411 Boxing Fact or Fiction 01.26.10: Gamboa/Lopez, Klitschko vs. Chambers, Boxing Reality Series, More

Posted by Ramon Aranda on 01.26.2010

Is the Wladimir Klitschko-Eddie Chambers matchup a good one? Is the VERSUS network dropping the ball by not supporting boxing like it did in 2008 and 2009? Would Gamboa beat JuanMa? Matt Knowles and Igor Frank join us in this week's edition of Fact or Fiction to answer these questions and more!



Are you guys ready for another round of Fact or Fiction? I know we are and this week, Matt Knowles (1-0) joins us for his second contest of the year as he'll go head to head and thought for thought against our SoCal resident contributor Igor Frank (0-0) who makes his 2010 debut, after being a regular last year. I'll be the third man in the ring, so let's get to it!


Round 1: Given what you saw on Saturday night, you'd be hard pressed NOT to pick Gamboa over Lopez.

Matt Knowles: FACT - There are an assortment of variables that should be considered whenever you look at a fight on paper, such as experience, power, reach, and things of that nature. The factor that I believe is the #1 distinction between a good fighter and a great fighter is speed. JuanMa has good speed, but nothing that will take your breath away; he's more of a plodding, mow-you-down type-of prizefighter. With all due respect to Mayweather and Pacquiao, I'd say that at the current moment,Yuriorkis Gamboa, pound-for-pound, is the fastest fighter in the sport. Did you see those counter left hooks he was hitting Mtagwa with?!?! Are you kidding me?!?! Every shot landed flush, every shot had power behind it and in the end, Mtagwa was rendered defenseless. Could you see JuanMa avoiding those hooks if these two were to trade blows? I can't. This isn't to say that Juanma can't compete with Gamboa; I just don't think he can be victorious, considering the gap in overall hand and foot speed between the two. I'll go with Gamboa by late stoppage in a classic featherweight tussle once these two square off.

Igor Frank: FACT - Given Gamboa's athleticism, speed, power and how comfortable he is in the ring, it is hard to imagine anybody giving the Cuban sensation any trouble. However, Lopez does have a chance: Gamboa is very offensive minded and that leaves him open for counters. Lopez does have good power, so despite the fact that I would have to pick Gamboa, it could turn out to be an explosive fight, especially if Lopez manages to hurt the Cuban.

Scorecard: A solid similar argument from both guys but Matt gets the nod for his more detailed explanation for his choice.

1-0 Matt


Round 2: The Klitschko-Chambers matchup is actually pretty good.

Matt Knowles: FACT - I'm only saying fact in the sense that we're analyzing this match-up relative to other recent heavyweight title contests. Don't get me wrong, this is no Ali vs. Frazier, Lewis vs. Tyson, or Bowe vs. Holyfield. Heck, it's barely at the level of Rahman vs. Maskaev II. To repeat what Larry Merchant proclaimed following that particular bout: "Where have you gone, Joe Louis?!?!"

I will admit, however, that although Chambers has a very steep hill to climb, we can go ahead and call him a "live dog" in this match-up. Chambers has had 2 big wins in a row, where he was the significant underdog in both bouts, so he's already accustomed to defying the odds. He's definitely more of a boxer than a puncher, but has shown improved power recently (which is probably a by-product of better conditioning). Wladimir Klitschko is a physical phenomenon, with crazy reach and wicked power, but he's never had a great chin, and is coming off of a pretty serious injury. We won't know how much of an affect the lay-off and rehab had on Wlad until he steps into the squared circle, which is an intriguing variable to consider. So, relative to such recent bouts at Vitali vs. Arreola, Wlad vs. Chagaev, and Valuev vs. Haye, I'd say that Wladimir vs. Fast Eddie is a pretty darn good match-up.

Igor Frank: FICTION - This is a mismatch. Although a good boxer, Chambers is just too damn small for Wladimir; he will never be able to hit him with anything and will be assaulted with hammer jabs that will debilitate him by the middle rounds. Klitschko's technique and speed is very much underrated. He will have no problems with a small Chambers. This match up will be another great argument for creating a super heavyweight division.

Scorecard: Tough to dispute each guy's assessment and it could probably go either way. Either Chambers, who recently took down a much bigger man shows up ready to go or Klitschko once again keeps another opponent at bay with the jab. I can see both results happening. This one's a stalemate.

2-1 Matt


Round 3: Unless the Pacquiao-Clottey undercard gets stacked, you don't believe they'll sell 40,000 seats.

Matt Knowles: FICTION - This is more about the semantics of the question, as I don't believe the undercard is a factor at all. I've never really believed in the idea that undercard bouts have any major impact on the number of ticket sales when the headliner is at the level of someone like Manny Pacquiao. If this was something like the "Lightweight Lightning" card from a while back, where you have four competitive bouts with no bona fide superstars, then the card as a whole would factor into the PPV and live gate. This is, however, the PacMan's show, top-to-bottom, up, down, left and right. Okay, well, it's also Jerry Jones' show, and he'll do his "darndest" to fill up the new joint, but in terms of the boxers in question, this event is all about Pacquiao and his international appeal. Also consider this: if Antonio Margarito ends up on this card, it will hurt the PPV numbers, if not the live gate, based on his shenanigans of the past.

Personally, it's the deciding factor for me, in terms of whether or not I will order the fight (‘yes' without Margarito, and ‘no' if he's on the show, as I can't in good conscience support an event that he's taking part in). Either way, "The Event" will most likely have around 40,000 fans in attendance, but it will have little-to-nothing to do with any prizefighter other than the PacMan.

Igor Frank: FICTION - Manny Pacquiao is a superstar in his own right. He has never been in a boring fight. Even if Clottey is not a big name, fans will come out to support their hero. Pacquiao Clottey promises to be a very exciting fight, more exciting to watch than if he would have fought Mayweather. There is a good chance that Pacquiao could get hurt in that fight. I predict a twelve round war that would thrill even the most casual fan.

Scorecard: Matt pretty much summed it all up. It's Pacquiao's show period. Here's hoping for a decent undercard though since it's on PPV.

3-1 Matt

And now for the championship rounds!

Round 4: By the end of 2010, there will be some form of regulation on bad officiating.

Igor Frank: FICTION - Aside from Olympic figure skating professional boxing has to be one of the most difficult sports to officiate with objectivity. All standard parameters such as ring generalship, effective aggressiveness, accuracy are all subjective to judge's point of view. Punch stats is yet another issue of constant debates: how accurate are they? While it is relatively simple to count amount of punches thrown, it is very difficult to tell exactly how many punches landed. The amount of damage that the punch causes is also subject to interpretation. To add insult to injury every state has its own commission and there are a few boxing organizations that have their own judges. Unfortunately until boxing is organized like a professional football or basketball, I do not see any forthcoming regulations to discourage bad officiating.

Matt Knowles: FICTION - "While they're at it, why don't they clean-up the licensing system for fighters with 10+ losses, the subjective drug testing in each state, the influence of promoters on the sanctioning bodies, the lackluster major media coverage, and….the susceptibility for cuts and bruises? That'll solve everything!!!!"

Sadly, there are some things that we've just gotta expect in the fight game, and shady officiating is barely a scratch on the surface of boxing's eternal issues. I'm sure that the ABC, WBC, as well as the LMNOP (that's a joke, don't bother looking it up) will try to take some pro-active measures this year in regards to objectifying the officiating, but my good man Igor already explained how it will always be somewhat subjective in nature. I do believe that the judges should be allowed to utilize punch stats, which could potentially be a positive advancement on how a fight could/should be scored. Even then, no two punches thrown/landed are the same, so subjectivity will always rear its ugly head.


Scorecard: Ahh, the case of objectivity. Well said Igor....unfortunately, well said!

3-2 Matt

Round 5: VERSUS is making a big mistake by not supporting boxing in 2010.

Igor Frank: FICTION - Versus is not making a big mistake. They rely on ratings system. The mistake was made by boxing promoters who took the network for granted and used it to develop their fighters. Many of VERSUS' boxing shows were so boring and uncompetitive that nobody wanted to watch it. Hopefully promoters will learn their lessons and put compelling match ups on TV.

Matt Knowles: FICTION - VERSUS is making a brilliant tactical move in further investing in MMA, while scrapping pro boxing, for their 2010 action sports calendar. They are scheduled to have multiple live WEC shows, along with two live UFC shows, which all will undoubtedly draw much bigger ratings than any boxing program in the history of this specific network. In due time, VERSUS will be the #2 network for MMA, just behind Spike (which we might as well just refer to as "The UFC Channel" these days).

Look at it like this: as great of a fight as it was, do you think that the Cunningham-Adamek war had better ratings than any Urijah Faber fight? I'd venture to guess that the WEC/UFC shows for this year would draw quadruple the ratings points that any low-budget show from Top Rank or Golden Boy could muster up. Obviously, the execs at VERSUS feel the exact same way, so they are investing their money in a more marketable, profitable product. Not only do I agree with their decision, I will fully support the programs that they will be presenting us, despite their decision to drop pro boxing.


Scorecard: Excellent recap on why VERSUS is doing what they're doing Matt.

4-2 Matt

Round 6: You'd like to see another form of boxing reality series.

Igor Frank: FACT - I would love to see another form of boxing reality TV, but not a meaningless tournament, but the inner workings, behind the scene's of sweet science; may be going through complete training camp with a fighter, or media going ons a week of the big fight, or even fans water cooler conversations surrounding boxing events. This might do a lot to promote boxing to mainstream society.

Matt Knowles: FACT - Sorry to be "Mister Agreeable" this week, but Igor and I are on the same wavelength once again! I think that the tournament-style reality boxing shows have been a dud ever since the initial season of The Contender, which itself was just OK, despite Sergio Mora going on to win a world title. A cheesy, youth-friendly show in the same vein as what the Osbourne's and/or the Kardashian's have had, however, would be much more entertaining to the general public.

Here's one idea: "The Fighting Mayweather's: Three Generations of Feistiness," where we see Floyd Sr, Roger, Floyd Jr, and Floyd's kids at the gym on a day-to-day basis, following their antics & arrogance towards each other. Or, how about "On the Road with the PacMan," a show dedicated to revealing how hectic Manny's schedule is leading up to a fight (from the mob-scenes at the press conferences, to his initial training back home, to the move to LA, to the fight week events, etc). Or what about "Oscar's World," where we see how the Golden Boy has made the successful transition from world class boxer/gigolo to gazillionnaire promoter/husband? Any of these ideas, with the backing of a network with success in the reality show biz (E! perhaps?), could be economically viable options for boxing-related programming that could generate more fans flocking towards the sport (and, by extension, more PPV buys).


Final Scorecard: Igor nailed it. I think we can agree that this would be a better type of reality show than any drama infused tournaments as The Contender brought us.

4-3 Matt. While Igor made a strong effort in the end, he simply could not overcome the early deficit. Perhaps if Matt simply answered the question like a bum or didn't answer it at all, we could've gotten a draw. Alas, Matt moves to 2-0 while Igor falls to 0-1.

Now we want to hear from you guys...Fact or Fiction? Let us know!