Bleacher Report - Articles by Nicholas Sowemimo

Why Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao Would Be Bad for Boxing

Nicholas Sowemimo — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 07:43:16 -0400

Everyone knows the essential components of a superfight. Big fighters, big followings, a big venue, and a huge purse. Following the recent slew of high-profile matchups that have rejuvenated boxing, the money men are already in the process of arranging what they hope will be the sport's next global supershow.

The Golden Boy vs. Pacman. De La Hoya vs Pacquiao. Cause to be excited, yes?

Richard Schaefer, the CEO of Golden Boy Promotions told ESPN.com that he and Bob Arum, President of Top Rank, had recently had a "two-hour-plus meeting" to discuss the possibility of a bout between their two star fighters.

Schaefer and Arum were both eager to express the positive nature of the meeting, which was described as "cordial" and "very productive," respectively, by the two promoters. The date and venue touted for a potential fight is Dec. 6 at Las Vegas' MGM Grand, but other details—most importantly, the weight—are yet to be finalised.

The proposed battle is an attractive one for a plethora of reasons.

De La Hoya is a legend of the modern game, and Pacquiao—the current pound-for-pound champion—is well on his way to reaching the same status.

Recent bouts such as Mayweather vs. De La Hoya, Mayweather vs. Hatton, and Cotto vs. Margarito have generated millions of pay-per-view buys, millions of column inches, and much needed revenue and the publicity for a sport that was speculated to go into a steady decline.

A supposed shortage of new marketable talent, combined with the rise of the mixed-martial art world, and spearheaded by the behemoth that is Dana White's Ultimate Fighting Championship, was a cause for worry about the future profitability of the sweet science.

However, those aforementioned reasons breathed new life into boxing, and so promoters are endlessly searching for the next big payday.

A fight between De La Hoya, with his army of loyal fans in both the U.S. and Mexico, and Pacquiao, the world's best boxer, also with a great following from the populous Philippines and the large worldwide Filipino diaspora, could not fail to generate revenue and huge interest.

Despite the obvious financial benefits, perhaps the most pertinent question to ask about the proposed fight is: Is it ethical?

One man who certainly does not think so is WBC President, Jose Sulaiman, who has already expressed forthright and outraged views on the prospect of De La Hoya vs. Pacquiao.

Condemning the proposal as "ridiculous," "absurd," and "a fraud to the public," Sulaiman focused on the weight difference between the two men by asking if the promoters planned to "stuff Manny with tamales plus beans, and reduce Oscar in the steam bath" in order to make a fight viable.

Sulaiman went on to point out that "Pacquiao has only recently won the lightweight title. It's been 13 years since De La Hoya last made that weight, and in those 13 years, he has gone up four weight divisions."

Sulaiman is a man whose presidency of the WBC, and outspoken nature, has made him an unpopular figure with many fight fans. However, in his typically incendiary manner, he brings up some important points.

Pacquiao is a much smaller man than De La Hoya. At the time of their last weigh-ins, the difference between the two was 16 pounds. Were the two to fight tomorrow, the tale of the tape would show Pacquiao giving away 4" in height and of more concern, 5" in reach to De La Hoya.

As attractive as the prospect of seeing these two greats go at it may be, these are not solid statistics on which to build a good fight.

Fights fans wish to see the best boxers take on each other, and it is excusable for them to overlook such matters as unimportant in the face of such exciting fare.

However, there is no such excuse for knowledgeable promoters, coaches, and others who know the dangers of ignoring these factors. As great of a fighter as Pacquiao is, the Filipino would be taking a serious risk in taking on bigger men such as De La Hoya or the previously suggested Ricky Hatton.

Though gambling is at the very heart of the sport, proposed fights such as these again raise the question of when a risk to a boxer's health becomes too unacceptable to take.

Perhaps of all the criticisms made by Jose Sulaiman, the most striking is his assertion that, "It is time that some people in boxing stop thinking about names and money."

When someone who has a reputation—deserved or not—for being as notoriously rapacious as Sulaiman accuses the boxing world's big-time operators of greed, then maybe there is a problem to address.

The search for money-making superfights has, in the last few years, produced many excellent bouts between the biggest names in fighting—a welcome change for boxing fans fed up of years of alphabet title corruption and cowardly ducking of big rivals.

However, we must not allow our appetite for fights of the ages to ride roughshod over common sense and ethics.

Difficult as it may be for his detractors, we should heed the words of Jose Sulaiman.

Two men the size of Manny and Oscar shouldn't fight, no matter how many PPV buys it would garner. To those still in need of persuasion, it is being reported that most of the details of the fight have already been agreed. Venue? No problem. Weight gap? Not an issue. Only thing still being bickered about...money.

And therein lies the problem.

Joe Calzaghe vs. Roy Jones, Jr. Is Off—What's Next?

Nicholas Sowemimo — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 03:11:50 -0400

On July 22 Joe Calzaghe's lawyer Gareth Williams confirmed that the super-fight planned between his client and Roy Jones, Jr. for September 20 at Madison Square Gardens is off.

The WBO Super-Middleweight champ has injured his right hand in training, and so will not have sufficient time to prepare for the bout. With the fight at one point rumored to act as the curtain call to cap the epic careers of both men, where will the two great warriors go from here?

Having at first belittled the idea of a fight with WBC and WBO Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik, more recently Calzaghe suggested that after his bout with Jones, he would be keen to take on the Youngstown "Ghost."

Though his initial rejection caused some to accuse Calzaghe of ducking the red-hot Pavlik and taking the easy option, it seems the fire still burns in the heart of the "Italian Dragon." The sport's longest reigning world champion has seemed eager for more challenges, and to do whatever he can to ensure his place in the sport's Parthenon of greats.

Calzaghe has had a history of hand injuries throughout his boxing career, and this latest recurrence has come at a very inconvenient time. With the prospect of two exciting super-fights in the balance—and taking into account Joe's propensity for problems with his hands—one must question how he will change his plans from here.

The news is potentially even more worrying for Roy Jones, Jr. Having fought only once annually since 2005, the great Jones is still looking for that one last hurrah.

While we await further news detailing the seriousness of Calzaghe's injury, we are left to wonder what will become of the planned bout, and what possible alternatives remain for both heroes.

Arsenal: Why the Future is Not Enough

Nicholas Sowemimo — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 08:27:04 -0400

There used to be a theory that with the departure or retirement of Arsene Wenger, the collapse of Arsenal Football Club would soon follow. The supporting reasoning was that once Wenger had gone, the young - mainly Francophone - starlets recruited by him would desert en masse.

Having been plucked at young ages from obscurity by Wenger, carefully reared by him and raised under the ethos of 'beautiful football,' the fledgling Gunners would fly the nest along with their mentor, seeing no reason to remain in an uncertain future at the club known in pre-Wenger times as 'Boring Arsenal.' In short, Arsene Wenger was the only glue holding together Arsenal's young United Nations.

Recent events have given the lie to that old theory. The departures of Mathieu Flamini and Alex Hleb, along with threatened abandonments by Abou Diaby, Nicklas Bendtner, and Emmanuel Adebayor over the course of the past year has shown that Arsene's discoveries are only too happy to exit the club before he does.

Those originators of the idea that the Arsenal children would leave with their football father forgot that loyalty is thin on the ground in world soccer, and that North London is not immune from that global trend.

Nor can one blame those players who decide to go elsewhere in search of trophies. When players such as Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry left Arsenal for Juventus and Barcelona respectively, one could understand that those aging players are getting itchy feet and wishing for what could be their last big move while they still had their powers.

However, when Hleb and Flamini, players in their prime or approaching it depart, there is cause for worry. It gives the impression of a sinking ship - a notion which was wrong in the past. Fredrik Ljungberg made the claim a year ago, and is still wrong today.

The problem is that predictions of Arsenal's future domination had always been made assuming that the club would build upon the young players that Wenger and his scouts had done so well to acquire. But if the club cannot hold onto those youngsters, then the very foundations on which the future Arsenal dynasty were to be constructed are gone.

The longer that Arsenal go without silverware, the more likely it is that the club's young players will begin to heed the advice being whispered in their ears by agents, the scouts of rival clubs and suchlike. The club manager recently stated that:

"I'm in a position to spend, but we have done such a great job with the
young players that I'm concerned we'd kill a young player by bringing
another [more experienced] one in."

Though this shows an admirable trust in the club's youth, what Wenger apparently fails to appreciate is that if Arsenal continue to fall short, those same young players may lose trust in the club. The young team is close, but not complete enough to win the Premier League and other honours.

One obvious conclusion to be drawn from last season was that Arsenal's thin squad is in need of improvement. Considering the departures already certain, together with the injury problems of Robin van Persie, Eduardo, and Tomas Rosicky, Arsenal have barely consolidated the 2007-8 squad, let alone improved it.

No Gooner wants to see good old Arsenal make a metamorphosis into a soul-less, corporate juggernaut like Chelsea Inc., but an acknowledgement that it does take some money to bring success would be welcome. The continued insistence that ''we are there'' is naive at best, and dangerously complacent at worst.

Watching from the stands at the Emirates Stadium, the frustration felt by the fans is both tangible and audible. The fans appreciate watching the passing game that their team play, but can also see from the errors and frailties on display that we are not there. The groundwork has been done, but it is clear that more is needed to make Arsenal the dominating force that has long been promised.

Our young players are undoubtedly talented, and I think most would agree that they have a bright future. However, what I want to know about is the present. We have been talking about Arsenal's future for several years now, but as a trophy-craving Gooner, this writer would like to see us win some silverware now.

That is not unduly demanding, especially considering the extremely high prices at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal fans are a patient bunch - much more so than supporters of many big clubs across Europe - and will always appreciate what Mr. Wenger has done for the team they love.

However, it is a little unfair to ask those who turn out and pay for the dearest tickets in the Premier League to continue to wait for glory, while having to enviously watch other fans around them celebrate. "In Arsene We Trust", as the mantra goes, but of glory we dream. Let that dream take shape soon, before the tired lose faith.

Cristiano Ronaldo to Stay at Manchester United, Says Alex Ferguson

Nicholas Sowemimo — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 05:12:17 -0400

Today Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson announced that Cristiano Ronaldo, the club's star player, will be remaining at Old Trafford. Uncertainty about the Portuguese winger's future has added fuel to rumours for months. The question now is, if Ronaldo is to stay, how do he and United progress from here?

It is not the first summer that there has been intense speculation about Ronaldo moving away from Manchester.

Following the 2006 World Cup, in which he played a controversial part in England's quarterfinal stage defeat to Portugal, the majority of football pundits and fans believed that Ronaldo's position at United was untenable, such was the anger directed at the "winker." Videos of Man Utd fans burning their Ronaldo No. 7 jerseys even surfaced on various video sharing websites.

Despite all that, Ronaldo was persuaded to stay. He went on to enjoy his most productive two seasons at Old Trafford, culminating in claims from many quarters that he was the best footballer in the world.

Ronaldo re-captured the hearts of Red Devils followers, while also converting those who previously had seen him as an over-hyped show pony.

Now, though, the situation is different. Ronaldo has allowed the tabloid speculation to go on for far too long, rarely expressing any desire to stay at Old Trafford and even boldly declaring that he "didn't care" about the opinions of his mentor Ferguson or anyone else.

Rather than accepting that he owed it to United fans to see out his contract, he publicly stated his happiness with FIFA President Sepp Blatter's assertion that Man Utd were treating him like a "modern slave" and that the club owed him his "dream move" to Real Madrid.

It is this attitude that has done real damage to Ronaldo's reputation in England.

In a country in which the continued failure of the national team is causing football fans to become increasingly disillusioned with the modern day football excesses of bling, cars, WAGs, and magazine deals, Ronaldo's claims that his wages of £120,000 per week make him United's slave incite near universal vitriol.

Whatever a player's achievements, the mantra in England is "no player is bigger than the club." At a proud club such as Manchester United, this belief is stronger than anywhere else, and for many Devils fans what offends most is the implication that their club is smaller than the Spanish champions Real Madrid.

The accusations flying between the managers and executives have been a sideshow. The real issue is the attitude of the player himself.

Now, if Ronaldo is to stay at United, will the marriage be any more than temporary, with his standing at the club done irreparable damage? Will the chemistry between he and his teammates be affected considering his behaviour?

Or will this situation prove to be no different than the last time, with the United fans and staff forgiving and forgetting once their mercurial number seven starts scoring in the famous red shirt once again?

Can Alexander Hleb Bring the Magic Back to Barcelona?

Nicholas Sowemimo — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:56:46 -0400

At long last, the deal is done.

After months of rumour, conjecture, and hearsay, the high-profile move from England to Spain has been finalised.

Unfortunately, the tedious Ronaldo-Man Utd-Real Madrid saga is still rolling on, but the player known in his mother tongue as Aliaksandr Hleb completed his move to from Arsenal to Barcelona on July 16. With the Catalan club in crisis, what can Hleb do to help restore glory to the Blaugrana, after two trophy-less seasons?

The Belarusian first came to the attention of football community while playing for VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga. Signed as a teenager, Hleb spent five years in Germany, where his dazzling displays earned him the nickname Zauberlehrling—'magician' in English.

Playing as an attacking midfielder, Hleb's main contribution was his ability to set up goals for others. In 2004-05, his final season at Stuttgart, Hleb ended with the most assists in the Bundesliga. His performances caught the eye of one Arsene Wenger, leading to a €15 million move to Arsenal in the summer of 2005.

By the time he arrived at Highbury—though little known in England—his reputation back home was sky high, having won the Belarusian Footballer of the Year three times, and being considered his country's best player—ever.

His next task was to prove himself capable in the faster, more physically trying English Premiership.

Hleb did not have the most auspicious start to his Arsenal career, falling victim to injuries and struggling to consistently hold down a first team place. However, by the season's end he showed promise, being integral to the Champions League campaign and starting in the final.

Hleb finished with 40 first team showings and the occasional flashes of brilliance delighting Gooners—if concerning them with his tendency to exhibit the Arsenal bad habit of 'overplaying.'

The next season started very promisingly for Hleb, scoring three times early on. However, as in his maiden year at Arsenal, the goals dried up after a successful start. Hleb did however continue to enhance his reputation as a playmaker—playing mostly on the right wing during his first two seasons, Hleb's deft touches became a staple component of Arsenal's exquisite passing game.

In what was to be his last year at Arsenal, Hleb was moved from the wings to a position he seemingly favoured 'in the hole' behind the main striker. The Belarusian appeared to be much more comfortable there, playing with more freedom than he had on the wing—even in a Wenger system in which wingers have license to roam and cut inside.

Hleb once again started with goals in Champions League qualifiers and the first Premiership match, and once again could not sustain his scoring throughout the year—his final total of five being far short of his preseason hope of ten goals in the season.

Hleb is a player who divided Arsenal fans like few others—almost all being reviled by the manoeuvring of he and his agent—but opinions on his performances for the Gunners being very split. Some were delighted by Hleb's skill on the ball and eye for a pass, holding him in very high regard—as shown in the picture accompanying this article.

Others—this writer included—were disappointed in his continual failure to deliver goals. Though the more forgiving Gooner would claim that Hleb's assists compensated for his shot-shy nature, this view is not easily justified by facts.

In the 2007-08 Premier League season, Hleb took only 15 shots—a shocking rate of fewer than one shot every two games. Opta statistics also show that in his 89 Premiership appearances, Hleb actually only made 10 assists, suggesting that his reputation for setting up Arsenal goals was larger than his actual contribution.

Perhaps most telling of all though, are the following statistics from Opta. In his final season—which was also Hleb's most productive—Arsenal scored fewer league goals (1.7) with Hleb in the team, than when Hleb was absent (1.86). Also, Arsenal's league win percentage was lower when playing Hleb (54 percent) than without him (60 percent).

With a grand total of 11 goals in his three seasons in London, and 10 assists to his name in the Premiership, a huge challenge awaits Hleb at Barcelona.

He joins a club which is thirsting desperately for success—a thirst which Hleb himself has declared that he shares. This club in transition will be expecting big things from its new acquisitions—a third year in a row without silverware would surely cause turmoil far surpassing that experienced this year.

With Deco and Ronaldinho gone, Hleb has big boots to fill. If he wishes to do so, and become a Barca hero, Belarus' favourite son will have to show much more than he did in North London.

After De La Hoya or Pacquiao, How Will History Judge Ricky Hatton?

Nicholas Sowemimo — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 03:17:17 -0400

Boxer Ricky Hatton recently outlined his plans for the remainder of his career. Hatton announced that in November this year he will fight Paulie Malignaggi in Las Vegas for the American's IBF and IBO Light Welterweight straps, following that, he hopes to battle either Oscar De La Hoya or Manny Pacquiao at Wembley Stadium next year in what would be his final contest.

Hatton's last major contest was his losing effort in December to Floyd Mayweather in their highly anticipated superfight, and despite the comprehensive nature of that loss, the 'Hitman' is nonetheless revered in his home country like few other British sportsmen.

Although Ricky is the current Ring Magazine Light Welterweight champion, his greatness is still doubted by many observers across the Atlantic. A convincing win over New York born Sicily, raised Malignaggi - second to Hatton in the Ring rankings - could help to remedy that situation.

Along with the undisputed middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik, the Italian-American Malignaggi is one of the new golden boys and 'Great White Hopes' of American boxing. His 25-1 record makes him vastly less experienced that Hatton, despite being only two years younger.

Even so, defeating him would do much to boost Hatton's stateside reputation. Anything less than a stoppage win would be a disappointment against the knockout shy Yank (only 5 KOs in his 25 wins). Assuming Ricky gets the win and goes on to have his Wembley swansong; he would be ending his career with a fight of massive proportions.

Both De La Hoya and Pacquiao come with extremely loyal and vocal crowds of support, and a fight with either of them would be a surefire pay-per-view bonanza. East Los Angeles native De La Hoya is regarded as a semi-deity by his Mexican fans, and is highly respected in his country of birth.

It is however doubtful what even a big win over De La Hoya would prove - by February of next year the 'Golden Boy' will turn 36 and is undoubtedly long past his best. He has lost 3 of his last 6 fights, has fought only 3 times since his 2004 loss to Bernard Hopkins, and his last win was against Steve Forbes, graduate of the reality TV show The Contender.

A fight with De La Hoya would bring a big payday, but probably not so much of a boost to Hatton's legacy. The proposed showdown with Pacquiao is more intriguing. Following his impressive June destruction of American David Diaz, Pacquiao is WBC champion at both lightweight and super featherweight.

The Filipino is truly a modern day great, with his 47-3-2 record the result of having many genuine superfights - 2 with Juan Manuel Marquez, 2 with Marco Antonio Barrera and 3 with Erik Morales - he has defeated all 3 of those Mexican greats. All of this, together Pacquiao with being the current best pound-for-pound, would make one think that a win him would cement the Hitman's place in boxing history, but it may not.

Pacquiao has fought as far down as flyweight, and though the 'Pac-Man' boasts a list of titles, defeated opponents and epic fights all far superior to those of Hatton, the size difference between the two could taint any potential Hatton victory - at least in the eyes of the purists.

The Filipino is comfortable at various weights, having won world titles in 4 different weight categories, but if he were to make yet another step up to fight Hatton at light welter and subsequently lose, you can be sure that some will refuse to accept the win's significance.

Hatton has said that following these two fights, he "would have done everything [he] dreamed of." Even assuming that statement was made in the expectation of emerging victorious on both occasions, it leads me to speculate that Hatton has not then dreamed of being the best of the best, reaching the very pinnacle of his profession and being considered alongside the legends of the sport.

Because if the Hitman's career takes the route that he has set out, it is doubtful that he will be.