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 10th 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.
