Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag: Malignaggi, Mayweather/Pacquiao, Thurman/Kahn, & Danny Garcia!

10/02/201410/01/2014 Vivek Wallace

Austin E. (Charlotte, NC): Paulie Malignaggi was recently quoted saying that he feels Thurman and Khan both have enough in their arsenal to defeat Mayweather and Pacquaio. I was curious to hear your thoughts on his words and whether or not you find them true?

Vivek W. (ESB): Malignaggi is one of those guys who has earned my respect both in and outside of the ring. Despite his limited power, I always viewed him as a fighter who had a very strong grip on the fundamental element of boxing. Listening to him in the role of commentator, I think his words solidify that position, as I think he’s a complete natural at breaking it all down. Few have done a better job than Paulie behind the mic, as it relates to articulating how certain fighters need to go about execution to gain victory in a given match. I think this is the first time I totally questioned his logic, but in all truthfulness, I can’t say that he’s wrong, either.

Is Mayweather more at risk against Khan and Thurman rather than Pacquiao?

09/29/2014 Rob Smith

While many boxing fans believe that Manny Pacquiao presents the biggest risk to the unbeaten record of Floyd Mayweather Jr, Paulie Malignaggi is under the belief that Pacquiao would be an easy fight for Mayweather at this stage in Pacquiao’s career. Malignaggi doesn’t say why he believes that but it could have something to do with how poor Pacquiao looked in his last fight against a quality fighter in Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012.

Pacquiao looked terrible in that fight before getting knocked out in the 6th round. Since then, Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum has eased him back in terms of competition by putting him in with Brandon Rios and Tim Bradley, and Pacquiao was able to resume winning again.

Thurman: Porter outworked Brook

08/17/201408/17/2014 Jeff Sorby

WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman says that Britain’s Kell Brook (33-0, 22 KOs) got outworked last night by IBF welterweight champion Shawn Porter (24-1-1, 15 KOs) through the entire 12 round bout at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.

Thurman feels that the judges focused more on Brook landing the cleaner landing shots rather than the high volume punching from Porter. The judges gave it to the guy with the better power, in other words.

Thurman says he knows how to beat Mayweather

04/29/201404/27/2014 Rob Smith

WBA interim welterweight champion Keith Thurman (23-0, 21 KO’s) may be inexperienced but he feels that he knows already how to beat WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr., who he hopes to fight in 2015 if he gets his way. Thurman feels that it’s pretty simple in how to beat Mayweather. He feels his power, counter punching, and boxing ability will be the key to him getting a victory over Mayweather next year.

Like in all of his fights, Thurman says he’ll use in an out movement to get the better of Floyd. Thurman didn’t say anything about what he’d do about his slow hand speed or the fact that he can’t fight going backwards.

Will Floyd Mayweather risk a fight with one of the young guns? Thurman and Porter breaking through at 147

04/27/2014 James Slater

Today’s welterweight division is almost ridiculously talented, with the 147-pound weight class being stacked with excellent fighters. Floyd Mayweather Junior is of course the king of the hill, and any fighter from 140 to 147 (and 154-pounds also) is gunning for that life changing payday. But 154 aside, Mayweather has more than enough potential challengers at welterweight.

Over the past few months, two welterweight young guns have really broken through and impressed: Shawn Porter and Keith Thurman. Both guys are talented, fast (Thurman especially) and powerful (Porter especially). Helping make an already exciting weight class that much more exciting – with top class operators Tim Bradley, Manny Pacquiao and (expected to move up from 140 any time now) Danny Garcia also fighting at 147 – Thurman and Porter have some people thinking they are capable of testing Floyd and testing him hard. But will Mayweather, who next faces the powerful yet slow-footed Marcos Maidana, an 11-1 underdog, risk a fight with one of the young guns who are hungry for the ultimate challenge?

Keith Thurman Scores Third-Round TKO Over Julio Diaz

04/27/201404/27/2014 Showtime Boxing

In the main event of the Golden Boy Promotions-promoted event at StubHub Center, Thurman (23-0, 21 KOs), of Clearwater, Fla., dropped Diaz in the second round. Diaz (40-10-1, 29 KOs), of Coachella, Calif., rebounded with a strong showing in the third but got hit with a body shot that ended the fight. Diaz, upon the suggestion of his corner between rounds, did not come out for the fourth.

Said Thurman, “I felt the body shot (to Diaz). I felt he was going to go down. I wondered if I hadn’t landed it clean enough. He’s a tough guy. He showed up to fight. You saw what he was doing in the ring. His rib… he had eight more rounds to go so he did what he had to do.

Thurman beats Diaz; Matthysse stops Molina; Figueroa defeats Belmontes

04/27/201404/26/2014 Jeff Sorby

Julio Diaz (40-10-1, 29 KO’s) suffered a rib injury in the 3rd round tonight against interim WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman (23-0, 21 KO’s) that caused the fight to be stopped at the end of the 3rd round a the StubHub Center in Carson, California. We didn’t learn anything from the fight other than the fact Thurman fights a lot better when he’s coming forward than he does when he’s being backed up and pressured.

It was clearly a huge mistake to make Thurman-Diaz the main event, because the fight was one-sided and not nearly as interesting to watch as the Lucas Matthysse vs. John Molina bout.

Is this Golden Boy/Showtime Tripleheader entertaining matchmaking or mismatches on premium cable?

04/25/201404/25/2014 Chris Carlson

This Saturday night from the fan friendly StubHub Center in Carson California, yet another Golden Boy Promotions Tripleheader will broadcasted by Showtime Sports.

The card has recognizable names in what some boxing fans, many media members, and all the betting websites, have labeled as showcase type action fights that will surely be a boom or bust on social media Saturday night.

As a team in 2013, Richard Schafer, Stephan Espinoza, and who else Al Haymon, saw increased ratings, huge PPV numbers, and quality fights that produced a banner year. Showtime has put all their chips in fueling the sport of boxing and creating real competition with HBO.