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.
Showing posts with label Sadam Ali. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sadam Ali. Show all posts
Thursday, 5 August 2010
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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