Bob Sheridan: “Until I see Manny Pacquiao really defeated, I’m going to stick with him”

Hall of Fame boxing commentator, Bob Sheridan, is one of the most known voices in the sport and he has called some of the biggest fighters in boxing history. I recently had a chance to speak with Sheridan and get his views on the upcoming Saul Alvarez-Liam Smith bout. ‘The Colonel’ also talked about Manny Pacquiao’s comeback fight against Jessie Vargas and what he thinks Pacquiao has left. Additionally, Bob breaks down the huge light heavyweight fight between Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev. Here is what Bob Sheridan had to say.

(Listen to the full interview here)

Robert Brown: What are your thoughts on Saul Alvarez taking on Liam Smith?

Bob Sheridan: I think Alvarez should win the fight. Smith’s got a very good record, he holds the WBO super welterweight championship of the world. They say Alvarez is going down in weight but in reality he’s only losing about a pound or so, maybe two pounds, to fight at 154 again. He gave up the middleweight title that he had because he didn’t want to defend against Gennady Golovkin right away.

Canelo’s going down and he’ll most likely win this title and then the big one is looming because everyone wants to see ‘GGG’ fight Canelo. Golovkin had a big win over the weekend in England and he says that he wants to fight Billy Joe Saunders next, who holds the WBO middleweight title. It will be interesting to see what happens should Alvarez go on and defeat Liam Smith in this fight.

Robert Brown: Do you think it will be a KO or a decision?

Bob Sheridan: If I were betting on it, I would say Alvarez will stop Smith at some stage in this fight.

Robert Brown: What were your thoughts on Gennady Golovkin’s fight with Kell Brook?

Bob Sheridan: I thought Kell Brook definitely won the second round of the fight and maybe one other round. But above and beyond that, the way that ‘GGG’ was wailing him to the body, it was just a matter of time before he caught up with him. He had that big shot upstairs where he caught him in the eye and I understand that an orbital bone was broken and if that’s the case, then the corner certainly did the right thing in stopping that fight.

I got no qualms with the corner stopping the fight because this kid had moved up two weight divisions and he still holds a world title, so there’s no sense in Kell Brook getting beat up for no reason at all. He couldn’t win the fight with that injury.

Robert Brown: Manny Pacquiao is scheduled to fight Jessie Vargas, how do you see this fight playing out?

Bob Sheridan: Jessie Vargas is a very good fighter, I’ve called several of his fights, he’s a wonderful kid. Manny in his last fight looked terrific and if we see the Manny that fought Timothy Bradley, I think it can be a long night for Jessie Vargas. Jessie Vargas on the other hand is young and strong and this is his Superbowl, this is the biggest fight of his life now.

When does the passing of the torch come? I don’t know, whether it’s this fight for Manny and whether Manny wants to fight on. I think this is a good fight, especially in the early rounds of this fight. I will be very anxious to see what happens with the young Jessie Vargas and how he handles the experience of the great champion and future Hall of Famer, Manny Pacquiao.

Robert Brown: Do you give Vargas a shot in this fight?

Bob Sheridan: Yes I do because I don’t know exactly where Pacquiao is in his career and how much distraction he has. One thing I’ll say about Manny, every time I’ve seen him fight, he’s always been in great shape — albeit that situation with the shoulder when he fought Mayweather. We didn’t know that Pacquiao was having that problem going in, and that may be the death of big time pay-per-view fights for a long while. With that aside, Pacquiao is always in terrific physical condition to fight and if that’s the case against Jessie Vargas, at some stage he’s got to start showing his age and whether this is the fight, there’s just no way of knowing that, and thats what the fight is all about.

Robert Brown: What’s your prediction for the fight?

Bob Sheridan: This one is a tough one for me. Based on what I saw the last time Pacquiao fought, and until I see him really defeated, I’m going to stick with Pacquiao. I think that he will most likely win a decision over Jessie Vargas.

Robert Brown: What are your thoughts on the Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev fight?

Bob Sheridan: It’s a terrific fight and I think I will probably get to do the international event for that fight. That will be a huge event. Kovalev is a big puncher and for the past two or three years he’s been considered the best of the light heavyweight division. I did Ward’s last fight and he’s a really good boxer, very clever in the ring.

Kovalev hasn’t fought anybody that is as clever as Ward is. He did fight Hopkins and made him look bad, but Bernard was way long in the tooth for that, we’re not talking about the Bernard Hopkins we know as the Hall of Fame fighter. This will be a different fight, this will be very competitive. It’s a real classic boxer against a real heavy puncher, I think it’s a terrific fight. I think Kovalev might be just a little bit too strong, but as clever as Ward is, I wouldn’t count him out in this fight at all.

Robert Brown: You’re favoring Kovalev to win the bout?

Bob Sheridan: I’d lean toward Kovalev in this fight but anything could happen in this fight and it wouldn’t surprise me. It wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if Ward pulled off an upset. Kovalev will be the better favorite.