ATE: Best Fight Of The Weekend, Lockett’s Chances, Hatton-Khan, Williams-Airich, Margarito, Mundine-Soliman And More

In this week’s edition of Ask The Editor (ATE), we consider which will be the best fight of the weekend in the USA, define Gary Lockett’s chances of beating Kelly Pavlik and look into our crystal ball at a Ricky Hatton-Amir Khan match. We ask if what happened in the Danny Williams-Konstantin Airich really happened, discuss how good Antonio Margarito is, review the third Anthony Mundine-Sam Soliman fight and much more.

Name : Richard Wade
Country : USA
Your Question :
Some interesting fights this weekend in the USA on two cards. What is the best match-up? Pavlik-Lockett, Ponce De Leon-Lopez, Quintana-Williams or Forrest-Mora?

CLIVE BERNATH ANSWERS: Richard, I think all four fights are interesting for different reasons. Pavlik is nailed on to defeat Lockett, but Gary can punch a bit so he may surprise Pavlik early on. Forrest is also nailed on to beat Mora but the ’Latin Snake’ is a determined so and so and may just make a closer fight of it than some may think. Williams will have a lot to prove against Quintana, having lost his unbeaten record and world title to the Puerto Rican last time. Lopez is unbeaten and has 19 stoppages on his record from 21 starts. Ponce De Leon has been beaten just once in 35 fights and is much more experienced, so this is also an interesting fight.

GREG JUCKETT ANSWERS: Richard, I like the Quintana-Williams rematch. Quintana will be out to prove he’s a legit world champion and Williams, who was considered the welterweight to beat before losing to Quintana, has a lot to prove.

PAUL UPHAM ANSWERS: The Quintana-Williams fight will be a good battle, but I’m expecting the Ponce De Leon-Lopez to explode.

MICHAEL NORBY ANSWERS: Richard, I think the Williams vs. Quintana rematch is the pick of the bunch. Williams will again be tested to the limit by the new champion and I want to see if Williams can figure him out. I don’t think he’ll be able to, but it’ll be an entertaining and extremely interesting fight.

Name : Ryan Dalton
Country : United Kingdom
Your Question :
Gary Lockett has a knockout punch and Kelly Pavlik was almost KO’ed by Jermain Taylor. Why isn’t anyone giving my man Gazza a chance to win?

CLIVE BERNATH ANSWERS: Ryan, as I said in the above question I think Gary may surprise Pavlik early on, but I feel two things separate Pavlik from Lockett in this fight. One is the experience. Pavlik can call on big fight experience from the Miranda fight and the two with Taylor. Secondly and possibly the most important is that Pavlik possesses the kind of inner steel that only the very toughest of men have. Pavlik may well hit the canvas, but he will not stay there for long.

GREG JUCKETT ANSWERS: Ryan, Pavlik is the heavy favourite because he’s fought better competition and Lockett has never fought outside of Europe. That being said, let’s see how Pavlik reacts the first time Lockett hits him cleanly.

PAUL UPHAM ANSWERS: Pavlik has been down before, so of course Lockett, who can hit, has a chance to win. That’s the beauty of boxing. The majority of people may think Pavlik will win this fight, but that doesn’t count for anything until he does it. When the opening bell rings for any fight, both boxers have an equal chance to win.

MICHAEL NORBY ANSWERS: Ryan, Lockett is being written off by everyone but there is always a chance that he can find something big and shock the world. Both guys are there to be hit but Pavlik has demolished fighters that are much better than Lockett and once he has a fighter in trouble he does not let them off the hook. Stranger things have happened, but I can’t see Lockett pulling this off.

Name : Steve Blake
Country : USA
Your Question :
When Sergio Mora gets blown away by Vernon Forrest this Saturday night, can we all agree that the ‘The Latin Snake’ was never that good?

GREG JUCKETT ANSWERS: Steve, Mora has proven to be a good B-level fighter, so should Forrest win as expected…no surprises.

PAUL UPHAM ANSWERS: Well, he’s Sergio’s chance to show the world how good he really is. He turned down a fight with Jermain Taylor, which he probably should have taken. There is no reason he cannot beat a 37 year-old Forrest. Bring it on ‘The Latin Snake’.

MICHAEL NORBY ANSWERS: I think Mora is a decent fighter, Steve. He’s just not as good as Forrest. There is a possibility that the champion could nail the original ‘Contender’ winner with a right hand and finish things early, but I think this will go the distance. Remember, Forrest is 37-years-old now, he’s not the fighter he was five or six years ago.

Name : Graham Lengthorn
Country : United Kingdom
Your Question :
With Ricky Hatton having his next fight in America against Paul Malignaggi, if Ricky wins we know he wants to fight Mayweather again, but lets be honest, if we were generous Mayweather wins 99 out of 100 times. But what about Ricky Hatton vs. Amir Khan? By next summer Khan could easily have 2-3 fights and be a world champion himself and add more weight and move up to junior welterweight? Now, that fight at Wembley Stadium could easily do 75,000 fans and with Khan on the up and Hatton at the end of his career, what a great fight it would be! What do you guys think and who do you think would win?

CLIVE BERNATH ANSWERS: I suppose it is a possibility Graham, but a year is a long time in boxing and both boxers have a tough year ahead. Ask the question again in a year’s time.

GREG JUCKETT ANSWERS: Graham, an interesting scenario, but I think the chances of Hatton fighting Khan are slim to none.

PAUL UPHAM ANSWERS: It would be a UK superfight in a years time. The money on offer would make it worthwhile for Hatton. But would Khan take the risk of moving up to 140lbs to challenge him?

MICHAEL NORBY ANSWERS: As fun as it sounds, I don’t think that this will happen, Graham. Ricky has his hands full against Malignaggi this November and if he gets by that he’ll probably fight Mayweather. I would be surprised if the ‘Hitman’ didn’t call it a day after that.

Name : Bill Knight
Country : United Kingdom
Your Question :
I like Ricky Hatton, but I think he is making a big mistake if his long-term plan is a rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Is it just the money, or does the ‘Hitman’ think he can really beat ‘Money’ Mayweather?

CLIVE BERNATH ANSWERS: Bill, you will have to ask Ricky if he really thinks he can beat Mayweather. I’m sure he does. As you know, Ricky has a tremendous fighting heart and it’s that fighting heart which gives him so much belief and enthusiasm to fight on.

GREG JUCKETT ANSWERS: Bill, I sure it’s more about pride than the money. Mayweather is the only guy to beat Hatton, so Hatton wants an opportunity for revenge, even if it’s probably not in his best interest.

PAUL UPHAM ANSWERS: If you don’t think you can beat every man who steps into the ring with you, you really can’t be an elite world class boxer. As much as being physical, boxing is a lot about winning the battle in your own mind.

MICHAEL NORBY ANSWERS: I think Hatton actually does think that he can beat Mayweather. He didn’t do too badly early in their first fight and he probably thinks that he can improve on that in a rematch. All power to him and if he can make a few bucks in the process, then all the better. The drinks, as they say, are definitely on him.

Name : William Wade
Country : Germany
Your Question :
As an Irishman living in Germany, I’m always interested in the German fight scene. It’s a well-reported fact that foreign fighters need a knockout to earn a draw against a German, or Germany-sponsored fighter. After the ’short round’ farce in the recent Danny Williams fight, my question is, are there any objective boxing organizations which investigate and deal with this kind of incident?

CLIVE BERNATH ANSWERS: William, there is an objective governing body in the USA but not as far as I’m aware in Europe. The Danny Williams vs. Konstantin Airich fight was indeed a complete shambles from start to finish. As I understand it, Danny will lodge a complaint with the British Boxing Board of Control, with whom he is a license holder. Then I presume the BBBOC will contact the Spanish commission and ask for an inquiry/report.

GREG JUCKETT ANSWERS: William, probably not…boxing in many ways is still rather unregulated compared to other major sports, so investigations are few and far between.

PAUL UPHAM ANSWERS: Boxing is unique in sport in that the wacky occurs on a regular basis. I’m talking about ‘fan man’, ‘bite fight’, ‘ring invasion brawl’, ‘crowd riot’, ‘missing mouthpiece’, ‘short round’, ‘scoring uproar’, ‘refereeing controversy’ and the list goes on.

MICHAEL NORBY ANSWERS: What was that all about??? Good grief. At least Williams stopped his opponent and got the victory. I believe that any inquest will be in the hands of Spanish boxing officials. Lets hope they do something, because that was embarrassing.

Name : David Lee
Country : Ireland
Your Question :
I’m a big fan of your site and I love your articles, whether I agree with them or not. Is it just me or is Antonio Margarito the most overrated fighter in world boxing? Don’t get me wrong, he’s a good fighter, but I just don’t think he’s elite level. I think a lot of fans and journalists have fallen for this “most avoided fighter in boxing” nonsense. Elite level fighters don’t get outboxed by mediocre boxers like Daniel Santos. Also, unlike true elite fighters, he doesn’t seem to have a plan B when plan A’s not working. I really can’t see him causing Cotto any serious problems. What do you guys think? Am I being too harsh.

GREG JUCKETT ANSWERS: David, I think you are being a bit harsh. Margarito is a world-class fighter. He may not beat Cotto, but I can think of a lot of other fighters more ‘overrated’.

PAUL UPHAM ANSWERS: Margarito’s reputation was certainly hurt by the loss to Paul Williams, who then lost to Carlos Quintana. Margarito’s fight with Miguel Cotto is a true measuring stick for him.

MICHAEL NORBY ANSWERS: I think Margarito is a world class fighter, David. I agree with you that ‘the most avoided fighter in boxing’ tag was a load of nonsense. He combines power and volume very well and I think he’ll give Cotto all sorts of problems in their July fight.

Name : Mo Butt
Country : United Kingdom
Your Question :
Where is Winky Wright?!

GREG JUCKETT ANSWERS: Mo, Wright isn’t scheduled to fight and maybe at 36 he’s rethinking whether he wants to continue fighting. I do know he’s managing fighters now.

Name : Dylan Jones
Country : United Kingdom
Your Question :
What does the panel think of Brit Carl Froch, I know he only beat a bit of a bum in a 37 year old on the Witter vs. Bradley undercard. But I think Carl is somewhere similar in his career to Calzaghe was a few years ago. Technically, you won’t find a more accurate puncher who probably has the highest punches thrown/punches landed ratio there is. When are we gonna get Kessler vs. Froch?

CLIVE BERNATH ANSWERS: Hi Dylan. I have always liked Carl but I’m just not sure how he will cope at the highest level. I’ve said many times that the jury is out until Carl fights a genuine top ten super-middleweight.

MICHAEL NORBY ANSWERS: I hope we get Froch vs. Kessler sooner rather than later, Dylan. That way we’ll find out how good the Englishman really is. I certainly don’t think he comes close to Joe Calzaghe in terms of ability, but he might be a very good world champion someday.

Name : Will Black
Country : China
Your Question :
I just watched a replay of the Erik Morales vs. David Diaz fight. Am I crazy or did Morales win that handily? Sure, he was out of gas towards the end, but I thought he completely outclassed him, and Diaz’s face was a mess at the end. It seems like Erik deserved more in his farewell fight after such a great career. What do you think?

GREG JUCKETT ANSWERS: Will, I didn’t see Diaz-Morales in its entirety, but you aren’t the first person that said they thought Morales won. It probably didn’t help Morales’s cause that the fight was in Diaz’ hometown.

PAUL UPHAM ANSWERS: I thought Morales may have won it. It was a close fight. Certainly Morales didn’t look anywhere near his best and still got very close. Again, it comes back to how you score the fight and what your scoring philosophy is. I didn’t think it was a robbery, and wouldn’t argue if you had Morales winning.

MICHAEL NORBY ANSWERS: Will, I thought that Morales vs. Diaz was a close fight and, after the final bell, I was half expecting Morales to be given the decision. He looked very good initially, knocking Diaz to the floor in the first, and fought a good fight into the later rounds. The many wars caught up with him, however. He was tired and his legs were rubbery down the stretch and Diaz pretty much took over. Given that some of the early rounds were close, I wasn’t surprised that Diaz got the nod but it was a gutsy final performance by Morales.

Name : Andrew Lynam
Country : Ireland
Your Question :
I was just wondering what is the best way to obtain tickets for fights in Las Vegas? I will be travelling over in September so I wanted to try book ahead if any fights are scheduled while I am there.

CLIVE BERNATH ANSWERS: Andrew, I think the best thing to do is contact the venue where the fight is taking place. The venue will almost certainly have an allocation of tickets for sale.

GREG JUCKETT ANSWERS: Andrew, check your fight schedule and contact the host hotel/casino ahead to time…that way you will be able to buy tickets at face value.

MICHAEL NORBY ANSWERS: Be ready with your credit card as soon as tickets go on sale. Call the casino or venue where the fight will take place and do not leave it too long. Third party ticket sellers online can get ridiculously expensive.

Name : Matthew Stylianou
Country : Australia
Your Question :
I saw the Anthony Mundine fight with Sam Soliman on Wednesday at the arena. It was the worst decision I’ve ever seen in this country. Boxing is on the slide with such corruption and favouritism. Soliman won at least 8 rounds of that fight. Congratulations Sam, shame on the judges and what a farce for the spectators!

Name : Gavin Kutasi
Country : Australia
Your Question :
Just a quick one for Paul, what did you have for the score for the Soliman Mundine fight? I had 115-113 for Sam. I thought there may be an unjust decision at the end. I just think Mundine got out worked.

PAUL UPHAM ANSWERS: I agree with both of you that Soliman may have in fact won. He clearly threw and landed more punches. The trouble with scoring Soliman fights is that his punches are much lighter. But having said that, there were rounds where Mundine did very little at all and couldn’t land his harder punches because Soliman’s movement kept putting him off. Just between us, scoring off the television at home, I had Soliman winning 8 rounds. The problem I have with that is knowing both boxers so well, it makes it hard for me to score the fight without emotion sneaking in. I’m going to watch Mundine-Soliman 3 for a second time, score it again and report back to you.