Z GORRES looked good in his new weight class, but he was clearly several notches above overmatched Mexican opponent Robert Carlos Leyva.
The latter was clearly way in over his head against a fighter of Z? s caliber, who has swapped leather with the likes of world champions Fernando Montiel and Vic Darchinyan.
I personally think the move up in weight to bantam for Gorres was long overdue. I recall raising that possibility in a press conference during the Darchinyan bout, but at that time, the answer offered by the ALA team was that Gorres needed to maximize his capabilities at superflyweight.
Sometimes that may be true, but as a fighter gets older, his body inevitably undergoes change. In Z?s case, prior to that fight, he had been campaigning as a super flyweight for the last five years.
POWER. Last Saturday, Z displayed his usual speed and ring savvy to the hilt and didn?t appear too taut and drained.
In some cases, a sojourn to a higher weight class translates to an increase in punching power brought about by the fact that the fighter doesn?t expend himself trying to lose weight the day before and so he conserves his strength at fight time.
Of course, its obviously premature to use that Leyva fight as a gauge, but nonetheless I think the move up in weight class is long overdue for Z.
YOUNG GUNS. Over the weekend, the young guns lorded it over their older counterparts. Milan Melindo, the tough young kid that he is, acquitted himself quite well against former world champion Muhammad Rachman
I didn?t really expect a knockout from Milan, but a gritty gutsy win over an accomplished fighter like Rachmann is an impressive feat.
The only problem I foresee for Milan when he fights better-skilled opponents is his lack of knockout power.
Milan likes to brawl in the trenches and his lack of oomph will be a hindrance at the elite level. He has the tendency to arm punch and so he doesn?t generate as much force in his blows.
Because he likes to crowd his opponents, this doesn?t give him much room to twist and get his body into the punch. I hope he learns to step back and box to get some wind behind those blows.
KHAN?S GOODS. From most accounts, Amir Khan seems to have passed his first real test as a pro by scoring a fifth-round TKO win over the faded Marco Antonio Barrera.
I said ?most? and not ?all?, as a conservative few seem to be of the opinion that had it not been for the cut, the fight was actually evenly fought and Khan was lucky to earn the stoppage.
I will reserve my judgment guys pending visual confirmation of how it went. But I will nonetheless give my props to Khan for demonstrating he has the goods to deal with a modern Mexican legend.
JUDO SEMINAR. Guys, the Philippine Judo Federation will host a judo seminar in Cebu to be conducted by Sensies from the Kodokan Judo Institute featuring Shinro Fujita, 7th Dan and Yasuhiko Okada, 6th Dan. Both are former world champions.
The Kodokan blackbelt is widely considered the most difficult to garner and the most prestigious. The seminar will be on March 23 to 25 at the University of Cebu, AVR 1. Contact 5164463/ 09209526386 for inquiries.
DARTS TOURNEY. Congratulations to Ranran Dalisay who recently ruled the 1st Monsanto Darts Tournament held at Lola Tik?s at Guadalupe, Cebu.
THE LAST ROUND. It?s on Atty. Climaco Camiso Jr. and my sister Jeehan who are both celebrating their birthdays this week. Cheers!
