Prospect Review Pt 1

Since this blog was started at the end of March we've seen 12 fighters profiled, with 8 of those having fought since they were featured in this blog. All 8 of those fighters have kept their unbeaten records and moved another step up in the boxing world.

Billy Joe Saunders was the first fighter mentioned in this blog who has fought since. He scored an impressive 2^nd round stoppage over Turkish fighter Turgay Uzun. Uzun had gone in as a tough opponent, his record was an unimpressive 35-15-2 going in but he had only ever been stopped twice in his 52 fights. Those stoppages had dated back to 2002 when he suffered an injury against Michele Orlando and a 2010 TKO against Damian Jonak (currently the WBC's #9 ranked Light Middleweight). A win for Saunders was expected but the stoppage was a bonus even if Uzun did effectively quit. The fight may have been an easy one but Saunders made it look easier than it was to defeat a veteran who has made a career out of surviving.

Frank Warren http://www.youtube.com/user/frankwarren




Rakhim Chakhkiev was the next fighter mentioned just days before his American debut against the experienced Harvey Jolly. Chakhkiev didn't struggle at all with Jolly and showed solid power with both hands as well a good active work rate. Although at times he did look a little wild it seemed more down to over confidence against Jolly who appeared unable to hurt him. The body attack of Chakhkiev was hugely impressive and although he's not a huge Cruiserweight he's powerful and those body shots will always have an effect. The fight was on the under card of Erik Morales v Marcos Maidana and was hugely impressive in scoring a 3^rd round KO.

ShareMMMAnos http://www.youtube.com/user/ShareMMMAnos



Gary Russell Jr was originally meant to be on the Morales v Maidana under-card though that fight fell through and instead of facing Ira Terry as first reported he fought Adolfo Landeros the following Friday. Landeros was sadly not the same quality of test that Terry would have been and Russell dominated the 6 round contest after scoring a knock-down in the opening round. Russell moves to an impressive looking 15-0 (9) and at 22 years old that's fine and they are bringing him through well though hopefully they'll put him in with someone a few steps up from Landeros next time out.


BoxingProspect http://www.youtube.com/user/BoxingProspect


Karl Place moved to 13-0 (8) with a 5^th round TKO over George Watson who had only been stopped once previously (by Stephen Jennings) and had survived 8 torrid rounds against Carl Johanneson back in January. 22 year old Place is being brought along well and given time to move up the rankings with out being in too many risky fights at this point. Unlike Gary Russel (above) the expectations on Place are much smaller and he'll likely remain at British level for a while longer than the ultra talented Russell.

Thomas Dulorme of Puerto Rico has really become a bit of an over night sensation after scoring a knock-out of the year contender against Harrison Cuello on the under-card of Victor Ortiz v Andre Berto. Dulorme, who started his career with a majority decision in 2008 has moved to 11-0 (10) and become a real sensation at Welterweight despite turning professional at Lightweight and now at 21 years old seems to have the world as his oyster. He has been active in 2011 having fought 3 times already and hopefully his time will capitalise on his new found fame by striking whilst the iron is hot. Dulorme has all the markings of a star though really will need to be given tougher tests before we mark him down as Puerto Rico's next great star.

JFKConspiracy (via sweetboxing)

Carlos Negron, the 6'6” Puerto Rican who turned professional as a skinny cruiserweight just a couple of years ago is now becoming a fully fledged Heavyweight and has extend his record to 12-0 (8) and 2-0 (1) as a Heavyweight. He beat the wonderfully named Emerson Chasing Bear on the Juan Manuel Lopez v Orlando Salido under-card by 4^th round by TKO. Although I've not seen the fight Negron could well be a true force in the division if he continues to develop like many feel he can. He's a huge fighter with a wonderfully athletic build and if he manages to get his jab going his 83” reach will be one of the sports most potent weapons.

Jamie “The Nuisance” Kavanagh made his UK debut on the under-card of Amir Khan v Paul McCloskey and beat regular test case Sid Razak over a 6 round decision. Razak, in his 70^th professional contest fell to 6-64 whilst Kavanagh progressed to 6-0 (2). The 20 year old from Dublin (though based in LA) will be given time to develop his talent and power though he's still a name that needs to be remembered for the future.

John Jackson was one of the last names mentioned by this blog and last night, in Uruguay he extend his record to an impressive 10-0 (9). The son of famed punched Julian Jackson seems to be following in his father's footsteps as a power punching force. Aged just 22 it might be too early to mark him as a future star though the Light Middleweight from the U.S. Virgin Islands is a fighter who must be on the verges of making a US debut after having fought at home, in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay.

The fighters who haven't fought since this blog went live:
Carlos Ivan Velasquez
Gilberto Ramirez Sanchez
Froilan Saludar
Joe Hanks (fights on 22^nd April against Terrell Nelson)

Jamie Kavanagh

20 year old Irishman Jamie “The Nuisance” Kavanagh is one of the sports true super prospects, he's shown all the facets every young rising star needs to show though also combines it with a fantastic team behind him and a reputation to build on. His reputation dates back to his long and storied amateur days in which he ran up an impressive 168-12 record and won a number of national competitions.

In 2008 Kavanagh was one of the Irish team at the World Youth Amateur Boxing Championships and won the silver medal in the Light Welterweight division. The team was a very successful one coming 4^th in the medals table with 4 medals (including 1 gold medal-Raymond Moylett, Kavanagh's silver and bronze medals from both David Joe Joyce and Tommy McCarthy).Of those 4 medal winners only Kavanagh has turned professional so far and has been training under the hand of famed trainer Freddie Roach.

Under Roach's guiding hand Kavanagh made his debut in May 2010 and won by stopping William Gare in the 2^nd round of the fight. Unlike most boxers Kavanagh's debut was rather high profile and took place in the world famous Madison Square Garden on the undercard of Amir Khans fight with Paul Malignaggi. This victory was followed by 2 decision wins for Kavanagh over fellow novice professionals as he picked up experience and got solid rounds under his belt. Although he was fighting on undercards that also included fighters like Gary Russell Jr, Frankie Gomez and Jesse Vargas he was always impressing.

To end 2010 Kavanagh would score his 2^nd stoppage win blowing out Jacob Thornton in just 44 seconds on the undercard of Amir Khan's memorable WBA Light Welterweight title defence against Marcos Maidana. He would end the year 4-0 (2) and early in 2011 be crowned Irish Boxing's Prospect of the Year at the National Boxing Awards. He was a young fighter with an ever growing reputation, his sparring sessions were creating further hype and even increasing expectations on the youngster.

So far in 2011 Kavanagh has fought just once out pointing Ramon Flores by scores of 60-54 on all 3 cards. This was the first time Kavanagh had been more than 4 rounds and it was also the lowest weight of Kavanagh's career, weighing well within the Lightweight limit. Next time out Kavanagh faces experienced Sid Razak. Razak brings to the ring a record of 6-62 though is a fighter well known for going the distance having only been stopped 3 times in his career. This will be Kavanagh's first fight outside of the USA where he is based and will take place on the Amir Khan v Paul McCloskey card.

Expect Kavanagh, who turns 21 on the 28^th of May, to be given the fairly ease tests to gain experience at this point of his career, his punching power will grow as he matures and he'll certainly mature into a solid Light Welterweight if not Welterweight. With his 5'8” frame he'll never been a particularly tall fighter though he has shown fantastic shot selection and great hand speed, when he adds the natural power he'll be a force to be reckoned with.

Gary Russell Jr

One of the names on the under-card of Maidana v Morales that seems to have been some what forgotten about is one of the USA’s most skilled prospects around. “Mr” Gary Russell Jr (14-0, 9KO’s). Currently based in Maryland the skilled youngster is still only 22 but seems headed to the top of the sport and is starting to take those big steps up in the boxing world that every fighter needs to make at some point.

Russell was one of the top young amateurs in the USA after picking up the sport at a young age he progressed well and ran up well in excess of 160 wins. He would win several amateur championships including the Junior Olympics (2004) Golden Gloves (2005), U.S. Championships (2005, 2006) and a Bronze medal at the 2007 World Amateur Championships. Though he missed out on making a shot at the 2008 Olympics when he collapsed prior to the weigh in.

Having seen his Olympic dreams crumble Russell would turn professional and make his debut in January 2009 on an episode of ShoBox: The Next Generation. He would stop Antonio Reyes in the 3rd round and follow it up with a handful of wins through out 2009 as he started to adapt to the professional scene. By the end of 2010 Russell Jr was starting to face substantially tougher opponents and gone were the inexperienced professionals that he had been allowed to face to get into the sport.

Stoppage wins against veterans Carlos Diaz, Mauricio Pastrana and the previously never stopped Rodrigo Aranda were hugely impressive for Russell. Russell showed not only was he maturing and genuinely able to throw hurtful shots but land to both the body and head. The key to Russell Jr though wasn’t his power but his lightning quick southpaw jab which comes from a wonderfully balanced stance. As well as the lightning jabs he can throw the hooks and crosses with the same alarming speed. He appears to be confident and is being pushed well by Golden Boy Promotions, hopefully they’ll continue to step him up in levels over his next few fights.





So far in 2011 Russell Jr has fought once beating Feider Viloria who entered the ring with a 23-7-1 record. Russell dropped Viloria in the 5th round before winning a 7th round technical decision in his longest fight to date. His upcoming fight on the Maidana v Morales fight sees him facing Ira Terry (24-4, 14KO’s). Terry is with out a win since December 2009 though lost in April 2010 to Carlos Ivan Velasquez in 4 rounds. Of course Carlos Ivan Velasquez was featured in the opening post of this blog, this gives us a chance to compare how the Puerto Rican and how Russell compare.

Stood at 5’5” and with a 61” reach Russell isn’t big for a featherweight though he is lightning fast and seems to be maturing into a fighter with a solid punch on him. The Featherweight division does seem to be one of the most promising in the world today with the likes of Yuriorkis Gamboa and Juan Manuel Lopez dominating it. Though with American talent including Mickey Garcia, Robert Marroquin and Abraham Lopez all along with Russell the Americans could well become the divisions dominant force one day.



Videos courtesy of Youtube user Boxing Prospect (not confused with an actual link to this blog with the same name).