I Commit A Cardinal Sin
There are many unwritten rules in covering a fight. One of them is to never ask for quotes from a fighter after they have just stepped off the scale making weight. I know this, I really do, but yet I committed such sin this afternoon at the Diaz-Katsidis weigh-in.
The weigh-in had wrapped up and I was trolling around the arena, taking a respite from the heat (it like rose 20 degrees in five minutes). As I’m walking the halls with Ed Garza, we happen along Michael Katsidis and his team sitting at a desk. Having just witnessed him give an interview to a guy from EastsideBoxing.com, I walk over and ask him how he plans to counter Diaz’ pressure. I was met with a cold stare, and a stern “I don’t know”. The underlying implication of his answer was for me to leave him the f*ck alone. Ah, good times. Come to find out Katsidis was in the midst of eating and trying to rehydrate before I stumbles across him. Can’t falt the man for wanting to chow down.
Making Weight And How I Saw Barrios’ “Junk”
Seizing the opportunity of a lifetime, I along with ace photographer Ed Garza traveled the four hour drive south from Dallas to Houston to cover the Diaz-Katisidis fight. We pull into Houston around 11:00 AM ans check into our palatial room at the Days Inn off of I-10. The official public weigh-in was at 1:00 so we head downtown to the Toyota Center to get a good spot.
As is typical with all things boxing, the weigh in did not start on time but it was of little concern given the great weather (a rarity here in H-Town) and the networking we were doing with the gathered media. Latin music blasts from the speakers to signal the beginning on the event as the fighters all gather behind the stage. Read the rest of this entry »
Greetings From Houston!
So I am currently in Houston to cover the highly anticipated Juan Diaz - Michael Katsidis fight. I’ll keep try to keep everyone posted on the 411 as I see it. Stay tuned!
Also, can you believe the Toyota Center (home of the fight Saturday night) does not have WiFi? What year is this? Golden Boy Promotions is supposed to try to have it up and running ringiside and in the Media Center but that is still in the air. If they do I will be blogging from the fight.
Diaz-Katsidis: When Their Loss Is Our Gain
As far as losers’ bracket games go, Juan Diaz-Michael Katsidis this Saturday night on HBO is as good as it gets. Sure, the recent Phoenix Suns teams and their offensive juggernaut predecessors the Sacramento Kings circa 2002 never made it to the NBA Finals, but who wouldn’t want to see them play each other? And sure, Diaz and Katsidis are both coming off the first losses of their careers, but this is the fight everyone wanted to make happen late last year or early this one anyway, before some squabbles within the Diaz camp unraveled it. That it’s happening in the wake of mutual defeat doesn’t diminish it much at all.
The reason is because both lightweights (135 lbs.) absolutely bring it in just such a way that it’s a virtual mathematical certainty their combat will result in at least a Fight of the Year nomination. Hell, even Diaz’ losing effort to Nate Campbell and Katsidis’ knockout loss to Joel Casamayor already have contributed this year to a March that was so flabbergastingly awesome it left the most hardened scribes gushing about the historic stretch of fights it featured. That they’re still two of the elite in arguably boxing’s best division doesn’t hurt the sizzle, either.
There is one way in the math equation that the fight turns out to not be very good, and even that path offers at least a few rounds of unholy brawling. Said path is in the hands of Diaz.
Barrera Signs With King; Apparently Likes Being Robbed
ESPN’s boxing guru Dan Rafael is reporting that sources have informed him that Mexican superstar Marco Antonio Barrera has signed a five year promotional agreement with Don King’s promotional company. Barrera had become a free agent recently after splitting with Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions after the LA based promotional company had been guiding his career for a number of years. It was no secret that Barrera had not been happy with his current situation at GBP but his move to DKP comes as quite a surprise to many within the industry.
Personally the real shocker here is the 5-year agreement. At age 34, does Barrera honestly think he has five more years left in the sweet science? Barrera has his heart set on wining a title at lightweight (135 lbs), it would mean winning a title in his fourth weight class a feat which fellow Mexican icons Erik Morales and Julio Cesar Chavez could not accomplish, and King does have a promotional interest in lightweight king Nate Campbell and WBA titlist Yusuke Kobori which may have been just the bait needed to snag Barrera. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. One thing is for sure, the over/under on when Barrera will start harping about money owed to him by the Don is 6 months.
I Like Me Some Nwodo
In case you missed it, there was a pretty decent scrap Friday night when Rhode Island based cruiserweight prospect Matt Godfrey survived some early round scares to rally back and stop tough Nigerian Emmanuel Nwodo in the fourth round.
Many fans and media are high on Godfrey and while he does show decent technique and solid fundamentals, there is just something about him that does not scream world champion. I understand that he is still in the formative stage in his career but he just does not seem to have the intangible “it” factor. I could be way off base here in my assessment and Godfrey could go on to be one of the greatest crusierweights in history but I consider me a bonafide non-believer. I will say that his victory over Nwodo was a crucial test that Godfrey passed with flying colors the fact that he was even put in that position by the tough but limited Nwodo does not exactly speak well for him.
On the flip side, I am rapidly becoming a Nwodo fan. Yes, he is extremely limited, yes he is crude in technique, and sure his chin seems to be constructed out of paper mache, but I love the effort he puts forth in every fight. While most people will recognize Nwodo from the frightening knockout he suffered at the hands of Darnell Wilson. It was pretty scary stuff but Nwodo seems to have bounced back, well until he was bludgeoned by Godfrey Friday night on ESPN. Nwodo will probably never win a world title in his career but he gives an honest effort, packs a wicked right hand punch, and never stops coming forward. I appreciate that in a fighter and will make it a habit to tune into a Nwodo fight whenever televised.
Ivan Calderon vs. Hugo Cazares II: Preview, Prediction
Within the world of boxing the bigger you are the bigger your paychecks generally are. There is a reason why the heavyweight division is often referred to as boxing’s glamour division. For fighters toiling south or say the lightweight division (135 lbs) substantial paydays are few and far between. For a fighter campaigning on the lowest rung of boxing’s socioeconomic ladder that is the strawweight division (105 lbs) big fights and big paydays are as scarce as water in the Sahara. Read the rest of this entry »
The Biggest Fight Of The Year, De La Hoya-Pacquiao, Is Now Official (The Announcement, With Two Truths)
I’ve said just about everything I can say about the strange idea of the sport’s biggest star, Oscar De La Hoya (154 lbs.), fighting Manny Pacquiao (135 lbs.), the sport’s best practitioner. Like it or not, it’s now afoot. Golden Boy Promotions just sent out the announcement that it’s a go for Dec. 6 on HBO pay-per-view. It should be a huge fight all over the world. De La Hoya is saying it’s going to be his last fight, although Golden Boy’s matchmaker told BoxingScene.com he hopes to convince the Golden Boy himself to keep fighting through 2009. And Pacquiao will bring his legion of fans from the Philippines.
There are storylines aplenty to explore — De La Hoya vowing to do right by Mexico, whose best fighters have been regularly dismantled by Pacquiao; whether Pacquiao can break into the U.S. mainstream the way he deserves to; etc. — but for now, I think this fight boils down to two essential truths, based on the discussions we’ve had in the comments sections of several recent blog entries:
1. If the biggest fight is your priority — that is, the one that makes the most money, features the biggest stars and puts the most eyes on boxing — you just got your wish. I don’t begrudge anyone that point of view, because if I was Pacquiao and De La Hoya, I’d be wanting the money, and as a fan of boxing, I want to see it thrive and succeed with new and casual fans. But if the best fight for each man is your priority — by that I mean, the quality of the match-up and its significance in establishing resumes — then you didn’t get what you want, because for Pacquiao, that’s a third bout with Juan Manuel Marquez or failing that, whomever comes out of the September trio of top-flight lightweight fights looking like “The Man,” and for Oscar De La Hoya, it’s someone more his own size, maybe even someone more his own age. Which feeds into the second essential truth.
2. No matter the outcome, this fight will likely prove very little of substance. As Yahoo’s Kevin Iole said, if Pacquiao wins, it really just proves that De La Hoya is too old. If De La Hoya wins, it just proves that Pacquiao is too small.
Despite my skepticism, I’ll definitely be tuning in. It’s an intriguing fight, for sure, because you do have to wonder whether age or size will tell. There will be excitement and hype galore, and inevitably I’ll get sucked in to it and be heavily anticipating the fight by the time it happens. But I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. For now, read on for what Oscar and gang said in the official announcement.
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