ESPN Boxing

A boxing fan learns quickly it is sometimes best to be satisfied with small victories.

It makes ample sense to book the fight all of us are hungering for, Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao, but for some reason, that isn't occurring. So rather than dwell excessively on that and fall into a river of mopiness, I will instead look on the bright side, and acknowledge that Friday and Saturday passed, and there were no egregious judging screw-ups in big fights.

Here are five other takeaways from the big bouts this weekend.

5. Boxing's not like a cold
Omar Sheika, almost a dozen years after his first title crack against Joe Calzaghe (TKO5 loss in London) is still at it. The Paterson, N.J., resident fought on Friday in Pennsylvania, and scored a 10-round unanimous decision over Tony Ferrante. Sheika is 35 years old and no longer in the mix for title shots, not unless we're talking about maybe a state strap. But he soldiers on. Because it's in his blood, it's who he is, it's what he knows. Boxing for many isn't like a cold; it's not something that passes through your blood after a certain span of time.

4. Cleverly should be careful what he wishes for
Nathan Cleverly hasn't been shy about calling out some big names at 175. So it was a bit surprising that the Welshman went along with the program, and agreed to meet the unheralded Tommy Karpency, a 21-2-1 American lefty with a genetically modified record. Cleverly rose to 24-0 with a shutout win in Wales over the catcher Karpency, but did it really do him any good? Sure, he got some rounds in, but he drew scorn on both sides of the pond for accepting such a gimme defense. And if he does ever lure someone like Carl Froch or Bernard Hopkins into a tussle, he will find rounds with Karpency didn't do anything to prep him.

3. Devon wasn't great, but was darn good
There was a lot to like about Devon Alexander's showing against Marcos Maidana in St. Louis, but, to be nitpicky, some things to critique. Yes, he shut out the bomber Maidana, but at 147, the Argentine is not really a bomber. Alexander took to welter seamlessly, but Maidana, as he stated post-bout, is best at 140. Plus, Devon can craft combos and use his feet so smartly; why then does he so often resort to the John Ruiz method of operation, the toss-and-clinch style? To his credit, he said post-bout to Max Kellerman that he knows he's still a work in progress. So all in all, tag us as Alexander fans.

2. Broner can become a star
Alexander had his moments against Maidana, yes, but I left the weekend being most intrigued by thoughts of how far Broner, the 22-year-old from Cincinnati, can go. His hand speed is ridiculous, as Eloy Perez, no slouch, figured out when he ate a nasty shot and was separated from his senses in round four in St. Louis. I'm looking forward to WBO super featherweight champ Broner moving to a sexier division and seeing what he can accomplish. I'm thinking he can be big, and can beat “AmeriCANS, MexiCANS,” etc. (You did see his post-fight interview with Kellerman on HBO, right?)

1. Paging Dr. Atlas
I have my doubts whether Teddy Atlas would even take the call, he's so hurt by the split. But Alexander Povetkin proved he's about 100 times better with Atlas in his corner, and in his life, than without. Povetkin was chomping for air in Stuttgart early on against Marco Huck, and if rounds went 3:25, Huck would today be the holder of the WBA heavyweight strap. He had Povetkin thisclose to being KO’d in Germany Saturday night. Povetkin should pick up the horn and beg and plead Atlas to come back and work with him, because his prep and game need fixing up.

I tried logging on to Boxrec.com last night and couldn't get on. So I couldn't take a deeper look at the record of Cristobal Cruz, the not-so-sterling record of the underdog in the main event of this week's "Friday Night Fights," which unfolds at Dover Downs.

I assumed Cruz, a 34 year-old Mexican, would be seen as the underdog against fellow Mexican Juan Carlos Burgos, for starters, because he will bring a record of 39-12-3 to Delaware, while Burgos, who I recalled had been in a title fight against Japanese ace Hozumi Hasegawa back in late 2010, is 28-1.

But then I realized that I was falling pray to an easy assumption. I was assuming that Cruz was the somewhat shopworn steppingstone who'd be in a bit over his head against the WBC silver super featherweight champion Burgos (ranked No. 2 by WBC; turned pro at age 16), who snagged that vacant strap last November, with a majority decision win over 19-0 Luis Cruz.

With Boxrec down, I put in a call to ESPN FNF analyst Teddy Atlas. I knew, being the pro he is, he'd already done ample homework on the mainers, and would be able to tell me, and thus I'd be able to tell you, how much of a shot Cruz likely had against Burgos.

Somewhat of a shot, Atlas told me, hammering home that I'd been a bit quick with the judgment regarding Cruz' so-so winning percentage.

"He's got a chance, Burgos is not a super, superstar," Atlas told me. "Burgos is younger, by ten years, a little more versatile, quicker, a little sharper. But Cruz will be there all night with the right hand. At 34, he's in the twilight, but he had success a couple years ago. His experience is what paid off, and his resiliency. He finally won a title at a later age. (Boxrec coming back up, I was able to see that yes, Cruz beat Orlando Salido, no dog, in 2008 for the IBF featherweight crown. He defended it three times before dropping it back to Salido in May 2010.)

"He's been in a lot of tough fights, what's he got left? Experience, heart, his right hand, which often comes out of left field," Atlas said of the vet who started his pro career at age 14, and has been off for 15 months. The analyst/trainer said we'll see veteran tricks of the trade from Cruz Friday, and that Burgos will need to work to get the W, and make sure he doesn't get hook-happy, and leave himself open for a right hand. Things could get a little sloppy at times, Atlas predicts, but no, in case you are like me, and make premature judgements sometimes based on records, no, he says, Cruz isn't shot.

"Cruz is in the twilight, yeah, he's at that place, but the guy has done some of best work in the twilight," Atlas said. "How many fights does he have left? I wouldn’t say 100, not even 20. But he has enough for a guy who's still a little wet behind the ears. Cruz has a puncher's chance."

Happy 70th birthday to "The Greatest of All Time," Muhammad Ali.

Seventy.

Let's be honest: A lot of us didn't think he'd make this milestone.

To see the once-vibrant vessel of joyful animation increasingly impacted by Parkinson's disease, which he was diagnosed with in 1984, one had to wonder how much longer the world would get to enjoy the sight of a living, breathing Ali.

His daughter Rasheda, though, didn't fall prey to worry. One of four children born to Ali's second wife, Belinda, Rasheda chatted with NYFightBlog on Tuesday morning. The Las Vegas resident was amped up, pumped to see the other Ali kids and to see all the grandchildren gathered together tonight in California. Nine kids and 11 grandkids will gather around Muhammad Ali and bask in his warmth this evening.

Rasheda talked about her father's stamp on this world, what makes him legitimately the greatest of all time, what it was like to share such a figure with the world and how his condition hasn't dampened his ability to inspire.

"He contracted Parkinson's in the early '80s," said Rasheda, who has authored a book about the condition, "I'll Hold Your Hand So You Won't Fall: A Child's Guide to Parkinson's Disease." "To be 70, in the late stages and moving around, I'm incredibly impressed with his attitude. He never feels sorry for himself. He always taught us that nothing bothers him. He's never complained, never said, 'Why me?' That's made us stronger, how he reacts. He's very healthy, takes all his medications, his wife (Yolanda) is a great caregiver. His being here has a lot to do with family and his great mental attitude."

Rasheda said that no one is sure why her dad has Parkinson's, a neurodegenerative condition suffered by 6.5 million people the world over, including 1.5 million in North America. The boxing could have triggered a predisposition, she said. But she, like all of us, hope that progress is made in research so the condition can be cured.

"I hope in my dad's lifetime he'll be cured of the condition," she said. "I have to be positive. That gives me hope. I can't let go of hope."

Growing up in New Jersey, Rasheda didn't see as much of Ali as she would have liked. Ali and mom Belinda officially divorced in 1976, so she saw him a lot when school was out. But Rasheda said that she got it pretty early on how beloved her dad was.

"It was a lot harder to share him when I was younger," she said. "I wanted to be around him, wanted to be a big part of his life. But I knew at an early age I had to share him with the world. There were frustrations, but I knew he was giving so much to so many millions of others."

That Ali is no saint has been well documented. Our media's preference for burrowing into every nook and cranny of public figures' private lives has contributed to a dearth of role models, as only those who can control message with psychotic intensity can maintain an aura of impossible goodness. (I personally write off the private failings of public figures, such as Ali's tendency toward flagrant womanizing in the '70s, especially; unless of course the private failings are those of moralizers and scolds, especially politicians or religious leaders, and then I denounce them for rampant hypocrisy.) But Rasheda is able to accept all facets of her father's personality.

"He was and is a loveable man!" she said. "The ladies love him, everyone loves him. He's very charming."

Yes, Ali has been a man of contradictions. He championed some of the more divisive racial theories of the Nation of Islam before moving towards more moderate strains of Islam. But I see him as one of the dwindling remaining figures who stood tall on principles of love and faith and non-violence, to the extent they were willing to perish for those principles. The world is so sorely lacking in such giants, like Martin Luther King Jr., and Muhammad Ali, to name two. I asked Rasheda if she thought I was overstating the import of Ali, lumping him in with MLK.

"He's one of the last," she agreed. "My dad is still here, and I'm grateful he's able to give more. My dad taught us kids, and the world, to believe in ourselves. He showed us values -- and we will take that with us -- like respect, conviction of faith, love of charity. He taught us through example. He's shown us love, and if the world had more of that, it would be a better place."

Amen to that.

Happy birthday, champ.

Bob Arum left the Phillippines on Saturday after a final meeting with Manny Pacquiao and advisor Michael Koncz.

Koncz told ESPN New York that he and Pacquiao will talk over the proposed fighters that Arum presented to them for a June bout. So, when will we know who gets the Pacquiao lotto ticket, the date to dance with the Congressman?

"Manny and I want to talk over a few things, so maybe we'll release who Manny is fighting next by the end of next week," Koncz said.

And is Floyd Mayweather Jr. still on the short list for that next fight, which would have to unfold before his June 1 report date to serve a jail term for a domestic assault on his ex-girlfriend?

"No comment," said Koncz.