Weekend Picks (9/5-9/6)

2007: +12.45 units
2008: +15.935 units

James Kirkland vs. Ricardo Cortes
Under 5.5 (-200) (Bodog)
2 units

Kirkland's been fighting like a hungry animal lately, as he's won his last two bouts with first-round KO's, and he KO'd Mohammad Said in less two rounds before that.  His latest win over Eromosele Albert was probably the most impressive, as Albert is a tough customer who had never been KO'd before.  With Kirkland fighting in his hometown of Austin, Texas, he'll waste no time in trying to impress the crowd with a spectacular finish against Cortes, who represents a step down in the toughness department compared to Kirkland's three previous opponents. When Cortes won by DQ against Fernando Zuniga, Cortes had actually been hurt to the body; yet, the blind ref kept ruling that Zuniga hit Cortes low.  In Cortes' next bout, he got caught by Angulo and couldn't continue.  Cortes isn't going to be able to keep Kirkland off him, and he's shown that he can't take a big punch.  That's a recipe for an early ending when you're going against a powerful pressure fighter.  I'll be surprised if Cortes makes it out of the third round.

Rocky Juarez vs. Jorge Barrios
Juarez (+135) (Sportsbook)
1 unit

Juarez is a dog here because he's lost 3 of his last 5 bouts, but those three losses came against excellent boxers (Barrera (twice) and Juan Manuel Marquez).  But Barrios isn't a true boxer; instead, he's a free-swinging puncher who looks for the KO.   Juarez has shown he has the toughness to handle Barrios' early surge, and once Barrios tires in the later rounds, Juarez can outwork him.  Since Juarez is fighting in his hometown of Houston, I expect him to get the benefit of a close decision.

on Barrios and very small on Barrios / Diaz parlay.

I have been trying to tell anyone who will listen the exact same thing.

Rocky only loses to the very best. Barrios is not the very best.

I believe Barrios is more of a frontrunner type of fighter. He does great blowing people out of the water in the first half of the fight but if he fails to do so, he does not fair as well.
Rocky will still be swinging in round 12.
It must be a delight to fight the wild Barrrios after having the consumate technicians Marquez and Barrerra as your last couple of opponents.
I am not a big fan of Rocky at all but Barrios is made to order and will make him look great.

Between The UFC and boxing, I have a shit load of wagers this weekend but this will be the biggest by far.

This line is a gift from the God's.

like the under with Kirkland play... Kirkland is blowing through his opponents. 

I probably should have used the term "outland." 

In terms of outscoring Barrios with clean, effective punches, Juarez should prevail.  Juarez should have plenty of opportunities to hit a wide-open Barrios in the later rounds.  You're right that Barrios may throw more total punches over the course of the fight, but I think that Juarez will be the one landing the clean blows.

With you on all of these man. Between ring rust for Barrios and Juarez getting this fight in Houston, I can live with myself knowing I got Rocky at plus money if he loses. Not buying the late Katsidis hype either, just not sure how I'm going to bet Diaz yet.

Good luck this weekend.

Good luck my man.  I myself have to go against Juarez, but he seems like a popular play.

Wee, you may look like a genius in the end, but do you really think this is a "gift from the gods" type line.  Juarez has never shown me much at all.

Your boy Antillon looked good again tonight A2C, of course there wasn't much across the ring.  His body work made Attah crumble and not want anymore.  Should be time for a step up now, I heard Jose Armando Santa Cruz's name mentioned in the post-fight interview.

I have never been a big fan of Rocky but I believe he will be hitting Barrios with pin point punches in between Barrios wild swings. Barrios will have the better work rate but Rocky will do the damage. Barrios is the perfect opponent to make Rocky look good and Rocky will oblige by cutting him to pieces.

Good luck boys!!

Yep, the Antillon train rolls on.  He's a relentless pressure fighter who seems to look better and better every time I see him.  I was impressed with his tight defense this time, as he really didn't absorb any punishment (good head movement and tight guard). It was tough to pass on playing him in this fight, but I just hate laying the chalk on an under unless I have a good read on both fighters, and Attah's "will" was a question mark for me prior to the bout.  Antillon's body work totally wore Attah down, and I suspect that Santa Cruz will meet a similar fate given his long body, which presents quite a target for Antillon.

This is one of the times when I get slightly disgusted with boxing.  Jose Reyes clearly won that fight on ShoBox tonight, and for DeMarco to get a split decision is just ridiculous.  DeMarco was fighting negative the entire time, and there were several early rounds that Reyes should have gotten.  There's no question that Reyes swept the final four rounds, and I just don't see how he didn't win at least two of the first six.  Sure, there was that knockdown at the beginning of round 3, but Reyes won that fight regardless of that shit.

I agree styles make fights and you may look like a genius tonight, but I just think Juarez doesn't have what it takes to dig deep and win a fight like this.  I see what you are saying about Barrios's wide punches, but I think that Guzman is a faster, more precise, and better then Juarez and he was a Barrios point deduction away from walking away with a draw.  The inactivity worries me, but I think he's the naturally bigger man, is more aggressive, and Rudy Perez will have him at his best.

I know you are a UFC man, any sharp tips?  Nice to see a card taking place in the south.  Good luck on anything else you may be on.

He's definitely a fun fighter to watch.  I really want to see him get off of these Telefutura cards and get some exposure against a top 10 guy who can challenge him.

You really think there is no question that he won?  I agree the one 96-93 Demarco card was off, but the 96-93 Reyes card was equally bad.  I had Demarco ahead 4-1 after 5 including the 10-8 KD round.  I have Reyes four of the last 5, I want to say that I gave Demarco the 7th, but can't really remember.  Gotta give Reyes credit he is not afraid to mix it up even with a bad set of whiskers.  It seems like every fight he gets dropped, but never stopped.

Oh by the way, cheers on Kirkland.  Nice cash.

I had Reyes outworking DeMarco in the first two rounds, and then I had him winning the last five.  I definitely can see giving DeMarco the 2nd, but I thought that Reyes carried the second half of the fight.  I have no problem with a 95-94 score for Reyes, but I had it 96-93.  A lot of it really depends on how you scored the first two rounds.  I just wish it had been a 12-rounder, as I'm sure Reyes takes the 11th and 12th in that case.

Thanks for the compliments on the Kirkland pick.  I was actually there last night, but I hadn't had a chance to write up the event yet.  The untelevised Reyes-Valle clash was a pretty darn good one...I got a bit down once I got home and saw what I perceived as a robbery in the Jose Reyes match.

I gave Reyes the first also (only round I gave him in the first half), but even that could have been scored for either guy; nothing was really landing on each side.

I thought you lived in Chicago?  That's quite a road trip.  They actually televised the Reyes-Valle fight live.  It was kind or weird; my cable box said the card started at 10:30, but I was channel surfing after the Antillon fight and already Reyes and Valle were already in round 3.  It was a close fight from what I saw, Teddy scored it a draw.  Seemed like a great atmosphere there, that venue looked pretty sweet.

Nice job guys.

Nice winning week my man.  Also, congrats on your big night Wee, hate it had to come at my expense.  Guess I could have used some of your UFC tips.

Sorry bud,

I did not check my computer until now.

I had 4 UFC bets. I won 2 and lost 2 but made some money as they were all underdog bets.

Bad week for you but you will get it back next week.