Of the two bouts that will be telecast on HBO, WBA welterweight champion Miguel Cotto should handle Oktay Urkal without putting himself in any danger of losing his title. Urkal’s record of 38-3 (12 KOs) only lends credence to the fact that Urkal is not a big puncher. His 12 KO’s in 41 fights will attest to that fact. On the other hand, Cotto is a very good puncher. In order to beat him, a fighter has to be able to punch with him in order to keep him honest. In his fight with Colombian Ricardo Torres, Cotto was dropped twice and was visibly hurt on several occasions. Torres, going into the fight, was unbeaten with 30 wins and 27 KOs to his credit. Taking the fight on very short notice, he wilted under the pressure put on by a much-better-conditioned Cotto.
In superb shape, the hard-hitting Torres might have pulled off the upset. His efforts to get a rematch have fallen on deaf ears. It would be a rematch I would like to see, considering both are in the same physical condition.
Nevertheless, Urkal, the kid from Berlin, Germany, has to stick and move and not give in to the relentless onslaught that Cotto is sure to bring. If Urkal had a little more firepower with the fact that Cotto may be looking ahead to the fight he recently signed for June 9 against Zab Judah, he could have a chance for an upset. Urkal has a great chin. He has only been stopped once and that was to Vivian Harris on a TKO in the 11th round in 2004. Lest we forget, Urkal went 12 rounds with the great Kostya Tszyu in 2001.
Of the two fights on HBO, the one I am most looking forward to viewing is the 10-round bout between the two lethal-punching middleweights, Edison “Pantera” Miranda and Allen “Sweetness” Green.
Much has been made of the Colombian Miranda. He has been touted as the next great middleweight puncher, a guy who has dynamite in both hands, especially the right hand. I would have probably fallen under his spell after seeing Miranda destroy a good fighter in Willie Gibbs in 2:59 of the first round of their fight held on Dec. 16, had I not seen a fight video of Green making a shorter stoppage of Mike Jackson in 17 seconds of the first round.
Green’s KO was brutal with killer instinct written all over it. I know Miranda will be the odds-on favorite to win their fight, but I am sensing an upset with Green stopping Miranda in a great shootout. Before anyone thinks I have lost my mind in picking Green, let me tell you why:
First off, this will be Green’s first fight at 160 pounds, his last seven fights have been at the super middleweight level of 168 pounds. Before that, he fought 16 times at the light heavyweight limit of 175. He had one fight at 181. He is undefeated at 23-0 with 16 KOs. There is always the possibility of one of them landing the first big punch early, putting the other guy in harm’s way. By being in with the bigger guys throughout his young career, I really like Green’s chances of an early KO. I feel he will be the stronger of the two.
Miranda has a great record of 27-1 with 24 KO’s, his only loss coming at the hands of Arthur Abraham (22-0, 17 KOs). Even though Miranda broke Abraham’s jaw, Abraham was able to continue in the fight, posting a unanimous win in 12 rounds on Sept. 23. The fight was not even close with Abraham winning by scores of 109-114, 109-115, and 109-114.
Miranda is a big puncher, but it appears to me that if he can’t take his guy out, he can be beaten. He has never been in with a puncher the caliber of Green. I like Green.
In a dream matchup, two highly regarded Mexican champions will toe the line when WBC super bantamweight champion Israel “Magnifico” Vazquez will take on IBF bantamweight champion Rafael Marquez, who will be going up four pounds in his challenge to dethrone champion Vasquez.
Coming off a streak of 15 straight victories, 12 by knockout, and after defending his crown seven times, Marquez has been contemplating moving up in weight for a while now. The counter-punching, power-hitter has been quoted as saying: “I feel good at 122 pounds, I feel much stronger and I’m sure the weight is not going to be an issue once I get inside the ropes. Believe me, I have punching power at this weight.”
Vasquez countered with: “Marquez and I don’t want to fight each other, but we have to because we are the best. I expect him to come at me with everything and try to knock me out. I need to neutralize his left hand and the jab.”
Vazquez is right in acknowledging Marquez’ educated left hand. Marquez is a true technician inside the squared circle. Vasquez is well-equipped with his own offensive artillery, as well as knowing the geometry of the ring.
With both champions hailing from Mexico City, a lot of Latino pride will be riding on the outcome of this highly anticipated fight between the best two little warriors from the same city. Vazquez will be making the third defense of his crown, a crown he won by a third-round knockout over Oscar Larios on Dec. 3, 2005. Make no mistake about it, both gladiators come to fight, neither one is known for taking a backward step. I cannot see this great fight going the distance.
I like both fighters. This appears to be a fight to close to call. Their resumes are pretty similar. Marquez is 36-3 with 32 KOs, while the two- time 122-pound champion Vazquez comes in at 41-3 with 31 KOs.
On paper they seem to be evenly matched. Both can box, both can punch. It seems to me that is will come down to who wants it the most. Both have said they are willing to die in order to win. That may be taking it to the extreme, but believe me, Mexican pride burns deep within a fighter who wants to bring glory to his country.
Of the two, I know Vazquez personally. I met him at the last Thompson Boxing Promotions fight card at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario. He and I had a very nice chat. I found him to be a very personable, humble young man who wears the mantle of champion well.
Marquez, the younger brother of another great Mexican champion, Juan Manuel Marquez, who will soon be doing battle with the great Marco Antonio Barerra, is primed and ready for battle, as is Vasquez. I will usually go for the naturally bigger guy, but in the case of Marquez, he is probably ready to go up four pounds. Come fight time, both Vazquez and Marquez will appear the same size, both in stature and heart.
If I had to choose, I would probably lean toward Vasquez. I cannot get the picture of him getting off the canvas twice in his fight with Jhonny Gonzalez on Sept. 16 out of my mind. He showed me the lion heart of a champion by coming from behind to stop Gonzalez in the 10th round. This is not the kind of fight one bets on, it is the kind of fight one sits back and enjoys. It is the kind of competitive fight that you get caught up in, enjoy it with your friends. It has all the ingredients of being a war…may the best soldado win!
The opening bout of the evening is a fight fan’s chance to see a destructive, exciting, little warrior in action. His name is Vic Darchinyan. He is the IBF flyweight champion of the world. Darchinyan will be defending his title against third-ranked Victor Jose Burgos. The champion has an impressive record of 27-0 with 21 KOs while his opponent Burgos has a less-impressive record of 39-14-3 with 23 KOs.
Burgos, with 56 fights under his belt, will need every bit of his experience if he intends to hang with this little bundle of dynamite known as “The Raging Bull.” I have never seen Burgos fight, but I have seen Darchinyan do battle. He will be extremely hard to beat. He is a heavy-handed little guy whose only gear is forward.
Not wanting to get ahead of myself, the fight every fight fan wants to see is Darchinyan against No. 1 super flyweight contender Jorge Arce. It would be a huge fight that would put the little guys over the top in boxing. First things first, Darchinyan has to deal with the kid from Tijuana.
I like Darchinyan big in this one. If you are a fight fan, you will enjoy how this champion works.
Johnny Ortiz is a member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame Board of Directors, a member of the Golden State Boxers Association and a former co-owner of the legendary, world famous Main Street Gym.
