BOTH SHOWTIME & HBO HAVE ?GOOD? FIGHTS
San Francisco, CA-In what amounts to the biggest bout ever held in Europe, Joe Calzaghe and Mikkel Kessler put their undefeated records and their 168 lb. world title belts on the line Saturday in front of an expected 60,000 fans in Cardiff, Wales. HBO will televise the event live, expecting it to be one of their highest rated boxing telecasts of the year. On the same night, what was supposed to a September PPV flop has become a nice pre cursor to the Calzaghe-Kessler showdown as Juan Manuel Marquez tries to stake his claim in the Manny Pacquiao sweepstakes at the expense of 2000 Olympian Rocky Juarez on Showtime.
PERFECT FIGHTER V. THE SENSATIONAL ONE!
Since winning the WBO title a little over ten years ago, Joe Calzaghe has finally received the respect and recognition as not only the best super middleweight in the world but as one of the top 10 ?pound for pound? fighters today. That respect and recognition came when he pitched a virtual shutout over then undefeated knockout sensation Jeff Lacy in 2006. Prior to that, Calzaghe was always perceived as a protected overrated fighter, one who would never leave his homeland in the United Kingdom. It was that perception which convinced Team Lacy to venture to the UK.
CALZAGHE VIOLATED JEFF LACY
Regardless, Calzaghe displayed speed, defense, skills, and enough power to bust up and back up Lacy over 12 rounds. In many regards, Calzaghe, 43-0, 32 KOs, is the perfect super middleweight. He is a southpaw who can fight going forward and backwards. With 32 out of his 43 wins coming by KO, Calzaghe has proven to be active enough to stop most of his opponents. Having risen from the canvas to win, fought a mega bout against an opponent in Lacy (who many people picked to win) and he has unified titles in a decade long run. Besides having never lost a bout, Joe is beloved by everyone in the UK. He also has a good personality and has great insights to the game, which will lead to a career in broadcasting when its all over. He has essentially stayed with one trainer and promoter his entire career. If there was ever a fighter to pattern a career like, Joe Calzaghe tops the list.
KESSLER IS THE SENSATION
Thanks to video sharing sites like YouTube, Mikkel Kessler has become a fan favorite for die-hard boxing fans. Similar to Edwin Valero, my email box was full of links to Kessler bouts by fans that wanted to know just who was this Danish super middle steamrolling through the division. The tapes did not lie as Kessler displayed both speed and devastating power along a bazooka jab that was just as effective as a straight right. Kessler was putting a serious hurt on his opponents with head and body shots. In 2006, there was huge demand for Kessler to be seen in American television. The first glimpse of Kessler on HBO were quick highlights of an outstanding performance against titlist Markus Beyer, so far his biggest win. Many can argue that Beyer was a better and more prepared opponent than Lacy was against Calzaghe. The 30-second highlight clip of Kessler was more entertaining than all 12 lackluster rounds Calzaghe had against his opponent, Sakio Bika (of The Contender fame). Kessler followed up that win with a dominating 12 round performance against rugged contender Librado Andrade last March. Finally, the road of the sensation will conclude with a unification bout against the perfect super middleweight.
KESSLER COULD BE SUPERSTAR WITH WIN!
At only 28, Kessler still has his best years ahead of him and boxing needs more young superstars getting ready to peak. This year, fighters like Kelly Pavlik and Juan Diaz paved the way for brand new stars that will carry boxing for future years to come. Obviously, it would benefit boxing as a whole for Kessler to come out on top, especially in an exciting fashion. However, a veteran like Calzaghe at 35, who has nightmares of losing, won?t give up his titles without a fight. Will the outcome be like Manny Pacquiao dethroning Marco Antonio Barrera in 2003? Or will the division remain in status quo with Calzaghe cementing his position as the best? Calzaghe is not looking for a payday and has a lot to prove against his biggest challenge in his career. He will not be going through the motions against Kessler as a loss to Kessler could put his past accomplishment into a different light. However, as much as it would be great for Calzaghe to stamp his ticket into the Hall of Fame, a gut feeling tells me that there?s a reason Kessler is the sensation of the super middleweight, and he is ready to move to the next level. I believe this will be like Pacquiao-Barrera I with Kessler either stopping him late or win a close decision over Calzaghe.
THEY FORGOT ABOUT JUAN MARQUEZ
If you take a look at the Ring Magazine ?pound for pound? ranking, right behind Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao is Juan Manuel Marquez, WBC 130 lb. champion. Marquez, 47-3-1 (35 KOs), is a two division champ coming off his biggest victory in his career, a twelve round decision over Marco Antonio Barrera last March. Marquez?s yo-yo like career is on the up again as he?ll take on thrice-beaten Rocky Juarez on Showtime this Saturday. Marquez has always been the featherweight?s division?s best-kept secret, waiting for an opportunity to be recognized. Blame fighters like Naseem Hamed for ducking Marquez, but Marquez should also bare some responsibility. In 1999, Marquez was supposed to break out against Freddie Norwood the week before the Oscar De La Hoya-Felix Trinidad PPV extravaganza. Marquez won the bout but not on the scorecards and did not receive any sympathy from the boxing public because the fight was down right ugly. Finally in 2004, Marquez finally put forth the exciting performance boxing fans expect when he came back from three knockdowns against Manny Pacquiao to earn a draw. The bout has been one of the most debated topics in recent boxing time. Two things are clear from that bout: (1) had Pacquiao not scored three knockdowns he would have lost (Marquez was winning the first round till Manny scored the knockdowns), (2) If judge Bert Clemens had it his way he would have scored the first round 10-6 (instead of 10-7 of which he thought he had no choice but to score), giving Pacquiao a one point win on his card, which had it a draw. More importantly for Marquez, he finally built a name that was on the level of a Barrera or Morales. What did he do with it? He declined a rematch with Pacquiao for more money and instead lost a purse bid to the promoters of Chris John before traveling to Indonesia and getting robbed. Marquez had an off night but clearly won the bout even with the bogus point deductions for low blows. JMM went back to Mexico without a title, sans a promoter, and no bargaining power.
MARQUEZ SHOULD THANK TOP RANK & MANNY
Golden Boy Promotion quickly signed the fighter to a promotional deal in 2006. Marquez scored two knockouts in his comeback fights. After the fall out between Pacquiao and Golden Boy Promotion, it was clear that Pacquiao would have nothing to do with Golden Boy fighters until the dispute was settled. That meant no fights with either Barrera or Marquez. That opened the door for Marquez to land the Barrera fight instead of Pacquiao. Marquez took advantage of that opportunity and is in position once again to land the mega bout with Pacquiao.
MAKE OR BREAK FIGHT FOR JUAREZ
For Rocky Juarez, his battle is to break through from a solid contender to legitimate world champion. His two toughest opponents were Barrera and Humberto Soto, losing to both fighters. Juarez, 27-3 (19 KOs), was given this fight after Jorge Barrios was forced to back out because of injuries. Will Juarez take advantage of another opportunity to shine or reaffirm his place in the featherweight food chain?
SOMETIMES EXPECTATIONS KILL A FIGHTER
When Juarez fought Barrera in May of 2006, few people expected anything from Juarez, who was once deemed a crown jewel of the 2000 U.S. Olympic boxing ream. However, Barrera and Juarez had a life and death battle to the end with Barrera escaping with a split decision nod. That set the stage for a rematch later that year, where Juarez was expected to have the same performance and with his younger legs do more to pull off a win. Instead, Juarez stood flat-footed with cement shoes and allowed Barrera to jab him all night long. Juarez is now placed in a similar situation this Saturday, as he was against Barrera in the first fight. Expect that type of effort from Juarez against Marquez, who gets hit a little more now than he used to. The performance may save Juarez career, especially at featherweight, but won?t be enough to beat Marquez.
