1/25 - 1/26 Preview and Review

A tough week for me:
The Brian's picked Martinez, I picked Martinez, Winner Martinez
Brian's picked Soto Karass, I picked Soto Karass, Winner Soto Karass
Brian's picked Bailey, I picked Bailey, Winner Bailey
Brian's picked Davis, I picked Davis, Winner Fields
Brian's picked Corley, I picked Alexander, Winner Alexander
Brian's picked Golota, I picked Mollo, Winner Golota
Brian's picked Karmazin, I picked Karmazin, Winner Bunema
Brian's picked Jones, Jr., I picked Jones, Jr., Winner Jones, Jr.
So that's 5-3 for me and the Brian's and we were 4-2 when we agreed and 1-1 when we didn't.
This week is pretty slim pickings. Telefutura hasn't decided who there co-feature is, there is no ESPN card and there is only one HBO fight as they will be reshowing the Jones, Jr.-Trinidad fight. So, not much to predict this weekend, but let's see what we do. The Telefutura Main Event is a 12 round Flyweight bout between Hugo Fidel Cazares and Kermin Guardia. Cazares was born in and fights out of Los Mochis, Mexico. He is 25-4-1 and 29 years old. He was a longtime Light Flyweight Champ before losing it in his last fight against the undefeated and very classy Ivan Calderon by split decision in August. I have never seen him fight, but he has some good names on the resume; Calderon, Wilfrido Valdez, Nelson Dieppa twice, Alex Sanchez, and Gerson Guerrero. Prior to the Calderon fight he had won 5 straight before the final bell. He is currently ranked 7th in the All-Time Light Flyweight ratings and 3rd in the Active ratings. Guardia was born in Turbo, Colombia and fights out of Miami. He is 37-7-0 and 38 years old. He has been a World Champion at Light Flyweight and Minimumweight. His last fight was a majority decision loss to the decent Juan Esquer. I have seen him fight three times, though nothing particularly stands out about him. He has fought some quality, Esquer, Jose Carita Lopez, Jose Antonio Aguirre, Nelson Dieppa, Juan Alfonso Keb Baas, Rosendo Alvarez, Ricardo Lopez among them. He is ranked 5th in the All-Time Light Flyweight ratings and 6th in the Active ratings. This is two guys moving up a bit in weight. One of them is young and developing, the other is old and slipping. Guardia has the experience and has fought the tougher guys, but I think Cazares is on the rise. The Brian's pick Cazares 858.9 over Guardia 778.3. I will also take Cazares.

The HBO fight is a 12 round Heavyweight fight, Alexander Povetkin vs. Eddie Chambers. Povetkin was born in Kursk, Russia and fights out of Chekov, Russia. He is 14-0-0 and 28 years old. He won the 2003 World Championships and the 2004 Olympic Gold Medal for Russia. He was also recently featured as the NEXT big thing by ESPN the Magazine. His last fight was an 11th round TKO against the World Class but slipping Chris Byrd in October. I have never seen him fight, but his last two fights have been against high quality but fading opposition, Byrd and Larry Donald. He is currently rated 212 All-Time for Heavyweights and 53rd in the Active ratings. Chambers was born in Pittsburgh and fights out of Philly. He is 30-0-0 and is 25. His last fight he suprised me by winning a split decision against a very good Calvin Brock, going against my prediction. I have seen him fight four times, including his last three. He is not great, he is more of a mover and a pattycake puncher then a heavy handed type, but he has been getting it done against increasingly qualified opponents. Think Chris Byrd, but bigger and less defensive minded. He is currently rated 97th in the All-Time Heavyweight ranking and 22nd in the active Heavyweight ratings. This is a good fight between two guys who are on the rise. One who made a big name in the amateur ranks, the other who has been making it in the pro ranks. The Povetkin TKO of Byrd may prove to be of particular note against Chambers who is in the same mold. The Brian's pick Chambers 945.9 over Povetkin 834.7. I am hard pressed here. I think Chambers is outmatched, but he has beaten better guys his last two times out. I picked against him last time and he showed me up. I don't think he will do it again though. I'll take Povetkin.

To review, the Brian's pick:

Cazares---------I pick Cazares

Chambers-------I pick Chambers.

And here's your chance, if you missed the Jones, Jr. fight, both HBO fights should be good ones.

1-18 - 1/19 Preview and Review

Well, I hate to say I told you so, but...
Brian's pick Escobedo, I pick Escobedo, Winner Escobedo
Brian's pick Mora, I pick Mora, Winner Mora
Brian's pick Pascal, I pick Pascal, Winner Pascal
Brian's pick Miranda, I pick Miranda, Winner Miranda
Adorno gave Escobedo a good fight, but he was unable to win. Mora got a ridiculous stoppage against Ruvalcaba. Ruvalcaba had a lose upper body and was not going to win, but he was not in trouble when the fight was stopped. I underestimated Pittman a bit, and perhaps overrated Pascal, who won a fairly heavy decision but looked pedestrian against Pittman, who had him in trouble more than once. If Pascal fights a tough guy, he will lose his unbeaten record. Miranda returned to form with a stunning KO that almost put Banks out of the ring onto the floor. Very exciting fight that can be seen on espn360.com. Leader in the clubhouse for KO of the year.
This week should be a good one, if only for the big fight. 3 cards, the regulars on Friday and a PPV on Saturday. We begin with Telefutura on Friday. The co-feature is an 8 round Flyweight bout between Raul Martinez and Alex Baba. Martinez was born and fights out of San Antonio. He is 20-0-0 and 25 years old. He was the US National Champ in 2002 and 2003. His last fight was a short one when the modest Evaristo Primero could not continue in the 5th round in July. I have seen him fight a couple of times unmemborably a while back. He has never really fought anybody of any consequence except Alex Becerra, whom he TKOd in the first round in June of 06. He is currently rated 17th in the All-Time Flyweight ratings and 9th in the Active ratings. Baba was born in Accra, Ghana and fights out of Doraville, GA. He is 26-11-1 and 37 years old. He was an Olympian for Ghana in 1992. He fought for the World Flyweight title against Pongsaklek Wonjongkam in October of 01 and was getting cleaned before an accidental cut stopped the fight in the 8th, giving him the L. In his last fight, he won a wide Unanimous decision over a modest Jose Laureano in June. I have seen him fight unmemorably twice. He has fought several good names, losing to Wonjongkam, Ricardo Vargas, Jose Miguel Aguiniga, Cornelius Lock, Gabriel Elizondo, Antonio Escalante, Eric Morel, and Cecilio Santos, and earning a draw with Danny Romero. He has been campaigning at Bantamweight for some time and is coming back down to Fly for this fight. He is currently rated 29 in the All-Time Bantamweight ratings and 29th in the Active Bantamweight ratings. This is a guy on the rise, fighting the best guy he has faced to date, looking to beat a former title contender as he tries to become a title contender himself. Baba has never beaten anybody of Martinez's status, but he has fought a lot of them. He is on the downside of his career, but he should still have enough in the tank if Martinez doesn't come prepared to fight. If Martinez is hungry, he could end it early. The Brian's say Martinez 813.7 over Baba 655.7. I think Martinez will be ready and I think he'll win.
The Main Event on Telefutura is a 10 round Welterweight fight, Jesus Soto Karass vs. Germaine Sanders. Soto Karass was born in Los Mochis, Mexico and fights out of LA. He is 18-3-3 and 25 years old. In his last fight he won a unanimous decision over Juan Manuel Buendia in November, as predicted in this space. Including the Buendia fight, I have seen him fight five 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 78th in the All-Time Light Middleweight rankings and 40th in the Active ratings. Sanders fights out of Chicago. He is 27-4-0 and 37 years old. His last fight was a close unanimous decision loss to the unbeaten and good at the time Shamone Alvarez in August. I saw the Alvarez fight and nothing really stands out about Sanders. In addition to Alvarez, he beat Emmanuel Clottey and lost to Teddy Reid. He is currently rated 143rd in the All-Time Welterweight ratings and 46th in the Active ratings. This should be a competitive fight. Both guys are in a position to have visions of grandeur. The Brian's put this at Soto Karass 803.3 over Sanders 782.5. I gotta stick with Soto Karass as the hotter guy and the guy who has been tested a little bit more.
The other Friday night card is on ESPN. The co-feature is a 10 round Welterweight fight between Randall Bailey and Anthony Mora. Bailey was born in Opa Locka, FL and fights out of Miami. He is 35-6-0 and 33 years old. He is a former two-time World Light Welterweight champ. His last fight was a split decision loss to the very tough Herman Ngoudjo in June. I have seen him fight twice and while I think his skills are eroding, he is still very tough, a good puncher, a good boxer. More speed and quicks than thudding power, though he has 32 KOs in his 35 wins. He has all kinds of good names on the resume, Santos Pakau and Carlos Gonzalez, and losses to Miguel Angel Cotto, Demarcus Corley, Diosbelys Hurtado, Ener Julio, and Ishe Smith. He is rated 31st in the All-Time ratings and 14th in the Active ratings. Mora was born in and fights out of Thornton, CO. He is 15-1-0 and 30 years old. His last fight was way back in March of 06, a loss by retirement in the fifth round against a decent Rustam Nugaev. I have never seen him fight and the loss to Nugaev was the only remarkable name on his sheet. He is currently rated 81st in the All-Time Light Welterweight ratings and if he were active, he would be rated 44th in the active ratings. This looks like a big mismatch. It's Bailey staying active and Mora looking to get back in the game with some noise by beating a guy who might be on the slide. The Brian's say Bailey 838.6 over Mora 717.5. I think it will be Bailey early.
The ESPN Main Event is scheduled to be a 10 round cruiserweight fight, Eric Fields vs. Kelvin Davis. Fields fights out of Ardmore, OK. He is 10-0-0 with 8 KOs and 25 years old. He fought two weeks ago and got a first round KO against noname Eric Pippin. I have never seen him fight and he has never fought anybody. Fields is rated 137th in the All-Time Cruiserweight ratings and 79th in the Active ratings. This is a big step up for him. Davis was born in Natchez, MS, and fights out of Reno. He is 24-7-2 and 29 years old. He is a former Cruiserweight world titlist. He has lost his last three including with the most recent being in November to Carl Davis Drumond, undefeated up and comer, by Unanumous decision. I have seen him fight twice and I think he is a plodder with a big punch. Just keep coming forward and throwing and hope you catch something. He has foughtsome good names, Terry Smith, Darnell Wilson, Steve Cunningham, Guillermo Jones, Ezra Sellers, O'Neill Bell, Ravea Springs, Arthur Williams, but with the exception of the faded Williams and Sellers, he lost all of those. Still I don't think Fields is any good. I think he has built his record on Midwest stiffs. I think Davis is looking to get back on track here. Davis is rated 238th in the All-Time Heavyweight ratings and 107th in the Active ratings. The Brian's say Davis 714.8 over Fields 688.5. I will also take Davis.
The main event on Saturday is an HBO pay-per-view with four televised fights. The undercard starts with a 10 round Light Welterweight fight, Devon Alexander vs. DeMarcus Corley. Alexander fights out of St. Louis. He is 13-0-0 and 20 years old. He was the national champ in 2004. His last fight was a 1st round TKO in October against fellow undefeated Cory Peterson. I have seen him fight once unmemorably. He hasn't really been tested, but it is apparent that he is being groomed to be a stud. This will be his first big challenge. He is currently rated 190th on the All-Time Welterweight ratings and 59th in the Active ratings. Corley was born in and fights out of Washington, DC. He is 31-7-1 and 33 years old. He is a former World Light Welterweight champ. His last fight was a split decision loss in November to the decent Dairo Esalas. He has lost his last three. I have seen him fight three times. He is tough, a good boxer, decent hands, a good mover, too. But, he is on the down side. He has fought some greats, Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto, Zab Judah, Junior Witter. He beat Randall Bailey and Ener Julio twice. He is currently rated 28th on the All-Time Light Welterweight ratings and 35th on the Active ratings. This is an up and comer taking a step up, but a safe one against a guy whose best days are behind him but who was very good once upon a time. The Brian;s say Corley 754.7 over Alexander 748.7. Close, but I think Alexander will win.
Fight number two will probably a twelve round Heavyweight fight, Mike Mollo vs. Andrew Golota. Mollo fights out of Oak Lawn, IL. He is 19-1-0 and 27 years old. His last fight was a second round TKO in October against Art Binkowski, mainly known as the guy who played Corn Griffin in Cinderella Man. I have never seen him fight and he has not fought many name guys. His loss was to a respectable DaVarryl Williamson. He beat Binkowski and Kevin McBride. He is currently rated 256th in the All-Time Heavyweight ratings and 75th in the Active ratings. Golota was born in Warsaw and fights out of Chicago. He is 40-6-1 and 40 years old. He fought for Poland in the 1988 Olympics and won a bronze medal. He has fought for the heavyweight title three times but never won. His last fight was a TKO victory over Kevin McBride in the 6th in October. (Mollo got it done in the second.) I have seen him fight at least four times. I think he is a very good talent. He has good skills, heavy hands, a good jab. He had a reputation for a while as being a dirty fighter, but I haven't seen that in his recent fights. His only problems of late have been his will. It feels like he gives up on fights from time to time. He has fought all the best, Chris Byrd, John Ruiz, Lamon Brewster, Lennox Lewis, Riddick Bowe twice, Orlin Norris, Michael Grant. He is currently rated 83rd in the All-Time Heavyweight ratings and 24th in the Active ratings. This should be interesting. I think Golota is the better talent and can still get it done. But, Mollo is on the way up and Golota has heart issues. Will he forget to show up on the big stage? The Brian's say Golota 932.6 over Mollo 794.7. I want for Golota to be good, just because I think he has turned over a new leaf. But, I gotta pick Mollo.
Fight number three, a 12 round Light Middleweight fight, Roman Karmazin vs. Alex Bunema. Karmazin was born in St. Petersburg, Russia and fights out of LA. He is 36-2-1 and 35 years old. He is a former World Light Middleweight champ. His last fight was in November, a 3rd round KO against a good Alejandro Garcia. I have seen him fight once, getting beaten by Cory Spinks in a very close decision. He is a solid fighter and has a good work rate. Heavy handed and decent skills, but not the speed to keep up with Spinks. In addition to Spinks and Garcia, he has beaten Kassim Ouma and Keith Holmes, and lost to Javier Castillejo. He is currently rated 21st in the Light Middleweight ratings and 9th in the Active ratings. Bunema was born in Kinshasa, Congolese Democratic Republic and fights out of Atlanta. He is 28-5-2 and 32 years old. His last fight was a 2nd round TKO over nondescript Steve Walker in November. I saw him fight once, a blowout loss to Jermain Taylor. He has fought some decent guys, Taylor, Vince Phillips, Bronco McKart, and Michael Lerma. He also lost to Kassim Ouma when Ouma was on the way up. He is currently rated 199th in the All-Time Middleweight ratings and 37th on the Active ratings. This is a guy staying active a gainst quality opposition, but no real risk here for Karmazin. Bunema should make it an decent fight, but I don't think he has a chance. The Brian's say Karmazin 953.0 over Bunema 782.8. I'll take Karmazin.
And, finally, The Main Event of the weekend. 12 rounds, Light Heavyweights, Roy Jones, Jr. vs. Felix Trinidad.

Jones, Jr. was born in and fights out of Pensacola, FL. He is 51-4-0 and 39 years old. He was the outstanding fighter of the games in 1988 where he won a silver medal. He is a former Heavy, Light Heavy, Super Middle and Middleweight World Champ. He has been the best pound for pound fighter in the world for a good portion of his career. His last fight was a unanimous decision against a dangerous Anthony Hanshaw in July. I have seen him fight at least five times. He has a bit of an unorthodox style but he is ridiculously athletic. He has blazing handspeed and good knockout power. His defense is not perfect, but his speed usually makes up for it. Antonio Tarver raised some questions about his chin, but in his dotage, he appears to be improving his defense enough to make up for it. I still think he can be a World Class fighter. He has fought all the names around, Tarver, Glen Johnson, James Toney, John Ruiz, Clinton Woods, Montell Griffin twice, Otis Grant, Virgil Hill, Vinny Pazienza, Thomas Tate, Bernard Hopkins, Jorge Fernando Castro. He is currently rated as the number 5 All-Time Light Heavyweight and 25th All-Time Lb 4 Lb. He is 2nd in the Active ratings and 8th in the Active Lb. 4 Lb. ratings. Trinidad was born in Cupey Alto, PR and fights out of San Juan, PR. He is 42-2-0 and 35 years old. He has been a Welter, Light Middle, and Middleweight World Champ. His last fight was way back in May of 05, losing a unanimous decision to Winky Wright. I have seen him fight at least twice. He is great. Good power, good speed, good hands, but that was more than 2 1/2 years ago. We'll have to see what time has done to him. He has fought all the greats in his weight class as well, his only two losses coming to Bernard Hopkins and Winky Wright. He beat Ricardo Mayorga, William Joppy, Fernando Vargas, Oscar De La Hoya, Hugo Pineda, Pernell Whitaker, Hector Camacho, Yory Boy Campas, Oba Carr. He is currently rated 13th on the All-Time Welterweight ratings. If he were active, he would be the number one Active Middleweight. Two legends. First ballot Hall of Famers. Trinidad has been gone longer. He is also moving up in weight, while Jones is moving down. The last time Jones moved down was before his fight with Tarver. We all know how that went. The Brian's say Jones, Jr. 1092.8 over Trinidad 1071.5. I think the rust and the pounds will be heavy on Trinidad. I'll take Jones, Jr.
So, in summary, the Brian's pick:
Martinez---------I pick Martinez
Soto Karass------I pick Soto Karass
Bailey-----------I pick Bailey
Davis------------I pick Davis
Corley-----------I pick Alexander
Golota-----------I pick Mollo
Karmazin---------I pick Karmazin
Jones, Jr.-------I pick Jones, Jr.
The Trinidad-Jones, Jr. fight should be great. Don't miss it.

1/11 Preview and Review

Last week was decent but not great.
Brian's pick Viloria, I pick Viloria, Winner Viloria
Brian's pick Rosales, I pick Rosales, Winner Rosales
Brian's pick Mesquita, I pick Peterson, Winner Peterson
Brian's pick Peterson, I pick Peterson, Winner Peterson
Brian's pick Raheem, I pick Raheem, Winner Raheem
Brian's pick Green, I pick Green, Winner Green
Brian's pick Johnson, I pick Johnson, Winner Johnson
Brian's pick Malignaggi, I pick Ngoudjo, Winner Malignaggi
Viloria looked really big and he did not look great, but he had enough to win. Rosales looked good in an early stoppage. Esalas looked like he was just glad to be there. Lamont Peterson pretty much shut out Mesquita and looked a lot better than Anthony, who, when he didn't get an early knockout looked lost. He finally got it back together and did get the KO, though. Raheem looked very sharp in a 1st rnd KO. Green was looking for a KO and didn't get it, but he looked good for the 8 rounds my tivo allowed me to watch. Showtime inexplicably did not televise the Johnson-Pineda fight, but Johnson won by KO. Ngoudjo gave Malignaggi a good run. I had the fight very close, but Malignaggi won the decision. I went 7-1, and so did the Brian's.
This week sees a bit less action, just two Friday night cards by the regulars. In the Telefutura co-feature, Vicente Escobedo vs. Pascali Adorno in a 10 round Lightweight fight. Escobedo fights out of Woodland, CA. He is 15-1-0 and 26 years old. He was the 2003 US Champion and fought for the US in the 2004 Olympics. In his last fight, he won a unanimous decision against a solid Miguel Angel Munguia in October. I have seen him fight five times. He seems a bit raw but he has good power and he is getting better. His best opponent so far has been Daniel Jimenez and he lost that fight. This should not be a fight as tough as that one. He is rated 127th in the All-Time Lightweight ratings and 45th in the Actives. Adorno fights out of Morovis, Puerto Rico. He is 10-6-2 and 25 years old. His last fight was a 1st round TKO loss to a good but not spectacular Tyrone Harris in June. I have never seen him fight, but he has fought some decent folks, Tyrone Harris, Lamont Pearson, Jose Leo Cruz, Almazbek Raiymkulov, Miguel Huerta, Daniel Jimenez, and Rocky Juarez. The only problem is that he hasn't beaten any of them. I don't see him changing that. He is rated 166th in the All-Time Lightweight ratings and 81st in the Active ratings. The Brian's say Escobedo 759.1 over Adorno 595.8. This is the highest rated fighter Adorno has faced. Give me Escobedo.
In the Telefutura Main Event we revisit Sergio Mora in a 10 round Middleweight fight against Rito Ruvalcaba. Mora was born in and fights out of East LA. He is 19-0-1 and 27 years old. He was the winner of the first season of The Contender. His last fight was a tough draw against a good Elvin Ayala. I have seen him fight 7 times. He is quick, has little power but good boxing skills, and decent defense. I think he has made some questionable decisions about his fights, passing up an opportunity to fight Jermain Taylor for the Middleweight championship. While he might have been the underdog, he would have been fighting for the belt, which has to be better than not. It seems to have worked out OK for Peter Manfredo, who went to Wales to get thumped by Joe Calzaghe. Some soldi names on the resume, Eric Regan, Archak Ter-Meliksetian, Peter Manfredo twice, Ayala, Jesse Brinkley, and Ishe Smith. He is rated 127 in the All-Time Middleweight ratings and 16 in the Active ratings. Ruvalcaba was born and fights out of Tijuana. He is 32-8-0 and 33 years old. His last fight was September of 2004 and it was a first round knockout loss to a strong Jose Luis Zertuche. I have seen him fight once, unmemorably. He has some good names on the roster, Zertuche, Epifanio Mendoza, Regan (who beat him), William Joppy, and Yory Boy Campas to name a few. He is rated 166th on the All-Time Middleweight list and if he were active, he would be rated 52nd on the Active list. The Brian's say Mora 896.4 beats Ruvalcaba 742.2. This appears to be Mora looking to beat a guy with a good name and a good record but who is not a threat to his unbeaten streak. And, I think Ruvalcaba is not a threat. I'll take Mora.
The other card, on ESPN promisese to deliver some quickies. We start with Jean Pascal and Omar Pittman in a 10 round Super Middleweight bout. Pascal was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and fights out of Laval, Canada. He is 20-0-0 and 25 years old. He was a Canadian National Champion 7 times and fought for Canada in the 2004 Olympics. His last fight was almost a whitewash against a decent Brian Norman at the beginning of December. I have seen him fight three times and he didn't look great, but he has fairly heavy hands and decent movement. He has beaten some name guys, Kingsley Ikeke, Jermain Mackey, and James Crawford being the best. He is currently rated 48th in the All-Time Super Middleweight ratings and 26th in the Active ratings. Pittman fights out of Philly. He is 15-3-1 and 25 years old. His last two fights have been split decision wins over a marginal Demetrius Davis, one in May the other in October. I have seen him fight once, unmemorably and he has not ever fought anybody who was any good. He is currently rated 179th on the All-Time Light Heavyweight ratings and 70th on the Active ratings. Another keep busy learning fight for Pascal, a major step up for Pittman. Look for pascal to look good on TV. The Brian's say Pascal 854.0 over Pittman 681.3. I'll also take Pascal.
The main event gives us Edison Miranda vs. David Banks in a 10 round Super Middleweight fight. Miranda was born in Buenaventura, Colombia and fights out of Carolina, Puerto Rico. He is 29-2-0 and 27 years old. He was a Colombian National Champion three times. His last fight was a 5th round TKO over the good but not great Henry Porras in October. I have seen him fight four times. He is a bit unorthodox, a bit raw, not a lot of skill, but man, what power. He is totally a knockout artist. He can't fight going backward, though. He has fought a lot of good folks, losing to Kelly Pavlik and Arthur Abraham, current World Champs, and beating Allan Green, Willie Gibbs, Howard Eastman, and Porras. 4 of his last 5 wins have been by KO. He is rated 64th All-Time at Light Heavyweight and 13th in the Active ratings. Banks was born in Ohio and fights out of Portland, OR. He is 15-3-1 and 24 years old. He was a recent participant in The Contender. His last fight was a majority decision over the fair Donnie McCrary in November. I have seen his last four fights. He is a boxer, but he is still developing his skills. Not great, but a good athlete. He has almost no power. We'll see how his chin is. He has some above average names on his roster, McCrary, Paul Smith, Peter Manfredo, and Eromosele Albert in recent days. He is rated 101st in the All-Time ratings and 67 in the Active ratings. This is Banks capitalizing on his Contender fame to get a good fight, but he is in way over his head. Miranda will get some pub by crushing a guy with name recognition. The Brian's say Miranda 918.3 over Banks 751.6. I'll take Miranda and it won't be close.
To review, the Brian's pick:
Escobedo---------I pick Escobedo
Mora-------------I pick Mora
Pascal------------I pick Pascal
Miranda----------I pick Miranda
And if you're choosing between the two, I would suggest ESPN for the more exciting card.

1/4-1/5 Preview and Review

Some good fights last week, though there was one switchup on the televised schedule. Here's what we got:
Brian's pick Fields I pick Fields Winner Fields
Brian's pick Clottey I pick Clottey Winner Clottey
Brian's pick Rodriguez I pick Rodriguez Winner Rodriguez
Brian's pick Antillon I pick Antillon Winner Antillon
Brian's pick Guinn I pick Guinn Winner Hawkins
Now the Brian's also picked Darrell Woods to beat Mark Woolnough while I picked Woolnough, mainly because I thought Woods was done. Woolnough dropped out and Woods fought Louis Sargeant, a total scrub, and lost. So, I know the Brian's would have had Woods, but I don't know for certain that I would have picked Sargeant, so, I'm gonna throw that one out. As for the others, Fields looked mediocre, but Koval was terrible. Clottey looked good. Rodriguez looked bad and McGee did much better than I thought, losing a close decision. And, I was wrong about Guinn. He didn't show up and got beaten easily by Hawkins. I should have expected trouble when Teddy Atlas, in his first comment of the year said he wished ESPN had done a better job of putting the show together. Great. So, I was 4-1 and the Brian's were 4-1.
This week will be a busy one. We have 3 cards Friday night and one on Saturday on Showtime. We'll start with the Telefutura card on Friday. The co-featured bout is a 10 round Super Flyweight fight featuring Brian Viloria vs. Jose Garcia Bernal. Viloria was born in Honolulu and fights out of Waipahu, HI. He is 19-2-0 and 27 years old. He was a National champion in 1999 and fought for the US in the 2000 Olympics. His last fight, in April at Light Flyweight, he lost a majority decision to a decent Edgar Sosa. I have seen him fight four times, three times on his way up, when he was a very heavy handed little guy, beating up on people, and once, when he was revealed as a slow guy with bad defense. That was against Omar Nino Romero, against whom he got a majority draw in the rematch but the result was vacated when Romero failed a drug test. There are some names on the roster, Eric Ortiz and Jose Antonio Aguirre, in addition to Romero, but there are definitely questions about what the added weight will do and if he is already spent. He is currently rated 9th in the All-Time Light Flyweight list and 6th on the Active list. Garcia Bernal was born in Barranquila, Colombia and fights out of Miami. He is 27-9-1 and 37 years old. In his last fight, he got knocked out in the 12th by Juan Mercedes, who is fairly good, in October. In addition to Mercedes, he has also lost to Julio Ler and Mauricio Pastrana. He has lost 3 of his last 4 and 5 of his last 7. He is rated 14th in the All-Time Super Flyweight ratings and 11th in the Active ratings. This is a guy trying to move up and show that he belongs in the higher weight class by beating essentially a B level fighter. The Brian's put it at Viloria 785.0 over Garcia Bernal 658.4. I think Viloria will win, but if he loses, he will fall out of the championship contender level.
The Telefutura Main Event is a 12 round Light Welterweight bout featuring Michel Rosales vs. Dairo Esalas. Rosales was born in and fights out of San Luis Potosi, Mexico. He is 13-1-0 and 24 years old. In his last fight he bombed out rising prospect Americo Santos with a first round TKO in October. I have seen his last two fights, but there is not much to remember, other than his decent power taking out Santos. The only other decent name on his resume is Manuel Garnica, whom he also beat. He is rated as the 75th All-Time Light Welterweight and 35th on the Active list. Esalas was born in San Onofre Colombia and fights out of Brea, CA. He is 30-10-0 and 33 years old. He has lost 5 of his last 6 and 9 of his last 11, though in his last fight, he won a split decision over fading but still good DeMarcus Corley in November. He has lost to several other good fighters, Jose Armando Santa Cruz, Francisco Bojado, Edgar Santana, Terrance Cauthen, Jose Luis Cruz, Lamar Murphy, and Julio Diaz. An interesting and perhaps telling statistic, while he is 26-2 in his home Colombia, he is only 4-8 away from there. He is currently rated 40th on the All-Time Light Welterweight list and 54th in the Active list. This is a rising prospect looking to take a bite out of a guy with a good record, as many others have done. The Brian's say Rosales 755.3 over Esalas 675.7. Despite his recent victory, I don't see it being even that close. I'll take Rosales.
Next up, a ShoBox event on Showtime featuring the Peterson brothers. On the undercard, we will start with a 10 round Welterweight fight between older brother Lamont vs. Antonio Mesquita. Peterson was born in Washington, DC and fights out of Memphis. He is 23-0-0 and 23 years old. In his last fight, he KOd a decent Humberto Toledo in the first in November. I have seen him fight 5 times. He is a good boxer with nicely polished skills. He does not have particularly heavy hands, but can get a knockout if you aren't any good at defense. He is long and lean and also decent on defense. He doesn't have any great names on the roster, Toledo probably being the best. He is currently rated 94th on the All-Time Welterweight list and 17th on the Active list. Mesquita was born in Guaruja, Brazil and fights out of Las Vegas. He is 34-0-0 with 26 knockouts and 35 years old. His last fight was a unanimous decision against a barely decent Joshua Smith in August. That broke up a string of 6 KO victories prior to it. Most of his fights have been in Brazil against substandard competition and not much is known about him in the states. The only folks he has fought have been Santos Pakau and Juan Carlos Ramirez. He is currently rated 25th on the All-Time Light Middleweight ratings and 12th overall. This is a moderate step up for Peterson, and he will be fighting a dangerous puncher. This could be his first real stern test. I think Mesquita is not as good as his record, but I don't think he is a chump either. The Brian's put it at Mesquita 928.1 over Peterson 885.7. I think I'll take Peterson to step up and win.
In the main event, we have Anthony Peterson vs. Jose Antonio Izquierdo in a 10 round Light Welterweight fight. Peterson the Younger was born in Washington, DC and fights out of Memphis. He is 25-0-0 and 22 years old. His last fight was a TKO of a decent Oscar Leon. I've seen him fight 3 times. He is a little less boxer than Lamont, but a lot heavier puncher. Younger, but more exciting. He has also fought the better names, beating Alfred Kotey, Juan Garza, Luis Ernesto Jose, Leon, Jermaine White. He is rated 25th on the All-Time Light Welterweight list and 8th on the Active list. Izquierdo was born in Pina Del Rio, Cuba and fights out of Chihuahua, Mexico. He is 16-1-1 and 30 years old. In his last fight, he lost a unanimous decision to a fair Cesar Soto in April. I saw him fight once, unmemorably. Soto and Nick Casal are the only decent guys on his record and neither is as good as Anthony Peterson. He is rated 73rd on the All-Time Light Welterweight list and 38th on the Active list. Izquierdo hasn't fought in a while, took the fight on short notice, and appears, to me, to be out his depth. The Brian's put this as Peterson 887.5 over Izquierdo 741.2. I'll take Peterson, by early stoppage.
The last Friday night card is on ESPN. The co-featured bout is an 8 round Lighweight fight featuring Zahir Raheem vs. Ricardo Dominguez. Raheem was born in Philadelphia and fights out of Las Vegas. He is 28-2-0 and 31 years old. He fought for the US in the 1996 Olympics. In his last fight, in July, he won a unanimous decision over a solid Cristobal Cruz. I have seen him fight five times, including his last three. He can be very very good, with high skills and very good speed. I sometimes worry about his motivation, however. He has fought some of the best, Erik Morales, Rocky Juarez, and Acelino Freitas and he beat Morales. He is currently rated 50th in the All-Time Lightweight list and 12th on the Active list. Dominguez was born in Culiacan, Mexico and fights out of Tucson. He is 23-2-2 and 22 years old. In his last fight, he TKOd noname Francisco Castro in the first in November. 6 of his last 7 victories have been by knockout. I have seen him fight once, unmemorably and he has not really fought anybody decent. He is rated 193rd in the All-Time Welterweight ratings and 58th in the Active ratings. So a guy looking to stay active fighting a decent fellow who has never been tested and is looking to make his name. If Dominguez is hungry and Raheem is not taking this fight seriously, he could be in trouble. But, if Raheem is ready, Dominguez could be nervous and it could go just the other way. The Brian's put it at Raheem 905.8 over Dominguez 739.5. I'll take Raheem to be interested in the fight.
The Main Event is a 10 round Super Middleweight bout featuring Allan Green vs. Rubin Williams. Green was born in and fights out of Tulsa. He is 25-1-0 and 28 years old. In his last fight he bombed out a decent Sherwin Davis in the 2nd round in October. I have seen him fight 8 times. He is heavy handed, active and a fair boxer. His power is the thing, though. He has fought some good folk, Darrell Woods, Edison Miranda, Jerson Ravelo, Emmett Linton, and Jaidon Codrington. He is rated as the 25th All-Time Super Middleweight and 15th on the Active list. Williams fights out of Detroit. He is 29-2-1 and 31 years old. His last fight was a draw with a very good Antwun Echols last January. I have seen him fight twice, the two times he stepped up in class of fighter before Echols. They were both losses, to Jeff Lacy and Epifanio Mendoza. He is stepping up again and I think his prospects are bleak, particularly coming off such a long layoff. He is currently rated 57th on the All-Time Super Middleweight list and 30th in the Active list. Williams looks good, but Green actually is good. The Brian's say Green 916.1 over Williams 844.1. I'll take Green.
Finally, the Saturday night card on Showtime. It begins with a 10 round Light Heavyweight fight between Glen Johnson and Hugo Pineda. Johnson was born in Clarendon, Jamaica and fights out of Miami. He is 46-11-2 and 39 years old. He has fought for the Middleweight and Super Middleweight world titles and held the Light Heavyweight Championship. In his last fight, he KOd a decent Fred Moore in July. I have seen him fight 5 times. He is a decent boxer and he has decent power. I think of him more as solid plugger than as anything spectacular. He has fought all the studs, Antonio Tarver twice, Roy Jones, George Jones, Richard Hall, Clinton Woods three times, Montell Griffin, and more. He is currently rated 63rd on the All-Time Light Heavyweight list and 11th on the Active list. Pineda fights out of Barranquila, Colombia. He is 39-3-1 36 years old. His last fight was a TKO over a young Zach Walters way back in November of '06. The only names on his resume are two of his three losses, Felix Trinidad and Kostya Tszyu. He is currently rated 72nd on the All-Time Light Heavyweight ratings and if he were active, he would be 18th. So, a good journeyman pro, staying active before his next title shot in April against a guy who has been off for a long time and probably came back for a decent payday. The Brian's put it at Johnson 921.2 over Pineda 888.0. I'll take Johnson.

And, in the main event, we have Paul Malignaggi vs. Herman Ngoudjo in a 12 round Light Welterweight title fight. Malignaggi was born in and fights out of Brooklyn. He is 23-1-0 and 27 years old. He won the 2001 National Championships. His last fight was a whitewash of a very strong Lovemore N'Dou to win the Light Welterweight title. I've seen him fight 5 times. He is a pure slickster, good speed, good boxer, zero punching power. He did show some toughness in his only loss, giving Miguel Cotto trouble even after he broke his jaw. Other than Cotto and N'Dou, he has fought Edner Cherry, Donald Camarena, and Ramiro Cano. He is rated 26th on the All-Time Light Welterweight list and 9th on the Active list. Ngoudjo was born in Douala, Cameroon and fights out of Montreal. He is 16-1-0 and 28 years old. He fought for Cameroon in the 2000 Olympics. In his last fight, he won a split decision against a very good Randall Bailey in June. The fight before that he lost a very close split decision against world class Jose Luis Castillo. I've seen him fight 4 times and I like him. He does not have aparticularly great skills, but he is very tough, he applies good pressure, and he keeps coming forward. In addition to Castillo and Bailey, he has fought JC Rodriguez, Donald Camarena and the always tough Emanuel Augustus. He is rated 46th on the All-Time Light Welterweight list and 19th on the Active list. I did like Malignaggi before the Cotto fight, but he showed me some real heart there. I don't particuarly like his slickster style. But, he's good. Ithink Ngoudjo may be out of his depth. But, Ngoudjo has come up big before when he seemed outmatched, against Castillo and Bailey. I don't put Malignaggi in their class yet. The Brian's put this as Malignaggi 884.3 over Ngoudjo 824.2. I think I may be picking with my heart, but I'll take Ngoudjo.

In review, The Brian's pick

Viloria-----------I pick Viloria

Rosales----------I pick Rosales

Mesquita--------I pick Peterson

Peterson---------I pick Peterson

Raheem---------I pick Raheem

Green-----------I pick Green

Johnson---------I pick Johnson

Malignaggi-------I pick Ngoudjo