A younger Casamayor would have boxed Katsidis's ears off. The question is, does Casamayor at 36 have enough left to stay a step ahead of Katsidis's unrelenting pressure. In these types of matchups, in general, you always have to favor the more skilled boxer over the puncher/pressure fighter. But I'm not sure if Casamayor has enough skills remaining to maintain what should be his natural advantage in the ring.I hope Casamayor is disfigured tonight. His dance routine and insistence that his name belongs amongst the contenders is a joke. Hopefully Katsidis can cut the ring off.
I believe HBO is showing the Andrade fight, which is odd, because they'll usually just air the PPV replay and then the live main event. But I'm pretty sure tonight is the PPV replay plus the 2 live fights.The co-feature with Librado Andrade against Robert Stieglitz should also be a fun one to watch, though I'm not sure whether HBO still plans to televise it or if the Pacquiao-Marquez II replays preempts that fight.
The bottom line to this fight is, and always was, very simply, Katsidis just isn't that good. He's just a poor man's Ricky Hatton if you ask me. He's a bit more interesting than Hatton because he actually throws a lot of punches, where Hatton mainly wrestles and mauls. But he's otherwise the same. And it's no coincidence, then, that this fight ended almost identically to the Hatton-Mayweather fight. Katsidis charges in chin first and gets caught with a "check hook." Lights out. I don't think it was "youthful stupidity." It's just the way Katsidis fights. He'll never beat a guy who knows how to box on a world-class level, and neither will Hatton.The definition of youthful stupidity. Katsidis came out to hype for that round and got caught. Now we have to deal with Casamayor parade around like he's the man. He got a BS decision to get this fight and then beat an unskilled and overanxious young fighter. I just hope this bum doesn't end up on PPV defending his title. ugh. What's so disheartening is this SLOWs down the division. Casamayor is not the future and he's not even the present. He's gonna milk this shit to get a payday Don King style.
BTW, if you watch the last minute or so of the 9th you can see Katsidis' dumbassness coming out. He made a clear and conscious decision to spread his hands wide and barrel forward b/c he was overconfident. I thought his corner would settle him down before the 10th but they didn't.
Edit: right on f'n que. He calls out Manny and Barrera. Old, old, old. Damn you to hell Katsidis for this next 6 months of time wasting we're about to go through.
Colonel Bob Sheridan has been making his living calling the international broadcasts of major fights for years. Tyson-Douglas was indeed an HBO fight, but as with most fights, it was broadcast overseas as well. The HBO crew appears only on HBO. Colonel Bob handles the rest.That really is Colonel Bob Sheridan calling the fight live as it happened. He pretty much calls all the Don King fights still to this day.
However, ESPN has been known to gain access to a number of fights originally shown on HBO (mostly Holyfield, Whitaker or Gatti fights) and has added their own "live" commentary with Joe Tessitore and an analyst.
Zab Judah wants Sugar Shane Mosley to agree to blood testing before their non-title welterweight fight May 31 in Las Vegas. Mosley, who has admitted taking steroids before a 2003 bout but claims it was inadvertent, says he’ll agree to any drug testing—but his promoters are not willing to go that far.
Judah said Tuesday at a news conference to promote the fight that he wants Mosley to agree to have both fighters submit to blood tests now, right before the fight and after the fight.
“I think with the enhanced drugs that Mosley has taken in the past,” Judah said, “I want it done before and after the fight, and I want it done now. Mosley is a smart guy, he’s not going to do it (take drugs) right before the fight.”
Whenever people ask me to recommend fights for them to watch, I always start them off with the same fight:off topic, for a sec:
i've got a friend who i used to watch boxing with a few years back (the last i think we saw was lewis-klitschko), who has told me he wants to get back into it, as i usually mention a good fight that i saw recently (to try to get him back in the sport, and it worked). he wants a list of recent fights that were exciting, as both entertainment and a primer to who's who. he really never got into anyone past heavyweights, so my list so far is
corrales/castillo
gatti/ward I and II
marquez/vasquez I-III
pavlik/taylor
mayweather/hatton (meh idk why)
mayweather/corrales
mayweather/gatti (he likes mayweather already, but hasnt really seen much, so im including this one)
what else would you guys advise? i dont want to flood him with a list that will overwhelm him, but want to get to the nuts and bolts. which of calzaghe's fights would be most interesting to a "new" fan?
You guys have got it pretty well covered. I might add the De La Hoya-Mosley fights and the more recent Cotto-Mosley.Whenever people ask me to recommend fights for them to watch, I always start them off with the same fight:
Morales-Barrera I
My favorite fight of all-time. Two first-ballot HOFers, in their primes, who hated each other's guts and tried to beat the shit out of each other for 12 rounds. You always hear Corrales-Castillo I mentioned as the Fight of the Decade, but I think Morales-Barrera I was a superior fight.
Some other fights from this decade (besides the ones you've already listed):
Morales-Pacquiao I
Morales-Barrerra III
Pacquiao-Marquez I/II
Toney-Jirov
Cotto-Judah
Cotto-Torres
Trinidad-Vargas
Speaking of Kessler, in the first big killbuzz of a so-far excellent year, the Danish ex-champ has backed out of his fight with Edison Miranda on May 24 for unexplained reasons. Maybe the loss to Calzaghe really did break him mentally. Kessler's been incognito as far as boxing goes since then, now this. Weird, It also, I believe, leaves Showtime without a May fight for now.For Calzaghe, see either his domination of Jeff Lacy from two years ago or the good fight he had with Mikkel Kessler last Fall.
I don't disagree that those were good performances from Calzaghe, and I know people want to see the Joe C of now, but if you really wanna see a great 'fight', then you've got to go back to his war with an aging Chris Eubank in 1997, when he won the WBO title he still holds today.For Calzaghe, see either his domination of Jeff Lacy from two years ago or the good fight he had with Mikkel Kessler last Fall.
Just make sure not to copy Andy Lee's defensive technique.On a completely unrelated note, I have started to shake off the dust on my gloves. I've been going down to the gym 3-4 times a week for about a month now, with the goal of making a return to the ring. If I ever get to that point again, I'm sure the local boxing freaks on SOSH would like to attend. I'll keep y'all posted if you're interested.
I think Manny/Arum's thought process is this:My only guess is that Manny hopes he can handle 140 comfortable enough to set up a possible fight with Hatton.
Yeah, looks like he now becomes a "gatekeeper." He'll be the guy 154-pound prospects face to build up their resume and position themselves for title shots. Anyone who throws as many punches as Ouma is always a good test.Ouma got beat on FNF. I guess he's officially done as a legit fighter.
1. I have to say, this move surprises me a little, if this is indeed how it plays out.Looks like the mystery of Mikkel Kessler's sudden pullout from the May 24 Edison Miranda fight is solved. He's likely stepping up to light heavyweight where, with the sudden retirement of WBA champion Danny Green, he's in position for an immediate title shot against an easy opponent. With that belt in hand, he's got his choice big money fights against anyone from Chad Dawson to Roy Jones Jr. or even a Calzaghe rematch.
Smart move by Kessler's people. Pretty shitty to leave Miranda (and Showtime) hanging like that, but why risk getting caught with a lucky shot from a puncher like Miranda when he's got the potential for these kinds of fights ahead?
I gotta admit, I've never seen Woods fight. I'll have to YouTube him. But based on the fact that Tarver hasn't had a decent performance against a quality opponent in almost three years, is 39 years old and was never a truly great fighter anyway (very good at times, but never great), I'd have to pick almost any top-10 light heavyweight to beat him. Despite his two wins over Roy Jones, Tarver is no Roy Jones.Just interested to know who you guys like in the Antonio Tarver-Clinton Woods fight next Saturday? Woods is from my home town of Sheffield, so I'm obviously very biased in my opinion of him. I just hope this trip to the US ends better than his last, when he was blasted out by a prime Roy Jones 6 years ago!
Yes, that was his one fight in between the Hearns and Leonard fights.Hagler vs. Mugabi on Versus right now. Hagler's last official win, I believe.
If anyone missed that broadcast, I strongly reccommend that you see if and when Vs repeats it and catch it then.Hagler vs. Mugabi on Versus right now. Hagler's last official win, I believe.
Ya, there's no sense in rushing Khan to a title shot, because he's already filling up arenas and making good money already. If he were toiling in anonymity, I could see going for a belt right away to increase his visibility.The win makes Khan the mandatory challenger to Nate Campbell, but I doubt he takes that fight next. He'll probably take on another Euro challenger in the Summer (possibly European Champ Yuri Romanov who destroyed Britain's John Saxton in 5 rounds on Friday night), before trying to fulfil his promise and be a 'World Champion by the end of this year.', as he says in every bloody interview...
I actually think Khan is being rushed and it's quite simply because he is going to struggle to make the Lightweight limit before too long. He is already pretty tall for a lightweight and he uses that height and his long reach to his advantage at the weight, but with age comes a bit more weight and at only 21 it's going to get harder for him to make it. He already has one contest at 140 on his record and I don't expect him to struggle to win at that weight. But, if he wants to make a splash at Lightweight, he'll have to get a shot at a title within the next 12 months IMO.Ya, there's no sense in rushing Khan to a title shot, because he's already filling up arenas and making good money already. If he were toiling in anonymity, I could see going for a belt right away to increase his visibility.
How long they hold him back will be interesting though. Some guys are ready to fight the best at an early age. Erik Morales, Felix Trinidad and Floyd Mayweather come to mind as fighters of recent vintage who won their first titles around the age of 20-21, but that's a pretty high standard to live up to. For now, Khan's plan should be to beat a Top 10 lightweight. If he does that, then try a Top 5 guy, etc.
Agreed. I expect the majority of Khan's career to occur at 147 (after a stopover at 140).He is already pretty tall for a lightweight and he uses that height and his long reach to his advantage at the weight, but with age comes a bit more weight and at only 21 it's going to get harder for him to make it.
A great "God bless DVR" night this weekend with the dueling cards on HBO/Showtime. Predictions?
I'm going with Woods, Dawson, Margarito, and Cotto.
As for what I hope to see...
I'd like to see Woods win simply because I can't stand Tarver.
I have no rooting interest in Margarito-Cintron, I just want it to be an entertaining fight, regardless of the winner. The winner is set up to fight Cotto, and either one will provide an interesting matchup.
I have a lot of respect for Glen Johnson, but I have to root for Dawson, because Dawson represents the potential future of the division. A Johnson win is somewhat of a lose-lose IMO, because it means Dawson isn't as good as we think he is, and Johnson is at an age where he's not going to be around much longer anyway.
And finally, I want to see Cotto win in dominant fashion. If he is a legit Top 5 PFP superstar fighter like I think he is, then he'll systematically break Gomez down and knock him out in the mid-to-late rounds.