WIREHAIRED WONDER RETURNS TO SHOWTIME PPV…Beforewe get to the Friday night mix, the Don King card in Chicagotomorrow night piting ex-champ for a minute Hasim Rahman andMonte Barrett is going 12 heats or less for the "Interim" WBCheavyweight title.,
WIREHAIRED WONDER RETURNS TO SHOWTIME PPV…Beforewe get to the Friday night mix, the Don King card in Chicagotomorrow night piting ex-champ for a minute Hasim Rahman andMonte Barrett is going 12 heats or less for the "Interim" WBCheavyweight title. "Interim" because champion VitaliKlitschko has the stones of a hamster, as he has opted out of twoscheduled meetings with Rahman (40-5-1, 35 KOs), a Baltimore, MD native. Dontbelieve the hype, when "Rock" is in shape, he is one of, or quitepossibly be the best of the heavyweights today. The conditioning factor hasalways been Hasims albatross. He admitted such. "The low point was losingto John Ruiz. Man, I was beating myself. No more!" At31-3, with 17 shorts, Monte Barrett is no hobo! A former New York CityGolden Gloves champion, the kid from Queens is the"gatekeeper" that is getting a title shot. And when I say gatekeeper,it is now a slight. Rather its an illustration of that he got here the hardway, by fighting. The close points loss to JoeMesi in 2003, that was his third setbackprofessionally, this after being seconded by Vladimir Klitschko (TKO 7) and Lance Whitaker over the distance. Since the majority decision (one judge hadit even) loss to Mesi, Barrett beat back unbeaten Dominick GuinnB in a dime onpoints. And last time, he KOd unbeaten Owen "What The Heck" Beck.(Story later on beck)arretts lack of pop, if theres a drawback, thats it.Rahmans chin isnt impregnable. Monte will look to set a fast pace, jabbingand moving. Rahman will have to be agressive to win, meaning if he isnt in thebest of condition, Monte would be more than just a longshot…WBATITLE FIGHT HAS IMPLICATIONS: TravisSimms (24-0, 18 KOs) is the WBA 154 lb. champion. He knocked out Alejandro Garcia in a title defense. The reason I bring Garcia up is when I wentto the WBA website, Garcia is nowlisted as champion. And he is defending those "tainted" laurels underRahman-Barrett against Italian fall guy Lucca Mesi (28-5-1, 11 KOs) who I expect to get waxed inside of fiveheats…maybe six. The WBA claimedthat Garcia vs. Rhoshii Wells in May was for the "Interim" title. Butwhen I went to their website, it is Garcia and not Simms listed as champion at154 lbs…MORE SUSPECT 154 LB. TITLES: Another "suspect" title (WBC 154) is at stake when ex-welterweight champ RicardoMayorga (27-5-1, 23 stops) faces yet anotherItalian set-up in Michele Piccirillo. At 44-2, with 28 early endings, his claim to fame is getting awin over Cory Spinks that took theterm "heist" to another level. With wins over FrankieRandall and Rafael Pineda being his brightest spots, look for this Michele to be turnedinto linquini by the heavy handed Mexican. ODDS &PREDICTIONS: Seeing I am enjoying the days ofsummer, and havent handicapped the fights in quite a while (Ill fix thatbefore Monday) here is the "Ring Talk" betting line for Saturday. Rahman 11-5 over Monte. EitherMonte Barrett steps it up another notch, or Rahman sets up the KO of Klitschkowith a points win at the least…Mayorga 2-1 over Michele. Saw Nicaraguanmadman in Las Vegas in June. He was BIG. Can he make 154 without handicap?Neither fight worth chancing your money with wagers. KINGSFINANCIAL TURKEY? Having watched promoter DonKing wave his magical wand too many times tocount, Ive got to think hes faced with a loser with this PPV offering…FRIDAYNIGHTS ALL RIGHT FOR FIGHTING…Starting off inArgentina, Jorge Barrios, the WBO 130 lb. king (43-2-1, 31 KOs) defends for the first time(after stopping favorite Mike Anchondo) at home against Puerto Rican Victor Santiago (18-3-1, 13 KOs Pepsi Center. Themain has hometown guy (15-1, 9 KOs) Daniel Camarena against 6-1, (1 KO) Jorge Padilla of Mexico City dancing ten or less. Lets make Daniel a 7-5favorite because 6-1 fighters from Mexico City are often better than 15-1 pugsout of Denver..GUILTY IN TIJUANA? GuiltyPromotions goes tonight from Tee Jay (Tijuana,MX) with a card featuring a guy billed as being 19-2, (17 KOs) in JoseRios, who has now been reclassified at 3-1, with1 KO. A 12-round main (sic) event Rios is facing 15-16 ManuelSarabia…SYCUAN RINGSIDEPROMOTIONS HAS CHAVEZ JR. IN LAREDO: 20-0 JulioCesar Chavez Jr. meets 10-10 JonathanNelson of Oklahoma City. Expect JorgePaez Jr. (2-0, 2 KOs) will trample oft-beaten JavierSegura. Main event has Jose MiguelAguiniga (28-0, 14 whacks) out of Oxnard, Ca andmanaged by Cameron Dunkin, goingten or less (see less)with Gerardo Espinosa (28-8, 26 KOs).
Pedro Fernandez
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