Opening Bell: Notes from Vegas
over the weekend is an interesting exercise in Schadenfreude. The mainstream sports media delights in taking its shots at Mayweather, who is understandably unsympathetic for any number of reasons. The boxing world in turn lost no time in once again turning on Ortiz, with the harshest critics questioning his heart and even the more charitable among us noting the now-established pattern of disappearing mentally at moments of great adversity.
Personally I think NYT’s Greg Bishop probably gets it right: what Mayweather did wasn’t admirable, but admiration hasn’t been his primary goal for a long time. Floyd’s evolution from Pretty Boy to Money May was a calculated decision designed to increase his box office appeal and has worked beyond anyone’s imagination, save possibly Mayweather himself. Most of the fans in the house on Saturday night were there to see him lose. The same is likely true for much of the paying PPV audience.
Floyd Mayweather the Olympic bronze medalist turned brilliant technical boxer may have garnered more respect but he would never be the biggest moneymaker in the sport’s history. Unfortunately, living the outsize persona he portrays everyday appears to have affected Floyd in ways that can no longer be considered purely for entertainment’s sake. Perhaps he really is laughing at us all behind closed doors, but I believe that less and less with every passing year.
As for Ortiz, it is too early to write him off but at this point it’s fair to evaluate him based on performances to date and conclude he may lack the mental fortitude necessary to compete at the highest levels of the sport. The Berto win remains impressive but only to the extent that Berto and Ortiz look to be the best of a number of also-rans in the welterweight division. Ortiz can still redeem himself by fighting a rematch with Marcos Maidana or a similarly challenging foe like Amir Khan, but our suspicion is he may be more Ricardo Mayorga than Oscar de la Hoya.
Some time in the wee hours of Sunday morning I found myself asking an idle roulette dealer at the MGM Grand for directions to Rouge Bar so I could grab a drink with friend of the site Zairo and Gabriel Montoya. After deciding to try my luck for a few spins who should join me but Erik “El Terrible” Morales, incognito thanks to a hat and sunglasses. Morales was friendly enough, happy to sign an autograph or take a picture, but also very businesslike about placing his bets.
Most people I spoke with agreed that Pablo Cesar Cano had provided Morales more of a challenge than expected when he stepped in for the sick Lucas Matthysse on short notice. Early on the younger man was quicker and more aggressive; Morales ended up winning the fight almost entirely on guts, experience and his unflappable beard. He throws and avoids punches based almost entirely on muscle memory but takes plenty of shots these days thanks to his failing reflexes, as evidenced by his heavily marked-up face at the table.
Word around the fight game is that Morales needs money, which is why he decided to come back after a brief retirement to fight Marcos Maidana. He got $300K to dispatch Cano plus a WBC bauble; a nice payday but hardly enough to set one for life. The fear is that he will be served up to an able younger fighter like Amir Khan or Brandon Rios capable of taking advantage of his fading physical gifts.
Shortly after losing more than I should have to stick around and hang out with Morales I made my to Rouge, where I apparently missed the fight of the weekend between a loud-mouthed fan and Danny Garcia, who trains Victor Ortiz. According to Montoya, Garcia got the best of it. His account was confirmed via Twitter by ESPN’s Dan Rafael, who also noted that security took its time breaking up the scrum. Why not. At least a Garcia finally came out on top in Vegas.
We ran into rising junior lightweight Adrien “The Problem” Broner at Friday’s weigh-in, where he confirmed he’s scheduled to fight for the vacant WBO belt in his hometown Cinncinnati on November 26th but still needs to find an opponent. After destroying Jason Litzau in June Broner was scheduled to challenge WBO titlist Ricky Burns but the Scotsman elected to move up to lightweight to fight Michael Katsidis.
Broner has been mentioned as possible opponent for featherweight superstar Yuriorkis Gamboa if the Cuban comes up to 130 as promised, but he didn’t seem too impressed with the former Olympic gold medalist. (The feeling is mutual; Gamboa’s handlers dismissed Broner out of hand after his fight in AC last weekend.)
“If [Gamboa] want to try and be the solution to The Problem he’s welcome but 21 have tried and 21 have failed,” Broner told Stiff Jab.
Broner is the lone potential star in an extremely weak division and even he is eventually expected to move up to lightweight if he prospers. Perhaps top-rated South African Mzonke Fana or Roman Martinez could provide a test, but there are few other compelling match-ups at the weight.
Apparently unsatisfied by his efficient but pedestrian recent victory over veteran gatekeeper Grady Brewer, blue chip middleweight prospect Demetrius Andrade will fight Mexico’s Saul Duran on Tuesday evening in Manchester, New Hampshire. It’s always good for young fighters to stay busy but the 38-year-old Duran has lost five of his past seven fights including a stoppage loss to Fernando Guerrero, who himself was stopped by Brewer. Still, Andrade is fighting twice in a month and doing it for charity to boot so it’s hard to find fault.
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I’ll finish this week by expressing our condolences to the family and friends of legendary Philadelphia boxer and trainer George Benton (below), who died at St. Joseph’s Hospital after reportedly battling pneumonia for the past few weeks. He was 78 years old.
Benton was known as scientific fighter during his stint as a middleweight contender in the 1950s and 60s but never got his title shot despite being the top-rated contender. After a gunshot in 1970 forced his retirement he became an renowned trainer, teaching the likes of Meldrick Taylor, Evander Holyfield, Pernell Whitaker and devising the strategy behind Leon Spinks’ famous upset of Muhammad Ali. He won the Boxing Writers Association of America’s Trainer of the Year award in both 1989 and 1990 and was inducted to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2001.
Fellow IBRO member John DiSanto has an excellent, in-depth obituary up at PhillyBoxingHistory that’s definitely worth a read. It’s been a rough year for the fight world as many of the iconic figures that helped build the sport have passed away. Benton is just the latest in a line of fading giants. He will be missed.
