**** Kirks ESB Championship 2012 ****

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Mayweather by stoppage, you can book it.

 

Yeah, it is a bit too late, but eh, at least were getting it.

That's probably what we'll be saying a couple of years from now when Mayweather and Pacquiao decide to get in the ring.

 

Good point. And looks like Pacquiao is going to fight Bradley on June 9.

 

No thanks, but I'll take your $25 bet for Uzelkov vs Gutknecht. I got Uzelkov of course.

To everyone else, I'm also seeking a $25 to $60 bet on Chavez Jr to defeat Rubio. Any Rubio backers wanna take it?

 

ugh.. These Pac Floyd threads are making me sick.. so sad that noone can just appreciate the sport..

 

Ovill McKenzie Vs. Tony Dodson- Ovill McKenzie by KO
Isaac Chilemba Vs. Edision Miranda- Isaac Chilemba by UD
Hylon Williams Jr Vs. Rances Barthelemy- Hylon Williams Jr. by UD
Steve Cunningham Vs. Yoan Pablo Hernandez II- Steve Cunningham by KO
Alexander Alekseev Vs. Enad Licina- Enad Licina by KO
Eduard Gutneckht Vs. Vyacheslav Uzelkov- Vyacheslav Uzelkov by KO
Nonito Donaire Vs. Wilfredo Vazquez Jr- Nonito Donaire by KO
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr Vs. Marco Antonio Rubio- Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. by UD
Scott Quigg Vs. Jamie Arthur- Scott Quigg by KO
Joe Murray Vs. Jose Luis Graterol- Joe Murray by KO

The first real big, mega, weekend in boxing. Friday we got some good fights, and then Saturday is one of those all day a-fairs. Boxing all day long.

Let's do this fight real quick like. Joe Murray is fighting a replacement opponent, so I take Murray by stoppage. Don't think that fight will count, but just in case.

Let's get to the Friday fights. First up, Ovill McKenzie and Tony Dodson take the stage. Ovill McKenzie in his last fight out he was impressive. He won in about 15 seconds. In his previous fight before that, his rematch versus Tony Bellew, he looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there. Tony Dodson is a pretty good boxer. Nice jab, good speed, and has started a new at 175. He's 3-0 at 175, two wins at prizefighter, but had to pull out of the final due to a cut. And his most recent fight he won by stoppage, but was cut again. This fight is definitely tricky. Who knows how much Dodson still has left, and which McKenzie will come out? Tough fight, I'll go with McKenzie by stoppage.

ESPN 2's Friday Night Fights has another good two punch combo this week, yet again. After the good FNF show, it's building some momentum and keeping it going. Isaac Chilemba is a somewhat unknown fighter, but is starting to get his name out there. He signed with Lou DiBella last year to star fighting in the States and he has impressed. He's taking on Edison Miranda and truth be told, this isn't exactly a major step up or anything like that. Even before in South Africa he went on a good 4 fight streak against undefeated fighters and before them a couple of quality fighters in David Basajjamivule, and Charles Adamu. He's definitely been battle tested and has passed all the tests. Miranda still has that name, but his name has been fading. Since getting knocked out by Lucian Bute he's 2-1 but hasn't looked good in either of his two wins. Miranda still has that power and at anytime can land that punch and put just about anybody's lights out. Chilemba has been chin checked a few times and he seems to take a good punch. Overall, Chilemba is the better fighter, more well rounded, and that bothered Miranda vs Yordanis Despaigne. So, I've gotta go with Chilemba via UD. But, you just never know with Miranda he could pull off that one punch, I think he's definitely a live dog, but I've gotta go with Chilemba.

As a part of the FNF telecast two undefeated fighters are going at it. Undefeated Cuban (I mean, come on, it wouldn't be a Friday Night Fight telecast without a Cuban) Rances Barthelemy taking on Hylon Williams Jr. . Both guys are unknown so let me try and paint you a picture of how both fight, what their style is. Barthelemy is like most cuban fighters. He stands there in an orthodox stance, stands there and whats to counterpunch. He has no jab, he just flings it out there and paws with it. He does have good pop in his hands. When he actually does throw it definitely does mean business. But, when he does throw, when coming forward, he gets very sloppy, looks very amaturish. Definitely not pretty, he sort of just throws and it doesn't look good. Hylon Williams, meanwhile, I think this will be his sort of coming out party. He's a lot like Gary Williams, very fast, nice, sharp, accurate punches. Love his left hook to the body that he throws frequently. Has more pop than what his 3 KO's indicates, but I don't think he wins by stoppage. This is only an 8 round fight so I think he goes the distance, but Hylon Williams is so fast, so sharp, the comparison I can think of is Gary Russell Jr. I think he comes out and really puts his name out there in the boxing world with an impressive showing.


Eduard Gutnecht and Vyacheslav Uzelkov aren't all that impressive. Neither fighter gets the blood flowing. Both fighters don't throw a whole lot, I'd give the edge to Uzelkov in that department. He at least comes forward, a bit crudely mind you, but at least he comes forward and throws a bit. More power, and Gutnecht is open for the right hand. Gutnecht stands straight up and gets hit with a straight right quite often. If Uzelkov did that it'd be an easy night, but I doubt he'll do that. But, I do think he does enough and may'be even stops Gutnecht. I want to talk about other fights, so Uzelkov by KO, why not?

Scott Quigg and Peter Frampton seem to be on a collision course showdown. Or, at least, that's what the talk around the boxing world is. Even with Frampton's impressive showing last week, I'd still take Quigg, but we'll see. Quigg has to first take care of business against Jamie Arthur . Arthur, recently has fought Robbie Turley, Kris Hughes, and Jason Booth. What's funny about that is Frampton has fought Turley and Hughes. While Quigg has fought Jason Booth...eh, well, it's not that funny, I guess just a little interesting tidbit. Anyway, I've got Quigg by KO. Quigg is an impressive fighter, nice speed, good boxing ability, just a class above Arthur really.

I compare Alexander Alekseev to Victor Ortiz of the Cruiserweight division. Great power, can get rid of a lot of fighters with that power. The problem is, not everybody. And if he can't get you out, and you start pressing him. Mentally, he checks out, he starts to break down and he'll fall apart. That's what he did against Victor Ramirez. Ramirez took Alekseev's best shots, kept coming, and eventually knocked him out. Why does this matter? Well, I'll tell ya. Enad Licina is a tough, strong willed fighter. He's been in the ring with Steve Cunningham and Yoan Pablo Hernandez and made it all the way to the final bell. Even picking up a few rounds here and there against both fighters. I think Licina presses forward, and even has a bit of slickness. He'll move that head, drop the left hand, a little slickness in his game. While doing that, he presses and will fire off a nice straight right hand that can do damage. Alekseev is a vulnerable fighter, he's been stopped twice and Enad resembles a whole lot of Victor Ramirez. After about 3, 4 rounds or so, I would expect Alekseev to start breaking down and Enad pressing and landing more and more. I've got Enad by late stoppage.

Stateside Nonito Donaire is back and on an undercard. Now, you would think Donaire would be a main event. Top P4Per, a decent enough following. I mean, nowadays it's not like anybody breaks the bank. Get a couple of 100 people and you've got a decent sized following, in the States, that is. But, anyway, he's back and looking to impress. He's taking on Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. a quality fighter who was on the cusp of really hitting it big. That is until Jorge Arce bullied him, overwhelmed him and knocked him out in the final round. And with that loss, we have this fight. That's the way it works in boxing. If you win, well, you don't get big fights. If you lose, well, he comes a big name. Vazquez is a really good fighter and definitely holds his own against any of the top names in the 122 division. Problem is, Donaire isn't one of them. Donaire is just a complete fighter. Has the power, has the speed, has the skill, and most importantly, has a good head on his shoulders. He thinks in the ring. He's a thinking man's fighter and that's what really separates him and everybody else. If Donaire wins and went on to face Guillermo Rigondeaux, that would be one of the highest rated boxing IQs in boxing history. You rarely see two high IQ guys in the ring together. But that's looking ahead, Donaire still has to win on Saturday, and then may'be, we'll get it. Hopefully we will because I think Donaire knocks out Vazquez. Vazquez a good boxer, has nice skills, but his skills don't match up with Donaire's and Vazquez I don't think takes a really good shot. I've got Donaire via KO.

 

The main event is the very popular Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. . According to the judges, he's undefeated. In reality, though, he's lost at least 3 times. Twice to Carlos Molina and once to Matt Vanda. And then you can argue that he lost to Sebastian Zbik, and Luciano Cuello. And then who knows, the other 30 fights or so that weren't on TV....who knows if he got a couple of gifts there as well. So, Chavez with an "undefeated" record put a little * around that. He definitely isn't undefeated. But, since working with Roach and company he has improved, quite a bit actually. His last 4 fights he has definitely looked like a better more well rounded fighter. Now, John Duddy, Billy Lyell, and Peter Manfredo Jr. aren't world beaters by any stretch of the imagination, but that's the sort of level Chavez would be at without Roach. He would have struggled and had to rely on the three blind mice in order to get a "win." That didn't happen though and he clearly beat Duddy, and Lyell. And was clearly beating Manfredo Jr. before the very quick British stoppage by the always horrible Laurence Cole. Against Zbik, that next level, he struggled, but he fought, was in it for 12 rounds and he definitely earned himself a case to win. That wasn't a gift, it could be argued that he lost, it was a could go anyway type fight. But he showed grit, determination, and nice body work.

All this and we still haven't gotten to his opponent Marco Antonio Rubio. Rubio, since losing to Kelly Pavlik, has been on a roll. He's won 10 straight beating the likes of Matt Vanda, Wilson Santana, Rigoberto Alvarez, and David Lemieux. Rubio is a vet, he's been around the block, he knows what he's doing. Good blocking, good power, very, very slow though. Chavez will have a clear speed advantage with his hands. This is an intriguing fight because both are in the same area in ranking. Top 15 or so (Chavez is a "champion" not a real champion) he has a glossy record and a trinket, but he's really just a top 15 contender, right now. I think this will be a good close fight, could go either way, but I think Chavez does enough to nick it. And I mean an actually win, a legit win. I think he wins in the 115-113, 116-112 range. A good close fight, and hopefully he does get a decision if he deserves it.

Going back to Germany, Yoan Pablo Hernandez and Steve Cunningham II. I'm still calling this year, the year of the rematch, even with Andre Berto pulling out of his rematch with Victor Ortiz. There are still a lot of rematches on tap and Hernandez-Cunningham will kick start it. A lot of controversy last go around. Cunningham was knocked down, hard, and was very lucky to get a very slow 10 count from Mickey Vann. Cunningham though, got up, shook off the kob webs and starting taking over the fight before the doctors stopped the fight because Hernandez had a small, tiny, cut that wasn't bleeding. Hernandez ended up getting the decision, and what do you know? We have a pretty quick, much needed rematch. Both fighters got gifts in the first fight, and now let's hope no more gifts and we see the better man win. In this case, I'm going with the USS Steve Cunningham to get back on course and win, by KO. Cunningham is fired up, and he has a massive chip on his shoulder. Seeing how he boxed in those final 3, 4 rounds I think Cunningham kills Hernandez' body, too much speed, and stops him late in this fight. Hernandez has good skills, and massive power, but he definitely looks soft, and lacks heart. He was pushed in his last fight, and wanted to quit, which he did, but ended up winning. This time, I fancy Cunningham by KO.

 

D:

 

I'll have $50 on under 7 and a half rounds :good

 

Ok Then it is on! S.O.R Vs. SS = Uzelekov Vs. Gutnechkt. Make it happen Kirk.

 

You know, I changed my mind about the Licina vs Alekseev fight, Samurai. I'll take Licina for $25 if you still wanna do it.

I'm still looking to bet $25 on Chavez Jr., so if anyone wants to take Rubio we've got a deal.

And Kirk, I'd like to change my pick to Chilemba by UD.

 

I'll take your Licina bet Street