The Boxing Mismatch Report - Vol. 1

The Boxing Mismatch Report - Vol. 1

By Gabriel Montoya, from Maxboxing.com (April 28, 2011) Special to Doghouse Boxing
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There are a few kinds of mismatch. There is the necessary building fight where you put your young blue chipper in against a guy with a specific gift to overcome. The opponent should have enough deficiencies so that your fighter learns something but is not in any danger while doing so. Maybe Fighter B-Team has the craftiness of experience or a good chin but he’ll have a gambling problem and brittle hands that thwart him in the end.

There is the high-priced pay-per-view which sets a fighter with a giant name against an older, faded fighter with a small, medium or large name for $60 after taxes.

Which brings me to Thursday night’s edition of Golden Boy Promotions’ Fight Night Club; a card I’m having trouble understanding.

In the opening TV bout we have junior welterweight prospect Fidel Maldonado (9-0, 8 KOS) against Jorge Cordero (3-6,4 KOs). They weighed in at 135.8 and 138.6 respectively.

Maldonado is a nineteen year old southpaw out of Albuquerque. He started his career with five first round stoppages (KO or TKO), then a four round decision, followed by three stoppage wins. Maldonado turned pro at 135 pounds but has competed at 139 and 141 pounds. He had an amateur record of 118-12 and was ranked number 2 in the US.

Cordero, Puerto Rico, is 22 years old, turned pro and competed at featherweight until his last bout which was at 135 lbs. He will now be competing at junior welterweight; Cordero’s third class in almost as many years. He has lost six fights in a row. A split decision loss to at the time 1-6-2 Jesse Padilla followed by 3 first round stoppage losses (2 Kos, 1 TKO). In 2010, which began with two of those stoppage losses, he also lost a split decision and was disqualified against Hylon Williams, Jr on March 25, 2011 for excessive low blows. I did not see the bout but reports said Cordero was game. Jorge Cordero does not have a Wikipedia page to pull his amateur record and other attempts to Google failed me.

Conclusion: Ok so Cordero got stopped a lot but was competitive or at least gave his opponent rounds in his last two fights. But against a 9-0 fighter with 8 stoppages? I wonder what is going to happen to the fighter who has been knocked out at feather and junior featherweight against the career lightweight with heavy hands? At 138.6, a career high, I wonder what the career featherweight’s physical condition is like.

There are two TV swing bouts. One is between 2-0 welterweight Ernesto Ocon and Miguel Pizarro, 1-1, O KOs. There are no issues there. Pizarro turned pro in March with a split decision loss at junior middleweight. He dropped to welterweight and won a unanimous decision over a 1-8 guy. Ocon’s last win was against 7-12 Juan Carlos Diaz who was knocked out in one by Antonio Orozco and Joseph Elegele.

Conclusion: It took Ocon three rounds in November to do what it took those other guys one so to me, the jury might still be out on Ocon’s power. Add in Pizarro’s turnaround and the fact he might have found his correct weight and it should be fun.

In the other TV swing bout, weighing in at 154.8 its Alfonso Blanco 4-0, (2 KO’s) vs. (drum roll please) Juan Carlos Diaz, 7-12 (6 KO’s). Wow. That’s magic, isn’t it? How opponents seem to pop out of nowhere but are actually just a bunch of guys getting knocked out by future big names? Where did six of Mr. Diaz; last seven losses in his current seven fight losing streak occur? You guessed it. They happened in California. In all, Mr. Diaz has fought and lost a total of ten times in California with four of those coming by way of stoppage; one of them on a Fight Night Club show.

Conclusion: I have a feeling it will be like old times as Mr. Blanco had a 118-16 record in the amateurs as of 2007 along with a win over James DeGale. He’s from Venezuela so you know he is a bad ass. It ain’t going to pretty so good thing it won’t be long either. At some point, The Mismatch report will have to run a check to see which boxer has the longest run of losses with their license intact.

The co-main event features junior welters in six round action when Ramon Valadez takes on Rafael Lora. Valadez is an exciting 7-1 with 4 KOs fighter who engaged in a savage little battle at a Fight Night Club vs. Oscar Andrade back in July 2010. Since then the 21 years old fighter is on a six fight, four stoppage streak, three of those in his last three fights. The kid is all action every time out and is starting to come into his own.

Lora had his first ten fights in the Dominican Republic. He had his eleventh win in York, Pennsylvania, USA back in August of 2009. In September of 2009, he was fed to Matt Remillard who ate him up in four rounds. They re-matched the following January and this time, Lora failed to make the bell to start the fourth after he suffered two broken ribs. In May of 2010, Lora was stopped in one round by Adrien Broner. His last fight was against undefeated Joselito Collado. Lora showed some fight in losing a foul filled (on Collado’s side) split decision.

Conclusion: In terms of fighting experienced top level fighters, Lora has the edge so perhaps this is the kind of fight that helps Valadez goes rounds or it could be the beginning of an upswing after seriously stiff competition for Lora. I bet this is fight of the night. It is one that I see as a necessary developmental type fight.

In the best for last main event, East Los Angeles, CA native Frankie Gomez, 8-0 with 6 KOs, goes up against Vancouver, WA’s Jason Davis, 11-8-1 (3 KO’s). There is a weight disparity here as Gomez came in at 141.8 and Davis 150.8. I’m not sure what the contracted weight is but I have to wonder if 150 was the top limit give or take a pound because Davis was short notice or because someone was worried Frankie might not make weight. Just a question without an answer.

Davis is a dangerous case in my opinion. He has shown steady decline in his last eight fights, none of which he has won since November of 2008. Beginning last year, Davis was stopped after three rounds against Ernie Zavala, citing an elbow injury. Then he was put in with Breidis Prescott where he was dropped twice by body shots and stopped in the third round. Davis finished out 2010 with a mercy stoppage from his corner just twenty nine seconds into round two against Joan Guzman. The fight was ruled a no-contest after Guzman tested positive for a banned substance.

Now comes the icing on the cake. It is an example of decline in a fighter that is absolute in my opinion. March 4 of this year in Tustin, CA. Davis loses to then 6-13 with 4 KOs Jovanni Rubio who himself was on a ten fight losing streak via split decision. Looking at the cards of those ten bouts, Rubio was not a very competitive fighter at all. In fact, Rubio had been stopped five times and lost every round of the decision losses.

Some can call a card like this the development of young fighters. Others, total mismatches with one good development fight in the mix.

Conclusion: tune in and judge for yourself. If you like it, follow Golden Boy Promotions on twitter and tell ‘em how great a time you had. If the fights go horribly one way to a point where it’s dangerous and unentertaining, follow them on twitter and tell ‘em how you feel. Then email the California commission at CSAC@dca.ca.gov c/o Che ‘em how you feel .

You can email Gabriel at maxgmontoya@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/gabriel_montoya and catch him on each Monday’s episode of “The Next Round” with Steve Kim or tune into hear him live on Thursdays at 5-8 PM PST when he co-hosts the BlogTalk radio show Leave-It-In-The-Ring.com. Gabriel is a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.

* Special Thanks
To MaxBoxing.