Ya’ll miss me? Stop lying, you know you've been waiting to hear from yo boy. I’m still all glassy eyed and covered with “cupid mist” from last week’s FOY performance featuring the two Juans. Marquez, boxing's reigning baddest 3 letter acronym is still the buzz in my DVD player. I’ve been rocking his pinpoint corkscrew uppercuts in slow mo all week! A sight to behold from a 35 year old; the Mexican legend knows how to use the uppercut as exclamation marks in thoughtful fistic sentences. Maybe one day I’ll get over the size/youth intangible that currently is making me look like and idiot and ask myself “who is the better fighter?”  When an older fighter possesses a heavy dose of class, I should take pause before I assume (in my prediction) he can be overwhelmed. As the fighter I’d most like to be my son in law I would LOOOOOOVE to see Juan Diaz shut it down and become the lawyer he’s meant to be. One day, if he plays his cards right, the fact that he was a lightweight champion will be an interesting trivia nugget buried in the substance of a great legal career. If I were him, I wouldn’t risk the very real possibility of wasting another ALL TIME brain cell just to be a pretty good fighter in the ring. Maybe one day down the road he can be the boxing Czar to legitimize the sport with a single licensing body- opening the door for the resurgence of boxing as a mainstream sport.

Daniel Judah tried to upstage Glenn Johnson’s high “in ring” integrity and work rate, now he’s going after the esteemed Joe Tessitore outside the ring. You would think Judah would have concerns about Glenn Johnson relegating him to less than opponent status but nooooooooo, Judah wants Tessitore to stop talking about his family business. We live in an age of the “grownelescent” people that are too damn old to be worrying over the stuff they actually worry about. While his brother (black folks don’t even honor that ½ stuff) is out threatening street movement on Nate Campbell, the “Tito Jackson” of the Judah clan is calling out announcers. Everyone else is the culprit for Judah’s lack of focus, instead of his own childishness. “Tito” should concern himself with getting back in the ring ASAP. Hopefully one day both brothers will learn there’s a big difference between “clowning” and being a clown.  

Now let’s hustle.

March is my favorite month because it’s the month yo boy was brought to you courtesy of Judy and Charles. March 6^th on ESPN Friday Night Fights is very interesting as we will get the first glimpse of Delvin Rodriguez since the Oscar Diaz tragedy. If he’s still mentally in a funk (despite Diaz’s release from the hospital) a style like the one he’ll be facing in Shamone Alverez will trip him up. The fight is in Rodriguez’s backyard (Uncasville, CT) but the counterpunching Alvarez (if “on”) can provide a glaring aesthetic to TV viewers if there’s any home cooking served. A lot of people like Rodriguez but I think everything surrounding this fight can lend to a controversial decision either way. Look for Mike Greenwell of ESPN’s Mike and Mike to take on a punching bag (with Teddy Atlas) and show why Bo dog had the bag as a 6-5 favorite going in.

March 7th HBO moving forward!

• Sick of hearing your casual sports fan homeboys complain about boxing losing it’s “stars” when the truth is they’re not keeping up?. Tell the “slow learners” to tune in Saturday night to catch 3 (four counting Joel Julio) young stars with great stories to boot. James Kirkland vs. Joel Julio is a train wreck of a fight involving two youngsters who don’t mind “goin there.” Julio to those who don’t remember “used to be” what Kirkland “is” now and I’ll bet he’s licking his chops at the opportunity to commit “boxing identity theft” on the Texan. Julio is a banger who was favorably compared to Felix Trinidad in 2006, who proved to also be like Trinidad with his slow feet and lack of offensive imagination. I like Kirkland in a barnburner, he’s the better athlete and he can squeeze off faster, more varied combinations when (not if) they get into exchanges. Kirkland’s story is enhanced by his trainer Ann Wolfe, the “She Liston” that Laila Ali refused to shake up the world against. Kirkland’s story is just another (of many) stories about the redemptive power of our sport. For the hottest piece written on Wolf and Kirkland I suggest you check out ESPN’s Kieran Mulvaney’s article from March 3^rd.

Ortiz steps up

• Once again HBO gets it right by allowing fans to see a great young talent stepping up to pull down a “coulda been” in the 140lb divisions food chain. Remember Mike Arnaoutis seemed like he would title at 140 until he ran into the likes of Ricardo Torres and Kendall Holt. Ortiz, the cant miss Golden Boy product and worlds best big brother is a southpaw with traces of the power (Torres) and speed (Holt) that ultimately let the Greek technician know where he stood. I look for Arnaoutis to make it interesting but I’m pretty sure that is why Golden boy wanted the fight. Look for Ortiz to show some of the wrinkles and maturity he’s backers already knew he had to overcome the veteran on Saturday night. The broadcast will open with Robert the Ghost Guerrero, fresh off of his year of inactivity to deal with his wife’s leukemia. His opponent Daud Yordan an Indonesian who really commits to shots won’t have enough to deal with the rangy Guerrero. This fight is what I like to call competitive stay busy fight as Guerrero is looking to position himself for bigger names. At 5’9 and 25 yrs. Old my only concern is that he stays too long down there at 126, you don’t want him to hit a wall and lose to an inferior opponent because he was flat at the weight.

March 13, Showtime fueling the Bute gravy train

• Looks like Lucian Bute just came out of his Librado Andrade induced stupor to pick up a check from Showtime. Listen, I’m the first guy to tell you I love it when fighters have passionate regional followings but situations like Bute’s clearly illustrate why there’s a reluctance to respect guys that stay close to home. Showtime should have been pro-active in demanding a rematch with Andrade, because that’s what we want to see - clarification. Yet when you can put asses in seats like Bute does in Montreal there’s no incentive to want to clear up unfinished business. The message here is: I make too much money to feel the need to remove all doubt to my claim of excellence.

March 14

• Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Amir Kahn

This is a PPV worthy of EBay, you should be able to bid on it and I’m willing to get the ball rolling with an opening bid of $ 6.99. I can go as high as 13$ but that’s between me and you. I’ll admit this fight is intriguing but what kind of credit will either guy get for winning. Amir Kahn is not a monster of a young champ -he’s been derailed (hard!) and Barrera is not one of the older guys that have defied the critics as of late. It’s like they are trying to cash in on a trend that neither is qualified to be a part of. Maybe part of the Pay per View proceeds should go to some of the older fighters who are responsible for creating the “what if” quotient this clash is being sold on. If  “MAB” can fight like even a 2004 model and further dent an even more “chinny” version of the Brit he emasculated in 2001 then what?. I can see Amir Kahn benefiting only if he can defeat a Barrera who looks vaguely like himself by way of confidence. In my opinion Barrera’s last hurrah came against Marquez in 2007 and from the looks of Marquez there’s no shame in that assertion.

 Dawson/Tarver Cancellation

• You just have to ache for Glenn Johnson because every injury and rematch clause between these two guys affects Johnson’s right to a rematch with Dawson. There’s nothing new to learn about Dawson against Tarver, in the May rematch he’ll be more emboldened and Tarver will be a little older. If Dawson doesn’t get him out of there he should be rallied against for wasting our time when we’d much rather see if he can beat Johnson convincingly.

 Andy Lee, Off TV for a reason

• On March 16^th Kronk prospect Andy Lee is fighting Antwun Echols at Madison Square Garden. The complaint from Lee’s camp is that there are no middleweights available. They act is if they were forced to pick a damaged Echols as Lee’s next opponent and I’m not buying it. Echols was once a tough out, his credentials as such can’t be questioned but there are healthier Jr. Middleweights like Verno Phillips who would gladly fight at a disadvantage to test the kid. Boxing has its problems and matches like this one is one of them. I’m writing about it because most of the time fans require the glare of Television to see when something is wrong. The first time I heard Lee’s name he was supposed to be the “Irish Tommy Hearns,” so what changed? Fighters that are damaged (and in need of a payday) have to be saved from themselves; this is another situation a National boxing commission would clean up in the sport. We need a transcendent “Obama like” figure to not just articulate what we all know is needed but to have the political clout to roll up his sleeves and get it done. When the hell is Juan Diaz taking the BAR again?

Is there any reaction from the Boxing world regarding Chris Brown’s assault of Rihanna? I’m not a pro fighter, nor am I big shot (yet, lol) but I am a father and I believe cats like him need to spend some time in the Wildcard Gym without his leeches, I mean entourage. Did the Contender just come and go this season with the impact of a pair of 20 ounce “Winning” gloves? Who the hell is Troy Ross? After hearing Hatton was in shape, word is he’s around 165 lbs., this according to Bob Arum. Mr. Arum, I’ll have you know that Ricky is usually around 180 lbs. this soon before a fight so he has been cutting his beer intake down. Ricky may have won the darts showdown with Manny Pacquiao but the Pacman will throw the straighter darts on May 2^nd. Felix Trinidad called out Kelly Pavlik... Jesus when are they going to develop a pill for this?