Photo © Ray Kaprowicz - Paul Williams highlights this Saturday night's HBO show.

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Mark Lyons is back with his weekly take on recent and upcoming fights.

This past Saturday night's card in Quebec City, appeared to to be on paper - at least to me - a fairly pedestrian card. The main event was a rematch of a fight that was close for about five minutes and the under-card fight was between a guy who hasn’t been exciting in years against a guy who I believed to be a level short of elite.

That’s why they don’t fight them on paper.

Joan Guzman with blood pouring down his face waving Ali Funeka in for more?

Lucian Bute not once but twice sending the iron chinned Librado Andrade sprawling to the canvas with single shots?

You just have to love this sport.

-- Lucian Bute delivered in spades. Very impressive performance and it just goes to show that anyone can get floored when they eat a perfect shot. I’m not going to get too carried away as Andrade is a real tough out, but not really a threat to the elite. But Lucian showed a lot of power and mental strength just to take the fight to a guy who almost knocked him out. I expected a more cautious approach and all I can say is…Bravo

-- Ali Funeka showed more tools than I though he had and Joan Guzman showed more toughness. The result was an excellent opening bout that was only marred by a terrible decision. Guzman looked fantastic in the first two rounds, ripping off body shots that I thought would effect a gangly fighter who cuts a drastic amount of weight. But Joan was the one who tired and while I was impressed by his guts, he clearly lost the last third of a close fight to that point and the draw decision was despicable.

-- Same day weigh ins are ancient history. Even guys just cutting a weight class down are long gone. Two junior-middleweights for a lightweight belt and two cruiserweights for a super-middleweight strap. Too many guys are cutting too much weight and some of them should look at Manmy Pacquiao’s devastating performances in recent outings.  Certainly I’m not saying that anyone can fight like the Filipino dynamo, but they can see how fighting at a comfortable weight can sometimes be an advantage.

-- Props to Martin Honorio who put on a few pounds and dismantled prospect John Molina in an entertaining scrap on Shobox. This guy is a dangerous fight for any up and comer.  If he is a gate keeper you might want to walk around the other side.


Looking Ahead To This Weekend...

-- My man crush on Paul Williams is far from a secret and I am sorely disappointed that I’m not preparing to watch him destroy Kelly Pavlik this Saturday night. But what isn’t disappointing is to see him tackle a difficult opponent in what should present a tough style match-up.  Martinez brings a lot of the things that Quintana brought into his upset victory over the Punisher, including being a late replacement for a straight ahead fighter. But I thinking bringing in Quintana as a sparring partner along with the lessons learned from the first Quintana fight will see Williams pull out a hard fought win down the stretch. 7-5 or 8-4 for Paul in my pick.

-- I’m an old man and this Wednesday night reminds of the days in my twenties when Tuesday Night Fights on USA network would have old timers like Larry holmes & Roberto Duran staying active. I hear fans not only complain about stay busy fights, but also complain about how infrequently todays fighters step into the ring. There is nothing to complain about here. Two all-time greats fighting mid-week on basic cable. Count me in.

-- Bernard Hopkins will dominate the game Enrique Orneles, while Roy Jones should win a tougher fight against Danny Green.  That will set up a PPV that is far less exciting to me than this week's fights. Weird? I know, but Wednesday night for free beats Saturday night for $50. Especially in a rematch of a horrible fight.

-  Amir Khan faces Dimitri Salita in a fight that Amir should win easily and satisfy one of those electric crowds I was speaking of earlier.  Marco Huck takes on Ola Afolabi in what should be the slugfest of the weekend. I’ll take Khan by mid round stoppage and Huck by close decision.


A fight I’ve been thinking About...

- I’m in the mood for a war, so lets put together Ike Williams and Aaron Pryor. These two guys had a mean streak with considerable skills to back it up.  Speed, power and determination. In a fight that sees both men on the canvas, I’ll take Williams by late stoppage in an absolutely gruelling affair.

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