Some fighters are just too strong for others to box

Antonio Margarito was simply too strong for Miguel Cotto to box or fight when they met on July 26, 2008. For the first four or five rounds, while he could sprint for most of the round, Cotto could pick his spots, flurry and get away from Margarito. But a fighter can only maintain that pace for so long. Eventually, he has to come up for air. The problem is, when he has a fighter like Margarito in front of him, he pays a price for trying to catch a breather.

Cotto was forced to let his hands go, or try to get distance between himself and Margarito. When he was fresh and letting his hands go, he was able to keep Margarito off him and occupied. However, not having the punch to deter Margarito, sapped his stamina. Being forced to either cut-loose, or try and get away takes a lot out of a fighter physically, and just as importantly, mentally too.

Once Cotto started to wind down, Margarito was met with less resistance as he plowed forward and worked Cotto's head and body. That was followed by Cotto accepting that he couldn't hold him off, therefor his next best thing was to try and get away from him so he couldn't be further worked over. The trouble with that was, with his stamina depleting, he couldn't get away fast enough. Obviously, a slow fighter can move faster going forward than a faster fighter can go back. Once Cotto couldn't fight Margarito off or escape his aggression, it was just a matter of time until he has nothing left to draw from mentally or physically. Adding to Cotto's problems were the fact that, Margarito is very unusual in that, in addition to being strong, he throws 100 punches per round. So his pressure is intensified by his work rate.

Miguel Cotto is a better boxer, faster of hand and foot, and capable of putting his punches together better than Antonio Margarito. He's also a bigger puncher. Yet he was stopped by him. And the reason for that is, Margarito is simply too strong for him physically, which translates into mentally as well as the fight progresses. Miguel Cotto fought the best he could versus Antonio Margarito. There's nothing anyone could've told him to do that would've made a difference in the outcome of the fight.

Bottom line: Some fighters are just too strong for others to box. If one need any proof of that, watch the replay of Antonio Margarito vs Miguel Cotto.

Who Are The Real Pirates?

The core component of boxing’s business model in North America over the past two decades has been pay-per-view television. Fights which used to air for free on broadcast or cable television now cost the consumer 50 bucks or more per pop.

Not coincidentally, boxing in North America has declined and been marginalized over this same period, as the product took itself out of the public spotlight and protected it behind this pricey wall. We now have an entire generation in these parts which has never seen a major world title fight live on television.

In Europe and Asia, where most boxing is still on non-pay TV, the sport is growing, often drawing huge crowds to arenas and sports stadiums, a phenomenon not seen in North American in decades.

At the same time, HBO, the principal architect of this business model, has become an incredibly profitable business, annually bringing in about $1.2 billion in profits – that’s just profits, not revenue.

Even with competition from satellite TV and now Verizon’s FiOS, cable TV rates keep rising, and disgusted consumers are caught in this profit assault.

Working around these profiteers used to be difficult. You had to buy a pirate box and hope it worked as promised. Soon, the cable companies would find a way to disable it, often through upgrading their own technology.

Now our beloved Internet has changed all that. All you need to do is find a web site which streams whatever you want to watch. Some of them require you to download a media player, but some others do not. All you have to do is go to a web site, just like you went to this one or any other site.

This is rarely discussed by that technophobic bunch known as boxing writers, most of whom grope around for a letter-opener when told they have an e-mail. Ask them what they have downloaded recently, and they’ll say their doctors told them it wasn’t serious.

We speak the truth here. It is not our task to protect whoever’s business model is being rendered obsolete by the growth of technology and the Internet. We just tell it like it is.

One of the most popular sites streaming these shows is SopCast.

You will see all “seven dirty words” in a row on these boxing “news” sites before you see that name mentioned.

What is being streamed is openly discussed on forums like the MyP2P Forum, which has a special section for fans of various combat sports.

That’s the reality, like it or not, legal or not. They may be offering pirate streams which violate copyright laws and which offer no compensation to their owners, but they also generally do not charge or make a profit from these streams.

When faced with the growth of peer-to-peer file sharing a decade ago, instead of adapting to the new technology, the music industry decided to declare war on consumers. That is leading to the destruction of the traditional record companies, with popular artists like Madonna distributing their music directly online, or though alternate services like iTunes and others.

The boxing business first has to get a clue that this is happening, which is not even likely until it is too late for them. The only major promoter taking seriously using the Internet to stream fights, and possibly for free, is Don King. Thus far, however, his DonKingTV.com seems more experimental than anything.

True, it will take some time before these p2p and other services can handle mass traffic. But storage and bandwidth are becoming cheaper and more plentiful all the time, and Internet users are becoming smarter as well.

There is almost no discussion in our obsolete boxing media about the obsolete pay-per-view model. One article which does refer to this phenomenon, “Do Not Pirate This Saturday’s Pay-Per-View” by John Chavez on BoxingConfidential.com, oddly argues that it is OK to pirate most boxing shows, but not Saturday’s Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito showdown: “If you call yourself a boxing fan and choose to pirate this Saturday’s Pay-Per-View bout, in essence you’re telling HBO and the other major players in boxing that exciting style match-ups still won’t entice you to purchase the event. To support this weekend’s match is to support boxing as a whole as it will point to the fact that we are educated fight fans that know good from bad.”

I would respond that it is better to be consistent, and either eschew pirating altogether as unethical, or eschew pay-per-view altogether as unethical pirating of the consumers.

Granted, something in-between may be more practical for many people, but once you open the door to pirating as acceptable, it is hard to argue that sometimes it is OK while at other times it is not.

In the end, different groups of people just have different economic interests. And many of them may be pirates of one sort and size or another. You just have to choose, or realize, which type, if any, you are.

SecondsOut Radio: Charles Farrell, Cotto-Margarito

SecondsOut Radio with Eddie Goldman

On this week's edition of SecondsOut Radio, host Eddie Goldman begins by criticizing the build-up for this coming Saturday's important welterweight title fight between Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito. In particular, the pay-per-view model, the reliance on nationalism, and the failure to use the Internet properly are singled out.

In our interview this week, we speak with the award-winning boxing writer Charles Farrell. In a lengthy and candid discussion, the topics include the Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito fight, the controversy arising from this past Wednesday's rematch between heavyweights James Toney and Hasim Rahman, the major injury suffered by Oscar Diaz in his fight with Delvin Rodriguez this past Wednesday which required emergency brain surgery, and more.

It is free to listen to SecondsOut Radio, but you must register to gain access to it. Just click here, and listen, learn, and enjoy.

Thanks, Eddie Goldman
http://eddiegoldman.com

Are You Watching the Fight Saturday Night?

As I was riding the local bus home Tuesday night, the fellow sitting directly behind me was loudly jabbering away on his cell phone. I really didn’t mind it that much, but couldn’t avoid overhearing him (as did most of the bus, no doubt).

After some forgettable discussion, he finally asked his friend on the other end if he was coming over to his place Saturday night to watch “the fight.” He never said which card, since both HBO and Showtime have live shows that night, but it was easy to figure out. He alternated speaking in English and Spanish, and from his accent, it was not hard to conclude that he was Latino, and thus most likely interested in Miguel Cotto-Alfonso Gomez and Kermit Cintron-Antonio Margarito 2, especially given the people who live in my area.

He never mentioned the name of any fighter, however. That didn’t seem to matter much to him, just so long as it involved someone like Cotto and was “the fight.” This was understood, although I obviously couldn’t hear both sides of his conversation.

He said he was ordering one of those giant sandwiches that you cut up for a large group, getting beer, and then doing “whatever,” the one thing which apparently he didn’t want the whole bus to hear. He wanted to get his friends to kick in a few bucks to share the beer and sandwich, and thus all have a good time as a group at this fight party.

I never got a good look at him and didn’t recognize his voice. I have overheard many similar discussions in my neighborhood before, and expect to again.

So, neighbors, are you watching the fight Saturday night?

April 12: Good, But Not The Best

Baseball, for those who still believe in it, is back with yet another season set to culminate in a World Series, as happens every year (except 1994). American football is still buzzing about the upset victory in the Super Bowl by the Giants. Other professional sports, including NBA basketball and NHL hockey, are gearing up for their playoffs. Boxing, as we know, has no season and rarely has organized elimination tournaments.

The two televised boxing cards scheduled for this Saturday, April 12, on HBO and on Showtime, at times which deliberately overlap, each feature two fights in the same weight class on their respective shows. While several of the top fighters in these divisions will appear on these shows, none of these fights pits the best against the best at those weights.

HBO has a welterweight doubleheader from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In their two title fights, WBA welterweight champion Miguel Cotto (31-0, 25 KOs) will defend his belt against the popular but limited Alfonso Gomez (18-3-2, 8 KOs) of “The Contender”, and IBF welterweight champion Kermit Cintron (29-1, 27 KOs) will try to avenge the only defeat of his professional career when he fights Antonio Margarito (35-5, 25 KOs).

The best in this division is Floyd Mayweather Jr. He is more or less taking a sabbatical, appearing on BET’s “Iron Ring” mixed martial arts series, acting on the disgraceful pro “wrestling” circuit, and then likely having a highly unanticipated rematch with Oscar De La Hoya in September which will be hyped as another chapter in “The Mayweather Family” soap opera, focusing on which Mayweather is training whom, and so on.

In Mayweather’s absence, Cotto, after KO’ing Zab Judah and decisioning Shane Mosley last year, is also trying to take a breather. After Gomez, he likely will face Ricardo Mayorga in the summer. Mayorga has fought just once in 2005, 2006, and 2007, getting stopped by De La Hoya in his 2006 cameo. Cotto-Mayorga may be an entertaining slugfest while it lasts, but it is certainly not the best against the best.

Cintron was taken apart three years ago by Margarito. Since then, he has stopped all five of his opponents and claims to be a more mature and improved fighter. But none of his victims has been top-tier welterweights. Margarito, destroying Golden Johnson in one round after dropping a close decision to Paul Williams last year, may have slowed a bit since first facing Cintron, so this fight has the potential to be more competitive than their first. In any case, while a good matchup, it still is not the best against the best. Even if the winner faces Cotto in a partial unification bout, we should not have to wait another year or even more for a welterweight World Series.

The light heavyweight fights on Showtime are being billed as featuring the best in that division. Almost, but not so. Their April 12 card, from the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida, features former undisputed light heavyweight champion, 39-year-old Antonio Tarver (26-4, 19 KOs), against IBF light heavyweight champion, 35-year-old Clinton Woods (41-3-1, 24 KOs), and one of the rising stars in boxing, 25-year-old WBC light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson (25-0, 17 KOs), against former world champion, 39-year-old Glen Johnson (47-11-2, 32 KOs).

Clearly this is being staged as some sort of limited playoff, with the winners advancing to a partial unification. The Tarver-Woods winner has the IBF belt, and will likely next face the Dawson-Johnson winner, who will hold the WBC belt. Again, however, it is not the best against the best.

The linear light heavyweight champion is 43-year-old Bernard Hopkins, who faces super middleweight king Joe Calzaghe the following week, and on HBO. The undefeated Dawson is clearly the future of the division, but he needs a marquee opponent to gain recognition, both from the public and the slow-witted boxing media. If, as expected, Dawson wins Saturday’s fight, and impressively enough, he can next get a partial unification fight and then stand in line for whatever is left of the division after Hopkins-Calzaghe – and perhaps have to jump to HBO as well.

So Saturday’s cards overall should be good and interesting, and be viewed by all boxing people, despite the stubborn network war which has these being shown live at almost the same time. Both networks offer replays, or you can record one while watching the other live.

I will be in Atlantic City this weekend, first covering the YAMMA Pit Fighting mixed martial arts show Friday and then the boxing Saturday. I’ll tape the Showtime card and watch it when I return home. Hopefully some of you reading this will be at one of these shows.

If you are in Atlantic City, let me know when you are going to the Mountain Bar at Bally’s Wild Wild West. That bar also may not be the best, bit it is still plenty good.

Floyd Mayweather: A Big No Show

Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, Kermit Cintron, Antonio Margarito, Carlos Quintana, Paul Williams and Joshua Clottey, round out the top eight fighters in boxings welterweight division. The current welterweight division is very competitive. It's not the deepest its been, but it's plenty deep. Mayweather, the fighter who is considered the best in the division, is also considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in boxing. He's also the only fighter among the top eight who hasn't faced one of the other seven who make up the elite eight. On April 12th, Margarito and Cintron will be facing each other for the second time, due to Margarito handing Cintron his only professional loss three years ago.

This coming Saturday night, boxings supposed best pound-for-pound fighter will take on a 7'1" 400 pound wrestler named the "Big Show" at the WWE's Wrestlemania XXIV. Obviously, this is for a lot of money along with the outcome being pre-determined. This would almost be tolerable if after Mayweather gets his acting check, he'd go back to what he is paid most for doing and take on the fighters who not only have earned their shot at him, but are also most capable of beating him. But this won't happen. Mayweather's already penciled in to fight a rematch with Oscar De La Hoya in the fall. De La Hoya is far past his prime, he doesn't match up with Mayweather at this time and regardless of who wins the fight, it says nothing about either one as to what kind of fighters they are.

Floyd Mayweather is following the Roy Jones path to wealth, which is that of least resistance. As long as he knows that, he's Okay. However, after all these years of talking shit about how great he is, he'll be more remembered like Jones than he will be Sugar Ray Leonard. It's even possible that Mayweather will retire undefeated. And even at that, he'd still have one of the thinnest resumes I've seen compared to the greats he thinks he is on par with. Floyd Mayweather is a borderline great fighter. Physically, there's nothing he does great. In the ring, he's smart, and his defense is thought to be very good, but in my opinion it's more fundamental than anything else. IF he fought and took more chances trying to prove how great he is, he'd get hit much more than he does.

The sand is almost through the hour glass and time is running out for Floyd to prove that he's one of the greats. No more De La hoya's, Hatton's, or Wrestlers. Is it asking too much of Floyd Mayweather to clean out one division in which he competed in before he moves on to what he does best, which is manage fighters?