The 10 Most Important People in Boxing

by Paul Magno

After having come back from a much-deserved vacation I thought I’d throw one of these lists at y’all mainly because they’re always fun to do, to read and to debate.

So, here’s my list of the 10 Most Important People in the sport today. I limited my scope to only including actual fighters, promoters or others directly connected to boxing. TV executives and the heads of the sanctioning bodies were not taken into consideration.

1. Oscar De la Hoya: As a fighter, he has the power to instantly boost any opponent’s credibility and marketability. As a promoter, he has a direct link to HBO and Ring Magazine. With the talent roster he has at Golden Boy, at some point any fighter with a desire to be the best has to either join him or beat one of his guys. From Joan Guzman right up to new signee David Haye, Oscar has his fingerprint on most of boxing.

2. Wladamir Klitschko: As much as purists hate to hear it, all roads to mainstream success in boxing lead through the heavyweight division. When the heavies are great, the sport is prosperous; When the heavies are a load, the sport has to work harder to reach the mainstream. Klitschko is the closest thing we have now to an undisputed champion (He’s IBF and WBO champ). If he puts his foot on the gas and stops being so cautious, we could really have something special. He definitely has it in him to steamroll past some of his lesser foes, but has been unwilling to leave himself open. Wlad is just one Ivan Drago “I must break you” and an obscene gesture to the American flag away from being the biggest draw since Tyson, but such tacky behavior is not in Klitscko’s affable nature. So, instead, we need to see more hunger and less caution when he fights. Another showdown with Sam Peter is the only major fight to be made at the moment in the heavyweight division. In such cases where there isn’t much competition, a fighter needs to over-emphasize his dominance (ala Tyson).

3. Bob Arum: The old school promoter has been slipping a bit of late and needs to get his head back in the game as he has guys like Miguel Cotto, Kelly Pavlik, Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito fighting under his banner. All of these guys produce compelling performances and should be much bigger stars than they are. Actually booking two of his fighters against eachother in Cotto vs. Margarito is a step in the right direction and hopefully an indication that he realizes the importance of being Yin to Golden Boy’s Yang.

4. Floyd Mayweather: The mostly undisputed Pound for Pound champ needs to stop resting on his laurels and get back to the dirty business of boxing. After his rematch with De la Hoya in September, he will find himself with no other huge mega fights in sight. Here’s hoping he realizes that he needs to bury the hatchet with his old enemy Bob Arum since Arum is promoter to 3 of his more marketable foes: Cotto, Margarito and Joshua Clottey. A retired, mega-rich Floyd Mayweather does nothing for the sport.

5. Manny Pacquiao: The Philippine sensation has the innate ability to produce exciting encounters and he’s not done yet. His next fight will be against game but pedestrian WBC champ David Diaz. While this fight falls just short of being a gimme for Manny, its the type of fight for a paper title that Pacman deserves after giving us so many classics. Also, it paves the way for future wars at lightweight against the likes of Nate Campbell, Joel Casamayor, Juan Diaz and Michael Katsidis- any of which would likely be classics.

6. Kelly Pavlik: After Heavyweight, Middleweight is boxing’s glamor division and there’s nothing the boxing public likes more than a small town, likeable, white boy who can punch like a mule and doesn’t know the meaning of the word “reverse.” Pavlik is money in the bank regardless of who he’s fighting. If Kelly keeps knocking them out, people will pay attention. Gary Lockett and the hard-hitting Mexican, Marco Antonio Rubio are on Pavlik’s short list, but a possible Middleweight unification with Arthur Abraham or a move up to Super Middleweight or Light Heavy would grab a lot of headlines.

7. Tie (Israel Vazquez, Rafael Marquez, Jorge Linares and Yuriorkis Gamboa): These guys are inheriting the 122 to 130 pound divisions- Areas previously dominated by first ballot Hall of Famers: Manny Pacquiao, Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales. This is a very tough act to follow, but they are capable of taking over and producing some very interesting wars- either with one another or with others in their divisions. If the Vazquez/Marquez trilogy is any indication, we’re in for some good times ahead.

8. David Haye: Even as a Cruiserweight he would’ve made this list as the best, most marketable Cruiser since Holyfield. However, as he moves up to Heavyweight, he becomes even more important as he stands a chance of adding some life to the Heavyweight division. His hand speed may very well take him to the very top.

9. Mikkel Kessler: With Joe Calzaghe out of the picture at 168, the time is right for Kessler to make a big comeback and establish himself as the class of the division. Kessler’s important because with a revamped and rededicated Kessler at the top of the Super Middleweight division, new life may be sparked into the European boxing scene which will be suffering from Joe Calzaghe’s near future retirement as well as the decline of other European stars such as Ricky Hatton, Felix Sturm, Jean Marc Mormeck and Clinton Woods (among others). Future mega fights against fighters like Jermain Taylor and Carl Froch may prove to be extremely important to the European fight landscape in the near future.

10. Ruslan Chagaev: Before I get accused of having lost my mind, let me explain myself. Chagaev holds one-fourth of the most important prize in the sport- The Heavyweight Championship- and he’s the only one with a piece of the prize who could possibly be content with just disappearing into the Eastern European background to defend against the worst of the worst. Klitschko will take on quality opponents and Sam Peter will fight anyone, anywhere. It’s Ruslan who is the key to a unified Heavyweight title. We’ll just have to see whether it’s fight or flight for him.

Honorable Mention:

Vitali Klitscho: If he insists on fighting Sam Peter and beats him, we might have to go 10 years before we get a unified Heavyweight champ since the Klitschko Bros. will not fight one another.

Don King: He’s a rat with a forked tongue, but there’s no one alive who’s better at grabbing the media’s attention to promote a fight. A healthier Don King Productions would put the pressure on both Golden Boy and Top Rank. A comeback for King would make for a real promotional war which would, in turn, be good for fans.

Jin Mosley: Can I just spell it out for ya? M-I-L-F. Despite being Shane Mosley’s manager, she really is not that important, but you gotta give a woman props for keeping it together like she has and for looking that good after long hours of chasing kids around and following the Zab Judah drama…Plus, I just wanted an excuse to talk about her…

The Roy Jones Jr. Legacy: Too Good For His Own Good?

by Paul Magno

As Roy Jones Jr. prepares for a possible fight with Joe Calzaghe in what may possibly be his last big hurrah, I think this is as good a time as any to talk about what Jones’ legacy in the sport will be. For the sake of fairness, we’ll keep it to his physical prime and leave off his losses to Tarver and Johnson, as well as his most recent wins over the less than stellar Prince Badi Ajamu, the overstuffed Anthony Hanshaw and the “Put a fork in him, he’s done” Felix Trinidad. After all, it’s what a fighter does in his prime that counts most towards his legacy.

Name a boxer around today who has beaten two legit first-ballot hall of famers in their primes? You can look around the rankings and find a few who have beaten one or maybe two if you ease up your standards on having to fight them in their primes. And even then you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who has even 1 dominant win over a hall of fame caliber opponent. Nobody has done that- not De la Hoya, not Mayweather, not Klitschko, not Cotto, not Calzaghe.

Roy Jones did. He beat a prime Bernard Hopkins and a prime James Toney. And not only did he beat them, but he beat them easily.

Name another boxer who held World titles from Middleweight all the way to Heavyweight?

Well, Roy Jones did. Forget the fact that he beat John Ruiz for a portion of the Heavyweight crown; The fact of the matter was that he did something few thought he could do and he did so convincingly.

Those two deeds alone put him in the top 5% of all boxers and would be more than enough to cement his legacy as one of the best of our era. But to some, its not enough and there are some who see his career more for what wasn’t than for what was.

These critics forget the other names on Jones’ resume. Names like: Clinton Woods, Eric Harding, Montell Griffin, Reggie Johnson, Virgil Hill, Julio Cesar Gonzalez, Thomas Tate, Thulani Malinga, Otis Grant, Jorge Castro, Lou Del Valle, Merqui Sosa, Tony Thornton, Mike McCallum and Eric Lucas. All either World Champs at one point in their careers or legit Top 5-caliber fighters, that is, until Jones beat them easily and made these good, pro fighters look less talented and less skilled than they actually were. What his detractors seem to conveniently forget is that these weren’t weak fighters who fought an overrated Jones; They were all very good fighters made to look weak by a phenomenal Jones. There’s a big difference.

No, instead of the names I just mentioned, his critics will point to the hapless Vinny Pazienza getting slapped around by Jones or the assorted Antoine Byrds or Richard Fraziers on his hit list. Keep in mind, though, that most of his weak opponents were mandatory defenses which Jones could do nothing about. Remember, Jones loved collecting belts and with so many titles comes so many pointless mandatories. At one time, Jones simultaneously held the WBC, WBA, IBF, IBO, WBF, IBA and NBA Light Heavyweight titles- That’s a lot of fat cats to have to make happy.

Notice, though, that the WBO was not one of the titles he held…and that’s his critics’ other beef with him. They point to the guys that Jones supposedly avoided, one being Dariusz Michalczewski.

Now, Michalczewski was a good fighter, but no more significant than any other Eastern European WBO champion of the 90’s. He held some decent victories over Montell Griffin, Virgil Hill and Graciano Rocchigiani, but nothing spectacular and certainly nothing that would cause Jones to tremble in his boots. But since he held the WBO title and Jones wasn’t rushing to catch a flight to Poland with a 50-50 contract in a brief case, some deemed him “The Guy Jones is Afraid to Fight.” The fact of the matter was that most believe Jones would’ve handled “The Tiger” fairly easily and, possibly knowing that as well, Michalczewski, never really made much of an effort to put up his WBO title and take that first-class flight to the Big Leagues against Roy.

Other “avoided” fighters that critics point to are the stuff of pure fantasy. Guys like Gerald McClellan, Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank are pointed to, but quickly excused from the list of fighters “ducked” by Jones since none of those names competed in the same weight class at the same time as Jones.

No, there is a deeper reason why many dislike Jones and will try to demean his legacy and it has to do with the very nature of the fan base of boxing.

Boxing is the bluest of blue collar sports. In order for a fighter to be embraced by the boxing masses, he needs to be vulnerable and, more importantly, relatable. We have to see a bit of ourselves in him as a guy who struggles and works and finds a way to come out on top despite the odds. A guy like Arturo Gatti was a true “People’s Champ” because we could relate to him on a personal level…Few people could relate to boxer/basketball player/rapper/cock fighter Roy Jones Jr. as he threw 10 punch combinations and avoided punches like me avoiding the salad bar at a Vegas buffet.

This attitude is unique to boxing. You don’t see Michael Jordan take crap for jumping too high or moving too fast ; You don’t see Joe Montana getting ripped for being too accurate of a passer. Most upper-echelon athletes in pro sports are honored and respected for their unique gifts. The fact that they make things look easy is a positive thing.

No, there is a different attitude in boxing; A different attitude among people who claim to be “hardcore” fight fans. These are the fans who, while professing a true love for the sport, are actually helping to tear it down by tearing apart the very same mega fighters who should be the ones bringing boxing back to the mainstream. While discrediting the best of the best, they are making sure that the most marketable of fighters are already damaged goods, promotionally, by the time they get out into the general public.

That’s what happened to Roy Jones. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Jones belongs near the top of any list of this era’s best boxers. But if he was just a little slower and easier to hit..If he hadn‘t made things look so easy…If he just wasn’t quite that good., he would’ve been a lot more respected by the critics. Boxing is a very strange sport indeed.

Screwed.

by Paul Magno

Mike Oliver was knocked silly by journeyman Reynaldo Lopez. This wasn’t supposed to happen to the well-regarded prospect, especially on national TV while waiting for his long-promised title fight with IBF Super Bantamweight champ Steve Molitor.

The look on his face as Oliver regained his senses said it all. He was shocked and just plain depressed. But Mike Oliver was a victim long before Reynaldo Lopez’s left hook found its target and long before ref Dick Flaherty waved off the contest in the third round. The IBF had been victimizing the Hartford, Connecticut southpaw for the last year or so…and worst of all, unlike the fight with Lopez, he didn’t even have a fighting chance.

Back in July of 2007 Oliver beat former world champ, Cruz Carbajal in what was sanctioned by the IBF as a “Super Bantamweight Title Eliminator.” Great. The kid is going to get his shot. But then August came and September; then October and November and not only wasn’t he getting his shot at Canadian World Champ Steve Molitor, but the IBF was still ranking Oliver as #2, opting to leave the #1 spot vacant and to not place the winner of their title eliminator in the top spot.

Then, in December of ‘07, the IBF decided to have another official “Super Bantamweight Title Eliminator” featuring #15 ranked Fernando Beltran Jr. and Jose Arboleda. Beltran Jr., the winner of that fight, shot right past Oliver and was immediately placed in the #1 spot, where he almost immediately got his title shot- a one-sided shutout loss in April to Champion Molitor.

…And there was Mike Oliver, still ranked #2 in the world by the IBF and still without the shot that he had earned by winning his title eliminator almost one full year earlier. In his second “stay busy” fight while waiting for his title opportunity, he was TKO’d by Reynaldo Lopez.

There is no questioning what went down in the ring; Lopez rightfully beat Oliver. However, He beat a Mike Oliver who should’ve already been either a champ or a title challenger. As it stands now, Oliver is out of the picture, Steve Molitor is happy and the IBF has succeeded in, once again, dismantling another fighter’s hopes and dreams with their insane and offensive decisions.

As I write this, The IBF is currently updating their rankings. You can bet that Mike Oliver will find himself well below his #2 spot and dropped much more quickly than he was elevated despite doing everything the organization asked of him. Also, expect Lopez to be rated high enough to justify another easy challenger for Steve Molitor.

This isn’t the only case of the sanctioning bodies dropping the ball (or intentionally throwing the ball away); It’s just the latest case of these organizations pursuing their own interests at the expense of the guys who actually step in the ring and put their hearts and souls on the line.

And this isn’t meant as a diatribe against the IBF specifically, either. The other 3 recognized sanctioning bodies have hands just as dirty as the sole U.S.-based organization. The WBC, WBA and WBO have more skeletons in their closets than a costume shop the day before Halloween. These organizations, despite their stated objectives of benefiting the sport, actually hinder it more than anything else and contribute to the image of boxing being “The red light district” of the sport’s world.

Mysterious challengers with questionable records becoming #1 contenders…Retired former champs being allowed to come back and demand a title shot whenever they please…”Super Champions” who are allowed to skip their mandatory challengers…Sanctioning bodies running interference for their personal favorites…Stripping a new champ for not paying sanctioning fees and then returning the belt to the ex-champ who just lost it…etc…etc…

These organizations need to be tossed into the garbage along with their shiny belts. We don’t need them and the fighters sure as hell don’t need them. Let’s find another way to bring continuity to the sport. There are many ideas being batted around by boxing people. Who knows which one would be the best for the sport? But one thing is for sure- none of them can be as bad as the system currently in place- A system that screws guys like Mike Oliver and, in turn, screws us as well…

The Heavyweight Division: Never As Bad As They Say

by Damon Ealy (AKA PghWindmill)

Paul Magno, el administrador espectacular at the Boxing Times Blue Corner, recently pinched his nose with his left hand and one-finger-typed his top 10 heavyweights with his right (asking, “Are there even 10 worth ranking?” at the top of his post).

Well, Paul did manage to wince and keck through 10 of them. That’s okay. I’m used to everyone griping about the heavyweight division. So is everyone. It’s so cliché to complain about the heavyweights that it’s cliché to complain about people complaining about the heavyweights.

Hey, I’ll not try to pass this off as a golden age of heavies. But I’m not the only one who follows the division no matter what kind of shape it’s in. And not only am I loyal, I’m an optimist. On top of my 10 best, I’ve added another 10 I think will keep the division exciting in the near future and who could (or should) move into the top tier.

By the way, Paul knows his stuff, so I’m not surprised to find I pretty much mirror his rankings (though, c’mon–John Ruiz in the top five?!)

The top 10:

1. Wladimir Klitschko – You think he needs to prove something after his decision win in February over Sultan Ibragimov that defined playing it safe? He’ll bounce back against his mandatory, Tony Thompson, in July.
2. Samuel Peter – No way, Jose Sulaiman. We want Peter-Wladimir II, not Peter-Vitali I.
3. Ruslan Chagaev – A rematch with Nikolai Valuev on May 31 in Germany should clear things up-hopefully.
4. Nikolai Valuev
5. Sultan Ibragimov - I’m not going to penalize him as much as others want to for his subpar show against Klitschko.
6. Alexander Povetkin – Povetkin’s fought only 15 fights as a professional, but he’s got a mess of amateur experience-and an Olympic gold medal. He’s here by virtue of a win over Eddie Chambers and for thumping former IBF titleholder Chris Byrd. Povetkin’s scheduled for a July bout, but an opponent remains TBA. It’s disappointing that there’s not a name-a name-brand name-in place by now.
7. John Ruiz – Always puts on a bad show. Complains a lot. Past his prime. But his level of competition and a decision win in March over Jameel McCline keeps him here. For now.
8. Alexander Dimitrenko – He’s young and relatively busy. By most accounts, he’s got talent. What he needs is to beat a name. A win over Derric Rossy last weekend is a start, but he needs to raise it up from there.
9. Tony Thompson - The Tiger has a 31-1 record and hasn’t lost since Bill Clinton was the prez. Nice, but the names along the way don’t add up to a top-10 ranking. Thompson’s a good cat, but he’ll have to be better than gr-r-r-r-r-r-eat on July 12 in Germany. Otherwise, Wladimir Klitschko squashes him.
10. Eddie Chambers – Took his first pro loss in January versus Povetkin. He’s scheduled to fight a rebounder in June versus Raphael Butler in the Caymans. The next two or three fights should tell us what we need to know.

Ten on the fringe:

Chris Arreola – I can’t put the Nightmare in the top 10 just on potential. If he beats Chazz Witherspoon on June 21, he’s there. His résumé isn’t illustrious, but it’s not soft, either. What I note is that there are no losses on it, and there’s exactly one decision win. The rest of the results have K’s and O’s in them. And he could be fighting bodies, sure. We’ll know when we see him tested. But I’m thinking look out, top 10.

David Haye – Though it seems it’s only a question of when Haye moves into the top echelon, I’ve got to apply the same rules to him that I do Arreola. The big difference is that Haye has beaten some of the best at his weight and looked dynamite doing it. The excitement over his move to heavyweight is justified.
Vitali Klitschko – Only because he could return a month from today and take out the bottom half of the top 10, assuming his body held up. As it is, he’s got the much-derided WBC “champion emeritus” label and as such would be Peter’s mandatory should he return. But for now, he’s running for mayor of Kiev. Apparently Vitali wants to take over and clean up a shady, corrupt enterprise previously run by shysters. Once he shows us he can lick Kiev, maybe he can move on to the WBC.

Andrew Golota – Wins in the last year against Jeremy Bates, Kevin McBride, and Mike Mollo don’t necessarily indicate a bona fide comeback. But Golota has looked good in all three and outright impressive against the younger Mollo. And, like big brother Vitali, tell me he couldn’t step in and wipe out half of my top 10. Don King will line Golota up with someone this summer, possibly Shannon Briggs.

Odlanier Solis – So talented and much more experienced than his 9-0 record as a pro suggests. As an amateur, Solis defeated David Haye and Sultan Ibragimov (twice). Solis will fight a TBA opponent in Las Vegas later in June on the same card as fellow Cuban Olympic gold medalist (and Blue Corner favorite) Yuriorkis Gamboa.

Tye Fields – There’s no place in the top 10 for the Versus house heavyweight until he’s fought genuine competition, but Monte Barrett is a baby step in the right direction for Big Sky.

Vladimir Virchis – At 34, he’s more than likely peaked. He’s fought only 25 professional fights, all in Europe, but his only loss is an MD to Chagaev. He’s been inactive for six months, so it’s time to get busy. Patience should not be a Virchis-and a name win would do him some good. Otherwise he sinks from here.

Juan Carlos Gomez – Also 34. Has the mo’ better pro experience, but he’s otherwise in the same boat as Virchis. And he’s got an inactive streak of his own going, approaching seven months.

Matt Skelton – Haye is still a cruiser, so call Skelton my token British heavyweight, but he is 21-2 and has only lost to Chagaev and Danny Williams (aka Remember Me? I Beat Mike Tyson). Skelton’s got gatekeeper-type Sinan Samil Sam at the end of this month for the EBU European heavyweight title. It’s make or break for Skelton, ’cause he’s 41, and his best victories are two over Michael Sprott and a revenge win over the aforementioned Danny Williams.

Oleg Maskaev – Unless he were to pull out a flukish upset, there’s nowhere for Maskaev to go but down to shot-fighter territory. His physical ailments were evident against Samuel Peter, and though he had some moments, he didn’t look like he belonged in the ring that night. The Big O might consider calling it a day. But he has surprised us a couple of times over a 15-year career, and he’s one “big” reason that Hasim Rahman didn’t make my second 10.

Can “The Pittsburgh Kid” Afford to Stay in Pittsburgh?

by Damon Ealy (AKA PghWindmill on the Boxing Times Blue Corner)

“The Pittsburgh Kid” Paul Spadafora is in jail. His girlfriend, Nadine Russo, drove north from Pittsburgh about 100 miles to meet him last week, despite having obtained a protection-from-abuse (PFA) order against him last June. The car in which she made the trip was reported stolen by its owner. (Apparently an annoyed relative or friend of Russo’s who didn’t end up pressing charges.) Police checked it out, found the two together (no contact allowed until 2010, says the court order), and Spadafora was arrested. Again.

Why is it that two of the most clichéd tragic figures, the woman who can’t quit the abusive guy and the bad-luck case who can never get it together, always seem to team up?

Spadafora’s not being charged on the violation of the PFA (And how can he be? It takes two to meet in an Erie County motel in violation of a court order.) But he’s still being held on a parole issue.

Paul Spadafora is a fighter that boxing people seem to like. To get it out of the way first: Sure, the complexion helps. I know that. But intelligent boxing fans recognize that Spadafora knows what he’s talking about when HE talks boxing. And they’ll tell you about the Whitaker-esque clinic an underdog Spadafora put on against Israel Cardona to win the vacated IBF title in 1999. They cite the heart he showed getting up (twice), staying cool and boxing to decision Victoriano Sosa in 2000. And to a lot of boxing fans in Pittsburgh, despite the mistakes, various and sundry he’s made outside the ring he’ll always be one of ours. (The best-known “mistake” being shooting Russo in the stomach in 2003. That she’s still with him eases my conscience, troubled a bit at still championing the guy.)

I live in Pittsburgh. After this recent scrape, someone asked me why Spadafora hasn’t left, gotten away from the distractions and bad influences and finally, at 32, done what he needs to do to have a boxing career. “He did leave,” I said. “He went to Erie.”

I was also asked about how the local media covered the story and what they had to say. Not much. And it’s hard to fault them for falling out of love with Spadafora. They were talking about his getting away from the bad influences when he was 22 years old. And when he was 24. And 26. Along the way, he’s gotten breaks the rest of us probably wouldn’t have. And at 32 and having fought five times over the last five years before last weekend, the general population isn’t interested anymore.

He went to Erie. Not far away enough, apparently. I looked up an article by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Chuck Finder. It’s from five years ago:

“Where are these so-called handlers and people in his corner? … Are they still deaf to the pleas of a young man who for four years has talked about wanting to live in Las Vegas, in boxing’s capital, and escaping the lure of his demons here? That shows how dizzily his world has spun — to think Sin City could have been Spadafora’s salvation.”

Seems some combination of personal connections, pressure from management, insecurity, and bad fortune keeps Spadafora around. When will he get out of here? I don’t know. When will his boxing career take off for real? I hope soon, but I’d guess never. Will he ever just settle down and be normal? That’s the one I’m probably most sure about- I can’t see it. Some people just don’t assimilate. There was probably a time people thought Johnny Tapia would slow down and become like everyone else, too.

I hope all parties here are as all right as can be. I hope for Spadafora that this most recent thing is an instance of overzealous law enforcement, and that he can move the hell on, figuratively and, if necessary, literally.

The original Pittsburgh Kid, Billy Conn, lived out some soap-opera drama, too. And he went to Vegas, but had trouble staying away. Then he came back, and we love him for that.