It's not often that the perceived "B" fight on a card looks more interesting than the "A" fight but this weekend's "B" side on "The One" card looks significantly better than the main fight as the unbeaten Danny Garcia (26-0, 16) defends his WBC and WBA world title against the destructive Lucas Martin Matthysse (34-2, 32).
Although Garcia enters the bout as an unbeaten double champion he also enters as the under-dog and in the eyes of many he is merely a lamb to the slaughter. Despite the general view of Garcia heading to the slaughter he's actually a fighter who appears to be getting very over-looked. He's proven to be tough, skilled, and despite being rather predictable, he has looked like he's got very solid basic skills. His left hook, especially as a counter, is a devastating punch, he's confident and is riding a high that many though his career would have.
Garcia of course isn't an under-dog for the first time in his career and he's repeatedly proven that th under-dog tag doesn't really offend him. In fact against Amir Khan, Garcia was so over-looked that many seemed to think Khan was going to ease past Garcia before becoming Floyd Mayweather's next opponent. One thing that Garcia actually seems to like is being the under-dog, it takes the pressure off his shoulders and allows him to fight his natural fight which is that of an intelligent counter puncher.
Sadly for Garcia he was made to look very predictable last time out. Sure he beat Zab Judah, though for the final 4 rounds he really struggled to look anything more than 1 paced and very easy to read. The lack of a plan B is likely to fall straight in to Matthysse's hands with the Argentinian only really needing to be aware of the champion's hook.
Matthysse is generally viewed as not only the favourite but also "the man" of the Light Welterweight division. His two losses have both been highly controversial with many viewing both losses as complete robberies and in fact if anything those losses seem to have made the hard hitting Argentinian even more determined to leave his opponents void of their senses.
The "new Matthysse" was seen in full flow last time out as he destroyed the generally tough Lamont Peterson. The destruction of Peterson may have been "expected" but it showed that Matthysse was no longer willing to just box world level opponents, instead he was willing to destroy them from the opening bell. Had he used the same mentality against Zab Judah and Devon Alexander it's fair to say he'd have stopped both.
Although not the most technically skilled or the the fastest Matthysse is an intelligent fighter. He may just be seen as a destructive puncher but he's also a clever fighter. He knows when to go downstairs and break opponents in the midsection, he knows how to bang upstairs and most worryingly of all every shot he throws is hurtful and spiteful.
Sadly whilst Garcia is tough it's unlikely that anyone at 140lbs is tough enough to see out the distance with Matthysse. If Garcia's left hook cannot shake Matthysse then this could well end up being a genuine beat down. Sadly for Garcia his toughness could end up being more of a curse than a blessing and Matthysse, whilst not likely to put him to sleep with a single shot, will beat the fight out of him.
We've seen Olusegun Ajose fighting once since Matthysse beat him, in Ajose's bout, a loss to Hank Lundy, he looked like a fighter who was pretty much done, I imagine Garcia could end up looking the same way following this one.
Prediction-Matthyse TKO8
Showing posts with label WBC Lightweight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WBC Lightweight. Show all posts
Friday, 13 September 2013
Friday, 26 July 2013
Omar Figueroa v Nihito Arakawa
Arguably the most over-looked bout of this coming weekend sees unbeaten power puncher Omar Figueroa (21-0-1, 17) taking on Japan's Nihito Arakawa (24-2-1, 16) in a bout for the WBC Lightweight title.
In the US Figueroa has been making a name for himself in recent bouts with his explosive and exciting style that combines determined offense with fast and powerful hands. Although yet to score a genuine world level victory he did look genuinely amazing last time out as he took out the previously unbeaten Abner Cotto in just 2 minutes 57 seconds.
Other than the victory over Cotto it's fair to say that Figueroa hasn't really beaten anyone else of note with his second best victory coming over Michael Perez.
Whilst Figueroa has yet to really prove himself against steady competition what everyone knows about him is that he's a very quick starter and will jump on an opponent almost form the off. The hot starts of Figueroa has seen him scoring 15 victories in the opening 2 rounds of his contests. On paper that is admittedly tremendous though having only been beyond 6 rounds twice in his career there are question marks about what he does when forced to go to plan B, what's his stamina like, what's he like mentally when he can't just bully a fighter with aggression?
With Figueroa having already appeared on American TV and having looked relatively sensational in all honesty many are backing him without really knowing anything about his opponent. This could well be a mistake as the Japanese fighter is one of the most durable men in the Lightweight division and combines his toughness with an under-rated defense and an intelligent, if somewhat lazy attack.
In his 27 fights to date southpaw Arakawa has yet to be stopped. He had been in with big punches punchers before such as Randy Suico, Mitsuya Omura, Jay Solmiano and Ryuji Migaki and only Solmiano has ever really seemed to have him hurt, sending Arakawa down to the canvas in the second round of their bout almost 2 years ago.
Although a mystery to those in the west Arakawa is a former OPBF and Japanese Lighweight champion who is actually unfortunate not to be the current holder of the WBC Silver Lightweight title after being controversially defeated, by technical decision by Daniel Estrada. In his bout with Estrada the Mexican was forced to retire due to an injury that was ruled to have come from an accidental foul though many felt it was a punch.
Although Arakawa has mixed in the better company and has more experience, especially over the distance, he is viewed as a clear under-dog. Many in the US have effectively written his death warrant already though I can't help but think that if he rides out the initial storm from Figueroa he has a very, very solid chance of the upset. He hits hard enough to test the chin of the unbeaten youngster and has the ability to drag the contest into the later rounds where he may find a tiring Figueroa looking somewhat out of energy and ideas.
Prediction-Arakawa TKO9
In the US Figueroa has been making a name for himself in recent bouts with his explosive and exciting style that combines determined offense with fast and powerful hands. Although yet to score a genuine world level victory he did look genuinely amazing last time out as he took out the previously unbeaten Abner Cotto in just 2 minutes 57 seconds.
Other than the victory over Cotto it's fair to say that Figueroa hasn't really beaten anyone else of note with his second best victory coming over Michael Perez.
Whilst Figueroa has yet to really prove himself against steady competition what everyone knows about him is that he's a very quick starter and will jump on an opponent almost form the off. The hot starts of Figueroa has seen him scoring 15 victories in the opening 2 rounds of his contests. On paper that is admittedly tremendous though having only been beyond 6 rounds twice in his career there are question marks about what he does when forced to go to plan B, what's his stamina like, what's he like mentally when he can't just bully a fighter with aggression?
With Figueroa having already appeared on American TV and having looked relatively sensational in all honesty many are backing him without really knowing anything about his opponent. This could well be a mistake as the Japanese fighter is one of the most durable men in the Lightweight division and combines his toughness with an under-rated defense and an intelligent, if somewhat lazy attack.
In his 27 fights to date southpaw Arakawa has yet to be stopped. He had been in with big punches punchers before such as Randy Suico, Mitsuya Omura, Jay Solmiano and Ryuji Migaki and only Solmiano has ever really seemed to have him hurt, sending Arakawa down to the canvas in the second round of their bout almost 2 years ago.
Although a mystery to those in the west Arakawa is a former OPBF and Japanese Lighweight champion who is actually unfortunate not to be the current holder of the WBC Silver Lightweight title after being controversially defeated, by technical decision by Daniel Estrada. In his bout with Estrada the Mexican was forced to retire due to an injury that was ruled to have come from an accidental foul though many felt it was a punch.
Although Arakawa has mixed in the better company and has more experience, especially over the distance, he is viewed as a clear under-dog. Many in the US have effectively written his death warrant already though I can't help but think that if he rides out the initial storm from Figueroa he has a very, very solid chance of the upset. He hits hard enough to test the chin of the unbeaten youngster and has the ability to drag the contest into the later rounds where he may find a tiring Figueroa looking somewhat out of energy and ideas.
Prediction-Arakawa TKO9
Friday, 15 February 2013
Adrien Broner v Gavin Rees
Emerging American megastar Adrien "The Problem" Broner (25-0, 21) was massively impressive in his last bout when he stopped the teak tough Mexican Antonio DeMarco and claimed the WBC Lightweight title. Broner will make the first defense of that title against diminutive Welshman Gavin Rees (37-1-1, 18), who himself is a former WBA Light Welterweight champion.
Broner is seen as HBO's star of the future and the man to replace the ever aging Floyd Mayweather Jr when "Money Mayweather" finally hangs up the gloves. The charismatic 23 year is seen by many as having one of the biggest mouths in the sport, though so far he has been able to back up his talk with equally impressive displays which have combined speed, skill, accuracy and a spitefulness that is rarely seen in such a youngster.
Whilst some may have seen Broner's 2011 fight against Daniel Ponce De Leon as a disappointment, it was certainly the first big step up for Broner who has taken that close decision as a serious learning experience and developed a style that sees him showing more activity to break down opponents. Interestingly since being pushed by Ponce De Leon, Broner has gone on to score 5 successive stoppages and claimed both the WBO Super Featherweight title and the WBC Lightweight title.
With just 25 fights of professional experience and just 91 rounds it may be fair to say the biggest questions over Broner regard his lack of experience especially over a longer distance with only 3 of his fights having gone beyond 7 rounds. However despite these question marks it's fair to admit that Broner is a special, but flawed talent who can hurt everyone in the Lightweight division and has the speed to give anyone a hard time. The combination of traits have seen some refer to Broner as being like a more exciting version of Mayweather, very high praise indeed.
Unlike Broner, Rees isn't seen as anything particularly special, though the little Welshman is a hard working fighter who combines solid, though unspectacular skills with a high work rate and a terrier like heart which sees him refuse to go backwards. Whilst Rees isn't lightning quick or mega powerful he's a brave and solid fighter who is hard to discourage.
Rees is by far the more experienced man having been a professional since 1998 and competed in 39 fights accumulating almost 200 professional rounds. He has faced solid fighters time and time again and scored notable victories over the likes of Souleymane M'baye, Andy Murray, Derry Matthews and Anthony Mezaache whilst only suffering a single reverse to the very under-rated Andriy Kotelnyk. In fact it was the bout against Kotelnyk that really told us a lot about Rees who was out classed against a naturally bigger man though he refused to just give up showing true Welsh grit.
Although Rees is a major under-dog I'd expect him to give Broner hell for a few rounds and be very competitive for the first 5 or 6 rounds before Broner's power and size start to take their toll and slow a brave and very game Rees. Rees will likely see round 8 but not much more.
Prediction- Broner TKO9
Broner is seen as HBO's star of the future and the man to replace the ever aging Floyd Mayweather Jr when "Money Mayweather" finally hangs up the gloves. The charismatic 23 year is seen by many as having one of the biggest mouths in the sport, though so far he has been able to back up his talk with equally impressive displays which have combined speed, skill, accuracy and a spitefulness that is rarely seen in such a youngster.
Whilst some may have seen Broner's 2011 fight against Daniel Ponce De Leon as a disappointment, it was certainly the first big step up for Broner who has taken that close decision as a serious learning experience and developed a style that sees him showing more activity to break down opponents. Interestingly since being pushed by Ponce De Leon, Broner has gone on to score 5 successive stoppages and claimed both the WBO Super Featherweight title and the WBC Lightweight title.
With just 25 fights of professional experience and just 91 rounds it may be fair to say the biggest questions over Broner regard his lack of experience especially over a longer distance with only 3 of his fights having gone beyond 7 rounds. However despite these question marks it's fair to admit that Broner is a special, but flawed talent who can hurt everyone in the Lightweight division and has the speed to give anyone a hard time. The combination of traits have seen some refer to Broner as being like a more exciting version of Mayweather, very high praise indeed.
Unlike Broner, Rees isn't seen as anything particularly special, though the little Welshman is a hard working fighter who combines solid, though unspectacular skills with a high work rate and a terrier like heart which sees him refuse to go backwards. Whilst Rees isn't lightning quick or mega powerful he's a brave and solid fighter who is hard to discourage.
Rees is by far the more experienced man having been a professional since 1998 and competed in 39 fights accumulating almost 200 professional rounds. He has faced solid fighters time and time again and scored notable victories over the likes of Souleymane M'baye, Andy Murray, Derry Matthews and Anthony Mezaache whilst only suffering a single reverse to the very under-rated Andriy Kotelnyk. In fact it was the bout against Kotelnyk that really told us a lot about Rees who was out classed against a naturally bigger man though he refused to just give up showing true Welsh grit.
Although Rees is a major under-dog I'd expect him to give Broner hell for a few rounds and be very competitive for the first 5 or 6 rounds before Broner's power and size start to take their toll and slow a brave and very game Rees. Rees will likely see round 8 but not much more.
Prediction- Broner TKO9
Friday, 16 November 2012
Antonio DeMarco v Adrien Broner
This weekend sees rising American Adrien Broner (24-0, 20) looks to claim a second divisional title as he faces WBC Lightweight champion Antonio DeMarco (28-2-1, 21) in a bout that really stands out as a very promising bout and one that could go either way, despite the ridiculous betting odds. Despite being the challenger and moving up a weight Broner is a very prohibitive 1/7 favourite, a huge surprise for me.
Broner, a very confident 23 year old American, is a very stylish fighter who may come across as arrogant but is being guided to being an American superstar of the future. He may be better known for his trademark hair brushing, his loud mouth and his outspoken nature however he is certainly a solid fighter with very good hand speed and a solid (though not amazing) defense.
As a fighter Broner has been around since 2008 though really started to come to prominence in 2011 thanks to a very controversial victory over former WBO Bantamweight (and current WBC Featherweight) champion Daniel Ponce De Leon. In that bout the scorecard of Tony Crebs (99-91-Broner) was heavily criticised as Ponce brought the fight and the action and actually out landed Broner in 5 of the bouts 10 rounds. Since then however Broner's career has rocketed with successive early victories over Jason Litzau, Vicente Martin Rodriguez, Eloy Perez and Vicente Escobedo, with the victory over Rodriguez earning Broner the WBO Super Featherweight title. Sadly despite those wins it's fair to say they have generally come against smaller men.
Last time out Broner stopped Vicente Escobedo, though was stripped on the scales for weighing well over the Super Featherweight limit, a move that effectively forced him to move to Lightweight. Surprisingly however there was talk of Broner skipping straight to Welterweight to face current WBC "interim" champion Robert Guerrero.
In terms of his style Broner is a "poor man's Floyd Mayweather Jr" he often employs the shoulder roll though gets tagged and whilst he's a strong fast kid he is also technically flawed and has less than great work rate. Saying this however he rarely looks to be stunned and often walks through shots of his opponents as he comes forward with out ever looking in trouble.
Whilst Broner has been picking off smaller men, DeMarco has been making his name as one of the top warriors at Lightweight thanks to several notable victories despite rarely really getting credit for them.
The 26 year old Mexican has been a professional since 2004. After running off an 8 fight winning streak he suffered his first loss as Anthony Vasquez scored an upset decision over DeMarco. A few fights after suffering his first loss, DeMarco's progress was again slowed as Curtis Meeks scored a draw with him.
Since those marks against him, DeMarco has grown as a fighter and scored 17 wins from his subsequent 18 bouts. Included in those victories were stoppages over the likes of Almazbek Raiymkulov (AKA Kid Diamond), Anges Adjaho, Jose Alfaro, Jorge Linares and most recently a 1 round blow out of John Molina (back in September). Against those victories is a solitary stoppage loss to infamous Edwin Valero back in 2010.
Style wise DeMarco is a pretty typical brawler. He's teak tough (genuinely teak tough), he's crude, he's wild and he's a hard hitter. Whilst he can be made to look silly by a good boxer, as Jorge Linares did he's, he's not a fighter who's going to go away and he's also not a fighter who slows down. He has real heart and the ability to stop fighters in any round with his heavy hands and great finishing instincts.
Whilst Broner is certainly the better boxer here, no question about it, the fact he has fought just 13 rounds in his last 4 fights and the fact that DeMarco is naturally a bigger man than the men Broner has been facing makes this a thoroughly interesting bout. For me it's a 50-50 match up with Broner either taking a decision by boxing or DeMarco getting a tired Broner late in the fight, dragging him in to a war and stopping him late. Broner certainly has the skills to win and make it look easy however I'll go out on a limb and go with DeMarco with a late stoppage proving, for the second time in a little over a year that we shouldn't write off DeMarco despite how crude he is.
Prediction-DeMarco TKO11
Broner, a very confident 23 year old American, is a very stylish fighter who may come across as arrogant but is being guided to being an American superstar of the future. He may be better known for his trademark hair brushing, his loud mouth and his outspoken nature however he is certainly a solid fighter with very good hand speed and a solid (though not amazing) defense.
As a fighter Broner has been around since 2008 though really started to come to prominence in 2011 thanks to a very controversial victory over former WBO Bantamweight (and current WBC Featherweight) champion Daniel Ponce De Leon. In that bout the scorecard of Tony Crebs (99-91-Broner) was heavily criticised as Ponce brought the fight and the action and actually out landed Broner in 5 of the bouts 10 rounds. Since then however Broner's career has rocketed with successive early victories over Jason Litzau, Vicente Martin Rodriguez, Eloy Perez and Vicente Escobedo, with the victory over Rodriguez earning Broner the WBO Super Featherweight title. Sadly despite those wins it's fair to say they have generally come against smaller men.
Last time out Broner stopped Vicente Escobedo, though was stripped on the scales for weighing well over the Super Featherweight limit, a move that effectively forced him to move to Lightweight. Surprisingly however there was talk of Broner skipping straight to Welterweight to face current WBC "interim" champion Robert Guerrero.
In terms of his style Broner is a "poor man's Floyd Mayweather Jr" he often employs the shoulder roll though gets tagged and whilst he's a strong fast kid he is also technically flawed and has less than great work rate. Saying this however he rarely looks to be stunned and often walks through shots of his opponents as he comes forward with out ever looking in trouble.
Whilst Broner has been picking off smaller men, DeMarco has been making his name as one of the top warriors at Lightweight thanks to several notable victories despite rarely really getting credit for them.
The 26 year old Mexican has been a professional since 2004. After running off an 8 fight winning streak he suffered his first loss as Anthony Vasquez scored an upset decision over DeMarco. A few fights after suffering his first loss, DeMarco's progress was again slowed as Curtis Meeks scored a draw with him.
Since those marks against him, DeMarco has grown as a fighter and scored 17 wins from his subsequent 18 bouts. Included in those victories were stoppages over the likes of Almazbek Raiymkulov (AKA Kid Diamond), Anges Adjaho, Jose Alfaro, Jorge Linares and most recently a 1 round blow out of John Molina (back in September). Against those victories is a solitary stoppage loss to infamous Edwin Valero back in 2010.
Style wise DeMarco is a pretty typical brawler. He's teak tough (genuinely teak tough), he's crude, he's wild and he's a hard hitter. Whilst he can be made to look silly by a good boxer, as Jorge Linares did he's, he's not a fighter who's going to go away and he's also not a fighter who slows down. He has real heart and the ability to stop fighters in any round with his heavy hands and great finishing instincts.
Whilst Broner is certainly the better boxer here, no question about it, the fact he has fought just 13 rounds in his last 4 fights and the fact that DeMarco is naturally a bigger man than the men Broner has been facing makes this a thoroughly interesting bout. For me it's a 50-50 match up with Broner either taking a decision by boxing or DeMarco getting a tired Broner late in the fight, dragging him in to a war and stopping him late. Broner certainly has the skills to win and make it look easy however I'll go out on a limb and go with DeMarco with a late stoppage proving, for the second time in a little over a year that we shouldn't write off DeMarco despite how crude he is.
Prediction-DeMarco TKO11
Saturday, 8 September 2012
Antonio DeMarco v John Molina
Some fights just ooze excitement and the upcoming WBC Lightweight title bout between champion Antonio DeMarco (27-2-1, 20) and highly rated challenger John Molina (24-1, 19) looks like a real show stealer this coming weekend.
At 29 years old American challenger John Molina will know that this is likely to be his big chance at making a name for himself having spent much of his career fighting on things like ESPN Friday Night Fights and ShoBox: The New Generation. Winning a world title won't out and out make him a global boxing star but it will open doors to him and of course bring in much bigger pay days than he's ever likely to get otherwise.
Molina made his professional debut back in 2006 when he defeated Lester Balmores (KO2) and was kept active through out the early part of his career with 9 fights in his first 21 months as a professional. Whilst none of those 9 bouts were huge he did manage to stop the then 7-0 Eddie Brooks in a note-worthy victory.
It was in 2009 that Molina started to get the attention of the boxing world as he started to score a number of notable victories over more well known names including former Commonwealth title contender Joshua Allotey (KO3) and veterans Frankie Archuleta (TKO2) and Efren Hinojosa (KO1). Those wins saw Molina moving to 18-0 (14) and proving that he was a deadly body puncher with many of his stoppages coming after stunning body blows.
Having began to get on a roll Molina was unexpectedly beaten by veteran former title challenger Martin Honorio. Honorio managed to dominate Molina as he used his jab, movement and right hands to the body to upset Molina's momentum whilst Molina himself failed to really get going. Thankfully for Molina it took him little time to recover from his loss and less than 8 months later he scored a notable upset himself stopping the then unbeaten and highly regarded prospect Henry Lundy on ESPN Friday Night Fights. This victory earned Lundy the WBO NABO Lightweight title and solid world ranking. Following the victory over Lundy we've seen Molina score 3 more victories and move his professional record to 24-1 (19). Going into this bout he is the #15th ranked Lightweight according to the WBC (who oddly rank Lundy at #10).
In terms of his style Molina isn't the most skilled (far from it in all honesty) but he's incredibly tough, heavy handed and throws brilliant body shots. Despite being a rather rangy Lightweight (standing around 5'10" an with a 72" reach) Molina likes to fight up close with his fights often becoming a "you hit me, I hit you" affair with his his size and power generally winning. As well as not being the most skilled he's not particularly fast (with either his feet or hands) and he can be out boxed (as Honorio did and as Lundy was doing for a number of rounds) in fat he often looks lumbering when forced to chance opponents.
At 26 years old the Champion Antonio DeMarco is the younger man but he's also a fighter, like the challenger who gives a lot of excitement despite being rather technically limited and that's why some, myself included, are very excited by this bout.
Despite being younger than the challenger DeMarco has been around longer having made his debut back in 2004 when he was just 18. Despite his early start in the sport it wasn't until 2008 that DeMarco started to make a name for himself, helped in part to an appearance on ShoBox: The New Generation where DeMarco defeated the then unbeaten Juan Castaneda Jr. The victory over Castaneda was followed by a decision victory over the then highly ranked Jose Reyes on ESPN Friday Night Fights. Those two victories really started to put DeMarco into some limelight and started his run up the rankings.
Having made a name for himself in 2008 DeMarco continued his rise with televised victories over Almazbek Raiymkulov (better known as "Kid Diamond"), Anges Adjaho and Jose Alfaro with the victory over Alfaro actually earning DeMarco the WBC interim Lightweight title. DeMarco's winning ways however would come to an end in his next fight as he took a beating from the WBC's full champion Edwin Valero (in what would be Valero's final bout).
The loss to Valero would have finished lesser fighters however DeMarco bounced back from the loss just 5 months later as he defeated Daniel Attah (TKO2) and then followed it up with a victory over Reyes Sanchez (UD12). The victory over Sanchez saw DeMarco become the WBC #1 contender and after Humberto Soto moved up to Light Welterweight we saw DeMarco facing the ultra talented Jorge Linares in a bout for the vacant WBC Lightweight title. Against Linares, DeMarco was clearly out boxed for the 5 rounds however he fought his way back into the bout and eventually ground down a bloodied Linares in round 11 to claim the WBC title.
Since winning the title in October against Linares, DeMarco has defended his belt once viciously stopping Miguel Roman in eye catching fashion. He now looks to secure his second defense inside a year by facing Molina.
Like Molina, DeMarco isn't hugely skilled, he's not a particularly versatile fighter or a fast fighter but he's teak tough (as shown in his battle with Valero) and and happy to walk throw punches to grind down opponents (as shown against Linares). He hits incredibly hard, is accurate and is capable of wearing most opponents down. He's certainly there to be hit but would likely fancy his chances in a war with any top Lightweight as long as they will stand and trade with him.
On paper this looks like a thriller. We have two fighters with power who like to mix it up and depend on their chin and power to win bouts rather than out boxing opponents. This is guaranteed to be a tear up. With this in mind there is only 1 winner, DeMarco is just the more powerful and tougher man, however this will be hugely fun for as long as it lasts.
Prediction- DeMarco by TKO 6 in an all action bout between two guys who will trade off early before DaMarco grinds down the challenger.
At 29 years old American challenger John Molina will know that this is likely to be his big chance at making a name for himself having spent much of his career fighting on things like ESPN Friday Night Fights and ShoBox: The New Generation. Winning a world title won't out and out make him a global boxing star but it will open doors to him and of course bring in much bigger pay days than he's ever likely to get otherwise.
Molina made his professional debut back in 2006 when he defeated Lester Balmores (KO2) and was kept active through out the early part of his career with 9 fights in his first 21 months as a professional. Whilst none of those 9 bouts were huge he did manage to stop the then 7-0 Eddie Brooks in a note-worthy victory.
It was in 2009 that Molina started to get the attention of the boxing world as he started to score a number of notable victories over more well known names including former Commonwealth title contender Joshua Allotey (KO3) and veterans Frankie Archuleta (TKO2) and Efren Hinojosa (KO1). Those wins saw Molina moving to 18-0 (14) and proving that he was a deadly body puncher with many of his stoppages coming after stunning body blows.
Having began to get on a roll Molina was unexpectedly beaten by veteran former title challenger Martin Honorio. Honorio managed to dominate Molina as he used his jab, movement and right hands to the body to upset Molina's momentum whilst Molina himself failed to really get going. Thankfully for Molina it took him little time to recover from his loss and less than 8 months later he scored a notable upset himself stopping the then unbeaten and highly regarded prospect Henry Lundy on ESPN Friday Night Fights. This victory earned Lundy the WBO NABO Lightweight title and solid world ranking. Following the victory over Lundy we've seen Molina score 3 more victories and move his professional record to 24-1 (19). Going into this bout he is the #15th ranked Lightweight according to the WBC (who oddly rank Lundy at #10).
In terms of his style Molina isn't the most skilled (far from it in all honesty) but he's incredibly tough, heavy handed and throws brilliant body shots. Despite being a rather rangy Lightweight (standing around 5'10" an with a 72" reach) Molina likes to fight up close with his fights often becoming a "you hit me, I hit you" affair with his his size and power generally winning. As well as not being the most skilled he's not particularly fast (with either his feet or hands) and he can be out boxed (as Honorio did and as Lundy was doing for a number of rounds) in fat he often looks lumbering when forced to chance opponents.
At 26 years old the Champion Antonio DeMarco is the younger man but he's also a fighter, like the challenger who gives a lot of excitement despite being rather technically limited and that's why some, myself included, are very excited by this bout.
Despite being younger than the challenger DeMarco has been around longer having made his debut back in 2004 when he was just 18. Despite his early start in the sport it wasn't until 2008 that DeMarco started to make a name for himself, helped in part to an appearance on ShoBox: The New Generation where DeMarco defeated the then unbeaten Juan Castaneda Jr. The victory over Castaneda was followed by a decision victory over the then highly ranked Jose Reyes on ESPN Friday Night Fights. Those two victories really started to put DeMarco into some limelight and started his run up the rankings.
Having made a name for himself in 2008 DeMarco continued his rise with televised victories over Almazbek Raiymkulov (better known as "Kid Diamond"), Anges Adjaho and Jose Alfaro with the victory over Alfaro actually earning DeMarco the WBC interim Lightweight title. DeMarco's winning ways however would come to an end in his next fight as he took a beating from the WBC's full champion Edwin Valero (in what would be Valero's final bout).
The loss to Valero would have finished lesser fighters however DeMarco bounced back from the loss just 5 months later as he defeated Daniel Attah (TKO2) and then followed it up with a victory over Reyes Sanchez (UD12). The victory over Sanchez saw DeMarco become the WBC #1 contender and after Humberto Soto moved up to Light Welterweight we saw DeMarco facing the ultra talented Jorge Linares in a bout for the vacant WBC Lightweight title. Against Linares, DeMarco was clearly out boxed for the 5 rounds however he fought his way back into the bout and eventually ground down a bloodied Linares in round 11 to claim the WBC title.
Since winning the title in October against Linares, DeMarco has defended his belt once viciously stopping Miguel Roman in eye catching fashion. He now looks to secure his second defense inside a year by facing Molina.
Like Molina, DeMarco isn't hugely skilled, he's not a particularly versatile fighter or a fast fighter but he's teak tough (as shown in his battle with Valero) and and happy to walk throw punches to grind down opponents (as shown against Linares). He hits incredibly hard, is accurate and is capable of wearing most opponents down. He's certainly there to be hit but would likely fancy his chances in a war with any top Lightweight as long as they will stand and trade with him.
On paper this looks like a thriller. We have two fighters with power who like to mix it up and depend on their chin and power to win bouts rather than out boxing opponents. This is guaranteed to be a tear up. With this in mind there is only 1 winner, DeMarco is just the more powerful and tougher man, however this will be hugely fun for as long as it lasts.
Prediction- DeMarco by TKO 6 in an all action bout between two guys who will trade off early before DaMarco grinds down the challenger.
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