Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh once again...the weekend resides only a few short days away...& with the weekend comes the inevitable...another fight & yet another installment of Wacko's Drunken Round by Round.
This go around we sittin it out with another rematch...let's begin shall we? Goody gumdrops.
To start...as human beings we often learn many little lessons in life...as boxing fans...lessons come in the form of surprises. In boxing...surprises come in the way of knockouts, astounding performances, & quite often...we get taught that the main lesson is...learning.
Where am I going with this you ask?
Well...it all has to do with being short sighted.
In boxing...being short sighted...is a huge "no-no"! Quite often...many of us are guilty of this one fatal mistake of the game.
Quite often...as a fan...you make rash judgements. You say things...you make predictions (wacko's are often way out in left field)...quite often...when making rash judgements...you make a bad call...pertaining to this fight...or actually the one prior...the one that occurred this very year...I made a bad call.
Fernando Vargas (26 wins with 22 ko's & 3 losses) and Sugar Shane Mosley (42 wins with 36 ko's & 4 losses) came together at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas on February the 25th, 2006 for one hell of a fight.
I wrote the fight & the fighters off as being a bit of a waste.
I said that the fight would pass as a mediocre event.
I said that both fighters were just cashing in on their once names of fame.
I said this due to the fact that both men were at the end of their ropes.
I said this also based on the fact that...well...I aint a fan of either man.
I was wrong...what can I say?
It's happened before...it'll happen again.
From the opening of the first round it was obvious that both men had come to fight & both men were there to win. The fight was give & take with Mosley giving for the better half of the ten round brawl & Vargas taking for as long as he could & then giving back starting right around the 6th round.
Mosley was back to being Mosley, not the Mosley of old, but enough to bring out the best in Vargas...& visa versa. Vargas was ferocious...but just not ferocious enough.
The previous fight was deemed controversial due to a stoppage that was caused by a grotesque swelling that caused Vargas to become unable to see out of his left eye. After the fight Vargas would argue that the damage was caused by a head-butt in the third round. The butt was never shown on tape. Watched the fight several times & to my knowledge...that swelling came from the constant accurate pounding from Mosley's right hands.
Vargas did pretty much what I expected him to do. As bad as this sounds...he did what he always does...he loses to the more skilled boxer, the thing is he showed a hell of a lot more heart, drive, & will this go around. Not that he doesn't in defeat, but honestly, IWO, I believe that he was coming on right around the time of the stoppage & would have made a hell of a fight out of the last 2 rounds had the fight not been stopped. That doesn't equate to a controversial stoppage though...I think the stoppage was legit.
The match was the WBA's Light Middleweight title eliminator & Mosley eliminated Vargas in the end...but not so convincingly that we won't endure the rematch.
I say that as though I'll be suffering through the affair...but that's not entirely the case. Never a true fan of either man...& still not rightfully so...I'm actually a bit excited about this Saturday night's card. The same process happened when the first fight was announced...I balked at it & then warmed to it in the end...just as I do with pretty much every fight that I'm only slightly interested in. Heh heh heh.
It's a sickness. Again...what can I say?
Anywho...all that long winded hat eating affair leads me to this...this is going to be one hell of a rematch. I often like to discuss...what I've come to call the factors of the fight...so here's how I see it.
Factors for & against Mosley:
#1: The first fight & the win. Mosley won the first fight with pressure & a dizzying volue of punches. Stick to the game plan. Use the same pressure & the same amount of punches...but pace yourself so that you can go the distance. Mosley was most definently effective, but he began to slow just a notch down the stretch. Maybe using the same amount of pressure & volume but at a pace more manigable...he could repeat the win.
#2: The right hand & the left eye. Honestly...it'd be silly to say that he should concentrate on the eye again...it wasn't a cut...just a bad swell...but Vargas has been prone to cut over his left eye & he's also subject to swelling. Trinidad hammered Vargas repeatedly & got the same results...the left eye started swelling around the 10th & 11th round of their fight years ago. The same can be said of the Oscar fight. Oscar beat Vargas bloody & from the constant hammering he took...his left eye was swollen up by about the 5th round. So the question should be asked...a fighter can be pron to cut...can he be pron to swelling? Sounds silly...but if it's worked in the past...I'd keep it going for the future.
#3: Distractions. Don't let outside factors come into play during this match up. Don't think about anything other than Vargas. Don't dwell on daddy being back in the corner. Don't dwell on anyone other than the man across the ring from you.
Factors for & against Vargas:
#1: The first fight...but win. Do what you did last time...but do it earlier. There were times that Vargas shook Mosley. Times that he beat Mosley to the punch...believe that or not. Power & pressure CAN get you through this if you apply them with speed. Once Vargas got on Mosley...the respect was there. Mosley did a good bit of back pedaling after being caught by Vargas. Only in the 7th round did Mosley go on attack for the eye. Hit him hard & hit him fast.
#2: The right hand. Mosley's was workin over time...but at the end of the sixth or seventh round Vargas stunned him with a right hand of his own. IWO, that's about the time that the fight REALLY got interesting. Mosley was getting backed up with power punches & combinations. Use that right hand with as much authority as Mosley used his...you might have something.
#3: Stop being a fwockin idiot! Worry about the fight...not proving who's got the bigger wallet or bank account. Don't bet a wad of cash...just come correct & stop Mosley like you boasted the first go around.
As weak as those factors are...that's them & this is as good as your'e gonna get from ole Wack!
So...as always...I say to you...my fellow forum goers...grab your remote & your poison of choice. Pick a spot on the couch or in front of your monitors & let's get crackin with yet another installment of Wacko's Drunken Round by Round!
Cheers & koneecheewah bitches.
Bookmarks