Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images
When news broke yesterday that Canelo “Stop Running, Bitch!” Alvarez had jumped ship from Showtime, the network of Rod Salka, to HBO, the boxing world exploded. The doors to the big fights, previously slammed dead ass shut, now appeared to be opened.
For years, fans have been left out in the cold when it comes to the super fights. When the two biggest promoters refused to do business with one another, a bizarre chasm opened up, leaving the fighters on either side while those who watch the sport flailed in the middle.
The thawing of the “cold war” began with Golden Boy president Oscar De La Hoya, who made it clear that he wanted to make the biggest fights, and he showed his sincerity by extending the olive branch to Top Rank CEO Bob Arum. Canelo was the perfect guy to come along and further the cause.
Canelo has plenty of detractors, but one thing you can’t take away from the guy is that he’s willing to fight anyone. He may not win every fight, but he wants to prove himself against all of the top dogs. To do that, he was more than willing to cross lines, presumably to secure a fight with Middleweight champ Miguel Cotto.
The resounding feeling is that if either Cotto or Alvarez were to take on Gennady Golovkin, they’d end up hospitalized. But if they fight each other, it’s a toss up scrap. Both are highly skilled boxer/punchers who don’t have to be nudged too firmly to go to war. The countdown to that battle began yesterday with the official announcement from Golden Boy that we’ll be hearing the soothing sounds of Jim Lampley when Canelo fights again, as opposed to the violent orgasm that is Mauro Ranallo.
Unfortunately, that fight will simmer for a bit, probably until at least the spring of 2015. First, Canelo needs an opponent for a December fight. The frontrunner is Joshua Clottey, the Ghanaian-born boxer. He’s known to most fans as the guy who spent an evening running through the streets of Dallas screaming for his life while being gleefully chased by Manny Pacquiao.
Clottey mostly disappeared from the public eye after that hideous loss to Pacquiao. He defeated 57-year-old Anthony Mundine in April, looking fairly solid in knocking the Australian down five times. This is more of a testament to Mundine’s serious treadwear than to Clottey’s abilities. Clottey’s career KO percentage is just over 50% according to BoxRec, yet Mundine reacted as though Clottey was slugging him with a quarter keg every time he landed a punch.
The truth is that at 36-years-old, Clottey is years removed from the formidable fighter who beat Zab Judah and gave Miguel Cotto hell. In fact, he’s fought so sparingly since the Pacquiao fight against such woeful opposition that we’re not really sure where he is at this point. What is clear is that Alvarez will be a massive favorite. At his best, Clottey was a volume puncher who threw furious combinations to overwhelm his opponents. He actually fought spectacularly against Cotto back in 2009, but lost a decision that many observers felt could have gone his way. He was an extremely difficult fighter to look good against, mainly because he was so damn good.
He has been unable to wash the stench of the Pacquiao fight off of him, and that is where most of the vitriol about this proposed bout is coming from. All of that momentum Clottey had carried with him, from smashing the hell out of Diego Corrales to going toe-to-toe with Cotto, evaporated immediately after the Pac Man battle.
To be fair, Pacquiao was in the midst of his “superhuman” phase, where he was thrashing the ever living shit out of anything in his path. Clottey wasn’t just taking on a superior talent, he was taking on a man who shattered skulls. And clearly, he knew it.
His gameplan for the fight appeared to be as follows: 1) Hold gloves super high. 2) Run away. 3) Pray. 4) Keep gloves super high while praying.
The judges gave him two rounds. Combined. And that was probably two too many. Just like that, Clottey’s career was destroyed. He never really recovered, and he’s fought just three times in the subsequent five years since that night at Cowboys Stadium. It’s sad in a way, because he was a pretty fan-friendly scrapper before that night, but again, the images of him on his bicycle have been hard to shake.
So if Canelo does indeed end up in the ring with Clottey, it won’t be the scintillating matchup we were all hoping for. But if Clottey is willing to trade with Alvarez, it could be an interesting fight for awhile. The good news is that the fight will be on regular HBO. It stings a lot less when you know you won’t have to shell out $60-$75 bucks to watch a fight that isn’t all that interesting.
It just doesn’t seem likely that Clottey will be able to seriously challenge Canelo. He’s been far too inactive and fought nobody at all at the elite level since Manny. He is very tough to hurt, so the fight could actually go the distance, it just might end up as an extremely wide decision win for the Mexican star. Perhaps three years ago this fight is tougher to call. Not now. Canelo will do terrible things to Clottey, if he takes the fight seriously.
Nearly five years ago, Joshua Clottey had the chance of a lifetime and he puked all over it. It seems pretty miraculous that he’ll be getting another one. Here’s to hoping he makes the most of it. Nobody will fault him for being outgunned by the younger, more skilled Alvarez.
We’ll fault him like hell if he doesn’t at least pull ‘em out of the holster.
Some Random Notes From The Boxing World:
I don’t know who looks worse in the wake of Floyd Mayweather’s meeting with the NSAC yesterday–him, or Showtime. All Access had already been as worn out as a late episode of ER. Hopefully the revelation that pretty much everything is staged on the show is the nail in the coffin.
Fake weed?
James Kirkland bailed on a proposed fight with Gabe Rosado. Kirkland, who is seen as often as a polar vortex, seems intent on killing his own career. Or perhaps he took a hard look at Rosado, who is willing to fight in pits like a 5th century Roman, and decided to pass. I think Rosado would have ruined him anyway.
It is baffling that a man like Kirkland, so intent to go to war when in the ring, is so reluctant to actually get to the ring itself.
George Groves won last weekend, and promptly called out Carl Froch. Again. Has there ever been a better example of little brother syndrome? Move on, George. It is ironic however, that Froch scoffs at the notion of fighting Groves again while insisting he deserves a rematch with Andre Ward.
Showtime is having a bad week, no?
If you haven’t seen the Orlando Salido vs. Terdsak “My Name Is Awful” Kokietgym war yet, find it pronto. It is epic. Salido, despite his 12 losses, is a bad, bad dude. Imagine how different his career would have been had he been afforded better circumstances early on. Consider this–seven of his losses came in his first 19 fights.
