Sunday 30 December 2012

Ryo Miyazaki v Pornsawan Porpramook

New Year's Eve goes out with a bang in Japan with 5 title fights, the smallest, in terms of weight, sees unbeaten Japanese fighter Ryo Miyazaki (17-0-3, 10) facing former champion Pornsawan Porpramook (27-4-1, 17) for the now vacant WBA Minimumweight title (which has been vacated due to Kazuto Ioka moving to Light Flyweight). This bout promises nothing but excitement as Miyazaki looks to show he's the next in a very long line of world class Minimumweight's from Japan whilst Porpramook looks to become a 2-time world champion.

The 34 year old Porpramook may not be hugely well known by fight fans in the west though he has proven himself to be a solid world level fighter over the past few years. He's been a professional since 2001 and has been fighting for titles since just his second fight (he claimed the PABA Minimumweight title in his second professional bout). In fact since 2007 Porpramook has been fighting, on and off, at world level.

In his first attempt to claim a world title in 2007 Porpramook came up short against the hugely talented Filipino Donnie Nietes in a bout that was close and hard fought by both men. The following year Porpramook would again fall short, that time again Oleydong Sithsamerchai. In 2009 the Thai would again fall short, being stopped by Edgar Sosa in a Light Flyweight title fight before scoring an unlucky draw with Sithsamerchai in 2010. For Porpramook it was fifth time lucky in 2011 as he out pointed the legendary Muhammad Rachman for the WBA Minimumweight title.

Sadly Porpramook's title reign was short lived as Akira Yaegashi stopped him in a 10 round war just 3 months after Porpramook had eventually won a world title. He now goes back to Japan to seek revenge for the loss of his title and get revenge over Japanese fighters.

In terms of his style Porpramook is a tough fighter, whilst he has been stopped twice he proved his genuine toughness in both of those bouts and he proved he is genuine all action and exciting. He's never let a fighter really have their way with him other than Oleydong in their first meeting.

Whilst Porpramook is certainly part of the "last generation", the 24 year old Miyazaki is part of the new generation of fighters who are swiftly emerging, especially in Japan (along with the likes of Ioka amongst others). Despite being just 24 Miyazaki is experienced and seasoned with 20 professional bouts and 115 rounds under his belt, many of which have been fought at title level with Miyazaki having already claimed both the Japanese and the OPBF Light Flyweight titles.

Although having made his name at Light Flyweight, the rock solid looking Miyazaki is a natural Minimumweight. Stood at just 5'1 he's a true warrior facing bigger men than himself to toughen up before getting world title fights and whilst things haven't always gone to plan (with 3 technical draws on his record due to head clashes) he's proven to be able to hang with naturally bigger men.

For me the youth of Miyazaki as well as the wear and tear of Porpramook are likely the difference here. This could well be the best fight of the 5 world title fights that take place in Japan on New Years Eve with both men giving it their all, though I just think Miyazaki will be a little bit too fresh for the Thai warrior.

Prediction- Miyazaki TKO11

Tepparith Kokietgym v Kohei Kono

WBA Super Flyweight champion Tepparith Kokietgym (21-2, 13) made 2011 a break out year as he claimed notable wins over Drian Francisco and Daiki Kameda. Since then the little Thai has been continued to make his name thanks to notable victories over top Japanese fighters Tomonobu Shimizu and Nobuo Nashiro. He will return to Japan once again as he face former 2 time title challenger Kohei Kono (27-7, 10).

Whilst it's true that Tepparith, a talented boxer, did struggle last time out with Japanese hard man Nashiro, that was more due to Tepparith being brought in to a brawl rather than a boxing contest. When the 24 year old "Astro Boy" is allowed to box and control the pace and distance of the fight he is exceptional using his jab as well as solid work rate. If he's forced to brawl however he can be out powered at times and, as we saw against Nashiro, can be forced out of his comfortable rhythm.

Although not a massive puncher Tepparith is capableof landing hard, hurtful shots, such as the shots that stopped Shimizu earlier this year (in what is notable Tepparith's only stoppage on the world level). Against a tough fighter, like Nashiro, this wasn't enough to establish the range, though not many fighters are as tough as Nashiro, unfortunately for Tepparith, Kono is.

Like Nashiro, Kono is a genuine Japanese hard man. Despite suffering 7 losses in 34 fights Kono has never been stopped and has hardly ever looked hurt despite facing some great opponents including the aforementioned Nashiro, former world champion Tomas Rojas, and current world champion Yota Sato. As well as those losses, he has only lost 1 other bout in the last 7 years, an 8 round decision to the highly regarded prospect Yohei Tobe.

For Tepparith it's the victory by Tobe that should really be the battle plan to use. Tobe used his speed, jab and movement to keep Kono away and although Tobe is a taller fighter than Tepparith the Thai has the class and ability to follow that sort of game plan. I don't think Kono will just take the loss but I think Tepparith will show the difference in class.

Prediction-Tepparith UD12

Yota Sato v Ryo Akaho

All the eyes of the boxing world will be pointing towards Japan this New Years Eve with the country hosting 5 world title fights. Of those fights we have just a solitary all Japanese fight as WBC Super Flyweight champion Yota Sato (25-2-1, 12) attempt to make the second defense of his title as he faces countryman Ryo Akaho (19-0-2, 12).

Sato emerged as one of the top Japanese fighters back in 2010 when he stopped Go Onaga for the interim Japanese Super Flyweight title, a title that would later be upgraded to the full version of the belt. As the Japanese Super Flyweight champion Sato was impressive defeating the likes of Kohei Kono (who faces Tepparith Kokietgym on the same card) and the previously unbeaten Kenji Oba. He moved in to the world elite earlier this year as he defeated highly regarded Thai Suriyan Sor Rungvisai for the WBC title, dropping Rungvisai twice.

Since winning the world title Sato has defended it once out pointing the under-rated Filipino Sylvester Lopez though will now need to show his skill to end a year on a high against the very talented Akaho (who I will get on to in a minute). In terms of ability Sato is perhaps “the best fighter you've never seen” with excellent boxing, great speed and under-rated power (just ask Suriyan). The biggest issue is perhaps his inexperience over 12 rounds, a distance he has only done twice in his 28 fight career.

As well his ability Sato will be very confident having been unbeaten since 2005 with both of his losses coming in his first 7 professional contests (and they were both razor thin losses to more experienced fighters). Also, interestingly, the 28 year old is tall for a Super Flyweight at 5'7” and arguably he is in his physical prime. It's fair to say that whilst he may not have a punchers record he's grown into his power and knows how to use his size wonderfully well.

Whilst Sato is regarded by hardcore fans as one of the elite at Super Flyweight Ryo Akaho is much lesser known despite also being unbeaten since 2005 (the year in which he debuted). Akaho, sadly, lacks the notable names (such as Kono, Suriyan and Lopez) on his record however he has been fighting at national and continental title level for a few himself having drawn in a Japanese title fight back in 2009.

Despite failing to claim a title in his first title fight, Akaho has since gone on to claim the OPBF Super Flyweight title, a title that he has defended 4 times, with the most recent of those defense coming against super prospect Yohei Tobe (who was forced in to the fight a few bouts too early). Sadly for Akaho his best opponent was Daigo Nakahiro, the fight he drew with in his failed attempt at the Japanese Super Flyweight title (interestingly Nakahiro was beaten in his very next fight by Sato).

For Akaho this is a great chance and he will, like Sato, go in to this fight with a lot of confidence sadly however his limited competition worries me somewhat, especially having seen how good Sato is. I think that the level of the fighters will be obvious here and Sato will take a wide decision in a thoroughly engaging fight. Akaho will try hard but Sato's speed and jab will keep him out of range for long portions of the bout. At just 26 years old however I imagine that Akaho will come again.

Prediction-Sato UD12

Takashi Uchiyama v Bryan Vasquez

In the western world boxing seems to take a break over the Christmas and New Year period however in Japan New Year is a whole different ball game with an amazing 5 world title fights all on the New Years Eve. For me personally the stand out of those fights is the WBA Featherweight bout between regular champion Takashi Uchiyama (18-0-1, 15) and former interim champion Bryan Vasquez (29-0, 15).

Of the two fighters it's the Japanese champion who is much higher regarded than the challenger with some regarding him as one of the hardest punchers pound-for-pound in the sport. Although aged 33 Uchiyama is actually a very young 33 with just 118 rounds under his belt (around 6 rounds a fight) thanks to his fearsome power which has seen him move in to the top spot at 130lbs.

Whilst not well known in the west Uchiyama has a very respectable record with victories over proven world class fighters such as Juan Carlos Salgado and Jorge Solis as well as solid rivals like Takashi Miura and Roy Mukhlis. Though maybe the most telling thing on his record in regards to his up coming fight is the 3rd round technical draw he suffered last time out at the hands of tough Filipino Michael Farenas, who recently gave Yuriorkis Gamboa a tougher than expected bout. That bout saw a clash of heads opening up a nasty cut around Uchiyama's eye that may not have fully healed.

As well as being hard hitting Uchiyama is also very fun to watch. He's not the slickest and he can be drawn in to a tear up, however with his power he always has the ability to end the fight at any moment, a trait that everyone at 130lbs needs to be fully aware of.

Whilst we know enough about Uchiyama to make an opinion that he's a top guy at the weight, we really don't know a lot about Costa Rican Bryan Vasquez who despite his long unbeaten record really hasn't faced anyone of note. In fact the best victory on the record of the 25 year old challenger came last time out against Jorge Lacierva who had previously challenger for silverware way down at 115lbs.

Despite not being really known about, Vasquez has actually looked like a “decent” fighter with good all round skills and respectable speed, though his lack of power is a trait that does stand out as being a key weakness. Although his record is littered with opening round wins (7) they have come at a very low level with no noteworthy stoppages other than the one against Lacierva (who interestingly had only been stopped once in his previous 55 bouts). This will be a real problem again Uchiyama who will try to establish his type of fight and try to land his booming shots.

For me the class and power difference as well as home field advantage should be far more than enough to see a clear winner. I imagine Vasquez will be game but out classed in the early rounds before fading in the second half and getting stopping by Uchiyama's very hurtful power.

Prediction-Uchiyama TKO8

Kazuto Ioka v Jose Alfredo Rodriguez

One of the final world title fights this year sees talented Japanese youngster Kazuto Ioka (10-0, 6) attempt to claim a second division world title as he tries to claim the vacant WBA Light Flyweight title against once beaten Mexican Jose Alfredo Rodriguez (28-1, 17). This is a fight all lower weight fans should be hugely excited by with both men looking to really fill the void of Roman Gonzalez who has vacated the title to campaign at Flyweight from next year.

For me personally the clear favourite is Ioka who, despite going up in weight, is a special talent as he proved earlier this year by unifying the WBA and WBC Minimumweight titles as he defeated fellow Japanese warrior Akira Yaegashi in an all out war. Though the win over Yaegashi is the standout win on his record, Ioka also holds wins over Oleydong Sithsamerchai, Juan Hernandez and Masayoshi Segawa, not bad for a guy with just 10 professional bouts under his belt.

Ioka's move to Light Flyweight always looked to be on the cards as the 5'4" 23 year old has simply out grown the 105lb weight division and he looked noticeably drained late in the fight with Yaegashi. At 108lbs I'd hope that Ioka's growing body has filled out with out too many negative effects to his speed as he's a fast, accurate boxer-puncher who can trade as well as box. At his best however I'd say he's a better boxer than puncher and his key punches are the jab and straight, though he does throw some lovely shots to the body as Oleydong found out.

Whilst I could wax lyrical about Ioka I find it much harder to be as complimentary about Rodriguez who despite having an excellent looking record has faced much lesser opponents than Ioka. In fact the best opponents Rodriguez has faced have been Karluis Diaz, Nethra Sasiprapa and current WBA interim champion Alberto Rossel, with his only loss so far coming to Rossel.

Like Ioka, Rodriguez is a growing youngster, in fact Rodriguez despite his huge edge in professional experience, is actually the younger man at just 23 years old. Sadly for him however he lacks the long amateur experience that Ioka has and he also lacks much in terms of international experience having only fought out of Mexico twice, including his loss to Rossel and a split decision victory in Japan over Sho Nakazawa.

Interestingly both men have only fought once this year, with Ioka's win over Yaegashi and Rodriguez's loss to Rossel being their only other action in 2012. I don't think this will play too much of a factor though if it does I'd guess it's more likely to effect Rodriguez who is with out a win in over a year.

I feel that Ioka's excellent amateur school and home field advantage will see him through to a clear win here. I'd fancy him to perhaps look for a stoppage late though thoroughly dominate the fight regardless of stopping Rodriguez who has never been stopped.

Prediction-Ioka TKO 11

Monday 17 December 2012

Denis Lebedev v Santander Silgado

Exciting Russian Cruiserweight Denis Lebedev (24-1, 18) makes the first defense of his WBA title later today as he faced unbeaten power puncher Santander Silgado (23-0, 18) in a bout that promises fireworks. Despite this bout generally being one that has gone under-the-radar I'm certainly expecting a very fun to watch bout that really could be over if you blink.

The hard hitting Lebedev got upgraded from the interim champion just a few months ago after Panamanian Guillermo Jones was eventually stripped by the WBA who had seemingly gotten bored of his antics (including pulling out of fights on a regular basis).

For many fans of the sport the Cruiserweight division has slowly become one of the top divisions in the sport thanks to the combination of exciting fights and fun to watch fighters such as Yoan Pablo Hernandez, Marco Huck and Lebedev. In fact many fan of the sport consider Lebedev to be the best of the bunch with his only loss being a very highly debated decision loss to Huck in a bout that most felt the Russian has won.

Lebedev combines genuine toughness with both power and skill. He's not the quickest guy in the division or even the biggest but his all round ability and genuinely hurtful shots have made him his name. What has also helped has been his notable scalps including former WBO champion     Enzo Maccarinelli, once top amateur Alexander Alekseev and American legends Roy Jones Jr and James Toney (both admittedly well beyond their sell by date).

Despite being 33 years old Lebedev is a young 33 with just 132 rounds under his belt though a lot of this has to do with his power which is genuinely devastating. He can score stoppages both with stunning 1-punch KO power or by grinding opponents down which helps make him a dangerous fighter, every punch he lands hurts.

With plenty known about how good Lebedev is, the real question about this fight is just how good is Santander Silgado? The American based Colombian has a very similar looking record to Lebedev with a actually a higher KO% though though sadly these have been coming at a much lower level, with Silgado actually struggling when he has stepped up to face some more established fighters. Interestingly the Colombian has had to go the distance in his last 3 fights, all in the US against limited opponents.

Sadly, as we all know with Colombians it's hard to really judge just how powerful they actually are due to inflated records from fighting at home. Oddly with Silgado we've actually seen him fighting around the world (having fought in Colombia, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Germany and the USA) however he does have a 10-0 (10) record in Colombia, as opposed to the 13-0 (8) away from the land of his birth.

If Silgado goes in to this thinking he's the puncher he'll be wrong, if he thinks he's the boxer I'd again guess that he'd be wrong. Lebedev is just better in every which way and I'd be shocked if Silgado manages to do much other than get sparked out with a KO of the year contender.

Prediction-Lebedev KO5

Friday 14 December 2012

Arthur Abraham v Mehdi Bouadla

German based Armenian Arthur Abraham (35-3, 27) will make the first defense of his WBO Super Middleweight title this weekend as he faces Frenchman Mehdi Bouadla (26-4, 11) at the Arena Nürnberger Versicherung.

Abraham claimed this title a few months ago as he controversially defeated Robert Stieglitz in a thoroughly fun to watch fight that saw both fighters giving and taking for 12 rounds. It did however take him 3 attempts to claim a Super Middleweight title after having also claimed a Middleweight title way back in 2005.

As a Middleweight Abraham was a really dangerous fighter who could KO fighters at any time, with either hand. His work rate was low, his guard was solid and his style was hugely frustrating, though when he let his hands go he was stupidly fun to watch. Sadly when he moved up to Super Middleweight he found that fighters weren't that easy to beat as the bigger men used their size, especially their reach and their ability to take harder shots. It was at Super Middleweight that Abraham suffered all 3 of his losses, 2 by decision and 1 by DQ.

Whilst Abraham is a known fighter with world credentials spanning the better part of the decade that has seen him in with fighters such as Andre Ward, Carl Froch, Andre Dirrell, Jermain Taylor, Kheron Gevor and Edison Miranda (twice, including a memorable and bloody battle) it's fair to say that Mehdi Bouadla is much less well known. Despite being less high profile Bouadla has himself mixed in world class company having faced a then 8-0 Gennady Golovkin, former title contender Morrade Hakkar and most recently Mikkel Kessler.

For most it's the Kessler fight that really suggest how good Bouadla is, and to be fair, it's not very. He's not bad as such but he's a long way from being a genuinely world class fighter and I think this will be shown as Abraham slowly breaks down Bouadla in the middle to late rounds. Kessler is admittedly a very different fighter to Abraham, but they both bang and I think that one thing in common will show again here.

Prediction-Abrahm TKO9

Thursday 13 December 2012

Leo Santa Cruz v Alberto Guevara

Exciting Mexican youngster Leo Santa Cruz (22-0-1, 13) looks to finish off an excellent year with his third, and likely final IBF Bantamweight title defense as he faces the unbeaten but untested Alberto Guevara (16-0, 6) live on CBS.

Santa Cruz is quickly becoming one of the new stars of Mexican boxing and appears to be one of the sports most fun to watch fighters regardless of nationality. In terms of his style he's a very tough but educated pressure fighter who brings not only an "in your face" attitude to the ring but also very under-rated boxing ability and a deceptively powerful punch which he uses to grind down opponents.

Although Santa Cruz's record doesn't show him to be a puncher he has developed a real mean streak with which he's been able to force numerous stoppages with in recent fights. In fact Santa Cruz has impressively stopped 11 of his last 12 bouts early with only teak tough South African Vusi Malinga seeing the final bell with others such as Eric Morel, Alejandro Hernandez and     Stephane Jamoye all being stopped in that run of 12 fights.

I'm expecting this to be the final time we see Santa Cruz at Bantamweight, a division he seems to be out growing and if he puts on an impressive showing it'll be great to see him mixing with some of the top guys at Super Bantamweight.

Whilst Santa Cruz is well known by boxing fans who have seen him becoming a bit of a star this year, it's fair to admit that Alberto Guevara is much more obscure. In fact it's worrying to discover that Guevara (at the time of writing) is unranked by the IBF and is ranked #47 by boxrec. Almost as interesting is that last time out Guervara apparently weighed in at a ridiculous 136lbs, and now needs to cut back down to 118.

Despite being unbeaten since he turned professional a little over 3 years ago Guevara is really, really untested having fought only 6 opponents with "winning records". Despite the level of his opponents it's fair to admit that Guevara has been stepping up in recent fights with arguably his best 3 wins coming in his last 3 bouts however they are all several levels below that of Santa Cruz.

In all honesty I can't see many fighters at 118lbs living with Santa Cruz's aggression, power and work rate. I think he'd be a nightmare for both Anselmo Moreno and Shinsuke Yamanaka (both fighters who I love) and in fact Santa Cruz could well be the division's #1 fighter as a result I can't Guevara upsetting him. I think Guevara will get ground down and quite early as well.

Prediction-Santa Cruz TKO5

Wednesday 12 December 2012

Nonito Donaire v Jorge Arce

A week after Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao got starched by Mexican multi-weight champion Juan Manuel Marquez, we get another high profile Filipino v Mexican fight as Nonito Donaire (?-?) defends his WBO Bantamweight title against multi-weight world champion Jorge Arce (?-?). Whilst many are viewing this as forgone conclusion it's fair to say that it'll be fun to watch as neither man is often in a poor bout with one of them being known as a KO artist whilst the other is a blood and guts warrior.

Going into the bout Donaire is a big betting favourite (priced around 1/8) and with good reason having looked like a fighter who has been in cruise control in his his recent victories over solid competition such as Toshiaki Nishioka (TKO9), Jeffrey Mathebula (UD12) and Wilfredo Vazquez Jr (some how scored an SD12). Despite his victories there has been questions asked about whether Donaire actually is in cruise control or is actually not as spectacular as once though and whether or not the 30 year old Filipino born fighter is actually on the slide himself against opponents who were there to make him look good.

At his best Donaire is a hard hitting, swift accurate counter puncher who can fight either as an orthodox fighter or as a southpaw. With that ability he's managed to score highlight reel KO's over the likes of Fernando Montiel and Vic Darchinyan. Sadly however those victories seem a long time ago with Donaire's "cruise control" victories over the much smaller Omar Andres Narvaez, the limited Wilfredo Vazquez Jr and the very clumsy Jeffrey Mathebula.

Despite starting his career as a Flyweight, Donaire is still very capable in terms of his speed and power all the way up at Super Bantamweight, with the likely result of this fight seeing him move up to Featherweight for his next bout. Seen as a genuinely top pound-for-pound fighter Donaire, when he steps through the gears is a special fighter, though when he's fighting with in himself he looks awfully over-rated and unspectacular.

Like the champion, the challenger, Jorge Arce has gone through the weights having first won a world title way down at Light Flyweight and having also claimed versions of various titles at Flyweight, Super Flyweight, Bantamweight and Super Bantamweight. Although several of those titles were "interim" titles he is the first Mexican to have any claim to being a 5-weight world champion.

Although Arce is just 3 years older than the champion he's a very old 33 having not had 402 professional rounds, but also a career that dates back to 1996 and has featured more wars than your typical history book. It goes with out saying that Arce's wars have taken their toll on him and it's incredibly rare to see an Arce bout that doesn't see the Mexican left with claret pouring out of his face. Sadly the damage doesn't seem to have forced Arce to tighten up his defense as he attempts to draw everyone in to a battle of attrition, sometimes it works (such as 2011's 12 round TKO over Wilfredo Vazquez Jr) and sometimes it doesn't (as shown in an 11th round TKO loss to Vic Darchinyan).

Due to the fact Arce likes to come to fight I imagine this may not go the distance. Although Donaire is a big favourite, it's possible that Arce can wear him down if he can cut the distance and keep on Donaire's chest neutralising his deadly counter hooks. Sadly for Arce, one of my favourite fighters over the years, I don't think he can cut the distance with out being tagged by bombs on the way in.

Prediction-Nonito Donaire TKO6

Omar Andres Narvaez v David Quijano

Argentinian veteran Omar Andres Narvaez (37-1-2, 20) looks to make the sixth defense of his WBO Super Flyweight title this weekend as he faces the relatively unknown Puerto Rican David Quijano (15-2-1, 9).

On paper this appears to be a bit of a mismatch, as Narvaez, arguably a top 20 pound-for-pound fighter faces someone who's lacking not only name recognition but also any stand out wins. However at 37 years old the defending champion is a fighter who is getting on and may well be on the slide.

Narvaez last fought back in October (stopping Johnny Garcia in 11 rounds) and for much of that fight didn't look himself. His fast handed combinations from the pocket and ability to slip punches often looked lacking as he instead used his movement to frustrate Garcia whilst leaping in with his own shots. The big question is why did Narvaez fight like that? Was it because he was getting old and can't fight with the intensity he used to be able to, or was it because of personal issues, including his father's death just days earlier.

At his best Narvaez was a little demon, he was quick, smart, and whilst not a hard puncher he was hurtful enough to stop fighters walking him down. Oddly the stoppage over Garcia was his first for over 3 years (the previous stoppage being a TKO11 over Omar Soto) and perhaps showed a lot about Narvaez's mental state and how he had some spent up emotion to be throwing at a faded fighter. If however it was Narvaez realising that 12 rounds is a long time to be fighting, he may well be looking for a bow out fight in the coming months.

With an astonishing 334 professional rounds under his belt from his 40 fights (average of 8.35 rounds a fight) Narvaez is very experienced as a professional and also as an amateur having twice competed at the Olympics. Though what's even more impressive is that he's been fighting at a world level since 2002 with over 20 title fights, as impressively as that is that Narvaez is 23-1-1 in world title bouts across 3 weight divisions!

Unlike the champion, the challenger is yet to fight in a world title bout however at 26 years old Quijano he is coming in to his own physical prime and will certainly have youth on his side. Though sadly from his competition I think youth is his only real advantage as his best win to date (a 10 round technical decision over Juanito Rubillar) isn't even nearing the quality of Narvaez's top 10 or so wins.

In terms of his style Quijano is a fighter with a very good guard who comes to fight. In his bout with Rubillar he showed an excellent jab, very good movement and and the ability to slip shots wonderfully, however aside from his jab he did look clumsy and left himself open at times and had it been a fighter better than Rubillar I think Quijano would have been punished.

Interestingly, for once perhaps, Narvaez won't actually be the smaller man in the ring with a 1" height advantage. Despite this I think if Narvaez is 80% of the fighter he was he'll use his usual tactic, fight from the pocket and we'll have a very fun to watch bout between two very short men with similar movement, but a whole world of difference in class. I don't see a stoppage here as Quijano does have a good guard, though I think he'll be dropped with a counter at some point before going into survival mode for the final few rounds.

Prediction- Narvaez UD12

Friday 7 December 2012

Brian Magee v Mikkel Kessler

Northern Irishman Brian Magee (36-4-1, 25) goes in to the Lion's Den this weekend as he attempts to defend his WBA Super Middleweight title in Denmark against great Dane Mikkel Kessler (45-2, 34). For Magee this is his big chance to really make a mark on the world stage, for Kessler however it's a chance to reclaim a world title at the weight where he really made his name. For us as fans it's a chance to see what Kessler has left in the tank after a long and hard career.

Although currently a world champion, Magee is one of a number of fighters out there who has one limitation that has kept them from the genuine world stage. Sadly he struggles to take a shot at the world level having been dropped 4 times in his first loss (UD loss to Robin Reid) and stopped by both Carl Froch and Lucien Bute. Despite this he has genuine talent as a boxer and gave both Froch and Reid a very, very tough fight.

At 37 years old I feel that this will be Magee's last major fight however it's not the first time I've thought that with his career looking over just 3 years ago after he claimed the British title then spent a year out of the ring. In the last 3 years however Magee has continued to plug away and scored a number of notable victories including a stoppage over Mads Larsen for the European title and a decision victory over Jaime Barboza for the interim WBA Super Middleweight title (which has now been upgraded).

Whilst it's fair to say that Magee's biggest fights have all been losing affairs, it's worth noting that he is 2-0 (2) in Denmark and he has the experience and ability to test anyone at the weight, especially if his opponent is losing a step as many feel Mikkel Kessler is doing. Sadly however for Magee, Kessler is something a bit tougher and hard hitting than Marsen and Rudy Markussen.

At 33 years old it's fair to say that Kessler is probably on the slide, though the likable "Viking Warrior" is someone who has all the tools to mix with the best in the division. He has genuine power, especially in his sledgehammer straight right hand which he can throw to the head and the body, he has a very solid all round game and whilst he doesn't do anything especially amazingly he doesn't have any major flaws. In fact it's fair to say that Kessler is just very good at everything and it takes a fighter with at least 1 superb trait to beat him, Andre Ward and Joe Calzaghe showed with their victories over him.

Although Kessler is a very tough fighter he was dropped last time out by American Allan Green, I believe it was the first time Kessler has been dropped, however that bout was for a Light Heavyweight bauble and Kessler did get himself back up to knock out Green. In fact interestingly Green did seem to hurt Kessler numerous times in the opening round, probably showing that Kessler has had plenty of miles on the clock, however Magee hasn't the power in my eyes to rock him.

Whilst Magee will likely put on a brave showing, I can't help but think Kessler's power and Magee's fragility against bangers will bring us to early end. The first straight right that Kessler lands will likely be the start of the end.

Prediction-Kessler TKO5

Thursday 6 December 2012

Javier Fortuna v Patrick Hyland

In a battle of unbeaten fighters Dominican Javier Fortuna (20-0-0-1, 15) takes on Irishman Patrick Hyland (27-0, 12) for the interim WBA Featherweight title in what should be a very intriguing match up for both men.

Going in to this match up I'd have to make the 29 year old Hyland the under-dog. Despite having a longer unbeaten record at 27 fights (dating back to 2004) he hasn't yet really been given a tough test, at least not a test that should prepare him for a world title bout. In fact looking over Hyland's record it's hard to see who was supposed to push him and see what he was really made of with the only "testing" opponent being former world title challenger Emmanuel Lucero (who had lost his previous 2 bouts, and is now 0-7 in his last 7).

Despite his paper record Hyland is regarded highly, especially in Ireland where he started his career. Despite starting his career in Ireland however he is now based in the US where he has fought his last 3 bouts (and 6 in total). Alongside his brothers Paul and Eddie he is seen as a potential draw amongst the Irish-American contingent however he's been somewhat protected due to the losses of his brothers who have had their limitations shown up.

As well as being untested Hyland has issues. He was pushed incredibly hard by Lucero who took his best power shots and kept coming, showing that Hyland doesn't have the power to force a tough opponent on to the back foot, in fact a tough fighter will likely be happy to take one to land one from him. Saying this however he has got solid skills and was a former stand out amateur who is well schooled and knows how to box. He also has Jersey Shore personality "Snooki" behind him and will likely have a bigger fan base in the arena.

Sadly for Hyland, whilst he's not tested, his opponent Javier Fortuna is tested and has been passing tests with ease. In fact the way he has been passing his tests has caught the eye of boxing fans around the globe who have began to rate Fortuna as one of the best emerging youngsters in the sport.

Aged just 23 the Dominican fighter has been fast tracked up the rankings building on his excellent amateur pedigree. His handlers have had no problems with matching him hard and that's why he is where he is so quickly. In just his 11th bout Fortuna suffered the only "black mark" on his record so far suffering an opening round No Contest with former Lightweight title contender Francisco Lorenzo and since then he has been destroying opponents with ease.

Amongst those beaten by Fortuna are recent world title challenger Miguel Roman, previously unbeaten prospect Yuandale Evans and most recently former world champion Cristobal Cruz. He has so far shown amazing power, speed, and whilst he's still a little crude he has the natural gifts to get away with his mistakes.

Personally it's the difference in power and in competition that make me favour Fortuna and favour him big. I just can't see Hyland having the power to punish Fortuna's mistakes whilst Fortuna himself will just bully and beat down Hyland before forcing stoppage.

Prediction-Fortuna TKO5

Miguel Vazquez v Mercito Gesta

Mexican Miguel Vazquez (32-3, 13) was less than impressive when he defended his IBF Lightweight title last time out against Marvin Quintero though he will hope to be more impressive this weekend as he faces the unbeaten Mercito Gesta (26-0-1, 14).

At his best Vazquez is a pure boxer with great movement, an excellent jab and a wonderful control of distance as he counters and moves his opponent with ease. At his worst, as we saw against Quintero, he can be a runner who can be forced to move more than box. Though whether he's at his best or worst, Vazquez is a tough man who his hard to hurt, very difficult to drop and very, very slippery to tag cleanly.

For all his trickery and slipperiness Vazquez' also has his negatives, notably his lack of power which has seen him stopping less than 40% of his fights early. He's sharp with his shots though they are rarely thrown with his weight behind them and as a result they lack the concussive force needed to put fighters off coming forward at him.

Vazquez is unbeaten in over 4 years (since suffering a second defeat to Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, who also beat him on Vazquez's debut) and has improved over that time. Not only has he become a world champion but he's also defeated numerous known fighters such as Breidis Prescott, Ji-Hoon Kim, Leonardo Zappavigna and Ameth Diaz often by frustrating them with his movement and jab. It's fair to say however that if you can take his wheels away, either with body shots or a good ability to cut the ring down, Vazquez could be made to look ordinary.

Whilst Vazquez is well known thanks to his top tier wins and even his loss, Gesta is better known for the fact that there is a lot of hype surrounding him especially from the Filipino fans who feel he could be the next Manny Pacquiao. Sadly however from what I've seen of Gesta he looks awfully ordinary with little to really make him stand out.

Whilst Gesta is unbeaten in 27 fights his best wins are over very limited opponents who have been there to make him look good as opposed to testing his skills. This has made it hard to actually know just how good he really is, though he did his job well last time out as he stopped Ty Barnett in 9 rounds with solid, hurtful shots.

Although Gesta is young and hungry I just can't see him getting to Vazquez who, for me, is a level or two better than Gesta and is much, much more proven. Gesta will put up a tireless effort, though will be clearly out boxed by a very intelligent Mexican fighter who doesn't try to do what other Mexicans do.

Prediction-Vazquez UD

Wednesday 5 December 2012

Nicholas Walters v Daulis Prescott

Aggressive and fun to watch Nicholas Walters (21-0, 17) gets his first chance to claim a version of a world title as he faces Colombian Daulis Prescott (26-1-0-3, 19) after a political situation saw the WBA Featherweight title become vacant. The WBA title, previous held by Panamanian Celestino Caballero hasn't been defended since December 2011 and the WBA seem to have lost patience with Caballero.

Jamaican Walters is a pretty well kept secret in boxing circles who has only really been seen by the hardcore fans who have made an effort to catch the long cards from Panama (where he has fought 19 of his 21 bouts to date). For those who have managed to see him, they've been treat to a hugely fun to watch, slightly wild but very powerful fighter with a genuinely eye catching style.

Although Walters is somewhat unknown by the vast majority of fight fans he has scored some decent wins, with the most notable of those coming last year against former world title challenger Irving Berry (TKO6). Though of course his record is relatively thin compared to that of many others in and around the Featherweight, he has shown the ability to beat good fighters.

Having been professional since 2008 the 26 year old Walters will be hoping to make an impression here, though it's fair to say that Daulis Prescott will also be wanting to prove himself. Prescott, the younger brother of Breidis Prescott (best known for stopping Amir Khan inside a round) may not be as as known as his older brother though has quietly been forging his own career since turning professional way back in 2006.

Like Walters, Prescott has been been fighting relatively under-the-radar though unlike Walters', Prescott has suffered a defeat being out pointed by Armenian Gabriel Tolmajyan last year in a split decision. As well as this loss he also has 3 no contests thanks to head clashes which have plagued his career in all honesty .

Since his loss to Tolmajyan, Prescott has run up 3 straight victories including a decision win over the then 11-1 Saul Morales, arguably the best victory of Prescott's career so far. Sadly however for Prescott, Morales is no where near the level of Walters and I tend to think that it's the loss of Prescott that tells us more about him than anything else.

With Walters' power and Prescott's limited ability I dare say that Prescott (who goes into this as the WBA's #5 ranked fighter some how) will get put into his shell early and eventually ground down in the latter half of the fight.

Prediction-Walters TKO7

Yuriorkis Gamboa v Michael Farenas

Former Cuban amateur sensation Yuriorkis Gamboa (21-0, 16) will return to the ring for the first time in 15 months as he faces unheralded Filipino Michael Farenas (34-3-4-1, 26) in a bout for the interim WBA Super Featherweight title. Although Gamboa goes in to this bout as a big favourite, I can't help but feel this will be a much tougher test than many anticipate.

Gamboa made his name as one of a number of truly elite Cuban amateurs alongside the likes of Guillermo Rigondeaux and Odlanier Solis and was seen as a professional champion in the making from day 1. It didn't take long for Gamboa to fulfill on his promise and within 2 years of being a professional he had already claimed the WBA Featherweight title stopping Jose Rojas in 10 rounds.

Having won a world title in just his 15th professional contest, Gamboa went from strength to strength and scored title defenses against the likes of Whyber Garcia, Rogers Mtagwa and Jonathan Victor Barros before unifying with IBF champion Orlando Salido. As the Unified WBA/IBF champion Gamboa was arguably the division's #1 fighter though sadly he got stripped of both titles and also suffered various issues with promoter Bob Arum.

It's those promotional issues that have really stopped Gamboa from being a real star. He has the talent and the style to be a major pound-for-pound player on the world stage though Arum prevented Gamboa from getting to popular Puerto Rican slugger Juan Manuel Lopez in what would have been a mega fight and Gamboa refused to allow Arum to bully him into a fight with Brandon Rios (Rios would later go on to claim a controversial victory over Richard Abril in one of the robbery of the year contenders).

The promotional issues surrounding Gamboa have now been sorted out with rap star 50 Cent acting as Gamboa's promoter though Gamoa will, rather ironically be fighting on a Top Rank (Bob Arum).

In terms of his fighting style Gamboa is at his best boxing offensively with his lightning quick and genuinely hurtful combinations and flurries which see him living up to his moniker of "El Ciclon de Guantánamo" (The Cyclone of Guantanamo). Though Gamboa has proven that he's not just a 1-trick pony and that he can also box on his toes going in and out with either single shots or short bursts of punches before getting back out to safety. Early in his career however Gamboa was dropped several times as he took too many risks, something he has since corrected about his style.

Whilst everyone in boxing knows all about Yuriorkis Gamboa, the people that know Michael Farenas are much fewer, however this won't be the first time he's mixed in world class, having fought a 3 round technical draw with WBA Super Featherweight champion Takashi Uchiyama earlier this year. As well as the draw with Uchiyama Farenas has also faced known fighters such as Walter Estrada, Daniel Attah, Fernando Beltran and Marlon Aguilar (who was the last man to defeat him).

Promoted by former world champion Gerry Penalosa, Farenas has come on leaps and bounds in recent years and is a much improved fighter to the man who started his career 8-2-1, however he's certainly not a proven world beater and his power at fringe level is limited. Oddly he was giving Uchiyama a hard time early in their fight prior to the fight ending head clash and looked rather tough, something that should be evidenced from his record of never having been stopped.

Although he's far from a known quantity in America, Farenas will know that the crowd will have a lot of fans pulling for his countryman Manny Pacquiao in the main event and he may well take some energy from them as he looks for a major upset to close out the year. Sadly however his best chance comes in the fact that Gamboa has been out of the ring for over a year and has fought only 12 rounds in the past 27 months, this sort of inactivity for a fighter like Gamboa can really mess with his speed, timing and sharpness. This isn't like Denton Vassell v Ronnie Heffron a week back in Britain, Gamboa is a fighter who needs his speed, Vassell was a power house who slowly broke down Heffron.

Whilst Gamboa is rightfully the favourite, I'd certainly not count out an upset here as Farenas is confident, and Gamboa will be rusty.

Prediction-Gamboa UD (though with some difficult moments).

Monday 3 December 2012

Koki Kameda v Hugo Ruiz

In a rare mid-week world title fight, we see WBA Bantamweight champion Koki Kameda (28-1, 17) fighting the former WBA interim Bantamweight champion Hugo Ruiz (31-1, 28) on Tuesday at the wonderfully named Bodymaker Colosseum in Osaka. For Kameda this will be his 5th title defense at Bantamweight having also held titles at both Light Flyweight and Flyweight. For Ruiz however it's a chance to finally claim the full version of a world title after having been the inteirm champion for close to 2 years.

The 26 year old Japanese fighter is seen as one of Japans top boxers, and is infect their only ever 3-weight world champion. Despite this many in Japan dislike Koki due to the fact he's a bit, well, cocky and many liken him to Floyd Mayweather Jr in regards to the fact many want to see him lose. Despite the general dislike to Koki he is an attraction and can draw huge numbers on Japanese TV with similar numbers (in terms of%) to what the Klitschko's draw in Germany.

At a smidge over 5'5" Kameda and with a 66" reach Kameda was huge at Light Flyweight and it showed when he fought at the weight. Though at Bantamweight he's not often going to be the bigger man, in fact in all honesty he's probably around the average, though he will be dwarfed by the freakishly tall Ruiz (who's got a 3" height advantage). In the lower weights Kameda's size mattered and he scored 10 stoppages in his first 11 bouts. Since going up through the weights (and facing significantly better opponents) Kameda's stoppage rate has started to nose dive with just 7 stoppages in his last 18 bouts. Interestingly however Kameda has stopped 3 of his last 6, though they were lesser opponents.

In terms of his style Kameda is a fast handed fighter who can fight on on the back foot, though is much better on the front foot. Despite his ability to throw lovely flurries he's not got the hurtful power on them that may bother really genuine Bantamweights and in his most notable bout at the weight he was pushed all the way by Mexican David De La Mora (a bout Kameda won by very debated Unanimous Decision). Tellingly De La Mora was stopped 2 fights later by Anselmo Moreno and thoroughly out boxed by Kameda's countryman Ryosuke Iwasa. The fact Kameda struggled so much with De La Mora tells me, personally that this is a weight that Kameda can't use his physicality to bully the better fighters, and Ruiz is one of the better fighters in the division.

Despite the fact Kameda is unbeaten at Bantamweight and has only suffered one career set back, a decision loss to Thai great Pongsaklek Wonjongkam down at Flyweight, he's also been somewhat selective in his opponents. De La Mora aside the combined record of Kameda's Bantamweight title defenses was 69-19-1 with the last 2 opponents coming in at a rather poor 47-17-1 and the most recent opponent (Nouldy Manakane) has been out boxed by a debutant (Kenji Kubo) since then!

Whilst Kameda is lauded over by many, Mexican Hugo Ruiz (also 26) is often over-looked and seen as being well down the proverbial pecking order at 118lbs with Boxrec and Fightnews both having him ranked #10 (Kameda is #6 Boxrec, #8 Fightnews) whilst Ring give him a more respectable #8 ranking (with Kameda a lofty #5). Despite this Ruiz is a battle hardened fighter who can give almost everyone at 118lb real questions.

Ruiz turned professional almost 6 years ago to the day and after running off 9 straight opening round T/KO's he lost for the first (and only time in his career) as he was stopped by Enrique Quevedo. Since his loss, back in 2007, he has continued to develop whilst maintaining his ridiculous power and whilst he's a bit vulnerable, he's got genuine fight changing power.

Wile Ruiz hasn't yet faced a real genuine world level talent, like Kameda has (Kameda has faced     Daisuke Naito and Pongsaklek Wonjongkam amongst others) he has been mowing through B class fighters for fun and has stopped fighters like Francisco Arce, Jean Sampson and Yonfrez Parejo in recent bouts. Despite this Arce did show up Ruiz's vulnerabilities and dropped Ruiz twice in their first encounter (before being stopped in their second).

With the sheer size, power and strength of Ruiz I'm favouring the Mexican here, even though it is his first fight out of his native Mexico. Kameda, who has never been stopped before, will be hit harder than he has ever been hit and I just see him folding when he realises that Ruiz's jab is like a straight from most other Bantamweights. For Kameda to retain he will have to get inside the reach of Ruiz and this is much easier said than done.

Prediction-Ruiz TKO7

Friday 30 November 2012

Austin Trout v Miguel Cotto

Saturday's only world title fight sees WBA Light Middleweight champion Austin Trout (25-0, 14) attempt to score the biggest victory of his career as he faces former 3-weight world champion Miguel Cotto (37-3, 30). Although Cotto will be the huge fan favourite going into this bout he is seen by some as being a fighter on the slide and a fighter who may well be ready to wave goodbye to the sport whilst Trout is certainly heading in the other direction.

Puerto Rican hero Miguel Cotto is a fighter who is hard to dislike. The 32 year old has genuinely faced everyone and anyone from Antonio Margarito to Zab Judah, Manny Pacquiao to Floyd Mayweather. In fact if anyone was to be critical the biggest problem with Cotto is that he faced too many tests and took too much punishment in a career that has seen him claim world titles in the Light Welterweight, Welterweight and Light Middleweight divisions.

At his most exciting Cotto was a come-forward, body beater who cracked hard, nasty hooks to the ribs of opponents, breaking them down round by round. Defensively he's never been the sharpest though Cotto has developed his style in recent years to be more than just an offensive body attacking machine and has added a very nice sharp jab to his repertoire. It's this jab that served him so well in his most recent fight, a decision loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Although small for a Light Middleweight (5'7" and with a 67" reach) Cotto is often skilled enough to impose his fight on an opponent as he both uses controlled aggression and very under-rated foot work to work his angles and get inside a taller opponent. Sadly however we've seen him beaten down hard in the past by both Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito, who both mentally and physically beat down Cotto (albeit Margarito did do it in a seriously controversial manner). The fact that those two men managed to really beat up Cotto does leave us wondering how much he can take, and although Mayweather didn't stop him, he looked like he could had he wished to.

At Light Middleweight Cotto's power isn't great despite being 3-1 (3) at the weight, his wins over Yuri Foreman, Ricardo Mayorga and Antonio Margarito really showed this. In fact all 3 of his stoppages at the weight have questions over them with Mayorga claiming a broken hand, Foreman damaging his leg and Margarito's damaged eye from his bout with Pacquiao, though his performance with Mayweather was still impressive.

Whilst Cotto, as mentioned, is seen as being on the slide, the 27 year old Trout is certainly seen as a fighter on his way up and despite being the champion is a betting under-dog. Whilst it's true that he isn't a big name in the sport, like Cotto or a number of Cotto's big name opponents he is still a hugely talented fighter who is fresh, confident and coming to make a real name for himself.

Southpaw Trout has slowly been making a name for himself with the hardcore fans since he turned professional way back in 2005 however it wasn't until 2011 that fans started to sit up and take notice as Trout bagged himself several notable victories. The most notable of those victories came in February 2011 as he out-pointed Rigoberto Alvarez (the older brother of Saul "Canelo" Alvarez) for the interim WBA Light Middleweight.

Since claiming the interim WBA Light Middleweight title, Trout has defended it 3 times, defeating David Lopez, Frank LoPorto and Delvin Rodriguez and barely losing a round in those three fights. Whilst he may not have been on killers row the victories over both Lopez and Rodriguez were still impressive and were worth taking note of, especially considering how good Rodriguez had looked in his bouts with Pawel Wolak.

Despite lacking the high level experience Trout has numerous advantages himself. Not only is he a fresher, younger fighter than Cotto but he is also a natural Light Middleweight and has notable size advantages over Cotto (stood over 2" taller and with a 5" reach advantage) both of which he will look to use to his advantage. This will likely see Trout using his right hand jab to keep Cotto at a safe distance and tie up Cotto at close, spoiling Cotto's work up close and neutralising Cotto's supposed power (which I actually don't think will be a factor here).

In terms of the fight, I'm going with the upset here. Like everyone I love Miguel Cotto though I can't help but feel that his age and hard career will be catching up with him as well as the weight. Cotto could still have one last hurrah, though I actually think that was the performance against Mayweather. Cotto's youth, speed and freshness will likely pay off here as he takes a competitive but clear decision.

Prediction-Trout by UD

Thursday 29 November 2012

Joan Guzman v Khabib Allakhverdiev

The vacant WBA Light Welterweight title is up for grabs this coming Friday as unbeaten's collide with Domican Joan Guzman (33-0-1-1, 20) facing Russian Khabib Allakhverdiev (17-0, 8) in a very interesting match up.

Going in to this match up it's fair to suggest that Guzman is the favourite. He's a much more proven fighter and has shown real quality as he's claimed world titles at both Super Bantamweight and Super Featherweight, and was also close to claiming a world title at Lightweight. However the fact this bout is at Light Welterweight and Guzman is getting on does perhaps level the playing field somewhat.

At some 36 years old Guzman isn't a spring chicken any more. In his prime he was lightening quick fighter with hands, feet and his brain, he could make very good fighters look very silly as he did to Humberto Soto and Terdsak Kokietgym. Despite his ability however Guzman's problems lay with his attitude and he was lazy both in and out of the ring. Out of the ring this laziness showed as he missed numerous weigh-ins in fact shockingly he came in over 9lbs above the Lightweight limit in an IBF Lightweight title bout. however in the ring laziness has seen him almost losing several times.

I terms of natural skill Guzman is genuinely special. He had all the skill a fighter could wish for, he had the ability to unleash combinations that looked not only fluid but effortless and he could could box equally as well on the front foot and the back foot. It was little wonder that only a few years ago many were putting Guzman in their pound-for-pound lists. Though as mentioned his laziness has almost cost him with Ali Funeka and Jorge Rodrigo Barrios both coming close to taking Guzman's unbeaten record.

Also at Light Welterweight it needs to be said that Guzman's punch resistance may not be great and his power is very unlikely to be as hurtful as his record perhaps shows (he currently has a 57% KO rate as it is, so it's not hard to assume that some Light Welters would literally walk through him).

Whilst Guzman is well known by boxing fans, Russian Khabib Allakhverdiev is much more obscure despite having split his career between his native Russia and the USA (where he has surprisingly fought 8 times). The fact he has fought half his career in the US may well serve him well here.

Having been a professional since 2007 Allakhverdiev has swiftly but quietly risen up the rankings with both Ring (#6) and Boxrec (#8) ranking him highly. These rankings have been helped by a number of notable victories including a technical decision victory over Nate Campbell and stoppages over Ignacio Mendoza and Kaizer Mabuza, with the Mabuza victory being hugely impressive.

In terms of his style Allakhverdiev doesn't have the typical straight up Russian style that you may expect. He's got notable signs of his US based early career with a lot of movement, and some vicious body work, though appears to be a fighter who whilst skilled can be made to miss and a good skilled fighter would likely be able to make him pay for his defensive issues. However he hits a lot harder than his record shows and when he turns it on he is very fun to watch. In fact it's genuinely shocking that his KO rate is less than 50% with his power and aggression.

In terms of the actual bout, this really is an issue of just how much does Guzman have left in the tank? If Guzman is half the fighter he once was, he really could do a number on Allakhverdiev's jaw with sharp accurate counters, however if the former Super Bantamweight gets caught by Allakhverdiev's straight left hand he could well be in a world of pain, and with Guzman's age and slowing reactions that is a real possibility.

I'm guessing that Guzman just has enough to take this, but I do expect him to be in real problems at times as Allakhverdiev simply imposes himself for sections of the bout.

Prediction-Guzman Decision.

Friday 23 November 2012

Rendall Munroe v Scott Quigg

The "interim" WBA Super Bantamweight title is up for grabs on the undercard of Hatton v Senchenko as the unbeaten Scott Quigg (24-0-1, 17) rematches Rendall Munroe (24-2-1, 10). When these two men first met, some 5 months ago, their bout ended in disappointing fashion as Munroe, who was leading on 2 of the scorecards, suffered a nasty cut from a clash of heads causing a premature end to the bout in round 3.

Bury based banger Scott Quigg is the favourite going in to this bout, though many have been picking Munroe, due to the fact that Quigg isn't as good as the hype that surrounded him. Despite being a professional for 5 years Quigg has only really been fighting domestic opponents and although they were generally good domestic opponents, such as Jason Booth and Jamie Arthur neither were near world level when Quigg got to them. Worryingly however Arthur almost shocked Quigg and did drop the unbeaten man early in their fight.

Although powerful Quigg's boxing ability is very limited and he often makes very obvious mistakes with not only his defense but also his footwork, an issue from the fact that Quigg has come to boxing from a kick boxing background. So far many of his opponents have been unable to take advantage of those mistakes however Munroe did manage some very notable success when the two men first met. Despite this however Quigg, at distance, can be very effective with his power and natural size (he stands at a shocking 5'8"-huge for a Super Bantamweight).

Whilst Quigg has only mixed with domestic opponents, Munroe is much more experienced at the higher levels having scored victories over Kiko Martinez (twice), Simone Maludrottu and Victor Terrazas as well as losing in a 2010 WBC title tilt against Toshiaki Nishioka. As well as the experience edge he also has the better engine, and the more rounded package of skills, especially up close. However Munroe does have issues himself, notably that he's a slow starter, who often needs 3 or 4 rounds to really get going and that he's also not got fight changing power, instead needing to grind down opponents. However the biggest issue with Munroe is that he's 32 and has fought only 4 rounds in the last 14 months.


With this fight the big question is whether or not Quigg has the power and skills to keep Munroe off him. If Munroe is allowed to enforce his fight, set a high pace and work Quigg's body this could be a very hard night for the unbeaten fighter, however if Quigg can control the distance with his size and straight shots, something he tried in the first bout with mixed success, he could make this bout seem very easy.

For me I feel that Quigg will get the close rounds and just manage to nick a close decision, though at 12/5 I'll be having a small bet on Munroe hoping that his work rate will be rewarded on the score cards.

Prediction-Quigg Split Decision

Martin Murray v Jorge Navarro

With Ricky Hatton's big comeback fight against Vyacheslav Senchenko it'd be fair to assume that Hatton Promotions would have done things on the cheap, instead however they have 2 "world" titles. The most one sided of those, at least on paper, sees the talented Martin Murray (24-0-1, 10) facing Venezuelan Jorge Navarro (12-0, 10) for the WBA "interim" Middleweight title.

Sadly this fight looks a bit like a mismatch because not much is really known about Navarro, who, to say the least, is unknown. Despite his perfect record he hasn't really faced anyone of note, in fact his best opponent so far is Costa Rican Jaime Barboza, this makes it hard to gauge just how good he is. Worryingly however we do know that he was dropped by hard hitting journeyman Jhonatan Ricar. Whilst Ricar can hit hard he is limited and shouldn't have the type of skill to connect on a world class fighter.

As worrying as his competition, Navarro hasn't a great deal of experience. In fact he's only got 31 rounds of professional experience with 11 of those coming against Barboza and only 3 of his 12 fights have gone 3 or more rounds. As well as his inexperience as a fighter, he is also inexperienced at fighting abroad and so far has never fought outside of Latin America (with 10 fights in Panama and 2 in his native Venezuela).

Whilst Navarro is a bit of a mystery man, Englishman Martin Murray is generally considered to be one of the top 10 or so Middleweights in the world with rankings from Ring Magazine (#8) and Boxrec (#10) to back this up. Whilst Murray himself hasn't scored any massive wins, he was unlucky last year, in his most notable bout so far to only draw with German Felix Sturm.

As well as the result against Sturm, Murray holds notable victories over the likes of Carlos Nascimento, Shalva Jomardashvili and Siarhei Khomitski. All much more proven, and higher quality opponents than anyone Navarro has faced so far. With this in mind it's hard to see anything but a victory for Murray.

Although Murray's record doesn't show it, he's a hard working fighter who throws a solid amount of leather with a hurtful dig. His shots aren't concussive but they are nasty, especially to the body which I expect will be the key here as he looks to attack Navarro's body early on and drag the visitor in to the middle rounds before forcing a stoppage.

Prediction-Murray TKO7

Thursday 22 November 2012

Xiong Zhao Zhong v Javier Martinez Resendiz

This coming weekend marks an historic occasion in the boxing world as we will see the first ever world champion, at any weight, to be crowned in China as local favourite Xiong Zhao Zhong (19-4-1, 11) faces Mexican Javier Martinez Resendiz (13-3-2, 6) in a bout for the vacant WBC Minimumweight title. In fact it may well be fair to say that this is the biggest professional boxing contest to have ever taken place in China.

For Xiong, it's fair to say the pressure is really on his shoulders. At 30 years old Xiong may never get another chance to claim a world title, especially not in his homeland. Saying that however Xiong has fought at the world level before losing a close and competitive decision to Daisuke Naito for the WBC Flyweight title back in 2009.

Sadly despite being China's most famous professional boxer, Zhong is really not that good, certainly not matching his amateur counter-parts (such as Zou Shiming, Zhang Xiaoping and Zhang Zhilei). He's a decent fighter with out a doubt and has a solid punch on him, though his WBC "Silver" Light Flyweight title appears to be little more than a political move by the WBC to move into China's untapped market.

Zhong may have an issue here. Despite standing at a diminutive 4'11" he has never, to my knowledge, weighed inside the 105lbs Minimumweight limit and has actually been as high as 113lbs when he faced Japanese fighter Takuya Kogawa. If he can make 105lbs he could be a real handful, especially if he's 90% of the fighter he was when he faced faced both Naito and Kogawa (he gave both men a very hard time).

Zhong's co-challenger, Mexican, Resendiz is almost certainly being seen as a sacrificial lamb by the WBC however I wouldn't be surprised if Resendiz can upset the proverbial applecart. Firstly, as mentioned, Zhong isn't really that good. Just two fights ago Zhong was upset by Japanese Flyweight Shin Ono (14-5-2, 2) who had gone 2-3-2 going in to the fight.

Not only is Zhong not very good, but Resendiz is a tough fighter who hasn't been stopped in 18 fights so far, including a 10 rounder with current "interim" WBA World Minimumweight champion Jesus Silvestre. If Zhong can't dent him there is every chance that Resendiz can make him look as average as he is.

For me, being frankly honest, I think Resendiz will need a knock out to score a draw. This is the big "coming out party" of professional Chinese boxing and it'd take something shocking to happen for someone to piss on Jose Sulaiman's parade. I expect the fight to be close, even controversial but I simply do not see Zhong being denied if it goes to the cards.

Prediction-Zhong SD

Robert Guerrero v Andre Berto

This weekend Mexican American Robert Guerrero (30-1-1-2, 18) will be hoping to make the first defense of his WBC "interim" Welterweight title as he faces former champion Andre Berto (28-1, 22) in an interesting match up that will see both men asked a lot of questions.

Guerrero, 29, claimed the title just 4 months ago as he claimed a competitive but clear decision over Turkish hard hitter Selcuk Aydin and will now look to prove that he is one of the top dogs at 147lbs having moved up swiftly in recent years. In just 5 years we've seen Guerrero moving from Featherweight (where he was a 2-time IBF champion) all the way up to Welterweight, claiming some form of title at both Super Featherweight and Lightweight on his way up.

Although the champion is a relatively big guy for the weight at 5'8" and with a 70" reach he's certainly not a big guy in terms of power having failed to stop anyone of note above 130lbs (with his last notable stoppages come way back down at 126lbs). As well as his questionable power at Welterweight some also question Guerrero's durability at the weight. Whilst it's true that he has never been stopped in his 34 fight career he has been dropped and hurt, and seemed really hurt late in his fight against Aydin.

Whilst I'm certainly not sure of Guerrero's ability to match the best physically at Welterweight he certainly isn't with out his own positives. Firstly Guerrero is a very talented boxer, he's very good at using his reach and and getting off with his jab though his real asset is is work rate and speed, especially hand speed. Against Aydin, Guerrero looked lightening quick, especially early on as he landed combinations at will, and his boxing ability really looked to be a class or two better than the Turk.

Whilst I have a lot of questions about Guerrero's toughness and power at Welterweight, I have more questions about Andre Berto. Berto, a former IBF and WBC champion at Welterweight returns to the ring for the first time in over a year after failing a drugs test in preparation for a rematch with Victor Ortiz, the only man thus far to have defeated him. The questions about Berto are not just what will he be like after a year out, but also what mental questions are over his head following his failed drugs test?

Prior to the ban Berto was an exciting, though somewhat limited fighter. He was an explosive combination puncher who could unleash 5 or 6 punch combinations in a heart beat and although he often looked like he could be out boxed no one managed it, and it only took a gutsy performance by Ortiz back in April 2011 to decrown him in an hallacious war.

Despite being a career Welterweight, Berto is actually only a shade taller (1/2") than Guerrero and only has a minor reach advantage(also 1/2") and due to his love of throwing hooks Berto may actually leave him self to be out boxed at range despite having the longer reach. However if the bout takes place up close, Berto's explosiveness will be the difference maker.

The odds on this fight are very interesting with Berto a slight favourite (4/5) and I'd agree with that. There is a lot of questions over his return however if he is anything like the fighter he once was, I'd snap your hand off for Berto by T/KO as his power and speed are a big step up from Aydin's. If Berto has lingering issues however Guerrero could outbox him to a decision.

Prediction-Berto TKO7

Saturday 17 November 2012

Brian Viloria v Hernan Marquez

In the stand out match up of the weekend, if not the year, WBO Flyweight champion Brian Viloria (31-3-0-2, 18) faces hard hitting WBA Flyweight champion Hernan "Tyson" Marquez (34-2, 25) in a bout that oozes with quality on paper and in the mind. Whilst this may not be a high-profile mega fight in terms of the wider public, for boxing fans like myself this is something special, a real hardcore fans wet dream.

2000 US Olympian Brian Viloria has long been one of the sports most under-rated fighter. Aged 31 he knows that a loss now can derail a career that he has tried hard to rebuild after numerous set backs. Those setbacks however have helped develop the fighter that Viloria has become, they've helped cut out the mistakes, and issues that plagued Viloria through out his career and have genuinely helped him to become one of the premier fighters in the sport.

Viloria turned professional in 2001 after competing in the 2000 Olympic Games. Although Viloria failed to medal in the Games he had proven himself to be a top level amateur having won the World Amateur Championships in 1999. Since turning professional he has become one of the most exciting men in the little divisions with the ability to both bang and to box. Sadly however it's the fact he can do both which had been his issue as he's often found himself stuck between the two mindsets as opposed to showing off his skills at one, or the other.

Throughout his 11 year career Viloria has genuine been there done that. He has faced multiple current, former or future world champions. Those included two fights with Alberto Rossel (going 1-0-0-1 against Rossel) and one with Gilberto Keb Baas (going 1-0) as Viloria was climbing the rankings on the way to claiming his first world title in 2005 when he stopped Eric Ortiz for the WBC Light Flyweight title.

Sadly for Viloria his first title reign was short lived and after successfully defending his title once, out pointing Jose Antonio Aguirre, he would suffer his first loss being out-pointed by Omar Nino Romero. This loss started a dark part for Viloria who struggled in a rematch with Romero (a bout that was declared a no-contest after Romero failed a drugs test) and lost to Edgar Sosa. Those results saw Viloria going from unbeaten to 19-2-0-2 and a fighter who really was having major questions asked about how good he was.

Rather than sulking, Viloria took a step away from the big stage and fought in number of confidence building bouts, disappearing from the world stage for 2 years before reclaiming a world title by stopping Ulises Solis in 11 rounds. Again however, Viloria's reign as champion came to an untimely end as he lost in his second defense, being stopped by Carlos Tamara in the final round. This bout saw Viloria being left with a lot of questions as he appeared to blow his load and was clearly exhausted in the championship rounds prior to being stopped.

Since the loss to Tamara, Viloria has tried to correct his flaws. He's no-longer a fighter who can't choose what to do, he's instead molded the features of his game together. He's become a boxer-puncher, a fighter who can move and hit, but moves and hits hard. He no longer blows himself out, instead picking his shots carefully. This slight change in style has seen Viloria claiming the WBO Flyweight title and picking up wins over Julio Cesar Miranda (UD12), Giovani Segura (TKO8) and Omar Nino Romero (TKO9) as he goes into this bout with Marquez.

Although questions remain about Viloria's stamina, especially late on, he appears to have slowed down slightly in recent bouts, using better ring control and a more controlled pace to win bouts. He no longer goes for broke when he has an opponent hurt, something he did in the past and instead boxes to find opportunities to land his power shots. Despite his record, suggesting he's only an average puncher, Viloria hits hard, he hits clean and he can hurt anyone in the Flyweight division, though the big question is whether or not he can do it if forced to fight at a high tempo.

Of course this fight isn't all about Viloria but also about WBA champion Hernan Marquez. Hailing from Mexico, the Southpaw, known as "Tyson" is also a fighter who has come back from adversity and losses to build up a real reputation as one of the monsters of the lighter divisions.

Aged just 24, Marquez has a lot of time to come back from a loss, however he'll not be thinking about that going going in to this fight. Instead the hard hitting and thoroughly exciting youngster will be thinking that this is his opportunity to make a real name for himself. Despite his age, Marquez has been a professional for over 7 years and is hugely experienced for someone so young with 161 rounds behind and the same amount of fights as Viloria has (though Viloria does have many, many more rounds under his belt).

Marquez started his career with 27 straight wins, albeit it mostly against limited opposition, before losing twice in 2010. The first of those loses, a minor upset, came against Filipino Richie Mepranum who was simply too active for an off colour Marquez who was fighting outside of his native Mexico for the first time. Just months later Marquez would lose again, this time being stopped by Nonito Donaire, again outside of his homeland in a WBA "interim" world title bout at Super Flyweight.

Since those two losses Marquez has rebuilt his career well running up 7 successive wins, including his first outside of Mexico, where he beat Luis Concepcion for the WBA Flyweight title in a real tear up. As well as defending his title twice (stopping Luis Concepcion again and stopping Edrin Dapudong) Marquez has also earned revenge over Richie Mepranum in those recent wins.

In terms of his style Marquez is a warrior with a nasty mean streak and really hurtful power. He is not only a hard hitting brawler but he is actually an under-rated boxer who has a solid defense and when he gets tagged he knows how to fight back, as he showed in the first bout with Concepcion. He can fight at a high pace if needed and will certainly look to dictate the pace against Viloria however he may not be able to ask the questions about Viloria's stamina with the fact he himself, has never been 12 rounds. Going into this bout, Marquez will certainly feel like he's the puncher and will want to set off at a high pace trying to force the bout into a war from the off, if he can do this he may feel he can break down Viloria.

On paper this is a bit of a brawler v boxer type of match up. Sure both men are very talented and both can bang but though it's a matter of who can control the pace and distance of the bout. If Marquez can make it a war early on he may face his chances of breaking down Viloria as he did to Concepcion in their first bout. In fact if Marquez can force Viloria to fight at a high tempo he could even come on strong and copy what Carlos Tamara did to Viloria. If instead Viloria can control the distance and fight at a slower, more controlled pace he should be able to take a clear decision. Wonderfully however their is a third option, and the option that I think many fans are hoping for, both guys will meet each other in the centre of the ring and unload on each other in a test of intestinal fortitude. If we get the third option, well, anything could happen.

I tend to feel that Viloria's superior boxing will be the difference here, but don't expect him to win with out at least a few hairy moments.

Prediction-Viloria UD

Friday 16 November 2012

Antonio DeMarco v Adrien Broner

This weekend sees rising American Adrien Broner (24-0, 20) looks to claim a second divisional title as he faces WBC Lightweight champion Antonio DeMarco (28-2-1, 21) in a bout that really stands out as a very promising bout and one that could go either way, despite the ridiculous betting odds. Despite being the challenger and moving up a weight Broner is a very prohibitive 1/7 favourite, a huge surprise for me.

Broner, a very confident 23 year old American, is a very stylish fighter who may come across as arrogant but is being guided to being an American superstar of the future. He may be better known for his trademark hair brushing, his loud mouth and his outspoken nature however he is certainly a solid fighter with very good hand speed and a solid (though not amazing) defense.

As a fighter Broner has been around since 2008 though really started to come to prominence in 2011 thanks to a very controversial victory over former WBO Bantamweight (and current WBC Featherweight) champion Daniel Ponce De Leon. In that bout the scorecard of Tony Crebs (99-91-Broner) was heavily criticised as Ponce brought the fight and the action and actually out landed Broner in 5 of the bouts 10 rounds. Since then however Broner's career has rocketed with successive early victories over Jason Litzau, Vicente Martin Rodriguez, Eloy Perez and Vicente Escobedo, with the victory over Rodriguez earning Broner the WBO Super Featherweight title. Sadly despite those wins it's fair to say they have generally come against smaller men.

Last time out Broner stopped Vicente Escobedo, though was stripped on the scales for weighing well over the Super Featherweight limit, a move that effectively forced him to move to Lightweight. Surprisingly however there was talk of Broner skipping straight to Welterweight to face current WBC "interim" champion Robert Guerrero.

In terms of his style Broner is a "poor man's Floyd Mayweather Jr" he often employs the shoulder roll though gets tagged and whilst he's a strong fast kid he is also technically flawed and has less than great work rate. Saying this however he rarely looks to be stunned and often walks through shots of his opponents as he comes forward with out ever looking in trouble.

Whilst Broner has been picking off smaller men, DeMarco has been making his name as one of the top warriors at Lightweight thanks to several notable victories despite rarely really getting credit for them.

The 26 year old Mexican has been a professional since 2004. After running off an 8 fight winning streak he suffered his first loss as Anthony Vasquez scored an upset decision over DeMarco. A few fights after suffering his first loss, DeMarco's progress was again slowed as Curtis Meeks scored a draw with him.

Since those marks against him, DeMarco has grown as a fighter and scored 17 wins from his subsequent 18 bouts. Included in those victories were stoppages over the likes of Almazbek Raiymkulov (AKA Kid Diamond), Anges Adjaho, Jose Alfaro, Jorge Linares and most recently a 1 round blow out of John Molina (back in September). Against those victories is a solitary stoppage loss to infamous Edwin Valero back in 2010.

Style wise DeMarco is a pretty typical brawler. He's teak tough (genuinely teak tough), he's crude, he's wild and he's a hard hitter. Whilst he can be made to look silly by a good boxer, as Jorge Linares did he's, he's not a fighter who's going to go away and he's also not a fighter who slows down. He has real heart and the ability to stop fighters in any round with his heavy hands and great finishing instincts.

Whilst Broner is certainly the better boxer here, no question about it, the fact he has fought just 13 rounds in his last 4 fights and the fact that DeMarco is naturally a bigger man than the men Broner has been facing makes this a thoroughly interesting bout. For me it's a 50-50 match up with Broner either taking a decision by boxing or DeMarco getting a tired Broner late in the fight, dragging him in to a war and stopping him late. Broner certainly has the skills to win and make it look easy however I'll go out on a limb and go with DeMarco with a late stoppage proving, for the second time in a little over a year that we shouldn't write off DeMarco despite how crude he is.

Prediction-DeMarco TKO11

Roman Gonzalez v Juan Francisco Estrada

Nicaraguan Roman Gonzalez (33-0, 28) seeks to make the 5th defense of his WBA Light Flyweight this coming weekend as he faces once beaten Mexican Juan Francisco Estrada (22-1, 18) in what promises to be an explosive encounter on Showtime.

For my money, Gonzalez (otherwise known as El Chocolatito), is one of the sports true premier level fighters. Although he's generally over-looked by the sport's casual fans the hardcore fan know all about the super skilled, powerful, fast and aggressive Gonzalez who at times looks genuinely unbeatable. In fact in a career spanning 7 years Gonzalez has only been involved in 1 close bout (a majority decision win over Francisco Rosas).

Starting as a teenager, Gonzalez's rise to the top was swift. Within 2 years of his professional debut he had already earned high rankings at both Light Flyweight and Minimumweight thanks to wins over notable opponents including Eriberto Gejon, Miguel Tellez and Jose Luis Varela. Just a year later however Gonzalez showed his class at world level widely out pointing Yutaka Niida for the WBA Minimumweight title to claim his first world title.

As the WBA Minimumweight champion, Gonzalez made 3 title defenses beating Francisco Rosas (as mentioned above), Katsunari Takayama and Ivan Meneses before moving up to Light Flyweight. At Light Flyweight, Gonzalez looked even more dominating, stopping Francisco Rosas in 2 rounds for the interim WBA Light Flyweight title.

After Juan Carlos Reveco moved from Light Flyweight to Flyweight, Gonzalez's title was upgraded from the interim to the regular title. Since then Gonzalez has scored 6 successive victories, including 4 title defenses in which he has beaten Manuel Vargas, Omar Salado, Omar Soto and Ramon Garcia Hirales, all credible challengers.

If Floyd Mayweather Jr is the best defensive fighter in the sport right now then I'd be tempted to say that Gonzalez is the best offensive fighter in the sport right now. The Nicaraguan rarely loses more than a round, he's supremely confident in not only his abilities (which are amazing) but also his durability, often enjoying a war and his power (which suits him well during a war). I dare say that to beat Gonzalez you need to be a bit of a tank who can take one to land one or you manage to land a lucky bomb on Gonzalez when he leaps in on the offensive. In fact the way Gonzalez can leap in at times is pretty much his only real flaw, thankfully however very few fighter can make him pay for this mistake.

Whilst Gonzalez is a known quantity it's fair to say that Mexican challenger Juan Francisco Estrada is much less well known. Despite having been in 23 bouts as a professional, Estrada has only faced a handful of known opponents including current IBF Super Flyweight champion, who out pointed Estrada in 2011 and Filipino Ardin Diale who was stopped in 2 rounds. Those two aside however Estrada lacks the sort of wins to really know what he's made of.

What we do know about the 22 year old "El Gallo" is that he's a hard hitter, at least at the lower levels. He can dig to the body or the head and although not the most skilled he's not a fighter that many will want to get into a war with. He's never been stopped, though has been down (dropped by Sanchez) however he's admittedly never been in with someone approaching Gonzalez's level of power, speed, combinations of spitefulness.

In all honestly I'd be shocked if Gonzalez did anything other than made a statement. He'll be looking to finish this and finish it early, and it's probably fair to say Estrada has been brought in as the opponent to allow Gonzalez to look good. Expect this to be a fun war though one that Gonzalez's all round game will dominate.

Prediction: Gonzalez TKO5

Wednesday 14 November 2012

Carl Froch v Yusuf Mack

IBF Super Middleweight champion Carl Froch (29-2, 21) looks to make the first defense of his title as he faces voluntary challenger Yusuf Mack (31-4-2, 17) in what appears to be little more than a stay busy fight in front of him home town fans. In fact it will be Froch's first home title defense since he defended the WBC title back in 2009 against Andre Dirrell.

At the start of the year many were thinking that Froch was a fighter on the slide. He had faced a who's who of stiff competition since December 2008 and had taken numerous shots from solid punchers including Jean Pascal, Jermaine Taylor, Mikkel Kessler and Glen Johnson. Despite his fights against the divisional elite, it was the fight, in December 2011 with Andre Ward, that perhaps cast the most doubt on Froch's future as Ward outboxed, out fought and out muscled the Englishman.

After the loss to Ward many expected Froch to only fight once or twice more, though earlier this year he-revitalised his career with a stunning victory over the previously unbeaten Romanian-Canadian Lucien Bute, stopping Bute in the 5th round to claim the IBF title. Against Bute, Froch looked like a fighter who wanted to prove that he had a lot left in the tank and those who had been writing him off, had been doing so far too early. He looked determined and like a fighter who had had enough of the critics really dominating Bute.

At his best Froch is an aggressive and powerful boxer-puncher (though more puncher than boxer) who is incredibly durable, having only been down once as a professional and capable of hurting almost anyone in the division. He's an unorthodox fighter who throws from some very unusual angles and often fights with low hands allowing his durability and heart to keep him upright, though, he does manage to ride punches surprisingly well.

Aged 35 Froch may be on the slide, though his performance against Bute didn't show the age or wear and tear expected of a fighter who has been in the matches Froch has been in. He's a fighter who is always full of confidence and with his home crowd roaring him on it's hard to see "The Cobra" not try to put on a show.

In Yusuf Mack who have a fighter who has sadly found his level and it's on the fringes of being a genuine title contender. He's a talented fighter who can genuinely beat most in the division. In fact wins over the likes of Daniel Judah, Chris Henry, Otis Griffin and Omar Sheika (although a very shaded Sheika) all suggest that Mack is a fighter who deserves a decent, top 15 or so ranking in the division (interestingly Boxrec do rank Mack at #15).

Sadly whilst Mack has scored noteworthy wins, he has lost in the most notable bouts of his career, with all 4 of his losses coming by T/KO. So far Alejandro Berrio, Librado Andrade, Glen Johnson and Tavoris Cloud have all beaten him, and all those losses have been between rounds 6-8. Rather worthy of of a note however was that at times, he was out boxing Cloud before Clouds pressure told and he was broken down.

Mack at heart is a decent fighter though sadly he's also very flawed and not just in his durability. His stamina is questionable and he does fade in the middle and later rounds of fights, he also lacks the power needed to made a dent on world class fighters (despite having dropped the iron chinned Librado Andrade).

With Mack's limitations and Froch's aggressiveness and power, I can't help but imagine that Froch will end this one relatively early. I'd be shocked if this goes beyond 8 rounds, with Froch beating down on Mack. Mack hasn't got the speed, strength or engine to stay away from Froch for long.

Prediction-Froch by TKO round 6.

Saturday 10 November 2012

Abner Mares v Anselmo Moreno

This weekend's stand out fight in the world of boxing sees the unbeaten Mexican Abner Mares (24-0-1, 13) attempt to defend his WBC Super Bantamweight title against the supremely talented Panamanian Anselmo Moreno (33-1-1, 12). Whilst neither man is a massive name outside of boxing, every boxing fan knows that these two are two genuinely elite fighters, both meeting in their prime.

Mares goes into this fight as the slight betting favourite and probably with good reason, he's the "house" fighter, the Golden Boy Promotions fighter and the one seen as a marketable fighter, especially with the Mexican audiences. However it's unfair to actually view this as the only reason why Mares would win. In fact Mares is a very hard working fighter, who throws relentless to both the head and body, he's young, he's strong and he's relentless. Also he's quickly improving.

Mares first came to the attention of most boxing fans back in 2010 when he pushed the then IBF Bantamweight champion Yonnhy Perez to a very hard fought draw. Following the Perez bout, Mares become one of the 4 men involved in Showtimes' 4-man Bantamweight tournament, a tournament Mares would come out the winner of thanks to victories over Vic Darchinyan and Joseph Agbeko. Despite beating both Darchinyan and Agbeko, many were unimpressed by Mares who had been lucky to win both fights with some favourable officiating (especially by Pat Russell in the Agbeko fight).

Thankfully for Mares he showed real character and had a rematch with Agbeko, clearly defeating the tough Ghanian and making up for the controversy of their first match. Since then he has moved to Super Bantamweight where he defeated veteran Eric Morel for the then vacant WBC Super Bantamweight title.

As a fighter Mares is fun to watch, he throws some of the best combinations in the sport and really makes for exciting fights. Whilst he has a reputation as a bit of a ball breaker (literally) he's actually a very talented fighter and someone who would genuinely give anyone in and around 122lbs a hard night. Saying this however he can be out boxed as Joseph Agbeko showed in their first match and even Vic Darchinyan showed at points. It's fair to say that unless you have real KO power and a high work rate, a war with Mares is a bad idea as that's his fight.

On the same card as Mares' rematch with Agbeko we saw a new star born as Anselmo Moreno put on a boxing masterclass against former Mares opponent Vic Darchinyan. In the bout Moreno really opened the worlds eyes to his sensational talent as he made Vic look like a clueless, raw amateur. To those watching Moreno for the first time, this was a sensational performance, for those who had seen Moreno in the past however it was a case of "told you so".

Despite the Darchinyan fight being the "coming out party" for Moreno, he's actually been one of the best fighters for the last 3 or 4 years. In fact Moreno first claimed a world title, the WBA Bantamweight title, way back in 2008 as he out pointed the previously unbeaten Volodymyr Sydorenko in Germany. Since winning that title Moreno has faced a relative who's who including Sydorenko in a rematch, Mahyar Monshipour, Nehomar Cermeno (twice), Lorenzo Parra, Vic Darchinyan and most recently David De La Mora. Often facing those top fighters away from home.

In terms of his style the 27 year old Panamanian is slippery to say the least. He moves wonderfully well, using his jab to keep opponents at range whilst breaking opponents mentally. Although his work rate is often limited he's a fighter who can genuinely frustrate any opponent as they swing and miss time and time again, tiring them out with just his defensive prowess. This has lead to many fight fans referring to him as a modern day Pernell Whittaker, huge praise indeed.

In his most recent fight, Moreno proved not only to be a slippery fighter but also a spiteful fighter as he gave the unfortunate David De La Mora a real beating, hammering away at De La Mora's body and head and really proving that not only was there a gulf in class but that he could really hurt opponents. Though it's worth noting that this isn't the first time Moreno has shown that he's spiteful, it was an eye catching performance against someone who gave Koki Kameda a real nightmare.

What we have here is a very hard working and aggressive pressure fighter (Mares) against a very slippery counter-puncher (Moreno) in what really does look on paper to be an enthralling battle of both styles, fighters and minds. If Mares can apply constant pressure and have success with his body attack he could very easily slow the legs of Moreno and make the bout easy for himself. Like wise if Moreno can keep just movement going and make Mares miss then a tiring Mares could be there for the taking late, or even get Mares frustrated to the point he does something illegal.

Of those two, I favour Moreno by a close decision, it'll be competitive through out but Moreno, for my money, just has that extra bit of class. Do not be shocked however if the cards favour Mares under-controversial circumstances.

Prediction- Moreno UD12

Friday 9 November 2012

Wladimir Klitschko v Mariusz Wach

Heavyweight kingpin Wladimir Klitschko (58-3, 50) will look to make yet another successful defense of his world titles, including the Ring Magazine, WBA "super", WBO and IBF as he faces unbeaten Pole Mariusz Wach (27-0, 15) in an interesting battle of the giants.

Although Wach is unbeaten he is the big under-dog going in to this fight, however some are tipping the Pole to shock the world. I myself can't see it, however it is fair to say that Wach is likely to be Wladimir's biggest challenge in quite some time, in fact at over 6'7" it's fair to say Wach is one of the biggest challenges in the division, period.

With his huge height and unbeaten record Wach does make for an interesting proposition for Klitschko. Then when you also factor in things such as the fact Wach is young than Wladimir by 4 years and also has a marginally bigger reach (82" to Wladimir's 81") it's little a little wonder that some are favouring Wach. Sadly however Wach isn't as good as his record looks and so far, in a career dating back to 2005, Wach hasn't scored a a really major win, instead feasting on club fighters like Kevin McBride and Tye Fields. In fact it's fair to say that Wach's best win to date is over Jason Gavern, not a world level fighter.

Despite the fact Wach hasn't faced anyone near world level, he has shown solid power, especially in recent bouts. In fact despite his record only showing a 55% KO rate he has stopped his last 7 opponents dating back to April 2009 including scoring eye catching KO's over both McBride and Christian Hammer.

Sadly despite seemingly developing his punch power, Wach is slow, he's clumsy and his over-all skills are limited, to say the least. Other than his size it's fair to say there is little to really but shocked by.

Like the challenger, the champion, Wladimir Klitschko is tall, however Klitschko is much, much more than just a tall Heavyweight. As we all know Wladimir is arguably the hardest puncher in the sport with his straight right hand being genuinely deadly, he also posses an excellent, fight controlling jab and whilst he's not got the aggression of some of the most memorable Heavyweights out there he is incredibly hard to beat.

The long standing feeling over Klitschko is that he's chinny and easily beatable as a result, however he's managed to go unbeaten in over 8 years and won no less than 13 title fights in that period. Not only has he been winning, but he's been beating the top guys in the division such as Chris Byrd, Samuel Peter, Sultan Ibragimov, Ruslan Chagaev, Eddie Chambers and of course the supposed saviour of the division David Haye.

I can't help but think that Klitschko is going to have a bit of a field day with Wach. Wach may be able to, whack (excuse the pun) but Klitschko is able to do a bit more than just punch, so I imagine he'll box, manage to use his superior foot work and get off on Wach in a cautious bout. I think it will start really slowly but Wladimir will manage to detonate his right hand in the middle rounds and Wach will topple. Don't expect this to be exciting, but expect it to be...interesting.

Sadly however, as we all know, Wladimir Klitschko's long term trainer Emmanuel Steward passed away recently. This will be the first time Klitschko will fight with out Steward in a number of years, and hopefully this won't get to Wladimir. As we all know, Wladimir was re-invented under Steward and hopefully this won't see Wlad forgetting the teachings of his much missed mentor.

Prediction: Klitschko KO8