World title fights in Spain aren't a regular thing though this weekend sees us getting one as the hard hitting Kiko Martinez (29-4, 21) looks to make the first defense of his IBF Super Bantamweight title. The bout, an early Christmas present for Spanish fans, isn't just a bout that sees a local man defending his world title but sees him doing so against another world level fighter in the form of South African Jeffrey Mathebula (27-4-2, 14), a former holder of this very title.
Martinez shocked the boxing world just a few months back when he traveled to America and beat up the then champion Jhonatan Romero in a real career defining performance. Despite being written off by many, including myself, Martinez took his chance and battered the previously unbeaten Romero around the ring forcing the referee to save Romero near the end of round 6.
This time around their is expectation on Martinez's shoulders as he's the defending champion and he's the man fighting at home. Surprisingly this isn't just the highest profile bout Martinez has had in Spain but is also his first fight there since April 2011 when he beat Jason Booth for the European Super Bantamweight title.
With Martinez you know what you get. A bulldozer type fighter who hasn't got a reverse gear, he's a man who goes into the ring with a seek and destroy mentality, heavy hands and solid work rate. He's crude, can be out boxed and does make mistakes but if he can connect on you he can break you down, so he's never a fighter that you want to exchange with.
Whilst Martinez is well known to Europeans Mathebula is much less well known, despite one major fight that was televised on the world stage against Nonito Donaire. In the Donaire fight we saw that Mathebula was a busy fighter who used his freakish height and reach decently, though not amazingly. His jab seemed to be his key shot and is very, very busy though he lacks power on them and Donaire seemed happy to take one or two of them to land one of his own thudding shots.
It wasn't the work rate of Mathebula that impressed the most against Donaire but instead his toughness. He was hurt, wobbled and downed though fought on with a broken facial bone and continued to fight back. This heart and toughness was incredible even if he was struggling late as a result of his injury.
The toughness of Mathebula will serve him well here but he could be in major problems if Martinez can get inside him and break him down with body shots, something Donaire neglected to throw, as well as the hooks that are a key part of his game. The jab of Mathebula needs to be accurate and forceful to make Martinez think twice, if it's not then this fight could be very much a massacre by Martinez.
Prediction-Martinez TKO7
Showing posts with label IBF Super Bantamweight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IBF Super Bantamweight. Show all posts
Wednesday, 18 December 2013
Wednesday, 14 August 2013
Jhonatan Romero v Kiko Martinez
The Super Bantamweight division appears to be a bit of a sleeping division. Guillermo Rigondeaux's victory earlier this year over Nonito Donaire has created an almost untouchable #1. The rest of the pack behind the Cuban create all seem to be playing for the #2 role in the division, a position seems pretty attainable after how human Donaire has been made to look in a number of recent bouts.
One of those men looking to be the division's #2 is Nehomar Cermeno who recently defeated Oscar Escandon in a competitive bout for the WBA interim title, another is IBF champion Jhonathan Romero (23-0, 12) who looks to make the first defense of his belt this weekend.
The talented 26 year old Colombian, who already holds victories over Chris Avalos, Efrain Esquivias and Alejandro Lopez, is one of the front runners to the #2 position thanks to those notable victories.
Unlike many Colombian's Romero isn't a big puncher. He's can hit hard though he's not going to suddenly blast anyone out. Instead he's amongst the new breed of Colombian fighters, the ones that have been taught how to box, how to use his feet and how to counter. He's not the smoothest at it but he is a capable boxer who knows how to take care of himself in the ring.
One trait that Romero does have like many of his compatriots is his ability to look freakish at the weight. Despite fighting at 122lbs Romero stands just shy of 5'10 with long arms and legs. In terms of his height he'd be around 5" taller than the aforementioned Rigondeaux and an inch taller than Shingo Wake, another freaky looking Super Bantamweight. This can mean that when Romero gets his jab going he's very difficult to get close to.
If you're looking for weaknesses in Romero he does have a few. He's been down against both Avalos and Cecilio Santos, so he's not got a chin of steal, he can be hit and drops his hands more than he maybe should. He can also give away his size and more worryingly he can also have real lulls in his activity which can make rounds a lot closer than they should be. At his best however he's a really good boxer capable of fighting on the front foot or the back foot with very little problem.
Romero's opponent Spanish banger Kiko Martinez (28-4, 20) a man who really should not be getting a world title opportunity and is very fortunate that Carl Frampton's career seems to have fallen apart outside of the ring.
Martinez is a fighter well known to British and Irish fans after introducing himself to us by stopping the then unbeaten Bernard Dunne inside a round for the European Super Bantamweight title back in 2007.
It's been just less than 6 years since Martinez stopped Dunne though since then he has been beaten by Rendall Munroe, twice, Takalani Ndlovu and most recently Frampton, who stopped Martinez in the 9th round earlier this year.
Although on paper Martinez's record is an impressive looking one though when you consider his best victories have come over Dunne and a shop worn Jason Booth its hard to really take him as a legitimate challenger for a world title. Around European level he's a real handful and is a 3-time European champion against the fringe world level guys however he can be made to look one dimensional and has shown questionable stamina late.
Although Romero has been dropped twice he's likely to have scouted Martinez well and will know the Spaniard can bang. He'll also be aware that Martinez is predictable in the ring, he's got one gear "forward" and can be out boxed very easily by a clever fighter.
With that in mind I really can't see this as being anything but a show case for Romero's talents. The Colombian should be using his frame to his his advantage, jabbing and moving, catching Martinez as he comes forward and getting out of range before Martinez can land anything. If he does that there really is no way he loses his title.
Prediction-UD12 Romero.
One of those men looking to be the division's #2 is Nehomar Cermeno who recently defeated Oscar Escandon in a competitive bout for the WBA interim title, another is IBF champion Jhonathan Romero (23-0, 12) who looks to make the first defense of his belt this weekend.
The talented 26 year old Colombian, who already holds victories over Chris Avalos, Efrain Esquivias and Alejandro Lopez, is one of the front runners to the #2 position thanks to those notable victories.
Unlike many Colombian's Romero isn't a big puncher. He's can hit hard though he's not going to suddenly blast anyone out. Instead he's amongst the new breed of Colombian fighters, the ones that have been taught how to box, how to use his feet and how to counter. He's not the smoothest at it but he is a capable boxer who knows how to take care of himself in the ring.
One trait that Romero does have like many of his compatriots is his ability to look freakish at the weight. Despite fighting at 122lbs Romero stands just shy of 5'10 with long arms and legs. In terms of his height he'd be around 5" taller than the aforementioned Rigondeaux and an inch taller than Shingo Wake, another freaky looking Super Bantamweight. This can mean that when Romero gets his jab going he's very difficult to get close to.
If you're looking for weaknesses in Romero he does have a few. He's been down against both Avalos and Cecilio Santos, so he's not got a chin of steal, he can be hit and drops his hands more than he maybe should. He can also give away his size and more worryingly he can also have real lulls in his activity which can make rounds a lot closer than they should be. At his best however he's a really good boxer capable of fighting on the front foot or the back foot with very little problem.
Romero's opponent Spanish banger Kiko Martinez (28-4, 20) a man who really should not be getting a world title opportunity and is very fortunate that Carl Frampton's career seems to have fallen apart outside of the ring.
Martinez is a fighter well known to British and Irish fans after introducing himself to us by stopping the then unbeaten Bernard Dunne inside a round for the European Super Bantamweight title back in 2007.
It's been just less than 6 years since Martinez stopped Dunne though since then he has been beaten by Rendall Munroe, twice, Takalani Ndlovu and most recently Frampton, who stopped Martinez in the 9th round earlier this year.
Although on paper Martinez's record is an impressive looking one though when you consider his best victories have come over Dunne and a shop worn Jason Booth its hard to really take him as a legitimate challenger for a world title. Around European level he's a real handful and is a 3-time European champion against the fringe world level guys however he can be made to look one dimensional and has shown questionable stamina late.
Although Romero has been dropped twice he's likely to have scouted Martinez well and will know the Spaniard can bang. He'll also be aware that Martinez is predictable in the ring, he's got one gear "forward" and can be out boxed very easily by a clever fighter.
With that in mind I really can't see this as being anything but a show case for Romero's talents. The Colombian should be using his frame to his his advantage, jabbing and moving, catching Martinez as he comes forward and getting out of range before Martinez can land anything. If he does that there really is no way he loses his title.
Prediction-UD12 Romero.
Friday, 15 February 2013
Alejandro Lopez v Jonathan Romero
In arguably the forgotten fight of the weekend we see Mexican Alejandro Lopez (24-2, 7) face off against promising Colombian Jonathan Romero (22-0, 12) for the vacant IBF Super Bantamweight title that was given up recently by Nonito Donaire. Although the bout may like star power, it promises to be a great fight between two guys who will be wanting to throw their hats in to the ring to face the Donaire v Rigondeaux winner.
As the home fighter Lopez will be the slight favourite and in all honesty it's probably fair to say that he has the slight better wins having defeated both Teon Kennedy and Takalani Ndlovu though like wise he also has the notable losses. In fact it's probably fair to say that Lopez's losses say more about him than his wins as he has been beaten by both Jorge Diaz (who dropped Lopez twice) and the relatively unknown Aaron Garcia.
Aside from the losses Lopez has generally looked good, not great but good. He has scored wins in both his native Mexico as well as the US though his key issues are his lack of power which will see him taken the distance time and time again, in fact from his 26 bouts Lopez has gone 142 rounds, an average of 5.46 rounds a bout. Equally as telling is the fact he has gone 46 rounds in his last 5 bouts over the space of 24 months, things like that can age a fighter quickly and despite "only" being 25 Lopez may suddenly feel the accumulation of rounds that he's having to go through.
Whilst Lopez arguably has the better wins it's unfair to suggest that talented former Colombian amateur stand out Jonathan Romero hasn't himself scored notable wins, in fact Romero has defeated both Chris Avalos and Efrain Esquivias in recent bouts both in the US as he's started to make a name for himself. Unlike Lopez, Romero is unbeaten and will go in to the bout with an air of extra confidence, despite being the visiting fighter.
Like Lopez, Romero isn't a big hitter, he's a hurtful puncher but not a big hitter having only stopped a little over half of his opponents so far. This has meant that, like Lopez, Romero has been getting a lot of miles on the clock in recent fights, in fact Romero, who has fought 8 times since the start of 2011 has amassed 59 rounds in a little over 2 years. Whilst this is a lot of rounds Romero's 107 rounds from 22 fights is actually less than 5 rounds a bout so far and his high level of activity was done to try and race him up the rankings for an opportunity like this.
If this was at a neutral venue I'd favour Romero who for me is the stronger fighter and also the more well schooled, despite this I feel that Lopez's home crowd may well help him give an extra 10% and narrowly claim a controversial decision in a thoroughly interesting bout that will sadly pass under the radar. In all honesty however it doesn't matter who wins, neither man will be seen as a genuinely top tier fighter at 122lbs until they score another notable victory in a title defense.
Prediction-Lopez by decision
As the home fighter Lopez will be the slight favourite and in all honesty it's probably fair to say that he has the slight better wins having defeated both Teon Kennedy and Takalani Ndlovu though like wise he also has the notable losses. In fact it's probably fair to say that Lopez's losses say more about him than his wins as he has been beaten by both Jorge Diaz (who dropped Lopez twice) and the relatively unknown Aaron Garcia.
Aside from the losses Lopez has generally looked good, not great but good. He has scored wins in both his native Mexico as well as the US though his key issues are his lack of power which will see him taken the distance time and time again, in fact from his 26 bouts Lopez has gone 142 rounds, an average of 5.46 rounds a bout. Equally as telling is the fact he has gone 46 rounds in his last 5 bouts over the space of 24 months, things like that can age a fighter quickly and despite "only" being 25 Lopez may suddenly feel the accumulation of rounds that he's having to go through.
Whilst Lopez arguably has the better wins it's unfair to suggest that talented former Colombian amateur stand out Jonathan Romero hasn't himself scored notable wins, in fact Romero has defeated both Chris Avalos and Efrain Esquivias in recent bouts both in the US as he's started to make a name for himself. Unlike Lopez, Romero is unbeaten and will go in to the bout with an air of extra confidence, despite being the visiting fighter.
Like Lopez, Romero isn't a big hitter, he's a hurtful puncher but not a big hitter having only stopped a little over half of his opponents so far. This has meant that, like Lopez, Romero has been getting a lot of miles on the clock in recent fights, in fact Romero, who has fought 8 times since the start of 2011 has amassed 59 rounds in a little over 2 years. Whilst this is a lot of rounds Romero's 107 rounds from 22 fights is actually less than 5 rounds a bout so far and his high level of activity was done to try and race him up the rankings for an opportunity like this.
If this was at a neutral venue I'd favour Romero who for me is the stronger fighter and also the more well schooled, despite this I feel that Lopez's home crowd may well help him give an extra 10% and narrowly claim a controversial decision in a thoroughly interesting bout that will sadly pass under the radar. In all honesty however it doesn't matter who wins, neither man will be seen as a genuinely top tier fighter at 122lbs until they score another notable victory in a title defense.
Prediction-Lopez by decision
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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