Thursday 28 February 2013

Pungluang Sor Singyu v Paulus Ambunda

The last 12 months have been awful for Thailand's boxing fans. They've not only seen notable names retire, including Pongsaklek Wonjongkam but also seen numerous Thai fighters losing notable match ups, such as Tepparith Kokietgym being stoped by Kohei Kono. Despite the horror of 2012 they still have 1 man holding a world title and that is the little known WBO Bantamweight champion Pungluang Sor Singyu (43-1, 28) who will make the first defense of his title this coming Saturday.

Sor Singyu, who defeated Filipino AJ Banal for the title will travel to Namibia to face unbeaten Namibian Paulus Ambunda (19-0, 10) in what promises to be an excellent clash, not only for the locals but for any lucky fans who get to see this clash.

The champion is one of the sports most under-rated fighters on the planet, a real issue with being from the east. In his two fights outside of his homeland Sor Singyu was impressive, losing a very controversial decision in Belgium to current European champion Stephan Jamoye and defeating Banal in the Philippines. Aside from those two fights however his competition has been limited.

Despite the limited nature of Sor Singyu, 24, he is a class fighter who is a very solid pressure fighter and likes to force the action with cleaver footwork, tough defensive and hurtful, though not concussive shots. Those hard, hurtful shots aren't going to take a top fighter out early though they will help to discourage opponents and break them down gradually, whilst his defense will also discourage and tire out opponents, as he showed against Banal.

Whilst the champion is a defensively solid and offensively smart fighter his challenger looks a little bit more crude and limited. Although Ambunda, the WBO #1 does look like a fun action fighter many of his shoots are wide and somewhat wild, especially his right hand which has looked easily avoidable in the past.

Ambunda is getting this fight due to his long reign as WBO African Bantamweight champion as well as his recent reign as the WBO International Bantamweight champion. Those titles have helped to raise his rankings dramatically. Sadly despite his reigns with various titles, Ambunda hasn't yet faced a recognisable fighter, in fact his best win to date is quite possibly over Brazilian William Prado, not a name that you'd have highly ranked in the Bantamweight division.

With the challenger having both an unbeaten record as well as home advantage he may well feel he's the favourite, from my point of view however Sor Singyu is the type of fighter who's just as good, if not better, on the road. If the Thai comes to fight there is no one in the Bantamweight division who will have an easy day with him and with that in mind I'll be tipping him to win. The thing about the challenger is that he's never faced a fighter who will do what Sor Singyu will do and with that in mind I think Sor Singyu will force a stoppage in the second half of the fight.

Prediction- Sor Singyu TKO8

Billy Dib v Evgeny Gradovich

Australian IBF Featherweight champion Billy Dib (35-1-0-1, 21) has become a bit of a forgotten man in the Featherweight division despite his world title. This weekend gives him a huge chance to make boxing fans remember his name as he travels to the US to face unbeaten US based Russian Evgeny Gradovich (15-0, 8) live on ESPN Friday Night Fights.

Going in to the fight Dib is the favourite, priced around 2/5, however for many this is based more on his experience than anything else. He's not shown himself to have world quality skills in fact in his only bout with a genuine world level fighter Dib was made to look genuinely poor as Steve Luevano literally abused him in the ring.

Whilst Dib does have a pretty looking record and a shiny title, his best victories haven't been great. In fact his best victory may well be his controversial decision victory over South African Zolani Marali back in 2008 or his stoppage over Mexican Eduardo Escobedo in 2012 (who retired after the 6th round). Not exactly the credentials of a top fighter in a division which has had real quality over the last few years.

To many Dib's most infamous bout was with Luevano back in 2008 for the WBO Featherweight title, in fact that was the last time Dib fought outside of his homeland. The performance of Dib against Luevano was poor and although the judges some how had the fight close he really showed little more than the ability to use his feet to get away from Luevano who rocked him numerous times. Saying that however Dib is an improved fighter and is now a fully fledged man at 27 years old. He still has the fast feet and has fast hands though his power is over-rated on his record and he's not a hugely strong fighter.

Whilst Dib may have the edge in professional experience the unbeaten Gradovich is certainly not a novice to the ring. As well as his 15 professional bouts (totaling 83 rounds) he also had a long amateur career (reportedly 160 fights) and has had quality sparring sessions at the Garcia gym with Robert Garcia.

As well as the amateur pedigree of Gradovich he's also got home advantage with the fight taking place in the US. Admittedly it's not in his home town, but he's closer to home than Dib who has had to travel overseas for this bout. Gradovich has been fighting through out the US since turning professional back in 2010 and to some he's seen as a US fighter.

The biggest issue for Gradovich may be due to his competition so far. I know I said that Dib lacks the quality of wins expected of a title holder, he still has much better wins that Gradovich who has faced very limited opposition so far with former world title challenger Francisco Leal probably being the the best name on his record. Despite this Gradovich does go into the bout with the confidence of being unbeaten and with the knowledge that he's the under-dog and has little expectation on his shoulders.

In terms of his style Gradovich fights much more like a Mexican than a Russian, hence his playful nickname of "The Mexican Russian", he throws a lot of punches and tries to break fighters both mentally and physically. He'll have to show his ability to cut the ring off against Dib, though if he can and if he can hammer away at the body of Dib, slowing the champions wheels, he may well force a stoppage late.

For Dib this fight is a must win fight. A loss here will see him almost banned from fighting in the US and with out a title few will be eager to face him. He knows the pressure will be on him, especially when you consider that promoter 50 Cent is backing him hard, however it maybe his promotional ties that help here with 50 Cent arguably having some pull. Saying that though, I don't know if he has enough to discourage the aggressive and hard working Russian.

Prediction- Gradovich by TKO11.

Betting-Gradovich to win can be got around 11/4 whilst Dib is 2/5

Tuesday 26 February 2013

Juan Carlos Reveco v Masayuki Kuroda

The first of 5 world title fights this week sees Argentinian Juan Carlos Revecco (29-1, 16) travel to Japan to defend his WBA Flyweight title against Japanese fighter Masayuki Kuroda (21-3-2, 13) in what promises to be an intriguing contest.

The once beaten Revecco is seen as one of the best kept secrets in boxing mainly due to the fact he's spent much of his career fighting in his homeland. Despite this Revecco has faced notable names through his almost 9 year career which has seen him claiming world titles at both Light Flyweight and Flyweight.

In his first notable bout Revecco claimed the previously vacant WBA Light Flyweight title stopping the previously unbeaten Thai Nethra Sasiprapa in the 8th round. The victory over Sasiprapa was followed by an impressive defense over Humberto Pool before Revecco suffered his lone defeat on points, in France, to the talented Brahim Asloum.

Revecco would bounce back well from his solitary defeat and less than 2 years later Revecco would once again claim a world title as he defeated Mexican Francisco Rosas by split decision to pick up the WBA interim Light Flyweight title. Rather than attempt to make a name for himself at the time in what was a hot division, Revecco instead defended his belt twice against limited opponents including (Ronald Barrera and Armando Torres).

In 2011 Revecco moved up to 112lbs and swiftly claimed the interim WBA Flyweight title, a title he defended twice, including and impressive and hard fought defense against Karim Guerfi, before his status was upgraded to being the full WBA Flyweight champion, a title he will defend for the first time against Kuroda.

Although he has been mixing in world level for around 6 years Revecco has unfortunately been over-looked time and time again due to his relatively poor level of opposition. For example defenses against Humberto Pool and Julian Rivera have done little to reaffirm Revecco as a top level fighter, despite this he has shown very solid skills, fantastic speed and hurtful (though not concussive) punching ability. It's due to his level of competition that Boxrec.com rank him at a relatively poor 13 whilst Ring Magazine currently rank him at a much loftier #7.

Whilst Revecco is a settled fighter at Flyweight the first thing to note about Japanese challenger Kuroda is that he's actually stepping up to the Flyweight division having been a career Light Flyweight and the most recent Japanese Light Flyweight champion. It's as a Light Flyweight that Ring Magazine rank him (#6) and Boxrec rank him (#11) though in all honesty his competition hasn't been great at 108lbs.

Aged 26 Kuroda is a fighter reaching his physical, though unlike many 26 years olds in the sport, he's also a hardened veteran having been a professional for almost 8 years and compiling 142 rounds of professional activity. Though admittedly many of those rounds have come at a limited level and his most notable opponents are probably fringe contender Shigetaka Ikehara and former OPBF champion Katsuhiko Iezumi. Not exactly names on the world stage.

Whilst Kuroda certainly hasn't mixed with the level of opponents that Revecco has (despite Revecco having not faced many genuinely top tier opponents) he does have one very notable advantage going in to this fight and that's home field advantage. The Todoroki Arena in Kawasaki has become a home in recent fights for Kuroda who has fought 3 of his last 4 bouts there (including a draw last time out to the brilliantly named Toshimasa Ouchi). When you factor in that Revecco is 2-1 outside of Argentina and 0-1 out side of the American continent, it's a notable advantage for Kuroda.

Sadly footage of Kuroda is limited and the most notable video I've seen is of Kuroda's loss in 2009 to Richard Garcia in which Kuroda looks slow and a bit too green. Since then he has fought 11 times (winning 9 and drawing 2) and is by all accounts an improved fighter. Despite this however a story from Japan was that hot prospect Naoya Inoue really beat him up in Inoue's test fight for a Japanese license, if that's true then Kuroda may be in trouble here.

This isn't an easy pick, Revecco is a very good fighter but traveling from South America to Asia is never an easy task for a fighter. If Revecco was at home, it'd be a no brainer, though the travel, jet lag and change of environment is likely to be a major factor and with that, I feel Kuroda may just eek out a controversial decision.

Interestingly IF Kuroda does win, a bout between the new champion and Inoue (who is currently just 2-0) could well attract a lot of attention with Inoue attempting to tie the long standing record of Saensak Muangsurin.

Prediction-Kuroda by Split Decision

Thursday 21 February 2013

Lamont Peterson v Kendall Holt

This coming Friday the controversial Lamont Peterson (30-1-1, 15) will make the first defense of his IBF Light Welterweight title as he faces former WBO champion Kendall Holt (28-15, 16). This will be the champion's first bout since testing positive for performance enhancing drugs almost a year ago in the build up to his rematch with Amir Khan (which was later called off due to the positive test and subsequent ban from the sport). For the challenger it'll be a chance to re-establish himself as a top Light Welterweight after losses to Timothy Bradley, Kaizer Mabuza and Danny Grcia in recent years.

The champion starts as a clear betting favourite (priced around 2/7) despite his long layoff. He is a durable, hard working fighter who although not a massive puncher has a hurtful pop on his shots which keeps fighters honest, especially when he goes to the body. It's really the grit and determination that stands out the most about Peterson who, despite being knocked down numerous times, has refused to go away and instead forced his way back into bouts that he's been hurting in.

Peterson has been fighting in and around the world level since 2009 when he suffered the solitary defeat on his record to Timothy Bradley. Since then he has scored a draw with Victor Ortiz, a win over Victor Manuel Cayo and of course the controversial decision victory over Amir Khan. Overall it's not actually a bad record for the 29 year old who was tipped for the top from a young age.

Although nothing really stands out too much about Peterson he has an excellent motor, knows how to use his strengths, he's tough and he won't back down from a fight, especially not in Washington D.C, the same City that he was born in and defeated Khan in.

Aged 31 the challenger is the older man going into this bout, though also seen as the man with more top level experience having fought the likes of David Diaz, Isaac Hlatshwayo, Ricardo Torres (twice), Demetrius Hopkins, Timothy Bradley, Kaizer Mabuza and Danny Garcia. As well as the world level experience Holt is also seen as having a clear power edge despite his record not showing it though likewise he's also the less durable of the two men having been stopped 3 times in his 5 defeats.

Holt, known as "Rated R" has a laser guided right hand with real explosiveness on it. His KO's over the likes of Julio Diaz were nothing short of eye catching and whilst he can't always connect at the top level he does hurt fighters when he connects clean, twice scoring knockdowns against Timothy Bradley. Sadly he also often leaves himself open and whilst some of his losses are explainable (no harm losing to Bradley or Garcia) his opening round TKO loss to Thomas Davis back in 2004 really was a shock and showed he's not got granite in his chin.

If it comes to a shoot out Holt can certainly hurt Peterson, however Peterson could also hurt Holt. I'd not be shocked to see Peterson on the canvas at some point, however Holt can at times give rounds away and I think that could come back to haunt him here. Holt is unfortunate in that when he's a counter puncher he can be too passive (which effectively cost him again Bradley) but when he's aggressive he can often leave himself too open. I have a feeling we'll see the offensive Holt and we'll see him warn down late on by a determined Peterson who will look to make a statement in the final rounds.

Prediction-Peterson TKO10 (interestingly Peterson by stoppage is priced at 3/1)

Cornelius Bundrage v Ishe Smith

Light Middleweight veteran Cornelius "K9" Bundrage (32-4-0-1, 19) will attempt to make the 3rd defense of his IBF Light Middleweight title as he faces the under-rated but talented Ishe Smith (24-5, 11). Although this bout is a pretty notable one, especially stateside with the winner likely joining the running for the Canelo sweepstakes it has been heavily overlooked by many due to the unattractiveness of the fighters involved.

Although the 39 year old Bundrage is the champion is generally seen as one of the weakest champions, not just in his division but in the whole of boxing. He's powerful but crude and really was lucky to find an aging and disinterested Cory Spinks 2010 to dethrone. Since winning the title Bundrage has been relatively inactive defeating the barking Sechew Powell in 2011 and Spinks again in 2012.

Aside from title fights Bundrage is best known for his appearance on the television show "The Contender" where he beat Michael Clark and Walter Wright before losing to Steve Forbes. As well as his time in the Contender he is known for being in a memorable 22 second bout with Sechew Powell in which both men were simultaneously dropped before Bundrage was unable to fully regain his feet.

Despite his famous moments it does need to be accepted that Bundrage has scored a few noteworthy wins as well as his title victories, including wins over Kassim Ouma and Zaurbek Baysangurov.

Sadly for Bundrage he has a lot more negatives than positive and 2 stoppage losses he's been shown not to have a great chin, his skill levels are genuinely low, especially for a world level fighter and the combination of age and inactivity will not help him. On the flip of this he is powerful, he does throw some very awkward punches that you're not likely to see from too many other fighters and he does have a lot of confidence in him self thanks to his very public belief in god. It may just be a shame that god can't help fighters beat father time.

Aged 34 the challenger is no spring chicken himself though Smith is a very skilled fighter who often shows all the cute moves you'd expect to see from a fringe world class fighter. He knows how to use his defense excellently, he can throw almost all the shots in the book however his own downfalls come in regards to his lack of power and often his lack of work-rate as he falls into his defensive shell for too long and gives rounds away.

Like Bundrage, Smith was also featured on "The Contender" where he defeated Ahmad Kaddour and Anthony Bonsante before losing a split decision to eventual winner Sergio Mora. As well as his fights in "The Contender" Smith has faced (and beaten) a number of recognisable names including Alfonso Gomez, David Estrada, Randall Bailey, Pawel Wolak, and Ayi Bruce. Likewise he has also lost to recognisable names including Sechew Powell, Joel Julio, Daniel Jacobs and Fernando Guerrero though he did often run them closer than the cards show.

If Smith can fight to his potential then for me this is an easy win for the smoother, more skilled fighter however if Smith decides to stay defensive for too long he could very easily find himself giving rounds away to the crude but offensive work of Bundrage. In my eyes as long as Smith works his offense from the off he shouldn't struggle to claim the victory by a wide decision, or in fact even a late stoppage.

Prediction-Smith Decision

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

Adrien Broner v Gavin Rees

Emerging American megastar Adrien "The Problem" Broner (25-0, 21) was massively impressive in his last bout when he stopped the teak tough Mexican Antonio DeMarco and claimed the WBC Lightweight title. Broner will make the first defense of that title against diminutive Welshman Gavin Rees (37-1-1, 18), who himself is a former WBA Light Welterweight champion.

Broner is seen as HBO's star of the future and the man to replace the ever aging Floyd Mayweather Jr when "Money Mayweather" finally hangs up the gloves. The charismatic 23 year is seen by many as having one of the biggest mouths in the sport, though so far he has been able to back up his talk with equally impressive displays which have combined speed, skill, accuracy and a spitefulness that is rarely seen in such a youngster.

Whilst some may have seen Broner's 2011 fight against Daniel Ponce De Leon as a disappointment, it was certainly the first big step up for Broner who has taken that close decision as a serious learning experience and developed a style that sees him showing more activity to break down opponents. Interestingly since being pushed by Ponce De Leon, Broner has gone on to score 5 successive stoppages and claimed both the WBO Super Featherweight title and the WBC Lightweight title.

With just 25 fights of professional experience and just 91 rounds it may be fair to say the biggest questions over Broner regard his lack of experience especially over a longer distance with only 3 of his fights having gone beyond 7 rounds. However despite these question marks it's fair to admit that Broner is a special, but flawed talent who can hurt everyone in the Lightweight division and has the speed to give anyone a hard time. The combination of traits have seen some refer to Broner as being like a more exciting version of Mayweather, very high praise indeed.

Unlike Broner, Rees isn't seen as anything particularly special, though the little Welshman is a hard working fighter who combines solid, though unspectacular skills with a high work rate and a terrier like heart which sees him refuse to go backwards. Whilst Rees isn't lightning quick or mega powerful he's a brave and solid fighter who is hard to discourage.

Rees is by far the more experienced man having been a professional since 1998 and competed in 39 fights accumulating almost 200 professional rounds. He has faced solid fighters time and time again and scored notable victories over the likes of  Souleymane M'baye, Andy Murray, Derry Matthews and Anthony Mezaache whilst only suffering a single reverse to the very under-rated Andriy Kotelnyk. In fact it was the bout against Kotelnyk that really told us a lot about Rees who was out classed against a naturally bigger man though he refused to just give up showing true Welsh grit.

Although Rees is a major under-dog I'd expect him to give Broner hell for a few rounds and be very competitive for the first 5 or 6 rounds before Broner's power and size start to take their toll and slow a brave and very game Rees. Rees will likely see round 8 but not much more.

Prediction- Broner TKO9