SERIOUS!!! Saul Alvarez vs Alfonso Gomez

[Kev]

If HBO can turn down a fight (i.e. Paul Williams vs Nobuhiro Ishida) to make a better fight, who is it that I have to talk to, to make this clear that this fight should not go on?
Lara, Powell, Spinks or Williams could be better fights.

Lara just fought and lost at middleweight last week. How is he available?
Ditto for Williams who is also campaigning at middleweight.

Cory Spinks has lost 3 of his last 5 and his only win in 2 years was on points against a 16-10 club fighter.

Sechew Powell just lost a title fight last time out to Bundrage but you think deserves an immediate shot at another one?

By contrast Gomez has not lost a fight since losing to Miguel Cotto and has two decent wins in that time over Soto Karass and Castillo, thus a better record than both Spinks and Powell.

So all four of your fighters are either not available or are inferior choices to Gomez.

It's interesting that if you actually follow boxing form lines and go on merit, then Gomez is the best opponent of the selections you put forward. By contrast you just went with plucking some recognisable names out of the air with no assessment of their recent form, or even what weight class they are fighting in. Thus you displayed the panderings to casual fight marketing that you are claiming to oppose, i.e pick Spinks because he's recognisable name even though he's done nothing in years and is clearly a shot fighter now.

[Rantcatrat]

If HBO can turn down a fight (i.e. Paul Williams vs Nobuhiro Ishida) to make a better fight, who is it that I have to talk to, to make this clear that this fight should not go on?
Lara, Powell, Spinks or Williams could be better fights.

Lara just fought and lost at middleweight last week. How is he available?
Ditto for Williams who is also campaigning at middleweight.

Cory Spinks has lost 3 of his last 5 and his only win in 2 years was on points against a 16-10 club fighter.

Sechew Powell just lost a title fight last time out to Bundrage but you think deserves an immediate shot at another one?

By contrast Gomez has not lost a fight since losing to Miguel Cotto and has two decent wins in that time over Soto Karass and Castillo, thus a better record than both Spinks and Powell.

So all four of your fighters are either not available or are inferior choices to Gomez.

It's interesting that if you actually follow boxing form lines and go on merit, then Gomez is the best opponent of the selections you put forward. By contrast you just went with plucking some recognisable names out of the air with no assessment of their recent form, or even what weight class they are fighting in. Thus you displayed the panderings to casual fight marketing that you are claiming to oppose, i.e pick Spinks because he's recognisable name even though he's done nothing in years and is clearly a shot fighter now.

I don't think Gomez is a horrible opponent, but Gomez is the weakest of the opponents that were considered options for this fight. Martirosyan and Mayorga are better. Also, Gomez is a welterweight. Is this fight being fought at welterweight? Rhodes was ranked in the top ten when Canelo fought him, Gomez isn't in the top ten although that's mostly because he is considered a welterweight.

Mr. Baggins, coming from you, someone who violently detests overrated fighters (see Nonito and Sergio), your defense of Canelo is surprising. Canelo is spoken of as the next huge thing in boxing and he is ranked #3 at junior middleweight. This is ahead of Vanes, Lara, Williams, Bundrage, Dzinziruk, Trout, Monila, Rodriguez, Wolak and Latimore. Now, he deserves to be ranked above some of these guys, but Gomez doesn't, at least not most of them. The fact that this division is so deep and Canelo chose Gomez is the reason why people are disappointed. Furthermore, Gomez to me is a step back from Rhodes, at best a horizontal move, not a vertical one.

[Kev]

You misunderstand me Rantcatrat, I'm not at all against media hype of a fighter, I hate it when they get critical accolades and merit before they earn it. Thus Nonito Donaire getting into the top 10 p4p off the back of a win over Darchinyan two years previously, because Darchinyan went on to become a multiple weight champ really annoyed me. He was fighting bums, and often not looking that great and because Darchinyan was stomping guys like Arce and Mijares Donaire was flying up the p4p rankings. That was wrong imo. Actually following his sensational destruction of Montiel he's starting to justify the hype so I'm getting off his back.

In Canelo's case the Ring haven't yet put him in their p4p rankings and Max and the HBO crew arn't yet showering him with accolades like they do Martinez and Donaire so it's ok.

Regarding Alvarez I'd say the hype and attention are clearly overboard (I don't think he will be great) but the actual assessment of his acomplishments thus far have not.

If he beats Gomez and Max starts saying he's a true p4p fighter now and one of the only rivals to Pacquiao or Mayweather then you can bet I will be complaining!

For what's it worth though, right now I think he's well below that level and needs to be brought along carefully. I'm not sure he could even beat Mayorga yet if Mayorga came to win. I'd certainly not put him anywhere near Cotto or Martinez, not even Cintron or Lara.

But he does have an exciting future and I like the idea of seeing him up against Chavez Jr at some point.

I think fans have unrealistic demands. If they don't think a fighter can beat the best right now then he's shit, a bum. If he's not fighting the absolute hardest opponent you can match him with then he's cherry picking or being spoonfed.

Canelo is 21. He has his whole career ahead of him. The plan for his team is not to get beat up just yet and to pick opposition that test him, but won't derail him. Just be patient and enjoy wathcing him mature into a real dangerous junior middle.

Sure it may be sacrosanct that he has a belt, but it's been this way in boxing for decades now. As I said before it's like somebody complaining every time an unmarried couple have sex, or choose to live together. Yes, we know they are violating God's word and they are openly living in sin in a probably Christian country, but it's the 21st century now. Sexual morality has laregly gone down the toilet and a girl is now considered chaste and virtuous if she only goes to third base on the first date. Get over it. Be celibate if you want, but don't expect the world to join you. Same in boxing. Continue to believe that each belt is a sacred and holy object, to be bestowed only to the most worthy and proven of warriors. You will only end up disappointed when you see that boxing long ago ceased to regard them that way. They are just selling points for a fight, a bartering tool. It doesn't matter though, we have the Ring belts and it's easy to see who the real champs are and indeed, they do get recognised as such.

I just find this pining for a retrun to some mythical period when the belts really mattered pathetically sentimental and unrealisitc, like a puritan harkening back to when no girl sinned sexually, and was a virgin until she met her equally untouched man. Maybe an episode of The Waltons was like that but not real life...