Since I started this blog back in March 2011 I have mentioned over 30 fighters so it seems only fitting, before the year ends, to see where the fighters have come since they were mentioned originally in this blog.
Carlos Ivan Velasquez-The biggest disappointment was our first prospect. Carlos hasn't fought in 17 months now after beating the tough Eduardo Arcos back in July 2010. Velasquez was a fighter I was genuinely very excited about though he appears to have just vanished off the face of the planet. The 27 year and his twin brother (Juan Carlos Velazquez, 10-1, 5) have both been MIA despite turning professional together in 2007.
Billy Joe Saunders-The British Olympian has moved on well since we looked at him back in April and has added 4 wins, 3 by KO to move his record to an excellent 11-0 (7). The stand out victory for Billy Joe came against the tough Gary Boulden in a fight for the Southern Area middleweight title, it was the first time Saunders was forced to fight for 10 rounds and he managed to pass the test with out too many struggles as he picked up his first professional title.
Gilberto Ramirez Sanchez-Sanchez was 16-0 (14) when we mentioned him back in April and since then the young Mexican has moved from strength to strength adding 4 more wins (all by KO) to move to 20-0 (18) and has started to get serious attention of boxing fans around the world. Sanchez now holds wins over former title challenger Oney Valdez and the teak tough Samuel Miller, in fact the win over Miller was the first time Miller had been stopped in 29 fights.
Rakhim Chakhkiev-The Cruiserweight division has got the real shot in the arm that it has needed for a while thanks to the real emergence of the Russian bruiser. Chakhkiev was another fighter we mentioned in April who went on to add some solid names to his record. Firstly he beat Harvey Jolly and then he become the first man to stop the veteran Michael Simms. Chakhkiev turns 29 early next year and hopefully his handlers realise it's time to let him off the leash and at the divisions champions.
Gary Russell Jr-What a year the young American has had, he was a promising youngster when we mentioned him in April though he has really built on his record since then. Russell has added 5 wins to his record since we mentioned him and moved to 19-0 (11) in impressive fashion. Most recently Russell viciously KO'd Heriberto Ruiz in a single destructive round. Although Boxnation's Steve Lillis seemed to feel that Russell's hype had been created by "youtube clips" even he seemed impressed after the victory over Ruiz.
Karl Place-Manchester's young Light Welterweight prospect is one of the very few fighters that we've mentioned that have lost this year. Place had a very busy year since we mentioned him in April and sadly suffered a huge upset loss at the hands of Steve Williams just over a week ago. Place's record currently stands at 15-1 (8) though the loss should really be a sign that the 23 year old needs to move up a division as making 140 must weaken the 5'11" fighter.
Tomas Dulorme-We mentioned just 8 days before he impressive blew out Harrison Cuello in 2 rounds on the undercard of Martinez v Dzinziruk. Since then Dulorme has had the development fights that we called for and looked very impressive in out pointing the tough and experienced DeMarcus Corley dropping "Chop chop" and dominating the fight to claim the NABA USA welterweight title. Dulorme has defended his title once when he widely outpointed former title challenger Charlie Jose Navarro. Dulorme is now 13-0 (10) and is one of the hottest Welterweight Prospects in the world today.
Carlos Negron-Negron was the only other fighter we mentioned that lost (along with Place). Negron's loss to former Light Middleweight Epifanio Mendoza was a huge shock and upset and saw Negron fall to 13-1 (9). Sadly it's left massive doubt over Negron's future and it could lead to a very long journey to rebuild the gigantic (6'6") 23 year old. Not only will Negron's confidence be shattered but long term questions about his durability will linger for years, if he returns to the ring.
Jamie Kavanagh-The Irish born prospect who is now trained by Freddie Roach started the year well and when we covered him in April he was 5-0 (2) and about to make his UK debut. Whilst Kavanagh won his UK debut (out pointing Sid Razak) he has recently suffered the first blemish on his record as he struggled to a draw with difficult Ramesis Gil on the undercard of Khan v Peterson. The draw with Gil was another case of Freddie Roach's fighter failing to live up to the expectations and may signal that Kavanagh needs to change something.
John Jackson-We looked at the exciting Jackson the eve before his bout with Welson Alves de Oliveira a bout that Jackson dominated en route to a 3rd round TKO. Jackson, the son of the fearsome Julian Jackson currently stands at 11-0 (10) and looks to add to his record when he fights for the WBC Youth Light Middleweight title against the unbeaten Keandre Leatherwood. The fight with Leatherwood takes place next Friday on a very interest card that is headlined by Marco Antonio Rubio v Matt Vanda.
Froilan Saludar-The Filipino puncher was recently featured in a piece looking at the top Pinoy Prospects and is quickly becoming one of the most talked about youngsters in the sport due to his combination of skills, speed and power. Since we mentioned Saludar he has fought twice to move his record to 13-0-1 (10) and was taken into the 10th round for the first time when he beat Gabriel Pumar in a fight for the WBO Asian Pacific Flyweight title. Saludar is expected to fight once more before the end of the year though his opponent is not yet known.
Joe Hanks-At the start of the year I picked Hanks out as the American Heavyweight to watch...it now seems that may not have been the best after all as Seth Mitchell has really made progress whilst Hanks hasn't really moved up. Despite scoring 3 victories since we wrote about him none of them were particularly note worthy, in fact the most noteworthy thing about them was that Hanks couldn't stop Alfredo Escalera Jr in 10 rounds of action. Hanks does look like he could go places but needs to desperately step up before Mitchell leaves him in his shadow.
Marco Antonio Periban-The Mexican Super Middleweight prospect is now 15-0 (10) and is amongst a number of quickly emerging fighters in one of boxing's most exciting divisions. Periban has added 3 wins since we covered him back in April and whilst they weren't amazing opponents he did deal with solid journeymen very well. Whilst Periban is inexperienced as a professional it is time he stepped up and perhaps looked for a fight with someone like Edison Miranda sometime next year, we know Miranda can bang but he can be hurt, it would test Periban's toughness, skill and his own power.
Kubrat Pulev-The former elite amateur seemed to be on the fast track to a world title fight after a number of notable wins but now the Bulgarian heavyweight is perhaps going to be put on a somewhat slower path. At 14-0 (6) he has a solid record and does hold some decent wins, though his recent fight with Travis Walker told us things. The first thing we learned about Pulev was that he didn't hit particularly hard as he landed a huge number of clean shots on Walker, the second was that he could be hurt as he was shaken by Walker a number of times, but maybe the most worrying is he doesn't have that extra gear that he needs if he wishes to make a dent on a Klitschko.
Sylvester Lopez-Lopez is one of the most under-rated Filipino's in the sport today and arguably the most forgotten due to the fact he currently has 3 losses on his record, but the 5 year pro is really coming good. When we mentioned him he was 15-3-1 and since then he has added 3 more wins, all by KO to move to a much more impressive 18-3-1 (14) including a notable victory over Oscar Ibarra for the WBC Silver Super Flyweight title. Although Lopez fought at Super Bantamweight last time out he could go back to Super Flyweight and have a very interesting fight with WBC champion Suriyan Sor Rungvisai.
Sadam Ali-American Olympian Sadam Ali is still one of the most promising young Americans in the sport though since we wrote about him he has still be kept on a leash. We looked at him prior to his bout with John Revish which he would go on to win by decision though he was rocked big time late in the fight. Ali has only scored 1 other win since we covered him and it was a win over a low level opponent in a bout that really shouldn't be taken too seriously for Ali. We all want Ali to step up a level though it seems like his management want to hold him down for a bit longer which is starting to get really annoying as a fan of the 14-0 (8) Light Welterweight.
Daniel Rosas-Mexican "Bad boy" Rosas was very nearly "our" first world champion when he fought just a few months back against Jose Cabrera for the interim WBO Super Flyweight title, that bout ended in a split decision draw. With a record of 12-0-1 (9) the 22 year old Mexican is still a fighter we strongly tip for the top and he's not having easy fights. Hopefully the the WBO will order a rematch between Cabrera and Rosas as it was an interesting bout and it'd be good to see one of the two Mexican youngsters getting some wider recognition.
Robert Manzanarez-16 year old Manzanarez is slowly maturing into a bigger, stronger and better fighter than he was when he turned professional back March 2010 as a 15 year old. Although still incredibly young (he turns 17 on December 17th) he is running up a long record of wins against gradually improving opposition. We first looked at Manzanarez back when his record read 10-0 (7), he has since added 5 more wins and moved to 15-0 (8) with his best win to date coming in 38 seconds against the experienced can Alfredo Montano. Although he has 15 fights and 37 rounds under his belt I still think it'll be a very long time before we see him in with anyone of any note at all, hopefully he'll have matured somewhat by then as he's definitely growing and has gone from being a Flyweight 15 months ago to a Featherweight in his most recent bout just a few months ago.
Carlos Buitrago-The Nicaraguan prospect who turns 20 in just a few days has run up 3 wins since we first looked at him and has moved to 21-0-0-1 (14) with a notable decision win over former world title challenger Carlos Melo just a few days ago. Melo is a good step up from the fighters that Buitrago had been fighting and will hopefully signal the start of the youngster rise through credible fighters. I'd be shocked it Buitrago doesn't break into the WBC's top 40 next year and perhaps angles for a title fight during 2013.
Leroy Estrada-The young Panamanian has moved to 6-0 (2) since we first looked at him, though has certainly not had everything his own way. In his last fight Estrada was dropped by Mercedes Concepcion before struggling to get a majority decision. Whilst that should be a character building fight for the 17 year old, it should be noted that Concepcion was picked in part due to losing his previous 2 bouts. Estrada, a minimumweight, may end up being wrapped in cotton wool for the next year or two following this close shave.
Oscar Cortes-The 18 year old Mexican Lightweight/Super Featherweight prospect was looked at back in May when he was 14-0 (8) and since then he has moved to 18-0 (11) and won the WBC Youth Intercontinental Lightweight title. Cortes' most impressive victory to date is a 9th round TKO over Manuel Aguilar back in September. Hopefully Cortes will build on a good year and try to force himself into the WBC's rankings over the next 12 months at either Super Featherweight or at Lightweight.
Leo Santa Cruz-We looked at Santa Cruz just prior to his fight with Jose Lopez which Santa Cruz won impressively via a 5th round KO (becoming the first man to stop Lopez) and then Santa Cruz stopped the tough former title contender Everth Briceno in 11 rounds. Whilst not a concussive puncher Santa Cruz is slowly developing a really nasty streak and throws punches to hurt opponents. With a record of 18-0-1 (10) Santa Cruz is really emerging as a serious threat at Bantamweight. He is currently ranked #15 in the world by the WBC at Bantamweight and is already making a real mark on the division.
Oliver Flores-Flores has had an interesting time since we originally wrote about him. Firstly he scored a controversial majority draw (the dissenting judge had Flores as a clear winner) against Abraham Rodriguez and then he stopped a novice as he advanced his record to 22-0-2 (16). Flores seems to be settling into the Super Featherweight division but the draw with Rodriguez appears to have taken some momentum from his career. Despite having just turned 20 Flores has amassed 110 rounds already and has gone 10 rounds on 3 occasions now which, if nothing else, is interesting.
Andrzej Wawrzyk-Polish Heavyweight prospect Wawrzyk has been one of the more under-the-radar heavyweight prospects and hasn't had the hype of countryman Artur Szpilka despite growing his record pretty carefully. Wawrzyk has scored 3 straight T/KO wins since we looked at him with the most recent of those coming against Nelson Dario Dominguez in just 2 rounds. Wawrzyk currently holds 2 regional belts though he really should be stepping up and perhaps starting to mix with solid European level fighters during 2012.
Wale Omotoso-The exciting Welterweight prospect has really started to make his mark on boxing fans thanks to two very entertaining fights in the US in recent months. The heavily built and aggressively minded Omotoso marked his US debut with a round of the year contender against Calvin Odom and then he followed it up with a very entertaining bout with Lanardo Tyner in November. Although the 20-0 (17) prospect is wild and can be caught he does promise excitement every time he steps between the ropes and could be one of the most fun to watch fighters out there today.
Andrzej Fonfara-The second Polish fighter that we looked at was Light Heavyweight prospect Fonfara who is 19-2-0-1 (10). The 24 year old from Warsaw (though now based in Chicago) has only fought once since we looked at him where he stopped Jose Spearman in 2 rounds. There really isn't much to report on Fonfara other than his fan-base in Chicago is growing nicely.
Richard Towers-As with many of the recent additions to the blog Towers has fought only once, stopping Yuri Bihoutseu in the 3rd round. The most interesting thing to happen regarding towers since we wrote about him is the strong rumour that he may be facing Tyson Fury early in 2012 in a very interesting all English heavyweight bout for the Commonwealth and British titles. A meeting of the two behemoths would be immensely interesting and it would be a rare fight where neither man would be towering over his opponent.
Grzegorz Proksa-The 27 year old Proksa burst onto the scene back in October and caught us out when he completely destroyed former world champion Sebastian Sylvester in one of the real break out fights of the year. Rather embarrassingly Proksa's arrival actually caught us off guard and so we have little to actually report on the exciting Polish Middleweight, though rumours are circulating that he will be facing former world champion Sebastian Zbik some time in 2012 in a fight that should see Proksa further his standing in one of the hottest divisions in the sport.
Yoshihiro Kamegai-The exciting Japanese Welterweight was mentioned at the start of this month, just prior to his bout with Eusebio Baluarte. The talented and hard hitting 29 year old from Tokoyo has had an excellent year with a fantastic US debut where he stopped Hector Munoz and looked sensation. Although he will almost certainly have to travel to the US again for a major fight at the weight he has impressed and could very easily find himself on the under-card of a Top Rank or Golden Boy show to build his US profile. Sadly for Kamegai he probably only 1 or 2 years to make his move and even then the division does have a lot of emerging talent so he maybe too late.
Eleider Alvarez-The hard punching Colombian Light Heavyweight prospect is the most recent fight that we've mentioned that has fought since we wrote about him. The Canadian based 27 year fought in his biggest fight to date when he faced Emiliano Cayetano in a bout for the WBO NABO Light Heavyweight title on the under-card of David Lemieux v Joachim Alcine. Alvarez's win is likely to force him into the WBO's rankings (which amazingly don't include Ismayl Sillakh). Alvarez is being tracked by Groupe Yvon Michel and his stoppage of Cayetano in the opening round will only see them speed things up.
We have covered 3 other fights but sadly none of them have fought since we mentioned them in recent weeks. Hopefully be the end of 2012 we'll be looking at some of these fighters as world champions.
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