There will be no surprise in De La Hoya-Mayweather bout

We may only be seven years into it, but again, we have another Fight of the Century this weekend. In this version, we’re going to see unbeaten Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather 37-0 (24) take on a still youthful, but veteran fighter in Oscar De La Hoya 38-4 (30) for De La Hoya’s WBC Light Middleweight title.


What exactly makes this a candidate for Fight of the Century status? Well, we have Mayweather, who’s generally regarded as the best pound for pound boxer on the planet against The Golden Boy, one of the sport’s most popular fighters ever, and still a world class warrior. The fight stacks up pretty evenly as the advantages Mayweather carries into the ring with him, such as speed for example, could possibly be negated by De La Hoya’s naturally larger size. While Mayweather has been weaving a path of destruction through the super featherweight to welterweight divisions over the years, this is going to be his first fight as a light middleweight.


De La Hoya may have the experience factor going for him as he’s arguably had the bigger fights against some of the best in the world in the likes of Bernard Hopkins, Shane Mosely, Felix Trinidad, and Julio Cesar Chavez. However, let’s not forget that De La Hoya lost to Hopkins, Trinidad, and twice to Mosely. If De La Hoya was a baseball player, his batting average would actually be quite low when coming to the plate with all the marbles on the line.


Could this possibly help the Golden Boy though? Will he have learned a valuable lesson in losing his big fights, such as knowing not to cruise over the last few rounds like he did when having a lead over Trinidad? It’s possible that Oscar will be more aggressive because of his past mistakes, and he’s going to have to be, to beat Mayweather. De La Hoya needs to use his left jab and also hook off of it, as this tactic seems to keep Mayweather off balance and on the defensive. At least it has in the past. De La Hoya needs to set the pace and not let Floyd get into any type of rhythm. He has to constantly be throwing punches as Mayweather can strike like a bolt of lightning if you relax and give him the opportunity.


As for the Pretty Boy, well he’s also had his share of big fights in the past against Diego Corrales, Arturo Gatti, and Zab Judah. His most difficult fights however, were both against Jose Luis Castillo, who Mayweather beat twice by unanimous decision. While Mayweather’s an excellent boxer, I don’t think he’s quite lived up to his reputation as being an all time great or the best pound for pound boxer out there yet. If he wins on Saturday night, it will surely help his cause though.


Actually, it might not be Mayweather’s fault that he hasn’t lived up to his billing though, because he hasn’t really been consistently tested. Sure, Castillo gave him a hard time, and Judah actually won the first four rounds against him in my books, but I haven’t seen him involved in a rock em sock em fight and I haven’t seen anybody keep the pressure on him all night long. I think he’s going to get hit harder than he’s ever been hit before when the bigger De La Hoya connects with a solid shot.


There are also some intangibles here. De La Hoya definitely needs to be well prepared, and Freddie Roach, his trainer, is a good man for the job. The Mayweather camp is often surrounded in controversy and turmoil and it’s often seen as a tug of war between Floyd’s dad and his uncle Roger. But, Mayweather doesn’t really seem to be a guy who lets this bother him. He has all the confidence and swagger in the world and genuinely seems to enjoy everything going on around him. If you’ve seen HBO’s excellent 24/7 preview series on the fight you know that Mayweather basks in the limelight and is in love with the camera. And that’s great, that’s what boxing needs right now.


On the other hand, De La Hoya seems to be taking the low road and quietly goes about his business, with the odd hint of emotion thrown in now and again. But, I think Oscar fights better when he’s pissed off. He needs to be riled up. For most boxers, fighting angry is often the kiss of death, but it motivates, and works for De La Hoya because he’s a very proud man and it hurts his pride when he feels he’s been insulted. Just ask Ricardo Mayorga about that. He paid for it dearly as De La Hoya systematically beat the hell out of him. In fact, it was exactly a year ago from this Saturday’s fight. And don’t laugh, but because of his Mexican heritage, the date of this bout may also give De La Hoya a slight psychological boost as it’s being held on Cinco de Mayo Day.


So who’s going to win this year’s version of the Fight of the Century you ask? Well, I think De La Hoya possesses the size and skills to beat Mayweather, but doing it is another thing entirely. He has to have all cylinders firing and can’t afford to let Mayweather set the pace. He also has to stay focused at all times. If De La Hoya wins on Saturday night it won’t come as a surprise to me. Then again if he loses, that won’t come as surprise to me either.

Too Much Too Soon for the Penguins

It was simply a case of too much, too soon for the Pittsburgh Penguins in this year’s NHL playoffs. The team improved tremendously over the past year going from missing the playoffs to a 105 point season and 23 games over 500. However, as far as the post season is concerned going from one of the worst to one of the best teams overnight is often the kiss of death.

The Penguins are stacked with excellent young talent in every position, with Marc Andre Fleury in net, Ryan Whitney on defence, Jordan Staal, Evgeni Malkin, Erik Christensen, and Sidney Crosby up front. They also have a mixture of experience and toughness with Gary Roberts, Mark Recchi, Sergei Gonchar, and Georges Laraque. However, while the Penguins are loaded with young talent, most of them are players without any NHL playoff experience, and it definitely showed against Ottawa.

In fact, the Senators are a prime example of a youthful team with an abundance of playoff experience. Ottawa is the fourth youngest team in the league, but the players combine for a wealth of post season games between them. This is the type of team the Penguins will eventually turn into over the next few seasons. They may win a few series along the way, but it will probably also come with some heartbreak as well. The youngsters will eventually learn that playoff hockey is a lot different than the regular season. This is especially true this year with the playoffs having a very nasty aura about them. The teams tighten up and a lot of the free-wheeling Penguins found they didn’t have much room to move and react on the ice.

Of course, this is the new NHL and it seems like any one of the 30 teams could win the Cup when the season starts and I may end up with egg on my face next year. However, it took Ottawa a few seasons of getting an annual ass-kicking from the Toronto Maple Leafs to finally put things together in the playoffs, and this is likely going to be the situation with the Penguins as well

Mackie sliced by Razor in title fight

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Larry "Razor" Sharpe definitely looked like a man on a mission on April 18th as he systematically beat down Canadian middleweight champion Bryon Mackie at the 22nd annual Shaw Festival card in Toronto. Sharpe won the vacant WBA Intercontinental Light Middleweight Title in one of the best Canadian fights in years as a bloodied, bruised, and beaten Mackie called it quits after the 10th round. Sharpe had been waiting five months to avenge his close and controversial 10-round split decision loss to Mackie last November in a Canadian title bout. However, Sharpe didn't regain the title with the win as the bout was contracted at junior middleweight. The Canadian title wasn't on Sharpe's mind though, as he just wanted the opportunity to even the score with Mackie at any weight.

Sharpe started the bout strongly by using his southpaw style to good effect. He rocked Mackie in the first round but showed some patience and stuck to his game plan. Mackie answered well, and the fight was give and take for the first three rounds. Sharpe picked up the pace in the fourth as he snapped Mackie's head back numerous times with some hard, accurate shots. He pinned Mackie against the ropes and unloaded an onslaught of punches. However, Mackie stood his ground and countered with some effective uppercuts and right hands to Sharpe's head.

The fifth and sixth rounds were also good ones for Sharpe as he continued to press the action and had Mackie against the ropes and in the corner several times. Mackie's face was visibly becoming red and swollen after taking the punishment. Sharpe appeared to tire slightly in the seventh round, and the two accidentally collided heads, adding more woes to Mackie's bloodied face.It appeared that Sharpe gained his second wind in the eighth and the two engaged in some lively exchanges. This all came to a sudden halt though, as the referee led Mackie to his corner for repairs to his glove. The action slowed a little after this, but Sharpe finally caught Mackie against the ropes and inadvertently caught him in the face with a shoulder or elbow, causing Mackie to wince in pain and turn his back to the action.

Sharpe continued to press the action in the ninth and 10th rounds and it appeared as though Mackie was making his last stand midway through the 10th as he threw everything he had at Sharpe, but couldn't stop the constant barrage of leather coming his way. Mackie had apparently shot his load and told his cornermen he was finished at the end of the round.

With the win, the 32-year-old Sharpe from Pine Falls, Manitoba raises his record to 18-4 (7), while the 33-year-old Mackie of Orangeville, Ontario falls to 28-14 (10).

On the undercard, welterweight Michael Springer 5-2-1 (2) of Trinidad and Tobago beat Corey Houston 3-3-1 (2) of Winnipeg, Manitoba by a six round unanimous decision. The scores were 59-55, 59-55, and 58-56.

Middleweights Codey Hannah 5-0-1 (2) of Winnipeg, and Tebor Brosch 0-1-1 of Toronto fought to an exciting four round draw. The scores were 39-37, 37-39, and 38-38. Hannah had beaten Brosch by a close unanimous decision three months ago in Brosch's pro debut.

The evening opened with a three round exhibition match featuring 45-year-old former Commonwealth and Canadian welterweight champion Donovan Boucher 30-5 (18), who retired in 1996, against 40-year-old Abdullah Ramadan 13-7 (9), who hadn't fought since 1998. Boucher is trying to receive a license to box competitively in Ontario and he also challenged the winner of the Sharpe vs Mackie bout.

Former world heavyweight champ Joe Frazier, former Canadian heavyweight champ George Chuvalo and former WBF and Canadian welterweight champ Fitz Vanderpool were all guests at the bouts.

Time's over for overtime

I like overtime in the NHL. In fact, I think it's a lot more exciting than the shootout. I actually go from channel to channel nightly on the satellite to find overtime games or games that are likely to go into OT. And since I'm a night owl, when the playoffs come around, the longer the overtime goes the better it is, for me personally anyway. However, after staying up to 3:30 the other morning to witness the Vancouver Canucks finally do away with the Dallas Stars, I'm reconsidering my love for the extra periods. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to see overtime eliminated from the playoffs, but would like to see a two period limit put on it. If nobody scores after an extra 40 minutes of action, then go to a shootout. Another possiblity may be going 5 on 5 in the first overtime period and then 4 on 4 in the second.

There are several reasons for limiting the length of a game. The first has to do with the fans. Most of the kiddies have to get up for school the next day and mum and dad need to wake up for work. It's sometimes hard to do after trying to stay awake for a marathon game. Another consideration is travel arrangements. Some fans are on a schedule, especially away fans, as they may have buses, trains, or planes to catch. Even the hometown fans may have a hard time getting home on the local transit systems at early hours in the morning, and then there's the case of the babysitter too.

The hockey itself often suffers in a long overtime game. I'm not sticking up for million dollar athletes here, but it's a natural human condition to get tired after several hours of activity. Both of these teams were so out of it by the second overtime period the other night that the Stars were absolutely pathetic on a two-man advantage and came nowhere close to ending it then and there. While Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo faced a record 76 shots, most of them were of the harmless variety in overtime. The fans seemed so disinterested in the game that the GM Place resembled the morgue-like Air Canada Centre during most of the overtime. This game, which was the sixth longest in NHL history, could conceivably affect the rest of the series in a negative way.

I think it would benefit everybody involved, including the television networks, if a two period cap was put on the game. This should incite more exciting and desperate hockey. I have to admit I also have a selfish reason for wanting a cap on overtime, and that's the fact I'm worried that the bars will close down before the game's finally over.

Who was that Masked man?

German boxer Henry Maske (31-1, 11 kos) proved recently that where there's a will, there's a way, as he waited over 10 years to step back into the ring to avenge his only pro loss. Maske, a 6 foot 4 cruiserweight, lost a split decision and his IBF light heavyweight title to WBA champion Virgil Hill (50-6, 23 kos) in Munich, Germany in 1996. However, Maske was never satisfied with the result and figured he'd been given a raw deal by the judges, even though the fight was in his homeland. What Maske achieved on March 31st of this year, was one of boxing's all time greatest comebacks. The fight took place in the same stadium as the original bout and this time Hill was the WBA cruiserweight champion of the world. After not fighting professionally for over 10 years, Maske stepped back into the ring in Munich and in a fight of 43 year olds, beat Hill by a rather easy 12-round unanimous decision by scores of 117-110, 117-110, and 116-113. Maske tuned up by holding a couple of bouts in the gym behind closed doors, but after being out of the ring for over 10 years and coming back to beat a world champion, it was quite an achievement. The only negative side to the Cinderella story is that Hill's title wasn't on the line during the bout. After the victory, and amid rumours of a rubber match, Maske vowed it would be his last fight. Let's see how he feels about it in 10 year's time.

Amputate the Champions League

It may sound a little drastic, but it’s about time UEFA chopped one of the legs off of the Champions League playoff format. There are a few reasons for this, with the main one being better games for the fans. Because of the two-legged system you’ll often see away teams playing for draws. Hell, if they score an away goal, you’ll even see some teams happy with a loss. Rarely does an away team go out to win a game, and if they do, it’s usually a fluke. For example, a 10-man Manchester United squad was quite happy to take off from Rome last night with a 2-1 loss. I feel sorry for the fans who made their way to Italy to watch a team whose only goal was to score a goal. In a two-legged system the games don’t become interesting until the second match. Most first legs become snoozefests or all out wars between the restless fans. Again, we go back to last night in Rome, where the Italian riot police became so bored with the game, they decided to beat the hell out of the English supporters in the stadium. A one game winner-take-all set up would make for exciting games and not exhibitions of keep-away. Cutting down on the number of Champions League games should also silence well known whiners such as Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, who’s always crying about the crowded fixture list. So, you ask, what’s the solution to this dilemma of uninspired games? Well if you think hard, what’s more boring than the first leg of a Champions League playoff game? If you answered a Champions League group stage game, you’re right on the money. The group stages are often decided after the first few games and the rest of the matches are about as exciting as a wet Sunday. The way to solve this problem is to make every game mean something. If one leg is amputated from the playoff matches you may ask which team gets the game. This is where the group stage comes in. Make the teams earn the right to host knockout-stage games. The team that has the best record in the group stage gets to hold the playoff game at home. This will give everybody incentive to win each contest and to score as many goals as possible. The top team in the group stages would then earn home field advantage throughout the playoffs until the Cup final. If you really want to liven things up, let them play the final at home too. The amount of games will be cut down, crowd trouble will be cut down, and excitement levels will be raised. This will also make the Champions League more prestigious. Of course it will never happen though, because money talks and we all know that Europe’s major soccer teams are hurting for cash.

Leafs make fans sweat it out again

It's no wonder a fan had a suspected heart attack at the Air Canada Centre the other night, the way these guys play. Just why is it the Leafs have to do everything the hard way? And this is nothing new, it's been going on since the last time a Leaf player saw the Stanley Cup anywhere other than at the Hall of Fame. Thats 40 years now, four decades for those of you on the metric system. Last night's game against Philadelphia was no exception. The Leafs peppered Martin Biron over the first two periods, but only scored two measly goals. Meanwhile at the other end of the ice, Andrew Raycroft had faced about six shots and was keeping the Flyers in the game more than his own team. As usual, Toronto played a brutal third period while holding a lead. They took a penalty right off the bat and then two more around the eight minute mark to put themselves two men down. Surprisingly, they killed this off, but again, the Leafs stopped skating and pressuring in the third period to try and hang on to a lead. And of course, they blew it again. The Leafs forwards couldn't bury a bone in the backyard right now, let alone a puck in the net, so it came as no surprise that Bryan McCabe saved their bacon in overtime on a power play goal, with two other defencemen, Gill and White netting the other goals. If the Leafs don't start playing 60 minutes of solid hockey on Thursday, it's going to come back and bite them in the ass and they'd deeply regret it next week if they find themselves on the golf course. And another thing, Paul Maurice isn't a bad coach. In fact, he's a breath of fresh air compared to Pat Quinn. But I'd like to know why Mats Sundin and Tomas Kaberle started the overtime on the bench? You have to start your top players in overtime. There's no two ways about it. The first shift may be the only shift and Maurice would have looked a fool if the Flyers had scored early in overtime.

How the Leafs make the playoffs 101

If the Toronto Maple Leafs are ever going to end their miserable 40-season cupless drought, they're going to have to make the playoffs first. With three games to go, it depends on which Leafs team shows up to run out the string. If it's the team that stunk the joint out worse than the circus did at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night, they may as well throw in the towel right now. However, if the same bunch of guys who scored impressive wins over Buffalo, and Carolina last week, decide to lace up the skates, then you should start lining up behind the scalpers for tickets as soon as possible. For the Leafs to be successful, they need all cylinders running, not just half of them. This means they have to utilize their speed, size and forechecking. Once they stop skating, as they did when 4-1 leads were blown to Buffalo and Pittsburgh, they're going to win about as many games as Vanilla Ice had hit singles. With some good sized forwards, the leafs should also be forechecking with two men in on the puck as quickly as possible. They need to wear the defencemen down and control the corners. Guys like Wellwood and Kaberle are excellent playmakers, but need to shoot more. Raycroft needs to equal Jesus when it comes to save percentage and last but not least, they have to stay out of the penalty box, because their penalty killing is about as efficient as a one-legged cyclist. Go Leafs Go, as the witty and original chant goes.