Bernard Hopkins had very little trouble dispatching Roy Jones Jr. in their long-overdue rematch last weekend, but it seems that the Executioner was the one who was worse for wear following the bout, citing severe pain in his head as a result of being clubbed with rabbit punches. It's a very troubling sign when a fighter needs medical attention after a fight that was so uneventful, but what's even worse is that Hopkins is serious about going up to Heavyweight and fighting David Haye. Please don't think I'm joking when I say that Hopkins could very well die in the ring should he continue fighting, especially against a stronger, faster fighter like Haye.
Darchinyan-Donaire II on the Horizon
Out with one rematch and In with another. Vic Darchinyan and Nonito Donaire seem to be headed for an August showdown to settle their feud once and for all. The fight was talked about three years ago, but dismissed when Donaire signed with Top Rank. Seeing that Darchinyan is too small for Bantamweight and Donaire hasn't fought anybody of notice since then, it seems that it's only natural that we'll see them face off again. What I'm wondering, though, is why are people so eager to see a rematch between these two? Donaire put Darchinyan on his ass in the fifth round in a dominating performance the first time around; it's doubtful anything has changed since then.
Potshot Picks
Andre Berto vs. Carlos Quintana
Although Quintana is a huge step down from Shane Mosley, Berto is facing the best opponent of his young career. Quintana is probably more technically efficient than Berto and may have better ring intelligence, but Berto can utilize his superior hand speed and punching power to knock Quintana off his game plan. Expect an extremely motivated Berto to shine, on a card that benefits the victims of the Haiti earthquake, by scoring a late stoppage.
Potshot Picks: 5-2
Parting Shots
Ask and ye shall receive. Last week, I asked you to send me your thoughts and comments regarding the current state of the heavyweight division. Specifically, I asked which era of heavyweights was the darkest: the pre-Tyson 1980's or the current era. I received quite a few responses and I thank you all for sending them in. Here are a few of those responses that really stuck out and got my attention:
The Heavyweight division from the 80s and now are pretty equal in terms of competition, it's just that now there are no American Heavyweights and the Klitschkos don't do anything to keep them in the picture. At least Larry Holmes would tell the media to kiss his ass and become a staple figure in the division; the Klitschkos bring nothing to the table to generate interest.
DH: You got one thing right, Larry Holmes was probably the most reviled champion of the 80's and people who followed the division just wanted somebody to beat him. Vitali and Wladimir are probably the most polite, nicest guys you'll ever meet, but polite doesn't sell.
Are you kidding me? I'd rather take the coked up fighters from the 80s than the European amateur club they have going on now. As a matter of fact, I don't think ANYBODY besides Haye and the Klitschkos would beat the 80s heavies and that's really bad.
DH: While cocaine did adversely affect the fighters back then, not everybody was doing it. I also would wonder how Haye would do against the big punchers back then, like Gerry Cooney or Michael Dokes, but outside of the Klitschkos, it's hard to see anybody succeeding at a major level.
80s heavies were the worst. Even after Holmes stepped down, Tyson just got his leftovers that were already old and useless by then. I see a lot of people hating on the Klitschkos, but the majority of people they're fighting were champions at least.
DH: Logic dictates that this current era is going to be just as bad, if not worse, than it was 30 years ago. While Tyson did have a lot of "leftovers," it's not like he struggled against them. He blew them out of the water. I still think that Holmes had stiffer competition than Vitali and Wladmir have had over the past couple of years.
Thanks again for those who wrote and for those who didn't get a response, please don't be discouraged to write again for future mailbags. Comments are always welcomed and appreciated. Send your thoughts to dhoward@fighthype.com and I'll feature them in the next edition of "Pillar To Post".