Mayweather/Marquez
There are a few sayings in the sports world that seem to be pretty accurate. "Speed kills." "Defense wins championships." In the boxing world, there is a fighter that is faster than any other fighter I have seen and probably the best defensive fighter ever to lace up a pair of gloves. His name is Floyd "Money" Mayweather Jr. and he's back.
After nearly a two year layoff, Mayweather came back to fight a top five pound for pound fighter in Juan Manual Marquez. All he did was win all twelve rounds in what turned out to boxing clinic. Marquez had no answers for anything Mayweather did.
You can't hit what you can't find. Mayweather's defense is a thing of beauty. The way he rolls his shoulders and gets his gloves on almost every punch that is thrown at him is just amazing. We are seeing the best fighter in the world and it's a treat. There is no doubt who the pound for pound king is in the world of boxing.
Juan Manuel Marquez is a very talented gritty fighter. He was frustrated by Floyd all night. To his credit, he kept throwing punches and coming at Mayweather. Size was a big disadvantage to along with the footwork.
All twelve rounds were much the same. Mayweather landed his shots with his lightning quick hands and block nearly everything Marquez landed. In the second round Marquez landed a decent shot with Floyd's back to the ropes. Mayweather smiled, shook it off, and then floored Marquez for the only knockdown of the night. After that, "Money" went on to win every round in typical Mayweather fashion.
The layoff seemed to help Mayweather. He looked bigger and stronger, and even quicker if that is possible. He didn't appear to have any issues with his hands that have bothered him over the years. He was out to prove he's the best even after being away from the ring for awhile. Floyd did just that in dominating fashion.
What's next for Mayweather is the big question. The only fight that makes sense to me is for him to fight the winner of the Manny Pacquiao Miguel Cotto fight that takes place November 14th. Shane Mosley is another option.
If Pacquiao were to beat Cotto, which I don't think will happen, that sets up a fight between arguable the two best fighters in the world today. It would be huge for the sport and have to happen. Many insiders say that fight wouldn't happen. Let's hope for the sport of boxing, the biggest and best fights go down.
If there is anyone out there still questioning the talent of Floyd Mayweather Jr., they are out of their mind. He is the best fighter of this generation and extremely fun to watch.UFC 103
Last night the UFC made its first trip to Dallas, Texas for UFC 103. The fans inside the American Airlines Center saw one of the most disappointing fight cards in a long time. In my preview I said that this was a card made for SpikeTV rather than pay per view and I feel even more let down the day after.
The main event saw the return of Vitor Belfort. His return didn't last too long as he destroyed Rich Franklin in right around three minutes. Welcome back to the UFC Vitor. This fight didn't make a whole lot of sense to me from the beginning. It was fought at a catch weight of 195 pounds.
Rich Franklin is a nice fighter, one of the most respected guys in the sport, but he will never be champion at either 185 or 205. Rich said he wants big fights that the fans will like. He needed to stay at 205 where he has a size advantage, he moves down and that's when he has gotten into trouble over the last few years.
According to Dana White, Belfort just might be in line for a shot at Anderson Silva's title at 185. That might be a tall task seeing Belfort had a very hard time making the 195 limit. He is lighting fast and would possibly give Silva some problems but there is one guy who deserves a shot as Silva first and that is Nate Marquardt.
Mirko Cro Cop is finished as a fighter. He was picked apart and finally stopped by Junior Dos Santos in the third round. He is a one dimensional fighter, and those leg kicks just don't have it anymore. If there was ever a guy hanging on too long and ruining his legacy, it's Cro Cop. If he continues to fight, he might get hurt very bad.
The fight I was most excited about lasted just over a minute. Josh Koscheck walked right thru Frank Trigg. Koscheck landed some huge shots and had Trigg wondering where he was. This is a fight I thought was going to be a back and forth entertaining bout and it was a dud.
Full results:
Vitor Belfort def. Rich Franklin via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 3:02
Junior Dos Santos def. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic via submission (verbal) - Round 3, 2:00
Paul Daley def. Martin Kampmann via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 2:31
Josh Koscheck def. Frank Trigg via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 1:25
Tyson Griffin def. Hermes Franca via knockout (punches) - Round 2, 3:26
Efrain Escudero def. Cole Miller via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 3:36
Tomasz Drwal def. Drew McFedries via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 2, 1:03
Jim Miller def. Steve Lopez via TKO (injury) - Round 2, 0:48
Nick Lentz def. Rafaello Oliveira via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Rick Story def. Brian Foster via submission (arm-triangle choke) - Round 2, 1:09
Eliot Marshall def. Jason Brilz via split decision (30-28, 27-30, 30-27)
Vladimir Matyushenko def. Igor Pokrajac via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Rafael Dos Anjos def. Rob Emerson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
All in all, a pretty disappointing fight card. There were some entertaining fights and the pay per view showed more fights than normal which is always good. But from top to bottom, an average at best card. UFC 104 is over a month away and I sure hope it is better than 103.
