If any active champion is very lucky right now it's Donnie Nietes (31-1-4, 17) who got one of the luckiest decisions in boxing earlier this year when he defended his WBO Light Flyweight title with a draw over Moises Funetes. Nietes, who out punched, out fought, out worked and generally dominated by Fuentes deserved to lose his title back then yet some how got bailed out with the draw.
Nietes will be defending his title for the first time since that controversial contest with Fuentes as he battles another Mexican, Sammy Gutierrez (33-9-2, 23) a man who himself once claimed a portion of the world crown at Minimumweight.
At his best Gutierrez was a challenge for near enough anyone at 105 or even 108 and going through his opponents reads as a whose who. Unfortunately however Gutierrez wasn't a stand out fighter. He was a very credible fighter though someone who just seemed to come up short against the real world class fighters. For example he was stopped by Nkosinathi Joyi and out pointed by Omar Nino Romero, Raul Garcia and Juan Palacios.
The down fall for Gutierrez has been quick as well. Just 3 years ago he was the WBA interim champion but now he's struggling to string wins together and has gone 3-3 in his last 6 and 5-4 in his last 9. Yes, this is a fighter who is paying for his wars in the ring despite only being 27.
Whilst I'd also say that Nietes is regressing as a fighter in recent years he's not totally dropping off a cliff like Gutierrez. He's struggling for sure but there is enough left in the tank for him to keep his title despite some poor performances.
At his very best Nietes was a fringe pound-for-pound fighter who could do it all. Now however he's someone who struggles. He struggled with Fuentes, he struggled with Felipe Salguero and he struggled with Ramon Hirales Garcia. Maybe it's because Nietes isn't a natural Light Flyweight but personally I think it's the fact he's forgetting some of the things that made him so good at Minimumweight.
In regards to this bout, I think Nietes has enough left to stop the shadow of Gutierrez but don't let a good performance here belie the fact that Nietes isn't half the fighter he once was. This is a man who is very fortunate to call himself a world champion and likely won't be able to for too much longer.
Prediction-Nietes TKO8
Showing posts with label Filipino. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Filipino. Show all posts
Thursday, 28 November 2013
Merlito Sabillo v Carlos Buitrago
The next few days are amongst the most important in Minimumweight history. Inside a week the WBC, WBO and IBF titles will all be up for grabs and they will all be fought for across Asia.
For me the most interesting of those three bouts is for the WBO title as the unbeaten Filipino Merlito Sabillo (23-0, 12) looks to make the second defense of his title. Sabillo, who successfully defended his belt Jorle Estrada in July, will be facing his third successive Latin America as he takes on unbeaten Nicaraguan Carlos Buitrago (27-0-0-1, 16) in what looks likely to be a special contest.
Of the two men it's probably the challenger who is better known by boxing fans due to the huge amount of hype and expectation Buitrago has had on his shoulders over the past few years. The Nicaraguan, viewed by many as next great fighter from that country, has been tipped as a world champion since he was just a teenager.
It was about 4 years ago that hardcore fans began to hear about a Nicaraguan wonder kid who had the natural tools to go a long, long way. Of course some kids fail to ever reach their potential but Buitrago built on his excellent skills and has shown, in a number of fights, that he can do almost anything.
Unlike many South American's Buitrago has built his style on fundamental building blocks. This has seen him developing an excellent jab, a great straight and wonderful movement. Sure he has been showing it against mostly limited opponents but the fact that he has those tools in his locker is invaluable at the world level.
Although Buitrago is well known it's odd that the champion really isn't. In fact prior to this year almost nobody in the sport was talking about Merlito Sabillo, who has now become one of real dangermen at 105lbs.
Sabillo first popped on to the world stage courtesy of a stunning stoppage over Luis De La Rosa in Colombia back in March. This victory over De La Rosa, an all out war, saw Sabillo claiming the WBO interim world title that was later upgraded to the regular title when Moises Fuentes moved up to the Light Flyweight division.
Sabillo is a bit more of a warrior than Buitrago, in fact he was apparently spotted having street fights prior to becoming a professional boxer. He looks tough, he looks strong and although his record doesn't indicate it he does hit hard, as shown by the fact he has stopped his last 5 opponents.
It's this growing power and belief in Sabillo that makes me favour him by stoppage over the Nicaraguan visitor. In terms of pure boxing skills Buitrago is better but something makes me think that Sabillo's "street fighter" heart will come out and he'll eventually get close and break Buitrago down in the later rounds of an absolute classic.
Prediction-Sabillo TKO11
For me the most interesting of those three bouts is for the WBO title as the unbeaten Filipino Merlito Sabillo (23-0, 12) looks to make the second defense of his title. Sabillo, who successfully defended his belt Jorle Estrada in July, will be facing his third successive Latin America as he takes on unbeaten Nicaraguan Carlos Buitrago (27-0-0-1, 16) in what looks likely to be a special contest.
Of the two men it's probably the challenger who is better known by boxing fans due to the huge amount of hype and expectation Buitrago has had on his shoulders over the past few years. The Nicaraguan, viewed by many as next great fighter from that country, has been tipped as a world champion since he was just a teenager.
It was about 4 years ago that hardcore fans began to hear about a Nicaraguan wonder kid who had the natural tools to go a long, long way. Of course some kids fail to ever reach their potential but Buitrago built on his excellent skills and has shown, in a number of fights, that he can do almost anything.
Unlike many South American's Buitrago has built his style on fundamental building blocks. This has seen him developing an excellent jab, a great straight and wonderful movement. Sure he has been showing it against mostly limited opponents but the fact that he has those tools in his locker is invaluable at the world level.
Although Buitrago is well known it's odd that the champion really isn't. In fact prior to this year almost nobody in the sport was talking about Merlito Sabillo, who has now become one of real dangermen at 105lbs.
Sabillo first popped on to the world stage courtesy of a stunning stoppage over Luis De La Rosa in Colombia back in March. This victory over De La Rosa, an all out war, saw Sabillo claiming the WBO interim world title that was later upgraded to the regular title when Moises Fuentes moved up to the Light Flyweight division.
Sabillo is a bit more of a warrior than Buitrago, in fact he was apparently spotted having street fights prior to becoming a professional boxer. He looks tough, he looks strong and although his record doesn't indicate it he does hit hard, as shown by the fact he has stopped his last 5 opponents.
It's this growing power and belief in Sabillo that makes me favour him by stoppage over the Nicaraguan visitor. In terms of pure boxing skills Buitrago is better but something makes me think that Sabillo's "street fighter" heart will come out and he'll eventually get close and break Buitrago down in the later rounds of an absolute classic.
Prediction-Sabillo TKO11
Wednesday, 23 October 2013
John Riel Casimero v Felipe Salguero
Filipino Light Flyweight John Riel Casimero (18-2, 10) looks to make the third defense of his IBF title this weekend in one of a number of "forgotten" bouts, though one that looks like it has the potential to be the fight of the weekend.
Although relatively ignored by the boxing public Casimero is one of the true "road warriors" of boxing. He has been fighting throughout Latin America in recent contests and sadly this has prevented many Filipino fans from actually following one of their few active world champions, despite impressive victories in Panama, Argentina, Mexico and Nicaragua over his past few fights.
This time it's a Latin American traveling to fight Casimero as highly ranked Mexican fighter Felipe Salguero (18-4-1, 13) returns to the Philippines for his second world title fight, following a close 2012 loss to Donnie Neites in a WBO title title contest.
Although Salguero was taking a huge step up when he faced Neites last he gave a stirring performance using controlled aggression, heavy hands and a solid work rate to push the talented Neites very close. It was supposed to be an easy defense for Neites but Salguero proved to be a genuine challenge who adapted well to fighting on foreign soil for the first time.
Unfortunately following his loss to Neites, Salguero was stopped by Luis Alberto Rios a man who was subsequently outboxed by Casimero. Prior to being stopped by Rios however he had dropped the Panamanian and so obviously does have the power to hurt good fighters. Saying that however Casimero is tough and only Moruti Mthalane, the IBF Flyweight champion, has stopped him so far.
The match up here is one that sees a solid, world ranked pressure fighter up against a skilled boxer. Usually these match ups depend a lot on on the levels of the two men, not just of their fighting ability but also their ability to adapt to what the other man does. Here I think Casimero is the more versatile, he can box, he can fight and whilst he's not elite at any particular thing he's also not got a lot of clear weaknesses. Salguero on the other hand is slightly crude and can be out boxed.
This will be tough, competitive and possibly a very good fight, however I feel that Casimero will manage to take the decision, albeit a close one.
Prediction-Casimero UD12 (close)
Although relatively ignored by the boxing public Casimero is one of the true "road warriors" of boxing. He has been fighting throughout Latin America in recent contests and sadly this has prevented many Filipino fans from actually following one of their few active world champions, despite impressive victories in Panama, Argentina, Mexico and Nicaragua over his past few fights.
This time it's a Latin American traveling to fight Casimero as highly ranked Mexican fighter Felipe Salguero (18-4-1, 13) returns to the Philippines for his second world title fight, following a close 2012 loss to Donnie Neites in a WBO title title contest.
Although Salguero was taking a huge step up when he faced Neites last he gave a stirring performance using controlled aggression, heavy hands and a solid work rate to push the talented Neites very close. It was supposed to be an easy defense for Neites but Salguero proved to be a genuine challenge who adapted well to fighting on foreign soil for the first time.
Unfortunately following his loss to Neites, Salguero was stopped by Luis Alberto Rios a man who was subsequently outboxed by Casimero. Prior to being stopped by Rios however he had dropped the Panamanian and so obviously does have the power to hurt good fighters. Saying that however Casimero is tough and only Moruti Mthalane, the IBF Flyweight champion, has stopped him so far.
The match up here is one that sees a solid, world ranked pressure fighter up against a skilled boxer. Usually these match ups depend a lot on on the levels of the two men, not just of their fighting ability but also their ability to adapt to what the other man does. Here I think Casimero is the more versatile, he can box, he can fight and whilst he's not elite at any particular thing he's also not got a lot of clear weaknesses. Salguero on the other hand is slightly crude and can be out boxed.
This will be tough, competitive and possibly a very good fight, however I feel that Casimero will manage to take the decision, albeit a close one.
Prediction-Casimero UD12 (close)
Friday, 6 September 2013
Moises Fuentes v Luis De la Rosa
It's not often that a world title fight, on a Saturday night, goes completely under the radar but this weekend has one such fight as Mexican Moises Fuentes (17-1-1, 8) attempts to claim the WBO "interim" Light Flyweight title as he takes on Colombian Luis De la Rosa (22-2-1, 12) in what could turn out to be a "sleeper" classic.
For those who haven't seen Fuentes before, where have you been hiding? The guy is a beast of a Light Flyweight (and had been a beast of a Minimumweight prior to adding 3lbs), he's tough, hard working, and a real night mare to fight with his toughness and pressure mentality.
Although of course many fans ignore the lower weight divisions Fuentes is one of those fighters who's style we can all enjoy. He's relentless in his pursuit of victory, he throws a lot, takes a lot and refuses to take a backwards step. It was his none stop pressure that forced the retirement of former Minimumweight great Ivan Calderon and also saw him scoring a draw against Donnie Nietes (in a bout I have marked down as a front runner for the robbery of the year).
Although Fuentes can often be made to look slow, with both his hands an feet, his toughness, combined with a determined body attack can eventually see opponents forced to slow to his level. When that happens he tends to be able to grind down an opponent to take a decision.
Whilst plenty of fans will have had the fortune of seeing the Mexican many fewer will have had the fortune of seeing his co-challenger. In fact in all honesty De La Rosa is pretty unknown outside of Colombia with only his two losses being of any sort of note at all.
The first of those losses came in 2010 in a split decision loss to very good Raul Garcia the second of those, coming earlier this year in fact, came to the unheralded Merlito Sabillo of the Philippines. Unfortunately with losses in both of those fights there is little in terms of noteworthy victories on his record, the best would be a domestic title victory over Luis Doria.
Despite the fact De La Rosa has lost his two highest profile bouts he hasn't actually looked that bad. His fight with Sabillo was exceptional before he was stopped whilst his loss to "Rayito" saw him dropping Garcia and being beaten by a single point on two card, whilst winning on the third. Sure he might not be a special fighter but in his two top tier chances he has performed very admirably.
The style of the two men should genuinely gel quite well here with Fuentes stalking and De La Rosa fighting hard on the back foot. Unfortunately for the Colombian however I can't imagine him lasting the 12 rounds with Fuentes's body attack pressure, though he'll certainly give it his all until his body folds.
Prediction-Fuentes TKO9
For those who haven't seen Fuentes before, where have you been hiding? The guy is a beast of a Light Flyweight (and had been a beast of a Minimumweight prior to adding 3lbs), he's tough, hard working, and a real night mare to fight with his toughness and pressure mentality.
Although of course many fans ignore the lower weight divisions Fuentes is one of those fighters who's style we can all enjoy. He's relentless in his pursuit of victory, he throws a lot, takes a lot and refuses to take a backwards step. It was his none stop pressure that forced the retirement of former Minimumweight great Ivan Calderon and also saw him scoring a draw against Donnie Nietes (in a bout I have marked down as a front runner for the robbery of the year).
Although Fuentes can often be made to look slow, with both his hands an feet, his toughness, combined with a determined body attack can eventually see opponents forced to slow to his level. When that happens he tends to be able to grind down an opponent to take a decision.
Whilst plenty of fans will have had the fortune of seeing the Mexican many fewer will have had the fortune of seeing his co-challenger. In fact in all honesty De La Rosa is pretty unknown outside of Colombia with only his two losses being of any sort of note at all.
The first of those losses came in 2010 in a split decision loss to very good Raul Garcia the second of those, coming earlier this year in fact, came to the unheralded Merlito Sabillo of the Philippines. Unfortunately with losses in both of those fights there is little in terms of noteworthy victories on his record, the best would be a domestic title victory over Luis Doria.
Despite the fact De La Rosa has lost his two highest profile bouts he hasn't actually looked that bad. His fight with Sabillo was exceptional before he was stopped whilst his loss to "Rayito" saw him dropping Garcia and being beaten by a single point on two card, whilst winning on the third. Sure he might not be a special fighter but in his two top tier chances he has performed very admirably.
The style of the two men should genuinely gel quite well here with Fuentes stalking and De La Rosa fighting hard on the back foot. Unfortunately for the Colombian however I can't imagine him lasting the 12 rounds with Fuentes's body attack pressure, though he'll certainly give it his all until his body folds.
Prediction-Fuentes TKO9
Thursday, 25 July 2013
Juan Francisco Estrada v Milan Melindo
Emerging Mexican star Juan Francisco Estrada (24-2, 18) makes the first defense of his WBA and WBO Flyweight titles that he claimed from Brian Viloria earlier this year. Estrada returns to the scene of that victory over Viloria as he faces unbeaten Filipino challenger Milan Melindo (29-0, 12).
The 23 year old Estrada really came to the attention of boxing fans late last year when he narrowly lost in a Light Flyweight title bout to Roman Gonzalez. Since then Estrada has become a favourite of mine with his heart and style.
At Flyweight Estrada is huge and uses his size and strength to his advantage as he brings a lot of pressure, true toughness (both mentally and physically) and very solid work rate. His toughness is draining to any opponent and he appeared to take the best shots of both Gonzalez (one of the hardest punchers pound-for-pound in world boxing) and Viloria with out ever being that hurt.
Against Viloria it was the relentless pressure that saw Estrada winning. He took everything Viloria had and kept coming forward, in the second half of the fight he started to take over and came very close to stopping an exhausted Viloria late.
With a wonderful variety of punches to both head and body Estrada is a difficult fighter to defend against, he's impossible to discourage and he's a fighter who break opponents mentally or physically if they are anything other than a special fighter themselves.
Unbeaten Filipino Melindo is a fighter who has been on the verges of a world title fight for several years. He has scored impressive victories over a mini-who's who such as Muhammad Rachman, Carlos Tamara, Jesus Geles and Jean Piero Perez though has had to wait several years for his first world title bout.
Unfortunately for Melindo he's probably managed to get his world title fight at the worst time. If you look at the current Flyweight champions they are exceptional, Estrada is one of the sports most over-looked men, no one will have an easy time with Moruti Mthalane (the IBF champion) and WBC champion Akira Yaegashi is a bundle of action encased in a teak tough man. Basically every champion at the weight is special, and Estrada is probably the best.
Melindo is a talented counter puncher. He slips shots well before firing back his own and although he's not as slippery or as skilled as either Floyd Mayweather Jr or Guillermo Rigondeaux who is? At the fringes of world level his counter punching sees him to victories with out too many problems (usually) though I'm not sure how well those skills will cope at genuine world level.
Having seen Melindo pushed hard by Perez however I've got to admit I have worries about him here. If he attempts to slip shots from Estrada he will get caught, repeatedly and eventually worn down and sadly I can't Melindo having enough in his arsenal to defeat Estrada.
Prediction-Estrada TKO7
The 23 year old Estrada really came to the attention of boxing fans late last year when he narrowly lost in a Light Flyweight title bout to Roman Gonzalez. Since then Estrada has become a favourite of mine with his heart and style.
At Flyweight Estrada is huge and uses his size and strength to his advantage as he brings a lot of pressure, true toughness (both mentally and physically) and very solid work rate. His toughness is draining to any opponent and he appeared to take the best shots of both Gonzalez (one of the hardest punchers pound-for-pound in world boxing) and Viloria with out ever being that hurt.
Against Viloria it was the relentless pressure that saw Estrada winning. He took everything Viloria had and kept coming forward, in the second half of the fight he started to take over and came very close to stopping an exhausted Viloria late.
With a wonderful variety of punches to both head and body Estrada is a difficult fighter to defend against, he's impossible to discourage and he's a fighter who break opponents mentally or physically if they are anything other than a special fighter themselves.
Unbeaten Filipino Melindo is a fighter who has been on the verges of a world title fight for several years. He has scored impressive victories over a mini-who's who such as Muhammad Rachman, Carlos Tamara, Jesus Geles and Jean Piero Perez though has had to wait several years for his first world title bout.
Unfortunately for Melindo he's probably managed to get his world title fight at the worst time. If you look at the current Flyweight champions they are exceptional, Estrada is one of the sports most over-looked men, no one will have an easy time with Moruti Mthalane (the IBF champion) and WBC champion Akira Yaegashi is a bundle of action encased in a teak tough man. Basically every champion at the weight is special, and Estrada is probably the best.
Melindo is a talented counter puncher. He slips shots well before firing back his own and although he's not as slippery or as skilled as either Floyd Mayweather Jr or Guillermo Rigondeaux who is? At the fringes of world level his counter punching sees him to victories with out too many problems (usually) though I'm not sure how well those skills will cope at genuine world level.
Having seen Melindo pushed hard by Perez however I've got to admit I have worries about him here. If he attempts to slip shots from Estrada he will get caught, repeatedly and eventually worn down and sadly I can't Melindo having enough in his arsenal to defeat Estrada.
Prediction-Estrada TKO7
Sunday, 21 July 2013
Koki Kameda v John Mark Apolinario
Japan's only 3-weight world champion Koki Kameda (30-1, 17) looks to make the 7th defense of the WBA Bantamweight title that he claimed back in December 2010. Kameda will be facing Filipino challenger John Mark Apolinario (17-2-3, 4) who is getting his third bite at a "world title" in as many fights.
Apolinario will be a recognisable name to those who have been visiting this site over the past year. He has twice faced, and drawn with, Roberto Vasquez in successive bouts for the WBA "interim" Bantamweight title.
Sadly for Apolinario the only bouts of any note on his record are those draws with Vasquez, unless you include his bout with Menard Zaragosa who left the ring to answer the call of nature, which lets be honest many felt he lost.
What the 23 year old Filipino does bring to the ring is toughness-having not been stopped since he was a 19 year old, heart and as always with Filipino's, the hunger to win. He may not have the greatest of power or even the greatest of skills but he's unwilling to be intimidated and will always try to be competitive despite his limitations.
In the champion, Koki, we have a man who widely splits opinion. To some he is the most interesting fighter in the East with his arrogance, loud mouth and general attitude. To others Koki is little more than a fortunate fighter who is comparable to some one like Sven Ottke, a paper champion who has been matched easily, kept at home and been given highly questionable decisions.
Whilst Kameda may be a 3-weigth world champion his reigns have never been that great. His first title, the WBA Light Flyweight title, was won on a highly controversial decision over Juan Jose Landaeta, his second title, the WBC Flyweight title, was lost on his first defense and his reign as WBA Bantamweight champion is one of the most controversial current reigns.
As the WBA Bantamweight champion Kameda has been fortunate to claim victories over David De La Mora, Hugo Ruiz and Panomroonglek Kaiyanghadaogym. That's half of his defense of the title.
Despite the controversy that is eternally linked with Kameda he is a genuinely talented fighter. Defensively he is sound, perhaps a little too much at times, he's offensively smart with quick hands a lovely straight left and whilst he doesn't have concussive power (at least not at 118) he's a clean puncher who does hurt when he lands.
Due to the lack of power of Apolinario I really can't see how he can upset Kameda. Kameda is more skilled, he's at home and he's actually "not that bad". Sure he's not genuine "world class" at Bantamweight (in fact he may only be the fourth best in Japan) and his title may be an alphabet one (due to Anselmo Moreno being the true WBA champion at the weight) but he's not a terrible fighter.
Kameda should certainly have more than enough in the locker to overcome Apolinario, in fact he should really in this at a canter. Although Apolinario is tough I can actually see Kameda wanting to put on a show late and force a stoppage especially given the poor performance against Kaiyanghadaogym, a performance that Kameda actually apologised for.
Prediction-Kameds TKO10
Apolinario will be a recognisable name to those who have been visiting this site over the past year. He has twice faced, and drawn with, Roberto Vasquez in successive bouts for the WBA "interim" Bantamweight title.
Sadly for Apolinario the only bouts of any note on his record are those draws with Vasquez, unless you include his bout with Menard Zaragosa who left the ring to answer the call of nature, which lets be honest many felt he lost.
What the 23 year old Filipino does bring to the ring is toughness-having not been stopped since he was a 19 year old, heart and as always with Filipino's, the hunger to win. He may not have the greatest of power or even the greatest of skills but he's unwilling to be intimidated and will always try to be competitive despite his limitations.
In the champion, Koki, we have a man who widely splits opinion. To some he is the most interesting fighter in the East with his arrogance, loud mouth and general attitude. To others Koki is little more than a fortunate fighter who is comparable to some one like Sven Ottke, a paper champion who has been matched easily, kept at home and been given highly questionable decisions.
Whilst Kameda may be a 3-weigth world champion his reigns have never been that great. His first title, the WBA Light Flyweight title, was won on a highly controversial decision over Juan Jose Landaeta, his second title, the WBC Flyweight title, was lost on his first defense and his reign as WBA Bantamweight champion is one of the most controversial current reigns.
As the WBA Bantamweight champion Kameda has been fortunate to claim victories over David De La Mora, Hugo Ruiz and Panomroonglek Kaiyanghadaogym. That's half of his defense of the title.
Despite the controversy that is eternally linked with Kameda he is a genuinely talented fighter. Defensively he is sound, perhaps a little too much at times, he's offensively smart with quick hands a lovely straight left and whilst he doesn't have concussive power (at least not at 118) he's a clean puncher who does hurt when he lands.
Due to the lack of power of Apolinario I really can't see how he can upset Kameda. Kameda is more skilled, he's at home and he's actually "not that bad". Sure he's not genuine "world class" at Bantamweight (in fact he may only be the fourth best in Japan) and his title may be an alphabet one (due to Anselmo Moreno being the true WBA champion at the weight) but he's not a terrible fighter.
Kameda should certainly have more than enough in the locker to overcome Apolinario, in fact he should really in this at a canter. Although Apolinario is tough I can actually see Kameda wanting to put on a show late and force a stoppage especially given the poor performance against Kaiyanghadaogym, a performance that Kameda actually apologised for.
Prediction-Kameds TKO10
Tuesday, 9 July 2013
Merlito Sabillo v Jorle Estrada
Unbeaten Filipino Merlito Sabillo (22-0, 11) might be the most obscure champion in world boxing right now despite holding the genuine WBO title at Minimumweight. He'll be looking to make the first defense of that belt when he takes on little known Colombian challenger Jorle Estrada (17-6, 6) in the Solaire Resort Hotel and Casino, Pasay City.
Although the Philippines is a boxing mad country Sabillo has never really had the hype that has been associated with his compatriots such as Froilan Saludar and Denver Cuello instead he's had to fight for his respect. He finally earned that respect last time out when he stopped Luis De La Rosa in De La Rosa's homeland of Colombia.
Although he's relatively unknown Sabillo is a highly talented fighter who had developed wonderfully since turning professionally back in 2008. He's developed not only the skills that have taken him to winning the WBO Minimumweight titles but also developed the power that has seen him stopping his last 4 opponents. Sure Sabillo isn't the next Pacquiao in terms of being a concussive puncher but he hits significantly harder than his record shows.
In Jorle Estrada we have a fighter who is even more obscure than Sabillo though footage does exist of him and information is out there about him nothing seems that impressive about him.
Estrada debuted in 2008 and started his career with 10 straight victories. Following those victories he went 3-6 losing to the likes of Carlos Buitrago, Pedro Guevara, Welter Tello and Carlos Velarde. This run would have discouraged many fighters but Estrada stuck with it and is currently on a 4 fight winning streak which has seen him claiming the South American Minimumweight title.
What I've seen of Estrada hasn't looked good. He appears to push his punches which never seem to have any snap or accuracy on them, his defense is weak and whilst he's been unfortunate to be stopped at least once (the stoppage loss to Buitrago was awfully weak) he doesn't look like he really takes a shot too well.
With the skill of Sabillo and his under-rated power I really can't see this going the distance. I imagine he'll rock Estrada in the middle rounds and then go for the kill unloading until Estrada is eventually stopped.
Prediction-Sabillo TKO7
Although the Philippines is a boxing mad country Sabillo has never really had the hype that has been associated with his compatriots such as Froilan Saludar and Denver Cuello instead he's had to fight for his respect. He finally earned that respect last time out when he stopped Luis De La Rosa in De La Rosa's homeland of Colombia.
Although he's relatively unknown Sabillo is a highly talented fighter who had developed wonderfully since turning professionally back in 2008. He's developed not only the skills that have taken him to winning the WBO Minimumweight titles but also developed the power that has seen him stopping his last 4 opponents. Sure Sabillo isn't the next Pacquiao in terms of being a concussive puncher but he hits significantly harder than his record shows.
In Jorle Estrada we have a fighter who is even more obscure than Sabillo though footage does exist of him and information is out there about him nothing seems that impressive about him.
Estrada debuted in 2008 and started his career with 10 straight victories. Following those victories he went 3-6 losing to the likes of Carlos Buitrago, Pedro Guevara, Welter Tello and Carlos Velarde. This run would have discouraged many fighters but Estrada stuck with it and is currently on a 4 fight winning streak which has seen him claiming the South American Minimumweight title.
What I've seen of Estrada hasn't looked good. He appears to push his punches which never seem to have any snap or accuracy on them, his defense is weak and whilst he's been unfortunate to be stopped at least once (the stoppage loss to Buitrago was awfully weak) he doesn't look like he really takes a shot too well.
With the skill of Sabillo and his under-rated power I really can't see this going the distance. I imagine he'll rock Estrada in the middle rounds and then go for the kill unloading until Estrada is eventually stopped.
Prediction-Sabillo TKO7
Wednesday, 10 April 2013
Nonito Donaire v Guillermo Rigondeaux
In this weekends stand out fight we see Filipino born American based pound-for-pound fighter Nonito Donaire (31-1, 20) face off against against former Cuban amateur legend Guillermo Rigondeaux (11-0, 8) in a unification of the WBO and WBA titles and a bout to decide who truly is the top dog at Super Bantamweight.
Going in to the bout Rigondeaux is the betting under-dog despite having an amazing career as both an amateur and a professional. In fact as an amateur Rigondeaux's will go down as one of the all time greats. He fought around 400 amateur fights and was rumoured to have won 388 of them, which included numerous bouts in Olympics and World Amateur champions, in fact Rigondeaux claimed 2 Olympic gold medals and two World Amateur titles as he dominated the Bantamweight division in the unpaid ranks.
As a professional Rigondeaux has been fast tracked, partly due to his amateur credentials but also partly due to the fact he made his professional debut when he was 28 years old. The speed of Rigondeaux's rise to the top was amazing and within just 18 months of his debut he had already claimed the interim WBA Super Bantamweight title. After a solitary defense of the interim belt Rigondeaux claimed the "regular" title thanks to a victory over Rico Ramos and he has since defended his title twice.
Despite his stellar record and amazing skills Rigondeaux has numerous question marks over his durability as a professional. Although he has only been down once as a professional (thanks to Ricardo Cordoba) he has been rattled several times including in his last fight against the limited Robert Marroquin. It's fair to say that Donaire hit's as hard, if not harder, than both Cordoba and Marroquin but he's also not the sort of fighter who will let a hurt opponent recover with out applying some serious pressure.
Sure Rigondeaux can hurt fighters, especially with his body shots which are amongst the best in the sport right now but the big questions regarding his chin specifically are the big worries.
With Donaire we have an exceptional fighter. Sure the 30 year old lacks the amateur pedigree of Rigondeaux but his professional achievements speak for themselves. Not only is record excellent at 31-1 but he's also unbeaten in 30 bouts (losing only his second professional contest) spread over 12 years which have seen him claiming world titles at Flyweight, Super Flyweight, Bantamweight and Super Bantamweight. He has also been given accolades including "Fighter of the Year" as he's proven to be one of the sports premier fighters.
Over the past 6 years Donaire's record has spoke for it's self with victories over a real who's who of the sport including Vic Darchinyan, Moruti Mthalane, Hernan Marquez, Fernando Montiel, Omar Andres Narvaez, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr, Jeffrey Mathebula, Toshiaki Nishioka and Jorge Arce. It's little wonder that the "Filipino Flash" is so highly ranked, especially when you consider the manner of many of his victories which he has made look very easy.
Despite the fact that Donaire has scored some exceptional victories over top contenders other opponents have made Donaire look bad. For example Narvaez, Mthalane and Vazquez all frustrated Donaire despite losing. These men have shown that Donaire isn't a perfect fighter and where an opponent uses an intelligent defense they can annoy Donaire who appears to be a flat out counter puncher and struggles to force the action, this could certainly come in to play against Rigondeaux.
If Rigondeaux can frustrate Donaire with refusal to engage and his own counter punching and speed he does have a genuine chance of the upset here though he'll need to make sure Donaire can't tag him clean.
For me personally the key to this bout concerns who can be the most patient. I don't imagine this will be a classic but it should be a high speed chess match with both men looking for a gap for their sharp, technically beautiful shots. Neither man will be looking to open up too much but both will be looking to land. Whilst I think Rigondeaux will cope better with the boos that I expect we'll hear I just can't see him avoiding Donaire's power right through the bout and when he's hurt Donaire won't let im off the hook.
Prediction-Donaire TKO7
Going in to the bout Rigondeaux is the betting under-dog despite having an amazing career as both an amateur and a professional. In fact as an amateur Rigondeaux's will go down as one of the all time greats. He fought around 400 amateur fights and was rumoured to have won 388 of them, which included numerous bouts in Olympics and World Amateur champions, in fact Rigondeaux claimed 2 Olympic gold medals and two World Amateur titles as he dominated the Bantamweight division in the unpaid ranks.
As a professional Rigondeaux has been fast tracked, partly due to his amateur credentials but also partly due to the fact he made his professional debut when he was 28 years old. The speed of Rigondeaux's rise to the top was amazing and within just 18 months of his debut he had already claimed the interim WBA Super Bantamweight title. After a solitary defense of the interim belt Rigondeaux claimed the "regular" title thanks to a victory over Rico Ramos and he has since defended his title twice.
Despite his stellar record and amazing skills Rigondeaux has numerous question marks over his durability as a professional. Although he has only been down once as a professional (thanks to Ricardo Cordoba) he has been rattled several times including in his last fight against the limited Robert Marroquin. It's fair to say that Donaire hit's as hard, if not harder, than both Cordoba and Marroquin but he's also not the sort of fighter who will let a hurt opponent recover with out applying some serious pressure.
Sure Rigondeaux can hurt fighters, especially with his body shots which are amongst the best in the sport right now but the big questions regarding his chin specifically are the big worries.
With Donaire we have an exceptional fighter. Sure the 30 year old lacks the amateur pedigree of Rigondeaux but his professional achievements speak for themselves. Not only is record excellent at 31-1 but he's also unbeaten in 30 bouts (losing only his second professional contest) spread over 12 years which have seen him claiming world titles at Flyweight, Super Flyweight, Bantamweight and Super Bantamweight. He has also been given accolades including "Fighter of the Year" as he's proven to be one of the sports premier fighters.
Over the past 6 years Donaire's record has spoke for it's self with victories over a real who's who of the sport including Vic Darchinyan, Moruti Mthalane, Hernan Marquez, Fernando Montiel, Omar Andres Narvaez, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr, Jeffrey Mathebula, Toshiaki Nishioka and Jorge Arce. It's little wonder that the "Filipino Flash" is so highly ranked, especially when you consider the manner of many of his victories which he has made look very easy.
Despite the fact that Donaire has scored some exceptional victories over top contenders other opponents have made Donaire look bad. For example Narvaez, Mthalane and Vazquez all frustrated Donaire despite losing. These men have shown that Donaire isn't a perfect fighter and where an opponent uses an intelligent defense they can annoy Donaire who appears to be a flat out counter puncher and struggles to force the action, this could certainly come in to play against Rigondeaux.
If Rigondeaux can frustrate Donaire with refusal to engage and his own counter punching and speed he does have a genuine chance of the upset here though he'll need to make sure Donaire can't tag him clean.
For me personally the key to this bout concerns who can be the most patient. I don't imagine this will be a classic but it should be a high speed chess match with both men looking for a gap for their sharp, technically beautiful shots. Neither man will be looking to open up too much but both will be looking to land. Whilst I think Rigondeaux will cope better with the boos that I expect we'll hear I just can't see him avoiding Donaire's power right through the bout and when he's hurt Donaire won't let im off the hook.
Prediction-Donaire TKO7
Sunday, 7 April 2013
Shinsuke Yamanaka v Malcolm Tunacao
In arguably the most interesting bout on the wonderful Tokyo title trio is the WBC Bantamweight title defense of Shinsuka Yamanaka (17-0-2, 12) who faces Filipino veteran and former WBC Flyweight champion Malcolm Tunacao (32-2-3, 20).
Going in to this bout the 35 year old Tunacao will know that this will be the last major chance he will get in his career. In fact at 35 years old he is ancient for a Bantamweight and is possibly living on borrowed time as it is. Saying that however he's a fighter who knows that he's getting a chance he has been owed for a few years now.
Having been a professional since 1998 Tuncao has had several ups and downs in his career with the most notable up being an upset victory in 2000 over Medgoen Singsurat which saw Tunacao claiming the WBC Flyweight title. Sadly his reign back then was short lived and Pongsaklek Wonjongkam destroyed the young Tuncao inside a round in just his second defense.
Since losing to Wonjongkam in 2001 Tuncao has been the forgotten man of Filipino boxing despite claiming various titles including the OPBF Bantamweight title and the WBC International Super Flyweight titles. In fact since losing Wonjongkam we've seen Tunacao go 21-1-2 in his career over the last 13 years as he has fought hard against unrewarding opponents such as Kohei Oba (who Tunacao has beaten and drawn with), Rolly Matsushita (the only man to beat Tunacao in the last decade) and Christian Esquivel. In fact it was the win over Esquivel that opened up the door for Tunacao to get his first world title bout since his loss to Wonjongkam.
Interestingly Esquivel actually links the two men with a victory by Yamanaka over Esquivel being the fight that put Yamanaka on the world stage and saw him winning the WBC Bantamweight title. Prior the to bout with Esquivel Yamanaka was almost unknown in the West despite having been the Japanese champion (and despite having been in an excellent bout with Ryosuke Iwasa).
Aged 30 himself, Yamanaka is no spring chicken though having only turned professional in 2006 he's a fighter who is notably younger than Tunacao in both age and ring years.
Yamanaka is a much improved fighter to the one who drew 2 of his first 7 bouts (and could well have started his career 3-4) in fact he's now arguably one of the most under-rated champions in the sport and yet also one of the most feared. In the last 2 years or saw he not only battled the highly regarded Iwasa to a stand still but stopped the aforementioned Esquivel, out pointed Vic Darchinyan and stopped Tomas Rojas in eye catching fashion.
With his own power Yamanaka is a dangerous fighter, though we've also seen him hurt. Not only did Iwasa manage to rattle him at times but Esquivel managed to drop him in their encounter before Yamanaka stopped Esquivel in the 11th round showing his power carries through late. Interestingly however Tunacao had a much easier job with Esquivel than Yamanaka, though admittedly Yamanaka did take something out of Esquivel in their battle.
Going in to this bout we know both men can be hurt and we know both men are hard hitters. Sadly for Tunacao I can't help but feel he's facing a man who is just that bit fresher and a bit less battle scarred in Yamanaka. With this in mind I'm going to have to go with Yamanaka to score the victory and although I imagine Tunacao will put his all in to it I think he'll get stopped late.
Prediction-Yamanaka TKO10
Going in to this bout the 35 year old Tunacao will know that this will be the last major chance he will get in his career. In fact at 35 years old he is ancient for a Bantamweight and is possibly living on borrowed time as it is. Saying that however he's a fighter who knows that he's getting a chance he has been owed for a few years now.
Having been a professional since 1998 Tuncao has had several ups and downs in his career with the most notable up being an upset victory in 2000 over Medgoen Singsurat which saw Tunacao claiming the WBC Flyweight title. Sadly his reign back then was short lived and Pongsaklek Wonjongkam destroyed the young Tuncao inside a round in just his second defense.
Since losing to Wonjongkam in 2001 Tuncao has been the forgotten man of Filipino boxing despite claiming various titles including the OPBF Bantamweight title and the WBC International Super Flyweight titles. In fact since losing Wonjongkam we've seen Tunacao go 21-1-2 in his career over the last 13 years as he has fought hard against unrewarding opponents such as Kohei Oba (who Tunacao has beaten and drawn with), Rolly Matsushita (the only man to beat Tunacao in the last decade) and Christian Esquivel. In fact it was the win over Esquivel that opened up the door for Tunacao to get his first world title bout since his loss to Wonjongkam.
Interestingly Esquivel actually links the two men with a victory by Yamanaka over Esquivel being the fight that put Yamanaka on the world stage and saw him winning the WBC Bantamweight title. Prior the to bout with Esquivel Yamanaka was almost unknown in the West despite having been the Japanese champion (and despite having been in an excellent bout with Ryosuke Iwasa).
Aged 30 himself, Yamanaka is no spring chicken though having only turned professional in 2006 he's a fighter who is notably younger than Tunacao in both age and ring years.
Yamanaka is a much improved fighter to the one who drew 2 of his first 7 bouts (and could well have started his career 3-4) in fact he's now arguably one of the most under-rated champions in the sport and yet also one of the most feared. In the last 2 years or saw he not only battled the highly regarded Iwasa to a stand still but stopped the aforementioned Esquivel, out pointed Vic Darchinyan and stopped Tomas Rojas in eye catching fashion.
With his own power Yamanaka is a dangerous fighter, though we've also seen him hurt. Not only did Iwasa manage to rattle him at times but Esquivel managed to drop him in their encounter before Yamanaka stopped Esquivel in the 11th round showing his power carries through late. Interestingly however Tunacao had a much easier job with Esquivel than Yamanaka, though admittedly Yamanaka did take something out of Esquivel in their battle.
Going in to this bout we know both men can be hurt and we know both men are hard hitters. Sadly for Tunacao I can't help but feel he's facing a man who is just that bit fresher and a bit less battle scarred in Yamanaka. With this in mind I'm going to have to go with Yamanaka to score the victory and although I imagine Tunacao will put his all in to it I think he'll get stopped late.
Prediction-Yamanaka TKO10
Friday, 15 March 2013
Roberto Vasquez v John Mark Apolinario II
Panamanian Roberto Vasquez (32-5-1, 22) and Filipino John Mark Apolinaro (17-2-2, 4) meet for the second time in a little over 4 months after fighting to a draw in November 2012. Like in their first fight the men will be battling for the WBA "interim" Bantamweight title though unlike last time, they will be fighting in Vasquez's native Panama as opposed to the more neutral Argentina (where their first fight was).
Going in to their first bout I felt Vasquez would simply have too much experience and skill for the untested Apolinario who in all honesty had never fought at Vasquez's level before. In fact Apolinario's losses to Marvin Tampus and Jessie Albaracin were pretty damning results in my eyes, despite this however Apolinario put on the performance of his life and held Vasquez in a hard fought bout.
This time I think Vasquez will know what to expect from the young Filipino and, roared on by the Panamanian fans I think he'll raise his game. Whilst Apolinario fought his best fight last time I don't think Vazquez did and although Apolinaio is the naturally bigger man the experience edge and home advantage makes it hard not to favour Vasquez again this time around.
Going in to their first bout I felt Vasquez would simply have too much experience and skill for the untested Apolinario who in all honesty had never fought at Vasquez's level before. In fact Apolinario's losses to Marvin Tampus and Jessie Albaracin were pretty damning results in my eyes, despite this however Apolinario put on the performance of his life and held Vasquez in a hard fought bout.
This time I think Vasquez will know what to expect from the young Filipino and, roared on by the Panamanian fans I think he'll raise his game. Whilst Apolinario fought his best fight last time I don't think Vazquez did and although Apolinaio is the naturally bigger man the experience edge and home advantage makes it hard not to favour Vasquez again this time around.
Thursday, 14 March 2013
John Riel Casimero v Luis Alberto Rios
The IBF Light Flyweight champion John Riel Casimero (17-2, 10) has had a very interesting career so far and despite only being 23 he has probably has more stories than many seasoned veterans. He's fought around the world, "caused" a riot by beating a controversial Argentinian and become a genuinely solid (though criminally under-rated) fighter. This weekend sees Casimero on the road again as he fights for the first time in Panama defending his title against the once beaten Luis Alberto Rios (18-1-1, 13).
Casimero debuted way back in 2007 as a fresh faced 17 year old and in a little over a year he had already claimed a notable title winning the Philippines Boxing Federation Flyweight title and upsetting the experienced Rodel Quilaton. That was just Casimero's 10th professional bout. Just months later Casimero would capture the WBO Asia Pacific Light Flyweight title title and prove himself to be one of the most exciting teenagers in the sport.
Aged just 19 Casimero left his native Philippines for the first time and traveled to Nicaragua to fight seasoned Colombian Cesar Canchila (who had been the first man to beat Giovanni Segura just 17 months earlier) in a bout for the interim WBO Light Flyweight title. Many had written off the relatively unknown Casimero who shocked many fan of the lower divisions by stopping Canchila in 11 rounds to take the title back home. Sadly Casimero's title reign was short lived as he would the belt in his next bout via split decision to Mexican Ramon Garcia Hirales.
Casimero's road journey continued in his next bout as he traveled to South Africa and faced the genuinely excellent Moruti Mthalane in an IBF Flyweight title bout. Mthalane was too big, too talented and too strong for the brave Casimero who was stopped in the fifth round.
After 3 fights away from home Casimero swiftly dispatched with Roemart Sentillas in the Philippines before arguably scoring his biggest win in Argentina where he stopped the very unlikable Luis Alberto Lazarte for the interim IBF Light Flyweight title. Sadly that bout is better remembered for the disgusting scenes that followed the bout rather than the victory for Casimero, who was later pelted with items as the crowd almost tried to kill him in one of the most horrific scenes seen in boxing in the past decade.
Since claiming the IBF Light Flyweight title Casimero has made a solitary defense of the belt, defeating Pedro Guevara in Mexico by split decision (in a bout that saw Guevara on the canvas numerous times with them often being ruled as "slips").
In terms of Casimero in the ring he's fearless, he's fast, accurate and a very under-rated fighter. I wouldn't put him in with Roman Gonzalez or Kazuto Ioka but against anyone else in the division he would at very least hold his own. He's only really been beaten once and that was by Mthalane who I'm a huge admirer off and in that bout everything was against Casimero, including weight and the crowd (and it showed as he was honesty swatted around by Mthalane). At Light Flyweight he's a genuine nightmare for anyone and he keeps his power late having stopped both Canchila (TKO11) and Lazarte (TKO10) late.
Going into this bout relatively little is known of Luis Alberto Rios. The 23 year old Panamanian challenger has, like Casimero, been a professional since 2007 and been in pretty much the same number of fights, though all of his have been at home in fact almost all of them have taken place in Panama City.
Despite fighting just in Panama Rios has faced several better known fighters. These have seen him scoring victories over Edwin Diaz, Walter Tello (who faces Alberto Rossel in Peru also this weekend), local journeyman Carlos Melo, former world title contender Luis Carrillo and most recently Felipe Salguero, also a world title contender. What is notable from those fights is that Rios has a solid punch on him having taken out Salguero (TKO11), Carillo (TKO5), Tello (TKO4).
It's not all good news for Rios though. He has been stopped himself (against Luis Carrillo) and was held to a draw with Carlos Melo in a rematch. He was dropped last time out against Salguero and if I'm being honest Salguero is no Casimero and this is what swings me in to feeling that Casimero should be able to hurt and stop Rios.
Prediction-Casimero TKO9
Casimero debuted way back in 2007 as a fresh faced 17 year old and in a little over a year he had already claimed a notable title winning the Philippines Boxing Federation Flyweight title and upsetting the experienced Rodel Quilaton. That was just Casimero's 10th professional bout. Just months later Casimero would capture the WBO Asia Pacific Light Flyweight title title and prove himself to be one of the most exciting teenagers in the sport.
Aged just 19 Casimero left his native Philippines for the first time and traveled to Nicaragua to fight seasoned Colombian Cesar Canchila (who had been the first man to beat Giovanni Segura just 17 months earlier) in a bout for the interim WBO Light Flyweight title. Many had written off the relatively unknown Casimero who shocked many fan of the lower divisions by stopping Canchila in 11 rounds to take the title back home. Sadly Casimero's title reign was short lived as he would the belt in his next bout via split decision to Mexican Ramon Garcia Hirales.
Casimero's road journey continued in his next bout as he traveled to South Africa and faced the genuinely excellent Moruti Mthalane in an IBF Flyweight title bout. Mthalane was too big, too talented and too strong for the brave Casimero who was stopped in the fifth round.
After 3 fights away from home Casimero swiftly dispatched with Roemart Sentillas in the Philippines before arguably scoring his biggest win in Argentina where he stopped the very unlikable Luis Alberto Lazarte for the interim IBF Light Flyweight title. Sadly that bout is better remembered for the disgusting scenes that followed the bout rather than the victory for Casimero, who was later pelted with items as the crowd almost tried to kill him in one of the most horrific scenes seen in boxing in the past decade.
Since claiming the IBF Light Flyweight title Casimero has made a solitary defense of the belt, defeating Pedro Guevara in Mexico by split decision (in a bout that saw Guevara on the canvas numerous times with them often being ruled as "slips").
In terms of Casimero in the ring he's fearless, he's fast, accurate and a very under-rated fighter. I wouldn't put him in with Roman Gonzalez or Kazuto Ioka but against anyone else in the division he would at very least hold his own. He's only really been beaten once and that was by Mthalane who I'm a huge admirer off and in that bout everything was against Casimero, including weight and the crowd (and it showed as he was honesty swatted around by Mthalane). At Light Flyweight he's a genuine nightmare for anyone and he keeps his power late having stopped both Canchila (TKO11) and Lazarte (TKO10) late.
Going into this bout relatively little is known of Luis Alberto Rios. The 23 year old Panamanian challenger has, like Casimero, been a professional since 2007 and been in pretty much the same number of fights, though all of his have been at home in fact almost all of them have taken place in Panama City.
Despite fighting just in Panama Rios has faced several better known fighters. These have seen him scoring victories over Edwin Diaz, Walter Tello (who faces Alberto Rossel in Peru also this weekend), local journeyman Carlos Melo, former world title contender Luis Carrillo and most recently Felipe Salguero, also a world title contender. What is notable from those fights is that Rios has a solid punch on him having taken out Salguero (TKO11), Carillo (TKO5), Tello (TKO4).
It's not all good news for Rios though. He has been stopped himself (against Luis Carrillo) and was held to a draw with Carlos Melo in a rematch. He was dropped last time out against Salguero and if I'm being honest Salguero is no Casimero and this is what swings me in to feeling that Casimero should be able to hurt and stop Rios.
Prediction-Casimero TKO9
Friday, 1 March 2013
Donnie Nietes v Moises Funetes
Filipino Donnie Nietes (31-1-3, 17) has long been one of the most forgotten men in the sport of boxing. He's unbeaten in over 8 years, he's claimed WBO title at both Minimumweight and Flyweight and he's won his last 18 bouts, including 7 world title bouts and yet he's rarely, if ever mentioned online even when fans are talking about under-rated fighters. It's likely however that if Nietes successfully defends his WBO Light Flyweight title this coming Saturday against Mexican Moises Fuentes (16-1, 8) the boxing world may finally start to give him the attention he deserves.
Nietes, 30, has been a professional since 2003 and since then has only suffered a solitary (and highly debatable loss) to Angky Angkotta in Angkotta's native Indonesia. Not only did Angkotta struggle to gain a split decision in front of his own fans but he also failed to make the agreed weight for the fight, coming some 6 lbs over weight.
Since his loss to Angkotta, Nietes has been exceptional defeating the likes of Pornsawan Porpramook, Manuel Vargas, Jesus Silvestre, Mario Rodriguez and Ramon Garcia Hirales using his excellent skills and speed. Despite these notable victories Nietes has remained almost an enigma to many boxing fans who either don't know about, or don't care about the activity in the lower divisions where fighters like Nietes ply their trade.
Whilst he may be overlooked by many fans that really doesn't take away from the huge level of talent Nietes has. He's not a hugely exciting fighter, due to his defensive skill and lack of power, though he is a hugely talented fighter who knows his way around the ring and know how to get rounds in the bag, even if he doesn't tend to dominate fights in the way that perhaps he should. His work in the pocket is beautiful as he ducks and dodges whilst landing hurtful counters and his boxing is hugely under-rated by many. Saying that however the fact he rarely manages to put opponents away is a worry especially when you consider he now has over 230 professional rounds under his belt.
If Neites is to be seen as a masterful boxer then on the other hand we have the wild and somewhat reckless looking slugger from Mexico in Moises Fuentes. Fuentes, who defended his WBO Minimumweight title last time out by stopping Ivan Calderon (who retired from boxing following the loss) is like Neites in only a handful of ways, the most notable is that he's often over looked by boxing fans despite forging a successful career.
Another similarity that Nietes and Fuentes share is that they have only been beaten once, in fact rather oddly their losses both came by controversial split decision to fighters who came in over weight with Fuentes losing to fellow Mexican Juan Hernandez back in 2011. Since the loss to Hernandez however Fuentes has really come in to his own scoring notable wins over Raul Garcia, Julio Cesar Felix and most famously Ivan Calderon in what are by far his biggest wins.
Whilst Fuentes has made his name at Minimumweight he's always been a huge guy at the 105lb limit and standing at 5'7" he's actually taller than Lucas Matthysse. His size advantage has made him very dangerous at Minimumweight though should also easily allow him to make the move up to Light Flyweight for this bout with Nietes. In fact Fuentes should look like the noticeably bigger man in the ring despite being the fighter who's coming up a division.
If you look at Fuentes' record you don't see that of a puncher, though he is a hurtful fighter and if you allow him to catch you, you will know about it. He's hurtful to both the head and body and whilst he can be made to look very clumsy he can also leave fighters wincing in agony at his clubbing shots. If he manages to catch Nietes getting too cute he could genuinely shake up the Filipino, though I think the champion knows how to take care of himself in such a way that he should be able to take a clear decision over Fuentes.
Prediction-Nietes decision.
Nietes, 30, has been a professional since 2003 and since then has only suffered a solitary (and highly debatable loss) to Angky Angkotta in Angkotta's native Indonesia. Not only did Angkotta struggle to gain a split decision in front of his own fans but he also failed to make the agreed weight for the fight, coming some 6 lbs over weight.
Since his loss to Angkotta, Nietes has been exceptional defeating the likes of Pornsawan Porpramook, Manuel Vargas, Jesus Silvestre, Mario Rodriguez and Ramon Garcia Hirales using his excellent skills and speed. Despite these notable victories Nietes has remained almost an enigma to many boxing fans who either don't know about, or don't care about the activity in the lower divisions where fighters like Nietes ply their trade.
Whilst he may be overlooked by many fans that really doesn't take away from the huge level of talent Nietes has. He's not a hugely exciting fighter, due to his defensive skill and lack of power, though he is a hugely talented fighter who knows his way around the ring and know how to get rounds in the bag, even if he doesn't tend to dominate fights in the way that perhaps he should. His work in the pocket is beautiful as he ducks and dodges whilst landing hurtful counters and his boxing is hugely under-rated by many. Saying that however the fact he rarely manages to put opponents away is a worry especially when you consider he now has over 230 professional rounds under his belt.
If Neites is to be seen as a masterful boxer then on the other hand we have the wild and somewhat reckless looking slugger from Mexico in Moises Fuentes. Fuentes, who defended his WBO Minimumweight title last time out by stopping Ivan Calderon (who retired from boxing following the loss) is like Neites in only a handful of ways, the most notable is that he's often over looked by boxing fans despite forging a successful career.
Another similarity that Nietes and Fuentes share is that they have only been beaten once, in fact rather oddly their losses both came by controversial split decision to fighters who came in over weight with Fuentes losing to fellow Mexican Juan Hernandez back in 2011. Since the loss to Hernandez however Fuentes has really come in to his own scoring notable wins over Raul Garcia, Julio Cesar Felix and most famously Ivan Calderon in what are by far his biggest wins.
Whilst Fuentes has made his name at Minimumweight he's always been a huge guy at the 105lb limit and standing at 5'7" he's actually taller than Lucas Matthysse. His size advantage has made him very dangerous at Minimumweight though should also easily allow him to make the move up to Light Flyweight for this bout with Nietes. In fact Fuentes should look like the noticeably bigger man in the ring despite being the fighter who's coming up a division.
If you look at Fuentes' record you don't see that of a puncher, though he is a hurtful fighter and if you allow him to catch you, you will know about it. He's hurtful to both the head and body and whilst he can be made to look very clumsy he can also leave fighters wincing in agony at his clubbing shots. If he manages to catch Nietes getting too cute he could genuinely shake up the Filipino, though I think the champion knows how to take care of himself in such a way that he should be able to take a clear decision over Fuentes.
Prediction-Nietes decision.
Wednesday, 12 December 2012
Nonito Donaire v Jorge Arce
A week after Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao got starched by Mexican multi-weight champion Juan Manuel Marquez, we get another high profile Filipino v Mexican fight as Nonito Donaire (?-?) defends his WBO Bantamweight title against multi-weight world champion Jorge Arce (?-?). Whilst many are viewing this as forgone conclusion it's fair to say that it'll be fun to watch as neither man is often in a poor bout with one of them being known as a KO artist whilst the other is a blood and guts warrior.
Going into the bout Donaire is a big betting favourite (priced around 1/8) and with good reason having looked like a fighter who has been in cruise control in his his recent victories over solid competition such as Toshiaki Nishioka (TKO9), Jeffrey Mathebula (UD12) and Wilfredo Vazquez Jr (some how scored an SD12). Despite his victories there has been questions asked about whether Donaire actually is in cruise control or is actually not as spectacular as once though and whether or not the 30 year old Filipino born fighter is actually on the slide himself against opponents who were there to make him look good.
At his best Donaire is a hard hitting, swift accurate counter puncher who can fight either as an orthodox fighter or as a southpaw. With that ability he's managed to score highlight reel KO's over the likes of Fernando Montiel and Vic Darchinyan. Sadly however those victories seem a long time ago with Donaire's "cruise control" victories over the much smaller Omar Andres Narvaez, the limited Wilfredo Vazquez Jr and the very clumsy Jeffrey Mathebula.
Despite starting his career as a Flyweight, Donaire is still very capable in terms of his speed and power all the way up at Super Bantamweight, with the likely result of this fight seeing him move up to Featherweight for his next bout. Seen as a genuinely top pound-for-pound fighter Donaire, when he steps through the gears is a special fighter, though when he's fighting with in himself he looks awfully over-rated and unspectacular.
Like the champion, the challenger, Jorge Arce has gone through the weights having first won a world title way down at Light Flyweight and having also claimed versions of various titles at Flyweight, Super Flyweight, Bantamweight and Super Bantamweight. Although several of those titles were "interim" titles he is the first Mexican to have any claim to being a 5-weight world champion.
Although Arce is just 3 years older than the champion he's a very old 33 having not had 402 professional rounds, but also a career that dates back to 1996 and has featured more wars than your typical history book. It goes with out saying that Arce's wars have taken their toll on him and it's incredibly rare to see an Arce bout that doesn't see the Mexican left with claret pouring out of his face. Sadly the damage doesn't seem to have forced Arce to tighten up his defense as he attempts to draw everyone in to a battle of attrition, sometimes it works (such as 2011's 12 round TKO over Wilfredo Vazquez Jr) and sometimes it doesn't (as shown in an 11th round TKO loss to Vic Darchinyan).
Due to the fact Arce likes to come to fight I imagine this may not go the distance. Although Donaire is a big favourite, it's possible that Arce can wear him down if he can cut the distance and keep on Donaire's chest neutralising his deadly counter hooks. Sadly for Arce, one of my favourite fighters over the years, I don't think he can cut the distance with out being tagged by bombs on the way in.
Prediction-Nonito Donaire TKO6
Going into the bout Donaire is a big betting favourite (priced around 1/8) and with good reason having looked like a fighter who has been in cruise control in his his recent victories over solid competition such as Toshiaki Nishioka (TKO9), Jeffrey Mathebula (UD12) and Wilfredo Vazquez Jr (some how scored an SD12). Despite his victories there has been questions asked about whether Donaire actually is in cruise control or is actually not as spectacular as once though and whether or not the 30 year old Filipino born fighter is actually on the slide himself against opponents who were there to make him look good.
At his best Donaire is a hard hitting, swift accurate counter puncher who can fight either as an orthodox fighter or as a southpaw. With that ability he's managed to score highlight reel KO's over the likes of Fernando Montiel and Vic Darchinyan. Sadly however those victories seem a long time ago with Donaire's "cruise control" victories over the much smaller Omar Andres Narvaez, the limited Wilfredo Vazquez Jr and the very clumsy Jeffrey Mathebula.
Despite starting his career as a Flyweight, Donaire is still very capable in terms of his speed and power all the way up at Super Bantamweight, with the likely result of this fight seeing him move up to Featherweight for his next bout. Seen as a genuinely top pound-for-pound fighter Donaire, when he steps through the gears is a special fighter, though when he's fighting with in himself he looks awfully over-rated and unspectacular.
Like the champion, the challenger, Jorge Arce has gone through the weights having first won a world title way down at Light Flyweight and having also claimed versions of various titles at Flyweight, Super Flyweight, Bantamweight and Super Bantamweight. Although several of those titles were "interim" titles he is the first Mexican to have any claim to being a 5-weight world champion.
Although Arce is just 3 years older than the champion he's a very old 33 having not had 402 professional rounds, but also a career that dates back to 1996 and has featured more wars than your typical history book. It goes with out saying that Arce's wars have taken their toll on him and it's incredibly rare to see an Arce bout that doesn't see the Mexican left with claret pouring out of his face. Sadly the damage doesn't seem to have forced Arce to tighten up his defense as he attempts to draw everyone in to a battle of attrition, sometimes it works (such as 2011's 12 round TKO over Wilfredo Vazquez Jr) and sometimes it doesn't (as shown in an 11th round TKO loss to Vic Darchinyan).
Due to the fact Arce likes to come to fight I imagine this may not go the distance. Although Donaire is a big favourite, it's possible that Arce can wear him down if he can cut the distance and keep on Donaire's chest neutralising his deadly counter hooks. Sadly for Arce, one of my favourite fighters over the years, I don't think he can cut the distance with out being tagged by bombs on the way in.
Prediction-Nonito Donaire TKO6
Thursday, 6 December 2012
Miguel Vazquez v Mercito Gesta
Mexican Miguel Vazquez (32-3, 13) was less than impressive when he defended his IBF Lightweight title last time out against Marvin Quintero though he will hope to be more impressive this weekend as he faces the unbeaten Mercito Gesta (26-0-1, 14).
At his best Vazquez is a pure boxer with great movement, an excellent jab and a wonderful control of distance as he counters and moves his opponent with ease. At his worst, as we saw against Quintero, he can be a runner who can be forced to move more than box. Though whether he's at his best or worst, Vazquez is a tough man who his hard to hurt, very difficult to drop and very, very slippery to tag cleanly.
For all his trickery and slipperiness Vazquez' also has his negatives, notably his lack of power which has seen him stopping less than 40% of his fights early. He's sharp with his shots though they are rarely thrown with his weight behind them and as a result they lack the concussive force needed to put fighters off coming forward at him.
Vazquez is unbeaten in over 4 years (since suffering a second defeat to Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, who also beat him on Vazquez's debut) and has improved over that time. Not only has he become a world champion but he's also defeated numerous known fighters such as Breidis Prescott, Ji-Hoon Kim, Leonardo Zappavigna and Ameth Diaz often by frustrating them with his movement and jab. It's fair to say however that if you can take his wheels away, either with body shots or a good ability to cut the ring down, Vazquez could be made to look ordinary.
Whilst Vazquez is well known thanks to his top tier wins and even his loss, Gesta is better known for the fact that there is a lot of hype surrounding him especially from the Filipino fans who feel he could be the next Manny Pacquiao. Sadly however from what I've seen of Gesta he looks awfully ordinary with little to really make him stand out.
Whilst Gesta is unbeaten in 27 fights his best wins are over very limited opponents who have been there to make him look good as opposed to testing his skills. This has made it hard to actually know just how good he really is, though he did his job well last time out as he stopped Ty Barnett in 9 rounds with solid, hurtful shots.
Although Gesta is young and hungry I just can't see him getting to Vazquez who, for me, is a level or two better than Gesta and is much, much more proven. Gesta will put up a tireless effort, though will be clearly out boxed by a very intelligent Mexican fighter who doesn't try to do what other Mexicans do.
Prediction-Vazquez UD
At his best Vazquez is a pure boxer with great movement, an excellent jab and a wonderful control of distance as he counters and moves his opponent with ease. At his worst, as we saw against Quintero, he can be a runner who can be forced to move more than box. Though whether he's at his best or worst, Vazquez is a tough man who his hard to hurt, very difficult to drop and very, very slippery to tag cleanly.
For all his trickery and slipperiness Vazquez' also has his negatives, notably his lack of power which has seen him stopping less than 40% of his fights early. He's sharp with his shots though they are rarely thrown with his weight behind them and as a result they lack the concussive force needed to put fighters off coming forward at him.
Vazquez is unbeaten in over 4 years (since suffering a second defeat to Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, who also beat him on Vazquez's debut) and has improved over that time. Not only has he become a world champion but he's also defeated numerous known fighters such as Breidis Prescott, Ji-Hoon Kim, Leonardo Zappavigna and Ameth Diaz often by frustrating them with his movement and jab. It's fair to say however that if you can take his wheels away, either with body shots or a good ability to cut the ring down, Vazquez could be made to look ordinary.
Whilst Vazquez is well known thanks to his top tier wins and even his loss, Gesta is better known for the fact that there is a lot of hype surrounding him especially from the Filipino fans who feel he could be the next Manny Pacquiao. Sadly however from what I've seen of Gesta he looks awfully ordinary with little to really make him stand out.
Whilst Gesta is unbeaten in 27 fights his best wins are over very limited opponents who have been there to make him look good as opposed to testing his skills. This has made it hard to actually know just how good he really is, though he did his job well last time out as he stopped Ty Barnett in 9 rounds with solid, hurtful shots.
Although Gesta is young and hungry I just can't see him getting to Vazquez who, for me, is a level or two better than Gesta and is much, much more proven. Gesta will put up a tireless effort, though will be clearly out boxed by a very intelligent Mexican fighter who doesn't try to do what other Mexicans do.
Prediction-Vazquez UD
Wednesday, 5 December 2012
Yuriorkis Gamboa v Michael Farenas
Former Cuban amateur sensation Yuriorkis Gamboa (21-0, 16) will return to the ring for the first time in 15 months as he faces unheralded Filipino Michael Farenas (34-3-4-1, 26) in a bout for the interim WBA Super Featherweight title. Although Gamboa goes in to this bout as a big favourite, I can't help but feel this will be a much tougher test than many anticipate.
Gamboa made his name as one of a number of truly elite Cuban amateurs alongside the likes of Guillermo Rigondeaux and Odlanier Solis and was seen as a professional champion in the making from day 1. It didn't take long for Gamboa to fulfill on his promise and within 2 years of being a professional he had already claimed the WBA Featherweight title stopping Jose Rojas in 10 rounds.
Having won a world title in just his 15th professional contest, Gamboa went from strength to strength and scored title defenses against the likes of Whyber Garcia, Rogers Mtagwa and Jonathan Victor Barros before unifying with IBF champion Orlando Salido. As the Unified WBA/IBF champion Gamboa was arguably the division's #1 fighter though sadly he got stripped of both titles and also suffered various issues with promoter Bob Arum.
It's those promotional issues that have really stopped Gamboa from being a real star. He has the talent and the style to be a major pound-for-pound player on the world stage though Arum prevented Gamboa from getting to popular Puerto Rican slugger Juan Manuel Lopez in what would have been a mega fight and Gamboa refused to allow Arum to bully him into a fight with Brandon Rios (Rios would later go on to claim a controversial victory over Richard Abril in one of the robbery of the year contenders).
The promotional issues surrounding Gamboa have now been sorted out with rap star 50 Cent acting as Gamboa's promoter though Gamoa will, rather ironically be fighting on a Top Rank (Bob Arum).
In terms of his fighting style Gamboa is at his best boxing offensively with his lightning quick and genuinely hurtful combinations and flurries which see him living up to his moniker of "El Ciclon de Guantánamo" (The Cyclone of Guantanamo). Though Gamboa has proven that he's not just a 1-trick pony and that he can also box on his toes going in and out with either single shots or short bursts of punches before getting back out to safety. Early in his career however Gamboa was dropped several times as he took too many risks, something he has since corrected about his style.
Whilst everyone in boxing knows all about Yuriorkis Gamboa, the people that know Michael Farenas are much fewer, however this won't be the first time he's mixed in world class, having fought a 3 round technical draw with WBA Super Featherweight champion Takashi Uchiyama earlier this year. As well as the draw with Uchiyama Farenas has also faced known fighters such as Walter Estrada, Daniel Attah, Fernando Beltran and Marlon Aguilar (who was the last man to defeat him).
Promoted by former world champion Gerry Penalosa, Farenas has come on leaps and bounds in recent years and is a much improved fighter to the man who started his career 8-2-1, however he's certainly not a proven world beater and his power at fringe level is limited. Oddly he was giving Uchiyama a hard time early in their fight prior to the fight ending head clash and looked rather tough, something that should be evidenced from his record of never having been stopped.
Although he's far from a known quantity in America, Farenas will know that the crowd will have a lot of fans pulling for his countryman Manny Pacquiao in the main event and he may well take some energy from them as he looks for a major upset to close out the year. Sadly however his best chance comes in the fact that Gamboa has been out of the ring for over a year and has fought only 12 rounds in the past 27 months, this sort of inactivity for a fighter like Gamboa can really mess with his speed, timing and sharpness. This isn't like Denton Vassell v Ronnie Heffron a week back in Britain, Gamboa is a fighter who needs his speed, Vassell was a power house who slowly broke down Heffron.
Whilst Gamboa is rightfully the favourite, I'd certainly not count out an upset here as Farenas is confident, and Gamboa will be rusty.
Prediction-Gamboa UD (though with some difficult moments).
Gamboa made his name as one of a number of truly elite Cuban amateurs alongside the likes of Guillermo Rigondeaux and Odlanier Solis and was seen as a professional champion in the making from day 1. It didn't take long for Gamboa to fulfill on his promise and within 2 years of being a professional he had already claimed the WBA Featherweight title stopping Jose Rojas in 10 rounds.
Having won a world title in just his 15th professional contest, Gamboa went from strength to strength and scored title defenses against the likes of Whyber Garcia, Rogers Mtagwa and Jonathan Victor Barros before unifying with IBF champion Orlando Salido. As the Unified WBA/IBF champion Gamboa was arguably the division's #1 fighter though sadly he got stripped of both titles and also suffered various issues with promoter Bob Arum.
It's those promotional issues that have really stopped Gamboa from being a real star. He has the talent and the style to be a major pound-for-pound player on the world stage though Arum prevented Gamboa from getting to popular Puerto Rican slugger Juan Manuel Lopez in what would have been a mega fight and Gamboa refused to allow Arum to bully him into a fight with Brandon Rios (Rios would later go on to claim a controversial victory over Richard Abril in one of the robbery of the year contenders).
The promotional issues surrounding Gamboa have now been sorted out with rap star 50 Cent acting as Gamboa's promoter though Gamoa will, rather ironically be fighting on a Top Rank (Bob Arum).
In terms of his fighting style Gamboa is at his best boxing offensively with his lightning quick and genuinely hurtful combinations and flurries which see him living up to his moniker of "El Ciclon de Guantánamo" (The Cyclone of Guantanamo). Though Gamboa has proven that he's not just a 1-trick pony and that he can also box on his toes going in and out with either single shots or short bursts of punches before getting back out to safety. Early in his career however Gamboa was dropped several times as he took too many risks, something he has since corrected about his style.
Whilst everyone in boxing knows all about Yuriorkis Gamboa, the people that know Michael Farenas are much fewer, however this won't be the first time he's mixed in world class, having fought a 3 round technical draw with WBA Super Featherweight champion Takashi Uchiyama earlier this year. As well as the draw with Uchiyama Farenas has also faced known fighters such as Walter Estrada, Daniel Attah, Fernando Beltran and Marlon Aguilar (who was the last man to defeat him).
Promoted by former world champion Gerry Penalosa, Farenas has come on leaps and bounds in recent years and is a much improved fighter to the man who started his career 8-2-1, however he's certainly not a proven world beater and his power at fringe level is limited. Oddly he was giving Uchiyama a hard time early in their fight prior to the fight ending head clash and looked rather tough, something that should be evidenced from his record of never having been stopped.
Although he's far from a known quantity in America, Farenas will know that the crowd will have a lot of fans pulling for his countryman Manny Pacquiao in the main event and he may well take some energy from them as he looks for a major upset to close out the year. Sadly however his best chance comes in the fact that Gamboa has been out of the ring for over a year and has fought only 12 rounds in the past 27 months, this sort of inactivity for a fighter like Gamboa can really mess with his speed, timing and sharpness. This isn't like Denton Vassell v Ronnie Heffron a week back in Britain, Gamboa is a fighter who needs his speed, Vassell was a power house who slowly broke down Heffron.
Whilst Gamboa is rightfully the favourite, I'd certainly not count out an upset here as Farenas is confident, and Gamboa will be rusty.
Prediction-Gamboa UD (though with some difficult moments).
Wednesday, 17 October 2012
AJ Banal v Pungluang Sor Singyu
The weekends most obscure world title fight takes place in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines as Filipino youngster AJ Banal (28-1-1, 20) attempts to claim the vacant WBO Bantamweight title as he faces Thai Pungluang Sor Singyu (42-1, 27).
Despite the fact neither fighter is very well known this still promises to be a very good fight as not only do we have two skilled fighters, but we have two young fighters looking to make a name for themselves and we also have nationalistic pride as boxers from two Asian countries battle out.
The highly ranked AJ Banal (WBO #1) has been one of the Philippines' best kept boxing secrets since he debuted way back in 2005 as just a 16 year old. Since his debut he has developed very well and become a very talented young fighter who many with a knowledge of Filipino boxing have tipped as one of their brightest young stars.
Banal's professional career didn't start brilliantly as he suffered a technical draw on his debut, however it didn't take long for him to get things back on track as he rattled off a series of 17 straight wins. Amongst those 17 wins were victories over Juan Alberto Rosas (who would later go on to claim the IBF Super Flyweight title) and the then 25-0 Caril Herrera in an IBF Super Flyweight world title eliminator.
Sadly however for Banal his winning run came to an end in 2008 as he was stopped by the hard punching Rafael Concepcion. Following the loss to Concepcion, Banal moved from Super Flyweight to Bantamweight, accommodating his growing body. Since moving to 118lbs Banal has been unbeaten and scored 11 wins (some of which have been above the Bantamweight limit) including a notable victory over former 2-weight world champion Luis Alberto Perez.
Despite having notable victories against both Rosas and Perez (as mentioned above) Banal is still pretty unknown by all but either hardcore fans or Filipino fans. This is a shame as he's actually fought in the US 3 times (with the most recent of those bouts coming in 2009) and has an eye pleasing style that should really have helped made him a US TV mainstay. Banal has fast, heavy hands and when he has his man hurt he really likes to unleash, as he did against Raul Hidalgo. Despite his aggressive mindset however, he has got decent boxing fundamentals and in his only loss to date, he was actually ahead on the score cards prior to be stopped.
Like Banal, the co-challenger Pungluang Sor Singyu is also highly ranked (WBO #2) and despite having had over 40 fights is also surprisingly young at just 24 years old. In fact the comparisons between the two men are numerous. Not only are both surprisingly young and very experienced for their age, but both men made their professional debuts at just 16 with Sor Singyu debuting back in 2004.
Sor Singyu started his career in excellent fashion and won his first 23 fights as well as the WBC Youth World Bantamweight title. Impressively he remained unbeaten until 2009 when he was controversially beaten by the talented Belgian Stephane Jamoye, in Jamoye's home city of Liege.
Since being beaten by Jamoye, Sor Singyu has run up 19 more successful victories, however they have all been at home and often against nondescript opponents with the best of them being against the likes of Marvin Tampus and Danilo Pena (both of whom are Filipino journeyman).
Sadly for fans wanting to see something of Sor Singyu it's hard to find footage of him in a decent fight, however the footage I have seen has shown him to be an "in your face" type of fighter with a solid guard and powerful looking right hands. His style looks like he'll be hard to force back and that if you remain in front of him, he will happily guide you to the ropes to bounce straight right hands off your hands. The fact he's only been in with poor opponents (Jamoye aside) however doesn't fill me with much confidence as to just how good he really is.
Whilst I do, genuinely like what I've seen of Sor Singyu I can't help but question his opponents and this leads me to feel that Banal will come out victorious, especially with this fight being held in the Philippines. I have to go with Banal by decision in what could genuinely turn out to be the fight of the weekend. I have a feeling that their styles will just play off on each other other as each man takes his turn to land their hardest shots on the other.
Prediction-Banal UD.
Despite the fact neither fighter is very well known this still promises to be a very good fight as not only do we have two skilled fighters, but we have two young fighters looking to make a name for themselves and we also have nationalistic pride as boxers from two Asian countries battle out.
The highly ranked AJ Banal (WBO #1) has been one of the Philippines' best kept boxing secrets since he debuted way back in 2005 as just a 16 year old. Since his debut he has developed very well and become a very talented young fighter who many with a knowledge of Filipino boxing have tipped as one of their brightest young stars.
Banal's professional career didn't start brilliantly as he suffered a technical draw on his debut, however it didn't take long for him to get things back on track as he rattled off a series of 17 straight wins. Amongst those 17 wins were victories over Juan Alberto Rosas (who would later go on to claim the IBF Super Flyweight title) and the then 25-0 Caril Herrera in an IBF Super Flyweight world title eliminator.
Sadly however for Banal his winning run came to an end in 2008 as he was stopped by the hard punching Rafael Concepcion. Following the loss to Concepcion, Banal moved from Super Flyweight to Bantamweight, accommodating his growing body. Since moving to 118lbs Banal has been unbeaten and scored 11 wins (some of which have been above the Bantamweight limit) including a notable victory over former 2-weight world champion Luis Alberto Perez.
Despite having notable victories against both Rosas and Perez (as mentioned above) Banal is still pretty unknown by all but either hardcore fans or Filipino fans. This is a shame as he's actually fought in the US 3 times (with the most recent of those bouts coming in 2009) and has an eye pleasing style that should really have helped made him a US TV mainstay. Banal has fast, heavy hands and when he has his man hurt he really likes to unleash, as he did against Raul Hidalgo. Despite his aggressive mindset however, he has got decent boxing fundamentals and in his only loss to date, he was actually ahead on the score cards prior to be stopped.
Like Banal, the co-challenger Pungluang Sor Singyu is also highly ranked (WBO #2) and despite having had over 40 fights is also surprisingly young at just 24 years old. In fact the comparisons between the two men are numerous. Not only are both surprisingly young and very experienced for their age, but both men made their professional debuts at just 16 with Sor Singyu debuting back in 2004.
Sor Singyu started his career in excellent fashion and won his first 23 fights as well as the WBC Youth World Bantamweight title. Impressively he remained unbeaten until 2009 when he was controversially beaten by the talented Belgian Stephane Jamoye, in Jamoye's home city of Liege.
Since being beaten by Jamoye, Sor Singyu has run up 19 more successful victories, however they have all been at home and often against nondescript opponents with the best of them being against the likes of Marvin Tampus and Danilo Pena (both of whom are Filipino journeyman).
Sadly for fans wanting to see something of Sor Singyu it's hard to find footage of him in a decent fight, however the footage I have seen has shown him to be an "in your face" type of fighter with a solid guard and powerful looking right hands. His style looks like he'll be hard to force back and that if you remain in front of him, he will happily guide you to the ropes to bounce straight right hands off your hands. The fact he's only been in with poor opponents (Jamoye aside) however doesn't fill me with much confidence as to just how good he really is.
Whilst I do, genuinely like what I've seen of Sor Singyu I can't help but question his opponents and this leads me to feel that Banal will come out victorious, especially with this fight being held in the Philippines. I have to go with Banal by decision in what could genuinely turn out to be the fight of the weekend. I have a feeling that their styles will just play off on each other other as each man takes his turn to land their hardest shots on the other.
Prediction-Banal UD.
Wednesday, 10 October 2012
Nonito Donaire v Toshiaki Nishioka
The solitary world title fight from this coming weekend sees multi-weight world champion Nonito Donaire (29-1, 18) defending both the WBO and IBF Super Bantamweight titles against the highly regarded Japanese veteran Toshiaki Nishioka (39-4-3, 24), a former WBC Super Bantamweight champion.
The 29 year old Donaire is seen by many as one of the most talented fighters in the world due to his rise through weights from Flyweight all the way up to Super Bantamweight. Not only has Donaire moved through the weights effectively but he's also picked up a number of belts on his way as well as notable, and often eye catching victories.
Despite having debuted back in 2001, it was until 2007 that Donaire really started to become a boxing star, following his shock upset win the then unbeaten Vic Darchinyan to claim the IBF Flyweight title. Since then he has claimed the WBA "interim" Super Flyweight title, the WBC and WBO Bantamweight titles and, of course, the WBO and IBF Super Bantamweight titles.
Along the way Doanire has scored notable victories over Moruti Mthalane (the current IBF Flyweight champion), Hernan Marquez (the current WBA Flyweight champion), Volodymyr Sydorenko (former WBA Bantamweight champion), Fernando Montiel (the then WBC and WBO Bantamweight champion), Omar Andres Narvaez (the current WBO Super Flyweight champion), Wilfredo Vazquez Jr (former WBO Super Bantamweight champion) and Jeffrey Mathebula (the then IBF Super Bantamweight champion).
Despite his impressive record and list of victims, Donaire has had a lot of complaints, especially in recent fights. The victories over Darchinyan and Montiel were very, very impressive however the victories over Narvaez (a much, much smaller man), Vazquez (who had been stopped in his previous bout) and Mathebula (who looked shocking) have left many doubting Donaire who has started to look like a one trick pony. He has speed and is a fantastic counter puncher, one of the best counter punchers in the sport, especially with his left hook. The counter punching aside he's fast, he's slippery and he's a hurtful puncher. Sadly however Donaire, especially recently, doesn't seem to have a massive punch at Super Bantamweight, he doesn't appear hugely active and he appears to lack the ring intelligence that many claim he has. Despite a reputation as a massive puncher, his last 3 fights have gone the distance (and that includes the much smaller Narvaez) and he hasn't appeared able to really open opponents up like one would wish to see from a top fighter.
The challenger, Toshiaki Nishioka is the older man by far at 36 years old, and is the much more experienced fighter with 292 professional rounds (compared to 170 of Donaire) since 1994 however this may actually be one of his problems. Nishioka has been in hard fights, he's had the sort of bouts that take something out of a fighter and the sort that catch up on a man, especially when they are in their 30's.
The talented Southpaw first made a name for himself back home in 2000 when he attempted to claim the WBC Bantamweight title from Veeraphol Sahaprom. Although Nishioka came up short on that occasion (and 3 subsequent attempts at the legendary Thai) he did eventually break through in the wider boxing consciousness in 2008 when he defeated Napapol Sor Rungvisai for the "interim" WBC Super Bantamweight title (that was upgraded to the full title soon afterwards).
As the WBC Super Bantamweight champion Nishioka really proved himself as one of the sports top fighters as he defended his title 7 times beating the likes of Jhonny Gonzalez, Rendall Munroe and Raul Marquez. Sadly however Nishioka has been out of the ring for 12 months following the excellent victory over Marquez in America, in what was Nishioka's 3rd appearance in the US.
Despite being a Japanese based fighter, Nishioka has fought around the world, not only has he fought 3 times in the US but he has also fought in France and Mexico. Impressively Nishioka is 5-0 (4) away from his native homeland.
In terms of his style Nishioka is a very highly skilled southpaw. He moves well, he's tough (having suffered just a solitary, early career stoppage defeat), he's fast (surprisingly so for someone his age), he's accurate and he's hurtful even if he's not a monster puncher. However, as said above, he is 36 and he's been out of the ring for a year, a very long time for a fighter his age, and it may well be that this coming fight is more about Nishioka collecting a retirement payment than a real attempt at decrowning Donaire.
If, both men were at their very best, I'd certainly take Nishioka to beat Donaire. Sadly, as mentioned several times, Nishioka is 36, he has been inactive, and he has been in tough bouts as well as the fact he'll be fighting away from home. This bout, sadly like a number of Donaire's bouts, has been stacked in his favour to the extent that it's not the match up it perhaps should have been. It's a very cynical match up by Top Rank promotions and one that too many fans don't seem to have seen through.
Despite loving Nishioka, he can't win this, he's been picked as a well respected, though not prime "patsy". I expect he'll try, but he won't find things as easy as he did a few years ago, Donaire won't look great but I do imagine he'll score a late stoppage against a very old looking Nishioka who'll struggle to get his timing down.
Prediction-Donaire TKO10
The 29 year old Donaire is seen by many as one of the most talented fighters in the world due to his rise through weights from Flyweight all the way up to Super Bantamweight. Not only has Donaire moved through the weights effectively but he's also picked up a number of belts on his way as well as notable, and often eye catching victories.
Despite having debuted back in 2001, it was until 2007 that Donaire really started to become a boxing star, following his shock upset win the then unbeaten Vic Darchinyan to claim the IBF Flyweight title. Since then he has claimed the WBA "interim" Super Flyweight title, the WBC and WBO Bantamweight titles and, of course, the WBO and IBF Super Bantamweight titles.
Along the way Doanire has scored notable victories over Moruti Mthalane (the current IBF Flyweight champion), Hernan Marquez (the current WBA Flyweight champion), Volodymyr Sydorenko (former WBA Bantamweight champion), Fernando Montiel (the then WBC and WBO Bantamweight champion), Omar Andres Narvaez (the current WBO Super Flyweight champion), Wilfredo Vazquez Jr (former WBO Super Bantamweight champion) and Jeffrey Mathebula (the then IBF Super Bantamweight champion).
Despite his impressive record and list of victims, Donaire has had a lot of complaints, especially in recent fights. The victories over Darchinyan and Montiel were very, very impressive however the victories over Narvaez (a much, much smaller man), Vazquez (who had been stopped in his previous bout) and Mathebula (who looked shocking) have left many doubting Donaire who has started to look like a one trick pony. He has speed and is a fantastic counter puncher, one of the best counter punchers in the sport, especially with his left hook. The counter punching aside he's fast, he's slippery and he's a hurtful puncher. Sadly however Donaire, especially recently, doesn't seem to have a massive punch at Super Bantamweight, he doesn't appear hugely active and he appears to lack the ring intelligence that many claim he has. Despite a reputation as a massive puncher, his last 3 fights have gone the distance (and that includes the much smaller Narvaez) and he hasn't appeared able to really open opponents up like one would wish to see from a top fighter.
The challenger, Toshiaki Nishioka is the older man by far at 36 years old, and is the much more experienced fighter with 292 professional rounds (compared to 170 of Donaire) since 1994 however this may actually be one of his problems. Nishioka has been in hard fights, he's had the sort of bouts that take something out of a fighter and the sort that catch up on a man, especially when they are in their 30's.
The talented Southpaw first made a name for himself back home in 2000 when he attempted to claim the WBC Bantamweight title from Veeraphol Sahaprom. Although Nishioka came up short on that occasion (and 3 subsequent attempts at the legendary Thai) he did eventually break through in the wider boxing consciousness in 2008 when he defeated Napapol Sor Rungvisai for the "interim" WBC Super Bantamweight title (that was upgraded to the full title soon afterwards).
As the WBC Super Bantamweight champion Nishioka really proved himself as one of the sports top fighters as he defended his title 7 times beating the likes of Jhonny Gonzalez, Rendall Munroe and Raul Marquez. Sadly however Nishioka has been out of the ring for 12 months following the excellent victory over Marquez in America, in what was Nishioka's 3rd appearance in the US.
Despite being a Japanese based fighter, Nishioka has fought around the world, not only has he fought 3 times in the US but he has also fought in France and Mexico. Impressively Nishioka is 5-0 (4) away from his native homeland.
In terms of his style Nishioka is a very highly skilled southpaw. He moves well, he's tough (having suffered just a solitary, early career stoppage defeat), he's fast (surprisingly so for someone his age), he's accurate and he's hurtful even if he's not a monster puncher. However, as said above, he is 36 and he's been out of the ring for a year, a very long time for a fighter his age, and it may well be that this coming fight is more about Nishioka collecting a retirement payment than a real attempt at decrowning Donaire.
If, both men were at their very best, I'd certainly take Nishioka to beat Donaire. Sadly, as mentioned several times, Nishioka is 36, he has been inactive, and he has been in tough bouts as well as the fact he'll be fighting away from home. This bout, sadly like a number of Donaire's bouts, has been stacked in his favour to the extent that it's not the match up it perhaps should have been. It's a very cynical match up by Top Rank promotions and one that too many fans don't seem to have seen through.
Despite loving Nishioka, he can't win this, he's been picked as a well respected, though not prime "patsy". I expect he'll try, but he won't find things as easy as he did a few years ago, Donaire won't look great but I do imagine he'll score a late stoppage against a very old looking Nishioka who'll struggle to get his timing down.
Prediction-Donaire TKO10
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