Monday, September 29, 2008
Content...
Or lack of it on my part. I'm going to start picking up the pace here soon and adding more content to this, the only way for me to get better is to watch and write more about both sports. I think Alan has a few things in the works as well, if I'm not mistaken.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Telefutura: 8/29 & 9/5/08
Okay, I actually watched these last week, but I take notes, you know? One of these days, I'll sit with the laptop in front of the TV. I prefer to be as unencumbered as possible though when watching boxing these days.
8/29:
Latif Mundy vs. Rudy Cisneros: Rudy's only professional loss was to Norberto Bravo over 5, whereas Mundy is a guy who's gotten decent TV time this year out of Philly. Good even fight on paper, and it was that way in reality also. Each round was extremely close, and I was often scoring rounds on single blows that appeared to be the best of their respective rounds. Cisneros won the 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 7th in the 8 rounder to win the fight on my card 76-75. The deciding factor was a point deduction in the 8th round against Mundy due to a low blow. Following that, Mundy sensed something was needed to secure a win, and he attacked Cisneros with everything he had. It simply wasn't enough. Cisneros won a unanimous decision, officially.
Pedro Martinez vs. Reshawn Scott: Two nondescript fighters at the cruiser limit.
Scott was taller and had slightly better skills than Martinez, but was hurt in the first round during an exchange. In round 2, he was dropped hard and the fight was waived off. Not a great TV debut for him.
-CALDERON/CAZARES HYPE TIME!-
WHO? Mike Jones vs. Juliano Ramos: Jones has been given a slew of pretty easy opponents thus far in his young career. His 14-0, 12KO record displays this. Its not at all outlandish to say that his prior two opponents were the best fighters that he had faced in his career (Germaine Sanders & Gilbert Venegas). Ramos, on the other hand, is a young 15-1 fighter from Brazil, hardly a hotbed of boxing. He lost to Jonathan Tubbs, which generally isn't a good sign.
The first 3 rounds were a pretty horrible sight: Jones treated this as a sparring session, merely doing just enough to win but nothing to try and bring the fight to an end. Ramos did nothing, on the other hand. Jones finally began to put the pedal down a little in the 4th, hurting Ramos and keeping him offbalance most of the last minute. Ramos went to try and win it in the 5th, landing a good right hand of his own on Jones' chin, and found that it had no effect whatsoever. Ruh-roh. Jones took it out on Ramos in round 6, hurting him early on and putting him away in brutal fashion as Ramos tried in desperation to hold on. A good one for a highlight reels, but what I'll remember most is Jones' workman like attitude early on. It reminded me of Jermain Taylor and his terminal inability to push the pace offensively in all the wrong ways.
9/5:
I was really excited for this card. It was headlined by a favorite prospect of mine and had an interesting collision on the undercard.
Ray Sanchez III vs. Joaquin Zamora: Sanchez is a huge fraud, with a glossy record, close calls against the Patrick Thompsons of the world, and a stoppage loss to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Zamora seems like a perfect Sanchez opponent, with a loss to a totally nondescript opponent, then a draw later to an equally noteworthy foe, and then a second loss to Elco Garcia, a fairly well known journeyman/tomato can. He has racked up most of his wins in New Mexico, like Zamora, and had built up a fairly decent 15-2-1 record. My crack research also tells me he was ranked by the WBC for a second or two prior to this bout.
The opening round was close and competitive, but went to Sanchez on my card. It was totally overshadowed by round 2, in which Sanchez was nearly stopped as Zamora began to use the jab to set up his right hand. Sanchez suffered a cut that would cause the fight to be stopped in the following round. A bit unfortunate, but Zamora's win was totally legit. Sanchez, hilariously for a guy who's been on Telefutura numerous times, has middle school level spanish skills. He looks paunchy however, and given his last few performances, he may want to find another career.
Marcos Acosta/Ricky Vasquez: Local boys with records that don't inspire in a 4 round fight. The two men fouled each other numerous times, especially with headbutts and use of the shoulders, as well as displaying little defense or significant offensive skill. Vasquez won the decision.
Daniel Attah vs. Urbano Antillon: Antillon really hit the scene when he bombed out Bobby Pacquiao in a mere round. He's a strong puncher with great offensive skills and tight defense. Attah is a product of Nigeria, and he's fought for a world title on Showtime many moons ago agaisnt Acelino Freitas. He's not done very well in recent years, and was coming back from a long layoff following his loss to Mario Santiago.
Antillon and Attah just go on offense against one another right away, and Attah pays the price. Antillon was true to his form in the Pacquiao fight, forcing Attah to a knee in the third and to a ref stoppage in round 4. Attah was just outgunned by the larger man, who used a full array of punches to put him down and out.
Robert Marroquin vs. Gino Escamilla: I think I've seen Marroquin before on Telefutura in a similar role of being the swing bout. He was on the undercard of two different events they've televised this year. Escamilla I know nothing about and his 5-3-1 record indicates I need to do no serious research.
Marroquin won every single round of the fight on my card and was a clean 59-54 sweep on the judges cards. Escamilla was down in round 3, but Marroquin couldn't take him out. He looked like a poor finisher, to be frank.
8/29:
Latif Mundy vs. Rudy Cisneros: Rudy's only professional loss was to Norberto Bravo over 5, whereas Mundy is a guy who's gotten decent TV time this year out of Philly. Good even fight on paper, and it was that way in reality also. Each round was extremely close, and I was often scoring rounds on single blows that appeared to be the best of their respective rounds. Cisneros won the 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 7th in the 8 rounder to win the fight on my card 76-75. The deciding factor was a point deduction in the 8th round against Mundy due to a low blow. Following that, Mundy sensed something was needed to secure a win, and he attacked Cisneros with everything he had. It simply wasn't enough. Cisneros won a unanimous decision, officially.
Pedro Martinez vs. Reshawn Scott: Two nondescript fighters at the cruiser limit.
Scott was taller and had slightly better skills than Martinez, but was hurt in the first round during an exchange. In round 2, he was dropped hard and the fight was waived off. Not a great TV debut for him.
-CALDERON/CAZARES HYPE TIME!-
WHO? Mike Jones vs. Juliano Ramos: Jones has been given a slew of pretty easy opponents thus far in his young career. His 14-0, 12KO record displays this. Its not at all outlandish to say that his prior two opponents were the best fighters that he had faced in his career (Germaine Sanders & Gilbert Venegas). Ramos, on the other hand, is a young 15-1 fighter from Brazil, hardly a hotbed of boxing. He lost to Jonathan Tubbs, which generally isn't a good sign.
The first 3 rounds were a pretty horrible sight: Jones treated this as a sparring session, merely doing just enough to win but nothing to try and bring the fight to an end. Ramos did nothing, on the other hand. Jones finally began to put the pedal down a little in the 4th, hurting Ramos and keeping him offbalance most of the last minute. Ramos went to try and win it in the 5th, landing a good right hand of his own on Jones' chin, and found that it had no effect whatsoever. Ruh-roh. Jones took it out on Ramos in round 6, hurting him early on and putting him away in brutal fashion as Ramos tried in desperation to hold on. A good one for a highlight reels, but what I'll remember most is Jones' workman like attitude early on. It reminded me of Jermain Taylor and his terminal inability to push the pace offensively in all the wrong ways.
9/5:
I was really excited for this card. It was headlined by a favorite prospect of mine and had an interesting collision on the undercard.
Ray Sanchez III vs. Joaquin Zamora: Sanchez is a huge fraud, with a glossy record, close calls against the Patrick Thompsons of the world, and a stoppage loss to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Zamora seems like a perfect Sanchez opponent, with a loss to a totally nondescript opponent, then a draw later to an equally noteworthy foe, and then a second loss to Elco Garcia, a fairly well known journeyman/tomato can. He has racked up most of his wins in New Mexico, like Zamora, and had built up a fairly decent 15-2-1 record. My crack research also tells me he was ranked by the WBC for a second or two prior to this bout.
The opening round was close and competitive, but went to Sanchez on my card. It was totally overshadowed by round 2, in which Sanchez was nearly stopped as Zamora began to use the jab to set up his right hand. Sanchez suffered a cut that would cause the fight to be stopped in the following round. A bit unfortunate, but Zamora's win was totally legit. Sanchez, hilariously for a guy who's been on Telefutura numerous times, has middle school level spanish skills. He looks paunchy however, and given his last few performances, he may want to find another career.
Marcos Acosta/Ricky Vasquez: Local boys with records that don't inspire in a 4 round fight. The two men fouled each other numerous times, especially with headbutts and use of the shoulders, as well as displaying little defense or significant offensive skill. Vasquez won the decision.
Daniel Attah vs. Urbano Antillon: Antillon really hit the scene when he bombed out Bobby Pacquiao in a mere round. He's a strong puncher with great offensive skills and tight defense. Attah is a product of Nigeria, and he's fought for a world title on Showtime many moons ago agaisnt Acelino Freitas. He's not done very well in recent years, and was coming back from a long layoff following his loss to Mario Santiago.
Antillon and Attah just go on offense against one another right away, and Attah pays the price. Antillon was true to his form in the Pacquiao fight, forcing Attah to a knee in the third and to a ref stoppage in round 4. Attah was just outgunned by the larger man, who used a full array of punches to put him down and out.
Robert Marroquin vs. Gino Escamilla: I think I've seen Marroquin before on Telefutura in a similar role of being the swing bout. He was on the undercard of two different events they've televised this year. Escamilla I know nothing about and his 5-3-1 record indicates I need to do no serious research.
Marroquin won every single round of the fight on my card and was a clean 59-54 sweep on the judges cards. Escamilla was down in round 3, but Marroquin couldn't take him out. He looked like a poor finisher, to be frank.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Yutaka Niida vs. Roman Gonzalez (WBC Minimumweight Title)
Yutaka Niida vs. Roman Gonzalez (WBC Minimumweight Title 09-15-2008)
I haven't heard of either guy. This popped up on the boxing torrent site i use and i decided to give it a download seeing as how the little guys usually deliver in a big way. I also needed to kill time before the Arce/Conception Solis/Samudio torrent was finished downloading.
Round 1: Roman shows his power early and has Niida backing up for most of the round. Niida counters here and there but Gonzalez is lighting him up with clearly more powerful punches. 10-9 Gonzalez
Round 2: A hard right hook from Gonzalez gets Niida's attention early. Niida again is mostly on the defense here. Nice ripping shots to the body from Gonzalez. Niida doesn't land much of anything and his face is getting marked up already. 10-9 Gonzalez
Round 3: Gonzalez turning the pressure up very early and they start trading punches, Niida is up for it it seems. Things slow down after the initial flurry from both. Niida on his bike now avoiding Gonzalez. Gonzalez is an animal always coming forward landing big body shots and uppercuts. Nidda is not looking good at all. 10-9 Gonzalez
Round 4: Gonzalez must know Niida is ready to go. hes chasing him all over the ring, Niida letting a few combos off but it does little to discourage Gonzalez. Niida is really getting beat up now, his corner should think about stopping it. They stop it to check on a cut above Niidas eye and the Dr halts the bout in round 4.
Niida looked overmatched and Gonzalez showed why he's 21-0 with 19ko's.
I haven't heard of either guy. This popped up on the boxing torrent site i use and i decided to give it a download seeing as how the little guys usually deliver in a big way. I also needed to kill time before the Arce/Conception Solis/Samudio torrent was finished downloading.
Round 1: Roman shows his power early and has Niida backing up for most of the round. Niida counters here and there but Gonzalez is lighting him up with clearly more powerful punches. 10-9 Gonzalez
Round 2: A hard right hook from Gonzalez gets Niida's attention early. Niida again is mostly on the defense here. Nice ripping shots to the body from Gonzalez. Niida doesn't land much of anything and his face is getting marked up already. 10-9 Gonzalez
Round 3: Gonzalez turning the pressure up very early and they start trading punches, Niida is up for it it seems. Things slow down after the initial flurry from both. Niida on his bike now avoiding Gonzalez. Gonzalez is an animal always coming forward landing big body shots and uppercuts. Nidda is not looking good at all. 10-9 Gonzalez
Round 4: Gonzalez must know Niida is ready to go. hes chasing him all over the ring, Niida letting a few combos off but it does little to discourage Gonzalez. Niida is really getting beat up now, his corner should think about stopping it. They stop it to check on a cut above Niidas eye and the Dr halts the bout in round 4.
Niida looked overmatched and Gonzalez showed why he's 21-0 with 19ko's.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
BOXING: Free TV Wrapup 9/12-13
Telemundo, Telefutura, TYC Sports, and Showtime all showed free cards this weekend of varying quality, and I've actually found enough time in between dealing with our new pets (3 cats!) to watch them all.
8/12:
TELEFUTURA -
Here was a show with two undefeated prospects with Oscar paying their bills, and so there's some hope there that we'll have a decent show. Bzzzz. Wrong. Ex-Olympian Rock Allen was first out there and he drew another no hoper in a long line of them with Contender Season 3 competitor Brian Vera's brother Gilbert. This is year 4 of him being a prospect and he's still fighting guys that are 9-2 in 8 rounders. I mean, c'mon, what does that say about the faith his team has in him? Anyhow, Vera provides ample competition and forces Rock Allen to really try and work to win. Rock simply doesn't have the power in his punching to actually do lots of damage to Vera and thus stop him. So what we have in this fight was a one sided domination by Rock Allen where he does nothing to make the crowd believe he can stop Vera and gives Vera ample opportunites to fight back, as ineffective as it generally was.
The main event was between 22-0, 21 KO Argentinian Lucas Martin Matthysse in a bout with journeyman Rogerio Castaneda Jr. Castaneda has been in against, well, a ton of dudes. In fact, he was recently on Versus against one of the Peterson Bros. in a dull affair. This was actually pretty interesting because Castaneda provided some resistance until an accidental headbutt cut him and ended the fight in the 3rd. Bah.
Also making the show was a bout between 0-0 local boys Edgar Portillo and Pedro Sanchez won early in the 1st by Portillo. Fun and harmless. Karl Dargan/Jose Lozada showed up minus round 1 on the telecast as well after being taped early in the night. I barely paid attention to that, to be honest. Not the best show in Telefutura's history.
TELEMUNDO:
Adolfo Landeros has lost to plenty of good fighters and not so good fighters, so that a fighter such as him was brought in for the young Wilfredo Vasquez Jr. is no big surprise. He's the best guy Vasquez has ever fought but was nowhere near good enough. Solid back and forth for the first two rounds but Vasquez' athleticism, power, and size was far too much. Landeros ended up getting hurt repeatedly before finally getting stopped in round 8.
Also making TV was Roberto Lopez/Jonathan Robles. Robles ended up getting KOed brutally in round 3 after looking like garbage pretty much the whole bout. I think Michael Mendez/Jean Petit Homme may have made TV but I stopped paying attention around this point.
TYC SPORTS:
Opener for the night is Billi Godoy/Pablo Cortes. Cortes has a bunch of tats, Godoy doesn't. Also, Godoy is 11-0 and Cortes is 6-7. So, you'd think with differing records like that, Godoy is likely to win. And you'd be right. Cortes comes straight forward all night and in spite of never going more than 6 before, goes the distance of 10 rounds. He also didn't win a single round. Godoy has not much pop and for being a boxer/puncher type, he lacks the lateral movement and hands to do something.
Main event saw Aldo Rios take on Nazareno Ruiz for the Argentinan Lightweight title. Rios has fought only 4 times out of 49 fights outside of Argentina. Guess where he got his four losses? Ruiz is 26-11 and lost to Rios back in 2003. Good fight with Ruiz having moments of serious offense but Rios was generally able to beat Ruiz to the punch and win most of the rounds and begin to wear him down towards the end of the bout. No stoppage though in this fight, and the event left TV late.
SHOWTIME:
Oh man, I was so bummed when I heard that Guzman/Campbell was off due to weight issues with the former super bantamweight Guzman. But the card wasn't cancelled, so there was still something to watch.
Timothy Bradley/Edner Cherry, like the other bouts, wasn't one I really wanted to keep a scorecard over. Seemed pretty pointless with the fight being almost a total washout for Bradley. Cherry only won the 4th cleanly and got knocked down in the 7th (?) from a picture perfect right hand counter. Cherry recovered quickly and performed well down the stretch, but it was nowhere near enough to win. Timothy Bradley's win helps his case at 140 for validity, most certainly. He basically copied the success of Paulie Malignaggi, and given that he's a top 3 fighter at 140, that's a very good thing. However, there's a lot of deeply underrated talent at the weight that can pose a threat in the future should he get matched up with them (Naoufel Ben Rabah, Ricardo Torres, Randall Bailey, Kid Diamond, Willy Blain, etc).
8/12:
TELEFUTURA -
Here was a show with two undefeated prospects with Oscar paying their bills, and so there's some hope there that we'll have a decent show. Bzzzz. Wrong. Ex-Olympian Rock Allen was first out there and he drew another no hoper in a long line of them with Contender Season 3 competitor Brian Vera's brother Gilbert. This is year 4 of him being a prospect and he's still fighting guys that are 9-2 in 8 rounders. I mean, c'mon, what does that say about the faith his team has in him? Anyhow, Vera provides ample competition and forces Rock Allen to really try and work to win. Rock simply doesn't have the power in his punching to actually do lots of damage to Vera and thus stop him. So what we have in this fight was a one sided domination by Rock Allen where he does nothing to make the crowd believe he can stop Vera and gives Vera ample opportunites to fight back, as ineffective as it generally was.
The main event was between 22-0, 21 KO Argentinian Lucas Martin Matthysse in a bout with journeyman Rogerio Castaneda Jr. Castaneda has been in against, well, a ton of dudes. In fact, he was recently on Versus against one of the Peterson Bros. in a dull affair. This was actually pretty interesting because Castaneda provided some resistance until an accidental headbutt cut him and ended the fight in the 3rd. Bah.
Also making the show was a bout between 0-0 local boys Edgar Portillo and Pedro Sanchez won early in the 1st by Portillo. Fun and harmless. Karl Dargan/Jose Lozada showed up minus round 1 on the telecast as well after being taped early in the night. I barely paid attention to that, to be honest. Not the best show in Telefutura's history.
TELEMUNDO:
Adolfo Landeros has lost to plenty of good fighters and not so good fighters, so that a fighter such as him was brought in for the young Wilfredo Vasquez Jr. is no big surprise. He's the best guy Vasquez has ever fought but was nowhere near good enough. Solid back and forth for the first two rounds but Vasquez' athleticism, power, and size was far too much. Landeros ended up getting hurt repeatedly before finally getting stopped in round 8.
Also making TV was Roberto Lopez/Jonathan Robles. Robles ended up getting KOed brutally in round 3 after looking like garbage pretty much the whole bout. I think Michael Mendez/Jean Petit Homme may have made TV but I stopped paying attention around this point.
TYC SPORTS:
Opener for the night is Billi Godoy/Pablo Cortes. Cortes has a bunch of tats, Godoy doesn't. Also, Godoy is 11-0 and Cortes is 6-7. So, you'd think with differing records like that, Godoy is likely to win. And you'd be right. Cortes comes straight forward all night and in spite of never going more than 6 before, goes the distance of 10 rounds. He also didn't win a single round. Godoy has not much pop and for being a boxer/puncher type, he lacks the lateral movement and hands to do something.
Main event saw Aldo Rios take on Nazareno Ruiz for the Argentinan Lightweight title. Rios has fought only 4 times out of 49 fights outside of Argentina. Guess where he got his four losses? Ruiz is 26-11 and lost to Rios back in 2003. Good fight with Ruiz having moments of serious offense but Rios was generally able to beat Ruiz to the punch and win most of the rounds and begin to wear him down towards the end of the bout. No stoppage though in this fight, and the event left TV late.
SHOWTIME:
Oh man, I was so bummed when I heard that Guzman/Campbell was off due to weight issues with the former super bantamweight Guzman. But the card wasn't cancelled, so there was still something to watch.
Timothy Bradley/Edner Cherry, like the other bouts, wasn't one I really wanted to keep a scorecard over. Seemed pretty pointless with the fight being almost a total washout for Bradley. Cherry only won the 4th cleanly and got knocked down in the 7th (?) from a picture perfect right hand counter. Cherry recovered quickly and performed well down the stretch, but it was nowhere near enough to win. Timothy Bradley's win helps his case at 140 for validity, most certainly. He basically copied the success of Paulie Malignaggi, and given that he's a top 3 fighter at 140, that's a very good thing. However, there's a lot of deeply underrated talent at the weight that can pose a threat in the future should he get matched up with them (Naoufel Ben Rabah, Ricardo Torres, Randall Bailey, Kid Diamond, Willy Blain, etc).
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
BOXING: TYC Sports 9/6/08
Oh, how I love the dish and all its programming. It seems almost infinite in volume and it is all so great. TYC Sports is a great example of this. They're a sports channel from Argentina that has boxing almost weekly, and there's even world title bouts on the network that are not otherwise televised.
SERGIO SANDERS vs. CLAUDIO SOLIS: Of the three fights on the show, this is the one that interested me most. Sanders is 15-0-1. Solis is 8-6.
Sanders is clearly the larger man and tries to dictate the fight's distance with his reach, while Solis wildly rushes. Sanders has some good body punches but lacks head movement and looks very robotic and stiff. Its a total shut out in the first 4 rounds, then Sanders drops Solis twice in round 5. Early in round 6 Solis' corner tosses in the towel. I'm not impressed with Sanders. He's gonna get brutally KOed someday soon.
Interesting note: Round 11 of Juarez/Barrios is shown here. Wonder how HBO feels about that?
DAVID PARED vs. LUCAS AYOROA: Pared is 9-0-1 and Ayoroa is 2-3-1. Standard Argentinian matchmaking.
Pared knocks down Ayoroa with a left hook to the head in round one but can't finish. As the fight goes on, his defense is clearly not very good, his offense lacks in numerous departments, and frankly, he's not all that good a fighter. Ayoroa actually lands some blows in the 4th that bother Pared but he loses every round to a 40-35 card from me and similar ones from the judges at ringside.
GUMERSINDO CARRASCO vs. LUIS NIETO: Carrasco is making his pro debut. Nieto is a 2-1-1 fighter of no real note. Carrasco did participate in a couple international tourneys but didn't do that well.
Nieto is dropped early in the first and the ref is late in stepping in. As a result, Carrasco lands an uppercut to a downed Nieto that puts him out cold. Towel is thrown in and Carrasco wins.
SERGIO SANDERS vs. CLAUDIO SOLIS: Of the three fights on the show, this is the one that interested me most. Sanders is 15-0-1. Solis is 8-6.
Sanders is clearly the larger man and tries to dictate the fight's distance with his reach, while Solis wildly rushes. Sanders has some good body punches but lacks head movement and looks very robotic and stiff. Its a total shut out in the first 4 rounds, then Sanders drops Solis twice in round 5. Early in round 6 Solis' corner tosses in the towel. I'm not impressed with Sanders. He's gonna get brutally KOed someday soon.
Interesting note: Round 11 of Juarez/Barrios is shown here. Wonder how HBO feels about that?
DAVID PARED vs. LUCAS AYOROA: Pared is 9-0-1 and Ayoroa is 2-3-1. Standard Argentinian matchmaking.
Pared knocks down Ayoroa with a left hook to the head in round one but can't finish. As the fight goes on, his defense is clearly not very good, his offense lacks in numerous departments, and frankly, he's not all that good a fighter. Ayoroa actually lands some blows in the 4th that bother Pared but he loses every round to a 40-35 card from me and similar ones from the judges at ringside.
GUMERSINDO CARRASCO vs. LUIS NIETO: Carrasco is making his pro debut. Nieto is a 2-1-1 fighter of no real note. Carrasco did participate in a couple international tourneys but didn't do that well.
Nieto is dropped early in the first and the ref is late in stepping in. As a result, Carrasco lands an uppercut to a downed Nieto that puts him out cold. Towel is thrown in and Carrasco wins.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Telefutura: 8/15 & 8/22/08
Time to enter the blog, and why not do it the classy way? Everyone loves their reviews of spanish language TV boxing. Both of these cards were televised on Telefutura, which I pick up with my wonderous spanish package (which alternately prevents me from getting Big Ten Network, go fig). Being that DirecTV is getting this as a digital signal like it does local affiliates, Telefutura has chosen their Fresno affiliate as the national station.
8/15:
HARRISON CUELLO vs. JAVIER CASTRO: Castro is a pretty decent young prospect at 16-1 and Cuello is loser of three of his last 4. You may remember Randall Bailey KOing him brutally last year on ESPN.
Cuello actually won the first round on my card and that was it for him. Cuello ended up knocking him down impressively in Round 3 and the ref waived it off. I wish beating Cuello was really meaningful, but Castro didn't do anything to make me get amped.
IVAN POPOCA vs. BRIAN CARDEN: Carden I saw just a couple days later when I decided to breeze through a card shown on some midwestern FSN affiliate headlined by Rob Calloway. Popoca was 7-0-1, Carden barely above .500 and a look like a meth dealer.
Unnecessary beating taken here by Carden in the first round stoppage win for Popoca. He had a lot of heart, but the ref was late in stopping as he was in the late getting torn to shreds. It wasn't as if it wasn't obvious, and Carden had already been dropped twice. Gotta protect these guys if you're gonna allow the fights.
In between bouts, an interview with Antonio Escalante and a replay of his loss to Pastrana in January 2007. I'm guessing a rematch is coming or something?
CARLOS "EL FAMOSO" HERNANDEZ vs. HECTOR ALATORRE: Hernandez was a great crowd pleasing fighter in early part of this decade. Always gutty, even in losing efforts, Hernandez had good fights with Erik Morales and Floyd Mayweather, and against lesser but still world class fighters, he made for near classics. You can't go wrong with his fights against Jesus Chavez, Bobby Pacquiao, Kevin Kelley, or Juan Carlos Ramirez. Alatorre is exactly the kind of guy you put an aged minor draw in with to try and revive his career and get him a money fight; a mediocre journeyman.
Ugly fight, close for most rounds, but this was against far lesser competition. Hernandez was out there fighting for self respect and for his very career, and in a way, that was as impressive as any fight he's ever been in before. Lots of close "could go either way" rounds right from the start, where a single uppercut by Alatorre won him the round on my card. Hernandez was cut in round 4, gassed by round 6, and his right eye closed by the 9th. My final card had Alatorre winning rounds 1,2,9, and 10, and Hernandez winning everything in the middle. It was a split decision, but two of the judges agreed with me and gave it to Hernandez. Whether or not Hernandez should ever fight again is a different question entirely.
----------------------------------
8/22:
The scene shifts to Puerto Rico here, and its Miguel Cotto co-promoting this show.
HECTOR MUNOZ vs. IRVING GARCIA: Munoz has a mohawk and some of the hardest tattoos this side of Alexander Emelianenko. I have a feeling he doesn't have them because of an interest in prison tats. He's clearly the prospect here at 18-1. Garcia drew in a fight for the interim WBA welterweight title against Nuzhnenko overseas in his last fight out, so this is actually an interesting fight. Argurably better than the main event.
Garcia wins round 1 and then there's a headbutt in the second round that causes the fight to be stopped. Booourns. No contest.
RAY RIVERA vs. JAYSON VELEZ: Velez is 3-0 with 3 KOs and Rivera has a losing record.
Velez knocks down Rivera in round 2 with a body shot and out in round 3 with a monster right hand. Velez got a nice result but looked amateurish and wild.
8/15:
HARRISON CUELLO vs. JAVIER CASTRO: Castro is a pretty decent young prospect at 16-1 and Cuello is loser of three of his last 4. You may remember Randall Bailey KOing him brutally last year on ESPN.
Cuello actually won the first round on my card and that was it for him. Cuello ended up knocking him down impressively in Round 3 and the ref waived it off. I wish beating Cuello was really meaningful, but Castro didn't do anything to make me get amped.
IVAN POPOCA vs. BRIAN CARDEN: Carden I saw just a couple days later when I decided to breeze through a card shown on some midwestern FSN affiliate headlined by Rob Calloway. Popoca was 7-0-1, Carden barely above .500 and a look like a meth dealer.
Unnecessary beating taken here by Carden in the first round stoppage win for Popoca. He had a lot of heart, but the ref was late in stopping as he was in the late getting torn to shreds. It wasn't as if it wasn't obvious, and Carden had already been dropped twice. Gotta protect these guys if you're gonna allow the fights.
In between bouts, an interview with Antonio Escalante and a replay of his loss to Pastrana in January 2007. I'm guessing a rematch is coming or something?
CARLOS "EL FAMOSO" HERNANDEZ vs. HECTOR ALATORRE: Hernandez was a great crowd pleasing fighter in early part of this decade. Always gutty, even in losing efforts, Hernandez had good fights with Erik Morales and Floyd Mayweather, and against lesser but still world class fighters, he made for near classics. You can't go wrong with his fights against Jesus Chavez, Bobby Pacquiao, Kevin Kelley, or Juan Carlos Ramirez. Alatorre is exactly the kind of guy you put an aged minor draw in with to try and revive his career and get him a money fight; a mediocre journeyman.
Ugly fight, close for most rounds, but this was against far lesser competition. Hernandez was out there fighting for self respect and for his very career, and in a way, that was as impressive as any fight he's ever been in before. Lots of close "could go either way" rounds right from the start, where a single uppercut by Alatorre won him the round on my card. Hernandez was cut in round 4, gassed by round 6, and his right eye closed by the 9th. My final card had Alatorre winning rounds 1,2,9, and 10, and Hernandez winning everything in the middle. It was a split decision, but two of the judges agreed with me and gave it to Hernandez. Whether or not Hernandez should ever fight again is a different question entirely.
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8/22:
The scene shifts to Puerto Rico here, and its Miguel Cotto co-promoting this show.
HECTOR MUNOZ vs. IRVING GARCIA: Munoz has a mohawk and some of the hardest tattoos this side of Alexander Emelianenko. I have a feeling he doesn't have them because of an interest in prison tats. He's clearly the prospect here at 18-1. Garcia drew in a fight for the interim WBA welterweight title against Nuzhnenko overseas in his last fight out, so this is actually an interesting fight. Argurably better than the main event.
Garcia wins round 1 and then there's a headbutt in the second round that causes the fight to be stopped. Booourns. No contest.
RAY RIVERA vs. JAYSON VELEZ: Velez is 3-0 with 3 KOs and Rivera has a losing record.
Velez knocks down Rivera in round 2 with a body shot and out in round 3 with a monster right hand. Velez got a nice result but looked amateurish and wild.
Miguel Cotto is interviewed here. I bet they ask what the hell happened against Margarito. Can I tell? Not really.
SHAMIR REYES vs. DANIEL JIMENEZ: I don't conceal my dislike of bad fights, and this is one. Reyes hasn't beaten anyone good since he beat Ivan Valle eons ago. Jimenez isn't that good either.
Good back and forth early with Reyes fighting adeptly off the back foot and countering. Some close rounds early on, but Reyes had enough engaging by the 6th and started running. Jimenez nearly took him out in the 10th, but instead won a wide and well deserved decision. Not really worth going out of your way for.
GCM: Cage Force 6
GCM: Cage Force 6 (04/06/08)
So i guess this will be the first MMA entry in this blog. I've been pretty high on Cage Force in the last year or so. They put together some great tournaments (albeit with some disappointing outcomes) that ended up landing Yoshiyuki Yoshida and Dan Hardy UFC contracts. I can get behind those two signings. It's a shame Yoshida didn't get to prove to the general MMA viewing public this past weekend that he is a real threat (Karo is a man of panic attacks and last minute "back injury's"). But I digress. Here we have the 6th Cage Force show. The opening video package rolls and we are treated to Soon by My Bloody Valentine as background music. Weird. Even more strange is the Emninem/Disturbed mash up Cage Force theme. Anyway, onto what we came here to see. Fights!
Masahiro Oishi vs Paul McVeigh
Round 1: McVeigh comes out to the Dropkick Murphy's and with a haircut/style that Nick Diaz surely would not approve of. Oishi is a guy I know I have seen in the past but I have no recollection of his talent level. This fight doesn't last in a standing position for long. Oishi makes a half hearted take down attempt and McVeigh locks in a standing guillotine to secure a takedown of his own, he follows that up with a few elbows. Oishi scrambles back to his feet. This appears to be a clipped fight ughhhhhhh. Oishi has taken McVeigh down a few times but can't hold him and hes losing the battle standing. McVeigh is hurting him and drops him but gets too sloppy and anxious trying to finish and ends up on his back. Armbar attempt from McVeigh but Oishi's arm isn't in deep enough to secure a tap out. Standing again but not for long, Oishi takes him down and lands some G'nP to end the round. McVeigh controlled the round for the most part and nearly finished Oishi with that punch. 10-9 McVeigh.
Round 2: Mcveigh lands some nice knees to start the round, Oishi is fighting back but he hasn't landed much of any significance. McVeigh slips throwing a knee and falls to his back. Oishi quickly takes his back and works for a rear naked. Oishi cant sink it but he is softening McVeigh up with punches. He turns it on and McVeigh has no defense for the strikes and the ref jumps in to stop the fight. Good stoppage. Winner by TKO Masahiro Oishi
Taiyo Nakahara vs Ryota Uozomi
Round 1: RYOTO makes a statement right off the bat with a solid leg kick. But he gets hit and pulls guard right away. They fast forward to a min or so later and Taiyo is still in the guard but landing some massive strikes on RYOTO. Another clip again and the ref is standing them up. Round ends standing and would appear to be all Taiyo. 10-9 Taiyo. Screw clipped fights.
Round 2: 2nd round is started with 2:50 or so left just in time to see RYOTO take a shot to the groin. I like that they don't clip some of the post nut shot downtime but chose to clip actual fight footage. Back to the fight. Ryoto gets a take down but gets up kicked in the face (Which is illegal). More downtime and then were shown the last 3 seconds of the 2nd round. Ok, the towel is thrown in by RYOTO's corner in between rounds. Whatever. Taiyo by TKO Corner stoppage.
Next a little video package and interview is shown of Yoshiyuki Yoshida and his path of destruction in Cage Force. I still cringe at the beating he laid on Akira Kikuchi.
Daichi Fujiwara vs Tetsu Suzuki
Round 1:Ok Suzuki is definitely a character. He has a very strange entrance costume and mannerisms to match. Things start fast and end up on the mat. Daichi is caught in an omoplata but it goes no where and gets stood up. Daichi with a take down into half guard. Scramble ensues and Suzuki ends up back on the bottom and against the cage. He is a slippery one for sure. Dueling leg lock time. That goes no where and Suzuki ends up with his back being taken. He uses the fence to roll out and transition to side mount, but he is quickly swept the same way by Daichi. More dueling leg locks and we end the round. good stuff. Id give it to Daichi based on his positioning and takedowns. 10-9 Daichi
Round 2: WOAH, huge high kick from Suzuki to start the round. They clinch against the cage and Suzuki falls to his back. Now working a rubber guard, transition to omoplata. Daichi defends well and is landing some elbows to the ribs, he gets out and lands in a perfect position to execute an armbar. Suzuki defends well and we end up in some more nice ground and positional changes you should see for yourself. Daichi on top now. In side control takes his back ending in another scramble. Daichi locks in a sick kimura and the fight is called. Nice work. This is worth a look for grappling fans. Daichi by Submission (Kimura)
Now we are treated to highlights of some of the featherweight tournament fights from earlier this year.
Mizuto Hirota vs Tomonari Kanomata
Round 1: Main event time. Hirota. Finally a name I know. The same guy that KO'd IFL standout Ryan Schultz a few weeks ago at Sengoku 4. Also, he supposedly he didn't start wrapping his hands until he entered Cage Force last year. Wow. Kanomata thinks hes Genki Sudo, he's doing all kinds of funky moves till Hirota smashes him in the face. He falls to his bacl and is in a world of trouble. Hirota is an animal and quickly finishes him with vicious ground and pound. Quick and brutal victory for the rising Cage Force star. I assume this is the fight that got him into Sengoku. Hirota by KO (Strikes)
Overall a fun show that is hurt by the clipping but i guess Cage Force is limited in their TV time so I shouldn't complain too much. Worth seeing for the brutal main event and the fun grappling fest put on by Fujiwara/Suzuki
So i guess this will be the first MMA entry in this blog. I've been pretty high on Cage Force in the last year or so. They put together some great tournaments (albeit with some disappointing outcomes) that ended up landing Yoshiyuki Yoshida and Dan Hardy UFC contracts. I can get behind those two signings. It's a shame Yoshida didn't get to prove to the general MMA viewing public this past weekend that he is a real threat (Karo is a man of panic attacks and last minute "back injury's"). But I digress. Here we have the 6th Cage Force show. The opening video package rolls and we are treated to Soon by My Bloody Valentine as background music. Weird. Even more strange is the Emninem/Disturbed mash up Cage Force theme. Anyway, onto what we came here to see. Fights!
Masahiro Oishi vs Paul McVeigh
Round 1: McVeigh comes out to the Dropkick Murphy's and with a haircut/style that Nick Diaz surely would not approve of. Oishi is a guy I know I have seen in the past but I have no recollection of his talent level. This fight doesn't last in a standing position for long. Oishi makes a half hearted take down attempt and McVeigh locks in a standing guillotine to secure a takedown of his own, he follows that up with a few elbows. Oishi scrambles back to his feet. This appears to be a clipped fight ughhhhhhh. Oishi has taken McVeigh down a few times but can't hold him and hes losing the battle standing. McVeigh is hurting him and drops him but gets too sloppy and anxious trying to finish and ends up on his back. Armbar attempt from McVeigh but Oishi's arm isn't in deep enough to secure a tap out. Standing again but not for long, Oishi takes him down and lands some G'nP to end the round. McVeigh controlled the round for the most part and nearly finished Oishi with that punch. 10-9 McVeigh.
Round 2: Mcveigh lands some nice knees to start the round, Oishi is fighting back but he hasn't landed much of any significance. McVeigh slips throwing a knee and falls to his back. Oishi quickly takes his back and works for a rear naked. Oishi cant sink it but he is softening McVeigh up with punches. He turns it on and McVeigh has no defense for the strikes and the ref jumps in to stop the fight. Good stoppage. Winner by TKO Masahiro Oishi
Taiyo Nakahara vs Ryota Uozomi
Round 1: RYOTO makes a statement right off the bat with a solid leg kick. But he gets hit and pulls guard right away. They fast forward to a min or so later and Taiyo is still in the guard but landing some massive strikes on RYOTO. Another clip again and the ref is standing them up. Round ends standing and would appear to be all Taiyo. 10-9 Taiyo. Screw clipped fights.
Round 2: 2nd round is started with 2:50 or so left just in time to see RYOTO take a shot to the groin. I like that they don't clip some of the post nut shot downtime but chose to clip actual fight footage. Back to the fight. Ryoto gets a take down but gets up kicked in the face (Which is illegal). More downtime and then were shown the last 3 seconds of the 2nd round. Ok, the towel is thrown in by RYOTO's corner in between rounds. Whatever. Taiyo by TKO Corner stoppage.
Next a little video package and interview is shown of Yoshiyuki Yoshida and his path of destruction in Cage Force. I still cringe at the beating he laid on Akira Kikuchi.
Daichi Fujiwara vs Tetsu Suzuki
Round 1:Ok Suzuki is definitely a character. He has a very strange entrance costume and mannerisms to match. Things start fast and end up on the mat. Daichi is caught in an omoplata but it goes no where and gets stood up. Daichi with a take down into half guard. Scramble ensues and Suzuki ends up back on the bottom and against the cage. He is a slippery one for sure. Dueling leg lock time. That goes no where and Suzuki ends up with his back being taken. He uses the fence to roll out and transition to side mount, but he is quickly swept the same way by Daichi. More dueling leg locks and we end the round. good stuff. Id give it to Daichi based on his positioning and takedowns. 10-9 Daichi
Round 2: WOAH, huge high kick from Suzuki to start the round. They clinch against the cage and Suzuki falls to his back. Now working a rubber guard, transition to omoplata. Daichi defends well and is landing some elbows to the ribs, he gets out and lands in a perfect position to execute an armbar. Suzuki defends well and we end up in some more nice ground and positional changes you should see for yourself. Daichi on top now. In side control takes his back ending in another scramble. Daichi locks in a sick kimura and the fight is called. Nice work. This is worth a look for grappling fans. Daichi by Submission (Kimura)
Now we are treated to highlights of some of the featherweight tournament fights from earlier this year.
Mizuto Hirota vs Tomonari Kanomata
Round 1: Main event time. Hirota. Finally a name I know. The same guy that KO'd IFL standout Ryan Schultz a few weeks ago at Sengoku 4. Also, he supposedly he didn't start wrapping his hands until he entered Cage Force last year. Wow. Kanomata thinks hes Genki Sudo, he's doing all kinds of funky moves till Hirota smashes him in the face. He falls to his bacl and is in a world of trouble. Hirota is an animal and quickly finishes him with vicious ground and pound. Quick and brutal victory for the rising Cage Force star. I assume this is the fight that got him into Sengoku. Hirota by KO (Strikes)
Overall a fun show that is hurt by the clipping but i guess Cage Force is limited in their TV time so I shouldn't complain too much. Worth seeing for the brutal main event and the fun grappling fest put on by Fujiwara/Suzuki
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