Get Well Soon Michael Buffer

Best wishes go out to Michael Buffer who is having throat and neck surgery to remove small tumors. Along with Jimmy Lennon, Jr., Buffer is the best in the business. Watching the ring announcer to the Nate Campbell-Juan Diaz fight shows how a good ring announcer can add to the drama of hearing the decision. Friday Night Fights which has had a slew of local announcers through the years has had many who don't have a clue on how to properly announce a decision.

I must point out that Buffer's lead in to his signature line at the Pac-JMM fight this past week was uncharacteristic and beyond self-serving. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. That said, nothing but the best to Buffer and here is to a speedy recovery and a quick return to the ring.

Vegas Observation

I was at the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez fight this past weekend. The crowd was unbelievable in their intensity. I was sitting in the lower 200s which isn't the best place to score a fight, but from there I had JMM up a few points. After the decision was read the Pacquiao fans seemed to be more relieved than ecstatic. The fight was close and could have gone either way, but they knew they dodged a bullet.

This was my second trip to Vegas for a major fight, with Mayweather-Judah having been the other one. It was my first time taking in the full experience however, and I truly understand why Vegas casinos spend the money they do on site fees. All weekend the casino was crawling with fight fans at the tables and in the sports book. You seemingly couldn't see a table without at least one Pacquiao fan. The overpriced ($13 for a tuna sandwich) restaurants in the Mandalay Bay were packed, and after the fight you had 11,000 people pour into the casino. This doesn't even include the increased room rates for a fight weekend. When all is said and done, the casino has to be making out handsomely on a successful fight such as Pac-JMM II. While I would love to see more fights in cities other than Vegas, one trip is all it takes to realize that Vegas is going nowhere, and would be stupid to do so. As Money May likes to say, if it makes dollars, it makes sense.

Cuba

I wrote a little bit about this a few weeks ago when Yuri Gamboa fought on ESPN2, but today William Detloff has an excellent piece on Cuban boxers and the possibility for some change now that Fidel has retired. I personally don't think things will change much as Raul is just as barbaric as Fidel.

Vazquez-Marquez III

I will have some more thoughts later in the day hopefully, but for now all I can say is WOW!

Make Them Fight

Yesterday I read Joe Koizumi's article entitled "Referee's Role In Big Fights" and couldn't disagree more. It is not the refs job to make sure that fans are satisfied by the fight. The fans know going in that there is the possibility that one or both of the fighters will stink the joint out. Koizumi starts out by saying that he was greatly disappointed in the lack of exchanges in the fight. I was too, but that doesn't mean that the ref should have stepped in. Next, he argues that in Japan Klitschko's safety first style and Ibragimov's counter punching style would never have been tolerated. They don't allow counter punching in Japan? I wasn't aware. I know that Edwin Valero now makes his home there, but that doesn't mean all fighters are like him.

The fighter risks his life by entering the ring, and it is his prerogative he he chooses to box safety first. The argument that the rules should be different in "big" fights is absurd and holds no water. What is a big fight anyway? Was Pavlik-Taylor II a big fight? There was no title at stake and the event did not do gangbusters at the box office. It was a big fight, but who can really defined one or do you just follow Justice Stewart's definition of porn.

My advice to Koizumi is to only attend fights where Vic Drakulich or Arthur Mercante Jr. are the refs. Those two won't hesitate to issue ridiculous commands like "throw punches, defense and safety be damned."

The fight was not entertaining. Not every fight is going to be. The remedy is to not pay money to see the fighters again, not to order them to fight in a way they have chosen not to. The long term effect of forcing guys to fight is that while there will be more entertaining fights, there will be more injuries and possibly fatalities.

Comments on Joe Louis Doc

Just finished watching the HBO documentary on Joe Louis. Like all of HBO's documentary work, it was expertly done if not entirely groundbreaking for those familiar with Louis. What was if not inaccurate, but skewed, was the portrayal of Max Schmeling. While there was a brief segment showing Schmeling sent to the front lines after being KO'd by Louis, the documentary didn't do enough to distance Schmeling from the Nazi regime. Schmeling was not a Nazi and did not support the Nazis. In fact Schmeling risked his life to save Jews. When the documentary mentions that Schmeling was given Coca Cola distribution rights in Germany and became a millionaire, it links him to Nazis, which is inappropriate. Schmeling was a great man who was a pallbearer at Louis' funeral and helped Louis financially.

After the documentary in an interview by Max Kellerman with Wladimir Klitschko, Klitschko mentions that Schmeling was a hero of his and that he had goosebumps when he met him.

Friday Night Fights Tugs At The Heart Strings

Last nights Friday Night Fights was the TV debut of Cuban gold medalist Yuriorkis Gamboa. Gamboa looked sensational in a quick first round KO of Johnny Edwards. Gamboa defected from Fidel Castro's Communist hell and is now based in Miami. His story is a great one, as few fighters over the years have been able to escape the Communist regime and have a pro career (Joel Casamayor among the few exceptions).

What struck me yesterday however was the brief piece ESPN did featuring Edwards. Edwards, whose brother drowned when he was 8 and Edwards 11, blames himself for the death. The interview with Edwards was one of the most heart-wrenching interviews I have ever seen. You can see the pain that he lives with. After that interview you couldn't help but cheer for Edwards. Alas, it wasn't meant to be.

Vivian Harris

Vivian Harris is moving up to 147 pounds. Before he fought and got stopped by Carlos Maussa, Harris was a highly regarded fighter, and for a while you heard some people say that Mayweather and particularly Ricky Hatton were ducking him. We all know what has happened since then as Harris was brutally KO'd by Junior Witter. A move up to welterweight came too late for Harris who decided to stay at 140 and chase paper titles as opposed to fight at a weight where he was more comfortable. In his lackluster effort against Juan Lazcano, Harris was drained. At this point I believe Harris is just cannon fodder and will be at best a gatekeeper, at worst he will get hurt. Let's hope that if Harris gets KO'd again he decides to hang them up.

JT vs RJJ

Boxingtalk reported today that Jermain Taylor and Roy Jones, Jr. might fight as early as June. Jones is bigger than Taylor, but my initial reaction is that Taylor beats Jones on youth and punch output, not to mention that Jones is shaky in the chin department. It is an interesting fight, but one that I am not anxious to see because Jones isn't what he once was and Taylor is coming off of two losses.

All that said, this is one I'll believe when the two are in the ring.