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.
Friday 30 July 2010
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.
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