When we talk about fun fighters it's a shame we often forget Puerto Rican Roman "Rocky" Martinez (26-1-1, 16) who became a 2-time WBO Super Featherweight champion back in September after a FOTY contender with Miguel Beltran Jr. He now looks to make the first defense of that title with another fight that could well be a FOTY contender as he takes on the always fun Juan Carlos Burgos (30-1, 20). It's fair to say that this is my tip for fight of the night on Saturday.
At his best Roman Martinez, 29, is an accurate and hurtful puncher from distance with a devastating straight right that famously put Ricky Burns down in the opening round of Martinez's only loss to date. As well as the straight right Martinez has an excellent jab, fantastic work rate and genuine toughness, as he showed in his war with Beltran.
At his worst however Martinez can get dragged into an up close war, a stye fight that his heart seems to love but his skill set isn't made for and it can make his life awfully difficult. It's fair to say that if he can have the distance to work he's genuinely very dangerous and has scored both eye catching clean KO's as well as stoppages from hurting opponents to the point of breaking down.
Although very skilled, with real power and very durable Martinez does have numerous issues, and not just that he's a average in-fighter. He lacks the speed, both hand and foot to really ever be considered a truly tremendous fighter. It's fair to actually admit that his relatively slow speed is what makes him so fun to watch as it ends up getting him involved in real tear ups.
Despite suffering a loss to Burns back in 2010 Martinez is a proven world level fighter having scored wins over Nicky Cook, Walter Estrada, Francisco Lorenzo, Daniel Attah and most recently Beltran Jr. Somehow despite his record Boxrec only rank Martinez as the #19 Super Featherweight in the world (Ring magazine put him at a much more suitable #3).
Whilst Martinez is a very powerful straight puncher it's far to say that Juan Carlos Burgos will be looking to force his own fight. Burgos, despite being the taller man, will likely be looking to cut the distance, force the action and force the pace of the fight whilst also neutralising the deadly straight of Martinez.
Like Martinez, Burgos is a warrior who is tough and likes to fight as he showed in bouts with Luis Cruz and Cristobal Cruz (which was a fantastic fight). If it came to pure toughness though I'd have to strongly favour Martinez, which is why Burgos can't try and jab with Martinez who is simply too tough and hits too hard with his straight to play that game with.
In his only previous world title tilt Burgos did come up short against talented Japanese fighter Hozumi Hasegawa (losing a wide decision in Japan) though that was at Featherweight and Burgos' only fight outside of Mexico or the US. Which actually adds another dimension to this fight, not only is a world title bout between two very exciting fighters but it's one that also has the added edge of Mexico v Puerto Rico, something that always seems to add a little bit of extra spice to bouts.
I'm oddly on the fence as to who will win here, though I'm leaning, slightly towards Martinez as the tougher and more proven fighter, though this is truly a 50-50 match up from where I'm sat and it's something that I cannot wait to watch.
Prediction-Martinez SD
Showing posts with label Puerto Rico. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Puerto Rico. Show all posts
Thursday, 17 January 2013
Wednesday, 12 December 2012
Omar Andres Narvaez v David Quijano
Argentinian veteran Omar Andres Narvaez (37-1-2, 20) looks to make the sixth defense of his WBO Super Flyweight title this weekend as he faces the relatively unknown Puerto Rican David Quijano (15-2-1, 9).
On paper this appears to be a bit of a mismatch, as Narvaez, arguably a top 20 pound-for-pound fighter faces someone who's lacking not only name recognition but also any stand out wins. However at 37 years old the defending champion is a fighter who is getting on and may well be on the slide.
Narvaez last fought back in October (stopping Johnny Garcia in 11 rounds) and for much of that fight didn't look himself. His fast handed combinations from the pocket and ability to slip punches often looked lacking as he instead used his movement to frustrate Garcia whilst leaping in with his own shots. The big question is why did Narvaez fight like that? Was it because he was getting old and can't fight with the intensity he used to be able to, or was it because of personal issues, including his father's death just days earlier.
At his best Narvaez was a little demon, he was quick, smart, and whilst not a hard puncher he was hurtful enough to stop fighters walking him down. Oddly the stoppage over Garcia was his first for over 3 years (the previous stoppage being a TKO11 over Omar Soto) and perhaps showed a lot about Narvaez's mental state and how he had some spent up emotion to be throwing at a faded fighter. If however it was Narvaez realising that 12 rounds is a long time to be fighting, he may well be looking for a bow out fight in the coming months.
With an astonishing 334 professional rounds under his belt from his 40 fights (average of 8.35 rounds a fight) Narvaez is very experienced as a professional and also as an amateur having twice competed at the Olympics. Though what's even more impressive is that he's been fighting at a world level since 2002 with over 20 title fights, as impressively as that is that Narvaez is 23-1-1 in world title bouts across 3 weight divisions!
Unlike the champion, the challenger is yet to fight in a world title bout however at 26 years old Quijano he is coming in to his own physical prime and will certainly have youth on his side. Though sadly from his competition I think youth is his only real advantage as his best win to date (a 10 round technical decision over Juanito Rubillar) isn't even nearing the quality of Narvaez's top 10 or so wins.
In terms of his style Quijano is a fighter with a very good guard who comes to fight. In his bout with Rubillar he showed an excellent jab, very good movement and and the ability to slip shots wonderfully, however aside from his jab he did look clumsy and left himself open at times and had it been a fighter better than Rubillar I think Quijano would have been punished.
Interestingly, for once perhaps, Narvaez won't actually be the smaller man in the ring with a 1" height advantage. Despite this I think if Narvaez is 80% of the fighter he was he'll use his usual tactic, fight from the pocket and we'll have a very fun to watch bout between two very short men with similar movement, but a whole world of difference in class. I don't see a stoppage here as Quijano does have a good guard, though I think he'll be dropped with a counter at some point before going into survival mode for the final few rounds.
Prediction- Narvaez UD12
On paper this appears to be a bit of a mismatch, as Narvaez, arguably a top 20 pound-for-pound fighter faces someone who's lacking not only name recognition but also any stand out wins. However at 37 years old the defending champion is a fighter who is getting on and may well be on the slide.
Narvaez last fought back in October (stopping Johnny Garcia in 11 rounds) and for much of that fight didn't look himself. His fast handed combinations from the pocket and ability to slip punches often looked lacking as he instead used his movement to frustrate Garcia whilst leaping in with his own shots. The big question is why did Narvaez fight like that? Was it because he was getting old and can't fight with the intensity he used to be able to, or was it because of personal issues, including his father's death just days earlier.
At his best Narvaez was a little demon, he was quick, smart, and whilst not a hard puncher he was hurtful enough to stop fighters walking him down. Oddly the stoppage over Garcia was his first for over 3 years (the previous stoppage being a TKO11 over Omar Soto) and perhaps showed a lot about Narvaez's mental state and how he had some spent up emotion to be throwing at a faded fighter. If however it was Narvaez realising that 12 rounds is a long time to be fighting, he may well be looking for a bow out fight in the coming months.
With an astonishing 334 professional rounds under his belt from his 40 fights (average of 8.35 rounds a fight) Narvaez is very experienced as a professional and also as an amateur having twice competed at the Olympics. Though what's even more impressive is that he's been fighting at a world level since 2002 with over 20 title fights, as impressively as that is that Narvaez is 23-1-1 in world title bouts across 3 weight divisions!
Unlike the champion, the challenger is yet to fight in a world title bout however at 26 years old Quijano he is coming in to his own physical prime and will certainly have youth on his side. Though sadly from his competition I think youth is his only real advantage as his best win to date (a 10 round technical decision over Juanito Rubillar) isn't even nearing the quality of Narvaez's top 10 or so wins.
In terms of his style Quijano is a fighter with a very good guard who comes to fight. In his bout with Rubillar he showed an excellent jab, very good movement and and the ability to slip shots wonderfully, however aside from his jab he did look clumsy and left himself open at times and had it been a fighter better than Rubillar I think Quijano would have been punished.
Interestingly, for once perhaps, Narvaez won't actually be the smaller man in the ring with a 1" height advantage. Despite this I think if Narvaez is 80% of the fighter he was he'll use his usual tactic, fight from the pocket and we'll have a very fun to watch bout between two very short men with similar movement, but a whole world of difference in class. I don't see a stoppage here as Quijano does have a good guard, though I think he'll be dropped with a counter at some point before going into survival mode for the final few rounds.
Prediction- Narvaez UD12
Friday, 30 November 2012
Austin Trout v Miguel Cotto
Saturday's only world title fight sees WBA Light Middleweight champion Austin Trout (25-0, 14) attempt to score the biggest victory of his career as he faces former 3-weight world champion Miguel Cotto (37-3, 30). Although Cotto will be the huge fan favourite going into this bout he is seen by some as being a fighter on the slide and a fighter who may well be ready to wave goodbye to the sport whilst Trout is certainly heading in the other direction.
Puerto Rican hero Miguel Cotto is a fighter who is hard to dislike. The 32 year old has genuinely faced everyone and anyone from Antonio Margarito to Zab Judah, Manny Pacquiao to Floyd Mayweather. In fact if anyone was to be critical the biggest problem with Cotto is that he faced too many tests and took too much punishment in a career that has seen him claim world titles in the Light Welterweight, Welterweight and Light Middleweight divisions.
At his most exciting Cotto was a come-forward, body beater who cracked hard, nasty hooks to the ribs of opponents, breaking them down round by round. Defensively he's never been the sharpest though Cotto has developed his style in recent years to be more than just an offensive body attacking machine and has added a very nice sharp jab to his repertoire. It's this jab that served him so well in his most recent fight, a decision loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Although small for a Light Middleweight (5'7" and with a 67" reach) Cotto is often skilled enough to impose his fight on an opponent as he both uses controlled aggression and very under-rated foot work to work his angles and get inside a taller opponent. Sadly however we've seen him beaten down hard in the past by both Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito, who both mentally and physically beat down Cotto (albeit Margarito did do it in a seriously controversial manner). The fact that those two men managed to really beat up Cotto does leave us wondering how much he can take, and although Mayweather didn't stop him, he looked like he could had he wished to.
At Light Middleweight Cotto's power isn't great despite being 3-1 (3) at the weight, his wins over Yuri Foreman, Ricardo Mayorga and Antonio Margarito really showed this. In fact all 3 of his stoppages at the weight have questions over them with Mayorga claiming a broken hand, Foreman damaging his leg and Margarito's damaged eye from his bout with Pacquiao, though his performance with Mayweather was still impressive.
Whilst Cotto, as mentioned, is seen as being on the slide, the 27 year old Trout is certainly seen as a fighter on his way up and despite being the champion is a betting under-dog. Whilst it's true that he isn't a big name in the sport, like Cotto or a number of Cotto's big name opponents he is still a hugely talented fighter who is fresh, confident and coming to make a real name for himself.
Southpaw Trout has slowly been making a name for himself with the hardcore fans since he turned professional way back in 2005 however it wasn't until 2011 that fans started to sit up and take notice as Trout bagged himself several notable victories. The most notable of those victories came in February 2011 as he out-pointed Rigoberto Alvarez (the older brother of Saul "Canelo" Alvarez) for the interim WBA Light Middleweight.
Since claiming the interim WBA Light Middleweight title, Trout has defended it 3 times, defeating David Lopez, Frank LoPorto and Delvin Rodriguez and barely losing a round in those three fights. Whilst he may not have been on killers row the victories over both Lopez and Rodriguez were still impressive and were worth taking note of, especially considering how good Rodriguez had looked in his bouts with Pawel Wolak.
Despite lacking the high level experience Trout has numerous advantages himself. Not only is he a fresher, younger fighter than Cotto but he is also a natural Light Middleweight and has notable size advantages over Cotto (stood over 2" taller and with a 5" reach advantage) both of which he will look to use to his advantage. This will likely see Trout using his right hand jab to keep Cotto at a safe distance and tie up Cotto at close, spoiling Cotto's work up close and neutralising Cotto's supposed power (which I actually don't think will be a factor here).
In terms of the fight, I'm going with the upset here. Like everyone I love Miguel Cotto though I can't help but feel that his age and hard career will be catching up with him as well as the weight. Cotto could still have one last hurrah, though I actually think that was the performance against Mayweather. Cotto's youth, speed and freshness will likely pay off here as he takes a competitive but clear decision.
Prediction-Trout by UD
Puerto Rican hero Miguel Cotto is a fighter who is hard to dislike. The 32 year old has genuinely faced everyone and anyone from Antonio Margarito to Zab Judah, Manny Pacquiao to Floyd Mayweather. In fact if anyone was to be critical the biggest problem with Cotto is that he faced too many tests and took too much punishment in a career that has seen him claim world titles in the Light Welterweight, Welterweight and Light Middleweight divisions.
At his most exciting Cotto was a come-forward, body beater who cracked hard, nasty hooks to the ribs of opponents, breaking them down round by round. Defensively he's never been the sharpest though Cotto has developed his style in recent years to be more than just an offensive body attacking machine and has added a very nice sharp jab to his repertoire. It's this jab that served him so well in his most recent fight, a decision loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Although small for a Light Middleweight (5'7" and with a 67" reach) Cotto is often skilled enough to impose his fight on an opponent as he both uses controlled aggression and very under-rated foot work to work his angles and get inside a taller opponent. Sadly however we've seen him beaten down hard in the past by both Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito, who both mentally and physically beat down Cotto (albeit Margarito did do it in a seriously controversial manner). The fact that those two men managed to really beat up Cotto does leave us wondering how much he can take, and although Mayweather didn't stop him, he looked like he could had he wished to.
At Light Middleweight Cotto's power isn't great despite being 3-1 (3) at the weight, his wins over Yuri Foreman, Ricardo Mayorga and Antonio Margarito really showed this. In fact all 3 of his stoppages at the weight have questions over them with Mayorga claiming a broken hand, Foreman damaging his leg and Margarito's damaged eye from his bout with Pacquiao, though his performance with Mayweather was still impressive.
Whilst Cotto, as mentioned, is seen as being on the slide, the 27 year old Trout is certainly seen as a fighter on his way up and despite being the champion is a betting under-dog. Whilst it's true that he isn't a big name in the sport, like Cotto or a number of Cotto's big name opponents he is still a hugely talented fighter who is fresh, confident and coming to make a real name for himself.
Southpaw Trout has slowly been making a name for himself with the hardcore fans since he turned professional way back in 2005 however it wasn't until 2011 that fans started to sit up and take notice as Trout bagged himself several notable victories. The most notable of those victories came in February 2011 as he out-pointed Rigoberto Alvarez (the older brother of Saul "Canelo" Alvarez) for the interim WBA Light Middleweight.
Since claiming the interim WBA Light Middleweight title, Trout has defended it 3 times, defeating David Lopez, Frank LoPorto and Delvin Rodriguez and barely losing a round in those three fights. Whilst he may not have been on killers row the victories over both Lopez and Rodriguez were still impressive and were worth taking note of, especially considering how good Rodriguez had looked in his bouts with Pawel Wolak.
Despite lacking the high level experience Trout has numerous advantages himself. Not only is he a fresher, younger fighter than Cotto but he is also a natural Light Middleweight and has notable size advantages over Cotto (stood over 2" taller and with a 5" reach advantage) both of which he will look to use to his advantage. This will likely see Trout using his right hand jab to keep Cotto at a safe distance and tie up Cotto at close, spoiling Cotto's work up close and neutralising Cotto's supposed power (which I actually don't think will be a factor here).
In terms of the fight, I'm going with the upset here. Like everyone I love Miguel Cotto though I can't help but feel that his age and hard career will be catching up with him as well as the weight. Cotto could still have one last hurrah, though I actually think that was the performance against Mayweather. Cotto's youth, speed and freshness will likely pay off here as he takes a competitive but clear decision.
Prediction-Trout by UD
Thursday, 20 September 2012
Krzysztof Wlodarczyk v Fransico Palacios II
The Cruiserweight has given us some great fights recently with last weekends bout between Yoan Pablo Hernandez and Troy Ross being one of the very best fights of the year. This weekend we get another Cruiserweight title treat as WBC champion Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (46-2-1, 33) makes the fourth defense of his title as he faces Puerto Rican born American based Fransico Palacios (21-1, 13). This bout, a rematch of one of last years most controversial title bouts promises a lot, though will it deliver?
With 49 bouts on his record it's somewhat easy to forget that Krzysztof Wlodarczyk is just 31 years old. It feels as if the Pole has been around for years and to be honest he has, having made his debut a little more than 12 years ago. Despite a really long career Wlodarczyk is somewhat of an unknown outside of the hardcore boxing community, despite the fact he literally fought a who's who of Cruiserweight's.
Wlodarczyk started his career with 20 straight wins and claimed both the IBF Inter-Continental Cruiserweight title and the Polish Cruiserweight before suffering a controversial technical decision loss to Pavel Melkomyan in Germany. Despite the bout being ruled a technical stoppage due to a clash of heads replays seemed to suggest that the fight ending cut was scored by a punch.
It wouldn't take long for Wlodarczyk to bounce back from his first loss and he swiftly captured the WBC Youth Cruiserweight title and soon afterwards the World Boxing Foundation Cruiserweight title. Despite these title wins it wasn't until he claimed the European Union title by stopping Ruediger May in 2005 that he really started to announce himself.
In 2007 Wlodarczyk claimed his first world title as he controversially out pointed American Steve Cunningham for the IBF Cruiserweight title, though his reign was short lived as Cunningham claimed a majority decision in a rematch just 6 months later. This wasn't to be the end of Wlodarczyk at the top level however and just 2 years later Wlodarczyk would challenge Italian Giacobbe Fragomeni for the WBC Cruiserweight title. Despite dropping Fragomeni, the judges scored the bout a draw.
Almost exactly a year after the draw between Fragomeni and Wlodarczyk the two men fought again this time Wlodarczyk would come out on top taking an 8th round TKO victory. Since then Wlodarczyk has defended his title 3 times, including a controversial decision win over Palacios and an 11th round TKO over Australian Danny Green.
Wlodarczyk's record would indicate he's probably a power puncher but in all honesty he's not a powerful hitter, especially not at world level however he is a grinder and hits hard enough that you feel his shots even if no single blow will take an opponent out. Sadly however the Pole can be frustrating to watch as he can often lose focus in bouts and give rounds away by doing nothing, a problem we saw in a number of rounds against Green last time out. At his best he's exceptional, capable of throwing hurtful shots to the head and body and using very accurate fast jabs, at his worst however he's really awful.
At 35 years old Palacios is the older man, though he hasn't had the ring years of the champion. In fact not only has Palacios only fought 22 times as a professional but he's also only been a pro since 2004. Despite his relatively short professional career Palacios has a solid amateur background and he competed at the 2003 World Amateur Championships (losing controversially to Erbol Babayev).
Since turning over to the paid ranks Palacios has adapted well and started his professional career with an impressive 20 straight wins. In those 20 fights Palacios claimed the WBA Fedelatin Cruiserweight title by impressively stopping former world title challenger Luis Andres Pineda and defended that belt once stopping Lawrence Chapman inside a round.
With his amateur background it goes with out saying that Palacios is a talented fighter and knows how to use all of the punches in book with his busy jab being a key yo many of his attacks. He's at his best however when he's able to let his hands go something he used effectively when he first faced Palacios last year, sadly however the referee repeatedly broke up the action when Palacios was getting the better of it.
With the controversial nature of the first bout, which many though Palacios had won, this bout is a long awaited rematch and one that many fans would have preferred to have seen last year however it still serves to be an intriguing bout.
Against Green, Wlodarczyk looked like he was a fighter who didn't want to fight any more, he was a man who looked to be there in body but not in mind until he felt his title was being taken from him. Against Palacios he's fighting a much better fighter than Green and one who is there to take the title back from Poland come hell or high water and one who I feel will not be denied this time around. Expect Wlodarczyk to be forced to work at a high tempo, something that will not like suit him and expect him to lose rounds as a result. Whilst the judging may be questionable I just can't see the "3 wise men" favouring Wlodarczyk quite as much as they did last time, especially after the backlash by those watching.
Prediction-Palacios SD12
With 49 bouts on his record it's somewhat easy to forget that Krzysztof Wlodarczyk is just 31 years old. It feels as if the Pole has been around for years and to be honest he has, having made his debut a little more than 12 years ago. Despite a really long career Wlodarczyk is somewhat of an unknown outside of the hardcore boxing community, despite the fact he literally fought a who's who of Cruiserweight's.
Wlodarczyk started his career with 20 straight wins and claimed both the IBF Inter-Continental Cruiserweight title and the Polish Cruiserweight before suffering a controversial technical decision loss to Pavel Melkomyan in Germany. Despite the bout being ruled a technical stoppage due to a clash of heads replays seemed to suggest that the fight ending cut was scored by a punch.
It wouldn't take long for Wlodarczyk to bounce back from his first loss and he swiftly captured the WBC Youth Cruiserweight title and soon afterwards the World Boxing Foundation Cruiserweight title. Despite these title wins it wasn't until he claimed the European Union title by stopping Ruediger May in 2005 that he really started to announce himself.
In 2007 Wlodarczyk claimed his first world title as he controversially out pointed American Steve Cunningham for the IBF Cruiserweight title, though his reign was short lived as Cunningham claimed a majority decision in a rematch just 6 months later. This wasn't to be the end of Wlodarczyk at the top level however and just 2 years later Wlodarczyk would challenge Italian Giacobbe Fragomeni for the WBC Cruiserweight title. Despite dropping Fragomeni, the judges scored the bout a draw.
Almost exactly a year after the draw between Fragomeni and Wlodarczyk the two men fought again this time Wlodarczyk would come out on top taking an 8th round TKO victory. Since then Wlodarczyk has defended his title 3 times, including a controversial decision win over Palacios and an 11th round TKO over Australian Danny Green.
Wlodarczyk's record would indicate he's probably a power puncher but in all honesty he's not a powerful hitter, especially not at world level however he is a grinder and hits hard enough that you feel his shots even if no single blow will take an opponent out. Sadly however the Pole can be frustrating to watch as he can often lose focus in bouts and give rounds away by doing nothing, a problem we saw in a number of rounds against Green last time out. At his best he's exceptional, capable of throwing hurtful shots to the head and body and using very accurate fast jabs, at his worst however he's really awful.
At 35 years old Palacios is the older man, though he hasn't had the ring years of the champion. In fact not only has Palacios only fought 22 times as a professional but he's also only been a pro since 2004. Despite his relatively short professional career Palacios has a solid amateur background and he competed at the 2003 World Amateur Championships (losing controversially to Erbol Babayev).
Since turning over to the paid ranks Palacios has adapted well and started his professional career with an impressive 20 straight wins. In those 20 fights Palacios claimed the WBA Fedelatin Cruiserweight title by impressively stopping former world title challenger Luis Andres Pineda and defended that belt once stopping Lawrence Chapman inside a round.
With his amateur background it goes with out saying that Palacios is a talented fighter and knows how to use all of the punches in book with his busy jab being a key yo many of his attacks. He's at his best however when he's able to let his hands go something he used effectively when he first faced Palacios last year, sadly however the referee repeatedly broke up the action when Palacios was getting the better of it.
With the controversial nature of the first bout, which many though Palacios had won, this bout is a long awaited rematch and one that many fans would have preferred to have seen last year however it still serves to be an intriguing bout.
Against Green, Wlodarczyk looked like he was a fighter who didn't want to fight any more, he was a man who looked to be there in body but not in mind until he felt his title was being taken from him. Against Palacios he's fighting a much better fighter than Green and one who is there to take the title back from Poland come hell or high water and one who I feel will not be denied this time around. Expect Wlodarczyk to be forced to work at a high tempo, something that will not like suit him and expect him to lose rounds as a result. Whilst the judging may be questionable I just can't see the "3 wise men" favouring Wlodarczyk quite as much as they did last time, especially after the backlash by those watching.
Prediction-Palacios SD12
Thursday, 13 September 2012
Roman Martinez v Miguel Beltran Jr
Everyone who follows boxing knows about the huge rivalry between Mexico and Puerto Rico and this weekend we get two new chapters to that long and storied history. In the MGM Grand we have Leo Santa Cruz v Eric Morel (for the IBF Bantamweight title) and at the Thomas and Mack Centre we have a bout for the WBO Super Bantamweight title as Roman Martinez (25-1-1, 16) faces Miguel Beltran Jr (27-1-0-1, 17).
Whilst Miguel Beltran Jr will be going into this bout as the under-dog he will feel the pride of his homeland as he has a chance to Mexico proud on the huge holiday "Grito de Dolores" and when driven on a fighter can do great things. Despite the drive and national pride however Beltran is stepping up somewhat going into this bout having only had 2 rounds at world level so far in his career.
Aged 23 Beltran is still a baby in the boxing world though with 29 fights behind him (including 1 no contest) and over 5 years of experience he's a very experienced baby. Beltran started his career with a brilliant 22 fight winning streak, which saw him scoring notable wins over Eduardo Lazcano (who was then 15-0) and recent world title challenger Miguel Roman before suffering the sole loss of his career so far as he was stopped by Joksan Hernandez.
Following the loss to Hernandez (via 10th round KO) Beltran won his following 4 bouts at a lower level before getting his first world title fight, a bout with IBF Super Featherweight champion Juan Carlos Salgado. Sadly for everyone involved, the bout with Salgado lasted less than 2 rounds due to a clash of heads which resulted in a no contest.
Since the bout between Beltran and Salgado, we've only seen Beltran in the ring once, defeating the very low level Carlos Parra by decision over 6 rounds. Sadly this will likely be the key problem for Beltran-his level of competition simply hasn't been very good (Salgado aside) especially since his loss to Hernandez. This level of competition is fine in your first 15 or so fights but for someone with over 20 fights of experience I don't think Beltran will have learned that much and he has notably never been 12 rounds before. That's not to say he's not a good fighter (because he is) he's just a fighter that perhaps needs more development before he'll manage to win a big one. He's a solid fighter but lacks the power to really get a fighters attention and lacks the experience to know what to do when a good fighter turns up in front of him and doesn't go away.
Whilst Beltran is known somewhat by hardcore fans Roman Martinez is much more well known by the boxing community. He's been a professional for over a decade and has previously held the WBO Super Featherweight title as well as having faced a number of well known opponents.
Martinez first came to prominence around 2007 with victories over the likes of Francisco Lorenzo and Daniel Jimenez as he claimed various regional titles. He would build on his success the following year with victories over Santos Benavides and Walter Estrada before claiming his first world title in 2009 by stopping Britain's Nicky Cook.
As the WBO Super Featherweight champion Martinez defended his title twice stopping both Feider Viloria and Gonzalo Munguia before losing a close decision to current WBO Lightweight champion Ricky Burns (despite putting Burns down in the opening round).
Since losing to Burns, way back in 2010, Martinez has fought only once, stopping former world title contender Daniel Attah in 6 rounds to claim the WBO Inter-Continental Super Featherweight title. Sadly this is the big worry about Martinez, his inactivity in recent years with just 1 fights in the last 24 months! He's a hugely talented fighter with respectable power (more so than his record indicates) and solid skills (though defensively he can be tagged), though how his time off will have effected him is a big question.
If this was the Martinez of 3 years ago this match would be an easy one to call with Martinez's proven class being the difference between the two men, however with the long lay off it's much harder to call. Despite this I still favour Martinez who is a much, much better opponent than anyone Beltran has ever faced (aside from Salgado). Martinez will almost certainly struggle to get going early on though I'd be shocked if he doesn't find his rhythm after 4 rounds and either take a clear decision or score a stoppage in the second half of the bout.
Prediction-Martinez TKO8
Whilst Miguel Beltran Jr will be going into this bout as the under-dog he will feel the pride of his homeland as he has a chance to Mexico proud on the huge holiday "Grito de Dolores" and when driven on a fighter can do great things. Despite the drive and national pride however Beltran is stepping up somewhat going into this bout having only had 2 rounds at world level so far in his career.
Aged 23 Beltran is still a baby in the boxing world though with 29 fights behind him (including 1 no contest) and over 5 years of experience he's a very experienced baby. Beltran started his career with a brilliant 22 fight winning streak, which saw him scoring notable wins over Eduardo Lazcano (who was then 15-0) and recent world title challenger Miguel Roman before suffering the sole loss of his career so far as he was stopped by Joksan Hernandez.
Following the loss to Hernandez (via 10th round KO) Beltran won his following 4 bouts at a lower level before getting his first world title fight, a bout with IBF Super Featherweight champion Juan Carlos Salgado. Sadly for everyone involved, the bout with Salgado lasted less than 2 rounds due to a clash of heads which resulted in a no contest.
Since the bout between Beltran and Salgado, we've only seen Beltran in the ring once, defeating the very low level Carlos Parra by decision over 6 rounds. Sadly this will likely be the key problem for Beltran-his level of competition simply hasn't been very good (Salgado aside) especially since his loss to Hernandez. This level of competition is fine in your first 15 or so fights but for someone with over 20 fights of experience I don't think Beltran will have learned that much and he has notably never been 12 rounds before. That's not to say he's not a good fighter (because he is) he's just a fighter that perhaps needs more development before he'll manage to win a big one. He's a solid fighter but lacks the power to really get a fighters attention and lacks the experience to know what to do when a good fighter turns up in front of him and doesn't go away.
Whilst Beltran is known somewhat by hardcore fans Roman Martinez is much more well known by the boxing community. He's been a professional for over a decade and has previously held the WBO Super Featherweight title as well as having faced a number of well known opponents.
Martinez first came to prominence around 2007 with victories over the likes of Francisco Lorenzo and Daniel Jimenez as he claimed various regional titles. He would build on his success the following year with victories over Santos Benavides and Walter Estrada before claiming his first world title in 2009 by stopping Britain's Nicky Cook.
As the WBO Super Featherweight champion Martinez defended his title twice stopping both Feider Viloria and Gonzalo Munguia before losing a close decision to current WBO Lightweight champion Ricky Burns (despite putting Burns down in the opening round).
Since losing to Burns, way back in 2010, Martinez has fought only once, stopping former world title contender Daniel Attah in 6 rounds to claim the WBO Inter-Continental Super Featherweight title. Sadly this is the big worry about Martinez, his inactivity in recent years with just 1 fights in the last 24 months! He's a hugely talented fighter with respectable power (more so than his record indicates) and solid skills (though defensively he can be tagged), though how his time off will have effected him is a big question.
If this was the Martinez of 3 years ago this match would be an easy one to call with Martinez's proven class being the difference between the two men, however with the long lay off it's much harder to call. Despite this I still favour Martinez who is a much, much better opponent than anyone Beltran has ever faced (aside from Salgado). Martinez will almost certainly struggle to get going early on though I'd be shocked if he doesn't find his rhythm after 4 rounds and either take a clear decision or score a stoppage in the second half of the bout.
Prediction-Martinez TKO8
Tuesday, 11 September 2012
Leo Santa Cruz v Eric Morel
This coming weekend young Mexican Leo Santa Cruz (20-0-1, 11) will make the first defense of IBF Bantamweight title as he faces Puerto Rican veteran Eric Morel (46-3, 23) in a bout that it is expected by many to help propel Santa Cruz to the next level.
The 24 year old Santa Cruz is tipped by many as one of the top young Mexican's in the sport and with huge potential to become a star, despite the fact he fights in the lower divisions. So far his rise has been genuinely swift and incredibly impressive.
Santa Cruz debuted in late 2006 aged just 18 and first started to make a name for himself in 2011 as he stopped tough Belgian Stephane Jamoye (KO6) with a devastating body shot. Since then Santa Cruz's rise to the top has been remarkable and thoroughly impressive with victories over former "interim" world champion Jose Lopez (not to be confused Josesito Lopez) and former title contenders Everth Briceno, Alejandro Hernandez and Vusi Malinga.
Despite being young and relatively inexperienced (certainly when compared to his challenger) Santa Cruz is a fighter who has been compared to Antonio Magarito with his superb work rate and relentless pressure as well as in your face mentality. Like Margarito, Santa Cruz isn't an out and out destructive puncher (though his body shots are devastating) but will grind opponents down and break them, both physically and mentally. Whilst he's certainly not a slickster his defense is under-rated and he appears to be very durable.
At 36 years old Eric Morel, the challenger, is a true veteran having fought professional since 1996 and as well as being experienced he's a born survivor in the ring having never been stopped and really even being hurt.
Morel first made his name in the sport in 2000 when he claimed the WBA Flyweight title by defeating Sornpichai Kratingdaenggym. He would keep this title for 3 years making 5 defenses against the likes of Alberto Ontiveros, Gilberto Keb Baas and Denkaosan Kaovichit before losing to Venezuelan Lorenzo Parra. A little over a year after suffering his first professional loss, Morel attempted to claim the WBA Super Flyweight title from Martin Castillo though was widely beaten by Castillo. Following this loss Morel's would spend much of the following 3 years out of the ring following a sexual assault of a 15 year girl.
Having returned to the ring in 2008 Morel would run off a number of wins over lower level opponents before controversially defeating Filipino legend Gerry Penalosa in a bout that most watching felt Penalosa clearly deserved. The win over Penalosa saw Morel claiming the interim WBO Bantamweight title, a title that Morel would never defend instead choosing to fight above the 118lb Bantamweight limit.
In his most recent bout to date Morel lost to the highly regarded Mexican Abner Mares. Despite dominating the bout Mares failed to score a stoppage against Morel who seemed determined to do little more than survive. Despite having an impressive looking record (46-3, 23) and never being stopped Morel has never been an exceptional fighter. He used to have good speed and respectable power however at Bantamweight he really doesn't hit hard and at 37 he's not as fleet on his feet as he once was.
Whilst Morel has never been stopped he did seem on the verge of being stopped by Mares and against Santa Cruz I imagine we could similar scene. Morel is an old man (especially at the lower weights) and with Santa Cruz's relentless offense and refusal to back away added to his lethal body shots, I actually see Santa Cruz becoming the first man to stop Morel. Whilst I do genuinely like Santa Cruz I don't want fans to get too excited by a performance over the old Morel, even if the Mexican does manage to force a late stoppage.
Prediction-Santa Cruz TKO10
The 24 year old Santa Cruz is tipped by many as one of the top young Mexican's in the sport and with huge potential to become a star, despite the fact he fights in the lower divisions. So far his rise has been genuinely swift and incredibly impressive.
Santa Cruz debuted in late 2006 aged just 18 and first started to make a name for himself in 2011 as he stopped tough Belgian Stephane Jamoye (KO6) with a devastating body shot. Since then Santa Cruz's rise to the top has been remarkable and thoroughly impressive with victories over former "interim" world champion Jose Lopez (not to be confused Josesito Lopez) and former title contenders Everth Briceno, Alejandro Hernandez and Vusi Malinga.
Despite being young and relatively inexperienced (certainly when compared to his challenger) Santa Cruz is a fighter who has been compared to Antonio Magarito with his superb work rate and relentless pressure as well as in your face mentality. Like Margarito, Santa Cruz isn't an out and out destructive puncher (though his body shots are devastating) but will grind opponents down and break them, both physically and mentally. Whilst he's certainly not a slickster his defense is under-rated and he appears to be very durable.
At 36 years old Eric Morel, the challenger, is a true veteran having fought professional since 1996 and as well as being experienced he's a born survivor in the ring having never been stopped and really even being hurt.
Morel first made his name in the sport in 2000 when he claimed the WBA Flyweight title by defeating Sornpichai Kratingdaenggym. He would keep this title for 3 years making 5 defenses against the likes of Alberto Ontiveros, Gilberto Keb Baas and Denkaosan Kaovichit before losing to Venezuelan Lorenzo Parra. A little over a year after suffering his first professional loss, Morel attempted to claim the WBA Super Flyweight title from Martin Castillo though was widely beaten by Castillo. Following this loss Morel's would spend much of the following 3 years out of the ring following a sexual assault of a 15 year girl.
Having returned to the ring in 2008 Morel would run off a number of wins over lower level opponents before controversially defeating Filipino legend Gerry Penalosa in a bout that most watching felt Penalosa clearly deserved. The win over Penalosa saw Morel claiming the interim WBO Bantamweight title, a title that Morel would never defend instead choosing to fight above the 118lb Bantamweight limit.
In his most recent bout to date Morel lost to the highly regarded Mexican Abner Mares. Despite dominating the bout Mares failed to score a stoppage against Morel who seemed determined to do little more than survive. Despite having an impressive looking record (46-3, 23) and never being stopped Morel has never been an exceptional fighter. He used to have good speed and respectable power however at Bantamweight he really doesn't hit hard and at 37 he's not as fleet on his feet as he once was.
Whilst Morel has never been stopped he did seem on the verge of being stopped by Mares and against Santa Cruz I imagine we could similar scene. Morel is an old man (especially at the lower weights) and with Santa Cruz's relentless offense and refusal to back away added to his lethal body shots, I actually see Santa Cruz becoming the first man to stop Morel. Whilst I do genuinely like Santa Cruz I don't want fans to get too excited by a performance over the old Morel, even if the Mexican does manage to force a late stoppage.
Prediction-Santa Cruz TKO10
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