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Wednesday, April 30 - at Vancouver (ESPN2) - 10 rounds, light middleweights: Joel Julio (32-1, 30 KOs) vs. Ishe Smith (19-2, 9 KOs).
Friday, May 2 - at Santa Ynez, California (Showtime) - 10 rounds, super middleweights: Andre Dirrell (14-0, 9 KOs) vs. Anthony Hanshaw (21-1-1, 14 KOs); 8 rounds, lightweights: Antonio DeMarco (17-1-1, 12 KOs) vs. Juan Castaneda (12-0, 9 KOs).
Saturday, May 3 - at Carson, California (HBO) - 12 rounds, welterweights: Oscar De La Hoya (38-5, 30 KOs) vs. Steve Forbes (33-5, 9 KOs).
The ESPN Wednesday night fights and Friday's ShowBox both feature good bouts with quality fighters. On paper, the main events should be "fan friendly." Ishe Smith is not a big puncher, but his fight with Julio could still be fun to watch.
The "big" promotion is the Saturday night HBO card. It will probably be less exciting than either of the other cards. Oscar de la Hoya is about 3 inches taller than Forbes. In his last two fights, Oscar has weighed in at about 154, and entered the ring a good bit heavier; Steve has weighed in at about 140.
Oscar hasn't won a big fight since September of 2002, when he KOed Fernando Vargas in the 11th round of a tough fight. He has lost 3 of his 6 fights after the Vargas win. Part of that may be due to his infrequent appearances in the ring. Thus, he is taking the Forbes fight for a tune-up, before his September 20 rematch with Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
Forbes, the former IBF super featherweight champion, has lost 2 of his last 3 fights. He is a boxer, but lacks power. Being smaller, and without a bang in his punch, it is pretty clear that there is something of a mismatch being promoted. But Forbes is preparing to give it his all, and he believes that he has the ability to upset Oscar.
Oscar has been focusing on improving his ability to fight for 12 rounds. He has a history of being tense both before and during big fights, and that has played a big role in some of his loses. Look for him to practice throwing a lot of jabs at the defensive-minded Forbes, as Oscar will need that punch to compete with Floyd in September. Forbes hasn't been knocked out yet, but it is unlikely that he can stand up to Oscar's big left hook. I think Oscar will probably stop him somewhere around the 10th round.
Enjoy the fights.
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