In by far the biggest fight of the weekend Brit Carl Froch (30-2, 22) looks for revenge over Dane Mikkel Kessler (46-2, 35) in an IBF/WBA Super Middleweight title unification bout. The bout, live on Sky Box Office in the UK and other various channels around the world is unarguably to define the #2 Super Middleweight on the planet and also a rare chance to see 2 top fighters pitted against each other.
When the men first fought, just over 3 years ago, it was part of the "Super 6" and Kessler claimed a very competitive decision decision in his homeland in what was a fight of the year contender. Since then a rematch always looked likely to occur despite the men becoming close friends and now we are just a few hours from that long awaited rematch, this time taking place in Britain, the homeland of Froch.
Since the men first fought their careers have seemingly gone in opposite directions. For Kessler things have been a struggle due to injuries and long lay offs. He's recaptured a world title (the WBA belt) though it's a title that most view as a paper belt manufactured for little more than a sanctioning fee and he hasn't looked as sharp, or as destructive as he had been before the Froch fight. For Froch he has moved from strength to strength and whilst he suffered a set back to Andre Ward he did go on to beat Arthur Abraham and Lucien Bute. both in impressive fashion.
At his best Kessler is a very solid all-rounder. He has very impressive straight shots, a lovely body attack and is durable, though he can be made to look slow and doesn't look the same fighter when forced on to the back foot. If you allow Kessler to fight behind his jab he's very hard to beat and if you let him connect with his booming straight right he can take fighters out with just a single shot.
When people talk about Kessler they never speak about any outstanding single attribute, just that he's very good at almost everything. He does have his flaws, notably his lack of handspeed and relatively weak inside game though on the whole he is a very solid fighter.
At his best (and at his most confident) Froch is a destructive fighter who will bring the fight to anyone, take one to land one and have the belief in his power and chin to stop anyone. He has an excellent work rate, under-rated "pure boxing" and although he can be dragged in to someone elses fight (as he was with Kessler first time around) he tends to dictate the action.
Froch does have numerous flaws, notably his low hands and again relatively slow hands speed though other than Andre Ward no one has really made him pay for those too much (though Jermain Taylor almost managed to do it).
Kessler has had a tremendous career and really helped put Denmark on the boxing map in recent years. He is a 3-time WBA champion and a 1-time WBC champion who has recorded wins over Dingaan Thobela, Julio Cesar Green, Manny Siaca, Anthony Mundine, Eric Lucas, Markus Beyer, Librado Andrade and Brian Magee whilst suffering losses to Andre Ward and Joe Calzaghe, two of the divisions greatest.
Froch on the other hand has beaten the likes of Magee, Jean Pascal, Taylor, Andre Dirrell, Abraham, Glen Johnson and Bute whilst losing only to Kessler and Ward.
With both men now in their mid 30's this could well be the final big fight for one of them. Although Froch is technically the older man (at 35 years old to Kessler's 34 years) he is the younger man in terms of ring years with 16 fewer fights and 39 fewer rounds, this could well give him the slight edge in terms of what he has left.
For me, Froch has looked a much better fighter in his past 2 bouts whilst Kessler is showing signs of his long career, with that in mind I'm picking Froch, in fact I'm going one further and predicting that Froch will stop Kessler.
Prediction-Froch TKO 7
Friday 24 May 2013
Omar Andres Narvaez v Felipe Orucuta
Argentinian veteran Omar Andres Narvaez (38-1-2, 20) may be fast heading to his 38th birthday but the skilled and slippery fighter is still rated by many as the premier Super Flyweight on the planet. The WBO champion will need to show why he is so highly regard this coming weekend as he takes on the very dangerous Mexican Felipe Orucuta (27-1, 23), a younger, stronger and bigger fighter.
The once beaten Narvaez, a 2-time Olympian, has been one of the hardcore boxing fans favourite boxers over the past decade or so. He's proven to be hugely skilled and intelligent fighter who has been able to thrive at the top for years thanks to his fast hands and elusiveness which has seen him making a trademark out of slipping opponents shots, landing a flurry then getting away.
Although clearly slowing as he nears his 40th birthday Narvaez is still surprisingly fast and in recent bouts he has started to show a spitefulness, especially in his stoppage of Johnny Garcia late last year. Saying that however Narvaez was never a powerful fighter (despite the ridiculous comments of both Steve Bunce and Steve Lillis back in 2011 on Boxnation) and that was also the case when he was carving out his career at Flyweight, now at Super Flyweight his power is even less significant.
With retirement looming it's hard to really say what Narvaez has left, though we've been saying that for the past few years and he's kept pushing challengers back such as Victor Zaleta, Cesar Seda, William Urina and Jose Cabrera, rarely losing a round in the fights. In all honesty, the Donaire fight aside, Narvaez has really been forced to do things he doesn't want to do in the ring, it's fair to say however that Orucuta will be looking to change that.
Aged 27, Orucuta is a much younger fighter with some 9 years of youth on his side as well as a stunning 5" in height and a notable physical advantage with longer arms and a thicker body. It's likely that the Mexican could well be a division, if not 2, bigger than Narvaez in the ring.
Orucuta debuted back in 2006 and after winning his first 18 fights he suffered his sole professional loss to Daniel Rosas, a close decision. Since the loss to Rosas, Orucuta has gone 9-0 (9) and scored notable victories over Julio David Roque Ler, Roberto Castaneda Julio Cesar Miranda and Fernando Lumacad. It's the manner of those victories that have seen many tipping Orucuta here as he's been blasting out experienced and talented opponents time and time again.
With age, size, power and energy on his side Orucuta should well be a betting favourite though the skill, experience and edge do all favour Narvaez, as does the fact that the Argentinian fighter will be at home in front of his loyal fans whilst Orucuta will be fighting his first fight outside of his native Mexico. The fact that Orucuta has never fought outside of Mexico will be a major disadvantage here and could well be what swings the fight in the way of Narvaez.
This is seen by the bookies as a genuine toss up fight, we don't get many of those in this sport. I'm actually very much split here but always find it hard to pick against Narvaez who could make Orucuta look silly if he's as sharp as he once was.
Prediction-Narvaez UD12 (but very competitively)
The once beaten Narvaez, a 2-time Olympian, has been one of the hardcore boxing fans favourite boxers over the past decade or so. He's proven to be hugely skilled and intelligent fighter who has been able to thrive at the top for years thanks to his fast hands and elusiveness which has seen him making a trademark out of slipping opponents shots, landing a flurry then getting away.
Although clearly slowing as he nears his 40th birthday Narvaez is still surprisingly fast and in recent bouts he has started to show a spitefulness, especially in his stoppage of Johnny Garcia late last year. Saying that however Narvaez was never a powerful fighter (despite the ridiculous comments of both Steve Bunce and Steve Lillis back in 2011 on Boxnation) and that was also the case when he was carving out his career at Flyweight, now at Super Flyweight his power is even less significant.
With retirement looming it's hard to really say what Narvaez has left, though we've been saying that for the past few years and he's kept pushing challengers back such as Victor Zaleta, Cesar Seda, William Urina and Jose Cabrera, rarely losing a round in the fights. In all honesty, the Donaire fight aside, Narvaez has really been forced to do things he doesn't want to do in the ring, it's fair to say however that Orucuta will be looking to change that.
Aged 27, Orucuta is a much younger fighter with some 9 years of youth on his side as well as a stunning 5" in height and a notable physical advantage with longer arms and a thicker body. It's likely that the Mexican could well be a division, if not 2, bigger than Narvaez in the ring.
Orucuta debuted back in 2006 and after winning his first 18 fights he suffered his sole professional loss to Daniel Rosas, a close decision. Since the loss to Rosas, Orucuta has gone 9-0 (9) and scored notable victories over Julio David Roque Ler, Roberto Castaneda Julio Cesar Miranda and Fernando Lumacad. It's the manner of those victories that have seen many tipping Orucuta here as he's been blasting out experienced and talented opponents time and time again.
With age, size, power and energy on his side Orucuta should well be a betting favourite though the skill, experience and edge do all favour Narvaez, as does the fact that the Argentinian fighter will be at home in front of his loyal fans whilst Orucuta will be fighting his first fight outside of his native Mexico. The fact that Orucuta has never fought outside of Mexico will be a major disadvantage here and could well be what swings the fight in the way of Narvaez.
This is seen by the bookies as a genuine toss up fight, we don't get many of those in this sport. I'm actually very much split here but always find it hard to pick against Narvaez who could make Orucuta look silly if he's as sharp as he once was.
Prediction-Narvaez UD12 (but very competitively)
Thursday 16 May 2013
Denis Lebedev v Guillermo Jones
WBA Cruiserweight title action sees former champion Guillermo Jones (?-?) attempt to recapture his old belt from Russian Denis Lebedev (?-?) in a bout that has been made...and than cancelled more often than Floyd Mayweather Jr has "taken vacations".
Now aged 41 years old what Jones has left is a bit of a mystery. He's looked good in his most recent fights stopping Firat Arslan, Valery Brudov and Michael Marrone but those bouts span almost 5 years and it really is a mystery as to what he has left in him.
At his best Jones was a tricky customer. He was big, powerful, fast, slippery and managed to land an amazing number of sneaky shots. He could look lazy but yet effective, clumsy but yet intelligent and hurt yet teak tough. In fact Jones has one of those styles which never looks good but also never lets his opponents look much good either.
Although Jones is 3-1-2 in world title fights many feel that he should be 6-0, his draws with Jhonny Nelson and Laurent Boudouani (who he also lost to) were all highly controversial and all came away from home. Even though he has had bad fortune on the road he's proven he isn't adverse to fighting away and has won fights in Venezuela, the USA and most notably German (where he stopped Arslan).
At "just" 33 years old Lebedev, the home fighter for this bout is significantly younger than the challenger though is also less experienced in terms of both professional bouts and professional rounds. Despite his relative inexperience Lebedev has proven to be a world class fighter mixing it with Enzo Maccarinelli, Alexander Alekseev and Marco Huck amongst others, with only Huck managing to score a victory over him (albeit controversially).
Lebedev is a small, powerful Cruiserweight who hits like a truck, uses very under-rated boxing skills and has an excellent killer instinct. He's shown a bit too much respect in some fights, notably his bout with Roy Jones, though when he lets his hands go he's a destructive force able to break bones and out man the tough men of the division.
Although Lebedev isn't one of the big names in world boxing he is one of the sports most genuinely exciting fighters. His power brings excitement, his toughness brings action and overall it's always a joy to watch him in a bout. This time around though he could be in for a tough night as he gives away an astonishing 5" in height.
The height difference between the two men will be drastic and a major disadvantage for Lebedev, who is a big betting favourite. In terms of skills it'd be fair to say that Jones is the more skilled man, Lebedev the more powerful, both are tough and both are proven and whilst the size is clearly an advantage for Jones the age is a clear disadvantage.
Prime for prime I'd have to go with Jones though now, with too many questions surrounding him I have to go with Lebedev who is fresher and won't have the ring rust or just general rust of Jones.
Prediction-Lebedev TKO10
Now aged 41 years old what Jones has left is a bit of a mystery. He's looked good in his most recent fights stopping Firat Arslan, Valery Brudov and Michael Marrone but those bouts span almost 5 years and it really is a mystery as to what he has left in him.
At his best Jones was a tricky customer. He was big, powerful, fast, slippery and managed to land an amazing number of sneaky shots. He could look lazy but yet effective, clumsy but yet intelligent and hurt yet teak tough. In fact Jones has one of those styles which never looks good but also never lets his opponents look much good either.
Although Jones is 3-1-2 in world title fights many feel that he should be 6-0, his draws with Jhonny Nelson and Laurent Boudouani (who he also lost to) were all highly controversial and all came away from home. Even though he has had bad fortune on the road he's proven he isn't adverse to fighting away and has won fights in Venezuela, the USA and most notably German (where he stopped Arslan).
At "just" 33 years old Lebedev, the home fighter for this bout is significantly younger than the challenger though is also less experienced in terms of both professional bouts and professional rounds. Despite his relative inexperience Lebedev has proven to be a world class fighter mixing it with Enzo Maccarinelli, Alexander Alekseev and Marco Huck amongst others, with only Huck managing to score a victory over him (albeit controversially).
Lebedev is a small, powerful Cruiserweight who hits like a truck, uses very under-rated boxing skills and has an excellent killer instinct. He's shown a bit too much respect in some fights, notably his bout with Roy Jones, though when he lets his hands go he's a destructive force able to break bones and out man the tough men of the division.
Although Lebedev isn't one of the big names in world boxing he is one of the sports most genuinely exciting fighters. His power brings excitement, his toughness brings action and overall it's always a joy to watch him in a bout. This time around though he could be in for a tough night as he gives away an astonishing 5" in height.
The height difference between the two men will be drastic and a major disadvantage for Lebedev, who is a big betting favourite. In terms of skills it'd be fair to say that Jones is the more skilled man, Lebedev the more powerful, both are tough and both are proven and whilst the size is clearly an advantage for Jones the age is a clear disadvantage.
Prime for prime I'd have to go with Jones though now, with too many questions surrounding him I have to go with Lebedev who is fresher and won't have the ring rust or just general rust of Jones.
Prediction-Lebedev TKO10
Tuesday 14 May 2013
Alexander Povetkin v Andrzej Wawrzyk
WBA Heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin (25-0, 17) maybe a much maligned fighter though for many he is still one of the best in division. He will be hoping to show off the form that saw him rapidly climbing the rankings as he defends his title this coming Friday against relatively unknown Pole Andrzej Wawrzyk (27-0, 13).
As an amateur Povetkin was genuinely special. He was not only part of the Russian national team but was also one of the most decorated fighters in the team with 125 wins from 132 bouts including championship wins in the Olympics, the World Amateur Championships and the European Amateur Championships.
Since turning professional there was always a lot of expectation on Povetkin's shoulders and whilst he did race up the rankings thanks to victories over Eddie Chambers and Chris Byrd he has recently taken a lot of stick for avoiding bouts with Wladimir Klitschko and other meaningful Heavyweights. This abuse has been doubled up by the fact that the that the 33 year has appeared to regress in recent bouts which has again left him open to complaints from fans.
In the ring Povetkin is skilled. He has good knowledge of the ring, has decent handspeed, hurtful power, fantastic range of shots, solid defense and when he's in an offensive rhythm he's a genuine joy to watch. Sadly for all his good traits there are question marks over his heart, his chin and his stamina with all 3 looking like genuinely average and like limiting factors.
Having been a professional world champion since August 2011 Povetkin has been facing genuinely awful competition in his defenses including Hasim Rahman and Cedric Boswell as well as Cruiserweight Marco Huck (who came incredibly close to stopping Povetkin in their tear up). It appears, win or lose, that the Russian will be taking some serious criticism with this bout against Wawrzyk.
Relatively unknown to boxing fans unbeaten Pole Wawrzyk is 25 years old and has surprisingly been a professional since 2006. Although a bit of an obscure fighter he has claimed various titles including a Polish national title, a WBC "youth" title, and regional WBA and WBC belts as he's quietly climbed up the rankings.
Despite the fact he has an impressive Wawrzyk has only really faced C level fights such as Tomasz Bonin, Robert Hawkins and Denis Bahktov. It's actually the Bahktov fight though that has told us more about Wawrzyk than any other bout as we saw him hurt from counters over his lazy jab, and if Bahktov can take advantage of that then Povetkin certainly can as well.
Although popular back home in Poland, Wawrzyk has fought abroad several times, though last time he did fight away from home was way back in 2010 when he faced Harvey Jolly in the US. Whilst he may not be that afraid of fighting away from home, he is stepping up and going in to the lion's den, where he is supposed to the lamb to the slaughter.
I'd be shocked if Wawrzyk remained in the fight beyond round 9. He's going to take a real battering when Povetkin warms in to the bout and takes advantage of the Pole's short comings. Expect a good start by the challenger, though it won't take long before the champion gets going and forces a stoppage.
Prediction-Povetkin TKO7
As an amateur Povetkin was genuinely special. He was not only part of the Russian national team but was also one of the most decorated fighters in the team with 125 wins from 132 bouts including championship wins in the Olympics, the World Amateur Championships and the European Amateur Championships.
Since turning professional there was always a lot of expectation on Povetkin's shoulders and whilst he did race up the rankings thanks to victories over Eddie Chambers and Chris Byrd he has recently taken a lot of stick for avoiding bouts with Wladimir Klitschko and other meaningful Heavyweights. This abuse has been doubled up by the fact that the that the 33 year has appeared to regress in recent bouts which has again left him open to complaints from fans.
In the ring Povetkin is skilled. He has good knowledge of the ring, has decent handspeed, hurtful power, fantastic range of shots, solid defense and when he's in an offensive rhythm he's a genuine joy to watch. Sadly for all his good traits there are question marks over his heart, his chin and his stamina with all 3 looking like genuinely average and like limiting factors.
Having been a professional world champion since August 2011 Povetkin has been facing genuinely awful competition in his defenses including Hasim Rahman and Cedric Boswell as well as Cruiserweight Marco Huck (who came incredibly close to stopping Povetkin in their tear up). It appears, win or lose, that the Russian will be taking some serious criticism with this bout against Wawrzyk.
Relatively unknown to boxing fans unbeaten Pole Wawrzyk is 25 years old and has surprisingly been a professional since 2006. Although a bit of an obscure fighter he has claimed various titles including a Polish national title, a WBC "youth" title, and regional WBA and WBC belts as he's quietly climbed up the rankings.
Despite the fact he has an impressive Wawrzyk has only really faced C level fights such as Tomasz Bonin, Robert Hawkins and Denis Bahktov. It's actually the Bahktov fight though that has told us more about Wawrzyk than any other bout as we saw him hurt from counters over his lazy jab, and if Bahktov can take advantage of that then Povetkin certainly can as well.
Although popular back home in Poland, Wawrzyk has fought abroad several times, though last time he did fight away from home was way back in 2010 when he faced Harvey Jolly in the US. Whilst he may not be that afraid of fighting away from home, he is stepping up and going in to the lion's den, where he is supposed to the lamb to the slaughter.
I'd be shocked if Wawrzyk remained in the fight beyond round 9. He's going to take a real battering when Povetkin warms in to the bout and takes advantage of the Pole's short comings. Expect a good start by the challenger, though it won't take long before the champion gets going and forces a stoppage.
Prediction-Povetkin TKO7
Friday 10 May 2013
Ricky Burns v Jose A Gonzalez
Scotland's Ricky Burns (35-2, 10) has had a pretty poor last year or so with several bouts falling through for one reason or another. Since beating Kevin Mitchell way back in September 2012 Burns has moved across the promotional void and gone from Frank Warren to Matchroom Sports and will now be making his first bout under the Matchroom banner.
Burns' first fight under Matchroom sees him defending his WBO Lightweight title against mandatory contender Jose A Gonzalez (22-0, 17), a dangerous though somewhat unknown adversary.
Burns, an excellent boxer has really made his name over the past few years by showing off excellent boxing ability and with out the fan fare of an Amir Khan or David Haye he's become a bit of a British boxing treasure. He's successfully claimed WBO titles at both Super Featherweight and now Lightweight and scored notable wins over Roman Martinez, Michael Katsidis and Kevin Mitchell though has yet to prove his talent in a major bout outside of the UK.
Despite being a former Super Featherweight Burns is a big guy at Lightweight. His height and reach are reflective of a fighter from a division or two higher and whilst he's not a big puncher he does hit harder than his record indicates. Burns' power may well be one of the most over-looked aspects of any active fighter, his crisp, clean shots are hurtful, not concussive but very hurtful when they land clean.
If Burns' record is that of an apparent "non-puncher" (despite my view of the opponent) Gonzalez's record is that of a pure power puncher. The challengers 77% KO rate really speaks for it's self and whilst it can be easy to go "who has he stopped?" he has looked like he hits nearly as hard as his record indicates.
Gonzalez's ranking with the WBO is certainly one of the organisations more "inflated" rankings, though with real confidence, a punchers attitude and the knowledge that everyone has written him off is dangerous. He'd be foolish to try and out box Burns, who is amongst the most skilled "boxers" out there but if he can get in to a slug fest he does stand a chance.
Although we should never write any fighter off Gonzalez is stepping up in several ways. This is his first ever bout scheduled for 12 (and he's only actually been 10 rounds once) and he's stepping in with a genuine world level fighter. To say a Gonzalez win would be an upset would be merely stating the obvious.
On paper a Burns decision seems the most obvious, though I'll actually go against that and say the open, reckless style of Gonzalez is there for Burns to sit on his shots and land clean. Those shots, whilst unlikely to take Gonzalez out cleanly will grind him down before a stoppage becomes a late possibility.
Prediction-Ricky Burns TKO11
Burns' first fight under Matchroom sees him defending his WBO Lightweight title against mandatory contender Jose A Gonzalez (22-0, 17), a dangerous though somewhat unknown adversary.
Burns, an excellent boxer has really made his name over the past few years by showing off excellent boxing ability and with out the fan fare of an Amir Khan or David Haye he's become a bit of a British boxing treasure. He's successfully claimed WBO titles at both Super Featherweight and now Lightweight and scored notable wins over Roman Martinez, Michael Katsidis and Kevin Mitchell though has yet to prove his talent in a major bout outside of the UK.
Despite being a former Super Featherweight Burns is a big guy at Lightweight. His height and reach are reflective of a fighter from a division or two higher and whilst he's not a big puncher he does hit harder than his record indicates. Burns' power may well be one of the most over-looked aspects of any active fighter, his crisp, clean shots are hurtful, not concussive but very hurtful when they land clean.
If Burns' record is that of an apparent "non-puncher" (despite my view of the opponent) Gonzalez's record is that of a pure power puncher. The challengers 77% KO rate really speaks for it's self and whilst it can be easy to go "who has he stopped?" he has looked like he hits nearly as hard as his record indicates.
Gonzalez's ranking with the WBO is certainly one of the organisations more "inflated" rankings, though with real confidence, a punchers attitude and the knowledge that everyone has written him off is dangerous. He'd be foolish to try and out box Burns, who is amongst the most skilled "boxers" out there but if he can get in to a slug fest he does stand a chance.
Although we should never write any fighter off Gonzalez is stepping up in several ways. This is his first ever bout scheduled for 12 (and he's only actually been 10 rounds once) and he's stepping in with a genuine world level fighter. To say a Gonzalez win would be an upset would be merely stating the obvious.
On paper a Burns decision seems the most obvious, though I'll actually go against that and say the open, reckless style of Gonzalez is there for Burns to sit on his shots and land clean. Those shots, whilst unlikely to take Gonzalez out cleanly will grind him down before a stoppage becomes a late possibility.
Prediction-Ricky Burns TKO11
Thursday 9 May 2013
Jamie McDonnell v Julio Ceja
In what is arguably the most interesting bout of this coming weekend the vacant IBF Bantamweight title is on the line as Englishman Jame McDonnell (20-2-1, 9) faces Mexican hard hitter Julio Ceja (24-0, 22). The bout, which came about thanks to Leo Santa Cruz moving up to Super Bantamweight really does look like an explosive but that is unlikely to be anything but brilliant.
Although both men will be challengers for the belt, the home advantage sits with McDonnell who will feel the home crowd roaring him on. In fact the "home advantage" is more than just having his crowd there as it's also Ceja's first fight outside of his native Mexico.
Aged 27 McDonnell is the older man and is a fighter in his physical prime. He's certainly a "man" in there and having been a professional since 2005 he's developed from being a boy to a man in the ring. The development hasn't been easy with back to back losses to Chris Edwards and Lee Haskins way back in his career, though it's certainly served him well with his recent rise.
The rise of McDonnell has been exceptional and seen him scoring wins over Ian Napa, Jerome Arnould, Stephane Jamoye and Stuart Hall. He has claimed the British, Commonwealth and European titles and become of the most under-rated fighters in Europe.
With action based style McDonnell has become a must watch fighter. He's proven to be tough, hard working and whilst not a monster puncher he's a real grinder who wears opponents down with relentless work rate. Despite his work rate however McDonnell can be a slow starter and often takes 3 or 4 rounds to get in to his groove, during this time he very ordinary though of course when he gets going he looks brilliant.
With McDonnell being a pressure based action fighter his style should meld really well with his opponent. The 20 year old Ceja, although much younger than McDonnell has got himself a real reputation as a hard hitting monster. Since turning professional back in 2009, aged just 16 Ceja has always been a fighter with a punchers reputation, in fact 5 of his first 9 opponents failed to make it through the opening round.
Although Ceja is a bit unknown to British fans he has been my radar for a while (thanks to various prospect based websites I write for) and his victories over the likes of Ronald Barrera, Cruz Carbajal, Genaro Garcia have put him on the boxing map and on the world rankings.
Whilst Ceja has never been the 12 round distance before (he's actually only been 10 rounds once) he's never really had to struggle through the distance. His concussive power has been a deadly weapon from the opening bell and amazingly 22 of his professional wins have been inside the first 6 rounds. This sort of fast starting has been devastating.
This bout really is a 50-50 contest. If Ceja can jump on McDonnell from the off, before the Englishman is in his rhythm there is real danger that Mexican will blast him out early doors. If McDonnell can survive the early storm he should be able to over-turn the scorecard and possibly stop a tiring Ceja late. Ceja, having never done the 12 rounds before and fighting away from home is certainly the man "taking a step up" though he has the power to genuinely wipe fighters out and if he connects on MCDonnell he may well manage to upset the home fighter.
I've been a huge fan of Ceja for a few years, though feel McDonnell's experience of 12 rounds and home advantage should be just enough to secure him the victory.
Prediction-McDonnell TKO11
Although both men will be challengers for the belt, the home advantage sits with McDonnell who will feel the home crowd roaring him on. In fact the "home advantage" is more than just having his crowd there as it's also Ceja's first fight outside of his native Mexico.
Aged 27 McDonnell is the older man and is a fighter in his physical prime. He's certainly a "man" in there and having been a professional since 2005 he's developed from being a boy to a man in the ring. The development hasn't been easy with back to back losses to Chris Edwards and Lee Haskins way back in his career, though it's certainly served him well with his recent rise.
The rise of McDonnell has been exceptional and seen him scoring wins over Ian Napa, Jerome Arnould, Stephane Jamoye and Stuart Hall. He has claimed the British, Commonwealth and European titles and become of the most under-rated fighters in Europe.
With action based style McDonnell has become a must watch fighter. He's proven to be tough, hard working and whilst not a monster puncher he's a real grinder who wears opponents down with relentless work rate. Despite his work rate however McDonnell can be a slow starter and often takes 3 or 4 rounds to get in to his groove, during this time he very ordinary though of course when he gets going he looks brilliant.
With McDonnell being a pressure based action fighter his style should meld really well with his opponent. The 20 year old Ceja, although much younger than McDonnell has got himself a real reputation as a hard hitting monster. Since turning professional back in 2009, aged just 16 Ceja has always been a fighter with a punchers reputation, in fact 5 of his first 9 opponents failed to make it through the opening round.
Although Ceja is a bit unknown to British fans he has been my radar for a while (thanks to various prospect based websites I write for) and his victories over the likes of Ronald Barrera, Cruz Carbajal, Genaro Garcia have put him on the boxing map and on the world rankings.
Whilst Ceja has never been the 12 round distance before (he's actually only been 10 rounds once) he's never really had to struggle through the distance. His concussive power has been a deadly weapon from the opening bell and amazingly 22 of his professional wins have been inside the first 6 rounds. This sort of fast starting has been devastating.
This bout really is a 50-50 contest. If Ceja can jump on McDonnell from the off, before the Englishman is in his rhythm there is real danger that Mexican will blast him out early doors. If McDonnell can survive the early storm he should be able to over-turn the scorecard and possibly stop a tiring Ceja late. Ceja, having never done the 12 rounds before and fighting away from home is certainly the man "taking a step up" though he has the power to genuinely wipe fighters out and if he connects on MCDonnell he may well manage to upset the home fighter.
I've been a huge fan of Ceja for a few years, though feel McDonnell's experience of 12 rounds and home advantage should be just enough to secure him the victory.
Prediction-McDonnell TKO11
Wednesday 8 May 2013
Adrian Hernandez v Yader Cardoza
WBC Light Flyweight champion Adrian Hernandez (26-2-1, 16) will be looking to secure his second successive defense of his world title as he takes on the relatively unknown Nicaraguan Yader Cardoza (15-4, 5).
Hernandez, widely regarded as one of the top 3 or 4 at 108lbs really does seem to be taking part in what is little more than a stay busy defense here. The Mexican, who is now a 2-time champion, is genuinely one of the sports over-looked fighters. He's beaten a genuine who's who in the past 5 years including Rodel Mayol, Gilberto Keb Baas, Gideon Buthelez and Kompayak Porpramook, though, due to his division, is relatively obscure.
Stood at 5'8 and with a 71" reach the 27 year old Hernandez is a bit of a physical freak in the division though oddly he doesn't really use his size to box as much as he should. Although he certainly can box he often appears just was will to trade up inside as he does on the outside, though on the outside he is really good. Oddly the size of the champion may actually serve a bigger purpose in the fact that when he rehydrates he likely adds a significant amount of weight back on. This added weight likely helps Hernandez to break down his opponents.
With 2 stoppage loss on his records Hernandez can be hurt (though admittedly his most recent loss did have something to do with the ridiculous conditions the bout was fought in) though he can also hurt others, much, much easier than he get hurt.
Not too much is known about Cardoza. He's a 24 year old Nicaraguan who has been a professional since 2009. His record got off to a pretty bad start as he fell to 2-3 after 5 bouts though since then he has gone 13-1 with his only loss (a decision to Eliecer Quezada) being avenged in his most recent bout.
With 19 bouts behind him and just 98 rounds it's obvious that Cardoza is either a monster puncher or has been fighting most of his fights over the shorter distance, in this case it's the latter. In his 19 bouts he has fought just a single completed 10 round bout and is 1-1 in bouts that have gone beyond the 6th round. This does not bode well with him jumping in to title level for this bout.
For me I really don't see too much reasoning behind this bout. The only logical idea seems to be that Hernandez is trying to force the hand of Roman Gonzalez. Beating up on a Nicaraguan, like Cardoza, may help get Gonzalez (also a Nicaraguan) in to the ring. The bout is little more than a gimme for "El Confessor" who really should finish this when he wants.
Prediction-Hernandez TKO6
Hernandez, widely regarded as one of the top 3 or 4 at 108lbs really does seem to be taking part in what is little more than a stay busy defense here. The Mexican, who is now a 2-time champion, is genuinely one of the sports over-looked fighters. He's beaten a genuine who's who in the past 5 years including Rodel Mayol, Gilberto Keb Baas, Gideon Buthelez and Kompayak Porpramook, though, due to his division, is relatively obscure.
Stood at 5'8 and with a 71" reach the 27 year old Hernandez is a bit of a physical freak in the division though oddly he doesn't really use his size to box as much as he should. Although he certainly can box he often appears just was will to trade up inside as he does on the outside, though on the outside he is really good. Oddly the size of the champion may actually serve a bigger purpose in the fact that when he rehydrates he likely adds a significant amount of weight back on. This added weight likely helps Hernandez to break down his opponents.
With 2 stoppage loss on his records Hernandez can be hurt (though admittedly his most recent loss did have something to do with the ridiculous conditions the bout was fought in) though he can also hurt others, much, much easier than he get hurt.
Not too much is known about Cardoza. He's a 24 year old Nicaraguan who has been a professional since 2009. His record got off to a pretty bad start as he fell to 2-3 after 5 bouts though since then he has gone 13-1 with his only loss (a decision to Eliecer Quezada) being avenged in his most recent bout.
With 19 bouts behind him and just 98 rounds it's obvious that Cardoza is either a monster puncher or has been fighting most of his fights over the shorter distance, in this case it's the latter. In his 19 bouts he has fought just a single completed 10 round bout and is 1-1 in bouts that have gone beyond the 6th round. This does not bode well with him jumping in to title level for this bout.
For me I really don't see too much reasoning behind this bout. The only logical idea seems to be that Hernandez is trying to force the hand of Roman Gonzalez. Beating up on a Nicaraguan, like Cardoza, may help get Gonzalez (also a Nicaraguan) in to the ring. The bout is little more than a gimme for "El Confessor" who really should finish this when he wants.
Prediction-Hernandez TKO6
Monday 6 May 2013
Kazuto Ioka v Wisanu Kokietgym
Japanese boxing may be celebrating it's newest star, Naoya Inoue (3-0, 3) moving his way towards a world title and Ryoto Murata (0-0) ready to make his debut but just a few years ago the fast rising Kazuto Ioka (11-0, 7) was the talk of the boxing world. The unbeaten Ioka, now a 2-weight world champion seeks to claim the headlines once more as he looks to make the first defense of his WBA Light Flyweight title when he takes on the experienced Thai Wisanu Kokietgym (43-8-2, 11).
Although Ioka, 24, is a bit of a professional novice he's already fought in a staggering 5 world title bouts, in fact after this bout 50% of his bouts will have been for a world title! In those fights he has shown all the traits of a really outstanding fighter and that includes his trademark body shots which are up there with the very best in the sport today.
Whilst Ioka isn't a massively experienced fighter he has been in boxing most of his life. He had a genuinely vast amateur career and his uncle, Hiroki Ioka, was himself a 2-weight world champion. It's this experience that has seen Ioka fast tracked and although there has had one or two wobbles (notably being dropped by Heri Amol) he has been very impressive stopping the likes of Oleydong Sithsamerchai, Juan Hernandez and Jose Alfredo Rodriguez whilst out pointing the very under-rated Akira Yaegashi.
With more than 4 times the experience of the champion it could be expected that Thai challenger Wisanu Kokietgym could be a worth while opponent. Sadly however if you go through Kokietgym's record it's hard to really be impressed by anything he's done other than the fact he's been active and well matched (on the whole).
In a career dating back to 2001 it's fair to say that Kokietgym's best known opponents are Z Gorres and Duangpetch Kokietgym. Both of those men managed to defeat Kokietgym and actually the Thai's best victories are against the likes of Ricky Manufoe and Sammy Hagler, who, lets be honest, are journeymen through Asia who really shouldn't be any title challengers "best wins".
The best wins of Kokietgym's are on a similar level to the worst victories of Ioka. That's a pretty damning statement but yet a thoroughly fair one and with that in mind it's impossible to go against Ioka. Though rather than just stating the obvious lets go a step further (I feel cocky!) Ioka will stop Kokietgym in impressive fashion inside 5 rounds with a thunderous body shot. I wouldn't be shocked if it was in the first 3. There is simply no way for Kokietgym to win, he lacks the the skills for a decision and the power for a stoppage.
Prediction- Ioka TKO4
Although Ioka, 24, is a bit of a professional novice he's already fought in a staggering 5 world title bouts, in fact after this bout 50% of his bouts will have been for a world title! In those fights he has shown all the traits of a really outstanding fighter and that includes his trademark body shots which are up there with the very best in the sport today.
Whilst Ioka isn't a massively experienced fighter he has been in boxing most of his life. He had a genuinely vast amateur career and his uncle, Hiroki Ioka, was himself a 2-weight world champion. It's this experience that has seen Ioka fast tracked and although there has had one or two wobbles (notably being dropped by Heri Amol) he has been very impressive stopping the likes of Oleydong Sithsamerchai, Juan Hernandez and Jose Alfredo Rodriguez whilst out pointing the very under-rated Akira Yaegashi.
With more than 4 times the experience of the champion it could be expected that Thai challenger Wisanu Kokietgym could be a worth while opponent. Sadly however if you go through Kokietgym's record it's hard to really be impressed by anything he's done other than the fact he's been active and well matched (on the whole).
In a career dating back to 2001 it's fair to say that Kokietgym's best known opponents are Z Gorres and Duangpetch Kokietgym. Both of those men managed to defeat Kokietgym and actually the Thai's best victories are against the likes of Ricky Manufoe and Sammy Hagler, who, lets be honest, are journeymen through Asia who really shouldn't be any title challengers "best wins".
The best wins of Kokietgym's are on a similar level to the worst victories of Ioka. That's a pretty damning statement but yet a thoroughly fair one and with that in mind it's impossible to go against Ioka. Though rather than just stating the obvious lets go a step further (I feel cocky!) Ioka will stop Kokietgym in impressive fashion inside 5 rounds with a thunderous body shot. I wouldn't be shocked if it was in the first 3. There is simply no way for Kokietgym to win, he lacks the the skills for a decision and the power for a stoppage.
Prediction- Ioka TKO4
Ryo Miyazaki v Carlos Velarde
WBA Minimumweight champion Ryo Mayazaki (18-0-3, 10) may have been fortunate to claim the belt on New Years Eve when he over-came the always exciting to watch Kompayak Porpramook though he appears to have an "easy" first defense. The challenger, this coming week to Miyazaki's title is Mexican 22 year old Carlos Velarde (23-2-1, 13), a relatively unknown opponent who has a solid looking record but nothing of any real quality on it.
Miyazaki, a stablemate of Kazuto Ioka was almost gift wrapped the title when Ioka made his move up to Light Flyweight, though as mentioned was pushed unexpectedly hard by Porpramook. This would, I think be fair to say, show the level of difference between Miyazaki and Ioka. Ioka is one of the genuine stand out Japanese fighters whilst Miyazaki is a solid fighter but not on the same level as his gym mate.
With an unbeaten record Miyazaki takes an air of confidence with him in to the ring and like most Japanese fighters he's gone the traditional route to the top claiming both a national title and an OPBF belt prior to his world title winning effort.
Although Miyazaki isn't in the same class as an Ioka (or even a Naoya Inoue) in terms of talent he is a solid fighter who has shown good movement, good work rate and a genuine toughness. It takes a good fighter to defeat Pornsawan Porpramook and Suguru Takizawa though we don't quite know just how good he is.
Whilst the champion has at least his signature win over Porpramook it's fair to say the challenger has yet to score any win of real note. In fact the best opponents on his record are Edwin Diaz and Jesus Silvestre and they both defeated Velarde. Lets also be honest neither Diaz or Silvestre are on the same level as Porpramook.
With Velarde having only really fought on the low level Mexican scene it's fair to say that not only is he stepping up but he's also under-prepared for a world title bout. Equally as worrying for the Mexican is that he hasn't been able to show the power needed to make an impact on a fighter like Miyazaki.
With out the power or the skill level to beat the champion I really can't see any way for Velarde to claim what would not only be the biggest victory of his career but also one of the biggest upsets of the year.
Prediction-Miyazaki TKO10
Miyazaki, a stablemate of Kazuto Ioka was almost gift wrapped the title when Ioka made his move up to Light Flyweight, though as mentioned was pushed unexpectedly hard by Porpramook. This would, I think be fair to say, show the level of difference between Miyazaki and Ioka. Ioka is one of the genuine stand out Japanese fighters whilst Miyazaki is a solid fighter but not on the same level as his gym mate.
With an unbeaten record Miyazaki takes an air of confidence with him in to the ring and like most Japanese fighters he's gone the traditional route to the top claiming both a national title and an OPBF belt prior to his world title winning effort.
Although Miyazaki isn't in the same class as an Ioka (or even a Naoya Inoue) in terms of talent he is a solid fighter who has shown good movement, good work rate and a genuine toughness. It takes a good fighter to defeat Pornsawan Porpramook and Suguru Takizawa though we don't quite know just how good he is.
Whilst the champion has at least his signature win over Porpramook it's fair to say the challenger has yet to score any win of real note. In fact the best opponents on his record are Edwin Diaz and Jesus Silvestre and they both defeated Velarde. Lets also be honest neither Diaz or Silvestre are on the same level as Porpramook.
With Velarde having only really fought on the low level Mexican scene it's fair to say that not only is he stepping up but he's also under-prepared for a world title bout. Equally as worrying for the Mexican is that he hasn't been able to show the power needed to make an impact on a fighter like Miyazaki.
With out the power or the skill level to beat the champion I really can't see any way for Velarde to claim what would not only be the biggest victory of his career but also one of the biggest upsets of the year.
Prediction-Miyazaki TKO10
Sunday 5 May 2013
Takashi Uchiyama v Jaider Parra
The Super Featherweight division has been one of the weakest divisions in recent years though the one man who has managed to stand out in the division is Japanese hard hitter Takashi Uchiyama (19-0-1, 16), the current WBA champion.
Uchiyama claimed his title way back in January 2010 by stopping Juan Carlos Salgado and since then then has been the only really impressive fighter in the division with 6 title defenses including stoppage victories over Takashi Miura (the current WBC champion), Jorge Solis and Bryan Vasquez.
Despite being 33 years old the tank like Uchiyama has only fought 126 professional rounds, a little over 6 per bout as his destructive power has seen him repeatedly finishing opponents off inside the distance. In his 20 career bouts only Hero Bando has managed to see out the 12 round schedule.
Although not the fastest fighter in the division Uchiyama is very deliberate, defensively sound, more intelligent than he seems and has ridiculously quick recuperative powers. To date he has only been down once as a professional, dropped by Miura, but got immediately back to his feet and carried on despite being tagged by what appeared to be a fight ending shot.
Whilst Uchiyama is a slow starter he's a fighter who can defeat opponents both mentally by refusing to go away or physically by just battering them, or taking them out with one shot (as he did to Solis). This means he's always dangerous. Even if he can be out boxed early on he he only needs a single chance to land his destructive power.
For Uchiyama's 7th title defense he will be facing the relatively unknown Jaider Parra (20-0-1, 10), the younger brother of former world champion Lorenzo Parra.
Hailing from Venezuela Parra is a fighter than little is really known about. He's unbeaten and 30 years old having fought his entire career in Latin America, in fact all but 4 of his bouts have been fought in his native Venezuela.
From watching footage of Parra we do see a pretty decent technical boxer with nice movement and a good jab. Sadly though his lack of power and relative lack of activity in the ring can be a major issue and whilst his opponents so far haven't made him pay, they've also been of a much lower level than Uchiyama. In all honesty Parra's best opponents wouldn't even be favourites against Uchiyama's worst title defenses, Parramay be able to beat some of the weaker ones but Parra's opponents wouldn't.
Prediction-Uchiyama TKO8
Uchiyama claimed his title way back in January 2010 by stopping Juan Carlos Salgado and since then then has been the only really impressive fighter in the division with 6 title defenses including stoppage victories over Takashi Miura (the current WBC champion), Jorge Solis and Bryan Vasquez.
Despite being 33 years old the tank like Uchiyama has only fought 126 professional rounds, a little over 6 per bout as his destructive power has seen him repeatedly finishing opponents off inside the distance. In his 20 career bouts only Hero Bando has managed to see out the 12 round schedule.
Although not the fastest fighter in the division Uchiyama is very deliberate, defensively sound, more intelligent than he seems and has ridiculously quick recuperative powers. To date he has only been down once as a professional, dropped by Miura, but got immediately back to his feet and carried on despite being tagged by what appeared to be a fight ending shot.
Whilst Uchiyama is a slow starter he's a fighter who can defeat opponents both mentally by refusing to go away or physically by just battering them, or taking them out with one shot (as he did to Solis). This means he's always dangerous. Even if he can be out boxed early on he he only needs a single chance to land his destructive power.
For Uchiyama's 7th title defense he will be facing the relatively unknown Jaider Parra (20-0-1, 10), the younger brother of former world champion Lorenzo Parra.
Hailing from Venezuela Parra is a fighter than little is really known about. He's unbeaten and 30 years old having fought his entire career in Latin America, in fact all but 4 of his bouts have been fought in his native Venezuela.
From watching footage of Parra we do see a pretty decent technical boxer with nice movement and a good jab. Sadly though his lack of power and relative lack of activity in the ring can be a major issue and whilst his opponents so far haven't made him pay, they've also been of a much lower level than Uchiyama. In all honesty Parra's best opponents wouldn't even be favourites against Uchiyama's worst title defenses, Parramay be able to beat some of the weaker ones but Parra's opponents wouldn't.
Prediction-Uchiyama TKO8
Kohei Kono v Liborio Solis
At the very end of 2012 Japanese "nearly man" Kohei Kono (28-7, 11) claimed the biggest victory of his career as he stopped the highly regarded Thai Tepparith Kokietgym for the WBA Super Flyweight title. This coming Monday he'll look to defend that belt for the first time when he faces Venezuelan Liborio Solis (14-3-1, 7) who has, for the past 17 months or so, been the "interim" WBA Super Flyweight champion.
Although Kono's record looks somewhat disappointing for a world champion he's been one of the more unfortunate fighters in recent years. He suffered a debut loss in 2000 and picked up several others early in his career before going on a great run in 2007 that saw him claiming the Japanese and OPBF titles at 115lbs.
Sadly when Kono first stepped up to the world level he came agonisingly close in a split decision loss to Nobuo Nashiro in a fantastic bout. The set back to Nashiro probably deserved a rematch though unfortunately Kono would have to wait 12 months before he got his next chance at a world title, losing that time to Tomas Rojas despite dropping Rojas.
Since the loss to Rojas, Kono has gone 3-2 with losses to Yohei Tobe (over 8 rounds) and the recently deposed WBC Super Flyweight champion Yota Sato as well as the victory over Tepparith.
Aged 32 it's fair to say that Kono will not be wanting to hand his title over with out going through hell and with his genuine toughness as well as his under-rated power he'll happily drag opponents to hell and back. Sure he's not a major puncher but when he has his man hurt he can really take them out with his aggression. In terms of his boxing, he's not got anything that really stands out, but then he's also not got any major weaknesses. Sure he can be out-boxed, Rojas and Sato showed that, though he's very determined and will refuse to admit defeat until the final bell.
The Venezuelan challenger is slightly younger than the champion though is also less experienced, especially against world level competition and more tellingly comes in to this bout with more than a year out of the ring.
Solis, like Kono made his debut back in 2000 and after making a winning start he would move to 3-0-1 before vanishing off the boxing map for over 5 years. Since returning to the ring in 2007 he has won 11 of 13 contests with his only losses coming against Henry Maldonado and Ricardo Nunez.
Despite his relatively impressive run of results in terms of numbers Solis hasn't yet beaten a genuinely proven opponent, in fact his best wins are over Jose Salgado and Rafael Concepcion. Solid opponents though certainly not proven world championship level (Concepcion did however give Nonito Donaire a difficult fight and did defeat AJ Banal).
With Solis lacking the punch needed to discourage Kono and not quite having the skills to get away with spending a year out I can't help but feel that a determined Kono manages to hurt, and then stop Solis in the middle rounds. I might be wrong (I often am!) but I do see him wanting to prove a point.
Prediction-Kono TKO7
Although Kono's record looks somewhat disappointing for a world champion he's been one of the more unfortunate fighters in recent years. He suffered a debut loss in 2000 and picked up several others early in his career before going on a great run in 2007 that saw him claiming the Japanese and OPBF titles at 115lbs.
Sadly when Kono first stepped up to the world level he came agonisingly close in a split decision loss to Nobuo Nashiro in a fantastic bout. The set back to Nashiro probably deserved a rematch though unfortunately Kono would have to wait 12 months before he got his next chance at a world title, losing that time to Tomas Rojas despite dropping Rojas.
Since the loss to Rojas, Kono has gone 3-2 with losses to Yohei Tobe (over 8 rounds) and the recently deposed WBC Super Flyweight champion Yota Sato as well as the victory over Tepparith.
Aged 32 it's fair to say that Kono will not be wanting to hand his title over with out going through hell and with his genuine toughness as well as his under-rated power he'll happily drag opponents to hell and back. Sure he's not a major puncher but when he has his man hurt he can really take them out with his aggression. In terms of his boxing, he's not got anything that really stands out, but then he's also not got any major weaknesses. Sure he can be out-boxed, Rojas and Sato showed that, though he's very determined and will refuse to admit defeat until the final bell.
The Venezuelan challenger is slightly younger than the champion though is also less experienced, especially against world level competition and more tellingly comes in to this bout with more than a year out of the ring.
Solis, like Kono made his debut back in 2000 and after making a winning start he would move to 3-0-1 before vanishing off the boxing map for over 5 years. Since returning to the ring in 2007 he has won 11 of 13 contests with his only losses coming against Henry Maldonado and Ricardo Nunez.
Despite his relatively impressive run of results in terms of numbers Solis hasn't yet beaten a genuinely proven opponent, in fact his best wins are over Jose Salgado and Rafael Concepcion. Solid opponents though certainly not proven world championship level (Concepcion did however give Nonito Donaire a difficult fight and did defeat AJ Banal).
With Solis lacking the punch needed to discourage Kono and not quite having the skills to get away with spending a year out I can't help but feel that a determined Kono manages to hurt, and then stop Solis in the middle rounds. I might be wrong (I often am!) but I do see him wanting to prove a point.
Prediction-Kono TKO7
Friday 3 May 2013
Floyd Mayweather Jr v Robert Guerrero
Pound-for-Pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr (43-0, 26) returns to the ring for the first time in almost a year as he defends his WBC Welterweight title against the once beaten Robert Guerrero (31-1-1-2, 18). The bout, the first of a possible 6 bouts that Showtime will show of Mayweather will see "Money" attempting to finish off the recent rise of "The Ghost".
Aged 36 Mayweather takes not only the premier spot on most pound-for-pound charts but also one of the best records in the sport and the position as the #1 pay-per-view attraction. Though with his age comes deteriorating speed and reflexes which won't have been helped by spending a notable time in jail away from the gym and the highly level nutrition he's used to.
At his very best Mayweather is a slick counter puncher who combines very solid technical skills, impressive speed, fantastic accuracy and cat like reflexes. Defensively his shoulder-roll has proven to be near impenetrable and has helped him survive so long at the top whilst taking so little damage. Offensively he's been criticised due to his perceived lack of power though when he wishes to be spiteful he can hurt fighters with his laser guided straight right. So accurate is Mayweather that he can often lead with a straight right hands and get back in to a defensive posture before his opponent knows what has hit them.
Although Mayweather is no longer at his "best" with his feet being visibly slower than they once were he's also become more offensively minded than he once was. His pot shotting is still a delight and his combinations are a thing of beauty. In fact getting older has helped Mayweather become more offensively minded than he was when he was younger. He's not become a swarmer or a fighter looking for a war fight-in-fight out yet he's become a more offensively minded boxer.
Looking for the biggest victory of his career Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero looks to prove that he belongs in the pound-for-pound argument. Aged "just" 30 Guerrero is a fighter who has filled out from a Featherweight into a perfectly sized Welterweight who is 2-0 at 147lbs and has beaten two well regarded fighters in Selcuk Aydin and Andre Berto.
Fighting from the Southpaw stance Guerrero has proven he can box, as he did against both Aydin and Michael Katsidis as well as brawl as he did in a messy bout with Andre Berto. Whilst it was obvious that he was hurt against Aydin (especially late) he appeared to be a fully blown Welterweight against Berto where he was forcing Berto backwards repeatedly and even dropped him twice. Sure Berto is no Mayweather but it was still impressive.
For Guerrero the big question is "how do you solve a problem like Mayweather?" Trying to box him isn't an option and doing so will see him tagged by the accurate and under-rated straight right which, as we all know, is a massive threat to Southpaws. Trying to brawl might be his best option and whilst Mayweather tends not to get drawn in to them he certainly can be dirty and hold his own in them when he needs to.
The battle, at least in my eyes looks to be lost by Guerrero before the first blow has been thrown, despite the fact Guerrero has been stealing the headlines going in to the bout.
Prediction-Mayweather TKO10
Aged 36 Mayweather takes not only the premier spot on most pound-for-pound charts but also one of the best records in the sport and the position as the #1 pay-per-view attraction. Though with his age comes deteriorating speed and reflexes which won't have been helped by spending a notable time in jail away from the gym and the highly level nutrition he's used to.
At his very best Mayweather is a slick counter puncher who combines very solid technical skills, impressive speed, fantastic accuracy and cat like reflexes. Defensively his shoulder-roll has proven to be near impenetrable and has helped him survive so long at the top whilst taking so little damage. Offensively he's been criticised due to his perceived lack of power though when he wishes to be spiteful he can hurt fighters with his laser guided straight right. So accurate is Mayweather that he can often lead with a straight right hands and get back in to a defensive posture before his opponent knows what has hit them.
Although Mayweather is no longer at his "best" with his feet being visibly slower than they once were he's also become more offensively minded than he once was. His pot shotting is still a delight and his combinations are a thing of beauty. In fact getting older has helped Mayweather become more offensively minded than he was when he was younger. He's not become a swarmer or a fighter looking for a war fight-in-fight out yet he's become a more offensively minded boxer.
Looking for the biggest victory of his career Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero looks to prove that he belongs in the pound-for-pound argument. Aged "just" 30 Guerrero is a fighter who has filled out from a Featherweight into a perfectly sized Welterweight who is 2-0 at 147lbs and has beaten two well regarded fighters in Selcuk Aydin and Andre Berto.
Fighting from the Southpaw stance Guerrero has proven he can box, as he did against both Aydin and Michael Katsidis as well as brawl as he did in a messy bout with Andre Berto. Whilst it was obvious that he was hurt against Aydin (especially late) he appeared to be a fully blown Welterweight against Berto where he was forcing Berto backwards repeatedly and even dropped him twice. Sure Berto is no Mayweather but it was still impressive.
For Guerrero the big question is "how do you solve a problem like Mayweather?" Trying to box him isn't an option and doing so will see him tagged by the accurate and under-rated straight right which, as we all know, is a massive threat to Southpaws. Trying to brawl might be his best option and whilst Mayweather tends not to get drawn in to them he certainly can be dirty and hold his own in them when he needs to.
The battle, at least in my eyes looks to be lost by Guerrero before the first blow has been thrown, despite the fact Guerrero has been stealing the headlines going in to the bout.
Prediction-Mayweather TKO10
Daniel Ponce De Leon v Abner Mares
In a really promising all Mexican bout at Featherweight WBC champion Daniel Ponce De Leon (?-?) attempts to defend his title against former Bantamweight and Super Bantamweight title holder Abner Mares (?-?) who will be hoping to become a 3-weight world champion.
On paper this is a case of a smaller man (Mares) moving up to take on not only a world champion but one of the hardest punchers in the sport in a pretty even looking bout. It's bouts like this that have defined the young Mares who has faced a genuinely tough string of opponents in recent years including Yonnhy Perez, Vic Darchinyan, Joseph Agbeko (twice) and Anselmo Moreno in the past 3 years. With such a tough schedule however it's no wonder some are featuring Mares in the top 10 pound-for-pound lists.
With a true "puncher's" record Ponce De Leon doesn't half pack a punch. In fact with a 72.92% KO ratio he is up there with the hardest punchers in the sport and he's proven it at world level himself having claimed world titles at both Super Bantamweight and Featherweight. Sadly however for Ponce De Leon he's never really had the skills to compliment his destructive power and his punch delivery and set ups have been lacking, though in recent years he's certainly developed his boxing ability and hardly looks like the fighter he once was.
Mares on the other hand is a determined and dogged combination puncher with a bullish style that sees him applying relentless pressure and aggression in an attempt to break down an opponent. This mindset combined with his body attack (both legal and illegal) has made him a genuine nightmare to fight against.
The big question mark going in to this fight is whether or not Mares will be able to assert himself against a big, tough, powerful lump like Ponce De Leon who is a genuine Featherweight (and has even pushed Adrien Broner hard at Super Featherweight). If Mares can't bully Ponce De Leon and get on the inside to launch his excellent combinations then this will be a very hard night, though he does have a plan be of out boxing the technically limited Ponce De Leon. If however Ponce De Leon can stamp his power on the bout and make Mares think twice about coming inside this could become a genuinely hard bout for Mares, who is being painted as a future Mexican star.
I've written off Mares too many times in the past to do so again so whilst I view the bout as a very tough one I do see Mares managing to overcome his experienced and hard hitting rival one way or another.
Prediction-Mares UD 12
On paper this is a case of a smaller man (Mares) moving up to take on not only a world champion but one of the hardest punchers in the sport in a pretty even looking bout. It's bouts like this that have defined the young Mares who has faced a genuinely tough string of opponents in recent years including Yonnhy Perez, Vic Darchinyan, Joseph Agbeko (twice) and Anselmo Moreno in the past 3 years. With such a tough schedule however it's no wonder some are featuring Mares in the top 10 pound-for-pound lists.
With a true "puncher's" record Ponce De Leon doesn't half pack a punch. In fact with a 72.92% KO ratio he is up there with the hardest punchers in the sport and he's proven it at world level himself having claimed world titles at both Super Bantamweight and Featherweight. Sadly however for Ponce De Leon he's never really had the skills to compliment his destructive power and his punch delivery and set ups have been lacking, though in recent years he's certainly developed his boxing ability and hardly looks like the fighter he once was.
Mares on the other hand is a determined and dogged combination puncher with a bullish style that sees him applying relentless pressure and aggression in an attempt to break down an opponent. This mindset combined with his body attack (both legal and illegal) has made him a genuine nightmare to fight against.
The big question mark going in to this fight is whether or not Mares will be able to assert himself against a big, tough, powerful lump like Ponce De Leon who is a genuine Featherweight (and has even pushed Adrien Broner hard at Super Featherweight). If Mares can't bully Ponce De Leon and get on the inside to launch his excellent combinations then this will be a very hard night, though he does have a plan be of out boxing the technically limited Ponce De Leon. If however Ponce De Leon can stamp his power on the bout and make Mares think twice about coming inside this could become a genuinely hard bout for Mares, who is being painted as a future Mexican star.
I've written off Mares too many times in the past to do so again so whilst I view the bout as a very tough one I do see Mares managing to overcome his experienced and hard hitting rival one way or another.
Prediction-Mares UD 12
Thursday 2 May 2013
Wladimir Klitshcko v Francesco Pianeta
The #1 Heavyweight in the world, Wladimir Klitschko (59-3, 50) will have been watching on in recent weeks as a number of other top Heavyweights have been on action, though now comes his turn as he faces the unbeaten Italian Francesco Pianeta (28-0-1, 15).
Having seen the likes of Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder and Bermane Stiverne in action it's unlikely that the WBA "Super", WBO, IBF and Ring magazine champion will be shaking in his boots, though at 37 years old those younger men actually look like the future of the division whilst Klitschko himself looks like the present and possibly even the past of the division.
Against the 28 year old Pianeta it's fair to say that Klitschko is a notably older man than his challenger though with age comes his experience and more than twice as many bouts, in fact Klitschko has had almost as many world title fights (22) as Pianeta has total bouts. With "Dr Steel hammer" looking for win #60 it's amazing to think his opponent is entering just his 30's professional bout.
Not only does Klitschko have a clear edge in experience but he's also got the power edge with an eye opening 80.65% of his bouts ending via stoppage in his favour compared to just 51.72% of Pianeta's and that's with out even mentioning the vast quality difference in opponents. To be totally honest it's incredibly difficult to actually point out a Pianeta victory worth talking about with his best opponents so far being the likes of Matt Skelton, Oliver McCall and Robert Sosnowski all distinctly C grade opponents when compared to Klitschko.
Pianeta may be unbeaten but his competition does somewhat explain why and comparing it to Klitschko's competition over the last few years shows the huge disparity in competition with Klitschko holding wins over Sultan Ibragimov, Ruslan Chagaev and David Haye amongst others.
Despite being a southpaw and pretty much the same size as Klitschko it's hard to see Pianeta being anything more than another victim of Klitschko. It's true that Klitschko v Ibragimov (another southpaw) was one of the worst fights in Heavyweight title history but Ibragimov was a very talented fighter and Pianeta really isn't.
Klitschko has a reputation for dragging fights out with his safety first mentality and it's likely he'll do the same here before throwing, and landing the straight right which holds explosive power. With Pianeta being a southpaw he's liable to be caught even more cleanly than orthodox fighters by the straight right ("the kryptonite of southpaw's) and when it connects it'll be good night Mr Pianeta.
Prediction-Klitschko KO8
Having seen the likes of Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder and Bermane Stiverne in action it's unlikely that the WBA "Super", WBO, IBF and Ring magazine champion will be shaking in his boots, though at 37 years old those younger men actually look like the future of the division whilst Klitschko himself looks like the present and possibly even the past of the division.
Against the 28 year old Pianeta it's fair to say that Klitschko is a notably older man than his challenger though with age comes his experience and more than twice as many bouts, in fact Klitschko has had almost as many world title fights (22) as Pianeta has total bouts. With "Dr Steel hammer" looking for win #60 it's amazing to think his opponent is entering just his 30's professional bout.
Not only does Klitschko have a clear edge in experience but he's also got the power edge with an eye opening 80.65% of his bouts ending via stoppage in his favour compared to just 51.72% of Pianeta's and that's with out even mentioning the vast quality difference in opponents. To be totally honest it's incredibly difficult to actually point out a Pianeta victory worth talking about with his best opponents so far being the likes of Matt Skelton, Oliver McCall and Robert Sosnowski all distinctly C grade opponents when compared to Klitschko.
Pianeta may be unbeaten but his competition does somewhat explain why and comparing it to Klitschko's competition over the last few years shows the huge disparity in competition with Klitschko holding wins over Sultan Ibragimov, Ruslan Chagaev and David Haye amongst others.
Despite being a southpaw and pretty much the same size as Klitschko it's hard to see Pianeta being anything more than another victim of Klitschko. It's true that Klitschko v Ibragimov (another southpaw) was one of the worst fights in Heavyweight title history but Ibragimov was a very talented fighter and Pianeta really isn't.
Klitschko has a reputation for dragging fights out with his safety first mentality and it's likely he'll do the same here before throwing, and landing the straight right which holds explosive power. With Pianeta being a southpaw he's liable to be caught even more cleanly than orthodox fighters by the straight right ("the kryptonite of southpaw's) and when it connects it'll be good night Mr Pianeta.
Prediction-Klitschko KO8
Yota Sato v Srisaket Sor Rungvisai
The first world title fight of the week see's WBC Super Flyweight champion Yota Sato (26-2-1, 12) attempting to make his 3rd title defense as he travels to Thailand in a possibly historic bout against Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (18-3-1, 17).
In the history of the sport no native Japanese fighter has ever successfully defended a world title with a victory in Thailand. For Sato this is something that needs to be changed and with the way he won the title back in March 2012 shows that he has the ability to make history.
Back in March of last year Sato put on an incredible performance to claim the WBC title when he out pointed the highly regarded Suriyan Sor Rungvisai over 12 rounds, dropping Suriyan twice on route to the victory. Since then he has defended the title twice defeating both Sylvester Lopez and Ryo Akaho by clear decision.
Aged 29 Sato is a fighter who physically in his prime and a fighter who will not be wanting to lose his title despite going to Thailand where Japanese fighters have an awful record.
From footage Sato has shown himself to be very talented with a good understanding of the ring, fast hands, nice shot selection a genuine toughness and although he's not a huge a huge puncher he's a very clean puncher who lands hurtful shots as opposed to concussive shots. From a distance Sato is an intelligent fighter though he can also mix it up in close with a high work rate and an unexpected toughness.
At 26 years old Srisaket Sor Rungvisai is less experienced than the Japanese champion though his record is nothing short of eye opening, despite losing 3 of his first 5 professional bouts (including a debut loss to current WBC Flyweight champion Akira Yaegashi). Since a 10 round decision loss to Kenji Oba back in February 2010 Srisaket has been on an excellent run of 17 straight wins with 16 coming by way of T/KO.
Whilst Srisaket has been on an excellent run in terms of victories he has been fighting low level opponents with his most notable victories coming against Alvin Bais and Dondon Jimenea (who was the only man not to be stopped during the rug, losing a technical decision when Srisaket was cut). What his results will be like against an experienced opponent could be very different, especially when one considers that Sato has proven to be a tough nut himself.
Whilst Sato certainly has the skills, competition and experience edge it's fair to say that Srisaket's key advantage is the fact he's fighting at home. As mentioned already no Japanese champion has ever won in a title defense in Thailand. This sort of historical challenge lies on the shoulders of Sato and that sort of pressure can be enough to drown a fighters hopes.
If the bout was in Japan I'd assume it'd be an easy win for Sato but with it being in Thailand and being fought in the middle of the day in an outdoor arena it could be a very hard fight for Sato. I think, as long as Sato has prepared properly he should be able to defend his belt, if he's not prepared there is every chance he'll be upset here.
Prediction-Sato by TKO9
In the history of the sport no native Japanese fighter has ever successfully defended a world title with a victory in Thailand. For Sato this is something that needs to be changed and with the way he won the title back in March 2012 shows that he has the ability to make history.
Back in March of last year Sato put on an incredible performance to claim the WBC title when he out pointed the highly regarded Suriyan Sor Rungvisai over 12 rounds, dropping Suriyan twice on route to the victory. Since then he has defended the title twice defeating both Sylvester Lopez and Ryo Akaho by clear decision.
Aged 29 Sato is a fighter who physically in his prime and a fighter who will not be wanting to lose his title despite going to Thailand where Japanese fighters have an awful record.
From footage Sato has shown himself to be very talented with a good understanding of the ring, fast hands, nice shot selection a genuine toughness and although he's not a huge a huge puncher he's a very clean puncher who lands hurtful shots as opposed to concussive shots. From a distance Sato is an intelligent fighter though he can also mix it up in close with a high work rate and an unexpected toughness.
At 26 years old Srisaket Sor Rungvisai is less experienced than the Japanese champion though his record is nothing short of eye opening, despite losing 3 of his first 5 professional bouts (including a debut loss to current WBC Flyweight champion Akira Yaegashi). Since a 10 round decision loss to Kenji Oba back in February 2010 Srisaket has been on an excellent run of 17 straight wins with 16 coming by way of T/KO.
Whilst Srisaket has been on an excellent run in terms of victories he has been fighting low level opponents with his most notable victories coming against Alvin Bais and Dondon Jimenea (who was the only man not to be stopped during the rug, losing a technical decision when Srisaket was cut). What his results will be like against an experienced opponent could be very different, especially when one considers that Sato has proven to be a tough nut himself.
Whilst Sato certainly has the skills, competition and experience edge it's fair to say that Srisaket's key advantage is the fact he's fighting at home. As mentioned already no Japanese champion has ever won in a title defense in Thailand. This sort of historical challenge lies on the shoulders of Sato and that sort of pressure can be enough to drown a fighters hopes.
If the bout was in Japan I'd assume it'd be an easy win for Sato but with it being in Thailand and being fought in the middle of the day in an outdoor arena it could be a very hard fight for Sato. I think, as long as Sato has prepared properly he should be able to defend his belt, if he's not prepared there is every chance he'll be upset here.
Prediction-Sato by TKO9
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