Fight Junkie
Feed The Addiction
Fight Junkie Boxing
6/20/09ESPN Classic Predictions
By Boxeo
Klitschko opened as the clear favorite in the fight but as soon as the line was posted public money poured in on him, shooting the line from the –500 range all the way to –800. Currently, you can score a respectable +550 on the underdog Chagaev.
The O/U on the bout is set at 9.5 rounds, with the under coming in at +115 and the over at -145. Klitschko by KO comes in at -130, while Klitschko by decision will reward you with +180. Chagaev by KO hits the mark at +800, and Chagaev by decision lands at +1394.
The Wladimir Klitschko V Ruslan Chagaev bout came together in a very strange way. Chagaev was scheduled to face off with heavyweight giant Nikolay Valuev in a rematch of their 2007 contest that saw Chagaev come away with the majority decision victory.
However, in the final hours before the rematch was to commence, the entire fight card was scratched when it was discovered that Ruslan Chagaev had tested positive for the Hepatitis B virus!
This set off a change of back and fourths between the two camps, with team Chagaev insisting that Chagaev is just “a healthy carrier of hepatitis antigen with constantly normal liver enzymes” however, the Valuev camp and his promoter Don King wanted no part of Ruslan Chagaev’s explanations for the positive test and immediately petitioned the WBA to strip Chagaev of his title belt and award it to Nikolay Valuev.
Just recently The American Association of Professional Ringside Physicians recommended that the Klitschko V Chagaev bout be cancelled due to the medial issues surrounding Chagaev.
The AAPRP’s statement:
As it has been reported that Mr. Ruslan Chagaev has tested positive for the Hepatitis B Virus, the American Association of Professional Ringside Physicians (the “AAPRP”) is recommending that the proposed contest between Mr. Ruslan Chagaev and Mr. Vladimir Klitschko be postponed due to medical safety issues.
The AAPRP also recommends that this fight not take place and suggests that Mr. Chagaev not be permitted to fight (anyone) until, and unless, he can demonstrate a “negative hepatitis status.
In several recent media accounts, it has been stated that Mr. Chagaev has a “low hepatitis B viral load” and therefore poses “no risk” of transmitting this dangerous virus. The AAPRP disagrees with this assertion. Although the risk of transmission of the Hepatitis B Virus may be minimal, the risk is not zero. Additionally, given the fact that Hepatitis B is a very virulent virus and easily transmitted, it is even more important to be prudent in order to not only protect Mr. Chagaev’s opponent, but also the referee, judges, sanctioning body officials, cornermen, ringside physicians and ringside observers who may be at risk of contracting this dangerous virus.
As boxing is obviously considered a “blood sport”, it is very common for blood to splatter on the individuals immediately adjacent at ringside. The conjunctiva (eye) route of transfer for this virus is well documented….so any person seated at ringside, who is not immunized, may be at risk.
Furthermore, statistics suggest that if Mr. Chagaev were to share needles with another individual, the transmission rate of Hepatitis B could be as high as 30%. If blood from a cut on Mr. Chagaev were to come into direct contact with a cut on another fighter, the transmission rate could be as high as 10%. Should blood squirt from Mr. Chagaev and hit another individual in the eye (i.e. Judge, referee, cornerman or media) the transmission rate could be as high as 5%. Therefore, the risk is obviously greater than zero and could put others at ringside (beside his opponent) at risk for acquiring this virus.
Unless everyone at ringside (Judges, referees, ringside physicians, commission members, sanctioning body officials, trainers, cornermen, media reporters, ring girls, television technicians, spectators and of course the fighters opponent) has documented immunity to Hepatitis B (a three shot hepatitis immunity vaccination series given over a 6 month period with a subsequent documented blood test confirming immunity), protection against exposure to this dangerous virus cannot be guaranteed.
Finally, if bleeding does occur, the individuals responsible for cleaning the ring as well as those handling the gloves must also be immune to minimize the risk as well.
The American Association of Professional Ringside Physicians considers safety our number one priority and will work with local and international commissions to insure that all precautions are taken to protect all individuals involved in professional boxing.
Of course, Universum sees this matter entirely differently and issued their own statement regarding Ruslan Chagaev’s medical issues (or lack of depending on whom you believe).
Universum Statement:
Repeatingly there is irritating and false information about WBA world champion Ruslan Chagaev in the media. Universum Box-Promotion once again wants to point out the following: Even the Statement of the Association of Professional Ringside Physicians is obviously based on incorrect information.
Universum-Physician Michael Ehnert:
“The American Association of Professional Ringside Physicians states that there is a “low hepatitis B viral load” in the case of Ruslan Chagaev. The facts are there has never been a proof of viruses or HBV-DNA in high sensitive PCR-tests since 2003. After achieving Hepatitis B many years ago Ruslan Chagaev has never been sick due to hepatitis B. He is just a healthy carrier of hepatitis antigen with constantly normal liver enzymes. Infection doesn’t mean illness. According to international expert opinions Ruslan Chagaev is regarded as non-infectious.”
Dr. Heiner Wedemeyer, the Secretary General of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), involved in several activities of the German Liver Foundation and the German network of Excellence on Viral Hepatitis (Hep-Net), had contacted Universum independently and stated the following:
“Ruslan Chagaev is completely healthy according to the documents. I don’t follow the interpretation of my colleague from the Finnish lab. It was probably done more for legal protection rather than scientific facts. There is no infectivity and Ruslan Chagaev would have without a doubt boxed for the third time without danger. Mr. Chagaev has a completely normal liver function and is not considered to be ill, he is just a bearer of the hepatitis B antigen.”
Wedemeyer, further urged all athletes to exclude the risk of contracting hepatitis with vaccinations.
“We at the Liver Foundation say that every athlete should inoculate themselves against hepatitis and we have already carried out this initiative with the German Olympic team in 2008.”
For his part, Klitschko has always maintained that the bout between Chagaev and Valuev should have been allowed to continue and a simple Hepatitis B immunization by Valuev could have remedied this entire situation.
Klitschko put his money (in this case his health) where is mouth is when his original opponent David Haye was forced to pull out of their fight due to a back injury suffered during training.
The reason I have taken the time to rehash this soap opera is because Chagaev’s medical issues (perceived or real) could have a huge impact on how this fight plays out.
The mere sight of a spec of blood in this fight could send shivers down the backs of everyone involved and instantly be the cause of the bout being called to a halt.
Even if all of this Hepatitis B drama had never started, Chagaev would have had his work cut out for him anyway facing a fighter with such physical advantages over him like Wladimir Klitschko holds.
Klitschko is by far the bigger man standing 6’6 inches tall to Chagaev’s 6’1. Klitschko also brings an impressive 81-inch reach to the dance while Chagaev sports a meager 74-inch reach. Klitschko also outweighs Chagaev by fifteen-pounds.
Now I know all of the Chagaev fans out there are shouting at the top of their lungs “He already beat Nikolay Valuev and that dude stands 7 feet tall and weighs 319 pounds!” True, Nikolay Valuev is bigger and weighs more then Wladimir Klitschko, but to compare the two fighters is doing a severe injustice to Klitschko.
Valuev is slow in both hand and foot speed and his power is nowhere near that of a fighter like Wladimir Klitschko’s. Other then just being “bigger” I don’t see one area where Nikolay Valuev matches up well with Klitschko.
With that said, the one benefit I see that Chagaev holds over Klitschko is the fact that he is a southpaw.
I personally believe that Klitschko is not as comfortable facing southpaws as he is an orthodoxed boxer. Even if you disregard the two round destruction at the hands of Corrie Sanders, the fact remains; Klitschko goes rounds when he squares off with southpaws.
He was forced to go the distance with Chris Byrd when they first fought way back in 2000, and it took him seven rounds of beating on Byrd to get him out of there when they rematched six years later!
We all remember (some would like to forget) his lackluster twelve round snooze fest back in 2008 against Sultan Ibragimov.
Let’s not forget his mediocre performance against southpaw Tony Thompson where he allowed Thompson to remain in the fight all the way until the eleventh round before finally starching his foe.
I remember the fight vividly because I had Klitschko by knockout at –185 odds and I was extremely worried that he was going to let that fight see the scorecards.
Heck, it even took him seven rounds to get rid of the hopelessly faded (orthodox) Hasim Rahman.
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.
Even with all of the question marks that always seem to surround Klitschko when he fights, there is no doubt in my mind that to win this fight, maybe even see the cards, Chagaev is going to need to fight a perfect fight.
I personally believe he should use a similar strategy like the one he was able to execute against Valuev. Granted, we already pointed out that Klitschko is leaps and bounds above Valuev, but Klitschko tends to be overly cautious in his fights and if Chagaev can use the ring and force Klitschko to walk him down he stands a better chance of going rounds.
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. Klitschko would do the work of walking Ibragimov down but he refused to commit himself once he had Ibragimov trapped.
I can easily envision this fight playing out the same way as the Ibragimov bout, but this time with Chagaev actually throwing punches as Klitschko walks towards him without punching.
The huge question mark for me in this fight is Ruslan Chagaev’s health. I have concerns that he may not even have the legs or stamina to implement a strategy that calls for him to box and move. I know he looked less then stellar four months ago against Carl Drummond, and I think we can all agree that Carl Drummond is no Wladimir Klitschko.
As we touched on earlier, there is also the possibility of Chagaev getting cut in this fight. He was cut over his left eye from a headbutt in his last bout against Drummond. If something like that should occur again, I can’t imagine the ringside doctors are going to be thrilled about letting a fighter with Hepatitis B bleed all over the place with the world watching and waiting to critique their every move.
Quite honestly, blood is the biggest fear I have about this fight not going rounds. If Chagaev gets cut or starts bleeding out of the nose/mouth it is going to be a crapshoot on how everything is played out.
It is also important to note that Chagaev’s corner did a terrible job of stopping the cut and his bout with Drummond was stopped because of it.
With Wladimir Klitschko’s cautious approach to fighting, and Ruslan Chagaev’s boxing ability, I think these fighters match-up well to go some rounds. With that said, if Chagaev gets cut in the fight I have a feeling everyone who took the over or decision props are going to be ripping up their betting tickets.
Boxeo: .60 Units On Over 9.5 Rounds {-120}
Krakrabbit: .50 Units On Klitschko By Decision {+200}
Grass Hopper: 1.00 Units On Under 9.5 Rounds {+115}
Doody: .65 Units On Klitschko By KO {-130}
D3: .60 Units On Over 9.5 Rounds {-120}
Fight Junkie Boxing
HBO Predictions
By Boxeo
Cotto opened the contest as the clear betting favorite in the bout and even though his number continues to climb, public money has continued to flow in on the Puerto Rican superstar. Currently he is resting as a -350 favorite to defeat Clottey on Saturday night. Clottey supporters can get +300 for backing the dog.
The O/U for the fight has been set at 9.5 rounds, with the over coming in at -270 and the under landing at +230. Cotto by KO will net you +250, while Cotto by decision lands at +100. Clottey by KO hits the mark at +550, and Clottey by decision lands at +900. The odds of the bout being declared a draw hit the mark at +2000.
The very first thing that should stand out to fight fans about the betting line in this fight is the straight odds on Clottey hovering around +300.
Clottey has only lost two fights in his entire career and one of those losses occurred by disqualification against Carlos Baldomir in a fight Clottey was winning at the time of the DQ stoppage.
Clottey’s other loss came by unanimous decision against Antonio “Hands Of Plaster” 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.
With that said, Clottey and his hand problems are not just going to vanish because he is fighting Miguel Cotto. There is no question he is going to bring into this bout 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 his bouts progress, 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 Cotto can crack with the best of them, I would be very surprised if he is able to put Clottey on the seat of his pants.
After the brutal beating at the hands of Antonio “H.O.P.” Margarito, there are bound to be some serious questions regarding the resiliency of Cotto inside the ring. Although Clottey is an extremely skillful fighter, he lands his punches with authority but is not a one-punch knockout artist.
I feel this fight will come down to how long Cotto is able to fend off the fade demon.
If Cotto is in real fighting shape (mentally & physically) and does not fade 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!
Although Bob Arum promotes both fighters, we cannot overlook the potential blockbuster fight between Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquaio that can only happen if Cotto gets out of MSG with a victory.
I doubt “Pac Man” or his team is interested in a fight with Clottey. Not only is Clottey a dangerous foe to tangle with, but he also does not bring the name recognition ($$$) that a fighter like Miguel Cotto does.
It also benefits Cotto that the fight is taking place in Madison Square Garden where Cotto has a huge Puerto Rican following. Not to mention the bout takes place the day before the Puerto Rican Day Parade! These are factors one cannot dismiss when looking at this fight. Remember this is boxing we are talking about here!!
In my opinion Clottey’s best chance at pulling off the upset comes in the form of a knockout. I personally believe he starts his fights out too slow and takes too much time off during the rounds to beat Cotto on the cards. Even after the beating Cotto was taking in the second half of the fight against Margarito, the fight was still extremely close heading into the eleventh round of the bout.
For Clottey to score that upset knockout victory he is going to have to be much more consistent in his attack then he has been in previous bouts. As I pointed out earlier, Clottey is not a huge one-punch knockout artist. I feel he is going to need to supply an unrelenting pounding on Miguel Cotto to wear him down in hopes of stop him late in the fight.
I sense Cotto is smart enough inside that squared circle to understand that by fight time he will be facing a boxer that could easily weigh 160-170 pounds! I believe Cotto has enough hand speed and lateral movement that he will be able to outbox his slower opponent as long as his conditioning allows, in an attempt to win this thing via the three blind mice at ringside.
Boxeo: 2.00 Units On Cotto By Decision {+100}
Krakrabbit: 1.00 Units On Cotto By Decision {+100}
Grass Hopper: 1.50 Units On Clottey {+300}
Doody: 2.00 Units On Cotto By Decision {+100}
D3: .50 Units On Clottey {+300}
Fight Junkie Boxing
HBO Predictions
By Boxeo
Berto opened as the clear betting favorite in the bout and currently sits at -450. Urango supporters can snatch the plus money + 365. The over/under for the bout is set at 11.5 rounds, with the over netting you +100, while the under comes in at -120.
Berto by KO comes in at +300, while Berto by decision will run you -120. Urango by KO hits the mark at +400, and Urango by decision lands at +1200. The odds the fight will be declared a draw land at +2500.
On paper the Berto V Urango fight is very intriguing. If you have never had the opportunity to see Urango, he is built like a Mack truck and has plenty of power to go along with it.
However, he has fought most of his career at 140 pounds or lower, and has molasses for hand speed and his foot speed could not be any slower if he was stuck in quick sand.
Berto is the complete opposite of Urango. He is naturally the bigger man, having never fought below 145 pounds, has great foot movement, and has lightning hand speed.
The big question for both of these boxers comes in the form of how well they will be able to take a flush shot from their opponent.
Berto has been down before (Cosme Rivera) and was rocked in the first round by Luis Collazo. I just am not sold on the building materials of his chin. He has tremendous talent, but I get the sense that it won’t take a lot to put him on the canvas.
While Urango is stout and looks like a professional bodybuilder, he too has been rocked by his previous opponents shots (Nasser Athumani) and I feel this time around both guys are in with better fighters then they were in their past struggles.
Although Urango is the naturally smaller man, he is going to have no choice but to bullrush forward and try to get close to Berto. He is simply too slow to fight an outside fight with the much quicker Berto, and one of Berto’s biggest flaws is his inability to fight at close range.
For all of his boxing ability Berto fails miserably at fighting with his opponents on the inside. Almost immediately when his opponent gets into close punching range Berto employs the "John Ruiz School of Defense" and grabs his opponent in a bear hug.
His excessive holding even cost him a one-point deduction in his last fight against Luis Collazo.
Even when Berto is the one initiating the offensive assault, as soon as he is done punching he will routinely grab his opponent and wait for the referee to break them.
It can be extremely frustrating to watch such a talented fighter like Berto resort to holding his foe at every possible opportunity. I am not certain why Berto holds so much on the inside, but I have a feeling it has more to do with stamina concerns then a lack of inside fighting skills.
Regardless of the reason(s) why Berto refuses to engage in any type of inside warfare, one must expect that he will employ this same type of defensive maneuver when he fights Juan Urango on Saturday night.
In fact, if there ever were a time and place for Berto to hold his opponent when he got into close punching range it would be Saturday night against Urango.
The only way I can envision Urango winning this fight is by KO. Most unbiased observers had Berto far behind in points when his fight with Luis Collazo concluded, yet the three blind mice at ringside somehow found a way to give Berto a unanimous decision win on the scorecards.
For Urango to score the upset KO victory I think he is going to need to be inside of Berto’s comfortable punching range, cracking him to the body and head.
Although Berto has solid boxing skills, he can punch, and at times loves to get down and dirty, turning his bouts into street fights. Urango is going to need to feed off that aggressive nature of Berto and take advantage of those opportunities to land his big powerful bombs.
If Berto did not hold so much during his bouts I think this fight would be an easy case of somebody getting laid out cold. Urango is going to press forward and is so slow and easy to hit, Berto is going to have a field day smacking him in the face.
On the flip side, Berto loves to trade and that opens up the real possibility of him getting caught by a huge shot from Urango as they trade toe-to-toe. There is also the prospect of Urango getting inside the punching range of Berto and working him over until Berto is able to secure his Vulcan death grip on him and force the ref to intervene.
I think the deciding factor on how this fight plays out rests all on Andre Berto’s shoulders. We already know what Urango is going to try and do, and where he can be successful. Berto has more options in the fight and could choose to outbox Urango as he plods forward, much like how Andre Ward fought Edison Miranda a couple of weekends ago.
I still feel that even if Berto decided to box there will be opportunities for him to put some serious hurt on Urango as he walks forward, but as we saw with Ward, sometimes fighters are content with just doing enough to win the fight on the judges scorecards.
With that said, I sense a little bit more “fire” in the belly of Berto then Ward. He dug down deep in his bout with Collazo and showed when his back is pressed against the wall he will try and fight his way off.
If Berto displays his usual aggressive nature against Urango I think the odds of somebody getting clipped and knocked out is enormous. The only danger in this fight not ending before the final bell lies in Berto’s ability to easily outbox Urango without stepping into harms way.
As I pointed out above, even if Berto boxes he can still land at an incredible accuracy percentage. The question will then become what will he do when he begins to land at will? Will he do just enough to keep Urango at bay like Ward did with Miranda? Or will he sit down and take his overmatched foe out?
One key element in the fight could end up being the uppercut of Andre Berto. Berto loves to throw this punch throughout his fights and Urango loves to eat them throughout his fights.
Urango is very susceptible to the uppercut and I would not be surprised to see Berto nailing him with this punch anytime he chooses.
Conversely, Berto is not without his own defensive flaws. For as much talent as the kid has he sure does get hit a lot! I am not certain he can take the same amount of abuse against Urango that he has thus far in his career and still be standing at the end of the night.
Even though I would not be shocked at a Ward/Miranda type outcome, I am going to go out on a limb and predict that somebody’s clock gets cleaned before the final ding of the bell.
Boxeo: 1.00 Units On Berto By KO {+350} & 1.00 Units On Urango {+365}
Krakrabbit: 1.00 Units On Berto By KO {+350} & 1.00 Units On Urango {+365}
Grass Hopper: 1.00 Units On Under 11.5 Rounds {+100} & .50 Units On Berto By KO {+350}
Doody: .50 Units On Berto By KO {+350}
D3: .50 Units Urango {+365}
Fight Junkie Boxing
Showtime Predictions
By Boxeo
Although Miranda is undoubtedly the toughest foe Ward has faced in his young career, Ward still comes into the contest as the clear favorite in the bout at -310. Miranda gets the underdog cash at +260. The O/U for the fight has been set at 9.5 rounds, with the over at +110 and the under coming in at -130.
Ward by KO comes in at +106, while Ward by decision will reward you with +225. Miranda by KO hits the mark at +340, and Miranda by decision lands at +1400. The odds the fight is declared a draw land at +3000.
At this point in his young career Andre Ward has become accustom to being the odds on favorite heading into each of his bouts. The young undefeated Olympian possesses lightning quick hand speed and a boxing presence inside the ring that is very similar to former pound-4-pound king Roy Jones Jr.
What Ward does not possess is a solid set of whiskers. In only his second fight as a pro Ward was seriously wobbled by a left hook from little known Kenny Kost, and in his seventh pro fight unknown Darnell Boone dropped him on the seat of his pants. Already in his young career Ward has been wobbled and tasted the canvas.
It’s not so much the fact of Ward going down, or being hurt on a few occasions that trouble me the most, it is the quality of opposition, as well as the way he reacted to those shots that cause concern.
Ward was obviously being moved slowly in his pro career, but to be facing such adversity at such an early stage of his professional career does not say great things about his ability to take a flush shot to the chin. Granted, Ward has overcome said adversity, but it appears it is only a matter of time before somebody connects cleanly and Ward doesn’t get up!
So the question becomes can Miranda become the first fighter to put Ward down and keep him there?
In my opinion Miranda is by far the toughest fighter and the hardest puncher Ward has faced to date. Miranda has also faced the much better competition throughout his career, having squared off with the likes of Kelly Pavlik, Arthur Abraham (twice), Allan Green, and Howard Eastman.
Even though Miranda gives up a bit of height against ward (Miranda is 5’10 to Ward’s 6’1) he dwarfs Wards 73-inch reach with a tremendous 77.5-inches.
Although I don’t anticipate Miranda trying to outbox Ward, the reach benefit Miranda brings to the dance could allow him to hit Ward from the outside where “SOG” usually has the clear advantage over his opponents.
Because of the styles that each fighter brings into the ring, one must assume that Miranda is going to do all or most of his best work on the inside. Ward brings the much faster hands to the fight and he should be able to crack Miranda as he marches forward.
With that said, if Miranda is somehow able to do any type of quality work from the outside Andre Ward is going to be in for a rough night.
The problem for Ward in this fight is not being technically inferior to his opponent, but his chinny-chin-chin.
As we pointed out earlier, Ward has been hurt and down before in his fights against much lesser fighters/punchers then Edison Miranda.
I think most people look at Ward and classify him as a “boxer”, and at times he can box very well (see the Jones Jr. reference above) but I have noticed that when a fighter gets in his chest and marches forward with real authority, Ward tends to like to stand his ground and lay some serious heat on his opponents.
He launches his aggressive counter attack mainly with his right hand and he throws that thing with 100 percent full force. With the amount of pressure that Miranda is going to bring to him I can envision Ward trying to time Miranda as he bull rushes forward with those long right hand shots.
Normally I would not even considered the power of Ward to play into this fight. Even though he has 12 stoppage wins in 18 fights, the level of competition has been far removed from what Edison Miranda brings to the table.
However, there are a few question marks surrounding this version of Miranda that Ward will face on Saturday night. Miranda has been knocked out in two of his three losses (Pavlik and Abraham) and his most recent stoppage loss came in only four rounds in his rematch with Arthur Abraham.
In that second fight with Abraham, Miranda looked weak and his punch resistance was frightening. Every shot that Abraham bounced off his head had “Pantera” wobbling in his boots.
Granted, Pavlik and Abraham are two of the hardest punchers in the middleweight division, but Miranda is not hard to find and I question how long his chin is going to hold up under the consistent barrage of lightning quick punches that Ward is going to deliver.
Speaking of lightning quick punches, the speed difference in this fight is going to be alarming. Miranda looked painfully slow in his last fight against Joey Vegas, (11-4-1, 4KO’s) and stayed on the outside “boxing” a lot more then one would like from a fighter of Miranda’s skill level. It’s no secret he does not possess the skills or hand speed to outbox Ward, his only chance is to land a shot that sends Ward to the canvas for the ten count.
I actually thought Vegas stunned Miranda a few times in their fight with right hand shots. Miranda had most of his success when he rushed forward after Vegas, but as limited a boxer as Vegas is he was still able to make Miranda miss wide looping hooks and right hands. I think it’s safe to assume that if Vegas could make Miranda miss in spots, Ward will have a much easier time doing the same.
I think it will only take one sweet shot to end the reign of Ward but I have a strange feeling Ward’s team picked Miranda at absolutely the best time to score an impressive victory over a “name” guy in the division.
I believe Miranda’s punch resistance has been shattered by the beatings at the hands of Pavlik and Abraham. Throw in his lack of defense and now you have a recipe for a true disaster just waiting to happen.
I don’t feel Ward is the hardest puncher “Pantera” has faced, but when your body does not respond to punches like it use to it doesn’t take Hercules to wreck your world.
Miranda has one shot and one shot only…a one punch KO! He has to go for that homerun shot very early in the game before Ward finds his rhythm and starts to dent his own chin.
If Ward had even a little better beard this would be complete and utter domination by Andre Ward. Miranda gets hit at will with right hand shots and I think if Ward is able to stay away from getting hit on the chin that is going to be the shot that knocks out Miranda.
Because of the shaky chin of Ward I have no choice but to cover the possibility of Miranda landing a bomb before his head is taken off, but I am anticipating a clear-cut knockout victory for Andre Ward!
Boxeo: 4.00 Units On Ward By KO {+110} & .50 Units On Miranda By KO Rounds 1-3 {+1500} & .50 Units On Miranda By KO Rounds 4-6 {+1400}
Krakrabbit: 1.00 Units On Ward By KO {+110} & 1.20 Units On Under 10 Full Rounds {-1.20} (Vegas Odds)
Grass Hopper: 1.20 Units Under 10 Full Rounds {-1.20} (Vegas Odds)
Doody: 2.40 Units Under 10 Full Rounds {-1.20} (Vegas Odds)
D3: 2.40 Units Under 10 Full Rounds {-1.20} (Vegas Odds)
Fight Junkie Boxing
PPV Predictions
By Boxeo
Pacquiao was quickly installed as the clear betting favorite in the fight and the line has done nothing but get higher with Pacquiao circling around the –280 mark. Hatton supporters can grab the underdog money at +230. The O/U on the bout is set at 9.5 rounds with the over coming in at –145 and the under at +120.
Hatton by KO comes in at +375, while Hatton by decision will reward you with +918. Pacquiao by KO hits the mark at +150, and Pacquiao by decision lands at +265.
Saturday night is a gigantic opportunity for Ricky Hatton. Not many fighters are knocked out by the best pound-4-pound fighter in the sport (Floyd Mayweather Jr.) then just a little over one year later get another chance to face the consensus P4P king Manny Pacquiao.
Since his brutal knockout loss to Mayweather, Ricky Hatton has gone on a two-fight win streak with victories over Juan Lazcano and Paulie Malignaggi.
His first fight back after the Mayweather defeat was against Juan Lazcano and Hatton looked terrible. Lazcano was a shell of his former self in that bout, but whenever he decided to let his hands go he could not miss his target. In fact, many people feel Hatton needed some hometown cooking from the referee to save him from being knocked out by Lazcano!
Regardless if Hatton would have actually been stopped if not for the referee jumping in to stop the action and tie his shoe, the fact remains Hatton quickly realized that at this stage of his career he must implement some head movement to help avoid being hit so often.
After his poor showing against Juan Lazcano, Hatton went out and hired Floyd Mayweather Sr. to help employ some type of defensive technique to his arsenal. As we all know Hatton was never a defensive genius, but his lack of punch resistance against Lazcano was shocking.
There are few better defensive professors in the game then Floyd Mayweather Sr., and even though Mayweather and Hatton only had a very short time to work together in training camp before he squared off against Malignaggi, you could see straight away that Floyd Sr. added new dimensions to the game of Ricky Hatton.
Against Paulie, Hatton used his jab as he marched forward and did away with a lot of the grappling and holding that so many of the Ricky Hatton fans had become disgusted with.
Hatton worked well when he was able to get inside of the retreating Malignaggi and reduced the amount of times he wildly leapt forward after his foe.
With that said, Hatton still had major defensive liabilities as he attacked Malignaggi. For some reason Hatton has a terrible time moving his head and avoiding his opponents power shots.
When Malignaggi decided to stand and punch, he often found Hatton’s face with his jab and right hand. The saving grace for Ricky in his bout against Malignaggi was his lack of punching power.
Although Malignaggi was able to mark Hatton’s face up with the shots he landed, he simply was not strong enough to hurt Hatton.
As we all know by now, just hitting Hatton in the face is not enough to deter his tremendous non-stop pressure. If you want to keep Ricky Hatton off of you it is extremely important that you lay some serious hurt on him.
With only five stoppage wins in twenty-five fights, Malignaggi was unable to hurt Hatton as he rushed forward and this allowed Ricky to put the pedal to the metal and force an inside fight.
Malignaggi simply did not have the physical strength or punching power to discourage Hatton and after eleven rounds of punishment Malignaggi’s corner threw in the towel, marking Ricky Hatton as the first fighter to ever stop Paulie Malignaggi.
Now Hatton faces his stiffest test since Floyd Mayweather Jr. when he tackles the pride of the Philippines, Manny Pacquiao.
It is simply amazing what Pacquiao has been able to accomplish in the sport with his non-stop scale climbing that he has fashioned throughout his career.
Now it is not uncommon for fighters to move up in weight as they get older or even for a super fight here and there, but Pacquiao is taking the term “moving up in weight” to a whole new level.
The kid originally started out his professional boxing career at 106 pounds! He slowly marched his way up the boxing weight classes until finally hitting his all time high of 142 pounds in his last bout against Oscar De La Hoya.
From the time he started his career until his last fight he has moved up thirty-six pounds. Granted, his body is in tremendous shape and he has loads of energy inside the ring, but at some point and time you have to wonder when he will hit the wall?
I personally thought that wall crashing was going to occur in his last fight with Oscar. On paper he was facing a fighter that was bigger, stronger, taller, had the better beard, and brought a six-inch reach advantage to the fight.
Obviously all of those “advantages” were negated when Oscar came into the ring on fight night a walking zombie, weighing close to what he did the day prior.
Although Manny is moving back down in weight for his fight against Hatton, I think his brutal destruction of De La Hoya is the main reason he is listed as a 2-1 favorite over the “Hitman”.
It’s hard for fight fans to get that image out of their heads of Pacquiao peppering Oscar’s face time and time again with left hands and right hooks. Nobody in De La Hoya’s entire career has ever dominated him like Pacquiao did.
Even though I think the win over De La Hoya was extraordinary, I did see a few things in that fight (numerous fights really) I feel Hatton will be able to exploit.
The first and probably the most important error Pacquiao makes are moving straight back when his opponents attack. Because Oscar put up such a pathetic offensive performance it is harder to observe Pacquiao making this fatal flaw, but trust me there were times in that fight when the old man pushed Pac straight back into the ring ropes.
Having his back to the ropes is not an area that Pacquiao will want to be in against Hatton. In fact, engaging an inside fight with Hatton against the ropes or in the center of the ring is not going to sit well with his trainer Freddie Roach at all.
Pacquiao’s team wants him to fire off his shots and then turn Hatton so Ricky is forced to reset his feet and start his advancement all over again. They understand that if Manny stands in front of Hatton, or allows him to bully him into the ropes, they are in for a very long night.
The most recent fighter to force Manny into the ropes and fight moving backwards was Erik Morales in their first fight. He bullied Pacquiao around the ring and instantly threw Pacquiao out of his rhythm.
I think to win this fight Hatton needs to be extremely forceful as he advances and compel Manny to either stand toe-to-toe or move straight back into the ropes in a defensive posture.
The other area I noticed that Hatton should be able to exploit is the extremely high guard Pacquiao uses as he moves straight backwards. When he is forced straight back he glues his gloves to the side of his face and leaves his body totally unprotected.
Hatton is a wicked body puncher (they don’t call him the Manchester Mexican for nothing) and Pacquiao has been stopped before with shots to the body.
Although I see some areas where Hatton may have the advantage that is not to suggest Hatton is not going to be hit and hit often. Pacquiao has faced the best of the best in the lower weight divisions and delivers his punches with incredible speed and power.
In fact, one area where Manny holds an edge over Hatton it will be in the speed department. Hatton is still pretty fast for his weight division, but from all of the training footage I have been able to see of Manny it still appears he will hold the slight edge in hand speed when the two meet in the ring.
Although I expect Pacquiao to have the hand speed advantage in the ring I think we all can agree that Manny has serious technical flaws. Truth be told, he has a severely limited offensive arsenal. It is no mystery 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 to nullify Pacquiao’s incomplete 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 without 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.
In the end, the left hand will always be Manny Pacquiao’s most dangerous weapon.
I anticipate wicked exchanges throughout this fight as both fighters try and impose their will on each other. Remember, throughout his long career “Pac Man” has been considered a puncher and even though Hatton is working with the defensive wizard Floyd Mayweather Sr., Hatton is still an aggressive, in your face brawler.
If the action starts fast and furious I would also not be surprised to see both fighters marked up in the face very early in the fight. In the past both guys have had trouble with cuts and Hatton’s face also swells awfully bad.
In my opinion, the biggest danger for Hatton is going to be as he attempts to close the distance and get inside on Pacquiao.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. already showed what happens when you catch Ricky Hatton rushing forward with a counterpunch, and Manny Pacquiao has tremendously fast hands and punching power to go with it. If Manny decides to box, Hatton is going to need head movement to avoid Pacquiao’s sharp counterpunching as he walks forward.
If Floyd Mayweather Sr. has been unable to implement a solid defensive gameplan for Hatton, I find it tremendously hard to believe he will be able to beat Pacquiao.
Hatton has struggled with southpaws in the past and on Saturday night he is facing the best southpaw, and second best fighter, he has ever been in the ring with. Defense is not something he can affordto neglect against Manny Pacquiao.
Hatton supporters point to the Paulie Malignaggi fight as proof of the new & improved Ricky Hatton, but Manny Pacquiao is an entirely different beast then Paulie Malignaggi. If Hatton has not improved his head movement and ability to defend counterpunches, there is a real chance on Saturday night that he suffers his second knockout defeat.
By the same token Ricky Hatton is not a tired, old, weak Oscar De La Hoya. Hatton is probably the quickest fighter in recent memory that Manny has been in the ring with.
If De La Hoya could push Pacquiao backwards I have no doubt in my mind that Ricky Hatton will be able to do the same.
I feel the early rounds will probably end up being the most action packed. I can envision this fight playing out in favor of both guys. Hatton getting Pacquiao to move straight back and crushing him to the head and body or Pacquiao nailing Hatton as he marches forward with little or no head movement and busting up his face as the rounds wear on.
Boxeo: 4.00 Units On Under 10.5 Rounds {+110} (Vegas Odds) & 3.00 Units On Pacquiao By KO {+200} (Vegas Odds)
Krakrabbit: 1.00 Units On Pacquiao By KO {+200} (Vegas Odds)
Grass Hopper: 4.00 Units On Under 10.5 Rounds {+110} (Vegas Odds) & 3.00 Units On Pacquiao By KO {+200} (Vegas Odds)
Doody: .50 Units On Hatton {+230}
D3: .50 Units On Hatton {+230}
Fight Junkie Boxing
Showtime Predictions
By Boxeo
Taylor opened the contest as the slight betting favorite and the line has remained pretty much stagnant with Taylor resting at –125 and Froch sitting at +105.
The O/U on the bout is set at 10.5 rounds, with the under coming in at +130, and the over at –170. Taylor by KO comes in at +355, while Taylor by decision will reward you with +215. Froch by KO hits the mark at +273, and Froch by decision lands at +315. The odds of the bout being declared a draw stand at +2500.
After the two very close decision wins against Hopkins, Taylor was thought of as the next big thing in middleweight boxing. His wins over Hopkins were considered the passing of the torch from one great middleweight champion of the world to a future great middleweight champion.
However, Taylor quickly started to lose his superstar label after being involved in back-to-back-to-back uninspiring performances against Winky Wright, Kassim Ouma, and Cory Spinks.
Many experts and fight fans believed he should have been 0-3 in that stretch of bouts instead of 2-0-1. In fact, if you throw in the two Bernard Hopkins bouts, you could make the case that Taylor could easily have been 0-5 from 2005-2007.
All five of those contests went the distance with Taylor being on the receiving end of very questionable decisions. Some folks even went as far as to suggest that regardless of the way the fight unfolded inside the ring, when it went to the scorecards, Taylor just could not seem to lose.
For some reason since the Hopkins fights, Taylor has appeared to regress as a fighter. He is not as aggressive as he once was, and even his highly touted jab does not get used with consistency.
In his first bout with Pavlik, Taylor started fast and went right after him, dropping the “Ghost” in round two. However, Taylor let him off the hook and paid dearly for it when he was knocked out five rounds later.
In the rematch with Pavlik, Taylor reverted back to the reluctant warrior and attempted to box his way to a decision win. He knew without a doubt Pavlik could not only hurt him, but stop him too. So this time around he decided to let the three blind mice at ringside decide his fate.
Although Taylor received nothing but love from the ringside judges when he was an undefeated, rising superstar, things did not turn out exactly how he planned when he was the one that ended up losing on the scorecards to Pavlik in the rematch.
The fact that Taylor regressed back to a boxing style that allowed his opponents to gain ground on him was not shocking at all. In fact, leading up to the Pavlik fight it had become commonplace for him to allow light-hitting boxers to easily bully him around the ring.
Taylor received a lot of heat from the media and fight fans about his lackluster performances and I think he entered the first fight with Pavlik seeking to show the critics that he still had that fire burning inside him.
After his first loss to Pavlik, Taylor fired legendary trainer Emmanuel Steward and replaced him with his former trainer Ozell Nelson.
I must assume it was Nelson that implemented the boxing/counter punching style in the Pavlik rematch in the hopes of either catching Pavlik as he came forward, or winning on the cards.
Obviously that tactic did not work, but I have a feeling on Saturday night he will try to get Taylor to fight a similar fight when he faces off against Carl Froch.
Quite honestly, when I watch Carl Froch box, I wonder how on earth Taylor can only be a slim favorite?
Froch stands right in front of his opponents with his hands down and his chin sticking out. His hand speed is non-existent, his reflexes are poor, and his footwork is robotic at best.
When I watch him in the ring he appears to be trying to emulate the great Roy Jones Jr., but the product Froch is able to turn out is nowhere near what Roy Jones Jr. (even the 40 year old version) brings to the dance.
Now that I have soiled almost every aspect of Carl Forch’s game, I do have to admit that throughout his career he has shown a solid beard and powerful punches. When he isn’t awkwardly moving around the ring and actually puts his punches together (although wide and sloppy) he throws in combinations most of the time.
It’s no secret that Saturday Froch is making his first trip to the United States and that his competition over in the UK has been less then spectacular. One of the biggest names on his resume came in his last fight when he won a twelve round decision over previously undefeated Jean Pascal.
Froch received a ton of praise for beating Pascal (another poor man’s version of Jones Jr.) and some Froch backers have even went as far as saying that Jean Pascal is a better fighter then Jermain Taylor.
It is simply ludicrous for anyone to compare Jean Pascal and Jermain Taylor. Taylor has been in with, and beaten, some of the best fighters in the sport of boxing while Pascal’s record is littered with faceless pugs.
Two of Pascal’s most well known opponents only came to in the last two years when he faced Kingsley Ikeke and Carl Froch. I think it’s safe to say that those names are far from the names listed on Jermain Taylor’s resume!
Although just like Froch, Taylor won his last bout via twelve round decision, Taylor did not receive as much praise for his dominating performance over former world champion Jeff Lacy as Froch did for his win over Pascal.
Even though Lacy had only one single loss heading into his fight with Taylor, most people that follow the sport considered “Left Hook” to be a worn fighter. Ever since the beating he absorbed at the hands of Joe Calzaghe, Jeff Lacy has never been able to regain that old form that had so many people proclaiming him as the next big thing to hit boxing.
When the two entered the ring that night it was clear that Taylor was the better fighter. He hammered Lacy with jabs and right hands that sent the powerhouse reeling around the ring.
It appeared that Taylor could have stopped Lacy if he would have sat down on his punches more and put in a real effort to do so, but as is often the case with Taylor, he was pleased with just battering Lacy around the ring for twelve rounds and wining on the judge’s scorecards.
Although I feel Taylor put on a solid performance against Lacy, boxing fans no longer give the former undisputed middleweight champion of the world slack for pedestrian performances like they did after his two wins over Bernard Hopkins.
Fight fans have been forced to sit through too many of his bouts (title defenses) where he would show flashes of brilliance only to take his foot off the gas pedal.
Speaking of gas pedals, this is one area, probably the only area of the fight that truly concerns me. Taylor is infamous for starting out of the blocks extremely fast and then fading down the stretch.
His lack of a full gas tank often contributes to him making “easy” fights that much harder. He will start out blistering his opponents with all of the tools that we know Jermain possesses in his arsenal, but then as the middle and late rounds approach the dreaded fatigue monster rears his ugly head and Taylor is regulated to jabbing and holding his opponent until the final bell sounds.
I think that fatigue demon that Taylor seems to battle every time he steps into the ring is Carl Froch’s best opportunity to defeat Jermain Taylor.
In my humble opinion, even though Froch brings an impressive knockout record into this fight, he simply does not possess the skills to conquer Jermain Taylor if Taylor does not help him out and fade down the stretch. Even if Taylor should fade as the rounds progress, there is no question in my mind that Taylor is going to test the highly touted beard of Froch.
Although Taylor has not stopped a foe since 2005, when he sits down on his punches he can crack. Froch brings such a terrible defense into the ring I cannot help but envision a ton of opportunities for Taylor to tee off on his opponent. If Taylor starts fast like he usually does, the early rounds could be pure hell for Froch!
With such a huge gap in pure boxing talent, as well as quality of opposition, I just cannot bring myself to back Carl Froch. I think he is a tough hombre, but talent does matter in this sport and Saturday night Froch will be facing the most skilled fighter he has ever been in the ring with.
Boxeo: 4.60 Units On Taylor {-115}
Krakrabbit: 2.30 Units On Taylor {-115}
Grass Hopper: 2.30 Units On Taylor {-115}
Doody: 1.15 Units On Taylor {-115}
D3: 1.15 Units On Taylor {-115}
Fight Junkie Boxing
HBO Predictions
By Boxeo
Williams was quickly installed as the betting favorite in the fight, and the line has remained fairly stable with Williams resting as a –230 favorite to defeat Wright on Saturday night. Those brave soles out there backing Winky Wright to score the upset win can get +200 for every hundred bet.
The over/under for the Williams/Phillips bout is set at 11.5 rounds, with the over costing you -300, while the under comes in at +250. Williams by KO hits the mark at +311, while Williams by decision will get you +120. Wright by KO is a mighty +875, and Wright by decision lands at a +292.
Although Wright is far and away the more accomplished fighter, the oddsmaker’s line is correct listing Williams as the favorite in this fight.
The major reason I believe that Williams should be listed as the favorite to win the bout Saturday night is because of the long layoff that Wright has recently endured.
When Wright enters the ring on Saturday to square off against Paul Williams it will be the first time he has fought in 21 months! We are talking about almost a two-year layoff since he last stepped into the ring for a professional prizefight.
Not only is Wright coming into this contest against Williams off the extended layoff, but also in his last fight against Bernard Hopkins he looked extremely sluggish and lost a lackluster twelve round decision to the future hall of famer.
Granted, I believe Wright looked so dreadful against Hopkins because he agreed to fight at a catch weight of 170 pounds. I knew the instant that fight was agreed upon at such a high weight Wright would have a very tough time winning.
For this fight with Williams, Winky once again moves to the 160-pound division where he is much better suited for warfare.
Although Wright is moving back to a more comfortable weight class, one cannot help but wonder how a 21 month layoff is going to influence his performance once he steps into the ring.
Even if Wright were not coming off the layoff Williams presents some problems for him.
First off there is the size discrepancy that is going to be very difficult for Wright to overcome. Even though Wright is listed as 5’10, he looks like the much smaller man standing next to Paul Williams. I think it’s safe to say that should Williams elect to box a bit, Wright will have no choice but to bully his way inside the long reach of Williams and try to make this fight a toe-to-toe war.
The major problem in this type of game plan for Wright is his lack of dynamite punching power. With only twenty-five wins by stoppage he is not a huge puncher. Even if Wright did have more power, there is nothing until this point in Williams’ career that suggests he has anything less then steel in his beard.
If Antonio “Hands Of Plaster” Margarito could not stop Paul Williams in their recent showdown, why would Wright be expected to?
If he cannot stop Williams his other option would be to outwork him. Again, trying to outwork a fighter like Williams who routinely throws sixty-to-seventy punches a round is going to be an extremely tough task for the inactive Wright.
That’s not to say it will be impossible for Wright to win on the cards by outworking or maybe just out landing Williams. In his lone defeat, Williams had a tremendously off night against Carlos Quintana and was out punched and out landed over the course of twelve one-sided rounds, eventually losing on the judge’s scorecards.
For whatever reason (many suggest weight issues at 147) Williams just could not get out of the way of Quintana’s punches and simply followed him around the ring getting pummeled in the face over and over.
Four months later the two boxers met again and Williams quickly showed that he did indeed just have an off night in that first fight, blasting Carlos out in one single round in the rematch.
So, Wright 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.
Although Williams has scored twenty-seven stoppage wins in his career, he is not a big puncher. He gets his stoppage wins from an accumulation of shots. As I mentioned earlier, it is not unheard for Williams to throw upwards of seventy punches per round, EVERY single round.
His high work rate usually wears his opponents down as the rounds progress and the next thing you know Williams has notched another stoppage victory.
With that said, Wright is not an ordinary fighter when it comes to the art of not being hit. When Williams enters the ring on Saturday night he will be facing off with one of the best defensive fighters the game has to offer.
Even though Wright is undoubtedly the best defensive fighter Williams has faced, we must take note that recently Wright has been unable to block his opponents shots as well as he has in years past.
Back in the day Wright was the master of blocking his opponent’s punches with his high guard plastered to his face and then firing back his own jab-left hand combos as his foes attempted to rest. But most recently Wright has been allowing more and more of his opponent’s punches to penetrate his once impenetrable defense and his face has been showing the signs of his slip in defensive prowess.
Particularly important to me in this fight is the left eye of Wright. As he has aged his face has shown more and more damage from his ring wars and that left eye of his is extremely puffy even when he is not engaged in combat. In fact, he was cut awfully bad over his eye in his last fight against Hopkins.
With the amount of non-stop punching that Williams does inside the ring, combined with the way he launches his head downwards when he punches (especially when he throws the left hand) I would not be surprised at all if one or both fighters (Williams was cut in his last bout with Phillips over his right eye) come away with a gash to the face.
I honestly feel that if Wright were not coming off such a long layoff he would have a much better opportunity to score the upset win over Williams.
For all his advantages, Paul Williams is far from a defensive master. He relies on his chin as his “defense” and often takes what I deem as unnecessary punishment as he walks his opponents down.
No disrespect to Carlos Quintana, but if he can beat Williams, an in-shape, active Winky Wright would have just as much (if not more) likelihood of beating him.
However, we already touched on the fact that Wright will not be heading into this fight with a boatload of activity under his belt and I feel that factor alone will probably end up being the deciding dynamic in the bout.
I just cannot envision how Wright is going to keep up the pace with Williams over twelve rounds to eek this thing out on the cards. I think when Wright is able to counter he is going to find a very inviting target in Williams, but how long he will be able to keep his punch output up is anyone’s guess.
I anticipate Wright giving Williams fits for as long as he is able to stay active, but once he goes into his defensive shell I fully expect the work rate of Williams to carry the rounds.
Boxeo: 2.50 Units On Williams By Decision {+120} & 1.00 Units On Under 12 Full Rounds {+250} (Vegas Odds)
Krakrabbit: 2.50 Units On Williams By Decision {+120} & 1.00 Units On Under 12 Full Rounds {+250} (Vegas Odds)
Grass Hopper: 1.00 Units On Under 12 Full Rounds {+250} (Vegas Odds)
Doody: .50 Units On Wright By Decision {+292}
D3: 1.00 Units On Under 12 Full Rounds {+250} (Vegas Odds)
Fight Junkie Boxing
Showtime Predictions
By Boxeo
The undefeated Bradley opened the contest as the slight betting favorite and public money has continued to flow in on him, knocking his number to –175. Holt supports get the underdog cash at +155. The O/U on the bout is set at 11.5 rounds, with the under coming in at +100 and the over at -120.
Bradley by KO comes in at +207, while Bradley by decision will reward you with +178. Holt by KO hits the mark at +343, and Holt by decision lands at +421. The odds of the fight being declared a draw sit at +1800.
Although they both have close to the same amount of professional fights, Holt has faced the much better competition throughout his career and is without a doubt the more recognized fighter in this match-up.
Even though Bradley currently remains undefeated, his coming out party really just occurred back in May of 2008 when he squared off with the extremely awkward Junior Witter in Witter’s own backyard.
In his bout against Witter, Bradley immediately took the fight to his opponent and controlled the action from start to finish. He was even able to drop Witter with a thudding right hand in the sixth round of the fight.
After twelve rounds were completed, Bradley was awarded the WBC light welterweight title by split decision victory.
Just four months later Bradley followed up his win over Witter with an impressive twelve round decision win over the very game Edner Cherry.
Now Bradley takes another step up in competition when he battles Kendall Holt.
Although Holt has been around the boxing game awhile, he is probably best known for his two bouts against Ricardo Torres.
His first fight with Torres 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.
Holt blames the poor ring conditions and referee Gino Rodriguez for his stoppage defeat at the hands of Torres in Barranquilla, Colombia.
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.
Ten months later Holt was able to reach an agreement with Torres to stage the rematch on U.S. soil and right from the second the bell sounded to start the fight the two fighters exploded with fireworks.
Torres jumped on Holt and knocked his foe down twice in the opening seconds of the very first round. After the second knockdown Holt began to backpedal and Torres bull rushed forward looking to end matters as quickly as possible.
As Torres bullied forward, Holt launched off the ring ropes and nailed Torres with a wicked headbutt followed by a perfectly timed right hand shot that put Ricardo down and out for the count!
The action packed thriller featured three knockdowns and lasted only sixty-one seconds.
Even with the original 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 should choose to disregard the controversial stoppage in the eleventh round of his first bout with Torres, there is still 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. Even though Bradley is not thought of as a knockout puncher, if he is able to find his jaw, I am certain Holt will be in a world of trouble.
They best opportunity for Bradley to put Holt in a world of trouble is going to come in the form of a right hand. Holt is susceptible to that punch anyway, and Bradley throws a quick, snapping right hand that will certainly have a great chance of dropping Holt if it lands cleanly.
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 stout fighters like Bradley fits inside the ring.
If Bradley is unable to apply effective pressure from the get go he will undoubtedly find himself down on the judges scorecards or looking up at the bright lights of Bell Centre.
That’s right, even though Holt only has thirteen stoppages in twenty-five wins; I believe he has enough pop to knockout Timothy Bradley!
Holt has very underrated punching power and even though Bradley sports the better beard of the two, he has been hurt before (Bradley was hurt by both Edner Cherry & Jamie Rangel).
If Holt elects to stand and fight, this fight will be an absolute barnburner. I am going to take the under 11.5 round prop and hope somebody’s chin fails.
Boxeo: 2.00 Units On Under 11.5 Rounds {+105}
Krakrabbit: .50 Units On Holt {+165}
Grass Hopper: 1.00 Units On Under 11.5 Rounds {+105} & 1.00 Units On Holt {+170} (Holt Play Added 6:00 PM Eastern Time)
Doody: .50 Units On Holt {+165}
D3: N/P
Fight Junkie Boxing
ESPN Predictions
By Boxeo
Peter opened the bout as the slight favorite in the fight, but the public jumped all over the underdog Chambers, knocking his number almost immediately to –105. Since that huge line movement (at one point Chambers was +140) money has continued to flow in on “Fast” Eddie and he currently sits as –135 favorite at most books. Peter is now the underdog at +110. The O/U on the bout is set at 9.5 rounds, with the over coming in at -240 and the under at +200.
Peter by KO comes in at +319, while Peter by decision will net you +294. Chambers by KO hits the mark at +489, and Chambers by decision lands at +147. The odds the fight will be declared a draw land at +1600.
This match-up is the classic boxer vs. Puncher. With 18 stoppages in thirty wins, it’s quite evident that Chambers is not a very hard hitter and should be thought of as the boxer in this bout. Peter on the other hand brings one punch knockout thunder with him every time he steps into the ring and should be considered the puncher in the fight.
Although Chambers has the slight height advantage over the stocky Peter, (Chambers is 6’1 to Peter’s 6’0) Peter actually has a two-inch reach advantage over Chambers.
That advantage in the reach department could be a huge benefit to Peter if he can stay just close enough to Chambers to allow him to catch Eddie as he pulls straight back.
I noticed Chambers likes to pull straight back and loves to go defensive along the ring ropes. In these two areas he must be very cautious because it only takes one looping shot from Peter to close the show.
The good news for Chambers fans is that usually he fights with his hands cuffed to the sides of his face.
With that said, Chambers must also be prepared for the eventual “rabbit punches” that Peter is infamous for. Even though Chambers does a solid job of protecting his chin, if Peter lands a lopping shot behind the head Chambers may very well hit the deck.
If the referee allows Peter to crack Chambers to the back of the head, the entire landscape of the fight will change and Chambers will be in for a very tough night. I have witnessed calls go each way for Peter and his “club”, so it is anyone’s guess on how the ref will let it play out on Friday night.
Although Peter has been on the main stage many more times then Chambers, the style of “Fast” Eddie Chambers will probably cause him severe trouble throughout the fight.
However, just because Chambers will likely give Peter fits throughout the fight, it does not necessarily indicate he is a solid bet in this bout.
As we already touched on earlier, Chambers is a very accomplished defensive fighter; he covers up and does not get hit cleanly with many shots. Nevertheless, sometimes he focuses a large extent of his time on defense and forgets to let his hands go.
A perfect example of Chambers’ offensive lapses was his bout with Calvin Brock. In his fight with Brock, Chambers controlled the action whenever he let his hands go. On the other hand, he went long stretches in the fight where he would just cover up and let Brock punch.
Because Chambers is so comfortable in his defensive posture, he often does not feel any urgency to let his offense take over. His lack of aggression in the Brock fight almost cost him the win on the judge’s cards.
Although I had Chambers easily beating Brock, the judges had the fight much closer, with two judges scoring the fight in favor of Chambers by scores of 115-113, and one blind ringside judge scoring the fight for Brock by the score of 115-113.
In fact, Chambers easily controlled the early action in Germany when he squared off against highly regarded Alexander Povetkin, but let the fight slip away from him when he simply quit throwing punches.
His lack of punch output against Povetkin ultimately lead to the first blemish of his professional boxing career.
Although the non-aggressive nature of Chambers is always going to be a concern when he fights, I think even if he takes his foot off the gas pedal against Peter he is still going to have a great opportunity to win the fight.
The reason Chambers can be economical with his punch output and still win the fight is because Peter is extremely lazy inside the ring. When Peter fails to put in the work at the gym it almost always shows itself on fight night.
After four or five rounds his punches will slow and he will be regulated to his looping “clubs” in the hopes of landing a haymaker to bail him out of the fight.
Even though the longer the fight goes the better it is for Chambers, I don’t expect him at any point and time to stand toe-to-toe with Peter. However, he must be an aggressive counter-puncher to have any shot of beating Peter.
He simply cannot cover-up, allowing the “Nigerian Nightmare” to march forward winging shots. It will not matter if Peter lands anything cleanly on Chambers the entire fight. If Peter is the aggressor and throws more shots while Chambers hides behind his gloves, there is little chance of Chambers winning the fight.
With that said, I have not been impressed with Peter in some time now. Since he came into this fight at a career high of 265 pounds, I feel Chambers has even less to worry about now and will only need to get by two or three rounds of real danger (excluding the club behind the head, that thing can land anytime!) before he can fully take over the fight.
Although the most likely scenario is Chambers schooling Peter enroute to a decision win, I have to admit I am really disappointed with Eddie Chambers coming in at 223. Chambers has not been this heavy in a professional bout since 2004, and 223 pounds is his second highest career weight.
He may still get the job done, but I think its safe to say fight fans expected more dedication in the gym from Chambers leading up to the biggest stage of his career.
Boxeo: 2.00 Units On Chambers {+130}
Krakrabbit: 2.00 Units On Chambers {+130}
Grass Hopper: 1.00 Units On Won’t Go 10 Full {+170} (Vegas Odds)
Doody: .50 Units On Chambers {+130}
D3: 1.00 Units On Chambers {+130}
Fight Junkie Boxing
PPV Predictions
By Boxeo
Jones opened the contest as the clear betting favorite and currently is hovering around a –700 favorite to defeat Sheika on Saturday. Shieka gets the underdog cash at +500. The O/U on the bout is set at 10.5 rounds, with the under coming in at -110 and the over also sitting at -110.
If you like Jones by stoppage you will have to tango with a bit of juice at -105, while Jones by decision gets you +174. You can get Sheika by stoppage at +712, and Sheika by decision will net you +1264. The odds the fight is declared a draw lands at +3500.
Although Jones was bested over 12 rounds by the now retired Joe Calzaghe just four months ago, the Oddsmakers have decided to install Jones as a pretty hefty favorite over Sheika.
In most of his fights Jones brings the better resume to the dance, but even though Sheika has only had 35 professional fights compared to Jones’ 57, Sheika has faced a lot of quality fighters in his career.
Names like Simon Brown, Glen Johnson, Joe Calzaghe, Thomas Tate, Scott Pemberton, Jeff Lacy, and Markus Beyer litter the resume of Omar Sheika.
The major problem with Sheika is he loses more then he wins when he steps up in class. Out of the seven names listed above Shieka was only able to come away with two wins!
Now Sheika will take another step up in class when he squares off against former pound-for-pound king Roy Jones Jr.
With that said, one must not forget that Jones is far from the fighter of yesteryear. As his legs begin to show the signs of a long career, we find Roy Jones Jr. spending large portions of his fights with his back to the ring ropes.
Even though it’s true that a prime Jones had a tendency to lie against the ring ropes, inviting his opponents to hammer him to the head and body. In his younger days, his reflexes were so quick he would just toy with his foe until he spotted the tiniest of openings before blistering off highlight reel combinations that left the crowd, as well as his opponents in awe.
That Roy Jones only exists in microscopic spots during the course of his fights. Not only does Jones use his legs sparingly, his still wicked fast hands are also kept under lock and key for most of the three-minute rounds.
Another danger the current version of Roy Jones Jr. faces is his slowed reflexes. Once upon a time RJJ practically went his entire career without ever being touched by a single significant punch.
In fact, if I recall correctly, he often boasted about not being able to relate to the adversity that other fighters often have to go through when they are cut, hurt, or knocked down during a fight.
Of course, that all changed when he faced off with Antonio Tarver for the first time way back in 2003. Notice I point out the first fight as the significant point in Jones’ career where he was forced to realize he was less than superhuman.
Despite the fact that Jones was able to come away with a very close majority decision win against Tarver, it was the first time in his whole career he was forced to dig down deep and fight through adversity.
In all of his prior bouts he toyed with his opponents. Even in his fight against Lou De Valle, when he suffered the first knockdown of his career, I never got the sense that Jones was in danger of losing the fight.
A lot of people point to the first Griffin fight as the first signs that Jones was beginning to decline, but even in that fight I never thought the scrap was slipping away from him. In each of those fights, you could always see that he clearly understood his surroundings.
He was notorious for allowing his rivals limited success before quickly snatching it back. I think he was well on his way to doing that very thing to Montell before the late hit and subsequent disqualification.
However, the Tarver bout was something Jones had never experienced as a pro. He was forced to battle fatigue, facial swelling, and being hit flush numerous times over the course of the entire fight.
Another very subtle change took place in that bout for Jones…he was forced to fight! I am not talking about boxing and counterpunching; I am talking about standing your ground and making a stand. As Jones has aged, his body has mandated that he sit down on his punches and take risks.
Taking risks was never part of the original game plan for Jones. In fact, throughout his career he was criticized for always fighting the “safe” opponents and fighting a safety first style.
At this stage of the game, Jones is physically unable to throw rapid-fire combination shots for a full three minutes of every single round. He no longer possesses the ability to use his legs and move out of harms way as his adversary advances.
Those two factors have contributed to him adapting a more “crowd friendly” style. By crowd friendly I mean he gets hit more! In essence, he has become more of a stationary target as he has matured.
I think the inability to fight how he has for the better part of his entire career has forced Jones to either risk being knocked out cold, or go into a defensive shell.
A classic example of Jones going into a defensive shell was his ninth round knockout loss to Glenn Johnson. Not only did Jones get knocked out once again by a single punch (Jones was stopped in the second round in the Tarver rematch) he was losing the fight up until that point.
Johnson set the tone of the bout in the very first round of the fight. He jumped right on Jones, bullied him into the ring ropes and threw punches until the bell sounded to end the round.
For his part Jones could do nothing but cover up and potshot whenever he could muster up the energy and courage to let his hands go. Throughout the entire fight Jones’ punch output was non-existent, and when he did fire off a combination, Johnson would stand his ground and jump right back on him.
As the rounds wore on Jones went deeper and deeper into his defensive shell, until his reflexes betrayed him and he was caught with a jab-right hand shot that knocked him out cold for the second straight fight.
Although Jones is no longer invincible, he still has incredible hand speed and is second to none when it comes to potshotting an opponent.
We all know the punch that you don’t see hurts you the most. I feel Jones brings enough speed and punching power to hurt and even drop Sheika, but finishing him off is an entirely different matter.
Even in his prime Jones was never considered a “killer” inside the ring. Most of his stoppages have come from long drawn out beatdowns that slowly broke down his overmatched opponents.
As he has aged his lack of finishing skills have deteriorated even further. If you look back at his last four fights you will find a total of 48 rounds of boxing and three decision wins against the one decision loss to Calzaghe.
It is also important to point out that Jones was not facing the cream of the crop in those three fights he was able to win on the scorecards.
In his prime I am certain Badi Ajamu and Anthony Hanshaw would not have made it the distance with him. In fact, he was unable or unwilling to knockout Felix “Tito” Trinidad who came out of a two-year retirement and moved all the way up to 170-pound catch weight to face him.
Granted, he was able to have his way with all three fighters either hurting them or knocking them down, but he still could not pull the trigger enough to get them out of there.
He now faces another fighter in Omar Sheika that he has clear advantages over. His speed and accuracy is still head and shoulders above what Sheika brings to the table and Omar comes into this bout off a 17-month layoff!
Not only has Sheika currently been out of the ring for over a year and a half, since September of 2005 Sheika has laced up the gloves two times!
Even though Sheika claims to be in great shape and is fully prepared to face off with Jones, you have to wonder how his lack of activity inside the ring is going to hinder him should the bout go some rounds.
Throughout his career Sheika has also been known to swell and cut very easily. Up until the Calzaghe bout Jones was never considered a “bleeder” but after seeing how bad he was cut in that bout and what a poor job his corner did treating it, it’s not inconceivable that as he ages cuts could become more of a serious threat to him.
If being badly cut for the first time in his long career at the ripe old age of forty wasn’t enough for Jones to deal with, every time he steps into the ring he must also worry about protecting his suspect chin. With two of his five losses coming by knockout (one punch KO’s at that) I think it’s safe to say that Roy Jones Jr.'s chin is not made of granite.
It would stand to reason that Sheika would be well suited to jump on Jones from the opening bell and try to take him out before any potential ring rust sets in and his punch output begins to drop.
Although there is no doubting Sheika's toughness inside the ring, I have real doubts about what kind of performance he is going to be able to muster up on Saturday.
We touched on Sheika's long layoffs and tender skin, but he is also going right smack dab in the backyard of Jones for this fight.
It appears that his only shot to win this fight is going to be to knockout Roy Jones. One would assume that Jones would get the benefit of the doubt with the three blind mice at ringside in every single close round in the fight.
For Sheika to stop Jones he is going to have to get close to him and rough him up. The Shieka we all remember loved to fight aggressively, but I am not sure how long this version of Omar Sheika will be able to apply effective pressure on Roy.
If there ever were a time for Jones to break his seven-year knockout dry spell it is going to be against Omar Sheika. He has been off a very long time and Roy will have the huge benefit of fighting at home.
If Sheika starts to fade and just stands on the outside, Jones is going to pick his shots carefully until he starts to slice and dice him up. If any cut should occur (I am expecting Sheika to get busted up the longer the fight goes) the referee and doctor are going to play an important part in the fight.
As we saw last week in the Khan/Barrera fight, home field advantage can be the difference between a win and a loss (or in the case of Khan a no contest).
Boxeo: 2.20 Units On Under 10.5 Rounds {-110} {1.10 Additional Units Added 4:00AM Eastern 3/21/09}
Krakrabbit: .50 Units On Jones By Decision {+174} & 1.10 Units On Under 10.5 Rounds {-110} {Under Bet Added 4:00AM Eastern 3/21/09}
Grass Hopper: 2.20 Units On Under 10.5 Rounds {-110} {1.10 Additional Units Added 4:00AM Eastern 3/21/09}
Doody: N/P
D3: .55 Units On Under 10.5 Rounds {-110}
Fight Junkie Boxing
PPV Predictions
By Boxeo
The contest opened just about dead even. Since the line first opened more cash has been flowing in on Khan, sending his number up to –145. Barrera supporters can grab the underdog money at +125. The O/U on the bout is set at 9.5 rounds, with the under coming in at +155 and the over at -175.
Khan by KO comes in at +265, while Khan by decision will reward you with +220. Barrera by KO hits the mark at +255, and Barrera by decision lands at +472. The odds the bout will be declared a draw land at +2500.
Although Barrera holds a massive experience edge over Khan, the reason the line is set at almost even money is because many people wonder just how much gas Barrera has left in the tank.
Let’s be honest here, on paper this looks like a huge mismatch that clearly favors Barrera. He has been in with the worlds best, and has over seventy professional fights!
Khan has never remotely come close to facing off with a fighter like Barrera, and throughout his short career has displayed tremendous defensive liabilities.
Regardless if he gets by the thirty-five year old Barrera on Saturday or not, one area that is always going to haunt Khan supporters is the fact the kid just can’t take a shot to the whiskers!
Fighters far from the caliber of a Marco Antonio Barrera have put Khan on the seat of his pants and he was knocked out two fights ago in 54 seconds of the very first round!
Barrera on the other hand has sort of been coasting through his fights, not really showing that world class “fire” that so many fans remember. It is that lack of determination that concerns me most about Barrera.
Even in his first fight with Rocky Juarez, Barrera showed signs of being unwilling or unable to stand toe-to-toe and get his respect. Instead, he was forced to fight in spurts and box his way to a questionable decision victory.
In the rematch with Juarez (which happened only four months later) he used his underrated jab and easily boxed the pants off Juarez in route to a lopsided decision win.
In March of 2007 he fought rough and tough with Juan Manuel Marquez for twelve exciting rounds, and that is the same type of aggressiveness he will need if he wishes to beat Amir Khan.
Playing the role of “boxer” won’t cut it for Barrera in this fight. Khan has too many physical advantages for Barrera to try and play it cute on the outside. He must revert back to the “Barrera of old” and press his attack from the first second the opening bell rings.
However, the Barrera that fought toe-to-toe with Juan Manuel Marquez certainly did not show up against his late replacement opponent Freudis Rojas.
In that Rojas bout, Barrera came in at 140-pounds and looked terribly slow and a shell of his former self. His punches were wide and even though he was facing a fighter with a 1-7 record, he still reverted back to boxing and moving on the outside.
Even though Barrera looked less then stellar against Freudis Rojas, he was able to come out of the ring a winner that night when Rojas was DQ’d for intentionally headbutting Barrera over his left eye.
The butt from Rojas caused a laceration over Barrera’s eye, and for a minute it appeared the Barrera/Khan fight would be called off.
Somehow the cut was deemed to not be severe enough to warrant a cancellation and Barrera and Khan will square off on Saturday.
I have a real problem with Barrera taking this fight when he was cut over his left eye such a short time ago. Not only is he heading into enemy territory for scoring purposes, but should that cut reopen in his fight against Khan there is no telling how the situation will unfold.
Another factor to consider is how was Barrera able to fully prepare for Khan with a gash above his eye? I am certain some precautions were taken in sparring to protect the cut, but anytime you go into a fight sporting a fresh wound you are giving your opponent a sizable advantage.
Although Barrera has only been stopped once, as his career winds down, he has not shown the ability to absorb the same type of punishment that he did when he was a bit younger.
For all of his flaws, Khan can crack. Not to mention this will only be Barrera’s third fight above 130 pounds.
With the circumstances the way they are, I feel Barrera’s best chance to knock out Amir Khan will probably come early in the fight. If Barrera is unable or unwilling to take Khan’s head off as soon as possible, I have a feeling that nasty cut Barrera suffered in his last fight is going to come into play.
Barrera looked out of shape and just plain old in his last fight. If he enters the ring in the same form against Khan as he did with Rojas, I expect the old warrior to get beaten down over the course of the fight and maybe stopped for the second time in his long career.
I think team Khan (Freddie Roach) is banking on Barrera being shopworn. He called it correctly when Oscar faced Manny, and leading up to this bout Roach has stated that if Amir Khan cannot beat Barrera he needs to look for another job.
As long as Barrera is standing he will have a punchers chance to turn Khan’s lights out (yes, his chin is that bad) but the longer it goes the harder it gets for Barrera.
Boxeo: 1.10 Units On Won’t Go 12 Full {-110} & .50 Units On Khan By KO {+265}
Krakrabbit: 1.10 Units On Won’t Go 12 Full {-110} & .50 Units On Khan By KO {+265}
Grass Hopper: 1.00 Units On Won’t Go 10.5 Rounds {+140}
Doody: N/P
D3: N/P
Team Roster
Team Sponsors
Recent Record
- Boxeo: + 10.40 Units
- KrakRabbit: - 8.50 Units
- Doody: - 1.60 Units
- Grass Hopper: + 4.25 Units
- D3: - 6.65 Units
Ad Network
