Apr 29 - TVKO PPV 6:00
pm
Lennox Lewis vs. Michael Grant
This should prove to be an interesting matchup. Both men are huge, both men have
questionable chins and both have KO power. Michael impressed me most in his decision (and
almost stoppage) of Lou Savarese this past June. I was less than impressed with his win to
Andrew Golota. Andrew was beating Michael, and dropped him big time in the first round.
Michael survived and was losing the fight, but in the 10th he dropped Andrew and Andrew
quit. Now he goes in with the undisputed champion of the world, Lennox. I have always been
somewhat of a Lennox detractor. Every since Oliver McCall stopped Lennox I was leery of
him - until the Holyfield fights. Albeit Lennox was tentative, and rarely committed to any
of his power shots, he won rounds and wore down Evander. Lennox has much more world
experience, both professionally and in the amateurs, then that of Michael. Lennox has
established a strong jab, a body attack, and works behind it. I see Lennox starting fast
and strong to see what Michael has, then boxing his way through the mid rounds investing
in a sustained body attack and reserving for the later rounds. After softening Michael up
for the first 8, Lennox will turn it up again in the late rounds, break through the faded
defenses of a now tired and broken down Michael and capitalize. Lennox will get his
stoppage in the late rounds.
Lewis inside 10
Paul Ingle vs. Junior Jones
Paul makes a step up in competition with the fight against Junior Jones. I was pretty
impressed with his relentless and sustained attack on Naseem Hamed this last Apr. He made
Naz look bad, miss and frustrated the Prince. Until the 11th when the Prince stopped him.
He has since come back and is tougher than ever.
Junior comes off a less than exciting decision against Tracy Patterson this past Nov., and
is looking to win anther world title. In Junior's 4 loses, he was stopped each time.
Junior has never lost by decision. There's always a first time for everything.
Neither men are big KO artists and I don't expect this match to end in a stoppage. I
expect to see solid boxing for 12 rounds, and the local boy Paul ending with his hand
extended.
Ingle by Decision
Arturo Gatti vs. Eric Jakubowski
Arturo continues on his campaign for another world title. In his last outing, he more than
impressed with his 2nd round stoppage of world ranked Joey Gamache. Now he's fighting who?
This is a sad mismatch against a world contender and a never was. Eric has fought NOBODY
of recognition and is virtually unknown. This proves nothing Arturo, unless you stop him
in under 10 seconds! Arturo needs to get in the ring with Ivan Robinson, a man he lost to
twice, or rematch with Angel Manfredy.
Avenge your loses . . . that's a mark of a champion. Not fighting tomato cans trying to
increase your win to KO percentage. This fight can only have one outcome, or Arturo should
hang it up.
Gatti inside 4
Wladimir Klitschko vs. David Bostice
Wladimir is out to prove that the Klitschko's are for real. Wladimir in my opinion IS
real. The only person to go the distance with Wladimir was Everett "Bigfoot"
Martin, and in the rematch, he stopped Martin in 8. Wladimir owns stoppages over the late
Cody Koch, Steve Pannell, Eli Dixon and Axel Shultz! The same Axel that George Foreman,
Henry Akinwande and Michael Moorer couldn't stop. Wladimir comes of the first round
stoppage of Paea Wolfgramm this past Mar. (as predicted)
David is a big heavy hailing from my former stomping grounds San Bernardino. He has decent
power, but has no world experience. This is a major step up in competition for David, and
what better name to get stopped by. David's in over his head, and Wladimir will prove this
in the mid rounds.
Klitschko inside 5
Not Televised - At The Wembley Arena, London, England
Keith Holmes vs. Robert McCracken
I've always liked Kieth. He fought many times on USA's TNF, and always performed well. He
proved his loss to Hassine Cherifi was a fluke in the rematch by stopping the poser in 7
rounds last April (as predicted). Keith looked
excellent in his last fight, a decision to renowned boxer Andrew Council this past Sep.
Keith is a consistent performer, and is always prepared to go the distance.
Robert is the former British middle weight champ, and looks forward to the opportunity to
win a world title. Robert has KO power, and most his stoppages occur within the first 4
rounds. He doesn't share the same experience or level of competition as that of Keith. I
suspect he will fight a diligent fight, but that won't be enough against the crafty
southpaw Holmes. Look for Keith to set the pace, and box his way to the middle rounds.
Robert hasn't much round experience, so Keith will take him out into the later stanzas,
and stop the undefeated Robert in the mid to late rounds. A unanimous decision isn't out
of the realm of possibility here either.
Homes inside 10
Apr 29 - FOX 6:00 pm
Angel Manfredy vs. Anthony Martinez
Angel has a lot to prove and needs some good wins to get back in the top contender mix.
Looks to me like he's been reading Arturo's play book, because like Arturo, he is fighting
less than stellar competition. Anthony is a nobody that doesn't belong in the ring with
the likes of Angel. Angel has come back since his loss to Stevie Johnston (as predicted). Last Feb he stopped Sean Fletcher in 4 and
last Mar he went the 10 round distance for the nod to Vincent Howard. He needs KO's to be
impressive.
Ergo Anthony. Roll over Anthony. Play dead Anthony.
Manfredy inside 4
In Retrospect:
Lennox Lewis vs. Michael Grant
Almost as expected. I didn't think Grant would be THAT heartless. Lewis blast Grant out in
2 rounds! Lewis drops Grant 3 times in round 1, then in the 2nd, Lewis lands the match
ending right uppercut that sends Grant to the mat for the count! The bout ended at 2:43 of
the 2nd round. Lewis said,"I realized that I had superior hand speed. I could see
when he was winding up. I just held my position so I could get a good shot."
Grant's figured he can jump right on Lewis, which proved to be a bad plan. Golotta
uncovered Grant has a weak chin, Lewis proved it to be a fatal flaw.
Lewis' next opponent has already been named. He squares off against Frans Botha on July
15. As for Grant . . . his fate kinda reminds of that old Platters song.
Oh yes . . . I'm the great, pretender =)
Side Note:
At $10 million for just under six minutes work, Lennox Lewis earned $27,777 per second
last night.
Paul Ingle vs. Junior Jones
Almost as expected. Junior, losing by TKO in the 11th, remains consistent about the way he
loses fights at least. Looks as though this could of ended in a majority decision, as one
judge had Jones ahead on the cards at the time of stoppage, but Paul took care of
business. He dictated the pace of the fight, and showed the world he is a true champion.
Even after getting off the canvas in the 9th, Paul showed his true mettle and seeks a
rematch with the Prince to avenge his only loss. Remember what I said earlier about being
a champion and avenging loses!! Ingle landed 217 of 446 punches thrown, but Jones hit him
with 135 power punches to 112. I would like to see the rematch with Naz happen. Even
though the harder hitting Naz would more than likely prevail again.
Arturo Gatti vs. Eric Jakubowski
As expected! Arturo makes his welter debut against a nobody, and wins as expected. We'll
see how he fares against top flight welters. This should prove to be interesting.
Wladimir Klitschko vs. David Bostice
Almost as expected! The only difference . . . Wladimir proved David's inexperience in the
early rounds as opposed as the mid rounds. Wladimir took the fight right to David from the
opening bell, dropping him twice in the first, and twice in the second and final round.
Remember, David is a person who had previous to this bout never been stopped. Like I
stated in the prediction, Wladimir IS real. It has been announced that Wladimir will be on
the undercard of the Lewis-Botha fight, along with Chris Byrd (in separate bouts)
Wladimir's only loss was at the hands of Ross Puritty. A fight in which the young
Klitschko claims he was not prepared to go the distance in and was stopped by Ross in the
11th. Wladimir wants to avenge the that loss. I'll keep an eye on Wladimir and how he
progresses.
Keith Holmes vs. Robert McCracken
As expected! I was just 1 round short, but I knew Holmes would stop Robert. Keith
dominated from the opening bell, and dictated the pace of the fight. In the 3rd round, a
left hook put Rob on the canvas and opens a cut on Robs right eye. Rob rocks Keith in the
6th, Keith weathers the storm. In the 9th, the pace slows and it appears Keith may be
tiring. In the 10th, Keith gets a point deducted for holding. This upsets Keith, and he
lands a flurry of punches to close the round. In the 11th, the ring doctor stops the fight
due to the nasty cut and Keith gets the TKO at 1:24 of the 11th. Keith, as predicted,
dictated the pace of the fight and dominated. Just another day at the office for Keith.
Angel Manfredy vs. Anthony Martinez
Change of venue. Anthony pulls out of the fight at the last second because of visa
problems, and has been replaced by Shawn Simmons (24-10, 15KO's). I try to send my
predictions out at the last minute to try to avoid these problems, but sometimes it
doesn't work. This fight doesn't happen until tonight, but you can bet the outcome will be
the same.
