This Saturday is a really exciting day for fight fans with notable bouts taking place on both sides of the Atlantic.. Much of the action comes from the US with the first really exciting bout Stateside coming from Hidalgo, Texas where former Lightweight champions collide as Omar Figueroa (24-0-1, 18) takes on Ricky Burns (37-4-1, 11). Coming in to this bout Burns looks like he is on the downlide whilst Figueroa looks like he's a very dangerous fighter but one who is set to be plagued by serious hand issues in the not so distant future. We suspect Figueroa runs over burns but we're not sure how far he'll go at Light Welterweight. In Houston, Texas, we have more notable action with a mouth watering main event bout between Saul Alvarez (44-1-1, 31) and James Kirkland (32-1, 28). Alvarez is widely tipped as the favourite for the bout though Kirkland has the power to potentially test the Mexican star in what should be a brilliant contest. In the co-feature the unbeaten Frankie Gomez (18-0, 13) battles against veteran Humberto Soto (65-8-2-1, 35) in a real cross road fight for both men. Gomez is stepping up in a big way though Soto knows a loss will be the end of his dreams of becoming a 4-weight world champion. Really good match up. In Germany we have an interesting double header. The main event there will see Felix Sturm (39-4-3-1, 18) battle against heavy handed Russian slugger Fedor Chudinov (12-0, 10) for the vacant WBA Super Middleweight title. The 36 year old Sturm is in a must win situation whilst Chudinov, the younger brother of Dmitry Chudinov, knows a win will help him break out into being a serious threat at 168lbs. The co-feature will see Jack Culcay (19-1, 10) battle against Maurice Weber (21-1-1, 8) for the WBA interim Light Middleweight title. Culcay was a notable amateur though has frustrated since turning professional we do however understand Culcay getting this level of opportunity. Weber on the the other hand has achieved very little and it's difficult to see how he's getting this shot. In the UK fans get a disappointing card that features some notable names in serious mismatches. Among those is a contest between Olympic champion Anthony Joshua (11-0, 11) and Raphael Zumbano Love (36-10-1, 29), with Heavyweight hopeful Joshua expecting to get a 12th straight stoppage, fellow Olympic champion Luke Campbell (10-0, 8) battling against Aboubeker Bechelaghem (9-6-1) and the very promising Callum Smith (15-0, 11) battling against Olegs Fedotovs (19-21, 13). Notably Kal Yafai (14-0, 9), who was originally announced to be fighting Rey Megrino, has remained on the card though will be fighting the tough but very limited Isaac Quaye (27-10-1, 18).
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This past Saturday was an amazing day for boxing fans with a fantastic show in the US. The show, one of the best of the year, at least on paper, was thoroughly interesting but sadly not always the most entertaining. The show, at least the televised portion of it, kicked off with an enthralling WBO Bantamweight title fight that saw Tomoki Kameda successfully defending his title and leaving an excellent impression on US fans. The fight, which ended when Tomoki landed a brutal body shot to Pungluang Sor Singyu, should have been impressive enough to impress US audiences in to wanting to see more of Tomoki. Following the all-Asian show starter we then had the fight of the night as Mauricio Herrera (21-4, 7) took a majority decision over Johan Perez (19-2-1, 13) and claimed the WBA interim Light Welterweight title. The fight, which was action packed through out, swung several times as the two men unloaded shots on each other in a high paced and highly skilled contest that was genuinely enjoyable. The action from the Herrera/Perez was great to watch but neither guy had the power to really hurt the other and as a result it never looked like we were going to get a stoppage, though Perez was rocked very late in the fight. In the contest that followed however there was no chance the contest was going to go the distance as all action Francisco Vargas (20-0-1, 14) stopped the hard hitting but very shop worn Juan Manuel Lopez (34-4, 31). Lopez was rocked hard in the second round before being dismantled in round 3 by a very sharp Vargas who seemed to announce himself on the world stage. Sadly for Lopez this was another painful loss and it seems time that he called quits on his career before he ends up with serious long term health issues. Sadly the excitement all vanished in the very next fight as Abner Mares (27-1-1, 14) put on a controlled but dull performance to over-come Jonathan Oquendo (24-4, 16). This was Mares first bout since being blasted out in a round by Jhonny Gonzalez and although that set back was a bad one the tactics Mares used in this fight really were disappointing for the most part. In the main event of the show fans saw the hugely popular though very divisive Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (44-1-1, 31) take a highly disputed split decision over Cuba's Erislandy Lara (19-2-2, 12). The bout saw Lara boxing and moving for vast parts of the fight whilst Alvarez stalked with mixed results. The men both felt their tactics had seen them controlling the bout though in all honesty no one truly "controlled" it with plenty of rounds that could be debated. Sadly one judge managed to see the fight 117-111 to Alvarez, a result that simply didn't make sense, despite the numerous close rounds. Each man seemed to clearly win 4 rounds with their tactics whilst the remaining 4 were up for debate. The only thing that the fight really told us is that whilst both men were evenly matched Canelo struggles with movers and Lara struggles with body shots. Sadly the 117-111 card in the Alvarez/Lara fight as well as the draw card in the Herrera/Perez fight and a card of 58-56 to Pungluang, prior to the stoppage, all leave major question marks about judges and we wonder if they were watching the same fights as our selves Prior to the American card fans also had the chance to watch some fights from the UK. These including a bout with Super Featherweight contender Stephen Smith (20-1, 12) who looked terrible against journeyman Pedro Navarrete (28-19-3, 17). Navarrete is better than his record indicated but Smith really was awful and if he's thinking about fighting Takashi Miura he probably needs to think again or he'll end up badly beaten. On the same British card we had a trio of Olympic medal winners including Super Heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (7-0, 7), who stopped veteran Matt Skelton (28-9, 23) in a bout that saw Skelton looking his 47 years of age, and Luke Campbell (6-0, 4) who sadly looked lacking in his decision victory over the brave Craig Woodruff (5-4, 2). The main action on the British show was in the Cruiserweight as we had two bouts of note. The first saw former WBO Light Heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly (28-1, 14) make light work of the limited but fun Alejandro Emilio Valori (15-5, 11) whilst the second saw the big mouthed Tony Bellew (22-2-1, 14) stopping Brazil's Julio Cesar Dos Santos (26-3, 23). Both the visitors came with the intention of scoring a KO but neither had the ability against the more well known British fighters who are now set to face each other, in fact they almost had an impromptu fight last night, suggesting that neither man had had to work hard enough to score their wins. (Image courtesy of Golden Boy Promotions) One thing boxing is lacking right now is a number of real stars in the sport. Sure we have some international names such as Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao but it's hard to argue that there is a lack of them. On man who is hoping to become the next megastar of the sport is Mexico's Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (43-1-1, 31) who looks to re-establish his claim as one of the most exciting men in boxing this weekend when he takes on WBA Light Middleweight champion Erislandy Lara (19-1-2, 12) in a non-title fight. Alvarez is a Mexican icon but one who seems to really split the general fan base of the sport with many feeling he has been given opportunities based on his marketability as opposed to his actual talent. This bout however could prove he is as talented as he is marketable and could convince many that he is as good as people say. A win for Lara however will see the "American Dream" likely becoming the man fans will be demanding to see fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. For a non-title fight this is a major contest for both men involved in the bout. On the same card as the Alvarez/Lara bout we find several other interesting contests. One of those is the WBO Bantamweight title bout between Tomoki Kameda and Pungluang Sor Singyu whilst another is a WBA interim Light Welterweight bout between Johan Perez (19-1-1, 13) and Mauricio Herrera (20-4, 7). Perez, a skilful Venezuelan, was the first man to defeat Japanese slugger Yoshihiro Kamegai whilst Herrera, a skilled American, recently schooled Danny Garcia in one of the most controversial bouts of the year and holds a win over Ruslan Provodnikov. Although the bout is likely to be a very technical affair both guys can be fun to watch and do throw plenty meaning this could be an entertaining high speed chess match between two practitioners of boxing and moving. Whilst the Perez/Herrera bout will be technical the same cannot be said for the bout between former 2-weight world champion Juan Manuel Lopez (34-3, 31) and Francisco Vargas (19-0-1, 13). Puerto Rico's "Juanma" is a crude, hard hitting and exciting fighter but is also a man on a serious downslide in regards to his ability to take a shot. Vargas, an unbeaten Mexican, is stepping up in class for this fight but has looked excellent in recent contests and will be viewed by many, including ourselves, as a very live under-dog. One more bout on this card features former 3-weight world champion Abner Mares (26-1-1, 14). Mares, who was linked to Takashi Miura earlier this year, will be facing Puerto Rico's Jonathan Oquendo (24-3, 16) in what should be a comfortable return to action after a notable lay off following his first career defeat, an opening round stoppage to Mexican puncher Jhonny Gonzalez. Whilst the card of the day is in the US there is also a show in the UK that is being viewed as a "set up" card as opposed to one with any sort of competitive match up. The idea seems to be to match former WBO Light Heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly (27-1, 13) and Tony Bellew (21-2-1, 13) up against each other, as long as they both get past their tests here. For Cleverly his test comes in the form of Argentina's Alejandro Emilio Valori (15-4, 11) and from what we understand Valori isn't a tough guy and even the light hitting Cleverly should be able to see off his challenge inside the distance. For Bellew the challenger is 36 year old Brazilian Julio Cesar Dos Santos (26-2, 23) who, unsurprisingly, has been beaten by his only "name" opponent. (Image courtesy of http://www.goodrichqualitytheaters.com and Golden Boy Promotions) Most busy days in the boxing world have a world title fight as their signature bout. This weekend however the title fights took a back seat to an all Mexican clash between hard hitting fighters in a contest dubbed "Toe-to-Toe". There was title fights going on but they were ever so slightly in the background. The title major bout, the headline act if you will, saw former Light Middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (43-1-1, 31) score arguably his biggest victory as he stopped fellow Mexican Alfredo Angulo (22-4, 18) in what was an entertaining, though one sided, contest. Canelo took control from the onset with his superior speed and skills and although Angulo took the shots well early on they did began to damage up his face rather badly by the middle rounds. Canelo, after running up a clear lead on the scorecards, seemed to slow down in round 6 before turning on the style in round 9 to further punish Angulo who appeared to be building his confidence for one or two rounds. Unfortunately though the 9th round effectively finished off Angulo who took a huge uppercut early in round 9 before referee Tony Weeks stepped in. The stoppage, a controversial one for sure, seemed to come when Angulo was still fighting back and had his senses, even if he was badly marked up at the time. The victory for Canelo is likely to be his final one as a pseudo Light Middleweight and it seems almost certain that his next fight will be as a fully blown Middleweight. Earlier on the same card WBC Super Bantamweight champion Leo Santa Cruz (27-0-1, 15) managed to make his second defence of the title as he easily defeated Cristian Mijares (49-8-2, 24). The bout, one sided through out, saw Mijares's ring craft keeping him up right but he was too small to ever really the champion who appeared to win every round with out many questions really being asked of him. Despite the clear victory we are starting to wonder if Santa Cruz is as good as we first thought. He no longer looks like a grinding machine but has been made to look somewhat light hitting by naturally smaller men in his last 2 fights. After that fight there were comments suggesting that Santa Cruz was likely to fight the unbeaten Carl Frampton next. There is a lot of talk in Japan about Shinsuke Yamanaka wanting a fight with Santa Cruz and on this performance we genuinely think that Yamanaka would take care of the Mexican without too many issues. In fact on this performance a fighter like Shingo Wake would actually give Santa Cruz a lot of problems. Also on this card we saw former WBC Super Featherweight title challenger Sergio Thompson (29-3, 26) manage to take a decision over Ricardo Alvarez (23-3-3, 14). Thompson, who fought Takashi Miura last year, twice dropped Alvarez and although he looked a clear winner the judges would have the bout a majority draw had it not been for the knockdowns. The action didn't stop there however and the card also saw Jorge Linares (36-3, 25) defeat Nihito Arakawa (24-4-1, 16) in a hard fought but clear bout and a notable upset as the world ranked Will Tomlinson (21-1-1, 12) suffered a hugely shocking loss. Tomlinson, who began the night as the WBC #7 and #8 IBF ranked Super Featherweight, was widely out pointed by the unheralded Jerry Belmontes (19-3, 5) in what was clearly the upset of the weekend. Aside from the Santa Cruz/Mijares bout there was only one other "world title" title bout as WBA interim Light Flyweight champion Alberto Rossel (31-8-0-1, 13) made the 4th defense of his title as he over-came the challenge of Gabriel Mendoza (19-3-2, 16). Mendoza was the WBA #15 ranked Light Flyweight coming in to this bout and was also the WBO #13 and IBF #15 ranked ranked Minimumweight meaning that we expect to see notable changes in the rankings of all three organsiations. Rossel was one of the 3 "WBA champions" at Light Flyweight a month or so or go but right now is the sole claimant after both Roman Gonzalez and Kazuto Ioka vacated their titles. This means that a number of Asian fighters, including Randy Petalcorin and Rey Loreto, could be looking at a WBA title fight in the near future. In the UK the stand out was the very promising Paul Butler (15-0, 8) who managed to dominate and then stop the completely over-matched Oreste Bernabe Nieva (15-3-2, 6). The bout never looked competitive and Butler just did as he wished before sending the Argentinian down for the count with a debilitating body shot. Ranked #6 by the WBO, #9 by the IBF, #10 by the WBC and #12 by the WBA at Super Flyweight Butler is a name who will be on the radar of Asian fighters such as Srisaket Sor Rungvisai though he does appear to need a stiffer test than Nieva before being ready for a world title challenge. Then again his natural talent is obvious and he's the sort of fighter who could make his name at either 115lbs of 118lbs and be a top challenger alongside the likes of Ryosuke Iwasa. (Picture courtesy of Golden Boy Promotions) Some days in boxing are there for the hardcore fans, some are for the mainstream fans but many blur the lines with a little bit for everyone. This coming Saturday appear to be one of those that clearly blurs the lines though has appeal world wide with fights in Europe, North America and South America whilst also featuring fighters from Asia. In fact whilst the day is relatively thin on real world title fights, with just 3 including an interim, it does serve a key feature in helping set up some notable fights in the near future. The two "regular" world title fights are both set to take place on the same card in Nevada. The least interesting of these will see IBF Light Middleweight champion Carlos Molina (22-5-2, 6) attempt to make the first defense of his belt against the promising and unbeaten Jermall Charlo (17-0, 13). Charlo, widely regarded as one of the USA's most promising prospects, is taking a huge step up here though if he's as good as hyped he shouldn't struggle with Mexico's often over-looked Molina. Molina however is the king of upsetting the odds and many are tipping him to retain. The second, and by far more interesting, title fight on the Nevada card sees WBC Super Bantamweight champion Leo Santa Cruz (26-0-1, 15) make the second defense of his title. Santa Cruz is an extremely fun to watch guy who usually brings a lot of pressure and excitement which should make for a great styles match up with his opponent Cristian Mijares (49-7-2, 24) who is a sneaky and technically sound veteran. Mijares will be known to Japanese fans for his two victories over Katsushige Kawashima as well a victory against Teppei Kikui. He's skilled though has a lot of miles on the clock and is seen as a major under-dog against Santa Cruz. The popular belief is that a Santa Cruz victory leaves him with four clear options. He could move up the Featherweight, he could face the unbeaten and highly ranked Carl Frampton, he could call out Anselmo Moreno or, and most interestingly for us, he could answer the challenge of Shinsuke Yamanaka who has repeatedly requested a bout with Santa Cruz. There was supposed to be a third world title bout on this show though unfortunately Omar Figueroa's badly damaged hand saw his bout called off. His scheduled opponent, Ricardo Alvarez (23-2-3, 14), has unfortunately been matched with vicious Mexican Sergio Thompson (28-3, 26) who we imagine will run through Alvarez with relative ease. Thompson, best known for beating Jorge Linares and losing Takashi Miura, is tough, hard hitting and has to be favoured over Alvarez who is lucky to have a well known boxing brother. Talking about brothers that moves us nicely on to Alvarez's brother and the show's main event which features Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (42-1-1, 30) fighting Alfredo Angulo (22-3, 18) in what is an exciting all-Mexican Light Middleweight match up. Whilst both men come in to the bout with a loss their is a lot to like about the match. Neither man likes the other, both are usually fun to watch and both are considered to be amongst the top contenders in the division. Excellent match up and a bout that should be thoroughly enjoyable. Also on this card is the main attraction of the night for ourselves, the bout between Nihito Arakawa (24-3-1, 16) and Jorge Linares (35-3, 23). Strangely we get the "interim" title fight in Peru as Peruvian boxing icon Alberto Rossel (31-8-0-1, 13) makes the fourth defense of his WBA "interim" Light Flyweight title. Rossel might be one of the most obscure men parading around as a world champion and this weekend he takes an equally obscure challenger in the form of Gabriel Mendoza (19-2-2, 16). Although Mendoza has an attractive looking record and is ranked by 3 of the 4 title bodies he's not really beaten anyone of note and his crowning achievement saw far is surviving 10 rounds with Carlos Buitrago. The Peruvian card is also expected to feature WBC #7 ranked Minimumweight Ricardo Astuvilca (10-0, 2) in action though his opponent hasn't yet been announced. Staying in Latin American, just a moment longer, there is another notable bout taking place in Mexico as former multi-weight world champion Jorge Arce (62-7-2-1, 47) returns to action against Brazilian Aldimar Silva Santos (19-7, 10). As well as the action in the America's there is, as mentioned earlier, action in Europe with a British card that has some genuine significance to Asian boxing fans. This is because the world ranked Super Flyweight Paul Butler (14-0, 7) is in action. Butler, ranked by all 4 major bodies, could be a potential opponent for someone like Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Daiki Kameda, Koki Kameda, Kohei Kono, Denkaosen Kaovichit, Teiru Kinoshita, Sho Ishida or Oleydong Sithsamerchai. Butler will however need to get past the challenge of Argentina's Oreste Bernabe Nieva (15-2, 6) before those big fights are spoken about in too much detail. |
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
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