Golden Boy Promotions and ESPN offer up an intriguing first main event to kick off their two year broadcast deal. Both Antonio Orozco (25-0, 16 KOs) and Keandre Gibson (16-0-1, 7 KOs) are talented young unbeaten fighters making this a far better main even than we have come to see with these promoter branded fight series.
In 2015, now 29 year old Antonio Orozco probably thought he would have had fought for one of the belts by now. He scored his biggest win in a close fight with former two division world champion Humberto Soto live on HBO in October of the year. Sure, the cards were weirdly wide in his favor, but HBO scored a close fight for him and no one considered it a robbery. Early in 2016 Orozco followed with a first round KO of another former champion in Miguel Acosta. He took a stay busy fight following Acosta and then found himself in a WBC Eliminator. Except, he didn’t. Orozco passed out in his house trying to cut weight for the fight and it was canceled last minute.
It has now been nine months since Orozco has fought.
27 year old Keandre Gibson has not been super active either as he has only fought two or three times a year since turning pro in 2010. For an established fighter that is a normal pace, but for a prospect it is a little behind a traditional schedule. He has obvious talent though. Gibson possesses an excellent, strong jab, flashy handspeed, impressive combinations when he chooses to use them, and probably has a little more power than the record shows. His one at a time style just doesn’t lend itself well to KOs. He is also dropping back down to 140, a weight where he has not fought in three years. Gibson has a very full frame at 147 so it will be interesting to see how he looks back down seven pounds.
Orozco is a meat and potatoes pressure fighter who likes to come forward and initiate a fight. Gibson prefers to jab comfortably and fire single, sniping shots from all angles, but he has also been surprisingly happy to engage in firefights when they have come his way. Tonight may just be one.
Most will favor Antonio Orozco, probably by decision, due to his superior experience against higher levels of competition, and they are probably right. Gibson has the talent to make this interesting though.
Note that this will be live on WatchESPN.com at 9 PM Eastern and on tape delay on ESPN2 at 11 PM. Also being broadcast, I believe, will be a lightweight bout between 29-1-2 (16 KOs) former title challenger Mercito Gesta and 26-3 (22 KOs) Gilberto Gonzales. 15-0 (7 KOs) featherweight prospect Joet Gonzales will likely open the broadcast against 13-1-1 (6 KOs) Derrick Murray.
