David Martinez
Michael Carbajal
(October 17, 2003)
By David Martinez / Boxing Historian
The date was March 3, 1993, and the fight was between two superb boxers with a combined ring record of sixty-three wins andone loss: Humberto “Chiquita” Gonzalez (36-1) vs. Michael “Manitas De Piedra” Carbajal (27-0) for the WBC/IBF Junior Flyweight Championship from the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel.
As I was gathering food and drinks to host the fight at my home, a friend called to tell me that he was not coming because (quote) Nobody Important is Fighting!
To this day, I have never forgotten that CLASSIC statement… I actually say that to the people who think boxing is a dead sport but ask me, “so when is the next big fight?”
In all my years of boxing, as I see it, somebody important is fighting and each fight is big … it’s just in my DNA when viewing boxing.
For the record, the Gonzalez vs. Carbajal fight was simply the greatest junior flyweight fight ever and ranks as one of the greatest fights in the history of boxing.
With this being said, the line up of fights coming in the next two months is simply outstanding. So, if you are one those that thinks nobody important is fighting, here are those fights:
On November 6, Juan Manuel Lopez defends his WBO featherweight title against Rafael Marquez. On November 13, Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito engage for the “vacant” WBC junior middleweight title. Also on November 6, Glen Johnson and Allan Green will fight in a Showtime Super Six middleweight tournament bout.
On November 20, Sergio Martinez defends his WBC middleweight title against Paul Williams in a rematch of the bout that was my runner-up pick for “fight of the year” in 2009. On November 27, Juan Manuel Marquez defends his WBA/IBF lightweight title belts against Michael Katsidis, and, on same card, Andre Berto defends his WBC welterweight title against Freddy Hernandez. Also on November 27, Arthur Abraham takes on Carl Froch for the “vacant” WBC super middleweight championship in
their Super Six super middleweight tournament bout.
In December, more great fights are in order. On December 11, Showtime will showcase the top four bantamweights in the world in a double-header tournament of fights: Yonnhy Perez vs. Joseph Agbeko and Abner Mares vs. Vic Darchinyan. On that same card, Amir Khan defends his WBA junior welterweight title against Marcos Maidana.
To close out the year, on December 18, forty-five year old Bernard Hopkins, who has only lost to three men in the past two decades, will challenge Jean Pascal for the WBC light heavyweight championship.
This is a fantastic group up of fights that are a must for all boxing fans. So, to respectfully correct what my good friend once said … somebody important is fighting!