Ready or not. the September 3, Showtime Cable Saturday Nite special opens the fall season with mixed bag of pleasers and teasers – topping the card is cruisers Wayne Braithwaite (21-1, 17 KOs) and Guillermo Jones (32-3-2, 25 KOs) and underneath it’s heavyweights Owen “What the Heck” Beck (24-1, 18 KOs) facing Ray Austin (22-3-3, 15 KOs).
Got to like the power of Braithwaite in this one, but also the heart he displayed in that grueling title loss to the top gun among the cruisers, Jean Marc Mormeck. So my $2- goes with the Brooklynite by way of Georgetown, Guyana over a legitimate opponent in Jones who includes a Dale Brown scalp among them 25 stoppages.
The Beck – Austin affair could well be a reasonable appetizer for the main event, but is likely to provide more comedy than fistic excitement – the draw as I see it, is the similar magnet that once drew SRO numbers to them yesteryear Golden Gloves tourneys when the big guys were scheduled.
Pick here is a “Wot the Heck” Beck via decision … just don’t see Austin in same league as Monte Barrett who owns the single debit on Beck’s resum?.
Week later on the tenth, over HBO, we get a couple top of the line jr. lightweights at work – Erik Morales (48-2, 34 KOs) and Manny Pacquiao(39-3-1, 30 KOs) – but not facing one another.
What we have is a co-feature, with Morales in with Zahir Raheem (26-1, 18 KOs) and Pac-Man facing off with Hector Velasquez (42-10, 31 KOs). Still, no teasers these two pairings.
Must go with Morales, who has proven himself time and again, and is in a showcase affair with an expected mega-buck meeting with Pacquiao in the offing. Raheem a slickster with all the moves but a win would be a unexpected surprise.
Pacquiao – Velasquez should not go to the judges unless there’s one of them “inadvertents” getting into the act. The respective resumes pretty much sums it up as Pac-Man show caser. Ten debits over a 52 bout career at feather-lightweight range is too much to ask against the Filipino sling-shot southpaw.
Jr. flyweight title bout on the card has undefeated Brian “Hawaiian Punch” Viloria of 17 wins with 11 via knockout fame in with Eric Ortiz of 24-4-1, 16 KOs for the Ortiz strap. Kind of have the feeling this one wouldn’t have been made if Ortiz had a chance. Viloria coming down to jr. flyweight for the prize.
The 17th over HBO PPV the offering is Marco Antonio Barrera (60-4, 42 KOs) and Robbie Peden (25-2, 14 KOs) – no expected surprises here as Barrera amazingly still has calories to burn after 64 appointments. Peden is only even in age at mutual 31 years.
Shane Mosley also on the card -(once had himself his own planet somewhere in space) – but after double losses to both Vernon Forrest and Winky Wright was apparently evicted – is meeting undefeated Jose Luis Cruz (32-0-2, 27 KOs).
See this one as some kind of paper thing that doubles as a Mosley future show case pairing. Not a single “name” in sight on the Cruz rap sheet and the Mosley record speaks for itself.
Capping out the card is Leavander Johnson ( 34-4-2, 26 KOs) in with Jesus Chavez (41-3, 28 KOs) in what could be a dandy. The three Chavez losses saw him going the route with Erik Morales and was stopped by Mayweather – also split two meetings with Carlos Gerena. Guess here is the younger Johnson by decision.
The 24th of the month is Wlad Klitschko (44-3, 40 KOs) and Sam Peter (24-0, 21 KOs) in a winner moves on thing – media all warm and gushy over the Peter power. Have actually heard the Nigerian seen as every bit the equal as a young Tyson. Not sure what tobacco was inhaled to come up with that bit of silliness.
Young “Iron Mike” once exploded from the corner as if cannon propelled – Peter performs as if ready to plea bargain for the foe to be still and teed up for his power shots.
It all comes down to the Klitschko mindset … if he performs with confidence, the expectations are Manny Steward will have him choreographed to use the jab and counter mode – the targets will be there. If not, shame on Wlad.
Miguel Cotto (24-0, 20 KOs) in with Gianluca Branco (36-1-1, 19 KOs) is a classic no-brainer. Cotto has everything going for him while the Branco rap sheet could just as well as been written in Braille … only recognizable name is the Gatti loss.
Case closed.
