Interview With DeadSpin.com’s Boxing Writer, Hamilton Nolan

Last week I read an article on DeadSpin.com on boxing’s fastest rising star, Adrien Broner. The piece was written by Hamilton Nolan who was embedded in the Broner camp for media day.

I reached out to Hamilton to get a few questions answered about Broner, Floyd Mayweather and as well as Bay-area super star Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire.

GoldenGateSports: Adrien Broner will most likely fight the WBO Lightweight champion Ricky Burns next, should he? Or should he go for the bigger payday in either: Yuriokis Gamboa, Lucas Matthesse, or Danny Garcia? Who would you like to see him fight?
Hamilton Nolan: I’d love to see him fight Gamboa, but it sounds like he’s headed up in weight and is not going to fight him. Which is a shame because they’re probably the two most naturally talented fighters in boxing today. I think Broner will have one or two more fights at 135 which will be easy wins for him, then move up. Matthysse or Garcia would be interesting fights because they’re both a lot stronger than anyone he’s fought, but I’d still pick Broner over both those guys. Amir Khan would be a great fight for him.

GGS: Floyd Mayweather is apparently fighting Robert Guerrero on May 4th, will this be another walk in the park for Floyd or will Guerrero find a way to pull off what may well be the biggest upset in recent memory?
HN: It’s definitely not a walk in the park, although Floyd should still win. I think the Miguel Cotto fight showed that Floyd is slowing down at least a little bit, and that he can be bullied (a bit) by strong fighters, which is presumably what Guerrero would try to do, just like he did with Andre Berto. I don’t think it’s an easy fight at all for Floyd.

GGS: If Guerrero cant win against Floyd, then who can?
HN: I don’t think anyone can beat Floyd right now. But every year older he gets, and every tough fight he has, he gets closer to being beatable. Canelo Alverez could theoretically catch him with a big punch and beat him. But I’d expect Floyd to retire before he slows down too much.

GGS: Should have Nonito Donaire accepted the fight against Abner Mares? It would have been on the undercard as the Mayweather/Guerrero fight.
HN: I’m not too concerned, since the fight we got instead is even better, which is Donaire vs Cuban defector Guillermo Rigondeaux.

GGS: Is Mares that much of a dangerous fight for Donaire?
HN: Mares is great, so yes it’s a dangerous fight, although Donaire would still be the favorite. It would definitely be Donaire’s toughest fight to date.

GGS: So since Donaire vs Rigondeaux is set for April, give us a prediction.
HN: I think this is one of the best fights that could be made in boxing so I’m really excited. Honestly I’d like to pick Rigondeaux because I think his skill level is so high that he could pick Donaire apart, because Donaire still tends to get a little too loose during fights, so he’s hittable. But since we haven’t seen Rigondeaux fight anyone on Donaire’s level, it’s hard to say how he’ll react to being in with that dangerous a puncher. It could go either way.

GGS: Any fights you’d like to see happen in 2013?
HN: In 2013 I’d love to see: Manny Pacquioa vs Mayweather, Broner vs Gamboa (or Gamboa vs anybody good!), Gennadiy Golovkin vs Andre Ward. But I don’t think any of those will actually happen.

Thank you, DeadSpin.com’s boxing go to guy, Hamilton Nolan. You can follow Hamilton on Twitter and check out his boxing articles on DeadSpin.

You can read more of David Figueroa’s GoldenGateSports.com articles [HERE] and at ReposDelight.com [HERE]