Boxing: June 13-16

June 11, 2007

(All bouts subject to change)

Wednesday, June 13 - at Tampa, Florida (ESPN2) - 10 rounds,
light welterweights: Edner Cherry (21-5-2, 10 KOS) vs.
Wes Ferguson (16-1-1, 4 KOs).

Thursday, June 14 - at Rochester, New York (Versus) - 10 rounds,
heavyweights: Hasim Rahman (41-6-2, 33 KOs) vs. Taurus Sykes
(25-3-1, 7 KOs); 12 rounds, lightweights: Almazbek Raiymkulov
(24-1-1, 14 KOs) vs. Miguel Angel Huerta (23-8-1, 16 KOs).


Friday, June 15 - at Montreal (ESPN2) - 12 rounds, super
middleweights: Lucian Bute (19-0, 16 KOs) vs. Sakio Bika
(22-2-2, 14 KOs).


Saturday, June 16 - at Ankara, Turkey - 12 rounds,
heavyweights: Sinan Samil Sam (27-3, 15 KOs) vs.
Oliver McCall (50-8, 36 KOs).

Saturday, June 16 - at Uncasville, Connecticut (HBO) -
12 rounds, IBF light welterweight title: Lovemore N'dou
(45-8-1, 30 KOs) vs. Paul Malignaggi (22-1, 5 KOs); 10 rounds,
super middleweights, Curtis Stevens (17-1, 12 KOs) vs.
Andre Dirrell (11-0, 7 KOs); 12 rounds, super featherweights:
Gairy St Clair (38-4-2, 17 KOs) vs. Guadalupe Rosales
(24-1, 15 KOs).


There are several good televised fights scheduled this week. The ESPN Wednesday night fight looks like a competitive match. I enjoy watching Edner Cherry; although he isn't at the top level, he always comes to fight. Ferguson is looking to move up a level in his opposition, and will try to outbox Cherry.

Versus has not lived up to its promise in covering boxing. The fight scheduled for Thursday might be entertaining, though neither of these guys figures in the future of the heavyweight division.

The ESPN FNF card looks interesting. I believe they have one of my favorite guys for their special guest in the studio.

The SS Sam vs O McCall would be worth watching, if only it were on tv.

And the HBO fight featuring N'dua versus Malignaggi could be a very interesting fight.

You're right, Cherry can be fun to watch. I've never heard of his opponent Wes Ferguson. He has a decent record, but from his 4 KO's isn't a big puncher. There's not much else I can say about that contest.

Versus hasn't put on a lot of good fights recently. That's pretty much what you can expect from a Top Rank/Bob Arum telecast. Mostly house fighters trying to either regain their stature or make their way up to bigger shows. Rahman, as a top level fighter, is finished. The one positive you can say about Rahman is that unlike many of the currently "titlists", Rahman was legitimately that true Heavyweight Champion for seven months back in 2001.

FNF and ESPN2 have been going to Canada a lot lately. I've only heard of Bika from his fight with Calzaghe last year. Who is in the studio for FNF this week, alongside Brian Kenny?

Malignaggi/N'Dou doesn't excite me that much. I've never been a big fan of Malignaggi. Most of his fights are boxing clinics, but he can't punch worth a lick. I do give him credit for hanging strong with Cotto, despite getting pounded pretty bad last June. N'Dou has been in there with top guys, but doesn't have a lot of big wins on his resume.

I hope HBO decides to show Dirrell/Stevens. They have 3 hours alloted for next Saturday night. I assume they'll show both live fights, along with the Cotto/Judah replay.

did KO Lennox Lewis, as did McCall. Those two fights, in my opinion, move LL down on the list of all-time greats. I like both of those guys. But I'd much rather be watching the McCall fight. He could actually give some of the top guys in the division a fight.

I think Big George is the FNF guest.

Malignaggi is an interesting study. I think he has the big mouth, because he can't punch. (Compared to a guy with Cotto's quiet self-confidence.) I was reading where one of his italian-American fans was comparing Malignaggi to Rocky Graziano; he missed the far more obvious and accurate choice of Willie Pep. I know he isn't at that skill level, but he is a light-punching, thinking boxer. I like him, despite his act. But he is facing a guy who might actually be able to beat him in a different way that the fractured face that Cotto inflicted. N'Dou has an intensity to him.

The FNF guest is now Pernell Whitaker.

"Morning Joe" featured an interesting discussion about boxing. The host and co-host discussed Ali, including the second Liston fight. They had about 50% of the details correct, but clearly like boxing. What was interesting was when Pat Buchanan came on a few minutes later; not surprisingly, Buchanan knew a lot more about boxing history. Pat was a tough guy when he was young.

looked bad. He was out of shape, got hurt by the relatively light-hitting Sykes; and needed to foul (use of forearm on opponent's throat) and a cooperative referee to win.

On the undercard, "Kid Diamond" got a terrible, unjustified decision "win" over Huerta.

Therefore, I only caught 7 rounds of the Kid Diamond fight. I haven't seen it yet, but here is the official card.



But it sounds like Huerta got robbed.

I don't really care much about Rahman these days. Like you said, Rahman is pretty much inconsequential these days. I'll always remember him for beating Lewis, and getting knocked into Jim Lampley's lap against Corrie Sanders in 1999.

In other news, the WBC is promising a title shot for the winner of SS Sam vs. Oliver McCall this weekend. Not sure either guy deserves a world title bout.

Next, it's been reported that Vitali Klitschko will return on September 22 versus perennial loser Jameel McCline. As of now, no American TV is scheduled. McCline isn't a bad fighter, but he doesn't seem to come up big in important bouts.

Finally, I've read that Evander Holyfield is fighting later this month on PPV against Lou Savarese. Funny thing is that I still remember Savarese from his 38 second KO against Mike Tyson in Scotland back in 2000. I've waffled on buying PPV's, but I swear there's no way I'd ever buy this.

was strange. Though I thought the announcers were a bit too one-sided in calling the first match, there was no way that Kid Diamond won it. And Rahman really has no business fighting when he was more than 25 lbs overweight, and clearly had not trained seriously. No doubt he reviewed the film of Sykes vs Peter, and expected a 1 or 2 round mismatch.

McCall has put together a number of wins. I could see him being a tune-up fight for one of the title-holders. And he poses a danger for the first few rounds. But he is facing an opponent who might very well end his career.

I've always liked Jameel McCline, but as you note, he has the ability to lose every significant fight. It is the psychological factor, of course, because he has all the natural tools to be one of the toughest guys of this era. He could beat anyone. I think he was prepared to beat the Giant, until he injured his knee.

I saw Lou S fight in Binghamton years ago. I expected his career to move forward, but he didn't seem to want to take a step up for years. I think he has had at least one recent fight. Evan Field, er, Evander said he picked Lou as a warm-up for a challenge for Klitschko's title. Size and style-wise, he has a point. Lou, even more than McCline, is a chronic under-achiever, and Evander will likely beat him. (If Lou was serious, he'd stop Evander in 6.) But, if Holyfield ever does fight Klitschko, he'll be seriousy injured.

Kid Diamond shouldn't have won that fight. Huerta earned the decision. But some people on the Internet are up in arms, at various boxing message boards, calling it one of the worst decisions they've ever seen (I tune in to a few of those boards from time to time). I think it was a close fight and I agree with you that the announcer seemed to be rooting for the underdog from round 1. Kid Diamond scored a lot of power shots on Huerta but he seemed to walk right through them, whereas Huerta's own punches were backing Diamond up. That might account for some people seeing this as a one-sided slaughter (which I didn't). Kid Diamond threw something like 150 more punches in the fight and really busted up the face of Huerta. Huerta at the end looked like he had a broken nose and his left eye was nearly shut. I think some of the middle rounds were close and could have gone either way. Everyone seems to acknowledge that it was an exciting fight, which to me means it was a close fight. There was back and forth momentum in nearly every round. I think you could probably call it a robbery, of a typical and ordinary kind we see too often on TV, but not the robbery of the century as some people seem to think. I think it was close even with the KD and Huerta should have been the winner. It's a shame. Anyway, Kid Diamond has a lot of problems, like pulling straight back from his opponent and I don't think he'll get to the next level without some serious improvement.

Rahman never was a complete fighter in my opinion but he seems to have slipped quite a bit from his former self. For his sake, I hope it was just the weight and lack of training, but I think his best days are behind him. Where was the snapping jab that I've seen in other fights?

isn't hungry anymore. He doesn't have the motivation that he used to. And his skills are diminished with age. If he isn't able to prepare for competition, I wish that he would retire. He seems like a really decent man, and I don't care to see him get seriously hurt.

:)

I have been a closet Oliver McCall career watcher for about a decade now, ever since his blow up against Lennox Lewis. I have always truly wished that guy would come back and redeem himself. He's been quietly doing well for a while now. I hope he wins and gets one last shot, I just would hate to see a guy never get past something as bizarre as a breakdown in the ring. I always hoped he'd comeback and be one of those feel good stories.

Ironic that Rahman is fighting too. Two guys who KO'd Lennox. Whenever I see Rahman I think of two things. First, that grotesque lump on his head from the Holyfield fight, and then the right hand that Lewis knocked him stiff with in their second fight. It should be illegal to get hit that effing hard! :)

watching McCall before he fought Lewis. He reminded me of a Sonny Liston-type fighter, and I expected him to be a major force in the heavyweight division. The first Lewis fight, I bet my oldest brother (who thought Lewis was unbeatable at the time).

In their return match, I expected McCall to again KO Lewis. I had not read anything about Mccall's training camp that indicated he had relapsed with the dope. It was very sad to watch.

He is one of a small group of guys who hits with extreme power .... Foreman did, of course, but in a different manner. McCall was more like a Liston or Ernie Shavers. And that power is the last thing a fighter loses. He remains dangerous in the current heavyweight division.

Oliver McCall UD12 Sinan Samil Sam: I read the Round-by-Round account on a message board. Sounds like Sam started out decent, but got cut and faded in the last 4 rounds. This means that McCall gets a shot at the WBC belt. Wondering how long that will take, since Vitali Klitschko is back and has been promised a shot at the Maskaev/Peter victor. At the age of 42, McCall doesn't have that long to wait.

Juan Carlos Gomez UD12 Dennis Bakhtov: The former Cruiserweight champ scored a shutout. Can't say that's much of a surprise.

Zsolt Erdei KO11 George Blades: Honestly, I hadn't seen or heard of this LH "Champion" before he was mentioned on the Showtime telecast last week. Therefore, I can't add much to the discussion of this bout.

Lucien Bute UD12 Sakio Bika: Early on, this looked like a competitive contest. But eventually Bute figured out Bika and cruised to a points victory.

I like Malignaggi a lot to win tonight. He comes in as an 8-5 favorite. This is a test for Malignaggi. I'd categorize N'Dou as his toughest opponent other than Cotto. The easy pick is Malignaggi by UD.

Dirrell faces a test in the main undercard bout against Curtis Stephens. I'm surprised that this fight is nearly even money.

Overall, this shapes up to be a competitive HBO Boxing After Dark card. And as an added bonus, those who didn't see Cotto/Judah (or like me, who want to view it again), can catch the replay to begin the telecast.

I think that is pretty impressive. I don't think anyone can take him for granted. He might not be able to hang at the top of the division for an extended stay, but he poses a threat in any given fight.

You are right about the Bute vs Bika fight. It was good for ESPN.

I think that tonight's main event could go either way. It depends, I think, on if N'Dou can land two punches in a row. He has power and strength, but the ability to deliver will be telling. Malignaggi can beat anyone who can only land one punch at a time. I think we know from Cotto that to punish this kid, you have to be able to physically rough him up. (I read where Malignaggi said after the low blows with Judah that Cotto would use his elbows, hit low, or butt when he couldn't land a clean shot!)

I think that tonight's show -- including the replay -- is the type that should be popular with all sports fans. I hope that you guys enjoy the show.

Stephens/Dirrell was a bit of a downer. On paper, it looked like a decent fight. However, Stevens didn't do much at all. Landing 4 punches a round isn't enough, even with Dirrell doing very little as well.

Maybe someone can remind me how N'Dou/Malignaggi is a title fight, while next week's Castillo/Hatton fight is for a fringe (IBO) title? I thought Hatton won the belt when he took on Urango earlier this year.

Still, I do like this matchup. The winner could rise to the upper-eschelon of the division. Currently, these guys are probably around 5-10 in the 140 Pound division.

I'd like to see N'Dou pull off the upset. I've never been a big fan of Malignaggi's antics. Maybe I'm not purist enough to appreciate Malignaggi's style.

Edit- So far, through 2 rounds, the fight is going just as expected. Malignaggi should be up 20-18 on the cards.

was a perfect example of a fight that looked really good on paper, that failed to produce much in the ring. But both guys are young, and it was on national tv. They have real potential -- perhaps especially Dirrell.

Malignaggi looked really good. N'Dou seemed to forget the body, though I have to say that Eddie Cotton seemed to be making some one-sided calls.

Castillo vs Hatton now becomes the next big fight. Castillo is always going to be well-prepared. From what I've read, it sounds like Hatton is in great shape, too. I do not see conditioning as a central issue. Instead, things like body punches, cuts, hand speed, and physical strength will probably decide the outcome of this fight.

It was great to see the Cotto vs Judah fight. The setting was very impressive: boxing should return to MSG more frequently.

Judah may not have won had he not suffered the low blows, but I doubt he would have been TKOed. I found myself thinking that Cotto has an intensity inside the ring that is similar to the great Rocky Marciano's. That may sound odd, because the two were very different personality types outside the ring. But inside, there are some interesting similarities.

Despite what Larry Merchant said, Cotto absolutely has a well-deserved reputation for dirty fighting. He uses his head, his forearms, and will hit low, as long as he can get away with it. With Judah, he had to have been fully aware that Zab's best chance was to land powerful shots in the early rounds. (Again Larry displayed a high level of ignorance when he said Zab isn't a hard puncher.) The low blows -- especially the "big two" -- reduced Zab's chances of exploiting his early advantages. And the low blows were as purposeful as any punches that Cotto has thrown in his career.

Still, the guy has the ability to take some serious punishment. I think the earlier scares might have been related to his cutting too much weight, because: {a} he took hard, fast punches from Judah, and {b} he looks a lot bigger than Zab. I think that he stands a fair chance with almost anyone in his division right now.

There are two fights in particular I'd love to see: Cotto vs Mosley and Cotto vs De La Hoya. If styles make fights, both of these guys were able to beat Vargas, who had been a tough warrior, especially in the Oscar fight, and even in the first Mosley match.