Josesito Lopez vs Marcos Maidana
If every fighter needs a lucky
break in their career to move them up a level, then look no further than
Josesito Lopez. Brought in as a last minute replacement for Andre Berto in a
planned and much anticipated rematch with Victor Ortiz, Lopez was beyond
written off. Ortiz was too big and Lopez [30-5 18 KO] lacked the resume to
provide any sort of credible challenge. Instead Lopez turned up, boxed,
scrapped and emerged victorious.
Ortiz? He left with a broken
jaw that needed to be wired shut and as yet has not made a return to the ring.
That plucky victory secured
Lopez a shot at Saul Alvarez at junior middleweight and a career high day pay.
Sure, Lopez was blown away with ease but it wasn’t his weight class unlike
Saturday’s welterweight matchup against the wild Argentinean dervish Marcos
Maidana [33-3 30 KO] at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.
Maidana, a terror at
light-welterweight, is now looking to secure a firm footing in the 147-pound
class where the biggest prize is longtime pound-for-pound king Floyd
Mayweather.
But for Lopez, the Ortiz fight
may yet prove to be a mixed blessing. He’s now expected to slug rather than
box, and he lacks power to duke it with the biggest punch bomb merchants in his
division — something that Maidana unquestionably is. Expect Maidana to come
strong and deliver a powerful performance that could see him finally face
fellow countryman and equally powerful Lucas Matthysse. As for Lopez, Maidana
may prove to be the fighter that shifts the limelight away from Lopez and his
odds defying antics.
Alfredo Angulo vs Erislandy
Lara
Most fight fans have two
abiding images of Alfredo Angulo.
The first is of the Mexican
junior middleweight repeatedly sprinkling the equivalent of boxing catnip for
fight fans with incessant brutal knockouts, mostly in the first few stanzas of
a fight for the majority of his career. The second is memories of his barbarous
and epic bout with James Kirkland in 2011 that ended up as a Fight of the Year
candidate but with Angulo on the end of a technical knockout.
After that fight, Angulo [22-2
18 KO] who had been even been tipped as a potential opponent for “Canelo”
Alvarez, slipped slightly off the boxing map. Immigration problems for the
Mexicali native meant he spent seven months in an immigration center and
finally returned late last year with some low level warm up fights. So on
Saturday night as part of the co-feature, Angulo is stepping in the ring with
his first legitimately dangerous opponent in years — Erislandy Lara. But alas,
if the old adage that “styles make fights” holds any truth, the choice of the
former amateur star Lara could not have been a worse one, “El Perro.”
While a potential defeat
against a slick boxer of Lara’s [17-1-2 11 KO] caliber is usually not career
threatening (given Angulo’s crowd pleasing style, and ability to stalk and
scythe down opponents), it’s fair to say that “El Perro” is very much the
underdog in this fight. In fact most fighters are when confronted with the
former standout Cuban amateur who’s awkward but incredibly effective and slick
style is paired with a relatively plodding and predictable method synonymous
with Angulo. Sure, if Angulo is lucky enough to land enough sweetly, we might
hear cries of “timber!” But the likelihood of doing so against one of the more
elusive fighters in the sport is slim. Fans can expect a Lara victory — but the
return of Angulo to the upper echelons of the sport will always be welcomed
even if on Saturday it might prove to be a further setback.
Chad Dawson vs Adonis Stevenson
While the action might sizzle
in California, over in Canada at Montreal’s Bell Centre, Chad Dawson [31-2 17
KO], the WBC light-heavyweight title holder takes on Adonis Stevenson in a
fight that could either revive Dawson’s career or see it slide into a further
mediocrity and frank indifference.
The reason is that despite all
the promise in the world, including some consistently stellar performances
earlier in his career, there has always been something amiss about Chad Dawson.
The man who could provide wins like the two victories apiece over Glen Johnson
and Antonio Tarver as well as a dramatic and impressive showing over former
division stalwart Tomasz Adamek, could just as quickly turn up with lackluster
frankly lazy showings against bruisers such as Jean Pascal and two visual
abominations against Bernard Hopkins.
For every fight in which
Dawson appeared to be the future of the light-heavyweight division, he was able
to tarnish that promise with performances reeking of indifference. So on
Saturday Dawson, who fights the durable athletic but not as good Stevenson,
needs to win and ideally in impressive fashion. A motivated and prime Dawson is
the best in the division and defeats the athletic, durable but relatively
untested Stevenson [20-1 17 KO]. An unfocused and lethargic Dawson, even if
victorious, could see his borderline toxic television stock drop further. The
talent is undeniable, but the motivation? That’s a different matter.
The man whose nickname is
“Bad” needs to be real bad against Stevenson to make good on his promise and
soar to the place where his talent warrants.
Yuriorkis Gamboa vs Darley
Perez
If this fight goes beyond the
opening rounds, then it will be an indictment of how much Gamboa’s career has
slid since his defection of Bob Arum’s Top Rank. It’s not that Gamboa is not in
his prime or has shown signs of wear and tear. Far from it. It’s just that
someone who is aiming to claim a title in a third weight division and resides
in the “elite” category of the sport should not be fighting relative unknowns
of Darley Perez’s caliber. One perhaps can’t blame if a little indifference
creeps in. Gamboa, a former gold medallist for the celebrated Cuban Olympic
team is an interstellar mile ahead of anyone else on Perez’s resume, who has a
solid but frankly incomparable record. Gamboa should not even break a sweat and
should move onto fights matching his quality and stature. Perhaps his promoter
50 Cent can secure something soon.
UFC on Fuel TV 10
Fabricio Werdum vs Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira
While the weekend’s fights are
dominated by boxing, there is a sprinkling of some UFC to satiate fans that
need a sprinkling of a few heel kicks with their heavy diet of punches. On this
occasion it’s a relatively unremarkable UFC card from Brazil headlined by at
least one notable fight in the shape of heavyweights Werdum and Noguiera.
For Nogueira [34-7-1], the
fight is likely to be one of a last hurrahs or curtain calls in a career that
is clearly winding down and becoming peppered as much with victories as losses.
His victory at UFC 153 over Dave Herman proved that he should never be counted
out but is very much the underdog in a tussle with Werdum. The reason is that
Werdum [16-5-1], is one of the top contenders in the heavyweight division and
continues to improve. Where once he looked limited against the likes of
Alistair Overeem, he came back and patched the holes with an impressive win
over Roy Nelson. Expect Werdum to triumph on Saturday, and in doing so, add a
very credible if somewhat faded name in the form of Noguiera. (Source)
