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411mania.com: Sports - Inside the Ropes 06.17.08: Upset Special
Inside the Ropes 06.17.08: Upset Special
Posted by Ramon Aranda on 06.17.2008

With upsets occuring left and right, who of the big name fighters will be first to fall in 2008? Also, who is Edwin Valero and why should you be watching?

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http://www.411mania.com/siteimages/me_ring_4212.JPGAfter seeing Sechew Powell knocked out over the weekend, I thought to myself – this must be the year of the upset. That doesn't mean that I fully expect some of the bigger names in the sport to falter but it begs the question, who will be the first?

I'll play a little devil's advocate here and pull out four random names of champions that will be seeing action this year. This doesn't mean that the fighters listed below will lose, but for the sake of argument, let's state some reasons as to why they could end up with a loss in 2008.



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Manny Pacquiao: The new pound for pound king is moving into a brand new division without having tested the waters. Questions arise as to whether he'll carry the same punching power up to 135 pounds as well as his ability to take a punch by a true lightweight. Well he takes on David Diaz on June 28 and with a snazzy 34-1-1 record, Diaz is no pushover. Diaz represents a guy with loads of stamina, a busy workrate and someone who is there to defend his throne. Manny hasn't exactly been 100% focused for the fight in my opinion given that he started training camp late, had previously been busy in the Philippines and has had trouble making the weight up to this point. I'm not going to say that Manny is overlooking Diaz, but he's already talking about a fight with Ricky Hatton. What if Manny shows up thinking he'll mow down Diaz and find out that the WBC champ isn't going anywhere? Chances of losing: 20%






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Miguel Cotto: Recognized as the best welterweight in the world, now that Mayweather has retired (and some would argue that regardless of that fact), he enters the ring on July 26th against two-time welterweight titlist and power punching maniac Antonio Margarito. The undefeated Puerto Rican star undoubtedly has his toughest challenge to date in the form of Margarito and we know this is a fight Cotto is certainly not taking lightly. He knows he'll be in for the fight of his life and will be fully prepared come fight night. On the other hand, Margarito is looking to finally break out into the star he truly is and with a sledgehammer left hook, he'll be taking aim at Cotto's body and chin. It's not crazy to imagine that Margarito could score the minor upset via knockout as we've seen Cotto on rubbery legs before, though Cotto has improved significantly in the past two years. Still, we can easily imagine that this is one fight that may not reach the final bell and someone will end up on the canvas. Chances of losing: 40%






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Joel Casamayor: The lightweight champion was rumored to be taking on unified titlist Nate Campbell but has since been confirmed to be taking on Juan Manuel Marquez who will make the jump to 135 pounds this fall. Marquez, who's still at the top of his game will give Casamayor all sorts of problems when they tangle in the coming months. Casamayor, though victorious against Michael Katsidis, did show that he could be out-punched and was nearly out late in the fight before a wicked hook sent Katsidis into the loss column. Before that fight, Casamayor had all he could handle against former titlist Jose Armando Santa Cruz in a bout that most observers including myself thought should have went into the challenger's favor. Santa Cruz and Katsidis are no Marquez and with a superb boxing style coupled with punching power, Marquez may find himself at the top of the heap. Casamayor better be at his best. Chances of losing: 70%






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Joe Calzaghe: After dethroning Bernard Hopkins in April, Calzaghe quickly became the top dog at 175 pounds. Having declined a fight with Kelly Pavlik at the moment, the Calzaghe camp has their sights set on one Roy Jones Jr. No longer at the top of his game, Jones still presents a pretty good challenge against Calzaghe, who as quick as he is, doesn't match Jones in the speed department. Perhaps Jones, feeling he can't be hurt by the naturally smaller Calzaghe, will have more than enough confidence to fight like himself before the loss to Tarver. In a battle of speedy punches, Jones wins, though Calzaghe will have a large advantage in terms of conditioning and chin. Still one can't help but wonder what the outcome will be if both fighters come out well prepared and at their very best. Chances of losing: 25%






If you're a touted prospect, prepare for the fight of your life on ESPN: If you've got an undefeated record or are being groomed as a future champion and are on an ESPN2 Wednesday/Friday Night Fights card, you better train like you're fighting for the world title. Man, have we seen some upsets already with the likes of Andy Lee, Sechew Powell and Kasim Ouma all falling victims this year. It's inexcusable that these guys come under prepared for these types of fights. How many more "upset specials" will we see before these guys wake up?

http://www.laverdad.com/data/fotos/AMCEdwinValero.JPGIf you like knockouts, watch Edwin Valero: Just recently, Edwin Valero recorded his 24th consecutive knockouts bringing his record to 24-0, 24 KOs. Unfortunately for fight fans in the States, Valero had been banned from fighting here after having his license suspended due to a head injury a few years ago. Fans who have heard of him or followed his career have undoubtedly watched him on streaming videos or on YouTube. This guy is a wrecking machine and his fights are must-see TV. Think Tyson circa 1986 (not in skill, but in knockout power) but much smaller and Latino. Luckily, Valero has recently been issued a license in Texas and he'll probably make his U.S. debut in September or October. Meanwhile, go to YouTube and type in "Edwin Valero" – you won't be disappointed.

See you at the fights!

I can't believe this numbnut is comparing Valero to Tyson.

I know the writer, met him on a few different occasions, pretty knowledgable guy and he was only talking about Valero's power.

I don't think Marquez winning over Casamayor would be any type of an upset though. Casamayor at this point in his career isn't going to be competitive for much longer especially against top P4P guys.

Aside from Casamayor though, the guy most likely to lose is probably Valero.

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Originally Posted by amat

I know the writer, met him on a few different occasions, pretty knowledgable guy and he was only talking about Valero's power.

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He didn't seem to care about their oppositions though. Who's elite fighter Valero fought aside from Mosquera?

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Originally Posted by SE7EN

Quote:

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Originally Posted by amat

I know the writer, met him on a few different occasions, pretty knowledgable guy and he was only talking about Valero's power.

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He didn't seem to care about their oppositions though. Who's elite fighter Valero fought aside from Mosquera?

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All he was saying was that his power makes him very entertaining to watch.