Preview: Floyd Mayweather vs Robert Guerrero

Photos by Tom Casino for Showtime

by Gautham Nagesh

Genius rarely takes an appealing form. But make no mistake, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is a boxing genius, on par with any fighter that has laced up a pair of gloves.

History is littered with countless examples of great men whose personal failings were whitewashed in light of their achievements. Boxing is no different; Sonny Liston was a violent criminal before becoming heavyweight champion, Don King a convicted murderer long before his first promotion. Boxing has been run by crooks and criminals, thieves and low-rent thugs. Many of them are still around. It’s hardly a place for the pious or self-righteous.

Robert Guerrero is both of those things; central casting couldn’t have produced a better champion for the throngs of Floyd-haters than “The Ghost.” His arrest for gun possession not withstanding, Guerrero is the perfect fighter to play the hero to Floyd’s heel. Guerrero’s main backstory is his devotion to his wife, a cancer survivor. He spends every interview praising God and playing the humble Mexican-American fighter, while Floyd shamelessly preens and flaunts his wealth.

But the beauty of boxing is that once the bell sounds, nothing matters but what happens inside the ropes. And no one in the world is more comfortable in the boxing ring than Floyd Mayweather. He remains a superb stylist, a fluid and elegant counterpuncher of the first order with a preternatural talent for avoiding punches. Guerrero, on the other hand, is a dirty fighter, and one that has never scored a knockout above lightweight. His only hope is to hurt Mayweather with something other than a fist and hope the referee doesn’t notice.

Weekend Preview: Emmanuel Taylor Gets His Shot Against Victor Cayo

Emmanuel Taylor photo from United Boxers

by Gautham Nagesh

It’s been a couple years since Fight Night 2011, but the effects of that booze-soaked evening have lingered like the stink of the pricey cigars they hand out at ringside. In retrospect, it was an evening full of bad decisions, from the judges at ringside, to my purchase of a Notre Dame helmet autographed by Joe Montana at the silent auction. The helmet still sits atop my bookshelf, mocking me, a Michigan fan, with its golden glow; I realize I am probably stuck with it for life.

Much of my recollection of that evening is now lost, thanks to the open bar, but my report for TQBR notes the specifics:

Cleveland’s Prenice Brewer handed Baltimore prospect Emmanuel “Tranzformer” Taylor his first professional loss in an eight-round split decision that I scored for Taylor.

Though I scored the fight for Taylor, it’s fair to say I wasn’t too impressed by either boxer:

By the end of the bout it was anyone’s guess who had won. Neither man showed much in the way of desire or confidence. Taylor is just 20 years old but he may have found his level. One could argue he deserved the win but unless he held back there’s not much to write home about.

One of the great joys of writing about boxing is being wrong about a fighter’s potential. Taylor has won both his fights since the setback, and is in position to make a big move at 140 lbs. if he can beat Victor Cayo on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights tomorrow evening. Lamont Peterson turned almost the exact same opportunity into a big-money fight against Amir Khan in 2011; Taylor is surely hoping a win would similarly launch him toward the bright lights of premium cable.

Preview: Adrien Broner vs Gavin Rees

Adrien Broner file photos by StiffJab.com

by Gautham Nagesh

Love him or hate him, Adrien “The Problem” Broner is here to stay.

The flashy, boastful lightweight from Cincinnati has plenty of critics, who would love to see Broner fall short of the inflated expectations of folks like me. They see Broner as another Al Haymon hype job, a carefully-managed fighter that has yet to prove he belongs among the elite.

Perhaps they are correct; predicting the future for any fighter is a fool’s errand. Any number of factors could prevent Broner from reaching the pinnacle of the sport, starting with a simple accident or injury. But barring unforeseen circumstances, we’re pretty certain that Gavin Rees won’t be the one to solve The Problem on HBO tonight. Count on Broner to win going away, probably well before the scheduled 12 rounds.

Weekend Preview: Gabriel Rosado vs Gennady Golovkin At MSG

Gabriel Rosado photo by Trey Pollard for StiffJab.com

by Gautham Nagesh

Top Rank and HBO come out swinging this Saturday, airing a blockbuster tripleheader from Madison Square Garden in New York. The headliner is a tantalizing featherweight contest between top-ranked Orlando Salido and rising contender Mikey Garcia, but we’re even more excited about Gabriel Rosado vs. Gennady Golovkin at middleweight. The opener between junior lightweights Juan Carlos Burgos and Roman “Rocky” Martinez, ranked third and fourth respectively, is also nothing to sneeze at.

Ronda Rousey vs Liz Carmouche to Headline UFC 157

Photo via Ronda Rousey’s Official MMA Site

by Dr. Octagon, J.D.

Ronda Rousey vs. Liz Carmouche will reportedly headline the UFC 157 Pay Per View Card on February 23rd in Anaheim. Fuck that.

Let me start off by saying that I have absolutely nothing against female fighters. I’ve covered both female boxing and female MMA, and sometimes the fights are really great. The women’s fight was the best fight on the card for the last Bellator and Ronda’s fight against Miesha Tate was really exciting. Ronda against Cris Cyborg I could see as a Pay Per View main event, but Liz Carmouche does not have the name recognition that Mrs. Cyborg has.

Carmouche’s last two fights have been wins on the untelevised Invicta promotion. Before that, she had lost two fights against solid top-10 fighters Marloes Coenen and Sarah Kaufman. This is not the sort of resume that would lead to a title shot. I bitch about pay per view cards all the time, and end up buying them anyway. So I’m probably going to buy this one too, but this card is going to have to be really stacked to get the average fight fan to for over their cash.

UFC on Fox Preview: Great Free Card Tonight

by Dr. Octagon, J.D.

Bellator sucked last night so I didn’t even bother to write it up. Well the girls’ fight was good, but the rest of them stunk. Tonight’s UFC card looks more auspicious. The main card that the UFC is putting on Fox tonight is better than a lot recent Pay Per Views. The undercard is relatively lackluster, but whatever. You’ve got a title fight for the lightweight championship between Benson Henderson and Nate Diaz.

Nate and his brother Nick are both known for always coming forward, so it’s unlikely that the five-round main event is going to be a snoozer. Before that you have Shogun Rua vs. Alexander Gustafsson, which UFC boss Dana White recently announced was a title eliminator (although Shogun doesn’t seem like he really wants to fight Jon Jones even if he wins).

Below that you have recently unretired legend B.J. Penn against the second most jacked-up Canuck in the UFC, Rory MacDonald. Take a look at UFC 154. What was the third fight on that? Fucking Francis Carmont vs. Tom Lawlor. And below that was a bunch of French, Canadian and French-Canadian bums. Just goes to show that you can put anything on a card after GSP and people will buy it. So basically, I don’t think anyone would complain if they tried to charge full price for this card. You should most definitely watch it if you want to see some free combat tonight. Full previews and predictions after the jump:

UFC 154 Preview: Georges St. Pierre vs Carlos Condit

by Dr. Octagon, J.D.

Georges St. Pierre finally returns Saturday night in Montreal against Carlos Condit, but no one knows how he’s going to look. GSP will probably still be beastly, but he hasn’t fought since April of 2011 due to a knee injury that he re-injured. That’s a long layoff for anyone.

The welterweight division has been at a standstill ever since, and there are a bunch of guys who are going to want a title shot after tomorrow night. This card is packed with Canadians from top to bottom for the hometown crowd, and there are not a lot of good fights on it.

Still, the UFC learned its lesson after the Jon Jones debacle and has two good fights at the top of the card. And really, you can put whoever you want on the card when Georges St. Pierre is on it. He’s one of the most bankable stars in the sport. Breakdown of the main card after the jump:

Preview: Jerry Forrest Returns At Fight Night 2012

Photos by Gautham Nagesh for StiffJab.com

by Gautham Nagesh

Thursday marks one of my favorite events of the year: Fight Night 2012 at the Washington Hilton, which benefits Fight for Children. This will be my third year covering the black tie event, and the first I won’t have to pull double duty for The Hill. Fortunately, that means I’ll be able to devote my full attention to covering the best fight card they’ve had in recent memory.

The main event was supposed to pit Arlington junior welterweight Bayan Jargal against Lonnie “El Negro Mexicano” Smith, but Smith has reportedly gone AWOL. Jargal is still scheduled to fight, likely against the kind of short-notice opposition that shouldn’t pose too much trouble. The Mongolian native has a granite chin and plenty of heart, but lost three straight fights before taking almost a year off and returning with a win earlier this month. Hopefully he spent that time in the gym refining his offense, rather than soul-searching.

More exciting for our readers is the news both light heavyweight Greg Newby of the Lime Lite All-Stars and heavyweight Jerry Forrest will fight for the second time professionally. Newby will take on Baltimore’s Tacuna Farmer, who is making his pro debut, while Forrest will face the 3-0-1 (3 KOs) Brice Ritani of Las Vegas. Newby has had a couple fights fall through lately, while Forrest’s difficulty finding opponents is well-documented. Nothing is guaranteed is boxing, but Fight Night is about as first-class as such events get. Hopefully the fights will take place, even though in truth, the crowd barely notices.

Weekend Preview: Jerry Forrest & Terron Grant Return

Images by Anna John for StiffJab.com

by Gautham Nagesh

The young boxer you see jumping for joy above is Newport News, Va. heavyweight Jerry “Slug” Forrest, who fights Saturday night at Fort Myer/Henderson Hall Joint Military Base in Arlington on a card promoted by Dr. Richard Ashby’s RBA Promotions.

Forrest will be joined on the card by heavyweight Duane Mobley , lightweight Terron Grant (below), light heavyweight Greg Newby, and cruiserweight Zakki Scott. All are unbeaten young prospects that we have covered before, and each has shown promise in their own right. Grant is a great young man, Newby is a military veteran and product of Lime Lite Boxing in my hood, and Scott impressed me while winning the 2011 Washington Regional Golden Gloves at 201 lbs.

Weekend Preview: Keystone Boxing Returns In DC

by Gautham Nagesh

As you can see from the fight poster above, pro boxing returns to Washington Convention Center this Saturday night courtesy of Promoter Gene Molovinsky of Keystone Boxing. The show will once again be headlined by local welterweight prospect Dusty “The Beltway Boricua” Harrison and feature a host of talented young DMV boxers including Stiff Jab favorites David “Day Day” Grayton, Danny Kelly, and Kevin Rivers Jr., who will be making his professional debut after a decorated amateur career.

Keystone has drawn well for its recent series featuring Dusty, who suffered a scare in his last fight against Marques Jackson, getting knocked down in the sixth and final round by a right hand. Fortunately, Dusty got up and smartly held on until recovering to win the decision, rendering the knockdown a blip for the moment. I’m predicting an early night for Dusty and basically everyone else on the card, save possibly the light heavyweight co-feature between “King” James McAlister and James Denton, scheduled for six rounds. The poor records of all the other opponents indicate they were brought in for one reason: to lose, and do so in sensational fashion.

UFC 152 Preview: Jon Jones Says Chael Sonnen Undeserving Of Title Shot

by Dr. Octagon, J.D.

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones stood by his decision this week to turn down a fight with Chael Sonnen on short notice, which led to the cancellation of UFC 151.

“I don’t regret the decision,” Jones said Tuesday on ESPN’s SportsCenter. “I pretty much had everything to lose in that situation. Chael Sonnen is a guy whose record is, I think, 6-5, which isn’t a very good record to even fight for a world title.

I just thought it would be a bad decision to give a guy the opportunity of a lifetime like that.”

So Jon Jones thinks Chael Sonnen is undeserving of a title shot, but he’s now fighting Vitor Belfort at UFC 152. That’s weird because his trainer Greg Jackson said the reason they didn’t take the fight because Chael was really dangerous, and they didn’t have time to prepare on eight days notice. Let’s file this under Jon Jones needs to stop talking, because he rarely helps himself by doing so.

Preview: Julio Chavez Jr vs Sergio Martinez, Canelo-Lopez

Photo by Anna John for StiffJab.com

by Gautham Nagesh

Well folks, it’s here. Easily the biggest fight weekend of 2012, featuring perhaps the second most appealing matchup that can in boxing, aside from Pacquiao-Mayweather (Klitschko v. Klitschko can’t be made). I’m speaking of course of the Saturday night HBO Pay Per View main event, where Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez (above) will defend his middleweight crown against Mexican idol Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in Las Vegas.

Of course this is boxing, so even a long-awaited clash between two primetime fighters has to come with some sort of drama attached. In this case, the controversy comes in the form of a competing Golden Boy card that night featuring their own Mexican sensation, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez against gritty underdog Josesito Lopez on Showtime.

The Canelo show actually features a stronger undercard and would ordinarily be event viewing, but not on this night. I’ll be glued to HBO for Chavez-Martinez, which will be the focus of our live coverage. Full preview and predictions after the jump:

Frankie Edgar Gets Well-Deserved Title Shot Right Away

by Dr. Octagon, J.D.

People are complaining that Frankie Edgar doesn’t deserve a title shot against Jose Aldo. That’s the dumbest fucking thing I’ve ever heard.

If the judges weren’t blind, Edgar would be the lightweight champion right now. I don’t care that he has a loss on his record. People keep saying his fight against Benson Henderson was close. It definitely was. But it was a close fight that should have been a clear decision for Edgar. I had him up two rounds, most others had him up one. The closest thing I’ve seen to a pro-Henderson card was Jordan Breen’s draw over at Sherdog, and while Jordan undoubtedly knows his shit, I can’t remember the last time I saw a judge give out a draw on a round during an actual fight.

So on almost everyone’s card but the judges, Frankie just beat the champion in a heavier weight class. If you’re going to gripe about someone getting a title shot, there is a certain light heavyweight challenger that is more deserving of your ire.

Unbeaten welterweight prospect Tony “Superbad” Harrison previews his rematch tonight against Calvin Odom. The fight will headline a Kronk Boxing card at Joe Louis Arena featuring Jacob Bonas and other Detroit boxers. Harrison won the first fight over Odom by unanimous decision.

Heavyweight Seth Mitchell Returns On October 6th

by Gautham Nagesh

As Anna mentioned earlier, Brandywine, Md. heavyweight Seth Mitchell will make his return on October 6th in Atlantic City against Johnathon Banks of Detroit.

We’ve got love for any fighter from the D, but Banks is viewed strictly as a stepping stone to bigger things for Mitchell, like an eventual title shot against the Klitschkos. I spoke to Seth about a week ago, and he sounded happy to be back in the gym. Mitchell only recently returned to punching after hurting his hand during his thrilling April stoppage of Chazz Witherspoon. Fortunately, the injury required three months of rest but no surgery.

Mitchell doesn’t know much about the Detroiter, but after Witherspoon hurt him in the first, Seth is aware that any heavyweight can pull the upset.

“I think it might be a little step up. Each fight is going to present different challenges and different obstacles,” Mitchell told Stiff Jab, emphasizing that he hated every minute of what has been his longest layoff from boxing due to injury.

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