Bienvenidos boxing family and welcome to an applewood-smoked, pulled pork scented edition of Central Florida’s most innuendo-laced weekly pugilistic publication, The Sunday Brunch – We are the literary version of Guy Fieri’s British Bodacious Bolognese Bacon Burger with roasted Cesar side salad and deep fried grease bomb Donkey Kong pickle chips – but with substantially less suck and at least 10% less fat.
This week we take a peek at some of the fights from over the weekend – Broner is back, the question is: How long can he keep his s#%t together? Lucas Matthysse’s power is incredible, but, we’re going to need him to bring back that rat tail. Andre Berto – Does beating him still equal a shot at Mayweather?
Also, we take a look ahead to next week’s mega-money matchup featuring Floyd “Money” Mayweather and Marcos “El Chino” Maidana in the rematch of their (not that) close May encounter. So, put away those topless Chris Algieri centerfolds and delete your boxingscene viruses, we’re about to resurrect the Macarena and Weekend at Bernie’s dance the skeleton of Bert Sugar in the lobby of the MGM Grand…With that being said, I gave you your instructions in the dressing room; what I say you must obey – Cuidate, escucha me, toca los manos y buena suerte…Let’s get it on!
25 year-old Adrien Broner dutifully defended his WBA international light welterweight trinket over the weekend, subsequently avoiding another cavalcade of social media memes ( perhaps he finally read the pair of columns I penned a few years ago entitled: The Problem With The Problem 1 & 2). The contest was scheduled for 140 pounds – Broner entered at 154 on fight night. Full coverage of the card can be found HERE.
While Emmanuel Taylor is a far cry from the level of fighter Adrien Broner should be in with at this point of his career, the Maryland-based fighter managed to punch above his weight and press Broner for most of the contest. The hometown favorite still has a lot to work on, but he has a level of skill that few possess, if Adrien Broner could shore up his mental focus and not Ricky Hatton fatten himself in between fights, he stands a solid chance at people remembering his name when he decides to hang the gloves up.
Lucas Matthysse, who fought as the co-feature on the same Showtime card, called for the scalp of unified junior welterweight champion, Danny Garcia following his second round stoppage over the previously unbeaten Roberto Ortiz. When asked about a potential bout with Broner, Matthysse would intimate that if there was no Garcia fight, then he would consider it, saying “…I challenge Danny Garcia to stop being a chicken, to stop fighting little fighters and come fight me…If Garcia doesn’t come then I’ll have Broner…” The taste of the 2013 unanimous decision loss to Garcia obviously still fresh on his palate.
The Matthysse-Ortiz fight ended prematurely as a wicked left hook to the body in the second round caused Roberto Ortiz to spit his mouthpiece out and take a timeout on the canvas. A cognizant Ortiz waited till the count of nine to rise, but referee Benjy Esteves ignored the rally and counted Ortiz out. After the bout, Esteves would refuse to comment regarding the stoppage.
Years ago, defeating Andre Berto in unarmed combat was a surefire way to secure a lottery-style payday. This Al Haymon-managed fighter was once a suitor himself to win the Mayweather sweepstakes, however, a couple of high-profile losses and an unfortunate injury later and Andre Berto is all but excluded from the conversation.
Appearing as the opening televised bout of the Saturday night Showtime card, Andre Berto looked as if he barely lost a step in facing the overmatched Steve Upsher Chambers. Yes, Berto was slightly rusty and yes, he was fighting Steve Upsher Chambers…but, being that he was off for 14 months and taking into consideration that perhaps Andre Berto has hit his ceiling regardless of what he does – he looked in fine condition…Perhaps he’s now relegated to B-level vacant “Silver” titlist gatekeeper status.
Mayweather-Maidana 2 is all but upon us now, and I have been getting a ridiculous amount of email asking for my thoughts on the matter. Let me start by saying that I think the inclusion of referee Kenny Bayless will be a boon for the undefeated Floyd Mayweather.
In their first outing, Marcos Maidana employed nearly every street fighting tactic that he could muster inside of 36 minutes, Floyd Mayweather responded with clean boxing…and a few elbows. Heads clashed, Knees met faces, fists collided with testicles and bodies were tackled, but in the end, a split decision in Mayweather’s favor concluded the evening.
Maidana was famously coached by legendary Oxnard trainer, Robert Garcia to fight Mayweather dirty in their first encounter…Some of the Argentine’s shot selection was certainly unorthodox, but with referee Bayless officiating, I’d wager that this fight will be more clinical and less chaotic.
And that’s the real reason that some felt Maidana won their first match up. Most people aren’t used to seeing the self professed “Best Ever” go through the kind of strife that Marcos Maidana brought to him. When a fighter is performing above where he was in the previous rounds, he’s doing relatively better, but is he really doing better? Is he winning? So, while Mayweather usually does lose the opening few rounds while he adjusts, after that he rarely misses a step.
El Chino had success with his high-arcing punches in the first fight, in order to be a genuine threat he will need to press Maywather with the same level of abandon he showed previously. If he sticks to jabbing while going forward to land his looping shots, he has a chance of not only not getting docked points for roughhousing, but it’s entirely possible that he can pull off the upset. We all know that there is a high probability of some wonky judging regardless of what happens Saturday night, so, anything’s possible.
Keeping all that in mind, Floyd Mayweather may still be susceptible to a few surprises come fight night, but I’d bet dollars to pesos that we will see a close, unanimous decision end up in his favor. Floyd will likely take few chances and box similarly to how he did against Robert Guerrero and not give the increasingly desperate Marcos Maidana any awkward opportunities.
Thanks for joining us again this week, next Sunday we’ll be back with the results and insights from the Mayhem Pay-Per-View card, plus we’ll discuss Amir Khan and why he looks like he Khan’t make 147 pounds anymore. Also, we’ll be packing up our cat and topping off our tanks because we’re taking a road trip to the heartland of America, Nashville Tennessee! So, until Next time, sante.
Please send all Adrien Broner memes to JESSEBOXINGTRIBUNE@GMAIL.COM or pretend we’re friends on Twitter @JESSEBOXING
Leave a Reply