WBO minimum-weight champion Moises Fuentes is in town and he?s definitely looking to unseat our very own Donnie Nietes who holds the WBO light flyweight diadem this Saturday.
At the press conference yesterday to present Fuentes to the local media, the young Mexican warrior looked determined, ready and confident. His team also revealed that he had a better pro record that was reported in www.boxrec.com as he actually has 26 wins, 20 knockouts with only a solitary loss.
HUGE. This fight has the potential to live up to its billing as a champion vs. champion match-up.
Fuentes is coming off an impressive-stoppage win over former world champion and pound-for-pound entrant Ivan Calderon.
It was also revealed by his manager, Jorge Barrera that in honor of Marco Antonio Barrera, his brother, Fuentes also carries the ring epithet ?Baby Faced Assassin? Standing at 5? 7?, Fuentes will be towering over the 5?3? Nietes and Fuentes also revealed that he is actually more comfortable fighting at 108 lbs.
CRUCIAL A fight of this magnitude always has my creative juices flowing and I?m all amped for Saturday night?s duke-out.
In the first few rounds Fuentes will try to establish his offensive patterns, relying obviously on his superior reach advantage and so Rounds 1 to 3 will be crucial for Donnie for the following reasons:
1. If Fuentes plans to stick his jab in Donnie?s face all night long, he has the first few rounds to make the adjustments and gauge the proper distance to be able to within strike range;
2. He should be careful not to get cut or suffer any facial damage this early if Moises succeeds in peppering him with jabs;
3. Though Donnie can very well take his time in feeling out his opponent, he cannot risk giving away all the early rounds. Some judges have the tendency to score rounds in favor of the more active fighter popping out the jab regardless of whether it is effective or not, and a three-point deficit might be too much to overhaul down the stretch.
Despite having a couple of early knockouts under his belt, Donnie isn?t exactly a fast starter and he tends to come on strong in rounds 3-7.
He?s been in there with some of the best that Mexico has to offer in the lower weights, and I?m confident that Fuentes hasn?t seen a fighter of Donnie?s caliber, despite his win over the faded Calderon.
If Donnie lands one of those cracking rights and hurts Fuentes he could end it by the middle rounds. But based on his record, the visiting Mexican appears to have a solid mug and he can probably make this a dogfight.
I?m hoping that Donnie establishes that he is the stronger fighter early in the fight which will allow him to dictate the pace. What I am worried about is if the younger Moises outlasts him and Donnie fades in the championship rounds.
Of course, I?ll be at ringside screaming my heart out for ?Ahas? with a couple of cold Last Rounds. See you there.
UFC 157. I am in love. With Ronda Rousey?s armbar, that is. No MMA athlete, male or female commits to it with such single-minded tenacity.
At UFC 157, after initially getting herself into a precarious situation with an early submission attempt from Liz Carmouche (who trained long and hard not to get caught in an armbar) Rousey pushed for it, unmindful of her opponent?s stubborn resistance. She got it in 4:49 of the first round.
Rousey now has a pro record of 7 straight wins all via armbar in the first round.
That?s a thing of beauty, and I am hopelessly infatuated.
LAST ROUND. It?s on the indefatigable Carding Draper, F&B Manager of Aicila Suites. Cheers!
