With a staggering 6 world title bouts taking place this weekend it's fair to say that some will be ignored by fans. My guess is that the most ignored will be in Peru as Peru's first ever world champion Alberto Rossel (30-8, 13) defends his WBA "interim" Light Flyweight title.
Rossel, looking for the third defense of his belt, will be facing Mexican Jose Alfredo Zuniga (11-4-1, 5) a man I must admit I know very, very little about.
Whilst Zuniga is a mystery to me Rossel has been a bit of a curiosity of mine. He's a man who is certainly not a genuine top fighter in the 108lbs division. He'd not stand a chance with fighter like Kazuto Ioka, Roman Gonzalez, Donnie Nietes, Moises Fuentes or Johnriel Casimero. Saying that however he's not completely awful.
Aged 35 Rossel has been in with a genuine who's who of the lower divisions. He has faced, and lost, to Daniel Reyes, Ivan Calderon, Brian Viloria, Luis Alberto Lazarte, Vusi Malinga and Hugo Fidel Cazares. Losing to those guys however isn't something that should shame any fighter, he tested himself and lost to some great names.
Since the loss to Cazares, Rossel has been on a 6 fight winning streak, highlighted by his victory over Jose Alfredo Rodriguez for the WBA interim belt, and subsequent defenses against Karluis Diaz and Walter Tello, who in all honesty were undeserving title challengers themselves.
In terms of his style Rossel is a scrappy fighter. He's not particularly exciting, or entertaining but due to his status as Peru's first, and only world champion he does have a solid following. His combination of little power and not the greatest of work rate causes many of his bouts to be tough to watch and hard to scored but whilst in Peru he's going to be very difficult to defeat.
Whilst Rossel has faced a string of quality names, Zuniga himself has faced one or two recognisable names, most notably Gannigan Lopez, who he is 1-1 against though also Ulises Lara and Luis Ceja, defeating both with the victory over Ceja coming just a few months ago. It's probably fair to say that Zuniga is getting this bout thanks to the victory over Ceja which is all well and good until you realise he was just 1-1-1 going in to that bout.
Ranked #10 by the WBA Zuniga is the third successive "weak" challenger to Rossel's throne and should again come up short. I actually do expect to see Rossel pushed hard, he's nothing great, but I expect, with the fight being in Peru he'll take a narrow decision, but there is a reason why this fight is being completely ignored by fans, and that's due to the quality of the match up and legitimacy of Rossel's title.
Prediction-Rossel UD12
Showing posts with label Peruvian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Peruvian. Show all posts
Friday, 27 September 2013
Wednesday, 13 March 2013
Alberto Rossel v Walter Tello
Peruvian fighter Alberto Rossel (29-8-0-1, 13) will attempt to defend his WBA interim Light Flyweight title for the second time this coming weekend as he faces Panamanian Walter Tello (18-6, 7) in what promising to be a major event in the champion's homeland, despite it not being a country known for it's boxing.
The 35 year old Rossel may not be a name on the lips of every boxing fan however in his homeland he's a legend, he's not only the first male Peruvian to claim a world title of some sort but he's also the boxing icon of the country. He's been a classy fighter who has mixed with some of the best (including Ivan Calderon, Brian Viloria, Luis Alberto Lazarte, Vusi Malinga and Hugo Fidel Cazares) and finally reaps the rewards of his long and excellent career.
Rossel's been a professional since 1998 and although he's fought around the world (Peru, USA, Puerto Rico, Argentina, South Africa and Mexico) it's only been the last year or so that he's managed to make a name for himself thanks to victories over Jose Alfredo Rodriguez and Karluis Diaz as he claimed, then defended his world title.
In terms of fighting style Rossel is still a quick fighter for someone who is now 35 and although he's tiny he's got genuine ability to fight from the outside as well as the inside. Sadly through his career Rossel has found himself facing genuinely world level fighters who have simply had that level of exceptional talent rather than just good skills and he's come out the loser at the top level as a result.
At just 26 years old the Panamanian challenger is by far the younger man going in to this bout though he's not only less experienced but also less tested having only been in with 2 noteworthy in Manuel Vargas and Giovani Segura, both of whom convincingly beat him in Mexico in world title fights. This also reflected in the quality of Tello's victories which have been very limited and his only title victory was when he won the WBO Latino Minimumweight title back in 2008.
Tello is genuinely very limited and his confidence will not be high, despite a 3 fight winning streak because he's 4-3 in his last 7 and 5-4 in his last 9, including 2 losses to fellow Panamanian Carlos Melo.
Although Tello has only been stopped twice (once bey Segura and once by Luis Alberto Rios, who fights this weekend against John Riel Casimero for the IBF Light Flyweight title) I wouldn't be shocked if the pressure of fighting in Peru sees him mentally wilting before being stopped late.
Prediction-Rossel to win by TKO11
The 35 year old Rossel may not be a name on the lips of every boxing fan however in his homeland he's a legend, he's not only the first male Peruvian to claim a world title of some sort but he's also the boxing icon of the country. He's been a classy fighter who has mixed with some of the best (including Ivan Calderon, Brian Viloria, Luis Alberto Lazarte, Vusi Malinga and Hugo Fidel Cazares) and finally reaps the rewards of his long and excellent career.
Rossel's been a professional since 1998 and although he's fought around the world (Peru, USA, Puerto Rico, Argentina, South Africa and Mexico) it's only been the last year or so that he's managed to make a name for himself thanks to victories over Jose Alfredo Rodriguez and Karluis Diaz as he claimed, then defended his world title.
In terms of fighting style Rossel is still a quick fighter for someone who is now 35 and although he's tiny he's got genuine ability to fight from the outside as well as the inside. Sadly through his career Rossel has found himself facing genuinely world level fighters who have simply had that level of exceptional talent rather than just good skills and he's come out the loser at the top level as a result.
At just 26 years old the Panamanian challenger is by far the younger man going in to this bout though he's not only less experienced but also less tested having only been in with 2 noteworthy in Manuel Vargas and Giovani Segura, both of whom convincingly beat him in Mexico in world title fights. This also reflected in the quality of Tello's victories which have been very limited and his only title victory was when he won the WBO Latino Minimumweight title back in 2008.
Tello is genuinely very limited and his confidence will not be high, despite a 3 fight winning streak because he's 4-3 in his last 7 and 5-4 in his last 9, including 2 losses to fellow Panamanian Carlos Melo.
Although Tello has only been stopped twice (once bey Segura and once by Luis Alberto Rios, who fights this weekend against John Riel Casimero for the IBF Light Flyweight title) I wouldn't be shocked if the pressure of fighting in Peru sees him mentally wilting before being stopped late.
Prediction-Rossel to win by TKO11
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