| Fight Predictions PAST PREDICTIONS HERE ______________________________________________________________________________ Shane Mosley (42-4) vs. Fernando Vargas (26-3) July 15 PPV Mosley and Vargas fought a close, tough fight the first time around. More of the same will happen here. For all his false bravado, Vargas has Shane Mosley and his right hands on the brain. I have a feeling that Mosley will come into this fight with even more confidence than the first time, really punishing Vargas to the body en route to a late stop. Prediction: Mosley TKO 11 ______________________________________________________________________________ Carlos Baldomir (42-9-6) vs. Arturo Gatti (40-7) July 22 HBO Baldomir is riding a 20 fight unbeaten streak coming into this one. Gatti has had one fight since the embarrassing defeat against Floyd Mayweather Jr. Gatti does well against guys that are more his speed. He has made a career beating guys like Leonard Dorin, Thomas Damgaard and Gianluca Branco. He should be able to handle the slow of hand and foot Baldomir like he has the others. Prediction: Gatti by unanimous decision ______________________________________________________________________________ Ike Quartey (37-2-1) vs. Vernon Forrest (37-2) August 5 HBO In a battle of aging former welterweight champions, the question is who has more in the tank. Or perhaps who has more desire is the real issue. Both men have had long layoffs in the past few years, but something tells me that Quartey has maybe a little more desire to be in the fight game at this point. Quartey has beaten solid opposition in his last few fights (Verno Phillips and Carlos Bojorquez) while Forrest has shaken off the rust with soft opposition. On the surface, these guys have similar styles with strong jabs and good right hands. This fight is all about desire though, and Quartey will find a way to will his way to victory, while Forrest looks to survive in the second half of the fight. Prediction: Quartey by unanimous decision. ______________________________________________________________________________ Kassim Ouma (24-2-1) vs. Sechew Powell (20-0) This fight looks like man against boy on the surface, even though there is only a one year age difference. Ouma has been through the wars, Powell has feasted on rather soft competition. Ouma will take the fight to and right through Powell en route to a late stoppage. Prediction: Ouma TKO10 ______________________________________________________________________________ Hasim Rahman (41-5-2) vs. Oleg Maskaev (32-5) August 12 HBO PPV A rematch six years too late. In the first one, Rahman’s chin betrayed him and he was knocked out of the ring, a scene which somehow sparked a riot at ringside. Don’t look for the same type of fireworks here as Maskaev went on a downward spiral losing to numerous guys by knockout. Rahman is particularly boring at this stage of his career, just boring enough to control the pace for a unanimous decision. Prediction: Rahman by unanimous decision ______________________________________________________________________________ James Toney 69-4-2 vs. Samuel Peter 26-1 September 2 HBO The X factor in this fight? What type of training camp does Toney have. If the majority of it is spent at Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles, he just may get knocked out. If he trains as I think he will (knowing the importance and danger of this fight), he will coast to a rather easy decision. Prediction: Toney by unanimous decision ______________________________________________________________________________ Marco Antonio Barrera 62-4 vs. Rocky Juarez 25-2 September 16 HBO PPV The first fight surprised many as Juarez put up a spirited effort losing a close decision in a fight of the year type fight. Expect more of the same here, but with a little more of the finesse that Barrera is capable of. Prediction: Barrera by comfortable decision ______________________________________________________________________________ |
