American Paul Spadafora (48-0-1, 19) has one of the longest unbeaten runs in the sport of boxing. Despite his long unbeaten streak, that dates back to 1995, Spadafora has been one of the most frustrating fighters to follow. What should have been an excellent career in the 90's and early 00's became little more than a waste of time, despite a 4 year reign as the IBF Lightweight champion.
Unfortunately Spadafora, who is known to many as "the guy that beat Floyd Mayweather up in Sparring", has been a man who has combined his talented with some seriously bad choices and extra-curricular activities which has seen him serving time in prison and really wasting a number of his prime years.
Spadafora looks to get back to the top this weekend when he fights for the WBA interim Light Welterweight title. The unbeaten man, who goes by the moniker of "The Pittsburgh Kid" despite being 38 years old, will not be in a "gimme" fight however as he takes on Johan Perez (17-1-1, 12).
Although Perez, of Venezuela, is much less well known than the American he is himself a certified world level fighter having been a former holder of this very title. Unfortunately however Perez is best known to many as a man who lost to Pablo Cesar Cano last year, despite having put on a boxing clinic against Japan's Yoshihiro Kamegai earlier this year.
At his best Spadafora was a very good fighter. He never had the talent to be a "special" fighter but was good. That was however a good decade ago and he's now heading to 40 years old and is with out a notable victory in over a decade. He's not the fighter he was and he's unlikely to ever be another genuine name on the world stage.
Perez, although unsuccessful against Cano, is an excellent boxer and has great movement and intelligent skills. He's not a big puncher but he's a clever enough fighter to make the most of his strengths and is likely to do so here.
Sadly for Perez he is going to West Virginia for this contest and fighting in the same venue that Spadafora has fought his last 3 contests in. I personally think Perez will be the more impressive man in the ring though unfortunately Spadafora will some how manage to get the win with many fans wondering what they had just seen.
Prediction-Spadafora SD12 (VERY controversially)
Showing posts with label interim. Show all posts
Showing posts with label interim. Show all posts
Friday, 29 November 2013
Friday, 18 October 2013
Mike Alvarado v Ruslan Provodnikov
Not every fight we see scheduled gets the pulses racing in anticipation of a war. I know I'm not looking forward to Andre Ward v Edwin Rodriguez for example, however one fight that screams "blood, guts and violence" is the upcoming WBO interim Light Welterweight contest between Mike Alvarado (34-1, 23) and Russian slugger Ruslan Provodnikov (22-2, 15), a fight that makes me remember just why I love this great sport of ours.
It's not often that we get true warriors matched together, but that's what we have here with two fighters who actually look like they were made for each other. Both are TV friendly, fan friendly and better yet they are sharing a ring together, what more can we want?
As the defending champion the pressure is on Alvarado who impressed many by avenging his sole defeat earlier this year. Having lost to Brandon Rios in a tear up last year Alvarado took on Rios for a second time and showed his ability to box as well as fight as he mixed things up and out pointed Rios in a barnstormer. He'll have to show his boxing ability again here, though it's a relief for the American that has it in his locker.
Although Alvarado is "only" 33 he's a fighter who has many more miles on the clock than a normal 33 year old. His history of out-manning opponents will have taken it's toll on his long term health, his career and his ability to go to the well again. That's not to say he's only got 1 more good fight in him, but it is to say that his style is going to catch up with him sooner or later. It might be this bout, it might the next one, or it might be 10 fights away, but it will happen.
Whilst Alvarado has shown an ability to go to plan B we've never seen that from Provodnikov a man who has single game plan and one that is usually effective. To fight. You'll never get anything unpredictable from Provodnikov, there's no traps or clever countering, there's little in the way of imagination though what you get is a strong, tough, hard hitting Russian on a seek and destroy mission from round 1 to round 12.
Provodnikov can be made to look second rate by someone who boxes on the move, though he'll take advantage of any lapses in concentration and landing thudding shots with either hand. It takes not just a tough opponent to beat him, but one with either boundless energy or one the ability to discourage him, something we've yet to see.
If Alvarado employees his usual "fighting" style then this is a FOTY candidate with every round being a mini war. If, instead, Alvarado elects to box the American may find that he looks a level or two better than Provodnikov who could look 1-dimensional. Problem for Alvarado though if he does choose to box is that Provodbikov won't back off and only needs to land one punch to shake him, as hard as Alvarado tries to box there will always be that tense feeling that Provodnikov is only 1 shot away from turning the bout around.
I think Alvarado will manage to box for most of the fight, he'll certainly have a scare and may be dropped, though will show his smarts and just do enough to take a very tight decision in a memorable FOTY contender. I can certainly see Provodnikov hurting the American, but for some reason I think that Alvarado will see out the storm in a fight that sees fans and the media calling for an immediate rematch, just as much for the action as anything else.
Prediction-Alvarado SD12
It's not often that we get true warriors matched together, but that's what we have here with two fighters who actually look like they were made for each other. Both are TV friendly, fan friendly and better yet they are sharing a ring together, what more can we want?
As the defending champion the pressure is on Alvarado who impressed many by avenging his sole defeat earlier this year. Having lost to Brandon Rios in a tear up last year Alvarado took on Rios for a second time and showed his ability to box as well as fight as he mixed things up and out pointed Rios in a barnstormer. He'll have to show his boxing ability again here, though it's a relief for the American that has it in his locker.
Although Alvarado is "only" 33 he's a fighter who has many more miles on the clock than a normal 33 year old. His history of out-manning opponents will have taken it's toll on his long term health, his career and his ability to go to the well again. That's not to say he's only got 1 more good fight in him, but it is to say that his style is going to catch up with him sooner or later. It might be this bout, it might the next one, or it might be 10 fights away, but it will happen.
Whilst Alvarado has shown an ability to go to plan B we've never seen that from Provodnikov a man who has single game plan and one that is usually effective. To fight. You'll never get anything unpredictable from Provodnikov, there's no traps or clever countering, there's little in the way of imagination though what you get is a strong, tough, hard hitting Russian on a seek and destroy mission from round 1 to round 12.
Provodnikov can be made to look second rate by someone who boxes on the move, though he'll take advantage of any lapses in concentration and landing thudding shots with either hand. It takes not just a tough opponent to beat him, but one with either boundless energy or one the ability to discourage him, something we've yet to see.
If Alvarado employees his usual "fighting" style then this is a FOTY candidate with every round being a mini war. If, instead, Alvarado elects to box the American may find that he looks a level or two better than Provodnikov who could look 1-dimensional. Problem for Alvarado though if he does choose to box is that Provodbikov won't back off and only needs to land one punch to shake him, as hard as Alvarado tries to box there will always be that tense feeling that Provodnikov is only 1 shot away from turning the bout around.
I think Alvarado will manage to box for most of the fight, he'll certainly have a scare and may be dropped, though will show his smarts and just do enough to take a very tight decision in a memorable FOTY contender. I can certainly see Provodnikov hurting the American, but for some reason I think that Alvarado will see out the storm in a fight that sees fans and the media calling for an immediate rematch, just as much for the action as anything else.
Prediction-Alvarado SD12
Friday, 6 September 2013
Moises Fuentes v Luis De la Rosa
It's not often that a world title fight, on a Saturday night, goes completely under the radar but this weekend has one such fight as Mexican Moises Fuentes (17-1-1, 8) attempts to claim the WBO "interim" Light Flyweight title as he takes on Colombian Luis De la Rosa (22-2-1, 12) in what could turn out to be a "sleeper" classic.
For those who haven't seen Fuentes before, where have you been hiding? The guy is a beast of a Light Flyweight (and had been a beast of a Minimumweight prior to adding 3lbs), he's tough, hard working, and a real night mare to fight with his toughness and pressure mentality.
Although of course many fans ignore the lower weight divisions Fuentes is one of those fighters who's style we can all enjoy. He's relentless in his pursuit of victory, he throws a lot, takes a lot and refuses to take a backwards step. It was his none stop pressure that forced the retirement of former Minimumweight great Ivan Calderon and also saw him scoring a draw against Donnie Nietes (in a bout I have marked down as a front runner for the robbery of the year).
Although Fuentes can often be made to look slow, with both his hands an feet, his toughness, combined with a determined body attack can eventually see opponents forced to slow to his level. When that happens he tends to be able to grind down an opponent to take a decision.
Whilst plenty of fans will have had the fortune of seeing the Mexican many fewer will have had the fortune of seeing his co-challenger. In fact in all honesty De La Rosa is pretty unknown outside of Colombia with only his two losses being of any sort of note at all.
The first of those losses came in 2010 in a split decision loss to very good Raul Garcia the second of those, coming earlier this year in fact, came to the unheralded Merlito Sabillo of the Philippines. Unfortunately with losses in both of those fights there is little in terms of noteworthy victories on his record, the best would be a domestic title victory over Luis Doria.
Despite the fact De La Rosa has lost his two highest profile bouts he hasn't actually looked that bad. His fight with Sabillo was exceptional before he was stopped whilst his loss to "Rayito" saw him dropping Garcia and being beaten by a single point on two card, whilst winning on the third. Sure he might not be a special fighter but in his two top tier chances he has performed very admirably.
The style of the two men should genuinely gel quite well here with Fuentes stalking and De La Rosa fighting hard on the back foot. Unfortunately for the Colombian however I can't imagine him lasting the 12 rounds with Fuentes's body attack pressure, though he'll certainly give it his all until his body folds.
Prediction-Fuentes TKO9
For those who haven't seen Fuentes before, where have you been hiding? The guy is a beast of a Light Flyweight (and had been a beast of a Minimumweight prior to adding 3lbs), he's tough, hard working, and a real night mare to fight with his toughness and pressure mentality.
Although of course many fans ignore the lower weight divisions Fuentes is one of those fighters who's style we can all enjoy. He's relentless in his pursuit of victory, he throws a lot, takes a lot and refuses to take a backwards step. It was his none stop pressure that forced the retirement of former Minimumweight great Ivan Calderon and also saw him scoring a draw against Donnie Nietes (in a bout I have marked down as a front runner for the robbery of the year).
Although Fuentes can often be made to look slow, with both his hands an feet, his toughness, combined with a determined body attack can eventually see opponents forced to slow to his level. When that happens he tends to be able to grind down an opponent to take a decision.
Whilst plenty of fans will have had the fortune of seeing the Mexican many fewer will have had the fortune of seeing his co-challenger. In fact in all honesty De La Rosa is pretty unknown outside of Colombia with only his two losses being of any sort of note at all.
The first of those losses came in 2010 in a split decision loss to very good Raul Garcia the second of those, coming earlier this year in fact, came to the unheralded Merlito Sabillo of the Philippines. Unfortunately with losses in both of those fights there is little in terms of noteworthy victories on his record, the best would be a domestic title victory over Luis Doria.
Despite the fact De La Rosa has lost his two highest profile bouts he hasn't actually looked that bad. His fight with Sabillo was exceptional before he was stopped whilst his loss to "Rayito" saw him dropping Garcia and being beaten by a single point on two card, whilst winning on the third. Sure he might not be a special fighter but in his two top tier chances he has performed very admirably.
The style of the two men should genuinely gel quite well here with Fuentes stalking and De La Rosa fighting hard on the back foot. Unfortunately for the Colombian however I can't imagine him lasting the 12 rounds with Fuentes's body attack pressure, though he'll certainly give it his all until his body folds.
Prediction-Fuentes TKO9
Saturday, 24 August 2013
Stanyslav Kashtanov v Jaime Barboza
This weekend, in all honesty, is a very busy one, on both the world title front and the general boxing front. When it comes to busy weeks there is always a fight or two that gets forgotten about and this week the clearest example of that is the WBA "interim" Super Middleweight title bout in Ukraine.
The defending champion, Ukrainian fighter Stanyslav Kashtanov (30-1, 16), may very well be the most obscure champion active champion, even in the current world of "interim" champions. It's fair to say that he wouldn't make it into my top 20 at Super Middleweight though the intelligence of the WBA has seen him ending up with a world title.
Although obscure Kashtanov is a decent enough fighter. In a by gone era of champions defending on a regular basis he'd be a fringe contender who would likely have gotten a chance somewhere down the line to fight the champion, and lose to him. Instead Kashtanov has collected one of the most paper belts in the sport, and even then it took him two tries.
For people who just go through Kashtanov's record they will notive that he won his last fight, against Server Yemurlayev, for the title via a split decision. Whilst Kashtanov didn't shut out Yemurlayev by any means he was a clearer winner than the cards would show, in fact only the card of Chalerm Prayadsab actually reflected the nature of the bout.
The Ukrainian is well schooled. He does haven't the power to really keep good fighters off him, or the skills or speed to out box opponents but what he does have is the solid fundamentals with which to forge a decent career. He's never going to be a superstar but he's the type of guy who is well schooled enough to only really be beaten by the genuine top 10-15 style of fighters.
Challenging Kashtanov is the very limited and yet very lucky Costa Rican challenger Jaime Barboza (18-7, 8).
If Kashtanov misses out on my top 10, Barboza misses out on, probably being in my top 100.
The 35 year old Barboza is a fighter who has lost 4 of his last 6 and who's only win of note is erm, er, Jose Pinzon, who you know is so notable!
Okay I lied, Barboza doesn't have any wins of note. He's been a Costa Rican national champion and held various C level titles such as the WBA Fedelatin Super Middleweight title but he's never looked capable at the B grade and in his previous "interim" world title fight he was widely beaten, at home, by Brian Magee.
Although Barboza has proven to be tough with just a sole stoppage loss, coming in a rematch to Pinzon, he is very limited and it's hard to imagine him doing too much to really trouble Kashtanov here who should have the ability and know how to take a very clear decision.
Prediction-Kashtanov UD 12
The defending champion, Ukrainian fighter Stanyslav Kashtanov (30-1, 16), may very well be the most obscure champion active champion, even in the current world of "interim" champions. It's fair to say that he wouldn't make it into my top 20 at Super Middleweight though the intelligence of the WBA has seen him ending up with a world title.
Although obscure Kashtanov is a decent enough fighter. In a by gone era of champions defending on a regular basis he'd be a fringe contender who would likely have gotten a chance somewhere down the line to fight the champion, and lose to him. Instead Kashtanov has collected one of the most paper belts in the sport, and even then it took him two tries.
For people who just go through Kashtanov's record they will notive that he won his last fight, against Server Yemurlayev, for the title via a split decision. Whilst Kashtanov didn't shut out Yemurlayev by any means he was a clearer winner than the cards would show, in fact only the card of Chalerm Prayadsab actually reflected the nature of the bout.
The Ukrainian is well schooled. He does haven't the power to really keep good fighters off him, or the skills or speed to out box opponents but what he does have is the solid fundamentals with which to forge a decent career. He's never going to be a superstar but he's the type of guy who is well schooled enough to only really be beaten by the genuine top 10-15 style of fighters.
Challenging Kashtanov is the very limited and yet very lucky Costa Rican challenger Jaime Barboza (18-7, 8).
If Kashtanov misses out on my top 10, Barboza misses out on, probably being in my top 100.
The 35 year old Barboza is a fighter who has lost 4 of his last 6 and who's only win of note is erm, er, Jose Pinzon, who you know is so notable!
Okay I lied, Barboza doesn't have any wins of note. He's been a Costa Rican national champion and held various C level titles such as the WBA Fedelatin Super Middleweight title but he's never looked capable at the B grade and in his previous "interim" world title fight he was widely beaten, at home, by Brian Magee.
Although Barboza has proven to be tough with just a sole stoppage loss, coming in a rematch to Pinzon, he is very limited and it's hard to imagine him doing too much to really trouble Kashtanov here who should have the ability and know how to take a very clear decision.
Prediction-Kashtanov UD 12
Wednesday, 14 August 2013
Claudio Marrero v Jesus Marcelo Andres Cuellar
Probably the most over-looked fight this weekend takes place on ESPN's "Friday Night Fights" and sees unheralded Dominican Caludio Marrero (14-0, 11) taking the step up from prospect to "world challenger" as he takes on Argentinian banger Jesus Marcelo Andres Cuellar (22-1, 18) for the WBA "interim" Featherweight title.
The bout, part of a "Friday Night Fights" world title double header is on paper a very interesting match up between a big punching southpaw and a talented speedster who also fights from the southpaw stance. Sure it's not a genuine "world level" bout but it's a highly promising match up between two fringe contenders in one of boxing's most confusing divisions.
The 126lbs division has had Indonesian Chris John, the WBA "super" champion, as the longest reigning champion with his reign being the better part of a decade. Alongside John at the top of the division is Mexican star Abner Mares, arguably the best fighter in the division , the WBC champion. You then have Evgeny Gradovich, the IBF champion and below that everything is a mess.
Jamaican Nicholas Walters is the "regular" WBA champion, Orlando Salido and Orlando Cruz battle for the vacant WBO title and in all honesty none of the champions ever look likely to face each other.
Thankfully though the division is lovely mess, there are lots of fights to be made and lots of fighters looking for their opportunity to make a name for themselves, which is precisely what we have here.
Of the two fighters I'll admit I'm more of a Marrero fan. The 24 year old "Matrix" is, at his best, a lovely fighter to watch with lightning quick hands, lovely long combinations and respectable, though not destructive, power.
Despite only being a professional since September 2010 Marrero has been making a name for himself with the hardcore fans. This was in part due to his eye catching stoppage of Francis Ruiz and a dominant decision over Emmanuel Lucero.
It was the decision over Lucero that saw very split views on Marrero. Did the fact Lucero survive 10 rounds prove Marrero's power was over-rated? Or did it prove that Marrero could easily cope with 10 rounds? It was a question that had no right answer, both were right. Sure it was the second time Marrero had been 10 rounds but going into the bout with Lucero his career had consisted of just 30 rounds and 10 extra rounds will have done his nothing but the world of good.
Although I'll admit to being a fan of Marrero it does need to be said that he's in with what looks to be a dangerous Argentinian here, in fact aren't most Argentinian's dangerous?
Of course with most Argentinian's it's hard to say how good Cuellar actually is as many of his victories have come on the Argentinian scene which is very much a mixed bag. What we know is that Cuellar isn't a genuine world level boxer, his loss to Oscar Escandon was pretty decisive. Though with 18T/KO's from 23 fights he's capable of hurting opponents.
The 4 men who have survived the distance with Cuellar have been a mixed bag though the most worrying, on paper, was Miguel Leonardo Caceres. Caceres is a journeyman and wasn't far from defeating Cuellar just 18 months ago in a very narrow fight, albeit up at Featherweight.
What we see from Cuellar's record is that his power holds through the fight. He has a number of early knockouts but he's also had some in later rounds including an 11th round stoppage and stoppages in rounds 8 and 9.
Unfortunately whilst Cuellar looks like a banger, I dare say his record is notably inflated thanks to his competition. Sure he's fought Escandon but the Colombian never looked bothered by Cuellar and just walked him down. Whilst Marrero is a totally different style of fighter to Escandon I don't imagine he'll really have too many problems doing a similar job with his speed and movement being far too much for Cuellar.
The Argentinian is likely to be chasing shadows for much of the bout and wondering what's hitting him for the rest of it.
Prediction-Marrero TKO8
The bout, part of a "Friday Night Fights" world title double header is on paper a very interesting match up between a big punching southpaw and a talented speedster who also fights from the southpaw stance. Sure it's not a genuine "world level" bout but it's a highly promising match up between two fringe contenders in one of boxing's most confusing divisions.
The 126lbs division has had Indonesian Chris John, the WBA "super" champion, as the longest reigning champion with his reign being the better part of a decade. Alongside John at the top of the division is Mexican star Abner Mares, arguably the best fighter in the division , the WBC champion. You then have Evgeny Gradovich, the IBF champion and below that everything is a mess.
Jamaican Nicholas Walters is the "regular" WBA champion, Orlando Salido and Orlando Cruz battle for the vacant WBO title and in all honesty none of the champions ever look likely to face each other.
Thankfully though the division is lovely mess, there are lots of fights to be made and lots of fighters looking for their opportunity to make a name for themselves, which is precisely what we have here.
Of the two fighters I'll admit I'm more of a Marrero fan. The 24 year old "Matrix" is, at his best, a lovely fighter to watch with lightning quick hands, lovely long combinations and respectable, though not destructive, power.
Despite only being a professional since September 2010 Marrero has been making a name for himself with the hardcore fans. This was in part due to his eye catching stoppage of Francis Ruiz and a dominant decision over Emmanuel Lucero.
It was the decision over Lucero that saw very split views on Marrero. Did the fact Lucero survive 10 rounds prove Marrero's power was over-rated? Or did it prove that Marrero could easily cope with 10 rounds? It was a question that had no right answer, both were right. Sure it was the second time Marrero had been 10 rounds but going into the bout with Lucero his career had consisted of just 30 rounds and 10 extra rounds will have done his nothing but the world of good.
Although I'll admit to being a fan of Marrero it does need to be said that he's in with what looks to be a dangerous Argentinian here, in fact aren't most Argentinian's dangerous?
Of course with most Argentinian's it's hard to say how good Cuellar actually is as many of his victories have come on the Argentinian scene which is very much a mixed bag. What we know is that Cuellar isn't a genuine world level boxer, his loss to Oscar Escandon was pretty decisive. Though with 18T/KO's from 23 fights he's capable of hurting opponents.
The 4 men who have survived the distance with Cuellar have been a mixed bag though the most worrying, on paper, was Miguel Leonardo Caceres. Caceres is a journeyman and wasn't far from defeating Cuellar just 18 months ago in a very narrow fight, albeit up at Featherweight.
What we see from Cuellar's record is that his power holds through the fight. He has a number of early knockouts but he's also had some in later rounds including an 11th round stoppage and stoppages in rounds 8 and 9.
Unfortunately whilst Cuellar looks like a banger, I dare say his record is notably inflated thanks to his competition. Sure he's fought Escandon but the Colombian never looked bothered by Cuellar and just walked him down. Whilst Marrero is a totally different style of fighter to Escandon I don't imagine he'll really have too many problems doing a similar job with his speed and movement being far too much for Cuellar.
The Argentinian is likely to be chasing shadows for much of the bout and wondering what's hitting him for the rest of it.
Prediction-Marrero TKO8
Tuesday, 23 July 2013
Diego Gabriel Chaves v Keith Thurman
Not many bouts have "explosive" written all over them but the upcoming interim WBA Welterweight title bout certainly does as hard hitting Argentinian Diego Gabriel Chaves (22-0, 18) takes on American Keith Thurman (20-0-0-1, 18) live on Showtime.
Although Chaves is relatively unknown by the wider boxing public he's a fighter who has been receiving a lot of TV time in his homeland courtesy of TYC Sports and thus he's gotten plenty of attention as a fighter there.
Prior to turning professional in 2008 Chaves had been a solid amateur competing at 2007 World Amateur Championships and claiming various national and international titles. It was this amateur experience that helped him get the attention from TC Sports, it was also his amateur success that saw him being dubbed "La Joya" ("The Jewel"). Thankfully for Chaves he has transitioned from the amateurs to the professionals well and really developed as a hard hitter.
Chaves claimed the interim title around a year ago when he stopped Ismael El Massoudi in 2 rounds. Since then he has defended the belt once defeating Jose Miranda, also in 2 round. Unfortunately Chaves has been out of the ring since last September when he beat Miranda and this sort of a layoff could see him with a lot of ring rust, especially when you consider he had fought 21 times in the previous 4 years. Unfortunately part of this layoff was spent waiting for a fight in Dubai against Paulie Malignaggi, a fight that failed to come to fruition.
Style wise Chaves is a hard hitter as mentioned above but is a wild fighter. He's defensively open and appears to leave a lot of chances for a fighter to tag him. His defensive woes have seen him suffering several knockdowns however with his power he's looked like he is happy to have a firefight in the hope of taking his opponents out. He can box when he needs to, though often shows the Latin American machismo rather than his boxing brain.
Whilst Chaves is unknown to the US fanbase it's fair to assume that Thurman isn't. He's a brash but yet charismatic fighter who has been on US TV numerous times often as part of a major undercard giving him major exposure to fans.
Like Chaves, Thurman is a big puncher with genuine lights out power if he connects cleanly and hurtful thudding power if he only manages to land glancing shots. Although he's a big puncher he's more well schooled than Chaves, he's not technically perfect by any stretch of the imagination but he's more defensively sound and more aware of what he's doing when he comes forward and throws. Also like Chaves he has a solid amateur background with more than 100 amateur wins.
Nicknamed "One Time", Thurman seems to feel that he only needs one chance to stop an opponent though he did show last time out that he can box for 12 rounds as he took a decision over the always tough Jan Zaveck. This has been Thurman's only bout to go 12 rounds though I feel he's happy to have proved he can manage the championship distance.
When two big bangers face each other you'd usually favour the more technically rounded fighter and with that in mind I've got to with Thurman here. Both men have question marks hanging over them for sure but with Chaves defensive issues it's going to be next to impossible to back him against any top power puncher.
Of course Chaves could be the next Maidana, Matthysse or Abregu but personally I see him being just a level below that of Abregu, a fringe contender as opposed to a world level guy.
Prediction-Thurman TKO5
Although Chaves is relatively unknown by the wider boxing public he's a fighter who has been receiving a lot of TV time in his homeland courtesy of TYC Sports and thus he's gotten plenty of attention as a fighter there.
Prior to turning professional in 2008 Chaves had been a solid amateur competing at 2007 World Amateur Championships and claiming various national and international titles. It was this amateur experience that helped him get the attention from TC Sports, it was also his amateur success that saw him being dubbed "La Joya" ("The Jewel"). Thankfully for Chaves he has transitioned from the amateurs to the professionals well and really developed as a hard hitter.
Chaves claimed the interim title around a year ago when he stopped Ismael El Massoudi in 2 rounds. Since then he has defended the belt once defeating Jose Miranda, also in 2 round. Unfortunately Chaves has been out of the ring since last September when he beat Miranda and this sort of a layoff could see him with a lot of ring rust, especially when you consider he had fought 21 times in the previous 4 years. Unfortunately part of this layoff was spent waiting for a fight in Dubai against Paulie Malignaggi, a fight that failed to come to fruition.
Style wise Chaves is a hard hitter as mentioned above but is a wild fighter. He's defensively open and appears to leave a lot of chances for a fighter to tag him. His defensive woes have seen him suffering several knockdowns however with his power he's looked like he is happy to have a firefight in the hope of taking his opponents out. He can box when he needs to, though often shows the Latin American machismo rather than his boxing brain.
Whilst Chaves is unknown to the US fanbase it's fair to assume that Thurman isn't. He's a brash but yet charismatic fighter who has been on US TV numerous times often as part of a major undercard giving him major exposure to fans.
Like Chaves, Thurman is a big puncher with genuine lights out power if he connects cleanly and hurtful thudding power if he only manages to land glancing shots. Although he's a big puncher he's more well schooled than Chaves, he's not technically perfect by any stretch of the imagination but he's more defensively sound and more aware of what he's doing when he comes forward and throws. Also like Chaves he has a solid amateur background with more than 100 amateur wins.
Nicknamed "One Time", Thurman seems to feel that he only needs one chance to stop an opponent though he did show last time out that he can box for 12 rounds as he took a decision over the always tough Jan Zaveck. This has been Thurman's only bout to go 12 rounds though I feel he's happy to have proved he can manage the championship distance.
When two big bangers face each other you'd usually favour the more technically rounded fighter and with that in mind I've got to with Thurman here. Both men have question marks hanging over them for sure but with Chaves defensive issues it's going to be next to impossible to back him against any top power puncher.
Of course Chaves could be the next Maidana, Matthysse or Abregu but personally I see him being just a level below that of Abregu, a fringe contender as opposed to a world level guy.
Prediction-Thurman TKO5
Wednesday, 17 July 2013
Julian Yedras v Carlos Buitrago
Less than a week after Melito Sabillo of the Philippines successfully defended his WBO Minimumweight title for the first time stopping Jorle Estrada, the WBO "interim" Minimumweight title is up for grabs.
Although on paper I really like the match up on paper between Julian Yedras (21-0, 13) and Carlos Buitrago (26-0-0-1, 16) I can't fathom the WBO's decision to have a belt on the line rather than just making the bout a final eliminator.
As you can see from the records both men are unbeaten with spectacular records, it's also worth noting that both men are young with Yedras being 25 and Buitrago being just 21. In my eyes both men are effectively prospects who shouldn't be fighting for an interim title, but I guess this is the boxing world that we live in.
Nicaraguan Buitrago has been a fighter who has been on my radar for several years. He's a fighter a fighter that many in Nicaragua have been tipping as a potential superstar and has been compared, in terms of potential, to Roman Gonzalez-a man I am a huge fan of. He hasn't just just been touted by his promoters but also sparring partners including Juan Palacios, a former WBC and WBA interim champion at 105lbs and Gonzalez the current WBA Light Flyweight super champion.
Having been lucky enough to have seen Buitrago coming through his development it's great to see the fighter he has become. Sure he's not the next Gonzalez (a total wrecking ball) of the next Alexis Arguello (legend) but he's still an incredible talent with very solid technical grounding, a fantastic jab, hurtful power and the ability to throw almost every punch in the book. Despite his age he's very mature, though he has been a professional for over 5 years and like mentioned has sparred with some genuinely fantastic opponents.
To date the most notable names on Buitrago's record are Jorle Estrada-who lost to Sabillo last weekend, Carlos Melo-a former world title challenger, Eddy Castro-another former world title challenger and the world ranked Yader Escobar. Not a great list of opponents but certainly not bad either for a 21 year old fighter.
Yedras, a Mexican dubbed "El Nino Artillero" (apparently "The Kid Gunner" or something to that effect) isn't a fighter who has been on my radar for as long as Buitrago, though in my defense has hasn't been a professional as long, though he did turn professional in 2009.
From what I've seen of Yedras (or Yedra) he looks somewhat slow and predictable. He has a solid defense though offensively he looks crude with his shots often looping wide or falling short. When he connects he appears to have heavy hands though against the quality of opponents he's been facing it's hard to tell if he actually hits hard or if they would have collapsed with a swift breeze.
Whilst Buitrago has faced fringe world level opponents Yedras has only faced a handful of opponents with winning records, none of which are anywhere near world level. Worryingly a number of these weak opponents have almost beaten Yedras.
Using Boxrec's rating systems Yedras is currently ranked #35 in the division, just 2 places above Ali Raymi who is quickly becoming a name to keep an eye out for, Buitrago on the other hand is ranked at #15.
From the footage available it's impossible to pick against Buitrago. Sure he's fighting in Yedras's native Mexico but the skill level between the two men is huge as is the experience (in terms of real experience, not number of bouts). In fact the only advantage Yedras has is that he's fighting at home and that won't be able to really help him here.
At the beginning of this preview I said I liked this bout on paper. I think that's the only way I actually like this bout because in all honesty it's a mismatch.
Prediction-Buitrago TKO 6
Although on paper I really like the match up on paper between Julian Yedras (21-0, 13) and Carlos Buitrago (26-0-0-1, 16) I can't fathom the WBO's decision to have a belt on the line rather than just making the bout a final eliminator.
As you can see from the records both men are unbeaten with spectacular records, it's also worth noting that both men are young with Yedras being 25 and Buitrago being just 21. In my eyes both men are effectively prospects who shouldn't be fighting for an interim title, but I guess this is the boxing world that we live in.
Nicaraguan Buitrago has been a fighter who has been on my radar for several years. He's a fighter a fighter that many in Nicaragua have been tipping as a potential superstar and has been compared, in terms of potential, to Roman Gonzalez-a man I am a huge fan of. He hasn't just just been touted by his promoters but also sparring partners including Juan Palacios, a former WBC and WBA interim champion at 105lbs and Gonzalez the current WBA Light Flyweight super champion.
Having been lucky enough to have seen Buitrago coming through his development it's great to see the fighter he has become. Sure he's not the next Gonzalez (a total wrecking ball) of the next Alexis Arguello (legend) but he's still an incredible talent with very solid technical grounding, a fantastic jab, hurtful power and the ability to throw almost every punch in the book. Despite his age he's very mature, though he has been a professional for over 5 years and like mentioned has sparred with some genuinely fantastic opponents.
To date the most notable names on Buitrago's record are Jorle Estrada-who lost to Sabillo last weekend, Carlos Melo-a former world title challenger, Eddy Castro-another former world title challenger and the world ranked Yader Escobar. Not a great list of opponents but certainly not bad either for a 21 year old fighter.
Yedras, a Mexican dubbed "El Nino Artillero" (apparently "The Kid Gunner" or something to that effect) isn't a fighter who has been on my radar for as long as Buitrago, though in my defense has hasn't been a professional as long, though he did turn professional in 2009.
From what I've seen of Yedras (or Yedra) he looks somewhat slow and predictable. He has a solid defense though offensively he looks crude with his shots often looping wide or falling short. When he connects he appears to have heavy hands though against the quality of opponents he's been facing it's hard to tell if he actually hits hard or if they would have collapsed with a swift breeze.
Whilst Buitrago has faced fringe world level opponents Yedras has only faced a handful of opponents with winning records, none of which are anywhere near world level. Worryingly a number of these weak opponents have almost beaten Yedras.
Using Boxrec's rating systems Yedras is currently ranked #35 in the division, just 2 places above Ali Raymi who is quickly becoming a name to keep an eye out for, Buitrago on the other hand is ranked at #15.
From the footage available it's impossible to pick against Buitrago. Sure he's fighting in Yedras's native Mexico but the skill level between the two men is huge as is the experience (in terms of real experience, not number of bouts). In fact the only advantage Yedras has is that he's fighting at home and that won't be able to really help him here.
At the beginning of this preview I said I liked this bout on paper. I think that's the only way I actually like this bout because in all honesty it's a mismatch.
Prediction-Buitrago TKO 6
Friday, 19 April 2013
Kompayak Porpramook v Jean Piero Perez
Our first title fight this week sees former WBC Light Flyweight champion Kompayak Porpramook (49-4, 34) attempting to add the WBA "interim" Flyweight title to his collection of belts as he takes on the unheralded Jean Piero Perez (20-5-1, 14) of Venezuela who himself has actually held the WBA "interim" Flyweight title.
This bout, being fought on Friday in Khon Kaen, Thailand will allow the winner a big chance to make their name in one of boxing's most entertaining, though over-looked divisions.
Going in to the bout it's fair to say that the 32 year Perez is the under-dog. No fighters ever enjoy going to Thailand to fight as the bouts held in the country are usually fought outdoors in the middle of the day with blistering heat and uncomfortable humidity, giving the away fighters a notable disadvantage.
Despite being the away fighter Perez is used to fighting on hostile territory having fought only once in Venezuela. In fact so far in his career date Perez has fought in Panama, Mexico, Argentina, the Philippines and Costa Rica as well as his homeland. In fact it was only 7 months ago that he almost scored the biggest win of his career losing a majority decision to the highly touted Milan Melindo.
In a 9 year long career Perez has been stopped just twice with the most notable of those coming against talented Argentinian Juan Carlos Reveco who connected with a sickening body shot whilst the other came in a shoot out with Rafael Concepcion. Those losses,and the defeat to Melindo, are of course the most notable men that Perez has faced, though he does hold victories over several fringe names such as Ronald Ramos, Jhon Alberto Molina and Jesus Jimenez.
Perez is a fighter with a record that indicates he has a solid punch on him though he hasn't stopped anyone in or around the world level before and his power, whilst likely respectable, isn't going to starch out people with a single shot. In fact his bout with Reveco seemed to suggest his power was vastly over-rated by his record.
Whilst Perez is highly unknown outside of his bouts with Reveco and Melindo it's fair to say that Porpramook is more well known. He was not only involved in 2011 FOTY contender with Adrian Hernandez for the WBC Light Flyweight but also fought a memorable (though less exciting) rematch with Hernandez as well as a bout Australian Hussein Hussein and a controversial victory over Jonathan Taconing.
Although the Thai is stepping up a weight for this title bout the 30 year old is a fighter who had probably been struggling to make the 108lb Light Flyweight division. He'd won the interim PABA Light Flyweight title way back in 2003 and seems to have finally allowed his powerful, yet short (5'0) body to fill out properly. This could prove to be an issue at the higher weight where fighters tend to hit harder and take a shot better, though it could well be an advantage for Porpramook who may feel more comfortable with out needing to drain down.
The stockily built fighter who has amassed a staggering 53 professional bouts since 2000 is a highly impressive 49-2 (34) in his homeland. This has seen Porpramook unbeaten at home since losing to Allan Ranada way back in 2002 an impressive run that has only been interrupted by losses in Mexico and Australia.
With a bucket load of heart and an aggressive mindset Porpramook is a fighter who is destined to be in fun to watch bouts as long as he and his opponents can last, as a result this promise to be an all action battle for at least a few rounds. Sadly I can't help but feel that the conditions will play a major part in the bout and favour the home man.
Prediction-Porpramook TKO8
This bout, being fought on Friday in Khon Kaen, Thailand will allow the winner a big chance to make their name in one of boxing's most entertaining, though over-looked divisions.
Going in to the bout it's fair to say that the 32 year Perez is the under-dog. No fighters ever enjoy going to Thailand to fight as the bouts held in the country are usually fought outdoors in the middle of the day with blistering heat and uncomfortable humidity, giving the away fighters a notable disadvantage.
Despite being the away fighter Perez is used to fighting on hostile territory having fought only once in Venezuela. In fact so far in his career date Perez has fought in Panama, Mexico, Argentina, the Philippines and Costa Rica as well as his homeland. In fact it was only 7 months ago that he almost scored the biggest win of his career losing a majority decision to the highly touted Milan Melindo.
In a 9 year long career Perez has been stopped just twice with the most notable of those coming against talented Argentinian Juan Carlos Reveco who connected with a sickening body shot whilst the other came in a shoot out with Rafael Concepcion. Those losses,and the defeat to Melindo, are of course the most notable men that Perez has faced, though he does hold victories over several fringe names such as Ronald Ramos, Jhon Alberto Molina and Jesus Jimenez.
Perez is a fighter with a record that indicates he has a solid punch on him though he hasn't stopped anyone in or around the world level before and his power, whilst likely respectable, isn't going to starch out people with a single shot. In fact his bout with Reveco seemed to suggest his power was vastly over-rated by his record.
Whilst Perez is highly unknown outside of his bouts with Reveco and Melindo it's fair to say that Porpramook is more well known. He was not only involved in 2011 FOTY contender with Adrian Hernandez for the WBC Light Flyweight but also fought a memorable (though less exciting) rematch with Hernandez as well as a bout Australian Hussein Hussein and a controversial victory over Jonathan Taconing.
Although the Thai is stepping up a weight for this title bout the 30 year old is a fighter who had probably been struggling to make the 108lb Light Flyweight division. He'd won the interim PABA Light Flyweight title way back in 2003 and seems to have finally allowed his powerful, yet short (5'0) body to fill out properly. This could prove to be an issue at the higher weight where fighters tend to hit harder and take a shot better, though it could well be an advantage for Porpramook who may feel more comfortable with out needing to drain down.
The stockily built fighter who has amassed a staggering 53 professional bouts since 2000 is a highly impressive 49-2 (34) in his homeland. This has seen Porpramook unbeaten at home since losing to Allan Ranada way back in 2002 an impressive run that has only been interrupted by losses in Mexico and Australia.
With a bucket load of heart and an aggressive mindset Porpramook is a fighter who is destined to be in fun to watch bouts as long as he and his opponents can last, as a result this promise to be an all action battle for at least a few rounds. Sadly I can't help but feel that the conditions will play a major part in the bout and favour the home man.
Prediction-Porpramook TKO8
Thursday, 7 March 2013
Luis de la Rosa v Merlito Sabillo
In this weekends most overlooked fight once beaten Colombian Luis De La Rosa (21-1-1, 12) faces undefeated Filipino Merlito Sabillo (20-0, 10) in a bout over the WBO interim Minimumweight title. Although neither fighter is a big name both are well regarded by those in the know with several feeling that either man is there or there abouts in the top 10.
With this fight being in Colombia home star Luis De La Rosa must start the bout as the favourite despite having suffered a loss. In fact now I've mentioned that loss it's worth noting that it came by split decision against the hugely talented Raul Garcia back in 2010, in a bout that saw Garcia dropped in early in the bout. Although not a massive puncher it's fair to say that De La Rosa hits hard as Garcia isn't a fighter who goes down easily.
Sadly aside from Garcia it's hard to see another recognisable fighter on De La Rosa's ledger as he's faced a long string of nobodies since turning professional in 2006, although he did claim the Colombian Light Flyweight title back in 2010.
As well as the loss, De La Rosa has suffered a draw, a 4 round draw early in his career to the then debuting Stiven Monterrosa who recently got flatten by Roman Gonzalez. Other than that he's been a winner in all of his bouts, though he was taken close by journeyman Alfonso De la Hoz (who's record is a who's who of South America boxing).
Whilst De La Rosa will be in front of his home fans the hardcore boxing fans may well favour the Filipino challenger to come away with the title belt. Sabillo, like De La Rosa, has generally faced limited opposition though he has scored noteworthy wins over the likes of Jonathan Refugio to defend the OPBF Minimumweight title and Jetly Purisima for the Filipino title. Sure they aren't world names but they are decent enough fighters to test a fighters ability against.
From the footage of Sabillo he looks a very big guy for Minimumweight (he stands around 5'4") and looks very good fighting from a southpaw stance with a nice array of punches and a patient style despite often coming forward.
If the fight was in a neutral venue I'd have gone with Sabillo, though with it being in Colombia you need to favour the home fighter. Expect the fight to be close and go to a decision before the home fighter claims a close and probably controversial decision.
Prediction-De La Rosa via decision
With this fight being in Colombia home star Luis De La Rosa must start the bout as the favourite despite having suffered a loss. In fact now I've mentioned that loss it's worth noting that it came by split decision against the hugely talented Raul Garcia back in 2010, in a bout that saw Garcia dropped in early in the bout. Although not a massive puncher it's fair to say that De La Rosa hits hard as Garcia isn't a fighter who goes down easily.
Sadly aside from Garcia it's hard to see another recognisable fighter on De La Rosa's ledger as he's faced a long string of nobodies since turning professional in 2006, although he did claim the Colombian Light Flyweight title back in 2010.
As well as the loss, De La Rosa has suffered a draw, a 4 round draw early in his career to the then debuting Stiven Monterrosa who recently got flatten by Roman Gonzalez. Other than that he's been a winner in all of his bouts, though he was taken close by journeyman Alfonso De la Hoz (who's record is a who's who of South America boxing).
Whilst De La Rosa will be in front of his home fans the hardcore boxing fans may well favour the Filipino challenger to come away with the title belt. Sabillo, like De La Rosa, has generally faced limited opposition though he has scored noteworthy wins over the likes of Jonathan Refugio to defend the OPBF Minimumweight title and Jetly Purisima for the Filipino title. Sure they aren't world names but they are decent enough fighters to test a fighters ability against.
From the footage of Sabillo he looks a very big guy for Minimumweight (he stands around 5'4") and looks very good fighting from a southpaw stance with a nice array of punches and a patient style despite often coming forward.
If the fight was in a neutral venue I'd have gone with Sabillo, though with it being in Colombia you need to favour the home fighter. Expect the fight to be close and go to a decision before the home fighter claims a close and probably controversial decision.
Prediction-De La Rosa via decision
Friday, 23 November 2012
Rendall Munroe v Scott Quigg
The "interim" WBA Super Bantamweight title is up for grabs on the undercard of Hatton v Senchenko as the unbeaten Scott Quigg (24-0-1, 17) rematches Rendall Munroe (24-2-1, 10). When these two men first met, some 5 months ago, their bout ended in disappointing fashion as Munroe, who was leading on 2 of the scorecards, suffered a nasty cut from a clash of heads causing a premature end to the bout in round 3.
Bury based banger Scott Quigg is the favourite going in to this bout, though many have been picking Munroe, due to the fact that Quigg isn't as good as the hype that surrounded him. Despite being a professional for 5 years Quigg has only really been fighting domestic opponents and although they were generally good domestic opponents, such as Jason Booth and Jamie Arthur neither were near world level when Quigg got to them. Worryingly however Arthur almost shocked Quigg and did drop the unbeaten man early in their fight.
Although powerful Quigg's boxing ability is very limited and he often makes very obvious mistakes with not only his defense but also his footwork, an issue from the fact that Quigg has come to boxing from a kick boxing background. So far many of his opponents have been unable to take advantage of those mistakes however Munroe did manage some very notable success when the two men first met. Despite this however Quigg, at distance, can be very effective with his power and natural size (he stands at a shocking 5'8"-huge for a Super Bantamweight).
Whilst Quigg has only mixed with domestic opponents, Munroe is much more experienced at the higher levels having scored victories over Kiko Martinez (twice), Simone Maludrottu and Victor Terrazas as well as losing in a 2010 WBC title tilt against Toshiaki Nishioka. As well as the experience edge he also has the better engine, and the more rounded package of skills, especially up close. However Munroe does have issues himself, notably that he's a slow starter, who often needs 3 or 4 rounds to really get going and that he's also not got fight changing power, instead needing to grind down opponents. However the biggest issue with Munroe is that he's 32 and has fought only 4 rounds in the last 14 months.
With this fight the big question is whether or not Quigg has the power and skills to keep Munroe off him. If Munroe is allowed to enforce his fight, set a high pace and work Quigg's body this could be a very hard night for the unbeaten fighter, however if Quigg can control the distance with his size and straight shots, something he tried in the first bout with mixed success, he could make this bout seem very easy.
For me I feel that Quigg will get the close rounds and just manage to nick a close decision, though at 12/5 I'll be having a small bet on Munroe hoping that his work rate will be rewarded on the score cards.
Prediction-Quigg Split Decision
Bury based banger Scott Quigg is the favourite going in to this bout, though many have been picking Munroe, due to the fact that Quigg isn't as good as the hype that surrounded him. Despite being a professional for 5 years Quigg has only really been fighting domestic opponents and although they were generally good domestic opponents, such as Jason Booth and Jamie Arthur neither were near world level when Quigg got to them. Worryingly however Arthur almost shocked Quigg and did drop the unbeaten man early in their fight.
Although powerful Quigg's boxing ability is very limited and he often makes very obvious mistakes with not only his defense but also his footwork, an issue from the fact that Quigg has come to boxing from a kick boxing background. So far many of his opponents have been unable to take advantage of those mistakes however Munroe did manage some very notable success when the two men first met. Despite this however Quigg, at distance, can be very effective with his power and natural size (he stands at a shocking 5'8"-huge for a Super Bantamweight).
Whilst Quigg has only mixed with domestic opponents, Munroe is much more experienced at the higher levels having scored victories over Kiko Martinez (twice), Simone Maludrottu and Victor Terrazas as well as losing in a 2010 WBC title tilt against Toshiaki Nishioka. As well as the experience edge he also has the better engine, and the more rounded package of skills, especially up close. However Munroe does have issues himself, notably that he's a slow starter, who often needs 3 or 4 rounds to really get going and that he's also not got fight changing power, instead needing to grind down opponents. However the biggest issue with Munroe is that he's 32 and has fought only 4 rounds in the last 14 months.
With this fight the big question is whether or not Quigg has the power and skills to keep Munroe off him. If Munroe is allowed to enforce his fight, set a high pace and work Quigg's body this could be a very hard night for the unbeaten fighter, however if Quigg can control the distance with his size and straight shots, something he tried in the first bout with mixed success, he could make this bout seem very easy.
For me I feel that Quigg will get the close rounds and just manage to nick a close decision, though at 12/5 I'll be having a small bet on Munroe hoping that his work rate will be rewarded on the score cards.
Prediction-Quigg Split Decision
Thursday, 8 November 2012
Stanyslav Kashtanov v Server Yemurlayev
In the past I have regularly complained about how meaningless the WBA "interim" title is, and we see this issue raising it's head twice this weekend. We see it at Flyweight with Juan Carlos Reveco having a "stay busy" fight against Julian Rivera and we also see it in the Ukraine as the WBA's "interim" Super Middleweight title is on the line as Stanyslav Kashtanov (29-1, 16) faces compatriot Server Yemurlayev (22-0, 8) in what can only be described as having a title for titles sake.
The Super Middleweight division, as we all know, revolves around American star Andre Ward who is the WBA's "Super" champion and the WBC champion. Then we have Carl Froch (IBF champion), Arthur Abraham (WBO champion) and in December we will crown a new WBA "regular" champion as Brian Magee faces Mikkel Kessler. As well as this bunch of top class fighters we also have top contenders such as Lucien Bute, Robert Stieglitz, Andre Dirrell and Kelly Pavlik. Basically the division is stacked and sadly neither of the fighters fighting for WBA "interim" title deserves to be mentioned alongside the elite.
Of the two men Stanyslav Kashtanov is the better known fighter having been unlucky not to have actually claimed this very same title 15 months ago as he was controversially defeated by Karoly Balzsay. In that performance Kashtanov proved that he could hold his own at fringe world level and whilst he was unlucky to lose, he proved that he was perhaps a genuine future title contender.
Sadly however aside from the fight with Balzay, Kashtanov is really unproven with his "next best well known opponent" being Belorussian journeyman Kanstantsin Makhankou (who has genuinely fought a who's who, though sadly seems to have retired). This would suggest that whilst Kashtanov has got ability his actually level is really hard to determine.
Whilst I don't know a lot about Kashtanov it's fair to say I know a lot more about him than I know about Server Yemurlayev who turned professional in 2007 and has yet to face a really notable opponent, with the best opponent probably being Bernard Donfack.
What we do know about Yemurlayev is that he's not only untested, but has hardly done anything of note. He really has no power (a 36% stoppage rate) and yet has only been 10 or more rounds on 2 occasions, giving Kashtanov a big advantage in terms of rounds fought, ability to score stoppages and tested stamina.
When it comes to this fight it's hard to really say too much about either man, however I do favour that Kashtanov, mixing at a higher level will serve him well here.
Prediction-Kashtanov UD12
The Super Middleweight division, as we all know, revolves around American star Andre Ward who is the WBA's "Super" champion and the WBC champion. Then we have Carl Froch (IBF champion), Arthur Abraham (WBO champion) and in December we will crown a new WBA "regular" champion as Brian Magee faces Mikkel Kessler. As well as this bunch of top class fighters we also have top contenders such as Lucien Bute, Robert Stieglitz, Andre Dirrell and Kelly Pavlik. Basically the division is stacked and sadly neither of the fighters fighting for WBA "interim" title deserves to be mentioned alongside the elite.
Of the two men Stanyslav Kashtanov is the better known fighter having been unlucky not to have actually claimed this very same title 15 months ago as he was controversially defeated by Karoly Balzsay. In that performance Kashtanov proved that he could hold his own at fringe world level and whilst he was unlucky to lose, he proved that he was perhaps a genuine future title contender.
Sadly however aside from the fight with Balzay, Kashtanov is really unproven with his "next best well known opponent" being Belorussian journeyman Kanstantsin Makhankou (who has genuinely fought a who's who, though sadly seems to have retired). This would suggest that whilst Kashtanov has got ability his actually level is really hard to determine.
Whilst I don't know a lot about Kashtanov it's fair to say I know a lot more about him than I know about Server Yemurlayev who turned professional in 2007 and has yet to face a really notable opponent, with the best opponent probably being Bernard Donfack.
What we do know about Yemurlayev is that he's not only untested, but has hardly done anything of note. He really has no power (a 36% stoppage rate) and yet has only been 10 or more rounds on 2 occasions, giving Kashtanov a big advantage in terms of rounds fought, ability to score stoppages and tested stamina.
When it comes to this fight it's hard to really say too much about either man, however I do favour that Kashtanov, mixing at a higher level will serve him well here.
Prediction-Kashtanov UD12
Juan Carlos Reveco v Julian Rivera
Although we have a number of high profile title fights this coming weekend everyone should know by know that I'm probably more interested in the lower division than the big, household names. Sadly even with that in mind, I can't actually get excited about this weekend's WBA "interim" Flyweight title bout between Juan Carlos Reveco (28-1, 16) and challenger Julian Rivera (13-6, 2). In fact this is probably one of the very worst title bouts this year at any weight.
The 29 year old Reveco, from Malargüe on the west of Argentina is one of the many genuinely class fighters at Flyweight. Whilst not seen as one of the genuine champions he is still a fantastic fighter who has shown some real glimpses of world level class talent at both Light Flyweight, where he first made his name and Flyweight.
Reveco debuted way back in 2004 and quickly rose through the rankings before claiming the then vacant WBA World Light Flyweight title in 2007 thanks to an 8th round stoppage of the previously unbeaten Thai Nethra Sasiprapa. Sadly for Reveco his reign would last only 6 months and he would lose his belt in his second defense as he was narrowly out pointed in France by Brahim Asloum.
Despite the loss to Asloum, Reveco remained at Light Flyweight and later went on to claim the WBA "interim" Light Flyweight title by narrowly beating Francisco Rosas in Mexico. Reveco's reign as the "interim" Light Flyweight champion lasted significantly longer than his reign as the regular champion as he racked up up 2 title defenses before moving up a division after a year long reign. Whilst the full reasons for his move have never been fully known, many feel that he moved up solely to avoid Nicaraguan super star Roman Gonzalez who was hot on Reveco's tail.
Since moving to Flyweight Reveco has not only claimed the WBA "interim" Flyweight title but has also defended it once, defeating the previously unbeaten Frenchman Karim Guerfi. Despite this, and his evident talent, Reveco is yet to prove himself at Flyweight, however in terms of just talent he is up there in the chasing pack to the likes of Brian Viloria, Moruti Mthalane and Hernan Marquez.
Despite not having KO power, especially at Flyweight, Reveco is skilled and can fighter excellently from his jab as well as using a very effective one two and appears to have all the punches in the book. His work rate isn't amazing but he seems to generally be able to control the pace and distance of fights using solid footwork, and he also seems to often be a fighter fighting with in himself.
Whilst we know plenty about Reveco I need to be honest, Julian Rivera is a bit of a new one on me. The Mexican is currently ranked #36 in the division on Boxrec and doesn't appear to have anything really outstanding on his record. Since turning professional in 2006 Rivera has been a win some-lose some type of fighter who's best winning runs have been 3 fights. Also, perhaps tellingly he's not scored a stoppage since 2006 (scoring stoppages in his first and third bouts).
It's fair to say that whilst Rivera has sprung an upset or two in his career, namely defeating Odilon Zaleta (then 11-0) and Faustino Cupul (then 24-5) he has also been beaten by much, much less fighters than Reveco. In fact Rivera's last loss came to a fighter who was 8-9-2 (prior to beating Rivera) and his loss before that came to a 4-3 fighter (again prior to beating Rivera.
Oddly the WBA seem to be allowing this to be a title fight despite the fact that Rivera isn't ranked in the most recent rankings by the organisation (last updated 1st of October), that means they are allowing their interim champion to defend against a fighter they don't feel is in the top 15 in the world. The WBC oddly do rank Rivera, giving him a #12 ranking helped somewhat by the fact Rivera holds the WBC Latino Flyweight title.
Sadly for Rivera even the WBA feel they know the out come of this bout, actually reprinting an article from Boxingscene labeling the bout as a "stay busy" bout for Reveco. I think this sums it up.
Prediction: Reveco, TKO7
The 29 year old Reveco, from Malargüe on the west of Argentina is one of the many genuinely class fighters at Flyweight. Whilst not seen as one of the genuine champions he is still a fantastic fighter who has shown some real glimpses of world level class talent at both Light Flyweight, where he first made his name and Flyweight.
Reveco debuted way back in 2004 and quickly rose through the rankings before claiming the then vacant WBA World Light Flyweight title in 2007 thanks to an 8th round stoppage of the previously unbeaten Thai Nethra Sasiprapa. Sadly for Reveco his reign would last only 6 months and he would lose his belt in his second defense as he was narrowly out pointed in France by Brahim Asloum.
Despite the loss to Asloum, Reveco remained at Light Flyweight and later went on to claim the WBA "interim" Light Flyweight title by narrowly beating Francisco Rosas in Mexico. Reveco's reign as the "interim" Light Flyweight champion lasted significantly longer than his reign as the regular champion as he racked up up 2 title defenses before moving up a division after a year long reign. Whilst the full reasons for his move have never been fully known, many feel that he moved up solely to avoid Nicaraguan super star Roman Gonzalez who was hot on Reveco's tail.
Since moving to Flyweight Reveco has not only claimed the WBA "interim" Flyweight title but has also defended it once, defeating the previously unbeaten Frenchman Karim Guerfi. Despite this, and his evident talent, Reveco is yet to prove himself at Flyweight, however in terms of just talent he is up there in the chasing pack to the likes of Brian Viloria, Moruti Mthalane and Hernan Marquez.
Despite not having KO power, especially at Flyweight, Reveco is skilled and can fighter excellently from his jab as well as using a very effective one two and appears to have all the punches in the book. His work rate isn't amazing but he seems to generally be able to control the pace and distance of fights using solid footwork, and he also seems to often be a fighter fighting with in himself.
Whilst we know plenty about Reveco I need to be honest, Julian Rivera is a bit of a new one on me. The Mexican is currently ranked #36 in the division on Boxrec and doesn't appear to have anything really outstanding on his record. Since turning professional in 2006 Rivera has been a win some-lose some type of fighter who's best winning runs have been 3 fights. Also, perhaps tellingly he's not scored a stoppage since 2006 (scoring stoppages in his first and third bouts).
It's fair to say that whilst Rivera has sprung an upset or two in his career, namely defeating Odilon Zaleta (then 11-0) and Faustino Cupul (then 24-5) he has also been beaten by much, much less fighters than Reveco. In fact Rivera's last loss came to a fighter who was 8-9-2 (prior to beating Rivera) and his loss before that came to a 4-3 fighter (again prior to beating Rivera.
Oddly the WBA seem to be allowing this to be a title fight despite the fact that Rivera isn't ranked in the most recent rankings by the organisation (last updated 1st of October), that means they are allowing their interim champion to defend against a fighter they don't feel is in the top 15 in the world. The WBC oddly do rank Rivera, giving him a #12 ranking helped somewhat by the fact Rivera holds the WBC Latino Flyweight title.
Sadly for Rivera even the WBA feel they know the out come of this bout, actually reprinting an article from Boxingscene labeling the bout as a "stay busy" bout for Reveco. I think this sums it up.
Prediction: Reveco, TKO7
Thursday, 1 November 2012
Roberto Vasquez v John Mark Apolinario
This weekends most "overlooked" title fight is the WBA "interim" Bantamweight title bout between Panamanian Roberto Vasquez (32-5, 22) and Filipino John Mark Apolinario (17-2-1, 4), that is scheduled to take place in the Argentinian city of Colón. As with many "interim" title bouts, the fight really lacks too much to get excited about, however could it be a sleeper classic?
With the belt being a vacant one, both men are challenger, however one man has a bit more pedigree to than the other, in fact poor John Mark Apolinario is so unknown that...well I'd never heard of him (or most of his opponents) until I saw this bout listed. So lets look at him first.
Aged 22 the Filipino challenger John Mark Apolinario has been a professional for almost 6 years (making his debut on November 25th 2006) and since then has compiled a list of fights against very limited opposition.
Apolinario's career started well as he ran up 11 straight wins in the first 15 months of his career before suffering a loss to the novice Jessie Albaracin (who would later go on to claim the WBO Oriental Super Bantamweight title). Sadly for Apolinario this loss soon put the breaks on his rapid climb up the rankings and a year later his record fell to 12-2 as he suffered a stoppage loss to Marvin Tampus.
Since the loss to Tampus, Apolinario's career has recovered somewhat with a several wins, including a notable one in 2010 which saw him claiming his first professional title, the WBO Oriental Super Flyweight title. As well as the wins Apolinario also has a draw on his record, coming in November 2010 to the tough Armando Casa.
Whilst the highlight of Apolinario's career so far may have been the WBO Oriental Super Flyweight title fight, the most interesting thing about his record was actually his last fight. Last time out Apolinario scored a 2nd round TKO over Menard Zaragosa...who had to run off to the toilet forcing the referee to end the bout whilst Zaragosa, relieved himself. Worryingly however this means Apolinario has only fought 2 rounds in the last year and in fact Apolinario has only fought 12 rounds (2 bouts) in the past 24 months!
From what I can see with Apolinario we have an inactive fighter, who lacks any power and has only really been beating very low level domestic opponents. It's with good reason that Boxrec.com rate him as the 71st Bantamweight on the planet (the 12th in his homeland!) and whilst I'll admit I've not seen footage of him, it's fair to say that he's not fought the competition with which to really create a true opinion of just how good he actually is. The lost to Tampus, his most notable opponent so far is perhaps the most telling result with Tampus himself losing 7 of 13 since then.
With the Filipino being pretty unknown it's fair to admit that the co-challenger Roberto Vasquez is much more known and well respected. The 29 year old Panamanian has been a professional for over 11 years and despite starting his career with a loss (a controversial one to Angelo Dottin) he has really forged a solid record.
After losing his debut on points, Vasquez would go 6 years before suffering his next loss. In that time he would record 23 straight victories including 16 by T/KO. Vasquez wasn't just beating scrubs though, he was quickly rising through the rankings and stopping the likes of Beibis Mendoza to claim the WBA World Light Flyweight title, a title he would defend 3 times before moving up to Flyweight.
After moving up to Flyweight in 2006 Vasquez swiftly moved on to the title scene and claimed the interim WBA World Flyweight title thanks to a victory over Japanese fighter Takefumi Sakata. Sadly a rematch the following year saw Sakata earn some measure of revenge by defeating Vasquez to end the Panamanian's long unbeaten run.
Since losing to Sakata, Vasquez has had mixed fortune winning 8 of his subsequent 11 bouts. Whilst his wins have come at a "lesser" level two of his losses have come at the highest level thanks to Hugo Fidel Cazares and Drian Francisco, however his most recent loss, to Oscar Gonzalez is highly debatable.
Vasquez is currently on a 2 fight winning streak, including a notable victory over Mario Briones, however both of those fights too place well above the Bantamweight limit. It's fair to assume that that if Vasquez has any real problem with this bout, it may well be in making the 118lbs limit as I don't think Apolinario will have anything to worry Vasquez.
In terms of Vasquez as a fighter, the southpaw is a hard hitting fighter who despite having been down a number of times in his career is durable with only the monstrously hard hitting Drian Francisco managing to stop him. It's fair to say that Vasquez will bring the pressure here and look to take Apolinario out within 6 rounds, he certainly has the power to do it and certainly has the experience to know that Apolinario isn't going to be able to throw anything new at him.
Prediction-Vasquez TKO5
With the belt being a vacant one, both men are challenger, however one man has a bit more pedigree to than the other, in fact poor John Mark Apolinario is so unknown that...well I'd never heard of him (or most of his opponents) until I saw this bout listed. So lets look at him first.
Aged 22 the Filipino challenger John Mark Apolinario has been a professional for almost 6 years (making his debut on November 25th 2006) and since then has compiled a list of fights against very limited opposition.
Apolinario's career started well as he ran up 11 straight wins in the first 15 months of his career before suffering a loss to the novice Jessie Albaracin (who would later go on to claim the WBO Oriental Super Bantamweight title). Sadly for Apolinario this loss soon put the breaks on his rapid climb up the rankings and a year later his record fell to 12-2 as he suffered a stoppage loss to Marvin Tampus.
Since the loss to Tampus, Apolinario's career has recovered somewhat with a several wins, including a notable one in 2010 which saw him claiming his first professional title, the WBO Oriental Super Flyweight title. As well as the wins Apolinario also has a draw on his record, coming in November 2010 to the tough Armando Casa.
Whilst the highlight of Apolinario's career so far may have been the WBO Oriental Super Flyweight title fight, the most interesting thing about his record was actually his last fight. Last time out Apolinario scored a 2nd round TKO over Menard Zaragosa...who had to run off to the toilet forcing the referee to end the bout whilst Zaragosa, relieved himself. Worryingly however this means Apolinario has only fought 2 rounds in the last year and in fact Apolinario has only fought 12 rounds (2 bouts) in the past 24 months!
From what I can see with Apolinario we have an inactive fighter, who lacks any power and has only really been beating very low level domestic opponents. It's with good reason that Boxrec.com rate him as the 71st Bantamweight on the planet (the 12th in his homeland!) and whilst I'll admit I've not seen footage of him, it's fair to say that he's not fought the competition with which to really create a true opinion of just how good he actually is. The lost to Tampus, his most notable opponent so far is perhaps the most telling result with Tampus himself losing 7 of 13 since then.
With the Filipino being pretty unknown it's fair to admit that the co-challenger Roberto Vasquez is much more known and well respected. The 29 year old Panamanian has been a professional for over 11 years and despite starting his career with a loss (a controversial one to Angelo Dottin) he has really forged a solid record.
After losing his debut on points, Vasquez would go 6 years before suffering his next loss. In that time he would record 23 straight victories including 16 by T/KO. Vasquez wasn't just beating scrubs though, he was quickly rising through the rankings and stopping the likes of Beibis Mendoza to claim the WBA World Light Flyweight title, a title he would defend 3 times before moving up to Flyweight.
After moving up to Flyweight in 2006 Vasquez swiftly moved on to the title scene and claimed the interim WBA World Flyweight title thanks to a victory over Japanese fighter Takefumi Sakata. Sadly a rematch the following year saw Sakata earn some measure of revenge by defeating Vasquez to end the Panamanian's long unbeaten run.
Since losing to Sakata, Vasquez has had mixed fortune winning 8 of his subsequent 11 bouts. Whilst his wins have come at a "lesser" level two of his losses have come at the highest level thanks to Hugo Fidel Cazares and Drian Francisco, however his most recent loss, to Oscar Gonzalez is highly debatable.
Vasquez is currently on a 2 fight winning streak, including a notable victory over Mario Briones, however both of those fights too place well above the Bantamweight limit. It's fair to assume that that if Vasquez has any real problem with this bout, it may well be in making the 118lbs limit as I don't think Apolinario will have anything to worry Vasquez.
In terms of Vasquez as a fighter, the southpaw is a hard hitting fighter who despite having been down a number of times in his career is durable with only the monstrously hard hitting Drian Francisco managing to stop him. It's fair to say that Vasquez will bring the pressure here and look to take Apolinario out within 6 rounds, he certainly has the power to do it and certainly has the experience to know that Apolinario isn't going to be able to throw anything new at him.
Prediction-Vasquez TKO5
Friday, 7 September 2012
Lucas Martin Matthysse v Ajose Olusegun
Like everyone else who follows boxing I hate "interim" titles. Whilst I agree in principle with them, they have become incredible misused, especially in recent times where every division appears to have an "interim" by the WBA or the WBO as the organisations look to cash in on an extra stream of revenue. This weekend however we have an "interim" title bout that is hard to argue with, in fact it's slightly shocking that neither man is a world champion already.
In one corner we have the exciting and highly rated Argentinian Lucas Martin Matthysse (31-2-0-1, 29) and in the other we have the unbeaten Nigerian born British citizen Ajose Olusegun (30-0, 14). Both men probably should already have had multiple opportunities at titles though, for one reason or another neither man has been crowned a "world champion" so far.
Firstly lets look at the Argentinian. The 29 year old from Buenos Aires is the younger of the two fighters but also the smaller, more powerful man, in fact one a pound-for-pound ranking Matthysse would ranking up amongst the best for his power. Unlike countryman Marcos Maidana, Matthysse isn't wild and reckless, instead he's a well schooled pressure fighter who uses some very under-rated defensive skills to get inside an opponent and hammer them with hard, thudding shots to both the head and body. Whilst the head shots are capable of shaking anyone at 140lbs the body shots are his trademark and the the blows that break fighters when they land.
Matthysse has been around for a while and was a well established amateur at the turn of the millennium having competed in a number of major international events. After missing out on the 2004 Olympics however Matthysse decided it was time to leave a trail of destruction in the professional ranks.
As a professional Matthysse's power and aggression spoke volumes and none of his first 23 fights went beyond 4 rounds as he ran up a record of 22-0-0-1 (21), his only none T/KO win during that streak was a 3rd round DQ victory over Bernardino Gonzalez. It wasn't until the tough Carlos Adan Jerez that Matthysse would find an opponent who could stand up to his power, however Matthysse scored a clear points win over Jerez (who incidentally had been stopped by Lucas' older brother Walter Dario Matthysse several years earlier).
Having created a bit of buzz back home in Argentina, Matthysse would get his first chance to make a name for himself in the USA as he traveled to face former multi-weight world champion Zab Judah. The bout, aired on HBO saw Matthysse suffering his first professional loss as he was on the receiving end of a highly controversial split decision which many felt should have gone the Argentinians way. Despite the loss to Judah many watching had suddenly become Matthysse fans and fallen in love with the exciting Argentinian who they wanted to see more of. Those fans got their wishes just 7 months later as Matthysse fought former world champion Devon Alexander (who faces Randall Bailey in an IBF Welterweight title bout on the same telecast). History would repeat it's self for Matthysse as, like in the Judah bout, he lost by a controversial split decision in a bout he seemed to clearly win.
It would have been understandable for Matthysse to say screw American after being denied twice by controversial scoring, but he returned to the US earlier this year and defeated former multi-weight champion Humberto Soto by TKO between rounds 5 and 6. It was the win over Soto that saw him earning this bout for the "interim" WBC Light Welterweight title.
As previously mentioned Matthysse is a skilled pressure fighter with very under-rated defense and whilst he does get caught, most shots he gets hit with are glancing shots or taken well. It's his offense however that should be the worrying factor for Olusegun. Not only is Matthysse a hard hitter but he's accurate and can penetrate an opponents guard with alarming regularity. Even if he doesn't land clean his shots hurt and he can put on the pressure late as he showed against Judah. As well as his style he may mentally want this more as well, having twice felt robbed in America he'll likely seek the stoppage victory.
Whilst Nigerian Ajose Olusegun goes into this bout as the less well known fighter he will go into it with a lot of belief that his time has finally come having had a long and drawn out process to finally get his world title opportunity.
Despite being born in Lagos, Nigeria (and competing at the Olympics) it was in Britain that Olusegun earned his professional boxing stripes. He debuted back in 2001 and with in 18 months he had claimed his first professional title, the lightly regarded World Boxing Foundation Intercontinental Light Welterweight title. By the end of 2005 he added both the Nigerian and the African Boxing Union titles at Light Welterweight as he took fights in both Nigerian and Israel.
The first notable victory for Olusegun came in late 2004 as he stopped Welshman Bradley Pryce. Pryce, the nearly man of British boxing, had fought for the British title 19 months earlier and would later go on to claim the Commonwealth title at Light Middleweight. Olusegun would build on the victory over Pryce by knocking out the then promising Ali Nuumbembe in eye catching fashion. It seemed at this point as if Olusegun would be fast tracked to major international titles.
It took a year following Olusegun's victory over Nuumbembe for Olusegun to claim his next title, the Commonwealth Light Welterweight title as he dominated Gary Reid over 12 rounds. This should have been the platform of Olusegun's world title challenge but sadly, due to poor management Olusegun was stuck making defenses of the Commonwealth title and taking several stay busy fights as he patiently waited for an opportunity. After defending the Commonwealth title 4 times (defeating Nigel Wright twice, Scott Haywood and Colin Lynes) and claiming the British title it seemed almost inevitable that Olusegun would chase a world title fight having gotten sick of waiting in line.
In September 2011 Olusegun finally got his chance to make a mark on the world rankings as he made his US debut and faced Frenchman Ali Chebah in a WBC Eliminator. The winner was supposed to fight to winner of the Erik Morales v Pablo Cesar Cano bout, however, despite dominating Chebah the WBC failed to enforce the bout instead allowing the #2 ranked WBC fighter Danny Garcia to face Morales instead.
Olusegun is a hugely talented Southpaw. He may not pack the power of Matthysse but he has blinding hand speed, a huge variety of punches (many of which are thrown from bizarre angles), brilliant reactions, great footwork and beautiful combinations. Olusegun may have, at times shown a lack of interest in the ring (and often toyed with opponents out of boredom) but when he has his mind on the job he can look sensational both going forward and backwards.
What we have here is two very deserving fighters (a real rarity for an "interim" title bout) though two fighters with very, very different styles. Olusegun is the much faster, taller fighter who whilst not really tested at world level has looked sensational against British fights and his performance against Chebah proved that he was at least fringe world level. Matthysse, the smaller fighter (by around 3" in height and 2" in reach) will know that he will need to get inside Olusegun, he will probably also know that he will need to slow Olusegun with body shots if he is going to win this. It's also interesting to note that whilst Matthysse is tested at the higher level both of his losses have come to quick southpaws, something that Olusegun has in common with both Judah and Alexander.
To win this bout Matthysse will need to slow down Olusegun and body shots will be the key. The Argentinian will struggle to get over the notable size disadvantage but he will have to find a way, likely using his under-rated skills to cut off the ring and unleashing shots to the live when up close. He shouldn't be expecting Olusegun to trade with him (like Soto did) but if he can make things close he will have success. This won't be an easy fight for the Argentinian but it is one he will feel he can win, in fact he almost certainly feels he can beat anyone at 140lbs.
Olusegun's keys to victory will be based around his size, movement and speed. If he can keep Matthysse at range by boxing and moving he should be able to pick up the win. Olusegun however will need to keep his wits about him, he can't try to get cheeky or look for a fight with Matthyse as he would likely come off second best. As long as he can keep up a good work rate for the 12 rounds, keeping Matthyse from unloading up close he stands a solid chance. Olusegun cannot look at this bout as his chance to leave 3 years of anger in the ring but instead he need to think of it as his chance to vindicate himself after feeling like he's been avoided for he past few years.
My take on this fight is that Olusegun, with his speed and range will start the bout fast, he will likely reel off the first 3 or 4 rounds and bag them with his movement, work rate and hand speed. However Matthysse is excellent at cutting the ring off and expect him to catch Olusegun at least a couple of times to the body. In the middle rounds the body work will begin to build up from Matthyse and down the stretch the Argentinian will manage to just grind down the Nigerian in the last few rounds.
Matthyse is the favourite and is priced around 4/9 however I have this much closer to a 50-50 bout that could genuinely go either way and whilst I do favour the Argentinian I wouldn't be surprised if he did lose.
This bout has genuine potential to be really exciting (if Matthysse gets his way) or dull (if Olusegun manages to control the whole 12 rounds with his movement and reach) or some where between the two so is certainly worth tuning in for.
Prediction: Matthysse TKO 11
In one corner we have the exciting and highly rated Argentinian Lucas Martin Matthysse (31-2-0-1, 29) and in the other we have the unbeaten Nigerian born British citizen Ajose Olusegun (30-0, 14). Both men probably should already have had multiple opportunities at titles though, for one reason or another neither man has been crowned a "world champion" so far.
Firstly lets look at the Argentinian. The 29 year old from Buenos Aires is the younger of the two fighters but also the smaller, more powerful man, in fact one a pound-for-pound ranking Matthysse would ranking up amongst the best for his power. Unlike countryman Marcos Maidana, Matthysse isn't wild and reckless, instead he's a well schooled pressure fighter who uses some very under-rated defensive skills to get inside an opponent and hammer them with hard, thudding shots to both the head and body. Whilst the head shots are capable of shaking anyone at 140lbs the body shots are his trademark and the the blows that break fighters when they land.
Matthysse has been around for a while and was a well established amateur at the turn of the millennium having competed in a number of major international events. After missing out on the 2004 Olympics however Matthysse decided it was time to leave a trail of destruction in the professional ranks.
As a professional Matthysse's power and aggression spoke volumes and none of his first 23 fights went beyond 4 rounds as he ran up a record of 22-0-0-1 (21), his only none T/KO win during that streak was a 3rd round DQ victory over Bernardino Gonzalez. It wasn't until the tough Carlos Adan Jerez that Matthysse would find an opponent who could stand up to his power, however Matthysse scored a clear points win over Jerez (who incidentally had been stopped by Lucas' older brother Walter Dario Matthysse several years earlier).
Having created a bit of buzz back home in Argentina, Matthysse would get his first chance to make a name for himself in the USA as he traveled to face former multi-weight world champion Zab Judah. The bout, aired on HBO saw Matthysse suffering his first professional loss as he was on the receiving end of a highly controversial split decision which many felt should have gone the Argentinians way. Despite the loss to Judah many watching had suddenly become Matthysse fans and fallen in love with the exciting Argentinian who they wanted to see more of. Those fans got their wishes just 7 months later as Matthysse fought former world champion Devon Alexander (who faces Randall Bailey in an IBF Welterweight title bout on the same telecast). History would repeat it's self for Matthysse as, like in the Judah bout, he lost by a controversial split decision in a bout he seemed to clearly win.
It would have been understandable for Matthysse to say screw American after being denied twice by controversial scoring, but he returned to the US earlier this year and defeated former multi-weight champion Humberto Soto by TKO between rounds 5 and 6. It was the win over Soto that saw him earning this bout for the "interim" WBC Light Welterweight title.
As previously mentioned Matthysse is a skilled pressure fighter with very under-rated defense and whilst he does get caught, most shots he gets hit with are glancing shots or taken well. It's his offense however that should be the worrying factor for Olusegun. Not only is Matthysse a hard hitter but he's accurate and can penetrate an opponents guard with alarming regularity. Even if he doesn't land clean his shots hurt and he can put on the pressure late as he showed against Judah. As well as his style he may mentally want this more as well, having twice felt robbed in America he'll likely seek the stoppage victory.
Whilst Nigerian Ajose Olusegun goes into this bout as the less well known fighter he will go into it with a lot of belief that his time has finally come having had a long and drawn out process to finally get his world title opportunity.
Despite being born in Lagos, Nigeria (and competing at the Olympics) it was in Britain that Olusegun earned his professional boxing stripes. He debuted back in 2001 and with in 18 months he had claimed his first professional title, the lightly regarded World Boxing Foundation Intercontinental Light Welterweight title. By the end of 2005 he added both the Nigerian and the African Boxing Union titles at Light Welterweight as he took fights in both Nigerian and Israel.
The first notable victory for Olusegun came in late 2004 as he stopped Welshman Bradley Pryce. Pryce, the nearly man of British boxing, had fought for the British title 19 months earlier and would later go on to claim the Commonwealth title at Light Middleweight. Olusegun would build on the victory over Pryce by knocking out the then promising Ali Nuumbembe in eye catching fashion. It seemed at this point as if Olusegun would be fast tracked to major international titles.
It took a year following Olusegun's victory over Nuumbembe for Olusegun to claim his next title, the Commonwealth Light Welterweight title as he dominated Gary Reid over 12 rounds. This should have been the platform of Olusegun's world title challenge but sadly, due to poor management Olusegun was stuck making defenses of the Commonwealth title and taking several stay busy fights as he patiently waited for an opportunity. After defending the Commonwealth title 4 times (defeating Nigel Wright twice, Scott Haywood and Colin Lynes) and claiming the British title it seemed almost inevitable that Olusegun would chase a world title fight having gotten sick of waiting in line.
In September 2011 Olusegun finally got his chance to make a mark on the world rankings as he made his US debut and faced Frenchman Ali Chebah in a WBC Eliminator. The winner was supposed to fight to winner of the Erik Morales v Pablo Cesar Cano bout, however, despite dominating Chebah the WBC failed to enforce the bout instead allowing the #2 ranked WBC fighter Danny Garcia to face Morales instead.
Olusegun is a hugely talented Southpaw. He may not pack the power of Matthysse but he has blinding hand speed, a huge variety of punches (many of which are thrown from bizarre angles), brilliant reactions, great footwork and beautiful combinations. Olusegun may have, at times shown a lack of interest in the ring (and often toyed with opponents out of boredom) but when he has his mind on the job he can look sensational both going forward and backwards.
What we have here is two very deserving fighters (a real rarity for an "interim" title bout) though two fighters with very, very different styles. Olusegun is the much faster, taller fighter who whilst not really tested at world level has looked sensational against British fights and his performance against Chebah proved that he was at least fringe world level. Matthysse, the smaller fighter (by around 3" in height and 2" in reach) will know that he will need to get inside Olusegun, he will probably also know that he will need to slow Olusegun with body shots if he is going to win this. It's also interesting to note that whilst Matthysse is tested at the higher level both of his losses have come to quick southpaws, something that Olusegun has in common with both Judah and Alexander.
To win this bout Matthysse will need to slow down Olusegun and body shots will be the key. The Argentinian will struggle to get over the notable size disadvantage but he will have to find a way, likely using his under-rated skills to cut off the ring and unleashing shots to the live when up close. He shouldn't be expecting Olusegun to trade with him (like Soto did) but if he can make things close he will have success. This won't be an easy fight for the Argentinian but it is one he will feel he can win, in fact he almost certainly feels he can beat anyone at 140lbs.
Olusegun's keys to victory will be based around his size, movement and speed. If he can keep Matthysse at range by boxing and moving he should be able to pick up the win. Olusegun however will need to keep his wits about him, he can't try to get cheeky or look for a fight with Matthyse as he would likely come off second best. As long as he can keep up a good work rate for the 12 rounds, keeping Matthyse from unloading up close he stands a solid chance. Olusegun cannot look at this bout as his chance to leave 3 years of anger in the ring but instead he need to think of it as his chance to vindicate himself after feeling like he's been avoided for he past few years.
My take on this fight is that Olusegun, with his speed and range will start the bout fast, he will likely reel off the first 3 or 4 rounds and bag them with his movement, work rate and hand speed. However Matthysse is excellent at cutting the ring off and expect him to catch Olusegun at least a couple of times to the body. In the middle rounds the body work will begin to build up from Matthyse and down the stretch the Argentinian will manage to just grind down the Nigerian in the last few rounds.
Matthyse is the favourite and is priced around 4/9 however I have this much closer to a 50-50 bout that could genuinely go either way and whilst I do favour the Argentinian I wouldn't be surprised if he did lose.
This bout has genuine potential to be really exciting (if Matthysse gets his way) or dull (if Olusegun manages to control the whole 12 rounds with his movement and reach) or some where between the two so is certainly worth tuning in for.
Prediction: Matthysse TKO 11
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