So at the start of the week I said it was a busy week for prospects, and have mentioned the excellent Lateef “Power” Kayode, who fights today (Friday) an Willie “Big Bang” Casey, though a host of other prospects are fighting so lets have a brief look at those.
Prenice Brewer is someone I've written about for helium recently and now it seems like he's ready to go 10 rounds for the first time in 17 fights. Brewer is 16-0-1 as a professional having debuted way back in 2006 as a fresh faced 18 year old though what singles him out as one to watch is his amateur background which saw winning the 2005 National Golden Gloves (125lbs) as just a 17 year old. Having drawn his debut he's now on a 16 fight winning streak and promoted by “Rumble Time Promotions” (who also promote Deandre Latimore). Brewer faces Patrick Lopez (19-2 with 11KO's) from Venezuela in a significant step up in class. Although the fights meant to be a 10 round test for Prenice, his lack of punch could see him in trouble against a tough and experienced opponent. The step up maybe a bit too far for now, though Prenice is skilled and slick and more skilled than Lopez. A great test and a good example of intelligent match making, in a sink or swim fight.
As fans will learn I'm a big fan of the Cruiserweight division, I've done several pieces on Cruisers for this column in the past few months (Kayode, Rakhim Chakhkiev, Carlos Negron all got a full entry and Matty Askin got a solid mention) and here's another. Jeremiah Graziano (12-0 all wins by KO with 10 of those in the opening round and 2 in the 2nd round) looks to make it 13 in a row. At 23 he's a young fighter and has been a pro for less than 2 years and only picked up the sport in '06 where he was a solid and exciting to watch amateur. Known as “Whyson” (White Tyson) the Kansas native has been shown to be all out aggression so far and it almost cost him against Josh Harris (Graziano was put down very early before stopping Harris soon afterwards). For fight 13 Graziano is facing by far his stiffest test to date in Jose Luis Herrera (16-7 with all wins by KO and 6 of his losses also, by KO). If one thing is sure is that this one won't be going the scheduled 8 rounds. Kayode has previously stopped Herrera so this will allow us to see how good the two are compared to each other. Graziano headlines a card in Kansas where he seems to have a large local following.
One I'm personally interested in is Jermell Charlo a Golden Boy Promotions prospect, the first to fight since Danny Jacobs was beaten last week. Charlo is unbeaten in 12 (12-0 with 6KO's) and young at just 20 but is completely untested and Quinton Whitaker (7-6) isn't expected to test him. If Golden Boy keep giving Charlo nothing fights then starts to think he's ready for a title fight they really need to have someone tell them to wake up. I'll let Charlo off for now, but they need to give him some solid tests, he's been a pro for almost 3 years now so why can't he start fighting guys around his level?
Omar Figueroa is in a similar position, also aged 20 and unbeaten (10-0 (8)), who turned pro in summer '08 but is facing a much tougher test in Kanat Kartenbayev (10-4-2) a former EU-EE title contender. Omar should win this but don't expect him to have a short and easy night.
Fridays most interesting fight is Chris Avalos v Christopher Martin this really is a fight that's worth watching, 2 young unbeaten fighters. Martin is arguably the slightly better boxer but Avalos is the better puncher. This is THE fight of Friday and is the main event of the Kayode fight. The winner will be one of the hottest “little men” in the US and surely in line for a title fight whilst the loser will have time to rebuild.
Saturday is much less interesting the St Louis card (including Alexander v Kotelnik) aside theirs little of major quality. At the start of the week Gennady Golovkin was scheduled to fight and Roman Gonzalez was also meant to fight but their both off. Sadam Ali (8-0 (4))is still down to fight and is worth catching if you're in Brooklyn as he's looking very exciting and keeping very busy at the moment. He's really one to watch.
Also on the Brooklyn card is Lennox Allen, a Guyana born Super Middleweight who fights the very solid Darnell Boone, a fighter who fights up and comers over and over. Allen (12-0(7)) gets a fight that sees him measured up against Craig McEwan, Brandon Gonzales, Edwin Rodriguez and Erislandy Lara. A victory will see Allen making a good statement to the division even if most have yet to see him.
One more fight to add, a Cruiserweight battle between unbeaten fighters is on the St Louis under card. Ryan Coyne fights the veteran Warren Browning, although it's hard to call a 28 year old or a 35 year old a prospect it's still an interesting battle folks.
Thursday 5 August 2010
Wednesday 4 August 2010
Big Bang
The Matchroom Sports promoted “Prizefighter” series has seen fighters given the exposure and chance to either resurrect their career, as in the case of Audley Harrison or a chance to really make a name for themselves, as shown by Martin Rogan and Willie “Big Bang” Casey. On Saturday (07/08) Casey fights for the second time since his May triumph in the Prizefighter Super Bantamweight tournament and looks to improve his unbeaten record.
Although at 28 the Limerick based Casey isn't a youngster, he's looking to build on his profile from the Sky Sports promoted tournament and is really putting together a career that took a while to take of. After debuting in October 2008 against Carlos De Jesus and scoring a 2nd round TKO Casey would be out of the ring for almost a year before returning to beat Bulgarian Stoyan Serbezov. Though it was the win over Serbezov that seemed to kick start things and in the following 10 months Casey has flourished in the ring to become one of the hottest Irish fighters out there at the moment.
With an impressive victory against the 10-0 Canadian Tyson Cave in Canada Casey provided he could cope away from home though few expected him to be the star of the Prizefighter series in which he was exceptional. He showed a high octane style that was built around aggression and excitement, despite having come in as a late replacement for Wayne McCullough he stole the show. In the opening round he stopped Mark Moran who was much more experienced, before following it through with points victories over Josh Wale and Paul McElhinney.
The southpaw has only fought once so far since then, scoring a stoppage over tough Frenchman Faycal Messaoudene (who had only been stopped once in his preceding 20 fights, by Scott Quigg, a fighter previously featured on Prospect Scotting) to go to 9-0 (6). In his upcoming bout, his 7th of 2010 he faces the relatively tough but very beatable Italian Emiliano Salvini (13-11-1) who has only been stopped twice. Salvini has been in with very good opponents and in the tougher fighters, having fought for the European Bantamweight title late last year and taken the German prospect Marcel Meyerdiercks the distance just a few months ago. An impressive win for the Irish fighter should see him put into serious contention for a European or international title fight. Interestingly Kiko Martinez fights for the European Super Bantamweight title against Arsen Martirosyan in September. Martinez famously flattened popular Irishman Bernard Dunne in 2007, maybe making the match a very easy to market one.
Fast approaching his 29th birthday (in December) “Big Bang” isn't an old fighter, his 9 fights to date have been just a combined 37 rounds, he has time on his side and a style that doesn't need to be massively altered for his progression. Hopefully a win will see him pushing on to bigger and better things, with a fight arranged already for September confidence is high for a fighter who is seriously making a name for himself on the domestic circuit.
Although at 28 the Limerick based Casey isn't a youngster, he's looking to build on his profile from the Sky Sports promoted tournament and is really putting together a career that took a while to take of. After debuting in October 2008 against Carlos De Jesus and scoring a 2nd round TKO Casey would be out of the ring for almost a year before returning to beat Bulgarian Stoyan Serbezov. Though it was the win over Serbezov that seemed to kick start things and in the following 10 months Casey has flourished in the ring to become one of the hottest Irish fighters out there at the moment.
With an impressive victory against the 10-0 Canadian Tyson Cave in Canada Casey provided he could cope away from home though few expected him to be the star of the Prizefighter series in which he was exceptional. He showed a high octane style that was built around aggression and excitement, despite having come in as a late replacement for Wayne McCullough he stole the show. In the opening round he stopped Mark Moran who was much more experienced, before following it through with points victories over Josh Wale and Paul McElhinney.
The southpaw has only fought once so far since then, scoring a stoppage over tough Frenchman Faycal Messaoudene (who had only been stopped once in his preceding 20 fights, by Scott Quigg, a fighter previously featured on Prospect Scotting) to go to 9-0 (6). In his upcoming bout, his 7th of 2010 he faces the relatively tough but very beatable Italian Emiliano Salvini (13-11-1) who has only been stopped twice. Salvini has been in with very good opponents and in the tougher fighters, having fought for the European Bantamweight title late last year and taken the German prospect Marcel Meyerdiercks the distance just a few months ago. An impressive win for the Irish fighter should see him put into serious contention for a European or international title fight. Interestingly Kiko Martinez fights for the European Super Bantamweight title against Arsen Martirosyan in September. Martinez famously flattened popular Irishman Bernard Dunne in 2007, maybe making the match a very easy to market one.
Fast approaching his 29th birthday (in December) “Big Bang” isn't an old fighter, his 9 fights to date have been just a combined 37 rounds, he has time on his side and a style that doesn't need to be massively altered for his progression. Hopefully a win will see him pushing on to bigger and better things, with a fight arranged already for September confidence is high for a fighter who is seriously making a name for himself on the domestic circuit.
Monday 2 August 2010
Lateef "Power" Kayode
Doing this weekly column can at times be bloody difficult, weeks come along where I'm scraping the barrel or a note worthy prospect, a decent youngster to write about, other weeks, like this one, sees so many young fighters fighting that it's hard to pick just a single one. In fact both Friday and Saturday could have their own piece for this week and I'd still miss some folks out. The week is irritatingly good, but also one of the most fun, and as a result, a double header. Their will be one column now (Sunday/Monday), a mid week piece and round up of the others in a completely separate piece.
Friday's prospect then, isn't a British born fighter, or an American born fighter, he's not an Olympic champion but he is exciting and can bang. Cruiserweight Lateef Kayode 12-0 (11) isn't the most technical of fighters you'll see any time soon, though as his record and nickname (“Power”) show, he has one of those key attributes, pure destructive punch power. Born in Lagos, Nigeria it seems Kayode is on a similar rise to that of fellow Nigerian Samuel Peter a few years ago, that culminated in Peter winning a heavyweight title.
Having been brought up and toughened up as a youngster in Lagos he would turn to boxing to find a way to protect himself from the repeated beating he'd gotten as a teenage, little did he realise what an impact the sport of boxing would have on him. It was as an amateur that he would start to forge a name for himself winning various African based tournaments though in his first attempt to make a major international mark things went awry. A plane he, and his Nigerian team mates were catching to Olympic qualifiers was delayed and it forced them to miss the qualification process. After deciding to turn professional in the US the search was on for someone to help and a chance meeting with manager Steven Feder started it all off. Feder would sign Kayode to his newly founded “Standing Eight” company, and the rest, as they say is history.
Standing Eight would see Kayode making his professional debut little under 2 years ago, 15th October 2008, facing the significantly bigger Mike Miller. Miller was 53lbs heavier than Kayode and durable having only been stopped once in 17 fights, it was this durability that saw Kayode forced to go the 4 round distance as a professional. Since then however opponents have struggled to test the muscular Nigerian power house who has scored 11 straight KO's in his subsequent bouts. He's gone from being a very small heavyweight at just over the cruiserweight limit to being a very big and incredibly strong cruiserweight, a division that seems much more suited to the Hollywood based fighter.
Although Kayode was fed relatively over matched opponents for much of his early career, who he blew out early doors, the interesting thing about his opponents is they really have been getting better. Fighters like the experienced Billy Willis are often given to much more experienced prospects, yet Lateef needed only 2 rounds to stop him, whilst heavy handed Jose Luis Herrera who had a record of 16-7 (16 wins by KO) was dealt with quickly. Interestingly Herrera fights on the same night against another rising prospect Jeremiah Graziano (12-0 all by KO) whilst Lateef takes another tough test. This time in the shape of Alfredo Escalera Jr who's record of 18-2-1 (12KOs) is intimidating (even if it is heavily padded) in a card that is being televised by Showtime on one of their ShoBox events.
With a win expected for the hard punching Nigerian it's perhaps time he joined the rising charge of Cruiserweights quickly rising through the ranks at the moment. A fight against BJ Flores would likely be the biggest American based fight either man could could currently get as the exodus to Germany of Steve Cunningham has been followed by Matt Godfrey travelling for a world title shot. Though what ever the future brings, “Power” is certainly capable of being a part of it.
The Shobox card will also feature unbeaten Americans clashing as Chris Avalos (16-0 with 13KO's) faces Christopher Martin (18-0-2 with 5KO's) in what should be a classy meeting of two youngsters with a lot to lose.
Friday's prospect then, isn't a British born fighter, or an American born fighter, he's not an Olympic champion but he is exciting and can bang. Cruiserweight Lateef Kayode 12-0 (11) isn't the most technical of fighters you'll see any time soon, though as his record and nickname (“Power”) show, he has one of those key attributes, pure destructive punch power. Born in Lagos, Nigeria it seems Kayode is on a similar rise to that of fellow Nigerian Samuel Peter a few years ago, that culminated in Peter winning a heavyweight title.
Having been brought up and toughened up as a youngster in Lagos he would turn to boxing to find a way to protect himself from the repeated beating he'd gotten as a teenage, little did he realise what an impact the sport of boxing would have on him. It was as an amateur that he would start to forge a name for himself winning various African based tournaments though in his first attempt to make a major international mark things went awry. A plane he, and his Nigerian team mates were catching to Olympic qualifiers was delayed and it forced them to miss the qualification process. After deciding to turn professional in the US the search was on for someone to help and a chance meeting with manager Steven Feder started it all off. Feder would sign Kayode to his newly founded “Standing Eight” company, and the rest, as they say is history.
Standing Eight would see Kayode making his professional debut little under 2 years ago, 15th October 2008, facing the significantly bigger Mike Miller. Miller was 53lbs heavier than Kayode and durable having only been stopped once in 17 fights, it was this durability that saw Kayode forced to go the 4 round distance as a professional. Since then however opponents have struggled to test the muscular Nigerian power house who has scored 11 straight KO's in his subsequent bouts. He's gone from being a very small heavyweight at just over the cruiserweight limit to being a very big and incredibly strong cruiserweight, a division that seems much more suited to the Hollywood based fighter.
Although Kayode was fed relatively over matched opponents for much of his early career, who he blew out early doors, the interesting thing about his opponents is they really have been getting better. Fighters like the experienced Billy Willis are often given to much more experienced prospects, yet Lateef needed only 2 rounds to stop him, whilst heavy handed Jose Luis Herrera who had a record of 16-7 (16 wins by KO) was dealt with quickly. Interestingly Herrera fights on the same night against another rising prospect Jeremiah Graziano (12-0 all by KO) whilst Lateef takes another tough test. This time in the shape of Alfredo Escalera Jr who's record of 18-2-1 (12KOs) is intimidating (even if it is heavily padded) in a card that is being televised by Showtime on one of their ShoBox events.
With a win expected for the hard punching Nigerian it's perhaps time he joined the rising charge of Cruiserweights quickly rising through the ranks at the moment. A fight against BJ Flores would likely be the biggest American based fight either man could could currently get as the exodus to Germany of Steve Cunningham has been followed by Matt Godfrey travelling for a world title shot. Though what ever the future brings, “Power” is certainly capable of being a part of it.
The Shobox card will also feature unbeaten Americans clashing as Chris Avalos (16-0 with 13KO's) faces Christopher Martin (18-0-2 with 5KO's) in what should be a classy meeting of two youngsters with a lot to lose.
Friday 30 July 2010
Frankie Gomez One to watch
With American boxing at a bit of a low point, no heavyweight contenders worth lacing the boots of the Klitschko's and only a handful of seriously top level boxers across the divisions it may be fair to assume it'll doom and gloom. Though that's far from the actuality of things and whilst Bob Arum's “Top Rank” have got Jose Benavidez as their future star Golden Boy Promotions haven't done too badly themselves signing up Benavidez's main amateur rival Frankie Gomez. Frankie was born in 1992 in LA and has been kept on the right tracks by his level headed parents and the sport of boxing which is helping him become a true star, like the man who promotes him Oscar De La Hoya.
As just a young kid Frankie would pick up boxing to stay away from the gang culture of LA and under the wing of Ronnie Rivota and the Los Angeles Police Department’s Police Athletic League (LAPD PAL) Frankie would grow and develop as one of the best young amateurs in the states. It was as an amateur that he really started to shine, as just teen he was dominating opponents older than himself with long hours in the gym working out well for him. A combination of natural talent, an ability to learn quickly and a mature head on his young shoulders turned what could have been another gang related waste of a life into a man who was winning tournaments for fun. Though it was in 2009 that he would really come to prominence with victory in the U.S.A. Amateur National Champion and a Silver medal at the World Amateur Boxing Championships. It was obvious that he was heading for bigger and better things, but the question was, will Gomez go pro, or will go to the Olympics in 2012?
The answer was simple, Gomez turned professional signing with Golden Boy Promotions soon after Golden Boy lost the race to sign Benavidez. In some peoples eyes it was a consolation prize, in others it was a coup with De La Hoya mentioning several links between himself and Gomez. They shared a 4th of February birthday, they were both from LA and Gomez had been born the same year that De La Hoya had won Olympic gold. Though to many they seemed trivial and meaningless links and it was all about how he was going to fair in the professional ranks that matter. So far, against limited opposition admittedly, Gomez has looked excellent, calm, aggressive, accurate and fast with power that isn't common in such a youngster. He has so far fought 4 times as a pro winning all 4 by stoppage within 3 rounds. The most impressive of those wins coming last time out against Jaime Orrantia who was stopped on his feet late in the opening round.
Although this upcoming weekend, on the undercard of Juan Diaz and Juan Manuel Marquez II Gomez again gets another relatively easy nights work when he meets Ricardo Calazada (2-2) it's a fight that could help Gomez learn. Golden Boy Promotions don't need to rush the kid and instead will bring him along at an easy and pace until they feel he's ready to step up.
As just a young kid Frankie would pick up boxing to stay away from the gang culture of LA and under the wing of Ronnie Rivota and the Los Angeles Police Department’s Police Athletic League (LAPD PAL) Frankie would grow and develop as one of the best young amateurs in the states. It was as an amateur that he really started to shine, as just teen he was dominating opponents older than himself with long hours in the gym working out well for him. A combination of natural talent, an ability to learn quickly and a mature head on his young shoulders turned what could have been another gang related waste of a life into a man who was winning tournaments for fun. Though it was in 2009 that he would really come to prominence with victory in the U.S.A. Amateur National Champion and a Silver medal at the World Amateur Boxing Championships. It was obvious that he was heading for bigger and better things, but the question was, will Gomez go pro, or will go to the Olympics in 2012?
The answer was simple, Gomez turned professional signing with Golden Boy Promotions soon after Golden Boy lost the race to sign Benavidez. In some peoples eyes it was a consolation prize, in others it was a coup with De La Hoya mentioning several links between himself and Gomez. They shared a 4th of February birthday, they were both from LA and Gomez had been born the same year that De La Hoya had won Olympic gold. Though to many they seemed trivial and meaningless links and it was all about how he was going to fair in the professional ranks that matter. So far, against limited opposition admittedly, Gomez has looked excellent, calm, aggressive, accurate and fast with power that isn't common in such a youngster. He has so far fought 4 times as a pro winning all 4 by stoppage within 3 rounds. The most impressive of those wins coming last time out against Jaime Orrantia who was stopped on his feet late in the opening round.
Although this upcoming weekend, on the undercard of Juan Diaz and Juan Manuel Marquez II Gomez again gets another relatively easy nights work when he meets Ricardo Calazada (2-2) it's a fight that could help Gomez learn. Golden Boy Promotions don't need to rush the kid and instead will bring him along at an easy and pace until they feel he's ready to step up.
Sunday 25 July 2010
The Saint in Nevada
Although this appears to be one of the best weekends in boxing in quite a while, numerous world title fights and eliminators around the globe with possibly the most stacked card in quite some time it's also the first week after Sky's “Friday Night Fights”. British talent will miss it until Sky starts again with a Saturday night show, hopefully bringing big time boxing back to Sky Sports on a regular basis. Though it needs to be said that John Lewis Dickinson was upset last week due to a nasty swelling below his left eye which saw the former Prizefighter winner pulled out. Whilst Craig McEwan's trainer Freddie Roach said he thought “We had lost” whilst most thought Tony Jeffries should have lost to Michael Banbula.
So moving on to this week and the excellent Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino card headlined by the rematch between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz it seems only fitting that the prospect of the week is fighting on that very undercard. With many of the fighters on the card being too advanced to really be considered prospects, such as Dmitry Pirog and Daniel Jacobs (who meet in a battle for the WBO Middleweight crown) and Jorge Linares (who whilst aged 24 has been a 2-weight champion already) it seems only fair to talk about the young fighter making his US debut. George “The Saint” Groves is arguably the hottest young fighter in Britain and looks to try and his name to the long and illustrious list of great Super Middleweights from the UK.
Although Groves, 22 year old from Hammersmith may not have got the Olympic success of fierce rival and former gym buddy James “Chunky” DeGale many are picking the Hayemaker managed Frank Maloney promoted fighter as the better fighter, and with good reason. A two time British ABA Middleweight champion, who as a kid held the more experienced DeGale to 50-50 sparring sessions and actually beat him in '06 as he piled up a 66-10 (40) amateur record.
Groves would sign a professional deal with the fledgling Hayemaker Promotions in 2008 and as DeGale was in China winning Olympic gold Groves was preparing for his professional debut which came only months later on the under card of David Hayes contest with Monte Barrett. It was a relatively low key debut for Groves who was comfortably down the card scoring a point victory over Kirilas Psonko unlike DeGales's debut 3 months later which was a hugely hyped event that saw DeGale booed due to running his mouth. Over the following 12 months Groves would be kept busy fighting regularly in contests against more experienced fighters. He would string together 5 straight stoppages, beating the likes of solid British fighter Paul Samuels, an the usually durable Romaric Hignard from France.
Groves' first high profile bout came on the undercard of David Haye's contest with Nikolay Valuev for the WBA Heavyweight title. In Germany (his first fight outside of the UK) Groves would clearly out point the very durable Belarussian Kanstantsin Makhankau (who despite taking a record of 15-18 into the bout had only been stopped once) over 8 rounds. Though it was his most recent fight that really showed how good Groves is, stopping the well regarded George Adamu in the 6th round of an utterly one sided battle which had seen the tough Ghana born fighter down 3 times. The win saw Groves winning the Commonwealth Super Middleweight title in just his 9th fight as a professional.
In his upcoming fight “The Saint” meets Alfredo Contreras from the boxing hotbed of Los Mochis, Mexico who is as good a yard stick as you can get. Contreras has been in with Craig McEwan, David Lemieux, Anthony Dirrell (brother of Andre) and Sebastien Demers. Although Groves is expected to win comfortably, a stoppage will have him further proving his credentials and putting him further ahead of DeGale in the race to a world title.
On the card we also get one of the hottest young Americans in Frankie Gomez an 18 year old star in the making who is worth keeping an eye on if you get a chance.
So moving on to this week and the excellent Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino card headlined by the rematch between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz it seems only fitting that the prospect of the week is fighting on that very undercard. With many of the fighters on the card being too advanced to really be considered prospects, such as Dmitry Pirog and Daniel Jacobs (who meet in a battle for the WBO Middleweight crown) and Jorge Linares (who whilst aged 24 has been a 2-weight champion already) it seems only fair to talk about the young fighter making his US debut. George “The Saint” Groves is arguably the hottest young fighter in Britain and looks to try and his name to the long and illustrious list of great Super Middleweights from the UK.
Although Groves, 22 year old from Hammersmith may not have got the Olympic success of fierce rival and former gym buddy James “Chunky” DeGale many are picking the Hayemaker managed Frank Maloney promoted fighter as the better fighter, and with good reason. A two time British ABA Middleweight champion, who as a kid held the more experienced DeGale to 50-50 sparring sessions and actually beat him in '06 as he piled up a 66-10 (40) amateur record.
Groves would sign a professional deal with the fledgling Hayemaker Promotions in 2008 and as DeGale was in China winning Olympic gold Groves was preparing for his professional debut which came only months later on the under card of David Hayes contest with Monte Barrett. It was a relatively low key debut for Groves who was comfortably down the card scoring a point victory over Kirilas Psonko unlike DeGales's debut 3 months later which was a hugely hyped event that saw DeGale booed due to running his mouth. Over the following 12 months Groves would be kept busy fighting regularly in contests against more experienced fighters. He would string together 5 straight stoppages, beating the likes of solid British fighter Paul Samuels, an the usually durable Romaric Hignard from France.
Groves' first high profile bout came on the undercard of David Haye's contest with Nikolay Valuev for the WBA Heavyweight title. In Germany (his first fight outside of the UK) Groves would clearly out point the very durable Belarussian Kanstantsin Makhankau (who despite taking a record of 15-18 into the bout had only been stopped once) over 8 rounds. Though it was his most recent fight that really showed how good Groves is, stopping the well regarded George Adamu in the 6th round of an utterly one sided battle which had seen the tough Ghana born fighter down 3 times. The win saw Groves winning the Commonwealth Super Middleweight title in just his 9th fight as a professional.
In his upcoming fight “The Saint” meets Alfredo Contreras from the boxing hotbed of Los Mochis, Mexico who is as good a yard stick as you can get. Contreras has been in with Craig McEwan, David Lemieux, Anthony Dirrell (brother of Andre) and Sebastien Demers. Although Groves is expected to win comfortably, a stoppage will have him further proving his credentials and putting him further ahead of DeGale in the race to a world title.
On the card we also get one of the hottest young Americans in Frankie Gomez an 18 year old star in the making who is worth keeping an eye on if you get a chance.
Sunday 18 July 2010
Only 1 interesting prospect fight...shame
Last weekend saw the battle of the prospects, several enticing and interesting bouts featuring prospect v prospect such as Lanard Lane's contest with Mike Dallas Jr and Shawn Porter v Ray Robinson so we'll take a quick look at the round up of them before we look at a less interesting weekend.
Results from Friday night:
Matty Askin WTKO1 Lee Kellet
Scott Quigg WTKO9 Gavin Reid
Fernando Guerrero WUD10 Ishe Smith
Shawn Porter WUD10 Ray Robinson (in a really brilliant match that's well worth watching)
Lanard Lane LUD8 Mike Dallas Jr (in a bout where Dallas' hand speed really impressed me)
Sadam Ali WTKO3 Julius Edmonds (Ali was also impressive)
Alex Perez WUD8 Edvan Dos Santos Barros
Saturday night:
Raymond Serrano WMD8 Ayi Bruce
So to this week, which sadly lacks the true prospect v prospect fight and instead has more easy learning fights. Firstly the high profile Tony Jeffries, one of the British Olympians from the 2008 Beijing games makes his 8th appearance as a professional, the popular Mackem has an easy nights work on paper against the British based Pole Michael Banbula (10-25-3). Jeffries is expected to win though it's worth noting that Banbula, who has no stoppages, has only been stopped 3 times in his career and is coming in on the back of an impressive victory over Tony Oakey, the former British and Commonwealth Light Heavyweight champion.
On the same card we also have to keep an eye out for 2 other fighters, the first is unbeaten (7-0) 22 year old Martin Ward who faces a really tough test in experienced Andy Bell a former British super flyweight champion. Though Bell is by far more experienced he's jumping up to fight at featherweight against a younger stronger fighter who has the bit between his teeth. The fight on paper looked interesting until you realise that Bells 11-7 record features 4 straight losses in his last 4 fights.
The one that interests me the most personally however is the unbeaten Cruiserweight Jon Lewis Dickinson who hopes to emulate local hero Glenn McCrory and win a world Cruiserweight title. Stood at 6'4'' he's a fighter with huge potential and has made a solid start to his career and at just 24 he's coming into his physical prime. Although not long a pro (only turning in November '08) he has managed several note worthy wins in an unbeaten 8 fight career which has swiftly seen him rated inside the top 10 British Cruiserweights (both Boxrec.com and Boxing News magazine rate him at #6 in Britain). Although on Friday he has a relatively soft test against Tyrone Wright (8-4-2) he has managed to win the “Prizefighter” tournament on Sky Sports and currently holds wins over Paul Bonson, Hastings Rasanai, Mark Krence and 2 wins over Nick Okoth not bad for a novice.
In the USA we probably see the best match up with Scottish born Craig McEwan (18-0) meeting the very reliable and experienced Danny Perez (34-7). Perez doesn't usually lose to bad fighters having recently been out pointed by Erislandy Lara and suffering 2 losses to Antonio Margarito. McEwan has been touted around an awful lot, a top class amateur who's now signed to Golden Boy Promotions has struggled to get these sorts of solid tests and it's probably with good reason. Although he has been highly hyped as Scotland's new star the Hollywood based fighter he has yet to truly impress many of those that are impartial and his split decision victory against Darnell Boone in summer '06 saw him getting a rather lucky victory over a solid journeyman type.
Although Perez is stepping up in weight and lacks pop in his punches don't be surprised if McEwan needs to judges to rescue him.
Although after 24 fights it's not fair to call him a prospect the Iceman Vernon Paris intends to stretch his record. Paris is 21-0 with 3 no contests on his record and aged 22 it's time for him to take the sport seriously or get out. Annoyingly he's scuppered his career with drug offences and out the ring altercations which has seen him shot 3 times and stabbed, despite this he's lighting fast and a talented fighter well worth watching for a few rounds. Sadly last time out against Juan Santiago he seemed to fade very quickly and after the midway point seemed to run more than punch. Paris fights 21-6 Courtney Burton in what could well be Paris' toughest assignment so far, though if he's prepared he should go to 22-0-0-3.
Some other fighters fighting during the week:
Australian fighter and highly touted prospect Lenny Zappavinga faces Billy Sumba. For my money Zappa is living on borrowed time and was comfortably beaten by Fernando Angulo in my eyes (Zappa won the bout on the scorecards to go 23-0). Also in Australia Brad Pitt continues his professional career after a successful 2006 Commonwealth games (in which he won Gold). Pitt is currently 4-0 (3) and faces Oscar Siale (12-5) in what is a solid step up in class.
Results from Friday night:
Matty Askin WTKO1 Lee Kellet
Scott Quigg WTKO9 Gavin Reid
Fernando Guerrero WUD10 Ishe Smith
Shawn Porter WUD10 Ray Robinson (in a really brilliant match that's well worth watching)
Lanard Lane LUD8 Mike Dallas Jr (in a bout where Dallas' hand speed really impressed me)
Sadam Ali WTKO3 Julius Edmonds (Ali was also impressive)
Alex Perez WUD8 Edvan Dos Santos Barros
Saturday night:
Raymond Serrano WMD8 Ayi Bruce
So to this week, which sadly lacks the true prospect v prospect fight and instead has more easy learning fights. Firstly the high profile Tony Jeffries, one of the British Olympians from the 2008 Beijing games makes his 8th appearance as a professional, the popular Mackem has an easy nights work on paper against the British based Pole Michael Banbula (10-25-3). Jeffries is expected to win though it's worth noting that Banbula, who has no stoppages, has only been stopped 3 times in his career and is coming in on the back of an impressive victory over Tony Oakey, the former British and Commonwealth Light Heavyweight champion.
On the same card we also have to keep an eye out for 2 other fighters, the first is unbeaten (7-0) 22 year old Martin Ward who faces a really tough test in experienced Andy Bell a former British super flyweight champion. Though Bell is by far more experienced he's jumping up to fight at featherweight against a younger stronger fighter who has the bit between his teeth. The fight on paper looked interesting until you realise that Bells 11-7 record features 4 straight losses in his last 4 fights.
The one that interests me the most personally however is the unbeaten Cruiserweight Jon Lewis Dickinson who hopes to emulate local hero Glenn McCrory and win a world Cruiserweight title. Stood at 6'4'' he's a fighter with huge potential and has made a solid start to his career and at just 24 he's coming into his physical prime. Although not long a pro (only turning in November '08) he has managed several note worthy wins in an unbeaten 8 fight career which has swiftly seen him rated inside the top 10 British Cruiserweights (both Boxrec.com and Boxing News magazine rate him at #6 in Britain). Although on Friday he has a relatively soft test against Tyrone Wright (8-4-2) he has managed to win the “Prizefighter” tournament on Sky Sports and currently holds wins over Paul Bonson, Hastings Rasanai, Mark Krence and 2 wins over Nick Okoth not bad for a novice.
In the USA we probably see the best match up with Scottish born Craig McEwan (18-0) meeting the very reliable and experienced Danny Perez (34-7). Perez doesn't usually lose to bad fighters having recently been out pointed by Erislandy Lara and suffering 2 losses to Antonio Margarito. McEwan has been touted around an awful lot, a top class amateur who's now signed to Golden Boy Promotions has struggled to get these sorts of solid tests and it's probably with good reason. Although he has been highly hyped as Scotland's new star the Hollywood based fighter he has yet to truly impress many of those that are impartial and his split decision victory against Darnell Boone in summer '06 saw him getting a rather lucky victory over a solid journeyman type.
Although Perez is stepping up in weight and lacks pop in his punches don't be surprised if McEwan needs to judges to rescue him.
Although after 24 fights it's not fair to call him a prospect the Iceman Vernon Paris intends to stretch his record. Paris is 21-0 with 3 no contests on his record and aged 22 it's time for him to take the sport seriously or get out. Annoyingly he's scuppered his career with drug offences and out the ring altercations which has seen him shot 3 times and stabbed, despite this he's lighting fast and a talented fighter well worth watching for a few rounds. Sadly last time out against Juan Santiago he seemed to fade very quickly and after the midway point seemed to run more than punch. Paris fights 21-6 Courtney Burton in what could well be Paris' toughest assignment so far, though if he's prepared he should go to 22-0-0-3.
Some other fighters fighting during the week:
Australian fighter and highly touted prospect Lenny Zappavinga faces Billy Sumba. For my money Zappa is living on borrowed time and was comfortably beaten by Fernando Angulo in my eyes (Zappa won the bout on the scorecards to go 23-0). Also in Australia Brad Pitt continues his professional career after a successful 2006 Commonwealth games (in which he won Gold). Pitt is currently 4-0 (3) and faces Oscar Siale (12-5) in what is a solid step up in class.
Wednesday 14 July 2010
Busy weekend for prospects
As pointed out in the Scott Quigg piece an awful lot of solid prospects seem to be fighting this coming weekend. So lets take a look at the best of the bunch.
On the same card as Scott Quigg are several noteworthy British fighters. Firstly Martin Murray (19-0 with 7KO's) who fights for the Commonwealth title at Middleweight on the Sky Sports 1 card. Although not a youngster at 27 Murray is a bit of an under achiever in the pro's having turned over in later 2007 and not really advancing swiftly in his nigh on 3 years in the paid ranks. Having been a solid amateur his professional career has only really been highlighted by his victory in on of the Prizefighter competitions in 2008. Now with Hatton Promotions (who are promoting the card on Friday) we should expect to see big things from Murray as he tries to muscle in with the other top British Middleweights like Darren Barker and Matthew Macklin, perhaps chasing down the winner of their fight. Although talented he won't want to waste too many years fighting the likes of his up coming opponent Peter Mitrevski Jr.. Wins against the likes of Cello Renda, Kevin Concepcion, Danny Butler and Siarhei Khomitski are the only real names on his record and are British level at best (barring Khomitski who's a solid European journeyman).
Also on the card is the highly touted Matty Askin, Askin is a massive and young Cruiserweight from Blackpool, England who stands at 6 foot 4, has a 77'' reach and yet is still growing into a man. Aged just 21 his career is only just really beginning. Despite debuting back in November 2008 as a relatively raw 19 year old out pointing experienced British journeyman Paul Bonson Askin impressed. More impressive however was the fact he'd only been boxing for since he was 16 and had come straight from winning the ABA Cruiserweight championship earlier in 2008. Born on Christmas eve 1988 (exactly a year after me oddly), he powered his way through older fighters more experienced fighters stopping 3 of his 6 opponents. Included in those was Matthew Ellis who was dispatched inside 2 minutes by a fighter growing in confidence and in power. On the card he fights Lee Kellett who is returning to the ring after 15 months out training local kids in Barrow -In-Furness' “Furness Fight Factory”. Although to me Lee is a local fighter I think he'll be beaten, and probably stopped by the emerging Askin, a talent that seems on the way up whilst 31 year old Kellet should put up a good fight Askin will invariably impress.
State side will also see action for up and coming fighters. The biggest name on show will be Shawn Porter the former amateur star who seems set to make waves in the professional game. Shawn has been compared to Andre Berto for having a similar fast powerful style and similar build, standing at just 5 foot 7 whilst fighting as a Light Middleweight. “Showtime” as he's known is one of the most exciting young American fighting today, and arguably one of the most gifted having raced through his first 15 fights in explosive fashion stopping 12 early. Though he faces a legendary name in Ray Robinson on Friday night the “new” Ray doesn't compare to the original and so expect him to be steam rolled by Porter.
The main event on the card sees the Dominican Republic born Fernando Guerrero (18-0 15KO's) Fernando Guerrero facing his biggest test yet in Ishe Smith. The biggest win so far for Guerrero has been a majority decision over Ghana born veteran Ossie Duran though in Smith Guerrero meets a solid challenge. Smith, a fighter in the first series of The Contender has failed to really push on with his career and now seems to have become a stepping stone fighter with losses to Sechew Powell, Joel Julio and most recently Daniel Jacobs. A loss to Guerrero would see Smith's career being that of a gate keeper though victory for Fernando will likely see him stepping up to world title level in his next few fights. Skilled, powerful and a southpaw Guerrero could be a problem for anyone on his day, problem is with Smith arguably fighting for his career and a tough nut to crack, this is a potential banana skin.
If the above fight is an exciting one, one of the chief support bouts should have you salivating in anticipation. Popular Philly fireman Lanard Lane (12-0 7KO's) will face fellow unbeaten fighter Mike Dallas Jr (14-0-1 with 5KOs). Although it's truly a pick 'em fight that shows what boxing is all about I have a feeling the older more powerful Lane will come out victorious in what could turn out to be the fight of the weekend. The fight, like the previous two are on a card in Southaven dubbed “The best of the Best” and are part of the “ShoBox” event shown on Showtime.
On ESPN however they are fighting back with a terrific card of their own. Headlined by Zab Judah's contest with Jose Armando Santa Cruz the fighter that takes my eye is Sadam Ali, a fighter recently featured in Ring Magazine's one to watch. Currently with a record of 7-0 (3) the 21 year old Welterweight/Light Middleweight faces the 7-7 Julias Edmonds. Though the fight is probably a “safe” one for Ali at this point in his career against a limited fighter with no pop Edmonds doesn't get stopped easily (his one stoppage loss came from an ear injury) so Ali will be doing 6 rounds for the first time. Although he's a talented youngster his career seems to be handled well and perhaps as it should be at this point with plenty of time for him to develop.
Also on the card is 28 year old Alex Perez a Welterweight southpaw who is 11-0 (7) and like Ali he's having a relatively easy nights work with Edvan Dos Santos Barros (who's record is 10-9-1). Unlike Ali Perez doesn't have 8 or 9 years to improve and having debuted in 2004 he should have taken his career much more seriously than he has.
On the same card as Scott Quigg are several noteworthy British fighters. Firstly Martin Murray (19-0 with 7KO's) who fights for the Commonwealth title at Middleweight on the Sky Sports 1 card. Although not a youngster at 27 Murray is a bit of an under achiever in the pro's having turned over in later 2007 and not really advancing swiftly in his nigh on 3 years in the paid ranks. Having been a solid amateur his professional career has only really been highlighted by his victory in on of the Prizefighter competitions in 2008. Now with Hatton Promotions (who are promoting the card on Friday) we should expect to see big things from Murray as he tries to muscle in with the other top British Middleweights like Darren Barker and Matthew Macklin, perhaps chasing down the winner of their fight. Although talented he won't want to waste too many years fighting the likes of his up coming opponent Peter Mitrevski Jr.. Wins against the likes of Cello Renda, Kevin Concepcion, Danny Butler and Siarhei Khomitski are the only real names on his record and are British level at best (barring Khomitski who's a solid European journeyman).
Also on the card is the highly touted Matty Askin, Askin is a massive and young Cruiserweight from Blackpool, England who stands at 6 foot 4, has a 77'' reach and yet is still growing into a man. Aged just 21 his career is only just really beginning. Despite debuting back in November 2008 as a relatively raw 19 year old out pointing experienced British journeyman Paul Bonson Askin impressed. More impressive however was the fact he'd only been boxing for since he was 16 and had come straight from winning the ABA Cruiserweight championship earlier in 2008. Born on Christmas eve 1988 (exactly a year after me oddly), he powered his way through older fighters more experienced fighters stopping 3 of his 6 opponents. Included in those was Matthew Ellis who was dispatched inside 2 minutes by a fighter growing in confidence and in power. On the card he fights Lee Kellett who is returning to the ring after 15 months out training local kids in Barrow -In-Furness' “Furness Fight Factory”. Although to me Lee is a local fighter I think he'll be beaten, and probably stopped by the emerging Askin, a talent that seems on the way up whilst 31 year old Kellet should put up a good fight Askin will invariably impress.
State side will also see action for up and coming fighters. The biggest name on show will be Shawn Porter the former amateur star who seems set to make waves in the professional game. Shawn has been compared to Andre Berto for having a similar fast powerful style and similar build, standing at just 5 foot 7 whilst fighting as a Light Middleweight. “Showtime” as he's known is one of the most exciting young American fighting today, and arguably one of the most gifted having raced through his first 15 fights in explosive fashion stopping 12 early. Though he faces a legendary name in Ray Robinson on Friday night the “new” Ray doesn't compare to the original and so expect him to be steam rolled by Porter.
The main event on the card sees the Dominican Republic born Fernando Guerrero (18-0 15KO's) Fernando Guerrero facing his biggest test yet in Ishe Smith. The biggest win so far for Guerrero has been a majority decision over Ghana born veteran Ossie Duran though in Smith Guerrero meets a solid challenge. Smith, a fighter in the first series of The Contender has failed to really push on with his career and now seems to have become a stepping stone fighter with losses to Sechew Powell, Joel Julio and most recently Daniel Jacobs. A loss to Guerrero would see Smith's career being that of a gate keeper though victory for Fernando will likely see him stepping up to world title level in his next few fights. Skilled, powerful and a southpaw Guerrero could be a problem for anyone on his day, problem is with Smith arguably fighting for his career and a tough nut to crack, this is a potential banana skin.
If the above fight is an exciting one, one of the chief support bouts should have you salivating in anticipation. Popular Philly fireman Lanard Lane (12-0 7KO's) will face fellow unbeaten fighter Mike Dallas Jr (14-0-1 with 5KOs). Although it's truly a pick 'em fight that shows what boxing is all about I have a feeling the older more powerful Lane will come out victorious in what could turn out to be the fight of the weekend. The fight, like the previous two are on a card in Southaven dubbed “The best of the Best” and are part of the “ShoBox” event shown on Showtime.
On ESPN however they are fighting back with a terrific card of their own. Headlined by Zab Judah's contest with Jose Armando Santa Cruz the fighter that takes my eye is Sadam Ali, a fighter recently featured in Ring Magazine's one to watch. Currently with a record of 7-0 (3) the 21 year old Welterweight/Light Middleweight faces the 7-7 Julias Edmonds. Though the fight is probably a “safe” one for Ali at this point in his career against a limited fighter with no pop Edmonds doesn't get stopped easily (his one stoppage loss came from an ear injury) so Ali will be doing 6 rounds for the first time. Although he's a talented youngster his career seems to be handled well and perhaps as it should be at this point with plenty of time for him to develop.
Also on the card is 28 year old Alex Perez a Welterweight southpaw who is 11-0 (7) and like Ali he's having a relatively easy nights work with Edvan Dos Santos Barros (who's record is 10-9-1). Unlike Ali Perez doesn't have 8 or 9 years to improve and having debuted in 2004 he should have taken his career much more seriously than he has.
Sunday 11 July 2010
Scott Quigg the prospect of the week...tough week too
Where do we start this week...well lets look at the past. Wins for Mike Jones (in controversial fashion I admit, the stoppage blow was certainly south of the border), John Molina (stopping the arrogant and outspoken Henry Lundy), Carlos Negron and McJoe Arroyo means that it was a good weekend for prospects mentioned in this column. Antwone Smith however did lose, citing illness as an excuse before the bout, I have no sympathy there and the once touted Verquan Kimbrough has now lost 3 of his last 4 and has only 1 win in his last 6.
So this week...Jesus we have a busy week as decent prospects seem to be fighting more than established talent. It was due to this that it was almost impossible to pick a single fighter to be the prospect of the week, though after pulling names from a hat I've decided to go for a fighter I've not yet written about. 21 year old English Super Bantamweight Scott Quigg seems to be one of the most highly thought of young British fighters and with good reason.
Born in 1988 in the North West of England Quigg would pick up Thai boxing as a youngster before turning to traditional western Boxing aged 15. It was due to his background in Thai boxing that he didn't have a prolonged time in the amateur ranks, in fact he only fought 12 amateur bouts (winning 10 of those) before deciding to turn over and become a professional. Sparring with Pro's seemed to show that the professional game, based more on aggression was suited to Scott than the amateur sport where accurate single “scoring” shots are the key. On his professional debut in 2007 as a relative raw 18 year old beating Gary Sheil over 6 rounds.
Over the following year and a half Quigg would improve his skill whilst beating various low tier opponents and top flight domestic journeymen like Delroy Spencer before being signed up by Hatton Promotions, the company headed by Ricky Hatton. An impressive KO of Sumaila Badu being the deal maker for Hatton and showed that Quigg had become a solid all rounder with power, speed and a very solid professional style for someone so young and inexperienced. By then Scott was just 20 and with just 10 fights experience yet had managed to impress many who had seen him.
With the backing of Hatton and the team behind him Scott has remained busy managing 8 fights in 18 months. Though many of those opponents were nothing to great he had been doing what was needed to dominate them, experienced professionals were being made to look like the amateurs whilst novices were being blown out early. Though it's been the last few fights that Quigg has been especially impressive, blowing out 3 European imports that were expected to extend Quigg the schedule. A 6th round stoppage of Yuriy Voronin, a former European title contender in November of 2009 has been followed by first round stoppages of Nikita Lukin (who had never been stopped previously in 29 fights) and Andrey Kostin (who hadn't been stopped in 6 years) impressed everyone who saw them. Notably the victory over Kostin was amongst the first fights in Quigg's hometown of Bury in 13 years after he helped over turn a ban.
Quigg, now with a record of 18-0 (12) is scheduled to face Gavin Reid in a British super-bantamweight title eliminator. On current form Quigg should secure a relatively easy victory on a fight that is likely to be shown (in highlights at least) on Sky Sports 1 as part of the support for “Friday Fight Night” main event between Matthew Hatton and Yuriy Nuzhnenko. A victory will see Quigg in line for a fight for his first professional title and the first big step to the top.
I'd like to end this with something Phillipe Fondu said in a recent issue of Boxing Monthly "Scott Quigg is the best prospect in Britain by far". From the European mega agent Fondu, thats high praise indeed, though it's worth noting Fondu is the agent for both Yuriy Voronin and Nikita Lukin.
Sources:
http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=391424&cat=boxer
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/more-sport/2010/05/30/quick-fire-quigg-115875-22296371/
http://www.brandhatton.com/VideoProfile/9/.aspx
http://www.boxingnewsonline.net/BN08/detail.asp?id=1526
Boxing Monthly (July 2010)
So this week...Jesus we have a busy week as decent prospects seem to be fighting more than established talent. It was due to this that it was almost impossible to pick a single fighter to be the prospect of the week, though after pulling names from a hat I've decided to go for a fighter I've not yet written about. 21 year old English Super Bantamweight Scott Quigg seems to be one of the most highly thought of young British fighters and with good reason.
Born in 1988 in the North West of England Quigg would pick up Thai boxing as a youngster before turning to traditional western Boxing aged 15. It was due to his background in Thai boxing that he didn't have a prolonged time in the amateur ranks, in fact he only fought 12 amateur bouts (winning 10 of those) before deciding to turn over and become a professional. Sparring with Pro's seemed to show that the professional game, based more on aggression was suited to Scott than the amateur sport where accurate single “scoring” shots are the key. On his professional debut in 2007 as a relative raw 18 year old beating Gary Sheil over 6 rounds.
Over the following year and a half Quigg would improve his skill whilst beating various low tier opponents and top flight domestic journeymen like Delroy Spencer before being signed up by Hatton Promotions, the company headed by Ricky Hatton. An impressive KO of Sumaila Badu being the deal maker for Hatton and showed that Quigg had become a solid all rounder with power, speed and a very solid professional style for someone so young and inexperienced. By then Scott was just 20 and with just 10 fights experience yet had managed to impress many who had seen him.
With the backing of Hatton and the team behind him Scott has remained busy managing 8 fights in 18 months. Though many of those opponents were nothing to great he had been doing what was needed to dominate them, experienced professionals were being made to look like the amateurs whilst novices were being blown out early. Though it's been the last few fights that Quigg has been especially impressive, blowing out 3 European imports that were expected to extend Quigg the schedule. A 6th round stoppage of Yuriy Voronin, a former European title contender in November of 2009 has been followed by first round stoppages of Nikita Lukin (who had never been stopped previously in 29 fights) and Andrey Kostin (who hadn't been stopped in 6 years) impressed everyone who saw them. Notably the victory over Kostin was amongst the first fights in Quigg's hometown of Bury in 13 years after he helped over turn a ban.
Quigg, now with a record of 18-0 (12) is scheduled to face Gavin Reid in a British super-bantamweight title eliminator. On current form Quigg should secure a relatively easy victory on a fight that is likely to be shown (in highlights at least) on Sky Sports 1 as part of the support for “Friday Fight Night” main event between Matthew Hatton and Yuriy Nuzhnenko. A victory will see Quigg in line for a fight for his first professional title and the first big step to the top.
I'd like to end this with something Phillipe Fondu said in a recent issue of Boxing Monthly "Scott Quigg is the best prospect in Britain by far". From the European mega agent Fondu, thats high praise indeed, though it's worth noting Fondu is the agent for both Yuriy Voronin and Nikita Lukin.
Sources:
http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=391424&cat=boxer
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/more-sport/2010/05/30/quick-fire-quigg-115875-22296371/
http://www.brandhatton.com/VideoProfile/9/.aspx
http://www.boxingnewsonline.net/BN08/detail.asp?id=1526
Boxing Monthly (July 2010)
Wednesday 7 July 2010
Mike Jones
This article is taken straight from My Helium piece on Mike.
When boxing fans think of the current welterweight division, the first names to spring to mind are Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, though with both these two in their 30's, same as Shane Mosley, it's likely that a new wave will start to emerge. The first of this “new wave” is Andre Berto, closely followed by the likes of Saul Alvarez and Selcuk Aydin, though a name that seems to generally over looked is unbeaten 27 year old Mike Jones.
Jones, a solid amateur who amassed a 60-6 record in the unpaid ranks has followed in the footsteps of many other fighters from his home city and is trying to add his name to the illustrious list of boxing legends of Philly. Having made his professional debut in 2005 Jones has seen himself climbing up the world rankings, taking step after step in the direction of a world title fight that he seems to be on the verge of deserving. With his career in the hands of Peltz Boxing they seem to be guiding him to the top and leaving their doors open on the way up there for the likeable and tall powerful fighter.
In his debut at the age of 22, Jones took out Jason Thompson in the 2nd round, the first of 12 straight stoppage wins to open his career, with only one of those opponents getting beyond 3 rounds with Jones. By then he was slowly gaining ground as one to watch, though he was making light work of relatively poor opponents and it was a matter of time before he was to be matched against a solid opponent. The first man to force Jones to hear the final bell was Germaine Sanders, in a fight that Jones won over 8 rounds, though some questioned his stamina and skill he managed to win it by 4 points on all 3 cards. His following fight also went the distance as he posted a shut out over Gilbert Venegas, since then though Jones has been tested over and over passing every test so far.
Having picked up both the WBO NABO and the NABA welterweight titles he has acquired high ratings with the WBO (where he is #3) and the WBA (also #3) as well as the IBF and WBC (#7 with both). Though it's not just the fact he has those two belts which is interesting but also the opponents he has been facing in recent times, which have included Raul Pinzon, Henry Bruseles (who had been unbeaten since a 2005 loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr) and most recently Hector Munoz to help him compile a 21-0 record with 17KO's.
Now preparing for his 22nd fight in which he is to face Irving Garcia, a man who challenged for the WBA Interim Welterweight title in 2008.A comprehensive win over the 17-4-3 Garcia will hopefully help keep Jones amongst the top ranked fighters, even if he is unlikely to get a world title fight for quite some while.
Sources:
Boxrec.com
peltzboxing.com
Mike fights this coming Friday folks :-)
When boxing fans think of the current welterweight division, the first names to spring to mind are Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, though with both these two in their 30's, same as Shane Mosley, it's likely that a new wave will start to emerge. The first of this “new wave” is Andre Berto, closely followed by the likes of Saul Alvarez and Selcuk Aydin, though a name that seems to generally over looked is unbeaten 27 year old Mike Jones.
Jones, a solid amateur who amassed a 60-6 record in the unpaid ranks has followed in the footsteps of many other fighters from his home city and is trying to add his name to the illustrious list of boxing legends of Philly. Having made his professional debut in 2005 Jones has seen himself climbing up the world rankings, taking step after step in the direction of a world title fight that he seems to be on the verge of deserving. With his career in the hands of Peltz Boxing they seem to be guiding him to the top and leaving their doors open on the way up there for the likeable and tall powerful fighter.
In his debut at the age of 22, Jones took out Jason Thompson in the 2nd round, the first of 12 straight stoppage wins to open his career, with only one of those opponents getting beyond 3 rounds with Jones. By then he was slowly gaining ground as one to watch, though he was making light work of relatively poor opponents and it was a matter of time before he was to be matched against a solid opponent. The first man to force Jones to hear the final bell was Germaine Sanders, in a fight that Jones won over 8 rounds, though some questioned his stamina and skill he managed to win it by 4 points on all 3 cards. His following fight also went the distance as he posted a shut out over Gilbert Venegas, since then though Jones has been tested over and over passing every test so far.
Having picked up both the WBO NABO and the NABA welterweight titles he has acquired high ratings with the WBO (where he is #3) and the WBA (also #3) as well as the IBF and WBC (#7 with both). Though it's not just the fact he has those two belts which is interesting but also the opponents he has been facing in recent times, which have included Raul Pinzon, Henry Bruseles (who had been unbeaten since a 2005 loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr) and most recently Hector Munoz to help him compile a 21-0 record with 17KO's.
Now preparing for his 22nd fight in which he is to face Irving Garcia, a man who challenged for the WBA Interim Welterweight title in 2008.A comprehensive win over the 17-4-3 Garcia will hopefully help keep Jones amongst the top ranked fighters, even if he is unlikely to get a world title fight for quite some while.
Sources:
Boxrec.com
peltzboxing.com
Mike fights this coming Friday folks :-)
Sunday 4 July 2010
Away from the Mainstrean of Boxing
It may seem weird that a sport as fragmented has off seasons but it appears that the sport is done for summer with very few worth while matches coming up. There was a period a few weeks ago where the Light Middleweights were on fire sadly no weight division has filled in afterwards and theirs little to genuinely report in the bigger picture. The only fights that seem to figure a major Western interest are Jacobs v Pirog, Diaz v Marquez II, Bradley v Abregu and Alcine v Angulo whilst in Australia Green v Briggs could be a thriller (though more about that here).
For those that look a little more beneath the surface though there is some intriguing fights taking place on a weekly basis. This coming week sees two prospects I'm wanting to mention, mid week will have a profile of Mike Jones, whilst this first piece will look at one of the most intriguing matches in a while in regards to prospects. It sees the highly rated once beaten John Molina facing the exciting and easy to watch Henry Lundy who's unbeaten so far as a professional and has featured on national TV in an enthralling encounter with Tyrese Hendrix which had an excellent opening round.
Lundy, although talented is unproven and having amassed 18 wins (10 by KO) and 1 draw, he has only faced a few names that people may recognise, most notably Richard Abril (who lost to Breidis Prescott) who was unlucky not to win the decision (Lundy got a split). Stood at 5 foot 6 and fighting as a lightweight he hasn't got that X factor that many fighters have even if he is very much an all rounder however flaws with his chin (Abril put him down as did Hendrix last time out although it wasn't called) do standout as a problem that won't be cured over night. Against the very talented but perhaps exposed Molina a fast and once very highly touted fighter Lundy will have his work serious cut out. Molina has ran up a record of 20-1 (16) losing only to the experienced Martin Honorio in late 2009, since then he has bounced back with 2 confidence building stoppages in double quick time. With a 4 inch heigh advantage and far superior speed it's hard to see Molina losing in the bout (for the WBO NABO lightweight title) though the son of boxing great John John Molina really doesn't look like stepping out of his fathers shadow any time soon.
That's on Friday whilst on Saturday on the undercard of Juan Manuel Lopez v Bernabe Concepcion is a monster from Puerto Rico called Carlos Negron. People who have seen him fight will agree with me here, the guy is a beast. Aged 22 he stands at 6 foot 6 has an 83 inch reach and power in both hands as well as very solid boxing ability and with the recent losses for both Kenny Galarza and McWilliams Arroyo I'd have have to say Negron has got his chance to jump up the line. Although he has been decked as a professional he got up and put his opponent away the following round and seems likely to add himself to the growing list of exciting Cruiserweights. Negron faces the 15-9-0-1 puncher (12KO's) Gustavo Enriquez. Enriquez should be seen as a solid marking stick having been in with Wayne Braithwaite, Johnathon Banks, Hugo Hernan Garay and recent WBO Cruiserweight challenger Adam Richards.
Also fighting on Saturday is Saul Alvarez, a fighter who has superseded being a mere prospect and is a really special 19 year Mexican who has star potential written all over him. Although fighting in a bit of an obscure card it'll be worth trying to catch it online, he's a truly exceptional fighter well worth catching if JuanMa can have a short night with Concepcion.
Boxings off-season? Nah boxing's time to invite us to look away from the mainstream.
Monday 28 June 2010
A recap and a look at the next great Cruiserweight
Right a recap of the past few weeks and a new piece all rolled into one, I've been lazy with the world cup and a new addiction (oooh I'm a naughty boy).
Results of tipped guys:
Kenny Glarza L pts Brad Solomon
McWilliams Arroyo L pts Takashi Okada
Demetrius Andrade * Quandray Robertson
Maxim Vlasov WTKO3 Jerson Ravelo
Sherzod Husanov W pts Jhon Berrio
Mark Tucker W Pts Billy Bailey
Edwin Rodriguez WTKO5 Ibahiem King
Frankie Gomez WKO1 Jaime Orrantia
Jose Benavidez WKO1 Josh Beeman
The only losers were Puerto Rican power punchers.
*Denotes fighter didn't fight during the month despite being pencilled in. Not entirely sure what happened though.
So this week's fighter. How do you like the Cruiserweight division? Not much right? They're are just wannabe heavy's but not big enough right? Well here's a name to add to your boxrec “watch” list Rakhim Chakhkiev. A classy Russian amateur who has now turned his attention to taking over the professional ranks and he may well be one of those fighters that can really help establish the “bastard” division. With his amateur background being highlighted by Gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and a Silver medal at the 2007 World Amateur Championships both at heavyweight he's turned to the professional ranks in a relative blaze of glory.
He started his career by stopping Tayar Mehmed in late 2009 and has stopped all 5 of his opponents as a professional with heavy hands, excellent technical abilities and a style possibly more suited the the pro ranks than the amateur one. With Michael Timm training him and a major German promoter behind him he'll likely remain hidden from American audiences for a while though this does have it's rather cool advantages. At the moment the top Cruiserweights are based in Europe which means that he'll get the competition he needs by facing the faded cruisers out there and the smaller heavyweights as he learns the trade and likely gets fast tracked to the top.
With fighters like Steve Cunningham, Marco Huck, Herbie Hide, Denis Lebedev, Alexander Alexeev, Ola Olafabi, Yoan Pablo Hernandez, Krzysztof Wlodarczyk, Grigory Drozd, Pawel Kolodziej, Giacobbe Fragomeni, Firat Arslan, Steve Herelius and Enzo Maccarinelli all based in or signed to European promoters it seems likely that the division will see the best fighters over here (I'm based in the UK so it's over here ;-)). With that in mind it's likely only a few fights before Chakhkiev will be stepping up in competition.
At the time of posting Rakhim is pencilled in for a bout on July 3rd on the undercard of Firat Arslan v Steve Herelius and Ina Menzer v Jeannine Garside, though there is no opponent currently named. It's likely to be a solid step up in opponent for a fighter than some are seeing as the future of the division and at 27 years old he may well dominate for a while.
Friday 25 June 2010
Jose Benvidez...The best prospect in the world
So week 3, and as promised a "super prospect", if you need to put your money on any fighter features in this column ever making it to being a world champion this is the banker, the NAP if you will. 18 year old Mexican-American amateur star Jose Benavidez, undoubtedly the most highly sought after teenager in boxing history prior to signing for Bob Arum's Top Rank (the same company that also have training mate Manny Pacquiao). Having been the youngest fighter in history to win National Golden Gloves Champion (aged just 16) his signature was sought after high and low by professional promoters wanting to sign him, though at the same time dreams of Olympic success were also acting as a battling force, he would likely be amongst the US' best chance at the 2012 games in London having matured into a young 20 year old under the wing of famed trainer Freddie Roach. Although he had options like few other amateur stars it was the guidance of Roach that eventually lead Benavides to turning professional with the trainer applying for a professional Nevada license. Despite needing to be 18 to get the license the NSAC gave special dispensation to Benavidez due to his advanced skills, that rivalled that of seasoned professionals. In fact even before he had turned professional he had been sparring with seasoned and high level professionals such as Amir Khan who Freddie Roach was quoted as saying he'd been "Dead Even" with in sparring.
Stood at a gangly 5 foot 11 and with an unassuming personality the likeable kid (who has now turned 18) is currently campaigning as a professional in either the Lightweight (135lbs) or the Light
Welterweight (140lbs) divisions both of which he stands as a relative giant. With the commentators on TV before his debut explaining that Benavidez was being likened to Sugar Ray Robinson it was easy to take an immediate dislike to the hype behind the youngster before he had even stepped into the ring, though within just 81 seconds you could see that this wasn't meaningless hype. He debuted on one of the Top Rank TV shows back in January and faced the unbeaten Steven Cox (1-0), having had a massive build up it would have been easy to expect Benavidez to freeze, though he came out and performed like a seasoned pro, showing the skills of someone with years of experience. He seemed not only able to do the simple things, like establish his jab (which, with his 74 inch reach, is likely to be one of his most potent weapons) but also manage to work his opponent into the places where he'd want him before landing a beautiful and powerful left hand that sent Cox down. Even after Cox got up to his feet Benavides wouldn't relent and cleverly picked Cox apart before the referee waved it off. Inside 81 seconds Benavidez had gone from a 17 year old that no one outside of the most extreme of boxing fans had known about into a fighter that looked like he had stardom written in his destiny.
Since then Benevidez has just been improving, showing more and more aspects to his game and although his opponents so far have been there for no other purpose than to allow the youngster to get confident in the ring and improve as a professional he has managed to beat them with out looking like the youngster that he is. In fact from his first 6 opponents only one has managed to survive into the 3rd round, with 4 being stopped in the opener. For a youngster Benavidez really has it all, speed, natural talent, power of which you wouldn't have expected and maybe more crucially the ability to pick his punches beautifully to both head and body. The most recent victory for him being a clinical first round stoppage of Ronnie Peterson after a body shot that seemed to to just sap the fight right out of the 3-1-0-1 Peterson (who had only previously suffered a loss after damaging his shoulder).
For Benavidez, who wears glasses outside of the ring and looks like a typical bully victim with his slim build and innocent smile, the up coming test against Steve Hall in the Alamodome on Saturday as part of the undercard of John Duddy's fight with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr should be a rather easy nights work. Hall coming in with a 2-1 (2) record has stopped his last 2 opponents though against Benavidez he's meeting a special kind of fighter. Hall is only going to last as long as Benavidez wants him to, that's not a knock on Hall but a simple explanation of just how good Benavidez is, in fact you could make a solid case for him being better schooled than either of the main event fighters.
Also on the card is Mexican idol Marco Antonio Barrera, perhaps bowing out his career on the same card as Benavidez establishing his
Monday 21 June 2010
Week 3 part 1 Edwin "La Bomba" Rodriguez
As part of a double header of prospects for this week (it’s a busy week) as well as a mid week column we’re going to look at probably the best prospect in the world in the second one, though for this column we have a Super Middleweight who seems like he’s being matched better than most in his position. 25 Year old Edwin Rodriguez from the Domican Republic is one of the more well known prospects in boxing today though it worth a look at. With a record of 15-0 (11) since he turned professional in 2008 he has come along nicely and has kept relatively busy learning his trade as he goes.
A talented amateur Rodriguez won both the US Championships in 2005 and the 2006 National Golden Gloves at Middleweight establishing himself as one of the hottest amateurs in the country. Though he failed to make the Olympic team for Beijing after compiling an 84-9 amateur record he decided to move on, knowing life in the professionals would suit him and give him a well earned financial security. Although life hasn’t been plain sailing from then outside of the ring it has inside for the 6 foot man known as “La Bomba”. His battles outside of the ring have circled around the lives of his 2 twins, who were both born with medical problems. Instead of campaigning to get into the Olympic team Edwin put his dreams on hold instead concentrating on the lives of his children.
Having signed with Lou DiBella and the DiBella Entertainment promotional company and managed by Larry Hazard who sees Edwin as a friend as well as a client he has a solid pairing behind him. Though it’s the fact that Edwin is an intelligent and nice guy that has really seen him gaining the sort of attention he has had. Edwin has spent time doing things for those less fortunate than himself, such as playing hide and seek with disabled children and is also a graduate from Holy Cross where he earned a degree in Political Science.
Though with out repeating these facts it’s hard for many to understand what an all round star he is and it’s not just his boxing ability that has seen him become a star. His 15-0 record has seen him beating progressively better opponents such as Darnell Boone who’s 16-12-2 has been spent facing mainly the stiffest prospects out there (such as Erislandy Lara, Craig McEwan and Brandon Gonzales) and George Armenta (who has faced Yuri Foreman, Sachew Powell and last weeks midweek update fighter Mark “TNT” Tucker). In his upcoming fight Rodriguez faces the experienced Gabriel Holguin (25-8-1 with 9KO’s). A loss to Holguin would likely seriously damage Rodriguez’s career though it would be a major upset, as Holguin has only a single win in his last 4 fights, however he has only been stopped once in his career back in 2004, a stoppage win for Rodriguez would be incredibly impressive, though the bout is a good test for “La Bomba’s” stamina as it’s to be his first 10 rounder.
Expect a wide decision for a very talented fighter who will hopefully be moved onto top 30 type fighters as he has the talent to try and get in with some of the fighters from the Super 6 come the end of 20111
Saturday 19 June 2010
I'm a lil bit beyond tipsy so excuse me
You've got to hate this sport of ours, it keeps good fighters off TV and instead shows the ilk of Allan Green, the heartless fighter who talked a good fighter but delivered as if he was impersonating the England football team at this world cup. So over the past 2 nights two of the top American prospects managed to avoid TV coverage, people who read my last piece on this site will know who they are, others are about to find out.
First was Demetrius Andrade, possibly the most hyped young American fighter out here right now, he fought on the un-televised undercard of ESPN's “Friday Night Fights”.Although originally pencilled in to face Qunadray Robertson his opponent was changed to Dumont Welliver, even now on Sunday morning my time (BST) the result isn't on boxrec. Sadly it seemsno one else has released the result for that one as many of us wait in wonder as to who won. The other fighter I noted was Mark “TNT” Tucker who fought on the the undercard of Ward's dominant win over Allan Green. Tucker's fight, also not televised has had a record in boxrec at this time.
Tucker, a talented fighter who started his career as if he was a power puncher looks to be the fighting pride of his home city, though on recent performances he has been less and less impressive. His most recent fight on Saturday proved that he's not the star many were expecting him to be, as he out pointed Billy Bailey over 8 rounds. Thought he got the win it was in an uninspiring and close performance that saw the man known as “The Billy Goat” losing by 1 round (2 cards) and 2 rounds (the final card). Bailey a very standard journeyman shouldn't have given Tucker any problems if Tucker's fans are to believed,though the fact he did is a worry as TNT was meant to be something special.
For those interested my views on the Green v Ward fight can be found on Helium, and their's also a piece on a special talent coming later this week. Otherwise, it seems the top US prospects have been over looked, a real shame.
Friday 18 June 2010
We want results
The failure of McWilliams Arroyo last week was an upset, though this week we had a host of prospects fighting as they dominated ESPN's Friday Night Fights. A mix of international talent and US talent were on the card with Sherzod Husanov and Maxim Vlasov both giving it an Eastern European feel whilst Demetrius Andrade was a stand out American amateur.. Though the card had been set for a while Kinglsey Ikeke had been taken off the card and replaced by Jerson Ravelo, which links us nicely to tomorrow. Ravelo has faced both Andre Ward and Allan Green who fight tomorrow, on that card is Mark “TNT” Tucker, another fighter who appears to be one to watch. Though Tucker's result will be featured next week, the others are here and now as we round off week 2 of Prospect Scotting.
The card started with the more experienced Jerson Ravelo (20-4 with 12KO's going in) facing Maxim Vlasov (17-0 8KO's going in). Ravelo did come into the bout with a weeks notice (due the the aforementioned Ikeke pull out, caused by a broken jaw in sparring) and at times looked a bit unprepared for the Russians style who was busier and better and seemed to have his foe much better scouted. Controversy at the end of the second saw Ravelo's face cut up from a clash of heads (that looked deliberate from Vlasov), that was the nasty side of Vlasov, but the beautiful side of him was shown the following round. A right hand hook effectively put Ravelo out of it whilst an uppercut merely rubbed salt into the round and helped result in a 3rd round TKO to help the Russian climb to 18-0 (9).
Sherzod Husanov an unbeaten (14-0-1 with 7KO's)* Uzbek who was a former top amateur was making his US debut for the shows main event when he took on hard hitting Colbian Jhon Berrio (15-6 with 11KO's) who was also making his US debut. Husanov impressed midway through the opening round, through deadly accurate straight right hands that connected sweetly on Berrio's chin as he the Uzbek took the centre of the ring trying to establish himself straight away. The second seemed to be a more brawling round, that should have suited Berrio but his slow looping wide punches were ineffective against a better schooled and faster foe. Although Husanov had dominated the early part of the fight he wasn't being particularly intelligent about it, and Berrio although lacking in finesse was turning the the fight to be a brawl, and seemed to be earning his way into the fight. The score cards gave the decision in the end to Husanov who managed to just about do enough to deserve the majority decision he got though he seemed to lack that spark that a truly great prospect has.
Overall the prospects looked good but not great whilst Andrade was kept of TV sadly and at time of posting his result wasn't known publicly though he had a late change of opponent from Quandray Robertson to Dumont Welliver, probably on paper an easier opponent. Like Tucker his result will be mentionedat the start of next week.
*ESPN reported that Husanov was 9-0-1 (5) boxrec have him at 14-0-1
Wednesday 16 June 2010
Midweek Prospect Spotting Tucker, Vlasov and Husanov
Although thus weeks Prospect Scotting is about Demetrius Andrade there is several other names worth looking thus this secondary column for this week. Firstly, on the same card as Andrade v Robertson is a Russian 23 year old who's got some people talking and is taking on a solid if faded name. Maxim Vlasov (17-0 with 8KO's) faces Kingsley Ikeke (27-3 with 14KO's) who faced Arthur Abraham in an IBF Middleweight title fight in 2005. Vlasov won't be well known to most and his record looks like he lacks a punch but the 6 foot 3 Super Middleweight has scored 7KO's in his last 8 fights and seems to be growing into his power. Though against the tough Ikeke it won't be his power that's getting tested but his stamina heart and skill, of which only the skill has been shown so far.
Vlasov's record so far only features one recognisable name, Jonathan Reid (former WBA Middleweight contender) who was by then a faded force and having been a professional for 5 years this is a bit disappointing for Vlasov. Though he is regarded as a super prospect, one of many signed by Banner Promotions who seem to be getting themselves a nice stable of youngster. A victory over Ikeke would help Vlasov get his foot in the door and his names on the tongue of fight fans, though it's not a given that he will win. Ikeke is tough and the fight will be Vlasov's first 10 rounder, if the Russian fails to establish a pace that helps him Ikeke could well springing an upset.
The main event of the card in the Northern Quest Casino sees yet another unbeaten fighter that some are tipping in Uzbek fighter Sherzod Husanov (14-0-1 (7)) who faces Jhon Berrio (15-6 (11)). At 30 Husanov, a Light Middleweight will have to be fast tracked if he intends to make an impact, sadly though it's been over 3 years since he turned professional and he's been taking his time so far. Despite a deep amateur career Husanov failed to win the big ones though regularly medalled in world championships.
Maybe the most notable prospect for the weekend outside of Andrade is Mark “TNT” Tucker (13-0 with 7KO's), who fights on the undercard of the fight between Andre Ward and Allan Green (WBA Super Middleweight fight as well as part of the “Super 6”). 22 year old Tucker faces Billy Bailey (10-7 with 4KO's) in what should be an easy tests but one that comes on a high profile card. So far Tucker has been able to fight mainly at home in Maryland, hidden away from vast swathes of the boxing public. Although popular at “home” this should be a good day out for the 6 foot 1 Light Heavyweight prospect who many are tipping to be a star. Apparently a quiet man his website has the excellent motto “When in doubt knock 'em out”, although he failed to do so against Rubin Williams he did out point the former IBF Super Middleweight contender. Although his record features 7KO's his last 5 fights have gone the distance, and this one likely will as well.
So there you go the mid week “Prospects Scotting”
Monday 14 June 2010
Andrade an emerging American force
You want a super prospect? Well for week 3 we have a piece on possibly the most hyped young American fighter in recent history, as well as a special look at at least 1 other fighter in what will be once of the busiest weeks. All I’ll say for now is that that fighter has been compared to Sugar Ray Robinson already and has sparred with Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan (he was said to have been “Dead Even” with Khan).
For this week however we have Demetrius Andrade as our fighter of interest, one of a host of young Americans on their way up. Andrade, an unbeaten 22 year old with a record of 10-0 (7) has been around for what seems like years despite having only been a pro for just over a year and a half. The thing about him is that many will remember “Boo Boo” being surrounded with hype as he turned professional. The hype of his amateur days followed him through as he signed a pro deal, having been one of the USA’s great hopes at the 2008 Olympics. Although he flopped in Beijing going out in the quarter finals to Kim Jung-Joo from South Korea he had gone in as one of the favourites having won the 2007 World Amateur Champions Gold at the Welterweight division in Chicago. This gold was in addition to the Pan Am silver he won in Rio the same years which had seen him become one of the best prospects for the US at the games and in the eyes of many, he had been robbed there by poor officials.
The talented amateur star wasn’t willing to wait until 2012 to try and improve his Olympic record so instead turned to the pro ranks where he’s slowly amassed his record since October 2008. Having debuted on the undercard of an IBF featherweight title fight where he knocked Patrick Cape in the second round Andrade has been brought along carefully and slowly as he gets used to fighting with out the head gear. Having had 4 easy KO’s in his first 4 fights he was given a stiffer test in the 8-1-1 (4) Tony Hirsch who managed to see the final bell with Andrade. Although “Boo Boo” won every round on every card in a controlled performance he showed that perhaps he hadn’t full grown into his power and at 21 it’s perhaps to be expected. Since then he has won 5 more fights against low key opponents with both Chris Chatman and Geoffrey Spruiell extending him the 6 round schedules only losing a single round on a single card combined.
At 6 foot 1 it’s unlikely that Light Middleweight will be the weight in which Andrade really establishes himself, in fact it’s quite likely he’ll end up as high as Light Heavyweight before his career comes to a close though at 22 and whilst able to make the 154lbs limit it’s looking likely that he’ll remain here for the foreseeable future. In his next fight, which is scheduled for 6 rounds he faces the experienced (37 years old) Quandray Robertson a fighter who has fought between Welterweight and Middleweight in a 24 fight career since 1997 winning 15 (with 10KO’s) and losing 9 (8 losses by stoppage). It would be hoped that Andrade will be able to get rid of the veteran inside the distance, though he has only been stopped inside 6 rounds twice in his career (one of those coming against Sergiy Dzinziruk). It’s a bout that should be a safe one for a fighter as highly talented as Andrade is, as he slowly starts to step up his opponents over the next 12 months or so.
If he manages to, as expected, beat Robertson, don’t expect him in a difficult contest for a while as Arthur Pelullo and his Banner Promotions are likely to bring him along slowly on the under cards of their bigger fighters building his record and experience before letting the confident and lanky youngster loose.
Saturday 12 June 2010
McLoser Arroyo fails to shine
It was on a Top Rank live show that Bob Arum first showed the world his boxing super kid Jose Benavidez and now it was time to allow both of the highly hyped Puerto Ricans Gabriel Bracero and McWilliams Arroyo some of the same TV time as they too featured on a Top Rank live show. The main event may well have been Calderon v Iribe but for some this was the card of the new generation not the ageing “Iron Boy”.
29 year old Bracero 89-0 was the first to fight, having turned pro a long time ago (considering his age), in fact he debuted in 2001 and racked up a 5-0 record before taking 7 years out of the sport only to return in 2009 and increasing his record to 9-0. A bit of a mystery fighter it was obvious from his record with 0KO's that he wasn't going to try and stop his opponent (the 7-6 Julias Edmonds also 0KO's). It didn't take long to see why Bracero hadn't scored a stoppage, he relied on a single weapon that he knew how to use, his jab. He was a true stick and move fighter landing his fast accurate but powerless jab then moving and repeating it over and over with great work rate. Although he looked rather amateurish in style with his clean and crisp jab with lots of movement he looked talented and able even when he did occasionally mix up his shots he still moved in and out quickly.
Having improved to 10-0 Bracero looks like he's effective at what he does but will really struggle to make it big, his lack of a punch but good movement saw him perhaps being compared to Calderon though he's not likely to ever be on that level he could be one of the best “pure boxing” prospects pout there.
So onto the big guy for the week, McWilliams Arroyo who came in with the opposite sort of punch to Bracero, the former World Boxing Cup champion was 3-0 (3) going in and seen as one of the most talented young fighters out there. Or so we thought thought.
He went into the bought against Japanese fight Takashi Okada 1-0-1 as a fighter almost expecting a gimme and found out that in this sport you're given nothing solely on your amateur experience. Having won the opening round he was dropped in the second cut in the third and unable to establish himself en route to losing 39-36 and 38-37 (twice), the later two cards noticeably closer than the 39-36 I had it.
McWilliams perhaps learning that his power isn't as good we thought or that he failed to make the transition. Whatever it was this was an upset, and one that few so coming. Can McWilliams recover from it? Well both yes and no. He is talented but a loss against the likes of 26 year old Okada really isn't a good thing this early in your career. A poor performance in an exciting bout was punished with a poor result.
Star of the week-David Lemieux...WOW!
Friday 11 June 2010
Are we seeing the spirit of Joe Louis?
David Lemieux isn't a fighter that was ever scheduled to appear in this column, that's why this is coming up at an usual timing considering how I originally intended to do this column. However Lemieux's fight with Elvin Ayala was a notable one. He was originally ignored due to the fact that many seemed to know about him more than I did and he also seemed a bit too highly ranked to be a prospect, he was 22-0 (21) highly tipped as one of the rising stars of Canada, he'd appeared on TV State side and had Canadian fans telling us about their power punching star. Yvon Michel was pushing him as the next big star to the Canadian rings and aged 21 he certainly had time on his side as he slowly stepped up his competition. Having stepped up in recent fights beating the likes of Walid Smichet (KO3), Delray Raines (KO2), Jason Naugler (decision over 10) and Donny McCrary (KO1) Elvin Ayala seemed the logical sort of next step.
Though early on the card Michel had seen one of his fighters upset, Sebastian Demers was stopped in the 3rd round by exciting journeyman Brian Vera, was Ayala going to make it 0-2 for the promoter?
For many Ayala was a giant step up, Ayala 20-4-1 (9) had only been stopped once, by Arthur Abraham in the 12th round of an IBF title fight in 2008. Although he had twice lost to David Banks they were close contests and a loss to the solid Simon Lujuan isn't anything to be ashamed by and also held Sergio Mora to a draw over 12. A win for Lemieux would put him on the B tier at worse, a fringe contender waiting for his chance for a 160 title fight. Though a loss would see him being shown up, making it obvious he was perhaps being rushed slightly, so which was it?
Also worth mentioning was the pre-fight controversy, Ayala's corner wanted to check on Lemieux's wraps, then the opposite happened causing both camps to re-wrap.
Lemieux is one of those rare types, like Gatti was and Oscar was, a good looking fighter, a genuine pretty boy that has the look that can draw in a cross over female audience. Good looks, power and youth, he has the ingredients to be a draw, though against a hardened fighter like Ayala you need to be more than just a pretty boy. Though he was quick to prove he was skilled, powerful, fast and simply brilliant, dropping the tough Ayala thrice in the first and forcing an automatic stoppage inside the opening minute.
Problem with including him as a prospect is that he's almost certainly already in the top 10's of many at middleweight hardly fair to consider him a prospect, despite the fact he's young and stupidly talented. Nailed on super star ready to really face the top 10 level of guys on a regular basis. Remember Ayala went 12 with Abraham, he couldn't last a round with Lemieux. The style, power, combination, speed...he reminded me a bit of the great Brown Bomber. In fact had Louis been a white middleweight it'd have been hard to tell the difference.
In an interesting result on the card Wayne John a 30 year old moved to 4-0 (2) by stopping the well respected but generally gate keeper level Patrice L'Heureux in 5 rounds. Could John be the next great North American heavyweight? Aged 30 he'll likely have to make his move in the next 3 to 4 years if he ever wants a title fight.
Thursday 10 June 2010
Banner Promotions, the promotions of the future
Despite this column being mainly about prospects I’ve decided every week (or rather when I can be bothered) will have a mid week piece, either a round up of other prospects fighting, results or just something of interest to those who follow prospects. Well with no other note worthy prospects fighting this week I’ve decided to take it on a slight tangent in looking at Artie Pelullo promotional company, Banner Promotions. I think Banner Promotions are going to be a major player in the coming years for the talent spotting, especially of Eastern European fighters who are yet to emerge in the US, or have just began to emerge.
Although they do have the occasional star, such as Ricky Hatton who is (or was) signed to Banner and even the likes of Cristobal Cruz, the former IBF Featherweight champion and Sergey Dzinziruk the WBO Light Middleweight champion who is looking to make waves in the US. Though as this is Talent Scotting, we’re not interested in those fighters but the youngsters, who seem like they will become a staple of this very column.
Demetrius Andrade is the first to be mentioned in the column (next week infact) though along side him is Maxim Vlsaov (who will be featured in one of these mid week pieces I’ve just spoken about). Though South Korean Ji Hoon Kim (21-5 (18KO’s)) may not be regarded as too much of a prospect having won an eliminator for the IBF Lightweight title he’s one that could well seen the company take off. A powerful hitting fighter who aged just 23 looks to be making waves that could hit the bigger shows next year.
Though how about some of these names:
Ruslan Provodnikov, a 5 foot 6 Light Welterweight with a pressure style, heavy hands and an exciting prospect with plenty of ability. Although he’s relatively old for a prospect at 26 he’s being moved along quickly in his last few fights. With a record of 16-0 (11) and wins against the likes of Victor Hugo Castro, Javier Jauregui and Emanuel Augustus in his last 3 he’s hot on the tails of the top fighters around 140 and has been exposed to the US market.
Garrett Simon an unbeaten 18 year old American heavyweight (4-0 with 3KO’s) who could well be a decent name at cruiserweight at his young age (he’s only around the 200lb limit at the moment). Stood at 6 foot 5 you’d expect him to build into a heavyweight prospect worth remembering though sadly American heavyweight sin recent years have been memorable for all the wrong reasons. Sadly Banner Promotions don’t seem to have much to say on young Garrett though he has a chance to make a big impression next Friday (18th June) as he fights on an ESPN2 undercard.
Alisher Rahimov despite being in his 30’s (32) the Super Featherweight is unbeaten at 20-0 (11) and has held a few fringe titles. Although not well known as such he does have one or two recognisable name son his record (such as Oleg Yefimovych-the Current EBU Featherweight champion). Probably never going to get his name back into title contention and probably to old to be a prospect hopefully Rahimov, a class amateur will step up at some point.
An almost mystery fighter on Banner’s list is Jackson Junior, who appears to be a Brazilian Light Heavyweight with a record of 7-0 (6) which looks nice on paper and includes wins over more experienced fighters, though sadly having made his debut in 2004 he’s just not been active enough to make much of a note of.
Although Banner Promotions aren't one of the big names hopefully they will keep bringing fighters like Kim and Provodniov to the US and getting them TV time.
Although they do have the occasional star, such as Ricky Hatton who is (or was) signed to Banner and even the likes of Cristobal Cruz, the former IBF Featherweight champion and Sergey Dzinziruk the WBO Light Middleweight champion who is looking to make waves in the US. Though as this is Talent Scotting, we’re not interested in those fighters but the youngsters, who seem like they will become a staple of this very column.
Demetrius Andrade is the first to be mentioned in the column (next week infact) though along side him is Maxim Vlsaov (who will be featured in one of these mid week pieces I’ve just spoken about). Though South Korean Ji Hoon Kim (21-5 (18KO’s)) may not be regarded as too much of a prospect having won an eliminator for the IBF Lightweight title he’s one that could well seen the company take off. A powerful hitting fighter who aged just 23 looks to be making waves that could hit the bigger shows next year.
Though how about some of these names:
Ruslan Provodnikov, a 5 foot 6 Light Welterweight with a pressure style, heavy hands and an exciting prospect with plenty of ability. Although he’s relatively old for a prospect at 26 he’s being moved along quickly in his last few fights. With a record of 16-0 (11) and wins against the likes of Victor Hugo Castro, Javier Jauregui and Emanuel Augustus in his last 3 he’s hot on the tails of the top fighters around 140 and has been exposed to the US market.
Garrett Simon an unbeaten 18 year old American heavyweight (4-0 with 3KO’s) who could well be a decent name at cruiserweight at his young age (he’s only around the 200lb limit at the moment). Stood at 6 foot 5 you’d expect him to build into a heavyweight prospect worth remembering though sadly American heavyweight sin recent years have been memorable for all the wrong reasons. Sadly Banner Promotions don’t seem to have much to say on young Garrett though he has a chance to make a big impression next Friday (18th June) as he fights on an ESPN2 undercard.
Alisher Rahimov despite being in his 30’s (32) the Super Featherweight is unbeaten at 20-0 (11) and has held a few fringe titles. Although not well known as such he does have one or two recognisable name son his record (such as Oleg Yefimovych-the Current EBU Featherweight champion). Probably never going to get his name back into title contention and probably to old to be a prospect hopefully Rahimov, a class amateur will step up at some point.
An almost mystery fighter on Banner’s list is Jackson Junior, who appears to be a Brazilian Light Heavyweight with a record of 7-0 (6) which looks nice on paper and includes wins over more experienced fighters, though sadly having made his debut in 2004 he’s just not been active enough to make much of a note of.
Although Banner Promotions aren't one of the big names hopefully they will keep bringing fighters like Kim and Provodniov to the US and getting them TV time.
Monday 7 June 2010
The start of a new era
In so many ways this really is the start of something new, I'm writing under my real name, the column is brand new, the personal blog site it's on is brand new, and more importantly in the case of many of the fighters that are going to be featured in this column they are the start of a new era in boxing.
Although their are no "rules" as such for the column's fighters outside of the fact they aren't allowed to be world champions or have had long reigning title reigns. They can be any age and have any amount of fights though the vast majority will be youngsters in their early fights often with a solid amateur background. One condition to be featured that is "generally" kept is that only 1 fighter can appear per week (though some exceptions will apply to this rule) and the fighter must be penciled down to fight that week (again some exceptions will apply).
So for the first fighter to be featured in this segment (which still doesn't have a name folks if you want to volunteer one that beats “Prospect Scotting”) we take a look at McWilliams Arroyo, one of a pair Puerto Rican twins who only started their professional careers at the start of this year. Both Arroyo brothers are 3-0 though it's McWilliams that seems to be the more exciting of the two having stopped all 3 opponents so far (whilst twin brother McJoe Arroyo has 1 stoppage). The pair came to international prominence in the amateurs with McWilliams being the more impressive of the two. He would win Gold at the Central American and Caribbean Games in 2006 before adding the Gold at the 2007 Pan Am games and then his crowning glory, Gold at the 2009 World Boxing Cup. The victory over Tugstsot Nyambayar of Mongolia in the World Boxing Cup was a masterclass with a score of 18-2 in the final as Arroyo captured the first gold in the tournament for his nation in 35 years.
Having been chased by several promoters both brothers would sign with PR Best Boxing and debut on a card in Bayamon, Puerto Rico on the undercard of Wilfredo Vazquez Jr's triumphant WBO super bantamweight title fight. Both brothers would score KO's with McWilliams needing just 106 seconds to make an impact on fellow debutant Eliecer Sanchez. Sanchez was flattened by a straight right which seemed to badly hurt his opponent who seemed out of it for quite a while. Since then McWilliams has been matched well for a young professional. His second bout for example came against the 4-1 (3) Francisco Rosario from the Dominican Republic a former national champion as a professional who had never been stopped. Having won the opening 2 rounds McWilliams would turn it on in the 3rd and force the stoppage against a capable opponent. Mexican Samuel Gutierrez went in with a 5-6-1 and came out with a 5-7-1record with McWilliams needing just over 1 and a half rounds to add to his growing reputation.
McWilliams Arroyo takes part in his 4th contest as a professional on 12th June only 2 weeks after having beaten Gutierrez., This will be the first time he has fought with out his brother on the card as a professional and also the first time he fights out side of his homeland as a pro. Facing off against unbeaten (1-0-1 (1)) Japanese fighter Takashi Okada in Madison Square Garden on the undercard of Ivan Calderon's WBO light flyweight title defence against Jesus Iribe, Arroyo is almost certain to see his stock rise through the roof with an impressive win on American soil in front of the sports written media.
Whether the 24 year old super flyweight will ever manage to headline a card in “The Garden” is up for debate though if he continues doing what he's done so far he may well become the Puerto Rican star many thought Kenny Galarza was going to be. It's always nice to see a technically able fighter, with fast hands and power, even more so when they are a little guy and the power is rather unexpected though in McWilliams Arroyo the lighter weights seem to have a real star in the making.
Boxrec record for McWilliams Arroyo
Although their are no "rules" as such for the column's fighters outside of the fact they aren't allowed to be world champions or have had long reigning title reigns. They can be any age and have any amount of fights though the vast majority will be youngsters in their early fights often with a solid amateur background. One condition to be featured that is "generally" kept is that only 1 fighter can appear per week (though some exceptions will apply to this rule) and the fighter must be penciled down to fight that week (again some exceptions will apply).
So for the first fighter to be featured in this segment (which still doesn't have a name folks if you want to volunteer one that beats “Prospect Scotting”) we take a look at McWilliams Arroyo, one of a pair Puerto Rican twins who only started their professional careers at the start of this year. Both Arroyo brothers are 3-0 though it's McWilliams that seems to be the more exciting of the two having stopped all 3 opponents so far (whilst twin brother McJoe Arroyo has 1 stoppage). The pair came to international prominence in the amateurs with McWilliams being the more impressive of the two. He would win Gold at the Central American and Caribbean Games in 2006 before adding the Gold at the 2007 Pan Am games and then his crowning glory, Gold at the 2009 World Boxing Cup. The victory over Tugstsot Nyambayar of Mongolia in the World Boxing Cup was a masterclass with a score of 18-2 in the final as Arroyo captured the first gold in the tournament for his nation in 35 years.
Having been chased by several promoters both brothers would sign with PR Best Boxing and debut on a card in Bayamon, Puerto Rico on the undercard of Wilfredo Vazquez Jr's triumphant WBO super bantamweight title fight. Both brothers would score KO's with McWilliams needing just 106 seconds to make an impact on fellow debutant Eliecer Sanchez. Sanchez was flattened by a straight right which seemed to badly hurt his opponent who seemed out of it for quite a while. Since then McWilliams has been matched well for a young professional. His second bout for example came against the 4-1 (3) Francisco Rosario from the Dominican Republic a former national champion as a professional who had never been stopped. Having won the opening 2 rounds McWilliams would turn it on in the 3rd and force the stoppage against a capable opponent. Mexican Samuel Gutierrez went in with a 5-6-1 and came out with a 5-7-1record with McWilliams needing just over 1 and a half rounds to add to his growing reputation.
McWilliams Arroyo takes part in his 4th contest as a professional on 12th June only 2 weeks after having beaten Gutierrez., This will be the first time he has fought with out his brother on the card as a professional and also the first time he fights out side of his homeland as a pro. Facing off against unbeaten (1-0-1 (1)) Japanese fighter Takashi Okada in Madison Square Garden on the undercard of Ivan Calderon's WBO light flyweight title defence against Jesus Iribe, Arroyo is almost certain to see his stock rise through the roof with an impressive win on American soil in front of the sports written media.
Whether the 24 year old super flyweight will ever manage to headline a card in “The Garden” is up for debate though if he continues doing what he's done so far he may well become the Puerto Rican star many thought Kenny Galarza was going to be. It's always nice to see a technically able fighter, with fast hands and power, even more so when they are a little guy and the power is rather unexpected though in McWilliams Arroyo the lighter weights seem to have a real star in the making.
Boxrec record for McWilliams Arroyo
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)