Proposed matchups – How they might go; Plus a big mandatory for Floyd, Jr.

Floyd MayweatherBy Paul Strauss: These are all “iffy” fights, with the exception of Floyd’s, so the predicted outcome might be for naught. But, just in case consider this:

Yuriorkis Gamboa vs. Rocky Juarez.

It might be at a catch weight, but that’s not the important ingredient. Some mention the possibility of Gamboa becoming the first man to kayo Rocky? Maybe. He certainly has the speed and power to do so. On the other hand, Rocky does too. He certainly could catch Gamboa and take him out. But, he has always had trouble with fighters who can box and stay busy. He is a notoriously slow starter, and never really puts out much of a high volume attack. It’s cost him dearly in what might have been some big wins. Everyone knows Rocky has a great left hook, and a damn good straight right to go along with it. Put that against Gamboa’s superior speed, athletic ability and tremendous power. All the ingredients needed for a great fight.

Rocky might have an edge in the chin department, which could be a big factor. Another check on Rocky’s side is the fact that Gamboa might have a good jab, but he doesn’t use it as much as he could or should. Keeping Rocky at bay has always been a key to beating him. In the past, Rocky hasn’t been very good at getting behind his own jab on the way in, and as a result he runs into a lot of punches. But, he does have a tight defense, and Gamboa has been known to get reckless. If that happens, it will be Rocky’s best chance to pull off an upset. It’s been times just like that when Gamboa has been dropped. If Rocky’s got anything left, and his timing hasn’t deserted him, then he just might be able to pull off an upset.

Erislandy Lara vs. Several Possibilities

Ronald Hearns is in front of him right now, and it should be an interesting fight, but the expect the Cuban to win and quickly move on to bigger and better things. If you watched Lara take Paul Williams apart, then you will agree it’s hard not to like him against just about anybody in his weight class. If, as expected, he gets by Hearns, several very good matchups come to mind. One would be against james Kirkland. Another is Sergio Martinez. All southpaws and all great fighters. There’s no secret in the style of fighting Kirkland would bring. He and his trainer Ann Wolfe believe in a frontal assault. They want to rip their opponent apart. Lara would need to be at his sharpest. To win he would have to repeatedly tag James on his way in. The question is, “Could he tag James enough to stop him before getting tagged and stopped himself?”. Chances are he could. He’s faster and more technically sound than Angulo. It would be exciting while it lasted. Sergio and Lara would also be a great matchup. Lara would be sacrificing experience, at least at the professional level. However, he has had a very extensive3 and successful amateur career and is a very sound fighter, as proven by the way he handled Paul Williams. It’s fair to say that his performance was better than Sergio’s first fight with the Punisher. In Sergio’s rematch with Williams, he scored the quick, dramatic kayo, but it could be considered a bit of an oddity in sense of its perfection. In other words, it would be very difficult for Sergio to duplicate it. Does that mean Lara could beat Sergio? Absolutely, but the odds are against it. . Move on now to Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. Julio’s size advantage shouldn’t be a problem for Lara, not when you saw what he did with Paul Williams’ big height and reach advantage. Chavez’s attempt at a body attack would prove costly. Chavez, Jr. doesn’t have the speed or one punching power to bother Lara all that much. Lara would outpoint Chavez, Jr. Another good possibility for him is Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Canelo continues to mature and fill out. He’s an excitiing fighter with smarts and power. It would be very interesting to see what Lara would do to negate that power. Canelo depends on his explosiveness. He surprises his opponents and does it with power. But, Lara has very good footwork, and knows how to position himself properly to land sharp counters. He might just catch the red head jumping in and have a double whammy effect. .

Carl Froch vs. Lucien Bute.

Carl might steal Andre Ward’s thunder and be first to land a bout with Bute before Ward can get around to it. Ward is the Super Six Champion, but he probably views his possibilities as more limited then Froch’s. Froch would eagerly take a fight with Bute, even in Bute’s backyard. Ward might not be willing to do so. Ward continues to think California is where he wants to be, Froch wouldn’t hesitate to fight a rematch with Kessler either. However, Bute is actually sitting in the catbird seat. He can wait for the best offer to come his way. Bute might pass Ward over if the S.O.G. holds firm on a demand for California as a fight location. Bute certainly must feel the fight would draw much better in Canada. However, If Ward would agree to Vegas, Bute might go for that with Froch, Ward or Kessler. That’s because he understands that’s the big show, and he wants more fans in the USA to get to know him. If Froch manages to put forth a deal with Bute first, then it’s likely he would eagerly agree to fight in Canada. How would he fare against Bute’s superior speed and technique? Froch brings a lot to the table. First of all, he is extremely tough, and it’s questionable whether Bute could kayo him; although, Bute did pull it off against the iron jawed Librado Andrade. What would work for Carl? Over the course of his career, Carl has made good use of the uppercut. He wasn’t able to enjoy much success with that punch in the Super Six Tournament, but Bute’s style might make it more available. Undoubtedly, Bute will try to use his own right hook a lot as a counter to Carl’s jab, and sweeping left hook. When Lucien does that, he leaves himself in a vulnerable position, because he’s leaning fjorward and to his left. That would be a prime location for Carl’s right uppercut. The key is for Carl to set it up properly. He must make Lucien miss with the counter right hook. If Carl can do that, he just might take Lucien’s “O” away.

Floyd “Pretty Boy” Mayweather, Jr. vs Incar “Calaboose” Ceration

If all goes as intended, this should be a relatively short fight. It won’t go the distance, but there is a possiblity of a rematch. There will be some new twists with this one. It’s common knowledge that Floyd is a master at psychological warfare, but he might find that strategy more difficult with this opponent. Incar Ceration has heard and seen it all. There will be no kowtowing on his his part. On the contrary, the fighter better known as the Calaboose expects Floyd will be doing the bootlicking. Incar has even gone so far as to give Floyd a new name, which is Toady the suck up. It’s obvious he’s trying to get Floyd’s goat, and his efforts might be working. Floyd has been described as unusually torpid. Rumor has it that Floyd tried to work behind the scene to slip Incar Ceration a substantial baksheesh to expedite his departure. It’s no go. There’s no bumfuzzle, bamboozling or be-fuddlement with this opponent. This guy is dangerous. He sincerely believes he has much more power then Little Money, and he’s built like a brick building! Floyd has never come up against anyone like Incar Ceration before. Incar Ceration has proven so successful in his strategy that he even managed to eliminate Floyd’s sychophants. There will be no sevile flatterers whispering in Little Money’s ear. …….no Roger, no Leonard Ellerbe in his corner. Poor Floyd won’t even get to chose his own fight togs. They will be selected for him, and it’s a sure bet they will be ill fitting and boring. Incar Ceration has arrogantly told Floyd to study up on his Scatology, because Incar plans to pull a lot of crap on him. This will also be one of the few times a woman referee will be appointed to handle things. Her name is JP Sara Gosa, and it’s been said she will not put up with any nonsense. In a way, Floyd was relieved to hear that, because he was concerned about possible canoodling. All Floyd wants to do is get this contest over with. He knows he made a big mistake by getting himself involved in the first place. He promises that afterwards, he will straighten himself out and get serious. In fact, he said he plans to resume his education and explained he will be attending management classes with his uncle Roger. Even though Floyd might not agree, only good can come of this..