PREDICTION IN THE FORM OF POETRY

Twas' three days to go for the fight,

and there are 30,000 Brits stirring all through the Vegas night.

The gloves are hung in the locker rooms with care,

just waiting for fists to fly through the air.

Boxing fans are not sleeping too well,

they're waiting anxiously for the ring of the opening bell.

My mom's not a boxing fan but even she has asked,

what is my prediction in who will be standing last.

24/7 has made my mouth water for weeks,

I just wish I had never seen Ricky Hatton's cheeks.

Even though it came and went in a flash,

I will repeat, I really didn't need to see his pale white ash.

Before you know it, they'll juke and they'll jive,

I don't think there's any way it ends inside of five.

Hatton will go to the body Mayweather to the head,

I'm so excited after the fight I could probably drop dead.

Mayweather is slick, Hatton is tough,

Ricky's best chance is to make this one rough.

Mayweather will use all his speed and skill,

to stay on the outside and try to break Ricky's will.

I don't think this will go the distance at all,

I just want it to end in a brawl.

I don't see Hatton's hand being raised,

What I do see is poor Ricky going down in a blaze.

Mayweather doesn't take fights he thinks he could lose,

he picked the hitman, someone he thinks he can abuse.

Hatton will fall around eight or even nine,

he is not suited for the 140 to 147lb. incline.

The loser should not be ashamed of the outcome,

just risking their records is more than most have done.

All in all I just want to see a good fight,

holy good gosh, I wish they could square off tonight!

SHEER ENTERTAINMENT

The only thing dumber than these two guys flexing

at each other is the fact that this fight is on PPV.

Over the past few months I've been reading and watching interviews with Ricardo Mayorga and Fernando Vargas. I will say that I have learned a few things:

1. They are both very funny.

2. They are both very stupid.

3. They are not getting my money.

I truly feel that the best part of this fight has been the lead up to it. I'm not sure what i laugh at more, Mayorga's completely original insults towards Vargas “You see this fat girl in this photo?(showing a picture of Vargas) This is the fat girl I am going to knock out. I would like to introduce her to you today. She is Fernando Vargas." or perhaps I find more humor in watching Fernando take his shirt off every two seconds to show off his flabby physique.(I say that only because he is supposed to be an elite athlete, he is still in far better shape than I have ever been in.) Watching the two of them at their final presser had me laughing out loud at times and crying a little on the inside. With these two idiots standing on opposite sides of a piece of plexi glass, shouting at each other as if they were at recess comparing your mama's fat jokes, I can't help but laugh. Yet, it's sad to think that boxing has crossed that line that separated it from the world of professional wrestling. I hope people don't pay for this fight. This is exactly what's wrong with boxing. Trying to hype up two has been fighters by having outrageous pressers and making it seem like these two guys have genuine dislike for each other. I don't care if they like each other or not, they are getting paid to fight so that's what they're gonna do! I wouldn't be surprised to hear on Saturday that someone got hit over the head with a steel chair and the ref didn't see it. This could be a fun fight, but that doesn't make it worth paying for. In the end just remember it can't be more fun than the pressers have been, and that's because those were free. I will also give you my prediction for free. I think Vargas has been shot for a while and was exposed by Mosley. PREDICTION: Mayorga TKO 8

A LETTER TO BOXING

With most things jobs, sports, families, there is someone in charge, someone you can bring your problems to. If you have a problem with the NFL, you can write a letter to Commissioner Roger Goodell. If you have a problem with the rules at your house, you can bring it up to Mom or Dad(if your living at home, your landlord if your not). If you have a problem with boxing, you have to just bitch and moan about it, like the no good whinny cry-baby you are. Well, I have many problems with boxing, and thanks to my friend Coach, I have decided to write a letter.


Dear Boxing,

I am writing you because I feel as if I am in a one way relationship. I am not completely unhappy, I just feel that I give so much more to you, than you give back to me. There are times I feel as if I am being stood up on a date. Remember the time you had the pound for pound champ take on the most popular fighter in the game, tota l let down. Maybe you remember the time you had two of the games pound for pound best tacticians square off in a boxing chess match of sorts, then charged me 50 bucks to see it. How about when you dare ask me to give 50 dollars for match-ups that are even less interesting? You have been trying lately, but it seems as if these things you've done for me this fall will be taken away by spring time. Taylor-Pavlick II will be on PPV, Joe Calzaghe's next fight will probably land there as well. That's just more money down the drain.

I have a few suggestions for you that would change our relationship. I know that I can't ask you to be a different sport, it's too late for that. You'll never be the NFL, or MLB, or even the National Beer pong League for that matter. I'm asking for little things, just enough change to make me feel as if you care. To start, you need to fix the heavyweight division. It's the one division that no n-boxing fans pay attention to. This is easier than you think, are ready for the simple fix.......change the heavies to the Super Heavyweight division. You can then change the name of Cruiserweight to Heavyweight. Think about it, it's just a name, all people will know is that these are big athletic guys who put on good fights and can knock fellas out with one punch. The Supers will be fat and out of shape, like they have been for years. You could even extend the limit to 205 or maybe 210 if you needed to.

Idea number two, stop charging me for good fights. It's been nice this fall with the Pavlick-Tayor and Kessler-Calzaghe fights, but with that you throw at me Pay-Per-Views like Cotto-Mosley, and Mayweather-Hatton. I'm not saying thaose are bad fights, I'm just asking why can't you find advertisement money instead of taking my hard earned cash? Those are good fights, but along with those you try and get me to buy Shannon Briggs vs. Sultan Ibragimov and Fernando Vargas vs. Ricardo Mayorga. I understand that the sport is always going to have PPV's, but if you keep having these lame ones you're not promoting yourself. How do you expect to get new fans involved in the sport? No one is going to fork over 50 bucks for something they don't know anything about. That goes for cheap tickets to the events themselves too. Recently I went to the Contender Finale at The Banknorth Garden, the cheapest tickets were 45 bucks! The Garden is huge, you're telling me that selling 10 or even 20 dollar tickets would have broken the bank? On top of that you didn't even advertise it very well, I talked to at least ten people(most of whom work in the sports industry) and they had no idea there was a big fight happening in Boston. If you sold cheap tickets you would have packed the place and maybe walked away with a few extra boxing fans.

I would l ike to have more good fights televised. I don't think this is too much to ask. Why is it that Spike TV shows every UFC worth watching. ESPN Classic picked up Holyfield vs. Ibragimov, who the heck wants to see that fight? Yet I have to find David Haye vs. Jean Marc Mormeck, and Lucian Bute vs. Alejandro Berrio on youtube after the fact. Or the time you made me watch Wlad Klitschko destroy Ray Austin within seconds. Just air good fights, people will begin to watch if you do that. Along that same line, is it too much to ask to have a PPV event be shown at a bar? The way you charge a bar for PPV's is by their max capacity number. That's forcing bars to not order the fights, that means regular sports loving people are being turned away from the sport. I don't know about anybody else but if it's a sport and it's at the bar, I'll watch it. Once again, your just sucking old fans dry, and not introducing yourself to new ones. Why not just charge a flat rate to the bar, something affordable, you'll benefit in the end, I promise.

One last thing, just make some effort. You have made some real progress this fall. You put together some great fights, now don't turn back. Get the winner of Mayweather-Hatton to fight Miguel Cotto. Heck you could even have the loser fight Mosley. I will also say for the first time in a while I am happy with a PPV undercard(Mayweather-Hatton). You usually stiff on the entertainment for the prefights, but this time you're doing it right, good for you. I know you're not perfect, I don't expect you to be, just give me some effort. I'm gonna love you no matter what, I just don't want other people to say I'm in an abusive relationship, that's all. So work on a few of these things and I think we'll be alright.

Love,
The Bryguy

HAYE READY FOR HEAVYWEIGHTS

David Haye put his final stamp on the Cruiserweight division and Jean Marc Mormeck's head last night. Haye has decided to move up to heavyweight after knocking the Frenchman out in the seventh Saturday night. Haye has stated in the past that making the Cruiserweight 200 pound limit was not easy. I look for big this from the guy with the big right hand. This may be just what the heavyweight division needs. HBO and Showtime need to start televising this guys fight, he is much more entertaining than half of the crap they usually air. Let me know what you think after you check out the 7th round. Thank you youtube for helping me when TV execs and promoters won't.

.

PREDICTION

Someone was upset that I didn't put in my prediction last night. Obviously not a regular Bryguy reader, or he'd know my predictions are worthless. I'm usually wrong and in wrong in a bad way! Oh well here goes anyway.

SHANE MOSLEY(44-4,37ko) vs. MIGUEL COTTO(30-0,25ko)

We've already had two fights this year worth the title fight of the year, Marquez-Vasquez, and Codrington-Bika. Yet some how I feel this one tonight could very well be fight of the year and the two combatants haven't even stepped in the ring. We have the young bull Miguel Cotto facing off against the veteran matador Shane Mosley. Is Mosley too old to avoid the bull's horns? Will it be too easy for the matador to tag the bull? Is Cotto destined for greatness? Does Mosley have one more great performance left?(I'm drooling!) All these questions will be answered tonight in front of a packed house at Madison Square Garden.

I see this fight being similar to the Zab Judah-Miguel Cotto fight. The first four to five rounds will be fast paced and anyone's guess as to who is winning each round. As time goes on I see Cotto's body attack wearing down the 36 year old Mosley. Miguel Cotto has not handled speed well in the past. Light punching Paulie Malignaggi gave Cotto a good test, and Zab Judah staggered the power puncher several times. I can see "Sugar Shane" putting the bull down more than once with viscious upper cuts, but I don't think any of them will keep him on the mat. Mosley looked great in his past few fights, but lets remember who they were against, Fernando Vargas twice and Louis Collazo. No disrespect to Collazo, but he is no Cotto. There is a differance when you're fighting a guy with little to no power and one who punishes you from the second the bell rings. I also have to question how good Mosley looked against Vargas, for Frenando is no longer Ferocious! As we have seen of late Fernando's body has just been giving up on him, I think most qualified fighters could look good against him lately. Cotto on the other hand has been slowly stepping up competition over the years and has passed all tests, I see no reason why tonight will be different. The undefeated Puerto Rican reminds me of Joe Calzaghe, every one he fights talks about how ordinary he is until he beats them. I even look at him and always say the quicker guy can beat him, yet I'm always wrong. I see Cotto breaking down Shane with a body attack and stopping him late. Then gain I've been wrong before, and there was ever a fight that I could wrong with, it's this one! PREDICTION: COTTO TKO 11

PREDICTION
JEAN MARC MORMECK(33-3,22KO) vs. DAVID HAYE(19-1,18KO)

I can not stress enough how disappointed I am that I have to watch this fight after the fact on youtube. Someone with some brains should have picked up the rights to this fight. I would have even paid a cheap PPV fee to see this fight.

These are two solid fighters with big time punches and world class skill. Both guys could probably move to heavyweight and do pretty well. I'm glad they stayed at the 200 pound limit though. David Haye has one loss for depending too much on his power. He may very well need to have an all around game to dispose of "The Marcsman". Mormeck looked very good in defeating O'Niel Bell in their rematch earlier in the year. I don't see this fight going the distance, both fighter have power and like to use it. I have to lean towards "The Hayemaker" to take this fight. He is younger and quite an impressive right hand. While waiting for this fight he tried his hand at heavyweight and ended things in quick fashion, destroying Tomasz Bonin(37-1) in 1:45 of the first round. Haye has lost only once and only gone the distance once, I don't see this fight being any different than his other wins. He will try and stay on the outside and bomb away on Mormeck's dome with the effect sinking somewhere late in the fight. PREDICTION: HAYE TKO 8

DOWN THE ROAD

One of the things I hate about watching boxing is I know that two guys are going to slug it out as long as they can, and then some guy who has been sitting ringside drinking tea, is going to get in the ring and say "who do you want to fight next?". As much as I hate that question, I can't help but think about who the winner, or sometimes even the loser, should fight next. At least I'll wait a few days before putting my opinion out there. Let's go over some great fights, and recent news, and look down the road for a few good match-ups.

JOE CALZAGHE

First, I would like to say Calzaghe put on another amazing performance and deserves all the credit in the world for stepping up at the end of his career and fighting the best of the best. That being said, I got tired of Jim Lampley and Max Kellerman talking about how great Kessler was! I agree that Kessler is a good fighter, let's not shove it down my throat. It seemed like they were prepared to talk about Kessler more than Joe. Why not focus on how great Joe Calzaghe is? Maybe because they know Joe is at the end and HBO plans on Kessler being their fighter? It could just be me, but that's what I thought anyway. As for Joe's future, it seems he is determined to fight Bernard Hopkins. I'm not sure why Joe is so intent on fighting The Executioner. It seems to me there is not much of an upside to it. If he loses to him, which the possibility is there, people will say he only fought over rated contenders, or see he can't win outside of Wales. If he bets him, everyone says big deal he beat a 43 year old fighter. Then again I guess there aren't too many other big money offers out there for a guy who has beaten everyone at 168. The fight has my blessing, sorry Joe I gotta root for my man Bernard.

MIKKEL KESSLER

As much as I was sick of hearing HBO kiss this guys butt over the weekend I do think he is a great fighter. The one thing I couldn't help but think about was, maybe people will now give Jeff Lacy some credit. They stop saying he was overrated, and over hyped. People should start saying there is no shame in losing to a great fighter like Joe Calzaghe. I would love to see the two Calzaghe victims get a few fights under their belts and then face off for the 168 thrown. I would also like to see a match with the Canadian Lucian Bute get made. It would be tough because both guys can draw a crowd at home, so I'm sure there would be a pissing contest for home turf.

JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ

I don't think I even need to mention what should happen with Marquez. If the rematch with Manny Pacquiao doesn't happen then I would never watch either fighter again. This fight needs to happen, for the fans, boxing, and most of all for me! I will not even write about this any longer, because it's only going to make me upset that they haven't gotten in the ring already.

ROCKY JUAREZ

This is one tough dude, that just can't seem to win the big one. He is entertaining and as I said before very tough, he is now in my eyes the perfect gate keeper for the division. I wouldn't mind seeing him give Robert Guerrero a stiff test or even take on the heavy punching Edwin Valero. Let's see if Valero could handle Rocky before being fed to Pacquiao.

SAKIO BIKA
I was ringside for this potential fight of the year, and the more I think about it, the more grateful I am for being able to witness this one in person. These two guys started fast and didn't stop swinging for the fences from round one all the way to the end. I'm still not sure what happened, I just know that I was on my feet the entire time! Where should Bika go from here? Well, I would like to see him give Jaidon a rematch later down the line. Codrington
needs to get some other fights under his belt before tangling with Bika again. I would like to see Bika in with any of the other tough 168ers, Allen Green could be a good match-up, maybe Edison Miranda, or perhaps take on the winner of Lacy-Manfredo.

JAIDON CODRINGTON

I know that Codrington was knocked out by Bika and knocked out by Green, I still think this kid is pretty good and can handle big time fights. He proved his heart by getting up in that first round and standing toe to toe with Bika for seven more rounds. I think one of "The Dons" flaws is he was pushed so fast. He was put up against Allen Green way to soon, and even after that he has never been able to get rounds under his belt. I think even though he got KO'd in eight, he should proud of what he accomplished. He went eight extremely hard rounds with a world class fighter and hasn't gone ten rounds more than once in his career. Jaidon was running solely on heart after the fifth round. I would like Jaidon to take it slow get some rounds under his belt and then try for revenge against Bika in a year or two. I have a feeling we'll see a different fight.

PREDICTION

Two great fights, one great night. At 9 the best Super Middleweights in the world square off, followed at 10 by a pound for pounder trying not to blow his chance for a big pay day against the Pacman again. I give credit to Showtime for not only making this fight a non-PPV fight, but also setting it up so that it can be seen after the Calzaghe-Kessler fight. I was right last night, lets see how I do tonight.

JOE CALZAGHE(41-0, 32KO) vs. MIKKEL KESSLER(39-0, 29KO)

First, I would like to say I like both guys, enjoy their styles and commend them for taking this fight. Second, I think Mikkell Kessler has a really cool Tattoo! That thing is awesome! As far as the fight goes, I think it will be very competitive, and brutal. Both men seem as if they not only want to win, but win impressively. I wouldn't be surprised to see both guys get up off the canvas in this one. That being said, I'm gonna have to go with Joe Calzaghe, it seems every big fight people forget he's been the champ for ten years. I'm not saying Kessler is a slouch, I just think it seems that Kessler another guy in the long list that is supposed to be Joe's real challenge. I don't buy it, I think Joe really is that good! Now I think Kessler is his toughest fight, but I think Joe's handspeed and movement will be too much for the Dane to handle.PREDITION: Calzaghe UD

JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ vs. ROCKY JAUREZ

This one is going to be a good fight. Rocky Jaurez a tough foe, and always comes prepared to fight. I think Marquez is one of the best fighters in the world and will be too much for Rocky. I see him boxing circles around the rugged challenger, and still perhaps being caught with a stunner at some point from Juarez. In the end though, I think Marquez will walk away with the win and get the much anticipated rematch with Manny Pacquiao. PREDICTION: Marquez UD

PREDICTION

I'm not sure why I even post my predictions anymore. If you've ever read my blog you'll know I'm usually very wrong! I should help myself and others by not posting prediction anymore, but that would be no fun, so here goes.

CALVIN BROCK(31-1, 23KO) vs. EDDIE CHAMBERS (29-0, 16KO)

I will come right out and say it, I don't care who wins. I hate the heavyweight division. I think I would rather watch Field Hockey than heavyweight fights these days. for the good of boxing Eddie Chambers needs to win this fight. Calvin Brock had his day, he got knocked out in the 7th, in one of the many very boring heavy fights this year. If Chambers wins he would go on to fight Alexander Povetkin, and the winner would face off against Wlad Klitschko for title in '08. The idea of a Brock-Klitschko rematch makes me throw up in my mouth. I think Chambers can and will beat Brock based solely on his speed. Brock is a slow lumbering very robotic type fighter. Someone with good movement and handspeed should be able to box circles around him. I'm looking for Eddie to use his speed and movement to stay away from Brock's power and win on a unanimous decision. PREDICTION: CHAMBERS UD

OTHER THAN THE OBVIOUS

Any good boxing fan knows that the best is yet to come. Even with a few fight of the year candidates in the bank(Vasquez-Marquez, Pavlick-Taylor, Cotto-Judah) there a still a few fights that have the potential to top even those. Yes, we know that the Miguel Cotto-Shane Mosley fight will be great, and great hype will come with the Floyd Mayweather-Ricky Hatton showdown. We know that Mikkel Kessler and Joe Calzaghe will not disappoint and that Jaun Manuel Marquez and Rocky Jaurez will have my DVR working overtime that action packed Saturday night. What I am talking about is a few fights I am personally excited about, and may have fallen through the cracks due to the full schedule this fall. Some of these fights may not be fight of the year caliber or even have a title at stake, but I'm interested and you might be too. Have no fear friends I am hear to remind you of the intriguing undercards, shamefully non-televised fights, and maybe one or two showdowns you hadn't known were even happening.

1. LUCIAN BUTE(20-0, 26KO) vs. ALEJANDRO BERRIO(26-4, 25KO) OCTOBER 19

Bute is Ring Magazine's fourth ranked Super Middleweight in the world. He is undefeated and getting his first title shot against a very tough Berrio. Bute has fought on ESPN a couple of times and impressed me. He has good power, hand speed, and knows how to command the ring well. He has been slowly stepping up the competition and handily outpointed the always rugged Sakio Bika in his last fight. Berrio is another step up for the Romanian, Berrio has handed knockout loses to some pretty could fighters, including Syd Vanderpool and Yusef Mack. He has power and likes to bang, not to mention a belt I'm sure he doesn't want to leave in Montreal. If that's not enough to make you interested in the fight, then how about the fact that those Canucks sure know how to support a fighter. When Bute faced Bika the Bell Center was devoured by a thunder and lighting storm, and it seemed to only make the fans get louder. Now those are the fight I enjoy seeing. Unfortunately this one's not televised in the U.S. but will be on TSN in Canada(the Canadian version of ESPN) which means I can see this one later on youtube. If anyone is interested some of Lucian's fights are on youtube now.

2. JEAN MARC MORMECK(33-3, 22KO) vs. DAVID HAYE(19-1, 18KO) NOVEMBER 10

What a shame that this fight will not be seen in the states. Two talented heavy hitting athletes squaring off for the title, this is the stuff you can't find at heavyweight. I wish people would pay closer attention to this division, it could be the best of them all. Mormeck is coming off a huge win against former undisputed champion O'Niel Bell, and taking on the number one challenger as all champions should do. Haye is a power puncher out of England looking to add another KO to his list before moving up to collect paychecks at heavyweight. These are two guys coming for the knockout. If you want to watch a tactical boxing match you might want to look elsewhere. I don't think it could be possible this to go the distance. Youtube, I am asking you as a friend please have this fight on your site ASAP.

3. ANDRE WARD(13-0, 8KO) vs. ROGER CANTRELL(12-0, 8KO) NOVEMBER 16

People in the past have in my opinion, been very tough on the gold medalist Andre Ward. I have always been a Ward supporter, and don't mind that his handlers have been bringing him along slowly. I understand that he has more experiance than most because of his extensive amatuer background, I know he's won a gold medal. What I think most don't understand is that he's 23. What's the rush? This is not basketball, or baseball, or even football. In those sports if your in over your head or pushed too fast, you go practice some more, work on free-throws, study your play-book, and work on the mechanics of your swing. In boxing if you have an off night you could end up severely hurt, and maybe never fully mentally recover from it. Do I even have to mention the name David Reid? I'm looking forward to this one because on paper they seem fairly evenly matched and it should be a decent test for Ward. Of course that's on paper, this could also be a chance for Ward to show off.

4. MATT GODFREY(16-0, 9KO) vs. JEREMY WILIAMS(42-5, 35KO) NOVEMBER 24

This a huge step up for my man Too Smooth, and I think he can handle it. Jeremy Williams made a name for himself by being an undersized heavyweight with heavy hands. He took a few years off after being grossly knocked out by Sam Peter. Williams has decided to try and make a name for himself in the Cruiserweight division, where he is matched with guys his own size. This fight will be a co-headline to a small PPV event held at Mandalay Bay Thanksgiving weekend. This one is a test for both fighters, if Williams can get past the Smooth undefeated fighter out of Providence, he may indeed be ready to conquer the division. If Godfrey can get by the tough veteran, he may indeed be ready for a title shot. Only time will tell. I am actually hoping to be in attendance for this one, hoping to make Godfrey's first fight in Vegas my first fight in Vegas.

Late word has it that this fight will be moved to Hartford Conecticut, oh well I guess Vegas can wait. The date will stay the same and the opponent should still be Williams.

5. JEFF LACY(22-1, 17KO) vs. PETER MANFREDO JR.(28-4, 13KO) DECEMBER 8TH

Both Manfredo and Lacy are coming off of some down time due to surgery, Lacy for a rotator cuff and Manfredo for an elbow. Lacy's time as been almost a year while Manfredo's last fight was in June. I'm looking forward to this fight for a few reasons, first these are both crowd pleasing fighters. Neither guy is going to shy away from contact and neither guy is known for amazing defense. Second, Manfredo is a very good test for Lacy, who is still one of my favorite fighters. I don't mean for that to down play Manfredo's talents, but I think the Jeff Lacy from a few years ago would take Manfredo apart. The question is can Lacy get back to his old form after two very long physically grinding fights. If he is not in good form he'll have a tough time getting rid of Manfredo. Third, it's on the undercard of a PPV I was planning on ordering. I have come to terms with the fact that most PPV's have crappy undercards. Who was on the undercard of Mayweather-Delahoya again? At least now I have two fights to look forward to on December 8th.



There you have it. those are a few fights I am interested in seeing or reading about this fall that have been lost in the shuffle. Let me know if you agree or maybe I missed a couple.

PREDICTION

I know I haven't posted in a while and I'm sorry to the three people that read my blog. I promise I have stuff to write about I've just been busy. Before it's too late I wanted to get my prediction in.

Jermain Taylor vs. Kelly Pavlick

I'm sorry to say that this fight will not go the way Pavlick-Miranda went. I think that Jermain is a much better fighter than Miranda and he will control the action using his jab. The last couple of fights for Taylor may have been boring to watch, but the two guys he fought still had better resumes than Kelly Pavlick. I'm not taking anything away from "The Ghost" I think he's a tough fighter. He just hasn't fought anyone even close to as good as Bernard Hopkins or Winky Wright. I think Taylor will control the pace from the start and may get rocked a time or two in the middle trying to prove he's a champ, then reign it in a bit towards the end to pull out the decision. PREDICTION: Taylor UD

CONTENDER SEASON 3

Ok, so I went home last night after work completely pumped for the new season of the contender, I get excited about any new boxing on T.V. Well, I saw a few good things and a few bad things about this season already. We'll start with the good:

1. This seasons fighters seem to have the best credentials yet. I mean Sam Soliman gave Winky Wright all he could handle not to long ago, and Sakio Bika is not too shabby going twelve with Joe Calzaghe.

2. The fighters already have more personality than any of the fighters from last year. Last year took a step up in experience but a step down in personality.

3. The trainers are a step up, I mean Buddy Mcgirt, come on he's one of the best out there.

4. The music is still awesome. How can you not get pumped up when hear the Contender theme blaring over the opening credits?

5. The underdog has already been chosen. It seems that the K-9 award goes to David Banks, I'm already liking and feeling bad for the last guy picked. (In case you didn't know Cornelious K-9 Bundrage got picked last in season 2 and came in third.)

There you have it that's what I liked about last nights episode. Now here comes the bad stuff, I will however try to be optimistic about the upcoming season:

1. It was thoroughly unentertaining! Nothing really happened, it was just another look at the audition process. OPTIMISM: I'm in hopes that last nights episode was a way for us to get to know all the fighters better before two guys actually square off.

2. Listening to Sugar Ray for an hour straight makes me sea sick. He sounds like he's doing a bad impression of William Shatner! OPTIMISM: I hope he isn't in so much of the up coming shows.

3. The trainers may be a step up but they are no where near as entertaining as Tommy Gallagher. OPTIMISM: Maybe they'll open up as we get to know them better as we get to know them. Hey maybe they'll even become crabby old men, you never know.

4. I will be very upset if we are forced to see a guest celebrity every week. Especially c-list celebs like Adam Corolla! Come on man, who cares what Adam Corolla says about anything, much less boxing! I watch the show to get to know the fighters and watch some boxing, not hear the same regurgitated crap about how amazing it is to be in the presence of so-and-so. OPTIMISM: I don't really have any on this one I think we're stuck with the guests, I just hope the get better than Corolla.

5. When they show ed the previews for next week I realized they still have the same announcer. I would rather listen to Suger Ray read me a Charles Dickens novel than hear that guy gurgle through "ROUND NUMBER FIVE". OPTIMISM: He doesn't look like he keeps in the best shape, maybe he'll drop dead and they'll replace him.(Sorry I know that's a bit harsh).

Any thoughts about last nights show?

PREDICTIONS

I decided that I would get my predictions in a bit early this week because I'm leaving for Vegas Friday.(I just wanted to brag that I'm going to Vegas). A couple of good fights coming up this weekend. I will keep it brief so that I can go sit in my room and mentally prepare for Vegas. It just feels so good to say it.....I'm going to Vegas!

MATT GODFREY vs. DERRICK BROWN

Matt Godfrey is an up and coming Cruiserweight fighter out of Providence R.I. who just keeps trucking along, stepping up competition bit by bit, and beating everyone in his path. Matt is taking a risk with this fight. He is ranked pretty high by the WBC and could probably fight lesser guys until he gets his shot at a title. Instead he's fighting a bigger guy who campaigned most of his career at heavyweight. I will give Matt credit, instead of taking a keep busy fight he is taking a fight fight. That being said I think Matt will use his superior boxing skill and ring generalship to control the action. "Too Smooth" will indeed be....too smooth for Brown, thus derailing the "D-Train".(Sorry I know that was lame but it had to be done). Unfortunately I will not be in attendance for this fight, due to the fact that I am going to Vegas.(There it is again!) I have not missed many of Matt's fights and am disappointed to be missing this one, but hey, Vegas calls!(I gotta stop saying that).
PREDICTION: GODFREY UD


JHONNY GONZALEZ vs. GERRY PENALOSA

Not that the last boxing after dark was a bad fight, but this is what the shows should be. A young buck taking on a cagey vet. Both guys can pack a punch and Gonzalez may have questionable chin. Penalosa is coming off a bit of a robbery when he lost a UD to Ponce DeLeon last March. He is looking to rebound and let everyone know he's the true champ. Gonzalez lost by 10th round TKO to Israel Vasquez back in 2006. Due to the fact that Gonzalez is the younger guy, and Vasquez proved how good he is last weekend, I'll take Gonzalez with a late rally.
PREDICTION: GONZALEZ UD


DANIEL PONCE DELEON vs. REY BAUTISTA

These guys are stepping into the ring with a combined record of 54 wins 1 loss and 45 wins coming by way of knockout. This should be a shootout worth watching. As Everlast once said "I came to drop bombs". Both guys should enter the ring to House of Pain Saturday because they are both looking to bring it.(I know that's worse than derailing the D-Train comment, sorry it's been a long week). This fight is a toss up for me, I want to lean towards Ponce DeLeon, but I can't bet against Bautista in this one.(I sure as heck won't while I'm in Vegas!)
PREDICTION: BAUTISTA UD

OK, now that I know philippoussis picked Amanda(I would've taken Megan), The Bryguy needs a new show to obsess over. Thank god the Contender's coming back.(It's a little manlier than Age of Love). This time they are back at Super Middleweight, and have some pretty decent names.
Sakio Bika (22-3-2, 14 KOs)
Jaidon Codrington (16-1, 12 KOs)
Sam Soliman (33-9, 13 KOs)

Rubin Williams (29-2-1, 16 KOs)

Those are just a few of the notables. They have also been listening to the fight fans and have made a few changes to the show. The fights will still be cut down and edited for the show, but the fights will be shown in their entirety later on ESPN2. This should please both the hard core fight fans and fans of the show. Also they have gotten some new trainers, Buddy McGirt and Pepe Correa. I'm a little sad to see Tommy Gallagher go, he always made me laugh. I'm very glad I don't have to listen to Jeremy Williams cliches in the corner week after week! I for one am happy the show is coming back and will be paying extra close attention because the finale will be in my back yard(TD Banknorth Garden). Look out Contenders The Bryguy's coming for pictures! I had heard a rumor that the Contender people had wanted Jeff lacy on the show, but he wasn't fully rcovered from a torn rotator cuff.(That would've been too much for The Bryguy to handle anyway). So just as ESPN Fight Nights are coming to an end I'm getting Fridays replaced with Tuesdays. The DVR will be set, the keg will be full, and The Bryguy will be giddy.
HERE'S A FULL LIST OF THE PARTICIPANTS:

• Max Alexander (26, Camden, N.J., 14-1, 2 KOs).
• David Banks (24, Portland, Ore., 14-2-1, 2 KOs).
• Sakio Bika (28, Sydney, Australia, via Cameroon, 22-3-2, 14 KOs).
• Henry "Sugar Poo" Buchanan (28, Capital Heights, Md., 14-1, 11 KOs).
• La Farrell Bunting (27, Las Vegas, 16-3-1, 16 KOs).
• Jaidon Codrington (23, New York, 16-1, 12 KOs).
• Miguel Hernandez (32, Chicago, 20-5, 10 KOs).
• Wayne Johnson (29, Lyndhurst, N.J., 16-1, 9 KOs).
• Donny McCrary (24, St. Joseph, Mo., 23-5-2, 13 KOs).
• Les Ralston (25, Buffalo, N.Y., 16-2, 9 KOs).
• Danny Santiago (34, Ocala, Fla., 29-3-1, 19 KOs).
• Paul Smith (24, Liverpool, England, 20-0, 12 KOs).
• Sam Soliman (33, Melbourne, Australia, 33-9, 13 KOs).
• Brian Vera (26, Austin, Texas, 14-0, 9 KOs).
• Rhoshii Wells (30, Las Vegas, 18-2-2, 10 KOs).
• Rubin Williams (31, Detroit, 29-2-1, 16 KOs).

My early prediction(this could change once the show starts) David Banks.(I have no real reason for this, but I'm sticking with it.)
Gimme your early Prediction.

PREDICTIONS

OK, tonight is short and sweet because I gotta go drinkin':

Morales vs. Diaz

I think we are going to see a repeat of Gatti-Gomez here. Morales has been going down hill ever since the first Pacquiao fight. PREDICTION:Diaz TKO 9

Marquez vs. Vasquez

I think this fight is going to pick up right were it left off. I can see both fighters hitting the deck more than once. In the end I think Marquez will out box Vasquez in the late rounds. PREDICTION: Marquez UD

OK, predictions in...DVR set....time to go boozin!

Southern New England golden Gloves

Here's another video treat from "The Bryguy":

The Southern New England Golden Gloves located in Fall River, Massachusetts and is one of the precursors to the New England finals held in Lowell Mass. It has had it's share of names pass through including Matt Godfrey, Jason Estrada, Peter Manfredo Jr., and of course Marvin Hagler. Going to this event is like stepping through a time machine. The auditorium is dank and dirty, the paint is falling of the walls, lights are flickering and the only thing anyone cares about is the boxing. It was an absolute pleasure to witness the event and I would recommend going to anyone. I went and did a small story on the event for my show Out of Bounds, I hope you enjoy it.

Videographer/editor Bryan Brennan(The Bryguy) covers the sights and sounds of the history rich Southern New England Golden Gloves in Fall River, MA.

TESSITORE AGREES

I will come right out and say it I'm happy that Ricky Hatton is fighting Floyd Mayweather on December 8th. I will also say that I would have preferred to see him take on Brooklyn born Paulie Malignaggi first. Malignaggi is a hand full for anybody at 140lbs to handle. I think it would have been nice to see Hatton test the waters with Malignaggi and then move on to the "Pretty Boy". I used to think Mayweather would be too much for Miguel Cotto to handle until I witnessed him slow down the much quicker Malignaggi, now I would love to see this match up. Well, I don't want to brag, but the voice of Friday "Night Fights" Joe Tessitore agrees with "The Byrguy". Check it out. http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/columns/story?columnist=tessitore_joe&id=2956984

THE BIG FINISH!


If you're reading this blog you're:

A: someone I work with
B: my mom
C: a boxing fan

For those of you in the C group I'm sure you've already heard about a few of the bouts close to being signed to finish out the year. For those of you in the A and B groups I will let know what's going on(mom you don't have to pretend you know who these people are). It looks as if Chad Dawson could be taking on Antonio Tarver on September 23rd, Shane Mosley might tangle with Miguel Cotto on November 10th, and on December 8th Floyd Mayweather and Ricky Hatton will square off. For me this makes for a great end to a pretty decent boxing year. Aside from the heavyweight division and the Jermain Taylor Corey Spinks fight, we've had a pretty good year.(I actually enjoyed my recent root canal more than those two bouts). Even if you were let down by the "Golden Boy" vs. "Pretty Boy" matchup you've got to admit it was kinda fun having boxing in the spotlight again. The first big fight being lined up is Tarver - Dawson for late September. I'm impressed that Tarver took this fight. Dawson looks to be one of the most dangerous guys in all of boxing, and I thought Tarver would duck the young lion. I'm glad it's being made, Dawson can now begin to clean up the division starting with it's most popular man, and then move on to the rest of the nursing home known as the Light Heavyweight division. Very soon after that fight ends HBO-PPV will air Shane Mosley vs. Miguel Cotto. This very well could be the best fight of the year. Mosley has looked great in last couple of performances against Louis Collazo and both fights with Fernando Vargas. Miguel Cotto has been steam rolling opponents for thirty straight bouts. This fight could very well be the one to seal Mosley's legacy or vault Cotto into superstardom. To cap off the boxing year we are going to see two unbeatens face off on December 8th in Las Vegas, when Ricky Hatton gets in the ring with the pound for pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. This fight could be a slight let down just like the Oscar Delahoya fight, but again it will have a bunch of hype leading up to the fight so perhaps for the second time this year the general public will pay attention to the world of boxing. One thing is for sure the crowd on hand will be extremely entertaining. Those are three fights I'm looking forward to seeing along with a few others(Pavlick-Taylor, Kessler-Calzaghe, and Pacquiao-Barrera). So it looks like the Fall of '07 is trying to resuscitate the so called "dead" sport of boxing. I better get started on my predictions. Let me know what fight you're most looking forward to seeing.

WHAT'S NEXT?

It seems to me that Bernard Hopkins has done everything, defeated everyone, and has nothing left to prove. Although now that i think about he hasn't defeated everyone, has he? Clinton Mitchell, Jermain Taylor, and Roy Jones Jr. can still claim victories over the hall of fame boxer. Mitchell beat Hopkins in his first fight back in 1988, I think we can chalk that up to a fluke. Jermain Taylor beat Hopkins by razor thin decisions in 2005, but many had Hopkins winning one maybe even both of those fights, so once again he's forgiven. Then there is Roy Jones Jr. who got a unanimous decision over Hopkins in 1993. Their giant egos never let them agree on terms for a rematch. Now could be different, they need each other to go out the way they want to. In his win against Winky Wright, Bernard seemed to finally show some signs of age. I would by no means call him shot, but I do feel a guy like Calzaghe could to take advantage of Hopkins' slowed reflexes. Ever since his back to back knockouts by Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson Roy Jones has been trying to fix his legacy so he can ride off into the sunset as a pound for pounder. What better way to go out than beating a pound for pound great like Bernard Hopkins? What better way is there to retire than defeating Roy Jones, the only guy who has a legitimate win over you? Hopkins can't compete with the likes of Chad Dawson and Joe Calzaghe. A win over Glen Johnson or Clinton Woods wouldn't really do much to improve his already impressive list of victims. To get rid of a blemish on your record, now that would be a nice caper to an already remarkable career. Now some fans would say this fight five years too late, I say it's just in the nick of time! The fight is more interesting now than it was five years ago, because both now have kinks in their armor. They still match up in a similar way to when they were in their primes, they are each just a little more vulnerable. Also I kinda like that the roles would be reversed, in 1993 Hopkins was the bad guy. This time around I think most would be rooting for the "executioner" to finish Jones once and for all. Let me know what you think.

WHY DO I GET PUNISHED?

I had recently heard that there was an article in Ring magazine about one of favorite fighters(Matt Godfrey). So during a trip to my local Stop & Shop two weeks ago, I decided to peruse the magazine section and see if they had the issue. They had quite the selection of mags. They must have had ten hip-hop magazines, at least a dozen teeny bopper mags, countless health & beauty reads, and three pro wrestling magazines(WWE type stuff). Not one issue of The Ring! I wasn't too surprised, maybe a little angry, but that's because I think boxing fans take it a little more personally when people bash their sport. I returned to S&S today to pickup a few essentials(chips, dip, Ramon Noodles, Tuna) and I thought two things: Why do I eat like a college student, and I wonder if they have a copy of The Ring today? Sure enough they did, then as quickly as I picked it up to see what the issue contained, I put it down realizing it was 8 bucks. There was no way in hell I was paying 8 dollars for a magazine, even if it is "The Bible of Boxing"! As I continued to shop I wondered, "Why am I being punished?" Why did I have to pay 50 dollars to see my favorite fighter get in the ring on Saturday? Why should I pay 8 bucks for a magazine covering my sport? Why do eat so much Tuna? Why do I have spend so much money to watch a sport that I love? The only answer I had was, Tuna is cheep and easy. When two elite fighters square off it's guaranteed that I am going to fork over 50 smackers. When the Patriots play the Colts everyone watches Monday night football. When the Red Sox play the Yankees I just tune in to my local radio station and listen in. I'm not saying that Winky and Bernard should be on radio and given Superbowl treatment, but at least try and drum up support from new fans instead sucking the old ones dry. All I can say is boxing needs to be more accessible to everyone. Promoters and managers will take a prospect and bring him along slowly, making sure he gets the skills he needs and builds a fan base. Why can't they treat the sport of boxing the same way they do their prospects? I have no answers only questions, sorry if you were expecting more. By the way, being a stupid boxing fan, I paid the 8 bucks and bought the magazine.

HOPKINS WRIGHT

PREDICTION

I have come up with a few rules while watching boxing all these years:

1. Never bet against Bernard Hopkins.

2. Never bet against Winky Wright.

3. Always bet on black.(no, wait, that's Wesley Snipes in Passenger 57. Sorry, my bad.)

So, I guess I only have two rules for boxing.(I'm gonna have to come up with a few more). Now this fight just goes and screws with the little system I had going. I won't bet on either guy, but who should I pick to win. After mulling it over for about two months I have decided to go with(drum roll please, rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr) Bernard Hopkins. I think the fight will be more entertaining than people think. We are talking about two of the best ring technicians on the planet. Why are people acting like this is gonna be John Ruiz vs. Fres Oquendo? Both of these guys want to prove they're the better man, and I believe they'll come out fighting. Hopkins showed much more energy against Tarver than he had in his 5 bouts before that. Bernard Hopkins is the Roger Clemens of boxing, or even better the engizer bunny of boxing, he just keeps going. He will be the bigger man in the ring and will force his will upon Winky the same way he did against Oscar DeLahoya. Winky got broken up worse in the Jermain Taylor fight than all the rest of his fights combined. After two fights with Taylor, Hopkins looked fine. I would also add that Taylor was a young guy full of energy, Wright is not. Also it's very important to point out that Hopkins is 9-0 with 7 ko's against southpaws. If all that wasn't enough, Bernard is also one of my favorite fighters, so I can't pick against him. PREDICTION: HOPKINS UD

CALZAGHE - KESSLER CLASH

It was announced that the top two Super Middleweights in the world will face off on Novermber 3rd in Cardiff Wales. This is the fight fans have been waiting for and I thought it would never get done. I figured it would be too easy and too enticing for Calzaghe to meet up with bigger name opponents for bigger money(Bernard Hopkins, Jermain Taylor). I love this fight! These are two undefeated, PROVEN fighters, laying it all on the line for the fans(I'm sure they're making a pretty penny too, but I like to think they're doing this for me). There's no doubt in my mind that Millennium Stadium will be sold out, the fight will not disappoint, and I will be ordering wings. (The wings will be washed down with Moosehead of course). I will not give a prediction till we get closer to the fight, instead I have decided to list five other fights I feel have to get made.

5. RICKY HATTON vs. PAULIE MALIGNAGGI
Everyone is talking about Hatton taking on Mayweather, I would prefer to see him take on Malignaggi first. Ricky is a straight ahead in your face brawler, while Paulie is a slick boxer. I would like to see which would prevail between these two. If "The Hitman" gets past "The Magic Man" then I'd would say he is ready for Mayweather. I enjoyed the Cotto-Malignaggi fight and I think this one could be similar. Not only that, both Hatton and Malignaggi are funny guys, I bet the press conference would be as entertaining as the fight!



4. SHANE MOSLEY vs. MIGUEL COTTO
This fight is very possible now that Paul Williams beat Antonio Margarito over the weekend. I was actually rooting for Williams so that this fight could happen. I would love to see these two superstars square off, power vs. speed. Would Cotto be able to break down "Sugar Shane" the same way he has everyone else in his path? Would Shane's speed and experience overwhelm the young star? The hype for this fight would amazing, and unlike Mayweather-Delahoya I think this one would deliver in the end.



3. MANNY PACQUIAO vs. JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ II
In their first fight it looked like it would be an early night for the "Pacman" as he knocked down Marquez three times in the first round. As the fight went on Marquez starting putting rounds in the bank, and would eventually come back to get the draw. Both fighters have improved, and moved up a weight class since then. I think the fight would be all fireworks and would probably set up a third fight no matter who comes out with the win.



2. CHAD DAWSON vs. GLEN JOHNSON
"Bad" Chad Dawson is one fast rising young star in a division full of old men. I would love to see how Dawson handles the constant pressure from the "Road Warrior". I think eventually Chad could move up to Cruiserweight or even heavyweight and make some noise, but I would like to see him clean up the Light Heavies first. I think he should start with Johnson and move on to Clinton Woods and perhaps even send Roy Jones into retirement.



1. THE BRYGUY vs. MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS
This one would be a fight for the ages, and done out of shear jealousy. I hated Mark "The Playa" Philippoussis when I heard about his dating show Age of Love(a.k.a Cougers vs. Kittens). This guy doesn't need any help getting women, why hand him thirteen to pick from? Not only that, in episode three "The Playa" sent home my favorite Coug Lynn and my second favorite kitten, Adalaide. As if I wasn't angry enough after that, it seems my all around favorite Megan is destined to be voted off soon as well. Philippoussis needs to stopped and I'm just the guy to stop him. Also once he is out of the way I would like to start my own dating show called "Age of The Bryguy". What you think? That would work right?

WEEKEND PREDICTIONS

I did such a bad job making predictions last weekend I decided to get this weekends predictions in early. I would just like to say that when I make predictions, unfortunatly they come from the heart. If I were betting on these predictions I would sometimes go the other way. For instance, everyone knew that Wlad klitschko was going to beat Lamon Brewster on Saturday. I knew it too, but I wanted to be daring and hope for the Brewster upset again. If I had to put money on it, I would have gone with Wlad. That being said I have more than enough boxing coming up this weekend to be wrong about! Saturday night we have five big fights, four different venues, three up and comers, two PPV's, and one great night of boxing for the Bryguy! HERE GOES:

WELTER WEEKEND
The Antonio Margarito-Paul Williams fight is taking place at The Home Depot Center in California, but airing as an undercard for the Arturo Gatti-Alfonso Gomez fight in New Jersey. HBO was willing to spend a buck and bring three great fights to boxing fans(it's about time). After sitting through two Klitchsko snooze fests, and a terrible fight in Wales(Manfredo-Calzaghe), HBO owes this triple header to boxing fans.


ARTURO GATTI vs. ALFONSO GOMEZ
(40-8,31KO'S) (16-3-2,7KO'S)
I'm back and forth on whether or not it will be a good one. I understand that almost any fight Arturo Gatti is in is a good one(this excludes his fights against Mayweather, and Baldomir). From what I've seen Alfonso Gomez is full of heart just like his opponent. He has some skill as well, but has never fought anyone with more than 25 wins. Arturo Gatti has been in the ring with some of the best. Of course Gatti is also on the downslide of his career. I'm just afraid this fight might turn out to be more Gatti-Dorin than Gatti-Ward. Ward I should mention will be working the corner for Gatti in this fight(just a bit of trivia I thought I'd throw at ya). I think Gomez has enough heart to stay in there for a few rounds, but the ref will stop it late. I think after the beatings Gatti has taken from Mayweather and Baldomir this fight is for his fans.
PREDICTION: GATTI KO 10


KERMIT CINTRON vs. WALTER MATTHYSSE
(27-1,25KO'S) (26-1,27KO'S)
Fist off, the answer is I have no idea how to pronounce Walter's last name...so don't ask! This fight will be on the undercard of the Gatti Gomez fight and has a chance of being a better fight. Kermit Cintron is was once thought to be a wrecking machine until he bumped into Antonio Margarito two years ago. That fight sent Cintron back to the drawing board and Margarito on to the ever increasing list of guys to avoid. "The Killer" took some time off and came back to knock off two sturdy challengers(Mark Suarez and David Estrada). The Estrada fight was on my list as candidate for fight of the year. I think Kermit has gotten himself back on track and is looking to make a statement on Saturday...Bryguy predicts this statement will be loud and clear. I don't know much about Matthysse other than he has a solid record against solid opponents and almost as many KO' as victories. I'm not over looking Matthysse, but he's the smaller man against a hard hitting fighter with something to prove. I think this fight will be bombs away from the get go with Cintron coming out on top.
PREDICTION: CINTRON KO 11

PAUL WILLIAMS vs. ANTONIO MARGARITO
(32-0,24KO'S) (34-4,24KO'S)
This fight should be an interesting one. For a while it looked like Margarito would take a fight with Miguel Cotto and Williams wouldn't get his mandatory shot. I guess with all Margarito's bitching about being ducked by everyone, he couldn't then turn around and duck Williams. It looks like the winner could get a shot at miguel Cotto. Two years ago the Antonio found himself in a very similar situation, on a big fight card fighting a dangerous undefeated fighter, that many thought could defeat him(Bryguy included). So now it's 2007 and that undefeated dangerous fighter is "The Punisher". Paul Williams is a big weletrweight, at 6'1" he's got a three inch height advantage over Margarito, and a nine inch reach advantage. I have never been a big fan Margarito. I think he's a solid fighter with an akward style, but I I think he's been blown up into something he's not. He would have lost his fight with Joshua Clottey if Clottey hadn't broken both his hands. Two of his four loses have come against southpaws, and "The Punisher" is one big southpaw. I think Williams is going to finish the Margarito hype train and put himself on that list we talked about.(In case you missed it, that was the list of fighters to avoid.)
PREDICTION: WILLIAMS UD

PPV BONANZA!

This weekend sports fans also have two pay per views to choose from, that's if you don't mind foking over the cash. Headlining one is John Duddy who is fighting in Ireland for the first time. The other is headlined by the aging roy Jones Jr. They're not exactly dueling, Duddy's fight card will start at 5:00pm eastern time, Jones' will begin around 9:30pm. Let's break em down!

JOHN DUDDY PPV

The first PPV is John Duddy vs. Alessio Furlan in what is going to be "Ireland's" John Duddy's first pro fight in......well Ireland. The undercards are not so great, but there are a few reasons to get this fight.

1. I have yet to see John in a fight that isn't exciting.(That's kind of a lie, I saw him put Joseph Brady down 1 minute into the fight on a sad body shot...but I was front row so who cares?!)

2. The PPV is 20 bucks, much cheaper than most PPV's that have bad undercards.

3. The fights start at 5:00pm eastern time, which makes it a perfect pregame to the HBO fight card.(Or in The Bryguy's case perfect pregame before you go out on the town. Don't worry the HBO card will be DVR'd.)

As for my prediction, I see an easy night for Duddy. His opponent Furlan has lost 3 of his last 5 fights. His two wins came against a couple of guys with a combined record of 13 wins, 65 losses, 10 No Decisions, and only 3 KO's. I'd say his handlers want his home coming to be spectacular. PREDICTION DUDDY KO 5

ROY JONES JR. PPV
The second PPV of the night will be Roy Jones Jr. vs. Anthony Hanshaw. This fight has a better undercard, but costs ten dollars more than the Duddy fight. My problem with this is that it will start around 9:30pm, which will interfere with the HBO telecast. The main event also doesn't intrigue me all that much. Jones is doing what Shannon Briggs did, and what Evander Holyfield is in the midst of doing...fight opponents they know they can beat until someone gives them a title shot. I think Jones has lost a step and shouldn't be fighting a super middleweight. I like Hanshaw, he impressed me in Showtimes super middleweight tourney, but he's still not on Jones' level. Jones isn't going to let Hanshaw near him just in case he gets tapped on his chin. He'll probably make it a boring fight and then tell everyone after what a great fight and they're both warriors.(See Bryguy vs. Bozo). I'll save $10 and go with the Duddy pregame thanks. PREDICTION JONES UD

WEEKEND PREDICTIONS

We have decent entertainment to look forward to this weekend. A heavyweight showdown, that has an interesting back story. A Junior Middleweight title fight, two guys about the size of children, and I will assume a ton of dollar drafts. Overall, I'd say not too shabby!


Vic Darchinyan vs. Nonito Donaire
(28-0, 22ko's) (17-1, 10ko's)

I've read that some people think Donaire is slick enough to give Darchinyan some trouble. I am not one of those people. Everyone needs to stop thinking about how Christian Mijares upset Jorge Arce. I think Darchinyan is a much more dedicated animal. I'm even gonna as far to say he's like a mini Miguel Cotto. He breaks his opponents down and punishes them until the ref feels they've had enough. I just hope no one ends up in a coma this time.
PREDICTION: DARCHINYAN KO 8


Travis Simms vs. Joachim Alcine
(25-0, 19ko's) (28-0, 18ko's)

This should be a pretty good scrap between two evenly matched players. Both men are undefeated against pretty good opposition, and have a decent knock out ratio. The difference is Alcine fought three times last year, and Simms has only fought once in three years. Of course that one time was is absolute annihilation of Jose Antonio Rivera. Simms showed no sign of ring rust and looked as if his best years were still in front of him. Simms is also a southpaw, and tricky one at that. For that reason I have to go with Tremendous Travis in a late fight TKO.
PREDICTION: SIMMS TKO 10


Wladimir Klitschko vs. Lamon Brewster II
(48-3, 43ko's) (33-3, 29ko's)

Just like three years ago, on paper Klitschko should destroy Brewster. The only problem with that is "Dr. Steelhammer" has no chin, and a bit of a mental block. I think if he gets tapped by Brewster he'll have a panic attack just like last time. Brewster may not be the most talented heavyweight, but he sure is the most exciting. He's like the Arturo Gatti of the big boys, he's even got Buddy McGirt in his corner. Which now that I mention that may not be such a good thing. It seems like Buddy has been in a lot of losing corners lately. Anyway, back to the fight at hand, I don't see Wlad taking any chances of letting history repeat itself. He is going to fight the same way he did against Sam Peter, jab and grab. I could be wrong, but I'm gonna say this fight will go the same way the Brewster Krasniqi fight went. Brewster is gonna get slapped around for most of the fight only to land a few bombs and walk away with the win. Brewster knows if lands a hard punch or two Wlad will start to unravel.
PREDICTION:BREWSTER KO 11

NEW ENGLAND GOLDEN GLOVES

Two years ago I got to do a story on the New England Golden Gloves tournament in Lowell Massachusetts. It was one of the best boxing events I've been too. There were Olympic hopefuls(Demetrius "Boo-Boo"Andrade, Edwin Rodriquez) and guys just trying to prove they could compete on this level. Many good fighters have come through the Lowell Gloves including Lowell's own Micky Ward, Rocky Marciano and current Cruiserweight contender Matt Godfrey. If you ever get a chance to catch one of the shows I highly recommend it.
Let me know what you think of the story.

A HAYE'K OF A FIGHT
VS.

It was just announced that hard hitting slugger David Haye(19-1,18ko's)will get his shot at Jean-Marc Mormeck's(33-3,22ko's)WBA and WBC cruiserweight titles on September 28th. To me this fight has the potential to be better than any heavyweight fight this year. I have said for a while now that the cruiserweight division is what the heavyweight division used to be. It's a bunch of great boxers, that are all in good shape, and they all have KO power. Most importantly, unlike the heavies, they're willing to fight each other, this fight proves that. David Haye is a monster puncher with a good record, a guy like this would have been avoided as a heavyweight. Mormeck is coming off a hard fought twelve rounder with O'neil Bell and easily could have taken on a lesser opponent. This fight is going to be an all out war. I'm not sure Mormeck knows how to take a backward step.(Until the late rounds when he's winded of course.) Haye is like a much less sloppy version of O'Niel Bell. He stalks his opponent cutting off the ring with his right hand cocked looking for his patented "Hayemaker".(He calls it that not me, although being the tool I am, I kinda like it.) I have a feeling Mormeck could be in trouble in this fight. From the looks of it David Haye is a beast in the cruiserweight division. I will however mention that everyone thought the same thing about Edison Miranda in the Middleweight division. That is until Kelly Pavlick showed us that Miranda couldn't fight backing up. We will have to wait till September 28th to see if Haye can fight backing up. If HBO and Showtime pass on this possible fight of the year they may receive a very angry letter from "The Bryguy", and trust me they don't want that. As a side note if you've never seen David Haye fight look him up on Youtube, they have a few of his fights.

"GOLDEN" OPPORTUNITY

As a boxing fan I would like to give a big shout out to Bob Arum and Oscar DeLahoya for putting their differences aside, and giving the fans a chance to see some great fights. Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions had been stuck in court fighting over the rights to superstar Manny Pacquiao. Both promoters had signed contracts from the Pacman, but after some further discussions have decided to split the promoting duties, and pave the way for some major brawls. The first fight under the new marriage will be a second fight between Manny Pacquiao and Marco Antonio Barrera. Just for the record I would prefer a second fight between Jaun Manuel Marquez and Pacquiao, but hopefully that fight will be made right after. This could also pave the way for potential match ups between Miguel Cotto and Shane Mosley, and a number of match ups including Pacman, Joan Guzman and Humberto Soto. So once again I would like to say thank you to Golden Boy and Top Rank promotions for finally giving back to fans.

GO HOME HATTON!


I mean that in the nicest possible way. I like Ricky Hatton, as you can see by my picture located on the left.(Excuse my double chin, it sneaks up on me sometimes.) I mean seriously, how can you not like a guy who wears a shirt that says Ricky Fatton?(That's what people call him when he puts on weight between fights.) Anyway, this past Saturday I cut the drinking a little short and ventured to the lounge to enjoy the Ricky Hatton- Jose Louis Castillo fight, which I had DVR'd. Leading up to the fight all people were talking about was their displeasure in Ricky's two past performances. Some blamed Ricky's level of opposition, others said Ricky was overrated. I say Ricky's always been Ricky! The difference is when he's fighting in the states the crowd is not behind him. When he fought Kotya Tszyu he packed an arena full of rabid fans wanting nothing more than to see their man Ricky maul whoever Else was in the ring. This past weekend in Vegas Jim Lampley kept talking about the atmosphere, and how passionate the Hatton fan base was. There were an estimated 13,000 fans attendance. While they were loud and entertaining, I would much prefer to have that be 30,000 loud entertaining fans! Watching Ricky Hatton fight in Vegas is like watching the Red Sox play in Toronto. I'll watch the games, but complain that nobody appreciates what they're seeing. I am begging the promoters, if Mayweather and Hatton fight, PLEASE make the fight in England. Mayweather doesn't have any fans anyway! So for the sake of boxing, Ricky please go home!
Just as a side note: you could rewrite this article and put Joe Calzaghe's name in the place of Ricky Hatton.

EXPLOSIVE WEEKEND

When the fight between Zab Judah and Miguel Cotto was announced I was surprised at the criticism it received from fans. I for one was very excited about the idea of the thudding Cotto taking on the lightning fast Judah. Getting two guys in the ring who have heavy hands, suspect chins, and their careers on the line, genius! Slowly the criticism has faded away and people are getting excited for this brawl, however long it lasts. I do however feel this should not be a PPV fight. Definitely not a 45 dollar PPV anyway. Luckily for fight fans Showtime has an interesting card airing at the same time. It's time to let The Bryguy do his thing and make a few bad predictions. If you're a betting man you should probably stay away from my predictions, I have a terrible record.

ZAB JUDAH vs. MIGUEL COTTO

I think this fight is going to start fast and leave bodies all over the mat. I have a feeling Zab is going to come out throwing bombs the same way he did against Mayweather. The only difference between Mayweather and Cotto is a major amount of punching power. I think Miguel Cotto is going to do what he does best, chop his opponent down like a tree. As long as Cotto can deal with Zab's speed for the first few rounds he is going to cut off the ring and punish Judah with body shots. Of course I am not discounting Zab, he is a live underdog. If Zab can expose Cotto's chin early, I think he has the speed and power to put away the undefeated Puerto Rican fighter. If the fight goes more than four rounds I don't think Zab has the heart to survive the pressure of Cotto. PREDICTION: COTTO TKO 9


ANTONIO TARVER - ELVIR MURIQI

While most people are thinking there could be an upset at Madison Square Garden , my upset of the weekend is Elvir Muriqi over Antonio Tarver. I just don't think Tarver has looked good since his win over Glen Johnson in 2005. He had terrible fight against a lame duck Roy Jones, and was completely dominated against Bernard Hopkins. I can't help but think that this fight is very similar to Roy Jones Glen Johnson fight back in 2004. Jones was brutally knocked out by Tarver months earlier and decided to fight a relatively unknown Johnson in what was supposed to be a tune up fight. We all know what happened in the ninth round. Tarver's career lately is taking on the same feel as Jones. He moved up to heavyweight like Jones.(Jones fought John Ruiz, Tarver Tangled with Rocky Balboa.) After fighting at heavyweight Jones moves down and is KO'd by Tarver, Tarver moves down and is outclassed by a middleweight. Now Tarver is looking for his tune up, be careful in ninth Magic Man! PREDICTION: MURIQI UD


CHAD DAWSON - JESUS RUIZ

This is Bad Chad's first defense of his Light Heavyweight belt. I think this is an easy one, Bad Chad will prove there is a reason why he is the future of the Light Heavyweight division. This fight won't go the distance. PREDICTION: DAWSON TKO 9