The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Boxing with Chris Mannix - Who is the Greatest Woman in Boxing

Episode Date: February 3, 2023

Chris is joined by Corey Erdman to discuss Alexa Rocha's latest KO, will we ever see Beterbiev-Bivol, who should be considered the GWOAT, and is it time that we consider Jake Paul a real boxer? Later,... Chris sits down with Alycia Baumgardner. #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Starting point is 00:02:48 interviews, analysis, and everything going on in the world of boxing. When you have talent, you are given another chance. Here's Chris Manix. Due to this non-stop onslaught from Rocha. That is the voice of Corey Erdman on the DeZone broadcast last weekend. Corey was with me in Los Angeles at the YouTube theater where we saw Alexis Rocha
Starting point is 00:03:22 pick up a spectacular knockout win over George Ashy. And Corey is joining me this week on the podcast from where exactly are you, Corey? I am in lovely and very snowy Montreal right now. I'm here to call Eric Bazinian Alantes Fox tomorrow night on ESPN Plus. Now we're talking. I am in New York where it is not snowy, but it is bone-chilling cold at the moment. It's expected to be really cold all weekend long. The Amanda Serrano, Erica Cruz, fight is on DeZone this weekend. So, Corey, not to get too deep into the Rocha win, he did what everyone expected. I mean, credit Ashy for winging punches until the end. but this was a 140-pounder moving up against a full-fledged welterweight with some pop.
Starting point is 00:04:12 I want to talk about what's next here with Alexis Rocha. Golden Boy, we know, met with Terrence Crawford last week. Alexis Rocha was discussed, as Bernard Hopkins told us on the broadcast. So let's kind of put it out there. Is Alexis Rocha in your mind a good option if you're Bud Crawford? Well, I think he's an option, right? I think that the appropriate option that we all agree upon is supposed to be Errol Spence. And I know that there are obviously going to be fans who are absolute hardliners who say it's that fight or nothing.
Starting point is 00:04:47 I'm not watching Terrence Crawford unless it's against Errol Spence. But the reality- They're called Sergio Mora. Like Sergio Moore is one of those people. Sergio included. So, yeah, he did not order the BLK Prime Paperview last night. Last time, he did not. In fact, many, many people did not order that. But would they order against Alexis Rocha?
Starting point is 00:05:06 I don't know. I mean, listen, Rocha is an option, and if Crawford enters some kind of working agreement with Golden Boy, it is a fight that within those confines makes sense. He's one of the welter weights that Golden Boy can offer up. And I imagine, and this is just reality, I think that Rocha understands this, and Golden Boy has said as much as well, you know, Virgil Ortiz is kind of first in line. You know, he is taking precedence in terms of who they care about most at Welterweight. And then comes Alexis Rocha. So if they're negotiating something with Terrence Crawford, unless it's a one-off kind of thing, I imagine that, yeah, they're offering Rocha first and then maybe Ortiz, or I truly don't know what they're discussing,
Starting point is 00:05:49 but that's kind of what I would imagine. And, you know, if we care about what rankings do and what their mechanisms are, then Rocha sits third behind him in the WBO, and he is an option that's there. Has Rocha done a ton to this point to say he's ready to face one of the, you know, let's call it three best fighters on planet Earth, depending on how you want to arrange them? Well, I mean, his best wins are over Blair Cobbs and George Ashey. So the answer to that is probably no. But at the same time, in Roach's own words, when you asked him, Chris,
Starting point is 00:06:22 are you ready for Terrence Crawford? He said, we'll see when I get in there. So Alexis Rocha isn't trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes. he understands how people view this matchup, but if the option is there and you're Alexis Rocha, of course you take it. I don't see why you wouldn't. I think if you're Bud Crawford,
Starting point is 00:06:42 like you're kind of running out of options here because you're not going to do business with Top Rank because that relationship ended badly. You're obviously not doing business with PBC at the moment. Matchroom doesn't really have anybody that's overly appealing to you. And if you're dealing with Golden Boy, you can construct a two-fight deal that would protect you in the event that a Spence fight can't be made. I mean, Rocha, like you said, is in a position where he could be named the mandatory at some point in the next couple of months.
Starting point is 00:07:14 And if you're Crawford, you're going to protect that title probably at all costs. So you may have to take that fight one way or the other. Doing a deal with Golden Boy makes it a little bit easier. And if you beat Rocha, which many expect would expect, maybe there's a Virgil Ortiz shot. down the line. I mean, Virgil Ortiz is going to face Stanionis on April 29th. That much is known. Right now, that is for Stanionis's secondary title. But I don't know many people, Corey, that believe that Spence, after moving to 154 to face Keith Thurman, is going to come back down to 147, certainly not to face Virgil Ortiz or Stanionis. Like, that's just, he's not going to happen.
Starting point is 00:07:57 That's just not happening at the moment. So a two-fight deal. that begins with Alexis Rocha and ends with Virgil Ortiz is a pretty good year if you're Terrence Crawford. Terence Crawford over the last three years has been a once a year fighter. He fought once in 2020, once in 21, and once in 22. He was saved in a way by BLK Prime coming in, you know, and operating like Brewster from Brewster's millions and just throwing money at stuff and giving him reportedly $10 million to fight that fight against David Abenician.
Starting point is 00:08:31 I don't believe that backup plan is going to be in place this time around, especially with, you know, 13 people buying Adrian Broner against Michael Williams in February. So I just, I think, look, he's not going to get $10 million to fight Alexis Rocha, but maybe there's a deal that makes sense for Terrence Crawford where he can get paid, and he could also stay active. Like these are, you know, key years in Crawford's careers. in his mid-30s now. Though these, his days are effectively numbered in boxing.
Starting point is 00:09:02 I know people, you know, dumped all over the idea of Alexis Rocha, and I get it. But look, Rocha is number three in the WBO. He's 6-0 since that loss to Rashidi Ellis. He's as qualified as anyone that's available, available being the key word. So why not go and do it, get a win, and then go into what could be a pretty big fight against Virgil Ortiz before the end of the year. Yeah. And I think Ortiz is key to this because it particularly if it's a package that could potentially lead to Virgil Ortiz.
Starting point is 00:09:34 I would say that even the absolutist when it comes to Crawford and Spence and absolutely not wanting any other fight could be convinced to watch Crawford versus Boots Ennis versus Keith Thurman versus Virgil Ortiz. There's a handful of names that I think would be acceptable enough. And one thing that is true, whether Crawford is privy to it or not, I don't know how much he's on his timeline, but he does have a little bit of a PR battle on his hands, right? And I think that both he and Spence do, but probably a little bit more on the Crawford side. I think that the voices are a little bit louder in terms of his detractors. I think that anything that he can do that points his arrow towards one of those other names, at least temporarily, is good PR for him at the the very least. Even if it's not Spence, even if it's not a guaranteed Spence fight, if you have Golden Boy saying that that is a fight that we're working towards and hey, maybe there's Virgil Ortiz also.
Starting point is 00:10:34 I think that that's a win for Crawford in terms of his public perception. Of course it is. I mean, if you're a fighter, you want to fight and this was you know, I don't want to engage in these debates at all times, but like, you know, Sergio, who we had this argument with on the Zon Boxing show
Starting point is 00:10:50 was like, it's Spence or nothing. All right, so you're saying that Terence Crawford should just sit out, you know, for the next six months and cross his fingers and hope that a deal could be constructed to face Errol Spence, where's the upside in that? It doesn't make any sense whatsoever. Stay busy, make some money, you know, get to 41, or maybe you can get that mythical 50, you know, if you're Crawford before the end of your career. But I think staying busy. And look, I'm not going to, you know, lavish praise necessarily on Alexis Rocher beating George Ashey, the 14th ranked contend.
Starting point is 00:11:23 by the WBA. We didn't get into this on the broadcast. No, I thought that you were going to go hard on this. I was waiting for it. I tried to set you up for it, too. I know, but I kind of let the pitch go by. Just to recap here, George Ashey, who had fought one time
Starting point is 00:11:38 above Welcher weights, and that was technically, I believe, a junior middleweight fight because his opponent weighed 150. He came into that fight against Alexis Rocha ranked number 14 in the WBA rankings. Alexis Rocha, a career-long welterweight, who was on a six-fight winning streak after the Lost Ellis, was not ranked by the WBA.
Starting point is 00:12:01 So when people, like, wonder why I hate these sanctioning bodies and everything they stand for, this is why. Like, this is why. George Ashey had no business objectively being ranked in the top 15, but the WBA put them there, which is bonkers to me. I don't, you know, sanctioning body, I think sanctioning bodies behaving badly is going to be a recurring segment on this podcast. I think we're going to have to, to just recognize the just absolutely shitty things that sanctioning bodies do in this sport. Yeah, and you could have a weekly segment on that. And again, that's not, like, it's not George Ashey's fault that he wound up in that position, right? Like, it's, I think that we could do two things.
Starting point is 00:12:42 Like, we could be critical of the sanctioning bodies and also respectful of the fighters who sometimes benefit. It's not the fighter's fault, you know, from those mechanisms. Like, it's possible to do both. But, you know, Rocha also did the very best that he could with that situation with a highlight real knockout because if that fight goes the distance, Chris, we're having an entirely different conversation. I agree. Because of that knockout and because that's the clip that's circulating, people aren't
Starting point is 00:13:08 talking about what kind of a fight that was. And they're not, like, that kind of gets pushed aside for, yeah, we know what that fight was, but man, look at this knockout, right? That really benefited Rocha in his plight right now. All right. Let's talk about Archer Betterbeyev. Last week, BetterBeeff picked up his 19th win and 19th knockout, stopping Anthony Yard in a more competitive fight than expected,
Starting point is 00:13:32 at least more competitive fight than I expected. Betterbio took some shots in this one, Corey. He's 38 years old. So let me start here. Did you see any signs of slippage in Archer Betterbiev? I think that if you look at a handful of Better B.Ev's, last say six fights. So, you know, if we include the beginnings of the Marcus Brown fight and the Adam Dynas fight, there have been times where Better Biev has looked like maybe he's sliding a little
Starting point is 00:14:00 bit. And there would be good reason for that at this point. I think that two things probably happened in this fight. I think that Yard improved, that Yard was a little bit better than we expected, that Yard's, that his power, that his pop was a little more meaningful than maybe we gave it credit for. four coming into the fight but also yeah better biv is 38 years old and he he demands a lot of his body both in the ring during an active fight and in the gym you know this is a guy we've seen the clips of him working out in the gym and in the finger pushups and you know when you're doing wrist exercises with the the fucking barbell the whole barbell like you're you're asking a lot of your body and that's doing a lot of wear and tear it's also getting you in phenomenal shape but
Starting point is 00:14:46 there becomes that there's a there's a bridge point where your body can't do that anymore. And the way the Better B.F. fights also invites contact, even in his very best performances, he takes a shot. So, yeah, like, I don't think that it's derogatory to say that Better B.F. is slipping a little bit because science would suggest that that has to be the case right now. But is he slipping to the point that he's not the best welter, or excuse me, the best light heavyweight in the world? I mean, it's still between him and Dmitri Bevel. Yeah, I agree. Um, he took more shots than he took, say, in the Bo Stick fight, which was his last really high-level fight.
Starting point is 00:15:26 Yard, like you said, a lot better than I thought he was going to be. I was expecting some version of the Anthony Yard that fought against Sergey Kovalev, who was okay early on and then faded badly late. But this version of Yard, even in like, you know, six, seventh round, he was throwing some shots and landing some shots. So I give Anthony Yard a lot of credit for the way he fought. I don't think he should take any steps backward after a performance like that. But if you're better, Biev, you can probably start to hear father time and those footsteps behind you. Not yet. He's not catching up yet, but, you know, he might be, you know, two or three fights away from being more vulnerable than he's been in years past. And look, I thought the scorecards were kind of
Starting point is 00:16:05 preposterous. Um, yeah, having Anthony yard up like two or three rounds or one of the judges had, like that's ridiculous. Like that just didn't have. That's not, that's not reflective of reality. But, you know, Better Beav's been down on the scorecards before. Like, they're not important to him because he knows that eventually he's going to get to his opponent and stop him. Vostick was up on the scorecards, I think, when he fought Beterbibb just finished him off. So I think he's still high, high level, but he might not be the fighter we saw against Vostick a couple of years ago. Now, the question is, can Better Biev and Beev bevel be made? And unfortunately, the short answer is no.
Starting point is 00:16:48 For a few reasons. Number one, the timing kind of sucks. Betterbeyev is a devout Muslim. He is going to observe Ramadan in the next couple of months. And that effectively shelves him till the early summer at the earliest. And, you know, if you're Dimitri Bevel, even though you do want that shot at Archer Betterbeyev, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is Canelo Alvrez. And if Canello is really targeting Bevo as Eddie Hearn has been telling everybody that he is,
Starting point is 00:17:22 that fight would take place in September. And Bevo is not turning down the opportunity to fight for the undisputed championship at 168 in September against Canello Alvarez. It's legacy, it's money, it's everything that you could possibly want in a potential fight. That's reason number one. Reason number two is there's no money anywhere for it. Like Dimitri Beavol in his last couple of fights made $5 million. dollars in each made five billion dollars to face canelo alvarez made about five million dollars to face zirta ramirez in abu dhab so he's used to a certain level of pay so too is archer
Starting point is 00:17:53 betterbyab who's going to expect his career highest payday if he goes up against abetri beev these guys are great fighters nobody knows who they are they have no fan bases anywhere in the u.s anywhere in the world quite frankly outside of maybe russia and we're not doing fights in russia nobody's doing unification fights in russia at the moment that's just not happening I mean, it reminds me, I was at the Better Biav Vostick fight. There was nobody there. I was in Philadelphia. That was a great fight.
Starting point is 00:18:20 Unification fight. There was nobody there at that fight. These guys just don't have fan bases. Better Biave has one maybe in Montreal, but you're not getting any kind of gate that makes up the kind of money you need to actually get there. So the reality of this situation, if people are clamoring for Better B.F. Bebel is that unless Saudi Arabia gets involved, unless Abu Dhabi gets involved, you're not going to get that fight. It's just not happening. Simple as that. And it sucks, but, you know, Vegas ain't putting up big money for it. New York ain't putting up big money for it. There's no venue in the UK that would put up big money for it. They need the Middle East in order to make that fight happen. And that might not be just specific to this year, Corey. Like, I don't expect Dimitri Beowell to develop this new fan base over the next eight months. I don't expect better be at 38 years old to develop more fans than he has right now. They may always be dependent on, on, on. on the Middle East to make this fight happen.
Starting point is 00:19:15 If that money's not there, that may be one of those fights that unfortunately never comes to fruition. Yeah, I mean, I hope that you're wrong. Because, and perhaps it reaches a point where, you know, if enough time has gone by, because when you look at the light-heavyweight division, like after, I don't know what, like,
Starting point is 00:19:36 Callum Smith at 175, like, it drops off really quickly. Like, you're getting into the, like, Ricard Balatniks of the world, like before you even exit the top 10 in some cases, right? So there aren't a lot of options out there other than one another for these guys. I would disagree a little bit. I do think that Better BF. Bevole, if it came to Montreal, could do a pretty substantial gait here. I do think that a fight that big, Better BF gets basically daily coverage in the papers here.
Starting point is 00:20:07 All right, but what's big? Like, give me a number. Well, I mean, the Bell Center. One million? Five million? Like, what are we talking about? In terms of dollars, I don't know. I could tell you, like, if you go back to the big Pascal and Bouté fights individually,
Starting point is 00:20:19 like, I'm not even talking about them together. Boxing matches in the last 10 years here have done 20,000 people at the Bell sent. Yeah, I mean, I get that, but like, but, you know, look, Jose Ramirez is going to do like 15,000 in Fresno and that gate's going to be under a million bucks. Like, it's, it's all about what the number is at the end of the day. Like, it, there are great atmospheres. Look, Canelo versus Billy Joe Saunders, 70,000 plus in Texas a couple of years ago. that was a great atmosphere, but the gate there was significantly less than T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Starting point is 00:20:48 So, I mean, look, I hear what you're saying, that you could do a good crowd at Bell Arena or Bell Center, rather, and anywhere really in that Canadian area. But I just don't see the gate being enough to get to, let's just say hypothetically, it's $8 million, $9 million, whatever it is for guarantees for these guys. I just don't see it happening without the Middle East. Yeah, plus, you know, plus television money. I will say, and this is just what Better B.F.'s camp is saying because, you know, I spoke with Mark Ramsey earlier. Today, he's involved with basically every fight on tomorrow's card. Their line right now is that the only fight they want next is Beavl. And they even mention saying, we care less about the money than we do about fighting him. And it's not just because it's Beavl, but because they want his belt. So that is Better Biev's line right now. So perhaps Better BF, perhaps. And I'm just going to be able to, and I'm just going to be able to. And I'm just going to, going off of what they're saying, perhaps better be of it's less of an issue and perhaps it's Beevil that might need to take a little bit of a pay cut if indeed this is the fight that they want.
Starting point is 00:21:49 And Beable, like, it's hard to do because you're talking about taking a pay cut for the toughest fight of your career, basically. No, I know. Yeah. Which is exactly backwards of how things usually go. Look, Beowl and his team are saying the exact same things. I mean, you know, just past weekend, I spent some time with Vadim Kornilov, who is the promoter of record for Dimitri Bevel.
Starting point is 00:22:10 there with Beck the bully, part of his team. And he said the same things. We saw, I saw him after the Better Beav fight happened. He's like, we want to make that fight happen. We'll do anything it takes to make that fight happen. Guys say that, but then promoters come to the table and say, look, the entire pot is $5 million. Will you split it that way?
Starting point is 00:22:27 And guys tend to walk away. And look, Better Beave, even though I don't think it's a great fight, I mean, the Callum Smith fight is there. It's somewhat marketable. You could do that in Montreal. all. You could do that on what I'm going to guess, ESPN, ESPN plus whatever. And still, and you could manage that.
Starting point is 00:22:47 You could make that fight happen financially. And it's somewhat marketable as well. Bebole's the one that is going to have some trouble over the next three months. Because if he's got financial demands, who is going to meet them? And what opponent is going to be worthy of that? And I heard some stuff about Joshua Boatzi over in the UK. Yeah. I've heard that Bebel doesn't want to go back to the UK.
Starting point is 00:23:07 He went there for the first. fight against Craig Richards. I don't think he loved the experience being there. So take that for whatever it's worth. And besides that, what are we talking about for Dimitri Bebel? What's interesting is the name I heard mentioned a few times was Jaime Mungia. And you've heard this publicly. I've heard that too. From, you know, Eric Gomez said this and he was kind of channeling Fernando Beltron, who is the co-promoter of Jaime Mungiore. Now, Jaime Mungia Bevel is career suicide for He's done. Like he's done. He never, he doesn't touch people.
Starting point is 00:23:41 Beable beats the bejesus out of him, especially if it's at 175. I kind of dismissed that. And I think team Bvall kind of dismissed it when it first came out. But in the last couple of weeks, Corey, I've heard there's real traction to that fight potentially happening. There are real legs to it. I don't know, you know, look, both these guys are going to want certain guarantees and the days of big guarantees, especially with DeZone, are over.
Starting point is 00:24:06 So I don't know if they can. get there financially, but does Bevo Mungia interest you where Bibo can, you know, become like, you know, the Mexican destroyer, you know, over the next, with Canelo and Zerto already on his resume? Honestly, it interests me more than most fights against actual current active 175 pounders for B'Bowl, you know, for a variety of reasons, seeing Mungia take by far the biggest step up of his career, you know, just having two notable names in the ring against one another. I mean, if that's an option for two of them, go for it. And for for for Mungia who has taken a lot of flack,
Starting point is 00:24:43 rightfully so, whether it's his fault or not, or to whatever degree it's his fault for his opposition. This would silence some of those claims, right? You're taking on a bigger guy who's coming off a win over over at that time considered to be the best in the world. This is a massive risk that you're taking for that fight. So I think that PR wise is good for Mungia. I want to double back on better Biaf though because I know people will groan about this.
Starting point is 00:25:05 but if we're talking about options for both guys, I have also heard whispers of the possibility provided that both take care of business, or at least the name I'm about to mention takes care of business, better be of Jean-Pascale in Montreal. Oh, no, please no. I know, I'm hearing it.
Starting point is 00:25:22 I'm just telling you that name has been mentioned in papers here. Takes care of business. Like, who's he fighting? He has like an eliminator coming up of some sort. Yeah, I know. Isn't that the one everybody passed on, like Boazzi passed on it? and it's against Michael Iford's coming up in
Starting point is 00:25:36 But Boise passed on that one, right? That was the IBF eliminated. Right. So if Pascal wins, it could happen, Chris. I'm good with, well, no, I don't think it's going to happen because Eddie Hearns going to lose his mind over Callum Smith. And, you know, Eddie's kind of the one that's probably going to be footing a lot of the bills on that.
Starting point is 00:25:53 Well, maybe not. I guess top regs involved. But like, you know, we heard Maricio Suleman say this week said Calip Smith is the mandatory, so I'm going to assume that, you know, there'll be something ordered to that effect. And that's a better fight than Pascal, Frank, because Pascal is just done. Like, he keeps reviving himself with some of these wins, but he is, in my mind, done. And that is not a fight I'm remotely interested to see. So look, but to your point, Better Reeves got some options. I don't think Beevil has many options at this point, at least not for the first half of the year.
Starting point is 00:26:23 If he wants to get a fight before, say, June, when he'd need to get one before taking time off to go fight Canello, that clock is ticking right now on, uh, on him. Before I, by the way, I want to mention, speaking of sanctioning bodies behaving badly, I got to bring this up to. The WBC, Maricio Suleman in a press conference, said that Dmitri Bevel, if he wants to fight Archer better be able for the WBC belt, has to apply for an exemption. This is based on the WBC's decision, not to sanction championship fights, not to rank fights fighters from Russia. This is after the Russia-Ukraine war kicked off, a lot of other sanctioned bodies. I think all the sanctioned bodies have kind of followed suit in that respect. Archer-Badab is Russian.
Starting point is 00:27:17 I know he's a part of your adopted home country there. He's adopted home country, your home country there, Corey. But Archer-Badab's Russian. He was born in Russia. He competed for Russia in the amateurs winning a plethora of medals over the course of his time there. Yes, he's been in Canada for, like, more than a decade. Okay, his family's there. But can we stop differentiating
Starting point is 00:27:36 between Archer Betterbeyev and Dmitri Beaville? Can we just stop? Like, what the WBC is effectively saying is if Dmitri Beavle went out and became a citizen of Fiji, then he would be okay on their part because he'd have a dual citizenship
Starting point is 00:27:52 and you can say, Fijian, which I think is the way you say it. Or, better yet, like, Bibles of Korean descent, if he leaned into that and became a citizen of South Korea, Korea, like, would that satisfy the WBC's claims?
Starting point is 00:28:06 Like, we got to, like, I don't have a problem with sanctioning bodies saying Russians or Belarusians can't compete for our titles. It's a stand that, you know, look, I think there's some merit to it. But it's hypocritical to sit there and say, Archer-Betterbeyev is Canadian. Like, it just is. Archer-Bever is Russian. He is Russian. And if you gave him truth serum, I bet he'd say, I'm Russian.
Starting point is 00:28:30 He is, as Russia is to meet your be able. and it drives me crazy that the WBC does. I don't know if you have an opinion on that, but I just, I, that drove me nuts when I saw that. Well, I think that all they're looking for, which again is just like a token gesture, is just saying that you have a different hometown, you know? Just saying it's completely token.
Starting point is 00:28:48 You know, to pretend like you're from somewhere else, apparently to them is the same as like a denouncement of the Russian regime. It's, you know, I think it's a token gesture that is Probably not necessary at this. By the way, he said Dmitri Bevel has to apply for an exemption, implying that he would give him one. So this is not a hard and fast rule that you have about Russians not competing for your titles. And spare me the idea that if Better Bevel was agreed upon,
Starting point is 00:29:19 that the WBC wouldn't want to get involved. They want that fee. They want to be part of that fight. They ain't backing out of that under any circumstances there. So one thing on Mungia while we're talking about him, The obvious fight for Mungia is Ghanadi Gailovkin. And we're now into February. And we have no idea what Gennady Gailovkin is going to do.
Starting point is 00:29:40 I've been told that top rank beginning this month is going to really press for the IBF mandatory, which is Falcoa, I believe. Yeah, Falkout. Yeah. And Falcow, sorry. And say, you know, look, and the IBF is one of those sanctioning buys that does follow the rules. And it's very possible that top. Ramp could force either a perspid situation or forcing Gannadi to vacate the title. Gnadi doesn't want to do that.
Starting point is 00:30:10 He's very proud of those titles. He wants to hold on to them. And I think somewhere in his mind and somewhere in the minds of his team, they believe that somebody's out there that's going to give him a bunch of money to fight Falco or fight Eris Lendi Lara, who's the other mandatory. I don't see it. Like Gannotti burned the bridge with his own pretty good. the way out the door, kind of criticizing them and all the money they paid him.
Starting point is 00:30:36 I don't see them swooping in to make a deal. Like, Golofkin, he should have been spending the last month trying to cut a deal against Mungia. Mungia Golofkin is an excellent fight at 160 pounds. Mungia, big guy at 160, gotten a lot better over the last five years. Galafkin, still pretty good, but not the fighter he was, you know, five years ago. And there's a story there, obviously, with Mungia getting shot down to face Golofkin back in in 2018. Corey, I don't understand why Golofkin hasn't been just running towards that fight. Because it's a big fight, it's a marketable fight. You could probably convince at least the WBA
Starting point is 00:31:11 to give you a break, maybe you pay top rank to have their guys stand down for a minute. I just don't know, I don't know what his end game is here. Because at some point, he's going to be pressed into one of these mandatories. And these mandatories do not inspire anyone. Like, you know, a fight with Golofkin and Falco is not great. Like, a fight with Golofkin and Lara is not great. I just don't understand what the game plan is for Team Golofkin at this point. Yeah, I think there's a lot, there's things happening on several fronts here. I think one is, as you mentioned, just that the lack of opponents that may either engender enthusiasm from the crowd plus pay him,
Starting point is 00:31:57 the amount of money that perhaps he's used to at this point in his career and he was making a boatload of money for his last couple of fights, that money may not be out there for him anymore. So I think that is one issue. I can see, you know, like if Top Rank were to make a play for that, I can see, you know, bringing Triple G to ESPN. They could package that in like a big marketing hype. Triple G on ESPN for the first time. It could be made into a big deal, whether that's enough money for him or whether that matchup inspires him. I don't know.
Starting point is 00:32:29 You probably still have to do it. I don't know how they do it on ESPN Leonard. You'd probably still have to do it on pay-per-view, and that's dead. That's dead on pay-per-view. Yeah, well, and this is, I think, the other point that I was getting to with Golofkin, which is the stage that he's at in his career.
Starting point is 00:32:42 And I'm going to make a comparison here. Stick with me for a moment. Chris, you and I, we both love pop music, right? We're fans of pop music. I love pop music. A phenomenon in pop music is when you look at kind of the biggest stars in pop or hip hop, they have fans, they have Stan culture, right? They have people to really get behind them.
Starting point is 00:33:05 And the thing that often drives that kind of fervent fandom is a little bit of friction, right? It's a little bit of debate. And Golovkin is one of the most commercially successful fighters of this era, one of the most commercially recognizable fighters of this era. But more than that, within the hardcore boxing fan base, one thing that's really driven Triple G over the years has been is fan base because they've always had a cause to take up, whether it's as the fighter who isn't getting enough attention,
Starting point is 00:33:35 the fighter that's being ducked, the fighter that they perceived was wronged against Canelo, so on and so forth. Now at this point that that Canello trilogy is done, and Triple G is 40 going to be 41 soon, what is the cause for them to take up? And what I'm saying is, so now that he's lost in the biggest commercial fight of his career,
Starting point is 00:33:59 and now that he's kind of faded, even to the hardcore boxing fans, what slice of that pie is left? What is the audience left for Triple G? And that's kind of what we're talking about. And if it's fractioned a little bit, is that enough to satisfy him? Is it enough to be on linear pay-per-view?
Starting point is 00:34:17 That's really the battles that even his most fervent supporters, I don't know what they're chewing on anymore. I guess other than, yeah, can the old champion beat up the young stud in Mungia or whoever they put in front of him? Can he have one last great stand? That's really what you're selling at this point. I agree. Look, the paper views for Canello underperformed. So there's no reason to believe that there is this audience out there still looking to pay for Gennady Gilofkin fights. you know, I honestly, he'd probably be lucky to crack seven figures if he fought his two
Starting point is 00:34:53 mandatories, whether it was Falco or Lara. I just don't see it. Maybe if it's pay-per-view, you can squeeze a little bit of money out of it, but I just, I don't see it. That's why I wonder what he wants out of his career. He's 40 years old. Is he 41 now? He just turned to December.
Starting point is 00:35:09 I think he turned. Well, he turned 40, the day that he fought Marado. No, 41 in April. You're right. Yeah, April. So he's closing in. He's not going to fight. until his 41st birthday.
Starting point is 00:35:19 And his reaction after the Canelo fight suggested he believed there's still something left in the tank. These sanctioning bodies can and should force the issue over the next few weeks because we've got to figure out what he wants to do with his career. But if anybody on Team Golofkin is listening to this podcast, I know there are some of you that are. You've told me, I know you're out there. Run to the Mungia fight. I know Golden Boy has reached out to you. Make that fight happening.
Starting point is 00:35:46 Golden Boy, forget this Bebole nonsense. Like that, you're going to get poor Mungia killed, you know, putting him in there with Dmitri Beavol. Like a run to a Golofkin fight, which is a potential star-making fight for Mungia and a star-continuing fight for Gennady Gailovkin. All right, I want to talk for a minute about Amanda Serrano. She is back looking for a second straight win after that competitive loss to Katie Taylor, when she takes on Erica Cruz. That's at the theater at the garden.
Starting point is 00:36:14 You can watch that. On DeZone. a significant fight for Amanda as a win would make her the undisputed champion at 126 pounds. She would become, excuse me, the first undisputed champion from Puerto Rico, at least in the three and four belt era. A lot of talk these days, Corey, about the quote, the greatest woman of all times. Let's play the legacy game with this fight. Would a win and undisputed championship status at 126 make Amanda Serrano the greatest woman
Starting point is 00:36:45 of all time? This is fun when we get to have these The types of debates that you get to have in basketball Where you get to debate like rings versus stats Or rings versus talent and that kind of thing I'm already deeply immersed in LeBron MJ Which is only going to get worse It's only going to get worse
Starting point is 00:36:59 Yeah exactly yeah So I mean but this that's kind of what we're arguing here When it comes to the greatest woman of all time You know do like for me The best woman that I've ever seen in the ring Relative to her competition Is still Clarissa Shields You know, that, like, she is the best woman boxer I have seen in my lifetime.
Starting point is 00:37:23 Amanda Serrano is significantly more decorated as a professional in terms of weight classes than Clarissa is. But Cloressa, undisputed into weight classes, that's serious business as well, plus the two Olympic gold medals during an era where she had to fight all of the top amateurs one after another. That has to be taken into consideration as well. I defer to the fact that when you hear Clarissa speak and Amanda speak and Katie Taylor speak, Chris, it's basically the, it's the Spider-Man meme of them pointing at one another. You know, as fervent as Clarissa is, and she will say that she is better than absolutely everyone who's ever fought and bless her heart. I love her attitude on Twitter, but even she will make the conceit that, hey, if you want to call Katie Taylor the greatest of all time or you want to call Amanda Surronda the greatest of all time, that's cool with me.
Starting point is 00:38:13 And that's kind of where this debate is at, is what do you value more? Yeah, I would agree with that, the pecking order of Clarissa, Katie, Amanda at the moment. Clarissa does have those two Olympic gold medals, which has to be factored in. She has been undisputed in multiple weight classes. There is the arguing to be made that even the amateurs, the competition for Clarissa was less than what it was for Katie or even Amanda. because unlike in men's boxing where, you know, the talent is north in the northern weight class, the heavier weight classes. Not that I shouldn't say that, but there is a depth of talent in the northern weight
Starting point is 00:38:56 classes. This is your anti-minimum weight propaganda again. That's still a good bit of a way. Shout out to our boy Colazo there for a performance of a lifetime on last weekend. Yeah, like, Clarissa is always going to have kind of that question of who she beat, right? I mean, the Savannah Marshall fight was a big, big feather in her cap. Savannah Marshall was a legitimate talent at 160. That was an excellent fight.
Starting point is 00:39:20 Clarissa won convincingly. So, you know, she's able to keep making progress. So Serrano winning undisputed wouldn't put her above Clarissa. In my mind, it wouldn't put her above Katie. But it would nudge her further. And I think there's a pathway for Amanda Serrano to be called before the end of her career, the greatest woman of all time. you've got a situation where if she wins,
Starting point is 00:39:46 there's the rematch with Katie Taylor in Ireland, hostile territory. If she could win that fight, and she was ultra-competitive in the first one. I had that fight, scored a draw, don't argue with the Katie decision, but she was right there in the thick of it.
Starting point is 00:40:02 If she wins that, maybe she gets a third fight with Katie Taylor. Maybe she wins that. After that, maybe she goes down to 130. Maybe Alicia Baumgartner still there. Maybe Michaela Mayer, is still there. Like there are a couple other fights out there,
Starting point is 00:40:16 a sequence of fights that could elevate Amanda Serrano to that status. You have to consider that the seven-weight classes is tremendous. That's Manny Pachia out territory, although some will be quick to point out that many of those times were vacant, which has to be factored in as well. But let's put it this way. If Serrano wins Saturday against Erica Cruz, and then she goes to Ireland and beats Katie Taylor.
Starting point is 00:40:40 And then she beats Katie Taylor again in, like, let's say September, October of this year. She's the greatest because you are who you beat. Like she'd be undisputed in two-way classes like Clarissa would be, and she'd have beaten the number two women. And maybe right now the number one woman pound for pound in Katie Taylor two times. So that's a long way of saying I don't think she's there yet, but there's like a three-fight path for her to eventually finish her career
Starting point is 00:41:06 as the greatest woman of all time. Yeah, I think that's a really good point, that Clarissa is kind of hitting her head, on what she can do right now that would enhance her legacy even greater. You know what she needs, Corey? She needs Savannah Marshall to move up and wait, fight Franchon Cruz-Dazern,
Starting point is 00:41:23 beat Franchon-Cruz-Dezerne, so Cloress could move up and wait again and fight for the Undisputed Championship at 168 against Savannah Marshall. That would be a marketable fight. Right, they're close friends. They want big mind to do that. But yeah, I think it's a very good point
Starting point is 00:41:37 that Serrano and her career has shown that she has a career basically unlike any other. fighter man or woman with the way that she's jumped between weights uh whoever she fought upon doing so that has to be considered you know going for 140 to 115 basically between fights is is absurd and and and to perform at a high level still and to do it while wearing air jordan's uh all absurd overall you know absolutely wild but you're right that within her neighborhood within her grasp that she's shown that she can get to these weights, most of the best women's fighters of today in the most recognizable names are names that she could theoretically fight. So yeah, there is a path for her. And even in losing
Starting point is 00:42:21 to Katie Taylor, Amanda Serrano didn't look like a fighter, like to me that was on the down swing or anything like that. Yeah, there's a path for her to enhance her resume in a way that through no fault of Coressa's, she can't quite match with the current options out there right now. And that's Yeah, that's something to consider. Yeah, I know she said after a Taylor fight, she's done fighting anywhere above 126, but like, let's say hypothetically, Baumgartner still has those titles at 130.
Starting point is 00:42:48 Like, you're not going to go up to fight Alicia Baumgartner at 130 if the underspeed of championship. I mean, what are we in this game for? You go up to 135 for Katie. You're not go to 130 for Baumgartner. I think that's a, and look, money always talks, and maybe that's something that could be arranged as well. Last thing I want to hit you with.
Starting point is 00:43:07 Jake Paul, Tommy Fury. Are you ready to respect Jake Paul if he beats Tommy Fury? Will that change your opinion of Jake Paul if it changes Tommy Fury? Now, I am a card-taring member, as you know, Corey, of the Jake Paul fan club. I'm a believer. Like, I don't think he's going to beat Canello. I don't think he's on the pound-for-pound list. But the guy works hard.
Starting point is 00:43:31 He's got a good team around him. He's knocking out guys that have some combat sports. skills. His resume, in my mind, is better than Tommy Furious, who's got a whole bunch of hobos on that resume. Is this the fight that if Jake wins, the boxing community will give him props for? I think it will certainly help because, yeah, whether Tommy Furie's resume being what it is, he's still viewed as a real boxer. You know, he's boxed his entire life. He looks like someone who boxes when he faces him. Some of Jake calls upon him. I agree.
Starting point is 00:44:07 Early on Tyson, or brother of Tyson, son of John. Exactly. You got the whole nine yards. Yeah. Well, and I think what we're seeing too is that the boxing community, at least a portion of it, is almost backing Jake over Tommy Fury. They, perhaps right. They're right. I was saying, like, I think that this is just what we see online and given what's happened multiple times with this fight, I think you, I think you're not wrong for assuming that Jake takes the sport more seriously than. and does Tommy. So if one is a real body, what did he miss weight last time by?
Starting point is 00:44:41 Eight pounds for his last fight? Like, that's not taking the sport seriously. Jake is cutting down to certain weights, willing to go up to certain weights. I mean, I've been to Puerto Rico. I've been in that gym. I see how hard the guy works. Again, not saying he's super talented or ever will be super talented,
Starting point is 00:44:58 but he's getting the most out of whatever talent that he has. I don't think that's the case for Tommy Fury, who despite his last name, he's really like just, he's a reality star. is what he is. He's from Love Island. Like, and he's into boxing because it's the family business, and he's done a nice job building himself up in that way. But I make Jake Paul the favorite in this fight.
Starting point is 00:45:18 I do. And I think Jake Paul's going to spend the next, whatever it is, three weeks, four weeks, whatever it is, till that fight, crawling into the brain of Tommy Fury. He's already doing it. He's replying to a post that his, Jake, Tommy Fury is what, what, girlfriend or wife, like when they had the birth of their
Starting point is 00:45:37 They had their kid Jake Paul's underneath it Saying just in time Does he dad get knocked out Like he is going to be Right up in that three inches of real estate Whatever whatever real estate you've got In your brain
Starting point is 00:45:50 And he's going to be all in Tommy Fury's head And look you listen to some of the public comments From John Fury Tyson Fury You get the sense they're nervous about this Like Tyson Fury is out there saying Tommy better take this seriously man Like he better not fuck around
Starting point is 00:46:04 In this training camp he better take this seriously or else, you know, bad things are going to happen. And I do think that's probably going to be the outcome. Because I've seen Tommy's fights. Like, he's big and strong-looking, but he doesn't have a lot of pop. Like, he's only got four knockouts and eight fights, and he's not fighting guys of a high-level caliber. So I think Jake is deservedly a favorite to win this fight.
Starting point is 00:46:25 And it'll be interesting to see what the boxing community's reaction would be after he wins. Yeah, and I think this is kind of, this is an important moment in Jake's boxing career because Fury, I think, represents the perfect opponent and really the only opponent he could take at this point in his career because he's too good to just feast on O&O MMA fighters, and he's way too good to be feasting on former athletes that are not boxers at all. He's reached the point where he's too famous to just fight any boxer, right?
Starting point is 00:46:56 That's not what he wants. It doesn't quite make enough money, I think, for what he wants, for what the networks want, et cetera, et cetera. But Tommy represents the perfect Venn diagram of celebrity and considered to be real boxer. I mean, like, Tommy is actually not that different from a lot of fighters like on the UK scene that just have a lot of wins over journeymen that they basically finance themselves and they get to that. But there are a lot of fighters like Tommy Fury and we consider them to be real boxers. Tommy Fury is more famous probably as a reality star that he has a boxer. But again, to that point, he represents the perfect blend that Jake needs right now.
Starting point is 00:47:32 Now, after this, who fits that mold? I think after you beat Tommy Fury, Jake may actually have to take a step into just facing a regal bog. No, no. And he tried to with a C Rock, one. To me, he tried to. Tommy Fury gives him his bona fides. Tommy Fury, to your point, is perfect.
Starting point is 00:47:48 I think after this, you start going back after Nate Diaz. And you start looking at KS. Really? You start going to, oh, yeah, yeah. Like, look, he's never going to, like, I wouldn't put it past a sanctioning by to rank him at some point because they are shameless when it comes to that stuff. But, like, he doesn't need that.
Starting point is 00:48:04 Like, Nate Diaz gets one shot at boxing. Why wouldn't you make it against Jake Paul? Someone theoretically you could have some success with. We know that KSI is building towards a match with Jake Paul. He beat Logan, what was it, four years ago now, three and a half years ago. Now, he's been getting back and staying active. He said he's one more fight before he's ready for Jake. So I could see Jake doing Tommy Fury, doing Nate Diaz, and doing KSI for the end of the year,
Starting point is 00:48:29 and probably make more money than anybody but Canelo. really? Oh yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Maybe Tyson and Usik if they go in Saudi Arabia, but more more than anybody else in boxing. I mean, it's just a question of like Chris, like how quickly does he want those bonafides, right? I mean, and again, I want to, I, you know, I forgot this when I was talking about, but again, he tried to fight Haseem Rahman Jr. Right? Now we saw what happened that. He did. That wasn't his fault. It wasn't his fault. So again, it's, yeah, do you want to go and take out those names that you assume that you could be? They're basically the same types of guys you were fighting before, MMA fighters, other influencers, so on and so forth.
Starting point is 00:49:02 or do you really want to take a stab at someone a little bit more legitimate? And the money is going to be really tempting to do the former. Yeah, legitimate boxers don't bring any money to the table. Seem Rachman would have died on pay-per-view and done a poor gait at MSG. This will establish Jake as the quote-unquote legitimate boxer. He'll be the – he beat the real boxer. He did it. And then he can go back to his universe and beating up on guys that have no chance of actually
Starting point is 00:49:32 beating them. Corey, good job, man. You will be on the call. Again, what ESPN Plus? Is that where the Alantes Fox fight will be? That's right. Alantes Fox, Eric Bezinian, tomorrow or whenever you're listening to it, Thursday night on ESPN Plus, starting at 7 o'clock. Tune in. Excellent. I will be at
Starting point is 00:49:48 Madison Square Garden for Amanda Serrano and Erica Cruz, where Katie Taylor will be in attendance. So maybe we'll get a little I mean, Katie will probably just shake her hand and give her hug. That's not how Katie operates. She's not going to be any kind of where were we, quiet canon. you know, little face-offs in the ring at Tom Loughler shows in Southern California.
Starting point is 00:50:06 It won't be any of that animosity there. Just a nice handshake and a smile and we'll see it, Ireland in May. Corey, good stuff, man. Good to talk to you. All right. We'll see you soon. And when we come back, my conversation with Alicia Baumgardner. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged.
Starting point is 00:50:24 It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all. embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 00:50:50 A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.
Starting point is 00:51:11 This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right
Starting point is 00:51:41 where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little kill? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.
Starting point is 00:52:09 Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence.
Starting point is 00:52:37 I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, it is Super Bowl season. And this year, the only app you need at your Super Bowl party is Fandul. America's number one sportsbook.
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Starting point is 00:53:44 Make every moment more with Fandul, official sportsbook partner of the NFL. Alicia Baumgartner is the unified 130 pound champion. On Saturday, she will look to change that to Undisputed, which takes on Ella McElland, I think I'm saying that right, at the theater at Madison Square Garden. She's also one half of what I think is the best rivalry in all of boxing men's or women's, the blood feud with Michaela Mayer and Alicia, kind enough to join me here on the show. Is that fair?
Starting point is 00:54:18 Like the best rivalry in boxing? I don't know if there's any even like close right now. I would say in boxing period, yes. It's men's or women's. Are you surprised it's risen? Like it's a combination of events, right? It was the buildup to the last fight, the cancellation. to build up again and then how close the the fight was. It's just become a monster in boxing.
Starting point is 00:54:40 Yes, it tells a story. And if you go back and like you mentioned, you know, having the fight in London, the cancellation, the comeback, the more, you know, animosity between us too. And then obviously me becoming unified. It just, it tells a whole story. And it's great for boxing. Well, the last event you two rat together in Arizona where props got. involved was was great too like and that's just perfect social media content yeah yeah that was great too does do you savor kind of being in you know you are now you were the hunter back then going after her now you are squarely the hunted at this point and you kind of have a lot of the power in the situation yeah you know I just feel like eventually the roles were going to switch I was going to be
Starting point is 00:55:27 the one being hunted and I knew that that was coming but I but I'm well prepared though and I like that somebody wants to fight me. Somebody wants to challenge me because that's who I am. I'm a competitor and I love a challenge. How was the last year or so kind of changed your life? Because you've been boxing for a while, but you really burst on the scene with the Terry Harper knockout that went viral because of how spectacular it was.
Starting point is 00:55:52 And then, you know, you win a fight against Michaela, a fight that I think as many people, at least in the U.S. were looking forward to as much as they were Shields Marshall. How much has that changed your, your entire career, your entire life. Yeah, I would say just within the year, it's changed tremendously just with, you know, boxing outside of boxing, just the recognition that women's boxing is getting and how much eyes we have put on the sport.
Starting point is 00:56:21 I tell everybody this is a movement. This is a movement that I'm part of that every woman who stepped in the ring is a part of. And so it's not just what is it doing for my career, but what am I doing for the sport? What am I doing to, you know, be an inspiration to young girls and just the younger generation to look up to. How much do you see that because at a lot of women's fights where top women are on the card, you do see a lot of young girls in the crowd, wearing a t-shirt with your name on it or running up to you get a picture? Like how much are you seeing that more and more over the last couple of years? Yeah, I've seen it so much. I was actually, when I was in Arizona, I trained with two amateur girls and we went for a run.
Starting point is 00:57:02 and I thought it was just awesome, just seeing these young girls like I was at that age, you know, striving to be great at something. And I think it's just, it reminds me of who I was as a young girl. I'm like, wow, I'm just seeing it more and more now. And because of the women in front of us, in front of me, has given me that platform, that inspiration. Now I'm able to give that back. And that's what it's about.
Starting point is 00:57:25 Could you have imagined when you were young and coming up that this would be not the end game for you because you've got a lot more years to go, but, you know, fighting at the garden, you know, in a co-made event type of situation for an undisputed championship, even in like your, your best case scenario, was this up there on it or was this there? I've never seen this. Like, everything that I'm witnessing and experiencing is something so new and something I would never even thought of, but I think that's what's great about just the journey and the process that what you think you want, God has something better.
Starting point is 00:57:58 and I'm just like, I see the bigger picture now. It's always what is the bigger picture? You talk about the journey, and I was watching some video of your story, and I was looking at the, on your fridge. You have a bunch of notes up there. Tell me about that. Tell me about kind of how that started and how many notes eventually wound up on your fridge.
Starting point is 00:58:17 Yeah, so I actually write. I have been journaling for years just as a young girl. I just know. Smart, turn that into a book someday. Yeah, yeah. And I just know how important it is. is to speak about it, write about it, and really visualize your life changing in those times. And I have written so many things that have came to fruition, and I'm just blessed.
Starting point is 00:58:41 And so as I was preparing for this fight with Michaela, you know, I would write on a sticky note, Unified World Champion, Michaela Mayer is getting knocked out, just to remind me why I am here and what that reason is. And it just motivates me every day. And it just makes me read it, visualize it, and just put it out there. Does this fight feel this fight coming up for undisputed? Does this feel like everything you've worked for to be in something like this? Yes, it feels like I can take a deep breath.
Starting point is 00:59:16 Okay, got past that level, this level. Now I'm here. Here's another level, another challenge. What are we going to do different? How are we going to do different? be better and how can we, you know, make a statement. What brought you to Detroit? I mean, you train out of there, Tony's gym, Tony Harrison, your trainer.
Starting point is 00:59:35 Again, as I told you, one of my favorite fighters of all time, great guy. What brought you to that gym? Yeah, so just coming from a small town in Ohio, I had to know, I had to move. I had to get out of this small town to make something on myself. And, you know, the next big city was Detroit. And so I knew that Detroit was a place for opportunity, a place of grit that I've already had. And so I made my way through Detroit, went to a few gyms, and ended up at Superbad, and just really made my mark there and a home there. It's rare that a fighter is trained by another active fighter.
Starting point is 01:00:14 I mean, Tony's going to fight for an interim title in a couple of months in Australia. Do you see that? What are the benefits of that, I guess, having someone close to your age? who's active in your corner? Many benefits. You know, I would have never thought that I would have, you know, a fighter as my trainer as well. But it works perfectly. And I think because as a fighter, we have a different type of mentality, a different mindset when we're going into a fight,
Starting point is 01:00:39 even when we're sparring, what we're seeing, what Tony's seeing. He has, you know, a trainer's eye just like his father did. And I think that helps him as well as it helps me. And so it just matches. It just works. And as long as it works in the corner, he's giving me instructions. I listen and I can go do it. It's a cakewalk.
Starting point is 01:00:59 The last belt that you're fighting for is vacant currently, the WBA belt. It was owned or possessed, I should say, by Choi, the South Korean fighter. I think the only thing that got you and Michaela Mayer on the same page is mutual dislike for Choi and frustration, I guess, that she wouldn't fight. How do you feel about this being a vacant title and not being. able to take it off, Choi? You know, I told myself eventually that was probably going to happen, but as long as I kept preaching that I was going to be undisputed, we were going to make this undisputed fight, even if I had to go to the convention to speak on the behalf of this undisputed fight, I was going to do that. So again, you know, McAlet has a chance to, you know, become world
Starting point is 01:01:45 champion. And this is just as good for her. Like, I'm happy she can have an opportunity, a good payday. And, you know, a chance to fight it to Hulu Theater. But again, you know, it was going to happen. You're not shy about speaking at conventions. I didn't see this happen live, but I was on Twitter. You know where I'm going with this. When you see that, you know, Alicia Baumgartner stands up for Tony Harrison at the WBC convention. Tell me about that.
Starting point is 01:02:13 What prompted you to stand up and speak out for your guy? Yeah. So I'm like at the convention. I'm like, okay, 154. That's Tony's division. And, you know, we, you know, every Tony fan wants to know when he's fighting next, as do I. So they're like, you know, is anyone here representing Tony? I'm like, shoot, I'm here.
Starting point is 01:02:32 I might as well. So I went up there and. They tried to hose him a little bit. Yeah, yeah. They tried to say he's not ready to fight. He's not ready. I'm like, no, he's ready. He's definitely ready.
Starting point is 01:02:40 I train with this man. But yeah, it was just an opportunity to speak on, on behalf of Tony. And again, that's what teammates do. That's what you do. and you support one another. I love that. So Mechalad in front of you this Saturday. What kind of fight are you expecting for her?
Starting point is 01:02:57 She's been in with Delphine Pursune, lost that fight. But what are you expecting from her as an opponent? I'm expecting her to, you know, obviously she's tough, and I'm expecting her to come forward and just really win. However that looks like for her, she wants to win. So it could be anything, but I'm well prepared for anything with this girl. I actually like this fight because she's coming to fight. She's coming to dethrone me, but that won't happen.
Starting point is 01:03:29 So is this a situation where you want to win undisputed and then go do other things? Are you looking to stay at 130, defend your titles? What's kind of your long-range plan for yourself? Yeah, so I would like to defend my titles, maybe once or twice. or if the opportunity to go up to 1.35 to fight Katie Taylor, I would like that as well. I think it's important that we utilize this window that I'm in, and that's what I would love to do
Starting point is 01:03:57 and just make these fights. You know, I'm very ambitious. I love to fight. I love a challenge. And, you know, women's boxing has started so well, and we just need to continue that needle moving forward with these great challenging fights. And that Katie fight, look, everybody's talking about Katie and Serrano, and that's what most people want to see in Ireland in May. But there's no deal yet for Katie and Serrano. And you work with the same manager as Katie. And from what I hear, like, it's at least an outside chance that we could see you in the ring with Katie Taylor. Is that kind of the vibe that you're getting?
Starting point is 01:04:32 There's at least a chance that that fight could happen? I would say so. I think, you know, I always see the bigger picture of things. And, again, visualize me fighting Katie. Again, she's a great fighter. She has a great resume. She's done a lot for the sport. And I love that.
Starting point is 01:04:46 And again, I love a challenge. I want to fight her. I want to feel her power. I want to see what the noise is about. But noise is a great word because, you know, if you fight her, you'd have to be in Ireland. I'm guessing more Katie Taylor fans in Ireland than Alicia Baumgarter fans. Yes, but we know all about going into people's backyard, don't we? Yes, you do.
Starting point is 01:05:08 Last question for you. So when or if does Michaela Mayer reenter your mind? in terms of it, does she have to do something to effectively earn an opportunity or is just a feeling that you would get? You know, I don't think she needs to do anything. Again, this is the boxing business. We have to really take that in an accountability, right? When I took my loss, I was like, offered like three years.
Starting point is 01:05:34 I was just slowly getting myself back. So, you know, maybe her promoter works a little faster than most, but, you know, I don't mind the rematch because I know I'll beat her again and I would honestly feel bad for her mental I know her mental state right now is not the best so if I would beat her again and really finish her I don't know she can move forward with that but however it's supposed to go it will go I don't really you know I talk I'm in the meetings with my promoters and managers and stuff but um I'm all for it I like to fight would you do it would you prefer to do it at 130 or 135 where she just moved up to either one Listen, me beating on 35 in her weight or whatever would be even better because I could make that weight easy.
Starting point is 01:06:18 Greatest rivalry in boxing. I would agree. First up, though, Alicia going for the undisputed championship Saturday on the zone. Good luck to you and I appreciate your time. Thank you. And when we come back, this week's picks brought to you by Fandul. Time now for this week's picks brought to you by our friends over at Fandul. And this week I am looking at the show on Friday, the top-ranked show, super-fellow.
Starting point is 01:06:40 Weatherweight title fight, Emmanuel Nevereate against Liam Williams. Nevereate is, he's just a massive favorite in this fight. Minus 1,600, according to Fandoul. So betting him to win isn't going to get you much. Betting him to win by knockout is a better chance to make some money. Neverete by knockout is minus 260 right now over at Van Duel. He's got 36 wins, 30 wins by way of knockout. Wilson has been stopped before by a much lesser puncher than Navarrete.
Starting point is 01:07:14 So I think at some point Navarete gets to Wilson in the middle to late rounds of this fight and picks up a knockout and gains a 130 pound title. So those are my picks this week, brought to you by Fandu. That's it for this week's episode. My thanks to Corey Erdman and Alicia Baumgardner for joining the show. As always, subscribe, rate review this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Spotify, wherever you download podcasts. And I'll see you next week.
Starting point is 01:07:54 Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform?
Starting point is 01:08:14 We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends. on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.
Starting point is 01:08:35 Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying.
Starting point is 01:08:59 Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but, celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

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