?Friday Night Fights? is back with a good mix of returning boxers and new blood; the four boxers featured enter the ring with a combined record of 54-1-2 as well as offensive mindsets. In the last four weeks, the NBA playoffs played havoc with boxing on ESPN2, eliminating two airings and moving another show to Saturday, where no one paid attention since it went head-to-head against the Floyd Mayweather vs. Miguel Cotto pay-per-view. That should not be the case tonight with mauling Karim ?Hard Hitta? Mayfield taking on Philadelphia-tough Raymond Serrano in a 50/50 matchup. In the opener, fearsome slugger Jason ?Monstruo? Escalera makes his ESPN debut with ostensibly high expectations. A solid lineup overall and the always excellent studio portion with Bernardo Osuna is becoming as interesting and hard-hitting as their feature bouts.
At the Times Union Center, Albany, NY. (ESPN2) Raymond Serrano (18-0) vs. Karim Mayfield (15-0-1) (ESPN2) Jason Escalera (13-0) vs. Nick Brinson (9-1-1)
Nick Brinson ? Upstate New York boxer with somewhat misleading nickname of ?Machine Gun? (does not seem that much of a combination puncher) began boxing before his teens and was a solid amateur, beating Olympian Shawn Estrada in the unpaid ranks. Has yet to make his mark as a pro but the 24-year-old is maturing and working on his skill set, recently putting in time as a sparring partner for Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez, which should lift Brinson?s confidence. That confidence took a hit in Brinson?s sole loss, against unbeaten prospect Lennox Allen of Guyana, where Brinson started well but faded late under the consistent attack of the mauling Allen. Brinson fights out of a standard stance, a bit hesitant with jab and often not extending it early in bouts. Is also a slow starter, assessing his foe before committing to punches. Shoots out a sudden, straight right hand when countering but can get off-balance with it and fall into the punch or out of position. Right hand is best overall weapon but Brinson lacked stopping skills after dropping best foe Allen, going wild with head shots and throwing Allen down, allowing him time to recover. Hand speed is good but not excellent, which is probably why Brinson likes to come forward and wait to throw combinations when he gets inside. Left hand is underutilized, rarely countering with it, delivering hard blows or stiffly jabbing with it. On defense, Brinson has decent upper body movement but head is stationary with chin tucked; sometimes he stands square to an opponent, exposing large target areas. Keeps gloves high and reflexes are solid, rolling under punches. Brinson?s chin looked good in loss; the stoppage was from exhaustion with Brinson on his feet but defenseless and eating punches. The three Sugars (Robinson, Leonard and Mosley) are boxers Brinson emulates but was first motivated to enter the ring watching Mike Tyson and, later, Jake LaMotta. Brinson?s weight fluctuates, as low as 155 and high as 175 in last two years, asking questions of his training habits. Only boxed once in 2011 but Brinson went eight rounds last month against a weak opponent. To date, Brinson?s competition has been poor, so this fight will tell where Brinson really stands.
Jason Escalera ? Jersey native of Puerto Rican heritage sports a surname with boxing pedigree and, unlike Brinson, has the menacing slugging power his nickname of ?Monstruo? suggests. Escalera first started boxing at age 14 but did not take it seriously until age 18, only engaging in 25 amateur bouts. Still managed to win the New Jersey Golden Gloves title and obviously continued to take boxing seriously as a pro, registering 12 stoppages in 13 bouts. Appears to have power in both hands but does not need it to be of one-punch variety since Escalera is a determined body puncher who dips and pivots into hooks to the body. Will sometimes tuck low and shoot a jab to the body but otherwise takes measured and confident steps toward opponents with hands up in the old Mike Tyson fashion. Punches with conviction rather than accuracy and even when the punch strays, if it lands somewhere, it has an impact. Reminiscent of Juan Urango since the offensive diversity is not there yet; on defense, relies on his thick body to absorb punches rather than parry or avoid them. Escalera?s feet look average, following foes instead of cutting off the ring, and hand speed seems a full notch below world-class. Is already 27 years old but does not seem in a hurry, only fighting twice in 2011 and three times in 2010. With almost all his fights ending in stoppages, Escalera is creating a buzz but the competition was weak and not going beyond four rounds has people questioning this power-puncher?s stamina. Has gotten good sparring against the likes of veterans Omar Sheika and Jerson Ravelo, who says Escalera has a style that mixes Mike Tyson and Jermain Taylor. Escalera described himself to boxing writer Ryan Songalia, ?I like to go to the body and waste the person, I want to take every bit of air that they have inside them.? Stands a muscular 5?11? and his best win was over a Mustafah Johnson who went distance with fringe contenders Gabriel Rosado and Elvin Ayala. Escalera has some show business in him, entering the ring with chains around his arms and a ?Friday the 13th?-style hockey mask. How scary Escalera really is will be revealed tonight against the first opponent seemingly able to match him in the skills department.
Verdict ? Tough fight to call since Brinson looks the better boxer but Escalera is the naturally bigger man. Brinson has faded late in fights while Escalera has never gone past four rounds. Lots of question marks here but I give the slight edge to Escalera because neither man has solid footwork and Brinson won?t be able to avoid Escalera?s heavy artillery. The bigger and more impressive punches will be landed by Escalera and, in a rugged fight, the judges will favor that over Brinson?s less effective counters. The forward-moving Escalera makes the better impression on the judges to win a close decision in a fight that gets ugly and clinch-driven from the sixth round on.
Karim Mayfield ? San Francisco product shared the ring with boxing?s elite, crossing gloves with Manny Pacquiao, Shane Mosley, Ricky Hatton, Antonio Margarito, Robert Guerrero and Celestino Caballero. Unfortunately, Mayfield is a preferred sparring partner to those men and has not built his own brand at age 31, only fighting 16 times. Mayfield has miles left on his body since he took up the sport late at age 20. Showed natural aptitude for the sport in the amateurs (record variously reported 60-5 or 40-5), winning the San Francisco Golden Gloves and finishing with a bronze at the Olympic trials. His pro potential was evident and Mayfield started training with Virgil Hunter (Andre Ward?s coach) and Floyd Mayweather Sr., who both observed his positives and work ethic and ran Mayfield through tough regimens. In his first nine fights, Mayfield drew attention, overpowering four undefeated prospects in Francisco Santana, Rahman Yusubov, Alejo Sepulveda and Mario Lozano. Mayfield says he predicates his style on Aaron Pryor but has eclectic ring tastes, citing old Willie Pep films as influence. Punches are accurate but only come one or two at a time, following a solid but predictable jab. Despite his brawn and physical tools, Mayfield gives a lot of ground, backing up to create space for him to jump into. Still flawed on defense, holding his hands low coming forward or dropping his lead hand throwing hooks. Chin seems solid and Mayfield has good instincts, keeping proper distance when not punching. Mayfield has been relatively inactive, only fighting twice in 2011 and 2010 bouncing between mid-level promoters. However, in his last two fights, Mayfield beat solid Patrick Lopez over 10 rounds and became the only man to stop Steve Forbes. Gym rat attitude and physical strength (a bulky upper body with ripped musculature) keep Mayfield sharp despite long ring absences. He could be a distracted by his many entrepreneurial interests and often returns to the Straight Forward Boxing Club to help mentor young kids (he is married with three children). When asked to describe himself, Mayfield stated, ?I?m a boxer-brawler. I come in throwing punches from all angles. If I had to compare it to any fighters, it would be Mike Tyson, Prince Naseem Hamed and Roy Jones Jr.? Leaving nothing to chance tonight, Mayfield is back with Virgil Hunter and hired nutritionist Victor Conte; it will be interesting to see the results of that marriage tonight.
Raymond Serrano ? Another quality product of the tough Philadelphia gym system, graduating from those rings to prospect and sparring partner for Manny Pacquiao. The youngster has his sights set far beyond being a world-class sparring partner. At 22, Serrano has time to develop into a contender and took the right step of hiring trainer Danny Davis (studied under Naazim Richardson) to supplement his father?s corner guidance. Serrano was selected to be Pacquiao?s sparring partner for is his upper body strength and he goes to the body with a scything left hook to the ribs. Boxing since age eight, Serrano was a respected amateur (won a National and World Junior Olympics as well as bronze at the World Cadet Championships), registering over a hundred victories and fought for the American national team. Attacking style makes a good impression but other than Jay Krupp and Ayi Bruce, his opposition has not been good enough to challenge Serrano. Best win was an eight-round decision over awkward Daniel Sostre, outworking Sostre to the body and landing the cleaner blows. Can get carried away; against Krupp, was overanxious after knocking him down and headhunted too much. Serrano showed mental toughness coming back from a cut and first round knockdown against Anthony Bowman, knocking Bowman down in the following round to win a decision. Knocked down in his last fight against Kenny Abril too but rebounded well, again winning a comfortable decision. Serrano is still not fully matured, in terms of power, and will add pop as he gets more comfortable switching from defense to offense more fluidly. Will never be a knockout machine but dedication to volume punching will up his kayo ratio from the ordinary 44% it currently stands. Best part of Serrano?s game is cutting off escape paths with his feet and working crippling body shots. Lived in Philadelphia his entire life but moved his training camp to his family?s native Puerto Rico three fights ago. Came under the watchful eye of trainer Felix Pintor, known for his work with smooth-boxing, former champion Ivan Calderon, while in Puerto Rico. Needs to make the most of this television appearance since previous televised bouts were efficient but uninspired, lacking excitement exuded in earlier wins. A good prospect who has the advantage of growing up around the sport and in one of America?s boxing hotbeds.
Verdict ? Mayfield has a nightmarishly awkward style with looping punches and off-balance attacks discombobulating foes used to standard boxers. Serrano showed himself vulnerable against some pressure fighters (dropped at least twice) and Mayfield sports the right mix of attacking instincts and power to push Serrano to the limits. There could be some early subconscious hesitancy from Mayfield since he is only now escaping his role of sparring partner to the stars. However, once Mayfield jumps into the fight mentally, he will do so with both feet and Serrano is forced onto his back foot, where I cannot see him holding off Mayfield?s bulk. Serrano still has the will and instincts to survive while Mayfield needs to show more refinement to stop Serrano and keep him in punching distance. With each round, Mayfield gets stronger and Serrano punches less; Serrano is overtaken on the cards in the eighth round by Mayfield and loses by two points at the end of 10 rounds. One note: I do worry that this fight is being held in Serrano and his promoter?s territory but will assume the judges are not influenced by that and score the bout appropriately. If not, Teddy Atlas will explode and tell us the truth.
Prediction record for 2012: 82% (44-10) Prediction record in 2011: 88% (138-19) Prediction record in 2010: 85% (218-40)
