In this weekends most overlooked fight once beaten Colombian Luis De La Rosa (21-1-1, 12) faces undefeated Filipino Merlito Sabillo (20-0, 10) in a bout over the WBO interim Minimumweight title. Although neither fighter is a big name both are well regarded by those in the know with several feeling that either man is there or there abouts in the top 10.
With this fight being in Colombia home star Luis De La Rosa must start the bout as the favourite despite having suffered a loss. In fact now I've mentioned that loss it's worth noting that it came by split decision against the hugely talented Raul Garcia back in 2010, in a bout that saw Garcia dropped in early in the bout. Although not a massive puncher it's fair to say that De La Rosa hits hard as Garcia isn't a fighter who goes down easily.
Sadly aside from Garcia it's hard to see another recognisable fighter on De La Rosa's ledger as he's faced a long string of nobodies since turning professional in 2006, although he did claim the Colombian Light Flyweight title back in 2010.
As well as the loss, De La Rosa has suffered a draw, a 4 round draw early in his career to the then debuting Stiven Monterrosa who recently got flatten by Roman Gonzalez. Other than that he's been a winner in all of his bouts, though he was taken close by journeyman Alfonso De la Hoz (who's record is a who's who of South America boxing).
Whilst De La Rosa will be in front of his home fans the hardcore boxing fans may well favour the Filipino challenger to come away with the title belt. Sabillo, like De La Rosa, has generally faced limited opposition though he has scored noteworthy wins over the likes of Jonathan Refugio to defend the OPBF Minimumweight title and Jetly Purisima for the Filipino title. Sure they aren't world names but they are decent enough fighters to test a fighters ability against.
From the footage of Sabillo he looks a very big guy for Minimumweight (he stands around 5'4") and looks very good fighting from a southpaw stance with a nice array of punches and a patient style despite often coming forward.
If the fight was in a neutral venue I'd have gone with Sabillo, though with it being in Colombia you need to favour the home fighter. Expect the fight to be close and go to a decision before the home fighter claims a close and probably controversial decision.
Prediction-De La Rosa via decision
Showing posts with label Colombia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Colombia. Show all posts
Thursday, 7 March 2013
Friday, 15 February 2013
Alejandro Lopez v Jonathan Romero
In arguably the forgotten fight of the weekend we see Mexican Alejandro Lopez (24-2, 7) face off against promising Colombian Jonathan Romero (22-0, 12) for the vacant IBF Super Bantamweight title that was given up recently by Nonito Donaire. Although the bout may like star power, it promises to be a great fight between two guys who will be wanting to throw their hats in to the ring to face the Donaire v Rigondeaux winner.
As the home fighter Lopez will be the slight favourite and in all honesty it's probably fair to say that he has the slight better wins having defeated both Teon Kennedy and Takalani Ndlovu though like wise he also has the notable losses. In fact it's probably fair to say that Lopez's losses say more about him than his wins as he has been beaten by both Jorge Diaz (who dropped Lopez twice) and the relatively unknown Aaron Garcia.
Aside from the losses Lopez has generally looked good, not great but good. He has scored wins in both his native Mexico as well as the US though his key issues are his lack of power which will see him taken the distance time and time again, in fact from his 26 bouts Lopez has gone 142 rounds, an average of 5.46 rounds a bout. Equally as telling is the fact he has gone 46 rounds in his last 5 bouts over the space of 24 months, things like that can age a fighter quickly and despite "only" being 25 Lopez may suddenly feel the accumulation of rounds that he's having to go through.
Whilst Lopez arguably has the better wins it's unfair to suggest that talented former Colombian amateur stand out Jonathan Romero hasn't himself scored notable wins, in fact Romero has defeated both Chris Avalos and Efrain Esquivias in recent bouts both in the US as he's started to make a name for himself. Unlike Lopez, Romero is unbeaten and will go in to the bout with an air of extra confidence, despite being the visiting fighter.
Like Lopez, Romero isn't a big hitter, he's a hurtful puncher but not a big hitter having only stopped a little over half of his opponents so far. This has meant that, like Lopez, Romero has been getting a lot of miles on the clock in recent fights, in fact Romero, who has fought 8 times since the start of 2011 has amassed 59 rounds in a little over 2 years. Whilst this is a lot of rounds Romero's 107 rounds from 22 fights is actually less than 5 rounds a bout so far and his high level of activity was done to try and race him up the rankings for an opportunity like this.
If this was at a neutral venue I'd favour Romero who for me is the stronger fighter and also the more well schooled, despite this I feel that Lopez's home crowd may well help him give an extra 10% and narrowly claim a controversial decision in a thoroughly interesting bout that will sadly pass under the radar. In all honesty however it doesn't matter who wins, neither man will be seen as a genuinely top tier fighter at 122lbs until they score another notable victory in a title defense.
Prediction-Lopez by decision
As the home fighter Lopez will be the slight favourite and in all honesty it's probably fair to say that he has the slight better wins having defeated both Teon Kennedy and Takalani Ndlovu though like wise he also has the notable losses. In fact it's probably fair to say that Lopez's losses say more about him than his wins as he has been beaten by both Jorge Diaz (who dropped Lopez twice) and the relatively unknown Aaron Garcia.
Aside from the losses Lopez has generally looked good, not great but good. He has scored wins in both his native Mexico as well as the US though his key issues are his lack of power which will see him taken the distance time and time again, in fact from his 26 bouts Lopez has gone 142 rounds, an average of 5.46 rounds a bout. Equally as telling is the fact he has gone 46 rounds in his last 5 bouts over the space of 24 months, things like that can age a fighter quickly and despite "only" being 25 Lopez may suddenly feel the accumulation of rounds that he's having to go through.
Whilst Lopez arguably has the better wins it's unfair to suggest that talented former Colombian amateur stand out Jonathan Romero hasn't himself scored notable wins, in fact Romero has defeated both Chris Avalos and Efrain Esquivias in recent bouts both in the US as he's started to make a name for himself. Unlike Lopez, Romero is unbeaten and will go in to the bout with an air of extra confidence, despite being the visiting fighter.
Like Lopez, Romero isn't a big hitter, he's a hurtful puncher but not a big hitter having only stopped a little over half of his opponents so far. This has meant that, like Lopez, Romero has been getting a lot of miles on the clock in recent fights, in fact Romero, who has fought 8 times since the start of 2011 has amassed 59 rounds in a little over 2 years. Whilst this is a lot of rounds Romero's 107 rounds from 22 fights is actually less than 5 rounds a bout so far and his high level of activity was done to try and race him up the rankings for an opportunity like this.
If this was at a neutral venue I'd favour Romero who for me is the stronger fighter and also the more well schooled, despite this I feel that Lopez's home crowd may well help him give an extra 10% and narrowly claim a controversial decision in a thoroughly interesting bout that will sadly pass under the radar. In all honesty however it doesn't matter who wins, neither man will be seen as a genuinely top tier fighter at 122lbs until they score another notable victory in a title defense.
Prediction-Lopez by decision
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