Casual Mondays: The stupidest things boxing fanboys said this week (05/28/18)

Yes, the third edition is here and you are wondering who rolled out the Red Carpet of Stupidity on their way to the web’s Walk of Shame. There were, as always, enough candidates to fill a presidential ballot. The problem was finding those who didn’t rehash the same topics day in and day out. People just can’t seem to leave well enough alone for some.

Jerwin Pacquaio

https://www.facebook.com/trboxing/videos/10156562702483243/

I have to address this first, seeing as it’s an ongoing matter that ESPN can’t seem to get away from. Jerwin Ancajas is his own fighter with his own style. The ear-withering comparisons to Manny Pacquiao from the broadcast team need to be aborted quicker than any future appearance by Stephen A. Smith on a boxing show. Ancajas and Pacquiao are Filipinos, and they are southpaws, but that is where it ends. Ancajas is more conventional boxer than Pacquiao ever was, but he also lacks the dynamism, lethality, and unbending will of “Pacman”. Let “Pretty Boy” carve out his legacy without the deep shade of his countryman’s shadow.

My Name is Yeff

40 wins, 39 knockouts, 1 top-10 guy (1st Bermane Stiverne contest), and 1 against a top-5 talent (Luis Ortiz)–all at 32 years-old. Color me skeptical if I don’t think his face is going to be etched on the side of Heavyweight Mountain alongside the likes of Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Larry Holmes, and others.

To be frank, I have little regard for blown up stats like his seven defenses of an alphabet trinket. This is a day and age of bloated resumes, no thanks to too many belts and divisions. Quality of competition is the most admired metric for one’s historical place and Wilder doesn’t have that. Even if he were to somehow overcome Anthony Joshua when they do fight, the landscape thereafter looks bleak. Next in line is a long-faded but serviceable Alexander Povetkin; a tough workhorse who doesn’t exactly light it up in Jarrell Miller; a decently skilled but flabby Adam Kownacki; a tall non-puncher in Kubrat Pulev; and a slew of other already-beatens in Dillian Whyte, Dominic Breazeale, Joseph Parker, etc.

One can only hope Tyson Fury is close to what he was pre-retirement, regardless of who emerges between “AJ” and “The Bronze Bomber”.

Habitually Stupid

Boxing Habit and those who follow it have a habit of being premier “fanagers”. Twitter call-outs count the same as at-the-table negotiations and revenue splits seem to be their area of expertise. The truth, whatever it may count for, is that “ducking” is a charged term that is grossly overused today. I’m only surprised that Erislandy Lara wasn’t added to this fake list, seeing as he did express interest on some social media platform a few years back.

Travis Shoddy

I got to be honest. I had only heard the name Travis Gotti once, maybe twice before being tagged to watch one of his conspiracy-laced, fallacy-ridden videos that was about as poorly constructed as Venezuela’s economic recovery. His posts are no different, as the above screenshot shows. At least he can spell, give him that.

From the Archives

This one aged as well Steven Tyler, who now looks like a woman who had too many mimosas for brunch and is now ready to take on New York City. Lomachenko was simply the better man and I haven’t seen many guys at 122 more skillful than Rigondeaux.

* As always, credit goes to those who helped contribute: Mike Goodpaster and Tom Millwall McLachlan.