[Tuds75]

Samuel Peter -826
Jameel McCline +746

Total Rounds (Peter vs McCline)
10.5 rounds
OVER +141
UNDER -151

This fight is the forgotten/overlooked fight of this weekend. Basically it pits 2 fighters who scheduled opponents have pulled out due to injury. I guess in that sense it makes sense for these two to fight.

Peters was supposed to be fighting one-belt champ Oleg Maskiev, but Maskiev pulled out 3 weeks ago due to a injury and McCline was supposed to fight Vitalai Klitschko at the end of September, but Klitschko also pulled out with an injury (stop me if you have heard that one before). So Peter was giving the interm belt and McCline was brought in to fight Peter on short notice, but it works out for all parties involved.

Peters in making a name for himself as one of top heavyweights in boxing today. He is young, powerful, and can take a punch. From his previous couple of James Toney fights it looks like Peter's learned how to box, throwing jabs and using defensive techniques like parring and slipping punches. McCline on the other hand is an old boxer (37), but relatively young in boxing terms due to time spent in jail. I have watched my share of McCline fights and never seen a thing I liked in his fights. He is a huge heavyweight, but really doesn't have much power. He doesn't jab, his footwork is decent for man his size, but he doesn't use it to his advantage. He has a so so chin and very little heart. But for some reason McCline keeps getting big name fights. Really don't see how McCline can beat Peters and the odds reflect that.

The best boxing bet this weekend is the UNDER in this fight. Peters in his last 2 fights looked like he wanted to box instead of just KO his opponent with a single punch. He actually jabbed, A LOT. I think that was because Peters was fighting James Toney, a slick heavy that Peter was taught to box because KOing him would be very very tough. McCline is a close to perfect opponent for Peters. McCline will come foward and not run from Peters. McCline might actually try to exchange with Peters. Peter has always shown good body work and McCline's 6'6'' give Peters a lot of body to target. McCline will either take a beating and just end-up surviving for a lot of rounds which the fight will be stopped by the ref/doctor/or corner or he will get caught and finished early. I am going to go with the later. I see Peters jabbing for the first couple of rounds to soften McCline up and then going for the kill in round 5-6 when McCline is beat down mentally and physically.

Just one more thing about this fight. You think there is a reason McCline was the chosen opponent for Vitali Klitschko's return after going 2+ years without a fight? Sure there was. The Klitschko handlers knew McCline would stand in front of Vitali and trade punches, but McCline's power didn't worry them. Think about it, wouldn't Klitschko's handlers choose the best possible opponent for their man to look good against in his first fight in over 2 years. Just some food for thought.

Take the UNDER and Enjoy the fights,
Tuds