The Breakdown: Affliction 'Day of Reckoning'

Josh Barnett vs. Gilbert Yvel

Josh “The Babyface Assassin” Barnett Scouting Report
Ht/Wt: 6’3/250 lbs.
Age: 31
Hometown: Seattle
Fighting out of: Fullerton, Calif.
Record: 23-5

The stakes: On the surface, this fight’s more pointless for Barnett than a non-Japanese cartoon. However, the fact remains that after “Day of Reckoning” Barnett will be the only heavyweight on the Affliction roster even remotely worthy of challenging Emelianenko, assuming he retains the title. Losing to someone like Yvel, a guy who has more disqualifications to his name than big-time wins, would send Barnett on a downward spiral reminiscent of Jared Leto in “Requiem for a Dream.”

The breakdown: This is simple math for Barnett. Yvel does not stand a chance against him on the ground, so that’s where this fight needs to go. If Barnett decides to play around on the feet, Yvel will have plenty of chances to send him to the local head trauma center. Barring that, all Barnett needs to do is zone in on Yvel’s notoriously weak grappling and take an easy victory.

Gilbert “The Hurricane” Yvel Scouting Report
Ht/Wt: 6’2/225 lbs.
Age: 32
Hometown: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Fighting out of: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Record: 35-12-1(1 NC)

The stakes: After wasting most of his prime on an utter lack of maturity and apparent excess of testosterone, this is basically Yvel’s final chance to be remembered as something more than a less successful, more bloodthirsty version of Mike Tyson. It’s not exactly much of a legacy when you consider one would have to be a borderline vampire to be considered more bloodthirsty than boxing’s poet laureate.

The breakdown: First and foremost, Yvel has no chance on the ground with Barnett and not much of a chance of stopping Barnett’s takedowns, either. Not that this is anything new for Yvel, who has always relied almost exclusively on his flashy muay Thai style to make up the difference. While hoping for a one-shot knockout is asking a bit much from Lady Luck, if Yvel can establish dominance on the feet early and get Barnett to back away and commit to striking exchanges, this bout takes on an entirely different dynamic.

The bottom line: At this point, asking Yvel to pull a Pedro Rizzo and scramble Barnett’s synapses is like asking Sean Hannity for a balanced critique of President Obama; it’s just not going to happen. There may be some dicey moments on the feet early for Barnett, who has trouble sticking to a gameplan, but it won’t be long before Yvel is forced to play the three-tap symphony.