After scoring arguably the biggest upset of last year Mexican Mario Rodriguez (15-6-4, 11) makes the first defense of the IBF Minimumweight title he annexed from South African Nkosinathi Joyi as he faces former Joyi rival Katsunari Takayama (24-6-0-1, 10). This bout will be Takayama's first bout in Mexico and he remarkably enters 1-4-0-1 in the last 4 years!
Although Rodriguez's record is scratchy to say the best the 24 year old "Dragoncito" has been a fighter who has had to sink or swim from an early age. He debuted at 17 years old and started his career 10-6-4 with losses to Jose Alfredo Rodriguez and Donnie Nietes and a draw with Pedro Guevara amongst others. Not bad opponents for a young fighter.
In more recent bouts however Rodriguez has been defeating solid and accomplished professionals such as Manuel Jimenez, Karluis Diaz, Gilberto Keb Baas, Armando Vazquez and of course Joyi in a genuinely impressive streak. He hasn't just been beating his opponents he's been stopping them as well with only Jimenez surviving the distance from that impressive series of opponents.
Rodriguez isn't the most skilled but he's a very tough fighter who hasn't been stopped since losing his debut via 2nd round TKO to Geovanny Lopez (who Rodriguez beat in a rematch) and he relies on his toughness, his power and his work rate to over-come opponents. He's a fighter who if given a chance to have a tear up would likely come out on top.
Although Takayama is going through the worst run of his career (as mentioned above he's won just 1 of his last 6) the 29 year old is a proven force at the top level in the division. He's not only a former WBC and WBA interim champion but he's also a fighter who has faced a relative who's who including Isaac Bustos, Eagle Den Junlaphan. Carlos Melo, Yutaka Niida, Roman Gonzalez, Tshepo Lefele and Joyi (twice). As well as fighting that high level of competition he has also been unfortunate in some of his losses, most notably a split decision loss to Mateo Handig last time out and the loss to Niida.
Takayama is, like Rodriguez, a tough fighter (as he showed repeatedly against Gonzalez) and he's also a fighter with a solid work rate though unfortunately he seems to lack power and can be dragged in to a war (as he was with Gonzalez). If Takayama goes to Mexico with a point to prove I think he'll lose a decision though sadly if he chooses to box he may be viewed as negative and may end up losing anyway, it really is a toughy for the Japanese veteran.
Rodriguez isn't as bad as his record indicated and for me this would be a pretty even fight on neutral territory though in Mexico it's hard to imagine Rodriguez losing.
Prediction-Rodriguez by UD in a thoroughly enjoyable bout.
Showing posts with label Mario Rodriguez. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mario Rodriguez. Show all posts
Friday, 29 March 2013
Thursday, 30 August 2012
Nkosinathi Joyi v Mario Rodriguez
In a hugely busy weekend it may be easy to over look some notable fights, including the IBF Minimumweight title fight which sees the champion, South African Nkosinathi Joyi (22-0-0-1, 15) making the 3rd defence of his title as he travels to Mexico to face Mario Rodriguez (14-6-4, 10).
Despite being one of the best fighters in the lower weights over the past few years Joyi has been criminally over looked by the boxing world. Whilst it's partly down to fans perceptions of lower weight boxers it's also down to the fact he's a bit of a star in South Africa and has had no real need to go to Mexico or Japan where he would have been able to get the exposure he so deserves. All that changes on Saturday when, for the first time in a career dating back to 2002, Joyi fights outside of his homeland, traveling to Sinaloa, Mexico to defend his title.
Whilst Joyi's talents have been hidden from the wider boxing public he has proven he's a very high caliber fighter having been incredibly impressive in defeating a number of well regarded fighters in the 105lb division. Amongst those that Joyi has faced, and defeated are Sammy Gutierrez (who would later claim the WBA interim title), former IBF champion Florante Condes, the then IBF champion Raul Garcia and former WBC and WBA interim champion Katsunari Takayama. Amazingly 3 of those men are still in Ring Magazine's top 10 at the weight, showing just how high of a stand Joyi has been fighting, with only Gutierrez dropping out of the rankings.
Having been a professional since 2002 it maybe surprising to read that Joyi has only fought 23 times, though sadly, for the talented South African, he has had a number of issues in recent years which saw him fighting just once in each of the last 3 years. It seems however that those issues have been sorted and Joyi intends to try and make his mark on the boxing world, rather than just becoming a footnote in sports encyclopedias.
With power in both hands, Joyi is an exceptional boxer puncher who, at 5'6" is very tall for a Minimumweight though has no issues makes the weight limit. He's powerful, strong, quick and technically sound with a solid guard, accurate hard jab and very hurtful straight left, in fact he has every punch in the book. There is very little negative to say about Joyi in the ring, though if pushed to note negatives Joyi has been dropped (by Sammy Gutierrez) and did suffer a broken hand last time out against Takayama. To fair Joyi's biggest issue has been his recent inactivity, aside from that there is little to complain about.
Despite being a massive under dog the challenger, Mexico's Mario Rodriguez will know he has nothing to lose and everything to gain and will be cheered on by a home crowd as the bout takes place in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico. Despite having a pretty sketchy record with just 14 wins from his 24 fights he has started to come good with a 5 fight unbeaten run, including a draw with recent title contender Pedro Guevara (who's fight with John Riel Casimero was covered here) which many felt Rodriguez deserved to win and wins over recent title challenger Karluis Diaz (who's fight with Alberto Rossel was covered here) and former champion Gilberto Keb Baas. This victories have helped move Rodriguez up to #5 on Boxrec.com's Minimuweight rankings.
Rodriguez's record was bad from the off. He lost his debut (in 2005) by TKO to Geovanny Lopez (Rodriguez's only TKO loss to date) before losing his 3rd fight on points to David Marquez. He later suffered losses to Julio Cesar Felix (who fought for a world title just a few months ago), Jose Alfredo Rodriguez (a recent WBA interim Champion at 108lbs, who lost his title to Alberto Rossel), Raul Castaneda (avenged 7 months later) and current world champion Donnie Nietes. The loss to Nietes, in a WBO Minimumweight title bout has been Rodriguez's only previous world title bout and whilst he clearly lose he was still hanging in at the final bell.
It's fair to say Rodriguez is a fighter who is better than his record shows. He's tough and he hits hard (having taken out Karluis Diaz in just 128 seconds) however he's not a a world level boxer. He is however a hell of a fighter who comes to go to war and always looks to get inside his opponent to fight up close. Despite apparently being 5'7" (according to Televisa) Rodriguez does give away his height fighting out of a crouch though really knows how to bring the action.
Whilst on paper this looks like a mismatch, it's almost certainly going to be a fun mismatch. Joyi should have too much for Rodriguez in almost every way imaginable but the heart and style of the challenger means that it will be fun to watch, even if it does end up being a bit of a beat down in the end. Rodriguez may be too tough and too brave for his own good here and may take a bit of a hiding if the referee and his corner allow it, which would be a shame, though he will, almost certainly, try his heart out.
Prediction-Joyi TKO8
This bout will be televised in Mexico on Televisa, if you have a chance try to catch the full card which not only features this world title bout but also the next bout in the career of the exciting young prospect Julio Ceja (20-0, 19)
Despite being one of the best fighters in the lower weights over the past few years Joyi has been criminally over looked by the boxing world. Whilst it's partly down to fans perceptions of lower weight boxers it's also down to the fact he's a bit of a star in South Africa and has had no real need to go to Mexico or Japan where he would have been able to get the exposure he so deserves. All that changes on Saturday when, for the first time in a career dating back to 2002, Joyi fights outside of his homeland, traveling to Sinaloa, Mexico to defend his title.
Whilst Joyi's talents have been hidden from the wider boxing public he has proven he's a very high caliber fighter having been incredibly impressive in defeating a number of well regarded fighters in the 105lb division. Amongst those that Joyi has faced, and defeated are Sammy Gutierrez (who would later claim the WBA interim title), former IBF champion Florante Condes, the then IBF champion Raul Garcia and former WBC and WBA interim champion Katsunari Takayama. Amazingly 3 of those men are still in Ring Magazine's top 10 at the weight, showing just how high of a stand Joyi has been fighting, with only Gutierrez dropping out of the rankings.
Having been a professional since 2002 it maybe surprising to read that Joyi has only fought 23 times, though sadly, for the talented South African, he has had a number of issues in recent years which saw him fighting just once in each of the last 3 years. It seems however that those issues have been sorted and Joyi intends to try and make his mark on the boxing world, rather than just becoming a footnote in sports encyclopedias.
With power in both hands, Joyi is an exceptional boxer puncher who, at 5'6" is very tall for a Minimumweight though has no issues makes the weight limit. He's powerful, strong, quick and technically sound with a solid guard, accurate hard jab and very hurtful straight left, in fact he has every punch in the book. There is very little negative to say about Joyi in the ring, though if pushed to note negatives Joyi has been dropped (by Sammy Gutierrez) and did suffer a broken hand last time out against Takayama. To fair Joyi's biggest issue has been his recent inactivity, aside from that there is little to complain about.
Despite being a massive under dog the challenger, Mexico's Mario Rodriguez will know he has nothing to lose and everything to gain and will be cheered on by a home crowd as the bout takes place in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico. Despite having a pretty sketchy record with just 14 wins from his 24 fights he has started to come good with a 5 fight unbeaten run, including a draw with recent title contender Pedro Guevara (who's fight with John Riel Casimero was covered here) which many felt Rodriguez deserved to win and wins over recent title challenger Karluis Diaz (who's fight with Alberto Rossel was covered here) and former champion Gilberto Keb Baas. This victories have helped move Rodriguez up to #5 on Boxrec.com's Minimuweight rankings.
Rodriguez's record was bad from the off. He lost his debut (in 2005) by TKO to Geovanny Lopez (Rodriguez's only TKO loss to date) before losing his 3rd fight on points to David Marquez. He later suffered losses to Julio Cesar Felix (who fought for a world title just a few months ago), Jose Alfredo Rodriguez (a recent WBA interim Champion at 108lbs, who lost his title to Alberto Rossel), Raul Castaneda (avenged 7 months later) and current world champion Donnie Nietes. The loss to Nietes, in a WBO Minimumweight title bout has been Rodriguez's only previous world title bout and whilst he clearly lose he was still hanging in at the final bell.
It's fair to say Rodriguez is a fighter who is better than his record shows. He's tough and he hits hard (having taken out Karluis Diaz in just 128 seconds) however he's not a a world level boxer. He is however a hell of a fighter who comes to go to war and always looks to get inside his opponent to fight up close. Despite apparently being 5'7" (according to Televisa) Rodriguez does give away his height fighting out of a crouch though really knows how to bring the action.
Whilst on paper this looks like a mismatch, it's almost certainly going to be a fun mismatch. Joyi should have too much for Rodriguez in almost every way imaginable but the heart and style of the challenger means that it will be fun to watch, even if it does end up being a bit of a beat down in the end. Rodriguez may be too tough and too brave for his own good here and may take a bit of a hiding if the referee and his corner allow it, which would be a shame, though he will, almost certainly, try his heart out.
Prediction-Joyi TKO8
This bout will be televised in Mexico on Televisa, if you have a chance try to catch the full card which not only features this world title bout but also the next bout in the career of the exciting young prospect Julio Ceja (20-0, 19)
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