For Ali Funeka: Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold

Have you ever gotten robbed? Fleeced? Hoodwinked?

Maybe you were passed over for a promotion to an inferior colleague? Or, maybe a teacher gave you a 'C' when you deserved an 'A'?

Perhaps you were cut from a sports team for 'political' reasons? I.E., the coach needed a spot for his son?

Nobody ever said the world was fair.

You can just ask Ali Funeka.

Funeka dominated and demolished Joan Guzman in November of 2009. He dominated the later rounds, actually began playing with Guzman, and was never in danger the entire fight.

Go ahead and YouTube the fight, you'll see what I mean.

There was no way he was going to lose that fight. It would have been inconceivable.

He didn't lose the fight, it was called a decision.

What fight were those judges watching?

As so often happens in boxing, a fight that goes to the scorecards is anyone's guess. Many times fights are politically motivated. Perhaps a fighter is boxing in his hometown or being promoted by a heavyweight (GoldenBoy, Bob Arum...) and the judges don't want to upset that promoter.

More often, judges will give a decision to the titleholder because he's the titleholder.

Many times, judges can be swayed by the more active fighter, even though his punches do little damage (ask Marvin Hagler about that in his fight against Sugar Ray Leonard.)

On Saturday, on HBO, Funeka gets his chance for revenge in a rematch with Guzman.

Funeka is one of those hard cases in boxing. At 31, he's looking at the twilight of his career.

He's never received the adulation or notoriety he deserved.

He fought an amazing fight against Nate Campbell last February, only to lose a very, very close decision. One judge had it 113-113, another had it 112-114, and another had it 111-115.

That fight proved that Funeka deserves to be mentioned with top lightweights or light welterweights. His previous loss had come in 2002, a full seven years prior.

He should be mentioned in the same breath as a Nate Campbell or Timothy Bradley, but the Boxing Gods have been unkind to Funeka.

His greatest crime?

That he's not American.

Up until the Campbell fight, he'd never fought anyone out of South Africa against, admittedly, very marginal opponents.

I think that's part of the reason for the Guzman decision.

I expect Funeka to dominate Guzman. I think he feels slighted and hungry.

I think he also knows he can hang with the best fighters at both lightweight and light welterweight.

The winner of this fight could, potentially, face Juan Manuel Marquez or Timothy Bradley.

I expect that winner to be Funeka, and he's not an easy fight for anyone. He's very long, active, with outstanding ring generalship.

Assuming that he makes easy work of Guzman, a potential rematch with Nate Campbell could also be in the cards, assuming Campbell wants anything to do with him.

So, make sure you clear your calendar for tomorrow, March 27th, and tune into HBO for the Funeka-Guzman fight.

You'll be happy that you did.