Hopkins-Pascal a draw; Standings; Year End Awards

45-year-old Bernard Hopkins (of Brewed Stew) used the final 9 rounds of his fight with Jean Pascal (of The Girl's Team) to teach the young Canadian a boxing lesson. Pascal's speed was the deciding factor early in the fight, as he floored Hopkins twice with quick shots. But Hopkins responded well in round 4 and proceeded to outwork the champion down the stretch. In the end, the judges scored 114-112 Hopkins, 113-113 and 114-114, a majority draw. Pascal keeps his title and Hopkins has added another impressive performance to his career resume. The decision means that both Bryn and Joel M collect 0 pts for the fight.

Also, Tavoris Cloud (of BWhit's squad) won a decision against Fulgencio Zuniga, defending his IBF Light Heavyweight Title. BWhit collects 1 pt with the win.

STANDINGS

1st........Tyson's Punchout 4-0, 3 KOs, 1.63 avg

2nd......Loaded Gloves 3-0, 2 KOs, 1.83 avg

3rd.......Brewed Stew 3-0-1, 0 KO, 1.25 avg

4th.......The Girl's Team 2-0-1, 2 KO, 2.00 avg

5th.......Raging Bulls 2-0, 1 KO, 1.75 avg

6th.......Head Hunters 2-0-1, 1 KO, 1.17 avg

7th.......Sweet Scientist 2-1, 1 KO, 1.00 avg

8th.......Yo Gabba Gabba 2-2, 0 KO, -0.25 avg

9th.......Money Marenghi 0-1, 0 KO, -2.00 avg

YEAR-END AWARDS:

Fighter of the Year: Sergio Martinez.........all Martinez did this year was win the middleweight title in a solid unanimous decision over Kelly Pavlik and then defend his title against 39-1 Paul Williams, winning by 2nd round KO. Martinez is completely legit - a great boxer, well-conditioned and even possessing a knockout punch.

*Runner-up: Manny Pacquiao

Fight of the Year: Mikkel Kessler W12 Carl Froch.........the great thing about this fight is that it was fought at a fast pace, with lots of landed punches from both fighters. It was also for the Super Middleweight Title, with domination of the Super Six Tournament at stake. I actually think Froch won the fight, but Kessler got the close decision in front of his hometown crowd in Denmark. Both of these guys, top champions still in their prime, gave their best and fought a brave battle.

*Runner-up: Juan Manuel Marquez KO9 Michael Katsidis

Worst Fight of the Year: Paul Williams W4 Kermit Cintron.........what should've been a nice junior middleweight showdown turned into a farce when a supposedly off-balance Cintron jumped through the ropes and claimed to bang his head. The fight was stopped, before either fighter had shown us anything good.

*Runner-up: Bernard Hopkins W12 Roy Jones II

Fading Into the Sunset: Israel Vazquez..........it's time to let those eyes not get hit anymore. His 4th fight with Marquez turned into a bloodfest within 3 rounds, depriving us of another life-and-death battle between the 2 warriors.

*Runner-up: Shane Mosley

Rising Star in the Game: Yuriorkis Gamboa..........Cuban defector is the real thing, throws punches in lightning-fast combination and has some power, as evidenced by his 2nd round KO of Rogers Mtagwa.

*Runner-up: Saul Alvarez

HERE'S HOPING FOR A GREAT 2011 IN BOXING (I want me some Mayweather-Pacquiao)

It's the last wonderful fight, of the year

A real nice fight, Jean Pascal (26-1, 16 KOs) vs Bernard Hopkins (51-5-1, 32 KOs) for the Light Heavyweight Championship of the world. More importantly it's a league-involved fight, with Bryn backing Pascal and Mesiti backing Hopkins. Let's look at their strengths:

For Pascal - he's a strong and well-conditioned light heavyweight. He defeated Chad Dawson in August by maintaining distance in the ring and moving in and out with hard body shots and quick combinations. His chin seems decent, although I thought Dawson had him hurt at least once. Pascal does seem like a smart fighter and defended himself well against Dawson. His only loss was a decision to Carl Froch, a top super middleweight.

For Hopkins - obviously his experience and toughness will serve him well, and have for 20 years. Hopkins has only average power, so a knockout would be a real shock. He's looked good in many recent fights, but not against Roy Jones Jr. when his timing just seemed to be off. Hopkins has taken punches from Antonio Tarver, Joe Calzaghe and Kelly Pavlik at light heavyweight, so there's not much danger of him being KO'd.

Prediction: W 12 Pascal. I think that Pascal's flashy combinations and greater energy will win him a decision. Pascal is fighting in front of a home crowd and will undoubtedly understand that he has to be active in order to win the fight. Hopkins' only chance, I believe, is if the fight is a real stinker, with lots of holding and shoving, and not many landed punches. While the coolest outcome might be a one-punch knockout for Hopkins, rest assured it is the least likely. I expect a win for The Girl's Team and loss for Brewed Stew.

Also, Odlanier Solis from Joel B's team, fights Ray Austin tonight. Come on Solis, get a KO!!!

Amir Khan, Fernando Montiel win; Darchinyan loses

Joel M's Brewed Stew (3-0) picked up a win with Amir Khan's close Unanimous Decision victory over Marcos Maidana. Khan showed enough early dominance to win on the cards, although he was hurt badly at times over the final 3 rounds. Khan earns 2 points with the win.

Jon's Team Tyson's Punchout moved to 4-0 with Fernando Montiel's 2nd Round KO over Jovanny Soto. Montiel earns 1.5 pts with the win.

BWhit's hard luck Yo Gabba Gabba squad picked up their 2nd loss as Vic Darchinyan dropped a split-decision to undefeated Abner Mares. BWhit's team is 1-2. Vic gets -1 pt.

1st.....Jon (4-0)

2nd....JoelM (3-0)

3rd.....Bryn (2-0)

4th.....JoelB (2-0)

5th......BrianT (2-0)

6th......Jay (2-0-1)

7th.....Mark (2-1)

8th.....BWhit (1-2)

9th.....Andrew (0-1)

Year End Awards coming soon. One big fight left, next Saturday....Bernard Hopkins vs Jean Pascal for the Light Heavyweight Title!

Brief Update; Waiver Reminder

Jay's Tomasz Adamek scored a 5th round KO over scrub Vinny Maddalone last night. Jay's record moves to 2-0-1 with 1 KO, earning 1.5 pts with the win.

Wladimir Klitschko, of Bryn's team, decided to pull out of his Dec. 11 fight with Dereck Chisora. Rumor is an abdominal tear, but I suspect that ticket sales were low.

BWhit picked Evander Holyfield from waivers, dropping Arthur Abraham. Joel B picked Odlanier Solis from waivers, dropping Sergei Dzinziruk. A reminder that 3 waiver moves can be made during the year/season.

Top Fighters on Waivers:

-Alexander Povetkin, undefeated heavyweight

-Marco Huck, cruiserweight champion

-Zsolt Erdei, undefeated light heavyweight

-Glen Johnson, super middleweight

-Arthur Abraham, super middleweight

-Dmitriy Pirog, undefeated middleweight

-Felix Sturm, middleweight champ

-Daniel Jacobs, middleweight

-Sergei Dzinziruk, undefeated jr middleweight

-Saul Alvarez, undefeated jr middleweight

-Humberto Soto, lightweight champ

-Yonnhy Perez, bantamweight

-Abner Mares, bantamweight

Also, recommended boxing sites: www.boxrec.com AND www.fightnews.com

Mark gets 2 wins; Standings Update

Chris John, 44-0-2, continued one of the longest winning streaks in boxing history by defeating Fernando Saucedo over 12 rounds. John has been a mainstay of Mark's fantasy boxing teams for 3 years, and earns 1 point with the win.

Nonito Donaire, also of Mark's Sweet Scientist team, scored an impressive 4th round KO over Wladimir Sidorenko. Donaire moves to 25-1 with 17 KOs.

STANDINGS

1st......Team Tyson's Punchout 3-0, 2 KOs, 1.67 avg

2nd....The Girl's Team..............2-0, 2 KOs, 3.00 avg

3rd.....Loaded Gloves..............2-0, 2 KOs, 2.25 avg

4th.....Raging Bulls..................2-0, 1 KO, 1.75 avg

5th......Brewed Stew.................2-0, 0 KO, 1.50 avg

6th.....Head Hunters..............1-0-1, 0 KO, 1.00 avg

7th......Sweet Scientist............2-1, 1 KO, 1.00 avg

8th......Yo Gabba Gabba.........1-1, 0 KO, -0.50 avg

9th......Money Marenghi........0-1, 0 KO, -2.00 avg