One More Round With Mark Lyons: Dawson, Haye & Pacquiao/Cotto

Mark Lyons is back with his take on some recent and upcoming fights.

Photo © Ray Kasprowicz

Another dominant, yet criticized performance from Chad Dawson (pictured right) and a farce of a PPV card on Friday night. There is a new alphabet title holder at Heavyweight and everyone is ready for the big one this weekend.

My Take on Last Weekend's Fights...

-- Chad Dawson may well be the best boxer in the world. While he remains unknown to the casual fan, he is becoming quite a polarizing figure in hard core boxing circles. He doesn’t hold and he doesn’t run, but most fans are always expecting and wanting more from him. Knocking out Glen Johnson is something that shouldn’t be expected of any fighter but that doesn’t stop people from complaining that he didn’t.

-- Dawson boxed beautifully from the outset, controlled the distance and peppered the Road Warrior with crisp jabs and body shots. Never once was he in any danger and I saw a resounding victory against a man that many thought beat him in their first fight. Color me impressed by not just his incredible skils, but his ability to adapt.

-- David Haye got the job done against the giant. But his bark was way louder than his bite in what was truly a dreadful fight. Hearing that he hurt his hand early makes his tactics more understandable, but it doesn’t give me back that thirty six minutes. With Ruiz on deck, Haye is in danger of another stinker and getting a reputation for engaging in boring fights. That wouldn’t really be fair after his thrilling Cruiserweight run, but like life, boxing is never really fair. Here is hoping he smashes Ruiz in style. But that is far easier said than done.

-- Yes, I watched the Judah/Casamayor card. The most entertaining moment was a ten minute interview with Erik Estrada by the way out of his element Michael Marley. Needless to say I didn’t agree with Marley about Judah’s low blow knockout being electrifying.

Looking Ahead To This Weekend...

-- Fight fans are buzzing for this Saturday night as Manny Pacquiao takes on Miguel Cotto at what I feel is a ridiculous catch weight. If the belt's on the line, the champ shouldn't have to weigh in 2 pounds under the division limit. That being said, it’s two of the best P4P fighters in the world and that is reason for excitement.

-- Cotto is a warrior and really is everything good about the sport. He seems to be stuck in a bizarre style transition where he isn’t sure if he is a boxer or a slugger. His only chance in this fight is to bore inside with almost reckless abandon and try to rough Manny up in close. I’m reading people talk about Miguel’s jab being a key and I don’t see him having any success with that punch. He needs to use it, but just as a means to get inside and not as a weapon. Body work is his key to victory.

-- Pacquiao, just has to be Pacquiao. Using his blazing speed of hand and foot to get there first and take advantage of Cotto’s shoddy footwork. Cotto is not capable of moving and punching at the same time, which is absolute hell against a guy like pacquiao who can change his angles in the blink of an eye. The only real question for me is how Manny will respond to a Welterweights punch, he hasn’t been hit by anybody since he left Jr. lightweight.

-- I see Pacquiao beating Cotto to the punch with his straight left hand from the opening bell. Cotto will score some here and there during some exciting exchanges but pacquaio will dominate this fight on the cards and bust up Miguel’s face en route to a mid to late round stoppage. I hope I’m wrong and the fight meets the world’s expectations. But I’m expecting another clinic from Mr. Pacquaio.

A Fight I’ve been Thinking About...

In lieu of Kelly Pavlik’s apparent desire to never stare across the ring at Paul Williams, lets look at a Middleweight that would relish the opportunity.The highly underrated and extremely rugged Mustapha Hamsho. While Paul has dealt with the pressure of a Margarito, Hamsho’s was of a different variety. His head was in your chest and he could smother Williams on the inside while Paul would enjoy a decided advantage at midrange and outside. In an exciting and bruising affair it will really come down to the judges preference. I’ll take two of three judges to reward Williams more aesthetically pleasing work and he gets a hard earned split nod in a fight that could go either way. One thing is for sure, it will go the distance and they both will almost certainly spill blood.

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Quick Predictions for Valuev-Haye and Dawson-Johnson

By Lee Payton

****Check out our round by round coverage of Johnson vs Dawson and Angulo vs Yorgey.****

Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to see Valuev-Haye or Dawson Johnson. It's always a sad day when life decides that boxing is going to have to wait. As gutted as I am to miss a freakish heavyweight battle and a light heavyweight championship fight, I'm pressing on with some quick thoughts and predictions.

Here goes...

Valuev vs. Haye

Could these two men be more different? In Valuev we've got a soft-spoken giant. Haye is a vain loud-mouth who at least looks the part of a heavyweight champion. If this was a photo-shoot or a soap opera audition, the Brit comes out on top every time.

Boxing is no beauty contest though. Sometimes this sport is as ugly as it gets.

It might seem odd at first to say anyone has an edge in physicality when one fighter is 7'2, 315 lbs, but the smaller man has much more athletic ability, and I believe that is the key to him winning this fight.

Speed kills and Valuev has shown vulnerability against quicker fighters who are capable of showing him some movement. Haye should be able to switch angles on the outside and jump in with power shots before "Niko" can do anything about it.

If he's smart, Haye will fire his cannon ball fists to the ribs on the inside. With some significant work to the body, he just might bring his humongous foe to his knees.

I'll take Haye to win a wide decision. Valuev won't be able to find him with anything more than the occasional jab.


Dawson-Johnson

Will Glen Johnson ever get old? If it's going to happen, most fans feel that tonight is as good a night as any, because Chad Dawson is a speedy southpaw who can move. Typically, that's enough to beat a 40 year old man.

However, I don't buy into the "Glen is one year older and Chad is one year better" theory. The first reason is that I think the younger man is what he is. I don't see him changing anything in there. He'll do what he does.

Second, I don't think what Chad does was good enough to win the first time around. I saw the old timer push the fight for 12 rounds, while hurting his man a handful of times along the way. Glen Johnson knows what he has to do to win. He also knows that he can't be hurt by this man.

I think Johnson will be the more confident fighter tonight, based on his belief that he won the first time, and his sparring with Lucian Bute. He'll be up for this fight in a big way, and I just get the sense that the timing is right for him to pull off the upset.

I'll take Glen Johnson to win a close decision on the cards.

Check out Michael Nelson's Preview: Chad Dawson vs Glen Johnson II Preview

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One More Round With Mark Lyons: Haye/Valuev, Dawson/Johnson, Agbeko/Perez, Super Six, etc...

Mark Lyons is back with his take on some recent and upcoming fights.

After a couple of slow weeks we are heading into a great stretch of boxing. I’ll keep my comments brief on the Super 6, and will focus my thoughts on the two big fights coming up in what really is a fantastic month for combat sports.

My Take On Some Recent Fights...

-- Perez and Agebko put on a heck of a battle Saturday night. It wouldn’t make my list as a FOTY year candidate because it lacked some drama, but it was right on the cusp. Perez proved to be just a bit stronger and while I thought the fight was much closer than the final cards, the right man had his hand raised. Is it me, or is their an influx of bruising fighters entering the top level from South America?

-- Leave it to Boxing to institute instant replay to battle some controversy and completely ignore the ability to overturn what shouldn't be a knockdown. A three point swing in what most saw as a close fight isn’t worthy? Yes, I know, baby steps, but if something like that can't eventually be handled by replay, the system will never be of much use.

-- Last week's brawl between Ryan Rhodes and Jaimie Moore would make my short list of the year's best fights. I have to admit to becoming a Moore fan after his epic war with Macklin and I was a bit sad to see him lose before getting a shot at the world level. That being said, Rhodes story is a pretty remarkable one. This late career renaissance has been pretty special and I hope he gets the opportunity to challenge for world honors.

Super 6 thoughts……

-- I can’t say I was surprised by either result. Abraham was my favorite going into the tournament and nothing changed. I thought it was a dominant and brilliant performance. His style is frustrating at times, but incredibly effective. Winky Wright/George Foreman. while many dislike his cautious approach, he always tries to close the show in style when he doesn’t need to and I think that should be respected. Lost in his numbing power is one of the toughest defenses in the sport and a very underrated ring IQ. King Arthur knows what he is doing every second of every round.

-- I don’t have much good things to say about Froch/Dirrell. Andre had the skill to win, but not the will. His mid round performance was akin to watching a horny dog hump a leg, chair, table, etc… This was John Ruiz quality holding, but at least Ruiz had the excuse that he needed the tactic to compete. Dirrell on the other hand has a world of talent, which he showed in the 11th round when he sat down on his punches. But even then, he held Froch after clearly hurting him. I scored the fight for Dirrell by a point but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t happy to see that kind of fighting go without reward. Maybe he will learn from it, but I’m expecting him to give us a Usain Bolt impression against Art.

Looking Ahead To This Weekend...

We have a rematch of fight more remembered for the scoring than the sizzling action, and David Haye finally gets the opportunity to walk the walk.

-- The first time Chad Dawson faced off against Glen Johnson I expected the veteran to give Chad his toughest fight but fall short to the young man's immense talent by a 8-4 type decision in a solid fight. The Road Warrior far exceeded that and it was one of the years better fights with far wider scores than should have been. Don’t ever accuse me of learning from previous errors, as I believe Dawson’s speed and resilience controls the action and gets through some rough spots for an 8-4 type decision on Saturday night. It should put to rest the outcry of robbery from the first fight. BTW, I scored that one a draw.

-- I’m not sure if it’s the sleep inducing boredom of watching Wladimir be the most reluctant knockout artist in the history of the ring or the lack of viable challengers to face his more willing brother, but I’m all in on David Haye. Yes I see the flaws, but I don’t care. He is entertaining in the ring and outside of it. If a 47yr old warlord legend was too fast of hand and foot for the lumbering giant sleeping pill that is Valuev, Haye should be able to land as he pleases. David will exhibit more smarts in there than people give him credit for, avoiding Valuev’s hugging, slamming home some hard body shots and becoming the first man to floor the Yeti with a blinding right hand. The winner by seventh round knockout and a much needed breath of fresh air... David Haye!

A Fight I’ve Been Thinking About...

-- Here is one between two rough and tumble HOF fighters that tend to get overlooked. How about Joel Casamayor vs Jeff Fenech at 130? Bruising inside action would be the main course for this evening. Jeff’s relentless pressure meets the Cuban's toughness and boxing skills. I think it would certainly have ugly moments, but there would be a ton of action and it's likely to end up a tight decision. Give me Fenech by split decision in a fight that neither man is hurt, with about ten swing rounds. Joel is once again outraged by the judges and if they do it ten more times, it’s ten more split nods.

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