Lopez and Salido to dish out another cracker

I love big Puerto Rican bills and this weekend live on Showtime, we see a rematch of one of last year's Fights of the Year, plus some massively talented Puerto Rican kids are in action.

Lopez and Salido are ready to go again

Starting off with the main event, which sees the #1 Featherweight Orlando Salido (37-11-2, 25 KO's) defend his WBO title against the home favourite Juan Manuel Lopez (31-1, 28 KO's) in a classic Mexico v Puerto Rico battle. Salido stunned Lopez in April last year, stopping Lopez on his feet in the 8th round, this after systematically beating him, putting him down in the 5th. Salido has been stopped five times, but many of those early defeats where when he was inexperienced, his last five defeats have all been on points, and that includes against guys like Gamboa and Juan Manuel Marquez. Since beating Lopez, he's made two successful defences, however they've been against guys with not much of a dig in Kenichi Yamaguchi (17-1-2 at time of fight) and Weng Haya (15-3 at time of fight). The Haya fight especially brings up doubts as Salido was put down in the 3rd and 4th, before coming back to win in the eighth, since then Haya has been stopped in four against a guy with a record of 14-5-1.

Salido after his stunning win in April

Lopez was one of the hottest guys in world Boxing going into that first fight, he was being tipped up for a super fight with Gamboa, but it all fell apart in Bayamon. I still rate this guy though, before the Lopez fight he had impressively stopped Steven Luevano, Bernabe Concepcion and the legend Rafael Marquez, and again this weekend he's landed home advantage. He had a return in October and beat Mike Oliver in two rounds, you can't really ask more than that, and I think it's the perfect confidence booster for him. The feeling I get about him here is that he will have learnt from his mistakes, and I really like his chances of regaining that title on Saturday night.


I really can't wait for this fight, it's going to be a great occasion and even though some rematches don't usually live up to the hype, I think this one will. My pick is Juanma, I havent been impressed with Salido in his last two fights, and I think Lopez is going to stop him late here.

Garcia and Concepcion provide the chief support

The main headline bout sees Oxnard based fighter Miguel Angel Garcia (27-0, 23 KO's) defend his WBO NABO featherweight title against Bernabe Concepcion (29-5, 15 KO's). Garcia is trained by his brother, star trainer Robert Garcia, and judged on recent displays really isn't far off world title contention. Judged on the title he holds and his spot on this bill, the winner of the main event looks his next opponent and that fight with either would be very exciting. He's knocked out some good guys already in the likes of Cornelius Lock and Matt Remillard, but this looks a tough job. Concepcion isn't in the best form, but only Juan Manuel Lopez has knocked him out and in that fight he put Lopez down in the first. In his last two fights he's not been at his best and judged on that he wont be able to compete with Garcia.


On the undercard watch out for a flyweight called Jonathan Gonzalez (8-0, 7 KO's) who impressed me massively when stopping Samuel Gutierrez in five rounds a month ago, he did a really good job on him last night and this weekend goes for the interim WBO Youth flyweight title, which is a ridiculous belt. His opponent is fellow countryman Erickson Martell (9-3-1, 7 KO's), who's just behind him in the Puerto Rican rankings and is on a five fight winning run, but only one of those fighters had ever won a fight. McWilliams Arroyo, who also is in a title fight on this bill, stopped him in five in April last year.


There's one or two other guys on the undercard to look out for, but I don't know a great deal about them, so it will be a case of having a look at those bouts and seeing where the talent is, which we should see as Puerto Rican Boxing is and always is very strong.

Big weekend for the Scots

Massive weekend of Boxing coming up North of the Border, with the new star of British Boxing, Ricky Burns, making the first defence of his interim WBO lightweight title at the Braehead Arena.

Big night for Burns

Burns (33-2, 9 KO's) became a two weight world champion with a fantastic performance against the dangerous Michael Katsidis last time out at Wembley Arena, using his fantastic skills to claim a unanimous decision over 12 rounds. The Coatbridge man is one of the most improved fighters in world Boxing and he's already ranked #7 in the world in what's an exceptionally competitive division. Even though I was massively impressed with what I saw last time out in November, the fact he didn't defend his super featherweight title against anyone of note still raises one or two doubts. However he's such a nice guy and very dedicated under the expert leadership of trainer Billy Nelson.

Moses brings a top pedigree

His opponent this weekend is Paulus Moses (28-1, 19 KO's) who's held the WBA title and is ranked #31 in the world, so does have some credibility. He won that WBA title in January 2009 away in Japan against Yusuke Kobori, before making a successful defence at home against another Japanese fighter in the tough Takehiro Shimada, easily winning a UD over 12. However after that he ran into the big punching Venezuelan Miguel Acosta, and was stopped in six in front of his home crowd, which will no doubt raise some doubts over his chin. Since then he's had three fights, all at home, and against nobody near the same level of ability as Burns. He's experienced, has a 65.62 KO% and can win on the road, so he's a pretty good challenger.


Should be a real good fight on Saturday night, Burns is a pretty strong 1.2 favourite with the bookies, and although he might be able to test Moses' chin now that he's a lot more comfortable at this weight, I think it will be a hard 12 round fight, which Burns should show his superior technical ability.

Appleby needs to start stepping up

The main undercard bout sees the vacant Celtic super featherweight title on the line as home favourite Paul Appleby (17-3, 11 KO's) faces Ireland's Stephen Ormond (11-0, 5 KO's). It should be a really good fight with Appleby's last one an absolute cracker against Liam Walsh at York Hall for the Commonwealth title. Appleby is the bookies favourite, but the worry I have is that he's lost his last three title fights and that last fight was a hard one. Ormond is fresh and is ahead of him in the rankings (110th in the world, Appleby 181st), and has also been away in the US in the past for fights and sparring. He's not faced the hardest opponents, but no unbeaten fighter should ever be underestimated.

Johnson boxed for Scotland as an amateur

Some awesome prospects on this bill, Commonwealth medallist Callum Johnson (3-0, 1 KO) is a fighter going places, he trains at Gallagher's Gym in Manchester, and simply needs to be a bit more active. He has a hard night's work ahead of him with the very tough Belfast man Tommy Tolan. Cruiserweight Stephen Simmons (3-0, 1 KO) has the same record as Johnson and is another good Billy Nelson fighter coming through. What I've seen of him he's a really solid boxer and has got some good experience under his belt already in beating Nick Okoth, Hari Miles and John Anthony. This weekend he takes on Hastings Rasani, who's never an easy guy to stop.


A guy I'm really looking forward to watching and tracking his future progress is Glasgow's super featherweight Jon Slowey (7-0, 0 KO's). This kid is a very talented boxer, and as reported in last week's Boxing News, he's recently been out in Thailand sparring some world champions, including ex super bantam king Poonsawat. I heard he did really well in those sessions, and that kind of sparring will be a massive help to a young fighter like himself. Fellow Scot James Ancliff is his opponent this weekend, which on paper is a step up in class.


Symington light welterweight Sammy Hill (2-0, 0 KO's) has shown some excellent skills in two pro fights so far, and after being involved in two pretty small shows in Scotland, gets a chance for some big bill experience here against Matt Seawright. John Thain (5-0, 1 KO) is a light middleweight attracting some hype, while 20 year old lightweight Jordan McCorry (2-0, 1 KO's) has a step up in class against Youssef Al Hamidi.


There is a debutant on the card this weekend as well, that being Leeds welterweight Damon Jones, who I've heard quite a bit about and has turned pro a little sooner than expected. He had some decent success last year as an amateur and this weekend he takes on Liam Griffiths, stopped just once in nine fights and has gone the distance with a lot of unbeaten prospects.


It is a massive weekend for Scottish Boxing and on Friday night we shouldn't forget about super featherweight Michael Roberts (6-0, 0 KO's) who headlines a bill at the Thistle Hotel in Glasgow, as he takes on Pavels Senkovs. Roberts is a really talented fighter, he's not beaten the greatest opposition so far, but has shown some solid, raw skill.


Great to see so much talent coming through in Scotland and it's a simple case of success breeding success with Ricky Burns spearheading the renaissance of Scottish Boxing. The bill is live on BoxNation and hopefully they will show a good few of these Prospects, who deserve some TV coverage and hype.

Prospect Watch - Weekend Starting 02/03/2012 - Review

Mixed weekend for some of the Prospects I featured, here's what happened.


Friday 02/03/2012

Little was very impressive on Friday night

Adam Little (5-0, 2 KO's) Welterweight

New Boxrec Ranking - 638 in the World, 66 in the UK.

How did the fight go? - Ricky Hatton trained Little earns himself a ranking by claiming just his second stoppage win, and his most impressive by stopping Martin Shaw in the first round at the Castle Leisure Centre in Bury. It was a very good performance from the Blackpool fighter as he headlined a Youtube streamed showed, working well behind a fast jab, before a big right hand had Shaw in real problems. He's very much an improving fighter and is with the right team.

Marrero (left) kept his paper title

Claudio Marrero (11-0, 9 KO's) Featherweight

New Boxrec Ranking - 246 in the World, 5 in the Dominican Republic.

How did the fight go? - Southpaw Marrero made a successful first defence of his WBC FECARBOX title on Friday night by claiming a wide UD over Gerardo Zayas, three judges scoring it 99-91 x2 and 100-90. The big punching 22 year old probably wasn't at his best, but he was fighting a guy ranked as a lightweight, so was always going to have a bit of a dig to put him back. Getting 10 rounds in your 11th pro fight is a real positive if you ask me, and he definitely looks like one of a number of good Dominican fighters coming through.

Saturday 03/03/2012

Johanneson edged a great fight with Goodwin

Chris Goodwin (14-2-1, 0 KO's) Lightweight

New Boxrec Ranking - 209 in the World, 11 in the UK.

How did the fight go? - Goodwin loses a split decision to Johanneson, but it was a fantastic fight on Saturday night in Chester, with both men going all out in the British title eliminator. One judge had it 97-95 for Goodwin, while the other two scored it 96-95 and 99-93, which is a pretty shocking scorecard as most, if not all of the rounds were very close, and does paint a rather harsh tale for Goodwin. Johanneson's experience and class was just the deciding factor, but credit to Goodwin, who fought a great fight on the inside, but may just not have the quality or power to be a domestic king.

Joe Hughes (4-1, 2 KO's) Welterweight

New Boxrec Ranking - 543 in the World, 52 in the UK.

How did the fight go? - Hughes suffered his first pro defeat, losing 58-57 on referee Phil Edwards' scorecard against the crude, but dangerous Joe Efidh on Saturday night. It was a fight shown after the McDonnell bout on Sky, and credit has to be given to both men as it was a cracking little fight. Hughes showed some very good stuff early on and put his opponent down in the first, but then Efidh, who had been out of the ring for over two years, seemed to find some fight and made it a real hard night's work for Hughes. The 21 year old Hughes just showed a bit of naivety, but judged on what I've seen so far, he looks like the type of fighter who will learn from this loss and come back stronger.

Price will probably be next out on May 19th

Danny Price (4-0, 1 KO) Cruiserweight

New Boxrec Ranking - 245 in the World, 17 in the UK.

How did the fight go? - Price continued his steady rise up the rankings and gain some quality experience by easily outpointing the very experienced John Anthony 40-36 over four rounds at Hillsborough Leisure Centre. Anthony has taken a lot of the current best British cruisers the distance, and has only really been outclassed when going on the road to the continent. Price was about 12lbs the heavier man here, and the size difference was very evident, which is why he completely bossed the bout. Like I said in the original Prospect Watch, he's very well schooled, technically sound, and will continue to feature here on Dragon Boxing.

Sunday 04/03/2012

Eddie Corcoran (8-1, 3 KO's) Welterweight

New Boxrec Ranking - 445 in the World, 36 in the UK.

How did the fight go? - Corcoran was supposed to be in with Dee Mitchell yesterday, instead found himself facing the stopped just five times in 77 fights Duncan Cottier. Corcoran went about his business nicely and was by far the stronger boxer as he claimed a 40-36 win over four rounds. He showed some really classy work to the head and body, switching beautifully, and certainly looks like a fighter with the hunger back.

Prospect Watch - Weekend Starting 02/03/2012

Not many big shows this weekend, but the next two weeks are going to be crazy and the next few months even crazier with Bute v Froch announced today.


Friday 02/03/2012

Hatton's first pro fighter as a trainer is Little

Adam Little (4-0, 1 KO) Welterweight

Age - 21

Boxrec Ranking - Unranked

Notable win(s) - Yet to beat a Boxrec ranked fighter

Facing and Where? - Martin Shaw (3-2, 1 KO) @ Castle Leisure Centre, Bury.

What's he all about? - Trained by former world champion Ricky Hatton, this talented boxer from Blackpool is a lad I've heard quite a bit about, with plenty of improvement being made under the "Hitman". He's yet to lose a round as a pro and comfortably outclassed Billy Smith in November, this his first bout under Hatton's tutelage. His opponent here like him is a young guy, and although stopped for the first time in his last fight, that was against a talented young fighter called Joe Hughes, who features on Saturday night and later in this blog.

Claudio Marrero (10-0, 9 KO's) Featherweight

Marrero is an ex Olympian

Age - 22

Boxrec Ranking - 249 in the World, 6 in Dominican Republic.

Notable win(s) - TKO 2 Francis Ruiz @ Westin Diplomat Resort, Hollywood, Florida.

Facing and Where? - Gerardo Zayas (18-18-2, 11 KO's) @ Westin Diplomat Resort, Hollywood, Florida 10x3.

What's he all about? - Big punching Dominican fighter, who comes into this fight on the back of his career best performance in January, where he claimed his first title in beating Ruiz for the WBC FECARBOX title. Before that he'd only beaten one person with a winning record, and Ruiz was a significant step up in class, but he dealt very well with it. Ruiz had gone the distance with Jonathan Arrellano and Yan Barthelemey before this fight, and it took leading prospect Randy Caballero six rounds to stop him. This southpaw has a lot of class and although his KO record is excellent, he's stopped most guys with pressure not power.

Saturday 03/03/2012

Chris Goodwin (14-1-1, 0 KO's) Lightweight

Age - 23

Goodwin is big news in his hometown

Boxrec Ranking - 203 in the World, 12 in UK.

Notable win(s) - PTS 4 Jon Baguley @ Robin Park Centre, Wigan.

PTS 10 Geoffrey Munika @ Northgate Arena, Chester.

Facing and Where? - Carl Johanneson (31-5, 20 KO's) @ Northgate Arena, Chester 10x3.

What's he all about? - This guy is bringing big time Boxing back to Chester, improving significantly in the last two years and a win in this British title eliminator will be massive for him. Stepped up to 10 rounds in his last two fights and has had no problem with the distance, beating Geoffrey Munika, which was a really good win, and last time out against unknown, but tough Belgian, Wesley Hertoghe. This is a significant step up in class against former British super feather king Johanneson, who nearly regained that title last year against Gary Sykes and is his only loss in his last five fights. This could be a typical small hall classic and to be honest it's a hard one to pick, although I think Goodwin's home advantage and 23 year old freshness could be massive.

Joe Hughes (4-0, 2 KO's) Welterweight

Age - 21

Boxrec Ranking - 469 in the World, 42 in the UK.

Notable win(s) - TKO 6 Martin Shaw @ Rainton Meadows Arena, Houghton-le-Spring.

Facing and Where? - Joe Efidh (6-0, 0 KO's) @ Hillsborough Leisure Centre, Sheffield 6x3.

What's he all about? - I've already mentioned this fighter, who's impressed me in his first four fights, especially with some tricky matchmaking. He impressively stopped Shaw in six way back in April, and then in his last fight in September, took every round 60-54 against tough Welshman Tony Pace in Doncaster. The Wiltshire man has got plenty of technical ability and got himself in awesome shape last time out, getting down to 141lbs, the lowest weight of his career so far. Efidh has taken a hiatus from the game since July 2009, but before that he'd boxed well in six fights, not losing a round as a pro fighter. On that form he's a test, but is he in the right frame of mind coming back?

Danny Price (3-0, 1 KO) Cruiserweight

Age - 26

Boxrec Ranking - 245 in the World, 18 in the UK.

Price steps up in class again this weekend

Notable win(s) - PTS 4 Hastings Rasani @ Peterlee Leisure Centre, Peterlee.

Facing and Where? - John Anthony (7-22-1, 5 KO's) @ Hillsborough Leisure Centre, Sheffield 4x3. 

What's he all about? - Price made his pro debut in October, this a couple of months after he was dropped from the GB squad. We've seen great boxing ability from him in first three bouts though, he's exceptionally well schooled and is a technically very sound fighter. Last time out he claimed a 40-35 points victory over a tough Bulgarian called Tayar Mehmed, stopped only once in his career, but Price did put him down with a classy 2nd round body punch. Here he faces Anthony, stopped just three times in 30 pro fights and has taken all the leading British cruiserweights

Sunday 04/03/2012

Corcoran in his comeback bout v Voldoins

Eddie Corcoran (7-1, 3 KO's) Welterweight

Age - 26

Boxrec Ranking - 448 in the World, 37 in UK.

Notable win(s) - RTD 4 Jay Morris @ York Hall, Bethnal Green.

Facing and Where? - Dee Mitchell (9-19-1, 2 KO's) @ York Hall, Bethnal Green 6x3.

What's he all about? - Corcoran was being touted as a really good prospect in mid to late 2008, but three years ago this month, he was put in with fellow unbeaten fighter, the then 10-0 Denton Vassell and got stopped in the 6th round of their scheduled eight round bout. It took him until November 2011 to get back in the ring after that, and he looked on form, stopping Latvia's Segejs Volodins in two rounds, this impressive as Volodins had recently gone the distance with the likes of Dean Byrne and Ryan Barrett. Losing to Vassell is no disgrace, but judged on his last fight, Corcoran looks on the way back. Mitchell has been stopped just twice in 29 fights, but was done in four by Bolton stylist Rick Godding last time out.