Boxing Round-Up
This might not be boxing news per se, but this weekend is the Big Show-Floyd Mayweather showdown at Wrestlemania. I'll admit my guilt-I'm getting 'Mania this year pretty much because of this match. I'm still not sure whether they're staging a "boxing" match ala Piper-Mr. T from WM2 (which would be a real bad idea) or if they're going with a straight-up pro wrestling match. Mayweather is a great athlete, and could probably do a good-enough celebrity match (like Lawrence Taylor's match from WM11), but with another multi-million dollar PPV with Oscar de la Hoya looming, I don't expect Floyd to do much in the way of bumps. Most people are expecting a lot of outside interference in this match, which wouldn't surprise me in the least.
Some Internet sites are calling March the best month of boxing in ages. As great as '07 was for the sport, I don't think any single month last year produced the quality fights we've seen this March. Vasquez-Marquez III was a FOTY candidate by all accounts. Campbell-Diaz was a really good fight, with Campbell scoring an upset. Last week's Casamayor-Katsidis fight had great action (4 knockdowns), and a vicious knockout that seemingly came from nowhere. And last but not least, Pacquiao-Marquez, which will give the Vasquez-Marquez rubber match a run for FOTY honors, as that one produced also produced great action, and great drama. Many felt Juan Manuel Marquez did enough to pull it out, but even though I predicted him winning, I gave the fight to Pacquiao.
The news has been circulating that cult sensation Edwin Valero is now licensed to fight in the US. He hasn't boxed in the US for years due to brain scan irregularities detected in 2004. As a result of the MRI, Valero has been something of a controversial figure. Dr. Margaret Goodman, who writes for The Ring magazine, is a proponent of keeping him banned from fighting. I'm not sure what the quality of his opposition is, but a 23-0 (23) record suggests Valero is doing just fine. He's fights in the 130-lb weight-class, where Pacquiao last fought. Many fans (including me) have dreamed of seeing Pacquiao and Valero fighting. Pacquiao's moving up to 135, so if Valero does score the fight, he'll need to move up in weight. Hopefully Bob Arum won't stand in the way of this fight getting made down the road, like he's roadblocked Pavlik-Wright.
ESPN.com's Dan Rafael mentions in his notebook that ESPN Classic is now reairing some classic fights from Showtime, including Corrales-Castillo, and the first two Vasquez-Marquez fights, among others. This is outstanding, kudos to ESPN for doing this. Corrales-Castillo is required viewing for any boxing fan, as it's regarded by most as the best fight in years. And I'll finally get a shot to see the Vasquez-Marquez fights, and hopefully restore my "freak" status.
The latest issue of Ring magazine has articles written by Joe Calzaghe and Bernard Hopkins, each writing why they'll be victorious in their April showdown coming up. For those unhappy with B-Hop's "white boy" comments in December, they won't exactly be thrilled with this article, as he compared Joe to Larry Bird, implying Bird gained his notoriety not based on his success, but on the fact that Bird was better than the average white guy. Nice. Regardless, Hopkins lays out the perfect game plan in my estimation. It's just a matter of whether Hopkins can pull it off. While most are going with Calzaghe in this fight, I still give Hopkins the edge. I don't see Calzaghe forcing Bernard away from his fight plan. B-Hop by decision.
Some Internet sites are calling March the best month of boxing in ages. As great as '07 was for the sport, I don't think any single month last year produced the quality fights we've seen this March. Vasquez-Marquez III was a FOTY candidate by all accounts. Campbell-Diaz was a really good fight, with Campbell scoring an upset. Last week's Casamayor-Katsidis fight had great action (4 knockdowns), and a vicious knockout that seemingly came from nowhere. And last but not least, Pacquiao-Marquez, which will give the Vasquez-Marquez rubber match a run for FOTY honors, as that one produced also produced great action, and great drama. Many felt Juan Manuel Marquez did enough to pull it out, but even though I predicted him winning, I gave the fight to Pacquiao.
The news has been circulating that cult sensation Edwin Valero is now licensed to fight in the US. He hasn't boxed in the US for years due to brain scan irregularities detected in 2004. As a result of the MRI, Valero has been something of a controversial figure. Dr. Margaret Goodman, who writes for The Ring magazine, is a proponent of keeping him banned from fighting. I'm not sure what the quality of his opposition is, but a 23-0 (23) record suggests Valero is doing just fine. He's fights in the 130-lb weight-class, where Pacquiao last fought. Many fans (including me) have dreamed of seeing Pacquiao and Valero fighting. Pacquiao's moving up to 135, so if Valero does score the fight, he'll need to move up in weight. Hopefully Bob Arum won't stand in the way of this fight getting made down the road, like he's roadblocked Pavlik-Wright.
ESPN.com's Dan Rafael mentions in his notebook that ESPN Classic is now reairing some classic fights from Showtime, including Corrales-Castillo, and the first two Vasquez-Marquez fights, among others. This is outstanding, kudos to ESPN for doing this. Corrales-Castillo is required viewing for any boxing fan, as it's regarded by most as the best fight in years. And I'll finally get a shot to see the Vasquez-Marquez fights, and hopefully restore my "freak" status.
The latest issue of Ring magazine has articles written by Joe Calzaghe and Bernard Hopkins, each writing why they'll be victorious in their April showdown coming up. For those unhappy with B-Hop's "white boy" comments in December, they won't exactly be thrilled with this article, as he compared Joe to Larry Bird, implying Bird gained his notoriety not based on his success, but on the fact that Bird was better than the average white guy. Nice. Regardless, Hopkins lays out the perfect game plan in my estimation. It's just a matter of whether Hopkins can pull it off. While most are going with Calzaghe in this fight, I still give Hopkins the edge. I don't see Calzaghe forcing Bernard away from his fight plan. B-Hop by decision.
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