Boxing

 

Ten Fighters Who Will and Will Not Be Champions in 2003

By Fred De La Riva

The Losers

Oscar De La Hoya (35-2): Coming off a 15-month layoff, the WBC junior-middleweight champion, Oscar De La Hoya went on to knock out Fernando Vargas in perhaps the biggest win of his career. In doing so, he quickly re-captured the "golden" glow that had been eluding him since coming of 12 split decision loss to Shane Mosley, and also gained recognition as the WBA and IBA light-middleweight champion. Now De La Hoya will probably not fight again until September of 2003 in his anticipated re-match with Shane Mosley. This means he will have an entire year, before fighting the "next" biggest fight of his career as he looks to avenge his loss to Mosley. During the Vargas fight, Oscar was not as his defensive best, which was probably because of the long layoff. But if Vargas was able to tag De La Hoya, the quicker Mosley will definitely hit him more often. I believe this fight will come down to whomever wants it most and the hungrier of the two is Mosley. Oscar has already set in motion his post-career plans by starting his Golden Boy Promotions, so he may not be as focused for this fight as he was for the Vargas fight. Vargas’s pre-fight verbal jabs gave De La Hoya all the incentive he needed, which the quieter Mosley won’t. Now, it’s not going to be easy, but Mosley will be fine-tuning his technique in his March match-up with Raul Marquez. Ring rust will do the Golden Boy in and my pick is Mosley once again via split decision.

Lennox Lewis (40-2-1): There was a time in heavyweight boxing when a man in his thirties was considered old. Today though, because of better training methods, a fighter can remain competitive well into his thirties. Of course time marches on and Lennox Lewis is quickly running into his fourth decade on this earth. Not only are his better days behind him, but he is also being chased by two of the most highly regarded heavyweight prospects to come out of Europe, since Lewis himself. The Klitschko brothers are "chomping at the bit" to prove themselves the best in the division and if rumors hold true, Vitali Klitschko will face Lewis in 2003. At one time pre-1996 Olympics, Vitali was considered the better of the two brothers among experts in the amateur ranks. But Vitali pulled out of the 1996 Olympic games and Wladimir went on to capture the gold. The Klitschko brothers have both risen to become among the hardest punchers in the heavyweight ranks, which doesn’t fare well for Lewis who is not known to have the best of chins. Much lesser punchers have troubled Lewis and that’s not counting his stunning loss to Rahman in 2001. If he decides to fight both in 2003, one will definitely take him out.

John Ruiz (38-4-1): John Ruiz’s days as W.B.A. Heavyweight Champion are numbered. Not only does he have the task of chasing Roy Jones around the ring early next year, but he the always dangerous, David Tua chasing him. Tua is currently ranked at number 4 in the WBA ratings. If Ruiz gets by Roy, he will more than likely meet the Tua-man in the second part of 2003, since Vitali Klitschko, who is ranked ahead of Tua in the WBA ratings, will face Lennox Lewis sometime in April. As you all remember it was Tua, who savagely knocked out Ruiz when they met a few years ago and if they meet again Tua will probably do the same thing. John Ruiz is not known for his defensive skills and Tua will eventually land his brutal hook.

Vasili Jirov (31-0): Trust me on this one. Vasili Jirov does not want or need any part of James Toney. Who knows whether the rib injury or lack of intestinal fortitude was the reason of the recent cancellation of the January 2003 match-up between Jirov and Toney, but James Toney would have beaten Jirov. Why? Let’s take into account that James Toney is one of the masters of this sport. He punches and defends from different angles. His style is not one of the most exciting to watch, but tapes of his fights should be required for any young counter-puncher out there. Granted Jirov is strong and will bring with him one of the best body attacks in boxing, but he is tailored made for Toney.

Bernard Hopkins (41-2-1): At soon to be 38 years old, Bernard skills should have long eroded, but he must have drank from the fountain of youth to remain on par with the best that boxing has to offer. There will come a time in the ring when Bernard will find that his legs and reflexes have abandoned him and that time might be 2003. William Joppy should try to position himself to challenge for the title. With all of the outside ring distractions that Hopkins had had to endure in 2002, he is primed for an upset loss.

 

Other notable fighters who are at risk.

Derrick Gainer is in the one of the toughest divisions in the sport and if he challenges one of the top dogs, he will undoubtedly lose.

Tim Austin has an outside chance of being upset by the highly regarded Rafael Marquez.


The Winners

Juan Manuel Marquez (39-2): It has been a long time coming and Juan Manuel Marquez, who is arguably one of the top three featherweights in the sport, is in the position of finally holding a major title. Naseem Hamed avoided all those years for a reason. Marquez is well schooled in the game and can punch with both hands. He is trained by Nacho Berestein, the premier the Mexican trainer in boxing. At age 29 he is still in his prime and should outshine compatriot Manuel Medina this February when they meet for the vacant IBF Featherweight Title.

Vitali Klitschko (32-1): As explained above, Vitali has positioned himself to challenge Lennox Lewis for the WBC Heavyweight Title and more importantly the linear title. He has not as highly regarded as his younger brother, but has the size and punch to dethrone aging heavyweight king, Lennox Lewis. At 31, Vitali is headed into his prime as a heavyweight and with the current state of the division he is ready to rule the scene along side his brother Wladimir.

"Sugar" Shane Mosley (38-2): Sugar Shane is probably the most talented fighter in the game without a title. He was upset in early 2002, when the highly regarded Vernon Forrest executed his game plan perfectly not once, but twice against the Pomona, California based fighter. If Sugar gets by Raul Marquez in March, which is likely, he will meet Oscar De La Hoya in September of 2003. In my opinion, Oscar has never been as vulnerable as he is at this moment in his career. Not only is he is coming off an emotional high in defeating his long time nemesis Fernando Vargas, but also will not have fought in a 12 month period. Sugar will be fighting at a higher weight class, and he may not carry his power, but his speed will remain, which will cause Oscar problems. His motivation will be high if he is to jumpstart his career at the age of 31.

James Toney (65-4-2): It has been easy to dismiss James Toney since his loss to Roy Jones. Back in 1994 James Toney did not have "defeat" in his vocabulary and he also didn’t have the discipline to keep himself in shape between fights. During late 1994, when he lost to Jones and mid 1997, he managed to eat himself into the cruiserweight division. He didn’t carry the weight well either and his midriff has been a dead give away, but one thing that could not be ignored is the talent that this man possesses. Inside the ring, Toney is one of the more talented craftsmen in the sport today. He is currently on an 11 fight win streak since his last loss to Drake Thazdi of Canada in 1997 and he is set to collide with the IBF Cruiserweight title holder Vassili Jirov as soon as the latter heals from a rib injury. Jirov’s straight ahead style is tailored-made for Toney and he should come up victorious if they should meet.

Antonio Tarver (20-1)

Tarver finally gets his title shot at the IBF light heavyweight title, though the opportunity is bitter sweet as it will not be against Roy Jones. Though the match against the slick Griffin will be difficult, expect Tarver to come out on top.

Honorable Mention.

Antoine Echols- Has a puncher’s chance at dethroning the tough Steve Ottke.

Feel free to contact the author at reevee@earthlink.net

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