This week we have Gamboa and JuanMa setting up their overdue fight, a Felix Verdejo sighting, a whole lot of punches, and much more.
Saturday, November 11th
David Allen (16-4-2, 13 KOs) RTD7 Ariel Esteban Bracamonte (8-2, 5 KOs), heavyweights & Dmytro Mytrofanov (2-0-1, 1 KO) D4 Gino Kanters (5-2-1, 3 KOs), middleweights – Manchester, England
Popular domestic level heavyweight brawler Dave Allen picked up another rough and tumble, bloody win on the Matchroom undercard this weekend. Allen is no where near world class, but he connects with the local fanbase quite well thanks to his power, heart, and every man persona. This was another entertaining Dave Allen fight in a long line of them. It was also more proof of his severe defensive limitations as his low level opponent lit him up plenty early in the fight. Less fun but maybe more interesting was the draw 2016 Ukrainian Olympian Dmytro Mytrofanov was held to early in the show. Mytrofanov hopefully learned a hard lesson on recklessness by charging out hard from his stool to open the fight and immediately getting dropped. In a four round fight, that was enough to hold him to a draw on the referee scorecard. This means that another round must have been scored even. That is a little confusing as the Olympian seemed to control the fight after the first round, but it is the official result regardless.
Artur Mann (15-0, 8 KOs) UD10 Alexey Zubov (17-2, 9 KOs), cruiserweights & Shohjahon Ergashev (14-0, 13 KOs) KO1 Zack Ramsey (8-5, 4 KOs), junior welterweights – Chicago, Illinois
Kazakh born German cruiserweight prospect Artur Mann improved to 15-0 with a the biggest win of his on the World Boxing Super Series undercard in Chicago. The Sauerland promoted big man was tested by Zubov here despite scoring two knockdowns and getting pretty wide scores. This one was very competitive. Zubov showed a lot of heart in the loss too. I don’t have a problem with Mann winning necessarily, but I do wish the cards reflected the fight. Scorecards were not a problem in Shohjahon Ergashev’s quick destruction of well overmatched Zack Ramsey. Ergashev blitzed him to score a pretty immediate knockdown to start the fight and finished it with a body shot less than a minute later. The Uzbeki 26 year old needs to remember to stay measured and fight responsibly in the ring as his style can be too wild, but there is no question that Shohjahon’s physical abilities are something special. The kid is a super athlete with incredible punching power. He is very much ready for a step up. Promoter Dmitry Salita should find a co-promotional or management deal for his potential star quickly so he can be featured on ESPN, DAZN, or FOX. Audiences will take to him immediately.
Yuriorkis Gamboa (29-2, 17 KOs) UD10 Miguel Beltran Jr (33-7-2, 22 KOs), junior lightweights & Juan Manuel Lopez (36-6, 32 KOs) UD10 Cristian Ruben Mino (19-3, 17 KOs), junior lightweights – Miami, Florida
Marination complete. Back in 2010, Top Rank head Bob Arum had the two biggest featherweight stars in the sport under his banners in Yuriorkis Gamboa and Juan Manuel Lopez. Infamously now, instead of matching the two fighters in a must see fight, Arum said the fight needed to “marinate” for a while to maximize their star power and revenue. It never ended up happening. The poor defense of “JuanMa” was exposed just a year later when he was finished by Orlando Salido. Gamboa went on to make poor career decisions with weight and by signing with inept promoter Roc Nation Sports. Neither man ended up with the big money showdown that could have been, nor did Top Rank. Eight years later, the fight is on now though! Both men had to come through here for it to be set for March and they did. Both men also did it in their signature fashion. Gamboa looked spectacular in the first round with a sensational knockdown of Miguel Beltran that probably would have finished the fight had it not come late in the round. Afterwards, however, he safely boxed without excitement for the decision. JuanMa used his very real power to score four knockdowns, but he was also badly hurt himself in the middle of the bout like he pretty much always is at some point. The two aging fighters couldn’t have put on performances to sum themselves up more if they could. Now they will meet in March in a fight that Yuriorkis Gamboa will most certainly win. Lopez is extremely shot at this point. Still, at least the marinating process has finally finished.
Felix Valera (17-2, 14 KOs) UD10 Bryan Perez Castillo (11-1, 7 KOs), light heavyweights & Hector Luis Garcia (10-0, 8 KOs) KO2 Robin Zamora (13-5, 6 KOs), featherweights – Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
It wasn’t easy, but light heavyweight fringe contender Felix Valera emerged with his hand raise over unheralded but unbeaten fellow Dominican Bryan Castillo after ten hard fought rounds. This was a back and forth fight with Valera forced to work almost exclusively off the back foot thanks to his opponent’s constant pressure. Both men did good work and it was the known favorite who had to rally over the last couple rounds to make sure he had won the decision. Valera could probably do better by throwing less flashy, showboating shots like wind up punches, but that isn’t who he is. 2016 Dominican Olympian Hector Garcia also picked up a quick second round stoppage at home in Santo Domingo, picking up a minor WBA belt in the process.
Andres Gutierrez (37-2-1, 25 KOs) UD12 Ramiro Blanco (18-4-3, 10 KOs), junior lightweights & Joselito Velasquez (7-0, 6 KOs) RTD2 Jesus Cervantes (5-3, 1 KO), flyweights – Mexico
I am cheating here. These fights took place on separate cards in Mexico, but I am going to lump them together anyway. First, 25 year old Mexican fringe contender Andres Gutierrez picked up a wide decision win in Corregidora over his Nicaraguan regional level opponent. Andres has been in the ring with Cristian Mijares, who he lost a narrow decision to, and Abner Mares. The second fight wasn’t close, but Andres showed a lot of heart and some ability late before a cut ended his night early. He was also supposed to fight Carl Frampton but famously slipped in the shower instead. Gutierrez isn’t a top contender, but he’s young and a solid piece of the high Mexican domestic scene. More talented is 2016 Mexican Olympian Joselito Velasquez who won in Tijuana. The 25 year old is being matched pretty soft early by Mexican powerhouse Zanfer Promotions, but he won’t need to be for long. Velasquez is a talented young fighter to watch.
Artur Szpilka (22-3, 15 KOs) SD10 Mariusz Wach (33-4, 17 KOs), heavyweights & Maciej Sulecki (27-1, 11 KOs) KO2 Jean Michel Hamilcaro (26-10-3, 6 KOs), middleweights – Gliwice, Poland
This one nearly turned one a dime at the end. Heavyweight contender Artur Szpilka was by far the smaller man at home in Poland against Mariusz Wach, but he handled it pretty well most of the way. A lot of his flurries may not have been super effective, but he never ate more than a single shot in return while employing the better movement and all around game. He wasn’t dominating, but he Szpilka was clearly winning most of the rounds. Then the tenth and final frame arrived. With about a minute to go, Szpilka dropped his hands as he had many times in the fight and ate two hard shots. He didn’t seem to go down that hard, but when he rose and backed to the corner I thought he was done. The Polish heavyweight’s facial language and balance seemed quite off. Yet, Artur battled back bravely and even stayed on his feet after eating a massive right hand with about thirty seconds to go. It was a brave and successful finish to take the fight on the card. Also in action was middleweight contender Maciej Sulecki getting a quick and dominant finish over a hopeless journeyman opponent. Sulecki is a solid true world level middleweight who gave Danny Jacobs problems not too long ago, so let’s hope he ends up in bigger fights again soon.
Felix Verdejo (24-1, 16 KOs) KO2 Yardley Armenta Cruz (24-12, 14 KOs), lightweights – Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
Ah, the promised prince of Puerto Rico that never was, Felix Verdejo. For some time the lightweight was considered arguably the most promising prospect in the sport. He fought well in the 2012 games in London, winning two fights before bowing out to Vasyl Lomachenko like everyone else. His five punch loss was the second most competitively scored fight the now pound for pound elite would have in either of his gold medal runs. Felix would look every part the future star he was supposed to be through 2014, even winning prospect of the year from ESPN. Yet, by 2016 his performances started to become a little flat as he seemed to regress and lack aggression. A motorcycle accident caused the Puerto Rican to miss the second half of the year too. Verdejo’s momentum finished grinding to a half in 2017. He only fought once thanks to an opponent pulling out of a fight and then he himself falling in the shower and getting cut later in the year. When he finally got back in the ring this year in March, all hope seemed lost when Antonio Lozada stopped the beaten up and officially busted prospect in the tenth round. This quiet step back into the ring back home in Puerto Rico is the beginning of Verdejo’s attempted comeback. Can he do it? It seems doubtful, but the once promising fighter still is only 25. It is possible at least.
Friday, November 9th
Brandon Adams (21-2, 13 KOs) UD10 Shane Mosley Jr (11-3, 8 KOs), middleweights – Inglewood, California
Reality show The Contender returned for a low key fifth season on premium network EPIX this year and this bout between two regional level guys was the culmination of the show. Season winner Brandon Adams is a solid regional level fighter from LA, but he was soundly defeated by fringe world level players in John Thompson and Willie Monroe prior to coming on the show. Adams picked up his best wins on the show, but none of them were on any higher level than he came into The Contender already on. Shane Mosley Jr was no exception either. I’m surprised and a little impressed that the son of the legend actually made it to the finals given his obvious limitations in the ring, but he is still a regional level talent too. There is nothing else to say here except that Adams won comfortably on points over a notably placid Mosley Jr. I found the finally to be a dull fight.
Christian Carto (17-0, 11 KOs) UD6 Antonio Rodriguez (13-23-2, 2 KOs), bantamweights & Poindexter Knight (6-0, 3 KOs) TKO1 Travis Castellon (16-3-1, 12 KOs), welterweights – Philadelphia, Pennsylvannia
King’s Promotions put on a show in their usual Philadelphia stomping grounds headlined by two former prominent American amateurs in Christian Carto and Poindexter Knight. Carto, 21, placed third in the Olympic trials for the 2016 games while Knight, 23, won the 2017 Golden Gloves. Both guys here were in pretty soft. Carto especially took a backward step against a sub .500 club fighter after several wins in a row over men with positive records. Castellon looked like a fine opponent on paper Poindexter Knight, but further examination showed he had been knocked out in his last two fights and was a natural lightweight. Both prospects were set up for success here to say the least. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with it though. The practice is normal. What I can’t do is gather much from the results. I haven’t seen the fights either as I don’t think there is video. This was a lot of typing to basically say these guys exist and I will be keeping an eye on them.
Thursday, November 8th
Jesus Soto Karass (29-13-4, 18 KOs) MD10 Neeco Macias (17-1, 10 KOs), junior middleweights & Emilio Sanchez (17-1, 11 KOs) TD10 Enrique Bernache (24-12, 12 KOs), featherweights & Manny Robles III (17-0, 8 KOs) SD10 Jose Santos Gonzalez (23-7, 13 KOs), featherweights & D’Mitrius Ballard (19-0, 12 KOs) UD8 Alan Campa (17-4, 11 KOs), super middleweights & Aaron McKenna (6-0, 4 KOs) KO2 Abel Reyes (4-2, 2 KOs), welterweights – Indio, California
Punches! When Jesus Soto Karass versus Neeco Macias was booked as the final Golden Boy on ESPN main event, it was clear that it was going to be an action oriented fight from the get go with an absurdly high punch count. Somehow the simply astonishing 3,353 combined punches thrown managed to exceed expectations anyway. Of course any fight with that number of punches (which is only this record breaking fight by the way) is a good watch, but I do sadly have to report that it was by no means a classic. While the two men never stopped moving their hands, Soto Karass and Macias largely threw arm punches exclusively and were accordingly unable to hurt one another. Surprisingly it was the younger Macias, the man specifically known for high output, who tired late to let the veteran close the show for the mild upset win. It is nice that a long time warrior like Soto Karass gets to go out on a win like that too if he truly stays retired like he says he is. This show was also a sort of last call for Golden Boy prospects to get a fight in before 2019 given it marked the expiration of their ESPN deal, HBO is out of the game, and their new DAZN deal doesn’t start until January. Golden Boy has a deep stable of prospects too, though most of them are middling at best. Sanchez, Robles, and Ballard all fit that bill to a tee. The jury is still out on Irish hopeful Aaron McKenna, however. The 19 year old welterweight does look like he has some early potential with his size and poise.
