Round By Round: Boxing Notes

By David “Large” Larzelere
Talking Loud and Saying Nothin Part I
Roy Jones predicted this week that the IBF champ at 175, Clinton Woods, would beat Antonio Tarver in their fight in April, adding, “Tarver is essentially weak-minded and he gets nervous. He is mentally not the strongest person in boxing and this will be to Woods’ advantage.†Obviously Roy is angling for a another shot at Woods himself – Roy seems to be angling for a shot at anybody right now (is Roy broke, by the way? I just don’t get it). But to have him calling Tarver “weak-minded†is preposterous. Roy, you uh, remember the last two times you fought Tarver? Let’s see, as I recall, in Jones/Tarver III you most courageously ran from the man for 12 rounds and still almost got KTFO. And Jones/Tarver II? Remember that one, Roy? No? Well, brain damage do tend to mess with a man’s memory.
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Talking Loud and Saying Nothin Part II
Now onto Tarver. The Magic Man has been calling out Bernard Hopkins for a rematch, saying that Hopkins is making a living off his name. And I’m like, man say what? Antonio, check it, Bernard was bigger than you before he fought you and he’s infinitely bigger than you now. Bernard living off YOUR name? Is Jay-Z living off Positive K’s name? Bernard was the man at 160 for ten years and then, AND THEN, he jumped up to 175 and schooled you like a punk so forget about Bernard already. That ship has sailed.
The Future Is Now
Roy v. Tito was an interesting sideshow, but all true fight fans know that the year’s real fireworks begin in earnest this weekend with the Paul Williams/Carlos Quintana and Andre Berto/Michael Trabant HBO card tomorrow night. That’s because it features two legitimate stars in the making with implications for the most exciting weight class in the sport, 147. Williams is the WBO welterweight title-holder right now, while Berto is the WBC’s #1 contender. Dan Goossen, who promotes Williams, came out this week to say that if his man comes through the Quintana challenge intact, he expects him eventually to fight the winner of what many consider to be (barring any unforeseen losses by either party) a Cotto/Margarito lock for the summer. My own feeling is that this is ridiculously wishful thinking on Goossen’s part. If Cotto does fight Margarito and win, don’t expect him to wash that down with a cold drink of Paul Williams anytime soon. Cotto’s tough, but not stupid.
Odds and Ends
I thought Cuban wunderkind Yuriorkis Gamboa was supposed to be on FNF tonight. Evidently he’s not. And one final note – Michael Moorer continues his comeback tonight with a bout in Dubai. Yes, THAT Michael Moorer, the one who… well, just watch the video. And keep your gloves up out there.

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