WEEKEND BOXING PREVIEW

Posted on | August 19, 2009 | No Comments

By: Patrick McElligott

August 22

At Houston (HBO): Juan Diaz vs. Paulie Malignaggi, 12 rounds, junior welterweights; Malcolm Klassen vs. Robert Guerrero, 12 rounds, for Klassen’s IBF junior lightweight title; Daniel Jacobs vs. Ishe Smith, 10 rounds, middleweights.

There are a number of interesting fight cards this weekend. But, before looking at one in particular, I wanted to address some news today, regarding Nick Charles from Showtime. Charles, who is one of the ringside announcers for the ShoBox series, is fighting bladder cancer. I’ve always enjoyed listening to Charles, and think that he adds to the sport, because he clearly loves boxing.

Charles also has respect and admiration for the men who step inside of the ring, and participate in the Great Sport. Not only that, but I’ve had the opportunity to meet Nick Charles and Steve Farhood at the Boxing Hall of Fame, and they are outstanding guys. They were happy to take the time to mix with the people at the annual induction ceremonies.

I’m hoping for a quick and full recovery for Nick Charles. I look forward to him returning to ringside, as soon as he is able to.

Now, for some of this week’s fights. There were a large number of cards that I did not include at the top of this article, mainly because they are not being televised. However, it is interesting to note that there are a number of good fights scheduled in the middleweight divisions. There are also some less competitive or interesting fights, involving some of the older heavyweights. That sums up the state of boxing’s big division.

HBO is featuring a very good card on Saturday. It includes the IBF super featherweight title match between Malcolm Klassen (24-4-2, 15 KOs) and. Robert Guerrero (24-1-1, 17 KOs);
and also a junior welterweight fight between Juan Diaz (34-2, 17 KOs) and. Paul Malignaggi (26-2, 5 KOs); and a middleweight fight bout featuring Daniel Jacobs (17-0, 15 KOs) vs. Ishe Smith (21-3, 9 KOs).

Daniel Jacobs, 22, is one of the most talented prospects that I’ve had the pleasure of watching in recent years. He won 7 national amateur championships between 2003 and ’06. And since turning professional, he has been showing consistent improvement.

Ishe Smith, 31, was an undefeated prospect, until losing to tough Sergio Mora in NBC’s “The Contender,” in 2004. He appeared to lose focus, and lost two of his next six fights. But he’s put together a couple of wins in a row, including an upset win over previously undefeated Pawel Wolak last year.

It should be an interesting fight. Smith isn’t a big banger, but he has a good chance of winning. He needs to set the pace, and frustrate Jacobs’ attempts to land combinations. Still, I favor the younger man in this fight by unanimous decision.

In the co-feature, Robert Guerrero moves up in weight, to try to take the IBF super featherweight crown. He’s had an impressive run as a featherweight, wining both the NABF and IBF titles. I thought that one of his most impressive victories came in a February, 2008 title defense against hard-punching Jason Litzau, who he KOed in 8 rounds. Guerrero’s only loss came in 2005, when he lost a split-decision to Gamaliel Diaz; six months later, he flatten Diaz in a return match.

South Africa’s Malcolm “Stone” Klassen is also a hard-punching, talented fighter. This will be his first fight in the United States. He has definitely faced some quality opposition in his career, but I think Guerrero has more experience against top-notched fighters. It could prove difficult for Klassen to debut here against someone as tough as Guerrero. Still, he is the naturally bigger man, and is certainly aware of the scar tissue over Guerrero’s eye. This should be a slugfest, and it is difficult to imagine it going more than five or six rounds.

The main event is a contest between two seasoned veterans, in one of those fights where I wish that neither man had to lose. Juan Diaz and Paul Malignaggi are scheduled to go 12 rounds in what is definitely a “crossroads fight” for both.

Diaz, 25, is a college-educated former lightweight champion, who is moving up in weight after losing two of his last three fights. These are his only loses, and loses to warriors like Nate Campbell and Juan Manuel Marquez is no shame. However, Diaz absorbed a significant amount of punishment in both of these fights. Going against Malignaggi now is a clear indicator of what a tough competitor Diaz is.

Malignaggi, 28, is a thoughtful man, who often comes off as a brash street urchin. He also has only two loses, to Miguel Cotto and Ricky Hatton. He, too, took a lot of punishment in those fights. Although he had problems with his hands, and wasn’t considered a powerful puncher, Paul actually wobbled Cotto late in their fight.

Diaz is an aggressive fighter, who can be counted on to throw a high volume of punches. In the past, he would have had trouble finding Malignaggi in the ring. However, in what I consider a bad move, Paul bulked up after the Cotto fight. I understand why he would want to put on some muscle to compete in one of the toughest divisions in boxing. However, he has slowed down half a step, and his once brilliant defensive skill are not what they once were.

There are going to be two important factors in this fight. The first will be who is able to do more damage with their punches? Make no mistake: both of these fighters has the ability to hurt anyone they hit. But, more important, will be who can keep up a fast pace in that ring longer? One of the two is likely to pull out a decision, by imposing their will in the last few rounds in an otherwise close fight. I think that even though there is not a title at stake, this should be one of the most interesting fights of 2009.