Boxing: HBO & Showtime this Weekend ....

[H2O Man]

On Saturday, boxing fans are in for a real treat. There are outstanding fight cards on both HBO and Showtime. Let's look at both:

HBO startes with the return of super middleweight Jeff Lacy, who is 21-1 (17 KOs) going head to head with Vitali Tsypko, 17-1 (10 KOs). I doubt this will go the full 10 rounds.

The main event of the St. Petersburg, Florida card features Winky Wright, 50-3-1 (25 KOs) against Ike Quartey, 37-3-1 (31 KOs). While Wright has to be favored, Quartey is an outstanding fighter. It is possible that Ike's piston-like jab will allow him the opportunity to land his extremely powerful punches on the defensive master Wright. I think that Winky deserves respect for being willing to fight the toughest competition.

The Showtime card, from Atlantic City, looks explosive.Antonio Margurito, 33-4 (24 KOs) fights Joshua Clottey, 29-1 (18 KOs). Margarito is one of the most exciting fighters in the sport today, and many fans believe that he deserves a fight with Mayweather. This fight will help solidify his standing in the division.

Then Miguel Cotto, 27-0 (22 KOs) fights Carlos Quintana 23-0 (18 KOs) for the vacant WBA welterweight title. The promoters are anticipating that Cotto will then defend against Margurito. Though the pair must be favored on Saturday, these are tough fights. It would be a serious error for either of these guys to look past who they are up against. Like Rubin used to tell me, when you go in that ring to kick another man's ass, you better be aware that you have your own right there behind you.

In other big heavyweight news, I was really pleased to read that Calvin Brock has taken his recent defeat really well. He's not making any excuses; he said he failed to follow the plan once he started getting hit by the powerful jab. But the big news is that he has hired Sweat Pea Whitaker as a trainer, to teach him more about defense. It's funny how some fighters are destroyed by a single loss .... Gerry Cooney comes to mind. Others come back stronger. Brock will figure large in the heavyweight scene, and with Whitaker, he will become a far more complete fighter.

Also, I believe the Peter vs Toney rematch is going to be in Hollywood, Florida. Good that it won't be in Toney's hometown.

[Bodineian]

1. Boxed Pro in Sunny Cal

Yes i was a professional boxer in California.


I boxed lettuce, tomatoes , canteloupes..........

[H2O Man]

2. Until you box

oranges .....

[H2O Man]

3. B-Hop update ....

Bernard announced that he is ending his retirement. He says that boxing needs him. He wants to fight for a heavyweight title. I assume that means Oleg Maskaev, as he stand little or no chance against any of the other three.

Sad news. I admire the guys who stay retired when they go out at or near the top. I also think it means that Samuel Peter will be left out again.

[H2O Man]

4. Two more updates .....

{1} Former heavyweight contender Greg Page, who held the WBA "paper title" briefly in 1984, is back in a Louisville hospital. This is the second time this year that Page is in for pneumonia and related health concerns. Boxing fans will recall that Page, now 48, was seriously hurt in a 2001 fight against thug Dale Crowe. Page suffered acute brain damage in the fight, and would go into a coma and then have a serious stroke. He has been in a wheelchair for some time.

If there were a decent national boxing commission, Greg Page would not have been in the ring fighting in 2001.

{2} Golden Boy Promotions out-bid Don King for the rights to promote Shannon Brigg's first "defense" of his paper title. Oscar De La Hoya is matching him against Sultan Ibragimov, 19-0-1 with 16 KOs. Oscar has stated that he wants Sultan to win the fight, which has not been scheduled yet.

[H2O Man]

5. It's getting close ....

I can see that everyone is getting just as excited by this weekends fights as I am!

[k_jerome]

6. Quartey v Wright should be good...

i have been a Bazooka fan for a while.

[H2O Man]

7. I think it will be good.

It's funny that they have been pretty good friends for years, but have never even sparred.

I watched the film of the first Mosley - Wright fight on HBO last night. You can't stand in front of Winky, and let him land that jab. His left comes right down the pike after he finds range with that jab. The other funny thing is that Quartey is pretty similar, with the piston-like jab and the hard right cross. I think that he has the ability to move move than Mosley did, and keep Wright spinning. Plus he hits far harder than Mosley.

What do you think of Lacy? Should he be having an easier warm-up? That could be an explosive fight!

[H2O Man]

8. Very good fights!

Lacy won a close decision. I thought he won, but could have seen it a draw. If it went to the other guy by a point, there could be no complaint. Very close fight.

Winky Wright won, though the ref erred in calling the second "knockdown" for sure. The first was a judgement call, though I think it was their feet getting tangled. That would have made a total of six points difference in the scoring, as Ike won both rounds 10-9 without the knockdowns, but lost them 10-8 with the calls going against him. Either way, Wright wins. But it was a competitive, quality fight. (I do think Winky should have gotten a match with Oscar years ago. I think he'd probably beat him still.)

Margarito was lucky to escape with a win. What a fight! Two warriors who put on a tough, action-packed fight, despite both going in with injuries that should have postponed the fight.

Cotto looked intense. The ref was curious: in both knockdowns, Quintana was on the canvas for over 10 seconds. Steve actually stopped counting during the second one, and was having a conversation with the fallen fighter. You don't do that, unless you have stopped the fight. You wait until he stands up to chat.

Great fights coming up in December and January. Also, as you likely know, HBO is having boxing specials on December 25, 26, and 27!