AN INTERESTING fact developed during yesterday?s press conference held by ALA Promotions to feature Mexican fighters Angel Martinez and Jorge Pazos who will be fighting Jimrex Jaca and Genesis Servania this Saturday at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino for Pinoy Pride 15.
It was discovered that the records of the Mexican fighters as appearing on www.boxrec.com were inaccurate.
By way of backgrounder, www.boxrec.com is?according to topnotch boxing and MMA analyst Salven Lagumbay, a ?labor of love?.
Ergo, it is updated by those who run the website based on reports culled from various sources, and in no way styles itself as the official register of fight records.
The fact that it is presently relied upon by almost everybody who gives a damn about the fight business is in itself a laudable achievement, but the website never promised 100% accuracy.
RECORDS. That being said, it was found out that Martinez? record lacks 5 additional fights with four of those coming by way of knockout, making his record 18 wins, 2 losses with 13 KOs instead of 13-2, 9 KOs on the website.
For Pazos, his record has yet to reflect a fight he had just last month wherein he stopped his opponent, making his record stand at 21-3, with 14 KOs.
Why should this matter?
A fighter?s record is a good metric of his capabilities and gives you a grasp on whether he is a callow novice or a seasoned old hand.
Granted, it?s easy to pad a fighter?s record by feeding him with tomato cans, but nonetheless, his performances against opponents with various records can provide a capable assessment of his facility on top of the ring.
In the case of Martinez, those 5 unrecorded wins with 4 knockouts exponentially makes him a better opponent. Consider also that he has been in the ring with Lucas Matthysse, whom we last saw making mincemeat of the accomplished Humberto Soto in 5 rounds.
PREMONITION. Another dimension to this equation that might be interesting to note is that a similar discovery happened the first time the main event fighters on the card, Jason Pagara and Rosbel Montoya fought.
During the press conference for their first fight held in September of last year, Montoya?s record was found out to be inaccurate too, as he had more wins and knockouts than was originally posted.
Of course, we all know that Montoya proceeded to defeat Pagara by unanimous decision. Will this prove to be a bad omen for Jimrex Jaca?
VERAN. Fil-Italian Brandon Vera deserves our props for gutting it out in a losing effort against the formidable Mauricio Rua at UFC on Fox.
Vera had ?Shogun? in trouble on numerous occasions as he was able to land some hard kicks and elbows. However, superior conditioning pulled Rua through as proved he had more fuel left in the tank as he was the stronger fighter at the denouement of the match.
Vera isn?t just as dominant anymore ever since he dropped down to the light-heavyweight division.
When he was competing at the heavyweight division, he handily defeated Frank Mir and Assuerio Silva. Though he was outsized by Tim Sylvia at UFC 77, I thought he should have remained as a heavyweight.
I?ve seen Vera up close when he attended a boxing card at the Araneta Coliseum, and the guy is a leviathan when not in training. He probably walks around at the 220-240 lbs range (at that time)
When you get older (Brandon is 34), cutting too much weight becomes increasingly difficult and leaves you spent and enervated by fight time.
It?s just the way nature intended it to be. Slower metabolism comes with age, and that is why the natural progression is for a fighter to move up the weight divisions as he grows older.
With Mark ?The Filipino Wrecking Machine? Munoz getting his butt handed to him recently by Chris Weidman, the search continues for the next Filipino MMA fighter to make it to the big time.
LAST ROUND. It?s on a dear friend, prolific sportswriter Carlos Costa who is in town to cover the fights. Cheers mi hermano!
