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This coming Saturday is a less than exciting day in international boxing. Much of the action is taking place in Europe, though there is some notable female action in Mexico.
The only male world title fight of the day takes place in Germany, however it's a less than exciting title bout that really shows how farcical the WBA are. The bout in question sees the very talented WBA “regular” Light Heavyweight champion Juergen Braehmer (46-2, 34) defending his belt against Konni Konrad (22-1-1, 11). Breahmer is talented, but he's a league lower than WBA “super” champion Sergey Kovalev. Konrad on the other hand is a pitiful challenger who is ranked #133 by boxrec.com, an accurate ranking showing just what a joke he is as a challenger. The German card does feature some interesting hopes, such as Cruiserweight Noel Gevor (18-0, 10) and Super Middleweight prospect Stefan Haertel (6-0), both of whom should continue their perfect runs. The other European card of note comes from Leeds where fans get the chance to see a number of notable fighters, though unfortunately the bouts are, on the whole, horrible mismatches. On paper the most interesting of the bouts will see the unbeaten, and hugely popular, Josh Warrington (21-0, 4) take on Australian Joel Brunker (28-1, 16). This looks a good bout on paper but Brunker has got a padded record and Warrington has been relatively over-hyped, based on his fan base. It should be an entertaining fight but one that won't really effect the world scene. One fighter who may be eyeing up a future world title fight is former IBF Bantamweight champion Stuart Hall (17-4-2, 7) who takes on the horribly matched Arnoldo Solano (14-10) in what is a farcical mismatch. Another terrible mismatch will see former world title challenger Tony Bellew (24-2-1, 15) take on Arturs Kulikauskis (16-26-5, 8). Another former world title challenger on this card is Martin Murray (31-2-1, 14) who faces Jose Miguel Torres (31-6, 27). On paper the Murray bout looks good but the reality is that Torres is a limited opponent who was beaten black and blue by David Lemieux not too long ago. The most notable action in Americas comes from Mexico where fans will get a couple of female world title fights. On paper the most exciting of those comes at 108lbs where Ibeth Zamora Silva (23-5, 9) will defend her belt against Esmeralda Moreno (31-7-1, 10). On paper this could actually be the fight of the day. On the same card fans will also get the chance to see the much touted Rey Vargas (24-0, 20), who many are tipping to become a world champion. Another female title fight set to take place in Mexico will see WBA female Minimumweight champion Anabel Ortiz (17-3, 3) defending her title against the once beaten Sandra Robles (11-1, 5). This will be Ortiz's first bout since defeating Nana Yoshikawa back in April and we don't expect to see her struggle with Robles, despite the fact Robles is on a 9 fight winning streak.
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This past Saturday may not have has a big bout anywhere on the planet but it did still have plenty of entertaining contests around the scene on the fringes of world class, and we did also have a very forgettable world title bout.
We'll start with that world title bout which, on paper, was the most significant bout of the night but also one of the most disappointing bouts we've seen all year. The bout, an IBF Light Middleweight title bout, saw defending champion Carlos Molina (22-6-2, 6) look like a lost, unmotivated and confused man as he was widely out pointed by 41 year old American Cornelius Bundrage (34-5-0-1, 19). Molina, usually a nightmare opponent fighters such as Erislandy Lara, James Kirkland and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, looked very much like a man with other things on his mind and was dropped twice by Bundrage, who himself didn't look like a world class fighter. This bout has suggested that anyone at 154lbs could win a world title bout next year, it's just a case of who will make the best offer to Bundrage who is now a 2-time world champion. Whilst the world title bout was a stinker the card it's interesting for 2 other bouts. One of them saw Nicaragua's Rene Alvarado (21-3, 14) make a successful move to Super Featherweight as he over-came the gallant but out classed and out worked Juan Pablo Sanchez (29-12, 13). Alvarado, the brother of former Kazuto Ioka opponent Felix Alvarado, really appears like he could be a decent contender at 130lbs and whilst he does lack power at the weight he could still be a threat based on his work rate and heart. Our only complain about this was the judging which was truly awful and the judges weren't even ashamed by the opening scoring which appeared to force Alvarado into being ultra-aggressive in the later rounds. Thankfully opening scoring likely allowed Alvarado to be aware that he needed to win the last 4 rounds to win and he made sure he did just that. Talking about ultra-aggressive we became instant fans of Jorge Lara (26-0-1, 18) who took ultra-aggressive and turned the volume up to 11 as he battered the more experienced Jovanny Soto (38-17-1, 33) from the the opening round to the 4th round. Soto effectively became a human yo-yo and was done numerous times in the first 2 rounds before finally being seen off in round 4. Soto's heart is second to none but it was Lara who really impressed with his very fan-friendly style. He might not reach the top of the Super Bantamweight division but he's certainly going to add a lot of excitement to the division. In the UK we saw another notable bout as Lee Selby (20-1, 8) secured himself an IBF Featherweight world title bout with a 9th round stoppage of the previously undefeated Joel Brunker (27-1, 15). Selby started well with his boxing and moving though in all honesty Brunker looked poor, slow, one-dimensional and like a man who had been thrown into an eliminator that he was never going to be ready for. Selby pinged clean shots off the Australian's head as and when he wanted though it wasn't until round 9 that the British fighter put his foot on the gas and after hurting Brunker he closed the show in style. Although the win was a good one for the British fighter we do wonder whether he will be able to really put a dent on Evgeny Gradovich, the current IBF Featherweight champion. This coming weekend is a somewhat scarce one when it comes to interesting fights and unfortunately the biggest fight of the weekend, in regards to immediate significance is a probably stinker in Mexico. That's because the talented but frustrating Carlos Molina (22-5-2, 6) will be defending his IBF Light Middleweight title against the likable but limited and undeserving Cornelius Bundrage (33-5-0-1, 19). For Molina this will allow him to end a roller-coaster year, probably on a high, though it leaves the IBF open to some very problematic questions. Such as how is a man with just 1 win in the last 2 years, and only 2 wins in the last 3 years, being given a world title shot. We honestly like Bundrage as a person but he shouldn't be in a world title fight given his disappointing level of activity.
Whilst the most important bout of the weekend does look a stink there is another notable bout as we get an IBF Featherweight title eliminator in the UK. This bout will see unbeaten Australian Joel Brunker (27-0, 15) battle against once beaten British fighter Lee Selby (19-1, 7). For us this is the bout of the night and promises everything you could wish for. It has two young and hungry fighters both fighting for their shot at the big time, it has solid looking records, good fighters and real intrigue on both sides of the planet, and of course it adds to the general sporting rivalry of the UK and Australia. |
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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