Here are a few of the questions I received over the last month or so. Feel free to send me a line anytime.

Chris Byrd and Talker

Hey there fasttalker,- Okay...Okay...I know I get carried away. I have of late been pouring over the stats and talking it up on the phone to my Vegas connection and unless I am totally missing something, why is Israel Vasquez a 3:1 plus underdog to Oscar Larios? Did IV get cut or something in his last bout ? He ain't exactly been fighting top ten guys for the last couple years but either has OL. He beat a "totally faded, over the hill, inactive, comebacking, always action but never big punching "Wayne McCoullough (sp?) a couple times and not exactly overwhelmingly (at least the first fight). I gotta believe IV should be able to stay in with OL and win a late decision. Why at +300? with the favorite at -450 or so? I know IV lost to OL once, but early on OL got Kayo'd by IV. This is gotta be a" take a chance on it dog choice" if there ever was one, as of late anyway.

As far as the Hopkins vs. Taylor fight, I said immediately after Taylor won the first fight I would bet on Hopkins the second go round. We took T in the first bout at +150 for 500bux (thank you very much) and won a possible gift decision. Now, I can't bet on either fighter as I have no feel for who will win. I see Taylor is getting bet down and now can be had for plus 105 as it appears the early money likes Hopkins. We hashed it over and made a bet for +180 "will not go a full 12 rounds", betting against the odds once again. I think this fight does not go the distance and not necessarily due to Kayo, TKO etc. I think JT will get cut due to dirty tactics by Hopkins and possibly Hopkins getting DQ'd. I think its a virtual lock that Hopkins will get points deducted for foul(s). JT is the HBO "House" fighter and I think if he hurts BH it will be stopped...and in the same vein I think the ref would easily DQ Hopkins which may set the tone for another rematch. Just a gut....but I think it "does not go". If the O/U line gets bet up we plan on jumping on some more at +200 or hopefully higher. We don't bet alot...up to 1800 bux or so, but typically bet 200 to 500 and we usually like the props if the odds are fairly even. We never bet on a fighter if he is -500 or more as typically we don't see the value. The last "big" bet we made was on Jeff Lacy for 1500 and at the window the guy asked for approval from the casino prior to taking it. We have never bet on-line although I acknowledge I have seen better odds on some of the sites.

For upcoming bouts...my two cents worth.

James Toney is due to get kayo'd in spectacular fashion. We bet on him what seems like a million years ago when he fought Iran "Blade" Barkely as a middle weight. Toney is nothing more than a 70 lbs overweight middle/super middle weight fighting nobody heavyweights (of which there are plenty). Thing of it is is that he is a little quicker than the average Heavy,has a decent defense, and due to his quickness, can counter punch. Very few heavies counter punch properly or seem well schooled in it. John Ruiz is the worst heavy weight "champ" in the last 50 years, maybe forever. Toney can look good against guys like this...slower, not big punchers, plodding etc. If he fights Hassim Rahman I think Toney gets stopped. I can't see him beating HR. HR can punch a little and I don't think Toney can take it. I would be very suprised if Toney could go the distance with a prepared i.e. in shape, HR.

FASTTALKER..I loved your column in DocSports and was wondering who you liked in the upcoming Bernard Hopkins vs. Jermain Tayor. You seem to have a tremendous feel for boxing. I look forward to hearing from you. Your friend,
Peter Moon
Peter- I feel terrible, I picked Taylor the first time around but fell in love with Hopkins in the rematch. I still feel Hopkins could have won but he didn't come to fight, and his age really showed. Thanks Peter……………………………………. FASTTALKER

FASTTALKER.. Hi, I have a problem and I hope you can help me: I'm urgently looking for the ibf boxing rules, but can't find it at the ibf web pages. Do you know help? Thanx a lot and greetings from Germany Brigitta
Brigitta-I checked on this and was unable to get an exact copy of their rules. Can anyone else find this? Thanks and greetings from the US…………………………….. FASTTALKER

Fasttalker- I have a few questions about your package. First of all, I use Betus and I want to know if you give out fights that they might not carry. And if someone bought your monthly package and started with $500, what kind of betting strategy would you endorse? And lastly, how many fights do you generally give out on a given month? Thanks, Russell
Russell- I mostly do picks on the major fights, and I generally stick to picks on fights the major sportsbooks are taking action on. If we have a customer I will give advice on each pick individually if they would like, every fight is a different story. Thanks……………………………… FASTTALKER

Fasttalker- Do you know where to get undercard info for Gatti Damgaard? Thanks Hankey
Hankey- Boxrec.com has the best schedule aroundFASTTALKER

Due to all the questions sent in Doc's is going to start a monthly mailbag to sort out all your boxing and gambling questions. It also gives you a forum to express your opinion. Please send all correspondence to service@docsports.com

If you would like more information on handicapping boxing we have an updated boxing section on our website at www.docsports.com/boxing If you have any questions in particular be sure to drop Jeremy a line at service@docsports.com We will post your question on our "ask the boxing expert" section (your personal information will not be included). Click here for boxing picks. Click here to learn how to bet boxing.