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.