Rumors: Fedor to fight Dan Henderson?

According to Lorenna Hunt from SI.com:

"Fedor Emelianenko and Dan Henderson are on board to square off in a proposed late July bout on Showtime, sources from both fighters' camps told SI.com on Saturday.
Strikeforce officials said discussions for the summer blockbuster bout are under way, but that many details, including what weight the headliner will be contested at, as well as the date and venue, still need to be ironed out before the deal can be signed. Talks are expected to pick up next week, according to sources."

Is this for real? This sounds like a blockbuster that Strikeforce has been trying to land. Now that they are bought out by Zuffa, it seems as though they are taking steps continuing to make a name for themselves.

Keep the in mind the Strikeforce Grand-Prix is still ongoing and is a good revenue and viewer ship stream already.

Random Thoughts:
So much hockey, so much basketball, and so many fights! = so much for baseball for a few months.

BERTO VS ORTIZ and KHAN V McCLOSKEY this weekend!!! Read my preview here. Prediction Ortiz KO 10. Khan KO 6.

JUAN MANUEL LOPEZ VS ORLANDO SALIDO AS WELL! Should be a good night for JML. Everyone will be talking about how Salido gave Gamboa a tough time when they fought. Juan Manuel Lopez should have no such problem. I think he is so much more technically sound than Gamboa it should be a relatively easy fight.

Props to Roy Jones Jr. for taking on a tough fight at a bigger weight. He is scheduled to take on the Russian Denis Lebedev (26-1 160KOS) in his home country, AND at the highest weight since he won his HW belt from John Ruiz. At least he's not fighting nobodies. Props and the best of luck to him.

The Klitscko brothers have decided that Wladimir V Haye and Vitali V Adamek. Wait.. they get to choose who each of them fight? That's a bit ridiculous.

They are replaying the Amir Khan V Maidana in HD streaming for free on youtube. It was voted by the BWAA (Boxing Writers Association of America) as their Fight of the Year. Now you have officially no reason NOT to watch this fight. Here it is:

Action Heroes - Morales V Maidana Recap

Erik Morales is one of the most decorated fighters in the sport. He is a living legend, a shoo-in to the boxing hall of fame.

Perhaps it was foolish pride that made him decide to step in the ring with one of the most avoided punchers in the deepest weight class in boxing. But it was heart and guts that allowed him to stay in the pocket and fight one of the greatest losing performances in recent memory.

Morales told anyone who would listen before this match that he had a gameplan. That he knew how to beat Marcos Maidana. It was clear that Morales wasn't going to use a hit and run tactic like Amir Khan. Instead he was going to stay in the pocket and beat Maidana to the punch with straighter shots down the middle.

In the first few rounds you could see the signs of Morales lacking a quality opponent for a number of years as Maidana, with his aggression mostly, jumped all over him. However, as the fight wore on, Morales was able to weather the storm and counter Maidana.

All in all. Great fight. Great heart shown by Morales. I don't see him rematching Maidana. I think the outcome will be similar if not worse off for El Terible.

I love the fact that Golden Boy is putting on great cards like the one they did on Saturday. This is a step that they need to take in order to hang with other fight sports like UFC.

SW

Morales V Maidana Fight Pictures

WOW! What a night!


Here's some pictures from the action filled night. I will be the first to stand up and say. I was wrong about Erik Morales. I still worry about his health, but no one can question his heart. He already had his Hall of Fame credentials wrapped up. Now he is moving up the lists of many in the all time category.

I will put up a recap when I can catch my breath.

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

What's next in the UFC Lightheavy Weight Division?

With the recent domination over Shogun Rua, Jon "Bones" Jones breathes life back to the UFC light heavy weight division with storylines and drama will taking center stage.

Jones’ first title defense will be against his former teammate and close personal friend Rashad Evans. Both of which have strong wrestling background, meaning you can expect lots of action on the fence and control on the ground. Evans was originally scheduled to fight Rua for the title but withdrew due to an knee injury in training and Jones was selected as the replacement.

(As storylines go, Evans has quit Greg Jackson’s gym, the gym he and Jones trains at.)

The experience factor will no doubt favor Evans, as he has fought a much stronger pool of fighters, but a year of ring rust due to a knee injury, reach disadvantage of 10 inches, Evans may be facing a tall (pun intended) order. More than likely Evans will need a submission or knock out if he’s to come out the octagon with the belt.

Jones is one of the new young gun generation. He's very athletic with a strong ground game and even better striking. Most of his weapons seem to nullify most of Evans strengths. Of course, he’s virtually undefeated (1 DQ) and has a large size advantage as well.

Of course, lurking drama is here, Dana White has Quinton “Rampage” Jackson fighting the winner of Jones & Evans.

If Evans comes out as the victor, it will be the second time Jackson and Evans will fight each other. Their first meeting Evans easily subdued Jackson with his wrestling and tired him out against the fence. Jackson admits to ring rust due his role as Mr. T play a large factor. So far Rashad beat Jackson in the ring, on the Ultimate Fighter and volleyball so Jackson should be fired up the second time around.

A Jones Rampage matchup will be a good fight. Jackson’s style will make the fight interesting (as long as it lasts) if he can get past Matt Hamill. Of course, just another wrinkle in the storylines, Hamill was the fight Jones was DQ'd in.

Henry Liu

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