A GREAT weekend for boxing; Jay gets 2 close wins

My early pick for Fight of the Year has to be this weekend's 12-round battle between WBC Super Middleweight Champion Carl Froch (26-0) and Former Champion Mikkel Kessler (42-2). Fighting in Kessler's home country of Denmark, these 2 established Super Middleweight stars traded heavy leather, showing tremendous skill, heart and conditioning. Kessler impressed the fans with his aggression, which turned the fight into a relentless slugfest over the fight's final 3 rounds. Froch, however, seemed to score the more damaging blows, rocking Kessler on a few occasions and opening a huge cut over his left eye. I scored it 116-115 for Froch, as did Al Bernstein of Showtime Sports. However, the official judges scored it 115-113, 117-111 and 116-112 for Kessler, who moves to 43-2, capturing Froch's Title. The real winners of this fight were the fans who watched it. Jay grabs Option A: 1, Option B: 2 and Option C: 16 with the win.

Following Showtime's successful bout, HBO staged an intriguing heavyweight fight between Chris Arreola (28-1) and Tomasz Adamek (40-1). Conventional wisdom said that this would be a clear case of strength vs. skill, and it was. Adamek started strong, landing good combinations on the bullrushing Arreola. Arreola got through in the middle rounds, rocking Adamek and putting him in almost constant retreat. As the fight wore down, though, it was Arreola's face that was bloody and swollen, as Adamek stuck to his game plan and outboxed the 250-pound slugger. In the end, it was Adamek by Majority Decision. Jay picks up his second win of the night, improving his record to 7-2 with 2 KOs.

STANDINGS:

1st....Mark (7-0, 3KO) Next fight: Ivan Calderon (Jun 12)

2nd...JoelB (13-1, 8KO) Next fight: Vitali Klitschko (May 29)

3rd...Andrew (4-1-1, 3KO) Next fight: Hozumi Hasegawa (Apr 30)

4th...JoelM (7-2, 3KO) Next fight: Andre Ward (Jun 19)

5th....Jay (7-2, 2KO) Next fight: Shane Mosley (May 1)

6th....BWhit (6-3, 2KO) Next fight: Paul Williams (May 8)

Sergio Martinez beats Pavlik for Middleweight Crown

Faster beat Stronger. Sergio Martinez (45-2-2), a fantasy league free agent, used fast combinations and movement around the ring to win a 12-round Unanimous Decision over Kelly Pavlik (36-2). Unfortunately, this means a loss for Andrew's Sweet Chin Music, whose record drops to 4-1-1. The judges cards read 115-111, 116-111 and 115-112 for Martinez. Pavlik did score a flash knockdown in round 7. A bloody Pavlik said he'd like a rematch after the fight.

In the undercard bout, Lucian Bute scored a one-punch knockout of Edison Miranda in round 3. A competitive fight came to a quick halt when Bute unleashed a left uppercut that landed flush on Miranda's chin, sending him to the canvas face-first. Bute moves to 26-0 and Joel B's Ready to Rumble picks up Option A: 2, Option B: 3 and Option C: 18 with the win.

2 Fight Predictions

HBO offers a solid doubleheader tonight, headlined by Kelly Pavlik (of Andrew's Sweet Chin Music) defending his WBC and WBO Middleweight Championship against Sergio Martinez. Pavlik's status in boxing has declined over the past 2 years due to the combination of a loss to Bernard Hopkins, uninspiring wins over poor-quality opponents and a staph infection. Tonight both Pavlik and Martinez have the opportunity to grab a top 10 pound-for-pound ranking. Martinez was extremely close to upsetting Paul Williams last December and appears prepared and motivated for a run at the middleweight crown. The crafty southpaw will have to be at his best for 12 rounds to achieve this lofty goal. Pavlik must achieve what he has in the past: a high work-rate, damaging right hands and good-enough boxing in the middle of the ring.

My prediction: W 12 Martinez. I just think that Pavlik, at the end of the day, is not a skilled defensive fighter. Martinez is going to be scoring with sharp shots and I think this will discourage Pavlik from getting inside too often. Pavlik is tough, and I think his toughness will take him the full 12 rounds, but I don't think his boxing skills will be enough to outduel Martinez. Sweet Chin Music should prepare for a loss.

UNDERCARD BOUT: Lucian Bute (of JoelB's Ready to Rumble) vs Edison Miranda

Bute is the undefeated IBF Super Middleweight Champion, while Miranda can be best described as a former rising star. Miranda has suffered big losses to Arthur Abraham, Kelly Pavlik and Andre Ward and really hasn't earned another title shot. His big mouth keeps him on the radar screen, b/c he's made a name for himself. I see Bute's superior skills making the fight very one-sided. Bute was able to KO the tough Librado Andrade in his last bout, and I feel that he can do the same with Miranda.

My Prediction: KO 8 Bute

Holyfield wins a scrubfight; BWhit and Mark collect wins

Awww yeah, Evander Holyfield TKO's Francois Botha in the 8th round. A decent fight to have happened in about 1995, but instead we're 15 years later. Holyfield, at 43-10-2, remains a potential sacrificial lamb for one of the champions to slaughter.

BWhit got back on track as Andre Berto TKO'd Carlos Quintana in the 8th round. The exciting Berto moves to 26-0 and BWhit improves to 6-3. Berto earns Option A: 2, Option B: 3 and Option C: 17 with the win.

Mark's Sweet Scientist moved to 7-0 and back into 1st place with Celestino Caballero's Unanimous Decision win over Daud Yordan. Caballero earns Option A: 1, Option B: 2 and Option C: 16 with the win.

1st....Mark (7-0)

2nd...JoelB (12-1)

3rd...Andrew (4-0-1)

4th...JoelM (7-2)

5th....Jay (5-2)

6th...BWhit (6-3)

FULL STANDINGS

BOXING LEAGUE TEAMS	Aug 22, 2009	Aug 22, 2010
Sweet Chin Music
Manager: Andrew Marenghi	2 waivers
Current Record: 4-0-1, 3 Ko
	AVGs	1.4	1.4	14.6
Fighters:	UPCOMING	Option A	Option B	Option C
Wladimir Klitschko(1-0)		2	3	18
Floyd Mayweather (1-0)	Mosley	1	2	17
Miguel Cotto: CLAIMED	Y.Foreman
Kelly Pavlik: CLAIMED	S.Martinez
Hozumi Hasegawa(1-0)	Montiel	2	1.5	18
	TOTALS:	7	7	73
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Hurricane CandleBox
Manager: Joel Mesiti	1 waiver
Current Record: 7-2-0, 3 Kos
	AVGS	0.67	0.72	13.2
Fighters:	UPCOMING	Option A	Option B	Option C
Manny Pacquiao(2-0)		3	5	35
Daniel Jacobs(2-0)		3	2	33
Bernard Hopkins(1-0)CLAIMED		1	1	15
Juan Manuel Marquez(0-1)		-1	-2	2
Andre Ward(2-0)	agreen	3	3.5	33
-------------------------------------------------------		6	6.5	119
Sweet Scientist
Manager: Mark Enns	0 waivers
Current Record: 6-0-0, 3 Ko
	AVGs	1.5	1.58	16.0
Fighters:	UPCOMING	Option A	Option B	Option C
Ivan Calderon(1-0)		1	1	14
Nonito Donaire(1-0)		2	1.5	17
Chris John(1-0)		1	2	15
Vic Darchinyan(2-0)		3	3.5	33
Celestino Caballero(1-0)	Yordan	2	1.5	17
	TOTALS:	9	9.5	96
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Head Hunters
Manager: Jason Brunner	3 waivers
Current Record: 5-2-0, 2 KO
	AVGs	0.57	0.29	12.1
Fighters:	UPCOMING	Option A	Option B	Option C
Mikkel Kessler: CLAIMED	froch
Shane Mosley: CLAIMED	floyd
Rafael Marquez	vazquez
Tomasz Adamek(2-0)	arreola	3	2	34
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr(2-0)		3	2	31
	TOTALS:	4	2	85
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Death is Forming
Manager: Brian Whitmore	1 waiver
Current Record: 5-3-0, 1 Ko
	AVGs	0.25	0.63	11.0
Fighters:	UPCOMING	Option A	Option B	Option C
Arthur Abraham(1-1)		1	2	21
Paul Williams(1-0)	Cintron	1	1	15
Chad Dawson(1-0)	Pascal	1	2	16
Timothy Bradley(1-0)		1	2	16
Antonio DeMarco(0-1): CLAIMED		-2	-2	3
	TOTALS:	2	5	88
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Ready to Rumble	3 waivers
Manager: Joel Brunner
Current Record: 12-1-0, 7 Ko
	AVGs	1.31	1.35	16.07
Fighters:	UPCOMING	Option A	Option B	Option C
Juan Manuel Lopez(2-0)		3	3.5	34
Vitali Klitschko(2-0)	sosnowski	3	4	32
Yuriorkis Gamboa(3-0)		5	5	52
Lucian Bute: CLAIMED	Miranda
Humberto Soto(3-0)		4	3.5	50
	TOTALS:	17	17.5	209