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.
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