Over the past few years people have been declaring boxing in the US a dying sport. This is despite the high profile success of fighters like Floyd Mayweather Jr and the rise (and rise) of Adrien Broner and Andre Ward. Another fighter expected by many to follow in their foot steps is teenager Tremaine Williams (3-0, 2) who many insiders are tipping as one of the sports genuinely elite talents.
The 19 year old Williams first came to prominence in the amateur side of the sport where he was a genuine super talent despite being so young. In fact it's fair to say that the first glimpse of Williams' superstar potential came back when he was just a 16 year old at the 2009 USA Junior National Championships. Despite failing to win the tournament Williams shone in the 52KG division making his way to the final before losing by a single point to Ray Ximenez.
After his success in the 2009 Junior championships a lot was expected from Williams going in to the 2010 US National PAL Championships, though sadly his tournament came to an early end after just a bout as he suffered a walk-over "loss" in the Quarter-Finals to John Herrera before Rau'shee Warren eventually won the tournament.
With the disappointment of the 2010 PAL Championships behind him, Williams had an outstanding 2011. He was sensational in the US National Golden Gloves winning the tournament in the 56KG division beating Gary Russell III (the younger brother of professional prospect Gary Russell) along the way. Sadly, despite his Golden Gloves triumph, Williams did fail at the Olympic Qualifiers, losing twice to O'Shanique Foster (the eventual runner up).
Having missed out on his Olympic dream, Williams wouldn't wait long to start his professional career and in April 2012 he made his debut in the paid ranks. On debut Williams was sensational stopping Jesse Anguiano in just 141 one sided seconds as he looked every bit the star in the making. Whilst it was one sided, no one could have asked to have seen more from Williams than what he showed with poise, patience and lightning quick speed.
Since his debut Williams has fought twice, defeating Theo Johnson (KO3) and Jazzma Hogue (UD4) to progress his record against limited opposition. This coming weekend Williams is set for yet another test of his professional abilities as he fights for the fourth time in the paid ranks. A win here is almost certain and will hopefully progress Williams to facing tougher fighters that won't be shell shocked by his speed and natural ability.
Whilst we've yet to see Williams tagged by anything notable it's unlikely that any opponent he is likely to face in the next 24 months will really be too testing. Expect him to be developed well by manager James Prince who knows how to guide a young fighter very well, and hopefully by the age of 22 Williams will have managed to get the attention of a major promoter and maybe even some TV exposure on ESPN.
Showing posts with label Golden Gloves. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Golden Gloves. Show all posts
Friday, 26 October 2012
Thursday, 27 September 2012
Luis Orlando Del Valle
The Super Bantamweight division is one on the most exciting division's in the sport of boxing right now with the likes of Nonito Donaire, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Abner Mares and Toshiaki Nishioka all at the top of the tree. As well as those at the top of the division it's also laden with talent on it's way up such as Japanese youngster Yukinori Oguni, Britain's fast rising Carl Frampton and Puerto Rican Luis Orlando Del Valle.
With this in mind I've decided to take a look at the unbeaten Luis Orlando Del Valle (16-0, 11) who fights in his biggest fight so far later this week as he faces former world champion Vic Darchinyan (37-5-1, 27).
The 25 year old "Orlandito" was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico (the same city that has given us Wilfredo Vazquez, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr and recent world title challenger Francisco Palacios amongst others) and started in the sport at a young age.
By his early teens Orlando was an emerging young amateur and in 2004 he really began to make his mark on the US domestic scene as he claimed the National Golden Gloves title as well as claiming a Silver medal at the National PAL championships. The following year Orlando further proved his quality as he claimed the title at Under 19 National Amateur Championships.
By 2008 Orlando had proven himself as one of the best young fighters in the US, sadly however he had failed to make a name on the international stage and instead of continuing in the amateur he decided to turn professional, aged just 21.
On his professional debut Del Valle stopped Ray Rivera in the 3rd round with a tremendous shot, and by the end of the year he had swiftly moved to 4-0 (3). The following year saw Del Valle adding another 4 wins to his record as he moved to 8-0 (6) and although he was still fighting low level competition he was looking impressive showing the skills he had honed as an amateur.
It wasn't until June 2011 that Del Valle had his first notable fight as he took on the Vietnamese fighter Dat Nguyen for the NABA Featherweight title. In that fight Nguyen showed his toughness, but Del Valle was simply too good, too talented and too fast and won a clear (but competitive) decision.
Since beating Nguyen, Del Valle has scored 3 more wins, including a very impressive victory over the highly rated Christopher Martin. The victory over Martin has so far been the standout result on Del Valle's record though a victory over the experienced Darchinyan on Saturday night would eclipse it (despite the fact Darchinyan isn't the fighter he was down at 115lbs).
At just 25 years old "Orlandito" has plenty of time to become a star, and whilst he's certainly in a tough division he has the time and potential to make a real splash in the near future. A victory over Darchinyan is, in all honesty, expected and then hopefully he'll move on to facing a top 25 Super Bantamweight.
The video below shows highlights of Luis Orlando Del Del Valle and is thanks to xvdmrecords
With this in mind I've decided to take a look at the unbeaten Luis Orlando Del Valle (16-0, 11) who fights in his biggest fight so far later this week as he faces former world champion Vic Darchinyan (37-5-1, 27).
The 25 year old "Orlandito" was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico (the same city that has given us Wilfredo Vazquez, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr and recent world title challenger Francisco Palacios amongst others) and started in the sport at a young age.
By his early teens Orlando was an emerging young amateur and in 2004 he really began to make his mark on the US domestic scene as he claimed the National Golden Gloves title as well as claiming a Silver medal at the National PAL championships. The following year Orlando further proved his quality as he claimed the title at Under 19 National Amateur Championships.
By 2008 Orlando had proven himself as one of the best young fighters in the US, sadly however he had failed to make a name on the international stage and instead of continuing in the amateur he decided to turn professional, aged just 21.
On his professional debut Del Valle stopped Ray Rivera in the 3rd round with a tremendous shot, and by the end of the year he had swiftly moved to 4-0 (3). The following year saw Del Valle adding another 4 wins to his record as he moved to 8-0 (6) and although he was still fighting low level competition he was looking impressive showing the skills he had honed as an amateur.
It wasn't until June 2011 that Del Valle had his first notable fight as he took on the Vietnamese fighter Dat Nguyen for the NABA Featherweight title. In that fight Nguyen showed his toughness, but Del Valle was simply too good, too talented and too fast and won a clear (but competitive) decision.
Since beating Nguyen, Del Valle has scored 3 more wins, including a very impressive victory over the highly rated Christopher Martin. The victory over Martin has so far been the standout result on Del Valle's record though a victory over the experienced Darchinyan on Saturday night would eclipse it (despite the fact Darchinyan isn't the fighter he was down at 115lbs).
At just 25 years old "Orlandito" has plenty of time to become a star, and whilst he's certainly in a tough division he has the time and potential to make a real splash in the near future. A victory over Darchinyan is, in all honesty, expected and then hopefully he'll move on to facing a top 25 Super Bantamweight.
The video below shows highlights of Luis Orlando Del Del Valle and is thanks to xvdmrecords
Wednesday, 4 January 2012
Steve Martinez
So now we're in 2012 time to look at fighters who will be making an impact this year and to start with we are looking at very talented American Steve Martinez (11-0, 9). Martinez is a 21 year old Light Middleweight prospect from the tough streets of the Bronx in New York and is expected to make a real mark in the next few years, though could well be on the fringes by the end of this year.
Martinez first came to the attention of boxing fans back in 2008 when he would win the National Golden Gloves (at 152lbs) by beating Sammy Vasquez in the final. The teenager however was already well established as an amateur before the national success with prior victories in the New York Golden Gloves and a growing reputation as one of the USA's elite amateurs.
In 2009 Martinez would turn professional and defeat Keith Collins in just 135 seconds before soon adding 2 more quick wins to move to 3-0 (3) by the end of the year. Despite being just a teenager he was quickly getting attention and through 2010 he continued to rip through opponents as he advanced to 7-0 (6) by the end of the year. Whilst he wasn't facing anyone of note he was showing a lot of promise and it seemed only a matter of time before he would step up a level or two and face real tests for the first time.
In Martinez's first test of 2011 he defeated the experienced Ishwar Amador in just a round before being taken a 4 schedule by Eric Marriott. It was the year ending victory over Jay Krupp that really helped put Martinez on the map as a professional as he moved to 11-0 (9) and started to get attention to go with his talented. To start 2012 off Martinez will be in his toughest test to date as he faces Denis Douglin (13-1, 8) as part of an ESPN2 Friday Night Fight card. A win should see Martinez given more another tough test later this year before moving on to bigger and better things in one of boxing's most under-rated divisions.
Martinez first came to the attention of boxing fans back in 2008 when he would win the National Golden Gloves (at 152lbs) by beating Sammy Vasquez in the final. The teenager however was already well established as an amateur before the national success with prior victories in the New York Golden Gloves and a growing reputation as one of the USA's elite amateurs.
In 2009 Martinez would turn professional and defeat Keith Collins in just 135 seconds before soon adding 2 more quick wins to move to 3-0 (3) by the end of the year. Despite being just a teenager he was quickly getting attention and through 2010 he continued to rip through opponents as he advanced to 7-0 (6) by the end of the year. Whilst he wasn't facing anyone of note he was showing a lot of promise and it seemed only a matter of time before he would step up a level or two and face real tests for the first time.
In Martinez's first test of 2011 he defeated the experienced Ishwar Amador in just a round before being taken a 4 schedule by Eric Marriott. It was the year ending victory over Jay Krupp that really helped put Martinez on the map as a professional as he moved to 11-0 (9) and started to get attention to go with his talented. To start 2012 off Martinez will be in his toughest test to date as he faces Denis Douglin (13-1, 8) as part of an ESPN2 Friday Night Fight card. A win should see Martinez given more another tough test later this year before moving on to bigger and better things in one of boxing's most under-rated divisions.
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
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).
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).
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