If you’ve heard me say it once, you’ve heard me say it a million times, ‘Fight fans? fight’ is a euphemistic way of saying, ‘About 15 diehards really give a damn.’
They are fights that will get almost no coverage from the mainstream or general media, but will be eagerly anticipated by the group of fans that religiously watch ‘Friday Night Fights’ on ESPN2 and Telefutura’s ‘Solo Boxeo’, as well as download all the title fights that take place in Europe and beyond.
And oftentimes they are the best fights you can make. ‘Fight fans? fights’ were the foundation of ‘Boxing After Dark’ in the late ’90’s. They involved lesser known, smaller pugilists or hungry young prizefighters who had yet to break through to the next level.
Bouts like De La Hoya-Mayweather grab the attention of the casual fans. But it’s ‘fight fans? fights’ that provide the real aficionado steady sustenance throughout the year.
Here are some that one scribe would like to witness in the upcoming year…
– James Kirkland vs. Joel Julio: Here you have two big jr. middleweights that can bang. You won’t see a lot of feinting and slipping here, but a lot of leather being flung in all directions.
Kirkland, coming off his one round barnburner against Allen Conyers, is perhaps the hottest prospect in all of boxing. Julio was the buzz-worthy boxer back a couple of years ago before being outboxed by Carlos Quintana.
– Robert Guerrero vs. Jorge Linares: There are four titlists right now in the featherweight division with no real clarity. But in matching the IBF champion against the WBC’s, you start to give this division a bit of an identity.
‘The Ghost’ is an improving fighter – as witnessed by his first round wipeout of the usually durable Martin Honorio – and Linares is a rare talent that just recently stopped Gamaliel Diaz, a fighter who owns a win over Guerrero.
– Edwin Valero vs. Joan Guzman: You?ve got two belt-holders at 130-pounds that badly need each other because quite frankly, they can’t get anyone else. Valero, because of his medical suspension in the United States, is basically disqualified from being in the mix with the likes of Pacquiao and Marquez. Guzman, because of his slick, difficult style, has had problems getting those guys to look his direction.
It’s a great matchup of styles. The natural power of Valero versus the boxing acumen of Guzman.
– Michael Katsidis vs. David Diaz: OK, now Katsidis working a heavy bag would be entertaining (and he still might get cut up) but with his bout against Juan Diaz getting kiboshed by Don King, it’s time to look for other avenues.
In Diaz, he’d be facing a big, rugged, heavy-handed fighter who won?t be hard to find. Say what you want about him, but he always makes for good fights.
– Andre Berto vs. Zab Judah: A classic crossroads matchup; the young, undefeated prospect who takes on the accomplished veteran looking to show everyone that his best days aren’t completely behind him.
Yeah, Judah has shown in the past to be a tad chinny and inconsistent, but Berto has never faced a blend of speed and power quite like this. At anytime this fight could turn in any direction.
– Nonito Donaire vs. Dimitri Kirilov: If you enjoy two skilled craftsmen plying their trade against each other, this bout is for you. Donaire, the IBF flyweight champion, is a boxer who comes forward aggressively and comes behind a hard jab and likes to time his lethal left hook. Kirilov, the IBF 115-pound titlist, is more of a cutie that likes to stay in the pocket and counterpunch.
This might be a bit of a chess match, but one that will provide more than its fair share of action.
– Lamont Peterson vs. Randall Bailey: Peterson is a very sound boxer who has been developed well, but to date has not faced a real offensive threat. It’s easy to look good when there isn’t much heat coming back at you. In Bailey, he’ll be facing a guy that has always been able to crack and will bring the pressure.
– Daniel Ponce de Leon vs. Steve Molitor: While Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez engage in their rubber match on March 1st (in what is definitely a ‘fight fans? fight) to decide supremacy in the jr. featherweight class, this fight here would decide who would be the number one challenger to them (And no, I haven’t forgot Celestino Caballero, but he simply hasn’t been active enough, recently).
Ponce de Leon does one thing well, and that’s win. But it’s been awhile since he’s faced an all-around threat like the ever-improving Molitor.
– Amir Khan vs. Edner Cherry: There’s a lot of heat regarding Khan, who just blitzed Graham Earl in less than a round. But who knows just how much Earl had left in the wake of his war earlier this year against Katsidis. Frank Warren can build a prizefighter as well as anybody, but there comes a time when a fledgling young boxer needs a true test before stepping up to the big time.
I say ‘the Cherry Bomb’ is that gatekeeper. Cherry, who recently blew up Wes Ferguson on December 8th, is the guy to give Khan a good run for his money. Cherry can be out-boxed, but he can punch well enough to keep things interesting.
– Andy Lee vs. Giovanni Lorenzo: Emanuel Steward says Lee will be ready for a Kelly Pavlik by the end of 2008. I say to that, ‘Manny, slow your roll.’ Let’s be honest, as good a prospect as Lee is, the reality is that he still hasn’t engaged in a real fight as of yet, one where a guy can take his punch, keep coming, extend him a few rounds and ask him some tough questions.
I’m not saying that Lorenzo would be that guy, but he’s a solid young middleweight with an undefeated record who – unlike everyone else Lee has faced thus far ? won?t be coming in with the mentality of an ‘opponent’. Seasoning and experience is vital for any young prospect and beyond Lorenzo, Lee might be well served to face the likes of Curtis Stevens, Jose Luis Zertuche, David Banks and the like to put some rounds under his belt.
– Jeff Lacy vs. Librado Andrade: Lacy certainly didn’t look like a world beater in his return to the ring against Peter Manfredo Jr. But perhaps it was ring rust, or maybe he’s just a fighter who was never the same after his thrashing at the hands of Joe Calzaghe.
We would find out against Andrade, who is one of the toughest fighters around today. ‘Left Hook’ would have no problems finding Andrade, and it would be a matchup of the irresistible force versus the immovable object when it comes to Lacy’s punching power and Andrade’s chin.
– John Duddy vs. Sergio Mora: Yeah, yeah, I know some of you don’t like this fight, but I think it’s a fight that has some intrigue and could do some business at the box office. Both fighters have their flaws but they complement each other well in this instance.
Duddy can crack, but has problems defensively. Mora is slick and slippery but doesn’t punch all that well. When you have fighters with limitations squaring off, sometimes it can make for some entertaining affairs.
You can call this ‘the Fight for Legitimacy’.
MID-WEEK FLURRIES
Telefutura starts the New Year on January 4th as Brian Viloria makes his return to the ring and Michele Rosales faces Jose Antonio Izquierdo in the main event from the Alameda Swap Meet in Los Angeles…. The following week from the Morongo Casino, Sergio Mora and Vicente Escobedo headline….I think Shobox gets off to a strong start when Anthony Peterson faces Guadaulupe Rosales, and his brother Lamont takes on Antonio Mesquita on January 4th….It’s funny to hear all these baseball players talk of using steroids or HGH ‘just once’, what’s next? Them saying they didn’t ‘inhale’?…..I’ve been told that Don King is now focusing on making Juan Diaz against his IBF mandatory Nate Campbell for March 8th…..
