Fight Junkie

HBO Predictions
By Boxeo

The Saturday night HBO co-main event features veteran Jorge Barrios, (47-3-1, 34KO’s) facing off against the real life “Rocky”, Rocky Juarez, (27-4, 19KO’s) live from the Toyota Center, Houston Texas.

When the lines first opened Barrios was installed as almost a 2-1 favorite over Juarez. However, Rocky Juarez money continued to trickle in and a late rush of coin on Juarez knocked his odds down considerably to just even money (+100.) Barrios remains a very slight favorite at –120. The O/U for the fight has been set at 11.5 rounds, with the over at -300 and the under coming in at +250.

Barrios by KO comes in at +441, while Barrios by decision will net you +148. Juarez by KO hits the mark at +584, and Juarez by decision lands at +222. The fight being declared a draw lands at +1600.

Although Juarez does not possess as many professional bouts as his opponent Barrios, he does bring a lot of ring experience for a guy with only thirty-one fights. He was a decorated amateur, and even managed to win a silver medal at the Olympics.

With his successes in the amateur ranks, Juarez had high expectations going into the early part of his pro career. Unfortunately, Juarez has not lived up to those expectations, and now tries to get back to his winning ways after losing his last three out of five fights.

To have any chance at getting another world title opportunity Juarez must defeat Jorge “ La Hiena” Barrios, a veteran of fifty-two professional fights.

Although Barrios brings tremendous experience to his clash with Juarez, Rocky knows what it’s like to battle an old vet inside those ring ropes. He clashed with former world champion Marco Antonio Barrera not once, but twice.

Their first meeting was one of the better performances from Juarez. He battered and bloodied Barrera whenever the ageing vet tried to stand toe-to-toe with his younger foe. However, being the veteran that he is, Barrera quickly realized that he could not fend off the young lion on the inside, and boxed his way to a disputed twelve round decision win.

With the fight being so close in many people’s eyes, Barrera and Juarez agreed to get it on one last time. This time Barrera never stood and traded with Juarez and easily out boxed him over the distance. The differences between the two performances are night and day.

In the first bout Juarez let his hands go whenever Barrera was in range. In the second fight Juarez elected to follow Barrera around the ring and never threw any punches. This is the biggest problem with Rocky Juarez; he is too patient of a fighter. He is always looking for that perfect shot and the next thing he knows the bell has sounded to end the fight and he has done little but follow his opponent around the ring.

After his disappointing losses to Barrera, Rocky waited just about one year before squaring off with Juan Manuel Marquez for the WBC featherweight championship of the world.

Before the boxers were even able to get into a fighting groove, Juarez was on the receiving end of an accidental clash of heads that opened a nasty gash over his left eye in the very first round of the fight.

Rocky claimed the butt caused his vision to blur and hindered his ability to force Marquez into a slugfest.

Regardless if the butt did alter the fight for Juarez or not, the fact of the matter is he is simply way too patient inside the ring. He allows his opponents to outwork him as he walks forward but does not cutoff the ring or punch as he advances.

It is extremely frustrating to watch a talented fighter that appears to have some type of disconnect in the mental department. Juarez has had four losses in his career and all but the first Barrera fight can be directly attributed to his lack of punch output.

The movement that frustrated Juarez in his rematch with Barrera and in his last outing against Juan Manuel Marquez may be present when he battles Barrios on Saturday night.

A lot of people think of Barrios as just a straight-ahead, in your face, type of fighter. On the contrary, he will get on his toes and fight from the outside. Granted, he is nowhere near the level of boxer as Barrera or Marquez, but I would be surprised if Barrios came right out after Juarez looking to make a street fight.

I personally believe Barrios will look to box Juarez instead of coming right at him in a toe-to-toe slugfest. Barrios likes to throw wide looping punches and he can best achieve positive results from those types of punches on the outside.

As I mentioned earlier, Juarez is known as a plodder who walks forward without throwing any punches. If he does that against Barrios it will allow La Hiena to tee off on him with haymakers as he walks forward.

I don’t feel Barrios can afford to trade shot for shot with Juarez at all. The reason I think it would be a mistake for Barrios to turn this fight into a knockdown, drag out fight has nothing at all to do with pure punching power. We all know Barrios can crack, but I think he is sporting a weaker chin and also has a tendency to cut in his fights.

Barrios has been on the seat of his pants in a few fights and was stopped by Acelino Freitas in the twelfth and final round of their fight (after putting Freitas on the deck twice) but it may be his tender skin that becomes his undoing should he elect to stand and fight with Juarez.

For all of Rocky Juarez’s shortcomings inside the squared circle, the kid can punch. I would not be shocked to see Juarez slice the face of Barrios with ease if the two begin to trade powershots.

If that isn’t enough for Barrios to worry about, he also heads into this fight coming off a year and a half layoff. He was actually the one who was suppose to face Juan Manuel Marquez (Rocky Juarez stepped in) but the bout was cancelled when it was determined that Barrios had retina tears in both eyes!

The bad news doesn’t stop there for Jorge Barrios. On Friday he had trouble making the 130-pound limit and for a split second it appeared as if the fight would need to take place at 133-pound catch weight.

Somehow Barrios was able to suck it up and hit the scales right at the 130-pound weight limit. Even though he managed to get down to the contracted weight, you have to wonder how the ring rust and weight drain will affect his ability to compete as the rounds wear on.

Even though Barrios can also punch with massive force, Juarez has tasted defeat four times at the hands of Humberto Soto, Barrera (twice) and Juan Manuel Marquez. In all of those bouts he was able to walk right through everything that was thrown his way (and often landed) without really facing any danger of being stopped.

The closest he came to losing inside the distance was in his last fight with Marquez and that was essentially because his corner could not get his cut left eye under control.

The lack of solid cutwork in the corner of Juarez is a big sticking point for me regarding this fight. I thought the corner of Juarez did a horrible job with the cut and it was not uncommon to see the eye bleeding just as bad after the corner did their “work” as it was when the round ended.

Barrios can be at times a very rough (some might say dirty) fighter. Depending on how Barrios opts to fight, I would not be surprised if a headbutt happens sometime before the middle rounds of the contest.

Of course, for any Juarez victory he must let his hands go. He has once again promised to be more active, but it’s hard to teach old dogs new tricks. While Juarez would be greatly served to punch as much as possible, I am not sure if his demeanor will allow it.

Boxeo: 1.00 Units On Juarez By KO {+584} & 1.00 Units On Won't Go 12 Rounds {+250} (Vegas Odds)
Krakrabbit: 1.00 Units On Barrios By Decision {+148}
Grass Hopper: 2.00 Units On Won't Go 12 Rounds {+250} (Vegas Odds)
Doody: 1.00 Units On Won't Go 12 Rounds {+250} (Vegas Odds)
D3: 1.00 Units On Juarez By Decision {+222}

Germany Predictions
By Boxeo

On Saturday night John Ruiz, (43-7-1, 29KO’s) returns to action in a rematch against former WBA heavyweight champion Nikolay Valuev, (48-1, 34KOs) live from the Max Schmeling Halle, Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, Germany.

Valuev opened as the clear favorite in the bout and money has continued to trickle in on the “Giant” knocking his number up to –360. Ruiz supporters can snatch the underdog money at + 300. The O/U on the bout is set at 9.5 rounds, with the under coming in at a whopping +410 and the over at -515.

Valuev by KO comes in at +364, while Valuev by decision will cost you -137. Ruiz by KO hits the mark at +1281, and Ruiz by decision lands at +400. The odds the fight will be declared a draw land at +2200.

While the style of Ruiz can only be described as atrocious, he has become a master at the one-two-hold method. It would appear Ruiz has stumbled onto a technique (can you call it that?) that can frustrate every fighter from journeymen status to world-class champions.

With the exception of the David Tua loss (KO 1) and the Roy Jones Jr. loss (L UD), most of his losses have come by split decision or Majority decision. There is no question Ruiz knows how to maximize the effectiveness of his hit and hold style.

Usually Ruiz will take a few rounds to get his hugging action into full swing. He is much more effective with his unpleasant system as the rounds wear on. I believe a lot of his effectiveness in the mid to late rounds has to do with the mauling and ugly infighting he delivers over the course of the first half of the fight.

It takes a tremendous amount of energy to try and keep Ruiz off of your chest for an entire fight, and try as they might, most of his opponents find themselves fading as the rounds wear on.

Because of his freakishly large frame, Nikolay Valuev has a tremendous height and reach advantage that most of Ruiz’s opponents do not possess. However, Ruiz was able to crowd the Giant in their last fight and was very successfully in taking Valuev out of his game plan. I can honestly say I doubt there are many fighters in the sport that can keep Ruiz at bay.

In fact, Ruiz was so productive with his “huggy” style that the 7’0 colossal Nikolay Valuev was forced to settle for a majority decision win even though he was fighting on his home court in Germany.

Ruiz insists that he is not the one doing the holding in his bouts but it is in fact his opponents who hold him! While there is no question Ruiz initiates most, if not all of the clinches in his fights, it is an effective style that has allowed him to compete with some of the biggest names in the sport.

Ruiz promises to forgo any holding in his rematch with Valuev and feels his only opportunity to walk out of Germany as the new WBA heavyweight champion of the world (the fight is for the vacant WBA belt) is to stop the Giant dead in his tracks.

I personally feel Ruiz should not change his “huggy” style one bit for this fight. It has worked well for him throughout his career and many people feel he did more then enough back in 2005 to defeat Valuev.

To decisively defeat the one-two-hold style of Ruiz, you need a fighter like Roy Jones Jr. who was able to use his speed and mobility to stay as far away from Ruiz as possible to neutralize “Huggy Bear.” Any heavyweight that stands in front of him will always be susceptible to being held.

I think it’s safe to say that Valuev should never be mentioned in the same breath as Roy Jones Jr. but he does enjoy a crucial advantage over Ruiz in this fight and that is the location of the bout!

Just as in the first fight, Valuev will once again be fighting in his backyard at the Max Schmeling stadium in Germany.

The location of this contest cannot be taken lightly for anyone backing Ruiz. Although Ruiz has stated he will be seeking a stoppage win, he is not a huge heavyweight and does not bring serious firepower into the ring.

It would appear for Ruiz to defeat Valuev he will need to get some love from the three blind mice at ringside. I think the location of the fight is the main reason why you see such high odds on Ruiz straight and also by decision. The oddsmakers understand that Ruiz is fighting an uphill battle if he cannot put the giant to sleep.

Boxeo: 1.37 Units On Valuev By Decision {-137}
Krakrabbit: 2.74 Units On Valuev By Decision {-137}
Grass Hopper: N/P
Doody: 1.37 Units On Valuev By Decision {-137}
D3: 1.37 Units On Valuev By Decision {-137}

PPV Predictions
By Boxeo

On Saturday night Ivan “Iron Boy” Calderon, (31-0, 6KO’s) returns to action in a rematch against former WBO champion Hugo “El Increible” Cazares, (26-4-1, 19KOs) live from the Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum, Bayamon, Puerto Rico.

Calderon opened as the favorite in the bout and money has continued to flow on “Iron Boy” knocking his number up to –240. Cazares supporters can grab the underdog money at + 200. The O/U on the bout is set at 11.5 rounds, with the under coming in at +250 and the over at -300.

Calderon by KO comes in at +623, while Calderon by decision will cost you -138. Cazares by KO hits the mark at +429, and Cazares by decision lands at +623. The odds the fight will be declared a draw land at +1800.

Just as I touched upon in the Ruiz/Valuev bout, location plays a huge roll in this fight. Ironically both of these rematches (Ruiz/Valuev and Calderon/Cazares) are being held in the exact same arena as their original fight.

The biggest difference between the two underdogs (Ruiz & Cazares) is the fact that Cazares has the size advantage over his opponent and brings real one-punch stopping power to the contest.

It’s certainly no secret that Cazares has a terrible time making the 108-pound weight limit. He had trouble making the weight in their first fight and is having another difficult time trying to get down to the limit for the rematch.

Nevertheless, as he showed in the initial meeting with Calderon, when he steps inside the ring on fight night he looks as strong as ever and is able to put on stern pressure for twelve hard rounds.

There were many times in their first fight where it appeared Calderon was on his way out. Cazares has very heavy hands and once they stepped inside the ring the power and size difference between the two boxers was tremendous.

Calderon was able to survive those very rocky moments in the fight by doing his best John Ruiz impersonation (holding, holding, and more holding) but it was very evident that as the rounds progressed Calderon was having more and more difficulty fending off Cazares.

There were also a couple of very close “slips” throughout the fight that could have easily been ruled knockdowns. Once again questions were raised about the location of the fight and if Calderon was being given every benefit of the doubt possible.

Even with only one knockdown being “official” and fighting with his home court advantage, Calderon was still only able to muster up a close split decision victory over Cazares.

Even though I feel Cazares can knockout Calderon, It is going to be tough for him to get that clean shot on “Iron Boy” because there is no question Ivan Calderon is not afraid to hold or run if he feels things are getting out of hand inside the ring.

There are people out there who truly respect the style of Calderon, and while I certainly agree that Calderon has very nice boxing ability, I don’t like the fact that he often runs (backpedaling without punching) for very long stretches of his fights and holds whenever the opportunity presents itself.

It is not out of the question that Cazares could beat Calderon in Puerto Rico. He could simply knockout Calderon and take the result out of the judges hands, or he could put Calderon on the seat of his pants a few times (if they are actually counted as knockdowns this time) and force Calderon to retreat the entire fight and win on the cards.

What a minute… that scenario sounds a lot like how the first fight played out but it was Calderon who ended up winning on the cards!

Of course Cazares supporters are hoping his power comes through and he is able to finish the job this time around. Regardless of how it happens, I think Hugo “El Increible” Cazares takes back his WBO flyweight title that was stolen from him one year ago.

Boxeo: 1.00 Units On Cazares By KO {+429}
Krakrabbit: 1.38 Units On Calderon By Decision {-138}
Grass Hopper: N/P
Doody: 1.38 Units On Calderon By Decision {-138}
D3: 1.38 Units On Calderon By Decision {-138}

HBO Predictions
By Boxeo

The Saturday night HBO main event showcases welterweights Zab “Super” Judah, (36-5, 25KO’s) and Joshua “Hitter” Clottey, (34-2, 20KO’s) squaring off for the vacant IBF welterweight championship of the world live from the Palms Casino, Las Vegas, NV.

Clottey opened the contest as a very slight favorite, but Clottey fans have continued to push the line higher and he currently rests at –250. Judah gets the underdog cash at +210. The O/U for the fight has been set at 11.5 rounds, with the over landing at -140 and the under coming in at +120.

Clottey by KO comes in at +175, while Clottey by decision will get you +179. Judah by KO hits the mark at +636, and Judah by decision lands at +400. As you can see from the posted odds, this bout is expected to go deep into the fight.

Although Judah should be considered the more skillful fighter in this welterweight match-up, there is no question he certainly is not the more consistent fighter.

Over the last seven fights Judah has gone a dismal 3-3 with one no contest. One of those three losses was a brutal beat down at the hands of Miguel Cotto that resulted in an eleventh round TKO loss for “Super” Judah.

Clottey on the other hand has gone 6-1, with his lone loss via unanimous decision at the hands of Antonio Margarito.

The bout against Antonio Margarito was a fight he was easily controlling until he hurt both hands and was unable to throw powerful combinations as he had earlier in the fight. The “loss” did not really hurt Clottey because it was so evident that he had the ability to compete with anyone at 147 pounds.

Zab Judah also has the skills to compete with anyone in the welterweight division, but he has only proven his ability to contend with the best for the first six rounds of the bout!

Time and time again Judah hits an invisible wall as the fifth and sixth rounds approach and suddenly his punch output, as well as his punch resistance, drop like a rock.

With the documented cases of Judah having extreme difficulty the longer the fight goes this may seem like a relatively easy fight to pick, but there are always two sides to every story.

Although I consider Clottey to be the more stable fighter in the ring, he is not without his own glaring deficiencies.

He will bring into his bout against Judah two awfully brittle hands that could alter the course of the fight at any given time.

Even though Clottey does not appear to hit a “wall” as the bout progresses, he does tend to take large portions of the rounds off where he will go extremely defensive, allowing his opponents to outwork him.

One huge asset for Clottey in this bout will be his extremely durable beard. Although Judah can crack with the best of them at 140 and 147 pounds, I would be very surprised if he was able to put Clottey on the seat of his pants.

With Judah coming in at 143 pounds, I feel that is a clear indicator that he will be looking to outbox his slower opponent and win on points.

Although there are serious questions regarding the chin of Judah, Clottey lands his punches with authority but is not a one-punch knockout artist.

I feel this fight will come down to how long Judah is able to fend off the fade demon.

If Judah is in real fighting shape (mentally & physically) and does not fatigue as the second half of the fight begins to play out, I think he has an excellent opportunity to take advantage of the many times where Clottey goes completely defensive.

The times where Clottey goes into his defensive shell are so numerous I honestly feel it could lose him the fight!

Judah is going to bring some serious speed and power into this fight and if his mind and body are “right”, he will be able to land flashy combination shots whenever Clottey goes into his guard.

You will notice that the entire game plan for Judah revolves around him being fit to fight. We all know physically he has the tools to get the job done, but whenever Zab Judah fights it is very important to take into consideration the questions marks surrounding him.

I think Judah knows if he is unable to defeat Joshua Clottey Saturday night it will probably be his last opportunity to dance on the big stage. If he ever needed motivation to get his butt in gear he should have it when he steps in the ring against Clottey for the vacant IBF championship of the world.

Now all Zab “Super” Judah needs to do is go out and showcase his world-class skills for more then six rounds of a fight. The question is…will he do it?

Boxeo: 1.00 Units On Judah By Decision {+400}
Krakrabbit: 1.00 Units On Judah By Decision {+400}
Grass Hopper: 1.00 Units On Judah By Decision {+400}
Doody: 1.00 Units On Clottey by Decision {+179}
D3: 1.00 Units On Under 11.5 {+130}

PPV Predictions
By Boxeo

The Saturday night HBO PPV main event features IBF welterweight champion of the world Antonio Margarito, (36-5, 26KO’s) squaring off against undefeated WBA welterweight champion of the world Miguel Cotto, (32-0, 26KO’s) live from the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV.

Cotto opened the contest as a very slight favorite, but the rabid Cotto fans have continued to push the line higher and he currently rests at –255. Margarito gets the underdog cash at +215. The O/U for the fight has been set at 9.5 rounds, with the over landing at -200 and the under coming in at +170.

Cotto by KO comes in at +243, while Cotto by decision will get you +134. Margarito by KO hits the mark at +378, and Margarito by decision lands at +800. As you can see from the posted odds, this bout is expected to go deep into the fight.

If you take a look at the above odds you will see just how closely the oddsmaker’s have set this line. Although Antonio Margarito has already been defeated five separate times and Miguel Cotto is currently undefeated at 32-0, 26KO’s, the bookmaker’s still only opened the Puerto Rican sensation as a very slight favorite in the fight.

At first glance the low opening odds on Cotto may seem strange. Cotto is undefeated, and only six boxers have managed to hear the final bell against him. His recent eleven victims include Randall Bailey, DeMarcus Corley, Mohamad Abdulaev, Ricardo Torres, Gianluca Branco, Paul Malignaggi, Carlos Quintana, Oktay Urkal, Zab Judah, Shane Mosley and Alfonso Gomez.

Out of all of the eleven recent bouts that Cotto has been involved in four really stand out. The first is the bout with Corley. Cotto struggled with Corley, he was seriously hurt in that fight, and for a brief second it appeared Corley was going to stop him. Cotto was able to withstand the attack from “Chop Chop” and went on to score a controversial stoppage in Puerto Rico.

He went life and death with Ricardo Torres, and was officially put on his bottom in that fight. He would once again gather himself and come back to score a highlight reel stoppage of the Columbian.

Two fights ago he stopped Zab Judah in the eleventh round of their contest, but was rocked on more then a few occasions, and had to walk through some heavy leather before finally taking “Super” Judah out.

After the Judah win Cotto remained undefeated eeking out a close unanimous decision win (115-113, 116-113, 115-113) over former pound for pound king Shane Mosley, in a bout many felt could have went “Sugar” Shane’s way.

There is no question Cotto has shown remarkable determination and courage in all of his bouts. Even if he is hurt, dropped, or cut he will continue to press after his opponent, looking to put an end to the fight. It is that determination that breaks down most fighters as the rounds wear on.

Now Cotto will test his resolve against Antonio Margarito Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

While Cotto was burning up the ring with his action packed thrillers, Margarito hit a major stumbling block back in July of 2007 when he ran into 6’1 welterweight Paul Williams.

Williams entered that bout sporting an impressive 32-0 record and took the fight to Margarito from the opening bell. For the first half of the fight it was a one sided affair with Williams simply outworking Margarito every step of the way. As the rounds wore on Margarito finally got into gear and his non-stop assault began to cause serious problems for Williams.

Unfortunately for Margarito his offensive assault came extremely late in the fight and in the end he came up short on the judge’s scorecards losing a unanimous decision.

The loss to Williams not only cost Margarito his championship title, it also effectively took Margarito out of the Cotto sweepstakes.

Although Margarito felt he did enough late in the fight to retain his title, he did acknowledge that he started exceptionally late in the fight with his full court press. He vowed that in future bouts fight fans would witness a “new” Antonio Margarito that would press the attack from the minute the bell sounded to start the bout.

Just four short months after the loss at the hands of Paul Williams, Margarito stayed true to his word about living up to his moniker the “Tijuana Tornado” and came out guns blazing against veteran Golden Johnson, stopping his overmatched foe in one single round.

Next up for Margarito was a rematch with Kermit Cintron. Margarito and Cintron waged war back in 2005 under the bright lights of Las Vegas with Margarito running right over Cintron in five brutal rounds.

Heading into that original fight many experts expected Cintron’s firepower to be the deciding factor in the fight. Margarito has never been mistaken for a defensive mastermind, and those picking Cintron felt Margarito’s inability to move out of the way of his opponent’s shots would ultimately be his undoing.

Of course we all know the experts got it wrong in that fight, but there is no mistaking the fact that Margarito’s defense is less then desirable.

In fact, in the rematch Cintron was able to connect flush with some serious thunder to the chin of Margarito but nothing he threw at Margarito could deter his fury. This time around Cintron would last a round longer, but the result would end up being the same with Cintron crumpled on the canvas and Margarito’s hands being raised in the air.

There is no secret to the style that Margarito brings into the ring. He simply presses forward and throws punches. His defense consists of taking everything his opponents can throw smack dab on the chin and smiling back at them.

Although Margarito has shown a solid chin throughout his career, I don’t believe the hype that he cannot be stopped. Early in his career he was put on the seat of his pants and in his bouts with Daniel Santos there were times where he was visible hurt.

Another major factor you must consider whenever Margarito fights is his propensity of getting cut. Although he has a solid chin, his face first style almost always guarantees some type of facial swelling, not to mention clashes of heads.

I have no doubt in my mind that Margarito’s chin will be put to the test once again on Saturday night. Although I believe Kermit Cintron is a much harder one punch power puncher then Miguel Cotto, it is the speed of Cotto that could cause serious problems for Margarito.

Miguel Cotto has tremendously underrated hand speed at welterweight. There is no question he will possess a huge edge in both hand and foot speed over Margarito. The biggest question heading into this fight is what kind of game plan has Cotto brought into this contest?

We all know that Cotto has some boxing ability but he appears to truly enjoy going into the lion’s den and fighting it out. Cotto has been a bit of a slow starter, and has been buzzed early in his bouts, but his body punching and effective aggression begin to pay dividends as the fight wears on.

In this super fight against Margarito, Cotto has more options should the going get tough. If he is unable to handle himself on the inside, he can switch it up and counterpunch from the outside, capitalizing on his hand and foot speed advantage.

Although Cotto possesses attributes that Margarito does not, I am by no means suggesting it is going to be a walk in the park for Miguel Cotto to beat Antonio Margarito.

I honestly feel that Cotto is going to come into this bout looking to counterpunch Margarito. Cotto knows that Margarito is going to press forward and look to turn this contest a street brawl.

A perfect example of how I think Cotto is going to approach this fight is in his last bout against Gomez. Gomez was a pressure fighter who came straight at Cotto. Even though Cotto had a huge power advantage over Gomez, he still chose to use his jab and hand/foot speed to counter Gomez as he advanced forward. Only when he had inflicted enough damage to render Gomez helpless did he finally go in for the kill.

Although Cotto will bring the quicker hands and feet to the dance, Margarito is four inches taller and has a six-inch reach advantage. The height and reach advantage of Margarito could end up throwing a wrench into Cotto’s plan of trying to outbox Margarito from the outside.

Most experts feel Cotto will be able to nail the slower Margarito at will and box his way with little trouble to a lopsided decision win. However, to think Cotto is just going to box circles around Margarito without difficulty is immensely short sided.

Even if Cotto is somehow able to effectively counterpunch his taller, longer armed foe, he is going to have to put enough dynamite in his shots to crumple Margarito to the canvas or attempt to box the entire night and win on the judge’s scorecards.

Should Cotto elect to box, I believe a major key for Margarito in this fight is going to be his jab. If Margarito presses the action, but does it behind his long left jab, I think he may take away the counterpunching ability of Cotto.

Six inches in reach would be tremendously difficult for Cotto to overcome on the outside. Margarito could simply pop that jab into the face of Cotto and force him to retreat or jump in and trade power shots.

However, if Margarito neglects the jab and does little more then follow Cotto around the ring, he will allow Cotto to fire off rapid combinations as he advances and then move out of the way of Margarito’s slow, wide punches.

Another important tool for Margarito will be his bodywork. While Cotto is certainly highly regarded for his body punches, Margarito is no slouch in the body department himself. I would not be surprised to see either fighter hurt in the midsection at any point in the fight.

If Margarito has pressed forward intelligently, I think the longer the fight goes the better the chances are for him to slowly wear Cotto down and stop him. In fact, I believe a stoppage victory is the only shot Margarito has at upsetting Miguel Cotto. Cotto is the superstar in this fight and I feel any close rounds will surely go his way.

With that said, even if Margarito is able to get his way and close the gap between himself and Cotto, he is going to pay a tremendous price for getting into an area where he can do serious work.

I can see this fight going either way. Cotto could box beautifully, slicing and dicing Margarito to shreds, or Margarito could walk through Cotto’s firepower with a smile on his face and slowly break Cotto down.

Although neither fighter has ever been stopped, I think somehow, someway, this thing ends before the final bell.

Boxeo: 3.00 Units On Won’t Go 12 Full {+115}
Krakrabbit: .50 On Margarito By KO {+400} (Vegas Odds)
Grass Hopper: 2.00 Units On Margarito By KO {+400} (Vegas Odds) & 1.00 Units On Margarito By Decision {+800}
Doody: 2.00 Units On Margarito {+215}
D3: 2.00 Units On Cotto By Dec {+150}

FSN Predictions
By Boxeo

This Wednesday night two former champions collide when James “Lights Out” Toney, (70-6-3, 43KO’s) tackles Hasim “The Rock” Rahman, (45-6-2, 36KO’s) in a twelve round heavyweight showdown, live from the Pechanga Resort & Casino, Temecula, California.

The line opened with Rahman almost a 2-1 favorite to defeat James Toney, but as soon as the line was placed the Toney money came rushing in. Instead of almost a 2-1 favorite over Toney, Rahman now sits at just a –135 favorite. Toney supporters can still grab the underdog cash at +115. The O/U for the fight has been set at 11.5 rounds, with the over coming in at –210 and the under landing at +175.

Rahman by KO comes in at +312, while Rahman by decision will get you +197. Toney by KO hits the mark at +500, and Toney by decision lands at +227. As you can see from the posted odds, this bout is expected to go deep into the fight.

This fight is actually a rematch of their twelve round heavyweight contest way back in 2006 that ended up being declared a draw. In the original bout I clearly remember scoring the fight for Rahman. I felt that he had outworked Toney over the distance and deserved to be declared the winner. However, the three blind mice at ringside thought otherwise and Rahman was forced to settle for a disputed draw.

Now, a little over two years later, the two flamboyant heavyweights get another chance to settle the score.

It still seems strange to me that we now call James Toney a heavyweight. While there is no question he certainly carries heavy weight into the ring, I think we all know James should not be fighting in the heavyweight division.

Since moving up to heavyweight back in 2003, James is 4-2-1, with one no contest. Of those four wins at heavyweight, Toney has only mustered up one single stoppage win. That stoppage victory came against future hall of famer Evander Holyfield in Toney’s first serious attempt at becoming a full-fledged heavyweight boxer.

Most recently Toney is coming off a close split decision victory over 25-4, Danny Batchelder. Toney came into that bout with a little less flab around the midsection then when he faced off with Sam Peter (he weighed in at 229) but still was carrying to much weight for his small frame. In the end Toney was able to do just enough to get the decision on the judges scorecards.

However, after the bout with Batchelder was in the books, both fighters failed their post fight drug test, testing positive for banned steroids. This was Toney’s second run in with a banned steroid (he failed his post fight drug test against John Ruiz back in 2005) and the California State Athletic Commission suspended him for one year. The California State Athletic Commission later reduced that suspension to six months.

Before his last fight with Batchelder, Toney squared off with Nigerian powerhouse Sam Peter, only to wind up going 0-2 with back-to-back decision losses in just a four-month time span.

The reason that Toney and Peter ended up having two fights in four months is because many people feel Toney was robbed in his first fight with Peter. Although he once again carried way too much weight into the ring, the former middleweight champion of the world somehow found a way to negate the offensive assault of the power punching Peter for most of the fight and appeared to have earned himself a decision victory.

In the end the three blind mice at ringside once again disagreed with public perception (how many times does this happen in boxing?) and went the other way, giving Peter a highly contested unanimous decision win.

So the rematch was set for a few months later and the two fighters decided to settle things inside the ring. This time around it was a dominant performance from Peter, as he easily battered his overweight opponent, even dropping James in the third round of the fight with a jab!

Although obviously beaten in the rematch, Toney refused to accept the defeat and claimed he actually did enough to win the fight and was robbed by the judges. Although I disagree with Toney about the scoring in the rematch, I must say there are very few middleweight boxers that could go a few rounds with a slugger like Peter, let alone twenty-four rounds without ever being knocked out.

Actually, I think a natural heavyweight fighter like Hasim Rahman would have a very difficult time lasting the distance against Sam Peter. In fact, after his last performance against the light hitting Zuri Lawrence, I would venture to guess Rahman would be lucky to make it half way through a bout with a puncher like Peter.

While Toney has without a doubt been battling his ever-increasing spare tire, Rahman has had his own fair share of troubles inside the ring.

Right after his disputed draw with Toney, he was lined up to defend his WBC heavyweight championship of the world against Oleg Maskaev. Rahman and Maskaev had met back in 1999 and Maskaev scored a dramatic eighth round stoppage victory when he literally knocked Rahman out of the ring.

This time around most people anticipated a successful defense for the champion, but even though Maskaev was coming off almost a one-year layoff, when the bell sounded Hasim Rahman was unable to seal the deal.

Maskaev looked like a dead man walking that night. He had a series of back injuries leading up to the fight that caused his movements inside the ring to be limited at best. In between rounds I actually wondered if he was going to collapse in the corner. Round after round Rahman did just enough to keep Maskaev at bay, but even though he had a corpse in front of him, he never really looked for that finishing blow.

Rahman’s inability to finish off his handicapped opponent in the early going would come back to bite him when he eventually tired and was knocked out in the twelfth and final round of the fight.

If there is one glaring weakness of Hasim Rahman it has to be his chin. Out of his six losses four of them have been by stoppage. One might not bother taking his china chin into consideration against the natural middleweight Toney, but I think that would be a grave mistake.

While Toney is certainly not a heavyweight puncher like Oleg Maskaev or Lennox Lewis, Zuri “No KO’s” Lawrence recently proved it doesn’t take much to rattle the former heavyweight champion of the world.

Lawrence entered his bout against Rahman sporting a 23-13 record with a whopping zero stoppages. That is not a typo; in his twenty-three wins Zuri Lawrence has never stopped a single opponent.

With no power (literally) what would be the chances of Lawrence even being able to hurt the former heavyweight champ? Well, if you watched the fight you know the answer to that one.

Without a single stoppage to his name, Lawrence was able to rattle Rahman on more then a few occasions and even ended up cutting him over both eyes. A fighter with a zero KO percentage stood toe to toe with Rahman and held his own for most of the fight. Even in the early going when Rahman was fresh, his punches appeared to have nothing on them and he looked incredibly slow.

After a back and fourth fight most of the way (Rock scored a knockdown in the sixth) Rahman was finally able to grind Lawrence down in the tenth and final round of the fight for the TKO victory. Up until the point of the stoppage one judge had Lawrence winning the bout 86-84, while the other two judges had it for the Rock by scores of 86-84 and an unrealistic 88-82.

Although both fighters appeared to struggle a bit in their last fight, Rahman looked so atrocious against Lawrence I don’t see how anyone can bet on him as a favorite?

I think we can all agree that Toney is one of the premium skilled fighters in the game. He has an uncanny ability to move just a hair out of range of his opponent’s punches and even at the ripe old age of forty, is still able to fire off crisp, pinpoint accurate shots that demand respect from even the biggest heavyweight punchers.

Although Toney’s defensive timing has been a bit off lately, I honestly believe it has more to do with his expanding waist line then a serious decline in his fighting skills. Even when he does mis-time a shoulder roll here or there, he possesses a chin of granite that has allowed him to move up from middleweight to light heavyweight to cruiserweight and finally heavyweight, without ever being knocked out!

Hasim Rahman on the other hand has always been very unpredictable. He very well may be winning a fight only to get hit flush with one single shot and suddenly its “Lights Out.”

Another area where Rock fails is in the stamina department. In his fight against Lawrence there were several rounds where it looked as if he was going to hack up a lung. He gets extremely tired and when that fatigue sets in his arms drop and his fragile chin is exposed.

This is exactly what happened in his failed title defense against Maskaev. Rahman could not get his decrepit foe out of the match in the early rounds and ended up fading as the rounds wore on.

Now I already know what you’re thinking and I wholeheartedly agree with you that Toney is not a punching machine either. He will take extremely long periods of time in each round and just defend without firing anything back.

The difference between the two fighters fatigue is James does not get sloppy with his hands or his defense. Even when he drops his hands right in front of his opponents he is so sound defensively, most of the time he is never really in harms way.

Rahman has very little defense when he is fresh and ready to fight, what little defense he does have disappears as soon as he gets tired.

I think it’s safe to say that even an out of shape James Toney has a real shot at beating Hasim Rahman. If James “Light’s Out” Toney is able to get his big butt in real fighting shape for this fight (he came in at 226 pounds) don’t be surprised if he crumbles the Rock!

Boxeo: 10.00 Units On Toney {+145} & 1.00 Units On Toney By KO {+500}
Krakrabbit: 1.00 Units On Toney {+145}
Grass Hopper: 2.00 Units On Toney By Decision {+227} & 1.00 Units On Toney By KO {+500}
Doody: 1.00 Units On Rahman By Decision {+197}
D3: 2.00 Units On Rahman By Decision {+197}

HBO Predictions
By Boxeo

Saturday afternoon we are treated to a heavyweight title bout between heavy-handed knockout artist Wladimir Klitschko, (50-3, 44KOs) and once beaten American heavyweight Tony Thompson, (31-1, 19KOs.) live from the Color Line Arena, Altona, Hamburg, Germany.

Klitschko opened as the clear favorite in the fight but public money has still been flowing in on him increasing his number to -700. Currently, you can score a respectable +500 on the underdog Thompson.

The O/U on the bout is set at 9.5 rounds, with the under coming in at -175 and the over at +155. Klitschko by KO comes in at -180, while Klitschko by decision will reward you with +333. Thompson by KO hits the mark at +698, and Thompson by decision lands at +1600.

After an extremely lackluster performance against his much smaller foe Sultan Ibragimov, (The team did very well on the over in that fight) Klitschko now has another opportunity to convince his critics that he is the best heavyweight in the world.

Standing in Klitschko’s way is 6’5 southpaw Tony Thompson. Although Thompson is a mandatory fight for Klitschko and enters the contest having only lost one single bout, I think the “Steel Hammer” will have a much easier time with Thompson’s style then he did against Ibragimov.

There is no question Thompson is a big dude. At 6’5 inches he will stand almost even with Klitschko, but his lack of hand speed is going to present a serious problem for him in this fight.

Another major flaw I see in the game of Thompson is his inability to move. When he fights it appears as if his feet are stuck in cement. He also has a very bad habit of just covering up when his opponent throws punches. If he allows Klitschko to tee off on him without worrying about anything coming back, he may very well be in for a long night of punishment (or short night if Klitschko connects.)

You see, the reason Ibragimov was able to avoid big shots from Klitschko for twelve rounds was because he had great footwork and fast hands. Thompson has neither of those attributes and I am certain Klitschko will be able to take advantage of these glaring weaknesses.

The only thing that ever makes a Wladimir Klitschko fight exciting is the fact that he brings his own glaring weaknesses into every bout.

We all know about the constant stamina issue that has plagued Klitschko’s career. Regardless of how muscular and well-conditioned Klitschko appears to the naked eye, it seems whenever he gets into the middle rounds of a fight, he hits an invisible wall and his legs turn to jelly.

I am uncertain if Klitschko is sporting a child-sized pair of lungs, or if he is just so tense and tight that he expends a ton of energy during the early portion of the bout. Regardless of the reason, he has serious stamina issues that must always be taken into consideration when betting on a Wladimir Klitschko fight.

A lot of people point to the chin of Klitschko as his Achilles Heel, but I think it is a lack of stamina that leads to him flopping around the ring like a fish out of water. When you are dead tired any punch from a heavyweight fighter can easily send you flailing around the ring.

The biggest factor in this fight is the inability of Thompson to move out of range of the extremely hard punches of Wladimir Klitschko. While Klitschko can knockout any heavyweight with a single shot, he sets those shots up by using his huge height and reach advantage, keeping his foes on the end of his punches.

In some of his previous bouts Thompson has shown a weakness to defending right hand power shots. If he does not protect his chin from right hands against Klitschko, you can kiss his chances of an upset goodbye.

Boxeo: 1.80 Units On Klitschko By KO {-180}
Krakrabbit: 1.80 Units On Klitschko By KO {-180}
Grass Hopper: N/P
Doody: 1.00 Units On Over 9 Rounds {+200} (Vegas Odds)
D3: 1.00 Units On Over 9 Rounds {+200} (Vegas Odds)

Showtime Predictions
By Boxeo

The Saturday night Showtime main event features a rematch in the light welterweight division between knockout artist Ricardo Torres, (32-1-1, 28KO’s) and twice beaten Kendall Holt, (23-2, 12KO’s) live from the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, NV.

Although Torres stopped Holt in their first fight, Kendall Holt now comes into the rematch as the odds on favorite to win the fight, currently resting at –275. Torres supporters can grab the underdog money at +275. The O/U on the bout is set at 9.5 rounds, with the under coming in at +160 and the over at -175.

Torres by KO comes in at +400, while Torres by decision will reward you with +1001. Holt by KO hits the mark at +161, and Holt by decision lands at +168.

Since Torres stopped Holt in their first contest you might be wondering why the line opened in favor of Holt? The reason the oddsmakers have made Holt the favorite in the rematch with Torres is because the original bout had nothing but controversy surrounding it and Holt was actually leading on the judge’s scorecards when the bout was halted in the eleventh round.

For his part, Holt blames the poor ring conditions and referee Gino Rodriguez for his stoppage defeat at the hands of Torres five months ago in Barranquilla, Columbia.

He claims the fight fans in attendance were allowed to throw beer and trash into the ring causing unsafe conditions that did not allow him box as effectively as he would have liked. He also claims the referee’s decision to stop the bout in the eleventh round was a poor decision and he was more then willing and able to continue.

I can tell you after watching the film that I believe the referee’s decision to call a halt to the bout at that point at time was not the correct one. Although Torres had already put Holt down earlier in the round with a wicked left hook, when he pinned Holt on the ropes in an attempt to finish him off, he was never really able to connect flush with any of his power shots.

Holt’s biggest mistake when Torres was unleashing his flurry was bending over in an attempt to hold on. I think the referee felt Holt was slumping over from the power shots of Torres and jumped in and stopped the fight.

Even with the loss to Torres, Holt has only tasted defeat a total of two times in his career. However, both times he was stopped! Even if you wish to disregard the controversial stoppage in the eleventh round of his first bout with Torres, there is no question in my mind he was seriously hurt from the first left hook that put him down earlier in the round.

In my view there are legitimate concerns regarding his ability to absorb solid shots and stay upright. If Torres is able to find his jaw once again, I am certain Holt will be in a world of trouble.

For all of his imperfections in the chin department, Holt does indeed posses skills. He has fast hands and quick footwork, a combination that will always give Torres fits inside the ring.

I would be shocked if in the rematch Holt decided to do anything other than to use the ring and box Torres from the outside. In their first bout he had great success boxing from the outside and is much quicker in both hand and foot speed then Torres. Should Holt decide to box, it will be up to Torres to press the action and make Holt fight!

In the first bout Torres could have done a much better job of pressing the action. For extremely long stretches of the bout he stayed on the outside with Holt and tried to match him jab for jab. In fact, even when he did press forward his inability to close the gap quickly between himself and Holt is what lead to his being dropped in the sixth round of the fight.

Ricardo Torres is not skilled enough to outbox Kendall Holt from the outside. He needs to be all of the way inside or all of the way outside. He simply cannot stand in no mans land and expect to win the fight.

If he plays around in the rematch and does not apply effective pressure from the get go he will once again find himself down on the judges scorecards or looking up at the bright lights of the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.

That’s right, even though Holt only has twelve stoppages in twenty-three wins; I believe he has enough pop in his right hand to knockout Torres!

In my opinion, on more then a few occasions during the first half of their original fight Holt clearly buzzed Torres with his long right hand shots. In the sixth round a left hook-right hand combination caught Torres flush on the chin and sent him to the canvas.

Torres was in serious trouble when he got up from that knockdown and was extremely lucky the round was just about over or he could have easily lost the fight by sixth round stoppage.

Holt is clearly the better technician in the bout. He can outbox Torres to a decision win or catch him with another right hand counter shot and end the night. If not for his questionable chin, this would be a trouble-free straight wager on Kendall Holt. However, he does have a weak beard and you must factor that in when making a decision on this fight.

Because both guys have shown susceptibility to the big punch (Torres’ sole defeat was a stoppage loss at the hands of Miguel Cotto) I am going to take the “fight won’t go the distance” prop and hope somebody’s chin fails one more time.

Boxeo: 4.20 Units On Won’t Go 12 Full Rounds {-105}
Krakrabbit: 1.00 Units On Torres By KO {+400}
Grass Hopper: 2.50 Units On Torres {+275}
Doody: 1.00 Units On Torres {+275}
D3: 1.05 Units On Won’t Go 12 Full Rounds {-105}

HBO PPV Predictions
By Boxeo

The Saturday night’s HBO PPV main event features Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao, (46-3-2, 35KO’s) making the leap from the Super featherweight division up to the lightweight division to challenge current WBC lightweight champion of the world David Diaz, (34-1-1, 17KO’s) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, NV.

As expected, Pacquiao opened as the clear favorite in the bout and currently rests as a – 455 favorite to defeat Diaz. Diaz supporters can grab the underdog money at +375. The O/U on the bout is set at 9.5 rounds, with the under coming in at +120 and the over at -140.

Pacquiao by KO comes in at -128, while Pacquiao by decision will reward you with +254. Diaz by KO hits the mark at +928, and Diaz by decision lands at +608.

As you can clearly see by the current lines, Diaz is not expected to retain his title on Saturday night.

While Diaz is certainly not a bad fighter, he does not bring explosive punching power or lightning fast hand speed into his contest with Pacquiao.

Diaz is pretty much a straight-ahead fighter that seeks to get close to his opponents and outwork them over twelve rounds. There is little question he is going to have his work cut out for him when tries to implement this type of fighting style against Pacquiao.

Diaz is not a big puncher by any stretch of the imagination. With just seventeen stoppages in thirty four wins, I would be shocked if he had enough punching power to keep Manny at bay for any length of time.

The biggest danger for Diaz in this fight is not when he is inside the range of Manny Pacquiao. I personally believe fighting a rough and tough inside fight plan will be the safest spot for Diaz to be at against Pacquiao.

The problem for Diaz is he is going to be forced to walk through Pacquiao’s outside artillery before he has an opportunity to smother “Pac Man” and go to work on the inside.

It is no secret that Manny’s best punch is his left hand. Most of his offense is derived from a simple one-two combination punch. On paper it would seem like a very easy task too nullify Pacquiao’s limited offensive arsenal, but the guy hits so hard that it only takes a single grazing shot to send his opponents down and out for the count.

With that said, Pacquiao with a doubt has progressed as a fighter since long time trainer Freddie Roach first started working with him. Under the tutelage of Roach, the hard-hitting “Pac Man” has added a very respectable body attack to his repertoire (just ask Erik Morales) as well as a slowly improving lead right hook from the southpaw stance.

But in the end, the left hand will always be Manny Pacquiao’s most dangerous weapon.

That powerful left hand of Pacquiao’s is something Diaz must avoid as he progresses forward after Pacquiao. He simply cannot walk forward and absorb right jabs and left hands all night long or he will find himself looking up at the lights.

There in lies the biggest problem for Diaz in this fight. He basically has no head movement and sports a very limited ability to defend any type of offensive onslaught. In plain English…the kid gets hit too much!

Although Diaz was recently dropped in the opening round against a seriously faded Erik Morales, there is a possibility that Diaz’s chin may hold up reasonably well to Pacquiao’s power shots.

Remember, this will be another move up in weight for Manny who started his career all the way back at 107 pounds. One would assume at some point his tremendous punching power might not follow him as he increases in weight and faces bigger and stronger fighters.

Even if Diaz’s chin can somehow stand up to a flush left hand from Pacquiao, his face is all together an entirely different story.

Diaz is often battered and bruised at the end of his fights, and those are fights where he has actually won the contest. Although there is no doubting Diaz’s toughness, there is no qualm in my mind that the longer the fight goes the worse for wear his face is going to become.

Without question the task at hand is going to be extremely difficult for Diaz. Pacquiao has faced the best of the best and delivers his punches with incredible speed and power.

However, all is not lost for those Diaz supporters out there. As is the case lately with every single Manny Pacquiao fight, there have been more and more rumors about how his nightlife and celebrity status have started to take their toll on his training habits.

It has been suggested that Pacquiao is relying more on his pure talent and spending less and less time in the gym doing quality work. It’s funny because if you look at Pacquiao he always appears to be in great shape.

With his shredded abs and Bruce Lee like build, you might get committed to the nutty farm if you suggested to the average fight fan “Pac Man” might be out of shape. But as we all know, looking in shape and being in fighting shape are two very different things.

Even if Pacquiao comes into this bout less then 100%, Diaz is still going to be forced to walk through fire to get into an area where he can do serious work. Diaz is tough, he won’t quit trying to win this fight until he is looking up at the bright lights at the Mandalay Bay or forced to retire by either his corner or the referee.

Regardless of how the end comes, I think at some point and time the brave, but outgunned Diaz loses his title via stoppage.

Boxeo: 2.00 Units On Pacquiao By KO {+100} (Vegas Odds)
Krakrabbit: 1.00 Units On Pacquiao By KO {+100} (Vegas Odds)
Grass Hopper: 2.00 Units On Pacquiao By KO {+100} (Vegas Odds) & 2.00 Units On Won't Go 10 Full Rounds {+120} (Vegas Odds)
Doody: 1.00 Units On Pacquiao By KO {+100} (Vegas Odds)
D3: 1.00 Units On Diaz {+375}

Showtime Predictions
By Boxeo

This Saturday nights Showtime main event features a special 166-pound catch weight rematch between knockout artist Edison Miranda, (30-2, 26KO’s) and current IBF middleweight champion Arthur Abraham, (26-0, 21KO’s) Live from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Florida.

Surprisingly, Edison Miranda opened as the slight underdog in the bout and currently sits as a +175 dog. Abraham supporters will be forced to lay some chalk at -210. The O/U on the bout is set at 9.5 rounds, with the under coming in at +120 and the over at -140.

Abraham by KO comes in at +145, while Abraham by decision will reward you with +267. Miranda by KO hits the mark at +330, and Miranda by decision lands at +516.

This will be Miranda’s third fight since his destruction loss at the hands of Kelly Pavlik back in May of 2007. Since the loss to Pavlik, Miranda claimed he could no longer make the 160-pound weight limit, and the strain to make the weight severely depleted his ability to fend off the hard punching Pavlik.

Regardless if Miranda was being genuine about the weight issues or not, he has scored two stoppage wins over less than stellar competition in his first two bouts at 168. Now Miranda seeks to revenge a highly disputed unanimous decision loss that occurred in Abraham’s home country of Germany back in 2006.

In his original bout against Abraham, Miranda was without question treated very unfairly by referee Randy Neumann. A referee is required to be a neutral figure inside the ring but on that night back in September of 2006, Randy Neumann was anything but neutral.

Somewhere during the first four rounds of a very entertaining contest, Miranda was able to nail Abraham on the chin with some serious dynamite that ended up breaking the champions jaw.

I personally believe the injury occurred towards the end of the fourth round when Abraham was on the attack after a dazed and retreating Miranda and was caught with a counter right uppercut that hit him right on the button.

In any case, by the fifth round Abraham’s jaw began to increasingly swell. It was very apparent from the blood spewing out of his mouth that the champion was going to have serious problems with his breathing and ability to keep his mouth closed.

During the first half of the fifth round Miranda was all over Abraham. He was forcing the champion back and landing cleanly to the head and body of Abraham. For his part, Abraham was apparently in survival mode, backpedaling and trying not to engage Miranda in a toe-to-tow slugfest as he had done early in the contest.

With about a minute to go in round number five, Miranda and Abraham clashed heads. Abraham immediately held his head and backed away from Miranda while referee Randy Neumann advised Miranda to “watch his head.”

He then asked Abraham if he was “ok” but instead of walking forward towards Miranda in an attempt to resume the bout, Abraham stayed away and walked towards the corner holding his head with his glove.

Referee Randy Neumann then called “time” and advised Abraham to “take a minute.” For some unknown reason the doctor entered the scene and after being told by Abraham about his jaw (an injury unrelated to the stoppage) began swabbing the mouth of Abraham. Meanwhile, Neumann is heard advising “someone” at ringside (IBF representative I think) that the butt was intentional.

After a few minutes of the doctor administering care to the jaw of Abraham, the IBF representative is heard telling Neumann that the corner of Abraham was trying to get the doctor to stop the fight!

Neumann then asks someone at ringside what round the fight is currently in. After a few more seconds of the doctor looking at the jaw of Abraham he tells Neumann that the fight is over!

In reality the fight should have been over right there. The stoppage should have been from the broken jaw that was caused by a legal punch from Miranda.

However, Neumann does not award the victory to Miranda and leans over the ring ropes and tells someone (I assume it was the IBF representative) that the fight is over and what does he want to do?

Since Neumann was trying to base the stoppage of the fight off of the intentional foul from Miranda he asks the invisible man at ringside (the camera view never really shows who he is speaking with) if they should go to the scorecards.

He continues by telling the invisible man at ringside that it is the fifth round and they (judges) have to score that round. After shaking his head yes a few times Neumann walks over to the corner where Miranda is standing and takes away two points for the foul!

Up until this point there were no indications from Neumann that any points, let alone two points, would be taken from Miranda. Neumann simply walked towards Miranda and deducted two points for the intentional headbutt.

What a coincidence that Neumann is under the impression the bout will head to the cards and then magically takes two points from Miranda!

Miranda argues with Neumann that the fight is being stopped because of the jaw of Abraham and Neumann tells Miranda he butted him in the head. Neumann then goes back over to ringside and tells the invisible man at ringside that the foul was to the head and did not cause the cut on the lip. You can hear Neumann telling the invisible man at ringside it was an intentional foul and to “go to the scorecards.”

After a brief conversation between Neumann and the invisible man at ringside (the audio did not come across on the broadcast) you can hear Neumann tell him “TKO, can’t continue due to the punch to the lip.”

He then tells the invisible man at ringside “He (Miranda) loses two points but wins by TKO.”

Another conversation ensues (audio once again does not pick it all up) and then another doctor comes ringside and tends to the lip of Abraham. Then Neumann is heard asking someone at ringside if they wanted to go on. Apparently they indicated they did wish to continue with the bout because Neumann tells Abraham they are going to continue fighting ands asks Abraham if he wished to fight and Abraham says no!

Instead of calling the fight right then and there, Neumann allows Abraham to have a discussion with his corner (I assume it was his corner you cannot see on the video) while he sits by and waits for Abraham to make up his mind.

Finally after about five minutes since this charade started, Abraham indicates he will go on and referee Randy Neumann restarts the action.

One might think that was the end of this high drama affair but they would be very wrong. Just two rounds later the great Randy Neumann deducts two points from Miranda for low blows.

Now remember, up until this round there were maybe, two warnings from Neumann to Miranda for low blows. Not to mention that every single “low blow” that Miranda was penalized for was in the worse case a borderline shot.

Then just four rounds later Neumann struck again with another point deduction for a “low blow” shot.

If you are not keeping track, that is 2 points deducted from Miranda in round number five for the headbutt, 2 points deducted from Miranda in round seven for low blows and finally 1 point deducted from Miranda in round eleven for another low blow shot.

2+2+1 = 5 points deducted from Miranda!

The reason I have taken the time to write in detail about the horrendous officiating by referee Randy Neumann is because when this fight was originally aired nobody in the U.S. got to see it.

Sure, many people read about the shady tactics that were used against Miranda but seeing them for yourself sheds a whole new light on how their first fight played out. In fact, if you have not had the opportunity to watch the first fight I highly suggest before you make a bet on this fight you check your local listings (Showtime is replaying it) and schedule a time to sit down and watch it.

When the referee did not impede the action, Miranda did very nice bodywork in the original fight that I feel clearly bothered Abraham. The solid body shots from Miranda are probably the major reason Abraham went into his acting mode and gave a look for help to the referee whenever Miranda punched to his body.

In fact, Abraham was fading badly down the stretch and used the low blow point deduction in round eleven from Randy Neumann to take a nice 2:00 minute break to catch his breath.

Heading into their first fight a lot of people suggested that Abraham was the much better technical fighter of the two, but if their first fight is any indication of his boxing ability, I would not suggest he is that much better technically then Miranda.

There were many instances where he and Miranda simply threw wide looping punches trying to take their opponent’s head off. While I feel Abraham has the better defense, offensively he can and does throw very wide shots.

I am certain Abraham can hurt Miranda and I know for a fact Miranda had Abraham hurt and on the verge of quitting (actually he did quit but Randy Neumann did not accept his surrender.)

I have to admit I was impressed with Abraham’s ability to absorb those thunderous headshots from Miranda without going down. I feel Miranda would have a much better shot at stopping Abraham by setting up his shots to the body first, before going to the head.

Should this bout somehow head to the scorecards for the second straight time a lot of people expect a decision to go in favor of Abraham. Unless there is some more shady business going on that I don’t know about, I don’t see how they can be so confident of an Abraham decision win?

In the first fight Abraham hardly threw any punches at all. Sure, when he did throw he was able to land cleanly on Miranda, but his punch output was very poor. Even with the point deductions most people had Miranda in the fight (excluding the three blind mice at ringside) and had those points not been taken, I am sure most unbiased people would have scored the fight for Miranda.

The rematch is Miranda’s fight to lose. They are fighting in the states and at a catch weight that should favor Miranda. Unless he has horrible luck he should also get a much better shake this time around from the referee then he did in Germany. Now all he needs to do is go out there and win!

Boxeo: 2.00 Units On Miranda {+175} & .50 Units On Miranda By Decision {+516}
Krakrabbit: .75 Units On Miranda {+175}
Grass Hopper: 4.50 Units On Miranda {+175}
Doody: 2.00 Units On Miranda {+175}
D3: 2.00 Units On Miranda {+175}

Showtime Predictions
By Boxeo

Saturday night we will be treated to a world championship bout in the 154-pound weight class between Vernon Forrest, (40-2, 29KOs) and Sergio Mora, (20-0-1, 5KOs) live from the Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut.

The champion Forrest has been installed as the clear betting favorite in the bout, but public money has been slowly creeping in on Mora, dropping the champion’s number to -460. Mora supporters will now net +380 for the upset victory.

The O/U on the bout is set at 10.5 rounds, with the under coming in at +160 and the over at -185. Forrest by KO comes in at +175, while the champion by decision will net you +116. Mora by KO hits the mark at +870, and Mora by decision lands at +678.

Although there has been some late money coming in on Mora, I feel there are a few good reasons why the “Latin Snake” will have a very tough task beating Vernon Forrest. Although this bout will take place at 154 pounds, Mora has not been at or below that weight since he fought Ishe Smith way back in 2004.

Even though Mora insists that he always had an easy time making 160, coming down in weight may have an adverse affect on his biggest weapon…his legs!

As we all know, Sergio Mora’s biggest asset is being a slick boxer with a style that could certainly cure insomnia. His hit and don’t get hit style, combined with zero punching power, usually make for a very boring night of action whenever he enters the ring.

Speaking of punching power, with only five stoppages in his twenty wins, I think it is fairly safe to say there is zero chance Mora heads into this contest seeking a stoppage win over Forrest.

However, he is also facing an uphill battle if he expects to step into the ring Saturday night and outbox Forrest over the twelve round distance.

At one point and time Forrest was considered one of the elite fighters in the sport, but back to back losses to wild man Ricardo Mayorga, and a plethora of shoulder injuries tainted his status as one of the best fighters in the sport.

Forrest recently had surgery to correct those nagging injuries and looked the best he has in years defeating Carlos Baldomir and most recently Michelle Piccirillo.

Obviously this fight is more about how Forrest will win, not if he will win. For Forrest to stop Mora would be a real feather in his cap. Although I feel Mora is in way over his head against Forrest, throughout his short career, Mora has shown a solid chin and for the time being remains undefeated.

Forrest is a great boxer/counter puncher but I can foresee him having a difficult time chasing Mora around the ring all night in search of the stoppage. There is little doubt in my mind that Forrest will win the fight Saturday, but he will need to land his potent right hand often to keep Mora on the canvas.

With that said, even if Forrest is unable to seriously hurt Mora with his power shots, there is always the chance that Mora’s face begins to fall apart. Mora has been cut inside the ring before and Forrest is a very accurate puncher. If Vernon is able to land consistently on Mora, the above combinations could easily score a TKO win for Forrest.

Boxeo Bets: 2.00 Units On Forrest By KO {+175}
Krakrabbit: .50 Units On Forrest By Decision {+116}
Grass Hopper: 46.00 Units On Forrest {-460} & 5.00 Units On Won’t Go 11 Full {+170} (Vegas Odds)
Doody: 1.00 Units On Forrest By KO {+175}
D3: .50 Units On Forrest By KO {+175}

Showtime Predictions
By Boxeo

Tonight on the Showtime card featuring Vernon Forrest vs. Sergio Mora, fight fans will be treated to a rematch between former champion Paul Williams, (33-1, 24KO’s) and the man who took his crown, Carlos Quintana, (25-1, 19KO’s) live from the Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut.

Although Williams was the loser in the original fight, oddsmakers somehow found enough reasons to open the former champion as the favorite in the rematch. The public quickly jumped on the Quintana side and Williams currently rests as a slim –155 favorite to regain his title on Saturday night. Quintana supporters can still get the underdog odds at +135 (a far cry from his +650 the first time around.)

The over/under for the Williams vs. Quintana bout is set at 10.5 rounds, with the over costing you –200, while the under comes in at +170. Williams by KO comes in at +280, while Williams by decision will net you +184. Quintana by KO hits the mark at +440, and Quintana by decision lands at +305.

Below you can read my original thoughts on how I expected the first fight to play out.

As the public money suggests, this is Paul Williams’ fight to lose. Quintana is a decent fighter, but I think his style is completely inadequate to beat a fighter like Paul Williams.

With that said, Quintana does have skills but he will not be able to utilize any of those skills against Williams.

Quintana can box and has solid footwork, but he is not a huge one-punch knockout guy. I would venture to guess that Quintana’s natural reaction is to box and counterpunch when he gets in the ring. However, he will have a very tough time trying to outbox the freakishly tall Williams from the outside. If Quintana wants to win, and cannot outbox Williams, his last option would be to try and put Williams on the seat of his pants.

The major problem I see with this strategy is the fact that Quintana is not a naturally aggressive guy with massive power. Sure, he has pop in his gloves, but if Antonio Margarito could not stop Paul Williams in their recent showdown, why would Quintana be expected to?

So, Quintana can try to stay on the outside and allow Williams to walk him down, throwing a million and one punches as he advances, or he can go straight ahead into the lions den and try to lure Williams into a slugfest.

If I were forced to pick between the two strategies I would vote for Quintana to get as close as possible to Williams and try to get inside his long reach. Margarito had his best success when he got right on the chest of Williams. However, if you don’t gauge the distance correctly against him you will end up eating leather all night long.

Williams is not a big puncher. He gets his stoppage wins from an accumulation of shots. It is not unheard for Williams to throw 100 punches per round, EVERY single round.

My initial feelings on this fight had Williams stopping Quintana somewhere in the middle rounds, but recently Williams has stated he is not looking for a stoppage, and I can envision Quintana stinking up the joint, just doing enough to survive and go the distance.

A lot (really everything) depends on how serious Williams is about getting Quintana out of there. If Williams is seeking to get some rounds in, this is a distance affair. Quintana’s style will allow Williams to get the necessary rounds in, without every really being in danger of losing the fight.

The inability to determine if Williams will allow Quintana to run around the ring and survive puts bettors in a severe quandary. With that said, I am going to take the plus money and play Williams by decision.

This is not by any means a particularly confident play, but there is a real possibility that Williams allows a dull, boring fight for the greater good of getting the rounds in that he requires.

Obviously, I was extremely off base with my original prediction. Williams appeared lackluster in their first meeting and never really got into his rhythm until awfully late in the fight when Quintana began to slow down.

I am not quite sure why Williams was so off that night, but I don’t feel he can fight much worse then he did in their original meeting. I also sense that was one of the best performances (if not the best) Carlos Quintana had to offer.

I think this time around Williams will be able to land just a little bit more cleanly on Quintana and start the slowing down process much earlier in the contest. I don’t expect a brutal knockout win for Williams but I do believe he has an opportunity to wear Quintana down and regain his championship title.

Boxeo Bets: 1.00 Units On Williams By KO {+280}
Krakrabbit: .20 Units On Williams By Decision {+184}
Grass Hopper: 5.00 Units On Quintana {+160} (Vegas Odds)
Doody: 1.00 Units On Williams By KO {+280}
D3: 1.00 Units On Quintana By Decision {+305}

HBO Predictions
By Boxeo

Saturday night fight fans will be treated to the return of WBC/WBO middleweight champion of the world Kelly Pavlik, (33-0, 29KOs) squaring off against unknown Gary Lockett, (30-1, 21KOs.) live from the Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The champion Pavlik opened as a huge favorite in the fight and currently rests at -1800. Lockett supporters can grab the underdog line at +1200.

The O/U on the bout is set at 6.5 rounds, with the under coming in at -140 and the over at +120. Pavlik by KO comes in at -485, while the champion by decision will reward you with +626. Lockett by KO hits the mark at +1473, and Lockett by decision lands at +3350.

As you can see by the outrageous odds, this bout is clearly considered a mismatch and is not expected to produce any other result than a stoppage win for Kelly Pavlik.

After watching film of Lockett, I must say this time around I am inclined to agree with the oddsmakers. This is a serious mismatch in favor of Pavlik and I cannot understand what Gary Lockett has done in his career to deserve an opportunity to face Pavlik for the titles.

However, I can tell you this… Pavlik is going to bomb out his overmatched challenger as soon as he begins to land cleanly! Lockett’s resume is nothing more than a list of nobodies who do not remotely come close to the level of a Kelly Pavlik.

I honestly can say I would be shocked if Lockett is able to absorb the powerful shots from Pavlik for more then a few rounds. Unless he is sporting an iron chin, I wholeheartedly expect Pavlik to stop Lockett before the listed 6.5 round prop hits.

Boxeo: 1.40 Units On Under 6.5 Rounds {-140}
Krakrabbit: 2.80 Units On Under 6.5 Rounds {-140}
Grass Hopper: N/P
Doody: 1.40 Units On Under 6.5 Rounds {-140}
D3: .50 Units Pavlik By Decision {+626}

HBO Predictions
By Boxeo

Saturday night we are treated to a world championship bout in the 122-pound weight class between two heavy-handed brawlers, Daniel Ponce De Leon, (34-1, 30KOs) and Juan Manuel Lopez (21-0, 19KOs) live from the Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The champion De Leon has been installed as the slight betting favorite, costing you –160 for every hundred bucks you wish to win. Lopez will net you +140 for your hard earned hundred.

The O/U on the bout is set at 10.5 rounds, with the under coming in at –110 and the over coming in at the exact same number -110. De Leon by KO comes in at +144, while the champion by decision will net you +380. Lopez by KO hits the mark at +420, and Lopez by decision lands at +329.

Although Daniel Ponce De Leon has a bit of a crude style, he is one of the best pure punchers in the sport. When he lands his wild, unconventional punches, his opponents go down. I doubt there are very few fighters in the sport that can take a flush shot from De Leon and still be left standing.

The pure novacane that De Leon possesses does not bode well for most of his opponents. Now, Lopez does possess the better hand speed and is technically a better fighter, but that all goes out the window when your chin gets checked and you're laying flat on your back.

Lopez could easily be winning the fight and get caught with one single shot…lights out! JML does have pretty solid pop to his shots, but the level of competition that he has faced is nowhere near the level that De Leon has been in with.

With that said, Lopez truly believes in his power and appears to welcome an all-out slugfest with De Leon to determine who truly hits harder. On the surface that type of bravado may seem insane, but Lopez may simply feel that De Leon has too many holes in his defensive game to absorb his own power shots.

While Lopez is certainly being touted as the next big thing at 122 pounds, De Leon has already proven himself when the bright lights hit center stage. I think Lopez may have been rushed too fast into this fight because of the lack of pure boxing skill that De Leon displays.

Yes, De Leon is clearly beatable (he already has one loss) but you must possess certain attributes to beat De Leon. Although Lopez has been able to display those types of attributes (speed, power, and boxing ability) versus lesser opponents, showcasing them against De Leon will certainly be a much tougher task.

I think if he boxed a perfect fight for twelve rounds, never getting hit on the chin, he would beat De Leon and possibly stop him from an accumulation of solid shots. However, that is a very tall order when you have an aggressive punching machine like De Leon in your face all night.

Boxeo Bets: 2.00 Units On De Leon By KO {+144}
Krakrabbit: .10 Units On Lopez {+140}
Grass Hopper: N/P
Doody: 1.60 Units On De Leon {-160}
D3: 1.60 Units On De Leon {-160}

Versus Predictions
By Boxeo

Saturday afternoon (in the U.S.) showcases the return of Ricky “Hitman” Hatton, (43-1, 31KO’s) squaring off against the dangerous veteran Juan Lazcano, (37-4-1, 27KO’s) live from the City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester, Lancashire, UK.

Hatton was quickly installed as the clear betting favorite in the fight, but money has continued to roll in on the “Manchester Mexican” skyrocketing his number to –1250. Lazcano supporters can grab the underdog money at +850. The O/U on the bout is set at 10.5 rounds, with the under coming in at -105 and the over at -115.

Hatton by KO comes in at -118, while Hatton by decision will net you +180. Lazcano by KO hits the mark at +2037, and Lazcano by decision lands at +1675.

Although Hatton is far and away the betting favorite in the fight, one must not forget that on Saturday he will enter the ring for the first time as a professional without an unblemished record.

Not only did Hatton lose in his bid to take the pound 4 pound status away from current champion Floyd Mayweather Jr., he was knocked out in wicked fashion in the tenth round of their affair.

Whenever a fighter loses for the first time in their career it is always a risky proposition when you back them. As well know, boxing is not only a very physically demanding sport but it can wreck havoc on a fighters mental state.

The loss to Mayweather was not only a physically painful experience for Hatton; long after his physical wounds had healed his mental scarring was still very evident. He has publicly admitted to breaking down after his defeat to Mayweather and even confessed to crying the first time he sat down and watched the tape of the fight.

How a loss (a knockout loss at that) will affect a boxers mental state is completely impossible to predict. A perfect example of a boxer never being able to rebound after their first professional loss would be Mike Tyson. Sure, he went on to make millions of dollars after his first defeat, but everyone pretty much agrees the brilliance that was Mike Tyson ended in that ring back in 1990 when Buster Douglas knocked him out.

On the other end of the spectrum is a fighter like Glenn Johnson. Currently resting with twelve losses, the forty-year-old man is somehow able to continue to fight on a world-class level and is just recently coming off a disputed decision loss to Chad Dawson for the WBC lightweight championship of the world.

We will have to wait until after Saturday to find out if Hatton will be able rebound from his lone defeat at the hands of “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather Jr.

I feel Lazcano may be a very good gauge at just how badly the loss to Mayweather has affected Hatton’s mental state. While the style of Lazcano is certainly more favorable to Hatton then Mayweather was, Lazcano is a hardnosed fighter that will be right in his face all night long. If Ricky is unable to blast Lazcano out of the ring early, he could find himself in a dogfight that he is mentally unprepared for.

While I have no doubt the location of the fight is going to allow Hatton to use every roughhouse tactic in his arsenal, Lazcano is far from a cutie inside the ring and will welcome a rough and tough inside battle.

With that said, I certainly would not be surprised to see a lot of head clashes and possibly even a cut or two if both fighters are allowed to practice their dirty boxing with little consequences from the referee.

Another important weapon (probably the most important) for Lazcano in this fight will be his body punching. I don’t believe Hatton is very solid in the body and from what I understand, team Lazcano feels the same way. Their game plan appears to be to work Hatton over, taking him into the late rounds to see if his out of the ring lifestyle comes back to haunt him.

Although this fight was clearly made to showcase the return of Ricky Hatton, I feel the odds are currently resting way too high. If Lazcano has anything left in the tank, he gives Hatton fits on Saturday.

Boxeo: 1.00 Units On Lazcano {+850} & .50 Lazcano By KO {+2037}
Krakrabbit: .50 Lazcano By KO {+2037}
Grass Hopper: 1.50 Units On Lazcano {+850}
Doody: 1.18 Units On Hatton By KO {-118}
D3: 1.00 Units On Hatton By Decision {+180}

Versus Predictions
By Boxeo

Saturday afternoon (in the U.S.) on the undercard of Hatton vs. Lazcano, Paul Malignaggi, (24-1, 5KO’s) squares off against the tough veteran Lovemore N’dou, (46-9-1, 31KO’s) live from the City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester, Lancashire, UK.

Malignaggi was quickly installed as the clear betting favorite in the fight, and currently rests as a –925 favorite. N’dou supporters can grab the underdog money at +625. The O/U on the bout is set at 10.5 rounds, with the over coming in at a whopping -600 and the under landing at +450.

Malignaggi by KO comes in at +514, while Malignaggi by decision will cost you -360. N’dou by KO hits the mark at +1381, and N’dou by decision lands at +1103.

It’s painfully clear from the outrageous over and Malignaggi by decision line the odds makers are expecting a decision win for Paul “Magic Man” Malignaggi.

I would venture to guess the major reason the line is so wide on the over and decision prop is simply because Malignaggi already pecked his way to a clear decision win over N’dou just about one year ago. Scoring of 120-106 (twice) and 118-108 certainly do not indicate a competitive fight inside the ring ropes.

Saturday, N’dou will have his opportunity at redemption; the question is will he take advantage of his second chance?

In their first fight, N’dou made the same dreaded mistakes most of Malignaggi opponents make, he simply followed him around the ring while the “Magic Man” pop out the jab and the occasional power punch. Before he knew it the bell to sound the final round had rang and he was on the losing end of a lopsided unanimous decision win.

I did not feel the fight was that lopsided, but N’dou definitely better head into the rematch with a better game plan then just following Paulie around the ring all night. If he leaves it up to Malignaggi, we will see twelve identical rounds as the first fight.

Both boxers have only had one single fight since their first fight back in June of 2007. N’dou stopped Rafael Ortiz in seven rounds, while Malignaggi won a controversial twelve round decision over Herman Ngoudjo.

In his bout with Ngoudjo, Malignaggi was never ever to really take control of the fight. He was extremely easy to hit and was even wobbled on a few occasions in the fight. Malignaggi insists he simply overlooked Ngoudjo and came into the bout feeling flat. With a potential Hatton date on the horizon one would assume Malignaggi would be on top of his game come Saturday.

After his dismal performance against Ngoudjo, I feel if there ever was a time for N’dou to strike it rich it would be now. If he is somehow able to hit Malignaggi as much as Ngoudjo did, things could get really interesting really fast.

The problem is he actually needs to hit Malignaggi cleanly this time around. Make no mistake about it; Malignaggi’s style is always going to present serious problems for a fighter like N’dou.

Although Malignaggi has shown a solid chin (he took an absolute beating against Cotto and went 12) I figure N’dou’s best chance is to land something big and end the night. At almost 14-1, I think a very small play on N’dou by stoppage is something to consider if you like the dog.

If you are backing Malignaggi there is no way to get around the heavy chalk. I see zero chance he stops N’dou, so that would mean looking at the over or Malignaggi by decision.

Boxeo: .20 Units On N’dou By KO {+1381}
Krakrabbit: N/P
Grass Hopper: .50 Units On N’dou {+700} (Vegas Odds)
Doody: N/P
D3: 3.60 Units On Malignaggi By Decision {-360}

HBO Predictions
By Boxeo

Tonight we have the “Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya, (38-5, 30KO’s) returning to cable television for the first time in nearly seven years to do battle with former lightweight world champion Steve “2-pound” Forbes, (32-5, 9KO’s) at a catch weight bout at 150 pounds. The De La Hoya/Forbes bout will take place live from the Home Depot Center in Carson California and will be televised by HBO at 10:00pm ET/7:00PM PT.

The Golden Boy quickly opened as an extremely large favorite, and even though some Forbes money has come in, De La Hoya still rests at -1900. Forbes supporters can grab the underdog money at +1300. The O/U on the bout is set at 9.5 rounds, with the under coming in at a whopping +260 and the over at -320.

De La Hoya by KO comes in at +175, while De La Hoya by decision will cost you -153. Forbes by KO hits the mark at +2600, and Forbes by decision lands at +1900. As you can see from the posted odds, this bout is expected to go deep into the fight.

The reason this fight is expected to go into deep waters is because De La Hoya is in a real fight against Forbes. The former lightweight champion of the world may not be as well known as the future hall of famer De La Hoya, but the kid can fight!

Forbes has never tasted the canvas as an amateur or a pro, and Oscar is making the move down a few pounds from his last bout at 154. In fact, De La Hoya’s official weight of 150 pounds is his lowest since he squared off with Arturo Gatti over seven years ago.

Some experts predict the trimmed down version of Oscar will be able to put his punches together better and land at a higher rate then when he was fighting at 154 and above, but this will be the Golden Boys’ first bout below 154 in years, I believe there is a real possibility he enters this fight weight drained.

Should Oscar enter this fight against Forbes in anything less then stellar conditioning, not only is the fight going to head to the scorecards, I honestly believe Forbes will be very competitive with De La Hoya.

We already touched on the chin of Forbes, but I cannot recall anyone who has been able to point to a time and place when he has even been hurt. Granted, the names on his resume do not read like De La Hoya’s, but Forbes has real talent.

“2 Pound” can be extremely hard to hit, and has very fast hands. The problem for Forbes in the De La Hoya bout (all of his fights really) is his lack of punching power. Even though I guarantee you he will be able to hit the Golden Boy cleanly, I just cannot envision any punch he lands doing any real damage to De La Hoya.

The only way Forbes wins this fight is by decision and even that is going to be difficult. Unfortunately, Forbes has already experienced what leaving a bout in the hands of the three blind mice at ringside can do to a career. Forbes completely dominated Demetrius Hopkins, Nephew of Bernard Hopkins, only to end up on the losing end of a lopsided decision.

Now Forbes will not only battle one of the most recognized fighters in the history of the sport, he also stands between a multi-million dollar rematch between De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. To say that Forbes will need to dominate De La Hoya from start to finish to ensure he gets a fair shake on the cards is an understatement.

I can see Forbes being extremely competitive in this fight, and having large amounts of success with Oscar’s style. I feel De La Hoya will be focused on working his jab and setting up his combinations in preparation for his fall rematch with Mayweather Jr.

I would be completely shocked if Oscar were able to stop Forbes. I feel most of the people predicting a blowout from Oscar have little idea just how tough and skilled Forbes truly is.

Boxeo: 2.64 Units On Oscar By Decision {-132}
Krakrabbit: 1.32 Units On Oscar By Decision {-132}
Grass Hopper: 1.00 Units On Forbes {+1300}
Doody: 2.00 Units On Oscar By KO {+175}
D3: 3.00 Units Oscar By KO {+175}

HBO Predictions
By Boxeo

This Saturday night, forty-three year old living legend Bernard Hopkins, (48-4-1, 32KO’s) looks to add undefeated Joe Calzaghe, (44-0, 32KO’s) to his ever growing list of “Executed” fighters. These two light heavyweights will face off live from the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV.

Calzaghe opened the contest as the clear favorite in the bout coming in at -270. Hopkins supporters can get +230 on the future hall of famer.

The O/U for the fight has been set at 11.5 rounds, with the over coming in at -320 and the under landing at +260. Calzaghe by KO will net you +388, while Calzaghe by decision will cost you -108. Hopkins by KO hits the mark at +900, and Hopkins by decision lands at +400.

Although Hopkins enters the ring sporting the much more impressive resume, Calzaghe has been overseas taking care of his own business in very impressive fashion.

The southpaw super middleweight champion has never lost a professional bout, and is currently riding a high after soundly defeating the highly respected Mikkel Kessler last year.

Not to be outdone, Hopkins has faced and beaten Antonio Tarver and Winky Wright since losing his rematch to Jermain Taylor back in 2005.

Obviously, Tarver and Wright are much bigger names than Kessler so one might be inclined to question the oddsmaker’s sanity in making Hopkins a 2-1 underdog in this fight.

However, setting a line has more to do with wins and losses, and I believe the oddsmaker’s saw serious flaws in the game of Hopkins that they feel Calzaghe can exploit.

The major flaw in Hopkins game that may very well be the difference in the fight is his inability to throw punches!!

When Bernard Hopkins name is mentioned all you hear is how he has defined the odds and found the fountain of youth. Hopkins supporters claim the forty-three year old boxes like an up and coming twenty-seven year old.

Even though it is certainly evident that Hopkins is fighting at a much higher level than any other forty-three year old, the claims of his dominance in the ring are a bit far fetched.

The very first thing you need to look at are his last two opponents. Tarver, a former world champion, had to lose a ton of weight before their 2006 bout and fought a slow, lethargic fight that allowed Hopkins to throw whenever he wanted and rest whenever he felt the need.

Now, some people will simply shrug off my analysis of the Tarver bout as crying over spilled milk (I actually picked Hopkins for the upset) but I feel if you take a sneak peek back at last Saturday night’s fight between Tarver and Woods, you will see Tarver is a shell of his former self.

In Hopkins’ other win over Winky Wright, he was facing a fighter that moved up in weight (hey, isn’t Joe moving up in weight?) and has an extremely defensive style of fighting. Once again, the style of Wright allowed Hopkins to dictate the pace and throw when he wanted and rest whenever he felt the need.

I believe Hopkins has been able to compete at a higher level than most anticipated because he has recently faced fighters with styles that compliment his own. If you go back to the two Taylor fights, Taylor was more active than Hopkins and try as he might, the old lion could not muster up the energy to fight three minutes of every single round.

If Hopkins thought Taylor was an active fighter inside the ring, wait until he gets a glimpse of Joe Calzaghe.

Simply put, Calzaghe is a windmill inside the ring. He punches in bunches and has been widely criticized for “slapping” with his shots. If he has been able to score thirty-two stoppage wins by slapping his opponents to death, I pray for Hopkins sake he does not decide to close his glove and punch with authority.

In my opinion the style of Calzaghe is all wrong for Hopkins. Joe should be able to stand on the outside and outwork Hopkins whenever he feels like it. With that said, there is a real danger in this fight for Calzaghe. The danger zone for the undefeated fighter from Wales lies in any type of inside warfare with the cagey old vet.

Hopkins has often been criticized for being a “dirty” fighter. He is not afraid to hit his opponents low, come in with his head, and hold and maul his foe whenever they get close.

This “style” of fighting makes for horribly ugly bouts, but Hopkins has found a way to master this rough and tough inside game.

At his advanced fighting age he needs every advantage he can get, and his holding and hitting on the inside not only gives him the advantage of busting up the face of his opponents (he often can cause cuts by being rough on the inside) it allows him to control the punch output of his opponents.

If Calzaghe falls into this trap set by Hopkins, he will be in for a very long night.

I always hate fights where I have a strong feeling the bout might head to the scorecards. I don’t like when the three blind mice get involved, and would much rather prefer a legit stoppage win to a decision win any day.

With that said, a lot of respected cappers have nabbed Hopkins for the upset in this bout. They feel the old timer will counterpunch his way to a close decision win on the GBP (Golden Boy Promotions) fight card.

There is no question that very same thought has crossed my (Hopkins getting the benefit of the doubt on the cards.) Unfortunately, we all know that anything can happen when the three blind mice at ringside are in control, so I feel obligated to cover my Calzaghe decision bet with a Hopkins play.

Boxeo Bets: 5.40 Units Calzaghe By Decision {-108} & 1.50 Units On Hopkins By Decision {+400}
Krakrabbit: 1.08 Units On Calzaghe By Decision {-108}
Grass Hopper: 1.50 Units On Won’t Go 12 {+350} (Vegas Odds)
Doody: 2.00 On Hopkins {+250} (Vegas Odds)
D3: 1.08 Units On Calzaghe By Decision {-108}

HBO Predictions
By Boxeo

This Saturday night, former “Contender” Alfonso Gomez, (18-3-2, 8KO’s) will face off against undefeated Miguel Cotto, (31-0, 25KO’s) live from the Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Cotto opened the contest as the clear favorite in the bout and even though his numbers continue to climb, public money has continued to flow in on the Puerto Rican superstar. Currently he is a –1200 favorite to defeat Gomez on Saturday night. Gomez supporters can get a whopping +800 for their money.

The O/U for the fight has been set at 9.5 rounds, with the over coming in at +130 and the under landing at -150. Cotto by KO will cost you -197, while Cotto by decision will net you +300. Gomez by KO hits the mark at +1857, and Gomez by decision lands at +1420.

Even though Gomez has fought as high as 159.5 pounds, and has never been stopped in any of his losses, you can clearly see from the posted odds this bout is not expected to go deep into the fight.

While many fighters go undefeated throughout large portions of their careers, Cotto has done so while facing top tier competition, allowing only six boxers to hear the final bell against him.

His recent ten victims include: Shane Mosley (I personally thought Shane won) Randall Bailey, DeMarcus Corley, Mohamad Abdulaev, Ricardo Torres, Gianluca Branco, Paul Malignaggi, Carlos Quintana, Oktay Urkal, and Zab Judah.

Shane Mosley and Paul Malignaggi were the only two fighters in that stretch to hear the final bell. While I feel Cotto lost to Mosley, Malignaggi suffered an incredible beating in going the twelve round distance.

It is also important to note, the styles and skill levels of both Mosley and Malignaggi are head and shoulders above that of Gomez.

However, it is no secret that Cotto has struggled in some of his previous bouts. Out of all of the ten recent bouts that Cotto has been involved in four really stand out. The first is the bout with Mosley.

While the action in that fight was furious and both fighters had their moments, Mosley appeared the stronger, fresher fighter as the rounds wore on. I believe the wicked body punching of Mosley had Cotto in trouble and he was forced to get on his bike and “box” the remainder of the championship rounds.

I personally felt Mosley did enough in the fight to win a close decision, but the stars were not aligned properly that night and the three blind mice at ringside gave the bout to Cotto. I would love to see a rematch between the two fighters in the very near future.

The next interesting bout for Cotto was his fight with DeMarcus Corley. Cotto struggled with Corley, he was seriously hurt in that fight, and for a brief second it appeared Corley was going to stop him. Cotto was able to withstand the attack from “Chop Chop” and went on to score a controversial stoppage in Puerto Rico.

He also went life and death with Ricardo Torres, and was officially put on his bottom in that fight. He would once again gather himself and come back to score a highlight reel stoppage of the Columbian.

He just recently stopped Zab Judah in the eleventh round of their contest, but was rocked on more then a few occasions, and had to walk through some heavy leather before finally taking “Super” Judah out.

Cotto has shown remarkable determination and courage in all of his bouts. Even if he is hurt, dropped, or cut he will continue to press after his opponent, looking to put an end to the fight. It is that determination that breaks down most fighters as the rounds wear on.

Now Cotto will test his resolve against a fighter in Gomez that may just be able to match his grittiness inside the ring.

Although Gomez has little punching power, he has an aggressive in your face style, and possessed enough bang for his buck to get former world champion Arturo Gatti out of there before the final bell.

While Gomez does have three losses to his name, he has never been stopped and is heading into his bout with Cotto winning three of his last four by stoppage.

The major problem I see for Gomez in this fight is his lack of punching power. Forget that Cotto is the better aggressive, stalking type fighter. Forget that Cotto can move around the ring better than Gomez. Forget that his hand speed is far superior to Gomez’s.

Power can make every single one of those disadvantages mute, but unfortunately for Gomez and his supporters he does