Tyson vs. Holyfield III? MMA coming to CBS, and it's not the UFC? Weekend Fight Schedule

Lumpy Lumps come out and Plaaaaay. Yoooooooooooooooooo what up kids? Time to do work son, do work! Your Boy Larry doesn't have any picks this weekend but I am sure Da Moose Man will find some underground exotics for you and your bookie to play.

Before we go over the fight schedule lets go over some interesting news over the last few days in both Boxing and MMA. It says a lot about the direction each of these sports is going.

Besides Floyd Mayweather participating in WrestleMania on March 30th we also found out that Evander Holyfield and Iron Mike Tyson are in discussions about fighting again. Haven't enough body parts been bitten off already? I'm not sure who looks more desperate in this situation. Mike is the obvious choice for these shenanigans, but now the Real Deal is going down this path as well? The crazy part is that if the promoters did this right they would probably get me to order this mess on PPV. First of all it can't be more than $19.99. Secondly they should have 3 fights in total, 2 legit fights with up and coming known names and then the old men can get it on in their 6-8 rounder. Reality of the matter is that if it does happen it will probably go for $45, have about 2 hours of pre show BS showing all old clips and then these two fools will go out and basically spar for 4 rounds. Neither will end up throwing any haymakers. The heavyweight division is a straight up SNAFU.

OK so on the other side of the coin does the UFC finally have some legit competition? CBS has just signed a deal with Elite XC, which is the league that is shown on Showtime and also where Kimbo Slice is contracted. The deal seems to state that CBS will air four 2 hour shows per year during Prime Time on Saturday nights. First show should take place in April and Kimbo will be the headliner. WOW. They actually got on network TV before the UFC, pretty impressive. I hope it works but in reality it is probably going to be a bust. Why?

1. MMA is hot, but it is still such a niche sport. 3-4 million viewers are great numbers for Cable or PPV but its just average ratings for a network show.

2. Other than Kimbo they really don't have any well known names.

3. Fight shows have basically been a bust on network TV and usually end up finding their place on basic cable. When is the last time you saw boxing on network TV? How about the Contender? Total flop when on NBC. WWE tried some shows on NBC as well and that failed.

I guess only time will tell.

The The that's all Lumps, L3 is Audi S5 (saw one of those rides this week, dope on a rope, and you bess not say nope!) Got check it out on the web. Here is your weekend fight schedule. Is that a Toney Tubbs fight I see on Saturday night?? Looks like Holyfield got a back up opponent if Mike gets arrested again! Also UFC got a PPV event on Saturday.

BOXING

FRIDAY - at Marksville, Louisiana (ESPN2) -10 rounds, light middleweights: Sechew Powell (22-1, 13 KOs) vs. Kevin Finley (12-0-1, 9 KOs); 10 rounds, super middleweights: Allan Green (26-1, 18 KOs) vs. Antwun Echols

(31-7-3, 27 KOs).
FRIDAY - at La Paz Mexico - 12 rounds, mini-flyweights: Raul Garcia (21-0-1, 15 KOs) vs. Ronald Barrera (22-3-1, 14 KOs).
FRIDAY - at Lemoore, California (Showtime) -12 rounds, IBF featherweight title: Robert Guerrero (21-1-1, 14 KOs) vs. Jason Litzau (23-1, 19 KOs); 10 rounds, heavyweights: T.J. Wilson (12-1, 8 KOs) vs. Travis Walker (26-1-1, 20 KOs).
FRIDAY - at Montreal - 12 rounds, IBF super middleweight title: Lucian Bute (21-0, 17 KOs) vs.
William Joppy (39-4-1, 30 KOs).
FRIDAY - at San Antonio, Texas (Telefutura) -10 rounds, bantamweights: Raul Martinez (21-0, 13 KOs) vs. Jonathan Perez (13-3, 10 KOs); 10 rounds, welterweights: James De La Rosa (14-0, 10 KOs) vs. Gabriel Martinez (16-0-1, 8 KOs).
SATURDAY - at Tokyo - 12 rounds, WBA minimumweight title: Yutak-a Niida (22-1-3, 8 KOs) vs.
Jose Luis Varela (14-3-1, 7 KOs).
SATURDAY - at Carson, California (Showtime) -12 rounds, WBC super bantamweight title: Israel Vazquez
(42-4, 31 KOs) vs. Rafael Marquez (37-4, 33 KOs).
SATURDAY - Ft. Wright, Kentucky - 8 rounds, heavyweights: Tony Tubbs (47-10, 25 KOs) vs. Paul Phillips (21-14, 19 KOs).

MMA

Saturday, March 1
UFC 82: Dan Henderson vs. Anderson Silva, Nationwide Arena, Columbus, PPV

Floyd Mayweather Jr. the latest pro athlete appearing at WrestleMania. Wednesday's Classic Lump: Pro Boxer vs. Pro Wrestler

What would you do for $20 Million dollars?
Hardcore training for 3-4 months, and then box in a real match against a top opponent OR show up and fake a fight at Pro Wrestling's Super Bowl in a "match" that will probably last less than 15 minutes? Well Floyd Mayweather Jr. chose both options when he fought Ricky Hatton and then agreed to "wrestle" the Big Show at WrestleMania next month.
People are saying that this makes Floyd look like a fool, and someone who should not be taken seriously as a real boxer. Are you nuts!!! This does not tarnish his boxing record at all. It's one of the easiest (legal) ways anyone has used their fame to earn a quick 20 Mil in the history of the world! It's a no brainer, take the loot Floyd. But here are some points to consider.
1. Is Vince McMahon getting in over his head? That's a ton of coin to shell out. Wrestling has been struggling these days, is he really going to make it back on PPV buys?
2. Is Floyd really getting 20 Million or is it more Pro Wrestling phoniness to hype up the event?
I wouldn't be surprised if this was the case. Even if Pretty Boy is making $5 Million it's a great deal for him.
3. I wonder how the Pro Wrestlers feel about this, will Floyd be welcomed into the fraternity or given the cold shoulder? Fake or not these guys bust their ass and put their bodies through hell. They are on the road for about 300 days a year and no one, I mean no one, is making that kind of ducketts, including the icon Hulk Hogan. I hope the Big Show throws some "welcome to big time" real smackdowns onto Floyd.
4. What is Floyd really going to do? A full blown match such as when LT fought Bam Bam Bigelow? Or is going to be a one punch appearance like Tyson and Stone Cold Steve Austin?

As for Willy's comparison of this to Mike Tyson appearing at a WrestleMania, well there is no comparison. Tyson was done with boxing, past his prime, and had serious financial issues. He HAD to do it. Floyd on the other hand is at the top of his game and due to his fame was spoon fed an offer he could not refuse. Once again a no brainer.

So lets talk about pro Athletes showing up at WrestleManias. What was your favorite match up? Mr. T vs Roddy Piper? LT vs. Bam Bam Bigelow? The Mike Tyson appearance? William "The Fridge" Perry? Larry Lump has a favorite. When Pete Rose got his butt handed to him by Kane three consecutive years. That was good stuff!

So here is a great transition to this weeks Classic Lump. At WrestleMania XV there actually was a legit boxing match between a "real" boxer and a WWE Wrestler. The event was a Tough Man Style competition called Brawl For All. Take a look at the finale and see how the Wrestler did against the Boxer when things got real.

Willy out of the drunk tank!!!

Here's a quick bonus post from my cousin Willy Lump Lump from Moncks Corner SC. He has been MIA for a while and decided to pop off a few comments. As for the Mayweather/WWE marriage I got some thoughts on that which I will save for tomorrow. Any one else want to chime in now go and get your groove on.....

Willy (Detox) Lump

Yooooo, I just got outta of the drunk tank! Your boy Willy is so fresh and so clean, clean…..

Back on the block your boy has been following his gigs on the boxin’ tip...and have to give a big congrats to Pavlik on the big win!

LLL, your boy “Money" Mayweather is getting into the WWE mix, and getting paid a hefty fortune to do it too. $20mil to do some acting against the “Big Show” What do you think of that?

Here is my question with all the acting that goes on prior to a fight, all the hype. As a serious fight fan can you take him serious anymore? He’s turning into a joke….This remind you of anyone? Iron Mike? It looks like he is following in his footsteps..

Thoughts?

Heavyweight Snore Fest at MSG and the rest of the weekend fight results

Ohh man I feel bad for the suckers who paid hundreds to thousands of dollars to see that stinker at MSG on Saturday. Wladimir Klitschko scored a unanimous decision over Sultan Ibragimov to unify the IBF and WBO belts. Your boy Larry Lump scored it 119-109 for Wladimir, almost a shut out except for the first round. All Klitschko did the entire night was slap down Sultans weak ass jab then throw a jab of his own. You kept waiting for him to cold cock him with the right hand but Wladimir threw his first right in the 5th round! Yes 4 straight round of boxing with only one hand and he won 3 of them. The crowd was booing, I was yawning, not good. Punch stats at the end of the fight had Klitschko landing 108 jab to ONLY 16 by Ibragimov!

So did this fight create any clarity in the heavyweight decision, absolutely not. To me it still seems like Klitschko is afraid to take a punch to the chin so he fights in a very defensive style. If there ever is a Sam Peter rematch I think he is in for a rough night.


OK had a chance to watch the Pavlik/Taylor fight in more detail. Winner is.....
Draw baby 114-114. I had Pavlik up 58-56 after the first 6 and I though Taylor had the same score for rounds 6-12. Man it was close. At the end of the day Pavlik was probably a bit busier and I really don't have an issue with him winning the fight but damn it was a hard ass fight to judge. Put it this way, judges only scored unanimously in rounds 1 and 11, every other round they were split.


In MMA news, Bob Crapp, I mean Sapp got TKO'ed in less than a minute against a guy who had a 1-5 MMA record. Another novelty fighter bites the dust. I heard some rumors that Pro Wrestler Kurt Angle wants to fight Randy Couture this year. What the hell is he smoking, Kurt will get destroyed!


See you cats on Wednesday with another classic lump.


Here are the rest of the fight results from the weekend.
BOXING
NEW YORK (AP)—Wladimir Klitschko, Ukraine, outpointed Sultan Ibragimov, Russia, 12, to unify the IBF, IBO and WBO heavyweight titles; John Duddy, Ireland, outpointed Walid Smichet, Tunisia, 10, middleweights; Joe Greene, New York, stopped Francisco A. Mora, Argentina, 10, middleweights; Johnathon Banks, Detroit, stopped Imamu Mayfield, Perth Amboy, N.J., 1, cruiserweights.
CAGUAS, Puerto Rico (AP)—Juan Manuel Lopez, Puerto Rico, stopped Jonathan Oquendo, Puerto Rico, 3, to win the WBO Latino super bantamweight title; Nelson Dieppa, Puerto Rico, stopped Alex Sanchez, Puerto Rico, 10, to retain his WBA Fedebol light flyweight title; Roman Martinez, Puerto Rico, stopped Jose Anibal Cruz, Dominican Republic, 3, to win the WBO Intercontinental super flyweight title.
BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa (AP)—William Gare, South Africa, stopped Maselino Masoe, Samoa, 4, to win the vacant WBF super middleweight title; Tshifiwa Munyai, South Africa, outpointed Julio David Roque Ler, Argentina, 12, to win the WBA Intercontinental bantamweight title; Mlungisi Dlamini, South Africa, stopped Jairo Moura dos Santos, Brazil, 1, to retain his WBF lightweight title.
SACHSEN-ANHALT, Germany (AP)—Alexander Alexeev, Russia, stopped Talmadge Griffis, Colorado Springs, Colo., 3, to retain his WBO Intercontinental cruiserweight title; Yuri Barashian, Ukraine, stopped Thomas Ulrich, Germany, 8, to win the European light heavyweight title.
LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP)—Reggie Johnson, Houston, outpointed Julio Cesar Gonzalez, Mexico, 12, to win the IBA light heavyweight title.


MMA
Saturday, Feb. 23
Strikeforce at the Dome, Tacoma, Wash.: Nathan Coy def. Dave Courchaine, KO, 1:46 R1; Zack Skinner def. Scott Shaffer, unanimous decision; Mike Hayes def. Matt Kovaks, unanimous decision; Lyle Beerbohm def. Ray Perales, submission (guillotine choke), 1:19 R3; Mychal Clark def. Josh Bennett, TKO (doctor stoppage), 5:00 R2; Jorge Masdival def. Ryan Healey, unanimous decision; Eddie Ellis def. Steve Berger, unanimous decision; Maurice Smith def. Rick Roufus, submission (Kimura) 1:53 R1; Cory Devela def. Joe Riggs, submission (throw), 1:22 R1; Jan Nortje def. Bob Sapp, TKO, 0:55 R1.

Weekend Fight Schedule-Larry's Pick

Damn the weeks keep flying by. But we got another good weekend of dukes coming up my friends. Is it just me or are things getting better in the fight game these days in both Boxing and MMA? This might be a long shot, but is boxing better because of the growth of the UFC? I think each discipline is under more pressure to deliver fan friendly match ups because they are both competing for our money. As long as my Lumpy Posse wins out in the end it works for me!

OK predictions predictions. The big fight this weekend is the Heavyweight Unification bout between the IBF champ Wladimir Klitschko (43-3) and the WBO champ Sultan Ibragimov (22-0-1). On a side note wouldn't it be nice if Joe Green and Bill White were fighting because these names are a pain in the ass to type!! Come on American Heavyweights, step up and get the damn title back before I get carpel tunnel!

OK sorry back to the fight. As crazy as this sounds this is the first heavyweight unification bout since 1999 when Lennox Lewis outpointed Evander Holyfield for the WBA, WBC, and IBF belts.
So yes even though this is a unification bout there are still the WBA and WBC champs out there...ahh boxing why can't you get your crap together?
Well in Larry's humble opinion even before this fight, Klitschko has been considered the top heavyweight out of all the champs and I see him taking care of business on Saturday night as well. I saw the weigh in and my man is in great shape, this cat is a CUT 238 pounds. Ibragimov is too small and a little flabby around the mid section. The only way he has a shot is if Klitschko's glass jaw rears it's ugly head (or should I say chin). Wladimir has been on his ass many a times in his career (Corrie Sanders and Sam Peter come to mind) but he seems have worked on his chin ups because he has been able to take a punch in his last few fights. Larry Lump says Klitschko by KO in the 8th.

Undefeated middleweight John Duddy is on the undercard. If he seals the deal with some sausage and veal he is rumored to be Kelly Pavlik's next opponent. I think HBO is going to re-air the Taylor-Pavlik fight too. Your boy L Cubed is going to watch again and pay attention this time so he can really score it. Will tell you what I come out with on Monday.

OK last week we had the latest MMA curiosity attraction, Kimbo Slice, beat the living snot out of Tank Abbott. This week we have another one for ya. Bob "The Beast" Sapp fights on Saturday night in Tacoma, WA. If you don't know Sapp he is one of the most popular fighters....in Japan. Check out YouTube to see him in action. In the US he is basically a total unknown but now he is ready to make his American run. I could easily see a Kimbo Slice/Bob Sapp fight down the road. Two giant beasts with little ground game. It would be brutal and end fast. I would give the nod to Kimbo at this time.

Have a great weekend kids!!! Keep ya dukes up!

BOXING SCHEDULE

FRIDAY - at Fort Lauerdale, Florida (ESPN2) -10 rounds, light middleweights: Richard Gutierrez(23-1, 14 KOs) vs. Jose Varela (23-2, 16 KOs);10 rounds, super featherweights: Johnnie Edwards(13-1-1, 7 KOs) vs. Yuriorkis Gamboa (8-0, 7 KOs).

FRIDAY - Reno, Nevada - 10 rounds,super middleweights: Jesse Brinkley (29-5, 20 KOs)vs. Otis Griffin (18-2-2, 7 KOs).

SATURDAY - at New York (HBO) - 12 rounds,IBF heavyweight title: Wladimir Klitschko (49-3, 44 KOs)vs. Sultan Ibragimov (22-0-1, 17 KOs); 12 rounds,middleweights: Joe Greene (17-0, 12 KOs) vs.Francisco Antonio Mora (52-12, 35 KOs); 10 rounds,middleweights: John Duddy (23-0, 17 KOs) vs. Walid Smichet (17-3-1, 13 KOs); 8 rounds, middleweights:Peter Quillin (16-0, 13 KOs) vs. Thomas Brown(11-3-1, 7 KOs); 10 rounds, cruiserweights: JohnathonBanks (18-0, 13 KOs) vs. Imamu Mayfield (25-8-2, 18 KOs).

MMA

Saturday, Feb. 23
Strikeforce: Bob Sapp vs. Jan Nortje, Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, WA

BONUS PICKS FROM DA MOOSE

Extra Friday bonus for you. The Moose just wrote in some under card "exotics" for the fights at MSG on Saturday night.

Enjoy!

Moose says:

The payoffs at the Garden are in the under card. Banks vs. the Imamu will stuff your pocks. Banks is an exciting, young, up 'n comer, stopping all foes, albeit bums. Imamu-Man is an old 36, journeyman whose last fight in NY Metro was in the old Pennsylvania Hotel, 14 years ago!. Another issue is that he is from NJ, not Abu-Dhabi or Nigeria, so he has lots of local connections here (good & bad) that should result in his demise. Oh yeah, he has lost 4 of his last 5 fights so he is just hanging on here, as fight fodder for Mr. Banks.

Play:

Fight will not go the distance.
Mamu will have at least 3 separate cuts (he could also have bed-sores" from lying on the ring so many times, but this will be hard to verify, so DON'T play this)
Brain damage within 6 months of this romp
Play a long-shot, piss leak in the ring, especially on them low blows.

Wednesday Classic Lump

Sometimes you got switch it up a bit, not all Classic Lumps have to actually be real, they only have to be "Classic". So let's go back in time. The year was 1984.
The California Karate Championship. Final match, Daniel Larusso vs. Johnny Lawrence. This was the Flying Crane Kick heard 'round the world. (Man, that punk kid screaming in the background is annoying!).