Every week, right here at FightHype.com, boxing fans gather around my bulbous, bulging sack and marvel at the magnificent load of gooey, salty truth that I call into action– and this week is no different. In this special extended edition, we have comments/questions regarding Gary Russell Jr., Tyson Fury, Ryan Garcia and much more.
Gary Russell Jr. vs. Gary Russell Jr.
Hi Paul.
I saw you rip into Mr. Gary Russell Jr. in your Notes from the Boxing Underground column. You were too kind! This guy is delusional and has only himself to blame for being an afterthought in boxing despite being one of the most talented, well-trained fighters in the game. This guy’s going to talk about not fighting because no big names want to fight him, so that means he has to sit around and fight nobody? GTFOH! And this time he talks about having an injury coming into his fight, making an excuse even before he gets into the ring? Well, if he was injured, then he owes fans a refund because he didn’t come to the fight in a position to put on a top notch performance. Then, to make matters worse, he goes full-on nutso and claims he won 10 of the 12 rounds? GTFOH! The man lost because he overlooked Magsayo, was off for two years, and didn’t come to the ring at 100%. Russell looks like he always has one foot out the door because he never fights, he should just step out that door completely and find another profession.
– Dennis
Hey Dennis.
Honestly, it’s hard to come up with an argument against anything you just said. A fighter doesn’t have to jump through hoops to please the fans or pacify the media. I fully accept a grown man’s (or woman’s) decision to conduct his/her career as they see fit. But there are consequences for your actions and you have to live with those consequences. In Russell’s case, if he can live a comfortable lifestyle and provide for his family with, on average, one purse a year, then, good for him. He just can’t double back and complain about not being a bigger star, able to attract bigger fights, if he keeps himself out of the public eye so much by being inactive. If anything, a fighter who feels he’s being avoided should be fighting MORE often so he can keep the kind of high profile needed to bring in bigger money for a greater chance at getting bigger fights. Russell has left so much money on the table over the last seven years by being so inactive and it’s affected his professional legacy as well. Now, throw in the post-Magsayo craziness and the man’s public image is really in the dumpster. And this kind of heat he’s generating isn’t the Floyd Mayweather, “now I gotta tune in to watch him get beat” kind of heat…it’s the “fuck this guy, go away, who cares?” kind of heat.
Tyson Fury, ATG?
Hi Paul.
You can call me a fan boy, but I think Tyson Fury has already made his mark as an all-time great in the heavyweight division. I’m not saying he’s up there with Ali, Frazier, Louis, and Marciano just yet, but he’s definitely in that lower tier of the ATG top 10 or 20. He has dominant wins over champs who were dominant themselves, Wladimir Klitschko and Deontay Wilder. Plus, just the eye test alone makes his case. How many of the all-timers can you see beating a man with his size, boxing ability, and ability to bang when necessary? Jack Dempsey, Floyd Patterson, Gene Tunney? They’d be clueless as to how to handle the Gypsy King. Modern greats like Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield would also have a tough time, IMO. What do you think, Mr. Magno? Have I gone off the deep end or is Fury as historically good as I believe?
– John from Essex
Hey John.
I’m just gonna come right out and say it– yeah, I think you’ve gone off the deep end. It’s way too early in Fury’s run to even hint at ATG status. His only major wins have come against a post-prime Wladimir Klitschko and Deontay Wilder, who rates as nowhere near ATG-level. Even if he beats the best available to him in the present tense– Oleksandr Usyk, Anthony Joshua, Dillian Whyte, Andy Ruiz, and Luis Ortiz, that still may not be enough to affirm all-time greatness. That’s no knock on Fury, just a reality of the times we’re living in. An ATG needs ATG-level competition.
Ryan Garcia, All Hype?
Hey Magno.
I wanted to get your take on Ryan Garcia. The kid gets so much press attention, but I don’t see what all the fuss is about. He’s got quick hands and some raw tools, but he hasn’t really proven anything. His biggest win came against Luke Campbell, a B-level fighter, and he had to come off the canvas to do it. The only reason I see for him getting all this attention is that he talks a good game. I don’t see him beating any of the top lightweights right now. As a matter of fact, I think he gets beat pretty badly by all of them. What say you?
– Mark Zajac
Hey Mark.
Very early on in Garcia’s career I pegged the kid for having superstar potential. He had all the physical tools, the look, the charisma, and an innate feeling for self-promotion. That was about five years ago and, since then, I haven’t seen him develop his ring skills to the degree I had hoped to see them develop. The last year or so has been an absolute waste. The things I’m seeing in him give me doubt when it comes to the likelihood of him putting it all together to be an elite-level fighter. To be honest, he’s looking less like the next Oscar De La Hoya and more like the next Victor Ortiz. He’s still got the ability to generate buzz and prod the slack-jawed media into headline frenzy, but if there’s no steak behind the sizzle, interest in him will eventually fizzle out. He needs to get himself in the ring soon, step up his level of opposition, and get serious about what’s really going to put money into his bank account– boxing. Spending time around Canelo Alvarez to any degree can only help, but, ultimately, the kid has to grow up and start taking the sport seriously.
TC vs. TR
What do you think about Crawford’s lawsuit? I’ll keep this short, but you know what I’ve said about Terence Crawford all along. He has no one but himself to blame. Bob didn’t put a gun to his head and force him to re-up with Top Rank. He can race bait all he wants to right now. I’m not doubting his claim at all. But Bob is who he is, and it didn’t take much to see. Some people just don’t comprehend until this chips are stale.
— Nail Rahman
Hey Nail.
Crawford took a calculated risk when he re-upped with Top Rank in 2018. Whether it paid off, though, is up for debate. On one side, you could argue that it didn’t because his legacy was most definitely hurt by having guys like Benavidez, Khan, Kavaliauskas, and Brook on his resume rather than Spence, Thurman, Garcia, and Pacquiao. On the other side of the argument, he made well above market value for his five fights after re-signing, averaging just under $4.5 million a fight for mostly second-tier risk (except for his bout with Shawn Porter). But, then again, there could’ve been more money in taking five fights at the highest level with the PBC welters. I’ll never disparage a fighter for taking risk vs. reward into consideration or for grabbing at as much money as he can make. But, yeah, there are consequences for decisions made and, in Crawford’s case, those consequences involve the weight of his legacy and his ability in the present tense to generate enough interest to entice co-A-side opponents into taking on the risk of fighting him. If he goes down in history as one of those fighters with great ability who never truly affirmed his greatness, then, that’ll be on him and the career decisions he made.
As for what I think of the lawsuit, itself? I posted my take in this past Monday’s Notes from the Boxing Underground column. To sum it up, I think he may have a case when it comes to breach of contract, but proving racial bias will be extremely difficult. Check my article out for my NSFW hot take.
Khan vs. Brook
Hi Paul
I am not going to lie, I am intrigued about the Khan vs Brook fight. Although both are past their best, there was always a tremendous dislike between them. I always thought that in their primes Brook had just too much timing for Khan, but this time, based on how both performed vs Crawford, I think that Brook is really spent, no timing, no power, no reflexes and a glass jaw (even worse than Khan’s).
What’s your assessment of this fight?
Regards.
— Miguel
Hey Miguel.
I’m not embarrassed to say that I also look forward to Khan-Brook. It may be happening eight years after it should have, but there’s still plenty of intrigue there. I think both fighters are done as main stage winners, but I agree that Brook is especially done. The man’s had his face broken (literally) twice. He performed way better than expected against Crawford, but could only go four rounds before being broken down. Khan-Brook will probably be much more interesting for the lead-in than for the actual fight. But neither guy would be doing much without the other right now. So, for fans, this is bonus content. Let them fight and get one last big payday. Nobody has to buy it if they don’t want to.
Thurman vs. Barrios on PPV
Magno.
Keith Thurman vs. Mario Barrios. $74.95. Hahahahahahahaha!!!!
– Bob B.
Hey Bob.
I got a few emails about the Thurman-Barrios pay-per-view price tag and yours was the nicest one. What can I say? I’m not involved in marketing or sales at PBC and I have no info as to what their long-term goal is when it comes to their run of pay-per-views. I also don’t know why the decision is being made to make certain shows pay-per-views. I also don’t know if any of their for-pay events this past year have been financially successful. The only thing I DO know is that you don’t have to buy any pay-per-view you don’t want to. It would be great if this fight was on Showtime or Fox where you wouldn’t have to make the decision to buy or not, but that’s not the case.
Thurman-Barrios is an intriguing fight, though. It’s a lot more of a 50-50 contest than some people are acknowledging. The undercard is really good, too. Abel Ramos-Josesito Lopez will be excellent. Luis Nery-Carlos Castro will be good. Leo Santa Cruz vs. Keenan Carbajal may turn out to be one-sided, but Santa Cruz always puts on a show. Again, it’s on you whether you want to hit the “BUY” button or not.
I’m generally against any and all paywalls, but I’m not entirely against a pay-per-view model under the right circumstances. I’d like to see the prices go down and for fans to be given more choice as to how much they want to invest into a night of boxing. It would be interesting to see what kind of business a fight like Thurman-Barrios would do at a much more modest price– like $9.99– with just one lesser undercard fight underneath it. Fights like Ramos-Lopez, Santa Cruz-Carbajal, and Nery-Castro could have their own pay-per-view price tag as stand-alone events on different nights, maybe at $4.99 apiece. Conceivably, you could have a couple of these kinds of shows a week with “on demand” options to purchase after the fact. I don’t know how strong the market is for something like this, but it would probably kill much of the bad buzz coming from fans who balk at a high one-event price tag and it might light a fire underneath some fighters’ (and promoters’) asses to better promote their shows for maximum financial gain.
But I’m just a guy in the hills of Central Mexico with a (somewhat) informed take on the business, putting my opinion out there.
Got a question (or hate mail) for Magno’s Bulging Mail Sack? The best of the best gets included in the weekly mailbag segment right here at FightHype. Send your stuff here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com.