THOUGHTS ON LAST NIGHT

Glenn Johnson "looked" good at 168, but his balance and coordination were not great...he was pushing his jab...He is simply a fighter who comes and comes and comes until the job is done...he hit Allan Green's belly button so many times with his left hand that I expect Green crapped it out sometime this morning...Green made elementary mistakes like leaning to his right...do that and it causes three problems, there is nowhere to go from there but back up, one can't see very well from there and one's ability to move with a punch is gone...I can't see Johnson hanging in there with Froch or Abraham...of course I had Green last night...boxing needs more Glenn Johnsons.

Juan Manuel Lopez did exactly what he was supposed to, he beat down Rafael Marquez...I was amazed how well Rafael fought and how much he had left...JuanMa made a nice adjustment when Raffy began to bend to prepare that counter hook. JuanMa threw uppercuts...JuanMa really fights squared up, doesn't he?...Rafael could drill JuanMa (who can't) but he isn't the same puncher at 126 that he was at 118...JuanMa is a seriously tough man...When the fight was stopped and before I knew about Rafael's shoulder my reaction was "good stoppage."...Doesn't Yoriorkis Gamboa hit JuanMa about six thousand times in twelve rounds?...Now I'm not sure Rafael Marquez doesn't beat anybody at 126 other than the top 2-3 guys, amazing at 35...JuanMa is going to be a blast for as long as he lasts

If we could put Tim Bradley's head in Zab Judah's body we'd have one hell of a 140...I didn't score the Zab-Mathysse fight but I had no problem with the scoring...Couldn't Mathysse have kicked it up a gear in the twelfth?...Can he fight at more than one pace?...Zab just doesn't have a very resilient spirit...he never launched a counterattack after he got hurt...It probably won't happen, but I'd like to see that one again...With the rat tail and the right hand anybody else think Mathysse was another Kostya Tszyu?

The Ghost looked as good as I've seen him.

A fun night of fights

marbleheadmaui wrote:Glenn Johnson "looked" good at 168, but his balance and coordination were not great...he was pushing his jab...He is simply a fighter who comes and comes and comes until the job is done...he hit Allan Green's belly button so many times with his left hand that I expect Green crapped it out sometime this morning...Green made elementary mistakes like leaning to his right...do that and it causes three problems, there is nowhere to go from there but back up, one can't see very well from there and one's ability to move with a punch is gone...I can't see Johnson hanging in there with Froch or Abraham...of course I had Green last night...boxing needs more Glenn Johnsons.

Juan Manuel Lopez did exactly what he was supposed to, he beat down Rafael Marquez...I was amazed how well Rafael fought and how much he had left...JuanMa made a nice adjustment when Raffy began to bend to prepare that counter hook. JuanMa threw uppercuts...JuanMa really fights squared up, doesn't he?...Rafael could drill JuanMa (who can't) but he isn't the same puncher at 126 that he was at 118...JuanMa is a seriously tough man...When the fight was stopped and before I knew about Rafael's shoulder my reaction was "good stoppage."...Doesn't Yoriorkis Gamboa hit JuanMa about six thousand times in twelve rounds?...Now I'm not sure Rafael Marquez doesn't beat anybody at 126 other than the top 2-3 guys, amazing at 35...JuanMa is going to be a blast for as long as he lasts

If we could put Tim Bradley's head in Zab Judah's body we'd have one hell of a 140...I didn't score the Zab-Mathysse fight but I had no problem with the scoring...Couldn't Mathysse have kicked it up a gear in the twelfth?...Can he fight at more than one pace?...Zab just doesn't have a very resilient spirit...he never launched a counterattack after he got hurt...It probably won't happen, but I'd like to see that one again...With the rat tail and the right hand anybody else think Mathysse was another Kostya Tszyu?

The Ghost looked as good as I've seen him.

A fun night of fights

The Road Warrior's balance and coordination have been going down in his last few fights. he has the warrior spirit but the body isn't listening all the time.

Gambo vs Lopez will result in both guys tasting the canvas. Hell, we might get a Rocky II knockdown situation.

Glen has always pushed his punches, but I agree his balance is deteriorating.

Judah didn't impress me much; he really needs to dominate a guy that plodding if he wants to make noise in a division that deep. I agree Gurrero looked very good; looking forward to him taking on the winner of Morales v. Katsidis.

Didn't see the other card but glad Johnson got the win (sorry Sooner).

i was surprised that johnson still moved that well and threw that much for cutting all of that weight. you may disagree marb, but i think that froch and abe might have their hands full with that many punches. neither of them are volume punchers and i could see an upset happening. also, johnson can definitely take a punch so he wouldnt back down.

marquez is definitely older and more worn out but like he said, the fight would have turned out a little different if it werent for his shoulder. i was wondering why he stopped throwing it during the fight and then i found out. but i still stand with my original prediction that lopez will KO gamboa if they fought. i think that lopez is a smarter fighter now and his power will be the difference in that fight.

powerpuncher wrote:i was surprised that johnson still moved that well and threw that much for cutting all of that weight. you may disagree marb, but i think that froch and abe might have their hands full with that many punches. neither of them are volume punchers and i could see an upset happening. also, johnson can definitely take a punch so he wouldnt back down.

marquez is definitely older and more worn out but like he said, the fight would have turned out a little different if it werent for his shoulder. i was wondering why he stopped throwing it during the fight and then i found out. but i still stand with my original prediction that lopez will KO gamboa if they fought. i think that lopez is a smarter fighter now and his power will be the difference in that fight.

I favor Johnson over Abraham. Johnson is used to shots from bigger men. He fought guys like Tarver, Jones, etc...

Abraham gives away at least 2 rounds early. Sometimes 3. If he does so against Johnson, then he has to completely dominate the remainder of the fight. You give Glen 2 free rounds and he is going to be tough to beat because he will fight hard every round.

Froch vs Johnson is an interesting fight. Froch will try to land and get the hell out of there. I don't know if he can do so for 12 rounds with Johnson coming forward applying pressure.

marbleheadmaui wrote:Glenn Johnson "looked" good at 168, but his balance and coordination were not great...he was pushing his jab...He is simply a fighter who comes and comes and comes until the job is done...he hit Allan Green's belly button so many times with his left hand that I expect Green crapped it out sometime this morning...Green made elementary mistakes like leaning to his right...do that and it causes three problems, there is nowhere to go from there but back up, one can't see very well from there and one's ability to move with a punch is gone...I can't see Johnson hanging in there with Froch or Abraham...of course I had Green last night...boxing needs more Glenn Johnsons.

Juan Manuel Lopez did exactly what he was supposed to, he beat down Rafael Marquez...I was amazed how well Rafael fought and how much he had left...JuanMa made a nice adjustment when Raffy began to bend to prepare that counter hook. JuanMa threw uppercuts...JuanMa really fights squared up, doesn't he?...Rafael could drill JuanMa (who can't) but he isn't the same puncher at 126 that he was at 118...JuanMa is a seriously tough man...When the fight was stopped and before I knew about Rafael's shoulder my reaction was "good stoppage."...Doesn't Yoriorkis Gamboa hit JuanMa about six thousand times in twelve rounds?...Now I'm not sure Rafael Marquez doesn't beat anybody at 126 other than the top 2-3 guys, amazing at 35...JuanMa is going to be a blast for as long as he lasts

If we could put Tim Bradley's head in Zab Judah's body we'd have one hell of a 140...I didn't score the Zab-Mathysse fight but I had no problem with the scoring...Couldn't Mathysse have kicked it up a gear in the twelfth?...Can he fight at more than one pace?...Zab just doesn't have a very resilient spirit...he never launched a counterattack after he got hurt...It probably won't happen, but I'd like to see that one again...With the rat tail and the right hand anybody else think Mathysse was another Kostya Tszyu?

The Ghost looked as good as I've seen him.

A fun night of fights

I just wasn't impressed with JuanMa's punch resistance. If he has a hard time with a career Bantamweight he's going to have a hard time with the true Featherweights. Caballero won't give him chance number two and he better get Gamboa before Gamboa gets him.

JuanMa is fast becoming the most entertaining fighter in boxing, that's two fights in a row that are easily fight of the year contenders.

Ali wrote:JuanMa is fast becoming the most entertaining fighter in boxing, that's two fights in a row that are easily fight of the year contenders.

Yup. EVERYBODY hits him and he just doesn't seem to care. He does things technically wrong and he's tough enough it doesn't stop him. The kid is a FIGHTER with a pretty deep talent toolbox. He beat the crap out of Raffy by adjusting and throwing uppercuts. He's also got a mean streak. I like that.

Someone asked the other day about the next generation PPV guys. I shoulda said JuanMa.

Knockout power and a vulnerable chin, he's definitely the hottest attraction out of Puerto Rico right now.

The atmosphere last night was incredible, when Juan made Rafa stumble across the ring that roar from the crowd almost blew up my laptop's speakers.

One of the sane MMA fans from Ninja's said it's made him take notice of the sport again after watching that fight.

Ali wrote:Knockout power and a vulnerable chin, he's definitely the hottest attraction out of Puerto Rico right now.

The atmosphere last night was incredible, when Juan made Rafa stumble across the ring that roar from the crowd almost blew up my laptop's speakers.

One of the sane MMA fans from Ninja's said it's made him take notice of the sport again after watching that fight.

Fifteen years ago we were all saying the same thing about Tito. Tito was more explosive, but he also didn't just get hit he got dropped. Nice continuity there.

One great thing is that at 126 JuanMa has Gamboa (who I think beats him), Chris John, Mikey Garcia, Caballero and Ponce de Leon (I think he beats them all).

Every one of those fights would be fun.

marbleheadmaui wrote:

Ali wrote:Knockout power and a vulnerable chin, he's definitely the hottest attraction out of Puerto Rico right now.

The atmosphere last night was incredible, when Juan made Rafa stumble across the ring that roar from the crowd almost blew up my laptop's speakers.

One of the sane MMA fans from Ninja's said it's made him take notice of the sport again after watching that fight.

Fifteen years ago we were all saying the same thing about Tito. Tito was more explosive, but he also didn't just get hit he got dropped. Nice continuity there.

One great thing is that at 126 JuanMa has Gamboa (who I think beats him), Chris John, Mikey Garcia, Caballero and Ponce de Leon (I think he beats them all).

Every one of those fights would be fun.

Disagree that he beats Caballero. Caballero provides insane matchup problems for anyone at 126 because of the height and reach advantage.

captainanddew wrote:

marbleheadmaui wrote:

Ali wrote:Knockout power and a vulnerable chin, he's definitely the hottest attraction out of Puerto Rico right now.

The atmosphere last night was incredible, when Juan made Rafa stumble across the ring that roar from the crowd almost blew up my laptop's speakers.

One of the sane MMA fans from Ninja's said it's made him take notice of the sport again after watching that fight.

Fifteen years ago we were all saying the same thing about Tito. Tito was more explosive, but he also didn't just get hit he got dropped. Nice continuity there.

One great thing is that at 126 JuanMa has Gamboa (who I think beats him), Chris John, Mikey Garcia, Caballero and Ponce de Leon (I think he beats them all).

Every one of those fights would be fun.

Disagree that he beats Caballero. Caballero provides insane matchup problems for anyone at 126 because of the height and reach advantage.

He sure does. But he's also getting up there. He's what 33-34? Is he gonna have the stamina and sustained jab to keep JuanMa off?

marbleheadmaui wrote:

captainanddew wrote:

marbleheadmaui wrote:

Ali wrote:Knockout power and a vulnerable chin, he's definitely the hottest attraction out of Puerto Rico right now.

The atmosphere last night was incredible, when Juan made Rafa stumble across the ring that roar from the crowd almost blew up my laptop's speakers.

One of the sane MMA fans from Ninja's said it's made him take notice of the sport again after watching that fight.

Fifteen years ago we were all saying the same thing about Tito. Tito was more explosive, but he also didn't just get hit he got dropped. Nice continuity there.

One great thing is that at 126 JuanMa has Gamboa (who I think beats him), Chris John, Mikey Garcia, Caballero and Ponce de Leon (I think he beats them all).

Every one of those fights would be fun.

Disagree that he beats Caballero. Caballero provides insane matchup problems for anyone at 126 because of the height and reach advantage.

He sure does. But he's also getting up there. He's what 33-34? Is he gonna have the stamina and sustained jab to keep JuanMa off?

valid question, but I think he does. Does Juan Ma have the discipline to not open up and get caught with a right hand coming over top of the long jab? I don't think so. I think that fight is a pick em fight.

I say:
Lopez/Cab- 50/50;
Lopez/Gamboa-40/60
Lopez/Garcia-Lopez wins
Lopez/Ponce De Leon- Lopez wins but there will be fireworks in a 3-4 round fight
Lopez/John- will never ever happen. John can't stay healthy enough to get into the ring, so no point in considering it

I noticed why (I think) Glen isn't a hard puncher...how he pushes his punches. His wrists and forearms get a little loose when he punches (not quite a slap), and he seems more focused on connecting anywhere as opposed to targeting so he doesn't fully commit to his follow through.

I might be shocked, but I think his win was more of a testament to how little Green has as opposed to how much Glen has left. Still, he's remarkable and constantly surprises me.

JuanMa and Rafa are fun to watch. Just great fighters who also make great fights. Rafa had a shot to win so he proved to me he can fight with anyone in the division. I hope all of the top guys get busy fighting each other in 2011 because I have no idea who would come out on top.

Guerrero just doesn't interest me. Don't know why.

Zab Judah didn't wow me, but he did impress me. He was way too cautious, but Matthysse showed why he should've been. He showed patience and poise (for the most part), two important tools he never had before and squeaked out a close decision.

I think Matthysse will be a stud at 140. He's strong, hits hard, and has a great chin. There's nothing complicated about him, but I would throw him in the contender mix based on last night.

captainanddew wrote:

marbleheadmaui wrote:

captainanddew wrote:

marbleheadmaui wrote:

Ali wrote:Knockout power and a vulnerable chin, he's definitely the hottest attraction out of Puerto Rico right now.

The atmosphere last night was incredible, when Juan made Rafa stumble across the ring that roar from the crowd almost blew up my laptop's speakers.

One of the sane MMA fans from Ninja's said it's made him take notice of the sport again after watching that fight.

Fifteen years ago we were all saying the same thing about Tito. Tito was more explosive, but he also didn't just get hit he got dropped. Nice continuity there.

One great thing is that at 126 JuanMa has Gamboa (who I think beats him), Chris John, Mikey Garcia, Caballero and Ponce de Leon (I think he beats them all).

Every one of those fights would be fun.

Disagree that he beats Caballero. Caballero provides insane matchup problems for anyone at 126 because of the height and reach advantage.

He sure does. But he's also getting up there. He's what 33-34? Is he gonna have the stamina and sustained jab to keep JuanMa off?

valid question, but I think he does. Does Juan Ma have the discipline to not open up and get caught with a right hand coming over top of the long jab? I don't think so. I think that fight is a pick em fight.

I say:
Lopez/Cab- 50/50;
Lopez/Gamboa-40/60
Lopez/Garcia-Lopez wins
Lopez/Ponce De Leon- Lopez wins but there will be fireworks in a 3-4 round fight
Lopez/John- will never ever happen. John can't stay healthy enough to get into the ring, so no point in considering it

they already fought. thats who he won the title from. he KO'd ponce in the first round.

powerpuncher wrote:

captainanddew wrote:

marbleheadmaui wrote:

captainanddew wrote:

marbleheadmaui wrote:

Ali wrote:Knockout power and a vulnerable chin, he's definitely the hottest attraction out of Puerto Rico right now.

The atmosphere last night was incredible, when Juan made Rafa stumble across the ring that roar from the crowd almost blew up my laptop's speakers.

One of the sane MMA fans from Ninja's said it's made him take notice of the sport again after watching that fight.

Fifteen years ago we were all saying the same thing about Tito. Tito was more explosive, but he also didn't just get hit he got dropped. Nice continuity there.

One great thing is that at 126 JuanMa has Gamboa (who I think beats him), Chris John, Mikey Garcia, Caballero and Ponce de Leon (I think he beats them all).

Every one of those fights would be fun.

Disagree that he beats Caballero. Caballero provides insane matchup problems for anyone at 126 because of the height and reach advantage.

He sure does. But he's also getting up there. He's what 33-34? Is he gonna have the stamina and sustained jab to keep JuanMa off?

valid question, but I think he does. Does Juan Ma have the discipline to not open up and get caught with a right hand coming over top of the long jab? I don't think so. I think that fight is a pick em fight.

I say:
Lopez/Cab- 50/50;
Lopez/Gamboa-40/60
Lopez/Garcia-Lopez wins
Lopez/Ponce De Leon- Lopez wins but there will be fireworks in a 3-4 round fight
Lopez/John- will never ever happen. John can't stay healthy enough to get into the ring, so no point in considering it

they already fought. thats who he won the title from. he KO'd ponce in the first round.

Ponce is a LOT better now don't you think? He'd last several rounds anyway.

marbleheadmaui wrote:

powerpuncher wrote:

captainanddew wrote:

marbleheadmaui wrote:

captainanddew wrote:

marbleheadmaui wrote:

Ali wrote:Knockout power and a vulnerable chin, he's definitely the hottest attraction out of Puerto Rico right now.

The atmosphere last night was incredible, when Juan made Rafa stumble across the ring that roar from the crowd almost blew up my laptop's speakers.

One of the sane MMA fans from Ninja's said it's made him take notice of the sport again after watching that fight.

Fifteen years ago we were all saying the same thing about Tito. Tito was more explosive, but he also didn't just get hit he got dropped. Nice continuity there.

One great thing is that at 126 JuanMa has Gamboa (who I think beats him), Chris John, Mikey Garcia, Caballero and Ponce de Leon (I think he beats them all).

Every one of those fights would be fun.

Disagree that he beats Caballero. Caballero provides insane matchup problems for anyone at 126 because of the height and reach advantage.

He sure does. But he's also getting up there. He's what 33-34? Is he gonna have the stamina and sustained jab to keep JuanMa off?

valid question, but I think he does. Does Juan Ma have the discipline to not open up and get caught with a right hand coming over top of the long jab? I don't think so. I think that fight is a pick em fight.

I say:
Lopez/Cab- 50/50;
Lopez/Gamboa-40/60
Lopez/Garcia-Lopez wins
Lopez/Ponce De Leon- Lopez wins but there will be fireworks in a 3-4 round fight
Lopez/John- will never ever happen. John can't stay healthy enough to get into the ring, so no point in considering it

they already fought. thats who he won the title from. he KO'd ponce in the first round.

Ponce is a LOT better now don't you think? He'd last several rounds anyway.

true. he boxes better now. he doesnt just stand and brawl now. but still, ponce wouldnt last the distance.