TalkingBoxing Articles
You Can't Beat The Heat
MON June 26, ROGER GORDILLO - It gets no better than this, four undefeated fighters facing off on one card, these are the nights Boxing After Dark was made for. I decided to forego the trip to Vegas and catch the action via the boob tube so I consulted my traveling partner for out of state fights Talking Boxing Editor JC Casarez. Both I and JC agreed that although the card made for an interesting night of Boxing it lacked substance in the form of an undercard or Mega fight. Throw in possible World Cup eliminations, a Boxing ppv event we’d be broadcasting through our site and Guerrero / Diaz 2, and the choice made sense. Later in the weekend I would learn that at one point it hit 112 degrees in Vegas and my ego began to boil over feeling I had outsmarted my peers.
Friday night
The night gets started with Friday Night Fights and an opening match between prospect Jean Pascal (13-0, 11 KO’s) against Darnell Boone (10-5-2, 4 KO’s) whose 15 minutes of fame came when dropped Andre Ward for the first time in his career. Pascal sported an impressive physique as the Super Middleweight looked big as well as toned which he used to control and over power his foe. But as the fight progressed my interest grew to annoyance as Pascal performed every move in Roy Jones and Jorge Paez careers combined in the match from switching the shoulders from left to right, the rope a dope, to the lifting a glove up and waving the opponent in. Even making faces and rolling his eyes towards the crowd like this guy is so beneath me. Heck at one point I could have sworn I seen him point a glove up to his ear towards the crowd ala Hulk Hogan.
NOTE TO YOUNG FIGHTERS!!
All up and comers even if your last name is Dirrell, Ward, Peterson, Pascal, If you choose to imitate Roy Jones Jr. or strive to be like him be wary of what you wish for because you just might end up like him flat on your back.
Getting back to FNF it’s quite apparent that the young Baby Joe has along way to go and his thoughts of only needing a couple tune-ups before making a title run is downright dangerous. After going the full six rounds against a fighter who was (3-7, 1 KO) not only was Mesi’s Timing off but his stamina looked poor and in a whole his presence in the ring left the Undefeated Heavyweight looking like a garden variety mid-west fighter something Mesi himself once faced as mere opponents to get rounds in as he came up through the ranks. I’m all for letting the man chase his dreams but He really needs to bring in an unbiased third pair of eyes into his team at the very least in an attempt to gauge his progress.
The main event featured Joachim Alcine (26-0, 18 KO’s) versus Javier Mamani (28-4-1, 16 KO’s) in a WBA Light Middleweight Eliminator. Alcine like his fellow countryman Pascal was impressive in appearance and skill alike with the difference being Alcine looked much more the durable and technically sound of the two. Joachim fought a near shut out versus Mamani to a UD. Should WBA Champ Jose Rivera decide to face Alcine on paper it looks to be barn burner as both fighters have an aggressive high output style which is sure to please. Rounding out the telecast was Winky Wright as the in studio guest analyst in what was probably an attempt to save face after storming off after his draw against Taylor nearly one week earlier then setting up a Telephone conference with the media to speak about the fight only to leave those who called in left holding the phone.
Immediately following the end of FNF I Switch over to Shobox to watch Robert Guerrero avenge his loss to Gamaliel Diaz in the first ever Shobox rematch. It looks to be a good fight and I’m expecting Guerrero to knock his opponent out. As the bell sounds round one Guerrero comes out loaded with aggression and a high output quickly drops Diaz who’s never been down twice in the first round. It looks like it’s going to be an easy night so far for Guerrero but as the second round continued Diaz would gain his composure and start to have success against his once defeated rival for the next four rounds.
It would be give and take between the two with the only difference in this match than the first being Guerrero's stronger will to win. With both fighters beaten, bruised and spent Guerrero ripped a left to the body of Diaz who crumpled to his knees unable to even look at Referee Raul Caiz Jr. as he counted the Mexican native out. Guerrero is now the mandatory against Britain’s Nicky Cook with the winner of the match slated for a shot against Japans Takashi Koshimoto holder of the WBC Featherweight title. I expected a much easier fight for Guerrero but with the Judges scores: 48-45, 47-46, and 47-46 for Guerrero at the time of the stoppage. So either one of two things will be the answer perhaps Diaz is just a tough SOB and just doesn’t match well for Guerrero or possibly the young ghost might be pushing it at 23 years and only 19 pro fights soon finding himself back at his previous state with another loss on his young record should he decide to quickly take the title shot.
Another two bite the dust
If Joel Julio is in fact Dan Rafael’s love child I don’t doubt it after seeing the Colombian in his first semi step up match. Although some might not believe it since this is probably the first Time I’ve voiced my opinion on Joel Julio it might seem like I’m the wiser only after the loss but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. I’ve only seen Julio a few times on HBO and FNF and never seemed to see what all the hoopla was about. Yeah he put his opponents out with a single punch but until he did so he looked slow and plodding. Maybe it’s just that I’m a purist so he wasn’t my cup of tea either way I’m glad when the bandwagon rolled by that I decided to walk instead of hitching a lift. As the highly hyped Joel Julio (27-0, 24 KO’s) faced the equally undefeated Carlos Quintana (23-0, 18 KO’s) in a sink or swim match. Julio started the match with his usual cool calm methodical style looking to land that big shot upstairs and in the first he found some success as he caught the Puerto Rican off balance dropping him and probably making it a 10-8 round for him. In the second Quintana utilized his movement and the southpaw style to box from the outside as well as in, controlling the bout for not just this round but all others to come for the duration of the match. With a supposed 85-0 amateur record it looked as if this was the first time Julio had ever seen a slick fighter. Quintana kept Julio off balance and unsuccessful in launching any kind of sustained attack leaving the Columbian KO artist somewhat bewildered and melancholy. By the middle to late rounds it seemed as if the roles were reversed and Quintana was the power punching aggressor backing Julio to the ropes keeping him on retreat and in the defensive posture instead of vice versa.
One thing I’ve never liked and never will is Spanish speaking fighters being trained by non Spanish Speaking trainers. I feel it really hinders the fighters in their ability to clearly get the exact feeling and point their trainers try to relay. No matter how good you are, you could be Ricardo Torres there’s always something lost in translation. Not to mention the intensity or seriousness that is conveyed in a stirring or inspirational pep talk which is now boiled down to merely he said “you got to fight”, “hit him in the body”, “You can knock him out”. If anything we now have a new player in the Welterweight division with Quintana and maybe Julio goes on to get better from here we’ll just have to wait and see.
Americas second best hope at regaining the Heavyweight title (the first being Hasim Rahman) The Boxing Banker Calvin Brock faced fellow undefeated Heavy Timor Ibragimov In the night’s main event. Unfortunately the match provided more clutching and grabbing than a UFC match and no clear answer to Brocks placement in the division. Although Ibragimov future was a bit clearer which is dim at best? An uneventful jog to the finish line could describe the match best. Brock tried to press forward in action as Ibragimov avoided the confrontation with movement and holding. Ultimately Brock moved up to (29-0, 22 KO’s) his stock stays the same as he failed to leave any real impression in his fight against a reluctant safety first fighter. Ibragimov obviously was just looking to survive and go the distance. At one point Miguel Diaz who was Working Ibragimov’s corner got so upset with the Uzbeky prizefighter that he warned his fighter if he continued at his current pace he would return to his corner the following round only to find his corner empty. Brock's trainer Tommy Yankello put it best in describing his fighter saying Brock does everything good but not one thing great which is Brock in a nutshell. I guess you could call him a blue collar heavyweight as he just goes to work and plugs away. One thing is for sure if Brock can improve, capture the Heavyweight title and retain it he could have a story that would rival James Braddock after overcoming the lousiest of starts in the amateurs and having his father come in and train him with his only experience coming off instructional Boxing videos. The Boxing Banker could find himself laughing all the way to the Bank.
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