The Spit Bucket: Even Superman Needs a Day Job! Like a Speeding Bullet, Stevenson Abandons HBO and Kovalev Clash.


On the eve of Sergey Kovalev's routine defense of his WBA Light Heavyweight title against the unknown Cedric Agnew, WBC champion and consensus #1 Light Heavyweight Adonis "Superman" Stevenson has taken front and center with the revelation that he is taking his talents to Showtime. The move that essentially has killed one of the best potential fights in boxing has divided the boxing community with those who support Stevenson's decision and others who see it as cowardice.

Stevenson, 36, made the move to rival network Showtime after have three of his four fights being aired on HBO last year. After signing with power-broker Al Haymon earlier this year and now this development, it's almost certain that Stevenson is chasing a much more financially lucrative unification bout with aging IBF Light Heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins later this year.

As far as I'm concerned, Stevenson did no wrong in his actions though it may rub fans the wrong way. HBO had the opportunity to match what Showtime was offering, and that included the Kovalev fight, but refused to and willingly let him head to the rival network. Stevenson's move to Showtime was the best business decision yes, but when it comes to the fighters boxing is a business first, it's their job.

HBO had been building up Stevenson/Kovalev for the better part of last year, but when push came to shove, they were more than willing to let that fight slip through their fingers and will have to create a new boogeyman for Kovalev now. It's not hard now for the boxing press to quickly turn their negativity towards Super Middleweight champion Andre Ward and accuse him of cowardice; chances are that HBO might start doing that starting this weekend (or once Ward is free from his alleged contract dispute with Dan Goosen).

The loss of Stevenson/Kovalev and the lack of urgency to preserve that fight has pretty much summed up HBOs boxing schedule as of late: A whole lot of "meh."

With Gennady Golovkin mourning the loss of his father, his April mismatch against whatever handpicked opponent K2 can pay for was out the window. Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Mike Alvarado is intriguing, but is expected to be a one-way beating in favor of Marquez. June's schedule so far is WBO Junior Welterweight champion Ruslan Provodnikov defending against...well, nobody right now.

Stevenson's move to Showtime will more than likely result in a fight with Hopkins this Fall and maybe a bout against Carl Froch should he emerge victorious over George Groves in their rematch, or perhaps Haymon can force his hand and convince Jean Pascal to enter the ring. Either one of those fights are far more financially lucrative than even two fights with Kovalev, and the fact that they are more likely to happen on one network than the other, there was no better option for him to make.

HBO could have chosen Stevenson/Kovalev and had in the bank a big fight for a summer/fall schedule that could possibly be as anemic as what we are seeing now, but they are fine with just Kovalev for now and maybe we'll just have to be happy with that, too.

Vanes Martirosyan Sticks to Script in Return Bout

In recent years, no fighter has made as much noise to draw attention to him as former 2004 Olympian Vanes Martirosyan. The loudmouthed Armenian based out of Glendale called everyone out that he could, insisted that he was being ducked, and ultimately failing to make a fight materialize when those fighters happened to talk back.

Yet being in the stable of one of boxing’s most revered trainers in Freddie Roach and promoted by Top Rank, Martirosyan’s career has had “failure to launch” written all over it. 

His record of 34-1-1 is respectable enough, but the wins had come against the common set-up opponents a prospect should beat and the loss and draw came when it was time to back up his talk. A technical draw against Erislandy Lara came when an accidental head butt caused a halt to a fight that was slipping out of his hands and the loss most recently came against the similarly untested Demetrius Andrade for a vacant Junior Middleweight title.

Following the loss to Andrade, Top Rank severed their ties with the disappointing prospect who recently signed with Goosen-Tutor promotions. Last Friday, Martirosyan made his debut with new trainer Joe Goosen on ESPN Friday Night Fights winning a decision over humdrum Mario Lozano and it didn’t look any more different than what is expected for Martirosyan at this stage of his career.

Lozano had fought almost his entire career against woeful opponents in Mexico, compiling a record of 28-4 and coming off of a loss in his most previous fight before last Friday night. Though he was outclassed from the very start and even knocked down in the second round, Martirosyan’s routine performance was to be expected and didn’t raise his stock for a potential big fight.

Signing with Goosen will almost certainly mean that Martirosyan won’t have time to feast on the easy opponents and may potentially find himself in a meaningful fight sooner than later. Dan Goosen has been known to roll the dice with his stable and not beefing their records up with meaningless fights for an over-extended period of time.

Andre Ward was entered into the Super Six tournament a few years back with a record of 18-0 and a long shot to win it all, but Ward did so with ease and has established himself as one of boxing’s universally regarded best fighters. Other times, like rushing a green Cris Arreola into a fight with Vitali Klitschko or allowing a career Junior Welterweight Josesito Lopez face Saul Alvarez in a Junior Middleweight clash, didn’t end up too well.

It’s up to Martirosyan to live his lifelong dream of winning a world title, which will require a toughness and drive we haven’t seen from him yet, or continue his path of facing meandering opponents until he can no longer beat them. Martirosyan must make the most out of this second chance to prove to everyone he is as good as he says he is.

The Spit Bucket: Will the Real Danny Garcia Please Stand Up?

If anyone were to ask me about last Saturday’s fight between Danny Garcia and Mauricio Herrera, the first thing I would probably say was that Garcia dodged a bullet and kept his title by the slimmest of margins. Granted, I thought Herrera should have deserved the nod against the undefeated champion, but close fights usually go to the house fighter and that’s exactly what we saw last weekend.

While Garcia lives to fight another day, a big question from last weekend remains unanswered: How good is Danny Garcia?

We’ve seen Garcia look absolutely spectacular in dismantling Lucas Matthysse, destroying Erik Morales and rescuing himself from certain defeat by knocking out Amir Khan; yet we’ve seen him underperform in perceived gimme fights against Zab Judah and Herrera last weekend.

One bad performance isn’t enough to write off the so-called “Puerto Rican (Who speaks less Spanish than a fish, no doubt),” but the win over Herrera has dulled the luster for the young champion. Herrera has been nothing but a tough fight for anybody he’s been in the ring with, including a much clearer win over Ruslan Provodnikov than current Welterweight champion Timothy Bradley, but he wasn’t picked to be a tough night out for the future star.

Garcia has made it to where he is now not because he does one thing spectacularly, but rather because he does a lot of things equally well. Where he doesn’t have the hand or foot speed to overwhelm an opponent and his punch output is normal for his weight class, he makes up with in intelligence and the ability to stick to the game plan.

Herrera’s awkward style and repeated success in landing big shots against Garcia threw him off of that plan and even at the urge of his loud-mouthed father Angel, Garcia didn’t really come to life until the later rounds of the fight. Now unlike Khan or Matthysse who tried to bludgeon him with speed or power, Herrera used his mind and skill to nearly pull off the upset and that is what is the most surprising takeaway from last weekend.

If Garcia couldn’t figure out a seemingly pedestrian opponent like Herrera, then how will he fare against more cerebral opponents like IBF champion Lamont Peterson or any of the skilled fighters in the Welterweight division?

Now unless Garcia is either a.) Aiming for sponsorship for pedialyte or b.) Trying his hardest to land the roll of Skeletor in the upcoming Masters of the Universe movie, there’s no way he’ll stay at 140 beyond the near miss. However, the path he’ll choose at 147 isn’t as clear-cut due to the fact that everybody good has made a fight.

The fall guys like Paulie Malignaggi and Luis Collazo are being casted to part in the coming months, with Malignaggi facing off against recently crowned champ Shawn Porter and Collazo very likely facing “Crybaby” Khan on the Floyd Mayweather exhibition this May. Keith Thurman is too dangerous and isn't recognizable enough to the casual fan, Adrien Broner is in a rebuilding stage and Robert Guerrero is once again in the process of sabotaging his career.

Who does that leave? As of right now, it’d look like Andre Berto, an unwanted rematch with Judah, Josesito Lopez or (heaven forbid) Devon Alexander. It’s going to take a lot more than a good serving of leftovers to make Garcia’s 2015 date with Mayweather a mega-event, but he’s the odd man out yet the next on deck for a huge payday at the expense of his undefeated record.

A fight with Peterson is still on the table as well as a rematch with Matthysse should he rebound from his humbling loss, but Garcia is going to have to hit his mark with whomever he fights next. With a Mayweather date looming, Golden Boy and Al Haymon needs to re-establish Garcia as the genuine article and must convince the public, especially now more than ever, that he’s as good as it gets.

The Spit Bucket: Undercard Bouts Carry Main Event Implications in Puerto Rico

Showtime brings us yet another big card this weekend from Puerto Rico that is heavy on future implications. The main card is highlighted by WBC/WBA Junior Welterweight champion Danny Garcia making perhaps his final defense of his titles before moving up to Welterweight to pursue a Floyd Mayweather fight. That fight, against the tough but outclassed Mauricio Herrera, is expected to be more of a showcase for Garcia but the co-feature pitting American heavyweights Deontay Wilder and Malik Scott is bringing all the drama that should be absent from the main event.

Wilder has quickly been promoted to the next great American heavyweight despite not doing anything beyond beating very delicately chosen opposition, but the fight with Scott will represent a step up in class to establish legitmacy to Wilder's otherwise scripted career. For Scott, a win would not only put him in the crosshairs for a title shot, but would also serve as a career-defining moment in a campaign that has had its share of disappointments and setbacks.

For all the hype following the "Bronze Bomber," it doesn't take require too much research to see that his career has been so carefully chosen to make him look like an invincible destroyer. Truth be told is that Wilder has been playing the atrocious "Knockout game" on the professional stage since he's turned pro and has somehow convinced a great majority of the public that he will bring the title back to the United States.

With over 30 fights into his career Wilder hasn't been in the ring against someone who is capable enough to fight back. Scott is more than able to hold his own and will also bring one thing to the ring that none of Wilder's propped up foes have had: a sense of urgency.

When Scott was emerging as a pro, there was plenty of talk that the highly skilled combatant could potentially rise to the ranks of Heavyweight kingpin one day. Injuries and promotional disputes would ultimately sideline his career for nearly two years, but not as much as Scott's state of mind as a perpetual prospect.

Scott has been a professional fighter for over 13 years, but has only competed in four 10 round fights. Last year, Scott stepped up his competition in hopes of meeting those lofty expectations set a long time ago, but fell short when he twice went up to bat.

A ridiculous draw that should have been an easy win over Vyacheslav Glazkov was quickly replaced with an equally ridiculous stoppage loss to Dereck Chisora in a fight Scott was also winning.

While this may seem to be the perfect trap fight for such a raw, unproven talent in Wilder, it all depends on the mindset of Scott and the game plan he has going forward. Can the light-hitting Scott throw caution to the wind and take a more aggressive approach to the less seasoned Wilder? Or does Scott back off when he has Wilder hurt and lets him recover like fighters do in sparring?

For two fighters hailed at one time or another as America's premier Heavyweight talents, only one of them will return back to the United States with one eye on the future where the other one may have one foot out the door.

Before the main attraction kicks off, the horribly faded Juan Manuel Lopez attempts to get back in the winners circle against former first round knockout victim Daniel Ponce De Leon on Showtime Extreme. Back in 2008, an undefeated Lopez cold-clocked De Leon in the first round to win a Junior Featherweight title.

While Lopez catapulted into stardom and would later win a Featherweight title, his career has fallen apart in stunning fashion. Lopez took a hellacious amount of punishment in a pair of knockout losses to Orlando Salido at Featherweight and was most recently pummeled by Mikey Garcia in an awful performance where he showed no hand speed or punch resistance.

De Leon has faired much better than Lopez since their first battle, even winning a Featherweight title against Jhonny Gonzales in 2013. Originally slated to be the third fight on the main card, it was recently downgraded to the free portion of the card perhaps due to Lopez's recent form and the presumption that the fight will be a mismatch. Should De Leon win he may very well the first fighter to ever avenge a first round knockout.

The After Action Report: Saul “Canelo” Alvarez Triumphant! “Canelo” Among Elite

There was plenty to look forward to heading into last weekend’s crossroads clash between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Alfredo Angulo. Both men were coming off of high profile losses to a pair of very finely tuned tacticians (Alvarez losing to Floyd Mayweather last fall, Angulo losing to Erislandy Lara in the summer) and both were looking to make a statement.

The only person who made that statement was Alvarez, who in battering and beating Angulo over 10 lopsided rounds made his statement loud and clear: “Canelo” Alvarez is the real deal.

Any hopes of Angulo making a go of it went out the window in the very first round, when Angulo admitted being bothered by Alvarez’s speedy punches to chief second Virgil Hunter. Canelo’s punches came in crisp and sharp, landing 63% of his power shots whereas Angulo showed little to no snap on most of his shots and had the look of a beaten fighter within the first five rounds.

Angulo had limited success in the middle rounds when it appeared that Alvarez was taking a break, but was unable to force any offense to slow down his foe. As the fight progressed, Angulo began to horribly swell and for the life of him would not defend himself against the endless barrage of punches from Alvarez.

In the 10^th, referee Tony Weeks had seen enough and waved off the fight much to the dismay of the MGM Grand crowd and a furious Angulo.

The stoppage came after Alvarez landed what seemed to be his millionth combination on a brusied and overly swollen Angulo, but despite Angulo’s physical condition and the fact that he looked like he’d been beaten by five men, some are calling Weeks’ decision a bad one.

Let’s get one thing clear: There was absolutely nothing wrong with Weeks’ decision and any other referee would have made the same call if they had to. For 10 rounds, Weeks saw a fighter who was outgunned from the start and was deteriorating progressively as the fight went on.

Angulo’s inability to move his head or do anything that resembled defense is what caused his face to swell, furthermore Alvarez showed no signs of letting up and was hurting Angulo with every finished combination. Even Hunter himself urged Angulo to get busy or he himself would pull the plug…and that came at the end of the ninth round!

With this loss, being Angulo’s second straight stoppage due to facial injuries, it’s pretty much time to write Angulo off as a top fighter unless some drastic change occurs. The Mexican toughman has long remained a fringe contender at the Junior Middleweight divison from feasting on those unworthy to challenge the elite, but falling short every time an opportunity came to elevate his own career.

A shocking decision loss to Kermit Cintron in 2009 came in a fight that many thought would validate their hopes of Angulo as a future champion. Though Angulo would resume his winning ways by feasting on middling foes, he would once again face defeat against the next live dog he’d face in James Kirkland.

Angulo is now 22-4 with 18 knockouts, going 3-3 in his last six and losing by knockout in each of those losses.

For the victor, Alvarez may have to assess his options a bit more carefully before his next ring return. A trip to the Middleweight division is a certainty, but with a lack of name opponents in the division there might be one last fight at 154 before the inevitable happens.

Lara confronted Alvarez post fight, but neither Alvarez nor Golden Boy has shown interest in making a fight between the two despite that they are the two best Junior Middleweights outside of Mayweather.  Alvarez has hoped that he would challenge the winner of the Miguel Cotto/Sergio Martinez fight this June, though there is an outside chance of Alvarez challenging fellow Golden Boy stable-mate and WBO Middleweight champion Peter Quillin before that happens.

Can the Dog Have His Day? Alvarez Expected to Destroy Angulo in Saturday Clash

Can the Dog Have His Day? Alvarez Expected to Destroy Angulo in Saturday Clash

Though it took three months of hearing about how Gennady Golovkin is champion of the universe and another ridiculous round of Floyd Mayweather/Manny Pacquiao rumors, boxing’s first big card of 2014 is finally upon us. That card, the first of three pay-per-views in the next three months, will pit Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs. Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo in a crossroads fight that looks nothing short of a barnburner on paper. If one were to look up the majority point of view of this fight however, it looks like this one is already in the bag for the widely popular Alvarez.

Yes, it already seems that Angulo is done for, with a whopping majority of boxing experts and analysts quick to pick Alvarez and betting odds being as high as 9/1 that Alvarez will win. This, coming after a clear as mud decision over Austin Trout and getting beat up by Floyd Mayweather. Am I missing something here? Did Alvarez somehow perform Santería to amplify his skill set?

The fact of the matter is that Alvarez/Angulo is pitting one of boxing's most protected assets against a long-time contender who cannot afford another setback in a career defined by them. Angulo may not have won a world title, but in the time Alvarez was destroying a who’s-who of faded, bloated Welterweights and getting tons of money and exposure doing so, Angulo has had to deal with going through hell and back in and outside of the ring.

He was held in a detention center for nearly seven months back in 2012 following his loss to James Kirkland in a hellacious fight and came only minutes away from potentially knocking out Erislandy Lara until Lara broke his face. Not to mention that Angulo at one time was a young Mexican fighter on the rise until promotional and the personal issues dragged his career to a crawl.

This kind of adversity and what it does to the spirit and mind of a person is a definite x-factor that has been overlooked. Not to mention that Angulo's performance against Lara showed a much smarter and efficient fighter than the "dumb and strong" opponent that Alvarez would pick apart.

Golden Boy and the boxing public in general almost eerily looks like they are making the same mistake they made when they matched Adrien Broner against Marcos Maidana a few months ago. Broner, who like Alvarez won a title and racked up impressive wins against handpicked and overmatched foes, faced off against a presumably dumb and strong opponent that many thought he was too sophisticated for. Maidana, like Angulo, had fallen short twice of championship glory and was presumably a breath away from being downgraded to “forever contender, never champion” status.

Now, while Broner was able to humiliate and pound out Lightweights and Super Featherweights with ease, he was facing off against a no nonsense foe who could not only take his best shots but fight back as well and was bigger, stronger and extremely determined. Maidana battered and outclassed and out of his depth Broner much to the surprise of everybody and their forgone conclusions.

And even though Alvarez has made it to the big stage, he got there due to his drawing power more than anything else and just started playing outside of the kiddie pool last year. Even though he did lose to the best fighter of the last 20 years in dominant fashion and scrapped by a decent competitor, his struggles in those fights indicate that he is no dynamo when he is fighting somebody who can actually fight back.

Another advantage is Angulo's coach, Virgil Hunter. Hunter knows how to get the most out of his fighters (except Amir Khan) and is one of the best trainers in the game, so why would Angulo just charge in against Alvarez like an idiot? Truth be told, I'm utterly shocked that Angulo has pretty much been left for dead when we don't really know what Alvarez is capable of.

Angulo is going to be in Alvarez’s business all night. He’s going to hit him, call him names and bring all the disappointment and rage into the ring with him that night against a kid that just started getting hit hard by guys that can’t punch! It’s going to be a trial by fire for Golden Boy’s redheaded prince.

If Canelo has the goods, really has them, then he will win without controversy and make a statement that he is for real. Until then, it wouldn't be wise to count out "El Perro" quite yet because, unlike Alvarez, he's been off the leash and playing with the big dogs for a good minute.

A Kind of Magic? Antonio Tarver Arrested for Massive Gambling Debt

Former Light Heavyweight champion Antonio “Magic Man” Tarver continued his downward spiral as he made proof once again in the age-old adage that happy endings don't come in boxing. The former Olympian was arrested earlier in the week in Tampa after local law enforcement discovered he had a warrant out for unpaid gambling debt in Nevada during a routine stop.

Tarver, who ironically has been praised for his insight and intelligence as both a boxer and commentator, had a $200k debt at the Wynn Resort that he failed to pay two years ago. While it is a miracle in of itself that Tarver escaped Vegas owing that much money and not finding his head in a vice, he was further blessed with having Al Haymon as a manager as Haymon bailed Tarver out on Wednesday.

While Tarver’s demons are really nobodies business, it is suffice to say that this incident is another in a series of self-sabotaging actions the former champion has had to take with the successes of his career. A promising amateur career in the late 80s was derailed when Tarver became addicted to drugs and offsetting his pro debut by nearly 10 years. In 2012, Tarver tested positive for an anabolic steroid following his dreadful draw to Lateef Kayode; which lead to a one-year suspension and his dismissal from the Showtime network as a color commentator.

Following his release, Tarver said he would hit the gym for an upcoming fight to repay his debt to Haymon and like most fighters in their 40s do, he has designs on winning the Heavyweight title. At 45 and being several years since he defeated a top opponent, it’s more smoke than fire at this point but let’s hope Tarver can right his ship and end his career with dignity unlike most fighters do after the last bell rings.

Peter Quillin Continues Meaningless Reign with Konecny Defense

One of the biggest losers in the ongoing struggle between HBO and Showtime is WBO Middleweight champion Peter Quillin, who cannot land a meaningful fight and is in dire need of an explosive performance. Quillin won the WBO title against the unknown, but very skilled Hassan N’jikam in 2012 and has defended it twice with mixed results. A wipeout win against the chinny Fernando Guerrero was followed with an uneven performance against toughman Gabriel Rosado where it seemed that Quillin was running out of ideas until a cut stopped the fight in his favor.

Quillin will tell anyone who’ll listen to him that he wants to fight the best and it’s not his fault he can’t land a fight with WBA/Dragon slayer champion Gennady Golovkin, but we’ll have to deal with another “meh” defense against trial horse Lucas Konecny this April. Konecny (50-4, 23 KO), 35, lost his two most significant fights to date against Sergei Dzinziruk in 2008 and to Zaurbek Baysangurov in 2012 and has not once fought outside of Europe.

The Konecny fight is the kind that Quillin will win, but end up losing either way. A victory is all but expected, as Konecny happens to be the best of what’s available, but to struggle against an awkward foe like he did against Rosado will only further hollow the crown that sits upon his brow. While Quillin continues to hold out for a more significant fight, one would wonder his situation with his handlers if he keeps getting fights like this.