4 of the world's best fight on the same day

To me, the best fight on Saturday Night is the WBC Super Middleweight Title bout between Arthur Abraham of BWhit's squad (31-1) and Carl Froch of Mesiti's squad (26-1). This is the kind of fight that just doesn't happen in boxing. 2 legit superstars fighting an in-their-prime opponent of equal skill, in the same division. I'm expecting a very competitive match, but ultimately one that Carl Froch should win. As demonstrated in fights with Jermain Taylor, Andre Dirrell and Mikkel Kessler, Froch is always ready for 12 rounds and is a tough dude. He's also quicker than Abraham and has a longer reach. Abraham has a decent chance for a mid-rounds knockout, but I don't think Froch is too vulnerable. Froch got robbed in his last fight against Kessler, but I expect him to get a fair (but close) decision on Saturday. W 12 Froch

Next on the list is the Juan Manuel Marquez of Bryn's squad vs Michael Katsidis for the Lightweight Title. There's no shortage of heart on either side here. The issue, I believe, is going to be whether Marquez has slipped at all. He still looked good in his last fight against Juan Diaz, so I expect him to have retained his good form. The deciding factor here is the skill, Marquez should be landing better shots on Katsidis, and I expect a decision to go in Juan Manuel's favor. W 12 Marquez

Finally, Andre Ward of Mesiti's squad takes on Sakio "The Scorpion" Bika in another Super Middleweight Title fight. Bika is a solid fighter, having gone 12 competitive rounds with Joe Calzaghe and having won the Contender tournament a couple of years ago. If Ward weren't so good, I might pick Bika to win. But Andre has the skill and the ring generalship to win a decision that probably won't be too close. W 12 Ward

With One Punch

After a competitive first round, Sergio Martinez ended things in his rematch with Paul Williams with a crushing roundhouse left to the head in round 2. Williams was out instantly and crashed to the canvas for the 10 count. Martinez retains his middleweight title and Oro moves to 3-0 with 2 KOs, while Andrew drops to 0-1. Martinez earns 3 pts with the win.

In boxing, taking hard shots to the head is eventually something that ends your career. To my eyes, Paul Williams is an excellent candidate for brain damage because he concentrates so little on protecting himself. I hope Williams recovers, but I have the feeling that his punch resistance is starting to go. Here's hoping that Williams (39-2) finds a safer way to conduct his career and that Sergio Martinez (46-2-2) makes the most of his time as champion.

Making a Tough Prediction

Tonight Sergio Martinez (45-2-2) and Paul Williams (39-1) will rematch, with the middleweight championship of the world at stake. Their first fight was a split decision, with Williams coming out on top. Going into their first fight, Williams was expected to win and this may have impacted the judging. One blind judge scored the fight 119-109 for Williams, maybe he filled out his scorecard before the fight started. I scored it 116-115 for Williams, but truly it could have gone either way. Williams landed more punches, Martinez did more damage.

Since that fight, Williams had a lackluster performance against Kermit Cintron. I didn't think Williams looked powerful or accurate on that night, a contest that ended in the 4th round when an off-balance Cintron jumped out of the ring and claimed to hit his head. I shouldn't blame Williams for the brutal result of that fight, but the truth is, he wasn't doing much to Cintron and the fight was boring. Martinez, for his part, had a great fight with Kelly Pavlik in April. He was accurate, he was fast, and he was well-conditioned enough to win all of the late rounds of that fight to take Pavlik's title.

I see this fight as once again being very competitive, and very difficult to call. But I'm going to go with Martinez, mostly because I feel like he needs it more. He's a proud Argentinian warrior whose time to make a name for himself, and to make money, is now. Many people feel he was robbed in the first fight, and I think he'll be fighting to redeem himself and to again expose Williams' defensive weakness. After watching about 5 Paul Williams fights, I have to say that his defense is pretty bad. He's been hit hard in nearly all of his fights and I think that tonight will be another one. I look for Sergio Martinez to do more damage to Paul Williams than Williams will do to him. Williams has superhuman stamina so I expect it to go the full 12, but I'm taking Martinez (which would mean a win for Oro's Team Tyson's Punchout and a loss for Andrew's Money Marenghi) to win an action-packed 12 round decision!

Pacquiao rules boxing; standings update

With very little regard for his own well-being, Manny Pacquiao spent much of Saturday night trading punches with hard-hitting welterweight Antonio Margarito. Pacquiao's conditioning proved to be good enough as he was able to fight his fight for 12 rounds. Most of the prefight predictions came true: Pacquiao was faster, Pacquiao threw combinations, Margarito showed a good chin and threw hard shots that occasionally landed. Although the scorecards were widely in favor of Pacquiao (120-108, 119-109, 118-110), the Filipino champion was in trouble on a couple of occasions. Margarito actually landed a good number of hard shots, mixing in occasional uppercuts and hard body blows. But by round 4, Pacquiao had taken some of the strength out of the bigger man's attack. In the end, it was an impressive performance by an impressive champion. Pacquiao deserves to be considered among the all-time greats, with or without a fight with Mayweather. Twomey earns his first win in the league, and 2 points for a quality decision.

Earlier in the day, David Haye (of Joel B's Loaded Gloves) scored a 3rd round TKO over Audley Harrison. The fight was reportedly boring until Haye unloaded on a fragile Harrison, sending him to the canvas. Joel B's Loaded Gloves moves to 2-0 with 2 KOs and into first place.

STANDINGS:

1st....Joel B 2-0 2KOs

2nd...Oro 2-0 1KO

3rd...Bryn 1-0 1KO

4th....Twomey 1-0 0KO

5th....Jay 1-0-1 0KO

6th.....BWhit 1-0 0KO

7th.....JoelM, Andrew, Mark (tie)

Detailed Fight Analysis

Manny Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs) vs Antonio Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs)

Some interesting results at the scales for starters. Margarito at the 150 lb limit, but Pacquiao comes in at 144 1/2. Why Pacquiao would choose to have less muscle on his frame is puzzling to me, but he obviously is concentrating on speed and quickness in this fight.

Margarito's best weapons are his hooks to the body and his chin. He takes a great punch, as evidenced by fights with Cotto, Clottey and Paul Williams. Margarito has had far fewer quality fights than Pacquiao and has scored many of his KOs against lesser opposition. Margarito brings power and tenacity to the fight, as well as being in great condition.

Pacquiao's best weapons are his combination punching and footspeed. He's able to move around the ring (when he's at his best) and throw punches in bunches, usually overwhelming opponents with his offensive onslaught. Pacquiao has put Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez, Ricky Hatton, David Diaz and Miguel Cotto on the deck with his power shots. But none of those guys are as big as Margarito.

The obvious size difference has me worried a bit for Manny. Pacquiao takes a good shot, but taking one of Margarito's shots may be different. Margarito has a high work-rate so Pacquiao may have fewer chances to just tee off than he had against Clottey, Cotto and De La Hoya. If Margarito is unfazed by his power (which I actually think will be the case), what's going to stop him from throwing hard shots all night long? Can Pacquiao stay away? Can Pacquiao really duck everything that Margarito is throwing at him? Can Pacquiao take those punches and just keep coming?

Some in Pacquiao's camp have expressed concern that this wasn't his best training camp. I think this is the crucial factor in the bout. If Pacquiao is indeed less than his usual self, I actually believe he will fall victim to a knockout, around the 11th round. Pacquiao will need to be superman to win. He'll have to throw tons of punches, be light on his feet, and shake off some hard body shots in order to leave with the win by decision. He's the better fighter, but this size difference (and the fact that Margarito is still young and physically in his prime) makes things very interesting....

Sometimes you guess right....

To my shock, my 8th round TKO prediction held true as Juan Manuel Lopez defeated Rafael Marquez in a highly competitive, fast-paced fight. Marquez landed scores of quality punches on Lopez, but the younger man's determination and strength were too much. Joel B's team gets their first win and moves to 1-0 with 1 KO.

STANDINGS

1st.....Team Tyson's Punchout (Jon O) 2-0, 1 KO

(tie)2nd...The Girl's Team (Bryn) 1-0, 1 KO

(tie)2nd....Loaded Gloves (Joel B) 1-0, 1 KO

4th..........Head Hunters (Jay) 1-0-1, 0 KO

5th........Yo Gabba Gabba (BWhit) 1-0, 0 KO

6th.....Andrew, Twomey, Mesiti, Mark (tie)

Tonight's Fight; and a great November for the league

Rafael Marquez (39-5, 35 KOs) vs Juan Manuel Lopez (29-0, 26 KOs)

Tonight features one of those fights that we don't get nearly often enough. It's a fight that matches one of the top rising stars in the game (Lopez) against one of the most talented champions of the last 10 years (Marquez). Both fighters have a lot to gain from a victory, especially Marquez, who could shock the boxing world with a win and possibly add a few more years to his impressive career. Lopez, a young southpaw, has an active and brave style. There's little question that Marquez will land, given his level of accuracy and skill, but Lopez will be connecting with bombs as well. The reality is that if one man is going to break down, it's likely to be the older, slower fighter (Marquez). Time for a final prediction: KO 8 Lopez, in a great fight while it lasts.

NOVEMBER 13th: Manny Pacquiao vs Antonio Margarito. I think this will be a MUCH tougher fight than most believe. Margarito is tall and has solid form. He definitely has the power to knock Pac down, but I believe that Pacquiao's work-rate will win him a decision.

W 12 Pacquiao

NOVEMBER 13th: David Haye vs Audley Harrison. This is a mismatch. Harrison is an underachieving British contender that never really put together a solid string of wins. This is probably his one and only title shot, and I expect him to get flattened by round 6. KO6 Haye

NOVEMBER 20th: Paul Williams vs Sergio Martinez 2. There's no way that this fight will be anything other than competitive and fun to watch. At this point, I feel that Martinez is the fighter who is more on top of his game. Williams gets hit too much, and I think it will cost him a decision. W 12 Martinez

NOVEMBER 27th: Andre Ward vs Sakio Bika. Bika is a strong dude and I expect him to give Ward a good fight. However, Ward's skills are good enough for a decision. W 12 Ward

NOVEMBER 27th: Carl Froch vs Arthur Abraham. I wouldn't be surprised if this ended up being the fight of the year. Both of these guys are brave, hate each other, and want to stand at the top of the super middleweight division. I expect Froch to prevail in this one, he's got a very awkward style and long reach. Abraham's lack of activity will hurt him on the cards. W 12 Froch

By the end of this month, the standings will be a lot more interesting....