WINKY THE WHINER

I had nothing but respect for both fighters leading up to this fight. They handled themselves extremely well. They both showed up to all the press conferences and never spoke a bad word about their opponent. They behaved like professionals. In the sport of boxing that is rare. After the fight I gained respect for one fighter and lost respect for another.(I have lost respect for some writers as well.) First of all, I will say I scored the fight 115-113 for Taylor. There were a couple rounds that easily could have gone the other way so I can see anyone giving the fight to Winky, or even calling it a draw. My Problem isn't with the fight or even the scoring. For once I think they actually got it right. My problem is with Winky storming off and crying about how he was robbed. In no way shape or form was he robbed. Robbery is when you clearly have a fight won and they take it from you. DeLahoya beating Sturm was robbery, Roy Jones not getting a gold metal is robbery. Winky not getting a thin decision that could go either way, is a close fight. After the fight Winky stormed out of the ring as if he had won all 12 rounds and they still gave the fight to Taylor. That's not the case and Winky should have known that. In the end Taylor got to keep his belts. I think he deserved to, after all he was the only guy who fought for all 12 rounds. I gained a major amount of respect for Jermain following the fight. He was the first one to admit if Winky had fought at all in the last round he probably would have won the fight. My other problem is all the media screaming about how Winky was robbed. If you can't watch the fight and see how close it was you're blind. Several of those rounds could have been interpreted differently. I hope there is a rematch, even though both camps say they don't want one. For the record Taylor will win the second by UD. He has gained more experience and confidence the same way he did in the first Hopkins fight.

WEEKEND WRAP-UP

This past weekend we had two dueling PPV shows, a few exciting fights, and a legend walked off in to the sunset.(we hope he walks off anyway.) I made predictions about the Malignaggi-Cotto fight and Hopkins-Tarver FIGHT. let's see how I did.

HOPKINS vs. TARVER

As I sat at the Sports Depot watching the fights with a few cohorts I realized a couple of things:

1. The Depot is a cool place to catch a PPV fight. $10 at the door is way cheaper than the $50 PPV price tag. There is an atmosphere that is almost as good as being there(slight exaggeration). The beer is cold, TV's are big, and the sesame chicken is delicious.

2. Most people don't know boxing at all. A guy sitting next to me asked my opinion about who he should put his money on, I told him Hopkins and gave my reasoning. He replied "ya, I'll put my money on the dog." The "dog" he was referring to was Bernard Hopkins! I'm sorry future hall of fame boxer Bernard Hopkins, I stopped talking to him after that.

3. My boy B-Hop is the man. Bernard Hopkins on Saturday night was like a painter painting his masterpiece. From the 1st round to the 12th B-Hop dismantled Tarver and made him seem like a boxer in his pro debut. Tarver the 3-1 favorite didn't have any sort of answer for Hopkins crafty attack. If B-Hop was a few years younger I think he even could have knocked out the "Magic Man". I know that Hopkins is usually not a very exciting fighter to watch, but knowing this would be his last fight you couldn't help but get excited as he thoroughly outclassed the bigger man. I hope Hopkins keeps his word to his mother and stops fighting, this fight would be such a nice exclamation point on his already great career. If he does fight on I will be there at the Depot cheering him on and explaining to the moron next to me that he is not a dog.

COTTO vs. MALIGNAGGI

For this fight I had predicted that Paulie Malignaggi would be able to outpoint Cotto in a unanimous decision, I was wrong. I thought Malignaggi would use his footwork and handspeed to confuse Cotto and potshot him all night long. The night started off badly for Paulie when in the first round he got a cut above his eye. This forced Paulie to stand in a little more with the ferocious punching of Cotto. In the second Paulie took a left to the chin that put him down, not the start Malignaggi was looking for I'm sure. He did seem to find a groove in the middle rounds and even rocked Cotto twice in the ninth. Had it not been for the cut in the first I think Paulie would have found a groove earlier. In the end Malignaggi had taken so much punishment that he couldn't keep up the pace in the last few rounds. I think this fight was a win-win for both fighters. Cotto proved he could keep up with a slick boxer, Paulie proved he could hang in there with a world class athlete. Cotto surprised me with how fast his hands were, he seemed more mobile than he has in his past fights. I'm still concerned about his chin, Paulie rocked him twice in the ninth and he only has 5 KO's in 21 fights. Malignaggi should get better fights after his performance, 1st off he showed that he is an exciting fighter with a big heart. 2nd he he proved that he can promote a fight. After reading all the trash talking form Paulie how could you not want to watch this fight.

TOMMY Z

I for one am excited about heavyweight Tommy Z. I know it's tough to tell a lot about a guy after his first fight, but I have a good feeling about this one. For a big guy he seemed very light on his feet, rather than the usual plodding fat guy. Also he had very good hand speed and showed some combinations right away, most heavies early in their careers just fire off big bombs. Tommy was throwing straight fast punches that found their target rather easily. I expect big things from this guy, but I've been wrong before.

JOHN DUDDY

If you have read my blog at all you know I am a big fan of John Duddy. I have been to a few of his fights and enjoy his style and KO power immensely. What I say from this past Saturday concerned me a little. He seemed flawed in many ways, dropping his hands, backing straight up, and not moving his head. If Freddy Cuevas was a few years younger I think he could have given him serious problems. Like I said I am concerned only a little. He seems to have a good team around him and they are bringing him along slowly. So hopefully this will be another learning experience and he will only get better.

JUST MORE RANDOM THOUGHTS

OK, so I made my predictions for June. I am now just crossing my fingers hoping that they at least come close. I have had second thoughts about one prediction, Jermain Taylor vs. Winky Wright. I watched the HBO Countdown to Taylor-Wright last night and I'm starting to lean towards Dan Birmingham. That dude is scary! If you haven't seen the countdown yet you should check it out, Dan Birmingham(Winky's trainer) is one bad ass mother...shut yo mouth! Every time he speaks it seems like he's ready to whoop some ass. In all seriousness I have already had second thoughts about the fight. I probably will second guess myself again before fight time. Winky is pretty nasty and his jab is great. He could confuse Jermain all night long and shut him out the way he has so many others. I don't know, I think I'll just flip a coin.

One thing I am very sure of is that I will be ordering the Cotto-Malignaggi PPV. I think that Paulie has done an amazing job of selling this fight. He has talked so much to every boxing website that I have to watch to see what happens. On one hand I need to see if he can back it up(I have a feeling he can) and if he can't I'm dying to see what his reaction will be. Will Paulie be a sore loser or will he be gentleman and give Cotto the respect he didn't before. Also has anyone seen the pictures of Cotto from the presser? If you ask me he looks pretty dehydrated, that could be a major advantage for Paulie, and could be the reason why he's been rocked so easily in his last couple of fights. If problems making 140 is the reason his jaw is so shaky, he could be a force at 147.

Speaking of HBO Countdowns I watched Hopkins-Tarver as well. By the time I finished I thought Hopkins looked like the better man. He looks healthier and more focused, but last night on Wednesday Night Fights Tarver made an appearance and looked pretty darn fit. I still go with B-Hop, but the fight could be more interesting than I originally thought.