Saddoboxing.com Writers Predict the Weekend’s Fights.

This weekend is 2005’s first true championship weekend and it is only fitting that we have two fighters in particular of considerable promise to observe. Samuel Peter is being mentioned by many people as a serious contender to be a future heavyweight champion and in tonight’s HBO showcase, he gets the chance to show whether or not he has the goods to a world audience. His opponent and Juan Carlos Gomez conqueror Yanqui Diaz will have more than a little to say about that though. And then we come to the main event, the showstopper, Floyd Mayweather Jr. “Pretty Boy” seems to have been fed an easy nights work in unknown quantity Henry Bruseles, but WBO light welterweight champion Miguel Cotto seems to think that Bruseles is more than capable of taking the fight to Mayweather; and Cotto knows a thing or two about Bruseles having sparred with him for several weeks. Our writers also weigh in with their thoughts on the Diaz-Irwin WBA lightweight title fight. Read on to find out what our writers make of the top HBO show this week.

Katrina Walters: Although Diaz had trouble making weight, it will not be a factor and he will win. I say eighth round KO. Samuel Peter has not impressed me as of yet, he was really lucky when he was able to catch Jeremy Williams with that devastating left hook, but even with that being said, he will win as well with an early stoppage. And of course Mayweather, I’m feeling a major upset against Mayweather, but I will go with the majority and say he will win!

Lee Bellfield: Mayweather v Bruseles: Another warm-up fight for Mayweather as he establishes himself in the 140-pound division. I predict an early stoppage win as he marches on to a probable fight with Arturo Gatti.

Shaun Rico LaWhorn: My prediction for the Samuel Peter vs. Yanqui Diaz. This fight has the capabilities of being a contending and entertaining fight for the heavyweight division. A division that has more than enough room to add some new and emerging talent. Diaz has the height (six-foot-four-inches) and reach advantage (eighty-two inches) over Peter who stands six-feet with a seventy-seven inch reach. To balance the fighters, Peter has more knockouts than Diaz has professional fights. Yanqui Diaz did defeat Juan Carlos Gomez by TKO in one round. I am going with Diaz in this fight. I can see the two heavyweights clashing early in the fight, to prove that they both deserve a name in the heavyweight division. The end result, Yanqui Diaz taking advantage of Samuel Peter’s boldness and catching him with a punch that will cause Samuel Peter to kiss the mat and be counted out. Yanqui Diaz, KO, round five.

Floyd Mayweather & Henry Bruseles is a fight that will draw many spectators, because Floyd is making his first appearance for 2005. I think Henry is well aware of this opportunity and will be a fighter bringing his A-game and he will fight cautiously, even though he has six first round KO’s. Floyd will out-box Henry. This will start off interesting, but will slack off in the later rounds, as Henry will be confused with Floyd’s speed and slick defense. Henry Bruseles will apply a lot of pressure early and Floyd will please the crowd with baiting and sharp counter shots. This ambition will help Henry with his chances of landing a devastating shot and causing an upset and on the other end, it will increase Floyd’s chances of walking away with a decision. As the fight goes into the later rounds, Floyd will score a lot of points with ring generalship. Bruseles will show a valued effort but that will not be good enough to beat Floyd on the scoring cards. Floyd by majority decision.

Greig Johnston: Peter/Diaz – A fourth round KO for Peter.

Diaz/Irwin – Lopsided decision for Diaz

Mayweather/Bruseles – Boring decision for Floyd. And the fact that Mayweather is fighting Henry Bruseles is a disgrace. Bruseles has done nothingto deserve this money or exposure. N’dou, Harris anyone?

Jim Cawkwell: There’s no better chance for Samuel Peter to prove to the world that he is the real thing in terms of a heavyweight contender; and my, how the division, and the boxing world in general need that. It’s important not to be taken in by the hype surrounding Yanqui Diaz. One contentious stoppage of a name like Juan Carlos Gomez and a predictable outing against the likes of Marcellus Brown are achievements that have never been enough to raise much interest in the heavyweight class. If Diaz can box and move as well as his camp suggest, he may give Peter some problems but this fight will probably be the fight of the night thanks to the explosive power on display. I predict that Peter will score a KO after some difficulty with Diaz’s style.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. will stop Henry Bruseles before the midway point of the fight in my opinion but it all depends on which Floyd Mayweather shows up to fight. Sometimes Floyd is scintillating and at others, he becomes disinterested and coasts to victory behind his skill. I think that even the best performance from Mayweather will not be enough to raise his profile and it is rather that this fight is a publicity exercise before the projected Gatti-Mayweather WBC light welterweight title fight later this year. Mayweather will KO Bruseles in five rounds.

Jim Cawkwell can be reached at jimcawkwell@yahoo.co.uk