Golovkin-Macklin Preview and Prediction

Matthew Macklin, on the right.   




I count 48 rafters.





Adam Abramowitz is the head writer and founder of saturdaynightboxing.com.

He is also a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.

Contact Adam at saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

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Opinions and Observations: Broner-Malignaggi

Last year, Roy Jones was asked on an HBO broadcast how to crack the Philly shell defense. He responded that he didn't get paid to answer that question (if that doesn't tell you why he's the best analyst in the sport, then nothing will). But those looking for ways to take down the Philly shoulder roll should look no further than Paulie Malignaggi's effort against Adrien Broner last night. Malignaggi had the perfect game plan: volume, lateral movement, quick combinations and hitting what was available. In many rounds, he more than doubled Broner's punch output. He wasn't very accurate, but he almost threw his way to a victory. Scores were 115-113 and 117-111 for Broner and 115-113 for Malignaggi. I scored it 116-112 for Broner.

 

It was a very good version of Malignaggi last night. He looked much spryer against Broner than he did in his last fight against Pablo Cano. Paulie trained hard and gave himself a real opportunity to win the fight. He barely stayed in the pocket long enough for sustained exchanges and he made Broner move around the ring to find him. He had a real game plan about how to succeed against Broner, and within those parameters, he performed very well.

 

However, the superior shots in the fight were landed by Broner. His straight right hand and right uppercut repeatedly found their mark, and they were damaging blows. When he let his hands go, he practically landed at will. But let's not make this into some sort of celebratory event for Broner; he did just enough to win. That shouldn't be the standard for greatness.

 

Yes, Broner did an expert job of blocking most of Malignaggi's shots with his body and gloves. But one has to throw punches to win rounds. And Broner seemed uninterested in offense through most of the first third of the fight. Although he had started slowly in the past, he took far too long to get untracked last night.

 

Broner seemed surprised that Malignaggi refused to be discouraged by his power shots. Perhaps he had gotten into bad habits in his last fights at lightweight, where once he decided to let loose, his opponents wilted. Moving up to welterweight, Broner's power played differently and it wasn't enough to intimidate his opponent.

 

Through most of the night, Broner coasted. There are two ways to read this: 1. He was very relaxed against a challenging opponent. 2. He underestimated Malignaggi. I kept wondering if Broner actually knew that the fight was close. He certainly didn't fight like it. And while I gave him the last two rounds, he certainly didn't close the show with the type of gusto I would've liked to have seen. If Broner receives truthful advice from his team, he certainly will be told that yesterday wasn't one of his better performances.

 

Broner has quickly become one of the most polarizing figures in boxing. His lack of respect for his opponents, boundless arrogance and premature sense of his own greatness are off-putting to say the least. He has a plethora of boxing skills, excellent technique and real ring I.Q. but is that enough to become one of the best in the sport? Already cherry-picking his opponents at 23, Broner left the junior lightweight and lightweight divisions without having conquered many of the best fighters in those weight classes. He's looking for a short-circuit path to immortality and fortune in the sport but is he willing to put in the hard time out-of-the-ring to reach boxing's pinnacle? Surely, he will need to do better than last night to inspire talks of greatness. Barely getting by Daniel Ponce de Leon and Paulie Malignaggi does not make a legend. 

 

After Broner escaped with his win over Ponce de Leon (I thought de Leon won that fight rather easily), he went back to the gym and really improved in his subsequent bouts at 130. If he still has the same type of desire to get better, he will take the events of last night and work to become a more complete fighter. He'll need to realize that some judges score on activity and that at this level of boxing, all opponents need to be respected in the ring. If he incorporates these lessons, he will improve; if not, he will become just another great boxing talent who failed to reach his ceiling.  

 

His next move will be very interesting. He could compete at either the 140 or 147-lb. divisions. At 147, he would have to be matched carefully. Tallish volume punchers like Robert Guerrero and Devon Alexander would be difficult opponents for him. At junior welterweight, a fight against Lucas Matthysse seems like a pick-em to me. At a certain point, he's going to have to get in the ring against tough fighters who are still on the make. After last night's match, Golden Boy talked about Marcos Maidana as a potential opponent. That would certainly test Broner's chin at welterweight, but I think that the huge chasm in speed and accuracy between the two would tilt that match strongly in Broner's direction. I wouldn't hate that fight, but Golden Boy and Broner could do better.

 

For Paulie, he performed ably in defeat and perhaps a matchup against a Maidana or a Thurman would make a lot of sense for him. He showed that he still has the energy and desire to compete in the upper ranks of the welterweight division. He'll have another nice payday or two before he's through with the sport.

 

Finally, this was one of the most distasteful boxing promotions in recent memory. Much of the buildup surrounded both fighters' sexual history with a particular female. It was base and classless and ultimately detracted from both fighters. Even after the verdict was announced last night, they still had words about the woman. Broner acted like a sore winner and Paulie immediately implied that a judge was corrupt. (Ironically, Paulie got a highly debatable victory in his last fight; he was less verbose on this topic after that bout). 

 

The effects of the nasty promotion could've been dampened had the fight been more memorable. Ultimately, it was a rather pedestrian affair. Paulie boxed safely and strategically. Broner unloaded just enough power shots to turn the fight in his favor. It wasn't inspiring stuff, far from it. Afterwards, I wanted to take a shower.

Adam Abramowitz is the head writer and founder of saturdaynightboxing.com.

He is also a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.

Contact Adam at saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

@snboxing on twitter

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Why Michael Woods is Wrong...And Right

A few weeks ago, ESPN asked its boxing writers who would win a hypothetical bout between Sugar Ray Robinson (often regarded as the best fighter of all time) and Floyd Mayweather (the number-one guy for most in today's boxing landscape). All of its writers except one picked Robinson; Michael Woods predicted a draw. 

 

Naturally, more than a few in the boxing social media world directed their ire at Woods (who is also the editor in chief of www.thesweetscience.com and a gregarious presence on Twitter, with the notable exception of occasional political disquisitions). Many boxing fans – and more than a few writers – vehemently disagreed with Woods' assertion and started firing tweets at his direction, some respectful, some less so. Under attack, Woods said the following:

 

None of you KNOW Robinson would beat #mayweather. U [sic] can think he would. But saying u know paints u as a fool. It's all theorizing, boys.

 

— Michael Woods (@Woodsy1069) June 3, 2013

 

Woods’ main point was about certainty and the unknown. Of course, no one knows 100% what would happen in a fight between Robinson and Mayweather, just like no one knows what will happen in the stock market tomorrow. If the U.S. decides to invade Ecuador, no one can be certain that America would win. But millions of professionals across the world make their livelihoods in dealing with uncertainty and probability.

One of the truisms of market dynamics or predictive modeling is the lack of perfect information. Business leaders try to account for all the variables in considering a price increase or a merger but there is not 100% certainty in how that eventuality will manifest after enacted. But the lack of perfect information doesn't stop them from considering the probabilities and making decisions accordingly. Professional sports teams have far from perfect information when they draft or sign a player into their organization. They don't know how an athlete will adjust to the city or his role on the club, but that doesn't stop them from acting.

  

Woods' comment, "it's all theorizing boys," minimizes and dismisses the way people make educated decisions about not just boxing, but life. Would Stanford or MIT be a better choice for a teenager interested in developing applications for smartphones? Would Canada or Mexico be a superior spot for a family vacation? None of these answers is "known,” per se, but to try and assess these situation accurately is not a fool's errand. Theorizing is essential to our way of processing information and making decisions. There will never be perfect information, but we must continue to predict, assess and live. Yes, one should be prudent when judging probabilities, but to dismiss theorizing is antithetical to how we behave.

 

No, boxing writers are not solving world hunger or reducing nuclear arsenals, but they have a job to do. Many get paid for their opinions, beliefs and "theories." There is a market for their judgment, just like there is a market for the opinions of economists, political strategists and war planners. None of these professionals has perfect information but there is an economic need for their opinions. These predictions play a vital role in their respective economies; no need to downplay this reality.

 

Perhaps the most interesting part of Woods' comment is, "saying u [sic] know paints u as a fool." Let's brush Robinson-Mayweather aside for a moment. Let's say prime Mike Tyson faces a 5'11" 180-lb., 34-year-old amateur named Adam Abramowitz.  Mr. Abramowitz had no more than a few fights growing up, nothing organized. Although he has a pair of boxing gloves and has hit the bags at the gym, his physical skills leave a lot to be desired. What are the odds that Tyson beats Abramowitz in a 12-round fight?  It's not 100%. Probably something like 99.9999999%. Why not 100%? Tyson could blow out a knee throwing a first punch. He could turn his back like Oliver McCall and refuse to fight after eyeing Abramowitz's imposing physique (just kidding here). 

  

Would Woods feel comfortable saying that Tyson would beat Abramowitz?  Does he have enough confidence to make that prediction and state it as a fact without hedging?  He should. I know that I would. Abramowitz is a goner. I think we all would say that too. 

 

This brings up a larger point. Woods is trying to express that he and the boxing public should not have as much confidence in Robinson's perceived victory over Mayweather as they do. According to Woods' internal calculus, Mayweather provides more challenges for Robinson than others have considered. That's fine. I'm not going argue for or against his assessment, but essentially, there is a point somewhere between Robinson-Mayweather and Tyson-Abramowitz where we can safely say with confidence what we think will happen, and state it as a fact. There is a certain confidence level where opinion and probability become factual. 

 

Do we know that a plane will land when it takes off? No. But we act like it will. We live and plan our lives like it will. Do we schedule something for 20 minutes after it's supposed to land? No, we factor in delays. But we all live life assuming that once the plane is in the air, that it will land. Even though that probability is only 99.999-something percent certain. As normal human beings, we assert probabilities close to 100% as fact. We do it all the time. Why do we put our toothbrushes under the faucet? There's no guarantee that water will come out. Why do we order food at a restaurant? There's not 100% certainty that it will arrive at the table. 

  

In Woods' estimation, Robinson's potential triumph over Mayweather has too much uncertainty to be seen as a stipulated fact. Fine, he may be right on that. But his dismissive tone about theorizing is completely off base. Even though perfect information doesn't and won't exist, it doesn't mean that speculation isn't meaningful or vital. And if Robinson against Mayweather is too uncertain to be regarded as a fact what about U.S. vs. Ecuador or Tyson vs. Abramowitz? At a certain point, there is enough available information (not perfect, but enough) to declare a probability a fact in common parlance. If you are uncomfortable stating that Mike Tyson would beat Adam Abramowitz as a fact, then I will pat you on the back, thank you and tell you that you're dead wrong.  

 

********************************************************** 

But something about Woods' tweet gnawed at me: the certitude that too many boxing prognosticators exhibit regarding fights that are far from a sure thing. And I confess that I have been guilty of this in the past. I remember an exchange that I had with boxing writer Ryan Bivins about Adrien Broner in 2012 – it must have been in the fall (Bivins writes for Bad Left Hook and can be found at @sweetboxing on Twitter). He was lamenting the fact that Broner was moving up to lightweight from junior lightweight without facing most of the best guys in the division. My take was that I was so confident that Broner would defeat fighters like Salgado, Burgos and Mendez that I didn't need to see those matchup (we both thought that Uchiyama would have been an excellent opponent for Broner). The two of us had a spirited back-and-forth but we each held our respective ground.  

 

Thinking about that exchange, Woods' recent tweet and some of the action from this past weekend, I now see that Bivins was correct. Sure, Broner would have been favored against the Juan Carloses (either Salgado or Burgos) but he wouldn't have been such a prohibitive favorite that those fights had no merit. It was much closer to an even fight than Tyson-Abramowitz. Maybe Broner would have been a 4-1 or even a 6-1 favorite, but we see upsets of that magnitude every year – even ones that are more extreme. Danny Garcia and Josesito Lopez were both around 8-1 underdogs when they defeated Amir Khan and Victor Ortiz, respectively.  

 

Adonis Stevenson was not exactly an 8-1 underdog this weekend against Chad Dawson, but he was a sizable one – and he knocked him out in the first round. Erislandy Lara was favored over Alfredo Angulo and almost lost.  

 

Think about probabilities for a second. An 8-1 underdog means that a fighter has a 12.5% of winning (it's math, folks. 12.5 times 8 = 100).  While we wouldn't state as a fact that Amir Khan would beat Danny Garcia it's getting in range. Earlier this year, Broner took on Gavin Rees. I saw some sports books that had Rees as an underdog in the 18-1 or 20-1 range. According to that probability, Rees had no more than a 5% chance of winning. If you were to ask knowledgeable boxing people for a prediction of a hypothetical Broner-Rees matchup, they would state something along the lines of, "Broner would crush him." They would say this as a fact not as a supposition, and this is where it gets hairy, and they would be right.  

 

Ultimately, there is a point between 8-1 and 20-1 where enough uncertainly has been removed from a contest where a conjecture slides into factual territory. Yes, there will always be those once-in-a-lifetime upsets like Buster Douglas beating Mike Tyson (Douglas was anywhere from a 40-1 to an 80-1 dog), similar to there will always be a 100-year storm. Freak events occur, but that doesn't necessarily change the decision making process whatsoever. People don't buy earthquake insurance in Philadelphia. Could a severe earthquake damage Philadelphia? It's possible, but no insurance broker in their right mind would offer it in the city and no one would buy it. People walk around in Philadelphia believing that an extreme earthquake will not damage their property.  Are they right? Yes. Are they 100% right? Never.  

 

In conclusion, boxing pundits should strongly consider the possibility of uncertainty perhaps more closely than they have been before bloviating with 100% confidence (Good Woods). However, the idea of 100% confidence is a myth of probability and theorizing should not be seen as pejorative (Bad Woods). Woods is right to admonish those that don't exercise enough caution but he's wrong in dismissing the necessity of probability. At a certain point of confidence, a probability becomes a fact. No, Robinson-Mayweather may not reach that threshold and Broner-Salgado wouldn't have either, but Tyson-Abramowitz and many other mismatches would meet that standard. Let's not pretend that this standard doesn't exist. As a confidence level nears 100%, opinion becomes fact.

Adam Abramowitz is the head writer and founder of saturdaynightboxing.com.

He is also a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.

Contact Adam at saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

@snboxing on twitter

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Queensberry Rules Radio Show

I had the pleasure to be on the Queensberry Rules Radio Show today with James Foley, from Bad Left Hook, and Patrick Connor, from Queensberry Rules. We talked about the action from last weekend (Maidana-Lopez, Lara-Angulo, Dawson-Stevenson and more) and look ahead to next week’s action which is highlighted by the Mikey Garcia-Juan Manuel Lopez clash. I also give my early take on Mayweather-Alvarez.

 

Click here to listen.

Adam Abramowitz is the head writer and founder of saturdaynightboxing.com.

He is also a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.

Contact Adam at saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

@snboxing on twitter

Follow Saturday Night Boxing on Facebook:

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Boxinghead Battle Update 6-8-13

Here are the updated standings for the 2013 Boxinghead Battle prediction game, a contest where professional boxing observers and amateur fans compete to see who can pick the most fights correctly. For the full set of rules for the 2013 Boxinghead Battle, click here. There are 66 players currently participating in this half-season of the Battle. Boxing Advocate currently leads at +14.

Updated 6-8-13

Abramowitz, Adam (saturday night boxing) +9
Anjuum, Mohammad -1
Barry, Alex (boxing seed) +8
Boxing 101 +1
Boxing Advocate +14
Bivins, Ryan (bad left hook) +3

Browning, Ryan +1

Campbell, Brian (espn) 7
Christ, Scott (bad left hook) +10

Coppinger, Mike (ring) +4

Coreschi, Christopher +13

Craze, Tom (bad left hook) +5
Daniel +6
Dre +4
Enriquez, Hernan +1
Ferguson, Billy (fighthype) +8

Fischer, Douglass (ring) +4

Foley, James (bad left hook) +6

Frauenheim, Norm (15 rounds) +7
Freeburn, Shannon 0
Freeman, Jeff (KO Digest) +2
Fruman, Andrew (bad left hook) -1
Garcia, Julio +1
Greisman, David (boxing scene) +1
Groves, Lee (the ring) +4
Grozev, Radoslav +1
Guryashkin, Igor (espn) +2
Halford, Adrian +4
Hamad +2
Haro, Frank 0
Hegarty, Lucy +12
Jrosales 0
Kitchen, Kory (bad left hook) +3

Levine, Adam -2
Marotta, Rich +5
Maquinana, Ryan (boxing scene) +2
McCarson, Kelsey (the sweet science) +7

Mojica, Matthew +10

Mulcahey, Marty +2
Oakes, Dave (bad left hook) +7
Obermayer, Jack (fight fax) 0
Odessa, Joey (MMA odds) +1

Ortega, Mark (ring) +6

Pawel +6
Poplawski, Ray +4

Rafael, Dan (espn) +8

Rawson, Paul +12
Richardson, Matt (fight news) +3
Robinson, Chris (boxing scene) +6

Rold, Cliff (boxing scene) 6

Rosenthal, Michael (ring) +3
Salazar, Victor (boxing voice) +10

Santoloquito, Joe (ring) +8

Sher, Laurence +4
Sledskillz +9
Songalia, Ryan (ring) +2

Starks, Tim (tqbr) +1
SwishZ 0
Talbott, Steven +6
The Title Fight +3
Two Piece Boxing +8

Uddin, Riaz +1
Uriarte, Jorge 0
Velasco, Darren +1

Velin, Bob (USA Today) +3

Weiler, Matt -1

Adam Abramowitz is the head writer and founder of saturdaynightboxing.com.

He is also a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.

Contact Adam at saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

@snboxing on twitter
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The Rundown: Mayweather-Alvarez and More

Big Story of the Month #1: Mayweather-Alvarez

 

Just weeks after dominating Robert Guerrero, Floyd Mayweather surprised many in the boxing world by selecting Saul "Canelo" Alvarez for his next opponent in September. Agreeing to fight at a catchweight of 152, Mayweather seemingly takes on one of the biggest challenges of his career. Although I'm not thrilled with the catchweight, this fight is great for the sport and an excellent opportunity to move boxing beyond its hardcore fanbase. The hope is for this event to approach the boxing pay-per-view record set in 2007 by de la Hoya-Mayweather. That will be a tall task (but not impossible) and it will require Alvarez to really deliver the American Latino audience. The fight should feature a great buildup and may have the makings for a truly memorable night.

 

Big Story of the Month #2: The Other Dominoes Start to Fall

 

With Mayweather-Alvarez scheduled for Mexican Independence Day Weekend in Las Vegas, Juan Manuel Marquez-Tim Bradley shifts to October. This is an outstanding matchup, featuring an aging boxer-puncher against a youthful boxer coming off of a bruising battle. Both fighters will take their shots and will also think their way through the bout. To my eyes, the winner of this fight will be decided by who can better impose his style. If it's a boxing match, Bradley will win. If they slug it out, Marquez has the advantage.

 

In November, Manny Pacquiao will make his long-awaited 2013 debut, taking on Brandon Rios in Macau. Rios is an interesting choice in that he lost his previous fight to Mike Alvarado, but he has an aggressive mentality that should provide excellent action. Expect a fan-friendly match and for at least one of the fighters to hit the canvas.

 

TO THE FIGHTS

 

A Damn Good Month:

 

Devon Alexander: Alexander fought aggressively against overmatched, late-replacement Lee Purdy. Hurting his left hand in the first round, Alexander proceeded to paste Purdy with right hooks and right uppercuts. It was the type of offensive outburst that boxing fans had been waiting to see from Alexander. He'll be out for a few months after hand surgery but look for him to come back before the end of the year, possibly against Amir Khan.

 

Carl Froch: Froch didn't waste his opportunity to settle the score against rival Mikkel Kessler. Fighting in London in a rematch of the excellent 2010 fight, Froch bested Kessler by activity and working behind his jab. As usual, he showed his excellent set of whiskers. He won a unanimous but competitive decision. Froch has all sorts of options for his next fight including a rematch with Andre Ward, a third fight with Kessler or, perhaps the most compelling opportunity, a clash against Bernard Hopkins. Stay tuned.

 

Guillermo Jones: The oft-inactive Jones decided to grace boxing fans with his presence in May (his first fight in 18 months) and waged a savage contest with Denis Lebedev, in his opponent's home country of Russia. Jones opened up a cut over Lebedev's right eye in the first round and like a seasoned veteran, he targeted it mercilessly – even switching southpaw for a few rounds to get better angles to further damage the eye. Although it was a competitive fight, he really worked over Lebedev as the fight progressed. He scored a knockdown with an uppercut in the 11th round and the fight was waved off shortly thereafter.

 

Denis Lebedev: Lebedev certainly put forth the type of performance where his reputation won't suffer because of a loss. In fact, his status in boxing will be enhanced after his gutsy display against Jones. Lebedev actually won a number of rounds in the fight, perhaps the majority of them, and he didn't let his closed eye hamper his aggressiveness or fighting spirit. In the end, he took too many hard blows, but healthy, he would be a threat against any cruiserweight in the world.

 

Abner Mares: In his first fight at featherweight, Mares didn't take a soft touch, immediately going for a title against crafty Daniel Ponce De Leon. The fight was essentially even except for Mares' pulverizing knockdown at the end of the second (beautiful left hook/right hook combination) and his final knockout blow in the ninth. Mares countered well all night and his chin looked good at 126. Golden Boy doesn't have too many viable opponents at featherweight, so it will be interesting to see where Mares goes from here.

 

Lucas Matthysse: Finally getting another chance at a top junior welterweight, Matthysse went right at Lamont Peterson and knocked him down three times to score a third-round TKO. Showing a devastating left hook and some subtle boxing ability, Matthysse instantly catapulted himself to a higher echelon in the boxing world; it was a star-making performance. His next fight could be against Danny Garcia, (he is Garcia's mandatory), but I wouldn't be surprised if both fighters wind up facing other opponents next.

 

Floyd Mayweather Sr.: Returning to head training duties to prepare his son for Robert Guerrero, the elder Mayweather's influence was obvious as Floyd showed more defensive responsibility than he did in his last fight against Miguel Cotto. Additionally, Floyd spun out of trouble along the ropes and really limited Guerrero's offensive output after the first two rounds. It was one of Mayweather Jr.'s most satisfying performances in the ring and his father deserves a lot of credit for the ease of his victory.

 

Floyd Mayweather Jr.: Perhaps the best part of Mayweather's convincing win over Robert Guerrero was the demonstration of his preternatural ability to make stuff up on the fly. Noticing a pattern where Guerrero ducked down and to his left, Mayweather crushed Guerrero in the 7th and 8th rounds with a series of lead right hooks from distance. Most likely a shot not practiced in the gym, Floyd exhibited his improvisatory gifts. Just as important, his legs looked great and he seemed to be much fresher in the ring than he had been in recent performances.

 

Robert McCracken: Carl Froch's trainer again showed why he is one of the best in the business. Devising a game plan that focused on activity and the jab, McCracken capitalized on Kessler's judicious punch output and his fighter earned a hard-fought victory. McCracken might make the best game plans in the sport.

 

Not The Best Month, Not The Worst Month:

 

Tony Bellew: After escaping with a draw against Isaac Chilemba earlier in the year, Bellew went for the immediate rematch and earned a unanimous decision. He still demonstrated the same limitations that he did in the first fight: lack of offensive creativity, inability to cut off the ring and a paltry arsenal. He deserves credit for the victory but it wasn't an inspiring performance in the least. He's in line for a mandatory shot at the light heavyweight title, but if I held a belt, I wouldn't worry about Bellew too much at all.

 

Isaac Chilemba: Perhaps with a different set of judges, Chilemba could have won both fights. He's cute in the ring and many of his shots are hard to see land without the benefit of HD television, but nevertheless, he lost in the rematch. True, his defense wasn't rewarded as it should have been, but his trainer, Buddy McGirt, had the right idea: on enemy turf, you have to be more aggressive. Chilemba didn't fully heed his trainer's advice. Thus,  he lost a truly winnable fight.

 

Robert Guerrero: No, he didn't pull off the major upset against Floyd Mayweather, but he wasn't embarrassed either, just outclassed. Guerrero had success early in the match by landing several hard combinations and counters, but once Floyd made some defensive adjustments, the fight was effectively over. Guerrero still has several viable options for a good payday later in the year. Ultimately, if he regroups from the loss, he'll come back as a real factor in the welterweight division.

 

Gabriel Rosado: He put forward a spirited effort against J'Leon Love on the Mayweather-Guerrero undercard. Despite knocking Love down in the sixth and coming on strong at the end of the fight, Rosado lost by a split decision. After the fight, Love tested positive for a banned substance (see below for more), so it's very possible that the loss will become a "no-contest." I do hope that Rosado returns to junior middleweight.

 

Is This Month Over Yet?

 

Ruben Guerrero: In the buildup to his son's fight against Mayweather, Ruben took it upon himself to anoint himself as some type of training master. He spewed invective and acted tough, but on fight night, I can't think of one successful adjustment that he made in the corner. Ultimately, walks must be walked, and Guerrero remained in the crib against the Mayweathers.

 

Mikkel Kessler: Kessler lost the rematch against Carl Froch for one reason: he didn't move his hands enough. Either because of conditioning or an unwillingness to take risks, Kessler was the far less active fighter. When he did throw punches, good things happened, but there weren't enough of them to have a convincing argument for victory.

 

Jim Lampley: It's sad when a broadcasting favorite has a bad day at the office, but there's no other accurate characterization of Lampley's work during Froch-Kessler II. Teamed with Andre Ward, a potential opponent for the winner, Lampley incessantly praised his broadcast partner and made the spirited fight in front of him seem something far less than it was. There was too much stroking of Ward and not enough objectivity about the fight at hand. Nothing in his performance from that fight will make his career-ending highlight tape.

 

J'Leon Love: J'Leon, cheaters never prosper. (I'm sorry. That was a cliché; sometimes they do.) Here's some better advice: Floyd doesn't take shortcuts out of the ring, perhaps you shouldn't either. Enjoy your upcoming suspension.

 

Lamont Peterson: Perhaps his initial title-winning performance against Amir Khan should be completely expunged because of out-of-the-ring PED issues. Nevertheless, he did beat Khan, served a suspension and made a rousing defense earlier in the year against Kendall Holt. Facing a risky fight against hard-hitting Lucas Matthysse, Peterson wasn't up to the task. He couldn't handle Matthysse's power and that was essentially the fight. Because of some silly catchweight shenanigans, he still has a title belt, but he took a mighty step back in the boxing world after that loss.

 

Daniel Ponce de Leon: De Leon has always been able to beat the "B" fighters, but when he has faced better talents, bad things have happened. Fighting on fairly even terms against Abner Mares throughout much of the match, De Leon couldn't take the power of a boxer who hadn't even competed before at 126. At 32 and with 49 professional fights, perhaps the end for de Leon is coming sooner rather than later.  

Bad Judging Award: Herb Santos
 

Herb Santos! Come on down! You are the winner of the Saturday Night Boxing Bad Judging Award for May 2013. Your 97-92 score in favor of J'Leon Love over Gabriel Rosado was absolute garbage and showed that you had no interest in actually watching the fight. I hope you get suspended for a long time.

Adam Abramowitz is the head writer and founder of saturdaynightboxing.com.

He is also a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.

Contact Adam at saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

@snboxing on twitter

Follow Saturday Night Boxing on Facebook:

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