Aug 18 - ESPN2 10:00 pm
Ben Tackie vs. Freddie Pendelton
It's nice to see that ESPN's Friday night fights finally has some boxing worth
watching. Ben really surprised me in his last bout against former word champion Roberto
Garcia. I expected the coming back Roberto to have an easy night against the formerly
unknown Ben. He did too. For the first 6 rounds. Roberto was landing combo after combo,
until Ben opened up in the 7th. He ended up stopping the former champ in the 7th round.
Ben proved his patience, punching ability and his granite chin.
Once again, he steps in against a former world champion in Freddie.
Freddie is the former light weight champion. In his last outing, he surprised most with
his stellar performance against James Page. Albeit James ended up stopping Freddie, up to
that point Freddie was giving James a run for his money.
I expect to see Ben start slow. Freddie will open fast with combinations, and Ben will try
to establish his jab. There will be many exchanges in this fight, and by mid rounds, the
pace will start to wear on the 37 year old Freddie. Ben will score another convincing KO
in the later rounds.
Tackie inside 8
Aug 19 - HBO 6:30 pm
Antonio Diaz vs. Mickey Ward
(IBA/WBU jr. Welterweight championship)
Antonio is another Goosen prodigy. He has been in the ring with some of the top
pugilists in his division and has stopped some icons. In the last Year he has KO'd Terrell
Finger, Jose Rodriguez James Crayton, Ivan Robinson and most recently, Omar Weis. His only
losses were 4 and 6 round decisions early in his career. Antonio brings a lot to the table
conditioning wise and can stop you in the 1st or 12th round.
Mickey is cut from the same cloth as Antonio. Mickey also is a durable, well schooled
skilled pugilist. He took current IBF 140 king Zab Judah the distance in Jun 98 to lose
the nod, but last Oct he stopped heralded Reggie Green in the 10th. Another testimony to
Mickey's punching ability was his recent 8th round stoppage of Shea Neary this past Mar to
win the WBU Light Welterweight Championship.
Both have determination and conditioning, the question is chin and heart. As mentioned,
Antonio's only losses were decisions early in his career. When faced with heavy handed
opposition, Mickey has been stopped. Vince Phillips proved this by stopping Mickey in the
3rd round in Aug 97.
This will be a slugfest from open to close, however long that may be. You can probably
hold this bout in a phone booth. I expect many heated exchanges, and in the mid rounds,
Antonio's investment in the body attack will pay dividends. Antonio will capitalize and
close inside 10 frames.
Diaz inside 10
Naseem Hamed vs. Augie Sanchez
(For Naz's WBO featherweight championship)
Prince Clownboy is nearly always an entertaining boxer to watch. He punches from
the weirdest angles, and has uncanny power. He proved it in his 4 round destruction of
Vuyani Bungu this past Mar, and his 4 round destruction of former world champion Kevin
Kelley in Dec 97 and his 7 round stoppage of Wilfredo Vasquez in Apr 98. With a record of
34-0, 30 KO's, it's obvious the boy has power. How will he fare against the up and coming
"Kid Las Vegas"?
Auggie is an up and coming banger in his own right. He stopped Jorge Paez in 7 in May 99 (as predicted), and most recently stopped Jorge Paredes in 6
this past Apr (as predicted). This is Auggie's biggest
fight yet, and I suspect he will make a good run. He has the firepower and movement to
keep Naz off balance, but does he have the chin and the heart? Expect Auggie to open fast
and establish the pace. Auggie will utilize lateral movement to keep Naz off balance, and
preventing Naz to sit down on his punches. Cesar Soto proved that a good jab and lateral
movement can confound the Prince, as Cesar flip topped Naz's head all night.
Expect a smart fight from Auggie from first to final bell.
Sanchez by Decision
In Retrospect:
Ben Tackie vs. Freddie Pendelton
Almost as expected. After giving champion James Page a run for his money, I expected
Freddie to do more rounds. I certainly didn't expect Freddie to get wacked out by Ben at
2:29 of round 1! Ben in an earlier interview commented how he felt he started too slow in
both the Golden Johnson and Roberto Garcia fights. Well, Benny my boy, this definitely
makes up for those slow starts! It took James Page 11 rounds to stop Freddie. It took Ben
1. Actually, 30 seconds! Hmmm. Well, we must be fair. Ben is fighting at 135 pounds, and
James is the WBA 147 pound champ. So, that being said, Freddie fought James at 147, then
came down 12 pounds to fight Ben. He could of very well been weak from the weight loss.
None the less, a stellar performance by Ben. Last nights performance also lends credence
to Ben's ability as a puncher. He has on more than one occasion proved his granite chin.
I'll keep an eye on this rising star. I predict Ben will be fighting for a world title by
mid to late 2001.
Antonio Diaz vs. Mickey Ward
Mostly as expected. Antonio fought a smart fight, but Mickey proved to be a more than
tough and willing challenger. As I expected, from the opening rounds, Antonio was punching
well to the body, at times rolling left and right hooks to Mickey's rib cage. Antonio had
Mickey hurt on a couple occasions, and through out the match punched in combinations,
using the jab to set up the right hand. Surprisingly, Antonio did a masterful job fighting
inside. His game plan was to fight Mickey from the outside, and keep him on the outside of
his punches. Being the smart fighter that Mickey is, he dictated the pace and tempo of the
fight, but was getting beat to the punch in nearly every exchange. I expected this to be
an action packed fight, fought at close range, and it was. I also expected Antonio to
close inside of 10 frames, but he didn't. None the less, a great entertaining fight worth
the watch.
Naseem Hamed vs. Augie Sanchez
Not as expected. Auggie totally fell out of his game plan, and fell under the Prince's
spell. Auggie opened smart, staying outside, and working the body first. He was fighting a
smart for the first 2 rounds, then decided to go toe to toe and trade hooks with the
Prince. Bad idea. Don't get me wrong, I am not a Naz detractor. Actually, if you have read
any of my predictions about Naz, you would conclude that I am a Naz fan. I have no doubts
about the Prince's ability or power. What I wasn't sure about was Naz's dedication to
training and his conditioning. I fully expected Augie to drop bombs on Naz's body early,
slowing down the Prince, then boxing to a decision. I know I was way out on a limb going
with Auggie on this one, but I seriously expected Auggie to stick to the plan, stay on the
outside and work the body. Well, he didn't and ended up leaving on stretcher!! The Prince
did prove to all he has a great chin. He took simultaneous huge right hand from Auggie
that had his head almost upside down, and continued forward with his attack. As I have
mentioned before, the Prince fights like no other, throwing punches from odd angles, all
with power - in either hand. He demonstrated this by stopping Auggie with a 3 punch
combination, leading and ending with his right hand. Not bad considering Naz is a
southpaw!
There are now no doubts about Naz's training, nor his conditioning. There were never any
doubts about his power. What he needs to do now is unify the belts.
That I would like to see.
