many MMA fighters are starting to take the sweet science more seriously, I think a high percentage of them would be in for a rude awakening if forced to fight under the other sports' rules. Before anyone jumps on me, this would be true going the other way too - Andre Berto, are you listening?
But Silva is so gifted in the stand-up portion of MMA and Roy has never been a master technician, so this particular match-up is intriguing. It needs to happen before Jones gets too old though.
Other quick thoughts:
* I think Vitali Klitschko agreeing to fight Chris Arreola is another one for the "you can't blame the Klitschkos for the sorry state of the heavyweight division" side of the argument. Both he and Wladimir certainly seem willing to fight anyone.
* Am I crazy, or is there a good chance that Paul Williams will make Kelly Pavlik look silly if they fight? It's strange to me that The Punisher's camp is reportedly the one making negotiations difficult, because Williams should be jumping at the chance to take on someone as high profile as The Ghost.
* With apologies for talking about MMA on a boxing blog twice in one post, anyone who doesn't think a good chin is a valuable trait in the combat sports can just watch replays of Brian Bowles' knockout of Miguel Torres from the WEC event last Sunday. Bowles walked through some stiff shots to land his own, an even more impressive feat with the lighter MMA gloves.
Posted by The Franchise
I'm not sure we really learned anything about Angulo though. With all due respect to Rosado, who isn't a stiff by any means, Perro was in against someone who didn't look able to hurt him and couldn't deal with his pressure.
The last time we saw Angulo, he was getting taught a lesson by Kermit Cintron, who used a good jab and superior footwork to bring Alfredo's limitations to the forefront. Rosado just wasn't good enough in the same areas for us to know if Angulo has improved.
I still think Angulo's chance to be a star is pretty good. He has fight-changing power in both hands and certainly gives fans the action they want. It's just impossible to say for sure if he's any closer to reaching his potential until he fights someone else as good as or better than Cintron.
Also in action on Friday Night Fights was Anthony Dirrell, younger brother of Andre Dirrell. Though he doesn't appear to have as much upside as The Matrix, he's fun to watch as he switches stances often and has fast hands. He's also easy to root for, having already gone through a bout with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma that put his boxing life on hold for a couple of years.
Changing gears a bit, regular readers should know that I get a lot of amusement out of the apparent infatuation that Roy Jones Jr. and UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva have with someday boxing each other. That story just won't completely go away, and it got a new boost of energy this weekend.
That's because Silva added another ridiculous (in a good way) KO to his MMA record by starching Forrest Griffin, who was in attendance in Philadelphia. Dave Meltzer of Yahoo! Sports says a Jones-Silva fight is more likely to happen than some would suspect, though not until the Spider fulfills the remaining three bouts on his UFC contract.
My opinion of this fight hasn't changed, as I'd still like to see it. Though many MMA fighters are starting to take the sweet science more seriously, I think a high percentage of them would be in for a rude awakening if forced to fight under the other sports' rules. Before anyone jumps on me, this would be true going the other way too - Andre Berto, are you listening?
But Silva is so gifted in the stand-up portion of MMA and Roy has never been a master technician, so this particular match-up is intriguing. It needs to happen before Jones gets too old though.
Other quick thoughts:
* I think Vitali Klitschko agreeing to fight Chris Arreola is another one for the "you can't blame the Klitschkos for the sorry state of the heavyweight division" side of the argument. Both he and Wladimir certainly seem willing to fight anyone.
* Am I crazy, or is there a good chance that Paul Williams will make Kelly Pavlik look silly if they fight? It's strange to me that The Punisher's camp is reportedly the one making negotiations difficult, because Williams should be jumping at the chance to take on someone as high profile as The Ghost.
* With apologies for talking about MMA on a boxing blog twice in one post, anyone who doesn't think a good chin is a valuable trait in the combat sports can just watch replays of Brian Bowles' knockout of Miguel Torres from the WEC event last Sunday. Bowles walked through some stiff shots to land his own, an even more impressive feat with the lighter MMA gloves.
Posted by The Franchise
16.7.09
One Take on Floyd Mayweather vs. Juan Manuel Marquez Going Up Against UFC 103
As a fan of both boxing and MMA, the last thing I want to do is write about the two sports competing with each other. That subject is tired and it's been tired, and the people who keep bringing it up tend to be ill-informed about one sport or the other.
Nevertheless, another round of those stories is sure to be popping up at the end of the summer. And this time there will be a (sort of) legitimate excuse for them, as the UFC officially announced yesterday that UFC 103 will be held on September 19 in Dallas, the same night that Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Juan Manuel Marquez are set to do battle in Las Vegas.
For an interesting take on the situation, you can check out Sherdog.com's Jake Rossen and his latest blog entry for ESPN.com. Good looking out to Tim Starks of The Queensberry Rules for tweeting that one to my attention.
There are some funny quotes in there from Dana White badmouthing the Mayweather-Marquez fight as one with no interest, and suggesting that people even told Floyd to steer clear of that weekend because of UFC. That's humorous because Dana knows his boxing, so I'm sure he realizes that the weekend closest to Mexican Independence Day traditionally has a big fight starring a boxer of Mexican heritage (usually Oscar De La Hoya in recent years), so it makes perfect sense to hold the fight on the 19th to excite JMM's fans.
It's also making me smile to think about what Money's reaction would have been had one of his advisors really gone to him about avoiding the UFC. I'm quite sure that guy would have been cursed at, smacked with a stack of $100 bills, or something to that effect.
In any case, it's a bit of instant revisionist history to think that the folks behind the rescheduled Mayweather-Marquez fight were playing some kind of game of chicken with the UFC, simply because the boxing match was officially announced first. Yes, the UFC was rumored to be running that date, and yes those rumored dates generally turn out to be correct, but it is what it is.
So while some people are sure to seize on White's comments, they need to be taken in the proper spirit. Dana is, above all else, a masterful promoter, and he understands full well that fanning the "UFC versus boxing" flames will only help drum up interest in a UFC card that currently has no main event.
That's an important fact to keep in mind if Mayweather-Marquez ends up selling more pay-per-views than UFC 103, which both Rossen and I expect it to do. The pro-boxing, anti-MMA crowd shouldn't crow too loudly about one of the biggest names in boxing garnering more buys than a show that, unless something surprising happens, will have no title matches and none of the UFC's top stars. That's not even close to comparing apples to apples.
Anecdotal evidence continues to support the idea that the crossover audience between boxing and MMA isn't as large as some members of the sports media assume it is, meaning the upcoming storm of articles about this supposed clash is probably pointless. My guess is that it wont be Mayweather's biggest PPV or the UFC's best numbers of 2009, but everyone will make enough money to come out alright.
Posted by The Franchise
Nevertheless, another round of those stories is sure to be popping up at the end of the summer. And this time there will be a (sort of) legitimate excuse for them, as the UFC officially announced yesterday that UFC 103 will be held on September 19 in Dallas, the same night that Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Juan Manuel Marquez are set to do battle in Las Vegas.
For an interesting take on the situation, you can check out Sherdog.com's Jake Rossen and his latest blog entry for ESPN.com. Good looking out to Tim Starks of The Queensberry Rules for tweeting that one to my attention.
There are some funny quotes in there from Dana White badmouthing the Mayweather-Marquez fight as one with no interest, and suggesting that people even told Floyd to steer clear of that weekend because of UFC. That's humorous because Dana knows his boxing, so I'm sure he realizes that the weekend closest to Mexican Independence Day traditionally has a big fight starring a boxer of Mexican heritage (usually Oscar De La Hoya in recent years), so it makes perfect sense to hold the fight on the 19th to excite JMM's fans.
It's also making me smile to think about what Money's reaction would have been had one of his advisors really gone to him about avoiding the UFC. I'm quite sure that guy would have been cursed at, smacked with a stack of $100 bills, or something to that effect.
In any case, it's a bit of instant revisionist history to think that the folks behind the rescheduled Mayweather-Marquez fight were playing some kind of game of chicken with the UFC, simply because the boxing match was officially announced first. Yes, the UFC was rumored to be running that date, and yes those rumored dates generally turn out to be correct, but it is what it is.
So while some people are sure to seize on White's comments, they need to be taken in the proper spirit. Dana is, above all else, a masterful promoter, and he understands full well that fanning the "UFC versus boxing" flames will only help drum up interest in a UFC card that currently has no main event.
That's an important fact to keep in mind if Mayweather-Marquez ends up selling more pay-per-views than UFC 103, which both Rossen and I expect it to do. The pro-boxing, anti-MMA crowd shouldn't crow too loudly about one of the biggest names in boxing garnering more buys than a show that, unless something surprising happens, will have no title matches and none of the UFC's top stars. That's not even close to comparing apples to apples.
Anecdotal evidence continues to support the idea that the crossover audience between boxing and MMA isn't as large as some members of the sports media assume it is, meaning the upcoming storm of articles about this supposed clash is probably pointless. My guess is that it wont be Mayweather's biggest PPV or the UFC's best numbers of 2009, but everyone will make enough money to come out alright.
Posted by The Franchise
11.5.09
20-20 Hindsight: Will the Real Chad Dawson Please Stand Up? And Please Roy, Knock It Off
Saturday's rematch between Chad Dawson and Antonio Tarver was better than the first one, even if that's not saying too much. It was also a perfect example of why I call these Monday posts 20-20 Hindsight, because people seem to be jumping off the Chad Dawson bandwagon in a hurry.
You may recall that after the first Dawson-Tarver bout, just about everyone was breathless in their praise for Bad Chad. Floyd Mayweather Jr. gushed that he was the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world, and HBO decided they had to have him on their network.
Now? Well, let's just say the enthusiasm has been dampened a bit.
Failing to excite tends to do that. Dawson obviously has some physical gifts and definitely looks the part. That only makes what we just saw so puzzling.
He clearly had much faster hands and seemed to have more pop on his punches, especially with jabs, than Tarver. He mixed up his body and head work well and showed his usual defensive savvy most of the time.
But even though he looks like he could fight all night, Dawson took some rounds off when he seemed tired. He also didn't show much sense for when to go for the kill on occasions when he stunned Tarver, and on the rare times he came out of his defensive shell, he got tagged by some pretty good shots by an older, slower foe.
The HBO crew (and Emanuel Steward in particular) did a nice job framing Dawson's performance in the context of a more determined effort by Tarver. And admittedly, no one except the Magic Man and his crew had any doubts that Chad won the fight.
Still, the questions are valid. Is Dawson really the next big thing, as observers were claiming after the first fight? Or is he, as one of the announcers (I believe Max Kellerman) put it this time, "a B-plus fighter in a C division?"
My brother Uatu text messaged me after the fight with these negatives: fights scared, lacks some power, lacks chin and stamina. It's hard to argue with those, though Dawson is only 26 and has time to improve.
The lack of KO power and a killer instinct are what worry me the most. Add in that Dawson is soft-spoken, isn't a self-promoter and doesn't have an especially compelling personal story and there's a lot of work left to be done to turn him into a big star.
ELSEWHERE...
I almost feel bad for talking about Roy Jones Jr. and his desire to fight MMA champ Anderson Silva, because now Roy's quest to cross-pollinate the sports has become the story that wouldn't die.
First he tried to get Silva, then Nick Diaz in the boxing ring. Since that hasn't worked, he's now trying - apparently with a straight face - to take one of them on in a cage.
Dana White said no, probably with an f-bomb added for emphasis, and Strikeforce, perhaps remembering what happened to EliteXC when it went the circus route (ahem, Kimbo Slice), also seems uninterested.
Given how he's pressed the issue so far, though, we probably haven't heard the last of this. And people are still writing about Jones, debating the merits of seeing him in an MMA-style bout.
Roy is a grown man and it's not for me to tell him how to make money. If he wants to continue to try to lure someone into a boxing match, I can understand it. Depending on who it is, I may even pay to watch it.
Doing it the other way is just a bad idea, plain and simple. Either the rules will have to be changed to make it a kickboxing match - which strikes me as somewhat pointless - or Jones will be done as soon as he gets taken to the ground.
There's a good chance both boxing and MMA could come out looking foolish, and that's not something I'd care to see happen.
Posted by The Franchise
You may recall that after the first Dawson-Tarver bout, just about everyone was breathless in their praise for Bad Chad. Floyd Mayweather Jr. gushed that he was the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world, and HBO decided they had to have him on their network.
Now? Well, let's just say the enthusiasm has been dampened a bit.
Failing to excite tends to do that. Dawson obviously has some physical gifts and definitely looks the part. That only makes what we just saw so puzzling.
He clearly had much faster hands and seemed to have more pop on his punches, especially with jabs, than Tarver. He mixed up his body and head work well and showed his usual defensive savvy most of the time.
But even though he looks like he could fight all night, Dawson took some rounds off when he seemed tired. He also didn't show much sense for when to go for the kill on occasions when he stunned Tarver, and on the rare times he came out of his defensive shell, he got tagged by some pretty good shots by an older, slower foe.
The HBO crew (and Emanuel Steward in particular) did a nice job framing Dawson's performance in the context of a more determined effort by Tarver. And admittedly, no one except the Magic Man and his crew had any doubts that Chad won the fight.
Still, the questions are valid. Is Dawson really the next big thing, as observers were claiming after the first fight? Or is he, as one of the announcers (I believe Max Kellerman) put it this time, "a B-plus fighter in a C division?"
My brother Uatu text messaged me after the fight with these negatives: fights scared, lacks some power, lacks chin and stamina. It's hard to argue with those, though Dawson is only 26 and has time to improve.
The lack of KO power and a killer instinct are what worry me the most. Add in that Dawson is soft-spoken, isn't a self-promoter and doesn't have an especially compelling personal story and there's a lot of work left to be done to turn him into a big star.
ELSEWHERE...
I almost feel bad for talking about Roy Jones Jr. and his desire to fight MMA champ Anderson Silva, because now Roy's quest to cross-pollinate the sports has become the story that wouldn't die.
First he tried to get Silva, then Nick Diaz in the boxing ring. Since that hasn't worked, he's now trying - apparently with a straight face - to take one of them on in a cage.
Dana White said no, probably with an f-bomb added for emphasis, and Strikeforce, perhaps remembering what happened to EliteXC when it went the circus route (ahem, Kimbo Slice), also seems uninterested.
Given how he's pressed the issue so far, though, we probably haven't heard the last of this. And people are still writing about Jones, debating the merits of seeing him in an MMA-style bout.
Roy is a grown man and it's not for me to tell him how to make money. If he wants to continue to try to lure someone into a boxing match, I can understand it. Depending on who it is, I may even pay to watch it.
Doing it the other way is just a bad idea, plain and simple. Either the rules will have to be changed to make it a kickboxing match - which strikes me as somewhat pointless - or Jones will be done as soon as he gets taken to the ground.
There's a good chance both boxing and MMA could come out looking foolish, and that's not something I'd care to see happen.
Posted by The Franchise
22.4.09
Roach Says Arlovski May Make Move to Boxing Permanent
Regular readers of this blog know I have a lot of (platonic) love for Freddie Roach. Sometimes, though, I wonder if even he believes everything he says.
In this case I'm talking about his hyping up of MMA fighter Andrei Arlovski. Roach told Michael David Smith of AOL's FanHouse blog that Arlovski was finally ready to debut as a boxer on the undercard of the Chris John-Rocky Juarez rematch on June 27.
Haters can stand down, as this apparently isn't a case of someone looking to dabble in the sweet science (ahem, Anderson Silva). Smith writes that Arlovski is considering making a permanent career change and boxing from here on out.
Still, the real eyebrow-raising part of the piece is that Roach thinks The Pitbull could establish himself as a top heavyweight in a short amount of time, fast enough that he talks about him facing current titleholders like Nikolai Valuev and Wladimir Klitschko.
Obviously, Roach knows a lot more about how realistic that might be than I do. It just seems like after the numerous athletes who have weighed in about the vast differences between boxing and the stand-up aspect of MMA (spacing, timing, stances, etc.), it may be a bit more difficult than that.
So either Freddie is just doing his part to sell his guy or he really thinks the heavyweight landscape is as bleak as popular opinion says it is. We'll see in a few months - or perhaps not, as Arlovski doesn't officially have an opponent yet and isn't guaranteed to make it onto the televised part of the card.
Posted by The Franchise
In this case I'm talking about his hyping up of MMA fighter Andrei Arlovski. Roach told Michael David Smith of AOL's FanHouse blog that Arlovski was finally ready to debut as a boxer on the undercard of the Chris John-Rocky Juarez rematch on June 27.
Haters can stand down, as this apparently isn't a case of someone looking to dabble in the sweet science (ahem, Anderson Silva). Smith writes that Arlovski is considering making a permanent career change and boxing from here on out.
Still, the real eyebrow-raising part of the piece is that Roach thinks The Pitbull could establish himself as a top heavyweight in a short amount of time, fast enough that he talks about him facing current titleholders like Nikolai Valuev and Wladimir Klitschko.
Obviously, Roach knows a lot more about how realistic that might be than I do. It just seems like after the numerous athletes who have weighed in about the vast differences between boxing and the stand-up aspect of MMA (spacing, timing, stances, etc.), it may be a bit more difficult than that.
So either Freddie is just doing his part to sell his guy or he really thinks the heavyweight landscape is as bleak as popular opinion says it is. We'll see in a few months - or perhaps not, as Arlovski doesn't officially have an opponent yet and isn't guaranteed to make it onto the televised part of the card.
Posted by The Franchise
14.4.09
MMA Fighters Continue to Campaign to Fight Roy Jones Jr.
What is it with MMA fighters continuing to call out Roy Jones Jr.?
Last week, the L.A. Times reported that Anderson "Spider" Silva is still trying to angle for a boxing match with Jones as soon as he's clear of his UFC contract - whenever that is. We've heard that before, but it seems like there's ongoing interest on both sides.
A newer and much more hilarious rumor turned up yesterday via Sherdog.com's Jake Rossen on his ESPN MMA blog: Nick Diaz thinks he can beat Jones too. You know, like the Fresh Prince once thought he could beat Mike Tyson.
Rossen rightly dismisses that idea as potentially suicidal for the California native. Not only is he less accomplished at his own craft than Silva, but he'd be giving up quite a few more pounds as well.
Still, the fact that these types of challenges and discussions keep popping up says a lot about the financial realities for MMA fighters. While some of them are undoubtedly doing just fine thanks to the surge in the sport's popularity over the last few years, they still get a check cut by the UFC (or Strikeforce, or whoever).
Get a boxer with the big name in the ring and you get a piece of the pie for yourself. Not as big as Roy's piece, but a nice one nonetheless.
A better question would be why it's Jones in particular who is getting so much MMA love. He's not the only fading ex-champ out there, though with Oscar De La Hoya expected to retire later today, he may be the most famous one still active.
He's also shown an affinity for the other combat sport, recently attempting to see if they could co-exist on one show.
Whatever the reasons, there's nothing but upside for Jones to actually make one of these fights happen. It would make him some more money, especially if it's against someone as well known in his own world as Silva.
There's just one catch: he needs to do it before he gets so old that someone just moonlighting in boxing actually has a real chance of beating him.
Posted by The Franchise
Last week, the L.A. Times reported that Anderson "Spider" Silva is still trying to angle for a boxing match with Jones as soon as he's clear of his UFC contract - whenever that is. We've heard that before, but it seems like there's ongoing interest on both sides.
A newer and much more hilarious rumor turned up yesterday via Sherdog.com's Jake Rossen on his ESPN MMA blog: Nick Diaz thinks he can beat Jones too. You know, like the Fresh Prince once thought he could beat Mike Tyson.
Rossen rightly dismisses that idea as potentially suicidal for the California native. Not only is he less accomplished at his own craft than Silva, but he'd be giving up quite a few more pounds as well.
Still, the fact that these types of challenges and discussions keep popping up says a lot about the financial realities for MMA fighters. While some of them are undoubtedly doing just fine thanks to the surge in the sport's popularity over the last few years, they still get a check cut by the UFC (or Strikeforce, or whoever).
Get a boxer with the big name in the ring and you get a piece of the pie for yourself. Not as big as Roy's piece, but a nice one nonetheless.
A better question would be why it's Jones in particular who is getting so much MMA love. He's not the only fading ex-champ out there, though with Oscar De La Hoya expected to retire later today, he may be the most famous one still active.
He's also shown an affinity for the other combat sport, recently attempting to see if they could co-exist on one show.
Whatever the reasons, there's nothing but upside for Jones to actually make one of these fights happen. It would make him some more money, especially if it's against someone as well known in his own world as Silva.
There's just one catch: he needs to do it before he gets so old that someone just moonlighting in boxing actually has a real chance of beating him.
Posted by The Franchise
23.3.09
Franchise Thoughts: On Vitali, Roy and Why Hybrid Cards Aren't the End of the World
After watching Vitali Klitschko dispose of Juan Carlos Gomez fairly easily on Saturday, I finally fell firmly into the camp of people who kind of feel sorry for him.
It's not his fault, as many observers have pointed out, that he is a heavyweight champion during one of the division's dimmest eras. It's certainly not his fault that his size prevents him from getting the proper due for his skills or his heart.
Even more than brother and fellow champ Wladimir, Vitali seems to want to please the fans. If there's a problem with both Brothers Klitschko, it's that they care about those title belts a little too much, meaning they will fight any mandatory challenger one of the sanctioning bodies puts in front of them just to keep the straps.
I think the situation that might finally make Vitali a compelling figure is if David Haye (or anyone, really) would beat Wladimir. That would give Vitali a unique dual unification/revenge motivation as he tried to avenge his little bro.
Unless that happens, the Klitschko-dominated heavyweight picture is likely to remain dull for many fans. But it's not Vitali's fault, because he's trying. I think.
Another guy who is still trying is Roy Jones Jr., even if his sights are set a bit lower now. He showed Saturday he could still perform and entertain, and he may be content with that at this point.
I'm not even going to try to figure out who makes sense for him to fight going forward, but as long as he stays close to his Florida home, his fans will come out to support him. Call Jones just the latest example of an emerging boxing trend in 2009: keep all but the biggest fights local, and people will buy tickets.
And speaking of locals, kudos to Square Ring for putting another Floridian, Nate Campbell, on color commentary for the boxing matches on the Jones-Sheika card. He was insightful and funny, and he certainly has a future as a commentator should he want to pursue one when his in-ring days are done.
To top it all off, the hybrid boxing/MMA card came off pretty well in Pensacola despite many naysayers - including some famous ones. At least on the broadcast, it sounded like the fans were into the MMA bouts and the Jones-Sheika main event, lagging just a bit for the B.J. Flores boxing match.
Does that mean mixed cards are the wave of the future? Definitely not, at least at the highest level. But for regional shows with fights that make sense from both sports, there appear to be some synergies that are there to be exploited.
Last 10 Seconds: If you haven't read it yet, go check out William Dettloff's excellent story on The Ring Blog about the trials of former lightweight champion Paul Spadafora. Everyone loves a good redemption angle, and it's hard not to pull for Spadafora as he attempts his latest comeback after you read his tale of learning lessons the hard way.
It's not his fault, as many observers have pointed out, that he is a heavyweight champion during one of the division's dimmest eras. It's certainly not his fault that his size prevents him from getting the proper due for his skills or his heart.
Even more than brother and fellow champ Wladimir, Vitali seems to want to please the fans. If there's a problem with both Brothers Klitschko, it's that they care about those title belts a little too much, meaning they will fight any mandatory challenger one of the sanctioning bodies puts in front of them just to keep the straps.
I think the situation that might finally make Vitali a compelling figure is if David Haye (or anyone, really) would beat Wladimir. That would give Vitali a unique dual unification/revenge motivation as he tried to avenge his little bro.
Unless that happens, the Klitschko-dominated heavyweight picture is likely to remain dull for many fans. But it's not Vitali's fault, because he's trying. I think.
Another guy who is still trying is Roy Jones Jr., even if his sights are set a bit lower now. He showed Saturday he could still perform and entertain, and he may be content with that at this point.
I'm not even going to try to figure out who makes sense for him to fight going forward, but as long as he stays close to his Florida home, his fans will come out to support him. Call Jones just the latest example of an emerging boxing trend in 2009: keep all but the biggest fights local, and people will buy tickets.
And speaking of locals, kudos to Square Ring for putting another Floridian, Nate Campbell, on color commentary for the boxing matches on the Jones-Sheika card. He was insightful and funny, and he certainly has a future as a commentator should he want to pursue one when his in-ring days are done.
To top it all off, the hybrid boxing/MMA card came off pretty well in Pensacola despite many naysayers - including some famous ones. At least on the broadcast, it sounded like the fans were into the MMA bouts and the Jones-Sheika main event, lagging just a bit for the B.J. Flores boxing match.
Does that mean mixed cards are the wave of the future? Definitely not, at least at the highest level. But for regional shows with fights that make sense from both sports, there appear to be some synergies that are there to be exploited.
Last 10 Seconds: If you haven't read it yet, go check out William Dettloff's excellent story on The Ring Blog about the trials of former lightweight champion Paul Spadafora. Everyone loves a good redemption angle, and it's hard not to pull for Spadafora as he attempts his latest comeback after you read his tale of learning lessons the hard way.
21.3.09
Jones-Sheika "March Badness" Undercard Live Blog
We're live from the Pensacola Civic Center for the "March Badness" hybrid boxing/MMA card. Roy Jones Jr. takes in Omar Sheika in the boxing main event, with notable heavyweights Roy Nelson and Jeff Monson colliding in the MMA main event.
B.J. Flores is also in action on the boxing side, and former WWE star Bobby Lashley competes in just his second MMA bout. As an aside, it's great to have Nate Campbell on board as the color commentator for the boxing matches. Seth Petruzelli, a.k.a. the man who knocked out Kimbo Slice, is helping to call the MMA matches.
The first fight of the evening is an MMA bout between Dennis Hallman and Danny Ruiz. This is a three-round welterweight battle. Jimmy Lennon Jr. is doing his thing for the fighter intros.
Hallman shoots in early and after a little work in the corner, he takes Ruiz down. Hallman steadily works and takes Ruiz's back, and he's able to get a choke locked in that forces Ruiz to tap. The winner by submission via choke in Round 1... Dennis Hallman.
We stay with MMA for the second fight of the broadcast, this one featuring featherweights Din Thomas (22-8) and Gabe Lemley (13-8). The announce team is really going out of its way to help boxing fans understand the rules of MMA. As expected, this one is scheduled for three rounds.
An early tie up has both men trying to throw knees. Lemley bounces around and tries to throw punches and kicks while Thomas bides his time. Thomas sprawls to avoid some takedown attempts, and he lands some nice shots that put Lemley on his back. A left hand has Lemley dazed, and a knee catches Lemley right on the chin. The ref calls a stop to it, and Thomas wins by TKO at 4:13 of Round 1.
Thomas gives an entertaining post-fight interview where he downplays the difficulty of fighting in a ring instead of a cage. He gives a shout out to Nate Campbell and also volunteers to kick Chris Brown's ass if Rihanna decides she wants some help.
Next up is Bobby Lashley (1-0) taking on Jason Guida (17-19) in a heavyweight MMA bout. Lashley was supposed to face legend Ken Shamrock until he was suspended for steroid use, forcing Guida to take the fight on short notice.
The tale of the tape shows Lashley with a significant weight advantage, and he's got an edge in reach as well. Guida thinks his experience will help him pull off the upset, while Lashley feels his top-notch wrestling skills will serve him well. Petruzelli has a hilarious line where he says if Lashley can beat Vince McMahon, he can beat anybody.
Lashley shoots in right away and Guida grabs the ropes to keep himself from going down. Guida sprawls to avoid another takedown and they spend time locked up in the corner. Lashley lands a big right hand and they clinch again. Guida turns Lashley around and the ref finally breaks them up. Lashley flurries with several big punches, and they stay locked up for the final seconds of the first round.
A right hand catches Guida early in the second, and Lashley rushes in and puts his foe down with a big slam. Lashley spends some time in Guida's half guard and manages to land a few shots. Guida does a decent job defending from the bottom, but he can't do much with the physically bigger Lashley.
The final round starts with a clinch and both men trying to throw knees. Lashley opens up with big right hands in the corner. The ref puts them back in the corner, where Lashley scores a single leg takedown but falls into a guillotine by Guida. It looks fairly tight, but Lashley manages to escape. Lashley tries to work out of Guida's full guard. Giida tries for an armbar, but it looks like the fight will end in this position. The final bell rings, and we'll go to the scorecards.
The judges score it 30-27 three times, all to the winner by unanimous decision, Bobby Lashley.
Lashley says he had to dig deep to escape the guillotine, which was pretty tight. He credits Guida for getting to him a little bit by talking trash before the fight, and he says he'll go back to work to fix the holes in his game.
We're finally set for some boxing with B.J. Flores taking on Jose Luis Herrera. Nate Campbell calls Herrera an all-action fighter, and his record bears that out: all 16 of his wins and all five of his losses have come by KO.
This fight is scheduled for ten rounds with a minor title on the line. The tale of the tape shows both men almost dead even in weight and Flores holding just a tiny reach advantage.
Flores spends most of the first round stalking and looking to work off the jab. Herrera takes about two minutes to look comfortable and he starts landing some shots of his own. Flores lands a nice right hand right before the end of a close opening round.
Flores' boxing skills control most of the second round, but this time it's Herrera who scores with a right hand before the bell. There is some nice action in the third round with Flores mixing up head and body shots and Herrera getting a little busier.
Campbell thinks Herrera was hurt a bit at the end of the third. I think Flores has won every round, but Herrera is getting a few big shots in there, as he does again at the end of the fourth round.
Herrera has his best round so far in the fifth, keeping Flores a bit off guard with more body shots and more jabs. Flores seizes control once again in the sixth round using nice combination punching.
Both announcers are calling for the uppercut from Flores. I'm guessing he is well ahead on the cards, so with three rounds to go, he just needs to watch out for the home run shot coming back.
Herrera shows a burst of energy at the start of the ninth round. Flores digs to the body and goes upstairs with a left hook. B.J. is still showing excellent movement even this late in the fight.
We'll see if there are any fireworks in store in the final round. Herrera looks like he will fight until the final bell. Flores isn't exactly on his bike, but he is staying extra cautious and avoiding prolonged exchanges. Herrera gets B.J.'s attention with a big right hand with 30 seconds to go. We'll go to the scorecards.
The judges score it 98-92 and 99-91 twice, and Flores wins by unanimous decision.
Flores says he hurt his left hand early in the fight. He thinks he may have been able to get Herrera out of there if it wasn't for that, but he gives his opponent credit for being a tough guy.
The crowd was very much into the Roy Nelson-Jeff Monson MMA fight, which we joined in progress after some technical difficulties. Monson landed some very solid punches in the stand-up in a highlight package.
All three judges score it 29-28, and Jeff "The Snowman" Monson wins by unanimous decision.
B.J. Flores is also in action on the boxing side, and former WWE star Bobby Lashley competes in just his second MMA bout. As an aside, it's great to have Nate Campbell on board as the color commentator for the boxing matches. Seth Petruzelli, a.k.a. the man who knocked out Kimbo Slice, is helping to call the MMA matches.
The first fight of the evening is an MMA bout between Dennis Hallman and Danny Ruiz. This is a three-round welterweight battle. Jimmy Lennon Jr. is doing his thing for the fighter intros.
Hallman shoots in early and after a little work in the corner, he takes Ruiz down. Hallman steadily works and takes Ruiz's back, and he's able to get a choke locked in that forces Ruiz to tap. The winner by submission via choke in Round 1... Dennis Hallman.
We stay with MMA for the second fight of the broadcast, this one featuring featherweights Din Thomas (22-8) and Gabe Lemley (13-8). The announce team is really going out of its way to help boxing fans understand the rules of MMA. As expected, this one is scheduled for three rounds.
An early tie up has both men trying to throw knees. Lemley bounces around and tries to throw punches and kicks while Thomas bides his time. Thomas sprawls to avoid some takedown attempts, and he lands some nice shots that put Lemley on his back. A left hand has Lemley dazed, and a knee catches Lemley right on the chin. The ref calls a stop to it, and Thomas wins by TKO at 4:13 of Round 1.
Thomas gives an entertaining post-fight interview where he downplays the difficulty of fighting in a ring instead of a cage. He gives a shout out to Nate Campbell and also volunteers to kick Chris Brown's ass if Rihanna decides she wants some help.
Next up is Bobby Lashley (1-0) taking on Jason Guida (17-19) in a heavyweight MMA bout. Lashley was supposed to face legend Ken Shamrock until he was suspended for steroid use, forcing Guida to take the fight on short notice.
The tale of the tape shows Lashley with a significant weight advantage, and he's got an edge in reach as well. Guida thinks his experience will help him pull off the upset, while Lashley feels his top-notch wrestling skills will serve him well. Petruzelli has a hilarious line where he says if Lashley can beat Vince McMahon, he can beat anybody.
Lashley shoots in right away and Guida grabs the ropes to keep himself from going down. Guida sprawls to avoid another takedown and they spend time locked up in the corner. Lashley lands a big right hand and they clinch again. Guida turns Lashley around and the ref finally breaks them up. Lashley flurries with several big punches, and they stay locked up for the final seconds of the first round.
A right hand catches Guida early in the second, and Lashley rushes in and puts his foe down with a big slam. Lashley spends some time in Guida's half guard and manages to land a few shots. Guida does a decent job defending from the bottom, but he can't do much with the physically bigger Lashley.
The final round starts with a clinch and both men trying to throw knees. Lashley opens up with big right hands in the corner. The ref puts them back in the corner, where Lashley scores a single leg takedown but falls into a guillotine by Guida. It looks fairly tight, but Lashley manages to escape. Lashley tries to work out of Guida's full guard. Giida tries for an armbar, but it looks like the fight will end in this position. The final bell rings, and we'll go to the scorecards.
The judges score it 30-27 three times, all to the winner by unanimous decision, Bobby Lashley.
Lashley says he had to dig deep to escape the guillotine, which was pretty tight. He credits Guida for getting to him a little bit by talking trash before the fight, and he says he'll go back to work to fix the holes in his game.
We're finally set for some boxing with B.J. Flores taking on Jose Luis Herrera. Nate Campbell calls Herrera an all-action fighter, and his record bears that out: all 16 of his wins and all five of his losses have come by KO.
This fight is scheduled for ten rounds with a minor title on the line. The tale of the tape shows both men almost dead even in weight and Flores holding just a tiny reach advantage.
Flores spends most of the first round stalking and looking to work off the jab. Herrera takes about two minutes to look comfortable and he starts landing some shots of his own. Flores lands a nice right hand right before the end of a close opening round.
Flores' boxing skills control most of the second round, but this time it's Herrera who scores with a right hand before the bell. There is some nice action in the third round with Flores mixing up head and body shots and Herrera getting a little busier.
Campbell thinks Herrera was hurt a bit at the end of the third. I think Flores has won every round, but Herrera is getting a few big shots in there, as he does again at the end of the fourth round.
Herrera has his best round so far in the fifth, keeping Flores a bit off guard with more body shots and more jabs. Flores seizes control once again in the sixth round using nice combination punching.
Both announcers are calling for the uppercut from Flores. I'm guessing he is well ahead on the cards, so with three rounds to go, he just needs to watch out for the home run shot coming back.
Herrera shows a burst of energy at the start of the ninth round. Flores digs to the body and goes upstairs with a left hook. B.J. is still showing excellent movement even this late in the fight.
We'll see if there are any fireworks in store in the final round. Herrera looks like he will fight until the final bell. Flores isn't exactly on his bike, but he is staying extra cautious and avoiding prolonged exchanges. Herrera gets B.J.'s attention with a big right hand with 30 seconds to go. We'll go to the scorecards.
The judges score it 98-92 and 99-91 twice, and Flores wins by unanimous decision.
Flores says he hurt his left hand early in the fight. He thinks he may have been able to get Herrera out of there if it wasn't for that, but he gives his opponent credit for being a tough guy.
The crowd was very much into the Roy Nelson-Jeff Monson MMA fight, which we joined in progress after some technical difficulties. Monson landed some very solid punches in the stand-up in a highlight package.
All three judges score it 29-28, and Jeff "The Snowman" Monson wins by unanimous decision.
Posted by The Franchise
Edited by uatu
4.3.09
Slightly OT - Lashley, Shamrock Set to Meet on Jones-Sheika Undercard
This is not 100 percent boxing-related, but the BoxingWatchers do watch other things in our spare time, and one of us has been writing for this site for over a decade.
With that in mind, I saw that something my brother Uatu alerted me to a few days ago became official on Tuesday, with MMAjunkie.com reporting that former UFC and WWE star Ken Shamrock had agreed to face fellow former pro wrestler Bobby Lashley on the undercard of the Roy Jones-Omar Sheika boxing/MMA pay-per-view - officially sporting the humorous name "March Badness."
While Jones will no doubt sell a bunch of tickets fighting in Pensacola and some PPV buys off of his name recognition, I wondered a while back how he'd assemble the MMA portion of the card. Though Shamrock is viewed as spent (and ancient) by many fans, he's a big name in the sport, and the obvious "pro wrestler vs. pro wrestler" angle to his fight certainly won't hurt.
There are other recognizable names in the other fights, including Seth Petruzelli (a.k.a. the man who knocked out Kimbo Slice), former WEC light heavyweight champ Doug Marshall and heavyweights Jeff Monson and Roy "Big Country" Nelson. For an MMA card put together without the assistance of the UFC, Strikeforce or Affliction, you couldn't realistically ask for or expect much more.
Will that plus a well-known but past-his-prime boxer fighting on his home turf be enough to make "March Badness" a success? I think it just might be, but we'll know for sure in just a few weeks.
Posted by The Franchise
With that in mind, I saw that something my brother Uatu alerted me to a few days ago became official on Tuesday, with MMAjunkie.com reporting that former UFC and WWE star Ken Shamrock had agreed to face fellow former pro wrestler Bobby Lashley on the undercard of the Roy Jones-Omar Sheika boxing/MMA pay-per-view - officially sporting the humorous name "March Badness."
While Jones will no doubt sell a bunch of tickets fighting in Pensacola and some PPV buys off of his name recognition, I wondered a while back how he'd assemble the MMA portion of the card. Though Shamrock is viewed as spent (and ancient) by many fans, he's a big name in the sport, and the obvious "pro wrestler vs. pro wrestler" angle to his fight certainly won't hurt.
There are other recognizable names in the other fights, including Seth Petruzelli (a.k.a. the man who knocked out Kimbo Slice), former WEC light heavyweight champ Doug Marshall and heavyweights Jeff Monson and Roy "Big Country" Nelson. For an MMA card put together without the assistance of the UFC, Strikeforce or Affliction, you couldn't realistically ask for or expect much more.
Will that plus a well-known but past-his-prime boxer fighting on his home turf be enough to make "March Badness" a success? I think it just might be, but we'll know for sure in just a few weeks.
Posted by The Franchise
3.2.09
Franchise Thoughts: Big Time Boxing on ESPN Good for the Sport
When I first heard that WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko was going to pass on a fight with David Haye to face mandatory challenger Juan Carlos Gomez, I was a little disappointed. But my interest level has picked up over the last week or so, not because I'm getting more excited about the fight (I'm not) but because I'm intrigued by where it will be airing.
Reported by numerous media sources and confirmed by Dan Rafael in his blog entry today, the Klitschko-Gomez fight will air live on ESPN on March 21. As the scribe points out, that's the main channel too, and not one of its many offshoots.
I did a little digital sniffing around and was unable to come up with a date for the last time there was a heavyweight title fight on basic cable. For the better part of this decade, at least, championship boxing has been shown almost exclusively on HBO, Showtime or pay-per-view in the United States.
It's an interesting move for ESPN, as the its commitment to boxing has been waning just a bit in recent times. Wednesday Night Fights got the axe this year, and The Contender was allowed to find a new home on Versus. The recent redesign of ESPN.com has made boxing content more difficult to find than ever, and I've suspected for a while that the only thing keeping the network from ditching boxing for MMA is the fact that it has no programming stake in that sport.
On the other hand, Friday Night Fights has a pretty nice lineup set for the first quarter of 2009, and the ticker at the bottom of all ESPN channels regularly reports results of title fights as if they were newsworthy events. As long as you've got one foot in the game, why not devote some time to it and see what happens? It's a low risk proposition for ESPN with a bit of upside.
There's little doubt in my mind that it's a positive for boxing simply because ESPN is seen in so many more homes than HBO or Showtime. I'm sure anyone devoted enough to the sport to be reading this can come up with a list a mile long of fights they'd rather see on cable before Klitschko-Gomez, but the heavyweights still resonate the most with the general public, so it's hardly surprising that this is what we're getting.
And sure, there's a risk that people will find the fight by accident, decide that it's a stinker and resume ignoring boxing for the next few years. That wouldn't leave the sport's profile any lower than it is right now, though, so there's nothing to lose and only potential fans to gain.
The Final Bell
Can we please put a moratorium on all "MMA may kill off boxing" stories for good? Pretty please? Because we've been down that road ad nauseum, and I'm pretty sure most right-minded people have decided the success of one sport really has very little to do with the success or failure of the other.
Here's a brand spanking new review I found on Salon.com of the new book "Blood in the Cage" by Sports Illustrated's L. Jon Werheim. Most of the book is about the history of MMA, but a chunk of it is also devoted to - that's right - the rise of MMA at the expense of boxing.
Congratulations L. Jon, you're officially late to the party, and wrong on top of that. Thankfully reviewer Robert Anasi does a nice job in just a few paragraphs of explaining why boxing's trials and tribulations are uniquely its own.
Reported by numerous media sources and confirmed by Dan Rafael in his blog entry today, the Klitschko-Gomez fight will air live on ESPN on March 21. As the scribe points out, that's the main channel too, and not one of its many offshoots.
I did a little digital sniffing around and was unable to come up with a date for the last time there was a heavyweight title fight on basic cable. For the better part of this decade, at least, championship boxing has been shown almost exclusively on HBO, Showtime or pay-per-view in the United States.
It's an interesting move for ESPN, as the its commitment to boxing has been waning just a bit in recent times. Wednesday Night Fights got the axe this year, and The Contender was allowed to find a new home on Versus. The recent redesign of ESPN.com has made boxing content more difficult to find than ever, and I've suspected for a while that the only thing keeping the network from ditching boxing for MMA is the fact that it has no programming stake in that sport.
On the other hand, Friday Night Fights has a pretty nice lineup set for the first quarter of 2009, and the ticker at the bottom of all ESPN channels regularly reports results of title fights as if they were newsworthy events. As long as you've got one foot in the game, why not devote some time to it and see what happens? It's a low risk proposition for ESPN with a bit of upside.
There's little doubt in my mind that it's a positive for boxing simply because ESPN is seen in so many more homes than HBO or Showtime. I'm sure anyone devoted enough to the sport to be reading this can come up with a list a mile long of fights they'd rather see on cable before Klitschko-Gomez, but the heavyweights still resonate the most with the general public, so it's hardly surprising that this is what we're getting.
And sure, there's a risk that people will find the fight by accident, decide that it's a stinker and resume ignoring boxing for the next few years. That wouldn't leave the sport's profile any lower than it is right now, though, so there's nothing to lose and only potential fans to gain.
The Final Bell
Can we please put a moratorium on all "MMA may kill off boxing" stories for good? Pretty please? Because we've been down that road ad nauseum, and I'm pretty sure most right-minded people have decided the success of one sport really has very little to do with the success or failure of the other.
Here's a brand spanking new review I found on Salon.com of the new book "Blood in the Cage" by Sports Illustrated's L. Jon Werheim. Most of the book is about the history of MMA, but a chunk of it is also devoted to - that's right - the rise of MMA at the expense of boxing.
Congratulations L. Jon, you're officially late to the party, and wrong on top of that. Thankfully reviewer Robert Anasi does a nice job in just a few paragraphs of explaining why boxing's trials and tribulations are uniquely its own.
27.1.09
20-20 Hindsight - Margarito-Mosley Aftermath Edition: What Makes an Upset, Hand Speed and Handwraps, Props and Disses
Now that a couple of days have passed since Shane Mosley's impressive knockout of Antonio Margarito, it's been interesting to watch the reaction of media and fans. Since Mosley was a 3-t0-1 underdog, was seven years older and was up against Margarito's aura of invincibility, many latched onto Sugar Shane's victory as a big upset.
Indeed, all three of us here at BoxingWatchers.com picked Margarito to win. After the fact though, it's hard to see history looking back at this as an upset at all.
Mosley is a multi-divisional champion who has been fighting top level competition for over a decade. Margarito's list of wins is impressive but much shorter, and he entered Saturday's fight only three fights removed from his last loss.
Nazim Richardson, who rightfully was given much of the credit for cooking up the winning plan of attack, practically begged reporters to keep billing Margarito as a monster to ensure his fighter got the credit he deserved. Shane will get his due, for sure, but my guess is the result of this fight will seem a lot less stunning as time goes by.
Speaking of Richardson, while his game plan may have won the day, even he was quick to say it would not have worked without an athlete of Sugar Shane's caliber. Mosley looked lightning fast in every exchange, and it became clear very early on that he had a big edge in hand speed while Margarito had... well, as The Ring's Dougie Fischer said, he had his chin, but that wasn't nearly enough.
If there's a common thread between the most recent outings of the Golden Boy Trinity (Oscar De La Hoya, Bernard Hopkins and Mosley), it's that the man with a significant hand speed advantage won each won. Conclusive evidence that hand speed trumps all? Of course not, but at least in the case of Pavlik-Hopkins and Margarito-Mosley, we can definitely say that hand speed trumped pressure.
Finally, every media outlet covering Saturday's fight picked up on the story that Richardson asked for Margarito's hands to be rewrapped after spying what was described as a hard, plaster-like substance being inserted. What hasn't received as much play is how this revelation casts at least a bit of a pall over some of Tony's previous wins - especially, in this observer's mind, of his knockout of previously unbeaten Miguel Cotto.
Did Margarito receive some plaster-aided assistance against Cotto? We don't know, and probably never will.
But at the very least, if the expected Cotto-Margarito rematch takes shape, it's going to give Cotto a bit of a psychological boost thinking that he may have been up against literally harder punches the first time.
Props:
Disses:
Indeed, all three of us here at BoxingWatchers.com picked Margarito to win. After the fact though, it's hard to see history looking back at this as an upset at all.
Mosley is a multi-divisional champion who has been fighting top level competition for over a decade. Margarito's list of wins is impressive but much shorter, and he entered Saturday's fight only three fights removed from his last loss.
Nazim Richardson, who rightfully was given much of the credit for cooking up the winning plan of attack, practically begged reporters to keep billing Margarito as a monster to ensure his fighter got the credit he deserved. Shane will get his due, for sure, but my guess is the result of this fight will seem a lot less stunning as time goes by.
Speaking of Richardson, while his game plan may have won the day, even he was quick to say it would not have worked without an athlete of Sugar Shane's caliber. Mosley looked lightning fast in every exchange, and it became clear very early on that he had a big edge in hand speed while Margarito had... well, as The Ring's Dougie Fischer said, he had his chin, but that wasn't nearly enough.
If there's a common thread between the most recent outings of the Golden Boy Trinity (Oscar De La Hoya, Bernard Hopkins and Mosley), it's that the man with a significant hand speed advantage won each won. Conclusive evidence that hand speed trumps all? Of course not, but at least in the case of Pavlik-Hopkins and Margarito-Mosley, we can definitely say that hand speed trumped pressure.
Finally, every media outlet covering Saturday's fight picked up on the story that Richardson asked for Margarito's hands to be rewrapped after spying what was described as a hard, plaster-like substance being inserted. What hasn't received as much play is how this revelation casts at least a bit of a pall over some of Tony's previous wins - especially, in this observer's mind, of his knockout of previously unbeaten Miguel Cotto.
Did Margarito receive some plaster-aided assistance against Cotto? We don't know, and probably never will.
But at the very least, if the expected Cotto-Margarito rematch takes shape, it's going to give Cotto a bit of a psychological boost thinking that he may have been up against literally harder punches the first time.
Props:
- To the "old men" at Golden Boy. As mentioned above, the members of the Trinity all stepped in against younger men and went 2-1 over the last four months. Not too shabby.
- To HBO. As Kvin Iole points out, the network is off to a great start to 2009. And it is resisting putting as many fights on pay-per-view, which is a blessing to boxing fans in the current economy.
Disses:
- To Jim Lampley's nutritionist. I watched Saturday's fight with two of the Official Parents of the BoxingWatchers, and both of them said the same thing: Lampley looks like he's ballooned up since we last saw him on TV.
- To Larry Merchant. He must have had his reasons for claiming Affliction was paying De La Hoya $5 million to appear at the co-promoted MMA event in Anaheim instead of watching Mosley in L.A. But with multiple sources giving better reasons for the Golden Boy's absence and quoting flat-out denials from Richard Schaefer and Tom Atencio, it sure looks like Merchant let his distaste for MMA sway him into presenting rumor as fact.
20.1.09
Report: Roy Jones to Face Omar Sheika on Combined Boxing-MMA Card
Golden Boy Productions and Affliction have been kicking around the concept of top-level cards combining boxing and MMA for a while. So far they haven't acted on that idea - and are actually doing the exact opposite this Saturday by promoting separate boxing and MMA events on the same night - but now it looks like they'll have a chance to watch someone else take the risk of trying it first.
ESPN's Dan Rafael reports that Roy Jones Jr. will take on Omar Sheika as part of a mixed boxing-MMA card in Jones' hometown of Pensacola on March 21. The event will be on pay-per-view and is planned to include multiple boxing and MMA bouts.
Though the article states that the state of Florida has already given its blessing to hold a combined card, it's not immediately apparent who Jones and Square Ring are working with to fill out the MMA side. Several regional promotions that have held successful events call Florida home, including Xtreme Fighting Championships and the Mixed Fighting Alliance, and the popular American Top Team camp has fighters training all over the state.
On the boxing side, Jones seems to have found the perfect foil in Sheika: someone Roy should be able to beat if he's not completely shot but credible enough to avoid allegations that the fight is a farce. Sheika owns a victory over Glen Johnson and has been in against Joe Calzaghe and Jeff Lacy, though he's fought just once since 2005 while battling various injuries.
While there's little doubt Jones will draw at the gate in his hometown, the real question will be whether going pay-per-view in a down economy will bear fruit, especially since other bigger fights seem to be headed the other way in 2009. Jones and company will have to hope his name and curiosity about the hybrid card can translate into buys.
ESPN's Dan Rafael reports that Roy Jones Jr. will take on Omar Sheika as part of a mixed boxing-MMA card in Jones' hometown of Pensacola on March 21. The event will be on pay-per-view and is planned to include multiple boxing and MMA bouts.
Though the article states that the state of Florida has already given its blessing to hold a combined card, it's not immediately apparent who Jones and Square Ring are working with to fill out the MMA side. Several regional promotions that have held successful events call Florida home, including Xtreme Fighting Championships and the Mixed Fighting Alliance, and the popular American Top Team camp has fighters training all over the state.
On the boxing side, Jones seems to have found the perfect foil in Sheika: someone Roy should be able to beat if he's not completely shot but credible enough to avoid allegations that the fight is a farce. Sheika owns a victory over Glen Johnson and has been in against Joe Calzaghe and Jeff Lacy, though he's fought just once since 2005 while battling various injuries.
While there's little doubt Jones will draw at the gate in his hometown, the real question will be whether going pay-per-view in a down economy will bear fruit, especially since other bigger fights seem to be headed the other way in 2009. Jones and company will have to hope his name and curiosity about the hybrid card can translate into buys.
18.12.08
Report: Affliction, Golden Boy Haven't Given Up on Boxing-MMA Hybrid Cards
It was only about three months ago that Golden Boy Promotions and Affliction announced they would work together on both boxing and MMA cards. So far the partnership hasn't produced much outside of a pretty cool t-shirt for the Oscar De La Hoya-Manny Pacquiao fight, and it may reach a new level of negative synergy on January 24 when Shane Mosley and Antonio Margarito do battle in L.A. at the same time Affliction's second MMA card is going on in Anaheim.
The high concept that came out of the initial announcement was that the companies would work together to put on cards that combined boxing and MMA matches on one show. As a fan of both sports - and someone who is often bored to tears during boxing undercards - I welcomed the idea. Around most of the internets, though, reaction wasn't as kind.
Whether it was fan backlash or the slumping economy that was the impetus, the companies put the kibosh on the idea of hybrid cards a few weeks later, and that was that.
Or maybe not. Affliction vice president Tom Atencio told Dave Doyle of Yahoo! Sports that the idea of combined cards is not dead, stating that they will take place at some point in the future.
While that's all well and good, it's this bit of reasoning that's hard to follow:
"Right now boxing and MMA have two separate audiences, but I think as time goes on you are going to see more crossover."
Atencio may prove to be right, but there are stigmas that need to be overcome before that can happen. To many current MMA fans, boxing is slow and boring, while equal numbers of boxing aficionados find the stand-up portion of MMA to be sloppy and undisciplined.
Someone will have to be brave enough to be the first to challenge those preconceived notions. Best of luck to Atencio and the people at Golden Boy if it indeed turns out to be them.
The high concept that came out of the initial announcement was that the companies would work together to put on cards that combined boxing and MMA matches on one show. As a fan of both sports - and someone who is often bored to tears during boxing undercards - I welcomed the idea. Around most of the internets, though, reaction wasn't as kind.
Whether it was fan backlash or the slumping economy that was the impetus, the companies put the kibosh on the idea of hybrid cards a few weeks later, and that was that.
Or maybe not. Affliction vice president Tom Atencio told Dave Doyle of Yahoo! Sports that the idea of combined cards is not dead, stating that they will take place at some point in the future.
While that's all well and good, it's this bit of reasoning that's hard to follow:
"Right now boxing and MMA have two separate audiences, but I think as time goes on you are going to see more crossover."
Atencio may prove to be right, but there are stigmas that need to be overcome before that can happen. To many current MMA fans, boxing is slow and boring, while equal numbers of boxing aficionados find the stand-up portion of MMA to be sloppy and undisciplined.
Someone will have to be brave enough to be the first to challenge those preconceived notions. Best of luck to Atencio and the people at Golden Boy if it indeed turns out to be them.
11.12.08
Franchise Thoughts: We Love You Joe Calzaghe, But Please STFU!
I've really enjoyed watching Joe Calzaghe fight over the past few years. I actually think he's slightly underrated as a boxer, and his victories over Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. were impressive despite his opponents' ages. Unlike the HBO announcing crew, I even thought it was amusing when he gave Jones a taste of his own medicine by dancing during their fight.
That's why it was so distressing to see JoeCal bite the hand that fed him yesterday, telling reporters in London that boxing was dying. Considering that he's supposedly on his way out of the game, you have to question his motivation for taking a shot at the sport that's been so good to him.
One quote stood out as especially bitter:
He's not completely off base, as boxing definitely has its share of problems. But if he's upset about not becoming a bigger star during his career, he needs to look in the mirror first. Calzaghe chose not to fight in the United States for most of his career, so it's hardly surprising that even matched up against Hopkins and Jones, he wasn't a huge draw.
Meanwhile, Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao just did over a million buys despite the fact that:
It's also pretty sad to see Calzaghe drag the (extremely) tired "MMA is killing boxing" theory back into the light again. Yes, MMA is more popular among young American fans. Yes, there's a lot that boxing could learn (undercards anyone?) from the way Dana White and company do business.
But there's little evidence that MMA is having much of an impact on boxing. It's becoming clear that there isn't as much of a crossover audience between the two sports as people once assumed - ask Golden Boy and Affliction about the backlash when they considered combining them on one card - and no reason to think MMA fans would magically become boxing fans if MMA were to whither away. The troubles that boxing does have are of its own making.
So yes, this isn't the golden age of the sport. Boxing is likely to experience some pain over the next few years as the global economy tries to pick itself up off the canvas. Unless Pacquiao's stock continues to climb, no one looks ready to step into De La Hoya's role as the top dog among casual fans.
The negatives can't be ignored, but there are positives too. There is a great crop of young talent on its way up. There are plenty of boxing fans in Europe, Asia and Australia, even if things are soft in the U.S.
And in any case, Calzaghe isn't doing anything to help with his comments, nor is he really offering any solutions. He's earned the right to speak his mind, and that's fine.
Now please Joe, just shut up and retire gracefully.
That's why it was so distressing to see JoeCal bite the hand that fed him yesterday, telling reporters in London that boxing was dying. Considering that he's supposedly on his way out of the game, you have to question his motivation for taking a shot at the sport that's been so good to him.
One quote stood out as especially bitter:
“There is too much politics in boxing, too many belts and too many champions, which dilutes real champions like myself,” he said.
He's not completely off base, as boxing definitely has its share of problems. But if he's upset about not becoming a bigger star during his career, he needs to look in the mirror first. Calzaghe chose not to fight in the United States for most of his career, so it's hardly surprising that even matched up against Hopkins and Jones, he wasn't a huge draw.
Meanwhile, Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao just did over a million buys despite the fact that:
- Many mainstream media outlets derided the fight as a joke because of De La Hoya's size advantage.
- None of the belts Calzaghe whines about were on the line.
- The U.S. is a year into a pretty serious recession.
It's also pretty sad to see Calzaghe drag the (extremely) tired "MMA is killing boxing" theory back into the light again. Yes, MMA is more popular among young American fans. Yes, there's a lot that boxing could learn (undercards anyone?) from the way Dana White and company do business.
But there's little evidence that MMA is having much of an impact on boxing. It's becoming clear that there isn't as much of a crossover audience between the two sports as people once assumed - ask Golden Boy and Affliction about the backlash when they considered combining them on one card - and no reason to think MMA fans would magically become boxing fans if MMA were to whither away. The troubles that boxing does have are of its own making.
So yes, this isn't the golden age of the sport. Boxing is likely to experience some pain over the next few years as the global economy tries to pick itself up off the canvas. Unless Pacquiao's stock continues to climb, no one looks ready to step into De La Hoya's role as the top dog among casual fans.
The negatives can't be ignored, but there are positives too. There is a great crop of young talent on its way up. There are plenty of boxing fans in Europe, Asia and Australia, even if things are soft in the U.S.
And in any case, Calzaghe isn't doing anything to help with his comments, nor is he really offering any solutions. He's earned the right to speak his mind, and that's fine.
Now please Joe, just shut up and retire gracefully.
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