Hello fight fans and welcome to another edition of Magno’s Bulging Mail Sack, the only mailbag column FDA-approved to fight boxing illiteracy and gynecomastia in boxing writers. This week, we have comments/questions regarding Jermall Charlo, canceling Canelo-Bivol, and an early pick for Kambosos-Haney.
Paging Lion Charlo
Hi Paul.
Been a big fan since the old Boxing Tribune days and I really appreciate the integrity you’ve brought to the boxing media game all these years. I still get a chuckle when I remember that fake fight preview you made when Gabriel Montoya and that other boxing writer had a slap fight and were going to have a boxing match. LOL. Classic.
Anyway, my question is about Jermall Charlo. Specifically, when the hell is this guy going to get into the ring against a live body? I understand he wants that Canelo fight and doesn’t want to ruin his chances of getting that Canelo loot, but how is he getting away with fighting a guy like Sulecki or before that, Montiel, Dennis Hogan, Brandon Adams? Sergey Derevyanchenko was alright, but he shouldn’t be the biggest name in a world champion’s 5-year run in a division. What’s your take on the career of Jermall Charlo, specifically, his middleweight run, thus far?
Keep up the good work my man, and I’ll keep reading.
– Carlos from LA
Hey Carlos.
Thanks for reading all these years.
I don’t think it’s just Charlo stuck on neutral in the 160-168 lb. range. Everybody’s idling, waiting around on that sweet, sweet Canelo money. Off the top of my head, I can’t even recall the last “big” middleweight fight between actual top dog 160-pounders (that didn’t involve Canelo) and the same goes for super middleweight. It’s a problem and something needs to be done to get these guys fighting one another and not just sitting around waiting on a Canelo sweepstakes ticket.
In the particular case of Jermall Charlo, I feel all the rumors and near-misses related to a possible Canelo fight have affected his career path. EVERYONE would want to see Charlo fight David Benavidez or some other top name at 160/168, but why take that kind of risk when monster money and monster opportunity look so close? And the same can be said for guys like Jaime Munguia, who doesn’t want to deal with the risk a Charlo fight brings when big money seems to be right around the corner against either Canelo or Golovkin. I could go on and on about why none of the top guys are fighting each other. But I’ll just say that this is a pretty universal thing at 160/168 and not just a Charlo thing.
A full move to 175 for Canelo might fix some of this mess and open some doors to better fights in the divisions below, but not all that much in my opinion. I honestly don’t know what the answer is and I totally get the fighters and their thought process in all of this. But somebody has to man-up and realize that they don’t need to go through Canelo to get that next-level money and fame, they can also pave their road to stardom by fighting the very best of the rest.
Canceling Canelo-Bivol?
Hey Magno.
I see lots of talk about Canelo vs. Bivol, but nobody talking about the elephant in the room– Will it be canceled? I know this is boxing and it’s the red light district of sports. A lot of stuff goes on that wouldn’t be tolerated in any other sport. But, as the war in the Ukraine rages on, I can’t imagine there won’t be more and more calls to pull the Russian from that big fight. What do you think are the chances of this fight not happening as planned?
– Simon
Hey Simon.
I brought this up a while back and I think I’m the first in the boxing media to wonder aloud whether Canelo-Bivol might get pulled. Boxing can be a dirty, ugly place, but the money coming from the outside is NOT. You have to wonder whether sponsors/advertisers are going to want to be associated with an event where a Russian fighter (Bivol was born in Kyrgyzstan, but is a Russian citizen) has such a prominent main stage spot in, arguably, the sport’s biggest fight of the year to date, especially if things get even uglier in Ukraine.
I’m going to say that, right now, the odds are 60-40 or 65-35 in favor of this fight making its May 7 date, but a lot depends on what’s happening in the war. For a big ticket fight like this one, all revenue streams are important and if organizers see that a few streams have dried up because of Bivol’s presence, the plug may be pulled out of necessity.
Kambosos-Haney
Hi Paul.
With Lomachenko staying at home to fight the Ruskies, it looks like Devin Haney is getting first crack at George Kambosos. Let’s hear your early prediction for this one.
– Luis Cardona
Hey Luis.
I’ve been very skeptical about whether Kambosos can stay put as top dog or, even, stay among the elite of the division. He’s definitely better than I first thought and he sure as hell is a tough SOB, but I still have my doubts. I think there’s every indication that he caught Teofimo Lopez at the right time. This next fight will prove whether or not he stays put at the very top.
Having said that, though, I say he beats Haney. Fighting at home, juiced up by a raucous crowd against a Haney who hasn’t shown much fire or urgency in his performances and who has some mental lapses here and there, he stands a good chance of winning. Based on recent performances, I’m not sold on Haney as a complete package. But I could definitely be wrong and Haney might put it all together in the biggest fight of his career. Some athletes are just like that– they step up when they need to step up and perform up to the level of their challenge. Haney may be that kind of athlete. I’d wager that he isn’t, though. Right now, I’m picking Kambosos via late stoppage.
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.