In the classic section on this boxing channel you can see the first in a series of pieces we are calling  "What If..."  These will deal with great fights that we would have liked to see in history. For the first one we chose Joe Frazier against Evander Holyfield. I hope you'll check the video out and see how some experts see that one going. There is no more interesting type of discussion for boxing fans than this.  All our experts agreed this would be a tremendous match. I voted for Frazier to win the match, but as one of our panel, who also picked Frazier, pointed out, this  probably would  have been one of several times they fought. if this mythical fight could have been made, fans networks and promoters would have been clamoring for a rematch.  It's likely they would have fought a trilogy and probably Evander would have won one of them.

    Both men would have been in the ring at btween 210 and 220 pounds and both would land big punches and a lot of them.  Holyfield's counterpunching ability would come into play against rhe aggressive Frazier and his uppercut would be important too.  Ultimately I think the Frazier pressure and left hooks to the body and head would wear Evander down. I see Frazier winning a decision or  getting a late round stoppage.

What do you think?  See what our expert panel said in our feature and give me your opinion right here on the blog.

        I have taken some time to let the events of May 2 gestate a little. I have rolled them around in my mind and come up with some historical perspective.  I now believe this basic fact, IF Manny Pacquiao  can beat any one of Floyd Mayweather Jr., Shane Mosley, or Miguel Cotto, he will have stamped himself the best fighter EVER at 135 pounds or below. Here is my reasoning.  The quartet of Pacquiao, Marco Antonio Barerra, Juan Manuel Marquez and Erik Morales produced the greatest series of fights seen at any time in boxing. They occured during a decade's span in a few weight divisions. This series of fights exceeded even the Hagler, Leonard, Duran, and  Hearns combinations of matches. I know, many of you are gasping at that last statement, but it's true. Pacman and his little crew overall had more classic battles than Hagler and his legendary bunch. And, even though Marquez has a legitimate argument to the contrary because of his two close fights with Pacquiao, Manny narrowly emerged from that pack with the best results and biggest name.  And then Manny did something that really seperated him from that group--he moved up in weight and dominated.  Now, I fully understand that David Diaz at i35 was only a so-so lightweight champ, and Oscar De La Hoya ended up being a shell of his former self when he fought Pacquiao (although he was a big favorite before the fight). And, I also conceed that Ricky hatton had slipped in recent fights--and many thought he was never a great fighter.  But, still, the WAY Pacquiao won over Ricky was impressive.

    All of that is why I am not quite ready to totally make Manny a deity--but I am close.  If he beats one of the aforementioned fighters he will have proved that no one in history has been able to dominate the smaller weight divisions like him. From 112 all the way to 147 he has performed well.  That's astonishing.

  

    This weekend I will call the Carl Froch-Jerman Taylor Super Middleweight title match on Showtime and I think it could be one in a long list of great shootouts in that weight division. Froch should be commended for taking on a tough opponent in Taylor and coming across the pond from his native England to do it. He is an entrtaining fighter and a talented one and Taylor will have his hands full.  Even though he has only two losses, some people see Jermain as damaged goods--I am not sure that's fair.  He has not become the total superstar many (and I was among those folks) thought he would be. But, he is still a very good boxer and this should be an entertaining match-up. You can see it and hear me do the commentary on Showtime if you live in the United States.

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     This past weekend I was in the Phillipines to see Nonito Donaire defend his title  and do so in a convincing fashion. If he fights Fernando Montiel at 118 pounds in his next fight, as suggested, that will be a great one. I favor Donaire slightly in that fight. He will be able to land the counter left hook from long range and may knock Montiel out--but Fernando has power and skill, so he can win this one.  I just don't know if he can get into punching range and land big punches against Donaire.

    The Brian Viloria win over Ulysses Solis on that same card was amazing. Both men fought very well, but Viloria looked like a man on fire in the ring--refusing to lose. Solis will be back to win a title and if Viloria can keep his focus and intensity he can become the star everyone predicted he would be after his great amateur career.

     I had not been out of the country for about two years to do a boxing match, and then in the last month I have been to Mexico, Canada and then the Phillipines. After this week's trip to the east coast (from Las Vegas), I may be jet lagged for months.

    

     Two contenders gt wins they needed  on Wednesday when Edison Miranda knocked out Manuel Esparza and Sechew Powell  stopped Christian Lloyd Joseph at the Seminole Hard Rock Arena.  Both Miranda and Powell were determined to look impressive. Miranda was fighting for the first time as a light heavyweight and for the first time in 7 months, since his loss to Arthur Abraham.  He showed the explosive power against Esparza that is the norm for Miranda. He said 175 pounds suits him, so he may be a player in that division.

     Powell is on the cusp of a world title match and he needed to beat Joseph and did so convincingly. Powell, like Miranda is an exciting fighter and now he feels a world championship is his destiny. 

     We are happy that we could webcast those matches on The ABBC and that they are still available for PPV viewing. To see how Miranda and Powell got those victories and for other  matches on that card, go to the ABBC home page and then order those matches.  You will also get the Glen Johnson-Richard Hall fight with your order. That is an excellent match from the Warrior Boxing library. We will be bringing you more of the terrific fights from that library starting in February. 

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A sad note in boxing is the passing of Howie Albert. Howie gained  fame in the boxing world as a co-manager of the great Emile Griffith. He and Gil Clancy guided Griffith to world titles. They also co-managed other boxers, and Howie  worked with many boxers and promoters on his own over the years.  There have been few men in boxing, or any other sport for that matter, who had the grace and integrity that Howie Albert possessed. He will be missed.

 

 

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     I really enjopy feedback on the blogs that I post, and for the post about  the increased coverage of boxing by parts of the media I got an interesting response from Ray--who has often provided some great comments. Ray, you make some good points, and my view of the place of boxing in the pantheon of sports is not just through roswe colored glasses.  The issues you releate are real--need for younger superstars, lack of Olympic champs who are already marketed commodities, etc.  You indicated that perhaps you are comparing today's boxing scene to that in the 1980's, and if so, you are right, this is a less stellar time for the sport.  In fact, we will never see the sport return to that level of interest and exposure.  I mentioned that the 1990's debacle set boxing back a lot. And, in suggesting that things are turning around, I don't suggest that we will relive the 80's, 70's or even 60's. The sports landscape was different in all those decades from the current situation.

     The definitive statements I do feel good about making are these: 1. The product boxing is putting out there is as good as it can put out now--almost all the matches that matter are being made. 2 The coverage of the sport, while still not exactly back to where those in boxing would like to see, has improved much over the last year or so. 3. There is a cadre of very talented fighters in the sport in many weight dvivisions--what they need is more attention, so they can become stars.  Ray, thanks for your inoput and insightful thoughts---I look forward to all the comnments we get about these blogs.

     2008 represented another building block year for the sport of boxing. It was another year in which the sport provided good content, made the matches fans wanted to see, and continued it's climb out of the abyss that sport fell into in the 1990's.  And, one other important thing happened in 2008--the mainstream, media continued to increase it's coverage of the sport.

     One of the negative aspects of the poor decade of the 1990's was the diminished coverage of boxing by television, radio and print outlets. An example is that by 2004, when I left ESPN to go to Showtime, the number of matches we were covering at all for Sportscenter had fallen to just a few. That number was always much larger  in earlier years during my long stay at ESPN. And boxing saw coverage dwindle in newspapers and  on sports talk radio as well.  The saving grace for the sport was the huge increase in internet sites that filled the breach to give fans information.

     The lack of coverage came because the sport shot itself in the foot in the 1990's. The matches that fans wanted to see were often not made, the alphabet soup of champions further confused fans and media, and a lot of the fights that were billed as major events ended up being dissapointing at best.  All that changed about 2002. For some mystical reason the promoters, fighters and networks started doing the right thing. The boxing product started to become very good.  The damage had been done with the media and it has been a slow turn around for the media outlets to come around and begin covering the sport again.  Boxing's problems and the glut of sports to cover converged to make it hard for the medioa to find time for boxing. For four years in this decade I did a spots talk radio show on the Las Vegas ESPN affiliate, and I know first hand how much there is to cover on any normal day--especially between September and February when you have college and pro football, college and pro basketball, hockey, baseball pennant races and then post season and a myriad of other indvidual events.  Every sport is competing for time on the radio, t.v. or in print.  Just ask NHL PR people if they don't lament their fate in trying to get more coverage these days.

     Even with all that and the damage of the 1990's, the coverage of boxing has steadily climbed back. In 2008 many more newspapers covered major fights and offered articles on the sport. In talk radio I can tell you from firsthand experience that there was more interest. I know this because my wife was angry at me for some ruined dinner engagements. I am  called to guest on shows around the country leading up to major fights, and this year I had to sneak out of many more restaurants during lunch or dinner to do radio guest spots. 

     The media as a whole gets it right in terms of what to cover in sports.  The move back to boxing in terms of coverage has come at a slow, but steady pace, and it is warranted. The sport, which is well known as a self destructive entity, has helped itself in recent years and merited to additional coverage. I suspect 2009 will see more of the same.

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     Since I am talking about the media, let me welcome the users of a great website that involves the media. We are now linked to ussportspages.com, which gives you all one stop shopping in reading great sports stories from around the country and indeed, the world. There are so many great sportswriters that you don't always get to read, depending on where you live. With this website you can remedy that situation.  I enjoy reading the great material on this site.

     Along the way on this blog we have, from time to time, touched on movies. I am a film buff and one of the best film critics I have encountered is Tony Macklin . Tony is an author, magazine writer and respected film critic. You can now see his work at tonymacklin.net. The site will ofer you some great insights into films. I pass this info along because I know that if you enjoy movies you will find this site really interesting and entertaining.

          The great Linda Ellerbee had the best phrase to describe the crazy quilt of events we cover in the media. She simply said, "and  so it goes."  Never was such a stoic phrase to appropriate as now.  I provided the analysis on the pay per view telecast of the WBA Heavyweight Championship match between the Nikolay Valuev and Evander Holyfield, and when all was said and done we had another dreary heavyweight title fight and an absurd official decision to denote the winner of the bout. And so it goes....

      There are several inescapable facts about the match.  1. Valuev was barely engaged in the proceedings and gave one of the most lackluster performances by a champion (or anyone else) that I have seen in years. 2. Holyfield is capable of fighting well in spurts, but not sustaining a great effort through a whole fight at the advanced age of 46. 3. Holyfield won at least 8 rounds of that fight--possibly 9 or 10. This three statements are undeniable. Yet the three judges at ringside seemed not to believe  statement number 3. My e-mail and phone  messages have been  massive from folks who are still shaking their heads trying to figure out how Valuev  ended up with a majority decision win and held onto his title.  Make no mistake, Holyfield is not the fighter he once was and he did not fight a great fight--but he was smart, tactical and landed more punches than Valuev--whop basically did nothing.

      There are two part to all this that hurt boxing. The first is that we suffered throuigh another terrible heavyweight title match. The second is that the decision makes boxing look  crooked.  Except for that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the show? The good news is that boxing provides a lot of other content these days that is very good--and often even the right person gets the win.

  If you saw that figtht, give me some of your feedback.