diamond in the rough- stevie “2-pound” forbes

Steve Forbes last fought Jessie Vargas on the Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto and Shane Mosley-Saul Alvarez undercard event. Forbes’ professional record is 35 wins with 11 losses. He is well known for his time on the Contender. Forbes was the favorite to win. In his first three bouts he defeated Freddy Curie, Nick Acevedo, and Cornelius Bundrage but was defeated by Grady Brewer in the final match.

He has been on the recieving end of some controversial decisions a well. His fight with Demetrius Hopkins in 2007 was a questionable decision. His big payday against Oscar De La Hoya was a supposed tune up for De La Hoya looking at a rematch with Mayweather Jr. Forbes fought well against the favored De La Hoya. Forbes landed some good blows and didn’t seemed bothered during the 12 round fight.

I enjoyed watching his fight with Andre Berto. Even though he came up short, he hung in there with Berto. Steve Forbes is a great defensive fighter, a nice guy, and a joy to watch. I am buttering him up, I really mean this. You the man Stevie!

blue streak

Martin Lawrence has always been a funny guy. Whenever Martin is on, I cannot help but watch an episode or two. Blue Streak has been one of my favorite comedies for quite some time. The plot is very simple, he is a criminal (jewel thief) pretending to be a cop. Hmm, not so difficult to follow. His real name is Miles while his Detective name is Malone.

Playing two personas is not an easy act to follow, but Miles does a pretty good job. Not to mention a hilarious job. There is one part of the movie where I crack up the most. The part where he is in the box truck and turns on the radio. The song is “I Rock Ice” by the Hot Boys featuring Big Tymers, Lawrence’s vibe with the song is funny.

cinco de mayo

May 5th is an historic day. The Mexican Army was outnumbered by the French Army in the Battle of Puebla. The French army had 8,000 soldiers to the Mexican army’s 4,000. Being outnumbered 4,000 men but end of being victorious is nuts! Winning this battle is rightfully recognized as a holiday.

On May 5th 2012, the boxing scene is shining bright. Floyd Mayweather Jr takes on challenger Miguel Cotto. If the main event isn’t enough, Saul Alvarez will be squaring off against veteran challenger Shane Mosley. It is kind of weird saying Shane Mosley as the challenger. Oh yeah, I just heard Steve Forbes is fight on this card too, man, I can’t wait. Forbes is a great boxer, I enjoy watching him when he does have a fight scheduled.

Mosley vs Alvarez, I can see both guys winning. Alvarez is much younger than Mosley, 20 years I believe. This does not happen often where there is a 20 year age difference! I am picking Shane to win this regardless of his age. I believe he still has it in him. Saul is a strong kid that likes to bring it to his opponents. I see Mosley’s experience being the difference maker. He can either play it smart and box Alvarez or stand in there on occasion and trade power shots. Whatever happens, I see Mosley coming out the victor by way of decision.

Mayweather vs Cotto, I only see Floyd winning this fight. He is in the driver’s seat, controlling from round 1. Cotto may start strong but this is much like every other fighter who has faced Mayweather. Floyd handles adversity like its nothing. If Cotto wants to stand a chance, he has to go to the body hard. I see Floyd getting his hand raised by way of TKO around round 8-10.

 

hopkins vs dawson II

Here we go, the rematch is happening this evening. If you missed the first fight, well, actually it was quite easy to miss their first fight. The fight only lasted two rounds. At the end of the second round, Bernard threw a lead right hand which caused him to lean on Dawson’s back. At this time, Dawson used his shoulder to push Hopkins off him and Bernard landed on the canvas.

Hopkins was shown lying on the mat aching in pain grabbing his left shoulder. Many are saying Bernard was faking in attempt to get out of the fight. I couldn’t tell you to be honest, thats why there is a rematch I suppose. Up to this point no one was really controlling the fight. Chad Dawson was landing some inside shots while Bernard Hopkins was using his straight right hand. It did look like Hopkins scored a knock down mid way through round two. He hit Dawson with a right uppercut as they collided. However, it wasn’t ruled a knock down and I agree with that call.

Alright, I am going with Chad Dawson to win the fight. Bernard still can bang with the best but I think Chad will take the fight. I did pick Jean Pascal to beat Hopkins. The first fight ended in a majority draw. Hopkins beat Pascal in their rematch. Bernard has always been a slow starter. If Dawson can stay on him throughout the fight, then he has a good chance of getting his hand raised.

lessons learned at 25

Just turning 25 is a weird thing. Weird because it is actually your mid-twenties! It is not necessarily a bad thing, I mean you are still considered young. Here are some random things I have taken out of my 25 years thus far..

• Embarrassing things are easier to handle, but still embarrassing nonetheless..
• The elderly will always stare for no reason.
• Bragging about how much one can drink isn’t an accomplishment.
• Standing up for yourself is good.
• You must take action or nothing will happen.
• Smile.
• Listen to what others have to say.
• Say no when you cannot or do not want to do something you truly are not comfortable with.
• What goes around comes around.
• Working out and exercising is a HUGE confidence booster. Not to mention makes you happier, healthier and feel good about yourself.
• Being a quiet person is not a bad thing, people are just not used to this.
• Tattoos are cool but not for me.
• Having patience is something special.
• Everyone has bad days, everyone.
• Be friendly.
• Marijuana is better and better for you than tobacco.
• Take each day one day at a time.
• Goals are good. Set reasonable goals.

simply well

Simply Well: Choices for a Healthy Life. That is the name of the book I completed reading recently. The 210 page book is a great reference of how to live life fully, simply, and create general wellness. In life, people are often in a rush. If we take the time to slow down and enjoy little things, we would be better off.

Simply Well covers topics like exercise, solitude, learning to say no, breathing, loosening up, and more. Towards the end, the book talked about living in the now. Take everyday one day at a time. If we look into the future too much we may lose sight of what needs to be accomplished today.

Learning to say NO was another topic that is stored in my head. I can relate to this. Nice people can say no too. As I have matured, it is much easier to say no. I used to be all yes. People actually respect you more if you say no once in awhile. Exercising regularly can eliminate stress. I wouldn’t say all stress but things that used to rattle you up may be easier to handle.

barrera vs marquez

This fight took place in 2007 and was an instant classic. Marco Antonio Barrera is called the baby-faced assassin. I thought he was older than Juan Manuel Marquez but they are both are the same age, with Marquez the elder. This was a tough fight for the judges to score. The back and forth battle I thought favored Barrera from the start. The whole fight I saw Barrera being the relaxed boxer. This could quite possibly be why Marquez was awarded the fight. Marquez did look more persistent during the fight.

I scored it 7 rounds to 5 for Barrera. The seventh round was a little tricky because Barrera did knock Marquez down with a right hand. However, Barrera followed up with a blow to the head while Marquez was down. This cost Barrera a point deduction. The winner of that round was Marquez. Neither man looked hurt during the fight. Marquez had Barrera backing up a few times when he did land clean. The funny thing is that when this happened, Barrera would come right back!

Who knows, these two could have a rematch in 2012 or later. Marquez has been doing good lately. His only legitimate loss was to Floyd Mayweather Jr. I still believe he beat Manny Pacquiao in their third fight. Barrera has been doing good as well. He lost to Amir Khan but has won two fights before and two after that. I would not rule out a second fight between Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez.

parking wars

I first discovered this show a few years back. It is one of those shows that when you watch one episode, you will continue to watch more. The show follows parking enforcement officers on their daily shift. Some shifts are easier than others. People who are not even receiving tickets will say some nasty things. Seasoned officers can handle some very aggravated violators with ease. To have that kind of patience is an acquired skill.

Another part of the show is when the ticketed civilians show up at the main office to retrieve their vehicles. This can be a lengthy process that many dread. A lot of paperwork is involved and most of the folks do not have the proper ones to free their car from the impound lot. I believe it is on A & E, check it out for a good laugh!

macklin vs martinez

Boxing and St. Paddy’s day go hand and hand. In this case, the irishman went down, swinging of course. Sergio Martinez was heavily favored in this bout. No surprise. Matthew Macklin was staying in there with Martinez for majority of the fight. Sometimes even beating him to the punch.

In the seventh round, Macklin did get a knockdown. Martinez’ glove touched the canvas, which technically does render a knockdown. Things started turing Sergio’s way in the eleventh round when Martinez scored two knockdowns. The referee stopped the fight quickly after this.

Sergio Martinez becomes 49-2. A fight with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr could be in the future. However, it could be too soon for Chavez. Matthew Macklin should look for a rematch against Felix Sturm. Many say Macklin won that fight.

mase- my favorite bad boy artist

I like Mase because there is something about him. He doesn’t rap about crime or violence. Bad Boy themselves were not really about all that stuff. Mase has that soft spoken sound to him while many rappers today are in your face. My favorite song of his is “Breathe, Stretch, Shake”. It is an uptempo song from start to end.

Another favorite is “Feel So Good”- bad bad bad bad boyy you make me feel soooo gooood! haha. Songs he was featured in, who could forget “Mo Money Mo Problems”? I also liked his part in the Bad Boy remix of Mariah Carey’s “Honey”.