Mark OrtegaTomorrow night will mark the first time in a long time that HBO is televising boxing from California’s Bay Area, once regarded as one of boxing’s biggest pools of young talent. On both the televised and non-televised portions of the card, young talent harvested from this very stretch of land will be trying to leave a memory in the minds of Golden Boy Promotions, who is promoting this extravagant triple-header set to be televised Saturday night at 10PM ET on HBO’s Boxing After Dark from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. Considering that the expected turnout for this card far exceeds both what people expected as well as any card to take place in Northern California in nearly a decade, the pressure will be on all of these fighters to produce both great performances and exciting action.
It is interesting to note is that not a single fighter on the “A” side of any of the ten scheduled bouts is over the age of thirty save for one, 31-year old Golden Boy heavyweight prospect and Fairfield, California native Ashanti Jordan. This makes it clear that on top of snatching up the best already developed talent in the sport, Golden Boy is now starting to make a move towards developing their own fighters. In the past few years, Golden Boy has slowly developed fighters Vicente Escobedo, Abner Mares, Danny Garcia, Daniel Jacobs, and Rock Allen, who was slated to fight on this bill against Rogelio Castaneda, Jr. but pulled out after having some dental work done, from hot commodities into sure-fire prospects.
The three televised bouts make it just how clear they are about their commitment to their young talent, new and old. You could call this card the “Night of the Stolen Prospects” as James Kirkland (Gary Shaw), Victor Ortiz (Top Rank), and Robert Guerrero (Goossen-Tutor) all came from other promoters as little as six months ago. Note that in those six months, which began with Ortiz being the first to join Golden Boy, all three of these fighters have appeared on HBO television a tremendous three out of their four fights. The only fight not to appear on HBO’s was Guerrero’s tune-up bout against Edel Ruiz from the off-TV portion of Margarito-Mosley in January. Even if that bout was televised Guerrero would have received nearly the same amount of airtime as he finished Ruiz in 43 seconds. The point is, Golden Boy is committing to their young talent.
In the opening bout of the televised portion, you have Guerrero [23-1-1, 16 KOs], a fighter who had desperately been asking for a big bout on HBO near his hometown of Gilroy, California for years. He had fought in San Jose a few times before, even headlining, but not on a card the magnitude of tomorrow night’s. Golden Boy delivered in two fights what his previous promoter had been unable to do since taking control of Guerrero at the beginning of his career. At the same time, he was led to a world title and a subsequent second world title under this same guidance so you can’t dismiss them entirely. Guerrero will be taking on the unknown Daud Yordan [23-0, 17 KOs], the second Indonesian fighter to make their way onto HBO programming in the last two weeks, following Chris John’s impressive draw against Rocky Juarez on last weekend’s magnificent Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz card. Both fighters weighed in at the super featherweight limit of 130 pounds in this bout which is for the vacant NABO 130-pound title.When asked if he thought he had an advantage, being the unknown commodity in the United States with only a few rounds of footage available, Yordan seemed hesitant in answering before admitting that it has to be a slight advantage at the least. Yordan feels he could come out with any kind of gameplan and fool Guerrero, and he plans on unleashing a few surprises along the way. Guerrero has said he is ready for the challenge, and won’t rely solely on the couple of rounds he was able to view of his opponent and will instead take it as he goes. Guerrero has widely stated that he feels no added pressure, but being the local draw on an HBO telecast is a big deal to his career, and he must know that. In trying to think of potential opponents in the future, Robert Guerrero has targeted the tough Humberto Soto, who currently holds the WBC 130-pound title. If Guerrero should win you can almost guarantee that he will again be on premium TV for his next bout in some capacity.
Following Guerrero-Yordan is a twelve round bout for both the NABO and the USBA junior welterweight titles between hard-hitting ESPN.com 2008 Prospect of the Year, Victor Ortiz of Oxnard, California, and former alphabelt challenger Mike Arnaoutis of Greece. Arnaoutis [21-2-2, 10 KOs] brings a lot of experience with him in the ring for a fighter who has yet to hit 30. He has taken on the likes of present and past belt-holders Kendall Holt (L UD12 to), Juan Urango (D12) and Ricardo Torres (L SD12 to), never losing more than a close decision. Although unsuccessful in two attempts at winning a “prestigious” belt from one of the four main sanctioning bodies, a win for “Mighty Mike” over Ortiz would put him right back in line for a third shot. With both fighters coming in at the junior welterweight limit of 140 pounds, questions about the preparedness of these two can fly right out the window.Ortiz [23-1-1, 18 KOs] comes across as the Fernando Vargas of this next batch of young stars, but with an added twist. Ortiz likes to clown around and have a lot of fun while Vargas seemed to always be pretending whenever he was supposed to be having a lot of fun. The proof in the merit of Ortiz’ reputation lies in the fact that for this fight, which does not feature any one big name, loads of boxing reporters from Southern California are going to be in attendance thanks to the heavy So-Cal flavor in Ortiz, as well as a few undercard bouts.
In the night’s main event, a very closely matched bout between top contenders James Kirkland of Austin, Texas and Joel Julio of Monteria, Columbia will take place in a ten-round junior middleweight bout that promises to end early. Kirkland [24-0, 21 KOs] has made it clear he has worked hard for this bout and plans on running through Julio like a train. Surprisingly, Kirkland was not bashful in making it clear what his next target is should he emerge victorious Saturday night, equally-impressive junior middleweight contender Alfredo Angulo.“That’s basically what we are building toward, now. This fight, and then that one,” Kirkland said in response to the name Angulo being thrown out.
“I just think he’s an average fighter. If we fight each other, I’m gonna crush him.”
A Kirkland-Angulo perspective bout has die-hard boxing fans salivating as it all-but-guarantees a Fight of the Year candidate between two hard-hitting young fighters that have so far looked unstoppable. The only roadblock, seemingly, is the fact that Gary Shaw promotes Angulo, and Kirkland just got away from Shaw before arriving at Golden Boy in October. Kirkland does not think that will pose a problem to future negotiations.
“We don’t have any hard feelings, Golden Boy should be able to get it done,” assured Kirkland.
Kirkland is expected to have his hands full with his opponent, Joel Julio, who is coming off of a decision loss to WBO 154-pound champion Sergiy Dzinziruk back in November of last year. Julio [34-2, 31 KOs] gave a solid account of himself in a losing effort, and has made it known he is going to bounce back by ending the young dreams of Kirkland with his heavy right hand. Many people don’t expect this fight to go the distance and a surprising number of people are giving Julio the best chance of scoring a huge upset on the night’s card. Julio weighed in at the junior middleweight limit of 154 pounds while Kirkland came in a half-pound light at 153 ½.
There are quite a few intriguing bouts on the stacked undercard, which features eight bouts in total.
A stand-out bout featuring Ashanti Jordan, one of Golden Boy’s few heavyweight prospects, against the experienced William Perryman is slated for six rounds. Jordan [7-0, 6 KOs], of San Francisco, California, came in at 220 pounds while Perryman [10-17, 7 KOs], of Clarksdale, Mississippi, outweighed him by only two pounds at 222. Jordan has a win over equally experienced John Clark under his belt, so don’t expect him to not know what to expect against a fighter who has been around long enough to learn a few tricks.
Another prospect on a few boxing watch-lists is young featherweight Charles Huerta of Paramount, California. Huerta will be fighting the experienced Andres Ledesma of Miami, Florida by way of Colombia, in a six-round junior lightweight clash. Huerta has been moved along rather quickly, with tomorrow night’s bout against Ledesma being the fourth time that he has taken on a fighter with more than twenty-five bouts under their belt as a professional. Huerta’s extensive amateur career has his people resting easy about this decision, and he will be getting into the ring with someone who has fought (and lost) against the likes of Jesus Chavez (TKO9 by), Mario Santiago (TKO4 by), Raul Martinez (TKO8 by) and Juan Carlos Burgo (UD8 to). His biggest win to date is a May 2007 fifth-round stoppage of once-beaten Gary Stark, Jr. Ledesma would lose a close unanimous decision in the rematch, and he has also lost six of his last seven bouts with his lone win coming against an opponent with one recorded victory. Ledesma came in heavy at 127.5 while Huerta came in at 125.
Undefeated San Francisco, California native Karim Mayfield makes his fifth appearance at the HP Pavilion in nine professional bouts when he meets fellow undefeated welterweight Mario Lozano of Chihuahua, Mexico in a six-round contest. Mayfield came in at 147 ½ pounds while Lozano weighed in at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds. Mayfield [7-0-1, 5 KOs] will be fighting a fourth undefeated foe in his last five fights, emerging from each of these situations as the fighter who was able to hold onto his “0”. Lozano [5-0, 4 KOs] will provide a tough test as he fits the blueprint of a tough Mexican fighter with plenty of heart and power but not much in terms footwork and speed. This fight could be determined by which fighter is in the better condition, and many expect it to be one of the bigger crowd-pleasing fights of the undercard.
Espinoza Boxing Club prospect Luis Ramos takes on 50+ fight veteran and former WBO title challenger Anthony Martinez in a six-round lightweight bout. Ramos [9-0, 5 KOs] of Santa Ana, California has been heavily watched in the So-Cal boxing scene and will now make his first appearance in the Northern California region on Saturday night’s card.
In Martinez [21-28-3, 9 KOs], Ramos has an opponent who has just come off of a February loss to another young fighter south of 140 pounds in Mike Dallas, Jr., losing a unanimous decision. Ramos could try and one-up Dallas by scoring a more emphatic victory, and he has two extra rounds to work with on top of that. Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer made note that Ramos was one of the fighters their company was looking closely at in terms of a potential new addition to their young stable of lions, so there is quite a bit on the line in this one. Ramos weighed in at 136 pounds and Martinez tipped the scales at 137.
San Jose favorite Eloy Perez will be taking a tune-up bout before his expected March 21st clash with Orlando Salido in an IBF featherweight eliminator, taking on Glendale, Arizona’s Gabe Garcia in a six-round super featherweight bout. Both fighters came into the bout weighing 130 ½ pounds. Perez [12-0-2, 2 KOs] also had the luxury of working with Robert Guerrero in sparring for the past two weeks before the fight. Guerrero suffered a loss to Salido that was later overturned to a no contest when Salido did not pass his drug test. At 22 years old, Perez would be receiving a tremendous opportunity should the bout with Salido come off, and Eloy does not plan on wasting it.
“Personally, I think I can beat Salido. I am ready for this fight, it’s my shot to be in the mix. I took this fight so that I can stay sharp because it has been awhile since my last fight,” said Perez at the weigh-in. Should a bout with Salido fall through, Perez still has plenty of time to worry about another opportunity in his young boxing career.
Garcia [4-5-1, KO] should be familiar with Perez as they have fought on a show together promoted by Jerry Hoffman in Monterey back in October of 2007. Both fighters came out of that card victorious, this time one of them will have to leave on the losing end.
Shelly Finkel managed heavyweight prospect Seth Mitchell of Brandywine, Maryland will be meeting Long Beach, California’s Jason Rabotte in the second scheduled six-round heavyweight bout of the night. Mitchell [9-0-1, 6 KOs] has either provided highlight-reel knockouts or very mediocre distance performances. Rabotte [3-4, KO] has a wide unanimous decision over a 3-0 fighter to his name and not much else, but should give Mitchell a round or two, hopefully.Rounding out the card is Nazim Richardson project Karl Dargan of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania taking on Sergio Orantes of Carson, California, who is making his professional debut. Dargan [2-0] turned pro in December of 2007 but has only had two professional fights. Dargan is hoping that in 2009 he can stay busier and fight more than once every six months. Dargan weighed in at 138 ½ and Orantes weighed in at 137 ½ for this four-round junior welterweight contest.
HBO’s March 7th Boxing After Dark marks the first time they have covered a fight from Northern California’s Bay Area since a 2001 card that pitted Floyd Mayweather, Jr. against Jesus Chavez that took place in San Francisco. Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer has made it clear that if this show is a success they will make a conscious effort to make more big fights up north rather than letting them all get picked up by the casinos or southern California, which is great news for those who thought boxing was dying a slow death in those parts of the state.
Tickets for the event, promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, are available online at Ticketmaster.com.
Random Ramblings:
-The Rock Allen-Rogelio Castaneda, Jr. bout that was originally slated to take place on this card has been moved to the ARCO Arena card on March 26th due to Allen having some dental work done recently.
-Of the six fighters featured on the televised broadcast, only two fighters fight orthodox (Julio and Yordan).
-All three A-sides of these fights are American-born fighters and all three B-sides of these fights were born outside of the United States. Four continents are represented on this all-world card.
-Kirkland and Julio, the two guys in the main event, are the only two fighters to have fought on non-PPV HBO television in the past. The other four fighters are new faces to the regular subscribers to the channel.
-Aside from McGirt's work in Vernon Forrest's corner, can anyone remember the last time McGirt was in the corner of the winning side of a meaningful fight? That's bad news for Mike Arnaoutis, who brought McGirt in for his fight against Ortiz.
Photos courtesy of Mario Ortega, Jr.
Mark Ortega can be reached by e-mail at mark@ultimateboxingresults.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment