Al Bernstein: “ I think Pacquiao-Mayweather is going to be made” -- Eastside Boxing

By Geoffrey Ciani, Eastside Boxing

This week’s edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio featured an exclusive interview with Showtime boxing commentator Al Bernstein. Following Andre Ward’s impressive victory over Allan Green in the final group stage two match-up of the Super Six Boxing Classic, Bernstein shared his views on the tournament and other aspects of the current boxing landscape. Here is some of what Al had to say:

On Andre Ward’s performance in his group stage two victory against Allan Green:

“Well he was outstanding and one of the things that made it even better was t hat he altered what he did against Mikkel Kessler in that brilliant performance. He decided that one of the things he could do against Allan Green was get in close and smother the big left hook of Green and land a lot of punches. He told us he was going to try and do that a little early in the fight but it worked so well for him that he kept it up during a lot of the fight. He’s a very smart fighter. He’s clever, he knows what he’s doing in the ring, he follows Virgil Hunter’s game plan perfectly, and he was too good and too disciplined for Allan Green.”

On whether he was surprised by how ineffective Allan Green was in his fight with Ward:
“Well yes and no. Yes, because this was the most important moment of his career and if ever he was going to show us what he had, and he kept telling everyone that would listen for weeks and weeks leading up to the fight that he was going to do it, and even as much as when we had the fighter meeting the day before so in that sense I’m surprised, but to be perfectly honest, Allan Green has been an underachiever so the burden of proof was on him to show that he’s not and he didn’t on that evening..”

On criticisms from fans who claim Ward’s performance was “boring”:
“What did he do that was boring? I’m amazed at that. I can’t even imagine how you could criticize that. He threw a lot of punches, he didn’t just pose, when he got in the inside he was working, throwing upper cuts, left hooks to the body, little short chopping right hands—what would anyone want Andre Ward to do that he didn’t do in that fight? He completely dominated it, he threw a lot of punches, the only thing he didn’t do was knock Allan Green out but beyond that he was just excellent. I didn’t find it boring. I mean, I found it boring because it was one-sided but I didn’t find Andre Ward’s performance boring.”

On who he considers to be the best super middleweight in the world right now:
“Obviously Bute is outside the tournament and so when we talk about him we’re not going to talk about in terms of this tournament. He’s clearly as good as the people in this tournament, there’s no question about that. Within the tournament, who’s going to win the tournament? That I don’t know. Even though Ward has the lead with four points, I could give you the rationale for several people still winning this tournament. For instance, I think Andre Dirrell has a very good chance to beat Andre Ward in the next fight. I really do, based on the way he fought against Abraham and based on the match-up of styles which is of course often what it boils down to. Andre Dirrell will probably need to win that fight in order to make it to the semi-finals. Arthur Abraham, I don’t think you could rule him out even though he gave a poor performance against Dirrell. You still have Froch, Kessler fought better against Froch then he had before. Lucian Bute would certainly be right in that mix. I don’t know that I could pick one that I would say right now I’m absolutely sure is the best, even with Ward’s two brilliant performances.”

On whether he believes Ward has the mental strength to continue forward and fulfill the potential he’s show in these first two rounds:
“Well he definitely has the mental strength. That’s the one part of Andre Ward that no human on the planet can question. He’s the most—I’m going to say the most, I’m not even going to qualify—he’s the most disciplined, organized, and focused fighter in the sport today, bar none. There isn’t anybody that touches him in those departments and no fighter, none in the sport of boxing right now, has a better or more organized corner. So all of that stuff he’s got going for him, that isn’t even in question. The only question with him, and the one that of course is with any fighter, is he going to see somebody whose style matches up much better than him (aka-maybe Andre Dirrell)? Is he going to face a big puncher who is going to land something that’s monstrous and be simply too much for him? He’s been down once in his career and he was hurt one other time, any fighter can be. Barring the answer to those questions, he reduces the chances that he’ll lose. He goes in there minimizing the chances of a loss as much as a fighter can and gives himself as good a chance to win as anyone and you can’t ask for too much more than that.”

On what he believes was the biggest surprise so far in the Super Six:
“Well, one of the first big surprised came when Kessler lost so dramatically to Ward. You know, certainly Ward could have won the fight but the way he lost was I thought kind of shocking, so that was a big surprise. The other surprise to me was how well Andre Dirrell did against Arthur Abraham. He did everything that you would want him to do in that fight. Of course, he won on a disqualification, but he performed so well during that fight so that kind of surprised me as well. The other surprising part I think is that other than Ward, nobody won two fights in a row so that’s pretty interesting.”

On who he thinks suffered the toughest break so far in the Super Six:
“Well, Kessler did a little bit in a way even though he fought poorly and was going to lose anyway, all those clashes of heads were difficult, so that added to his woes and he kind of got a tough break. I thought Andre Dirrell got a tough break, you could say, in not getting the decision against Froch in a close fight and then I would say Froch against Kessler—he could have easily been given that decision, very close fight. If fighters wanted to look at things that could have gone another way for them, those three certainly could look at it. I wouldn’t say Abraham got a tough break because I think he deserved to be disqualified.”

On which group stage three match-ups he believes are most intriguing and potentially most exciting:
“I think the most exciting could be Froch-Abraham because Froch is going to land a bunch of punches, try and get through that defense, will land something of note, and then I think Abraham when he comes out of that cocoon will land something of note and both men have really good chins. A close second, though, is Dirrell and Ward. I really think that’s going to be a great fight. They’re both boxers, but Ward’s not a runner and Dirrell can’t afford to be a runner in this fight because he needs this fight so badly so he’ll fight more like he did against Abraham, moving but still engaging and throwing punches, so I think that’s a really good fight. I would tell you that Green-Kessler is going to be good but I don’t know if Allan Green can summon up a good effort. Stylistically it’s a perfect fight for both fighters. They’re both in front of each other, they’re both power punchers, Kessler has the edge in hand speed and combination punching but if Allan Green comes to fight and is ready, it should be a really good fight between him and Kessler.”

On whether he believes having tournaments like the Super Six in other divisions would be good for boxing:
“I think the concept is good. One of the thing that makes this one good, and I think it’s a part of the equation, when we have single eliminations tournaments it’s good, it’s fun, but with single elimination tournaments you may have gotten the wrong style that day or whatever. When it’s not a single elimination like this it’s really interesting. These are not easily put together, though. Really, with all the promoters in boxing that have to get involved in this, all the different managers as evidenced by Shaw making that suggestion—which I also find interesting that he decided to go to HBO to suggest a tournament after he started one on Showtime, but that’s another story. It’s interesting. He was just suggesting what I think was a single elimination and he still couldn’t get four fighters involved so it shows how difficult it is. I know there’s been talk of a cruiserweight tournament, which by the way, is a division where—the places where these tournaments work the best, and a demonstration of that was how it didn’t work in the junior welterweight division. Those fighters have some cache already in terms of name recognition and notoriety and clout. Super middleweights didn’t have so much of that and they fight each other anyway. The cruiserweights are exactly the same. They clearly desperately need this kind of thing to get their names out there and they are already fighting each other on a regular basis so the cruiserweight division is probably the one where it would make the most sense.”

His views on the current health of the sport:
“Well for the most part boxing—and I think Pacquiao-Mayweather is going to be made, so in the grand scheme I think that will get there. Most of the big matches that people wanted to see were made in the last six or seven years, unlike the 90s, when boxing didn’t do it in the 1990s. That was an abyss for the sport. I think the sport has made a renaissance in the last five or six or seven years. It’s still something of a niche sport, at least in America, but then everything other than the NFL is a niche sport in America. Internationally boxing has really made great strides so I don’t see the sport in decline. I think it’s seeking its level and I think especially internationally, it’s in really healthy shape and in America the media is covering the sport a little bit more and that’s a plus.”

On how he views a potential fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr:
“Well I think it’s an interesting fight. I think we’re really going to find out in the first five rounds of that fight because Pacquiao is going to get hit with some kind of impressive right hand by Mayweather. He tends to get hit with a real quick fighter like Marquez who could hit him with the right hand. Mayweather is going to do that and Mayweather’s a good puncher, a sharp puncher, and might be physically a little bigger than Pacquiao or at least has been at higher weights more often. I think we’re going to know when Mayweather lands one of those right hands lands—did it hurt Pacquiao? Did it knock him down? Did it get him in trouble? Does it lead to more of an onslaught? If the answer is any of that, then obviously Pacquiao is in big trouble and he’s probably going to lose the fight. If, however, he gets hit with one of those right hands and he’s able to shake it off and continue with his onslaught of seventy or eighty or ninety punches a round and make Floyd Mayweather fight every second of every round, which he does not like to do, then I think this fight is going to get very interesting as we head into the second portion of it and I think that’s where Pacquiao certainly has a chance to win the fight.”

Source: eastsideboxing.com

While We Wait for Manny Pacquiao Vs Floyd Mayweather JR: Thoughts on the “Other” Stories in Boxing -- Ringside Report

By Jeff Stoyanoff, Ringside Report

While the world of boxing waits to see what transpires in the ongoing saga of the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight negotiations other fighters continue to exist. I am just as interested as the next guy in seeing what may prove to be the biggest fight in the history of boxing, but we won’t know anything for a little while so now seems like a good time to take a look at a couple of developing stories.

Khan and Ortiz – Lingering Questions Answered?

Both guys looked very good in their respective fights earlier this month. Granted, both were in optimal situations to look good. Nate Campbell is 38 years old, though we like to remember those outliers that confound our expectations regarding age like the oft cited Bernard Hopkins, that number has to mean something. Campbell has had a long and solid career, but it does appear to be catching up with him. Make no mistake, Ortiz dominated Campbell and showed himself to be the superior fighter right from the opening bell. It wasn’t that he won or even that he dominated, rather it was how overwhelmed and lost Campbell appeared to be in the fight. Perhaps Campbell would have never have been able to beat Ortiz, but the domination exhibited by Ortiz was bolstered by an opponent who no longer could react and adjust to even make the fight a little more compelling. Campbell is a terrific fighter, but no matter how many times one mentions Hopkins or Archie Moore, fighters get old. Ortiz did what he was supposed to do and looked like the fighter that was previously tabbed as potentially the next big thing in boxing, but he wasn’t in much danger on this night. It is going to take a great effort by a supremely talented fighter to best Ortiz at this point and the veteran Campbell seemed to be unable to fight at that altitude anymore.

While the talent level of Ortiz is undeniable it is hard to forget his fight against Marcos Maidana last year. Ortiz’ talent was on display as he dropped Maidana three times in the fight. Unfortunately for Ortiz, the talent and toughness of Maidana were also on display as he weathered the storm and came back to score a pair of knockdowns himself. By the sixth round, Ortiz was cut over both eyes and physically worn down by the relentless punishment of Maidana. After being knocked down, Ortiz indicated that he did not wish to continue in the fight. Truthfully, Ortiz was, in all likelihood, going to be knocked out in the next 30 seconds (there were over two minutes left in the round). His vision was no doubt impaired by the cuts and he was being outworked by a fighter who had decidedly more left in the tank. Ortiz made a rational choice, but boxing is hardly a sport governed by rational thinking. Though certainly logical, the decision to stop by Ortiz was viewed by many as quitting and it has to leave a lingering doubt as to how he will fare against top fighters in the future. Ortiz will encounter adversity again; how will he respond? No matter how he looks during his comeback none of it will matter at all until he is faced with adversity and must choose again between the logic of self-preservation and the blind courage required to make it to the heights that his talent seems to promise. All of which brings us to Amir Khan.

The similarities here abound. Khan looked sensational against Paulie Malignaggi on the same card as Ortiz and Campbell. Khan was expected to win, but Malignaggi had proven to be slick and tough; the kind of guy who could hang around in a fight and produce some questions about his opponent. No such questions could be asked on this night. Khan landed far more clean shots on Malignaggi than had any previous opponent as he dominated him in a way that not even Ricky Hatton or Miguel Cotto could. Khan controlled the action with his jab primarily as he systematically took apart an ever more bewildered Malignaggi. The win was no surprise, but the level of domination was noteworthy.

However, much like the case with Ortiz, one can go overboard with the superlatives. Malignaggi was well passed his prime as well. As was pointed out during the broadcast, Malignaggi relied more on his reflexes and athleticism to out slick his opponents over his fine career rather than utilizing solid technique. The deficiencies in fundamentals were exposed time and again by Khan. Once again as was the case with Ortiz in his fight, perhaps Malignaggi never could have beaten Khan. However, the slippage in his quickness magnified the flaws on defense and the result was an easy night for Khan. Like Campbell, Malignaggi is a terrific fighter, but at 29 years of age he is ancient. He has been through a few wars and he employs a style that relies on quickness and fast reactions and he has never been one to eschew contact in the ring. Fighters sometimes get old overnight and never has that saying been more true than in the case of Paulie Malignaggi on May 15th. In fact, Khan was in even less danger than Ortiz as Malignaggi has also never been blessed with much in the way of one punch power. Once Khan was able to outbox Malignaggi the fight was over. Khan was too good and Paulie was too far passed his prime to fight at anywhere near the brilliant level that Khan brought.

But the similarities between Khan and Victor Ortiz hardly stop there. Khan’s lone loss poses the same kind of fatalistic questions as does Ortiz’ recent loss to Maidana. Khan was caught and knocked out by a sensational left hook from Breidis Prescott in their fight in December of 2008. Just like Ortiz, no matter how good Khan looks it simply will not matter until he is in there again with a dangerous opponent and gets caught flush again. Truth be told, Khan’s loss should not provide a conclusive end to the story about his beard. He was backing into a corner and he got caught with a spectacular shot right on the point of his chin. Perhaps Khan will always struggle when it comes to taking a good shot in the ring as many tremendous fighters have. However, that shot might just have put anyone’s lights out.

Lennox Lewis was often regarded as having a questionable chin during his hall of fame career. The evidence of this lies in the fact that he was knocked out twice in memorable fashion. However, Lewis only went down those two times in a career that spanned 44 fights against the biggest and hardest punching heavyweights of his era. Was he only hit hard twice? Could he have stayed on his feet against the litany of fearsome punchers he faced if he couldn’t take a pretty good shot? Images often trump logic and nowhere is this more true than in discussions of the beard in boxing. Khan getting dropped by a perfect shot doesn’t necessarily mean that any shot that hits him is going to take him out. Everybody has a perfect spot and perhaps Prescott just managed to find Khan’s with a tremendous shot. None of this is to say that Amir Khan is going to be George Chuvalo out there, but mistakes can be particularly costly in boxing and Khan made a big one against Prescott.

Perhaps it was an anomaly and Khan may prove to be tougher than we expect in his subsequent fights; only time will tell. Perhaps Ortiz has rededicated himself to boxing and will display surprising grit and toughness when confronted with adversity once again; only time will tell. These two seem ideally suited to pose these lingering questions to the other. The fight seems like a natural.

Did we miss the “prime” Paul Williams?

It certainly was a bizarre ending in the Kermit Cintron – Paul Williams fight on May 8th. Cintron tripped over Williams legs and fell out of the ring. Though replays showed no conclusive evidence that he fell in some violent way that would have precluded him continuing the fight was stopped. The story goes that Cintron wanted to continue but that the doctors overruled him and stopped the fight as a precaution. That seems plausible to me. However, there have been subsequent suggestions that Cintron actually jumped out of the ring (wow) and that he stayed down long enough to have the fight stopped only to then feign protest after. This seems less plausible.

First, consider the fight itself. Two rounds of fairly careful boxing with not a lot of contact followed by 30 seconds with some good exchanges and then the strange finish. Cintron decided he wanted out after 30 seconds of trading with Paul Williams? So, Williams is some kind of superhuman amalgam of Thomas Hearns and Earnie Shavers? After going 30 seconds Cintron was desperate to get out of the fight? I suppose that makes Sergio Martinez the toughest human being in the history of boxing. Also, Cintron clearly landed during the exchanges and should have won the first two rounds. In fact, Williams clearly buckled after eating a good right hand from Cintron in that third round. It seems safe to say after watching Williams fight for the last few years that that right hand for Cintron would be there again if the fight continued. Perhaps if it was the 9th or 10th round and Cintron was winning one could argue that the strategic move in such a scenario would be to stay down and take the decision win, why chance it? Of course, that once again assumes that boxing and rational thinking are not mutually exclusive when all the evidence suggests that they in fact are. Nonetheless, at least a case could be made in that situation for opting to go to the cards, but that was not the case on May 8th.

So, what would Cintron’s motivation be? Perhaps he wanted to cement his place as an outsider when it comes to any big fights at 154 pounds because that is exactly where he is after this loss. Williams doesn’t need to fight him again and Cintron just lost so why would anyone else? I am just waiting for the second day stories about how Cintron hates money to help explain why he would opt out of a golden opportunity to elevate his status in a deep division filled with potential big money fights. If Cintron wants out as soon as he takes one shot from Paul Williams, why is he even fighting in the first place?

Beyond the Cintron fiasco, I wonder where Paul Williams is in his career. The lack of familiarity with Paul Williams that casual fans have should not be taken as an indication that Williams has somehow only recently burst on the scene. Williams has had 39 fights which is a fairly high total for a fighter in the modern era of boxing. Moreover, Williams fights at a torrid pace and definitely gives and takes a lot of….wait for it….punishment. The power of Paul Williams is cumulative as, more often than not, he wears his opponents down before taking them out. On top of that, he has never excelled on defense. That brutal combination usually leads to a shorter than average career at the top for a fighter.

The lack of world class defense never hurt Williams in the past because his punch output simply overwhelmed his opponent and when he did take a punch he seemed to do so very well. But that has started to change a little, he was hurt a few times against Martinez and he did buckle on a good right from Cintron. And let’s remember that among his many long, tough fights is a contest against Antonio Margarito. Williams went 12 hard rounds against Margarito. The second half of that fight in particular saw Margarito gain in effectiveness landing consistently with solid right hands down the stretch. Not only was that a physical fight, but we must now consider the question that will always accompany a discussion of an Antonio Margarito fight; just what was Paul Williams getting hit with that night?

Paul Williams is a wonderful fighter and hopefully he can squeeze some well deserved money out before he must contemplate retirement. Williams is still largely unknown, but he is hardly untested in the ring having endured more than his share of high contact fights; his prime years may have just slipped by.

Froch Retirement? That was fast…

No sooner than Carl Froch loses his first fight than the talk of retirement starts. However, this time it’s a little different. The ones talking about retirement are not the fans, but Carl Froch himself. This seems like pretty strange talk for a guy who appears for the most part to be full on arrogant in his appraisals of his boxing ability. Suddenly, with one loss there is talk of retirement? Where is the boastful talk of what he has learned and how even the greatest fighters lose and what matters is how one responds to those moments of adversity?

Froch recently lost a somewhat controversial decision to Mikkel Kessler in Denmark in phase two of the Super Six Super Middleweight Classic. I actually scored the Kessler fight for Froch by a single point. Interestingly, I thought Froch handled the post fight interview exceptionally well. He said he felt as though he won the fight, and while you may disagree, it is not as though his statement was outlandish. He then talked about the disparity in the scoring making a very salient point in suggesting that if one of the judges scored that fight nine rounds to three for Kessler then there was simply no way that he (Froch) could have possibly won a decision on that judges card. It is hard to disagree with that view. Judging by the scoring in this event, Froch is not exactly crazy for saying he doesn’t want to fight Arthur Abraham in his adopted home country of Germany. After going on the road to fight Kessler, Froch shouldn’t have to take on Abraham in Germany. Although it is hugely ironic that the most controversial decision in the event went for Froch and yet it is Froch who is complaining most loudly. What’s more fun than human nature? But, the fight location is the least of Froch’s problems at this point.

Froch needs to find a way to gain some confidence as the road doesn’t get any easier in the Super Six. Ordinarily, Froch could come home and take a fight or two against softer competition, get the winning feeling back and then step up again. However, in this format he steps right back into the fire against Arthur Abraham. If the US Open is billed as the toughest tennis in the world and the US Open is the toughest golf in the world then the Super Six is the toughest boxing in the world. The Super Six is built not just on fierce competition, but on a grueling pace that exacts a heavy toll: Physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Today’s top fighters don’t have to deal with the loss in the same way as many of their predecessors The brilliant fighters of today are cash cows that can be worth tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars. They are handled carefully. They are matched up well and moved along at a measured pace. Not because they are soft, but because they are incredibly valuable. The Super Six confounds the status quo by forcing top fighters to face each other one after the other; no options. The event challenges the psyche as much as the body. Winning the Super Six is not going to be purely a question of physical prowess; there will be a significant mental and emotional component as well. Already, every fighter other than Andre Ward has lost (Allan Green hasn’t lost but hasn’t fought either). Unless, Ward dominates this thing from start to finish, the winner of this event might just have to pick himself up off the canvas (figuratively speaking) and gut out a win; not when he feels ready, but now. Today’s brilliant but precocious talents are not always accustomed to winning that way, but they might just have to here.

Right now it is difficult to say where things are in terms of the physical questions in the Super Six as the favorites seem to change after every fight. But, the mental aspects might be starting to take shape. The talk of walking away sends a message that Carl Froch may not be strong enough mentally to pull this thing out. The Super Six brings great boxing matches, but in between it’s a grind and a grinder is going to take it down.

Source: ringsidereport.com