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
Showing posts with label WBO Super Featherweight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WBO Super Featherweight. Show all posts
Friday, 8 November 2013
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
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