If I were still a degenerate gambler, standing on street corners, for instance, wagering on the color of the next gum ball out of the machine, this weekend I would parlay the money Mike Katz owes for teaching him how to drive a Formula One car on next year’s European circuit and place it on Zahir Raheem and Hector Velazquez to win, while reserving a room with a very warm bath and a straight razor at the Waldorf Astoria for myself Sunday morning. But I have exchanged that disgusting habit for three of gluttony, drunkenness and womanizing, so I have to play this straight and admit I can think of no earthly reason why Eric Morales would want to fight Zahir Raheem other than that he has had a bit of a tiff with his wife, if he is married, and his girlfriend, if he is not, and being a gentlemen that will never strike a lady, he needs a male stand-in, someone he can pummel at will, hard and brutal. Or, he could just be trying to make an easy buck. The Manny Pacquiao-Hector Velazquez dance is much less complicated. One of them, Manny, I believe, was reading Redfort de Manaquille’s one-act play of the Sinking of the Titanic, and the two friends decided to do the production, with themselves in the lead role. Using Pacquiao’s two-headed coin, Velasquez won the toss and the role of the Titanic, and should play the part magnificently. When the play is done, Velasquez will require a full berg of ice.

Pat Putnam

(Pat Putnam covered boxing for 27 years for Sports Illustrated. He is now a featured writer at The Sweet Science, and is the recipient of “The Sweet Science Lifetime Achievement Award.” Find his work RIGHT HERE)