Body Blows: 10 Dangerous Fighters, Mosley/Vargas preview, and more.

Columns, News, Previews, Results

Antonio Margarito successfully defended his WBO Welterweight title this weekend and chances are you’ve never heard of him. The 27-year old fighter needed only 74 seconds to dispose of his challenger Manuel Gomez. If you haven’t heard of Margarito, it isn’t because he lacks talent. What he lacks is opportunity. It’s a dilemma many boxers face every year. Marvin Hagler had to deal with it. Winky Wright had to deal with it. These fighters have the ability to beat the World Champions, but lack the drawing power to make the fight financially rewarding for the champion. So just how do these fighters gain exposure when no one is willing to give them a chance? That depends on the individual, but beating your opponent in 74 seconds doesn’t hurt.

With that said, I have compiled a list of ten dangerous fighters, sorted by weight class. These men are dangerous because they don’t have the name recognition to spark the buyrates, but they have the ability to dethrone the kings of their respective weight classes.

10 Dangerous Fighters

1. Humberto Soto (Featherweight) – Despite his 25 years of age, Soto has compiled 47 fights as a professional. Youth and experience is a scary combination. There’s probably a joke about your sister in there but I’ll leave it alone. Soto defeated fellow Featherweight prospect and former Olympian Rocky Juarez last year and looks to be in line for a major title within 2006.

2. Jorge Rodrigo Barrios (Super Featherweight) – Hailing from Argentina, Barrios has suffered only two losses in his 49 professional fights. One loss was by DQ and the other was a valiant effort against Acelino Freitas in which the fight was stopped in the 12th round. Barrios beat the previously undefeated Mike Anchondo last year and faces currently undefeated Janos Nagy in March of this year. Despite his record and WBO title, Barrios has never been in the ring with fellow Super Featherweights Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, or Manny Pacquiao.

3. Zahir Raheem (Lightweight) – Raheem is a member of the 1996 United States Olympic team and suffered his only professional loss to 2000 Olympian Rocky Juarez in a controversial decision. Most people knew Raheem was a dangerous fight but Erik Morales wasn’t one of them. Morales found out soon enough as he lost a unanimous decision to Raheem in a “tune-up” fight for Manny Pacquiao. The win over Morales gave Raheem a little publicity and also sent up a red flag to avoid this man.

4. Miguel Cotto (Light Welterweight) – This Puerto Rican fighter is destined for stardom. He isn’t the most skilled fighter but fights a style reminiscent of Arturo Gatti that fans can’t get enough of. Cotto has shown that he has a weak chin, getting wobbled in two of his last three fights. However, as his undefeated record shows, he also has balls the size of Patrick Nguyens’ as he has recovered in each of those fights and won by KO.

5. Antonio Margarito (Welterweight) – I touched a little on him in the opening but what really makes him dangerous is his size. Margarito fights at 147 lbs yet stands 5’11”. That is a large frame to pack pounds onto after the weigh-in. Things seem to be looking up for Margarito now. A date has been set for Margarito to face the winner of the Mayweather/Judah fight but since this is boxing, don’t get your hopes up. Thinking a boxing matchup is set in stone is like thinking Jack Bauer can go an entire hour without killing someone.

6. Kassim Ouma (Light Middleweight) – Ouma’s past as an adolescent in the Ugandan Army has already been brought up. Ouma was on track to take the Light Middleweight division by storm until he was derailed by Roman Karmazin last year. The loss gave Winky Wright an excuse to avoid Ouma and now Ouma must work his way back up the ladder.

7. Felix Sturm (Middleweight) – This German may be the most avoided boxer in any weight class. Sturm was finally given an opportunity in 2004 when Oscar de la Hoya fought him in a Middleweight tune-up for Bernard Hopkins. Sturm ended up losing an extremely close decision and many people feel Sturm actually won the fight. Now nobody wants to fight Sturm and that’s a shame. So kids, the moral here is to only try when you know you can win.

8. Mikkel Kessler (Super Middleweight) – This is a weight class that lacks a lot of name recognition. When Peter Manfredo is the marquee name in the division, it is a problem. Hopefully Jeff Lacy can change that but given the chance, Mikkel Kessler could turn some heads as well. Kessler fights out of Denmark and turns 27 in March. Plus he’s not annoying. Which is a surprise since he’s from the same country that blessed us with Brigette Nielsen and Lars Ulrich.

9. Tomasz Adamek (Light Heavyweight) – The Light Heavyweight division finally got some national attention when the trio of Antonio Tarver, Roy Jones Jr, and Glen Johnson had a series of bouts from 2003-2005. Now all three men are 37 years old and it’s time to look to the future. Adamek, from Poland, is 30-0 and has beaten the best of the Light Heavyweights, excluding the fighters named above. Unfortunately, Adamek won’t get a shot at Tarver or Jones because they are only looking for big pay days and Tomasz with a Z is not going to deliver that.

10. Samuel Peter (Heavyweight) – Peter reminds a lot of people of Mike Tyson pre-crazy. He bulldozed through his competition with reckless abandon until he was stopped last year by the other Klitschko, Wladimir. Despite dropping Klitschko to the mat three times in the fight, Peter lost by unanimous decision. Samuel Peter has knockout power that makes him avoided by many in his division, but it is inevitable that you will hear more from The Nigerian Nightmare. Speaking of Nigerian Nightmare, does anyone remember how badass Christian Okoye was in Tecmo Super Bowl? Sure, Bo Jackson was the best, but you needed four people to bring down Okoye and you had to hit the A button like crazy. My A button developed a permanent slant because of that guy.

Shane Mosley vs. Fernando Vargas

Rokk Adam usually previews the fights at Inside Pulse but no one has seen him lately. I think he’s hiding somewhere behind this guy. Anyway, this would have been a HUGE fight in 2001, which of course means it is on pay-per-view in 2006. Mosley’s prime is certainly behind him. Vargas could still have some left in the tank as he is only 28 years old. Despite not being in their prime, these are the two best Super Middleweights in the world and it will be a very competitive contest. The winner likely gets a big money pay day with Oscar de la Hoya while the loser…, well, waits for that fight to end so he can have a big money fight with Oscar de la Hoya.

Weekend Results

– Tony Montana lost to John Fewkes. This is not a relevant result, I just find it funny that a boxer by the name of Tony Montana is 15-25 with 0 knockouts. That dude should change his name. But then again so should I and I’m not a boxer.

– Humberto Soto (listed above) defeated Oscar Leon by 9th round TKO.

– Kevin Kelley won another fight on his comeback trail. Juan Carlos Ramirez was the victim this time via second round knockout.

– Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, son of the obvious, defeated Carlos Molina by majority decision.

– Brian Viloria retained his WBC Light Flyweight Title with a unanimous decision over Jose Antonio Aguirre.

– These Contender guys won’t go away. Just as he did on Season 1, Joey Gilbert defeated Jimmy Lange, but this time it was by stoppage in the third round.

Jockscraps – The Stories They Won’t Tell

Darius Miles Upset With Lack of Poontang in Portland

Just when it seemed owner Paul Allen had his team headed in the right direction, yet another loud-mouthed, troublesome Portland Trailblazer took it upon himself to stir things up during a press conference yesterday, bringing even more turmoil to the much maligned franchise.

Darius Miles is here to make sure that controversy and trouble will continue to surround the team. Yesterday, when asked by a reporter if he was happy in Portland and if he expected to start playing the quality of ball he has yet to show, Miles stunned those in attendance with his answer.

“Hell no I ain’t happy in Portland. And hell no I ain’t gonna play no good ball anytime soon. Not with the talent in this town.”

When asked which players on the team lacked the needed talent to help him succeed, Miles angrily responded, “I ain’t talkin’ about nobody on the team, fool. I’m talkin’ about the bitches in Portland. I thought Cleveland was bad. I had to bust my ass just to find a decent piece of tail in that city. It was all I could do to find some cut up from a girl who didn’t look like Carlos Boozer. But the point is that every now and then I at least found something close to attractive. Here in Portland, man, every girl’s as broke down as a bitch can be. There ain’t no sunshine here. All the girls look English, bro. Skins all pasty and clammy. Ain’t no poontang worth banging as far as I’m concerned. Hell, put a red dress and high heels on Carlos Boozer and he’s the finest motherf—er in Portland. What’s that tell you about the quality of booty in this town?”

Spit Bucket

Patrick Nguyen says, and I quote, “Let’s get mad at sports players for forcing anal sex on someone in a hotel.” Read here to find out why.

Tom Gubitosi has stuff to say about all things sports, and NASCAR too.

Phillip Ciprotti talks basketball. He even mentions Drew Gooden. Throw in some Greg Ostertag and you’ve got quite a duo.

Reverend Sick busts out with some UFC, including upcoming fight cards.