GL:  Can you give us some thoughts on the Diaz-Morales fight, and Erik's retirement? For those who didn't see it, tell us how the fight was. "I thought it was an excellent fight, a very exciting fight.  Morales fought his heart out, as well as Diaz.  Diaz got the decision in a very close fight.  And Erik, in the ring, after the fight, said whether he won or lost the fight, he was retiring.  He was beginning to get buzzed by head shots, which hadn't happened before, and it was time to quit.  I give him all kinds of commendations for realizing that boxing is a dangerous sport, and he had had enough." 

GL:  Obviously, you had to be a little disapointed.  Between Erik and Jose Luis Castillo, it seems like two of the fixtures at Top Rank over the last several years are finished. One is out, and the other it appears is on the way out, if not out already as well. 

BA:  But, that's always been the case in boxing.  That's always been the case with athletics.  Athletes finish up at a relatively young age, we've had that throughout the time I've been in boxing.  There's a whole new pipeline of athletes to take their place. 

GL:  Who in the Top Rank stable is going to take their place?  Which young guns do you have that we should look forward to as potential to become the next big thing?

BA:  There are a few...

GL:  I'm giving you softballs, say Chavez Jr. come on.

BA:  Yeah, Humberto Soto, Chavez Jr., uh...

GL:  Kelly Pavlik.

BA:  Kelly Pavlik is not a kid.  A kid is uh...

GL:  Juan Manuel Lopez?  The guy from Oxnard? 

BA:  Victor Ortiz.

GL:  You also have Juan Manuel Lopez?

BA:  Yes. We also have Donovan George.  He'll be a real force in the midwest, he's a 168 pound fighter, and he looks sensational.  It's always going to be real good fighters, and some of them will come to the forefront, some of them won't.  They will make their bones based on their own performances.

GL:  Have you and Richard Schaefer spoken on the phone since our last conversation?

BA:  We spoke this morning. 

GL:  About the Mosley-Cotto fight?

BA:  Yes, but we didn't really have time to discuss it, because of the injury.

GL:  The injury to Barrios, right. What else Bobfather?
 

BA:  I've got a good show in Chicago, a real lively show. I think I did reasonably well, I did well at the gate, and did well with the view.  It's the end of an era for Morales.  I'm glad that he can go out on such an upnote. 

GL:  Based on the way he fought, do you think that Erik is still championship material, or do you think that retiring was the logical decision?

BA:  He has to retire.  The kid is getting buzzed with punches that missed him before.  Don't you think it would be criminal not to retire?  Who wants to walk around like a basketcase?

M

Send questions and comments to: gleon@boxingtalk.com