Rusty Rubin is the editor of Ringsports.com website and author of three acclaimed boxing books! “Woozel, Boxing and Me”, “Off the Canvas” and “Billy Soose, the Champion Time Forgot” co-authored by Tom Donelson.
Any or all of these books will make an excellent and inexpensive Christmas present to the boxing fan(s) in your life. To order, just go to Autorhouse.com.
My upset pick of Raul Marquez over Arthur Abraham turned out correct, but the fight never happened, as the upset was Abrahams stomach. He had the flu bug. The fight has been re-scheduled for November, possible in the United States.***
Two important fight this weekend, one for the IBF light-heavyweight title between Bad “Chad” Dawson and Antonio Tarver. The fight, at the Palms in Las Vegas should be interesting, with Dawson on the way up and Tarver on his way down. Look for Dawson to win this one, probably by a decision.
The other fight of interest is for the WBC heavyweight bauble, with Vitali Klitschko coming off a long retirement to face tough, in your face Samuel Peter. This is a hard fight to pick, as layoffs, at any age, hurt, and as you get older, as Vitali has, it’s harder to get back into shape.
Nonetheless, Peter always has trouble with the big guys, and Vitali is much taller than Peter. The thing to remember here is that the longer the fight goes, the more it favors Peter.
Still, Sam is very predictable and won’t change the style that got him to the top. If Vitali doesn’t stop him within eight, Peter should win a decision. Yeah, I know the fight is in Germany and maybe it sounds like a cop-out, but I can’t see this bout going any other way.
Both fights will be shown on Showtime.
Glove 2 Glove:
My good friend and former President of the World Boxing Hall of Fame, Norm Cote, suffered a heart attack and is in need of your prayers. Things haven’t been going well for Norm of late, as he’s been on dialysis for a while also. Norm’s a fighter and so is his wonderful wife Annie.***
If you know of any boxing people in need of spiritual uplift or prayers, just drop us a line.
Thanks and God bless.***
Glove2Glove is a non-denominational group set up to aide those boxing folks and their friends and relatives in need of prayers and cards. We accept no money and contact our members when someone is in need. It’s absolutely free to join. God doesn’t ask for money, and neither do we. Joining us is as Simple as sending us your e-mail address. And even if you’re not a member, feel free to contact us if you are aware of some boxing person in need.***