11/30 - 11/31 Preview and Review

Last week:

Brian's-Trejo I pick Trejo Winner-Trejo

Brian's-Baldomir I pick Baldomir Winner-Baldomir

And, that was it. The Brian's went 2-0 and I went 2-0 also.

On to this week. A little bit more action this week, with a Telefutura card and two Showtime cards. On Telefutura, we start with Yory Boy Campas vs. Fernando Vela in what will probably be an 8 round Middleweight matchup. Campas was born in Colonia Moderna, Mexico and fights out of Navojoa, Mexico. He is 90-10-0 and 36 years old. As you can tell, he has been around forever. He once held the Light Middleweight Championship and defended it four times. He fought for it and the Welterweight title several more times, but all of that is some time behind him. In his last fight he won a very close decision over Norberto Bravo, of Contender fame. I thought Bravo might have won it, but it was very close. I have seen him fight four times. He is nothing spectacular, but he does enough to beat guys that aren't any good. He is a solid type. He has fought Oba Carr, Fernando Vargas, Daniel Santos, Oscar De La Hoya, John Duddy, and more, but he has lost to almost every good fighter he has faced. He is currently rated 4th in the All-Time Light Middleweight rankings and 12th in the Active ratings. Vela (getting hit) was born and fights out of Ciudad Acuna, Mexico. He is 6-10-1 and is 27. He is a late sub for this fight. He last fought in August, losing a decision to Victor Lares, for the second fight in a row. Lares is not much of a name, but along with Jesus Gonzales, that's all he has fought. He is rated 205th on the All-Time Super Middleweight rankings and 158th in the Active ratings. This is an opportunity to get a name guy on the card, an old guy to beat up on a tomato can. The Brian's put this at Campas 929.3 over Vela 454.8. I have no doubt it will be Campas.

Next Up, Roberto Garcia vs. Freddy Hernandez in a 12 round Welterweight fight. Garcia was born in Reynosa, Mexico and fights out of Weslaco, TX. He is 24-2-0 and 27 years old. In his last fight he won a unanimous decision against a terrible Vance Garvey in September. I have seen him fight once unmemorably. He lost to Ian MacKillop, but he beat Juan Carlos Rubio, those are the only real people he has fought. He is currently rated 64th in the All-Time Light Middleweight rankings and 28th in the Active ratings. Hernandez was born and fights out of Mexico City, Mexico. He is 22-1-0 and is 28. He last fought in June, winning a foul fest ( photo at right) against Ben Tackie. I have also seen him fight once unmemorably. In addition to the Tackie fight, he also beat Jesus Soto Karass, and he lost to Golden Johnson, both better than the guys Garcia has fought. He is rated 115th on the All-Time Welterweight rankings and 20th in the Active ratings. This looks like two fairly evenly matched guys looking to step up a little and keep on the climb up the ladder. The Brian's put this at Hernandez 834.9 over Garcia 825.6. I think I am going to take Hernandez, based on higher quality opposition.

The other Friday night card is on Showtime. We Start with Alfredo Angulo vs. Archak Ter-Meliksetian in an 8 round Light Middleweight bout. Angulo was born in Mexicali, Mexico and fights out of Coachella, CA. He is 10-0-0 and 25 years old. In his last fight, in September, he TKO'd also undefeated Emmanuel Gonzalez in the second round. He fought for Mexico in the 2004 Olympics. I saw the Gonzalez fight, but nothing really stands out about it. The Gonzalez fight was his first step out of loserdom as far as opposition goes, and Gonzalez seemed to be a fairly even matchup. He is currently rated 249th in the All-Time Middleweight rankings and 55th in the Active ratings. Ter-Meliksetian was born in Armenia and fights out of Paterson, NJ. He is 16-5-0 and is 29. He last fought a little over a year ago, losing a unanimous decision to a pretty decent Jose Luis Cruz. I have seen him beaten twice, by Nurhan Suleymanoglu and Sergio Mora. I think he eats a lot of punches and is not particularly skilled. He has also fought and lost to Sechew Powell and Giovanni Lorenzo, all decent guys. He is rated 103rd on the All-Time Welterweight rankings and 70th in the Active ratings. So, this is an up and coming Olympian fighting a decent name who has fought all kinds of class opposition. This would be a huge step up for Angulo, but it is tempered by Ter-Meliksetian's long layoff. I see rust in his future. The Brian's put this at Angulo 699.8 over Ter-Meliksetian 694.1. If Ter-Meliksetian had been active, I would take him, but instead, I'll take Angulo.

In the ShoBox Main Event, James Kirkland vs. Allen Conyers in a 10 round Light Middleweight bout. Kirkland fights out of Austin, TX. He is 20-0-0 and 23 years old. In his last fight, in September, he knocked out Mohamed Said in two rounds. 11 of his last 12 and 17 out of 20 overall have been knockouts. I have seen him fight twice and he definitely packs a heavy punch. He comes forward and keeps throwing. He has recently stepped up the quality of his opposition, with Said, Ossie Duran, and Billy Lyell and Allen Conyers is probably in the same class. He is currently rated 152nd in the All-Time Middleweight rankings and 17th in the Active ratings. Conyers (on the right) fights out of the Bronx. He is 11-2-0 and is 31. He last fought in February, knocking out Derek Ennis in the second. 9 of his 11 wins have been by knockout, including his last three. But, 1 of his two losses was by KO in the third to the just a bove average Maximino Cuevas. I have seen him fight twice, but he doesn't having any outstanding characteristics. His recent opposition has been decent, Derek Ennis, Russel Jordan, Delvin Rodriguez, but not up to the level of Kirkland. He is rated 140th on the All-Time Light Middleweight rankings and 74th in the Active ratings. So, two heavy hitters going at it. The difference, though, Kirkland has never been knocked out, Conyers has. Kirkland has also beaten people in Conyers class, Conyers has never fought anybody in Kirkland's class. The Brian's put this at Kirkland 864.5 over Conyers 686.0. Once again, they should be right. I pick Kirkland.

Saturday gives us a decent three fight card on Showtime. We start with Nonito Donaire vs. Luis Maldonado in a 12 round fight for a Flyweight World Championship. Donaire was born in Talibon, Phillipines and fights out of San Leandro, CA. He is 18-1-0 and 25 years old. He was the 2000 US Champion and Lost in the Olympic Trials Finals to Brian Viloria. This is his first defense of the IBF Flyweight title that he won from Vic Darchinyan with a 5th round TKO in July. I have seen him fight twice. He caught Darchinyan napping, but he packs a pretty decent punch. 3 of his last 4 fights have ended early. In addition to Darchinyan, he also fought and beat quality journeyman Oscar Andrade. He is currently rated 17th in the All-Time Flyweight rankings and 10th in the Active ratings. Maldonado was born in Ocotlan, Mexico and fights out of Mexicali, Mexico. He is 37-1-1 and is 29. He last fought in October, winning a unanimous decision over Sergio Espinoza. I have seen him once, getting hammered by Vic Darchinyan. He has beaten a lot of guys nobody has ever heard of. He is rated 4th on the All-Time Flyweight rankings and 2nd in the Active ratings. This is a young guy coming up, making his name off Darchinyan and big punches fighting a record guy. The Brian's put this at Maldonado 900.2 over Donaire 812.3. I'll go for the rising star, Donaire.

Next, we get Antonio Tarver vs. Danny Santiago in a 12 round fight for a lame Light Heavyweight title. Tarver was born in Orlando and fights out of Tampa. He is 25-4-0 and 39 years old. He was the 1993 and 1995 US Champion and took the bronze medal in the 1996 Olympics. In his last fight he won a majority decision over a good-but-not-great Elvir Muriqi. I have seen his last seven fights. When he is on, he is great, beating Roy Jones two out of three and winning his rematch with Glen Johnson. But lately, against Hoipkins and Muriqi, he has looked slow, old, and beatable. Only Hopkins was able to take advantage of that, though. He is long and lanky, with a fluid punch that despite its effects on Roy Jones, is not that powerful. He has fought all kinds of quality opposition and was the Light Heavyweight Champion of the world for a time. He is currently rated 53rd in the All-Time Light Heavyweight rankings and 9th in the Active ratings. Santiago fights out of Ocala, FL. He is 29-3-1 and is 34. He last fought in January, getting knocked out by Light Heavyweight champ Zsolt Erdei. He has beaten some decent people, including the same Muriqi Tarver just beat. He is rated 111th on the All-Time Light Heavyweight rankings and 35th in the Active ratings. So, an oldie but a goodie trying to maintain the luster by beating up on a guy just below top level. The Brian's put this at Tarver 945.8 over Santiago 794.5. I'll go for the oldie, Tarver.

And in the main event, we get Vernon Forrest vs. Michele Piccirillo in a 12 round fight for a Light Middleweight World Championship. Forrest was born in Augusta and fights out of Atlanta. He is 39-2-0 and 36 years old. He took silver at the 1991 World Championships (and beat Piccirillo) and fought on the 1992 Olympic team. This is his first defense of the WBC Light Middleweight title that he won from Carlos Baldomir with a lopsided decision in July. Since I have been keeping track, I have seen him fight three times. He has a really good jab, good speed, decent power. I think he has fully recovered from the injury that took a couple of years away from him earlier. He formerly held the World Welterweight belt, losing it and the rematch to Ricardo Mayorga. He has fought plenty of top notch competition, beating Sugar Shane Mosley twice, Carlos Baldomir, Vince Phillips, Raul Frank, and Ray Oliveira. He is currently rated 7th in the All-Time Light Middleweight rankings, 3rd in the Active ratings, and 23 in the Active Lb. 4 Lb Ratings. Piccirillo was born in Bari, Italy and fights out of Modugno, Italy. He is 48-3-0 and is 37. In addition to the aforementioned 1991 World Championships, he also fought in the 1992 Olympics. He last fought in July, winning a decision over noname Sylvain Touzet. He took the Welterweight belt by beating Cory Spinks after Forrest vacated, then lost it to Spinks in the rematch. He has fought a lot in Europe against nonames, but he also lost to Ricardo Mayorga in a title fight and Soren Sondergaard, and beat Rafael Pineda, so he does have some chops. He is rated 10th on the All-Time Light Middleweight rankings and 4th in the Active ratings. This is two old guys fighting for a belt, but one has been fighting good opposition recently, the other has been beating stiffs recently. The Brian's put this at Forrest 1028.9 over Piccirillo 986.4. I don't think it will be that close. Give me Forrest.

In review, the Brian's take

Campas-----------I pick Campas

Hernandez--------I pick Hernandez

Angulo------------I pick Angulo

Kirkland----------I pick Kirkland

Maldonado--------I pick Donaire

Tarver------------I pick Tarver

Forrest-----------I pick Forrest

11/23 Preview and Review

Last week's results:
Brian's-Soto Karass I pick Soto Karass Winner-Soto Karass
Brian's-Rahman I pick Rahman Winner-Rahman
Brian's-Oruh I pick Abell Winner-Abell
Brian's-Ward I pick Ward Winner-Ward
Brian's-Gonzalez I pick Gonzalez Winner-Gonzalez
Brian's-Lopez I pick Lopez Winner-Lopez (over David Toribio)
Brian's-Figueroa I pick Rodriguez Winner-Figueroa
Brian's-Mares I pick Mares Winner-Mares
Brian's-Soto I pick Soto Winner-Guzman
This was not a particularly difficult week. The numbers and I both did well. I haven't seen many of the fights yet, though. Hopefully, I will get a chance to catch up this weekend. However, I did watch the Guzman-Soto fight. Soto looked terrible. He looked really tired and he was never in the fight. Guzman was really fast and couldn't miss. Soto was outclassed. I wonder if coming back down from Welterweight in his last fight took to much out of him. It was definitely a disappointing performance for him. The Brian's went 7-2 and I went 7-2.
Very little action this weekend, with only one card on Telefutura. There is also a Pay-per-View featuring Fernando Vargas vs. Ricardo Mayorga, two guys who should be retired coming out to fight each other. I think Mayorga will probably win and I hope Vargas goes back into retirement. For that matter, I hope Mayorga reitres, too, though I don't worry about his health the way I worry about Vargas's. Anyway, on to the fights:
We start with Bobby Pacquiao vs. Fernando Trejo in a 10 round Super Featherweight matchup. Pacquiao fights out of General Santos City, Phillipines and is the brother of Manny Pacquiao. He is 27-13-3 and 26 years old. In his last fight he got crushed by Humberto Soto, a 7th round TKO in June. I saw that fight and the two before and I was not impressed with him in any of them, though one was a victory over Kevin Kelley. To be fair, Kelley was way over the hill at the time of the fight, though. He beat Carlos Hernandez. He lost to Fahprakorb Rakkiatgym and Jimrex Jaca. He is currently rated 120th in the All-Time Lightweight rankings and 51st in the Active ratings. Trejo was born in Mexico City and fights out of Jarrell, TX. He is 30-12-4 and is 33. He last fought in September, defeating an average Juan Ramon Cruz. I have seen him fight four times. He is not really spectacular at anything, just a plugger. He beat Jose Armando Santa Cruz, but he lost to Rogers Mtagwa. He lost to Ebo Elder, but he beat Luis Antonio Arceo. He runs a bit hot and cold. He is rated 119th on the All-Time Lightweight rankings and 39th in the Active ratings. This is a guy with a recognizable name against a guy who wants to be good and isn't quite there. This might turn out to be a close fight between a couple of average guys. The Brian's put this at Trejo 776.4 over Pacquiao 741.9. I have to agree, Trejo.
In the main event, Carlos Baldomir vs. Luciano Perez in a 10 round Light Middleweight matchup. Baldomir was born in Santa Fe, Argentina and fights out of Los Angeles. He is 43-11-6 and 36 years old. In his last fight he lost a unanimous decision in July to Vernon Forrest that was not very close. I have seen his last four fights. He is a tough guy. A come forward, keep winging punches, keep fighting, fight through anything kind guy. He is not particularly skilled, but he is good. He won the Welterweight title by beating Zab Judah, kept it in a defense against Arturo Gatti, and only lost it to Floyd Mayweather. In addition to those fights (his last four), he beat Jose Luis Cruz and Joshua Clottey, and he lost to Soren Sondergaard. He is currently rated 28th in the All-Time Light Middleweight rankings and 20th in the Active ratings. Perez was born in Mexico and fights out of Chicago. He is 15-6-1 and is 29. He last fought in June, losing a unanimous decision to a decent Richard Gutierrez. I have seen him fight twice, but not memorably. He lost to Alfonso Gomez and Jesus Soto Karass, but he beat Grover Wiley. He is rated 203rd on the All-Time Welterweight rankings and 76th in the Active ratings. This is a guy on the downside trying to stay alive, beat a journeyman and keep his name relevant, maybe get another title shot. The Brian's put this at Baldomir 877.8 over Perez 637.5. I agree, Baldomir.
In review, the Brian's take
Trejo--------------I pick Trejo
Baldomir---------- I pick Baldomir

11/15 - 11/17 Preview and Review

Last week's results:
Brian's-Mendez I pick Mendez Winner-Mendez
Brian's-Lorenzo I pick Rosales Winner-Lorenzo
Brian's-Margarito I pick Margarito Winner-Margarito
Brian's-Casamayor I pick Santa Cruz Winner-Casamayor
Brian's-Cotto I pick Mosley Winner-Cotto


It was an inauspicious week for me, to be sure. Mendez won and won pretty easily. Rosales looked bad with Lorenzo. He was clearly nervous about moving up in skill level of opposition. He lost a fairly close one. On HBO, we got an extra, Victor Ortiz vs. Carlos Maussa. It was exciting for the round it lasted, as Ortiz clocked Maussa in the first. Very dramatic. Margarito also won in the first with an easy KO. In the Casamayor fight, Santa Cruz got totally robbed. He may not have done a whole lot, but all that Casamayor did was grab and hold. Not tie up, grab and hold, two hands behind Santa Cruz's shoulders and clutch. It was like he was trying to slow dance. And then he got a split decision. Ridiculous. The Cotto Mosley fight was very entertaining. It started with Cotto being bullish, coming in, applying pressure and Mosley trying to stay in and slug with him. Then, midway through the 6th, Mosley decided to change tactics and box, and Cotto outboxed him. It was a wonderful performance, demonstrating the vast skills of both boxers. Cotto won a close one, and that seemed fair. Mosley was great in defeat, no whining or excuses at all. I hope he is not done, though it looks like he may suddenly be on the downside. This fight was not as good as Calzaghe, but it was very good. The Brian's went 5-0 and I went 2-3.

Lots of fights this weekend, but no great ones. I am looking forward to a couple, though.
The undercard:On Thursday, on Versus, we start with Jesus Soto Karass vs. Juan Manuel Buendia in a 10 round Welterweight matchup. Soto Karass fights out of Los Mochis, Mexico. He is 17-2-3 and 25 years old. In his last fight he TKO's Jose Antonio Ojeda, decent, but not good, in the 3rd round, in August. Including the Ojeda fight, I have seen him fight four times. He is tall, skinny and can punch. He lost to Nurhan Suleyman and Yuri Foreman, he drew with Manuel Gomez, but he beat Vince Phillips, though Phillips was on the downside. He is currently rated 146th in the All-Time Welterweight rankings and 35th in the Active ratings. Buendia was born in Durango, Mexico and fights out of Lincoln Park, MI. He is 14-1-1 and is 26. He last fought in July, a no-contest one rounder with Oscar Diaz. I saw him fight a couple of times early in his career but he is not memorable. There are no real names on his record, outside of a victory over Delvin Rodriguez, perhaps, though, tellingly, he drew and lost to the same aforementioned Jose Antonio Ojeda. He is rated 163rd on the All-Time Welterweight rankings and 49th in the Active ratings. Looking at the records, this is set up as a fairly evenly matched fight, but clearly Soto Karass has fought the much better opposition. Buendia is making his first big step up in class. With Soto Karass' power, this may be a quick one. The Brian's put this at Soto Karass 780.3 over Buendia 741.2. I agree, Soto Karass.
In the Versus main event, Hasim Rahman vs. Zuri Lawrence in a 10 round Heavyweight fight. Rahman was born and fights out of Baltimore. He is 44-6-2 and 35 years old. In his last couple of fights, in September and October, he has beaten up journeyman tomato cans in early rounds. I have seen him fight at least nine times. In recent years, he has gotten a bit tubby. He does not have a particularly unique style, kind of your typical heavy handed plodding heavyweight. He has been to the mountaintop, knocking out Lennox Lewis to win the heavyweight championship. He also fought for the interim and real titles a couple of other times. He fought Evander Holyfield and sported a lovely grapefruit on his forehead near the end of the fight. He fought David Tua and James Toney and Oleg Maskaev, among others. He once was a big time heavyweight, he is now trying to recapture the magic. He is currently rated 58th in the All-Time Heavyweight rankings and 9th in the Active ratings. Lawrence was born in Poughkeepsie, NY and fights out of Wappinger Falls. He is 23-12-4 and is 37. He last fought in October, winning a decision against a no name kid. I have seen him fight twice, both KO losses, one in spectacular fashion against Calvin Brock. He inexplicably beat Jameel McCline, but he lost to Dominick Guinn and Timo Hoffman. He is rated 331st on the All-Time Heavyweight rankings and 111th in the Active ratings. This is a fading guy trying to go from C level fighters to B level fighters to get tuned up to make another title run. Rahman will get old one day, though. Maybe this is the day. Probably not. The Brian's put this at Rahman 988.4 over Lawrence 703.9. I'll also take Rahman.
Friday gives us a card on Showtime, Telefutura, and Telemundo. In the undercard of the Showtime fight, we get Teke Oruh vs. Joey Abell in a 10 round Heavyweight fight. Oruh was born in Lagos, Nigeria and fights out of Las Vegas. He is 14-0-1 and 29 years old. In his last fight he beat journeyman in the making Jason Gavern in a majority decision in May. He fought for Nigeria in the 1999 World Championships. I have never seen him fight and Gavern, who barely counts, is the only guy he has ever fought. He is currently rated 299th in the All-Time Heavyweight rankings and 96th in the Active ratings. Abell fights out of Minneapolis. He is 17-1-0 and is 26. All 18 of his fights have ended in knockouts, including his last, in September. He has also never fought anybody worth anything. He is rated 303rd on the All-Time Heavyweight rankings and 101st in the Active ratings. Two guys trying to make a name for themselves. One has big power apparently, the other doesn't. The Brian's take Oruh 747.7 over Abell 741.6. Me, I'll take the power, Abell.
In the Showtime ShoBox main event, we get Andre Ward vs. Roger Cantrell in a 10 round Super Middleweight fight. Ward was born in San Francisco and fights out of Oakland. He is 13-0-0 and 23 years old. He was a gold medalist at the 2004 Olympics. He has won his last three fights by TKO, including his last in July against a decent but outmatched Francisco Diaz. I have seen six of his early fights. He has flashy skills and decent power, but he looked very coltish. Perhaps he has settled down a bit in recent fights as he gained experience. He has fought some decent records, but Diaz was his only real opponent to date. He is currently rated 89th in the All-Time Super Middleweight rankings and 52nd in the Active ratings. Cantrell fights out of Puyallup, WA. He is 12-0-0 and is 21. He has won his last three fights by KO, including his last, in June against a long-time loser, Jonathan Corn. I have seen him fight once, in a narrow split decision win over Marcus Pernell, another no-name with a record. He did nothing to make himself stand out in that fight, and he hasn't fought anybody better than Pernell. He is rated 136th on the All-Time Light Heavyweight rankings and 44th in the Active ratings. This may be a slight step up in class for Ward. But, mainly, this is a glossy record that hasn't fought anybody with the tools that Ward has. These are the classic opportunities for looking ahead, but Ward should have it pretty easy. The Brian's put this at Ward 772.8 over Cantrell 727.1. I'll take Ward.
On Telefutura, we start with a 10 round Super Bantamweight fight featuring Jhonny Gonzalez and Jose Angel Beranza. Gonzalez was born in Pachuca, Mexico and fights out of Mexico City. He is 34-6-0 and 26 years old. In his last fight he lost his Bantamweight title to Gerry Penalosa in a big upset in August. I have seen him fight seven times, including his last five. He is a quick guy with a wicked hook to the body. 29 KOs in 34 wins. He has fought plenty of top notch competition, including wins over Ratanachai Sor Vorapin, Mark Johnson, Francisco Montiel, and Irene Pacheco, and a loss to Israel Vazquez. He is currently rated 4th in the All-Time Bantamweight rankings and 3rd in the Active ratings. Beranza was born in Tepito, Mexico and fights out of Mexico City. He is 30-10-2 and is 31. In his last fight, in August, he lost a whitewash to Diosdado Gabi. In addition to the Gabi loss, he also lost to Jorge Lacierva, but he has wins over Vernie Torres and Ivan Hernandez. He is rated 34th on the All-Time Bantamweight rankings and 24th in the Active ratings. This is another guy trying to get his comeback on against an older club guy who is better than plenty but not in his league. The Brian's take Gonzalez 956.5 over Beranza 704.7. No doubt, Gonzalez.
In the Telefutura main event, we get David Lopez vs. Darryl Salmon in a 10 round Middleweight fight. Lopez was born and fights out of Nogales, Mexico. He is 32-12-0 and 29 years old. He won a big decision in his last fight in August against a decent Larry Marks. I have seen him fight four times and I shook his hand after one of them. He is decent, not spectacular, just solid. He has beaten some middle of the road guys, Rocky Montoya, Epifanio Mendoza, Danny Perez, among others and hasn't lost since 05. He is currently rated 34th in the All-Time Super Middleweight rankings and 18th in the Active ratings. Salmon was born in Savannah and fights out of Troy, AL. He is 16-2-0 and is 28. He lost a forst round KO to the up-and-coming Joe Greene in August. I have seen him fight once, the Greene fight, but he was not around long enough to form any kind of opinion. He hasn't really fought anyone else of note. He has no power, only 4 KOs, and he has lost his last two. Seems like he may be being served up. He is rated 228th on the All-Time Middleweight rankings and 56th in the Active ratings. This is the solid veteran getting one last bite out of the trumped up young guy before all traces of respectability have been beaten out of his record. The Brian's put this at Lopez 891.3 over Salmon 681.7. I'll take Lopez.
In the Telemundo main event, we get Francisco Figueroa vs. Noel Rodriguez in a 12 round Light Welterweight bout for a regional belt. Figueroa fights out of the Bronx. He is 17-2-0 and 29 years old. He has won his last three by knockout, including his last against a less than decent Ubaldo Hernandez in July. Hernandez is probably as good as he has fought, which is to say, he hasn't ever really fought anybody. He is currently rated 150th in the All-Time Welterweight rankings and 37th in the Active ratings. Rodriguez fights out of McKinney. He is 13-1-0 and is 22. He last fought in May, whitewashing the practiced loser Willie Diamond. He has never fought anyone of note. He is rated 198th on the All-Time Welterweight rankings and 63rd in the Active ratings. Two guys who haven't been tested, looking to test each other. It could be interesting. The Brian's put this at Figueroa 776.2 over Rodriguez 705.8. On a whim, I'll take the Texas kid, youth over age, Rodriguez.
And, for the Main Event, the Saturday night HBO card. We start with Abner Mares vs. Damian David Marchiano in a 12 round Bantamweight bout. Mares was born in Guadalajara and fights out of Montebello, CA. He is 14-0-0 and 21 years old. He was a 2004 Olympian for Mexico. In his last fight, in September, he beat a good Isidro Garcia inside the distance. I have seen him fight once, it was not memorable. He has mostly been protected, with Garcia being his first step up of any real measure. He is currently rated 25th in the All-Time Bantamweight rankings and 18th in the Active ratings. Marchiano was born in and fights out of San Nicolas, Argentina. He is 14-2-1 and is 28. He last fought in February, winning a big decision against a no-name. This will be his first fight outside of Argentina, so I have never seen him fight and there are no real names on his resume. He is rated 99th on the All-Time Featherweight rankings and 52nd in the Active ratings. Not much is known about Marchiano, but I suspect that this should bea showcase kind of fight for Mares against a game but loser opponent. The Brian's put this at Mares 777.9 over Marchiano 679.5. I'll trust Mares camp and take Mares.
And in the HBO Main Event, we have Joan Guzman vs. Humberto Soto in a 12 round Super Featherweight bout for the WBO Championship. Guzman was born in Santo Domingo, DR and fights out of Brooklyn. He is 27-0-0 and 31 years old. He was an Olympian in 1996. He previously held the Super Bantamweight title and this will be his second defense of the Super Featherweight title. His last fight was a lopsided decision win against Antonio Davis. I have seen him fight twice and he is a big puncher, though his last 6 have gone the distance. He has fought some good folks, Javier Jauregui, Jorge Rodrigo Barros, Fernando Beltran, Agapito Sanchez, beating all of them. He is currently rated 6th in the All-Time Super Featherweight rankings and 3rd in the Active ratings. Soto was born in Los Mochis, Mexico and fights out of Tijuana. He is 43-5-0 and is 27. He last fought in September, getting a TKO in a tuneup at Welterweight against a no-name. He hasn't lost since 2002, when he lost a majority decision to Kevin Kelley. I have seen him fight 4 times and have been impressed. He looks very good and has been knocking everybody out lately. Nobody can stay with him for long. He has fought In addition to the Kelley fight, he beat Humberto Toledo and Rocky Juarez, among several other decent folks. He is rated 38th on the All-Time Welterweight rankings and 5th in the Active ratings. If he were rated at Super Feather, he would be 3rd. This should be a good, exciting fight. Both guys are pride types who will come forward and look to take the other guy out. Soto has been more successful with that lately. The Brian's put this at Soto1012.8 over Guzman 978.8. I will also take Soto to take the title.

In review, the Brian's take
Soto Karass-------I pick Soto Karass
Rahman---------- I pick Rahman
Oruh--------------I pick Abell
Ward--------------I pick Ward
Gonzalez----------I pick Gonzalez
Lopez-------------I pick Lopez
Figueroa----------I pick Rodriguez
Mares-------------I pick Mares
Soto---------------I pick Soto
And, if you can only watch one, make it Soto-Guzman, there should be lots of leather flying.

11/9 - 11/10 Preview

First let's see how we did last week:
Brian's-Rocha I pick Rocha Winner-Rocha
Brian's-Ouma I pick Ouma Winner-Roman
Brian's-Lopez I pick Lopez Winner-Lopez
Brian's-Brock I pick Brock Winner-Chambers
Brian's-Honorio I pick Guerrero Winner-Guerrero
Brian's-Marquez I pick Juarez Winner-Marquez
Brian's-Calzaghe I pick Calzaghe Winner-Calzaghe

Telefutura pulled a switcheroo and did not televise the Rocha fight. Ouma looked like he decided not to come to the fight. He slept through it practically and got beat by a guy who was decent and looked like he wanted it a whole lot more. Josesito Lopez was faster and better than Tyrone Harris, who looked ancient and very slow. Calzaghe, though, was clearly the best of the weekend. He was great against Kessler. It was like watching the ocean, maybe no single wave was impressive but eventually it completely bent the coast to its will. He was dominant. I can't imagine anybody at super middle giving him trouble. I think he would hammer Kelly Pavlik and Jermain Taylor, and none of the Light Heavys could keep up with him. The only one who has a chance is Bernard Hopkins. I think that would be a very ugly fight, but it would be a close one. The Brian's went 4-3 and I went 4-3 also.
On to this week. Not as many fights this week, with only a Telefutura card and an HBO PPV on Saturday, but the HBO main event should be great.
The undercard:
On Telefutura, we start with Argenis Medez vs. Jorge Ruiz in an 8 round Lightweight matchup. Mendez fights out of San Juan de la Maguana, Dominican Republic. He was a member of the Dominican Republic 2004 Olympic team. He is 8-0-0 and 21 years old. In his last fight he pitched a near shutout against a no-name in September. I have seen him fight once, but nothing memorable. He has yet to fight anybody that is any kind of quality. He is currently rated 159th in the All-Time Lightweight rankings and 65th in the Active ratings. Ruiz was born in Santa Clara, Cuba and fights out of Miami. He is 5-2-1 and is 28. He last fought in May, losing a huge decision to Dat Nguyen, the only name he has ever fought. He is rated 113th on the All-Time Featherweight rankings and 73rd in the Active ratings. Clearly this is a showcase fight for a fresh Olympian. After this fight, Mendez still will not have fought any names, and still should be undefeated. The Brian's put this at Mendez 662.8 over Ruiz 558.4. I have no doubt it will be Mendez.
Next Up, Francisco Lorenzo vs. Guadalupe Rosales in a 10 round Lightweight fight. Lorenzo was born and fights out of San Cristobal, Dominican Republic. He is 29-4-0 and 36 years old. In his last fight he won a unanimous decision against the journeyman Baudel Cardenas in July. I have seen his last two fights, but nothing really sticks out about him. He lost to Juan Diaz and Courtney Burton, but he beat Nate Campbell, all big names. He is currently rated 24th in the All-Time Super Featherweight rankings and 6th in the Active ratings. Rosales was born in Charcas, Mexico and fights out of San Luis Potosi, Mexico. He is 25-1-0 and is 26. He last fought in August, pitching a shutout against Marcos Licona. He beat Jose Reyes early in his career and his only loss was to James Baker, more than 5 years ago. He is rated 28th on the All-Time Super Featherweight rankings and 11th in the Active ratings. So, we have here two decent guys, one who has been around a long time, the other on his way up. Lorenzo is clearly the best guy Rosales has fought, while Rosales is only in the top five of Lorenzo's opponents. The problem there, though, is that those fights for Lorenzo was a while ago. The Brian's put this at Lorenzo 877.1 over Rosales 855.4. I think youth will have the day, though. Give me Rosales.
And now for the Main Event, HBO's Saturday pay-per-view.
We Start with Antonio Margarito vs. Golden Johnson in a 12 round Welterweight bout for a regional belt. Margarito was born in Torrence, CA and fights out of Tijuana. He is 34-5-0 and 29 years old. In his last fight he lost a close but definite decision to the undefeated and up-and-coming Paul Williams for the WBO Welterweight championship. The fight was Margarito 8th defense of the belt and he also fought for the Light Middleweight title, losing a split technical decision to Daniel Santos after he got cut. I have seen him fight six times, including his last two. He is very big for a welterweight and nobody wants to fight him. He has heavy hands and is a high volume puncher, but his hands are not all that quick. He has fought plenty of top quality opposition, from Williams and Joshua Clottey to Andrew Lewis and Antonio Diaz. He is currently rated 47th in the All-Time Welterweight rankings and 8th in the Active ratings. Johnson was born in Wichita Falls and fights out of Killeen. He is 25-7-3 and is 33. He last fought almost a year ago, winning a TKO against a good record kid, Oscar Diaz. He lost to Shane Mosley, Juan Lazcano, Ben Tackie, Cosme Rivera, and Vivian Harris, but he beat Teddy Reid, Chantel Stanciel, and Diaz. He is rated 139th on the All-Time Welterweight rankings and 29th in the Active ratings. So, we have a world class guy fighting against a guy who has fought world class opposition but has always lost to them. This is almost a get back fight for Margarito, looking to beat a decent name to get back in the title picture. The Brian's put this at Margarito 968.4 over Johnson 789.8. Johnson came through with an upset last time out, but not this time. I'll take Margarito.
Next up, Joel Casamayor vs. Jose Armando Santa Cruz in a 12 round Lightweight bout for the WBC title. Casamayor was born in Guantanamo and fights out of Miramar, FL. He is 34-3-1 and 36 years old. He was a Junior Wold Champion in 1989, He won the Gold Medal in the 1992 Olympics for Cuba. He was a silver medalist in the 1993 World Championships. He took 3rd in 94, and he competed in 95. He was a silver medalist at the 94 Goodwill Games. He is coming off a13 month layoff from his last fight, in which he won a split decision against Diego Corrales to take the WBC Lightweight Title. He had fought for the Lightweight title once before, and he defended the WBA Super Featherweight Title 8 times. I have seen him fight three times, three of his non-wins. It looks like motivation can be troublesome for him and he is coming off a whole lot of off time. He has fought plenty of top quality opposition, 3 great close fights with Corrales, a loss to Jose Luis Castillo, a Draw with Almazbek Raiymkulov, a loss to Acelino Freitas, a win over Acelino Freitas and more. He is currently rated 26th in the All-Time Lightweight rankings and he would be 4th in the Active ratings if he were active. Santa Cruz was born in Michoacan, Mexico and fights out of Lincoln Heights, CA. He is 25-2-0 and is 27. He last fought in July, getting a TKO victory over a almost a year ago, winning a 2nd round TKO against a decent Dairo Esalas. He previously held the WBC Lightweight belt and lost it to Davd Diaz. I have seen him fight twice, but he doesn't having any outstanding characteristics. He has several names on his resume, including Justin Juuko, Edner Cherry, and David Diaz, but Casamayor will be the best he has ever fought. He is rated 31st on the All-Time Light Welterweight rankings and 11th in the Active ratings. This time, we have a world class guy who may be on his last legs fighting against a much younger guy who has been at a world class level before. This is almost a get back fight for Margarito, looking to beat a decent name to get back in the title picture. The Brian's put this at Casamayor 965.8 over Santa Cruz 883.7. I worry about father Time and Mr. Motivation with Casamayor. I'll take Santa Cruz.
And in the HBO Main Event, we have Shane Mosley vs. Miguel Cotto in a 12 round bout for the WBA Welterweight Championship. Mosley was born in Lynwood, CA and fights out of La Verne, CA. He is 44-4-0 and 36 years old. He was a US Champion in 80, 90, and 92. He was a silver medalist in the World Junior Championships in 89, and a Bronze Medalist in the 1990 Goodwill Games. He has been a World Champion at Lightweight, Welterweight, and Light Middleweight. His last fight was a lopsided decision win against Luis Collazo. I have seen 7 of his last 8 fights. He is a pound for pound great. He has crazy fast hands, especially at welterweight. He packs a quality punch, though not monstrous. He is technically gifted. He is very smart in the ring and charismatic out of it. In another era, he could have been Sugar Ray Leonard. He has fought plenty of top quality opposition, beating Fernando Vargas and Oscar De La Hoya twice. Only two men have managed to beat him, Winky Wright, who was just too big for him, and Vernon Forrest who was too long. He is currently rated 17th in the All-Time Welterweight rankings and 2nd in the Active ratings. He is also 12th in the Active Pound for Pound ratings. Cotto was born and fights out of Caguas, Puerto Rico. He is 30-0-0 and is 27. He last fought in June, getting a stirring TKO victory against Zab Judah in his 2nd defense of the Welterweight crown. Before that, he had defended the Light Welterweight title 6 times. I have seen him 11 of his last 12, including his last 8. He is a very powerful puncher. He has been knocked down a couple of times and has had a questionable chin, but he has always gotten back up to take care of business. Noone has been able to stand up to his power yet. That includes the likes of Judah, DeMarcus Corley, Randall Bailey, Paulie Malignaggi, Ricardo Torres, Oktay Urkal, Carlos Quintana, and more. He is rated 16th on the All-Time Welterweight rankings and 1st in the Active ratings. He is number 11 on the Active pound for pound list. This should be a great, exciting fight. Mosley has speed, Cotto has power. Cotto will come forward, Mosley won't back up. Mosley may not be at his peak, but he is the best guy Cotto has fought. Cotto is still getting better each fight. I like both of these guys. The Brian's put this at Cotto 1081.7 over Mosley 1065.6. I think I want to be for Cotto. Mosley is really good. In the Think Want game, I want Cotto, but I'll take Mosley.
In review, the Brian's take
Mendez-----------I pick Mendez
Lorenzo-----------I pick Rosales
Margarito---------I pick Margarito
Casamayor--------I pick Santa Cruz
Cotto--------------I pick Mosley
And, if you can only watch one, spend some time on Mosley-Cotto. See if the young bull can knock off the old lion. It will also be a great one.

11/2 - 11/3 Preview

Lots of action this week and some huge fights. Let's start with Friday.
The Undercard:
On Telefutura, we start with Cesar Morales vs. Nestor Rocha in a 10 round Bantamweight matchup. Cesar Morales was born in Ecatepec, Mexico and fights out of Tijuana. He represented Mexico as a Bantamweight in the 2000 Olympics. He is 19-5-0 and 29 years old. He is coming off a 14-month layoff, before which he had suffered two TKOs, the first of them to a bit of a loser, the second to a respectable kind of guy (Al Seeger). I have seen him fight a couple of times, but nothing memorable. In addition to Seeger, he has fought Clarence Vinson and Ivan Hernandez who are both decent guys, he beat Vinson, lost to Hernandez. He is currently rated 39th in the All-Time Super Bantamweight ranking and if he were active, he would be rated 26th. Rocha was born and fights out of Montebello, CA. He is 17-1-0 and is 25. He last fought at the beginning of September when he suffered his only loss to a kid named Jonas Hernandez. I have also seen him fight unmemorably once. The best name on his record is probably Cecilio Santos, but really he hasn't fought anybody of note. He is rated 35th on the All-Time Super Bantamweight ranking and 22nd in the Active ratings. So, essentially an up-and-comer, trying to rebound against an old guy who has a name but is on the fade. The Brian's put this at Rocha 737.9 over Morales 674.35. I will also pick Rocha.
In the Telefutura main event, we get Kassim Ouma vs. Saul Roman in a 10 round Light Middleweight matchup. Kassim Ouma was born in Kampala, Uganda where he was impressed into one of the youth military gangs and forced to carry and use an automatic weapon. He now fights out of West Palm Beach, FL. He was on the Ugandan national amateur team and on a visit to the US, he defected and was granted political asylum. He was the IBF Light Middleweight champ and lost in his second defense to Roman Karmazin. He is 25-3-1 and 28 years old. His last fight he lost to Jermain Taylor in a fight for the WBC and WBO Middleweight titles. I have seen him fight six times, including his last four. He is a big action guy, occassionally getting off 100 or more punches in a round. He doesn't have great power, but his volume punching can wear guys down and take them out. He has fought a gazillion name guys and beaten a lot of them. He is currently rated 79th in the All-Time Middleweight ranking and 6th in the active Middleweight ratings, though if he were a Light Middleweight, he would be 12th All-Time. Roman was born in Culiacan, Mexico and fights out of Tijuana. He is 27-4-0 and is 27. He last fought at the beginning of June and got TKO'd by Daniel Stanisavljevic, a loser. This was his second KO loss in a row. I have never seen him fight. He beat Manning Galloway, but long after Galloway was any good. He beat Marco Antonio Rubio early in Rubio's career, but in the rematch, after Rubio had his legs under him, he lost. He is rated 45th on the All-Time Light Middleweight ranking and 45nd in the Active ratings. What we have here is a big name guy that I like, fighting to stay active against an opponent with a decent record who has never fought anybody in this league. The Brian's put this at Ouma 952.9 over Roman 785.2. No question. I like Ouma, I pick Ouma in a walk.
Showtime also has a card on Friday night. On their undercard, we get Josesito Lopez vs. Tyrone Harris in an 8 round Lightweight matchup. Josesito Lopez fights out of Riverside, CA. He is 21-2-0 and 23 years old. His last fight he KO'd Luis Antonio Arceo in mid-August. I have never seen him fight. Other than Arceo, he beat Allen Litzau, Jason younger brother in his debut and he lost to Wes Ferguson, who is decent. He is currently rated 112th in the All-Time Lightweight ranking and 31st in the active Lightweight ratings. Harris was born and fights out of Lansing, MI. He is 21-3-0 and is 26. He last fought in mid-August and decisioned Rafael Ortiz, also a loser, in a fight I saw but was not memorable. He has fought two name guys, Stevie Johnston and Koba Gogoladze, but he lost to them both. He is rated 120th on the All-Time Lightweight ranking and 39th in the Active ratings. So we have two young guys, in a decent matchup typical of Showtime's Friday night offerings. One guy is younger and coming up fast, losing to a decent guy and a no-name, the other is older, not coming up quite so quickly, fought the better competition, but lost against the good ones. The Brian's put this at Lopez 780.8 over Harris 766.9. This is a close one, but I'll agree again and take Lopez.
In the main event, we get Eddie Chambers vs. Calvin Brock in a 12 round Heavyweight fight. Eddie Chambers was born in Pittsburgh and fights out of Philly. He is 29-0-0 and is 25. His last fight he won a decision against a typically lackadaisical Dominick Guinn. Including the Guinn fight, I have seen him fight three times, including his last two. He is not great, he is more of a mover and a pattycake puncher then a heavy handed type. Think Chris Byrd, but bigger and less defensive minded. His fight against Guinn represented a real step up in class from the pugs he had been beating up on. He is currently rated 118th in the All-Time Heavyweight ranking and 25th in the active Heavyweight ratings. Brock, "the boxing banker" was born and fights out of Charlotte, NC. He is 31-1-0 and is 32. He last fought at the beginning of June and beat a no-name guy with a good record. I have seen him fight five times, the last being the only loss of his career, last November against Wladimir Klitschko for the Heavyweight Championship. He is not a technically great fighter, he is often awkward. But he got up the canvas to beat Jameel McCline and showed a lot of heart despite being a bit outclassed by Klitschko. He also has a surprising knack of making an opponent bend to his will as the fight slowly goes his way. In addition to Klitschko and McCline, he has also faced Zuri Lawrence and Timor Ibragimov. He is rated 82nd on the All-Time Light Heavyweight ranking and 20th in the Active ratings. This should be a close but boring fight. I like both of these guys ok, but I have a particular fondness for Brock. This will be Chambers opportunity that the unbeaten record he his compiled means something by following up on his victory over afading guy with a victory over a quality guy. Brock is looking to prove that he still deserves to be considered in the heavyweight picture, having compiled two get back wins after the Klitschko fight and now facing a good guy. The Brian's put this at Brock 942.3 over Chambers 918.5. I hope they are right. I pick Brock.
And Now the Main Event:
Big stuff on Saturday, we'll start with the Showtime card.
In the undercard of the Saturday Showtime fights, we get Robert Guerrero against Martin Honorio in a 12 round Featherweight fight for the IBF Featherweight Title. Robert Guerrero fights out of Gilroy, CA. He is 20-1-1 and is 24. His last fight he won the vacant IBF Title with a 9th round TKO of Spend Abazi. I have seen him fight four times, including the only blemish on his record, the draw against a mediocre Julian Rodriguez. He is typically a quick guy and he has heavy hands. I like him. He has beaten Eric Aiken, Enrique Sanchez, and Cesar Figueroa. He is currently rated 45th in the All-Time Featherweight ranking and 16th in the active ratings. Honorio was born in Iztapalapa, Mexico and fights out of Mexico City. He is 24-3-1 and is 27. He last fought at the beginning of July and won a split decision against Joe Morales, a reliable journeyman type. I have seen him fight twice, including the Morales fight which he was supposed to dominate but only managed to squeak by, looking a bit bored. He has beaten Rogers Mtagwa and handed Steven Luevano his first loss. He drew against Jorge Lacierva and lost to William Abelyan. He is rated 24th on the All-Time Super Featherweight ranking and 8th in the Active ratings. We've got here the young firebolt who has already seen what happens when he mails it in for a fight against the also young guy who has suffered the effects of mailing it in, but hasn't figured out how not to do it. The Brian's put this at Honorio 873.7 over Guerrero 824.5. I think Honorio will be focused for this fight, but I think Guerrero will be passionate and will overpower Honorio. Give me Guerrero.
On any other weekend, the Showtime main event would be a huge deal. Juan Manuel Marquez vs Rocky Juarez in a 12 round Super Featherweight fight for the WBC Super Featherweight Title. Juan Manuel Marquez was born in Mexico City and he now fights out of Anaheim, CA. He is 47-3-1 and is 34. His last fight he took this title from Marco Antonio Barrera in a 12 round decision that was stunningly not very close. I have seen him fight five times, including his last three. He is a smart guy, a good boxer. He has the ability to take a guy out and he takes a good punch. He is and has been one of the best little guys out there. He has fought all kinds of name guys, including Barrera, Naseem Hamed, Erik Morales, and the memorable one against Pacquiao where he got knocked down three times in the first round and managed to earn a draw. He is currently rated 2nd in the All-Time Super Featherweight ranking and 2nd in the active ratings. Juarez was born and fights out of Houston. He is 27-3-0 and is 27. He last fought in May and won a decision against a decent Jose Andres Hernandez. I have seen him fight nine times, including his last four. He has a lot of heart, he has some good power. I thought he was too young when he fought Barrera, but he fought him very close in the first fight and also in their second fight. I like him and I think he is ready for Marquez. His losses were to Barrera and Humberto Soto, another stud. He has beaten Frankie Archuleta, gave Zahir Raheem his first loss, and also beaten Emmanuel Lucero. He is rated 12th on the All-Time Featherweight ranking and 5th in the Active ratings. Again we have a young guy coming up to challenge the old lion. I think Marquez still has a lot of fight left in him. I think he has been known to drop his concentration on occasion. I think Juarez is going to bring all his game to this fight and I think it will be enough to squeak by. The Brian's put this at Marquez 1085.7 over Juarez 940.9. This time I disagree. I'll take Juarez.
But the real deal this weekend is on HBO. Joe Calzaghe, the Ring Magazine Super Middleweight Champ, vs. Mikkel Kessler, the Ring Magazine Number One Ranked Contender, for the Ring Magazine, WBA, WBC, and WBO Super Middleweight Championships. Joe Calzaghe was born in Hammersmith, England and he now fights out of Newbridge, Wales. He is 43-0-0 and is 35. His last fight he destroyed Peter Manfredo, Jr. (an early stoppage, but this was still not close). I have seen his last three fights. His fight against Jeff Lacy was a stunning display of dominance. He just destroyed Lacy, who was supposed to be big time. Two fights ago, against Sakio Bika, he did not look great, but Bika is hard to look good against. He is a smart, great boxer and shows up big when he is in the spotlight. In addition to those three, he has beaten Mario Veit twice, Robin Reid, and Omar Sheika. He is currently rated 1st in the All-Time Super Middleweight ranking and 1st in the active ratings. Kessler was born in Copenhagen and fights out of Monaco. He is 39-0-0 and is 28. He last fought in March and crushed a good Librado Andrade. The Andrade fight is the only time I've seen him fight. Against Andrade, he looked strong, he threw lots of punches, but he had some defensive deficiencies. He has fought Markus Beyer, Eric Lucas, and Anthony Mundine, among others. He is rated 3rd on the All-Time Super Middleweight ranking and 2nd in the Active ratings. Two guys near their peak battling for the real deal title. Huge. Calzaghe may be closer to the downside, but I think tonight, in his home soccer stadium, surrounded by over 74,000 fans, I think he will carry the day. Maybe a big shot to cap off his steady barrage and end it in the 9th. The Brian's put this at Calzaghe 1133.3 over Kessler 1037.1. I will also take Calzaghe.
In review, the Brian's take
Rocha-----------I pick Rocha
Ouma-----------I pick Ouma
Lopez-----------I pick Lopez
Brock-----------I pick Brock
Honorio----------I pick Guerrero
Marquez--------I pick Juarez
Calzaghe--------I pick Calzaghe
And, if you can only watch one, spend some time on Calzaghe-Kessler. A historical event and it should be great.