Friday Night Fights 7/15 Recap

Pawel Wolak (29-1-1, 19 KO) Delvin Rodriguez (25-5-3, 14 KO)

In the easily the best fight of the Friday Night Fight broadcast this year and arguably of the whole year, Wolak and Rodriguez reminds us of why we love boxing. Wolak and Rodriguez fought 10 hard fought, with an exclamation point for round 9, and hard to score rounds before settling on a majority draw. This fight had the crowd screaming for both fighters.

For those of you who like gruesome boxing injuries, look no further. While Erislandy Lara's head last weekend was bulging and a nasty sight, it didn't come close to the size and the affect that is had on him as Wolak's eye.

Rodriguez had an opening for a right uppercut through most of the fight with Wolak coming in and yet chose to do most of his work with his straight right hand (his money punch) as evidenced by Wolak's eye. Wolak's gameplan was very straight forward, by that, I mean it was very straight forward. He tried to maul Delvin and paid the price on numerous occasions.

Credit is due to Rodriguez for being able to stick to try to fight tall and continue to force the shorter, pressure fighter, to come towards you and implement the game plan of punching off the back foot. There were questions coming into the fight for Rodriguez's career. He is now 2-3-1 in his last 6 fights but I think he has answered some of the answers from the critics that are calling for his retirement.

Wolak, who is never in a dull fight, will surely be in another good matchup later on this year. While I'm sure us boxing junkies would love a rematch and there are rumors that it will land on the Margarito V Cotto II card, making that card an absolute MUST BUY.

If you didn't watch this fight, it is still available via streaming replay on ESPN3.com. Free, streaming, good fight, what other reasons do you need to waste 40 minutes to be entertained.


Brian Viloria (29-3, 16 KOs) UD Julio Miranda (28-4, 16 KOs) for WBO Miranda's flyweight belt.

Judges Robert Hoyle (98-91) Ruben Garcia (96-93) and Tamotsu Tomihara (97-93) favored Viloria.

In Miranda's fourth defense, he was blitzed by Viloria in the opening bell and was out punched and out worked through the entire fight. Viloria showed great body punching ability, a very good jab and worked through a cut that opened up on his eye in the eighth round.

"Pingo" Miranda had trouble making the 112 weight limit and had to sweat off two pounds. It was a tough fight and both the champion and the challenger seemed to enjoy the brutality of it. Miranda had a pretty clear elbow and low blow that wasn't called by referee Joe Cortez in the 6th round that was answered by a rally by Viloria.

The newly crowned champion was also fighting on home turf in Hawaii and Miranda, who is likely not going to get a rematch, would be wise to fight somewhere more neutral. The most interesting part of the fight? When the scores were read. How did the judges miss two rounds of action? Did they decide that 10 rounds was enough?

There are interested fights for the entire flyweight division to be made and it is nice to see Viloria, yet another action fighter, to be in the mix as well.

Weekend Preview - 6/24

The year has been littered with great weekends of fights so far and this weekend will be no different.

As usual it get kicked off with a good main even in the Friday Night Fights card, then a 3 fight HBO card, and a free streaming EPIX middleweight championship fight. I will be previewing these fights below.

Plus, for us boxing junkies, Telefutura has Brian Vera and James Kirkland on the same card, Telemundo has prospect Jesus Pabon in a sure action fight and FSN is broadcasting Mike Jones likely knockout of professional “opponent” Raul Munoz. Get your DVR’s ready to roll!

HBO Card
On Saturday on HBO's Boxing after dark 9:45ET/PT, there will be triple header headlined by Devon Alexander and Lucas Matthyse.

Devon Alexander vs. Lucas Matthyse
Many may remember Matthysse (28-1, 26 KOs) from his recent loss on HBO to Zab Judah in a close fight that Judah was lucky to squeeze out a SD victory. He doesn’t have great boxing skill but has great power. He is coming off of a KO win against, now stepping stone, DeMarcus Corley back in January. He is the brother of Walter Mattyse and has Carlos Baldomir in his corner. He owns a KO victory against Vivian Harris and is slowly building his resume to become a 140pd contender.

Boxing fans may still have a bad taste in their mouths from Alexander’s last performance on HBO against Timothy Bradley. It was hyped as great fight to kick off the year and turned out to be a dud. Both fighters promised action and fireworks while the fight contained more posturing than anything. Bradley controlled Alexander with good distance control as well as outworking (relatively) the St. Louis native until a head butt ultimately sent the fight to the scorecards. This is a crossroads fight for a Alexander who many thought was at the top of the division with his KO victory against Juan Urango last year.

This is a tough fight to handicap, but because of Matthyse’s issues with good boxers (see Zab Judah) I expect Devon to carefully pick him apart. My pick is Alexander in another so so performance. Alexander UD12

Tavoris Cloud vs. Yusaf Mack

The second fight on the televised undercard is Tavoris Cloud vs. Yusaf Mack for Cloud's IBF light heavyweight title in what should be a bang bang fight. Cloud does not know how to not come forward and Mack is no laydown opponent. Cloud has shown good boxing skills, a great right hand and stamina to maintain his pressure over 12 rounds (see Glen Johnson fight)

For Canadian - Haitian Yusaf his last two losses have came against good competition (Glen Johnson and Librado Andrade) and has good boxing skill. Many feel he has a suspect chin and doesn't do well against pressure (once again see his Glen Johnson fight). Sidenote: See why I love Glen Johnson? Win or lose, he exposes fighters for who they are. This is the sign of a real veteran.

Mack should give Cloud a test, but with Cloud’s crowd and judge appealing aggressive pressure Tavoris should come out with a KO victory in the later rounds. What makes this fight even more exciting is the fact that Mack likes to fight when attacked, which will undoubtedly will be the case Saturday night.

If Cloud can get past Mack there are huge fights on the horizon. Dawson, Pascal, and Hopkins loom at the top of the list. Cloud KO10

Bermane Stiverne vs. Ray Austin

Also televised will be upcoming heavyweight Bermane Stiverne vs. Ray Austin in an WBC heavyweight eliminator. Stiverne (20-1, 19KOs) has very good power and a good skill set. His only loss came in spectacular fashion against Demetrice King back in 2007 and he is (8-0-1 since then).

Ray Austin, 40 years old, will keep fighting as long as he gets a paycheck as a stepping stone. It’s too bad good fighters like him will sacrifice his body in this horrendous heavyweight era. With the competition so weak, he will continue to get fights and make “prospects” beat him.

Unfortunately, the Cornelious K9 Bundrage rematch with Sechel Powell for Bundrage's IBF junior middleweight title will not be televised. Fight junkies will remember their first punch double knockdown fight last time they met. (VIDEO AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST HERE IF YOU MISSED IT). If K9 can win this fight he should be in line for a good payday in an unification matchup.

Felix Sturm vs. Mathew Macklin – EPIXHD.COM, EPIX
Sturm (35-2-1, 15 KOs) will be defending his WBA middleweight belt for the 10th time against Irishman Mathew Macklin (28-2, 19 KOs). Both fighters have been criticized for weak competition, but both have plodded away with their careers in workmanlike fashion to rise to the this stage. It’s a very close fight but Sturm should have too boxing skill and will use his good jab to beat Macklin. Also, because of the fact that Sturm is the defending champion and fighting in his home country, Macklin has to win convincingly in order to take this belt away. Sturm UD12.
There is also no reason to miss this fight. It will be shown on Epixhd for a free trial if you sign up. HD streaming boxing? What can be bad about that?

Friday Night Fights
John Molina vs. Robert Frankel
John Molina (22-1, 18 KOs), who is never in a dull fight because of his lack of boxing prowess but incredible power will be facing off with Frankel (28-10-1, 5 KOs). Frankel will likely give Molina a tough fight, but will be eventually overmatched by the sheer talent and power of John Molina. You have no excuse to miss this one as it is once again streaming on ESPN 3.

Ward V Abraham headlines a Boxing filled weekend.

A great weekend of boxing is ahead of us kicking off with three televised cards (Telefutura, ESPN2, SHO) on Friday and finishing off with the first of the Super Six Tournament semifinal matches.

Kendall Holt V Julio Diaz – ESPN2 - Friday

Kendall Holt (26-4 14 Kos) has always earned a bit of soft spot in my heart dating back to his debacle in Columbia against Ricardo Torres. He doesn’t have a very crowd pleasing style but is a good fighter that will be a tough test for any up and coming junior welterweight. He takes on Julio Diaz (38-6 27Kos) in the main event of Friday Night Fights. Julio has decent power but has lost most every time he steps up in class. Both are former belt holders and are trying to figure out who will continue. They are both reaching an age and a point in their careers where they need a few more big fights, or to retire. I expect a good scrap. I think the question isn’t whether Holt is the better boxer, he is, the question is Holt will be able to stay away against Diaz in the later rounds.

As always this fight will be on ESPN2 and ESPN3.com available for streaming. I will say this over and over again, streaming boxing fights on ESPN3 is a godsend.

Sharif Bogere vs. Raymundo Beltran - SHO - Friday

The Friday Showtime card features up and coming Sharif Bogere (19-0, 12 KOs). Sharif has looked like a beast in the early part of his career. The storyline in this fight here is a familiar one. A young up and comer takes on a scrapper who has had a tough career and will force the young guy to fight. Ray (Raymundo) Beltran (24-4, 16 KOs) is a come forward Mexican fighter who will make the fight intesting. Beltran’s claim to fame is his occupation as Manny Pacquiao sparring partner. Some experts see the first tough fight for Sharif in this matchup. I see Sharif Bogere winning an easy unanimous decision. Note: Look out for Sharif's lion head for his ring entrance.. scary..

Arthur Abraham vs. Andre Ward – SHO - Saturday


In Carson, California the Super Six semifinal round begins. While many will criticize the Super Six tournament for its injuries, withdrawals, and conflicts, boxing fans cannot deny that the tournament has already produced some stellar fights. Andre Ward (23-0 13 KOs) may be the best in the division, currently ranked #5 FK P4P, and shows no signs of slowing down. He hasn’t had a tough fight since his early pro days. However, if you followed his early career there still may be some questions about his chin. Those questions were supposed to be answered by wins over Edison Miranda and Allan Green, but not one of them landed a solid shot against him.

Standing in front of him is Arthur Abraham (32-2 26 KOs) who is coming off the worst year of his career. Coming into the tournament Abraham was undefeated and some felt was the favorite to win. Then, after a grand entrance by putting Jermain Taylor into retirement, he lays two eggs against Andre Dirrell and Carl Froch. He did the right thing after those two losses and took a tuneup on his home turf. Now he comes back into enemy territory and fights perhaps the best in the division.

I see a good fight with Andre Ward using his out boxing skills to pecker Arthur with shots and then avoid and hug when Abraham uses his lunging body shots. Barring a shot that Andre doesn’t see hitting him, he should cruise to an easy decision.

The winner of this match meets the winner of what should be another entertaining scrap, Carl Froch V Glen Johnson in the finals.

ESPN Friday Night Fights Mora vs Vera 2/4/11 Recap

Charles Hatley vs Chris Chatman

Thie first televised fight of the night was Charles Hatley vs Chris Chatman.  First thing you notice about Chatman is that he drops his right hand a lot especially when he his throwing a straight left to the body.  Trying to do defend an early Hatley flurry with philly shell like defense he ends being caught with a double left hook straight right hand combination.  Hatley does a good job of trying to finish with a huge left hook and right hand but Chatman as tough as he is, is able to survive round 1.

Good fight in the 2^nd round both trading on the inside.  Chatman pushes forward, not giving himself space to punch or land combinations, but is aggressive using his body to smother the longer Chatman.

Round 3 Chatman still very aggressive keeps Hatley off balance by making him miss and pushing forward.  When Chatman stands on the outside it is very dangerous because Hatley fires off great shots when in his range.  Hatley missing a lot over the top when Chatman is close ducking close near the belt line.  Wonder why he doesn’t use the upper cut more, maybe because the over hand hook counters but definitely is something he should be using more since Chatman is ducking his head so much and not always countering back with anything.

Round 4 Hatley has been trying to catch Chatman while coming in but while back pedaling a lot of his power is gone, but still landing some nice left hooks, right hands here and there.  Chatman does a good job when pushing Hatley against the ropes while throwing combinations on the inside, but when he only uses upper body movement and not his feet to move around he is susceptible to Hatley’s arsenal and is in danger of getting dropped or rocked anytime.

Round 5 throughout the fight when Hatley misses and is off balance and or doesn’t bring his gloves back to his face after throwing, Chatman is not there to counter or make him pay for him miss/being off balance.  Hatley is still not using his uppercut to counter Chatman’s low head movement, but instead just keeps firing off shots missing over the top of Chatmans head.  He is still having trouble establishing his jab rarely you can see him throw a double jab, he uses his jab more to find his opponent to try and land a straight right.

Round 6 Hatley uses his footwork more and keeps on the outside not letting Chatman bully his way inside as frequently.

Round 7 Hatley still using a lot of footwork trying to pick Chatman apart on the outside and tries to catch Chatman coming in and doing it well.

Round 8 A straight left lands after a right hook inbetween Hatley’s gloves and knocks him down.  After getting up Hatley is still feeling the effects of the punch as Chatman aggressively tries to finish he fight.  The fight ends with Hatley in danger and keeps fans wondering if it was a 10 round fight maybe Chatman could have finished the fight.

Majority Draw, Judges score it (73-77)(75-75)(75-75)

Ray Ximenez Jr. vs Alfredo Berto

Round 1 Ximenez jr, looking good with great hands speed and nice combinations.  With a right uppercut left hook hurting Berto starts the onslaught as Ray lands at will with combinations of all sorts.  The ref could step in anytime but lets it go as Ray doesn’t get over confident and doesn’t over extend himself to finish he keeps his range and keeps picking Berto apart.

Round 2 Berto is way over matched but is showing heart, though eating shots almost every combination Ximenez is throwing he stays in there getting caught more on the side of his head than straight in the face.

Round 3 Ray does more of the same, keeping the fight in his range, fighting when he wants to engage and never gets over extended and confident.  Ray switches from orthodox to southpaw near the end of the round showing his versatility.

Round 4   More of the same, but for the difference in skill level in the match I really expected Ray Ximenez to turn it up and finish it, surprising the fight went to a decision. 

Unanimous decision for Ray Ximenez Jr., all 3 judges (40-36)

Sergio Mora vs Bryan Vera

Round 1 Mora hasn’t found his jab in this round.  Vera aggressive coming in with his double jab and right hand after pushing Mora back, though unable to land.  Vera catches Mora with a left hook the most significant shot of the round as Mora nods to acknowledge he got caught but shows no sign of damage as he comes back with a flurry of his own to end the round

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Round 2 Vera is aggressive coming forward; Mora tries to out slick his opponent against the ropes and back pedaling, but is unable to dodge everything.  Vera landing some nice combinations and landing while Mora is leaning back.  Vera is landing more and outworking Mora while Mora is more on the defense but still landing with nice countering left hooks.

Round 3 Mora staying slick, but is caught with some shots against the ropes, the body head left hook combination from Vera is working and has landed multiple times in this fight so far.  Mora mixing it up out boxing and closing the distance gives Vera a hard time finding Mora in this round.

Round 4 Mora making Vera miss but hasn’t done much to capitalize.  Switching from southpaw and orthodox keeps Vera guessing and opens up Mora’s straight left from the southpaw stance.  Mora being more aggressive this round ends up in clinches for his efforts.  Vera lands a left that’s the most significant punch in the round, but Mora still is the more aggressive fighter in this round having Vera back pedal more than he has in any other round.

Round 5 Vera catches Mora with a left hook while pivoting to the right catches Mora off guard, but is unfazed by the punch.  Both men trying to find their rhythm as they exchange and work on the inside.

Round 6 Mora is landing the cleaner punches countering effectively on the inside but when caught against the ropes it is harder for Mora to dodge Vera’s combinations.  Vera lands a big right hand while Mora is laying against the ropes.

Round 7 Mora does good work on the outside but gets into a defensive mode again letting Vera get off when he lays against the ropes.  Mora tries to work with his back against the ropes for the majority of the round, both men landing inside shots, nothing significant.

Round 8 Vera is pushing forward with aggression Mora lands a few shots when he comes in but not much.

Round 9 Mora has success countering moving backwards, and more in this round.  Vera’s assault and aggression is subdued by Mora’s good body work.

Round 10 Mora seems to have more energy as he lands some shots on the outside while making Vera miss.  Mora pushes the pace and working more than Vera in this round.  Though Vera is pushing forward he is getting caught with Mora left hooks on the inside. 

Split decision for Bryan Vera, Judges (94-96)(94-96)(96-94)

Friday Night Fight 1/14/11 Recap

The first televised fight was Aaron Pryor Jr (15-2 11KOs) vs the undefeated Edwin Rodriguez (17-0 13KOs).  The fight was a back and forth battle of right hands.  Rodriguez coming in with looping punches but more effective with his overhand right and Aaron with his straight right hand down the pipe.  The 6’4” Aaron Pryor had a hard time establishing is jab and unable to dictate the distance let his opponent get his shots in too easily, letting the shorter fighter step in towards his chest winging shots to the body and up top.  Aaron’s jab was ineffective and his footwork wasn’t able to keep him on the outside.  Though I believe he landed the most significant punches in the fight with straight right hands, he didn’t work enough to win rounds.  With no left hook or body work to finish combinations to follow up after his right hand he let Rodriguez seize the opportunity to close the distance with big overhand rights and looping punches outworking Aaron.  Edwin Rodriguez was fighting a very tall opponent and had trouble finding the target the whole night.  Closing the distance with over hand rights and right hooks to the body he pressured Pryor the whole night backing the taller fighter up and occasionally landing.  Rodriguez told his corner he hurt his shoulder at the end of the fourth round causing his jab to be nonexistent.  His defense was penetrated multiple times by Pryor’s right straight, catching him with his hands down or in between the gloves, sometimes backing straight up.  But, by outworking and pressuring Pryor throughout each round he keeps his record undefeated with a unanimous decision upping his record to (18-0 13KOs).

Judges: all 3 for Edwin Rodriguez (96-93), (98-91), (97-92)

The main event of the night was between Peter Manfredo Jr (36-6 20KOs) vs Daniel Edouard (23-3 14Kos).  The fight started with some good in boxing, both fighters throwing combinations in a close range fight with right hand uppercuts finishing multiple combinations with left hooks to the head.  Though both men were landing Daniel Edouard seem to be the quicker fighter and also had a higher work rate than Manfredo but both were definitely trading and landing on the inside.  Momentum seem to sway towards Edouard in the early rounds as he kept the pressure on Manfredo with well put together combinations on the inside but all was stopped in the 4^th round as he was caught backing up with his hands down with a big right hook by Manfredo.  Edouard got too comfortable with the pace of the fight and thought either the referee was going to break them out of a clinch or there was a mutual agreement between the fighters to remove themselves away from the clinch and was caught by Manfredo’s right hook.  Any momentum that was gained by Edouard came to a halting stop by this knockdown.  During the rest of the fight Edouard seem slow and to tire out.  Unable to find the rhythm and juice to push and pressure Manfredo as he once did.  Manfredo’s confidence sky rocketed after this knockdown throwing combinations and right hands leads kept Edouard on his heels and against the rope multiple times while Manfredo unleashed his arsenal on Edouard.  Tire and fatigue come more and more apparent for Edouard and was uneffective with any assault he tried to put on the rest of the night.  Manfredo walks away with a unanimous decision and hopes to resurrect his career.

Judges: all 3 for Peter Manfredo Jr. (97-92), (98-91), (98-91)

Friday Night Fight 1/7/10 Recap

What a great night of free boxing. Boxing get's a bad rep for not showing enough free fights like MMA does on Spike. But if you pay attention and know what to look for there are good fights on every weekend with ESPN, Telefutura, etc.

Friday Night Fight's first episode of the year brought us a two fight televised card that I think is essential for boxing to maintain it's popularity. A fight that features a young prospect and a fight that will bring fireworks. What's interesting is that this was the night of EXPOSURE.

First we saw Demetrius Andrade add another win to his record. While he clearly dominated every round, strangely Herrera still exposed him a bit. I think Andrade's lack of good footwork and lack of punching power was on display here. He should have been able to put the clearly outmatched Herrera brother down. Yet, he was happy with not working, throwing one punch at a time and getting a victory.

In a time, when his dad is under fire by your management and the media this was not a good fight for his father. You can see that he has things to work on. Also, no longer can you say that the sky is the limit for Andrade, he probably will never be a Paul Williams. I just don't think that after 200+ amateur fights and 12 pro fights you will have this much to work on as a boxer. He just doesn't work enough, throws from the wrong places, and has no punching power. Good win though. I'm interested to see when his handlers will put in him a title shot position.

The second fight was an entertaining one. I picked Herrera winning a 12 round decision in an upset prior to the fight and I was rewarded. I saw Herrera doing exactly what I thought he would do against Ruslan. Ruslan doesn't use his jab enough to keep Herrera from landing punches and tying up. Once he learns to be first, instead of pressuring with position, then trying to counter, I think he will be able to beat better competition. He relies too much on coming forward and hoping the guy covers up and not move so that he can throw his shots. Not going to work with anyone with any foot movement, toughness, or just a overall good boxer. Keep fighting the way he does and he will be a ESPN staple, nothing more.

Good fights! Ready to see next week! Manfredo vs the Haitian Sensation!

Friday Night Fights 1/7/11 Preview

Preview and predictions of Friday Night Fights on January 7th


As always, I am excited for the first ESPN fight card of the year on January 7th. Ruslan Provodnikov (17-0 11KO) is fighting Maricuo Herrera (15-1 7 KO). Ruslan is coming off of a win in his home country of Russia, but we last saw him stateside May of last year when he fought fan favorite Emanuel Augustus. While the record will show that he knocked Augustus down 3 times and eventually ended him in the 9th, Augustus took the fight on short notice (4 days) and still managed to win a few of the early rounds.
Herrera is coming off two wins since that controversial split decision to Mike Achondo in December of ’09. I had them at least at a draw. It will be interesting because Achondo was Herrera’s first real step up in class and he felt he got screwed. If Provodnikov starts slow again, watch out, Herrera just might pull this one out. Remember, it’s not like the Russian has had too much stiff competition either. Of course I love pressure fighters, but upset special with some good action here. Herrera D12

I’m also excited about watching Demetrius Andrade (11-0 8KO) fight as always. Easily one of the best American prospects (Paul Williams part duex). He fights another family member, Alberto Herrera (7-1-1 5KO) as the other fight on the televised card. They have an common opponent in Chris Chatman, who knocked out Herrera in the 4th of his only loss. Chatman also lost a lopsided decision against Andrade in his hometown of Rhode Island. Herrera is coming off of a loss and has likely never seen skill on the same level as Demetrius. I expect a boxing demolition with ultimately Andrade stopping him.
Andrade KO6

SW