GET ER DONE!

It was announced recently that talks between pound-for-pound titlist Manny Paquiao and Light Welterweight conqueror Ricky Hatton were halted, allegedly because Pacquiao has insisted a 60-40 split of PPV profit. Now I don't want to go into detail about the money or circumstances that were reported. I will instead weep quietly, and eat a gallon of ice cream, or I could just write about the fights I feel need to get done in 2009, including the one being reported as dead in the water(Hatton-Pacquiao). Yeah, the writing would probably be better for my hips, so here you go:

1. Ricky Hatton(45-1, 38ko) VS. Manny Pacquiao(48-3, 36ko)

Light Welterweight(140lbs.)

This fight needs to get done, and needs to get done soon. Both fighters are coming off big-time wins, Pacman with his destruction of Oscar Delahoya (the most popular fighter in the world), and Hatton with his dominating showing over a tricky Paulie Malignaggi (which makes him the ruler of the division). Each fighter has always been immensely popular with their countrymen, but I think the two of them together would garner much attention in the states. Of course, most of all, it would be a great fight! Both are tough guys, both have aggressive nonstop, come forward styles, and both have loopholes in their defense. What more could you ask for?

PROGNOSIS:

I have a feeling this will get done, there is too much money involved. I read that Manny was guaranteed 12 million for the fight, he won't find that fighting anyone but Hatton. I have a feeling that Floyd Mayweather waiting in the wings and will have some influence, he seems poised to come out of retirement to challenge the winner, which would be another big money fight. This fight needs to happen first. So, GET ER DONE!

2. Lucian Bute(23-0, 18ko) VS. Librado Andrade(27-2, 21ko) II

Super Middleweights (168lbs)

Showtime aired the first fight on October 28th, 2008 from the Bell Centre in Montreal Canada. Bute, who was in front of his "home town" crowd of 16,000 was putting on quite the performance, when he faded down the stretch. He was knocked on his keester with just seconds left, and were it not for some shady referee maneuvers he would have been counted out! No joke, Bute probably thought he was Sylvester the cat and the end of the fight! That is no way to end one of the best fights of 2008. The only way to rectify the situation......rematch in 2009!

PROGNOSIS:

It could get done, but I'm not sure Bute's camp is going to go into it willingly. They still have that big shiny 0 on the end of his record, barely, but it's still there. His camp has a fight scheduled for March 13th against Fulgencio Zuniga(22-3, 19ko). One would think Bute would want to set the record straight, but I seem to doubt it. Their are many big names at Super Middleweight that could make for interesting fights and bigger money in 2009(Mikkel Kessler, Jermaine Taylor, Andre Dirrell, Andre Ward). So, I don't see this one getting done in 2009. NOT GETTIN DONE!

3. Miguel Cotto(32-1, 26ko) VS. Antonio Margarito(37-5, 26ko) II

Welterweight (147lbs)

The first fight was an instant classic. In the first six rounds Miguel Cotto was fighting the best fight of his life. He was dancing, hitting and moving, it was a splendid display of his boxing ability. The only problem? The bus that was in the ring with him didn't slow down, and didn't stop coming forward. Antonio Margarito wore down Cotto and eventually broke his will in the eleventh to give the Puerto Rican his first loss. This fight was runner up for the fight of the year in 2008, and I think a second fight could top it in 2009.

PROGNOSIS:

This one is in the bag! Bob Arum(promoter for both) has already said this fight is happening in June, as long as Cotto wins his tune-up against Michael Jennings. (That's as sure a thing as you're gonna get in boxing). So my message to Cotto? Take Jennings seriously, and GET ER DONE!

4. Tomasz Adamek(36-1, 24ko) VS. Steve Cunningham(21-2, 11ko) II

Cruiserweight (200lbs)

Another candidate for fight of the year in '08 was this knockdown drag out fight between these two top level Cruiserweights. Steve Cunningham outboxed Adamek for much of the fight, but he just couldn't overcome being sent to the canvas three times by the heavy-handed Polish fighter. Even with the three knockdowns it was a split decision, and I personally think demands a rematch.

PROGNOSIS:

I think this fight will get done. It may not happen right away, I think both fighters will need to win a bout or two, before facing off for a second time. Adamek is already defending his title on February 27th against undefeated, Emmanual Steward trained Jonathon Banks (20-0, 14ko). Cunningham is also fighting pretty quickly..........for a rematch. Check out this website he has started, asking fans to petition for another fight.

http://www.wewantarematch.com/

5. Chad Dawson(27-0, 17ko) VS. Antonio Tarver(27-5, 19ko) II

Light Heavyweight(175lbs)

Remember their first fight? Chad Dawson laid such a one-sided beating on Tarver we all thought "Magic Man" might retire! Yeah, Tarver, I want you to retire too! So why the hell is their a rematch?! I understand that there was a rematch clause in the contract for the first fight, but Antonio, you gotta know how badly you were beaten, just let it go! This is the type of fight that hurts boxing. I was really just kidding with this one!

PROGNOSIS:

Unfortunately this one is going to happen, GET ER OVER WITH!

The fight we should be seeing instead:

Chad Dawson(27-0, 17ko) VS. Glen Johnson(48-12, 33ko) II

Light Heavyweight(175lbs)

Johnson was a huge test for "Bad Chad", and he almost didn't pass, in fact some don't think he did. I had Dawson winning by a very slim margin, but I thought Johnson deserved a rematch in what was a barn burner of a fight. Chad being the slick lefty Matador, and Johnson the hard relentless bull wearing down the younger Dawson. This fight was similar in many ways to the Cotto-Margarito, except in that one, the bull stopped the Matador.

PROGNOSIS:

Even though the public demands this fight, I don't think Dawson's people, nor HBO want anything to do with it. They like Chad's undefeated status, and Johnson seems like the only guy right now who could snatch it. Maybe Johnson should start a website like Cunningham, then maybe we could GET ER DONE.

6. Floyd Mayweather(39-0, 29ko) VS. Manny Pacquiao(48-3, 36ko)

Light Welterweight(140lbs)

I don't think I need to say much about this fight. The Former pound-for-pound king taking on the current pound-for-pound king? It sounds like something right out of the WWE! Even though Mayweather did do a short wrestling stint, this is the real deal! Mayweather comes out of retirement to reclaim his thrown, that sounds like big money, and a true fight to get ordinary fans excited.

PROGNOSIS:

The only way this fight doesn't happen is if Pacman loses to Ricky Hatton. We should all pray that doesn't happen, (except Hatton fans of course), because this would be a truly great match-up. Now GET ER DONE!!

OUR OWN BACKYARD

New Englanders have true love for just a few things, four seasons(not always), sarcasm, Dunkin Donuts, the saying "it's not the heat, it's the
humidity", and of course sports. Everyone in the Northeast knows and loves the four majors(Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins, and Celtics). Some are even quite found of the assortment of minor league teams, and fringe sports, such as Soccer, and Lacrosse. I am here to tell you about a few people you should be looking out for, and supporting the same as you do your local teams. New England has a few up and coming fighters training in it's region, and they may be fighting in your neighborhood from time to time. So in the honor of the four seasons I am going to list 4 up and coming fighters you should keep and eye on.

Matt "Too Smooth" Godfrey 27,
Cruiserweight: 18-1, 10ko's
Providence, RI
PAST: Matt was a highly touted amateur fighter, and was a 2001 Pan-American Games bronze medalist. Matt won 6 New England Golden gloves , and went on to become the a Golden Gloves National champion in 2002. He was also a U.S. National Amateur champion in 2000, and 2004(Middleweight, then Heavyweight).


PRESENT: As a pro Matt has compiled an 18-1 record with 10ko's, his only loss taking place in Germany(a tough place for foreign boxers to win) to an Olympic silver medalist named Rudolf Kraj. Godfrey has saved his most memorable fights for national audiences, in his Friday Night Fight appearances he finished with early KO's of Shaun George, Felix Cora Jr., and Emmanual Nwodo. In the Nwodo fight, Godfrey rose from a knockdown in the 3rd to finish Nwodo in the 4th.


FUTURE: Godfrey is getting ready for the a title eliminator against former Heavyweight champion Herbie Hide. If he wins this fight he will land himself another title shot against the winner of the Krzysztof Wlodarczyk(41-2, 31ko) and Giacobbe Fragomeni(26-1, 10ko). I hate to be the guy calling that fight!!

Danny O'Connor 23
Welterweight, 2-0, 1ko
Framingham, MA
PAST: Danny has been a 4 time New England Golden Gloves champion, and went on to become a bronze medalist in the 2007 Olympic trials. 2008 was his biggest year as an amateur, he was not only an Olympic Alternate in Beijing, but was also the National Golden Gloves champion, and U.S. Future Stars National Champion. He was voted most outstanding boxer at the U.S. Future Stars tournament, and was featured in Sports Illustrated as a Face in the Crowd. Danny also holds a 23-3 victory in the amateurs over the eventual Olympic Gold medalist Felix Diaz.


PRESENT: O'Connor made his pro debut at the Verizon Wireless center September 17, 2008. He ended the fight against Jose Guerrido(0-2) at 1:55 in the second. Danny followed up his debut with a 4 round unanimous decision over Anthony Woods(5-10) at the Hard Rock in Hollywood, FL.


FUTURE: O'Connor was to fight on an under-card in New York city, but the fight card was scraped when the headliners pulled out. Look for Danny to keep very busy, while he moves up the ranks.


Edwin "La Bomba" Rodriguez, 23
Middleweight, 9-0, 5ko's
Worcester, MA
PAST: Edwin started amateur boxing career in 2001 and became USA Boxing National Champion at a 165 pounds in 2005. He followed that up in 2006 with a championship at the same weight in the National Golden Gloves tournament. In the end Edwin compiled an amateur record of 84 wins, with only 9 losses.


PRESENT: As a pro Edwin has been on the fast track, starting in January 2008, and finishing the year 8-0 with 5 knockouts. He may be the busiest fighter in the country, but at the very least he is the busiest fighter in New England. This past Saturday Edwin fought on the Andre Berto-Luis Collazo undercard in Biloxi MI. That was a good HBO card, and all the right people were there to see him stop Brad Austin(8-5) in the third round. His competition has slowly progressed over his first 9 fights, and he has done well, with a good mix of KO's and distance rounds under his belt.

FUTURE: After his fight Saturday night, hopefully a relationship with HBO will mainatain. Perhaps a few more undercards on big shows. He is now 9-0, he should start to get some exposure in the near future. He might wind up with on Friday Night Fights, or maybe even a Shobox(Showtime) at some point in 2009. Also, a move up to the Super Middleweight division is probably going to happen sooner than later. The Supers right now are stacked with bigger name fighters, so big fights could be on the horizon.

Demetrius "Boo-Boo" Andrade, 20
Light Middleweight, 2-0, 2ko's
Providence, RI
PAST: Boo-Boo has been boxing since he was six years old, and began to really impress in 2005 when he became a U.S National Champion. In 2006 he was a U.S. National champion, and a National Golden Gloves Champion in '06 &'07. Demetrius took home gold in the 2007 World Amateur Championships, and Silver in the Pan American Games that same year. Andrade also made it to the semi-finals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.


PRESENT: Boo-Boo made his pro debut in Washington with a second round stoppage of Patrick cape on October 23rd. He followed that up on November 29th with another knockout, this time in the fourth round, and in front of his home town crowd in Providence, RI.


FUTURE: Andrade looks set to make his ESPN Friday Night Fights debut on March 2nd at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. Demetrius has a split contract with two promoters, which should keep him very busy and move him up the ranks at a quick pace.