Mayweather/Marquez less than a week away!

Only three days to go until saturday nights big fight between the undefeated "Pretty Boy" Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Juan Manuel Marquez. Mayweather was the pound4pound king before he "retired" back in December 2007...and Marquez is the current number 2 pound4pound best fighter just under Manny Pacquiao. Am I excited about this fight? Yes....I look forward to watching most fights...I am looking forward to this one quite abit even though I am expecting to be unhappy with the result. I am a big fan of Marquez....but as tough as he is and as good as he is...I just don't think it will be enough to beat Mayweather. Mayweather is the bigger fighter and holds all the advantages. He's taller...he's heavier...he's stronger...he's faster...he's younger...my god what else could you ask for?? The only "X-Factor" in this fight is Mayweather's long layoff. It's the longest he has been out of the ring and will most definitely have a little rust...it's only natural. I would be so happy to see Marquez win this fight I just cannot see it happening. Still it was a smart decision for him to take the fight. For one thing he is making his biggest payday ever....and even if he loses....so what? He lost to the best fighter in the world...just like everyone else. No shame in that. But you can be sure of one thing....Marquez will be in there trying to make a fight of it and pressing the action. I don't see Marquez as a welterweight...if he loses the fight he really needs to go back down to lightweight and rule the division there. His last fight was a fantastic war with Juan Diaz....Diaz is not a power puncher at all and yet he seemed to stun Marquez a few times....which leads me to believe there is a good chance he gets TKO'd on saturday night by Floyd. Mayweather can easily outbox him to a decision but I can see Marquez getting caught with a counter coming in....much like Hatton did...and then Mayweather jumping all over him to finish the fight....probably in the later rounds. It will be sad to see.
Marquez really is a great warrior though...I am one of those that believes he won both the fights with Manny Pacquiao...so he should make this a very entertaining fight.
I was thinking that Mayweather would have had a super fight with Pacquiao first but he did the right thing in taking a smaller fighter in his first fight back....work off the ring rust...wait for Pacquiao to TKO Miguel Cotto in November...then make the mega fight with Mayweather/Pacquiao next spring.

I also wanted to mention that the one and only James Toney made another comeback last weekend with a second round TKO over Matthew Greer. Toney got down to 217!! Still fat but much better than the 230 from his fight before that. Look out Klitschko's ha ha ha! Actually my dream match is James Toney vs. Nicolai Valuev...5'10'' against 7'1''....great stuff! Who wouldn't want to see that??

On another note super middleweights Mikkel Kessler and Andre Ward both won their fights this last weekend setting up their showdown in November in the Super Six Tournament. Both had soft opponents and both scored early TKO's as expected. In my opinion Arthur Abraham should win the tournament but the Kessler/Ward fight is one I am really looking forward to watching. I'll discuss more on the tournament as it gets closer.

Rumble at Rama IX

Last night I was again an official at Casino Rama for the Rumble at Rama IX card....and I have to say this one might have been the most action packed night yet. Four of the six fights did not reach the final bell, and the main event which went twelve...you didn't want to see end anyways!

The first fight was a little puzzling to me. It was a 4 round super middleweight bout between Stephan Boyd and Pedro DeMelo. As soon as I heard this fight was made I thought, what is DeMelo's camp thinking? Why would you take a fighter in only his second professional fight, and give him to someone like Stephan who is a slick boxer with 11 pro fights? Now I watched Pedro's pro debut at Rama's last show and he did impress me in his first fight....but I knew he had no shot against Stephan. Stephan may not be a devastating puncher but he is a very slick boxer with clever defence....and I should know I've sparred with him several times before. Stephan controlled the fight from the first bell with the left jab...which seemed to frustrate DeMelo....then Stephan picked up the pace landing good body shots and his right uppercut was deadly accurate. Pedro's left eye was starting to close as the fight progressed and Stephan sensing a KO went in for the kill in the 4th round, abandoning his usual laid back style, and the referee waved off the fight. There was no standing 8 count rule in the fight so John Wylie gave Pedro every chance to hang in there and finish the last round but he stopped it just at the right time.

The second fight was a 4 round welterweight bout between Felix Mercedes (2-0) and Dan Caron making his pro debut. Again, abit of a mismatch in my mind for a kids pro debut. Caron was overpowered in the first round and knocked out. Mercedes showed good patience in trying to get his guy out of there, and good power. The fight wasn't long enough for me to get a real good impression of him but he is one to keep your eye on in the future.

The third fight was another 4 rounder in the light middleweight division between Hamilton's Justin Fountain and London's Frank Abbiw. I was suprised in this one, to be honest before the fight I was thinking Abbiw would take a decision. I thought Abbiw was the better boxer with more power but Fountain hurt him at the end of the first round and watching Abbiw in the corner I wasn't sure if he was going to come out.....he seemed exhausted. To his credit though Abbiw did come out and won the second round in my mind when he almost dropped Fountain with a huge left hook....I don't know what kept him up. But Fountain recovered and outworked an exhausted Abbiw over the next 2 rounds to take the unanimous decision. At one point I thought Abbiw would just fall over on his own....not sure if he just didn't train very hard for this fight or what.

Next up was the heavyweights. Canadian Heavyweight champ Greg Kielsa took on American Kevin Montiy. This fight was disappointing. In the first round Kielsa was actually showing some good aggressiveness and taking the fight to Montiy. Kielsa landed some solid shots and I had a feeling it would not be going the distance but in the second round there was an accidental clash of heads which left Montity with a bad cut over his left eye. The doctor advised the fight be stopped and the fight was ruled a technical draw....which Montiy should have been pleased with since he didn't have to leave with the loss that was most likely coming.

The co-feature of the night was Steve Molitor facing Dario Azuaga from Argentina in a featherweight 8 rounder. Azuaga was a late sub which usually means it won't be a long fight. I knew it was going to be a quick one when Azuaga stepped into the ring and I saw a soft body...I don't remember the last time I've ever seen a soft featherweight.....actually I don't think I've ever seen that. His punches were awkward and he was always off balance...the guy had 92 pro fights you would have thought that somewhere along the way he would have learned some balance.....which leads me to believe the record was somewhat suspect. But to his credit he had some good defence and head movement....which is mostly what he did in this fight....fight defensively. His defence made Molitor miss alot in the first few rounds but Steve was still winning each round without question. Actually one body shot is the only real punch I can recall Azuaga landing in 5 rounds.....by the 4th and 5th Molitor had figured Azuaga out and did what you should do with that calibre of fighter, and get him out of there. In the 4th Azuaga was dropped and in the 5th he was dropped two more times and hurt with a body shot......as the referee was giving him the count his corner stepped in and threw in the towel.

The main event was a very exciting 12 round contest between WBO Junior Batamweight Champion Jose Lopez of Puerto Rico and the young 19 year old Filipino sensation Marvin Sonsona. Might have been the most exciting fight yet at Rama. The Filipino-Canadian fans were out in full force waving their flags and making it a great fight atmosphere. Sonsona who was 13-0 with 12 knockouts was looking for the KO early. I thought Lopez stole the first round while the two of them were feeling each other out but then starting in the 2nd Sonsona was showing that power he was known for with some hard counter hooks. Sonsona was starting to take over the fight with his power and dropped Lopez in the 4th. It was the kind of knockdown which made me think the fight was gonna be over very soon...Sonsona pressed him trying to finish but Lopez the warrior hung in there and survived. Sonsona controlled the middle rounds as Lopez was trying to clear his head. The power punching Filipino had never gone past 5 rounds before and it was starting to show in the later rounds as he was tiring and Lopez started to mount a comeback.
Lopez starting taking the later rounds on my card and was landing some good solid shots....to Sonsona's credit he took them all very well. There was some great exchanges in the fight with both fighters landing their power shots.....to my surprise though it was Sonsona who took the last 2 rounds of the fight as Lopez seemed to slow by then and his offence was not very effective.
Marvin Sonsona became the new champion at only 19 with a unanimous decision....the scores were 114-111, 115-110, and 116-109. The 116-109 card was way off to me....I thought the fight was alot closer than that even though Lopez had lost a point for low blows in the 8th....but Sonsona was clearly the victor. Sonsona did alot of things wrong in there but his power and toughness made up for it this time.....only time will tell if he can be the next Pacquiao but he definitely has the potential....

Catch the action tonight on TSN at 11:30pm

Thankfully....Diaz gets the Decision!

Everywhere I look everyone is talking about about the "controversy" of saturday's fight. I don't know why there is such a public outcry for Malignaggi losing the decision saturday night to Juan Diaz....the main thing we have to look at here is if he loses, then chances are his next few fights do not get televised....so we the boxing fans benefit from that. Let's all be happy and celebrate his loss and reap the rewards of network free Paula for a little while. I personally scored the fight 115-113 for Diaz...ok yes the 118-110 score was bad, I'll admit that much at least. But I cannot stand the guy at all and when a round is close I cannot give it to the guy who runs and avoids all contact. You gotta give it to the guy who is the aggressor and at least trying to make a fight out of it. It is after all a fight...its not a lets run and avoid each other match. Can you imagine what kind of fight it would have been if Diaz did not move forward? Judges and fans do not want to watch someone run for 12 rounds, there is no entertainment value in that. De La Hoya found that out when he lost his decision to Trinidad for running the last 3 rounds. There is something called boxing, which is giving good movement and angles, but still "fighting"...then there is just jabbing and running which Paula has perfected because he lacks the ability to hurt an opponent. I can enjoy watching guys like Pernell Whitaker fight, and Winky Wright and Chris Byrd, those are boxers who still know how to fight. I have a question for the Paula supporters out there....would you really reach down into your pockets and pay to watch him fight next time?
No no....don't shake your head yes just yet, I want you to think about it. Be honest with yourself, would you pay to watch him fight? Actually I shouldn't say watch him fight, would you pay to watch him in the ring? I highly doubt it....and why is that? Because he bores everyone! Here is another question, would you ever watch one of his fights a second time? Like when Juan Diaz fought Juan Manuel Marquez earlier this year in what has probably been the best fight so far this year...I have seen the fight at least 3 times....because it is a fantastic match between two real fighters. Has anyone ever sat down and popped in a DVD to watch a Malignaggi fight a second time? I already know the answer to that without having to ask. Watching him live was dreadful enough, who could sit through it again?? I would rather watch John Ruiz fight a clone of himself than ever watch Paula fight again. Everytime he opens his mouth I like him even less, and that's hard to do. The guy has fought 3 good names now in his career, and lost to all 3 of them. So good riddance to you Paula Malignaggi....maybe you would have gotten that decision if you were a "fighter"....but I am glad you didn't.

Another Beating for Paula...

I am looking forward to tonight's junior welterweight fight between Juan Diaz and Paula Malignaggi, not because I am expecting a fantastic brawl, or great fight, but because I will enjoy watching Paula take another beating and with a little luck he'll retire and we will not have to be tortured with his fights ever again. How Malignaggi has any following outside his immediate family is beyond me...why is that George?? I feel that in boxing, while it's not important to score a KO every time you are in the ring, you still need to have some punching power to make your opponent think twice before just walking in on you. Paula simply does not possess any power whatsoever, which makes me wonder what made him want to be a fighter?? He has 5 knockouts in 27 fights, and has not scored a TKO since 2003! The only fighter I find even remotely as boring as him is of course John Ruiz. Tonight I am expecting Diaz to just walk straight through those feathery fists and break Paula down until the ref or his corner has to mercifully stop the fight in the later rounds. Diaz is very tough, showed it in his last fight which was a war with Juan Manuel Marquez, and he is a volume puncher that just keeps on coming and throwing non stop for 12 rounds. Diaz is not much of a power puncher himself but makes up for it with volume and breaks down his opponents. Should be how it will play out tonight and even though Diaz doesn't hit like Cotto, Paula might look like this when it's all over:


The undercard has 2 interesting fights featuring hard hitting middleweight prospect Daniel Jacobs, and former world champion Robert Guerrero is fighting for another junior lightweight title. Usually I'd say don't blink when Jacobs is in the ring, but the last time I said that the fight went to an 8 round decision, but the guy can punch. He is Malignaggi's opposite! Guerrero is also a very good fighter, and while I am not too familiar with the champion Malcolm Klassen, I am expecting Guerrero to get the win.

I haven't had alot to say lately, all the big fights this summer were either cancelled or rescheduled but we have Floyd Mayweather and Juan Manual Marquez coming up next month and later this year I am looking forward to Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto, David Haye and Nicolai Valuev, the super middleweight tournament, and even Vitali Klitschko and Chris Arreola. I only want to see that last fight since Klitschko will finally expose Arreola and stop everyone from thinking he is the next great thing. I'll analyze the other fights as they get closer.

Rumble at Rama VIII

Last night I was ringside at Casino Rama officiating for the Rumble at Rama VIII. As usual it was very smoothly run and they really put on a great show up there. The venue is perfect for boxing and it looked like a sell out crowd again. There was 6 fights on the card showcasing some good Canadian talent.

First up was a women's super batamweight 4 rounder. French Canadian Nathalie Forget improved her record to 2-0 with a 4 round shut out of Amanda Ayotte. Forget looked very accurate and barely missed a sinlge punch. I felt she could have easily gotten a TKO if she pressed the action a little more but seemed to be content with going the distance. To Ayotte's credit she took all the shots and did survive to the end.

The second fight was the pro debut of super middleweight Pedro DeMelo from Milton. He took on Juan Sanchez from Nova Scotia. I have to say I was impressed with DeMelo....he looked very calm and in control for it being his first professional fight. He has a good style and pounded out an easy 4 round shut out. Sanchez was game but never really in the fight. Keep an eye on DeMelo.

Next up was Hamilton's Justin Fountain taking on Ivan Flores of Mexico in a 4 round junior middleweight contest. This one had some good action and good exchanges especially towards the end of the fight. Both fighters look exhausted by the midway point but Fountain was able to land enough clean shots to take the decision. Fountain's right uppercut being the best tool in the fight.

Canadian Heavyweight Champion Greg Kielsa fought an overmatched and overweight Byron Polley in the night's 4th fight. Kielsa kept his composure looking to box but Polley was a game fighter and did land some decent left hooks in the third round but was dropped by a body shot.
In the 4th round Kielsa was actually stunned when he moved in to finish Polley...he legs buckled momentarily before he was able to drop Polley again en route to the 4th round KO. Polley just barely made the count and the fight was waved off.

In a very interesting matchup, an undefeated junior middleweight prospect from the U.S., Austin Trout (17-0-13KO) took on Brampton's Shawn Garnett. Garnett started out well showing great defensive skills slipping most of Trout's shots. He had a very good second round which had me wondering about an upset in the fight. But as Garnett tired and slowed down by the 3rd round Trout picked up the pace and found his range landing more and more often. Garnett was never able to get back into the fight in the second half and Trout walked away still undefeated with an 8 round unanimous decision.

The main event saw the return of the "Canadian Kid" Steve Molitor. Molitor took on the tough mexican Heriberto Ruiz for the IBF #2 ranked super bantamweight eliminator over 12 rounds.
It was the clear that the Casino Rama crowd was there to cheer on their fighter. The fight though turned out to be more of a chess match with not alot of action. They started very slow over the first couple rounds trying to figure each other out which did draw some boo's from the fans who were hoping for a little more action. The rounds were close but I felt Molitor was stealing them with the cleaner shots. When they did exchange Molitor was the faster of the two and landed the better punches. Around the 5th round Ruiz caught Molitor with a right hand that appeared to shake him momentarily and Molitor played defensive clearing his head. Midway through the fight there was an accidental beadbutt that left Molitor with a decent cut high up on his head. The cut wasn't in a bad spot but they were never able to stop the bleeding so it looked much worse than it was. The last half of the fight was much like the first. Ruiz stole a few rounds here and there but Molitor controlled it for the most part with the cleaner shots. The fight was actually called a split decision but I had personally scored it 117-112 for Molitor. Two of the judges had it 116-112 for Molitor and one had it the reverse 116-112 for Ruiz. Ruiz was the aggressor for most of the fight but he was just not effective. Not a stellar performance for Molitor but still a victory and that's what counts. He will be returning to Rama on September 4th for his next fight. All credit to Allan Tremblay for a great show again.

Pascal Survives a Shark Attack and Wladimir Dominates Again!

Friday nights WBC Light Heavyweight championship fight between undefeated champion Adrian “The Shark” Diaconu (26-0-15KO) and challenger Jean Pascal (22-1-15KO) lived up to the hype and was a great action fight. I was really looking forward to watching this fight and it certainly did not disappoint. Both fighters are based in Montreal and since the fight took place in the Bell Centre in Montreal there was a great crowd on hand cheering their fighters. You didn’t have to worry about a hometown decision this time. I knew beforehand Pascal’s speed and movement was going to be the key factor in the fight and it was. Pascal was moving up from the super middleweight division and brought all of his speed with him. I have to say I was always impressed with Jean Pascal up until his fight with Omar Pittman. Pascal had a disappointing appearance and seemed to struggle and was hurt by the journeyman fighter with little power. I wasn’t sure where Pascal was going to go after that but then he redeemed himself with a great action fight with WBC Super Middleweight champ Carl Froch. Even in losing the decision I thought Pascal gave a very good performance and showed more toughness than I would have given him credit for. He also brought that toughness up into last nights fight. I knew Diaconu had the edge in power, being the natural light heavyweight, and if he were to win the fight it would probably have to be by knockout.
Pascal started out fast in round one showcasing his superior speed landing some hard right hands and moving right back out of Diaconu’s punching range. Pascal likes to stay back out of range then suddenly rush in with combinations, and then he is out again. He keeps his hands very low, which could be very dangerous against a faster opponent, but Diaconu was having trouble landing anything with any significance early on. The two of them traded very good shots in the third round as Diaconu seemed to have found his range and was starting to come on in the fight. The fifth round was highly entertaining as Pascal dropped the champion with a left hook. Diaconu didn’t appear too hurt but Pascal rushed him and landed a few more solid right hands which ended with Diaconu down on his knees but referee Marlon Wright didn’t call it a knockdown. It could have been argued either way. Then towards the end of the round Diaconu stunned Pascal with a right hand and I was worried Pascal was going to go down (I was pulling for Pascal to win as Diaconu usually bores me in his fights). Pascal survived the round and came right back with a strong sixth round. Throughout the next couple rounds the two fighters had great exchanges both landing hard shots. I am surprised that Pascal stood and fought a lot of the times with the stronger champion, but he did. Pascal was seeming to tire towards the championship rounds and Diaconu stunned him in the eleventh and was looking like he was on his way to a TKO. To Pascal’s credit each time he was hurt he came right back with intensity. In my gut I was worried that Pascal was not going to survive the twelfth but he did and looked every bit like the champion he was about to become. Pascal got the unanimous decision with scores of 115-112, 116-112, and 116-111.
It was a good win for Jean Pascal and shows that he can be a threat in the light heavyweight division.

On the undercard season 4 Contender champion Troy Ross took on journeyman Michael Simms in a ten round cruiserweight fight. Simms was coming into the fight with 10 losses but had never been stopped before. So even though Ross can pack a punch I knew he was going to have to win by decision. Ross did exactly what you have to do against Simms and did pound out a workmanlike decision victory. Ross’s right eye started closing early in the fight and he was later cut by an accidental headbutt, but neither seemed to deter him his gameplan of swarming Simms and landing power hooks and body shots on the inside. Simms was never able to assert himself or get himself into the fight and it was a near shutout for the Canadian cruiserweight. It was a good night of boxing for the Canadian fighters.


Yesterday in Germany IBF/WBO Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko completely dominated Ruslan Chagaev on his way to a 10th round TKO victory. The fight was stopped between rounds just as the bell for the 10th rang. Chagaev had a nasty cut over his left eye and was never in the fight at all. The fight was every bit as dull as I had expected. Right from round one Klitschko mostly just used the left jab to dominate the fight, staying on the outside and fighting a typical "careful" Wladimir fight. Chagaev could not get inside and never found his range. Chagaev was dropped in the second round by a big Klitschko right hand. Most of the fight was just watching Klitschko's left hand at work, with the occasional right thrown in. By the 9th round he really started giving Chagaev a beating and to my joy Chagaev never came out for the 10th. He never looked in trouble of being knocked out but he was getting beaten up. Not a really satisfying result for me but it will have to do. Where does Klitschko go from here? Not sure I even care...aside from David Haye I can't even think of another heavyweight fighter I have any interest in watching well except for the great James Toney. I'd like Wladimir to fight Chris Arreola just so people would finally see how horrible Arreola is when Wlad KO's him and stop talking about him like he is the next great thing.

Wlad Defends on Saturday and Pascal is Swimming with a Shark!

This coming saturday the IBF/WBO Heavyweight champion, Wladimir Klitschko, defends his title in Germany. For so long I was anxiously awaiting this weekend, the first time in a very long time that I have been excited about a heavyweight championship fight. The division has been in a sad state for so long, lacking any decent action fights and fighters. But this saturday was supposed to have changed that when Wladimir was going to defend against Britain's David Haye. Haye is a hard punching cruiserweight champion who has recently moved up to the heavyweight division and has done all he could to get under the skin of the Klitschko brothers trying to get one of them to agree to fight him. They are giants compared to him but boxing is a business, and fighting either of them means more money than Haye has seen to date. I didn't like Haye's chances with Vitali Klitschko...the WBC champ and the bigger of the brothers...Vitali is alot tougher than Wladimir. But Haye against Wlad was interesting. Wlad is still much bigger and much stronger...6 foot 6, 250 lbs against 6 foot 3, 215 lbs...but Wlad's chin isn't so solid. My instincts told me Wlad was too big and probably would have KO'd the smaller Haye...but Haye had a punchers chance which would have added some drama to the fight. He definitely has the power to KO Wlad if he can catch him cleanly. But as it turned out Haye got injured in training camp and pulled out of the fight....and he was replaced by my oh so favourite fighter Ruslan Chagaev...(sarcasm). The exciting fight I was waiting for is now most likely going to be a snorefest. The only consolation here is that I believe I will get to see Chagaev finally beaten. Something I have been waiting for. I was upset in thinking that Chagaev was going to beat Valuev a few weeks ago and take the WBA title...but now at least I don't see him beating Wladimir. It's funny...I can usually say that any opponent of Wlad's has a punchers chance given his weak chin...but not this time. I really can't picture Chagaev knocking him out. I see Wlad boxing his way to a careful decision in an extremely dull fight. If I am really lucky he will KO Chagaev but I don't think he will. So the heavyweight division continues on with fights that inspire no excitement.....


At least friday night offers some interesting fights, and Canadian ones too! Montreal's super middleweight Jean Pascal is stepping up in weight to fight the WBC Light Heavyweight champ Adrian "The Shark" Diaconu who also fights out of Montreal. Now how Diaconu became WBC champ is beyond me, it was given to him?!? He didn't actually win it in the ring. He didn't beat anyone for it. It was handed to him for some reason. I've never been impressed by Diaconu...I find his fights boring aside from the time he destroyed a washed up Rico Hoye. I believe Pascal is going to prove too fast for him and outbox him to a decision victory. Pascal looked good even in losing his title fight to Carl Froch, he impressed me that night. The only edge Diaconu will have is power but I don't think it will be enough for him to win.
The undercard features Brampton's cruiserweight Troy Ross who I really feel is Canada's pound for pound best fighter. Troy is coming off his best accomplishment so far in winning the season 4 Contender tournament that was held in Singapore. He won all four of his fights impressively, three of them by KO. Friday night he will take on journeyman cruiserweight Michael Simms. Simms has 10 losses but has never been stopped before. Troy should have little trouble beating Simms but will have to look to win the decision, and not try so hard for the KO. A KO of Simms would be impressive, but not likely.

Cotto Survives a Close One and Mercer is my Hero!

Miguel Cotto hung onto his WBO Welterweight title saturday with a very close split decision over tough Joshua Clottey. The fight could have gone either way by a point or two or even a draw would have been ok...although two of the judges had Cotto further ahead than that. I really felt the 12th round was going to be the deciding round in a back and forth action fight and Cotto took the last round. But then to my surprise according to the judges Cotto didn't even need the 12th they already had him winning. Cotto jumped ahead early by scoring a knockdown off a jab in the very first round...Clotty just walked right into it. Then Cotto was badly cut over his left eye due to an accidental headbutt in the 3rd which was a nasty cut...and I didn't really think the fight was going to last 12 because of it. After the 4th round ended...because it was accidental, if the fight had to be stopped they would have went to the scorecards. A good strategy (although not crowd pleasing), would have been for Cotto to try to get the doctor to stop the fight on the cut since he was ahead early and he could have escaped with a technical decision. Thankfully that is not the kind of fighter Cotto is and he stuck in there til the very end even though it was clear that the cut was bothering him. Then in the 5th round while the two fighters were in the corner...it appeared Clottey was holding Cotto and Cotto slipped out of it causing Clottey to fall to the canvas hurting his leg. At first it didn't look like Clottey was even going to continue. Watching the replay I don't even see how he could have hurt his leg since it looked as if he landed head first. After that Clottey did seem to have trouble with his movement and Cotto had him trapped on the ropes taking a pounding. They were tradining rounds...Cotto wins one, the Clottey comes right back and wins the next. There was a few times during the fight it looked like Clottey was on his way to a TKO landing some great hard combos on Cotto getting him into trouble. I was not impressed by Cotto in this fight. It was a very good fight and entertaining but it was not an easy one for Cotto. He definitely struggled and barely escaped with the win. Based on what I saw saturday night I don't really feel Cotto has a long career left in front of him. I believe he would lose a rematch with Mosley, and I could not see him beating Floyd Mayweather, or Manny Pacquiao, or Paul Williams, or even Andre Berto. He is still a good fighter I just would not place him with the elite anymore...and alot of that most likely has to do with the terrible beating he took from Antonio Margarito. As for Clottey, he was impressive even in losing the decision, although he did complain alot in the fight which was a little annoying. I still expect him to be a threat in the welterweight division. Would like to see a Clottey/Berto fight next.

On an interesting note, former WBO Heavyweight champ and one of my fav heavies, Ray Mercer had a fight over the weekend. The 48 year old Mercer took on former UFC Heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia. Last week I had heard the fight was cancelled because the boxing commission had said the fight would be illegal, but it took place anyways. Even a 48 year old Mercer was too much for that horrible Sylvia...and Mercer knocked him out in 9 seconds! HA HA HA HA HA. Made my day. Every glorious second of the fight is on youtube, just use this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUDubnBmt5w

Cotto vs. Clottey

I am really looking forward to this weekend's fight between Puerto Rico's Miguel Cotto and Ghana's Joshua Clottey for Cotto's WBO Welterweight title. It took me awhile to appreciate Miguel Cotto..I was not an instant fan like most. But he won me over with the massive beating he gave to Paula Malignaggi. Then again I am a fan of anyone who can beat Malignaggi (I think I even like John Ruiz more than him!!!). Cotto's aggressive style and punching power make him entertaining to watch but I think he still has holes in his defense that make him vulnerable to punchers. Cotto seems to use his offense as his defense. Clottey while not a huge puncher is a very strong guy. He is not particularly fast but will keep on coming. What the two fighters have in common is that they both have only really lost to Antonio Margarito. For Cotto that is his only loss, and for Clottey...he has one other loss by disqualification to Carlos Baldomir in a fight he was leading in...so Margarito is his only real loss. Those are pretty good records considering how tough Margarito is. Both fighters started out fast against Margarito winning the early rounds then faded as the fight went on. Cotto really took a beating by Margarito getting stopped in the 11th round...but now that win is under question since the "hand wrapping scandal" Margarito was involved with in the Shane Mosley fight. And Clottey was outboxing Margarito early in their fight but injured his right hand and was unable to use it effectively for the second half of the fight and he lost the decision. The big factor for me in this fight is how much was taken out of Cotto in the Margarito fight. Many times when a fighter takes a beating like that they are never the same afterwards. He did look like the old Cotto in winning his last fight against Michael Jennings for the vacant WBO title....but then Jennings didn't really put up any resistance. It was a good fight for Cotto to take after his loss. Clottey has been on a roll since losing that decision to Margarito winning his last 5 fights...one being a good win over the late Diego Corrales and his last one against Zab Judah. I can really see this fight going either way and that's what makes for a great fight...when you are not entirely sure who will take it. I believe Cotto should be able to take a decision...if he is the same Cotto as before the Margarito fight. But if that fight damaged him as it might have, then I could see Clottey getting a late round TKO. Either way it will be exciting to watch.
And for anyone who has never seen the great Cotto/Malignaggi fight...here is a photo that gives an example of Cotto's power.

Berto Shines, Cintron Upsets, The Giant Escapes...

Since I was in Brantford saturday night at the pro show I had missed watching the HBO After Dark card live but watched it first thing sunday morning. I did all I could to avoid knowing the results so I could still watch the fights with some excitement. WBC Welterweight Champ Andre Berto continued to shine with a good unanimous decision over Juan Urango. As I thought Berto was just too fast for Urango. Urango kept plodding forward winging those wild powerful hooks but they just couldn't find their mark. Berto showed great movement and speed but just fell into the clinch far too much. And I am not sure why. Maybe he was worried about Urango's power on the inside but he held alot more than he should have been. The 4th round was probably the best with some great exchanges and Berto had landed a fantastic right uppercut but some tangled feet sent Urango to his back and the referee didn't call it a knockdown. Berto controlled the entire fight and made it look easy. But even having two impressive wins now over Urango and Collazo I still wouldn't place Berto with the elite in the division just yet. I still don't think he is quite at the level of Shane Mosley, Antonio Margarito, Miguel Cotto, even Paul Williams, but I would be interested in seeing him fight one of them in the near future.


Kermit Cintron surprised alot of boxing fans on the undercard by winning a 12 round decision over previously unbeaten rising super welterweight star Alfredo Angulo. I have never been impressed with Cintron much before but I was this time. Could have been his best performance to date. He boxed well and landed alot of great bombs in a very entertaining fight. He had Angulo in a little bit of trouble in the 4th round as well. Angulo persued him the entire fight but just couldn't be effective. Angulo's style reminds me so much of Antonio Margarito, just a notch below...he even looks like him. I wouldn't call it a huge setback for Angulo, the fight was still very good and competitive. He has to go back, work on a few things, and I can still see him winning a title at 154 lbs somewhere in the future. And based on this performance Cintron is a threat in the division. Would be interested in seeing him fight Vernon Forrest or a rematch with Sergio Martinez.

And on a final note the Russian Giant Nicolai Valuev escaped this weekend with his WBA Heavyweight title as the rematch with Ruslan Chagaev was cancelled the day before the fight. Apparently Chagaev had failed some Finnish medical tests and they would not allow the fight to proceed. So the boxing world was spared that fight for the time being. But then to my shock and horror I read that John Ruiz's team is petitioning for a third fight now between Ruiz and Valuev! Funny since I had mentioned in a previous post that the only fighter I hate watching more than Chagaev, is Ruiz!!! I was spared Chagaev to possibly having an even worse fight made!!! The only reason a fight promotor would want to put together a third fight between Nicolai Valuev and John Ruiz is that they must just simply be cruel natured and in some sadistic way want to torture the boxing world with this fight. The first two meetings between the two have to rank up there with the worst heavyweight fights I've ever had to sit through, and that is saying alot. Ruiz is simply just dreadful to watch. But my curse is that if the fight gets made...I will have to endure sitting through all 12 painful rounds to watch.

The Showdown in Bell Town

Last night I was officiating at a pro boxing show in Brantford, Ontario...the Showdown in Bell Town. It was a decent six fight card featuring some of Ontario's young talent. There was a good crowd on hand at the Brantford Civic Centre to cheer on some of their local fighters.

The first fight saw the pro debut of Brantford's Isaac Maich as he took on John LePere from Toronto at 147lbs. It was a good workmanlike perfomance for Maich's first time out as he pounded out a 4 round unanimous decision.

The second fight had local fighter Dan Slezsak take on Scott Paul from Niagra Falls in a rematch where Paul had stopped Slezsak in the second round. This was a tough lightweight fight that I would have called a draw. Paul got the decision but I felt he gave away the second and third rounds as he looked very tired. I thought he just edged the fourth and final round as Slezsak also looked very exhausted by that point.

The third fight, which had the most action of the night, was a 124 lbs women's fight between Kara McCleod of Brantford and Priscilla Trompowsky of Toronto. Entertaining back and forth action with both fighters landing clean hard shots, but Kara just stole the decision with the cleaner punches over 4 rounds. These two never stopped.

Next up was London's Frank Abbiw as he took on Chris Aucoin in a welterweight bout. Aucoin was never able to get himself into the fight as he was dropped in the first and second round. Abbiw might have been able to finish the hurt fighter but got a little too wild throwing wide hooks trying too hard to get the KO. Abbiw looked tired by the fourth but swept the fight with a unanimous decision.

The fifth fight was for the newly created Ontario Boxing Council Lightweight championship belt. Orangeville's Buzz Grant took on Bellville's Harrison King-McBain in a 6 rounder. Grant's effective movement and counter punching allowed him to steal most of the earlier rounds but McBain came on stong in the last two rounds chasing Grant down and landing some good shots. Just felt he waited a little too long and Grant pulled out the decision.

The main event was another 6 round fight for the OBC Welterweight belt between local Paul Watson and Mississauga's Tebor Brosch. This fight had the crowd charged up, especially since the pro Watson crowd was pretty liquored up and getting a little rowdy. I'd say the first half of the fight was fairly close, neither fighter really taking charge and landing clean blows...but Watson started slowly showing the signs of being beaten up as Brosch landed more frequently with power shots in the second half of the fight. I felt Brosch could have possibly gotten a TKO in the sixth but was pretty tired by the last round and he did enough to take the decision which was not a popular one with the crowd.
All in all a good show.

A Giant Rematch!

The Heavyweight division in boxing is in a sad state, and has been for quite some time now. How many people even realize that this weekend is the WBA Heavyweight Championship? How many people even know who the WBA champ is? Or any Heavyweight champion? Well the WBA Heavyweight champion is the 7 foot 1 Russian giant...Nicolai Valuev. On saturday in Germany he will fight in a rematch against the only man who has beaten him so far, the undefeated and former WBA champ Ruslan Chagaev. The only thing that makes this fight even remotely interesting is shown in the photo here...7 foot 1, against 6 foot 1! It's not very often you'll get to see a fight where a whole foot in height separates the two fighters...and about 100 pounds!
And yet after mentioning the statistical differences between them, Chagaev didn't have alot of trouble beating Valuev when they first met in 2007 for the WBA title. The fight was dull and boring to be honest. Valuev plodding forward like Frankenstein's Monster...and Chagaev moving left and right constantly and not missing his straight left hand (Chagaev is a southpaw). Valuev just seemed to have no defense against the left. Chagaev is nicknamed "White Tyson" which is deceiving since he holds not even a fraction of the punching power Mike Tyson did. Frankly, Chagaev has bored me to death every fight I've seen him in. Like with John Ruiz...I find myself always routing for Chagaev's opponents regardless of who it is in the hopes that Chagaev will lose and his fights will not be televised anymore. I have a curse....that if a fight is televised at least somewhere, I must watch it, no matter if I am not a fan of the fighters. While the giant Valuev really has no talent whatsoever, I find myself interested in watching his fights. The size of him grabs my curiousity as I want to see how his opponents adapt and fight him. Unfortunately for me I can see Chagaev winning another boring 12 round decision this weekend. I am not quite sure what Valuev can do different to beat him. Valuev is slow, plodding, doesn't pack a big punch even though he weighs over 300 pounds, has awful defense.....I am hoping Valuev finds some way to win but I feel Chagaev will once again be WBA champ. Chagaev only lost the belt when he was stripped due to some injuries and he was not able to defend it.

Also this weeked there is an interesting Welterweight championship fight with undefeated WBC champ Andre Berto.

Berto is fighting once beaten Juan Urango. Urango is stepping up in weight but was a champion at 140 lbs, losing only to Ricky Hatton by decision. Urango packs a punch but I feel will be too slow for Berto. Berto is an action fighter with decent power. His last fight was a very entertaining 12 round decision over former Welterweight champ Luis Collazo. Berto should be able to outbox Urango and win a decision. The undercard has another interesting fight between rising Super Welterweight star Alfredo Angulo and former world champion Kermit Cintron. I was never too impressed with Cintron but he can punch very hard. I feel that his two devastating losses to Antonio Margarito really took alot of out him too. I can see Angulo scoring a TKO in an all action fight.

Miranda Outclassed...

As a follow up my instincts held true and Andre Ward just outboxed and outclassed Edison Miranda last saturday night winning a 12 round unanimous decision. Miranda's accuracy was horrible. It was no wonder he looked completely spent by the third round after missing so many bombs! But to my surprise the odd times that Miranda did land a good shot, Ward took them very well and never really appeared hurt in the fight. I give Ward alot of credit....he is alot tougher than I had initially thought. It was a rough and tough fight but you would have been hard pressed to find any rounds that you could have given to Miranda. In fact there was a few times in the fight that I felt if Ward was just a little bit more aggressive he could have gotten a TKO. He is not a big puncher but he does put punches together very well. He is a definite threat
in the Super Middleweight division....I could see him outboxing WBC champ Carl Froch and IBF champ Lucian Bute....but not sure if he could do the same thing to WBA champ Mikkel Kessler who I feel is the best in the division. I know there is talks now for Froch and Bute to fight and unify the titles this summer. I see Froch winning that fight, then maybe Ward taking both his belts after that. We shall see.....

The Boxer vs. The Puncher

In just a few hours I will be sitting down to watch a classic matchup of the "Boxer" versus the "Puncher". The "Boxer" in this fight, Andre Ward, is undefeated in 18 matches and won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics for the US in the Light Heavyweight division. The "Puncher" is Colombia's Edison Miranda who has 32 wins and 28 knockouts! I have to say I am excited about this fight. Ward is a very good boxer but hasn't had any tough competition yet. His biggest step up so far was his last fight with Henry Buchanan where he pounded out an easy 12 round decision. Miranda has been in tough many times already having had 2 fights with middleweight kingpin Arthur Abraham, Kelly Pavlik who is also a middleweight champion, and strong Allan Green. The professional experience, and power edge goes to the hard punching Miranda but Ward was a highly decorated amateur star with excellent technical abilities. Ward is also the younger fighter by 3 years. How will this play out? It's a tough call for me. I am sitting right in the middle this time. Having watched them both fight many many times I am leaning towards a decision victory for Ward after outboxing Miranda and staying away from exchanges. BUT...if there is one thing Miranda does exceedingly well...that's punch hard...very very hard. For evidence of that you just have to look back to his first fight with Germany's Arthur Abraham and the damage he did to Abraham by breaking his jaw in two places by the 5th round.

Although the amazing part to that story is that Abraham continued to fight with the broken jaw and won the decision over Miranda! Ward has been knocked down only once in his career but the fighter that dropped him was not known to be a puncher. So does that tell us something about his chin? Or was that just a lucky shot? Well Miranda is going to put that chin to the test tonight. Miranda has been stopped twice before, once in the rematch with Abraham, and again by Kelly Pavlik. But both those fighters are power punches, I wouldn't necessarily classify Ward as a power puncher. So I can definitely see Ward boxing his way to a decision tonight but it would not surprise me either if Miranda spoiled those plans and knocked him out. Should be interesting either way!

Dawson/Tarver II....Much Anticipated??

Last week I was flipping channels and came across the commercial for saturday nights rematch between IBF Light Heavyweight champion "Bad" Chad Dawson and Antonio Tarver. The commercial referred to the fight as "Much Anticipated". Who was anticipating this fight? Other than maybe Antonio Tarver? Not me that's for sure. But still, I will watch any fight and find a way to enjoy it. I was interested in seeing their first fight when it was announced. Tarver was nearing the end of his career but I figured it would be a good test to see how Dawson handles a good southpaw boxer like himself. He passed the test pounding out a good workman like decision without taking any damage like his previous fight against tough veteran Glen Johnson. Now there was no drama or controversy in that first fight to warrant a rematch in my mind. Dawson beat Tarver....and beat him clearly. It wasnt' even entertaining enough to want to see them do it again. But, saturday night they did it again, and Dawson, as expected, beat him again much like the first fight. Tarver may have been a little more aggressive but showed none of the pop to his punches that he had in the second and third fight with Roy Jones Jr., he wasn't a threat at all.
Chad Dawson is the star in the Light Heavyweight division but needs some big fights now to really get his name out there. He does have a good win over current Cruiserweight kingpin Tomasz Adamek, a win over Glen Johnson and now two over Tarver but those haven't really done much to bring him the recognition he is seeking. He's been trying to get a shot at now retired Joe Calzaghe, so that fight looks very unlikely. His only other chance at a big fight in this current division is one against Bernard Hopkins which could be likely somewhere in the near future as Bernard nevers seems to duck a challenge. Other than that he may need to move up to Cruiserweight and seek a rematch with Adamek or hope that some Middle and Super Middleweight stars move up like a Carl Froch, or Mikkel Kessler, or Arthur Abraham. I believe Chad Dawson is a very talented fighter with great potential....he is just stuck right now in a division lacking the big opponents he needs to really showcase himself.

Mayweather Jr. is Back!

On the day of the big Pacquiao/Hatton fight, former pound4pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. has officially announced his return to the ring. And was anyone surprised by that? I knew it would just be a matter of time before he returned. I think all the talk about Pacquiao being the best and the new pound4pound king got to him and he wants to come back to prove to the world that he is still the best and everyone needs to acknowledge that. He returns July 18 to face lightweight star Juan Manuel Marquez. Now I am a huge Marquez fan and one of those people who believe that Marquez actually should have gotten the decisions in both his fights with Manny Pacquiao. Close tough fights yes....but Marquez just squeezed them out in my mind. So with those two fights combined with his recent performances you have to place him right up there in the pound4pound rankings. But the fight with Mayweather....bad matchup. Marquez will just be too small in my opinion. He's only recently moved up to 135lbs and had a very tough fight his last time out against former lightweight champ Juan Diaz. The best fight so far of 2009! Diaz is not considered a power puncher at all but seemed to have Marquez stunned a few times in the fight which led me to believe Marquez was just not used to facing a bigger opponent. Now he wants to face Mayweather at welterweight?? The fight does make sense on a few levels. He'll make more money in this fight than any he's had before...and hey, it's Floyd Mayweather Jr., if you lose it's not really a big deal because everyone else has lost to him as well. Doesn't hurt your career to lose to the best fighter in boxing. Marquez is very tough and very strong but as I said will just be too small for Floyd at that weight and I imagine will lose a decision. After taking a year and half off from boxing after the Hatton fight, Mayweather certainly wouldn't want to jump straight into the mega fight with Pacquiao with the roll that he has been on lately. You don't want to be shaking off ring rust with Pacquiao coming straight at you. So Mayweather did the right thing by taking another fight first, and while Marquez is a great fighter, Floyd doesn't feel threatened by the smaller fighter. I just don't feel as though Marquez can be as effective as Pacquiao at the higher weights. Now after the July 18 bout I think we see a Mayweather/Pacquiao mega fight later this year. I will need to analyze this fight carefully before giving my final prediction. My initial thoughts are that Mayweather should be able to beat Pacquiao. Manny has never faced a fighter with Floyd's defensive abilities and style. BUT...if anyone has a shot at beating Mayweather...it's Pacquiao. Will be alot of excitement around this fight if it gets made.

Hayes on the Radio...

Yours truly has started doing some radio interviews as a Boxing Analyst. Here are the audio files from my first two interviews.

The first was from May 1, 2009 with Stormin Norm Rumack on the "FAN 590" station in Toronto to discuss the Pacquiao/Hatton fight. Can download the file here:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8DNXJCS6

The second was from May 4, 2009 with Jake Daniels on "The Team 1260" in Edmonton to recap the Pacquiao/Hatton fight. Can download that file here:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=U5ZB3ZOM

Pacquiao does it again!

Coming off the destruction of Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao has proven once again why he is considered the world's best pound 4 pound fighter with a devastating 2nd round knockout of Ricky Hatton. The fight played out pretty much as I had expected only that it ended quicker than what I thought. I figured Hatton would have been able to stay in there and last until the later rounds before getting stopped but it was a blowout from the opening bell. It was all downhill for Hatton starting with the ring entrance where he decided to let down his cheering fans by not playing his customary "Blue Moon". The Hatton fans had worked themselves up into a frenzy and were waiting to sing their beloved hero into the ring when he played a different song and the usually loud fans were surprisingly silent. That was my first indication that Hatton was in for some difficulty. If you watched closely he also had a very nervous look about him coming into the ring and all during the introductions. Not his normal confident face. Almost as if he knew the result that was to come. Which is shocking given his confidence during his traning and buildup to the fight. It was a very different Ricky Hatton that stepped into the ring last night.

Just as I had thought when the fight started Hatton came right at Pacquiao leading with his face and getting hammered with counter hooks. Hatton looked very stiff in there to me. I know he gets hit alot trying to get inside on a fighter but usually he is able to slip/block more punches than he did this time...again he didn't look like himself. Pacquiao's punches looked amazingly strong at that weight and he had Hatton down twice in the first round and I honestly didn't think he would have made it to the second. I give Hatton credit though for surviving and coming out in the second but he almost should have just stayed down. He had no way of avoiding Pacquiao's punches. I am not sure what Mayweather Sr.'s plan was for the fight but it certainly wasn't to get Hatton to slip more punches. The second round was the same as the first, Pacquiao showing superior speed, strength, and deadly accuracy. Then the end came with 7 seconds left in the round as Pacquiao landed a perfect left hook to the chin that laid Hatton flat. And he stayed down and looked in bad shape for several minutes. A very impressive win for Pacquiao who is definitely on a roll and steamrolling through his last few opponents. Who's next? Well Floyd Mayweather Jr. is back out of retirement and has announced his July 18 fight with Juan Manuel Marquez. I believe Floyd is looking at the Marquez fight as a tune up fight to get ready for the mega showdown between him and Pacquiao later this year. I will discuss more on this in my next post.

The undercard of the fight was decent as well. Most impressive was middleweight prospect Matt Korobov. Now he did have a questionable opponent in front of him but he did what he should do with that level of fighter and get him out of there in 2 rounds. Korobov has a great style with crisp, accurate, hard punches. Keep and eye on this guy.
Daniel Jacobs had a good win over tough Michael Walker. Jacobs is used to early knockouts so while the fight may not have been entertaining to some people, it was exactly what Jacobs needed. He needed to get some rounds in and show that he can still win a decision if he is unable to KO his opponent. Walker had a solid chin and a good defense and never looked really hurt in the fight. Jacobs took an easy 8 round decision.
Canadian super featherweight Benoit Gaudet put up a better fight than I expected against WBC champ Humberto Soto. I expected Soto to overwhelm Gaudet and stop him early in the fight. Gaudet was dropped in round one with a beauty left hook but did get up and seemed to frustrate the champ who seemed distracted and at times not interested in the fight. Then Soto ended the fight in the 9th round with what started with a great uppercut.

Pacquiao/Hatton - May 2!

Well the fight is only one day away now and my excitement is building. I feel like a kid at Christmas time the night before a good fight and find it hard to sleep. I've been following the careers of both fighters and now saturday night they will clash in what has a possible "Fight of the Year" written all over it. I can get excited about most fights, even when I know there could be very little action. Certain fighters and certain styles can make for a dull fight to the casual fan, but this fight should be all action from the first bell. You have two fighters who both have a come straight at you style and they throw alot of punches. Neither one likes to back up or give their opponents any ground. The key factor in this fight though I believe is that Hatton tends to lead with his face far too much. Granted the man has a great chin, only being dropped once by Eamonn Magee in 2002, and then again when KO'd by Floyd Mayweather Jr. two fights ago, but Pacquiao is a much harder puncher than what Hatton is used to. Hopefully trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. has been working on Hatton's defense, moving his head more as he rushes forward. Each time Hatton has sat on the canvas was because he walked into a counter hook. I can see this happening again later in the fight. I feel it will be a back and forth action fight with Hatton's face slowly showing the signs of getting beaten up as the fight progresses. Swollen eyes...possible cut. Then as Hatton tires late in the fight as he has in others with Luis Collazo and Juan Lazcano...Pacquiao will score the TKO started by a counter hook. Not a Knockout....but I feel the ref will step in and save a dazed and hurt Hatton.
BUT....there is still one thing that gives me pause in this prediction...and that is how will Pacquiao handle the weight? The Pacman only recently moved up to the 135lb division to take on WBC champ David Diaz. He looked fantastic in taking the title and knocking out the champ. Then from there he jumped right up to the 147lb division where he destroyed a much bigger Oscar De La Hoya...BUT...and here is the BUT....but Oscar gave no resistance. It was a completely one sided beating from the opening bell. So it didn't give us any indication of how Pacquiao could handle the bigger punches and getting ruffed up by a bigger fighter. The fight with Hatton is at 140lbs and Hatton has fought at that weight for his entire career, with the exception of the Collazo and Mayweather fights where he stepped up to 147lbs. Pacquiao turned pro at 106lbs!! Then captured the WBC Flyweight title at 113lbs! Now the Pacman has slowly moved up in weight over the years and has looked good in doing so but Hatton will be his biggest and strongest opponent to date....since I don't count Oscar in that equation. And Hatton is a very physical fighter that can drain the energy from opponents quickly. Pacquaio has been KO'd twice early in his career but has shown a solid chin since then. So as long as he can take the punches of a natural 140 pounder, and we'll learn that VERY early in the fight, then I feel it should play out as I described and Pacquiao's speed, skill, and power will prevail in the end. Don't miss this fight!!!
The undercard will be great as well....Steven Luevano....Humberto Soto....and the devastating middleweight puncher Daniel Jacobs. Don't blink when Jacobs is in the ring...you'll miss his impressive one punch KO's.