Wednesday, November 23, 2005

"Is there anyone on this planet that can even challenge me ?!? "

MAYWEATHER WINS EASY! Displaying superior defense and blazing hand speed, Mayweather rolled to a decisive victory in his welterweight debut knocking out Sharmba Mitchell in the sixth round in Portland. It was a straight right hand that landed deep into Mitchell's rib cage that ended the fight. Referee Richard Steele counted to nine before waiving and stopping the fight with Mitchell sitting on the ropes in pain. Mayweather has options for his next big fight, he can challenge welterweight champion Zab Judah or former champions Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley, although he would probably beat any of those 3 convincingly.

Sunday, November 13, 2005

Prince Naseem Hamed Comeback?

Like the millions of others who hated Hamed, I loved watching Barerra beat the dogpiss out of the smart-mouthed little bastard three years ago.

Now, while I was glad to see him lose, I did love to watch the little guy fight. Hamed hit hard, and his flashy, unorthodox style made for some very fun-to-watch matches. Sometimes he would come out and totally flummox a traditional boxer before flooring him, and sometimes he would be getting his ass kicked, only to make a comeback with huge, wild punches.

There is now some comeback talk. Hamed is a proud man, and his lone defeat (truthfully, he mostly fought bums and avoided some of the better fighters of his day) probably still gnaws at him.

I would like to see him fight Manny Pacquiao, a fight I was hoping to see when Hamed made his "first comeback" to beat an outclassed Manuel Calvo back in 2002. According to the article linked above, Hamed has plumped up enough that he'll not likely make it back down to featherweight. I'm curious to see where he lands.

Will There Be a Heavyweight Tournament?

Don King says that he wants to hold a series of bouts, resulting in one undisputed heavyweight champ, who'll hold all of four major belts. As he promotes all four of the current champions, he should be able to do this. He did the same thing back in the 80's and the result was Mike Tyson. While I think that none of the proposed four (Brewster, Byrd, the Rahman/Toney winner, and the Ruiz/Valuev winner) are anything to get excited about (Brewster is probably the best of the lot), a single, recognized heavyweight champ is what the division needs.

While I was a fan and admirer of Vitali Klitschko, I think that his uneventful reign was very damaging to the credibility of the sport. He simply did not fight enough. The stories of his injuries (which often had several versions), particularly his career-ending knee injury earlier this month (some say meniscus cartilage tear, some say ligament tear), has provided his critics with a great deal of ammunition. Had he fought and beaten a few serious contenders, he could have restored some of the glory of the heavyweight division. We fans were left with the impression that he was a malingerer, rumored to have been floored by his sparring partners, and too craven to face Rahman (which I really want to doubt, as on paper, Vitali should have been able to thrash him).

Like a great many of you, I'm more excited about upcoming lower-weight-class fights than any of the upcoming battles between Don King's lumbering hulks. Sigh......

If it's available, I will try to watch Johnny Ruiz's fight with Nikolai Valuev, if for nothing else than the freak-show appeal of Ruiz trying to use his "punch and hold" tactic against the seven-foot "Beast from the East".

The potential kink in King's plan will be Wladmir Klitschko, who isn't under contract with King. He beat Samuel Peter (King's up and coming heavyweight) recently, and, as the number one contender in the WBO and IBF, is in line for mandatory challenges with both Chris Byrd (whom Wlad has previously KO'ed) and Lamon Brewster (who previously KO'ed Wlad). I don't know how all of this will shake out, but I don't think that Wladmir has the chin to win consistently against quality opponents. My prediction is that, if King has his way, and the" tournament" is held, Brewster will come out on top.

I also predict that unless this happens, lower-weight-classes will continue the recent trend of "out-earning" the heavyweights.

Friday, November 11, 2005

Double Damn!

Vitali K. retires. Story here.

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

90 Days

Vitali K has 90 days to have surgery, recover, and fight Rahman, or he'll lose his belt. Story here.

Monday, November 07, 2005

AAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Damn it. Vitali K. v Rahman fight postponed. For the fourth time. Story here and here. The decision hasn't been announced formally, but it looks as if the WBC will strip Vitali of the belt that he hasn't defended in almost a year.

When they announce a new date, I'll reschedule the party. Damn, damn, damn.

Friday, November 04, 2005

Damn!

I just saw a brutal, 18-second knockout. Jaidon Codrington was brutalized and demolished by Allan Green.

Codrington was knocked unconscious, and initially appeared to be quite hurt. Unfortunately, the sort of scene you often see in urban emergency rooms came to pass. Codrington's Brooklyn "posse" flooded the ring, grabbing and pulling his unconscious body, brawling with and hampering the paramedics who were trying to help him, all the while screaming out their love for the fallen fighter. Disgusting.

Codrington was taken out by stretcher to a hospital, after regaining consciousness. I hope that he makes a full and speedy recovery.