Over the past month we have witnessed quite a bit in the world of boxing. From the September 17th Mayweather - Ortiz fiasco, to Sergio Martinez` struggle with relatively unknown Darren Barker, to last Saturday night`s disaster between Bernard Hopkins and Chad Dawson. Sometimes I get so disappointed in this sport, I refuse to report on some of the events that take place. Sometimes I have no choice, You cant help who or what you love, so here goes nothing.
First things first, Floyd Mayweather Jr. did nothing illegal. What transpired between him and Victor Ortiz was a matter of sportsmanship. Ortiz doesn’t have any and Floyd could`ve taken the high road but it seems as if he has no sportsmanship either. Victor Ortiz started all of the nonsense, there were no fouls or elbows thrown by Mayweather. It was all frustration on Ortiz` part that he wasn’t getting to Floyd, so he fouled him. Idiot. Nothing else to say about Ortiz. I only had two small problems with Floyd`s actions:
1. He is better class of boxer than Ortiz, He didn’t need to win like that. Maybe a foul for a foul, but the so called “sucker punch” was a cheap way to win and Floyd Jr. wonders why he gets so much criticism.
2. The whole post fight interview blow up at Larry Merchant was uncalled for. Floyd Jr. should realize that many casual boxing fans buy his fights and sometimes need the “obvious” questions asked by Larry Merchant or Max Kellerman. At least it wound up being good television.
All this along with the fact that Mayweather Jr. wants to dictate where Pacquiao can train should they ever get a contract done for a possible superfight. His demands are getting more and more ridiculous. Its almost obvious that he`s making demands that cant be met so he can point his finger at Pacquiao and say “He`s the one who doesn’t want the fight”. Maybe he`ll do everyone a favor and retire again.
Sergio Martinez stepped into the ring again on Oct 1st against another lesser known yet undefeated fighter in the U.K.`s Darren Barker. Barker surprised many critics with a tough effort but was eventually TKO`d in the 11th round. Barker`s defense puzzled Martinez for much of th fight but it was only a matter of time before Sergio`s slick style prevailed. My problem with Sergio was after the fight when he was told of Bernard Hopkins desire to fight him at 170 lbs. Through his interpreter Sergio claimed that 170 lbs would be too big for him. Isnt this the guy constantly calling out smaller fighter such as Pacquiao and Mayweather? Mayweather Jr`s heaviest weight was vs De La Hoya at 150 pounds and Pacquiao heaviest was only 145¾.
Why doesn’t he try getting a super middleweight to move down to a catchweight like Andre Dirrell or Mikkel Kessler. Or what about Chavez Jr, Alfredo Angulo or maybe even Canelo to come up in weight. Geez, I`d even take a rematch against Margarito so Martinez can avenge an earlier loss. Stop picking on the smaller guys since you don’t like it done to you either.
What can I say about Bernard Hopkins. I`ve rooted for Bernard for as long as I can remember, but I have lost respect for Bernard after Saturday nights debacle. First of all the fight sucked, there was no action in the 5 plus minutes in the bout with Dawson. It looked like it was going to be another Hopkins type fight, in a lot of ways it was. This would not be the first time Bernard tried to win an Academy award, his first bout with Robert Allen ended in a similar fashion, He also played up some rabbit punches from Roy Jones in their second fight and similar punches from Jean Pascal.
Nearing the end of round 2, Hopkins fired a straight right hand that grazed Dawson`s temple, as Dawson ducked under it. Hopkins` momentum carried him over Dawson`s shoulder, and as Dawson straightened up, he shoved Hopkins to the mat where Hopkins claimed to have injured his shoulder. Here was Bernard Hopkins a few days earlier claiming to be in the best shape of his life “with the body of a 25 yr old” taking a shove to the canvas and injuring himself where he couldn’t continue? It wasn’t that bad of a fall.
I`m not buying it for one reason alone. I separated my shoulder and tore my labrum and it “popped out” 6 times for various reasons. If Bernard`s shoulder was separated then he would`ve never stuck around for post fight interviews looking for sympathy. Bernard would`ve been begging someone to pop it back in place or do it himself `ala` Mel Gibson style in Lethal Weapon. I`ll say this, His last name may be Hopkins but there is no relation to Anthony Hopkins. There will be no role for Bernard should there be another Silence of the Lambs sequel. Hopkins never wanted the fight with Dawson but had to take it, or the boxing public would have killed him, Now they are killing him anyway.
With that said, referee Pat Russell completely blew the ruling on what should have been an easy `No Contest 2’. Golden Boy promotions is protesting the decision and are awaiting a change in result from the California state athletic commission. Should Bernard get his title back, he should retire. We don’t need any more antics like this in a sport that is already struggling to stay above water.
Coming up next week on Saturday October 22nd in New York City`s Madison Square Garden, WBC and WBO Bantamweight Champion “The Filipino Flash” Nonito Donaire takes on Omar Narvaez for his last fight in the weight class. Donaire stated of late that 118 lbs was getting harder and harder to make and will move up after this fight. Donaire is an exciting, rising star in the sport and Pound for pound ranked, and we hope for a great night of boxing at the “Garden” without any more shenanigans from refs, judges or fighters. The sport cant afford it any more, and I`m tired of writing about it.
Joey Santana can be reached via email: theboxingkidd@verizon.net
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