After 2013 closed with 2 Super Featherweight title fights it may come as a surprise to some that 2014 begins with another title fight in the same division, this time for the IBF title as champion Argenis Mendez (21-2-1, 11) looks to make the second defense of his title.
Mendez, a defensively smart though occasionally lazy fighter from the Dominican Republic, came perilously close to losing his title last time out in an excellent encounter with Arash Usmanee. Unfortunately for Mendez he did what he so often does and failed to put forward an effort for 3 minutes of every round. When he did work he looked sensational but all to often he let Usmanee work hard and mark rounds close.
At his best Mendez is one of the best counter punchers in the sport. He is capable of standing his ground, blocking and slipping shots before landing his own counters in return, often with interest on them. This power of Mendez's was seen in style when he won the title last year stopping Juan Carlos Salgado.
Mendez will be fighting against talented Cuban Rances Barthelemy (19-0, 12), a rangy and skilled boxer-puncher who, like Mendez, can look incredible one moment and second rate the next.
Although a Cuban Barthelemy doesn't have the super skills of some of his compatriots, he's well schooled but not that touch of genuine genius that you see in Guillermo Rigondeaux, Erislandy Lara or even Yuriorkis Gamboa. When he gets going however he's incredibly good with solid defense and good rangy punches.
It's those rangy punches that Barthelemy will need to make good use of as he has 2" advantage in both height and reach. If he allows Mendez to get close then the champion will slip shots and come back with intelligent and sharp counters that will genuine dictate the fight. Although 2" isn't a huge advantage it's something that he'll need to make use of.
The biggest advantage for Mendez isn't his more complete boxing skills but for me it's his better level of competition. The Dominican has fought the likes of Martin Honorio, Juan Carlos Salgado and Cassius Baloyi all of whom are more proven than Barthelemy. If Mendez can use that experience to his benefit I imagine he'll manage to come out on what I view as a very competitive bout.
Although I view Mendez as the favourite I'd advise gamblers to have a small, bet on Barthelemy who looks to be great value at 15/8.
Prediction-Mendez SD12
Showing posts with label Super Featherweight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Super Featherweight. Show all posts
Friday, 3 January 2014
Monday, 30 December 2013
Takashi Uchiyama v Daiki Kaneko
One of the final world title bouts of the year is an all-Japanese clash between WBA Super Featherweight champion Takashi Uchiyama (20-0-1, 17) and fellow Japanese fighter Daiki Kaneko (19-2-3, 12). The bout, to those outside of Japan, looks like a mismatch with Uchiyama being a clear favourite though from the view of many Japanese fans this is a truly outstanding match-up between the best in the world and one of the top contenders from around the world.
Whilst fans in the US and the Europe won't know much about Kaneko he's a genuinely credible fighter. He's currently on an excellent 16 fight unbeaten run which has seen him claim the Japanese national title and make several defenses of the belt. The 16 fight streak has seen Kaneko develop markedly and score 10 KO's taking his record from 6-2 (2) to 19-2-3 (12).
Aged 25 Kaneko is young, quickly maturing and a fighter who has really developed. He was once a light hitting teenager though now appears to he a heavy hitting man with solid straight shots and an ever improving technique.
Although Kaneko, despite significant improvements, will be the under-dog he will be a live one against Uchiyama, a man many feel is the premier Super Featherweight on the planet.
At his best Uchiyama is a destructive, strong and powerful fighter who control the distance of the fight well walking down his opponents well before unloading with either powerful single shots or devastating combinations. Although a huge puncher Uchiyama has shown an incredible patience in many of his fights, applying intelligent pressure with out forcing the issue too much.
Aged 34 Uchiyama is probably on the slide slightly whilst Kaneko is improving however though with his style being so intelligent Uchiyama has generally avoided wars. The one time he has been hurt was when he faced Takashi Miura and even though he was dropped hard there he recovered used his boxing and came back to stop Miura. Although not young he's probably fresher than most other 34 year old fighters and with his power it could be just a matter of time here.
From where I'm sat I favour Uchiyama to take a few rounds to see what Kaneko has, force the younger man to work hard and then find open opportunities before unloading on the young challenger who makes it into the second half of the fight but not too much further.
Prediction-Uchiyama TKO8
Whilst fans in the US and the Europe won't know much about Kaneko he's a genuinely credible fighter. He's currently on an excellent 16 fight unbeaten run which has seen him claim the Japanese national title and make several defenses of the belt. The 16 fight streak has seen Kaneko develop markedly and score 10 KO's taking his record from 6-2 (2) to 19-2-3 (12).
Aged 25 Kaneko is young, quickly maturing and a fighter who has really developed. He was once a light hitting teenager though now appears to he a heavy hitting man with solid straight shots and an ever improving technique.
Although Kaneko, despite significant improvements, will be the under-dog he will be a live one against Uchiyama, a man many feel is the premier Super Featherweight on the planet.
At his best Uchiyama is a destructive, strong and powerful fighter who control the distance of the fight well walking down his opponents well before unloading with either powerful single shots or devastating combinations. Although a huge puncher Uchiyama has shown an incredible patience in many of his fights, applying intelligent pressure with out forcing the issue too much.
Aged 34 Uchiyama is probably on the slide slightly whilst Kaneko is improving however though with his style being so intelligent Uchiyama has generally avoided wars. The one time he has been hurt was when he faced Takashi Miura and even though he was dropped hard there he recovered used his boxing and came back to stop Miura. Although not young he's probably fresher than most other 34 year old fighters and with his power it could be just a matter of time here.
From where I'm sat I favour Uchiyama to take a few rounds to see what Kaneko has, force the younger man to work hard and then find open opportunities before unloading on the young challenger who makes it into the second half of the fight but not too much further.
Prediction-Uchiyama TKO8
Sunday, 29 December 2013
Takashi Miura v Dante Jardon
Japanese fighters fighting on New Years Eve is nothing new, in fact it's been a tradition over the last few years. This year however we end up with a potential FOTY of the year coming on new years eve as WBC Super Featherweight champion Takashi Miura (26-2-2, 19) takes on free swinging Mexican Danta Jardon (24-3, 20).
Fans who have followed either fighter over the last few years will know how entertaining they can be by themselves. When you put them together though, one must expect fireworks, one must expect a war and one anticipates nothing short of breathtaking back and forth action. If you've not seen either I'd advise giving both men a watch before New Year's Eve, especially Miura's last fight which saw him going to war with Sergio Thompson.
Of the two men Miura is the more established. He's not just the WBC world champion but was also a Japanese national champion earlier in his career and a man who is widely regarded as a really top tier Super Featherweight. His first world title fight may have saw him coming unstuck against Takashi Uchiyama but it was obvious from that fight that he had real potential to do something special himself.
Since the loss to Uchiyama in January 2011 we've seen Miura score 6 straight wins, including notable title fight victories over both Gamaliel Diaz and Sergio Thompson. It's those two fights in particular that have made Miura so well known with hard core fans. He's proven to be tough, hard working and an explosive puncher, despite the fact his record only makes him look like an above average hitter.
Jardon, at least on paper, is the bigger hitter though also the slightly less tough fighter. The Mexican challenger, dubbed "Crazy", has been known for being very fun to watch with a wild punching style and an aggressive mindset. It's not always worked for him but on the whole it's been successful with very few opponents managing to make him pay for his wild style.
At his best Jardon is a real threat, at his worst though he's just a single counter from going to sleep. Saying that I think for this fight, his first world title fight, he will tidy up what he does in the ring and fight a more intelligent fight than usual. He'll not manage to become Guillermo Rigondeaux over-night but he'll show a level of restraint that one wouldn't expect from seeing him.
Although I expect a slightly restrained Jardon I don't expect him to be able to curb his natural mindset and as a result this will become a war. A few slow, casual rounds might occur at the start but by the midway point this will become a real, all out war. Who ever can take the more damage will win the war and personally I favour Miura to be that man.
Prediction-Miura TKO11
Fans who have followed either fighter over the last few years will know how entertaining they can be by themselves. When you put them together though, one must expect fireworks, one must expect a war and one anticipates nothing short of breathtaking back and forth action. If you've not seen either I'd advise giving both men a watch before New Year's Eve, especially Miura's last fight which saw him going to war with Sergio Thompson.
Of the two men Miura is the more established. He's not just the WBC world champion but was also a Japanese national champion earlier in his career and a man who is widely regarded as a really top tier Super Featherweight. His first world title fight may have saw him coming unstuck against Takashi Uchiyama but it was obvious from that fight that he had real potential to do something special himself.
Since the loss to Uchiyama in January 2011 we've seen Miura score 6 straight wins, including notable title fight victories over both Gamaliel Diaz and Sergio Thompson. It's those two fights in particular that have made Miura so well known with hard core fans. He's proven to be tough, hard working and an explosive puncher, despite the fact his record only makes him look like an above average hitter.
Jardon, at least on paper, is the bigger hitter though also the slightly less tough fighter. The Mexican challenger, dubbed "Crazy", has been known for being very fun to watch with a wild punching style and an aggressive mindset. It's not always worked for him but on the whole it's been successful with very few opponents managing to make him pay for his wild style.
At his best Jardon is a real threat, at his worst though he's just a single counter from going to sleep. Saying that I think for this fight, his first world title fight, he will tidy up what he does in the ring and fight a more intelligent fight than usual. He'll not manage to become Guillermo Rigondeaux over-night but he'll show a level of restraint that one wouldn't expect from seeing him.
Although I expect a slightly restrained Jardon I don't expect him to be able to curb his natural mindset and as a result this will become a war. A few slow, casual rounds might occur at the start but by the midway point this will become a real, all out war. Who ever can take the more damage will win the war and personally I favour Miura to be that man.
Prediction-Miura TKO11
Friday, 8 November 2013
Roman Martinez v Mikey Garcia
It's become somewhat popular in recent years to talk about how poor American boxing is. The top fighters such as Floyd Mayweather Jr, Bernard Hopkins and Andre Ward are known as being somewhat boring despite their talent and for many the excitement is being sapped slowly out of American fighting.
One man who has been able to buck that trend is Mexican-American Mikey Garcia (32-0, 27), a man many are proclaiming as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet despite the fact he is just 25 years old.
What Garcia has done so well this far in his career is combine explosive power with fantastic counter punching and perfect judgement of distance. Garcia doesn't give opponents many opportunities but when he gets even a whiff of a chance to land his potent right hand he makes sure to connect. No one seems to like taking Garcia's lethal power more than once or twice and it's little wonder that he has stopped so many opponents.
This weekend we see Garcia stepping up from the Featherweight division to start his campaign at Super Featherweight. A move up caused by Garcia's inability to make the 126lb Featherweight division comfortably, something that saw him stripped of his WBO title last time out when he defeated Juan Manuel Lopez.
In a somewhat symbolic move Garcia leaves the Featherweight division by defeating a Puerto Rican and begins his journey in the Super Featherweight by facing on a Puerto Rican as he battles WBO Super Featherweight champion Roman Martinez (27-1-2, 16), a man who many feel has been living on borrowed time in recent contests.
Whilst Garcia is a wonderful boxer-puncher it's far to say that Martinez is more of a fighter. The Puerto Rican is flawed though tough, hard working and determined to win. He's not pretty by any stretch of the imagination but he's proven to be very happy to take one to land one. Unfortunately however for Martinez he's now looking somewhat like a "done" fighter and was very fortunate in his last 3 contests as he scored controversial victories over Miguel Beltran Jr and Diego Magdaleno as well a very suspect draw with Juan Carlos Burgos.
Although Martinez has been fortunate in his recent bouts he has been fighting busy fighters. Against Garcia it's fair to say that Martinez is facing a much more measured opponent. Of course Garcia is a more complete boxer than Beltran, Burgos and Magdaleno but if Martinez can take his power this could be a long night for the American youngster.
On the flipside however Martinez has been taking more and more shots. His last 3 bouts in particular were all very hard and those wars do age a fighter, especially when Martinez himself was never a great defensive boxer. If Martinez cannot cut the space off quickly then he will merely be charging on to the hard and heavy shots of Garcia, shots that have explosive and concussive power. If this happens I wouldn't be shocked to see Martinez suffer his first stoppage loss and for Garcia to become a 2-weight world champion.
Prediction-Garcia TKO7
One man who has been able to buck that trend is Mexican-American Mikey Garcia (32-0, 27), a man many are proclaiming as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet despite the fact he is just 25 years old.
What Garcia has done so well this far in his career is combine explosive power with fantastic counter punching and perfect judgement of distance. Garcia doesn't give opponents many opportunities but when he gets even a whiff of a chance to land his potent right hand he makes sure to connect. No one seems to like taking Garcia's lethal power more than once or twice and it's little wonder that he has stopped so many opponents.
This weekend we see Garcia stepping up from the Featherweight division to start his campaign at Super Featherweight. A move up caused by Garcia's inability to make the 126lb Featherweight division comfortably, something that saw him stripped of his WBO title last time out when he defeated Juan Manuel Lopez.
In a somewhat symbolic move Garcia leaves the Featherweight division by defeating a Puerto Rican and begins his journey in the Super Featherweight by facing on a Puerto Rican as he battles WBO Super Featherweight champion Roman Martinez (27-1-2, 16), a man who many feel has been living on borrowed time in recent contests.
Whilst Garcia is a wonderful boxer-puncher it's far to say that Martinez is more of a fighter. The Puerto Rican is flawed though tough, hard working and determined to win. He's not pretty by any stretch of the imagination but he's proven to be very happy to take one to land one. Unfortunately however for Martinez he's now looking somewhat like a "done" fighter and was very fortunate in his last 3 contests as he scored controversial victories over Miguel Beltran Jr and Diego Magdaleno as well a very suspect draw with Juan Carlos Burgos.
Although Martinez has been fortunate in his recent bouts he has been fighting busy fighters. Against Garcia it's fair to say that Martinez is facing a much more measured opponent. Of course Garcia is a more complete boxer than Beltran, Burgos and Magdaleno but if Martinez can take his power this could be a long night for the American youngster.
On the flipside however Martinez has been taking more and more shots. His last 3 bouts in particular were all very hard and those wars do age a fighter, especially when Martinez himself was never a great defensive boxer. If Martinez cannot cut the space off quickly then he will merely be charging on to the hard and heavy shots of Garcia, shots that have explosive and concussive power. If this happens I wouldn't be shocked to see Martinez suffer his first stoppage loss and for Garcia to become a 2-weight world champion.
Prediction-Garcia TKO7
Wednesday, 23 October 2013
Bryan Vasquez v Rene Gonzalez
In one of this weekend's "over looked" world title fights Costa Rican Bryan Vasquez (31-1, 17) looks to reclaim the WBA "interim" Super Featherweight title that he held until losing to WBA "regular" champion Takashi Uchiyama.
Whilst on paper the idea of a fighter wanting an interim title might sound odd, Vasquez actually made for a decent interim champion. If of course we view interim championship status as a sign that a tighter is a solid contender.
Vasquez will be fighting the little known Nicaraguan Rene Gonzalez (31-5-1-1, 23), a man who boasts several notable losses but little in terms of noteworthy victories. In fact in his only notable bouts Vasquez has been beaten by Urbano Antillon, Humberto Mauro Gutierrez, Dante Jordan and Daniel Estrada. Effectively pushing him to the very extreme fringes of "title contender".
Vasquez, despite losing to Uchiyama, impressed me when he faced by far the best Super Featherweight on the planet. Uchiyama is a scary guy in the ring, defensively sound with dynamite in both hands. Vasquez however wasn't intimidated and went after him using his speed and skill, before finally being undone by Uchiyama's power.
It's fair to say that on the back of his showing with the Japanese fighter, Vasquez probably deserves a top 20 ranking at absolute worst. In fact his key limitation is the fact he's not a puncher. He's fast, smooth, has lovely combinations, good foot work but can't keep a phenom like Uchiyama away with his light shots.
Against Gonzalez however Vasquezs's combinations and movement may serve him well as he fires out an eye catching flurry and gets away whilst the crowd roar him on.
Although Gonzalez's record looks like he has a decent punch on him with 23 stoppages from 31 wins one needs to delve a bit deeper. Of those stoppages 10 came in his first 10 bouts whilst only 3 have come in his last 10. Basically his power hasn't carried up as he's faced tougher opponents. He of course still carries some sting on his punches but it'd not as concussive as one may think.
What's perhaps more telling about Gonzalez is the fact he's tough. In his 38 fight career he has been stopped just the once, an 11th round retirement to the dangerous Daniel Estrada back in 2011. He has however been down several times, notably being dropped 3 times by Israel Hector Enrique Perez in his second most recent contest at 130lbs.
It's harder to find footage of Gonzalez than it is of Vasquez though what footage I did find didn't make him look that great. In fact he looked quite slow and not that tight skills wise. There is a decent fighter there, but decent is about the nicest I can be.
I'll admit it, I like Vasquez and may be biased here, though I'd be shocked if the Costa Rican doesn't take a clear decision against Gonzalez who will give his all but not have enough to catch up with one of the sports many hidden fighters.
Prediction-Vasquez UD12
Whilst on paper the idea of a fighter wanting an interim title might sound odd, Vasquez actually made for a decent interim champion. If of course we view interim championship status as a sign that a tighter is a solid contender.
Vasquez will be fighting the little known Nicaraguan Rene Gonzalez (31-5-1-1, 23), a man who boasts several notable losses but little in terms of noteworthy victories. In fact in his only notable bouts Vasquez has been beaten by Urbano Antillon, Humberto Mauro Gutierrez, Dante Jordan and Daniel Estrada. Effectively pushing him to the very extreme fringes of "title contender".
Vasquez, despite losing to Uchiyama, impressed me when he faced by far the best Super Featherweight on the planet. Uchiyama is a scary guy in the ring, defensively sound with dynamite in both hands. Vasquez however wasn't intimidated and went after him using his speed and skill, before finally being undone by Uchiyama's power.
It's fair to say that on the back of his showing with the Japanese fighter, Vasquez probably deserves a top 20 ranking at absolute worst. In fact his key limitation is the fact he's not a puncher. He's fast, smooth, has lovely combinations, good foot work but can't keep a phenom like Uchiyama away with his light shots.
Against Gonzalez however Vasquezs's combinations and movement may serve him well as he fires out an eye catching flurry and gets away whilst the crowd roar him on.
Although Gonzalez's record looks like he has a decent punch on him with 23 stoppages from 31 wins one needs to delve a bit deeper. Of those stoppages 10 came in his first 10 bouts whilst only 3 have come in his last 10. Basically his power hasn't carried up as he's faced tougher opponents. He of course still carries some sting on his punches but it'd not as concussive as one may think.
What's perhaps more telling about Gonzalez is the fact he's tough. In his 38 fight career he has been stopped just the once, an 11th round retirement to the dangerous Daniel Estrada back in 2011. He has however been down several times, notably being dropped 3 times by Israel Hector Enrique Perez in his second most recent contest at 130lbs.
It's harder to find footage of Gonzalez than it is of Vasquez though what footage I did find didn't make him look that great. In fact he looked quite slow and not that tight skills wise. There is a decent fighter there, but decent is about the nicest I can be.
I'll admit it, I like Vasquez and may be biased here, though I'd be shocked if the Costa Rican doesn't take a clear decision against Gonzalez who will give his all but not have enough to catch up with one of the sports many hidden fighters.
Prediction-Vasquez UD12
Wednesday, 14 August 2013
Argenis Mendez v Arash Usmanee
After a few weak years the Super Featherweight division really does seem like it's picking up. Not only does the division have Takashi Uchiyama as the stand out guy and the WBA champion but below him are some very exciting fighters such as the former Featherweight champion Mikey Garcia and Roman Martinez, as limited as he is, is always in good fights.
When you get good fighters in a division it's impossible for their not to be some great match ups that do get made and that's what we have as the headliner for this weeks "Friday Night Fights" as IBF champion Argenis Mendez (21-2, 11) takes on Afghan born Canadian Arash Usmanee (20-1, 10). It's a fight that may not grab the attention of many but should still be a genuinely good match up.
Dominican Mendez is with out a doubt one of the most gifted fighters in the Super Featherweight division. He's got delightful technical skills, beautiful speed and although he's not a banger he can hit hard enough to take fighters out when he decides to hold his feet and let loose. In fact it's his combination of speed and power that can make him such a devastating fighter with his punches coming quicker than many fighters can react to.
Unfortunately for all the talent Mendez has he can blow hot and cold. At his best he's the division's best fighter behind the destructive Uchiyama. At his worst however he can really under-perform as he did against Martin Honorio in their first fight and Juan Carlos Salgado in their first fight, however he looked a much improved fighter in rematches with both men.
On a bad day Mendez would only be competitive with any of the top 10 in the division, though on his best days he's genuinely sensational.
In the opposite corner to Mendez will be the once beaten Usmanee, a man many including believes should be unbeaten. Unfortunately for Usmanee his most recent bout, a controversial decision loss to Rances Barthelemy, is probably his highest profile, thankfully however that bout was on ESPN's Friday Night Fights meaning that most who will be tuning in will now about the loss.
Usmanee is a talented and hard working fighter. He's not the slickest or the biggest hitting but he's a very determined fighter who has a tremendous engine, an engine that saw him throwing over 1000 punches against Barthelmy. In fact had he had some real power he'd likely have stopped Barthelmy thanks to his 34% connect rate in power shots.
As talented and hard working as Usmanee is it's likely he will need to hope that Mendez is having an off night if he's to win. Of course that's not out of the question with Mendez having his hot and cold reputation though if Mendez is on form this could be a very harsh bout for Usmanee who is talented but not in the same league as on fire Mendez.
Prediction-Mendez UD12
When you get good fighters in a division it's impossible for their not to be some great match ups that do get made and that's what we have as the headliner for this weeks "Friday Night Fights" as IBF champion Argenis Mendez (21-2, 11) takes on Afghan born Canadian Arash Usmanee (20-1, 10). It's a fight that may not grab the attention of many but should still be a genuinely good match up.
Dominican Mendez is with out a doubt one of the most gifted fighters in the Super Featherweight division. He's got delightful technical skills, beautiful speed and although he's not a banger he can hit hard enough to take fighters out when he decides to hold his feet and let loose. In fact it's his combination of speed and power that can make him such a devastating fighter with his punches coming quicker than many fighters can react to.
Unfortunately for all the talent Mendez has he can blow hot and cold. At his best he's the division's best fighter behind the destructive Uchiyama. At his worst however he can really under-perform as he did against Martin Honorio in their first fight and Juan Carlos Salgado in their first fight, however he looked a much improved fighter in rematches with both men.
On a bad day Mendez would only be competitive with any of the top 10 in the division, though on his best days he's genuinely sensational.
In the opposite corner to Mendez will be the once beaten Usmanee, a man many including believes should be unbeaten. Unfortunately for Usmanee his most recent bout, a controversial decision loss to Rances Barthelemy, is probably his highest profile, thankfully however that bout was on ESPN's Friday Night Fights meaning that most who will be tuning in will now about the loss.
Usmanee is a talented and hard working fighter. He's not the slickest or the biggest hitting but he's a very determined fighter who has a tremendous engine, an engine that saw him throwing over 1000 punches against Barthelmy. In fact had he had some real power he'd likely have stopped Barthelmy thanks to his 34% connect rate in power shots.
As talented and hard working as Usmanee is it's likely he will need to hope that Mendez is having an off night if he's to win. Of course that's not out of the question with Mendez having his hot and cold reputation though if Mendez is on form this could be a very harsh bout for Usmanee who is talented but not in the same league as on fire Mendez.
Prediction-Mendez UD12
Sunday, 5 May 2013
Takashi Uchiyama v Jaider Parra
The Super Featherweight division has been one of the weakest divisions in recent years though the one man who has managed to stand out in the division is Japanese hard hitter Takashi Uchiyama (19-0-1, 16), the current WBA champion.
Uchiyama claimed his title way back in January 2010 by stopping Juan Carlos Salgado and since then then has been the only really impressive fighter in the division with 6 title defenses including stoppage victories over Takashi Miura (the current WBC champion), Jorge Solis and Bryan Vasquez.
Despite being 33 years old the tank like Uchiyama has only fought 126 professional rounds, a little over 6 per bout as his destructive power has seen him repeatedly finishing opponents off inside the distance. In his 20 career bouts only Hero Bando has managed to see out the 12 round schedule.
Although not the fastest fighter in the division Uchiyama is very deliberate, defensively sound, more intelligent than he seems and has ridiculously quick recuperative powers. To date he has only been down once as a professional, dropped by Miura, but got immediately back to his feet and carried on despite being tagged by what appeared to be a fight ending shot.
Whilst Uchiyama is a slow starter he's a fighter who can defeat opponents both mentally by refusing to go away or physically by just battering them, or taking them out with one shot (as he did to Solis). This means he's always dangerous. Even if he can be out boxed early on he he only needs a single chance to land his destructive power.
For Uchiyama's 7th title defense he will be facing the relatively unknown Jaider Parra (20-0-1, 10), the younger brother of former world champion Lorenzo Parra.
Hailing from Venezuela Parra is a fighter than little is really known about. He's unbeaten and 30 years old having fought his entire career in Latin America, in fact all but 4 of his bouts have been fought in his native Venezuela.
From watching footage of Parra we do see a pretty decent technical boxer with nice movement and a good jab. Sadly though his lack of power and relative lack of activity in the ring can be a major issue and whilst his opponents so far haven't made him pay, they've also been of a much lower level than Uchiyama. In all honesty Parra's best opponents wouldn't even be favourites against Uchiyama's worst title defenses, Parramay be able to beat some of the weaker ones but Parra's opponents wouldn't.
Prediction-Uchiyama TKO8
Uchiyama claimed his title way back in January 2010 by stopping Juan Carlos Salgado and since then then has been the only really impressive fighter in the division with 6 title defenses including stoppage victories over Takashi Miura (the current WBC champion), Jorge Solis and Bryan Vasquez.
Despite being 33 years old the tank like Uchiyama has only fought 126 professional rounds, a little over 6 per bout as his destructive power has seen him repeatedly finishing opponents off inside the distance. In his 20 career bouts only Hero Bando has managed to see out the 12 round schedule.
Although not the fastest fighter in the division Uchiyama is very deliberate, defensively sound, more intelligent than he seems and has ridiculously quick recuperative powers. To date he has only been down once as a professional, dropped by Miura, but got immediately back to his feet and carried on despite being tagged by what appeared to be a fight ending shot.
Whilst Uchiyama is a slow starter he's a fighter who can defeat opponents both mentally by refusing to go away or physically by just battering them, or taking them out with one shot (as he did to Solis). This means he's always dangerous. Even if he can be out boxed early on he he only needs a single chance to land his destructive power.
For Uchiyama's 7th title defense he will be facing the relatively unknown Jaider Parra (20-0-1, 10), the younger brother of former world champion Lorenzo Parra.
Hailing from Venezuela Parra is a fighter than little is really known about. He's unbeaten and 30 years old having fought his entire career in Latin America, in fact all but 4 of his bouts have been fought in his native Venezuela.
From watching footage of Parra we do see a pretty decent technical boxer with nice movement and a good jab. Sadly though his lack of power and relative lack of activity in the ring can be a major issue and whilst his opponents so far haven't made him pay, they've also been of a much lower level than Uchiyama. In all honesty Parra's best opponents wouldn't even be favourites against Uchiyama's worst title defenses, Parramay be able to beat some of the weaker ones but Parra's opponents wouldn't.
Prediction-Uchiyama TKO8
Sunday, 7 April 2013
Gamaliel Diaz v Takashi Miura
Mexican Super Featherweight Gamaliel Diaz (37-9-2, 17)) looks to make the first defense of his WBC title when he faces the highly rated Japanese challenger Takashi Miura (24-2-2, 18) in Mirua's homeland of Japan.
Although Diaz is on the road for this fight he'll have fond memories of Japan where he is 3-0 as a professional and had his crowning glory last year defeating Takahiro Ao by unanimous decision for his world title. In fact the 32 year old may well feel that Japan is where he has performed the best over his 14 year career with victories not only against Ao but also Naoto Fujiwara and Makoto Uehara (oddly following those victories with a notable defeat of Robert Guerrero).
Although Diaz's record looks like that of a journeyman he actually picked up more than half of his losses in his first 8 bouts as he started his career 3-5 suffering 2 stoppage losses including 1 to Martin Honorio. Since then Diaz has compiled a very respectable 34-4-2 record with losses to Robert Guerrero (who he had already beaten), Humberto Soto, Jorge Linares and Zolani Marali with the last of those coming 4 years ago to Marali. Against those losses Diaz has beaten not only Guerrero and Ao but also Elio Rojas, Cesar Soto and John Carlo Aparicio.
Diaz isn't anything special but on the flip of that he's a fighter who, if he fights to his best can upset special fighters. Sadly for Diaz though he is a fighter who can blow hot and cold and when he's not on form he can make life very difficult for himself and as we've seen several times he can be hurt when tagged hard, in fact of his last 4 losses 3 have come by stoppage with his chin not holding up at world level. Against Miura this could be an issue as the Japanese fighter is a real puncher, though Diaz has got the experience edge and should know how to get around Miura's biggest shots.
Whilst Diaz is well known around boxing circles his Japanese rival is lesser known in the west. Despite his relative obscurity to Western boxing fans Miura is well known to fans of the East thanks in part to his performance against Takashi Uchiyama which saw Uchiyama decked in round 3 before Miura was retired.
At 28 years old Miura is the younger fighter by 4 years in terms of age but is also younger in terms of "boxing years" having had fewer high profile bouts. Despite this Miura is well tested having fought in 7 Japanese title fights (going 5-1-1 in those bouts) and his bout with Uchiyama. Amongst those he has beaten are Yoshimitsu Yashiro, Seiichi Okada and most recently Ryuji Migaki (who was blasted out in 97 seconds). Whilst his only loss, other than the Uchiyama defeat, coming to former WBA Lightweight champion Yusuke Kobori in Miura's first title bout.
Miura is a genuine hard man despite his loss to Uchiyama (arguably the hard puncher in Super Featherweight division) and with his own fire power is a real danger man in the division. Whilst he has thunderous power he can often seem a bit predictable in trying to set up left hand and he seems to lack any sort of attack from his lead hand at times allowing a smart fighter to out boxing him. He can also get frustrated by a fighter who moves away from his left. It's fair to say however you've got to be pretty stupid to move into his straight left.
Due to the power of Miura with his straight left I've got to go with the Japanese catching Diaz at some point and putting him down. I have a feeling that Diaz may get up from a single knock down but be get stopped sooner afterwards.
Prediction-Mirua TKO5
Although Diaz is on the road for this fight he'll have fond memories of Japan where he is 3-0 as a professional and had his crowning glory last year defeating Takahiro Ao by unanimous decision for his world title. In fact the 32 year old may well feel that Japan is where he has performed the best over his 14 year career with victories not only against Ao but also Naoto Fujiwara and Makoto Uehara (oddly following those victories with a notable defeat of Robert Guerrero).
Although Diaz's record looks like that of a journeyman he actually picked up more than half of his losses in his first 8 bouts as he started his career 3-5 suffering 2 stoppage losses including 1 to Martin Honorio. Since then Diaz has compiled a very respectable 34-4-2 record with losses to Robert Guerrero (who he had already beaten), Humberto Soto, Jorge Linares and Zolani Marali with the last of those coming 4 years ago to Marali. Against those losses Diaz has beaten not only Guerrero and Ao but also Elio Rojas, Cesar Soto and John Carlo Aparicio.
Diaz isn't anything special but on the flip of that he's a fighter who, if he fights to his best can upset special fighters. Sadly for Diaz though he is a fighter who can blow hot and cold and when he's not on form he can make life very difficult for himself and as we've seen several times he can be hurt when tagged hard, in fact of his last 4 losses 3 have come by stoppage with his chin not holding up at world level. Against Miura this could be an issue as the Japanese fighter is a real puncher, though Diaz has got the experience edge and should know how to get around Miura's biggest shots.
Whilst Diaz is well known around boxing circles his Japanese rival is lesser known in the west. Despite his relative obscurity to Western boxing fans Miura is well known to fans of the East thanks in part to his performance against Takashi Uchiyama which saw Uchiyama decked in round 3 before Miura was retired.
At 28 years old Miura is the younger fighter by 4 years in terms of age but is also younger in terms of "boxing years" having had fewer high profile bouts. Despite this Miura is well tested having fought in 7 Japanese title fights (going 5-1-1 in those bouts) and his bout with Uchiyama. Amongst those he has beaten are Yoshimitsu Yashiro, Seiichi Okada and most recently Ryuji Migaki (who was blasted out in 97 seconds). Whilst his only loss, other than the Uchiyama defeat, coming to former WBA Lightweight champion Yusuke Kobori in Miura's first title bout.
Miura is a genuine hard man despite his loss to Uchiyama (arguably the hard puncher in Super Featherweight division) and with his own fire power is a real danger man in the division. Whilst he has thunderous power he can often seem a bit predictable in trying to set up left hand and he seems to lack any sort of attack from his lead hand at times allowing a smart fighter to out boxing him. He can also get frustrated by a fighter who moves away from his left. It's fair to say however you've got to be pretty stupid to move into his straight left.
Due to the power of Miura with his straight left I've got to go with the Japanese catching Diaz at some point and putting him down. I have a feeling that Diaz may get up from a single knock down but be get stopped sooner afterwards.
Prediction-Mirua TKO5
Thursday, 4 April 2013
Roman Martinez v Diego Magdaleno
Puerto Rican Roman "Rocky" Martinez (26-1-2, 16) may well be one of the luckiest champions in boxing right now having claimed the WBO Super Featherweight in controversial fashion against Miguel Beltran Jr and then retained it in even more controversy against Juan Carlos Burgos. He will now look to extend his reign as champion as he comes up against unbeaten American Diego Magdaleno (23-0, 9) who is stepping up notably for this bout.
Although the 30 year old Martinez has been fortunate in his most recent bouts he is a proven world class fighter who is now having his second reign as a world champion. He's scored notable wins over Francisco Lorenzo, Walter Estrada, Nicky Cook, Daniel Attah and the controversial one over Beltran. The only blotches on his record have come to Jose Leonardo Cruz-who he drew with early in his career, Ricky Burns-who beat Martinez in 2010 and Burgos-who seemed to be denied a clear victory by the judges.
At his best Martinez is a hurtful puncher who can detonate his powerful straight right in impressive fashion whilst also taking heavy punishment himself. At his worst however he's a stiff boxer who can be made to look slow and clumsy and as Burgos showed he can also be worn down with a strong body attack (though admittedly few would have withstood Burgos' body attack that night). He's slow and clumsy but at long range he's very effective and uses his long arms to great effect.
Whilst Martinez is proven at the world level there is a lot of questions marks over him going in to this bout thanks to his lesser than stellar showings against Beltran Jr and Burgos, two opponents who arguably beat Martinez. In fact when you consider the loss to Burns you could make a strong case for Martinez being 1-3 in his last 4 bouts (with only the stoppage over Attah going in his favour).
For unbeaten American Magdaleno this is a massive step up. So far in his career he's been spoken about as a fighter with major potential though he's rarely needed to really prove how good he actually is. In fact the best victories that Magdaleno has scored have come against smaller fighters such as Fernando Beltran and Emmanuel Lucero neither of which will help prepare him for a world title fight with a genuine world level fighter.
Magadaleno's a very talented boxer with quick hands though has appeared to lack power in many of his fights. Although a stoppage of Beltran may convince some that he hits much harder than his record indicates I'm more of the opinion that Beltran's natural size disadvantage helped make Magdaleno's shots seem more powerful than they really were. I'd be shocked if his power had the same sort of effect on a true Super Featherweight like Martinez.
Going in to this bout I'd expect Magdaleno to use his speed and skills to try and over-come the power of Martinez. If he can use feet and stop Martinez from getting off with his power shots he could honestly make this bout look very easily. Sadly for Magdaleno the fact that Alejandro Perez managed to drop him doesn't bode well here and Martinez is a much bigger puncher than Perez.
For some this is the big match up of the weekend and an evenly balance bounced, for me however I can't help but think the step up is simply too much for Magdaleno. Not only is he stepping up in terms of opponent but he's also stepping up to the 12 round distance for the first time and over 12 rounds I'd be shocked if Martinez can't tag him.
Prediction-Martinez TKO8
Although the 30 year old Martinez has been fortunate in his most recent bouts he is a proven world class fighter who is now having his second reign as a world champion. He's scored notable wins over Francisco Lorenzo, Walter Estrada, Nicky Cook, Daniel Attah and the controversial one over Beltran. The only blotches on his record have come to Jose Leonardo Cruz-who he drew with early in his career, Ricky Burns-who beat Martinez in 2010 and Burgos-who seemed to be denied a clear victory by the judges.
At his best Martinez is a hurtful puncher who can detonate his powerful straight right in impressive fashion whilst also taking heavy punishment himself. At his worst however he's a stiff boxer who can be made to look slow and clumsy and as Burgos showed he can also be worn down with a strong body attack (though admittedly few would have withstood Burgos' body attack that night). He's slow and clumsy but at long range he's very effective and uses his long arms to great effect.
Whilst Martinez is proven at the world level there is a lot of questions marks over him going in to this bout thanks to his lesser than stellar showings against Beltran Jr and Burgos, two opponents who arguably beat Martinez. In fact when you consider the loss to Burns you could make a strong case for Martinez being 1-3 in his last 4 bouts (with only the stoppage over Attah going in his favour).
For unbeaten American Magdaleno this is a massive step up. So far in his career he's been spoken about as a fighter with major potential though he's rarely needed to really prove how good he actually is. In fact the best victories that Magdaleno has scored have come against smaller fighters such as Fernando Beltran and Emmanuel Lucero neither of which will help prepare him for a world title fight with a genuine world level fighter.
Magadaleno's a very talented boxer with quick hands though has appeared to lack power in many of his fights. Although a stoppage of Beltran may convince some that he hits much harder than his record indicates I'm more of the opinion that Beltran's natural size disadvantage helped make Magdaleno's shots seem more powerful than they really were. I'd be shocked if his power had the same sort of effect on a true Super Featherweight like Martinez.
Going in to this bout I'd expect Magdaleno to use his speed and skills to try and over-come the power of Martinez. If he can use feet and stop Martinez from getting off with his power shots he could honestly make this bout look very easily. Sadly for Magdaleno the fact that Alejandro Perez managed to drop him doesn't bode well here and Martinez is a much bigger puncher than Perez.
For some this is the big match up of the weekend and an evenly balance bounced, for me however I can't help but think the step up is simply too much for Magdaleno. Not only is he stepping up in terms of opponent but he's also stepping up to the 12 round distance for the first time and over 12 rounds I'd be shocked if Martinez can't tag him.
Prediction-Martinez TKO8
Thursday, 17 January 2013
Roman Martinez v Juan Carlos Burgos
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
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
Thursday, 6 December 2012
Javier Fortuna v Patrick Hyland
In a battle of unbeaten fighters Dominican Javier Fortuna (20-0-0-1, 15) takes on Irishman Patrick Hyland (27-0, 12) for the interim WBA Featherweight title in what should be a very intriguing match up for both men.
Going in to this match up I'd have to make the 29 year old Hyland the under-dog. Despite having a longer unbeaten record at 27 fights (dating back to 2004) he hasn't yet really been given a tough test, at least not a test that should prepare him for a world title bout. In fact looking over Hyland's record it's hard to see who was supposed to push him and see what he was really made of with the only "testing" opponent being former world title challenger Emmanuel Lucero (who had lost his previous 2 bouts, and is now 0-7 in his last 7).
Despite his paper record Hyland is regarded highly, especially in Ireland where he started his career. Despite starting his career in Ireland however he is now based in the US where he has fought his last 3 bouts (and 6 in total). Alongside his brothers Paul and Eddie he is seen as a potential draw amongst the Irish-American contingent however he's been somewhat protected due to the losses of his brothers who have had their limitations shown up.
As well as being untested Hyland has issues. He was pushed incredibly hard by Lucero who took his best power shots and kept coming, showing that Hyland doesn't have the power to force a tough opponent on to the back foot, in fact a tough fighter will likely be happy to take one to land one from him. Saying this however he has got solid skills and was a former stand out amateur who is well schooled and knows how to box. He also has Jersey Shore personality "Snooki" behind him and will likely have a bigger fan base in the arena.
Sadly for Hyland, whilst he's not tested, his opponent Javier Fortuna is tested and has been passing tests with ease. In fact the way he has been passing his tests has caught the eye of boxing fans around the globe who have began to rate Fortuna as one of the best emerging youngsters in the sport.
Aged just 23 the Dominican fighter has been fast tracked up the rankings building on his excellent amateur pedigree. His handlers have had no problems with matching him hard and that's why he is where he is so quickly. In just his 11th bout Fortuna suffered the only "black mark" on his record so far suffering an opening round No Contest with former Lightweight title contender Francisco Lorenzo and since then he has been destroying opponents with ease.
Amongst those beaten by Fortuna are recent world title challenger Miguel Roman, previously unbeaten prospect Yuandale Evans and most recently former world champion Cristobal Cruz. He has so far shown amazing power, speed, and whilst he's still a little crude he has the natural gifts to get away with his mistakes.
Personally it's the difference in power and in competition that make me favour Fortuna and favour him big. I just can't see Hyland having the power to punish Fortuna's mistakes whilst Fortuna himself will just bully and beat down Hyland before forcing stoppage.
Prediction-Fortuna TKO5
Going in to this match up I'd have to make the 29 year old Hyland the under-dog. Despite having a longer unbeaten record at 27 fights (dating back to 2004) he hasn't yet really been given a tough test, at least not a test that should prepare him for a world title bout. In fact looking over Hyland's record it's hard to see who was supposed to push him and see what he was really made of with the only "testing" opponent being former world title challenger Emmanuel Lucero (who had lost his previous 2 bouts, and is now 0-7 in his last 7).
Despite his paper record Hyland is regarded highly, especially in Ireland where he started his career. Despite starting his career in Ireland however he is now based in the US where he has fought his last 3 bouts (and 6 in total). Alongside his brothers Paul and Eddie he is seen as a potential draw amongst the Irish-American contingent however he's been somewhat protected due to the losses of his brothers who have had their limitations shown up.
As well as being untested Hyland has issues. He was pushed incredibly hard by Lucero who took his best power shots and kept coming, showing that Hyland doesn't have the power to force a tough opponent on to the back foot, in fact a tough fighter will likely be happy to take one to land one from him. Saying this however he has got solid skills and was a former stand out amateur who is well schooled and knows how to box. He also has Jersey Shore personality "Snooki" behind him and will likely have a bigger fan base in the arena.
Sadly for Hyland, whilst he's not tested, his opponent Javier Fortuna is tested and has been passing tests with ease. In fact the way he has been passing his tests has caught the eye of boxing fans around the globe who have began to rate Fortuna as one of the best emerging youngsters in the sport.
Aged just 23 the Dominican fighter has been fast tracked up the rankings building on his excellent amateur pedigree. His handlers have had no problems with matching him hard and that's why he is where he is so quickly. In just his 11th bout Fortuna suffered the only "black mark" on his record so far suffering an opening round No Contest with former Lightweight title contender Francisco Lorenzo and since then he has been destroying opponents with ease.
Amongst those beaten by Fortuna are recent world title challenger Miguel Roman, previously unbeaten prospect Yuandale Evans and most recently former world champion Cristobal Cruz. He has so far shown amazing power, speed, and whilst he's still a little crude he has the natural gifts to get away with his mistakes.
Personally it's the difference in power and in competition that make me favour Fortuna and favour him big. I just can't see Hyland having the power to punish Fortuna's mistakes whilst Fortuna himself will just bully and beat down Hyland before forcing stoppage.
Prediction-Fortuna TKO5
Wednesday, 5 December 2012
Yuriorkis Gamboa v Michael Farenas
Former Cuban amateur sensation Yuriorkis Gamboa (21-0, 16) will return to the ring for the first time in 15 months as he faces unheralded Filipino Michael Farenas (34-3-4-1, 26) in a bout for the interim WBA Super Featherweight title. Although Gamboa goes in to this bout as a big favourite, I can't help but feel this will be a much tougher test than many anticipate.
Gamboa made his name as one of a number of truly elite Cuban amateurs alongside the likes of Guillermo Rigondeaux and Odlanier Solis and was seen as a professional champion in the making from day 1. It didn't take long for Gamboa to fulfill on his promise and within 2 years of being a professional he had already claimed the WBA Featherweight title stopping Jose Rojas in 10 rounds.
Having won a world title in just his 15th professional contest, Gamboa went from strength to strength and scored title defenses against the likes of Whyber Garcia, Rogers Mtagwa and Jonathan Victor Barros before unifying with IBF champion Orlando Salido. As the Unified WBA/IBF champion Gamboa was arguably the division's #1 fighter though sadly he got stripped of both titles and also suffered various issues with promoter Bob Arum.
It's those promotional issues that have really stopped Gamboa from being a real star. He has the talent and the style to be a major pound-for-pound player on the world stage though Arum prevented Gamboa from getting to popular Puerto Rican slugger Juan Manuel Lopez in what would have been a mega fight and Gamboa refused to allow Arum to bully him into a fight with Brandon Rios (Rios would later go on to claim a controversial victory over Richard Abril in one of the robbery of the year contenders).
The promotional issues surrounding Gamboa have now been sorted out with rap star 50 Cent acting as Gamboa's promoter though Gamoa will, rather ironically be fighting on a Top Rank (Bob Arum).
In terms of his fighting style Gamboa is at his best boxing offensively with his lightning quick and genuinely hurtful combinations and flurries which see him living up to his moniker of "El Ciclon de Guantánamo" (The Cyclone of Guantanamo). Though Gamboa has proven that he's not just a 1-trick pony and that he can also box on his toes going in and out with either single shots or short bursts of punches before getting back out to safety. Early in his career however Gamboa was dropped several times as he took too many risks, something he has since corrected about his style.
Whilst everyone in boxing knows all about Yuriorkis Gamboa, the people that know Michael Farenas are much fewer, however this won't be the first time he's mixed in world class, having fought a 3 round technical draw with WBA Super Featherweight champion Takashi Uchiyama earlier this year. As well as the draw with Uchiyama Farenas has also faced known fighters such as Walter Estrada, Daniel Attah, Fernando Beltran and Marlon Aguilar (who was the last man to defeat him).
Promoted by former world champion Gerry Penalosa, Farenas has come on leaps and bounds in recent years and is a much improved fighter to the man who started his career 8-2-1, however he's certainly not a proven world beater and his power at fringe level is limited. Oddly he was giving Uchiyama a hard time early in their fight prior to the fight ending head clash and looked rather tough, something that should be evidenced from his record of never having been stopped.
Although he's far from a known quantity in America, Farenas will know that the crowd will have a lot of fans pulling for his countryman Manny Pacquiao in the main event and he may well take some energy from them as he looks for a major upset to close out the year. Sadly however his best chance comes in the fact that Gamboa has been out of the ring for over a year and has fought only 12 rounds in the past 27 months, this sort of inactivity for a fighter like Gamboa can really mess with his speed, timing and sharpness. This isn't like Denton Vassell v Ronnie Heffron a week back in Britain, Gamboa is a fighter who needs his speed, Vassell was a power house who slowly broke down Heffron.
Whilst Gamboa is rightfully the favourite, I'd certainly not count out an upset here as Farenas is confident, and Gamboa will be rusty.
Prediction-Gamboa UD (though with some difficult moments).
Gamboa made his name as one of a number of truly elite Cuban amateurs alongside the likes of Guillermo Rigondeaux and Odlanier Solis and was seen as a professional champion in the making from day 1. It didn't take long for Gamboa to fulfill on his promise and within 2 years of being a professional he had already claimed the WBA Featherweight title stopping Jose Rojas in 10 rounds.
Having won a world title in just his 15th professional contest, Gamboa went from strength to strength and scored title defenses against the likes of Whyber Garcia, Rogers Mtagwa and Jonathan Victor Barros before unifying with IBF champion Orlando Salido. As the Unified WBA/IBF champion Gamboa was arguably the division's #1 fighter though sadly he got stripped of both titles and also suffered various issues with promoter Bob Arum.
It's those promotional issues that have really stopped Gamboa from being a real star. He has the talent and the style to be a major pound-for-pound player on the world stage though Arum prevented Gamboa from getting to popular Puerto Rican slugger Juan Manuel Lopez in what would have been a mega fight and Gamboa refused to allow Arum to bully him into a fight with Brandon Rios (Rios would later go on to claim a controversial victory over Richard Abril in one of the robbery of the year contenders).
The promotional issues surrounding Gamboa have now been sorted out with rap star 50 Cent acting as Gamboa's promoter though Gamoa will, rather ironically be fighting on a Top Rank (Bob Arum).
In terms of his fighting style Gamboa is at his best boxing offensively with his lightning quick and genuinely hurtful combinations and flurries which see him living up to his moniker of "El Ciclon de Guantánamo" (The Cyclone of Guantanamo). Though Gamboa has proven that he's not just a 1-trick pony and that he can also box on his toes going in and out with either single shots or short bursts of punches before getting back out to safety. Early in his career however Gamboa was dropped several times as he took too many risks, something he has since corrected about his style.
Whilst everyone in boxing knows all about Yuriorkis Gamboa, the people that know Michael Farenas are much fewer, however this won't be the first time he's mixed in world class, having fought a 3 round technical draw with WBA Super Featherweight champion Takashi Uchiyama earlier this year. As well as the draw with Uchiyama Farenas has also faced known fighters such as Walter Estrada, Daniel Attah, Fernando Beltran and Marlon Aguilar (who was the last man to defeat him).
Promoted by former world champion Gerry Penalosa, Farenas has come on leaps and bounds in recent years and is a much improved fighter to the man who started his career 8-2-1, however he's certainly not a proven world beater and his power at fringe level is limited. Oddly he was giving Uchiyama a hard time early in their fight prior to the fight ending head clash and looked rather tough, something that should be evidenced from his record of never having been stopped.
Although he's far from a known quantity in America, Farenas will know that the crowd will have a lot of fans pulling for his countryman Manny Pacquiao in the main event and he may well take some energy from them as he looks for a major upset to close out the year. Sadly however his best chance comes in the fact that Gamboa has been out of the ring for over a year and has fought only 12 rounds in the past 27 months, this sort of inactivity for a fighter like Gamboa can really mess with his speed, timing and sharpness. This isn't like Denton Vassell v Ronnie Heffron a week back in Britain, Gamboa is a fighter who needs his speed, Vassell was a power house who slowly broke down Heffron.
Whilst Gamboa is rightfully the favourite, I'd certainly not count out an upset here as Farenas is confident, and Gamboa will be rusty.
Prediction-Gamboa UD (though with some difficult moments).
Wednesday, 24 October 2012
Takahiro Ao v Gamaliel Diaz
Japan may well have 2 of the best Super Featherweights at the moment with WBA champion Takashi Uchiyama (18-0-1, 15) and WBC Champion Takahiro Ao (23-2-1, 10) however Ao will need to prove his worth this coming weekend as he faces Mexican veteran Gamaliel Diaz (36-9-2, 17).
Despite Diaz's unflattering record, the Mexican can seriously fight and at 31 years old knows that the clock is ticking down on his long career that started way back in 1998 with a decision loss to Luis Alberto Reyes. In fact Diaz's early career goes some way to explaining his poor record as he lost 5 of his first 8 bouts, including one to Martin Honorio, as he spent 3 years trying to get his career off the ground.
After struggling very early in his career Diaz finally got things going and he would go unbeaten over his next 18 bouts. Included in that run of 18 successive bouts were 16 victories and two titles, including the WBC FECARBOX Featherweight title (that he would defend 4 times) and the NABF title that he won by scoring a notable upset over Robert Guerrero (yes, the current WBC interim Welterweight Champion). Sadly however Diaz would suffer at the hands of Guerrero in a rematch as "The Ghost" stopped him in round 6 with a beautiful shot.
Following the loss to Guerrero, Diaz struggled to rebuild his career and went 3-3 in his next 6, scoring a notable win over Elio Rojas whilst suffering losses to Jorge Linares (KO8), Humberto Soto (TKO11) and to South African Zolani Marali (UD12).
Since losing to Marali back in April 2009 Diaz has been on an excellent run winning 13 straight bouts and climbing to #4 in the WBC's rankings. Whilst many of his wins have come against no hopers he has also gone on to defeat the likes of veteran Cesar Soto and the promising Jhean Carlo Aparicio Romero. These probably shouldn't have been enough to earn him such a lofty ranking however the WBC do work in mysterious ways.
Whilst his record isn't pretty Diaz is a decent fighter. Not the most durable admittedly, especially at the world level, however he's still a solid fighter who, if allowed to box, can give almost anyone currently at Super Featherweight real issues. At 5'9" he's tall for the weight, he's experienced, he's tougher than his record indicates (2 of his 5 stoppages came very early in his career) and knows how to box. Sadly however Diaz does lack a serious punch, especially at Super Featherweight and even more so at the world level.
Japanese champion Ao, will be the clear favourite here and with good reason. Not only is he fighting at home in Tokyo but at 28 years old he seems to be coming in to his own and has finally started to fulfill his sizable potential.
Ao turned professional back in 2003 and swiftly rose through the Japanese rankings, taking the Japanese Featherweight title in just his 14th professional bout back, way back in 2007. Ao defended his national title 3 times before moving in to the world level with a bout against the then WBC Featherweight champion Oscar Larios. Despite dropping Larios in round 4, Ao was narrowly beaten by split decision. A rematch 5 months later however saw Ao defeat Larios and claim the world title.
Despite claiming the WBC Featherweight title Ao's reign was very short lived as he lost his belt in his first defense, losing to Elio Rojas (incidentally Rojas had lost to Diaz just 2 fights earlier). This loss saw Ao fleeing the Featherweight division to head to pastures new at Super Feather. At his new weight he swiftly climbed up the rankings before beating former amateur stand out Vitali Tajbert for the WBC title to become a 2-weight world champion.
Since winning the Super Featherweight title Ao has made 3 title defenses beating Humberto Mauro Gutierrez (KO4), Devis Boschiero (SD12) and Terdsak Kokietgym (UD12) and whilst he hasn't looked great in last 2 defenses it does need to be noted that Boschiero is one of the sports most-under rated fighters and has since gone on to claim the European belt.
Like Diaz, Ao is a talented boxer though lacks real venom. It's true that Ao is a hurtful puncher (having dropped Larios, Tajbert and Gutierrez at world level) though he's not a massive hitter and he isn't likely to put a top fighter out of there. At his best Ao is a very good boxer, he's a tricky southpaw who is quick with his hands and feet and seems to be growing in confidence. Unlike compatriot Uchiyama he hasn't the power to nearly behead you, however he has the skills to out box most at the weight and he's proven to be tough having never been stopped.
Although Diaz is capable of springing the upset here I just can't see Ao losing. Diaz doesn't hit hard enough to stop Ao, and I can't see Diaz getting a decision in Japan. It could well be a close and interesting fight, but Ao will likely have the crowd behind him and do enough to claim a comfortable decision. Saying this however Ao has got the power to hurt Diaz and whilst I wouldn't bet on him to score a stoppage, it's not actually out of the question.
Prediction-Ao Unanimous Decision.
Note-For fans watching this card keep a close eye on Ryosuke Iwasa (12-1, 9) who faces former world title challenger David De La Mora (24-2, 17). Iwasa is one of the best prospects in world boxing right now and we imagine he will take a world title in the next few years.
Despite Diaz's unflattering record, the Mexican can seriously fight and at 31 years old knows that the clock is ticking down on his long career that started way back in 1998 with a decision loss to Luis Alberto Reyes. In fact Diaz's early career goes some way to explaining his poor record as he lost 5 of his first 8 bouts, including one to Martin Honorio, as he spent 3 years trying to get his career off the ground.
After struggling very early in his career Diaz finally got things going and he would go unbeaten over his next 18 bouts. Included in that run of 18 successive bouts were 16 victories and two titles, including the WBC FECARBOX Featherweight title (that he would defend 4 times) and the NABF title that he won by scoring a notable upset over Robert Guerrero (yes, the current WBC interim Welterweight Champion). Sadly however Diaz would suffer at the hands of Guerrero in a rematch as "The Ghost" stopped him in round 6 with a beautiful shot.
Following the loss to Guerrero, Diaz struggled to rebuild his career and went 3-3 in his next 6, scoring a notable win over Elio Rojas whilst suffering losses to Jorge Linares (KO8), Humberto Soto (TKO11) and to South African Zolani Marali (UD12).
Since losing to Marali back in April 2009 Diaz has been on an excellent run winning 13 straight bouts and climbing to #4 in the WBC's rankings. Whilst many of his wins have come against no hopers he has also gone on to defeat the likes of veteran Cesar Soto and the promising Jhean Carlo Aparicio Romero. These probably shouldn't have been enough to earn him such a lofty ranking however the WBC do work in mysterious ways.
Whilst his record isn't pretty Diaz is a decent fighter. Not the most durable admittedly, especially at the world level, however he's still a solid fighter who, if allowed to box, can give almost anyone currently at Super Featherweight real issues. At 5'9" he's tall for the weight, he's experienced, he's tougher than his record indicates (2 of his 5 stoppages came very early in his career) and knows how to box. Sadly however Diaz does lack a serious punch, especially at Super Featherweight and even more so at the world level.
Japanese champion Ao, will be the clear favourite here and with good reason. Not only is he fighting at home in Tokyo but at 28 years old he seems to be coming in to his own and has finally started to fulfill his sizable potential.
Ao turned professional back in 2003 and swiftly rose through the Japanese rankings, taking the Japanese Featherweight title in just his 14th professional bout back, way back in 2007. Ao defended his national title 3 times before moving in to the world level with a bout against the then WBC Featherweight champion Oscar Larios. Despite dropping Larios in round 4, Ao was narrowly beaten by split decision. A rematch 5 months later however saw Ao defeat Larios and claim the world title.
Despite claiming the WBC Featherweight title Ao's reign was very short lived as he lost his belt in his first defense, losing to Elio Rojas (incidentally Rojas had lost to Diaz just 2 fights earlier). This loss saw Ao fleeing the Featherweight division to head to pastures new at Super Feather. At his new weight he swiftly climbed up the rankings before beating former amateur stand out Vitali Tajbert for the WBC title to become a 2-weight world champion.
Since winning the Super Featherweight title Ao has made 3 title defenses beating Humberto Mauro Gutierrez (KO4), Devis Boschiero (SD12) and Terdsak Kokietgym (UD12) and whilst he hasn't looked great in last 2 defenses it does need to be noted that Boschiero is one of the sports most-under rated fighters and has since gone on to claim the European belt.
Like Diaz, Ao is a talented boxer though lacks real venom. It's true that Ao is a hurtful puncher (having dropped Larios, Tajbert and Gutierrez at world level) though he's not a massive hitter and he isn't likely to put a top fighter out of there. At his best Ao is a very good boxer, he's a tricky southpaw who is quick with his hands and feet and seems to be growing in confidence. Unlike compatriot Uchiyama he hasn't the power to nearly behead you, however he has the skills to out box most at the weight and he's proven to be tough having never been stopped.
Although Diaz is capable of springing the upset here I just can't see Ao losing. Diaz doesn't hit hard enough to stop Ao, and I can't see Diaz getting a decision in Japan. It could well be a close and interesting fight, but Ao will likely have the crowd behind him and do enough to claim a comfortable decision. Saying this however Ao has got the power to hurt Diaz and whilst I wouldn't bet on him to score a stoppage, it's not actually out of the question.
Prediction-Ao Unanimous Decision.
Note-For fans watching this card keep a close eye on Ryosuke Iwasa (12-1, 9) who faces former world title challenger David De La Mora (24-2, 17). Iwasa is one of the best prospects in world boxing right now and we imagine he will take a world title in the next few years.
Wednesday, 15 August 2012
Juan Carlos Salgado v Jonathan Victor Barros
With Adrien Broner recently announcing that he was moving to the Lightweight division it's left the Super Featherweight division a bit devoid of big name fighters, that however doesn't leave the division void of good match ups and this weekends IBF Super Featherweight title between champion Juan Carlos Salgado (25-1-1-1, 16) and challenger Jonathan Victor Barros (34-2-1, 18) is proof of that. Whilst neither man is particularly well known, especially in the US, this is a bout that is genuinely deserving of an alphabet belt and sees two genuine top 10 fighters facing off for a title.
Champion Salgado, of Mexico, first made a name for himself back in 2009 when he scored a huge upset over the very highly regarded (and then WBA Super Featherweight champion) Jorge Linares, stopping Linares in just 73 seconds. Salgado's first reign as a champion however was short lived as he lost his title to the hard hitting Japanese fighter Takashi Uchiyama just 3 months later (in his first defence).
Since then Salgado has has managed to reclaim a version of the world title (the IBF belt) by defeating the once touted Argenis Mendez and defended it twice (including a No Contest with Miguel Beltran Jr). Though he still hasn't managed to get much acclaim despite being a 2-time world champion he is a very solid fighter who hits harder than his record indicates. Sadly however many fans will downplay him due to the fact he struggled with veteran Martin Honorio.
With Nacho Beristain in his corner Salgado not only has one of the best trainers in the sport but also a man who knows how to use a fighters natural advantages which means Salgado's height (he's 5'9", relatively huge for a Super Featherweight) and reach will come into play, and often do with Salgado having a very solid jab and a hard straight right. Though he is limited by slow hands and feet, which could well be an issue here.
The challenger, Argentinian Jonathan Victor Barros has been around for years (literally, he debuted back in 2004) and first came to the public's attention in 2010 when he faced Cuban cyclone Yuriorkis Gamboa in a WBA Featherweight title fight. Whilst he was often outclassed in the early and middle rounds of that bout Barros showed his toughness and fought hard down the stretch to win several of the later rounds in a brave losing effort. He proved against Gamboa that he was tough and whilst he wasn't the most skilled he refused to go away and fought hard.
Just 9 months after facing Gamboa, Barros would actually claim the then vacant WBA Featherweight title (after Gamboa unified the WBA and IBF titles to become the "WBA Unified Champion") by defeating Irving Berry (TKO7). Barros' reign however was short lived as he lost the title 10 months later, he did however manage to successfully defend the title twice by out pointing both Miguel Roman (UD) and the highly regarded Celestino Caballero (SD). Barros' reign came to an end as he suffered a reversal to Caballero when the two men rematched at the end of 2011.
Although Barros has spent most of his career so far at Featherweight he's now moving up to Super Featherweight to challenge Salgado. Despite this Barros is likely to be the quicker man (as I've mentioned Salgado is incredibly slow for Super Feather) and he is incredibly tough having taken the best that both Caballero and Gamboa had to offer. Whilst he has been dropped through his career (including by Gamboa, Caballero and the little known Adrian Marcelo Flamenco) he has shown great resiliency and a lot of heart which is likely to be on show again here.
I'm expecting to see Barros trying to make the bout messy and fought up close, not only is that his style but it also neutralises the natural size advantage of Salgado. This could make the bout rather frustrating with bursts of action interspersed with repeated breaks though if Barros is going to try and keep the bout up close and personal he needs to remember where he is, Mexico, Salgado's back yard. Barros will need to keep up a high work rate and try to back the rounds, if he's going to win it's going to be a close decision.
For Salgado to win he can hope that his extra size (and power) can hurt Barros enough to stop him, though in all honesty we would seriously doubt that he'd be able to score a stoppage, instead he'll need to try and slow Barros down. Whilst I favour Salgado to get the win if it's a close bout he'll likely have to fight hard against his challenger.
Both men are capable of out pointing the other however I seriously doubt if either man can hurt the other enough to force the stoppage. Sadly this by it's self is why I favour Salgado, who, as I've mentioned, will be fighting at home, it should however be a very fun fight with a lot of punches thrown, even if it does get scrappy at times.
Champion Salgado, of Mexico, first made a name for himself back in 2009 when he scored a huge upset over the very highly regarded (and then WBA Super Featherweight champion) Jorge Linares, stopping Linares in just 73 seconds. Salgado's first reign as a champion however was short lived as he lost his title to the hard hitting Japanese fighter Takashi Uchiyama just 3 months later (in his first defence).
Since then Salgado has has managed to reclaim a version of the world title (the IBF belt) by defeating the once touted Argenis Mendez and defended it twice (including a No Contest with Miguel Beltran Jr). Though he still hasn't managed to get much acclaim despite being a 2-time world champion he is a very solid fighter who hits harder than his record indicates. Sadly however many fans will downplay him due to the fact he struggled with veteran Martin Honorio.
With Nacho Beristain in his corner Salgado not only has one of the best trainers in the sport but also a man who knows how to use a fighters natural advantages which means Salgado's height (he's 5'9", relatively huge for a Super Featherweight) and reach will come into play, and often do with Salgado having a very solid jab and a hard straight right. Though he is limited by slow hands and feet, which could well be an issue here.
The challenger, Argentinian Jonathan Victor Barros has been around for years (literally, he debuted back in 2004) and first came to the public's attention in 2010 when he faced Cuban cyclone Yuriorkis Gamboa in a WBA Featherweight title fight. Whilst he was often outclassed in the early and middle rounds of that bout Barros showed his toughness and fought hard down the stretch to win several of the later rounds in a brave losing effort. He proved against Gamboa that he was tough and whilst he wasn't the most skilled he refused to go away and fought hard.
Just 9 months after facing Gamboa, Barros would actually claim the then vacant WBA Featherweight title (after Gamboa unified the WBA and IBF titles to become the "WBA Unified Champion") by defeating Irving Berry (TKO7). Barros' reign however was short lived as he lost the title 10 months later, he did however manage to successfully defend the title twice by out pointing both Miguel Roman (UD) and the highly regarded Celestino Caballero (SD). Barros' reign came to an end as he suffered a reversal to Caballero when the two men rematched at the end of 2011.
Although Barros has spent most of his career so far at Featherweight he's now moving up to Super Featherweight to challenge Salgado. Despite this Barros is likely to be the quicker man (as I've mentioned Salgado is incredibly slow for Super Feather) and he is incredibly tough having taken the best that both Caballero and Gamboa had to offer. Whilst he has been dropped through his career (including by Gamboa, Caballero and the little known Adrian Marcelo Flamenco) he has shown great resiliency and a lot of heart which is likely to be on show again here.
I'm expecting to see Barros trying to make the bout messy and fought up close, not only is that his style but it also neutralises the natural size advantage of Salgado. This could make the bout rather frustrating with bursts of action interspersed with repeated breaks though if Barros is going to try and keep the bout up close and personal he needs to remember where he is, Mexico, Salgado's back yard. Barros will need to keep up a high work rate and try to back the rounds, if he's going to win it's going to be a close decision.
For Salgado to win he can hope that his extra size (and power) can hurt Barros enough to stop him, though in all honesty we would seriously doubt that he'd be able to score a stoppage, instead he'll need to try and slow Barros down. Whilst I favour Salgado to get the win if it's a close bout he'll likely have to fight hard against his challenger.
Both men are capable of out pointing the other however I seriously doubt if either man can hurt the other enough to force the stoppage. Sadly this by it's self is why I favour Salgado, who, as I've mentioned, will be fighting at home, it should however be a very fun fight with a lot of punches thrown, even if it does get scrappy at times.
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