Boxing at the Barclays

I want to quickly preview tonight’s card from the Barclays Center because I really enjoy that Showtime is making a habit of airing 4 fights for each boxing show. Also, no one will read this post because there are no boxing fans left in the world, and it’s my blog and I do what I want!

IBF welterweight title: Randall Bailey (43-7, 37 KO) vs. Devon Alexander (23-1, 13 KO)

Favorite: Alexander (-600)

There are only 2 possible outcomes for this fight: Bailey by KO or Alexander by (unanimous) decision. Bailey has little to no actual boxing skills, but he has a huge right hand, which keeps him alive in any fight. In his last fight vs. Mike Jones, he was losing on all 3 judges’ scorecards going into the 10^th round before dropping Jones with, guess what, a huge right hand. Jones survived the round but Bailey dropped him again in the 11th with an uppercut, causing the ref to stop the fight and giving Bailey the IBF welterweight title.

Alexander is a boxer, not a fighter. He’s going to dance around all night, stay away from Bailey and score points with his jab. He has been down in fights before, so if he does get caught by a Bailey right it could be over for him, but Alexander likes to keep it boring in the ring, which I’m sure is his game plan tonight. Alexander is actually my least favorite boxer out there, but I am picking him to win this by decision. He might not lose a round. If you’re going to miss any fight on the card tonight, make it this one.

WBO middleweight title: Hassan N'dam (27-0, 17 KO) vs. Peter Quillin (27-0, 20 KO)

Favorite: Quillin (-200)

I honestly have no idea what’s going to happen here. Quillin has a nice record, but his most notable fight came this year when he beat a 40 year old WInky Wright who hadn’t fought in 3 years, and even then Quillin couldn’t score a KO. N’dam, the WBO middleweight title holder for some reason, also has a nice record but has never fought outside of France.

I feel like this could be a big fight for the career of Quillin if he wins in exciting fashion. He’s a 29 year old, undefeated, American fighter who fights out of Brooklyn, so the crowd should be in his favor. And even though most people have no idea who the belt holders are in boxing, in the last 10 years, Oscar De La Hoya, Bernard Hopkins, Jermaine Taylor, and Kelly Pavlik have all held the WBO middleweight belt, so it would have some significance if an American were to win that belt back. I’m going with Quillin to win with a late stoppage.

Paulie Malignaggi (31-4, 7 KO) vs. Pablo Cesar Cano (25-1-1, 19 KO)

Favorite: Malignaggi (-370)

This is my favorite fight of the night. Brooklyn’s Malignaggi gets boxing: he’s marketed himself as a larger than life personality who can actually back it up with skills in the ring. He will most definitely have the crowd in his favor, and if you follow him on twitter you know he will be tweeting before, during, and after the fight. Seriously.

Cano missed weight for this fight, otherwise they’d be fighting for Malignaggi’s WBA welterweight title. Cano is an exciting young fighter, but is tailor-made for Malignaggi. Cano is going to want to come forward, while Paulie will want to hit him with combinations and step around. Cano is the bigger man, which will be to his disadvantage in this fight since he’ll be a bigger target for Malignaggi to hit. I’m predicting a Malignaggi win by decision in what should be the most entertaining fight of the night.

WBC/WBA junior welterweight titles: Danny Garcia (24-0, 15 KO) vs. Erik Morales (52-8, 36 KO)

Favorite: Garcia (-600)

This is a strange rematch here. These 2 fought earlier this year with Garcia winning by unanimous decision. From there, Garcia went on to beat Amir Khan by knocking him out in 4 rounds in a really spectacular performance that made Garcia the top guy in the 140 pound weight class. With seemingly unlimited options of who to fight next, he strangely chose to rematch the 36-year-old Morales. What Garcia is trying to prove here is unknown to me (though I’m sure he’ll be compensated well).

Morales is a future hall of famer, known mostly for being the last man to (legitimately) beat Manny Pacquiao. In their first fight, Morales showed up out of shape and over weight (he missed weight by 2 pounds). Apparently he tested positive for a stimulant that helps with weight loss leading up to this fight too. Garcia did clearly win the first matchup, but Morales did a decent job of frustrating Garcia in the ring and luring him into more of a brawl, which favors Morales. In trying to think on the bright side of this matchup, I was hoping a more in shape and focused Morales would be able to do this again in the rematch. However I just don’t see it happening. Morales really has nothing left to prove in the ring and seems content to show up to collect another huge paycheck. I’ve got Garcia winning this one by a clear decision.

Yes, I did just pick all favorites to win tonight. Boring, I know. But a 4-man parlay pays +150, so if you are jonesing for a little action, I suggest doing that.