Inside the Ropes 01.25.09: Allan Green – The Odd Man In
Posted by Ramon Aranda on 01.25.2010
With Jermain Taylor out of the Super Six World Boxing Classic, Allan Green has stepped in. Though he'll come in at a point disadvantage, he gets a golden opportunity - a chance to shine and a world title shot. Plus, thoughts on Lopez/Gamboa after their respective victories in Madison Square Garden and more, all in this week's edition of Inside the Ropes!
Ward-Kessler photo by Laura De la Torre Lopez-Luevano photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank
After Andre Ward made surprisingly easy work of former WBA super middleweight titlist Mikkel Kessler last November, the focus was quickly on his next opponent; Jermain Taylor. Unfortunately for Taylor however, he had just come off a brutal one punch knockout at the hands of Arthur Abraham the previous month and many in the boxing community were calling for his retirement or withdrawal from the tournament at the very least. Having gone 1-4 over his last 5 fights, including 3 by knockout, Taylor had been on a fast downward spiral and a fight against Ward (21-0, 13 KOs) didn't particularly look like a smart move. We had heard rumblings during the weeks after the Taylor-Abraham fight that he may not continue with the tournament but in December, both he and promoter Lou DiBella confirmed to us that they intended to move forward. After a bit of a gut check however, DiBella recently announced that he was leaving Jermain Taylor as he felt that continuing to fight would be detrimental to his career and health. It was a respectable admission and move by DiBella – a sentiment felt by most of us in the media.
A few short weeks after DiBella's decision, Jermain Taylor made a formal announcement that he was removing himself from the Super Six.
"I'm going to take some time off from the sport of boxing and take myself out of the Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament," said Taylor. "It's important that I give my body and mind some much needed rest because I have been boxing for nearly 20 years."
It was a smart choice, and despite rumors that Taylor may have taken a little payout to convince him, it was the only option that made any sense. That of course opened up the tournament for a new fighter and we quickly learned a box-off between Sakio Bika and Allan Green was on the table. However, after some negotiating, the Bika camp never signed off on it and thus Allan Green was implanted in to the tournament. We have yet to get an official confirmation from Showtime but both Lou DiBella, who promotes Green and Andre Ward have confirmed this to be the case.
"It wasn't like it was planned for Allan to take over for Jermain," DiBella told ESPN.com. "Had we not had the tournament available for us, we were in consideration to fight [titleholder] Lucian Bute [in April]. Allan would have had other opportunities. That said, I think Allan is the right guy for the spot.
"An American had dropped out and Allan was the best American 168-pounder that wasn't already in the tournament."
Though plenty of boxing fans had hoped that Lucian Bute would be the replacement given his status as one of the best super middleweights in the world, Green at least presents a formidable challenge given his punching power; a trait shared by fellow Super Six participant Carl Froch.
The Tulsa, Oklahoma native is coming off a decision win over Tarvis Simms last year following a 2nd round blowout of Carlos DeLeon Jr and will have the luxury of already being in great shape given that his fight with Bike was supposed to have taken place in February. He now gets a golden opportunity to show what he's capable of doing on a grand stage along with the ultimate bonus of going from a bout with Bika to a world title shot against Andre Ward. It's an opportunity he's been searching for and it's now essentially landed on his lap; at least sooner than expected. If there's one downside to it all, is that he inherits Jermain Taylor's points in the tournament which is zero. A winning fighter earns 2 points while a draw gives them 1. A loss of course results in no points while a knockout victory offers up a maximum of 3 points. Green will need to at the very least look to get a point of out this fight as only the top four will advance to the next stage. Arthur Abraham currently has 3, while Carl Froch and Andre Ward both have 2. Andre Dirrell and Mikkel Kessler have no points as well, after their respective losses.
The fight itself is apparently headed to Oakland, Calif. at Oracle Arena on April 17 – the scene of Ward's title winning effort against Kessler. Ward has proven himself to be a solid draw in his hometown after successful showings in his two bouts at the arena against Kessler and Edison Miranda last year. After the fight with Ward, Green will then move to the next round to take on Mikkel Kessler who himself is up for a title shot against Carl Froch in his next bout.
The Collision Course Continues for JuanMa and Gamboa
On Saturday night, both Juan Manuel Lopez and Yuriorkis Gamboa made a big splash at Madison Square Garden on an HBO Boxing After Dark doubleheader. Gamboa defended his WBA featherweight strap against Roger Mtgawa who nearly had Lopez knocked out in their previous fight late last year. It was one of those performances that left you wanting to see more as he blasted out Mtagwa in the 2nd round of their scheduled twelve. Gamboa completely blinded Mtagwa with his speed and particularly the left hook. The challenger had little recourse but to swing away in hopes of catching the "chinny" Gamboa but it was all for naught. Gamboa (17-0, 15 KOs) peppered him over and over before the stoppage in a big statement to Juan Manuel Lopez. Meanwhile, Lopez moved up in weight to challenge WBO titlist Steven Luevano in a fight where he kept a steady pace before finally stepping on the gas and forcing a stoppage after a punishing barrage of punches floored him in the 7th round. With both fighters coming out victorious, the stage is all but set for these two featherweights to battle it out, however Top Rank's Bob Arum isn't quite ready.
After the fight, he said he felt the need to put these guys in with the other top featherweights in hopes that they clean out the division before finally going head to head.
"I've got two horses and I want them to wipe out everybody in the featherweight division and when they finally meet, people will go crazy," Arum said.
Arum is as savvy as anyone. He has no intention of putting them together right away. He'll milk it, tend to it, grow it and do his best to make it into a blockbuster fight in which everyone gets paid a lot of money.
"From what I've seen tonight, I want these guys to go against every great featherweight out there," Arum said.
"We'll have just cleaned up all the featherweights and then when everyone is panting about seeing these guys fight each other, I'll do a big, big blowout kind of show," Arum said. "I promote both of them. I owe it to both of them to make them the biggest amount of money they can make. I'm not going to rush it. I can build it like a son of a gun. Then in the summer of 2011, with all the Cubans and all the Puerto Ricans, we'll talk to Steve Tisch about putting it in the new Meadowlands Stadium.
Arum says he wants them to both fight in the summer in two different locations on another HBO doubleheader from their homes of Puerto Rico and Miami, Florida. Should they continue their winning ways, you can bet that a 2011 showdown will be even more mouthwatering than it is now.
Random Thoughts
What's the deal with the IHOP t-shirt that JuanMa was wearing before the fight with Luevano? Wouldn't it of been funny if Luevano took off his robe to reveal a Denny's shirt?
My thoughts go out to Brian Viloria who suffered an upset knockout defeat on Friday night. I understand he was taken to a local hospital but is in stable condition. Get better Brian!
I'll be visiting with both Nonito Donaire and Marvin Sonsona over the next week so be sure to watch out for articles on those guys. Two of the Philippines' best young fighters.
I feel kinda sad that I don't have any major fights to watch now on January 30th. If Mosley-Mayweather does indeed happen though, I'll feel much better. Plus, I can at least watch Jorge Arce on Fox Sports Net en Espanol on Saturday. Hey it's something!
I hear Amir Khan is talking about possibly fighting Paulie Malignaggi. "The Magic Man" for his part is ready, willing and able.
Are you on Twitter? Not getting my updates? Then be sure to follow me for daily thoughts and news!
After Andre Ward made surprisingly easy work of former WBA super middleweight titlist Mikkel Kessler last November, the focus was quickly on his next opponent; Jermain Taylor. Unfortunately for Taylor however, he had just come off a brutal one punch knockout at the hands of Arthur Abraham the previous month and many in the boxing community were calling for his retirement or withdrawal from the tournament at the very least. Having gone 1-4 over his last 5 fights, including 3 by knockout, Taylor had been on a fast downward spiral and a fight against Ward (21-0, 13 KOs) didn't particularly look like a smart move. We had heard rumblings during the weeks after the Taylor-Abraham fight that he may not continue with the tournament but in December, both he and promoter Lou DiBella confirmed to us that they intended to move forward. After a bit of a gut check however, DiBella recently announced that he was leaving Jermain Taylor as he felt that continuing to fight would be detrimental to his career and health. It was a respectable admission and move by DiBella – a sentiment felt by most of us in the media.
The Tulsa, Oklahoma native is coming off a decision win over Tarvis Simms last year following a 2nd round blowout of Carlos DeLeon Jr and will have the luxury of already being in great shape given that his fight with Bike was supposed to have taken place in February. He now gets a golden opportunity to show what he's capable of doing on a grand stage along with the ultimate bonus of going from a bout with Bika to a world title shot against Andre Ward. It's an opportunity he's been searching for and it's now essentially landed on his lap; at least sooner than expected. If there's one downside to it all, is that he inherits Jermain Taylor's points in the tournament which is zero. A winning fighter earns 2 points while a draw gives them 1. A loss of course results in no points while a knockout victory offers up a maximum of 3 points. Green will need to at the very least look to get a point of out this fight as only the top four will advance to the next stage. Arthur Abraham currently has 3, while Carl Froch and Andre Ward both have 2. Andre Dirrell and Mikkel Kessler have no points as well, after their respective losses.
On Saturday night, both Juan Manuel Lopez and Yuriorkis Gamboa made a big splash at Madison Square Garden on an HBO Boxing After Dark doubleheader. Gamboa defended his WBA featherweight strap against Roger Mtgawa who nearly had Lopez knocked out in their previous fight late last year. It was one of those performances that left you wanting to see more as he blasted out Mtagwa in the 2nd round of their scheduled twelve. Gamboa completely blinded Mtagwa with his speed and particularly the left hook. The challenger had little recourse but to swing away in hopes of catching the "chinny" Gamboa but it was all for naught. Gamboa (17-0, 15 KOs) peppered him over and over before the stoppage in a big statement to Juan Manuel Lopez. Meanwhile, Lopez moved up in weight to challenge WBO titlist Steven Luevano in a fight where he kept a steady pace before finally stepping on the gas and forcing a stoppage after a punishing barrage of punches floored him in the 7th round. With both fighters coming out victorious, the stage is all but set for these two featherweights to battle it out, however Top Rank's Bob Arum isn't quite ready.
