No Need for Brackets, the Real March Madness is Here

By Joon Lee

Every year around this time, there's that tradition of gathering between friends or co-workers to compile and submit their supposedly perfect NCAA tourney brackets. The winning prize ranges from a few tens to a couple of hundreds for the casual ones, while there are several others who place their dollars with intent on benefitting from some serious profit. And I'm not shy to admit, I enjoy this annual tradition as much as I enjoy watching a prize fight or any other significant sporting event.

But the real madness derived from the pugilistic side, embarking on this entire month of March. And although the Celtics and Rockets have produced some record breaking and streak ending significance, the surprise winner here is none other than the sport of boxing.

It was only the first of the month, but the fight of the year was solidified in what may have been the last battle between Israel Vasquez and Rafael Marquez. Providing the substance that lacked in disappointing finale to almost every trilogy films ever made, these two hombreros delivered much more than the Godfather III, House Party III, and the Matrix Revolution. The trilogy of Vasquez-Marquez is more akin to that of a Back to the Future, bar-none, the best I've ever seen.

Then it came, the upset. In a heart-warming story of a thirty-six year old underachiever, Nate Campbell denied the youth and tenacity of a determined school boy, and picking up the lightweight belts in the process. Juan Diaz, for all of his promotional and contractual distractions, may or may not have been at 100 percent entering the ring, but most if not all the credit must be given to the man who kept his words by standing toe-to-toe and prevailing against the highly respected champion.

In what I perceived as a walk-out bout, a dubious king was finally put to riddance, but only to be dethroned by a lethargic interim mandatory in an uninspiring performance. Sam Peter might have won, but the 'Nigerian Nightmare' certainly did not warrant any new threat to the heavyweight division. Nevertheless, it did produce some fireworks and the ending was at least emphatic. One can only hope for Peter's resurgence if he is indeed a perceivable candidate to legitimately carry the heavyweight crown.

On the same night across the sea, Britain rivalry came to an abrupt ending, when WBC/WBA cruiserweight champion David Haye proved his 'Haye-Maker' was a bit overwhelming for Wales' Enzo Maccranelli to handle in the 2nd round. The Calzaghe Sr. trained Brit perhaps made his first visit on Queer St., getting his WBO tricket snatched in the process.

However, the disappointment resumes in the not-too-popular crusierweight pond, provided by Haye's announcement of his departure to the heavyweight landscape. But a second chance deems to loom itself if a showdown between Maccaranelli and Steve Cunningham could possibly come to fruition.

If Rafael was pissed off about his split decision loss to Vasquez, I'm sure his brother Juan Manuel has now joined him in sobbing to Justin Timberlake's 'Cry me a river'. And understandably so. Talk about losing by a skin of teeth.

Imagine what the two have to relive in their minds.

First and foremost, I thought Israel Vasquez eeked it out with his 12th round onslaught which came with an officially (and approrpriately) ruled knockdown. The point deduction may or may not have been just, but the fact of the matter is, Marquez should be faulted for his continuance to hit below the belt and it was only a matter of time before the point was deducted.

As for the Pacquiao-Marquez rematch, I actually thought Marquez won eight rounds, with three of them being somewhat close. I can understand a 114-113 for Pacquiao due to the extra point from the knockdown, but I just can't see Pacquiao winning seven rounds as one of the judges' score sheet would indicate.

Bottom line, it was the most anticipated bout thus far into this year and it lived up to its expectation. While I found Vasquez-Marquez to be more dramatic and action packed, this past Saturday's bout provided more of a high level yet still fast paced, nip and tuck battle from two of the upper echelon fighters in the game.

Just when it appeared as though, Juan Manuel Marquez was succumbing to father time in the third round of his rematch against Pacquiao, he struck with vengeance throughout the remainder of the bout, making their rematch just as explosive as their first outing. Pacquaio was the Pac-Man as usual, but I was more daunted by the effort of a thirty-four year old veteran, who just might have been the best of them all had he been given the chance a bit sooner.

A third fight can wait, but it's still a must.

THE BEST MEXICAN FIGHTER OF THE MILLENIUM?

Manny Pacquiao had the youth to his advantage, going 5-1-1 against his Mexican legends. Still, it could be argued that the Filipino icon might just be the best of the bunch credit to his tenacity, speed, and devastating power.

Be that is it may, I'm not quite sure if that's truly the case, but the conclusion most can't compromise on is, which was the best out of Barrera, Morales, and Marquez?

Technically, I believe Marquez had the most complete arsenal of them all from a technical standpoint. Morales was the bravest and more dynamic, and Barrera at his peak also portrayed versatility and near-perfection.

Reflecting on their resumes, Marquez was without a doubt, the black sheep of the three, although enjoying late success well into his thirty's. Morales was probably the most consistent given the quality of opposition and beating them all, having forty consecutive wins without a loss at one point. He remains to be the only one who has a decisive win over Pacquiao, which is definitely a plus.

But you could argue, Barrera prevailed two out of three from their three civil outings and stylistically was the superior fighter. Barrera also has a mega win over Prince Naseem Hamed, which accelerated his stature as probably the most celebrated Mexican fighter of his generation. Then again, Marquez, who beat Barrera and twice fared much better against Pacquiao than Barrera did, might hold superiority.

It's just too bad Marquez and Morales never got a chance to tango. It could've been a classic.

What a topic will this be to discuss for years to come!

MADNESS ISN'T OVER

Okay, Joel Casamayor isn't exactly your blood-and-guts type warrior, but given the right opponent, he tends to bring some heat although it could be intermittent. Well folks, Michael Katsidis can't be in a bad fight even if he tried.

The two are set to go in an inaugural unification bout between interim champions in addition to the Ring Magazine's lightweight championship on the line.

Conventional wisdom might suggest Casamayor's elbow will find its way to slice and dice the facial tissues of the Australian badass, and it could be so, but I would not count out an early stoppage which could very much end in either a no-contest or a technical decision.

Casamayor escaped with a gift decision victory in his last fight at the Garden, but I am positive that the version of El Cepillo who will be in the ring this Saturday will prove to be much more difficult than what many might expect.

Given Katsidis' indomitable will and never-ending pressure matched against Casamayor's ring saavy and superior technique, I still can't come up with a confident prediction. Barring my aforementioned conclusion about a possible premature stoppage, I think the old man will come to fight and we all know what Katsidis does in the ring. Hopefully, the winning streak continues for boxing as it did for Houston Rockets and if so, we should see another high intensity fight this Saturday night.