Boxing Blog – TSS Tidbits

Jesse Cox weighs in on this weekend’s HBO bout from Atlantic City between Arturo Gatti and Thomas Damgaard …

Thomas Damgaard picked one hell of an opponent for his U.S. debut. He’s a southpaw, so that should make things interesting, but his 37-0 record likely won’t mean a thing against the likes of Arturo Gatti. No matter how swollen or cut Gatti, whose box set trilogy with Mickey Ward should be out soon on DVD (I wish), may be, he’s still a talent with which to reckon. I reckon Damgaard may be in over his head. A unanimous decision for Gatti.

Jesse K. Cox writes for The Sweet Science. To read more of his work

Erik Morales obviously went into the Zahir Raheem fight with a big head. He figured Raheem wasn’t in his class, and trained like it. The result was the worst performance of his career. But he didn’t take a beating, and was in a lightweight class that was completely unfamiliar to him. He’ll rebound in typical Morales fashion in the Manny Pacquiao rematch. He is reported to be in tremendous shape, and he will be determined to knock off the stain of the Raheem debacle. He is taller and bigger than Pacquiao, and it was apparent in the original fight that Pac-Man doesn’t have the punch at 130 pounds to hurt Morales. He’ll counter Pacquiao’s strong rushes and back him up with harder punches. No reason to think this one will be any different, as a reinvigorated “El Terrible” repeats his unanimous decision victory.

Matthew Aguilar writes for the El Paso Times and The Sweet Science. To read more of his work

Deja vu all over again … Manny Pacquiao gets the gloves he wants and won’t have the distractions that were pointed to as part of his downfall in the first bout against Erik Morales. Unfortunately for PacMan, the biggest distraction in the fight was El Terrible and his persistent, accurate shots. Assuming the judges continue to award points for sharp accurate punches as opposed to Manny’s less-technical aggression, look for Morales to again win to a close decision in another exciting fight. It wouldn’t be a surprise if both fighters are hurt at some point and both are likely get cut. And let’s not forget that Pacquiao started as a 108-pound pro and is now fighting at 130; Morales is the stronger man at the weight. If a boxer beats a puncher then Morales eats up PacMan, again.

Joey Knish writes for The Sweet Science. To read more of his work

Patrick Kehoe offers his analysis of this weekend’s rematch between Erik Morales and Manny Pacquiao …

Erik Morales is convinced he’s the stronger, more technically proficient, fighter. Manny Pacquiao believes he’s prepared to fight a much more effective fight this time around. Aside from something unforeseen related to the weigh-in, ala Gatti-Gamache or Castillo-Corrales II, Morales is my pick to win the rematch with Manny Pacquiao. The Morales jab and his ability to counter with the right hand put the southpaw Pacquiao in a situation where he had to counterpunch more than he liked. Pacquiao’s natural aggression played right into Morales’ strength – a humming lead jab, hard hooks to the body after scorching straight right hands. As a general principle, the straighter Morales punches off the counter the more consistently he scores. Against Barrera Morales’ punches tended to arch more, against Pacquiao they tended to get straight down the power alley. Look for some dangerous moments, perhaps for both fighters, and Morales being the better ‘catcher’ finds an advantage in any situation that comes down to all out aggression balanced against the ability to absorb punishment. In a fight that goes the distance look for Morales to box, counter, punish and stand in when necessary for a unanimous decision, intermittently relying on his legendary chin to hold up against Pacquiao’s rocketing left cross.

Patrick Kehoe writes for The Sweet Science. To read more of his work

Zab Judah is extremely dangerous to anyone in the first couple of rounds. We all know that. And he’s going to try to make “short work” of Carlos Baldomir so he can be as boastful as possible when hyping his mega-match with Floyd Mayweather Jr. But if Baldomir can survive the early onslaught, and time the fastest hands in Brooklyn, I wouldn’t be shocked if he gives the champion a hard night, going the distance. I’ve never seen Baldomir fight, but he hasn’t lost in seven years, fighting mostly in other guys’ backyards (Denmark, England, Germany, Mexico). He won’t be intimidated by his surroundings Saturday. While I can’t really talk styles, I suspect Baldomir is as good or better than Omar Weis, DeMarcus Corley or Rafael Pineda, all three of whom went the distance with Judah in ‘02, ‘03, and ‘04, respectively. In spite of his great victory over Cory Spinks, I’m not sold (yet) on this supposedly “mature” and “focused” Zab. Judah by majority decision … Jean-Marc Mormeck’s relentless pressure, strength, and sound fundamentals will quickly exploit O’Neil Bell’s technical shortcomings. “Le Tank” (Michael Katz’s invention, not mine) will trap him in the corners and do serious damage. Bell will last into the middle rounds do to his grit and formidable punching power. TKO 7 Mormeck. Welcome to the heavyweights Jean-Marc! Have you met Lamon?

Zachary Levin writes for The Sweet Science. To read more of his work

Unless Zab Judah looks past Carlos Baldomir to a potential fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr., I see Judah being too fast and too strong for the limited Baldomir. Judah is blessed with so much natural talent the question is only HOW he beats a fighter with 9 losses and 6 draws on his record (Carlos Baldomir). Baldomir doesn’t have much power and throws wide shots which leave his solid chin exposed. Defensively his chin has saved him in the past, but it won’t be enough as Judah overwhelms him to help sell the superfight against Floyd. With a good chin but questionable defense it says here that Judah gets a stoppage win on cuts or an unanswered barrage that forces a referee’s stoppage … Mormeck vs. Bell is an awesome fight on paper and it should be an excellent one in the ring. Neither fighter knows how to take a backward step and to call either a defensive wiz would be a stretch. Bell has been stopped and dropped in the past but has demonstrated great courage and heart in winning tough fights. Mormeck is a tough cookie who seems to thrive as fights wear on and his opponents get weaker. It will be bombs away as the two end up trading; boxing fans win, but I think Bell losses.

Joey Knish writes for The Sweet Science. To read more of his work

Don’t know much about Carlos Baldomir, except that he rarely gets knocked out and isn’t afraid to fight in other people’s backyards. The excitable Zab Judah will most likely try and give his fans a quick knockout, which might be a problem if he runs into a counter, which he has been known to do when he tries for these quick KO’s. Since I heard that Baldomir isn’t much of a puncher, I’ll bet Judah gets rid of him in under two rounds even if he absorbs a couple of shots in the process … I was shocked when Jean-Marc Mormeck destroyed Wayne Braithwaite, one of my favorite fighters, last year in a performance that reminded me of the old Mike Tyson. Mormeck has scary power and he if lands on O’Neil Bell, who was once stopped early in his career, it could be over in a heartbeat. Mormeck TKO 5.

Mitch Abramson writes for The Sweet Science. To read more of his work

This is too easy, which leaves me second-guessing myself. Sam Soliman just hasn’t been in with the caliber of fighters Winky Wright has already beaten. His biggest win was over Raymond Joval. But I do think he’ll give a better performance than a lot of people expect. But I don’t see a knockout. Winky by easy decision.

Rick Folstad writes for The Sweet Science. To read more of his work

Losses to Raymond Joval, Glen Kelly, Tony Mundine and Howard Eastman don’t bode well for King Solimon. He is facing Winky Wright, arguably the most underappreciated fighter of our time. This is basically a tune-up. Wright cruises to an easy unanimous decision.

Robert Cassidy Jr. writes for Newsday and The Sweet Science. To read more of his work

Sam Soliman looks like a tough, capable fighter – but nowhere near the quality of a Winky Wright. Among Soliman’s losses: Howard Eastman (acceptable); Anthony Mundine (acceptable); and Glen Kelly (not acceptable). If you remember, it was Kelly who was knocked out by a faded Roy Jones Jr. a few years back – after Jones’ hands were momentarily behind his back. Like last month’s predictable dance between Floyd Mayweather and Sharmba Mitchell, you have to wonder why this fight is happening. And why we’re watching. It was fun seeing Wright dominate Trinidad. Against Soliman, it will just be boring. Winky by unanimous decision.

Matthew Aguilar writes for the El Paso Times and The Sweet Science. To read more of his work