Andrew Harrison – safesideoftheropes.com – Death and taxes are a given in life so goes the old cliché. Flying in the face of another (which states that in boxing, there are no guarantees) are the following fistic racing certainties; Don King will never be referred to as the strong but silent type, Fernando Vargas aint gonna see 154 pounds again anytime soon, Kelly Pavlik’s management won’t be needing a tux for any upcoming manager of the year awards and the WBA will never again sanction a heavyweight title fight unless John Ruiz is either involved or fights the winner…
Oh yeah here’s another banker; more often than you’d believe-just before a bout begins and after clocking each fighter’s respective ring walk, I’ll be able to pick the winner…..almost to a man.
As I sat amongst friends in May, chugging some suds whilst waiting for Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton to stride out into the MGM Grand Garden Arena, I had a betting slip tucked away in my shirt pocket with ‘Pacquiao to win- points’ scrawled across it. When a flustered and confused looking Hitman emerged to be followed by a confident and resplendent Pacman, a beaming assassin, I knew my paper scrap of hope was already null and void. Pacquiao was gonna get Ricky outta there.
Next time, I’ll use an online bookmaker.
Maybe it’s intuition, or an overabundance of oxytocin, the hormone which increases social perception, perhaps just plain old pot luck, who knows? Many times though, body language makes it a relatively simple task, it didn’t take Sherlock Holmes to figure out that Mike Spinks was in a world of trouble the night he edged reluctantly into the ring to battle Mike Tyson.
As the information superhighway becomes saturated with folks offering their ten cents on the upcoming Marquez-Mayweather bonanza, (anyone not got a theory on that one?) I only wish I had a DeLorean parked outside so I could see Juan and Floyd as they left their dressing rooms (I wouldn’t go far enough forward to see the actual result……fair’s fair….) so that I too could be confident of throwing my opinion into the melting pot.
In a bid to offer some light hearted respite amid the maelstrom of Money-Dinamita prediction articles, here is a list of ring walks which similarly gave the game away just prior to the bell sounding…
Going to the gallows: Mike Spinks/Frank Bruno(second fight)/Bruce Seldon v Mike Tyson , Michael Grant v Lennox Lewis, Vuyani Bungu v Prince Naseem Hamed.
In the zone: Lennox Lewis v Andrew Golota, Evander Holyfield v Mike Tyson, Nigel Benn v Gerald McClellan, Bernard Hopkins v Felix Trinidad.
Smiley, happy people: Felix Trinidad v Fernando Vargas, Nigel Benn v Chris Eubank (second match), Manny Pacquiao v Oscar De la Hoya, Paul Williams v Antonio Margarito.
Element of doubt: Ricky Hatton v Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto v Antonio Margarito, Mike Tyson v Evander Holyfield (second match), Oscar De la Hoya v Bernard Hopkins.
Steely and stoic: Frank Bruno v Oliver McCall, Lennox Lewis v Hasim Rahman (rematch), Kostya Tszyu v Zab Judah.
Running into trouble: George Foreman v Muhammad Ali, Enzo Maccarinelli v David Haye, Monte Barrett v David Haye, Oliver McCall v Lennox Lewis (second fight).
Supreme confidence: Joe Calzaghe v Mikel Kessler, Floyd Mayweather v Diego Corrales, Naseem Hamed v Steve Robinson, Ray Leonard v Tommy Hearns, Celestino Caballero v Steve Molitor.
Get your camera ready, I’m about to DO something here: Antonio Margarito v Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley v Oscar De la Hoya, Breidis Prescott v Amir Khan, Roy Jones v John Ruiz.
Ready to walk through walls: Michael Gomez v Alex Arthur, Robin Reid v Giovanni Pretorius, Diego Corrales v Jose Luis Castillo.
Just making up the numbers: Tony Thompson/Hasim Rahman v Wlad Klitschko.
If there are any I’ve missed, drop me a comment and I’ll update via my blog: safesideoftheropes.com