Boxing: April 30 - May 3

[H2O Man]

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.

[H2O Man]

1. Yahoo! Boxing poll ....

I was #11,001 to take their poll.

Oscar by (T)KO = 54%
Oscar by decision = 30%
Forbes by (T)KO = 7%
Forbes by decision = 9%

[TSIAS]

2. DLH/Forbes

As expected, Oscar pulled out an easy decision over the dimunutive Stevie Forbes. The result of the fight was never in doubt, as DLH easily won at least 11 (if not all 12) rounds of this contest.

Forbes did make the fight more exciting than I had anticipated. He did exchange Oscar in spots, and did land some decent punches. The problem was that he doesn't have any real power. Forbes won a title at 130 pounds, and his most notable KO was over John Brown (and that came about because Brown injured his eardrum). Oscar was able to land a lot of good shots, but dominated the fight with his left jab.

I do think that HBO over-hyped this performance a bit. There is no fighter in the past decade more associated with HBO than De La Hoya. Jim Lampley has always had a bias towards him. Steward may have made more out of this performance than it merited. Obviously, the goal is another mega bucks matchup with Mayweather. I do think that De La Hoya would stand a better chance this time around. If he fights like he did last night, I could see him outpointing Floyd.

[TroubleMan]

3. I would give Forbes the 1st and 11th rounds.

The 10th was close, too.

However, all the rest were easily De La Hoya's.

[TSIAS]

4. 1st and 11th?

I had the 5th only for Forbes. 119-109 easily for DLH. But Forbes did make a lot of rounds competitive.

[H2O Man]

5. I thought that

several rounds were close. Oscar picked his opponent for obvious reasons, in preparation for Floyd in September.

Alexis Arguello was ringside. He knows boxing. After the fight, he said that Oscar was not ready to fight Floyd next. His conditioning is still not at the level it needs to be.

I'd note that Forbes had equal hand speed, if not a slight advantage. Going in, it was expected that Oscar would still have the advantage here. It may be age is catching up; it could also be the inactivity.

Steve Forbes isn't a banger. He is a tough fighter, but he is not physically strong for the top ranks. Yet he was able to hit Oscar easily, and did some damage. Floyd is stronger than Oscar, faster, and hits with power that is enhanced by his timing. He will decision Oscar in an easier fashion than their first match.

While I do not like Oscar, I admire the ring skills he has had over the years. I think he should have considered Cotto as an opponent. He has the style to beat Cotto, though if it went beyond 8 rounds, he might be in trouble. But Oscar is intent on fighting a guy who has the style to beat him.

[TSIAS]

6. Who else does Oscar want to fight?

I heard on the broadcast that he wants two more fights. One of those is Mayweather. Who is the other?

1) Shane Mosley: He lost twice to Mosley, albeit the 2nd fight was closer. This could be interesting if Mosley beats Judah on May 31.

2) Felix Trinidad: A longshot, since Trinidad has balooned in weight up to LH. Still, it would be a big PPV draw with the ethnic audiences.

3) Winky Wright: I can't see this fight as a career closer for Oscar. Simply too dull of a fighter.

4) Kelly Pavlik: Oscar would suffer a similar fight as he did in his fight with Hopkins in 2004. Not a wise move.

[H2O Man]

7. There are two

names mentioned: He seems to want to fight Chavez's kid; some boxing people have mentioned Cotto.

Chavez, Jr. is selling PPV tickets, and is undefeated. But he's not ready to fight at the top yet. It would seem like a low-risk, money-making fight for Oscar, though it might remind boxing fans of Ray Leonard throwing his self-indulgent "retirement" event at MSG (where he disrespected Haglar).

I think he could beat Cotto. There is risk involved, obviously, with a guy with that much power. And the ability to hit Oscar in the body. But if he was in shape and had his hand speed, he could hit Cotto with his hook.