SERIOUS!!! Saul Alvarez vs Alfonso Gomez

[marbleheadmaui]

Alvarez is being spoon fed.

It's only his second defence of the title so I'm not too annoyed.

Hopefully they step up his level of competition soon though.

Surely to have the right to call yourself champ you should be prepared to fight anyone and everyone.

Stepping up after winning the title sounds stupid. Supposed to step up gradually until you reach the title.

But he doesn't!

Look the kid is still a prospect and should be brought along like one.

It speaks volumes to the emptiness of holding a title than, rather calling yourself a 'champion' as long as the pockets are deep enough and we fall for the rock star label he is being rushed to market with. Can't have it both ways, but we're falling for it more and more.

This is a paid infomercial passed off as a Championship match on the premier network for boxing. Yet again.

It's our own fault. Kellerman put it perfectly when he said (paraphrase) "belts today are not signs of achievement, they are marketing tools."

And too many of us subscribe to it. Alvarez is no more a champion than I am. He's a prospect, a promising one, with a lot of work to do and that is how he should be brought along and in my view, how we ought to judge the fight choices.

[armyash]

[QUOTE=marbleheadmaui;994627]

Alvarez is being spoon fed.

It's only his second defence of the title so I'm not too annoyed.

Hopefully they step up his level of competition soon though.

Surely to have the right to call yourself champ you should be prepared to fight anyone and everyone.

Stepping up after winning the title sounds stupid. Supposed to step up gradually

But he doesn't!

Look the kid is still a prospect and should be brought along like one.

When there is money to be made, or advantages to be gained when deciding what weight to make a fight or who gets the bigger share of the pot i'm sure his team will argue he is the champ so gets to call the shots

[armyash]

But yeah he is a prospect and like you say we should judge his fights as so but it is no good billing it as a world title fight then wonder why people are confused about boxing.

Young, inexperienced but still learning prospect 1 minute calling himself the WBC Light middle champ the next.

[CommunistKevin]

Man gomez is not great but I think we are being a little harsh on him. He is prob better than Matthew hatton.

[Kev]

I think some of you guys are a bit clueless about modern boxing to be honest. Holding a paper belt hasn't been seen as significant in terms of evaluating a fighters worth for many years but you all still react as if something shocking is taking place.

The only belt that matters is the Ring Belt, the alphabet titles just now exist to give fighters marketability, nobody in boxing is saying Canelo is the best at light middle, nor at 21 years of age does he need to be fighting them.

Just let him grow and develop and the better competition will follow.

As for Gomez being a joke. Really, why? Because he was on the Contender?

Since losing to Cotto he's been on a very decent run and would be just as deserving of a shot at Bundrage's belt or any of the other champs out there.

He ended the effective career of Jose Luis Castillo and got a win over Soto Karass where he was boxing very well and controlling the fight. Karass certainly looked a lot better against Mike Jones.

Gomez is the kind of opponent Canelo needs right now. Someone who will be a live opponent, will test him, but shouldn't derail him.

You people would make the worst boxing matchmakers, you just always want to match a guy so he gets beat and that's it.

This is a decent matchup.

The fact that it's for an alphabet strap has no real significance beyond being a little extra to help sell the fight.

[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.

[marbleheadmaui]

But yeah he is a prospect and like you say we should judge his fights as so but it is no good billing it as a world title fight then wonder why people are confused about boxing.

Young, inexperienced but still learning prospect 1 minute calling himself the WBC Light middle champ the next.

Yup, yup, yup and er, um, yup!

[roberto duran legend]

Totally agree Gomez is a decent test for Alvarez, alphabet titles today mean next to nothing , so many titles that mean jack shit ,Alvarez is a really good prospect but that is all and this fight is a good outing against a experianced fighter.

[Kev]

Totally agree Gomez is a decent test for Alvarez, alphabet titles today mean next to nothing , so many titles that mean jack shit ,Alvarez is a really good prospect but that is all and this fight is a good outing against a experianced fighter.

I'm not that sold on Alvarez being the next big thing but people moaning cluelessly against the sport annoy me.

Boxing is like Hollywood, it's as much entertainment as is it serious sport, and the sport ultimately depends on developing superstars to thrive.

Therefore when a potential massive ticket seller and national star like Canelo comes along it's a GOOD thing to manouevre him to a world title belt, to generate tickets, and hype, much like the new Harry Potter or Twilight film.

Sure, like the Twilight films he might well turn out to be more hype than substance but he can still be a big attraction, and a guilty pleasure even for us 'hardcore' fans who see past the hype.

He's still good for the sport, as is, by the way Alfonso Gomez. He made a lot of fans on the Contender, people who normally wouldn't follow boxing, and if some of them tune into this fight as a result, again, it's a good thing.

Also, Alfonso Gomez is no joke. He has wins over Manfredo, Brinkley, Gatti, Castillo and Soto Karass.

Both Manfredo and Brinkley got world title shots against elite guys, Brinkley only a few months ago, Karass almost upset one of the hottest prospects in the welterweight division and Gatti and Castillo are legends of the sport, involved in some of the most famous and memorable fights of modern times.

Why is it ridiculous that he should be granted a fight against a 21 year old work in progress?

Because he holds an alphabet belt? Please, shut the fuck up, it's such an old and boring argument, tantamount to somebody screaming 'But they should not be having sex they are NOT MARRIED!!!" every time a celebrity couple gets romantically linked.

[JazMerkin]

It's our own fault. Kellerman put it perfectly when he said (paraphrase) "belts today are not signs of achievement, they are marketing tools."

And too many of us subscribe to it. Alvarez is no more a champion than I am. He's a prospect, a promising one, with a lot of work to do and that is how he should be brought along and in my view, how we ought to judge the fight choices.

I'm no fan of the alphabets, but if you seriously believe that you're completely off your rocker

[roberto duran legend]

What Interrim champions , gold and silver champions a complete farce , sanction fees my friend thats all they mean .

[JazMerkin]

What Interrim champions , gold and silver champions a complete farce , sanction fees my friend thats all they mean .

Did I say I was a fan? I don't rate them, but winning even a worthless paper belt in the ring makes you more of a champ than posting on a boxing website. Fact.

[roberto duran legend]

Chill out champ , just saying there is way to many belts

[CommunistKevin]

Wow bilbo I agree with like everything you said. To be honest people always make fun of match makers and say that they are too careful. But it is an important part of boxing and lots of fighter's careers have been ruined by over aggressive match making. And it is not always the case that the fighter was just over rated. Anyone with actual boxing experience knows the psychological issues that can arise from a loss for fighters

[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.