Boxing Philosophy Fantasy League: First Weekend Results Round-Up
First of all, thanks to all of you who sent in your predictions for the first round of the Boxing Philosophy Fantasy League. After the Mosley-Berto fight was cancelled in January, followed by some other postponements on the domestic scene, I decided it would be a good time to kick-off (punch-off?) the predictions with the first big fight of the year, involving none other than boxing’s reigning pound-for-pound monarch. It’s taken a while to get the ball rolling, but now we’re off I hope everyone will continue to keep sending in their predictions, as the boxing calendar is absolutely jam-packed over the next few months.
The Boxing Philosophy Fantasy League Table has now been updated – you can find it in the ‘categories’ on the right hand side of the main page. I’m sure you will all be pleased to know that after the first bout of the series none other than yours truly stands astride the top of the table with a grand total of 4 points. A big thanks also goes to those of you who didn’t send in your predictions on time, as you now prop-up the bottom of the table with zero points – making the rest of us feel rather special. Get involved for the next round of action and get some points on the board! Everyone else who did send in their predictions are tied in second place on 3 points – every person correctly picking Pacquiao as the right winner, but failing to pick the right method or under/over rounds.
The scoring system, to remind everyone, works as follows: 3 points awarded for correctly predicting the winner of the bout; 2 further points awarded for predicting if the bout will be won by stoppage or on points; and a further 1 point awarded if you correctly predict if the bout will end Under or Over a specified number of rounds. If you correctly predict the winner, the method of victory and the under/over rounds, the maximum points you can win for a single bout is therefore 6 points. Hope that’s clear!
The reason I opted to award points for under/over rounds predictions rather than exact round predictions is because predicting the exact round is almost entirely a matter of luck. I don’t care how good you are at predicting fights, predicting the exact round a fight will end happens about every once in a blue moon, where as predicting roughly when the bout will end (i.e. early or late-on) can be done consistently with at least a certain amount of science involved. Again, hope that’s clear.
Your prediction record appears after your name in the table, so that you can keep a check on where the points are being won and where you’re losing ground to the rest of the field. Records show how many times you’ve correctly predicted the: winner/points or stoppage/under or over.
The first bout of the season might not have been the most difficult to predict – featuring as it did the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. There is however some fantastic, finely balanced fights coming up over the next few weeks and months which should help to separate the men from the boys in the Boxing Philosophy League Table. This weekend is the heavyweight title fight between ‘Dr. Steel Hammer’ Wladimir Klitschko and American ‘Fast’ Eddie Chambers. Check back on my blog for the Big Fight Preview and my own prediction of how that one should unfold. Coming up we also have some excellent match-ups in the Super Six middleweight tournament (featuring Britain’s very own Carl Froch); David Haye’s first title defense at heavyweight, and of course the Super Bowl of boxing: Mayweather against Mosley on May 1st. Also look out for Amir Kahn and some cracking tussles on the domestic scene in the UK. Check out the Boxing Philosophy Fantasy League Fight Schedule (under ‘categories’, right hand side of the page) for a full list of upcoming matches.
Thanks again for all your involvement; spread the word and get any other interested boxing fans to throw their hat into the ring, or into the world-wide-web, as the case may be. Let the second round of predictions begin. Ding –Ding!
Big Fight Predictions: Manny Pacquiao vs Joshua Clottey
Following a few early cancellations in this years boxing calendar, the Boxing Philosophy Fantasy League will belatedly begin tomorrow with the WBO Welterweight showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey.
Email me with your predictions at moboxer@gmail.com and I’ll add them to the list below. Alternatively you can just leave your prediction as a comment at the bottom of this page.
Predictions should be in the following format: (1) Who will win? (2) Will the fight end by K.O/T.K.O or on points? (3) Will the fight end Under or Over 10 rounds?
The Sky Sports betting odds are listed at: Under 10 rounds 6/5; 10th round or Over 8/13.
PREDICITONS
M.O.Boxer: Pacquiao to win by K.O or T.K.O in 10 rounds or Over.
‘The Gavster’: Pacquiao to win by K.O or T.K.O inside 6 rounds.
H. Grenyer: Pacquiao to win under 10 rounds.
Daniel ‘Lonely Planet’ McCrohan: Pacquiao inside 10 rounds
Lance ‘Boom Boom’ Brown: Pacquiao under 5 rounds
Andy Cathy: Pacquiao inside 9 rounds
John Tasker: Pacquiao inside 10 rounds
What a Difference a Day Makes
They say 24 hours is a long time in boxing. If recent events are anything to go by, those words certainly hold true.
Following the disappointment of having the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight snatched from our finger-tips, boxing fans were left with little to look forward to. If recent media reports are anything to go by though, we may yet be treated to a pretty damn good consolation prize: Floyd Mayweather Jr vs. Shane Mosley.
Before rejoicing in the prospect of this excellent match-up taking place though, first and foremost thoughts and prayers should be with WBC Welterweight Champion Andre Berto. Scheduled to fight Mosley in a unification fight on January 30th, Berto was forced to pull out following the tragic events that have recently unfolded in Haiti. Although born in America, Berto’s family are from Haiti. The Welterweight Champ said in a statement that he lost “several family members” in the earthquake, and that his sister and niece, though they survived, were “left homeless”. Not surprisingly he has therefore opted to withdraw from what he called “an opportunity I have dreamt of since childhood”. He ended his statement by saying, “I am fully dedicated to helping the Haitian people recover from this catastrophic event”.
Condolences and best wishes to Berto, his family and his countrymen. One hopes that the rest of the world can be as dedicated as Andre Berto is to aiding the Haitian people in their recovery.
Purely in terms of the boxing landscape, Mayweather-Mosley is a fight that the world needs to see right now. Mayweather desperately needs to prove himself by facing an opponent whom he will not begin as an over-whelming odds-on favourite against, whilst Sugar Shane has been crying out for a fight of this magnitude ever since defeating Antonio Margarito a full twelve months ago. Despite not stepping between the ropes for a full year though, Mosley is unlikely to turn down the opportunity to climb into the squared circle with the man who calls himself ‘Money’. At age 38, he certainly does not have father time on his side.
The Sugar Man Mosley has largely been the Forgotten Man throughout the whole Mayweather-Pacquiao ‘Super Fight’ debacle. The linear and WBA Welterweight Champion has been either conveniently ignored or used as a pawn in negotiations by both the Pacquiao and Mayweather camps at various times, but neither has seemed serious about presenting him with a genuine opportunity. Probably because, despite his advanced age and relative lack of recognition outside of hard-core boxing circles, both camps were fully aware that Shane is potentially the most difficult fight out there. Now, finally, it looks like the man they call ‘Sugar’ will get his just desserts.
For Mayweather, this is not just a fight he wants or needs, it is a fight he simply has to take. Failure for him to do so may result in him losing what little respect there is for his reputation and his willingness to take on the best in the sport. As things stand at the moment, Floyd is in serious danger of forever being remembered as the fighter who ducked every serious challenge that came his way. A fight with Mosley will go a long way to removing such accusations. Should he put on a performance and pull out an impressive victory in this fight, it may even allow him to leap-frog Pacquiao in both the welterweight and pound-for-pound rankings. Likewise, the same could also be said for Mosley – which is what makes this fight such a great event.
The welterweight division right now is stacked with an unbelievable talent pool, and fans are faced with the unprecedented situation of having the top 3 pound-for-pound fighters as the top 3 men in the same division. A fight between the no.1 and no.2 pound-for-pound boxers in the world is a rare event. At least for now, it isn’t to be. A fight between the no.2 and no.3 pound-for-pound fighters in the sport though, is not a bad consolation prize. The mouth salivates at the thought of the potential match-ups down the road: Pacquiao to face the winner in the fall? Paul Williams to move back down to 147 and tackle one of the top 3? Or perhaps Andre Berto, given time for him and his family to heal, will be rewarded with that opportunity he “has dreamt of since childhood”?
It seems that even the promoters are now coming to their senses, and should Mayweather-Mosley go ahead as reports suggest, fans will be spared the ridiculous situation of having Mayweather and Pacquiao screen competing PPV events on the same night. Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, was quoted as saying that pitting a mega-fight like Mayweather-Mosley against Pacquiao-Clottey would be “totally wrong”. Phew. Perhaps there might yet be some sense to this mess after all.
Schaefer was further quoted as saying that “I have my work cut out for me in the next 24 hours”. Not surprising, really – because a day can be a hell of a long time in boxing.
*****
One final thought:
Just an idea, but if Mayweather-Mosley really wanted to redeem some of the credibility the sport has lost over the last few weeks by doing something really special, why not demonstrate to the world that boxing isn’t all about out of control ego’s and greed by agreeing to donate a fee from every ticket or PPV fight sold to Andre Berto and his countrymen in Haiti? I’m sure that most boxing fans, like myself, would be proud to pay a little extra knowing that it was going to such a valuable cause.
Boxing-Philosophy Fantasy League Table
Current League Standings:
Rank: Name: Record*: Points:
1. M.O.Boxer (9/6/7) 46
2= Hugo Grenyer (6/3/7) 31
2= ‘Boom Boom’ Brown (6/4/5) 31
3. Gavin O’Byrne (6/3/6) 30
4= John Tasker (6/3/3) 27
4= Andy Cathy (6/2/5) 27
5. Ferocious Joe (3/2/1) 14
6. Dan McCrohan (1/0/0) 3
* The total number of bouts so far this season is nine (9).
* Records show the number of times you have correctly predicted:
the winner / method of victory / the under-over rounds.
Boxing-Philosophy Fight Schedule
The next bout is…
Saturday 22nd May 2010, California, USA:
Israel Vazquez, 44-4 (Mexico) vs Rafael Marquez, 38-5 (Mexico)
Saturday 19th June 2010, WBA Super Middleweight Championship/Showtime Super Six World Boxing Classic, California, USA:
Andre Ward, 21-0 (USA) vs Allan Green, 29-1 (USA)
Matt O'Brien
Boxing Philosophy 