Martin Wade's Loaded Glove for the week ending February 27th, 2011

 

 

 

I could trouble you with an "intro" but I won't, not after what we all just saw last Saturday night. Hopefully the executives at HBO saw it, and hopefully they see the wisdom in allocating resources to smaller guys who want to fight -as opposed to the allegory of "star making." What Nonito Donaire did is hopefully a wake up call to those of you who hold out on giving the little guys love. Boxing is a simple sport, four-year olds can understand it and at its base definition it is the art of harming a competent equal.  Fernando Montiel is more than a competent equal and yet the networks and promoters continue to tell you that men who do not engage "equals" as a matter of "business" are worthy of your admiration. Hell they don't have to tell you to admire certain fighters, you do so willingly without precondition for something as inconsequential as shared ethnicity. Well, I'll tell you what; I'm not Filipino but I know what the hell I saw and hopefully (with objectivity) you did too. Damnit I promised not to be long winded, and once again I failed. Alright fight fans, let's rock 'em up and get after it, ring the damn bell already.

 

 

Nonito Donaire, What more can I say?  

 

Right after HBO ran a clip of legendary fights that included a Corrales/Castillo highlight sans the "courtesy of Showtime Sports" the viewer (that means you) was treated to a little "5/1." As you all know from the details spilled after Top Rank reached an agreement with Showtime "the promoter" usually pays for the 24/7 series. Montiel was drastically archetypical of the modern Aztec warrior and honestly it could have easily been about the proverbial "insert name here." What I love about Mexican warriors is the thread of family throughout their narratives; the fathers and uncles who also plied their trade in the squared circle. Comparatively, Donaire's story alone is worthy of a 24/7 and you kind of wonder if the suits have an idea of when a fighter is compelling or interesting. The backdrop of hierarchical conflict, blending American/Filipino culture and the Darth Vader of Sports Medicine (Victor Conte) make Donaire someone YOU should want to know more about. After the vignette Roy Jones was a reliable go to guy for the subject of becoming a man under a tyrannical father figure. It was one of the few times he didn't mention God's will, but the Holy Ghost caught up to the champ a little later in the evening.

 

During the first "feeling out" round it was clear that the smaller Montiel was going to have a problem getting his offense going. The champion seemed just a bit off and he seemed uneasy about Donaire's hovering and crowding. In round two Montiel did what most smaller fighters do to get inside, he started feinting and working behind the jab. The brilliance of Donaire is that like many fighters with speed advantages he forfeited his own jab and actually "out-feinted" the smaller man. Before you could say "flash" Donaire caught Montiel coming in with a counter hook dropping him into a Trevor Berbick-like script. What followed was a matter of debate all week, referee Russell Mora "honored" Montiel's gutsy rise at the count of 9 and allowed Donaire to stamp him one more time before stepping in. Roy Jones calls it a matter of respect, and those of us who don't get hit for a living call it crazy. The referee's decision got some mainstream play this past week as a topic on ESPN's "PTI." Michael Wilbon, who claims to be a big fan but lost all credibility when he called Mayweather a coward, decided with no Carmelo Anthony trade to speak of (it was Monday) boxing was a good cover. I believe it will forever be subjective, but I'd rather see a fight stopped a punch soon than a punch too late. Montiel is left with a fractured jaw and bruised ribs for his gallant effort to clear things up in the Bantamweight division.

And Speaking of Top Rank...

 Mike Jones, the welterweight with a linebacker's torso, fought a measured, technically proficient fight to erase his first performance vs. Jesus Soto Karass. Part of the separation between prospect and contender is whether you can carry out a disciplined fight plan and Jones hit all his marks. Behind a steady jab and passive aggressive body attack Karass had no way of putting on the pressure he predicted. After a series of head butts,  Jones reduced Karass to playing the Jake LaMotta role in Raging Bull. I was very impressed by both fighters but I don't see anything for "Dwight Howard Jones" at welterweight. I'd love to see Karass go against Chicago's David Estrada on any platform; fighters like these two "make" new fans the old fashioned way. Now insert Bob Arum, who took a shot at WBC champion Andre Berto for fighting "busboys" and stealing loot. Lou DiBella's counter to Arum was Donaire like citing the obvious; Arum's blatant packaging of warmed over "garbage" otherwise known as Pacquiao/Mosley and Cotto/Mayorga. I think both men are right, and both men are simply protecting their assets. Wilfred Benitez won his first belt at 17 and his job description became tougher. He fought championship caliber fighters while building a legendary rep for not training. Andre Berto is the WBC welterweight champion so to say he isn't ready for Jones but ready for Victor Ortiz a division below is a joke. From a developmental standpoint the only difference between the two is that belt. It's kind of weird that DiBella beat Golden Boy at their own game; Ortiz should have a cynical paper belt by now. In fact, if Ortiz can pull off the upset you can actually say his rise to the top is similar to that of battlers from a bygone era.

And they just keep on Selling  

I'm going to keep popping off about Pacquiao/Mosley until well… Mayweather vs. Pacquiao. Earlier in the week Shane Mosley added a new spin to this farce worthy of Bernard Hopkins and Floyd Mayweather themselves. According to Shane, he only loses to African-American fighters, and in case you haven't noticed Pacquiao isn't a brotha. He claims Miguel Cotto's victory over him wasn't "clear" and only Forrest, Wright and Mayweather really beat him. Technically, this is kind of true, but allow me to clear some things up for Shane. Forrest beat him outright, Wright merely showed him where the line was from a size standpoint and Mayweather showed him his time is up. Once your time is up, anybody can take advantage of this reality; fighters much greater than Shane came up short against much worse than Pacquiao. If you want to split hairs, he couldn't close the Cotto deal because he got out-boxed and he was clearly the slower man in his second bout with De La Hoya. I hate that Mosley is desperate enough to go into the racial room; it's a lonely place, man, Bernard is there rationalizing Calzaghe whipping him and Floyd is playing with his phone. Apparently, Freddie Roach is worried about Mosley, even charging Manny to start training camp early to combat overconfidence. I commend this attitude but keep it real, he's training to get Shane out of there so Top Rank can use his prone body as a bargaining chip against Floyd Mayweather-nothing more.