May Madness - Middleweights

[Brassangel]

The matches are going smoothly. Plenty of exciting matchups here. So far, there are some clear cut winners, and there are some that I will have to weigh the balance on. But America will just have to wait to see the outcome. I'm calculating the totals as we speak.

[K-DOGG]

The matches are going smoothly. Plenty of exciting matchups here. So far, there are some clear cut winners, and there are some that I will have to weigh the balance on. But America will just have to wait to see the outcome. I'm calculating the totals as we speak.

Nuthin' but confidence in you bro.

Of course, if I do hapen to disagree with the results, I feel obligated to explain.

[Yogi]

I see that Sam Langford has gotten the shaft yet again, as has Holman Williams and a couple of others...

Bah!

[Yogi]

If I was a paying customer these are the first round fights that I'd most want to see if I was looking for some really good action fights;

West: Tony Zale vs. Solly Krieger

North: Stanley Ketchel vs. Fred Apostoli

East: Jake LaMotta vs. Frank Klaus

South: Mickey Walker vs. Rodrigo Valdez


The Zale/Krieger fight has the potential to be the very best action fight of the first round, as I could see it being somewhat similiar (but more bloody!) and a little bit longer than the Zale/Graziano brawls...I'd take Zale to bust Krieger up and stop him somewhere around the 7th or 8th round in a wild one.

[K-DOGG]

If I was a paying customer these are the first round fights that I'd most want to see if I was looking for some really good action fights;

West: Tony Zale vs. Solly Krieger

North: Stanley Ketchel vs. Fred Apostoli

East: Jake LaMotta vs. Frank Klaus

South: Mickey Walker vs. Rodrigo Valdez


The Zale/Krieger fight has the potential to be the very best action fight of the first round, as I could see it being somewhat similiar (but more bloody!) and a little bit longer than the Zale/Graziano brawls...I'd take Zale to bust Krieger up and stop him somewhere around the 7th or 8th round in a wild one.

Completely agree with the sentiment on action fights...and, agree with your synopsis concerning Zale-Kreiger. I'm a big Tony Zale fan and feel he's one of the more underated middleweight champions who ever lived.

For my money, LaMotta-Klaus would be the way to go also. I even though Klaus was accustomed to warring for 20 rounds on occasion, I'd give the edge to LaMotta based on....his freakin' chin. Klaus had a good chin too; but I just see this battle of attrition going to Jake.

Another fight that really intrigues me from a style perspective is Cerdan-Jones Jr. At first, I was leaning towards Jones outpointing Cerdan over the course of the 12 or 15 rounds; but then I got to thinking about it. Cerdan was a better than a pretty solid puncher at 160 and even though Jones was stopped by a big Light-Heavyweight, the fact that he was stopped cold means that it could potentially happen against any fighter with some pop behind his shots. Alos, Cerdan was a pressure fighter who would be on top of Jones. I can see Jones outscoreing and possibly rocking Cerdan on occasion; but over the course of the fight, sooner or later I think Marcel would land the hammer....and Jones would go down and out.

I could be wrong, of coures; but that just feels like what would happen.

[Yogi]

Another fight that really intrigues me from a style perspective is Cerdan-Jones Jr. At first, I was leaning towards Jones outpointing Cerdan over the course of the 12 or 15 rounds; but then I got to thinking about it. Cerdan was a better than a pretty solid puncher at 160 and even though Jones was stopped by a big Light-Heavyweight, the fact that he was stopped cold means that it could potentially happen against any fighter with some pop behind his shots. Alos, Cerdan was a pressure fighter who would be on top of Jones. I can see Jones outscoreing and possibly rocking Cerdan on occasion; but over the course of the fight, sooner or later I think Marcel would land the hammer....and Jones would go down and out.

I'm a fairly big fan of Marcel Cerdan, K-Dogg, so it's good to see you also have a high opinion of his abilities as a fighter. I really like what I see from the footage that's available of Cerdan, and I also generally rate him pretty highly in these head-to-head matchups at middleweight...

He looks to be slightly more of an inside fighter to me, as well, and while inside that range I'm very much impressed with his great workrate (great stamina), natural strength, chin/toughness, body punching, pretty powerful hooks & crosses, and he also throws with some pretty quick hands. But he's not only a straight forward type of guy from what I've seen, as I have also been quite impressed with his outside abilities too, especially on someone of his physical stature...Excellant at slipping the jab & straight rights from the outside (really good reflexes), shows a decent left jab himself, looks to be very intelligent, and what I especially like about him is his footwork. Great quickness on his feet with possibly the best balance I've ever seen on a fighter (no lie!), and I absolutely LOVE the way he uses his feet as he transitions from defense to offense. He'd be moving around while working the jab all the while slipping punches, and then all of a sudden...Snap! He's right on top of his man throwing those quick & powerful arms of his to both the head and body...

If Jones showed his left jab some more than he did then I'd give him a shot at Cerdan, but without that punch being used much by Roy...Ah, I'll take the much more experienced Cerdan to get inside often enough to rough Roy up in there with his workrate & strength, before stopping him some time in the later rounds.

A case of taking the 'fighter' over the 'flash'...

Marcel Cerdan TKO-12 Roy Jones Jr.

[oldgringo]

how is bernard hopkins a 3 seed???

where is ken overlin?

what good is a making a bad briscoe/marvin hagler matchup in the first round when we pretty much already know what's going to happen?

[Brassangel]

Well, after a few days of voting, the results are in. In order to save space and get back to the discussions, I will simply post the second round pairings.

WEST
1. Ray Robinson vs.
4. Gene Fulmer

3. Tony Zale vs.
2. Bob Fitzsimmons

NORTH
1. Carlos Monzon vs.
4. Joey Giardello

3. Bernard Hopkins vs.
2. Stanley Ketchel

EAST
1. Marvin Hagler vs.
5. Jack Dempsey

3. Charley Burley vs.
2. Jake LaMotta

SOUTH
1. Harry Greb vs.
5. Archie Moore

3. Roy Jones Jr. vs.
2. Micky Walker


There you have it folks. There weren't too many expected upsets, as you can see from the remaining rankings. There were some very close disputes, like Roy Jones Jr. vs. Marcel Cerdan; it came down to one or two votes. Also, in the WEST, Nino Benvenuti nearly upset Bob Fitzsimmons. It's time to place your votes for round 2. Remember, PM your decisions to me, and discuss the matches here. Stay tuned for the results of the sweet 16!

[Yogi]

It's a different Jack Dempsey, right?

Far out in the wilds of Oregon,
On a lonely mountainside,
Where Columbia's mighty waters
Roll down to the oceanside;
Where the giant fir and cedar
Are imaged in the wave,
O'ergrown with firs and lichens,
I found Jack Dempsey's grave.

O Fame, why sleeps thy favored son
In wilds, in woods, in weeds,
And shall he ever thus sleep on,
Interred his valiant deeds.
'Tis strange New York should thus forgot
It's "bravest of the brave"
And in the fields of Oregon,
Unmarked leave Dempsey's grave.


-M.J. McMahon

[Yogi]

A couple/few fights that I probably would have voted the other way (Cerdan/Jones & Steele/Giardello...being two of them), but there's nothing too overly suprising about the results from the first round...

Hey Brass, out of curiousity and seeing as how I never sent you a PM with my picks...would a single other vote had made any difference in the outcome of the Steele/Giardello matchup?