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.

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