“Randy’s Ringside” Email Bag On Ringside Report

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By Randy Gordon

One of my favorite segments on the SiriusXM show I host along with “Gentleman” Gerry Cooney, is a segment called “Questions for Cooney & the Commish.” These are questions asked by you, the fans, and sent directly to my personal e-mail address, which I will give to you in a moment. Send me your boxing-related questions, thoughts, rants, praises, lists and whatever else it is you would like to tell me, ask me and share with others. I will try to get at least one dozen questions in per week. You can send them to: TheCommishRandyG@gmail.com. For today’s kickoff list of questions, I will use ones which I received in the last five days. Unless anonymity is requested requested, I will begin each e-mail question with your name, city and state.
Ready? Let’s go.

JOE PETERSON, Chicago, IL—What do you think the first major fight will be when boxing returns to action?

By “major fight,” I guess you mean a boxing event which will be on PPV, as opposed to the fights we’ve been watching on ESPN or upcoming on the return of DAZN. My guess is the Vasily Lomachenko-Teofimo Lopez lightweight unification bout will be the first major fight we’ll see. The reason is, both fighters are open to squaring off in an room with no fans and no media. They’ll still be able to earn a big paycheck, as fans around the world will undoubtedly have no question about buying this matchup.

CHUCK ANDREWS, Henderson, NV—Isn’t outstanding welterweight Vergil Ortiz going to be fighting soon?

Yes. Ortiz will be in action on July 24, when he faces Sammy Vargas in Indio, CA. The 22-year-old Ortiz is 15-0 (15) and considered to be the future of the welterweight division, the heir-apparent to both Terence Crawford and Errol Spence.

RYAN SPENCE, Chicago, IL—Have you been impressed by heavyweight prospect Jared Anderson? Do you see him fighting for a title next year?

I absolutely have been impressed. For a 20-year-old, he already shows a tremendous amount of poise to go along with his vast skills. Let’s not jump the gun with a title shot. He’s only 5-0. I’d like to see him develop even more physically and skillwise. If he stays busy—and he probably will with Top Rank—he’ll be ready for a title shot by the end of 2021 or in early 2022. By that time, he will have had around another 10 fights. He has too much talent and charisma to rush him along.

TONY PITTS, Indianapolis, IN—Last week, Michael Nunn won a four-round decision against former MMA champion Pat Miletich. Does Nunn plan to take his comeback further?

Unfortunately, yes he does. On Monday, the 57-year-old Nunn, who hadn’t fought since 2002, told me that the victory over Miletich, (who is 52) “got my competitive juices flowing. Maybe I can now get a fight against against James Toney or Roy Jones Jr.” Sadly, he wasn’t kidding. We’ll keep you posted.

BOB McCRIMMINS, New Orleans, LA—Do you think Dillian Whyte will show up in top shape when he faces Alexander Povetkin on August 22? For his last fight, he looked fat and slow in beating down former contender Mariusz Wach.

Recently, Whyte said he had been under a great deal of pressure, especially in his longtime battle with the WBC in trying to secure the title fight he so rightfully deserves. He said the pressure cause him to eat excessively, something he does when under pressure. He promised to be in the “best shape you’ve ever seen me in” when he clashes with Povetkin on August 22.

TERENCE SYLER, Boston, MA—I recently watched the first Roberto Duran –Sugar Ray Leonard fight again, as I have been watching a lot of fights while on COVID-19 lockdown. Do you think the Duran of that night could have beaten Floyd Mayweather?

Without question. I think just about any version of Roberto Duran would have beaten Mayweather, who was certainly TBE (The Beat of his Era, not The Best Ever). The power and pressure Duran put on Leonard that night were too much for Leonard, and would have been too much for Mayweather.

TOMMY HAYES, Minneapolis, MN—I heard that Gervonta Davis is in talks to face Leo Santa Cruz. Is this true? If it is, what are your thoughts about such a matchup?

Showtime Boxing recently announced that they will be putting on

Nine fight cards over the final five months of 2020, with the Charlos twins—Jermall and Jermell—fighting in separate title bouts on September 26, and Gervonta Davis facing Leo Santa Cruz on October 24. I don’t like LSC’s chances in this one. He is going to be a blown=up featherweight against a bona-fide lightweight. Even if the fight is announced at 130 pounds, you just know Davis will not make the weight, pay a fine, then come in as a super lightweight—or more. I don’t see this as a winning proposition for LSC.

JACK MEYERS, Cleveland, Ohio—Were you impressed with Top Rank & ESPN’s Summer Boxing Series?

I thoroughly enjoyed what Top Rank gave us. We got to see Shakur Stevenson, a few upcoming heavyweight prospects (Jared Anderson, Guido Vianello), an interesting 168-pound, former MMA fighter (Clay Collard), females Mikaela Mayer and Kim Clavell, the talented and gutsy Maloney Brothers, top 130-pounder Miguel Berchelt, Olympic featherweight champ Robeisy Ramirez, hard-hitting Edgar Berlanga (who made it 14 straight first-round KO’s) and the incredibly-talented, unbeaten Jr. Welterweight sensation, Elvis Rodriguez. How could you be anything but impressed. The announcing? Now, that’s a different story. I’m nauseous from hearing the abuse of “Check Hook” and “Swivel Jab.” Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed the Summer Boxing Series of Top Rank/ESPN.

MATT DIAMOND, Staten Island, NY—Do you know if a date or site for light heavyweights Joe Smith Jr. v Elieder Alvarez has been finalized?

Their fight—which should produce “Fight of the Year” fireworks, has been confirmed for August 22 in “The Bubble” at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

STEVIE WHITTON, Charleston, S.C.—Do you think Deontay Wilder is finished?

I am not sure what you mean by “finished.” Do you mean finished as a champion? As a contender? As a fighter? I think the answer is in his hands. He needs to stop with his myriad of excuses and get back to the gym. He has some incredible strengths and just as many weaknesses. Unless he corrects those weaknesses, I see no way he can beat Tyson Fury in the rubber match, tentatively scheduled for December 19. Mark Breland did not cost him the fight. Neither did his ridiculous outfit. Neither did any dreamed up tampering with Fury’s gloves. The only thing Fury’s gloves did was beat a steady rhythm on Wilder’s body. Deontay suffered his first loss. He was mauled. He was stopped. He lost his title. The fact is, he hasn’t been able to deal with the loss. Get over it! This is boxing! Is Deontay finished? I don’t believe he is. I think he’s far from finished. However, what I think doesn’t count. Does Deontay Wilder himself think he’s finished? I guess we’ll know the answer on December 19.

SANDY ANDERSON, Providence,R.I.—Do you think we’ll ever get to see a Canelo Alvarez-Demetrius Andrade fight?

Ever? Yes. Soon? No. While Canelo is not ducking anybody, he has a large body of champions, contenders, and opponents to choose from, maybe more than any other champion in the sport.While I would personally love to see an Alvarez-Andrade fight—and I think we will—we may not see it until late in 2021 or early in 2022.

Again, the e-mail to send your questions to me is TheCommishRandyG@gmail.com. Send ‘em over.

See ya’ next week.

Be safe.