Marquez vs. Alvarado: Can “Dinamita” keep his unbeaten streak alive at the reincarnated Forum?

05/16/2014 Chris Carlson

The fabulous Forum in Inglewood, California is ready to add to its already rich history after being refurnished in time for this Saturday, May 17th on HBO. Juan Manuel Marquez and Mike Alvarado are both attempting to reboot their careers after suffering losses in their last outing.

The biggest unknown heading into Saturday nights tilt is how much has the great Mexican boxer declined since his epic knockout of Manny Pacquaio in December 2012. From the sounds of it, Mike Alvarado is in a good mental state after a lackluster training camp in preparation for his war with Ruslan Provodnikov that resulted in him quitting on the stool in front of a ruckus hometown crowd in Denver last fall.

The Forum famously housed the 1980’s Showtime Lakers. It also became a hot spot for boxing diehards with monthly shows that drew legions of fans and legendary fighters. The Forums next chapter should start out with a bang when these two combatants faceoff. The proverbial dangling carrot for the winner is a fight with Manny Pacquiao later this year.

Mayweather vs. Maidana: Will May 3 be a monumental moment or just a mirage?

05/02/201405/02/2014 Chris Carlson

We know Marcos Maidana will have his moments when facing Floyd Mayweather but will he have enough of them to get his hand raised. Mayweather is once again a heavy favorite heading into Saturday nights scrap so the real question outta be will the paying customer get a bang for their bucks. Along with the main event I will preview and predict the undercard fights that include big names like Amir Khan and Adrien Broner.

With so few weaknesses inside the ring for Floyd Mayweather it’s very difficult to pick against him. When my mainstream boxing fan friends ask me about an upcoming Mayweather fight I’m often left talking about how entertaining it will be rather than convincing them that he will lose.

Is this Golden Boy/Showtime Tripleheader entertaining matchmaking or mismatches on premium cable?

04/25/201404/25/2014 Chris Carlson

This Saturday night from the fan friendly StubHub Center in Carson California, yet another Golden Boy Promotions Tripleheader will broadcasted by Showtime Sports.

The card has recognizable names in what some boxing fans, many media members, and all the betting websites, have labeled as showcase type action fights that will surely be a boom or bust on social media Saturday night.

As a team in 2013, Richard Schafer, Stephan Espinoza, and who else Al Haymon, saw increased ratings, huge PPV numbers, and quality fights that produced a banner year. Showtime has put all their chips in fueling the sport of boxing and creating real competition with HBO.

Malignaggi vs. Porter: Which Shawn “Showtime” Porter will show up against the Magic Man in DC?

04/19/201404/18/2014 Chris Carlson

Paulie Malignaggi challenges Shawn Porter for Porter’s IBF Welterweight belt that he won off Devon Alexander last December. The inconsistent Porter looked much improved but can he put his skill and strengths together in back to back performances?

This co-feature fight could go either way with Porter being the betting favorite amongst fans, writers, and betting sites. The style matchup and how it will play out has been bouncing around my brain for some time now to the point that I’m still pulling my decision as I write this article.

Paulie Malignaggi’s career accomplishments fit the “Magic Man” nickname perfectly. A guy with no power to speak of yet still was able to make the fighters and fans respect him.

Showtime Tripleheader gives BHOP a chance to add more legend to his longevity

04/19/201404/18/2014 Chris Carlson

The legend of longevity Bernard Hopkins returns to a familiar place of Washington D.C. to once again add more depth to an already legendary career.

Standing in his way of becoming the oldest unified champion is Beibut Shumenov, a fighter with one loss facing his first huge test. Will it be another day at the office for Hopkins? Or will power and youth be the deciding factor?

In the illustrious career of a living legend one can’t help to wonder how much longer Hopkins can stay on top of his game. Every current athlete is on a Hunger Games list of nature eventually taking course.

Pacquiao vs. Bradley 2: Will it be Revenge or Redemption that ends this tale of tragedy?

04/11/201404/11/2014 Chris Carlson

photo by Chris Farina — Act two, of what was a classic Greek tragedy (robbery), will take place at the scene of the crime from a very controversial first fight that sent each combatant’s career in opposite directions.

The last thing that was on Manny Pacquiao’s mind in the locker room before the fight, while watching his beloved Boston Celtics get eliminated by the soon to be World Champions Miami Heat, was reverse homecoming.

After walking away lucky to be 2-0-1 in his fights with Juan Manual Marquez, there’s no way anyone could have known that Pac-man’s luck was about to run out, especially after damn near pitching a shout out clearly outworking and out landing Timothy Bradley. Bradley can tell us he won the fight 8 rounds to 4 until he turns blue in the face it only adds fuel to the fire.

Cunningham vs. Mansour: Will the U.S.S. Cunningham prove to be too hardcore for Amir?

04/04/201404/04/2014 Chris Carlson

There’s a time when even the most protected fighters get the first true test of their careers. There is no comparing Steve Cunningham’s resume, which is deep and full of recognizable names, to Amir Mansour resume. Will Cunningham’s experience and reach advantage be too “hardcore” for Mansour to overcome? We will find out this Friday night from Philly on the NBC Sports Network.

Amir Mansour’s first fight was in 1997, and at age 41 his career is really just getting started after taking over 9 years off from 2001 to 2010. Mansour comes into this matchup sporting an unblemished record of 20 wins with no losses and 15 of those wins coming by way of knockout.

Kovalev vs. Agnew & Dulorme vs. Mayfield: The Return of the Crusher and bigger fights await the winner of the co-feature matchup

03/28/201403/28/2014 Chris Carlson

Photo by Rich Graessle/Main Events – This Saturday night’s HBO Doubleheader marks the return of knockout artist Sergey Kovalev, who crushed his way to the top of the light heavyweight division in 2013. His opponent is Cedric Agnew, a fighter who is both undefeated and untested.

The co-feature pits a fighter who recently reached contender status, Karim Mayfield against Thomas Dulorme, a former prospect to be reckoned with now trying to find his way back to the big leagues after his T.K.O. loss to Carlos Abregu.

Cedric Agnew and his sterling record of 26-0 with 13 KO’s, certainly looks the part to a person who just happens to be at home, channel surfing right around the time the ring announcer is giving introductions.

Garcia vs. Herrera: Can Mauricio spoil the Garcia Klan’s homecoming?

03/14/201403/13/2014 Chris Carlson

This Saturday night from Bayamon, Puerto Rico Danny Garcia faces Mauricio Herrera on Showtime in what will be a homecoming of sorts for the Garcia Klan.

The fighting pride of Puerto Rican roots runs deep in the sport of boxing. The once proud and best pound for pound island for producing champions has recently hit a rough patch of fighters to support at the world level.

Miguel Cotto will no doubt fill the Mecca of boxing to the rafters when he takes on lineal middleweight title holder Sergio Martinez the eve of the Puerto Rican parade at the Garden.

The promising prospect Felix Verdejo is knocking on the door of stardom and soon enough will kick that door down in an attempt to fill the void left by Juanma Lopez’s once promising career.

Weigh-In Video – Burns vs. Crawford: Is the Rickster ripe for the pickings?

02/28/201402/28/2014 Chris Carlson

The reeling Rickster hopes to rebound from the run of fights in which he’s struggled to look right. After passing the eye test Terence Crawford gets his first title opportunity versus two weight champion Ricky Burns.

Ricky Burns entered the world seen when a hardnosed body punching Roman Martinez from Puerto Rico was denied a win by the Scot who after a shaky start managed to dust himself off to earn a victory.

Having faced Martinez and Katsidis, Ricky has show he can deal with pressure fighters. In this fight it will be the first time he faces a guy like Terence Crawford who can box and come forward with a deeper layer of skill than say a past opponent such as Kevin Mitchell or Paulus Moses.