If there are any boxing fans still left out there or you want to give boxing another chance. I suggest you tune into HBO on Saturday night for the Bantamweight title fight between Fernando Montiel and Nonito Donaire. It isn’t just for the WBC and WBO belts, but it is also for supremacy in the division.
Showtime has been putting on a bantamweight tournament, with the final in April. The only problem is the winner will only be the third best bantamweight in the world. The top guy will be decided on Saturday. You have the defending champion Fernando Montiel of Mexico with a record of 44-2-2. he won his first title over 10 years ago at the tender age of 21. He suffered a slight lull, after he lost that belt to Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson in 2003; but in the last few years has been on a tear destroying people in the bantamweight division. His opponent the Filipino Nonito Donaire is moving up from Jr. Bantamweight with a record of 25-1. His only loss came 9 years ago in his second pro fight.
The knock on bantamweights has always been that even though there fights are action-packed, they usually seem to be hitting with pillows not bricks. These guys are different. Montiel and Donaire both have 9 Ko’s in their last 11 fights. This has included good competition like Hozumi Hasegawa and Vic Darchinyan.
This promises to be an exciting fight with hopefully a definitive conclusion. It is certainly a tough fight to judge. Montiel is probably the better technical boxer. Donaire, like his countryman Pacquiao, has the superior workrate. They both hit hard for their size. The final determination will probably who has the stamina and constitution to keep up their attack in the late rounds. Since he is just a little younger and fresher, I am going to go with Donaire by late KO. Of course , I wouldn’t be surprised by any other result.
It should be good, so don’t miss it.
Here are my current rankings in each division. I call it the Lambert Boxing Federation. Very Humble of me, I know. I only like to have one champion per division and since reality won’t ever allow that, i have to do it myself. Since I use the th3 Ric Flair philosophy of you have to beat the man to be the man, sometimes the guy I think is best isn’t my champion. It’s whoever beat the previous man. So anyway, here goes.
1. Vitali Klitschko Marco Huck Bernard Hopkins
2. Alexander Povetkin Guillermo Jones Zsolt Erdei
3. David Haye Krzystof Wlodarczyk Tavoris Cloud
4. Tomasz Adamek Danny Green Chad Dawson
5. Odlanier Solis Yoan Hernandez Jurgen Brahmer
Super Middleweight 168 Middleweight 160 Jr. Middleweight 154
Ch: Andre Ward Sergio Martinez Sergei Dzindziruk
1. Lucien Bute Felix Sturm Miguel Cotto
2. Mikkel Kessler Paul Williams Alfredo Angulo
3. Carl Froch Sebastian Zbik Vanes Martirosyan
4. Andre Dirrell Dmitry Pirog Saul Alvarez
5. Robert Stieglitz Sebastien Sylvester Cornelius Bundrage
Welterweight 147 Jr. Welterweight 140 Lightweight 135
Ch: Floyd Mayweather Timothy Bradley Juan Manuel Marquez
1. Manny Pacquiao Amir Khan Humberto Soto
2. Andre Berto Marcos Maidana Robert Guerrero
3. Shane Mosley Devon Alexander Miguel Acosta
4. Jan Zaveck Zab Judah Miguel Vazquez
5. Mike Jones Andreas Kotelnik Brandon Rios
Jr.Lightweight 130 Featherweight 126 Jr.Featherweight 122
Ch: Ricky Burns Chris John Toshiaki Nishioka
1. Jorge Linares Yuriorkis Gamboa Wilfredo Vazquez
2. Takashi Uchiyama Juan Manuel Lopez Guillermo Rigondeaux
3. Jorge Solis Elio Rojas Steve Molitor
4. Takahiro Aoh Hozumi Hasegawa Teon Kennedy
5. Jason Litzau Rafael Marquez Akifumi Shimoda
Bantamweight 118 Jr.Bantamweight 115 Flyweight 112
Ch: Fernando Montiel Hugo Cazares Daiki Kameda
1. Nonito Donaire Omar Narvaez Pongsaklek Wonjongkam
2. Abner Mares Cristian Mijares Moruti Mthalane
3. Anselmo Moreno Tomas Rojas Daisuke Naito
4. Joseph Agbeko Drian Francisco Julio Miranda
5. Vic Darchinyan Raul Martinez Milan Melindo
Jr.Flyweight 108 Strawweight 105
Ch: Luis Lazarte Kazuto Ioka
1. Giovanni Segura Nkosinathi Joyi
2. Roman Gonzalez Donnie Nietes
3. Ivan Calderon Raul Garcia
4. Ulises Solis Kwanthai Sithmorseng
5. Gilberto Keb Baas Pornsawan Porpramook
Upcoming big fights (LBF fights in bold)
2/19 Fernado Montiel vs. Nonito Donaire Bantamweight
Felix Sturm vs. Ronald Hearns Middleweight
3/5 Zab Judah vs. Kaizer Mabuza Jr. welterweight
Saul Alvarez vs. Matthew Hatton Jr. middleweight
3/12 Sergio Martinez vs. Sergei Dzinziruk Middleweight
Ricky Burns vs. Joseph Laryea Jr. lightweight
Miguel Cotto vs. Ricardo Mayorga Jr. middleweight
3/19 Lucien Bute vs. Brian Magee Super middleweight
Vitali Klitschko vs. Odlanier Solis Heavyweight
3/26 Yuriorkis Gamboa vs. Jorge Solis Featherweight
4/2 Giovanni Segura vs. Ivan Calderon Jr. flyweight
Marco Huck vs. Giaccobe Fragomeni Cruiserweight
4/8 Toshiaki Nishioka vs. Mauricio Munoz Jr. featherweight
4/9 Marcos Maidana vs. Erik Morales Jr. welterweight
4/16 Juan Manuel Lopez vs. Orlando Salido Featherweight
Andre Berto vs. Victor Ortiz Welterweight
Amir Khan vs. Paul McCloskey Jr. welterweight
4/17 Chris John vs. Daud Yordan Featherweight
4/23 Joseph Agbeko vs. Abner Mares Bantamweight
4/30 Wladimir Klitschko vs. Dereck Chisora Heavyweight
5/7 Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley Welterweight
Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. vs. Jorge Arce Jr. featherweight
Humberto Soto vs. Urbano Antillon Lightweight
5/14 Andre Ward vs. Arthur Abraham Super middleweight
5/21 Jean Pascal vs. Bernard Hopkins Lt. heavyweight
Carl Froch vs. Glen Johnson Super middleweight
Comments on Facebook