Fight Preview: Cotto vs. Gomez

While Floyd Mayweather is busy wrestling a 400+ pound man later tonight in a pay-per-view match, the man who Mayweather SHOULD be fighting is preparing for his fight this Saturday. Miguel Cotto (31-0 25 KO's) is the 300 pound gorilla in the room with Floyd Mayweather. He is the best welterweight after Mayweather and he has yet to lose a fight in his professional career. As much as I want a Mayweather-Cotto fight to happen, I can't blame Mayweather for taking some time off after two huge victories over Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton in 2007.

Don't let Miguel Cotto's feminely sculpted eyebrows fool you, the dude can flat out fight. In his last two fights he beat Zab Judah and Sugar Shane Mosley, both very good fighters in their own right. He throws some vicious body shots and has a relentless fighting style. April 12th he will meet Alfonso Gomez (18-3-2 8 KO's), who you might notice from the boxing reality show "The Contender". Gomez recently got his best win to date, against Arturo Gatti, who was a great action fighter in the past, but in all honesty should have already retired due to his diminished skills. Gomez doesn't have the power, speed, or technical skill that Cotto has, but he can at least match Cotto in one area; toughness.

I don't think Gomez will win the fight, but he undoubtedly will show a lot of heart. It should be an entertaining match, but a win against a fighter of Gomez's class will hardly prompt Mayweather to want to fight Cotto. Hopefully, Mayweather will have a revalation while wrestling the Big Show tonight and decide that first and foremost, he is a boxer. Boxing is what gave him the money he has today and is how he made a name for himself, and therefore should strive to give boxing fans the best fight possible which would be against Miguel Cotto.

Fight Prediction: Cotto by KO in the 6th

Good TV or Fake Entertainment?

In his latest attempt to become a "cross-over athlete", Floyd Mayweather is wrestling the 400+ pound "Big Show" on pay-per-view. Last year, Mayweather became recognized by mainstream Americans when he participated on the hit show "Dancing with the Stars". I watched Floyd on the "Dancing with the Stars" and I admit I was impressed with his dancing ability, but wrestling against a 400 pound man just seems a little too ridiculous. Like all other WWE wrestling matches this will undoubtedly be staged and no real harm should come to Mayweather, who needs to remain healthy for an upcoming fight against Oscar De La Hoya. Perhaps if it wasn't on pay-per-view at the price of $49.99, I might take the time to watch it because Mayweather is one of my favorite fighters in the sport of boxing but I can't bring myself to pay money for something that isn't real.

It is actually surprising how many former fighters have actually participated in the wrestling. When Joe Louis was deep in debt to the IRS he wrestled multiple times, as did Muhammed Ali. Even "Iron" Mike Tyson tried his hand at wrestling. Perhaps this move to wrestling might attract more people to the sport of boxing (I mean if people are willing to pay nearly fifty dollars for something that is fake, one would think they wouldn't mind seeing an actual fight).

Casamayor Wins In Exciting Fashion

Unlike previous fights that I have written about for this blog, I did not post a preview for the fight that occurred Saturday night between Joel Casamayor and Michael Katsidis. Shame on me for not doing so because this fight was unquestionably the best that I have seen since I began posting.

From the moment both of the fighters stepped into the arena it was entertaining. It all began when Michael Katsidis (who before the fight was undeafeated and one of the division's best up and coming prospects) entered the ring dressed like a Spartan warrior from the movie 300.

Although Katsidis had all the looks of a warrior in his walk into the ring, he did not fight like one in the opening round. Casamayor knocked Katsidis down TWICE in the first minute of the opening round and it appeared as though the fight would be stopped early. However, in the sixth round Katsidis hit Casamayor with a hard shot to the body and a few shots to the head that sent Casamayor through the ropes and his entire body out of the ring. Casamayor managed to climb back into the ring before he was counted out and he did not seem to be very hurt.

In the ninth round Casamayor got a point deducted for hitting Katsidis with an obvious low blow right in front of the referee, even after both fighters had already been warned for hitting below the beltline. This point deduction might've been a huge factor if the fight went the distance but just 10 seconds into the 10th round Casamayor caught Katsidis with a perfect left hook while Katsidis was coming in that sent him down. Katsidis was able to get up but a quick combination by Casamayor forced the referee to stop the fight.

Even though I knew that this fight was going to be on last night I still wasn't planning on watching it because along with boxing I am also an avid Houston Rockets fan, and they were playing last night. However, after halftime the Rockets were losing by double digits so I chose to check out this fight. Luckily for me I caught a fabulous fight between a wily veteran and a relentless youngster. Michael Katsidis came into the fight dressed as a Spartan warrior. Although this fight might be his Thermopolye, a valiant battle that ultimately ended in defeat, it remains to be seen if Katsidis, like the Spartans, is able to regroup and have another important and definitive fight in his future.

Fight Between Hall of Famers: Calzaghe vs. Hopkins

This fight is not going to take place until April 19 but I am so excited about watching it that I'm going to write a preview of this fight more than a month in advance. Joe Calzaghe has made a record-tying 21 consecutive defenses of the Super Middleweight title. His record is a perfect 44-0 with 32 knockouts; however, the Welsh fighter is going up in Light Heavyweight in order to fight against a fellow boxing legend, Bernard "the Executioner" Hopkins.

Bernard Hopkins has not had an easy life. At the age of 17 he committed armed robbery and was sent to prison. Prison was where he learned how to box and where he began to master the craft. His professional career began with a rocky start with Hopkins losing his first fight; a very unlikely beginning for one of the best middleweights in the history of boxing. Hopkins would go on to win the middleweight championship and defend it more than twenty times before eventually losing it to Jermaine Taylor. Hopkins has since beaten Antonio Tarver and Ronald "Winky" Wright, both extremely good fighters.

Although Hopkins is one of my favorite fighters because of his ability to systematically take apart his opponent throughout the course of a fight, I think you have to give the edge to Calzaghe. Jermaine Taylor beat Bernard Hopkins twice, primarily because he was the more active fighter and he was always on the offensive. Even though Hopkins was landing the cleaner punches the judges still felt that the more active fighter deserved the victory. Joe Calzaghe is the epitome of an active fighter and he literally smothers his opponents and pummels them with a endless combinations. There is no doubt in my mind that Hopkins can out-box any fighter out there, but I doubt Calzaghe gives him any breathing room and I think he might even score a knockout.

Pacquiao Wins Close Decision in Rematch

In the rematch of a fight between two great boxers that ended in a draw, Manny Pacquiao came out victorious. I did not watch the fight but from what I've read it was just as entertaining as the first match with Pacquiao once again scoring knockdowns of Marquez. Even though the fight was ruled as a victory for Pacquiao, Marquez and his entourage felt that they were robbed of the victory which is extremely unclassy.

Pacquiao is believed to be going up in weight in order to challenge David Diaz for his title. He has now beaten all of the competition in the weight class including several Hall of Famers: Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, and now Juan Manuel Marquez.

In other boxing news Nikolai Valuev (the 7'0 tall former heavyweight champion) has agreed to a rematch with the man that took his title, Ruslan Chageav. Ruslan came out the victor in a very close match and I expect Valuev to prevail in the rematch because he has shown a large amount of improvement, particularly in his past two fights.

Juan Diaz upset by Nate Campbell

Nate Campbell (dressed as a matador) accomplished Saturday what very few fighters manage to do: win while fighting your opponents style of fight. Juan "Baby Bull" Diaz's style is characterized by relentless pressure and large volumes of punches and combinations. From the first round on Campbell was the fighter applying the pressure and used Diaz's strategy against him. Diaz got a nasty cut over his left eye by an accidental headbutt which looked like it bothered him the entire fight. During the fight Hall of Fame trainer Emmauel Stewart and Jim Lampley questioned the cut man in Diaz's corner and the way he handled the cut. Campbell thoroughly dominated the fight but props to Diaz for showing a tremendous amount of heart.

The whole fight I was rooting for Diaz primarily because he is from my hometown of Houston, Texas. It's hard not to root for a guy whos family came from nothing and while he is training as a professional boxer is also going to college at the University of Houston. Diaz also has aspirations to go to law school and eventually be mayor of the city of Houston. is loss to Campbell might be a bump in his road to becoming a great fighter; however, there is no question that Diaz still has a bright future.

Peter KO's Maskaev in the 6th

This is exactly the type of heavyweight fight that boxing needs. Two heavy handed men, trading haymakers with complete disregard for their own protection. Samuel Peter knocked Oleg Maskaev out in the 6th round to win Maskaev's portion of the heavyweight title (the reamining belonging to Wladimir Klitschko and Ruslan Chagaev). From the very start of the fight the two boxers traded heavy shots in the center of the ring with Peter frequently getting the better of Maskaev. Both men were hurt by the other at some point of the fight; however, Peter showed just enough chin to withstand Maskaev's barrage and was able to get the victory by using a combination of shots to force Maskaev into the ropes, and the ref to stop the fight.

So what's next for the "Nigerian Nightmare"? After the fight Peter said that he was ready to fight Wladimir Klitschko "tonight"; however, before he gets the chance to unify the heavyweight titles he will have to fight Wladimir's older brother and former heavyweight champion, Vitali Klitschko. Vitali retired from boxing a few years ago because of constant injuries and because he wanted to pursue a political career in his home country of Ukraine. The sanctioning body of the title belt that Peter just won is most likely going to force Peter to fight Vitali, even though Vitali has not fought in 3 1/2 years and does not deserve a title shot his first fight back. As a fan of boxing I can only hope that Peter beats Vitali and then his younger brother Wladimir so that we can finally have one true champion.

Roger Clemens: Cheater or Hall of Famer?

Although boxing is the primary focus of my blog, I felt as a fan of all sports it would be appropriate to switch topics a little bit and give my thoughts on the Roger Clemens debate. Clemens, who is widely regarded as the best pitcher of this generation, has been accused by his former trainer that he had taken performance enhancing drugs. Clemens has vehemently denied these allegations; however, the mere connection of Clemens' name to steroids might be enough to ruin his legacy. In five years Clemens will be up for nomination into the Baseball Hall of Fame and it is very likely that Clemens will not get in, even though he has all to credentials to do so, based on his alleged steroid involvement.

I feel that Roger Clemens should not get into the Hall of Fame. Even though there is no definitive proof linking Clemens to steroids, I feel that the amount of evidence against Clemens is starting to become overwhelming. Clemens's fellow teammate, Andy Pettite, a man whom Clemens stated was an honest person, testified under oath that Clemens told him that he took steroids. Clemens then said that Pettite "misremembers" the conversation that they had and that he was mistaken. Unlike Clemens who has his baseball legacy at stake and McNamee who is trying to shorten the time that he has to spend in prison by cooperating with federal agents, Andy Pettite has nothing to gain by lying.

Like many other people I was skeptical when I heard that Clemens allegedly had taken steroids and when Clemens came out and on 60 Minutes called all of the accusations false, I started to believe him. However, Pettite's testimony was enough for me to believe that Roger Clemens is lying. Had Clemens came out from the very beginning and said that he had taken steroids then I would support him getting into the Hall of Fame, but I cannot support him getting inducted when it is clear that he is lying.

"Shoeless" Joe Jackson

The voters for who gets into the Hall of Fame have already set a precedent by not allowing several worthy players from getting in, because they broke a rule or were involved in cheating. "Shoeless" Joe Jackson was a player that definently possessed Hall of Fame credentials; however, he was accused of fixing the 1919 World Series along with seven other players for money. A Chicago jury eventually aquitted Jackson for fixing the World Series, but just his alleged involvement has been enough to keep him from getting into the Hall of Fame.

Pete Rose
Another player that had accumulated Hall of Fame credentials throughout his career is Pete Rose. Rose is the all-time career hits leader in baseball history, was a 17 time all-star, was the MVP of the league in one of his seasons, and was voted into the Major League Baseball All Century Team. Rose's Hall of Fame credentials are equal, if not superior to those of Clemens; however, he has not been inducted because while he was the manager of the Cincinatti Reds he gambled that his teams would win. Although gambling on baseball games is against the rules for all players and managers, Rose has maintained that he never bet against his teams to win.




Neither of these two players took any kind of drug to help gain an edge on the competition, but they are connected to some form of cheating. It does not seem to matter that they had amazing careers because one event has prevented them from getting into the Hall of Fame. I believe that if these two players have not yet been inducted into the Hall of Fame then Roger Clemens should not be inducted either.



I believe that Roger Clemens took steroids to help gain an edge on the competition. I also feel that for the past month he has been lying. Lying to the media. Lying to his fans. And ultimately lying to himself. He is lying to himself if he believes that he can just use his money to hire the best trial lawyers in Texas and buy his way out of the mess he created. Roger Clemens was my favorite pitcher in baseball whenever he played for the Astros; however, I feel that being immortalized in baseball's Hall of Fame, a place that takes into account integrity and honesty, would be privilege he does not deserve.