Prospect Watch - Weekend Starting 27/01/12 - Review

This weekend's Prospect Watch focused on Saturday night and there was some very good action, most notably at York Hall where two of the prospects I featured on Thursday were involved in an absolute great fight.

Chakhiev eased to a win over Kotlobay

Starting off in Germany where the was a really solid bill, that I actually featured as my Bill Of The Weekend, and one of the headliners was former star amateur Rakhim Chakhiev, who moved to 12-0 (9 KO's) with a near shutout over WBC Baltic champion, Alexander Kotlobay (21-3-1, 15 KO's) over 10 rounds, two judges scoring it 100-89 and one 99-89. The 2008 Olympic Gold medallist used all of his amateur skills in the fight, as well as demonstrating some power by knocking the chinny Kotlobay down in the 3rd. It's a good win for Chakhiev's record and moves him to #17 in the world with my favourite site Boxrec, but considering Enzo Maccarinelli beat this guy in a round in his own country, does raise slight doubts about how good a pro the German based Russian is. The skills are most definitely there and we need better fighters in the cruiserweight division, but I was expecting a stoppage here and it's a shame he couldn't get one. A perfect next fight considering where he is now ranked would be against someone like Danny Green or dangerous Puerto Rican Francisco Palacios.

Frampton remains Commonwealth champ

At York Hall on Saturday night, Carl Frampton (12-0, 8 KO's) was the headliner in his first Commonwealth super bantamweight defence, as he stopped brave Scottish challenger Kris Hughes (15-2, 1 KO) with an outstanding right hand in the 7th round. It was a dominant performance from "The Jackal", who looked superior in all departments, and like many expected, Hughes simply didn't have the power to hold him off. As a fan fight it wasn't a great spectacle as Frampton was so dominant, but it's hard not to be impressed with the kid, who has such a well rounded style. After the fight manager Barry McGuigan said they are looking at March 17th at the Madison Square Garden for his next fight, which will probably be against some kind of US journeyman, however the fight on everybody's lips is the one between himself and Scott Quigg. I've said on my Twitter feed that I believe if it was to happen in the next 12 months, I'm picking the man from Bury as he is a more mature fighter and has probably had more of an education as a pro. It will be a great fight when it happens, but Frampton might skip past Quigg and fight Kiko Martinez for the European belt, like he was supposed to in September, so I wouldn't be too confident of it happening that soon. My opinion on Brits fighting Brits is that if they are good enough to keep these unbeaten records going, then let's wait and get them fighting at their peak, for me Groves v DeGale was a great example of this. More money can be made by letting fighters progress with each fight, and the job of the promoters should be to make these fights at the right time, not do it for short term gain!

Ochieng v Quigley was a great advertisement for UK Boxing

The cracking fight I talked about at York Hall was an English light middleweight clash between Stoke Newington's Erick Ochieng (9-1, 3 KO's) and Liverpool's Nick Quigley (10-2, 0 KO's), which was shown before the Frampton fight and was a real treat for those who watched. I said in my Prospect Watch post that this was going to be a good one, and it didn't disappoint, mostly thanks to some surprise tactics from the light hitting Quigley, who came out all guns blazing looking to stop Ochieng. It was a real war, the input from both guys was fantastic, and it was a real privilege to see two honest and very decent fighters putting all on the line. It was a shame that the fight ended in quite weird circumstances, with Quigley's Father and Trainer, Tony Quigley Sr, pulling him out 10 seconds into round 9, but the Liverpool man was starting to ship some serious punishment and he was probably going to lose the fight anyway. I was impressed with both guys, but Ochieng showed some really good skills and adapted well to Quigley's tactics. Once or twice he got caught with some big shots, but took them well and it will have been a real plus for him to have gone nine rounds, and probably would have easily done 10. The British light middleweight division is really starting to open up now, a fight with champion Brian Rose looks unlikely for Ochieng, but there's no reason why he can't go in with ex champ Prince Arron, or one of the Frank Warren promoted fighters such as Steve O'Meara or Joe Selkirk.

Dodie Boy Jr has knocked out all of his opponents

In Caloccan City, Philippines, featherweight prospect Dodie Boy Penalosa Jr (8-0, 8 KO's) continued his 100% record as a pro by easily dispatching Thai fighter Superjames Singmanasak in a round. It was a poor match to be honest, but this kid continued to show his talent and definitely needs to be stepped up in class. Obviously with him being based over in the Far East, it's hard to say who they will give him next, but there's plenty of home based fighters to choose from, with Dodie Boy Jr ranked only #26 in his homeland.


Seldin (6-0, 4 KO's) who secured a very impressive 1st round KO over the tricky Tyler Pogline in Huntington on Saturday night. Pogline hadn't been stopped since his pro debut in April 2003, but had no answer for "The Hebrew Hammer" who continues to improve, and looks like a real fighter to follow in 2012. The stocky Seldin looks very powerful, and considering Pogline had gone the full six round distance with a highly regarded Mexican called Raul Carrillo in his last fight, this looks like a very good win for Seldin's record.

Ryder is scheduled to fight on March 17th

It was a very quiet weekend of Boxing, and finally with February on the horizon, the big fights are starting to come, but at the York Hall I was really impressed with middleweight prospect John Ryder (9-0, 6 KO's). I love the way this guy throws his shots, he throws them with a lot of venom and seems to be really stepping up in 2012. This weekend he beat late replacement Mariusz Biskupski in two rounds, and the Pole was a powerful guy, who hadn't been stopped since December 2010. He couldn't deal with Ryder's class and power, and credit has to go to the Islington man for beating what was put in front of him. The 23 year old has a lot of fans in the trade, and a fight with Billy Joe Saunders has been mooted, however I can't Billy Joe being his scheduled opponent when he fights on the big March 17th bill in Sheffield. Looking at UK opponents, someone like Nick Blackwell or Liam Cameron would be perfect next time out, the fight v Cameron would be perfect as he is from Sheffield.


The last fighter I've picked up from this weekend was on the same card as Cletus Seldin, with Burkina Faso born New Yorker Issouf Kinda (12-0, 5 KO's) remaining unbeaten with an eight round UD over never stopped in 18 fights Puerto Rican Angel Rios. Kinda is with Star Boxing and was signed to them around eight months ago, and looks to be a promising light welterweight on the New York fight scene. Judges scoring the fight on Saturday night saw Kinda a 79-73 x2 and 78-73 winner, in what was an entertaining fight, and Kinda is a fighter who likes to come forward and throw punches. Considering this was against a fighter who weighed in 3lbs heavier than him, Kinda did well and the 23 year old will be a guy who many New York fight fans will come across in the next 12 months.


Next week is a very exciting one, there's some big fights like Donaire v Vazquez Jr, Chavez Jr v Rubio and Hernandez v Cunningham II, and some hot prospects are on the undercards of these bills, so make sure you return to Dragon Boxing next week!

Bill Of The Weekend - 28/01/12

It's not a great weekend of Boxing to be honest, I'm looking forward to the York Hall Matchroom bill, which is televised live on Sky Sports, but I think this one I'm featuring in Germany edges it. Promoted by Universum, and televised live on Sport 1 in Germany, live from Hamburg, sees some big German stars making their comebacks.


The best fight on the bill for me is a 10 rounder for the WBC Baltic title between former amateur star Rakhim Chakhiev and European title challenger Alexander Kotloblay, a fight I've already spoken about in my Prospect Watch feature. That's a great crossroads fight and both guys can punch.

Has Arslan's world title chance gone?

Speaking of cruiserweights, on the bill is former WBA champion Firat Arslan (31-5-1, 20 KO's), who continues to fight, despite being 41 years old. He is in a 10 rounder with Argentinian fighter Orlando Antonio Farias, who's best name on his record is Hugo Hernan Garay, who dispatched him in a round in July 2007. It's not a great fight to be honest, but Arslan seems intent on getting another crack at the world title, despite losing inside the distance in his last two title fights.


A very intriguing fight on the bill sees Juergen Braehmer (36-2, 29 KO's) return for the first time since pretty much giving up his WBO light heavyweight title, instead of facing Nathan Cleverly. There's no doubt this kid is a talent, I'm not his biggest fan, and never have been, but a points win over the tough Russian Dmitry Sukhotsky sits well on his record. Before that he was taken 11 rounds by Aleksy Kuziemski, who ironically replaced him for the Cleverly fight, and was no match for the Welshman, getting stopped in four. Facing Braehmer will be Jose Maria Guerrero (29-2-1, 11 KO's) who you may know was supposed to fight James DeGale last month, and because of that I have studied him a bit. For me he's not got much speed, and looks like a very basic fighter. Most of his fights have been in Spain and his best days look behind him. It will be good to see how much ambition Braehmer has left though, to be honest I didn't expect Guerrero to give "Chunky" many problems.

The mercurial Braehmer is back

The only other three star (Boxrec) fight on the bill bar Chakhiev v Kotloblay sees heavyweights Denis Boystov (29-0, 24 KO's) and Darnell Wilson (24-13-3, 20 KO's) go head to head. Boystov has been very well matched and it's hard to know how good he is, but he has stopped his last six. He's not the biggest of heavyweights however and I think that could be a big reason why he hasn't gone anywhere near any top 25 guys. Wilson's tough, has a good dig, and beat Juan Carlos Gomez in September, which makes him a live and dangerous opponent.


Another heavyweight fight on the bill sees Ruslan Chagaev (27-2-1, 17 KO's) facing the very limited Trinidadian Kertson Manswell (22-3, 17 KO's). Chagaev was beaten over 12 by Povetkin last time out and has a long road back to the glory days, however I do think he would be a great opponent for one of our heavies, most notably Tyson Fury. He's not got bad skills for a heavy and is a good few levels above Manswell skill-wise.

Tajbert is surely targeting a world title in 2012

Like there wasn't enough ex world champions on their way back, another on the bill is super featherweight Vitali Tajbert (21-2, 6 KO's). The former WBC champion is a pretty decent fighter, and although if he was never a strong world champion (making just one defence) he's definitely capable of mixing it in the division. He lost his title away in Japan against world #3 Takahiro Ao, and to be fair did quite well in that fight. He came back with an easy six round points win in September, and will hope for bigger fights than this eight rounder with Venezuelan Jose Luis Graterol (14-10-4, 5 KO's), who looks made for him.


Unbeaten Russian heavyweight Vladimir Tereshkin (13-0-1, 7 KO's) returns to the ring for the first time in 21 months and another unbeaten fighter on the undercard is featherweight Marcel Meyerdiercks (20-0, 5 KO's).


There is actually a 12 rounder on the bill, but it really doesn't interest me as Rafael Berajan (13-1, 6 KO's) and Daniel Urbanski (21-7-3, 5 KO's) face off for the WBO European middleweight bill.


It's not a brilliant bill to be honest as there's no significant title fights, but there's some good, notable, fighters on show and guys like Braehmer, Chakhiev, Chagaev and Tajbert do interest me.

Prospect Watch - Weekend Starting 27/01/12

Last weekend of January and although I'm not as hyped about this weekend as last week's, there's still some good prospects to look out for. It's a surprisingly quiet weekend all over, the US especially, but Boxing never stops really, which I can't complain about!

Chakhiev goes in search of his first pro title

There's a stacked bill in Hamburg on Saturday with a lot of pretty big German fighters on show, and with so little action on this weekend, this will be my featured bill of the weekend. Featuring on the top half is unbeaten cruiserweight Rakhim Chakhiev (11-0, 9 KO's), who challenges Alexander Kotloblay (21-2-1, 15 KO's) for the WBC Baltic title. Chakhiev originally from Russia, is a 29 year old southpaw, who was a superb amateur, winning Silver at the 2007 World Championships and then Gold a year later in the Olympics. As a pro he's looked impressive and comes into this fight on the back of a very good 4th round KO of American Michael Simms, who'd never been stopped in 37 fights before that and has been in with all of the top names in the division e.g. Marco Huck, Ola Afolabi and Yoan Pablo Hernandez. Kotloblay is a massive puncher, and has racked up three straight wins since Enzo Maccarinelli demolished him in a round in St Petersburg back in April 2010. There are big doubts about his chin, but this has the look of a really intriguing fight.

"The Jackal" eased past Quon last time out

Really looking forward to see this next guy in action, York Hall being the setting for Carl Frampton's (11-0, 7 KO's) first defence of his Commonwealth super bantamweight crown. This division domestically is buzzing at the moment with Frampton, Scott Quigg and Ryan Walsh coming through, and the likes of Rendall Munroe, Jason Booth and Jamie Arthur knocking about. Frampton could very well be the most talented, I'm not saying he is, but I think this kid has got a lot of good attributes. His last fight was a real walkover against the light hitting Aussie Mark Quon, but he was a late replacement, as Frampton was scheduled to challenge Kiko Martinez for the European title. That says a lot about how highly people rate this kid, and that was a real 50/50 fight. I think he still needs one or two learning fights, and he did struggle a little v Robbie Turley in his penultimate fight, but he's a supremely talented 24 year old. Here he faces another light hitter in Scotland's Kris "Badger" Hughes (15-1, 10 KO's), which does raise slight questions about Frampton's chin, as he has been well matched in his last few fights. Hughes is a decent Boxer, but has lost a challenge for this title already, getting beat in a close 12 rounder with Jamie Arthur in October 2010. For me he doesn't have enough dig to upset Frampton, and will struggle to last the distance.

Quigley v Ochieng promises to be a cracker

Cracking little fight on the undercard of Frampton v Hughes at York Hall, sees two light middleweight prospects I like going head to head for the vacant English title. Erick Ochieng (8-1, 2 KO's) has home advantage as he faces Liverpool's Prizefighter finalist Nick Quigley (10-1, 0 KO's). Looking at the record's, there is very little between the two, and this going to be about work-rate as neither is a big puncher. Ochieng suffered a surprise defeat to Luke Robinson in March last year, getting beat by a point, but has since rebounded well, winning two fights, including taking the unbeaten record of Sheffield fighter Liam Cameron, on Cameron's own patch. That seems to have got his confidence up and he's boxed well since his defeats. Quigley got beat by late replacement Robert Lloyd Taylor in the Prizefighter final last year, but overall did well in the tournament. He's bounced back with a nice six round shutout over Dee Mitchell before Christmas, and there's been good vibes around him. This is a cracking fight on a tasty bill, I really can't call it as both guys are unproven, but both are good additions to what's an improving division domestically.

Dodie Boy Jr hopes to follow in his Father's footsteps

Saturday night in far away Philippines, a promising member of the Penalosa family is in action, as Dodie Boy Jr (7-0, 7 KO's) goes in an eight rounder. Son of two weight world champ Dodie Boy, and nephew of another two weight world champ Gerry Penalosa, amongst others, this kid has made a very promising start to his career. Rated as a super bantamweight, he hasn't really fought anyone of note so far, but has looked very good. Here he faces a kid from Thailand, who's 1-4, which suggests this wont be much of a test. However they do take time over there, and it could be a while before we see the best of him. No doubt however he is a kid to look out for, especially with the pedigree he has.

"The Hebrew Hammer" has his first outing of 2012

Finally it wouldn't be a Prospect Watch without a trip to the state of New York, and this week we go to the Paramount Theatre in Huntington for a small bill from Star Boxing. My guy to watch is welterweight Cletus "The Hebrew Hammer" Seldin (5-0, 3 KO's) from Brooklyn. He's a kid I first saw on the Donaire v Narvaez undercard at MSG, where he impressed in a 2nd round stoppage of Jose SeguraRashad Bogar in three, becoming the first guy to beat Bogar in six fights. This weekend he steps up in class to face Tyler Pogline (5-9, 4 KO's), who's only been stopped once, which was in his first fight, and took a dangerous unbeaten Mexican called Raul Carrillo the distance last time out. Good matching from the promoters this, I'm happy to see these guys getting tested.

Prospect Watch Weekend Starting 20/1/12 - Review

This past weekend was the most intriguing and busiest fight weekend of 2012 so far, and the prospects I featured in my earlier post, most certainly delivered.

Selkirk had too much for Tomas

The action kicked off at the Olympia on Friday night, and although there was disappointment in the main event as Derry Matthews was once again stopped, this time by Italian Emiliano Marsili, light middleweight prospect Joe Selkirk (8-0, 5 KO's) impressed with a 5th round stoppage of Ryan Toms. The fight was stopped on the basis that the swelling around Toms' right eye was worsening, and this was after being outclassed by the far classier Selkirk. I've said already that Selkirk needs to be a lot more active in 2012, he's a really talented fighter, and for me a rematch with Steve O'Meara would certainly be an attractive and easy fight to make.

Diaz won a superb fight v Robb and remained unbeaten

The other Friday night fight I featured promised to be an absolute cracker, and it lived up to expectations, with Guy Robb and Joel Diaz slugging it out in a fight which saw both guys be put down in the first three rounds. Diaz (7-0, 6 KO's) proved too strong in the end, stopping Robb (7-1, 3 KO's) in the 7th round. Both guys have lots to improve on, but for a fighter so young, Diaz showed a real warrior spirit and he's got the raw ingredients to be a really decent fighter, although it will take time. This fight is well worth a watch and take a look at the 4th round especially. Diaz is scheduled for further action on the 17th of February at Cicero Stadium in Illinois.

Saturday night at the Roseland Ballroom in New York, Puerto Rican fighter Luis "Orlandito" Del Valle moved to 15-0 (11 KO's) by taking a comfortable UD over tough Mexican fighter Jose Angel Beranza (34-22-2, 26 KO's). Considering the Mexican has only been stopped four times in his career, and beat the unbeaten Christopher Martin in his last fight, this was a really good showing from Del Valle. With this ability and potential he really should be winning these fights anyway, but he boxed nicely, and looks to be the next hot Puerto Rican fighter coming through. So far he looks a really talented kid and could be in for some big Madison Square Garden nights, with a big Puerto Rican population in the Big Apple.

In Mexico, Leo Santa Cruz (19-0-1, 11 KO's) starred with a superb performance, forcing Alejandro Hernandez into a 4th round retirement, becoming the first guy to stop "Payasito". Not even slick Argentinian fighter Omar Andres Narvaez could stop this guy when he challenged for the WBO flyweight title in 2008, and Hernandez has had some good performances in the last two years. Santa Cruz is up to #12 in the world in the bantamweight division and is fast becoming a real star.

Also on the bill was super middleweight fighter Marco Antonio Periban, however I haven't had any news of a result from his fight so far, therefore it's hard to comment on him.

Price absolutely demolished McDermott

We were back at the Olympia on Saturday night and the two Price lads I featured both had impressive wins, with headliner David, smashing "Big" John McDermott in a round. Considering the problems McDermott had given Tyson Fury and Danny Williams in previous title challenges, this was expected to be a real test for Price (12-0, 10 KO's), however the 6ft8 giant was simply too strong. It was a awesome performance as I know McDermott had trained hard for it, which makes it an even more impressive performance. I still think we have a lot to learn about Price, we don't know much about his defence or stamina, and shouldnt get carried away with this, however it's hard not to give the guy the credit, the ingredients are there for a future heavyweight champion of the world.

Danny Price (3-0, 1 KO's) was in with the tough Bulgaria Tayar Mehmed, and boxed really nicely over four rounds to 40-35 win on referee Steve Gray's card, putting Mehmed down in the second with an absolute beauty of a right uppercut. I really like Price, he's very well schooled, has a solid job, and looks a better fighter already than most guys domestically in his division. Mehmed has only been stopped once in his career, and that was by a really good upcoming German based fighter, so to put him down and get some rounds under the belt sounds like a near perfect display from the Scarborough man.

Those are the guys I featured first time around, now who were some of the finds from this weekend?

Well Boxnation featured Ellesmere Port super flyweight Paul Butler (6-0, 2 KO's) on the Mathews v Marsili undercard, and the "Baby Faced Assassin" looked good in his first eight rounder, winning all of the rounds in his fight with tough Bristol based South African, Michael Rambaletsa. The man from Soweto has been stopped just once in a 14 fight pro career, and that was by two time world title challenger Evans Mbamba. Butler cruised in this fight, he boxed well on the back foot, and has definitely got potential.

On the Ramos-Rigondeaux undercard there was a talented, young fighter, looking to bounce back from his first pro loss, and Javier Molina (10-1, 4 KO's) did well in his bout with Alberto Herrera, knocking Herrera down in the first, en route to a UD win over six (59-54, 58-55 x2). Molina is a kid with a lot of potential, but hasnt really hit the heights as a pro and was beaten over eight last time out by the very dangerous WBC FECARBOX welterweight champion Artemio Reyes over eight rounds. In the amateurs he was a brilliant fighter and beat the likes of Karl Dargan and Brad Solomon to win the US Championships. He also qualified for the Olympics in 2008 and although not firing on all cilinders, the California man is worth following.

Satchell looked good as he stepped up in class

Sky Sports featured a decent little undercard bout as the main warm up for Price v McDermott, and I was delighted to see talented Liverpool super flyweight Kevin Satchell (7-0, 0 KO's) gain a massive win over former British bantamweight champ Martin Power. Yes it's true Power is not the fighter of old, but for a novice like Satchell to dominate him over six, knocking him down in the 2nd, is very impressive. Referee Steve Gray scored it 59-55 for the home fighter and credit has to be give to "Satch" for first of all taking the fight and secondly to perform so well. I've already talked about Paul Butler, and this is another very exciting super flyweight in the North West. 

In Woodland Hills, California, Russian welterweight Alexander Filichkin (10-0, 3 KO's) returned for the first time since November 2010, and in his first fight on US soil, secured a really good looking win over Hector Alatorre. The 30 year old from Tulare, California, had been stopped just once in 33 pro fights before this, and that was in the final round of his 10x3 contest with Victor Ortiz in February 2010. Filichkin retired him in the 4th, and that on paper is a very impressive looking win.

Those are the four guys who I've added to my watchlist this weekend, it was a very decent weekend, and certainly an enjoyable one for Boxing nuts like myself. I'll be back next week with another Prospect Watch and Bill Of The Weekend, with fast rising Belfast super bantamweight, Carl Frampton, one of the guys to keep an eye on.

Bill Of The Weekend - 21/1/12

British Boxing eyes are focused on Liverpool this week for two big bills, and the bigger of the two is on Saturday night at the Olympia, as David Price and John McDermott go head to head in a British heavyweight title eliminator and also for the vacant English title.

Price and McDermott headline this Sky Sports bill

I've already spoken about this in my prospect watch and it has the makings of a cracking heavyweight fight, as Price is the highly touted prospect, while McDermott faces a situation he's been in quite a few times, the last chance saloon and hoping for one more crack at British champion Tyson Fury, who he's fought twice already. 


The bookies have Price as a huge favourite and the stoppage win is also a massive favourite in that market, but Big John should never be ruled out, especially judged on his last fight against Larry Olubamiwo.

Edwards moves up in weight to fight Power

The undercard is absolutely stacked with young talent, with an Irish light heavyweight title fight between John Waldron and the unbeaten Paddy McDonagh (7-0, 0 KO's). McDonagh is just 20 years old and is now with Maloney Promotions, so this is a chance for him to progress further, against a guy who's been struggling of late.


A fight I hope Sky Sports show is the super flyweight contest between former British flyweight champ, Paul Edwards (8-1, 2 KO's) and another ex Lonsdale belt holder, former British bantam champ Martin Power (22-6, 10 KO's) in what's a real crossroads fight. Edwards will probably have an easier time making the weight, but he's not a noted puncher, and Power is a really dangerous kid.


There's also an all Liverpool super middleweight fight between Joe Ainscough and Carl Dilks, and there's an outing for classy cruiserweight Danny Price, who's having his third pro fight, and is another fighter I've talked about in my Prospect Watch feature.


There's also three Maloney heavyweights to look out for in Dillan Whyte (3-0, 1 KO's), Gary Cornish (4-0, 2 KO's) and Tom Little (2-0, 0 KO's).

Prospect Watch Weekend Starting 20/1/12

Pretty exciting weekend of Boxing ahead, especially if you live in Liverpool, with two hometown favourites headlining big cards. Boxing is starting to get going in 2012 and here are some prospects to watch out for this weekend.

Selkirk is on show at the Olympia

The first card in Liverpool, both at the Olympia, sees Derry Mathews headline in an IBO lightweight title fight against unbeaten Italian Emiliano Marsili on Friday night. There's a lot of young guys on the bill, and one of them is Frank Warren signed light middleweight, Joe Selkirk (7-0, 4 KO's). The 6ft1 local man takes on former Southern Area champion, Ryan Toms, in what looks like a pretty intriguing contest. Selkirk, who should have no problems if you look at the form guide, as he has a win over Steve O'Meara (59-57 in December 2010), who recently knocked Toms out in a round. O'Meara is one of the form fighters in Britain at the moment and has pushed on despite that loss, while Selkirk has stagnated because of injury. He's a really slick fighter, the guy has got loads of potential, but does need to start stepping up in 2012, because Boxing is a short career.

Diaz faces Robb in what could be a cracker

On Friday night in America there's a really good looking WBA super bantamweight title fight between big punching Rico Ramos and one of the best amateurs ever Guillermo Rigondeaux in Las Vegas, with the fight being screened live on Showtime. The undercard has a fantastic looking eight round super featherweight contest though, with two unbeaten prospects Guy Robb (7-0, 3 KO's) taking on Joel Diaz (6-0, 5 KO's). Both of them are young fighters, with Robb from Sacramento 22 years old, and Palmdale man Diaz a mere 19 years old. Robb looks like the bigger fighter, and has already beaten an unbeaten fighter, taking the 0 of Pablo Armenta in September last year, while Diaz comes into this on the back of four straight 1st round stoppages. Both have shown good qualities so far, but we'll learn a lot more about both of them when the bell rings.

Puerto Rico's Del Valle will have a big following at the Roseland

At the Roseland Ballroom in New York on Saturday night, a NABF light welterweight title fight between unbeaten slickster Gabriel Bracero, taking on the very experienced DeMarcus "Chop Chop" Chorley. The undercard sees exciting Puerto Rican featherweight, Luis Orlando Del Valle (14-0, 11 KO's) in a scheduled eight rounder with the dangerous 35 year old Mexican, Jose Angel Beranza. Del Valle is the current NABA featherweight champ, which he won with a highly impressive 10 round UD (99-91 on all three judges scorecards) over tough Vietnamese fighter Dat Nguyen. He followed it up with a 3rd round TKO win over Kenya's Anthony Napunyi in September in Billoxi, Mississippi. Beranza has only been stopped four times in 57 fights and comes into this fight on the back of a shock win over then unbeaten San Diego man, Christopher Martin. Barenza is a proven 12 round fighter and guys like Wilfredo Vazquez Jr, Teon Kennedy, Jhonny Gonzalez and Alexander Bakhtin, have been taken the distance by him.


In Ensenada, Mexico, in a card headlined by Daniel Ponce De Leon's fight with Omar Estrella, two talented unbeaten Mexicans feature on the undercard. The first is the Cameron Dunkin managed bantamweight, Leo Santa Cruz (18-0-1), who has already knocked around some experienced campaigners in his last few fights. His last bout was a complete waste of time as he fought a guy in just his second pro fight, but before that he stopped former world title challenger Everth Briceno (TKO11) and former WBO super flyweight champion Jose Lopez (KO5). Here he faces world #54 Alejandro Hernandez, who's never been stopped before, and that includes a August 2008 WBO flyweight challenge against talented Argentine Omar Andres Narvaez.


Also featuring is fast rising super middleweight Marco Antonio Periban (15-0, 10 KO's), who's already ranked #18 in the world and is yet to even step into 10 round distance. Last time out he starred on the Mayweather v Ortiz bill, closing out a comfortable eight round points win over the durable Dhafir Smith. He's a big puncher, but has also got pretty good hands, and there is genuine potential there. Here he faces the dangerous, if shot-shy, Rito Ruvalcaba over eight rounds. 

6ft8 Price faces his first real test

Frank Maloney promotions has a bumper bill at the Olympia on Saturday night, headlined by the very exciting vacant English heavyweight title fight between David Price (11-0, 9 KO's) and John McDermott (26-7, 17 KO's). A lot of people are excited by the 6ft8 Olympic Bronze medallist, Price, who looked in brilliant form in his last few fights. His last fight saw him completely outclass then unbeaten Tom Dallas, stopping him in two rounds. He's still untested and many people expect him to be that difficult fight for him, but the skills, power and temperament look there. McDermott faced a similar fight against then 7-0 Tyson Fury in September 2009, and was robbed as he fought out of his skin and did enough in a lot of people's eyes. He looked superb last time out in stopping Larry Olubamiwo in a round, and all of that makes this a very intriguing heavyweight battle.


There's plenty of young talent on the undercard, and that includes the skilled cruiserweight, Danny Price (2-0, 1 KO's). He turned pro towards the end of 2011 after being relegated from the Olympic squad, and looks to have plenty of talent. Last time out he was given a tough four round test by Hastings Rastani (40-36) and faces another step up in class here against Bulgarian Tayar Mehmed. Stopped just once in his career in what was just his second pro fight by the very talented Rakhim Chakhiev, and since then he's taken the likes of Shane McPhilbin and Tony Conquest the distance. A stoppage victory would certainly look good on Price's record.

Prospect Watch Weekend Starting 13/1/12 - Review

This week's Prospect Watch was a ESPN FNF special and although I didn't watch the bill, it turned out to be a decent night, but another prospect shock in 2012 was seen on the card.

Ugas showed all his amateur class Friday night

Yordenis Ugas is someone I'm tipping to really make it big in the next 12-18 months and he boxed very nicely to a comfortable UD win over eight rounds against Esteban Almaraz, two judges scoring it 79-72 and another a shutout for the Cuban 80-71. That was a solid enough performance from the welterweight, and the big question over this guy like many Cuban's, is can he turn that amateur form into the pro game, so far so good!


Jesse Magdaleno is another guy I rate highly, I think he's better than his more experienced brother, Diego, and he moved to 8-0 (5 KO's) with a comfortable shutout win over Shawn Nicol, who'd been stopped just once before. After two straight one round wins, going the full six round distance will have been very important for his progression, certainly a talent to watch!


The disappointment however came from Gabino Saenz, as he drew with Gil Garcia, a guy Jesse Magdaleno had stopped in a round in his previous fight. All three judges scored it completely different, and it was clearly a very close fight. The disappointment is I expect a bit more from Saenz and no doubt this is a setback in his career.


Now I move onto the finds of the weekend, it was a quiet weekend and clearly Boxing is only just starting to get going, but some very interesting bills are coming up, so stay on here for all the best fight previews and opinion.


Two prospects firstly who came out of the York Hall bill on Friday night quite well, the first being pro debutant Charlie Hoy, who moved to 1-0 (0 KO's) with a comfortable 40-36 win over the tough and experienced Delroy Spencer. The flyweight division is starting to see some talent coming through over here with also the talented Scot Iain Butcher looking good in some pro action, and Hoy boxed nicely in his debut at Bethnall Green. He was an ABA finalist last year and has won plenty of amateur titles, is the kind of fighter who will improve massively under the tutelage of Mark Tibbs.

Skeete looks a great addition to the domestic welterweight division

Tall welterweight Bradley Skeete, moved to 6-0 (2 KO's) with a very comfortable decision over the dangerous, if negative on the night, Michael Frontin. Skeete was incredibly dangerous early on and put Frontin down in the first, and also landed some big shots in the second. Considering Frontin had given unbeaten fighters at the time, Dean Byrne and Patrick Liam Walsh tough fights in the last few months of 2011, shows how impressive this performance was from Skeete. To move into eight round distance in just his sixth pro fight says there's a lot of belief around this kid from his promoters.

Bobadilla is a bantamweight on the rise

Over in Gudalajara, Mexico, there was a good bit of matchmaking for the vacant IBF Youth bantamweight title, as the 7-2 (5 KO's) improving Aaron Bobadilla, secured the biggest win over his career, stopping the experienced and big punching Rodolfo Hernandez 23-2-1 (21 KO's) in five rounds. Bobadilla was twice outpointed in successive fights in September and November 2010, but has since rattled off five straight wins, showcasing some serious power in his last two fights. The kid is now ranked #36 in the world and will get a good ranking with the IBF after this.


As I said it was a quiet weekend, but the action will improve from next week onwards, so remember to keep checking the Twitter feed and the blog.

Bill of the Weekend - 14/1/12

New feature where I will be using Boxrec's star system to preview what they regard as the Fight of the Weekend and also hopefully a good undercard to match it.


It's a really quiet weekend and bar the ESPN FNF bill that I've already featured on my prospect watch, and Box Nation's card at the York Hall on Friday night, headlined by a poor looking main event for the British cruiserweight title, there's a genuine lack of anything to get excited about.


Step forward on Saturday night our good old, corrupt friends from Germany, promoted by Sauerland, which has the weekend's only male Boxrec three star fight, although that isn't the main event, or even the co feature.


The sold out event in Offenburg sees the return of Arthur Abraham and a WBO Super Middleweight title fight between champion Robert Stieglitz and little known unbeaten German, Henry Weber.

Pulev will be tested by Sprott

However the best fight on paper is a heavyweight contest involving a Brit in the very experienced Michael Sprott, who takes on unbeaten Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev, scheduled for 12 and for the IBF International title.


Pulev who's 14-0 (6 KO's) is already ranked #10 in the world and made a good transition to 12 round level last time out against American Travis Walker, who he beat quite easily over 12, although his power has to be questioned, as five of Walker's seven defeats have come inside the distance. To be fair this kid has been matched quite hard in his career for a prospect (fought Matt Skelton in his 5th fight), but looking at his amateur career, he was decent, however nothing special. He's clearly not a massive puncher, his last stoppage win over Derric Rossy was highly controversial, and in my opinion this guy still has a lot of work, despite some impressive wins on his resume.


Sprott is better than his record of 36-17 (17 KO's), but has started to look like an old, somewhat exposed fighter in his last couple of bouts, getting outpointed in the first round of the International Prizefighter, and then getting beat over 12 by Alexander Dimitrenko for the European title. This guy has improved with age, but this is his 54th fight, and I think he'll struggle to pull of an upset. Like I've said though, I cant see Pulev stopping him because he's not the biggest punching heavyweight.


Headlining this bill is the WBO super middleweight title fight between Robert Stieglitz 40-2 (23 KO's) and Henry Weber 15-0-1 (3 KO's). You can see why it's a two star fight as you can't see Stieglitz, making his fifth defence, being stretched here. The Russian born fighter is already scheduled to make a huge defence in Denmark against local hero Mikkel Kessler, and this is clearly a comfortable looking tune up fight.

Stieglitz should remain WBO champ Saturday night

He's a much improved fighter since stoppage defeats to Alejandro Berrio (TKO3) and Librado Andrade (TKO8), and has beaten some solid operators in WBO title fights, including two unbeaten fighters in Karoly Balzsay, to win the belt, and also now European light heavyweight champ Eduard Gutknecht.


I know very little of 23 year old Weber, who comes into this fight on the back of a career best win over Stjepan Bozic, albeit a split decision over eight rounds. He's ranked #57 in the world, which says a lot about how poor a fight this is, and has a mere three stoppage wins, so it's hard to see him causing Stieglitz problems.


Stieglitz isn't a big puncher, but there's a real class and experience difference here, the champion has gone 12 rounds six times, Weber has never gone past eight. For me this looks like a mid round stoppage win for the champ, a perfect tune up for the big one, which will be a classic.

Abraham has a routine looking fight v Farias

Arthur Abraham 32-3 (26 KO's) returns after a tough Super 6 and is being aimed at maybe fighting the winner of the Stieglitz-Kessler fight as he takes on Pablo Oscar Natalio Frias for the WBO European title.


Abraham's stock has gone down in the last 18-24 months because he was exposed but a great calibre of opposition, however is still regarded as a very dangerous fighter because of his power. King Arthur is a huge ticket seller in Germany, but he's got plenty to prove after losing three of his last four, and that's why this contest intrigues me.


How is this contest for an European title when the opponent in the other corner is Argentinian I don't know, but we all know how bad these organisations are nowadays, and tend to ignore the rubbish they're seemingly fighting for. 


Argentina is a hard school, they're tough how out there, proven by welterweights Maidana and Matthysse, but this guy is ranked #71 in the world and is only #3 in his country, therefore it's hard to expect much. His record of 19-1 (11 KO's) is decent enough and that loss, which was in his last fight, was by disqualification. There's a real lack of quality on his CV though and this smells of a routine win for Abraham on his return.


The undercard features a Women's world title fight and another Sauerland fighter facing a Brit, as the unbeaten Dustin Dirks continues to be well matched v Sam Couzens.


It's a shame that it doesnt look like there will be any shocks on this bill, but Pulev v Sprott is intriguing and it will be interesting to see if Pulev underestimates Sprott

ESPN Friday Night Fights 13/1/12 - Prospect Watch

Ugas was an outstanding amateur

Real lack of action this weekend, and all of this week's prospects feature on the ESPN Friday Night Fights bill at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, a bill promoted by Bob Arum's Top Rank.


Headlining is an extremely intriguing super bantamweight 10 rounder between Teon Kennedy and Christopher Martin, two slick fighters who suffered their first pro defeats last time out. My eyes will be on the undercard though, where I have three guys to look out for.


The first fighter is in the co-feature, that being 25 year old former Cuban amateur star Yordenis Ugas, who's 10-0 (5 KO's) and was a bronze medalist at the 2008 Olympic Games. He had a busy 2011 fighting five times, with his best victory coming over then 11-3-1 New Yorker, Kenny Abril, in Philadelphia over six rounds. This is his first eight round fight and currently is scheduled to take place at light middleweight (rated as a welterweight) and it looks like a great learning fight for him.


In the opposite corner will be 10-4 (4 KO's) Texas man Esteban Almaraz, who's never been stopped, but has lost three of his last four. He's gone the distance with some really decent fighters like Henry Lundy and Ruslan Provodnikov, and the fight with Lundy was a very close one, although in both of those fights he was put down. He's a pretty decent boxer, but I doubt he has the skills to match the highly skilled Cuban.

Jesse is the only Magdaleno brother on the bill

As mentioned in last week's prospect watch on this bill will also be the younger Magdaleno brother, Jesse, 7-0 (5 KO's). I'm really excited about this guy, his brother Diego is unbeaten, but doesnt seem to hit as hard as the less experienced Jesse. He's won his last two fights in a round, and that includes a very impressive victory over 5-1 Gil Garcia last time out, which on paper looked like a tricky little fight. This southpaw featherweight is exceptionally talented, I think he's got a lot of quality, and the fact he's such a powerful makes him a real prospect to watch.


Opposing him will be fellow southpaw Shawn Nicol, 5-7 (5 KO's), stopped just once his career, but has been beaten in his last five, all by unbeaten fighters. The only fighter to have stopped him is the now 15-0 (9 KO's) super bantamweight Efrain Esquivias, in a fight that went into the final round of their contest scheduled for eight. This guy is a pure banger, and has got enough in his locker to really test opponents, with four of his five victories coming by pure knockout, so on paper this has the makings of a really exciting fight.


Finally the last prospect to keep your eyes on is 6-0 (5 KO's) Indio super bantamweight Gabino Saenz. Taken the distance for the first time last time out by tricky Mexican Sergio Cristobal, but he was well on top in that fight and won very single round. Comparing him to the other guys mentioned here so far, I think he's pretty raw and still has a lot of work to do, but he's got plenty of potential and as I always say with prospects, it's never a bad thing to go the distance.


Facing him will be the already mentioned Gil Garcia, who's resistance will be tested after that quick defeat to Magdaleno, we will find out a lot about his heart in this contest.


It's not a fantastic weekend of Boxing, but Ugas and Magdaleno are serious fighters to look out for, credit has to go to Bob Arum and Top Rank for the matchmaking, the main event has the makings of a good one as well.


Recap the three guys to watch are - Yordenis Ugas, Jesse Magdaleno and Gabino Saenz.

Who's next for jail bound Mayweather?

Will anyone take Floyd's 0?

Today Floyd Mayweather called out Manny Pacquiao on Twitter for their big fight to go ahead on May 5th, this only a few hours after the name Robert Guerrero was being mentioned for 'Money'. I can't see the Pacman fight going ahead, Arum wants him to fight Bradley, and that will leave Mayweather with if you believe the rumour mill, either Guerrero or Saul Alvarez.


For me I cannot see Mayweather going anywhere near Alvarez, the biggest reason being the fact Alvarez is a huge light middleweight, who's unbeaten and hits incredibly hard. That fight would be a huge, I wouldn't want it in Vegas, for me that's a Cowboys Stadium, or even a Soccer stadium fight in Mexico. Floyd will say that Alvarez isn't experienced enough to hold his own with him, but like Miguel Cotto, I think Canelo's size could be a big factor if they were to fight each other.

Expect Guerrero to be Floyd's opponent in May

For that reason I see Guerrero being the man facing Mayweather in what's supposed to be his last fight before he finally goes to jail. This isn't a great fight if it's announced, Guerrero has never fought above lightweight, and he also isn't that big of a name. He's had very little big bill experience, and for me he wasn't that impressive in April when he claimed a 12 round UD over Michael Katsidis to claim interim WBA and WBO lightweight titles. The kid is a two weight world champion and has a good story for the 24/7 series as he had to give up his IBF super featherweight belt to look after his wife, who was battling leukaemia.


Boxrec have him at #2 in the lightweight division and at #15 in the P4P rankings, but like I've talked about already, size would be a big issue, especially as expected the fight will take place at 147lbs.


I'm a massive Mayweather fan and if he was to fight Pacquiao, I would certainly pick him, but I think it will be a let down once more for fans as Mayweather picks "The Ghost".

Prospect watch - 6/1/2012 - Review

Not a great week for the prospects I featured, with two of the three losing their unbeaten records.


New York light middleweight Steve Martinez was in a tough fight and lost a split decision over eight against Dennis Douglin. I watched this fight on FNF and it was a really good bout, and was very close. Martinez for me was a bit too one dimensional and was loading up far too often early on, but I'm not going to ignore the kid, I think he's still got lots of potential and is just 21 years old.

Figueroa impressed in his war v Perez

On ShoBox Michael Perez suffered a very disappointing loss against fellow unbeaten fighter Omar Figueroa, with his corner retiring him in the 6th round. It was a good fight, and Figueroa was able to stamp his authority on the contest, with his bullish display very impressive.


The only winner of the weekend was 1-0 middleweight, Chris Pearson, who secured a four round points win over Cleven Ishe, all three judges scoring it 39-37. It's never bad to go the distance early on in your career, and although a stoppage win would have looked more impressive, it will be a big help to the Cleveland fighter.


It was a quiet weekend of action, but last night (Saturday) there was a card in Holywood, Florida, and in the co feature there was an impressive performance from Dominican fighter Claudio Marrero. The 22 year old unbeaten southpaw, moved to 10-0 (9 KO's) by stopping fellow countryman Francis Ruiz in two, and taking the vacant WBC FECARBOX featherweight title. It took highly touted fighter Randy Caballero six rounds to take him out in May, and the way Marrero did it was a real positive. He's not beaten much, but this was a good step up in class against a 9-5 fighter, who's known for being a tricky guy to come up against.

Ramos showed the battle scars after 10 hard rounds

Headlining the ShoBox card on Friday night was Luis Ramos Jr v Raymundo Beltran for the vacant NABA USA lightweight title, and the 23 year old Ramos came through well to claim a 10 round UD, judges scoring it 97-93 x2 and 96-94. It was always going to be a tough fight for Ramos, and it didnt start off well with the Santa Ana native getting cut early on. Midway he started to get hold of the right and boxed well, being 23 I think he's still learning and has clearly got sound boxing ability.


Figueroa is certainly a fighter to keep an eye on after that performance and is the third addition to my boxrec watchlist from this weekend.


Next week looks like a pretty quiet one at the moment, for me Vegas is where it will be happening on Friday night, one of the scheduled fighters being the younger Magdaleno brother, Jesse. Check back next week for another prospect watch.

Prospect watch - 6/1/2012

I'm back with my first prospect watch of 2012 and there's two actually really solid cards in the USA tonight, with ESPN's Friday Night Fight's returning and also an addition of ShoBox, both of which can be seen in the UK on ESPN America 1:30am for FNF and Premier Sports 4am for the ShoBox card.

Martinez and Douglin at the weigh in

The main event on FNF is going to be a real cracker between Dyah Davis and Alfonso Lopez, two very solid, and improving pro fighters, a win for either will be huge. However the chief support is what takes my eye as 11-0 (9 KO's) New York light middleweight Steve Martinez takes on Dennis Douglin, 13-1 (8 KO's), a matchup between two guys who won National Golden Gloves titles in 2008.


Martinez won his title at welterweight, while Douglin won at middleweight, so naturally being a couple years younger, you'd expect Douglin to have the physical advantage. However the only time he's been beaten was against a hard hitting Puerto Rican called Doel Carrasquillo in his penultimate fight, and that was in the third round, so questions are raised about his chin. In his last fight he came up against a guy who wasnt going to test his resistance, this is a completely different ask as Martinez is very much on the up and comes into this on the back of two very good showings.


The bookies have it a very close one, but I think the man from the Bronx is going to win it, with his power expected to give Douglin serious problems.


If you fancy some more action after the bill in Key West, then there is some good prospects on show at the Fantasy Springs in Indio, a place which is starting to become renowned with showcasing some of the US's finest prospects.


Headlining is a great looking war between the unbeaten Luis Ramos Jr and Rayundo Beltran at lightweight, but like in Florida, it's the undercard that takes my eye.

The Artist and his opponent

In the co-feature, exciting Newark lightweight Michael Perez faces Omar Figueroa in a someone's 0 has to go 10 rounder. Perez is 15-0-1 (9 KO's) and comes into this having stopped his last four opponents, showing why the people in Puerto Rico are getting very excited about him (he is of Puerto Rican descent). Two of those wins have come against very experienced campaigners in Ira Terry and Tyrone Harris, and in the Harris fight he really did look spectacular, so he needs to build on that. Figueroa is a decent fighter with a record of 13-0-1 (10 KO's), but he's campaigned at a much lower level and doesnt look as good as prospect as Perez. However his record suggests he can bang and this could be a good one.


A late addition to the undercard is 1-0 (1 KO) Cleveland middleweight Christopher Pearson, who I watched make his debut a few weeks ago on the undercard of Adrien Broner's world title fight, and I was very impressed with this guy's technical ability. He was a well regarded fighter on the amateur scene, boxing in the World Series of Boxing, but for me his style looks made for the pro ranks. Here he faces Cleven Ishe, stopped just once in seven fights, but with just one stoppage win on his record. Pearson needs to be a bit more patient tonight and just use his considerable skills, a stoppage victory would be an impressive way to start 2012.


Just to recap then, the three fighters to look out for tonight are -


Steve Martinez
Michael Perez
Christopher Pearson.


Happy New Year to my all my readers and let's hope for a great 2012 in the sport we love.