By Yannis Mihanos: SEB: three magic words, three magic initials, and three parts. The boxing of today assists of 3 important parts: Sport-Entertainment-Business. Many article writers in this website and elsewhere reflect on the past of boxing and compare it with the present. Today is my turn to give my take on that subject, I will focus my attention on the third part. Let’s see what business means these days for boxing.
Michael Vena
Has Chris Algieri hit the Pacquiao jackpot by beating Provodnikov?
By Yannis Mihanos: There are two names in the recent history of boxing that each fighter wants to fight one day: Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. Last Saturday many people were surprised by Chris Algieri with me included. No one knew Algieri before the match. He was number 13 in the rankings and was expected to be easily dispatched by heavy hitter Ruslan Provodnikov.
Provodnikov did drop twice in the canvas Algieri in the first round. The swelling in the right eye of Algieri after the first knockout got even worse as the rounds passed, but he kept on coming with a lot of body movement and many mosquito bite-like punches to the head of the Russian Provodnikov.
Algieri’s many light shots convinced two of the three judges to grant him a 12 round split decision. The third judge saw it different with him scoring it 117-109 in favor of Provodnikov, and I have to say that I agree with that score of the fight. But boxing decisions sometimes work in mysterious way.
Do titles rule in boxing today?
By Yannis Mihanos: They often say in boxing that a champion must fight another champion and that the best must fight only with the best. But what happens when the champions are way too many? What happens when the best are way too many to be the best?
Is Provodnikov a nightmare scenario for Pacquiao?
By Yannis Mihanos: Ruslan Provodnikov (23-2, 16 KO’s), the WBO light-welterweight titleholder, will be meeting New York native and former successful kick boxer Chris Algieri (19-0, 8 KO’s) in a title defense at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Algieri stands on his way of signing a possible lucrative deal with the people’s favorite WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao next November. Provodnikov was previously a sparring partner for Pacquiao in the past.
The double bind of the paper champion
By Yannis Mihanos: In boxing the fighter who’s the strongest in the rankings calls the shots. That gives him the opportunity to make the right choices but also the wrong ones. The right choices for a fighter will be to make no exceptions and no selections, and just fight who is the best out there available. A champion must fight another champion.
Key questions were answered in the match of Cotto vs. Martinez
By Yannis Mihanos: They say that the importance of victory depends on the kind of adversity you face. Last Saturday night Miguel Cotto (39-4, 32 KO’s) became a four weight division world champion by defeating WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez (51-3-2, 28 KO’s) by a 10th round TKO at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Prior to the match questions had been raised whether the 39-year-old Martinez would have been able to come back in full form due to his recent knee surgeries along with his long layoff of 14 months since his last fight in April of 2013 against Martin Murray.
Is Marquez avoiding Pacquiao?
By Yannis Mihanos: Since his explosive victory over Manny Pacquiao in 2012, the great Mexican warrior Juan Manuel Marquez has been reluctant in getting again in the ring with Pacquiao. The question is has the Marquez decided to take the easy way by cherry picking opponents?
Marquez will be turning 41 years old in August and he’s definitely not a spring chicken anymore, but he still shows signs that there is life in him for boxing. His last fight was a very easy victory against Mike Alvarado. Alvarado was a tailored made opponent for Marquez, with no fast body movement, very static and without the same power like Marquez has. Alvarado was an easy target for Marquez.
Has Mayweather put Maidana in his black list?
By Yannis Mihanos: Floyd Mayweather Jr. (46-0, 26 KO’s) after his gutsy victory over Marcos Maidana (35-4, 31 KO’s) earlier this month, he now seems to be close sending the hard hitter from Argentina to the unwanted list of his personal choices. It’s looking like Mayweather will pass up on the idea of giving Maidana a rematch in September.
There are two main reasons why this is happening: First is the most obvious and it has to do with the money that their fight produced on Showtime pay-per-view. Even if the official results have not yet been revealed, it is evidence the financial failure. One vague estimation comes to around 800.000-900.000 PPV buys for the fight. Obviously that’s not a satisfying number for a guy like Floyd and TV channel Showtime. The poor marketing preparation for the fight (with only two and a half months to market the fight) had an impact on the sales. The fight needed more time to be marketed.
Martinez vs. Cotto: Who will be the best?
By Yannis Mihanos: Miguel Cotto (38-4, 31 knockouts) recently spoke about being an A-side fighter and current WBC middleweight champ Sergio Martinez (51-2-2, 28 KOs) being the B-side in their upcoming fight on June 7th at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Tormented by injuries (2 knee operations), Martinez now claims he is back at full form and ready to set the record straight; his last fight over a year ago against Martin Murray was a disappointment for Martinez, but he still managed to come out victorious with a close 12 round unanimous decision win.
Mayweather needs a new opponent for his next fight on September 13th
By Yannis Mihanos: This September 13th is the great Mexican Independence Day, a day that is special for the Mexican boxing fans. Floyd Mayweather Jr. will be fighting on that date, but likely not with a Mexican warrior. It’ll no doubt be someone high in the rankings of boxing but not necessarily the best. Since Manny Pacquiao is excluded from the list for several of reasons, let’s move on with what is left for Floyd.