by Jeremy "Fasttalker" Bjornberg - 02/08/2006
As I watched the amazingly boring fight Saturday night between Jose Luis Castillo (54-7-1, 47 KOs) and Rolando Reyes (26-3-2, 16 KOs), I realized how much we all should love Diego Corrales.
Depression started to set in as I was forced to watch Reyes plod and pose for 12 of the most boring rounds Showtime has shown in a few years. Rather than a gutless performance like Reyes gave, we would have gotten at least an effort worth watching. Reyes is just plain terrible and I hope to never see him again. Doc's stayed away from making a pick on the over/under because it was impossible to predict. As bad as Reyes looked, Castillo didn't look much better or much more motivated. It will be interesting to see if Jose can get down to 135 for his grudge match with Corrales.
The undercard was easily the best fight of the night. Lightweight contenders Edner Cherry (19-4-2, 8 KOs) and Armando St. Cruz (21-1, 12 KOs) waged a war that had many back-and-forth exchanges. Cherry was the more talented boxer and he used his combination punching and speed to take the first few rounds and even drop Cruz. However, Armando came back in the middle rounds and had Cherry in trouble a handful of times. Edner would then mount a comeback in the later rounds almost stopping Cruz in rounds 11 and 12. The final result was a decision win for Cruz but it was highly controversial. I really feel that Cherry took the fight by a couple of points. Either way, both men will be back and deserve another shot on Showtime.
This weekend brings a highly entertaining fight between The Contender finalist Peter Manfredo (24-3, 10 KOs) and rugged veteran Scott Pemberton (29-4-1, 24 KOs). This fight is a step up for Manfredo in size but probably not talent. As tough as Pemberton is, he simply is not very talented nor is he in his prime. Scott does have an incredible will and his wins over Omar Sheika definitely proved that point. It should be a very competitive fight as both guys have sparred plenty in the gym and grew up in the same area. Manfredo's camp obviously must think Pemberton has nothing left or I don't think they would be moving up to 168 to face a puncher. The fight will take place on ESPN on Sunday night as a Contender event.
Doc's will be doing a thorough analysis of the upcoming Shane Mosley (41-4, 35 KOs) vs. Fernando Vargas (26-2, 22 KOs) PPV fight as well as a pick sure to be researched and studied to the highest possible extent. Tune in later in the week for info on all the upcoming boxing events.
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.
Doc's Sports Handy Links:
College Basketball Picks
NBA Picks
NHL Picks