Alex Z. (London, UK): Wladimir Klitschko recently stated on record that Haye can “either take the fight in July or the fight is dead”. Who do you blame in the collapse of this fight?
Vivek W. (ESB): Like many of my contemporaries, I spent the full length of 2010 addressing questions in the media relative to the multiple failed attempts on each of the on again/off again mega fights that were pending. In the Mayweather/Pacquiao scenario I dedicated about five different volumes on my Youtube channel to the matter, and at this time, unfortunately, (or fortunately, for me), I’ve decided to simply sit away from all discussions on these topics. Five fighters that I will address ONLY when they have fights pending or when they have new non-related topics hit the headlines is Mayweather, Pacquiao, Haye, and the Klitschko’s.
I’ve spent a countless amount of hours in the past attempting to dissect the reasons why these men won’t come to terms and to be honest, whether most out there would view my logic to be fine or flawed, it hasn’t gotten any of us one step closer to the thing we do agree on, and that’s the fact that these are great fights we all want to see!
At this point, I’ll leave playing the blame game to the others out there. When these five men joined the sport, they did it to earn money and entertain the fight public. Personally, I no longer care what the reason is for the fights not happening, because these men could easily accomplish both those things, (make money and entertain the fight public), but they’d rather let something else get in the way of them doing it.
I’m gonna focus on the men and women of the sport who are fighting! And to clarify, I know that of the five, only one is not active, but lets keep it real, here…….those four who are staying active continue to fight someone other than the person you and I truly want to see them face, so hey…..they’re either wet in the water, or dry in the sand…..but they can’t be dry in the water! Bottom line: If they aren’t facing the man the world wants to see you face, they’re defeating the purpose of why they entered the sport in the first place, (to be declared the best), and basically wasting everyone’s time!
Hector O. (Covina, CA): There’s been a recent war of words through the media between Oscar Dela Hoya and Julio Cesar Chavez jr. I don’t think it’s very likely, but if Oscar were somehow coaxed out of retirement to pursue this matchup, who do you see winning it?
Vivek W. (ESB): For starters, I think it’s very necessary to point out two things. One….I think this possibility has “YES” written all over it! It contains two of the bigger Mexican names of the last two generations and on name recognition alone, they could throw Saul Alvarez on the undercard and easily sell out a soccer stadium or some huge venue and make a boat load of money with or without PPV network support. Secondly, I found it very comical that this chatter is even taking place, and wouldn’t be surprised to learn that there’s a certain level of orchestration going on between the two parties behind the scenes.
Regarding the incident itself, I felt Chavez jr. initially took the high road, echoing the fact that when ODH lost to Trinidad and others, he and his Father never attempted to call him out or belittle his talent; they simple supported him as a fellow Mexican great and let it be. Apparently, Oscar felt more prone to speak out on a subject that many of us have voiced at one time or another, and unlike the rest of us who hold far less weight in the Mexican community, Oscar’s words reverberated, leaving the Chavez family feeling a bit ‘crossed’, for lack of better words.
To answer your question, I think it’s safe to repeat something we’ve all heard a thousand times. “STYLES MAKE FIGHTS”. When you look at the last few performances of these men things can be a bit misleading. Although Chavez jr. was coming off a weak performance against Lyell, he looked as good as he ever has against Duddy. Oscar on the other hand looked absolutely horrible against Pacquiao, Mayweather, and Forbes. Many will look at that and say Oscar is too old, and would be eaten alive, but I’m gonna have to go out on a limb here (what’s new, right?)!
If it ever came down to it, I’d be quick to remind people in advance that Chavez jr. doesn’t have the speed of any of the men who embarrassed Oscar, or the substance as a fighter. I was very high on Chavez jr.’s work against Duddy, but even aged and slower, I wouldn’t be so quick to give him a good shot against a man who’s only losses came to future Hall-of-Famer’s. Bottom line, even at this stage, I think after a good fight camp Oscar would simply have too much speed and power, and would probably stop Chavez within the distance if that patented left hook finds a home! I’m not a betting man, but I’d pull out the wallet for this one! That’s how sure I am!
Mario L. (Cincinnatti, OH): After the Quintana fight I know you were pretty high on Andre Berto, but I still feel he has done practically nothing to rate the high praise HBO seems to give him. I think Amir Khan, Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez could all defeat him at this stage of their careers. Do you think he could beat any of these guys?
Vivek W. (ESB): I think your evaluation of my words regarding Berto are slightly misaligned. Yes, I felt he showed evolution from his last few fights against Quintana, but beyond that point and prior to, I have also questioned why we haven’t seen more progress from a man of this ability. The kid is a total package in many respects. I truly think he is.
But, anyhow, I think those are some interesting matchups you gave your opinion on. I’ll go down the line and give my thoughts…….starting with Khan. A Khan/Berto showdown would be arguably the most intriguing of them all, because Berto would be dealing with a man just as big as he is, in height, reach, and beyond, wherein he’d have a slight edge over the others. Khan has the speed and pop to keep him honest and less likely to engage in a brawl, but the ultimate equalizer is something we that remains a slight question….which is the durability of Khan’s chin.
Yes, Khan handled Maidana’s power well, but Maidana’s power and Berto’s snappin’ uppercuts are two different things. In Berto, it’s not so much even power. It’s velocity, which equates to power, based on speed. Maidana can crack! But in Berto those shots cover a lot of ground and fast! If he begins to land flush with those hooks and uppercuts, does Khan really see the final bell? I don’t know!
Timothy Bradley would be a totally different matchup, as Bradley is simply one of those guys who literally wills himself to victory. I think a fight between these two men could go either way. Bradley has become a much better fighter, recently proving to the world that he could rise above those flaws which have always compromised his best efforts. Could he take those shots from Berto? Would be interesting to find out. This fight I would see going the distance because I don’t see Berto hurting him. And
Marquez, personally I think has the toughness to make it a fight, but criticism over a “fair weight” for the fight would make results both ways a point of contention on why the guy lost. For Berto, they’d say he had to weaken himself to drop down. For Marquez, they’d say he was overblown for going up. It’s a non-issue and a moot point. At the end of the day, each of these matchups would be better than his level of competition now, but like those others we’d like to see him face, it’s probably wishful thinking for right now. My best response is for you and the rest of us to simply “stay tuned”!
(Vivek Wallace can be reached at vivexemail@yahoo.com, 954-292-7346, Youtube (VIVEK1251), Twitter (VIVEKWALLACE747), Skype (VITO-BOXING), and FaceBook)