By Dave Sholler

Tomorrow night, the future Mrs. Sholler will be laughing as I scream like a girl. You see, in just 24 hours, she and I will be riding a haunted hayride in Lancaster, PA. To be blunt, I am no fan of these ghoulish adventures. Something about being grabbed by masked strangers and not being able to slug them bothers me. So instead of swinging blindly at some fool yielding a chainsaw, I’ll holler like a grade schooler. She will laugh. I will cry. I’m not proud of it, but it’s the truth.

Speaking of the truth, we’ve seen plenty of it exposed in boxing over the past few months. In one instance, we saw a 39-year-old trick us all into believing that he could still compete at the highest level. In another case, we learned that a boxer was telling the truth when he said that he was still a force at age 43.

In honor of the Halloween season, BoxingScene.com takes a look at the sport’s most recent tricks and treats. As you take a journey through the sport on your own boxing hayride, contemplate which tricks were the most deceptive and which treats were the most rewarding.

TRICKS

Kelly Pavlik – Take it easy, folks. I’m not going to go on some rant in which I declare Pavlik “overrated” or “exposed.” I will, however, confirm that Pavlik does not belong fighting at a higher weight class. At this point in his career, the Youngstown native needs to focus on improving his footwork and boxing IQ. Better yet, he needs to do so in a division that suits his strengths. Clearly, Pavlik is not ready to venture into a weight class where foes are stronger and better equipped to box.

Kelly is a great fighter and puncher. Whether he can outright box remains to be seen.

Ricardo Mayorga – Come on, just say it. You thought for a second that Mayorga had a chance against Shane Mosley last month. Even if for a brief second, you pondered whether the Nicaraguan was more than just a one-trick, knockout pony. After all, he was riding a victory of Fernando Vargas, right?

Wrong. While he made the fight more competitive than it should have been, Mayorga once again succumbed to a more fluid boxer. Mosley, who one could argue belongs on the “tricks” list as well, stopped Mayorga at the last possible second in what proved to be an ugly, listless fight.

Sam Peter – Heading into his WBC title bout with Vitali Klitschko earlier this month, Sam Peter was telling everyone how he would end the Ukranian’s comeback before it started. Even Peter’s managers and trainers were on board, telling reporters that Peter would prove that he was the best heavyweight in the world.

Klitschko proved otherwise. Before quitting on his stool in round eight, Peter looked terrible against the elder Klitschko and struggled to mount any offense. Giving up seven inches in height, Peter looked like he was being picked on and robbed of his lunch money. I’ve never been a big Peter fan (although I did pick him to win against Vitali), so I’ll be interested to see if he can rebound from the loss.

Antonio Tarver – The former undisputed light heavyweight champion told us that we were all in for a treat. The Floridian nicknamed “The Magic Man” informed the world that he would beat a younger, faster Chad Dawson. Boy was he mistaken.

Tarver was outboxed, outclassed, and outworked for 12 rounds by Dawson. The only treat we were given was the chance to see Dawson’s maturation continue. The Connecticut-based southpaw peeled away at the Tarver wrapper and eventually earned the right to rule the 175-pound throne. In essence, Dawson stole Tarver’s Halloween candy before the 39-year-old even had a chance to scream.

TREATS

Bernard Hopkins – Hopkins is like a Snickers bar. Sure, he’s been around forever. But he always satisfies your hunger for boxing domination. Despite losing a decision to Joe Calzaghe in April (yours truly still thinks it was a bad decision), Hopkins responded last weekend with a superb performance against Kelly Pavlik. Say what you want about the 43-year-old. Call him old. Call him dirty. Call him mean. Just don’t call him retired.

Fall Boxing – Tis the season for intriguing boxing cards. From attention-grabbers like Hopkins-Pavlik and Jones-Calzaghe to underrated cards like Darchinyan-Mijares and Taylor-Lacy, the next few months should serve up some fun fights. Kudos to HBO, Showtime, and Versus for giving us some early holiday cheer.

Paul Williams – Williams will fight at numerous weight classes and take on all challengers. What’s not to admire about that?

Larry Merchant – Is it just me or is ole’ Larry getting better with age? The longtime HBO color commentator continues to provide witty, insightful analysis and a spare-no-one approach. Max Kellerman could learn a lesson or two from Merchant.

Schaefer’s Decision to Keep Boxing and MMA Separate – This may sound like a trick, but it is actually a treat. Although the Golden Boy-Affliction deal will be beneficial for combat sports, the mixing of MMA and boxing could have been troublesome. For starters, would the boxing fan pay for a card that also featured MMA, and vice versa? Next, is there really anything to gain by putting the sports together on one card? I mean, let’s be real here. They are totally different sports. Keep them that way.

Angelo Dundee – A trainer of 16 world champions, including Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard, Dundee has been making the rounds on the east coast promoting his new book. Last week, I had a chance to emcee a Question and Answer session with Dundee and the 80-something trainer was extremely entertaining. From insights on Ali to tales from Leonard-Duran, Dundee told some of the best stories from his 50-plus year career in the sweet science. If that wasn’t enough, Dundee told audience members stories of training newly-crowned champion Hector Camacho and Baltimore Ravens rookie Tom Zbikowski. What’s more, Dundee said that his days of training are far from over. Good to see one of the sport’s all-time greats still passionate about boxing. It was clear from the reaction that Angelo received at the Hopkins-Pavlik fight that he is still one of the sport’s most beloved figures.

Dave Sholler is a featured columnist for newspapers across the country. Reach him at shollerholla4@hotmail.com .