Juan Manuel Marquez Versus Bernabe Concepcion Replay

I thought with Juan Manuel Marquez fighting again soon (4/19 against Orlando Salido) it would be appropriate to look back some of his latest fights.

Here is one of his more dominating performances again Bernabe Concepcion. Who I like to call Zombie Pacquiao

Also his latest fight against Rafael Marquez was a barn burner.

Here are the highlights.

Erik Morales VS Marcos Maidana 4/9/11 Card Breakdown/Preview

ERIK MORALES V MARCOS MAIDANA

At first sight when I saw the Morales vs Maidana matchup made I was, like the rest of the media, unhappy. Erik Morales has been a favorite to any fight fan because of his participation in some of the historical action fights. His famous trilogies with Manny Pacqiaou and Marco Antonio Barrera will always be seared in the memories of fight fans anywhere. The trilogy between him and Barrera may rank amount the greatest of fight trilogies of all time. However, because of his long layoff and punishment he has received over the last years of his career is worrisome. From 2005-2007 he lost 4 straight (5 of 6) all coming to a dramatic end against David Diaz, a clear step below Morales usual caliber. After taking a few years off he has come back to win 3 in a row against pedestrian competition and eventually signed up to fight Maidana.

However, Golden Boy, and everyone else knows, that El Terrible sells. He sells well with the Mexican community and this fight will do very good PPV numbers. Even with the betting odds stacked against Morales (Maidana is a -650 and Morales is a +425 the same odds as Andre Ward and Arthur Abraham currently stand) he will be the crowd favorite. Whether that can propel him to victory is a different story. I think someone who is as hungry and dangerous as Maidana, who BARELY, lost to Amir Khan, is a scary predicament for Morales. I expect a 9^th round stoppage with El Terrible eventually wiltering under the unorthodox pressure that Maidana applies.

ROBERT GUERRERO VS MICHEAL KATSIDIS

What really gets my boxing juices going is the undercard is also stacked with good action fights. The main fight undercard will be Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (28-1 18Kos) against Micheal Katsidis (27-3 22 Kos) for the interim WBA and WBO lightweight belt. This fight is sure to have fireworks as both men love to come forward and throw. Guerrero is coming off of a good win against a tough opponent in Vincente Escobedo. While Escobedo has good technical boxing skills, you can see from the fight that Guerrero just had him outskilled in too many categories. He was a better boxer, put more pressure, cleaner and harder shots. Micheal Katsidis is trying to return from a loss in a war between him and Juan Manuel Marquez (little tidbit later on). He looked good early, pressuring in his usual style, and even knocking JMM down but eventually succumbing to Marquez clean counterpunching. This may be a dark horse candidate for fight of the year.

JAMES KIRKLAND V NOBUHIRA ISHIDA

Also, I also going to enjoy watching James Kirkland (27-0 24kos) fight as he frantically tries to kickstart his career after his recent incarceration. He fights Japanese fighter Nobuhiro Ishida (22 – 6 7 Kos) who is coming off of a close split decision loss for a interim belt. He is aging but has never been stopped in his career. It looks like James Kirkland’s handlers are going to keep him very busy (he already fought twice in March). While I expect a win from James Kirkland, a big KO victory would really propel his name into the Junior Middleweight and Middleweight upper echelon again. I expect big fights in the future for an entertaining fighter.

PAULIE MALIGNAGGI VS JOSE MIGUEL COTTO

We have a treat watching Paulie Malignaggi (28-4 6Kos)square off against Jose Miguel Cotto (32-2-1 24kos-). Paulie has just racked up his 6^th KO of his career against journeyman Michael Lozada (although it was a referee stoppage), his first fight since breaking off from Lou DiBella. I didn’t like the things that he said after he “retired” then signed with Golden Boy, but I see another payday in his future. He should be able to outbox Cotto easily and win a 12 round decision.

DANNY GARCIA VS NATE CAMPBELL

Finally recently added to the card is Danny Garcia (20-0, 14 KOs) fighting Nate “Galaxy Warrior” Campbell (33-7-1, 25 KOs) . Danny Garcia is clearly one of Golden Boy’s top prospects and they are banking on the fact that Nate Campbell is shot and is coming out of retirement only for the money. However, it has been shown in the past that the Galaxy Warrior can beat anyone at anytime (and the ability to lose to anyone at anytime). This is a big step up for Danny Garcia and will be a very interesting test.

All in all a very interesting fight card. I am glad that Golden Boy decided to stack the undercard with good fights knowing that non Mexican fight fans would need a bit more than Erik Morales to plop down the PPV fee.

Other thoughts

Ivan Calderon tries to regain his title against Giovanni Segura on Saturday. Segura is an all pressure fighter that wore out “Iron” Calderon eventually stopping him in the 8^th round the last time they met. Will he be able to do the same? Should be a damn good fight

Juan Manuel Marquez and Zab Judah in talks? This could get interesting. Seems like a fight I would definitely be excited about.

MMA note: Jon Fitch has pulled out of his BJ Penn match with an injury (UFC 132). Who will be his replacement? Carlos Condit is an obvious choice but, how about Nick Diaz now that Strikeforce has been bought?

Opening day in baseball has come and gone. I love baseball. But once again I remembered why I love fights so much more. Losing in baseball (or almost every other sport) doesn’t compare to losing in fighting. That’s what makes fight sports great. Losing sucks. Losing a fight? Fucking hurts AND sucks…

SW

Andre Berto versus Victor Ortiz Preview

I am eagerly awaiting the Andre Berto (27-0 21KOs) versus Victor Ortiz (28-2 22KOs) matchup coming up on April 16th. It has promise to be a good action fight and two prime fighters going head to head. They both have great hand speed, like to come forward, good power for their weight, young and hungry.

Victor Ortiz

Is Victor Ortiz really back? After two good wins against Nate Campbell and Vivian Harris he puts in a horrible performance against Lamont Peterson where he looked like he didn’t know how to close a fighter. Against Peterson he withstood a few good hooks and right hands, it would be unwise to stand and take those against Berto. He needs to beat Berto to the punch while sitting in the pocket. It will be very interesting to see if he can do so.

One interesting note is from a promotional strategy point of view. Many will wonder why Golden Boy is taking this fight for Victor Ortiz? He still isn’t very far from the most devastating fight (egosticly more than physically) of his career with Marcos Maidana and only with two knockdowns avoided a loss with a Majority Draw in his last fight with Lamont Peterson. Now they are deciding not only to move up in weight, but to fight the 3^rd best welterweight in the world?

I think I just hear a slot machine whirring in Richard Schaefer head. It’s gamble time for Ortiz. They are either going to get an instant headliner with Victor Ortiz or he falls completely by the wayside.

Perhaps that’s the same reason why Victor’s camp probably took the fight as well. If Victor Ortiz gets brutally destroyed, remember those words he uttered after the Maidana fight, he might be done with boxing. But if he wins, all we will be talking about is his “vicious” right hook and “vicious” left uppercut.

Andre Berto

On the Andre Berto and Lou Dibella side this also good chance for them. They have been heavily criticized in recent years are also looking to ratchet up Berto’s opponent skill level. While others will continue to criticize Berto I applaud him and Dibella for taking this fight. While this is no giant step up, as I am sure that Andre Berto will tout, it is a good test to see if Berto can handle someone with the hand speed and power (albeit Jr. Welterweight power) like Ortiz.

However, don’t see this as an easy fight for Berto at all. Remember Callazo, who is also a southpaw, pushed Berto to the limit. He also seems to get lulled into other fighter’s style. In this fight I see he has a distinct advantage in the lateral movement, to see if he uses it is yet to be seen.

Prediction:

I really don’t know how to pick. My brain says Berto. My gut says Ortiz. Foolishly, I am going with Berto KO10.

SW