Some Sunday Boxing Thoughts

There have always been reports about fighters ducking and dodging opponents.  When Laila Ali was still competing, she was often accused of avoiding certain boxers like Lucia Rijker, Christy Martin, and Ann Wolfe.  Ali did fight Martin.  I remember a press conference where Martin got up in Ali's face, and Ali referred to her as "little mama" and asked what did Martin think she was going to do to her.

I also remember watching an interview with Lucia Rijker where she was showed some fight footage of Ali.  Rijker was asked something about if she saw some skills in Ali.  "I see nothing in her style," Rijker quickly replied.  I would have loved to see that fight, but unfortunately, it never took place.

That would have been a heck of a fight if Ali and Ann Wolfe ever had stepped into the ring.  Personally, I would have had second, third, and forth thoughts about taking a bout with Wolfe.  It's been reported that Wolfe was so rough that she was knocking out men during sparring.  Alas, both Ali and Wolfe are now retired, so that's another fight that will never be seen.

Speaking of missed fight opportunities, the hype around the upcoming Mayweather and Alvarez match seems to be muting any more talk about a battle between Mayweather and Pacquiao.  I was watching an episode of Showtime's "All Access" on the internet earlier.  As usual, Mayweather was arrogant.  Alvarez was shown as a young, hungry fighter with focus.  Very little footage of Mayweather training was shown, but viewers were there were scenes of women hanging around "Money", who each had some job they were doing in his camp.  "We tend to hire attractive people because they make things happen," Mayweather explained as I rolled my eyes.

I don't think it's going to be business as usual for Mayweather.  I hope it's not.