Antonio Margarito, Joel Casamayor and rising prospect Victor Ortiz will get their next fights on the undercard of Miguel Cotto's bout with Sugar Shane Mosley on Nov. 10. Promoters Bob Arum and Oscar De La Hoya formally announced their lineup of supporting fights Saturday, filling the Madison Square Garden card with popular boxers for the HBO pay-per-view broadcast. <!-- m -->http://www.fightbeat.com/news_details.php?NW=20485
ha, we were just discussing in another thread what a shit undercard Arum and GLH put together. But in reading that, one forgotten fight among the lot is Ortiz-Maussa. Vic should win with room to spare, but at the same time he's probably the sport's best prospect (perhaps #2 behind Berto, though you can argue that Andre is no longer a prospect). It's a solid test for him at this stage of his career, and one that should lead to a 2008 campaign that, like Berto this year, sees him advance from prospect to contender.
Word is that if victorious against Maussa that Ortiz will be fighting Torres for the belt early next year.
You really think Berto is the best prospect in the sport? I'll be honest, I think he's worse than the two other Andre's (Ward and Dirrell)...though he has a more marketable style than either, to be sure.
Vic is enough of a draw - and more importantly, promoted by Top Rank - to where his handlers will keep that fight closer to his backyard. Kendall Holt is just the opposite, his talents far exceed his appeal. Add to that, his estranged relationship w/ Duva, and he'll always be stuck playing by the other team's rules.
I guess, most notable is a better choice of words. Though to be honest, I honestly couldn't disagree more on Ward and Dirrell being better. I'm biased toward the Peterson brothers, but even at that, despite Berto's shortcomings, he's still more proven then either of them. The Peterson's both look like the truth (for different reasons), but until they (or any other prospect) take a quantam leap in level of comp, Berto deserves the top spot, if not for the Estrada fight alone.
Are you talking in terms of ability, skillset, or proveness? I think Ward will have a much better career than Berto...he turned pro with one of the best left hands in the sport and he's one of the smartest boxers in the sport. I think those factors alone will carry far past Berto, when their careers are compared years later.
Interesting Universum is pushing for #1 Willy Blain, and I thought it might be the reason Holt´s complaint was turned down. Looks politics also came from another side. Anyway if Ortiz is good enough to beat Maussa, he´ll beat Torres and Blain. I couldn´t stand this amateur standout-pro scrub Blain ever winning a world title and making five Zsolt-Erdei-like defenses. ::
But that's all speculation. Maybe Ward and Goossen putting on the brakes early in his career will prove beneficial in the long run. But for the moment, I can't think of another past US Olympic Gold Medallist whose flown so low under the radar at this stage of his career. Some will echo their sentiments, that it was done to sharpen his skills and not wind up following the Reid/Vargas crash-and-burn blueprint that some suggest may be in store for Berto. Others will argue that it was done in order to protect something other than the fighter's best interests - be it a weak chin, or whatever. Berto might not be as skilled, but save for the shock knockdown against Rivera, he's dominated a much better level of competition than has Ward. And he's already being regarded as a contender on the rise, which is saying a hell of a lot considering the current red-hot state of the welterweight divsion. I noticed you left Dirrell out of this post. Perhaps 'nuff said on him? ::
It is speculation, I'll accept that, but no, I still think Dirrell will have a better career than Berto...but it will take a while to overcome the backlash of his last fight. Still, I think he brings more to the table than Berto does. With Ward, I think he was hurting himself by fighting at 160. He looked physically weak at the weight. I think he's stronger at 168. The problem for him is that he's not a knockout puncher...he doesn't have much of a right hand to speak of (he slaps a lot with it) and that's not good when you don't have a lot of power to begin with. He's a decision fighter and those don't exactly get the same headlines as an offensive fighter the likes of Berto early on. But I think both Ward and Dirrell have better skillsets and the ability to improve...whereas I think Berto's much closer to the level he'll end his career at. Perhaps that's good enough to be bette than either, but I wouldn't bank on it. IMO, this is the best it's going to get for Berto...the bloom will be off once he suffers his first loss.
I agree that he's better than everyone mentioned in this thread. But 5 years, 24 fights and a WBC title (even with alphabet titles being what they're worth these days) - kind of tough to maintain the prospect label after all that.
Prospect with a legit world title? :tease: Though Linares might have to face the best 2004 Olympian prospect next year, since that´s the title Gamboa is gunning for. The other champions appear more beatable for Gamboa, but Öner can only afford one friendly relationship with a sanctioning body and he´s already made great progress with Sulaiman during the whole Sam/McCall/Gomez triangle.
I don't disagree with what you say about Berto. I don't see it for Direll, though. He's more skilled, but seems content to fight the way he does. In fact, I've only seen him fight two ways - the stink style, and his Roy Jones imitation. Neither are going to get him very far in the sport. One will protect his undeated record but keep him off TV. The other will get him KTFO sooner than later, long before he even has a chance to make a run at a title or any notable player at or around 168. If not for his present medical issues, I'd see a lot more promise in Anthony than Andre, personally. I guess with Ward, we'll see how he looks next month and beyond. I like him, as a fighter and a person. But it's just tough to get past his level of competition to date.
you're just hating on dirrell because he beat the hell out of your boy bad chad in the gym! according to the joy boy, of course!
:: yes, that... and the fact that he makes my eyes bleed. At least you didn't pull a Muzse and lump me in with Curtis Stevens
I'm not a big fan of Dirrell as a fighter. I've seen him live a couple of times and have never been overly impressed with him, because he does make mistakes (when he fights in RJJ-imitation mode)...but he does have skills and he's got a lot of size for the division. If he were with another promoter, I'd be more worried about him...but being with GT I think he'll be alright. Given his last fight and the reaction to it, I'm actually more interested in his career now than I was before...to see how he reacts to the aftermath of his BAD performance.
Well his reaction was that he fought brilliant, and didn't understand why he was getting booed. :: ... I know what you're saying, though.
Yuriorkis Gamboa is the best prospect right now... I also like Povetkin though he might have Contender status now...
Ortiz seems pretty good, but I would have a lot of guys ahead of him on a prospect list. Of course, I rate Khan as the best prospect and many disagree so what do i know? In that list above him would be all 3 of the current Cubans, and gosh damn I wish there were 2 more Cubans to put above him.
