BOXINGTALK'S THURSDAY MAILBAG
By G. Leon

Let me first echo the words and thoughts of every longtime boxingtalker out there: it's always great to see the p4p king of mailbags back at it.  The following is in response to an emailer who in the last bag was complaining about racial discrimination in the sport.  I am myself am white, though right there, me having to exclaim my racial status is part of the problem which keeps racism alive.  I have had many legit discussions with my black friends who unfortunately attest to the fact that they often deal with racial discrimination, on some level, quite regularly in their lives.  And how does this relate to our sport?  Well I'm not sure entirely, and I would be a fool to state any opinions and claim them as fact, when I am an outsider looking in.  However, I can still speculate.  My first thought is this: while prejudice certainly exists against every walk of life, from every walk of life, I find it counter productive when people cry racism because it's easy.  It's like a woman crying rape when she's merely been hit on at a party: it's insulting to all the true victims out there.  How could anyone claim in boxing that black fighters are kept down while the white ones are celebrated?  Has Bob Arum marketed John Duddy more than he has Chavez Jr?  Jermain Taylor's first professional fight was televised, and many of those early 4 and 6 rounders were on HBO.  He was the one being celebrated while Kelly Pavlik was toiling in obscurity.  His first appearance on HBO, I believe was his knockout of Zertuche.  And that dominating performance, not his complexion, is what bought him his next fight on HBO against Miranda, which led to his title shot.  And finally after losing horribly to BHOP, was HBO in a rush to put him right back on the air as though the loss never happened?  No, he didn't fight again on the network until he met Sergio Martinez.  Meanwhile, after losing two in a row, HBO put Jermain Taylor right back on their airwaves against Jeff Lacy.  Neither one of them are white.  What happened to BHOP after losing two straight to Taylor?  HBO PPV against Tarver.  If HBO was in a hurry to only air white fighters, they wouldn't have just dumped the Klitschko's!  And if promoters were in a hurry to promote only white fighters, then Lou Dibella would be promoting Danny Green, not Allan Green.  And by the same logic, why does Top Rank promote Mike Dallas when they could be promoting Mike Arnaoutis?  Or Michael Katsidis?  If the powers that be operate solely on skin color, then why isn't Felix Sturm all over American airwaves?  Or the British white guys: Tyson Fury, Kevin Mitchell, Frankie Gavin, I could go on and on.  I think it's incredibly myopic and detrimental to our sport to claim that racism is a driving force in our sport which is keeping fighters of color down.  If a white guy is getting undeserved airtime every once in a while, it's because white is an intriguing and uncommon color in boxing.  Just like 7' feet tall is an intriguing and uncommon height, and just like Jew is an intriguing and uncommon religion in boxing.  To cry racism is weak and easy in my opinion, because you and I both know the only color in boxing that really matters is green.  ~justin in denver  -Justin Hackman

Leon's Response: Don't say that too loud, the breadamaniacs might hear you. LOL. I agree with much of what you said and green is the color people get screwed over and out of in boxing.

Greg, I am not at all surprised by Floyd Mayweather's apparent dodging of Manny Pacquiao.  True boxing fans (not fanboys) know that "Money" May has a history of ducking top fighters.  Floyd's biggest wins were a shot Arutro Gatti, a faded Oscar De La Hoya, a "never was" in Ricky Hatton, and an ancient 38-year old Shane Mosley.  The fighters listed below would have made for much more competitive fights. 1998-2003 - Super Featherweight (130 lbs.) & Lightweight (135 lbs.) Notable fighters ducked: Joel Casamayor WBO Super Featherweight Champion (26-0 at the time) Acelino Freitas  WBA Super Featherweight Champion (30-0 at the time) 2004-2005 - Super Lightweight (140 lbs.) Notable figher ducked: Kostya Tszyu  WBA/WBC/IBF Unidisputed Super Lightweight Champion (30-1 at the time) 2006-Present - Welterweight (147 lbs.)  Miguel Cotto WBA Welterweight Champion (30-0 at the time) Antonio Margarito IBF Welterweight Champion (35-5 at the time) Paul Williams WBO Welterweight Champion (32-0 at the time)
Manny Pacquiao #1 ranked welterweight (50-3) It's obvious who wants to fight and who doesn't.  Several of the fighters listed above have fought their hearts out and spilled their blood in action fights versus one another.  The common denominator happens to be the fact that Floyd has not fought ANY of them, not even one.  Joe Fraizer once said, "Show me an undefeated fighter, and I'll show you a guy who hasn't fought anybody." I couldn't have said it better myself. JayDee Louisville, KY

Leon's Response: You're just a straight Mayweather hater. Corrales was the best at 130, Castillo at 135. At 140 Arum wouldn't let Cotto near him. PBF would have loved to fight Tszyu, but Hatton got to him first. Had Tszyu handled Hatton his next fight would have likely been Mayweather. At 147 he beat the last two linear champs. Haters like you accused him of ducking Margarito, who lost soon thereafter. De La Hoya in his first fight at 154 and a Hatton mismatch at 147. If Floyd is only going to fight twice more, both against Pacquiao that's his decision. Fights against Williams, Berto, Martinez, Bradley-Alexander winner would be nice, but can anybody other than Pacquiao be considered a legitimate threat? I don't think so.

Hey Greg, good to see you back on the mailbags. Hopefully this gets posted.
If Mayweather says that "legacy don't pay bills," then what the hell won't he get in the ring and collect? He has a 40 million dollar payday in front of him and he refuses to sign on the dotted line. He says he is in the "check cashing business" and doesn't care about legacy. If that is so true, go get your 40 million dollar check then. He knows damn well that Pacquiao is a serious threat and now he wants to take another year off. This guy makes me sick. The only way i would order one of his PPV's is if it is against Pacquiao, Martinez, or Paul Williams. Other than that, he can go FK himself. He is spitting in the face of the fans and in the face of boxing.  I am tired of him fighting has beens like de la hoya, mosley, or marquez or guys that are not that good skill wise that he knows he can beat such as baldomir, hatton, manfredy, corrales, etc. He is waiting for Pacquiao to get beat or let all these other guys beat each other so that he can use the excuse of " He just lost. Why should i fight him if it doesn't make financial sense" Mayweather has finally been exposed as nothing but a PUSSY who preys on the weak. Mayweather is better than Sugar Ray Leonard, Muhammad Ali, and Sugar Ray Robinson???? Oh yeah,  I never saw any of those guys duck and dodge the best fighters in the world. Hey Floyd, there is 40 million dollars on the line. Do you know what that means? It means you can upgrade to 5 million on each pinky, 10 million on the neck, 15 million on the wrist, 4 million on the ears, and leave 1 million for leonard ellerbe to hold your feet while doing sit ups. Tommy From Phx

Leon's Response: Probably because right now he's able to make ends meet like a motherf**Ker. LMAO. Mayweather's recent PPV # gives him the slightest of edges at the negotiating table. He doesn't need the money, has never really solidified his next fight so quickly ever before and won't change now. Floyd isn't scared of Pacquaio and losing to Pac would mean nothing with the immediate rematch that is sure to be implemented. It should be an easy close when Floyd is ready and right now he is not, does that mean he's scared? No. It just means that Pacquiao wants to fight him more than he wants to fight Pacquiao. Robinson and Leonard? Please. Up until a few months ago many weren't sure he's better than Sugar Shane Mosley. And you guys know I think Shane had a great chance to win WITHOUT the 16 month layoff.

Hey Greg I love the mailbags and the site  I been a member before you took over the site. I don’t agree with Margarito getting the fight with Pac but he only getting it because Shane beat him down he would of never got  the fight if he would of beat Shane. I also think it’s a not an easy fight like everybody thinks  Margarito is a lot bigger and takes a good punch I think it’s a real bad decision on Manny part because of the size and the fact the media will crucify him for taking it. I think if Joan Guzman get it together he could give Bradley or Alexander a run for there money. My top ten pound for pound. Jason (Detroit) 1.Floyd Mayweather, 2.Manny Pac, 3.Paul  Williams, 4.Segio Martinez, 5.Chad Dawson, 6.Nonito Donaire, 7.Juan Manuel Lopez
8.Juan Manuel Marquez, 9.Rafeal Marquez, 10.Bernard Hopkins

Leon's Response: Thanks for being a long time reader. Had he not gotten caught cheating and defeated Mosley, Arum would have went right back to the Cotto fight and would have had ZERO problem watching the winner fight Pacquiao. You underestimate Arum. Guzman is a tough fight for anybody, but I favor each of the top 3 at 140 over him. His lack of discipline and disregard for the rules for the Funeka rematch was disgraceful. I think you got Williams too high, but P4P is all opinion after the top two. Other than maybe Donaire, I believe everybody on your list belongs there.


whats good.would like to know your predictions on these fights if they were to ever happen.andre berto vs james kirkland, daniel jacobs vs julio caesar chavez, chad dawson vs kelly pavlik, tim bradley vs zab judah, juan manual lopez vs celestino caballero, yuriorkis gambao vs nonito donaire at a catch weight, amir khan vs joan guzman, and sam peter vs chris arreolo.just wanna know your picks.Later keep up the good work

Leon's Response: At 54 Kirklan. Jacobs. Dawson. Bradley. Cabellero. Gamboa and Donaire at 118-122 Donaire, above that Gamboa. Peter in a war. Khan.

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