Boxing: March 12 & 13

[H2O Man]

March 12
At Grapevine, Texas (Fox Sports en Espanol/Fox Sports Net): Tyson Marquez vs. Richie Mepranum, 12 rounds, junior bantamweights; Samuel Peter vs. Nagy Aguilera, 12 rounds, IBF heavyweight eliminator


March 13
At Arlington, Texas (HBO PPV): Manny Pacquiao vs. Joshua Clottey, 12 rounds, for Pacquiao's WBO welterweight title; Humberto Soto vs. David Diaz, 12 rounds, for vacant WBC lightweight title; Alfonso Gomez vs. Jose Luis Castillo, 10 rounds, welterweights; John Duddy vs. Michael Medina, 10 rounds, middleweights

This is a big weekend for the sport of boxing. Tonight, in an IBF eliminator, heavyweights Sam Peter and Nagy Aguilera are scheduled for 12 rounds. The winner will be in line to challenge for a title shot later in the summer.

Peter, 29, is 33-3, with 26 KO victories. After losing to both Klitschko brothers, and an upset to Eddie Chambers, Sam has been making a slow come-back, winning three knockouts. Nagy, 23, is 15-2, with 10 KO victories. His only loses were a highly questionable disqualification, and an equally questionable split-decision last summer. (I've been to three of his fights, including the last loss. Although he should have been given the decision, he did not fight a smart fight against the promoter's favored fighter.)

The two have one common opponent, former WBC heavyweight champion Oleg Maskaev. Peter TKOed him in six rounds to take his title; Nagy scored an upset one round KO over Maskaev last December.

I'm friends with Nagy, and hence have difficulty in being objective on this one. He needs to use his jab, and to be in shape to move for 12 rounds. Sam hits very, very hard, and when in shape, has a rapid delivery system. Good luck to both men.

The “big fight” is, of course, Pacquiao vs Clottey. Pac Man, 31, is 50-3-2, with 38 KO wins. Two of his loses were by knockout; they came early in his career. As even casual fight fans know, Pacquiao is at the top of his game now. His three most recent fights, in which he has moved up in weight, include knockouts over Oscar de la Hoya, Ricky Hatton, and Miguel Cotto.

Clottey has wins over some tough fighters, including former champions Zab Judah and Diego Corrales. However, the 35-3 fighter is perhaps better known to the general boxing public for two of his loses. (The first loss was by DQ; Clottey is willing and able to use his head, shoulders, and elbows as offensive weapons.) Clottey lost a close decision to Antonio Margarita, and in his last fight, a split-decision to Miguel Cotto.

Pacquiao is definitely favored to win. However, Clottey is the biggest opponent he's faced; has solid defensive skills; takes a hard shot; and has very fast hands. I expect Pacquiao to circle around Clottey early in the fight, and take advantage of his superior foot-speed. He'll give Clottey angles, and look to discourage him from punching, by executing his outstanding counter-punching, in combinations. By the middle rounds, look for Manny to go to the body, to wear his opponent out. Pacquiao wants to be the first person to hurt – and knock out – the tough Clottey.

Last week, on ESPN's FNFs, Teddy Atlas made an interesting prediction. He said that he expects Pacquiao to win, and indeed, to win almost every minute of every round. But, he said, there is a very good chance that, at some point, Pacquiao will feel Clottey's size, strength, and power, and perhaps have to get of the floor to win. Interesting possibility.

Enjoy the fights!

[joeybee12]

1. Hey, welcome back! How'd the surgery go?

:hi:

[H2O Man]

2. At the last minute

it was rescheduled for Monday morning. That was the 4th time they've changed it.

My last surgery was on the night of Pacquiao vs Cotto. I blame Manny, completely, for my pain and suffering. And what does this mean for me, if he does fight Mayweather?

[joeybee12]

3. Good luck, and I would think you'd blame the Yankees...

...who are responsible for most of the world's ills.

[H2O Man]

4. Sam Peter

won in two rounds.

He came in at 237 lbs, which is less than at any time since 2001, in his 7th fight. When Top Rank took over his career, boxing fans wondered if Sam would finally become disciplined in his approach to the sport.

Nagy should consider the cruiserweight division.

[H2O Man]

5. Countdown .......

Oh, I love the sport of boxing. While this fight won't sell nearly as much as Mayweather v Mosley in May, it has created interest. I read an interesting comment today: that while casual fans give Clottey no chance to win, the well-informed fans recognize that he could give Pacquiao a hard fight, and could potentially win.

The Sam Peter bout from last night is available for viewing on youtube. Samuel looked intense. It's too bad he had not had the self-discipline to get down under 240 pounds for every fight. While he might not have won against Vitali Klitschko, it seems likely that he would have KOed Wladimir, and Eddie Chambers.

It's worth noting that Big George Foreman believes his son will be ready to challenge for the heavyweight title in about 15 months. Young George is big, strong, fast, and has a very powerful punch. He needs to work on his defensive skills, but I am confident that his father will have him ready by the fall of 2011.

In my opinion, the next real "super fight" in the heavyweight division will be in late 2011, between Sam and George. While it will not have the skill level of an Ali (no heavyweight fight is likely to), or even boxer-punchers like Larry Holmes or Evander Holyfield, it will have the extreme power of two devastating punchers. (Note: Holmes v Cooney and Holyfield v Tyson 2 were, in my opinion, "super fights.")

By that time, both Klitschko brothers will have retired. I think Vitali will go out on top, and that Wladimir is going to lose his title by then. While these two have earned every expert's respect, they have not made the division popular. In part, of course, that is because of the lack of guys close to their size to present a challenge. Vitali plans to end his career in 2010, and I do not think there is any chance Wladimir will fight Foreman, once he is established. (If he did, Foreman will knock him out in two rounds.)

Thus, within the next year-and-a-half, the heavyweight division will again be popular.

[TroubleMan]

6. Did you see Lampley go crazy? BANG! BANG!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wkIH4whpyU

I like Pacquiao, he's a great fighter, and might go down as an all-time great. However, Lampley worships the ground Pacman walks on. He shows no impartiality whatsoever. As an announcer on a major event you need to show some sort of impartiality even if you're a big fan of the guy.

[H2O Man]

7. It was sad.

I hope that if he kept it up for another three hours, that he knew from the Viagra commercials to seek medical attention.

[tishaLA]

8. Nice to see you Mr H2O Man!

Hope you are feeling relatively well.

[H2O Man]

9. Thanks.

I had surgery this morning. Ouch!

The medical staff warned me that I would feel much worse tomorrow. I'm getting a preview already. So, if I post cranky, rude things in the next 24 hours, I hope folks can overlook it.