After 2013 closed with 2 Super Featherweight title fights it may come as a surprise to some that 2014 begins with another title fight in the same division, this time for the IBF title as champion Argenis Mendez (21-2-1, 11) looks to make the second defense of his title.
Mendez, a defensively smart though occasionally lazy fighter from the Dominican Republic, came perilously close to losing his title last time out in an excellent encounter with Arash Usmanee. Unfortunately for Mendez he did what he so often does and failed to put forward an effort for 3 minutes of every round. When he did work he looked sensational but all to often he let Usmanee work hard and mark rounds close.
At his best Mendez is one of the best counter punchers in the sport. He is capable of standing his ground, blocking and slipping shots before landing his own counters in return, often with interest on them. This power of Mendez's was seen in style when he won the title last year stopping Juan Carlos Salgado.
Mendez will be fighting against talented Cuban Rances Barthelemy (19-0, 12), a rangy and skilled boxer-puncher who, like Mendez, can look incredible one moment and second rate the next.
Although a Cuban Barthelemy doesn't have the super skills of some of his compatriots, he's well schooled but not that touch of genuine genius that you see in Guillermo Rigondeaux, Erislandy Lara or even Yuriorkis Gamboa. When he gets going however he's incredibly good with solid defense and good rangy punches.
It's those rangy punches that Barthelemy will need to make good use of as he has 2" advantage in both height and reach. If he allows Mendez to get close then the champion will slip shots and come back with intelligent and sharp counters that will genuine dictate the fight. Although 2" isn't a huge advantage it's something that he'll need to make use of.
The biggest advantage for Mendez isn't his more complete boxing skills but for me it's his better level of competition. The Dominican has fought the likes of Martin Honorio, Juan Carlos Salgado and Cassius Baloyi all of whom are more proven than Barthelemy. If Mendez can use that experience to his benefit I imagine he'll manage to come out on what I view as a very competitive bout.
Although I view Mendez as the favourite I'd advise gamblers to have a small, bet on Barthelemy who looks to be great value at 15/8.
Prediction-Mendez SD12
Showing posts with label Cuban. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cuban. Show all posts
Friday, 3 January 2014
Wednesday, 4 December 2013
Erislandy Lara v Austin Trout
The Light Middleweight division is rather odd. At the top we have a part-time Light Middleweight in Floyd Mayweather Jr, somewhere below him we have Saul Alvarez and Miguel Cotto, two of the biggest draws in the sport. Then comes a lot of fighters looking to make a name for themselves. This includes fighters like Carlos Molina, Bryan Rose, Demetrius Andrade, Vanes Martirosyan, Akinori Watanabe and two men who fight each other this Saturday.
Those two men are Austin Trout (26-1, 14), a former WBA Light Middleweight champion, and Cuban Erislandy Lara (18-1-2, 12), the current WBA interim Light Middleweight champion. Unsurprisingly, having read they have both have links the WBA title, it should come as no shock that this bout will be for the vacant WBA title, allowing Lara the chance to upgrade his title and allowing Trout to regain his old belt.
This is, on paper, one of those true 50-50 match ups. This is reflected in the odds which narrowly favour Trout at this time of writing., though it genuinely nip and tuck ion the odds.
In terms of the fighters they are both very talented boxers, who can counter excellently, neither is amazing on the front foot but bother are great pure-boxers.
Lara is probably the better all-rounder and the better man on the front foot. He's very dangerous southpaw who has questionable durability having twice been down against Alfredo Angulo though did show a fighters heart to come back in that fight and eventually stop Angulo really messing up his eye in the process. In terms of what he has over Trout he definitely seems to hit harder and also probably has the edge in terms of speed and over-all experience having previously had a very long amateur record.
Staying on Lara for a second, many feel he should have won the only fight he lost, a controversial decision against Paul Williams, but then again many felt he was beaten by Carlos Molina. Factoring both of them in his record should probably stand at 19-1-1.
Trout on the other hand suffered his only loss last time out dropping a decision to Saul Alvarez. Although the judges had that fight all but decided after 8 rounds Trout was certainly not dominated and gave Canelo one of his toughest bouts. What Trout has proven capable of is controlling the distance with his jab and movement, and although he doesn't tend to score many stoppages he does seem to get opponents respect when he connects.
Unfortunately for Trout he's giving away several inches in reach here and with both men having capable speed this will see his jab neutralised by that of Lara. If the jab of Trout's can't help him establish distance and his power can't earn him the respect of Lara then this will be a very hard to win. I think Trout will try hard and try several game plans but at the end of it he'll be a clear loser at the end of the day. His effort however will see him given another shot somewhere down the line and he'll remain relevant despite a loss.
Prediction-Lara UD12
Those two men are Austin Trout (26-1, 14), a former WBA Light Middleweight champion, and Cuban Erislandy Lara (18-1-2, 12), the current WBA interim Light Middleweight champion. Unsurprisingly, having read they have both have links the WBA title, it should come as no shock that this bout will be for the vacant WBA title, allowing Lara the chance to upgrade his title and allowing Trout to regain his old belt.
This is, on paper, one of those true 50-50 match ups. This is reflected in the odds which narrowly favour Trout at this time of writing., though it genuinely nip and tuck ion the odds.
In terms of the fighters they are both very talented boxers, who can counter excellently, neither is amazing on the front foot but bother are great pure-boxers.
Lara is probably the better all-rounder and the better man on the front foot. He's very dangerous southpaw who has questionable durability having twice been down against Alfredo Angulo though did show a fighters heart to come back in that fight and eventually stop Angulo really messing up his eye in the process. In terms of what he has over Trout he definitely seems to hit harder and also probably has the edge in terms of speed and over-all experience having previously had a very long amateur record.
Staying on Lara for a second, many feel he should have won the only fight he lost, a controversial decision against Paul Williams, but then again many felt he was beaten by Carlos Molina. Factoring both of them in his record should probably stand at 19-1-1.
Trout on the other hand suffered his only loss last time out dropping a decision to Saul Alvarez. Although the judges had that fight all but decided after 8 rounds Trout was certainly not dominated and gave Canelo one of his toughest bouts. What Trout has proven capable of is controlling the distance with his jab and movement, and although he doesn't tend to score many stoppages he does seem to get opponents respect when he connects.
Unfortunately for Trout he's giving away several inches in reach here and with both men having capable speed this will see his jab neutralised by that of Lara. If the jab of Trout's can't help him establish distance and his power can't earn him the respect of Lara then this will be a very hard to win. I think Trout will try hard and try several game plans but at the end of it he'll be a clear loser at the end of the day. His effort however will see him given another shot somewhere down the line and he'll remain relevant despite a loss.
Prediction-Lara UD12
Guillermo Rigondeaux v Joseph Agbeko
When we talk about pure boxers two men really stand out right now. One is Floyd Mayweather Jr, one of the greatest in recent memory, the other is Cuban sensation Guillermo Rigondeaux (12-0, 8, the current WBA "super" and WBO Super Bantamweight champion.
Unfortunately pure boxing, as George Foreman once observed, "The better it is, the less people appreciate it". This seems to be the case with Rigondeaux who at times makes boxing look so effortless and easy. Unfortunately however when he makes it look so simple it's easy to see why people don't appreciate it. What's the point in dominating if you can't also put on a show. Boxing whether we like it or not is a business and if you bore fans you can expect to be forgotten.
Following his fight with Nonito Donaire many felt it could be a very long time before saw Rigondeaux back in action. It's been a while I'll admit, some 8 months almost, since that fight but this weekend sees Rigondeaux returning to action as he attempts to defend both of his belts against Ghana's Joseph Agbeko (29-4, 22), a former 2-time IBF Bantamweight champion himself.
When it comes to Rigondeaux he can do everything. He makes fights, like I said, look simple. He slows down the pace when he wants, he lands every punch in the book, he makes other fighters look stupid and is a complete in the ring. Like all geniuses however he can get bored easily and as a result he can get tagged. His negativity can cause even the great man himself to get bored of things and it often seems that either Rigondeaux will destroy an opponent or get get bored of putting on a masterclass.
Agbeko doesn't have those same tricks as Rigondeaux. He's much less a skillster and more of a rough and tough type of fighter. That's not to say he lacks skills but he's more about strength and toughness than the sweet science.
Sadly for Agbeko the toughness and strength he had at 118lbs is unlikely to carry up that well at 122lbs, especially considering he's almost 34 years old and has fought just once the last 24 months. In all honesty the toughness and drive of Agbeko seemed to be leaving him in his most recent notable bout, a clear decision loss to Abner Mares.
With Rigondeaux's power, speed and technique it's hard not to see him landing crisp, clean shots on to the chin of Agbeko, eventually forcing a stoppage of the brave Ghanian who will be left chasing shadows prior to the stoppage. Rigondeaux will know that this is a fight that he needs to make an impression in and that's exactly what he will do.
Prediction-Rigondeaux TKO6
Unfortunately pure boxing, as George Foreman once observed, "The better it is, the less people appreciate it". This seems to be the case with Rigondeaux who at times makes boxing look so effortless and easy. Unfortunately however when he makes it look so simple it's easy to see why people don't appreciate it. What's the point in dominating if you can't also put on a show. Boxing whether we like it or not is a business and if you bore fans you can expect to be forgotten.
Following his fight with Nonito Donaire many felt it could be a very long time before saw Rigondeaux back in action. It's been a while I'll admit, some 8 months almost, since that fight but this weekend sees Rigondeaux returning to action as he attempts to defend both of his belts against Ghana's Joseph Agbeko (29-4, 22), a former 2-time IBF Bantamweight champion himself.
When it comes to Rigondeaux he can do everything. He makes fights, like I said, look simple. He slows down the pace when he wants, he lands every punch in the book, he makes other fighters look stupid and is a complete in the ring. Like all geniuses however he can get bored easily and as a result he can get tagged. His negativity can cause even the great man himself to get bored of things and it often seems that either Rigondeaux will destroy an opponent or get get bored of putting on a masterclass.
Agbeko doesn't have those same tricks as Rigondeaux. He's much less a skillster and more of a rough and tough type of fighter. That's not to say he lacks skills but he's more about strength and toughness than the sweet science.
Sadly for Agbeko the toughness and strength he had at 118lbs is unlikely to carry up that well at 122lbs, especially considering he's almost 34 years old and has fought just once the last 24 months. In all honesty the toughness and drive of Agbeko seemed to be leaving him in his most recent notable bout, a clear decision loss to Abner Mares.
With Rigondeaux's power, speed and technique it's hard not to see him landing crisp, clean shots on to the chin of Agbeko, eventually forcing a stoppage of the brave Ghanian who will be left chasing shadows prior to the stoppage. Rigondeaux will know that this is a fight that he needs to make an impression in and that's exactly what he will do.
Prediction-Rigondeaux TKO6
Wednesday, 20 November 2013
Yoan Pablo Hernandez v Alexander Alekseev
Although the Cruiserweight division will always be the "bastard division" of boxing it has, in recent years, been one of the most exciting with major bouts and hardcore action on a regular basis. We expect that to continue this coming weekend as Cuban Yoan Pablo Hernandez (27-1, 13) defends his IBF Cruiserweight title for the third time.
Hernandez, the Ring magazine and IBF champion is a man who is widely regarded as one of the truly elite Cruiserweights. A giant in division at 6'4" with genuine knockdown power, solid speed, devastating reach and very impressive skills he does look like the real deal at times. Unfortunately for all the strengths that Hernandez has he does have a number of issues. Notably his finishing skills are less than average, his work rate can be very poor, his mental strength is questionable, his chin is suspect and most worryingly he has been inactive.
At his best Hernandez would genuinely hold his own with any of the other top Cruiserweights such as Marco Huck, Krzysztof Wlodarczyk or Ola Afolabi. At his worst however he'd struggle with any of the top 10-15 Cruiserweights, as shown last time out when he was very, very fortunate to defeat Troy Toss.
That's the problem with Hernandez. He's skilled but can be discouraged and is very much a flat track bully who can't seem to be able to dominate against an opponent willing to take a shot and fight back.
Hernandez's challenger this time around is Russian power puncher Alexander Alekseev (24-2-1, 20) who was thought of as a nailed on future champion when he turned professional back in 2006. Unfortunately Alexseev has similar mental traits to Hernandez. Although a very different fighter Alexseev is another who is a bit of a bully in the ring and doesn't seem to have the mental toughness to back up his impressive talent.
At his best Alekseev is somewhat a Wladimir Klitschko style fighter with solid and powerful straight punches. His jab and straight are both excellent, powerful, fast and fluid. Unfortunately when fighters get inside he seems to really struggle and this was certainly shown against Firat Arslan.
What Alexeev needs to be concerned about here isn't so much the inside action but his chin. If Hernandez tags him clean on it we could well see a very early ending here.
With the ring rust of Hernandez, who has been out of the ring for more than a year, I do give Alexeev a chance, though in all honesty it's half a chance. Unfortunately for the Russian I cant see him standing up through Hernandez's fire power for 12 rounds and after Hernandez shakes some of the rust I see him stopping Alekseev.
Prediction-Hernandez TKO5
Hernandez, the Ring magazine and IBF champion is a man who is widely regarded as one of the truly elite Cruiserweights. A giant in division at 6'4" with genuine knockdown power, solid speed, devastating reach and very impressive skills he does look like the real deal at times. Unfortunately for all the strengths that Hernandez has he does have a number of issues. Notably his finishing skills are less than average, his work rate can be very poor, his mental strength is questionable, his chin is suspect and most worryingly he has been inactive.
At his best Hernandez would genuinely hold his own with any of the other top Cruiserweights such as Marco Huck, Krzysztof Wlodarczyk or Ola Afolabi. At his worst however he'd struggle with any of the top 10-15 Cruiserweights, as shown last time out when he was very, very fortunate to defeat Troy Toss.
That's the problem with Hernandez. He's skilled but can be discouraged and is very much a flat track bully who can't seem to be able to dominate against an opponent willing to take a shot and fight back.
Hernandez's challenger this time around is Russian power puncher Alexander Alekseev (24-2-1, 20) who was thought of as a nailed on future champion when he turned professional back in 2006. Unfortunately Alexseev has similar mental traits to Hernandez. Although a very different fighter Alexseev is another who is a bit of a bully in the ring and doesn't seem to have the mental toughness to back up his impressive talent.
At his best Alekseev is somewhat a Wladimir Klitschko style fighter with solid and powerful straight punches. His jab and straight are both excellent, powerful, fast and fluid. Unfortunately when fighters get inside he seems to really struggle and this was certainly shown against Firat Arslan.
What Alexeev needs to be concerned about here isn't so much the inside action but his chin. If Hernandez tags him clean on it we could well see a very early ending here.
With the ring rust of Hernandez, who has been out of the ring for more than a year, I do give Alexeev a chance, though in all honesty it's half a chance. Unfortunately for the Russian I cant see him standing up through Hernandez's fire power for 12 rounds and after Hernandez shakes some of the rust I see him stopping Alekseev.
Prediction-Hernandez TKO5
Friday, 4 October 2013
Scott Quigg v Yoandris Salinas
Whilst much of the boxing world will be turned to Russia this weekend I've got to admit that the bout I'm nost looking forward to this weekend is the upcoming WBA Super Bantamweight title clash between Britain's Scott Quigg (26-0-1, 19) and Cuban Yoandris Salinas (20-0-1, 13).
Despite the "lower" billing than many other bouts this weekend and relatively unhyped nature of the bout I've got to admit that this, at least on paper, looks like it could, potentially, be a very interesting contest between two men looking to make the move to genuine world level having been flirting around the fringes for a while.
Of the two Quigg is the better known fighter. He's a former WBA "interim" Super Bantamweight champion and is a fighter who has been on British numerous times, it's also fair to say that he will have the home crowd behind him. Saying that however Salinas has never had a problem with the crowd being against him, in fact the Miami based Cuban has gone in to the lions den fight after fight and in recent years he has traveled to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Peru.
Quigg isn't just the better known of the two men but is also the clear favourite. He holds the most notable wins of the two men, including a stoppages over Rendall Munroe, Jamie Arthur and Jason Booth, though, with out being rude his most notable victories have been on the British domestic scene and he's never really had a step up from British level to anything like genuine world class.
Interestingly whilst Quigg has scored the more notable victories it's Salinas who has faced the toughest opponent, scoring a draw with Nehomar Cermeno in Cermeno's adoptive Panama, in a bout that many feel Salinas deserved to win. It's fair to say that had Salinas gotten that decision in his favour he'd have had the most outstanding victory between these two.
Style wise his looks like it could be a very interesting bout of boxing.
Quigg is a strong, but basic boxer. He's adapted well after starting his combat sport career in kick boxing and has shown very good development fight after fight. His punches are hurtful, he's tough and more impressively he's shown excellent shot selection especially in in his second bout against Munroe.
Although Salinas isn't as strong or as powerful as Quigg he is an excellent boxer. Cuban's usually are of course though when you look at Salinas's amateur pedigree you realise just how good he is. He was a multi-time Cuban amateur champion, won international medals in competitions such as the Central American & Caribbean Games and Pan Am games and has a reported 300 amateur bouts. This a guy who knows his way around the ring.
With this in mind I expect us to see a fair bit of boxing early in and in fact I actually think Quigg could be frustrated by Salinas's boxing early on. The Cuban is confident, very sound defensively, fast with both hands and goes to the body very well. If he can take the power of Quigg then we are in for something that could become very memorable.
Unfortunately with boxing judging the way it is right now I can't go against Quigg. I think edge in power will just see him over the line in a bout that could be very close on the cards.
Prediction-Quigg SD12
Despite the "lower" billing than many other bouts this weekend and relatively unhyped nature of the bout I've got to admit that this, at least on paper, looks like it could, potentially, be a very interesting contest between two men looking to make the move to genuine world level having been flirting around the fringes for a while.
Of the two Quigg is the better known fighter. He's a former WBA "interim" Super Bantamweight champion and is a fighter who has been on British numerous times, it's also fair to say that he will have the home crowd behind him. Saying that however Salinas has never had a problem with the crowd being against him, in fact the Miami based Cuban has gone in to the lions den fight after fight and in recent years he has traveled to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Peru.
Quigg isn't just the better known of the two men but is also the clear favourite. He holds the most notable wins of the two men, including a stoppages over Rendall Munroe, Jamie Arthur and Jason Booth, though, with out being rude his most notable victories have been on the British domestic scene and he's never really had a step up from British level to anything like genuine world class.
Interestingly whilst Quigg has scored the more notable victories it's Salinas who has faced the toughest opponent, scoring a draw with Nehomar Cermeno in Cermeno's adoptive Panama, in a bout that many feel Salinas deserved to win. It's fair to say that had Salinas gotten that decision in his favour he'd have had the most outstanding victory between these two.
Style wise his looks like it could be a very interesting bout of boxing.
Quigg is a strong, but basic boxer. He's adapted well after starting his combat sport career in kick boxing and has shown very good development fight after fight. His punches are hurtful, he's tough and more impressively he's shown excellent shot selection especially in in his second bout against Munroe.
Although Salinas isn't as strong or as powerful as Quigg he is an excellent boxer. Cuban's usually are of course though when you look at Salinas's amateur pedigree you realise just how good he is. He was a multi-time Cuban amateur champion, won international medals in competitions such as the Central American & Caribbean Games and Pan Am games and has a reported 300 amateur bouts. This a guy who knows his way around the ring.
With this in mind I expect us to see a fair bit of boxing early in and in fact I actually think Quigg could be frustrated by Salinas's boxing early on. The Cuban is confident, very sound defensively, fast with both hands and goes to the body very well. If he can take the power of Quigg then we are in for something that could become very memorable.
Unfortunately with boxing judging the way it is right now I can't go against Quigg. I think edge in power will just see him over the line in a bout that could be very close on the cards.
Prediction-Quigg SD12
Saturday, 8 June 2013
Erislandy Lara v Alfredo Angulo
In a very exciting looking bout for the "interim" WBA Light Middleweight title the hard hitting Alfredo Angulo (22-2, 18) takes on Cuban skillster Erislandy Lara (17-1-2, 11). The bout, a true puncher v boxer bout could well end up being the fight of the night depending on how the styles clash.
Mexican Angulo, known as "El Perro" ("The Dog"), is one of the sport's must watch fighters with his hard punching and all action style. Technically he's limited but he's tough, very fun to watch and at his best he's a destructive freak of nature capable of hurting fighters with every punch in his arsenal.
To date Angulo's only losses have come to Kermit Cintron (via a decision) and James Kirkland (courtesy of a stoppage), though both have been "excused" by his fans. The loss to Cintron apparently occurred when Angulo was suffering from a cold whilst the loss to Kirkland happened when Angulo was having problems with his life.
Unfortunately several problems have hindered Angulo over the years, mainly issues regarding a visa whilst almost derailed his career together as he was kept out of the ring for more than a year following the loss to Kirkland (and he'd only fought once in the previous 12 months prior to that bout). With those issues sorted however Angulo looks to be back for good and will be looking to make up for lost time.
In Cuban fighter Erislandy Lara we have an incredibly well schooled southpaw, who, at his best can be either be destructive and take people out in a round (ask Ronald Hearns about that) or be a very skillful fighter dominating with his excellent technique.
Despite having 3 blotches on his record, Lara is widely considered to have been unlucky in 2 of those. A loss to Paul Williams in 2011 was widely considered to be one of the robberies of the year whilst a 9 round technical draw with Vanes Martirosyan was slated as it protected Martirosyan's unbeaten record. His actual "legitimate" blotch came in 2011 as he drew with Carlos Molina in a fight many felt Molina had deserved to win.
Going in to this bout the obvious prediction is that Lara will do what Cintron did to Angulo and box and move, make Angulo follow him whilst landing counters time and time again. This wouldn't be a shock. Lara is a much, much, much better boxer than Cintron. Though on the flip of that Lara has been jobbed in the past (the Martirosyan and Williams results) so he may decide to try to take it out of the judges hands. If Lara decides to take the fight to Angulo instead of relying on his boxing we may end up with a thriller.
If Lara decides to trade it's hard to see him winning, though if he's too negative he could throw rounds away. I actually think we'll see a lot from Lara who will mix things up whilst Angulo comes forward relentlessly looking to unleash his ferocious power. This will give the bout a very close feeling and make the decision an "on your edge" type of call.
Prediction-Lara UD12 (but close)
Mexican Angulo, known as "El Perro" ("The Dog"), is one of the sport's must watch fighters with his hard punching and all action style. Technically he's limited but he's tough, very fun to watch and at his best he's a destructive freak of nature capable of hurting fighters with every punch in his arsenal.
To date Angulo's only losses have come to Kermit Cintron (via a decision) and James Kirkland (courtesy of a stoppage), though both have been "excused" by his fans. The loss to Cintron apparently occurred when Angulo was suffering from a cold whilst the loss to Kirkland happened when Angulo was having problems with his life.
Unfortunately several problems have hindered Angulo over the years, mainly issues regarding a visa whilst almost derailed his career together as he was kept out of the ring for more than a year following the loss to Kirkland (and he'd only fought once in the previous 12 months prior to that bout). With those issues sorted however Angulo looks to be back for good and will be looking to make up for lost time.
In Cuban fighter Erislandy Lara we have an incredibly well schooled southpaw, who, at his best can be either be destructive and take people out in a round (ask Ronald Hearns about that) or be a very skillful fighter dominating with his excellent technique.
Despite having 3 blotches on his record, Lara is widely considered to have been unlucky in 2 of those. A loss to Paul Williams in 2011 was widely considered to be one of the robberies of the year whilst a 9 round technical draw with Vanes Martirosyan was slated as it protected Martirosyan's unbeaten record. His actual "legitimate" blotch came in 2011 as he drew with Carlos Molina in a fight many felt Molina had deserved to win.
Going in to this bout the obvious prediction is that Lara will do what Cintron did to Angulo and box and move, make Angulo follow him whilst landing counters time and time again. This wouldn't be a shock. Lara is a much, much, much better boxer than Cintron. Though on the flip of that Lara has been jobbed in the past (the Martirosyan and Williams results) so he may decide to try to take it out of the judges hands. If Lara decides to take the fight to Angulo instead of relying on his boxing we may end up with a thriller.
If Lara decides to trade it's hard to see him winning, though if he's too negative he could throw rounds away. I actually think we'll see a lot from Lara who will mix things up whilst Angulo comes forward relentlessly looking to unleash his ferocious power. This will give the bout a very close feeling and make the decision an "on your edge" type of call.
Prediction-Lara UD12 (but close)
Thursday, 6 June 2013
Yuriorkis Gamboa v Darley Perez
Unbeaten Cuban superstar Yuriorkis Gamboa (22-0, 16) looks to claim his 3rd division title as he moves up to Lightweight and fights for the WBA "interim" title against unbeaten Colombian Darley Perez (28-0, 19). The bout, part of the under-card in Canada for the Chad Dawson v Adonis Stevenson bout, has a lot of promise on paper, but will it deliver?
Gamboa has been a "must watch" fighter since his amateur days where he claimed a number of medals across various international tournaments with his speed, skill, combinations and venomous power.
Since turning professional in 2007 Gamboa has claimed titles at both Featherweight (WBA and IBF) and Super Featherweight (WBA "interim") and scored notable wins over a mini who's who including Daniel Ponce De Leon, Jorge Solis, Jonathan Victor Barros and Orlando Salido. He has combined exciting offense with poor defense and become a genuinely fun to watch fighter with an air of vulnerability to pair off against his aggression.
Gamboa has got some amazing traits and some wonderful weapons in his arsenal. With out a doubt he's a talent though he also has his issues. His chin is poor, his move up to 135lbs may be a step too far and he's got very questionable stamina. If he doesn't take an opponent out early he slows (a lot) and can become very negative, as we saw last time out against tough Filipino Michel Farenas and although he has got the skills to rely on there is questions about just how good he is on the back foot.
If Gamboa can't hurt an opponents with his blistering shots that land amazingly quick, then we could be in for a very good contest.
In Darley Perez we have a very "un-Colombian, Colombian". A typical Colombian is a crude but very power puncher, in Perez however we have a well schooled former amateur standout who competed at 2 World Amateur Championships and an Olympic games. Sure he failed to medal in those competitions but he did compete at the very highest level in the unpaid ranks.
Since turning professional in 2009 Perez has been a busy fighter averaging around 7 fights a year. These have generally been at a low level though last year he did manage a notable step up as he out pointed the highly regarded Bahodir Mamadjonov (who was too small in all honesty for Perez). Without a doubt he's got an impressive looking record on paper, but behind raw the numbers there is little real quality there.
Perez lacks the punch of a typical Colombian and this is a real shame going in to this bout. With a "Colombian" punch Perez could have made Gamboa respect him, sadly with out it, it's likely that Gamboa will be happy to try and take him out.
Whilst Gamboa struggled with Farenas last time out, Farenas is genuinely a gatekeeper (and could potentially claim a world title before his careers over). Perez however struggled with relative nobody Julio Camano (who has now lost 8 of his most recent 9) who dropped him twice. If Carmano can drop Perez then Gamboa can stop Perez.
Gamboa's one problem here, will be the natural size disadvantage. He'll be giving away height and reach, though his skill should manage to over-come both of these issues with out too many difficulties due to Perez's limitations.
Prediction-Gamboa TKO5
Gamboa has been a "must watch" fighter since his amateur days where he claimed a number of medals across various international tournaments with his speed, skill, combinations and venomous power.
Since turning professional in 2007 Gamboa has claimed titles at both Featherweight (WBA and IBF) and Super Featherweight (WBA "interim") and scored notable wins over a mini who's who including Daniel Ponce De Leon, Jorge Solis, Jonathan Victor Barros and Orlando Salido. He has combined exciting offense with poor defense and become a genuinely fun to watch fighter with an air of vulnerability to pair off against his aggression.
Gamboa has got some amazing traits and some wonderful weapons in his arsenal. With out a doubt he's a talent though he also has his issues. His chin is poor, his move up to 135lbs may be a step too far and he's got very questionable stamina. If he doesn't take an opponent out early he slows (a lot) and can become very negative, as we saw last time out against tough Filipino Michel Farenas and although he has got the skills to rely on there is questions about just how good he is on the back foot.
If Gamboa can't hurt an opponents with his blistering shots that land amazingly quick, then we could be in for a very good contest.
In Darley Perez we have a very "un-Colombian, Colombian". A typical Colombian is a crude but very power puncher, in Perez however we have a well schooled former amateur standout who competed at 2 World Amateur Championships and an Olympic games. Sure he failed to medal in those competitions but he did compete at the very highest level in the unpaid ranks.
Since turning professional in 2009 Perez has been a busy fighter averaging around 7 fights a year. These have generally been at a low level though last year he did manage a notable step up as he out pointed the highly regarded Bahodir Mamadjonov (who was too small in all honesty for Perez). Without a doubt he's got an impressive looking record on paper, but behind raw the numbers there is little real quality there.
Perez lacks the punch of a typical Colombian and this is a real shame going in to this bout. With a "Colombian" punch Perez could have made Gamboa respect him, sadly with out it, it's likely that Gamboa will be happy to try and take him out.
Whilst Gamboa struggled with Farenas last time out, Farenas is genuinely a gatekeeper (and could potentially claim a world title before his careers over). Perez however struggled with relative nobody Julio Camano (who has now lost 8 of his most recent 9) who dropped him twice. If Carmano can drop Perez then Gamboa can stop Perez.
Gamboa's one problem here, will be the natural size disadvantage. He'll be giving away height and reach, though his skill should manage to over-come both of these issues with out too many difficulties due to Perez's limitations.
Prediction-Gamboa TKO5
Wednesday, 10 April 2013
Nonito Donaire v Guillermo Rigondeaux
In this weekends stand out fight we see Filipino born American based pound-for-pound fighter Nonito Donaire (31-1, 20) face off against against former Cuban amateur legend Guillermo Rigondeaux (11-0, 8) in a unification of the WBO and WBA titles and a bout to decide who truly is the top dog at Super Bantamweight.
Going in to the bout Rigondeaux is the betting under-dog despite having an amazing career as both an amateur and a professional. In fact as an amateur Rigondeaux's will go down as one of the all time greats. He fought around 400 amateur fights and was rumoured to have won 388 of them, which included numerous bouts in Olympics and World Amateur champions, in fact Rigondeaux claimed 2 Olympic gold medals and two World Amateur titles as he dominated the Bantamweight division in the unpaid ranks.
As a professional Rigondeaux has been fast tracked, partly due to his amateur credentials but also partly due to the fact he made his professional debut when he was 28 years old. The speed of Rigondeaux's rise to the top was amazing and within just 18 months of his debut he had already claimed the interim WBA Super Bantamweight title. After a solitary defense of the interim belt Rigondeaux claimed the "regular" title thanks to a victory over Rico Ramos and he has since defended his title twice.
Despite his stellar record and amazing skills Rigondeaux has numerous question marks over his durability as a professional. Although he has only been down once as a professional (thanks to Ricardo Cordoba) he has been rattled several times including in his last fight against the limited Robert Marroquin. It's fair to say that Donaire hit's as hard, if not harder, than both Cordoba and Marroquin but he's also not the sort of fighter who will let a hurt opponent recover with out applying some serious pressure.
Sure Rigondeaux can hurt fighters, especially with his body shots which are amongst the best in the sport right now but the big questions regarding his chin specifically are the big worries.
With Donaire we have an exceptional fighter. Sure the 30 year old lacks the amateur pedigree of Rigondeaux but his professional achievements speak for themselves. Not only is record excellent at 31-1 but he's also unbeaten in 30 bouts (losing only his second professional contest) spread over 12 years which have seen him claiming world titles at Flyweight, Super Flyweight, Bantamweight and Super Bantamweight. He has also been given accolades including "Fighter of the Year" as he's proven to be one of the sports premier fighters.
Over the past 6 years Donaire's record has spoke for it's self with victories over a real who's who of the sport including Vic Darchinyan, Moruti Mthalane, Hernan Marquez, Fernando Montiel, Omar Andres Narvaez, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr, Jeffrey Mathebula, Toshiaki Nishioka and Jorge Arce. It's little wonder that the "Filipino Flash" is so highly ranked, especially when you consider the manner of many of his victories which he has made look very easy.
Despite the fact that Donaire has scored some exceptional victories over top contenders other opponents have made Donaire look bad. For example Narvaez, Mthalane and Vazquez all frustrated Donaire despite losing. These men have shown that Donaire isn't a perfect fighter and where an opponent uses an intelligent defense they can annoy Donaire who appears to be a flat out counter puncher and struggles to force the action, this could certainly come in to play against Rigondeaux.
If Rigondeaux can frustrate Donaire with refusal to engage and his own counter punching and speed he does have a genuine chance of the upset here though he'll need to make sure Donaire can't tag him clean.
For me personally the key to this bout concerns who can be the most patient. I don't imagine this will be a classic but it should be a high speed chess match with both men looking for a gap for their sharp, technically beautiful shots. Neither man will be looking to open up too much but both will be looking to land. Whilst I think Rigondeaux will cope better with the boos that I expect we'll hear I just can't see him avoiding Donaire's power right through the bout and when he's hurt Donaire won't let im off the hook.
Prediction-Donaire TKO7
Going in to the bout Rigondeaux is the betting under-dog despite having an amazing career as both an amateur and a professional. In fact as an amateur Rigondeaux's will go down as one of the all time greats. He fought around 400 amateur fights and was rumoured to have won 388 of them, which included numerous bouts in Olympics and World Amateur champions, in fact Rigondeaux claimed 2 Olympic gold medals and two World Amateur titles as he dominated the Bantamweight division in the unpaid ranks.
As a professional Rigondeaux has been fast tracked, partly due to his amateur credentials but also partly due to the fact he made his professional debut when he was 28 years old. The speed of Rigondeaux's rise to the top was amazing and within just 18 months of his debut he had already claimed the interim WBA Super Bantamweight title. After a solitary defense of the interim belt Rigondeaux claimed the "regular" title thanks to a victory over Rico Ramos and he has since defended his title twice.
Despite his stellar record and amazing skills Rigondeaux has numerous question marks over his durability as a professional. Although he has only been down once as a professional (thanks to Ricardo Cordoba) he has been rattled several times including in his last fight against the limited Robert Marroquin. It's fair to say that Donaire hit's as hard, if not harder, than both Cordoba and Marroquin but he's also not the sort of fighter who will let a hurt opponent recover with out applying some serious pressure.
Sure Rigondeaux can hurt fighters, especially with his body shots which are amongst the best in the sport right now but the big questions regarding his chin specifically are the big worries.
With Donaire we have an exceptional fighter. Sure the 30 year old lacks the amateur pedigree of Rigondeaux but his professional achievements speak for themselves. Not only is record excellent at 31-1 but he's also unbeaten in 30 bouts (losing only his second professional contest) spread over 12 years which have seen him claiming world titles at Flyweight, Super Flyweight, Bantamweight and Super Bantamweight. He has also been given accolades including "Fighter of the Year" as he's proven to be one of the sports premier fighters.
Over the past 6 years Donaire's record has spoke for it's self with victories over a real who's who of the sport including Vic Darchinyan, Moruti Mthalane, Hernan Marquez, Fernando Montiel, Omar Andres Narvaez, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr, Jeffrey Mathebula, Toshiaki Nishioka and Jorge Arce. It's little wonder that the "Filipino Flash" is so highly ranked, especially when you consider the manner of many of his victories which he has made look very easy.
Despite the fact that Donaire has scored some exceptional victories over top contenders other opponents have made Donaire look bad. For example Narvaez, Mthalane and Vazquez all frustrated Donaire despite losing. These men have shown that Donaire isn't a perfect fighter and where an opponent uses an intelligent defense they can annoy Donaire who appears to be a flat out counter puncher and struggles to force the action, this could certainly come in to play against Rigondeaux.
If Rigondeaux can frustrate Donaire with refusal to engage and his own counter punching and speed he does have a genuine chance of the upset here though he'll need to make sure Donaire can't tag him clean.
For me personally the key to this bout concerns who can be the most patient. I don't imagine this will be a classic but it should be a high speed chess match with both men looking for a gap for their sharp, technically beautiful shots. Neither man will be looking to open up too much but both will be looking to land. Whilst I think Rigondeaux will cope better with the boos that I expect we'll hear I just can't see him avoiding Donaire's power right through the bout and when he's hurt Donaire won't let im off the hook.
Prediction-Donaire TKO7
Wednesday, 5 December 2012
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).
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).
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