WBA "interim" Super Flyweight champion Liborio Solis (14-3-1, 7) looks to make the second defense of his title as he faces Mexican challenger Victor Zaleta (20-2-1, 10) in a bout that really will only interest the hardcore of the hardcore. Sadly it's a bout that tells us everything we need to know about "interim" titles and why they are a waste of time for us, the fans.
Solis won the "interim" title last December by out pointing Mexican Jose Salgado in a split decision and since then he has made a solitary defense, by defeating the completely undeserving Argentinian Santiago Ivan Acosta (who had lost 7 of his previous 8 bouts!).
Prior to winning the "interim" title, Solis' career had been fought in relative obscurity mainly in his native Venezuela where he debuted back in 2000. It was in Venezuela that Solis would record his first 3 professional victories before suffering a technical draw with Jose Ignacio Sanchez. Oddly following this draw Solis' doesn't seem to have fought again for 5 years before resurfacing in 2007.
On his return to the ring, Solis scored 2 more victories at home before suffering his first loss as he traveled to Aruba and was out pointed by Yenifel Vicente. Solis would quickly bounce back and win his next 4 contests and also claim his first professional title (the Venezuelan Super Flyweight title) before suffering back to back losses away from home (SD9 to Henry Maldonado in Nicaragua, and a UD8 loss to Ricardo Nunez in Panama).
Since the loss to Nunez, Solis has been on a run of 5 straight wins with the highlight of those being the victory, in Mexico over Salgado for the title.
In terms of his style, I've seen pretty limited footage, however he's looked a talented fighter in all that I've seen. He's not a big hitter but lands cleanly with a huge variety of punches (on both the outside and inside) and looks a much more skilled all-round fighter than most other Venezuelans who tend to stand out for one reason another as opposed to being particularly rounded.
The challenger, Victor Zaleta, started his own professional career in 2007 and won his first 6 contests. Amazingly in those 6 bouts he defeated two former world champions (Eric Ortiz-former WBC Light Flyweight champion and Jose Antonio Aguirre-former WBO Minimumweight champion).
Zaleta suffered his first professional loss in his 7th bout as he was out pointed by Faustino Cupul in an attempt to claim the NABF Flyweight title however he bounced back quickly and claimed the vacant WBC FECOMBOX Super Flyweight title in his very next bout by stopping Gilberto Keb Baas. Despite having only fought 8 times up to this point Zaleta had defeated 2 "former" champions and one "future" champion, an impressive stat by anyone's standards.
Zaleta would swiftly move his record to 17-1 defending his WBC FECOMBOX title twice (including scoring a second win over Keb Baas) and adding the CABOFE Super Flyweight title to his cabinet before fighting for his first world title. Sadly for Zaleta he came up short against the incredibly talented Argentinian Omar Andres Narvaez in a bout for the WBO Super Flyweight title.
Since losing to Narvaez, Zaleta has won 3 and drawn one, and defended the WBC FECOMBOX Super Flyweight title twice. Worryingly however Zaleta has been downed in 2 of those 4 fights perhaps showing signs of struggling to make the 115lbs Super Flyweight limit and he has also been somewhat lucky not to have picked up another loss with 3 split decisions (including the draw) in those 4 bouts.
Despite an excellent start to his career Zaleta hasn't really fulfilled his early promise, however he is still a very hard working Mexican fighter, not the most skilled but he has a lot of heart and has got genuinely hurtful power (just ask Gilberto Keb Baas who was stopped in eye catching fashion in their first bout). Sadly however in his biggest fight to date he was totally outclassed by Narvaez who was far too good and almost made Zaleta freeze in the ring.
This is a pretty hard fight to call, though with the home advantage I have to go with Solis to retain his title. Whilst he may not hit hard enough to stop Zaleta I think he's probably a bit too skilled for the Mexican who will refuse to go away but will struggle to enforce his style on the bout.
Prediction- Solis UD12
Thursday, 27 September 2012
Wednesday, 26 September 2012
Alexander Povetkin v Hasim Rahman
As boxing fans we are all too aware of mismatches which are made for one reason or another, though rarely do we consider "mandatory title fights" to be mismatches. Sadly however the upcoming WBA Heavyweight title bout between unbeaten champion Alexander Povetkin (24-0, 16) and mandatory challenger Hasim Raham (50-7-2-1, 41) appears to be nothing other than a mandatory mismatch of the highest order.
Despite once being the "the" Heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman is nothing more than a washed up has been (Hasbeen Rahman?) and is a fighter who is not only nearing 40 but is with out a noteworthy win in over 7 years.
Known as "The Rock" Rahman has been a professional since 1994 and started his career excellently with 29 straight wins before being controversially stopped by David Tua in 1998. A year later, Rahman's record had fallen to 31-2 having suffered a second stoppage loss, this time to Oleg Maskaev who knocked Rahman out of the ring.
Rahman fought back hard following his 2 losses and scored wins over the tough Marion Wilson, the late Corrie Sanders and Frankie Swindell. Following those 3 victories he signed to fight Lennox Lewis in a bout for the WBC and IBF Heavyweight titles and scored the biggest upset of 2001 by knocking Lewis out with a monster right hand. Sadly however Rahman's title reign lasted just 7 months before Lewis avenged his loss and knocked out Rahamn.
Following the loss to Lewis Rahman would struggle to restart his career and failed to win any of his next 3 bouts, losing to both Evander Holyfield (TD8) and John Ruiz (UD12) whilst drawing to David Tua in a rematch. Following these set backs at world level Rahman dropped back a level and scored a number of easier victories over a combination of journeymen and fringe level fighters before being lined up to fight Vitali Klitschko. Sadly injuries to Klitschko forced their bout to delayed numerous times, before finally forcing Klitschko to retire. Prior to Klitschko's retirement however Rahman had claimed the WBC "interim" title by defeating Monte Barrett (UD12).
After Vitali Klitschko retired Rahman was promoted to full WBC champion making just 1 successful title defense, a draw with James Toney before being knocked out of the ring for a second time by Oleg Maskaev who claimed the WBC title as a result. Since this loss Rahman has been toiling in relative obscurity barring a loss to Wladimir Klitschko in 2008, where Rahman incidentally filled in after Povetkin pulled out of the bout.
At his best Rahman was a tough and hard hitting fighter, perhaps not genuinely "world class" (despite his victory over Lennox Lewis) but certainly a credible fighter for a world title bout. His best however was some 10 years ago however and since then he has really struggled to make any sort of actual impact. It's fair to say that despite losing only one of his last 11 bouts he has been beating very low level opponents and fighters that really don't register on the world scene.
Whilst Rahman has been wasting his time with meaningless bouts in recent years Povetkin has been a busy man who advanced his professional career quickly before starting to disappoint in recent bouts.
Prior to turning professional Povetkin was an outstanding amateur and won Gold medals at the Olympics (2004), World Amateur Championships (2003) and European Championships (2004, 2002) showing himself to be a genuinely top level amateur. Due to his amateur credentials a lot was expected from him when he turned professional in 2005.
Povetkin's rise through the rankings early in his career was genuinely exceptional as he scored notable wins from the off and with in his first 10 bouts he had already beaten the likes of Friday Ahunanya, Livin Castillo and Imamu Mayfield. His rise continued over his next 5 fights and he quickly became the IBF #1 contender thanks to victories over Chris Byrd and Eddie Chambers. At this point he was the hottest thing in Heavyweight.
Sadly since becoming the #1 IBF Povetkin's career has been awfully disappointing, notably by his refusal to actually fight the IBF's champion Wladimir Klitschko which has left many boxing fans thinking he is somewhat a chicken. Instead of facing Klitschko as far back as 2008 Povetkin instead chose to face some very poor opponents such as Taurus Sykes, Javier Mora and Nicolai Firtha.
In 2011 Povetkin finally fulfilled some of his early career promise as he claimed the WBA Heavyweight title by defeating former champion Ruslan Chagaev, though most knew that the WBA title was really a paper title as Wladimir Klitschko had won the WBA "Super" title at Heavyweight. Despite calls, once again, for Povetkin to face Klitschko, the Russian instead choose to face aging American Cedric Boswell before defending against Cruiserweight Marco Huck (in what was an enthralling bout).
Povetkin is a durable fighter and he has solid skills as well as a solid engine but sadly he doesn't seem to do anything fantastically. His skills from the amateurs don't seem to be that sharp, he's not particularly fast and he's not a fighter who has shown any true 1-punch KO power. If anything his strength was his desire early in his career but even that seems to have dropped off in recent bouts.
Despite being a talented fighter Povetkin has disappointed us in his choice of opposition in recent years and whilst we're willing to admit that he is fighting a mandatory opponent in Hasim Rahman this is another poor match for Povetkin. I'd genuinely be shocked if Povetkin struggled here and would happily put money on his scoring a stoppage over Rahman, who will hopefully bow out of the sport following this bout.
Prediction-Povetkin TKO7
Despite once being the "the" Heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman is nothing more than a washed up has been (Hasbeen Rahman?) and is a fighter who is not only nearing 40 but is with out a noteworthy win in over 7 years.
Known as "The Rock" Rahman has been a professional since 1994 and started his career excellently with 29 straight wins before being controversially stopped by David Tua in 1998. A year later, Rahman's record had fallen to 31-2 having suffered a second stoppage loss, this time to Oleg Maskaev who knocked Rahman out of the ring.
Rahman fought back hard following his 2 losses and scored wins over the tough Marion Wilson, the late Corrie Sanders and Frankie Swindell. Following those 3 victories he signed to fight Lennox Lewis in a bout for the WBC and IBF Heavyweight titles and scored the biggest upset of 2001 by knocking Lewis out with a monster right hand. Sadly however Rahman's title reign lasted just 7 months before Lewis avenged his loss and knocked out Rahamn.
Following the loss to Lewis Rahman would struggle to restart his career and failed to win any of his next 3 bouts, losing to both Evander Holyfield (TD8) and John Ruiz (UD12) whilst drawing to David Tua in a rematch. Following these set backs at world level Rahman dropped back a level and scored a number of easier victories over a combination of journeymen and fringe level fighters before being lined up to fight Vitali Klitschko. Sadly injuries to Klitschko forced their bout to delayed numerous times, before finally forcing Klitschko to retire. Prior to Klitschko's retirement however Rahman had claimed the WBC "interim" title by defeating Monte Barrett (UD12).
After Vitali Klitschko retired Rahman was promoted to full WBC champion making just 1 successful title defense, a draw with James Toney before being knocked out of the ring for a second time by Oleg Maskaev who claimed the WBC title as a result. Since this loss Rahman has been toiling in relative obscurity barring a loss to Wladimir Klitschko in 2008, where Rahman incidentally filled in after Povetkin pulled out of the bout.
At his best Rahman was a tough and hard hitting fighter, perhaps not genuinely "world class" (despite his victory over Lennox Lewis) but certainly a credible fighter for a world title bout. His best however was some 10 years ago however and since then he has really struggled to make any sort of actual impact. It's fair to say that despite losing only one of his last 11 bouts he has been beating very low level opponents and fighters that really don't register on the world scene.
Whilst Rahman has been wasting his time with meaningless bouts in recent years Povetkin has been a busy man who advanced his professional career quickly before starting to disappoint in recent bouts.
Prior to turning professional Povetkin was an outstanding amateur and won Gold medals at the Olympics (2004), World Amateur Championships (2003) and European Championships (2004, 2002) showing himself to be a genuinely top level amateur. Due to his amateur credentials a lot was expected from him when he turned professional in 2005.
Povetkin's rise through the rankings early in his career was genuinely exceptional as he scored notable wins from the off and with in his first 10 bouts he had already beaten the likes of Friday Ahunanya, Livin Castillo and Imamu Mayfield. His rise continued over his next 5 fights and he quickly became the IBF #1 contender thanks to victories over Chris Byrd and Eddie Chambers. At this point he was the hottest thing in Heavyweight.
Sadly since becoming the #1 IBF Povetkin's career has been awfully disappointing, notably by his refusal to actually fight the IBF's champion Wladimir Klitschko which has left many boxing fans thinking he is somewhat a chicken. Instead of facing Klitschko as far back as 2008 Povetkin instead chose to face some very poor opponents such as Taurus Sykes, Javier Mora and Nicolai Firtha.
In 2011 Povetkin finally fulfilled some of his early career promise as he claimed the WBA Heavyweight title by defeating former champion Ruslan Chagaev, though most knew that the WBA title was really a paper title as Wladimir Klitschko had won the WBA "Super" title at Heavyweight. Despite calls, once again, for Povetkin to face Klitschko, the Russian instead choose to face aging American Cedric Boswell before defending against Cruiserweight Marco Huck (in what was an enthralling bout).
Povetkin is a durable fighter and he has solid skills as well as a solid engine but sadly he doesn't seem to do anything fantastically. His skills from the amateurs don't seem to be that sharp, he's not particularly fast and he's not a fighter who has shown any true 1-punch KO power. If anything his strength was his desire early in his career but even that seems to have dropped off in recent bouts.
Despite being a talented fighter Povetkin has disappointed us in his choice of opposition in recent years and whilst we're willing to admit that he is fighting a mandatory opponent in Hasim Rahman this is another poor match for Povetkin. I'd genuinely be shocked if Povetkin struggled here and would happily put money on his scoring a stoppage over Rahman, who will hopefully bow out of the sport following this bout.
Prediction-Povetkin TKO7
Thursday, 20 September 2012
Ricky Burns v Kevin Mitchell
Arguably the highlight of this coming weekend is the all British WBO Lightweight title bout between champion Ricky Burns (34-2, 9) and highly regarded challenger Kevin Mitchell (33-1, 24). Not only is it an all British affair but it's also got the added spice of being Scotland v England adding further to what is arguably the most anticipated all British fight of the year.
Scotland's Ricky Burns lacked the hype early in his career that many others got and as a result he wasn't matched in a way that many other top fighters are. In fact for the first few years of his career his was given really very little in terms of developmental fights before being thrown in with then then British Lightweight champion Graham Earl, who he unexpectedly defeated back in 2005 (when Earl was 22-0, whilst Burns was just 9-0).
Despite scoring the upset victory over Earl he was still not acknowledged as a genuinely promising young fighter and was instead thrown to the wolves against Alex Arthur just a few bouts later. At that time Arthur was the European, British and Commonwealth champion at Super Featherweight with a record of 21-1, his experienced told and he showed up the inexperienced Burns by taking a wide decision.
Burns would suffer his second loss just a year later as the hard hitting Carl Johanneson defeated him in a British Super Featherweight title clash. This seemed to be the turning point and Burns would almost re-start his career. Burns began facing journeymen once again before rebuilding his confidence and swiftly moving on to claim his first professional title, the Commonwealth Super Featherweight title. He would defend this title 3 times before moved on to his first world title fight.
In 2010 Burns announced himself to the boxing world by out pointing the highly regarded Puerto Rican Roman Martinez for the WBO Super Featherweight title. He would defend this title 3 times before moving up to Lightweight where he would quickly claim the WBO "interim" Lightweight title with an upset over the hard hitting Australian Michael Katsidis. The interim title quickly got upgraded to the full version of the title and Burns has since managed a solitary defense by out pointing Paulus Moses last time out.
Stood at 5'10" it's a wonder that Burns ever managed to fight at Super Featherweight, he looks huge at Lightweight and must have been really taking a lot out of himself at 130. Despite looking huge at 135lbs he's not actually a big puncher, instead he's a classic boxer who uses his jab and movement to control range, whilst also being able to mix it off the ropes. Whilst I doubt few will agree, Burns is amongst the best pure boxers in the sport and if he relies on his boxing ability I can only see 1 man at Lightweight beating him (Miguel Vazquez).
If Ricky Burns is seen as British boxing's "over-achiever" of modern times then Kevin Mitchell is almost certainly British boxing's under-achiever. When he turned professional back in 2003 it was expected that Mitchell would swiftly rise through the ranks. He had looked sensational in claiming an ABA title and was seen almost as a certainty to be fast tracked towards a world title. Sadly however he has yet to realise his professional boxing dream of being a world champion.
Mitchell's early years as a professional were not only very highly hyped but he was also developed properly. In his 17th fight Mitchell claimed his first professional title by winning the IBF Inter-Continental Super Featherweight title and less than a year later Mitchell added the Commonwealth title to his collection. It was seen that he was being allowed to develop and move forward at a comfortable speed rather than being rushed into bouts against opponents that he stood little to no chance to defeat.
Despite having claimed the IBF Inter-continental and Commonwealth titles Mitchell's career started to stall somewhat. His good match making had taken him to a solid level but he just seemed to be stuck on a plateau of sorts with no moving upwards and onwards. He held the IBF Super Feather Inter-Continental title for almost 2 years and yet never moved onto a world title bout as the IBF world title was passed around various weak champions such as Gairy St Clair and Cassius Baloyi.
After wasting over 3 years treading water at Super Featherweight Mitchell moved to Lightweight and swiftly made an impact by thoroughly out boxing the hard hitting Colombian Breidis Prescott. Mitchell followed up the excellent performance over Prescott by stopping Ignacio Mendoza in eye catching fashion before getting his first world title fight against Michael Katsidis.
Mitchell was given the big build up to face Katsidis, not only was the bout at the home of Mitchell's beloved West Ham United, but he also had the "Cockney Rejects" singing his entrance music. Sadly however Mitchell got caught by a hard Katsidis shot in round 3 and was soon stopped as the Australian started to let his hands go.
Following the loss to Katsidis, it quickly emerged that Mitchell hadn't trained particularly hard for the fight as various problems outside the ring distracted him. Sadly this appeared to be a case of a losing fighter making excuses for a poor performances rather than just admitting he was beaten by the better man.
Since his loss to Katsidis, Mitchell has bounced back well with victories over John Murray (TKO8) and Felix Lora (Pts10) and now appears determined to finally reach his potential as world champion. He appears to be in a good mindset and seems to have been training well for this bout knowing that it's his big chance at redemption. Mitchell will know perfectly well that fans will not put up with excuses this time and that he needs to deliver.
In terms of his style Mitchell is a very talented fighter who can really do pretty much anything. He has heavy powerful hands that can hurt pretty much anyone, he's got fast hands that can throw beautiful counters and combinations and has very solid footwork which can be used both defensively and offensively. In fact in terms of talent Mitchell may well be one of the very best fighters out there at the moment to have never claimed a world title.
Whilst Mitchell is hugely talented I can't help but think stylistically he's going to really struggle here. Burns may only be slightly bigger but he uses his size so well, his jab is excellent at controlling range and his movement is exceptional. If Mitchell cannot get inside of Burns' jab and straight right hand he'll not have a chance and will easily be out boxed by a fighter who may not have real power but does have snap on his punches. If Mitchell can get inside Burns he can do damage, and could force a stoppage if he can do it often enough, though I think his successes will be limited.
Prediction-Ricky Burns by UD12
Scotland's Ricky Burns lacked the hype early in his career that many others got and as a result he wasn't matched in a way that many other top fighters are. In fact for the first few years of his career his was given really very little in terms of developmental fights before being thrown in with then then British Lightweight champion Graham Earl, who he unexpectedly defeated back in 2005 (when Earl was 22-0, whilst Burns was just 9-0).
Despite scoring the upset victory over Earl he was still not acknowledged as a genuinely promising young fighter and was instead thrown to the wolves against Alex Arthur just a few bouts later. At that time Arthur was the European, British and Commonwealth champion at Super Featherweight with a record of 21-1, his experienced told and he showed up the inexperienced Burns by taking a wide decision.
Burns would suffer his second loss just a year later as the hard hitting Carl Johanneson defeated him in a British Super Featherweight title clash. This seemed to be the turning point and Burns would almost re-start his career. Burns began facing journeymen once again before rebuilding his confidence and swiftly moving on to claim his first professional title, the Commonwealth Super Featherweight title. He would defend this title 3 times before moved on to his first world title fight.
In 2010 Burns announced himself to the boxing world by out pointing the highly regarded Puerto Rican Roman Martinez for the WBO Super Featherweight title. He would defend this title 3 times before moving up to Lightweight where he would quickly claim the WBO "interim" Lightweight title with an upset over the hard hitting Australian Michael Katsidis. The interim title quickly got upgraded to the full version of the title and Burns has since managed a solitary defense by out pointing Paulus Moses last time out.
Stood at 5'10" it's a wonder that Burns ever managed to fight at Super Featherweight, he looks huge at Lightweight and must have been really taking a lot out of himself at 130. Despite looking huge at 135lbs he's not actually a big puncher, instead he's a classic boxer who uses his jab and movement to control range, whilst also being able to mix it off the ropes. Whilst I doubt few will agree, Burns is amongst the best pure boxers in the sport and if he relies on his boxing ability I can only see 1 man at Lightweight beating him (Miguel Vazquez).
If Ricky Burns is seen as British boxing's "over-achiever" of modern times then Kevin Mitchell is almost certainly British boxing's under-achiever. When he turned professional back in 2003 it was expected that Mitchell would swiftly rise through the ranks. He had looked sensational in claiming an ABA title and was seen almost as a certainty to be fast tracked towards a world title. Sadly however he has yet to realise his professional boxing dream of being a world champion.
Mitchell's early years as a professional were not only very highly hyped but he was also developed properly. In his 17th fight Mitchell claimed his first professional title by winning the IBF Inter-Continental Super Featherweight title and less than a year later Mitchell added the Commonwealth title to his collection. It was seen that he was being allowed to develop and move forward at a comfortable speed rather than being rushed into bouts against opponents that he stood little to no chance to defeat.
Despite having claimed the IBF Inter-continental and Commonwealth titles Mitchell's career started to stall somewhat. His good match making had taken him to a solid level but he just seemed to be stuck on a plateau of sorts with no moving upwards and onwards. He held the IBF Super Feather Inter-Continental title for almost 2 years and yet never moved onto a world title bout as the IBF world title was passed around various weak champions such as Gairy St Clair and Cassius Baloyi.
After wasting over 3 years treading water at Super Featherweight Mitchell moved to Lightweight and swiftly made an impact by thoroughly out boxing the hard hitting Colombian Breidis Prescott. Mitchell followed up the excellent performance over Prescott by stopping Ignacio Mendoza in eye catching fashion before getting his first world title fight against Michael Katsidis.
Mitchell was given the big build up to face Katsidis, not only was the bout at the home of Mitchell's beloved West Ham United, but he also had the "Cockney Rejects" singing his entrance music. Sadly however Mitchell got caught by a hard Katsidis shot in round 3 and was soon stopped as the Australian started to let his hands go.
Following the loss to Katsidis, it quickly emerged that Mitchell hadn't trained particularly hard for the fight as various problems outside the ring distracted him. Sadly this appeared to be a case of a losing fighter making excuses for a poor performances rather than just admitting he was beaten by the better man.
Since his loss to Katsidis, Mitchell has bounced back well with victories over John Murray (TKO8) and Felix Lora (Pts10) and now appears determined to finally reach his potential as world champion. He appears to be in a good mindset and seems to have been training well for this bout knowing that it's his big chance at redemption. Mitchell will know perfectly well that fans will not put up with excuses this time and that he needs to deliver.
In terms of his style Mitchell is a very talented fighter who can really do pretty much anything. He has heavy powerful hands that can hurt pretty much anyone, he's got fast hands that can throw beautiful counters and combinations and has very solid footwork which can be used both defensively and offensively. In fact in terms of talent Mitchell may well be one of the very best fighters out there at the moment to have never claimed a world title.
Whilst Mitchell is hugely talented I can't help but think stylistically he's going to really struggle here. Burns may only be slightly bigger but he uses his size so well, his jab is excellent at controlling range and his movement is exceptional. If Mitchell cannot get inside of Burns' jab and straight right hand he'll not have a chance and will easily be out boxed by a fighter who may not have real power but does have snap on his punches. If Mitchell can get inside Burns he can do damage, and could force a stoppage if he can do it often enough, though I think his successes will be limited.
Prediction-Ricky Burns by UD12
Krzysztof Wlodarczyk v Fransico Palacios II
The Cruiserweight has given us some great fights recently with last weekends bout between Yoan Pablo Hernandez and Troy Ross being one of the very best fights of the year. This weekend we get another Cruiserweight title treat as WBC champion Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (46-2-1, 33) makes the fourth defense of his title as he faces Puerto Rican born American based Fransico Palacios (21-1, 13). This bout, a rematch of one of last years most controversial title bouts promises a lot, though will it deliver?
With 49 bouts on his record it's somewhat easy to forget that Krzysztof Wlodarczyk is just 31 years old. It feels as if the Pole has been around for years and to be honest he has, having made his debut a little more than 12 years ago. Despite a really long career Wlodarczyk is somewhat of an unknown outside of the hardcore boxing community, despite the fact he literally fought a who's who of Cruiserweight's.
Wlodarczyk started his career with 20 straight wins and claimed both the IBF Inter-Continental Cruiserweight title and the Polish Cruiserweight before suffering a controversial technical decision loss to Pavel Melkomyan in Germany. Despite the bout being ruled a technical stoppage due to a clash of heads replays seemed to suggest that the fight ending cut was scored by a punch.
It wouldn't take long for Wlodarczyk to bounce back from his first loss and he swiftly captured the WBC Youth Cruiserweight title and soon afterwards the World Boxing Foundation Cruiserweight title. Despite these title wins it wasn't until he claimed the European Union title by stopping Ruediger May in 2005 that he really started to announce himself.
In 2007 Wlodarczyk claimed his first world title as he controversially out pointed American Steve Cunningham for the IBF Cruiserweight title, though his reign was short lived as Cunningham claimed a majority decision in a rematch just 6 months later. This wasn't to be the end of Wlodarczyk at the top level however and just 2 years later Wlodarczyk would challenge Italian Giacobbe Fragomeni for the WBC Cruiserweight title. Despite dropping Fragomeni, the judges scored the bout a draw.
Almost exactly a year after the draw between Fragomeni and Wlodarczyk the two men fought again this time Wlodarczyk would come out on top taking an 8th round TKO victory. Since then Wlodarczyk has defended his title 3 times, including a controversial decision win over Palacios and an 11th round TKO over Australian Danny Green.
Wlodarczyk's record would indicate he's probably a power puncher but in all honesty he's not a powerful hitter, especially not at world level however he is a grinder and hits hard enough that you feel his shots even if no single blow will take an opponent out. Sadly however the Pole can be frustrating to watch as he can often lose focus in bouts and give rounds away by doing nothing, a problem we saw in a number of rounds against Green last time out. At his best he's exceptional, capable of throwing hurtful shots to the head and body and using very accurate fast jabs, at his worst however he's really awful.
At 35 years old Palacios is the older man, though he hasn't had the ring years of the champion. In fact not only has Palacios only fought 22 times as a professional but he's also only been a pro since 2004. Despite his relatively short professional career Palacios has a solid amateur background and he competed at the 2003 World Amateur Championships (losing controversially to Erbol Babayev).
Since turning over to the paid ranks Palacios has adapted well and started his professional career with an impressive 20 straight wins. In those 20 fights Palacios claimed the WBA Fedelatin Cruiserweight title by impressively stopping former world title challenger Luis Andres Pineda and defended that belt once stopping Lawrence Chapman inside a round.
With his amateur background it goes with out saying that Palacios is a talented fighter and knows how to use all of the punches in book with his busy jab being a key yo many of his attacks. He's at his best however when he's able to let his hands go something he used effectively when he first faced Palacios last year, sadly however the referee repeatedly broke up the action when Palacios was getting the better of it.
With the controversial nature of the first bout, which many though Palacios had won, this bout is a long awaited rematch and one that many fans would have preferred to have seen last year however it still serves to be an intriguing bout.
Against Green, Wlodarczyk looked like he was a fighter who didn't want to fight any more, he was a man who looked to be there in body but not in mind until he felt his title was being taken from him. Against Palacios he's fighting a much better fighter than Green and one who is there to take the title back from Poland come hell or high water and one who I feel will not be denied this time around. Expect Wlodarczyk to be forced to work at a high tempo, something that will not like suit him and expect him to lose rounds as a result. Whilst the judging may be questionable I just can't see the "3 wise men" favouring Wlodarczyk quite as much as they did last time, especially after the backlash by those watching.
Prediction-Palacios SD12
With 49 bouts on his record it's somewhat easy to forget that Krzysztof Wlodarczyk is just 31 years old. It feels as if the Pole has been around for years and to be honest he has, having made his debut a little more than 12 years ago. Despite a really long career Wlodarczyk is somewhat of an unknown outside of the hardcore boxing community, despite the fact he literally fought a who's who of Cruiserweight's.
Wlodarczyk started his career with 20 straight wins and claimed both the IBF Inter-Continental Cruiserweight title and the Polish Cruiserweight before suffering a controversial technical decision loss to Pavel Melkomyan in Germany. Despite the bout being ruled a technical stoppage due to a clash of heads replays seemed to suggest that the fight ending cut was scored by a punch.
It wouldn't take long for Wlodarczyk to bounce back from his first loss and he swiftly captured the WBC Youth Cruiserweight title and soon afterwards the World Boxing Foundation Cruiserweight title. Despite these title wins it wasn't until he claimed the European Union title by stopping Ruediger May in 2005 that he really started to announce himself.
In 2007 Wlodarczyk claimed his first world title as he controversially out pointed American Steve Cunningham for the IBF Cruiserweight title, though his reign was short lived as Cunningham claimed a majority decision in a rematch just 6 months later. This wasn't to be the end of Wlodarczyk at the top level however and just 2 years later Wlodarczyk would challenge Italian Giacobbe Fragomeni for the WBC Cruiserweight title. Despite dropping Fragomeni, the judges scored the bout a draw.
Almost exactly a year after the draw between Fragomeni and Wlodarczyk the two men fought again this time Wlodarczyk would come out on top taking an 8th round TKO victory. Since then Wlodarczyk has defended his title 3 times, including a controversial decision win over Palacios and an 11th round TKO over Australian Danny Green.
Wlodarczyk's record would indicate he's probably a power puncher but in all honesty he's not a powerful hitter, especially not at world level however he is a grinder and hits hard enough that you feel his shots even if no single blow will take an opponent out. Sadly however the Pole can be frustrating to watch as he can often lose focus in bouts and give rounds away by doing nothing, a problem we saw in a number of rounds against Green last time out. At his best he's exceptional, capable of throwing hurtful shots to the head and body and using very accurate fast jabs, at his worst however he's really awful.
At 35 years old Palacios is the older man, though he hasn't had the ring years of the champion. In fact not only has Palacios only fought 22 times as a professional but he's also only been a pro since 2004. Despite his relatively short professional career Palacios has a solid amateur background and he competed at the 2003 World Amateur Championships (losing controversially to Erbol Babayev).
Since turning over to the paid ranks Palacios has adapted well and started his professional career with an impressive 20 straight wins. In those 20 fights Palacios claimed the WBA Fedelatin Cruiserweight title by impressively stopping former world title challenger Luis Andres Pineda and defended that belt once stopping Lawrence Chapman inside a round.
With his amateur background it goes with out saying that Palacios is a talented fighter and knows how to use all of the punches in book with his busy jab being a key yo many of his attacks. He's at his best however when he's able to let his hands go something he used effectively when he first faced Palacios last year, sadly however the referee repeatedly broke up the action when Palacios was getting the better of it.
With the controversial nature of the first bout, which many though Palacios had won, this bout is a long awaited rematch and one that many fans would have preferred to have seen last year however it still serves to be an intriguing bout.
Against Green, Wlodarczyk looked like he was a fighter who didn't want to fight any more, he was a man who looked to be there in body but not in mind until he felt his title was being taken from him. Against Palacios he's fighting a much better fighter than Green and one who is there to take the title back from Poland come hell or high water and one who I feel will not be denied this time around. Expect Wlodarczyk to be forced to work at a high tempo, something that will not like suit him and expect him to lose rounds as a result. Whilst the judging may be questionable I just can't see the "3 wise men" favouring Wlodarczyk quite as much as they did last time, especially after the backlash by those watching.
Prediction-Palacios SD12
Juan Carlos Sanchez Jr v Rodel Mayol
Earlier this year the young Juan Carlos Sanchez Jr (14-1-1, 7) claimed his first world title by defeating the more experienced Rodrigo Guerrero for the IBF Super Flyweight title. Sanchez Jr has defended that title once, by defeating former champion Juan Alberto Rosas and this week end will be looking to defeat another former world champion in a defense of his own title as he faces Rodel Mayol (31-5-2, 22).
At just 21 years old Sanchez is one of, if not the, youngest world champion out there at the moment, and is also one of the least experienced. Despite this he's not being given the softly softly treatment of so many young fighters out there who refuse to face a decent test until they've milked their world title for a year or two.
Sanchez has been a professional since 2008, when he was just 17. He would start his career with 7 straight victories with 6 of those coming by T/KO. His winning run however ended abruptly with an opening round technical decision with journeyman Felipe Acosta. Following the Acosta bout, Sanchez suffered his first (and so far only) loss as he was stopped in 2 rounds by Daniel Rosas (who later went on to fight for a world title himself).
Since suffering the loss to Rosas, Sanchez has rebuilt his career brilliantly with 7 straight wins. Not only has he scored notable wins over Guerrero and Rosas (as mentioned in the paragraph) but he has also beaten the then 18-0 Juan Francisco Estrada (who has recently stopped former world title challenger Ardin Diale). These victories have proven that Sanchez at least deserves his place amongst the top men at 115lbs even if he's not the top dog himself.
In terms of Sanchez the fighter, he is a huge southpaw who is not only difficult due to his stance but also his freaky frame. He manages to make 115lbs despite standing over 5'8". This freakish size sees him towering almost everyone else at the weight and although he may not be the most powerful guy at the weight (in fact he's only scored 1 T/KO in his last 9 fights) he does hit hard enough to hurt guys.
Unlike the champion, the challenge is an experienced veteran. Not only has Mayol been in more than twice as many bouts but he's been in the ring with some true top talent in a career that spans over a decade.
Mayol debuted as a professional 2000 when he was just 18 and he started his career with an excellent 22 fight winning streak before fighting for his first world title. In his first title tilt, he faced Japanese based Thai Eagle Den Junlaphan and despite putting up a spirited effort Mayol was out pointed.
Ever since his first world title bout, Mayol has been in the title picture with a number of world title fights against some of the best fighters out there. Over the past few years Mayol has faced Ulises Solis, Adrian Hernandez, Ivan Calderon (twice), Edgar Sosa, Omar Nino Romero (twice) and Julio Cesar Miranda. Whilst he suffered losses in a number of those bouts (Solis, Hernandez, Calderon and Romero) he also picked up some credible wins, including stopping Sosa and out pointing the tough Julio Cesar Miranda.
Whilst he's an experienced fighter and a tough fighter, Mayol does have a reputation for being dirty. Not only has he got 2 technical decisions with Ivan Calderon due to head clashes but his victory over Sosa was also marred by a nasty headbutt that Sosa never recovered from.
Despite being quick handed and aggressive Mayol doesn't have the power in his punches that he maybe needs against the best fighters at 115lbs. Whilst he did drop Miranda numerous times last time out in a bout made at the Super Flyweight limit it needs to be noted that Miranda himself was a career Flyweight going into that bout.
So now, to this bout. Whilst Mayol certainly has the experience and the craftiness to make life difficult for everyone in the lower divisions of the sport, I can't help but think that the size difference here will really show. Sanchez is longer, taller and not going to be easy to headbutt, he'll try to stay on the outside but even on the inside the Mexican should be stronger and able to almost push Mayol away with his shots. Mayol is tough and tenacious, having not been stopped in over 4 years and whilst I expect he will see the end, don't be shocked if he is down at some point.
Prediction-Sanchez UD12
At just 21 years old Sanchez is one of, if not the, youngest world champion out there at the moment, and is also one of the least experienced. Despite this he's not being given the softly softly treatment of so many young fighters out there who refuse to face a decent test until they've milked their world title for a year or two.
Sanchez has been a professional since 2008, when he was just 17. He would start his career with 7 straight victories with 6 of those coming by T/KO. His winning run however ended abruptly with an opening round technical decision with journeyman Felipe Acosta. Following the Acosta bout, Sanchez suffered his first (and so far only) loss as he was stopped in 2 rounds by Daniel Rosas (who later went on to fight for a world title himself).
Since suffering the loss to Rosas, Sanchez has rebuilt his career brilliantly with 7 straight wins. Not only has he scored notable wins over Guerrero and Rosas (as mentioned in the paragraph) but he has also beaten the then 18-0 Juan Francisco Estrada (who has recently stopped former world title challenger Ardin Diale). These victories have proven that Sanchez at least deserves his place amongst the top men at 115lbs even if he's not the top dog himself.
In terms of Sanchez the fighter, he is a huge southpaw who is not only difficult due to his stance but also his freaky frame. He manages to make 115lbs despite standing over 5'8". This freakish size sees him towering almost everyone else at the weight and although he may not be the most powerful guy at the weight (in fact he's only scored 1 T/KO in his last 9 fights) he does hit hard enough to hurt guys.
Unlike the champion, the challenge is an experienced veteran. Not only has Mayol been in more than twice as many bouts but he's been in the ring with some true top talent in a career that spans over a decade.
Mayol debuted as a professional 2000 when he was just 18 and he started his career with an excellent 22 fight winning streak before fighting for his first world title. In his first title tilt, he faced Japanese based Thai Eagle Den Junlaphan and despite putting up a spirited effort Mayol was out pointed.
Ever since his first world title bout, Mayol has been in the title picture with a number of world title fights against some of the best fighters out there. Over the past few years Mayol has faced Ulises Solis, Adrian Hernandez, Ivan Calderon (twice), Edgar Sosa, Omar Nino Romero (twice) and Julio Cesar Miranda. Whilst he suffered losses in a number of those bouts (Solis, Hernandez, Calderon and Romero) he also picked up some credible wins, including stopping Sosa and out pointing the tough Julio Cesar Miranda.
Whilst he's an experienced fighter and a tough fighter, Mayol does have a reputation for being dirty. Not only has he got 2 technical decisions with Ivan Calderon due to head clashes but his victory over Sosa was also marred by a nasty headbutt that Sosa never recovered from.
Despite being quick handed and aggressive Mayol doesn't have the power in his punches that he maybe needs against the best fighters at 115lbs. Whilst he did drop Miranda numerous times last time out in a bout made at the Super Flyweight limit it needs to be noted that Miranda himself was a career Flyweight going into that bout.
So now, to this bout. Whilst Mayol certainly has the experience and the craftiness to make life difficult for everyone in the lower divisions of the sport, I can't help but think that the size difference here will really show. Sanchez is longer, taller and not going to be easy to headbutt, he'll try to stay on the outside but even on the inside the Mexican should be stronger and able to almost push Mayol away with his shots. Mayol is tough and tenacious, having not been stopped in over 4 years and whilst I expect he will see the end, don't be shocked if he is down at some point.
Prediction-Sanchez UD12
Wednesday, 19 September 2012
Diego Gabriel Chaves v Jose Miranda
This weekend sees unbeaten Argentinian Diego Gabriel Chaves (21-0, 17) make the first defense of his WBA "interim" Welterweight title as he faces the somewhat uninspiring Jose Miranda (12-11-3, 8) in what appears to be a mismatch from the off.
The hard hitting Chaves claimed the title earlier this year when he stopped Frenchman Ismael El Massoudi in 3 rounds and made his first major mark on the boxing world. Although unknown by many in Europe and even North America, the hard core fans had been been following him for a while, with fans in his homeland dubbing him "La Joya" -The Jewel.
Chaves turned professional in 2008 after a credible amateur career and debuted in July '08. Within a year of being a professional he had swiftly raced out to 10-0 (9) with 8 victories in the first 2 rounds as he simply blew opponents away with hurtful nasty shots. It would take much longer for him to add his first professional title as he claimed the WBO Latino Light Middleweight title just a fight later.
After defending the WBO Latino Light Middleweight title once, Chaves dropped down to the Welterweight division and swiftly claimed the WBO Latino Welterweight title. He defend this second title 5 times as he moved his record to 20-0 (16) and defeated veterans Omar Gabriel Weis and Jorge Daniel Miranda.
Following the 5 WBO Latino Welterweight title defenses Chaves would then go on to defeat El Massoudi for the WBA "interim" Welterweight title.
Whilst he's a noted puncher Chaves does have some solid skills there to rely on if needed. He's never going to become a true slickster but he will make enjoyable fights with his aggressiveness and power which is deadly to both the head and body. This does often leave him there to be hit, and he can be hurt, in fact he's been down several times so far in his career, however he appears to be able to regroup and get back to work with out too many issues.
Sadly for Chaves' first defense he will be facing the very limited Panamanian Jose Miranda who's career so far has been really unspectacular in terms of results and performances.
Miranda made his professional debut way back in 2000 as a Super Bantamweight and despite starting with 4 wins it didn't take long for his record to become somewhat patchy as he swiftly fell to 4-2-2 (2).
Despite scoring 3 successive wins between September 2002 and August 2003 it didn't take long for Miranda's record to really falter as he scored only 2 wins in his next 12 bouts as he fell to 9-11-3 (6). Whilst some of those losses came to decent fighters, including the likes of Darley Perez, Alberto Mosquera, Johan Perez and former world champion Vicente Mosquera they were still career damaging losses.
Surprisingly Miranda has won his last 3 fights, including scoring a notable victory over William Gonzalez. Despite scoring those 3 victories they were, at best, a level or two below world title level (yes, even some interim titles).
Going in to this bout it's almost impossible to see how Miranda can win. With some 6 stoppage losses to his name we know that Miranda isn't that tough and having started his career way down at Super Bantamweight we also know that Miranda is naturally the smaller man. Perhaps most tellingly, at least from the footage that I've seen, is that Miranda is quite easy to hit and Darley Perez had no issue at all in dropping him twice. Whilst Perez hits hard Chaves hits much harder.
Whilst Miranda has been given a bit of a "Rocky" type chance here it's hard to see him lasting more than a round or two against a fearsome hard hitter like Chaves. Expect this one to be over early.
Prediction-Chaves TKO3
The hard hitting Chaves claimed the title earlier this year when he stopped Frenchman Ismael El Massoudi in 3 rounds and made his first major mark on the boxing world. Although unknown by many in Europe and even North America, the hard core fans had been been following him for a while, with fans in his homeland dubbing him "La Joya" -The Jewel.
Chaves turned professional in 2008 after a credible amateur career and debuted in July '08. Within a year of being a professional he had swiftly raced out to 10-0 (9) with 8 victories in the first 2 rounds as he simply blew opponents away with hurtful nasty shots. It would take much longer for him to add his first professional title as he claimed the WBO Latino Light Middleweight title just a fight later.
After defending the WBO Latino Light Middleweight title once, Chaves dropped down to the Welterweight division and swiftly claimed the WBO Latino Welterweight title. He defend this second title 5 times as he moved his record to 20-0 (16) and defeated veterans Omar Gabriel Weis and Jorge Daniel Miranda.
Following the 5 WBO Latino Welterweight title defenses Chaves would then go on to defeat El Massoudi for the WBA "interim" Welterweight title.
Whilst he's a noted puncher Chaves does have some solid skills there to rely on if needed. He's never going to become a true slickster but he will make enjoyable fights with his aggressiveness and power which is deadly to both the head and body. This does often leave him there to be hit, and he can be hurt, in fact he's been down several times so far in his career, however he appears to be able to regroup and get back to work with out too many issues.
Sadly for Chaves' first defense he will be facing the very limited Panamanian Jose Miranda who's career so far has been really unspectacular in terms of results and performances.
Miranda made his professional debut way back in 2000 as a Super Bantamweight and despite starting with 4 wins it didn't take long for his record to become somewhat patchy as he swiftly fell to 4-2-2 (2).
Despite scoring 3 successive wins between September 2002 and August 2003 it didn't take long for Miranda's record to really falter as he scored only 2 wins in his next 12 bouts as he fell to 9-11-3 (6). Whilst some of those losses came to decent fighters, including the likes of Darley Perez, Alberto Mosquera, Johan Perez and former world champion Vicente Mosquera they were still career damaging losses.
Surprisingly Miranda has won his last 3 fights, including scoring a notable victory over William Gonzalez. Despite scoring those 3 victories they were, at best, a level or two below world title level (yes, even some interim titles).
Going in to this bout it's almost impossible to see how Miranda can win. With some 6 stoppage losses to his name we know that Miranda isn't that tough and having started his career way down at Super Bantamweight we also know that Miranda is naturally the smaller man. Perhaps most tellingly, at least from the footage that I've seen, is that Miranda is quite easy to hit and Darley Perez had no issue at all in dropping him twice. Whilst Perez hits hard Chaves hits much harder.
Whilst Miranda has been given a bit of a "Rocky" type chance here it's hard to see him lasting more than a round or two against a fearsome hard hitter like Chaves. Expect this one to be over early.
Prediction-Chaves TKO3
Saturday, 15 September 2012
Yoan Pablo Hernandez v Troy Ross
The Cruiserweight division has almost always been one of the most maligned divisions in the sport of boxing, despite this the division has had some absolutely brilliant fights and fantastic fighters. I'm hoping that this coming weekend gives us yet another Cruiserweight cracker as German based Cuban Yoan Pablo Hernandez (26-1, 13) defends his IBF title against Guyana born Canadian Troy Ross (25-2, 16).
At 37 years old Ross will feel that this is his final chance at really making a name for himself having had a frustrating career though he will know that he's a big under-dog needing to go Germany for this fight. Sadly the frustration hasn't all been Ross' own doing but instead he's been part of the unfortunate "who needs him?" club.
Ross first made his name in the amateurs where he twice competed at the Olympics (1996, 2000) and also claimed medals at both the 1998 Commonwealth Games (Silver) and the 1999 Pan Am Games (Bronze). In total Ross fought in a record 91 amateur bouts, winning 81 of them with losses to David Haye, Vassiliy Jirov and Humberto Savigne amongst others.
Ross finally turned professional in 2001 as a Light Heavyweight and on his debut he out pointed the defensively minded Roger Bowden over 4 rounds. Over the following few years Ross would score a series of wins and advance to 12-0 (8) and would appear to be one of the most promising prospects in the Cruiserweight division then his world crashed down as he controversially suffered his first loss, a split decision to Willie Herring.
Despite suffering the loss to Herring, Ross bounced back quickly and in his very next fight he won his first professional title claiming the Canada Cruiserweight title by defeating Claudio Rasco in 8 rounds. Sadly rather than building on this success Troy, for whatever reason over a year inactive not fighting at all in 2006. Thankfully after returning to the ring in 2007 Troy swiftly won the Commonwealth Cruiserweight title and it seemed as if things were looking on the up and up.
Sadly after 3 fights in just a few months in 2007 Ross was again inactive fighting just once in 2008 as his career momentum was killed off again. Thankfully however Ross's career was given a shot in the arm in 2009 when he was one of 16 fighters selected to be part of the 4th series of "The Contender". In "The Contender" Ross really made a name for himself not only winning the tournament but winning it with relative ease beating Lawrence Tauasa (TKO2), Felix Cora Jr (TKO1), Akinyemi Laleye (UD5) and in the final Ehinomen Ehikhamenor (TKO4). It was hoped that this would move Ross' career on swiftly but sadly his next 2 bouts seemed to be more about staying active than capitalising on his success.
It wasn't until 2010 that Ross finally got his big break as he fought for the IBF title against Steve Cunningham, sadly however Ross was to be controversially stopped on a cut accidentally caused by Cunningham's glove. Despite the controversial nature of the loss many felt that Ross had been impressive dropping Cunningham in round 4, with many suspecting he'd done enough to deserve a rematch. Sadly for Ross he was overlooked and fought just twice in the following 2 years as he moved to 25-2 (16).
In terms of his style Ross is tricky not only due to his southpaw stance but also his fast feet which sees him using a lot of movement and the fact he has heavy hands. He's very tough and can either fight on the counter or fight in short bursts of hard and heavy shots. However at 37 it's fair to say that his natural speed and stamina will be questionable, especially considering his inactivity in recent years which will have done him any favours.
Yoan Pablo Hernandez, 27 will be looking for the second defense of his IBF Cruiserweight title, a title he won from Steve Cunningham almost a year ago. Like Ross, Hernandez was a solid amateur winning the 2001 Cuban Junior Championships and The 2002 World Junior championships, a Pan Am Games Silver medal in 2003 and a Cuban national title in 2005. Rather than continuing on as an amateur in Cuba, Hernandez defected to Germany when he was just 20 years old.
Just months prior to turning 21 Hernandez made his professional debut in Germany where he stopped David Vicena in 2 rounds. Over the following months Hernandez was kept active and within just 4 months he was 4-0 (2). The following year Hernandez was again kept busy and recorded 5 more victories as he moved his record to 9-0 (5) against a low level of opponent.
In 2007 Hernandez won his first professional title as he claimed the WBA Fedelatin Cruiserweight title by defeating Daniel Bispo in just 61 seconds. Before the end of the year Hernandez had added the WBC Latino Cruiserweight title to his collection by stopping Mohamed Azzaoui in 128 seconds as he proved to have genuinely nasty power in his shots. By the end of the year he had moved impressively to 14-0 (8) scoring 6 opening round stoppages.
Having looked impressive in his first 14 bouts Hernandez's handlers decided to set him up and put him in with hard hitting former WBC champion Wayne Braithwaite. The bout started brilliantly with both men landing solid shots on each other in the opening round with Hernandez dropping Braithwaite. In the second round the pace dropped though Hernandez seemed to just knick it with his cleaner punching, however Braithwaite wasn't done and in round 3 he dropped Hernandez three times to force the stoppage. It was this fight that really started a change in Hernandez who became less active and less offensive as a result of being so badly hurt by Braithwaite.
Hernandez bounced back well from the loss to Braithwaite by scoring 2 wins over low level opponents before struggling to victory over journeyman Michael Simms who managed to drop Hernandez in the 7th round of an 8 round contest. Although he managed to score the win he had been lucky, and didn't look like the once impressive prospect that had tore through his earlier opponents.
Since the lucky victory over Simms, Hernandez has been fighting like a boxer with a point to prove. In 2009 and 2010 Hernandez scored notable victories over Aaron Williams, Enad Licina and Cesar David Crenz as he completely rebuilt not only his confidence but also his style. He was no longer trying to take fighters out early but instead using his boxing ability and size to control fights. Whilst he still had power to hurt opponents he seemed more content on winning safe than winning stylish and is appeared to have been working as his record moved to 23-1 (12), scoring just 4 T/KO's in his 9 bouts after facing Braithwaite.
Hernandez would finally prove he was worthy of the early hype 2011 as he stopped Frenchman Steve Herelius (KO7) to claim the interim WBA World Cruiserweight title before controversially out pointing Steve Cunningham for the IBF world title via a 6th round Technical Decision. Hernandez would then rematch Cunningham, just a few months ago, and take a clear cut decision over the American, dropping Cunningham hard twice in the 4th round.
Whilst Hernandez's record may not represent that of a hard puncher he does hit incredibly hard, especially when he lets his hands go, which are very fast in combinations. Sadly however Hernandez seems to have become apprehensive since both the Briathwaite and Simms fight and instead of letting his hands go he often seems happier to box at a slower pace, often fighting as counter puncher. Whilst still very talented he's not the exciting destructive force he once was, which is probably a good thing as I do question whether or not his stamina can hold out at a high work rate.
So, finally, on to the actual fight. Whilst Ross is capable of frustrating Hernandez with his movement and jab I just can't see Ross getting a decision in Germany, and I think he knows that. For Ross to win he will have to do what Braithwaite did back in 2008. Yes Ross has the power to do that but he's giving away around 5" and will seriously struggle to get inside Hernandez. Instead I see this being a pretty easy fight for Hernandez who may not have the same foot speed as Ross but has the reach and hand speed to keep him at range. Ross's inactivity, age and size disadvantages as well as the fight being in Germany will count against him and unless he goes for broke and lands the Hail Mary I just don't see him winning.
Prediction-Hernandez Unanimous Decision
At 37 years old Ross will feel that this is his final chance at really making a name for himself having had a frustrating career though he will know that he's a big under-dog needing to go Germany for this fight. Sadly the frustration hasn't all been Ross' own doing but instead he's been part of the unfortunate "who needs him?" club.
Ross first made his name in the amateurs where he twice competed at the Olympics (1996, 2000) and also claimed medals at both the 1998 Commonwealth Games (Silver) and the 1999 Pan Am Games (Bronze). In total Ross fought in a record 91 amateur bouts, winning 81 of them with losses to David Haye, Vassiliy Jirov and Humberto Savigne amongst others.
Ross finally turned professional in 2001 as a Light Heavyweight and on his debut he out pointed the defensively minded Roger Bowden over 4 rounds. Over the following few years Ross would score a series of wins and advance to 12-0 (8) and would appear to be one of the most promising prospects in the Cruiserweight division then his world crashed down as he controversially suffered his first loss, a split decision to Willie Herring.
Despite suffering the loss to Herring, Ross bounced back quickly and in his very next fight he won his first professional title claiming the Canada Cruiserweight title by defeating Claudio Rasco in 8 rounds. Sadly rather than building on this success Troy, for whatever reason over a year inactive not fighting at all in 2006. Thankfully after returning to the ring in 2007 Troy swiftly won the Commonwealth Cruiserweight title and it seemed as if things were looking on the up and up.
Sadly after 3 fights in just a few months in 2007 Ross was again inactive fighting just once in 2008 as his career momentum was killed off again. Thankfully however Ross's career was given a shot in the arm in 2009 when he was one of 16 fighters selected to be part of the 4th series of "The Contender". In "The Contender" Ross really made a name for himself not only winning the tournament but winning it with relative ease beating Lawrence Tauasa (TKO2), Felix Cora Jr (TKO1), Akinyemi Laleye (UD5) and in the final Ehinomen Ehikhamenor (TKO4). It was hoped that this would move Ross' career on swiftly but sadly his next 2 bouts seemed to be more about staying active than capitalising on his success.
It wasn't until 2010 that Ross finally got his big break as he fought for the IBF title against Steve Cunningham, sadly however Ross was to be controversially stopped on a cut accidentally caused by Cunningham's glove. Despite the controversial nature of the loss many felt that Ross had been impressive dropping Cunningham in round 4, with many suspecting he'd done enough to deserve a rematch. Sadly for Ross he was overlooked and fought just twice in the following 2 years as he moved to 25-2 (16).
In terms of his style Ross is tricky not only due to his southpaw stance but also his fast feet which sees him using a lot of movement and the fact he has heavy hands. He's very tough and can either fight on the counter or fight in short bursts of hard and heavy shots. However at 37 it's fair to say that his natural speed and stamina will be questionable, especially considering his inactivity in recent years which will have done him any favours.
Yoan Pablo Hernandez, 27 will be looking for the second defense of his IBF Cruiserweight title, a title he won from Steve Cunningham almost a year ago. Like Ross, Hernandez was a solid amateur winning the 2001 Cuban Junior Championships and The 2002 World Junior championships, a Pan Am Games Silver medal in 2003 and a Cuban national title in 2005. Rather than continuing on as an amateur in Cuba, Hernandez defected to Germany when he was just 20 years old.
Just months prior to turning 21 Hernandez made his professional debut in Germany where he stopped David Vicena in 2 rounds. Over the following months Hernandez was kept active and within just 4 months he was 4-0 (2). The following year Hernandez was again kept busy and recorded 5 more victories as he moved his record to 9-0 (5) against a low level of opponent.
In 2007 Hernandez won his first professional title as he claimed the WBA Fedelatin Cruiserweight title by defeating Daniel Bispo in just 61 seconds. Before the end of the year Hernandez had added the WBC Latino Cruiserweight title to his collection by stopping Mohamed Azzaoui in 128 seconds as he proved to have genuinely nasty power in his shots. By the end of the year he had moved impressively to 14-0 (8) scoring 6 opening round stoppages.
Having looked impressive in his first 14 bouts Hernandez's handlers decided to set him up and put him in with hard hitting former WBC champion Wayne Braithwaite. The bout started brilliantly with both men landing solid shots on each other in the opening round with Hernandez dropping Braithwaite. In the second round the pace dropped though Hernandez seemed to just knick it with his cleaner punching, however Braithwaite wasn't done and in round 3 he dropped Hernandez three times to force the stoppage. It was this fight that really started a change in Hernandez who became less active and less offensive as a result of being so badly hurt by Braithwaite.
Hernandez bounced back well from the loss to Braithwaite by scoring 2 wins over low level opponents before struggling to victory over journeyman Michael Simms who managed to drop Hernandez in the 7th round of an 8 round contest. Although he managed to score the win he had been lucky, and didn't look like the once impressive prospect that had tore through his earlier opponents.
Since the lucky victory over Simms, Hernandez has been fighting like a boxer with a point to prove. In 2009 and 2010 Hernandez scored notable victories over Aaron Williams, Enad Licina and Cesar David Crenz as he completely rebuilt not only his confidence but also his style. He was no longer trying to take fighters out early but instead using his boxing ability and size to control fights. Whilst he still had power to hurt opponents he seemed more content on winning safe than winning stylish and is appeared to have been working as his record moved to 23-1 (12), scoring just 4 T/KO's in his 9 bouts after facing Braithwaite.
Hernandez would finally prove he was worthy of the early hype 2011 as he stopped Frenchman Steve Herelius (KO7) to claim the interim WBA World Cruiserweight title before controversially out pointing Steve Cunningham for the IBF world title via a 6th round Technical Decision. Hernandez would then rematch Cunningham, just a few months ago, and take a clear cut decision over the American, dropping Cunningham hard twice in the 4th round.
Whilst Hernandez's record may not represent that of a hard puncher he does hit incredibly hard, especially when he lets his hands go, which are very fast in combinations. Sadly however Hernandez seems to have become apprehensive since both the Briathwaite and Simms fight and instead of letting his hands go he often seems happier to box at a slower pace, often fighting as counter puncher. Whilst still very talented he's not the exciting destructive force he once was, which is probably a good thing as I do question whether or not his stamina can hold out at a high work rate.
So, finally, on to the actual fight. Whilst Ross is capable of frustrating Hernandez with his movement and jab I just can't see Ross getting a decision in Germany, and I think he knows that. For Ross to win he will have to do what Braithwaite did back in 2008. Yes Ross has the power to do that but he's giving away around 5" and will seriously struggle to get inside Hernandez. Instead I see this being a pretty easy fight for Hernandez who may not have the same foot speed as Ross but has the reach and hand speed to keep him at range. Ross's inactivity, age and size disadvantages as well as the fight being in Germany will count against him and unless he goes for broke and lands the Hail Mary I just don't see him winning.
Prediction-Hernandez Unanimous Decision
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