Chavez vs Rubio: Bob Arum Tries to Make You Love It
by Scott Christ on Jan 3, 2012 1:24 PM EST
in Boxing News Analysis
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Bob Arum won't have it with any ideas that Julio Cesar Chavez Jr is in easy again when he faces Marco Antonio Rubio on February 4 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, live on HBO. Here's what he said on Tuesday at a press conference, via RingTV.com:
"I have no idea what people in general know or don't know about Rubio. I just know that Chavez gets extremely good ratings when he fights on HBO, and that the people who really follow boxing know what a dangerous opponent Rubio is."
This is one of my favorite tactics that promoters use -- the ol' "people who really follow boxing think this is good and if you don't agree then you don't really follow boxing. Don't you want to be cool?" bit.
And look, it's not even a case where I don't think this is a good fight; it's a good fight. It really is, and I'm looking forward to watching it. But I still can't help but laugh at the prodding here.
[ Related: Double-Header Signed / Official Fight Poster ]
I can help clear up one mystery, though: "People in general" know nothing about Rubio. What Chavez's TV ratings have to do with anything here is totally unclear, but it sounds good and takes your attention away from being critical. Another sweet move.
Bob Arum slays me sometimes.
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This fight stinks.
"According to all the laws of aerodynamics the bumble-bee should not fly, but the bumble-bee does not know this and so flies anyway."
The irony is of course that people who really follow boxing know this is a very beatable opponent for Chavez. He’s not a joke, but he aint much of a step up from Manfredo.
I agree.
But not a worthy contender at this point.
"According to all the laws of aerodynamics the bumble-bee should not fly, but the bumble-bee does not know this and so flies anyway."
what point
contender to what?
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
http://ringtv.craveonline.com/ratings/middleweight
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/columns/story?columnist=rafael_dan&id=6402207
Well, rubio is not even a top 10 ranked fighter. JCC Jr. fighting one would be nice.
"According to all the laws of aerodynamics the bumble-bee should not fly, but the bumble-bee does not know this and so flies anyway."
Why is Chavez #6 again? Is there actually a good reason for that? Do you think he is? If you don’t, then who cares where The Ring and Dan Rafael rank him?
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
Calm down, don’t get so bent out of shape. Not like Rubio’s on your top 10 list either. I don’t think he’s a worthy challenge for the belt. It’s a borderline showcase fight disguised in the form of a legitimate title defense imo.
"According to all the laws of aerodynamics the bumble-bee should not fly, but the bumble-bee does not know this and so flies anyway."
Calm down, don’t get so bent out of shape.
Why do you think I’m bent out of shape?
Not like Rubio’s on your top 10 list either.
No, he’s not. Neither is Chavez.
It’s a borderline showcase fight disguised in the form of a legitimate title defense imo.
It’s a fight designed to draw and entertain fans, and it definitely will on the former and probably will on the latter.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
Also, the idea of a “legitimate title defense” is kind of silly in this case — Chavez’s title is not and never has been legitimate, so what’s new?
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
Spot on SC.
The words Chavez and belts are used in the same sentence for one reason and one reason; to promote and sell fights
If only there were a way to use the word belt with a capital B instead of Champion, we might not laugh as hard.
That said, I think this is a good match as far as styles and level of fighter
"Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer"
---- Muhammed Ali
by pakinpower on Jan 3, 2012 11:44 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I disagree
I think Rubio is a fair step up. Maybe I’m in the minority here. He looked horrible against Pavlik, but Chavez doesn’t fight like Pavlik. Chavez is probably better than most of the fighters Rubio has actually beaten lately (Lemieux, Alvarez, Zertuche, Vanda, Ornelas, Miller, etc.), but if Rubio doesn’t come in fighting scared, I think he’s a very live dog.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
What happened to Joel Julio?
"According to all the laws of aerodynamics the bumble-bee should not fly, but the bumble-bee does not know this and so flies anyway."
He’s not very good? Nothing happened to him. He’s around. He’s fighting off TV on the NBC Sports show in Philly on 1/21.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
Wishful thinking I suspect
"Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer"
---- Muhammed Ali
by pakinpower on Jan 3, 2012 11:45 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I dont get why everyone is hating on this.
Outside of the fact that it shouldnt be on HBO. This is a solid fight. Rubio is an okay fighter with heavy hands and Chavez is a guy who likes to stand there and bring it.
Im not in love with this fight but it is one that should show us if Chavez has improved at all.
http://www.kissingthecanvas.com
"Look at this body, ... Do I look like I use steroids?"
-James Toney
I agree. And kudos to Arum for being a great salesman.
by RRod806 on Jan 3, 2012 2:15 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
And to HBO for paying for fights that are meant to be entertaining.
This may not be a championship fight to anyone, especially those who know boxing but I think there is a very good chance a real fight may break out.
"Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer"
---- Muhammed Ali
by pakinpower on Jan 3, 2012 11:51 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
should be a good action fight
i actually favor chavez jr big time in this matchup
All I know right now is....
Showtime should be winning the ratings battle when it comes to boxing in this early new year.
All I know is Chavez is one of the top draws in boxing right now. This fight will most likely do very well and most likely better than any fight Showtime puts on this year.
I’ve given up on hating Chavez personally (not saying you do). There’s far worse crimes in boxing than putting a very popular fighter on TV who makes for fun fights. Yes his title is a joke but so are half the titles out there. Boxing, gotta love it!
Sure, the subscriber argument supports that.
But I still think Berto-Ortiz is a better fight. And I was dissappointed about the Morales postponement. Thats all. And I did say early year. Not for the rest of the year, especially since the rest of the year’s fights aren’t set yet.
Chavez does have skills and this could be a test… But Berto-Ortiz is still a bigger draw.
I think Chavez Jr. will be a good draw in San Antonio, yes. Not totally sure how Berto-Ortiz will do at Vegas. Berto is not a draw anywhere, by any stretch of the imagination. Last time Ortiz was in the MGM he got knocked out while trying to makeout with Floyd. And even Floyd doesn’t sellout the MGM. Poor Vegas economy can’t help either. It definitely raised some eyebrows when they announced it would be in the MGM.
Styles make fights...
I’m not making the argument which fight sells more. I was saying that more folks might tune in to see a potintial fight of the year rematch, over a hyped up prospect vs a journey man.
And I’m fully aware that Chavez is huge in the Southwest and Mexico.
Where on planet earth did the styles make fights argument come in here?
"Occasionally, there is a boxing match that, in its demonstration of skill, courage, intelligence, hope, seems to redeem the sport - almost. Perhaps boxing has always been a sport in crisis, a sport of crisis."
by Oli Goldstein on Jan 3, 2012 5:47 PM EST up reply actions
But Berto-Ortiz is still a bigger draw.
…
I’m not making the argument which fight sells more.
Uhhhh.
"Occasionally, there is a boxing match that, in its demonstration of skill, courage, intelligence, hope, seems to redeem the sport - almost. Perhaps boxing has always been a sport in crisis, a sport of crisis."
by Oli Goldstein on Jan 3, 2012 5:48 PM EST up reply actions
Reckon our answer goes something like "STYLES MAKE FIGHTS GUYs GEEEEEZ DON’T YOU KNOW THAT?
"Occasionally, there is a boxing match that, in its demonstration of skill, courage, intelligence, hope, seems to redeem the sport - almost. Perhaps boxing has always been a sport in crisis, a sport of crisis."
by Oli Goldstein on Jan 3, 2012 5:52 PM EST up reply actions
My bad, wrong terminology. Maybe I should have said a more popular fight. Something like that I guess.
U can put away ur pitchforks now.
Chavez-Rubio will get more viewers AND a bigger gate, what the hell are you arguing for? If it’s that Berto-Ortiz will sell more or be more popular or whatever “terminology” you are using, you are just wrong. It’s ok to be wrong sometimes Clove, just back away slowly…
No, it’s not “the subscriber argument” – no one’s giving that argument. It’s the old “my name’s Julio Cesar Chavez” argument, which means that a lot of people will watch Jr because a lot of people loved watching his dad. Berto-Ortiz will get a fair few views – it got a fair few views when it aired on HBO, although that was a free preview weekend – but you’d be kidding yourself if you thought it was a bigger draw. It isn’t and sadly it won’t ever be.
"Occasionally, there is a boxing match that, in its demonstration of skill, courage, intelligence, hope, seems to redeem the sport - almost. Perhaps boxing has always been a sport in crisis, a sport of crisis."
by Oli Goldstein on Jan 3, 2012 5:30 PM EST up reply actions
Also, on Chavez having skills – well, er, sort of. He can jab a little, I guess.
"Occasionally, there is a boxing match that, in its demonstration of skill, courage, intelligence, hope, seems to redeem the sport - almost. Perhaps boxing has always been a sport in crisis, a sport of crisis."
by Oli Goldstein on Jan 3, 2012 5:31 PM EST up reply actions
Depends what you mean by “should,” because Showtime isn’t going to come close simply because they don’t have nearly as many subscribers.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
No need to talk that way to the young man Scott
He’s a GB fanboy who enjoys making poor comments based on his prejudices against the promoter of in this case the better selling fight.
"Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer"
---- Muhammed Ali
by pakinpower on Jan 4, 2012 12:02 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
I like the idea of Rubio more than Rubio himself. He put on a stinker against Kelly Pavlik and while he did beat Lemieux, he mostly sat on the ropes for the first four rounds (I know it was strategy, but still … ) I don’t think too highly of JCC, but he’s big, got decent power and he’s gotten better under Roach. I don’t see Rubio doing enough to beat him.
"He's still a very strong fighter, but I am way better than he is" - Miguel Cotto
Seems like a thoroughly entertaining Friday Night Fight to me.
There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else--James Thurber, 1939
I agree that this fight belongs on another network as far as the level of the combatants. How often do we have numbers 10-20 guys headlining a HBO card? However, Chavez Jr. has higher tv ratings than most other HBO fighters so we’re in a strange predicament because a good number of HBO subscribers enjoy watching Chavez Jr. against overmatched competition.
I strongly believe HBO should pay for “fights,” not “fighters,” and, thus, I don’t see why HBO should pay money for Chavez Jr. to fight if it isn’t against quality competition. However, if we acknowledge the fact that Chavez Jr. is very popular, I actually believe this is a fair fight to have on HBO. It’s better than Manfredo Jr.; it’s as good as Zbik. Moreover, all the Rubio fights I’ve seen recently were fun fights to watch.
I see Rubio being a live dog here. I don’t see Rubio being intimidated. He went into the David Lemiuex fight as a big underdog in Montreal where Lemiuex had a large fan base and he knocked him out. Against Pavlik, he was just overmatched. Here, the talent level is around the same. Clearly, Rubio is a come-forward brawler, not a boxer, but he’s a pretty good come-forward brawler. After you get around the fake title bs, I like this fight.
I would think that the job of a network executive is to put on flights that are entertaining to the largest possible audience.
It’s pretty close to impossible to argue that that is not what they are doing here
"Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer"
---- Muhammed Ali
by pakinpower on Jan 4, 2012 12:06 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Lest we forget....Nonito is on this card
"Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer"
---- Muhammed Ali
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