A belated Happy New Year from the Noug. I hope you are enjoying the new look on the Flyweight blog (courtesy of the cheesy templates provided by Blogger). I welcome any feedback on the new website design - hopefully it's slightly more readable, while providing all the ambiance of a sweaty boxing gym in North Philly.
Let's get down to business. The "offseason" of boxing, which arguably began when the meek Oscar de la Hoya gave up on his stool back on Dec. 8, is officially over. This Saturday begins a 1st Quarter of action which will be sure to heat up your TV. Let's take a quick look at some of the major fights:
Jan 19 - Andre Berto vs. Luis Collazo (HBO). Berto is the unbeaten WBC welterweight champ, who has been criticized for his lack of stiff competition in his career thus far. In Collazo, he's facing his first opponent who can be considered a fringe world-class fighter. Collazo's most noted for giving Ricky Hatton all he could handle (but losing a SD) in Hatton's first foray into the welterweight division back in 2006. Berto definitely has the skills to be a major player in this division, but if he gets by the slick southpaw Collazo, much tougher fights loom ahead.
Jan 26 - Antonio Margarito vs. Sugar Shane Mosley (HBO). For Margarito's WBA welterweight title. Perhaps last year, this would be a PPV fight. But with the economy in the shitter, it would be highly questionable business practice to ask boxing fans to pony up $50 for this fight. That being said, this is perhaps the crown jewel of boxing matchups in 1Q 09 and should be a great action fight. How can it not be. You have Margarito, "The Tijuana Tornado", who will throw the kitchen sink at Sugar Shane. And Mosley is not one to back down, so look for this to be a real shootout. That being said, Mosley is at the tail end of his career, while Marg is arguably hitting his prime now. It's hard to envision Sugar Shane getting KO'd (it's never happened), but if it could happen, it would be at the hands of the unrelenting attack of Margarito.
Feb 7 - Vic Darchinyan vs. Jorge Arce (Showtime). Darchinyan has completely tore up the 115-lb super flyweight division since he first moved up to that weight a year ago. He's collected the IBF, WBC, and WBO belts and now faces off against the veteran little guy, "Travieso" Arce. For small fighters, they both have big mouths, so there should be lots of verbal daggers being tossed leading up to the fight. And make no mistake, this will not be a finesse boxing match, it will be a brawl. Both guys can throw, so expect lots of blood and asses to hit the canvas. More than likely, it will be Arce shedding blood and getting knocked on his shield, as Vic is a buzzsaw. Arce has logged 60 fights in his career thus far, but it's another case of a guy in his prime (Darchinyan) meeting a guy who's long past it, who's shown signs of vulnerability lately. It should be a wild one while it lasts though.
Feb 21 - Kelly Pavlik vs. Marco Antonio Rubio and Miguel Cotto vs. Michael Jennings (Top Rank PPV). For Pavlik's WBC/WBO middleweight title and Cotto-Jennings is for vacant WBO welterweight title. It's unfortunate that this ended up on PPV, but the fact is, HBO (who has been much-maligned for their matchmaking) didn't want to put two mismatches on their network. And that's what these should be - mismatches. The only drama is, both Pavlik and Cotto are coming back from their first career loss, both of which were highly devastating. You know about Cotto's loss to Margarito, and Pavlik was embarrassed by the 44-year old Bernard Hopkins back in October. So they are handed a soft touch here to see how they respond. If the PPV is only $30 (as some previous TR PPVs were), I'll probably buck up, as there are rumors of a decent 3rd fight on the card. Note: this PPV takes place in 2 locations - Cotto-Jennings from MSG, and Pavlik-Rubio from Youngstown, OH (hometown of "The Ghost").
Feb 28 - Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Juan Diaz (HBO) - For Marquez's Ring Mag lightweight title. Really looking fwd to this one. And what a beautiful thing that it's on HBO, not PPV. I expect this to be a back-and-forth battle between two of the premier pound-for-pound fighters in the world. Diaz punches in bunches and Marquez is a master counterpuncher. I see this one going the distance, but both guys will be banged up before it's all said and done.
March 14 - Chad Dawson vs. Antonio Tarver 2 (HBO) - For Dawson's WBO light heavyweight title. This one is a head-scratcher. Their first fight was a one-sided thrashing won by Dawson. Nobody saw the need for a rematch. But here they are. Whatever, expect the same result.
Plenty of other smaller (but good) fights, which I'll get into more detail about as they approach.
And don't forget, May 2 is tentively the date for Manny Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton, although as of press time, there are some contract disputes going on and the fight is reportedly in jeopardy. Interestingly enough, more news has come out that Floyd "Money" Mayweather is in big financial trouble with the IRS. If Pac-Hatton falls through, expect Money to step in and fight either of those guys (hopefully Pac, as a Hatton rematch would be meaningless) to collect another huge payday.
As for now, get ready for Berto vs. Collazo on Saturday and most importantly, on Sunday......
GO EAGLES!!!!!!
