Will It Be "Lights Out" For "The Nigerian Nightmare"

On Saturday night, Showtime will be featuring James "Lights Out" Toney in a heavyweight bout against Samuel "The Nigerian Nightmare" Peter, in what is certain to be a fight worth watching. Toney is a trash-talking slickster who is the most fundamentally sound heavyweight of recent years, and this match-up with the heavy-handed, un-polished, and meagerly skilled Peter will provide a clash in styles that I'm hoping will prove to be exciting. Peter fights dirty, and he is thought to posess the greatest one-punch knock-out power in today's heavyweight division. Wladmir Klitschko showed that Peter's lack of skill leaves him vulnerable to being picked apart, but Peter, in addition to his great power, also demonstrated a strong chin. Toney lacks Klitschko's reach and power, but he will also withstand Peter's power punches better than did Wlad.

What will make this fight so exciting is that Toney will be fighting Peter from within Peter's range, making use of his chin and ability to slip punches, hoping to frustrate the powerful Nigerian while "breaking him down" with a series of body shots and well-placed counter-punches to the head. Neither fighter has a reach advantage, and neither has made a habit of backing up.

It is odd that Samuel Peter comes across as such a humble, decent guy, yet fights as dirty as any heavyweight in recent memory. He hits to the back of the head, punches on breaks, and hits already downed foes in a matter reminescent of Mike Tyson at his worst. Toney, who is noted for "trash-talking", verbal abusing interviewers, and acting a thug, is very much a clean fighter, using his skills to devastating effect, but generally not taking cheap shots. I will be rooting for Toney, for, all personality issues aside, I have chosen to support the skilled fighter over the unskilled, brawling behemoth.

Peter has never beaten a top fighter, though he has mowed through tomato-cans and fringe contenders with a vengeance. Unless something very unusual happens, Toney will not leave himself open to Peter's haymakers, and the big man will find himself in a fight unlike any other in his career.

If Toney shows up in as poor a physical condition as he did for his draw with Hasim Rahman, he may well end up battered and beaten, particularly if the usually unfit Peter shows up in atypically good shape. If Peter shows up fat, and Toney comes in fit, I expect that Toney will pick Peter apart, perhaps scoring a late-round TKO.

Paul Williams: Thomas Hearns Come Again?

Is Paul "The Punisher" Williams the second-coming of Thomas "The Hitman" Hearns? It's probably too early to say such a thing, but the long, lanky, hard-hitting welterweight looked impressive as he dissected and demolished the once-great Sharmba Mitchell. The six-one Williams used his much greater height and reach to his advantage, but he also fought in close, showing the ability to set the pace with his jab, or throw short punches to great effect on the inside. Mitchell is well past his prime, but he came to fight, and in his loss, he did expose some holes in Williams' defense. Williams has a tendency to drop his hands and Mitchell tagged him several times for committing this boxing sin. Fortunately for Williams, he had the chin to weather Mitchell's best blows. Mitchell represented a test, and Paul Williams passed it with flying colors, dropping Sharmba four times en route to a fourth-round TKO.

Williams lacks the mighty right hand of the great Thomas Hearns, but his build and style are very similar to those of "the Motor City Cobra". "The Punisher" has a great potential, and he's getting to the point where it will be tested, hopefully against the best that the welterweight division has to offer.

Williams is expected to be Antonio Margarito's next opponent, and the winner of that bout will hopefully be matched up with the winner of the upcoming Floyd Mayweather/Carlos Baldomir bout. The welterweight division has seen a great deal of excitement lately, and I don't expect that to change.

A Friday Night of Ho-Hum Fights

EVANDER FEASTS ON "THE BEAST"

Evander Holyfield looked to be in good shape tonight, as he dominated the thoroughly outclassed journeyman Jeremy "The Beast" Bates, winning the fight with a second-round TKO. Unfortunately, this will probably lead to Holyfield moving up to fight someone who isn't a unskilled journeyman, and that will not be pretty. Bates, despite his complete lack of skill, managed to rock Holyfield with what looked to be a relatively slow punch, and I shudder to think of how a skilled fighter will leave "The Real Deal" with "Real Dain Brammage". Of course, I believe that if Evander wants to fight, and he passes the physical requirements, he should be allowed to fight. I just hope that he'll decide to hang it up.

ESPN2's Friday Night Fights card disintegrated with both Sam Soliman and Vasily Jirov pulling out of the two fights of note, both complaining of back injuries. Soliman looked great in his previous bout against Winky Wright, and Jirov has been known for tough wars with Joe Mesi (who defeated yet another tomato can in last week's latest installment of his half-assed comeback) and James Toney. When these two guys pulled out of their respective fights, I expected the worst, and that was pretty much what ESPN2 delivered. The "main event" ended up being a yawnfest that pitted journeyman Cisse Salif against undefeated prospect Damian Wills, who is co-managed by movie star Denzel Washington. These guys looked slow, flabby, and unskilled, and I think that none of the top 20 heavyweights should have anything to fear from these two. As bad as this fight turned out to be, the undercard was even worse (though there was an exciting four-rounder between Joaquin Marquez (fresh out from a 7-year prison stint) and Roderick Grajeda, an under-achieving journeyman who was homeless as recently as six months ago. Neither of these guys are in a position to set the world on fire, but Grajeda showed a lot of heart and "ring smarts" in toughing out the draw with the more talented Marquez.

Tomorrow night's Sharmba Mitchell/Paul Williams fight promises to be more exciting, especially if they show "Fast Eddie" Chambers' fight on the undercard. I'll be watching.

What A Night, What A Fight!

For all of those who derided last night's HBO PPV ticket, know ye that you were wrong! With the second great heavyweight fight of 2006 (the other being Lyakhovich v Brewster) as the main event, we who were watching were greatly entertained. After an exciting and entertaining undercard, the main event was worth every penny.

For those of you who haven't heard, Oleg Maskaev battered Hasim Rahman into a twelfth-round stoppage in a fight that should cause everyone to wonder if Jay Nady should ever again be allowed to referee a professional fight.

Maskaev has been criticized for being a one-dimensional fighter, and rightly so. His slow, plodding, nearly defenseless power-punching style has consistently left him vulnerable to fighters with a long reach, quick hands, and crisp jabs. "The Big O" was facing just such a fighter last night when he stepped through the ropes to meet Hasim "The Rock" Rahman. Rahman is younger, faster, has more reach, and a very strong jab. Maskaev's advantages were an extensive amateur background, a greater ability to weather punches, and he has shown himself to be capable of keeping his head in stressful situations (unlike Rahman, whose lapses in focus often make him his own worst enemy in the ring).

Both fighters started cautiously, each showing respect for the punching power of the opponent. Rahman gradually established his jab, and while Maskaev landed some well-placed punches, he seemed to have no answer for Rahman's jab in the early rounds. In round two, an accidental headbutt opened a small, vertical cut on the medial aspect of Maskaev's left eyebrow, and while it bled periodically, it didn't seem to have much effect on Maskaev's fighting. I scored rounds one through four for Rahman, though round one was very close to a 10-10 round.

As the fight progressed, Rahman's jab became less of an issue. Whether this was because of fatigue, Maskaev starting to circle, or because of Rahman foolishly abandoning his successful strategy, I cannot say, but once this happened, Maskaev was back in the fight, using his reprieve from Rahman's powerful jab to work his own power shots, consistently catching Hasim with left hooks and short right hands as the fighters closed. Jay Nady seemed to be watching a totally different fight with over-criticism of Maskaev for holding, giving him the "second warning" in round six. Maskaev responded to the threatened point deduction by being a bit more active, and shunning the clenches, but as he wasn't doing any significant holding prior to the warning, this didn't seem to have much impact on the fight. I scored rounds five and six for Maskaev.

In round seven, Rahman seemed to rediscover his jab, and round eight saw him pound Maskaev at will. Both fighters were tired, but with both fighters throwing bombs, there was plenty of excitement. The thrill of a potential knockout was in the air. Maskaev would land solid punches and occasional combinations, though Rahman looked to be getting the better of the exchanges. I scored round seven even and round eight for Rahman, giving him a 78-75 lead.

The ninth, tenth, and eleventh rounds were punctuated with big punches from both fighters, as Rahman gradually slowed down his jabbing, and Maskaev began landing more and more punches. Despite his corner's urging, Rahman foolishly seemed to want to fight in close, as opposed to maintaining his distance and jabbing, which was an offense for which Maskaev seemed to have no answer. Once Rahman moved in close, Maskaev landed several left hooks, and also began to work Rahman's body. While Rahman was still landing and still in the fight, it was obvious that the momentum of the fight had shifted to Maskaev. I scored rounds nine, ten, and eleven for Maskaev, though round nine was close. Going into the twelfth, the belt was up for grabs. I had it scored 105-105.

Rahman looked slowed and dazed coming into the twelfth round, while Maskaev seemed to have regained a bit of energy. During the first minute, Jay Nady stopped the fight to have loose tape cut from Rahman's glove (I believe that Rahman's corner had intentionally loosened the tape to give Rock a little extra rest), and once the action resumed, Maskaev was relentless in stalking Rahman about the ring. Rahman did his best to hang on (including a ridiculous amount of holding and clutching) while Maskaev delivered the heat. The big former Soviet landed a series of left hooks and straight rights, sending Hasim to the canvas, into, and almost through, the ropes, which was eerily reminiscent of Rahman's tumble in 1999. Rahman beat the ten count, but his legs were gone, and he looked to have no fire remaining. He made a valiant effort to hold on, but Maskaev would not be denied (even though Jay Nady was forced to pry Rahman's arms from around Maskaev's leg, after Rahman made a pathetic attempt to tackle Maskaev, and refused to let go). Despite Rahman's best (illegal) efforts, Maskaev pounded Hasim with a series of power punches until Jay Nady was forced to stop the fight. Only forty-three seconds remained, but that would have been an eternity for the defenseless Rahman to suffer the barrage that Maskaev was delivering. In post-fight interviews, Rahman still seemed stunned, and while I hesitate to use the word "punchy", Rahman's speech does seem markedly different from recent interviews.

I mentioned some displeasure with Jay Nady earlier, and everyone with whom I've spoken has agreed. He did a poor job in this fight, particularly by improperly warning Maskaev for holding, and then allowing Rahman to all but make love to Maskaev as Hasim tried to avoid that twelfth round TKO. Nady should have deducted points from Rahman, but more importantly, both fighters got away with punching behind the head, which is dangerous, and my number one harping point.

Maskaev, a naturalized American citizen, joins three other former Soviet fighters in holding the four major heavyweight belts. I anticipate that IBF strapholder Wladmir Klitschko will find his negotiations with Shannon Briggs falling apart in favor of a November match-up with Maskaev. WBO titleholder Serguei Lyakhovich has yet to be matched (as far as I know), and WBA titleholder Nicolay Valuev, the least significant of the heavyweight beltholders, is due to fight Monte Barrett in October.

The three most-discussed American-born heavyweights, in terms of regaining one of those straps, are Lamon Brewster, James Toney, and Calvin Brock. Lamon Brewster is still recovering from the detached retina he suffered against Lyakhovich, James Toney is meeting Samuel Peter on September 2nd, and Calvin Brock (who still hasn't beaten a top heavyweight) is still not matched, coming off of his lackluster win over Timur Ibragimov.

While I despise the pseudo-nationalist hype over the recent shift in boxing's balance of power, things are getting more interesting in the heavyweight division. Rest assured, I'll be watching.

Whatever Happened to Hawaiian Punch?

I know that a lot of you guys don't follow the light-flyweights, but one of the hardest-hitting mini-flies of all time, Brian "The Hawaiian Punch" Viloria, took to the ring in Las Vegas to defend his WBC title against the deservedly unheralded Mexican fighter Omar Nino Romero. By the end of the night, however, Romero had earned the respect of Brian Viloria and everyone watching the fight.

The guys at OLN, or at least the fight's promoters, did a fine job of reading the Filipino/Mexican rivalry. If you put a half-decent fighter from either country in the ring against a fighter from the other, you will sell a lot of tickets (Viloria is an American-born son of Filipino immigrants, but he is fully embraced by the Filipino public). The rivalry has long been there, though it has been honed to a razor-sharp edge with Manny Pacquiao's battles with several great Mexican fighters, most notably Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez, and Erik Morales (who Manny will be fighting again in November).

While not totally sold on his technique, I've loved watching Viloria fight in the past. I've seen his last three fights, and even though he would have moments of difficulty in two of them, Viloria's relatively strong chin has allowed him to weather the troubles his erratic technique would make for him. In addition to toughness, Viloria has the ability to get his whole body into his left hooks and uppercuts, which has lead to comparisons with his fellow ethnic Filipino Manny Pacquiao--not that there are similarities of note in style, but in each case, the fighter in question lunges into his power punches, often unfortunately leaving himself open to a savvy counter-puncher. Both are trained by Freddie Roach, and I'd always hoped Roach would "reign in" Viloria, as he seems to have done with Pacquiao.

In his last fight, Viloria overcame some early difficulties to dominate former champion Jose Antonio Aguire, and his previous fight was 1 round dissection of a tomato can named Eric Ortiz. You could argue that the Aguire fight was a step up in class, but Viloria had yet to prove his greatness to me, though many were calling him the most powerful small fighter since Michael Carbajal.

Nino was the picture of a Mexican journeyman fighter. He'd never beaten a top-tier fighter, or even a prominent fringe contender, though he did KO Jorge Arce in what was both fighters' fifth fight (Arce is now the WBC Flyweight strap-holder). Nearly all of Nino's fights had been against fighters who'd lost the majority of their previous five fights, and the only good fighter he'd faced lately knocked him out. The one common opponent that Nino had shared with Viloria was Gilberto Keb Baas. Viloria rallied to KO Baas in the eleventh round, while Baas knocked out Nino in five.

This fight was seen by most as little more than Viloria's tune-up for a big-money fight with Japanese superstar Koki Kameda. Viloria was favored in betting parlors by huge odds, in large part due to the low level of Nino's recent competition.

Well, fight fans, it turns out that Viloria fought the worst fight imaginable, looking slow, flat, frustrated, and sluggish. Nino came out slugging, looked confident, and dictated the flow of the fight. He beat Viloria to the punch in nearly every situation, deleting Viloria's jab, and leaving Viloria unable to set up his big uppercuts, crosses, and left hooks. Viloria looked to be wary of Nino's counter-punching style, and Brian ended up with a ridiculously low punch output. Viloria's performance was pathetic, though nothing should be taken away from Nino. Tonight was Nino's night.

Nino won by unanimous decision, and it was a well-deserved win. He outworked, frustrated, and dominated Viloria, who had no answer for the challenger's quick fists and slick movement.

I scored the fight 118-110 for Nino, and I'll find it hard to bring myself to take Viloria seriously, unless he dramatically turns things around. Freddie Roach may be wasting his time with Viloria, and might be better served spending his time getting Pacquiao ready for his November date with Morales.

One Week and Counting!

As boxing fans, it is hard for us to hear others decry the fall from greatness of the heavyweight division. While the current heavyweight field may do little to inspire some, I still love to see the two-hundred-pound-plus dreadnoughts battle it out. There have always been dull fights between lumbering, unskilled oafs, but there are also some heavyweights capable of putting on a good show. Next Saturday night, on HBO PPV, we're all hoping to see the later, not the former.

Those of us optimistic enough to fork out the fifty bucks are hoping to see a rematch between two experienced boxers, each with knockout power and a propensity to "mix it up". What we're afraid of seeing is a poorly disciplined, scatterbrained boxer against a shot, weak-willed, "coulda beena contender". What we will be seeing is the lone American strapholder, WBC "champion" Hasim Rahman take on Oleg Maskaev in what could be an exciting rematch, or yet another boring battle of behemoths.

Their first meeting, in 1998, pitted the up-and-coming, though unschooled Rahman against a former Soviet Army officer with an impressive amateur background who had failed to live up to his potential as a pro. As most of you remember, that fight saw Rahman use his superior speed and his stiff jab to take a solid lead into the eighth round, only to have Maskaev take over the fight with a series of well-placed power shots. Maskaev's rally ended with Rahman being knocked out, as well as out of the ring.

Since that night, Rahman's star has risen, though he has achieved little respect from serious students of the sweet science, while Maskaev has only recently struggled out of an obscurity into which his poor training and technique had led him. Each man is fighting to redeem himself, his reputation, and his career.

Rahman is hoping to be known as something other than a flash in the pan who struck down an overconfident, poorly conditioned Lennox Lewis and held his belt for a few months prior to having Lewis beat it out of his hands in a humbling fashion. Rahman's knockout win over Lewis was his only win over an elite fighter, with his other notable victories being over a 42-year-old Trevor Berbick, and journeymen Kali Meehan (a title eliminator), and the never-confused with competent Monte "Two Guns" Barrett (who is, inexplicably, fighting Nikolay Valuev for the WBA belt in October), for which Rahman was awarded the title. And lest we forget, at least Hasim was able to vanquish the two fighters who KO'ed Wladmir Klitschko, Corrie Sanders and club fighter Ross "The Boss" Puritty. Had Vitali Klitschko not retired, Rahman certainly would not be wearing the WBC belt.

Maskaev has been trying to re-establish himself after his fall from contention with losses to Corey "T-Rex" Sanders, Lance Whitaker, and Kirk Johnson in a disastrous 18-month tailspin that nearly de-railed his career. Maskaev has lost tough fights early in his pro career to Oliver McCall and David Tua, but had seemed to be ascending when started his fall, getting knocked out in three of five fights. After the loss to Sanders, Maskaev took eleven months off before getting back into the ring with a series of tomato cans. While widely derided, this allowed Maskaev to rebuild his confidence, make a little money, and start on the road back to legitimacy. His last three fights have been against solid fighters, and while some would argue that he's yet to earn a title shot, with the current state of the heavyweight division, there seems to be a lot of room for speculation as to what justifies a title shot these days.

The main reason that this fight is happening is that Rahman thinks that he can win it. This is the one money-making fight that Rahman's handlers could arrange that "The Rock" has a high likelihood to win. After Rahman's dismal performance in his draw with James Toney, the fans aren't willing to shell out money to see Rahman fight, unless there are special circumstances, which Rahman's past with Maskaev provides aplenty. Of the other three major strapholders, only Valuev would have anything to fear from Rahman, and Don King won't let that fight happen until he's milked that Russian cash cow dry. Rahman, and his legacy, such as it is, will always be haunted by the Maskaev's devastating knockout punch. Now, with his reputation in the doldrums, Hasim hopes that flattening a shell of his former vanquisher will increase interest in a fighter who's only appeal is his American citizenship.

I expect that both fighters will come into the ring in good shape, but Rahman's speed advantage will probably be greater than in their last bout, and if Rahman can maintain his composure in the ring, he should be able to outlast the thirty-seven year-old Maskaev. Maskaev has tremendous power with either hand, however, and if Rahman again gives Maskaev open shots, we may see a repeat of what happened back in 1998. Either way, I'll be watching, and the pork will be roasted, so those of you who know me, come on over.

Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting!

Tomorrow night looks exciting. HBO's card with Ike Quartey and Vernon Forrest has an amazing undercard with Kassim Ouma to fight Sechew Powell, and Andre Berto, one of my favorites, is fighting grizzled veteran Roberta Valenzuela. I don't know if HBO will show both of these undercard fights, but either could be fun. Ouma is rebuilding after his loss of to Roman Karmazin (who later lost his title to Cory Spinks in a close decision), and has been doing well against tough competition. Powell is an up-and-coming fighter who has yet to beat a big a really big name, but he has made a lot of fans into believers, especially with his big, goofy win over Cornelius Bundrage.

Showtime's card also looks promising, with Juan Manuel Marquez fighting the unfortunately named Terdsak Jaandaeng. The formerly great Marquez is coming off a poor performance and loss to Chris John, while Terdsak has been doing well in his last six fights against, though against lesser competition. I expect Marquez will win, but the two fighters' styles could make for an interesting match-up. Terdsak throws some big bombsk, and it will be interesting to see if Marquez gets caught, or if he picks his opponent apart.