IBF Super Flyweight Juan Carlos Sanchez Jr (15-1-1, 8) was one of boxing's unsung hero's in 2012. He'll be hoping to keep up his impressive run as he attempts to defend his belt for the first time 3rd time in total (and first time this year) and takes on the unbeaten mandatory challenger Roberto Domingo Sosa (24-0, 14).
The 22 year old Sanchez Jr seemed to burst out of nowhere last year as he scored 3 really notable wins. Those first of those saw him upset Rodrigo Guerrero to win the world title before he defended it against Juan Alberto Rosas and Rodel Mayol. All three victories saw Sanchez over-coming more experienced opponents and whilst none are elite class opponents all were solid.
Before he scored his 3 title victories however Sanchez had actually defeated Juan Francisco Estrada a victory that now looks to be his most impressive (considering Estrada pushed Roman Gonzalez close and defeated Brian Viloria).
Sanchez is a very mentally strong fighter. He's not the most technically solid, though he's a fighter who has improved drastically from the fighter who was stopped in 2 rounds by Daniel Rosas back in February 2010. He's still flawed, and can still be hurt but he's still a tough fighter and is very awkward due to not only being a southpaw but also a very tall fighter for the weight.
Argentinian challenger Sosa is a bit of a mystery man to many boxing fans. He's been a professional since March 2006 but has yet to fight outside of his native Argentina. As well as being hidden in South America he's also only fought one or two "names" with the only really notable one being South African southpaw Zolani Tete.
Tete fought Sosa last time in an IBF Flyweight eliminator. Although Sosa claimed a majority decision over Tete many felt that the Argentinian fighter had been given a very favourable decision in a bout that he appeared to lose. Tete was able to land his straight left time and time again on Sosa and with that in mind Sanchez Jr may be looking to land his own straight left on Sosa.
In the ring Sosa is pretty wild looking fighter, he appears to want to get inside but looks limited. In his fight with Sosa he was spending a lot of time on the outside and being tagged at range on the inside he was being tied up easily and made to look very toothless.
Although Sosa is unbeaten it's hard to see him beating Sanchez. Sanchez has a number of the qualities that Tete gave Sosa a nightmare with (the southpaw stance, the height and reach), sure the styles are different but he's also good enough. This time however Sosa lacks his "equaliser" of fighting at home, it was only really that that allowed him the win over Tete.
Prediction-Sanchez Jr UD12
Showing posts with label Juan Carlos Sanchez Jr. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Juan Carlos Sanchez Jr. Show all posts
Thursday, 6 June 2013
Thursday, 20 September 2012
Juan Carlos Sanchez Jr v Rodel Mayol
Earlier this year the young Juan Carlos Sanchez Jr (14-1-1, 7) claimed his first world title by defeating the more experienced Rodrigo Guerrero for the IBF Super Flyweight title. Sanchez Jr has defended that title once, by defeating former champion Juan Alberto Rosas and this week end will be looking to defeat another former world champion in a defense of his own title as he faces Rodel Mayol (31-5-2, 22).
At just 21 years old Sanchez is one of, if not the, youngest world champion out there at the moment, and is also one of the least experienced. Despite this he's not being given the softly softly treatment of so many young fighters out there who refuse to face a decent test until they've milked their world title for a year or two.
Sanchez has been a professional since 2008, when he was just 17. He would start his career with 7 straight victories with 6 of those coming by T/KO. His winning run however ended abruptly with an opening round technical decision with journeyman Felipe Acosta. Following the Acosta bout, Sanchez suffered his first (and so far only) loss as he was stopped in 2 rounds by Daniel Rosas (who later went on to fight for a world title himself).
Since suffering the loss to Rosas, Sanchez has rebuilt his career brilliantly with 7 straight wins. Not only has he scored notable wins over Guerrero and Rosas (as mentioned in the paragraph) but he has also beaten the then 18-0 Juan Francisco Estrada (who has recently stopped former world title challenger Ardin Diale). These victories have proven that Sanchez at least deserves his place amongst the top men at 115lbs even if he's not the top dog himself.
In terms of Sanchez the fighter, he is a huge southpaw who is not only difficult due to his stance but also his freaky frame. He manages to make 115lbs despite standing over 5'8". This freakish size sees him towering almost everyone else at the weight and although he may not be the most powerful guy at the weight (in fact he's only scored 1 T/KO in his last 9 fights) he does hit hard enough to hurt guys.
Unlike the champion, the challenge is an experienced veteran. Not only has Mayol been in more than twice as many bouts but he's been in the ring with some true top talent in a career that spans over a decade.
Mayol debuted as a professional 2000 when he was just 18 and he started his career with an excellent 22 fight winning streak before fighting for his first world title. In his first title tilt, he faced Japanese based Thai Eagle Den Junlaphan and despite putting up a spirited effort Mayol was out pointed.
Ever since his first world title bout, Mayol has been in the title picture with a number of world title fights against some of the best fighters out there. Over the past few years Mayol has faced Ulises Solis, Adrian Hernandez, Ivan Calderon (twice), Edgar Sosa, Omar Nino Romero (twice) and Julio Cesar Miranda. Whilst he suffered losses in a number of those bouts (Solis, Hernandez, Calderon and Romero) he also picked up some credible wins, including stopping Sosa and out pointing the tough Julio Cesar Miranda.
Whilst he's an experienced fighter and a tough fighter, Mayol does have a reputation for being dirty. Not only has he got 2 technical decisions with Ivan Calderon due to head clashes but his victory over Sosa was also marred by a nasty headbutt that Sosa never recovered from.
Despite being quick handed and aggressive Mayol doesn't have the power in his punches that he maybe needs against the best fighters at 115lbs. Whilst he did drop Miranda numerous times last time out in a bout made at the Super Flyweight limit it needs to be noted that Miranda himself was a career Flyweight going into that bout.
So now, to this bout. Whilst Mayol certainly has the experience and the craftiness to make life difficult for everyone in the lower divisions of the sport, I can't help but think that the size difference here will really show. Sanchez is longer, taller and not going to be easy to headbutt, he'll try to stay on the outside but even on the inside the Mexican should be stronger and able to almost push Mayol away with his shots. Mayol is tough and tenacious, having not been stopped in over 4 years and whilst I expect he will see the end, don't be shocked if he is down at some point.
Prediction-Sanchez UD12
At just 21 years old Sanchez is one of, if not the, youngest world champion out there at the moment, and is also one of the least experienced. Despite this he's not being given the softly softly treatment of so many young fighters out there who refuse to face a decent test until they've milked their world title for a year or two.
Sanchez has been a professional since 2008, when he was just 17. He would start his career with 7 straight victories with 6 of those coming by T/KO. His winning run however ended abruptly with an opening round technical decision with journeyman Felipe Acosta. Following the Acosta bout, Sanchez suffered his first (and so far only) loss as he was stopped in 2 rounds by Daniel Rosas (who later went on to fight for a world title himself).
Since suffering the loss to Rosas, Sanchez has rebuilt his career brilliantly with 7 straight wins. Not only has he scored notable wins over Guerrero and Rosas (as mentioned in the paragraph) but he has also beaten the then 18-0 Juan Francisco Estrada (who has recently stopped former world title challenger Ardin Diale). These victories have proven that Sanchez at least deserves his place amongst the top men at 115lbs even if he's not the top dog himself.
In terms of Sanchez the fighter, he is a huge southpaw who is not only difficult due to his stance but also his freaky frame. He manages to make 115lbs despite standing over 5'8". This freakish size sees him towering almost everyone else at the weight and although he may not be the most powerful guy at the weight (in fact he's only scored 1 T/KO in his last 9 fights) he does hit hard enough to hurt guys.
Unlike the champion, the challenge is an experienced veteran. Not only has Mayol been in more than twice as many bouts but he's been in the ring with some true top talent in a career that spans over a decade.
Mayol debuted as a professional 2000 when he was just 18 and he started his career with an excellent 22 fight winning streak before fighting for his first world title. In his first title tilt, he faced Japanese based Thai Eagle Den Junlaphan and despite putting up a spirited effort Mayol was out pointed.
Ever since his first world title bout, Mayol has been in the title picture with a number of world title fights against some of the best fighters out there. Over the past few years Mayol has faced Ulises Solis, Adrian Hernandez, Ivan Calderon (twice), Edgar Sosa, Omar Nino Romero (twice) and Julio Cesar Miranda. Whilst he suffered losses in a number of those bouts (Solis, Hernandez, Calderon and Romero) he also picked up some credible wins, including stopping Sosa and out pointing the tough Julio Cesar Miranda.
Whilst he's an experienced fighter and a tough fighter, Mayol does have a reputation for being dirty. Not only has he got 2 technical decisions with Ivan Calderon due to head clashes but his victory over Sosa was also marred by a nasty headbutt that Sosa never recovered from.
Despite being quick handed and aggressive Mayol doesn't have the power in his punches that he maybe needs against the best fighters at 115lbs. Whilst he did drop Miranda numerous times last time out in a bout made at the Super Flyweight limit it needs to be noted that Miranda himself was a career Flyweight going into that bout.
So now, to this bout. Whilst Mayol certainly has the experience and the craftiness to make life difficult for everyone in the lower divisions of the sport, I can't help but think that the size difference here will really show. Sanchez is longer, taller and not going to be easy to headbutt, he'll try to stay on the outside but even on the inside the Mexican should be stronger and able to almost push Mayol away with his shots. Mayol is tough and tenacious, having not been stopped in over 4 years and whilst I expect he will see the end, don't be shocked if he is down at some point.
Prediction-Sanchez UD12
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