Golden Boy decided to put on a showcase of it's latest up and coming talent this weekend and ended up with some interesting results. On the undercard we saw James Kirkland, Daniel Jacobs and Seth Mitchell get spoon fed opponents and they stopped them all before the third round. The opponents had a combined 35 losses between the three of them.
On the televised side there was an interesting matchup between Adrien Broner and the always tough Daniel Ponce de Leon. Even before they stepped into the ring everyone knew what the respective fighters were going to do. Broner was going to counter punch and try to outspeed PdL. PdL was going to the body and wear down Broner.
Daniel did a good job of attacking and controlling the tempo in the first couple of rounds. Eventually the advantages that Broner had in hand speed, defense and footwork ultimately turned the rounds into a boxing match that PdL had no chance of winning.
I had the fight close with Broner ahead at the end of the fight. The scores were 96-94 twice and a ridiculous 99-91 score by Judge Tony Crebs. This is another instance our need for regulation. Someone needsto figure out what exactly fight this judge was watching. Perhaps he can wait until after the fight to fill out his score card. Remember, this is the same guy who ruled the Adamek v Arreola fight a draw in a clear cut win for Adamek. The same guy who saw Fres Oquendo win 9 rounds against James Toney when the two other judges saw it as a close decision for Toney. This is the same guy who almost cost cost Andrey Tsurkan some serious injury in the beating against Angulo by not stopping the fight earlier. I think my blind cousin is looking for a job California Boxing Commission...
In the main event there was another spoon fed match for the always exciting Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. The always game Mathew Hatton lost nearly every single round (except for one due to a point deduction) and still made it to the bell all while stepping up in weight class. I'm excited for the fights on the horizon for Canelo. However, as Golden Boy's prized horse, I wonder how many more opponents are going to be Hatton's level before he steps up in class. I'm guessing at least 3 more.
Random thoughts...
MMA note: Henderson finally getting on the winning side with a big right hand (what else?). Good for him. Maybe Strikeforce will finally get something for their troubles.
Zab Judah sighting! He won in convincing fashion on a PPV card for the IBF protion of the junior welterweight championship. I still didn't like the lack of action he brought early, but he showed finishing power at the end.
Ismayl Sillakh looked good in a victory over Cuban standout Yordanis Despaigne. It's refreshing to have two undefeated fighters take a chance and fight each other. Sillakh moving up in class is a good thing. I think that Despaigne may want to try out the cruiserweight ranks in a few years.
Should be a good Sergio Martinez weekend.
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