Ushering in a New Era
 By Peter Chhim (May 20, 2005)
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Apart from the anomaly that is Bernard Hopkins, the lions of the 90’s may, and in some cases are, finally ready to succumb to the geriatric idiom that young fighters love to say, and veteran fighters hate to hear, ‘Out with the old, and in with the new’. Below is a quick synopsis of some upcoming bouts where these young cats will get their chance to back up their bold boasts. In some of these cases the veterans will still be a little too seasoned to acquiesce to their younger foes, while in others, a new era may finally be ushered in, boastfully too I might add.
Kostya Tszyu (31-1) vs. Ricky Hatton (38-0)
Young Buck: Ricky Hatton
Seasoned Vet: Kostya Tszyu
Looking at their records, you’d be forgiven in thinking that the ‘Hitman’ is the more experienced professional of the two. However, that assumption would be terribly inaccurate as Hatton’s record is quite inflated with has-beens and never were’s. Tszyu on the other hand has been fighting at, or at least near, the highest levels of the junior welterweight division since his tenth pro fight, when he won his IBF crown.
Conventional wisdom says that Tszyu will prove too much for the face first slugger from Manchester, as the stoned faced Russian feasts on fighters who bring the fight to him. However, Hatton shouldn’t be completely counted out, as his physical prowess, hunger, and home-court advantage are considerable in their own rights.
It’s an interesting bout that will be quite exciting as long as it lasts, and who knows, perhaps are 35, Tszyu may be ready to bow-out. It’s not as though stranger things haven’t happened in boxing. After all, Mike Tyson’s still fighting isn’t he? More on that later…
Joel Casamayor (31-3) vs. Almazbek Raiymkulov (20-0)
Young Buck: Joel Casamayor
Seasoned Vet: Almazbek Raiymkulov
Here’s an interesting crossroads bout. Cass is coming off a disappointing decision loss to Castillo, who I personally thought he might have squeaked by, and is trying to get into the big fight, big money picture again. Raiymkulov (Kid Diamond) is also looking to get into that picture and is looking to use Cass as a springboard.
I’ve never personally seen Kid Diamond fight, however, from reports I’ve read he’s an improving fighter, who his management team believes has been primed enough for the World Stage. We’ll see.
Cass on the other hand is a very seasoned vet. He’s an Olympic Gold Medal champion and former World Champion who has been in with all the best from 130–135, sans Mayweather, of course.
Considering how Cass has fared recently, I think this may prove to be a case of too much too soon for Kid Diamond, and there’s a good possibility that his star won’t glitter quite as bright after this bout. Remember what happened to another young and upcoming fighter named Nate Campbell who also tried to use Cass as a springboard? Similar situation, perhaps similar results?
Mike Tyson (50-5) vs. Kevin McBride (32-4-1)
Young Buck: Kevin McBride
(Relative to Tyson, of course)
Seasoned Vet: Mike Tyson
Mike’s still fighting, but at 38 years old, and with over 55 fights, his odometer is running extremely high, even though he’s still got a ton of horsepower under the hood.
McBride is thought to be the sacrificial lamb for Mike’s ascension back to heavyweight glory, but so was Danny Williams and we all seen what happened there.
If McBride has enough to gut out the inevitable, early Tyson bombing, he could work the Williams game plan and look to STOP Tyson in the mid to late rounds.
It’s happened before, and considering Mike at this advanced stage of his career, would you really be surprised if it happened again?
Here’s hoping the erudite boxing historian gets a chance at broadcasting, or in some other boxing related capacity where he doesn’t have to take anymore head shots to get paid. Maybe Tyson and Max Kellerman could gel on some weekly boxing show; now there’s a talkative, odd couple.
Arturo Gatti (39-6) vs. Floyd Mayweather (33-0)
Young Buck: Floyd Mayweather
Seasoned Vet: Arturo Gatti
I’ve only placed Mayweather as the Young Buck here (maybe Big Buck would have been more appropriate?) primarily because he’s the younger and fresher of the two. Gatti, now 31, still has those wars from his past that he’s going to have to account for some day.
Even though Gatti is currently in a renaissance, and a victory over Mayweather would cap his ‘Cinderella story’, conventional wisdom says that the surgical Mayweather will butcher the prone to cuts fighter.
Mayweather, love him or hate him, and most do, just has too many tools for Gatti to deal with. Especially if you consider the FACT that Gatti himself has never really fared well with slick fighters; see Manfredy, Robinson, and De La Hoya, I can’t seem him overturning this stigma. As well, it should be noted that Mayweather’s slicker than all these fighters that Gatti has struggled with.
Finally, although a Gatti victory isn’t out of the question, I just can’t see it happening. Perhaps though, Gatti can once again catch Thunder in a bottle, and test Mayweather’s elusive and somewhat circumspect chin. If that happens, it will be interesting to see if Gatti’s assumption of Mayweather’s china chin proves accurate.
Injin Chi (30-2-1) vs. Ricardo Juarez (23-0)
Young Buck: Ricardo Juarez
Seasoned Vet: Injin Chi
I’ve been high on the tough as nails Chi since his breakthrough performance against Erik Morales. Again though, he’s been in his share of wars that he too will have to account for.
Juarez can be a little perplexing a times. Often he looks like he’s ready to be a World Champion, while at other times; he looks the part of a contender, who’s a little hesitant and not confident in his own abilities.
I think Juarez is a good boxer though, and even though he shows little signs of doubt, he still has good pop behind his punches. Even though this will probably not be enough to stop Chi, it should wear him down enough for him to take the crown.
I wouldn’t count Chi out though. Because with his style you know he’s going to be bringing the heat every second of every round, and the thing is we don’t know how Juarez is going to handle it. Is he going to be crafty enough to make the offensive machine stagnant, ala a Hopkins or Wright, or will he be caught and dropped by the bright lights. I like the former, and I look for Juarez to begin a long reign at the soon to be vacant featherweight division.
Bernard Hopkins (46-2-1) vs. Jermain Taylor (23-0)
Young Buck: Jermain Taylor
Seasoned Vet: Bernard Hopkins
Here is a terribly interesting bout, between the aforementioned physical anomaly Hopkins and the heir apparent, Taylor.
Say what you will about Taylor’s perceived shortcomings, but the bottom line is that he’s basically had his way with all his opponents, and he has not shown any obvious defects that would lead us to believe he can’t beat Hopkins.
Now then, the same can be said about Hopkins, only his time frame for dominance has to be greatly extended. Not many in the last 10 years have made ‘the Executioner’ really work. The only one that really comes to mind is Antwun ‘Kid Dynamite’ Echols, who had to resort to WWE tactics to finally piss Hopkins off enough to make him fight. Apart from that anomaly – there’s that word again – he boxes at his own comfortable pace, and is content to get his hand raised at the end of the night.
What we haven’t seen against Hopkins (apart from his loss to Roy Jones) is someone willing to floor the gas pedal and attack him from the opening bell. Or take him into deep waters with an early to mid round lead, and force him to work to catch-up. Will Taylor, the young buck, who has shown all the physical tools to do the job, be the man to do it, perhaps, or perhaps not?
If not Taylor, maybe it’ll be Winky Wright, or maybe it’s only wishful thinking that Hopkins will finally succumb before he retires. Maybe, after all this time, he has finally proved that he is what he is, a physical and literal anomaly. Because when his career is over and all is said and done, he may never be ‘forced’ to comply with that old age idiom, ‘Out with the old and in with new’.
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