The Weekly Weigh-in

by Chris Milton

Allan Green is appealing his KO loss to Glen Johnson because of a supposed illegal punch. Maybe if Green actually bothered to keep his eyes on Johnson the whole thing would never have happened. You can not blame Johnson for something that was entirely Green’s fault.

Kudos to good old Glengoffe for finally removing the disease that is Allan Green from my TV and proving to the world that you can accomplish anything you put your mind to.

Apparently Zab Judah fought on HBO this week, I saw him on TV but he didn’t actually fight.

Timothy Bradley has apparently insulted Jose Suliman and the WBC by refusing to pay the sanctioning fee for his upcoming bout with Devon Alexander. Good for him. What people need to realise is that whoever wins that fight has to make a choice between the WBC and WBO trinkets. Why throw away money to wear a belt for approximately fifteen seconds?

Robert Guerrero bought himself another HBO fight with an exciting performance against Vicente Escobedo. Although, yet again, Guerrero seemed happy to coast to a decision win, when he could have finished the fight.

Thomas Hauser wrote an excellent article on the state of HBO boxing, it’s an intriguing read and I implore all fans to read it over at Max Boxing.

HBO 24/7 really needs to involve fighters other than Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. Its boring now. Wouldn’t it be great if HBO actually invested a little in other fighters?

People have slagged off Prize  fighter in the UK, but what really matters is that several of the winners have gone on to either rejuvenate or kick start their career. Prizefighter has now produced three European champions, the latest being Willie Casey who won an absolute war with Paul Hyland.

On to the fights for this week:

Danny Green will take on BJ Flores a week from Wednesday. Lets hope BJ doesn’t dog it as Paul Briggs did last time out.

George Groves and Kenny Anderson will fight on the undercard of Haye vs. Harrison in what is a fantastic fight between two unbeaten prospects. That’s something of a rarity these days.

The big one is finally upon us. Haye versus Harrison. We have all rubbished the fight, we have all said we wont watch it. Yet, I find myself compelled to watch. Having just watched the final presser, Haye looks terrible, I don’t know if he has the Flu or if his new child is keeping him awake at night, but he does not look focused. Videos of him in training camp have revealed a less than satisfactory body shape. Of course this could all be for show, it could all be promotion for the fight. But wouldn’t it be just fantastic if your reading this next week and A Force is a World Champion!

Over to HBO and an undercard that promises to be more competitive and intriguing than the main event. Of course HBO wants you to believe Margarito v Pacquiao is a 50/50 fight, but lets be real, it is not. Does anyone really believe that Bob Arum would put in Pacquiao with anyone who has a chance to beat him? No, I don’t either.

Staying with the Pacquiao fight, can someone explain to me how its for the 154lb WBC title? On one hand you have a fighter who has never fought above 147 and on the other hand you have a fighter who has fought just once in the division in the past six years. Oh and its being fought at 150 not 154. The whole thing stinks to high heaven.

Mike Jones takes on Jesus Soto Karass in what should be a decent fight. Jones is currently ranked no. 2 with  the WBO while Kell Brook of the UK is ranked number one. Should Jones win on Saturday, expect a bout for the title to be sown up sooner rather than later.

Brandon Rios is also on the undercard in what should be just a tune up. He takes on Omri Lowther in a ten rounder. Rios is on the card replacing Kelly Pavlik who it seems is determined to destroy his career on his own.

The best fight of the weekend could actually be between Ricardo Cordoba  and Guillermo Rigondeaux. While on paper it seems as though Cordoba holds a massive edge in experience, I don’t believe that is true. Rigondeaux is a two time Olympic champion. He held an amatuer record of around 400-12 and is considered one of the greatest amateur fighters of all time. One way or another this fight is in the “can’t miss” category for hardcore fans.

See you next week.