No Holds Barred: Charles Farrell on Cotto-Canelo and PBC

(Photo credit: Tom Hogan - Hoganphotos/Roc Nation Sports/Golden Boy Promotions)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with our colleague, correspondent, and award-winning boxing writer, Charles Farrell.

He is also co-editor of The Boxing Standard.

Our main focus was the major fight card taking place this Saturday, November 21, as Miguel Cotto (40-4, 33 KOs) takes on Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (45-1-1, 32 KOs) at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. This card will be shown live in the U.S. on HBO pay-per-view and in the U.K. on BoxNation, as well as on many other networks around the world.

We spoke with Charles Farrell by phone Thursday.

"Were they both in their prime and were they both fighting at 147, I would go with Cotto. He's a better fighter. He's more versatile. He is actually the better puncher of the two," he said.

"But I think at this point it's a question of their respective arcs, where each one of them is heading. And I think it's a propitious time for Alvarez."

He continued, "I think that Cotto will start well. He's a good boxer, and Alvarez is a slow starter. But the years and the abuse that he's going to take from Alvarez, who is a good body puncher, are going to catch up with him. And I don't think anybody is going to sit around and let him take too much abuse. So my guess is eight or nine rounds."

Besides discussing more on this fight and the pay-per-view card, we delved into our continuing analysis of the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), which has been running numerous fight cards on non-pay TV in the U.S. since March. We discussed PBC's stagnant and sometimes sagging TV ratings, how PBC has offered many competitive and exciting fights and upsets, how PBC has good matchmaking but has not been good at star-making, and much more.

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No Holds Barred: Charles Farrell on Mayweather-Cotto, the Consolation-Prize Fight

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with our colleague and correspondent, the award-winning boxing writer Charles Farrell.

While our main topic was the Floyd Mayweather-Miguel Cotto fight scheduled for May 5 in Las Vegas, our lengthy discussion, which took place by phone Wednesday night, countered the mythology and general propaganda which are widely spread in what is laughingly called the boxing media.

Regarding this fight, likely to be the biggest boxing event of the year, Charles Farrell said, "It's a consolation-prize fight." While he did add, "It's a worthy fight," he elaborated on this theme: "But this isn't the fight that people want. I think it's the fight that we get in light of not being able to get the fight that people want."

We discussed what and who are real in boxing and who are not, including fighters and media, and what is the likeliest outcome of the Mayweather-Cotto fight. We examined the options for both fighters after this fight, especially if Mayweather wins as expected, and why the stigma of losing has prevented many fighters from facing riskier opponents than they often do. We also discussed the many controversial and even absurd verdicts of many boxing judges, how and why boxing especially in America continues to decline, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here. You can also download No Holds Barred here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

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No Holds Barred: Roger Mayweather, Leonard Ellerbe, Bryan Perez, Richard Schaefer, Keisha Morrisey, and the New Era in Boxing

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman discusses the significance of the May 5 fight between Floyd Mayweather and Miguel Cotto being promoted by their own promotional companies with several key figures in this fight.

The unbeaten Mayweather (42-0, 26 KOs), who holds the WBC welterweight title, will be moving up a weight class to face Cotto (37-2, 30 KOs), the WBA super welterweight champion. Mayweather last fought at this weight in 2007, defeating Oscar de la Hoya for the WBC title, before moving back down.
The Mayweather-Cotto fight, slated for Saturday, May 5, in Las Vegas, Nevada, has the distinction of being presented by Mayweather Promotions, Golden Boy Promotions, and Miguel Cotto Promotions.

At the New York news conference for this fight held February 28 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, we discussed the significance of this promotional arrangement with Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions; Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions; and Bryan Perez, Executive Director of Miguel Cotto Promotions. The consensus seemed to be from all parties in this fight that this represents a new era in boxing. We also asked Richard Schaefer about the drug testing for Mayweather-Cotto, which will be conducted by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

We also spoke about this fight with the outspoken trainer of Floyd Mayweather, his uncle, Roger Mayweather, who discussed the place of his nephew in boxing history.

And we discussed with our long-time colleague and correspondent Keisha Morrisey, who has been invaluable to No Holds Barred, this fight and this new era in boxing, as well as some of the numerous problems plaguing the declining sport of boxing.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here. You can also download No Holds Barred here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

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The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter.
No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

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No Holds Barred: A Different Kind of Pacquiao-Cotto Preview

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents a preview of the Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto welterweight title fight, which takes place Saturday, November 14, in Las Vegas, and will be televised around the world, including on HBO pay-per-view in the U.S.

This is a different kind of preview, however, from that offered almost everywhere else, in that we do not limit ourselves to the question of which fighter stands the best chance of winning this fight in the ring.

We open by noting the damage suffered by the sport of boxing as a whole by placing such major fights on pay-per-view. We play an excerpt of a media conference call held prior to the November 7 Fedor Emelianenko-Brett Rogers mixed martial arts fight, which was telecast live in the U.S. on CBS and was viewed in 5.46 million households, with Kelly Kahl, Senior Executive Vice President, CBS Primetime. He opined why boxing is no longer on network television in the U.S., and why MMA is.

We next play an excerpt from the November 8 edition of The Boxing Truth Radio, hosted by Ricardo Lois and John Chavez, where Eddie Goldman explained the global economic, political, and social factors which work in Pacquiao's favor. This type of analysis is essential to understanding the historical context in which this fight is taking place, and also what factors other than who deserves to win might play a role in the outcome of the fight.

In the longest segment on this edition of No Holds Barred, we discuss this fight with our correspondent, the award-winning boxing writer Charles Farrell. He is of the opinion that Cotto has the best chance of legitimately winning this fight. Cotto, he argues, unlike Pacquiao, is a true welterweight whose power and size should have him prevail. He also dismisses Pacquiao's dominant wins over Ricky Hatton and Oscar De La Hoya as victories over shot fighters, which the 28-year-old Cotto is far from being.

We discuss these views, as well as the opposing arguments which favor Pacquiao, regarding both his skills and power as a fighter and the advantages he has with the boxing establishment. While Charles is fairly certain that Cotto will win, Eddie is not, so various possible scenarios for this fight are outlined.

We also discuss what possible fights lie ahead for both men, including the likelihood of the winner facing Floyd Mayweather Jr. and these next fights taking place in a major league baseball stadium. And we explain why we have no problem with people watching this fight for free online, even on so-called pirate streams. But we all agree that whichever fighter wins Saturday night, the real winner will be promoter Bob Arum, who promotes both men.

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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: Not Even Fighter of The Month

I just received my BWAA invite to their 2007 awards dinner on May 1, 2008. The second I saw Floyd Mayweather was voted "Fighter of The Year" by boxings finest, I threw the invitation out. Mayweather being voted FOTY is another layer of proof that todays boxing writers are more fans than anything else.

Miguel Cotto clearly faced and defeated better opposition than Mayweather did, not to mention he won more convincingly. Mayweather beat Oscar De La Hoya by split decision in 2007. The trouble with that is Oscar hasn't won a big fight since 2002, and has been a part-time fighter since 2004. Floyd followed the De La Hoya fight up with a 10-round TKO over undefeated Jr. welterweight, Ricky Hatton. In that fight, I had Mayweather up a point going into the final around. Other than the final blow Mayweather landed to end the fight, nothing else beyond him struggling with the limited Hatton will be remembered. On the other hand, Cotto stopped Zab Judah (who Mayweather had to come from behind to win a decision against in late 2006), and decisioned Shane Mosley, who beat Oscar De La Hoya in 2000 & 2003. For the record, I had Mosley over Cotto by a point.

Along with Cotto, Kelly Pavlik had a better 2007 than Mayweather did. Pavlik scored a pair of seventh round stoppages over hard hitting Edison Miranda and undisputed middleweight champ Jermain Taylor. Like Cotto, Pavlik fought two of the better fighters in the division in which they campaign. Compared to Mayweather, who chose a semi-retired fighter, and another who campaigns in a division beneath him.

I'm not going to take the time to compare Mayweather's body of work to other fighter of the year recipients, you do it, because it makes me ill when I do it. In closing, Floyd Mayweather being voted FOTY is another reason why boxing is sometimes hard to take serious and 90% of boxings finest writers should start covering hunting and fishing.

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?