they made their picks on today's fight?

Arreola by split decision - Ben "The Hype" Thompson

Arreola TKO 6 - Percy "Talent" Crawford

Seriously guys what were you on Peyote? Acid? Meth? you must have been on some bender to put those predictions up guys.....

LMAO

I dug the picks. As big a pussies as both Klitchko's are, it's absolutely feasible that anyone w a punch that can weather an early storm and still have some gas in the tank down the stretch can starch either of the brothers, and that's IF they don't catch them on the chin early - MORESO w baby brother than Vitaly, but still. Honestly I was surprised as many guys in the prediction league picked Arreola as they did. To be fair though, what fucking fun is it if you read 25 predictions and they all read Klit? Especially one liners?

I didnt think Arreola had a chance, based on what I have seen of him, but at the same time, can't say I would have been completely shocked if Vitaly blew over if you breathed on him right...and in bullshitting w Hype during the fight, at about round 8, he almost looked like a genius.

Im just amazed Larry Merchant lauded Vitaly's performance as much as he did. I mean - "cold, calculated, cerebral killer" and "masterful technical performance"? The real question should be "WHAT DRUGS IS LARRY MERCHANT ON"? Those Klitchkos lumber around the ring like newborn ponies on ice.

I was hoping an Arreola upset....but Vitali had spoken!...Klitschko deserve our respect!...

Fuck that. The only way I might even consider it is if these two fags fought each other. HBO should throw silly money at them to make it happen. Bill the fight, "Indecent Proposal".

I have NEVER seen someone with so many advantages over their opponent fight like such a bitch

Bill the fight "Million Dollar Sparring". I hear a lot of people clamoring for the Klits to fight. I believe they would do it, for the right amount of money, go 12 rounds and not hurt themselves, and laugh all the way to the bank.

eXXXXXXXactly.

...and GREAT point, Yuca.

I have...Wladamir.

I stand corrected....even BETTER point, Lightsout!

You didn't watch the Floyd-JMM fight last week?

Exactly, plus Vitali is 10 yrs older than Arreola...

LOL. You're right. I didn't. I was jammed up last Sat with other stuff. Do tell, brotha.

Floyd literally looked like Williams towering over Mitchell compared with JMM - the size difference was preposterous. It was almost embarassing for boxing. And the speed difference was at least as dramatic as it was between JMM and Pac (I actually think Floyd is faster than Pac, and if Pac moved up to 147 it would be very clear) - and yet Floyd fought a counterpuncher's fight all night. Christ, with the way Floyd ran, you would have thought he was in there with a lion like Baldomir!

Seriously, it was the most Floyd performance in the history of Floyd performances. There wasn't even the slightest pretense of Floyd ever going for the ko. And there's not one chance in ten million that JMM would have lasted 12 rounds with ANY real ww - take your pick: Marg, Cotto, Judah, Williams, Mosley,...even Berto.

I really really want there to be a Cotto-Pac 2 and 3 so that Floyd gets sqeezed out. Let's see who he wants after Cotto-Pac 2 is signed for 6 months later. My guess is it'll either be Vasquez or Arce (Floyd's shrewd and knows that the Latino's will ALWAYS fall for his bullshit).

Very interesting. Im sure you just made a new friend in MarzB

Tell it to Fraud Gayweather...

why can't the sanctioning bodies just sit there and say "we need a unified champion. Either fight each other and unify the belts, or we're stripping you"

It's not like they are averse to stripping people of titles for nonsense reasons. This would actually make sense, and be for the benefit of the sport.

Or have HBO/Showtime refuse to participate in any fight they do until they fight each other.

The size difference wasn't as great as you make it sound. Williams-Mitchell? LOL...please. For start..only 2 inches and maybe about 5 pounds seperated Mayweather and Marquez...how many inches does Williams have over his WW opponents?

I was exaggerating slightly for affect. But seriously, Floyd's shoulders compared with JMM's shoulders was the entire fight, talent/speed/coordination aside. You have to admit that it was striking. And they were separated by more than 5 pounds.

5 Pounds, George?

We'll never know because Floyd didn't weigh in the night of the fight. All we know is that Floyd was unable to make 144 and JMM weighed 142 at the weigh in - and most of JMM's weight was in his gut.

The size difference was substantial and obvious.

Technically, we'll never know, but I think it's safe to say - we know.

We know alright. Floyd completely dwarfed Juan.


LMAO at the "lion like Baldomir" line first of all.

If Cotto and Pac rematch (and I too would love nothing more than for that to happen), I honestly think Floyd will look to make a fight with Chris John. John's undefeated he'll say, and owns a win over JMM like himself. He's the perfect opponent for Floyd. No power, no threat. That or the rematch with Hatton at Wemblay. Funny how HBO chose NOT to air the Mayweather-Mosley post fight confrontation during the replay on Saturday, but rather to make only a passing mention of it, just enough for Floyd to say 'I wish Shane nothing but the best in his career.' That fight's NOT happening.

And count me among those with NO INTEREST in a Klit vs. Klit fight. It'd be a sparring session with both men making sure they didn't hurt the other.

My point was, we'll never know exactly WHAT it was, but it likely was a lot more then 5 pounds.

Can't speak for Percy, but it's usually greeny green for me.



Or maybe I was taking the same drugs that people were taking when they picked Marquez over Mayweather, Hatton over Pacquiao, De La Hoya over Pacquiao, Margarito over Mosley or Gatti over Mayweather.



All joking aside, I have to give you a reason to tune in to the fight and with so many people picking Klitschko, SOMEBODY has to go out on a limb (which, I believe, is what I said I was doing when I made that pick) and that somebody is usually me and/or Percy. I mean, if Arreola had absolutely no shot whatsoever, then what the hell are we watching the fight for in the first place?



Quite frankly, I was kind of shocked at the people who picked Arreola by KO. I have never seen Vitali ever seriously rocked in a fight...even when Lennox Lewis damn near decapitated him with that uppercut, he still look unfazed (albeit he was tired as hell).

Likewise, I was just as shocked at the people who picked Vitali by early KO. The guy just doesn't hit that hard to ice guys early like that.

Even though I figured Vitali was going to win (hence the reason why the safe bet was on him), I also thought there was a slim chance that Chris might be able to steal some sloppy rounds, go the distance and maybe, just maybe squeek out a controversial split decision in his own backyard...I don't mind putting something like that up there.

Regardless though, we do those picks for fun...none of us are experts or smarter than the average joe...although I'll gladly pit my prediction skills against yours any day of the week. Any time you're feeling froggy, just shoot me an email with your pick and I'll put it up for all the world to see. In fact, why don't you go ahead and let us know your early predictions for Haye vs. Valuev, Pacquiao vs. Cotto, Froch vs. Dirrell, Abraham vs. Taylor, Dawson vs. Johnson 2, Kessler vs. Ward and Bute vs. Andrade 2?

I'll come right out and say why I picked Marquez over Mayweather. Three things:

1.) Someone has to go out on a limb.

2.) I was completely sober. No substances of any kind.

3.) I can't pick Mayweather to win. His opponent could be Leonard Nimoy wearing a Howard the Duck costume, and I still couldn't pick him. Come to think of it, that may be his next $49.95 PPV fight, unless he got so pissed off at Kellerman for cutting off his interview that he refuses to fight for HBO anymore. Yes, I was pulling for Marquez. Hoping that there would be enough ring rust for something good to happen. Nope. PBF looked great.


I can't believe ANYONE picked Hatton over Pacquiao or Gatti over Mayweather. It boggles the mind. The others you can at least justify... somehow.

Picking Hatton over Pacquiao is a shitload more logical than picking Marquez over Mayweather.

Ok here goes Hype. Most of these fights I have little interest in but I will lay my opinion out there.

Valuev. (I will be pulling for Haye & he certainly has the tools to win but if it is in Germany then I would not be suprised by shady officiating ensuring a win for the Russian giant)

Pac. Could be wrong but I don't think that Cotto will handle the speed that Pac brings.

Froch. Truly going out on a limb as I have not seen much of Dirrell if he can box well he will beat Froch but Froch can punch fairly well.

Abraham. Puts a clinic on Taylor.

Dawson. Learns from his previous mistakes & does the job in this one.

Kessler. Ward does not impress me one iota.

Bute. If he is any good he will learn from his mistakes in the first Andrade fight & beat him.

I remember we tried to have a prediction league back at boxingtalk with t-shirts and that as prizes. Turned out we had a lot of pussies there that didn't join the free competition and see where they really rated

A extreme size advantage I can think of is Corrales/Clottey..Corrales was around 147 and Clottey was like 170-175..

When exactly have you seen vitali in trouble of being stopped? Sure lewis cut him up, but its not like his chin was checked and he was ready to go. Vitali has an excelent chin, and it will take more than just someone with the fortitude to carry his punch late into the fight to stop him

The above only really applies to Wlad. And wlads composure under pressure has improved, as evidenced in the Peter fight. These guys will be champs for as long as they chose to fight, boring as that may be

I was in that & I think I came 4th that year. That was a tough comp as you had to pick a winner & what round KO or SD, UD, MD or Draw & I think list your scores. Not too bad for a guy who has limited access to the boxing I can view.

Very cool. If you want, shoot me your email in a PM and I'll include you in the predictions on the front page (I'll get a more official pick from you as each fight gets closer).

Yeah, I remember that...maybe we should revisit the idea...I might be able to create some sort of automated system that let's you pick (although we'd still need people to administrate it by adding bouts and whatnot). I think picking scores might be a little too much, but I do think you should have to pick KO (and round), TKO (and round), UD, SD, MD, DRAW or DQ.

If you're going to do it, you should include the odds on a fight so that every vote starts with a 50-50% win/lose scoring system. You could also use odds to predict kos/uds ect. without making it too complicated. (Obviously more points would be given for picking the way a fight is won or lost (maybe go on a fight by fight basis as to whether picking a winner and the way he won would be 1.5 points or just 1.25 points to win, but zero points if the fighter wins but not the way the bet was placed).) So at the end of each week each person's total score would either go up by a point/point and a half or it would stay the same if he/she made the wrong prediction.

I'm sorry...but that called for one of your favorites...lol

With a prediction system the scoring should be based on the betting line that way you get rewarded for correctly picking a true underdog.

Thanks Hype. I just call it how I see it & if I am wrong then I take it on the chin.

lol, well played. But when you least expect it, I am going to give you a barrage of one of those ones.

I'm cool with that...just don't give me the Optimus Prime one...that one doesn't have as much impact....lol