AT 21, THE WBO IS GETTING RESPECT!
San Francisco, CA- There used to be a time when the World Boxing Organization (WBO) was considered the ?Rodney Dangerfield? of the sanctioning bodies, meaning they got ?No Respect.? There were even instances when HBO while not recognizing their bouts as world title events, they at the same time referred to the Puerto Rico based group as the ?other? sanctioning body. But that was then, and in 2008, the WBO has, to steal a line from the Virginia Slims cigarette commercials of the late 1960s, ?You?ve come a long way baby!?
BOXING?S NEXT SUPERSTAR IS JUAN MA!
To show how predominant the WBO has become, and how in 2008 they?ve shaken that Triple AAA label, I?ll take you through their current roster of champions. We?ll begin with my favorite fighter bar none in WBO 122 lb. champ Juan Manuel Lopez, for I think he is spectacular! They call him ?Juan Ma,? I call him the future of boxing in the lighter weights. At 23-0, with 21 whacks, he?s KO?d Cesar Figueroa in one, and Daniel Ponce De Leon, the then WBO titleholder, also in one round. Lopez with youth, speed and power on his side could force longtime WBC champ Israel Vasquez into retirement, meaning I just don?t see anybody, and I mean anybody, beating Lopez at 122 or 126 lbs. But a fight with Vasquez could be the real test for Juan Ma.
WELTERWEIGHT WBO KING A ?PUNISHER?
The current dilemma at 147 lbs. is that most people recognize Antonio Margarito (37-5, 27 KOs) as the welterweight king. But WBOchamp Paul ?The Punisher? Williams (35-1, 26 KOs) beat him with scores of 116-112 & 115-113 twice just 15 months ago. Since then, Williams lost to Carlos Quintana (116-112 twice & 115-113) in February. A rematch in June saw Paul mightily rebound with a first round starching! Margarito will rematch Miguel Cotto early in 2009, with the intent being for Williams to face the victor soon thereafter.
PENALOSA BACK ?IN THE GROOVE?
The bantamweight class (118) is ruled by Philippine Gerry Penalosa (56-6-2, 36 KOs). His KO in 2007 of Jhonny Gonzalez, this after a setback at 122 lbs. vs. Daniel Ponce De Leon, clearly illustrated the staying power of Penalosa, who was once WBC champ at 115. Besides that, at 36 Gerry sure could use a ?money? fight before retiring.
LUEVANO NEEDS TO MAKE A MOVE
At 126, or featherweight, the WBO champ is Steven Luevano (35-1-, 15 KOs) of California. He has a Saturday (10-18-08) defense vs. unbeaten Billy Dib (21-0, 11 KOs) of Australia under Pavlik-Hopkins. The champ needs an impressive outing to escape relative obscurity.
HAVE TO MENTION THE SCHMO AT 130 LBS.
The 130 lb. WBO champ is (or was) Joan Guzman. At 28-0, 17 KOs, he was poised to make a statement a fortnight ago before failing to make weight with WBO/IBF/WBA lightweight (135) kingpin Nate Campbell. To call Guzman a major disappointment, seeing he has been clamoring for recognition for years, is indeed an understatement. Once high on my list of the best in boxing, his name has been erased.
CAMPBELL IS BEST LIGHTWEIGHT
Speaking of Nate Campbell (32-5-1, 25 KOs), besides the WBO titleholder, he is the man at 135. Coming off his upset win over then unbeaten Juan Diaz, the aforementioned Joan Guzman denied him his biggest payday in eight years as a pro.
HOLT-TORRES TO GO THIRD TIME
The 140 lb. class is in a state of confusion when it comes to superiority. Ricky Hatton doesn?t fight often (or well?) enough to be king. WBO guy Kendall Holt (24-2, 13 KOs) is coming off that short-term war with Ricardo Torres (32-2, 28 KOs). The ?short term? analogy applies because the fight lasted 61 seconds. Holt was down twice and Torres once (for the count). Replays indicate a head butt started Torres on the road to defeat, thus on December 13th, the pair will fight for a third time (the first was a controversial points win for Torres). Once the Holt-Torres dispute is settled, the WBO champ needs to look to the winner of Ricky Hatton-Paul Malignaggi set for November 22.
THE LITTLE (105-115) WBO GUYS
At 105 lbs, Donnie Nietes (24-1, 14 KOs) of the Philippines is WBO champ. Not that big a puncher, his only loss was a SD 10 to Angky Angkota four years ago in Anky?s hometown. At 108, Ivan Calderon at 32-0, 6 KOs, is the only unbeaten little fly in the BoxRec.com top ten. A ?super? boxer in the minds of most, the Puerto Rican is probably the best at the weight. At 112, Omar Navarez of Argentina is 28-0, 17 KOs. He is a southpaw, who at 33 needs to get a ?bigger? money unification bout with the likes of Nonito Donaire and in a rapid manner. At super fly (115) for the WBO, Fernando Montiel, 37-2-1, 28 KOs, of Mexico can certainly fight at a level few others can. He and Christian Mijares, the new Mexican ?Golden Boy,? need to hook it up after Mijares (33-2, 15 KOs) slaps Vic Darchinyan into retirement next month. Montiel-Mijares is without a doubt the true ?super fight? at 115.
WHO IS SERGIY DZINZIRUK?
Sergiy Dzinziruk (35-0, 22 KOs) is from the Ukraine. He captured WBO gold at 154 lbs. with a decision (115-112 thrice) over longtime champ Daniel Santos of Puerto Rico. With the exception of Santos, there are no real big names on his resume. That being said, he faces Joel Julio (34-1, 31 KOs) November 1 in Germany. The result should tell us a little more about Sergiy.
PAVLIK RECOGNIZED WBO 160 LB. CHAMP
Kelly Pavlik is the unbeaten undisputed middleweight (160) champion of the world. At 34-0, 30 KOs, the Youngstown, OH native holds the WBO and WBC crowns. He will engage Bernard Hopkins (48-5, 32 KOs) this Saturday on PPV from Atlantic City, NJ. Kelly needs to hook it up with Artur Abraham (27-0, 22 KOs) the IBF guy, and then chomp on John Duddy (25-0, 17 KOs).
INKIN REPLACES ?SUPER JOE? AT 168
With Joe Calzaghe moving to 175 lbs., Denis Inkin (34-0, 24 KOs) of Russia is now the super middleweight WBO champ. He has nothing scheduled.
ERDEI THE LINEAR CHAMP AT 175?
According to the astute boxing writer/historian Cliff “24 Karat” Rold, Hungary?s Zsolt Erdei (29-0, 17 KOs) is the true champion at 175 lbs. (light heavyweight). The Hungarian has defended the WBO honors some ten times. But the lack of ?names? on his resume has hurt his standing.
WBO CALLS CRUISER ?JR. HEAVYWEIGHT?
That being said, the title is vacant!
WLADIMIR HOLDS WBO HEAVYWEIGHT BELT
1996 Olympic champ Wladimir Klitschko (51-3, 45 KOs) is the WBO titleholder, who also possesses the IBF trinket. With the style he employs, Wlad will be hard to beat anytime soon. I wish he would steal his brother Vitali?s wife, or something to that extent, thus making a fight between the two siblings unquestionably a fight!
WBO CELEBRATES 21ST BIRTHDAY
Some history on the WBO before I end this. The original President was co-founder Pepe Cordero. He died a few years after the WBO came to life. It is now run by the honorable San Juan attorney Francisco ?Paco? Valcarcel. Happy Birthday to the WBO which is having their 21st Annual Convention November 10-14 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL,
