Making bold predictions is risky.
Last week I predicted "Hatton in an upset win over Pacquaio." One time, ESPN's fantasy football guru, Matthew Berry, told the world to bench Adrian Peterson against the Chargers because of the Chargers' stiff rushing defense. Peterson went on to rush for an NFL record 296 yards and 3 touchdowns. Aside from that, my Hatton prediction may have been the worst prediction ever. Rarely has a fight between two great fighters been so utterly lopsided. Pacquaio-Hatton was a 140 lb version of Tyson -Spinks.
A couple of thoughts. First, TWO was actually in Las Vegas for the fight. Was TWO at the glitzy MGM Grand watching in person? Absolutely not. TWO was at Treasure Island's somewhat bushleague theater watching on closed circuit with 1,000 screaming, flag-waving Philipinos. Thats how I roll. TWO is a man of the people. Anyway, the night before the fight, while sauntering through the Bellagio, TWO met and spoke with Bert Sugar, arguably the world's most famous boxing columnist. Interestingly, Bert Sugar held the same opinion as TWO that the betting odds against Hatton (paying about +220, Pacquaio was -300) were off, that the fight would be much closer than most anticipated and that Hatton was a much better bet based on the odds. While that shows that TWO has his finger on the pulse of the boxing intelligentsia, it does little to mitigate the overall result of the fight. In addition to being a man of great physical strength, TWO is also a man of great integrity, and will admit that he was wrong.
Second, never has the result of a sporting event stirred such sympathy in TWO for a losing party than this fight. Perhaps it is because Hatton is such a great champion, or because he is such a likeable figure, or perhaps it is because of the fan loyalty and the party atmosphere that had heretofore followed him through 45 wins and just one loss (to the world's best fighter at the time)... but the way he was beaten was so thorough, so quick and so complete that I felt quite sad for him. Being punished and eventually knocked unconscious for five minutes in front of your fiance, parents, thousands of devoted fans and millions of viewers had to be totally humiliating for someone of Hatton's pride. To be clear, TWO is not saying that Hatton SHOULD feel humiliated (losing to two fighters both considered the pound for pound best in the world at the time is nothing to be ashamed of), but you know that Hatton is beside himself over the result of the fight.
In conclusion, TWO is a risk taker.
Comments for TWO:
ReplyDeleteIf you look at Adrian Peterson's numbers through the 1st half of that particular Charger/Viking game you will see that they were quite pedestrian....his windfall occurred during the second half when DT Luis Castillo went out with injury. Luis Castillo: he of the top 5 highest salaries on D in the NFL. The irony.....Luis Castillo is persona non grata in these parts on account of his being a "useless cunt". All that said....NEVER rest a HORSE! You gotta let the APs of the world run wild.
Regarding Ricky Hatton:
I haven't felt so dissatisfied with the viewing of a fight since that one you mentioned: Tyson/Spinks. Fight similarities: I believed both fights were going to be "Fight of the Year" sort of bouts. The primary difference between the two fights was that I paid for this one. I am a sucker....or perhaps that devastating left hook from Pac-Man was worth $50 bucks...I thought Hatton may have been dead.
The wife was also in Vegas...she was not impressed with drunk limeys hitting on her.
Finally:
As a man of the people, TWO, I'm requesting that you use your sway with the masses to help Jessica Alba through to the Final Four of the 2009 Hot Ladies Tournament at Sharapova's Thigh. Currently she is being outpointed by a big breasted British lass. Why does this matter?
...along with the Dalai Lama, Alba has served as our site's Avatar/Guru/Sage/Soothsayer/all-around hottie since our blog's inception and a defeat in this tournament could be deemed an existential threat. The DL/JA combo were the only reason that a weak Charger team made it into the playoffs. True Story.
...either send people to our blog or directly to Sharapova's Thigh to get out the vote.
This is a venture for a True Ombudsmen...take up the cause. Spread the word as time is of the essence.