TalkingBoxing Articles
This Cinderella Man Has Earned His Place At The Ball
WED, November 1 Buster Paris -
“Basically I'm just going to do what I am going to do. You guys forget that he's fighting at a heavier weight now. He's not going to be as fast as people think. Yes he's not going to be as fast. It's my plan. I'm just going to come in to fight.”
"I mean it’s very simple; I’m going to come in to fight. Throwing punches throughout the whole fight and I will know when I hurt him. If I do hurt him he will end up going down." - Carlos Baldomir in a pre-fight conference call held on October 24th 2006.
The plan sounds simple enough – come in throwing punches. It worked against Zab Judah and it worked against Arturo Gatti … and - it seems to be working immaculately well for almost a decade.
Can it work one more time?
Saturday, November 4th 2006 - boxing’s newest Cinderella story – Carlos “Tata” Baldomir (W 43 – 13 ko’s, L 9 & D 6) is taking on the very best fighter in the world today – “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather (W 36 – 24 ko’s – undefeated) at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, NV.
There is a Fairy Tale vibe out there in the land of Pugilism – and there’s a little something extra in the air - a promising dew dripping off the freshness of a question … can “Tata” beat the “Pretty Boy”?
Carlos thinks so – and he has the plan to do it.
First off – don’t let the 9 losses fool you – he hasn’t lost a fight since 1998.
Secondly – Baldomir has a gift; he has an amazing ability to take a punch and to keep moving forward.
From the limited exposure we’ve had of him we can honestly say that technique-wise there’s really nothing there, there’s nothing remarkable about “Tata” – his offense is strong, but not fluid - and he keeps coming forward in a dreaded Mike Meyers from Halloween kind of way – all the while absorbing punches – and patiently biding his time ‘til he can get his mitts on his victim.
Another thing Carlos has going for him is that he’s on a roll - and right now he has great momentum. His last two outings against arguably two of the best Welterweights (147 lbs) - Judah and Gatti - have been unbelievable upsets and great career defining wins for him – he has truly earned this big fight on this enormous stage – he has earned this big pay day - and he has truly earned our respect.
This Cinderella Man has unquestionably earned his place at the ball.
It’s a beautiful thing and a fantastic story – this is exactly the kind of tale that spawns legends. This is exactly the kind of experience that books and films are based on and this is exactly the kind of moment in time that give us all the inspiration to get up and go for it.
This is the moment that the Cinderella in all of us is poised to cheer and is on the verge of joyously exploding -
But c’mon – we’re talking about Floyd Mayweather Jr. – and even though Baldomir has the perfect heroic J.R.R. Tolkien name - Mayweather’s got the ‘One Ring To Rule Them All’ – the boxing ring – and in it he is far greater than anything that Tolkien could ever have dreamed of.
The fairy tale is over for this Cinderella Man – the ride ends November 4th -- the Chariot turns back into a pumpkin – the horses change back into mice -- and Floyd’s keeping the glass slipper – both of them.
Buster Paris can be reached at: bparis@talkingboxing.com - and always enjoys receiving your thoughts, comments and questions.
Forum
