Oct 22 - HBO 8:00
Prince Naseem Hamed vs. Cesar Soto
This matchup in my opinion is a lot more one sided than people think. Cesar Soto scored
the decision and the title from Luis Espinoza last May (not as
predicted). There are few fights in which I say the boy was robbed, and this was one.
Luisito clearly won that fight. Not only in my opinion, but in the opinion of the
commentators ringside and the boxing public in general. Naz has natural power in both
hands and punches from awkward angles. This bout will prove that Cesar is a paper
champion, as Prince Clownboy rushes him from weird angles and hits him like he's never
been hit before. Cesar's tough, but I predict he cannot survive the onslaught.
Hamed inside 10
Erik Morales vs. Wayne McCullough
Erik is the fighter to watch. He stay's active, he has mucho KO power and he has mucho
international experience. He owns stoppages over the likes of Junior Jones (KO in 4 Sep
98), Angel Chacon (KO in 2 Feb 99 ), Juan Carlos Ramirez (KO in 10 May 99 as predicted) and Reynante Jamili (KO in 6 Jul 99 as predicted). In sparring with Floyd Mayweather in
Floyd's preparation for the Gerena fight last Sep, it was rumored Erik was doing damage to
Floyd's body and Floyd stormed out of the gym fuming.
Wayne fought his way to the top and once held the title he's challenging for. An Olympic
silver medalist in the 92 games, he's nicknamed the Pocket Rocket because he never stops
throwing punches. Since losing his title to Daniel Zargoza in Jan 97, he has only fought 4
times and has won 3 out of 4. His only loss since then was to Naseem Hamed by decision.
Wayne has never been stopped, and I wouldn't be surprised if this will be the first time.
In Wayne's last fight this past Aug, he went 10 rounds with Lenny Martinez. An unknown who
boxed another nobody 10 days prior to a 4 round decision, then went 10 rounds with Wayne.
Hmmm. . .
When Wayne lost to Zargoza, I was the forum leader for AOL's boxing message board. His
wife and manager Cheryl did nothing but make excuses for the loss and shouted from the
rooftops how Wayne was robbed. That was NOT the case. Zargoza out hustled Wayne and beat
him to the punch. Wayne clearly lost.
Oh, after the old and over the hill Zargoza took Wayne's title, he defended it once, then
took a beating and was KO'd in the 11th round by none other than . . . Erik Morales!
I think the Pocket Rocket is gonna get his wits knocked out of socket.
Morales inside 10
Oct 23 - Showtime 8:00
Mike Tyson vs. Orlin Norris
Make no mistake about it, Orlin is a hand picked opponent for Mike. Albeit he has a fairly
impressive record (50-5 27 KO's), Orlin was chosen for his low KO to win ration and his
inactivity. Orlin fades between cruiser weight and heavy, and has only fought 8 times
since being stopped in 8 by Nate Miller back in Jul 95! He fought once in 97, twice in 98
and once this year. A perfect opponent for the Bad Boy of boxing. This will be Tyson's
first bout since his latest vacation in Maryland for smacking around a couple senior
citizens. This also marks Mikey's third comeback, and has proven he is still marketable
cashcow. He starts as the favorite, and is getting a 7.5 - 10 million dollar purse
compared to Orlins 800k. Tyson needs to look impressive to perpetuate the magic, and this
is why Orlin was chosen as the sacrificial lamb. Oh, by the way,
Tyson has stated he is focusing on Orlin, and is not looking past him. As we speak, his
promoter America Presents is in negotiations with Shannon Briggs for a Feb showdown in
Madison Square Garden.
Orlin will be stopped with prejudice.
Tyson inside 6
David Tua vs. Shane Sutcliffe
David is another explosive up and coming heavyweight. On the Vargas/Marquez undercard last
Jul he dispatched an unsuspecting Gary Bell in seconds of the first round (as predicted). He has a style and a disposition remnant
of vintage Mike Tyson, and a punching ferocity matched by few in this weight division. He
should handle Shane with ease. David's only loss was at the hands of Ike Ibeabachi, which
was NO fluke. He fought an exciting 12 rounds with Ike and got the short end of the
decision.
Shane is on a losing streak that will continue. He was stopped in the 12th round last Feb
by Trevor Berbick and was stopped in the 5th round last Sep by Brian Nielson. (On the
heels of Brian being KO'd three months prior by Dick Ryan)
Tua will do it quicker.
Tua inside 3
Zab Judah vs. ?
This matchup has been declared an exhibition and not a sanctioned fight. Why? Because on
November 20th there will be a purse bid for a bout between the IBF #1 ranked Zab and IBF
140 lb. champ Terron Millett. According to IBF rules, Zab can't fight within 60 days of a
purse bid or he will lose his mandatory status. Instead of canceling the bout, it was
changed to an exhibition. Judah will fight six rounds with headgear and big gloves
against Joaquin Gallardo and possibly Manuel Gomez. There will be a referee but no judges
and no decision. Lucky for the challenger . . .
No Prediction
In Retrospect:
My boy Vitali Ktilschko was present for the Tyson fight, with his promoter. It is
rumored that they are in negotiations with top boss at Showtime Jay Larkin to land some
kind of deal for a multi-fight contract. I would like to see that happen! As you noticed,
I didn't do a prediction for the Garcia/Corrales fight. I sensed an upset in the making,
but am steering clear of the (in my opinion) pick'em fights until my percentages look
better. This week-ends bout brought me back up to %80 though. . .
Prince Naseem Hamed vs. Cesar Soto
Somewhat as expected. I figured Soto wouldn't last, but I expected Naz to bring a lot more
to the table than he did. He was caught all night with Soto's left hook, he fought dirty,
and he didn't demonstrate to me championship caliber boxing one would expect from such a
heralded pugilist. Sure, he proved he can take a punch by repeatedly having his head flip
topped, but he didn't box. He constantly looked for the 1 shot. He wasn't throwing well
executed combination, was always off balance, (even more so than normal) not showing
effective aggression, and gave up too many rounds. Naz's proved nothing last night. Well,
he proved his grappling ability and his worthiness as a wrestler =) He may have trouble
against top flight opposition with good hand speed. We'll have to see where he goes next.
. .
Erik Morales vs. Wayne McCullough
Somewhat as expected. This was the best fight of the week-end. This was an all out WAR!
Wayne showed me he had more than I expected. I have to tip my hat to the boy, because even
in the face of defeat, he never gave up. Erik did text book boxing that won rounds, and
eventually the fight. Wayne proved to be a hard target to find, and limited the amount of
bombs Erik was able to land. This fight in my opinion will be up for fight of the year.
Wayne looked good in defeat (which will benefit his marketability for bigger fights down
the line) and Erik looked better in victory. The 10th round was the only round in which
Wayne looked as though he hurt Erik. In the closing seconds, he had Erik against the ropes
and was landing shots and had the champion stepping in post holes towards his corner. But,
in the 11th, Erik came out blazing and landed a big right early, keeping Wayne off balance
for the rest of the round. In the 12th, both men showed there hearts and ended the fight
with three minutes of toe to toe non stop combination exchanges. What a fight!
Kudos' to both men for saving an otherwise lousy week-end of boxing!
Mike Tyson vs. Orlin Norris
Not as expected. That is, I didn't expect Orlin to quit on his stool. Make no mistake
about it . . . That's what he did! Sure Mike hit him after the bell. Yeah, he did fall
kinda weird on his leg, but watch the tape. He gets up and walks to his corner. No limp,
no complaints about his knee, nothing. He even paces around his corner at first to shake
off the effects of that left hook. No limping or hobbling. Orlin quit on his stool because
he took a big bite out of that reality sandwich and didn't like what he tasted. What he
tasted was a short hook inside and it had his legs give up from under him. Orlin was
hurt BAD! And from a short inside arm
punch!
The biggest loser perhaps out of this whole deal is Shannon Briggs, who was looking at a
big money fight with Mikey this coming Feb. When all is said and done, and Orlin decides
to sprout a pair and get in the ring again with Mike, all doubt will be removed.
David Tua vs. Shane Sutcliffe
As expected. Shane had no business in the ring with the much faster and ranked Tua. David
made no bones about and and said "Bombs Away!" from the first bell. The #1
ranked IBF heavy Tua had no problems at all, and stopped Shane in the second round. Watch
David, he has a promising career. He needs to fight more ranked opposition to be more
attractive for big money fights.
