Watchdog Answers on Mayweather vs Hatton, Roy Jones Jr, Lacy, Manfredo and much More


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Watchdog Answers on Mayweather vs Hatton, Roy Jones Jr, Lacy, Manfredo and much More

Watchdog by Steve Hudgins (Dec 8, 2007) Doghouse Boxing (Photo © Will Hart, HBO-PPV)

This week Watchdog tackle the subjects, How to fix boxing, Mayweather/Hatton and the $54.95 PPV, Roy Jones Jr., plus the Welterweights and much more in this week's edition of Ask The Watchdog.

Hey Watch Dog! What would you do to put boxing back at the top? Dennis

THE WATCH DOG’S RESPONSE: The answer is simple. Fans and boxing media need to stop recognizing the

sanctioning bodies all together. By doing so boxing instantly rids itself of corruption and confusion. We’d only have 1 champion per division and since the only purpose of 17 weight classes is for the ABC boys to collect more sanctioning fees, boxing could finally cut the weight classes back to 8 or 10 maximum. Then suddenly everyone knows all of the weight classes. Suddenly the one and only champion in each weight class is a household name. And by absorbing the Junior and Super weight classes into the still existing weight classes, just like that, each weight division gets a gigantic infusion of talent which means more great matchups. And the more great matchups we have, the more great fights we get! Folks, it really is as simple as that. If this were to happen, boxing would be mainstream again within 2 years.

No fight with Mayweather or Winky Wright in it should be priced over $50. It's simply ludicrous to pay that much.. It should be no more than $34.95 because it's guaranteed to be a stinker. Floyd comes to outpoint his opponent and take the least risk. He has the same mentality as Roy Jones Jr when he was in his prime, “just get the W, and hell with the fans” ... if

Floyd loses, I'll wait and see the rebroadcast the following week. And Watchdog I wouldn't even put myself on boxing news blackout for this. - Jeremy

THE WATCH DOG’S RESPONSE: Good points all the way around Jeremy!

I agree with you that Hatton can outwork Mayweather. It will probably take him 2 rounds or so to adjust to Mayweather's speed and style but I think he can bang out a decision as long as he is aggressive and fairly effective. Aim for the body, hit on the arm, elbows, shoulders, anywhere. It's all up to Hatton; we know what Mayweather is going to do. De La Hoya would have gotten the decision if he would have used his jab and been more active. Can Hatton sustain a furious offense for 12 rounds? Also, $54.95 is way too much for a PPV. For $50, you can sometimes get an upper level seat at a live card which includes many more fights and the incredible atmosphere. - Dave, Cincinnati

THE WATCH DOG’S RESPONSE: Yes, that is the question isn’t it? Can Hatton sustain the necessary offense over 12 rounds? We’ll find out soon enough. And obviously I’m not the only one who has a problem with this price tag!

Watchdog, my man...Bika/Jaidon for fight of the year? Did you get caught up in the hype too? don't get me wrong...good fight for a Contender finale but these guys are not even in the same level of Taylor/Pavlik or Marquez/Vasquez II....anyway that is my opinion. Second.. as far as the PPV prices...hell yeah they are high! but what is a fan like me to do? I looove boxing and I have to buy them...I hate missing a fight and then not being able to talk about it with my buddies. What I want to see is better undercard fights...believe it or not Vargas/Mayorga was not all bad..price could have been better, maybe $30 but I was not upset after the fights ended. I didn't feel like someone screwed me and didn't even kiss me...lol...

Last, one fight I am dying to see is Edison "Pantera" Miranda vs Jean Pascal in June 2008!! what are your thoughts on this big Dog? - George AKA #1 Tito Trinidad fan, NJ

THE WATCH DOG’S RESPONSE: 1. Nope, didn’t get caught up in any hype, I just really enjoyed watching that fight. 2. The main thing people can do is to boycott the PPV by not purchasing it. If you refuse to go that route, you can try to find an outlet(Bar or club) that will be showing the PPV card and watch it there or if you absolutely insist on purchasing it, invite your whole town over to help pay for it, that way it’s only being ordered once rather than hundreds of times. Here’s the thing to remember: If 1 million people buy the PPV for 54.95, there will be more. If only 200,000 people buy it at that price, they’ll get the idea and with the exception of possibly Oscar De La Hoya fights, it won’t be happening anymore. It’s up to all of us to decide what we want and let them know…..with our wallets! 3. I’m not sure about Miranda at 168lbs yet. I’d lean toward Pascal, but I think it’s a fun fight!

Wow, how can you not have Vazquez/Marquez II as fight of the year. It’s not often two fighters outdo their first encounter particularly when the first meeting was a strong candidate for fight of the year to that point. Keep up the great work, and enjoy the holidays. - Jorge

THE WATCH DOG’S RESPONSE: I would have had that as the fight of the year without question, but the referee totally ruined the fight for me. The only thing I think of when I think back on that bout is how a wonderful fight was ruined by a panicking referee. It frustrates the hell out of me. Nope, can’t make a fight like that fight of the year.

Hey Watchdog, I really respect your choices of Pacquiao vs. Marquez and of course Vasquez vs. Marquez III as top matches that should be made, but Williams/Cintron winner against Hatton/Mayweather winner? I really have to disagree with that man...if anybody deserves to be put up against the Hatton/Mayweather winner it's Cotto, by far. He has definitely earned it, and I think it would be much more of a fight than Cintron or Williams could put up. What do you think? - Brandon, OR

THE WATCHDOG’S RESPONSE: You make a really good point there Brandon, so let me elaborate. With the Cotto/Margarito proposed bout looming for early summer, I’d prefer to see the Cintron/Williams winner face the Hatton/Mayweather winner. By the time that’s all cleared up, the Cotto/Margarito bout would have a winner. Then we’d be down to the last 2 fighters standing out of those 6. Of course, Kermit Cintron just pulled out of the Paul Williams fight with a hand injury, so that throws a monkey wrench into that idea anyhow.

How confident are you Margarito vs. Cotto will take place since there have been rumors Cotto will get the winner of Hatton vs. Mayweather? Rudy - Chicago

THE WATCH DOG’S RESPONSE: It’s sounding like if Hatton beats Mayweather, Hatton vs De La Hoya would be all but set. That would make the Cotto/Margarito in June almost a certainty. However, if Mayweather wins, there are possibilities of Cotto facing Mayweather or De La Hoya instead of Margarito. We’ll just have to see how it all plays out.

Who would you take in their prime, Roy Jones Jr or Floyd Mayweather Jr.? - Edwin White Sr Charleston -South Carolina

THE WATCH DOG’S RESPONSE: Roy Jones Jr

Floyd says he is the G.O.A.T and then compares himself to the All-Time greats. Floyd is not pound for pound the best in boxing. Sugar Ray Robinson fought every one. PBF has Hatton calling him out, Paul Williams calling him out, Cotto calling him out and Margarito calling him out. He chooses Hatton. The smallest, cut-easy, no balance having fighter of them all. After Floyd stops Hatton due to cuts, who will he fight next? I bet he calls out Sugar Shane. The Coward! Batman, Miami, Florida

THE WATCH DOG’S RESPONSE: If he beats Hatton, I’m expecting him to go after a Mosley fight also, although it wouldn’t surprise me if he targeted Miguel Cotto either, as I think Cotto has shown just enough vulnerability for Floyd to feel good about his chances in that fight. First things first though. Hatton is definitely no pushover and has a real chance here.

What do you think of Manfredo vs. Lacy? I think it will be a good fight. Being a Rhode Islander I'm pulling for Peter! As for the Paul Williams situation, I thought Margarito busted him up a lot more that what he did to Antonio. Williams is a pity-pat puncher, and was lucky to get away with that decision. He chased Antonio for so long and Margarito gave him a shot....since there is no opponent available...why can't he just give Margarito a rematch!? The Williams camp is scared of fighting Margarito again that's why! What are your thoughts on that? – Jonathon

THE WATCH DOG’S RESPONSE: No, I don’t think Williams or his people are scared of anyone at 147 lbs and while he is not a big time power puncher, I wouldn’t classify him as a pity pat puncher either. Right now Margarito has his sights set on Cotto and everything he does between now and June will be in preparation for that fight. If both of them have won all of their fights between now and July, I think talks of a rematch will heat up at that time. Speaking of Williams, he was scheduled to face Kermit Cintron on February 2nd, however as I mentioned, Cintron has pulled out of the fight with a hand injury. I hear Williams’s people have offered the fight to both Zab Judah and Carlos Quintana. Both of those fights are mismatches in my opinion. I’d much rather see the replacement fight be against someone like Joshua Clottey.

The price tag for this PPV is absurd, I don’t care that they only raised it 5 bucks from what it should have been its still 5 bucks out of my pocket. Boxing only hurts itself; I wish we could tear this sport down and rebuild it. It really is just a shame that the best fights are only on pay per view. The really sad part about it is that not even half these pay per view fights even live up to their hype. You hear the talk from these guys “yeah I’m going to have one last big fight on pay per view for my fans” aka Vargas, or Trinidad, or Oscar. If they really gave a crap about their fans they wouldn’t charge us 50 bucks to watch it, especially since their rich as hell any way. – Brian, KY

THE WATCH DOG’S RESPONSE: Well said Brian. You speak for a lot of us!

THE WATCH DOG’S NOTES:

Ring Magazine responded to my recent open letter to them in their latest edition.

Nigel Collins mentions that he thinks I should write an open letter to the major television networks that regularly televise boxing about why they aren’t taking a stance against the ABC boys and he’s right, I should and I will in an upcoming edition of Ask The Watch Dog.

But today I want to address their response. I don’t want this to come across as me attacking Ring Magazine, because I think that they are helping the sport by giving everyone an alternative to the corruption and confusion which are the ABC organizations and I highly recommend everyone to fully ignore all of the sanctioning bodies and follow The Ring ratings and The Ring ratings ONLY! What I’m trying to do is urge The Ring to take that next step and lead a path that the rest of the boxing media can follow.

The Ring Editor Nigel Collins mentioned a reason for continuing to mention the ABC groups and publish pictures of their irrelevant trinkets because it is part of the news. Personally, I’m tired of boxing media outlets using the excuse of - - It’s not our job to save the sport, it’s only our job to cover it - -The Ring has taken the first step and given everybody an alternative. They went further by no longer listing the ABC group’s ratings. I’d really like to see them go the rest of the way and no longer show pictures of these alphabet soup belts in their magazine. And even better, inform their writers to stop referring to fighters by their Alphabet Soup rankings and use only The Ring ratings instead. Sorry, but continuing to show their pictures and talk about them as though they matter, gives the ABC groups credibility. If Ring Magazine simply would tell their photographers that they will no longer publish pictures of the ABC belts, I have a feeling that their photographers would offer them a plethora of pictures that does not include that meaningless strap. And if Editor Nigel Collins would inform The Ring writers to mention only the Ring Ratings instead of the fighters standing within a sanctioning body, I have a feeling they would oblige. Why wouldn’t they? Those are the next steps for The Ring. Hell, those steps are a lot easier to go forward with than it was to come up with an alternative to the ABC groups in the first place.

Again, it’s nice that someone is doing something and I applaud The Ring for giving everyone an alternative, I just wish they’d go the rest of the way with it. It’s time.

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