The Mighty Marco Antonio Barrera hopes to avoid pulling a General Custer this Saturday night against the human Wolverine known as Manny Pacquiao.
If Barrera is true to his word this will be his last major fight.
The conventional wisdom is Manny Pacquiao is going to crush Barrera as easy as Godzilla does Japan.
Still.
The late legendary trainer Cus D’Amato once said that every great fighter has one last great fight in him.
I don?t know if Barrera has that fight left him in him or not but I don?t think he will fold as easy Morales did last time out against Pacquiao.
If this is Barrera?s last fight than I think he should go to war with Pacquiao not try to outbox him because at this stage of his career I don?t believe that Barrera possess neither the necessary speed nor the legs to outbox Pacman for over 12 rounds.
I think Barrera still has enough pop in his mitts to do some serious hurt on the Demi-God of the Philippines.
If you are going to go out then go out on your shield. That?s my advice.
After the opening bell. Meet him in the middle of the ring and try to impose your will on his. Put your head into his chest, forget the jab, rake his liver with those left hooks and try to force him to fight going backwards.
Never back straight up, hit a angle, circle him, but don’t back up.
Barrera may go but I have a strong feeling it won?t be easy.
KELLY PAVLIK
The one certainty I have learned my many years of watching boxing is that you can not hide who you are inside the ring. Boxing is the most revealing sport in the world. And it reveals the very souls of the warriors who stand within the square circle. It reveals their character, it reveals their level of skill, it reveals the depth of their courage, it reveals their threshold for pain, it reveals their inner fears, it reveals how far they are willing to go, it reveals how far they are not willing to go, it reveals all of this and more to the millions who the passionate followers of this new form of new world theater.
This past Saturday boxing once again revealed a truth that many already knew but none were all that willing nor ready to admit.
That Kelly Pavlik is and has been superior professional prizefighter than Jermain Taylor, period! No ifs, ands, or buts!
For the last 5 years Kelly Pavlik was properly nurtured and developed as a professional prizefighter by his trainer, management team and promoter.
I was not all that surprised Taylor was knockout. Why? Because time has not allowed me to forget how technically shaky the former world middleweight champion is. How he goes straight back with his hands down. How he pulls back his right hand when he jabs. How high his right elbow gets and how far out from his body it flaps when he throws the right cross. Bad balance, bad defense, poor execution. And the list goes on.
And those flaws were exposed by a brutal puncher named the Ghost.
Truth be told those were already exposed by Hopkins, Wright and Spinks. They were just not able to do what Pavlik did. Not leave in the hand of the judges.
Hopefully someone on Taylor?s team will advise the kid to retool himself and start from the bottom and work his way up again. But I think that will not be the case. Instead he will be rushed back into action and if and when he fights Pavlik again.
The rematch will have the same result except Pavlik will knock out Taylor even sooner.
It’s a shame Taylor was never given the chance fully develop into a true professional prizefighter.
ANDRE BERTO
During my interview with Andre Berto on March 8 of this year, he said the following: ?I basically live and train and do everything by example. Like the De La Hoya, Ali, Hagler and Tyson. Guys like that who put good performances in the ring. That attracted that fan base but at the same time those certain guys who did what they had to do outside the ring. I mean to continue to have the public love them at the same time. I love at those guys and I just try to learn from them.?
I will say that he is doing a pretty good right now. I look forward to watching his progress. He showed a lot of grit, skill and heart against the always ultra tough David Estrada.
If I was the head of his team. I would continue to bring him along and wait until those welterweight giants move up to the junior middleweight division and than I would go for the gold.
JUAN DIAZ – JULIO DIAZ
I like Diaz!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
?And that is the main issue. And that is recognized by Emmanuel Stewart who in a transparent attempt to pump up Taylor has been blowing more smoke going into this fight than all of the old steel mills in Youngstown.?
– Larry Merchant, before the Taylor-Pavlik Middleweight Championship Fight.
CHAD DAWSON
If Bad Chad wants to fight one of the vets of the light heavyweight divison why not Glenn Johnson?!
BITS OF THIS AND THAT:
I hear that Omar Sheika is still fighting?
The Contender needs to do a spin-off Reality Show starring Sam Soliman.
The winner of the Humberto Soto and Joan Guzman fight could end up being the Sabertooth to Pacman’s Wolverine.
Where the hell is O?Neil Bell?!
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