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?