No Quick Jabs column this week. There just isn’t anything much going on that I haven’t written about. Here’s the grand total, other than the most minor of minor tidbits:
- Lou DiBella says Don King’s team did some underhanded business and now light heavyweight Tavoris Cloud won’t be fighting Glen Johnson on his April 10 show. King rejects the idea that anything funny is going on. I’m inclined to believe DiBella. I’m inclined to believe Cloud can’t stop making bad decisions about his promising career. Meanwhile, the featherweight bout between Celestino Caballero and Daud Yordan will replace that fight, and it’s an excellent replacement. In other light heavyweight news, we have to wait until August for Chad Dawson-Jean Pascal.
- Old boxer James Toney is moving to the UFC. I don’t think his mixed martial arts career will last long at all. As long as it takes someone to put some kind of hold on him. It saddens me to see this happening, and if the UFC argues it got anything more than a “freak show” by signing a boxing legend past his prime, I don’t know who they’re fooling.
Everything else was like, “Julio Cesar Chavez is going to train his sons!” So let’s just visit what’s on the boxing schedule other than the junior welterweight bout between Devon Alexander and Juan Urango on HBO.
- Vic Darchinyan-Rodrigo Guerrero/Leonardo Zappavigna-Fernando Angulo, Showtime, Saturday, California. Extra fun junior bantamweight Darchinyan takes on the inexperienced Guerrero, who’s fought and beat the likes of an older Luis Maldanado. Vic probably won’t have much trouble, but Guerrero’s not the worst opponent Darchinyan could have faced. The lightweight bout between Zappavigna and Angulo figures to be quite a brawl.
- “Road To Dallas” Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey Preview, HBO, Saturday. I left this off the schedule originally. Doesn’t it say something that this welterweight fight isn’t getting the “24/7” treatment? We know Manny pretty well to say the least from previous 24/7 serieses; the appeal of this, if anything, is getting to know Clotey.
- Martin Honorio and Rico Ramos, ESPN2, Friday, California. Honorio’s coming off the biggest win of his career, an upset of lightweight prospect John Molina, Jr. (who’s on the undercard and is citing flu as the reason he lost to Honorio). There aren’t many clues about his opponent, Wilton Hilario, in his short record, but he’s been described in kind terms by some. Ramos, a junior featherweight prospect I like, takes on journeyman Cecilio Santos, who’s been in with some top opponents and figures to be a reasonable opponent for this phase of Ramos’ career.
- Shamone Alvarez-Alexis Camacho, GoFightLive, Saturday, New Jersey. This welterweight fight is pretty evenly matched. They’re boxers who have some talent but have had some setbacks, too. Also on the card is fun heavyweight brawler Vinny Maddalone.
- Ricardo Dominguez-Ivan Valle, Fox Sports, Saturday, Mexico. I’d be lying if I said I knew anything, really, about lightweight Dominguez, although I recognize the names of some people who have beaten him. Likewise with Valle. They were apparently part of a Mexican boxing tournament last fall. I’d also be lying if I said I could predict which Fox Sports channel this will appear on.
- The Rest. Sebastien Demers fights William Joppy at super middleweight Saturday, and SecondsOut will webcast it (for a fee)… welterweight prospect Saul Alvarez fights Saturday in advance of his expected appearance on the Floyd Mayweather-Shane Mosley undercard… junior middleweight Jimmy Lange, who has a big following in my region, fights Saturday in a show I very well might attend.
