The Biggest Fight of the Year

Let's face it.  Superfights these days are rare.  Most popular fighters are content to "star" in boxing "shows", where they're pitted against a beatable opponent.  Wladimir Klitschko is notorious for such a thing.  So was Floyd Mayweather.  So are many other champions.

But on Saturday night we have a good match-up between two fighters who are both at or near their peak.  Both fighters are champions and the weight (140 lbs) seems to suit both of them.  

Hatton seems determined to shine in his second mega-fight.  The Mayweather fight was a bit of a physical stretch (up at 147 lbs) and may have been against the quickest, craftiest fighter in the world.  Hatton tried but didn't have enough variety in his attack to truly challenge Floyd.

I believe this will be a more competitive fight.  Pacquiao, for all his speed, is not the craftiest fighter in the world.  He's been hit solidly by skilled fighters (Marquez1&2, Morales1&2) and has only really dominated against slightly faded opponents (Morales 3, Barrera1, DeLaHoya). Especially in the Marquez fights, Pacquiao seemed really easy to hit.  His dominant offense against David Diaz and Oscar DeLaHoya was largely based on their lack of effective offense.

I expect an improved offense from Hatton.  In fact, I expect Hatton to be ahead after 4 or 5 rounds based on strong punching and body/head combinations.  Pacquaio is tough though and has great heart; he won't be bombed out of there early.   He'll be hitting Hatton as well.

For the record, I am going with Pacquaio by late round stoppage (maybe the 10th).  I think that his superior determination and conditioning will make the difference.  Hatton will give a good account of himself, but he'll be getting hit a lot as the fight moves on.  Tired and swollen, I expect to see a battered Hatton saved by the referee.  The Pacquiao machine will march on.

Expect a win for Mark's Knuckle Sandwich and a loss for Jay's Hitmen.

Taylor KO'd by Froch, JuanMa pummels Penalosa

Carl Froch TKO12 Jermain Taylor

Carl Froch put the boxing world on notice by delivering a stunning KO of Jermain Taylor on Saturday night, the stoppage coming with only 14 seconds remaining in the fight. Froch was behind on the cards and would have lost his belt if not for the late rally which saw him drop Taylor with under 30 seconds remaining in the 12th round. Taylor emerged at the count of 9 but Froch jumped right on him, and the ref waved it off as Jermain appeared to drop his guard while taking some serious punishment. Froch (25-0, 20 KOs) was expected to be cast aside by his more experienced opponent, and that looked to be the case as he was knocked down by Taylor in the 3rd round. Taylor appeared to be well on his way to victory, sweeping the first 5 rounds, but one of the knocks on him was his stamina and that was indeed the case in this fight, as his activity decreased as the fight went on. There were some nice flurries from both guys in the late rounds, but as the fight wound down, it was clear that Taylor had nothing left. Froch retains his WBC super-middleweight belt and after the fight called out the unbeaten, but retired, Joe Calzaghe.

This moves Taylor's record against white guys to 0-3 (don't forget the 2 losses to Kelly Pavlik), and drops his career record to 28-3-1, 17 KO. More importantly, this drops the great Larry Merchant's Vodka Breath to a paltry 5-2. Froch remains a free agent.


Juan Manuel Lopez TKO9 Gerry Penalosa

This was supposed to be the toughest test of Lopez's young career, and he passed with flying colors, dominating the rugged Filipino legend. Penalosa's trainer Freddie Roach stepped in at the end of Round #9 and wisely put a halt to the fight, as Penalosa's face was being used as target practice for JuanMa's fists.

JuanMa set all kinds of PunchStat records, if you believe in that sort of thing, landing over 400 power punches in 9 rounds, while Penalosa threw only 390 total punches or so. Despite this barrage, Penalosa (54-7-2, 36 KOs) never hit the deck, and actually he has never been knocked down in his career. This was, however, the first stoppage loss of his career, and had the fight gone on any longer, serious damage could have been sustained.

After the fight, Lopez (25-0, 23 KOs) essentially said he's not long for the 122-lb weight class, as he looks to move up to featherweight (126-lb) by the end of this year or beginning of 2010. And of course he helps Simply Juanderful improve to an astounding 9-0 with 7 KOs.

"The Punisher" pads the record of Simply Juanderful again

Paul Williams, of the increasingly respected Simply Juanderful stable, cruised to a unanimous decision victory last night over former World Champion Winky Wright. While Wright appeared to have his full arsenal of punches and his trademark defensive skills, Williams was simply ridiculous with his work rate. According to HBO's Compubox, Williams fired nearly 1,100 punches in the bout. Although he failed to floor Wright or to have him seriously hurt, Williams certainly showed that he can handle himself at middleweight. Wright, now 51-5-1, vowed to fight on at age 37.

The win moves Simply Juanderful to 9-0 with 7 KOs and further ahead of the rest of the fantasy boxing pack. Other fights on the horizon involving league fighters:

April 25th......Jermain Taylor (Larry Merchant's Vodka Breath) vs Carl Froch

April 25th.....Juan Manuel Lopez (Simply Juanderful) vs Gerry Penalosa

May 2nd......Manny Pacquiao (Knuckle Sandwich) vs Ricky Hatton (Hitmen)

May 9th......Chad Dawson (Children Eaters) vs Antonio Tarver

June 20th....Wladimir Klitschko (Vodka Breath) vs David Haye (Children Eaters)