Hello boxing fans. Allow me to introduce myself. My name isChristian James. On your airwaves I go by the name CJ. I think it’s important to put your cards on the table at the beginning of a relationship, and I will attempt to do that here. I am here in the interest of truth. I am a staunch advocate of boxing justice. No mountain is too big to climb, no fighter is beyond reproach. I am clarifying this because my readers tend to take my writing personally. It is not written to cause emotional distress, but rather, to keep everyone in the loop. To keep the truth circulating. I told Ness and the gang Thursday night that it is my job to keep them grounded, I will afford all of you the same service provided you can handle it.
Every now and again I will publish my power rankings. These rankings are based boxing logic, common sense, and the facts. Conduct is important, I do not care what a dude did 3 years ago, leave me alone with that. This is a right now type of situation. On Sunday night when we go on the air, please call in with feedback. I am open to all opinions. Everyone should have a say, even If my say is the reasonable position.
CJ’s Power Rankings for the Month of May 2012
1.Floyd Mayweather:43-0 Lineal Welterweight Champion
The pound for pound King breezed to an easy victory over a game Miguel Cotto in a sure fire fight of the year candidate. Many have been waiting for Floyd Mayweather to get into a fire fight, and while Miguel did not really push Floyd, he gave us a glimpse of what Floyd is capable of when he is halfway interested. Floyd is one of the most technically brilliant fighters in history. He had radar like senses, infinite energy, and problem solving intelligence that we have never seen before. Floyd did look a TAD slower then usual, but we would learn after the fight that he had been sick, and was suffering from a wrist injury. If you watched the pre fight interview you could tell Floyd was not healthy, despite that, he ate Cotto alive. A good Miguel Cotto, a fresh Miguel Cotto.
Floyd Mayweather now moves on to greener pastures. Although his 3 month jail term will put a damper in things. His options as usual will be limitless when he decides to step back into the squared circle. While a tangle with WBO King Pin Manny Pacquaio would save the sport, it does not appear likely. It appears that Bob Arum will continue to milk his cash cow (More on that below). Mayweather’s Thomas Hearns is Sergio Martinez. I think Sergio is a much bigger danger to Floyd then Manny is. If Tim Bradley wins, which is a big if; he would emerge as a very suitable opponent for Floyd in the fall. That’s hard to envision though. For now, Floyd is going to swim in his money. 32 million dollars off jump street; that’s the check he walked out of the building with. The show was a box office smash, 94 million Dollars in DOMESTIC PPV revenue. That does not take into account international PPV revenue, closed circuit locations, and sponsorship money. I heard Floyd also sees a cut from the concessions!!! This guy is one of the preeminent money making minds sports has ever seen. I would argue he is making as much money as Tiger Woods per a year. I think we should examine the 94 million dollars (that’s huge), that’s analogous to a movie making 120 million dollars in its first weekend. I think the numbers and the facts, drive home the point: that Floyd Mayweather is the king, in the ring, and at the box office.
2. Sergio Martinez: 49-2 Lineal Middleweight champion
The Lineal Middleweight champion of the world is a victim of circumstance. He fights in a dead division; no names, no draws, nothing to get excited about. It would appear that all the attractions thatSergio Martinez needs to define him reside outside of the 160-pound limit. Despite these limitations, he has thrived, and put on exciting fight after exciting fights. He is also knocking people OUT. Sergio has evolved from a sharp puncher into a power puncher. A lights out type of guy. This is why Sergio would be able to deal with Floyd Mayweather. He has excellent footwork, absolute command of the ring, and he has balls. He has the speed to catch Floyd, and the power to stop him. I have covered Sergio Martinez 2 times. I have interviewed him numerous times. Believe me when I tell you, this man is the most fan friendly champion I have ever seen. He loves people, of all sizes. Sergio has box office appeal, he just needs another big draw to elevate him, and I think he is headed for that Payday.
There have been rumblings that Miguel Cotto has designs on fighting Sergio Martinez. I can see Miguel’s motivations. The fight makes sense. Sergio’s fight at Madison Square Garden did well, and we all know Cotto is a HUGE draw in New York. Miguel also has his eyes on history; he believes that he could be the greatest Puerto Rican boxer EVER if he can defeat Sergio Martinez for the Middleweight title. I think this fight makes sense. If Sergio can defeat Cotto or Chavez, Jr, he will be set up for a Mayweather OR Pacquaio fight. At some point, Floyd and Manny are going to have to acknowledge Sergio Martinez
3.Manny Pacqauio: 54-3 WBO Welterweight champion
The peoples champion continues to enhance his legacy. He is not done, yet you get the sense that these are the dog days of Manny Pacquaio’s prime. He looks tired; he looks like he really is losing the stomach for fighting. I can see it in his interviews, and I can hear it in his voice. This exercise has become tiresome for Manny; I think he is more interested in becoming a messiah. Hey, more power to him, but he can no longer present himself as the best fighter in the world. He may be the world’s most popular athlete, I will give him that. Manny is in the midst of an historic run; 15 consecutive wins and some of the most exciting fights that boxing seen in years.
I am impressed with his 8 world titles in theory, but 3 or 4 of those titles are tainted in my mind. Manny’s lightweight title came at the expense of the worst titleholder(David Diaz) in that division at the time, Ricky Hatton was a shot fighter, Miguel Cotto weighed 145 pound for the fight, Shane Mosley was 40 years old, and Antonio Margarito was shot. Bob Arum has fooled the buying public. Manny’s rise in weight has been carefully carried out; his selections minus last November have all been perceived soft touches for different reasons. Juan Manuel Marquez exposed the blue print to defeat Manny Pacquaio. The question now is who will carry it out. It will not be Tim Bradley. Tim has not pop in his punches, and is in possession of a questionable chin. Those types of attributes add up to an L against Manny Pacquaio. Manny should win this fight. He should stop Tim Bradley who will come out guns blazing in the first couple of rounds.
Manny is running out of options, there is only so many fights that the public will accept at this point. Manny is going to have to take a risk, and before you tell me that Juan Manuel Marquez was a risk, no he was not. At the time Manny and Bob Arum took that fight, they believed that Juan Manuel was a non-issue. They believed that the fight would be non competitive. They envisioned a similar result to Pacquaio/Morales 3. They were wrong, although I will admit that I think Juan Manuel was under the influence of PED that night. Just my opinion based on physical dimensions and his super human performance at that age. I think a 4th Marquez fight is pointless; it’s going to be the same result. I think Manny should fight a young lion again this fall if the Mayweather fight falls through. A fight withVictor Ortiz would be an action packed fight that would sell like crazy. Manny needs to fight offensive fighters, its good for his brand, and its great for boxing. I think the best thing Manny can do at this point is avoid tacticians at all cost. He will be handed an early retirement if he does so.
4.Andre Ward: 25-0 Lineal 168 pound champion
We are looking at the rise of the next great American fighter. There was a debate on the radio show earlier this week about the merits of Andre Ward’s public considerations. I think that entire notion is ridiculous. How can anyone question Andre Ward at this point? The only knock on him is the fact that he made his bones in a boring division. A horrible division. 168 pounds is a boxing graveyard. It is cut from the same cloth as the cruiserweight limit. Boring. Andre Ward has not broken his stride though. Andre Ward is boxing’s most talented fighter this side of Floyd Mayweather. Andre’s skill set is comprehensive. His “skills are complete” as Darth Vader used to say. He has every tool in the book. He is capable of 4 or 5 different styles of combat. He is the Jet li of boxing. A physical genius. That’s why I crapped thunder when Nes attempted to rationalize Lucian Bute being technically superior to Andre Ward. That’s off the charts crazy because NO fighter is more gifted from a technical standpoint then Andre Ward. Andre is in a pretty position. He is set to command some serious money. He has been making peanuts if you consider the level of his conduct.
It would appear a fight with Lineal Light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson is eminent. I like the fight, but I do not like the fight. Chad Dawson does not pose much of a threat to Andre Ward. Chad Dawson is one of the greatest fighters of all time when he’s fighting men 20 years older then him. No way in the world am I going to anoint Chad Dawson as anything more then a cherry picker. He has made his name off of defeating faded former champions. Do not get me started on “Bad” Chad Dawson. Andre needs to understand that Chad is a horrible interview, and draw; the fight is going to struggle at the box office. Chad Dawson could not even sell an HBO card in his backyard! He does not even have a home field!
Ward/Dawson is Bradley/Alexander redux if you ask me. Two good young American champions that couldn’t sell water to a camel. Andre should be looking at the weight classes beneath him. That’s where the money is with Chavez Jr and Sergio Martinez are. These guys could break the bank for Andre. Then again, Andre is down with Goosen Tutor, and while I consider Dan a friend, he is not exactly Warren Buffet when it comes to getting his fighters the big checks, like real money. Andre needs only to keep winning and DON’T move up in weight.
5. Chris John: 47-0 WBA Featherweight Champion
I have always taken Heat for including Chris john in my Power rankings, and I am sure that will continue. But for anyone, to discount THIS guy as a Pound for Pound fighter is either blind, or ethnocentric. Chris John is the most consistent fighter in boxing. He has held his title for 9 years, and it appears that run will continue as long as he wants it too. Chris John is an intelligent predator. He is extremely measured in the way he goes about his business. Many of the people who are critical of Chris John have NEVER SEEN HIM FIGHT. I am here to bring everyone into the fold. I am hear to let you guys know that there is a surefire hall of famer out there that NO ONE is giving credit too. Forget the fact that the guy has never lost a fight, and lets focus on the fact that he is in tremendous shape considering his mileage. This guy has fought 49 fights and is prettier then a girl. He will certainly surpass Rocky Marciano and retire with the highest winning percentage in boxing history.
The key for Chris is to define himself. He needs to come engage a Gamboa or a Salido. He needs to cement his legacy with one last great fight, which will make it difficult to poke holes in his record. That may never happen though, Chris John is a major attraction in his native Indonesia, and really does not actually need to travel to make his money. I feel him, but worry that he will be shortchanged by history if he does not take one more trip across the Atlantic. I am sure being screwed over in Houston a couple of years ago plays in his mind as well. Whatever he does, whatever path the champ takes, lets all sit back and enjoy
– It is my opinion that we are headed for one of the worst summers boxing has ever seen. There are no landscape altering fights on tap, it’s going to be radio darkness until the fall. After June 9th fights that matter are donezo. I get the feeling that we will all be watching a lot of YouTube in the next couple of months
-It is my opinion that the David Haye/Chisora fight will sell. It has all the marketing it needs to be a box office smash. I think that was evident when 17,000 tickets flew out of the door. The fight is still not out of the woods yet. The EBU(European Boxing Union) is considering action against the promotion. Now Frank Warren and David Haye found a way around the BBOC (British Boxing Control Board) but it will be tough for them to navigate this roadblock. If the EBU puts the squeeze on Frank Warren, this fight is toast. What I cannot understand, and I am not sure why Frank has not considered it, why not move the fight to America? With that backstory? And those characters? How would that fight do at Madison Square Garden? Titles do not matter; people still want to see two guys that hate each other squaring off in the ring. The two men’s styles beget an action packed fight. If I am Bob Arum, I shoot Frank Warren a call and offer him facilitation for points of the take. I think it is almost idiotic that Frank would attempt to stage this fight anywhere but America.
-It is my opinion that Khan/Garcia is a joke. Low risk fight for Khan that is serving as no more then a speed bump. As much shit as Khan talks about his greatness he seems to have an aversion to fights with real risk. He is a fake Superstar to me, and I am tired of him going after fighters who do not have the ability compete with him. Khan also likes going after fighters that are smaller then him physically, has anyone heard him tweet at Ortiz? Khan is soft, and this selection of opponent if purely in the interest of winning a trinket title. Lets examine that title that Danny Garcia currently has, that belt has NO credibility! It was taken away from Bradley TWICE, and the GIVEN to Morales who then LOST it on the scale. That belt is BULLSHIT, and so is this fight.
