Boxing!!! Saturday Night Fights (8-5-06)

[H2O Man]

This is a fantastic night to be a boxing fan! Both HBO and Showtime have potentially great cards tonight. The Showtime card is also a PPV event. After posting this, I'll be stocking up on supplies, as I expect a good crowd to watch the double-feature. We'll watch the HBO card first, then the re-run of the Showtime fights.

First, let's look at Showtime: The undercard features Silence Mabuza (19-1; 15 KOs) versus Rafael Marquez (35-3; 31 KOs) at bantamweight. This fight alone is a treat to boxing fans who appreciate the great talent in the lower weights.

Then Juan Manuel Marquez (44-3-1; 33 KOs) fights Terdsak Jandaeng (24-1; 15 KOs) at the featherweight division. In my opinion, it doesn't get much better than this. The card, which is at Lake Tahoe, is evidence of Showtime's commitment to bringing boxing fans the most exciting and competitive fights. Both fights are so good on paper that I hesitate to make any predictions. But I'll say that the Marquez brothers will be tough to beat.

Now for the HBO card, which is coming from Madison Square Garden. I think that MSG is the greatest setting for boxing. And this card is going to be good!

In the co-feature, Kassim "The Dream" Ouma (24-2-1; 15 KOs) fights undefeated Sechew Powell (20-0; 12 KOs) in a scheduled 12 round match. Ouma, from Uganda and now the US, is a fascinating character. His early life was harsh (forced to "enlist" in the military as a child), and life in the US has posed risks, too. He survived a drive-by shooting in 2002, and a serious car accident in 2003. He held a part of a title he took from Verno Phillips, then lost to Roman Karmazin. He has great skills, but a questionable chin.

Powell is an explosive fighter, with the skills to deliver very powerful punches. Ouma needs to be at his best to avoid this former Golden Gloves Champion's knockout power. It's one of those matches where I really like both guys, and can see it going either way. Powell has the advantage in the first six rounds, and Ouma in the second half. I think Ouma's management is wrong to take this fight right now, as Ouma has struggled in a few recent matches. Of course, if he wins, it may be said they fought Powell at the right time.

The main event is fascinating. Ike "Bazooka" Quartey, age 36 (37-2-1; 31 KOs) takes on Vernon "the Viper" Forrest, age 35 (37-2; 28 KOs) in a match dubbed "Now or Never." Quartey, from Ghana, was the welterweight champ from 1994 to 1999. He was undefeated, until losing to Oscar De La Hoya in a close fight, and Fernando Vargas in a brutal war. It was, in my opinion, the best fight of Vargas's career.

After taking five years off, Quartey has won 3 in a row. I have been impressed by his skills. The guy had the best jab in the middle weight classes in his prime, and it is still there. A jab like that makes an opponent dizzy. It allows him to deliver more powerful punches after a few rounds. I also admire his calm demeanor in the ring. He enjoys competition.

Forrest is best known for having Mosley's number. He beat him in the amateurs, and then twice in 2002, at a time when Mosley was considered the top in the sport. The following year, he lost two tough matches against Ricardo Mayorga. Vernon has looked less confident in his comeback, from the little that I have seen. But he has some advantages in height, and really could match up well against anyone in the division if he harnesses his skills.

I favor Quartey, though if Forrest can make it a boring fight, at long range and at a slow pace, he could take a decision. But I think Ike will be a little too strong, and punch too hard.

I hope boxing fans enjoy this night!

[dr.zoidberg]

1. Did you see SHOBox last night?

Anthony Hanshaw looked the best out of anyone in the first round of the tournament. He throughly beat Esteban Camou last night. I think that Hanshaw and Jean Paul Mendy will get to the finals of this tournament.

I'll be watching the HBO card tonight. I'll catch the beginning of the Showtime card because it starts earlier, so I figure that I will be able to see some of Rafael Marquez. I expect Rafael to win convincingly. I can't get excited about the JMM fight because he is going trash a Thailander that has yet to fight a live body. That fight is a total mismatch to me.

I also favor Quartey, although I do have some question about him. These pertain more to his finishing ability, which has not looked good in his past few fights. Can he put Forrest away if he hurts him? At the same time, if Forrest can use his boxing skills, then Quartey may never be in that position to begin with.

Have you heard that Ouma likes the weed and the coke? Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I don't think that a boxer should be doing those substances.

[H2O Man]

2. Re: Ouma

I remember Teddy saying that he is not always motivated to train. Not the sport to be out of shape in.

I do not think pot is as harmful as alcohol, but would strongly advise any young athlete to avoid both. Coke is the a very bad substance, and I strongly advise anyone to avoid it like the devil.

[H2O Man]

3. PS....

I saw Showbox, and agree fully with your analysis.

[Kingofalldems]

4. Who do you pick for next week?

The Rahman fight against the Russian, whose name I've forgotten.

[H2O Man]

5. Tough pick.

Both show the ability to lose important fights. Rahman may be better able to pull out a loss in a match he should win. I do not think either of them will figure in the heavyweight picture for long.

[H2O Man]

22. I think that

the fight showed that Rahman is flawed. My prediction from lasat week was on target.

[TSIAS]

6. I like Rahman in that fight

Maskaev has trouble taking a big heavyweight's punch. And he's pretty much existed on the fringes of the HW division since his losses to Kirk Johnson and Lance Whitaker six years ago. I took a look at his record and he hasn't fought a real legit contender. He got this shot by beating a guy named Sinan Samil Sam. And his only other loss against a fighter with a decent record was a split decision win over an undefeated David Defiagbon.

I'm not saying that Rahman's done much better, but at least he's shown the ability to take a punch. I like Rahman by mid-round stoppage.

[H2O Man]

8. I hope so.

At least Rahman will fight anyone.

[MessiahRp]

11. I think Rahman will win by decision...

But the fight could be very boring past the fifth and very slow... It would be interesting to have four former Soviets as the Heavyweight Champions... it's sort of like having four Ivan Dragos on top.

Rp

[dr.zoidberg]

21. It all comes down to if Rahman is in shape or not.

I have said this before. I said this before his fight against James Toney that if Rahman comes in shape, then he will fight good enough to win. If he comes in fat, he will lose spectacularly. He lost to Maskaev the first time because he ran out of gas late in the fight, which is a shame because he was winning until Maskaev knocked Rahman into Jim Lampley's lap.

[TSIAS]

7. ...

I agree that the Showtime card is excellent. Rafael Marquez has been the class of the 118 pound division since defeating then champion Tim Austin back in 2003. I don't know why he hasn't had any big time fights since then. He's defended his title many times, but hasn't been able to get big time fights. I see on his record that he defeated this opponent, Mabuza, by 4th Round TKO last year. Since I can't seem to recall that bout, I'm not sure what merited this rematch. Marquez has said that this will be his last fight at Bantamweight. I haven't seen any evidence that would make me pick against the champ, Marquez.

Juan Manuel Marquez has been a top featherweight for years. He's had some memorable fights, such as his draw against Manny Pacquiao. It's amazing that he survived the two 1st round knockouts and rallied to pull out a draw. Few people in the states actually were able to see him lose to the Indonesian fighter Chris John. With no television back in the states, it's not easy to tell if he was truly beaten or the victim of a hometown decision. I've never heard of tonight's opponent, Terdsak Jandaeng. He's fought the vast majority of his fights in Thailand. In his two US performances, he won an 8 round split decision against Carlos Contreras and lost a UD to Joan Guzman (a pretty decent Featherweight). It's hard to make an educated prediction.

I talked a little about the HBO card in last week's thread. This should be an evenly matched card. Quartey should have gotten rid of the ring rust by coming back in some tune-ups. He won his last one against the experienced Verno Phillips. At one point, Forrest looked to be at the highest level of the sport after beating Mosley twice. But injuries have hampered him since losing twice to Mayorga. For many years, people thought that Forrest was a special fighter that just never got the big fight. But besides the two Mosley fights, his career has been pretty ordinary. I like the naturally bigger man, Quartey, to win by decision. But I can't discount Forrest stinking it out like he did in the second Mosley fight and pulling out a boring decision.

[H2O Man]

9. Quartey is the

far more confident fighter in the ring. That's a big advantage.

Forrest has one arm that I recall has given him serious trouble. Those types of injuries can pretty much end a career.

[MessiahRp]

10. Sigh another bad decision...

Quartey won that fight. If you factor in the fact that Forrest looked tired and beated in about 7 of the rounds, didn't counter all that often when Quartey pressed AND you add in the point taken away for the low blow... something was seriously wrong here.

Of course Melvina Lathan was one of the judges and I have serious questions about her abilities as a scorer after she caused the Taylor-Wright fight to be a draw (I still think Taylor won by at least two rounds). Grandmas shouldn't be judging fights..

I need to figure out how to be a boxing judge.

Anyway, bad decision in the second fight. Also I liked that Kaseem Ouma decided to stop HBO's attempt at making Powell a star at all costs. Even when Powell was getting his ass handed to him they were making excuses for him and trying to play him as possibly winning on some scorecards.

Rp

[Stephist]

13. I thought the Judging in the first fight stunk as well.

Ouma won but 100-90?:eyes:

[dr.zoidberg]

15. How does 98-92 sound?

That is how I scored the Ouma/Powell fight. Sure, Powell landed some nice shots, but that doesn't mean a whole lot when Ouma is walking right through them and then throwing 120 punches in response.

[Stephist]

16. More Reasonable. NT

[H2O Man]

20. Ouma

won convincingly. Very impressive win.

[dr.zoidberg]

14. You're not kidding...

I had the fight 97-92 for Quartey. Normally, I don't complain about decisions, especially if the fight is close. This fight was not close. You can always count on Melvina Lathan to fuck the scoring of a fight, just like Duane Ford. You know it's a bad decision when just about the entire crowd is canting bullshit at the decision.

[MessiahRp]

18. Speaking of Melvina Lathan...

She has a history of being on the wrong sides of decisions.. I pulled her record.. besides the call tonight and the Taylor draw I mentioned she also was the only judge that had Rahman ahead of Holyfield in the headbutt fight (most every recap I have seen had Holyfield clearly ahead on the scorecards and her fellow judges agreed. Both of them had it 69-64 for Holyfield at the time of the stoppage, while she had it 67-66 Rahman).

Seems she's been in the middle of a bunch of big fight controversies, especially close ones...

Here's her record:
http://www.boxrec.com/officials.php?official_id=159

I still say I would love to become a boxing judge. Grandmothers who apparently can't judge worth a damn have no place judging major fights... Let her judge some Golden Gloves or Amateur stuff where her poor decisions don't affect the boxing world as negatively.

Rp

[H2O Man]

19. That was terrible .....

...and the fact that all three judges had it about the same seems more than coincidental. Quartey won it convincingly, as the HBO crew noted.

[Stephist]

12. I'm not going to scream robbery...

But that decision seemed very suspect. I didn't sit down and do the 10-9 thing and early on it seemed Forrest was doing better than HBO was giving him credit for but still I can't say I agree with the Judges here. In any case it wasn't that good of a fight in my view. IMHO had the young guys been fighting the Big name Vets the Youngsters would have been 2 for 2

[MessiahRp]

17. It was an uneventful fight...

Even though both guys were punching neither did a whole lot of damage. Still even without the point for low blows I had Quartey winning 7 of the 10 rounds. Quartey pressed he hit more power shots and Forrest looked more affected especially in the later rounds when he looked completely out of gas at points and had no zip on his punches.

I thought Ouma won 8-2 also... I was pretty shocked by the 10-0 by the one judge but I could see how someone could have judged it that way because Ouma owned Powell pretty much the whole way through. I thought at one point Ouma might have had Powell rocked enough to knock him out because you could see Powell was dazed from the onslaught.

Rp