Prince needs new dance partner
JAN. 17, 1998
Prince Naseem Hamed, on everybody's "must fight" list, will have to shift gears after Arturo Gatti's loss to Angel Manfredy on Saturday night.
It may have been difficult to envision the 5-foot-8 Gatti even making weight to fight Hamed, but it'll be even harder to imagine promoter Frankie Warren steering his suddenly hot property in the direction of "El Diablo."
This, of course, may be a good thing. Manfredy's entrance, complete with devil's mask, was almost as frightening (and almost as lengthy) as The Prince's disco marathon at Madison Square Garden in December. If the two fight on HBO's Boxing After Dark, it would become Boxing After Breakfast.
Manfredy also presents too great a risk to The Prince than is warranted. HBO boxing commentators praised Manfredy's chin, but barely called attention to his outstanding defensive style and poise.
Gatti, boxing's ultimate warrior, was finally undone by his faulty facial genetics. Gatti bleeds so much he might need a cutman for the weigh-in, but that isn't new. What was new was someone with shorter punches and the focus necessary to stand in front of Gatti, trade blows and be elusive at short range.
Manfredy led on two of the three cards at the time of the stoppage and scored the only knockdown of the bout. This was no hard-luck loss. Manfredy won it.
After the fight, Warren, making it clear he wasn't ringside or stateside so he could throw down a contract in front of the winner, said Hamed-Manfredy was "two fights down the road."
Translation: With a monstrous cable rating last time out, five fights left on the HBO contract and a suspect jaw, The Prince won't be dancing with this devil.
David Izon did everything he could. He didn't back down, or stray from what he does best. That is what makes Michael Grant's knockout win all the more impressive.
Grant, if you haven't seen him yet, is 6-foot-6 and 253 pounds. Evander Holyfield and Frank Bruno could go to him for bodybuilding tips. We've all seen, however, plenty of ripped-to-shreds musclemen crumble when someone throws a meaningful combination and refuses to panic at the sight of their biceps.
Grant is huge, but he is also able to put punches together. And he doesn't wither when things aren't going his way, like many other young heavyweights. Don Turner, who is Grant's trainer as well as Evander Holyfield's, says Grant is three fights away from being ready to challenge for the title.
He is cautious, and correct. Izon is no joke. He lost a war to the previous hot, young heavyweight, David Tua, and knocked out an underrated Lou Savarese.
When Tyson is done with the WWF, Holyfield decides he's done being insulted with $15 million offers, and Lennox Lewis has proven himself to be the division's best, expect Grant to step in.
The boxing community is split in its appraisal of Jones' chances of success. But if anyone can do it, I say it's Jones, even though plenty of experts say he has no chance.
Remember, Marco Antonio Barrera was once considered to be one of the best, pound-for-pound. He then lost to Junior Jones (twice), who then lost to Kennedy McKinney. McKinney had previously lost to ... Barrera.
Brian Kenny is an ESPNEWS anchor who formerly trained at the Cus D'Amato Catskill Boxing Club.