Boxing Preview 5-21-11

Jean Pascal (26-1-1) vs. Bernard Hopkins (51-5-2)

How do you not want to see this fight? Jean Pascal, ranked #2 in the light heavyweight realm according to boxrec.com. Bernard Hopkins is #1. The last time these two fought, it was a draw. This is a crazy huge fight. Pascal is on more of a tear than Hopkins, winning 5 out of his last 6, as opposed to Hopkins' 4. Both are pretty even. I'm going to go with Pascal to win this one. This is a man fighting in his home province.

Chad Dawson (29-1, 1 NC) vs. Adrian Diaconu (27-2)

The battle of the fighters Pacal has beaten. You have Chad Dawson, very well-known for his fights with fighters like Antonio Tarver. Diaconu is a Romanian boxer residing out of Montreal. The fight is going to be in Montreal, so Diaconu gets the hometown edge. Diaconu has lost 2 of his last 5, while Dawson has only lost 1, the first of his career. This loss will be good for Dawson, because it will make him hungry and spur him to take this victory away. To Dawson goes tonight's victory.

A Ruff State of the WWE – Post Extreme Rules

So I’m trying to put my thoughts together of last night’s Pay-Per-View and where we are with the WWE.

1. Originally, I was pretty upset with the draft. All my favorite guys moved shows (which I don’t understand why I was upset; I do watch both shows.), and I thought they just made changes to make changes. I reserve judgment until I see everything they’re doing creatively. What we need is an influx of new talent. And we need to start making some newer stars.

2. The CM Punk-Randy Orton match was really good. They made a good extreme match without getting too bloody. While I respect the blood spilt by the ECW originals, it isn’t always necessary. It was creative for them to find “extreme” matches without being too TV14. There was a lot of drama built in this match. I did like the kendo sticks. There hasn’t been a lot of those in the past. So I didn’t get a car fender, taser or skillet. I got a really great story that Randy Orton ended up winning. Punk must be on his way out. And Orton is built up as the top face on Smackdown!

3. Kofi-Sheamus turned out to be the scene-stealing match of the night. I had a hard time with this match. I love Kofi, and I love Sheamus (Team Pasty White!). There was some really nice drama built up here around the tables. Kofi was a good athlete and really shone in that spotlight. Sheamus didn’t lose anything by losing to Kofi. Time for him to excel on Smackdown!

4. I liked Michael Cole coming out to the ring in bubble wrap. That was the best part of the match. For Cole & Swagger to win that match drove me to temporary Atheism. I find it quite insulting that they couldn’t do a Sin Cara match of some kind or Drew McIntyre or ANYTHING other than this match. Jim Ross is not an in-ring talent. If I want to watch untrained wrestlers doing their stuff in the ring, I’ll find YouTube backyard matches.

5. Cody and Rey tore the house down with their match, quite literally and figuratively. I did not want Rey to win. Rey hasn’t changed a single thing since ’03. I am very bored with Rey. I really don’t like Cody “Toothpick Legs” Rhodes, but he’s fine for what he is. Rhodes really should have gone over. I decided after this match that Atheism wasn’t working for me either, so I joined the Raelians. Why not?

6. The Lay vs. Cool match was really good, matter of fact, one of the best divas matches I’ve ever seen. And then we had the debut of Kharma/Awesome Kong. I actually like the name (Don’t judge me.), and from I’ve seen of her, I hope she draws millions.

7. I had one problem with the Christian-Alberto del Rio match. First of all, both guys gave everything in this match. The bump Del Rio did onto the ladder was the most emotionally-inducing WWE bump I’ve seen since Orton on the thumbtacks against Foley. My problem with this match was this. This wasn’t Christian’s title reign. This was Edge’s title reign with Christian substituting for him. This was Chavo Guerrero Jr. after Eddie Guerrero’s death all over again. What they should have done is let Christian win and then have Edge to come out and celebrate later. How long is it until Christian gets to hold this title by himself?

8. I am in love with R-Truth. He is the best thing on WWE television. I also think his athleticism is very underrated, so a feud with John Morrison will make me very happy. They need to shorten his mic time though, but let him go. Give him the mic and let him go Bubba Ray Dudley on the crowd.

9. I have no idea what happened during the Main Event. That was when I heard that there was going to be a presidential announcement at 9:30 (my time). While we all speculated that President Obama was going to congratulate Christian, sure enough, by the time the President walked to the podium (and if he were walking with any more swagger, his name would have been Vincent K. McMahon), it was to announce that Osama bin Laden had been killed. So my mind was anywhere but that ring. You must forgive me for my neglect.

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UFC 129 Preview

I'm really looking forward to this card. The only thing is how do I convince my wife to let me have the UFC party with friends. There are 2 fights here that are must-see, and a fighter who is must-see.

Welterweight Championship bout: Georges St-Pierre (21-2) (c) vs.  Jake Shields (26-4-1)

I don't know how this fight could get any bigger. You've got GS-freakin'-P, one of the most recognizable faces in MMA history, the soft-spoken French Canadian taking on Californian Jake Shields, the biggest coup from the world of Strikeforce (that is, until UFC bought Strikeforce). Neither fighter has lost since '07 (GSP to Matt Serra). Shields hasn't lost since '04. I don't think GSP's run is over yet. I think somebody will end his reign, but I don't see Shields being the one to do it.

Winner: GSP

Featherweight Championship bout: José Aldo (18-1) (c) vs. Mark Hominick (20-8)

Aldo will win. No contest. While Hominick has racked up a nice 5-win fight streak, Aldo has no equal in his division.

Winner: Aldo

Light Heavyweight bout: Vladimir Matyushenko (25-5) vs. Jason Brilz (18-3-1)

Well, I didn't realize this, but I saw both of these guys live at UFC 103. Brilz fought one of the most-booed fights I've ever seen live, and I don't remember Vlad's. He beat a guy from Croatia who had a trainer that looked like my grandfather. (You're welcome for my scientific approach.) Matyushenko is 4 for his last 5. Brilz is 3 for his last 5. But I remember watching the Little Nog fight. The only 2 people who believed Little Nog won that were the two deciding judges. That was Brilz' last fight too. Something tells me he's going to be hungrier. I'm going with Brilz for a submission victory.

Winner: Brilz

Light Heavyweight bout: Randy Couture (19-10) vs. Lyoto Machida (16-2)

I can't comment on this fight. I just want to thank Randy Couture for his many years of fights and what he has meant to the industry.

Lightweight bout: Mark Bocek (9-3) vs. Ben Henderson (12-2)

Both are 4 out of their last 5, with Bocek winning one most recently. Henderson has more experience, plus a greater variety of victories. Both of these guys seem to favor submissions so it most likely will be a ground battle. I see Henderson walking away with this one.

Winner: Henderson

Upset watch: Shields. This could be a night he walks away the victor.

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In Case Stone Cold Asks (My Favorite Matches)

Last night, Ariane Andrew became (in)famous on WWE Tough Enough when she was asked for her favorite match ever. She said Melina and Alicia Fox. Now I have been watching wrestling for over 15 years (though there were stretches where I lost interest). I’ve seen plenty of matches, too. I don’t know about this Alicia Fox-Melina match, but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen better. Just in case the proverbial gun is to my head, I wanted to come up with a list of some of my favorite matches. These are by no means the best. These are the ones I would call my favorite matches. I’m not ranking these. Some of them you will agree with. Some are special to me for one reason or another.

1.       Savage-Steamboat, Wrestlemania III-I remember watching this match when I saw Wrestlemania III for the first time. I had started getting into wrestling and I wanted to watch anything and everything I could find. My local video store was The Video Library, a mom and pop store back before Blockbuster ruled everything with an iron fist. They had Survivor Series ’91, Wrestlemania III and a few others. WM3 had Hogan and Andre on the cover. How could I not rent it? And of course I fell in love with the Savage-Steamboat match. It was such a tense, dramatic match. I’m sure many people would have this in Top 5 of all time.

2.       Chris Benoit-Kevin Sullivan, Falls Count Anywhere Match, Great American Bash ’96-Yes, I said the name Chris Benoit. Regardless of how you feel about him, I am talking about this match, not the person who killed his wife, son and self. There was so much intensity and hatred between these two men. And this was the first fight I’d ever seen go to the men’s restroom. The best part was Dusty Rhodes on commentary. “There’th a woman in the men’th westwoom! There’th a woman in the men’th westwoom!” And then after the match when Arn Anderson turned on Kevin Sullivan, another awesome memory. When I first heard that he had died, and before I knew he was the number one suspect in his murder-suicide, this was the match I watched.

3.       Stone Cold-Bret Hart, I Quit Match Wrestlemania XIII-Ken Shamrock as guest referee, Jerry Lawler & Jim Ross on commentary. This was such a hot intense feud. Bret Hart was beginning his anti-American Hart Foundation persona, and Stone Cold was about to embark on being one of the top stars in wrestling of all time. And in this fight, there was blood. The blood flowed out of Austin’s forehead like I had never seen before. And Austin never gave up, but Ken Shamrock awarded the match to Bret Hart. This was a watershed moment in the attitude era.

4.       Johnny Kashmere & Justice Pain-Jun Kazai & Nick Mondo, CZW Un-f’n-believable-I’m sure most wrestling fans would scoff at this one being in my list. But this is my list. Make your own. This match had all the drama you could ever want. They were feuding factions. This was “Fans Bring the Weapons,” and wrestling fans are very creative. This was intense and bloody, very bloody. The match was everything the title says. It really was un-f’ing-believable. This put CZW on my map, love it or hate it.

5.       Vince McMahon-Shane McMahon, Wrestlemania X-7-I know. This is not the most technical match ever. But there were so many storylines that were built up here. Shane had just “bought” WCW from his dad. Linda was in the wheelchair from the meds Trish was giving her. Mick Foley was the guest referee. The moment that Linda stood up, I stood up in my Arlington home for the pure emotion of it all. And if I remember correctly, there was a Van Terminator from Shane.

6.       Eddie Guerrero-Rey Misterio Jr., Halloween Havoc ’97, Mask vs. Title-This is my redemption for the above two matches. The build-up to this match was awesome. When Eddie was a heel, he had no equal. He had unmasked Rey on WCW Saturday night. As useless as Tony Schiavone was, the look of disdain on his face, covering Rey with his jacket, they were both so perfect. And in this match, you didn’t know if Rey was going to lose or not. I spent the match on pins and needles waiting for the bell to ring. Out of Eddie’s and Rey’s many matches together, this one was my favorite.

7.       Randy Orton-Cactus Jack, Backlash ’04-I hated the whole Orton spitting on my hero Mick Foley. And I hated it even more when he did nothing. But I read on the Internet this was Foley’s idea, and I just decided to sit back and let Foley be Foley. But we went to the PPV at the movie theater that carried the PPV’s. The match was a thing of beauty. Now, not graceful Eddie-Rey beauty, but more like a “Terry Funk-Sabu, you’re going to be able to count the number of visible tendons” beauty. When my then-fiance and I saw the thumbtacks getting laid out, we were both saying, “Oh, Foley’s going to be diving into those.” And then Orton took the bump, and our jaws both hit the floor. I had not really respected Orton yet, but when he did that, I had a newfound respect for him that I still carry to this day.

8.       Kurt Angle-Rey Misterio Jr., some Smackdown-I have no idea what it was, but Angle and Misterio had the greatest chemistry together. Misterio beat him out of nowhere. And the best part of the match was the post-match interview with Angle. “I just got pinned by a 12-year-old. Some kid barely old enough to mow my lawn beat me.” Angle and Misterio had some great matches. This was just the beginning.

9.       Mr. Pogo & Terry Funk-Hayabusa & Masato Tanaka, FMW 5-5-96-Yes, this match is pretty much bloody stumps galore. There was barb wire, explosives, pretty much everything you’ve always heard about wrestling but didn’t know it existed. The drama of the guys about to go into the barb wire and then stopping is so gripping. You get Mr. Pogo and his knives. Hayabusa nearly had his mask ripped off. After the match, you can hear Terry Funk repeating, “I don’t need no f***ing stitches” and insults at Atsushi Onita.

10.   Kristopher Haiden, Carrion Arcane, Frankie Fisher & Matt Andrews vs. WASP, Gregory James, Seph Annunaki & James Hawke, ladder match, MPX All on the Line- This match is unique as this is the only one I’ve ever seen live. It is also important that this was the day I met the guy now dating my sister-in-law (and the way these kids talk, he might be the brother-in-law before too long), so you know there are some emotional attachments this has for me. This is what I wrote about this the morning after:

“What can you say about this match? I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen a better match than this live. All ten guys gave everything live. I always praise this company for the little things. The wrestlers came out of the dressing room to watch. It reminded me a lot of old ECW when the boys all used to watch from the aisle. The only negative is that at the beginning of the fight, there was too much action going on.

“I counted the number of “Holy s***” moments for me. I had 9. There were a few that happened on the other side from where I was sitting, so I think there were a few more. At one point, we had dueling Van Terminators with ladders. There was a different spot where the two Kyles were climbing up the ladder at the same time, made it to the top and both threw baby powder at each other. It was awesome. We had Gregory James do the lucha libre plancha spot onto the 5 or 6 guys. He also did a conchairto on top of the ladder to Frankie Fisher. Haiden was already bleeding and took an insane bump onto two tables. Being that we know him outside of the business, it was difficult for my wife and some other people who knew him. It’s one thing to watch the Dudleys on Monday Night Raw back in the day; it’s another thing to watch our friend go through the tables. All I know is that my buddy took a table bump that would have made Sabu smile in approval.

“There are very few things in this business that surprise me still. I will admit I got worked when Bryan Danielson was the 7th member of Team WWE. That’s probably the last time somebody worked me that I never saw coming. Matt Andrews took the belt and the briefcase. He asked for the mic and thanked Genesis for getting him to where he was, but now that he was the champion, he was done with them. He fired all of them, climbed down the ladder, threw the briefcase on Seph and said, ‘I don’t care about this. You can have it.’

“What an insane, breath-taking main event. I guess one of the best compliments we can give the night is that my sister-in-law took her new boyfriend to wrestling for the first time last night. On the way home, he asked, ‘Do they do that all the time?’ I’ve said my peace about everything else that night. Great main event made for a great night.”

11.   El Hijo del Santo & Octagon-Art Barr & Eddie Guerrero, Mask vs. Hair, WCW When Worlds Collide-I'm a total El Santo mark, so the importance of El Santo, El Hijo del Santo and his mask are so important to me. There was no greater heel faction in Mexico than the Gringos Locos (Barr, Guerrero, Konnan & Louie Spicolli). Oh, yeah, and Octagon is one of those guys I ALWAYS mark out for. There was such intensity in that match. And Eddie lost his mullet.

12.   Ice Train-Scott Norton, Some episode of WCW Worldwide (I think)-Again, this is no Ring of Honor 5-star match. Nobody else probably remembers this match, but I do. The story of it was so awesome. Scott Norton & Ice Train were very similar wrestlers, and they mirrored each other. They couldn't beat the other. Since both were on the same level on the card, you had no idea who was going to win. It even went to a time limit draw, and thus was born the tag team of Fire & Ice.

13.   Chris Benoit-Dean Malenko, WCW Hog Wild ’96-Again, if you are offended by me using Chris Benoit's name, I apologize. Benoit and Malenko had such an amazing chemistry. They were awesome together in the ring. First the match went 15 minutes. Then it was given 5 more minutes. Then it was given 5 more minutes. Finally Nancy "Woman" Benoit interfered and won the match for Benoit.

14.   Undertaker-Mankind, Hell in a Cell, King of the Ring ‘98-I know. No points for originality. This is very well-documented. And if you've never read his account of it, read "Have a Nice Day" by Mick Foley. There were two major bumps: first was where Mick was thrown onto the table. That was planned. The second one was when the Undertaker choke-slammed Foley and the cage gave way and Foley fell to the ring. And then the chair fell on top of him. The amount of punishment that Foley took was insane.

15.   Tommy Dreamer-Brian Lee, ECW Scaffold match-The Tommy Dreamer-Raven feud could not have been any hotter. With respect to Sabu-Taz, it was quite possibly ECW's biggest feud. Brian Lee was part of Raven's group in ECW and had made it his goal to end Tommy Dreamer's career. There was a rickety scaffold built over a ring piled up in tables 3-deep. There was so much drama over who was going to be the first to fall. And Brian Lee went through the tables in an incredible moment.

So, just in case Stone Cold ever asks me, I have it all written down. What are your favorites?

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Bellator 39 Preview

Eddie Alvarez (21-2) (c) vs. Pat Curran (13-3)

Eddie Alvarez is the #6 Lightweight in the world, according to www.Sherdog.com. Don't know why he isn't signed with the UFC, but nevertheless, this should be a big fight. Alvarez is on a 6-fight win streak, as opposed to Curran's 4. I do think it's fair to say that neither have lost in Bellator. What I like most of Alvarez' history is his percentage of KO's and submissions as opposed to the decisions. Something tells me it's going to be Alvarez retaining.

Winner: Alvarez

Lyman Good (11-1) vs. Rick Hawn (10-0)

Obviously, the momentum goes to Hawn. Good's first loss was two fights ago. One thing that stands out to me. An undefeated streak can only last so long. Hawn will eventually encounter his first loss. It's not the loss. It's what you do after it. I seem to be favoring Good for this.

Winner: Good

Toby Imada (29-15) vs. Patricky Friere (8-1)

Well, both of these have the win on the momentum side. Friere has 4 wins in a row so I think you'd have to give him the full advantage. Imada has a smaller percentage of decisions so he will find a way to end. He also has a LOT more experience. I give the edge to Imada.

Winner: Imada

Who Really Deserves the WWE Hall of Fame?

With the induction of Drew Carey into the WWE Hall of Fame, most of us are embarrassed to call that a legitimate Hall-of-Fame. But let’s be honest. It’s not a Hall-of-Fame for the wrestlers. It’s a wing for the celebrities. Do I really think Drew Carey deserves a spot in the HOF? Of course not. But he’s not getting inducted as a wrestler. He’s going in as a celebrity. And he is the only celebrity to ever compete in the Royal Rumble. I understand he’s got something to plug, and I think it’s totally embarrassing the WWE is using a HOF induction to help him plug whatever crap he’s plugging. Maybe they could have named him the emcee of the event.

But in honor of Drew Carey getting inducted for giving Kane money, I have come up with a list of 15 celebrities that I feel deserve induction into the WWE HOF more than Drew Carey. These are not in order of priority.

1.       Jenny McCarthy-A woman who started out as eye candy that moved on to being a child advocate against vaccines (even though she was wrong) and autism. She also was a very successful writer about books about pregnancy and motherhood. Maybe being inducted by Shawn Michaels, this would be a reminder of a big moment from Wrestlemania XI.

2.       Pamela Anderson-The biggest part about the 1995 Royal Rumble was that the winner got to be escorted to the back by Pamela Anderson. And then at Wrestlemania, she escorted Diesel to the ring. This was a big moment as she was at the hottest her career got at that time. The WWE always likes to have their big celebrity moment. Inducted by recent returnee Kevin Nash? Nash on the mic is always great fun.

3.       Regis Philbin-Regis has always had wrestlers on and never worried about his image. He’s freakin’ Regis. And then when Steve Austin propelled himself to superstardom, aside from the big Mike Tyson “shove heard round the world,” one of the watershed moments in his career was when he appeared on Regis & "the one before Kelly Ripa." Austin wore his “Austin 3:16” and Regis had his “Philbin 911” t-shirt. And there was the moment when Austin got in his face and Regis rubbed Austin’s head and Stone Cold smiled. Stone Cold would be the perfect person to induct him.

4.       Burt Reynolds-The guest ring announcer at Wrestlemania X, I don’t really think he has contributed THAT much. But he was a big name. And since WWE has always loved their Hollywood celebrities whenever they could get them, if they could get Burt Reynolds for this role, they would be in “We make movies” heaven. I’m sure HE has something he could plug. I could see him getting inducted by Bret Hart or Roddy Piper.

5.       Joan Rivers-Is there anybody better at stirring up a buzz? And doesn’t she have some reality show or documentary to plug? And when has Joan Rivers ever turned down an appearance? Anywhere? I could see her getting inducted simply because she was Joan Rivers. Who would induct her? Take your pick. I’m sure any of the young lions would benefit from the rub: Ted Jr., Randy Orton, Zack Ryder.

6.       Muhammad Ali-Arguably the greatest boxer ever, if not the greatest athlete ever. He was the referee at the first Wrestlemania. Plus, Ali makes news any time he goes to the grocery store because of the sheer legend behind him. Who would induct him? Again, take your pick. Any wrestler of Black or Muslim heritage would be great here. The Rock, Booker T, Kofi Kingston (I don’t know of any wrestlers who are of Muslim heritage or beliefs.), etc.

7.       Dick Butkus-One of the greatest defensemen in the history of pro football and a man who appeared in several Wrestlemanias. I know that he has his charities that he takes care of. He definitely wouldn’t mind appearing to plug that. And who wouldn’t want to induct the great Butkus? Maybe somebody from Chicago like CM Punk. Maybe a college player like The Rock. I don’t see how they could go wrong.

8.       Tommy Lasorda-A Hall-of-Fame baseball manager known for being very colorful on the mic. Of course, the Atlanta crowd may not warm up to a Dodgers legend. Any wrestler would love to induct him. It would get them on some MLB sites and I’m sure Tommy Lasorda would love to plug a charity.

9.       Alice Cooper-Doesn’t he still put out songs and albums and stuff? I’m sure he’d love the chance to come back and speak to the fans. Who inducts him? Obviously not Jake “The Snake,” as that might require sobriety. But which wrestler wouldn’t want to induct a legend in the music world? Chris Jericho maybe?

10.   Ozzy Osborne-A former figure in Wrestlemania 2, and one of the most-recognized music icons of all-time, Ozzy Osborne would be GREAT  for publicity. The man can still draw, and he still must have some marketability as he was used for one of the biggest Super Bowl commercials this past year. Again, any wrestler would love to induct Ozzy freakin’ Osborne.

11.   Mike Tyson-I’d just love to hear him say “My man Cole Stone” one more time. Wrestlemania XIV was one of the biggest moments in wrestling history. That was a watershed moment of the Attitude Era. Of course if he came back, we’d always be reminded of how great their product was back then and how it isn't now. Who would induct him? Triple-H, Stone Cold, Shawn Michaels, Jim Ross, take your pick.

12.   Bob Uecker-If there is anybody in humanity that deserves a microphone, it’s the Iron Sheik. After him, it’s the great Bob Uecker. Most of us remember the visual of Andre the Giant choking Uecker with his massive hands. Again, who wouldn’t want to induct one of the funniest men ever on the mic? Take your pick. I think Santino would be a great fit there.

13.   Aretha Franklin-She sung at Wrestlemania III & XXIII. The Queen of Soul, who wouldn’t want to induct her? Of course, it could be a well-known Black competitor like Booker T, Ron Simmons (lots of “Damnnnnnnnnns” in that speech) or Kofi. Of course, the one who makes the most sense would be Lillian Garcia, whom I’m sure they could bring back for one night to induct Aretha.

14.   Cyndi Lauper-The fact Drew Carey is going into the celebrity wing of the HOF before Cyndi Lauper is downright embarrassing. Cyndi Lauper has done more for the wrestling business than show up in a match to plug their show. Brawl to Settle It All, War to Settle the Score, Wrestlemania, she used HER name to get the publicity on these events. Again, Lillian Garcia would be a great fit to induct her. So would Roddy Piper, Edge or anybody who watched her as a kid and was inspired to get into wrestling because of her participation on these big events.

15.   Motorhead-The group who has created one of the most iconic entrance themes in the history of wrestling. It is also arguable that is the most iconic entrance theme ever (with respect to “Real American,” Piper’s & Undertaker’s music and maybe Stone Cold’s and The Rock’s). From the first time you hear “Time to play the gaaaaaaaaaaame” you know that Triple-H is coming to the ring. Obviously, it’s kind of silly who would induct them. Triple-H, of course.

What are your favorites? Who do you think we should see?

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Boxing Preview 3-26-11

Wandsbek, Hamburg, Germany

Alexander Dimitrenko (30-1) vs. Albert Sosnowski (46-3-1)

Looks like Germany is going to be putting forth a nice night. Sosnowski is ranked higher in the world but Dimitrenko is the top-ranked German heavyweight. Dimitrenko is 4 for his last 5 vs. Sosnowski's 3-1-1. Dimitrenko is fighting in his home country, as opposed to the Polish Sosnowski. Dimitrenko also has a higher knockout percentage. Sosnowski's biggest advantage is his experience. On paper, I say Dimitrenko wins this.

Susi Kentikian (27-0, 1 NC) vs. Ana Arrazola (19-5-3)

Looks like Germany is bringing in fodder for their boxing darling. She has only NOT won a fight one, and that was her most recent fight which was an unintentional head-butt. Arrazola is 3 for her last 5. She has the hometown going for her advantage. Experience is kind of a wash. Their knockout percentage is pretty much even.

Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

Steve Molitor (32-1) vs. Takalani Ndlovu (31-6)

This looks to be another really exciting fight. Both are pretty even in experience. Molitor has the momentum edge, winning his last 5, as opposed to Ndlovu 3 of his last 5. Ndlovu is fighting in his native South Africa, so he gets the home crowd advantage. We also have #6 Super Bantamweight (Molitor) facing #8 (Ndlovu), so Molitor gets the ranking advantage. Part of me wants to say that Molitor walks away with this one.

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States

Yuriorkis Gamboa (19-0) vs. Jorge Solis (40-2-2)

HBO really is bringing it tonight. Gamboa is one of Cuba's biggest athletes and Solis is a well-traveled veteran from Mexico. Solis is 4 for his last 5. It's a little hard to compete with Gamboa's 19-win streak. Neither are fighting in their home countries, so that is a wash. To be honest, this is a highlight of Gamboa's abilities. The Cuban wins.