This Saturday isn't a huge day for boxing internationally but there are some interesting match ups taking place in the US. The biggest bout of the night comes from New York as WBC Middleweight champion Miguel Cotto (39-4, 32) defends his title against former WBA/IBF unified champion Daniel Geale (31-3, 16). This bout has been agreed at a catchweight of 157lbs, though Geale didn't look great on the scales whilst Cotto, strangely, weighed in under then Light Middleweight limit. The chief support bout here will see Wilfredo Vazquez Jr (24-4-1, 19) battle against Fernando Vargas (28-9-3, 20). Vvazquez, a former world champion, has looked to be on the slide in recent years and is 4-4 and as a result this may be an interesting bout but it's a weak supporting contest. In California we see another world title fight as the very fun to watch Jesus Marcelo Andres Cuellar (26-1, 20) attempts to finish the career of Armenian Vic Darchinyan (40-7-1, 29). Darchinyan, a former Super Flyweight champion, is up at Featherweight for the WBA title bout and we're actually thinking he could get seriously hurt. It's not a great match up and the WBA need to be questioned for sanctioning the bout considering Darchinyan is 3-4 in his last 7. On the same card will be several notable names. One of those is Robert Guerrero (32-3-1-2, 18), who battles the horrible over-matched Aaron Martinez (19-3-1, 4). An equally uninteresting mismatch will see Alfredo Angulo (22-5, 18) take on Delray Raines (19-10-1, 14). Whilst both Angilo and Guerrero were beaten last time out they should have far too much for the guys they are in with here. Possibly the best of the supporting bouts here is actually a Heavyweight bout as American Dominic Breazeale (14-0, 13) faces fellow unbeaten Yasmany Consuegra (17-0, 14). Both guys are relatively untested going in to this one but it's clear that this has the potential to be an explosive match up.
0 Comments
This past Thursday saw two notable bouts in the US though between them they lasted less than 3 combined rounds in what proved to be a true waste of time.
The first of those bouts saw Argentina's talented and fun to watch Jesus Marcelo Andres Cuellar (25-1, 19) successfully defend his WBA interim Featherweight title with a stunning KO of Puerto Rican slugger Juan Manuel Lopez (34-5, 31). Lopez, who really should have retired well before this bout, had a seriously vicious combination land on him mid way in to round 2 and was sent down hard forcing the referee to immediately wave off the bout. It was vicious, eye catching and beautifully destructive though clearly summed up the feeling that "Juan" needs to hang them up. This was Cuellar's third notable win in little more than a year following previous wins over Claudio Marrero and Rico Ramos and it now seems clear than the Argentinian is a true world level fighter at 126lbs. Following the win for Cuellar fans then saw Cuban Heavyweight Luis Ortiz (22-0-0-1, 19) claim the WBA interim Heavyweight title with an opening round stoppage against Nigerian Lateef Kayode (20-1-0-1, 16). Kayode was down early on in the fight and then stopped when Ortiz started unloading later in the round. The stoppage was a debatable one though it was clear, even in just the opening round, that Kayode was going to need a miracle to score a win here. There is general feeling that we have too many titles in boxing. Whilst some titles we have no problem with, for example national titles and regional titles we do hate the proliferation of "interim" world titles. Sadly they appear to be here to stay and this coming Thursday there will be a WBA interim double in the US. The show, televised by Fox Sports 1 is part of the build up to Saturday's big fight on pay-per-view though they do little other than confuse fans on the the real value of world titles. The lesser of the bouts will be for the WBA interim Featherweight title as defending interim champion Jesus Marcelo Andres Cuellar (24-1, 18) defends his belt for the second time. Cuellar won the belt in the US last year by upsetting the hotly tipped Claudio Marrero, he then returned to the US to defeat Rico Ramos. We're favouring Cuellar again here as he takes on the heavy handed Puerto Rican Juan Manuel Lopez (34-4, 31). Lopez is a fighter we used to love watching but with a 4-4 (4) record in the last 3.5 years it's hard to see how Lopez can be getting this fight, especially considering that he's not won a featherweight bout in almost 3 years and suffered a stoppage loss last time out. We're hoping that Lopez retires sooner rather than later though with his popularity and fan-friendly style there is every chance he will continue win or lose, much to the detriment of his long term health. The other bout will see unbeaten fighters colliding as Cuban Heavyweight puncher Luis Ortiz (21-0-0-1, 18) battles against Lateef Kayode (20-0-0-1, 16) for the WBA interim Heavyweight title. This really should have been made into an eliminator and not a title bout though we've got to admit we are really looking forward to the bout it's self as we get two Heavyweight punchers and there is next to no chance of the bout going the distance. Of the two men it's Ortiz that really impresses us with his speed, skills and power all looking very developed, unlike the untamed and crude hammer fists of Kayode. Only thing to be sure of going into this bout is that it will be explosive. (Image courtesy of Bad Left hook This past Friday night was a somewhat interesting one in the world of boxing with a couple of notable bouts in the USA. These bouts, acting as a warm up the "The Moment" on Saturday night, weren't huge but did have a genuine interest to us. The first of the notable bouts was an interim WBA Featherweight title bout that saw Argentinian Jesus Marcelo Andres Cuellar (24-1, 18) defend his belt by defeating former WBA Super Bantamweight world champion Rico Ramos (23-4, 12). Ramos, who is best known for knocking out Akifumi Shimoda, was made to look second rate by a busy and hard working Cuellar who clearly won the contest and dropped Ramos in the process. At the end of the day this loss, for Ramos, should spell the end of his career at the world level. The other major bout on this show saw former world title holder Ishe Smith (26-6, 12) easily defeat the hapless Ryan Davis (24-14-3, 9) in 2 rounds. Even the generally tame Smith managed to open up on Davis who was out classed, out powered, out skilled and pretty much out everything'd in a total mismatch. (Image, of Cuellar, courtesy of boxrec.com) It's fair to say everyone involved in boxing is looking forward to Saturday's big show in the US. We know we are, we know fans are and we even know those working in sports media around the world are. Thankfully though the action kicks off a day early as Fox Sports 1 in the US and Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas give us a prelude card with several Mayweather associated fighters. The most notable bout on the show will see WBA "interim" Featherweight champion Jesus Marcelo Andres Cuellar (23-1,18) defend his title against the incredibly frustrating Rico Ramos (23-3, 12). Cuellar, from Argentina, won the title last year when he upset the much fancied Claudio Marrero and has rebuilt his career excellently after suffering a stoppage loss to Oscar Escandon back in October 2011. Ramos is better known to Asian fans as the guy who stopped the then WBA Super Bantamweight champion Akifumi Shimoda with a single shot. Unfortunately Ramos has just frustrated everyone since then and gone 3-3 as a result with many feeling he had the ability to win 5 of those 6 bouts, just not the desire. Whilst we're happy to excuse his loss to Guillermo Rigondeaux we cannot forgive his lack of effort and he really did seem like a man who didn't want to be there. As well the 12 round title fight the show will also features the controversial Mickey Bey (29-1-1-1, 10) who battles Alan Herrera (32-5, 21). We've got to be honest we're unconvinced by Bey's talent and can't see him going very far, especially not considering the fact he's now 30, but he should have more than enough to beat Mexico's Herrera. One other bout on this show features former world champion Ishe Smith (25-6, 11) who fights against the very limited Ryan Davis (24-13-3, 9). Smith, like Ramos, is frustrating to watch though is genuinely talented. Unfortunately for Smith much of his talent lies in his defensive work and his offence suffers as a result. With that in mind we don't imagine this bout will be one that will really have many fight fans all that excited despite the skills of Smith. (Image courtesy of http://www.sportofboxing.com) |
InternationalWe know that not every fight involves an Asian fighter but a lot of fights do affect Asian fighter. As a result we've decided to add this new section to Asian boxing where we look at selected International bouts. Archives
December 2015
Categories
All
|