Photo: TouchofSleep.com

By Jim De Pierro

25.07 - Lennox Lewis is apparently determined to retire with the belts by pricing himself out of existence with an outrageous demand that he be paid 30 million dollars for a rematch in one of the most one sided heavyweight title fights in recent memory. After the whole world saw Tyson get pummeled for eight rounds I would have to think there is a good chance a rematch wouldn’t even generate 30 million dollars let alone be able to pay the fighters that much.

None of the men fighting this weekend other than possibly the winner of the Kirk Johnson-John Ruiz fight stand even an outside chance of fighting Lewis any time in the near future but in a post-Lewis world just about anything is possible. It is because Lewis is likely to retire that I think the fights this weekend are of more significance than they normally would be. Don’t surprised if someone from this crowd emerged as the universally recognized heavyweight champion 18 months from now.

First up is a rare heavyweight main event on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights between Corey “T-Rex” Sanders (23-6 15 KOs) of the USA against Davaryll “Touch of Sleep” Williamson (16-1 15 KOs). Many of you may remember Sanders for his brawl against the foul pole Andrew Golota back in 1996 on USA’s old Tuesday Night Fights show. This is not to be confused with the Sanders that almost beat Hasim Rahman.

Corey Sanders truly is a dinosaur in every sense of the word. He is big, he’s fat, he’s ugly, he’s slow and he is about to go extinct. Sanders made a fool of me once by effectively ending the career of Oleg Maskaev as a viable contender. I had predicted that Maskaev would win by 8th round stoppage and low and behold it was Maskaev that was stopped in the 8th in a one-punch knockout. Sanders didn’t prove much that night other than it is time for Maskaev to hang up the gloves for good. Some people are really high on Sanders pointing to the fact he has three consecutive victories over name opponents (Terrance Lewis by MD, Wolfgramm TKO 9 and Maskaev TKO 8). All those victories are IMO hollow victories or at the very least circumspect when you consider that every one of those fighters had recently been knocked out and had at least two losses in their last five fights leading up to their fight with Sanders. Corey Sanders is really nothing more than a scavenger who feasts off the leftovers of more accomplished fighters before him and he doesn’t even beat these guys as convincingly as other fighters who have beaten these opponents before him.

Sanders gets a lot of kudos and rightfully so for the heart he showed against Golota. Even though Sanders lost just about every round he held his own against a prime Golota. I seem to recall Sanders winning maybe two rounds. I won’t say that Sanders is heartless or cowardly because he isn’t but his heart is not beyond question. One thing that is hardly ever mentioned in his fight with Maskaev is that T-Rex was on the verge of quitting in the 8th round. What this says to me is that T-Rex will stay in a fight as long as its close and he is holding his own or he feels he has a chance of being able to knock his opponent out (Golota) even if he is taking a lot of punishment but if he is getting dominated as was the case against Maskaev, T-Rex is not above calling it quits and going on to fight another day.

I may come across as not liking T-Rex and to a certain extent that is true. Its nothing personal but I really get annoyed at fighters that enter the ring constantly out of shape. Sanders in his last fight with Maskaev entered the ring at 300+ lbs. To me that really shows a lack of professionalism. I may not be the one who is taking those punches and gets up and trains every day but fighters ultimately at the end of the day make their money from the fans who pay to see them. When a fighter enters the ring without giving himself the best chance to win he is cheating himself and the fans that pay to see him. Sanders is reportedly at about 290 lbs, which is about what he weighed for his fight with Wolfgramm. Two hundred and ninety pounds is an improvement over what he was for the Maskaev fight but he is still to fat.

There is one thing I like about Sanders. He is the only fighter to tell Sean O’Grady in a not so nice way to get out of his corner when O’Grady tried to do one of those corny between rounds interviews. I don’t think anybody that’s not part of the fighters corner or involved in the officiating of the fight should be allowed to talk to the fighter during a fight. Fighters need that time to catch their breath and listen to their corner for instructions. The last thing that should be on any fighters mind between rounds is answering cornball questions for commentators.

I have only seen Davaryll Williamson or the Touch of Sleep (TOS) once against Dale Crowe but I must say I like what I see. TOS has one of the most potent right hands in the business IMO. TOS has one loss to journeyman Willie Chapman in his fourth fight via 4th round TKO. I have never seen that fight but from what I have heard Williamson was the victim of a quick stoppage and had knocked down Chapman several times up to that point of stoppage. A loss to Chapman certainly isn’t anything to be proud of but I don’t think one loss early in a fighters career amounts to a whole lot. One thing that amazes me when reading boxing message boards is how a bunch of knee jerk critics will look at a fighters record, look at one obscure loss in a fight that they probably never saw and use that as a basis for their argument of why a fighter sucks. Some people are strange, if a fighter is undefeated or dominant then they think he is untested but if he has a loss he sucks because he lost to so and so. Enough about my tangent about internet boxing critics but my point is that I think to many people look at a number and a statistic along a fighters name and then think they know everything there is to know without actually ever having seen the fighter fight.

I have heard some legitimate criticism that TOS defense was a bit suspect in the Crowe fight because he keeps his hands far apart. To a certain extent that is true but I don’t think TOS was very concerned with defense because Crowe was on the defensive almost the whole time and wasn’t offering anything back. TOS I’m sure knew that Crowe was in a world of hurt and was looking to put Crowe away quickly. Against T-Rex I wouldn’t be overly concerned because Sander’s hand speed is absolutely terrible. There is no shame in getting hurt by one of Sander’s punches but it is shameful to get caught with one. T-Rex’s punches are so slow that the US postal service could deliver them faster than Sanders could throw them. I expect that TOS defense will be a little tighter against Sander’s until he has Sander’s hurt and ready to go. Williamson, if he is smart, will target Sander’s eye, which is noticeably droopy as the result of a detached retina Sanders suffered from what I hear he sustained during the Golota fight.

This fight should be a one sided beating, I don’t see this fight going more than six rounds. Williamson is not a has been or some big lumbering type who is almost as slow as Sanders

Davarryl Williamson TKO 5 over Corey “T-Rex” Sanders

Have you ever wondered what would happen if a rhinoceros and a buffalo were to charge straight at each other? Well this Saturday night on Showtime we will find out when Clifford “the Black Rhino” Ettiene (24-1 17 KOs) will meet Frans “the White Buffalo” Botha (44-4-1 28 KOs). Personally I think the buffalo will get gored in what is being billed as the Call of the Wild.

For Ettiene this is a chance to move up and gain a win over a name opponent. Ettiene says in an article in the Baton Rouge Advocate, "He (Botha) hasn't lost to a B-class fighter in his career. He has only lost to championship-level fighters. This is a chance for me to show where I'm at and to show people I'm a class fighter." I hate to break it to Ettiene but Botha is hardly the fighter he makes himself out to be. I thought Botha was lucky to get the nod against Bostice and Bostice I wouldn’t even consider to be a C-class fighter. Not to mention that Botha has also gotten a draw with the underachieving Shannon Briggs who like Botha has failed every big test when he stepped up in competition. Botha has been one of the most consistently over rated fighters of the 90’s. It amazes me how someone could get so much credit for consistently losing big fights by KO without ever having beaten anyone of note. The closest that Botha came to winning against a legitimate opponent was a decision victory over Axel Schulz which was later ruled No-Contest because Botha tested positive for steroids. Even with steroids Botha only managed to win a split decision over Schulz so it is even questionable that he could have beaten Axel Schulz legitimately. Botha’s claim to fame is of course is being ahead of Mike Tyson when he was stopped in the 5th round. To that I say so what? Tyson was never the same fighter he once was when he got out of prison and after Holyfield had his way with Tyson twice and following an 18 month suspension from the sport Tyson was even less of a fighter than he was pre-Holyfield. Botha was basically in the right place at the right time and he still couldn’t capitalize on it. I maintain just any top 20 contender of the time could have done as well if not better than Botha did against Tyson.

Botha, in the same article that I quoted Ettiene from, make the point that Ettiene has a similar style to Tyson, "Tyson is a lot faster, but Tyson was very easy for me. He was very predictable. Guys with that kind of style just come in and are right there in front of you." I disagree that Tyson and Ettiene have the same style. It is true that both fighters have a very aggressive in your face type of style but Ettiene is much more of a volume puncher than Tyson. Tyson in the last few years, throws punches one punch at a time whereas Ettiene is much better at putting his punches together and throwing combinations than Tyson is now. The way to beat Botha effectively is to use combinations instead of looking for one punch. Don’t believe me? Just look at the job Lewis did on Botha in two rounds and compare that to Tyson’s five of which he was losing for the majority of the fight. I think Botha at this point is getting really shopworn. I never saw his last fight with Wladimir Klitschko but I saw pictures of it and Botha looked like he had gone through hell and back. I think Ettiene will win a tough war of attrition before grinding out 9th round victory. This will probably be the most entertaining fight of the evening.

Clifford Ettiene TKO 9 over Frans Botha

I don’t know how and I don’t know why but somehow someway John Ruiz (37-4-1 27 KOs) is going to walk away victorious Saturday night over Kirk Johnson (32-0-1 23 KOs). I get the feeling that unless Johnson just completely walks through Ruiz and takes him out like Tua was able to that Ruiz is going to win. Part of my reasoning stems from the fact of who promotes Ruiz which of course is none other than the infamous Don King. King hasn’t done anything really evil in a while which means in my mind that he is due. Robbing the only undefeated heavyweight contender of his perfect record in order to keep the WBA belt in his hands while promoting Latino heavyweight champion would be right in line with something King would do. I don’t like to bring race into any discussion of a boxing match but the fact of the matter is boxing is largely about politics and politics is influenced by race. The Latino market is the largest market in boxing and with the retirement of Felix Trinidad, King is going to need someone to fill that void. There are very few Hispanic fighters in the heavyweight ranks, which is what makes Ruiz such a valuable asset to King. There is of course Fres Oquendo who I think is more talented but Oquendo doesn’t have a title or the name recognition of Ruiz. Among the general populous that doesn’t follow boxing closely I would venture that Ruiz probably has more name recognition than Kirk Johnson just by the fact that he has been in the ring three times with Evander Holyfield. There is an image to protect and a viable financial interest I think in seeing Ruiz win this fight.

Unless you consider Joe Mesi a top contender and I don’t at this point, Kirk Johnson is the only one who is still undefeated. I just get the feeling that Johnson is due for his first official loss even though in reality I think he will win.

There are a few intangibles that suggest Ruiz might win legitimately such as the fact that Johnson has been inactive for more than a year coming into this fight and Ruiz has faced a little bit stiffer opposition than Johnson. Still overall Johnson is bigger, stronger and faster than Ruiz. It remains to be seen what kind of heart Johnson has because I don’t believe he has ever had to dig down deep as Ruiz had to in all three of his fights with Evander Holyfield. Ruiz has one talent that he is exceptionally good at and that is surviving. Even though I think Ruiz clearly won two out of three encounters with Evander Holyfield, there were points in all three fights where Ruiz was on the verge of getting knocked out. I expect Ruiz will use a lot of holding, wrestling and infighting to rough up Johnson. It remains to be seen how Johnson will react to such tactics because I don’t believe Johnson has ever been in a fight with an opponent who has used tactics like that against him.

I must say that after having watched Holyfield easily handle Rahman last month I have a newfound respect for John Ruiz. Apparently there was some truth to Holyfield’s assertion that Ruiz has a style that makes him look bad. I am still not convinced that Ruiz is a top 10-fighter ability wise but there is a strong possibility that Ruiz is better than he has been given credit for. Ruiz is easy to dismiss because of the way he was taken out by David Tua in 19 seconds but I don’t think that necessarily means that Ruiz has a glass chin. Tua has proven throughout the years to be one of the best finishers in the sport. Tua could finish off someone in the 12th round just as easily as he could in the 1st round.

My prediction is that this fight will end with a real BS conclusion with something like an unjust stoppage or robbery in which Johnson will end up getting screwed of a belt he should have won in a very boring fight.

John Ruiz Split Decision over Kirk Johnson

Ironically the least significant fight this weekend may very well end up dwarfing the Johnson-Ruiz and Ettiene-Botha fights in the ratings this weekend. In a fight that is being dubbed Respect former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes (68-6 44 KOs) will lace up the gloves one last time to take on the king of the four-rounders Eric “Butterbean” Esch (63-2-3 2 NC 48 KOs). This fight is anything but respectable and would be more suited for the circus ring than the boxing ring. One thing I can assure you is that the winner will not gain much respect from those who follow boxing closely but the loser will be laughed out of town. I can’t say I am to crazy about a 52-year Larry Holmes still fighting but against Butterbean I really don’t have a problem with it. Everyone that has ventured an opinion on how this fight is likely to go seems to think that this fight will end up being a mismatch, myself included. The only dispute is who is going to end up over matched? The 52-year old man or the 300+ lbs. fat guy? Well I will go with the old man in this one.

I don’t think Butterbean has any idea of what he is getting himself into. I actually looked through Butterbean’s entire record to determine who has been Butterbean’s most credible opponent to date. It’s a pretty sad list of no name schmucks and never was’s. The best I could come up with is Peter McNeeley and Louis Monaco and that is absolutely pathetic for a boxer who has fought 70 times as a professional. I don’t need to tell anyone who has Larry Holmes fought. The man has fought just about everyone from Muhammad Ali to Evander Holyfield and defended his title 20 times. I am absolutely convinced that Larry Holmes could have fought everybody that Butterbean ever fought with the same body he had as a 50-year old and be undefeated. Larry Holmes heyday was really before my time but I have seen enough of Holmes’s fights in the 90’s and his last two fights against Weaver and Bonecrusher Smith to know that he should still have enough to beat Butterbean.

Some knowledgeable boxing writers I have read have expressed concern that if Holmes were to lose his legacy might suffer irreparable damage should he lose to Butterbean. I don’t think that’s a valid concern when you consider that Roberto Duran is always mentioned along with the all time greats even though he just recently ended his career with something like 16 losses with many of those losses coming from lesser fighters in the later part of his career. Sugar Ray Robinson, widely considered the greatest fighter of all time ended his career with 19 losses. Win, lose or draw Holmes place in history is assured.

Butterbean earned his nickname by eating a diet of butterbeans but come Saturday night the only thing Butterbean will be eating is jabs and lots of them. Butterbean will do the only thing he knows how to do and that is come straight in at Holmes looking to land one of his wild haymakers. I expect Butterbean will win the first round due to his aggressiveness but after Holmes weathers the storm it should be all Holmes by the second half of the 3rd round. Butterbean is strong but I think his power is exaggerated and made to look better than it really is by the low quality opponents he fights. Butterbean might like to think of his punching power as on par with that of a Mike Tyson but in reality I think he is about the same level as Ray Mercer in terms of how much pop he has in his punches and one thing that is for sure is that Larry Holmes was more than able to hang in their with Ray Mercer.

Holmes may be older than dirt but he is a cagey old cat. I don’t see Butterbean being able to win this fight except for one big shot. Holmes has expressed a dislike of Butterbean calling him in his autobiography a fat slob impersonating a fighter. Holmes claims those comments were the words of his ghostwriter but regardless I don’t think Holmes has much respect for Butterbean as a boxer. Holmes has never been the type to give a damn what the fans think. I think Holmes will easily neutralize Butterbean’s offense with his jab. Since this is clearly going to be Holmes last fight and he doesn’t have to worry about any boxing repercussions I wouldn’t be to surprised if Holmes throws in a few cheap shots at Butterbean to make him suffer. I think Holmes will try to make an example of Butterbean by carrying him into the later rounds. Butterbean’s face will look like hamburger by the end of the fight when the referee or physician will stop the fight. The world may laugh at this spectacle but it will be Holmes and Esch who will laugh all the way to the bank.

Larry Holmes TKO 8 over Eric “Butterbean” Esch

Agree? Disagree? Think I’m full of it? E-mail me at dman4673@earthlink.net or post a comment and tell me what you think.