Watchdog: Steve’s PPV Criteria: Margarito vs Gomez
By Steve Hudgins (February 18, 2006)  
Photo © Rick Guzman/ HoganPhotos.com
THE PURPOSE: I don't think any one fight can be made in boxing today, that alone, is worth the price of a PPV. Unless of course, they can conjure up Dempsey vs Marciano or Joe Louis, but until that day comes, I want some quantity to go along with quality!

I say, if they want us to shell out 30, 40 sometimes 50 bucks per PPV, they should give us some bang for our buck! The card should be solid from top to bottom! Or at least it should be so top heavy with excellent fights that they can get away with a showcase fight to kick off the festivities, but these 2 or 3 showcase fights and 1 decent to mega main event PPV's are for the birds! (My apologies to any of the birds I may have offended with that statement.)

SO HERE'S MY SYSTEM:

I preview and rate every fight that is scheduled to be televised on a PPV Boxing Card, and try to determine whether that card is worth purchasing or not based on my point system below.

Please note that at the end of each preview, I will mention what weight class the bout is being fought at and where each fighter ranks within that weight class. This is done by using ‘The Ring’ ratings.

HERE'S HOW STEVE'S PPV CRITERIA WORKS!

POINTS:

6 = MEGA MATCHUP
5 = Excellent Matchup
4 = Good Matchup
3 = Decent Matchup
2 = OK Matchup
1 = Bad Matchup

If a fight is scheduled to be televised on the card, it gets at least 1 point. This helps to reward quantity.

POINT SYSTEM:

14 or higher = GET IT!

13 = If you can find someone to split it with you or the price of the PPV is 24.99 or less, GET IT!

12 = If you can find someone to split it with you or the price of the PPV is 19.99 or less CONSIDER getting it.

11 = If you can find a place that is showing it, or get enough people over to split it with you, so that you are not paying more than 10 dollars for the card, CONSIDER getting it.

10 or under = Save your money and sleep well at night knowing you didn't get ripped off!

AND AWAY WE GO!

February 18th - PPV PRICE: 39.95 

ANTONIO MARGARITO (32-4 23 KO's) vs MANUEL GOMEZ (28-10-2 19 KO's)

Antonio Margarito is the most feared fighter in boxing today. Nobody at welterweight wants to have anything to do with him. Baldomir, Mayweather, Judah, Gatti, Vargas, Mosley, De La Hoya, not only will none of these fighters face Margarito, they won't even mention his name! They pretend like he doesn't exist in hopes that he'll just go away. So far he hasn't gone anywhere, but he has to settle for facing opponents like Manuel Gomez, who have no business being in the same ring as him. Gomez is game and will give it his all, and while this may be entertaining for a time, it's a mismatch.

*Antonio Margarito is ranked #1 at Welterweight (147lbs) - Manuel Gomez is not rated*

SCORE = 2

BRIAN VILORIA (18-0 12 KO'S) vs JOSE ANTONIO AGUIRRE (33-4-1 20 KO'S)

Viloria steps back into the ring after the most impressive victory of his pro career when he blew away Eric Ortiz in 1 round. Aguirre is coming off of 2 KO losses in a row. The last one was a 4 round KO loss against Jr. Flyweight #1 contender Roberto Vasquez. The previous KO loss was a 7th round KO at the hands of none other than, yep, Eric Ortiz, the very same Eric Ortiz who Viloria blew away in 1. Look for Aguirre's string of KO losses to continue.

*Brian Viloria is rated #5 at Jr Flyweight(108lbs) - Jose Antonio Aguirre is rated #7 at Jr Flyweight (108lbs)*

SCORE = 2

IVAN CALDERON (24-0 5 KO'S) vs ISAAC BUSTOS (24-7-3 13 KO'S)

Calderon is a superb boxer, who tends to white wash his opponents in boring fashion. If they ever threw him in with a hungry hard hitting aggressive fighter, like Rodel Mayol, we might have some fun, but Bustos is not a big puncher and is coming off of a one sided decision loss to Takayama. All signs point to another easy, boring Calderon victory.

*Ivan Calderon is rated #3 at Strawweight(105lbs) - Isaac Bustos is rated #6 at Strawweight (105lbs)*

SCORE = 2  

JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ JR (23-0-1 18 KO'S) vs CARLOS MOLINA (8-1-1 4 KO'S)

Baby Chavez looks to avenge the first blemish of his career when he takes on the man who fought him to a draw this past December. It's the first meaningful fight of Chavez's young career.

*This fight will take place at Welterweight (147lbs) - Neither fighter is rated*

SCORE = 3

FINAL SCORE = 9

SUMMARY: The opening bout is the best fight on the entire card! Need I say more? Purchasing this PPV is equivalent to donating 40 bucks to Bob Arum. I don't know about you, but I can think of about a million better charities than that.
© Copyright / All Rights reserved: Doghouse Boxing 1998-2005