Miguel Cotto/Michael Jennings; Kelly Pavlik/Marco Antonio Rubio
Two World Title Fights/Two cities/ONE NIGHT
- February 21st PPV Double Header -

 
On February 21st in the MECCA of Boxing "Madison Square Garden" and in the Blue-collar haven of "Youngstown, Ohio" - Miguel Cotto and Kelly Pavlik will each be swinging for redemption.  PPV jumped at the opportunity to host BOTH showdowns in a simultaneous broadcast event that's sure to set viewing records.
 
To further embolden the fight ticket for the LAZY-BOY viewing audience, two more solid 10 rounders are scheduled:  JOHN DUDDY vs MATT VANDA and ANTHONY PETERSON vs EDNER CHERRY. 
 
The broadcast will be LIVE on PPV beginning at 9:00 pm ET.  The Cotto, Duddy & Peterson bouts will originate from Madison Square Garden beginning at 9:00 pm ET.  The broadcast will then shift to Youngstown, Ohio for Pavlik vs Rubio. 
 
Only THREE fighters of the 8 match-ups were in attendance at today's presser however - Vanda, Peterson & Duddy.
 
MATT VANDA: "I've had my ups & downs with Boxing through the years. I was in great shape in each of my fights with Chavez Jr. yet I did suffer an injury sparring for the 2nd fight. Hey, he beat me. I fought Chavez November 1st, my daughter was born the 8th and I ate during the holidays - but I've been running PLENTY leading up to now & I'm looking to give John his first loss".
 
ANTHONY PETERSON: "First of all I need to thank GOD for blessing me for this.  Fourteen years ago I was incarcerated, homeless and everything. Nobody can imagine what's going through my head right now. Eighteen nights from tonight I'll be where Robinson, Ali & Joe Louis were fighting. On February 21st I won't be smiling near as much as I am now".
 
JOHN DUDDY: "This match up with Vanda is going to be good, we're both full of courage. Pat Burns has been pushing me hard as usual. I've seen Matt fight a couple of times and I know that this is going to be a tough fight for both of us."
 
 

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Hey, it's easy to tell that this presser was lacking VENOM.  In fact, as laid-back & cool as Anthony Peterson is in the ring (which is head and shoulders above any fighter I've ever seen), he's even more so in person.  Personally, at 28-0 and ranked #4 by the WBC & WBO, I think Anthony Peterson is the best lightweight in the world.  Though he may not knock him out, I think he'll handle Edner Cherry with ease.
 
Although I did not see Vanda-Chavez Jr. I which took place in Hermosillo, Mexico, I did just hear about it.

WHAT I HEARD:  In front of a pro-Chavez crowd in his opponent's native Mexico, Minnesota's Matt Vanda left all he had in the ring.  His courageous effort inspired the Mexican contingency so much that as soon as it was announced that Julio Chavez, Jr. was the winner by "split-decision," the crowd erupted in a roar of hellacious boos.  The booing evidently became so furious that Chavez, Sr. had to be restrained in order to keep him from attacking some of his very own fans.
 
If this guy (Vanda) can flip-flop a gathering of beer guzzling, fist-pumping Mexican boxing fans to side with HIM ... he must be at least "a little" entertaining, wouldn't you think?
 
Regarding Miguel Cotto, it would be easy if we were to assume that there was only one man on the planet who could put him in his place, Antonio Margarito.  Yet, not only did Shane Mosley dethrone the rising status of Miguel's only conqueror in Margarito but he also knocked Cotto down a few more rungs on the ladder of invincibility. 
 
Yes, Miguel Cotto has a heavy axe to grind and his handlers' choice in MICHAEL JENNINGS is far more safe than it is risky.
 
Michael Jennings is 34-1 with 16 big KO's. This will be his first trip across the pond, ever.  The ingredients of his 34-1 record have been against old ENGLISH war horses like Ross Minter, Jason Rushton & Young Mutley. *(?)*  And although Young Mutley defeated Jennings, for some reason I ain't gettin the vibe that Miguel is wasting a phone call to ask him for advice.