| Forrest-Mosley II Preview; Larry Holmes vs. Butterbean? | |
| Boxing News & Notes: July 19, 2002 | |
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On Saturday, July 20, undefeated WBC welterweight champion Vernon Forrest (34-0, 1 NC) defends his title against "Sugar" Shane Mosley (38-1) in a highly anticipated rematch. Forrest took the first fight by a shockingly easy and lopsided 12 round decision back on January 26 in New York City. In the rematch, Forrest has to guard against overconfidence and once again impose his longer reach on Mosley. Mosley needs to get inside Forrest's jab and work the body early and often. Both are world class talents but Forrest is a natural welterweight while Mosley steadily built up his body to compete at 147 pounds. Much like Bernard Hopkins' easy defeat of Felix Trinidad, all else equal, the good big fighter should beat the good smaller fighter. Expect that to be the case again with Forrest being the better man in the ring on Saturday night. Warning: If the fight DOES go the distance and IS close, don't be shocked to see the decision go to Mosley, which would provide a natural set up for a third match between the two. Not suggesting the fix is in on this one -- just speaking from experience. On the plus side, this bout is on HBO rather than pay-per-view.
On Tuesday, July 23, former champ Aaron "Superman" Davis (48-6) meets Ross Thompson (25-5-1) in a bout to be carried on ESPN2. This bout is notable as it's only the second fight for Davis in the past 38 months! In his only action during the past three-plus years, Davis looked great in turning Vinny Pazienza into a bloody mess before stopping the Paz Man via eighth round TKO. Also notable is that this is the first professional boxing ever to be held at the New Roc City, a giant retail and entertainment complex in New Rochelle, NY. Finally, I'll be at the fights that night so come on down and we can talk some boxing! Next Saturday, July 27, is packed with heavyweight action, including John Ruiz (37-4-1) vs. Kirk Johnson (32-0-1) for Ruiz' WBA title on HBO, Clifford Etienne (24-1) vs. Frans Botha (44-4-1) on Showtime, and Larry Holmes (68-6) vs. Eric "Butterbean" Esch (63-2-3) on - get this - pay-per-view! At $19.95, it will be interesting to see what kind of audience the Holmes-Butterbean freak show attracts with two legitimate bouts featuring competitive heavyweights on non-PPV channels at the same time. CLICK HERE FOR LATEST BOXING NEWS & NOTES
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