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

FIGHT WEEK HYPE

So once again I state that I'm very excited about this fight. Not just for the fact that I think it should be a good scrap, but also because everyone else is excited about this fight. Not just freaks like The Bryguy, who write blogs about their favorite sport. It's the people who wouldn't normally care about a fight that are getting me amped up. Today I read two articles in ESPN the magazine, and one in SI about the fight. Both magazines had the fight featured on the front cover, which is unheard of these days. After all that i didn't think I could be more into this fight, but wait there's more! I worked an early day and went home for some delicious home cooking, and some overdue vegetables. On my way home I decided last minute to stop and do some food shopping. Probably not the best idea when you're not sure exactly what you need. I found myself wondering the supermarket aimlessly. Suddenly I was in the magazine section and looking at me square in the face was the new Ring Magazine. In bold letters across the front it said "25 PAGE SPECIAL SECTION GOLDEN BOY VS. PRETTY BOY THE WORLD AWAITS". My first thought was I wish I had renewed my subscription to The Ring. My second thought was I don't have the money for this and yet I'll buy it anyway. As I stood in line I realized I didn't need most of what I had put in my basket. Then the cashier asked "who you taking". It took me a minute to realize what he was talking about, when I noticed the magazine was on top of my groceries. So, of course I replied "Mayweather". The cashier then came with "ya, I think Delahoya's been out too long". That was pretty much the extent of the conversation, but it was a first for me and a much better chit chat than, "nice day out huh". So, my friend the cashier said he is going to have to work during the fight, which I honestly felt bad about for some reason. I will not be working and I will enjoy sharing in the excitement with all the people who will probably never get excited about boxing again after May 5th. Of course that's not me, I get excited about every fight.

DELAHOYA vs. MAYWEATHER

I sometimes forget to post my predictions, so I decided to get this one in early. I actually may be a little sad when this fight is over. It's the first time in a while that the general public has been interested in a fight. I will miss the hype has been revolving around this fight. I will go back to being the only guy excited about a match up. I will go back to getting blank stares when I tell people about a big fight coming up. With one week left I will enjoy the hype, conversations, and all the predictions that come along the last mega fight for years to come.

Now comes the time where I pick apart this fight as if I know what I'm talking about. This is not an easy fight to predict. Floyd is the pound for pound champ without a doubt, but everyone must lose at some point. Oscar is the biggest and most talented guy Floyd has ever faced. The more I read about this fight the more it seems Oscar has become the popular choice to win. It's almost as if Floyd has somehow become the underdog. Lately Floyd has been fighting what seems to be hand picked opponents in Carlos Baldomir and Arturo Gatti. He looked like a mortal early on in the fight with Zab Judah. People are making a big deal about Oscar being the bigger man, yet Oscar and Floyd both started fighting at 130pounds. I think this fight will go somewhat similar to the Zab fight. Floyd will lose a few of the early rounds and look vulnerable. Oscar has a habit of fading down the stretch, this will be a big factor. Floyd will figure out Oscar in the second half and start to pick him off. I think the second half of this fight will prove to everyone just how special an athlete Floyd Mayweather Jr. really is.
PREDICTION: Mayweather UD

WEEKEND PREDICTIONS:



MATT GODFREY vs. FELIX CORA JR.(ESPN)
This is my pick for the best fight of the weekend. Both fighters have great reputations and are looking for a major title fight in the future. A loss here would be devastating to both men's careers. A loss in the cruiserweight division is much worse than any other because it's lesser known division. Godfrey will be fighting in front of his hometown crowd which gives him the advantage if the fight goes the distance. Both fighters seem to have solid chins and both have a bit of power. I think in this fight both fighters will be pushed to their limits. I have a feeling Godfrey is going to walk away as an actual threat to the Cruiserweight division.

PREDICTION:Godfrey TKO 11



PETER MANFREDO JR. vs. JOE CALZAGHE(HBO)
This is tough for me to write being that I've met Manfredo several times and I think he's a very nice guy. I haven't been terribly impressed with Calzaghe, but I don't think Manfredo has fought anyone nearly as talented as the Welshman. I think the deciding factor in this one is Calzaghe's handspeed. Peter hasn't fought anyone with that kind of handspeed. Peter will impress a few people with how far he goes, but I think he will be stopped.

PREDICTION: Calzaghe TKO 9


DIEGO CORRALES vs. JOSHUA CLOTTEY(Showtime)
This is my pick for the upset of the weekend. Joshua Clottey proved to me that he can beat a-list fighters. In my opinion he put on a clinic against Antonio Margarito until he broke his hand. Chico has moved up two weight classes and I think that could be a mistake. At the lower weight class he was dropped several times and got himself out of trouble because of his punching power. I don't think his power will travel two weight classes.

PREDICTION: Clottey KO 7

Exclusive Interview with Zab Judah

The Bryguy and his accomplices caught up with former undisputed Welterweight champion Zab Judah recently. He was preparing at Gleasons Gym for an upcoming fight against Ruben Galven on April 13th. We asked him about his layoff, his next opponent, and the potential mega-fight with Miguel Cotto. Of course The Bryguy also got a pic(coming soon).

you've had a long layoff tell us how that's been and talk about you're upcoming fight.

ZJ: The layoff, one year out, of all it was a negative thing to happen. I turned a negative in to a positive you know what I mean? I let my body heal.... after you heal the wound becomes what? Good again, I'm back and the wound is good again.

Obviously every fight is big for you, but how do you not look past this fight to Miguel Cotto?

ZJ:I have a fight scheduled before Miguel Cotto which is April 13th. You can't look past that fight because if you look past that fight there is no Miguel Cotto fight. You know what I'm saying? So you gotta take it one fight at a time. Right now... yeah Miguel Cotto is in the back of my head, but right now I'm focused on April13th, which is Ruben Calvan and right now I'm looking forward to him, I can't wait, I think it's gonna be great.

Judah vs. Cotto how big is this gonna be for your career and for your legacy?

ZJ:I think it's great because it's gonna show my versatility. You know what I'm saying? It's gonna show that I had bad things and negative things done to me,but I came right back to be the champion that I am. A lot of people can't do that. You got guys that win a title one time by mistake and they never get back again, ever again because they don't belong with it. I've lost titles, won titles, lost titles, won titles...so I mean I think I'm at a different era in my life.... I really know what I want to do now. I'm focused and this time around...I just think they made a big mistake putting a young Miguel Cotto, unseasoned against "super" Zab Judah.

Could you talk about the atmosphere here at Gleason's Gym and why it is such a shrine in the sport of boxing.

ZJ:I've been here since I was six years old. I've accomplished all my great things in boxing, I accomplished it right here. Golden Gloves championships, to the olympics, to turning professional, to winning state titles, world titles, undisputed titles, I did it all right here at Gleason's Gym. I think it's such a great place to be at as far as boxing because of the atmosphere. It's a brutal place, I must say that it's a brutal place. We have some brutal days in here where people get beat up bad here, but one thing about Gleasons Gym, You're gonna learn. Everybody here is a family. I've known guys here for over twenty something years...and we see each other everyday. So it's almost like a marriage, it's a beautiful thing though. I'm happy, I wouldn't go no wear else.

HEAD TO HEAD

Once again Showtime and HBO are going head to head with big fight cards. This weekend as with most of the weekends Showtime's main event is far superior to HBO's. Showtime has the very evenly matched Manuel Marquez moving up a few pounds to take on the reigning Super Bantamweight titlist Israel Vasquez in what should be a shootout. Over on the other cable network the human wrecking ball Miguel Cotto is facing off a against unknown German Oktay Urkal, in what should be a slaughtering. Usually I am very angry, and would continue to bash the networks and the entire boxing world for airing such big fights at the same time. Today I am a little older, a slight bit more mature, a few beers deeper, and the proud owner of a DVR. These days opposing fight cards just means I will have something to watch while I have a cup of coffee and wish to god I hadn't had that last beer. My hangover feels especially good when someone takes a solid shot, cause hey, at least I'm not that guy. So, on Saturday night when Cotto is slaying Urkal, and Marquez is trading punches with Vazquez, I'll be pounding Bud Lights and looking forward to my morning coffee.