It's a pickin' time of year. I'm currently enjoying the hell out of the start of March Madness and hope everyone else is, too, but there's fights to be decided this weekend as well.
Vitali Klitschko v. Juan Carlos Gomez (ESPN, Heavyweights, 12 rounds - Klitschko's WBC title on the line)
This is the real test of whether or not Vitali is "back," I think. I picked Vitali to beat Peter and though I didn't expect he'd totally overwhelm him, that's what we got. We saw Vitali against a fighter easy for him to hit, a guy that couldn't move, couldn't get inside of his piston-like jab, and just couldn't do anything with the tall, disciplined Klitschko. Sam gave Wlad a hard run a few years ago, but did nothing with Vitali, who may still be a better fighter than Wladimir is.
Gomez (44-1, 35 KO) has waited impatiently and is talking big. These two are familiar with one another from way back. Gomez is not a big hitter, but he's got some pop, he's got style, and he's a really confident guy. Vitali will have to hammer on him pretty hard to get him to go away.
I can't pick against Klitschko, but I'll say this: A Gomez win would not shock me in the least. Vitali's bill of health will never truly be clean ever again. His back problems could haunt him in any given fight.
The winner of this one likely faces 40-year old Oleg Maskave, though Vitali wants to take an optional fight between the two mandatories. I still think he's right to want that and to feel he deserves it. He just better not get totally ahead of himself. Klitschko UD-12
Roy Jones Jr. v. Omar Sheika (PPV, Light Heavyweights, 12 Rounds)
Roy's 40. Anything can happen when a guy's 40, and Sheika hits harder than Joe Calzaghe, who beat Roy up last November worse than anyone besides Glen Johnson ever has.
But Roy is not going to lose to Sheika, who hasn't fought since September 2007, and that is his only fight since September 2005. Sheika is a pawn in Roy's B.S. game, where he loses big to someone good and F's off back to the C-show circuit to grab some wins, hoping to fool people into thinking he'll ever be Roy Jones again. He will wipe the mat with Sheika, who is nothing more than a speed bump. Talent is talent and neither of these guys are near their best at this point. 70% of Jones is a lot better than 75% of Omar Sheika, if Sheika even has that left. This is a payday for Omar and a chance to knock out a legend if he can find that punch. Jones TKO-10
BJ Flores v. Jose Luis Herrera (PPV, Cruiserweights, 10 Rounds)
Flores will leave his schedule of ducking out of big fights and fighting fat amateurs to take a chance against Herrera, who has ended all 16 of his victories by way of knockout, and has been knocked out in every one of his five losses. Herrera is live here. Flores isn't a very big puncher, although he's not feather-fisted, either. BJ doesn't care about making an attractive fight either; recall the way he completely and easily avoided Darnell Wilson on ESPN2. I hope Herrera knocks him out. I really do. Flores UD-10