Aug 12 - Showtime 10:00
pm
Evander Holyfield vs. John Ruiz
(For Vacant WBA Heavyweight Championship)
This should prove to be a pivotal fight in both men's careers. John has earned
the #1 ranking by the WBA without fighting a top flight opponent. Holyfield, on the heels
of the Lewis loss is ranked #2. Does Evander have enough left in his 37 year old body to
win? Does John have the skill to pull the big upset off? Currently, John is a 4 to 1
underdog in this fight. Nobody in the world thinks John has a chance against Evander.
Everyone believes even an old washed up Evander could walk through a game John.
Except me.
John is a very clean boxer. He has decent power, great balance and utilizes his jab well.
John's only loss was a 19 second stoppage to the BEST HW currently out there David Tua.
John has impressed in his last couple starts, and I suspect he has prepared considerably
for the task at hand.
Evander's strength against Mike Tyson was his preparation. He studied all of Mike's past
fights (especially the Douglas fight) and poked holes in his defense, and fought Mike
accordingly to beat him. Evander has admitted that he has not watched any tape of John,
and will just go with the flow. This is to John's advantage. Evander is coming in at 221,
his heaviest weight. Hmmm. What gets me is John is ranked #1, Evander is ranked #2 yet
John earns 1.1 million and Evander scores 5 million. What's up with that?
I typically do my boxing predictions with 3 things in mind - Skill, past performance and
level of competition. Keeping those fundamentals in mind, I'm on the opposite end of the
spectrum, because in 2 out of those 3 categories, Evander wins hands down. Evander has
faced the best heavies in the world, and he is a master technician, but he hasn't been the
most consistent boxer. He looked old against Lewis, and was lethargic in his tuned up for
Lewis 1 against unheralded Vaghn Bean. Hell, look at his first and third fights against
Riddick Bowe. He couldn't even take out a blown up Bobby Czyz (who quit in the 5th),
albeit that was just a matter of time. Now I admit that John is no Riddick Bowe, but he
could eat Vaghn Bean and Bobby Czyz for breakfast. All this being said, this is how I see
it.
John will be tentative at first, but will establish the jab early and keep Evander at bay.
Evander will try to mount attacks throughout, and will desperately be trying to land the 1
big punch, but John will move and counter, punching in combinations. Evander will have
trouble with Johns movement and foot speed. John will out box and out move Evander all
night to the final bell. I don't see any compubox records for punches thrown in this
fight, but I do believe John will close with his hand extended.
Ruiz by Decision
Aug 12 - At The
Wembley Grand Hall, London, England
Joe Calzaghe vs. Omar Sheika
(For Joe's WBO super middleweight championship)
Finally, Joe is fighting a real contender. In Joe's last bought with David
Starie, which was America's first glimpse of this budding superstar, he looked like crap
although it turned out as predicted. It was uncovered
during the course of the bout that Joe and David were friends, and they fought
accordingly. I was extremely disappointed. At least this time around, Joe fights a true
contender, although this bout will not be televised in the states. Joe captured the WBO
super mw crown via a unanimous decision to Chris Eubanks in Oct 97. He has defended the
title 5 times, going the distance in his last 3 defenses. He hasn't registered a KO since
his second defense in Apr 98. Joe has been touted as this big puncher, but hasn't
performed as such.
You can bet Omar will perform. Omar was impressive in his 2 round destruction of Demetrius
Jenkins in May 99 (as predicted), his 8 round
dismantling of former champion Kevin Pompey in Aug 99 (as
predicted) and in his last bout, a hard fought decision to veteran Glencoffe Johnson (as predicted) this past June. Omar is a tough and ready
banger who in my opinion will hand Joe his first defeat. Omar's only loss was an eight
round decision to 33-49-7 journeyman Tony Booth, a fight he admits he underestimated and
wasn't in top form for. Omar has to be impressive, fighting David in his backyard. I
anticipate just that.
I expect to see David dominating the first minutes of the fight, but Omar to come on in
the mid rounds. Once David tastes Omar's power, he will be on his bicycle. From the mid to
late rounds, it will be obviously one side in favor of the challenger. Considering the
fact this bout is in England, Omar is going to have to win VERY convincingly, but no
matter what, when they total the score cards, on paper it will seem closer.
In David's back yard, they will be crowning a new WBO champion . . .
Sheika by Decision
In Retrospect:
On the heels of a most extraordinary last week-end, I miss on all cards!
Evander Holyfield vs. John Ruiz
Not at ALL as expected. Utilizing the jab, John Ruiz boxed his way to an obvious victory.
I saw the fight as 8 rounds to 3, 1 even for Ruiz. The ringside commentators and the fans
on-line saw a clear Ruiz victory, but the judges gave the fight to Evander. What's up with
that. The official scores were 116-112, 114-113 and 114-113 for the new WBA heavyweight
champ. Evander was fighting dirty the entire 12 rounds, wrestled John to the canvas
on a couple occasions, and was using elbows and forearms inside, one of which may of
resulted in the breaking John's nose.
Last night was a travesty of justice, but anything can be expected in the Don King three
ring circus. This almost looks like a setup for a Tyson rubber match mega fight.
Needless to say, last night was John Ruiz 's coming out party. Anyone who doubted the
quiet man should now have a new respect for his boxing ability and his validity as a
championship contender.
Joe Calzaghe vs. Omar Sheika
Not As expected. Joe showed championship ability and shear power in his
combinations. He cut Omar over both eyes early, and was continuing to land big
combinations on Omar's crimson mask. By the 4th round, the ref said Omar could have 1 more
round. Omar came out swinging wildly and had Joe backed up. Then Joe turned up his jab,
then landed major bombs on Omar. The ref was prompted to stop the fight. Omar demonstrated
guts and grit last night. Hurt, he continued the attack, and never went down. Joe finally
proved his punching ability against a credible opponent. I'm a Calzaghe believer now!
Still, I keep seeing Joe holding David Starie in the clinches and giggling. I'll keep an
eye on this southpaw bomber!
