July 9 - ESPN2 6:00
Zab Judah vs. David Sample
Watch this kid Zab. He's a hot up and coming prospect fighting out of the Duva stable who
is a thunderous southpaw on his way to the top. This jr welter was a 1996 Olympic
alternate, and as a pro has blazed a path of 20-0 with 15 stoppages and a #4 rating by the
IBF. I first saw him fight Darryl Tyson last Oct., and was impressed with his 11th round
stoppage of the much experienced Tyson. Last Jan he stopped the much heralded KO artist
Wifredo Negron in 4. He fights a veteran in David Sample.
Sample is your run of the mill club fighter. Once back in 93 he lost in his only title bid
for the WBC LW title against Miguel Angel Gonzales, and hasn't done much of anything since
then. David's only advantage is he's a lefty too. Other than that, he will more than
likely be another KO victim of the rising star.
Judah inside 4
Kip Diggs vs. Jose Rivera
Remember Kip? He was an up and coming welter that was a regular on USA's TNF, up until his
first loss to Tony Martin via 10th rd KO in Apr of 96. He had a string of KO's
through 96, and was fired up for the rematch against Martin. He fought him again and lost
the decision in Jan 97. In his next fight in Mar, Darell Coley stopped him in 12, then
that was the end of Diggs. Jose is in the same place Kip was back in 96. Only difference
is he's ranked by the WBC, he's younger than Kip and he's NEVER been stopped. Kip has a
tendency to lose motivation in the later rounds. Expect Kip to be true to form, and the
younger Jose to capitalize on it.
Rivera inside 6
July 10 (TELEMUNDO)
Hector Camacho Jr. vs. Miguel Angel Ruiz
Hector is another exciting boxer to watch. He kinda reminds me of his father of past. Last
May he had a quick 1st round stoppage of Roberto Nunez, and put on a well fought 10 round
boxing clinic on Fed Curiel's face this past Oct. Miguel hasn't had much notoriety or
memorable matches to speak of. None I can recall. This bout is for a regional world title.
Expect the fired up Macho Man Jr. to shine in an inside the distance win.
Camacho inside 6
July 10 not televised as of
yet
Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Marty Jakobowski
What's the deal with Julio? I guess either the Mexican IRS is STILL on his ass for back
taxes, or they took everything he has and the brother has to fight to feed his dozen or so
kids. Pernell Whitaker was the first to expose the chink in Mexico's favorite son's armor
back in 93, and Oscar proved twice that Julio can be stopped. Has Julio even fought since
last Oct when Oscar left the questionable champ in a mask of blood?
Marty is what I classify as a utility boxer. Hell, anyone with over 90 bouts in my opinion
is a utility boxer. But who's kidding who?
Actually, this is a retread bout for Julio. Julio stopped Marty in 6 rounds in Dec of
1992. So what's this going to prove? You got me. What I would like to see is Marty land
Julio in Punch Drunk City, but unfortunately that won't happen.
Chavez inside 8
In Retrospect:
Zab Judah vs. David Sample
As predicted. Well, almost. I expected Sample to hang a little longer, but Zab
overwhelned him quick. The fight was stopped at 2:27 of the first round after Zab knocked
Sample down 4 times! Believe it or not, this was the first time Sample had EVER been
knocked down in a fight.
I told you to watch Zab. There are those who think this kid is a flash in the pan, but I
beg to differ. When the opposition has increased, so has Zab's will and determination. In
a sense, the kid is still untested. He should continue on the course he is heading on now,
and continue to fight progressively harder opposition. I would hate to see Duva try to
move this kid along to quick, but this fight now puts him in line for a title shot against
IBF Jr Welter champ Terron Millet (provided Millet gets past Virgil McClendon this
coming 24 July). Terron won the title last Feb against Vince Phillips (a prediction I LOST
on). I'll keep an eye on him.
Kip Diggs vs. Jose Rivera
As predicted. I told you Kip was done. Jose took the fight to the Kipster, and pressed the
attack. The cut over Kips left eye in the 4th round was the beginning to the end for
Diggs. Although the cut was the result of an accidental head butt, the power shots landed
by Rivera were enough to convince the ref to stop the bout. Most sanctions go to the score
cards after the 4th in the event of an accidental head butt, and this added confusion at
the end of the bout, but was ruled a TKO in Rivera's favor. Although Rivera was also cut
in the 3rd round by an accidental head butt, he controlled the action with those heavy
body shots and uppercuts.
What made it worse was poor Kip got busted up in his own backyard.
Hector Camacho Jr. vs. Miguel Angel Ruiz
As predicted. Hector continues to shine and perform. The bout continued longer
than I expected, but in the end, the accumulation of damage had Ruiz fold. I expected it
to happen before the 9th round, but the KO came later than predicted. Hector is now 22 -
0, we'll see where he goes from here.
Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Marty Jakobowski
As predicted. Julio did pretty good, and now has aspirations of another title
bout. I believe Mexico's favorite son is campaigning to bring another title south of the
border. this particular match was at welter, but it has been reported that Julio will be
dropping down to jr Welter (140) and square of against the winner of WBC Jr Welter match
against Kostya Tszya and Miguel Angel Gonzales. coming Aug 21st. In that case, expect
Julio to fight Miguel. Well, that'll be my pick for that bout. I made that prediction when
the fight was to originaly to occur last May (See Past
Predictions May 15)
