Fight Insight

When was the last time you saw four of the best fighters in the same division fight on the same card? Don’t worry, I’ll wait (for your response). While I wait, I’ll let you in on a little secret. It rarely happens. This Saturday, Showtime Championship Boxing blesses us with a rare championship double-header, pitting Antonio Tarver 26-4 (19 KO’s) against Clinton Woods 41-3-1 (24 KO’s) for the IBF light heavyweight scrap, while Glencoffe Johnson 47-11-2 (37 KO’s) battles "Bad" Chad Dawson 25-0 (17 KO’s) for his WBC light heavyweight title. Ultimately, I hope the winners of each fight face off later in the year to further clarify the light heavyweight title picture. However, I’ll first focus on this weekend’s fights, who’s going to win them, and why.

In the first bout, the multi-talented Dawson faces the "Road Warrior" Glen Johnson. For my money, this fight will steal the show. It’s the classic crossroads fight between a younger, up-and-coming fighter (Dawson) and an older, battle-tested veteran (Johnson). It’s obvious that Dawson is the more gifted fighter, with his uncanny blend of speed, power and footwork. However, Johnson has faced future Hall of Famers in Roy Jones, Jr. (KO victory) and Bernard Hopkins (KO defeat).  The list doesn’t stop there.  He has also fought Clinton Woods three times, Antonio Tarver two times and Sven Ottke once. 

Johnson has a clear advantage over Dawson in terms of competition and overall ring experience.  Will this be enough to overcome Dawson’s advantages in height (four inches), reach (two inches), and speed?  The answer is no - as Dawson’s youth and talent will carry the day.  Don’t expect a blowout though; expect a close decision victory for "Bad" Chad.  Although Johnson has 11 losses, he has only been dominated once (by Bernard Hopkins).

In the so-called main event, Antonio "Magic Man" Tarver faces off against perennial contender Clinton Woods. Both men have faced similar top competition, including Roy Jones, Jr. and Glencoffe Johnson. However, Tarver has fared better against these two opponents. His record against them is 3-2 while Woods has gone 1-2-1.  Both men stand 6′2" tall, but it’s Tarver who is the superior boxer and jabber. Because of these advantages, I look for Tarver to win a workmanlike unanimous decision over the game, but less-talented Woods. Don’t expect a thriller though.

Thursday, I will let you know why Miguel Cotto will beat the crap out of Alfonso Gomez. Stay tuned.

Floyd "Money" Mayweather’s "upset" victory over "The Big Show" at "Wrestle Mania XXIV" this past Sunday night in Orlando’s Citrus Bowl was not the first - and won’t be the last fore of an elite boxer into professional wrestling. Is the 5′8", 145 pound Mayweather knocking out the 7-foot, 441 pound preposterous? Sure, it is. But that’s besides the point. No matter how unrealistic the matchup was, when boxers and professional wrestlers meet, fans of both sports can’t help but pay attention. The World Wrestling Entertainment record crowd of 74,635 that watched Money Mayweather knock out The Big Show, with brass knuckles in hand, proves my point.

Before Mayweather and the Big Show exchanged pleasantries, many boxers have made professional wrestling appearances in order to make some extra cash and expand their fan base. The most notables fighters to do so were "The Greatest," Muhammad Ali and, none other, than Mike Tyson.

Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki
In 1976, the greatest boxer in the world battled the greatest wrestler in Japan. No one expected that Inoki would be on his back for the entire match kicking at Ali’s legs. This disappointing "show" was seen via closed circuit by millions of viewers. Personally, it was sad to see the greatest heavyweight of all time participate in such a farce, but I am sure he collected a pretty penny.

WrestleMania XIV, March 29, 1998
Held at the Fleet Center in Boston, MA, the main event featured special enforcer Mike Tyson outside the ring for the Shawn Michaels vs Steve Austin battle. This was Mike Tyson’s first PPV event since biting Evander Holyfield’s ears a few months earlier. The match ended with Steve Austin winning. In an unusual turn of events, Mike Tyson took off his D-X (Michael’s crew) shirt to reveal a Steve Austin shirt. When confronted by Michaels, Tyson knocked out him out with a right hand. As we later find out, this was only the beginning in a series of surreal events that Tyson would be involved in over the next several years. At the time, it surely was one of the funniest.

As fate would have it, even the biggest event in boxing/wrestling history (Mayweather-Big Show) was marred by injuries suffered by some fans after equipment and material from the fireworks show fell on them. I pray that all of the fans have a speedy recovery, but this bizarre ending should come as no surprise to boxing fans. Controversy follows boxing like bees follow honey, even when its participants are involved in another "sport."

The last post I gave you ten reasons why Manny Pacquiao (46-3-2, 35 KOs) would defeat Juan Manuel Marquez (48-4-1, 35 KOs). In this post, I will give you two reasons why he did. Before I do, I must say that any fight including a Marquez brother (Rafael being the other) or Manny Pacquiao is likely to be a candidate for the fight of the year. Last night’s back-and-forth action was not surprising. The fact that the rematch between these two warriors somehow  exceeded their 2004 fight is the shocker. Hats off to both men for making my $49.95 pay-per-view investment worthwhile.

The Two Reasons Why Manny Pacquiao Defeated Juan Manuel Marquez

ROUND THREE.   Marquez is the aggressor for most of the round and is probably winning it. Marquez throws a right hand and misses.  Pacquiao lunges forward with a pawing right jab-hook and follows with a short, vicious left hand.  Down goes Marquez in a heap.  At the time, I was thinking the fight would end right there.  Little did I know that the fight would go the distance and this knockdown would decide the outcome of the match.  What a difference one round makes. 

PACQUIAO’S CUTMAN.  After the violent exchanges and accidental headbutts that both men endured over the first two-thirds of the fight, both had to deal with serious cuts over their right eyes.  I guess that neither fighter had an advantage then? Wrong!  Pac-Man’s corner worked magic in halting the flow of blood after round eight, while Marquez was a bloody mess for most of the fight.  Blood loss and decision losses often go hand in hand.

I usually close with a "what’s next for each fighter" summary. After this one, I will not. Let’s simply let the fight marinate, appreciate Juan Manuel Marquez’s heart in coming back valiantly from a vicious knockdown (again), and tip our hats to Manny Pacquiao. To paraphrase the Greatest, Muhammad Ali, Pac-Man is a bad, bad man.

10 Reasons Why Manny Pacquiao Will Beat Juan Manuel Marquez:

#10 Rafael Marquez. Honestly, it’s just a hunch. His brother just lost to Israel Vazquez two weeks ago; maybe it’s just a bad time to be a fighting Marquez?

#9 Chris John. Something tells me that Pacquiao’s savvy trainer Freddy Roach will be borrowing whatever he can from Chris John’s surprisingly easy victory over Marquez two years ago.

#8 Age. At a prime 29 years of age, I think Pacquiao has more gas left in the tank than the 34-year old Marquez.

#7 Competition. Since their first bout nearly four years ago, Pac-Man has knocked out Erik Morales (48-6) twice, dominated Marco Antonio Barrera (63-5), and knocked out Oscar Larios (60-6). Not a bad resume.

#6 Location. You’d think Las Vegas would be a clear home-field advantage for Marquez.  He’ll have his fans, no doubt, but Pac-Man’s rabid Filipino fans do use their frequent flyer miles.  They’ll be there, and they will be loud.

#5 Style. Lately, there appears a definite bias towards fighters who press the action, even if they are not as effective as they may appear.  If this fight goes the distance, Pacquiao should be in good shape. 

#4 Chin. Not that Marquez has a bad one, but Pacquiao knows he can drop him, and drop him more than once.

#3 Speed. Although Marquez is a very quick counter-puncher, Pacquiao has freakish speed for someone who punches so hard.

#2 Power. The power ratio is always in Pacquiao’s favor in this weight class (Edwin Valero aside). It will be the difference here, as I expect Pac-Man to knock out Marquez late.

#1 Me. I’m not one to brag but I have a 5-1 record in boxing predictions this year, so I am probably right!

Before I bask in the glory of my latest successful big fight prediction, Samuel Peter knocking out Oleg Maskaev inside of eight rounds, I am obliged to discuss the undercard first. Nate Campbell’s (32-5, 25 KOs) bloody, hard-fought decision victory over Juan "Baby Bull" Diaz (33-1, 17 KOs) was the fight of the night. After several years of coming close to major title fights at 130 and 135 pounds, Campbell can finally exhale.

The man also known as the Galaxxy Warrior jumped on the Baby Bull early and forced a hellish pace. It was exciting to watch, but I wondered how long it would be exciting, as Diaz lives for this high-output style and Campbell isn’t exactly what you would call a spring chicken at 36 years of age.

Nonetheless, Campbell stayed true to his game plan throughout the fight and somehow threw more punches than the punching machine Diaz. Sure, he was aided by an unintentional head butt that drew first blood on the Baby Bull. But the story was simple: Campbell turned back the clock and outworked the younger Diaz on this night. It was hard to see any of these guys lose, because they both epitomize what it means to be hard-working, consummate professionals in the ring. In the end, the better man (Campbell) won.

Samuel Peter proved me right. His power was ultimately too much for Maskaev to handle. I will admit that I got the knockout punch wrong (a right hand, rather than a left hook did most of the damage) but the fight played out pretty much as I had envisioned. Peter showed improved defense, took a few very good punches, and Maskaev, as per usual, was betrayed by his chin in the end.

What’s next for Peter? I prefer a matchup with the best heavyweight in the world, Wladimir Klitschko, for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world. However, a matchup with Wladimir’s older brother Vitali Klitschko appears to be in the cards. The reasons are due to what I coin "alphabelt poli-tricks." This phenomenon robs the fans, but lines the pockets of the sanctioning bodies.

On a night that provided a great fight in the lightweight division (Nate Campbell’s upset win) and some clarity in the heavyweight ranks as well (Peter’s knockout), the notion of Samuel Peter fighting Vitali Klitschko was the perfect killjoy. Well, that’s boxing for you, but I still love it.  And no, I am not crazy!