RingSide Report

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Floyd Mayweather JR & the M.I.A. in BOXING

By Gina L. Caliboso

Here it is, the middle of the summer and I’m overwrought with the recent bouts that have surprised me over the last few weeks. First, Amir Khan’s loss – a rather unfortunate one, but a well-deserved win for Danny Garcia. Second, the strange affair with Adrien Broner vs. Vicente Escobedo. And also, the works in progress for Nonito “Filipino Flash” Donaire in his victory over Mathebula. I loved seeing Guru Dan Inosanto enter the ring with Donaire and the homage to the colors Bruce Lee wore in “Game of Death. It hasn’t been a quiet boxing summer by any means, but I will offer an opinion that with the recent events in boxing, it’s awfully quiet for OTHER boxers. We haven’t heard much from these other fighters and with good reason. With that, I just wanted to give an honorable mention for those currently out of the boxing loop and hope for a quick and safe return to the ring.

Floyd Mayweather, JR

I tend to use Facebook for fun and light hearted news, positive quotes, and pictures of me and family outings. My status updates can sometimes be a movie quote or two – nothing heavy. But as we all tend to ‘Like’ things and keep up with ‘status updates’ these days, I am ‘Friends’ with Mayweather Promotions and it felt a little eerie to have a status update to write him a letter in jail. Yes, fight fans, Mayweather JR is currently serving time in jail and there hasn’t been a peep out of him. It’s been quiet – too quiet. And really, what is he doing to keep himself busy in jail because as I hear, all one has is time in jail. Planning the bout with Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley perhaps? In talks with Pacquiao? I do miss his take on the business side of things to get back into the ring for the next challenge. The sport of boxing needs its characters. And Floyd “Money” Mayweather, JR, you are missed!

Andre Dirrell

The Flint, Michigan fighter has been quiet although a quick search brought up the result that 50 Cent will be signing Yuriorkis Gamboa and Andre Dirrell to his promotion company. Huh? What? 50 Cent, actor, rapper, has been an active part of Money Mayweather’s team and has apparently started a boxing promotion company called, TMT (The Money Team). Great, another boxing promotion company that will keep its fighters away from other fighters. As for Dirrell, I think his potential has yet to be realized. He was well on his way to a return to the ring, a potential opponent would have been Andre Ward as I predicted. But he hasn’t quite recovered from the DQ hit by Abraham. He cited ‘neurological’ problems and postponed an immediate return to the ring. In his last fight back in December 2011, he fought against Darryl Cunningham and earned a 2nd round KO.

The Brothers Klitschko

Vitali. Wladimir. It’s horrible to think that I can’t ever separate the two boxers because they have virtually owned the heavyweight belts for as long as I can remember. They both are strong, powerful, athletic, and really work the jab. However, as far as ring presence, the heavyweight division is not a division that I like to watch. The Klitschko Brother don’t have the magnetism nor the brashness swag of a heavyweight. But on a boxing technical level, they have yet to be matched. Sadly, with the lack of contenders in the heavyweight division, the Klitschko brothers will remain as titleholders unless they decide to fight each other. I can’t think of a more boring fight. The heavyweight division definitely needs some new blood. Missing in action? Viable heavyweight contenders.

Paul “Punisher” Williams

With all concern and respect, it’s with sad mention I bring up Williams. Last we heard, he was in a motorcycle crash and recovering. Once the most feared man in the ring, Williams was in a state of reinvention for his career. He remained a top competitor in the light middleweight division and I always felt he and Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez would face off again. It would have been psychologically good for him to rematch against Martinez. And now, with Kelly “Ghost” Pavlik on his own comeback, it was quite a tragedy to know that Williams would no longer be part of that division. I wish him nothing but good luck and blessings on his road to recovery.

Bernard Hopkins

As the record holder for the oldest, active fighter to ONCE hold a title belt, the “Executioner” Hopkins has been left with two ugly fights etched into our immediate memories. He fought a brilliant fight against Jean Pascal in a rematch to earn a 12 round unanimous decision for the WBC Light Heavyweight title. Then, he faced Chad Dawson in what looked like an MMA takedown and ended up with a shoulder injury. He faced “Bad” Chad again and lost in a 12 round majority decision. In this bout, Hopkins looked older and couldn’t put away Dawson for the win. I’m not quite sure where Hopkins plays in boxing right now. Hopkins remains ranked #2 in the light heavyweight division behind #1 ranked Chad Dawson.

So, there it is, fight fans, just a few of the boxers that are missing in action – at least for the summer. The sport of boxing has never failed in keeping the fans on their toes to see what potential matchup may occur or even the potential for an upset. I feel as if things are a bit off kilter since Pacquiao’s loss against Bradley and it was a tough blow to boxing overall. But now, recent champions such as Garcia, Donaire, and Broner have shown that boxing is rich and filled with a rich pool of promising fight matchups.

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