Hi JT,

Thanks for the welcome back.

Not only did Martinez give up his dumb belt willingly (and, as you note, trust Sillyman to give it back to him), but he had nothing but warm and fuzzy things to say about Sillyman a few months ago. Martinez wants to fight Chavez because Martinez has no promoter and must piggyback on bigger names to get any kind of attention from people other than P-4-P mongers.

Why anyone wants Martinez, the greatest middleweight since Ketchel, to face Chavez is anybody’s guess. A fake, fraud, spoiled clubfighter should be the last person Martinez targets, but, hey, this is boxing–why should anything make any sense?

Chavez has played the game just like almost everybody else: build a resume on a bunch of ham n’ eggers and fight for some Ghost Adventures championship. It’s amazing how shocked and surprised people are about his route to limited success….as if 99% of fighters have done anything different. The difference between him and some of the superstars today is that people actually want to see him fight and will pay good money for tickets to his events. His name is only part of the reason people come out to see him, despite what Boxing Caliban types will misspell. He also works hard in the ring, is well-spoken, is a good-looking, and tries to make fights exciting most of the time. As I pointed out here before–no one gave a damn about Roberto Duran Jr. or Hector Camacho Jr.

Hi Dennis,

thanks, man, I’ve definitely been out of the loop for a while. I can’t say I’ve missed very much, though, over the last month. To be honest, I think my “Real Steel” giveaway is still the biggest thing to happen in boxing in 2012.

Anyway, Rubio showed some know-how, but Chavez came to grind him down and it worked for the most part. From what I can gather, Chavez is a fraud who didn’t get on HBO until his 44th fight and who can draw 14,000 fans and who beat the guy (Rubio) who beat the next big thing in middleweight boxing (Lemieux) and who actually tries to put on a show in the ring and who is not an obnoxious prick. I’m going to have to find my madstone to figure it all out.

Hi MN,

not a bad fight at all, I would say, although I guess some people would still rather see Ward put someone in a triangle armbar…I expected Chavez to box, but he decided to go for the strange “6’1″ Guy Bending Over to Infight” strategy. I guess to keep Rubio from extending his right hand from the outside. At this point, reading anything about Chavez in the press is hopeless, since he is now the irrational hobbyhorse of all ring geniuses.

Oh, and if anybody needs a conditioner, it’s definitely Chavez!

Hi Harrison,

technical difficulties have kept me out of action for a bit, but I’m back, I guess, for a little while at least. Although I have to admit that not having a computer for over a month was sort of refreshing. I got to read more and I didn’t have to suffer the torments of the boxing media…two big pluses in my book.

Chavez, I admit, fascinates me to no end and has been the generator for many good one-liners. (I highly recommend that you read the links in the piece above to see me at my venomous best. Or is that worst?) He’s also allowed me to riff on the absurd “starmaking” obsession of the U.S. pseudo-press who insist, idiotically, that guys like Andre Ward are stars despite the fact that few people want to see them.

By the way, I’ve watched (and paid for those independent p-p-vs) just about every Chavez bout of the last four or five years. But I didn’t bother watching Dawson-Hopkins live…..

Macklin put up a good fight against Felix Sturm, but I think Sturm is on the slide. I don’t see Macklin doing much against Martinez, whose a little too improvisatory, I think, for him. But I hope for a good fight and if Macklin can pull it off, I’d be very happy for the underdog.

Hi JPF,

thanks…this piece isn’t very good, I don’t think, but I’m rusty after not having written anything since December 18th….

I don’t know what everyone else is watching–re: Chavez–but I see a guy who seems very much aware of putting on a good show most of the time. Moderately talented, yes, and a product of the “Build ‘em Up School,” naturally, but guess what? That describes 99% of all fighters today. I guess some people are only happy if Norberto Bravo, Harry Yorgey, and Brina Minto are getting put into comas by special talents as chosen by HBO. It took Chavez 40+ fights to get on HBO and he drew, reportedly, 14,000 people to the Alamodome. That is more than every Andre Berto-headlined card put together combined. Again, this is a question of “branding,” affirmation, and boxing snobbery…whatever that means.

Is Njal’s Saga a rap album?

You bias, Michael Nelson! You bias! I always knew you were bias!

You touched on something here that puzzles me: why would anybody, outside of those with a vested financial interest, clamour for the Zoolander fight? It’s not competitive, tells us what we know already; and while perhaps Zoolander gets back his belt, he was naive enough to take Suliaman at his word and lose it in the first place. I’m all for those rare moments of justice in boxing, but getting a kid whooped on because he fought for a title isn’t justice. Let’s just enjoy the kid’s fights, and respect that he’s earned just a little bit of the successes he’s achieved.

Welcome back.

If Chavez trained I’ll take him over Rubio. But who knows how well prepared his is?