Real Combat Media Boxing Weekend Preview 5/12/12
By: José A Maldonado, MFA
Maybe the 3rd time will be the charm for Brian Viloria as he defends his WBO flyweight title against 35 year old Omar Niño Romero in an encounter seen twice before. The two first met in 2006 when Romero (31-4-2-13 KOs) claimed the WBC light flyweight title in a decision win. Their rematch three months later was ruled a draw but later changed to a no decision when Romero failed his post fight drug test. The results indicated that Romero had methamphetamines in his system, which Romero vehemently denied. He immediately went to UCLA’s drug laboratories, the same ones that recently found steroids in Lamont Peterson’s urine samples, and the results came back negative. He sent this information to the Nevada Commission but they never responded and his suspension was not lifted, a move that prompted WBC President José Sulaimán to proclaim that the commission is an “enemy” to Mexican boxers. Since that bout Romero has gone 6-2-1-1 KO, a stretch that included a 16 month layoff after losing his WBC light flyweight title to the rugged Gilberto Keb Baas. Viloria, on the other hand, was far busier following his bout with Romero. He’s gone 11-2-5 KOs since and is currently on a 4 fight win streak that includes an impressive victory over Julio César Miranda and his stoppage over Giovanni Segura, which may go down as his career best performance when all is said and done. Judging by the two previous fights, it would appear that Romero has Viloria’s number, but the Hawaiian Punch is a different fighter now, especially with the confidence he’s gained with the Segura victory. If he can continue his new spirited approach, the older Romero is in for a tough night.
The Romero-Viloria undercard will feature two guys who are quite familiar with the main event’s fighters as Mexico’s Julio César Miranda faces off against Filipino Rodel Mayol. Miranda, a former world champion who has fought the likes of Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, Richie Mepranum, and Moruni Mthalane, once held the WBO flyweight title but lost it to Viloria last year. Mayol, who fights out of Los Angeles, California, has shared the ring with Ulises “Archie” Solís, Iván Calderón (twice) and Edgar Sosa and was unable to beat Romero in to tries, going 0-1-1. Though many are expecting an excellent fight, I’m afraid this may end prematurely on a technical decision, maybe even a draw. Miranda’s aggressive, come-forward style coupled with Mayol’s head butting tendencies are a recipe for disaster. Should it be a clean fight, nonetheless, it will be an entertaining scrap that may lead to a rematch for the winner against one of the main event’s contestants.
What if I told you that there was an undefeated middleweight champion out there who has knocked out 86% of his opponents, won a silver medal in the Olympics, and owns victories over Andy Lee, Lucian Bute, and Andre Ward? Would you want to watch his fight this weekend as he makes his fourth defense of his WBA title? I’m speaking, of course, of 30 year old Gennady Golovkin, and yes, those victories I mentioned took place in the amateurs. On Saturday he’ll put his belt on the line against Makato Fuchigami (19-6-10 KOs) in the Ukraine. It’s a bout of great importance for Golovkin (22-0-19 KOs) because he hopes that it will lead to greater exposure and bigger fights. He has yet to fight in the US and his most notable opponent was a faded Kassim Ouma in a TKO victory last year. If he can get past Fuchigami, a brawler who has never fought outside of Japan, there is a possibility that Golovkin could face Germany’s Felix Sturm later in 2012 now that the WBA has ordered a mandatory bout between the two. Should that fight not materialize, Golovkin has said that he’d be willing to either move down to 154 or up to 168 to fight the best.
This Friday will feature a bit of a sleeper bout as Uzbekistan’s Alexander Alekseev, now based in Germany, will face experienced veteran Firat Arslan of Germany. Alekseev will defend the European cruiserweight title he picked up against Enad Licina in February. Though Arslan (32-5-1-21 KOs) will have the hometown advantage, at 41 he is considerably older than the 31 year old champ; he hasn’t, furthermore, faced anyone of Alekseev’s caliber since an 11th round stoppage against Steve Herelius two years ago. This fight, nonetheless, should be entertaining in that it’s a classic matchup. Alekseev (23-2-20 KOs) is a boxer who likes to use the ring while Arslan is a pressure fighter, using his strength to bull his opponent against the ropes. These are two talented fighters and, though there may not be much (if any) promotion stateside, I would recommend fight fans look for this one online somewhere.
Up until Eloy Pérez failed a drug test following his KO loss to Adrien Broner, I was hoping that Vicente Escobedo would fight the Salinas boxer in what would be a bit of a grudge match. Some may recall that Pérez once stepped into the ring and called out Escobedo during a post fight interview. An Escobedo-Broner fight would have also been interesting, but with Broner making other plans, Escobedo (25-3-15 KOs) will take a stay busy fight in his hometown of Woodland, California on a Telefutura card Saturday. The scheduled 10 rounder will pit Escobedo against Southern California nativeJuan Ruíz (23-9-7 KOs). Ruíz has been in the ring with some tough fighters including José Aguiniga and Bernabé Concepción and in 2004 he picked up his career best victory in an upset against Cristobal Cruz. Ruíz will by no means be a push over, but make no mistake: this will be a good opportunity for Escobedo to showcase his talent and hopefully catch the eye of opponents in the 130 pound weight division.
This weekend will be a family affair in boxing as fighters related to big names will step into the ring in the hopes of keeping the family name in high regard. Former world champ Marvin Sonsona’s cousin Lolito Sonsona (16-1-2-6 KOs) will fight in the Phillipinnes against Albert Alcoy (13-14-3- 3KOs). In Mexico City, Carlos Zárate Jr.(16-0-11 KOs), the son of hall of famer Carlos Zárate, will take on Charly Valdez (16-13-1-10 KOs). Though Zárate Jr’s father is widely considered one of the greatest punchers of all time, the youngster has built his gaudy record against tomato cans not unlike Valdez. On another card in Mexico, the nephew of legendary featherweight champ Salvador Sánchez, of the same name, is scheduled to fight against an opponent to be announced. Sánchez (29-4-3-17 KOs), of course, has not had anywhere near the success of his late uncle. He has, however, found himself a niche among Mexican fight fans. Being that he is the spitting image of the hall of famer, many ticket holders no doubt attend his bouts to celebrate the beloved fighter who died in a car accident 30 years ago. In England, meanwhile, 22 year old Chris Eubank Jr. will hope to make his father (who, ironically, was once featured on the puppet show Spitting Image in the UK) proud in a bout against Harry Matthews (12-5-1-2 KOs). Eubank Jr (3-0-2 KOs) is just starting out a career that will be considered a success if he accomplishes only half of what his father did. Eubank Sr. began his career with a 9 year undefeated run and defended his WBO middleweight title for over 4 years before moving on to win a world title at super middleweight. On the same card, middleweight Phill Fury, cousin to heavyweight giant Tyson Fury, steps into the ring against journeyman Lee Noble (13-22-3-3 KOs). The light punching Fury (10-2-2 KOs) hopes to bounce back from a November loss and a 1-2 slide. Trained by his father, Fury has sparred with some of the UK’s top fighters, including former world champ Junior Witter. . .
. . .and for those of you wondering, yes, the 38 year old Witter continues to fight. In only his 18th fight he challenged Zab Judah for his IBF light welterweight title, losing a unanimous decision in Scotland. This perhaps set the tone for Witter’s career, who was able to pick up wins against decent opponents but never against top fighters, as evidenced to his loss to Judah as well as Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander. Now on a 3 fight winning streak against mediocre opposition, Witter (40-5-2-22 KOs) will look to pick up the British welterweight title against Colin Lynes (36-9-12 KOs). The two have actually fought before, Witter taking a unanimous decision in 2005 for the British light welterweight title. The 34 year old Lynes will look for revenge, but most likely Witter has enough left in the tank to pick up one last trinket.
This Saturday at the Newton Athletic Club in Newton, Pennsylvania, a truly historic event will take place as both Cassius Clay and Ray Robinson will be featured on the same fight card. No, seriously. Clay (0-2), a 31 year old lightweight from Nevada, will be looking to pick up his first career victory against Hasan Young who makes his debut. Philadelphia’s Ray Robinson (13-2-5 KOs), on the other hand, comes into his fight on a two fight winning streak, but he has his work cut out for him since he’ll be facing Terrance Cauthen, a fighter who, though unable to win big fights, has been in the ring against quality fighters like Paul Williams, Sechew Powell, and Antonin Decarie. Though Robinson has a great name, expect Cauthen to take this one.
Clay and Robinson aren’t the only legends who will be in action this weekend because on Friday as part of Showtime’s “Shobox: The New Generation” fans will get to see Willie Nelson perform. The 25 year old from Cleveland will be in the ring against his best opponent yet and on short notice (he replaced Jhonson’s original opponent, Freddy Hernández after Hernández pulled out with an injury), two factors that could prove disastrous for Nelson. He’ll try to be the first to hang a loss on Yudel Jhonson (12-0-8 KOs), a 30 year old Cuban defector who won Olympic silver in the 2004 games. While Jhonson is expected to win, Nelson (17-1-1-11 KOs) recently began training with Kelly Pavlik’s former coach Jack Loew, and his considerable height advantage should make this fight a bit more interesting than many anticipate.
José A Maldonado is senior staff writer at punchrate.com and a contributing writer for realcombatmedia.com
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