It is hard to tell if the excitement is caused more by the public’s disdain for the immensely boorish Mayweather or the reverence in which Hatton is held by his diehard British fans.

With Mayweather casting himself as the villain, this bout has become a morality tale. Can the soft-spoken and down-to-earth, but fiercely determined Hatton outgun the arrogant and bombastic but extremely gifted Mayweather?

Because of the highly-rated preview series “24/7” that HBO has been running for the past few weeks Hatton has developed scores of American fans, most of whom are hungering to see him shut Mayweather’s mouth for good.

There are lots of tangibles in this fight, many of which are not so obvious. What is obvious is that, on paper at least, Hatton should be tailor made for Mayweather to look good against.

There is no better counter-puncher in the game, and hitting the Pretty Boy solidly can prove to be a lesson in futility.

While most boxing insiders see Mayweather winning one of his patented lopsided decisions, perhaps they should consider the fact that Hatton’s demeanor makes it apparent that he has never been more up for a challenge in his life.

Others believe that Mayweather’s candid talk about his brittle hands and his body breaking might be his way of laying the groundwork for an excuse should Hatton win.

Even more point to Mayweather’s flashiness, especially his annoying propensity to display his wealth, as signs of emotional weakness, a trait that a hell-bent warrior like Hatton could exploit.

Here’s what a random group of 20 boxing insiders have to say:

Nick Charles, ShoBox: The New Generation commentator: “Mayweather is the best fighter in the world, but even the best fighters have to lose sometime, so why not now? I know this pick might not make sense to some people. Hatton didn’t look good against (Luis) Colazzo and he beat Castillo who was on his last legs. But I think his pressure accumulation won’t allow Mayweather to do what he does best. I’m going out on a limb, but my gut says Hatton stops Mayweather. Hatton by TKO.

Steve Farhood, ShoBox: The New Generation commentator: “Hatton will try to make it interesting, but it will be a frustratingly boring fight because Mayweather simply won’t cooperate. When Hatton applies pressure, Mayweather will respond in one of three ways: holding, running or punching. The first two are far more likely than the third.” Mayweather W 12.

Gerry Cooney, former heavyweight title challenger: “Hatton is a tough kid, but Mayweather should be able to pick him apart and chop him up. Hatton will keep him on the ropes all night long, but Mayweather will pot shot him and probably stop him on cuts in the seventh or eighth round.” Mayweather by TKO.

Iran Barkley, former multi-division champion: “Mayweather won’t knock Hatton out, but he will beat him. It won’t come easy, but Mayweather will make it look easy. Mayweather don’t have power like Hatton, but he’s got speed and he knows how to make things happen. If Mayweather’s hands don’t fail him, he might be able to cut and stop Hatton, but I’m leaning toward a decision.” Mayweather W 12.

David Diaz, WBC lightweight champion: “Floyd does very well against guys that come at him. I see him maneuvering a lot on the ropes and clearly outboxing Hatton. Floyd is a great defensive fighter on the ropes. He rolls real well and has tunnel vision, so he sees everything coming.” Mayweather W 12.

Willie Savannah, manager/trainer of lightweight champion Juan Diaz: “We are pulling for Ricky because he’d be a great fight down the road for Juan if he won. My heart says Ricky because he’s so determined, but my mind says Floyd. He just has too much speed, but I think the fight will be a lot closer than most people think.” Mayweather W 12.

Calvin Brock, heavyweight contender: “If anyone can beat Mayweather, it’s Hatton. This will be a much better fight than Mayweather’s fight with (Oscar) De La Hoya. This is the toughest match Mayweather’s ever been in, and I think it’s a toss-up, but (if forced) I will pick Hatton by decision.” Hatton W 12.

Bruce Silverglade, owner of Gleason’s Gym: “Even though my heart wants to go with the underdog and pick Hatton, my head says that Mayweather has what it takes to beat him. I think that Hatton is a very good fighter, but Mayweather is just a little better in all areas.” Mayweather W 12.

Hector Roca, trainer: “Ricky’s only chance is to knock Floyd out, but Floyd is too smart to let that happen. Ricky will be very tough on Floyd and the fight will be very entertaining, but Floyd should outpoint him.” Mayweather W 12.

Yuri Foreman: junior middleweight contender: “Floyd will box and move, but Hatton’s pressure will eventually overcome and he will catch up to him. Hatton will press the action all night long and win a decision.” Hatton W 12.

Dave Selwyn, manager of female boxers Eileen Olszewski, Ronica Jeffrey and Cristy Nickle: “The fight won’t even be close. Hatton will be lucky to win one round. Mayweather has way too much hand and foot speed and basic skills. He will avoid Hatton’s punches all night long.” Mayweather W 12.

Eileen Olszewski, top-rated female flyweight contender: “Hatton will be relentless in cutting off the ring and he will never stop punching. But Mayweather has seen this before, and he will know what to do. Hatton will give Mayweather a really hard time, but Mayweather will get the decision in a very competitive fight.” Mayweather W 12.

Emile Griffith, former multi-division champion: “Floyd is the best in the world and he will show everyone why he is the best. After the fight, he will still be the best.” Mayweather W 12.

Joey Gamache, former WBA lightweight champion: “Mayweather has tremendous speed and boxing abilities, and he is good enough to only fight as hard as he has to and win. Now that he’s getting a little older, I think he’ll settle down on his punches a bit more. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a more aggressive Mayweather in this fight.” Mayweather W 12.

Andy Lee, undefeated middleweight prospect: “Everything points to Mayweather, but I’m not all that convinced about his desire at this stage of his career. He has lots of money and outside interests, which could distract him. Things like one’s mentality and determination still count for something in this sport. This will be Hatton’s night.” Hatton W 12.

Sean Sullivan, Editor-in-Chief of Boxing Digest magazine: “Hatton will try to smother Mayweather and get inside his reach, but Mayweather is way too smart to let that happen. He’ll move around the ring a lot and nullify Hatton’s style. The only way Hatton can win is to pin Mayweather on the ropes and club him all night long. I don’t see that happening.”  Mayweather W 12.

John Scully, trainer and former light heavyweight title challenger: “A lot of people are picking Hatton to win because they don’t like Mayweather. As good and tough as Hatton is, Mayweather is even better than he gets credit for. He’s a lot like Sugar Ray Leonard and Muhammad Ali; he’s tough at heart and will fight hard when he has to.  The same rap against Mayweather was said about Roy Jones; that he didn’t want to mix it up. Roy actually loved to fight guys who would come at him the way Hatton will come at Mayweather. So does Mayweather. Look what he did to (Jose Luis) Castillo in their rematch and Diego Corrales. A lot of people thought they would beat Mayweather. When he needs to step up, he steps up.  There’s no way that Hatton will be able to steamroll him.”  Mayweather W 12.

Teddy B. Blackburn, photographer: “Hatton will give it all he’s got, and Pretty Boy will have to work for it but he is way too fast and will stop Hatton on cuts in the middle of the eighth round.”  Mayweather TKO 8 Hatton.

Mike Silver, noted boxing historian: “The key to the fight is speed, and Mayweather’s speed of foot speed is even more important than his hand speed. Hatton has to pressure Mayweather into defeat, but I don’t think he has the skills to do that. He will be consistently hit with counter-punches and lose a one-sided decision.” Mayweather W 12.

Bob Mladinich, TSS writer. “See Nick Charles’s description for my take on the fight. I couldn’t have said it better. If Glen Johnson could beat Roy Jones, Hatton can beat Mayweather.” Hatton W 12.

Total: 20

Mayweather: 15

Hatton: 5

Mayweather by TKO: 2

Hatton by TKO: 1

Floyd Mayweather: “The best pound-for-pound in boxing today, maybe ever. He dominates and is definitely the smartest boxer.”

Ricky Hatton: “Workmanlike but a little overrated. He’s not great but is a good fighter who is tough and a worker. He’s overrated in that some believe he’s the best.”

Miguel Cotto: “One of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world today -- very powerful, strong, hungry and determined.”

Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr.: “I didn’t see his last fight but he surprised me by beating (Ray) Sanchez, who I know from the amateurs. Chavez came back from being down on two cards to stop Sanchez. Maybe, he has gotten a little better.”

Herman Ngoudjo: “Another workmanlike fighter but not the same as Gavin Rees because he doesn’t throw as many punches. What you see is what you get with him. He’s a former Olympian and I expect him to come into our fight at 100-percent. He’s never been given anything and has come up the hard way. I’m looking forward to fighting him.”

Junior Witter: “Probably the most dangerous, underrated, unappreciated fighter in boxing. I’d love to meet him in the ring but that’s up to the networks. Witter is definitely the best light welterweight in England.”

Demetrious Hopkins: “Good family pedigree and a solid fighter. He’ll lose his first pro fight in 2008 when he meets Paulie Malignaggi.”

Lovemore N’dou: “The biggest clown in boxing today. He’s like Barnum & Bailey, you see the same show. His recent words and actions make him look even more stupid to the media and fans.”

Gavin Rees: “I’ve watched some clips of his fights and he seems like a rugged fighter who throws a lot of punches. Another workmanlike fighter, but he won’t last too long as a title holder.”

Ricardo Torres: “A strong fighter who can’t fight a lick.”

Timothy Bradley: “I know him from the amateurs. He’s a darkhorse junior welterweight right now and he’ll eventually become a contender in this division.”

Jose Luis Castillo: “Past his prime; a legend in his day.”

Vivian Harris: “Another underappreciated fighter who has been mismanaged. It’s a shame that his loss to Witter has hurt his career so much. It shouldn’t have.”

Kendall Holt: “A solid fighter who could become world champion. He’s had a couple of bad breaks. It’s all up to him. He has all of the physical tools but, mentally, he has to overcome negativity and setbacks. If he can overcome that he can be world champion.”

How about it, TSS Nation? Agree with Paulie’s scouting reports?

He was a human wrecking ball, both inside and outside of the ring. Anyone with even a passing interest in boxing remembers what they were doing when they heard that the self-proclaimed “Baddest Man on the Planet” was dethroned in the tenth round by Douglas.

If anyone could have found betting action, the odds on Douglas winning would have been 42-1.

Using that historic fight as the backdrop for an intense sociological and familial drama, author Joe Layden’s excellent book “The Last Great Fight: The Extraordinary Tale of Two Men and How One Fight Changed Their Lives Forever,” which was published by St. Martin’s Press in October 2007, pulls you into several stories that are difficult to emotionally extricate yourself from.

Layden brilliantly tells the story of two compellingly different people, whose lives merged on one fateful night and catapulted them in totally different directions.

Layden is too good of a storyteller to resort to the obvious. He refuses to portray Tyson as nothing more than the social pariah that so many people think he is. Instead he does what good writers do: he presents the good, the bad and the ugly traits and idiosyncrasies of a very troubled man.

Anyone who has ever been around Tyson will concur that he has many good qualities about him.

Readers will come to better understand what makes Tyson tick, as well as his myriad foibles and frailties.

And rather than portray Douglas as coming from a stable, two-parent environment, which is partly true, Layden goes behind the curtains to explore the complex, convoluted and often troubled relationship between Douglas and his late father, a hardscrabble ex-fighter named Billy “Dynamite” Douglas, who would make a great subject for his own book.

Buster is a genuinely humble, decent and simple but not unintelligent fellow who was thrust into the craziest of circumstances. While his paternal relationship is a theme that runs throughout the book, so are his challenging relationships with others, some of whom should have put his interests over their own egos.

Layden gives readers a blow-by-blow on how Douglas, a standout basketball player who had been a chronic underachiever as a boxer, managed to rise to the occasion for the biggest fight of his life.

As easy as that is to understand after reading this book, it is just as easy to understand what caused Douglas to basically relinquish his title to Evander Holyfield in his very next fight and then eat himself into a diabetic coma a few years later.

“Booklist,” which gave this book a starred review, said that Layden has “researched and written the most compelling and moving book on the sweet science we’ve seen in years.”

Wayne Coffey, who wrote the best-selling “The Boys of Winter,” said the book “takes you into the corners, the locker rooms, the minds of the two protagonists, producing revelations that arrive in combinations and a story that packs a heavyweight punch.”

I usually ignore boxing books because they are all too often predictable and plodding. What I personally find most interesting about boxing is not the actual fighting, but the fighters themselves.

All seem to have remarkable stories, but rarely are those stories written about with such precision and depth as in this book.

Layden should have a Ph.D in street psychology. I challenge anyone even remotely interested in what makes both ordinary and extraordinary people tick to pick this book up and not have trouble putting it down.

It grips you and grabs you, as it eloquently describes just how fickle the concept of fame and the consequence of obscurity can be. Not only will you find yourself rooting for Douglas, the quintessential underdog, but also for Tyson, who in his own tragic way is no less of an underdog.

This book is about fostering and nurturing dreams, only to watch them shattered. It is also about family, loyalty, grit, determination and ultimately redemption, makeshift or otherwise.

It will make you laugh and cry, sometimes on the same page. Most importantly, it will make you think. You will muse about your own ambitions or lack thereof, your own personal quest for some type of spiritual immortality, and your own belief or disbelief that the human spirit, when properly motivated, is not capable of magnificent feats.

Very often, when a movie based on a book comes out, people complain that the movie didn’t do the book justice. In this case, a different analogy is necessary. The Tyson-Douglas fight took place more than 17 years ago.

It was a great fight, not only for its historical significance, but also because of its unrelenting action.

This book, however, is better than the fight. You can’t get a more starred review than that.

“The Last Great Fight” is available in all bookstores and on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.

He was a human wrecking ball, both inside and outside of the ring. Anyone with even a passing interest in boxing remembers what they were doing when they heard that the self-proclaimed “Baddest Man on the Planet” was dethroned in the tenth round by Douglas.

If anyone could have found betting action, the odds on Douglas winning would have been 42-1.

Using that historic fight as the backdrop for an intense sociological and familial drama, author Joe Layden’s excellent book “The Last Great Fight: The Extraordinary Tale of Two Men and How One Fight Changed Their Lives Forever,” which was published by St. Martin’s Press in October 2007, pulls you into several stories that are difficult to emotionally extricate yourself from.

Layden brilliantly tells the story of two compellingly different people, whose lives merged on one fateful night and catapulted them in totally different directions.

Layden is too good of a storyteller to resort to the obvious. He refuses to portray Tyson as nothing more than the social pariah that so many people think he is. Instead he does what good writers do: he presents the good, the bad and the ugly traits and idiosyncrasies of a very troubled man.

Anyone who has ever been around Tyson will concur that he has many good qualities about him.

Readers will come to better understand what makes Tyson tick, as well as his myriad foibles and frailties.

And rather than portray Douglas as coming from a stable, two-parent environment, which is partly true, Layden goes behind the curtains to explore the complex, convoluted and often troubled relationship between Douglas and his late father, a hardscrabble ex-fighter named Billy “Dynamite” Douglas, who would make a great subject for his own book.

Buster is a genuinely humble, decent and simple but not unintelligent fellow who was thrust into the craziest of circumstances. While his paternal relationship is a theme that runs throughout the book, so are his challenging relationships with others, some of whom should have put his interests over their own egos.

Layden gives readers a blow-by-blow on how Douglas, a standout basketball player who had been a chronic underachiever as a boxer, managed to rise to the occasion for the biggest fight of his life.

As easy as that is to understand after reading this book, it is just as easy to understand what caused Douglas to basically relinquish his title to Evander Holyfield in his very next fight and then eat himself into a diabetic coma a few years later.

“Booklist,” which gave this book a starred review, said that Layden has “researched and written the most compelling and moving book on the sweet science we’ve seen in years.”

Wayne Coffey, who wrote the best-selling “The Boys of Winter,” said the book “takes you into the corners, the locker rooms, the minds of the two protagonists, producing revelations that arrive in combinations and a story that packs a heavyweight punch.”

I usually ignore boxing books because they are all too often predictable and plodding. What I personally find most interesting about boxing is not the actual fighting, but the fighters themselves.

All seem to have remarkable stories, but rarely are those stories written about with such precision and depth as in this book.

Layden should have a Ph.D in street psychology. I challenge anyone even remotely interested in what makes both ordinary and extraordinary people tick to pick this book up and not have trouble putting it down.

It grips you and grabs you, as it eloquently describes just how fickle the concept of fame and the consequence of obscurity can be. Not only will you find yourself rooting for Douglas, the quintessential underdog, but also for Tyson, who in his own tragic way is no less of an underdog.

This book is about fostering and nurturing dreams, only to watch them shattered. It is also about family, loyalty, grit, determination and ultimately redemption, makeshift or otherwise.

It will make you laugh and cry, sometimes on the same page. Most importantly, it will make you think. You will muse about your own ambitions or lack thereof, your own personal quest for some type of spiritual immortality, and your own belief or disbelief that the human spirit, when properly motivated, is not capable of magnificent feats.

Very often, when a movie based on a book comes out, people complain that the movie didn’t do the book justice. In this case, a different analogy is necessary. The Tyson-Douglas fight took place more than 17 years ago.

It was a great fight, not only for its historical significance, but also because of its unrelenting action.

This book, however, is better than the fight. You can’t get a more starred review than that.

“The Last Great Fight” is available in all bookstores and on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.

The photo was referenced by Bernd Boendt, Klitschko’s manager, and forgive me Sultan, for I mean no disrespect, but the photo of Young on his back made me think of you.

I think there’s a strong possibility that the 6-6 Ukrainian will leave the Russiana southpaw, about a head shorter and more than 25 pounds lighter than him, on his back in center ring at Madison Square Garden in February.

I could be wrong, and part of me hopes I’m wrong, as there’s no rush I enjoy more as a watcher of sport than seeing a significant underdog flip the script, and emerge victorious. I just don’t see how Ibragimov, can do it; he is quite solid technically, but without the necessary finisher’s instinct to do what must be done, and advance fast and furious on Wlad, and test his chin.

The blueprint to best the gigantic hitter was set by Corrie Sanders in 2003, and Lamon Brewster in 2004. Get in the big man’s grill, make him smell the garlic you had for lunch, and aim your blasts at the point of the chin.

We saw the 219-pound Ibragimov, age 32, treat 45-year-old Evander Holyfield, who weighed 211 pounds, in almost deferential fashion in their Oct. 13 scrap in Moscow.

If he does that against Klitschko, who figures to weigh around 245 pounds, it’s a recipe for disaster, for a loss, for an Angus Young pose.

WBO champion Ibragimov will bring a 22-0-1 mark, with 17 KOs, into NY, but he’s been skillfully managed, by Boris Grinberg, to this career-best payday. No one has stopped him, but he’s fought no one near Klitschko in terms of talent and breadth of arsenal.

I asked Sultan how he’d fight Wlad, who owns the IBF, IBO and WBO straps, during a Q and A after the dais dance, and he wouldn’t show his hand.

“I have to watch tapes, of his last fight, and my fights…it’s my secret, I will show on February 23,” he said in halting English.

Seminole Warriors executive Leon Margules did give me his insight on a theoretically successful strategy for the shorter, smaller man, who turned pro in 2002.

“Sultan has to show a lot of movement, get inside Klitschko’s jab, give angles, break him down, outquick him,” he said. “He’s got to go to the body, give angles, he can’t stand in front of him and let him fire away. He’s got the right style to do it. I’m not comparing Shannon Briggs and Holyfield to Klitschko, but the style he showed is the style to beat him. I don’t think he’s too small. I think he has a big speed advantage. He’s proven he can fight big guys.”

Warriors matchmaker Sampson Lewkowicz points to Ibragimov’s trainer Jeff Mayweather as being a key to his advancement and his chances of beating Wlad.

“Sultan is a small giant, like Dustin Hoffman,” he said. “Jeff changed him, to be a good boxer to an excellent boxer. But he will fight him differently than he fought Briggs, differently than he fought Holyfield. He’ll definitely surprise him. He will knock him out. It will be a war.”

So, Sultan’s not saying how he’ll target Wlad, his promoter and the matchmaker see the fight going down in a dissimilar fashion.

I see Angus Young…but anyway.

The conference itself featured the usual I’ll pat your back, you pat mine chatter.

We were reminded that this is the first “unification” bout since the 1999 tussle between Holyfield, who was wearing the IBF’s and WBA’s straps, and Lennox Lewis, who owned the WBC’s trinket. Do you recall how that fight went down? It was also in Madison Square Garden. Remember the name Eugenia Williams? She took major heat, along with Stanley Christodoulu, for calling that bout even, and ganging up to give Evander a gift draw.

We can only hope that the judges on Feb. 23 will all be armed with eyes that can see, instead of Lyin’ Eyes.

Most everyone in attendance on the dais seemed to be pumped that Don King had nothing to do with this, so there was definitely unity on that front.

Manny Steward spoke up, and talked up Wlad, saying Lennox Lewis would have a hard time with him. “I think it’ll be a good technical fight, but I don’t think it’ll go the distance,” he said. He also slapped Ring magazine, for saying Klitschko needs to fight Sam Peter to be their top heavyweight.

Klitschko, an underappreciated gem in the sport, because there is such a dearth of capable challengers to provide mouth-watering matchups, showed oodles of charisma during his time at the mike.

He wore the very robe he will be wearing at MSG and announced a promotion that will raise money through the Laureus Sport For Good Foundation, which raises funds through sporting events. For $199, you can log on to the Klitschko’s website, and sign up to get your name stitched onto the robe. The proceeds will be given to a Laureus/Klitschko charitable endeavor in the Bronx.

It may have been a case of something getting lost in translation, but I chuckled when Wlad thanked the media for coming. “It’s the most powerful media in the world, and making the fight bigger than it is,” he said.

I think he meant thanks for writing about it, not hyping it more than it deserves to be hyped.

Wlad said he expects 10,000 fans to pay the stitching fee. “You don’t need to be a Klitschko fan,” he said, to laughter. “Sport is the only thing with one language, one skin color, one religion,” he said. “I’m looking forward to delivering a great performance in the ring.”

The Q and A after the dais dance was amusing, as the NY Daily News’ institution, Bill Gallo, objected to the use of the word “unification.” Klitschko tried to assuage him, as did Margules, to no avail.

This semantic hullabaloo has been a pet peeve of mine, as well. Gallo is right—-Sam Peter and Oleg Maskaev co-own the WBC title, and Ruslan Chagaev is holding the WBA version. Thus, unless ALL the available belts are on the line, there is no unification, no coming together to be a single unit. Thus, the correct word choice is “consolidation.” But I guess that sounds too business-y, not sport-y.

SPEEDBAG Boris Grinberg provided one of those “Um, did he just say what I thought he said” moments during his time at the mike. He described Sultan and Klitschko as “two white gentleman,” and it was unclear why skin color was specified. Did he just say what I thought he said, I asked a colleague? Yup, he did indeed.

---A Seminole tribe spokeswoman urged people to buy tickets to the fight as holiday gifts. Two, four, even six, she said. Yes, she acknowledged that the fight occurs two months after Christmas, but the recipient will have something to look forward to. She also said that her tribe is willing to buy back NY, one hamburger at a time. They own the Hard Rock chain.

--Steward said Wlad will train in sunny Florida for the midwinter appointment. He invited Sultan to come watch him. A Sultan-ite offered to have them spar each other. The implication was lost on them, that they just offered their man’s services as a sparring partner. Hope that doesn’t forbode the sort of contest we get come February.

--An MSG exec spoke too, and thanked the man who runs MSG, James Dolan, for being a fan of boxing. I’m still reeling from the disclosure that the NY Knicks didn’t think it right to inform Stephon Marbury that his dad had died during a game on Monday night. Un-frickin-fathomable. And that they have a member of their PR staff eavesdrop on any and all interviews between the media and the press, and report what is said to a PR bigshot. These morons just don’t get it, do they? The media is writing stories about the team, and basically giving you free advertising, you fools. And you treat them with a level of contempt that shows that you are completely clueless about human nature, and shouldn’t be running a NYC street hotdog stand, let alone one of best know sports franchises on the planet. Wake up, morons.

He reminds us that "Super Bowl" showdown did 2.4 million PPV buys.

The suits think this one will hit a million buys.

They sold out the arena in half an hour, Oscar again reminds us,  and they've sold 18,000 seats on closed circuit in Las Vegas alone.

That's all well and good, especially if you're receiving a piece of that money pie.

The stockings in the De La Hoya, Schaeffer, Mayweather and Ellerbe households will be overstuffed this holiday season, it sounds like.

But I'm less interested in those stats, sorry to say, and more interested in the type of fight we're going to see Saturday.

I mean, I get curious about figures as the next guy. I live in NY, money is on people's mind, if not 24/7, then pretty close to it. So I fall prey to that mindset.

But in the end, I don't really give a tinker's damn about buy rates, and PPV records, and all that. Those figures aren't going on anyone's headstone.

I care about the quality of the fight.

We are being bombarded now with all these sales figures, as if that's proof enough that the sport is flourishing. I got a braggy email from a licensed ticket broker, what used to be called a scalper before all these governors caved in to lobbysists (cough cough Spitzer!) and legalized ticket scalping. This outfit, OverpricedTix.com, or whatever, was bragging about how many PBF/Hatton tickets they took out of the hands of everyday Joes, and for how many thousands of dollars they are selling them for.  I think it's rampant greed, and a symptom of how our society has commoditized everything to a ludicrous degree.

I'm night saying the sport is not flourishing, but remember, George Foreman sells millions and million of his grills, and when I walk the city streets, I see those damned things left out on the sidewalk for the taking on a weekly basis.

So PBF may well be the first fighter to be in back to back fights selling more than a million hits. Again, great for his bank account.

But you think that stat will make it into his obit? Doubtful.

Now, PBF told us last time we'd get plenty of toe to toe with Oscar and that didn't happen. Now, he's on the record again saying he and Hatton will go grill to grill.

"Well you don’t have to worry about that this time," he said, when asked if fans will get plenty of toe to toe for their buck, or more Helio-ing about the ring. "You don’t have to worry about that.  Believe me, when I tell you this, you don’t have to worry about that.  You won’t get, you won’t get a lot, you’re going to get that from the opening bell."

I do hope so.

Because end of the day, that's what we all care about, us fans. Not buy rates, and PPV records and such.

A few months earlier, the 44-year-old Halpern, a rugged ex-convict who had just been sprung from prison after serving 17 years for robbery, kidnapping, assault and grand larceny, had been the subject of a nine-page feature story in Sports Illustrated.

Fans turned out in droves to see Halpern, who came into the Casale fight with a 9-3 (6 KOs) record. He had gone 2-1 in 1958, the year before he began serving time in some of New York State’s toughest prisons.

Since his release in 1976, he had amassed a record of 7-2 (6 KOs), with one of those losses coming by third round TKO to future heavyweight titlist Trevor Berbick.

“I was a tune-up for Halpern,” laughed Casale, who is now 52 and a detective with the Essex County Prosecutors Office in New Jersey.

“There was talk of him getting a fight with Larry Holmes if he got a few more wins. Nobody gave me a snowball’s chance in hell of beating him.”

Although Casale, who was then 23, had only started boxing three years earlier, he was undeterred by Halpern’s reputation as a tough guy, as well as the fact that the fight was elevated to main event status after Gerry Cooney, who was supposed to headline the show, withdrew with an injured hand.

At a press conference shortly before the fight, Halpern made fun of Casale’s first name. “He was saying he could never lose to a guy named Guy,” said Casale. “It sounded silly and stupid, but I knew then that I had his number. He was trying to get under my skin, but it just showed me he could be taken.”

Serving as an inspirational muse for Casale was heavyweight prospect Beau Williford, who to this day is one of the most positive forces of nature you will ever meet.

“Beau trained with me at the gym, and he kept telling me there was no way I was going to lose to this guy,” said Casale. “He’d tell me that Bobby was a criminal, and I was the guy on the white horse in the white suit.”

By fight time, Casale was a man on a mission who would not be deterred. “I remember telling my manager I was going to take his head off,” he said.

Instead, in the first round it was Halpern that nearly decapitated Casale with his vaunted right hand. “I take a pretty good punch, but I felt that punch to my toes,” Casale said. “I’ve never been hit so hard in my life.”

When he came back to his corner, Casale’s team, which consisted of manager Nick Baffi, trainer George Baffi, and cut man Chickie Ferrara, implored him to go to the body.

“My trainer reminded me that I could hit, too,” said Casale. “In the second round we knocked the bleep out of each other.”

Afterwards, George Baffi and Ferrara told him, “You got him. He looks like a guy walking up a hill.”

The third round began nearly as wildly as the second, but Casale was pulling ahead.

“Bobby was still swinging hard, but his punches didn’t have the oomph to them,” said Casale.

“He was telegraphing his punches, so I got up on my toes to lure him in. I saw him get ready to throw a right hand, so I threw my own. It didn’t travel more than six inches, and it knocked him out.”

“He was the toughest man I ever faced. The fight was a war, and I was glad when it was over.”

After two more victories and a draw, Casale squared off against Scott Frank for the New Jersey State heavyweight title in March 1979. To this day, he has few good things to say about Frank, who later challenged Larry Holmes for the heavyweight title.

“He was a very crass guy,” said Casale. “He had no diplomacy and was trying to use Muhammad Ali-type intimidation tactics that didn’t work. I could have put up with his bleep until he made it personal. He’d say things like they’d need dental record to identify me after the fight.”

What made that statement so troubling was the fact that Casale’s mother, Elena, was aghast over the fact that her son was a boxer. She had raised four children on her own, and couldn’t understand how two men could beat each other up for a living.

In the first round of the Frank fight, Casale blasted him with a right hand that sent Frank against the ropes. Instead of following up right away, he says, “I stopped to admire my work and he was saved by the bell.”

In the second round, Casale says he was intentionally thumbed by Frank. His eye blew up like a balloon, was completely closed by the third round, and the fight was stopped in the ninth.

Casale, who had been attending college, was unsure if he wanted to continue fighting. However, after taking a few months off he went to training camp in the mountains of Pennsylvania.

It was there that broke his shoulder in a bicycle accident. The injury required two separate operations. He didn’t begin training again until 1980, at Cus D’Amato’s camp in upstate New York. Casale soon rattled off four straight victories, all by knockout.

That set the stage for his fight against then undefeated Marvis Frazier, then5-0, on the undercard of the epic first encounter between Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns in Las Vegas in September 1981.

“It was a thrill for me to be considered good enough to be on that card,” said Casale. “I saw it as a major accomplishment, and I was very proud to be there.”

After being stopped in the fourth round, Casale was wise enough to reconsider his career choices. One of the biggest influences in his choosing to retire was the late, great trainer Eddie Futch.

Years earlier, when Casale was a relative novice, he would spar regularly with Duane Bobick. A 1972 Olympian, Bobick was trained by Futch and seemed destined for superstardom. But Casale used to give Bobick fits in the gym.

“Eddie was always so encouraging, telling me I had a great future ahead of me,” said Casale. “He couldn’t believe I could do what I did with Duane with my limited experience. After the Frazier fight, he told me that I was no longer the young man I was three years ago.”

As disillusioned as Casale was with boxing, he was equally unhappy with his management. Thinking he’d give boxing one last go, he continued on with a fellow named Rocky Napoli, who scheduled him to fight the aging Jerry Quarry in Albuquerque in 1981.

However, Casale sustained an injury in training and was force to pull out. That solidified Casale’s decision to call it a day. He could not forget Futch’s words, which had left an indelible impact on him.

“If I couldn’t be championship material, I wasn’t going to become a war horse, a tune-up for anyone.”

Casale decided to go back to school, and never fought again. His final ring ledger was 14-3-3 (7 KOs), with one no contest.

Like so many other boxing sagas, the fighting Casale did in the ring is just one highlight of a life that has been well-lived. Even though he grew up in a rough section of Newark, organized boxing was never at the forefront of is mind.

He was an adept street fighter who once asked a friend, an amateur boxing standout named Frankie Gabriel, for some pointers. Casale was 20 years old, and interested in boxing only as a means of self preservation.

Like so many others, the first time he set foot in a gym he was hooked. With very little training experience, he was scheduled to compete in the 1976 New York City Golden Gloves tournament.

A few days before the fight, Nick Baffi thought it was important for him to see his first real fight live. Casale admits to feeling sick when he saw a boxer get knocked unconscious.

Ironically, he knocked his very first opponent unconscious a few days later, lost his next fight, but then won eight straight. The following year he squared off against Mitch “Blood” Green in the finals of the 1977 Gloves.

“He was 6’5” and I was only 5’11’, but I was chasing him all night,” said Casale. “He had a big reputation, but I didn’t care about that.”

The fight wound up being stopped by referee Randy Sandy, but Casale says he did well in many subsequent sparring sessions with Green, and would have loved to have fought him as a pro.

Around this time, Casale had been attending St. Peter’s College in Jersey City where he majored in pre-med. After having immense difficulties with chemistry, however, he enrolled in another college where he earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology.

Because his father was a “knockaround guy” who was never there for the family, Casale’s mother was the pillar of strength in the household. It troubled him that she was so adamantly against his boxing for a living, especially because he was bright and determined enough to pursue other options.

He believes that much of her consternation came from the fact that she had lost her first child just three days after being born. Casale, the oldest of her children, came along four years later.

“She would tell me, ‘I went through four years trying to have you, so why would you want to do this?’” he said. “Maybe I had to prove something to myself.”

Casale believes that his father, although absent, might have been an unwitting motivational force. “He fostered a tough guy image, so maybe I (subconsciously) wanted that to,” he explained. “What I did know was that I wanted to help my mother be more comfortable, and not have to work so hard for the rest of her life.”

To this day, Casale thinks of all the time his mother spent at home praying for his well-being.

As much as Casale’s mother hated boxing, she would still have much to be proud of when it came to her son.

He was smart enough to get out of boxing with his faculties intact, he steered clear of alcohol and drug abuse, earned a bachelor’s degree, and is a few classes short of a graduate degree in public administration.

The only reason he did not finish that degree is because he was accepted into law school, from which he graduated in 1994.  And the only reason he is not practicing law is because it would be a conflict of interest with the current law enforcement position he has held for nearly two decades.

Casale’s only regret is not putting his foot down when the Baffi’s tried to pass him off as the next Rocky Marciano. “That generated a following and sparked an interest, but the downside was that people didn’t come to see Guy Casale, they came to see the next Rocky Marciano,” he explained.

On November 8, Casale was inducted along with 12 others into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. Joining him for the festivities were his fiancée, Janice Massaro, an assistant prosecutor, and his beloved daughters Nicole, 16, and Marissa, 13.

“It made me realize that I left a mark,” said Casale. “I realized just how good I really was. Two guys that I fought went on to fight Larry Holmes for the world title. If I had won those fights, that could have been me. Being inducted was my validation.”

Casale says that his daughters were “overwhelmed” by the event and that on that night he felt “bigger than life” in their eyes. “They told me how proud they were of me, that they’d seen the films but this really put everything in perspective for them,” he said.

One person who couldn’t help but take notice of Casale’s joy was Harry Hascup, the President of the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame.

“He had a big smile on his face all night long,” said Hascup. “All he kept saying was thank you, thank you, this is my heavyweight championship.”

On Nov. 20, I posted a story (http://www.thesweetscience.com/boxing-article/5511/arum-king-goldie-watch-learn-from-ufc/) that stemmed from watching the UFC’s PPV show in Newark, NJ on Nov. 17. I wrote that I was impressed with the presentation at the MMA show: the music, the video clips in between bouts that built up the forthcoming scraps, it was all top level.

Soon after that piece ran on TSS, I got an email from Top Rank executive Todd Deboeuf, who told me that he had been trying to elevate the presentation at Top Rank events.

Here’s an excerpt of duBoef’s email:

Recently, I attended the NBA All Star weekend in Las Vegas and had an eye opening experience.  As you  know, Top Rank does approximately 45 events a year. The music was pumping the energy was high and the announcers audio for in arena interviews were played in the facility.

I loved it... My  six-year-old son loved it.... Why can't I replicate this for our events? 

As I started to implement some changes into our format I was hit with the same issue.  The TV network will not allow.  So, I slowly integrated subtle changes into our format.  The archaic TV world was so fixed on how it looked to the television audience that they abandoned the live site fans.  This is as a result of the promoters ceding their power to the networks.  All of us allowed the one
entity that paid for the TV rights to dominate the environments where the events took place. What a mistake.

By the time we time we were doing Cotto vs. Judah in June 2007, I had it pegged and convinced HBO to give me the power to run the events.  I added lights and brought in the live DJ from Tryst in Las Vegas.  The place was electric and for those who were there it was one of the most memorable nights in boxing and at MSG.  The whole time the producers from HBO in the truck were
screaming that the music was to loud and it interfered with Lampley and Merchant but they still opened up the mics for post fight interviews.

Everyone reported on this special night and specifically the atmosphere.  The fans raved and even MSG execs told me they hadn't experienced anything like this.

I have been to many UFC events.  The owners of UFC are childhood friends of mine and they have done a great job with their product.

Obviously, this takes a supplemental budget and the profit margins for boxing  promoters are much smaller than MMA since boxers purses are significantly larger  than MMA fighters; therefore,  marketing, advertising and extra production is the first to go when cutting expenses.

On Nov. 10, at Cotto vs. Mosley, I was set up for the same June experience but to my surprise the HBO truck shut my guys down.  I was livid and caught by surprise.  I trusted the TV network was aligned with me once again but it didn't happen and they pulled the plug on the DJ.  It will never happen again.

The lesson for all promoters is to control your content and take responsibility to develop fans on TV and in the arenas.

I appreciated Todd taking the time to share his take. Sensing an opportunity to actually make some headway in this department, with an eye on aiding in providing a better atmosphere and experience for the consumer, I reached out to HBO, to get their side of the story.

HBO sports’ executive producer Rick Bernstein listened to duBoef’s account, and shared his perspective on the matter.

“I have a very good relationship with Todd and Top Rank,” he told TSS, “and in no way is this confrontational. I’m all in favor of doing what we can do to improve the sport for the live audience and the audience on TV. When we did the Cotto/Judah show, we went in with the understanding that the music would be played in between the undercard fights, not during the main event. I agree, the building was rocking, but I’m not sure it was just because of the music and lighting. You had a fighter from Brooklyn, Judah, at Madison Square Garden, too. I’m looking for a compromise with Todd and other promoters to improve the viewers’ experience. During Cotto/Mosley, there was music in between rounds during the undercard fights. Would I prefer there be music? No. Our obligation is to the paying audience at home.

“We asked that the music be slightly, I emphasize slightly, lowered, but it got louder, and louder, and louder. Our cameramen couldn’t hear the director, the announcers couldn’t hear each other. My understanding is that the Garden went to the DJ and asked him to cut it down.”

UFC, Bernstein says, has been tweaking their format for a few years now, and has figured out how to juggle the music, and videos and such, so that the announcers can still do their job, and the support personnel can hear the producers. “I can’t tell you how their announcers can handle it, we all use the same technology,” he said. “They’ve done like 70 or 80 shows, they’ve worked out the kinks. We’ve never had a run through, with the DJ, the cameramen, and the announcers, to see what’s working, what’s not working. We’re very willing to work with whoever.”

I believe fight fans attending shows in 2008 will be seeing a better all around show, now that decision makers are more aware of the holes they need to plug, and that they need to get up to date with their product.

The UFC's ascendence is actually a blessing to fight fans, because it forces boxing higher ups to offer more compelling product to compete and stave off a siphoning of viewers, and so we will continue to contrast the two fight sports moving forward.

SPEEDBAG While I had Bernstein on the line, I took the opportunity to ask a question that has been nagging me for years. When I see old fights, from the 40s, 50s and 60s, you often see the house lights in the arena are dimmed, and the action in the ring is spotlit. So as I’m watching on TV, I’m not distracted by Robert Goulet, or Jack Nicholson, or Chuck Zito sitting in the front row. Is there a reason the houselights at shows stay on during fights, I asked Bernstein?

“That’s a valid question,” he said. No one had ever brought that up, he said, in his almost three decades in the arena.

“There’s a certain energy level you get seeing the crowd jumping up and down.”

Would he consider dimming the lights, and simply lighting the two combatants?

“It’s something I would discuss with my staff,” he said. “But I think it would feel like a step backwards. I can’t see us trying something like that. Back then, it was that age of production, they didn’t think about anything other than lighting the field of play. And we use gel lighting, and that brings color to the shot, too.”

I floated the theory that the current MO may have something to do with the society’s collective case of ADD, and our withering attention spans. We need multiple sectors of stimulation in our entertainment, now. More is almost always better, in most minds. Bernstein didn’t bite. But I know I tend to get distracted during fights at times, and I can drift off.

Hey, that hottie sitting next to that old guy in row three. I wonder if she’s a paid escort, or just a gold-digger?

Why is that exec sitting in row six, and this one in row two?

I’d like to see the focus purely on the two athletes, for a spell, and see how that works.

Sometimes, I think, the innovations aren’t necessarily better.

Unfortunately, for those craving unexpected dramatics from underdogs, neither Danny Santiago, Michele Piccirillo nor Luis Maldonado could upset the proverbial apple cart, and favorites Antonio Tarver, Vernon Forrest and Nonito Donaire notched victories on a card televised on Showtime.

The just-turned 39-year-old Tarver entered with the IBO 175 pound title and a 25-4 (18 KOs) mark in the card's main event. The New York-born Santiago, age 34, came to Connecticut with a 29-3-1 with 19 KOs.

Tarver's was busy in the fourth, even if his throws weren't of the vicious variety early in the frame. He softened the opponent up with lefts to the gut, hoping to get Santiago to drop his hands. It worked. Tarver caught him on the ropes with a combo that dropped him. He took the eight, and went down again, taking uppercuts to the belly, this time for good. Referee Steve Smoger saw enough and waved it off at 2:53. Santiago smiled and patted Tarver's head after the TKO stop.

In the third, Tarver opened with a multi punch combo. Santiago fired some left hooks to the body and he didn't looked overwhelmed on the biggest stage of his career. But Tarver turned it up the last third of the round, and hurt his man to the body, and with a straight left that almost buckled him.

There were some boos in the second, as Tarver pawed with his jab. Santiago, though, who looks like he should maybe cut weight and fight at 154 or so, couldn't close the distance. Tarver did throw a peppier jab late, but that didn't stop the fans from booing as he strode to his corner.

In the first round, the southpaw Tarver towered over Santiago, a half head taller than the low profile foe. Tarver started out with a sweat, and tossed some effective jabs and straight lefts.

The Inquisitor, Jim Gray,  asked Tarver after what his thoughts were on the crowd booing, and asked him if he felt tentative and slow. The stones on the Inquisitor! Tarver told him that he got the job done, and said he needs some big fish to fry to look get into tip top mode. A fight with Jeff Lacy, and then a showdown with Joe Calzaghe is what Tarver said he's aiming for.

WBC super welterweight champion Vernon Forrest, beset by arm injuries during his peak years, looked to make a late-inning splash with a second-straight semi high profile win. He took down Carlos Baldomir in July, and did the same to Italian Michele Piccirillo at Foxwoods, with a shade less precision than the summer outing.

The 36-year-old Georgia resident, with a 39-2-1 (28 KOs) mark coming in and the 37-year-old Italian (48-3, 30 KOs coming in) both looked to set the table with jabs in the first. Forrest, the former welterweight titlist, moved forward on the backtracking counterpuncher, and landed a couple left hooks.

Piccirrillo looked like he hadn't figured out a workable gameplan against the heavier handed Forrest in the second, and he flinched a few times from Forrest feints.

Piccirillo came forward to start the third, and picked up the pace on advice of his corner.

Forrest landed heavy hits to the body in the fourth but the Italian stood erect, and it looked like this one would likely go the distance.

In the fifth, Forrest ate more jabs, and it looked like the energy level of each man was equal.

Piccirillo is a slick guy, always keeps his feet moving, but he got caught with a right behind the head the sent him to the mat to end the sixth. His eyes were clear and his legs looked sturdy.

Forrest got some cracks off in the seventh, but the Italian's movement, his slipping and his ducking kept him from taking too much punishment.

Forrest tossed a low left and Piccirillo took a breather, as referee Arthur Mercante warned the miscreant to stay on the straight and narrow in the eighth. The fighters tangled a bit after the bell, but everyone stayed cool and headed to their corner.

The work rate was solid in the ninth, for twentysomethings, let alone guys edging to 40. Forrest landed a looping right lead, over a slow jab,  that sent Piccirillo to the canvas. He got up and Forrest craved closure. But the Italian kept throwing, and kept moving, steering clear of Forrest's hard throws.

In the tenth, Piccirillo showed no ill effects and while he lost the round in a fashion similar to most of the others, he wasn't hopelessly out of his depth at all.

Forrest landed five clean shots a minute into the 11th, but Piccirillo wouldn't fold. His hands and feet had finally slowed a measure, though. A straight right on the chin dropped Piccirillo hard, and the ref waved off the fight, at 2:21of the round. He twisted his right ankle when he went down, and he sat on a stool, grimacing, after the stoppage.

Jim Gray talked to Forrest afterwards, and the Viper graded himself a B plus for the TKO.

What's next, then?

Mayorga, Forrest said, or the Mayweather/Hatton winner, Oscar, or Cotto. He's looking for a whale fight, apparently.

Forrest didn't look as sharp as he did in his last outing but that's because Piccirillo has more left in the tank than Baldomir.

In the show opener, IBF flyweight champion, the Filipino/Californian Nonito Donaire (18-1, 11 KOs), age 25, took on Luis Maldonado (3-1-1, 28 KOs coming in), a 29-year-old from Mexico.

Both men weighed 111 pounds for the scrap. Donaire took the belt from Vic Darchinyan in July and looked like he was in defense mode with a sharp right in the second. Maldonado started leaking from the left eye here, and went southpaw, and then started leaking from the other eye. Donaire was in full-on stalk mode in the third, and he had a lot to aim for. The right eye kept bleeding, and the Mexican kept switching back and forth, righty to lefty, without too much success.

Both guys came out lefty in the fourth, and then Donaire went back righty, and ate a sharp right hook. The round was tight, with the Mexican closing the gap, and hitting the target more often.

The Cal-ipino is a cool technician for someone engaging in his 20th pro bout, and his ring generalship carried him through the middle rounds. Maldonado ate a harsh straight right that buckled him slightly in the sixth.

A right uppercut/left hook combo sent Maldonado down at the end of the seventh, and he looked a mess. The cut over his right eye wouldn't clot, and it seemed a safe bet that he wouldn't make it out of the eighth.

He didn't; Donaire pressed the issue, and battered the loser around the ring, forcing referee Charlie Dwyer to stop the one-sided affair at 1:16 of the eighth.

SPEEDBAG Bad Chad Dawson told Gray he may be fighting Glen Johnson in April. The undefeated WBC light heavy champ was in the house sizing up Tarver.

--Tarver against Jeff Lacy if Lacy gets past Peter Manfredo, then Dawson, seems like the most likely course.

But can he possibly fill his father’s gargantuan footsteps?

Chavez Jr. meets Ray Sanchez (20-1, 15 KOs) in that fighter’s home state New Mexico in a junior middleweight bout that could be the biggest leap to stardom for the son of an icon. The 10-round fight takes place at Tingley Coliseum in Alburquerque. It will be televised on pay-per-view television and is promoted by Top Rank.

Father and son don’t look alike or fight alike, in fact it’s easier to say that it’s the younger brother Omar who more resembles the father. But Junior has slowly shown that he’s picking up facets of the sport here and there like a marching army crossing numerous battlefields and collecting discarded weapons.

“Over his last few fights he has looked very good and is much more settled as a fighter,” stated big Julio during a press conference this week. “I really like what I see in him.”

As a teen Junior and Omar Chavez lived in Riverside, California with their mother who was estranged from their father. Often the two could be seen boxing in numerous gyms in the area. Junior always had the dedication.

“The expectations of greatness will always be there because of my name,” said Junior Chavez (33-0-1, 26 KOs) who began fighting as a lightweight and now is a junior middleweight. “But I knew that from the start and continue to live with it.”

Despite a spindly appearance that included the face of a choir boy when he first stepped into a prizefight ring in 2003, Chavez has slowly rumbled through a list of Midwestern opponents with an occasional Mexican fighter thrown in as he marched to this moment.

But Sanchez, 24, poses many problems for Chavez starting with his left-handed stance, impressive record and hometown support.

Chavez can feel the pressure.

“My biggest concern is that he is left-handed,” Chavez said at the El Paseo Inn in Los Angeles earlier this week. “I have never fought a lefty before.”

Even papa Chavez hesitates a bit with his son facing a southpaw.

“He’s (Sanchez) a very tough fighter and left-handers are always difficult to fight,” said Chavez Sr. who fought a total of 115 pro bouts and a few lefties in his career like Hector Camacho.

Soaking in the entire press junket like an amused bystander, Sanchez knows that a win would propel him into the forefront. He doesn’t think a win is farfetched.

“We are both hungry and both want to prove we belong at the highest level,” said Sanchez. “This is the first step for both of us.”

The New Mexico boxer has a lot to prove though he’s only suffered one loss and that came five years ago. But Sanchez’s resume doesn’t impress. He’s never beaten a veteran fighter with a winning record. Sanchez has never been truly tested.

“I couldn’t be more ready for this fight,” said Sanchez who is also a Junior.

Chavez already knows if he can beat Sanchez that he will be fighting Alfonso Gomez of the Contender reality television series. The fight will take place in March, but first things first. Sanchez stands in front of him.

And one more thing: his father’s shadow stands before him larger than the city of Culiacan, Mexico.

“My father’s shadow will never go away completely,” said Chavez Jr. “But I believe I have shown some people that I am a capable fighter and I know I have some fans of my own because of the way I fight.”

Well said. Almost as precise as a left hook to the liver that his father perfected.

“I think my son has more skills and is the stronger puncher of the two,” said Papa Chavez.

Other pay-per-view fights

Jorge Arce, like Chavez Jr., know if he beats his opponent Medgoen Singsurat (53-4, 39 KOs) in a battle for the vacant WBC Latino bantamweight title. It’s a dangerous fight because Arce is a flyweight moving up two divisions and the Thai fighter can really bang.

But Arce (47-4-1, 36 KOs) knows a victory leads him immediately to a match against former junior bantamweight titleholder Martin Castillo.

“I not only need to win but I need to look tremendous doing it,” said Arce. “If I win I get to fight Martin Castillo and that fight will be like Morales-Barrera and Vazquez-Marquez.”

Also on the fight card is the talented but seldom recognized WBO strawweight titleholder Ivan Calderon of Puerto Rico. He could possibly be the best boxer in the world but his diminutive size keeps the boxing world from noticing.

Calderon (29-0, 6 KOs) moves faster than a bullet train and is harder for opponents to hit than a fly in the dark. He defends his title against Mexico’s Juan Esquer (22-2-1, 17 KOs) who probably hopes Calderon slips and falls.