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Photo © Warriors Boxing
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In looking at the upcoming fight schedule I noticed five outstanding weekends of boxing lined up from September 10th until October 8th. With names such as Erik Morales, James Toney, Diego Corrales, Roy Jones, Manny Pacquiao, Shane Mosley, Marco Antonio Barrera, Antonio Tarver, Miguel Cotto, and more, all lined up to grace the boxing scene in the very near future, it serves notice that the second half of 2005 could have plenty in store for both fans and fighters alike. Those five weekends could produce fireworks galore but before September rolls around there is still business to be settled in the boxing world, and two old school veterans will look to be doing the speaking in separate bouts.
This Friday Showtime Pay Per View will take us to the Hard Rock Arena in Hollywood, Florida where we will witness ‘Merciless’ Ray Mercer slugging it out with Shannon Briggs in the main event. Ray Mercer is a well aged 44-year-old still firing away and will look to keep his title aspirations alive against his younger foe. Mercer may be remembered by many people for a lot of different reasons.
Some may call out his brutal knockout over Tommy Morrison as his career defining moment, while others might say that his valiant back and forth dog fight with Lennox Lewis was perhaps his finest piece of work. The most recent sight of Mercer that stands out could easily be the night of June 29, 2002 as well, as he was thoroughly bludgeoned by then rising Wladimir Klitschko over six one-sided rounds. Throughout his career Mercer has been tough as a rock and carried with him one of the game’s best beards, but to some it’s almost a case of a fighter who never lived up to all of his full potential when sizing up Ray’s career. This Friday he will be putting all his chips on the table, again.
The following evening one of the game’s classiest former champions will be going back to work after a three and a half year layoff, as Reggie ‘Sweet’ Johnson tangles with Fred Moore. Johnson is a southpaw stylist who was overshadowed throughout much of his career, but not without some great moments. We’ve seen the Houston native match wits with James Toney and even drop ‘Lights Out’ on his rear back in 1991 as he lost a disputed decision. Much of Johnson’s career was filled with promotional disputes and questionable decisions but he always found a way to get his piece of the pie when all was said and done. February 6, 1998 was perhaps his finest night as a pro, as he iced heavily favored William Guthrie with one single punch, winning his second world title in the process. August 27th marks yet another chapter in Johnson’s excellent career and one senses that this will be his last run for another title.
So, as September comes our way so too does an abundance of exciting match ups that are sure to get us going. The boxing world will be buzzing at that time, but let’s not forget the two old school pros who will be lacing them up here this weekend as well. For Ray Mercer and Reggie Johnson this could be the last hoorah and here’s hoping each man can go out in as grand fashion as possible.
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© Copyright / All Rights reserved: Doghouse Boxing 1998-2005
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By Chris Robinson (August 24, 2005)
