In today’s ‘Left-Hook Lounge’ segment, once again, we take a look at some of the most interesting questions presented by some of the sports most fanatical fans. For once, there was no questions relative to the upcoming Mayweather/Dela Hoya showdown. Perhaps that silence speaks greater volume, but rather than entertaining a topic that most consider to be non-entertaining, we take it to the streets once again to see what fight fans wanna know about Cotto, Haye, Mosley, and a few other highly notables……
Eddie Flores (Tampa, Fl): After the twin headliner card in April it seemed that the Cotto/Margarito fight was a lock but there’s been no announcement. Will we actually see this fight?
Vivek W. (ESB): Conventional wisdom tells me the fight will definitely happen, but there seems to be a lot more going on behind the scenes than most of us are being led to believe. This belief is further supported by the fact that camp insiders on both sides who I normally go to for not-so-easy-to-acquire ‘slants’ on upcoming fights have suddenly failed to return calls. Miguel Sr. recently said that the percentage of the gates and revenues designated for his son’s purse was a major point of contention, however, Bob Arum was quoted yesterday (Tuesday) as saying that he expects the fight to be signed by both parties by today. One thing Arum said that has major underlying influence is the fact that the site for the fight has not been agreed upon. He stated that there were issues with hosting the fight at the MGM Grand, citing recent ticket sale troubles. (???). When you consider the fact that the Cotto camp is concerned about gate and revenue percentages and now all of a sudden Las Vegas as a host appears to be an issue, there’s a side of me that wonders if the Cotto camp is posturing a little to use this as a sticking point to help persuade Arum to let the fight land in the NYC area where they could clearly take advantage of not only great ticket sales revenue, but also home field advantage. Strategically, that would be great for them, but due to the magnitude of this fight, I don’t see Margarito and his team agreeing to take the fight in NYC, particularly considering that he stands to receive the smaller purse between the two fighters. I don’t see him letting Cotto have his cake and eat it too. Contrary to the ignorant rumors spreading, I don’t see this move as a display of fear from the Cotto camp, but it does make you wonder why they were impeding the progress of this fight citing the money factor when they’ve been so vocal about Mayweather for doing the same thing. Either way it goes, I expect the fight to be made and according to Boxingscene.com, Arum was quoted as saying that the initial conference will “take place Monday in Mexico, followed by Tuesday afternoon in Las Vegas”. So to answer the question, after a few unexpected headaches, yes, it appears we’re all well on our way to seeing what’s gonna be a helluva fight.
Shawn Reyes (Bronx, NY): With the cancellation of Mosley/Judah, what fight would you most like to see Mosley in?
Vivek W. (ESB): What I’d like to see and what we’re gonna end up seeing I think is two entirely different things. Mosley is trying to land back in the center of things and he won’t take a fight that could turn out to be too jeopordizing to his chances, which is why a dangerous, yet clearly less talented fighter like Mayorga is in talks with his camp. Mayorga will provide great soundbytes and thrilling moments, but no one expects him to outscore Shane, and that points victory will be more than adequate at landing Mosley either another shot at Cotto, or something very close. Mosley stated that he wants face the best, but we’ll see how true this is if Margarito happens to upset Cotto because never in a million years do I see Mosley facing Margarito. EVER! Not a ‘fear factor’ involved, I just think the risk/reward factor is a bit too strong at this point in his career. So in the case of Shane, i guess you have to be careful what you wish for because a win over Mayorga may just land him in undesired territory. Although I don’t see it happening, I’d like to see Mosley face off against Joshua Clottey or even Paul Williams. Clottey would challenge him similarly to how we saw Cotto do, and Williams would test him against one of the few fighters out there who’s stamina and output could rival his. Aside from those few fights, I don’t know that there’s anyone else that I’d really like to see him face at this time other than Judah, which Jin Mosley has used her veto power to nix.
Brian Samadhi (Jacksonville, FL): David Haye has given up his WBC belt to go to the Heavyweight division. Do you think he has the potential to become the undisputed champ there one day?
Vivek W. (ESB): I think the only thing that stops David Haye is David Haye. Size, skill, ability, power, etc, there’s just so very few attributes that he doesn’t possess. One question I do think we have to raise is how well will he take a Heavyweight punch? Being hit for 12 rounds against a powerful Cruiser is totally different from dealing with Wladimir Klitschko or even the gigantic Nikolay Valuev. There are a few other Heavyweight fighters that remain under the radar, but none possess his overall skill. I just hope that the words of “Iron” Mike Tyson to him don’t go ignored. Being a Miami resident, the stories about Haye on South Beach have definitely given some locals a few things to talk about.. Mike Tyson probably isn’t the best figure in the world to take advice from, but his advice so far for Haye has been spot on and if the glitz, glamour and girls that roam in every cities night life get a hold of him, the ending for him could very well mirror Tyson’s one day. All things remaining equal, I’d eventually like to see Haye square off against a few of the other formidable Heavy’s, Samuel Peter being very high on that list.
Ivan M. (Grand Rapids, MI): Last week in your mailbag you had a question about the top 10 fighters you most liked to watch over the last couple decades. My question is which COUNTRY do you think has consistently provided the best fighters in the sport?
Vivek W. (ESB): I hate to play ‘Obama’ here, but such a question certainly deserves a political answer. (Smiles – No Pun Intended). The good thing is that my politically correct answer is perhaps the best one their is, as it relates to my taste anyhow. I don’t think anyone can narrow down a particular country as having the better boxers because as an avid fan of the sport, there are guys that I’ve watched and followed in every country from the Phillipines, to Mexico, to Puerto Rico, to Australia, to England to Africa, to the great U.S. of A., and many, many more. Serving as a blogger for the Miami Heat as well, I once had a sidebar conversation with Alonzo Mourning at a celebrity gala where he mentioned something that I think was totally relevant here. He stated that “the major fascination behind a rainbow is the fact that it embodies multiple colors displayed as one”. He then went on to add that “individually, some colors may shine more than others, but collectively the big picture is far greater” and that’s a principle I apply to life – not necessarily from a color/racial standpoint, but from an individual standpoint. Each of these countries have presented fighters who have been somewhat superior at many different things. I once had a Mexican fan say to me that his countrymen of the ring aren’t the fastest, but they are arguably the sports best ‘workhorses’, and while I neither agreed or disagreed with him directly, when any of us think Chavez, Barrera, Marquez, Dela Hoya, Morales, etc, you can’t argue that they really aren’t second to many if any from that standpoint. Puerto Rico has produced similar hard-nosed fighters in recent times such as Tito Trinidad, but looking at the new aged Puerto Rican fighters like Ivan Calderon and Miguel Cotto, it’s apparent that Puerto Rico was in the house on the day God handed out the ‘fast gene’ DNA as well. We can go on for days looking at fighters from different countries, but at the end of the day, I think it would be a very ignorant argument for anyone to say that their country produced the BEST fighters in the world. Simply said, without Batman there’d be no Robin. It takes two, and as long as they’re all willing to train hard and leave it all in the ring, all of these guys get my token of appreciation. There’s nothing wrong with being proud of who we are as individuals, but the bigger picture is that WE COLLECTIVELY BRING OUT THE BEST IN ONE ANOTHER, NOT AGAINST ONE ANOTHER! One Love!…
***Note: Check out today’s follow up piece on female fight phenom Sandy ‘Lil Tyson’ Tsagouris***
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