The New Orleans Saints are still unbeaten, but it hasn’t been easy. Hardly anything has been that way for the Dallas Cowboys lately. The Saints look to move closer to clinching the NFC’s top seed Saturday night when they host the Cowboys, who are again struggling in December. New Orleans (13-0) set a franchise record for wins and clinched a first-round bye with a 26-23 victory over Atlanta on Sunday. For the second week in a row, though, its perfect record was in jeopardy late.
Vitali Klitschko, 38-2 (37 KOs), will be making his third title defense since returning from a four-year absence from the ring. Known as a scientist in the ring, Vitali Klitschko uses the jab better than anyone else in the heavyweight division right now. He is always in top physical shape when he enters the ring and has shown a growing amount of confidence in the ring. His last fight was a thorough destruction of Chris Arreola in September. In fact, Klitschko’s last ten wins have come by stoppage. The money line listed above is not a misprint. Klitschko really is a 20 to 1 favorite. Kevin Johnson, 22-0-1 (9 KOs), is in way over his head in this one. He has never been in a fight that was scheduled for 12 rounds before. His biggest win was against, well I’m still searching for his biggest win.
Posted on December 12th, 2009 in Sports | 1 Comment »
The end-of-the-year mixed martial arts binge continues with UFC 107 “Penn vs. Sanchez,” which airs live on pay-per-view this Saturday from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn., and gives the natives a much-needed respite from the putrid NBA franchise that calls The Bluff City home. The main card features Diego Sanchez and his super mean game face challenging reigning lightweight champion B.J. Penn, who has somehow won more fans by jumping out of a pool than by beating people up inside the cage. Go figure.
On December 12, Vic “The Raging Bull” Darchinyan takes on Tomas “Gusano” or “Worm” Rojas at the Agua Cliente Casino in California on the undercard of the Timothy Bradley v. Lamont Peterson title fight. For Darchinyan it’s a chance to defend his super flyweight titles after a disappointing debut at bantamweight, and for Rojas it’s a chance to finally win a step-up bout. Tomas Rojas hasn’t lost a fight in over two years. In that time he has gone 6-0-1, most recently defeating then undefeated prospect Evan Mbamba (16-1) by unanimous decision. The Darchinyan fight will be his sternest test since losing to Jorge Arce in 2007.
Watch Sergio Martinez (44-1-2, 24 KOs) vs Paul Williams (37-1, 27 KOs) in a 12 round middleweight fight. The fight headlines a night of boxing on HBO that also features heavyweights Chris Arreola and Brian Minto. The coverage begins at 9:30 pm ET on Dec 5.
Paul Williams is a matchup nightmare that spans three weight classes. At 6′1″ he’s tall whether he’s fighting at 147 or 160. The Punisher also throws a high volume of punches. Throw in the southpaw stance and it’s no wonder Williams enters this fight with a record of 37-1 (27 KOs).