Mark Lyons is back with his weekly look at upcoming and recent fights. In this instalment of One More Round, Mark gives his thoughts on last weekend's big fights, while looking at ahead to Pavlik/Espino and what's in store for 2010...

Last week had some significant fights and some Heavyweight fights. There really isn’t much of note to finish out the year, so I want to wish you all a Happy Holidays as we prepare for what should be an incredibly exciting 2010 for the sport.

My take on this past weekend's action...

-- Timothy Bradley looked spectacular in dominating Lamont Peterson in the fight I enjoyed most over the weekend. He hurt and floored Peterson early with his right hand and then switched to his underrated boxing skills to cruise to a wide, if not easy, victory.

-- After pegging Bradley to beat Witter, I have picked against him 3 fights in a row, and been proven wrong on each occasion. Bradley just keeps marching through the very deep 140 pound class. This was a P4P level performance and I can’t wait to see him back in there.

-- Well, the Diaz/Malignaggi rematch didn’t go as I thought it would - with the exception of it being boring. Paulie didn’t get the memo, NO LEG WARMERS IN BOXING! He also didn’t back up and resort to spoiler tactics in order to beat Juan Diaz and he deserves credit for that. The Baby Bull is just clueless against a Boxer. He has no business at 140, but the weight was not the determining factor in the fight. He had a poor game plan and his execution was even poorer.

 

-- Malignaggi has now put himself in the mix of what I think is the best division in Boxing and it’s back to the drawing board for Juan. Luckily, there are plenty of guys at 135, Valero, Demarco, Anthony Peterson, Soto, etc… that he wont have to worry about a boxing lesson against. Juan has shown clear limitations, but he still will face anyone and is there to fight. That counts for something in my book.

-- Where to begin with that FARCE of a heavyweight fight. I’ll keep it short, I’ve been reading a lot of people ripping on johnson’s "performance" and I don’t get it. What was anyone expecting of him? He didn’t hold or run, but rather layed on the ropes in front of Vitali and the big man couldn’t do any damage.  Big Bro looked slow and predictable in there with a guy who was in some semblance of shape and didn’t lead with his face.

-- Klitschko's reign is begging to be over, but in todays division of Doughboys and Hasbeens, a tall guy in shape that will throw 70-80 punches a round is dominant. Dominant doesn’t mean good...save us Hayemaker!

-- On Friday, Jean Pascal and Adrian Diaconu resumed hostilities from their great fight back in June. This one didn’t quite live up to the drama of the first one, but the action was intense throughout and Pascal battled a dislocated shoulder as well as a tough opponent to retain his title by wide decision.  Jean has a lot of guts in there and you have to love that.

-- I look forward to seeing Pascal in there with Chad Dawson. I doubt he'll win, but he will make Chad work his ass off and that is something that nobody has been able to do since the first Johnson fight.

 

Looking ahead to this weekend...

-- I’m just going to come out and say it. I watched the first season of the contender and I don’t remember Miguel Espino being on it. While that show is far from at the top of my Boxing memories I honestly can’t even remember him and that makes me laugh. So bravo Kelly, I’m glad your hand is better. Finish your work here and get in the ring with Paul Williams or Sergio Martinez.

-- I always look forward to watching Humberto Soto and his fight with a shopworn Jesus Chavez should have early fireworks. Hopefully, Chavez doesn’t take too many punches.

 

Since that’s about it for the rest of the year, lets take a crack at some predictions for 2010...

-- I said Abraham/Froch was the best fight of the super 6 and nothing has changed my mind. Look for that to challenge for FOTY honors and these two to rematch in the finals.

-- As mentioned above, when Kelly Pavlik steps up and fights either Paul or Sergio, I see him getting drubbed by either. Not even competitive.

-- David Haye will become the second man to knock out John Ruiz and then he will absolutely school Vitali Klitschko with his speed. Big year for the Hayemaker!

-- People will forget about not wanting to see Izzy & Rafa fight again about thirty seconds into the first round of another epic and Marquez will even things up.

-- Yuriorkis Gamboa will beat JuanMa (if Luevano doesn’t first) in a sizzling war and the Cuban will be on p4p lists by year end. His vulnerabilities make him ultra exciting and people make too much of them.

-- Edwin Valero will be exposed and starched by Antonio DeMarco in February. Not a war, a beating.

-- Finally I have to offer up something on the big one. As I see it there are two ways this can play out. Floyd can fight a defensive fight and try to pot shot Manny. If that is the case, look for a dominant decision win from pacquaio. Manny is too fast, dynamic and all around bad assed for that kind of approach. Or Manny will force Floyd to freely let go of his hands and show the toughness and heart that many have forgotten he had. I’m in for scenario two, after a rough start Floyd finds the range in his counters and pulls out a close, but clear, decision in a fight that lives up to the hype and sets up Round thirteen in December.

 

A fight I’ve been thinking about...

-- Watching Vitali lumber after Kevin Johnson made me think about him trying to do that with Jimmy Young. While the consensus is that Vitali would be a rough fight for most any heavyweight in any era, I think he gets schooled here.  Young was better defensively than Johnson and he would punch back. By the end of the fight, Klitschko’s face is a mask of blood and frustration as Young cruises to a 10-2 type decision win.

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