Weekend Wrap-Up March 13th
by Mike Hanson
Shoulda, woulda, coulda has always been the story of my life and last weekend was the same old chapter and verse. I knew from the day the fight was signed that Pacquiao and Clottey was a complete mismatch and said I was not going to buy the PPV. Of course I bought the PPV and guess what? The fight was a complete mismatch.
I said from the beginning that this was an easy fight for Manny and I was 100% correct. I did think Manny would stop Clottey and that probably would have happened if Clottey had tried to win at any moment in the fight. Instead we were treated to the Welterweight version of Vitali Klitschko and Kevin Johnson. Clottey had one goal and that was to go 12 rounds. He wasn’t a good opponent for Manny and he certainly wasn’t the tough opponent some were saying he was. At the end of the day I knew he was tailor made for Manny but bought the PPV anyways.
The undercard made the main event look like an instant classic. John Duddy continues to present himself as a slugger who can’t slug but did box his way to a win over the lead singer from the Deftones. I really wish someone would knock him out already so he stops appearing on fight cards. Jose Luis Castillo did what he does best anymore and that is quit. He quit against Ricky Hatton and now he is quitting against guys the caliber of Alfonso Gomez. Shame on Bob Arum for this lousy card.
The co-main was a decent bout and would have been a good addition to a good card, instead it caught the smell of the overall card and ended up being somewhat boring. David Diaz is a game but limited fighter. I said prior to the card that the PacMan/Clottey fight would be similar to the PacMan/Diaz bout. I would like to take this time to apologize to David Diaz for even comparing Clottey to him. Diaz tries to win every second of every fight he is in no matter how long the odds. Max Kellerman summed up Humberto Soto perfectly by saying Soto is as good as good gets without being special and he did enough to beat David Diaz. Soto is the class of the Lightweight division right now and that gives an indication of how poor the division is.
Friday night we had a better card on FSE. Samuel Peter came into the bout at 237 pounds. He looked great and he fought like the old Sam Peter. I was sure Nagy Aguilera would win this fight but Peter took him out quickly. Where was this Sam Peter against Vitali Klitschko and Eddie Chambers. Hopefully, he can turn this into a shot at David Haye. About midway through the first round of this fight Peter hit Aguilera in the body and Nagy looked at his corner like he had been run over by a freight train. It was just a matter of time from that point.
The rest of the card was entertaining. I have no idea where Omar Henry came from but I can tell you I will be watching him from here on out. Catch Friday’s fight on Youtube and you will see a guy who reminds me a lot of James Kirkland (speaking of which when is his jail time up!!!). Jose Benavides continues to look like the stellar prospect he is and got a couple of rounds in Friday night. He runs his record to 3-0 with 3KO’s. At 17 years old I imagine he will be brought along slowly.
In the main event we got a Texas stunner. The close to home and big time crowd favorite, Hernan Marquez, was completely out-boxed by Richie Mepranum and lost the decision. It is a stunner because the crowd favorite rarely loses a decision in Texas these days. So congrats to the judges for getting it right.
This weekend, FNF returns on ESPN with a decent main event between Deandre Latimore and Sechew Powell. Hopefully Latimore can get the win and get Powell off of TV for good. Saturday night we get FSN and the return of Cuban Fatty Odlanier Solis in his toughest bout yet against Carl Drummond. I am still hoping some network picks up the Wlad Klitschko/Eddie Chambers Heavyweight title fight but that hope is fading.
As always support Talkin Boxing with Billy C, the clear cut champion in boxing radio programming and Title Bout Championship Boxing, which has long been the pound for pound leader in boxing games. Links below:
http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/joomla/home-tbcb.html
Castillo had no right being in the ring last week. It was the moral equivalent of robbing a grocery store – him getting into the ring and getting paid for it. Manny Pacquaio threw so many punches I give him credit for trying to make the fight entertaining for the complete 12 rounds. He’s the one of the most exciting fighter. Sam Peter pisses me off. You get in shape finally this late in the game? How do you not get motivated to be in shape against Vitali Klitschko but do get in shape against Aguilera? What motivates this guy?
Yeah I agree with Manny doing his best to make it interesting, just hard to do so when the other guy doesn’t want to fight. Good comments on Peter.
I predict that Wlad Klitschko will KO Eddie Chambers with a left hook with about 16 seconds left in round 12. I know it’s going out on a limb, but I have this feeling…