Ted "The Bull" Sares is back with his latest edition of the Scotch & Cigar Club for Bad Left Hook. Enjoy!
...at the end I asked him if he was OK and he said that he felt sleepy. I asked if he felt sick and when he said 'Yes, a little', that's when I started to scream for the doctor
--Corner man George Hernandez
Welcome to the latest edition of the Club (15th overall) now being featured in Bad Left Hook. As usual, we have modern jazz, rock, blues, and heavy metal (no Dixieland or New Age is allowed here). Tonight, we feature the late musical geniuses Clifford Brown and Max Roach doing their modern jazz magic from the ‘50s, Diana Krall and Ann Hampton Callaway doing some soothing vocal work, and the legendary Tower of Power (now in their 40th year) doing some Oakland soul and funk as in "So Very Hard To Go" and "What is Hip." We also have Michael Jackson on "Rock With You, "Imma Be" by The Black Eyed Peas, Seal sounding more like Sam Cooke than the late Sam as he does "A Change Is Gonna Come," and finally Tina Turner doing "What's Love Got To Do With It." But look, D.J. "Bull" will spin any reasonable disk requested....even Grunge and Alternative rock.
In addition to the always present Glenfiddich Single Malt Whisky, we have on hand Talisker from Carbost, Scotland on the Isle of Skye. The scent is fruity - think Victoria plums or perhaps dried orange peel - with some butterscotch or rum toffee and a thread of smoke behind. The body is full, pleasant, and smooth, and the finish is great. This Amber elixir is known for its unique spicy flavor and many call it the king o' drinks. No argument from me.
Our featured cigar is the Dominican version of the Montecristo Double Corona which has a golden Connecticut wrapper that encases a medium bodied blend of premium long filler tobaccos. Combining an enticing aroma with flawless construction.This cigar is an icon. Enjoy.
Now, on to boxing and please don't hesitate to inject your own boxing topics, opinions, disagreement, or agreement.
1) Pound for Pound Top Dozen
Again, this is simply a snapshot in time as of February 23, 2010.
1. Floyd Mayweather Jr
2. Manny Pacquiao
3. Chad Dawson
4. Shane Mosley
5. Bernard Hopkins
6. Juan Manuel Marquez
7. Juan Manuel Lopez
8. Nonito Donaire
9. Paul Williams
10. Chris John
11. Yonnhy Perez
12. Hozumi Hasegawa
Others breathing down their necks: Celestino Caballero, Ivan Calderon, Lucian Bute, Andre Ward, Edwin Valero, Koki Kameda, Vic Darchinyan, Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym, and Tim Bradley.
Someone to keep an eye on: Lightweight Paulus Moses
What do you think?
2) A review of predictions:
"Ten predictions.......for some upcoming fights"
1) Juanma stops Luevano: Juanma stopped Luevano
2) Sam Sexton stops Danny Williams: Did not fight
3) Art Hovhannesyan stops Freddie Norwood: Did not fight
4) Yuriorkis Gamboa over Rogers Mtagwa: Gamboa won
5) Donnie Nietes will stop Ivan Meneses: Did not fight
6) Peter Manfredo Jr. over Matt Vanda: Manfredo won
7) Edwin Valero stops Antonio DeMarco: Valero stopped DeMarco
8) Arthur Abraham over Andre Dirrell
9) Carl Froch over Mikkel Kessler
10) Devon Alexander over Juan Urango
Record to date: 4-0.
Additional Predictions:
1) Chris Arreola over Tomasz Adamek
2) David Haye over John Ruiz
3) Chad Dawson over Jean Pascal
4) Steve Molitor over Takalani Ndlovu
5) Kelly Pavlik over Sergio Martinez
6) Koki Kameda over Pongsaklek Wonjongkam
3) Haye vs. Hopkins
Some are talking about such a fight. Frankly, I don't see it happening, but if it did, my money is on Haye. He is too big, too fast, too powerful, too young, and might even be a tad hungrier. I also admit to being one of the relatively few who thinks Hopkins is overrated--and in this regard, his last fight against Ornelas demonstrated just that. I reluctantly rate him at number 5 in my P4P top 12, but sooner or later I am going to stop being so respectful of his accomplishments.
Comments?
4) Fighter of the Month: Yuriorkis Gamboa
His demolition job on Rogers Mtagwa was expected, but what was not expected was the great improvement he showed in his footwork, picking his spots with great counters, and refraining from throwing wild stuff. Rogers' style was perfect for the Guantanamo native, but even so, he displayed awesome stuff. His next opponent, Argentinean Jonathan Victor Barros (28-0-1) is undefeated, but look for this one to end early as well when they meet in Germany in March.
Also props to Glen Johnson for stopping Yusef Mack. Just when I am ready to give up on this great veteran, he pulls out a surprising showing. Will Glen ever get old?
Nathan Cleverly and Kevin Mitchell warrant big kudos as well for their sensational wins.
Boxing is just a hobby at the moment, I'm doing it part time because of my studies...When I graduate I will dedicate 100% of my time to it and you will see another 25% improvement from me.
--Nathan Cleverly
I'm ready to make the step up.
--Kevin Mitchell
Kevin, be careful that step up is not in the form of Michael Katsidis. He is a monster. Don't believe me? Ask Graham Earl.
5) Pavlik vs. Martinez
Some say this is a fight for redemption, but these same fans also say Kelly's inactivity was legitimate. So if he is fighting for redemption, just what is it he wants to be redeemed from? Inactivity? Poor opponents as in Lockett, Espino and Rubio? Failure to fight Williams instead of Martinez? Just what?
As for the fight, it involves a clash of styles and, therefore, makes it a very difficult one for me to handicap. But no matter how it turns out (and I think Pavlik will prevail), I see it determining whether Pavlik is still as good as he was when he beat Jermain Taylor by decision. That's not redemption in my mind; it's simply an opportunity to determine if he still has the magic.
For me, an opportunity for real redemption would be if Martinez fought Antonio Margarito in a rematch. Tony iced him many years ago (in Las Vegas in 2000 when the Argentinean was 16-0-1 and Tony was 20-3), but that was then and this is now. Of course, the fight would have to take place in a venue outside of the U.S. --maybe Texas.
6) The Margarito drama continues
And speaking of Margarito, it now appears a fight with terribly overmatched (though game) Carson Jones might be held in Aguascalientes, Mexico on May 8. If so, whatever happens in Mexico is matter of their sovereignty and is of no real concern to me, though if asked, I would say that I personally do not endorse Bull Fighting or any other activity that involves cruelty to animals.
However, as far as the U.S. is concerned, I feel a suspension of a little over a year is not an adequate punishment for the man (and his trainer) who tried to use tampered wraps. Yes, what Louis Resto did was different. But Resto did; Margo intended to do, and had Nazim Richardson not caught what was intended, we can only speculate as to what would have happened in the ring. Moreover, to fight in Mexico before sorting out matters in the U.S doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but then what Margo tried to do never did make any sense to me.
Any reactions?
7) My new book: Planet Boxing
It is being edited and will soon go to press. In the meantime, I came up with a number of conclusions about the global boxing scene, and I‘d like to share one with you as follows:
"Another pattern, and an important one, is that the entire boxing landscape is far more level than ever before, as some locales enjoy a surge (such as Australia, the Belt Way in the U.S., Japan, and the Philippines, while others seem on the decline like Chicago, South Korea, and even Detroit)."
I sense that on balance, boxing has declined globally, but it's difficult to determine that conclusively, though I have researched each of the appropriate continents.
What do you think?
For a musical and photo tour, visit the author's website at www.tedsares.com. Also, please feel free to sign the guest book so I know you were by?