Round by Round: Weekly Boxing Notes
Night of Raging Lightweights
The lightweight division takes center stage for the second consecutive weekend with two big matchups tomorrow night – the lineal champ at 135, Joel Casamayor, takes on Juan Manuel Marquez and Nate Campbell, owner of three lightweight alphabet belts, faces the always crafty Joan Guzman. Campbell and Guzman square off on Showtime, a fight that proves that Nate, “The Galaxxy Warrior,” has become the Tony Margarito of the lightweight division – a hard-as-nails journeyman who has a serious claim right now to being the lightweight champ but whose toughness and lack of crossover Q factor make him a hard sell for his promoter (this guy by the name of Don King… rings a bell…). So Nate beats up Juan Diaz last March and gets himself three title belts at 135 – what’s he get as a reward? A headliner on Showtime, yes, probably a decent payday, but still, it’s a very risky fight and not one of great consequence. Plus, hell, it isn’t even the most interesting lightweight matchup going on that night. In short, file under – “Pimp, It’s Hard Out Here For A”.
Obviously the Casa/Marquez bout on HBO PPV is the marquee fight tomorrow night, if for no other reason than that it has grave implications for a potential third fight between Marquez and Manny Pacquiao, an event that every serious fight fan seriously wants to happen. Marquez has been seeking that fight with great vigor ever since he lost a hotly disputed split decision to Pacquiao in their rematch this past March. Pac Man passed on a third bout, however, electing instead to move up to 135 in June and pluck himself a belt from David Diaz in a virtuoso performance that sealed his status as the sport’s number one pound-for-pound fighter. Now Marquez has followed Pac to 135 in the hopes of stealing the lineal title from Casamayor and forcing Manny back into the ring with him after Pacquiao returns from his little trip to 147 to face the Golden Goose.
The question of the night is clear - can Marquez bang at 135? When he’s on his game, Casamayor is a very difficult beat. He’s got speed, power and mobility, and he proved he’s still got a lot left in the tank with his gutsy 10th-round KO of Michael Katsidis in March. I expect this one to be a chess-match early and a slugfest late, and I also think it has the potential to be a sleeper in the very crowded 2008 FOY sweepstakes. One more thing – though I would never dare to tell you how to spend your money, can I just suggest that at +260 in Vegas, Casamayor might be worth a peek?
De La Hoya: “Money needs the money”
Oscar De La Hoya is still riding that Floyd Mayweather rematch hobby horse, taking a swipe at Lil Floyd on SportsCenter by hitting Money May right where he lives – in his Money-Spot.
After stating that he was having an easy time with Floyd in their first fight before he stopped throwing his jab, Oscar then tossed in a jab at Floyd’s bankroll, saying, “I hear he needs the money.” He’s referencing the fact that Floyd recently claimed to have had upwards of $7 million worth of jewelry stolen from his house and that he is being sued for defaulting on payments for a multi-million dollar house in Miami.
This might actually turn the trick for ODLH. When a man starts referring to himself as “Money,” he’s bound to be quick to anger when another man starts making fun of his money. If only Oscar had thought of this in June, the whole Pacquiao debacle may never have had to happen. Instead of saying he could beat Floyd, and rehiring Floyd’s dad, all he needed to do was step up to the podium, lean into the mike, and say those magic seven words: “Floyd, I have more money than you.” Fighting words for rizzle dizzle.
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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.
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