Something for the Weekend Sir? Saturday Night Fights Preview

We cancelled all plans for this Saturday night based primarily on two reasons.  1.)  HBO and Showtime will be transmitting four outstanding boxing matches directly to the comfort of our living rooms   2.) Second and more importantly, my new roommate refuses to go to the cable company with me to pick up a DVR box for the house (cable bill's in his name and the damn company refuses to grant me access to the account, I've tried)  

With that said, there should be a mandate that forbids HBO and Showtime to hold major boxing events that fall on the same day of the lunar calendar.  Space em' out a little, so every weekend we can enjoy a good match or two instead of just crammin' it all in to one.  You would think that two of the largest television companies would have this worked out to prevent them from having to worry about competition from the other guy. 

Anyway, I think HBO wins this battle and, it seems this weekend's under-cards may be more exciting than the main events - here is this weekend's preview.

HBO

Kelly The Ghost Pavlik (33-0,  30 Ko's) vs Gary The Pocket Rocket Lockett (30-1, 21 Ko's) - The Pride of Youngstown, Kelly Pavlik, is currently the undisputed, undefeated, middleweight champion of the world. He is coming off a huge KO victory over #1 middleweight contender (at the time) in Edison Miranda and back-to-back dominate performances against the former undefeated, undisputed, best middleweight in the world, Jermain Taylor (not anymore; see Pavlik KO video here). 

Gary Lockett is coming off a fight against Kai Kauramaki, who is 13-15 with 9 of his losses coming by way of knock-out. Some seriously stiff competition there Lockett, excellent tune-up before getting in there with the best middleweight in the world.  

Lockett's record looks pretty on paper but it does not carry a single win of any significance.

- Pavlik KO's Lockett within 6 rounds-

The real story line in this fight lies in the identity of Lockett's trainer - one Enzo Calzaghe. You can bet Joe will be sitting ringside to see one of his training 'mates' getting his clock cleaned by The Ghost, setting up a possible super-fight between the two down the line. 

On Wednesday, Kelly discussed his thoughts on the current light heavyweight and super middleweight champ Joe Calzaghe with Max Kellerman. He was seemed as confident as I am about the outcome of a potential mega-fight with Joe C., another victory for Youngstown's finest.

Daniel Ponce De Leon (34-1, 30 Ko's) vs Juan Manuel Lopez (21-0, 19 Ko's) - The two meet on the under-card of the Pavlik/Lockett fight for the WBO super bantam weight title. Ponce De Leon will try to fend off up-and-coming Lopez in a high action, exciting, and closely matched bout -possibly the most interesting fight of the night. Do not miss this one. 

Showtime

Vernon Forrest (40-2, 29 Ko's) vs. Sergio The Latin Snake Mora (20-0-1, 5 Ko's) 

Don't expect to be writing home after this WBC light middleweight title bout. Vernon Forrest is coming off a long layoff due to an injury and, at age 37,  isn't getting any younger.  Sergio Mora is coming off a few recent fights that were mediocre at best, one of which he should have lost but was awarded a mercy decision (against Elvin Ayala).  And the begging for a shot at a title then turning down a championship bout against Jermain Taylor a few years back caused him to lose the little credibility that he once had. 

Neither fighter is a big puncher and both will be looking to go the distance for a decision. If you have to pick one to DVR, you're looking at it.

Paul The Punisher Williams (33-1, 24 Ko's) vs. Carlos Quintana (25-1, 19 Ko's) - Paul Williams will attempt to reclaim the WBO welterweight championship from the man who took it from him and handed him his only loss.  

Before the somewhat stunning upset at the beginning of the year, Williams was considered by many to be the top welterweight in the division and a direct threat to Floyd Mayweather (he was obviously overrated).  Coming off a win against the always tough Antonio Margarito, Williams looked ready to sit atop the division until Quintana exposed the lengthy boxer's weaknesses and took the belt from him. Quintana is no slouch though, his only loss came when he managed to get his face beat in by Miguel Cotto in a 5th round stoppage. 

If Williams overlooked Quintana the first time, it will not happen again on Saturday.  Look for him to come out fighting for his life to regain his belt. Should be a good one. 

Max Kellerman: Two Turn Tables and a Microphone

HBO Boxing analyst Max Kellerman has not only established himself as one of the top sports commentators in his favorite sport (boxing) but as a well rounded and insightful voice in all of realms of the sporting universe .

The one-time host of ESPN's popular sports talk show Around the Horn left the network when Fox Sports Net came calling with a very lucrative deal that would give Max his own show to discuss sports topics as he pleased. (This was back when FSN was still telling themselves that they could compete on same level as the guys in Bristol, Conn.)  The show was creatively named I-Max and was subsequently cancelled the following year due to conflicts with network execs. 

I think it is safe to say that the cancelleation of the show was best for us (the boxing fans) and Kellerman himself, because the next year he landed the top analyst job in all of sports (personal opinion), ringside commentary for HBO Boxing.  He is currently splitting time with long-time analyst Larry Merchant (who is slowly melting down before our eyes on live television; however  in his day, he was kind of a bad ass - see below), and will be replacing him as soon as his contract expires.

But, the reason for this post is not to highlight the career of  Max Kellerman in sports,  but to give you a glimpse of what he was into before we were regularly watching him in front of our t.v. dinners (I actually don't anyone who eats t.v. dinners). 

In 1994 Columbia records signed a small time hip-hop duo and released a video for their single entitled, "Young Man Rumble."  If the boxing reference in the song's title and the fact that I am writing about Max Kellerman led you to believe that he was the mastermind behind this hip-hop-astrologist  duo, then you were right (one gold star). 

Check out "Max & Sam" (Max's brother) rip up the mic with some swicked flow from 94' (below). Don't worry I didn't believe it either. Surprisingly, we have heard much worse... Man, the stuff that we thought was cool back then makes you wonder what the hell we're gonna look like to everyone in fifteen years.

I don't mean to put a damper on things but in 2004 Max's brother Sam was found dead in his apartment in Hollywood, CA.  Ironically enough, soon after the incident a former boxer confessed to the murder, one-time super middleweight champ, James The Harlem Hammer Butler (who was later convicted and sentenced to 29 years in prison).

The most interesting (and dark) detail surrounding the case, was the fact that a hammer was found next to Sam when authorities arrived on the scene and was later designated as the murder weapon in the crime.

The nickname, The Harlem Hammer, was given to James Butler many years before this tragic incident, quite possibly carrying more meaning than most would care to know.

Wait a Minute, James Toney and Hasim Rahman Are Still Boxing?

Yes, James Toney is still alive. 

It was announced this past week that James Toney (70-6-3, 43 KOs) will face Hasim Rahman (45-6-2, 36 KOs) in a heavyweight bout set for July 16th. I could have sworn I was reading a headline from five years ago, but no there it was, right in front of me. The headline for a candidate for worst fight of the year. I think we point to instances such as these to explain why no one cares what is going on in the once great heavyweight division.

Last time I saw Toney in the ring (see above) it looked like he just finished snacking on one of the card girls and was quite possibly the first time he had moved in months.  I am sure now that he has had an entire year layoff that he is going to be in prime condition for this fight being taken on a month and half notice. Lets not forget the two recent instances of positive steroid tests as well (could have fooled me though, I was under the impression they had a bit of a different effect).  

Rahman (see left with the alien spawn pulsating from his brain) 

doesn't have too much to offer either.  He is two years younger than Toney (Toney  40 yrs and Rahman 38 yrs so I don't know if I should be throwing around the word young so carelessly) and has been trying to stage a comeback this past year. 

Both fighters have probably seen there day in side the ropes. But that's not how Todd duBoef, President of Top Rank sees it - "I think they're both marquee names, but they are at a crossroads in their careers" (maybe a little bit of an understatement there buddy) "... The winner of this fight should be given an opportunity to fight for one of the titles." Titles? This guy has got to be joking if he thinks that winning this fight should propel anyone to a title shot. The only thing the winner of this fight should get is a piece of cake at his retirement party (or 3 cakes for Toney).

Mundine Retains WBA Belt

Anthony Mundine (32-3, 23 KOs) retained his WBA super middleweight belt this past week by defeating fellow countryman Sam Soliman (35-11, 13 KOs).  

Congratulations Mundine, you managed to hold on to your belt by facing another nobody in Sam Soliman, who you have already beat once before. 

Sam Soliman as many of you will remember is the hard working and well conditioned boxer from The Contender, who displays little to no boxing skill in any of his bouts.  The two of them met before in 2007 for the vacant WBA title which Mundine still holds.  Which begs the question, how did the WBA match these guys up for the a vacant belt. I might as well have put my name in the drawing. 

 Mundine has about as many quality wins as most of the club fighters around the country.  His only notable victory was over a "sickly" (by his own account) Danny Green, who was undefeated at the time.  The only other quality fight was against Mikel Kessler, who dominated him for a wide unanimous decision.

There has been talk of Mundine wanting to set up a match with The Ghost, Kelly Pavlik.  I would venture to guess that would not be a wise career choice on his part.  The only way he is going to hold on to his current title is if he continues to fight chumps like Sam Soliman and stays close to home in the Outback where the level of competition suits him better. Since everyone and their mother is now calling out Pavlik, the fight may never happen. However, I don't think I would mind if the two did end up meeting in the ring - just another chance for Pavlik to collect some more easy hardware for his mantle piece. 

Double Trouble

Since I am such a strong proponent for boxing I had made a point to consciously avoid posting any commentary or news on the mixed martial arts scene. However, after watching this video my innate attraction for watching two guys knock the F@*! out of each-other prevailed. Enjoy.  

Golden Boy Grabs Another Superstar

This past week Golden Boy Promotions increased its budding stable of talented young fighters with the signing of Britain's own, David Haye (21-1  KO 20).  The Haymaker recently relinquished his WBO Cruiserweight title belt (soon to relinquish WBC & WBA) in order to move up to the next weight class and "clean-up" (as he so eloquently put it) the  heavyweight division. Not only has he prophesized the coming of the savior in the weight class, he plans to do it all on American soil, looking to fight under the bright lights of the City of Sin, Las Vegas.

Haye is coming off a Cruiserweight campaign in which he only suffered one defeat and unified the alphabet titles of the division.  After his most recent fight, a second round KO over Enzo Maccarinelli, Haye had quite a bit to say about his distaste for the Heavyweight division and more specifically the only notable champion in it, Wladimir Klitschko.

I am not prepared to anoint David Hayes as the messiah of this horrible division (like so many have already done), but I do know that this type of fighter may be able to give us some excitement we haven't seen in years. He is charismatic, fast, has great knock out power and at the same time has a fairly weak chin, leaving the door open for him to be dropped.  His loud mouth and highly visible antics are a perfect foil for the calm and collected champion of the division (Wlad).  Just this past month Haye showed up unannounced to one of Wladimir's press conferences and confronted him.  And of course he brought cameras with him (genius).  Wlad seemed unimpressed.

Haye has fought in one other heavyweight bout prior to making the official move in weight.  A year ago, he weighed in at 217 lbs. and faced off against Tomasz Bonin (who was 37-1 at the time and ranked 11th by the WBC).  There was no evidence of Haye losing any speed or power with the jump in weight, coming out on top with a devastating first round KO (see here). 

Hopefully The Haymaker can back up his mouth and really make something happen in the division.  However, he will have to wait his turn in line before he gets a shot at the Russian Diplomat.  Klitschko has two fights he must deal with before these two can meet inside the squared-circle, one being his upcoming defense next month against the WBO's  number one mandatory challenger Tony Thompson.  Meanwhile, Haye is looking to sign a fight with former world champion Shannon Briggs, and will be poised at 225 lbs. to take the division by storm.

Don King Presents: Prize Fighter 2k Sports

Since Nintendo's mega-hit Mike Tyson's Punch Out!, the Electronic Arts (EA) Sports brand has had a stronghold on the boxing video game industry with it's popular Fight Night series.  I had been hearing rumors about a game to be released by EA's competitor, 2K Sports, that would challenge the champ for the title of number one boxing game.  I almost forgot about the production of the game until during one of my various internet expeditions at work, I found a video of a semi-embalmed crack pimp yelling at me about his new boxing game.  

Don King, the most corrupt, obnoxious, infamous and loud figure in boxing for as long as I can remember was rambling about the release of his new video game entitled, Don King Presents: Prizefighter.  My eyes slowly crept to the bottom right hand corner of the page, praying (i'm not normally religious) that only one logo was not present. It was.  2K Sports.  

Somewhere between the time I had first read about the idea of the game and its actual conception, some idiot at 2K Sports thought it would be a good idea to get the life-sized, fully pose-able  troll doll involved. The only thought I could manage to conjure was that this game was doomed for failure (unless of-course the goal was to create a game simulating fixing boxing events, signing fighter to bogus contracts, embezzling money, scoring prostis, free-basing, straight pimpin', slappin' hoes or any other criminal activity that comes to mind)

I took into consideration my negative outlook surrounding the game, watched the trailer (see here), did a little research,  and I came to the realization that the game actually looks pretty good. For starters, one of the screen shots (above) perfectly depicts King as the Devil reincarnate. The next logical step was to see which fighters will appear in the game.  The site says, and I quote "...current champs like Joe Calzaghe, Kelly Pavlik and Andrew Golata" (the 

 two were the names I was looking for, but Andrew Golota? may be digging a little to deep into the bottom of the barrel and how come only white guys?).  The site also lists all-time greats like Joe Louis, Ken Norton, and The Cinderella Man James Bradick. (the trailer also includes, but does not name Vic Darchynian, Andre Berto, Chris Eubank, Shannon Briggs, Miguel Cotto and a few others that I couldn't make out). There is seemingly a wide array of fighters and thankfully Don King didn't use the game as platform to market only the fighters in his stable (from what I see at the current moment).  

The graphics are very similar to that of EA's boxing series, the only difference to me (without playing it) seems to be in the new and improved training stages.  I can't delve too deep into the game-play without actually..uh.. playing the game, so I will report back after the release date on June 10th.  The insider gaming magazines have given the game high praises so far, so we shall see soon enough.  

Byrd to Migrate Back Home

Chris Byrd had high aspirations for his new campaign at Light Heavyweight. His compelling weight loss tale had the boxing world buzzing about in the weeks leading to the fight. Byrd's intentions were clear from the beginning; to seek out the very best fighters of the talented division.  However, he did not intend to find himself fighting for his boxing career in his first bout at the new weight against a fairly unknown and underrated fighter.

Byrd came out in the first round (svelte as ever) and fought the way that he was supposed to fight - that is if he were still a  heavyweight.  He slowly moved around the ring on flat feet holding his hands up like punching mitts and picking very few moments to wing any meaningful shots. His counterpart, Shaun George, was moving much quicker, showing Byrd different angles and using his superior feet and hands to pepper him with punches.  

In didn't take long for the vast difference of speed and ability to overwhelm Byrd and after being wobbled a few times, he hit the canvas in the 1st round.  In between rounds, neither him nor his trainer had any ideas that would prove valuable in turning the fight around (one could have been -  stop moving and ducking to your left where his right hand is lighting you up every time it is thrown; but that's just me) 

The next seven rounds were clones of the first and although Byrd became a bit more comfortable at some-point, it was hard to give him any round.  In the 9th, George continued to land big shots and Byrd's dream of capturing the title in the light heavyweight division collapsed as fast as his legs did from underneath him.  He went down hard landing awkwardly, popping his shoulder out of the socket.  After getting up only to receive another barrage of punches, he went down again and this time he told the ref to stop the fight.

It seems Shaun George should be graciously thanking the promoter who landed him this fight.  Not to take anything away from George, but Byrd was obviously still in heavyweight mode (slow work rate, slow feet, slow hands) and I think any light heavy with some notable skill would have came out on top.  Look for George to garner some attention after this TKO stoppage. Look for Byrd to consider retirement.

Done Deal: Cotto vs. Margarito

The talented welterweight division is bringing us another exciting match up between two of it's top fighters.  Miguel Angel Cotto will take on the The Tijuana Tornado Antonio Margarito on July 26th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the WBA Welterweight Title.  

Both fighters are coming off dominate KO victories on the same card.  Cotto put on a boxing clinic for  The Contender star Alfonzo Gomez, resulting in a 5th round TKO.  In the same fashion, Maragarito ended Kermit Cintron's hopes of avenging his only loss with a devastating body shot in the 6th. 

Cotto and Margarito are primed for the biggest fight and cash purse of either fighter's career. Adding fuel to the already fiery competition is the national roots of these two fighters, Cotto being from Puerto Rico and Margarito from Mexico, which will certainly make for an interesting atmosphere leading up to the bout.

More to come on Cotto vs. Margarito...

Chris Byrd's Return to the Ring: Half of Him at Least

This weekend, ESPN's Friday Night Fights headliner pits former world heavyweight champion Chris Byrd against Shaun George.  The real significance of this fight reads clearly in the first byline of any promotional material produced for the bout - "Chris Byrd to take on Shaun George in a light heavyweight bout."   Light Heavyweight.  For the last decade, Byrd has  regularly  tipped the scales at over 210 lbs (photo to left).  This Friday he will be fighting at 173 lbs (only 12 lbs more than me!)

After two recent losses to Russian heavyweights, Alexander Povetkin and Wlad Klitschko, Byrd made the decision to move down to Cruiser-weight for two reasons,  he felt it was closer to his natural weight and he relished the chance to fight in a division with more action (can't blame him with the current dismal state of the heavyweight division).  

Once he got started on the proper dietary plan and workout regiment, the pounds started flying off.  He dropped to 180 lbs. so fast that he made the decision to move all the way down to light heavyweight (where the real action and money is). Byrd is now walking around at a somewhat unrecognizable, svelte 172 pounds and looks oddly skinny (video of skinny Byrd).  He is definitely not to be confused with a fighter who blows up to 195 lbs until a month before the fight and then scrambles into crash mode . 

The southpaw has always been a good boxer, (with key wins over Evander Holyfield, Vitali Klitschko and David Tua) and this newly shaped frame should provide some speed and endurance in his campaign at light heavy.  However, I don't think anything can prepare him for the jump from fighting slow moving mud-men in the heavyweight division to the fast-handed and explosive fighters at light heavyweight. 

His fight this weekend is more or less to get his feet wet in the division.  After this bout (which he should win), he will look to set his sights on the top of the talent-rich division.  Byrd hopes to be thrown into the mix of top fighters at light heavy like Dawson, Tarver, Johnson, Jones, Hopkins, and Calzaghe.  

If  Byrd's goal was big purses and high visibility, then he made the right move. However, he may find himself regretting this decision when he realizes that unlike the sluggish and talentless heavy weight divsion, he will run into a variety of some rather stiff competition in his new class.

New video of Byrd's move just released by ESPN at 2:00 pm  

Contender's on the Main-stage: All Except One

The Pride of Providence, Peter Manfredo Jr.,  is headlining another major televised event on ESPN's Friday Night Fights series, slated for May 23rd.   It seems that every time I turn around Manfredo is getting another shot at showcasing his abilities to the main stream television audience, starting with The Contender Series and ending with his two losses on Showtime/PPV. Manfredo is a good (but not great) fighter and I know that he is a major draw in ticket sales and television ratings, but how many chances is he going to get as he hogs the top bill on major televised cards.  I know for a fact that there are much better and more exciting boxers in not only his division (super-middleweight), but all divisions, that deserve a shot at mainstream recognition.

We watched the smaller Alfonzo Gomez step up and beat him when he was the favorite, two decision losses to Sergio Mora, a loss at the hands of Jeff Lacy and a questionable stoppage loss to Joe Calzaghe (stoppage was questionable, but he was getting dominated regardless).  I haven't seen anything from him that justifies the amount of attention he receives.  The obvious explanation is the continued attention (deserved or not) that the long line of Contender participants have received since participating the highly rated television series.

This year we have seen an explosion of ex-Contender's land major bouts on high visibility platforms including Showtime, HBO, and ESPN.  Besides Manfredo, we have seen Cornelius K9 Bundridge defeat ex-champ Kassim Ouma, Brian Vera pull a shocking upset over the highly touted Andy Lee, David Banks get his jaw blown off the hinges by Edison Miranda (see KO of the year candidate here), Alfonzo Gomez put Arturo Gatti into ealry retirement (only to be obliterated by Cotto), Steve Forbes take his best shot at The Golden Boy and Sergio Mora, even after a few dismal fights (one of which I was sitting ringside to watch Elvin Ayala beat Mora only to receive a draw when it went to the cards) receive a shot at the middle weight title against Vernon Forest.  Of all these Contender fighters who have seen their stock soar from the show, there is one fighter that has fallen back into mediocrity for the American public and he is one of the only fighters from that series without a blemish on his record.

Paul Smith from Liverpool, England came over to fight in the Contender series to prove to the American public that British boxing is better than we perceive (it's going to take more than that).  To me he looked liked he had the skills and mental toughness to be a good fighter from the onset.  However, his exit was quick, not because of a loss but because of the new scoring system that was set in place for the 3rd Contender season.  Since the fights before him ended in KO's, to stay in the competition he needed to do as well or better.  He defeated the aforementioned David Banks in a close decision, was booted because he had the lowest score and promptly took his undefeated record back to England.

Since his short stint on the show, he has won two more fights and claimed the vacant English middleweight title (not the most astounding feat) on the non-televised under-card of the Haye-Maccarinelli fight, bringing his record to 23-0. Now the knock on him (like most british fighters) is the poor competition that most of those wins have come from on the way to the top in Britain.  But a boxer can only fight what is there in front of him and that hasn't been much.  

With that said, I would still rather see him on the next bill of ESPN Friday Night Fights instead of Manfredo.  If the reason that all of these fighters mentioned above are getting big fights is because they were on the Contender (which it is), then why not give a guy a shot from the same show who has an undefeated record.  I would much more willingly watch someone who has never lost fight, even all his wins came in Britain (Smith), than watch someone who has been beaten five times right before my eyes on national TV (Manfredo). Who knows,  Smith will probably get knocked cold in his first major televised fight, but wouldn't that be a little better than watching the same ole' thing again?

California Kid Timothy Bradley Upsets Witter

Timothy Bradley has never travelled across an ocean to fight. He hasn't even left the great state of California for one his bouts. And he has never been in the 12th round of any fight, let alone a major title fight.  Yet in his first significant fight on any scale, he managed to do all three of these things - and win.

After 5 rounds of messy (and fairly boring) boxing, Junior The Quitter (or Shitter; whichever you prefer) Witter seemed to have a stronghold on points for the mere fact that he looked like the better of the two sloppy fighters.  In the following round Timothy Bradley landed  an over hand right dropping Witter and changing the landscape of the fight from there on out.   

Bradley pressed Witter for the next eight rounds, while Junior continued using his very awkward tactics of switching from south paw to orthodox every 10 seconds (reminding me of a 15 yr. old amateur with very little training).  When the final bell rang it was clear to everyone at ringside, even the English contingent, that no one could give the victory to Witter.  

Clear to everyone accept on judge who had Witter ahead in the score card 115- 112.  We normally expect this when a English champion is defending his title in is home country, but I find it very hard to agree with the decision.  The other two judges saw the bout the same as the majority and although not overly impressive, Timothy Bradley got the win and the WBC light welterweight title that he deserved.

Before this fight Junior Witter loudly proclaimed he was the best junior middleweight in the world (better than both Hatton or Malignaggi) and that Ricky Hatton was ducking him.  Good thing he was overmatched by Bradley, the fairly unknown #1 mandatory challenger,  so we didn't have to see The Hitman waste a fight whipping this chump around the ring.